All posts by diana Stone

About diana Stone

Diana Stone is a performing composer and musician playing Piano Violin & Guitar. She currently plays with Orchard and The Sonic Boomers. Previously with Rock/Roots band Elephant Shelf and also the Delta Ladies who mixed roots acoustic music and electronica until the death of Vicky Martin who formed the band which was active for 17 years. Diana composes in a variety of styles from pop to rock to Jazz and and classical music. Diana is also expert in multi-media recording and music production.

One Step Forward Two Steps Backward Means All Work And No Play

Delta Ladies, Diana Stones Songs, Elephant Shelf, glass cage, music, Musings, other

Existential angst mostly. That’s what’s on my mind.

Labour and Conservative, what is the difference. Slightly less xenophobia?
Also the simplistic “working people” trope and still no proper “social housing” as in old school council houses due to misplaced ideology plus a few 100 other things….
So most people think it is one bunch of suits swapped for another (that’s actually what I think too).

The real ideological problem is in my opinion this: Clinging on to the old school notions that everyone wants the equivalent of a “middle class” lifestyle and sharing that view is in part the problem, Up north there are a lot of people who don’t share those views and are frankly often ill educated with a very narrow minded and naive view of the world. They are the ones and their descendants that Thatcher wrote off. They are the ones that supported Brexit, and some of them were rioting, possibly in part because that nice Mr Khan that owns the local 7-11 has a 3 year old Mercedes and they don’t… There needs to be a massive cultural shift. The arts need to be opened up to everyone. It will taken generations to fix. Not all old school socialist ideas were daft. Yes we need a strong economy and a skilled workforce, but also we need poetic road sweepers and homes for those that can work but will never be even hedge hoppers let along high flyers. Aspiration is fine but all the perspiration and grafting in the world won’t get you there if its not in the stars for you.

On a different subject I do YouGov polls. they did one today about “How Woke Are You”.
daft really, but the comments were interesting. A lot of guff about “woke” erasing british culture… I am so woke to the point that gammons are at risk of spontaneous combustion if I am within 3 meters of them.

And I just saw this from another occasional musical co-conspirator: “Statement from Ealing Blues Festival Founder Bob Salmons (aka musician Robert Hokum) as he bids farewell to the event he started in 1987 and where he remained Artistic Director, until 2024. “Well it’s not so much ‘Elvis has left the building’ as ‘Bob is leaving the park’ as I have joined the likes of Stephen Hawking and Rob Burrow in having Motor Neurone Disease and thus have to say ‘goodbye’ to the event that I have brought to Ealing’s Walpole Park since 1987.”

Blimey….

That was a shock.

Here are a few of my Tunes

Status Report Star date who knows what

Musings

I played a couple of gigs this weekend, one in a jolly irish run Pub in Watford and one in a Park in St Neots on a sunny afternoon with my trio 🙂

The landlady was Irish and did a Mrs Doyle when we arrived “Sure, and would you take a cup of tea” and told me her punters looked scary but were fine. So said no worry’s I have been playing in pubs for 20 years and had a beer instead. Neck Oil, which was nice.
Audience loving it but a few daft requests. We played outside in a shed open on one side. Garden had a barbecue going on. Women climbing on the tables and dancing and singing along. Not perfect musically as a different set because we didn’t have Clare with us. But it worked. Just like real life again. Audience of allsorts, a league of nations (Asian, Ukrainian, Black and Irish ) plus a birthday guy doing grandad dancing. That’s my tribe.

A pleasant gigging weekend like the old days almost with good humour and a bit of silliness. Today I am in recovery mode a little as the gigs were quite long and I don’t have stamina I used to either. A combination of age and being a bit out of condition post pandemic lock down. As I write unlike the last couple of days its very dull and a little on the cool side too. I am getting on with a few things but it will be a mostly chilled day. A new song brewing at present among other things. I do notice that I have been getting a tad grumpy latterly on my “rest” days recently. The paradox being the better things have gone the more of a come down it is afterward. I am doing a bit in my studio today though perhaps with slightly less gusto than is usual.

Had to laugh, a pub blues player complaining on facebook that pubs don’t pay enough so his band won’t play them. I have heard the same argument for about 10 years now. Going on about how expensive their music kit is. Felt like saying maybe you would get better gigs if you were actually decent entertainers, but I didn’t. I made a comment about the fact that pubs couldn’t pay so much as wet sales have reduced. I was broke before and I am am not much richer now. As Seasick Steve said “I started out with nothing and I have still got most of it left”. Live music is a special joy, interacting with the audience and the band. I really do enjoy every gig from the best even to the worst to some extent to be honest. The joy of the moment and all that.

Slowly we plod on though. What else is there?

Be All You Want To Be

Too Hot To Tango

Musings

Lets all eat frozen mango, but seriously what. It’s still hard going at present. Help.

Just before going to bed I tried for the 3rd time to see if I could spot a meteor. I sat down on the balcony mostly to cool off. Then as if by magic a really bright one went by almost horizontally and exploded in a bright flash. I can’t tell you all how pleased this made me feel that I have finally managed to see one. We also have had the Aurora which I may have seen a faint glimpse of though it could just be my dodgy ageing eyes. When its really hot keeping up with exercise to stop my body seizing up to much is also a bit of chore. And we stil have a very high pollen count as well.

This week it’s mostly practicing learning new band material. As i write it’s over cast and dull after several days of very hot and very bright sunshine. The temperature has gone from 33C to 21C in a day. I am very glad it is cooler but brighter would be nice though.

Today’s record in a day proggy effort. Keys and guitars. recorded in about 2 hours/ It’s just a bit of fun and very derivative.

My tempers still a bit short too.