Hello and welcome to the newsletter of London based singer / songwriter Ben Hemming. So far I gotta say 2015 has been pretty damn special, I tried and failed to quit the sauce and go dry for January, but I’m sure my bodies thanking me at least for the little time I was alcohol free. But to be totally honest there’s nothing more boring (and less rock and roll) than sipping on a earl grey while you wait to go stage. And come a few weeks before the end of the month I cracked and various shenanigans, and some great gigs, insured.
My gig at The Lucky pig was not one of my dry nights and ended up as a total blast and my photographer mate Rodrigo Machado took some stunning images that really captured the night. A big thank you to all who made it down and to my Cajon player Gultekin Irengun who smashed out some great rhythms to accompany my tunes.
I also somehow managed to blag a great booking from The Inspiral Lounge in Camden. A fantastic venue who really care about the music they put on, and the food that the place serves is pretty special too. I’m lucky to be sharing the stage with another great singer songwriter Freddy Cass, so keep a space in your diary free for that one on the 19th March.
As part of my bumbling life as a musician I also like to partake in regular open mic nights, their a good way to network, socialise, and make the odd fan or two. And through this I found out about the competition ‘Be Somebody’ run by ‘The Indie Label‘. It’s a little bit exciting as the first prize is a record contract! Anyway with the help of my Cajon player I aced the first audition and made it through to the next round out of a room full of other hopefuls. Rest assured I will keep you posted on what happens next.
Finally apart from giving my liver a rest my time on the wagon did mean I got my focus back and have finally started work on a 12 track album with a working title of ‘Broken Man’. This is due out at the end of March, all going well, and you can have a sneaky preview of the first four tracks by checking out my website.
Enjoy,
Ben.