Dj Marc Reck Djing Events Tutorials and life in Birmingham

Something i mentioned previously, which is (a) an extension of the Mr Elephant Workshop of the World idea, and (b) something i’m hugely excited about, is a website /idea that is currently in development called Share to Create. com. Here’s the tip of the iceberg, beautifully written by Dubber as part of the uce transfer of knowledge fellowship i’m involved with.

“Share to Create is a website that draws on the creative talents of ordinary people in local communities, and provides a platform to develop, share and promote those skills”

As it’s being currently being built, I can’t really go into much detail at this stage, though suffice to say there a many strands to the basic idea, all of which address different social needs, and while there are various similar ideas around, the project as a whole is only made possible by bringing the ideas and skills of some extremely skilled people together, which more and more is to creating it’s own niche.

Anyway, more on that later. Today i had the opportunity to put some of the idea in action in the real world, with my first skill sharing session with local singing teacher, Rebecca Schwarz. I swapped an hour of professional singing tutoring, for an hour’s cubase surgery, and suffice to say it went really really well!

I now have a new confidence and understanding of singing, and Rebecca can now confidently record her own vocals, whenever and wherever she likes.

Next week we are going for lesson two, with the added addition of recording a demo for her. Not only will be both be learning more of what we want to know, but with the added bonus of this recorded material, which is great for us both as it offers a potential remix possibilites.

Maybe it wont be long before i’m remixing my own voice. And for me that would be cool!

After another inspiring meeting, this time with Ant from Open Advantage, and with the website very much laying itself out and looking exceedingly promising, we headed to the hare and hounds to catch the last two sets at the generally excellent Bohemian Jukebox night run by Ben Calvert

 Above was my good friend Rich who played a magnificent vocal piano set to end the night. (The photo was shot by Ant with his iphone and then uploaded to facebook straight away!)

 Before Rich was a great band i think made up of two bands? The Lazy Lizards & Los Crocodilos

 I bought their cd’s anyway, and recommend you check them out.

 Ben’s is quite good too

I relooked at the business plan this week, and thanks to a brief chat with John Mostyn, and Pyn, have been looking into funding applications, through the arts council and lottery big fund, and am noticing that there seems to be quite a lot of support for developing creative practises, bringing them to new audiences, and even integrating social media ideas.! More news on that later but for now, here’s a couple of events for the sunny weekend in brum i definitly recommend to attend.

and i’m booked to play the surfs up festival in newquay, playing 3-4am friday night with Dave Minns in Apply the Breaks room, (but just noticed i’m not on the flyer…Apparently its been an organisational mission)

and tonight you can find Sam Redmore at both the bulls head and the hare and hounds!

Hope you have a great weekend, wherever you be

Last week, our Finished with the War piece seemed to go down real well at New Vibes 2008, and since then i’ve been continuing on my crusade to get all my open loops, ideas and projects into thinking rock… (for which there seem to be literally hundreds!)

Its a good feeling to know that most of the ideas and projects now have next their actions defined, and can now be taken forward without neglecting other projects, (and an equally good feeling to have stopped smoking again!) However some of the ideas and projects are often difficult, (and in some cases impossible), to move forward without the technical know how to make them happen, (or of course the money to pay someone who does!)

This week,  i’ve noticed 3 ideas i’ve been working on for Mr Elephant, spring up online in various almagamations, and while i don’t doubt that the similarities are coincidental, i did start getting a little worried that one of the bigger ideas i’ve been investing a lot of time in, and it kick started me into thinking how i can make it happen with my current resources.

Its a common challenge for anyone “starting up” for want of a better term, as obviously lack of money can often mean you have to do most things yourself, and that normally involves learning and developing new and sometimes quite technical skills to a decent level.

The more you learn, the more ideas, you have, the more ideas you have, the busier you become, the busier you become the less time you have to learn, and quite soon you can find yourself working for days on things that you never expected or even dreamed would be part of the plan, project, or big picture in the first place.

Obviously all that learning has great benefits too, and having many strings to your bow takes you in all sorts of directions, and can offer many opportunities.

Over the years, as a result of all the ideas and projects, I’ve learnt how to make and edit video’s, design and produce flyers, create and manage a variety of websites, organise and promote all manner of events at various levels, write, record, and produce music, evolve pretty much all aspects of djing, host and create workshops, teach and share various levels of knowledge, and have gained a pretty broad understanding of online technologies, (and the wealth of ideas they create!), with even some business and management knowledge along the way.

