Hi everyone,
it's been a while since the last update...hope all is good :) There haven't been too many gigs but the ones I have done have been good quality. None more so than on Saturday night at Cafe Artisan with Atlanta Soul, which is a cracking venue as I'm sure I've stated before on here. I've also been doing some gigs with the BitterSweetShop at The Ship in Leeds and The Hop in Wakefield. I should hopefully have some photo updates from those to bring you soon.
Last time on here I was going on about the various social networking sites, good and bad! Since then I've more or less curtailed activity on Myspace and been more active on Facebook and Twitter...I've a feeling most people were doing this a while ago! My Twitter account is @paul_jeffery so if you want to hear more about the financial crisis at Bradford Bulls, stock car racing and even occasionally some music please follow me there!
On Facebook I recently re-named my music/group page so it should be easier to find. It's now the same as for Myspace which is www.facebook.com/pauljefferymusic
I've been busy in the studio too lately, actually getting a few things finished off. It's going to be a fair while before another album is ready but it's highly likely some songs will be online before then so I will of course keep you posted.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Thankfully it's been a bit warmer this week. I'm not a fan whatsoever of snow and ice and the past two weeks have seen plenty of that. We in West Yorkshire (sheltered by the Pennines) avoided the worst of it but the one night it did choose to come down of course I had a gig! Sadly I had to turn back from going to play with Atlanta Soul in Stockport but the following night's solo gig at nearby Greetland went ahead as planned.
There's not been that many gigs of late but that's about to change with a busier week or so ahead. This Saturday it's Altanta Soul again, this time on my side of the hills and the The BitterSweet Shop is back and playing at The Ship in Leeds on Tuesday night (the 21st). On Thursday 23rd it's the return of the Acoustic Trio at the Chemic and then on Saturday I'll be performing with Morris & The Minors in Bingley.
I've been listening to some interesting music lately. I finally heard my first Ryan Adams album 'Ashes And Fire' a few weeks ago. After years of mistakenly thinking people were talking about Bryan (I'm joking slightly, but it did once happen!) I thought it was time to find out why so many people rate him so highly. Well, I can sort of see what they mean but I think if you've already heard plenty of Jackson Browne and Bob Dylan the result is less impressive. Also the lyrics didn't move me in the slightest. The production is excellent and it's all real instruments and vintage sounds but I'm afraid I'll stick my old man mentality and say music 'ain't what it used to be' and 'it's all been done before'.
I moved on to listen to Noah & The Whale's 'Last Night On Earth' album. I was forewarned this was more derivative and there is one track which is a dead ringer for Tom Petty's 'Don't Come Around Here No More.' It's a good album though, and short too. There's no unwanted songs on there.
After what I said about Adams, Ryan I thought it would be a good idea to dig out some Bob Dylan. I selected his 80s release 'Oh Mercy' and was immediately more moved by the lyrics. There wasn't one song on here that I'd heard before but there were several I would listen to repeatedly, which shows the sheer depth of his writing if nothing else.
Inspired by the Strictly Come Dancing touring band (!) I also listened to 'Club Classics Volume 1' by Soul 2 Soul. This was never my thing back in the day but bloody hell fire it is now. What a brilliant record, with very little evidence of 80s dating in the sound. It may have taken me 22 years, but I'm now a big fan of this album!!
There's not been that many gigs of late but that's about to change with a busier week or so ahead. This Saturday it's Altanta Soul again, this time on my side of the hills and the The BitterSweet Shop is back and playing at The Ship in Leeds on Tuesday night (the 21st). On Thursday 23rd it's the return of the Acoustic Trio at the Chemic and then on Saturday I'll be performing with Morris & The Minors in Bingley.
I've been listening to some interesting music lately. I finally heard my first Ryan Adams album 'Ashes And Fire' a few weeks ago. After years of mistakenly thinking people were talking about Bryan (I'm joking slightly, but it did once happen!) I thought it was time to find out why so many people rate him so highly. Well, I can sort of see what they mean but I think if you've already heard plenty of Jackson Browne and Bob Dylan the result is less impressive. Also the lyrics didn't move me in the slightest. The production is excellent and it's all real instruments and vintage sounds but I'm afraid I'll stick my old man mentality and say music 'ain't what it used to be' and 'it's all been done before'.
I moved on to listen to Noah & The Whale's 'Last Night On Earth' album. I was forewarned this was more derivative and there is one track which is a dead ringer for Tom Petty's 'Don't Come Around Here No More.' It's a good album though, and short too. There's no unwanted songs on there.
After what I said about Adams, Ryan I thought it would be a good idea to dig out some Bob Dylan. I selected his 80s release 'Oh Mercy' and was immediately more moved by the lyrics. There wasn't one song on here that I'd heard before but there were several I would listen to repeatedly, which shows the sheer depth of his writing if nothing else.
Inspired by the Strictly Come Dancing touring band (!) I also listened to 'Club Classics Volume 1' by Soul 2 Soul. This was never my thing back in the day but bloody hell fire it is now. What a brilliant record, with very little evidence of 80s dating in the sound. It may have taken me 22 years, but I'm now a big fan of this album!!
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Well it's been a long while since the last blog. I'd like to wish my reader a happy new year and hope he had a good Christmas too!
There's not many gigs planned at the moment as I'm working off my 'quota' from before Christmas. On the schedule I work from, I reckon I'm the equivalent of about 6 weeks over-quota at the moment! Now that may well sound like a cop-out but when there's lots of gigs and an outbreak of rehearsals with various projects other things I'd like to be doing get put off. (I think I wrote in one of the previous couple of blogs about the number of bands I'm in at the moment).
The things that get put off are namely recording/songwriting and practicing. The latter may come as a shock to you, but yes-getting to do some proper, structured, productive practice is not very easy to fit in when you're hanging round some hotel waiting to play a gig.
The writing and recording process is of course more time-consuming. I'm fairly quick at writing songs (not necessarily any good, but quick) but the arrangement and production process takes a lot longer. There's so many decisions to make every step of the way, and then there might be some backing vocals to arrange and record, or a dreaded tambourine part. Anyway, the main thing is that I would at some stage soon like to put some new songs out as it's getting on for 3 years since the last album and I always find it exciting working towards the next album.
So I'm not being idle, honest!!
There were a couple of great gigs with Atlanta Soul just before 2011 ended. The Cafe Artisan gig on Dec 17th was excellent with a great sound, and the New Year's Eve gig at Heywood Civic was also a belter, and easily the best NYE gig I've ever done. I've had some really dodgy Dec 31st gigs (mentioning no caravan clubs) so perhaps this wasn't the stiffest competition, but I think it's still worth saying how much I enjoyed it.
