Week in Review - 5 September 2014

I am still unwinding from a very busy summer, and it actually feels weird having a bit of down time. September is my planning and goal setting month, so this week I've been thinking about areas in which I'd like to see growth. Of course, the obvious is book more gigs for my acts, but within the 'more gigs' I am also looking at the quality of those gigs. I currently have some great acts and over the course of this month will be adding a few more to my books. The challenge is now pairing these great acts with the types of bookings that regard the level of talent and professionalism my acts bring to their performances. I think a great way to meet this challenge is by connecting with local businesses and venues as well as branching out to other markets across the UK. This week I made some great connections through an organization that I recently joined, Shaping Portsmouth, when I attended my first meeting with the Cultural Partnership work stream on Monday.

It was great being in the room with the people who drive culture in our area, and I was amazed by the number of fantastic programs being offered ranging from opportunities to partner with Portsmouth University, to the Making Waves Film Festival happening 22-28 September, to a program I want to get involved with, Get Into Music. This program targets 14-24 year olds and works with local schools, colleges, universities, local business, venues, promoters and music industry professionals. Get Into Music aims to make young people aware of the opportunities available to them within the music industry, predominantly offstage opportunities.

Andy Grays of Portsmouth Cultural Trust invited me to attend a meeting held at the Guildhall on Wednesday to discuss Get Into Music, and I was also given a copy of their development plan. I am really looking forward to supporting this program. I will keep you updated on my involvement with their upcoming events.

I've been working from home since I started GME two years ago, and one year ago I was taken under the wings of the Cathedral Innovation Center in Portsmouth, which allowed me the use of office space a few days a week. As I go into year three of the business I thought I might want to secure a permanent office space outside of my home, and this week I viewed several small offices ranging from large office complexes, to small industrial estates and sadly, all out of my price range. I also emailed Francis Davis, of CIC informing him that I was looking for permanent space, and today I had a lovely chat with him. I am thrilled to announce that Francis has offered me several options to choose from for a full-time office space and each at a rental rate I can afford. So, in October, I will be moving into my own office. More details to follow ...

The Wine Vaults in Southsea is a venue I book acts in on a regular basis, and last night my band, Move On Up performed to a packed house, and enthusiastic crowd! Our sets were a unique blend of Jazz, Soul, Blues and a bit of Classic Rock covers and the audience really showed their appreciation for this eclectic mix of genres by singing and dancing along. What a great night!

Tonight, I am return to The Jolly Sailor to judge the first of two semi-finals of Southsea's Got Talent. This is going to be a terribly difficult night because we have put through some amazing performers from the individual heats that have been going on monthly since March. Tonight me and my fellow judges, Ross McInally, Landlord of Jolly Sailor and Cheryl Buggy of Express FM will be battling it out to determine who goes through to the Final and will be a step closer to claiming the £1,000 Grand Prize!

I have a rare weekend off this week, but the hubs has already assigned me some household duties. So, for the next two days I'll be 'fall' cleaning and organizing. Oh how I wish I had a couple gigs ... LOL!

GME is now accepting bookings for 2015. Get in touch to discuss the entertainment your special events for next year. Call me at 07504 611 173 or click here to request a quote for your next event.

That's it for now ... have a great weekend!

Weeks In Review - 6 June & 13 June 2014

FranClassic
Foodies Festival - Clapham

Apologies for not getting my 6 June Week In Review out to you. I usually write this blog on the Friday, but last Friday was Day 1 of Foodies Festival Clapham and I jumped right into the deep end of this 3-day event and didn't come up for air until Sunday night! The entire week was really devoted to sorting out all the last minute details for the event. We were so lucky with the weather over the 3-days and had huge crowds at the Entertainment Stage throughout each day. 

On 5 June I went to an early morning BNI networking meeting at the Hilton in Farlington where I gave a 1-minute presentation about GME. BNI is a worldwide network who are looking to launch a Portsmouth area chapter. I was invited back this week, but 6:45am is a bit too early for me, especially since I'm still recovering from Foodies :). Later on the 5th Dominic Elton (Mayfield band leader) and I met with Jeff Powell of Groovefinders to discuss Mayfield Studios, which are in the process of being built. We also discussed songwriting for our next album and development ideas as we take Mayfield to the next level as a band. 

Jerry Williams
Foodies Festival - Clapham

Jeff is a visionary manager who works with several emerging artist, including the very talented Jerry Williams who I booked to perform at Foodies Clapham. She was delightful by the way! There is mutual interest between Jeff and Mayfield to work together and I'm excited to see how things unfold in the coming months.

Even later on the 5th, I was at The Jolly Sailor judging Southsea's Got Talent! It was a very early start and long day, but no matter how tired I may feel when I get to SSGT, I am always energized and amazed by all the untapped talent in the Portsmouth area. This night was no exception. Each contestant was at the top of their game, and sadly only 3 were able to be put through to the next level! That was a hard decision to make!

Now we come to this week ...

Supremely, Diana Ross

On Monday, I had to drag my very tired self out of bed for a meeting at a venue where I'm booked to perform Supremely, Diana Ross for a birthday party. I am triple booked on this date, 21st of June,  so I need to check out the venue ahead to make sure I know how to get there and to see what equipment I will need to bring. I will be on such a tight schedule on this date, so there's very little room for errors like ... getting lost!

Wednesday I had my 1st full vocal coaching session with my new student, Nicola. I am helping her prepare set lists, find the right songs for her voice and music business coaching in addition to helping her fine tune her vocals. We had a great session and I am always thrilled when I see a student learning and growing. I recorded most of our session and played it back to Nicola. She struggled to listen to herself, but doing that helped us identify things she needs to work on, and the songs later in the session were already showing a marked improvement. I'll be seeing her again in a few weeks. 

If you are someone you know is looking for a vocal/music business coach, do get in touch to set up a free consultation.

Move On Up!

Thursday, I was with my band, Move On Up at The Wine Vaults and we had a fantastic night! We were worried that we would have a small crowd due to so many events happening at the same time including camper's night at the Isle of Wight Festival, and the opening night of the World Cup. However, we had a great crowd who were already on the dance floor by the third song of the first set ... this is very rare! By the end of the second set, the place was packed to the rafters and the punters were screaming for more ... even after our second encore! Sadly, we were out of energy and out of songs so we left the crowd wanting more, which is not a bad thing!

Speaking of Isle of Wight festival ... Mayfield are gearing up to make our debut at this great festival on the Hipshaker Stage on Saturday starting at 9pm! We had our final rehearsal prepping for the gig on Tuesday and the set is sounding very tight. We'll be dropping some new songs from our next release, and Amy and I will be donning new dresses that she designed and created! I'll have loads of pics to share with you next week.

Gloria Miller Duo

Finally, tonight I'm rehearsing with my Duo partner, Dennis Elvie as we prepare for our next gig which is the first of the three gigs I've got booked on the 21st of June. We will be doing Jazz & Blues originals and covers at The Spring in Havant! 

I've got one hour to prep for rehearsal, so that's it for now! Have a fabulous weekend!