Sometimes you can over-egg a pudding!

Happy New Year! Happy 2011!

There's so much exciting stuff and this year actually promises to be a really exciting one on the music front. 2010 truth be told was a bit of a let down after 2009 but this year, this promises to be pretty darn good.

So since I promised to unleash a whole raft of posts, we'll start the new year with a strange one of sorts. A few months back I was ask to review an album, which at first I'll be honest made me think something was amiss but alas not. I'm always dubious about doing things like that because there's always the fear of not liking what you're listening to and then feeling obligated to either write something that's not truthful or writing something negative which perhaps wasn't the expectation of the person asking you to review it in the first place.

So this one's been a bit of a tricky one because I've really struggled to connect with it and like it but then I'd struggled to figure out why until a 5am journey home on New Years Day in a slightly tired state so until I got my head into the right place, didn't want to review it.

So the album is question is "Trust" by LA-based Singer/Songwriter/Guitarist Gary Melvin. The interesting thing about Gary is unlike most singer/songwriters, he appears to be a guitarist first and foremost with years of experience rather than a songwriter. In fact amongst his credits lies a stint working with Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons (that's the type of pedigree we're talking about here with the guitar).



So with that pedigree in mind it's no wonder Trust is filled with catchy guitar riffs, great electric solos and clever arrangements. It's an interesting album of Pop/Rock tunes and some of it by definition I should really love but and here's the big but, for me personally it's a bit forgettable. That sounds harsh and it's not meant to be and it was only driving home at 5am on New Years Day I finally figured out why, I had the "lightbulb" moment.

See Gary has a very "sweet" (not in that sense!) rounded voice (parts of Gary's voice remind me of Dan Wilson of Semisonic and Trip Shakespeare fame), it's soft and a little understated. Here's the thing though, being a great guitarist, he knows how to craft a great song, play some downright incredible solos and fire out a catchy tune BUT it's all just a bit too much for such a delicate voice. I found that my ear spent more time turned towards the guitars instead of the vocals which means the songs themselves or rather the lyrics pretty much get lost so it's really hard to connect that link to them.

Where you really get to see Gary's talent laid very bare is in two or three songs where the heavy guitars are throttled back a bit and the ear focuses on the vocals and the lyrics a bit more easily. "Bring Love Alive" and "Angel Moon" work really well and the final track on the album "Who's Gonna Save You" just about hits the mark perfectly between that polar mix I've been writing about between guitars and vocals.

All in all it's an interesting album by a musician clearly developing his talent and refining what he wants to do with his immense talent. It's not one of those I could definitely say go and buy it, it's not one of those I'd say don't buy...it's one of those to take a listen to and make your own opinion on.

In fact having checked Gary's website you can actually download both his albums for any price (even free) at his Bandcamp page. But if you like what you hear you'd surely pay something towards it wouldn't you? Seriously, I know times are still a bit tough but don't be an a-hole ok?!?!

Regardless of anything though that is one amazing guitarist and I am slightly (no, no, more more than slightly) envious of such a talent!

Peace xxx

If the best way to find good music...

...is to go out and see it first hand, then that's probably the single most important lesson I've learnt from this year.

It's odd how 12 months has rolled on by and in truth it's been a pretty ordinary year. Let's put it into perspective, particularly in terms of music...2009 was an immense year, probably the best of my life and in terms of my life as a whole it was right up there as a vintage year. I lost count how many gigs I went to, how many musical friends I made, how much great music I bought. This year was always going to fail to live up to the expectation. But then having said that I didn't help myself a lot. This year I went to a fraction of the gigs I did last year, partly because some of my favourite venues died a sad death (Monkey Chews in Camden and pretty soon The Luminaire in Kilburn), partly because the time just didn't seem to be there and partly because most of the acts I'd been so excited about in 2009 were all overseas "doing there thing" and making their dream come true.

That being said there have been some real highlights and where the quantity has been low, the quality has remained for the most part tip-top high. So to make up for a lack of activity for most of the year I've written (well am about to, a series of blogs which I'll release over the next week covering some of the music I've been introduced to this year).

Starting off tonight is a guy I saw about 6 weeks ago at The Old Queens Head in Islington who was so mindblowingly good, so incredibly talented that it took me such a long time to share it with the word...because I'm lazy, no other reason!

