Online Diary (January 2011)
Jan 31, 2011 Latest News
Posted by
ryan
31/01/11
January is well and truly gone and it keeps going faster and faster! last week I played all 7 days of the week in various different guises. Open mics and gigs private/public got most of my upcoming gigs out of Weston now and hoping to continue the trend. Reason being I would like to put on an event showcasing the full banbd versions of the upcoming album. If I’m away for a bit hopfully more people will be interested in coming along.
Paid for some advertising in ‘Bridal Dreams’ magazine today that goes out with the Weston Mercury to see if I can some more work with wedding gigs for the band and as a solo acoustic act.
Working on organising further aspects of the SKYDIVE in August; currently waiting for everyone to reply to me 
Rehearsal is off tonight due to car trouble for the drummer (Sam) will rearrange for Sunday and hopefully get a whole day devoted to ironing out any kinks. Still looking to get a date to mix the studio session of ‘Secret’ and Ican’t wait for you to hear it. It’s bloody awesome so far. Just need to produce it a bit more to make it stand out in todays market
Found these old recordings I did with Craig Godbeer when we were performing as STRUMAH from 2004. My guitar playing was shocking in places but it was all done in one take and recorded by Bob Garrett at his house.
15 Years – The Levellers (Cover)
30/01/11
Here are some pictures of my amp that is in production. Malcolm Ray took me to his workshop today and showed me how far he has got with the unique valve amp specifically designed for my acoustic guitar. Needless to say I am somewhat excited about it and look forward to playing it. The company is called Ray Sharp and he will be making many more amps so you can buy one!! Will get a spec from Malcolm soon for those of you who like to know the more nerdy aspects of its construction
Playing at Ammos tonight in Weston-super-Mare and will be joined on stage with some special guests. Gonna rehearse with Hannah Johns later (violin) and maybe learn a few new covers. I will be recording tonights gig so live recordings will be up soon. Last nights wedding gig was great in Keynsham and I got home with enough time to go out and live it up on the town. Peter Fealey and Adam Taylor were on hand to make the night amazing.
28/01/11
Was supposed to be getting the Secret session mixed today but poor old Tony Hobden is in hospital so went to visit him. Also delivered Kate Lee’s birthday present (KLEE Photography) and picked up my PA from Loves Cafe in preparation for playing at The Bottle Bar tonight.
I don’t have many gigs in Weston for the next 6 months so my wings are definitely stretching ever further. Competing with Tinchy Strider tonight who is playing on The Grand Pier (Nancy are supporting; Shane & Maudie Roynan, Rob Whelan and Kate ‘Spinklesparks’ Dean) so hopefully town will be bustling with revellers.
Been recruiting more volunteers for the skydive and things are going well so far. If you would like to sponsor me click here to go to my JUSTGIVING page. Looks like I have 36 people so far and more people to tell yet. Need to get some media coverage soon once the artwork is finished from Jo O’Donoghue and everyone has got their sponsorship underway.
Paying for some advertising for the first time in Bridal Dreams magazine to try and get some more wedding gigs this year. I think they are the best gigs of all and with my awesome band and equipment available we can play small rooms and big ones with a setlist everyone loves.
These pictures were taken at The Old Duke in Bristol. Went there for open mic night and it was GOOD 
The others have been put into the Phots/Artwork section HERE. The pics were taken by Marco Sanna – it doesn’t look like there is a link to a website for him but he seems to do some work around the Bristol area so look out for him
This video has been the main source of laughter today so be sure to check it out. I know it’s purile and vulgar but it appeals to my childish sense of humour
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrBj3u5dPgM
Also uploaded some more tracks to the VTKTM YouTube channel which you can find HERE.
