Where are we now?
I was, as usual, up early yesterday morning. Once I had dropped my partner off at the train station and returned home I slipped into my routine: put on the kettle, feed the cats, empty the dishwasher but before anything else I put on the radio. BBC 6Music has been my station of choice since it launched in 2002. “something…something…something… David Bowie’s new single…. something something… exclusive… on the breakfast show”.
A smile came to my face and I said to myself “you sly old viper…”. I was of course referring to Bowie and not myself. I thought it clever that he appeared out of the blue with a new release.
Did I like it? Damn sure I did. I’m not a Bowie fanatic so I’m not sure what caused the smile to remain on my face for the remainder of the day.
The video certainly helped.
Bowie and his producer (Tony Visconti) had succeeded in delivering an album to the world without a suspicion that anything was afoot. The man is retired (we were told), the man is seriously ill (we were told). We were told… but not by Bowie.
I reflected on the near instantaneous update-fever that social media has brought us. We see work-in-progress and we hear of plans before creation begins. I’m as guilty (if that’s the right word) as the next person.
I wonder. I really wonder if there’s something to be said for saying nothing and getting on with your art. Saying nothing until you’ve created and it can speak for itself.
I’ll leave the last word with the Thin White Duke
. . .
Where do we go from here?
Is it down to the lake?
Step one was to write and record an album…check
Step two was to put on a show and get that album out to my friends and family…check
Step three… get that album and my name out to more people and build a fan base
Here’s the downside of the reality: I’m not a young hipster, I don’t have a PR budget, there are thousands of solo artists and groups out there trying to do the same, not everyone will like my music
Here’s the upside: the internet allow me to make communication and connections, I have friends who have helped me create some promo material, I have friends who have given me some good advice and tips, I’m not a young hipster, some people will like my music
What do I do now that I’ve got those boxes of shiny albums all ready to be shipped out and an online store ready, willing and able to distribute bits & bytes around the globe at the mere click of a mouse? Maybe in future years I’ll read this and smile at the naivety…maybe other independent artists will read and learn from my mistakes. Or maybe some of this will work?
Video
Let’s start with video. Video is powerful and it works for the artist 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Back in October I spent a day getting a promo video produced by a friend with expertise and patience. It’s edited and will be used for one of the singles I’m going to release (more on that later). It was shot in hi-definition, will be rendered in cool black and white and should be broadcast quality. This cost me almost nothing. I pulled in some favours to get the chap to shoot it with his cameras and lighting (he is a good friend of many years so it wasn’t too hard), another favour to get the location (an empty dance rehearsal studio) and a few candles & props bought in a hardware shop. Oh and lunch for the gang on the day of the shoot.
The show we did for the album launch celebration was videotaped also and properly recorded. That gives me some great material to use. First I’ve started putting individual songs onto YouTube here’s one. The full show is up there now on YouTube in lovely 1080p hi-definition and I’ll be sharing it with fans who have bought the album as a “thank you”. Anyone who buys/bought the album will get a lower-resolution downloadable version too. Fans should feel a connection and that they’re getting something special in return for their support. The full show lasts just over 45 minutes and it cost me €200 expenses for a cameraman to bring 4 cameras to the gig and to operate those cameras with an assistant. I already had editing software on my studio computer so it cost nothing but time to edit.
With video, CD quality tracks and the internet at my fingertips here is where I’m targeting:
Radio
Wikipedia threw up a page of information on radio stations in Ireland. I spent an evening going to each stations website gathering contact information an presenter names for the key shows on each station: the breakfast show, the afternoon show, the drive-time show and then looking for “Irish Music” shows.
Doing some internet searching for “Irish music shows” has revealed shows around the USA and UK who will play contemporary Irish music. I’m emailing them for submission guidelines and to make that important first connection. Skype makes “phone-in” interviews and performances a possibility now for independent artists.
Through the next year I will take 3 songs from the album and release them as ‘singles’. Most radio shows do not want full albums. The first single might be ignored by most, the second will have a familiar name and hopefully by the third they’ll play it. Cost? editing the song down to under 4 minutes is free in my own studio, I’ll be pulling in a favour to have a simple CD sleeve designed (I’ll reuse the artwork from the album) so printing 50 inserts will cost less than €40, 50 clear PV sleeves are €5 and 50 CDs will cost around €50 if not less. Add on a bubble-envelope and postage at €1.50 each and you’ve got a single out to radio for around €250.
