My Partner Kiran. The Amorphous Sound System, Spiral Tribe Sound System, Energized Sound System, Tribal Energy Sound System, The Offshore State Circus, Sunsnake, Revoltage, The Avit Army, Capricorn, The Saucer Crew, Lonnie Donnegan, Conflict, The Ruts, The Slits, Lee Scratch Perry, Psycho's Mum, Lord Snooty Deceased, Underdog, Punjabi MC, Imran Shaukat, The Brain of Morbius, Hawkwind, Gong, Gil Scott Heron, The Sex Pistols, Little Richard, The Heart & Soul Massive, Miles Davis, Ertha Kitt, Poison Girls, Crass, The Ramones, The Buzzcocks, The Damned, The Cardiacs, The Bevis Frond, Amon Duul, Inner City Unit, The Edgar Broughton Band, The Pink Fairies, The Fall, Screaming J Hawkins, Patti Smith, The Kinks, The Who, The Pretty Things, Jerry Lee Lewis, Gene Vincent, Buddy Holly, King Crimson, The Groundhogs, Dumpy's Rusty Nuts, The Chiffons, The Shangrilas, SRC, The Fifty Foot Hose, Freakscene, The Outskirts of Infinity, The Litter, The Seeds, Kim Fowley, Iggy & The Stooges, Motorhead, Deep Purple, Charles Mingus, Inner Terrestrials, Headjam, Pnevma, State 53, The Dispossessed, Your Heterosexual Violence, The Stiff Injectors, Rudimentary Peni, The Blood, X Ray Spex, Essential Logic, John Cooper Clarke, Patrick Fitzgerald, The Blockheads, Ludus, Crown Of Thorns, The Prodigy, The Levellers, Back To The Planet, The Sea, The Prisoners, The Playn Jayn, The Rezillos, The Revillos, The Anti-Nowhere League, Anti-Pasti, Vice Squad, Infa Riot, The Vibrators, The Jam, Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave, James Brown, Booker T & The MG's, Can, Faust, Coil, Psychik TV, Whip The Minister, Fuzznation, Harold Juana, Ozric Tentacles, Here & Now, Chris Liberator, RDF, Map, The Grumpy Egg, Experiment, Conch, Easter & The Totem, Best Foot Forward, Keeping Up With The Raegans, The Redskins, Case, The Subhumans, Citizen Fish, Pentangle, The Animals, The Misunderstood, The Stingrays, The Milkshakes, The UK Subs, The Troggs, Dr Feelgood, Aphrodite's Child, The Little Boy Blues, The Remains, The Bert Shaft Orchestra, The Balloons, The Ullulators, Senser, Afrika Bambaata, MC 900ft Jesus, Nine Inch Nails, The Enid, Killing Joke, The Stranglers, The Specials, The Selecter, Madness, Ziggy Stardust, Sonic Youth, Babes In Toyland, Silverfish, Thelonious Monk, Crazy Cavan & The Rythm Rockers, Mac Curtis, Big Joe Turner, Billie Holliday, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Jefferson Airplane, Jethro Tull, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Johnny Action Finger, Nik Turner's Galactikos, Devo, Tribal Drift, Zion Train, The On U Soundsystem, Mark Stewart & The Mafia, The Pop Group, Spizz, Girlschool, Sidi Bou Said, Levitation, The Meteors, Ravi Shankar, Jah Shaka, King Tubby, Colour Red, Iration Steppas, The Wailers, Transglobal Underground, The Adicts, The Mau Maus, The Lurkers, Slaughter & The Dogs, Magazine, Sousie & The Banshees, Doctor & The Medics, Loop, Eat, Primal Scream, The Electric Prunes, Pere Ubu, Captain Beefheart, The Bonzo Dog Doo Da Band, Frank Zappa, Nicky Blackmarcket, Mickey Finn, DJ BPM, DJ Smutley, Coldcut, Nik Turner's Allstars, The Oroonies, Bhang 2 Rites, Tarantism, P.A.I.N., Screaming Lord Sutch & The Savages, The Pirates, The Teenagers, Janis Joplin, Canned Heat, Steppenwolf, Julie Driscoll & The Trinity, Shy FX, Underworld, The Chemical Brothers, Leftfield, Salt Tank, Foetus, Frontline Assembly, Front 242, Martian Dance, UK Decay, The Ronettes, Funkadelic, Parliament, Sun Ra, The Velvet Underground, Digidub, Lefthand, Black Sabbath, Led Zepplin, John Lee Hooker, Howlin Wolf, Robert Johnson, The Big Bopper, Talvin Singh, The Mekons, Bogshed, The Membranes, Five Go Down To The Sea, Jazzman John Clarke, O'Matsu, Bulbous Skunk Cabbages, The Tits Of Death, The Baby Trio, Fat Dinosaur, 3 Key Posse, The Courtesy Group, Smatka Molot, Sumski, Eat Static, DJ Maxx