Guitars:

guitar amplification:

Guitar Pedals:

Microphones:

Home Recording:

song writing

My biggest song writing influence’s are Noel Gallagher (during Oasis), Alex Turner and John Lennon. I like Noel Gallagher’s ability to write catchy tunes which everyone knows off by heart. Especially during the first album “definitely maybe”, songs like “supersonic” and “live forever” masterpieces as they took a very simple chord progression and made it into something so catchy and jut plain “rock ‘n’ roll”. I like the way Alex Turner writes his lyrics especially during the first two Arctic Monkeys Albums. The first Album “whatever people say I am, thats what i’m not” tells a series of stories especially songs such as “when the sun goes down” and ” a certain romance”. I also love how in the second album the album title “favourite worst nightmare” is repeated in several of the songs. I also love the way John Lennon and Paul McCartney both knew what styles their voices suited. This showed in their songwriting as songs like ” Hey Jude” and “yesterday” are sung by McCartney as they are softer songs whereas “revolution”and “I am the walrus” are sung by Lennon as they need a much more raspier sound to match the rock instrumental.

Guitar style/tone

Over the years I have created my own guitar tone which consists of a Gibson les Paul through a driven Marshall silver jubilee half stack. My biggest influence is Jimmy Page. His tone is very similar to mine which consists of a lot of treble with around half the gain and low mids. Jimmy Page plays with a range of dynamics and not just with the volume at ten the whole time, especially in songs such as “whole lotta love” where the main riff has a bit of the volume rolled off and then turns it up for the solo allowing it to cut through everything else. His style of lead playing is very melodic but also very fast which is where I get most of my influences for solo’s. One song which I took a lot of the lead playing from is “since i’ve been loving you”. The verse is very melodic and when it gets to the solo its very fast, trebly, but still manages to keep some sense of melody. When improvising guitar solo’s, Jimmy Page s where I get most of my inspiration from.

Singers

As a vocalist I find Liam Gallagher to be my biggest influence as I like how he sings with different technique (potentially harming his voice) but has adopted that sound as his own. I feel like no singer will be able to get near what he achieved in the 90’s especially with the first two oasis albums. Even now his solo record has got the next generation into Rock n Roll and Britpop. I also feel like his attitude off of the stage has made him largely respected, and somewhat hated by some, but that “i dont care” persona has won over the hearts of many as he isn’t afraid to say it as it is.

Reading festival 2017

Reading festival was great from a musical point of view as you got to see hundreds of acts over a space of four days. I learned a lot about the performance and different ways of involving the audience and making the whole set exciting. I also learned a lot about dynamics as sometimes artists and bands would have a break or go into a slower song or interlude so it has a much bigger impact when the more upbeat stuff comes back in. Circa Waves were really good at getting people to sing along especially in their last song “t-shirt weather” which is a typical summer banger. Kasabian were also great headliners because they added in some unexpected twists in their set such as interludes and even going into “around the world” by daft punk after their song “eezeh”. Watching Liam Gallagher taught me that sometimes it is all about the music especially as his act is very simple yet so effective. Other artists have to be energetic in order to make a performance exciting whereas Liam’s “rock ‘n’ roll” attitude seems to be enough to make everyone go absolutely mad. However, it shows that there is a lot of difference between artists as Muse mainly used lights and lasers the make their shows exciting. It all comes down to the artist and their image.

Liam Gallagher 2017

I watched him at the Brighton centre in December and people sang throughout the whole set. This is due to the catchy classic britpop style and also with a bit of help from his brother Noel for originally writing the majority of Oasis tunes we all listen to. He has a session band which is what I would like to have in the future. They were all well rehearsed and it was all based around Liam which is what I want to achieve in the future.

BBC Introducing

I have had one track played on BBC introducing called “one of a kind”. I spoke to Melita Dennett who is the head of BBC introducing in the South. She came to Northbrook for an industry talk and she talked about how to stand out. One thing she said is that you shouldn’t pretend to be from somewhere that people know as it won’t make you stand out. She said she has a different pile of songs that are labelled “Brighton” because she wants to get people from different towns instead of everyone being classed as “from Brighton’. Since then I started saying that I’m from East Preston instead of from Worthing. I also learnt that I need to make my tracks 3-4 minutes maximum as after that the listener will start to get bored.

sound engineers

I’ve been working with loads of sound engineers especially as I’m starting to produce my own music. I have had many technicians check my mixes such as Joe, Charlie, Julian, Alexis and others. I have learnt many recording techniques this year when it comes to mixing such as parallel compression, side chaining, and many other ways to make your vocals cut through the mix such as adding distortion or boosting the high frequencies. By producing my own music it allows me to take my time with recording process and get it right. One problem I have had though is over mixing which can happen especially when you’re mixing your own music. The way to get around this is to get different opinions on your mixes as its important to get fresh ears who haven’t heard the song before.

