Online Diary (March 2011)
Mar 31, 2011 Latest News
Posted by
ryan
31/03/11
I have sent of a preview version of Secret to my friend who will be doing sound at the Glastonbury ETC so he will hopefully play it a few times over the big speakers.. you never know who might go “who was that singing just then?” “I want to give him a large cash advance and possibly introduce him to my other signed bands; Radiohead just heard it and wants him to go on their next tour” etc…
Also realised today that my gig at The Bedford (London) will be streamed live over the internet so even if you live miles away you can make a couple of clicky noises with your mouse and still watch. If you would like me to dedicate a song to you live then get in touch 
click here to get to the website but remember it is not until 23rd May >>>> www.thebedford.co.uk
Will be performing at The Fleece & Firkin in Bristol on June 14th it would be another chance for you to come and hear the original material. Ticket informatin will be available soon and an event invitation will be forwarded to you via facebook if you have joined my group on there.
This weekend I will be at The Grove – Taunton (Friday) and Ammos – W-s-M (Sunday) so if you are in the area why not come for a listen and to say hi?
On a lighter note if you play ‘Words With Friends’ on your iPhone and fancy a match then you can find me with the user name ‘ryaninglis.com’ If you beat me I will give you a free track of your choice now that’s a hard offer to turn down!
30/03/11
Right then a new change of plan with the music video… given the budget I have decided that I am going to get KLEE Photography to take a series of pictures which will tell a story… which I need to write/storybord. Trying to film something thats not going to end up being dull and limited is gonna be difficult so I think a series of stills will be much better; give more options and keep costs down not to mention KLEE has a unique style in her work that will stand out. Also I can do the editing myself. I feel confident this is the direction I want to take. I also read that Pulitzer prize winning photographer Eddie Adams said “Still photographs are the most powerful weapon in the world. People believe them, but photographs do lie, even without manipulation. They are only half-truths” – with this in mind it is in keeping with the theme of the song and the lyrics.
Saw Limitless last night and I could definitely go for a stash of those drugs… If you haven’t seen it I totally recommend it. Made me feel slightly energised afterwards and put me in a great frame of mind today to get things together. Been listening to Rich Maya’s version of Everybody Wants To Rule The World which I highly recommend, listened to it 5 times in a row now.
I have some demo recordings from Steve (Hatton – Bass) and Sam (Evans – Drums) to add my vocals and acoustic guitar to. Gonna try and get it done over the next few days then Adam (Chetland – Lead Guitar) & Hannah (Johns – Violin) can add their parts – then we should be ready to get them recorded properly at Abbey Road which I have alreay enquired about a second visit to which I am waiting to hear back about some possible dates.
I have some new photos to put up soon from Sam Fawcett who kindly offered a shoot for me and a few other local artists (Johnny Edgar and Adam/Alex Lipinski) should be up in next couple of days.
Only other task today is to have another little look at my guitar course and see if I can get the 6th week finished. I have not done anything with it for weeks as I just didn’t know what to do next… but feeling a little more focused recently so it’s time to get back into the swing of things.
22nd April the band will be playing at 15 Hands Festival. I have purchased an advertising slot on the flyer which I hope will attract some attention and our slot is main support on the Friday. We (the band) have 9 songs in total that are ready to play at your ears so would love to see you there.
27/03/11
Back from my private booking in Kent, handed out a few cards to hopefully gain some further bookings and enjoyed my time with some friends. Decades went well with regards to the band performance; I’m pretty sure there were no mistakes at all! The turnout was a little thin on the ground but a big thanks to those of you who were there and I’m very happy that you all had a great time.Also having tested Starlight out at the gig and getting some very positive comments it is a strong contender for the follow up single to Secret.
Off to Glastonbury Emerging Talent competition on Saturday to hand out some CD’s and see if I can get into Glasto somehow. Fingers crossed my music will get into the right hands and something will happen… If not I still get to see some cool new bands and have an evening out so it’s all good.
I have a list of new covers to learn over the next couple of days due to gigs booked with Adam Barmaki. Some of them are a bit questionable (Barbie Girl – Aqua) but work is work… plus it’s great fun playing with Adam
Looks like I will be performing at The Fleece in Bristol at the beginning of June with my awesome band so will be promoting that very soon. It will be a singer/songwriter showcase and I will aim to get some footage of it too.
APRIL 22nd!! 15 Hands Festival in Bristol (The Thunderbolt) If you wanna hear myself and my band performing the original material get yourself down there.
25/03/11
Been talking to Richard Browne again today with regards to the music video and he helped put a few things into perspective. With the budget I am willing to pay to make it I am basically restricted to filming in ONE day in ONE location with emphasis being on a good story. How about that for a tricky situation… with this in mind it has to be fully storyboarded in advance and every shot predetermined. Time to start pulling in some favours from friends I feel.
