Treacle Line

LETTER FROM WILLINGHAM
Dear Treacle types,
TREACLE LINE
I have just returned from a walk across the fens (similar to moors) where the dog ‘Lupin’ and I have been doing battle with the howling wind, driving rain, grey skies and an outside temperature of 4° . And I find my thoughts turning to Tamworth and the Country Festival and to the cowboys and the crowds and to breakfasting in the sunshine at one of the many street cafés. And I sigh……..

I guess it’s time to let you know what’s happening with in Treacle Line.

I’ve been putting off the writing of this message in the hope that there would be some last minute miracle but it seem it is not to be and a TL presence at the 2007 Tamworth Festival is now about as likely as the England cricket team coming home with the ashes.

The reasons for the non-appearance this year are complex and I shall not bore you with the details but I will tell you that Seth has decided that it is time to hang up the Treacle boots for good. And before you get the wrong idea I’ll tell you now it has nothing to do with me being mean to him; he has always enjoyed the meanness and has thrived on it during the past ten years or so; without it, I am sure he would have been a lesser being. What he is planning next is a mystery to me and when I spoke to him yesterday, all he would tell me is that he and his family are planning to visit the sensible country sometime in the next twelve months. Maybe I’ll find out more then?

So, there is a vacancy in the line-up and if anyone reading this feels they are fit to fill Seth’s boots, we will be pleased to hear from you.

Jasper of course is ready for action and is I hear, already in Tamworth waiting for the show to begin.

UK NEWS
Here in the aforementioned sensible country, as I have already told you, the weather is both interesting and challenging; we have had no snow as yet but the forecasters are promising us two months of the worst blizzards we have seen for many years. I for one am looking forward to it and I know the dog ‘Lupin’ feels the same.

Musically things here are as hectic as ever what with recording sessions and live shows with my UK band ‘Coup de Grass’ and teaching and writing etc.

THE FUTURE
In the words of the famous Doris Day,
“The future’s not ours to see, que sera, sera etc……

Probably quite right and it is impossible to say for sure what’s going to happen but I fully intend to be in Tamworth and on stage in Jan ’08. Who, if anyone will be joining me on said stage is still a mystery at the moment but it’s going to be interesting finding out. I am also planning to do more recording this year so there should be something different on offer when next we meet. And that reminds me…….. I find it hard to believe that after all the whingeing and complaining we have had to endure through the years because of our reluctance to produce a DVD, that now, when we have finally done it, no one seems interested. Poor Seth still has a garage full of them! It may not be the best DVD in the world, as a matter of fact it may be the worst but, good or bad, it features the original line-up and is worth every cent of whatever it costs.
AND FINALLY
All that’s left is to wish you a happy and prosperous new year. I hope you survive Tamworth and the next twelve months without your annual Treacle fix; if you do we’ll see you all in ’08, if you don’t, well………..
Cheers,
KP
Ps If in the meantime Seth should change his mind, I’ll let you know…..
Pps The TREACLE LINE website is currently under reconstruction and we’ll let you know when it is done

It was good to see so many of you at the ’06 Tamworth shows and my only regret is that we did not manage to visit any of the other places we have grown to know and love during the past eight or nine years. Time was the problem once again and I had to be back in the sensible country for various reasons but maybe next time we’ll arrange a more extensive tour? But, even though it was a somewhat short spasm and even though our tame ape ‘Kev’ (the merchandise man) failed to put in an appearance, I have to say that I enjoyed it as much and possibly more than any we have done.

The good news from TL HQ is that the long awaited TREACLE LINE DVD is now available and those who have seen it tell me it is pretty good. Personally I don’t see how this could be possible with both Seth and Jasper and even the weird Swedish bass-player ‘Tarzan’ featuring on it, but I look forward to seeing it nonetheless and will be rushing out to trade in the dog for a DVD player as soon as the rain stops.

Here in England, ‘World Cup’ fever is about to take over and whilst personally I have no time at all for ‘soccer’ I can understand and sympathize with those who are in need of something other than the crummy weather to whinge about. Cricket? No, I shall not talk about cricket…
am not certain what is happening about the next antipodean spasm but will let you know as soon as there are any definite plans. Fear not, there will be definite plans.

