Christmas is a time for giving and a huge thank you to everyone who gave their time and money to support my first gig for many years. Together we raised £210 for the Salvation Army, all donated to support their compassionate social work within the community. The gig was a big success given that it was a cold and wet night. And whatever the weather on Christmas day, many Salvation Army centres will be opening their doors. £112 for instance could provide Christmas dinner and friendship for 50 lonely older people. Puts it all into perspective doesn't it?
So back to the gig, hot tea and coffee warmed up the audience who settled down to stories from my hometown of Eston, North Yorkshire and what inspires me to write songs. My wife Frankie hosted the Q & A session. The audience were eager to know about my life as a singer songwriter. I explained my thought processes within my song writing, and how my emotions can trigger a title or a verse.
We touched on my musical influences and favourite songwriters, including Sting who I mentioned in a
previous blog. I respect iconic singer songwriters like Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Tom Petty and Bob Dylan. My love for Tamla Motown and Stax Records gave us brilliant writers like Holland, Dozier and Holland back in the 60's. Fantastic songs from an amazing time, a great musical heritage.
Feedback from the charity gig was so encouraging. It's a long time since I was on stage on my own, and my neck injury meant I couldn't strum even a few guitar chords. A friend said I was brave to perform without a band, with just a backing track of my own recordings. For me, it's a pleasure to sing and see people enjoying my songs. It's given me the confidence to do some open mic gigs locally and then further afield.
I have been checking out some music pub venues and it's great talking to other musicians and singers. There is a whole community of us out there! I want to tell you about our local talent and hopefully future collaborations with other artists in future blogs.
Come back again to my blogs, website and social media. It's been a big learning curve for Frankie and me this year and another big thank you to all our lovely friends and everyone supporting us along the way. Here's to an exciting journey in 2020, to music and song writing success with lots of fun along the way!
From Frankie and me, have a brilliant Christmas and new year!
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