WIDE DAYS - BORN TO BE WIDE - (FANTASTIC) SEMINARS ON THE MUSIC INDUSTRY

Meursault - You Brought Screaming Into The World

Electric Circus, Mobile Phone Drawing

Meursault, with Screamy bit - Electric Circus, Mobile Phone Drawing

Hopeless Heroic, Electric Circus, Mobile Phone Drawing

Hopeless Heroic, Electric Circus, Mobile Phone Drawing

Aaron Wright, Sneaky Pete's, Watercolour

Panda Su at Sneaky Pete's, Mobile Phone Drawing

Holden, Cabaret Voltaire, Mobile Phone Drawing

WIDE DAYS SEMINAR - 'I AM THE LAW - ESSENTIAL LEGAL ADVICE'

Dawn Barraclough, Murray Buchanan, Steven Fisher, Claire Thompson

Moderator: Jen Hunter (Musicians Union)

WIDE DAYS SEMINAR - 'HOW TO GET ON A FESTIVAL BILL'

Pete Irvine (Unique Events/Hogmanay Edinburgh), Helen Chalmers (Wickerman), Dave Corbett (T in the Park, The Edge), Rob Hicks (Rockness, Belladrum), P.C. Rae (Slottsfjell, Norway/SXSW)

Moderator: Vic Galloway (BBC Scotland)

WIDE DAYS SEMINAR - 'HOW TO GET ON A FESTIVAL BILL - CHOICE QUOTES'

Moderator: Vic Galloway (BBC Scotland)

WIDE DAYS SEMINAR - 'WHAT NEXT? - PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE'

Will Page (Chief Economist PRS), Scott Cohen (The Orchard), Andrew Dubber (Birmingham University), Steve Mayall (Music Ally)

Moderator: Olaf Furniss (Born To Be Wide)

WIDE DAYS SEMINAR - 'SPEAK TO THE MANAGEMENT'

Bruce Findlay (Aberfeldy/The Silencers/Simple Minds), Keith Harris (Stevie Wonder), Rab Andrew (Texas/Primal Scream), Grant Dickson (The View/Broken Records), Mark Baillie (Woodenbox)

Moderator: Derick Mackinnon (Born To Be Wide/NFS)

WIDE DAYS SEMINAR - 'GAVIN BAIN - CALIFORNIA SCHEMIN''

OLAF FURNISS'S CLOSING STATEMENT ON 'WIDE DAYS'

If you didn't attend, you'll wish you had.

Excellent seminars, the atmosphere charged with opinions and enlightening comments, a full day of crucial and entertaining information for anyone interested in any aspect of the music industry, all from a notably seminal group of exciting and much-experienced speakers. The bands playing later in the evening showcases are excellent and well worth finding out about if you haven't already. Though I don't have pictures of them from this event, this also includes the Edinburgh based Art/Music Collective 'Found' who are one of my favourites, plus Carrie Mac.

So get on it - Come to the next Born To Be Wide Event. It'll be brilliant.

Daisy Dares You, Edinburgh Music Library.

Daisy Dares You

This gig was a lot of fun, and good to see in the Music Library. Daisy was off to play the Lancaster Library, the original venue and organisers of the fantastic initiative 'Get it Loud in Libraries' of which tonight was part of the tour. This drawing was done on my mobile phone and texted immediately to members of the audience and those involved. Ah, the genius of modern technology!

Awesome night.

Yep. Tonight was a great night all in all. And I survived not having my mobile - the wonders of the internet and being prepared!

Tonight it really felt like a great experience that was shared through the music, the poetry, the drawing, the audience's drawing, the projected visuals, the people, the listeners, the observers, the musicians, the poet, the organisers, the venue...

It felt really good. Going to upload folk's 'drawing page' soon as. Hope you all enjoyed it - comments most welcome! Thanks to everyone who came and joined in. xx

Expo Opening - Live Music from Found, Live Words from poet Ryan Van Winkle, Veejaying from Garry Whitton, Live Drawings from Me!

Sketching The Scene - Multimedia Expo Event - Wed14th October - 6pm onwards

Live MUSIC by one of my favourite bands, the fantastic Edinburgh based artists FOUND,

Live WORDS by Edinburgh City Library Reader in Residence Ryan Van Winkle

Live DRAWINGS by THE Jenny Soep - artist in residence

Live PROJECTIONS and animatory magic by Garry Whitton.

Drawings by the audience are ALSO actively encouraged!

Basic materials supplied. Free but ticketed - Email your details to: garry.gale@edinburgh.gov.uk. (Alternatively, just turn up!)

To coincide with exhibition of music drawings by Jenny Soep which runs until November - www.jennysoep.blogspot.com

Rough Cut Nation, Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh

There is an auction later on today at 2pm for Rough Cut Nation, where the fantastic exhibition of street art has delectably decorated the innards of the Grand Old Madam Portrait Gallery herself. Or his-self. I reckon it's Herself...
Anyhoo, this ground breaking, wall busting, aestheticising, carpet carving manifestation will be dismantled and sectioned into smaller, more manageable buyable bits. Challenging task I should think.

It's been a brilliant and exciting project involving street artists and musicians and is an important and poignant step towards creating the Portrait of the Nation, a contemporary update in all manners of media and public participation.

