Last Week:
It was a busier week of gigs, with one for each of my current projects. Following on from The BitterSweetShop at The Hop on Monday night (as mentioned in last week's blog), I was out with the 3-piece at the Chemic in Leeds on Thursday night. The Chemic now having witnessed all 3 of my projects.
Despite it being student holidays the pub was packed and I really enjoyed the atmosphere. Especially when we played '39 and there were premature applause before the song had finished. There are certain songs that have pauses near the end, or 'false tabs' as we sometimes call them, and if the audience are up for it you can sometimes get a cheer going at this point, without having to milk a big U2-style ending in order to let people know the song is about to finish!!
This was one such occasion and I was half-tempted to do a Freddie and hold the song up and keep the applause going for longer!!
On Saturday I had a full night solo gig at the Rose & Crown in Greetland. I'd previously played there for the LiveSpace night back in February. The pub are really into live music which got things going well from the start. I played a lot of covers and it was good to do this type of show, as I haven't done too many '2 45s' gigs lately. A throughly enjoyable night and I'll be back there in December.
This week...
A slight change in plans means the acoustic 3-piece will now be back at the Chemic this Thursday!! Who knows, we may even get some more premature applause! On Saturday afternoon (at about 4pm) it's the Yarnbury Beer Festival, in Horsforth, Leeds. This will be with Katie for the main part but I'll be doing a couple of songs solo as well.
A-Z of Music...
I'm part-way through another attempt at Fleetwood Mac's 'Say You Will' album from 2003. It's a long CD, with about 17 songs (why?), and ranges from brilliant tight tracks such as 'What's the World Coming To' to others that sound very experimental. When you compare this to the Eagles double album from 2007 which is quality throughout, one wonders why The Mac didn't just stick to the stronger tracks. There's a lot of acoustic guitar picking, similar to 'Big Love' and an awful lot of shaker on there. I just wish it was a shorter album then it would be really good! Having decided to take a break from the shaker, I switched back over to Radio 2 who were playing.....a Fleetwood Mac song!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Last Week:
I did the Ship Open Mic, solo this time, last Tuesday. I played five songs which isn't bad for an open mic night. I feel my playing's a bit rusty at the moment. I've got a busier period coming up so maybe that will help things.
One other bit of news is that the new camcorder is working well. I've managed to set a sound balance that is at least passable, so I'm hoping to crack on and post a few films very soon.
I was also out with Katie last night doing the open mic night at The Hop in Wakefield. This is one of the best music venues in the area and we did a good short set.
This week:
I'll be out with my other project, the acoustic 3 piece, on Thursday. We're giving it a blast at the Chemic Tavern in Leeds, meaning that now all 3 of my projects will have been there! Then on Saturday the 24th I've got a full night session at the Rose & Crown in Greetland. Solo this time, it starts about 9pm and will be covers and originals.
A-Z of music:
I've recently finished listening to a Bonnie Raitt live album called 'Road Tested'. In music circles, she's extremely highly regarded, and I can see why. There's a quality that's so consistent about her music. And despite the fact there isn't really a massive hit song, there's just a constant thread of good tunes, well played. Her band is so tight. I'd just love to be able to step on stage every night and play through songs that way. There's not much fancy stuff on there, it just keeps on chugging along through every number, very enjoyable to listen to.
I've also had a bit of a Genesis session recently. Ok, I've listened to the same albums many times before but it was good to re-visit the 2 live albums from the 'We Can't Dance' tour. There's a sonic quality to these that was similar to when I saw them live in 2007. It's almost too good to be true. But it really is that good! The depth to the sound, coming mainly from the keyboards, gives it an orchestral quality.
There's a moment in 'Firth of Fifth', part way through the guitar solo, when a deep rich synth pad enters, and suddenly I'm on the road to Damascus. That moment somehow typifies what I love about them. Strange, but true.
I did the Ship Open Mic, solo this time, last Tuesday. I played five songs which isn't bad for an open mic night. I feel my playing's a bit rusty at the moment. I've got a busier period coming up so maybe that will help things.
One other bit of news is that the new camcorder is working well. I've managed to set a sound balance that is at least passable, so I'm hoping to crack on and post a few films very soon.
I was also out with Katie last night doing the open mic night at The Hop in Wakefield. This is one of the best music venues in the area and we did a good short set.
This week:
I'll be out with my other project, the acoustic 3 piece, on Thursday. We're giving it a blast at the Chemic Tavern in Leeds, meaning that now all 3 of my projects will have been there! Then on Saturday the 24th I've got a full night session at the Rose & Crown in Greetland. Solo this time, it starts about 9pm and will be covers and originals.