SOCIAL NETWORKING
Things are changing rapidly on the social networking front so I thought I'd fill my reader in on this area too. The current state of play from my point of view is:
nb: click the title to link to my page for each one!
1) MYSPACE (remember that one?): Completely deserted and one-legged compared to it's heyday with numerous programming issues. A shadow of it's former self. However, still better than Facebook for promoting music (see below!).
2) FACEBOOK: The biggest site and easily my least favourite. Any site that persistantly tells you what to do, who you can or can't add and only lets you add people you 'know' is no good to me for promoting my music. The whole bloody idea is to attract people you don't 'know' who then you get to 'know' if they decide they like the songs. People I already 'know' I 'know' already and therefore I don't need to pester them to get to 'know' me when they already 'know' me anyway. This whole 'say no to strangers' culture has meant that in nearly 2 years of daily persistance, I've managed to attract 200 people onto my group page. I could do that on Myspace in a couple of days. For me, Facebook only works if you have a circle of friends to gossip to about nothing in particular. I have a different medium for doing that, it's called a pub. Everytime I trawl down the 'home' page I feel like I've gatecrashed a gigantic coffee morning.
No wonder I keep getting banned!
3) YOUTUBE: The site that now means there's virtually no need to buy a CD ever again (oops, that's buggered up my next album!) and a musician's dream for learning coversongs quckly. It also had a modest but very useful social networking content called 'friends' and for the more commited you could be a 'subscriber'. With a little effort over the past few months inviting people with similar tastes in music to be my 'friend' I'd managed to treble my number of channel and video views....
Then wallop, they change the format, do away with the 'friends' function and make everyone be a 'subscriber'. This removes the social networking tool called being a 'friend' and leaves anyone attempting to reach out to people (me) with only the 'subscribe' function which makes me seem like a spammer. Of course the net result was no-one subscribed back (they were happy to be 'friends') and my traffic plummeted in the first week to a fraction of what it had been. Great.
The most frustrating thing about youtube now is that there's all these people saying exactly the same as me on commenting about favourite songs, but I've no effective way of reaching them.
4)GOOGLE+: I levelled with youtube (owned by Google) in thinking they must have tactically killed youtube as a networking site in order to lure people onto Google +. I joined a couple of weeks ago. Any site that offers to take on Facebook is a friend of mine! Unfortunately no-one uses it and it's a complete waste of time.
5) TWITTER: The last great white hope and, thankfully, one that appears to be working well. I've been on it only a few days and already I'm really enjoying it. I'm finding that the simple approach of short messages is the best way to communicate with people within this multitude of choice. Even better, by syncing it to Facebook I now don't have to go on Facebook. AND, better still, I can pretend I'm a personal friend of Sharron Davies, oops.
So there you go, have fun with whatever you're doing and remember: Do you know this person personally, and have you read our draconinan spam policy? xx
There's not many gigs planned at the moment as I'm working off my 'quota' from before Christmas. On the schedule I work from, I reckon I'm the equivalent of about 6 weeks over-quota at the moment! Now that may well sound like a cop-out but when there's lots of gigs and an outbreak of rehearsals with various projects other things I'd like to be doing get put off. (I think I wrote in one of the previous couple of blogs about the number of bands I'm in at the moment).
The things that get put off are namely recording/songwriting and practicing. The latter may come as a shock to you, but yes-getting to do some proper, structured, productive practice is not very easy to fit in when you're hanging round some hotel waiting to play a gig.
The writing and recording process is of course more time-consuming. I'm fairly quick at writing songs (not necessarily any good, but quick) but the arrangement and production process takes a lot longer. There's so many decisions to make every step of the way, and then there might be some backing vocals to arrange and record, or a dreaded tambourine part. Anyway, the main thing is that I would at some stage soon like to put some new songs out as it's getting on for 3 years since the last album and I always find it exciting working towards the next album.
So I'm not being idle, honest!!
There were a couple of great gigs with Atlanta Soul just before 2011 ended. The Cafe Artisan gig on Dec 17th was excellent with a great sound, and the New Year's Eve gig at Heywood Civic was also a belter, and easily the best NYE gig I've ever done. I've had some really dodgy Dec 31st gigs (mentioning no caravan clubs) so perhaps this wasn't the stiffest competition, but I think it's still worth saying how much I enjoyed it.
SOCIAL NETWORKING
Things are changing rapidly on the social networking front so I thought I'd fill my reader in on this area too. The current state of play from my point of view is:
nb: click the title to link to my page for each one!
1) MYSPACE (remember that one?): Completely deserted and one-legged compared to it's heyday with numerous programming issues. A shadow of it's former self. However, still better than Facebook for promoting music (see below!).
2) FACEBOOK: The biggest site and easily my least favourite. Any site that persistantly tells you what to do, who you can or can't add and only lets you add people you 'know' is no good to me for promoting my music. The whole bloody idea is to attract people you don't 'know' who then you get to 'know' if they decide they like the songs. People I already 'know' I 'know' already and therefore I don't need to pester them to get to 'know' me when they already 'know' me anyway. This whole 'say no to strangers' culture has meant that in nearly 2 years of daily persistance, I've managed to attract 200 people onto my group page. I could do that on Myspace in a couple of days. For me, Facebook only works if you have a circle of friends to gossip to about nothing in particular. I have a different medium for doing that, it's called a pub. Everytime I trawl down the 'home' page I feel like I've gatecrashed a gigantic coffee morning.
No wonder I keep getting banned!
3) YOUTUBE: The site that now means there's virtually no need to buy a CD ever again (oops, that's buggered up my next album!) and a musician's dream for learning coversongs quckly. It also had a modest but very useful social networking content called 'friends' and for the more commited you could be a 'subscriber'. With a little effort over the past few months inviting people with similar tastes in music to be my 'friend' I'd managed to treble my number of channel and video views....
Then wallop, they change the format, do away with the 'friends' function and make everyone be a 'subscriber'. This removes the social networking tool called being a 'friend' and leaves anyone attempting to reach out to people (me) with only the 'subscribe' function which makes me seem like a spammer. Of course the net result was no-one subscribed back (they were happy to be 'friends') and my traffic plummeted in the first week to a fraction of what it had been. Great.
The most frustrating thing about youtube now is that there's all these people saying exactly the same as me on commenting about favourite songs, but I've no effective way of reaching them.
4)GOOGLE+: I levelled with youtube (owned by Google) in thinking they must have tactically killed youtube as a networking site in order to lure people onto Google +. I joined a couple of weeks ago. Any site that offers to take on Facebook is a friend of mine! Unfortunately no-one uses it and it's a complete waste of time.