Apart from that I am currently preparing for my bands gig tonight at Decades in W-s-M – for every cider that is bought £1 goes towards my skydive sponsorship and I’m hoping it will be a good turn out tonight. Some of my original material will be in the setlist as well as our favourite covers so I am looking fwd to it. Off to soundcheck at 7pm
Also been transferring all my covers from sheets in folders onto my laptop so they are easier to find and access. Currently at nearly 400 songs in my setlist which I feel is enough for now. Just need to get writing more original material… some upcoming collaborations will hopefully get the juices flowing again.
23/03/11
Been working on my portfolio today with help from my friend and current life coach Jo Merry; she’s definitely helping me get my ass in gear and get on with work! Last nights rehearsals went well and some songs have taken a new direction. Here are the ones I edited today for your listening pleasure. Obviously the room mic isn’t the highest quality but they don’t call them ‘basement tapes’ for nothing eh?!
21/03/11
Been starting the storyboard for the music video and have had some ideas but I’m not entirely sure yet on how to put them all together. I have been in contact with someone today who might be good to get involved… I am looking for something artistic and thoughtful which will have enough going on to warrant a second or third viewing. Also something that loops from end to beginning so the it makes even more sense the second time you watch it.
Been watching some of Jamie Childs work (director) and found this which I thought was indeed thought provoking
Steve & Sam have recorded demo versions of the drums for 5 of the next tracks to go into the studio with. A few changes have been made to fully grasp the dynamic shifts in the songs and now with some demo recordings we can really iron out the bits that might need changing/adding etc… and to see how everything intertwines. We are not doing things by half! Karl is working on Secret as we speak and I’ve said it before but once the first single is done everything else should fall into place quite nicely.
18/03/11
Ok, so this month has not been going too well with productivity and to be honest I’ve been feeling a little lost and overwhelmed by what needs to be done. However today I have had a tarot reading, whether you think it’s mumbo jumbo or not it still helped to give me a clearer mind and actually made me feel better about things. I have lost my focus recently and I know I need to get it back. I just don’t know exactly how to do that… It does feel like I have put too much on my shoulders and I need to enlist more help from those around but in the last few moments a lot of ideas and plans of action have come to mind.
Firstly I have been to visit Karl G today, he’s been busy with moving house and so it has taken a while to get together. We listened to the track and I pointed out some of the edits that I intend to make after chatting to Mark Ely. Karl will have a play around with it over the next couple of days. In the studio on Monday with Tony Hobden to divide up the tracks for Karl to manipulate and also we can make the edits.
I have finally decided on what I want to do with the music video too. I think it would be beneficial to include as many people from my local area as is feasible to appear in the video as well as including local businesses and venues to take some of the scenes… As the track is called ‘Secret’ I want to portray a ‘chinese whispers’ scenario whereby an action at the beggining of the video starts a chain of events which sees people telling each other the secret throughout the town. Now W-s-M, much like a whole host of other places in the world is quite close knit and news travels quickly – I think this makes the video idea quite apt… also with local businesses involved I intend to sell video time to them; for a small fee (let’s say £20) a 10 second scene will be shot in their venue. This will help towards costs of the video and also help them with publicity and advertising as I believe most of W-s-M will eventually see it if ‘word gets around’ With lots of local people being involved in the video it opens itself up to being viewed by a much wider audience; if your mate is in it you are totally gonna watch it and show it to your mates aren’t you?
Anyway I will get contacting some local venues tonight and start spreading the word that I am looking for cameos from people like YOU. If you would like to take part in the video please get in touch. You will be doing nothing other than walking into somewhere and whispering in someones ear… sounds simple yeah?!
For all you investors reading this I have been aware of the time it has taken so far to get things moving but I do firmly believe once this first single is completed and publicised and on sale the rest of the work will be much easier to do. I don’t see any point in rushing things and certainly no point in recording an album that no one knows about. Gotta keep building up the name and reputation. It is very likely that over the course of the year I will be releasing singles leading up to the album release… slowly but surely building up the fanbase and hopefully encouraging sales that mean you all get your money back and we can maybe even turn a profit.
Right, better start storyboarding the video…
I am playing in Loves Cafe tonight if you are out
TalentWatch radio have been asking for tracks from artists linked to the site so should get some more exposure from there. If you have not checked out TalentWatch yet then please have a little look. It’s a great new site that will open up opportunities for unsigned musicians and helps showcase the most popular singer/songwriters (I am currently at number 6 overall
15/03/11
As you can see I have had a few days of not much going on. Here is an article which will appear in The Scene Magazine sometime in May The Scene Article.
Rehearsals went well last night and LOST is pretty much there. We will be recording demos of MY WEAKNESS, FEEL ANY FEELING & HOW THINGS CHANGE next as they are the most ready. Once that is done I will post them on here for a preview.
09/03/11
I would like to point you in the direction of Sian Cross who I played acoustic guitar for on a couple of her tracks which were recorded at Abbey Road sometime last year. If you like her style be sure to sign up to her mailing list.
