Piewatch - Hey Paul! Looks like a lot has changed since you were our Christmas Artist of The month! What have you been up to?

Hello there! Quite a lot has happened since we talked last, I’ve got a quite a few gigs coming up in May/June time…which is always good, I’ve recorded a new single which has got a bit of airplay and I have a few exciting projects on the horizon. Things are on the up!

Piewatch - Congratulations on making the showcase! Looks like NI has a rapidly growing talent pool, who are your favourite bands from in and around the area?

Thanks, hurray! Yeah I’m nearly getting to the stage where I’m just listening to NI bands/artists. It’s a pretty long list but the highlights for me are Foy Vance, Sixstarhotel, Duke Special, Captain Cameron, More Than Conquerors, Panama Kings, Clown Parlour…

Piewatch - New single “Goodmorning” we love it! Tell us more about it, where was it recorded and what is the song about?

Well it’s called “Goodmorning”, glad to see it’s popular. Editor – Whoops! This is reference to me calling it Goodbye in the interview *slaps wrist*

It was recorded in Einstein Studios in Antrim. It’s basically about me having an awful night but then having a few hours the next morning, due to tiredness, where I forget about it and just get on with things. I hope someone can relate to that because reading it, it sounds weird…

Piewatch - We hear you have been guest-ing for the 1930s, is there going to be a fourth member (another front man…)?

Well I just help the lads out live the odd time. Its good fun playing with them, great, catchy wee tunes!

Piewatch - What do you have coming up?

Well if you’re in the Belfast area I’ll be supporting “I Am Not Lefthanded” on the 2nd of June in Laverys and headlining a gig in the Pavilion on the 23rd of June. And if you’re in or near Glasgow I’ll be playing at Solas Festival on the 25th of June and playing in the Kog on the 22nd of May. Come along!

Piewatch – Any last comments, plugs, or shout out’s to the fans?

Oh yeah, you can download the new single “Goodmorning” here: www.nichart.com you’ll find it under downloads! Or…if you want to give me some money buy it off iTunes. I know…I’m sending mixed messages.

Piewatch – Thanks for taking the time out to talk to us again Paul, everyone else go get that single!

Piewatch - Hi David, thanks for talking to us again!

DCD – No problem! (Raffity ghost-writes the answers anyway).

Piewatch - You were recently over in America for SXSW, how did it go? Any new strategic partnerships formed? How were Scars on 45? And most importantly…how did you get the horse over there…? (Cowboy video embedded)

DCD - SXSW was amazing! I had a great time, saw tons of brilliant live music (including Scars on 45, twice) and yes, sealed a number of major partnerships that we’re really excited about. Currently we’re doing some dev work to the site to enable full integration and we’ll give you more details as we roll these out.   Scars on 45 were brilliant, there was a real buzz about them at SXSW and it was a proud moment standing there knowing that they’d been discovered on Slicethepie, also had quite a few beers with the band, who were inevitably over the moon and blown away by SXSW too. If you ever get the chance to go to SXSW, strongly advise you grab the opportunity with both hands!  Re the horse (Olly), he went in hand luggage.

Piewatch – Slicethepie have recently started a blog. How did this come about and what kind of reads can we expect in the future.

DCD – We do a lot of thinking, talking, meeting and interacting with all sorts of music industry people all over the world. We realised that we have a pretty unique perspective, immersed in unsigned bands and music fans but also working with major labels, publishers, radio, managers and most of the other major digital music businesses out there; we have some opinions about where things are going. So, we thought rather than just talk to each other that we’d start a blog.

Going forward, you can expect to get a better understanding of who we are and where Slicethepie and SoundOut sit in the broader picture, our thoughts on the Music Industry as well as features from different team members.

Even though we’re just a bunch of ordinary music lovers a few of the team are actually quite bright too, so expect more thoughts and ramblings to come.  (Blog 3 is due any day now but I need to find the time to write it )

Editor: Because of the delay at our end, blog three is now ready to read here

Piewatch - In a recent post on the new Slicethepie blog, you commented ‘Fan financing has a great future and a critical role to play in the new music ecosystem, but it’s going to need to scale to be profitable’. Is it safe to say that investor driven fanfunding is still to come into fruition, currently propped up by Soundout and awaiting that missing ‘something’ to make it a viable standalone concept?

DCD – We learnt pretty early on that Fan-Financing alone was not sustainable. As I wrote, as a standalone concept, it is not a viable business. SoundOut, now over a year old, is powered by Slicethepie, so by no means will it be going anywhere, rest assured we’re putting additional resources into Slicethepie so it can evolve further through 2010. This in tandem with a further SoundOut product for publishers makes our business model dynamic and exciting; one which I hope will be servicing more and more independent artists, labels, publishers and sync agents.

Piewatch - In a welcome development, Slicethepie recently published Tunecore sales figures for the released Slicethepie financed albums. Will this be a regular 3 monthly update and what are your thoughts to the initial set of figures?

DCD – Yes, sales figures will be released every 3 months, the next ones are due in June (for sales up to March).

I think the sales are disappointing but reflect that unsigned artists cannot compete against huge label budgets for marketing resources. The web has opened up opportunities for artists, but without insight and analytics, it’s even more difficult to find and target their audiences than ever before.

Piewatch - Do the sales figures point to a problem with piracy, STP music quality, promotional budgets or digital downloads in general? Something else?

DCD – No I don’t think that the figures point to a problem with piracy or quality, but point to the inexorable trend that music has a diminishing perceived value to consumers. Historically too much ‘value’ was put on the Vinyl/CD as a physical product, rather than the ‘artistic’ and creative side of it. The internet and file sharing has inevitably enabled file sharing/piracy too. I don’t see it as a problem, just a shift in the music industry, and a challenge to us, to remain current and look at new ways of operating. We’ll be announcing developments on that side of things this summer.

Piewatch - Why did it take 2 years after the first released album to publish the quarterly sales figures?

DCD – We were waiting for sales along with activity and volumes on the exchange to build and create a more liquid market where the regular release of sales figures would create excitement and volume.  However, the proportion of people investing in artists that take up their contracts was (and remains) very low. Considering these factors it’s becoming apparent that the level of sales may not adequately support trading in its current form and we are actively considering a number of alternative options to address this.

Piewatch – Is it possible that some artists may have sold more physical albums than digital and does STP have these figures to hand?

DCD – Slicethepie have not collected any royalties for physical albums to date and therefore don’t have these numbers to hand. Without controlling the distribution for physical albums we don’t have a thorough way to audit artists for physical sales, which we don’t intend to do. We know that money made from selling physical albums at gigs has enabled artists to tour and put further money in to marketing, so, on balance we’re happy to let the artists continue to benefit from these sales .

Piewatch - Slicethepie currently promotes itself via word of mouth. How else can members help to promote the site, and are there any plans which might see Slicethepie promote it’s brand in a more directed way?

DCD – Yes, we hope to use tools like the discovery player more and you can expect to see our Social Networks refreshed soon. We’ve always said that we’re not a social network and that still holds strong (ask Bebo how tough that is) but we are a community, we’ll soon be introducing features to integrate more closely with other sites, this will no doubt become a more direct way to promote Slicethepie.  In addition, some of the new partnerships will give Slicethepie prominent exposure on other major sites that will drive traffic and investment – more on this in the Summer…

Piewatch – Slicethepie have recently taken on new staff members – Do they bring with them a wealth of new experience and do they have STP ‘names’ and important job titles?

DCD – Piewatch, you do your research well! (So much so that this interview feels a bit big brother) Anyway, yes the team has grown to reflect some key changes in the business, you’ll see a press release soon about our new Directors…

Piewatch – There is a lot of concern regarding the wellbeing of communications legend ‘STP Chris’. Can we enquire as to whether STP Chris is being provided with enough sustenance, and whether there are any plans to move him out of his 3×3 foot ‘communications’ cupboard?  Who chooses how long Chris gets to run around the paddock? Is it directly linked to the amount of emails he answers?

DCD – Who’s STP Chris? Oh the cupboard guy with the perm? Apparently he’s very well (although I’ve never met him), he enjoys running around the paddock naked in the moonlight looking for emails and swatting scouts. No plans to move him at the moment but we may introduce a daily 5 min comfort break at some point.

Piewatch – And finally, Piewatch is nearing its 1st anniversary (22nd April). We were thinking of gate crashing STP HQ for a BBQ and sleepover….How do you think our 1st year has gone and what present(s) can we expect on arrival?

DCD – Wow congratulations on your 1st birthday, and a genuine and heartfelt thank you for all you have done to support, publicise and challenge us.  It must feel momentous to have got this far without actually visiting STP HQ. But we’ll set the dogs on you if you roll up uninvited. You would not want to mess with them.

