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8th June 2009 - The Final Call...
Hello!

Well, if you didn't know already - this Friday (12th) is our album launch party at Jagz in Ascot, where you can for the first time buy copies of our debut record 'Scarecrow'.

We've had a great response from people buying tickets in advance, but there is still some space available before we reach capacity . So, if you're up for coming along and haven't yet got your ticket - head over to www.allthingsconsidered.org.uk and book now.

There are likely to be some pay on the door tickets available, however this will strictly be on a first come, first served basis. The cheap album deal we are running with pre-ordered tickets will not be available on the night - where album's will be sold at normal gig selling price of £7 (although as its a launch party - feel free to haggle to an extent, it'll be fun!).

Further dates past this of note are this coming Sunday, when we support the hughly talented 'nu-folk' artist Lisa Knapp at South Hill Park in Bracknell, and also festival apperances at The Big Day Out, Walton Soundfest and Weyfest during the summer.

Thanks a lot for your continued support - it really is appreciated.

Hope to see you on Friday!

Cheers

All Things Considered
5th May 2009 - A bit of a news update
A quick one to keep you up to date with what we're doing in the near future - we've just been confirmed as playing at the Halfmoon Putney's Unplugged night on 20th July, and in the next few weeks we're playing Susie Clarke's "Living Room Players" night at The Star, Godalming on 14th May, supporting Rory Ellis, again at the Halfmoon Putney on 21st May, Gostrey Meadow Charity Fair in Farnham on the 6th June and supporting Lisa Knapp at The Wilde Theatre, Bracknell on 14th June.

Not forgetting, of course, our Album Launch on the 12th June at Jagz, Ascot, tickets are on sale now, and are flying off the shelves (as it were), so be sure to get yours soon - either from any of us or through our website or Myspace. Tickets are £6, or you can grab yourself a bargain by pre-ordering an album at the same time for just £10 for the two.
30th March 2009 - The Time Has Come
Well - we have all got our arses in gear over the weekend to bring you the big announcement we promised last week. Whether it'll make you jump for joy or spur you on to at least clench your fist in excitement - we hope you'll join with us in being pretty happy about this news.

Our debut album 'Scarecrow' will be released on Friday June 12th 2009.

It will be released on the Artree Music label and available to buy through both Artree's and our own website, on iTunes and hopefully (although we're still clearing this) through Amazon. You'll also obviously be able to purchase it at gigs.

The album will have 10 tracks, most of which are over 5 minutes long so you'll certainly be getting value for money. We are still in the process of mixing and mastering the music but we're well on course for the 12th June - and on that day, we'll have a nice little album launch party!

Jagz in Ascot will be the venue, where we'll be playing a full set - with a great support card including the blindingly good Naama Hillman (www.myspace.com/naamahillman) and one more act TBC. Your entry ticket for the night will not only get you in to what will hopefully be a very special gig, but also entry to the after show club until 2am - where we all intend to get smashed (if we haven't by the time we get on stage that is).

Tickets for this event will be £6, however we are doing a special deal for this night only of entry to the gig + a copy of the album for £10. Usual price of the album will be £7, so worth taking the deal if you want a copy.

Both entry and entry+album tickets will be available from any of us up until the event, or until we reach capacity (which we hope we do). However, if you won't be seeing any of us before the gig but would like to come, you can buy tickets through our website. Your tickets will then be waiting for you at the box office on the night.

So there you go - I make it about 11 weeks and counting...........better get some work done then.
27th March 2009 - Big news to follow...
We have a big announcement coming regarding the album on Monday (well, we hope we’re not jumping the gun there – if not Monday, definitely Thursday!) so this will be just a short entry to update you about a few gigs.

Tickets are now on sale for our show at The Half Moon in Putney, where we are opening for the fantastic Aussie singer/songwriter Rory Ellis.

It would be great to see you at this legendary London venue, and you can do so for the bargain sum of £5. Tickets for the event can be bought on the door, or to avoid disappointment in advance here.

Also, we’re going to be playing at Bracknell’s free festival day, The Big Day Out on Saturday June 27th, and have also confirmed a date at The Icarus Club in Lewisham on Thursday July 9th.