I have been thinking about how long everything seems to be taking but I want to assure you (investors) that I am doing my best. I have been wondering whether it is the time to get some outside help as I am struggling to juggle so many balls and my motivation has a tendency to struggle sometimes. I have received a few encouraging messages from a few of you though which really does make my day so thanks for that. I am trying to get in the studio again with Tony Hobden to do some editing of the track and then get some time with Karl G but everyone is so busy it’s hard to get anyone to sit still for 2 minutes.
Last nights rehearsal was missing the violin so we worked on some alternative guitar parts for Adam. It really is hard to agree on what should definitely be part of the track and what should not but we have some nice new bits in Feel Any Feeling and How Things Change. Sam also brought up some gospel influences that he is into so might have a think about including some strings that are similar in some places. Oh if only we had a world class producer saying “this needs to be there” “that sounds great, we’ll keep that” and all those encouraging things that make you feel like you are going in the right direction… until then it feels a little bit like searching for the light switch in the dark.
If you are out there and you have some helping hand you are willing to put into the mix I’m all ears. I may have to get some skype meeting together with Slicethepie to get some more advice from them too.
Skydive stuff is going well though. I am very close to reaching full sponsorship (just need to get some pledges in) and also I have a potential 2 local businesses who will top up the remainder. I am still looking to get 40+ volunteers (currently at 25) so if you want to join in let me know.
07/03/11
Got a few more live recordings for you today; a couple from Belinda Lee Day who is a fantastic singer from W-s-M and one more cover from me performed last night at Ammos
For The First Time – The Script
Fallin’ – Alicia Keys
Make You Feel My Love – Adele
I’m afraid the rest of the day will be taken up with those mundane things in life such as laundry, tax spreadsheets, mobile phone hunting, travel organising, bank stuff and possibly watching a movie with friends… got to chill out sometime eh?!
06/03/11
Back home in good old Weston-super-Mare after a 4 day jaunt to the county of Devon. Gigs in Dartmouth, Totnes, Slapton and last night in Torquay with the one and only Matt Baker. Turns out the gig was for the 50th birthday of the wife of the guy who founded guitar techniques magazine… I’m pretty sure I recognised Shaun Baxter in the crowd too. Cool beans Here are a couple of bonus tracks for you to help yourselves to with myself and Matt.
Bad – Michael Jackson
I Heard It Through The Grapevine – Marvin Gaye
Home – Michael Buble
It Must Be Love – Madness
Currently listening to the FREE album RA from The Moon Band suggested to me by Carl Joughin whom I met at Mannifest Festival (Isle Of Man) last year. Try it out for yourself here… It’s actually pretty groovy baby
Playing at Ammos (W-s-M) tonight with a couple of guest singers and learning a few songs for tomorrows Illusions Open Mic Night (90′s Dance)
Only other thing worth mentioning is that I need to get back into the editing suite with Tony Hobden to cut some parts of Secret up to shorten the overall length and make some arrangement changes that were suggested by Mark Ely while I stayed with him on Wednesday evening. He pointed out some very obvious things that would make a lot of difference to the overall appeal of the song.
04/03/11
I have been offered a write up in The Scene magazine so have sent off some info today and some KLEE Photographs. Looking forward to seeing how it comes out.
I have a band gig at Decades on the 25th March which I would love to get a good crowd in for. 2 reasons being that a) it’s much nicer to play to a room full of happy, dancing people than a coughing barman and a few sporadic old timers slowly smoking themselves to oblivion and b) because every pint of cider bought on the night will put £1 towards the sponsorship of my skydive in August. So you have 2 great reasons to get your knees right out and drink the place dry
03/03/11
Well the main thing to come from today was the slight battle it took to secure a cancellation fee from a venue in Totnes that decided to cancel tonights gig last minute. It actually wasn’t so bad and they ended up being very reasonable but it could have easily gone another way. I think from now on I will be more inclined to use contracts for paid work. 99% of the time things are fine but it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Been looking further into a website called My Major Company. It’s a record label essentially and if their A&R department see potential in you as a product they will put you forward for financing (£100,000!!) Needless to say I put myself forward and eagerely await their reply. Go to the website your selves by clicking the picture
Got a contact detail for The Pigs Nose in East Prawle from my friend Antonia Suner whilst in Dartmouth today which I hear is a totally awesome music venue where a lot of big names regularly drop in and perform. I think it will be worth calling them up and seeing if I can maybe get a support slot perhaps. Played at The Royal Castle last night and stayed with my friend Mark Ely who kindly put me up and also gave me some further ideas with the production of SECRET. Basically it is currently at about $mins 30secs and needs editing. I will implement Marks ideas as they did make sense to me too and see if it can get down to the 3min mark which anyone will tell you is the aim for any single to be considered to radio play and general release.
Been asked if I would like a write up about myself in Scene It magazine. Naturally I jumped at the chance to get some added exposure so will let you know how that goes as soon as I get some confirmation. Also enquired about the AEON festival, The Barrelhouse (Totnes) and Sunrise Celebrations.
In other news I have now got to 30% sponsorship for my skydive in Aug. If you would be happy to chuck £1 or £2 in the pot them please follow this little badge link below
April 16th, 2011 at 5:32 pm
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