There are many things however, that you can’t do on your own, and its important to build a strong network, by creating mutually beneficial ideas and opportunities, and obviously good bonds. Thankfully through the events, projects, ideas, and courses, and often of course just life generally, i’m fortunate to have met, worked, learnt, taught and befriended some very talented and lovely people, and together have created stuff that wouldn’t have been possible on our own, and often has produced much better results and mutual benefits, than if it would be have been a “pay and display” type affair.

This said i’ve often been cautious about asking friends and “de network” to get involved, often thinking they might be too busy, that i should just learn/do it myself, and/or sometimes because i’ve been unsure or unclear about the end result, especially with the bigger ideas, and that i should work out the whole picture, and all its steps to completion before involving anyone else.

That waiting for feeling was however, often a product of having so much stuff going on, and not knowing the next action. Now that all is getting into thinking rock, or the Getting Things Done system i’ve been able to see where the projects were at, what i’ve got going on, and then took the plunge so to speak with inviting people i thought may be too busy to collaborate on the things i’d really like to make happen.

And i’m pleased to say that this week, i have found the dj partner i’ve been looking for, (who was also apparently looking for me), the workshop of the world idea is actually going to be built properly using Rails, together with a friend who recently built the livebrum site, and i’ve started three mutually beneficial business ideas to take forward the mr elephant workshops.

This week, i’ve also started training again, which i’ve really missed, i’ve been cooking up some innovative ideas with my favourite vj, and yesterday it was all crowned with receiving my 30th birthday Djembe, hand made, with a sound similar to the very best you can buy, (for a third of the price), and hand carved with the Mr Elephant Presents Logo!.. (And while writing this, i’ve just been offered a residency for the Night Times new event)

So if i could share anything useful from this week i guess my top tips would be, to get organised with the help of getting things done, share the ideas you believe in with people you trust , and who have skills you don’t, and when the time’s right, have a look at stopping smoking, cus it’s really made a difference to me.

I’m going to be blogging the process of my approach to the getting things done idea, as its been quite a long ride with it all, and the relevant or useful bits might help someone else in the same boat.

And on that note, I’m off to prepare some records, and go celebrate Anne-Maries leaving do. (We’re at the Lamp if you want to come down)

was a lovely evening with highlights from Aa’shiq Al Rasul, and its curator Rich Batsford. Here’s a little video of Rich performing one of his latest tracks entitled Chromazone.

I’ve just checked out this very interesting post from Rich Batsford in response to this other 2 interesting posts from Simon Jones and Pete Ashton . It inspired me to write a very long comment, so i thought i’d blog it (now we back to normal transmission again!)

I’ve been keeping a keen eye on this debate on brum’s talent for some time now, and it seems with blog posts like this and Simons/Pete’s that its getting another welcome ignition of interest again.

It seems that one common thread is that the Birmingham venue owners, promoters, artists, and audiences often seem pretty well connected with each other in this city, but that the national media and the council don’t really get behind whats really going on, therefore meaning the view of Birmingham from other cities is somewhat different from the reality?

I don’t think things like so much money being spent on shopping malls, buildings that are structurally sound, and broad street’s nightlife do much for the cities cultural reputation, and i wonder what i might think if i’d just got off a train from another city/country, and how easy/difficult it would be for me to find out about all the stuff we have going on.

This from a tourist point of view i imagine keeps things more underground, which while it might have benefits in terms of creative freedom, might also be contradicting that tagline of Birmingham as a global city with a local heart.

I expect the current housing developments and “eastside regeneration project might further affect this perception, but i do often wonder what it would be like if a tiny portion of the money could go to support promotors, and if there is a way of creating a dialogue with the people who make the decisions and the local promoters who create the events.

The process of funding applications don’t always seem to lend themselves to the nature of building up events, and i wonder if there could be also be a dialogue between local companies or suitable sponsors?

Also having events which happen in areas of our city, which might not have been utilised, like green spaces, and disused buildings could also be another great way of shining a light on our culture and bringing it to different demographs, (i.e those that dont go to night clubs), although from what i gather it seems that is increasingly difficult, extremely expensive, or impossible to do, because of the amount of red tape you have to battle with.

I don’t know very much about the workings of this side of things, (hence the reason for the latest Mr Elephant exploration), but the support seems to be the difference from other cities, and certainly is internationally, which i assume is more to do with the national government, than local?

We all know how time consuming and financially difficult it is to promote events, (and of course the real reasons for doing it), but i imagine if there was financial and promotional support from the council, and to(and from) all the venues, then it would allow a lot more growth, collaboration, and freedom for people who work hard to create these events, and the city’s culture would have a much larger platform to express itself.

