Ok. I have made my decision.
We have a bit of time on our hands so I thought I'd embark on a bit of a retrospective journey.
For these non-Milk and Cookies shows I'm going to be focussing on different moments of my musical past.
Starting on Sunday with the songs of Easyworld!
Milk and Cookies fundraising total currently at £8,228. Completely overwhelmed by the generosity of all you wonderful people. Thank you so much for supporting this cause. Love you all.
Then if that doesn't injure me too badly, I'm thinking we might just settle into a rhythm of playing 2 shows every month until such time was we can do it for real and in person. Sound good?
Thanks to everyone who came to the virtual gig tonight. It was a pleasure to roll back the years in your company. I have recorded some of these versions for you to keep as a souvenir.
So there I was, flicking through the pages of
@Telegraph
and what should meet my eyes but this towering feat of journalistic prowess from
@neil_mccormick
Biased? Me?
Ok so after Sunday's experiment went pretty well, I'm stepping up operations. The next test event will be on June 14th when I will be playing the first of what I hope to be a series of themed sets of songs written by me. Then on June 28th, it's Milk and Cookies - Episode 2!
Thanks to everyone who joined me tonight at the Royal Albert Hall. A great ambition realised... albeit on a technicality.
It was an honour to play for you.
Thought I’d just flick through the culture section of
@thesundaytimes
and what should meet my eyes but this interesting review of an interesting record.
So that's the challenge: put on a show with no band, no looper, no amps, no toys. Just a guitar, a piano, a voice and 20 years of songs. And do it with love and consideration, make it special.
Tom Waits is so much more than a singer or a songwriter or a musician. For me he's an example, the benchmark of creativity, integrity and class. Without this example, I may have taken some wrong turns in my life and made a lot of money.
I wrote a song this morning.
It's so sad I don't know if I can ever play it.
But please don't worry about my mental state.
I can only write very sad songs when I'm thoroughly happy.
It's a quirk I quite enjoy.
Within the sadness lurks a bolt of joy.
I seem to remember saying I'd play a gig on Sunday.
What do you say?
You busy Sunday night?
(or afternoon in the Americas?)
(and y'know, different times in different parts of the world)
Well, I just got back from playing my first live shows in 26months. It was strange and emotional and wonderful.
Thanks to everyone who shared the moment.
Dear friends. Thanks to everyone who attended and supported Milk and Cookies 2017. Together we raised £8,015 for
@reverseRett
... A very happy Christmas time to you all.
Just thinking about Janice Long. Her support was so vital to so many of us when we were starting out. She was so welcoming. To be on Janice's show was not intimidating. It felt like belonging. She was on your side. She was in your corner.
After years of complaining about the lack of a quality music venue in my hometown, I'm finally doing something about it. I would encourage my fellow Eastbournites and lovers of the arts to support our bid to manage The Under Ground Theatre.
PIE are pleased to announce sensational news, we are tendering to manage THE UNDER GROUND THEATRE. Exciting times ahead for grass roots music, performance, film, arts and community venue in Eastbourne. We are passionate about giving Eastbourne the great venue that it deserves.
Well of course it had to happen sooner or later. I'll be virtually playing an actual gig. I'll be at home and so will you. But we're all going to pretend we're having a sweaty night in Camden. Join me,
@MicheleStodart
and
@TheHoneycutters
at
@GreenNote
Dear friends. I have new music for you. And I want you to have it right now. Now, given that it takes bloody ages to get songs onto Spotify and the like, what’s a good way of getting sound to your ears? Bandcamp? Soundcloud? Something else I don’t know about? Help an old man out.
Well as you have probably guessed, there will be no Milk and Cookies show in 2019. Plans went awry, life got in the way and time ran out. BUT it is my solemn promise to make it happen in 2020... maybe in a wildly surprising fashion.
Very excited to announce The Lockdown Sessions are getting a little less locked down. The next show will be streamed on location from
@EchoZooStudios
featuring an incredible band of musicians playing my unreleased 6th album in its entirety.
First morning back home after tour. First tour since October 2019. I feel tired and disoriented and alive and happy. It’s good to be back. Thanks to everyone who came to the shows. Even bigger thanks to those who didn’t after Covid testing. You kept the show on the road.
I hope there will be something of interest and entertainment for anybody who may or may not have heard the work of my former band. I'll be talking a bit about the songs, the band and what the experience taught me.
See you Sunday.
Since she was born, I have sung 'what's not to love?' by
@davidfordisdead
to my daughter before she goes to bed. She's now nearly 3 and she's just sung it back to me, word perfect. Just having a little cry before I go to bed. Just what I needed.
It’s official. Milk and Cookies Episode 1 has hit the £10,000 mark. Episode 2 is on Sunday night. We have a lot to live up to. Ten thousand thank yous on behalf of
@ReverseRett
I’ve been working on this for 20 years. Every time I play a loop machine show, I get the feeling there must be a way to do… more. I’m thinking this must be pretty close to the limit but in a couple of weeks I’ll probably end up bolting on a new bit.
A few years ago, my friend
@Bobbysix
suggested I add a tea towel to the array of merchandise items available at my shows. In the months that followed, the “wash up you miserable fuck” tea towel became more popular than any of my records.
