Blog Finally.. A new blog! Hey guys Time again for another update! My approach to writing blogs is very similar to my house keeping practises (i.e I tend to let the dishes pile up in the sink before the load gets too massive to ignore, makes for one big job instead of several small ‘clean as you go jobs.’ I’m working on it). New recordings On the subject of cleanliness I’ve recorded a much requested newbie entitled ‘Wet Bar of Soap.’ This was engineered and co mixed with my mate Will Greer and backed by the incredible Tom Worrall on djembe and shaker. In addition to this is my first band recording in a long time ‘Fall from the Sky’ which includes the remarkable drumming talents of Christian Scott (from local Surrey rock group ‘Sennah’) who also appears on the long awaited, highly anticipated ‘All British Girls (have been so cruel to me). These tunes are now on the player, and will feature with a few others on my next release which will be called ‘The Flux Capacitor.’ Big thanks to Will, Christian and Tom for their respective/ collective contributions. If anyone has any dating tips or suggestions for scoring with British Girls please contact me directly... it’s getting ridiculous! Eagle Radio 96.4FM Live Session 25/05/08 Stopped by for a session with the boys from Eagle. Played a song had a good laugh and all the rest. I’ll post the session once I get a hold of it. The City Showcase Festival 03/06/08 I was asked to perform at the famous ‘City Showcase Festival’ which is described as ‘London's leading festival for new music’ and has previously featured artists such as Amy Winehouse and Newton Faulkner. I performed two full sets at Animal on Carnaby street which was very well received and proved to be a most enjoyable outing. I also attended a Swedish rock night and a seminar on the twisted shape of today’s music scene which was interesting. Met some awesome people too! Good times ay! The Regal Room 25/06/08 I performed a showcase at the Regal Room in Hammersmith to a capacity crowd and a world wide web stream on the net. Great night! The sound and stage was fantastic, the Room was packed, and the audience was perfect. Played along side some brilliant artists including Tricia McTeague, and Elsa Chapman (in my top friends, check em out!). Guilfest 2008!!! July 4-6 Was so awesome!!!! The first outdoor fest I’ve been to let alone played at. I did both Friday and Saturday night in the acoustic lounge!! It was wicked fun not only playing there but enjoying the festival atmosphere and headliners ‘Blondie’ and ‘The Levellers’ as well as heaps of awesome locals. The Surrey ad gave me a great write up in the lead up to the fest. And I quote.. “JJMD - An extraordinary antipodean musician.. (who) has been making waves all over the acoustic scene since he appeared on these shores.” Thanks so much to everyone who came for being such a great audience and for sending me loads of head swelling emails and comments, it was a wonderful experience!! I’ve also posted a new track which I recorded last year from the Destiny’s Care album, ‘Waiting for my Time to come.” It once again features the amazing Duncan Wilson on percussion (happy b’day for the 5th mate!). Loads of great stuff coming up.. I’ll keep you posted. Check the gig lists and player for more updates. In the words of Bon Jovi ‘I love this town!!’ Chat soon Johnson-Jay JJMD Live performance review 20/02/08 Here's a review I received in the latest edition of Surrey uni's Barefacts magazine. Andy Vale gave a great write up for my headline spot at Fahrenheit 55. It reads as follows: JJMD/ The Clearing and Byron Johnston Live at Strangers On A Train at Fahrenheit 55 20/02/08 Ignore the year and you’ll see that the date is a palindrome. However my mind could not be focussed on such trivial things when talent of this standard was on show. Strangers On A Train is held every Wednesday at F55 and is a free live music night with music from many different genres. Tonight the headline act is local favourite JJMD, who has to be one of the best singer songwriters in the area. The opening set was provided by the nights host Byron Johnston, who is one of the prominent flamenco artists to be found in South East area, possibly the country. Most weeks he provides the opening set and never fails to amaze whoever happens to be drifting into the bar. Playing material from his ‘Oceano’ album (available on iTunes) he demonstrates a deft ear for melody, while finding ever more creative to make sounds with a guitar. It’s almost worth seeing him twice, once to listen and yet again to watch him effortlessly seduct any sound he chooses as he taps, beats, plucks, strums, strokes and scratches his acoustic guitar. Catch him live at Chancellors on March the 8th as part of GU2 Live at Chancellors! Further support was provided by The Clearing, who are a fairly decent male/female acoustic duo. Their set included their own material as well as a cover of Guns N’ Roses’ ‘Patience’ in a slightly stripped down form. However the predominant line of the chorus caused me to make a wee joke. I didn’t know Axl Rose was a midget doctor, he says he needs (a) little patience/patients. Thankfully the headliner JJMD was on hand to relieve my companions of my humour. Having got through to the regional finals of the Live and Unsigned competition he was on fine form and had flown in all the way from Australia specifically to play tonight’s show (supposedly). Crowds had flocked right up and round the balcony to see him play a tight set with varying degrees of Jazz, rock and blues. His humble demeanour and endearing foot tapping hides a man of immense talent and an already highly credible CV. All his usual hits were in place and there was also the live debut of ‘My Swedish Girlfriend,’ which has to go down as one of the finest lyrical achievements so far this century. He was joined by Byron Johnson for a Blues song about his bad luck with British girls, which again showed some fine writing skills along with Byron’s improvisational ability. Nearing the end of the set and with the audience demanding more, one punter made a slight antiAustralian remark which led JJMD to perform an impromptu rousing version of Waltzing Matilda before inviting Byron back on stage and closing with ‘Wet Bar of Soap.’ I have now finished this article at 15:51. Jolly good show! Andy Vale The Latest plus downloads! Hey! Time again for another addition to the old blog section. I’ve been busy gigging round Surrey, Hampshire and London for the past few months doing various showcases and headline spots. Been totally overwhelmed by the response to my performances. It’s been awesome to play before such supportive and enthusiastic audiences, you’ve made me feel very much at home and have helped take my live shows to another level. I’ve been drumming up quite a bit of press in the immediate area as well, with several featured articles in the Surrey times, and appearances on numerous South-East radio stations, including BBC Southern Counties ‘Drive Time’, Eagle 96.4FM, GU2 1350am, and Delta FM doing some live sessions, interviews and scoring album plays. Highlights of the full show I did on GU2 (including 4 live tracks) can be downloaded from http://www.mediafire.com/?6j1dzi2tz0c I’m also in the regional finals of the ‘UK Live and unsigned’ comp. A big thanks to everyone who came down to the Princes Hall last Sunday to cheer me on and help me get through! Some great gigs coming up in the next few months, check out the gig guide on www.myspace.com/jjmdmusic or the gigs page for more info. My friend and photographer extraordinaire Chloe Sinclair took some great new shots of me, I've included a high res shot which you can download at the bottom of this blog. Visit http://www.myspace.com/chloeatlmi for more samples of Chloe's work. Also if you get a chance, leave a comment on the message board.. Cheers again guys, speak to you all again soon! JJMD Click the link below to download a high res photo of JJMD by Chloe Sinclair download file