Eddie Martin, John Fenlon, Jim Crawford, Dr John, The Band, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, Bonnie Prince Billy, Iron and Wine, Calexico, Sufjan Stephens, Smog, Bert Jansch, Joni Mitchell, Nick Drake, Early Van Morrison, Chris Wood, Johnny Flynn and the Sussex Wit, Billy Bragg, Bellowhead, Patrick Street, Rory McLeod, Squeeze, Sons of Noel and Adrian, Bill Withers, Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Saint Saens, Stephen Fretwell, EST, Bjork, Tony Rice Unit, Old Crow Medicine Show, Ryan Adams, Fleet Foxes, James Taylor, M Ward, Bon Iver, Ben Folds Five, Regina Spektor, Robert Wyatt, Neil Young, Sheelanagig, Jose Gonzales, The Cinematic Orchestra, Tinariwen, Ali Farka Toure, Paul Simon, Louis Armstrong, Bill Evans, Willy Mason, Nina Simone, Minnie Riperton, Rufus Wainwright, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton Unplugged, Eric Bibb, Howling Wolf, John Lee Hooker, the BBC documentary film maker Adam Curtis, John Steinbeck, Gabriel Garcia Marquez,
but most of all
John Martyn, Steve Payne, Gillian Welch, The Last Waltz, and my old man.
In the summer of 2001 I found myself in Switzerland at the Montreux Jazz Festival. I had just finished the first year of my Mechanical Engineering degree and had decided to get away on my own to see some music. I got a little bored of Montreux quickly and decided to take a train. Arriving in Interlaken one night at the train station I found that all the hostels there were full. I eventually found a hostel on the list that had space and thought it rather peculiar that they made me promise I would come before they told me where they were located. It soon became clear why.
I took a train, another train, a funicular railway (one of those really steep ones), then a narrow gauge railway along a mountain ridge and then a cable car before I arrived in the tiny hamlet of Gimmelwald. It was late and I went to sleep pretty much straight away.
I woke the next day to find the most beautiful view out the window of the dormitory. Three enourmous swiss mountains; the Eiger, the Jungfrau and the Monch. But almost as surprising was the fact that they had a piano in this remote mountain hostel. That night I met some other musicians staying there and we played songs 'til the wee small hours. It was great.
The next day I hiked to the nearest village to withdraw some money and found that I had none. I had no money to pay board, food... nothing. I went and explained my situation to Petra the landlady at the hostel. She explained that the bar had never done such good business as the night before and that I could stay at the hostel if I played the piano at night. Sounded like a good deal to me.
I stayed there for a while. In the days I went hiking and at night we made music. A lot of it not very pretty, not very good, but a lot of fun. I made friends who looked after me, fed me, bought me beer. And then one night sitting at the piano something inside me clicked. A strange serendipitous sense of belonging halfway up a Swiss mountain many miles from home. I was going to be a musician.
Hey Pete! Awesome, sounds like it's all working out smoothly. Great man, what a fantastic time you'll have! I've just finished my second year of uni studying music. It's been great but very consuming, been playing heaps of music! You will love Australia, make sure you bring shorts and thongs (flip flops), ha! Good luck Pete, hope to see you soon
Hey Pete! Great to hear from you! Very happy to also hear that you are doing well on the international front! Man I'm going to be in Brazil until February. That's a shame! However you have to meet my brother who lives in Melbourne. He'll be going to Europe next year and is lining up contacts. He is in my top friends, maybe he could help you out with the city and contacts, do a support act. Do you need a support for Brisbane? Thanks Pete, I love the quizzical shocked look of your photo! Big love
TOYKULT plays British Music Week 2009 and we invite you to download our latest EP featuring tracks from our new album FREE @ 192kbps: http://www.toykult.com
Saw you at tunbridge wells the other night. bit of a change from seeing you at the royal festival hall ;) Was so happy when found out you were supporting - absolutely brilliant set!
Hi Pete I bought your album on itunes last year and my computer hard-drive broke so I lost everything. I want to buy a real copy this time - how do I buy it from you? Cheers Jayne :)
Thanks a lot for the friendship! I hope you had a good time while viewing the page, watching the videos and listening to my music!?
Take care and have a great day, Ralph Jones
DR. JONES PLAYS LIVE!
20 Oct. 2009 at THE COMEDY 7 Oxedon Street, London London and South East, UK
Cost: £ 4.00
Description: Picadilly Circus/Leicester Square Oxedon Street is off Coventry Street. The venue is situated next to The Comedy Store, oppposite Mamma Mia. Promotor: "Dead or Alive @ The Comedy"
Enjoyed your set at the Glee last night. Having bought the cd at the Notts Bodega, it was a bonus to know the tracks this time round. You remind a lot of James Taylor, which is no bad thing at all. In fact its a great thing. Cheers again.
![Démence[NEW MUSIC]](http://c3.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/71/s_c3552151fbeb48ee911bca287ecbcb66.jpg)
