Today pop pickers we have had our youngest student in. Auntie Vals grandson. He played on the drums then he wanted to watch cartoons. While watching the cartoons he turned to Trevor and said you are very much like a girl. Well all the students and staff laughed for about a day and a half. Trevor was not amused. A new student was shown around today. Thank Christ he is a rock drummer, none of this dub step rubbish. He will fit in well. Trevor and coups have been finishing their web sight. Its pitiful watching old heads trying to work new technology.
Glyn has been all giggly, because hes is going on holiday to Rome. We have been trying to work out costumes for Cathys Hill Billy party. Trevor has been trying to persuade all the women that suspenders are part of hill billy clothing. Its pitiful to watch.
Sad to announce that jake, long time suffer of 4 am has moved on. he was picked up in the transfer window at the last minute by Roman fields. Sadly 4 am tried to offer Maggie a buy one get one free deal. But they didnt want Glynn. And James Will be going to university to study law. So we have lost a teacher that cant teach and an accountant that cant count but we have gained an Ollie. From this moment onwards Jake will be reffered to as Troy McClure and James will be called Lionel Hutz. Ollie is just Ollie, another flipping drummer.
See you in cyber space

KIPPERED...

I might have enjoyed today too, had I not been told that the health and safety related capers of yesterday were all a ploy for 4AM to tidy up the project. I might have laughed - I could even of conjured up the vaguest hint of a snicker - had I not of spent the day waiting to fulfill Trev's command of 'If you see the inspectors, put on an overall, get a paintbrush, and pretend you're decorating the edit suite...' and this was after I managed to haggle with him over wearing it all day and wandering around with the paintbrush in my pocket ready to leg it up the stairs ahead of them in the most inconspicuous way possible. And now the project is 'tidy', I can't find a sodding thing.
Tanya, the singing and piano teacher that comes into 4AM once a week asked to be mentioned in this blog today. So i'm going to give her THE BIGGEST MENTION YET! HELLO TANYA! She does brilliant work with the students and she is in high demand - we're taking bookings now for September; book before the end of the month and she'll even do an all singing, all dancing rendition of the entire score of 'The Sound Of Music' for you.
There was a fair amount of karaoke coming out of the live room this morning from Adam, and Soloman is fast completing his album on Acid Pro. Hopefully we can get some of those tracks up here zippity quick.

Did anyone see Murdoch's wife/bodyguard Hail Mary the intruder of the hearing yesterday? Highlight of the week, methinks...

Jake x

QUOTE OF THE DAY: 'Jake? Can we go to Stockholm?' - Dan.

BRINGING OUT THE BIG GUNS

I think I might have enjoyed today had 4AM not had a desperate dash this morning to ensure the project would be deemed 'acceptable' by health and safety standards. But here's the rub - I realized that no matter what you do, nothing is every truly safe and everything can be a potential hazard if you look at it so. And unfortunatley, this is how some view the world these days; as one big, rotating on it's axis, lost in an interstellar jungle, hazard. Which is sad, especially when health and safety is used so frequently as an excuse to halt things as opposed to helping them instead. This isn't so much the case here...i'm just a lazy twenty something moaning about having to get off my ass and tidy the workplace. But it made me wonder - when is something absolutely, 100 % safe? Well, it's not, but just because I can't drop a student head first over the banister and guarantee they'll survive doesn't mean that it's an 'unsafe' environment. Because anything can happen. I'm not saying health safety is arbitery, but it's meant to help, not hinder.
Moan over...it is a Monday after all. Wait, Tuesday. Yes, Tuesday. Right, in other news...
A new student, Paolo, began today. Matt worked with him and taught him the basics of the music software 'Acid Pro' which he picked up quickly and enjoyed. The David Cameron set list is floating in the aether somewhere. BUT, new tracks will include 'Since You Been Gone' by Rainbow, 'By The Way' by The Red Hot Chilli Peppers and a new secret track that may or may not see me get linched by an angry adolescent mob. Fun times.
But the most interesting news comes from the downstairs office, where we are all currently watching the Murdochs get grilled live on the BBC. We haven't stoppped laughing - it's golden. There's a lot of table slapping by a gormless Rupert, and a tiring, recycled collection of rehearsed lines from a cringing James. I swear Rupert looks like he's nodding off...

