Well I never thought it would happen, but now it is. I am producing an EP (six songs) CD which includes four songs I’ve written myself! It is only the encouragement of friends and the public at large, which has got me to this place.
I’m frequently asked when busking “have you got any CDs for sale?” and until now, I’ve had to say “no”. I know of some buskers who just go ahead and produce CDs, sometimes covering others’ songs without any regard for copyright or quality, but if I’m going to produce and sell something, it has to be something which ticks all of the proper boxes.
And now, I have it. I’ve placed my order for the first pressing of over 500 copies of “Nothing Artificial Added”, a title which reflects my style in a nutshell. I didn’t want to make anything which sounds too remote from me and my guitar when busking, so each track is recorded in one hit, both guitar and vocals simultaneously, just as I would perform live. Minimal processing has helped produce a natural sound which is easy to listen to.
To top it all off, I’ve done it entirely myself (apart from the generosity of the contributors to my GoFundMe campaign). Performance, recording, processing, engineering, mastering, and artwork have all been done by me, and I’m having it professionally replicated (rather than burning) by Dex Audio, who gave me a great quote and who have been more than a little helpful and patient along the way. They not only manufacture the CDs, but also handle printing and packaging.
A huge thanks also to Ricky Burningham of Mushroom Records who helped me gain the permission I needed to add a verse to “The Ballad Of Ned Kelly”, kindly granted by Warlock/BMG who own the rights to Trevor Lucas’ song which was recorded as “Poor Ned” by the band Redgum.
Also a special thanks to Peter Fenton of APRA/AMCOS who helped guide me through the rabbit warren of law and protocol regarding copyright and licencing requirements.
BTW I don’t aim to get rich or famous by this, but I am happy now to be able to answer “why yes!” when people ask me for a CD.