Busy times

I often feel that I neglect this blog. I have others, three others but this one is just for my music. I think the fact that I don't use this one much is rather indicative of the fact that I don't push MY music enough.

I've spent the last few months working on my podcast and have had a great success,  finally finished Tom Caulfields brilliant album for my label Pure Acoustica Records.
I've also been working on Pure Acoustica , that also is starting to pick up and I'm stating it in a new venue this week.


A few weeks ago, after chatting to Matt Stevens, I started push my music and have had some great results especially with podcasters, ironic eh?

Bug cast and Made in the UK played my tracks this last weekend and there are more to come including some play on BBC local radio.

I am also planning an exciting development to the Vinyl project, remember that?

I'm also uploading my latest album plus some other stray tracks on to iTunes this week. I've actually been earning some money from iTunes, something I thought would never happen. It's not a fortune, enough for a few pints and enough to pay to get this new collection of songs up. That will make a total of about 37 tracks up for sale.

So now that Tom's album is finished, the podcast is looking after itself, Pure Acoustica has started again AND I've got plenty of gigs lined up for the summer now is the time to push these tunes of mine.

Come the autumn and winter I shall be writing another album or two and perhaps leave these tunes behind, but then again.......

Sleeve Notes for new Album "Bare Bones"

On listening to the first couple of tracks of Bare Bones I doubt you'll be clicking the iTunes buy button straight away.

The production is basic, to say the least, the vocals are often overwhelmed by the guitar and vice versa. Many of the tracks are short, have untidy endings, lack a "bridge" or "middle eight" or even a chorus!

This is my "back catalogue", my history. Many of these songs were recorded over ten years ago at 3am using one basic microphone and an old Mac. An audio notebook of ideas and inspiration.

But there are songs, oh yes, and that's what I want people to hear. Naive perhaps, basic even.

The alternative would have been to leave them, let them rest on a hard drive until the Mac eventually dies. But then what would have been the point? I still play many of these songs; I will often take parts from songs, a chorus, intro or theme and use them in a new composition.

So these songs are footprints, the tracks of my journey to the here and now.

No vocoders, no auto tune or expensive production or mastering.

Have a listen, you may even remember hearing one for the first time at that gig 8 years ago with that guy you didn't know in that dodgy Soho club you went to just the once to check it out but never returned. Or you may have been round my flat one night after the pub and cajoled me into playing something.

Or, of course, you may be listening for the first time in which case, don't judge too harshly as what you are listening to are just the "Bare Bones"

See what I did there?

Original artwork is by my good friend Charles Olsen

Podcast no 7

This week, amongst other things, I rant about buying a fridge at Comets, play some fantastic music by Matt Stevens and Simon Javens, a new advert for those great folk at Hayward Guitars in Winchester, talk a little about Pure Acoustica and launch the very first "Twitter News"

What is a Podcast?

I sent this as an email to members of my mailing list as I had people asking me what a podcast was.
Apologies if you find it a little patronising.

Ok in a nutshell a podcast is a piece of audio, usually speech perhaps with some music. Like a radio broadcast. This piece of audio has to be posted on the web so that people can hear it. You can download this podcast to your computer so that you can either add it to your MP3 player (iPods etc) or play it later. If you have an application called iTunes then you can use that to download it. You can subscribe to a podcast so that every time a new one appears, you will automatically download it.
You can also just listen to it from its source (stream).
My latest podcast has just gone live. You can stream it OR download it from http://nicktann.podbean.com. It's about 17 minutes long and has me chatting a bitr and playing 2 songs from some fantastic independent artists that I have discovered.

Podcasting

I have always wanted to do this.

Actually I have always wanted my own radio show.

I love the radio and always have. As a 7 year old I used to tune in my tiny radio (with the single earpiece!) late at night and listen to Radio Caroline, The World Service and a plethora of crazy European foreign language stations. When I got to about 15 I fell in love with Radio 4. I thought it was cool to listen to The Archers, a kind of rebellion in a sea of punk and Bay City Rollers. 

So now to the podcast (I could talk about the 70's for hours LITERALLY ). 

After spying on fellow reverbnationer (yes that is a proper word...now) Matt Stevens, I noticed that he had a podcast available on iTunes. 

I am a big fan of the podcast having been given a "pod" by Mrs Nick some 2 years ago although one doesn't need one to listen to a podcast, oh no.

So on emailing him he directed me to www.podbean.com and I signed up.

I got all profiled up and then went about making my fist podcast. I had an idea of what I wanted to do. I had recorded some of the Chaplins gig and wanted to play some of the songs from that plus a little chat. After much faffing I decided on a format. 

1) Scripted intro......I tried to do it straight "off the mic" but found myself drowning in a sea of "ahh's" and "ums" and hitherto unknown habit of smacking my gums before each sentence. 

2) The tune

3) An unscripted conversational chat with "The Secret Guest".

 "The Secret Guest" has to remain secret as they get enough publicity as it is and don't want anymore so best keep mum eh?

So after a little editing and tweaking here and there, I loaded it up. I'm still waiting for the beautiful monster that is iTunes to show it but it's only a matter of time.

If you've never heard of podcasts and aren't sure what the are, the Wikipedia definition is the best

So if you have ten minutes to spare click on the purple widget (yes I know I just can't help myself!) on the right

Here is my Top Ten Podcast list

1) Adam & Joe. Brilliant and Funny

2) Russell Brand. See above Despite the fact that he refuses to use my fucking jingle!!

3) The Archers. See higher above

4) Jonathan Ross. Much better than tv Ross

5) Roy & HG "This Sporting life" From the Australian ABC Radio station JJJ. An acquired taste,once acquired then relished.

6) Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4 normally The News Quiz or The Now Show!

7) Thinking Allowed with Laurie Taylor, possibly the best broadcaster ever EVER!

8) Stephen Fry's Podgrams. You must listen you simply MUST

9) Radiohead "In Rainbows" podcast. You didn't know? Shame. Thank me later.

10) Steve Wright in the afternoon. JUST FOR ASK ELVIS IGNORE THE SYCOPHANTIC INTERVIEWS

Do you podcast?

What do you listen to?

Have I whetted your appetite?

Any other business?