Beware! The Leopard

GIG REMINDER

Playing at the River Bar on Tower Bridge Road (just south of the bridge).  I'm on at 9:30 sharp.

See you there!

Recording woes

So I've written a new song about the Gaza conflict.  It's got a very sad melodramatic feel to it, but the lyrics are uplifting. 

In an effort to make it more public during a time when it may be relevant, I've been attempting to record it over the last week or so.  It's pretty much done, but I'm not happy with the vocals.  I don't know if it is the cheap mics I am using to record my voice, or if it's the fact I live in a loud flat, or if I don't know how to mix my tenor in with the music properly, but I can't get it to sound right.

So here's the question, I'm going to give it another shot tonight.  Do you, dear readers, wish to hear it in its unperfected form, or do you want to wait until it's finished proper, which may take a couple of months until I can get into a decent recording space?

Comment below and the most votes wins.

Bands to Watch: Foreign Office, Nebraska, Dexy

This weekend was one of musical adventure, as Neonfoxtongue and I decided to take in a couple of gigs.  Friday night was a trek to the other side of the world, known as Lewisham, to witness a rare occurrence, a performance by Nebraska. 

Dexy and his Handsome Homeless outfit opened the show with some rousing rock and roll.  Dexy plays a blend of alt-country and rock with panache.  His silk smooth vocals and instrumentations are reminscent of Badly Drawn Boy.  Dexy does need to work a bit on connecting with his audience, as he comes across as a little bit shy behind the mic, which can be detrimental to chances of success.  However, when placed in the context  of the "handsome homeless" his gregarious bunch of friends that backed him on Friday night, Dexy was able to bring the crowd round and get them bopping to some great tunes.

In London, it used to be said that Nebraska had a lot going for them; decent following, EP released by Rough Trade, then they kind of dropped of the radar.  Well on Friday night they came back in a big way.  Putting on a fantastic set at the Fox and Firkin in Lewisham, Michael and co. ripped up the stage with some super tight new songs that are going to have labels across the country begging them for a chance to sign them.  Originally I felt there was an element of Finger 11 in their music, but upon reflection, I think that they are much closer to bands like System of  Down, very melodic hard rock.  Michael cretaes some awesome imagery with his lyrics, and his soulful voice is perfectly backed by Ben, Stax and Jarrod.  Expect to hear more from these guys in the near future.

Sunday evening, we decided to trek over to Islington to take a listen to Foreign Office.  Their Myspace demo doesn't do them justice.  With tinges of Joy Division, the Killers, and just a general melange of indie-new wave stylings, they brought the house down at the Old Queen's Head.  I have no idea what the name of the lead singer is, but there's definitely and Ian Curtis vibe from him (hope it doesn't result in the same fate).  Don't cha think?

Apparently this was only their third show ever, and for such a young band, they were really tight.  If they can stick together and keep putting on shows like this, you can expect big things from them in the coming year.

Reworking Myspace

I'm in the midst of reworking the Beware! The Leopard myspace site, to get it to look and sound a bit better.  Apologies for any inconvenience, it shouldn't take more than a few days. 

Stay tuned here for updates.

The changing face of recording

Working in a music equipment shop you get a very different take on the music industry then you do when you don't.  As a musician, I used to focus mostly on writing songs, or performing songs, either with a band or on my own.  This was the focal point of my efforts.  In the last few years, this focus has drifted away from music to lie somewhere between the music and recording realms.

Up until the late 1980s, it was unheard of for musicians to record themselves.  Recording studios were the only place with equipment (expensive) and the expertise to put together an album that sounded better than sticking a guitar in a blender.  Then came the advent of digital tape, the ADAT machine, and the concept that posh musicians, or those with lots of members in the band to split the bill, could buy their own studio setup.  Home studios started springing up around major cities, and it wasn't long before everybody and their dog was putting out a crappy recording done in their mates basement. 

In the late 90's, the increased processing power of computers allowed everyone to get in on the recording scene.  As a consequence we have seen the rapid decline of professional recording studios, and even the top engineers are struggling to maintain a full schedule of recording.  Another consequence is the sheer number of "musicians" who have crawled out of the woodwork.  All the people that used to play for their own enjoyment in the bedrooms, basements, and garages, now are attempting to put out "professional" records.  This means that there is a glut of music on the market which is great for the listeners, but economists will tell you that excess supply leads to lower prices, which is not good for the suppliers.  I don't know where I was going with this section, but I guess I'm trying to say that having loads of people put out poorly made recordings does nothing to help the music industry as it makes it very difficult for listeners to separate the wheat from the chaff. 

One final point, and the purpose of my semi-rant, is to plead with all those would be sound engineers out there to do some research before jumping into the recording area of music.  As I mentioned previously I have moved my focus to be somewhere in between music and recording to the point where I'm not terribly good at either.  But I have spent a few years improving my engineering skills, and now I can return to more of a focus on the music creation and still put out reasonable demos for public consumption.  However every day I get to meet loads of would be sound engineers who do not know the first thing about recorded music.  They do not know the difference between stereo and mono, between line level and instrument level, between phono and jack cables.  Many don't even know what a track is.  Now if you are not a musician, or you are a musician who pays others to do their recordings, this is a perfectably acceptable way to go through life; but please, if you don't know these things and think that you can put together a professional recording in a few days with cheap equipment, think again.  Sound engineering is a skill that takes years to become competent at, and there are, I believe, few musicianswho are up to the challenge. 

In other words, unless you are Jack White, please please please don't come into my shop hoping to have the next big hit album out this month when you don't know the first thing about recording. 