Here's a little excerpt and link:

'Devised by the National Galleries of Scotland Outreach Team, Rough Cut Nation updates William Hole's historical murals to create a collaborative, multi-media installation that depicts Scottish history and identity through the eyes of contemporary artists.
Instead of merely recreating Hole's murals by inserting contemporary characters, figures and events, we decided to transform the way national life is depicted.'
Rough Cut Nation

Grab your purses and go.

Dream Fluently...

The Jazz


Ryan Van Winkle


St Jude's Infirmary

Well, what have I been up to? Well, apart from drawing a great night of two bands at the beautiful central library in Edinburgh last night, hanging up my expo in the music library beside it, frequenting places of social gathering and engagement and verbal lubrication, painting murals on a village hall in the middle of nowhere, drawing a really lovely humanist wedding in the splendid Pollockshiels Burgh Hall, making cards and writing rhymes for family birthdays folks, I've also been making my way through the Sandman series of books. Addicted. I feel like I've not read for a century and now I'm being sucked back into the orbit of imagination. Great stuff.

Drawings above of St Jude's Infirmary and Don Paterson's collection of cool jazzy folks doing some top class beat poetry with top class jazz in Edinburgh's gorgeous central library. This was last night and clashed with the very exciting expo opening of Rough Cut Nation at the Portrait Gallery (also in Edinburgh) which had Tut Vu Vu playing. Apparently it was mental. It would have definitely been a different night to what I'd been drawing! Check it out. It's one of the most exciting projects to descend upon the grand ol' Modom herself. They're doing gigs on Fridays and Saturdays from 5pm too. Worth a look, listen and donder.

Glad to catch the library event though. More drawings in the future too. Keep your eyes peeled for new news. Or Noo News.

Found, and Edinburgh becoming a major player in contemporary music from Scotland

Read this great little article from last weekend's Scotsman Critique magazine/Under the Radar.

http://living.scotsman.com/music/Capital-records-Edinburgh39s-music-scene.5021641.jp

Go on Found!!

Mogwai, F**k Buttons, Errors, and Crashing Celtic Connections Launch

Yep, I get about a bit. Just got back from Edinburgh, it's 01.50, pishy wet and windy and cold weather, I fancy tunneling under my duvet covers and hibernating for the rest of the winter.

Celtic lost 3-0 to Man U. Just so's you know. But when people weren't watching that, including the very band, they were at the Corn Exchange for the brilliant line up that was tonight - Mogwai, supported by the very very very fantastic F**k Buttons and Errors. Great stuff. Nae Bad, as King Rab C might put it.

So here's the pictures in their mighty raw form, just incase y'all thought I did my pictures from memory.


Mogwai, Finale



Mogwai, Green.



F**k Buttons ( but if you can read and you're young/vulnerable enough to be scarred, then I'm in trouble...)

Plus I also managed to get along to the launch of Celtic Connections at the Royal Conert Hall. Was really moving actually; it looks like it's going to be an amazing lineup for January/Feb 2009. Seriously, it looks really quite something!

Arab Strap at Cab.Voltaire, Edinburgh, 3rd Last Ever Scottish Gig, 1st December 2006

Like I said. One of the top nights of the Year. Tragi-Comedy by a couple of the Greatest contemporary poet-musicians in Scotland, with their motley crew squished into a medieval hole of a place. Great venue for an atmospheric gig.

However if you weren't there, you wished you were and you want to relive the experience, I've got images that go with the following. Who will buy my wares?

Setting Up - Where We Gonna Put the Amp? (Those on hand contemplate the miniscule size of the Cabaret Volt Stage - Aidan wonders where he's going to pace)
Warm Up - Right Stevie, it's your chance to Shine - (Words of Encouragement from the Big Hairy Scottish Sound Man.)
Warm Up - (Arctic Explorer Coats with Furry Hoods and Nonchalence keep the boys from feeling the Cold.)
De Rosa - A Great Support Band - (Good Wholesome Grimacing and Pissed Off Lyrics.)
Martin, Singer, De Rosa - (Aye.)
Audience Anticipation, Cabaret Voltaire - (Steamy Tin'O Sardinia)
I could never be the man you always wanted - (I sent this pic to a guy in the audience who was there with his girlfriend. I was hoping he'd buy it, but perhaps he thought I'd made the lyrics about him...- he hasn't got back to me.)
I'd break his Fucking Wrists - (Shortly followed by...)
I don't want to hold your hand
Don't know if you'll like it now, but it's fun -
Malcolm - (quote from Aidan before gig - Aye go in and speak to Malcolm - he's the one that looks like a match)
Aidan on Drum Machine - Great Party Trick. Show off.
What a Waste - (One of the favourites)
This is the Very Last Arab Strap Song - (Complete with drawing of very last Saltire t-shirt which I bought and got them all to smudge their autograph on it. That'll teach me to let the musicians use my stupid arty farty pens to sign things)
Clearing the Fuck Off - (After a manic clear up, everyone drinks up, and legs it on over to club Ego, where Aidan is charged a fiver to get into his very own after show party. Tee Hee!)
I'm afraid I was too busy dancing my socks off at said after show party to offer any more pics.