’Life is a rollercoaster, just gotta ride it’ as a great poet once said, and the last 3 weeks have certainly been up and down. Somebody stole one of my favourite (and most expensive) guitars. Because I left it outside my house in the middle of the night. Clever. After I’d stopped slamming my testicles in a draw I put up a load of signs around where I live offering a reward. Eventually the bloke contacted me but didn’t ring back. I had already asked all the major shops to keep a lookout, and yesterday I got a tip–off that he had arranged to sell it at a particular store. I went down there and caught him red–handed. Well, me and three policemen. He knew I’d put the word out that it was stolen but I guess he just wanted more money than the reward I offered. I ended up feeling sorry for the guy because he was so stupid and greedy. Then I discovered he was already wanted by the police for other stuff. I always knew I’d get my guitar back somehow, but still can’t quite believe it.

Anyway. I produced a track with Ed Harcourt for Teddy Thompson which is going on the cover cd of Q magazine. It’s a version of Don’t Dream It’s Over, recorded in Ed’s kitchen with my laptop and a couple of mics. It features smoky piano, a 1920s drum kit and drunken slide guitar. With a song as good as that though you could do it on kazoo and it would still break your heart. I’ve also had some really enjoyable sessions on very different projects, all of which required me to do the laptop/guitar mangling thing (Marc Arciero, Jonathan Czerwick and Bertine Zetlitz). I like the fact that there can be a common sonic thread through these different genres.

Then I rehearsed for a few days with Ronan Keating (or at least the band) for a few festivals. It’s always a great laugh with those guys and very civilised. But when I bumped into an old friend outside the studio and told him what I was doing he looked at me as if, to borrow a phrase from Chris Morris, his mother had just crawled out of my nose. The thing is, I get to see a side of the business with them that I just wouldn’t elsewhere, and now and then it’s pretty fun to punt round the BBC waiting to mime on Strictly Dance Fever while Graham Norton looks at your arse, trying not to laugh when two practically naked fairy lovers gyrate in front of you. Actually, hang on a minute…

In terms of my own stuff there was the Absolute Zero night at Bush Hall which will hopefully become a regular thing, finishing touches are being put to the artwork for my next record and to the collaboration with Peter Schwalm, the record with vocals is nearly finished, and I did an interview and concert for Echoes, a very influential US national radio station. The people from Echoes are great and their site is a good resource for finding new music. And now, I’m half way through learning the Roxy Music set, making notes and programming sounds. Time to get back to work.