Interview - David Blair

David Blair, Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival, Summer 2019

Picture by Robert Adam

In these testing times we live in there is a band that always brings a smile to my face. A band that gets me singing, dancing and putting my hands in the air. Colonel Mustard and the Dijon 5 have become a firm favourite in Scotland and beyond over the last decade, with legendary festival performances playing a huge role. I decided to catch up with the bundle of energy that is David John Blair, D(ij)ancer and force of nature for the band.

The beautiful picture above, of David and his band uniting a festival, perfectly captures the energy and enthusiasm Colonel Mustard and the Dijon 5 generate when they play live with anthems like; Dance Off,  Cross The Road, Peace Love and Mustard and the anti-drugs song These Are Not The Drugs Your Are Looking For. That song ends with the mantra everyone is happy, everyone is smiling, no-one here is sad anymore. 

I look forward to seeing Colonel Mustard and the Dijon 5 getting the party started, celebrating the release of their new single G.T.,  in the beautiful surroundings of The Old Fruit Market in Glasgow on Friday 17th January. TICKETS HERE

Honestly, if you have the January blues, or if you just fancy a good night out, you won't regret it. Added bonus that my sister Carla is supporting and has some cracking new pop songs to play.

The band have just released their new single G.T. which is zooming up the alternative music charts.

I caught up with David for an extensive interview - should have done a podcast! Read on for loads of music recommendations and tonnes of positive energy.

EF - How are things with you and the band? What can we expect from your Celtic Connections show?

On a personal note, never better thanks! I started my actual Dream Job as Market and Ballroom Assistant for the Glasgow institution Margaret McIver Ltd, more famously known as The Barras Market (100 years old in 2021) and the Barrowland Ballroom AKA the Greatest Venue for Live Music in the World, on the 23rd of last month.

I've been going through an induction period of getting to know the role, buildings and area and the place is steeped in so much history it;s unreal. A truly humbling education and experience. It's genuinely my spiritual musical home and having played it five times, been to about 200+ gigs there and the band being inducted into the Hall of Fame in December 2018 makes it all the more special to now call it my place of 'work'.

Shout and MASSIVE thank you to the manager Tom Joyes for having the faith in me to offer me the job and for being such an amazing music mentor to me over the years. Tom's passion and knowledge for the business, area and music industry is unrivalled by many. What a man to learn from! As as are all The Barras Family working in there. We're really close knit, like a family. The banter is tremendous and it's great to have a laugh as much as possible in life. It's good for the soul.

CMD5 have a mass Dance Off in their favourite venue

There's a buzz around the East End Quarter at the moment and it's an honour to be spending so much time in an area so fertile with creativity. 2020 is going to be a BIG year for the East End!

As for the band, there are, as always, lots of things happening and coming together. We're busy finishing our second album, provisional working title The Difficult Number 2, with Paul 'Gal' Gallagher at Glenwood Studio in Castlemilk. It's pencilled in for release on 5th May 2020. Just in time for festival season with some new festival season anthems on it for The Dijon Family to dance like nobody is watching to!

Last Sunday (5th January) BBC Radio 6 Music DJ Amy Lame gave our new single G.T. (single and album released on Button Up Records - Garry John Kane - The Proclaimers bassist - record label) it's international radio airplay exclusive! That was after we woke up to a three page spread in the Sunday Mail interviewing the Colonel and using our new space themes photo shoot images from the incredibly talented Lee Howell Photography. We were so impressed with his photoshoot and artwork for Bombskare's last album A Million Ways To Die, that we asked him to work with us too.

EF - What were your highlights from 2019? Did any festivals stand out in particular?

Festival season is usually my go-to memory bank when I'm asked for band highlights of the year. Kelburn Garden Party was our best one yet I think. Of maybe five or so appearances. Tom McGuire and The Brassholes were on the Square Stage before us. I think they're one of the best funk and soul and party bands around and we have a lot of audience crossover so it really got the party vibe going with us dancing away in the crowd and then continuing with the Dijon party vibes straight after them.

We played our fourth year in a row at Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival. The Highlands Dijon Family really, really go for it up there and we've seen our crowds go from a capacity Hothouse Stage tent (1,500 ish) to being moved up to the main Garden Stage and the numbers growing steadily to 15,000 in 2019!

This will be our fifth birthday party playing there this year. The main stage production team told us post-gig it was the largest EVER crowd they'd ever had at the main stage! Until one of Bathgate's finest exports, Lewis Capaldi, bettered that later the samenight. Fair play Lewis!