And now as I look from my window, I see there is at last a break in the clouds so I shall be away across the fields with the pooch where we shall look for badgers and evidence of penguin invasion.

Enjoy your winter and we’ll see you when we do.
Yours as ever,
KP
PS Those interested in the DVD should contact.....

Dear Treacle Folk and others,
LATEST
I am very happy to be able to tell you that Treacle Line (the original line-up with Seth and Jasper) is once again going to be occupying the main stage in the Legend’s Bar of the West Tamworth Leagues Club during the mornings of the Tamworth Country Music Festival in January 2006. And I must say that I for one am greatly looking forward to it. The shortage of space, the danger of the air-conditioning packing up, the crowds who wander through the place, using it as a short cut to somewhere more interesting (as if that were even possible), the stupidity of trying to park anywhere within a mile and a half of the legendary ‘West Tamworth Leagues Club’, the constant battles with the country press and the media types who are forever hounding us in an attempt to get embarrassing and compromising pictures, the fights which break out between the country music celebrities who turn up late expecting ringside seats, the can of Coke, the packet of potato chips and the two dollars a day the management feed us to keep us sweet, I can’t imagine anyone who would not be looking forward to it?

I am unsure at this point whether or not we will be taking any dates other than those of thee festival but anything it seems is possible and I shall certainly keep you informed
UK IN BRIEF
Here in the sensible country things have gone a little crazy of late. The sun has been shining for the past few days which is almost unheard of during the summer months, Tony Blair was re-elected as PM. and keeps rambling on about global warming and hosepipe bans, Saint Bob Geldof is out to save the world again by putting on huge concerts all over the place and the biggest mystery to me is the fact that I have not been asked to assist. I met St. Bob some years ago and can only assume that he has mislaid my phone number.

Our boys in white appear to be giving everyone a hard time on the cricket pitches of this fair country at the moment and I am guessing there is a danger of the famous ‘ashes’ being returned to their rightful place before I see you again.

Cousin Will Grundy, the guitar player who went mad and emigrated to New Zealand seems to have gone madder still and in his last communication informed me he has now become a lily farmer. I have seldom heard of such nonsense and am tempted to go out there and find out what in the world he is talking about. Sounds to me like he is spendin' to much time with the sheep.
RECORDING
On the recording front I am afraid I can make no promises. New CDs take a lot of planning, arranging and recording and I don’t think we are going to have time before January. I am however being urged to put some of the ‘stories’ of the songs on to a CD and that may well happen in the near future.
TO FINISH
And that I think is about it.
The main news of course is the fact that we are going to be back in business again in January and are looking forward to seeing as many of you as can be herded into the ‘Leagues Club’. So start saving up for the bus fare straight away!
During the time it has taken to write this, the sun has disappeared and we have a terrific thunderstorm. It is now pouring with rain and is much more like the England we all know and trust
See you when the ice worms nest,
Keith Pearson

Howdy, Treacle fans and others.
The news.
It's been a while since the last newsletter and I guess by now you're wondering what has been goin' on with TREACLE LINE and its plans for world domination. Well, I have to tell you that the news is not all good. It seems that both Seth and Jasper, the surly bass-player, have gone mad and have decided to part company with the band. This is a great shame and I am sorry to lose them. We had some good times together and laughed quite often.

Their decision to leave (which came as a surprise to me at the end of the last tour) has of course, left me with something of a problem: The band, as you know was never more than a trio and to lose one member (as I have done on several occasions during the past few years) is not easy. Having to replace two of the three members at the same time is close to impossible and living some twelve thousand miles away from any potential replacements, makes it harder still. But I am quite determined that the show should go on and if anyone reading this should have any bright ideas to that end, an email to TL HQ, as soon as possible, would be greatly appreciated. I must warn all Treacle fans however that it seems unlikely that there will be an appearance at the 2005 Tamworth Festival. Unless I decide to sneak over on my own….
UK matters.

In England all is well even though the summer, which was something of a non-event this year, has disappeared without trace and we are now preparing for what they tell us will be the worst winter on record. All ready there are people sniffing and sneezing and spreading their ghastly germs all over the place and I shall count myself among the very fortunate if I make it through to the spring without picking up a touch of the rabies or something. The thermometer was reading 2° when I looked at this morning and the weatherman tells me that the snow is on its way down from the North. I am fully expecting the penguins to come skipping up the path for a sandwich and a tot of sloe gin at any time.