See:

(Raffity, Bee & Hattie)

Piewatch – Thanks for answering DCD, next stop is AOTM! ( Can you handle this many acronyms? )

At Piewatch, we love coming across quality independent artists and music, hidden gems and breaking talent.  So when we discovered Aimee Terrin floating around the Slicethepie scout room, we knew we had discovered someone very special.  With massive commercial appeal, an array of independent chart topping hits, and a proven crossover appeal, Aimee Terrin is the real deal!  Scratch a little deeper and it’s easy to see why Piewatch were extremely excited to have the opportunity to interview Aimee.  So, with great pleasure, it is our privilege to introduce Aimee Terrin, our Artist of the Month for March.  Sit back, click the player and read on to discover a truly remarkable independent artist.

Piewatch – Hi Aimee, Thank you for chatting to us! So talk us through how you first got into music?

Aimee Terrin – I don’t think I first got into music, I think music first got into me…[laughing to myself]  My father, actually was one of those parents that recorded everything that his sons and daughters were involved with – literally – including recording my own birth at Day 1.  You see, I have audio of me being born and apparently as I came out of my mothers womb, I wasn’t really crying as most babies do… My Uncle Levon, in his heavy Armenian accent, can be heard in the delivery room (which makes me think – who knows why he was in there, now that I think about it) saying “She’s singing, she’s singing – she’s going to be a singer” — Ironic perhaps, but nonetheless I’ve never put much thought into what the Cosmos might have had in store for me — I just do my thing.

I guess from there, I learned early that when the cameras where rolling, it was my time…so as most performing arts kids probably do, I traumatized my family at an early age to the “Annie” phase of my singing metamorphosis, by performing at the dinner table…in fact, I clearly remember my Grandfather appreciating my ‘talent’ so much on one particular evening, that he ‘advised’ me to go outside where the “acoustics were more suitable”…in other words, “Not at the dinner table kid”…[laughing to myself]

Piewatch – How would you describe the music you make?

Aimee Terrin - If you were to combine my influences that are all essential to my musical evolution, my style could be interpreted as (if I may be allowed to quote my favorite Jeopardy! category) – a ‘Potpourri’ – of Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn, Carmen McCray, Nancy Wilson, Mel Torme, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Massive Attack, Sade, Earth Wind and Fire, Sly Stone, Donnie Hathaway, Bill Withers, Rakim, EPMD, Mobb Deep, RUN-DMC and Beastie Boys.

In other words, music is a journey and not a destination and thus everything from that church choir you were traumatized to in your teenage years each and every every Sunday, to that Broadway Musical you couldn’t stop singing, to the first time you heard hip-hop…it’s just that journey that no one but yourself is truly aware of that is no more responsible for your stylistic evolution than the perceived destination that brings you before a crowd to which you are performing, that describes the type of music you make.

Which also reminds me, did I mention Journey as part of my influences…[laughing to myself]…geez I hate when bands break up…

Piewatch – How did you come across Slicethepie, and what do you think to the concept of fan funding?

Aimee Terrin – You know artists, myself included, have one fatal flaw that is crucial to sustaining an existence in this fine world – ‘We would perform for free, just to hear applause’.

Now with that said, if this was our hobby – instead of being our occupation which provides the means of affording those luxuries known as food and rent to us artists, applause would be great at the end of a performance…[laughing]   Music is funny to me and albeit a CD or a Hard Drive is a tangible object of perceived monetary value, music itself – and by that I mean the sound waves – are not tangible…strange concept when you get down to the meat and bones of it…sound waves are able to illicit a chemical response within a living (or who knows, perhaps non living too) being.

SliceThePie to me was a very interesting concept that had crossed my mind in the past and was intrigued to see a community of artists and non-artists alike supporting each other.  To me STP was the a group of ‘insiders’ who understand exactly how difficult it is to quantify sound waves into dollars…so I guess what I’m saying is “If it makes dollars, it makes sense”.

Piewatch – You’ve had dealings with some pretty big names during your musical journey.  Tell us a little about your collaborative works and how they came about.

Aimee Terrin – How many kilobytes does this hard drive hold?  [laughing]  This is a loaded question with stories within chapters within volumes.  I signed my first agreement with Jazzy Jeff in Philly through Touch of Jazz, his production company.  From there, Dr. Dre heard some heat and I flew back out to my native Los Angeles.  I remember playing keys and performing Nothin’ Feels Right in the foyer of his house on a $100,000 Bosendorfer Grand Piano…I think William Hung could have sounded great with those acoustics in that foyer, but whew what a privilege to play on a Bosendorfer…damn right Nothin Feels Right with regards playing keys since then.

From there I was asked to perform and produce with a laundry list of individuals from various musical genres over the years including collaborations with artists such as Rakim, P.O.D., and Floetry to name a few and also producers such as Massive Attack, Dr. Dre, Andy Johns, Glen Ballard and George Clinton.  Most of the material that was produced from these sessions is still yet to be released to the public and will be available on my debut project.

Some of these records can be found on the Indie charts at Independent Artists Company where I currently have 4 #1 Records in 4 different genres, including the #1 and #2 positions in their ALL GENRES charts, which is analogous to Billboard Hot A/C.

Piewatch – You were recently the winner of AKON’s HITLAB 2009 Showcase! How did it feel to win and perform live for Akon?  

Aimee Terrin – This is actually quite an interesting topic of my current events in the last few months so I’m glad you asked.  I actually joined Akon’s HITLAB as sort of a novelty, so allow me to elaborate.  HITLAB and it’s competitors HitSongScience and uPlaya are Artificial Intelligence (AI) programs that utilize Dynamic Hit Scoring (DHS).  This technology is supposedly able to predict if your song has the potential to be a hit.  DHS breaks down your song into variables such as pitch, tempo, etc. and compares the structure of your music to the top 100 billboard charts of the past six years.  The more your patterns resemble the ones of hits, the higher you score.

Okay, so imagine the audacity of a program to think it can pick a hit song?  Come on…so I ran my records through Akon’s HITLAB and low and behold I was ranked 55 out of 23,000 artists, which I found to be intriguing at best.  Well a few months later, I received an email from HITLAB asking me to perform for Akon in Toronto at the 2009 HITLAB Showcase.  Now the reason why these Artificial Intelligence (AI) programs now have my undivided attention is exactly this…I was not the top scoring artist – in fact I was #55…but what is intriguing is that I was the 2009 HITLAB Showcase “Judges Choice”, which means a computer did not pick me as a hitmaker.  The Artificial Intelligence (AI) showed that I had hit song potential that when combined with my package, which includes my recording history, my collaborations, my Indie charting success at IACmusic and other variables – “I looked perfect on paper” – which allowed me to be chosen as an artist with Predicted Success in the mainstream music industry.

Piewatch – What is your greatest achievement to date?

Aimee Terrin – To be honest with you, my greatest achievement to date is that I am still even involved with the record business by recording, producing and constantly evolving in an industry that appears to be moving faster than the artists that it relies upon.   By this I mean, I originally believed that the “record business and technology had outgrown Aimee Terrin” and didn‘t really need artists like myself anymore, but I have found exactly the opposite to be true…much like a prisoner doesn’t escape from prison on the first day of incarceration but after 8 years they devise a plan of action, so too have I…

After being ‘held captive’ the last few years by the confusion that the record business exerts upon new artists, I have come to realize that the roadblock that existed for me all along was that “Aimee Terrin had outgrown the record business and technology“ long ago and now that AI technology is available to the masses, it can be combined with my Indie chart success to formulate a business plan.  Perhaps these indicators of predicted success will also prove successful with respect to artist financing and bring SliceThePie mainstream.

To make a long story short, I’m now the poster child for the next generation of artist development and predicted success utilizing an artist’s existing contributing indicators, which will now also include Artificial Intelligence (AI)…so with that said, I guess you can now refer to me as AImee Terrin [laughing to myself].

Piewatch – Have you ever had any comical or embarrassing moments whilst performing?

Aimee Terrin – Thankfully nothing in the universe like Lady Gaga’s “equipment” malfunction at one of her last concerts, but one does come to mind.  I was over at my friend’s studio having a few drinks and one of my all time favorite artists, Raphael Saadiq happens to arrive with one of my producer friends.  Come on this is frickin’ Tony Tone Toni you are in the presence of and he askes me to sing for him…on any given day, this is a dream come true, but did you hear the part that I was mentioned I was a bit tipsy? [Laughing]   Now, I’m always on my game and professional when I know I need to be, but I was sucker punched by his request.  I’ll make this story short and let’s just say, luckily I had the opportunity of singing for him again a few days later and in better condition, which he reminded me was “much different than my last performance for him and more on the lines of what he had expected to hear from Aimee Terrin“. [Laughing]

Piewatch – What are you currently working on at the moment?  Are there any exciting developments on the horizon?

