I have now moved this blog to part of my new website at http://nicktann.co.uk/category/nicks-blog/
The podcast is now at http://isthisthingonpodcast.com
And for the full extent of all my websites and other stuff I do then http://nicktannmusic.com is the place to be.
Empty Hall
A manager friend on a social network site posted this recently
“if you’re an artist or in a band and you can’t bring ten people for every member of your band to a home town show,then your either,rubbish,lazy or playing too often in the same town . . .”
Possibly harsh but an interesting excercise to go through if you’re not getting people to your gigs.
What’s your excuse?
Last night I played a secret gig at The Talking Heads venue in Southampton, supporting Big Brother celebrity Nikki Grahame. The reason for the secrecy is that I have a policy, yes a policy, of not promoting gigs that I don’t get paid for.
The main reasons for me turning up were that a) I love the venue, it has a great stage and p.a. and b) I was reckoning on Nikki Grahame packing the place out thefore I get to play in front of a packed audience.
I was expecting a healthy queue outside the venue unfortunately I was disappointed, there was none. After completion of my simple sound check, a pretty simple affair as all I have is a 12 string acoustic guitar and my voice, I was still hoping for the place to fill up.
As I started my set, around 8.30, there were about 20 people in the place. I had decided to play a simple ballad based set finishing off with a couple of funkier numbers to get folk in the mood for the next support act, the amazing Spiraltones. I gave out a few badges and went down pretty well considering the people that hadn’t come to see The Spiraltones had come to see Nikki Graham.
The Spiraltones are a 5 piece indie, country, jump around, uke based band from Southampton and they are ruddy marvelous. They also have the best drummer in Southampton, probably….
They and their happy breed tore the place apart for 35 mins or so and went down a storm. Whilst they were playing I realised that they and their supporters made up the majority of the audience leaving around a dozen or so that had come to see Nikki Grahame.
So then we get to the main event.
I may be in the minority but I had never heard of Nikki Grahame before this event. I haven’t watched Big Brother since “Nast Nick” and have no interest in celebrity, honest. therefore I have no axe to grind over Nikki’s musical credentials. I had my own reasons for playing (see above) and care not about the why’s and wherefore’s over Nikki’s booking. In fact I think that if performers get sniffy about who they support then they may as well stay at home.
[Nikki Grahame plus guitarist take to the stage]
She was pleasant enough and as she ran through a list of Libertine, Supergrass and Kings of Leon covers and I couldn’t help thinking that she reminded me of a cute four year old, dressed in her big sisters clothes, wearing her mum’s lipstick, singing in front of the mirror into a hairbrush. The Spiraltones where valiant and enthusiastic in their applause and gawd bless em for that. Then after 30 mins or so that was it and she was off leaving the mainly phone holding audience checking their recordings uploading them on to Facebook etc.
Performing in front of an audience with just you and an acoustic guitar takes guts and she certainly has that. It takes time and experience to craft your performance and the choice of songs is crucial. Nikki stated that “Supergrass are my favourite band ever” but they may not have been the best bands songs to choose. She had the right moves but with just an acoustic guitar, although very ably played, she needed more. I think with a band behind her she would have been more interesting and her posing would have made more sense but when all is said and done, who wants to see someone sing a bunch of indie covers?
In Southampton I’d say around a dozen.
Click here to see a video of Nikki Grahame singing her opening number
It most certainly is and in a big way.
Some of you may know that I have many projects. There’s Is This Thing on podcast, Pure Acoustica and The Vinyl Project and a few more in the pipeline.
Well over the next few weeks all of these, plus a few more, will be moving to a spanky new home www.nicktannmusic.com They are all being redesigned and moved to my own little piece of the web.
One of the main reasons is that I need more space for my podcast and at www.nicktannmusic.com I have plenty.
The main person I have to thank is the legendary podcaster and all round good guy Justin Wayne who is taking my rag tag sites and bashing them into shape.
www.nicktannmusic.com will be a portal through which one will be able to gain access to all my projects. This is the template Justin will be using.
So keep an eye out over the next week or so and see everything take shape.
Exciting times….
I run Pure Acoustica nights at a couple of pubs around Hampshire and last week I recorded a few live sessions from the artists that played.
The plan is to record more and feed them out as a podcast but with me busy making music and producing my Is This Thing On Podcast I’m not sure if I’ll have the time.
I thought I’d post this up anyway. If I get the time I’ll set up an rss feedburner feed so you can subscribe to them but for now just CLICK HERE and have a listen. The page may take a while to load as it contains 40 mins of Pure Acoustica music, no mics, amps or pa’s.
It contains music by Marvin B Naylor, Matt “Chalky Gravell” Chalk aided by Steve Christy on drums and myself on bass. It starts with a few tracks by me with Steve helping me out on One Night Stand.
It was recorded at The White Swan in Winchester.
I am playing a big gig on Sunday and really need some support.
If you are anywhere near, or in Southampton this Sunday come along and see me play on a big stage at one of the best venues in the south The Brook.
I’ll be sharing my spot with Chalky Gravell and top drum dude Steve Christy. Other bands playing will be The Melodramas, The Lost Souls Club and Light Divided
The Brook is located at 466 Portswood Road,Southampton
I will be on at 8pm with doors opening at 7.30
I seriously hope I get to see some of you there and if you can’t make it I’d appreciate it if you could spread the word for me, perhaps use the Facebook or retweet buttons eh?
It’s always nice to see someone you know do well. This is a webfriend of mine Carly Smallman making her tv debut on The Rob Brydon Show last friday. You may recognise her from the hilarious You’re Not The One series on YouTube where she and Luisa Omielan try out a series of techniques to try and find a man.
Lets all bask in her reflected glory…
