Fish press release/ Biog May 2007 2007 promises to be one of the busiest and most eventful years in Fish's long and colourful career. 26 years as a professional musician; 19 of which have been as a solo artist since resigning from Marillion in 88, have realised 12 studio albums and a plethora of live material and a continuing reputation as a maverick and uncompromising artist. That he still exists and even flourishes in this present version of the "music business" is no surprise to his many loyal fans and supporters who recognise and celebrate the depth, soul and passion in his writing and performances in an age dominated by cynical corporate formulaic bands that more often than not never seem to get past their first two albums. He is a veteran who never subscribed to the fashionable elite. A grounded artist never tempted by the Icarus vision. A fighter and a survivor whose stubbornness has sometimes been perceived as arrogance or stupidity; for those who know him that is so far from the truth. "I don't deny that I've made my fair share of mistakes and bad decisions over the years but I don't see the point in dwelling on them. There have been occasions where it would have been easy to wallow in self pity but that has never been my mentality. I try and get back on my feet, shake myself down and get on with it and learn from the experience. If I hadn't I would have been long gone a while ago. Having a Scottish sense of humour helped a lot as well. One day it'll all make a great read!" "Fish on Friday" - Planet Rock That sense of humour and his seemingly endless anecdotes and stories from the road have been prevalent in his new role as presenter/DJ on digital radio station Planet Rock where he hosts his own show, "Fish on Friday", every Friday between 6 and 8pm. It is a statement of his kudos in "rock society" working alongside fellow luminaries and presenters such as Alice Cooper, Tony Iomi and Rick Wakeman on one of the most successful digital classic rock radio stations in the UK. "Trevor White, my producer and programme controller asked me last year to join the station as one of their guest presenters but at the time I was too busy with the "Return to Childhood" tour to commit. This year however was a different story as I had a pretty flexible schedule when I began writing the new studio album. It was a very appealing offer as Trevor has given me a freehand in my choice of music and my progressive rock leanings mean that the programmes have a more diverse feel about them. I've been playing a lot of the music that influenced me; early Genesis, Yes, Led Zep, The Who, Free and the Faces , as well as more obscure artists such as Van Der Graaf Generator, Gentle Giant, Caravan, Druid and PFM. My playlists are pretty much across the board and I think I have found a good mix of classic rock and progressive tracks. It's great to get an opportunity to introduce a new generation of fans to music that rarely gets played on radio and judging by the e mails I get there are a lot of people getting turned on by the show." Fish has also been playing demos from his forthcoming studio album, "The Thirteenth Star" and bringing listeners into the creative process as it continues during the writing and recording sessions. "Trevor thought that it would be interesting to introduce the demos into the show and to let them "grow" on air. It's been interesting for me to hear the songs in the context of a radio show as they develop and to get feedback from fans. It's a very beneficial exercise and so far comments have been extremely positive. Just immersing myself in the playlists and rediscovering music I have ignored for quite some time has been exciting and it has definitely spurred the album project on. To have the opportunity to lay your stall out so early in the process and make people aware of what you are doing creatively when you would normally be locked and hidden away in a studio is highly unusual." "On a selfish note it's been great to play some of my own material and to get songs other than "Kayleigh" played on air. I can tell from the reaction on my own website that there are a lot of people discovering my music who would otherwise never have heard my solo material. As an artist working outside the mainstream I am very dependant on alternative promotion opportunities and reliant on sales through my website. Planet Rock has given me a glorious chance to introduce myself to a wider audience." "Fish on Friday" can be heard through the Planet Rock website www.planetrock.com on digital radio and on satellite TV Fridays 6-8pm and repeated on Sundays 7-9pm. "Communion" The first release this year on Fish's own label, "The Chocolate Frog Record Company", is the double live CD "Communion", recorded in August last year at St Mary's Church in his adopted hometown of Haddington in East Lothian. The show was part of his biannual fan club conventions in the town and was one of two nights in a unique