Clare profile picture

Clare

I worry that the person who thought up Muzak may be thinking up something else.

About Me

I'm lots of things but my favourite thing to be is a singer ~ been in lots of different bands, both lead and backing vocals over the years. I sang studio backing as a session singer for a while which was great. I always assumed that would be the direction my life took. It wasn't. Nevertherless, the one constant in my life has been that music is my passion. It's always in my head like a soundtrack, making even mundane situations feel like a filmset if I can conjure up the right tune. I came here to create a place to catch up with old friends, maybe some whose paths I crossed during my brief music career. And to hear music - anyone's, any genre - and to talk and discuss and expand my knowledge of Life, the Universe and Everything. I love to chat with people who are interesting and interested, especially if they're also passionate about music of all kinds, and can see the funny side of pretty much everything~ if that's you then drop me a line! ....................................... PS Here's me, givin' it large !

My Interests

Music, music and music...used to be a singer and still belt out my favourite tunes without too much persuading but mainly I just listen and enjoy it these days. Devoted to my beautiful son who's nearly 8. The Baha'i Faith. I love rabbits in all shapes and guises and cats - all cats, any cats. Love the sea, especially the British coastline in Winter, all wild, wet and windy, and being down by the river, among the tall trees where I spent a lot of time as a child. Interested in and study Japanese 19th Century netsuke (tiny carvings worn on the kimono sash). Oh, and I love dancing. Not just "get dressed up, go to a club/party" type dancing, but just dancing in the kitchen/office/wherever because the music makes you want to...which it does....all the time :0)

I'd like to meet:

First and foremost, I want to meet Oucho the cactus. If I have to explain who he is, then you won't even begin to understand. Actually, it's not just meeting him ~ I want to CUDDLE HIM AND KISS HIM AND BUY HIM PRESENTS. I know...that's so wrong but hey, we can't help who we fall in love with... -----------------------------------------------------------A lso up for meeting anyone whose path I ever crossed during my brief music career in the 80's. Would also be extraordinarily happy to bump into Chad Kroeger (Nickelback) and David Duchovny (X-Files). Hoping to meet people who live near me and who'd like to go to some gigs maybe. And anyone passionate about their life and what they do, and who can see the funny side.... -----------------------------------------------------------

Music:

The stuff I mostly listen to at the moment/have just discovered I like/have liked for years, in no particular order,is: Pearl Jam, Patti Smith, System of A Down, Stevie Nicks, Nickelback, Foo Fighters, Moby, The Chilli Peppers, Stone Sour, My Chemical Romance, Cocteau Twins/This Mortal Coil, Sarah McLachlan, Muse, Led Zep, Leonard Cohen, Faithless, Radiohead, Ray Lamontagne, Evanescence, Massive Attack, Nick Cave, Nickel Creek. Oh, and I adore folk music and, maybe strangely, I also love quite a lot of techno/house dance music. Loads more but I'm getting confused trying to think of them all...

Movies:

Harvey, It's A Wonderful Life, Labyrinth, Tetsuo Bodyhammer, Oliver, Picnic At Hanging Rock, The Elephant Man, The Usual Suspects...more when I get my head round them all.

Television:

You'd have to go some to better the Old Grey Whistle Test from when I was very young but wide-eyed with amazement at how powerful music was - although TOTP2 comes a reasonable second I suppose. I watch any and all music programmes ~ loved the Abbey Road sessions on BBC2 recently, and the T-Mobile Transmission series that's on again. Not big on soaps or reality shows or even armchair drama....quite like Wire In The Blood though. Oh and Catherine Tate. And ER. Erm, that's quite a lot really...

Books:

Favourite by far is Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast trilogy, followed by The World According To Garp and Catch 22. I love everything Stephen King, Dean Koontz and Peter Straub have ever written either separately or together...they frighten the sh*t out of me. Have read all Ruth Rendell's novels and recently read Kate Wastvedt's "The River". When required though, I can say I've read Sartre and some other clever-clogs stuff, too :0)

Heroes:

My older brother Toby...paralysed in 1990 after a bike smash in France. Still handsome, still witty, never bitter. My best friend Jules in NYC who has fought cancer so bravely. My Mum and Dad, still happily married after 54 years, and devoted to all their long-grown kids, My Dad who at 81 is still out on the river every day sculling, and coaches Women's crews every weekend, inspires every person he ever meets - even when he's just out shopping in Tesco's.

My Blog

My new kitten! .........................28/9/2008

After the terrible sadness of losing my beloved Spyder-cat back in July, a new cat is coming to live here. Well, it's a kitten actually. He's a cream and white Scottish Fold (check the ears!), o...
Posted by Clare on Sun, 28 Sep 2008 04:54:00 PST

Zen and the loss of a beloved pet..........21/07/2008

Thank you all so much for your kind thoughts and messages after I sent the Bulletin about the death of my precious little cat, Spyder on Thursday. Felix and I are coping, but only just....and I know a...
Posted by Clare on Sun, 20 Jul 2008 03:42:00 PST

Sounds of the Seventies......................................22/06/2008

I've been reliving the 70's with a few friends on here today since my new 70's post-party look. People talk about that decade as the one taste forgot, but actually musically it was a really full-on cr...
Posted by Clare on Sun, 22 Jun 2008 04:24:00 PST

From Scooter to Neil Diamond (and back)..............1/06/2008

Bit of a contrast, eh? Tell you what though, this new Neil Diamond song I've got up is a bit of a corker ~ once you get past the fact that it's Neil Diamond. Apart from the obviously great tune and ar...
Posted by Clare on Sun, 01 Jun 2008 12:58:00 PST

Scooter straight in at the top of the Album chart................23/5/08

What's interesting about Scooter (German 3 piece Techno masters of the 6/8 time signature and an average 170 bpm) is that not only have they outlasted so many other Techno bands but that they exemplif...
Posted by Clare on Sat, 24 May 2008 03:14:00 PST

We broke up :¬( ................................9/04/2008

I joined a band last December, and was loving singing again for the first time in years....but it's all over This isn't a boo-hoo account of what went wrong, it's just a bit of catharsis, putting it ...
Posted by Clare on Wed, 09 Apr 2008 04:44:00 PST

Music changed my life ~ and yours.....................25/02/08

I was going to post a reply to Pig's response to my blog at the weekend about Puressence...he talks about the impact punk had on his life growing up in Glasgow. But I think what he said is so interest...
Posted by Clare on Mon, 25 Feb 2008 01:40:00 PST

PURESSENCE...yeah, baby........(edited 24/2).....23/02/08

Well, Life's really bloody shitty at the moment but hey, there's always music right? Well, there is for me anyway. Just heard some tracks by a band who are totally new to me but they've been around fo...
Posted by Clare on Sat, 23 Feb 2008 06:28:00 PST

OFFLINE

Just to say, my pc died on Tuesday night. I've only just got back online so I owe lots of comments and messages. I'll return them soon, meanwhile I'm just getting my head round this new pc and clearin...
Posted by Clare on Thu, 07 Feb 2008 03:52:00 PST

This and that....oh, and that too...................28/01/08

Well, I started blogging here last year talking about all the new music I loved, and giving my ten cents' worth, but I haven't felt inspired much lately. And now I look back at my last 3 or 4 blogs, t...
Posted by Clare on Mon, 28 Jan 2008 06:05:00 PST