No Frills

Don’t you think that a wee bit rude?

Probably. Answer anyway.

With a music industry single handedly removed of its soul by Simon Cowell and being not as photogenic as Ed Sheeran, it can be quite difficult to get signed by one of the big labels. Even if you do get signed, you still need to put in the hard work, but then, the labels take a massive cut of your income. That, and this acoustic album has been made for a specific purpose.

Which is….

This is also a fundraiser as I’m going to the Edinburgh and Brighton Fringe festivals with my second show ‘Age of the Geek.’

And let me guess. It’s a one man show, written and performed by you. I bet there’s even a light-sabre in it.

Well yes there is. I couldn’t resist.

Bet you couldn’t. What else happens in it?

Well it’s a mixture of spoken word, music and comedy all about how I’m proud to be a geek. There’s a poem about Facebook which isn’t about Facebook for legal reasons and a song about not liking Star Trek.

Right…..back to the album launch. Do you bare your soul?

Kind of. The songs are definitely about my own personal experiences. I try to make them as accessible as possible from Fibbers about how everyone lies to how Hollywood has Ruined Romance. The song Nature has been described by fringeguru.com as ‘if you’d played me a cover and told me it was by Dylan I’d have taken you at your word.’

As in Bob Dylan?

The very same.

Some accolade. Do you deserve it?

Probably not.

At least we agree on something. How much does this work of art cost?

The physical CD will be £5. I wanted to make it affordable for people so No Frills is designed to be as reasonable as possible. It will also be released on iTunes and the Amazon MP3 store on the 19th March for an as yet, unconfirmed amount but as close to £5 as possible.

All very noble. To finish, how would you like to convince the readers of Culture Vultures that they should come to your album launch?

Apart from the fact that readers of Culture Vultures are incredibly attractive, smart, funny and cultured?

Stop shmoozing and get on with it.

No Frills is a pure music experience of lyrical pop folk. Gone are the high production values and fifty piece orchestras. Instead it’s just me and my guitar sharing my experiences. Seeing me perform live is especially fun as I really like to engage the audience and create something quite different to atmosphere of the album. Also, you’ll know that you’re supporting a local Leeds performer to achieve his dream of performing around the UK and then the world.

Thank you for your lofty promo. The No Frills Acoustic Album Launch will be at Seven Arts, Chapel Allerton, This Wednesday (14th March) starting at 8PM Prompt. Tickets are £6 available in advance from the venue or on the door.