We are the music makers - producers?

Swordplay was the first thing that came to mind...

I've got a constantly revolving door of hardware in my room, but the setup centres around an Octatrack, OP1 and a bunch of guitar pedals.

Currently looking to shift a Korg Monologue - it's the red one, pretty much brand new with box and power adapter, looking for £220 or so shipped? Or come get it in Glasgow.

Could be interested next week - I'm in Edinburgh

n8 crouch end

I'm getting really heartily sick of trying to make any kind of headway with my music of late. I've been around the block and i'm too old and proud to get involved in full-on time-sucking online self promotion - which maybe nine tenths of the problem - but it seems that any attempt to drum up even a handful of link clicks or (the latest humiliation) book a gig at tiny folk venue end in total fucking failure.

I'm tired of doing what honestly believe to be the best work I've done in the face of total, utter infinitely overwhelming apathy. I've never felt so utterly ignored.

Please don't "u ok hun?" me over this. Sarcastically or otherwise. I'm a grown up and have enough confidence in what i'm doing and self-worth (as well as plenty more going on in my life to keep me busy) to not take this shit personally... but I think i might be reaching the point where I need to shake it up. Take a break. Do something totally different. Maybe sack the whole thing off. There's only so many times you can put in so much effort and get ab-so-lute-ly nothing back in terms of feedback, interest or uptake. I'm just sick of it.

Do it cuz you love it, man... 💜

Want toys, never use them

https://www.elektron.se/products/digitakt/

Yeah yeah. But ultimately you do need people to engage with what you do at least in a small way. feels like i'm pissing in the wind at the moment. Need to make some changes!

So this happened:

Me:

Hate to be that guy... but I am a bit surprised at your response. I've no problem whatsoever with people disliking us
(honestly!) but having listened to quite a few of your acts I thought
we'd be a good fit. Can't think of another promoter with quite the
same mixture of folk and more mainstream pop/indie/whatever influences
on display.

Hey ho, thanks for replying anyway.

Folkroom:

It's absolutely fine to question and challenge my decision!
Like I said, I do like you music, and certainly in terms of genre and
sound you are very similar to acts who have played before. But this,
unfortunately, is why I didn't book you. We're lucky these days to be
inundated with submissions to play our gigs. A lot of these are
musicians very similar to yourself. Talented artists and writers, but
all very similar. In our earlier gigs we had less submissions and
could happily accept any musician who was good and talented and
listenable. Now I'm looking for something more. That's what Folkroom
is coming to represent - the very best, the most distinct, and the
people we're genuinely excited to promote. I'm the only one promoting
these gigs, and presenting the music onstage. So ultimately it's one
guy's opinion at play.

I've no doubt you'll have better luck elsewhere. Try Folklore, Folk
Modern and Softly Softly.

Me:

Thanks for taking the time to respond man. Not sure I really
wanted to hear the response but thank you for your honesty. It's funny
that being accidentally on the right side of the zeitgeist can make
life as tricky as being outside it in terms of finding a home.

Obviously I disagree about the pedigree of what we do. If I didn't,
I'd quit. Or at least quit attempting to foist It on others. I've
tried a few other nights recently but, like you it seems, I try and
hold myself to high standards and often found the quality of acts
frustratingly ordinary. Thanks for the recommendations though. I'll
check them out.

We're about to re-launch the King Charles residency featuring a few
Folk Sessions (Bidgood and Mackenzie) guys. Feel free to pop by. I'd
like to buy you a drink and compare notes.

Urgh. I hate begging for scraps and being treated like an also-ran like this. Thing is, I know exactly the kind of “meh” feeling the guy describes when faced with yet another perfectly OK but humdrum folky indie band and their sepia tinted melodrama. I genuinely believe that that when we’re firing on all cylinders we can hold a room in a way that is rare. I'm my own harshest critic most of the time but I honestly think we’re capable of transcending the ordinary and creating something a bit special. Not always. But sometimes. It’s frustrating to find out that this doesn’t come across.

Dunno. Maybe i'm just deluded after all. Time to join the queue at the shitty Sunday night open mic with the tone-deaf and the terminally tedious.

Crank that amp up! 😉

Srsly.

It's time.

I don't know if it's helpful but I've just tried to make my peace with the fact that people basically don't give a fuck about music anymore. It's just a hobby for me now, a hobby and therapy, and I've found that much easier to cope with.

What show were you trying to book? If it helps, The Glad have knocked me back a tonne of times. Just got to accept it and move on to the next venue.

Ha. Thanks man. I feel you!

It was a Folkroom Records night at the Harrison. Less about the gig itself than meeting and making contact with people who might share a similar taste in music to me after years of wandering the wilderness of only doing ocasional self-promoted gigs. I'm actually grateful to the guy for replying politely and constructively. That I disagree with him doesn't make the ultimate conclusion any less of a kick in the nuts though.

Do you mean the Gladstone Arms? Who have you been talking to? I know a guy called Sam who'd book you in heartbeat. I played there a couple of weeks ago and had a great night despite my pre-gig nerves. The crowd were fantastic. The bar's INSANELY overpriced though.

I have to say though the quality control of other acts was... variable. I have a very low tolerance for sub-par live music. Lower still for sub par live music that's also painfully self-indulgent. I'll say no more as i'd like to play there again.

@BleakRefs would you like to play a couple of tunes at the newly revived King Charles I residency?

We're back there on Sunday 17th Feb. I've just booked our Folk Sessions buddy Alastair Mackensie to play as well and if both you guys do a short set, we'll just do one set rather than two.

It's free entry and we'll pass the hat and buy the beers. Let me know and i'll do some posters done next week!

http://archive.islingtontribune.com/news/2015/jun/fifteen-regulars-raise-%C2%A370k-rescue-eclectic-back-street-boozer-king-charles-i

Yup

Hell yeah dude, would love to. I'm playing 100% acoustic these days so don't even have any PA worries or soundcheck biz happening. Let me know when and where and I'll be in.

I'm not sure if it helps but when I was doing this a bit more seriously I kept a little notebook of everyone who'd fucked me over when I asked for help, gigs, what have you. By the time I got to the point where I could exact a bit of revenge I no longer wanted to, but christ man, that burning indignation definitely gave me the drive to go out and do things to get me in a better position. I say use this guy's email to drive you forward. Fuck 'em.

Would love an intro on the Glad; suspect they just don't like my stuff but if you reckon you can change 'em let me know, I'd love to play there.

Yeah fuck em. You're on!

kickass

Done a poster. Will run the blurb past you to approve or amend.

Also. Went back to working on the album on the train this morning. It will be done soon.

Also-2, have resolved to find some more musicians to play with. Maybe out in Kentfordshire.

You can never have too many MPC's... Well I can't anyway! :)

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does anyone a brand new Shure SM57 mic for £70 posted in UK? (RRP £99.99)

What's the sequencer? Does it have any sort of tempo control input/output? Chances are someone has created an interface for it but even if there's nothing specific, measuring tempo from a regularly repeating signal is quite easy...

Oh cool! I had an original Seek Wah years back and sold it for exactly this problem.

Are you recording or performing? Which DAW?

Oh yeah I remember now!
It's been a long time since I used cubase live but I remember it being pretty easy to sync with an external clock. One way to get it all playing nicely would be with a midi tap-tempo box such as http://www.moltenvoltage.com/products/TEMPODE_by_PedalSync_-_PedalBoard_MIDI_Clock_Injector_by_Molten_Voltage.html
Do the Oooh Wah and Ringtone start on step 1 when you turn them on?