More news on gigs and festivals as they become available. Remember to check to website and Myspace pages for full details.
23rd February 2009 - New dates
As promised, a few new live dates have now been confirmed. We're having a busy time in March, playing The Jazz Club, Reading on the 8th March, and The Tup, Guildford on the 11th, as well as The Spice of Life and Good Intentions all within a few days of each other! Also confirmed is a Portsmouth date in September at Roger Courney's renowned open-mic night.

More to come soon, including some festival slots hopefully, keep checking out our schedule at our band website to be kept up to date!
13th February 2009 - News - festivals and album launch!
We’ve been in negotiations about performing at a couple of summer festivals this year – watch this space for updates. Also, we’re very close to agreeing a date and destination for our album launch gig/booze up! All very exciting, so be sure to keep checking back for updates!
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2nd July 2009 - Reviews
Well, first BBC Radio 2 airplay and now a really good review posted on Folk and Roots - http://www.folkandroots.co.uk/reviews9.html#allthings. We haven’t made a bad start to the album promotion!

It’s a strange feeling, opening up your work for other people to critique. It’s like opening your front door and letting people who you’ve never met before loose in your house, picking fault with things, expressing their loudest opinions about your choice of curtains or the state of your carpets (well, unless of course you’re a Z list celebrity who seem to welcome that sort of thing).

Granted, we’ve made a hugely positive start, but for every positive opinion – there is the likelihood that somewhere down the line there will be a person who isn’t going to like what we’re doing and are going to document that fact. It will be interesting how we react to that. Part of me hopes we take the view that a review is a review, and that one person’s opinion doesn’t mean everyone is going to think like that. That you just need to brush the negative views aside and concentrate on impressing the people that are in to what you are doing. That is the correct way to deal with it.

However, like any act – we’ve spent a considerable amount of time and money creating, honing, recording, mixing and mastering these tracks, and we’re pretty attached to them. Yeah, like anything we could look back and think we could have done this and that better. We’re sure we could have done more in the mixing but time was short. On the whole though we’re pleased with the product, happy it portrays us and the music in a positive light and believe it is a good representation of what we are currently about. So, the fact that someone could slate it is likely to be quite a hard pill to swallow – even if it is just one opinion.

Being a reviewer of folk based artists myself, I know of multiple big names in the genre that have blacklisted certain reviewers (myself not included) after they gave them bad press. However, unless you put your record out there, open it up for critique and take the hit if it is panned, not only do you never improve, you’ll never make any money – as without people commenting on your material whether good or bad, you’ll never get any publicity.

So, we’ll wait and see. So far, we’re very very happy. We’ll hope that it’ll all be positive, but as soon as the first negative one hits the web – we’ll be on here to rant about it! At least then it’ll be out of our systems and we can get on with things……

Gigs this coming week by the way are a short set at The Farnham Maltings tomorrow (Friday) at about 10pm. Next week we are in the capital for back to back gigs at The Station Hotel in Lewisham on Thursday 9th as part of The Icarus Club nights and then the following evening we’re in Leicester Square for a return to The Spice of Life.

Be good to see you at any of those.
26th June 2009 - Radio 2/Jackson RIP
Well, Ben wrote the blog entry for today, a brilliant piece about the sad departing of Michael Jackson last night - however before we get to that, some really good news about the band.

On Wednesday night, our track Clear Your Conscience was played by the great Steve Lamacq on his BBC Radio 2 show. We're stupidly chuffed and owe a huge thank you to David Scott who put us forward after buying the album and liking what he heard. Thanks mate - we all really appreciate it.

You can hear the show again for the next few days by using the BBC iPlayer on the main BBC Radio 2 site - www.bbc.co.uk/radio2 and selecting Steve Lamacq's show.

Anyway - on to todays post.


Well, when I volunteered to do today's blog posting I didn't expect this. In case you have been living under a rock for the last 12 hours, Michael Jackson has died aged 50. I'm sure one or two of the others will chuck their own views in on him, but I just want to say this.

Michael Jackson is a musical genius. He came from an era of pop music where artists weren't just people who turned up for a half day of vocal recording on songs that their management had already signed off on. He was a true musician, writing parts and pushing boundaries. He was was the first black artist widely played on MTV when even that media behemoth was still heavy with racism. He wrote some of the most loved songs in the modern era. He was a genius.

