S*T*U*F*F* Reloaded

I had another hat on last week - presenting Guitar Rig for Native Instruments and helping Apple show the amazing new Logic Studio at a couple of workshops. I say workshops… that was something of a misnomer, as demonstrated beautifully in Liverpool, when a poor kid came up at the end and said, “I brought my guitar.” I felt terrible for him - having to sit and just watch, probably wanting to get stuck in and play. Anyway, it was fun. Strange to have to step up in a room full of guitarists and play, but I just did what I normally do and enjoyed it. Hopefully we will get a chance for more hands-on stuff in 2008.

Administrative activities are depressing. What kills me is the fact that by the end of running around trying to accomplish, say, reporting a lost bank card and filling in the form for a new one, you will have not only have been exposed to a vast array of annoyances that are nothing to do with the task in hand, but actually achieved nothing that improves your life in any way. Trying to park your car in Beckenham alone is enough to make you weep, never mind waiting for prolonged periods for the other people undergoing similar administrative grinds in the bank itself. We are subjected to dreadful automated phone systems, disinterested call-centre employees, the fury and mayhem of everyone else trying to get ahead. Sometimes it just seems too much, and for very little.

No more needs to be said about that right now - we could be making records, or babies, reading a good book or drinking fine wine (I suspect I have become something of a borderline alcoholic - not that I drink much - but I look forward to opening bottles with an irrational glee these days). Speaking of which, I have an excellent Louis Jadot 2000 Corton-Pouget that I have been saving, and it may be opened tonight. The next trip to Paris is on the horizon, when I shall purchase the mighty 2005 Chateau Palmer for Luka (and a sneaky second bottle for myself). I love going to the secret hideout of Nico’s to stock up on wine - though leaving it in the tour bus is always a bit dangerous. If the crew managed to get wind of it, they may well employ their indiscrimate vulture-like skills to my son’s future collection. Wine, after all, is wine; if its 1am, post load-out in Grenoble, I suspect their selection procedure will not be as refined as it could be.