The Making Of....

I suddenly realised the other day that I haven't posted all of my more recent You Tube videos within this blog.

So, here is a follow up to my video about my appearence on the BBC in July of this year.

This video tells the story of how that tv appearence came to be and what happened during the making of that piece.

A Social Media Policy

Some months ago I wrote a blog post for the Pierless Music site which I run called ‘A Social Media Policy’. The idea was to give bands and musicians some guidance on the potentials pitfalls of their own use of social media, based on my own experiences.

That post was well received and I was recently asked to update the post for use on the Epik Music Videos website.

They have changed the title to ‘The 10 Commandments of Social Media’, even though there are actually 16 'Commandments'. But the title does have a nice ring to it doesn’t it?

Don't worry if you're not a musician, or in a band as I think you'll find that most, if not all, of the 'Commandments' can be used for an individual too.

Here's the post: A Social Media Policy

Let me know what you think.

Radio, Video and Local Music

I've been on the radio again. This time it was for Carnival FM where I was presenting a series of Local Music Shows.

Here's a new YouTube video about it all and some things that have come out of it all.

Hastings Pier Rises Again.

I recently wrote a blog post for the Pierless Music website that I help to run and I thought I'd share it with you here.

It's all about Hastings Pier, a favourite topic of mine and it contains some good news at last.

Here's a link to that post. Please let me know your own thoughts on this, even if you live away from Hastings itself.

Hastings Pier Rises Again

Another Slice Of My 15 Minutes Is Up.

This is a recording of a report on BBC South East Today in which I appeared. It originally went out last Friday evening, 12th July.
It's all about the making of the video for David Bowie's song 'Ashes to Ashes', part of which was filmed near Hastings.

I shall be recording a video all about the experience in due course and explaining the lengths myself and the reporter went to to reach the video location!

As with all these things, most of what was recorded wasn't used in the final piece. I actually think this was the worst bit that I did.


Thanks to Paul for sorting out the video.

Rich Comes To Hastings

A YouTube friend of mine, Rich, is over in the UK from Los Angeles at the moment. He took time out and came down to Hastings for a visit.


We didn't even get around to mentioning the book that Rich has just released "My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain"
Find it on Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/My-Life-Bottom-Food-Chain/dp/0989188019/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373481011&sr=1-1

You can find Rich here:
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/worldaccordingtorich
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rickflix

The Re-Invention of Andy

New YouTube video talking about and reflecting on 3 years of change, new ventures and recent tough decisions.

Another Radio Show To Listen To.

As you may have seen already, I have posted my Local Music Shows for the 2013 Hastings Rock broadcast onto the radio stations own Mixcloud site and may well end up posting them on my own Mixcloud site as well.

But, I have now also decided to post a couple of my 'normal' Hastings Rock shows onto my personal Mixcloud site.

This is the first one and it was originally broadcast on Monday 27th May between midday and 3pm.

I hope you enjoy the show and I will post another one in due course.

Hastings Rock 2013 - 27th May 2013: 12 - 3pm by Andy Gunton 

on Mixcloud

You Don't Know What You're Missing.

Talking about the failed bid by Hastings and Bexhill to be shortlisted for the 2017 UK City of Culture. it's their loss.

listen to ‘You Don't Know What You're Missing.’ on Audioboo

Pop! Goes the Street Art.

Anyone who reads these blog posts, views my photo's or even watches my videos will know that I'm a big fan of street art. And by that I don't mean the kind of mindless tagging that turns up on walls etc across the world. I consider that to be graffiti.
No, I'm referring to the kind of art that actually enhances the walls etc that it is painted, sprayed, or stuck onto.

In the Hastings and St Leonards area we are very lucky to have many examples of great and original street art. Apart from our very own Banksy, we have several works by Ben Eine, animal stencils by Stewy and of course the Scrabbleman pieces, as well as countless other examples dotted around the town.

I'm also lucky to live in an area that I've called 'Street Art Central' before. I called it that because of the numerous examples that have appeared in the area over recent years. One such place is in an alleyway off of Norman Road, in St Leonards.

