Jon and Libby

"...very expensive to those who can't." The art of learning, according to the highly influential book Management of Training Programs (published in 1960 and still referenced today), consists of four basic stages: unconscious incompetence ("Yeah, I'm musical - I've got loads of CDs. How difficult can playing the piano be?"), conscious incompetence ("It turns out that playing the piano is really hard!"), conscious competence ("Right, I can play Chopsticks , but I have to concentrate..."), and unconscious competence ("Yeah, I can play Chopsticks as fast as you like. Watch this!") Anyway, it as come to my attention (mainly listening to my early stuff on SoundCloud) that I could do with learning to mix properly, thereby progressing from what is clearly the lowest form of unconscious incompetence. To this end, a couple of months ago, I set about the task by abandoning everything I thought I knew and starting again from first pri...

...but this town never drags me down.  Yes, last Thursday the relentless monthly carousel of EMOM nights landed once again on BLEEP in Manchester, accompanied by the kind of rain that seems at first to be far too light to be of any consequence but is actually deeply penetrating, and quickly soaks you to the bone. But dodging puddles on Newton Street, I didn't care. The performance space below the Peer Hat is warm and welcoming.  My train was late into God's own city, and by the time I arrived and grabbed a pint, the space was already filling with familiar faces ...and an enigmatic lady in sunglasses, clad in black, and sitting still and alone, staring at the stage.  The night wasn't as well-attended as usual, but I can safely say that before my 9pm home time called for a 6:30am Friday start, we would all be in for many diverse treats.  First up was Neural Maker, a very interesting and creative DJ. Now, normally, I can take or leave DJs, but this guy is something else...

An unexpectedly cold night, but snuggled up at home with a glass of slutty Merlot to keep me company and the promise of a live stream from the Sonicstate Bath EMOM #4, I was planning on staying put. The format for the evening was pre-recorded interviews with each act chatting about their influences and sound, followed by their live performance. This is an excellent technique that I hope that other livestreamed EMOM organisers follow it because it allows the viewer to understand where the performers are coming from before they play. However, the first act needed no such introduction as it was the one and only Martin Christie. The man we really should call the Creator, Originator, or Founder. Without Martin, it's likely that EMOM would still refer to a form of tortuous interval training. He began the movement as a reaction to having to perform at "normal" open mic nights, surrounded by dreary acoustic guitars and depressing sets of moribund noodling. His brand of poésie con...