Here are the gigs that I’m doing for the week ending Sunday September 11th, 2011.
Make sure you mark these off in your diary with a BOLD RED PEN.
For more information please go to my gigs page.
Hope to see you there,
Corey 
Here are the gigs that I’m doing for the week ending Sunday August 14th, 2011
Make sure you mark them in your diary with a BOLD RED PEN!
For more information please go to my gigs page.
Hope to see you there,
Corey
Today I’m preparing for my first originals gig in a couple of months.
It’s a gig I organise for SCALA (Songwriters, Composers and Lyricists Association) showcasing songwriters who perform through my Open Mic Network and it happens tonight. It’s a great way to keep my songwriting chops up to speed.
As a musician who makes a living playing other peoples music, playing my own music is a real breath of fresh air for me. Even though I always put my own individual spin on the covers that I play, the greatest artistic satisfaction I get as a musician is through performing my own songs in front of a crowd that want to be there.
If you’re in the area the gig is at the Higher Ground Arts Cafe located at Light Square in Adelaide and the night kicks off between 8pm and 8:30pm finishing at around 11pm.
I’ll be sharing the stage with 3 other talented songwriters Bryan Foley, Martin Mount and Steven Fotineas with entry being $5 waged, $4 concession and $3 for SCALA members.
It’s going to be a great night so wish me luck.
Peace,
Corey
Here are the gigs I’m doing for the week ending Sunday June 3rd, 2011.
Make sure you mark these in your diary…
Hope to see you there,
Corey
Here are the gigs I’m doing for the week ending Sunday June 26th, 2011
Make sure you mark these in your diary…
Wed 22 – Open Mic @ The Dan (8pm-12am)
Sun 26 – The Duck Inn (4pm – 8pm)
Hope to see you there,
Corey
Here are the gigs I’m doing for the week ending Sunday June 19th, 2011
Mark these in your diary 
Hope to see you there,
Corey
Last night at the Open Mic @ The Dan (a weekly Open Mic that I run) I was having a chat with someone who was just about to experience her first time performing at the Open Mic.
She was very, very nervous and was almost in tears with the thought of getting up on stage and bearing herself to a room full of musicians who she felt were way better than her.
She was having second thoughts about performing and she was up on stage next.
I could only imagine that for someone who has only just started playing the guitar not even six months ago, the thought of coming to a well attended Open Mic full of quality performers such as the one at The Dan would be unthinkable.
She was grappling with the concept of stepping right out of her comfort zone and taking a leap of faith.
As I was chatting to her I was starting to think what a leap of faith would feel like and how I could adequately put the feeling into words. I then had a moment of clarity where I was reminded of the first time I jumped off the high diving tower at the local swimming pool many, many years ago.
I could remember in every detail walking up the ladder towards the top, giddy with anticipation but intensely nervous at the same time.
I remember being up there for what seemed like eternity, and having the feeling of being completely paralysed by fear but I couldn’t climb down from the platform as the fear of losing face in front of the others kids was stronger.
I remembered finally taking a deep breath, running towards the edge and (with an almighty scream) jumping in.
This flashback I experienced only lasted for a brief moment but in that moment I was taking the leap of faith with her.
Just before she went on stage I told her of my diving tower analogy and that by going through with her performance she will change her worldview (and her place in it) forever.
She then got up on stage and put in an absolutely wonderful performance.
Come to think of it, I’ve never jumped off the high diving tower since that day.
Peace,
Corey
Today I’m going into Chapel Lane Studios to pick up my 8GB flash-drive with Stig Lindell’s keyboard parts on it all mixed and lined up ready to be taken back to Anthony Stewart at Red Brick Music to be integrated into his system.
Today is also the day that Darren Zaza goes back into the studio and overdubs his electric guitar parts to “We Can’t Be Together Anymore.” Last Wednesday he completed his guitar parts to “Jigsaw.”
I can’t wait to hear what he has done with both songs as I haven’t been able to get to the studio due to prior recording commitments.
Lately I’ve had more and more people ask me when the CD is going to be finished.
I’m hoping that by the start of the new financial year (July 1st, 2011) I will have a finished CD in my hands and ready to be launched onto an unsuspecting public but, as with all good goals though, it’s best to not set them in concrete.
I’ll keep you posted as always.
Peace,
Corey
After procrastinating for what seemed like forever, I finally got up off of my ass and put up the FIGJAM website/blog online.
It’s an attempt to realise another one of my musical goals for 2011 of expanding my live music opportunities for FIGJAM by updating the promotional material and making more of an effort to chase up work for the Duo/Band.
What has also taken a long time to work out is how FIGJAM is going to be promoted. Do I promote it as a band that can scale down to a duo or, as a duo that can scale up to a band?
Now, this may sound trivial but it’s not when you consider that promoting a duo is different to promoting a band and therefore I need to work out how I’m going to spend my non-existent promotional budget.
the way I see it is that co-ordinating Darren and myself for gigs is easy but if I went down the path of promoting a band I have to take other members and their commitments into consideration and in the past that has been my number one challenge (and for most of the time, a headache).
So, in light of all that, FIGJAM is a duo that can expand into a band if need be.
For more information go to www.figjampartyband.com
Peace,
Corey
With the 2011 Adelaide Fringe Festival in full swing there’s a lot of competition around for the attention (and the disposable income) of the general public.
There is so much going on in Adelaide at the moment it’s very easy to develop “Fringe Fatigue” (I know I have) and if you ever needed proof that we in Adelaide are spoilt by too much choice then check out the sheer amount of posters that have been put up around the place.
I mean, there are so many posters on display, especially for the comedy shows, adorning what seems to be every square metre of space in the city. For me, it’s an attack on the senses, like my optic nerves are being assaulted by the faces of comedians desperately peddling their latest show.
I was involved with the Fringe last Friday and Saturday night (February 25th and 26th) with The Synchronicity Police doing two shows in the Balcony Bar of the Colonel Light Hotel. At last years Fringe we did one show at the Queens Arms Hotel with about 130 people in the audience so we had a rough benchmark to aim for.
However, this year we didn’t even make 100 people for the two shows combined.
I thought we did everything possible to promote the shows with the little budget we had but we couldn’t reach last years numbers. This really upset me and it’s probably why I’m writing this post with a hint of cynicism clouded with a dash of fatigue.
Anecdotally, I’ve heard from other Fringe acts that attendances have been down from last year. I have also heard from punters plus friends of mine who have been given the arduous task of reviewing multiple Fringe acts for magazines such as Rip It Up that great shows have had small audiences, smaller than they should be.
There have also been others that have said that this phenomenon has been happening since the Fringe became an annual event while there’s another group who blame the after effects of the GFC (the Global Financial Crisis for those of you who live under a rock).
Whatever the “reasons” are there seems to be a real downward trend in audience numbers or, maybe we’re all turning into (exclusively) comedy fans or, I should’ve worked much harder and done a better job at promoting my own Fringe shows. That sounds more like it.
Oh dear, I’ll stop venting now. I think it’s time for a cup of tea and a lie down.
Peace,
Corey