Aimee Terrin – As I mentioned before, I’m now the poster child for the next generation of artist development and predicted success that could translate into a Showcase Opportunity at SliceThePie.  Investors might understand my current factors of predicted success and how they could be strong indicators for financial reward of an investment including:

1)  Former Record Deals w/ Dr. Dre and Jazzy Jeff

2)  Prior artist and producer collaborations as mentioned in this interview

3)  Artificial Intelligence Scores @ HITLAB

4)  Independent Charting Success @ IACmusic w/ 4 #1 Records in 4 Different Genres

5)  Top Attorney Representation w/ Barry Reiss

6)  Artist Appeal by being HitLab’s “Judges Choice”

Currently, I am developing a website with IACmusic founder Dave Walton that focuses on monetizing artists assets by utilizing predictors such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), independent charts and their existing catalogs.  The platform will expand upon IACmusic’s current social networking model and will serve to define Web 3.0 through the introduction of the next phase of the logical evolution of social networking, open source and distribution modalities as we bring current underground artificial intelligence technologies to the forefront of the net …perhaps all buzzwords for the moment, but will soon become as commonplace as blog and LMFAO in the upcoming months.

Piewatch – Finally, would you like to say anything to your fans?

Aimee Terrin – Thank you for taking a minute to get to know me, AImee Terrin.  In my opinion, without my music, none of this article even would matter, so check it out for yourself…xoxo A.T.

Piewatch - Love Aimee Terrin as much as we do? Be sure to check her out on;

Aimee Terrin Links:

Aimee Terrin  ranked #70 (at time of publishing) by HITLAB

(Why – 92%) (Work It Out – 92%) (Just Wanna Get To Know Ya feat. George Clinton – 91%)

(Anytime You Want – 89%) (Perfect Imperrfection – 89%) (Handle Your Business – 88%)

‘Handle Your Business’ (currently charting for 38 weeks @ #1)

#1 ALL GENRES INDIE CHART @ iacmusic

#1 R&B/SOUL INDIE CHART @ iacmusic

‘Fly’ (currently charting for 15 weeks @ #1)

#1 ALTERNATIVE POP ROCK INDIE CHART @ iacmusic

#4 ALL GENRES INDIE CHART @ iacmusic

‘Blue Skies’ (currently charting for 22 weeks w/ debut @ #1)

#2 JAZZ INDIE CHART @ iacmusic

ALL GENRES INDIE CHART @ iacmusic

(#1 ‘Handle Your Business’) (#2 ‘In Another Lifetime’) (#4 ‘Fly’) (#8 ‘Stop’) (#14 ‘Anytime You Want’)

R&B/SOUL INDIE CHART @ iacmusic

(#1 ‘Handle Your Business’) (#2 ‘In Another Lifetime’) (#3 ‘Stop’) (#4 ‘Anytime You Want’) (#5 ‘Why’)

JAZZ INDIE CHART @ iacmusic

(#2 ‘Blue Skies’) (#9 ‘Do You Remember My Name’)

Aimee Terrin @ Akon’s HITLAB 2009 Showcase in Toronto

After spotting I Am Not Lefthanded in the showcase we have been steadily warming to their music. The Piewatch Team agree that in many ways they sound like Scars On 45 and that excites us, a lot! Read on for info on the band, why Kathryn doesnt want a super power and the answer to that questions burning in all of your minds… “daddy or chips?”

Piewatch - Hi I Am Not Lefthanded, thanks for talking to us! First things first, who’s who and who plays what?

Kathryn: Hello Piewatch, well thanks for having us!

There are three of us: myself (guitar, piano, vocals), Daniel (bass, viola, vocals) and Benji (drums). We tend to sort most things out between us, but in general I write the lyrics, while Daniel keeps an eye on the production. Benji’s a free agent, he tends to let us know when something we’ve worked out is good, and when it needs more work.

Piewatch – Strange name, what’s its origin?

Kathryn: I actually used to be lefthanded, when I first started school.  My over enthusiastic teacher decided it would be better for me to learn to write with my right hand, which I still do. Who knows, maybe I could have turned out a very different person!

Piewatch - When, where and how did you meet?

Daniel: Kathryn and I met in Dublin, several years back.  We were playing in a few different bands, together and separately, but nothing really clicked. After Kathryn left for California, I moved to London, where I started working in the Camden Barfly – that’s where I met Benji.  We worked 13-hour shifts every Friday night for about two years.  Every up and coming UK band came through the Barfly then – we spent a lot of time talking about who was great, and who was way over-hyped!  When Kathryn ended up in London, we started playing together again and Benji just fit.  Being a three-piece made us all work a lot harder than we had before there’s no room for lazy playing with such sparse arrangements!

Piewatch – Where do you get your inspiration from in order to write your own material?

Kathryn: I think we get melodic ideas from a lot of different places – some are mine, some are Daniel’s.  They tend to shift about when we play them to each other.  In terms of lyrics, I write a lot of them as I work through things in my head.  Although there’s usually about a six-month delay between something making me care enough to write about it, and the actual finished song appearing in public. It’s led to some confusion from people close to me, when they think I’m writing about something they’ve just done.

Piewatch - Who are your musical influences? Any unexpected ones?

Daniel: I think we’ve all got some different influences, which makes for interesting discussions sometimes.  Benji definitely comes from more of a hard rock background, which really helps give us an edge when we bring the songs to him.  We honestly really love hearing him drum, although sometimes if he comes to practice having just listened to Tool on his iPod, he can be quite tough to keep up with!

Kathryn: I grew up with a lot of music in my house – mostly country, like Johnny Cash, thanks dad – so I think some of that’s stuck in my subconscious, but I really grew up finding different inspirations in songs rather than musicians. I listen to everything from We Are Scientists to Dan le Sac to Clutch to Weezer really easily. A good song is a good song!

Piewatch - How would you describe your music if you only had three terms?

Daniel: Soulful, uplifting, honest. At least, I think that’s what we’re putting in, so I hope that’s what people get out of it!

Piewatch - What would you say are your biggest achievements musically?

Kathryn: I think it’s all about connecting with people.  It’s easy enough to write pop that doesn’t offend anyone, but we want to write songs that resonate , that really makes us feel like we’re doing something worthwhile.  My favourite connection, was when I got an email from a 15 year old kid.  He and his girlfriend’s favourite song was ‘Long Goodbyes’, the opening track off our first EP.  But her family were moving to America and they were going to have to break up.  So he asked me for the tab, so he could learn the song to play it for her before she left. Love is so important at that age (before you get cynical and jaded in your twenties!), that just got me right in my chest. That’s something worth doing all this for.

Piewatch - What would you say are your most investor friendly qualities?

Daniel: We’ve been at this a while, we’ve seen other bands we know succeed or fail based on the work they put in – some of them on major labels just got lazy the minute they got signed and let it all slip away.  We’re 100% dedicated to this, we released our first EP with an indie label, but we didn’t like the way they did it, so we’re working on our own because that’s the way we want to be.  We’re touring as much as we can, which will only increase when we’ve an album to promote.  We’re doing a national tour of Ireland in May, then spending the summer in Northern Europe as much as we can, and then heading to the U.S. for an acoustic tour in September.  We’re going for this full-throttle and we’re determined to work as hard as we can for it.

Piewatch – Thing-a-Week, great idea! Care to give us a run down of what to expect?

Kathryn: The idea behind Thing-a-Week is to keep us working hard, showcase what we can do and spread the songs as far as we can.  We take great pride in making our own videos and artwork along with the music, and it’s to challenge us to keep coming up with something fresh every week.  If we can do that with no money, imagine what we could do with the £15,000!

Daniel: I think as well, that the internet has become so important in music discovery, and content is by far the best advertising.  If we’re putting something up every week, that’s one more thing for people to share with their friends, plus if you like a live or acoustic version of a song a lot, there’s your incentive to invest in us so we can create a proper studio version.

Piewatch – Any surprises, mishaps or comical moments when gigging?

Kathryn: We tend to survive alright on stage, touring on the other hand can be a different matter.  There was one afternoon that Benji and I landed in Belfast International airport for a gig that night, and Daniel was meant to pick us up.  We spent about 20 minutes on the phone arguing, and we couldn’t work out how we just couldn’t spot each other before it dawned on me that he’d gone to Belfast City airport, and was in fact an hour away across the city!  We made the gig by the skin of our teeth, though Daniel didn’t hear the end of it for quite a while…

Piewatch - Who do you like in the charts at the moment?