5) TWITTER: The last great white hope and, thankfully, one that appears to be working well. I've been on it only a few days and already I'm really enjoying it. I'm finding that the simple approach of short messages is the best way to communicate with people within this multitude of choice. Even better, by syncing it to Facebook I now don't have to go on Facebook. AND, better still, I can pretend I'm a personal friend of Sharron Davies, oops.
So there you go, have fun with whatever you're doing and remember: Do you know this person personally, and have you read our draconinan spam policy? xx
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
There's not been too much tangible to report on lately, which is curious seen as I'm actually very busy at the moment! The less time I spend on solo projects the busier everything else seems to be which is good but it can make balancing everything up a little tricky.
So I thought just for fun I'd list all the projects I'm currently involved in. They say blogs should always have a human interest angle after all! Let's call it 'a fascinating insight into the daily life of a (poor) working musician'!!
In no particular order:
1) Solo gigs:
These could be either original material or covers-orientated or a mixture of both. Either way I have to practice new and existing songs in order to do the gigs. Covers can also be sub-divided into well-known numbers (for the paying customer) and less well-known ones.
2) Paul Jeffery Trio gigs:
A similar scenario to the above, with it's own set of rehearsals, different songs, and the all-important vocal harmony rehearsals (not strictly necessary in the case of my solo gigs!).
3) The BitterSweetShop gigs:
This is my project with Katie Chadwick which involves yet more rehearsals, different songs and also an album project which is part finished.
4) Atlanta Soul Band gigs:
For which I am a member and we also rehearse for these.
5) Blueprint gigs:
Another covers band I play with and rehearse with.
6) Morris And The Minors gigs:
Yet another covers band I play with.
7) Songwriting and Recordings:
Yes, when I'm not gigging or rehearsing with 6 different live projects I'm writing, arranging and recording new original material! And just to sub-divide things further, these songs may be for me to sing or someone else to sing and could be for a variety of destinations. These include my own solo albums and also other possible future collaborations and side projects such as the Paradise Street one a few years back.
8) Throw in updating and networking via myspace, youtube and facebook, oh and typing this right now, that should give you some idea of why I've been busy lately! As I said that's just the music projects too!
I hope that was at least a bit interesting! I also think it helps explain why questions like 'what sort of music do you do' are not that straightforward to answer!
So I thought just for fun I'd list all the projects I'm currently involved in. They say blogs should always have a human interest angle after all! Let's call it 'a fascinating insight into the daily life of a (poor) working musician'!!
In no particular order:
1) Solo gigs:
These could be either original material or covers-orientated or a mixture of both. Either way I have to practice new and existing songs in order to do the gigs. Covers can also be sub-divided into well-known numbers (for the paying customer) and less well-known ones.
2) Paul Jeffery Trio gigs:
A similar scenario to the above, with it's own set of rehearsals, different songs, and the all-important vocal harmony rehearsals (not strictly necessary in the case of my solo gigs!).
3) The BitterSweetShop gigs:
This is my project with Katie Chadwick which involves yet more rehearsals, different songs and also an album project which is part finished.
4) Atlanta Soul Band gigs:
For which I am a member and we also rehearse for these.
5) Blueprint gigs:
Another covers band I play with and rehearse with.
6) Morris And The Minors gigs:
Yet another covers band I play with.
7) Songwriting and Recordings:
Yes, when I'm not gigging or rehearsing with 6 different live projects I'm writing, arranging and recording new original material! And just to sub-divide things further, these songs may be for me to sing or someone else to sing and could be for a variety of destinations. These include my own solo albums and also other possible future collaborations and side projects such as the Paradise Street one a few years back.
8) Throw in updating and networking via myspace, youtube and facebook, oh and typing this right now, that should give you some idea of why I've been busy lately! As I said that's just the music projects too!
I hope that was at least a bit interesting! I also think it helps explain why questions like 'what sort of music do you do' are not that straightforward to answer!
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
I was performing solo at Verve in Leeds on Thurs Oct 27th. I haven't done many solo gigs lately due to all the band commitments but I'm still as keen as ever to get back to doing more of that. I'm talking mainly about the 'originals' type of gig as opposed to the covers ones. I can't believe it's 5 years since I started making 2 or 3 trips on average per week into Leeds to play at open mics and songwriter/acoustic nights.
On the Saturday just gone it was back to the Rose & Crown at Greetland with the Trio where it was the busiest night I've seen so far in there. It took a while to warm up, but eventually the response we got was very enthusiastic, with a second set running to around an hour and a quarter!
This Week:
Coming up this Sunday (20th) is my final New Inn, Barwick-in-Elmet gig of the year.
Music:
I've just started re-listening to Jeff Wayne's War Of The Worlds. A musician friend of mine said recently that a good arranger is more valuable than a good composer, and if there is some truth in that then it's certainly born out on this album. Everybody with an interest in how music is arranged should go and listen to it. The choice of sounds alone is amazing, and of course the songwriting isn't exactly mediocre either.
Web News:
It's taken me over a year to realise it (!) but garageband.com has shut down. This is the site I once used quite regularly to get my music reviewed by other musicians (very brave) and to see how the songs ranked alongside others as they moved up and down the charts. I had two songs ranked as 'track of the day' which were 'Young Lost & Hopeful' and 'Coming Up For Air', the latter being under the Paradise Street name.
The reason I found this out is that I was looking to revive my presence there and get some of my new material reviewed. So I'm now on the lookout for a similar site to join, so please let me know if you can recommend one.
On the Saturday just gone it was back to the Rose & Crown at Greetland with the Trio where it was the busiest night I've seen so far in there. It took a while to warm up, but eventually the response we got was very enthusiastic, with a second set running to around an hour and a quarter!
This Week:
Coming up this Sunday (20th) is my final New Inn, Barwick-in-Elmet gig of the year.
Music:
I've just started re-listening to Jeff Wayne's War Of The Worlds. A musician friend of mine said recently that a good arranger is more valuable than a good composer, and if there is some truth in that then it's certainly born out on this album. Everybody with an interest in how music is arranged should go and listen to it. The choice of sounds alone is amazing, and of course the songwriting isn't exactly mediocre either.
Web News:
It's taken me over a year to realise it (!) but garageband.com has shut down. This is the site I once used quite regularly to get my music reviewed by other musicians (very brave) and to see how the songs ranked alongside others as they moved up and down the charts. I had two songs ranked as 'track of the day' which were 'Young Lost & Hopeful' and 'Coming Up For Air', the latter being under the Paradise Street name.
The reason I found this out is that I was looking to revive my presence there and get some of my new material reviewed. So I'm now on the lookout for a similar site to join, so please let me know if you can recommend one.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
The Paul Jeffery Trio was out again last Friday night (Oct 21st) playing for the Keighley/Worth Valley Beer Festival in the Oxenhope railway shed. As venues go this was fairly unique. I can honestly say I've never played in a room with so many huge steam trains before, nor have I played in such a nice smelling room either (I like the oil smell). I have however played in many rooms that smelt terrible.
