What A Weekend On Tour and I Did Something Rather Stupid!

The tour kicked off properly this past weekend with some great shows in Cardiff and Leamington Spa. Both the crowds and the venues were awesome and we can't wait to play our next leg in London and Liverpool this coming weekend.

We debuted the new Paramore song "Hard Times" a few days after its release, beating the band in playing it live first and with a really good reception from the crowd. The new Paramore album is out in a few weeks and we're off to see them at the Royal Albert Hall in June so we have lots of new songs to learn, its going to be fun!

Finally I did something rather stupid (other than smashing my phone screen). I signed up to do the Brighton Marathon in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital. For any of you who know me knows how much GOSH means to me so go read my story at the JustGiving page here and donate if you can!

Off To Sunny Folkestone and A Rare Find In Glastonbury

Happy Easter everyone! I hope you're all full of chocolate already.

The first gig of the tour at the Engine Rooms in Southampton was a corker this past Friday. Nice big crowd and a lovely venue with good sound, especially considering it looks like an aircraft hanger when you get inside.

Next up is Leas Cliff Hall in Folkestone. A huge venue (1500 capacity!) overlooking the sea and having hosted bands such as the Rolling Stones, Motörhead and Judas Priest it should be a good one.

I'll post some pictures and videos from the gigs as soon as I have them. I've had a lot of request for a rig run through video so if I get a chance at soundcheck later I'll do one.

Finally I had a bit of a rare find in Glastonbury last week. We were having a mooch around the shops while on a mini holiday when amongst the shops selling mystical paraphernalia I spotted an old antique store. Never one to pass on a rummage we had a look inside.

The first thing I was drawn to was a crate of old records. Amongst the dodgy compilations I spied a copy of The Beatles "Rubber Soul" which looked original and was in pretty good condition. At only £10 it seemed stupid not to buy it.

It was only when I got home that I found out that I had bought the rare "loud cut" of the album. When “Rubber Soul” was initially mixed it was slightly different to how we hear it today. These early mixes only ever appeared in mono and are distinguished by the matrix numbers XEX 579-1 / XEX 580-1 in the deadwax (see pic). It’s argued that these early presses were unbalanced with a muddy bass and with an edgy, aggressive vocal sound. Since these copies seemed to lack body the decision was made to halt production whilst the mother platess were re-cut.

Currently there are copies of it going on eBay for £150 so I think I grabbed a bit of a bargain!

Tour Starts Today and Pedalboard Of Doom Is Done (for now...)

So after months of preparation and working on our dance moves the Paramore Or Less UK tour starts today with a 10 minute drive up the road to the Engine Rooms in Southampton. Then on Sunday we're off to Leas Cliff Hall in Folkestone. Then after playing Cardiff and Leamington Spa the weekend after next it's on to play O2 academy venues across the country, going as far north as Glasgow with stops in Sheffield, Newcastle, Liverpool, Birmingham and London on the way.

We'll be do lots of videos of life on the road and I'll be doing some gear reviews of some bits of my rig to see how they stand up to the rigours of touring so stay tuned.

Speaking of gear I finally finished the Pedalboard Of Doom® (patent pending) ready to use on the upcoming dates. I've added a TC Electronics Subnup for some low and high octave sounds, a Boss FS-5L foot switch for quick access to my AX8 tuner and a DS Engineering Chronograph, which is essentially a pedalboard clock and timer that can be seen easily onstage, perfect for those pesky tight set times. I've never been so excited about a digital clock in my life!

Oh and I added orange LED lights round the edge as you can never have enough lights.

See you on the road!

New Keepers Brew Album Out (With A Smidge Of Yours Truly)

Yay, not only is it sunny and the Easter holidays are upon us but the new Keepers Brew album, "Constellation Automation", is out!

The pseudonym of Greyum May and his merry band of cohorts, KB has served up a slice of psychedelic ear candy to tickle your aural senses whether you're under the influence or not.

I had the pleasure of playing on the track "Playing Cards" so listen out for my riffing and shredding but I also love the albums title track (with guitars from Ed Wynne of Ozric Tentacles fame) and "We Are Whole" with some great guitar from Jake Puntis.

Im really looking forward to playing with Mr G and the rest of the crew later in the year so keep your eyes and ears peeled for any Keepers Brew live dates.

You can go grab the album at https://keepersbrew.bandcamp.com/album/constellation-automation for the small fee of £7 or the whole back catalogue for a smidge over a tenner, bargain!

Smashing it at Music For Youth and Manic Week!

Another week, another great performance from my senior rock band! We performed at the Music For Youth regional festival in Southampton and they performed brilliantly. Their feedback from the music mentors was really positive and they even coped with awful sound and mass microphone malfunction. 

Now we must wait to see if we get through to the national final in Birmingham but whatever happens I'm proud of these guys, they're the favourite part of my job!