Daniel: The UK charts don’t really have a lot that inspires us at the moment, hopefully something we can work on changing!  It is great to see so many strong female singers coming through though – Florence and the Machine, La Roux and more.  Plus I have a soft spot for that Owl City song, but only because it reminds me of The Postal Service!

Piewatch – Any artists you really like on Slicethepie at the moment?

Kathryn: There’s so many people in the showcase at the moment, I haven’t even had time to give them all a decent listen.  I like Ryan Inglis’ songs, he seems to have great support behind him too, which is great.

Daniel: I really like Paul Shevlin, there’s some really interesting talent coming out of Northern Ireland at the moment, everyone should go invest in him right now!  And Derek Daisey’s songs keep getting stuck in my head these days…

Piewatch – Which of your own tracks is currently your favourite and why?

Kathryn: I think Boats has been our favourite song to play for quite some time, it’s one of those songs that just came together so easily, almost out of the air.  It just makes us smile.

Piewatch - Where can we see you play next?

Daniel: We’re playing a show in the Windmill in Brixton, on Good Friday – 2nd of April.  It’s their first barbeque of the year with 5 bands, we’re on somewhere in the middle, it should be a great show, there’s always a really nice vibe down at the Windmill.

Piewatch – What is coming up next for I Am Not Lefthanded?

Kathryn: As well as keeping ourselves busy with our Thing-a-Week, we’ve started a national radio campaign in Ireland with our latest EP, Time To Leave.  We just had our first play on BBC Radio Ulster on Monday, here’s hoping there are many more of them.

Piewatch - If you could have any superpower what would it be?

Kathryn: I wouldn’t want a superpower, I’d just want to have amazing technical ability (and unlimited resources) so I could invent a lot of awesome gadgets, like Tony Stark or Bruce Wayne. Then I could take over the world!

Piewatch - And because no interview is complete without a total WTF question… Daddy or Chips?

Kathryn: Tough call, but I think I’d have to go for Daddy.

Piewatch - Any last comments, plugs, or shout out’s to the fans?

Daniel: Not one, draw your own conclusions. Thanks so much for having us!

Want to know more about I Am Not Lefthanded?

Piewatch – You’ve fired out of the showcase at some pace and are now sitting over £3000, how does the meteoric rise in investment feel?

Thanks Steve, it’s great to be in the showcase. I’m thrilled that STP investors have been so supportive of my music. It’s only been a month since I’ve been in the showcase so to get that investment and interest for my new album is brilliant news. I’m so excited about making another album and have been getting lots of material ready so I hope I go on to make the £15K! A big thank you to all who have been so generous and supportive already!

Piewatch - How have you motivated your fan base to invest so far?

I have a mailing list that fans can join at my website www.joywalshe.com to keep up to date with news and releases so I’m sending out an email to these fans with news about the potential to invest in my new album via STP.

I have detailed the STP news on my website, and myspace page (www.myspace.com/joywalshe) and I’m going to get some banners for my websites done too. If anyone has any fresh motivation ideas do feel free to let me know. Just email me at contact@joywalshe.com. Feedback from fans would be great!

Piewatch - If you received the £15,000 tomorrow what would be the first thing you spent it on?

Champagne!? haha! Joking. Well if I was lucky enough to get to the £15K target, I’m sure STP would guide me through the process and I’d really be grateful for their insight. I would probably be itching to get into the studio and start recording. I find the studio truly addictive; I just love the whole creative process of bringing an idea to life, so that would be the first expense.

Piewatch - How did your musical journey begin?

Like most musicians, there was always music from Kate Bush to Abba playing in the house when I was young. My Dad is musical with his Irish roots so he always encouraged me. I’ve been playing the piano since I was five and play by ear, so writing was the next step. My first composition was a carol so when the school choir chose to perform it that was a great feeling so it went from there really! I didn’t experience the studio process until studying in Strasbourg where I got to be a vocalist for a French dance label. I co-wrote a couple of tracks with one of the label producers and I got hooked on the studio experience of returning in the evening with a song as it was so much fun. Spending the day in the studio is still one of my absolute favourite things!

Piewatch - “Smoke” is our favourite out of your tracks currently on Slicethepie, what’s the story behind it?

I wrote “Smoke” literally the day after the relationship with my ‘first love’ ended. It was very raw. I used the image of a flame being blown out in one moment as the metaphor for the relationship ending so suddenly. I thought the image of the flame conveyed both the power and vulnerability of love, while the smoke that lingers is the metaphor for all you are left with. It struck me at the time how instantaneously your life can forever change by the power of a few words from someone you love and it can just be an ordinary day…

Piewatch – Do you have material planned/ready for the next album? How do you feel it will differ to “Saint for a Sinner”?

I have so much material that I’ve written that is ready to record so it’s really exciting. I’ve had a lot of valuable life experiences since the time I recorded “Saint for a Sinner”. I lived abroad in the South Pacific last year for a start.

Writing songs for me is like keeping a diary of my own life experiences and day-to-day observations so the songs will still tend to be semi-autobiographical. I think the new album will differ slightly in production style to reflect the current trends but I haven’t decided on which direction yet. My voice has developed too so it will be interesting!

Piewatch – Who are your biggest musical influences and why? Any unexpected ones?

Kate Bush – she still exerts such an influence in today’s market. Tori Amos for her poetry and raw talent as a pianist. Damien Rice’s honesty in his songwriting craft. Coldplay for their energy, melodies and radio appeal. Sarah McLachlan, for her soaring, ethereal vocals. Joni Mitchell for inspiring a generation of songwriters. Keane for their gorgeous chord progressions and passion. Feist for her beautiful songs and voice. Regina Spektor for her originality and Corinne Bailey-Rae for intelligent radio friendly songs. Unexpected? Perhaps Abba for their command of the perfect melody!

Piewatch – If you could work with any producer/artist in the world who would it be?

Frank Sinatra would have been incredible to work with and of course, Kate Bush. Producers I would love to work with include Quincy Jones, Brian Eno and Mark Ronson.

Piewatch - Who do you currently like in the charts?

I love Ellie Goulding’s sound, the vocals of Florence and the Machine and Marina and the Diamonds. I like Corinne Bailey-Rae’s album too and admire her strength of character after her recent tragedy. There is so much British talent out there at the moment. I’ve also recently discovered Tina Dico who is just an incredible singer-songwriter but she is not chart focused.

Piewatch – Describe your music in three terms..

Honest, melodic, radio-friendly

Piewatch – What is your biggest musical achievement to date?

I’d say that being Unsigned Download Artist of the Year on We7.com was pretty special. I liked that! I’m also really proud of the special gigs I have done with my wonderful band over the years – we’ve had some great times!

Piewatch - Any comical gig moments?

Haha, yes, just a guy who was a bit enthusiastic climbing up on stage to join me and the band one time but that was quite funny and you just have to laugh and keep singing! However, it’s quite hard to laugh and sing – I don’t recommend it!

Piewatch – Any irrational fears?

Not that I can think of…I think as a musician in this industry you have to be pretty fearless!

Piewatch - If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

To be able to read people’s minds – that would be intriguing!

Piewatch – Any last comments, plugs, or shout out’s to the fans?

Just a massive thank you for your wonderful support so far. I can’t wait to record my second album with all your names on it! Here’s hoping!

I hear you ask, “Where can I become a fan of Joy?!?” Here’s the answer!

Piewatch – How did the idea for Overcomplicated come about, what is the song about?

RY – The song is just about problems that may arise during a relationship, instead of writing a typical love song I decided to do it metaphorically. This is the only song I have ever written on a guitar (mainly because I had no piano at the time) and ironically only has 3 chords – G, C and D – pretty much the only ones I know on the guitar! This song and Don’t Let Go were both written about a girl who I was seeing, who when our relationship ended said “don’t make me laugh with your tales of how successful your band will be because it will never happen” which was nice of her, but should probably be thankful as in the end it inspired the 2 singles.

Piewatch – What made you consider an animated video?

RY - I always wanted an animated video for one of our songs, and when Nick approached me with his ideas I loved it from the start so went ahead with it.

Piewatch – How did the two of you meet?

NMW - Online. I saw them advertising for a video on a message board so checked out they’re myspace and liked what I heard.

Piewatch – How did you get into animation and how would you describe your animated style?

NMW - I always liked to draw when I was growing up, and after I left school I did an art foundation at Norwich Art School. I decided illustration and animation was what I found most exciting and ended up doing a degree in animation at Solent University; despite signing up for illustration and animation, but the course changed during the 1^st year and I had to decide one or the other. The idea of moving art seemed much more appealing to me.

I don’t really know how to describe my style. I try and make all my videos a bit different from each other.

Piewatch – Take us through the process, how do you transfer the ideas from mind to paper to video?