I hope to be able to appear on some of the regional radio shows and if I have my way I will locate intimate acoustic gigs in those major towns so that I can try and make new fans while ‘on the road’. This will be tricky as I’ll have to find the gigs which, based on past experience, isn’t so easy.
Blogs
TV
I hadn’t considered TV until it was suggested to me by someone with a good bit of mileage in the business of music. There is only 1 Irish TV show I know of devoted to music so I’m going to have to be creative here. The promo video (mentioned earlier) might get onto a magazine or light entertainment programme and the live video will hopefully convince someone that a handsome bunch of musicians can be gathered for an appearance to mime to my latest single. What the hell… someone has to get onto these shows eh?
Timing
I’ll have little control over the timing of all of this. All I can do is hope some of the stars align. At least when the year is out I can say I tried…
Stop and smell the roses
I know that it’s the wrong time of year to smell roses. It’s a good time to stop and reflect. I’m not one for reflection I’m pretty driven and don’t do slow days.
Typing this while on a train from Tralee County Kerry back to Dublin the day after appearing as one of 10 finalists in the IMRO 2012 Christie Hennessy Song Contest.
Today my album “Other People’s Hats” is officially released. (Official because the song contest rule required that entries were not commercially available at the time of the contest final).
We had a few drinks (well.. ok… several drinks) after the show last night and I paused to remind myself that I had achieved a couple of personal goals that I set myself back in 2007 when I began this songwriting and performance journey. Journey. I don’t like that expression. It has been appropriated by reality TV.
If you had told me 5 years ago that I’d have performed a show in Dublin with a full band in front of a full venue to celebrate the release of an album with the lead track from the album featured as a song contest finalist I’d have said “yes please”. Damn it feels good to have gotten this far.
So what do I do next? I need to recoup the costs involved in the album production, and the show production. So get the fingers clicking ladies & gents: buy a copy at my online store. You can get a digital download or physical CD (you get an immediate download when you buy the CD).
While that’s all happening I’m going to get the album out to some selected reviewers and some radio shows. This isn’t as easy as it sounds: I don’t have time to check up on radio shows every day to see if they’re playing my music and there are not many blogs or publications that feature “adult contemporary folk rock”… that’s my label…. or if there are then I haven’t found them.
There is a video coming soon for another song on the album. I’m hoping that interest in the video will generate some more sales & add more fans to my mailing list.
This week I’m going to start flexing the songwriting muscle again and get myself back to a level of fitness that will be the start of the next album. In between I will be mixing the live video from the launch show.
See what I mean about driven?
.. don’t forget your shoes and socks and shirt and tie and all…
Back in August I received an email from IMRO telling me about the 2012 Christie Hennessy Song Contest. It was free to enter and I had a song recorded so I figured I had nothing to lose…
I completely forgot about it.
Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago and I receive an email telling me that the song is one of the 10 finalists in the competition.
Now, I’m realistic enough to know that with all those professional songwriters up there I’m doing well just to be in the final.
So yes I’m pleased. It’s a validation.
On Saturday 17th November (the day after I arrive back from the west coast of the USA from a business trip) I’m taking a train down to Tralee and the Brandon Hotel (yes.. the Rose Of Tralee venue).
Joining me on stage to perform “This Hometown” will be Suzanne Bushnell.
Rules of the competition mean I cannot commercially release the song until after November 17th. This is the reason for the November 18th album release date.
What do you mean you haven’t heard of Christie Hennessy?
Christie released his first album “Christie Hennessy” (also known as “The Green Album”) in 1972, “The Rehearsal” 1992 (triple platinum), “A Year In The Life” 1993 (quadruple platinum), “Lord of Your Eyes” 1994 (triple platinum), “The Box” 1996 (triple platinum), “This Is As Far As I Go” 1999 (double platinum), “The Definitive Christie Hennessy” 2003, “Stories For Sale” 2005, “The Platinum Collection” 2007.
Christie was discovered by the late John Peel.