The room was also enormous and contained hundreds of people and Lord knows how many beers. We played for an hour and I was really pleased with our set. Music at beer festivals is largely for background purposes but it was still more or less well received.
This Week:
I've a fairly hectic week playing solo at Verve in Leeds tomorrow night (Thurs 27th) at about 9pm. I haven't done many solo original sets lately so I'm really looking forward to that. Then on Friday and Saturday I'm playing keyboards for a new band, Blueprint, with both gigs over Bingley way.
Music:
I heard the new Evanescence album. No really, I did. You must play it loud. Over the years there have been 2 occasions when it's been suggested I produce a song in their style. Unfortunately both times this occured after I'd finished the song and produced it in a different style. Now I've finally heard them properly and it's really impressive. I'm not sure if I'll get asked to produce something like that again, but just in case maybe I should do a version of all my songs like that.
The room was also enormous and contained hundreds of people and Lord knows how many beers. We played for an hour and I was really pleased with our set. Music at beer festivals is largely for background purposes but it was still more or less well received.
This Week:
I've a fairly hectic week playing solo at Verve in Leeds tomorrow night (Thurs 27th) at about 9pm. I haven't done many solo original sets lately so I'm really looking forward to that. Then on Friday and Saturday I'm playing keyboards for a new band, Blueprint, with both gigs over Bingley way.
Music:
I heard the new Evanescence album. No really, I did. You must play it loud. Over the years there have been 2 occasions when it's been suggested I produce a song in their style. Unfortunately both times this occured after I'd finished the song and produced it in a different style. Now I've finally heard them properly and it's really impressive. I'm not sure if I'll get asked to produce something like that again, but just in case maybe I should do a version of all my songs like that.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
I must apologise for the lack of blog action lately. I'm well behind with news updates although I can't believe it's over a month since I got chance to get on here....so I'll do my best to rattle through some of the happenings since what looks like Sept 14th!!
The BitterSweetShop did a gig at the New Conservatory in Leeds on Thurs Oct 6th. We were the 'headline' slot on what is basically an open mic night. Main feature of the venue is the grand piano which is in fairly good condition and would be even better facing side on rather than backwards with the player facing the back wall and having his/her back to the audience! Needless to say I didn't offer to turn it round!
We played 6 songs which went well and despite not being able to see the audience Katie tells me they were listening and watching!
I must just quickly mention the Atlanta Soul gig at the Hilton on Sat 8th in Manchester. This was an amazing night with such diverse acts as Anthony Costa (from Blue) and Bruce Airhead sharing the bill (and dressing room) with us. Please google Bruce Airhead to find out what he does because if I try and describe it in words on here you'll think I've totally lost it this time.
I was away for a few days on the Isle Of Man last week before returning and playing with the trio last Saturday at the Abbey Inn. It was a fairly quiet night but good to play a longer set of acoustic stuff. Highlight of the night happened before we'd played a note when a punter asked who the singer on the piped music was that she liked, well it was one of my songs.....needless to say she'd gone home by the time we went on stage. That is the true story of being a musician!
Plenty more going on but that's the last 5 weeks or so in a nutshell, cheers.
The BitterSweetShop did a gig at the New Conservatory in Leeds on Thurs Oct 6th. We were the 'headline' slot on what is basically an open mic night. Main feature of the venue is the grand piano which is in fairly good condition and would be even better facing side on rather than backwards with the player facing the back wall and having his/her back to the audience! Needless to say I didn't offer to turn it round!
We played 6 songs which went well and despite not being able to see the audience Katie tells me they were listening and watching!
I must just quickly mention the Atlanta Soul gig at the Hilton on Sat 8th in Manchester. This was an amazing night with such diverse acts as Anthony Costa (from Blue) and Bruce Airhead sharing the bill (and dressing room) with us. Please google Bruce Airhead to find out what he does because if I try and describe it in words on here you'll think I've totally lost it this time.
I was away for a few days on the Isle Of Man last week before returning and playing with the trio last Saturday at the Abbey Inn. It was a fairly quiet night but good to play a longer set of acoustic stuff. Highlight of the night happened before we'd played a note when a punter asked who the singer on the piped music was that she liked, well it was one of my songs.....needless to say she'd gone home by the time we went on stage. That is the true story of being a musician!
Plenty more going on but that's the last 5 weeks or so in a nutshell, cheers.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Firstly some photos from the aforementioned biker do with Atlanta Soul in Stockport!
Last (2) Weeks:
2 weeks to catch up on here, starting with my solo gig at the New Inn, Barwick-in-Elmet which was on Sunday 4th Sept. I always enjoy this gig as it's almost my 'local' gigwise. I've been playing there now for nearly 5 years, and I still haven't quite got it right...no, seriously, it's a great gig for me because I get to play a wide selection of originals and covers and I have a loyal following who listen to what I'm doing. As a gig that certainly would be classified as 'intimate' I also get to practice talking to an audience, which in the context of solo gigs is very important. I'm really keen to develop this side of my act, so that the stories and comments add to the songs I'm playing.
This particular gig also saw me attempting to develop another idea, which is that of doing happier songs! Anyone who knows my own material will know that it's not the most cheerful bunch of songs. Now there was a time when the more emotional, heart-ripping the song was the more I felt I could get behind it and perform it. Now I'm realising that it's wise not to always be like that and to develop my sunnier side as well! I'm in the process of addressing this regarding originals but more immediately I'm adding more happy covers, particularly for the full-length gigs like this.
I've noticed 2 things from playing gigs over the past couple of years: 1) Slow songs are often frowned upon and 2) Introspective ie 'depressing' songs are frowned on. Bugger. That's about 90% of my repertoire gone!! I have a theory both are connected to the recession we're in. Yes, you know the one the govt denies but the one we're actually in. People need cheering up and taking out of themselves at gigs, not taking into themselves and being made to think too much about the darker side of life.
So anyway, another enjoyable night at the New Inn, with some happier songs too! It's just a shame that there aren't more venues like that in the local area. I hope I'm wrong in saying that so if anyone knows of any intimate pubs within a fuel-affordable range of Brighouse that host solo/acoustic nights to an attentive audience, please let me know!
That pretty much takes us up to date for the time being, I'm more than freeman, thank you for listening*
*that last bit will mean nothing if you live outside the UK, and probably nothing if you do.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Last Week:
Last time I was about to go off and do the New Inn Music Festival on Saturday 20th August. It was very well-supported again and I enjoyed my all-originals set very much. It sounds like the day went very well indeed.