I'd actually been at the venue that night to see and support Patrick Plunkett and once Pat had finished his set and another act had played, on stage walked a man who had a strange aura, a real stage presence without appearing 100% comfortable about being there. The rest as they say is history, within a few seconds of bursting into life there stood before a decent sized crowd one of the finest raw Folk/Blues/Rock singer-songwriters I've ever seen in Samuel Brookes. Note the word EVER in that sentence, I'm setting the bar very high here. Now to set a benchmark here when I say how good he is, because my word doesn't count for much really, he recently supported Ray Davies (lead singer of the Kinks) around the UK on tour. That's a pretty darn good sign of talent?


Samuel's at times mesmeric guitar playing added the most rich depth to a set of songs which drew you in so close to the music you wanted to sit in silence yet all the while still wanting to tap your feet and pass "wow's" with fellow listeners. To top it off lies a seriously big, powerful, rounded yet controlled voice.



After the set, I popped over and in my usual manner parted with a bit of money for a CD, an EP (Helium) if you will of just two songs which in the space of 8 minutes defines just how good a talent he is. "Breathe Me In" is a pretty rounded rock song with some very catchy riffs without being too heavy, it just works. "In Weeks" the second song tells a really great story about a friend who disappears out of your life from time to time popping up and then vanishing again without any reason. I totally relate to it and I'm sure we all have a friend who does that, right?

The only real disappointment with the EP is the lack of songs, I got to the end and wanted more but as a first pass and a tempter, it certainly did that!

Samuel's signed to the reasonably small independent label Helium and I believe his debut album is being worked on in the studio at the moment so hopefully it won't be too long before we get more great music from him.



Right then, I now need to go and think of some other blogs to write.

Peace xx

Au revoir Limewire!

So this week, a court in the US ruled in favour of a number of large record labels and ordered Limewire to cease providing their software and take down the Gnutella server which has for over a decade been one of the most popular methods for people wishing to illegally file share music.

Now I'm not going to ever pretend that at some point somewhere in the past, many years ago I didn't use Limewire, because I hold my hands up, I did. But the dawn of iTunes along with things like Pandora, last.fm and Spotify gsve the consumer a legal means of listening to music and then purchasing it...if they liked what they heard. It's the route I took.

Only in the past couple of years have I become so acutely aware of how badly illegal file sharing hurts independent artists in fact I have a number of friends who are musicians and the thought of people stealing from them and preventing them earning a living from their talent really sickens me.

Let's also be very clear, just because an artist is signed to a major record label, it doesn't mean they earn a huge amount of money from each record...if you don't believe me, go and have a search online for recording contracts and the percentages artists receive for Recording Royalties and Mechanical Royalties and the Deductions records labels make.

So in my view, Limewire's demise is a truly great day for music but I'm not naive enough to believe that people won't find another way to share music, I just hope it gets the same injunction slapped upon it, the future of music and talented artists depends upon it.

Right place, right time...

So recently I've been out to quite a few smallish gigs after a little break from the musical adventures. The first of which was an invite only industry-showcase event at the Regal Rooms in Hammersmith about 10 days ago. The premis of the event was 4 or 5 acts all playing just 3 songs. I went along to see the brilliant Alex Berger play and to do a "little bit of business" and I arrived too late to see the first act.

But I did walk in right in the middle of the second act who quite literally slammed me face first to the floor. See some of these showcase events can at times be pretty shabby if they're not organised very well and the quality can be sometimes somewhat lacking, not in this case.

If you scroll through to about 42 minutes, you'll see what I walked in on. The guy on stage in question is Rich Thomas of Brother & Bones a band who I can't actually tell you much about because there just isn't a lot available...except they're based in the South West of England (Cornwall area) and the eponomous debut album was released back in June this year.


Watch live video from The Regal Room Live on Justin.tv

If you've watched the video then right now I'm hoping you're going...WOW, what an incredible voice, if you're not then there's something majorly wrong with you.

