THE ROAD TO NOW

ORIGINS TO ORIGINAL

Since joining his first band in 1986, aged 18, music has been a constant thread in the tapestry of Paul’s life and he’s had a multi-dimensional musical journey spanning 35+ years. Following an unsuccessful audition with ‘The Style Council’ in January 1987, he continued playing in covers, originals and tribute bands. From early days in pubs and social clubs, then gravitating to professional circuit music venues, University tours and festivals all over the UK and abroad, Paul has flirted around the fringes of musical success but, like so many musicians, he’s never had that all-essential breakthrough.

Having spent most of his musical life on the road and on stage, live performance has been the dominant force in his musical trajectory peppered with precious little in the way of recorded material. It wasn’t until 2015 that he teamed up with friend and founding member of ‘The Alarm’, Eddie Macdonald, to co-write a 5-track EP. Released in 2016, Smalltown Glory’s ‘The Tenement Commandments’ featured 5 new and original compositions co-written and recorded with Eddie, plus a new version of The Alarm’s ‘Third Light’. Paul’s then bandmates Charlie Fowler (Bass/BVs) and Gary Hunsley (Drums) were among those making their musical contributions. “Smalltown Glory was really Eddie’s project,” says Paul. “It coincided with Charlie, Gary and I disbanding our tribute band to pursue other musical adventures in late 2014, so I saw it as an opportunity to break new ground and get back to doing original material in a studio setting.”

“IT WAS LIKE ALL THE SONGS I’D NEVER WRITTEN JUST POURED OUT”

This project ignited something unexpected in Paul that even he was surprised by…songwriting. Paul: “I’d kind of dabbled with songwriting over the years but I never felt I’d found my form, so apart from a few demos and recordings that were never released, I never went in pursuit of it. The Smalltown Glory project helped me find my bearings as a songwriter and after the EP was completed, I found myself writing with ease. Almost every time I picked up a guitar there was a song waiting for me and it was like all the songs I’d never written just poured out. Within a few months I had about 20 new songs and I tried to put a band together to get these out there.”

It wasn’t until 2017 that Paul decided the only way to speed up the process was to record demos, so he installed a studio set-up in his house and started to put tracks down. “I had so many songs and ideas on my phone, so I thought that was my best option. I bought some good studio monitors, a studio recording mic, a basic interface and used Logic Pro on my MacBook. Then I was off! I had no idea how it all worked so I watched a YouTube video, got bored with that after about 20 minutes, and thought I’d just dive in and see what happened. I was up and running in about an hour and laying my first demo down.”

“I LOVE THE SPONTANEITY OF WRITING AND RECORDING SIMULTANEOUSLY”

After challenges trying to secure a reliable band line up Paul continued demoing and by the spring of 2021 he had recorded more than 4 albums worth of new, original and unreleased material. “I used SoundCloud as my audio notepad, so I could listen to the tracks and see where I wanted to take them. Because I work [Paul runs a small marketing business], music wasn’t something I was doing, or could do, all the time. So I’d literally go in with a riff or melody and write and record as I went. I love the spontaneity of that and I think it’s yielded better songs than if I’d have spent weeks trying to write the perfect song. That way of working always captures something even I haven’t imagined; I like that magic.”

“NOT HAVING A BAND GAVE ME TIME TO MATURE AS A SONGWRITER”

As Paul evolved as a songwriter, so his production skills evolved too. Originally intending to record acoustic demos to share with a band, finding himself alone meant expanding his musical horizons and exploring more possibilities in his work. “I saw not having a band as a positive thing because it gave me time to mature as a writer. The more I wrote and recorded, the better the songs got. I’d started layering tracks up with acoustics and electric guitars, then I got a bass and started adding that along with drum samples. Plus of course I was putting vocals and backing vocals down. But some of the songs demanded more. I heard so much in my head including keys, strings, brass, percussion and ethereal sounds, so I needed to find a way to bring these elements to the songs.”

NEW SONIC LANDSCAPES

At the time Paul’s son, Aaron, was experimenting with a midi-keyboard and that was it. Paul asked if he could borrow it and it was like he’d found a key to unlock the door to everything he was hearing. “All of a sudden I’m learning how to play a keyboard, having never been near one before, and through the studio sounds I could add everything I was hearing from Wurlitzer and Hammond organs to strings, brass and all kinds of sounds. It was then I thought I’d invest more time and care in the demos to get them to a higher standard. ‘A Long Time Gone’ was the first time I’d ever played, let alone recorded, a song led by keys and brass and it worked out pretty well!”