Since then there's been just one other gig which was last Sunday with Atlanta Soul in Stockport for the bikers' festival in the market square, right in front of the Bakers Vaults pub where we play. This has to go down as being one of my favourite events of this type with a really busy crowd that got right behind what we were playing. Even outbreaks of rain and lightening (!) didn't send the crowd away.
This Week:
That just about concludes the 'summer festivals' season for me (debateable on both counts, as we've hardly had a summer) and so it's back to my regular New Inn solo slot this Sunday (4th Sept) at Barwick-in-Elmet again.
Music:
I've been listening to Seasick Steve's latest release, which is called 'You Can't Teach An Old Dog New Tricks' and features Paul Jones from Led Zep on bass. It's got some great dirty bluesy riffs on it and even a 10 minute monologue at the end!
Immediately following on from this album I listened to a bit of Chris Rea's incredibly prolific 'Blues Guitars' CD collection. Again, lots of dirty bluesy slide riffs. Having listened to both I just can't help feeling one of these gents is more authentic than the other....Chris Rea of course.
Last time I was about to go off and do the New Inn Music Festival on Saturday 20th August. It was very well-supported again and I enjoyed my all-originals set very much. It sounds like the day went very well indeed.
Since then there's been just one other gig which was last Sunday with Atlanta Soul in Stockport for the bikers' festival in the market square, right in front of the Bakers Vaults pub where we play. This has to go down as being one of my favourite events of this type with a really busy crowd that got right behind what we were playing. Even outbreaks of rain and lightening (!) didn't send the crowd away.
This Week:
That just about concludes the 'summer festivals' season for me (debateable on both counts, as we've hardly had a summer) and so it's back to my regular New Inn solo slot this Sunday (4th Sept) at Barwick-in-Elmet again.
Music:
I've been listening to Seasick Steve's latest release, which is called 'You Can't Teach An Old Dog New Tricks' and features Paul Jones from Led Zep on bass. It's got some great dirty bluesy riffs on it and even a 10 minute monologue at the end!
Immediately following on from this album I listened to a bit of Chris Rea's incredibly prolific 'Blues Guitars' CD collection. Again, lots of dirty bluesy slide riffs. Having listened to both I just can't help feeling one of these gents is more authentic than the other....Chris Rea of course.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
OK, last blog was August 2nd so there's a bit to catch up on. You'll like it, not a lot.
Todstock 2011 was on Sunday August 7th. There was a lot of rain about that weekend so the field we played in (undercover thankfully) was pretty much waterlogged. The makeshift 'stage' of wooden pallets did it's job very well! There's some photos taken by Mike Green if you click here and go to page 5.
On Friday the 12th I had an altogether drier gig at Leeds Town Hall. This was as part of an exhibition about the history of popular music in Leeds. It was a lunchtime set, superbly organised and I played 2 20 minute sets, solo this time. OK, it was in the basement room and not the main hall but I can now say I've played (sort of) a venue Queen performed at on their first national tour supporting Mott The Hoople, so there.
On Thursday 18th the Paul Jeffery Trio was out again at the Chemic Tavern in Leeds. What a great night. Rarely have I enjoyed playing a 3 song set so much! It sounded spot on from where I was standing, and this of course makes for a much better performance. Absolutely loved it!
Today (Sat 20th) I'm gearing up for the 2nd Barwick-in-Elmet festival at the New Inn. I'm on at 5pm doing about 45 minutes. Last year you may remember I had to break off part way through the set to move my car so the combine harvester could get through! This year I plan to park further away if possible.
I listened to Paul Simon's recent album 'So Beautiful Or So What' this week. I'm not sure where he fits in these days. The album didn't feel relevant and it didn't really move me in anyway. Oh well, who am I to blow against the wind?
Todstock 2011 was on Sunday August 7th. There was a lot of rain about that weekend so the field we played in (undercover thankfully) was pretty much waterlogged. The makeshift 'stage' of wooden pallets did it's job very well! There's some photos taken by Mike Green if you click here and go to page 5.
On Friday the 12th I had an altogether drier gig at Leeds Town Hall. This was as part of an exhibition about the history of popular music in Leeds. It was a lunchtime set, superbly organised and I played 2 20 minute sets, solo this time. OK, it was in the basement room and not the main hall but I can now say I've played (sort of) a venue Queen performed at on their first national tour supporting Mott The Hoople, so there.
On Thursday 18th the Paul Jeffery Trio was out again at the Chemic Tavern in Leeds. What a great night. Rarely have I enjoyed playing a 3 song set so much! It sounded spot on from where I was standing, and this of course makes for a much better performance. Absolutely loved it!
Today (Sat 20th) I'm gearing up for the 2nd Barwick-in-Elmet festival at the New Inn. I'm on at 5pm doing about 45 minutes. Last year you may remember I had to break off part way through the set to move my car so the combine harvester could get through! This year I plan to park further away if possible.
I listened to Paul Simon's recent album 'So Beautiful Or So What' this week. I'm not sure where he fits in these days. The album didn't feel relevant and it didn't really move me in anyway. Oh well, who am I to blow against the wind?
Tuesday, August 02, 2011
Last Week:
I finally got a night free to play a solo open mic at The Hop in Leeds last week. I don't do much negative stuff on here now but to be blunt one staff member did two things wrong and I won't be going again with any of my line-ups. It's a pity because, as a recent blog will show, I was enjoying going there and it had probably pushed itself up to being my second favourite Leeds open mic night. However, as I'm only there for my own benefit giving my time and efforts for free, it's an easy decision to make to not bother with the place.
To put into some context, think how many open mic nights I've done since 2007 (if you're not familiar with it I must have done hundreds). And I can literally count less than 5 that have in any way pissed me off. That's 5 gigs not 5 venues!
Enough of that. On Friday night I was out with Atlanta Soul playing a wedding in a Cheshire hall, complete with gardens and estate. The problem these days is some of these venues are just not up to standard!
Stock cars in Skegness Saturday night, lunch in Port Sunlight on Sunday followed by watching the Bulls arsed by Warrington (I remember when we used to do that to them). I used to say to my friend about the annual arsing of Warrington, now it's very much by instead of 'of'.
This week:
Saturday with Atlanta Soul again (another wedding, will these people ever learn!). Then on Sunday afternoon it's the Trio back at Todstock. Our set is at 4:00pm so if you're near Todmorden come along to Centre Vale park and buy a CD, sorry, I mean watch us play.
Music:
Joss Stone's new album, imaginatively called 'LP1' is a stunner. It's all real instruments, classic rhythm and blues, hammond organ, crunchy guitars etc....and that voice, it's electric, I love the passion in her voice. To me she's a modern day Tina Turner, and I mean that in the best possible way, awesome record. Only 10 songs, short and simple, it's superb.
