Geoff Cawood

Introduction

Hello.  This is the digital home of Geoff Cawood, a musician and writer based in Yorkshire, UK.

On the music front, I'm a composer, songwriter, producer, guitarist and bass player.  As a writer, I write comedy scripts and stand-up material.

My credits include composing music for the BBC and short films, winning a BBC Talent scriptwriting competition, writing a sitcom that was broadcast on BBC Radio, and achieving several semi-final places at the UK Songwriting Contest.

Names

'Cawood' is an unusual name that I share with a Yorkshire village.  It's pronounced 'Kaywood' - not 'Carwood', 'Corwood', or worst of all, 'Coward'!  Not many people get it right, so I did once ask my dad if we were the ones getting it wrong.  He just glared at me.

Previously I've recorded as Diesel Keys and Geoff Calvin.  In my youth, I was a member of the party-rock band St. Vitus Danse, the cover band Alleycats, and the songwriting team Westhead & Cawood.

Conflict Resolution

Stand-up gig number 7 was a return to Santiago Bar in Leeds, to try out another new set.  

As is often the case with new material, some parts worked and some fell flat.  But this section about Conflict Resolution seemed to tickle the audience of 11 fellow-comedians.

So this joke has earned its place in the set, but next time I'll try to be cooler and not thank the audience for the laugh!

Fragile

I've started the year with some composing.  This piece began life as a pop song, but has evolved into a stripped-back piano waltz, called 'Fragile'.

The 'Soft Piano' sound that I'm using has built-in logic which deliberately skews the timing of certain notes.  This is to make the performance sound more human, apparently.  So it's ironic that the human imperfections you can hear are actually artificial!

New York Time

To enter the annual BBC Writers 'Open Call' for scripts, I've written a little rom-com screenplay called 'New York Time'.  Here's the logline:

• A female engineer attempts to charm a troubled colleague, despite only being able to see him for 30 seconds each day in the lift.

It was certainly enjoyable to write.  I guess I'll find out in a few months whether it was enjoyable to read...

Santiago Bar - Leeds

Stand-up gig number 4 (upstairs at Santiago Bar) was great fun.  Click the button to hear a slightly out-of-context clip.  

Chuckle-spotters may notice 3 kinds of laugh here:

1. The Slow-Burner Laugh - where the audience needs a few moments to decide whether something's amusing.

2. The Pause-Induced Laugh - where something's only amusing if preceded by enough silence. (I should've maybe left it another second.)

3. The 'Knob-Gag' Laugh - where the novice comedian resorts to graphic innuendo.

No prizes for guessing which laugh was the biggest...

Verve Comedy Cellar - Leeds

In September, I thoroughly enjoyed my debut 10-minute slot at the Verve Comedy Cellar.  Despite mucking-up various bits and going completely blank at one point, it seemed to go pretty well!

BBC Radio York

I'm happy to report that on August 17th, I was featured on the BBC Upload Show  with Hannah Sackville-Bryant.

The episode was broadcast on BBC Radios York, Leeds, Humberside and Sheffield.  So nowhere in Yorkshire was safe.

Hannah kindly played an excerpt from 'Stop Blubbing You Wuss' (full version available below).   Click the buttons to hear the excerpt and the interview that followed.

Stop Blubbing You Wuss

This is an audio story about the popular TV ancestry show 'Who Do You Think You Are?'.   A young assistant-producer objects to what he sees as the excessive pseudo-emotion displayed by the celebrity guests.

Welcome To Scotland

This is a short audio story about relocating from Wales to Scotland as a child.  

One Thing Can Lead To Another

This short story was inspired by my early forays into stand-up comedy.   It's completely fictional, though, I hasten to add!

After a gig, a novice comedian is approached by a beautiful young woman.  Will one thing lead to another?

Obsolete

This is a futuristic audio story about a young man who decides to replace his difficult girlfriend with a robot, making her seemingly 'obsolete'. 

Comedy Photos

All aspiring stand-ups need a photo for promotional posters etc.  And it's obligatory to pull a silly face.  

In this case, I think I've nailed the 'who-are-you-and-what's-that-smell?' look.

(Click the thumbnails for larger versions.)

Chopin on Guitar

Sometimes you get to know a piece of music from TV or film but without having any idea who it's by or what it's called.   I recently discovered that one of my favourite piano pieces is by Frederick Chopin and goes by the snappy title of 'Waltz No .7 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 64 No. 2'.

The part that really grabs me is the end of the 'chorus' section, which features a fast ascending run of 19 notes.  The odd thing about it is that some of the notes don't really belong in that key, and so might sound jarring.

But Chopin's cunning choices create a sense of journey towards the final resolving note, and so somehow the notes do all fit, and the resolution (when we get there) is all the more satisfying.

To understand what was going on, I thought I'd try and work out the melody on a guitar.  Here's the result.

