We’re going where the sun shines brightly
Things to do:
- rip some CDs to iTunes ready for the iPod-shuffle mid-holiday when I realise I chose the wrong albums for the iPod
- select lots of DVDs that I probably won’t watch because the books I’m bringing are going to be enough and by 10pm every night we’re going to be ready to hit the sack anyway
- ensure I have at least one pair of pants that don’t look out of place in a restaurant
- resist temptation to add my guitar to the luggage
- resist temptation to add a little MIDI controller to the luggage
- pack the Sky gnome because we’ll want to listen to the radio down at the pool, then either forget an important cable for same or not bother using it because the iPod does the job
- bring my songwriting notebooks with great intentions but never making any real progress
- turn off the gas
We’re off to the bolt hole we found in the south of France. 3 weeks of bliss. Doing as little as possible. Once the kids are in college it’s going to be harder and harder to persuade me that engineering a retirement there is a bad idea.
Maybe I think too much for my own good
The dust has settled and the audience has moved on. Meanwhile I’m coming to terms with a little achievement.
I should be pleased. I am. But shouldn’t I be more pleased ?
Last Thursday so many people turned up to the gig I organized. More than I expected. Flattered and touched. Genuinely. However I’m a little pissed off with the venue because the PA system was inadequate. Nobody complained though a couple of people who would know these things did agree with me that it wasn’t good enough.
I have to let this go. So many things went well: I didn’t fuck up, I’m guessing some folk liked my songs, the video thing was interesting. Most of all: I Did It !!
Next gig there’ll be something else I’m not 100% happy with. Is it always going to be this way ? Probably. Better get used to it.
The ‘folktronica’ thing isn’t really happening. I write concise songs and they don’t lend themselves to un-natural extension. That’s not to say I won’t try again with 1 or 2 songs in the future. By the autumn/winter/spring I’ll have more gig-ready songs. I think that’s the reason why I went for the extended versions this time around: to fill out the gig.
I wonder what people think when they see me play this stuff. Do they really like it or are they being polite ? If they’re being polite it’s bloody expensive and time consuming for them so I can only guess they really do like what I’m doing. My other fear is that this is not sustainable: will the novelty wear off ? Next spring when I’m trying to get people to go see me in Whelans (large well known Dublin venue) will they show up again or will I be playing to a handful of die-hards ?
I’m still going to do it though. Until someone says I’m biting off more than I can chew I will keep going. I can’t not do this.
I heard second hand that one of my songs (Bed For Sale) was praised by another songwriter I admire. So that’s two: Dan & Thomas Walsh. Good enough for me. My hunch that there’s a rich vein to mine there is right. I should trust myself an little more and use my own voice.
To that end I dug out a song I had been working on titled ‘Turning Blue’. It’s not a million miles away in tempo and feel from McCartney’s “Young Boy” and the colour imagery in the song is probably a bit simple but screw it. While goofing around with the song this evening another song came out. Having had too many glasses of wine to be disciplined about finishing it I might have a bit of a slog to get 2 more verses and a middle 8. Maybe not.
Perhaps when I start demo’ing these two songs with drums & bass & electric guitars the sounds will inspire me to finish the songs. Maybe they’re not meant to be finished yet.
Reflecting back on the set I played last Thursday I know what I’m doing right:
– picking a couple of cover versions and making them my own
– keeping the songs concise
– engaging with the audience
– keeping the show going no matter what is happening
Some of the songs just aren’t going to be keepers and that’s ok. At least I know they’re not and as soon as I have better material I’ll replace the songs one-by-one. Next time around I want to open with ‘Bed For Sale’
So to close, here’s a video clip from the gig with that very song. [Yes I know the bloody camera is cutting my head off… I set it up before the gig and didn’t have time to deal with the details.]
When I was a teenager I dreamt of doing a gig where it was just me. Just me and a guitar and a drum machine. Maybe a synthesizer if I could borrow one.
Tonight I played a gig to launch my first CD. A 4-track EP titled ‘Lonely Hearts & Car Parts’
A huge crowd turned out. I say ‘huge’ because I really though maybe 10 people would show up. I was shocked. Shocked & stunned.
