Author: ACM Newsteam

Going Down Camden Town, Our Jack checks out No Cash Refunds’ intimate affair.

Guildford based self-proclaimed ‘Laptop Musician’ No Cash Refunds sat alongside Guitarist Toby Ewen as they concocted some kind of contemporary swoon – dripping with confidence and moving weightlessly. Level with the audience as they performed on the bar floor, there were times the set merged with the audience. With no barriers connections can be made easier and there is certainly a charismatic warmth that reflects from NCR.

Though possessing a seriously modern sound there’s some absurd shade of Sinatra in his mannerisms and movements. A performance on the calmer side, an intimate and toned down set fitting for a Sunday Mid-Afternoon charity event. This minimalism enabled an easier and deeper connection with the art, personified in his stripped back rendition of Bubblegum Gf, dialling back the drums in favour of Ewen’s guitar playing and what I’d risk to call an Urban Folk sound.  

Their cover of Oasis’ Supersonic is worth a special mention. Simply put, that is how you cover a song. Behind that unique character and those twisting vocals there is that song you recognise but this is it being built upon.

NCR looks at home as he performs, lounging and shifting effortlessly from space to space. Camden is held in a funny light nowadays, it’s an area a lot of musicians actively work to get recognition in but from first glance NCR just fit right in.  

Keep up to date with No Cash Refunds and don’t forget to catch him live at From The Common. thebuzz@acm.ac.uk

George Alfie, busker, and artist, hosted this event alongside his manager Abi Kerslake in support of the charity War Child, to raise money through ticket sales whilst also still supporting his artists of the night. TILLY reports. 

I spoke to George quite a lot during the gig and he was very open to explaining some of his experiences within the industry and he seems very motivated too. To him, he sees events like this as an opportunity 

“It Just Takes That One Person To Appreciate And Enjoy Your Music”.

He had five bands performing during the evening; 

ACM second-year student Alfie Galpin, Ex ACM graduate’s Space Fishermen, Amber Alice accompanied by some second-year ACM students, Frankie LG and George Alfie.

Solar Sisters is a lovely waste-free cafè just off Guildford High Street, and the smaller venue made the whole experience even more enjoyable. The atmosphere of Solar Sisters was extremely friendly, and cosy having an organic feel to it.

The gig was full of students but also had a variety of age groups which was lovely to see.

With the gig feeling more intimate, the music felt more personal and the audience was a great support to all 5 bands. 

Everyone was welcoming upon arrival and It was a great opportunity to see so many different faces.

The night started with ‘Alfie and the Lads’, consisting of lead vocalist Alfie Galpin, guitarist Daniel Vadolia and drummer Caleb Parker. Alfie Galpin is an indie, pop/rock band based in Guildford and they are currently ACM second-year degree students.

I spoke with the band pre-gig and asked them what genre of music they aim to reflect.

Caleb said, “We sound a bit of a mixture between artists such as The Weekend and Sam Fender”. 

I would also like to mention the fantastic Hello Kitty guitar that George Alfie and his team brought along for some of the performances, this was a great element to see alongside his personalised drum kit.

There was a mixture of students from and around the Guildford area, including ACM and BIMM current students and graduates.

Overall during the night, it was great to see this new upcoming trend of music and to have been in a venue full of a community of music lovers with lots of chatting, drinks and dancing. Purely everyone just enjoying the music and having a great time, open to hearing fresh new music and meeting new faces! 

I would highly recommend the following bands, artists and the Solar Sisters venue to anyone looking to put on a more intimate event in the Guildford area.

 Artists Social Media: “Alfie And The Lads”

• Alfie Galpin.
• Daniel Vadolia.
• Caleb Parker. 

Amber Alice accompanied by second-year keyboardist Lorna and Guitarist George.

•  Frankie LG

ACM Graduate band – Space Fishermen. 

Photography by Designer Harry Welford

(TW)

SINGLE REVIEWS

Send your single reviews or singles to thebuzz@acm.ac.uk ℅ Student Editor, Jack O’Sullivan

Ella Keyo, No Meaning

The party ain’t complete without a bit of Drum’n’ Bass – Ella Keyo hits us with a massive summer sound and it’s hardly even Spring. Pop-infused DnB with that signature rolling sound and those complimentary female vocals we’re seeing become a staple of this reborn genre.

