A bit more to report on this week. 3 gigs, 2 of mine and 1 of somebody else's!
A GOOD INNINGS AT THE CRICKETERS....
Yes, OK, I'll never make a headline writer. This was my band's first visit to the Cricketers Arms in Keighley on Friday night (the 22nd). The venue had come highly recommended to me by several musicians as a good one to try, a musician's pub no less. There's always a bit of nervous anticipation playing somewhere for the first time, as is only natural there's a slight fear of the unknown. This often makes for a better gig (if it goes well of course!).
I needn't have worried about anything, it was a superb night and a real little gem of a venue. It's quite small but with a stage and as it's just one room it's easier to get people's attention. Apparently this was a quiet night by their standards (due to the bank holiday) but it was still rather full and generated some real chemistry between band and punter. So I can't wait to fix another date and go back there, I'd add this to the growing list of 'finds' we've made. The band always tends to go down better in this sort of pub, where there's a real effort made to get live music going. They run about 4 bands a week (!), including a popular blues night on Tuesdays. This one scores a 7.
JEAN-MICHEL JARRE
This is the one of somebody else's. I went to see the godfather of synthesised music at Manchester Arena on Saturday night. It may not be obvious these days, but I was and am a huge fan and his music has been a huge influence on me. It was quite an emotional night. I've seen him before, in 93&97. This was an indoor, more scaled-down production, with modest lighting and no fireworks! It let the music breathe better and it also sounded superb, definetly one of the best sounds I've ever heard in there.
In the days when I'm more likely to quote Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen as major influences, it's easy for me to forget what a childhood hero Jarre was to me. When I was about 11 all I wanted to do was compose and perform instrumental electronic music. It's a love I've often neglected but one I feel I might just re-kindle now. To that end I dusted off my Roland Keytar for Sunday's gig and warned the band to prepare for electronic drums, lazer harps and a big firework bill.
OUTDOORS AT THE GROVE
Yes, it finally happened yesterday (Sun 24th), the sun came out big time. As we arrived at the Grove it became clear that the best option would be for us to set up outside and play to the people enjoying some much-needed sun. After health&safety requirements were satisfied (ie, the pub found me a baseball cap to wear) we played an enjoyable outdoor set. The Grove is surrounded by huge modern buildings and this created a good atmosphere as the sound reverberated around. Playing my keytar, I couldn't help think of the possibility of screening giant projections off the buildings and letting fireworks off the roof....maybe next time we play there. Score this one 6.
I'm not doing a full days' work today (if I ever have done one) as I'm off to the stock cars at Belle Vue, it's sunny at the moment so hope it holds out, otherwise it could become a mudbath like last time!
The band is doing a show this Friday (29th) at the Plough in Warmfield near Wakefield. This is another of our favourite venues so we shall be looking forward to that one.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Music Thoughts
I found a brilliant website last week.
http://musicthoughts.com
It's a collection of quotes on all aspects of music, from all kinds of people. I particularly enjoyed the 'music business' section. If you ever wonder what us musicians think about what we're doing, this section may help! There's some great quotes from people like Frank Zappa, Bob Dylan and even Oscar Wilde.
It certainly made my day on Friday.
The band will be back out this week twice. On Friday 22nd it's The Cricketers in Keighley followed by the Grove on the 24th starting at 2pm.
http://musicthoughts.com
It's a collection of quotes on all aspects of music, from all kinds of people. I particularly enjoyed the 'music business' section. If you ever wonder what us musicians think about what we're doing, this section may help! There's some great quotes from people like Frank Zappa, Bob Dylan and even Oscar Wilde.
It certainly made my day on Friday.
The band will be back out this week twice. On Friday 22nd it's The Cricketers in Keighley followed by the Grove on the 24th starting at 2pm.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Don't know what to write about...
Our gig on Friday was cancelled (don't worry, they hadn't heard us in advance) so I'm struggling a bit for news this week. I was going to mention UIC Radio but I notice I did that last week. John has now played 2 of my songs ('Money From The Satisfied' and 'Laura Jones'), so that's really good news.
And I've no gigs this week at all, which is extremely unusual for me. Not that I'm upset about that, it's been so busy that it's very much welcomed. And it should give me time to catch up in the studio and on some other jobs. I try and do at least a short session in the studio every day (except on gig days). This sometimes means a quick half-hour blast when I feel about as creative as a major label A&R man. But it's good discipline to work on, because I can still see that mountain of songs on my piano waiting to be recorded.
