Dayve Dean

Rising Sun Acoustic Night

2012-02-12T20:16:00.001Z

Tonight I'm playing an acoustic night at the Rising Sun in Crewe. It's a totally acoustic night with everything played through the air without any microphones or PA system.

I'm going to be recording with a portable recorder and if the quality is good enough I'll make some songs available for download through the website.

I'll be playing guitar and ukulele as well as singing and will be joined by Nick Bayes on acoustic bass. We'll be joined by various musical friends including Suzie Does It and Phil Maddocks.

(Tim from Suzie Does It having a go on the uke)

Sidelines - live on the banks of Loch Ness

2012-02-07T01:38:00.000Z

I've just got back from a few days up in the Highlands of Scotland and on the way back decided to record a quick video on the banks of a (very windy) Loch Ness:

The song is called Sidelines and was written last summer. Although it's not been recorded except in demo form I've started to play the song in my live set, particularly at more acoustic or folk styled venues. Let me know what you think, and whether you'd like to hear it recorded properly.

Website and Facebook changes

2011-02-22T00:16:00.000Z

Having somewhat neglected the website for the last few months, I've started working on bringing it back up to date and adding some new social features.

A lot of the features on the site use features from other websites and I've changed the navigation bar at the top of the pages to reflect these changes including:

Removing the Photos and Videos links which previously showed content from YouTube and Flickr within the site. The videos and images are all still available by visiting my pages on those sites directly.
Removing the links to my MySpace page (more below), Bebo, Reverbnation and Indiestore. I now rarely use Bebo or Reverbnation and although they are updated automatically with status updates, these are the same as you will find on Twitter at twitter.com/dayvedean. Indiestore no longer exists.
Adding Twitter to the options - despite using it for years, for some reason I didn't previously have a link to Twitter on the navigation bar.

I've also started to integrate some more social features from Facebook including a 'Like' button on the song pages for Octagon. I'm hoping to expand on this more and to make the navigation on the site more about the albums and songs rather than repeating the same information in the shop, lyrics and discography pages. I'm also starting to make use of HTML5 audio on the site which means that you will be able to listen on a wider variety of devices including mobile devices such as iPhones and iPads. Watch this space... And let me know if there's any changes you would like to see on the site! Either send an email to mailinglist@dayve.co.uk or leave a comment on the Facebook page.

While I'm freshening things up, I'm also going to be making some changes to the Facebook page at facebook.com/dayvedean out of necessity as much as anything else as I will be switching over to the new profile soon. It's now possible to include web content on the page so I'm hoping you will be able to access a lot of the content from the main site without having to leave Facebook. Again, any suggestions welcome.

Finally, I've removed the main link to MySpace from the website. Although I still have a profile over there at myspace.com/dayvedean there have been some major changes taking place on their site which has resulted in my page appearing to be broken! Although I've made changes to clean it up, they don't appear to be taking any effect. So feel free to pop over there and have a look but it seemed to make sense to remove the link at least for the time being.

Upcoming shows

2011-02-10T15:01:00.003Z

I'm going to be playing a free show tomorrow (Friday 11 February 2011) evening at Square One in Crewe as part of their Unsigned Friday series.

I'll be playing an acoustic show along with bassist Nick Bayes, starting around 9pm. Square One is located on Mill Street in Crewe, close to Crewe Station.

View Larger Map

I'll also be back at Symphony in Sandbach on Monday (14 February 2011) for a Valentine's Day special Meet The Songwriters evening. This is a busy night for Symphony so both upstairs and downstairs rooms will be open and booking is advised. I'll be performing in both rooms in a purely acoustic format over the evening along with fellow singer/songwriters Guitar Mal, Hayley Strangelove and Sheena Bratt.

Symphony is located on Congleton Road in Sandbach. They can be contacted on 01270 763664.

View Larger Map

Support shows

2010-11-05T09:16:00.002Z

I'm going to be playing some support shows over the next few months:

Firstly this Saturday, 6 November, I'll once again be supporting The Christians at The Box in Crewe.

Later in November, on Saturday 20th, I'll be supporting Undiscovered Soul at The Rose & Crown in Biddulph, Staffordshire.

Then next year, on 8 January I'll be supporting Katy Lied at Darlington Arts Centre.

Edinburgh 2010

2010-08-08T15:47:00.003+01:00

It's two years since the official launch of the Octagon album and the month long run of Octagon '08 shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

I'm back in Edinburgh again today to celebrate with a show at The Pear Tree stage as part of this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Laughing Horse Festival.

