Weeks in Review - 3 October & 10 October 2014

New Business Finalists

I've got so much to tell you so let's dive in ... As you may know, this year I was nominated for a Venus Award in the categories of Customer Service and New Business and went on to be named a finalist in the latter category. The awards debuted this year in the Portsmouth area, and founder Tara Howard and her staff put on quite the awards ceremony at the Portsmouth Marriott on the 1st of October. The hotel was buzzing with excited hopefuls including myself as we walked the red carpet, posed for photos, and I had the privilege of performing during the ceremony! 'Simply The Best' went over a storm with this room full of powerful business women (and a few men) and added to the sizzling tone set by the showgirls of Manic Stage Productions who opened the show.

I didn't win in my category, however, I have benefited in a huge way simply by association with such a prestigious award, including being contacted by The News in Portsmouth regarding their various awards. On the 9th of October I met with Rosie Morgan from The News and we discussed a few awards that are coming up and explored areas that GME can partner with them for sponsorship and entertainment. Watch this space for updates on which events I'll be involved with.

Manic Stage Productions Showgirls

I also want to send a shout out to Francis Davis at The Cathedral Innovation Centre (CIC) for supporting me and the other Venus Awards nominees who run their businesses from CIC. They purchased a table for the ceremony and I heard them before I actually saw them as they cheered me on when I took the stage to perform. I so appreciate their support and thank them for providing me and so many other small businesses with affordable office space.

On Saturday the 4th I performed Simply, Tina Turner at the Carisbrooke Arms in Gosport for the second time ever! I was a bundle of nerves as I waited backstage for my intro, but as soon as I heard the music and felt the support of the audience, it was like I was possessed by Tina! It was amazing from my perspective because it completely felt like an out-of-body experience. I've been performing Diana Ross for over a year and absolutely love it, but what I experienced performing Tina was magical. Usually, it's the second set of a gig that get's everybody up and dancing, but right out of the gate with Tina the atmosphere was charged with energy, the dance floor was packed and the crowd was singing along to every song, many of them knowing the lyrics better than me ... LOL! The first time I performed the show back in July, I was like a deer in the headlights and barely remember it. The second time even though I was scared, I was more prepared and felt more confident that I could get the job done. I guess the fact that I'm already re-booked to do Tina again at the Carisbrooke next year is a good sign! Watch this space for upcoming show dates.

Nick Boles, Me, Flick Drummond

On Monday the 6th of October I was invited to attend a reception at the Cathedral Innovation Centre with Nick Boles MP, the Minister of State jointly for Department for Business Innovation and Skill and the Department of Education who was showing his support for the work that CIC is doing with apprenticeships as well as with small businesses. Click here to read the article The News Portsmouth ran the day after the event.

I will be resuming my radio show, Glo's Music for the Soul, in October and on Friday the 10th I had a lovely chat with the managers of One World Radio about future radio shows as well as performance opportunities in Cypress. I'm recording the show this week to be aired on Halloween so I'm looking for music to fit the theme. Any suggestions?

On Saturday I performed to a fabulous crowd at The Jolly Sailor with my covers band, Move On Up and ventured into London on Sunday for a private solo gig to help celebrity bodyguard Michael Hosking celebrate his 50th birthday! It was a small gathering of about 25 people, but we had a fabulous time singing, dancing and celebrating at The Grange, which is a lovely venue in Ealing.

I'm off on Holiday for a few weeks so my updates will be on hiatus until I return on the 3rd of November. 

I'll be back in touch early November ... until then have a lovely rest of October!

Week In Review - 20 September 2014

The highlight of this week was attending Ladies Day at The Southampton Boat Show hosted by Sherry Claridge of UK Women Magazine on Thursday. The luncheon was held at Kuti's Royal Thai Pier and the food and company of 70 amazing women from across Hampshire were amazing! There was lots of networking, laughter and raffle prizes throughout the afternoon and I was delighted to be invited to make a 2-minute presentation about GME. The event was presented by Tara Howard of The Venus Awards, whose energy and enthusiasm are infectious. I was joined by my good friend and colleague, Janey Howl and we enjoyed a lovely late afternoon stroll around the Boat Show trying to work off the 3-course meal and dreaming a bit about the good life while touring a few of the amazing yachts on display. I left that boat show thinking that I definitely need to dream bigger ... LOL!

On Friday, I was at The Jolly Sailor judging the second semi-final of Southsea's Got Talent, and the seven contestants were outstanding. I wanted to put everybody through to the final, but sadly we could only put four through. The standout performance came from Harriet Standen, the teeny tiny singer with the huge voice! She wowed us with her version of 'And I Am Telling You' and earned first place in the semi-final. I can't wait to hear her at the final on the 3rd of October.

Tonight (Saturday) I am back at The Jolly Sailor with my originals band Mayfield hosting a charity event for Rowans Hospice. The night will be kicked off by Martin Jackson of SoulTime DJs spinning some great N-Soul, Soul & Motown. Mayfield will hit the stage around 9:15pm with two sets of funky soul originals and a few covers done the Mayfield way. We will also be debuting our brand new song, Ready Set Go, which we are currently working on in the studio. I'll give you a sneak preview once the track is finished. Watch this space.

Finally, on Sunday I will be joining my covers band, Move On Up to rehearse for our show at Pizza Express Jazz Club in Soho on 28 September. We will be performing original songs from my solo release, Let Go, as well as some Jazz & Blues covers. Tickets are still available for this show and your support would be greatly appreciated. Click here to purchase your tickets!

That's it for this week ... have an amazing 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!!

Week In Review - 11 April 2014

For as long as I can remember, I have always been quite goal oriented and this year I set four goals for GME. One of those goals was to develop two new shows ... 'I'll Be Seeing You,' a wartime show and 'Totally Tina Turner,' a tribute show to the rock & roll legend.  On Easter Sunday, I'll be debuting I'll Be Seeing You at the Hayling Island Sailing Club, and on the 4th of July, I'll be performing Totally Tina Turner alongside Supremely, Diana Ross at The Exchange in Bournemouth!

Andrew Sisters

So, this week has been all about fine tuning the wartime show and I have sooooooo enjoyed researching the songs from WWI & WWII and I'm finding that I love the purity of the vocals on these songs. The Andrews Sisters' musicianship is beyond words with their intricate harmonies and pitch perfect vocals on such delights as 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy' and 'Chattanooga Choo Choo'! Vera Lynn seems to have captured the hearts of the entire country with her heartfelt vocals on 'Bless 'Em All' and 'We'll Meet Again' among many other WWII favourites.

The real fun was in finding WWI songs like 'Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag' and 'It's A Long Way to Tipperary'!  I've included a few of the videos I used for research in choosing the set list for 'I'll Be Seeing You' in this week's newsletter. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.

On Tuesday, I had a meeting with Martin Bargent, the Director of Brown Sugar Events to discuss working together on future projects. Their next event is 'The All Woman Show' being held on the 22nd of June at the Mountbatten Leisure Centre in Portsmouth. Having met Martin at the launch of the Portsmouth Venus Awards reinforces how important networking is in business. 

Next week I am having a mini-holiday with Neal at our place in Spain, but I will have to do some work finalizing the entertainment for Foodies Festival, Clapham Common. I've still got a few slots to fill for Clapham and I'm looking for solo performers, duos and bands who perform folk, soul, pop and/or Jazz. Please contact me if you're interested in performing for any of the Foodies events.

Neal & Me

Click here to view final running order for the Brighton event being held on 3, 4, & 6th of May. The Clapham Common event is the 6, 7, & 8th of June. 

That's it for this week. Have a fantastic weekend!