Archive for the 'Gigs' Category

New Album: The Time

Published on April 10, 2010 in !Headlines!, Gigs, My Life, My Media and My Work. 0 Comments

For the last few months I have been working on a new album. Enlisting the help of all my talented friends I have produced 7 original tracks that will be available to download via MP3 from online retailers.

The Time The Band
Guitar, Piano & Vocals: Chris Annable
Drums: Bryn Bowen
Bass: Darren Steel
Organ: John Annable
Keyboards: Anthony Bingham
Percussion: Richard Annable

“The Time” is now available to download:

It will soon be available on Amazon MP3 and the iTunes Music Store.
My first album “Yours Truly” is still available here.

New Red Alert Video!

Published on September 22, 2009 in Gigs, My Life, My Work, Social Network and YouTube. 0 Comments

Website: http://redalertband.com.au

Up-Rooted

Published on September 20, 2009 in !Headlines!, Gigs, My Life, My Work and weBlog. 2 Comments

Well if you are reading this you have tracked down my blog at this, its spunky new location. I have been intending to move my blog here for some time and I won’t lie, my recent wrestle with malware flagging was a strong motivator.

For those who have just tuned in, malware was detected redirecting people to a different website from my website. So Google’s flagging service (though current browsers) stopped this by redirecting people to a different website from my website. Hmmm … and I didn’t even have to ask!

For the record, I successfully cleaned my site days ago. Currently my old domain is EMPTY and still being flagged. Fail. But hey Google, your maps are cool and I use stacks of your other free services so I forgive you.

Anyway, back to blogging!
I’ve been pretty busy with music this year and it is gearing up to be a jam packed last few months of the year. I am performing gigs with the following groups:
RED ALERT: Check out the new website: http://redalertband.com.au
Bac2Bac Duo: Acoustic Duo with Bryn Bowen: http://bac2bac.net

Stay tuned, more to come …

Musical Challenge

Published on August 3, 2009 in Gigs, My Life and My Work. 1 Comment

This weekend I had 2 very challenging gigs. The first (Friday night) I was filling in for the Incredible Cucumbers; a band that my brother Richard plays drums for. The second (Saturday night) was a corporate function for my band, Red Alert.

Fill in gigs are a great way to keep you on your toes. As a musician, there is no other time you rely as much on communication within the band before, between and during songs. Playing guitar, there is little room for error. If you place your hand 1cm to the left or right of where it is supposed to be, it sounds completely wrong. For example, if I was to get 90% of the notes correct (still an “A” or high distinction by exam standards), that is 1 in 10 notes wrong. Imagine a simple melody like “Mary had a little lamb” or “Twinkle twinkle little star” and how much missing every 10th note can completely ruin the over-all tune. Not to mention it is all that you remember from the song; like when a juggler drops a ball.

This gig was a great gauge for me to see how far my “electric” chops have come over the last couple of years. I was often quite surprised what I could come up with on a moments notice. I could easily follow the charts I had written and I was happy with most of my solos. It seems no matter how much I practice at home there is no substitute for extensive on-stage experience.

The following night put my singing to the test. I covered nearly half the night on lead vocals and it proved to be a challenge both for voice stamina and lyrics recall. Once again I was pleasantly surprised. I do every Red Alert show “off book” and completely from memory. This was difficult in the beginning but seems to have gotten easier along the way. Most people compare memory to a muscle – the more you use it, the stronger it gets. I agree. I can now memorise and recall chords and lyrics with a lot less effort these days.

I am lucky to work with awesome musicians and always want to be the least talented in every band. That way, I am constantly forced to keep lifting my game.

Red Alert Promo Video

Published on May 26, 2009 in Gigs, My Life and My Work. 0 Comments

The New New

Published on March 2, 2009 in Baby, Family, Gigs, My Life and My Work. 0 Comments

Song writing has been around for a long time. Probably longer than that! Recently I have noticed an increase in lawsuits in the music industry relating plagiarism of one form or another (ie Red Hot Chili Peppers vs. Tom Petty). As a song writer I have started asking myself, how many more combinations can there be for the 12 available notes in music?

My Dad (another songwriter) often says, “You can’t write anything new any more, everything sounds like something else these days”. In some ways, I believe this to be true. However, if you look at the simple Chord structure the “12 bar blues” and how many songs have been constructed over that form, it is obvious to me that the slightest change in rhythm or melody can make one song seem totally unrelated to the other. Look at it this way: 99% of the words in all the worlds books are contained in the dictionary.

