…And what a summer it’s been! Hello and welcome to the monthly blog from London-based singer / songwriter Ben Hemming. To be honest I’ve been fighting off a serious case of post-holiday blues since coming back from my tour of the U.S. But there’s no better way to beat it than to keep busy and I’ve been doing just That!
LONDON TOUR DATES ANNOUNCED
Yes that’s right I have finally pulled my finger out and got around to getting couple of London dates booked for the last couple of months of the year. On the 25th of November I will be playing at The Roadtrip & Workshop on Old Street in Hoxton. This is a great little basement venue I played a few years back, should be a rockin’ night!
Then on the 16th of December I will be making my way to the wonderfully retro The Lucky Pig a prohibition themed cocktail bar situated right in the heart of Fitzrovia. A great warm up to the Christmas festivities!
More information on these dates is available on my website: jackbukowski.co.uk
NEW E.P. ‘CIGARETTE BLUES’ OUT NOW
Since getting back I finished work on what I started, a new E.P.! It’s a bit of a return of form for me and a move back to a more acoustic vibe that reflects more of my live performance. I am quite proud of the fact that I played all the instruments as well as percussion, recorded and produced the album all from the depths of my home-made studio, hidden away in my Camden flat. But when it came to the release a few issues came to mind. Free download or paid download? I release my music myself, bypassing the record company, on iTunes, Spotify and Bandcamp, but I was a bit stumped when deciding to give it away for free or not.
I’ve played many gigs around London and I’ve seen some amazing performers while I was waiting to go on stage. But they always seemed to end there set by telling the audience they have an album for sale and people should come and buy a copy from them after the show. And I always used to watch to see if anyone did, and I have to say that generally people don’t. This is in no way a reflection of the artist, it’s just people won’t pay for music anymore, sad but true. In fact Apple recently released an update to allow their users to remove the new U2 album from the iTunes software in which it was preloaded for FREE, so in some cases you can’t even give it away! That having being say people still buy music, but only from bands that they now, i.e. played on the radio or advertised on the side of a bus / building.
Anyway in the end I decided not to give it away for free, or sell it for a price, instead people can download my music without payment only if they provide an email address. This is a great way for me to stay connected with my fans and more importantly, let them know about any upcoming gigs I have, were the real musics at.
THE CAMDEN PROJECT
And last but in no way least I have been taking part in a weekly project called ‘The Camden Project’ in which a live performance of one of my songs is filmed in the intimate setting of my Camden flat and then edited and uploaded to my YouTube channel. Check it out below.
So Long