Hi everyone,

It’s been a while but that has been deliberate on my part really. Seems to me that everyone has an opinion to give and they do on social media so I thought I would keep to myself.

Hard to remember right now what life was like without Covid restrictions but the band and I are staying safe and  positive  just waiting for the day we can once again “Rock for you”. It can’t come too soon for us really but I suspect the reality is we are looking at another 6 months minimum. We just hope everyone we know is ok, I am not going to bleat on about this we as have all had enough of hearing about it over the last 9 months.

Who knows, by then we might actually have recorded and released our “Rise Up” album. All songs written and demoed we just need a clear week in a studio to make a racket and get them recorded.

We do have gigs in the book for next year so we are keeping our fingers crossed they will happen.

A few people have asked why we haven’t done on-line performances either individually or collectively, however and I think I am speaking for all of us, in reality I don’t think it is our thing. We exist as a band to have fun and this happens for us by either playing live gigs to people who we hope are having a good time or by all three of us  being in a studio together creating new music from scratch. The current alternatives are not very appealing although I do have friends who have followed that route and that is their choice so I wish them well.

The Clan have had quite a few new members join on our Website www.clan-rock.com and also the Facebook page and Facebook Group. We are on Twitter as well of course @theclanrock

Probably time we produced some new merchandise to go alongside our current stock of T-shirts which actually we have sold more of during the last few months, CDs, bottle openers etc. perhaps sew on patches? Feel free to offer suggestions, anything considered.

Speaking of merchandise it’s nearly Christmas so once again we release our It’s Christmas (let’s have a good time) track. Been out a few years now and for those who don’t know it was written as a tribute/homage to Slade’s perennial Christmas cracker. Obviously it is not up to that standard but it’s still a good rockin’ tune with a catchy chorus. Don’t take it too seriously. Having said that the middle section is even more appropriate this year I think. If you are looking for it you may need to put in “The Clan Its Christmas let’s have a good time” in your Spotify, ITunes search fields

As many of you probably know we, along with many other bands support the Mearfest charity and we have been honoured to have played a couple of Mearfest events. Brian and Claire Mear who run this charity are amazing people and I have no idea where they find the time and energy to keep it going but somehow they do. Claire has just recently released a book (Rocker Bye Baby) about her life and it is an emotional roller coaster to read. Harrowing in places but quite light hearted in others it will have you crying and laughing but it will definitely leave you inspired by Claire’s story; it is well worth reading. To order the book or find out more about Mearfest and the charities they support go to www.mearfest.org  

Some of you may have seen my short series of videos where I am talking about my guitars. I thought some of you may have been interested. The beauty of it is that apart from my No1 and No.2 Fender Strats guitars come and go quite frequently in my house so it is likely to be a never ending series. I already have a couple more to do. I quite like making the videos as well so it may be something I will explore a bit further.

Whilst on the subject of media, there is a local radio show (Internet) on www.newbrightonradio.com every Wednesday 7pm-10pm called the Howie and the Dutchman Rock show. Both the guys (Paul & Roland) play in a local band and the show is a good one as they play a wide range of rock unlike some “rock” channels that stick to the usual suspects. They also have a local band slot and through that and interacting with the guys I was offered the chance to have a short segment on the show every week called Craig’s Quarter. Basically I select a different theme of my choosing very week and 3-4 songs that fit into it. It’s called Craig’s Quarter and it is good fun.

Anyway – I will leave it here for now otherwise I will waffle on and on and this will take a week to write,

In conclusion – Stay Safe, stay Positive, there is light at the far end of the tunnel and I am looking forward to the day when I can have a beer at the bar with friends whilst watching a good rockin’ band strut their stuff. Keep the faith, it will happen!

Catch you again soon,

Keep rockin’

Craig