THIS IS A JOURNEY INTO SOUND

I love the changing of the seasons. Those points in the year when one season suddenly makes its appearance: the first frost that reminds you Winter is on its way, the first flowers budding as the earth wakes up for Spring, the moment when an Autumn chill makes itself felt on a late August evening. I could never live somewhere that had the same weather or temperatures year round. And my favourite season is Winter, due in no small part to the festive celebrations that lay at the core of it, but also for the dark clear starlit nights, the possibility of snow, the frosty air that really invigorates you in a morning. The moaners and naysayers can sod off.  Music soundtracks the seasons for me, much as it does life in general, and there are songs and albums that i can only really connect with at certain times of the year, that create a ambience suited to a particular season. Winter has a few perennial favourites for me: Mad Not Mad, the 6th and - at the time - final album made by my musical

Last night i - along with my wife - ventured out to watch live music for the first time in nearly a year. Gigs have become less of a priority in recent years: work, money, and home comforts seem to have taken over, and going out until late when i have an early start the next morning is something i can no longer cope with! But with a couple of days off work booked, and a free pass to a local venue (the gig was sold out, but we have connections!) we headed out, and were not disappointed. The place was The Maze in Nottingham, a small sweaty venue in the back of The Forest Tavern pub. The headliner was blues rocker Barns Courtney (more of whom later), but first we were treated to the support act, Stephanie Cheape (the name of the band as well as the woman). A young, talented, flame-haired woman from Glasgow with a big voice and big, dramatic indie-pop songs to back it up - not to mention a great sounding band behind her -, she left an impression on the small crowd and certainly on me. Dark

My posts and record buying have been few and far apart this last few months, dictated mainly by personal events and a lack of desire to write anything, although i haven't lost interest in music. I've still been listening out for new stuff, and have downloaded the odd new track onto my iPod, but spare time to go shopping and actually listen to my purchases has been sparse. There's always online shopping, but the odd bargain aside i'm not really a fan of it, but a recent discovery forced an Amazon purchase. Talking about my favourite music at work a week or so back a workmate piped up: "My Uncles' in a band you might like". Initially i imagined a pub covers band, but after being told the name i went Youtubing and was pleasantly surprised. A Mod band from Birmingham called The Deep Six, doing a nice line in soulful guitar-based pop with a definite Sixties feel. A touch of early Who in there i think! I soon found out that they were highly regarded on the Mod s