Christie composed the theme tune and incidental music for the BBC TV series “Get Well Soon” written by Ray Galton (“Steptoe & Son”) and composed and wrote a musical/feature film about his native Ireland “Two Stops to Paradise”.
As well as writing Christie produced two of his own albums with Steve Nye, “The Box” and “This Is As Far As I Go”. He solo produced Aled Jones’ album “Whenever God Shines His Light”.
The following artists are among the many who have covered Christie’s songs.
Christy Moore – “Don’t Forget Your Shovel” Frances Black – “All The Lies That You Told Me” Moya Brennan – “Oh Jealous Heart” Nizlopi attained their first No.1 (“JCB Song”) sampling some of Christie’s lyrics from “Don’t Forget Your Shovel” (Xmas single 2005 – UK & Ireland)
My hat is off… won’t you stand up and take a bow?
Solo singer-songwriter. Solo.
Solo?
No. Not solo. Thinking about the recordings I’ve made this year I have to acknowledge the great musicians and friends who have made it possible for me to sit here on the eve of releasing an album of my own music and fulfilling a dream.
Let’s start at the bottom end…
Mark O’Reardon has been working with me for over a year. Spending time learning the songs, doing bass parts and playing gigs. Then he spent tiring evenings putting down bass tracks until they were just right.
I have really enjoyed his “Blockheads” noodling which brought some nice rhythm to the songs.
Mark is now a full-time musician so if you’re looking for a session player who will bring something to the party… look no further.
Speaking of the bottom end… my long time pal Dan Prendiville helped me out when demoing the songs and one of his bass parts stayed through to the end on the song ‘Dirty Little Secret’. I first met Dan in the early 1980s and we were in a band together for all of a month. 
Sharing similar musical tastes it was only a matter of time before our paths crossed online in an XTC email discussion list. We traded song ideas and have co-written a few which we should get around to releasing one day…
It’s great to have someone you can trust with raw ideas. Dan encouraged me when I started writing songs ‘properly’ about 4 years ago. Whenever I hit a block on lyrics I knew I could depend upon his literate mind. You should check out his back catalogue: he’s quite prolific.
The songs were recorded in my home studio which was a bonus in many ways (no clock watching) and a problem in others (no clock watching).
The core recording system was a 12-year old ProTools TDM system running on a Mac G4. This system was state of the art and good enough for albums in the 2000’s so it was good enough for me.
I needed some current technology for samples/loops/synths so used a 2007 MacBookPro with an old version of Logic.
Early in 2012 the Ma
cBookPro died (well sort of… it works but you can’t see anything on the screen).
I took stock of what I was doing and realised I was limiting myself transferring some parts from Logic across to ProTools. This was an opportunity to step back and think about what I really needed.
I bought a Mac Mini Server with plenty of power and RAM. I invested a week of evenings in learning Logic Pro. The initial learning curve wasn’t as tricky as I was led to believe and most of the time (thanks to the internet) I can do what I need to with the system. My core tools haven’t changed: good microphones, mic-preamps, an acoustically treated room and some good monitors.
Late in 2011 I was introduced to Tim Creedon who I had met in the past. He has been a stalwart of the live music scene in Dublin: go look him up I think you’ll be impressed with his resumé. 
Tim came along to a gig one Sunday and said he’d like to play. This was a good move on Mark’s part because I was unsure whether I would be able to progress to a traditional 3-piece act. He was right and by early 2012 Tim was in my studio playing an electronic kit. The electronic kit triggers real drum sounds and makes the recording process so much easier for a novice producer like me. Many albums these days use drum replacement: the original drum sounds are replaced with samples of wonderfully recorded drums.
Tim has brought a great dynamic to the songs. Something y9ou cannot always get with programmed drums. His experience was spot-on when making arrangement suggestions.
When I was writing the song “This Hometown” I heard it as a duet. The subject matter of the song is a couple who are emigrating. They’re not going because they are being forced to: they’re making a choice and going to explore the world. 
The female voice was part of the conversation. Mark suggested I contact Suzanne Bushnell whose reputation as a quality singer and performer was known to me. I have to admit I was unsure if Suzanne would agree: remember I’m doing all of this on a shoestring and cannot realistically pay people. I wish I could but I can’t. The subject never even came up and I was delighted with Suzanne came to the studio and nailed the track in a single session. Her performance was so good I had to give myself a good talking to and re-record my own vocal.
