My Life - Matt Henshaw (Little & Large Live Session)

Something special for you, brand new today ... it's the first of Little and Large Productions video sessions for my new record ... this 'ere is a video of 'My Life' !



So, as you may have guessed there's gonna be three more to come, as there's 4 tracks on the CD, 2 on the vinyl, and 3 more available as a digital download ... so come March you're gonna be able to get a whopping 7 of my tracks on your iPod, blasting out the car stereo or spinning on your decks ... I'm excited, I hope you are too.

7" Vinyl
A - It Ain't Easy
AA - My Life

CD
1 - It Ain't Easy
2 - My Life
3 - Play The Game
4 - In The Presence Of The Lord

Digital Download (available March 5th)
1 - It Ain't Easy
2 - My Life
3 - Play The Game
4 - In The Presence Of The Lord
Bonus 1 - My Life (Acoustic)
Bonus 2 - Play The Game (Acoustic)
Bonus 3 - In The Presence Of The Lord (Acoustic)

And don't forget I'm having a party on Friday 21st March @ The Cookie Jar, Leicester, United Kingdom ... details to follow ...

Plus, Manchester, United Kingdom, I'm heading to the Hard Rock Cafe on Thursday 13th ... see you there !

Check http://www.MattHenshaw.com/ for gigs and bits in between ...

RIP Bill Hicks.

20 years ago today we lost someone very special ...

Things I Like ... Yorkshire Tea

I sit here contemplating my Tuesday and you know who I'm sat with. My best friend. My mug of strong Yorkshire Tea. Every day I manage to get through around 5 or 6 cups of the stuff at an absolute minimum. I could bore you with the health benefits of tea drinking, the restorative and recuperative nature of it's leave or the magical sense of ritual when boiling a pot, but I won't. Just 'ave yourself a proper brew and enjoy your day !



In this last week my world online, in cyberspace, social networking and plugging all my digital wares was wholly 100% vindicated and justified when - probably with a solitary click of a mouse by a staff member in an office somewhere - @YorkshireTea followed me on twitter! Made my day / week / year !

Growing up I even preferred supporting Yorkshire CCC, instead of the local options of Nottinghamshire or Derbyshire, perhaps in part due to being a Sheffield Wednesday fan, or small part being a fan of Michael Bevan and Gavin Hamilton, or the young Ryan Sidebottom's fabulous name, equally fabulous hair, but probably in the largest part due to their Yorkshire Tea logo stitched to the shirt sleeves ... I was a happy and contented little boy, playing with LEGO, drawing flags and watching cricket !



More recently people are becoming more and more aware of my pro-Tea stance, there's even a few bars in Leicester I can go to and get free cups on the house, just at first sight of my face and safe in the knowledge that I won't be ordering a Carlsberg or a Jack Daniels' and Coke. Tea drinking has its ups ... and come to think of it, I can't think of any downs. Keep on slurping people !!

At a wild rock'n'roll party in the not so distant past I regaled the gathered troubadours with tales of fruit, vegetables and tea at 3 in the morning ... producing a holy scripture ... my 'Tea Pyramid' ... it was photographed for posterity and handed down between the ranks. I shall share it with you now, I hope you can make sense of it ... and I hope that if you are a drinker or Earl Grey you are not offended (I'm just that bit to northern to enjoy its perfumed taste) ... and I hope that if you are a drinker of Tesco home brand tea you are offended and you buck your ideas up ... it's not big and it's not clever and you buying that stuff is probably destroying the planet in ways you couldn't possibly imagine ... Spread The Love !



Peace, Love & Tea,
Matt Henshaw x

Matt Henshaw Recommends ... Mia & The Moon

So, this week I went to a show in Leicester, I wasn't supposed to, I was supposed to be in Wales, but the stars aligned and due to the oncoming dawning of the Age of Aquarius and the inordinate amount weather we've been having I've been in the city all week. Before I get into recommending a couple more of my favourite East Midlands Girls I'm going to give a very very very special mention to the fantastic and wonderful Chris Conway ... Google Him, Do It Now !

Chris was one of the first musicians I met when I moved to the city, and if I'm honest, even from week one of getting out and playing the guitar again, I met Chris that very first week, and he's one of the finest musicians I've ever met before and since, a true gentleman and a real character. And his music makes me laugh, cry and discombobulate in equal measure ...

... so, why am I banging on about Chris Conway? Well, it was he and thee Mia & The Moon whom it was I went to see this week. The night was entitled 'Songs of Wonder', and in wonderment I sat on my bean bag, by the incense, sipping on my coffee - now I know what you're thinking, but they didn't have any milk ... and Black Coffee is always better than Black Tea ...