27/01/11
Sat listening to a couple of tracks from guys in my area. Feeling pretty lucky to be surrounded by so much diverse and quality musical talent. First one is this Radiohead sampled track from Nick ‘Satchman’ Rowland TRACK also Knew Eyes (Michael Piper) who I laid down some vocals for this track TRACK. Went to James Scriven & Tom Forristers studio today to record some guitar parts for them – love getting involved in projects and got to have a little widdle with a little solo. Once the track is finished they said they would send over a copy so will post it on here. Acoustic night was great tonight with lots of singers and players getting involved. Young Lucas Thomas (Lorna’s son) played some mean guitar and even sang a little bit which is cool. Hope he keeps it up. Oli Sillick knocked out a couple of corkers and a girl called Sophie sang a few great tunes too. Adam Barmaki was on hand as well as his brother Youssef on his drum. All in all a great night and third night in a row of playing my little guitar. Last night I was at The Old Duke in Bristol with my old mate Matt Baker (some tracks of us playing are in the downloads section) as well as Tom Sheppard (download) & Eliza Fyfe. Tomorrow is Klee Photography’s birthday so will be playing at Loves Cafe for her. Bottle Bar on Friday then a private gig on Saturday. Sunday… I think I will rest
Also just had an exclusive sneak peek of Paul C’s working of Little Sun. It’s very much in it’s early days but would like to share the work so far with those select few of you that are interested.
26/01/11
Working on my guitar course again today; tweaking lesson 4 which is about harmonising the major scale, roman numeral system and transposing predominantly. Lesson 1 was about the major scale/chords, lesson 2 the minor scale/chords, lesson 3 triads and now working on 4. Got several ideas I was to include in them so rather than just learn a topic you apply in your own creative ways. Gonna be a stonking course I feel.
Also uploading the raw video file of Blackbird recorded/performed live at ‘the’ studio so you can have a quick look. I intend to get the audio p[roperly mixed and the video edited nicely. thought I would post both so you can see the beginning and end product of something like this.
My friend Paul Dimmick (7quidstudios) has started work on remixing another one of my tracks. Panic is sounding pretty cool so far; he’s used some interesting chords over the vocals to give it a completly different feel. Here is an early version
Panic (7quidstudio remix demo demo)
Been speaking with Nick (I teach his son guitar) today about some video editing and he raised some points about the videos so far and how they could be improved. Will get them in writing soon so I can put them here to remember them. Blackbird video goes out of focus a little bit due to depth of field issues. Next time I will try to avoid such mistakes. Once the audio is mixed and the video is manipulated into something a little better I will post it on here. The microphones that were used were just lovely
24/01/11
Had to time to listen to the recording from yesterday and have some ideas to augment was has already been done. Karl G has a copy so he can get some ideas of his own too. Gavin Cox (Eastertown/The Orphans) has also given me sound advice that I shall take on board. The recording process has started so well I can’t begin to say how relieved I am that things are falling into place.
Open Mic Night was great tonight with some new faces joining in the fun. Adam Barmaki (some great covers played with him) Andy (played a pretty awesome cover of poker face) Matt Baker (putting ‘Bad’ by Michael Jackson on our setlist from now on!) as well as Owen, Sam, hope I got the names right and Eliza. Just good to see people having fun with acoustic night.
Got to sort the session data for Secret and arrange a time to meet up with Tony H to mix it. Got quite a lot on my plate at the moment > can I keep spinning these plates? Skydive to keep organising, gigs to find, guitar course to finish writing, promotion to do, start my own record label? catch up with tax admin, tidy my room etc…
Time for bed now but up reasonably early to get some things done
23/01/11
Currently sat in studio 3 and getting started. Adam is re-stringing his electric and Sam has set up his drums. The drive here was fairly uneventful and traffic free which was ideal. Was told by Kris that we are using a revolution pre amp which is the mutts nuts
While the Pro Tools session gets booted up we’re just getting ready to start laying down the guide tracks and get the drums and bass done. I think (touch wood) I have managed to get everyone here safely and with all required equipment and spares… WIN!
Here is the article written on SLICETHEPIE.COM
First tip of the day: make sure the drummer has tuned his toms. Currently waiting on a flappy feedback to be cured. Also don’t take a camera with you that has a full memory card. D’oh
Just finished doing the guide and pinpointing where the 5/4 time signatures come in on the session so the meter can be changed to suit the click. About ready to start recording the drums on their own with Sam Evans. I am suffering from slightly chapped lips so will be applying Neutrogena Labios to my cracked face for most of the day and drinking plenty of water. Whilst stepping out to fetch some items from the van we could see people having their pictures taken against the road sign and the graffitti all over the walls… Happy days.