Boomtown Fair, in Winchester, is one of the biggest festivals in the UK now and one of my favourites. Their whole Movement there, philosophy (peace, love, creativity) and vibe is beautiful. Approx 70,000 mad revellers attend and the level of production is movie set material everywhere you look. The aforementioned Tom and The Brassholes played, our bezzie mates from The People's Republic of Merseyside, She DRew The Gun, were a highlight, along with an incendiary set from the Prophets of Rage to close the Town Centre stage on the Sunday. Tom Morello had a message for our Evil Empire 'leader' Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson on his guitar!

EF - The Scottish festival landscape has changes; no more T in the Park, no more Wickerman, no more Electric Fields .... you are probably more well placed than most to comment. What is working? And are there any gaps?

The festival landscape seems to always be evolving in it's own way, as you would expect. We were lucky enough to tick T in the Park off the bucket list at the last one ever at Strathallan and then DF Concert's came back with TRNSMT in our home town on Glasgow Green with no need for camping. I have had some amazing days at TRNSMT and for someone who doesn't drink alcohol (11 years aff it on 4th May 2020), I can leave the site, drive straight home and be in the shower or bed in fifteen minutes!

My heart belongs to Glasgow so I LOVE to see Glasgow's music scene thriving. TENEMENT TRAIL moving East last year was an amazing day of live music between the Barrowland Ballroom, Barras Art and Design, Saint Luke's The Winged Ox, Creative East End, Many Studios and more.

I'm always excited to play new festivals and we've announced one in the Black Isle, outside Inverness, called Woodzstock, that we've been asked to headline and are playing with our Highlands hip hop brothers and sisters, Spring Break. Their MC (The Badger Sized Rat) and DJ (Butterscotch) - both the same person - normally joins us onstage at Bella and we love them and their music.

Closer to home, I love the look of Playground Festival in Rouken Glen Park and with Underworld announced already I have a really good feeling that is going to be an incredible and not to be missed festival for the Central Belt.

EF - You have an incredible thirst for music - which artists and bands in Scotland are you particularly fond of at present?

Each year I think our music community gets stronger and the talent within it even better! I don't see 2020 being any different. I am particularly looking forward to the Return of The Odd, being Stanley Odd - one of my favourite bands EVER and MC Solareye AKA Dave Hook AKA Dr Hip Hop, one of the soundest folk in the music community at the ever excellent Neu! Reekie! night organised by Michael Pederson and Kevin Williamson for Burns and Beyond on 25th January in the Freemasons Hall in Edinburgh.

Medicine Men have a new album coming out I'm looking forward to. The level of creative talent coming out of Glasgow's Last Night From Glasgow record label is outstanding and I doff my disco cap to Ian Smith and everyone involved there. Keep an eye on everything coming out of Chris Blackmore's excellent Holy Smokes Records - The Hoojamamas, Awkward Family Portraits, Quiche and more.

Ones to watch our for this year are The Rain Experiment - like a cross between Catfish and The Bottlemen, Blossoms and Sam Fender. Have a watch of the Be My Angel video.

Have Mercy Las Vegas, Bombskare, Yoko Kwono, Feet of Clay's debut album, your sister Carla J Easton (our Celtic Connections gig Special Guest), Scotland's most talented teenagers Connor Fyfe, Robin Ashcroft and Emi V, Free Love, Stara Zagora, DopeSickFly, Flew The Arrow, Deni, Zoe Graham, Freakwace, Vanlves, Megan Airlie, kitti, Cara Rose, Zoe Bestel, BLair Coron, hip hop from the aforementioned Spring Break, Steg G and The Freestyle Master, Loki, Kayce One, GASP, Shotgun, Physiks, Kamihamiha! Mosta Bohze, Empress, Delivery Room, The Twistettes, Mickey 9's, Melisa Kelly and The Smokin' Crows and so many more! So many sources of inspiration around us.

Last year I started 23 Music Management and Promotions with Andy Anderson and with help from his brother Frankie roo and the first artist I am managing is the outstanding John Rush. Check him out, he really is amazing. Solo, singer-songwriter, acoustic guitar, stomp box, harmonica and incredibly soulful voice with a Scottish brogue. He's been drawing comparisons somewhere in between Ray LaMontagne and David Gray.

One of, and possibly my favourite band right now are HENGE. A four piece (three of whom are intergalactic aliens and one Homo Sapien) who are on a Universal mission called The Cosmic Dross Experiment to spread peace, love and music - from prog rock to techno and cosmic gestures unknown to us Ravelings here on Planet Earth.

EF - We entered 2020 with right wing leadership, climate emergencies and the threat of war. What gives you hope?

