Hi guys, Above Board have now got a Facebook page up and running. I will put a link to the page at the end of the blog post so you can check it out. Also, I had my first wedding gig with Above Board three days ago, and photos of said gig will be published on our page soon, so stick around.
Above Board Facebook:
Hi guys, sorry I’ve been away for so long yet again. I have been dealing with a lot of family stuff for the past 3-4 months and haven’t had much time post anything. But now that I’m back, I’ll give you a brief insight of what musical endeavours I’ve been up to.
I started rehearsing with SHARD again playing through old songs while also writing new ones, I had 3 weeks of work experience at Waterloo Music Shop in Yeovil throughout December which went really well, I had a gig with Above Board on 26th of January, SHARD managed to get a gig in London on the 14th of April and I finished recording two tracks; a video game theme tune and a jingle for a TV advert. Also, Above Board have got a lot of gigs planned this year and are currently making their own Facebook and Instagram page, and I’m looking very forward to that.
This year, I’m going to be thinking very hard on how else am I going to get my music out to people and how to promote it in an effective manner. I’ve already got a good idea of what I want to do, it’s just finding the right time to do it; hopefully I’ll get round to it soon.
Stay tuned!!!
The Last Stand (Video game track):
Much Obliged (TV Jingle):
SHARD’s recent Facebook post:
Hi guys, sorry for being absent throughout the rest of September; I’ve been very busy lately. I’ve had four gigs with Above Board last month which went very well, I’ve been writing some new riffs and I’ve been recording with a couple of composers who want to write music for video games.
Above Board have had a photo shoot last Saturday and SHARD might be getting an interview with a guy working for a college/uni radio station in Edinburgh, so there’s that to look forward to. I’ve also posted three videos of me playing some classic Rock songs on my Facebook and Instagram page, so be sure to check them out.
Fleetwood Mac – Rhiannon:
The Who – Substitute:
Crosby, Stills and Nash – Wooden Ships:
Things really starting to come together once again; last Friday, I met a couple of musicians who want to write music for video games and were looking for people to collaborate with. We started composing some riffs together and already began putting a song structure together. I’m also going to be doing some work experience at a music shop in Shaftesbury. My first shift starts Monday the 3rd of September and I’m looking forward to it.
Also, the two gigs I had with Above Board went really well, and now we’ve got three more gigs coming up; one in Southampton on Sunday and two more gigs both in Shaftesbury and in Sturminster Newton next weekend, and I’m looking forward to all three of them.
On another side note, SHARD’s debut EP ‘A Will to Kill’ has been released. It’s available on our Bandcamp page at https://shardofficialthrashuk.bandcamp.com/releases and will soon be on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, Google Play/YouTube Music, Bandcamp, Pandora, Deezer and Tidal. The songs from the EP will also be put on my SoundCloud page as well.
This has been a very busy month, as I’ve had a lot on my plate in terms of my music. On the 7th of August, I played rhythm guitar for my drummers final performance exam at the ACM, which went very smoothly for all of us.
After that, I’ve been rehearsing through some new songs with Above Board for two gigs that we’ve got on the 25th and 26th of August. SHARD and I have also been hyping up our debut EP which will be coming out on the 31st of August. We’ve finished making our album cover and a promotional video advertising our EP will be put on our page soon.
I have also had a recording session with Above Board on the 19th of August, which for the most part went off without a hitch. Above Board will be releasing an EP of covers sometime later in the year. The EP will have around 6 to 8 track and will consist our own renditions of very well known songs from a wide variety of artists, such as Fleetwood Mac, Foo Fighters, Dusty Springfield, Pharrell Williams and Ed Sheeran.
More on these stories will be coming soon, so stick around.
https://www.facebook.com/owentomlinsonelectricguitarist/
The Hughes and Kettner Tubemeister 36; a three channel amp that is perfect for Hard Rock, Heavy Metal and other styles as well. It looks amazing and it sounds amazing, and I can’t wait to use it at live shows. This amp is a real beast and it means business.
Here some videos of me playing some new guitar riffs that I composed while using the new amp:
New Song 6 (Hard Rock)
New Song 7 (Hard Rock)
New Song 8 (Hard Rock)
Also, quick update on the recording session on Saturday; unfortunately that has been cancelled, so I won’t be getting anything recorded this weekend. But it will be rescheduled to somewhere around early August.
SHARD is also planning on releasing our five track EP on the 31st of August, so stay tuned for that.
Now that the two gigs at Henstridge and Kudos are out of the way, Above Board and I have started discussing maybe recording an EP of some of the songs we’ve been performing at our shows. We’re also about to learn some new songs for our future live shows, so this week will be business as usual.
On a side note, I’ve also been writing some new riffs with my new guitar. Here is some footage of what I came up with.
New Song 5 (Hard Rock) – Part 1:
New Song 5 (Hard Rock) – Part 2:
New Song 5 (Hard Rock) – Part 3:
New Song 5 (Hard Rock) – Part 4:
I also bought myself an new amp a few weeks ago and it arrived today. I had a little jam on it and it sounded amazing. You’ll hear more about it in my next blog post, so stay tuned.
Tomorrow, I’ll be doing two gigs with Above Board again. The first one will be at Henstridge Airfield in the early afternoon and then in the evening, we’ll be playing at the Kudos in Salisbury.
The two gigs we had last Saturday went really well, despite a few mishaps with our sound. For these two gigs we’ve got tomorrow, we’ll be playing more or less the same set that we did last time, so it will be another cake walk for us in terms of how tight we are with our performance. I’m just hoping that the sound will be better than last time.
I’ve also just bought myself a Sennheiser e609 dynamic microphone for my guitar cab, which will come in very handy for any gigs I do in the future, both with SHARD and Above Board.
On the 30th of June, I’ll be playing two gigs in Shaftesbury with Above Board; one at the Two Brewers at 2pm and another one at the King’s Arms at 10pm. This is fantastic, as it’ll help build our following and be a good way to get myself and the band noticed.
I’ve also recently bought a new guitar, and I really enjoy the way it sounds. I’ll be using it at these two gigs and other gigs that I be doing with Above Board. I’ll also be using it in some guitar playing videos that I’ll be making in the future, so stay tuned.
Last night, I had my first gig with Above Board at the Sturminster Newton Beer Festival, and it was a solid performance. While it wasn’t a perfect night due to a few technical issues here and there, the set was still a success, the audience were enjoying themselves and the band mates and I were having a lot of fun on stage.
I got a lot of positive feedback from concert goers and I got a pay check. Granted, the payment was quite small, but it was still a good start and I can’t wait for what’s about to come next.
Joshua Jones 