February 2011
Posted in: Gear | Comments (0)
Well, a little later than I had intended but none-the-less here it is – the first one for 2011. It was a good year 2010 and I had a great tour over in the UK ending with being asked to play at the Great British Rhythm and Blues Festival at Colne, Lancashire in late August. This was a huge privilege for me and great meeting up with old and new friends alike. It is now not that long before I return for a further tour – happening mostly in May and June. Some of that is already organised but I am still hoping for some more as it may be that I am there longer than I had originally planned. Any ideas?
I have been getting a few local gigs in New Zealand but with a population of only 4 million it is always a difficult one but fun when it happens. On my return I played the Poverty Bay Blues Club in Gisborne, the Bay of Plenty Blues Club in Rotorua, Hamilton Blues Club and the Basement Bar in New Plymouth. The last two were with friends Steve and Cheryl who form ‘Pink Champagne’. The Basement Bar was a blast and went so much better than I had expected. Of course, the Blues Clubs went well and, again, a chance to meet up with old friends. For further gigs, just keep an eye on Eventfinder (NZ) and, of course, my own website of which this is part.
The CD is slow and always is as I do not really get on with the recording studio thing – I much prefer to just play live. However, I am in the process of getting things together so that I have a new one for this year – it’s overdue. Again, keep an eye on my website or join me on Facebook.
Talking of the website, there are a few changes to it. I am including articles on acoustic players, both blues and otherwise, that I have enjoyed over the years. I will also include discographies of these artists. I will also be including free downloads of both videos and soundtracks but that is likely to be after I have completed my CD. I will talk more of these in my next Newsletter but, basically, I want to share more things with you all.
I think that is about it for now. Best wishes to all, join me on Facebook, like my “Lil’ Ian” page and be sure to get all the latest.
Return to my main site
Lil' Ian @ February 4, 2011
Mix up with gig dates
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Well, I guess it happens and it’s a pain when it does. I have had a couple of gigs where the dates have thought to have been agreed but have been changed. When you are putting details of your gigs on your own web site and on others for promotional purposes it is quite a bit of work. Then you have the problem of when people travel to your gigs and find you are not there. Fortunately this does not happen often but has happened to me recently. Never mind – onward and upward they say:-)
Lil' Ian @ February 4, 2011
Spammers!!
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That nasty crowd that seem to have nothing better to do with there time other than annoy people seem to be hitting this blog regularly. Fortunately, with the ‘moderation/approval’ I have, they do not get published. As I type this, I notice lower down my main page there is a plug-in to stop spammers and so I will try that. It’s a shame that the ‘powers that be’ cannot put a stop to this. Never mind – onward and upward and hopefully the next entry will be something more positive.
Lil' Ian @ August 10, 2010
New Zealand gigs
Posted in: Upcoming | Comments (0)
Well, gigs in NZ on my return are beginning to happen and so pretty chuffed about that. Some thanks go to my friends Steve and Cheryl a.k.a. Pink Champagne for getting me in at New Plymouth and Hamilton and they will be my support act at those venues. Also playing the Bay of Plenty and Poverty Bay Blues Clubs. Waiting on a date for Tauranga and Whangarei. Need to keep moving on them I guess. More later.
Lil' Ian @ July 27, 2010
Crate CA120DG Acoustic Amp
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Lil’ Ian Goodsman here, whilst down in Portsmouth and Southampton I had the chance to try out the new amp I have – the Crate Durango 120 watt (RMS) amp. It is an acoustic amp with two channels. Each channel has an XLR and jack input with level controls for both. Tone is by bass, mid and treble with a contour control for the mid range. Speaker size is 12″ with integral tweeter. As a first run it sounded great with my two guitars using a channel each. It can be used as a monitor amp as it has line out on the rear via either an xlr or jack – this time I used it as a monitor rather than a stand alone PA, using the XLR straight into the venue PA system. My Mike Messer Lightning resonator I fitted with a Schatten pick-up system on the biscuit and this needs a preamp – enter the Crate. There is also some delay/reverb/chorus effects on board too that you can set-up for each channel and toggle on/off using a footswitch supplied. The footswitch also controls two feedback eliminator circuits. The latter I did not use this time around and, when I use it as a stand-alone P.A. I will write some more. Initially, this sounds really good and for someone like me who is not so up on using electronic things, it was easy to use giving me a certain amount of control. The plan is I will use it as a P.A. for smaller venues with no in-house P.A. with one of the channels taking the guitars and the other a mike. So, the next piece of kit I will need is a two channel pre-amp so that I can put them both in to the one channel and not worry about individual EQ – looking at the Ultrasound DI Max for that.
I recommend having a look at this – a cheaper solution to the AER but physically larger. www.crateamps.com
See ya’
www.iangoodsman.com
www.youtube.com/iangoodsman
Lil' Ian @ July 26, 2010
Back from Portsmouth/Southampton
Posted in: Performances | Comments (0)
Well, back from a couple of gigs down on the south coast – Southampton and Portsmouth. Southampton was a new one for me and I have been wanting to play there since being over here. It was at the Platform Tavern and a great venue. Really friendly staff and the decor is fantastic – food too. Friday was perhaps the wrong night for a solo blues player but towards the end of the night we were going pretty well. I was absolutely right to look at this as a possible venue – the interest in music is high and the owner, Stewart, an avid fan of live music. A few of the audience members stated that it was great the he continued to offer such high calibre musicians. I am hoping that I can be included in that – we shall see.
The following night was down at the RMA Tavern in Eastney, Portsmouth. This is a venue that is not new to me and I have played there over the last few years. None-the-less, great to be there. Again, not a huge turn-out but was rocking towards the end of the night. Also a couple of people that have seen me play previously had come down to see me again – always nice to see old faces. Felt very at home there this time.
Let’s hope these are on my schedule for next year.
Lil' Ian @ July 26, 2010