NMW - When I’m doing a music video I tend to listen to the song a few times, listening to the lyrics and mood of the piece, then I write down key words that come across. Once I’ve worked out an idea I normally put together a thumb nail storyboard and then put it to the song, sketch a few characters, try and work out what sort of style I feel would work.

In the video for overcomplicated I drew the characters on paper, some of which I animated on paper and others animated on the computer. The backgrounds were a mix of painting and photo collages, and the sea was generated on the computer. Then it’s just a case of updating the thumb nail pictures with the finished shots and working it to the music.

Piewatch - How many hours were spent making the video?

NMW - I couldn’t give you a number on that but quite a few! I think once I’d worked out the style and idea it was about 4-5 weeks.

Piewatch - Who came up with the excellent storyline to the video?

NMW  – Robin wanted a video with a guy on the beach with the ocean talking to him. He the song was about problems in a relationship so then I just worked the idea from there.

Piewatch – Who is the little white character based on?

NMW – The main character isn’t really based on anyone. He’s just a lonely guy who falls in love!

Piewatch – Might we see a return of these wonderful characters in a future “Keyz” music video?

RY - Haha, not sure, I’m looking at making every video as different as possible to keep a good variety, but who knows!

Piewatch – Final thoughts on its outcome? Are you happy with the finished product?

NMW  - I’m a perfectionist so I’m never 100% happy with any of my films, but I do quite like it. It was a great song to work with.

RY – I am very happy with the final video, the combination of the visuals with the music works perfectly I think

Piewatch – When do you plan on releasing the single?

RY – Overcomplicated will be available from the 3rd of May

Love Nicks work? You can contact him at

http://www.nickmw.com
http://www.myspace.com/nickmwillis

Here we have classy Russian rockers the Funeral Honors, having just reached a showcase on Slicethepie the future looks bright for them. So flip the track on and read on for fun, a very comical gig moment and the question you have always wanted to ask! Lada Riva or the Moskvitch 408?

Piewatch – Firstly, who are The Funeral Honors?

Just two dudes: Damon and Michael – The moving force of the band.

Piewatch - Let’s talk about the bands history, how and where did you meet?

Damon: Back to school in the year 2000. We were on the trip somewhere in Europe; we decide that someday it would be fun to make a band. It was a joke for that moment. In 2006 I moved to USA and in 2 years I met Michael in the music store I worked in. Michael visited his brother in LA, and we decide to meet. We talked a lot about music and all, and thought that it would be great to make our old idea real.

Michael: I persuaded Damon to quit his job, and move to my brothers flat in LA, where I had a garage and everything to start making music. In a couple of weeks my neighbour joined out band as a drummer. Damon and I made a lot of demo tracks in approx. a month. Later we found a bass, and decided to make some shows in a local clubs. We had one gig in Miami, where we met Tim Gauf, a producer from Moscow. I worked with him before with my former band. He offered us to record an album in his studio in Moscow. We could not afford to record high-quality album in USA, so we moved back to Russia, and started to make the record. After a couple of months we had an album called “Bad Dreams Still Mine” ready.

Piewatch – What plans do you have for raising the 15k?

TFH: Our fans are the main source of investments. We are doing gigs and trying to attract more and more people to support us on STP. We are making some videos right now to attract fans and investors in the internet. Our family and friends will also take part.

Piewatch – What made you switch to Slicethepie from Sellaband?

Damon: To my personal opinion Sellaband users do not care much about the music. They will only invest in you if you have at least 30% of your goal already invested. There is no fair competition, I mean, if You have a load of money from the start You can successfully reach the goal of 50000 dollars pretty fast and it doesn`t matter whether your music is great or awful.

On Slicethepie you can only get financed if you`ve been chosen from thousands of bands, it means that the music really matters, your success depends directly on you talent. That’s why we chose Slicethepie.

Michael: STP made us believe that two dudes from Russia can make music people from other countries would like. It makes us happy!

Piewatch - You set a target of $100,000 on Sellaband; do you fear that £15,000 might not be enough?

Michael: If you have $100000, you may not pick between two things. You can do both of them. The more money you own – the more freedom you have.

£15,000 is enough to make it all sound and look professional, the only thing you have to do is determine what should be done first of all, and what is not too important. Anyway there is only one chance to do the best you can.

Piewatch - Who do you feel are your main competition in this showcase and why?

TFH: Every band who made it to the showcase is awesome, they all sound different, and all of them has it`s unique sound. We don`t think that this is a competition actually. There is no rule like – “Only One will survive”. Every band is moving to its goal. The only difference is – some succeed, some do not!

Piewatch - If you received the £15,000 financing tomorrow, what would be the first thing you spent it on?

Damon: We have an album recorded and mastered already, but we are not happy with how it`s mixed. So the first thing we are going to do if we receive the £15,000 is mix the tracks properly, `coz in Russia there are no high-level mixing engineers and producers who could help us achieve the best result, and make this tracks sound like we want them to.

Michael: Promoting this album is going to be the next step we are going to take.

And of course, we`ve got a freight-train of new songs which we`d like to release, maybe as singles or as another album.

Finally, we are going to do as many gigs outside Russia as we can!!!

Piewatch - Describe the Russian music scene at the moment

TFH: The success depends not on your talent, but on the thickness of your wallet. No rock music. No support for independent bands. If you want your music played on the radio – pay, If You want to participate in some big fest – pay. If you want your video on TV – pay. It doesn`t matter how good your material is.

The only thing an independent band can do is playing in a small bar or club for a hundred dollars. How can you record an album with a hundred dollars?

Russian people do not accept singing in English, though we think it`s the only language suitable for singing. But if we want our music to be heard by millions of people we must sing in English. And it`s right. There are dozens of examples – HIM, Roxette, ABBA…

In our country, the music is played by rich people for rich people.

Piewatch – Describe your music in three terms

Music for the masses

Piewatch - Any comical gig moments?

Damon: We were playing on the local festival, it was some kind of an open air, and the wind was so strong that it made a scene monitor fall down on our drummer crashing his metronome. While he tried to fix it, we decided to warm the crowd up, Michael jumped into the crowd but it didn’t catch him, instead he landed on a big fat chick, she hugged him so tight and never wanted to let go… He doesn’t jump anymore.

Piewatch - If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?

Michael: Guess the numbers on the roulette right. I`m venturesome.

Damon: Teleportation is my choice.

Piewatch – Any irrational fears?

H5N1

Piewatch - What was the better car the Lada Riva or the Moskvitch 408?

Michael: Of course it`s Lada Riva. And guess why?!! Coz I had one. It was my first car. Sweet girl she was.

Damon: My first car was Lada 2105. Russian cars are awful.

Piewatch - Any last comments, plugs, or shout out’s to the fans?

There is no “TFH” without you!!!! LET’S MAKE “TFH” BIG TOGETHER!

Steph Stephenson is an up and coming singer-songwriter from West Yorkshire.  With original and well written lyrics, her songs are captivating, relatable and passionately delivered.  We caught up with Steph to find out a little more behind the girl with the guitar.  As a special treat for our Piewatch readers, Steph has kindly provided a free download of her track ‘The Internet (I like to)’ (Right Click Here). 

Piewatch – Hi Steph, thanks for talking to us!  When did your journey into music begin? 

Steph – Hiya Piewatch! Thanks so much for the feature! I guess my journey began when I started writing lyrics as a hormonal teenager at 14. My big sis went to University and she left her Fender Tele at home, which I picked up one day and learnt a chord! I think it helped that at the time, my best friend and I thought Avril Lavigne was really cool… she encouraged me to write my first song, as she also played a little guitar and wrote lyrics! For my 15^th Birthday I got a Tanglewood Folk, and from there the songs just kept on coming.

Piewatch - You write your own material, where do you get your inspiration and do you tend to stick with certain themes?

Steph – I do tend to stick with certain themes. I usually joke about how all my songs are about boys and my love life!  I can’t go wrong with a self-deprecating love song! But I like to think they can be deeper than that… “Blessings” for example has all sorts of meanings…it’s about image and the media, self-acceptance, state of mind, good advice…and err, a boy I fancied! I write about lots of other things too but I guess the theme is always personal. I would love to write a song about politics or something but it’s easy to write about things close to my heart. So it’s easy to say what inspires me: boys, friends, family, my life, my emotions! I usually end up writing a song when I’m sitting outside, so nature can be pretty inspiring too!

Piewatch – Describe your music in 3 words?

Steph – Oooh tough… Poppy. Folky. Girly. 

Piewatch – How did you come across Slicethepie? How have you found the site and scout reviews?