On a personal note, I can't imagine music without Jackson. Its just not something that I can comprehend. I was excited about his run of concerts this summer. I was excited about seeing Jackson's redemption. I was excited about seeing this spectacle put on by one of the few geniuses of popular culture. Two of his songs are within my all time top 20. That is double that of anyone else. Same way my folks may remember where they were when Elvis died, I will be able to tell my kids where I was when Jackson died. To those who said he couldn't manage it, he physically dwarfed Dermott O'Leary, who is no small chap, and has been a dancer for 40 years. If the Rolling Stones can do it at nearly 70, he could do it at 50.

What I have noticed, though, is already the press are determined to tarnish his memory. I've been flicking between CNN, BBC and Sky News and what I've seen so far is a collection of people who have all claimed they were in his “inner circle” but ended their interviews “but I haven't spoken to him in a few years.” Uri Geller is the worst offender, and while I don't doubt his friendship to Michael he hung up on BBC News claiming to be too upset while about 8 minutes later he appeared live on Sky News doing an interview. Then an hour later he was back on the Beeb telling the same stories. Unsurprisingly, there is a direct correlation between the celebs which have been on the news tonight and their reputation as self promoters.

Lets not let the public spectacle of his later years tarnish the 40 that preceded it. The man was a genius, he created amazing music and has sold more records than anyone else. In every feasible measurable category, he is top. I hope that the morbid surge in record sales that will accompany his death mixed with the release of any new material he allegedly has worked on will push him over the 1bn records sold threshold. I also hope that all of his dates at the O2 aren't canceled and a fitting tribute is put on.

But, I fear, although his musical skills are winning at the moment, someone will make a quick buck off of his recent reputation. For someone who has survived two child molestation charges, changed skin colour and has his personal trainer as The Incredible Hulk someone will. I actually had a sizeable amount of money on Jackson not completing all 50 gigs at the O2. I burned the betting slip. I fear that the media, eventually, won't be so kind.
23rd June 2009 - This week
We kick on with our album promotion this evening (Tuesday) with a gig in Basingstoke at The Haymarket Theatre. None of us really know the score with this one, so it’s certainly going to be a case of turn up and see….

Basingstoke is one of those places that if you love ring roads and roundabouts, you’ll have a field day. You can always see the town to either your left or right – but can never actually reach it. In the early 90’s it was billed as a ‘whole new shopping experience’, or so the cheesy radio jingle said. I’m not actually sure if anybody actually found it to discover if they were telling the truth.

Either way – we’re looking forward to it. With no rehearsal last week we’re very keen to get back in the swing of things, especially with the Big Day Out festival coming up on Saturday. We played a mid afternoon slot last year – to probably our biggest crowd of the year. We’re on similar time this year – on a bill where the acoustic acts seem to be on first before the ‘louder’ bands take over. We’ve got no issue with that – the weather is looking like its going to be good, and so we’ll take advantage of the chilled out vibe.

So – if you can make either of these gigs – they are both free and will both be entertaining in one form or another. After Saturday, we’re in Farnham next Friday before a stint as London’s resident acoustic roots band with 4 London slots in a row. Well, if we’re going to crack the place, may as well have a damn good go!
18th June 2009 - Internet Piracy
One of us just wrote this up to the BBC website. We aren't telling you which one, and this isn't the official band stance or anything, however it is both music related and food for thought. Let us know what you think.

"I first started downloading illegally in the Napster era. Then into the Kazzaa, then Limewire and now into the Torrent era.

In my experience, although there will always be a hardened core who will, music downloading is no longer a big issue. Back when albums cost £15 for their first 6 months of release it was rampant, however with ease of delivery and better pricing, music downloads aren't a major issue. The only downloads of Music I have made in the last few years has been to replace albums that have been lost, stolen or damaged.

The problem with downloading TV & Film, which is what the lions share of modern downloading is, is caused by two underlying problems and both of them are at the studios end.

The first is odd program scheduling. If a film is released in the UK a week, or even at all, after a USA or Japan release then studios cannot expect hardened audiences to wait for a release when the film will be available online. The same for television, as most series are broadcast in the UK 6 to 12 months after the USA, and so asking audiences to wait when the media is available online is highly naive.