The tune captures that fleeting happiness of a night out, those high octane few hours that punctuate the mundane week – the kind of thing we’re told to control before it takes a hold of you but hearing this I wonder if that’d really be the worst thing. A hedonic beat with thought-provoking lyrics that shift with the stream of consciousness.

Tickling that part of your brain that just knows how to let loose, No Meaning is a tune to lose yourself to – a club vibe or the soundtrack to some unknown field out in Nowhere, Hertfordshire to reference the ephemeral Cocker, of PULP. 

Including everything great about the genre without its more esoteric roots and elements and yet not losing any of its substance, its tracks like this that’ll further popularise the sound. Consider the recent popularity of Messy In Heaven,  fellow ACMer Kenya Grace and her No. 1 track Strangers and even going back a few years to Lily Allen’s Shy FX feature, Roll The Dice. (JOS)

Stream No Meaning and follow Ella Keyo here and let’s hear your thoughts:  thebuzz@acm.ac.uk 

James Barlow, Always Love You

Last year ACMer and Mancunian James Barlow dropped his collaboration with Antzz, Always Love You. A gut-wrenching modern ballad.

Barlow’s deep and soulful vocals, reminiscent of Rag’n’Bone Man, that rip right through accompanied by Antzz’s melodic and emotionally packed bars. Lovelorn and reflecting on the ever-relevant need to masquerade a brave masculinity, this track is poignant and rightfully bitter without appearing shallow or vengeful.

A song that has left me anxiously awaiting new music, Barlow’s voice constitutes his greatest instrument – seriously powerful and possessing quite a vast range he sings to something deep within you.

Awash with feeling and caked in experience, or perhaps rightly labelled a pain, his singing evokes shades of Charles Bradley and Joe Cocker while demonstrating this vitality that is so necessary to the contemporary scene. (JOS)

Make sure to stream Always Love You, and don’t forget to catch James Barlow performing live with Conn13 + Friends @ The Tooting Tram And Social on March 14th. 

EP Reviews

Regular Faces – THE PLAZA 

Birmingham based duo Regular Faces sneak in through the back with their ep ‘THE PLAZA’. A contemporary concoction of dark and melodic sounds, in your face and in motion. 

On a first listen, there’s an argument that this is Gorillaz-esque or some darker, inner-city version of an MGMT sound but as it shifts and changes it becomes clear this is way more than that. With two distinct voices and styles but a keen know-how on how to best merge them, there is this uncut dynamic between bars that lead you along and this gruff but smooth voice interjecting almost mantrically  – best depicted in Track 4, FLOOR 3.

As innovative as this sound is, its development is clear when you look at what they have previously released – leaning into the feel and cadences of Can’t Explain while building on the layered atmosphere of an encompassing surround sound seen in ASID and OUT OF TIME, listening to SIGNALS there is this a wave washing you pulled by the tide of the backing. Clustered and electronic, the instrumentation and sample sounds like firing synapses. The whole experience is like a recording of internal voices, a stream of consciousness dragging you along on a night out.

The two never conflict but the tracks produce this image in my mind that is a warped redressing of the clique of having an Angel and a Devil on each shoulder; with Regular Faces it feels like two smooth-talking Devil’s indulging in this fast and gritty lifestyle as they slowly hotbox you. There is a darkness behind the music but it is not one that inspires dread, rather it excites something primal. Not limited to that high octane rush, FISH FINGERS gives you that clunky comedown slip of emotion.

The Plaza is a grungy and dark alleyway, occupied by unscrupulous character’s who’ll take you on the night of your life – but at what cost?

Stream THE PLAZA, follow Regular Faces and check out the music video for NOW AND THEN.

Let’s hear your thoughts: thebuzz@acm.ac.uk 

Artificial Intelligence is developing at an alarming rate, or that’s what the fearmongering headline screech. As it stands we’ve got a fad development that’s more made fun of than made useful.

