Live Show Clip! & Non-Competitive Competition

Well, here we are. Another month slipping through my Digital Fingers, and I thought it was about time I gave you all an update on where things are headed Jazz Emusically and otherwise...

Firstly, above is a clip of a medley of songs from the Live Solo Show, filmed in Edinburgh this August, in which I prove what a Good Guy I am. For context, we had 20 mins every night to set up the entire show after the show before us finished. For a show this technically complex, that is truly insane, and was only possible thanks to the speedy work of director Adam and stage manager Estelle. On this particular night, we started 15 minutes late because the new venue manager hadn't been told how to turn off the house lights... It was frequently chaos but we somehow pulled it off every night.

I always struggle with putting out video products I don't think are Adequately Tidy or Satisfactorily Perfect. The video recording for this show came out pretty well, but we had to record sound with room mic, so it just doesn't cut it audio-wise to release. Anyway, in the spirit of showing you all the Pieces Of Me that I won't shiver out into the public, here's a glimpse of stuff from the live show. I'm having so much fun performing this show, and I feel like my skills in that regard are getting slicker every time I do it. I'm feeling very excited to keep building momentum with live stuff - solo and with a full band - so that I can come and visit as many of you in your home-towns as possible some day. I hope this little snippet gives you at least a taste of what live stuff I'm up to at the moment!

Aside from this, what can I tell you? I always struggle with this time of year. The days growing darker holds a pretty ferocious grip over my mental mood and makes everything seem less fruitful and more pointless. My instinct is to become a little reclusive and indulgent of some introverted solipsism. So I've been focussing a lot of my mental efforts on pushing through that, and haven't really felt like connecting, so you'll have to forgive my distance on the Discord etc. Sometimes I really regret moving somewhere with as seasonal shifts as strongs as in Miami...

But in this moment of reclusion, I thought I'd take this moment to reflect as the year draws gradually to a close. I made a promise earlier this year that 2022 would be the year I quit my day job. And within a couple of months of writing that, these manifestations became a reality. That is crazy to me, considering I set that goal to myself in earnest (for my Art to become self-sustaining) only five years ago. And here we are. That is in a huge part thanks to the donations of you all on Patreon, so I want to express how grateful I am for your love and support, and would like to remind you of that! To say thanks, I'm going to pick a Patron's name out of my hat (a chic suede fedora with a wide brim), and send a signed copy of one of the test pressings of the vinyl for Digital Spool (which have just arrived, how exciting). Just LIKE THIS VERY POST to enter the draw!

And SO to look forward; to update you with plans for the future. I told you in a video a couple of months I was going to write three more short episodes of the Jazz Emu Pilot. This has happened! Well, in a way. What has actually happened is one longer episode, a 30 minute pilot script. I took some time to reflect on what was working in the pilot on Youtube, and have pretty heavily adapted the setting and characters. But the core of the tone and idea remains the same. I'm putting the last touches to the script, and then will need to do some demos of the songs within it (brand new unheard songs!) to send around with it, to production companies etc. In some exciting news there, I have secured two new writing/performing agents - one in the UK and one in the USA. The plan and dream is to shop this script around, build some buzz and fascination excitement for its Objectively Flawless Execution... and this achieve the dream of funding a full 30 minute pilot for the show. When the demos are done, and scripts are tidier, I'll share some snippets with you all... yes again, apologies for being such a Coy Perfectionist and so reticent with the goods.

In other news, those of you who read the email missives I send, will have noticed that I have also made the somewhat insane commitment of the next musical album being a full narrative concept album - an adaptation of Homer's Odyssey in traditional Jazz Emu funk-stylings. I must be honest, it's been the most ambitious and therefore most mind-melting thing I've taken on creatively. But the narrative arc has taken a shape and I've  got first drafts for a few of the songs. I'll be dripping these out over the coming months to you all once I've got demos down for them. I'm fearful and excited for it. But my gut says it's going to be really good. By the Bolts of Mighty Zeus, I hope it is, for I will definitely be spending longer making it than on any project I've ever worked on.

I suppose the bottom line is, thanks for helping me to be making exactly what I want to be making right now. It all feels Highly Specific and Somewhat Ambitious and not like Something Someone Else Would Bother Making and therefore Very Exciting to me. Thank you for the gift of this creative freedom!

I love you lots. Jazz Emu xxx