I finally got a night free to play a solo open mic at The Hop in Leeds last week. I don't do much negative stuff on here now but to be blunt one staff member did two things wrong and I won't be going again with any of my line-ups. It's a pity because, as a recent blog will show, I was enjoying going there and it had probably pushed itself up to being my second favourite Leeds open mic night. However, as I'm only there for my own benefit giving my time and efforts for free, it's an easy decision to make to not bother with the place.
To put into some context, think how many open mic nights I've done since 2007 (if you're not familiar with it I must have done hundreds). And I can literally count less than 5 that have in any way pissed me off. That's 5 gigs not 5 venues!
Enough of that. On Friday night I was out with Atlanta Soul playing a wedding in a Cheshire hall, complete with gardens and estate. The problem these days is some of these venues are just not up to standard!
Stock cars in Skegness Saturday night, lunch in Port Sunlight on Sunday followed by watching the Bulls arsed by Warrington (I remember when we used to do that to them). I used to say to my friend about the annual arsing of Warrington, now it's very much by instead of 'of'.
This week:
Saturday with Atlanta Soul again (another wedding, will these people ever learn!). Then on Sunday afternoon it's the Trio back at Todstock. Our set is at 4:00pm so if you're near Todmorden come along to Centre Vale park and buy a CD, sorry, I mean watch us play.
Music:
Joss Stone's new album, imaginatively called 'LP1' is a stunner. It's all real instruments, classic rhythm and blues, hammond organ, crunchy guitars etc....and that voice, it's electric, I love the passion in her voice. To me she's a modern day Tina Turner, and I mean that in the best possible way, awesome record. Only 10 songs, short and simple, it's superb.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Last week:
The BitterSweetShop was at the Hop in Leeds last Wednesday, I think it's a very under-rated open mic night that deserves a little more support. I've always enjoyed playing there!
Following on from this a fairly 'quiet' weekend with a trip to York Races on Friday night. Had a couple of winners so came out with more or less the same money I went in with. Blondie were on afterwards, as part of the music festival. I'm partly wishing I'd stayed for longer but after a few songs we decided it was time to get something to eat.
This week:
Atlanta Soul for me this Friday. A little lighter on the gig front meaning I should get more time to work in the studio as new releases creep ever nearer, plus a bit of practice time. I've also recently set up a page on Reverbnation so I'm attempting to get that working properly too.
Music:
I've done more listening in recent weeks than I have done for a long time. I listened to the new Feeling album and am currently on with Rumer. The Feeling are much maligned for being 'pop', a bit like the Michael MacIntyre of music....but they are good pop songs and I quite enjoyed it. Rumer is very very good, and very relaxing too. There is a big Carpenters influence, but it's got a lot of class, definetly one to listen to after a hard day.
The BitterSweetShop was at the Hop in Leeds last Wednesday, I think it's a very under-rated open mic night that deserves a little more support. I've always enjoyed playing there!
Following on from this a fairly 'quiet' weekend with a trip to York Races on Friday night. Had a couple of winners so came out with more or less the same money I went in with. Blondie were on afterwards, as part of the music festival. I'm partly wishing I'd stayed for longer but after a few songs we decided it was time to get something to eat.
This week:
Atlanta Soul for me this Friday. A little lighter on the gig front meaning I should get more time to work in the studio as new releases creep ever nearer, plus a bit of practice time. I've also recently set up a page on Reverbnation so I'm attempting to get that working properly too.
Music:
I've done more listening in recent weeks than I have done for a long time. I listened to the new Feeling album and am currently on with Rumer. The Feeling are much maligned for being 'pop', a bit like the Michael MacIntyre of music....but they are good pop songs and I quite enjoyed it. Rumer is very very good, and very relaxing too. There is a big Carpenters influence, but it's got a lot of class, definetly one to listen to after a hard day.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Last Week:
The Paul Jeffery Trio were at the Chemic in Leeds again last Thursday (14th). It's not quite as busy there in summertime after the students have left. But it was still a very well received set at a venue I enjoy very much.
This Week:
Tonight (20th) it's back to the Hop in Leeds with BitterSweetShop this time. It's been a while since our last one so I'm really looking forward to that.
I've been listening to quite a bit of music this past week. The new Yes album 'Fly From Here' produced by Trevor Horn is great. I'm not a big Yes efficianado but to me it sounded like their classic sound, at least compared to what I've heard before. No Jon Anderson but that is easily solved by hiring a singer from a Yes tribute band who sounds very similar!! And here's me thinking his voice is totally unique.
The Paul Jeffery Trio were at the Chemic in Leeds again last Thursday (14th). It's not quite as busy there in summertime after the students have left. But it was still a very well received set at a venue I enjoy very much.
This Week:
Tonight (20th) it's back to the Hop in Leeds with BitterSweetShop this time. It's been a while since our last one so I'm really looking forward to that.
I've been listening to quite a bit of music this past week. The new Yes album 'Fly From Here' produced by Trevor Horn is great. I'm not a big Yes efficianado but to me it sounded like their classic sound, at least compared to what I've heard before. No Jon Anderson but that is easily solved by hiring a singer from a Yes tribute band who sounds very similar!! And here's me thinking his voice is totally unique.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Last Week:
Back from Switzerland after a short holiday. It's a beautiful place. I was by the shores of Lake Geneva which included Montreux. I got to see Freddie's statue there which was a poignant moment for me, especially when the cafe across the road had 'These Are The Days Of Our Lives' playing! It's also of course home of the Jazz Festival which started while I was there. I wish I'd realised sooner as tickets for Santana and BB King were sold out, so I was unable to see these legends.
This Week:
The Paul Jeffery Trio is playing again at the Chemic Tavern in Leeds this Thursday (the 14th). More videos are being added regularly from our recent filming session and you can view all these and more at my youtube channel.
I've been listening to the two Adele albums lately, which I'm very impressed with. I always find it hard to take in current music and musicians but I'm learning on that one. The music is very good quality in my opinion. That takes me onto a new release by an old band, Yes. Their new release 'Fly From Here' is my next on the list.
Back from Switzerland after a short holiday. It's a beautiful place. I was by the shores of Lake Geneva which included Montreux. I got to see Freddie's statue there which was a poignant moment for me, especially when the cafe across the road had 'These Are The Days Of Our Lives' playing! It's also of course home of the Jazz Festival which started while I was there. I wish I'd realised sooner as tickets for Santana and BB King were sold out, so I was unable to see these legends.
This Week:
The Paul Jeffery Trio is playing again at the Chemic Tavern in Leeds this Thursday (the 14th). More videos are being added regularly from our recent filming session and you can view all these and more at my youtube channel.
