Westend Shows And Their Musicians

Back in the day (i.e. before I was around) Westend show work was seen often seen as being bellow the higher class of players, coming second to session work and other London gigs. These days however the Westend sees some of the finest musicians around sitting in their …

Abu Dhabi Diary, Part 3

Preparing for the Gig

I last left you with the band working hard sunning by the pool in a 5 star hotel and I'd promised a few snaps of the outside of the Palace. So here's a picture of me in front of the palace and Mark in the fountains. Keep in mind that this is only …

Down and Dirty With The Shades

It's been a few days since my last post and quite a lot has happened. The most annoying being the snow that's brought the UK to a stand still and essentially closed London's borders. Not the greatest situation when I'm on the other side of the country and want to get …

My Promotional Material

I've finally got all the big pieces of my promotional package finished. It feels like it's taken a long time to get to this point largely due to my procrastinating last year. In reality though, it's all been done within a month so it's not bad at all.

I put this post …

Charlie Brooker - Genius!

Over the weekend I took myself 200 miles away from the capital to visit Manchester. It was fellow Eurobusker; Chris Lydon's birthday and we all turned up at Chris's flat at lunchtime which left us with the dilemma of what to do for the day???

The answer? Spend it …

When Music Catches Your Ear

I think that you would agree that music can be an amazing thing. It can make you feel certain emotions or make you recall memories and when you're a musician yourself it can create even more for you.

I listen to an eclectic mix of music and am very guilty of listening …

Abu Dhabi Diary, Part 2

After arriving in Abu Dhabi we met the " It Girls". A 13-piece dance troop who had flown out with us, but until we got there a lot of us didn't realize this. All blonde, all attractive and all of them were very aware of it.

It transpired that the girls weren't overly …

Trumpet Microphones

Since I've been doing more and more stage work which requires a microphone I've been thinking about investing in a decent wireless trumpet microphone. However this brings up a whole load of other questions; what type of mic should I be looking at? Is it worth the price …

A Long Weekend

I finally got back into london at nine o'clock this morning and I was so exhausted I slept straight through till four. I don't feel a whole lot better for it.

I had a few gigs combined with a few hundred miles of driving and capped off by my regular Monday teaching. …

Abu Dhabi Diary, Part 1

This is the first of a series of posts that I'll be writing about my time playing the new year in at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi. I'll be writing each installment as and when I get the chance to present them nicely but first off I thought I'd mention how I started …

My New Business Card

It's a shame that it's taken the number 9 being added to the end of my calender to kick me into some proactive action with regards to self promotion. After a busy year in 2008 I think I started to let things slide. However No. 1 on my new years goal list is to get my …

Printers Printers Everywhere...

... so why do they seem so lame.

The fact that most printers want to charge me to make sure that the cards aren't going to contain graphic errors and that they print out alright is a little frustrating. If I manage to find a decent printers that charge a reasonable …

Trumpet Psycho

I feel I've entered a whole new world this week.

Who would have thought that fonts would say so much about a person? That I'd discover the subtle art and impact of leading and kerning. The way in which a single pixel in font sizing can throw off the entire balance of …

Teaching Returns For 2009

Whilst I get to set my trumpet kids on the track to ultimate trumpet technique I'm afraid my post today has had to take a back seat. It's always hard to get back into the swing of the 250 mile round trip and 19 hour day from my bedroom and back but Red Bulls are the …

The Big Guns

I'm sorry it's not a more interesting week on playing news but this all goes towards it.

Creating high quality promotional material is a must for any serious freelance musician. You can't be in more than one place at once but you business cards and website can …

Designs On Expanding My Work

This week is being dedicated to giving myself the best start for the new year. It's easy to let things like CV's and promo designs slide and it's a little crazy that it takes only a single number to be added onto the year to give you the feeling of a fresh start but …

Hitting Your Limit

There's a good reason why the human body likes a little sleep everyday and not the occasional massive slice of sleep.

Between new years eve and the 2nd of January I only managed to clock up 6 hours of sleep. But after banging out a good 16 hours of snore time on the 3rd …

A Brand New Year and Loads of Great Posts to Come

I got back from Abu Dhabi yesterday and after sleeping for 13 hours I feel a lot better.

The gig at the Palace was amazing and the venue incredible. When I've had chance to swap photos with the rest of the Shades I'll be posting all about it. It's hard to believe that …

Matt Is Currently Away From His Blog Right Now...

... but if you'd like to leave a message I'll get back to you when I return to the UK.

Here I go. Off to Abu Dhabi for my New Years Eve gig at The Emirates Palace Hotel.

I'm finally packed, I've dug out the hard-case for my Callichio and I've removed anything that can …

Have a Merry Christmas And A Great New Year

I'm going to be taking a little break from posting due to the hectic nature of christmas time and because I'm still recovering from 12 days of busking around Europe and the Capital City. I've got lots of stories to tell and pictures to post and they will all be up in …