Both acts are fantastic and I hope that I'll see, play with, record with, write with Chris Conway sometime soon ! And Mia & The Moon are indeed celestial beings. Mary-Anne and Laura, as they are know to their friends, are sisters and carry that all encompassing yin and yang that is needed to bring the light and dark into every performance.

I won't waste any more of your time with superlatives and sycophancy so I'll let the music do the talking ... but I do find it quite serendipitous that in one sister I've found someone I feel I can write some great soul songs with and add a bit of female harmony to the Matt Henshaw Rhythm'n'Gospel Cavalcade and in the other sister I've found someone I can talk about the stars and space with in a completely unscientific manner, yeah, we're really out there ... Man !!

Spread The Love indeed ! MHx

Things I Like ... LEGO

Number 2 on the Things I Like blog is ... LEGO. My lifelong favourite toy, and favourite toy of the 20th Century. Well done world ! There are enough LEGO bricks in the world for us all to have some, if only we could use that kind of efficiency and production rate with food, maybe there's something to learn from the LEGO Company to solve distribution of provisions and world hunger. One can only dream, eh?

Anyway, I have a lot of trouble with spreading so much Love for LEGO. There are a few things, yeah, the production rate is one, and it's plastic. We don't need so much plastic in the world, even though there's a girl in Turkey who has figured out how to make plastic from banana peel, maybe we can use that to stop the world's reliance on oil, and, also, you can use banana peel to naturally whiten your teeth. How can I be an advocate for such a big plastic shifting company ?!?

OK, LEGO is educational, fun and has helped fuel creativity for over half a decade ! Being that it's plastic and with its patented interlocking brick system it means that LEGO bricks made 50 years ago are still perfectly functional. We can learn so much from the little nodule bricks; numbers, colours, shapes, sizes, it's all in there. I used to spend a lot of my time making LEGO flags of the world ... if you remember from my last blog, one of my first books was an atlas !



Another thing, LEGO Games, games are great, games bring people together, you can learn about each other, talk and share ideas when playing games. With LEGO games you get to build, play and learn. And you can make up your own rules, and sometimes, even, build your own board ! Get yourself involved in some LEGO games ...



But, I gotta say, another thing that bothers me slightly about the LEGO company is there recent trend of franchising movies and tv shows of late, although it might be down to my distaste for so much of popular culture, as when I see LEGO Batman, or the recent LEGO Simpsons set, I do get pangs of excitement ! And I did spend a whole summer playing LEGO Batman on the PS2, the only time I've played a computer game and completed it 100%, finding all the secret red bricks and unlocking all the characters, even Ra's Al Ghul, I don't know how I did it, but I did it, and there's a memory card somewhere to prove it !



Finally, I had a reminder recently that I do truly and deeply love these little plastic gizmos ! The LEGO Movie came out just this last week. I was underwhelmed by the build up to the movie and I was almost entirely put off by the trailers for the film, however, I watched it. And I'm so glad I did, I watched it, and then gave up another couple of hours and watched it again ! I was completely taken aback by the animation, the humour, the postmodernism, everything. The cast is fantastic, and it doesn't overwhelm the plot or the film, like a good Pixar movie doesn't. I could probably write you a few thousand words on how great the film is, and its goings on, but I don't want to waste anymore of your time or giveaway too much of the plot. Just go see it !!

Matt Henshaw to Play Leicester Music Festival ...

East Midlanders, if you'd like to see me join Billy Ocean, Soul II Soul, Aswad, The Real Thing and the rest at this year's Leicester Music Festival at the Tigers' Stadium on Welford Road click here and write your name, my name and some other stuff in the corresponding boxes ... Much Appreciated, MHx



Peace, Love & Tea,
MHx

'It Ain't Easy' FREE Pre-Release Download !

Roll Up Roll Up !

You've only one more day to get a copy of 'It Ain't Easy' for FREE. I'm not sure I'll EVER give anything away again in the future so I'd take advantage of this right now, and tell your friends to do so also, hijack their facebook and do it for them if needs be !

FREE Single Download, Spread The Love ...



With Love,
MHx

Matt Henshaw's Horticultural Blog - Planting Season !

It's wet, it's windy and more often than not, it's raining ! But if you get a half hour dry patch like the one I've just had this afternoon then get outside in the brief sunshine and tend to the soil. It misses you !

And if this kind of thing makes you happy like it does me then go and have a look t the tulip or daffodil bulbs you put out in the autumn ...



You should be coming up to harvesting time for your winter goodies, my garlics, winter potatoes, lettuce and herb plants are coming along nicely. Plus, I took a gamble on a chocolate pepper just before the winter solstice on the kitchen windowsill - they should be planted in January - and it's so happy ... best friends with the thyme plant on there.