Theres video (not sure what the quality will be like) and lots of photos. This photo is courtesy Eric Paquin.
Tomorrow I’ll blog properly. For now I’ll put a link to where an interested person could get a copy.
I was seriously thinking about hiding the receiver When the switch broke ’cause it’s old
So this evening I did an interview and live performance on a local radio station (PhoenixFM).
I don’t know if anyone heard it apart from my family and the cat.
It was fun. I’ve been promised a CD of the programme which I’ll use to make a podcast.
The presenters (Deirdre & Louise) had done their homework. They took my biography from MySpace and used it to ask questions. I guess I made it easy for them because the stories were there to be told – they just cue’d them up and let me run. A lot of spoofing on my part of course but sure isn’t that all part of how it works ?
Part of me says ‘it’s only a local radio station, no-one was listening’ while another part of me says ‘screw that, it’s a gig and you start somewhere’.
All these bits add up.
Don’t they ?
Thank you Dan for driving all the way from Tipperary to Dublin to sit there and listen to me rehearse on Wednesday night. Your input has really helped.
So , things I’ve learned or re-learned this week:
- I can get up at a wedding and play a song I’ve written as a gift to the couple.
- I can’t do three-nights-out in-a-row. Oh man I can’t.
- There are not enough hours int eh day or days in the week. These days I’m squeezing the toothpaste every which way.
- Using a rehearsal room when preparing a gig with electronics is a must
- Edit! Less is more.
- If the vibe fits wear it
‘Be Alright’ has a folktronica arrangement which was too heavy but after some editing it’s now not over-long and I can remember the arrangement so I don’t lose my place with all the bleeps and pings.
‘Interference’ will work with acoustic but I am seriously thinking about reinstating part of the backing track for the middle 8 where I did an Andy Summers style arpeggio thing in the studio.
‘Dive’ needed a lot of re-editing but it’s there now. This is one of those songs where I think for the recording I’ll have to do something in the chorus because it’s only 1 word repeated and it feels a little repetitive.
‘Break Me’ is now being played on guitar. I’ve decided not to do a keyboard part live because it needed something more. For the gig(s) I’ll play acoustic guitar and will let the laptop play my piano part.
All-in-all I’m getting closer to material for the second CD and have an eye (just one eye mind) on a third CD.
Rehearsal tonight was focused. I didn’t bother with the acoustic songs because I can practice those at home and I pretty much know them. I took time over each track that uses the laptop.
Next Wednesday (night before the gig) I’ll go through the set twice – like a tech rehearsal.
Sitting here watching Glastonbury coverage (Friday night) I wonder ‘will I ever?’.
It’s hard doing this on your own. I like the control and I like only needing to keep ‘me’ happy. But promoting a gig alone is hard work. Bloody hell I hope people turn up for this or it’s going to be a bit of a pisser.
Checking In, Checking Out
I used a rehearsal room/studio for the first time in maybe 20 years this evening.
Last time I used one I was a keyboard player at the back of a rock/blues combo trying to find gigs and playing some classic rock & blues tracks. It seems like an eternity ago.
Tonight I wanted to see how my songs would sound through a PA system. I already know how my acoustic + vocal songs sound and I’m pretty comfortable with them. However my more ambitious songs using the laptop are a different matter entirely.
The first problem I encountered was that the PA system didn’t appear to be stereo. Now normally for bands this would not be a problem but for me it was a huge problem. My tracks sounded awful: phase problems and with no depth of field. A quick trip home (the rehearsal facility is a convenient 10 minute drive away) to get some different cables didn’t fix the problem.
That was frustrating because I really wanted to use the session to rebalance the mixes to ensure nothing horrible was happening. The balance between my vocal, the guitar and the laptop was not nice, not one little bit.