I'm playing an acoustic set along with Nick Bayes on the outdoor music stage at 6.30pm. It's free admission so come along if you're in town. Otherwise I'll hopefully be uploading videos and photos from the show over the next few days.

Forum Music Centre with Katy Lied

2010-04-23T18:05:00.001+01:00

I'm playing at The Forum Music Centre in Darlington tonight supporting Katy Lied.

It will be an acoustic set with Spoons on bass. Hopefully I'll have more photos and videos of the show to upload later.

Check out Katy Lied on their website at www.katylied.com.

Music Supported Here

2010-03-05T10:23:00.002Z

Music Supported Here is a new movement from the Musicians’ Union.

It’s a campaign for all musicians.

It’s about the simple but important principle that musicians should not get ripped-off in the digital world.

For musicians, it will be a way to publicise and debate the issue and to remind fans that you want to control your rights.

It’s a platform for musicians to raise their profile and direct their fans to their own stores and websites: a source of music controlled by the musicians.

And for music fans it’s a way to say that you don’t rip-off musicians.

By supporting musicians' rights, we’re supporting music.

Manifesto

In today’s internet-sharing world, it’s never been easier for original music to be hijacked, plagiarised, copied or just plain nicked.

That’s why music copyright has never been so important.

And it’s important for music fans because it pays for musicians to make more music.

The Musicians’ Union (MU) is committed to making sure that everyone respects the value of music and the huge part it plays in our lives.

But we can’t expect the right to enjoy music unless we respect the rights of the people
who make it.

And if musicians do want to give their music away, they should be in control of the process.

By supporting musicians’ rights, we’re supporting music.

Find out more about the campaign at www.musicsupportedhere.com. There is a list of supporters on there including Feargal Sharkey and Kasabian. You can support the campaign too by posting the logo on your website, blog, Facebook, MySpace page etc, or creating your own logo to use. Here's mine:

Winter

2010-02-19T11:38:00.001Z

Before Christmas I was playing a set including several Christmas songs to promote my Another Christmas EP.

Once Christmas was over, the snow started to come down and still hasn't really stopped over a month later. I realised that there were not many winter songs which could still be sung in January and February, despite Winter not officially starting until 21 December, so I decided to write one.

During a snowstorm on a farm in Wrenbury I thought it would be a nice idea to go out onto the fields and play the song. Sometimes you just gotta sing in the snow!

Playing at de bees tonight

2010-02-18T20:31:00.001Z

I'm playing at de bees in Winsford tonight. It looks lovely against the falling snow:

I'll be playing along with Spoons and hopefully will have some photos and videos from the night to upload to the usual places.

Also playing are The Roseville Band and The Freelove Band.

It's the first time I've played de bees since April last year when I played here with James and the Giant.

Planned setlist for tonight is:

16 Again
Ordinary
Follow
Starting Line
Tell You
Who Knew
Like Jimmy Did
I Don't Want To Be That Man Anymore

Tonight will also hopefully see the debut of the foot percussion...!

iTunes 10 Billion Song Countdown

2010-02-14T22:20:00.000Z

The iTunes Music Store is counting down (or shouldn't that be up?) to its 10 billionth song download.

The person who buys the 10 billionth song (or enters for free through the website) will win a $10,000 iTunes gift card which is a pretty hefty prize.

The 10 billionth downloaded song is also likely to be given a lot of publicity so it's a great time to buy some music from iTunes.

It would be great to have a song from Octagon as the one (find it at http://iTunes.com/dayvedean) or you could also have a look at some of the acts putting themselves forward for Storm The Charts. I'll be blogging more about that later but for the moment you can find out more at http://tinyurl.com/stormthecharts.

Find out more about the iTunes competition and enter for free at http://www.apple.com/uk/itunes/10-billion-song-countdown/.

(While you're checking out iTunes, it would be great if you could leave a review of my music on there! It's free to do and you don't have to have bought the album from iTunes to review it).

Twelve Days of Christmas Podcast

2009-12-28T22:28:00.005Z

Inspired by the iTunes 12 Days of Christmas free download promotion last year, throughout 2009 I've been giving away a free song most weeks in my Download of the Week podcast. I've enjoyed making it, so watch out for that podcast continuing throughout 2010.

As a special for Christmas I have created a new limited podcast. Grab 12 free downloads for Christmas this year, a mixture of full songs, demos, videos and ringtones. Find the podcast at http://dayvedean.jellycast.com/podcast/feed/110 and subscribe through iTunes or your favourite podcast software.