I've been listening to the two Adele albums lately, which I'm very impressed with. I always find it hard to take in current music and musicians but I'm learning on that one. The music is very good quality in my opinion. That takes me onto a new release by an old band, Yes. Their new release 'Fly From Here' is my next on the list.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
The past couple of weeks have been quite busy with gigs. Following on from the last blog I was out at The Hop in Leeds on Wed 8th June. This was their weekly open mic night and Katie and I did a really good set in a venue that has loads of character....including the rumbling sound of trains passing overhead!
On Sunday the 12th I braved the torrential rain to play at The Rose & Crown in Greetland. Yes it was an indoor gig but just the load-in was tricky as it was raining so hard! It was as always refreshing to play my solo set and I only wish there was time to fit a few more of those type of gigs in.
Last Thursday the Paul Jeffery Trio was playing at the Chemic in Leeds. It got very busy in there which can only be a good thing. Of course, if you want to know what the Trio sounds like we have some fresh new videos...such as this one of 'Even' as mentioned last time!!
Listening has taken me from Prince to Adele via Robbie Robertson in the past couple of weeks. That's some variety....and that's just Prince!! I'm enjoying trying my best to keep a little more up to date (that means anything from the last 20 years) and must say the Robbie album was great...very consistant just like the other US singer-songwriters I admire, such as Jackson Browne.
This week I'm busy with a couple of Atlanta Soul gigs, so will bring you more news soon!
On Sunday the 12th I braved the torrential rain to play at The Rose & Crown in Greetland. Yes it was an indoor gig but just the load-in was tricky as it was raining so hard! It was as always refreshing to play my solo set and I only wish there was time to fit a few more of those type of gigs in.
Last Thursday the Paul Jeffery Trio was playing at the Chemic in Leeds. It got very busy in there which can only be a good thing. Of course, if you want to know what the Trio sounds like we have some fresh new videos...such as this one of 'Even' as mentioned last time!!
Listening has taken me from Prince to Adele via Robbie Robertson in the past couple of weeks. That's some variety....and that's just Prince!! I'm enjoying trying my best to keep a little more up to date (that means anything from the last 20 years) and must say the Robbie album was great...very consistant just like the other US singer-songwriters I admire, such as Jackson Browne.
This week I'm busy with a couple of Atlanta Soul gigs, so will bring you more news soon!
Wednesday, June 08, 2011
New Video!!
Around a week ago myself, Dan and Ol got together to record and film a few songs. We ran them through live, no overdubs and the first film is now available to view online! It's come out really well and with more to come I'm really looking forward to seeing/hearing the results and reading people's reactions.
The first song uploaded is 'Even' and you can view it here.
This week:
I'm doing the Hop in Leeds tonight with Katie (BitterSweetShop), and then on Sunday it's a solo gig at the Rose & Crown in Greetland which is near Halifax. It's a regular venue for me and one I very much enjoy. So for an intimate gig please come along for 8pm. It wraps up around 10 so it's not a very late finish.
I've been listening to the rest of Kate Bush 'Directors Cut' which covers a real diversity of sounds, including some quite erotic moments I'll need to listen to again :) I've also started on a 'Best Of' Prince CD, as I thought it was about time I educated myself in that direction. Again it's a tremendous range of influences and styles.
Around a week ago myself, Dan and Ol got together to record and film a few songs. We ran them through live, no overdubs and the first film is now available to view online! It's come out really well and with more to come I'm really looking forward to seeing/hearing the results and reading people's reactions.
The first song uploaded is 'Even' and you can view it here.
This week:
I'm doing the Hop in Leeds tonight with Katie (BitterSweetShop), and then on Sunday it's a solo gig at the Rose & Crown in Greetland which is near Halifax. It's a regular venue for me and one I very much enjoy. So for an intimate gig please come along for 8pm. It wraps up around 10 so it's not a very late finish.
I've been listening to the rest of Kate Bush 'Directors Cut' which covers a real diversity of sounds, including some quite erotic moments I'll need to listen to again :) I've also started on a 'Best Of' Prince CD, as I thought it was about time I educated myself in that direction. Again it's a tremendous range of influences and styles.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Apologies it's taken so long to update the blog. I'd no idea it had stretched to a month, time really does fly when you're having so much fun.
It seems, looking at my diary, that I've done seven gigs since the last one so it's been a pretty busy period. The thing that amuses me slightly is it's been 7 gigs with 6 different bands!
OK, one of those 'bands' is my solo show which was last seen at the New Inn in Barwick-in-Elmet on the 8th of May. This is a set I wish I was playing more regularly as it's damn good fun being able to play songs I'd otherwise get little chance to do.
The PJ Trio was at the Chemic on May 12th and either side of this the BitterSweetShop did 2 sets, one at the Ship on the 10th and then the Hop in Leeds on the 18th.
Atlanta Soul was in Blackpool on May 21st playing for a Scooter rally. I can only say I'm glad I wasn't one of those camping as it was raining horizontally for a long while!
I've since done 2 depping jobs with bands, these being over the bank holiday weekend just gone. For this I've probably done more practice learning songs than I have in the past decade. It's easy for me to forget sometimes that I'm a musician.
This week it will be quieter with just a couple of rehearsals planned. I'm also shoulder-deep in recording projects which, as time progresses, should see a whole miriad of songs come to light. It's just finding the time...
I've been listening to some interesting stuff lately. Learning all these songs for the various bands has made me realise I need to be listening to some more up to date music. As you probably can gather I mainly listen to music from the dark ages when things were done properly etc... but it's made me feel even more out of touch than I'm usually comfortable with. I've now decided to pour over the current new releases and delve into them a bit, whilst retaining an interest in back catalogue stuff as well. So be prepared for a few (by my standards) shock choices of listening!
I managed to combine the 2 (old and new) last week by listening to the new Kate Bush release the 'Directors Cut'. I'm still part way through but enjoying learning all the time. Cheers for now.
It seems, looking at my diary, that I've done seven gigs since the last one so it's been a pretty busy period. The thing that amuses me slightly is it's been 7 gigs with 6 different bands!
OK, one of those 'bands' is my solo show which was last seen at the New Inn in Barwick-in-Elmet on the 8th of May. This is a set I wish I was playing more regularly as it's damn good fun being able to play songs I'd otherwise get little chance to do.
The PJ Trio was at the Chemic on May 12th and either side of this the BitterSweetShop did 2 sets, one at the Ship on the 10th and then the Hop in Leeds on the 18th.
Atlanta Soul was in Blackpool on May 21st playing for a Scooter rally. I can only say I'm glad I wasn't one of those camping as it was raining horizontally for a long while!
I've since done 2 depping jobs with bands, these being over the bank holiday weekend just gone. For this I've probably done more practice learning songs than I have in the past decade. It's easy for me to forget sometimes that I'm a musician.