Steph – I think it was just a friend who told me about this great website where you can get lots of reviews in a matter of minutes! This was back in June. It was really tough at first, hearing things like “You have no idea how to write a song”…”This song will never sell, good luck”…and “the voice is very annoying, take some voice classes or something for that.” The thing is, I am so grateful for criticism like that now. You have to learn how to take it, because you’re always going to get it, no matter who you are or what you do! Plus, some criticism is really constructive. If someone says the vocals weren’t so clear, and could do with turning up, then I’ll have another think about the levels. The best thing about slicethepie is that when I read my reviews it really hits home how subjective things can be. One person says that the lyrics are childish and terrible; someone else says the lyrics are really deep and meaningful. Someone marks the same song 1/10, someone else 10/10. Thankfully, I’ve learnt how to take the good stuff to heart and to ignore the bad ones.

Piewatch – In modern times, artists like Radiohead have given their albums away for whatever people wanted to pay.  Indeed, you have given your fans the choice to buy your EP or download it for free.  Do you feel this is the way the music industry is heading?

Steph – Hmm, this is a big subject! I definitely don’t think free music would sustain the music industry. We artists need money to make and promote our music after all! And I think consumers and fans are definitely willing to give you money for your art, they want to support you! However, I’ve chosen to give my debut EP away for free so people can listen to it and see if they like it. The hope is that one or two fans will end up buying something in the future! The great thing is, in exchange for the free download a fan will hand me their email address so I’m also building a little database of fans. I do think music is becoming more free, and that’s why you have to sometimes make the sacrifice and give away your music. However, I have sold a couple of copies, and had a few donations from some wonderful people, so I do think in general people are still willing to buy music!

Piewatch – What are your biggest achievements to date (both musically and personally)?

Steph – My biggest achievement to date would be having my track played on BBC Radio Humberside on their unsigned show “Raw Talent”. They also asked me to come in for a session, so I’m really looking forward to that!  But it’s the everyday stuff that I’m really grateful for: a fantastic message on Youtube, selling a CD, getting a great review, or just being asked to perform! And of course being featured on Piewatch It’s still the beginning of the beginning, and I’m really happy just sitting letting good things happen naturally rather than forcing it. If I get too obsessed with “making it” and trying to control it, I’ll just get sad when nothings happening and I’ll stop enjoying it, which would just be silly. Personally, my biggest achievement is finally finishing my degree!

Piewatch – Any surprises, mishaps or comical moments when gigging?

Steph – Haha…erm… not yet thankfully! I’ve had some good moments though! I’ve written a song with the lyrics “Why’d you break up with me, you bastard?” (poetic, I know!) and it’s always great to get the audience shouting “Bastard!” along with me. I always get really nervous when I perform and have probably embarrassed myself plenty of times by talking nonsense in between songs, forgetting the words, and squeaking instead of singing!

Piewatch – Do you have a preference in the guitar you use?

Steph – When I chose my guitar, I chose it because it was blue and pretty! Luckily it also sounds great too! It’s a Yamaha APX700!

Piewatch – We have to say we enjoyed your DIY music video for your track ‘What if’.  Do you find adding a visual dimension to your songs gives them that added personal touch?

Steph – Aww, thanks very much, I’m really glad you liked it! I used a picture from Slicethepie in it actually, or did ya notice? I took a screen shot of one of my reviews which had the score 0/10 when I sang the line “What if I’m criticised?” I think my Slicethepie reviews are one of the things that inspired that song! But yes, adding a visual dimension really does add that personal touch. My Youtube vids are little like personal performance, you get to see all my facial expressions, and see how passionate I am which adds to the emotional impact of the song. A visual dimension is always a good idea, nowadays I’d much rather go on an artists Youtube page than their Myspace! I would love to do a proper music video one day.

Piewatch – Which of your tracks is your favourite and why?

Steph – Goodness me, I don’t know! My latest song is usually my favourite, because it still sounds so new and exciting to me! I get “The Rejection” stuck in my head a lot, because I really like the guitar. Sometimes I think I know which are the better songs, but everybody seems to have their favourites!

Piewatch – If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

Steph – Can I have Sabrina the Teenage Witch’s power? She can just waggle her finger and get dressed really quickly, that’s pretty awesome!

Piewatch - If you were stranded on a desert island and could have a slice of pie airlifted to you, what type of pie would be on the menu?

Steph – Oooh…toughest question yet! Perhaps some good old warm apple pie. Cream too please?

Piewatch – Any last comments, plugs, or shout out’s to the fans?

Steph – Well thankyou very much again Piewatch! I have really enjoyed this interview…it’s my first one! Shout outs to my lovely friends, family, Youtube subscribers, Facebook fans, EP downloaders and generally everyone for the support which I appreciate so much! Plugs? Hmm, come visit me all over the internet, watch me on Youtube – download the free EP – I hope you like it! And if you don’t like it, that’s OK too!

Be sure to catch Steph on the following sites!

We recently ran our Piewatch Pirate Competition in which we promised the winners that we would feature their Slicethepie artist of choice.  True to form, we talked to Mark from the band ’Themselves’ – as nominated by Slicethepie member ‘Infamous Kayber’.  And we must say…what a great choice!! So click on the player (below) and read on…..

Piewatch – Hi, thanks for talking to us! Let’s start with an introduction of yourselves, or more appropriately, ‘Themselves’?

Mark – Hello, pleasure talking to you. An introduction of ourselves Themselves you say? Well, we’re a 4 piece from close to the land of Coal in Middle England. We play music to keep us sane.

Piewatch – How did you come up with the band name and is there any meaning behind it?

Mark – It was a bit of a play on the whole “The” ……. Band names, as the previous band name was The Works and there were a lot of new bands coming through using the “The” e.g., The View, The Klaxons, The Fratellies etc…I think we would have liked to have been called “The The” just to take the piss a bit, but obviously we couldn’t, We settled with Themselves because we just thought it was very honest and open. We are who we are.

I think the name of a band is not that relevant, yet totally relevant, both at the same time.

This is probably why I have to take the tablets.

Piewatch – How would you best describe your music? Are there recurring themes?

Mark – I’d say we’re a rock band, it’s too easy to get caught up in the genre game, but at the end of the day, we rock. Recurring Themes? Oh yes.

The relationships between people, crowds, silence, walks in the cold, near water in the sun, music, in all it’s guises, entertainment. People who make me smile, people who make me think, people who stand still for a second and let you lean on them. Breaking on through to the other side. Taking it on the chin. Holding my hands up. Telling it straight. Watching the sun come up after you’ve watched the night go down. Exploring. Random weekends away. Writing Songs. Observing. Getting a massage. Getting told it’ll all be alright in the end. Getting the message. Not being ignored. Starting Again. Finding your feet after a while. Experiencing an Epiphany. Olives. Good food in general. Feeling Healthy. Self Destructing. Other people’s eyes. Showing the way. Watching the expressions. Sharing the fun. Savoury Food. Being moreish. Writing Lyrics. Watching films. Watching terrible films that are so terrible that they’re good. Laughing at my own misfortune. Talking up a storm. Dreaming. Day Dreaming. Attempting to make day dreams a reality. Theme Parks. Thrill Rides. Nacho’s. Tents in the rain. Putting the world to rights. Making no sense. Overstepping the mark. Drawing new lines. Making new plans. Thinking it’s all over. Missing the point. Facing your fears. Facing the Facts. Staring them down. Hiding from them hoping they’ll go away and it’ll all be alright in the end. Fighting for what you believe in.

Yeah we have always had the philosophy of “If you write it you sing it” lyric wise so I suppose you could say it was a theme we always use still today!

Piewatch – The band has been on Slicethepie for a while now and has developed a good following. How did you come across Slicethepie, how have you found the experience and would you recommend it to other bands?

Mark - Hmmmm, yeah, it has been a while, I can’t remember really how it came about. I think I was sent an E-mail aaaaages ago telling me of a new site coming soon. I forget I’ve been trolling about for aaages.

The experience of Slicethepie is exactly that, an experience. From an artists point of view, you upload your songs, get some good constructive reviews, and either use that or dismiss it. Possibly get through to a Showcase, get yourself £15’000 and go to town recording promoting and producing an album. Awesome concept.

Mind you, saying that, when you actually take part, you get some, shall we say, interesting “Reviews” to use the term lightly.

Personally, we like to read through them and marvel at the diversity. And you’ve got to love it when someone says. “Yeah, this is amazing; I’d buy this on ITunes, Brilliant Vocals, Amazing Drumming, fantastic guitar work. 4/10.”

4/10? And that lets it down. The whole idea of voting what you “Think” other people might vote to keep your average up and earn more money, I assume. I don’t think it’s the most effective way of finding out what the general public thinks. It’s more like finding out what the general public thinks the general public thinks, which is something else entirely different. I’m not complaining though, just observing.

