Songs of Love and Hate (Gig)

I'm going to be playing at this on Sunday night...
http://www.solobar.co.uk/whats-on/479-love-and-hate-01-september-2013.html
And playing there as well is an awesome musician in London Beth Swain
I'll be singing my favourite songs that I've been playing on the open mic circuit recently including remakes of Joni Mitchell's 'Woodstock' and Florence + The Machine's 'Cosmic Love', an old song of mine from 2001 that I never played live before "Where It Hurts", a new song of mine 'Streets Of Camden' and some more..

Photos thanks to Solo Bar Website :)

Gig in Madrid

I'll be playing a gig in Madrid in early November - will post more details soon!


-- Desde Mi iPhone

Don't Let The World Get In The Way - Live Video

I got this recorded the other week at the same time as Cosmic Love - am hoping to have another one coming soon.

If you click to go to YouTube, the lyrics are in the video.

I usually upload Cover songs to YouTube but this is one of my own... It's a love song from last Summer... :)

Ode To Billie Joe

Over the last week, I've been working on a new cover song, the old 60's hit 'Ode To Billie Joe'

Visit Soundcloud to stream


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Cosmic Love Video

Went down to a new Open Mic night last Thursday night and sang a cover of Florence + The Machine's 'Cosmic Love'. Hope you enjoy!

Go to the Facebook link at the top of the page and click "like" to be updated when I upload new videos :)

Open Mic Tonight - Pimlico

Heading down to try out the open mic at King William IV in Pimlico (London) tonight (111 Grosvenor Road).

Will be there from 8pm!

Ps. I do have more "Blog Every Day in  May" entries to upload!

-- Desde Mi iPhone

Open Mic UK

Just registered for this!
http://www.openmicuk.co.uk/

National talent competition starting in August!


-- Desde Mi iPhone

BEDM#6 - Day 6, Monday: If you couldn’t answer with your job, how would you answer the question, ‘what do you do’?

Hahaha aww I’d love to get paid for these things...

1. Every month, since Summer 2005, I try to find 20 new artists/bands to get into. This started off as just a mish-mash of songs that I liked, all thrown together but has slowly turned into something else… I concentrate on a particular genre of music now each month, or at least have some kind of theme. I call them my ‘Monthly Playlists’ and I’ve spent hours and hours doing these when I should be doing other more productive things… I also spend a lot of time now ordering the songs too – from start to finish and making sure the mix between each song on my iTunes flows nicely as well.

2. I look for old songs to cover and re-make into my own style – I try to find songs spanning different genres as I generally believe people like more genres of music than they say – either because they’re embarrassed or have a pre-conception about it. I’ve found this in myself as the more I’ve pressed myself, the wider my taste has become. I still have a bit of an issue with stadium rock though and 10 minute guitar solos… lol :-(

3. I also write music, mainly on guitar, piano or on a software programme called Ableton Suite. The lyrics and the vocal (melody/performance) are most important to me and when I’m writing, this is what I spend most of the time on.


-- Desde Mi iPhone

BEDM#5 - Day 5, Sunday: Publicly profess your love and devotion for one of your blogger friends.

Well… I only have one blogger friend – the person I stole this Blogging every day idea from…

Soooo… Lee I have known about 12/13 years now (what???!!!) – he is the kind of person that if you don’t know the answer to something, you can ask him and he’ll always have a pretty good idea about it! He’s smart, loves Mac products (before the world went crazy for Mac), and has an awesome sense f humour. I remember once I was with some mates and we met Lee outside the club and I ran up to him… I was all gothed up with metal spikes and scratched all his neck – I felt awwwwful! And he didn’t create the slightest bit of fuss at all, just laughed it off and carried on with the night :)


-- Desde Mi iPhone

BEDM#4 - Day 4, Saturday: Favorite quote (from a person, from a book, etc) and why you love it

“In a world where you can be anything you want, BE YOURSELF”

It's easy to find admiration for others, and it's easy to look at someone else's life from a distance and think how confident and focused they are... But how about feeling that for yourself? How about believing you have things perfectly under control...and that you're going to do the best for yourself, whatever happens?

