We’re once again cris crossing the States doin one off shows, TV and promo and joining the lovely and really amazing Ximenia on the last 10 odd dates of her tour. Cris crossing means flying and flying one thing and one thing only. A chance to see what those good folk at Sky Mall have scoured the planet to bring joy, happiness, togetherness and above all a unified gift of convenience in the form of retail therapy, or ‘stuff’ as I like to give it its scientific name.

These people really should be given some kind of Nobel prize for services to mankind cos really you can stick yer Mandelas and Tutus. Where would we be without the Lounge pants that look like jeans or sunglasses that float??

With Xmas on our doorstep I was looking out for some possible present suggestions for my lucky family. So as I nervously fingered the front seat pouch for a glimpse of the Sky Malls reassuring and slightly controversial wonky red logo (CrazeeDanger!!), my mind started to race at what veritable treasures would those latter day Christopher Columbus’s discovered for us lucky folk?
I was certainly not disappointed….

The front cover proudly displays the face of what must be the happiest traveller in the world. You see he’s ecstatic, not just because his teeth would  blind any living creature in a 300 metre radius but also with the knowledge that he doesn’t actually need to unpack ever again, well he does but not like the rest of us weary travellers. All Mr Happy has to do is lift his shelving units straight out of his suitcase and place it directly into the hotel wardrobe!!!! Yes that’s right those Einsteins at Sky Mall have defied the laws of physics, mercurialy turning the seemingly impossible into the possible by putting ones entire wardrobe into a small carry on!!

It’s a two hand job to lift it out but just look at his face! No wonder he looks ecstatic! He doesnt mind the strain, a future of permanent back failure pails into insignificance with the knowledge that he’ll be unpacked and ready to get out and kill in seconds.

Of course he doesn’t care because obviously this is the work of the occult and he himself is quite obviously a grand wizard. Saving so much time, he can now look at the hotel directory to find out where the local witches coven is.
Coming soon from the same company, washing machines, dishwashers, fridges, TV’s and thermo nuclear weapons that disappear when placed in said hand luggage only to reappear on the ‘other (dark) side’

Soggy cereal? How many times have you come down all bleary eyed after a night of serious partying and the only hope you have of attending to your fevered brow, apart from industrial strength coffee, is the joyous headache soothing crunch of your favourite crunchy nut cornflake. Science has proved that the exact frequency and resonance of a crunchy nut flake being crunched in your mouth is the exact same frequency that the brain needs to release Endokwollovokins, a little know but essential chemical ensign commonly released during sex, eating chocolate and re runs of the Price Is right.

As you can see from the picture the little brat has obviously awoken her poor mother, who’s only just got in from a night out with her ‘friend’ (its complicated, for the kids sake we keep it quiet) and in that rebellious brattish way, demanded feeding.

But wait you’ve put the milk in and oh my god what’s happened?? In that moment your poor pathetic tequila sozzled excuse for a brain has forgotten the chemical reaction that occurs when crunchy nut connects with cow juice, or to give it it’s scientific equation:
CNC+CJ=S.O.G.G.Y

But now help and relief is at hand. The bowl that spectacularly keeps the milk separate from the cereal. Obviously designed by top scientists at CERN and colour coded for the alcoholically impaired,  all you have to do is dip your spoon into the cereal then dip the required amount into the soothing pool of milk. Cereal stays crunchy, crunch delivers happy chemicals, voila headache gone!! Get In!!!!
Of course you could just keep the carton of milk to the side of the bowl and add accordingly but that would be cheating and anyway at $34.99 for two bowls, thats right you can share the experience, I can’t think of anything else I’d rather spend my money on except perhaps the rent, food and probably jus about anything else.

Its Basho the Sumo!!!

I’ve always wanted a Sumo in my garden, I mean who hasn’t? They’re such jolly souls to have while you prune your perennials.
But this one comes with a little extra. Picture the scene. You’ve got some mates around for a nice summer BBQ. Table is laden with chips, salsa, cucumber sandwiches, half a ton of Guacamole, etc, when someone turns up with the complete biscuit isle of Tescos.

Where do you put them? What do you do?

Its at that moment that you remember that ol’ Basho has a little trick hiddem under his layers of fatty sleeve. He can double as a table!! How does he do this you cry? He bends over, I cry!! Yes thats right Basho can bend over and a handy bit of glass placed on his back. Of course, remembering that the ancient art of sumo wrestling involves the attempted movement of two seemingly immovable objects by each other, your stuff ain’t going no where. Solid as a rock! For those that are sat behind Basho you get a little extra something as well….

