Fare thee well, for now!

Marc.

So I’m staying in a hotel in Liskeard tonight and the owners have a gorgeous cat named Tigger. He obviously loves the attention he gets from guests! He’s just chilling in our room right now, sleeping on my sisters lap

Tomorrow I’m headed back to Nottingham to play at the Guitar Bar, supporting Greg Holden & Katie Costello. The gig starts at 7:30pm and entry is £7 on the door, but I can put you on the £6 guest list if you email me or leave a message on the Facebook event wall (which you can find through my fan page or website.)

So i’m off to Huddersfield tomorrow to play at Little Buddha Bar as part of Oxjam Huddersfield - I’ll be on at around 8pm but there will be some great bands and artists playing from around 4pm at lots of different venues so make sure you check them out

Oh yes and as the post title says – I got an email through today saying my place at Glastonbudget 2012 is confirmed, which is great news I’ll let you know ASAP what day I’m playing and stage times etc so you can get tickets if you’re thinking of coming along!

I keep mentioning it but it’s because it’s not one to miss – I’m supporting Greg Holden & Katie Costello at the Guitar Bar in Nottingham on Tuesday 18th Oct – it starts at 7pm and you can get tickets HERE

Also check out my youtube channel for some new covers – there are some up now and there will be more to come in the next few weeks

I’m now pleased to announce I’ve entered the world of smartphones (albeit later than most!)

Right now I’m posting this from the WordPress Android app that I’ve just installed!

What does this mean, you ask? Well now I can blog on the go, which will be great when I’m on tour etc., so hopefully I should be blogging more regularly from now on!

Hope you’re all having a good week! Don’t forget I’m playing at the Little Buddha Bar for Oxjam Huddersfield on Sat 15th, & I’m supporting Greg Holden & Katie Costello at the Guitar Bar in Nottingham on Tues 18th – hope to see you there

Marc.

The idea was fun, brought creatively minded people together and also helped to create press/social media buzz about Nottingham (yet some people still weren’t pleased – more on that later!) So there I was, stood in the Black Cherry Lounge with a group number, waiting for it to be called so I could take my place within the photoshoot going on in the main stage area of Rock City. I swear everywhere I looked all evening there were familiar faces.  Gerry Trimble, Long Dead Signal, Gallery 47, Delta Sun, The Golden Troubadours/Oldboy, the Nusic team, Nina Smith, Motormouf, Royal Gala members, Breadchasers, Baby Godzilla, Poddingham Paul, Liam Bailey, Mr Roo Inns, Roger, Bainy & Andy from Notts live – yeah, I could be here all night – you get the picture!

Once the photoshoot kicked off we all stood there for half an hour or so whilst everybody tried to organise themselves amongst the chaos. There were so many people there it was hard to get everyone in the picture, so ‘take a step back’ got called out a fair bit! There were some issues with taller people blocking others, but seeing as the photo was taken from above at an angle I think it should turn out OK.

Whilst this was going off there were two hipster/indie kid types behind me, presumably from some band too awesome for a mere mortal such as myself to have heard of. I wish I knew who these guys were so I could name & shame them (although I’m too nice to do that anyway) as these guys were some of the BIGGEST PRICKS I have ever come across in my life. They spent the entire shoot whining about ‘how shit‘ it was, saying over and over ‘this is a TERRIBLE idea’ etc in mocking, whiny voices. I was so tempted to say to them ‘well if it’s so shit, why the fuck are you here??‘ Granted, the organisation of the whole event wasn’t perfect – but why would it be? They should appreciate that lots of people had worked fucking hard, in their SPARE TIME to make it happen. I’d like to see them do better anyway – although considering at one point they said ‘we’re the only ones here who are going to make it anyway‘ (yes, they really did say that) they probably thought they were masters of the fucking universe or something.

Anyway, despite that dampener on the evening there was only one other disappointment for me. After the shoot there was an after party in the Black Cherry Lounge – only about 50 odd people stuck around for it, out of 400 odd people. Way to miss an excellent networking opportunity, Nottingham! Seriously, this is one thing that disappoints me about the Notts music scene – you get an amazing opportunity like that, and people don’t make the most of it. Still, those of us that stuck around had a laugh and a banter and all was good. Motormouf and an eclectic array of other musicians all entertained us with a freestyle jam on the mini stage there too, which was cool.

