As Captain Kirk said in The Wrath of Khan, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” (Admittedly, he was quoting Charles Dickens.)
The worst of times is that we have had to pull out from our appearance at Summer’s End this coming Saturday October 5th. Carollyn is simply too ill to sing. We cannot tell you how sorry we are about this, and how much we apologise to everyone involved.
It started on the evening after our gig with Big Big Train at the Stables, Milton Keynes on September 24th (without doubt, the very best of times).
While I was busy talking to friends both old and new in the foyer after the show, Carollyn slipped back to the dressing room. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but when I caught up with her later she explained that she was not feeling well and she needed to rest otherwise our gig with FoxPalmer and The Blackheart Orchestra in Oundle on 27th September was in doubt.
She rested her voice completely but when we came to run the set that Friday morning before the gig, Carollyn could not get through a phrase and as you know, her voice is the emotional core of Storm Deva. We were therefore forced to cancel – thank you Bob Cheatham and everyone at VicsGigs, not to mention the other bands, for being so understanding.
Over the weekend, however, instead of getting better Carollyn got worse. We did a couple of covid tests but each came back negative, even though her symptoms were exactly what others were reporting – specifically losing your voice.
When her speaking voice did work, she was sounding very gravelly. We talked about her performing the set with a death-metal vibe. After all if Michael Åkerfeldt is reviving them on Opeth’s new album, why not?
Joking aside, Summer’s End was to have been the premiere performance of Storm Deva in its full band configuration, and we had the entire week running up to the performance blocked out for rehearsals. On Sunday, however, it became clear that Carollyn would not be able to begin rehearsals. We agonised over whether we should hold tight, hope Carollyn recovers in a few more days and then put everything together late in the week but ultimately that seemed like the wrong decision.
Summer’s End was a very big deal for us. We’ve been planning it for months. We were thrilled to be representing Progzilla radio in their Progzilla Presents slot at such a prestigious event in the prog calendar. Nothing short of our very best would possibly be acceptable – not least because we know that there are a lot of you waiting for the full-fat Storm Deva to appear!
We also wanted to give the organisers enough warning to find a replacement. So, we contacted Huw Lloyd-Jones and told him what was happening. We can’t thank Huw and everyone involved with Summer’s End enough for being so understanding. And we wish our replacements, The Mighty Ra, all the luck in the world opening the festival on Saturday.
All in all, it means that I remain on Lemsip duty for a while longer yet, and that our first full band appearance will now be at The Camden Club on 17th November in a double headline show with The Wood Demons. You can buy tickets for that here (never miss a marketing opportunity right?)
Will we get an invitation to a future Summer’s End? I don’t know but as Caption Kirk also said in The Wrath of Khan, “I like to think that there are always possibilities.” (Admittedly he was quoting Mr Spock)
Huge thanks and apologies to those who were going to be helping us at Summer’s End in various different capacities. Roger Marsh, Mike Whitfield, Graham Clark, Colin Smith, Sue Smith. We will see you all soon, and we will repay your loyalty ten fold!