Encouraged by the success in brining Suzanne into the studio I commented that the song “Elvis Has Left The Building” would benefit from a Pedal Steel guitar.
I adore the sound of this instrument. I first became truly aware of it when I got my first copy of George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass” triple-album. Pete Drake was the point of reference when I sat writing the song so I decided to go for it. I was introduced to a real gentleman: Joe Ryan. A consumate professional musician and a joy to work with.
Way back in the 1980s when I was hawking my godawful synth playing around town I ended up in a wonderful band which featured David Mayne.Dave is a professional musician and has studied under some jazz legends. A chance encounter meant our paths crossed a couple of years ago. 
I asked if he was interested in making a recording as I had a song which I reckoned would benefit from tasty saxophone.
Dave obliged and gave me several tracks which I had great difficulty choosing from. “Saving Souls” features Dave and the track wouldn’t work without his contribution.
While working on “Saving Souls” I heard in my mind’s ear an acoustic slide guitar being played with bottleneck.
I’m not really a lead guitar player and it really needed a blues influenced player. Step up Jude Shiels. Jude is a great family friend and he popped into the studio one saturday afternoon nailing the track in 2 takes.
I’m sure when you hear the song you’ll agree that he brought a lovely atmosphere and vibe to it.
Last but, of course, not least the track “From The Other Side Of The World” which was lifted by the slide & lead guitar parts Steve Somerset emailed to me.The internet allows me to work with any musician regardless of their location and Steve’s contribution demonstrated how technology is putting great power into the hands of independent artists.
When our mutual friend Paul Culnane passed away I wrote the song (with lyrical help from Dan) and thought it would be great to get Steve to contribute. I was right: I asked him to channel the spirit of George Harrison and damn me if he didn’t nail it !
It’s great to have friends and although I’m probably truly a solo artist (since you cannot really be in a band once you’re out of your teens… an argument for another day) it has been rewarding working with such good friends and talented people.
Hats off !
Who’s Next?
Hi, it’s been a while. “Where’s this CD?”
Writing, arranging, learning, re-writing, recording, re-recording, procrastinating.
This takes so much time.
Never mind though… while I’ve kept the day gig going I’ve carved out time with some good friends and professionals to get to the stage where I’m almost ready to release a mini-album. Back in January 2012 I ended up having to tear up all I’d done the previous year. This was due to reasons too boring to go into (and I already blogged about it…) but the silver lining was a higher-tech system with a better toolset for me to use and abuse.
A colourful patchbay and some comfy headphones
Late January I has bass (Mark) and drums (Tim) in for a session to record a rhythm section on two songs I’d prepared. Bass was easy enough to record but this was the first time I’d tried recording drums using an electronic kit which triggered sampled drum sounds on the computer. It worked a charm. An absolute charm.
Now that I’d proven the system could work and I learned how much I benefitted from having a drummer on my songs (see also: bringing a bass player into the picture last year) I began preparing all of the songs and tracks ready to add real bass and drums.
Through the spring I waited for the drummer’s time to free up (he’s good and in demand) I explored recording with another singer and hit quite a jackpot. Through Mark I was introduced to Suzy Bushnell who is light years ahead of me in the singing stakes. From quite a musical dynasty it was obvious from the moment she sang the first line on “This Hometown (So Long)” I had hit paydirt. The song was originally written with two singers in mind since the story of the song is about a couple who decide they want to go travel the world. They won’t leave alone and they rail against the assumption that they’re leaving for the money or in shame.
Some cheap and not-so-cheap guitars. And a banjo.
When a song is recorded there’s many stages involved. Once the instruments & vocals are recorded (or ‘tracked’) the whole lot is mixed. Mixing involves finding space for every sound and a balance between the parts. Effects are added and suddenly it’s all very final. That’s it : you’re done and no more changing.
I learned a lesson here. I’ve been listening to these songs for so long I don’t know what sounds right any longer. This is something I’m already fixing with new songs in that I’m tracking and mixing and moving on. I also accepted that I needed a professional mix engineer who could give a fresh perspective but more importantly : a properly engineered mix. I can mix demos but I’m not a true mix engineer. A little research brought me to Niall Curran at Hobo Audio who did a free trial mix. I immediately knew I was right to go down this path and have just sent my third song to Niall for mixing. It has also helped me complete tracks faster because I’m not trying to mix them at the same time. I’m also able to truly finish the song and move on. I believe this will make future recordings much better & faster.