Yes he has returned!!! Those of you that for some unknown reason follow this blog, will know all about Bigfoot the Yeti as he was featured in my previous Sky Mall post.

It seems that Bigfoot has suddenly come over all shy though cos whereas before he was seen striding proudly through your garden without a care in the world, now Notorious BIG is now hiding behind a tree?!? What could have bought on this sudden attack of the nerves? Is he is ashamed of his beard? Or perhaps he is involved in some way with the current economic crisis that has befallen Europe? Perhaps he is actually Sarcozy’s brother and been banished from the family for not only being a bit different looking but also because he failed to point out that the rescue of Ireland and Greece makes Spain and Portugal weak, which means they need to be bailed out, which in turn made Italy look worse and France a bit wobbly.

I mean did they not teach him this at Yeti school??

Heres a thing. How many times have we sat down in one of those garden chairs only for our better half to say “your looking a bit fat, have you put on some weight? You ought to put that 12th sausage down and get on yer bike”

Actually your jus fine baby and you can keep banging away at the carbs. Its those stupid weedy small garden chairs that are at fault and often end up making you look 30 pounds heavier then you actually are.

Its a clever trick originally devised by the great magician Houdini himself. Houdini would often ask a member of his audience to tie him in a straight jacket, wrap him in big heavy chains, place him on a garden chair and then ask the audience if his bum looked big.

Well wouldn’t Houdini be happy in one of these. Its a giant chair!! You look absolutely minute in it. In fact people will think you’ve shrunk and have taken a bite of the Alice ‘Eat me’ cake. They’ll all be asking your secret. You’ll be able to make a fitness DVD and start a whole new empire of Tony Robbins proportions as millions flock to your door to find your secret of self shrunkness. Or perhaps they’ll just think you look like a plum in Khakis

All this and more available at your Sky Mall. The Sky Mall is somewhere in the sky so perhaps you need a little help to get you up there. Now we’re talking.

Bloody hell I have been a busy, busy, busy, busy, bunny.
Actually I haven’t. I’ve been sitting on me ‘arris eating family packs o’ Lidl’s Steak and kidney pies and watching re runs of beverly hills 90210, waiting, waiting…
Actually I’ve been busy.
After a manic summer of gigs, festivals and promo, I took advantage of some time back home to get busy in the studio sorting through bits of ideas, playing with compressors, making beats, recording Colour themed covers and generally getting all Diana Ross and turning things upside down and inside out. Its not all glitz and glamour you know, theres lots of cable sorting

We also found time to work on a bunch of new stuff, more of which I shall tempt you with later.

I’ve also got into editing little movies, its a different head. It started with the videos that I take from the stage, filming you lot cos, you know your all stars!! And then there was for our cover of ‘Rolling in the Deep’ which was my attempt at pictorially visualising the lyric in my semi twisted absurd way. Recently we have our wicked cover of Yellow by Coldplay. Love that toon and i like the way we suitable G6′d the MoFo.

I’ve also been collecting all the live footage you lot have posted up, as well as pix I’ve taken on the road. And on that note I want to say keep filming and keep posting, we love it.
I’ve painstakingly edited it together into a visual extravaganza based around the single edit of Free. It’s been a great larf putting it all together, kinda like a summing up of what for us, has been an amazing year. Yes the travelling is hard but rocking up in a town and playing music to people is the best job in the world and don’t let anyone ever tell you different!
I’ll be posting it up soon, so stay tuned.

My editing skills don’t yet match up to the stunning vid for our new single ‘Free‘. As with the others it’s put together and art directed by our very own Jimi Crayon, the lovely affable scamp.

It’s a bit of a departure from our last two videos. ‘Set me free’ is the mantra of the song. When your stuck in a dead end relationship and neither of you can make the break, it’s a plea for one of you to have the courage to get out. Its a heartfelt song. We wanted a video that conveyed that and we got it.
BiGLuV to everyone that helped to put our song into pictures

30th Nov see’s the start of our tour supporting Xmena Sarinana Now thats gonna be a larf. She’s amazing and we’re going to all manor of places in the US, places that I thought only existed in Tom Hanks movies. Anyway, apologies if your towns not one of ‘em but theres only so much G6 to go round. Its Xmas as well so I’m gonna get my Santa outfit on and start gettin’ merry.

Better lock up yer lockers and bring Mince pies

D xx

The Stone Roses have reformed. I was never a big fan but you can’t deny their influence on future generations. Their singer, Ian Brown, supported Catatonia, a band I produced. I was backstage and could not believe how out of tune he was. Nasty noise.

