There has been some interest from radio stations in recent weeks. I was very flattered by the airplay given to original songs of mine for next year's album High Tide! However, at least as exciting was playing live in a local studio with the interview mics as our only amplification, and this included covers as well.
Just today, CeltCast played my last single "Wait Out the Storm". As the radio station focuses on ancient sounds from both historical and fictional eras, it was a pleasant surprise to hear my song included. After all, it references LPs, a phone and other not-so-ancient things. I can try to guess what may have persuaded the programmers to play the song, but regardless it was a compliment to hear it included in their selection.
There was a slightly more obvious reason for the interview on Leiden radio station Sleutelstad FM with my trio Govan, Miller & Mostert, a fortnight ago. This came on the back of winning a local busking competition, and included performing three songs we had played there.
The question about our musical influences provided a nice link to the two covers we performed of songs by Kate Bush and Tom Waits. We were also asked about our plans for recording more original music, and got to play my earlier composition “The Apple Tree”.
It was a bit more difficult to answer the question about upcoming gigs, of which there are currently very few. One reason for this - at least in my view - was the effort it has taken to find a balance between creating new work, playing gigs that mostly consist of crowdpleasers, and getting promotional opportunities (such as radio play). That balance may not be quite right yet at the moment - but hopefully the recent radio play and the upcoming studio recordings may lead to more bookings where we can increasingly slot originals in!