Musicosity | Your Live Music Search Engine

Talentcall

Hey Guys
Just to say that I will be performning as part of the Talentcall production at the O2 Academy Bornemouth on 12th September 2010. For those who don`t know, Talentcall is a premier showcase for some of the beat local acts and provides a really entertaining evening.

If your emails were music, how would you sound?

How many music industry emails did you receive last week? For me about 30, excluding any that got trapped as spam. I bet you every one of them thought they were the only ones I received...

Let's think about it - you have a friend on MySpace, you send a broadcast - how many other friends list are they on? What percentage of emails the friend received was yours? for me, if you were number 31, yours would be 3% of just my music emails, let alone all the other emails I get.

Spam - the reason why mobile phone companies and banks don't spam, is because there's so few of them, and you tend to only have one relationship at a time with them - they have managers who's job it is to ensure no-one is spammed e.g. they will have a policy that says no-one is to be emails more than x times a month.

In music we simply can't do this on our own, because we don't know what each other is doing. Being in the audience of music industry emails is like being in a mega musical instruments store, listening to people trying out instruments for the first time, making a whole lot of noise, al playing at the same time.

We think about the audience at gigs, because they're right there - for the audience to have a good experience, a lot of factors have to come together - the band must be well rehearsed, playing in time, mixed just right, lighting, the right performance energy, well thought out set list, strong songs. In short, the music makers must be highly coordinated to ensure that the audience is having a good experience and would want to come back.

People are always asking us 'Whats the difference between Musicosity and Facebook?" What's the difference between making good music and simply having a guitar? Good communication, like good music, takes practice, and you need the right instruments for the job. Social media are designed as domestic tools for 'friends' to chat about random stuff, to keep each other online so the company behind the social media can sell advertising. Increasingly, social media are being seen as time wasters (see article) , so use whatever tools you want, but think about whether you want to be associated with adding to the noise.

Musicosity is purpose built for communication about live music in order to help people get to more shows - we all benefit from having a 'nice place' for the audience to come to where the 'music' of the communication in it is coordinated, where the audience won't feel ambushed, and the bands work together to create a good experience the way they do when playing their music - which after all is another form of communication. We have the opportunity to create somewhere a bit more special for the audience...that they might be more inclined to listen!

Untitled Red

I used to play in a band in Australia called Untitled Red - pre-techno electronica. It was early-mid 80's, New Order were big, and it seemed like we were following the crowd, but actually some of the tracks would make cool contemporary dance music.

Some of the tracks I'm thinking of are Celestial, Aquatic, Windows on Black, Legions Move, House Above the World and Forever. Some modern production would suit both the dancy ones, and a bit of chillout treatment would suit others.

Greg Day the singer is actually a writer of some note.

Check out the music - if you can find it...

Surface Unsigned competition

Today I am Judging at the Surface Unsigned competition. It is being held in Camden town, London.

Venue : Purple Turtle Camden town, London

I am really looking forward to the next 3 days of the competition. Last year I was called to be a judge in the semi- finals as well as this year. This allows me to see some of the best bands and new music around the U.K.

The competition is very difficult for judges and even harder for the contenders, as the musicians always give their best.

Good luck to everyone taking part in the competition.

New venue for Plymouth

I had the privilege last week of being given a tour of a new venue in Plymouth. Following a huge regeneration project of Devonport, the Guildhall which was built in the 1800s has undergone a terrific faceift, whilst maintaining it's original features. Right in the heart of a new housing develop, I can see it becoming a great space for the area.

Dates For Your Diary!

...dates for your diary: Sat 17th July midday til 5pm at The Winchester, BMouth, an afternoon of rather cool music from the next generation & Fri 10th Sept 6pm til 1am throughout BMouth, an evening for all ages showcasing music, fashion, art, dance and film alongside the bars, clubs and pubs ...... for now, keep ...those dates free and watch this space for more information. EVERYONE WELCOME.