Brave Dave takes Stock

The show will be his first back in the saddle following a near death experience that culminated in major surgery to remove a brain tumour from his acoustic nerve.

The whole Acoustic Neuroma episode has left the Sheffield musician deaf in one ear, but he is stoical.

All was going well for the melodic rockers with a knack for witty lyrics, including a monthly residency at Sheffield's Frog and Parrot, until back in late March Dave's life changed.

"After a band rehearsal I came home and crept into bed as normal, only to be woken about 3am with the headache from hell," he recalls.

"It's hard to describe it now, but there just weren't enough tablets in the house to clear it. It fluctuated for the next couple of days and by the weekend had calmed down. It returned with a vengeance so I went to the doctors."

When his GP couldn't find anything wrong Dave, from Halfway, was referred to hospital where he was scanned and doctors spotted an Acoustic Neuroma benign brain tumour.

"They are quite rare - about one in 40,000 people get them - and it wouldn't kill me as long as they operated within the next couple of months. Otherwise I'd be dead within a year or two, although the pain would have sent me barmy first. "

Dave, 42, had it removed from in a 16-hour operation in May. "To cut it out the surgeon and his team had to drill through the cavities behind my left ear. I now have no hearing at all in this ear.

"Because as it's been growing for such a long time other nerves have become entangled with it and come to rely upon it for stability. It's caused by something called the Schwann cell reproducing too quickly. Nothing I have done has made this thing grow,- it just happened. It's probably been growing for about 15 years and during that time has stretched the next muscle along, the facial muscle.

"So now, as well as being deaf in one ear - they let me keep my external ear so I could still put my glasses on - I am also experiencing temporary facial paralysis as the facial muscle tries to pull in the slack and co-ordinate with my facial expressions. I am told it might take a year or two to return to normality or it might never fully recover."

Cool Canasta, who grew out of a band called Y, settled into the current line-up 18 months ago and had been gigging solidly. Alongside Dave (vocals/guitar) are Chris Lawrence (drums/vocals), Tony Crookes (keyboards/vocals) and Ade Carver (bass).

Aside from his wife Joanne having to tape his left eye closed every night - "our eyes naturally stay open and, therefore, we need muscle strength to close them, which I haven't got yet" - Dave says it's not all been bad.

"While in hospital I lost well over a stone and although I've put some back on, I'm still a lot lighter than I used to be. And I can get twice as much music on my iPod as everything is now compressed into mono."

Cool Canasta play a busy Saturday roster at the Division Street pub that includes the promising Ruinetti, a thriving Alvarez Kings, Birmingham's Oh Castro and smart newcomers Pistolas Kicks.

Four days of Frogstock begins tonight at 6pm, however, when Bochum Parkway, Imaginary Heroes, Bedford Incident, The Flux Capacitors and Peter Duffield make some noise. Red Sharks drive up from Leicester and Sleeping With Jackie Chan, aka Black Light Theatre, also clock in. For the latter this comes ahead of debut single 1402 Valentines Massacre appearing on Hooked Up Records on October 1.

Sunday sees Mybe top a 12-band bill the highlights of which include a return from The Letter and Tianenman, Little Ze turning it down for an acoustic set and Sheffield/ Nottingham combination A Silent Film Project, plus Bridlington miss Ida.

Monday sees Vegas Child headline - hot on the muddy heels of playing the Carling Festival in Leeds with a potent city contingent of Little Man Tate, Screaming Mimi, The Long Blondes and the Reverend - with Firesuite, The Strangers, Derby's Addictive Philsophy and Electric Zoo among those ahead of them.

Doors open at noon the rest of the weekend with music until midnight each day. And aside from showcasing a shedload of local talent Frogstock is raising funds for meningitis research. This follows Frog boss Nick's son spending time in Sheffield Children's Hospital with the bug.