Lyrical Craft. Interview with Ink Pantry Publishing.

'...Music is pure emotional energy; to me it is not a thing or a product or a piece of art that represents feelings, music is the feelings, it is spirituality, it is the voice of the Cosmos'. 

Read the whole interview HERE

New Notes on the New Notes (experimental home-recording project).

Archive footage of the boat saloon.
(As I couldn't be bothered to tidy up for a photo).

In my experimental home recording, I'm noticing some key differences in approach and objectives to my previous recordings, which I thought I'd note here. These are merely a personal experience, as a beginner in home-recording, and are certainly not meant to be prescriptive in any way.

So here are some of the main differences, for me, so far;

1. There are no set-days. My previous recording diaries if you look back through this blog have been labelled things like 'Day 4 - Guitars' and the like. Well, as I've not booked a professional studio, this project is very much carried on with on an 'as and when' basis. It might be going back to a song a little bit (which often turns into a lot) every day. There is no 'day 1, day 2' etc as it's on-going and always.

2. I'm a paranoid perfectionist. The lack of trust in my own recording/production abilities has perhaps contributed, conversely,  into my becoming something of a perfectionist when it comes to how individual tracks are sounding. While I still like to go for the raw emotion of 1 take wherever possible, once that track is done, I find myself going back to it again and again to tinker with it during the editing/sound production process. In the past, I was able to entirely trust the ears of a great producer. Not now! Though having said that, I have sent a version of the first track I attempted to my friend and excellent home producer/songwriter Tim (Lee) for his kind suggestions, comments and, it turned out, encouragement. Thanks Tim!

3. There's no overall plan. Studio time is very expensive, and has necessitated being thoroughly planned as to what will happen during every part of each studio session I have booked. This project has the disadvantage perhaps of not needing the guidance of an overall 'end-goal' or ongoing plan for each session, which can certainly keep you highly focussed. This might also turn into an advantage. I don't know what this project will sound like, overall. I am not sure which songs I might keep or discard or even know how I might perform/record them, perhaps overall artistic objectives will begin to crystallise over a longer time frame, during the process itself?

4. I have an overwhelming desire (so far) to do one track at a time. Perhaps because of the relative looseness of this project, I feel the need to maintain some semblance of being on solid ground by wanting to complete one track at a time. At least then, if I decide the whole thing is a bit of a disaster, I will have a couple (or more) completed tracks to consider. I also think that as this is all a bit of an experiment for me, and am learning a lot as I go along, each track may well end up having a considerably different kind of sound or approach. Maybe that will be a good thing?

I'm currently working on a second track with a kind of driving, rock sound very different to the first one. I'm finding it a difficult challenge to get all the sounds working together well without being too muddy.... we'll see...

I'm toying with the idea of releasing two tracks for a temporary period, then at a later date another two, again for a limited time, before the entire project (not something I can even envisage at the moment) may be eventually released. I'd be pleased if you could let me know what you think of this idea?

Playing music is playing WITH music (experimental home-recording project).

I finally seem to have got around to experimenting with some recording software of my own. I seem to be years behind my contemporaries most of who have been casting off demos and even releasing whole albums from their home studios.

I've put off doing this for several reasons; one is that I've never seemed to have the money to afford such an extravagance, another is that when I've 'had a look' at software before it's seemed incredibly and depressingly complicated. A further reason is knowing other people who are really good at it, and who I will always be reliant on.

The thought though that a) I shouldn't let myself get so far behind everyone else and  b) so many of my songs get 'lost' forever as sort of stillbirths... songs that never reach stage or studio, I want to at least make a record, in some sort of demo form, of some of the songs I write as I go along.

What I really didn't expect, and is a very pleasant surprise... is that I'm absolutely loving messing around with it all! 

Update 14/01/2016

Pedal to the metal.

L-R Electro-Harmonix Holy Grial, TC Electronics Flashback Mini,
Electro-Harmonix Worm, Rowin Octopus, Electro-Harmonix Soul Food

I've been experimenting a lot lately with some different guitar parts which may or may not become bits of songs or work their way into my playing generally. I've also been really wanting to get an octave pedal onto my mini-board (so handy for traveling with), which has resulted in me swapping my 'normal sized' delay pedal for a mini one and then managing to cram in an octave mini-pedal, while maintaining the travel-friendly aspect of the pedal-train nano. More fun than ever per square millimeter! 

A partial view of my larger pedal-board is in an earlier post HERE.

There's also an earlier version of this mini-pedalboard set up in my video below;

Shining Bright.

27th November, 2015

Nantwich Civic Hall was the venue for another charitable outing as Christmas approaches, this time in aid of The Shine Bright Foundation. Have a read about the heart-wrenching reason for this charity's  existence HERE. 

The exciting promise of a pre-gig stage.

Thanks to Terryoke Entertainments for this photo from my set.

So, a great cause plus top entertainment courtesy of the following artists, please click on the name to find out more about these super-talented folk, Sharmane's vocals were especially outstanding, top night;

Stephen Robinson (anyone know an artist-website link for Stephen?)

Callum Joseph Wright

Sharmane

Amy Dockery (anyone know an artist-website link for Amy?)

Maple Clouds 

 Terryoke entertainments rounded up the night with stomping tunes to keep 'em dancing before the end. 

With talk already of a similar event next year, should be good!

Thanks to everyone who came along for making it so successful and to Marc Gallagher who was busy all night both as sound engineer, and as one half of Maple Clouds. Cheers!