venue normally associated with classical evenings. The show was an acoustic performance featuring an enhanced band line up and covering material from across the wide spectrum of his song catalogue. The band consisted of regulars Frank Usher on guitars, Steve Vantsis on bass, Tony Turrell on keyboards, Andy Trill on guitars, Gavin Griffiths on drums and augmented by Dave Haswell on percussion. They were joined by backing vocalists Heather Findlay and Angela Gordon from "Mostly Autumn"; and ex Karnataka singer Anne Marie Helder. Angela and Heather also contributed flute and low whistles respectively to the already rich mix which was recorded on multi track by producer Calum Malcolm (Blue Nile, Prefab Sprout). The event was a phenomenal success and has provided a fascinating album containing Fish material some of which have never been played live before. "The Company conventions are always special events and this one was probably the best one yet. I had played concerts in the church a few years ago and decided to resurrect the acoustic shows. Having Heather, Angela and Anne Marie on backing vocals was such a coup as they added so much to the overall sound. Dave Haswell has played on quite a few of my studio albums and I knew his addition on percussion could take the rhythm section into another area completely. I wanted to make sure we had a classic recording so brought in Calum Malcolm who has mixed my last couple of studio albums and the "Return to Childhood" live sets. Calum brought the whole show together in the studio and I'm very proud of the finished album which has captured the magic of the night to perfect effect." One of the songs performed live for the first time was "Tara" , a lyric Fish wrote about his daughter on his 5th solo album in 97, "Sunsets on Empire", co written with Steve Wilson from "Porcupine Tree". There was a big surprise for his parents on the night when Tara herself appeared on stage to sing backing vocals. "Rehearsals had been difficult as I had a lump in my throat and couldn't look at Tara as she was singing. On the night she was great and looked so confident and assured. My Mum and Dad didn't know she was coming up on stage so needless to say there were a few tears. I admit to being a bit emotional myself. I couldn't have been more proud of my daughter than that night." "Communion" is already being acclaimed by fans as his finest live recording to date and comes at a time when Fish's star seems once again to be in the ascendant. This album casts a spotlight on a collection of songs that do more than just prove he is an accomplished songwriter in his own right. The album is released on mail order only and available through his website www.the-company.com as a double CD in a 3 panel digi pak , sleeve design by Mark Wilkinson for £11.99 plus vat and postage. "Mark has once again done a great job with the cover art. It's very minimalist but very effective. The black and white images throughout the sleeve and booklet are striking.I came up with the idea to use a variation of the fish symbol normally associated with Christianity. Basically the symbol is turned on its side with strings from the "eye" to the "tail" effectively making it a "fish guitar". We had bumper stickers made up which are raising a few eyebrows. It's all part of the teaser campaign for the new studio album as the bumper sticker is printed with the www.13thstar.com website which points directly at the official site www.the-company.com . I think there may be a few people who go there expecting a religious site!" Fish TV In May an innovative project debuts in the form of Fish TV. Fish, together with streaming service suppliers Webrom and programme creators AVP Ltd from Northern England, offers a new dimension on an artist at work. Fish TV will provide an hour of footage a month made up of in depth interviews from the studio where he is working on his next album, "13th Star" as well as exclusive archive concert and backstage footage from his 19 year solo career, coverage of the new album as it develops toward completion in July and "diary" entries from the studio and through rehearsals to the "Clutching" tour. A Fish TV demo can be found on the official web site www.the-company.com and fans can get an idea of the content and quality of the future programming. " I was very excited by this idea and the chance to bring another dimension to the web site was perfectly timed as Mo Warden and Pete Oram at Grafixation had just completely revamped the website using the new imagery for the "13th Star". The complete redesign with the links to Planet Rock and the slicker and easy access pages has made a lot of difference and the site is buzzing. Fish TV gives it even more weight and the chance to see some rare and very exclusive footage as well as being made to feel part of the entire recording and creative process in the studio and beyond is a special opportunity" Subscribers pay a monthly