I was involved in a discussion over on one of the REAPER forums recently with someone who seems to have been hung up on the production intricacies of one song for months. It’s probably my journalist background – the deadline’s…
Blog Archives
A Backstage Emergency in Fairytale Land
.. he Narrator has called the denizens of fairytale land together for urgent talks. He’s not in the best of moods. He casts a weary gaze around the green room and speaks. “Right, I’m told we’ve got a problem on…
Lies, Damn Lies & Marketing Episode V: Biohazard!
Dealing with reviewers can be a trying business. The late Douglas Adams surely knew this. In Hitch Hiker, the researcher despatched to Earth knows so little about the place that he chooses the name of a car “to blend in”. Then, having “painstakingly”…
Tagged with: Hitch Hikers Guide, marketing, music
Posted in d) The Dark Art of Marketing, e) Rants & Ramblings
Posted in d) The Dark Art of Marketing, e) Rants & Ramblings
Don’t Screw with the Crew
I rather doubt that it’s made international headlines, but there’s a furore over a fracas going on here in the U of K over a certain TV presenter being suspended for alleged abusive behaviour towards an assistant producer while out on…
Tagged with: Clarkson, music, Top Gear
Posted in c) Musicianship, e) Rants & Ramblings, j) Sound & Vision
Posted in c) Musicianship, e) Rants & Ramblings, j) Sound & Vision
Lies, Damn Lies & Marketing Part IV: Is That So?
File this one under personal attitude, because we’re not going to be diving knee-deep into tritone-infested waters here. More of a generalised New Year type reflection, really. We’re all prey from time to time to concerns about how we’re perceived by…
Tagged with: Hakuin Ekaku, marketing, music
Posted in c) Musicianship, d) The Dark Art of Marketing, e) Rants & Ramblings
Posted in c) Musicianship, d) The Dark Art of Marketing, e) Rants & Ramblings
Carry On Regardless – er, no, Regardfully
I sometimes teach a bit of piano. It tends to be informal, and while I’ll certainly sometimes get waist-deep in technical or harmonic subtleties, it usually involves silly analogies with pint glasses and boxes of matches, sometimes even inventing a daft personality…
Lies, Damn Lies & Marketing, Part the Third – Putting a Sock in It
It’s so tempting isn’t it? You’ve got this great band, you want the world to know about a gig you’ve done or a fantastic new album you’re releasing. So you think about creating a sock puppet (an online pseudonym) and…
Tagged with: jazz, marketing, music, sock puppets
Posted in d) The Dark Art of Marketing, e) Rants & Ramblings
Posted in d) The Dark Art of Marketing, e) Rants & Ramblings
Lies, Damn Lies & Marketing 2.0
Don’t Mess With Mr Inbetween. For my cynical, sarcastic and often downright rude rundown of some of the cheap flimflam tricks musicians use to promote themselves, see here. Here though, are some further observations, and this time … it’s digital.…
Tagged with: jazz, marketing, middle man, music
Posted in d) The Dark Art of Marketing, e) Rants & Ramblings
Posted in d) The Dark Art of Marketing, e) Rants & Ramblings
‘Tis the Season to be Appropriate
Early, I know (gets earlier every year), but here’s a plea to musicians. If you’re going to take bookings in December, please have some seasonal repertoire ready. Even just a few numbers. Doesn’t have to turn into a full-blown carol…
Zen and the Art of Depping
One day, eager young tritone-hopper, when you leave this jazz temple, the day will come when you won’t be able to do a gig and have to put in a replacement. There will be a “you-less” hole at the Pillock…
...appetising young books for sale...
Pents book is recommended reading on Gary Burton's Berklee course.
Jason Lyon on Music 