Labels/promotors

Due to being tied up with a lot of other commitments this year, including uni performances and other priorities, I have only just started to record and get music ready for release again. But after I have recorded and released material I would like to get involved with some local independent labels and promoters.

I am currently in the process of getting a load of material ready for release. I have a few songs written and a lot of ideas that are ready to be developed into songs. I have a plan for the rest of the year which involves a lot of music being released during the summertime. This is my plan for the rest of the year which is based on recording and releasing music.

May – Get “stay for the night” mastered. Start recording my Ep of four songs, “let me know your name”, “lost in paradise”, “wave after wave, “off by heart”.

June – Release “stay for the night” and keep working on my EP. During this time I will be promoting my latest release and building up hype for my EP release. I will also be looking for gigs and need to contact promoters and venue owners for gigs after the release of the EP.

July – I want to release my EP towards the end of the month and begin working on two songs which need to be upbeat for release in August.

August – I want to release two songs during this time period. One at the start and around the 15th. I also want to be gigging a lot and preparing some more mellow tracks for the winter season.

Long term plan

After I complete my degree I would ideally like to make it as an artist however, it is a very difficult thing to make a living out of so I’m going to have to do some guitar teaching on the side and maybe even some producing for other artist as i’m constantly improving my recording and mixing skills. In order to go into teaching I would have to come back to college to do my PGCE.

The main dream would be to make it as an artist and play in front of thousands of people which I think is possible as I believe my songs are very catchy and have a very distinct sound to them. In order to do this I have to release regular content and get help from promoters and independent labels until my fan base grows and I get more people streaming my songs and turning up to my gigs.

Your Grandson

This song is a very emotional song which was written as we found out my grandad had cancer and only had 3 months to live. The lyrics are very meaningful and describe all the times that we spent together when I was a kid. The song has a simple structure and only contains acoustic guitar, vocals and a shaker. The structure is intro, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, verse, chorus, outro. I released it on spotify without much promotion as it was never meant to be a career building song and more of a sentimental song for me and my family. Due to this it didn’t get as many views as future tracks currently sitting at around 800 streams. It was recorded at Northbrook and was mixed and mastered by a tech called Alexis.

Lyrics:

So caring, so sharing, theres no-one like you anymore, you’ve helped us, from day one, always been there for us all. And I just wanna thank you, for everything you’ve done. Because you have done just everything for me, your grandson. Since I was, a young boy, we have come so far. And I still, remember, pretend spaceships in the car. And I just wanna thank you, for everything you’ve done. Because you have done just everything for me, your grandson. And I hope that you realise, you filled our lives with fun. Because you helped all our family, especially my mum. I don’t think, that you understand, where we’d be without your helping hand. Old days go rolling by but were still in a spaceship in the sky. And I just wish we could fly away. And I hope, you can see, we all care for you. Because you love your whole family and we all love you too. And I just wanna thank you, for everything you’ve done. Because you have done just everything for me, your grandson. And I hope that you realise, you filled our lives with fun. And you have done just everything for me, your grandson.

One of a Kind

This song was written about my girlfriend and was made to be a catchy pop song. It consisted of vocals, acoustic guitar, a cajon and shakers. I recorded it in Northbrook with Alexis and my friend Will Moore came in to play the cajon and shaker. The songs structure is intro, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo, verse, outro. The first verse is just an acoustic guitar and vocals and the backing vocals and shaker comes in during the chorus. The verse after the solo brings it back down to just guitar and vocals. The vocals are more like a rap which adds something different to the song. During the outro there are choir backing vocals and the song ends quickly with a single lead vocal. I released this song in the summer and it has around 1300 streams on spotify. It also got played on BBC Sussex as BBC introducing’s track of the day last year. It’s my most successful song that I have released so far as it is quite catchy. I do however need to think more about promoting my music as this is an area that I need to improve on.