Anyways, after the set I had to go and buy a CD so made a beeline for Rich. We chatted for a brief moment, I bought the CD and on the way home in the car I put it on. I had just enough time to listen to the whole thing and was a little confused, I guess it wasn't quite what I expected, although I don't know how I decided that based on having listened to an acoustic set of 3 songs, still...I popped it straight on my iPod the next morning and gave it a few more blasts and from a cautiously confused start, I eventually got it.

What the album is, is a big, huge, bold, loud and beautifully crafted and produced mix of mainstream anthemic rock songs with influences and styling from a number of other genres all centred around strong, soulful, soaring and intensely brilliant vocals. From No Soul right through to Stand Alone, you can't find a bad song amongst them and I defy you to not be drawn into even the smallest amount of foot-tapping or head-shaking. The album finishes with the beautifully laid back The Sun Must Always Go Down which I guess was the best connection between the three live songs I saw Rich perform and the rest of the album.


At the moment, you can't buy the album online, I'm sure it won't be too long before you can and I'll also be brave enough to stick my neck out a bit and say that Rich and the band could potentially be big...very, very big such is the quality. You heard it here, maybe not first, but you heard it here.

Shake it, shake it, shake it like a....Snow Globe?

Two blogs in a few days? Immense effort...not! If I'm being totally honest coming up with an intelligently witty title is pretty difficult when really tired so I promise not to quote the Black Eyed Peas in any way again...ever!

Anyways, tonight is really a blog two and a half months in the making. Remember the other night I touched on a lot of good music I was listening to? Well, back in June (the 23rd to be precise) I was fortunate enough to finally see one of my favourite musicians, Jay Nash play in London. That night he played with the equally brilliant Joey Ryan, who I wrote a blog all about back in June but they were accompanied by another musician, a man who I must confess I knew little about (apart from his friendship with Greg Holden and that he's based between London and New York), Alex Berger.


Now then imagine the scenario if you can. It was very hot and humid in London, I'd had a whole day of alcoholic refreshment (not drunk, just socially enjoying the cool offerings), my mind had been split wide open by Joey Ryan and then blown into little pieces by Jay Nash that by the time Alex hit the stage at about 10:30pm I was pretty much in mental meltdown. Anyways, Alex played a set which, if I'm honest I paid attention to at a slightly more than peripheral level not really capable of comprehending much more around me. I did grab a couple of videos, did a bit of research over the next month and fell totally in love with his song Your Last Night in Queens (which I will openly admit is one of the most beautifully constructed songs my ears have heard in years).

So fast forward to the start of August, the 6th to be precise. Greg Holden's back in London for the first time in 11 months, tickets are purchased, Alex is on the bill and I resolve to pay the utmost of attention and absorb what's going on around me. The room is hotter than the sun and I'm sweating like a geordie in a maths test (sorry, only the Brits are going to get that reference). Nonetheless sat on the floor like an old assembly at school with well over 100 people around me, I listened and was totally swept away by Alex's brilliance.

A sublime pianist, competent guitarist, outstanding songwriter, great storyteller, Alex ripped into a set consisting of Pop/Folk (Polk...as in...Poke!) songs pretty much all from his debut album, Snow Globe and a couple of new songs he'd written since the album. In fact I was so utterly blown away that as soon as the gig finished I made a rapid beeline to go and buy a copy of the album and we chatted for seemingly ages.

The next day mooching around in the car spending some time with someone extremely special to me (you know who you are!), we agreed to put Alex's CD Snow Globe on. The album, produced by the incredible Alex Wong (of numerous projects including The Paper Raincoat with the the equally outstanding AmbeR Rubarth) left us both sat pretty much mesmerised throughout only breaking silence to raise a smile at some of the more light-hearted lyrics in some of his songs including the French lyrics in Portia (a girl who Alex once dated) or to discuss the brilliance of what we were listening to. I instantly fell in love even further with Your Last Night in Queens (a song which has subsequently been listened so much it might even be in the 3 figures by now), Snow Globe, Where I Left You Last and Magic.


Alex recently played a gig at the brilliant Bedford in South London which sadly I couldn't make it to but watched it online. The show is still available, (just scroll it through till about 36:30).


Watch live video from The Bedford Live on Justin.tv

Go check him out, the album is still getting serious play time on my iPod and he's around on the London music circuit for a few more months yet, you won't be disappointed trust me!

A call to arms...give a great musician a kick start!