Since its inception in the 1940s and ever since DeepBlue became the first machine learning software to beat a chess world champion in 1997, the mainstream has been increasingly concerned about the potential consequences of AI. Despite murmurings from the scientific community that it’ll never achieve world domination and that it’ll only be as successful as the programmers behind it, there is still a fear.

Today, it is easy to side with those weary of AI’s potential considering the hike of AI generated covers doing the rounds on TikTok. With #aicovers raking in 12.2b views, all users have seen gimmicky covers of popular songs sung by iconic cartoon characters or Frank Sinatra’s voice uncannily singing Coolio’s Gangsta Paradise.    

Although, we are in no position to meaningfully comment on the longevity of AI in music as it is such an emerging field, of which we’ve barely passed the threshold. There are comparisons to be made to similar innovations, the recording industry frequently sees new concepts once scrutinised become second nature to engineers – such as autotune or even programmed instruments.

We are currently seeing two distinct forms of AI being implemented in music; AI generation and AI enhancement, enhancement being the only we’re seeing being used as much more than a fad. 

Take The Beatles’ ‘final single,’ Now And Then, originally a home demo recorded by John Lennon in 1977 restored and enhanced by machine learning AI with the surviving band then adding to the vocals – a project spearhead by Peter Jackson. Yes, that Peter Jackson director of the Lord of the Rings movies.

It is easy to forget what AI really is and to let the hypotheticals become our expectation. AI is essentially a programme expected to learn from exposure to excel beyond its base model. What was done with the Lennon demo was really just an enhanced version of audio isolation, using software coded to progressively improve.

Google have also dipped their toes into the AI Generation game recently unveiling Lyria, a software intended to generate vocals, lyrics and backing tracks in the style of popular artists. This sees the creative project shortened down to the entering of briefs and, poof, you have a track. Currently only limited to 30 second clips in the style of ten artists, including Charlie Puth, Sia and T-Pain but expected to expand and obviously having the technical support of the search engine titan behind it. 

Lyria, or DreamTrack is touted as a means for songwriters to spice up the creative process, immediately hear their ideas and provide greater inspiration; against a backdrop of vows that AI will have a positive impact on music, it really only seems like a tool that’ll kill the inherently human aspects of songwriting. Fears that AI will take your job have always been expressed half jokingly in the creative industries as unlike manufacturing work or accounting, the arts have always required passion that a computer software could never replicate. However, we seem to be edging ever closer.

Plankton (Spongbob) – Beggin’ 1.2M likes, 12.5M views

Frank Sinatra – Gangsta Paradise -AI Generated

Full Version

Lyria Announcement

ACM tutor, professional music critic, and Buzz co-ordinator, Ngaire Ruth, takes herself to a new London monthly showcase event launched by our Buzz student editor, business student Jack O’Sullivan. Like this mag, he’s aiming to celebrate ACM artists and bands and build a community. It’s time to check out the talent our Buzz writers have been shouting about with a critical ear and eye. 

He’s no Mr Nice Guy (Ed Sheeran). He’s cleverer than you and more confident than you’ll ever be. He’s your Jarvis Cocker, (Pulp), your Damon (Blur), your Brett Anderson (Suede), but mostly the first one. For that to happen you need a sound (that is next), intelligent and original lyrical themes, and performance skills.

No Cash Refund’s isn’t seeking expression by exploring musical formulas and pushing boundaries, this is about (re) defining and refining. Any artist or band that wants to represent this era will be a multiple-listener and multi-disciplinary in terms of musicality and performance. There is no blend or “ew” fusion of genres past and present, it is what it is: progression and regression inextricably linked.  

Take the ballad, and new single Empty Cup, a bold, cheeky beast that shows vocal skills and discipline, compared to the bedroom pop intimacy of the post-modern lullaby that is Lily, or the punch pop-rap of Petrified, an early opener. No song sounds the same, yet the style is consistent and the lyrical themes are original.

NCR’s has the core but he’s been smart enough to reach out to his peers. Guitarist Toby’s often classical and intricate playing adds an alternative authenticity. He’s a definite secret weapon at this live show, (and I’d like to hear it in the recordings). The physicality in NCR’s performance brings the songs to life, but you weren’t here to see for yourself and now you can’t say you were there.

