Rolling news...forthcoming single, Midge Ure support, gig this Saturday!

Where to start? I need a brew first.

A lunch time trip to the corner shop for a tin of beans, a loaf of sticky white bread, toilet roll, pint of milk and the Guardian newspaper, is all part of the rugged glamour of urban living in the north of England. Rock n'roll.

Plus I'm raring up for a trip to Manchester's Academy 2 to see the Levellers tonight. A heroic musical inspiration for all the soul survivors of the 21st century intent on resisting the daily economic inequality drive and its planet killing side effects. Good tunes and fierce comradery for all.

And of Sweeney!

Hannah Dacey is back from London with her double bass, she's borrowed an even better one from the Royal College of Music and has trained more intensely in the art of playing and performing, with some new experimental string sounds lurking in her repertoire which fairly blew my mind.

She made it into the studio to lay down tracks for three Sweeney songs at Sunnyside last night with the help of producer Rob Kentell and musician with the Susie Jones Band at Rubi Records. I'm very happy with the sound and feel of them and we're hoping to realease a double sided downloaded online/radio single by early 2014.

This is before we even record the now EP Hope In Exile. Again with a target date of Easter. There's no shortagage of songs it's all about making time between scrapping for cash. It's about organising Katie, Hannah, Anna and myself into sessions when we live such busy musical lives.

Tomorrow we'll be meeting up in my Preston flat, all four of us, for a pre gig practice of the new set. Thankfully, a friend has brought me a Christmas Tree and I have hoovered the rug already, so we should feel jovial up here. (can't say I've decorated it like).

Because we're performing live at the Korova Arts Cafe & Bar at 9pm on Saturday December the 21st in Preston as part of the Saturday Acoustic night. It's going to be followed by a Christmas Party involving shovel loads of local musicians. The gig will also follow on from a theatre performance upstairs - so expect it to be busy, busy, as there is a chance that actors and musicians will mingle and bolster the crowd with extra creativity and winter body heat!

At this point I have to mention  our last fantastic night at the Middle Earth Beer and Music Festival last Saturday at a large village hall in the deep of Lancashire hobbit countryside. Apart from seeing so many friends we've been organising gigs, playing for  and drinking beer with (well I have) for years. Apart from enjoying a really fired up, much tighter set with Elliott Dryden of The Remedy standing in for Hannah (very cool player - and thank you Elliott) , Katie Ritson and Anna on full kit. I have to mention Manchester's George Borowksi and his band, the Fabulous Wonderfuls.

George is well known among the most famous of Manchester musicians for being a charismatic force for musical soul and once again truly inspired the audience not just to enjoy the music but to care about each other as human beings. And then proceeded to give my songwriting some massive public praise on the microphone, which meant a lot to me. It took about two days to sink in but it really helps to have such warm hearted encouragement from someone you admire and respect. Thanks George.

He gave me permission to use a similar online quote on the Sweeney Astray sites and along with the support from Rob and Susie at Rubi Records, it's the kind of boost which makes us all feel more opitimistic about our gigs and recordings than ever before.

Finally we are happy to say we've been offered a support slot with Midge Ure of Ultravox in February 2014 plus another bunch of gigs - so watch this space - as they say.

Mike Kneafsey

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