I've got lazy with this haven't I?  Four months and not a blogging word.  I wish I could give you some kind of exciting reason for the lack of recent blogs, such as a world tour or something. But in truth it's nothing more than having fallen out of the routine with doing this, and also a little disillusionment with the way things are regarding the Web and my place in it these days.

I'm not going to review the last few months in any detail, that would take too long.  I've done a fair number of solo gigs.  One of the highlights was this which you can watch here.  Now that was 4 minutes I really enjoyed!  Thanks to Nigel N and his smartphone for that.  I also did a gig at The Fenton in Leeds supporting Dave Sharp, who was a founder member of The Alarm.  They supported Queen at Wembley 86 so in my mind I was 4th on the bill.

I'm still bashing out piano recordings based on the live versions I perform.  There's been a steady stream of them uploaded (to, er, stream) so please do have a root around this page. 

I'm still finding it tough going doing any meaningful web promotion these days.  My modus operandi has been completely ruined over the years.  I find most times I end up just meandering aimlessly through Facebook and Twitter.  As you may know if you've read any of these before, MySpace was where I got plenty done and made so many friends.  Just people who loved music like I do.  Well, everyone and more is on Facebook but I can't find these people anymore.  And if I endeavour to forage for them I got banned for wanting to socially network.  Apparently that's not the Facebook way.  Maybe I'm just not important enough to be recognised, but then on MySpace none of this seemed to matter and I got along fine.  Anyway, it's no use moaning about it.  It was good while it lasted.

I'm doing a set at Mr Foleys Cask Ale House in Leeds this Friday evening.  It's right on the Headrow and is a great venue.  As the name suggests, beer features prominently too.  Apparently it will about around 70 degrees F and partly cloudy.  But that won't matter because the gig is indoors.

Going to try and keep up with these blogs now, speak soon.
Paul

With snow, Easter and a week away there seems to have been a bit of a hole in proceedings lately.  April's a month that seems to fly by.  I know for a fact last year I didn't do any gigs at all in April, which is very unusual for me.  There are however quite a few coming up which are as follows:


Thurs Apr 25: Verve, Leeds (9pm)
Thurs May 2: Giraffe, Leeds (8pm)
Sun May 5: Rose & Crown (Greetland) festival (6pm)
Fri May 24: 3 Wise Monkeys, Todmorden (8pm)

These are all solo gigs so it will be lovely to be out doing a bit more playing after the snow/Easter/holiday break. 

I've also uploaded 3 more piano versions of tracks since the last blog.  Feel free to have a listen.

These Eyes Of Mine

Young Lost And Hopeful

Whiskey Coloured World


I was going to have another rant about Facebook, but frankly I'm too demoralised.   

Well yet again my invite to play at South by South West didn't come through.  It's a sod of a long way to Cornwall from here anyway. 

The 3rd and 4th piano songs are now online.  'Cold Cold Day' is an old song of mine of course, and 'Nothing Ever Happens' is an old song by Del Amitri.  So that completes the 4 songs which feature on my first EP CD which has been available at recent gigs.  I've 'released' them one at a time online so as not to annoy anyone too much.  The feedback so far has been good which is just as well as Volume 2 is already recorded and the first track is ready to go online.

By piano songs I mean it's just piano and vocal, nothing else.  I sometimes refer to them as acoustic tracks which is not strictly true but it's the same basic idea as in when guitarists record acoustic versions of their songs, with no other instruments involved.

The process is incredibly refreshing and a damn sight easier to mix!!  The aim is to record all my live repertoire which could be a long job as I keep adding in new songs. 

The recent gigs have been excellent and February was my busiest month in a while.  Some of them are mentioned in the previous blog but since then I've done open mics at The Ship, The Chemic, Skyrack and The Hop in Wakefield.  I've also performed a set at the 3 Wise Monkeys in Todmorden which was a great night and was also the closest I got to Austin, Texas!!  I'm back there on Friday 22nd March to play a longer set which I'm really looking forward to. 

