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  • Five local musicians you should be listening to,

StephenG
Actually, I don't think S African songwriters are any worse than anyone else... it's a world-wide thing.

I think in the distant past songwriting was a craft that took time to develop and if you had an album out it meant that usually someone or or some company believed in you. (you mostly had to be something special)
Today anyone with a computer and a collection of loops and samples can churn out an album and they do.
(Hell, I've downloaded my share of free mp3's and indulged in manipulating loops and samples and midi as well..)
But the result is that Music has become so accessible to the masses(making and listening to music) that it's become devalued now..the industry has become saturated.(the book industry has also gone this way, I think. I'm an avid reader and I've walked through discount warehouses full of books by new authors selling for nothing)
It is what it is, I guess.
Regarding Tony Cox...we can't all be great songwriters or singers...but.I do think he's a great guitarist in his own right.

    guyfeld good point - and Cox is a great guitarist, agreed, just singing and song writing.. not so much..

    are you the Guy Im thinking of that did the sultans of swing tribute band?

      NorioDS I think Albert's a great blues-rock player and I have two of his albums but I gotta admit I preferred him with the Blues Broers..less two-chord "widdling"(like I see here) and more structured playing. I think Simon Orange(Keyboards) was a great foil for his guitar playing. Simon also tends to use more than 3 chords in his songwriting. ?

        guyfeld being a child of the 80's and still a massive knopfler fan, we went to one of the gigs you did at the Baxter.. not sure how many nights you played but me and a mate went to your first night..

        you probably wont remember, but we sat in the very first row, right in front of you.. and i| cant recall which song it was but as you were doing the intro solo, me and my mate shouted out "we love you Mark..!".. you packed out laughing, stopped the song and had to restart it again..

        without a doubt.. Best. Show. Ever.

        i regularly google to see if you doing one again.. id be there in a flash if you did..

        you still based in cape town?

          Tuckstir That is exactly the kind of stuff that I hate...It's not a band. It's a load of loops and samples with some hot chicks doing a video. Oh, and I think the song sucks as well.(2 or 3 bring predictable chords, but lots of attitude and production.)

            StephenG
            Hey, thanks for your kind words..
            It took us a year of rehearsing for that Dire Straits show and after doing it for another year I realised I was earning more as a solo musician playing for 50th and 60th birthday parties using backtrax! (the shame...!) so we canned it. We never made it out of the Western Cape, but I think we were a very good Straits Tribute Band.
            I am a full time pro still playing mostly solo at markets, parties etc and also with Gian Groen's band .
            I have no regular gigs to speak of and my marketing skills suck, but I still manage to eke out a living. Next public gig is a the Springbok Blues Bar in Somerset West 15 June..

              guyfeld thats a massive pity... id say you were the BEST dire straits tribute band.. at the start of the show i thought you guys were just syncing.. it was as close to seeing them live as i will ever get..

              dont you ever play in the southern suburbs?? we out in fish hoek.. that trek to somerset west is a tad to epic at night ..

              or if you ever in the city during the day, let me know,, gladly sponsor you a lunch time coffee and sandwich . i know how you struggling musicians are to cheap to buy your own.. seriously.. Id love a chance to meet and hear a story of 2..
              can contact me on 0 8 three 7 nine 9 6 four 5 ate

                  guyfeld But the result is that Music has become so accessible to the masses(making and listening to music) that it's become devalued now..

                  Yes and No...while I'm not the biggest Rob Chapman fan - he does talk a lot of sense in this video. Basically, the way musicians make money has changed from the traditional - "get signed, make money" single income stream to where music is the marketing tool to promote your other income streams (merch, lessons/clinics, touring, etc...).

                  guyfeld . I'm an avid reader and I've walked through discount warehouses full of books by new authors selling for nothing)

                  Me too, but I'm a complete eBook fan. 99% of the time, I do not want the physical book. As for newspapers/magazines - imho, complete waste of resources, far better in a electronic format.

                  And that publishing model I reckon is far more relevant in today's climate. Self publishing (E.g. via Amazon) model works for many - my mate worked in the epublishing division for a few years and authors are making a decent living off cheap ebooks ($1-2/ea).

                        guyfeld The album version of "Outside" is delicious in my opinion. The song-writing, lyrics, etc, all gel well really nicely for me.

                        I must admit, live it is a lot of weedly-weedly and guitar-shaking but every guitarist has their weird stuff they do live. I think the live vibe makes people do strange things. That or maybe the lack of a producer to say, "Less weedly weedly please" ?

                            8 months later

                            StephenG - Just saw this after many years...you poor thing, labouring under a delusion all this time...I have never played a twelve bar blues number onto a recording so I have no idea who the hell you were listening to that day dude....head over to bandcamp.com and listen to Enormous Flowers and come back here and tell me I suck as a vocalist and lyricist...before throwing shade be sure of your facts...
                            try this out:

                              tonycox so I have no idea who the hell you were listening to that day dud

                              @tonycox - He's a known grump, please take whatever he says with a large pinch of salt. I can't recall him sharing any of his creations, just heard of the gear he owns or plans to own...yeah, that kinda musician - not entirely unlike myself at times ?:

                              As for lyrics/songwriting - I find 99.9% of my feeble attempts do end up sounding like grade 6 poetry, I even did the Pat Pattison lyrics writing course a couple times - it helped, if only to appreciate that writing something that makes sense both in content and musically is really hard work.

                              Thanks for popping in and sharing Enormous Flowers - digging the funky soul feel of the bass. horns and keys on the track Enormous Flowers (I would) - a pleasant surprise to hear that from Tony Cox - ?

                              I've linked it for those too lazy to google it (If you'd rather not have it here, poke me on this thread and I'll remove):

                                V8 e's a known grump, please take whatever he says with a large pinch of salt. I can't recall him sharing any of his creations, just heard of the gear he owns or plans to own...yeah, that kinda musician - not entirely unlike myself at times ?

                                Ha! Ha! Well said!

                                    V8 - thanks bro...the album is largely invisible (like the song) so it's cool to spread it around...

                                    • V8 likes this.
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