Lyrics:

When I saw you cry, well I couldn’t help myself I had to ask you why and you said, It’s all because of some guy, well, he don’t deserve you so come with me instead. And months down the line, and I never thought I’d feel this way the way you make me feel. Your’e one of a kind, and if I ever lost you, I wouldn’t know what to do, without you, I’m telling you that this is real, the way way I think, the way I feel wo-oah. And I don’t know why, but the first time I saw you I fell for those eyes and you know, that I cannot lie, when I first looked into them didn’t have to think twice and you know, deep in your mind, that you and I together only ever feels right because your, one of a kind, and If I ever lost you, I wouldn’t know what to do, without you, Im telling you that this is real, the way I think, the way I feel wo-oah, when you’re not home and I’m alone I don’t know what to say because no one else ever comes close to making me feel this way and theree is, something about you that sets you apart, and I’ve been looking for the one and know I’ve found you at last cos I know, that you-ooh emit beautiful rays of light and, you mo-ove in mysterious ways and I can’t, lose you or get you out of my mind, there’s only one thing you’ll find and thats. you’re one of a kind, so glad you’re mine, you’re one of a kind, so glad you’re mine, you’re one of a kind, so glad you’re mine, you’re one of a kind… You’re one of a kind.

Come on to Me

This is a song that I wrote towards the end of 2018. It starts with an acoustic guitar and vocals and then goes into a full band song half way through. I recorded the song in my bedroom and had it mixed and mastered by a tech called Alexis. I used a rode condensor microphone on my vocals and on my guitar cabinet. I released it on spotify and all other platforms and it currently has over 1000 streams. The structure of the song is verse, pre chorus, chorus, verse, pre chorus, chorus, solo outro. When the drums, bass and electric guitars come in it creates a sense of surprise as it is not really expected. I decided to use electric guitars unlike previously. The drums are sampled as I do not play drums myself. I decided to use a full band setup as my strengths are electric guitar playing and there is only a certain amount you can do with just an acoustic guitar and vocals. It is definitely something I am going to continue with in future songs.

Lyrics:

why can’t you see, or believe, how much that you mean to me, let me take, you home, with me, how can this be real, the way I feel, with you life is just a thrill, let me take you home, with me. now I’m falling free falling, its half three in the morning and you won’t, come on, to me. and I don’t know why, but I can’t sleep, without you, without you by my side, it just doesn’t feel right, as I look into the night, and stare until the morning, and I can’t sleep tonight, without you by my side. I know you’re afraid as we lay, beside each other every day, but you know, i’ll always care for you, and the days, where we’d play, on each others mind we feel the same but you know, I’ll always be there too. and I’m falling free falling its half three in the morning, and you won’t, come on, to me. and I don’t know why, but I can’t sleep, without you, without you by my side, it just doesn’t feel right, as I look into the night, and stare until the morning, and I can’t sleep tonight, without you by my side. why can’t you see, or believe, how much that you mean to me, but you won’t, come on, to me.

Stay for the Night

All of the above songs are currently available to stream on spotify:

This is the song that I am most excited for. It is a pop/rock song which is very upbeat and has a very catchy chorus. I wrote it after taking a break from writing for a little while. I used EZdrummer software to write the drums for the track. Using this software has made it so much easier to make great sounding drum tracks. I used a shure Sm57 to mic up the marshall half stack in my room and used a rode condesor microphone for recording my vocals. For bass guitar I just went straight into my interface and used a plugin which is a copy of the Sans amp. This is the first song that I mixed myself without paying an engineer to do it for me. Me and my friend Harry mixed this track and I have learnt a lot from it. I use Logic pro X to record my tracks and through recording this song I have learnt about many recording techniques such as parallell compression, side chaining, and a variety of others. I also learnt that by creating a separate lead vocal track and adding slight distortion you can make the lead vocal sound more gritty which is great for making them cut through the mix in a more upbeat rock song. I re recorded the vocals twice because I really want this song to be the best it can be. It is set to be released towards the end of June.

Lyrics:

and now I’m here again, not sure how I’ll ever fell, but I still go everyday, because I want you now, and I’m not lying, when I say I want you so, sick of relying, I’ll guess that ill never know, who to confide in, but I know you just want everything now. and a thousand miles away, what are you thinking I’m begging you to stay, today. cos I need you to come on in and turn off the lights , I can’t see why you only ever say that you might, you know me, I only ever say what is right, so don’t leave, and come on in and stay for the night. I saw you here today, still can’t believe its real, that you would come my way, and into my life somehow, and I’m not lying, when I say I want you now, sick of relying, I guess I’ll never know how, to confide in, but I know you just want everything now. and a thousand miles away, what are you thinking I’m begging you to stay, today. cos I need you to come on in and turn off the lights , I can’t see why you only ever say that you might, you know me, I only ever say what is right, so don’t leave, and come on in and stay for the night. and a thousand miles away, what are you thinking I’m begging you to stay, today. cos I need you to come on in and turn off the lights , I can’t see why you only ever say that you might, you know me, I only ever say what is right, so don’t leave, and come on in and stay for the night. cos I need you to come on in and turn off the lights , I can’t see why you only ever say that you might, you know m, I only ever say what is right, so don’t leave, and come on in and stay for the night.