This week it will be quieter with just a couple of rehearsals planned. I'm also shoulder-deep in recording projects which, as time progresses, should see a whole miriad of songs come to light. It's just finding the time...
I've been listening to some interesting stuff lately. Learning all these songs for the various bands has made me realise I need to be listening to some more up to date music. As you probably can gather I mainly listen to music from the dark ages when things were done properly etc... but it's made me feel even more out of touch than I'm usually comfortable with. I've now decided to pour over the current new releases and delve into them a bit, whilst retaining an interest in back catalogue stuff as well. So be prepared for a few (by my standards) shock choices of listening!
I managed to combine the 2 (old and new) last week by listening to the new Kate Bush release the 'Directors Cut'. I'm still part way through but enjoying learning all the time. Cheers for now.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
I could get done by Trade Descriptions because it says 'updated weekly' at the top of this...but ah well it's been Easter and what with all those extra days off it pains me to take, it's now 2 weeks since the last blog, so here goes:
Last (2) Weeks:
The Paul Jeffery Trio did, as planned, play at the Chemic on April 14th. I'm going to stick my neck out now and say the Chemic is currently my favourite open mic night. It is well run and has a good PA system and perhaps more importantly an audience that fills a room with lots of character. This is not to say that there aren't other really good open mic/acoustic nights too (and you'd never catch me insulting people on here) but for me the Chemic on a Thursday night is a winner.
I spent the weekend in Canterbury for the JFK seminar. Explaining all this mystique would require starting another blog, which I haven't time for at the moment, so that's all I'll say for now.
The BitterSweetShop was back in action on Tuesday 19th after a fairly lengthy break from gigging. We did the Ship in Leeds which is another decent night. From there we're into Easter which was blessed by some amazing weather for a change. Maybe they should have it this late every year.
Next Week:
Having a BBQ tomorrow (Friday), it's got something to do with a wedding I think, then onto another bank holiday weekend in this tough schedule. Speaking of which, I have re-organised one or two things so I should now get to spend more time writing and recording. I'm really looking forward to finishing some more songs off.
Viagra anyone?
That made you stand to attention didn't it?! My email account was recently hacked and a rogue email for the above was sent out to my address book. I'm really sorry about this, hopefully it won't happen again now. Remember it's never too late to join my mailing list, for which you get a free download (but no viagra).
Last (2) Weeks:
The Paul Jeffery Trio did, as planned, play at the Chemic on April 14th. I'm going to stick my neck out now and say the Chemic is currently my favourite open mic night. It is well run and has a good PA system and perhaps more importantly an audience that fills a room with lots of character. This is not to say that there aren't other really good open mic/acoustic nights too (and you'd never catch me insulting people on here) but for me the Chemic on a Thursday night is a winner.
I spent the weekend in Canterbury for the JFK seminar. Explaining all this mystique would require starting another blog, which I haven't time for at the moment, so that's all I'll say for now.
The BitterSweetShop was back in action on Tuesday 19th after a fairly lengthy break from gigging. We did the Ship in Leeds which is another decent night. From there we're into Easter which was blessed by some amazing weather for a change. Maybe they should have it this late every year.
Next Week:
Having a BBQ tomorrow (Friday), it's got something to do with a wedding I think, then onto another bank holiday weekend in this tough schedule. Speaking of which, I have re-organised one or two things so I should now get to spend more time writing and recording. I'm really looking forward to finishing some more songs off.
Viagra anyone?
That made you stand to attention didn't it?! My email account was recently hacked and a rogue email for the above was sent out to my address book. I'm really sorry about this, hopefully it won't happen again now. Remember it's never too late to join my mailing list, for which you get a free download (but no viagra).
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Last Week:
A bit more to report on this time. I moan a lot about the weather in this country, and in particular this area so I'm really happy to say we had some belting weather over the weekend and the back of last week. It really helps. I enjoyed wandering round Yorkshire Sculpture Park in perfect conditions, watching the Bulls in Hull (even though we lost) and then 2 days of stock cars in the midlands.
I also did a gig at Bar Place in Hebden Bridge last Thursday. I was just solo and opened the evening. The night has a good following and a good PA set up. It was fun to get back out and play mainly my own songs, something I haven't done for a while on my own. I felt a bit rusty playing half an hour but it was good to feel productive on the live front.
This Week:
Tonight (Thurs 14th) the Trio will be playing at the Chemic in Leeds and provisionally The BitterSweetShop will be doing a set at The Ship (also Leeds) on Tuesday the 19th.
A-Z of music:
I've been listening to more Tom Petty, this time 'Echo' in it's entirety for the first time. It's perhaps not his strongest album but still 'Room At The Top Of The World' is a gem, and is making a hasty addition to my list of covers to play.
A bit more to report on this time. I moan a lot about the weather in this country, and in particular this area so I'm really happy to say we had some belting weather over the weekend and the back of last week. It really helps. I enjoyed wandering round Yorkshire Sculpture Park in perfect conditions, watching the Bulls in Hull (even though we lost) and then 2 days of stock cars in the midlands.
I also did a gig at Bar Place in Hebden Bridge last Thursday. I was just solo and opened the evening. The night has a good following and a good PA set up. It was fun to get back out and play mainly my own songs, something I haven't done for a while on my own. I felt a bit rusty playing half an hour but it was good to feel productive on the live front.
This Week:
Tonight (Thurs 14th) the Trio will be playing at the Chemic in Leeds and provisionally The BitterSweetShop will be doing a set at The Ship (also Leeds) on Tuesday the 19th.
A-Z of music:
I've been listening to more Tom Petty, this time 'Echo' in it's entirety for the first time. It's perhaps not his strongest album but still 'Room At The Top Of The World' is a gem, and is making a hasty addition to my list of covers to play.
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
OK, it's been a while since the last blog. I've just had a week off in Jersey. A very nice island although the best weather occurred on the day I arrived and the day I left. In between was not quite so good, but there you go.
I'm finally going to be back out doing a gig tomorrow night (Thursday 7th). I'm doing a slot at Bar Place in Hebden Bridge. In fact I can tell you it'll be the opening slot at about 9pm! The night, by all accounts, is thriving so I'm looking forward to returning to this venue.
There's now 2 tracks uploaded onto the BitterSweetShop page, the latest being 'Mirror'. Please feel free to have a listen!
Bye for now,
Paul
I'm finally going to be back out doing a gig tomorrow night (Thursday 7th). I'm doing a slot at Bar Place in Hebden Bridge. In fact I can tell you it'll be the opening slot at about 9pm! The night, by all accounts, is thriving so I'm looking forward to returning to this venue.
There's now 2 tracks uploaded onto the BitterSweetShop page, the latest being 'Mirror'. Please feel free to have a listen!
Bye for now,
Paul
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