Better late than not all…

I was meant to write you while I was in South America. Time whiffed by and before I could blink my eye, I was back in London again; a couple of weeks late with an update. I apologise.

Through a Brazillian contact I booked a gig for Rio, but when I got there the contact had disappeared- maybe he got swallowed up by  the sea??? Who knows?!

But there was a beach in beautiful Leblon where I had based myself. One evening just as the sun had set in, waves were beating rhythmically into the fine white sands, surrounded by the views of affluent concrete buildings  where they juxtaposed the  precariously hanging favelas on the clifftops, I placed myself in the middle of it, soaking up the rawness of  Rio de Janeiro. It was just me, my songs and my guitar. People watched, listened and appreciated.  The night was serene- nothing like the juggle of what Rio is reputed for.

When I arrived in Buenos Airies however, I left the airport without my luggage- they have lost it. But I was calm. I had some extra clothes in my hand bag and my guitar was always with me ( I thought I could do some basking to buy a small tube of toothpaste if need be). One of the people that I have stayed with was a journalist. She also shares her flat with her film maker fiance. It would ‘ve been perfect if I had met them a week earlier cause upon hearing me sing from the private gig that I gave, they wanted to arrange a bigger event for me that Saturday. Well, I was to leave for London that Saturday, and to alter my travel plans was not the brightest thing to do. They asked me if I ever find myself  hanging around Buenos Airies again with my  diminutive yet colourful guitar, I should definitely give them a call and they will sort out a gig for me.

Fly away

I will board a flight to Brazil shortly. Armed with just a bag, my guitar and my songs. First stop: Sao Paulo. But it won’t be until I reach Rio  that I will play. Hope they won’t look for samba as samba I’m not   Then I will continue my journey to Buenos Airies and other parts of Argentina. I wonder if they would start dancing to tango when I play my songs???  I’ll keep you posted.

Au revoir. XXx

Rock on!

It was a very nice and intimate gig. Last Saturday, I performed a two hour acoustic set with my new guitarist. He played the solo and I played the rhythm part. We were under rehearsed due to our busy schedules, but we were booked to play, so we did. The evening started with people looking more nervous than we were. I didn’t know why they were a bit stiff, but I urged them to drink more to loosen up. And loosen up they did. 45 minutes into our set, they were singing and wriggling along.  I forgot some of the lyrics but they loved it each time I went “lala la di dah”- they got really jolly!

And guess what? We got paid in full and the owners wanted us to perform for their venue again. Nice!

Day in, Day out

Life as an everyday musician unfortunately is not about playing everyday. It’s more about booking gigs, looking for the right people, writing new tunes and other things to expand your experience and network. These past week, I have been learning covers. I have recruited another musician who will perform with me in early September in a  bar in Belgravia. We will be playing for two hours that means learning at least fifty songs. I am cramming lyrics into my head plus some guitar parts.

Some days are better than others in terms of memorizing the songs.  I never thought it would be this hard but it is. If  this is all I do all day and night then it will be no problem, but I’m lucky if I get at least two hours a day to work on them. I  try not to panic and hopefully memorize most of them by Sunday’s rehearsal. Well, fingers crossed.

stay stay stay… go go go

You can never be sure about people. You don’t know whether they will stay or they will go. Regardless, you have give them freedom to choose either to be with you or not without making them feel guilty. 

The last time it was my guitarist I had to let go. The following day, the new drummer who have just joined annouced that he could not commit on the times that I required of him to rehearse and play. So he too, I had to let go. We said goodbye, thankful for our meeting and wished each other good wishes.

I realized that it doesn’t really matter whether musicans come and go- it’s part of the game. So long as I stay true to what I love doing, I will always find people who are willing to support me. And that’s just what happened this week. I found a guitarist and a drummer who want to take part on what I do.

I hope we will have a great time playing music together - be it short term or indefinitely.

Hangover

How in the world should someone deal with musicians who cancel a gig feigning some sort of illnesses or injuries two hours before a show?

This Monday evening just passed, we were due to perform at one of my favourite venues in Piccadilly, London. Tickets were sold, guests emailing the info box asking for confirmation of the time and place. I also got emails of well wishes from fans and how they were looking forward to another fun night.  Other band members’ texting me about the time of when we’re supposed to be at the venue for sound check. Then an hour before I had to leave for the show, a text dropped in to my phone saying: “Back broken. Have to cancel tonight. Sorry. I thought it would get better but it didn’t”!  What? I mean WHAT??? I saw this guy a couple of days ago at rehearsals. My heart felt like it was beating 200 beats per minute. I phoned him a few times to probe for some more information and there was no answer. I replied to his SMS right away after he left a message for me, but there was no reply.

 We cannot do the gig without a rhythm guitarist so I had to write email, text, or call people on my mailing list that the gig that evening was off. People could be on their way to the gig by this time, so it was frantic and stressful.

The fact that this wasn’t the first time this guy had been injured or ill before a show clearly marked my fault as a band leader. I should have not given anyone chances more than they deserve. And just like before, he also cancelled two hours before the gig. No wonder when I phoned my bassist that early evening, she blurted: “Oh no! Don’t tell me he’s ill and injured again”? Both of us knew that we’ve been let down again by the same guy with same antics but with a different injury this time.

 So, I’m still suffering from a bad hangover not induced by alcohol, but by a disappointment albeit it’s no longer heavy, it left a sour taste in my mouth.

The only thing I can learn from this is to look for a new guitarist as this one will probably be ill or injured all his life.