The other gig I did was with Dan Sacker at Mr Foleys in Leeds.  There were some cracking acts on the night and I even managed to find a parking space not too far away!

Paul Jeffery

MY SECOND 'piano acoustic'  song is now online.  If you'd like to listen to 'Nobody Said' please click to the title and it shall appear forthwith.  This and the previous recording 'Your Shadow' form part of the first EP which has 4 songs on altogether.  This is now available in return for your email address at gigs.  Basically I'm putting a batch of 4 tracks on the physical CDs and releasing the songs one at a time on the internet.  The vast majority of my facebook/internet friends are spread out all around the world, so won't be attending the local shows.  So I hope by structuring the releases this way everyone can get to hear the songs at roughly the same time. 

GIGS LAST WEEK
I did 3 in total in what was my busiest week since Christmas.  On Monday (4th Feb) I played at the Hop in Wakefield.  Aside from getting to play some new material there was the added bonus of some photographs taken.  Many thanks to Ryan for these photos.

On Wednesday I was at New Roscoe in Leeds on a freezing cold night (outside not inside).  I've been saying all week what a brilliant sound I had at this gig.  It really was one of the best sounds I've ever had at a solo gig.  It was big and filled the room, and it made the night all the more enjoyable.  It was also the debut appearance of the new CD mentioned above so all in all a good night.

Rounding things off in fine style was the Sunday Gathering at The Hop in Leeds.  The snow held off and Dan and myself played a 20 minute set to a receptive audience.  Again the sound was big and this certainly helped with the addition of guitar and kajon on the songs.

I'm aiming to be playing 2 open mics in Leeds this week, with more material rehearsed over the Christmas period.  So more words to remember, at least to prove I did practice them!

Thank you for all the support and feedback both live and online, it's really appreciated.  Have a good week!

Paul

As we emerge (hopefully) from the depths of winter, I thought I'd just let you know about a few music type-things that are happening at the moment.

NEW RECORDINGS/RELEASES...
It's been an awfully long time since I released anything new.  There's various reasons for this which would take too long and be far too tedious to bother explaining.

The most recent project I've been working on is to simply record the songs I'm currently playing live in their live format.  I've figured that if people see me at a gig playing keyboard and singing then that is what they would probably want to hear on a CD.  Assuming of course they want to hear me again at all!  So I've been busy working my way through the live setlist and recording simple piano and vocal only versions of the songs.  Some of these are old original classics which you may have heard before in different guises.  Some are new songs never previously recorded, this includes the cover versions I currently perform at gigs.  I've always stayed clear of recording covers before but in this format it's more relevant so they've been thrown into the mix too.

All these songs will become available on CD and as individual tracks online.  I'm putting them out one at a time online and on CDs 4 songs at a time.  The first online track is already knocking about which is the piano version of 'Your Shadow.'  Please feel free to listen and download it for free.  I'd appreciate that very much.  I'm spacing the release of each track out a bit so as not to bombard people and to give each song it's own little bit of attention, but you can easily find out from my facebook page when a new track is uploaded.


...AND THEY'RE FREE!!
Yes, that's correct.  After years of charging for CDs I've finally relinquished!   Around 5-6 years ago I could still sell my CDs at gigs.  However nowadays, as free music filters down ever further I've been forced to accept the inevitable which is that basically people no longer buy CDs at my gigs.  I'm pretty sure I've not deteriorated that much since 2007 so I guess I'm simply like many musicians a victim of present day circumstances.  Thus these particular CDs with the piano versions will be freely available at gigs.  In order to obtain a copy all I ask in return is an email address for the mailing list and/or a minimum donation of 50p.


UPCOMING GIGS
I'm playing a couple of gigs this coming week with the New Roscoe in Leeds first up on Wednesday 6th Feb and then the Hop in Leeds on Sunday 10th Feb which is a 5pm start and features Dan Sacker on guitar and cajon. 


I'll update you on the new songs and let you know how those gigs went next time.  It would be great to see any of you at either gig, then you'll know how they went anyway!

Paul