Vynil, Crackhead Worm, DJ Konix, Bongwater, Television, Stump, The 3 Johns, The Undertones, Stiff Little Fingers, Discharge, Charged GBH, The Deviants, Soldiers Of Destruction, The Defects, Ruff Ruff & Ready, Billy Jenkins & The Voice of God Collective, Trimmer & Jenkins, Silva Bullet, Terry & Jerry, Nine Below Zero, The Truth, The Yardbirds, The Impalas, The Wild Angels, REM, The Butthole Surfers, The Happy Mondays, The Inspiral Carpets, The Queen Mum's Balsawood Teeth Experience, Dangerous Bend Mirrors, Lol Coxhill, Spongle, African Headcharge, Asian Dub Foundation, DJ Toneeee, DJ S20, Prince Fari, Moondragon, Public Image Limited, Public Enemy, DJ Soul Jah Man, Jesus Mary & Joseph, Santana, The Zombies, Psycho's Mum, Sexagisma & Not The Only Clown In The Village. I'm really only scratching the surface with a list like this.
The tunes on the above audio player are either High Cigar mixes or remixes or one of the bands I've been in.
I am an Anarcho-Socialist who believes that we are in desperate need of a second industrial revolution in order to transfer to environmentally safe methods of propulsion & production.
I am an internationalist & a situationist.
I am utterly opposed to international warfare & believe no army has the right to occupy another country.
I believe in every human being's right to migrate around the planet without restriction.
I am opposed to factory farming & am a great believer in reforestation.
High Cigar is a solo project that I have been running since 2002. Having been in bands since 1984 I thought it was time to fashion some home-spun DJ based material covering themes & experimental styles that seem relevant to the 21st century. As with most of the bands I have been in & the line-ups I play in at the moment the music is almost impossible to categorize. I believe this is essential as a precursor to new categories being developed. On that note I believe High Cigar is an attempt to avoid the present obsession with 20th century nostalgia. In a world where most music is wholly derivative of previous forms I believe it is essential that some of us split from tradition.
I thought revivalism was rife in the early 1980's when I used to go to a Mod Club on one night of the week, a Rock & Roll gig on another, a Heavy Metal club on another & a Punk gig to finish the cycle off at the end. The dabbling in earlier genres was an obsession back then but was as nothing compared to the largely repetative music scene as it exists today.
I therefore hope that some of the music on this site is as new to you as it seems to me & I welcome any comments on this issue.
Within the bands I have performed in I have first & foremost been a singer & lyricist. For the last fifteen years {of the twenty five that I have been playing live} I have also played clarinet, tin whistle, tenor recorder, percussion of various kinds {particularly African djembi drums}, keyboards, guitar, thumb piano, bass guitar, overtone flute, harmonica & kazoo.
I have been in numerous bands. In chronological order some of them include The Hornets, State 53, Psycho's Mum, The Weird Happenings Organisation, Dangerous Bend Mirrors, Fuzznation, Whip The Minister, Revoltage, Sunsnake, The Missing Puddings, Lord Snooty, Lord Snooty Deceased, Underdog, Pnevma, The Druid's Revenge Collective and Not The Only Clown In The Village. For in depth info on all past bands, line-ups and many past events go to www.highpanch.org.uk
I have been in countless pick-up bands some of which include The Wicked Faeries of Chaos, The Queen Mum's Balsa Wood Teeth Experience, Goatbeard The Dry Leper, Kill Debt, The Kreative Action Network, Delegate Zero, Dorsal Root Ganglion & The Roadkill Toadskin Revue. I have guested in untold bands such as Headjam, The Bikinis, The Feckin' Ejits, The Hoochie Coochie Band, Impossible Stress Factor, Triptych, & Running On Empty.