I apologise for my past absence, Sir.

Word is bond.

Jake x

QUOTE OF THE DAY: 'This is the most humble day of my life' - Rupert Murdoch.

WHAT WE DO FOR OUR FRIENDS...

Today I heard no end of James and Trev whining like two little choir boys about their job descriptions in a previous post. So I thought i'd take the time to rectify this with something a little more positive...

Trevor Dilks - a lovely, well rounded individual with good manners, sharp wit and undisputed charm. He is fashionable, suave and the peak of all manhood. He has thirty years management experience in the jazz circuit, sips cocktails, is straight as a ruler and somehow, SOMEHOW, still finds time to direct the project whilst aiding the quest for world peace.

James Seddon - an approachable, normal chap, who likes normal music and other normal stuff. He has normal hobbies, likes normal food and approaches life in the most normal of ways. Normal normal normal. He is a normal book keeper, with the occassional flare of intelligence, (but no more than normal.)

I bid you adieu.

Jake x

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Trev is like the Godfather"  - Glyn.

FISHY BUSINESS...

With little more than a week to go before the school shuts down for summer and the young people get to run free like little bunny rabbits through a field of daisys, you can feel a buzz of anticipation in the air. The countdown is on, plans are being made and students have already left us for the last time after completing their GCSE's. This, however, results in a bit of excitement, and downright bloody chaos...
Adam came to the project for his weekly session this morning; we successfully filmed another of his superb performances as he sang 'The Flood' by Take That to a backing track. This will join a collection of similar videos that we are putting up on a Youtube page we developed for him, where he can show off to anyone across the world what he can do in a safe environment that we look after. He is really excited about it and it has been a pleasure working with him. He has a vast knowledge of bands, musicians, and Monty Python, and we look forward to seeing him perform live at our next student concert at the end of term.
The Piano room, (a room that sounds much more sophisticated than it actually is, darling) is shaping up nicely as Lyn, a teacher of the school, and a dedicated team of students take to the walls with paint brushes and decorate it in murals and the occasional obscenity. Pictures to follow.
Trev and Lewis were ousted at the canal as Mel topped their fish count of two by an extra eleven! He's all line, no bait...
Michele taught Jack, Matt, James and myself how to play Black Jack - this wasn't so successful...it's awkward telling teenagers losing interest in the game, "It's much more interesting if you bet with money..."

All this with an added flavour of pandemonium in the air made for a jolly good show.

Jake x

QUOTE OF THE DAY - "Every time I buy linen trousers in the summer, I develop a white patch around the crotch" - James.

AND SO THE SUN SETS...

It's been manic o'clock today...we have a new student - George, another metaller to add to the collection. He began learning guitar and caught 12 fish down the canal with Trev and Lewis (another student) a number not to be sniffed at...we hope he enjoyed his first day!
There was a showdown of the Halo variety between Soloman and Jordan on the Xbox, plus all the students continued to rub in what I missed at Sonishphere on the weekend...sighs...
The student/teacher band 'David Cameron' are edging that much closer to the much anticipated gig at the end of term we are arranging on the site of Roman Fields school. Although there is a debate surrounding the set list (some are fighting for Queen, some are fighting for Iron Maiden...it gets a bit messy) we will announce the official set list on here first and soon.
Please have a look at the slideshow at the top of the page...it took me a whole day to work out how to get it there. I fail epically when it comes to technology. Anyway, there are a number of pictures from last terms gig and of the project in general.
So ends another fine day of cricket.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: Soloman - "I'm going grizzly on your ass..."

Jake x

THE FIRST OF MANY?

So these are meant to be the famous first words of the 4AM blog...hmm. Well hello - we are but a company of five; Trevor Dilks, one of two directors that run the project, has managed bands for thirty years and has been known to 'paddy' and 'swede' a few things up in his time; Andy Coupar, company director number two, musician, techy, festival wizard; James Seddon, book fiddler, workshop assisstant, penchant for cheesy 80's pop; Glyn Davies, workshop tutor, Welsh; and Jake (me) workshop tutor and general nuisance. We'll all be posting hopefully. Here's to many more.

We love life.

Jake.