subscription which enables them to watch the programmes being streamed with new programmes made every month covering Fish throughout the year as he follows the "13TH Star". "This is so new and I think the beginning of something much bigger. Obviously there's a certain nervousness at the intrusion of privacy and the reality TV element I want to avoid. I'm sure there will be some moments where I will regret a camera being in the room but then again I have been watching some of my converted archive tape footage and there are some hilarious sketches. I found material from way back, the first gig in Lockerbie in 89, the Vigil studio recordings, building the studio up here and the Exile album all the way through to the US tour of "Sunsets" in 97. It's a lot of film! I enjoy filming, it fills in the boring bits in the studio and especially on the road. I'm sure there will be enough footage in all that to keep Fish TV going for a while." Thirteenth Star "13th Star" is the title of the new studio album which Fish begins recording in May with Calum Malcolm as producer. He began writing sessions in January this year with long time friend and serving bassist, Steve Vantsis. "Steve had mentioned a few times on the "Chidhood" tour that he wanted to get involved in the writing process and I was a bit unsure at first at what he could bring to the project. Steve's listening tastes on the bus are to say the least eclectic and once he has control of the i-pod and the sound system in the upstairs loungethere's no stopping him. When we embarked on our first writing session in January I was taken aback. The initial material he had been working on at home in the Midlands had a great vibe and groove but with old fashioned prog leanings. It was obvious that he had been taking in the "Misplaced Childhood" style and approach but with a real modern edge. He's been great to work with as there's no attitude or ego, he cares about the songs. For me that was great as we could combine his fresh approach with my experience and create something very special." The album has ten tracks, "Circle Line", "Square Go", "Miles de Besos", "Zoe 25", "Arc of the Curve", "Manchmal", "Open Water", "Dark Star", "Where in the World" and "13th Star". Steve and Fish were helped in the writing by returning keyboard player Foss Paterson and long term guitarist Frank Usher. "Frank came in to help with guitars in the early sessions, we had a two week stint every month, Foss came in to play around April. As you can see on Fish TV it wasn't all easy going." "When you have two people writing in the main it's obvious there will be differences of opinion and with no mediator and with two strong willed individuals the sparks when they fly are spectacular! But we are close enough friends to not take things personally although there were times when outsiders ducked for cover!" Calum Malcolm comes in for the first time as producer. He has mixed and mastered a number of Fish solo albums and was the ideal man in Fish's mind to take the controls. He will be recording the album in Fish's studio in East Lothian . "I have always had tremendous respect for Calum and admired his work especially on "Blue Nile". I figured he would be perfect to produce the new album. It's the first time I have used a recognised producer for years and the prospect of having a structured recording session and working to time restrictions I think will be a good discipline as I've been prone to allowing projects to swallow weeks of studio time, an easy thing when you have your own studio and you are the only client! It has made us all very focused" Album demos have already been played on Fish's Planet Rock show and the response from fans has been highly enthusiastic recognising Fish's unique style within a highly rhythmic and energised rock framework which is combined with strong melodies and a modern Prog feel to potentially offer Fish's most powerful album to date. The cover artwork is already under way with the principal symbol already appearing on the website and on merchandise and stickers. Mark Wilkinson is again the main collaborator and is working on a major piece of artwork for the sleeve which is intended to be an elaborate affair. "There's no doubt that piracy and downloading is taking it's toll and it's harder and harder to combat the constant whittling away of income from ripping and burning copies of an album that in all honesty costs a substantial amount to make happen. It's tough when having worked on a project for two years you find that some site in Russia is offering it for download, charging minimal amounts , none of which makes it back to the artist who, wrote the album and paid for the recordings. The only way I can fight this is to offer packaging that the pirates can't afford to copy. That's why "13th Star" will be released on digipak with a full colour booklet and accompanying DVD containing interview and studio footage with demos and other material. I