For more free exclusive downloads, join the mailing list at www.dayve.co.uk.

The Cat goes live on 87.7FM

2009-11-23T23:50:00.004Z

My new radio show on The Cat officially starts tomorrow, Tuesday 24 November 2009.

Following a week of trial broadcasts on the internet, The Cat started its RSL (Restricted Service License) on 87.7FM today in the Crewe and Nantwich area in South Cheshire, as well as broadcasting live on the internet at www.thisisthecat.com.

I'm presenting the mid-morning show between 9am and midday every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for the next four weeks, accompanied by nuclear scientist Dr Gavin Hammond and (when he's not touring with Thea Gilmore) Dan Logan.

You can get in touch with the show by calling or texting 01270 266877 or emailing studio@thisisthecat.com. You can also keep up with the station on Twitter at twitter.com/thisisthecat.

Thea Gilmore: Strange Communion out now

2009-11-11T18:00:00.000Z

Thea Gilmore's new album "Strange Communion" is now available. It features 10 songs including a cover of Elvis Costello and The Chieftans' "The St Stephen's Day Murders". Thea has recorded it as a duet with Mark Radcliffe (BBC Radio 2 and The Family Mahone) and I sing backing vocals on it along with three other guys ('the four wise men'!). The rest of the album is also well worth a listen.

I found a copy in HMV but you can also buy it on Amazon through the following link:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d.html/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/276-3093790-7589504?ref_=sr%5F1%5F1&s=music&qid=1257119375&a=B002RVCXU0&sr=1-1

Or from iTunes:

http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/st-stephens-day-murders/id335335951?i=335336013&uo=6

I'm told that songs from the album are currently available to stream on Thea's MySpace page at www.myspace.com/theagilmore. Check out her website at www.theagilmore.net for tour dates. Dan Logan from my band will be joining Thea, Nigel and Fluff for selected dates on the tour.

iTunes 9

2009-09-28T10:20:00.000+01:00

There's a new version of iTunes out and it includes a whole new look for the iTunes store!

This means that my music and podcasts will appear slightly differently on there once you upgrade. You can find my music directly (whichever version of iTunes you have) at tinyurl.com/octagonitunes, but here's a glimpse of what my new page looks like on the Mac version of iTunes 9:

I think it makes everything a lot easier to see, and means that all the albums/singles and podcasts now appear on one page. It seems a good time to have a quick run down of the content I currently have available on iTunes. Prices are given in GBP but should be available at the local standard iTunes pricing worldwide:

Music

Octagon, 11 tracks, £7.99
Octagon EP, 4 tracks, £3.16
I Could Be Happy With You, 1 track, 79p (only available in Europe)
Another Christmas EP, 3 tracks, £2.37
Still Life, 12 tracks, £7.99

Podcasts (all free to subscribe and download)

Free Download of the Week
Video Podcast - High Definition
Video Podcast - iPod compatible

The free download of the week podcast is updated pretty much weekly and I'm now hoping to do the same for the video podcasts so keep looking out for the latest 'episodes', or subscribe in iTunes to have them automatically downloaded as they become available.

And to give you an example of what the new look for the albums is like, this is Octagon in iTunes 9:

Music of the Spheres: Free download of the week podcast

2009-09-27T20:18:00.004+01:00

This week's free download is a song I wrote 13 years ago called Music of the Spheres

I wrote Music of the Spheres in 1996 as part of an A Level Performing Arts project. We were asked to create a piece using one of a number of phrases and quotes and I eventually chose to write a song influenced by music of the spheres, which is the idea that the movement of the planets creates a silent form of music. I'm sure the internet has many better descriptions of it! Read what Wikipedia has to say about it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_the_spheres.

It took me a while to decide which phrase or quote to choose. It didn't really occur to me to take the phrases at anything other than face value, and two that appealed to me at first were 'Not Waving But Drowning', which I soon found out was the title of a poem, and 'And There Is No Health In Us' which I started to write a song around but never really finished. I still remember the parts of the song I had written and it's possible that I'll finish the song at some point and it will end up on a future podcast. My teacher at the time certainly liked the parts of the song I played to him, and I think actually preferred that song to this one, but I hit a bit of a block while trying to finish it. In the days before the internet, it was not so easy to just Google a reference and I wasn't really interested in finding out where the phrases had originally come from. I've just done a search and it appears that 'And There Is No Health In Us' is from some kind of religious confession, so it's possibly better that I didn't check it at the time!