A good relationship with yourself is an integral part of having a decent and happy existence and many people don't have that. I'm trying though, and that's the main thing.



-- Desde Mi iPhone

BEDM#3 - Day 3, Friday: Things that make you uncomfortable

I commute from East London to Sussex every day for work… it takes 1 hour 30 mins each way so it’s a bit of a trek! I use the travel time wisely though to either study Spanish or listen to the previous night's recordings and make notes on them. There’s a bus that collects people from the station and takes us to the office. And unless someone actually talks to me directly on the bus, I nearly always keep my headphones on, deep in concentration. But I always feel so guilty and anti-social… Despite this though still I can’t quite seem to drag myself away from my tasks at the time.. So that’s my uncomfortable thing – the judgement of others!


-- Desde Mi iPhone

Playing tomorrow in London - The Victoria, SW8

If you're in the area, I'm heading down to the Open Mic at the pub Victoria near Battersea Park tomorrow night to play some tunes!  Will be there from 8pm...

Victoria, 166 Queenstown Road, London, SW8 3QH

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BEDM #2 - Educate us on something you know alot about or are good at

BEDM 2 - Educate us on something you know alot about or are good at

Losing Weight


I believe I am good at losing weight. I’m saying this because I feel like I have ‘cracked’ the code; I have found the way that works for me.

I lost nearly 3 stone (17kg) but before that I had tried many, many diets, joined many gyms, and I worked hard in those gyms for months at a time on running machines, exercise bikes, cross trainers… And don’t get me wrong, I saw results, but never enough to compared to the sheer amount of gut wrenching time and energy I was putting into it.

Once upon a time, I read somewhere that to lose a pound of weight in a week, you need to create a calorie deficit of 3,500 calories per week. This means eating 500 calories less than you actually need every day. After many years of struggle, this seemed to be an outrageously simple concept. But it really is that simple…

What’s harder is the motivation, finding the will-power and sustaining this; everyone lacks this sometimes because we’re HUMANS! So I’ve written below the things that helped motivate me. And this is just for me, different things work for different people…and the key is tailoring a list of things for you.

• Keeping a food and exercise journal.  I'd say this is paramount - the number one thing for me.

• Learning about Nutritional Information charts (all items but particularly calories, fats and sugars) and educating myself on the foods I’m eating.

• Finding out how many calories MY body needs
It took some time to work out how many calories my body needs a day – for the average man it is said to be 2,500. However in reality, mine is nowhere near as high as that figure. Partly because I’m not exactly the tallest person and partly because I reckon I just have a slow metabolism.

• Using my daily routine to incorporate whatever ‘health’ choices I’d made. Routine is important partially because it takes the ‘choice’ out of things sometimes eg. Walking past your favourite Sausage sandwich shop every morning – take a different route instead or brushing my teeth earlier in the evening so I’m not tempted to snack again.

• Changing your mindset – quality over quantity. Reduce portion sizes, really taste the food you eat, eat slowly.

• You’re eating less, so what you DO eat, choose wisely. Cut out processed foods, eat lots of veg, eat fruit and keep the balance between protein, carbs, fat. Eating well is important because when you’re creating a calorie defecit, you’re going to feel a little weaker – so you need all the nutrients you can get  Also - take a nutritional supplement – make sure you’re not missing out on any vitamins whilst you’re eating less.

• Drinking more water / green tea. It’s good for you and it helps make you fills you up.

• Find a friend who also wants to lose weight - sharing the experience with someone helps a lot too.
• I try to limit my Carb intake at night time – I am less active in the evenings, and so there’s less opportunity for my body to use the energy. For the same reason, I try not to eat late at night.