A-Z of music:
I've recently finished listening to a Bonnie Raitt live album called 'Road Tested'. In music circles, she's extremely highly regarded, and I can see why. There's a quality that's so consistent about her music. And despite the fact there isn't really a massive hit song, there's just a constant thread of good tunes, well played. Her band is so tight. I'd just love to be able to step on stage every night and play through songs that way. There's not much fancy stuff on there, it just keeps on chugging along through every number, very enjoyable to listen to.
I've also had a bit of a Genesis session recently. Ok, I've listened to the same albums many times before but it was good to re-visit the 2 live albums from the 'We Can't Dance' tour. There's a sonic quality to these that was similar to when I saw them live in 2007. It's almost too good to be true. But it really is that good! The depth to the sound, coming mainly from the keyboards, gives it an orchestral quality.
There's a moment in 'Firth of Fifth', part way through the guitar solo, when a deep rich synth pad enters, and suddenly I'm on the road to Damascus. That moment somehow typifies what I love about them. Strange, but true.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Last week:
I made my first return to the Ship Inn in Leeds last Tuesday (July 6) since about 2007. I was doing an open mic night with Katie and am pleased to say the night is going pretty well. I do believe the pub has been closed and re-opened since I was last there so it's good to see things picking up. The management are very keen on live music, so this bodes well.
From our point of view, the little duo sounded excellent! I think we also got the best slot to play when it was both fairly busy and people were attentive. We played 5 songs on what was our 5th outing. We also now have a name, 'The BitterSweetShop', is slightly more catchy than 'Katie and Paul' or 'Her and Him' or whatever.
Seriously though, it was a good night, one of the most enjoyable gigs I've had for a while.
The camcorder I think I mentioned last week had it's first test outings on Wednesday night. I'm aiming to run it connected to my mixing desk, singing into a mic, rather than just using the in-built mic. Of course, using the keyboard means it has to be plugged into something. I still need to do a bit of work on the sound and balance, but hopefully I'm not too far away from recording a few songs ready to post on youtube.
Don't forget, you can already friend me or subscribe to my youtube channel, where you'll find a few videos of my old band.
This Week...
I liked it at The Ship Inn so much I'm going to go back tonight (July 13th) and play a solo set. I should also get chance to test the camcorder before it's off to the European Stock Car Championships at Northampton, probably my favourite weekend of the entire season.
A-Z of Music:
Did you know it's 25 years ago today since Live Aid? By which I mean the original and best one. I always feel like that was the zenith of my musical taste, the artists from around that time, and the stage at which they were at in their careers. The really strange thing is I was only 6 years old at the time and barely remember it taking place. But then there are many strange things about me. I feel like it was 'my era' for some reason.
Queen and U2 were arguably the best on the day, working the stadium rock concept to the max. I also found Sir Bob himself to be one of the highlights, giving his all during 'I Don't Like Mondays'. There were so many others as well.
It's such a shame they had to bother with Live8 in 2005. The artists that played the first time around were much older and the ones who were younger lacked the talent, passion and stagecraft to bring the event to life.
Ok, I think that doubles as the moan of the week too. I'm still having problems with Facebook but won't bore you with the details. See you next week.
I made my first return to the Ship Inn in Leeds last Tuesday (July 6) since about 2007. I was doing an open mic night with Katie and am pleased to say the night is going pretty well. I do believe the pub has been closed and re-opened since I was last there so it's good to see things picking up. The management are very keen on live music, so this bodes well.
From our point of view, the little duo sounded excellent! I think we also got the best slot to play when it was both fairly busy and people were attentive. We played 5 songs on what was our 5th outing. We also now have a name, 'The BitterSweetShop', is slightly more catchy than 'Katie and Paul' or 'Her and Him' or whatever.
Seriously though, it was a good night, one of the most enjoyable gigs I've had for a while.
The camcorder I think I mentioned last week had it's first test outings on Wednesday night. I'm aiming to run it connected to my mixing desk, singing into a mic, rather than just using the in-built mic. Of course, using the keyboard means it has to be plugged into something. I still need to do a bit of work on the sound and balance, but hopefully I'm not too far away from recording a few songs ready to post on youtube.
Don't forget, you can already friend me or subscribe to my youtube channel, where you'll find a few videos of my old band.
This Week...
I liked it at The Ship Inn so much I'm going to go back tonight (July 13th) and play a solo set. I should also get chance to test the camcorder before it's off to the European Stock Car Championships at Northampton, probably my favourite weekend of the entire season.
A-Z of Music:
Did you know it's 25 years ago today since Live Aid? By which I mean the original and best one. I always feel like that was the zenith of my musical taste, the artists from around that time, and the stage at which they were at in their careers. The really strange thing is I was only 6 years old at the time and barely remember it taking place. But then there are many strange things about me. I feel like it was 'my era' for some reason.
