Week in Review - 16 January 2014

Spain

As I write this week's edition I am sitting on the Veranda of my lovely hotel room in Spain enjoying the afterglow of my first gig of the year at Le Cabaret just outside of Moraira. Through the wonder that is Google I was contacted by this venue that did a search for a Diana Ross Tribute and here I am having a mini-break because honestly, this hasn't at all felt like work! I flew to Alicante very early Saturday morning (I was up with the chickens) and on Saturday night entertained a room full of British ex-pats at this fabulous revamped venue run by Mike Lee and Valerie Sheehy! I have been given the 'star' treatment, which I could easily get used to! Every detail of this booking has been seen too with the utmost care and I am enjoying the glorious sunshine before I had back to England tonight.

I performed my Diana Ross Tribute Show along with my Disco Divas show and every available floor space in the venue was turned into a dance floor. The highlight for me was when I was singing Amy Winehouse's 'Valerie' and a gaggle of ladies started screaming and headed to the dance floor. They were so raccous that I finally had to ask what they had them so worked up, and it turned out that one of he ladies was called 'Valerie' and she was dancing up a storm! So I grabbed her and we had a little boogie together! After the show Valerie pulled me to the side and told me that she was a cancer survivor and that was the first time in 18 months that she felt strong enough to get up and dance. Then she hugged me and thanked me profusely for giving her the opportunity to dance because she used to be a dancer. It is these types of moments that make what I do a sheer joy! 

What a way to start the year and if the rest of my shows go half as good as this one, I am in for a fantastic year of performing! We've already discussed having me back again, as well as some of GME's acts! I'll keep you posted as these shows develop!

In other news, on Monday I attended the first Cultural Partnership meeting of the year which is a work stream within Shaping Portsmouth, and is made up of business leaders and individuals involved in the arts in the Portsmouth area who play a vital role in cultivating a strong cultural image for the city. Since Portsmouth is my adopted city, and is s rich soil in which to grow GME, I want to do my part in giving back to my local community and the Cultural Partnership work stream affords me many opportunities to get involved, not just in areas of music but in the arts as a whole.

On Thursday, Dominic Elton of Mayfield Studios and I met with the organizers of Victorious Vintage to discuss ways that the studio can get involved with this year's festival! Victorious is a massive event for Portsmouth and Mayfield Studios and GME are looking forward to supporting this event. Watch this space for more details.

The rest of the week was spent organizing the entertainment for weddings and private events as well as putting the final touches on the brand new GME website that will be launching in the next few weeks!

What are you celebrating this year? Getting married, a milestone birthday, an anniversary? Or maybe you don't need a reason to celebrate, you just want to? Call me to discuss adding a bit of sparkle to your next event with one of our quality Acts. We provide solo performers up to 8-piece bands covering all genres of music from the 30's through today including star quality Tribute Acts. My new office number is 02392 894902, or you can email me at gloria@gloriamillermusic.com.

That's it for now. Have a great week!

Week In Review - 9 January 2015!

I hope you had as lovely a Holiday Season as I did because honestly, taking those two weeks off was just what I needed to reflect on a very productive 2014 and set my intention for what I hope will be a stellar 2015! I have to confess there's a bit more of me to love, because I certainly didn't miss a meal during those two weeks, and I happily indulged in all those yummy foods that I tend to stay away from during the year. I am paying for it now having to work out like a mad woman so I can get into that lovely Diana Ross dress for my first gig of the year next weekend!

When I say I took two weeks off, that's strictly from admin work. I was performing quite a bit and ended the year with a bang by performing four mini sets of my Diana Ross Tribute Show at four different venues on New Year's Eve! It seemed like a good idea when I said yes to doing this type of booking, but I had no idea how exhausting it would be. It was interesting to see how the demeanor of the crowd changed at each venue. 

At the first venue I went on just after 8pm and the night was young, people were just starting to get their drink on so the mood was laid back and mellow. Venue two, and hour later and the crowd was a bit livelier as the liquid courage was just starting to kick in. I get to venue three and this crowd was marinated just enough to think I was the real Diana Ross and gave me the rock star treatment complete with being followed around and trapped by the pappirazzi with a line of people wanting a photo!

Then it was off to my final venue ... I arrived just before 11pm and the crowd was totally baked and well up for anything. I could have stood their barking and they would have loved it! I didn't, but I could have. I had a great time at each venue and was done at 11:30 and back home and in my onesie just in time to watch the count down and the fireworks on the telly. A special shout out to the hubs who was my driver, sound person & body guard for the night! I would not have survived without him!

Also during my Christmas hiatus, Mayfield Recording Studio was launched! I am so proud to be associated with this amazing venture and the buzz is already starting about this brand new, state-of-the-art recording facility located in Portsmouth. Visit the website to learn more about the studio and the 50% Introductory Offer!

There have already been a few recording sessions at the studio, and Mayfield the band was in on the 2nd of January recording the first track for our second album due to be released later this year. If you having any recording needs, do check out Mayfield Studios and take advantage of the discount while it lasts!

It was hard getting back to work on Monday, but moving into my very own office space at the Cathedral Innovation Centre in Old Portsmouth made it a bit exciting. I've been hotdesking at this location for the past year, and now the Gloria Miller Entertainment Ltd. office is now open for business. The space is proving to be quite the boost to productivity as this week I added quite a few bookings to the diary. Let's hope this keeps up!

On Thursday I had a meeting with Ross from the Jolly Sailor about Southsea's Got Talent, and I am happy to be returning as one of the judges for the competition that is going to be bigger and better as it goes into its third year. The first heat will be 5 February! Watch this space for more info. 

On Friday I did my first music business coaching session with a new client. Last year I started doing some vocal coaching and this year I am diversifying that service to include music business coaching as well. I will be officially launching this service later in the year in partnership with Mayfield Studios Tuition Services. More details to come ...

Finally, on Saturday I am off to Leeds for two days of intensive rehearsals with The Midnight Soul Sisters as we prepare for our promo video shoot and the growing schedule of upcoming shows!  I'll put up a good fight against the battle of the bulge this weekend as I try to turn one of my two left feet into a right foot and learn all the dance moves required for these shows. I had a look at the routines we'll be learning, and this is going to be a hard couple of days, but well worth it 'cause these moves will look amazing once it's all put together! I'll post the promo video when it's finished! 

Well, I think that's enough yapping from me this week!  Have a fabulous weekend ...