So yeah, all in all a fantastic evening, only marred slightly by some people’s attitudes. I would like to say a HUUUUUUGE thanks to LeftLion (and Nusic too, and Parisa from Basement Forte) for organizing the whole thing – I am very grateful for such an awesome opportunity. I await the December magazine in anticipation!

1) Sleep well, maintain a balanced, healthy diet – seems pretty obvious, right? You would think so, but it’s amazing how many of us don’t get enough sleep, or neglect our diet. I’m not the best at keeping on top of either – but it’s amazing how much better I feel when I am well slept and eating decent meals!

2) Drink LOTS of water – again, pretty obvious. But again many people don’t drink enough water – especially singers. You should be drinking more than 8 glasses a day. I find it’s helpful to keep a big bottle of water by my side, especially on the day of a show- that way I can stay constantly hydrated. This is probably the easiest step of them all, and yet the one that has the biggest difference!

3) Lemon & Ginger – both are great for a rough throat of for fighting a cold. Try ginger and lemon fruit teas – or squeeze some fresh lemon and mix it with boiled water, honey, and a bit of ginger. It tastes great and really helps soothe your throat and clear out your airways.

4) Vocalzone tablets – these things are great! They’re essentially a mixture of menthol, myrrh tincture (I think?) and other good stuff. Tom Jones and other famous singers use these. Simply take one about 10 minutes before you go on stage. They are very soothing and help you to relax when you sing. You can get them from most pharmacists and health food stores, as well as music shops. In the UK they’re about £3.50 for a pack of 24 tablets, so they’re not bad value.

5) Vocal warm ups. Just as an athlete needs to warm up their bodies before an event, so they don’t strain themselves, a singer should warm up their vocal chords. If you can, before practicing or playing a show, you should do warm ups for 10-15 minutes. I usually last 5 or 10 before I get bored! (haha)

Some simple excercises are A) humming. Start with the note you can hum with the smallest amount of effort. Keep humming that note for a few minutes. Once your voice starts to relax, starting moving up the scale. Don’t push your voice, do it gradually, and don’t force yourself out of your range. B) vocal trills or rolls. I’m not going to try to explain this – here’s a video instead as it’ll be easier for you to grasp:

Just doing these simple excercises can go a long way in making your singing life much easier. It doesn’t stop there though and there a lot more excercises and vocal techniques you can learn – which is why may professional singers opt for singing lessons.

6) Quit smoking, quit drinking – although both are considered to be equally bad for the voice, most people don’t drink alcohol constantly throughout the day, whereas many smokers smoke throughout. I used to smoke and quitting was the best thing I did. I found it surprisingly easy to quit, but it may be worth you seeking help from your GP if you’re struggling.
As for alcohol – I still drink socially every now and then, but I refrain from drinking at shows until after I’ve performed. All I’d say on this one is be sensible – your wallet will thank you for it anyway!

7) Vitamin supplements – they will help strengthen your immune system, and Vitamin C can help prevent colds. Right now I’m taking Vitamin C and Vitamin B tablets. The Vitamin C tablets are chewable and taste yummy.

Obviously this is all suggestions based on personal experience, and if you are having ongoing vocal problems it is best to go see a doctor or ENT specialist and try to get to the root cause. I am certainly no expert and not qualified to give proper advice. These tips are generally aimed at people who have the odd off day, rather than someone with ongoing issues.

Hope someone finds this helpful, just thought I’d share some thoughts with you

All the best,

Marc.

However, it will still be available to buy digitally online via marcreeves.co.uk, Amazon & iTunesfor as long as the internet continues to exist – so if you’re enjoying the tunes then help support me in my music making quest by picking up a copy! You can do so knowing that you’ll be helping me fund potentially getting another run of CD’s done, and also in funding the new album and other future music. Basically, by buying my music you are enabling me to make more, so if you like my music then it’s a win – win situation for both you and me

All the best,

Marc.