On the other side of the coin, there’s some honesty and good advice floating around. And, by honesty, I don’t mean scouts saying we’re amazing and they want our children. Just an honest opinion. We understand you can’t please all the people all the time, you can’t please some people any of the time, but that’s a good thing, you wouldn’t really want to. Diversity is what makes the world go round.

Overall, I’d recommend STP to any band really. It’ll either harden your resolve, make you stop making terrible music, inspire you to continue making awesome music, or give you the chance of a lifetime. There are no really bad points. After all, if you can’t handle the mental reviews, you probably really shouldn’t be putting your music out for public “Review” in the first place.

I’d like to get through to a showcase though if I’m honest. We have a couple of Albums worth of material, and I for one would like to hear it. So if you’re reading this, and you hear us, and you think…. oh my god, this is great, I’d buy this, whoa…. don’t rate it 4/10 there’s a love.

Piewatch – What is the band’s biggest achievement to date?

Mark – The amount of people that are coming to see us when we play, it’s nice to get through those gig’s were you are playing to the back wall of the venue. Also, supporting Slice the Pie winners Shortwave Fade at their Album launch in Notting hill.

Piewatch – Any embarrassing moments on stage?

Mark – All I’m saying on this is late stage times + cheap bar = monumental fucking disaster.

In fact no, that’s not all I’m saying, I’m telling it. Have you rolled a cigarette? Do you have a drink? Are you sitting comfortably? Well then, I guess it goes a little something like this.

You know what it’s like, you book a gig at a venue and you say, what time do you want us there? And they say, well, sound check is from 6:30-7:30, so 6:30 would be ideal.

You think, holy shit, I get back from work at about that time, that’s hardly enough time for a shit/shower and shave combination. But still. You’re gig hungry, you want to get out there and let the world know that you exist, so you agree, thinking, well, I’ll grab something after sound check, it’ll be ok.

So you finish work, and you rush around like a mental trying to get everything sorted. Not wanting to forget anything so you don’t fuck everything up, it’s a good gig, at a half decent venue, you want to be able to re-book if all goes well.

You get there, it’s 6:20, you’re hungry but you can grab something after sound check, you’ll be fine.

It’s 7pm, you’ve not sound checked, nobody has sound checked, there’s 3 bands standing round looking at each other like Mancunians in Liverpool. No one’s really communicating.

Eventually, someone turns up who sounds like they know what’s going on a bit, so sound checks begin, headliner first as you’d expect, which incidentally, wasn’t us.

You’re still hungry, but you think, it’ll be alright, I’ll eat after we’ve sound checked.

Anyway, the headliners are so far up their own arse they could lick their own prostate so sound check lasts for an ungodly amount of time….. Which is sometimes acceptable, like, when they rock, but when they’re baaaaaaaaad, no amount of sound check is going to help you sound any good.

So you go to the bar, there it is, all shiny in the back of the room; with condensation running down the lines, and you think… well, I’ll have a pint while I’m waiting. So you do. And then you have another because that one went down oh so well. Then, well, you’d better have another because you’ve still not sound checked, you’ve no idea of the time, and it’s getting less relevant anyway.

So up turns the promoter. So, being a bit smushy thanks to no food and a few pints. You think…. “RIGHT, YOU, WHAT TIME ARE WE ON?” and he retorts with…

“About 12:15 mate” and wanders off.

12:15… am… lovely… and we were here at 6:30 because?? Ok we’re on at 12:15; sound checks continue on until people start arriving, so, as you may have guessed, there’s no sound check for us.

So we choose a table and grab some more ale, we’re half cut now (Well, I am) so you get a taste for it and……

12:15 arrives and it’s time to go on, I’m excited, I’m eager, I’m raring to go, I’m also pissfaced.

Cue gig hell.

I can barely walk for a start, this should really start alarm bells ringing in my head, but, as far as I’m concerned, I’m a fucking rock star baby, so I make my way over the stage to my guitar, which I think I should tune up before we own the evening.

Obviously, I can’t tune it, I can’t even stand, so I think it’ll be far better if I put that down and just sing…

Apparently not, I pull the microphone from the stand and swagger about on stage but I can’t hear myself, so I’m shouting to the soundman “TURN ME UP FOR CHRIST SAKE, YOU’RE THE WORST SOUNDMANEVER”

At which point he gestures towards the mic stand where I’ve left the cable.

No problem, I’ll plug it in. Mic Plugged in, ready to go and what comes out of my mouth?

“I don’t care if they think we’re shit, we’ll never see any of them again anyway, they should all fuck off home, go on, fuck off home”

At which point half the room clears. It was a particularly busy night as well, so we were still left with a few die hards. My work here was clearly not done.

Our other guitarist at the time decides then that enough is enough, and he should do something, so he tells me I should probably go and sit down, they’ll do the rest without me.

Well, you’d think I’d take that advice right?

Wrong.

I do take half of the advice though, and sit down in front of the stage.

Where I heckle my own band, on stage, trying to cope without me.

“You should be in a band! GERROFF!! You need another guitarist!! That’s a rubbish song!! You’re Crap!!”

The gig finished, we didn’t loose all the audience, and surprisingly, I was told by more than one person that evening, that that was THE most rock and roll gig they’d seen for aaages.

We left the venue later on with me ejecting the contents of my empty stomach every 10 paces, finally barfing on the window of our camper van only to hear a shout of “ooooooh carrots”

The venue closed it’s doors for good a few weeks later.

I like to think I have no part in that.

Piewatch – Which track has received the best reviews/ratings in the Slicethepie scout room? Why do you think this is?

Mark – Miles High’s the track that seems to ride high in the scout rooms. It’s a Ballard style track with a big ending and warm harmonies. And, going on the way Slice works, it’s the sort of song that other people might think other people might like. Ha, but really, It’s a song that you can connect to, we’ve all been there.

Piewatch – Your Slicethepie bio highlights that the four of you play under different guises. What’s the reason behind this? Any guises you would care to share?

Mark – We’ve played under different guises yes, we still do embark upon the odd side project here and there, and I think that’s healthy, keeps the creative juices flowing and helps to keep things fresh. I’m keeping our guises under our hats though at this moment in time.

Piewatch – If you could collaborate with any artist, who would you choose?

Mark – Jamie Lenman – Reuben

Mary Lou Lord – Herself

Kill Choas, Death of London, Dobermann and Maybe She Will – four bands from Leicester who rock my world.

Jimmy Page, the Led Zep legend or Rory Gallagher the now deceased legend of Irish Rock

Piewatch – We thought we would ask your opinion on the currently debated issue here at Piewatch. What is the ultimate 90’s footwear; Reebok Pumps or Puma discs?

Mark – Well, Steve reckons Pumps, based on the fact he just went on a nostalgia hit. Me, I’d say British Knights, which I know wasn’t even in the question, but shame on you for not including such iconic footwear. In fact, this question ends here. I’m appalled. I shall be writing to…. um…. someone, I’m not sure who, probably my gran. She’ll settle the issue. You up on your handbag swedging skillzzzz?

Piewatch – Any future plans or interesting developments on the horizon?

Mark – New material is being written and recorded as we speak; we have a couple a management companies interested in our sound and many gigs awaiting conformation dates from promoters. So all in all it should be an interesting year for the band ahead. We’re looking to get some videos and promotional bits and bobs on the go too, so if anyone fancies helping with that, please, feel free to get in touch, we’d love to hear from you.

Piewatch – Good luck in 2010! Would you like to give a message/shout out to the fans?

Mark – I think some really good advice in this life is.

“Check yer sen before you bob yer sen.” and “Always Look at the Pretty Sparkly”

Good advice and words to live by there.

And thanks to everyone and anyone who has supported us. It’s nice to know that we’re not just doing this for our own satisfaction and enjoyment; it’s always good to hear that someone else is rocking out and having their hairs stand up on the back of their necks.

Keep supporting us through 2010; we need all the help we can get.

Thanks for listening, we’re Themselves.

Be sure to check out Themselves on;

When it comes to genre defying music, fantastical imagery and enchanted storytelling, Azrock & Pogo offer an undeniably unique experience.  Throw into the mix the fact that Azrock and Pogo are themselves illustrated characters  in a story yet to be told and the musical recipe becomes all the more wonderous and delightful.  A firm favourite with the Piewatch Team, we talked to the mind behind the A&P  project, known only as ‘The Architect’. 

Piewatch - Hi, thanks for talking to us!  To start the ball rolling, who are A&P?

