Week In Review - 29 August 2014

In two days GME will be two years old. I am very happy with the success my business has had so far, and as I go into my third year I am focused on growing my business in every way from moving into office space to growing my roster of acts to increasing my customer base. Going into my second year I had four goals and have reached three of them. September is my planning month and I will look at how I've done this year, highlight the things I've done well, identify the areas that need improvement, and set new goals for year three. I hope you'll take the journey with me as I strive to be the best at what I do. Year two has been challenging and exhausting, and as the company grows I know the challenges will too. To be honest, it's dealing with the challenges that really make me feel like I'm running my company. Believe me, I have run my company this year. So here's to another year of providing premium entertainment at affordable prices ... Have we got an ACT for you! Soooooo cheesy, but true! Cheers!

Marley Blandford & Nathalie Gunn

This week Monday was the last day of the five Foodies Festival events I organized the entertainment for this year. We wrapped up in Oxford and a lovely, but rainy day and the entertainment was stellar. In the true spirit of 'the show must go on' each act was fantastic, starting with the very talented Marley Blandford, who was later joined my Nathalie Gunn performing a duo set. The genuine blues sound of 2Blue made me feel like I was back home in Chicago! The uniquely talented singer-songwriter, Bashema, mesmerized with her fantastic set of originals and covers and then the stunningly beautiful Ellie Rose had the crowd standing in the rain to listen to her fabulous songs and pitch perfect voice. It didn't take much for the crowd to go from standing in the rain to dancing & singing in the rain thanks to the classic 60's sound of One 4 The Road.

Bashema

Media Company Publications was one of my first clients when I started GME and they contracted me last year to organize five Foodies events and again this year to do five events, adding a new location ... Bristol, which was great because I had never been to Bristol before, and I discovered some amazing local talent including Bashema who also performed at Oxford, and The Funkinsteins who dropped some serious funk on the Bristol crowd. I never sat down through their entire set.

In looking for acts for the festivals, I ended up connecting with managers, agents and record companies which is allowing me to make really good connections across the UK. I want to extend a special thank you to Danielle Knights of Live & Love Music, Steve Parkhouse of Jelli Records, and Anna Marshall of Regency Artists for providing amazing acts who were not only talented, but also an absolute joy to work with.

On Tuesday, I took a much needed day off and with great difficulty I was back to work in Wednesday. I finished up Wednesday with a rehearsal with Mayfield in our new recording studio/rehearsal space as we prep for a very busy September including a charity event at The Jolly Sailor on the 20th, supporting Craig Charles at The Cellars on the 26th and recording a demo of our latest song, Ready Set Go, on the 13th & 27th. I am selling tickets for The Cellars gig and only have a few left. Please contact me if you would like to buy one. Your support would be greatly appreciated. The tickets are £10. Call me at 07504 611173 to get your tickets.

Finally, I'll be performing Supremely, Diana Ross at the Cosham Conservative Club followed by a high energy party set of Mowtown, Soul & Disco classics on Saturday starting at 8pm. This is a new venue for me and it would be great if you came along to get your dance on! It's gonna be a great night.

In case you haven't heard yet, Diana Ross is in talks to perform at Glastonbury next year! Here's hoping!!

That's it for this edition! Have a fabulous weekend.

Weeks in Review - 11 July & 18 July 2014

First I want to wish my big brother, Arthur Miller, a very happy birthday! I wish I could be with him and his family in Milwaukee to help him celebrate, but since I can't I wanted to give him a honorable mention in GME Weekly! 

Due to technical difficulties with the newsletter program last week, I was unable to get the 11 July edition out to you, so I'm combining two weeks of happenings so let's get started ...

All of last week was putting the finishing touches on Foodies Festival Bristol. What a way to spend my first visit to Bristol ... the location for the Festival was absolutely fabulous and where the stage was set up couldn't have been better. There are a few pictures below in the 'Photos' section ... do check them out. The event was 11-13 of July and the Friday went so smoothly with everyone turning up on time if not early, and more important, each act sounded amazing. We had quite the good crowd for a Friday and by early evening, the place was heaving. 

The Funkinsteins

Then Saturday rolled around and everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong, from bands being stuck in traffic, to performers not turning up with all their gear to me having to do an emergency set to cover for a cancellation. Even with the issues, the day turned out to be fabulous and ended with an absolute bang with Brighton's Half Crown completely electrifying the place and local Bristol band The Funkinsteins who sizzled with their brand of Rock-laced Funk! By the end of the day I was dancing with the rest of the crowd and had completely forgotten about my earlier troubles! The beauty of good music ... 

The perfect end to the three days was on Sunday when we went back to operating like a well oiled machine, with everyone arriving on time and giving amazing performances. Supremely, Diana Ross made an appearance mid-afternoon and got everyone up dancing. And then the deliciously Bluesy Cherry White closed the festival with some great original and cover tunes, and even some classic Rock & Roll to get the crowd moving. Bristol was amamamamazing!! The next Foodies event is at Battersea Park in London on 15-17 August.

This week Monday, I took a much needed day off and hung out with the hubs doing normal stuff. On Tuesday, it was back to work finalizing a few bookings including confirming Mayfield to perform at The Southsea Show on Sunday, 3rd August. Also booked on this weekend event is Supremely, Diana Ross on Friday, 1st August and Move On Up on Saturday, 2nd August. Geoff Priestley, one of the organizers suggested I camp out for the three days ... if only I could ... LOL!

