Shields Of Justice Official Trailer

The new trailer for Shields Of Justice released today and here it is in all its glory:

Aled Jones Did Not Sing On The Snowman

Being the start of the Christmas Season, I thought I'd add my single: Christmas Is A Sham (Elegy For Aled Jones) to the blog roll.

The track is available on iTunes

Christmas Is A Sham

Recorded in 2010, this single is perhaps the only festive lamentation for the popular misconception that Aled Jones sang on The Snowman.

It was of course sung by Peter Auty.

Here is the official video:

The track is available on iTunes 

And for those who wish to sing along:

It’s Christmas
Very merry, merry Christmas,
It’s Christmas
Though I wrote this in September
I'm so happy, I could just lie down and cry,

It’s Christmas
Very merry, merry Christmas,
It’s Christmas
I'm so very ecstatic at the prospect that,

I will now drink myself into the joy of alcoholic coma,

The great escape is on TV,
Oh my lord, we're just oh so very happy.
Thank you for Christmas, we are going to celebrate,
By spending money that we don't have, on things that we don't need,
Just like it says in the bible.
God is good, god is great,
Hallelujah

But lock your doors and say your prayers,
Steel thyself for a shock,
For last night I learnt a terrible thing,

Aled Jones did not sing in the snowman,
He just sang it on the album,

And if this is a lie, then what else is a lie,
And if this is not true, then nothing is true,

Christmas is a sham,

Aled Jones thou art a liar,
You believe in god and yet you lie,
I want all the children to awake on Christmas day and sing,

Aled Jones, thou art a liar,
Aled Jones, you lied to me as a child (when you were but a child)
Aled Jones, thou art a liar,
Aled Jones, you lied to me from the past whilst you were still but a child,

But in the spirit of Christmas,
And in the likeness of our lord,
I’d just like to say,

I forgive you,
Aled,
And if I can forgive you Aled, probably god might too,

I forgive you,
Aled,
And if I can forgive you maybe so will the other guy, who isn't as famous as you,

Aled, thou art forgiven.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

 

The imagined village and other stories...

I've been very quiet on here of late and it is due mainly to the rather hectic nature of my projects. At present I'm in the seemingly perpetual state of 'almost finished' on a number of things.

Currently I am going through the extremely mundane task of colour-correcting the latest Shields Of Justice Trailer, which should go live at the end of the year.

That's right! Shields even features a desert scene!

As projects go, Shields Of Justice has been a biggie, draining hundreds, maybe even thousands of man hours.  We should hopefully wrap shooting in the next month or so and with the rough cut already complete, there will no doubt be many hours of colour-correction and foley work ahead...

On top of Shields, the other major projects I have been focusing on, are my book and album.

The Peasant's Songbook, is a thirteen track studio album featuring songs centred around poverty and hardship - two particularly entertaining subjects in my opinion. The album is planned for a late spring release, though planning is often a fool's errand on these things. The quality of production is tenfold improved over The Melody Of Distaste.  The album will be a follow-up to my single Prince Of The Holy Sacrament, though this track will remain exclusive and not be featured on the album.





My follow-up to Cold Highways, is currently being editing after completing the drafting process this year.  Centring around a family living in depression-era America, it thematically flanks my album in some ways.  It's a fairly intense work if i do say so myself, dealing with themes love, morality and the burden of choice.
It's original title 'War Of Ages', will no doubt change before completion. I was always on the fence about it, as the title could potentially seem misleading.  However, I've recently learnt that a metal band has the same name, so I'll try and come up with something more original in good time.

So, what adventures have I been up to since my last posting? Well, in the world of Shields, there have been many as we churned our way through the rather exciting Vietnam War Sequence.

The Bionic Badass - Vladamir Khlor from Shields of Justice.

We also have had a few radio spots as well as a video interview for Devon and Cornwall film:

I myself have also been doing the rounds, musically speaking. I did a solo spot on the regional BBC radio, as well as several local stations such as Phonic and Riviera FM.

One of the more exciting happenings this year was where i was given the opportunity to play with The Imagined village. I must admit, I have rarely been so nervous, but the band were a  lovely bunch and it was an extreme pleasure to meet them all. It was  amazing to sit in on a rehearsal and hear some of their new songs live.





All in all 2012, has been a fun and exciting year. I'm about ready to be done with some of these projects though. I am especially keen to try and find the time to concentrate on some more musical endeavours.

Anyway, as always, check out my website and do chime in to follow me on facebook and twitter for less stilted updates!