I have played with plenty of boundary breaking musicians some of which include Nik Turner, Nick {The Bevis Frond} Saloman, Mick Crossley from The Flyte Reaction, Chris Bowsher out of RDF, Dave Skull from The Dispossessed, Billy Jenkins from The Voice of God Collective, Joe Bazouki from The Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain, Gypsy Phil Barrett, Jason from Johnny Action Finger & The Monty Pirates, Alice & Dave from The Monty Pirates, Cosmic Andy from The Space Pirates, Colin & Molara Powerstepper of Zion Train, Jason Terrestrial, Paco Terrestrial of Conflict fame, Mike Barry from Easter & The Totem, Bari Watts from The Outskirts of Infinity, Fran Terrestrial, Phil P.A.I.N. & Maggie Nichols.
At present, apart from High Cigar, I am playing music with The Druid's Revenge Collective and, until recently, was playing in Not The Only Clown In The Village. "The Druid's Revenge Collective" is a jamming beatnik orchestra with a fluctuating line-up from week to week. Anywhere from between 10 and 20 poets and musicians gather every Tuesday at various locations to play and record 21st Century hybrid music with instruments ranging from guitars, bass guitars, Djembi drums, clarinets, saxophones, tin whistles, recorders, Jew's Harps, Keyboards, harmonicas, clackamores, trombones, trumpets, flutes, aguiras, octave flutes, and more vocal styles than you could shake a stick at. Members often include myself on percussion, clarinet, whistles, tenor recorder, harmonica and vocals, Bertie on trumpet, Nik Turner on clarinet, saxophone and flute, Betty on clarinet, Steve Pyat on octave flute, harmonica, percussion, Jew's Harp, Gentleman Jim keyboards, Dai Wyn Jones on guitar and trombone, Jan on sax, Gareth on sax, Tuesday on trumpet, Cliff the Riff on electric guitar and the stringmeister Mr Pete Wey on guitars plus, and not forgetting Ervine the Bard on Space Poetry.
Craig's inaugural gig with The Clowns was at The Queen's Hall in Narberth, West Wales in Dec 2007 in front of a couple of hundred punters. Sendelica, Order 66, Regime and The Monty Pirates were also on the line-up. I compered the event and gave away chocolate Santas on sticks, Hawkwind and Devo DVDs, clown masks and tangerines as big big prizes.. "Not The Only Clown in The Village" have been through a few line-up changes over the two years since their creation at the beginning of 2007. Jonsky out of the band Leggofingers played bass for a while and a line-up of Robin on guitar and vocals, Jonski and Tessa French on drums hit the road with guest appearances by Jason out of Johnny Action Finger. Nik Turner has also guested on saxophone and flute. At the start of 2008 a new line-up reared its head. Robin Benson {one time anchor man of TidyLike Records and The Narberth Rock School} on guitar and vocals, Tess {formerly the singer with Brother Vegetable} on drums, melodica, accordian and vocals, Bowen {guitarist of Order 66} on bass and myself on vocals, clarinet, tin whistle, tenor recorder, percussion and harmonica. Our first gig with the 08 line-up was at Letterston Memorial Hall in West Wales on March 8th with Nik Thunder Rider Turner of Hawkwind and Inner City Unit fame on sax and flute and Ervine The Bard reciting space poetry. 2008 saw this Dubfolk Punk ensemble play a plethora of interesting events. Some included The Blue Rock Festival in The Preseli Mountains of West Wales, The Triple C Classic Truck Traveller's Free Festival in Camarthenshire, The Queen's Hall in Narberth, on the same line-up as such local luminaries as Sessionhead, Supergene and Johnny Action Finger, The Cardigan Castle Cafe Cellar Bar with the Surf-Punk band The Ray Guns and a sustainable energy traveller's conference in the town hall in Newport near Fishgaurd. The Clowns also played Bonkersfest in and around Camberwell Green in London as part of The Mad Pride organisation. Other bands on the bill included Gertrude, Powersteppers {ex Zion Train}, Unity and Devision, Fuck Off Batman and the inimitable Maggie Nichols. In 2009 we had yet another line-up which included Raggin Charlie on drums and Catagramma Zelphante on bass. The Clowns played many gigs in 2009. Other bands on the same line-up have included Sicknote, Johhny Action Finger, The Powersteppers Jah Free at three different gigs at The Queen's Hall in Narberth, Sendelica & The Nik Turner Band at a Pagan Summer Camp in West Wales and The Beatzers, The Mamaku Project, De Gringos, The Suicide Birds and The Ken Parson's Band at The ADM Traveller's Festival in Amsterdam. The Clowns also played Winston's, The Tricky Theatre and Club Twisted in Amsterdam where the Clowns were supported by The Tony Chapman Band. The Clowns also played street gigs in Amsterdam, Bruges and Swansea with 30 watt battery powered amplifiers taking it to the public with issue based songs and their own brand of electric eclectic mayhem.