What gives me hope in these mad, bad, crazy times? Us. Power to The People. It's ALL happening on OUR watch so the only people that can do anything about it is ... US! From a creative standpoint I am very much inspired by the Dadaists response to the horrors of WW1. We need to continue and increase the use of arts to imagine, create and inspire. We need more civil disobedience and mobilising the masses to, borrow some Primal Scream lyrics, come together as ONE, to agitate, protest and resist the Evil Empires, corporations and backed by right-wing billionaire owned gutter press/propoganda. We need system change.

And that means facing up to capitalism and it's greedy illusion of perpetual growth/GDP on a finite planet. We don't inherit the planet from our parents, we borrow it from our children. In the immortal words of Zack de la Rocha, 'Anger is a gift' and we DO need to get angry at what's happening and channel that into positive non-violent direct action to affect, demand and make positive change.

Rage Against The Machine are hitting the comeback trail again this year, it is very timely and much needed. To use their lyrics from Take The Power Back

The Movement's in motion with mass militant poetry

The rage is relentless

We need a movement with a quickness

Youa re the witness of change and to counteract

We gotta take the power back

EF - Post Celtic-Connections, what does the rest of the year have in store for you?

The new album on 5th May 2020. Festival season. Announced so far for us are Woodzstock Festival, Speyfest and Bella. More to follow ... Getting out and about and playing more of the new album and old songs, spreading the peace, love and Mustard and partying with the Dijon Family again. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Idles and their album title Joy As An Act Of Resistance is like a mantra to me.

EF - Any New Year Resolutions?

I don't really go for anything too specific. Every day is the start of the rest of your life. Focus on the positive changes we can make in our Eternal Nows. For myself, I hope each year is a healthy, happy and prosperous one filled with peace, love and music and those are the main things I wish for all my family, friends and all the world really.

Even for those stuck in bad ruts, negative feedback lopps, misguided, hurting themselves and others. Just stop being a c**t to yourself and others and then maybe the world will be as One

You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

Think peace, act peace, spread peace, imagine peace.

Colonel Mustard podcast

Earlier on this week I had the pleasure of spending some time in the company of the 2 front men from Colonel Mustard and the Dijon 5 - a band who have snowballed in the last few years, winning friends and fans wherever and whenever they play, selling out the Barrowland Ballroom and the ABC - unsigned and self managed.

John McMustard (McAlinden) and David Blair have had a ball and their good vibes and fun times have transferred to their audience. People dance, people smile, people have a great time and leave wanting to tell others to go and see them next time they play.

The band have just released the single Cross The Road b/w Freedom for the Children digitally (8th May) and on ltd yellow 7-inch vinyl via their website and Love Music in Glasgow.

They then play the Academy on Saturday 13th May with support from friends Dead Man Fall and Esperanza. It's been an amazing journey for them - get along to see them if you can, it will be amazing.

Check out this special podcast with tunes from Colonel Mustard themselves, 2 of their favourite bands from in and around Glasgow and an all-time fave in the shape of Primal Scream.

It's a fascinating discussion taking in all night acoustic jam sessions in disused mental hospitals, nursery rhymes, hymns, Screamadelica, Primal Scream's rider, festivals, South Korea, going from pubs to the Academy, running a 13 piece band, the yellow movement, Eddy Grant I Don't Wanna Dance and Adam Ant's Prince Charming, the 6th Dijon, writing with a 4-year old, the second album, dreams of playing the Hydro and much, much more....

Cross The Road - Colonel Mustard and the Dijon 5
Bang The Drum - Dead Man Fall
Movin' On Up - Primal Scream
Freedom for the Children - Colonel Mustard and the Dijon 5
Galactic Radio - The Mickey 9's

Scottish music festivals - what next?

Well that was quite a weekend for Scottish music festival news. I thought I would jot down some thoughts on the announcements from Wickerman and the 'leak' from T in the Park (CONFIRMED today - full press release here) and also look at the future of festivals in Scotland.

There was no surprise regarding any announcement concerning the Wickerman Festival sadly calling it a day, or the news filtering through that T in the Park would be having a 'break' from Strathallan Castle after only 2-years at the site, with DF looking at bringing 3 large festival-in-a-day style shows to Glasgow Green.

Music fans have been debating the future of both these festivals for some time.

Wickerman was brilliant and it was on the rise. The sad death of festival founder Jamie Gilroy in 2014 left the festival in doubt, however it kept going in 2015. Although I enjoyed it that year, many regulars felt it didn't have the same feel and that it would be the last one.

