Summer and 2nd Year of LIPA

So it's been ages since I've written anything! A lot has happened since the last post!

Kindertransport went really well, everybody involved loved working on the show, the audience seemed to love it and it was a great experience! Even managed to get in and give Matt a hand on the show nights which was good! I'm looking forward to doing something similar in the two years to come while still at LIPA.

After that came a bunch of exams and work that needed to be handed in which was okay I guess, then before I knew it, my first year at LIPA had finished! And it went bloody quickly too!

Over the summer I chilled out really, started learning to drive again (I passed in September!) and did a fair bit of travelling around the UK to see friends as well!

At the end of the summer, I spent a few days at the Shrewsbury Folk Festival on their sound team. It was really good fun, met some great people and got to work with some fantastic artists! The best thing was it was all being streamed online!

After that was all over, driving test day doomed on me! However I passed first time with 4 minors which was pretty good I thought! Then i had about 2 days to pack my stuff back up to move into my new house back up in Liverpool.

Since then, freshers weeks have been and gone and we've started getting back into the nitty gritty work again which is great! Started getting a bit bored over the summer! It's going to be an interesting year!

Kindertransport

It's show week! This Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Kindertransport showcases LIPA's 2nd Year Acting students. It includes my sound design and some of my sound effect sourcing. I was working with fellow sound tech's, Joe Wills and Matt King. Matt will be operating the three shows so I wont be involved on the actual nights but after weeks of preparation, it's finally time to see what we're all made of! Many thanks to the rest of the production team as well, especially Ruth for keeping me sane in the past few weeks :D

Richard Shindell @ TwickFolk

Worked on this gig a few years ago and have just come across this video of him playing. The guy who filmed it has added the sound that I recorded direct from the desk. Quite nice really!

3rd Degree Music Festival

Have been working for the past few weeks on LIPA's 3rd Degree, a two week festival showcasing the talent of 3rd year musicians at LIPA. It's been great fun so far! Only another week of shows to go.

Kindertransport @ The Unity Theatre

Myself and two other sound techs from LIPA have been appointed the Sound Design team for Kindertransport which is a LIPA show, being performed at the Unity Theatre in Liverpool.

The play is set in the 1980's and flashbacks to World War II at certain points throughout the show.

It should be a great show and i'm quite excited about it, especially as it is going to rely on the sound to give the audience an idea of where the actors are at any point throughout the show, as the set stays the same.

The shows are going to be on the 21st, 22nd and 23rd May at the Unity Theatre.

LiveJam @ Studio, Liverpool

Last night I worked at one of the LiveJam gigs, raising money for Oxfam. Really nice system in place for us when we turned up with a surprising A&H desk with comps and gates, an unusual situation for an unpaid gig!

4 of the 7 bands who were meant to play either pulled out (or were pulled out!) The three remaining bands, Moscow Square, BeakerFolk of The Bronze Age and Jaguar Jones, did a great job of keeping the night just as good anyway!

There are gigs still happening today (Sunday) all around Liverpool so if you've got nothing to do, go take a look!

Re:place Radio

I was told today that I will be one of the new presenters for LIPA's re-branded radio station, Re-place Radio. All the shows will be podcast based and I'll be recording a rock/pop show once a week.

Keep an eye on the website for the first show which should be ready by Thursday 12th Feb in time for the launch of Re:place Radio.

Management Events

The 1st Year Management students at LIPA recently organised events around Liverpool as part of their coursework. Myself and three others were hired by one group to do the sound and lights for their Murder Mystery / Burlesque evening.

LIPA were kind enough to let us take out one of the smaller D&B systems (we were the first to take out the new gear!). The evening was a great success and the management students were very happy with our services for the evening!

FieldHouse Recordings

Jon and I recently recorded a couple of songs by FieldHouse, 'One In A Million' and 'Shadows and Minnows'. The first track can be heard on my website. It was recorded as part of our second recording project which this time, was not limited to the recording medium or track count, therefore we originally recorded it to RADAR and then exported it into pro tools for editing and mixing.

'Shadows and Minnows' is not yet completed. There are still a few guitar parts and vocals to put down but it should be finished soon. The band are eager to get back into the studio!

Happy New Year (and a belated Merry Christmas!)

Best wishes for 2009!