The session was not a complete waste. I figured out that my arrangement of ‘Dive’ worked but there is one chorus too many, the folktronica version of ‘Be Alright’ was just too heavy. I muted one of the tracks and voila it was fixed. Much much better. ‘Interference’ was going to use my electric guitar. In my home studio I struggled a little and in rehearsal it didn’t improve. Running out of time I decided to give my acoustic a try and it was much better. Luckily the other song (a cover version) that will use the electric will work just fine on acoustic.
So that’s one less case to carry into the gig. Me 1 – Circumstance 0.
My Taylor acoustic refused to give a signal to the PA or the tuner. Hopefully it’s just the battery. Hopefully. I really don’t fancy dismantling the pickup circuitry or replacing the socket.
Next week I’ve got 2 sessions booked. I’ll bring along my own PA amp (definitely stereo) and will leave 1 guitar at home.
…and I hope we passed the audition…
It’s been busy. Busy.
I’m determined to get a crowd to this gig on July 2nd and entertain.
The other artists are lined up.
I’ve setup facebook & myspace events and have mailed people.
Printed flyers and gave them all to people who might go. Some have confirmed (that’s always good eh?). Some family are going to make the effort and I’m even thinking of asking 1 or 2 neighbours.
Nobody owes me an audience so I’ve got to start somewhere.
The set list is ready , though I’ve rejigged it a couple of times, and I’m confident there is enough variation in sounds and songs to keep everyone interested.
Being a solo act there’s nothing really worth looking at. I like what Simple Kid does so I’m going to use similar technology and project some video (but I wont’ completely rip off his ideas… just the use of a projector).
What has been interesting about the process of routining the songs and working out the arrangements is that it has forced me to ‘just do a fucking arrangement’ for some of the songs. As a result I now have something I can record for my next couple of CDs.
I’d love to be able to do this every 3-4 months (a gig that is). Maybe if I persist and keep working hard at marketing myself that will follow. What I realise is that I’ve got to tie it all together : there needs to be a product (a CD) and an angle (‘my first gig’… ‘a known venue’… ‘I’m making a live DVD’…).
Wanna go write some songs now.
Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
Monday I played an open mic. Played some songs I haven’t always played, including Bed For Sale.
Tuesday I played an open mic.
Go me !
I was chatting with one of the other performers at the gig on tuesday and he convinced me to do a launch gig for my CD. (This is the CD for which I still haven’t received the booklets grrr). So I discussed it with the promoter and next day we agreed a date.
On July 2nd I’ll be doing something I’ve dreamt about for years. Since my teens. I’ll be doing a gig. My gig. With my songs.
Technically I’m unwell with a bad ear but I’ve been energized by this.
Wednesday I started thinking about the set I’d play. I’ve decided that I should use some technology and sounds other than my voice & acoustic guitar. To that end I started building backing tracks from my various recordings. The first track is a piano based song that I’ve been playing on guitar so it’ll be interesting to switch between instruments. Simple drum, percussion & bass with a subtle synth pad for part of the chorus.
Thursday I took the track I’ve been working on for “Interference” and stripped it down. I don’t want it to be too like karaoke so I’m being careful. Friday (tonight) I only had an hour to work on the tracks so I finished off the ‘Interference’ track. I’ll be playing electric guitar for this track. That’ll be another sound on the night.
I have an idea in mind for how to make the show a little bit more entertaining. I’m keeping it under my hat for now but if I can pull it off I’ll be very pleased. I need a projector…
Time is ticking. I need to get these backing tracks done by the end of next week and then need to get a couple weeks of rehearsal in (especially if I want to be sure that the ‘idea’ works). The ‘idea’ needs a few evenings of research and preparation too.
A funny thing happened on the way to the theatre
I bought a flat guitar tutor
Diminished responsibility
You’re de ninth person to see
To be suspended in a seventh
Major catastrophe
It’s a minor point but gee
Augmented by the sharpness of your
See what I’m going through
Ay to be with you
In a flat by the sea
In the second show of the wonderful BBC Radio series ‘ The Record Producers ‘ they took a look at the recording career of 10cc. I knew a little about them but didn’t realise just how DIY they were. These guys wrote, played, arranged, produced, engineered. They did the lot.
blue eyed dressed for every situation 