Guitars, melody and Beats is the cornerstone of what I love in all things music. Sure the gigs will be a car crash but this toon is amazing

Saw an amazing program on John martyn the other night and wanted to share this mans pure soul and genius. A folk singer at heart, he pushed the boundaries with his vocal delivery, slurring his words so they become a constant stream, sometimes one never ending note.  He was one of the earliest pioneers of echo dub effects on acoustic guitar, always pushing the boundaries and never standing still. A true artist, crazy and defiant.
Buy his albums ‘Solid Air’ and ‘One World’ as starters and you’ll Never Look Back.

Check out ‘May You Never’, probably his most famous work

Theres a shark behind you…..

Check this picture out.

It’s like your worst holiday nightmare isn’t it? We’ll have a happy smiley pic taken on our dive in the Maldives or where ever it is and who should come a muscling in on the proceedings? None other then Bruce, the shark trying to Find Nemo.
He looks so innocent doesn’t he, Puckering up a smile for the camera. He might even put a chummy flipper over one of their shoulders. All mates together on holiday. Bruce is a vegetarian shark, so don’t worry cos he’s really no threat at all unless your a cabbage. He’s a friend….

But of course he’s not is he. He’s a shark and he’s gonna rip their head off and swallow you in two seconds flat along with that bike and spare tire he gobbled half a mile away.

Actually its a myth that Sharks will eat anything. Some do, the great White for instance but most of them eat the same thing day in day out and never vary, bit like my nan who only ever seemed to eat cake. “Would you like a nice slice dear?” she’d say every time we went round and it was always that horrible Mr Kippling rubbish. Its a total fallacy that old people know how to cook and that things were always better in the ol’ days. Most old people i know survive on a diet that would keep the average teenager happy. Toast, crisps, sweets and plastic cake. Bloody luverleee! And tea of course, gallons of the stuff. Its that Blitz spirit of washing away the horrors of the day with a nice warm cuppa.

Funny how liquids are always the answer. Tea, Beer, Wine, Spirits, i love then all but my favourite is water. Water is a greatly underestimated substance. I remember being horrified by a ad campaign for Robinson’s, a fruit flavoured concentrate you add too water. Some evil ad devil wanted to sell us this nasty chemical sugary rubbish with the tag line “Makes water taste better” Taste better??? Better then what Mother Nature herself conjured up over a 100 millions of years???

You have to take yer hat off to those Advertisers though. Convincing the public to spend £2 on a little bottle of water, something we can all can get, in abundance for free out of a tap. Unless of course your in those parts of the world where clean water is scarce but I don’t exactly see that being a problem here in London. Are they evil for selling us that or are we stupid enough to buy it?

Sharks evoke the same unjustified sheer terror in people as Spiders, Mice or the UK Conservative (Tory) party. I think they should all be more worried of us then we of them. Out of more than 360 species of shark, only four have been involved in fatal, unprovoked attacks on humans, an average of 4 per year since 2001. Counter that with the estimated 100 million sharks that are killed by people every year then go figure. And how about the practice of cutting their fins off for Shark fin soup and then throwing the poor finless fish back in the water, where it either drowns or gets eaten. Not very nice and whats wrong with good ol’ Heinz Tomato soup?

So whose the shark….?

I got me some new Jordans. Reissue Air jordan 3′s to be precise, blue and white. Nike have released a new Air Jordan design every year since 1985. I used to have an original pair in white and grey but I ran them into the ground. I know I know, the collectors out there will be tutting furiously that someone would actually wear such a great work of art and yes they are great works of art.

Nike very astutely reissued the whole Jordan range, well not very astutely, as 3 years ago, Adidas did the same with Superstars (or shell toes as they are known) and they cleaned up. Nostalgia sells

I used to be completely hooked on Jordans. I’d scour the world looking for box fresh versions from collectors, spending ridiculous amounts of money in the process. The first six models (1- 6) are the sneaker equivalent of the first 6 Prince or Stevie albums. You know, everything about them is perfect. And jus like said artists, it all went downhill pretty quick after that. In the case of Jordans, it went all high tech and Tron like. Really Naff. Jordans 1 to 6 were all lovely and B-boy style. My fav are the 4′s but they’re all great in their own way.

Fallen off the wagon again with trainer obsession, although when i think about it, that train spotter need to hunt out the latest and rarest has been in me throughout all aspects, music in particular.
Perhaps the Jordan obsession comes from being in the US so much where, Jordan himself is still mentioned in hush deity tones, along with Pop tarts and the fact everyone used to have a Job.