Ok I've given up promising to write blogs and then not delivering so I'm just going to say I'm really slack, I'm listening to a lot of good music at the moment which I will soon review, I am busy with music-related activities and I am totally useless at writing most of it down.

But tonight I wanted to write an impromptu blog to really hammer home or at least hopefully open your eyes to the world of the independent musician.

So then, why tonight of all nights? Well my friend and superb musician Greg Holden today launched an audacious fan-led initiative to fund his next record. It seems that these fan-led sponsorship deals seem to be the way forward for independent artists, but why?.


The truth is the record industry as it was, is in tatters for obvious reasons. The big labels are now finding it harder and harder to post profits, less and less large record deals are being handed to musicians and more and more are being dropped by record labels who are now more than ever 100% focused upon making each release as commercially viable and profitable as possible. Last year EMI posted an annual pre-tax loss $1.75 billion yes ok there was a huge chunk of that in write-offs but the label was forced to drop a lot of artists and I seem to recall somewhere that the company made job losses in the thousands.

On the flip side, the music industry has and is becoming more and more accessible for independent musicians. It's actually pretty easy now to record and album in your own bedroom with a few bits of decent software and some cheapish equipment, chuck it all over the internet, promote it everywhere and hopefully make a decent return, spend a little make a bit more. Not that I am for one instance suggesting you even think about doing it unless you genuinely believe you have the talent because you could always crash and burn and make a loss.

But what happens when an independent musician like Greg wants to record a proper album? There are so many costs that have to be considered, costs that in the old days, a record label would cover. I'm talking about the cost of studio time, session musicians, engineers, producers, artwork designers, CD replication and production, PR and promotion, distribution, lawyers, royalty collection services, etc, etc...all things that don't come cheap and all things that the independent musician now has to pay up front just to put a proper album out to the world...and with no guarantee of success or even a single sale. And just to put it into perspective, it probably takes somewhere in the region of $10,000 to $30,000 to produce a top notch album, you can then pretty much double the cost to add on the production, distribution, legal and promotional costs. How daunting and terrifying must that be as a musician to take that gamble? I don't think I'd sleep at night if someone asked me to lay out that kind of money of a whim. The problem is that the only tangible goods a musician has to sell is their music so they are by definition compelled to create music for sale (or give up on music and get a 9-5 job) so it's a risk that has to be taken.

So then, with a record deal either not on the table or turned down by a musician who wants to retain artistic control over their works how else do they get funding? Turn to the banks for a loan...well with the world economy in the mess it is, imagine trying to justify a bank loan of say $20,000 just for a album. Most banks...even the worst ones would probably laugh you off the premises, in fact most banks are ever reluctant at the moment to loan money to anything based in the music industry because of the transitional phase it's going through and if they do, it's small amounts, with high interest rates and ultra short terms and the banks are even demanding collateral be put up against these loans to secure them...it's madness!

Ok, so the bank is out of the question and I'm not even thinking about loan sharks or other sordid money lending services. What about parents/family? Hey Mum and Dad, I know you've supported me all my life but...can I borrow $20,000 to make a record? Unless you come from a rich family or have the most incredible parents...I think that's always going to be a struggle particularly when the majority of people around the world who earn a living are still rather tentative about their job security.

You might fancy selling stuff to fund it...but then who actually has $20,000 worth of "stuff" they can sell on ebay? Chances are if you have that much stuff, somewhere you probably have the capacity to fund a record from your own bank account.

So where else is left to turn. The most logical place is to the wider circle of people who care enough about your music who can hopefully all help in a small way...the fans.

These fan-led initatives seem to be springing up all over the place and each time I find myself feeling obligated (in the best possible way) to put my hand in my pocket and donate as generously as I can. Recently one of my other favourite singer/songwriters Jay Nash did exactly the same thing to fund his next album (which I of course felt totally compelled to support) and only last week another musician Kevin Montgomery did the same. Each of these (including Greg's) offers the fan the chance to, I guess, advance purchase the album (which offsets some of the financial risk of producing the album provided enough people advance purchase) and then going further if the finances permit to make a heartfelt donation to a great cause if they see fit in return for rewards which might include a name added to the album sleeve, hand written lyrics, phone calls, private gigs, even guitars etc, etc. It is in effect a unique offering, something you couldn't or wouldn't ordinarily get from a record label and certainly not a major one. It gives you, the fan the chance to own a piece of the record, to support a cause you believe in. I just read a comment by someone describing it as a social investment...i like that term, it sums it up beautifully, because you see, without the commitment from the fans the musician can ill-afford to take the gamble of producing a high quality album these days, so now more than ever before the musicians you know, respect and love need you!

