A Minute With You

You're fascinating
- That's what I reckon,
A minute with you
Would be gone in a second.

I've noticed you don't bow to convention
The reins slip through your fingers -
A sense of euphoria lingers.

Floating like a butterfly
On the breeze of my mind
hanging in my memory
You've been there some time.
- I want you to be mine.

I'm climbing my tree
As you're climbing yours.
Decisions are branches
We're climbing through doors.

We're on different bows
We're moving apart,
Further away
than we were at the start.

As paths meet and cross
Maybe make a new friend,
Some twigs become brittle
And abruptly they end.

We reach for the sunlight
And bend with the breeze,
We show off our flowers
As we cast off our leaves.

As a new Summer comes
We advance with fresh shoots,
We continue to grow
Forgetting our roots.

Springtime in Shropshire

We're returning to the Bridges to play again. Saturday, April 24th. This little pub in the middle of nowhere is very local to the Neotopia Sonic Cellar rehearsal base and it is here that we have played some of our best gigs in recent months.

Sat beside a brook between the Long Mynd hills and Stiperstones, out of sight from the nearby main road The Horseshoe Inn commands a much envied respect in pub-goers for many miles around. It's chief selling point? Good live music. Nowhere near can offer the array of bands and performers that loyally return to play here.

Good local ales and accommodation don't harm the reputation, either. Come and enjoy an evening with us, hosted by genial and lovely Landlords Mo and Bob.

We Started here

Neotopia were originally formed at the end of 2007. Original guitarist Gareth Kirk and sax playing vocalist Carolina Howells managed to keep turning up at rehearsals and gigs for around nine months before the real life inconveniences got the better of them. They both lived some forty or so miles away - and simply couldn't keep making the arduous journeys back and forth from Mid Wales.

Here, for them, for us and for those who managed to see this formative version of Neotopia up close and personal at our excellent gigs is a website, built to contain some cherished moments. Go to www.myspace.com/neotopiaone

We did it!

We've just played a gig in Rushbury, Shropshire. The set up, as mentioned in our previous installment below, came off a treat. The unknown quantity 2CV turned out to be a very capable jazz quartet - and thoroughly nice chaps to boot. Other guests included our old friends and former bandmates Des Seal, Chris Cordwell and Dick Russell doing one single three song set of bonkers Capt. Beefheart type noodling. They call themselves Corky's All Day Breakfast, now.

Skewwhiff, as suspected have been getting tighter than ever before in the bars and venues of Worcester, since we last met and gave everybody a nice surprise. Local covers band Vlaadka also turned in a succession of creditable three song sets in rotation with everyone.



The bar ran dry of Woods rather tempting ales, as the audience became disorientated by the continual rotation of bands playing to them from various corners through the night. We managed four sets of three songs at a time. Each triptych showing more of the styles and genres our music comes in.

Door takings raised over £1000 for the school funds. Further cash was raised by a raffle in aid of the Haiti earthquake appeal.


Amazingly this evening was completely free of any prerecorded music, whatsoever! No in between bands records played. Not even an intro tape!