Jul 14 2010

Testing the water…

Hello folks.

Now, firstly an apology for not updating the blog for a while now. I’ve been all over the place with Duke Special, The Duckworth Lewis Method and Clare Teal and haven’t had much time for bloggery. I’ve also been spending a lot more time working on the solo bass project, which is really starting to come together now.

Anyway, this post is really just a tester to see whether my Feedburner rss feed is still working. A couple of days ago I started putting together a ‘proper’ website, ie: somewhere I can tie together all my various online odds and ends and focus on the blog (and my solo music when it’s ready for public consumption!). This has meant that I’ve just transferred my original feed from the old Blogger site to my new address at WordPress, but I’ve had a few technical issues.

Basically, if you’re already subscribed you should receive this okay. If so, and if you wouldn’t mind, drop a comment to say hello on the original post and let m know how you subscribe (ie: via email, Google Reader etc).

Of course, if it hasn’t worked, nobody is going to see this anyway and I shall bang my head against the wall for a little longer.

Cheers

Simon x

11 comments   |  tags: | posted in Life in general..

Aug 4 2008

The Bass Player’s Fear of the Pollen Count

Just a little rant, followed by a sigh of relief….

It seems we have come to the end of the hay fever season. Thank god for that is all I can say.

I must admit to being one of those people who hates the summer and all it brings. Every year I have a hard time and can’t wait for the cold weather to return.
I don’t function well in hot weather. I like a good crisp and dry winter’s day. I like to go out wearing a jacket and ideally a hat. I find the lack of pockets in the Summer an immense pain in the arse. The man-bag has made another appearance this year to accommodate  all my various bits and bobs that I cart around with me, but in a gigging situation the last thing I need is another bag to lug around. I can’t stand being too hot because there’s literally nothing you can do about it, whereas you can always layer up in colder weather.
Every summer brings with it the usual spate of outdoor gigs which I very rarely enjoy. Wearing a suit in that kind of weather is a surefire recipe for playing discomfort. The run of garden parties and the like never fails to take it’s toll on me upright bass. I’ve just had to spend a considerable amount of money having my bass overhauled due to the effects of the weather. For those of you unfamiliar with the situation, double basses are fixed together with a special glue that melts under heat. This is to facilitate easy repairs. It doesn’t take kindly to direct sunlight though, and every year without fail my bass decides to come unstuck right in the middle of my busiest period in the summer. My instrument plays best in the winter, and so do I.
I also get terrible hay fever. This usually comes on around March and stays with me to varying degrees until early August. Anyone else who suffers with this ailment will understand what an inconvenience this can be when you’re trying to work. It’s like having a cold all through the spring and early summer months, with the addition of itchy and dry eyes to really finish you off.
I went through the rigmarole of going to my local GP for the latest antihistaminic placebo. This proved, as always, a complete waste of money yet again. Every year this happens. Next spring I’m not going to bother, they never work and they’re not cheap. I’ve been taking chewable Vitamin C this year, which has eased some of the symptoms. Not the soar throat and the itchy eyes though…
So as you can see, the summer is not the idillic picture of fun and excitement it is for most people. They announced on pollen count section of the weather forecast that the hay fever season is now officially over. And as I look outside, I’d say the hot weather is over now too.
Great. Looking forward to lots of lovely sensibly indoor shows and the relative comfort of a hat and scarf in the not too distant future.
Is it just me who hates the summer?

no comments   |  tags: , | posted in Life in general..

Jul 25 2008

Response to “Giving It Away: A Call For Ideas”

I came across a blog post from Digital Audio Insider via my Google Reader this morning. David Harrell was asking for advice and ideas on his band The Layaway’s plan to release their new album as a free download. I felt the need to post a comment and it became so long-winded I thought I might re-post it here as a blog entry! So here it is….
The original blog post is located Here

“I really think that giving away your music for free as a business model is only really viable for established acts with a broad and loyal fanbase already in place.
When Prince gave away Planet Earth in the Mail On Sunday, you have to take into consideration that
1. He has already sold millions of albums and has an extensive and still popular back catalogue which will still be bringing in considerable revenue
2. He was about to embark on a month-long residency at the O2 in Greenwich which, I believe, was pretty much already sold out; again generating huge amounts of money.
Artists like Prince, NIN and Radiohead probably make a very small percentage of their income from selling their newest album. By the time the album has recouped it’s costs (and for artists at this level I would presume these costs would be considerable), there really would not be a massive profit margin. These artists would more than likely be earning the bulk of their income from touring, publishing and royalties.
Relatively new acts would have none of this financial security and therefore the act of giving away a new album would be like taking £10k (or whatever the recording costs may be) and burning it in the street. Obviously, some people will download anything if it is free. But are these people going to come to your shows or buy your back catalogue? Probably not.
I would say that the free download model works best when aimed squarely at an established fanbase. I particularly like the model exemplified by artists on sites such as Reverb Nation. Certain artists have made specific tracks (or sometimes albums) available to their ‘fans’ as exclusive downloads. All users have to do in order to access these downloads is add their name to the artist’s mailing list. In the current music industry climate (with the spread of piracy and P2P file-sharing), artists need to build up this kind of interactive relationship with their audience more than ever.
So in response to your question, whilst I don’t think that giving away your new album is necessarily a wise move right now, using this as a direct marketing ploy to gather a more comprehensive mailing list may well prove far more valuable in the long run compared to what could have been earned from physical sales of the album…?”

no comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Life in general.., Music, Recording