Let me know your name

This is a song that was written around a year ago. It is currently in the process of being recorded and is the first song on my EP which is hopefully being released in July. It follows the same style as “stay for the night: as it is very much pop-rock. I mixed the two styles taking the catchy melodies and chorus from the pop genre and the heaviness of the guitars and the guitar solo’s from the rock genre. the structure is intro, verse, pre chorus, chorus, verse, pre chorus, chorus, bridge, slow chorus, build up, guitar solo, chorus, outro. It is very guitar driven song and currently the drums, bass and most of the rhythm guitars have been tracked. I did do an acoustic version in a live lounge I did at the start of the first term.

Lyrics:

and I’m feeling like I’m coming down, when you’re around, this I found recently. and you know two is good but three is a crowd, so come on, leave him and come with me. cos you’re more, than good enough for me, and I’m finding it hard, to breathe, recently. I came to you and asked your name, hoping that you would feel the same, and I don’t know, I don’t know now, just let me know your name. and I’m feeling like I’m coming up, you’re coming around and I’m never bound to give you up, and your voice is the most beautiful sound, that is around, you say my name and I’m proud too have your love. cos you’re more, than good enough for me, and I’m finding it hard, to breathe, recently. I came to you and asked your name, hoping that you would feel the same, and I don’t know, I don’t know now, just let me know your name, you are my fortune, are my fame, I see you driving me insane, I don’t know, I don’t know now, let me know your name. and when you’re not around I do anything to pass the time, cos I won’t stop oh no no, not until you’re mine, and all I’m hoping is that, part of you feels the same, but for now first things first just, let me know your name. and I came to you and asked your name, hoping that you would feel the same, I don’t know, I don’t know now. just let me know your name, you’re driving me insane, let me know your name. came to you and asked your name, hoping that you would feel the same, and I don’t know, I don’t know now, just let me know your name, you are my fortune, are my fame, I see you driving me insane, I don’t know, I don’t know now, let me know your name. let me know your name, let me know your name, oh no, oh no… let me know your name.

Lost in Paradise

This is probably my most indie song when it comes to guitar delay, reverbs and other effects. It is also my longest song due to long chorus’s and a long build up near the end of the song. It is set to be released as the second song on my EP. During the outro, everything fades out as the sound of waves on the beach come in. This then leads straight into “wave after wave” and the waves continue throughout the first verse and chorus of that song. “lost in paradise” is very inspired by bands like cassia who have a very distinct sound which almost sounds kind of Caribbean. I have recorded a version of it however I am not one hundred percent happy with it and am going to re record it very soon.

Lyrics:

and now I feel like I can fly, as I look down at the waves, it makes me feel alive, got not much else to say, from the minute I arrived, knew this would be where I ‘d spend my days, I cannot look away I’ve tried, because were lost in paradise. we can spend all our days around here, woah, listen to the sound of the waves and drown here, woah, don’t have to worry about whats real, you just have to close your eyes and feel, we can spend all our days around here woah. and the waves make you feel fine, they’re the prettiest you’ve ever saw, and the feelings all just right, as they wash up on the shore, as we lead into the night, you cannot leave cos you want more, you cannot look away you’ve tried, because were lost in paradise. we can spend all our days around here, woah, listen to the sound of the waves and drown here, woah, don’t have to worry about whats real, you just have to close your eyes and feel, we can spend all our days around here woah. were lost in paradise, were lost in paradise, were lost in paradise, were lost in paradise, were lost in paradise. we can spend all our days around here, woah, listen to the sound of the waves and drown here, woah, don’t have to worry about whats real, you just have to close your eyes and feel, we can spend all our days around here woah. we can spend all our days around here, woah, listen to the sound of the waves and drown here, woah, don’t have to worry about whats real, you just have to close your eyes and feel, we can spend all our days around here woah.

Wave after wave

This song was actually mostly written on the beach, which explains the title. It was originally played in my old band but as it is my song it will feature on my EP. It starts off with just an acoustic guitar and vocals. After the first chorus, the whole band comes in with a small guitar solo into the second verse. The structure is intro, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo, chorus, outro. It is my slowest song and is a very relaxed chill song that still managed to keep its guitar driven effect, however this time, its by adding reverbs and chorus effects instead of an overdriven tone. The ending has a slight raise of volume and a sudden end at the peak of the volume rise. I took this idea from the ending of the song “the riverboat song” by ocean colour scene.