• Eating one of your meals after cardio exercise – there have been studies that suggest that calories burn off more quickly within a certain period after exercising (it’s about 30 mins I think)

• Think: what is your reward? Is it having that chocolate bar you want or is it feeling healthy, lean and fitting into your favourite clothes? Leaves notes or pictures around the house to motivate you.

• Don’t deny yourself everything! If I want chocolate, I will eat chocolate. But I will eat a small portion. Once I have tasted it, I feel satisfied.

• Don't leave yourself starving. If you're hungry in between meals, eat something. Being hungry will make you miserable and weak. Whatever you eat, just make sure its within your set calories range for the day.

• Keep yourself busy – this is also to do with changing your mindset. When dieting you feel like you’re enduring something awful – but you need to just accept it and get on with your day. Think of it as a lifestyle change rather than a diet.  When you have lost the weight you want to, you'll be eating an extra 500 or so calories a day again - thats where the lifestyle change comes in because you can't go back to your old habits otherwise the weight will return.

• Obviously, exercise, 3 x times per week for 30 minutes minimum – something that gets your heart rate up. Exercise releases endorphins in your head and makes you happier. Happier mind = less moping = less snacking.

• Be creative – find what works for you, and see how you can do more things like it. An example for me is that I found foods that I loved that were low in calories and so I ate more of them as a treat to myself – for me this was chicken and prawns.

I spoke to a friend who said she would never be able to open a chocolate bar and just eat one piece and be satisfied – so for her she said that wouldn’t work. But also don’t assume defeat because you can’t imagine something; thinking positively is a massive part of being successful in anything.

At the end of the day YOU control your OWN mind and you’re more powerful than what you realise.

BEDM: Day 1 - The story of your life

Blog Everyday in May.
Day 1, Wednesday: The story of your life in 250 words or less


I was born on the coldest day of the year in 1982. By default, I consider myself lucky; I grew up healthy, with a good education, two parents who loved me, a sister who was there for me in my troubled teenage years, and one true lifelong infatuation: music.

I loved my childhood and whilst many friends were racing each other to grow up, I was happily exploring my own Piscean world. I grew up with abrupt force when I realised I was gay.

I love cooking Indian food, drinking red wine and laughing. I find languages and other cultures fascinating; the more I learn, the more I understand the world and myself. I always regretted ceasing my German studies but now I’m learning Spanish to remedy this thirst!

I’m open minded, independent, overly self-critical and feel constantly oppressed by the responsibilities of modern living. I lose myself easily – which is a good thing creatively but not good in your path of life. I’ve been working as an IT Consultant in SAP since the mid-noughties, it’s a good job.

As for music; listening is my library of fantasy worlds where I can explore wherever I want to. Writing is my journal, my therapist, a dreamscape and singing is my release. I’ve played many instruments, had a bash at DJing and amateur music journalism but more than anything I love to write and sing.

Religion is not important to me; being a decent human being is.

Blog Everyday in May

So this is meant to be a music website but it’s SNEAKILY a music blog…. (that is, if you come in by www.websheldon.com) but I’m aware I don’t post on it often enough! This morning I saw something on a friend’s blog http://hellonic.co.uk/blog-every-day-in-may-2013/ which looks like an awesome idea so I am going to take part in this too… and it will make me post more here too, at least for month! Lol

