New TransAtlantic album out next month

This is a beautiful track performed live at Tilburg, Holland. TranAtlantic have a new album called 'The Whirlwind' coming out in October.



This song can be found on the 'Bridge Across Forever' album

Way Out of Here live

Here is 'Way Out of Here' from the forthcoming Porcupine Tree live DVD.


Porcupine Tree "Way Out Of Here" Live in Tilburg

Gwyn's Playlist for Sept 2009

Here is a selection of what I'm listening to this month. It's been a very good month for rock music with the new Porcupine Tree album coming out and doing so well to come in at No.23 in the charts here in the UK. I think I have underestimated the support that Muse enjoy, and was really surprised that they went straight to No.1 with The Resistence. Times they are a'changin I suppose and about time.

Milliontown – Frost*
The Resistance – Muse
The Incident – Porcupine Tree
Animals – Pink Floyd
Whos’ the Boss in the Factory – Karmakanic
Chickenfoot – Chickenfoot
Drop – O5Ric with Gavin Harrison
The Dark Third – Pure Reason Revolution
Face The Music – ELO
Black Swan - Athlete

Steven Wilson interview with the BBC

Maybe now they will be invited to appear on Jools Holland's show!

It's great that Porcupine Tree have been noticed by the BBC in this article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8266922.stm

Also that 'The Incident' has entered the album charts in the UK at No.23. The current album is a refreshing change to the usual tosh that are selling by the 1000's these days, and is a real listening experience. Personally I'm planning to go and see them live at Manchester in December with my son Simon; first time since April 2005.

RIP Brian, my friend

Becoming a volunteer for MIND Cymru a year and a half ago was one of the best things to have happened to me. It cannot, of course top becoming a dad and marrying Tracy, but with all the things that have happened to us as a family these last 4 years, going there every Monday and Wednesday gave me a different perspective of life. I thought I was having a shitty time, it was nothing compared to the souls who were turning up there every day. To be able to be there for those who asked me for help has been the most rewarding thing ever. As with all volunteers I have favourites, people who regard me as friend as well as helper, and with whom I enjoy their company. Some of the people I have met at MIND Cymru have turned out to be some of the most honest and reliable friends I have made. One of them was Brian Williams who I learned today had died last month. I first knew Brian as a fellow trainee volunteer and we spent every Monday morning learning the in and outs of being a volunteer at MIND Cymru for about 6 weeks. He struck me as an intelligent, articulate and resourceful fellow who I quickly respected especially considering that he had suffered a serious mental health issue for many years. He had been running the Walking group at MIND for a long time and had even been invited, earlier this year to present his achievements to the MIND annual conference in Birmingham, and was praised for developing his media projects by many of the MIND ‘bigwigs’ there. The last time I saw him we were discussing plans of working together in forming a photography group (another passion of Brian’s) to show other MIND Cymru members how they could improve their digital photos by using computer software. He had a progressive mind and was always coming up with great ideas on how to generate the members’ interests in order to improve their quality of life. He was a firm believer in that. Taking up hobbies is probably what helped him and he wanted others to follow that path for betterment. In fact he was signed up to do a Digital Photography course with Llandrillo College this month, which I was keen to do but decided not to pursue because of other commitments. It’s been a while since I last saw him because back in July he had not turned up to the drop-in centre in Llandudno for some time and I thought then that this was strange. A while before this time Brian had confided in me privately that he had been having a bad time, but he soon picked himself up. Anyway, I decided to take a couple of weeks off thinking I was going down to Ipswich with the family to see Tracy’s folks when my dad took ill and went to hospital and subsequently passed away a week later. So I haven’t set foot in MIND since the second week in August, and it was a considerable shock to me to hear the sad news from Ray this morning. He will be sadly and massively missed at MIND and I will miss the chats and the hope that he emanated from our discussions.

A 'Larry David moment'

Since rewatching the Larry David show 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' recently I have come across many instances commonly known as 'Larry David moments', when a ordinary normal situation eventually turns out to be one giant headache to sort out. However, there are other times, again there are many examples in the show, when Larry can't quite get why certain people act in the way that they do. Next time you go out to town, do the shopping, or take a run in the car, you are bound to meet some of these morons, who tend to do things that really annoy you.
Such a moment happened to my eldest son, Simon, this morning. Simon recently turned 18 and is quite a big built lad, and has no trouble passing himself for 20 actually. He popped out to get a Playstation magazine at our local Co-op here in Rhos-on-sea, but came back empty handed because a checkout assistant insisted on seeing proof of identity! This particular magazine is a popular one with kids obviously being a game console mag and I would imagine that kids of the age range between 10-18 would want to buy it. He could not believe that this woman had refused to sell him the magazine, so I said, come on let's go back. I want to see this! Simon picked his mag and went to the counter and was duly asked for his ID again. I was loitering trying to pretend I was not with Simon, but chipped in, "You do know that magazine is rated 15 don't you?" She replied that she has to ask because it's more than her job's worth. I said, " Yea, but you can see he's over 15, can't you?" It's policy, she said. So, you have to ask all the kids for ID before they can buy magazines now?, I said. Yes was the reply. So there you have it, if a magazine is a 12 rating, then all the 10 - 13 year olds have to show proof of age now. How many kids of that age carry ID cards? Not many. I have no problem if there is reasonable doubt in regards to someone who looks borderline, but if she thinks Simon wasn't even 15 years old today, she needs her eyes tested!