I cannot tell you what that sort of validation does for a young person starting out in what can be a cruel business. The belief it instills. The fuel it puts in the tank. I wonder how much incredible music was powered by that fuel. She was just fucking great. That's it.
My beloved 3rd child who saved me from all kinds of adversity. Never made any kind of splash in the wider world but brought a little peace to mine. Happy birthday.
Well the numbers are finally in. Thanks to everybody who came to Milk and Cookies 2018 at
@Bushhallmusic
and showed such wonderful spirit and generosity. Together we raised £7451.61 for
@ReverseRett
and had ourselves a blast.
Ok so this is awkward: if you’re coming to the show tonight, please make sure you’re going to Newton Abbott and NOT Abbotsbury. They’re an hour and a half apart. I know because I drove to the wrong one!
Hi everyone. There’s no show tonight. No easy way to say this but I’m currently focussing me creative efforts on a major D.I.Y project and it has become somewhat consuming. Milk and cookies will return in a couple of weeks.
A little light culture in the morning.
@thesundaytimes
makes some excellent choices in its music coverage. Physicals for the album are Out Now. Link in bio 💿
20 years ago I acquired a set of in-ear monitors to use on stage. I never really liked them. They were so good at isolating sound that the onstage experience was too sterile. But now I get to walk around Sainsbury’s and nobody knows I’m listening to Huey Lewis really fucking loud
Well that just about seals the deal for the next Lockdown Session. Shall we say Sunday night for a look at the life and times of Let the Hard Times Roll?
What is Milk and Cookies?
Good question.
It's a bit like a gig.
But more like something else.
There's singing.
Oh and a big red book.
And we raise money for charity.
And eat cookies.
And some dude plays songs he has no business attempting to play.
Something like that.
Such generosity. Thanks to everyone who has made a donation. One day there will be a cure for Rett Syndrome and when there is, you will have been a part of making it happen.
So here’s a thing.
@AnnieDressner
and I made a record together. We think it’s really good. We’ll be playing some of the songs on our upcoming tour where you can also pick up a lovely old-school cd of the recordings.
Another new song! This one got its first outing last night courtesy of
@tommcrae
's kind invitation to join him in some dark cafe somewhere in cyberspace. It was a lot of fun. This song isn't. A latest offering on the subject of life in the age of COVID-19
This is a big song for me. It feels like the soundtrack of my first ridiculous years as a soloist. Although, I was mostly singing it with Frances Law. It gave me probably my most quotable phrase, one that I have borrowed from myself on more than one occasion. I choose this…
#FaveArtistTop15
@davidfordisdead
#DavidFord
11. Song for the Road
A troubadour’s love song. (Album version is on piano, but posting a live performance on guitar.)
“I don’t lightly use words like forever, but I will love you ‘til the end of today”
Ok so the results are in and it looks a lot like the approval ratings of Kim Jong-Un so I'm calling it fair free and democratic. As a result, I will be playing a show on New Year's Eve. The people have spoken, and must suffer accordingly.
Just had a thought while I was doing the washing up... maybe I should do a gig on New Year's Eve. Not like a midnight countdown hootenanny, just an evening show to help stick a fork in the arse of this most interesting of years. What do you think?
Good Morning and welcome to 2021. This year is going to be a good one. It starts with the release of my live album to all online platforms. Give it a spin.
HAPPY MILK AND COOKIES DAY!
It's finally here.
Just a few hours until my complete online humiliation.
That's the good thing about these shows. If it goes well, you're not going to want to miss it. But if it hoes horribly wrong, you're REALLY not going to want to miss it.
The album is called Love and Death and includes songs that touch on both these subjects and plenty more besides. Not my lightest work but I think some of my best.
Ok we are GO.
Thursday night (that's new year's eve, right?)
8:30pm (UK time)
Join me (and guests) as we escort 2020 from the premises and beat it up a little on the doorstep.
I have made a record. I think it’s the best one I have ever recorded. Come and see the show and if I’m wrong, I’ll come to your house and play Sweet Home Alabama on your front step. And that’s a promise.
Ok now you know I don’t like to shout about all the gigs I’m playing. I run my game like some kind of musical speakeasy, a secret society, whispers in alleyways, hushed conversations on the dark web and in dark toilets. But I’m playing some pretty sexy venues in the coming weeks.
I know I’ll actually be at home but it’s still a great honour to be invited to pretend I’m performing at
@RoyalAlbertHall
Thinking I should hang some mushroomy things from the ceiling to really capture the vibe.
Hello dear friends in all sorts of timezones. Last October I played a series of audacious one-man shows to audiences around the UK. Since I'm stuck at home for a while, I thought I'd share with you some of the highlights of that tour as a live album.
I’m on tour at the moment but tomorrow is a day off so I’d like to officially volunteer to be host of Match of the Day. I can assure the
@BBC
that I will refrain from making any controversial statements. You can trust me…
Ok, this is a bit uncomfortable for me to say but here goes: I'd appreciate it if you, dear friends could help spread the word about M&C this year. I'm aware that as somebody who doesn't engage with social media, the lovely algorithm makes me largely invisible, even to followers.