Day 1, Wednesday: The story of your life in 250 words or less
Day 2, Thursday: Educate us on something you know alot about or are good at
Day 3, Friday: Things that make you uncomfortable
Day 4, Saturday: Favorite quote (from a person, from a book, etc) and why you love it
Day 5, Sunday: Publicly profess your love and devotion for one of your blogger friends.
Day 6, Monday: If you couldn’t answer with your job, how would you answer the question, ‘what do you do’?
Day 7, Tuesday: The thing(s) you’re most afraid of
Day 8, Wednesday: A piece of advice you have for others. Anything at all.
Day 9, Thursday: A moment in your day
Day 10, Friday: Most embarrassing moment.
Day 11, Saturday: Sell yourself in 10 words or less
Day 12, Sunday: What do you miss?
Day 13, Monday: Issue a public apology. This can be as funny or as serious or as creative as you want it to be.
Day 14, Tuesday: Ten things that make you really happy
Day 15, Wednesday: A Day in the life
Day 16, Thursday: Something difficult about your “lot in life” and how you’re working to overcome it
Day 17, Friday: A favorite photo of yourself and why
Day 18, Saturday: Tell a story from your childhood.
Day 19, Sunday: Five of your favorite blogs and what you love about them
Day 20, Monday: Get real. Share something you’re struggling with right now.
Day 21, Tuesday: A list of links to your favorite posts in your archives
Day 22, Wednesday: Rant about something. Get up on your soapbox and tell us how you really feel.
Day 23, Thursday: Things you’ve learned that school won’t teach you
Day 24, Friday: Your top 3 worst traits
Day 25, Saturday: Something someone told you about yourself that you’ll never forget
Day 26, Sunday: Something you read online. Leave a link and discuss, if you’d like.
Day 27, Monday: A letter to your readers
Day 28, Tuesday: Only pictures
Day 29, Wednesday: Five songs or pieces of music that speak to you or bring back memories
Day 30, Thursday: React to this term: Letting Go
Day 31, Friday: A vivid memory

Here’s a link to a blog by my mate Lee who inspired me to do this too: http://foppishdrunk.blogspot.co.uk/?m=1






-- Desde Mi iPhone

Being Your Own Friend

Saw a quote online today that made me think...

'Sometimes you have to treat yourself as you treated a stranger: be polite to yourself, be kind to yourself, give yourself time, be patient with yourself, don't criticise yourself too much or you will never become friends with yourself'

:)


-- Desde Mi iPhone

Just a Quickie

I thought that spring had sprung...but it clearly hasn't...as the wind is AWFUL and piercingly cold here in London... Aside from that though...I had a spring clean in the apartment and I'm ready to leave hibernation...!

The next of things up for me are
to finish off my next YouTube cover (next couple of weeks) and then I'll be recording a full length music video for my own song True Story (to be filmed by Carlos Montero Sanchéz) which is pretty exciting...

I had a music video once with the band I was in 'Mothership' so I'm looking forward to doing it again..!

Spring greetings to all!


-- Desde Mi iPhone

Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You

I recorded this for Valentines Day for a special someone.. It's a cover of Andy Williams / Lauryn Hill's "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You".

Happy New Year

So I made it to London... I have a new place to live with my mate San in a reaaaaally nice apartment and I'm living just 10 minutes away from my man Carlos as well... I've started the new job and I'm back into the routine of health and fitness - so a good start to the year thus far...

I realised only yesterday that February Album Writing Month is fast approaching - soon it will be February and I vowed to take part again this year.  It was *such* a good experience last year. Last year I was unemployed in February and spending my days in Istanbul for most of the month; I had all the time in the world and I still didn't complete the full amount of songs needed... this year I'm travelling 3 hours to work and back every day, plus exercise, and learning Spanish at the same time.  Obviously I can't change my work hours for Feb and I'm not prepared to decrease my Spanish study either (because I'm sooooo stubborn hahaha) so I'm just going to have to squeeze it in somehow!

The songs will have to be more simple, stripped back... because I won't get anything finished otherwise, but I'm looking forward to starting now and counting down the days...

What do I want to do musically this year?? Well last year, I had plans to record an album until the London move came, so after February, I'm going to plan the next stage for that, keep recording YouTube Videos (I'd like to record some of my own songs on YouTube though ths year in addition to the cover songs!) and I want to play more open mics and gigs in London collaborate with my mate Beth Swain (cos she is toooooooooo awesome!!!!!) and maybe we can write some new songs together!