Sadly, they were right. Wickerman was set in beautiful rolling countryside, attracting a real mixed crowd of families, locals and music fans. There was plenty of space to explore and a real eclectic mix of music. Some of my highlights from the main stage through the years included; Candi Staton, The Human League, Idlewild, The Magic Numbers, Teenage Fanclub, The Charlatans, Chic, Primal Scream, Martha Reeves, Stereo MC's, Neneh Cherry, Alabama 3 and Jimmy Cliff - quite a mix!

Chic was one of my all-time favourite shows. The place was bouncing, singing, dancing and clapping a-long. The feel good atmosphere was off the richter scale. Jimmy Cliff at the last Wickerman was utterly sensational, I had tears in my eyes during an emotional and uplifting I Can See Clearly Now.

I missed Wickerman in 2016, I really loved the festival and getting to go down some years with bands or with a media pass meant that I got to meet and get to know a lot of the people who brought the festival together.

Chay Woodman and his crew at the Solus Tent were fantastic in their support of new music in Scotland and the way they looked after the artists they booked was tremendous. One of my favourite Wickerman moments was when I was working with Miaoux Miaoux and Detour booked him to have a rave in a caravan round the back of the Solus Tent. There was day glo face paint and all kinds of fun.

Obligatory posing like the Wickerman picture

I was out for a beer last Thursday night and my friend and I both called the biggest T-Break (pardon the pun) in years. It's been coming.

What next for T in the Park? Have we really had the last one? That would have been an unthinkable question a few years ago. Now, it is all too real for music fans in Scotland.

There have been issues with T in the Park for a number of years; the move to Strathallan over a mysterious oil pipe didn't go well in year one, with huge logistical issues surrounding the site resulting in deluge of complaints. Let's not mention the theft of the cash machine - there will be a few more CCTV cameras around Glasgow Green!

T bosses listened and learned from 2015. I attended the festival this year and loved the site and the journey to and from the location was fine. Although an osprey's nest added to DF's logistical worries!

However, I think T2015 was the final straw for large numbers of festival fans. They didn't go back - I wonder if they missed it. T still partied, but the crowds were noticeably down and in the weeks leading up to the festival there were 2 for 1 ticket deals on offer. Something I don't recall happening before.

The pictures of a reformed LCD Soundsystem, one of the coolest bands on the planet, playing to around a thousand people in a swamp seemed to sum things up.

LCD play to the hardcore in the mud

With profits reportedly down by around 50%, T bosses will have taken a long hard look at the festival and the music market in 2016 and plotted out the next step.

For a long time T was like a right of passage for Scottish youths and many just kept coming back year on year. It was something to look forward to, the announcement of the tickets going on sale, the first headliners, which young bands were playing T break, who was playing the Slam Tent.....

I'm not quite sure what happened and it might just be cause I'm getting old, but for me, T definitely lost some of its sparkle. I attended the first T in the Park at the age of 18 and went to pretty much every single T for a long time - maybe 9 out of the first 10-years.

Watching bands like The Charlatans and Black Grape in baking sunshine on the original site the year there was a dust storm due to the heat will stay with me forever. As will leading a conga through the crowd to get down the front for Kylie. And the human pyramid during Crowded House was incredible - doubt that would be allowed these days!

The move to Ballado went smoothly from memory. I remember a huge crowd from Carluke going up and camping out the first few years. One time we were some of the first to arrive and ended up playing an 11-a-side game of football against another group of lads.

 Highlights from Balado off the top of my head include watching Orbital play one of their last shows in the King Tut's tent and then running over to the Slam Tent to watch The Chemical Brothers. Vigo Thieves smashed it a couple of times and Kraftwerk were sensational.

After experiencing Benicassim in 2005 I never looked at T the same way again. Benicassim just seemed to have it all going on - of course the sunshine and proximity to the local beach helped! The site was set out perfectly, tarmac (the site is an old airfield) meant that even the odd summer shower meant there was no danger of things turning into a mudbath, the recycling and incredible lack of litter on site was amazing, the variety of acts on offer, bands playing long into the night.... sunshine!

I know that the same thing happened to others who ventured south to Glastonbury, or to Bestival, or went over to Primavera or even further afield.

And for the price of a cheap Ryan Air or Easyjet flight then you easily could. I think my Benicassim ticket in 2005 was £100 and that allowed me to camp for a week! Talk about value for money.

There is a HUGE market for live music and outdoor shows/festivals in Scotland. But things change and that market has to move with what music fans want and it also has to assess the competition what is working (here and elsewhere) and what isn't.

Mud, mud, glorious mud?

