Simon Fairbairn – Aural Antidotes for a Prescribed Life

So I had my first busking experience this week.

I had already figured on trying out St Ann’s Square. This seemed like a good idea as I made my way down there as Market Street was already teeming with shoppers.  It was scarily busy, in fact (this was my first time, after all).

Not to mention that there were a bunch of other street entertainers already out and doing their standing-very-still-with-painted-white-face thing.  St Ann’s Square, in contrast, was leafy and empty and peaceful and quiet.

Turns out peaceful and quiet is no good for busking.

After spending about half an hour getting dirty looks from shopkeepers, some friendly hellos from the odd young mother and looks of indifference from the mass of pigeons, it was time to suck it up and go where the real buskers go.

On my way out I spoke with three rugged-looking but friendly chaps, Special Brew in hand (I like Orange Juice in the mornings myself, but each to their own), who were very kind and offered me some advice on the better spots.  I took said advice and moved to Marks and Spencers at the bottom of Market Street.

Well bless their little beer-stained socks – they were bang on.  No other buskers and there were at least three times as many people ignoring me as had ignored me before.

As I played through my songs, it dawned on me that perhaps this was my own fault.  I hadn’t properly considered my audience when choosing material, and now I was singing about a power abusing priest, a man dying a slow death by monotonous lifestyle, a relationship falling apart and a desperate plea to a love rival.

Did people really want to hear this stuff at 11am on a Tuesday morning? I’d imagine that the last thing that you’d want to hear while trying to buy a new pair of trousers was a sad story about a drunken gambler.

So I tried to think of some happy, upbeat songs that I could play.  I got nothing.  Turns out that all of the songs that I play are about some depressing subject or another.  Not so good.

I continued regardless if for no other reason than I at least needed to make enough for the train fare home.  Turns out that not everybody was horrified by sadness/listened to anything that I played.  Some nice people did hang out and listen and/or give me money.

Interestingly enough, there was no correlation that I could see between the two.  Some swift walkers had their money ready to go and were tossing it in to my guitar case with nary a glance, let alone a break in their stride.  Others would hang out, listen for a while, smile and wave and then move on. I didn’t care – the listeners were good for my ego and the rapid-money-throwers were good for my wallet.

When I finally decided that it wasn’t happening, I collected my earnings and found that I had made £3.65 in about an hour and a half.  I was pretty pleased with myself, I have to say.  It was enough for my train fare AND a Coke for the journey home, and all from playing some songs.  Finally, I was living the dream.

I’m also not the only one to not earn that much from this gig.

I actually really enjoyed it.  I saw it as an opportunity to get paid to basically practice my guitar playing and singing.  I even started to write some new songs, making up random stories about the people walking by.  I think the next time I do it, I’ll start a bit later – maybe around lunchtime – and I’ll add a few upbeat numbers.  Here are the songs I’m learning at the moment:

• Hound Dog by Elvis
• Ain’t No Sunshine by Bill Withers (OK, not strictly upbeat, but it’s a great song and people love it)
• Sweet Home Alabama by Lynryd Skynrd
• Stuck in the Middle by Stealer’s Wheel
• Yellow by Coldplay
• Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Deep Blue Something

If you have any suggestions for other songs that you’d imagine would be good for shoppers out in Manchester, post a comment and let me know.

My first EP, This Life, is done. It features three upbeat songs about such joyous and uplifting subjects as slow death by monotonous lifestyle and power abusing priests. It also features my man Dunstan Blay, from New Sheffield Sound pioneers Gretanova, on two of the tracks.  This thing is worth hearing for his guitar-based goodness alone.

The EP is available for download for free right here. If you have listened to it already, you have my gratitude. If you would like to make me eternally grateful, you could post a comment or hit the forums and let me know what you thought.

So what now?

What, three new tracks and cool cover art isn’t enough?

Okie doke.  Beginning in May, I’ll be posting a new demo for your enjoyment at least once a month.

Then, starting in June, I’ll be releasing a fortnightly podcast showcasing new, independent music in the Manchester area.  More details in the coming weeks.

And of course this autumn will see the release of my first full-length album.  You’ll be able to follow along with its progress through the magic of blogging – I will be updating this thing every Monday and Thursday with news and insights and eye candy and general goodness.

Obviously, these are all things that you need to know about and, luckily for you, there are many ways to remain informed:

• If you like to stay ahead of the curve, and your telepathy powers are on the fritz, subscribe to my RSS feed to know important things before anyone else.
• If you’re a little more laid back or you don’t like this RSS doohicky, then my email mailing list is for you.
• If you would like to know these things as they happen, but in 140 characters or less, follow me on Twitter.

You can choose one, two or you can go nuts and have all three of these options.  I recommend all three.  That’s Power User territory right there.

Things move on.  Not as quickly as I’d like – it seems I just can’t get a handle on exactly how much can be done in one 24 hour period – but things are moving on, so it’s all good.

Site update

If you have a browse around the site you’ll notice that I’ve updated most of the pages.  A lot of new content has been added and some annoying visual bugs have been fixed.  I’m still on a big bug hunt, though, so if you do see something that isn’t working how you think it should, please let me know.

One of the most exciting updates has been the forums, which are now OPEN!  Hurrah!  Come on in, sign up and say hey.  I’ll be around every day to answer questions or to just chill out and talk about nothing.

EP

As for my EP, I am now looking at early next week for the big unveil but I’m not committing to that date. I’ve made that mistake before.

I can’t tell you how much work it is to get something like this into a finished product.  Fun?  Yes.  Rewarding?  Definitely.  Hard work?  Oh boy…

What about you?  Have you ever underestimated how much work was involved in a project? Leave a comment and tell me about it so that I know I’m not the only one.

So I had my first ever gig as a singer songwriter last night.  Went pretty well as in I didn’t seriously mess up any of my songs, but feel I may have come across as a bit abrupt and rude when talking in between tunes.  I have a new found respect for people who are able to talk to an audience and not sound like a dick.

Anyway, Thanks to everyone at Fuel last night for being so supportive and welcoming of the new guy.  I had a great time, met some really ace folks and saw some sterling acts. Open mic nights FTW.

Luke Slater, who runs the open mic night, has set up a Facebook group.  Check it out.  He’s also starting The Corner Sessions at The Corner in Fallowfield, South Manchester.  First one is on Monday from 8pm.  I’ll be there – come say hi.

Only a few more days until the launch of my first EP (if only I could stop getting distracted).

As you can see, the site has received a bit of an update.  I received some great advice on improving the look and feel of the site and I have dutifully implemented said advice.  Things are still being tweaked – I need to add some content, for a start – but I’m getting there.