On a cheerier note, my UK band, ‘Keith Pearson’s Coup de Grass’ is going from strength to strength and we have more festivals booked for next year than we have ever had. It is just a shame that Tamworth is not one of them.
The future.
Difficult to say too much about the future of TREACLE LINE at the moment but it rather looks as though there is going to be a change of line up again. This of course is a nuisance but is certainly not the end of the Line and I will be back even if it means hauling cousin Will over from New Zealand to play guitar for a while. He is a good old boy and must be sick of living in Middle Earth by now.
Whatever happens, I’ll keep you posted…
Recording.
Needless to say, we have done no new recording during the past year but I am planning a trip to the studio myself fairly soon and if anything of interest should come out of it, I’ll let you know.
Apology.
Sorry to all those people we promised to see in January. How you will survive without your yearly dose of TREACLE, I can’t imagine but survive I am sure you will. The break might even do you good although I doubt it.

And don’t forget, if there are any guitar-players/bass-players out there who fancy their chances get on to TREACLE LINE HQ at once!
And if I should find out who it was that upset Seth so bad that he has seen fit to put his guitar and his ridiculous shirts away for the last time, I shall not be responsible for my actions.
I hope you all have a good Xmas and a fun new year. If you do that’ll be nice…if you don’t…well…
Cheers, KP

Dear Treacle folk,
I guess some of you had almost given up any idea of ever receiving any more Treacle mail but, here at last is an update on the activities of the trio.
Line-up
I seem to remember that in my last message to you all, I went to great lengths to explain to you why Jasper (the surly bass-player) was not going to be joining us for the 2003 summer tour and how he had gone off into the hills to become a vegetarian or something horrible. Well, it now seems, the whole thing was a terrible mistake and Jasper, when he found that being a vegetarian involved not eating such delicacies as 'pickled penguin-bellies' and 'curried lobster knees', was so appalled that he packed his bag and left vegetarian HQ at once, hurting several people in his rush to get away. Jasper's whole vegetarian career lasted only 5hrs.and 17 mins. and, I hear it is now best not to mention anything about the experience to him as he tends to becomes over-excited and unpredictable.

But the good news of course, is, that with all of this out of the way, Jasper is now going to be available for the 2004 summer tour and the line up of the original TREACLE LINE will be together again for the first time in quite a while. And I for one am extremely pleased. Jasper has been beside me through many an adventure and for many a year, and the thought of him missing out on the world domination which I am confident is just around the corner for TREACLE LINE, would be altogether too much to bear. What has become of the long Swede who took his place last year, I do not know but I have heard that he is still in Australia so there is the distinct possibility of an interesting situation arising should the two happen to meet. I shall not be present if this happens.

And for those among you, who may be worried that Seth has gone running off to Toowoomba again, fear not, he is fit and well, and is apparently looking forward to the January tour.
As for the rest of the gang; We still have the charming, but slightly scary Kev' dealing with merchandise and public relations, along with Pierre, our worthy production man who continues to be in charge of anything which no one else understands.
CDs etc.
The new CD 'Picture From Life's other Side' has proved to be the most popular TREACLE LINE offering to date and is apparently being played on radio stations all over the world. Only this morning I received a copy of a very favourable review in the French music paper 'CRI DE COYOTE' and were it not for the fact that it is written in French, I would tell you exactly what it said.
And, as if that were not enough, there is now a rumour that the TREACLE LINE video which people have been begging for is soon to be available.
GIGS
We had a great time at last year's 'Tamworth' even though we had to make do with a 'non English-speaking' bass-player, and, with a couple of the main venues in town already booked, we are confident that the success will be repeated in '04.
We will also be doing a limited number of shows in NSW before and after the festival, the details of which are attached to this message. Unfortunately, due to other commitments it will not be a long tour but we are already making plans for an extended run in '05 which will give us a chance to play some of the towns we have not visited in a long time. Broken Hill being one such.
UK MATTERS
I bumped into my cousin Will Grundy a while ago. He seemed to be in something of a hurry, which is unusual for him, and when I asked him why he was rushing about in such a careless manner, I was somewhat surprised at his explanation.
"Preach',"
he says, (he calls me Preach' which is short for Preacher on account of something which happened many years ago. I'll tell you about it sometime)
"I am on my way to the railway station in order to catch a train to the international airport, where I am planning to meet with my ever-loving sweetie-pie, who will be waiting for me with bags packed and with airline tickets to a place called New Zealand carefully stashed in her purse. And then Preach'," he says,
"We will be bidding adieu and farewell to Angleterre for ever and headed for this New Zealand place, which I hear is a much more peaceful proposition than this country at present".
Personally I have heard that New Zealand is so peaceful that it is practically comatose but I wished cousin Will the best of everything and left him studying a map on which he hoped to find the railway station.
I am confident that I shall be seeing him again before long…
And that's about it, the summer is gone and the winter is upon us and it's almost time for me to pack my case and summon the big bird.
I'm hoping we'll see some of you in the New Year; and if we do, that'll be nice. If we don't….well,
Happy Xmas and happy Treacling
KP

