It wasn't that long ago that I wrote this on Facebook.
Live music promoter was never one of the things I ever wanted to call myself and I can honestly say that I was quite happy sticking to being a kazoo player and crisp critic with radio presenter, podcaster, writer, journalist, film maker and everything else on the side. It wasn't until last year when certain arguments kicked off that I learned that I am quite appreciated within the music world and several people asked me why I didn't put on gigs. The obvious answer is that it looks easy but is actually quite challenging, which is why I kept out of it and decided a long time ago that I much preferred to enjoy live music as a member of the audience. When I casually tossed that Facebook post out into the Internet I wasn't expecting a great deal but it was nice to see people I hold in high regard saying that I should.
Three months later and I have Post-It notes facing me as I sit at my desk, rather than just to the side of me. If anyone reckons that putting on gigs is a piece of piss then they are wrong. For some reason I am having the biggest headache organising September as people are all on holiday. Who goes on holiday in September? Some bands and musicians that's who.
I'm not complaining though, I am loving it. Yes it is stressful at times but the end result is the reward. That is my philosophy in all aspects of my work to be honest; I hate writing and recording podcasts for example, but I love new music and sharing it. I also love the feeling of finishing a podcast and seeing it on the Internet. Writing newspaper articles is a tedious job but finishing it and seeing it in the paper is cool. The biggest ballache of all is writing a daily blog, a commitment I can't shake off but it makes me happy knowing that people are reading it. Or at least hoping that people are reading it.
The Sunday Alternative #47 is available from here.
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July Housekeeping
Bags and T-Shirts are still available from here. All money goes in the fund. Feel free to browse the shop page while you're there.
If you donate £5 or more, you get to choose a song for me to cover on kazoo for a YouTube video, details here.
Seriously, I am grateful for the donations so if you haven't got round to it yet, I thank you in advance.
steveEoliver@gmail.com