Jordan famously appeared in the Jam video for MJ, taken from the partly animated film, Space Jam. An obvious attempt by MJ to tap the jock market, about the only market he failed in. In retrospect, the sight of possible the greatest performer of all time flouncing around with possible the greatest Basket player of all time looks a little desperate, like they were both cashing in on the others fame when really they were heroes in their own right and didn’t need to resort to such trivialities. Perhaps he should have done a duet with Springstein.

Theres something very satisfying about a box fresh pair of Sneaks though. I’m not advocating their actions but I can understand the disenfranchised yoof of Britain rioting over the only meaningful currency they know. Would have been nice to have thrown in a bit of Social revolution while they were pinching boxes of Reebok’s (Reebok’s??)

So a decent pair is like a good suit (also a pet obsession of mine), makes u feel 10 feet tall, the male equivalent of the little Black dress.

I love Superstars, Gazelles, Stan Smiths, Rod Lavers, Jabbers, Fleetwoods, Forest Hills, AirForce 1′s, Dunks,Pro Keds and I love Converse but the first 6 Jordan models hold a special place in my heart.

So for most of this year, it seems that I’ve been living in a fog of perpetual jetlag, flying backwards and forwards between the UK and US. My poor brain and body feels its living on a rock in the middle of the Atlantic. Actually that might not be such a bad idea, might get some sleep…

I’m writing this in Boston in the first hotel room of the day. I say first hotel cos we’re moving hotels at 2pm. Manager Rick (he that must be obeyed) decided to put us on the red eye which meant we got in at 6am, checked into one hotel only to move to our actual hotel later today. Least we got a good sleep in and its fine cos we all have massive suites with Grand Pianos and hot and cold running Caviar on tap. Yeah Right!

Tour has been brilliant so far although a ‘tour’ implies a period with a beginning and an end with bits in the middle, like a good story. It seems we started back at the beginning of the year and we’re still going and we will still keep going but you know, thats rock n roll baby. Its the story that just keeps giving. No sleep till Brooklyn, etc, etc.

Mr Scott is in fine voice. I don’t know how he does it day in and day out banging out those notes, lots of sleep and Haribo starmix from what i can see.

We’re playing these songs in our sleep now. After a while and having played non stop, you stop worrying about getting it right, it jus becomes second nature, almost like breathing and thats when its starts getting really good, starts becoming interplay between human beings as opposed to a bunch of musicians playing together. I suppose you could say its like a love affair but that sounds naff. I think its what they call a higher plane or a deeper state of consciousness, something all ‘spiritual’, rubbish word i know but lets face it, its the basis of life as we know it isn’t it? That euphoric feeling you get when you fall in love or eat ice cream? Well its a bit like that on stage right now, you don’t know where it comes from but it feels good. In fact we may just sit on stage and eat ice cream. You could come and join us.

So Boston tonight and then onto NYC for the last shows of this stint that’s seen us play Albany, Austin City Limits, San Diego, San Fran and LA.

Looking forward to tonight as we’re gonna try something new out. We’ve been playing stripped back acoustic versions of the songs since day one. Its great to strip it back to just the voice and the song and then you add in the harmonies and it sounds loverleeee. We wear many hats in g6 but I like it like that, I love the variation.
Tonight we’re going to allow Leonn and Joe to join in as well, doing stripped back versions of what they do normally. Should create a good halfway house between the 3 piece and the full band. Some people prefer the acoustic, some prefer the full band, some love everything. I’m happy either way, as long as your into what we’re doing, then fine by me.
Jus driving past Cape Cod. Is this some new masked crime fighting marine dweller….?
MrD xx

Essential tour equipment, XBox, IPod and trailmix

So here I was on the flight from Albany, NY to Austin, Texas. We jus played Larkfest and what a great gig it was. On our way to Austin where we’re playing at Austin City Limits.

Internal US flights are like getting a bus to the other side of town. None of this boring passport, customs rubbish. Up you go and down you come.
America is built on travel, its no biggie for them to travel hundreds or even thousands of miles, where us Brits, being a small island, moan if we have to go 200 yards up the road for a pint of milk.

To relieve my boredom, I ventured into the onboard magazine where, to my delight, I found that my need for retail therapy could be fulfilled with these wonders of the commercial world, all readily available in the inflight Sky mall catalogue.
Remember these are all genuine products that people have conceived, designed and manufactured. Some people really have too much time on their hands:

That’s right. It’s a helmet for hair loss and its hands free!!!
Now don’t get me wrong, I feel for those folic-ally constrained but surely a helmet is the last thing you need for hair loss? What about the chaffing? Can you imagine going round to a mates and having them open the door wearing that?
Anyway. why bother worrying about hair loss when you can impress the girls with one of these?