Lyrics:

I want to go, out to sea, miles away, the oceans blue, is my relief, not to waste, the current rips me away, away from this place, away from this place, I want to disappear into, the deep blue waves. I watch them over and over, wave after wave, wave after wave, the deep blue sea grows bolder, wave after wave, wave after wave. some things you make the most of, but some you might say, you lead away, the tide is coming closer, you wash away, wash away, leave what you had behind you, this is no, normal day, the time has come to run now, run away, into the fray. I watch them over and over, wave after wave, wave after wave, the deep blue sea grows bolder, wave after wave, wave after wave. I watch them over and over, wave after wave, wave after wave, the deep blue sea grows bolder, wave after wave, wave after wave. wave after wave, after wave… ohh-ohh

Marlipins – 8th March 2019

I played at the marlipins pub on the 8th of march. This was a paid gig in shoreham in which I played a mixture of covers and originals. I took a couple of weeks preparing for this and the setlist was originally intended to look like this:

Lucky man – The Verve

Wonder – original

Waste of Time – original

She moves in her own way – The Kooks

Lost in Paradise – original

Whatever – Oasis

Come on to Me – original

Guitar solo

Beatles mashup – I Feel Fine, Hard days night, I am the walrus, Lucy in the sky with diamonds

Crazy little thing called love – Queen

Off by heart – original

Guitar solo interlude

Another brick in the wall – Pink Floyd

Naive eyes – original

Wave after wave – original

Live forever – Oasis

One of a kind – original

Mashup – it must be love – madness, Town called malice – the Jam, Lets dance – David Bowie, Tainted love – Soft cell

The place was quite small so setting up the PA was a bit of a challenge however we managed to move a few tables to make space. There was a member of the audience talking about how much he loved Queen so I decided to open with “crazy little thing called love” as I didn’t want him to leave early on. I also replaced “come on to me” with another original called “not today” as I thought it was too heavy. I also did not play “off by heart” as it was one of the weaker ones as it didn’t have a backing track. I also added in “since i’ve been loving you” by Led zeppelin as it was a chance to show off my guitar abilities. Overall the crowd reacted well especially to the mashup of songs that I did to end it as they were all well known songs.

The Waverley – 13th April 2019

I played at the Waverley in Bognor on the 13th of April Supporting a group called the Boy wonders. I got this gig as the lead singer of the band was my old primary school teacher. Unlike the gig before, my set was only 30 minutes at first, and then has to be cut down to 25 minutes as setting up the PA system took a lot longer than we expected.

This was the setlist including the song I cut out:

Lost in Paradise – Original

Come on to Me – Original

Waste of Time – Original

Wave after Wave – Original

Wonder – Original (cut due to lack of time)

One of a Kind – Original

Stay for the Night – Original

This gig allowed me to play all of my original stuff as everyone else was playing all originals. I used backing tracks for all of my songs except for “wave after wave” which is more of a slow acoustic song. I had more room this time so I was able to use my Marshall silver jubilee half stack which makes my guitar sound a lot better than the busking amp I was playing with at the Marlipins. There were a lot of people watching and my confidence between songs improved drastically from the last gig. I mentioned my songs on spotify and a few people said they had followed me on social media and on spotify after the gig.

Bar 42 – 18th April 2019

I played at bar 42 on the 18th April as the opening act for Pangalactic festival. unfortunately there were very few people there so it was more of a rehearsal than an actual gig. I used the same setlist as the week before and from this gig I learnt that I need to improve my advertising and get more people to come to my gigs. It did however give me a chance to run through my set in an actual venue which made it more realistic.

Preparation

I prepare for all my gigs in my own home as I am a solo artist. This does make it a lot easier and affordable as I have all the equipment I need in my own home. I have a behringer PA system which I use for backing tracks, vocals and acoustic guitar as well as a looper for some of songs during the set depending on the gig. I use a marshall silver jubilee half stack, a Gibson les Paul and my pedal board in order to achieve my electric guitar tone.Before I started as a solo artist I didn’t need to use backing tracks but now its the only way to get the sound of a full band without paying for session musicians. I create the backing tracks by muting the vocal and lead guitar parts on recorded songs and adding a click when necessary. Whilst preparing for the gig at the marlins I had to download backing tracks of covers as it was a paid pub gig and I wanted to get a good response from the crowd. This took a lot longer than my usual set preparation as I had to play for an hour and a half instead of half an hour.