Worry not, however, you've got between January and June really to get most of your vegetables in, so depending on your time and efficiency get them sown when you can. Just plopped in some lovely little spuds, peas, beans and some hemp seeds.

NB. you will have some casualties on the way, no time to get upset and dwell on your losses, my radish and spinach plants couldn't handle the extreme colds we been having but you might get lucky and even though my whiteberry bushes and silver sage plant have been outside facing the endless batterings of the weather and they're looking strong and fabulous as ever !

Life is as Life is, it comes and it goes, one of my best friends has just had a happy, healthy baby girl, 2014 is the year for positivity and celebration. Join in ! Turn off the TV, go outside ... wrap up mind you !

Matt Henshaw Recommends ... Rosa-Leigh

Afternoon gang, sorry it's been a while since I made a recommendation, I've been a busy boy and I hope you won't begrudge me getting things done and spreading the Love with an expediency I've never managed before. I've very good feelings about 2014, sorry to labour the point if you've heard me say or read me banging on about that before but we're in for a good one !

So, Rosa-Leigh. This girl is excellent, beautiful inside and out. I had the pleasure of following her onstage at my first hometown show of the year at The Musician in Leicester, and it was the first time I'd experience all the positive energy that she bestows. The first time sure, but I'll never forget it, and I'm looking forward to catching her live again as soon as possible.

When a girl looks like a supermodel it's not often that they've got the vocals and/or the songsmithery to back it up but Ellie certainly has. Dashings of Alison Mosshart and Debbie Harry with the tenderness of Joni Mitchell or Eva Cassidy, the girls from Haim couldn't hold a flame to this girl.

There's a real ethereal quality going on here, Rosa Leigh is, quite frankly, an angel, singing about what we can feel, emotions and the immaterial. Definitely One To Watch and, if she wants it, she'll be going into the stratosphere.

Peace, Love & Tea,
Matt Henshaw x

It Ain't Easy / My Life OUT March 5th ...

Come one, come all and Enjoy Life with Me !

March 5th is mum's birthday and that is when you'll be able to get It Ain't Easy / My Life on iTunes, Amazon, etc. so I'm sure you've all got your credit/debit card details ready for that.  But as a special treat for th next week or so you can download 'It Ain't Easy' for FREE and do me a favour by getting me further along in the Hard Rock Rising 2014 competition ... you've got until the 17th so go to Facebook now, unfortunately it only works if you're on there ... Thanks in advance !



You can still listen to what I've put out there for free on YouTube, there's plenty more videos to come too !
Also, SoundCloud seems to keep on getting busier ...
 

---

Festivals 2014 !

Extra early year bonanza of good news.  I've been conformed to play a handful of small festival so far this year for the summer.  I'll be at Accidental Festival in Shoreditch and OSFEST in Derbyshire at the end of May and Y Not Festival in August in the Derbyshire Dales.

I'm also in the running to play at the Leicester Music Festival so go over there and put your name down and my name to live in holy matrimony in cyber space forever and ever.  Thanks !
 

---

Mini-Tour of the East Midlands
Almost over before we launch the single in March ...

January
Saturday 11th - Twenty Ten, Matlock
Tuesday 14th - Pepper Rocks, Nottingham
Friday 17th - The Musician, Leicester
Saturday 18th - The Donkey, Leicester
Sunday 19th - Brew Dog, Nottingham
Saturday 25th - The Cookie Jar, Leicester
Friday 31st - The Old Bell, Derby
February
Saturday 1st - The Apiary, Castle Donington
Friday 7th - The Musician, Leicester
Saturday 8th - The Bell Jar, Sheffield
Thursday 13th - The Dog & Gun, Syston
Saturday 15th - The Shed, Leicester
Friday 28th - Leukemia funraiser @ Platinum HQ, Leicester 


 

---

Matt Henshaw's Rhythm & Gospel Cavalcade

Another bit of excitement to let you in on is my own very special night in Leicester City.  Matt Henshaw's Rhythm & Gospel Cavalcade @ The Cookie Jar in Leicester will start with my single launch party on Friday 21st March and happen every third Friday of the month thereafter !  Good times to be had, yeah ?
 

---

Other Stuff ...

Tippy The Cat has got himself 1000 followers on Facebook and a growing number on Twitter.



Also, keep your eye on the blogs, still need to bring more to the new feature 'Things I Like' !!!
And, always remember to keep clicking Follow, Like, Share, ReTweet and Share again, just for good measure.

Peace, Love & Tea !
MHx
http://www.MattHenshaw.com 
 

Ladies & Gentlemen ... My Cat

Post by Tippy the Cat.