On Wednesday, I attended a workshop on Business & Personal Development that was hosted by the Portsmouth Venus Awards, which was immediately followed by the VA Finalist Announcement Tea where I was named a Finalist in the New Business Category! When I was driving to the Langstone Hotel that morning, I didn't really think I was that bothered about being a finalist. However, once I was in the room and they started naming names, the fact that my heart was literally pounding out of my chest was a little giveaway that I really wanted my name to be called. When it was, in good ole American style, I let out a yelp before I could stop myself *giggle*! I feel very proud of this accomplishment and look forward to attending the awards ceremony in October. Click here to see the full list of finalists!

Thursday, I met with a new client in Gosport and will be announcing some great shows at this new venue in the coming weeks. And finally, tonight I'm performing solo at Shepherd's Crook in Portsmouth and on Saturday night I will be with Move On Up at The Jolly Sailor in Southsea. Both shows are Supremely, Diana Ross followed by a party set. Can't wait ...

That's it for this edition, have a fantastic weekend!

Week In Review - 27 June 2014!

It's Foodies Festival time again and I am finalizing the performers for the Bristol event that is quickly approaching on 11, 12 & 13th of July. Despite cancellations and schedule juggling, the list of performers and the developing running order are quite impressive. I've managed to book several new acts for this location including Kick In The Crochet (yes, that's really their name), Bashema, and Elles Bailey! Some favourites from Brighton & Clapham will be returning, and I can't wait to introduce Bristol to Half Crown, Jipsy Magic & RemedySounds.

Mayfield @ IOW Festival

I promised some photos from my band Mayfield's performance at The Isle of Wight Festival. Here's one from backstage. I'm still waiting on more pics to come. We are now gearing up for our next show at The Cellar in Southampton. The event is being hosted by the Soul 45 DJs and we'll be sharing the stage with the legendary Craig Charles. If you will be in the Southampton area on Friday, 26 September, please come to the show. We'll be performing selections from our current CD, Tempo of Your Soul, and we are working on new songs as well, two of which we debuted on The Hipshaker Stage at the IOW Fest. Another new song is in the works, and we hope to have it ready by the 26th! Click here for ticket info.

This has been a busy week of organizing some private & repeat bookings for some of my acts. I also received some lovely feedback from the private birthday party I performed by Diana Ross Tribute at last week. 

"Gloria's [Supremely, Diana Ross] performance and preparation contacts beforehand were brilliant. We all enjoyed her amazing performance at Tony’s birthday party on Saturday, especially in the heat when she had to wear a Diana wig! The feedback from our guests was amazing, and they wanted to know where I had met her. I think if it hadn’t been such a hot day, more of us would have been up on the floor. I certainly was, as were some of our family, including some of our granddaughters, with whom Gloria very graciously shared the limelight! How can you not dance when she sings?

It helped to make Tony's birthday, unforgettable and he loves Diana even more now."

Joyce Seaman
June 21, 2014, Botley Community Centre, Hedge End

Joyce also gave me and the agency a 5-star rating on our client feedback form. 

I guess that's it for this edition ... have a fabulous weekend!

Week in Review - 30 May 2014

Last week I received the news that I've been nominated for a Venus Award for Customer Service and have made it through to the quarter final. I am just under two years being in business and it is quite an honor to have been nominated. My customer service approach is basically the golden rule ... treat others the way I want to be treated, and to be recognized for this feels amazing.  The Venus Awards is a national organization that have just launched a Portsmouth chapter. I am so pleased to be working with this organization and for being nominated in the Portsmouth area premiere year. 

This week's focus in the office has been on sorting out the final details on the next Foodies Festival event being held 6-8 June at Clapham Common in London, as well as finalizing the entertainment lineup for the forthcoming Bristol event 11-13 July. The Clapham lineup is excellent with some new performers to the list as well as a few favourites from the Brighton festival. I'm still filling slots for Bristol, but that lineup is shaping up quite nicely too! If you are in the Clapham Common or Bristol areas during the festival dates, why not join us for what is always a fantastic event, especially if the weather is with us! You can purchase tickets in advance through the Foodies website or on-site at the event. I hope to see you there, and bring the sunshine with you!!

My band Mayfield are in the process of building a recording studio, and the band leader Dominic Elton and I had a fantastic meeting with Gareth Henderson, the founder of River Studios in Totton, Southampton. We toured this amazing facility and discussed consulting with them on fitting out the studio with latest equipment, as well as River Studios providing technical support to help us get up and running. As we are waiting for our studio to be finished, we will be using River Studios to demo some of the new songs we're working on for our second album that will be released sometime in 2015. 

With Tara Howard
Founder of the Venus Awards

Lastly, tonight I will be returning to The Piranha Bar to perform a Motown/Soul Night and to sort out some future bookings for several of my acts. This lovely restaurant was one of my first clients in the early days of GME and have been working with the agency and me for almost two years. The last time I spoke with the owner there, she said how proud she was of me for the growth of GME and she remembered when I only had about five acts that I was booking for. I've got a few more acts and clients now, and possibly this is due to good customer service :)! Do you see how I tied that in to my Venus Award nomination? So sorry, I couldn't help myself. And now I'm gonna be quite cliched in saying ... I don't care if I win, it's just nice to be nominated! LOL!

Okay, I'm done ...

Have a wonderful weekend!!