No Cash Refunds is ready to go go go… appropriately because his ACM career is reaching its end. If we kept him any longer it would be the equivalent of crushing his spirit with a grand piano borrowed from Metropolis.

What’s great about From the Common is that students can learn from each other. So many first-year ACM artists, rappers and musicians have experienced expensive capacity-massive concerts as consumers/fans, or the odd local gig, festival or family occasion as contributors with a crowd forever grateful. Understanding how you get from the latter to the former seems a mystery. You can pile on all the armour you need – branding, business strategy, social media prowess – nothing beats watching your peers in your natural environment, a live medium-sized venue, outside the classroom.

For example, what to do in between the songs? How to compile a set list with a beginning, middle and end. What to wear, or more importantly how to wear it. When to stand up, sit down or demonstrate your fancy yoga positions (joking). For heaven’s sake, when it’s your turn, don’t introduce every band member before the encore. 

Some songs by creative artists Amber Saqladi and Buzz favourite Rhirhi on tonight’s billing were written in their 15-year-old bedrooms, which they’ve started developing at ACM, along with new material produced outside compulsory assessment collaborations and their academic work. We could be a conservatoire, but our first years like Rhirhi, Rory Rocket and Elfi are arriving with healthy repertoires; they want to develop their art, as well as musical craft.

It’s no surprise when Rhi covers The Cranberries song, Zombie, the vocals needed reflect her kind of clarity and warm tone. Every song is brutally honest yet endearing and speaks for now, this time and place. There’s always a twist, “I’m obsessed with the mess that is you” (Spring Clean), a song about an ex-boyfriend who’s addicted to porn – gay porn, Teddy’s Song is a gentle ballad because someone she met was feeling suicidal. Rhirhi may be the perfect image of a rosy-cheeked girl with a guitar in a pastel haze but don’t ever use the word ‘sweet’ to describe her. There are clues everywhere, including the skull fabric of her dress and the lack of love she gives her Converse.

Footwear is a clue to genre overall all tonight. It’s why so many famous rock photographs feature below-the-knee shots of the band’s foot action on stage, pedals and monitors, and cables also setting the scene.

Singer-songwriter Amber is wearing white cowboy boots and sure enough there is a bohemian, country flavour in the songs on her set list tonight. Every song has a story: Save Yourself, Broken Glass and Summer Rain stand out right now, all coming from a place of melancholy perception, coaxed by rhythm guitar. No Apologies is next for potential. What about you? 

A top tip for both singer-songwriting guitarists tonight is to stop introducing the title of every song, and the explanations behind it, what you should be doing is putting that set list under the mic stand so people fight over it to add to their collection at the end. In the beginning, tell your friends to do it – why not? More importantly, how can that be put into the the musicality? It may be this requires letting people in. That’s an awkward prospect for the Covid generation, I know, but guitarists, bassists, drummers, and producers are all looking to find a tribe at ACM – and if you’re in that category where are you? This venue is a hop and a skip from the student halls and two tube stops from the Clapham site – you don’t even have to cross the road on exit from the station. There’s comfortable seating so you can huddle with colleagues and make a night of it.

And a recommendation for Jack: what about the three acts put their names into a hat and draw on the day to decide first, second and final billing?

From The Common return to the Tooting Tram on May 10th with Rory Rockett, Elfi and James Barlow as well as June 26th with Kinoko Curse, ACM Alumni City Lake and Isle of Wight Festival Main-stager The Optimists. 

ACM’s rhirhi wins second place at the Univision Song Contest. 

The UK’s largest inter-university song contest took place for its fourth year at the University of Surrey.  Five artists from universities across the country performed to a live audience in the event broadcasted to Surrey’s Stag TV Youtube channel. 

Alys, winner of Univision 2021 and an ACM Alumni opened the show with her upcoming track The Other Women.

Commercial Songwriting Student from the London Campus rhirhi competed against acts from BIMM, Leeds Conservatoire and the Universities of Surrey and Exeter. Her song of choice Not Fun is the title track of her ep out May 25th. Rhirhi pulled heartstrings and gave it her all, despite a dramatic technical fault with IEM.

