Despite my best intentions, I’ve once again managed to not update my blog for a wee while. Happily though it’s because I’ve been quite busy. My wee flyer did it’s 50th gig last night at the Glad Cafe, I’ve got a music video coming out soon, and I recently announced that I’ll be playing a pretty big show at the ABC 2 in Glasgow on the 27th of April, supporting Geoff Rickly from Thursday. Exciting! Tickets are normally £10 but I’ve got cheaper tickets for sale at my bandcamp, with the option of a wee music bundle as well. It’s kind of a taste of my music for newcomers, or for anyone who has been meaning to pick up some of my tunes but hasn’t got around to it yet. I called it SuperBundleFunTimeYeah! You can buy tickets (with or without the bundle) for the ABC show at this lovely link right here.
I really hope you can make it, it would really a mean a lot to me. In other news, I just found out that there’s a wee feature on me in the Scotland on Sunday today! That was a lovely Sunday surprise. Here it is:
I hope people aren’t put off by my big scary face.
That’s made my day so it has. Anyway, I’ve been writing some new songs recently so hopefully I’ll have some new stuff for you to hear by the next time I post! Hope to see your lovely faces at the ABC on the 27th!
Right now some of you are probably thinking about getting ready for your hot date tonight, deciding what you’re going to wear, listening to some Barry White, that sort of thing. Some of you will be planning to sit alone on the couch and eat a two-person amount of food by yourself. Some people might be doing a mixture of both, either with a significant other or a good friend. Some of us are probably going to get a bit drunk.
Well, whether you’re loved up to the nines or in an open relationship with pizza, I’ve got a little something for you.
For the loved-up romantics out there, I’ve gone and dug out this (admittedly cheesy-as-fuck) cover of The Book of Love by The Magnetic Fields (and covered by Peter Gabriel).
Cheeseball.
For those single people out there, why not put a positive spin on your past breakups with this video of my single “Confessions”.
Want more? Well, why not get a 14% discount* off anything on my Bandcamp with one of the following codes:
LOVEDUP
or
FOREVERALONE
I’ll let you choose which one to use. Just head to my Bandcamp page to put those codes to good use!
Have a great day everyone, whatever you’re up to!
Love,
Shambles
x
*Technically it’s a 15% discount, Bandcamp wouldn’t let me make a 14% discount, but you get the idea.
This week I’m doing a takeover of the Scottish Fiction blog, where I get to write whatever I want, and so far have managed to not spend the whole time talking about myself. Since we’re halfway through the takeover, I thought I’d post a quick round-up.
Day 1 – Allow me to reintroduce myself
On day one I thought it would be a good idea to introduce myself for anyone who wasn’t familiar with my music. So there’s a wee introduction with me talking a bit of shite, some music, a wee video, links to some of the music I’ve been listening to recently and other bits of stuff. Ok so I’ve spent some of the time talking about myself. Check it out here!
Day 2 – “What is your favourite word?”
I’m a big fan of the TV show Inside the Actors Studio, and I thought it might fun to ask some musical friends the Proust Questionnaire from that very show. Which Scottish musician has a dinosaur fetish? Who thinks they’ll die from falling over after fighting ninjas? Click here to find out.
Day 3 – Have you heard the one about the musical comedian? (Part 1)
Today I posted the first instalment of my feature on music and comedy. It’s an interview with the very funny, very talented Eleanor Morton. Tomorrow’s instalment is an interview with Randolph’s Leap frontman Adam Ross. Check out today’s interview here.
So that’s the first half of my takeover! Stay tuned to Scottish Fiction the rest of the week for more, and please check out the posts above. This week I’m also hosting a movie screening and music night at Brechins in Govan. It’s a great film and we’ll have some great musicians performing, so come along for a fun night. It’s free, AND you get a free pie and a pint. It’s a Christmas miracle!
You know the saying “no news is good news”? Well, when it comes to this blog, that’s usually the case. If I haven’t updated the site in a while, it’s often because I’ve been cray-cray busy (Neil taught me that phrase, cray-cray. Did I do it right?) and that’s almost always a good thing. While I try to keep people updated with Twitter and Facebook, apparently there’s been some sort of news event dominating the media recently, so some of my news might have slipped through the cracks. Even handsome bastards have been getting it on the act. With this in mind, here’s a wee roundup of stuff you might have missed.
Linn Records
Last week I announced that I recently signed a distribution deal with Glasgow-based record company Linn Records! You might know the name from their world-famous range of audio equipment but as a record company they specialise in studio quality master downloads. What this means is that when I release a new record it will also be distributed on Linn’s website where you’ll have the option to purchase and download high fidelity studio masters. That’s as opposed to what you might normally get from iTunes for example. For more information on Linn’s vision and why mp3s might not be the best way to listen to music, check out this interview with Gilad Tiefenbrun, the boss of Linn Records. Of course, my music will still be able to download through Bandcamp, so fear not if you prefer the personal touch (or the good night’s sleep that comes from knowing you’re paying an artist directly. Or if you just like getting something in the mail).
It feels great to have the support of a record company like Linn, and I really do encourage you to check them out. Apart from anything else, they’re just lovely people. Check out my artist profile and releases on Linn at this lovely link.
BBC 6 Music
Someone else’s support who I’m really lucky to have is BBC DJ and singer/songwriter, Tom Robinson. Tom’s played my stuff a few times over the past year or two and this week he featured my latest single Deadpool on his BBC Introducing Mixtape. Most flattering of all is this review that Tom wrote about my work:
“For me, the wry, laconic lofi-fi acoustic pop of Glasgow-based songwriter Shambles Miller – in fact his whole musical persona – is completely irresistible. Be clear, this is not music made with an eye either on the Top 40 or fame in the blogosphere. But it 100% fulfils Steve Lamacq’s criterion that any artist worth their salt sounds like they need to make this particular music or they would explode. Shambles embodies the wonderfully dry Scots truthfulness to be found in the work of Aidan Moffat, King Creosote and even our friends on this same mixtape Drunk Mule. Deadpool is certainly a fine track, but frankly I’d recommend downloading everything you can get your hands on and immersing yourself in the unique – sometimes funny, sometimes angry, always unfailingly honest – world of Shambles Miller.”
The assertion that I need to be doing this or I would explode is the most accurate description of why I do this that I’ve ever heard and I’m incredibly flattered by Tom’s words. You can listen to the show at some of the links above, or you can download it here.
Gigsgigsgigs
Passengers on the night bus to Leith were unfazed.
As always I’ve been busy gigging and I’ve got more coming up. If you’re not from Glasgow and want to catch me nearer your neck of the woods, I’ll be heading to Gourock, Ayr, and Doune the Rabbit Hole over the next month or so. For a list of gig dates/venues/times, check out Songkick, Bandcamp, or Tumblr. This past week I also played a wee gig in Edinburgh and I must say, it’s definitely the first time I’ve played a gig on a double decker bus in a pub’s courtyard. I’ve also never had to stoop quite so much during a set as I did during this one. To get an idea of what I got up to, there’s this Vine and the best “I’m driving a bus” selfie you’ve ever seen.
Safety Selfie First
I also got the chance to catch a great set by James Mackenzie, who I recommend listening to with your ears at your earliest convenience. Click all my stuff first though, eh? Man’s got to eat.
Shambles Miller's really really good website 