There were many more, but I’ve spent enough time hyperlinking already All in all it was a great day – my only disappointments being the poor sound for acoustic acts on the outside stage (quiet acoustic music + open space where sound disperses easily + smallish PA + people talking lots does not a good combination make!) as well as the slightly scaled down nature compared to last year (last year it was across two adjacent venues with 5 stages, this year it was just the one venue with three stages, which while still great was a little underwhelming comparatively.) Nevertheless much fun was had, lots of money for charity was raised, and ridiculously yummy Cake Pops were consumed, so a HUGE pat on the back is in order for the organizers, I’m Not From London & Audacious Face.

This weekend just gone I hopped on a train (and also a coach) to Green Peaks Eco Festival 2011. I’d been booked to play the acoustic tent at 3pm on Saturday, but the shuttle bus to and from the festival was only going back on Sunday, so I brought along a tent and sleeping bag with me so I could camp there. Upon arrival I fought with my tent for an hour or so until it was up (teaches me to buy the cheapest tent I could find), checked out The Amber Herd’s set and then made my way down to the acoustic tent. It was a bit difficult playing there because the tent was so close to the main stage, so the noise from there kept drowning out the PA.  Nevertheless I had a good gig, not an amazing one, but it was fun

However it was after that I made my way down to the creative intentions tent/cafe where they were holding an open mic that things really kicked off for me. Seeing there was an open mic, and seeing that it was starting off a bit slowly, I thought ‘what the heck’ and asked to play some songs. I’m not usually one for open mics but in the festival atmosphere it seemed to work a lot better. In the end I was there all evening playing songs in between whoever else was performing, and even had people using my guitar to play which was cool. There was some fantastic talent getting up and performing that evening and it meant that I got to play to a great audience as the tent was packed by the end of the evening. I even sold two CD’s through playing (unusual for me for an open mic) and got free coffee from the people running the cafe

That night I had a pretty rough sleep as my tent was small and uncomfortable, as was my sleeping bag. I had no pillow either as I could only carry so many bags with me (that’s where driving becomes a major plus) so I had made one out of my guitar case (it’s padded leather) and my jacket. It didn’t work very well! Still, the next day, whilst watching the first band on the main stage one of the festival organisers approached me and asked me if I wanted to play on the main stage. I of course said yes and ended up headlining that day, which was an amazing end to the festival. I got to play on a massive stage with great sound for an hour plus long set, to a lovely crowd who all sat and watched and listened attentively. I had loads of lovely comments afterward and met some great people, so what I initially thought would just be a nice day playing in an acoustic tent, turned out to be an amazing weekend, so I can’t thank the festival organisers and the guys at the Creative Intentions tent enough! All I can say is I can’t wait to play another festival now!

Aside from all that, in between the madness and traveling about (I forgot to mention I’ve been to York, Market Warsop and lots of other places lately, and Leeds, Manchester and Hertfordshire are on the horizon too) I’ve been working on the new album as and when I can. At the moment I’m working on a track called Foundations, which I’m writing a string arrangement for….which I really should get on with!

So with that said I bid you farewell for now, congratulations if you made it this far, your prize is to come see me play at The Greyhound tomorrow in Beeston if you’re around (it’s free entry and stuff.)

Catch you later,

Marc.

I’ll be working with different directors for each video so it should be pretty fun! For this video I worked with Fabrizio Federico of Ants Productions. The idea behind the video was that I was far away from home and missing a loved one, and so the video clips of me are meant to be like a video message I have sent to them. I hope you like it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_g675xfvyts

So here it is, my live session for Dean Jackson’s ‘The Beat’ show on BBC Radio Nottingham. I’ve received an overwhelming response so far, with over 2300 views in just over 3 days (UPDATE: the video now has over ten thousand views! )

You can also listen to the radio broadcast on iPlayer if you missed it (it features an extended version of the interview) :
http://www.bbc.co.uk/leicester/programmes/schedules/2011/08/13

It’s also worth checking out the first part of the show here – there’s some great coverage of Summer Sundae festival, with a surprise performance from the amazing Martha Bean