If you haven’t already heard of Gabrielle Aplin you are missing out. I saw her for the first time in a primary school in Belfast, about this time last year. It’s safe to say that she has come a long way since then, and I’m a huge fan. Check out our cover below and find her album (English Rain) here!
Church Music – Citizens – Already / Not Yet
Gone are the days when the phrase “church music” refers solely to ancient hymns being played on the organ. As someone who is passionate about music, it always annoyed me that the church seemed to constantly be one step behind the rest of the world. I am really happy to say that I think this has finally changed. Some churches seem to be recognising the importance of creativity and are now giving it a platform for others to enjoy.
Citizens are by far the best worship band I have heard in the last 5 years. They have a highly energetic and individual sound that makes old hymns sound more relevant for todays worshippers. In my opinion the standout track on this EP is “In Tenderness”. With lines like “It seems as if eternal days, are far too short to sing His praise” strapped to a huge pumping melody it is hard not to sing along at the top of your lungs.
Write because you love to write.
When I was growing up I never had a clear idea of what I wanted to do when I was older. I can remember when I was reaching the end of my time in education, when we had to meet with a career advisor and discuss what exactly it was we wanted to do for the rest of our lives. She was supposed to help give advise on which subjects we should pick in order to reach the goals we wanted, and in the end hopefully get the job we wanted as well. This made for a pretty awkward conversation when it was eventually my turn, I really didn’t have a clue. I was obviously aware that I needed a source of income in order to survive, but more importantly I wanted to do something that I felt passionately about.
I’d never really given a crap about anything I’d done until I started playing in my band. I had started a lot of different things that had never materialised into anything, to be honest the band is the one thing that I have ever really stuck with for a respectful amount of time. In saying that there was still a period where I wondered if this was really “my thing”. I started to have doubts about the band, like I have had with anything else I have ever tried to achieve, but this time was different.
I have been playing in my band for about 2 years. I am not rich, or famous, but I still love doing it. As long as I have enough money to keep doing what I’m doing, I will do so. Our band continues to do better and better, but even if we never reach a point of recognisable fame or success, for example a world tour, it would make no difference to me. As long as we can write music that people enjoy to listen to, I will continue to do so. In my opinion this is what being passionate about something looks like. You will continue to do what you do because you simply love to do it. Huge success would be nice, but if you are really passionate about something you will continue to do it just because you can, you write a song because that is what you love to do not because of what you will receive in return for writing that song.
George Washington Carver – 8 words of advice
So this guy is an absolute genius, not only did he effectively save farming by coming up with 105 recipes and 100 products containing peanuts, he also compiled a list of eight cardinal virtues for his students to strive towards:
- Be clean both inside and out.
- Neither look up to the rich nor down on the poor.
- Lose, if need be, without squealing.
- Win without bragging.
- Always be considerate of women, children, and older people.
- Be too brave to lie.
- Be too generous to cheat.
- Take your share of the world and let others take theirs.
Pretty good advice eh?
C.S Lewis – Four Loves
This has got to be one of my favourite quotes ever, it’s worth reading often.
“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.”
The 1930s – April Tour – 2012
Thankfully we had yet another highly successful tour. We played some brilliant shows as well as meeting some great people,to be honest there isn’t much more I could have asked for. We had a great time on the road but obviously it takes its tole on you after a while; it will be nice to sleep in a real bed tonight and I was getting pretty sick of eating cold sausages and McDonalds. Thanks again to everyone who came out to see us play and to those who let us sleep in their houses, it sounds cliched but without you this wouldn’t be possible.
One of my favourite things about touring is getting to hear lot’s of new musicians. We played a gig in AAA, London and had the pleasure of playing alongside a talented female singer songwriter called Eliza Shaddad, she put on a great show and you should definitely check out her tunes.
Talented Friends – Glenn Kennedy – Fine Art
Glenn is a talented lad, not only did he lay down some sweet electric guitar on our EP, but he was also the guy who painted Andrew and I for the CD cover. When we aren’t roping him in to do something for us, he does some seriously sweet paintings which i’ve posted below. If you want to see more of Glenn’s work you can check out his site here.
The 1930s – New EP
This EP has been in the works for almost a year now, it has taken a lot of time, effort and money, but it is finally finished and i’m very happy with it. It is a little less jaunty than our first release but i’m hoping people still enjoy it. I am still proud of the songs that we released on our first EP but this release is definetly a lot more personal and because of that I feel a lot more attached/protective of the songs on it.
I don’t often ask for retweets and shares etc, but i really want as many people as possible to hear this release. If you can post the player below I would really appreciate it and I hope you enjoy the songs!