In June I brought in a proper pedal steel guitar player. Ever since hearing Pete Drake on George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass” album I’ve loved the sound of a pedal steel guitar. When I was writing “Elvis Has Left The Building” back in 2010 I heard pedal steel in my head. Since going back to my original ideas on “This Hometown (So Long)” worked so well I decided to go for it.
Joe Ryan adding pedal steel to “Elvis Has Left The Building” recorded June 2012 at my home studio “Apple Venus Recording Planet”
Joe Ryan turned out to be both a fine, fine musician and a true gentleman. He nailed the track in 4 takes and I had the delightful task of comp’ing the best bits from each take to use for the master. He was so good it inspired me to re-work my lead vocal.The track is done and on the way to the mix engineer as I type this blogpost.
Tomorrow I’ll be spending the day recording drums (morning) and bass (afternoon) on some more songs which I’m planning to send to mix next week. Closer and closer.
Where is all this leading? A mini-album will be available in September and a launch gig is planned for early October. Alongside this there are two very cool projects relating to my songs in the works which I’m excited about.
Oh and I’ve got ideas for the next bunch of songs… and the songs for the next mini-album are already almost tracked and will be mixed in the autumn… then there’s a little recording project I’m planning for the winter in between gigs to promote the first mini-album.
Next time… I’ll tell you how you can support this independent singer-songwriter.
Hit me with your rhythm stick
It’s spring and I’m in the 4th year of my songwriting journey. I started this blogpost back in November 2011 so I should probably finish it eh?
I spent summer 2011 balancing a new day job with writing, recording, the occasional gig and working with a bass player. By the autumn we were joined by a drummer/percussionist. Funny how that worked out: it wasn’t in my plan. I came to the realisation that the solo gig was fun but I had probably taken it as far as possible with the songs I have written.
Back in the day I would have scoured the Hot Press adverts and done a bunch of telephone tag before finding someone. Social networking (yes, that website) opened up a few avenues. I sent some messages and was introduced to Mark who has a really nice touch with his playing. As he said himself “we’re not 20 anymore” we know that fame-and-fortune isn’t around the corner. We played a few gigs and it made a huge difference to the live experience for me. Having a bassline underneath the guitar enables me to underplay a little and adds more dynamic to the set as we play through the songs. I saw a gig a couple of years ago when a singer-songwriter played with a bass player and knew that from the audience point-of-view it would work.
Highlight gig for me has definitely been opening for my mates in Pugwash at the Spirit Store in Dundalk. Unfortunately work travel meant I couldn’t do more dates on their Irish tour but just to play this one show was great. Pugwash attract a classy audience and they listened through my whole set.
The more songs Mark & I worked up the more I began to listen to his suggestion that we really needed a drummer. I didn’t need much convincing but was hesitant because I have liked the agility of being a 2-piece and really wasn’t sure I could find a drummer. I kinda lucked out finding such a good bass player. It was at a gig in the Grand Social when an old acquaintance turned up to have a listen. Tim is a drummer with quite a history in Irish music (Skid Row, Bell/Brush Band and more). I knew Tim from some years back when I played keys in a couple of bands around Dublin and I knew he lived nearby.
We’ve done some rehearsal and tried a gig as a 3-piece. It has worked well. In January 2012 we recorded some rhythm tracks using Tim’s electronic kit triggering nice drum samples : combines the ease of technology with the heart of a musician.
Then disaster: the MacBookPro which I have been using throughout this songwriting journey died a little while on a visit to the USA. It had most of my song recordings which were backed up but the real kicker was the set of software tools I was depending on was now unavailable to me. I used the MacBookPro to generate drum loops, synths and strings/horns before firing the whole lot over to a 12 year old ProTools system for overdubbing and mixing.
A couple of weeks were spent researching whether to repair or replace the Mac and I eventually settled on a whole new system to replace both the laptop and the ProTools rig. The result has been worth every cent spent. I’m doing everything in one program (Logic) and my production is speeding up. I can demo a song while writing and use that demo to build a proper master recording. Saves a huge amount of work. Luckily I was able to salvage most of the recordings I had done and imported everything into the new system.