Then maybe our visiting tourists and the national media would be able to see a lot more of what’s going on, and everyone could benefit?

If you’re subscriber to the rss feed, you may have just have a barrage of posts! Apologies for that. Normal service should now be resumed.

At least 4 people have recommended i check this out this week, so i bought a couple of tickets, and after a meal at the ever tasty wagamama’s, it was on to the gig…

Here’s the write up

Capsule present in collaboration with Integra: The Bays with John Metcalfe and live ensemble - The Bays incorporate a classical ensemble into their improvised electronic performance, using a unique system of real-time music scoring devised by The Bays and projected for the audience to see as well as hear.

It was a great evening out, and i really enjoyed the music. I think the visuals were by the guys who do the prodigy stuff, and there was lots of friends there to see it.I took quite a few pictures, and captured a few bits of video, which i’ll add when the links uploaded.  I also tried to record it binaurully, but unfortunatly, my irivers been playing up, so it didnt come out

Well worth checkin out if you get chance.

Last night was the 40th birthday party of Newman College, and to celebrate they held a lavish party in the beautiful grounds of the botanical gardens, with flower power as the theme, and enlisting the fine John Mostyn to co-ordinate (and perform) the musical entertainment.

The main stage setup was nice and smooth and looking suitably sixties, thanks to some fine work from Paul the sound engineer. I was able to setup in no time in a great little spot, which was most welcome from my side, as it was to be the 2nd outing of the new Traktor Scratch setup, which feels like a whole lot of technology (and therefore a whole lot of risk!) It was also my 3rd outing playing to such a diverse crowd of age ranges and the first time ever i’ve played sixties music, hence the lot of digging this week.

It was also the first time i’d seen Brent Ford and the Nylon’s who were John Mostyn’s band of talented musicians, joined on the night by Laura, and preceded by a local band called the Danglers.

The guests all looked suitably hippiefied with their pre drink cocktails in outside, and as they entered the main room, Vo from the nylons played some sublime guitar “noodlings”. Pet Sounds, Beatles, Byrds, and some Smile tracks provided the ambience for dinner, before a great set from local band the danglers, which got people bobbing in their seats, and who were fronted by a great frontman.

After a brief interlude from more sixties classics. Brent Ford and the Nylon’s took to the stage, and immediately people felt moved to get up and shake it. Having never heard them before, i have to say every tune was a killer, and the musicianship, and warm rapport they generated was inspiring. In less than 2 numbers the whole floor was full, and awash with hippy dressed dancers, and sixties esque moves.

Laura joined midset and delivered her amazing vocals, before the final numbers from the core members, and an encore again joined by Laura.

Then it was my turn, and i got to play all the records i’d been sourcing for the week. Committed to keep the dancefloor full, and happy, i opted for the more soul filled sixties, with a lot of classics from the bands fronting the flower power movement. The well known numbers worked the best, and i was reminded to not listen to requests, as no matter how much you want to cater for everyone, 95% of the time that one style thats reqeusted is going to spoil the flow, and not please the populous!

I always try and cater to requests, but the more i do, the more i learn that that one track no matter how good it is, is only going to please the person who requested it, and normally always stifles what you are doing as a dj. There were pop requests for the things like The Macarenna, Kylie, and Robbie Williams, which never really get a look in, (for obvious reasons), there were requests for changing the music into soul or out of soul, (which where honoured, but ultimatly thinned the floor), and i think the only requests that worked was one for the beatles, and a request for a funk track, which were a safe bet, and backed up the notion that wide age ranges, who are on the dancefloor, bascially want (good) tunes they know, that they can dance too. And that is normally the classic bands, the big records, and a healthy slice of mowtown, funk and upbeat soul.

As a dj, i feel it’s really important to me to please everyone as much as is possible, but ultimatly most important to see that dancefloor full, smiling, and jumpin all night long, (ideally with lots of arm movements, and vocal outbursts!) In a club environment, or an age range who regularly go out and like listening to a range of music, i feel a real confidence to do this, (as i’ve had years of experience). Now, (thanks largely to two opportunities from John Mostyn), i also feel just as confident to rock the more wedding type crowds as well!

Next challenge is taking the roots of that custom made gig, mixing it up with the last 2 project x gigs, adding a sprinkling of the peace not war and Que Club Drop Beats sets, and incorporating my whole music collection into it, hopefully culminating in a 4 deck traktor scratch mashup of live music, scratching, loops, efx, performers, vjs and eventually live jamming…

……or at least somewhere in that direction anyway