For some reason today my Twitter account has been inundated with spam messages. It’s all very odd. But it doesn’t stop there…
It never fails to astound me when I check the spam filter for my website (wonderfully provided by the Akismet plugin) at the silly nonsense that people try to post in the comments section. Now obviously there are little internet robots that trawl through google and send out auto-spam like a machine gun, but it really does make me giggle sometimes. And more often than not these spammers target photos. Very odd. Here is a little selection currently lurking in the spam box…
On my Christmas Eve post, somebody thought this would be a fitting comment
I was trying to buy a belt, based on the criteria that I wanted a % of the damage dealt converted to life, but that doesn’t appear to be a listed criteria
Okay then. Particularly enjoyed that one. Why somebody buying a belt was interested in my end of year roundup I have no idea. I also had comments about Obama and Occupy Wallstreet. As you do…
I had what at first might be construed as a kind comment on my writing style, using some kind of pidgin English
I’m sure this can be the single most info to me. And im glad reading your article. But should remark on few general things, It style is wonderful, the articles is actually excellent : D. Good job, cheers
Now what piece of gloriously-constructed prose could have prompted such a response I hear you ask? Well actually it was this picture from the Double Feature at the National:
I also had the following comment for my photo of my good friend Dave Ohm guesting with the Paintframe Band:
Thank you for the auspicious writeup. It in fact was a amusement account it. Look advanced to more added agreeable from you! However, how can we communicate?
“How can we communicate?” asks ‘Fredricka Shammaa’. Erm.. how about we don’t?! Oh dear. I despair…
Quite what the point of these spam comments are I cannot fathom. Obviously I’m meant to click on some link and then they can hack my site, my Twitter account, my Facebook and post all manner of meaningless drivel on my behalf. Well, guess what? My spam filter makes quite sure that none of these little gems actually make it onto the site. Just means I get to have a giggle at them and post them here properly without the spammy links so we can all point and laugh.
Until next time… I shall save the best ones and do another naming and shaming post some other time. Hope you’re all having a nice Christmas holiday 🙂 x
Thought I’d sneak in a quick blog post before Christmas is officially upon us. It’s also my first attempt at writing the blog using the WordPress iPad app(lication). It’ll be interesting to see what a hash I make of the formatting if nothing else. I apologise in advance if it comes out looking like a dog’s dinner and littered with typos.
I’m sitting here watching the excellent Victor Wooten Groove Workshop DVD which arrived this morning. Yes indeed folks, I am a proper bass geek.
It’s been a fantastic year. The quiet first few months gave me time to record my second solo album The Knowledge of Things To Come (and the 5-track Rejectamenta EP)and put it out via Bandcamp and CD Baby. When things get busy there just isn’t enough time to concentrate on my own music so this year I’ve learnt to embrace the occasional ‘gig drought’ and make the most of my time…
As well as touring with Clare Teal and Lea DeLaria I’ve been lucky enough to play for two shows at the National Theatre this year. In the Spring I was playing the Double Feature in the Paintframe with Ben, Phil and Mark from the Duke Special band. We had a great time and it was amazing to play in such a special venue. I wrote a whole post on the Double Feature earlier this year. Obviously, the Paintframe theatre isn’t there anymore (they started tearing it down straight after our last show) but I reckon we’ll be hearing from the band sometime next year. Watch this space…
A couple of months after finishing the Double Feature I was called back to the National for Dominic Cooke’s production of The Comedy of Errors, which opened in November. We’re currently right in middle of our run of over 80 shows in the Olivier (back in on Boxing Day!). We had some fantastic reviews and he shows are selling out so if you’re gonna come; book your tickets sooner rather than later folks…
Aside from playing and writing I also got quite involved with the fight against Westminster Council’s plans for evening and weekend parking charges. I had conversations with the Musicians Union and the BBC. I wrote about it extensively on my site and Twitter. I even spent one rather wet night in the street outside Westminster City Hall with a load of musicians and bikers (!) handing out leaflets. I have never done that before…
Well, having postponed the charges until January (supposedly so as not to ruin Christmas) Westminster Council has now decided to wait until after the Olympics to implement their ridiculous plans. Although apparently there are Council elections in May so hopefully we’ll have seen the last of them by then. Why anyone would vote Colin Barrow back in after this is beyond me. I shall keep you posted…
So I accidentally bought two new basses this year. First was the Fender 60th Anniversary Precision bass which has already seen plenty of action this year. About a month ago after much searching I bought a Breedlove acoustic bass. Having been playing an ABG for The Comedy of Errors I’ve gotten used to idea and actually really started appreciating he sound (if not the action!). So I’ve decided to record a new solo record next year entirely on acoustic and was therefore forced to buy one. Honestly. There was no other option. This afternoon I put the Breedlove through the looping rig to see how it recorded. This is the first demo, a quick improvisation on the acoustic…
Well that was a long post. It’s been a great year and I’m looking forward to 2012 and all the exciting new projects that are coming up. Little Alex and Triage are both set to be doing all kinds of good things next year. And I’ll eventually have another solo record for you. You lucky things…
Merry Christmas everybody and have a happy new year!
This was my thought process this morning regarding this blog post…
“Shall I write the Album Progress Report #3 post this afternoon and launch the album on Monday?”
“If I can just sort out the website to point to the Bandcamp page, I could actually start selling downloads right now..”
“Must sort out those ISRC codes first for Bandcamp.. “
“Hang on a minute, everything is coming together suddenly…”
My new album Mandala is hereby unleashed!!
I spent Saturday with my good friend Joe Leach at the Cowshed mastering the album. I chose the best ten tracks from the twelve originally shortlisted (the album was running far too long…) and Joe worked his magic with some great gear at the studio. The sound has expanded so much from the original, I am so pleased with the finished product.
Thanks to those delightful folks at Bandcamp, you can now stream the entire album for free on my Musicpage. This is also where you’ll need to visit in order to download the album in whatever format you prefer; from 320k mp3 to FLAC. For those of you who’d prefer a physical copy of the album, you will have to bear with me for a little while. But fear not, I am on the case and when they are ready they will also be available on the Music page.
So where do we go from here, you may ask? Well, I’m now handing the album over to you all with the hope that you will listen and download away and spread the word via whatever means you see fit. Be it Twitter, Facebook, Posterous, or some of the fab little embeddable widgets available on the Bandcamp page (see below), let’s see if we can spread the word amongst ourselves.
There is no record company, I have no manager or booking agent. It’s just me and you guys right now. I’ve been working on this solo project and using looping technology for a few years now and I’m really pleased with the end result.
Not that this is by any means the end folks. Oh no! I am going to continue producing solo music here at Little Towers and will soon be starting work on my next project Little Alex, a duo project with drummer Steve Alexander. Watch this space.
Hope you enjoy the album; here’s a little taster x