Rehearsal day with the new drummer

A stream of light has found its way to my eyes via a slight opening in between my curtains supposedly blocking the sun out of my bedroom window. I have half an hour to get ready to arrive for my rehearsal with my band in a studio in the West End. 

At 9:30am I’m on my bicycle and on my back hang a big piece of guitar. Zipping through Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square and a bit of a windswept hair, I arrive somewhere in Soho where the studio is.

My bassist, Karol is the first one to arrive. She’s already setting up the bass amp as we greet each other. Dewi, the guitarist soon follow; which is a surprise that he made it on time. We chat amiably as we continue setting up. I inform them that a new drummer that I have recruited weeks earlier is coming. We waited for him for a short while, then Keith, the drummer rings. Exhibiting a strong Irish accent, he says that he cannot find the place. He is on a street parallel to the studio. I ask him to stay were he is. I march on to collect him right away.

 He smiles, his tall, slim frame carries a heavy case of cymbals. We walk back towards the studio in to a musky, windowless room that will be our hellhole for most of the day. Profane writings and drawings profligate one part of the wall- but the rest of the four corners, including the ceiling, were untouched by the scribblers.

Introduction to the other two proceeds. They exchange polite handshakes and smiles. After a brief pause; it’s time to get on with the rehearsal.

The humidity is suffocating. If it’s not for the two big fans inside the room to circulate some air, I think we will have spewed some profanities to match one desecrated side of the room.

 We start playing songs based on the set list that I have provided everybody the night before. We’re efficient but still warming up. We continue playing many times over until Keith gets into the feeling and groove of each tune.

 Rolling along, I pick up my guitar, leaning over the microphone next to me; I sing a new song that I have written. I explain that we will be performing that at the gig.  Problem is, me being a fruitcake, cannot remember how I ended the song. I had many options while I improvise. But of course because of it, I have to endure hassles from Karol and Dewi. As for Keith, the new drummer, he plays well and stays away from trouble – for now anyway!

It was a hot but not so sticky Tuesday evening at my gig in Islington. The place was a little quieter than usual. Well, the weather was at its best- most people were outside capitalising on the scorch that is otherwise a capricious London summer.

My guitarist and I were both playing guitars. His, was a normal sized acoustic and mine was a pint sized six string one. Before our gig, we were at a small park nearby amusing some passersby whilst running through songs that we were going to play later on.

We opened the set with our song called “Rain” which we rarely play live. Dewi (guitarist), for some reason had totally forgotten the song’s sequence. After the verse, we were supposed to go to the pre chorus, but he jumped into the second verse chords instead. That completely threw me off the rails. I scrambled to avoid sounding like we made a mistake, but I must say I was totally annoyed because it affected my delivery. But the annoyance had to be abandoned right away if I were to enjoy the whole show. And that’s what happened. A few hiccups but a very good evening it was.

Live!

 The 19 year old technical expert has finally finished my website and it is now up and running. I am pretty pleased with it although I still have to be instructed on how to use the live TV. I’m sure we will reach that stage at some point… I am also not sure whether the blog should be in the “News” section but at the moment it is. I will be changing it around for sure.

 My acoustic performances are now taking a full swing. A gig is booked for tomorrow, 22^nd of June 2010 at The Library, Upper Street, Islington, London. This is where I would have performances every month playing unplugged sets. Sometimes, I would be playing along with another guitarist, or bassist, or percussionist, other times it will be just me on my own. But of course there will always be scheduled shows with my full band. These acoustic sets are more like a taster to people who haven’t been acquainted with me yet.

 So see you tomorrow…

Feeling Naked

Ok. So, I am running into difficulty of getting my bandmates schedules coincide with each other. The thing is, when musicians play for you just for pleasure, it’s not really pleasurable when dealing to getting them to commit to gig dates way in advance, unless I pay them tons of money in which case, I am in no position to do so at this present time. Well, this has always been the case for years, so dealing with the situation with infinite patience and humour is the only way I could go through this pesky dilemma.

I am singer/songwriter. I use my guitar as one of my song writing tools. I wouldn’t exactly call myself a gifted guitarist.

Although I have played acoustic sets on my own before, they were usually opening songs to my set. Anyway, last week, I’ve had enough of waiting confirmation of who can do what, on which date, blah, blah, blah, so I decided to book a show and play unplugged. K who also plays bass guitar for me would play the bongos this time. We had few runs with the songs then booked a slot for our show.

So on with the show:  It was an intimate place called The Library in North London. The place had a good vibe, and nice crowd.

 As we were on stage, for the first time in my performing life, I got very nervous. I almost felt naked without my band.  All I could hear was my guitar. I didn’t even listen to my voice or the bongos. Because of my nerves, I hit notes that weren’t supposed to be there and have missed chords that threw me out of  rhythm. I stayed calm, stayed in the moment, then slowly I eased through the songs again and gradually began enjoying each and everyone of them. But as for my bassist- bongo player on that occasion, the damage was done. After our stint, she was so embarrassed of my musical mistakes that she vowed not play with me acoustically again Fair enough.

 But because of that gig, more people have seen me, and heard my songs. I also gained more fans- there was a group of people who called me over to their table and told me how much they loved the songs, the set and would want to see more of it. Of course they didn’t  notice any of the mistakes -they joined my mailing list.

I play for everyday people and for myself. Not for mussos and critics. I do this to enjoy each moment and be as carefree as I normally am.  So I’m doing it again, and again.