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I am indebted to Steve Lawson – stevelawson.net/wordpress .
Steve says you cannot promote music just by saying it’s good. There is a lot of good music out there. However, people find musicians and the process of music fascinating. So before you even start thinking about writing your next album, get talking about it.
For an album that’s been brewing for about five years I’m coming a bit late to the pre-promotion platform. Did I say five years? Some of it has been stewing for nearly thirty.
I used to be a classic rock guitarist with an SG and a Marshall. And a plectrum.
But always wanted to play the nylon guitar. With fingers. Damn, it’s hard. But I finally seem to be getting there.
I used to play with bands. Songs, mostly covers, in pubs.
I don’t do bands anymore. I sing, but songs (strophic songs, anyway) irritate me. Not many pubs will have me now – I’m not exactly easy listening. Covers are long gone.
The album will be one guitar, one voice, no overdubs. Some people might call it “art music”. It is written as a personal statement: to please only myself. But I wouldn’t say it was unlistenable. The bottom line is, if this music existed beforehand, I would have listened to it. It is the music I’ve always wanted to hear.
I hope just a handful of other people do too.
Cameron Pyke
small symphonies 
hello cam
nice to see your face. seems we’re both using wordpress.
it made me smile to hear you playing and singing after all this time. i don’t have any of your music.
i always loved another country. beautiful music.
you’ll see what i have been doing in recent years here. waterpistol.wordpress.com – not much but have just bought – coincidentally – a spanish guitar, so happily re- losing myself in old chords and melodies…
hope you are well.
james
Hello James
Great to hear from you. I’ve had a quick look around your site – some seriously good stuff. I’ll look again ASAP. There seem to be infant noises in the background of one of your tunes – excellent.
It’ll be interesting to hear what you do with the nylon guitar. Do it with your fingers – not a pick – that’s the essence of it, I think. It’s an absolute ***** of instrument to play but I couldn’t go back to electric now (for a bit, anyway).
Incidentally, you taught me a lot about musicality, which is something you have in buckets (like your mother). I remember you telling me to focus on notes as single entities. This focus is evident in the music you’ve posted – you’re doing the “less is more” thing.
In contrast perhaps I’ve always focused on structures and textures but heeding your advice I am aware of the power of the single note to give “spook”.
Best wishes,
Cameron
Hi Cam
Just thought Id let you know that my debut “demo” album is now live. It looks like sound engineer is interested in helping me record this in a way that allows a better control over the, well, sound!
Go to the page: songs from the barrel of a waterpistol.
http://waterpistol.wordpress.com/songs-from-the-barrel-of-a-waterpistol/
Let me know what you think
James
James
I listened to the whole album right through like someone who’s reading an unputdownable novel. I haven’t heard anything so interesting for a very long time – one magic moment after another, brilliant. Don’t let anything interfere with it too much. “Dark eyes no plans” is a classic.
My first “proper” album is still a couple of months away – at least. It’s too cold to use the studio – that’s my excuse. Congratulations on getting a very complex project together in, if I’m reading things right – a very short time.
Tomorrow I’ll put radioactively glowing comment on your site.
Cameron
Hi Cameron, Thanks for the kind words about my blog. It’s always nice to bump into a fellow creative spirit online, especially someone local! I’ll check out your music once I get more time – and I can get my damned speakers to work again!
Steve
Cameron,
I just sent you a message via MySpace. Let me know if you don’t get it because I couldn’t tell if it sent or not. Also sent you a friend request. Hope all is well!
-J
Justin
I got the Friend request – thank you. Couldn’t see anything else in my Inbox – although it did tell me that you’d read the message. I guess as time goes on we’ll learn more about all this stuff. Incidentally, it appears that if you accept a Friend Request it updates to both sites. I didn’t know that, but it sort of makes sense.
Cameron.
Hi Cam. I don’t know if I’m doing this right. Still a complete technophobe. I somehow stumbled across Taffy Riff while googling (at least I know how to do that now).I knew it couldnt be anyone else but you.I finally managed to get on a computer with sound and knew on the first bar it was unmistakably you.
Its great that technology has developed so far that you can develop your ideas in this way. Its very exciting,the possibilities.
Nice picture too. Look forward to hearing more. Mx
Hi Michele. Good to hear from you, I have already heard from James and put a link to his WordPress from mine. Yes, technology has brought about a complete paradigm shift in music – it is exciting, more democratised, more music for music’s sake.
Hope you are well; I’m guessing that you are either a headteacher or inspector of some sort by now.
Cameron
No neither of the above. Just teaching to keep wolf from the door. and to supplement my derisory pension.Fortunately it goes further in Cape Town than in London.
How are your mum and family?
Remember me to them.
Keep well. Michele x
Oh, I have a copy of Boxed In. My tape perished. so I tracked one down from Chris Oakley. Show off with it often. ‘My nearly claim to fame’!