The battle between writing, gigging, recording, working, travelling, family, real life has reached détente. I’ve accepted that I cannot do it all at the same time so I’ve put gigging and writing on hold until these songs are recorded.
So, what’s next on the journey? I’m finishing the recordings and planning the release of 2 EPs with about 5 or 6 songs per disc which I’ll release during the remainder of 2012. With the recordings done I’ll be able to focus on making a couple of videos and playing some shows.
Almost there !
The Spirit Is Willing
A bundle of milestones last night….
Back in 2007/2008 when I started to believe again that I could be a singer-songwriter I set myself some goals and ambitions. One of these was to play in a ‘known’ venue outside Dublin and another was to support my friends Pugwash on one of their shows. I was due to play support for more dates on their Irish tour but sod’s law ensured that work-travel commitments meant I had to pull out of the other dates.
Last night I supported the lads at the Spirit Store in Dundalk. From the minute I arrived I had a good feeling about the gig. The promoter/sound engineer/man-who-runs-the-gig Derek was not your typical grumpy wish-I-wasn’t-here-with-all-these-musicians person too often encountered. That was a great start. Once the Pugs had completed their marathon 11 minute soundcheck (a new record for them… where they get the stamina from I don’t know) I was given a proper setup and soundcheck. That does so much for your confidence and assurance that you’ll sound good and you’ll be able to hear yourself on the monitors. Mark (on bass) had plenty of time to adjust his sound and got the monitor mix he needed.
Local lad Brian Sewell opened and played a 15 minute set despite his massive hangover <grin>. The audience had a chance for a drink/smoke break and I watched the venue cat inspecting everything on the stage. Yes you read right: the venue cat. He sits on the bar downstairs and drinks milk from a shot glass. It’s that kind of venue.
still image from a video of last night's show in the Spirit Store
Onstage, a quick line check, tune check and we’re off. The room isn’t very big but that contributes to the ‘listening room’ and along with the candles creates a really comfortable environment. I opened with ‘Elvis Has Left The Building‘ and told the back story to that song. It got a laugh and as the lyric unfurled I could see smiles of acknowledgement from the audience who spotted the references to the back story.
‘Memo To You‘ was next and I had to focus because I could hear (in my mind) the jangly 12-string Rickenbacker I recorded last weekend for this song. This song is so much easier to perform live because Mark is holding down the groove in the bass and, on this gig, I could hear myself in the monitor. This allows me to exert more control over my playing and add some more dynamic to the vocal delivery. In other words: it’s not all shouty.
‘Trigger Happy‘ is a recently written song and although it’s got dark origins it’s still fun to play – anything in 6/8 (or is it 3/4 ?) time sounds different enough for an audience to give them a rest from 4/4 after 4/4 after 4/4.
‘12 Step‘ is another new-ish song and although I took the tempo a bit briskly it was probably good to bring it up again after the slow vibe of the previous song. Yet again: being able to hear myself and not having to battle with dozens of people talking meant I didn’t fall back on pushing the song at the audience and could focus on performing it.
Last song of the set is ‘From The Other Side Of The World‘ which always goes down well. I spotted a couple of the lads from Pugwash in the room and got that feeling I always get at the end of a support slot: “Man, I wish I could play for longer”. I guess that’s good … right?
Glass half-full time: songs are getting better, the sound is filling out, I’m feeling more confident and I’m finally playing some good venues and getting more access to bigger artists audiences. Next up is a few rehearsals with a drummer/percussionist who lives locally, adding some more songs to the set and dusting off my keyboard for some songs I’ve not yet played live. I hope to go out as a 3-piece at the next big gig which is at The Spout in Kilcullen on November 25th. Another venue outside Dublin and a promise of a decent 40-45 minute slot. What’s not to like?
Oh and the small matter of an album to finish recording.
We’re trigger happy
If it’s past midnight and I’m blogging I must have some adrenaline flowing. You’d be right.
I tried something new this evening: a gig with another musician. I’ve been thinking about having a bass player join me for some songs at my gigs. A chap I know put me in touch with Mark who has turned out to be just what I needed: someone who can play, doesn’t live too far away, has been there done that. We did a rehearsal last week and decided to give it a lash this evening in front of an audience.