With both a public vote and – in true Eurovision fashion – votes awarded by representatives, ACM placed just shy of first with only a couple points in it. Both BIMM and Surrey awarded ACM the maximum amount of points, rhirhi also received a whopping 28 points from the public votes.

Maybe next year. 

If you’d like to represent ACM at Univision ‘25 make sure to follow @univisionshow on Instagram and keep an eye out for the call-out.

You can watch the full show here and make sure to follow rhirhi and Alys to hear more about their upcoming releases. 

Grosvenor Road Studios. The Abbey Road of Birmingham. A proud musical gem, situated in the heart of the city. The studio has been around for over 60 years and is one of the oldest studios in the UK. It has a unique and epic history that has seen the likes of Cliff Richard, Thunderbirds, Moody Blues, UB40, along with many other greats, walk through the door and record iconic tracks. Libbie Price spent the day getting to know the place.

The studio is set within a beautiful 1870s Victorian house and with its size is deceiving to an outsider… the elegant house gets bigger and bigger once you walk through the front door. GRS has so many incredible facilities available to use, such as three amazing recording studios, that are steeped in history. The Project Suit is a fabulous room for editing tracks, as well as a great place for new producers to upgrade their skills and who are looking to progress from their bedrooms. Studio 2 is the perfect size space, for smaller groups and solo artists to record in – with the studio being fitted with excellent equipment and holds a fantastic sound quality. Studio 1 is the biggest studio, and is fitted with a legendary SSL desk. This studio is said to have the “biggest live room outside of London”. A lot of the equipment that they own is vintage, which helps create a classic sound and makes the studio even more unique. This being said they also want to blend the old with new and exclusively revealed that they are going to be installing a Neve desk in the studios, which will offer lots more opportunities. All the facilities create so many fantastic chances for artists to professionally record their music, no matter the size of the group or genre and they are always going to be guaranteed to receive a polished sound.

Despite it being modernised over the years, the studio has kept a lot of the original features and equipment, which helps create a uniqueness and warmth to the building and to the sound of the music. This warmth is further spread throughout the studio, with its super friendly staff, who are always on hand to help you, making sure you feel comfortable and feel a part of the family. Making legendary music isn’t the only thing GRS is known for… their love for the community around them plays a massive part of its beating heart. Due to where it is situated, nestled into a street, Grosvenor Road Studios also opens its arms to all people nearby, with weekly Walk-ins, coffee mornings and support, known as “Warm Welcome”, to help bring everyone together. They also hold lots of events with various different groups and is home to Females About Music which is a project created by ACM student Javina Greene to help women feel confident in a professional studio environment. GRS are proud believers in having more females in production and because of this, they offer the use of their studio space and the expert knowledge of the studio managers, to help inspire more women into working in production studios. 

I was lucky enough to have a look around in all the rooms and meet with the amazing people who run it. I really got a sense of a family environment and felt very welcome. Whilst at my visit I got to speak with managers Shereece (Site Manager) and Tony (Studio Manager). They told me about the amazing history and the opportunities that they offer, as well as what their upcoming plans are. Tony also spoke to me about the amazing connection Grosvenor Road Studios has with ACM. This fabulous connection is down to Tony also being a well loved production tutor at the ACM Birmingham campus. Due to this alliance, ACM students are allowed to enjoy the fantastic facilities GRS has to offer, which is an amazing opportunity for the aspiring new artists to experience and record at a professional studio. On behalf of all ACM students present and future, I thank you for this opportunity. 

Thank you to Grosvenor Road Studios for allowing me to get a first hand experience of the brilliance of your studio, giving me the chance to meet your lovely team, as well as educating me in your amazing history. Grosvenor Road Studios, you are a true Birmingham treasure. 

Book your studio session here

You don’t need to wait, register your interest below to secure your studio time at Grosvenor Road

Jack speaks to Lily Powell about her recent endeavour The SSL Sessions. A series of recorded live performances offering artists the chance to perform and receive studio quality accompanying visual media.