I found out about the concept of music of the spheres almost by chance, I seem to think by an article in a newspaper at the time, and after researching it a little more was inspired to write this song almost in one go.

Originally written for guitar, this version of Music of the Spheres uses piano, violin and just a little bit of guitar. It was recorded using Garageband on my Mac Pro which is now feeling well again after its replacement hard drive. However, I started to get too overconfident in my new found computing power and after leaving it on for several days and working it hard with video, music and photo editing and uploading, it finally decided it was going to crash. I'd forgotten to save the last few days recordings, so lost a few days of work on the song! It was a mixed blessing though, because I'd hit a wall with trying to play the violin (an instrument I can't really play, so I have to record numerous takes and edit together the best bits, helped out by pitch correction and reverb effects) and get a nice vocal take. The computer crashed pretty much as I'd decided that the song was as good as I was going to get it, and it left me with just the piano and guitar parts. The rerecorded vocal and violin parts are much better than the first attempts.

As always, let me know what you think either by leaving a comment on the blog or in the Facebook Comments box at www.dayve.co.uk/downloadoftheweek/downlaodoftheweek.shtml, or email me at mailinglist@dayve.co.uk. You can download the podcast on my Download of the Week page, or through iTunes.

One & Other

2009-09-25T00:31:00.004+01:00

I'm really excited that I've been picked to do an hour on the Fourth Plinth at Trafalgar Square tomorrow (Friday 25 September 2009) between 9pm and 10pm as part of the One & Other project.

I've been interested in this project since I heard about it a few months back, as well as the other artworks which have featured on the Fourth Plinth over the last few years. I signed up to take part as soon as the option was made available but missed out on all four of the random draws for a place. However, I was placed onto the reserve list and yesterday received a call asking if I would be able to fill the 9pm spot on Friday.

I will be able to send the time up there doing pretty much whatever I like, so it seems to make sense for me to do a bit of a gig up there in the busking style that I've been doing for various charities recently including Oxjam (for Oxfam) and Busking Cancer (for Cancer Research UK).

I'll also be doing a live interview with Sky Arts earlier in the evening, sometime between 7pm and 9pm, talking about the One & Other project.

You will be able to watch me live on the plinth from 9pm tomorrow evening at www.oneandother.co.uk and it should be archived there for later viewing. There is also a profile page for me on the site which has now become active, and you can leave comments on there both for and about me, and thank you to those who have commented already.

And if you'll be in London, come over to Trafalgar Square, have a listen and let's have a chat!

Hospital Food: Free download of the week podcast

2009-08-27T23:12:00.003+01:00

This week's free song podcast is now available. It is a cover of David Gray's Hospital Food recorded live at the Acoustic Music Centre @ St Bride's, Edinburgh, on 24 August 2008 as part of my Octagon '08 show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The video of this recording is available at youtube.com/dayvedean.

It's been just over a year since my run of shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe last year. It was great to go back up there last week to play with the band, and because we were playing the Free Festival we could enjoy the festival without having to worry about selling tickets. It was quite a learning curve to do a show up there last year, particularly as I was launching the new album at the same time so there was a lot going on.

One of the things that became quite obvious even during the first show of the run was that the venue felt less relaxed than the places I usually play so the shows were more like sit down performances rather than a show in a bar or venue where it's fine to move around, go to the bar etc. I realised that an hour long show was quite a long time to sit and listen to new songs, particularly considering the album had not yet been released. I decided to restructure the show so that I was playing a cover version to every two of my own songs.

The covers I performed varied during the show's run: some were songs I'd prepared before coming up to Edinburgh, others I was either already performing regularly or had done so in the past. Hospital Food was completely new to me though and it was interesting to learn a song and start playing so regularly within such a short space of time.

I was performing several times a day in various situations including in the shop window of John Lewis and on an outdoor, unamplified stage on the High Street, as well as my hour long show at the Acoustic Music Centre. This recording is taken from the final show of my run, the only show of the run which I recorded. The videos are available at youtube.com/dayvedean.

You can download the podcast at www.dayve.co.uk or on iTunes.

Launch of the Words and Music Festival

2009-08-23T16:02:00.000+01:00

I've just played an acoustic set along with Dan Logan at the launch
event of the Nantwich Words and Music Festival at Costa in Nantwich.

We played a half hour set including:

Follow
Starting Line
Like Jimmy Did
After The Goldrush
Not The One
Lizard Skin
I Don't Want To Be That Man Anymore.

