Last week, before I woke up, I had a great yet strange dream. The dream started in first person, me sat in green garden chair in a yet undisclosed backstage area in the sun with a can of unknown beer. Suddenly the Kaiser Chiefs appear and the drummer hasn't turned up to the gig and they don't want to let the fans down so ask me if I will drum with them. Suddenly I am on stage with the band at a festival and me drumming for one of my fave bands of my teens. Ricky keeps looking over at me with a glimmer in his eyes saying well done and thank you.
Off with Their Heads; great album
BBC; great great live band
Suddenly the same happens with Bombay bicycle club, I am on stage with their lead singer, Jack Steadman. Looking at me like Ricky. That's over as soon as it began and I find myself at the kit again. Next to me is a Volca beats drum machine and I press play. I start a song and it's a song I know it so instead of turning it off like a good roadie or a curious drummer, I get up and sing it. I recall it being Brass in Pocket, Pretenders songs. Now I can't sing by any stretch of the imagination but I give it ago. Then I look to the other side of the stage Chrissie Hynde joins me on stage and instead of shouting at me, we duet. " Now I am gonna make you see, nobody else here no one like me, I'm special, special, so special, I'm gonna have some of your attention, give it to me"
My dad has a Portuguese pressing of this...somehow
After this, I walk home. It turns out, I was playing a music festival at my second primary school field. I was congratulated by various children for my performance on stage. I couldn't understand how the Kaiser Chiefs were below Bombay bicycle club on the bill. What was I doing there? Was I with Back to Basics (my band) as part of the Redby primary school alumni project? What was Chrissie Hynde doing there? Was it a Pretenders or a solo show? As you can tell I left the dream with more questions than I had answered.
I might of learnt more had I not heard "Beep beep beep beep beep" of my alarm. I wish I didn't want myself awake that early. Gosh Darn it. I never learnt who the headline act was. I doubt it would of been The Pretenders. But then again none of this was real.
*I hope you sing that in a Roy Orbison Stylee that it was meant.
University is over.
"But James you left months ago?"
To that I would retort but I didn't officially graduate. I merely finished a rollercoaster three year course with varying degrees of success in my own mind but officially left with the grade that I set out to achieve.
"That was an odd, long winded statement, wasn't it?"
Yes but stay with me. Once you leave uni you are a graduand. You have to dress up fancy and wear a square hat and a heavy piece of cloth for a day so that the vice chancellor can cast a spell, turning you into a graduate. "Isn't that an expensive tradition and quite tedious?"
Yes, but it was worth it to make my parents feel so proud. We disagree on a several things, get annoyed at each other and sometimes we get along just fine. But despite that; they have sunk so much time, energy and money making me the person that I am. I aim to please them and my success is source of pride for them. It's Cyclical.
"I heard you had a flat tyre"
How do you know that!? Has Vincent been talking to you? Yes we had some difficulty and disagreements on the way over but the attending was important. I had given up on getting there but my papa knew better and we made it. Got a free glass of wine too. I don't know why they couldn't stretch to a bottle of lager.
"So what now?"
Well nothings changed, I feel no different when I woke up early yesterday morning not a graduate. I still am looking for a job (anyone offering one and reading this my contact details are on the side bar as is my portfolio site). I am exploring as many avenues for the future as possible. Tomorrow is a potential internship. Today, I am going record shopping in Sunderland for something fancy. Gotta treat myself...if no one else will (mum, dad; that was a joke).
Gather round, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girl. I have something to show you... after a silence of a couple of weeks I am here to show you the new James Reay Design website.
You can see new work from my time at FOG Media (Go Marry Adverts), New old work as seen online for the very first time (Nationwide) and some old favorites via my work for the Brickyard and more. Read the new "About" page with reviews of me and my work as well as my rosta of previous people I have worked with and for. (it's a lot longer than I thought.
The crown jewel though is the James Reay, I am (not) an Illustrator archive. This is an extensive collection of my doodles from my time at uni and beyond. I am not an illustrator by any stretch of the imagination because illustration is a craft that take years to develop. I have seen on my course many talented illustrators (Rachel, Rhian, Sophie, to name a few) get and then develop a style. I have done none of that so feel it would be insulting to call these illustrations.
Have a gander at my site by clicking the screenshot below. Enjoy exploring the new work, revisit the old work and contact me if you like with any questions or comment below. You're the best.
Unfortunately, I am 22 today (although I am writing this yesterday). However, it's been good; I didn't provide a list of anything that I wanted/needed so it's been a complete surprise, even my good friend Vincent didn't tell me what he was getting me this year; the first time since first year when I drunkenly received a copy of New by Paul McCartney. Great album, Thanks mate!
Since I am writing this yesterday I am trying to write an all encompassing post to summarise the day.
Today has been great, all my presents are really awesome and great. I didn't expect ______, how did they know I wanted ______ (OMG!) and I am especially grateful for the new pair of______, I chewed a whole in my last pair. I loved the _______ flavour cake that we ate.
Today was the bestest birthday ever! I am so happy with all of my gifts. ________ was the biggest surprise of the all from __________. The cake could of been better but after all it was still cake.
50% of the day was fairly average and the other 50% percent was below average. Good used to be a positive expression now it encapsulates the the definitive definition about how I feel today has gone. Middling. Very middling.
MEH!
Today was an average day with really mediocre presents. THANKS, _____ and ______ for the subpar surprises. You fail as gift givers, _________ next time I am writing a list, like the old days. I expected half of the gifts so Surprises were few.
Today was just the biggest load of ________ I have ever experienced on a birthday. I mean thank you for the things that I don't need nor the things that I chucked out of the window in disgust. ______ I expected more from you.
Bye bye family and friends I am moving to Australia where they might be able to celebrate my correctly
Words can not
describe what happened today. It would of improved it to eat a sandwich
of dog food. I am never celebrating my birthday ever again.
As you can see from the above chart, helpfully colour coordinated, today has gone one of eight different ways.