The Architect - Azrock & Pogo is basically myself.  I am a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist & producer but also a bit of an all round creative nut in that I also write stories, build websites and produce artwork/graphic design.  A&P is really an excuse for me to practice every area of that all at once.  One thing I cannot do, however, is sing, so I’ve teamed up with a fantastic singer who has the sublime voice you hear on the songs as ‘Pogo’. Others are involved as well (artists, animators … etc).

Although I imagine I may be the most interesting and inspiring person on the planet I’m prepared to accept that I’m just as dull as everyone else.  That’s why I don’t want A&P to be about me, or anyone else involved.  It is about Azrock and Pogo – their characters and story will be infinitely more interesting, inspiring and entertaining than any real life artist.  If you want a real life story then watch the X-Factor or Big Brother.  But if you want artistic escapism then watch Harry Potter, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings – and now you can get it with a band; Azrock & Pogo.

Piewatch - You are currently showcased on Slicethepie, giving you a platform in which to raise money to finance your album.  How did you come across Slicethepie?

The Architect - The idea of fan-funded music was something that appeared in the back of my mind when the industry first started losing sales with the internet revolution. I found STP while researching that idea.

Piewatch - The A&P concept is very original, with a somewhat dark and mysterious edge. Where do you draw your influences from?  Who do you compare yourselves to?

The Architect - Conceptually the nearest thing is Gorillaz, but the style and mood of Azrock & Pogo is very different.  The Azrock & Pogo world has a bit of Dickens & Tolkien but also a strong Frankenstein macabre vibe.  A London pub called “Ben Crouches Tavern” (sadly closed now I believe) was actually a big inspiration.  If you ever went there when it was at its most ‘decorated’ you’ll know why!

Musically strong influences are Led Zeppelin and Portishead – hence the dark and mysterious sound, but there will also be a lot of light-hearted funky stuff and some serious rocking out too (Beastie Boys are also a life long favourite of mine and I’ve got a lot of love for Queen for their range, artistic and theatrical merit and complete lack of interest in being fashionable).  Vocally it’s like the best parts of Kate Bush, Sarah Brightman and Christina Aguilera all rolled into one – unbeatable!

Piewatch - You have recently surpassed 50% of your £15,000 target through Slicethepie!  What do you do to attract outside investments?

The Architect - Friends and family are obviously a good starting point and a few of those are well connected with people in the media or people with a few bob.  I try to not beg for money, more just introduce people to the project and let them judge whether it’s worth investing in for themselves.  Often my commitment and enthusiasm for it will be enough.

Further than that it’s a simple case of introducing as many people as possible to the music or the website and if it tickles their imagination then investing a bit makes sense, once they’re comfortable with it.  At the moment I’m trying to get as many features or reviews as possible, however small or local the publication, just to get people introduced to it.  I have a few marketing tricks up my sleeve but I’m hoping to get away with saving them for the album release.  I have a healthy warchest ready for marketing (on top of the STP funds) but the less I need to spend now, the more there is for album release.

Piewatch - Without wishing to preempt fate, it is very likely that you will soon be joining the ranks of other artists financed via Slicethepie! How does it feel knowing fans and investors have such confidence in you and the project?

The Architect - It feels great, especially to know that other people like what you’re doing and believe it can do well.  I think the progress so far is fantastic and I’m very excited about the prospect of raising Azrock & Pogo to the next level.  But I’m not taking it for granted – I am under no illusion about the amount of work I still have to do, achieving the financing being only the beginning.
 

Piewatch - What are your biggest achievements to date (both musically and personally)?

The Architect - Personally it has to be finding the love of my life, marrying her and having three kids (1, 3 and 4!).  Musically I’ve played my share of gigs in other bands (a highlight was perhaps playing on BBC1 on Casualty as the band who’s gig saw someone get stamped on!) but most of the stuff I’m really proud of is what I’m doing now.  “I’ll Wait Here” has won a few awards including making the finals of the Uk Songwriting Contest and the top five in its category of the worldwide “Song of the Year” contest for September 09.  Getting to where we are now in STP is also a great achievement, but I’m in no doubt that musically my greatest achievements are yet to come!
 

Piewatch - You are offering an interesting 50/50 profit split with investors.  What led you to decide on this direction and do you see it as something other artists may choose to offer in the future?

The Architect - The 50/50 split is basically to carry on where STP stops.  I could write pages explaining all the reasons for it (in fact I have – somewhere in the FAQs of our website), but the most important thing it achieves that the standard STP deal doesn’t is a 360 deal for investors (which means share of all revenue including sales, gigs, books, publishing, merchandising, licensing … etc).  I believe that is essential for a fully scalable fan funded model simply because these days no-one knows where the money will come from, if at all.  Most likely it will be a bit of everything so investors need a slice of everything for it to be a true partnership.  Azrock & Pogo is being setup this way to make sure that the people who took the first risk and believed in it early on will benefit from it the most, whatever shape of form commercial success may take.  50% seems like a lot for an artist to forfeit but it’s just the same as having a band with twice as many members – and for A&P that isn’t too bad.  In fact that’s how we want the supporters to feel – collectively like another member of the band.

As for other bands doing it, good luck to them (it’s not simple!), but it suits Azrock & Pogo particularly well because the whole concept is a bit ‘out there’ anyway and people either don’t like it, don’t get it, or they really, really love it.  As the story of the characters develops the people who love it will only get more enthralled and so our fan-base could be a particularly loyal and long-term one.  It also works for us as the story mirrors the reality to some extent.  One side of the story is about Azrock and Pogo trying to reach people with their music to make the world a better place, and as the story develops Azrock and Pogo become anti-heroes of the people, challenging the corrupt power all around.  Although in reality ‘making the world a better place’ is questionable, we will genuinely be a band of the people rather than the (corrupt and soul-less) industry.
 

Piewatch - How many tracks do you have ready for the album?

The Architect - At the last count I’ve got about 12 tracks earmarked for the album, which are all at varying stages.  It’s impossible to know which will work until they are finished but on the other hand there’s always the tracks that just come from nowhere and are born, written and recorded in a day.  With this album there is the added complication of tying all the songs in with the story, but one way or another I’ll make that work and it’s pretty much thought out already.  If there’s one area of Azrock & Pogo that I’m most confident in it’s that the music on the album will be awesome.
 

Piewatch - Would you be a bird or a fish and why?

The Architect - Fish don’t eat birds (… well not as much as birds eat fish!)  Call me old fashioned but in my mind higher up the food chain is better.  There’s also the flying thing, plus I’ve not envied being a fish ever since Kurt told us ‘… they don’t have any feelings’, so there’s no contest really.
 

Piewatch - Where do you see yourselves in 5 years time?

The Architect - Making music, continuing to write the story of Azrock & Pogo and working with others to take it to exciting new levels.  Hopefully I will have outsourced all the tedious stuff like pr, website maintenance, industry management etc and can just concentrate on the creative stuff.  For that to happen it would mean the Azrock & Pogo fanbase will have grown to a size that at least allows me to make a healthy living for my family from doing it.

Piewatch - Any outrageous requests when gigging?

The Architect - “Turn the volume down!” (don’t play Rage Against The Machine on a bandstand in a secluded French seaside village – I’m pretty sure it was ‘le Mayor’ himself who literally pulled the plug, but not before we played out ‘Killing in the Name Of’!)
 

Piewatch - One of the things we love about A&P is the added visual dimension.  The  illustrations are truly amazing!  Who creates them?

The Architect - Artwork credits are on the last page of the book.  All of the current ones are either done by myself or a wonderful mythical/fantasy artist in the USA called Meredith Dillman.  I spent ages looking for an artist who I thought had the right style and she was my first choice so it’s great that she’s on board.  There will be other artists involved though – specifically for the animated video(s) and T-Shirt designs – both of which we are working on now.
 

Piewatch - Your website is designed as an interactive book with turning pages.   How did this come about and does it make it harder to maintain?

The Architect - It came about because I was trying to get to grips with programming in ActionScript 3 (the language of Flash) and I was really inspired by a newish technology called Papervision 3d – which lets you create interactive 3D environments and objects.  The book was an obvious project considering I wanted my music to be accompanied by a story.

Maintenance isn’t too bad.  The tedious part was getting all the details to move and appear like a real book and the hard part was streamlining the coding and graphics to get it to run smoothly on an average browser.  All I do now is add content to it when needed.  The paging, sectioning and functionality of new content is all automatic – assuming I mark it up with the correct XML.

It is due for an overhaul though and I’ll probably end up taking a lot of the non-story content out of the book and having a more traditional front end.  I’m currently getting to grips with asp.net with the aim of developing the site with full member privileges and areas for discussion.  Easy collection of fan’s emails is a pretty crucial step.

Piewatch -  Best of luck with the album! Any last words?

Love Azrock & Pogo as much as we do? Check them out on;