More photos and video will hopefully be uploaded soon to the usual
places.

We're now watching Nigel Stonier and are looking forward to Thea
Gilmore, both playing with Fluff.

The lineup for the festival has now been announced. It's taking place
between 8-11 October 2009 and includes performances from acts
including Thea Gilmore, Mark Radcliffe, Rod Clements, Ian Brodie from
the Lightning Seeds and Simon Armitage. There's more information and
the chance to buy tickets on the festival website at www.wordsandmusicfestival.com
.

Nantwich Words and Music Festival launch

2009-08-23T01:26:00.003+01:00

I'm going to be playing at the launch event for the Nantwich Words and Music Festival later today, Sunday 23 August 2009.

It will take place at Costa, 1 Church Lane (off Hospital Street) in Nantwich, Cheshire, CW5 5RQ between around 2.30pm and 4.30pm and will feature several acoustic performances from acts including myself, Thea Gilmore, Fluff and Nigel Stonier. There will also be an announcement of some of the main acts to play at the festival which will be taking place in October this year, as well as a chance to buy tickets.

If you're at a lose end this Sunday, come along and enjoy some free music and a (FairTrade) coffee! For more information, contact Costa on 01270 629733 and also check out the festival's website at www.wordsandmusicfestival.com.

Final Edinburgh show

2009-08-16T18:26:00.000+01:00

We've just finished playing our final show at this year's Edinburgh
Festival Fringe.

The weather was probably the best of the three days and we had a good
crowd in the beer garden. We tried something a bit different which saw
Carl take over lead vocals for one of the songs. Hopefully I'll be
able to upload some video of that coming soon.

The band are heading home early tomorrow so we've one more night of us
all in Edinburgh. I'm staying on until late on Tuesday so might be
able to get a solo gig in before leaving.

I'll be uploading photos and video from the shows as soon as I can!

James and the Giant at The Pear Tree

2009-08-15T21:19:00.000+01:00

I played the first Edinburgh show with James and the Giant tonight at
The Pear Tree Music Stage. It's an outdoor show in Edinburgh's largest
beer garden so it's dependent on the weather but thankfully the rain
kept away and we had a pretty large audience tonight.

I'll be sending regular updates during our time in Edinburgh which you
can follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/dayvedean

James and the Giant at Edinburgh, 14-16 August 2009

2009-08-13T18:08:00.001+01:00

I'm up in Edinburgh again for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and am
currently in the beer garden at The Pear Tree, part of the Counting
House complex.

It's the biggest beer garden in Edinburgh and I'll be performing here
with James and the Giant for the next three nights. We'll be on stage
at 7pm as part of the Laughing Horse Free Festival so entry is free.

Here's the info:

Fringe venue 170: Pear Tree @ The Counting House
On stage time 7pm (for approx 1 hour)
Address: 38 West Nicolson Street, Edinburgh
Tickets: Free, unticketed. Just turn up!

You can find events listings for the three shows on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dayvedean

Pear Tree Stage in Edinburgh

2009-08-13T17:49:00.000+01:00

New free downloads: Not The One and Starting Line (live at the Octagon album launch at Orchard Studios)

2009-08-10T22:45:00.002+01:00

There are two new songs available to download for free on my download of the week podcast:

This week's podcast song is something a bit different. I had a couple of songs which I had in mind to record for this week, both of which I needed to finish writing and play through a few times. However when I picked up the guitar I started messing around with a few chords and within an hour this song was written and recorded straight onto the Voice Memos app on my iPhone. The quality is surprisingly good!

I thought about adding a few things to the song, and can hear space in the song for a bit of bass, strings and picked guitar, and I've left room near the end for a guitar solo. I thought I'd leave the podcast version as just the raw demo, recorded as one take purely using the iPhone which I emailed to my computer for iTunes to convert to MP3. It was all written and recorded within around an hour this afternoon, 10 August 2009.

Let me know what you think.

Last week's download is still available. Here's the details:

4/8/2009

It's been a year since I launched the Octagon album at the Edinburgh Festival. Before heading to the festival, I held some launch events in Cheshire including a full band gig at Orchard Studios where some of the album was recorded.

This week's download is taken from that session featuring Fluff on violin, Roy Martin on drums, Nigel Stonier on bass and vocals, Dan Logan on guitar, and myself on guitar and vocals. The sound is taken from the video shoot, and you can find the videos from the launch event at www.youtube.com/dayvedean.