Done a solid drum take and now doing another to give us more options when mixing later. Also going to record samples from each part of the kit to use later if need be too. After that we’re gonna have a 2 hr break wandering towards Camden for some food and a chat before heading back to get stuck in with the hard work.
It’s now 18:10 – we had to vacate the studio from 2pm so we went to get some food (steak) and had a wander around London. I’ve just been on a trek to find some Red Bull to keep me lively for the next 4 hrs of recording and the eventual drive home. About to record the bass (Steve Hatton) and then most likely acoustic, lead guitar and violin before the vocals. Spoke to Karl G earlier about getting the session data to him to have a play with in the week so next thing to do it to arrange a time with Tony Hobden to mix it.
>Just got home and it is now 03:02am! almost a 24hr day but it was almost definitely a turning point in my life personally and professionally; the seriousness that was taken in making sure the slightlest details were sorted during the recording and not cutting any corners was paramount to the quality of the performances.. not to mention the dab hand of Kris Burton who was frankly amazing today. Got to catch up on some sleep but will get the media and recordings out soon as they are ready. Firstly though must correctly label all the audio tracks in the Pro Tools session What a day… Secret is sounding better than ever
22/11/01
Currently sat in my ‘ouse re-stringing my acoustic listening to Jamiroquai live at Abbey Road and pondering of the possibilities the next 11 months will bring. Got some Michael Jackson covers to learn on Monday and gonna do some rehearsing with my friend Adam Barmaki in preparation for Illusions Magic Bar Open Mic Night. Will update tomorrow throughout the day so keep an eye
18/01/11
Putting some of the final touches to the trip to London on Saturday. Booked the van to take us there, cleared the funds from slicethepie to pay for the recording/hire/rehearsals so far and getting the gig sorted on Friday at The Back Bar (W-s-M) Dean Turner will be doing our live sound for the gig and we will be doing a mixture of originals and covers. Once all the original material is rehearsed and together I intend to put on a gig solely for the purpose of promoting the forthcoming album; I will be filming the gig and making a live DVD of it.
Have recently got a contact in London who runs an agency and so hoping some more work around that area comes about as well as something in Canada… fingers crossed. Meeting up with VTKTM again this evening to discuss some plans in action – more info on that soon but it good to be back on the horse as it were. I throughly enjoy being part of that band and the music we have made so far is awesome… without meaning to sound cocky but instead self assured.
Here are some early recordings of rehearsals with the band for you to check out. They are not high quality by any means but since you have taken the time to read these entries I wouldn’t want you to think I was holding out on you.. so here they are, with out of tune bits and all that included. Some more on the way (rehearsed My Weakness last night and made a few changes that I was pretty happy with) all in all we have 1/3 of the album rehearsed
17/01/11
Band rehearsals tonight and spending sometime today learning some more Michael Jackson songs for next weeks open mic night at Illusions (it’s MJ theme) Entered myself into Glastonbury Emerging Talent competition (also VTKTM as we are getting back into a spot of rehearsal hopefully)
Looking to get some more gigs promoting my original material with the band. Somethings come up in Bridgewater that might be good. Also met someone who organises events on the Grand Pier in Weston so will be looking to put on something there with the view to filming a live DVD of that gig too.
Last night at Grounded Cafe in Bedminster was pretty chilled. Nice way to spend a Sunday evening and the food was great. I noticed a couple of the tables were playing scrabble and the beer mats I put out went in peoples pockets which is a good sign. So far this year I have been booked for private gigs more than pubs which is encouraging.
15/01/01
Working on new song Little Sun this afternoon with Paul C (elctro house producer) he also remixed Destiny. I fancied trying something different with the track and so far things are coming together nicely. Will maybe be able to put up a taster later.
unonick1 has edited some of the video footage I have been taking since late October/early November. The first is from when I went to Slicethepie headquarters and can be viewed here:
Here is my Justgiving page for my charity skydive for Footprint Musicians Charity. If you feel like sponsoring me I would be very grateful
http://www.justgiving.com/Ryan-Inglis
14/01/11
Skydive stuff is going well. Working on getting some coverage and publicity as well as finding more volunteers, currently at 34 which is good. Also may have found my first tattoo design. I’m very much into my sciency stuff and this equation written by the theoretical physicist Paul Dirac describes the inner workings of an atom combining the equations of quantum mechanics and special relativity. It’s the key to natures secret code and I think it looks cool and will also remind me how amazing the universe and everything in it is whenever I look at it. Will probably have it on my left arm so I see it when I play guitar
Also had a meeting with Richard Browne (from sensecreative.co.uk) today about a super awesome project he is putting together. I don’t want to say anything more just yet but it involves me being in a good position to interact with more musicians from the North Somerset area.