Could Brexit and the price of the £ have played a role in the decision to take a break? Will it be a lot more expensive to get bands to the UK due to the pound falling so dramatically against the Euro?

Music fans tend to consume in singles or a few songs from an album; so do they want a 3 or 4 day festival when they really only want to see and hear a few of the acts on offer? If these acts were all playing on a bill at Glasgow Green with easy transport access or the option to stay somewhere with a proper shower.......well then that is quite an attractive proposition to a large number of people.

T has been rotating the headliners for a number of years and has sadly been suffering in the way the music business has been suffering - the new bands are just not breaking through in the numbers they once were. So shaking up the festival isn't as easy as it once was.

Stone Roses smashed T in the Park in 2016

Bellahouston Park has been playing host to large scale concerts by the likes of Biffy, Paulo and Calvin Harris for years. Glasgow Green has also played host to the likes of Oasis, the Chilli Peppers, The Strokes and more recently the Stone Roses.

The format works and the concerts generally sell-out. It would seem a much more safer option for promoters than tackling T after such a drop in 2016. And I am pretty sure that music fans would respond well to 3or 4 large outdoor shows with huge names in proximity to the city centre.

We'll soon find out.

So what Scottish festivals are on offer next summer?

As the news that Brew At The Bog wouldn't be continuing also came out a short time ago. All I know is that there are enough people in Scotland who want to go to festivals and enough creative people to put them on - we'll be fine. Times-are-a-changing - but that isn't a bad thing.

Let's have a quick look at 3 of them; Belladrum, Electric Fields and the Kelburn Garden Party. Before I do, I caught up with David Blair from festival favourites Colonel Mustard and the Dijon 5 for his take on them.

Guaranteed to put a smile on your face

David - Belladrum, Electric Fields and the Kelburn Garden Party were all highlights for Colonel Mustard and The Dijon 5 on the festival circuit this summer. We played 18 across Scotland, England and South Korea! The first two we played for the first time and were mightily impressed with the diverse line-ups that recognised both established acts and up-and-coming Scottish acts.

Kelburn Garden Party is well known to us having played there a few times. It seems to get better every year and the work that goes into their Neverending Glen is worth the entry fee alone. One of the most stunning natural assets for a festival anywhere.

Should these festivals look to expand given the gap left by T and Wickerman?
If logistically they can expand, then I believe they should. I don't think they need to massively increase their capacities but if they have a great reputation then they deserve to thrive and get more punters in to help with the acts they can book and help to create memories for people to take away and tell their pals. Hopefully starting a positive feedback loop that benefits everyone involved in the music industry.

Colonel Mustard and the Dijon 5 - on location at Kilburn

ELECTRIC FIELDS - 1ST-2ND SEPTEMBER 2017
Electric Fields was fantastic this year and I know from speaking to the organisers that they learned a lot from the move to 2-days and the increase in capacity. The feedback they received was overwhelming and the first two tiers of tickets released have already sold out. They look to have the boutique festival sorted - something Scotland has been crying out for for a long time. Many music fans I know reminisce fondly of Indian Summer and Connect.

The atmosphere at EF2016 was exceptionally friendly and it was fantastic to see a lot of young families there. The festival really supports Scottish music with Scottish acts featuring across the main stage, Stewart Cruickshanks Stage, Sneaky Pete's stage and the Tim Peak's Diner.

With the weekend news - will they look to increase the capacity again?

The beautiful setting of Drumlanrig Castle is around an hour from Glasgow. Keep an eye on their website and social media feeds for tickets and line-up announcements. I have heard through the grapevine that the line-up is pretty established already.

BELLADRUM TARTAN HEART - 3RD - 5TH AUGUST 2017
I've never been to Belladrum! One year it had Edwyn Collins, The Lemonheads and Teenage Fanclub - I was travelling! I have thought about going and I have only heard good things about the festival site and atmosphere - but truth be told, the line-up hasn't appealed to me over the last few years.

That might change for 2017 as Sister Sledge have already been confirmed as one of the headliners! Their Kelvingrove Bandstand show in the summer was exceptional and they have sold out the Barrowland Ballroom in December. They will get the party started.

Check this cracking promo video from 2016 below.

KELBURN GARDEN PARTY - 30TH JUNE - 3RD JULY 2017

Another I haven't been to, but an increasing number of friends are going year on year and they have said they want to keep it a secret....well it's out the bag! Not just because of me, but word of mouth is the best form of promotion and those that go and don't want to keep it a secret tell friends aplenty. 

Check this beautiful film from 2016. It might just sell it for you.