Everybody agreed that Saturday was a lot of fun and the aftermath is still going on thanks to a conversation threat over on dear old Facebook. The idea of doing a small tour when you don't know the venues you'll be playing was something I am surprised hasn't happened before. There have been guerilla gigs before (we're more chimpanzee) but only the public were unaware because a certain amount of pre-planning had taken place, not for us such organisation though and that is what I enjoyed the most. Actually what I enjoyed the most was the company I was in but second to that I enjoyed the lack of planning. Okay, the generosity and hospitality of the staff where we played came second but I definitely enjoyed the lack of organisation.
Something we all agreed on was that we should do it again and involve more people wherever possible. Weirdly I don't factor in the worry that nobody will come and watch because it isn't really about that, it's about playing somewhere unusual (again not an original concept) and it being filmed for future viewing. Maybe the videos will be funnier depicting a singer playing in an empty space in the middle of the day? One of the key elements is the fact that it wasn't advertised, and that is something I am keen to keep hold of, if people see us then they can enjoy a set in a place they didn't expect, they might even decide to follow us and catch another show in the next place.
We are definitely going to do this again in Nottingham and I am sketching out plans for different areas of the city. The Facebook conversation went as batshit crazy as they always do, so now we are thinking bigger. If you're going to think at all then you might as well think big, so we are now planning a trip to London to inflict acoustic music on the unsuspecting public. These away day tours will hopefully also involve some musicians from London joining us as a kind of cultural exchange. London might only be the start of it, visiting the musically significant locations and also some places you wouldn't expect. If London works then this opens the scope for other cities; Manchester, Newcastle, Middlesbrough (not technically a city I think, but a good music scene), Leeds, Sheffield, and I believe Liverpool has had something to do with music at some point. Once the weather picks back up next year then the seaside option opens up, providing we haven't all killed each other by then. I of course will only be filming, unless I'm needed for a spot of guest-kazoo.
Saturday's excursion was to promote The Sunday Alternative stage at the Hockley Hustle but today I gave birth to a separate entity that all future tours will be promoted (even though we don't promote them in advance) under the name The Random Saturday Sessions.
The Sunday Alternative #56 is available from here.
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September housekeeping
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