And on that note

I'm official!

So it's official, I am now a Canadian musician recognized by SOCAN, the group responsible for collecting royalties and lobbying on behalf of Canadian musicians.  I still have to sign the forms, but that is just a technical matter, their email proudly announces that my application has been accepted.  So I guess those gigs I do at small pubs in London do actually count as musical performances :-)

It's funny that the acceptance comes now, because the BBC has THIS article on the subject which is kind of interesting.  To give you the jist, SOCAN's equivalent in the UK (the PRS) has roving "inspectors" which are responsible for ensuring that businesses have purchased licenses to play music in their workplaces.  We had this happen at my workplace earlier this year, and at first I was pissed, because it took a few days for the license to go through and therefore for us to play music again, but after reading the article, and thinking about it a bit, I completely understand why it is necessary.  Businesses by nature, are not individuals, and therefore should have to pay some sort of fee in order to broadcast music to the public.

In the UK it's a bit more complicated than Canada, because if you want to listen to the radio in your own home, you have to pay a license fee (which goes to help create BBC, some of the best damn radio in the world).  So the requirement that businesses should have to pay a fee as well is not that much of a stretch. 

It would be an interesting experiment in Canada though.  I think the introduction of TV and Radio licensing could do a lot to improve CBC programming if the money was used for that purpose (instead of say paying for roads in Toronto). 

Anyway, I don't really know where I was going with this, except to say that I think licensing is a cool way of doing things and it's great that this article reminded me of it on a day I became an official "musician" in the eyes of the taxman.

Sights and Sounds

A couple of pics from the gig at the Edinburgh Cellars, as well as the full concert in mp3 format.  Hope you enjoy.

Download January 14

At the conservatoire

So last night taught me two things. 

1.  People flock to the most out of the way places to listen to music.  Edinburgh Cellars is not in Islington as I had been told, but in a kind of limbo between Islington and Stoke-Newington.  Walking there from the tube stop took me 25 minutes, and with all the gear I was lugging, it felt like my arms were going to fall off.  It was definitely worth it though as the venue was absolutely beautiful.  Good stage area, huge conservatory glass ceiling, and a great crowd of young-ish people looking to hear some good tunes.  I pulled out all the stops, my new tune went over very well, which was nice considering it is very political (you'll here a recorded version soon enough), and I think the set overall went very well.  Thanks to everyone who managed to make it out.

2.  The second thing I learned, was that unlike the drumkit I want but don't need, the first big musical purchase I'm going to make in Canada, in the likely event that my parents automobile will not be accessible to me regularly, is going to be a piece of crap car to cart my gear to gigs.  Public transit in London is far better than Toronto, and I still have a right difficult time getting my keys, guitar, pedalcase, and keyboard stand to gigs without tearing my hands to shit or wrecking my shoulders.  So if any of you have a car going for super cheap in April/May, keep me in the loop.

I mean doesn't every musician have to pay his dues in a shitty vehicle that breaks down on the way to the gig where the reps for all the major labels are waiting? 

Gig Reminder

Just a quick reminder that I've got a gig tonight at the Edinburgh Cellars in Islington.  It's free and should be a great time.

Also, if you haven't already, sign up for the mailing list on the left to keep in touch with important Leopard updates, and for the opportunity to win free merch (details coming soon).  Aside from the normal resasons for signing up, it also helps me get gigs with difficult booking agents who want to know I do have fans out there.

Thanks

Get out of Gaza!

This blog has been for the most part absent of political discussions.  I'm not entirely sure if I made a semi-conscious effort to do so, as I know in my homeland, and in our great big neighbour to the south, artists speaking out on political issues is frowned upon by the majority.  But after reading up on the history of some eastern European countries that I will be visiting in the near future, I've rediscovered the fact that artists were at the centre, and in many cases were the catalysts, of incredible progressive change. 

Thus, I feel released from the confines that my countrymen want to place on musicians and other artists such as myself, and there is a pressing issue which needs to be discussed.  Israel and Gaza.  As anybody who has looked out from under their rock in the last 2 weeks should be aware; Israel has launched yet another incursion into Gaza under the auspices of "protecting" its citizens from Hamas rocket attacks. 

Now let's get this straight right off the bat.  I lean towards siding with the Palestinians in this struggle.  So accuse me of bias all you want, I realize I am biased, and read the following knowing that. 

While I understand the historical circumstances that brought about the creation of Israel (though I disagree with the final decision, not the sentiment that went into it), what has been going on in the occupied territories for the last few decades really slices the edge between war and genocide.  Yes, Israel has a right to protect its citizens, but it is does not have the right to obliterate a people to do so. 

I'm not going to go into an in depth discussion on the situation, as it would take pages and hours to explain my philosophies and most it would probably bore the hell out of most readers, which is in itself a bit of a reminder of how apathetic we in the West have become.  I'll just leave you with this statistic:

Since December 27th 2008  # of Israeli dead:  13  (10 soldiers, 3 civilians)

Since December 27th 2008 # of Palestinians dead:  879 (estimated) 

source:  BBC

Ok, so on the Palestinian side, we don't know how many of those 879 were civilians, but we do know that 12 ambulance workers have been killed.

Essentially this is like trying to kill a mosquito with a blowtorch and then arguing that you had the right to do so when you burn your neighbours house down.

Both sides need to heed the UN's call for a  ceasefire and re-establish dialogue in order to resolve this.  Too many people are dying.

So get out there, get involved and make sure your voice is heard, even if its only on Facebook.  We have to push our politicians to do something.