Queen and U2 were arguably the best on the day, working the stadium rock concept to the max. I also found Sir Bob himself to be one of the highlights, giving his all during 'I Don't Like Mondays'. There were so many others as well.
It's such a shame they had to bother with Live8 in 2005. The artists that played the first time around were much older and the ones who were younger lacked the talent, passion and stagecraft to bring the event to life.
Ok, I think that doubles as the moan of the week too. I'm still having problems with Facebook but won't bore you with the details. See you next week.
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
Last week:
A lovely summer's week it has been too! I played at the Abbey Inn festival on Friday evening. I was the opening act so was a bit unsure what the turn-out would be like. With the weather very definetly in our favour, it was a good turn-out and I enjoyed my set.
This week...
With the World Cup nearly over, it's time to start thinking about more regular outings to play gigs. I'm going to be doing a short set with Katie at The Ship in Leeds this evening (Tues 6th). I am also now in possession of a fairly basic camcorder in order to film some 'home-performances' of my songs, and some cover versions as well! I'm looking forward to doing this for a number of reasons. The main one of these is that it gives people who can't attend the shows a chance to see some live performances, without either of us having to leave our own homes! I'll be uploading those to my youtube channel so will let you know when they're there.
A-Z of music:
Listened to the rest of Paul Carrack's mid-80s solo album 'Groove Approved'. Not really any very strong tracks on this, I think his best material really began about 10 years after this point. I also listened to a Crosby-Stills-Nash album called 'Allies'. The short up-tempo opening track was very good and full of energy. The bulk of the album is live and there's a great version of 'Blackbird' about halfway through. Their material is growing on me all the time, once I get past the gorgeous harmonies and onto the songs themselves!
Speaking of harmonies, can you believe that it was only a few days ago that I had my first full listen to the Beach Boys 'Pet Sounds'?? Of course, 'God Only Knows' is one of the finest songs ever written, and I think everyone ought to agree with that (!), but what of the album as a whole? Must admit another couple of plays may be needed. The drug-influences are very strong, and that makes it harder for me to follow. Some of the songs felt like sketches without having a beginning, middle and an end. Of course, nothing wrong with that, but it was at times hard to follow what was going on. Perhaps that's how BW was feeling at the time too!
Moans:
I've finally calmed down about Facebook and my 'blockade' on friend invites has been lifted. I'm still very cautious about inviting friends on there, but will see how things settle down. The upside to all this (and there's always an upside) is that I've found a few new things to do on myspace, including utilising their excellent Instant Messenger in order to keep in touch with the many people I've added on there over the past few years.
A lovely summer's week it has been too! I played at the Abbey Inn festival on Friday evening. I was the opening act so was a bit unsure what the turn-out would be like. With the weather very definetly in our favour, it was a good turn-out and I enjoyed my set.
This week...
With the World Cup nearly over, it's time to start thinking about more regular outings to play gigs. I'm going to be doing a short set with Katie at The Ship in Leeds this evening (Tues 6th). I am also now in possession of a fairly basic camcorder in order to film some 'home-performances' of my songs, and some cover versions as well! I'm looking forward to doing this for a number of reasons. The main one of these is that it gives people who can't attend the shows a chance to see some live performances, without either of us having to leave our own homes! I'll be uploading those to my youtube channel so will let you know when they're there.
A-Z of music:
Listened to the rest of Paul Carrack's mid-80s solo album 'Groove Approved'. Not really any very strong tracks on this, I think his best material really began about 10 years after this point. I also listened to a Crosby-Stills-Nash album called 'Allies'. The short up-tempo opening track was very good and full of energy. The bulk of the album is live and there's a great version of 'Blackbird' about halfway through. Their material is growing on me all the time, once I get past the gorgeous harmonies and onto the songs themselves!
Speaking of harmonies, can you believe that it was only a few days ago that I had my first full listen to the Beach Boys 'Pet Sounds'?? Of course, 'God Only Knows' is one of the finest songs ever written, and I think everyone ought to agree with that (!), but what of the album as a whole? Must admit another couple of plays may be needed. The drug-influences are very strong, and that makes it harder for me to follow. Some of the songs felt like sketches without having a beginning, middle and an end. Of course, nothing wrong with that, but it was at times hard to follow what was going on. Perhaps that's how BW was feeling at the time too!
Moans:
I've finally calmed down about Facebook and my 'blockade' on friend invites has been lifted. I'm still very cautious about inviting friends on there, but will see how things settle down. The upside to all this (and there's always an upside) is that I've found a few new things to do on myspace, including utilising their excellent Instant Messenger in order to keep in touch with the many people I've added on there over the past few years.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)