So, as the title suggests, i have been incredibly idle these past few weeks. If only that were true.
Since last time i checked in, the end of last year i believe, i have had a wonderfully busy start to the year. Let's see what happened.
In January, i decided to kick things off with a visit to the Musicians Hearing Health Scheme in Camden, London. As many of you musicians will know, your ears are incredibly important so ensuring correct hearing health is a must. I'm reluctant to admit just how little attention i have paid to my hearing health over many years of being a musician and this showed in my hearing results. On the upside i got some gorgeous earplugs courtesy of the Hearing Health Scheme, so if you are a member of the Musicians Union, i highly recommend getting in contact and arranging a health check if you haven't already. I had two wonderful audiologists who were patient with me and explained everything in a way that a layman like myself could understand. This initial check up was to be the first of two that i would schedule, the second being for two weeks afterwards as i had a trip planned which i didn't want to miss out on.
This trip involved spending 10 days travelling around Jordan in the Middle East, taking in a lot of the sights, sounds and sustenance of the country. It felt only right to take a little break at the beginning of the year, before any real work had to be done (hahaha). Upon returning i got in round two with the audiologists and armed with their expert knowledge and advice, sent me back out into the world with a lot more knowledge than when i first walked through the door.
The following day i graduated from university with a Masters degree in Music and Sonic Media. I must say, i'm pretty happy about that, to put it lightly. Had anyone told me 8 years ago that i would not only move down South from the North East of England, but also manage to study a Bmus and a Masters degree, i would have laughed at you. Now, i guess i'm laughing at myself given the absurdity of it all. Life really is ridiculous in a wonderful sort of way.
As January gave way to February, the diary started looking a little fuller with gigs, lessons, sessions and meetings of various kinds. Discussions with the Black Spines have moved forward with regards to the album release date. There are a couple of things to tweak in the recordings but for the most part it is coming along nicely, so i shall keep you informed as and when i know more info. It's well worth the wait though: it sounds epic. Mid February brought with it a wonderful acoustic show with the Black Spines at the Stags Head in London, supporting the astoundingly talented Olly Flavell. If you haven't checked this guy out before he is worth taking time out of your day to listen to as the man has talent for days. This was the first time on stage with the Black Spines since 2019 so it was a baptism of fire as we performed two new songs that we had not had much chance to woodshed on beforehand. Needless to say, i enjoy a challenge so, armed with the demo recordings courtesy of Monica and Alvaro, i set about composing, charting and learning my own individual parts to these wonderful tunes.
Further rehearsals in Brighton with the singer Valentina have been fruitful as well. Her album is shaping up nicely with around 7 songs nearing completion so that has meant many glorious hours playing around, recording, mixing and having fun with sound so that is a joy. We are about to work on production of a couple more tunes to bring us up to double digits so that means lots more hours working away in the studio on these funky ass songs.
Outside of band work i have decided to focus a lot more of my attention on the craft of composition, so after a wonderful discussion with a composer friend, James Cox, i have been developing my showreel that is found on my website's homepage. This has been an interesting process as it forces me to approach the work with a completely different mindset than that of being tasked with working on a song. It's been challenging but incredibly beneficial, so every day im trying to compose something new, even if its only 8 or 16 bars of something new, just to keep my skill set up.
Speaking of keeping skill sets up, this year has seen me implementing a new practise and study schedule into my routine as there are areas of my playing that i have shied away from for far too long. This has mostly been focusing on new vocabulary, parting where extended harmony and theory are concerned, as well as getting to grips with understanding new and interesting rhythmic subdivisions, then trying to incorporate them into my playing. So far, so good. That's not to say i can throw these new concepts in on a whim, however they are gradually becoming part of my musical lexicon, bit by bit, so the practise seems to be starting to pay off.
Though playing and woodshedding (practising) are great ways to keep yourself inspired, nothing beats going out to see live music, so if you don't already, i implore you to go check out things you know and, possibly more importantly, things you don't know because you might stumble onto your next great musical love affair!
Now we slide into March and things are keeping on an upwards trajectory. For the past few weeks i've been working on a showreel for the Cirque du Soleil, which has been testing my reading ability, something i am very happy to test because it can always be better. The Valentina rehearsals are nearing the final stages as we have a show next week where we will be performing a selection of the new songs live for the first time which is going to be exciting. On top of this, i've been asked to play guitar with a London based singer, so i have been studying their back catalogue in preparation for a show in April. Funnily enough, i have a show with Valentina in London in April as well but the date is yet to be confirmed so fingers crossed they're not on the same day! This weekend will be spent in London doing rehearsals and lessons, so once again a busy and productive weekend. Sunday will be most of the same, but back home in Brighton so that means a bit of sea air can keep the mood elevated.
All in all the past few months have been a blessing and, with some interesting things in the planning stages for later in the year, lots of good things are up ahead.
Until next time.
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