After lockdown forced plans for a band to be put on hold, Paul continued writing and demoing, then one song changed the course he was on, yet again. After reaching a ‘what’s the point’ moment in March/April 2021, Paul almost parked the bus on his writing and recording when a chance WhatsApp message gave him the purpose he’d been missing. "I just wondered ‘why am I even bothering doing this’? I had no band, I’m doing all this stuff on my own in a home studio and I have no audience to speak of. It was quite demoralising, as I knew I had good songs and everyone who got to hear them loved them. But I did hit a wall and almost took an indefinite break.”

“I WANTED TO WRITE A TRACK THAT WOULD BLOW THE WINDOWS OUT OF THE HOUSE!”

Absorbed at the time in a lush orchestral ballad called ‘Someway, Somehow’, which to now has never seen the light of day, Paul decided to break his mood and the result was ‘Tear It Down’, which is on the EP ‘Sound Bites’. “I literally wanted to throw a guitar on and create chaos by writing a track that could blow the windows out of the house. I was immersed in ‘Someway, Somehow’ and I felt I needed to explode, so I just plugged in, popped on the headphones and jammed whilst recording; ‘Tear It Down’ was the result. I wrote and recorded it in about 3 or 4 hours and even wrote the lyrics and recorded them in that time. It was cathartic and an expression of how I felt in that moment. All the frustration, pent up aggression and negative emotions were channelled through that track. It was like exorcising all my demons in a 3 minute 29 second sonic tirade!”

Having not sent any of his previous material to former bandmate Charlie Fowler, for some reason Paul felt motivated to do so with ‘Tear It Down’. Whilst Gary Hunsley gave Paul positive feedback on his musings, he held back on sending material to Charlie but felt this was ‘the one’. “I hadn’t seen Charlie for a couple of years and I sent him ‘Tear It Down’. I thought he’d like it and he replied almost immediately and said he loved it; that conversation changed a lot…for both of us I think.”

“CHARLIE AND I RECONNECTED FOR A COMMON PURPOSE”

After asking Paul what else he had in his cannon, his revelation that he had around 40+ songs led Charlie to suggest he act as producer and Paul immediately accepted. “I was so pleased to hear from Charlie, as it had been far too long since we’d seen each other. Also, because he is a full time performer with his David Bowie tribute, lockdown had put the brakes on that, so we reunited and gained not only each other again, but a common purpose.”

Paul and Charlie set about selecting 4 tracks to refine, and re-record where necessary and it was then that Paul suggested it would make sense to try and release them. With ‘Faith’ as the lead single, released on 24/9/21, the follow-up EP ‘Sound Bites’ followed with ‘Real Deal’, ‘Tear It Down’, ‘Faith’ and ‘Pennies’ As the two got to work, another breakthrough came in the form of drummer and percussionist Ben Gordelier, who plays in ‘The Moons’ and with British music icon, ‘Paul Weller’.

“BEN ENERGISED THE TRACKS AND BROUGHT A VITAL LIFE-FORCE TO THEM”

“I’ve always been a huge fan of The Jam, Style Council and Paul Weller and I got to know The Moons music via their association,” says Paul. “We felt we needed a real drummer, rather than midi-drums, so I reached out to Ben and he said he liked the songs and would be happy to play on them. That was a wow moment for me and his contribution energised the tracks and brought a vital life-force to them.”

“I’D BEEN WAITING FOR GARY TO RETURN FOR QUITE A LONG TIME!”

As the project evolved a welcome return from former bandmate, friend and drummer Gary Hunsley has already seen the addition of ‘Friday Night’ - a contender for the EP or a bonus track. Gary will also be playing on forthcoming tracks, as well as forming part of an eventual live line up. And there have been some unexpected surprises too with Charlie’s wife Katya lending her vocals to ‘Real Deal’. Paul: “Charlie and I felt this needed a higher BV than either of us could get to, so Katya stepped in and nailed it! It needed a female voice so it’s a perfect counterpart to the lead vocal as well.”

So with the single ‘Faith’ released on the 24/9/21, and the EP ‘Sound Bites’ following up in spring 2022, Paul has much to appreciate during this phase of his musical voyage. “I kind of wish I’d have been where I’m at now about 25/30 years ago, in terms of writing and releasing music, but it’s much better to be here now than to have never done it at all. For that I am truly thankful!”