I’m liking the feeling of having a bass underneath my vocal and guitar. It’s also nice to have someone else up there on stage. There’s additional resonsibility… I can’t suddenly change the song and I have to watch my tempos. It allows me to have a bit more control over my playing.
What didn’t work so well this evening was the sound which I have to take responsibility for. Problem identified and fixed so we’re going to do another rehearsal before the weekend. The whole middle bit between the bass & my voice just wasn’t present. Unfortunately the way I had setup my guitar signal made it impossible for anyone to fix it. Lesson learned.
I’m much happier with my vocal these days. A combination of my recent surgery and a signal processing unit I am now using live is giving me more confidence and satisfaction with how I sound.
On Sunday I’m playing the Apollo Sessions and Mark will be joining me for some of the set. I’m very close to being in a position to play a full set of my own material and I sense a venue booking in my near future.
The recordings are getting there at last ! I reviewed all the nearly-finished songs a couple of weeks ago and have enough material for 2 EPs and reckon I could complete the recordings over the next 4-6 weeks. Other bass playing friends have been adding parts and I’m more comfortable with the edits that I need to make to the recorded versions that will make them ‘different’ to the live versions of those songs.
“Trigger Happy” is a new song by the way. It’s in 3/4 time (or 6/8 if you like to count that way).
The Jolly Anglers
I’m in England for work reasons this week. To give me something positive to do in the evenings that doesn’t involve surfing the internet or sitting in a hotel bar with a book I brought my guitar…. did a little research and found some open mics to play.
Reading is west of London and where my employer and some of the folk in my new team are based. The Thames runs right beside tonight’s venue The Jolly Anglers. You’ll see it in this photo right beside that sign that warns you about motorcycles flying over cars.
I must admit to being a little apprehensive when I stepped out of the taxi and noticed that apart from the barman and the black labrador walking between the tables there was nobody else in the pub. Two or three locals appeared and caught up on whatever business had gone down since their last meeting. No doubt the last meeting was not all that long ago.
In for a penny…. I ordered some food and realised that this was not the kind of pub where one could order a glass of red wine. So I jumped right in and had a pint of the landlord’s own cider. I’m told cider is an acquired taste and I didn’t acquire the taste tonight.
The chap running the open mic arrived and setup the rather good PA system. We chatted briefly and as soon as he walked away to finish setting up his wife told me how her husband had managed to find open mics when on holiday. I mentioned my own dalliance with the holiday open mic last week in Skibbereen (Cork) but did not elaborate on the small audience made up mostly of other musicians.
As is tradition with open mics the host played a few songs. I was invited up and noticed the crowd in the pub had grown to about 20 people by this time. So I had a decision to make: do I play a cover and use up one of my allotted 3 songs? It’s like being granted 3 wishes so you use them carefully. I opted to stick to the path of original material which can sometimes work out. In this case it did. I opened with ‘Elvis Has Left The Building’ and followed it up with ‘What Do I Know?’. The ballad went down well and the audience was actually listening. As little as 4 years ago I’d have scoffed at the idea that I could wander into a venue/pub/anywhere and get a bunch of strangers to sit and listen to a song I had written. I closed my first set with ‘Bed For Sale’ which mostly involves me playing the living daylights out of my guitar 🙂
About an hour later I was asked to play again and opted for the cover version. If you’ve seen one of my gigs you’ll know that I do an interesting old English folk song (all the way from Sheffield). It went down well and the audience joined in. Always a good sign. By this time I knew the audience wanted to be entertained with familiar tunes so I shied away from original material. A call went out for ‘an Irish song’ and I immediately forgot every song I ever knew. In a panic I said I’d play a Thin Lizzy song and promptly murdered ‘Whiskey In The Jar’ but it went down well.
The landlord insisted on buying me a pint for “your lovely songs” (I’m putting that on my next press kit!) and asked if I’d be interested in playing a night there on my next visit to Reading.
Wow.
So this proves: no gig is too small and you never know where it might lead. In this case it might lead to another fun night.
Better than hanging around in a hotel bar eh?
blue eyed dressed for every situation 