***JD's Advice for Bands*** #3 Reviews: Get reviews by getting - however you can - journalists to your show, starting small & local then building towards the nationals. Do not forget you are as yet, a small band, not U2. Journalists get literally dozens of emails, press-packs etc DAILY from bands

*** JD's Advice for Bands *** #2 Designate: Find a person, preferably NOT a band member, to undertake promo/booking work. The musicians are too close to, and too emotionally involved in their work to give a reasoned, business-like account of it to a bored, disinterested promoter/journalist/etc.

JD. my good mate and music industry veteran - managing and touring with bands for over 40 years - once wrote a blog article with lots of useful advice for young bands. As it's not online anymore, with permission

Another big inspiration - especially for my humble fiddle chops - is #SethLakeman. His combined melodic and rhythmic playing on Kitty Jay is certainly something else. Plus he's also singing while doing these fiddle stunts. Check this out: youtu.be/OjxLMRmKOP4?...

Follow up on last post. Not only the music made Due South lovable but it's themes of being respectful, polite and especially kind to each other. Paul Gross as the Mountie was the epitome of all these qualities. And he's a great singer. You might like this: youtu.be/Wu4krJJkkIs?...

Anyone remember the TV show Due South? I loved it and especially the original americana folksy soundtrack by Semko, Lenz, McCarthy. The title with its iconic delay guitar theme is still so cool. youtu.be/AtMLgL4VEUw?...

@nelsonsurfquake.bsky.social Peter Nice aka Nelson was the @newmodelarmy.bsky.social bass power house. His inventive melodic bass lines, his gentle grooving to even the straightest of punk rock rhythms have always been an inspiration. One of his iconic bass lines: youtu.be/FDflFltyrKE?...

New Year's Eve at the lake. All the best of luck to you out there!

In 1986 I got introduced to the music of @thecure.com and it had a big influence on my guitar playing and writing. I have always loved their ability to write these strange, noisy, feedbacky wall-to-wall textures that build up forever. This song demonstrates this perfectly: youtu.be/918fVOn3GLI?...

Christmas Eve at the lake. All the best to you out there!

@newmodelarmy.bsky.social has always been my most favourite band. They defy musical drawers, their music and Justin Sullivan's lyrics have always resonated with me deeply. I even got to work with them on a few albums. This one never fails to touch me: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zr2G...

Another artist that never ceases to inspire me is @bearmccreary.bsky.social . Pure musical genius. All these crazy ideas and their perfect realisations. King of marrying folk instruments with orchestra. Love the fiddle lines & the lowend killing bodhran on this new piece: youtu.be/Z-d6g3x92Zc?...

@joolzdenby.bsky.social Joolz Denby certainly needs no introduction. Poet, graphic artist, writer, New Model Army co-founder, tattooist, outspoken fighter against injustice. I got hooked to her poetry seeing her perform at a NMA concert in '91. This track's always a favourite: tinyurl.com/ykjps9f9

Another real artist in so many ways!

Bad Religion and especially Greg Graffin's lyrics have had an enormous influence on my young adulthood. A punk rocker at heart, the idea of multipart vocal harmony punk rock music bundled with a naturalist, scientific world view really sold them to me. Check this out www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZLB...

This female Greek choir calls themselves CHÓRES mingling the Greek words choros (singing collective) and kore (daughter, maiden).This is the video which blew @chriswirtz.bsky.social and me away when we did research on the Byzantines and we had to work with them: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cf6f...

I'm thinking of using this new opportunity under a blue sky to talk more about the people and their art that helped me a lot on my way. Getting away from "selling myself" like on other platforms. What do you think?

This is older news but still happy to have provided the main theme plus a couple of in-game tracks for @persistonline.bsky.social from @cipsoft.bsky.social . This is bound to become a superb game!

Hey kind BlueSky people, I'm a new kid here on the block. I've been composing music for games for 25 years. Big ones, small ones. I also play fiddle and whistle in an Acoustic-Irish-Folk-Punk-Rock-Sextett. If you like to be friends hit me up :-)