So I mentioned a bit that I’m in the process of doing some recording and writing my own material. I told you about joining the PRS. I’d like to take the opportunity to explain fully what’s going on and why the blogs have slowed up a bit.
Firstly, when the weather is occasionally better, it’s good to get outside. Better weather and the onset of, dare I mention it, what passes for summer, means days out, and for me means playing festivals. I’ve told you about a few of those too recently. Point is, time away from the keyboard is important! And then there's all the bands and clubs and what have yous......
The other time draw is WestingWay.
Writing songs is fine. It’s great actually. Sharing that beautifully formed vision is something else entirely, and I don’t think I was fully prepared for what I’ve started, but I’m beginning to realise it now.
Writing and performing is one thing, but it occurred to me pretty early on that if I was going to try and continuously write, record and share my music I was going to need some kind of system…an infrastructure if you will to support the ideas. To add original material to my career is an aim more akin to a marathon than a sprint.
My aim really is to be able to perform these songs in more than ‘open mic’ situations. This means actively going after gigs or festival slots, and generally this would require me to submit material or proof of what I do. This means recordings, demos, videos. A name, identity and an apparent purpose. None of us like to feel boxed in, but in a competitive and crowded field, knowing where you fit, might be listened to or accepted is better than the scattergun approach. Nobody wants their time wasted.
So I need an online presence, social accounts and the like where I can connect and be found, and let’s face it, there’s lots to choose from. I’m not just talking about the endless iterations of social media, but also the music platforms, like Spotify. Which ones are right for what I’m trying to do? Are any of them right for what I’m trying to do? Social media is essentially free, but platforms like Spotify require a distributor, monthly subscriptions and upload charges, that I have to keep paying if I want my music to remain on the platform.
So I need a way to feed those platforms, which means creating systems which I can use to generate music at home with minimal effort or expense. A system for more involved studio demos that might include other instrumentation, and I need to do it regularly, at a pace I can achieve. Like I said it’s a marathon type deal, and I am nowhere near confident enough yet to throw all my eggs in one basket, i.e. back one specific song. I don't even know where I fit yet. Do something, learn from it, next time do it a bit better.
So that’s what I’ve done. I’ve started clawing my way up the home recording learning curve. Jeff from REMbrandt is helping me with some other recording stuff. There’s a soundcloud page for my home demos, a facebook page, an instagram account, youtube, and a website, from which I plan to stream the better demos with additional instrumentation.
The plan is you’ll be able to download the music from there if you want, and downloaders will receive some additional bonus stuff. For my first effort, ‘Fox In The Hen House’ which I’m preparing to release properly next Friday July 12th, there’ll be three alternative cover artworks and a lyric / ukulele chord sheet for anyone who fancies having a playalong. I didn’t write it as a ukulele song, and it definitely doesn’t sound like a ukulele song, but it works surprisingly well!
That said, we are having some issues with the website right now, which will, fingers crossed, all be fixed by this time next week.
Just like subscribing to this blog, liking and following social media pages is also really helpful in terms of getting heard, so here are the links you need, if you’re able to help out.
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/westing.waymusic/
westingway.com (will hopefully work soon)
And here's the first home recorded demo I've managed to put on my soundcloud account, if you fancy checking that out!
'Fox In The Hen House' : Out Friday July 12th... (fingers crossed)
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