Do you sing, play an instrument or instruments?
My first instrument is guitar, however, I play a little piano.
When did you start playing?
I started playing in 1981.
Did you teach yourself?
Yes, I taught myself but later gained an advanced Diploma in Music and am currently poised to take RGT Acoustic guitar for teaching purposes.
Are you in a band or bands?
No. I last played guitar and wrote songs in a Rock band named 'The Vanity Rules' approximately 1 year ago. We'd been together for more than twenty years and once performed as a band called 'Goodbye Hayley Mills' in the early 1990's. each band included the same musicians but played two very different styles of music. I'm now enjoying producing music mainly for myself but occasionally for others.
The MySpace site for The vanity Rules still displays one of the songs that we played. It's called 'Rooted'. It gained a finalist placing in The UK Songwriting Competition: www.myspace.com/thevanityrules
Do you write songs?
Yes, I'd say my musicianship developed over the years simply by the process of writing as I experimented with different techniques and chords to enhance my writing. I write both music and lyrics and tend to play all instruments on my recordings, including drum programming (my least favourite activity). I don't have a writing partner but have recently collaborated with several other writers.
Do you record music?
Yes. I record using Logic Pro software. I find it to be very useful as a writing tool and I occasionally produce for other people.
What other roles do you perform in the music business?
I don't perform any other roles in the music business.
Are you a tech head?
Absolutely not! I'm meticulous in my approach to songwriting but place great emphasis on writing melody and hopefully writing thought provoking lyrics.
What country do you live in?
I live in the UK
What are your ambitions?
My ambitions are to continue writing and enjoying music. I'd also love to find a publisher or gain a good sync deal for one of my songs.
Do you draw/paint/write stories/computer art/dance or other creative pursuit.
I've written one or two children's stories. It seemed like a natural progression for a songwriter and I enjoyed this activity, though I much prefer the challenge of writing songs.
What are your pastimes?
When I'm not spending quality time with my family, I enjoy reading and writing music.
What would you like to get out of Songstuff?
I'm looking forward to hearing the songs that other people write, finding out about their musical goals, the writing and recording techniques that they embrace and eventually sharing some of the music that I write with other members.