The second is archaic delivery techniques,an issue that the Music industry took far too long to correct. Instead of fighting hard to keep current distribution channels open, they need to embrace new ways to spread, and profit from, their product. Any look at the number of seeders and downloaders on a torrent site shows how popular they are, along with the viewers on streaming channels.

However, this is the crux of where the problem lies. US Studios do not have agreements in place with distributors to allow them to broadcast better online, and they do not have good deals in place with Unions in terms of online royalties. They have tried to meet halfway, with sites such as Hulu, however it simply won't come to pass. End users do not want to catch up on last weeks show, or see selected clips, or see an advert for next weeks. They want to watch their show, whether it be the the latest episode or the first ever broadcast. Turning a profit from advertising embedded in online film and TV should also be much easier than the failed attempts to do so with media, as audiences are used to seeing advertising on television.

Changing the culture will also be harder. Music acts finances aren't as widely known, and musicians are generally more respected artistically than actors. Unlike when prominent bands such as Metallica spoke out against music piracy, actors will not find the same sympathies. Especially when the struggling student, low paid shift worker and debt ridden post grad hears a lead actor who earnt $20m for a movie asking not to download it for financial reasons.

It is also harder for ISPs to crack down, as before they could act based on high download and upload figures for an IP addy. However, with the rise of digital delivery for software and online gaming, it can be hard to distinguish a genuine high traffic user from a rampant pirate.

I am not defending what I do. I know that legally it is wrong, however the crime is viewed by many with an amount of non-chalance. This is how I choose to view my media, and it is not provided by official channels. Film and TV studios need to see the struggle record labels went through before realising they needed to embrace, and not fight, new distribution channels and business models. There are those who do steal because they don't want to pay, but many others do it as a matter of convinience.

Although, as most studios have no intention of adjusting themselves to suit customers needs, the only way to control the current form of media sharing would be to laws similar to prostitution. Do not make it a crime to download, however make it a crime to solicit. Each time an illegal stream is caught broadcasting copyrighted material, and each time a poster places a torrent file to copyrighted media, punish them. This will lead to fewer users risking uploading, providing less chances for those to download and start to put studios back in control."
15th June 2009 -
First of all, we'd like to say a huge thank-you to everyone who came along on Friday. The album launch was a huge success, and we couldn't have done it without your support! A big thank-you also to our support acts Matt Wellard and Naama Hillman for providing wonderful music (check out their websites if you haven't yet!), Al Heslop for doing a great job with the sound, and Tom from Tomodo for coming along and taking some great photos. I'm sure I've forgotten lots of other people, so thanks to all of you too!

Other than that there's not a huge amount to say really. We've got LOTS of gigs planned over the summer, up and down the country, so please come along to some of those - there's a list on our website. Also, one more plug (yes, I know, it seems to be all that we've done the last few weeks...) - as the album is now officially released, you can buy your copy in any of a multitude of ways - at www.allthingsconsidered.org.uk, from Amazon (hard copy or MP3), and from iTunes, as well as of course from any gigs that we play. Make sure you get your copy soon, as copies are currently quite limited, so they may not be around for long!

Anyway, thanks again, and we hope to see you all again in the very near future!
12th June 2009 - The Time Is Now
Yes, that's right, it's the day of the launch party! We had a slightly shaky start to the rehearsal, with Adrian turning up and announcing he'd had pretty much the worst day imaginable - ask him for the full story, but when a band member turns up and announces "I crashed my motorbike today" and you have a big gig the next day it certainly makes your heart race! But, once we had got all of the gossiping out of the way, we got down to work, ran through the set a few times and pretty much nailed it. Lets hope that we can manage the same tonight...

So, with just a few last minute jobs to finish off (I've been sent on a string-buying mission by Adrian!), we are just about as ready as we can be. And we hope that you all are too!

Anyway, there's not much more to say really, other than we hope to see as many of you as possible tonight! Advance tickets are no longer available, but if you haven't got one yet there will be a limited number (so turn up early!) available on the door, at just £6. Here's to a great gig this evening!
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