Covers

1995
Covers duo, music business seminars, gig promoting, Deep Joy, solo recording, local radio, local gigs
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Yet another successful Brighton gig at the Sanctuary cafe in January saw the debut of Tim and singer Aleisha Chambers as a covers duo. The two had met while working together at the Gardner Arts Centre Cafe at Sussex University, where they later played a few gigs. Songs ranged from Knockin' On Heaven's Door by Bob Dylan to Sharp Dressed Man by ZZ Top, and they continued to play around various Brighton venues during 1995. Most of these gigs were accompanied by a solo guitar and vocal set by Tim, new songs including I Don't Know What's Good For Me, New Life and Make That Change.

In May Tim successfully promoted two nights for ambient group Tuu at the Sanctuary. The following month Tim attended the first of several music business seminars in Brighton. Run by Stuart Worthington and Target Training from Manchester, these confirmed and supplemented much that Tim already knew from his years of being on the fringes of the business.

Aleisha and Tim

In July Tim incorporated some of his music into one or two of his many astrological appearances on local radio station DFM. The most memorable of these was an improvised singing of the news (the satellite link to the national news had gone down) to the tune of his song Infinite Ocean! There was also a rather good jingle to the tune of Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit. A further live solo appearance was made at the Brighton Festival of Freedom on 5th August.

On 18th September Tim organized and promoted a gig for Executive Hendrix, a Hendrix tribute band with Jon Bidgood on bass, at The Albert in Brighton. Tim made several more solo appearances at Brighton venues over the next few months.

Solo recording in Windsor

During the summer Tim had begun working with Mykl O of Tuu on a project that became known as Deep Joy. With Mykl's imaginative use of samples, loops and keyboard sounds, and Tim mainly on e-bow and effects, the atmospheric instrumentals were along the lines of an unorthodox "trip-hop" sound that was then fashionable. Deep Joy played their first and only gig at The Sanctuary on 23rd November 1995.

Almost immediately after the Deep Joy gig, Tim journeyed to Windsor again for three days of solo recording. He emerged with about twenty minutes worth of instrumental pieces in various stages of completion. Of these, Effing The Ineffable and Tranquility were to eventually find their way on to his next release.

During the last few months of 1995, Tim made several appearances on B.B.C. Southern Counties Radio. Although these mainly featured Tim as an astrologer, he incorporated various versions of Infinite Ocean, each with a different set of lyrics. One featured the astrology of Princess Diana and a famous television appearance made by her at that time, and another was a brief interpretation of radio presenter Joanne Good's astrological birth chart.

The vast majority of musical and music-related projects undertaken by Tim were successful during 1995, but there were a few exceptions. In mid-November two further Tuu nights promoted by Tim at the Sanctuary had been a big disappointment, with a total audience for both nights of about 20 people! A few weeks later Tim cancelled a proposed gig at The Richmond in Brighton featuring his band, believing that support for this would also be too small to make it worthwhile.