Who wouldn’t want a bloody great big statue of the Yeti in their garden? You could put it next to this

Yes its a screaming zombie man coming out of the ground. Just what you need for those Cheery sunny weekend barbecues with the kids.
And right next to that how about this to set off your spiritual calm

Its a wolf, with its cub in its mouth and its standing on a rock. The rock is, i think, for stabilisation otherwise said wolf may well fall over in high winds.
And while your enjoying your zen like state, what better then to lounge in your boudoir in these

They are sweat pant or ‘lounge pants’ cunningly disguised to look like ripped jeans. Yes, you too can relive the 80′s fashion in comfort.
Why Lounge, when you can sit and play chess, Thomas Crown style, at, or rather In, your very own table and chairs disguised as a bookcase.

I always wanted to sit IN a bookcase playing chess or scrabble with someone like Faye Dunaway.
And when we’ve finished and I need to pay the bill, then look, I’ve got one of these.

Yes it’s an electronic credit card holder and distributer, which also protects against demagnification. Ouch!! We all need one of these, regardless of the fact it makes you look like a parking warden. Just think right now, there are credit cards in all our pockets suffering from demagnification. Who would have thought!?!
But wait, what is that I hear? Is it the sound of an anxious dog?? What he needs is a Thundershirt!!

Actually it’s Spanx for dogs, a really tight T-shirt that cuddles them while they wear it.
Perhaps it’s all that horrible sitting on grass, something that dogs absolutely hate. And what do they hate more then sitting on the grass? Why getting wet in the rain of course.
Well now your dog can rest in comfort. Not jus one dog but as the picture shows a whole litter of pups can wait patiently on their bed cos pups never run around do they?

When you finish cuddling your dog you may feel the need to dive in for a cleansing swim but no, your denied. Why? Well your wearing your sunglasses and of course every self respecting sun worshipped knows that a swim with glasses is a recipe for disaster. Well now fret no more cos what you need are these!!

Sometimes I lie awake anxiously wondering what I would look like if I had a moustache. Well now no more!!

So there you have it. Suffice to say, I’ve bought all of this stuff and having it shipped to my Beverly Hills mansion.
Yes it’s all red carpets, champagne and limos in the world of G6.

We did fly through this lovely sea of Cotton wool though

<

How many times have you heard someone talk about the One?
He’s the One,
I’m waiting for the One,
I know she’s the One, I can feel it in my bones.
So how do we know that the One is the One? Is it because we feel it in our heart? is it because we feel it in our brain? Actually in our bones?

There are many times when I was convinced I’d met the One only to be disappointed when it all fell apart. Perhaps the One is a feeling you get at the beginning, the bells and whistles part of the attraction.

Perhaps it goes deeper then that.
I believe in the One, not jus as a person but as a rule of all.
The One is familiarity, it keeps you grounded. It keeps you safe. You can venture off but you need the One cos it always brings you back home, back to the place that always makes you feel secure, the One place you can go back too.
Always go back to the One.

William ‘Bootsy’ Collins made his name as the bass player with George Clinton as part of Parliament and Funkadelic (check em on You tube if you’ve never heard) he plays his own custom bass guitar that he calls the Star guitar with multiple outputs that can sound like anything you want it too.
I had the honour of working with him once and he taught me so many valuable lessons but that’s for another time.

Actually Bootsy started playing bass at the age of 17, in the band of James Brown, Mr Dynamite, the hardest working man in showbiz.
James introduced him to the concept of the One. You can do what you want as long as you always coming back to the One,
The One, coming back to your home, coming back to where you feel safe and secure.
Once you know it and hear it then there’s no going back.
Your connected.
Next time you listen to any music count the one and listen to whats going on around it.
You’ll feel goooooooood

I’m here….

Oi oi!
This is TommyD, aka Mr Buttons, aka Mr Jack, aka the other one, aka Big Bear, aka Papa D, aka turn the amp down it’s too bloody loud. No idea why I have so many names, maybe it’s because I have so many heads

This is the space where I’ll be posting stuff up. Some of it will be G6 based, stuff about recording and touring, some will be stuff that I think is Boom or entertaining, or not, insights into the world around me and some will be jus me ranting. As some of you know, I can rant!
The worlds a great big assorted fruit bowl, either your eating fresh or you get the mush at the bottom.
Listen and learn and it’s super fresh all day long

Amen to that.