Master Plan

So this is part of my master plan. I found this piece of software, I forget the name. You can expand branches and group things. So I spent most of easter doing this plan. This is just the website part, there is a much bigger plan that this is just one part of.

So now I get down to actually DOING the plan.

And to be honest, it's all a bit daunting and is it realy worth it?

Will it be a success after all the work?

It fucking better be!!!

n.b. click on the picture to see it in it's full glory....

Outside the Box

I have 6 tracks that I recorded at an acoustic gig I played last week. I used my lovely Rhode NT1 plugged into my portable minidisc and the quality is stunning. Therefore after a little tweaking I will release them for digital download by Xmas on good old iTunes as I did with "Life is a River"

It's about a year since I released "Life is a River" and to be honest I made about £150 profit from it and I'm pretty chuffed considering I wrote and played all the songs myself and recorded them in my spare room. 

Now you are all smart creative folk (aren't you?) what I would appreciate are your ideas to help publicise this album. Interesting viral marketing type ideas and publicity stunts.

If you know me then you will know that I'm pretty shameless when it comes to whoring myself round this great web of ours so I'm not going to whimp out of anything due to any shyness.

I did a special mix a few years ago of old People tracks preceded by a snatch of dialogue from Pulp Fiction. It sounded pretty natty and as I didn't inflict it on the world there were no messy copyright issues. I could go down a similar road this time and use some other spoken word. I could even hang the copyright stuff and hope for some publicity. There is no such thing as bad publicity eh Charlie?

I'm a bit handy at editing video so I could make a film for the tube of you

I did want to put up a witty and pertinent youtube vid but decided to treat you all to probably one of the best vids I've ever seen.

So throw me a bone, you've had great ideas before, share a few. 

I don't have a name for this album yet nor any ideas for the cover.

So let your imagine fly and aid me in giving up my day job.

Get Out Of London!!

Seriously, if you’re an artist trying to garner any kind of success then get out GET OUT!!.

 

Let me start at the beginning. Assume that you are a singer/songwriter type. You want to play in a nice place, sell cds to strangers, get people you don’t know to come to your other gigs and possibly have sex with beautiful women.

 

My experience is that unless you have connections you will play empty dives in the middle of housing estates, obscure expensive bars no one goes to,  acoustic nights in noisy bars that empty as the previous acts and their many friends depart after their “stint”.

For this London rock en Roll experience you will be paid fuck all.

“Promoters” of such events will not publicise you nor will anyone ANYONE wander in hungry for live original music except drunks and junkies who wouldn’t get served anywhere else.

 

You will not sell any cds and beautiful women will definitely not lay you. 

 

So my advice would be get out of London.

Come and play out here in the country.

Come and play at great places like Chaplins in Boscombe.

Lovely, enthusiastic women like Fiona will great you, shake you by the hand and be pleased to see you.

James the pianist and sometime sound guy will make a point of coming over and asking what you need and offer you a free drink.

Other performers will be talented and passionate and friendly, swapping places to play and being generally “chummy”

Ok, you won’t get paid as it is a free venue but you will play to a respectful, appreciative and enthusiastic audience that you didn’t have to bring yourself.

You will get your photograph taken and even a video of your songs to be put on the venue website.

Hopefully they will ask you back to play a longer set eh Fi?

You may take a beautiful woman home.

You may even be already married to them!

 

 

 

By the way, if you continue to thrash that dead horse that is ‘The Londin”you may as well busk, you’d play to more people possibly sell a few cds. You might even get laid!

I think I like this....

So there I was driving along the M27 navigating my way to The Edge Acoustic Club in Portsmouth and i was thinking "Why am I doing this?" "I could be sitting at home relaxing" I think that I am basically lazy, those who know me a chuckling I am sure as this is no news to them.

I've done this loads of times before in London. You make the effort to find the place, spend an age trying to park (if you actually find the dump!) stand around until the often surely yes SURLY pa dude deigns to grunt at you, you argue about where in the lineup you will play, eventually you plugin and address the assembled unwashed who totally ignore your heartfelt efforts. Having finished more gruffness from the now pissed pa dude who scoffs at your ridiculous request for some money and send you off feeling used and abused.

But not at The Edge. Having found the place (it's easy) I managed to park in the road opposite and walk the 50 feet or so to the Edge of the Wedge, it was right next to The Wedgewood Rooms. A lovely bright, airy bar. i got there a bit early but was soon joined by Aide (sorry if I've spelt that wrong) a nice chap who set up the P.A. in about 5 minutes, asked me when I fancied playing and then offered me a beer! I declined as drinking before I play has always been disastrous for me but nonetheless...

I decided to go on second, around 9.30 I think.

I haven't mentioned this but this was my first gig in years that Mrs Nick was not present at. She was away somewhere on a work thing, somewhere.

Our friend Lisa turned up sunny and full of beans as always. She's very close to celebrity status at the BBC now and in time I will have to link to her but I digress. 

I had to play all my loud bluesy numbers as there  was some kind of death metal band playing at The Wedgewood Rooms next door and there was a little, well a lot of thumping bleeding through the door. Anyhoo, it was all good! The sound was great, Aide gave me nice foldback (steady!) and the crowd were attentive and appreciative. I had a chat with a few of them afterwards and I appear to have gone down well.

Aide offered me another beer but as I was driving I declined and then gave me the princely sum of £10!!! I know this may seem to be a paltry sum to some of you dear readers but as some of you artists out there will verify money for acoustic live gigs of this type can be very rare especially for a London boy like myself.

So well done Beefy (he's the promoter) and Aide and the Edge of the Wedge. Thanks for restoring my faith in humanity and whetting my appetite for playing live.