The Clowns have two cd LPs. The LP "Smilin Yer Cancer" was released in 2008 as a tribute to Robin's brother Ben who has died of cancer. His attitude and resilience was an inspiration to us all. The LP "Not The Only Clown In The Village" was released in 2010 and marks the end of my involvement with The Clowns. I am currently completing an autobiographical novel concerning the band's tour of Bruges and Amsterdam.
I have written copius amounts of autobiographical, semi-autobiographical & Fictional literature. Along with other writers and artists I have also published a compilation of stories involving the transgenderational assassin Jerry Cornelius who is the creation of the godfather of multiverse fiction Mr Michael Moorcock. Michael has provided us with an introduction and this project is now complete thanks to his encouragement and support. For some of the stories in this mammoth exploration into the twisted head-spaces of various time-streams visit the blog section of this site. For all of the stories in hard copy do a search for "The Fluxxus Paradigm" on www.lulu.com
Take a Cornelius trip! Turn on, tune in and freeeeeek out!
I also make films, music videos & produce static works of art.
Lastly I would like to thank friends, family & partners for inspiration {particularly my wife Kiran, & my Mum & Dad.... Pam & Norman High}, for help with archiving & the necessary encouragement to create & perform. Most of the photos in the slide-show above are down to them.
Also a very special thanks to Mark "Skip" Courtney for taking my designs seriously & constructing this site layout for me. For further information about his work visit www.GITinternational.co.uk
The two animated videos below featuring the music of Not The Only Clown In The Village were made by Dave Eyre http://www.myspace.com/vjflickeringlight
The films below that are courtesy of Craig "Cloumbo" Davies who happened to be passing by while Not The Only Clown In The Village were performing an impromptu street gig in Swansea, Wales in June 09.
We used to be called "Mumrik" that was looking for a singer and now we finally found a singer and the band name became STM since we are working together at a distance of 6000miles from Leeds, UK to Kyoto, Japan. We have uploaded 3 songs now. Check out how it works.
*** Namaskar, wonderful Graig *** May the 4 elements of life regenerate on you the vital energy: earth gives you agate's roots, air gives you light's wings, fire enlights you of golden brightness and water sprinkles deep crystalline's emotions *** May all the elements be in harmony on you *** Hari 3õ ***
*** Namaste, Graig! *** May the rainbow's power shine on your way, opening your life to all the colours experiences, as a butterfly dancing on the joy of beauty *** Hari 3õ ***
SWINE FLU IS GOOD 4 U
NOT THE ONLY CLOWN IN THE VILLAGE ARE GONNA BE ALL OVER HOLLAND LIKE A
VIRAL RASH SPREADING MUSICAL CLOWN MALARKEY, BEGINNING THIS THURSDAY IN
GRONINGEN. IF THE STREETS ARE NOT SAFE, AT LEAST THEY'RE GONNA BE
EXTREMELY LOUD, COLOURFUL AND SILLY
Hi Craig , We are playing at the cellar bar tomorrow night (saturday)and we are trying to get everyone we know to come along and support the venue (its falling on hard times ).Come along if you have nothing better to do.Hope all is going well with you. Much love Marc