The SSL Sessions are an amazing entirely student-led project spearheaded by Lily Powell and videographer Erik Davis. Inviting students to Guilford’s SSL studio where they shoot live lounge style sessions of original and cover performances. Allowing the artists to perform music of their choosing whilst generating this high quality and authentic recording that in watching you feel practically present. 

Split into Volumes, the SSL Sessions have already featured performances from Freja Lucy, Toby Proctor and Huw Lloyd. A multimedia showcase of talent and musicality, SSL Sessions allow artists to honestly represent themselves and their craft while presenting with a studio quality recording. 

Constantly in conversation with the lead engineers at Metropolis, the SSL Sessions team are constantly learning and improving their craft and maintaining a presence at a professional level as curators and content creators.

With aspirations to one day host a ‘Live at Metropolis Studios,’ and working on expanding into various genres with a rap and DJ showcase in the works already. Forming bonds at every session with the artists and all involved, the set seems the perfect plays for a bit of lighthearted networking while having fun recording and making music.

Any artists eager to get involved with the SSL Sessions project can contact @SSLSessions on Instagram or via email at sslsessionscontact@gmail.com

Make sure to check out SSL Sessions on Instagram and Youtube.

Let us know your thoughts: thebuzz@acm.ac.uk

The Blue Room studio is ACM’s best kept secret. Our Editor Jack O’Sullivan took a tour of the building and spoke to Mawan Elbergamy, Head of the Artist Development programme and a Lead Mentor, as well as an acclaimed producer. 

Sat in the Dolby Atmos suite Marwan highlighted ‘you can only properly learn with the right gear,’ and that is exactly what the Blue Room offers – equipment that really constitutes the present and future of music.

Despite being a modestly sized studio every room is stocked full of top shelf equipment. Which coupled with the great and acclaimed creative minds of the staff present and the students working away in various rooms demonstrates a superior quality of creativity. 

Designed with Artist Development in mind, the Blue Rooms opens a door directly to the Industry, the space echoes the professional attitude and atmosphere a working musician can expect in a professional studio. The idea is to expose students to the honest expectations of the ‘real world’ industry as well as actively moulding talent and dedication into the finest recorded product.

‘‘The artists we are working with are very early stages, sometimes some will maybe be gigging or getting out there a bit but on the whole, its early stages.’’

Despite it being early doors for some musicians, that isn’t preventing a productive environment. Great music is being made and the AD team doesn’t have to hold many hands. This was pleasing to hear as abstract requirements of experience or traction are often massive inhibitors of talent.  

Discussing what allows a student to stand out and what brings them into the studio, Marwan emphasised heavily that what they are looking for is ‘dedication and drive,’ an individual who can stand on their own two feet and can be assisted and not led through the creative process. The work being done here is in tandem with student’s aspirations and goals, not simply to teach them how to do this or that.

This isn’t just your average studio space. Due to its links to Metropolis and the many connections of its individuals and as an organisation, there are resources available beyond recording and mastering. Linked with Metropolis’s three genre-specific labels; Metropolis Blue, Met Black and Metro Sound. This association is a great privilege to ACM students and should act as a motivator to spark ambition and creativity.

Already working with some amazingly talented artists whom I expect will soon be stars, this resource is massively important to the success of ACM as a creative community and as a foothold to the music industry.

For students itching to get involved with The Blue Rooms, all you’ve got to do is contact Industry Link, or Marwan directly at industrylink@acm.ac.uk or marwan@acm.ac.uk respectively. 

Let’s hear your thoughts: thebuzz@acm.ac.uk

“You can’t just expect the amazing big things to just come to you,” says alumni SARLOU BASS, who graduated from ACM Birmingham. She did the 2-year accelerated degree, the music, music industry practice as it was then, with bass guitar specialism.

 So, is it important to understand the industry as a musician?

Yeah. Well, that’s it. The options were doing the music pathway, or what was the creative artist. If you want to master your instrument and find your place as a musician then it’s the music pathway. If you want to be, you know the songwriter you go for creative artist. Realistically, my first love is bass. So, it was a no-brainer for me.

 You already got your job offer before leaving.

 Yeah. As if I didn’t have enough to be doing. I was told throughout my degree: to reach out to people network, and send messages. Put yourself out there.

