What's Going On? "Bassicly" Speaking Summer Update 2017

It's been a quiet Summer so far, but nonetheless Autummn has plenty to be getting on with!

It's been quiet on the gig side & teaching wise too due to the summer holidays, although it has been a welcome break.

So heres a mix of things I've done and will do very shortly. It's gonna be a hectic end of the year.

Band Work

The Special Brew

The 2-Tone Tribute Tour will be returning in September with the always amazing Special Kinda Maddness! Firstly stopping off at G Live in Guilford on 30/09/17

We will be travelling all over the. UK for the remainder of. the year with some local shows closer to home around Christmas. Stay tuned for some new Bad Manners tracks and a great energised set as always!

Dead Method

We have our new single coming out this Sunday 27/08/17 on Gutterbreed Records! It's a cracker of a tune and hopefully will give us a push to strive and achieve more at this volatile time in the music industry! We will be performing (headlining) at the Gutterbreed Records collective show this September in The Moon - Cardiff 14/09/17

We have been working hard on our debut EP and that will be released shortly in due time!

Tupelo Highway

We have been refining our set and working hard. We have a few shows coming up this autumn & will be bringing the best of Soul, Blues, Jazz & more to a venue near you very soon.

The Experiment

We have been refining our very extensive set of a mixture of Jazz, Funk, Hiphop, Grime & more. It's an eclectic mix but, God it works so well! We will be performing at the Gutterbreed Records showcase this September (as mentioned above)

Sankara

So I've left Sankara on good terms. I wish them all the best and hopefully will get to see them perform soon! Good luck guys, it's been an honour to play with you.

Glen's Blues

I've been rehearsing with Glen, The old singer of Red Bug. We are working on putting together a nice little trio covering lots of great bluesy influenced tracks and artists. The set is coming together wonderfully. Sort of early Cream stuff & some nice 60's bluesy pop stuff so far.

Dep & Session Work

I've got some dep work coming up with Dictaphone Devil this Autummn. I've played with them before & studied music education with the drummer Greg. I look forward to playing with them again shortly in Newport.

I'll be recording some bass parts for both Dead Method & The Experiment for the upcoming releases soon. I'm also recording double & electric bass for Minas, Razkid & more on Gutterbreed Records.

Record Label

So after a few management changes etc, we are getting well underway over at Gutterbreed Records. With our first release by Minas, followed by Dead Method this Sunday & Razkid shortly after.

We have lots to do & not a lot of time to do it. We have our official release & launch party! It's gonna be a great night comprising of performances by all of our artists covering many varied musical styles!

Some artists will also be performing at this weekends Hub Festival, Including Razkid & Minas. Good luck to those & have fun! Both amazing artists in their own right.

Society by Minas is out now & you can find it here

Composing/Solo Album

I've had a lot of time this Summer to work on this solo album of mine & I'm trying to put as much time into it as possible! It's an eclectic mix of genres but spanning out of the one bass. It's tough but I'm very proud of it so far. Hopefully it'll be out at the end of the year (fingers crossed)

Private Tuition

I've been busy coaching all my students for the upcoming exams. Before the summer all of them passed with flying colours! My GCSE, As & A-Level students have all passed this summer,

A very proud moment. I have a few spaces left for tuition this September for Bass, Guitar, Vocals, GCSE, As & A-Level Music either in person or via Skype.

I am also saddened to hear that one of my original students Rv. David King is terminally ill. My thoughts go out to him & his family at this hard time.

I had to fire numerous students this summer due to non practice & scheduling conflicts. This is always a hard thing to do, but it had to be done.

Other Bits & Bobs

I've purchased a new bass! A 1974 Fender Jazz Bass, previously owned by Dave of Chas & Dave.

I've been working through all of my musical equipment & finally sorting through whatI do, or do not need! So I may sell off things I'm not using.

Unfortunately the studio redesign has been postponed for another year. Although it looks fine the way it is, I felt that it needed some sprucing up.

I'm also continuously re developing my bass playing & musical skills using various books & educational resources. Currently I'm working through Phill Mann's chord concept series & sorting out my sight-reading using the CLTP Bass Manual & Real Book.

The title picture was kindly drawn by very talented artist Charlie Forrest for my birthday, so a huge thanks to her!

I've been reworking a track by Lana Del Ray, which can be found in parts on my Twitter. It's an astounding track & I have enjoyed expanding and improvising over it.

Upcoming Shows

Saturday 2nd September - Tupelo Highway - Porthcawl (Private Show)

Thursday 14th September - The Experiment - Gutterbreed Launch Party, The Moon, Cardiff

Thursday 14th September - Dead Method - Gutterbreed Launch Party, The Moon, Cardiff

Saturday 23rd September - Dictaphone Devil - Jimmy's Bar, Newport

Saturday 30th September - The Special Brew - G Live, Guilford (2-Tone Tribute Tour)

I hope you have enjoyed this update & thanks for reading!

Please like, share & comment!

Please feel free to contact me regarding booking my services etc.

Phill.

Links

Facebook - facebook.com/phillcourtmusic