Of course many of you might not have the cash to be able to chuck huge amounts behind an artist's project...but even the smallest amount goes a long way to helping. As much as anything it shows your commitment to that musician and you know if you can't commit financially at that time, spread the word and when the album comes out buy it, don't illegally download it.

These fan-led initiatives offer I believe a beautiful opportunity for music lovers to engage with their favourite musicians on a totally new level, to shape the music they'll listen to in the future, the music they'll hopefully tell their family and friends about, the music they'll pass on to their kids and future generations all in the knowledge that the musician has produced the album he/she/they wanted to without the creative and commercial constraints of a record label. Don't you think that's actually a really incredible thing to say you were a part of?

Times are tough I grant you, money isn't quite as free flowing as it was a few years back, the world is changing rapidly, people's attitude towards music has changed for the worse but when I look at Greg's kickstarter page and I see that in 10 hours since launching his initiative he has nearly $5,500 pledged from his family, friends and fans, it restores my faith that there are genuine music lovers still in the world who care enough to want to help and to make that difference - and if it makes me happy imagine what it does for the musician?!?!

Please go and support Greg - click here, if you haven't pledged yet.

Night all xxx

Summer's moving on...

Bizarrely I find this time of year a pretty reflective one. Over half a year gone, summer over half way done and yet so much time to still make an impact. It'd be fair to say thus far this year I've been down on gigs (number) and definitely down on good new music which means 2010 looks at the moment not to be a vintage like 2009 was but there's still plenty of time and that's got to be the source of optimism.

So on a bright note, last night I went to see Patrick Plunkett play at the Troubadour in West London with his new band. It was a tricky setting with a difficult Friday night loud drinking crowd rather than a music crowd but nonetheless Patrick and the guys put on a good show. The set was as usual highly accomplished and there was already a really good chemistry with the band so all bodes very well there although he has loads of exciting challenges now writing songs for a band rather than just a singer/songwriter and adapting his current songs for a bigger sound. Still I know it's a challenge he'll easily master, I don't for one second doubt it.

After Patrick's set another singer/songwriter came on with his band, a South African guy called Roland Albertson. His set was a much more up tempo affair and commanded that little extra attention from the crowd. There were some pretty sparkling moments mainly from Roland's electric guitarist who had some brilliant mesmerising solo's, although the whole thing was a bit tricky to gauge because the sound system wasn't quite right and it was an extremely noisy crowd.



Still after the set I grabbed a CD and whacked it on in the car coming home. Roland's 6 track Legends Of The Sun EP is an interesting mix of songs blending a lot of different sounds it doesn't settle on a particular genre which makes it ever so slightly difficult to connect with it. Don't get me wrong the songs are good, very polished and produced really well but there's an element of "I've heard this before" about a few of the tracks for instance "Picking Up The Pieces" sounds like it's come off the back catalogue of Coldplay maybes. I'm also struggling to pick the emotive element of the songs which I guess probably accounts for my lack of connection to the music.

BUT where the CD actually comes in to it's own is in the very last track Broken which finally lays bare a bit of emotion and is a truly beautiful song which you'd expect from a singer/songwriter. Again it's a totally different sound, back to an acoustic route and it really does showcase a very crafted and talented voice which finally gets exposed to its fullest.

If I had to surmise the CD I'd probably say that as a commercially viable exercise it ticks all the boxes. The tracks feel aimed at appealing to a mainstream musical audience whilst showcasing a number of different styles so if that was the intention then it achieved it definitely. That sounds harsh, don't get me wrong, it's a nice collection of songs and I got to the end of the CD wanting more which is a good sign but nice isn't always memorable.

Still I'd check him out, when Roland refines where he's aiming his music, he could build a pretty good fan-base very quickly and sell a decent amount of records.