The first artwork to appear there was a stencil, by Stewy, of a full size white horse:

It didn't take long before that was followed by one of the first Scrabbleman pieces, as well as a colourful rectangle:

A few months later they were joined by this:

Of course, all of this art suddenly appearing does raise the question about whether it should be there in the first place. This is especially relevant if it happens to be your wall that all the street art is painted onto.
I know that Stewy always asks permission before doing a stencil, but how many other artists do the same?

That very question was brought home to me today when I spotted this new addition to the wall:

The balloon explosion actually happened a few days ago, but the 'Pop!' appeared overnight.
After spotting it this morning, I went home, grabbed my camera and took this photo.

Whilst there taking my photo's, the occupants of the two houses either side of this alleyway appeared. On seeing the new 'Pop!' addition, it was firstly obvious that it was brand new and secondly that they weren't very happy about it. I was even questioned as to whether it me that had done it.

I explained that i wasn't responsible and that I was simply taking some photo's, as I really liked it.

Some may see the 'Pop!' and also the 'balloon explosion' before as some kind of desecration of the original piece. But, for me that's just a part of what street art is all about. It's temporary, for many reasons and I also feel that although the original piece has been altered, it has also been added to and possibly even enhanced.

My opinion was altered a little when it was explained to me that when the 'balloon explosion' took place, the 'artist' splattered paint not just on the wall, as seen above, but also onto the pavement, road and even onto cars that were parked nearby!

Now, that's something I couldn't defend.
It's one thing to have street art appear on the wall of your property, but quite another when it actually damages, or affects your property in some way.

I'd hate to see street art such as this be removed, or painted over because of the unthinking actions of, probably, one person.
As I've suggested, I think street art of this quality really does enhance the area that it is in and it can even become a sort of tourist attraction, as these pieces have.

So, if you're a street artist please spare a thought for those who's property you may be using as a canvas for your work. And maybe do as 'Stewy' does, ask permission first.

By the way, I'd love to have a piece on my garden wall.

PS: Just in case you've not seen it before, here's a link to my blog post all about 'The Scrabbleman Trail':
The Scrabbleman Trail

Hastings Rock on Mixcloud

I know that I may well have mentioned this before, but Hastings Rock radio station now has it's very own Mixcloud account and we've now started to upload some programmes to the site.

So far, we've only uploaded the four Local Music Shows that I presented during this years broadcast, two shows from the final night of the broadcast and also one of the Progressive Rock shows presented by Tony Bell. But, more may well follow.

You can find the Hastings Rock Mixcloud site here: Hastings Rock on Mixcloud

We chose to use Mixcloud, as opposed to another site such as Soundcloud, because Mixcloud pay PRS royalties. Therefore you can upload copyrighted music, knowing that you are doing so legally and that the artists will get royalties because of it.
The service is also free and has no upload limit.

Happy listening.

It's Not As Easy As It Looks

New YouTube video and my first one for 6 months!

Talking about another month of Hastings Rock radio and how so many people just don't realise just what happens behind the scenes to get the station on the air and then keep it there for 28 days.

A Word In Your Ear

I keep forgetting to share posts here that I've written for Pierless Music, a local music project that I set up with a friend last year.

This is my latest post for that website. It's called 'A Word In Your Ear' and concerns potential hearing loss and damage that can be caused by exposure to loud music, especially at gigs.

You can find it here: A Word In Your Ear

You can find the Pierless Music website here: Pierless Music

Cruel To Be Kind?

Is it best to actually discourage some people from persuing their dreams?

David Hepworth blog post:
http://whatsheonaboutnow.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/sometimes-kindest-thing-you-can-do-is.html

Looking Backwards, Looking Forwards.

I had a good 2012, so i thought i'd relay some of it for you. Hopefully, 2013 will be equally as good.

Spain Video Playlist:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEBC37CDECFD54624&feature=mh_lolz

Pierless Music: http://pierlessmusic.co.uk/

Moose Musings eBook:  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Moose-Musings-ebook/dp/B006RXBRTC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357053904&sr=8-1

Moose Musings Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC5uQzuE9wE

Olympic Torch Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ro5Po5caIXc

The 'scrabbleman' Trail:
http://andymooseman.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/scrabbleman-trail.html

As expected, i did forget a couple of things. Beatles Day & doing some radio shows for the local University radio station were missed. Phew.