Other than that I’ve been continuing with my guitar course and watching documentaries while I work. I have also realised how amazing Bruce Lee was in all aspects of his belief system and dignity. It really does inspire one to do more with this life we lead
11/01/11
Last nights acoustic night at Illusions was great fun. Musicians playing with others they had not before, joining in with songs they didn’t know yet, impromtu jamming… hell yeah more of that please. Also spent a lot of yesterday sorting out more stuff to do with the Skydive.. looks like 5th of August is jump day and artwork is underway by the fantastic Jo O’Donoghue. Skydive UK are providing lots of help and now still recruiting volunteers to do the jump and help raise money for FOOTPRINT MUCICIANS CHARITY. A total of £20,000 is the target. Let’s hope we can get there
Been testing out lesson 1 of the guitar course today on my housemate and a friend. Went well… will keep to the same formula for the rest of the lessons and should be finished by end of Jan.
SKYDIVE is confirmed for 5th August. If you are willing to sponsor me then get in touch. It doesn’t even need to be very much; £1 would be better than nothing. If you knew how scared I am of heights you would appreciate the turmoil going off in my head everytime I think about what I am doing… pound me up innit
Here are some PDF’s I got sent about it all
Digital_General Information on Record Breaking_new Footprint booking form ONLY Footprint info pack and booking form
09/01/11
Well Friday I played in Ealing for a last minute booking and Illusions Magic Bar was awesome last night. Today was meant to be spent rehearsing but Adam (lead guitar) is ill so we will be doing it on Tuesday now in preparation for the 22nd. Been working more on my guitar course… To give you an idea here is what I have come up with for lesson 1 so far. Guitar Course 2011 – Week 1
It’s no where near tweaked enough yet but it gives you the idea. I have been switching between the first 6 lessons getting ideas here and there and finding ways to make the information practical as the lesson goes along. This is all in an effort to make money this year through teaching groups rather than relying on 1 – 1 tuition. As I need to take a bit of a step away from gigging constantly my income will have to come from elsewhere. Hopefully this will catch on and do well. There are a few things to consider such as public liability insurance as well as a venue to host the lessons – it will need to be somewhere like a live music venue or a pub to get the atmosphere right during the course and to make students more comfortable in that environment before getting them to perform on stage in front of strangers.
Starting a new open mic night in Bristol every other Monday at Illusions Magic Bar to get out to Bristol more (also for financial stability of course) here is the facebook event I created LINK
Tomorrow is another ‘to do’ list day as well as get to the gym, have a run, work on the course some more and prepare any loose ends for the studio day in a couple of weeks. Oh also been watching a load of documentaries. According to Tom (my housemate) I would be better off playing Xbox with my time rather than all this silly facts and figures rubbish… he might have something there
06/01/11
It is currently 18:15 and I have been spending today on a few things. Mostly working on my guitar and performance course (already working on lesson 5 of 10) More details of this will follow. Went for a short run today and got some more gigs booked. Off to a VTKTM meeting now and then playing at The London Inn.
04/01/11
Brand new year to get playing around with… like a fresh new toy unspoiled by bad mistakes or lazyness. So it all seems exciting at first and determination is at an all time high lets hope it can last all year eh?! Been very productive so far working on getting gigs sorted (so I can pay that ‘RENT’ thing thatI love to pay so much) emailing potential agencies for work outside the southwest and making a start on writing my own specialised guitar and performance course – I am looking to get out of teaching 1 to 1 guitar lessons this year as my time would be better spent teaching groups. I’m hoping to get this underway in February.
Currently organising the band trip to London for our recording session. Van hire & logistics, dividing the recording time up effectively with a plan, orgnising rehearsals etc… spot of lunch now and then back to it. Also already spoken to Slicethepie today about the plans for the future and all is good and well Happy New Year
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