Next week is absolutely rammed. It starts with the hub's songbook launch concert at the Portsmouth Guildhall that I wrote two songs for, followed by my Nan's funeral on Tuesday, my junior rock bands concert on Thursday and finally a Paramore Or Less gig in High Wycombe on Saturday. I love my musical life but its knackering, roll on easter break!

New Gear In The House, ACS IEM's and Suhr Alt-T!

A new gear day is always a good day so I'm was very excited to receive not one but two awesome pieces of kit recently.

First up are my shiny new ACS Encore In Ear Monitors and a wireless Sennheiser transmitter to go with them. I always have problems hearing myself onstage, whether it be rubbish monitoring, too loud stage volume or just drummers in general so these bad boys should solve that problem. With 5 drivers per side they sound absolutely great and I can't wait to try them on tour.

Secondly a lovely Suhr Alt T that I traded my Fano for as it wasn't getting the love it warranted. The Suhr is perfect for the Paramore stuff, has great sounding pickups and a lovely neck curve just like my other two Suhr tele's and will be getting lots of use in the studio and on the road.

In depth reviews of both coming as soon as I have a spare 5 minutes!

Another Great Gig From My Students And Putting Music Into Perspective.

Doesn't time fly, its been an age since my last post and my music life only gets more hectic from here on in what with the Paramore Or Less UK Tour, Keepers Brew album release and rumblings in the land of Dlugokecki.

First of all though my student rock band knocked it out of the park at last nights Soundsational at Portsmouth Guildhall. I know I've said it before put it is so rewarding helping young adults on their musical journey and doing shows like last night is the favourite part of my job. Our next show is next Wednesday at the Music For Youth regional finals in Southampton where if we do well we'll be off to the national festival in Birmingham so everybody keep your fingers crossed.

On a more sombre note I lost my Nanny last week. While it wasn't a shock as she'd lived an amazingly long and fulfilled life it was still heartbreaking, especially seeing my Grandad loose his wife of 72 years.

I had lots of lovely messages from friends, students and parents but one stood out from the parents of one of my younger rock band students. It simply said "Somethings are more important than music" and while music is my main focus in life, sometimes it just has to take a back seat.

First PoL Gig Of The Year and Getting Older...

Morning Music Maestro's! Today I'm off to sunny Rotherham for the first Paramore Or Less gig of the year in preparation for our O2 tour in a couple of months.

We're stepping things up a notch this year so have been frantically beavering away getting backing tracks sorted, click tracks sync'd, sounds finalised and dance moves choreographed ready for all our upcoming shows so tonight will be the first acid test to see if it all works, fingers crossed!

Finally, I think I'm showing my age. We have a long drive up to northern England and then a full hour and a half set to do and we don't go on stage until midnight!

10 years ago I would be as fit as a flea, bouncing off the walls and eager to get started. Now the past few years of being a Dad and work means I've gotten used to being in bed by 10pm to get my beauty sleep and up at 6am for the school run. Seeing midnight tonight will be a novelty and the early hours a revelation. I'm stocked up on Red Bulls though so BRING IT ON!

PoL Tour Rehearsals Today And My Mum, The Beatles Fan

Paramore Or Less tour rehearsals start today at Casemates in Portsmouth where we're off to do a tech run of all our backing tracks, making sure all the levels are correct for our UK tour. It'll be good to get back on it now that all logistics have been sorted and actually start playing the songs after our christmas break.

Once I'm back I'll post the final album of the week, this time from Fab Four. However before then I thought I'd share something rather cool. Here is a copy of The Beatles "With The Beatles", original pressing and why it is so precious is that it was owned by my mum when she was a little girl. You can even see her name written on the album cover!

My mum sadly passed away 7 years ago but after watching "Eight Days A Week" recently it really hit me that she was one of those screaming Beatles fans as a young girl and that now her granddaughters listen to the same copy she listened to. She must be very proud.

Anyway, enough of my soppiness, see you back here later for the last album of the week!

News Update From Studio Brewdio Land!

Hello Pop Pickers! Things have been pretty hectic in Studio Brewdio land recently what with the new term's teaching, recording sessions and tour preparation but I'm planning on putting a load of new updates up over the weekend.

I'll be adding not one, not two but three albums of the week, recording some demo's of two new pedals, the awesome Origin Effects Cali76 Compact Deluxe compressor and the Xotic Robotalk 2 envelope filter and writing a piece on using a Fractal AX8 as the heart of a modular pedal board so stay tuned!

Also in other exciting news Paramore Or Less tour rehearsals start tomorrow after spending the last week preparing our backing and click tracks for the big stages and I've recorded my parts for the latest Keepers Brew release that should be out very soon.

Hasta La Vista 2016 And Goodbye To My Heroes...

Well what a truly epic year 2016 has been in both the good and the bad. Personally I've started lots of musical journeys in teaching and creating that will continue into 2017 and beyond and have had my horizons expanded on trips to France and Morocco with my loved ones that's shown me that creativity and family can co-exist.

As a whole the year has mirrored a film plot or song lyric in its sheer audacity to surprise, uncover plot twists and throw up things you never thought were possible.