Dear Treaclies,
I have to tell you that right at the moment, the 'sensible' country looks and feels slightly less than 'sensible' with the snow and sub zero temperatures and all, and I am wondering about my sanity in wishing to return to it. But for good or bad, here I am, sharing the garden with the penguins and the odd Eskimo, and the Australian sunshine is no more than a fading memory.
Treacle Line had a really good time out there in Aus this year and the Tamworth experience, while different from usual, was actually, the best yet. We only did the four shows as some of you probably know, but they were all very well attended in spite of the lack of publicity, and I am confident that next year will be better still. And who knows, maybe next year we might even win a Tiara? I'm not complaining you understand; making it into the top five is something that not everyone can do, but I will not be happy until we have won everything there is to win including 'best dressed band' of the year. And I know Seth and Tarzan feel the same

On a personal note, I have moved house yet again (five addresses in three years) and this time I am planning to stay put for a while. Very pleasant cottage in the village of Willingham, which for those with maps of England, is just North of Cambridge. Spring is supposed to be happening here sometime fairly soon but the only evidence I have seen of it so far is the odd daffodil peeping it's head throw the snow.

Tarzan has gone back to wherever he came from, promising faithfully to try and learn a little more English, but I hold out little hope. I have heard such promises before and they seldom amount to anything. Seth was headed off in the direction of Tasmania with his skipping rope when last I saw him; I have no idea why and neither does anyone else, but I imagine I will hear from him before too long.

The new CD, 'PICTURES FROM LIFE'S OTHER SIDE' is proving to be a great success and demand for it is so great that we are now faced with having to have a new batch pressed. We also signed a distribution deal with 'One Stop Entertainments' while we were out there which means that it is now possible to purchase the album from various record stores including HMV and LEADING EDGE RECORDS.

But the main reason for the writing of this message is to thank all the Treacle fans who showed up at Tamworth and the other places we played, for their undying support and also for their offers of food parcels, music lessons and clothing. We appreciate it and very much look forward to being able to thank you all personally some day.
The way things are at present, we won't be seeing most of you until next January although things do have a habit of changing and you never know, we may well get to Aus again before then. Enjoy your year, keep your eyes on the Country Music press and watch out for further email updates.
But most of all, keep it Treacly…
Keith Pearson

Gedday Everyone..............
Well,as you can see, I'm back !!!!!..........
Tamworth Country Music Week was as hectic and as hot as ever. One recording I heard was 51 degrees in the shade.
The place was packed with folk with Country Music on their mind and there was plenty of that. I had a busy time in lead up to the Festival touring with Treacle Line and then during the Festival. TL Did 4 full shows and 2 guest spots. One filling in for Rod McCormack as his Wife Gina Jeffries was having a bub. The crowds were outstanding at the shows with many new converts to Treacle Music. Even though TL didn't win a TIARA award they were only just pipped at the post for the instrumental section as with the group section.
All in all the Festival was a Great success for us and we look forward to bigger things next year.
It is good to be home once again.....even though the Sea breeze I was hoping for hasn't eventuated. Thanks for your emails....all 748 ...of them.
I will write again later when I get settled back into home life......