Last year I set myself a huge challenge. For the first time ever, I announced that I was going to write a song – and what it would be about. It was a tribute to my new daughter that I would play at her Christening. Everything was organised and ready to go except for one minor detail – I had no song. Most have my songs come “out of the blue” either from a melody in my head to something I work up on guitar. By pre-planning my song I was effectively timetabling inspiration.

I obsessed over this song for a good couple of weeks trying to find that “new” idea. People talk about a flash of lightning, for me it is more like a spine tingle. I got the sensation whilst buying coffee for my wife and I one Saturday morning. I thought up the title: “Welcome Home”. In an instant I knew this was the exact message I wanted to send to my daughter through her song. I also like the way it directly links to the wedding song I wrote for my wife in which the last words are “With you … I’m home”.

The resulting song came soon after that and I class it as one of my best. I played it for my wife who loved it instantly. I have yet to record it but will do so when I release my new CD (hopefully later this year). I have decided that just because writing brand new and original songs these days is hard, it doesn’t mean we should give up.

10 ‘09 Resolutions

Published on January 2, 2009 in Baby, Communications, Family, Friends, Gigs, My Life and My Work. 0 Comments

Well the new year is upon us and I, like so many others, have come up with a few goals to achieve. My focus this year is on the direction I want to head in. I feel I’ve spent a lot of 2008 dealing with ground work and I want 2009 to be about taking control and steering my life.

Lets get the obvious out of the way …
1. Lose Weight.
This is on the agenda every year and I can say that so far it has been no more a failure than a success – in that I have neither gained or lost weight for around 5 years now. Let’s hope my new found drive and my newly purchased Wii Fit will make the necessary difference.

2. Be more pro-active.
The operative word being “more”. I am pro-active to a certain degree. I make things happen for me and my family, but there’s more to do. I need to push myself so that I am steering my life in the right direction every single day.

3. Be a better Dad.
People comment on how awesome my daughter is – and I whole heartedly agree. She is awesome. This is 99% my wife’s doing. She is just a fantastic mum. This year I aim to increase my involvement so that my wife can have a break once in a while.

4. Keep in touch with friends.
I have had one hell of a busy 2008 with a brand new baby, 3 different jobs and no holidays to speak of. I work 40 hours or more a week and most of my weekends have been taken up with gigs. This has lead me to be quite exhausted on a daily basis. I feel that I have been neglecting a lot of my friends of late and that needs to change. My friends are awesome and I know they will stand by me no matter what, but I still feel I need to hold up my end of the bargain. I will find the correct balance.

Below are some more specific goals …
5. Better guitarist.
I am no longer satisfied with just ‘getting by’ with my guitar playing. If you ask people, they will tell you I am a great player; but I know I can do better. I plan on both playing and seeing many more gigs this year. I love music, it’s as simple as that. I am lucky enough to be working with some of Melbourne’s top musicians and it’s time to lift my game.

6. Travel.
2009 marks 20 years since I have been overseas. My last trip was to the UK in 1989. I think it’s about time I ventured out again – whether it be on my own or with my family.

7. Record.
My last CD was 11 tracks and was recorded in 2006 and released in 2007. I have no shortage of material and will get back in the studio again this year for another CD. This time I will hire an engineer so that I can concentrate on my playing. I will sell this one exclusively online and don’t really care how many get bought. This will be purely about the process.

365 Challenges …
After the success of my 365day Photo Challenge, I realised my ability to push myself to meet goals. There’s something about doing (or not doing) something for a year that makes me more eager to complete it. Plus, the further through the year you go, the more determined you get. I have named this the “365 Day effect”.

8. One Photo a day of my daughter.
This has been ongoing since she was born. She is now over 5 months old and we are up to around 160 photos. They have been an excellent way of seeing her growth and for marking her milestones. I am not sure how long this will continue but for now my plan is to give her a book on her birthday that portrays one whole year of her life. My hope is that when she is old enough, she will continue this herself.

9. No buying.
Anyone who knows me, knows this is a big one. Our emphasis over the last year has been on saving money. For the first time in our lives, my wife and I have been slowly pulling ahead financially. To accelerate things I have set myself a limit of $100. I am not allowed to purchase anything (or multiple things) for myself worth over that amount per month. So far the 365 effect has worked perfectly! I look at big screen TVs, Music PAs, Guitar Pedals and simply say, “it’ll have to wait until next year”.