have to convince fans that it's better to buy direct from the artist and support the artist rather than from pirates who have no other motive than to make a quick buck. It will be initially only be available on mail order and on the tour as I have to recover costs which would be restrictive if I had a standard record label deal being paid royalties. Labels are still trying to work a system that has drastically changed over the last ten years and in all honesty that system is now defunct. Ironically the live area is benefiting most from the changes and it's more buoyant than ever before." "Thirteenth Star" will be released on the Chocolate Frog Record Company label in summer 2007. "Clutching at Stars" tour 2007 In December 2006 the "Return to Childhood" tour celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the "Misplaced Childhood" album finally came to an end after nearly a 100 shows in 23 countries. The performances commanded critical acclaim worldwide and the DVD and double live album recorded on the tour and released early last year were well received by fans and media alike. The positive reception to the project which saw a full rendition of the ‘Misplaced' album in a set which lasted over two hours and included a first half comprised of a selection of Fish's solo material prompted the idea to repeat the model this time working with the "Clutching at Straws" album, the last album Fish recorded with his previous band ‘Marillion' in 1987. "I was slightly nervous at revisiting the ‘Misplaced' material for a number of reasons but in the end it was an outrageous success and the feedback from fans and promoters alike made the decision to follow up with a tour featuring the ‘Clutching' album on it's 20th anniversary a very natural one!" "I think the fans don't just want a set list featuring a new album that they hardly know or have come to grips with. They want to engage and be involved in the gig. They want to hear older material and I don't believe artists should be too precious about their heritage. It's all too easy to focus on new material and dismiss songs that to be honest probably introduced a lot of those fans to the music in the first place. The bottom line is that people buy tickets for gigs to be entertained. A gig isn't just a promotional tool for a new album. You have to find a balance. It's important to creatively move forward but at the same time you have to acknowledge your journey." The "Clutching at Stars" tour fires up in July with festival dates in Europe including a headline appearance at the open air stage in Loreley in Germany where he performed a famous show with ‘Marillion' on the original "Clutching" tour which was featured on a DVD. He is also returning to older roots when he headlines "Hobble on the Cobbles" in the market square in Aylesbury, Bucks on August 26th. "The summer shows are a bit special. I played the Loreley festival last year and I must admit to having had a few emotional moments. This year will be even spookier as it's the ‘Clutching' material. It'll also be the first time I have played in Aylesbury for a very long time. I still have a lot of fond memories from those early days in the town before we signed to EMI in 82. I always wanted to play a show in the Market Square but "Hobble on the Cobbles" had shut down as an event a couple of years before I joined Marillion in 81. Our first single was titled "Market Square Heroes" and it would be an injustice if the song wasn't played on the day. I'm really looking forward to returning to what was the spiritual birthplace of my career as a singer" Fish's band on the tour will feature the musicians who worked on the studio recordings namely principal co-writer and bass player Steve Vantsis, Frank Usher- guitars, Chris Johnson- guitars, Foss Paterson- keyboards and Gavin Griffiths- drums In September the UK leg of the tour begins in earnest with the following shows- Saturday 8th September Inverness The Ironworks Monday 10th Lochgelly Lochgelly Centre Tuesday 11th Aberdeen Lemon Tree Wednesday 12th Glasgow Academy Friday 14th Newcastle Academy Saturday 15th Manchester Academy Sunday 16th Sheffield Boardwalk Tuesday 18th Holmfirth Picturedome Wednesday 19th Nottingham Rescue Rooms Friday 21st St Ives Guildhall Saturday 22nd Exeter Phoenix Sunday 23rd Cardiff the Point Tuesday 25th Birkenhead Pacific Road Wednesday 26th Cambridge the Junction Thursday 27th London Shepherds Bush Empire Saturday 29th Southampton the Brook Sunday 30th Wolverhampton Robin 2 In October the tour heads into the rest of Europe with dates until mid December. More information on the tour is available on the official web site www.the-company.com For more information or to request interviews please contact Elspeth- fish.sales@btconnect.com Or phone 01620 826150 fax 01620 826144 Further press releases and photographs can be found at the media centre on the official website at http://www.the-company.com/promo.htm