Today is the last day that.......

 Today is a sort of special day in pretty unspecial sort of way. It is the day that I close the book on something that for the past four months has been a major focus of my life! But I have learned that when you turn the page, you have to close it, learn the lessons and move on. A new chapter starts tomorrow. I hope that it is a better chapter and the lessons learned have paid off. One of the things I've come to realise, through the therapeutic value of writing this blog for sixteen years is that once you've written a blog and published it, it is done (unless as happens occasionally some kind soul points out a factual mistake that needs correcting). Once it's published, it's done. Sure sometimes, months or years down the line, I'll revisit and rejig a blog, but this is only when there is a sound reason and things have changed. One good example of this was a guest blog by Audrey Shaw in 2010, which I updated with pictures and a narrative, after she passed away in Covid. It was in effect a new blog and a very suitable memorial to a loved member of our community.  But it is only ever really when there is such a sad occasion or if a campaign reaches a conclusion and a blog needs an update that I do it. It has got to the stage that I almost instantly forget what I wrote and the research I did after I publish it. If I do a Saturday List, I now have to check it's not been done before.

But blogging is only one aspect of my life. For me, the major part is music. I play in a band called The False Dots and run a music studio called Mill Hill Music Complex. Whereas I've only written the blog for sixteen years, these have been a big part of my life for 45 years. A friend suggested that I contact the Guinness Book of Records as the person who knows most musicians on the planet. We have 250 bookings a week, with around 1,000 people passing through the doors. Most come regularly and we get to know them. Some have been coming for decades. I try and talk to as many as possible, as sharing info is the best way to get on. Music is, in some ways, the opposite of blogging. When you write a song that is good, the last thing is you'd do is forget about it! Most of the top stars you see have 5-15 great songs that punters expect to hear every time they play. Steve Miller once described The Joker, his big hit, as his Albatross, quickly adding that he'd never dream of leaving it out. 

But, there is another side to this. When you release a new album, single or song on digital platforms, it becomes the focus of your efforts. If people are going to listen to your music, you want them to listen to this first and you hope it goes viral. On December 15th, The False Dots released a single digitally called Sci Fi Girls. This was our first full digital release and we were most excited. We also released a video and we thought it was all pretty good. It was well received and got some nice things said by the critics. For us, it was an experiment as well. We wanted to learn what works well marketing a digital track and what doesn't. The track was produced by guru producer Boz Boorer and was part of a session we did at his studio in Monchique, Portugal. I thought it was the strongest song we had recorded. It's a bit of an outlier in our set, Something written recently but very much in our 1979 style. Our new songs have a real Ska/reggae/punk feel to them, we've even recruited a very talented trumpet player, Tom Hammond, to give them an authentic feel, but Sci Fi Girls was a mash up of T-Rex, Psychobilly, Sweet, Glam and Punk. It has been a highlight of our set for the last year. I think it has one of the best intro's of any song and when friends heard it, the unanamous verdict was "That's Mad!", most of which was down to Boz Boorer's amazing production and Theramin playing.

But tomorrow is a new day. We have a new single out, one very much in line with our new style of music and one which showcase's our Tom's amazing trumpet playing. Anyone who has seen us, knows that it is already a firm favourite. So today is the last day that we will plugging Sci Fi Girls. What, are we replacing it with? Well check back here tomorrow. And if you want to catch the False Dots live, make sure you get yourself a ticket to see us on Friday 26th April at the Dublin Castle. Tickets are selling fast, so make sure you don't miss out CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

And for the final time, here were are plugging Sci Fi Girls. Please have a look at the video and a listen on Spotify, or download on iTunes!