If you add in the daily myspace updates (my own and the Paradise Street page), gig bookings, band admin, accounts, web promotion for both projects.....then it soon mounts up. So a free weekend is something to really look forward to. I enjoy gigs, but it is still classed as work.
It can be confusing at times. Last week I saw that I was receiving more 'hits' on my first album page than on any other, and it's the only one I'm not currently promoting! And there's been a recent increase. Maybe I should just do less and see if more happens.
With no gigs this week it will be interesting to see next week's blog topics, any ideas let me know.
And I've no gigs this week at all, which is extremely unusual for me. Not that I'm upset about that, it's been so busy that it's very much welcomed. And it should give me time to catch up in the studio and on some other jobs. I try and do at least a short session in the studio every day (except on gig days). This sometimes means a quick half-hour blast when I feel about as creative as a major label A&R man. But it's good discipline to work on, because I can still see that mountain of songs on my piano waiting to be recorded.
If you add in the daily myspace updates (my own and the Paradise Street page), gig bookings, band admin, accounts, web promotion for both projects.....then it soon mounts up. So a free weekend is something to really look forward to. I enjoy gigs, but it is still classed as work.
It can be confusing at times. Last week I saw that I was receiving more 'hits' on my first album page than on any other, and it's the only one I'm not currently promoting! And there's been a recent increase. Maybe I should just do less and see if more happens.
With no gigs this week it will be interesting to see next week's blog topics, any ideas let me know.
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
You'll be glad to know, if you read the previous post, that I managed to get my bags of change gig fee exchanged for pound notes.
This leads us onto Friday, the 1st of May no less. We were back on form here with a gig at the Kings Arms, Heaton. This continues to be one of my favourite venues, and this despite the presence of a noise meter! I thought we played very well and at least had a crowd to feed off. It's another score of 7 from me.
On Sunday night I played solo at the Barge& Barrel beer fest in Elland. I've worked quite hard on making the solo set a)more interesting to play and b)hopefully more interesting to watch! I was pleased to be able to combine playing some that interest me and some well-known stuff at the same time. As with many gigs where people have another purpose for being there (the beer!), some were a bit unsure about who this scrote with the keyboard was...but most were receptive enough and some even quite enjoyed it! I'll score it a 5.
I spent my bank holiday chasing round the North of England watching stock cars. This started at Sheffield in the dry at 12noon and ended soaked to the skin at Manchester at 9:00pm. Having dried myself out by using an autovac at a carwash (standing in front of a jet engine had already failed) I made it to the pub. Here I got carried away taking the micky out of people who go to B&Q or SofaWorld for their bank holiday fun. Then I looked down at the inches of mud on my shoes and wondered who had the last laugh! It won't stop me though :)
My blog was also mentioned in my latest e-zine (that's a newsletter in the real world I think). So hopefully one or two more readers can be added to the list. If you saw something you found amusing please let me know!
UIC RADIO
I'd also like to give a quick mention to John at UIC Radio who has been playing some of my songs on his Monday show. There's no podcast archive at the moment but I wanted to thank him just the same, it's really appreciated.
All the best til next time.
This leads us onto Friday, the 1st of May no less. We were back on form here with a gig at the Kings Arms, Heaton. This continues to be one of my favourite venues, and this despite the presence of a noise meter! I thought we played very well and at least had a crowd to feed off. It's another score of 7 from me.
On Sunday night I played solo at the Barge& Barrel beer fest in Elland. I've worked quite hard on making the solo set a)more interesting to play and b)hopefully more interesting to watch! I was pleased to be able to combine playing some that interest me and some well-known stuff at the same time. As with many gigs where people have another purpose for being there (the beer!), some were a bit unsure about who this scrote with the keyboard was...but most were receptive enough and some even quite enjoyed it! I'll score it a 5.
I spent my bank holiday chasing round the North of England watching stock cars. This started at Sheffield in the dry at 12noon and ended soaked to the skin at Manchester at 9:00pm. Having dried myself out by using an autovac at a carwash (standing in front of a jet engine had already failed) I made it to the pub. Here I got carried away taking the micky out of people who go to B&Q or SofaWorld for their bank holiday fun. Then I looked down at the inches of mud on my shoes and wondered who had the last laugh! It won't stop me though :)
My blog was also mentioned in my latest e-zine (that's a newsletter in the real world I think). So hopefully one or two more readers can be added to the list. If you saw something you found amusing please let me know!
UIC RADIO
I'd also like to give a quick mention to John at UIC Radio who has been playing some of my songs on his Monday show. There's no podcast archive at the moment but I wanted to thank him just the same, it's really appreciated.
All the best til next time.
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