I have dabbled for a long time with contributing to the world of music. My first song was penned at the age of 7; it was about snow (another lifelong passion), and it was pretty awesome. Since then, I have sporadically toyed with the craft of songwriting, whilst also learning to play the trumpet as a proper musical instrument, with grades and everything. Unfortunately (for my brass teacher Mr Moisan at least) the lure of the guitar dragged me from my disciplined engagement with the horn to a more haphazard and exuberant relationship with the guitar. The thrill of mastering 3 chords in a day led to the creation of the monster blues hit “Dave is Smelly”, which remains a favourite amongst a cult audience to this day. Dave is not one of those fans.
In recent years though, I have played horn with a couple of jazz/funk bands, done some occasional session work, but mainly focused on guitar. For a long while I played guitar and sang bvs with a remarkably talented and special songwriter, and had a great deal of fun doing so, touring far and wide and even playing on Bob Harris’ Radio 2 Saturday Show. During that time, I learned a little about recording as well, and had a grand old time working on a couple of eps and albums.
That period of my musical and personal life came to an end with a great deal of sadness, but from it emerged my debut record ‘The Ember’. This is how one writer describes that album; “The Ember began as an accidental act of musical catharsis for Drew Worthley as he spent a year travelling and cogitating on the break up of a long relationship. Sporadic songs recorded on borrowed guitars and a little battered netbook grew into a collection of wistful and honest ballads about love and loss. Although all the tracks are centred around a spine of acoustic finger-picking or strummed guitar, a sprawling web of banjos, ukuleles, cajon, bass and trumpet weave their way around Worthley’s heartfelt vocals to create a diverse musical tapestry. With production and mixing assistance from Simon Greenwood of Soundcanvas Studios, Drew Worthley has created a distinctive, powerful and melancholic album of raw beauty and lyrical passion.” (Taken from CD Baby profile)
So there you have it. I am not nearly as morose or melancholic as my songs would make out. They were written during a different chapter in my life, but now I am fine (as Greg Laswell might say)- sometimes friendly even- despite being tall and ginger. So do come and say hi sometime after a gig and I may even smile at you. After all, I did once win etiquette week at primary school (true story).
Peace
Drew