However one thing that has staggered me over the last 12 months is the amount of amazing people from the world of music and the arts we have lost. The list is too long to reprint here but the two that hit me the hardest were the loss of David Bowie and Prince.

From a creative point of view these guys were titans, artists so adept at change, so steeped in musical skill and virtuosity and yet still able to hit a chord with the masses. Bowie's ability to write a clever thought provoking song is unrivalled and Prince's down right groove, intensity and unbelievable skill on many instruments meant that they were both peas in a pod that will long be remembered.

I will continue to listen to both of them for many years to come and pass on their music to anyone wanting to listen to good music. If you're out celebrating the new year tonight please listen to them, I'll start with "1999" and "Let's Dance" as a good double bill.

Bring it on 2017, lets see what you've got...

Merry Christmas From Studio Brewdio!

Merry Christmas from Studio Brewdio and just to put you in the xmas spirit, here's the best new seasonal song I've heard in years. I give you the awesome Vulfpeck...

New "Musings" Page Up

Good morning pop pickers!

Just thought I'd let you know I've added the Musings page to the site.

This page is the place for reviews, top 10's (as everyone likes a good list), record of the week and artists you may have missed along with anything else from the wider music world.

I've there's anything you want me to review or write about get in touch!

My Short Spoiler Free Rogue One Review

I went to the midnight showing of Rogue One last night and although I didn't get in until 3am with a full day of teaching ahead my inner Star Wars geek said I had to go!

As I know most of you haven't seen it I'll keep my review short, sweet and spoiler free.

Overall I really enjoyed it although it's not without flaws. Think a Vietnam war movie in space. Links up well to A New Hope and has some great new characters especially K-2SO and the kick ass Chirrut Imwe.

It was strange to have a Star Wars film without an opening credits crawl and you certainly felt the void left in the music with John Williams scoring. It just didn't have the same gravitas the original trilogy scores had and don't get me started on the CGI. 

Aside from that I liked it, a worthy addition to Star Wars cannon, needs another watch though to get all the references and pick up things I missed. 

Studio Brewdio Goes Live!

So after a few days of me beavering away Studio Brewdio is live and kicking! 

The main aim of the site is to collate all the musical stuff I'm up to without having to go down the social media route as although I think social media is a great tool, as a front end it always seems a bit lazy. So while I'll be using Facebook and Twitter to keep everyone updated, to paraphrase the romans, all roads will lead to studiobrewdio.com so keep checking back here for new things!

The website also keeps people up to date on any live gigs I'm doing and gives me an outlet for my ramblings on gear, guitar playing, teaching and general musical shenanigans. 

Over the Christmas break I'll be putting up lots more content including record of the week, gear demos, links to artists that may have passed you by and lots of audio from the Studio Brewdio vault. 

If you want me to write on a subject, have any questions or want me to demo a certain piece of gear drop me a message and just a reminder that all opinions expressed on my site are completely my own! 

Please let me know what you think or if you spot anything I've mucked up on as there's bound to be something.

Over and out.

P.S. Other than my site going live, the most important thing about today (or technically speaking tomorrow) is Rogue One is out! Spoiler free review tomorrow! 

New Kicktags For My AX8!

My new Kicktags arrived today ready for the Paramore (Or Less) O2 tour next year. There's nothing worse than hitting the wrong switch live, especially when you've sprinted across stage after a solo expecting a pleasant clean sound only to hit the wrong switch and end up in death metal central for that pretty quiet bit of the song.

Thankfully Sukh Ryatt, owner of Kicktags, came up with this ingenious solution of using magnetic name tags that attach to my AX8 (and my MFC-101 previously) so that hitting the wrong patch is a thing of the past.

I've booted these around stages for a while now and they're road worthy, especially with Sukh's no wonk label surrounds (theres nothing worse than a wonky label), and are being used by the mighty Steve Vai amongst many others.

I also like the fact that they're modular so that I can change out the labels for each band. For example have the track names for a PoL gig but have generic sound names for a function or effect names if I'm using the AX8 in stomp box mode. Plus their glow in dark ability makes them easy to see on a dark stage.

Check out http://www.kicktags.com for more information and a big thanks to Sukh for getting these labels out to me even though the current run had sold out!

My Paramore (Or Less) Kicktags configuration

Function time!

Great First Gig Of The Year For My Student Rock Bands

Wow! What are great gig last night. All my student bands performed brilliantly. It always amazes me that at that age, some as young as 7, they have so much confidence to get up on stage and perform and makes excited they could have if keep it up. Who needs computer games to waste time on when you have ROCK BANDS!

The Harlequin Room at Portsmouth Guildhall was much better than I expected. The stage looked great and the technical team did an awesome job on sound and lights. Its always good when the venue's tech team where you're playing are on the ball, gives me one less thing to stress about!

I had lots of good feedback from parents and attendees and can't wait for next terms gigs. Fingers crossed the senior band get into the Music For Youth Regional Festival next term as if they do well in that its off to the nationals at the Royal Albert Hall, not that'll be something!