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So it was a busy 1st day of the Taxi Road Rally and with little sleep from last nights socializing it was a struggle to pull ourselves out of bed. But we did and got ourselves downstairs for the days workshops. I had a one on one mentor meet with a girl from Black Toast Music. She had all good things to say about my tracks with only minor production issues that I sort of knew myself.
I had a track played in a listening panel for labels execs. One guy said he liked the Neil Young vibe but ‘where is the hook?’ That seemed to be the issue of the day. Not enough hooks and too many verses. The weird thing was they went straight on to talk about Kpop. Not really my sort of panel.
There were some great little workshops about songwriting and pitching for TV and film and there were plenty of interesting people to chat to. Quite a few musicians from Nashville who we will no doubt bump into next week.
Taco Bell for dinner and a few beers. Oh how I am ready for bed.
#bpmamerica

Writing this at 2am in the morning is not the most coherent time to write but it is the only time. We had another great day with a trip to Hollywood blvd to experience the last of scenic LA. From tomorrow we will be holed up inside the hotel for the taxi music fest. I enjoyed a little right side of the road driving whilst checking out the suburban California architecture and gardens. We got back to the hotel in time to register ourselves for the event and choose our industry mentors for tomorrow. Then it was time to relax and hang out as the the hotel bar buzzed with energy. Musos and industry folk drank, played tunes and mingled. We had an interesting chat with Garry about the various directions we are all taking with music and met a few people who we will see and work with in Nashville. Everyone is really open to share stories and experiences. I am totally psyched to get going tomorrow morning. If only I can get enough sleep.

It has been a great 1st day on our study immersion trip to the USA, although we are all running on lack of sleep. That will come soon. We took the chance to climatize by taking a drive to Santa Monica and Malibu. A truly stunning LA autumn day. Once we dumped our bags in our rooms we had a good chat about what we might expect from the Taxi Music Rally and the upcoming Nashville adventures. It is all starting to come together. I think it is time to get my guitar out of its case and introduce it to America. Stay tuned.

A couple of weeks ago I recorded a bunch of tracks to be used in the promotion of a new novel and fan fiction site called The Ark.

Here is the promo video, filmed at the book’s launch.

I recorded my Greco electric guitar through a space echo effects pedal and ran it through a Leslie speaker. The idea was to capture an ambient, subterranean soundscape that would brood and create a post apocalyptic mood.

The book is great. The story involves a community of people who volunteer to work in a seed bank in the heart of Mt Kosciuszko, only to be time locked inside, losing contact with the outside world.

Being a fan of the post apocalyptic genre, I loved working on this project.

Check it out

The Ark Book

Little Green Cars’ 2013 album ‘Absolute Zero’ quickly became a favorite in my household earlier this year. My two young kids loved their single ‘Harper Lee’, especially my boy who sang over and over ‘there’s a gun in the attic, let me go grab it…’

The fact we played it over and over, in the car and at home did not bother me at all. I quickly fell for the harmonies, lyrics and slightly unusual arrangements. They have a quality that is hard to pin down. It just is.

But I must say I have fallen for Faye O’Rourke’s voice. She has a powerful, hard edge in her delivery. It is sweet and sad at the same time. And it is a delight to listen to the boys in the band harmonize around her.

This is a particularly great song

oh the many places you can be on the web….