Guitar Techniques

For the guitarists out there, this is a little technique for playing fast triplets without having to do much with your fretting hand.

1. Pluck the open A string with a pick.

2. Hammer-on the next note (C#) with your index finger.

3. Pluck the G note on the D string with your middle finger  (since your thumb and forefinger are busy holding the pick).

Start slow.  Repeat, getting faster.  Then move the notes around to vary the arpeggios.  Then switch it all to the D and G strings.

This riff is taken from my instrumental, 'Blue Steal'.  Tap the button to hear the full version.

Bass Practice

You can do more with a guitar than a bass, but bass can be more fun!  

These are my two favourite tracks to practice to at the moment.  The first is 'Dean Town' by Cory Wong (originally by Vulfpeck).  The main riff is a monstrous 45 seconds long, so it's a challenge to learn, but very satisfying when you finally get it right.

The second track is 'Hysteria' by Muse.  This is one where the bass output goes through a distortion effect (a trick also popularised by Royal Blood).

Personally, I think Muse's producers went a bit mad with the amount of distortion on the record (it's on everything, even the vocals), but it's such a clever riff and it's really fun to play.

Stand-Up Comedy

In the autumn, I embarked on the 'Laugh at Leeds' stand-up comedy course, run by Paul 'Silky' White.  I met some great new mates, had lots of fun, and learnt some very useful lessons about the harder-than-it-looks art of stand-up.

The highlight of the course was the graduation show, where we all performed our self-written material in front of an audience of real humans.  

Sadly, the excellent venue, Sheaf Street (pictured), closed down a few days later.  My material must have been so shocking that they felt it was the only option.

Maximum Funk

I wanted to write an upbeat song based around the funkiest bass riffs I could come up with.  'Hear Your Voice' is the result.  If there's any 'ass' in the vicinity, this track will hopefully kick it.

'Dust'

Continuing the darker theme, this song is about our individual insignificance, and the problems caused by men who believe they're more significant than everyone else (the 'dust'). 

I'm categorising it as 'orchestral rock', but it's got a bit of everything from acoustic and classical to pop, disco and rock.

India Button provides a lovely vocal, with a hint of smokiness and some spine-tingling high notes.  It's also the first outing for my new left-handed steel-string acoustic guitar.

Darker Songs

When the music for this ballad was coming together, the melancholy mood reminded me of occasional news reports I'd seen about domestic abuse.   I hope the song treats the subject with the sensitivity it deserves.

Musically, the whole piece is building to a very long high note near the end.  I discussed with Josie Soden (on vocals) that I was looking for power on that note - trying to capture the defiance of a troubled woman who ultimately refuses to accept the misery inflicted on her by her so-called partner.

And did Josie deliver?  OMG she absolutely did!  Give it a listen and you'll hear what I mean at about the 3:06 mark.

Bass Revamp

My bass guitar was in need of some TLC, so I fitted a DiMarzio pickup (which is bright green so has to be good) in the bridge position, and added a Fender single-coil at the neck.

It still looks a bit DIY (because it is), but the DiMarzio is giving it some new punch.  As a test, I replaced the synthezised bass on 'Beach Trip' with a new manually-played bass track.

Tunnel Trip - the musical

With a cast of over 20 actors, 'Cloudbuster' was perhaps a bit ambitious for a first musical!  So for my next project, I wanted to write something a bit more manageable. 

The result was 'Tunnel Trip' - a musical rom-com requiring only five actors.  It's about the importance of asking questions and challenging authority.

I've received some very encouraging feedback and I hope to find a suitable home for this unique show.

Check out India Button's beautiful harmonies on 'I Got You All Wrong'.

Cloudbuster - the musical

This year I decided to try combining my two passions of songwriting and scriptwriting by writing a musical. 

So 'Cloudbuster' was born.  It's about the short-sightedness of the human race, and the unintended consequences of supposedly great ideas (e.g. fossil fuels, plastic etc.).

The story follows a young woman's attempt to solve the world's climate problems using technology.  She wants to save the planet but will she end up destroying it?

Here are 3 of the songs - Josie was on top form for all of them. 'Down Not Out' reached the semi-finals of the UK Songwriting Contest.

Songwriting

I'm a big fan of instrumental music, but you can't really beat the emotion of a well-controlled human voice. 

So I decided it was time to hunt for a good singer, and get back into songwriting again.  After lots of online searching, I found two superb vocalists in India Button and Josie Soden.

Writing music for real voices is inspiring, and it's been a very productive period. 

I entered the UK Songwriting Contest and a few of the songs reached the semi-finals, including 'Back It Up' and 'We Two Fools'.

Instrumentals

'Blue Steal' is an acknowledgement of the musical debt owed to the black pioneers of the blues.  It's also a celebration of the music they inspired. (Special nods to B.B. King and ZZ Top on this one.)

'Step Too Far' was an experiment where I took an earlier heavy-rock track and 're-imagined' it with piano and strings.