10. Be happy.

It is all about the tone.

Published on December 3, 2008 in Gigs, My Life, My Technology and My Work. 2 Comments

Level vs gain, solid state vs valve, analog vs digital, stomp boxes vs multi-effects units, true bypass vs non-true bypass, and ultimately “tone” are things I never needed to worry about during my 15 years playing acoustic guitar.

However, the last few years has seen my full band electric gigs outnumber my solo/duo acoustic performances. As the quantity and quality of shows I was playing increased, it was obvious to me that my rig needed to catch up.

I upgraded my original line-up:

Aria (Gibson Copy) Guitar

Korg AX1G Multi FX Unit

Yamaha PA

To my quick and nasty set-up:

Highway One Fender Stratocaster

Line6 POD XT Live Multi Effects Unit

Fender 212 Frontman Sold-State Amplifier

This was an upgrade from hopeless to crappy. It was at this stage I started to get a thirst for a better quality sound. My playing had once again overtaken my gear and it was time for yet another upgrade. Constantly running at a financial loss, the last couple of years I slowly managed to build up a rig that I am happy with (for now).

Guitars:

John Mayer Artist Series Signature Stratocaster

Blade Levinson Texas Standard Pro (via endorsement)

Pedals:

Jim Dunlop Cry Baby (Wah)

Korg Tuner

Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer (Drive)

T-REX Moller (Drive / Boost)

Amp:

Peavey Valveking 212 100w Twin Valve Amplifier

This lineup is so much fun to play – especially at deafening high volumes. The tone is great, not perfect, but great. If I had the $$$ I would upgrade my amp to the classic Fender Twin Reverb, but for approximately 1/3 of the cost (and about 1/2 the weight) my Peavey Valveking is fantastic.

I researched most of my gear extensively before buying it. YouTube was invaluable. It is filled with videos of people testing the pedals, talking about the pros and cons and demonstrating the resulting sounds.

It helps to have a goal in mind. Who do you want to sound like? With me there was an obvious answer to that question. I want a bluesy strat tone and love the sound of artists such as John Mayer and Stevie Ray Vaughn: hence my choice of stratocaster. It was amazing how many times I said the words “I want a sound like John Mayer’s” before I said “Perhaps I should get the John Mayer Strat“. Don’t overlook the Blade Levinson though. I would be perfectly happy to use either for a gig. If I was looking to buy again in future I would go straight for a Blade. I strongly believe that with them, you pay for quality and not a name.

I still haven’t forgotten my my Maton semi acoustic roots and love playing my EBG808-Artist series whenever I have the chance. But the more electric gigs I do, the more I am falling in love with the dark side of the guitar world. To ensure my gear costs don’t permanently outweigh my music earnings, I will stick with the line-up I have. I am by no means just “getting by”. I love this setup and I get a kick out of the fact that everything I own is of a different brand – Fender, Blade, Maton, Ibanez, T-Rex, Korg, Jim Dunlop, Line 6 and Peavey.

For now, I will continue wandering through websites, magazines, MP3s and DVDs in the never-ending search of the “perfect” sound because remember kids … it is all about the tone!
Amen.

Back to Blogging

Published on November 11, 2008 in Baby, Family, Gigs, My Life, My Work and weBlog. 0 Comments

Well, life post-365 is a bit more peaceful. I now have the luxury of posting to my website in an “every so often” kind of way. I will, however, try not to let it go too long between posts (famous last words).

Here’s my life at the moment:
I now have a new NEW job. I have been on so many learning curves this year that I think I’m just used to the angle. I am no longer in the field of I.T. which is a pleasant change for me. I have also moved out of schools which, career wise, is the right move (my resume was starting to get a bit repetitive). I have shifted into the field of “Communications” and due to the nature of the role, I’m choosing to keep fairly quiet online. I apologise to everyone for not responding to questions (on Facebook etc.). I will fill you in on details when I next chat to you in person.

I’m now gigging again. The band I’m in: RED ALERT is getting quite a lot of work now – especially heading into Christmas. I had one of the best gigs of my life a couple of weeks back in the Forum Theatre in Melbourne. The stage was so huge, my leads weren’t long enough! It’s a great balance for me being all corporate by day and rocking out at night.

How’s parenthood you ask? Mel and I are loving it. We just love it. We could not have asked for a more beautiful daughter. She has such a cheeky character and is charming everyone she meets. She has her Daddy wrapped around her little finger.

I look forward to catching up with everyone ASAP!
TTFN