Tutor Ben Scott told me if I was interested in musical theatre to message Katie Richardson, a musical director in the West End. So, I shoot my shot, not expecting anything to come from it, and the next day I get a message back.

 “Oh, Hi! Nice to meet you. I’m looking for a bassist for this new musical that we’re putting on. Everyone else is busy with other jobs, and we’re specifically looking for a female bassist. It’s this punk rock musical. And you know it’s all-electric.”

So, I said, “Yep, great I’ll do it”. And then, of course, I have to start working towards it while doing all my other modules, the exit specialism and my dissertation. It was insane because I had to learn 26 songs of a musical theatre score. And I’m not a sight reader. It takes me a while. I must sit down with something because I only started learning to read music through ACM. It was also a tough score to learn because it was written by a bassist, Everything was notated; every tiny little detail.

But I did it. And yeah, I’ve just literally finished the tour!

 What was the musical called?

 It was called Lizzie. It’s based on the life of Lizzie Borden, which is not an urban legend, but kind of an old murder mystery, from the States where a young girl was tried and acquitted of murdering her father and stepmother with an axe. So, it’s kind of the nursery rhyme of Lizzie Borden.  

And how did the audience receive it? How did you feel playing to a live theatre audience?

 They loved it. It was an all-female cast and an all-female band. And it was ex-actresses from the production Sixth, supervised by Katie Richardson who’d done Sixth, and they loved it because it was so different to things that had come before it. It was a true crime story and murder mystery. It was musical theatre and a rock gig and punk. 

 In a sense, you did two dissertations, one written and one practical.

It was a lot because I had a learning curve with my site reading. I had to learn about working with a musical director. I also had to learn about working with the musical theatre setup where you have a chair, basically like, not a physical chair, but you literally have a station where everything is set up for you. And in terms of my equipment as well. I had so many things break and go wrong, but once the show starts, there’s no stopping. You learn to fix things and just be adaptable to everything. If you make a mistake or a wrong note, you can’t just go, “Oh, can I start this song again?”  You must go with it, but you learn so much from being thrown in at the deep end. Hard as it was.

    I had to pack up all my things, load them onto a lorry, and then not see it again for a few days, and trust that, you know, things would get to the end destination. And I’m a bit of a control freak too. People who know me know that I have anxiety. There was a lot of having to trust that all the myriad of pieces would fit together. 

So essentially no matter how much you learn, the real learning comes when you get out there at the end of your degree.

 Absolutely. And I did not expect to finish my degree and jump straight into a professional situation like that, where the expectations and the standards are so high, I expected to struggle for work. But I took the advice given. And out of all the messages I’ve sent I haven’t heard a thing from 99% of them. I remember being told. that you must send messages and get your name out there, because in one instance where someone will find you at the right place at the right time, and that is what happened to me.

    Now I’ve finished with the Lizzie Tour. Next, I’m joining a Shania Twain Theatre Tribute. And all this has come from being given the confidence to shoot your shot and just go. I’m really into this. Hear the skills. This is me. Here’s my portfolio/website. That’s how I got the Lizzie job. I didn’t audition for it. I sent her the portfolio that I’ve been spending months putting together for the final modules.

 What were your highlights at ACM?

Highlights! God! The biggest has been having the safe space to find my feet and my confidence because for years I had just awful stage fright and self-consciousness and real imposter syndrome about my bass playing, I knew barely any theory when I started. ACM. I couldn’t read a dart. And I was stuck playing the same style of music all the time. I’ve been playing for 25 years plus. I needed the encouragement and opportunity to start branching out outside of my comfort zone. So yeah, the biggest thing has been being exposed to more opportunities, more styles of playing, more genres, and just seeing what else is out there other than toilet circuit pub gigs. 

   I would have never imagined myself getting to the point of being able to play musical theatre because from where I was to where I needed to be was such a big gap. But over the two years it’s like every module has been like a little bit of a step up, you know, in knowledge and confidence, and just kind of believing in myself enough to know that if I put the work in, I can achieve the things that are up here. It just takes effort and humbleness to know that you must work at it. You can’t just expect the amazing big things to just come to you.