Saturday was by 50th Birthday Celebration, which took the form of an invite-only ArtSwarm event... perhaps many people would call such a thing a party but it was different in many ways.
I had a 10th birthday party, which I remember clearly. Simon came and brought a copy of 'Eye of the Tiger' by Survivor (the 7" record, of course) which my father duly taped. For my 50th, Simon sent me a message the day before to say that he can't make it, that he had a cold, and that his friend who was due to give him a lift had Covid. This saddened me greatly. In fact, I was slightly heartbroken by his message. He's my oldest friend, but also one who repeatedly seems to pull out of things, and I expected that he would make his excuses and not attend. Deb and I went to see him on his 50th birthday, and had planned a special trip out. This time, I was painfully aware that he's never, in the 40 years since that 10th birthday, wished me a happy birthday by card, message, or otherwise. This is his nature; he is withdrawn, not misanthropic, and I should not get upset by such gestures - who am I to demand well-wishes!? Yet, I was. I was reminded that I invited him and his best friend Aidan to my 18th birthday; a first, adult visit to the pub. Again they did not turn up.
Several people couldn't attend on Saturday, over 10 people cancelled in the last 48 hours. The weather has been awful, and many are ill, and I'm sure his lack of attendance was as honest and valid as it was expected, but this, and his lack of any form of message on this milestone of a birthday saddened me.
This momentary tang aside, the event itself was lovely and it was special to see some rarely seen friends, including Andrew, who travelled from afar to be there, and is, of all participants, the most prolific ArtSwarm contributor. I didn't have enough time to speak to everyone. Despite the party atmosphere; cake, drinks, it was more of a gentle evening, partly because Christopher Gilmore couldn't cope with noise, so the musical montage interlude was suitably muted. The chocolate cake was a dense and lovely as chocolate itself - as a chocolate fan (I eat it every day) I loved it. Everyone there apart from my family and Andrew, has known me only since 2012 at the latest; all of my social life began when that door opened on 25th Sep 2008.
Deb and I performed Money, a version of the Pink Floyd song in King Charles' voice, and later Mr Tambourine Man. The other acts can be perused on the ArtSwarm Blog, newly updated. I hope that this will be the first of a new series of live ArtSwarm events.
A parade of birthday cards:
The night wasn't too exhausting, despite a LOT of carrying, jumping, hosting, because I ate and drank a lot more than usual, and the hall was lovely and warm. I spent much of yesterday resting, recovering, packing, filing, and trying to summon energy for art. Deb suggested in an instant and off-hand that Boxes should be the theme for the next ArtSwarm on Feb 18th, so it shall be. This will be a public event technically, although in practice, nobody except those asked in person actually come.
So, yesterday I did write a song about Boxes, inspired by the Little Boxes folk song (which I knew only via the Russ Abbott parody). I also wrote, in early draft, two new songs for the painters album: Art For Me, and The Glory Of God (the former of which is like Lap of the Gods by Queen, and the latter like Da Da Da by Trio).
Today, I've sung a little, but never enough. The vocals for The Laughing Cavalier are great fun to sing, and very high in pitch - these are ideal training for both reasons. I've also sung the Girl with the Pearl Earring vocals, and again tried Tycho Brahe, but remain unhappy with them. Backing vocals seem to be a key element which I need to add.
On we charge!
