19 May, 2014: The Lounge

The morning did not start well for me as my black shirt was soiled as I was getting ready and so I had to create a completely new outfit as it was the only shirt appropriate for the colour scheme that complimented the black and red checkered trousers I planned to wear and there was not enough time to wash, dry and iron the black shirt.

This unexpected and unfortunate occurence delayed me so I informed the group I was going to be late and alo explained why. I selected a red and brown shirt and black skinny trousers with a smart sheen look; which I accented with brown checkered braces, brown boots (which I polished) and the same necklace I would have worn with my original ensemble. I consider the soiling of the original shirt a blessing in disguise as my second outfit had much more flair and was preferred by the group - which was a relief.

I arrived shortly before 10:00 a.m. to find the rest of the group (minus Stefan and Luke who arrived not long after) rehearsing in a classroom with no PA equipment or staging as the equipment was unavailable to us due to a music class going on concurrently. We were not told to expect this the previous Friday at the end of our penultimate rehearsal, when we were advised by our tutor to rehearse from 9 a.m. and thus assumed there would be a room and appropriate facilities for us to utilise. This was not the case however as the girls had to go in search of the room we used initially.

I picked up a bass immediately and resumed rehearsal of the basslines Kian had taught me for The Smiths' "Big Mouth Strikes Again". Sleeping on it had helped and I was able to play both well which boosted my confidence and eagerness to show the others and layed to rest any concerns about delivering in the show.

Furthermore, I ran my performance of "Fire" repeatedly as we all focused on our solo performances independently. I walked through the choreography to ensure that both Serena and Stefan were clear on what I wanted and to ensure accuracy. As usual, they sounded great vocally on the track and really complimented my pre-recorded background vocals with their own fresh additions to the vocal arrangement.

I also offered to return the favour by running through Stefan's "Hey Lady" on which I was due to perform backing vocals, but he felt confident enough in his knowledge of both his original compositions; "Ghetto" and "Hey Lady", to not rehearse them during this time.

After a few hours of rehearsing, we took a break at approximately 12:30 p.m. as Crystal and Serena departed to Costco to purchase produce to sell at the show, having received and reviewed my budget plan the day before.

At 2:00 p.m. (an hour before we were allowed to access the venue), we learned that the music room was finally free and so we scrambled to get in there and set up microphones, stands, instruments and amps so that we could run the group songs as much as possible before migrating to Milton Keynes Christian Centre.

At 3:00 p.m. we migrated; myself, Elica, Tamara and Kian walking straight to the venue accompanied by our tutor whilst Luke and Stefan stayed back at college to collect and transport lights meanwhile Dylan stayed with the equipment which included; microphone stands, microphones and amps, which Joe the Sound Technician was coming to transport in a van.

We arrived at MKCC to find helpers already setting out chairs for the audience and asking how'd we like the stage to be set up, eliminating the major task of setting up the venue, giving us time to focus on other tasks such as bringing all the equipment in, which Joe and Dylan set up mostly.

At approximately 4:00 p.m. Crystal and Serena returned with the food produce and a set of fellow college students; Anais, Luke, David, Scott, Dylan and Leila, who had agreed to help assist us in setting up followed shortly after. Crystal made a quick trip home to retrieve a laptop amongst other things, so I could project the The Lounge logo I designed and featured prominently on our poster and tickets directly on to the black curtains for the entirety of the show, thus displaying the motif in a different format.

Here is the image I wanted to project:

By 5:00 p.m. Crystal had returned with the laptop and the refreshments tables were set up at the back of the venue, near the entrance doors. We were now almost set to commence soundcheck and by this point I was desperately trying to find ways to transfer Serena, Elica and Tamara's backing tracks from their phones and onto Crystal's computer to play them from their so the all the backing tracks could be played from a single source. 

As I'd already had my backing track for "Fire" in a range of easily accessible formats (USB disk and Google Drive) since the first time I  rehearsed "Fire" for The Lounge a month prior, I was irritated that 2 hours before the show, I was having to sort out the backing tracks of everyone else who was using backing tracks (except Stefan). It was their responsibility to bring the tracks in on Friday - which they all agreed to - so that we I could make a CD on Friday with the tracks in chronological order. Yet there I was in the kitchen trying to solve the mess caused by their technical incompetence - instead of using the laptop to project The Lounge logo on to the curtains as planned. All their songs which required backing tracks were are risk of being cut completely from the set list with soundcheck pending and their phones (two of which had low batteries) being the only means of playing their songs.

I took a quick break from the laptop to join the group on stage for the first song in the soundcheck, before going back to the kitcken as to get some water for my voice and conduct a quick warm up as there was at least 1 song in the set list before my next song.

As frustrated and dissapointed as I was, I sacrificied time I could have used to warm up my voice to solving the issue, opting instead to boil some water for a quick fix. Just after pouring myself a mug of boiling hot water, I hear people calling me to the stage and so I cautiously make my way to the stage with the mug, at which point Kian, Dylan and Luke launch a verbal attack at me for walking too slowly to the stage and wasting time. 

It is key to note that it was one of the girls who were due to perform next on the set list, but because their backing tracks were not yet playable, the decision was made to skip and go straight to "Sunshine of Your Love" - one of my solo performances.

I responded to the guys by saying "don't rush me" and before I got a chance to explain why I said that or why I was not running to the stage (due to me holding a mug of boiling hot water), Kian - who was already getting increasingly agitated by our tutor's constant prompts of what the time was - got irate with me, shouting and swearing at me in an outburst that was witnessed by the entire group, college tutors, college helpers and staff of the venue. 

This was incredibly embarressing and infuriating considering the awful irony that the reason I was in the kitchen in the first place was to sort out the backing tracks which resulted in the decision being made to skip straight to my song. This is the exact sitaution I was making every effort to avoid by arranging to make a CD of the backing tracks the week before, but bringing a backing track on a USB disk or emailing it proved too difficult for some.

After being screamed at, I simply turned around and left the venue feeling defeated, mistreated and unappreciated after the extra effort I put in to ensure others could still perform their solos at the expense of my warming up time. I deserved that outburst the least of anyone in that room. Not only had I been fulfilling my assigned job roles but I had also taken on other tasks that day due to other people's incompetence and I was rewarded with a tirade from the project manager.

Unwilling to undo all of my hard work, I humbled myself and returned to the venue as the soundcheck was in its final stages, slotting straight back into the rehearsal as if nothing happened. As upset as I still was, once I returned to the venue I (for the most part) acted with the utmost decorum to ensure there was no more drama.

Unfortunately my departure meant that I missed the opportunity to soundcheck "Sunshine of Your Love" properly along with my other solo peformances - but I did not feel comfortable going on stage with Kian immediately after his furious rant, which was simply the result of stress from a variety of sources which had nothing to do with me. Knowing this, I accepted his apology before the show, despite still being somewhat resentful that I sacrified my soundcheck, for the sake of the group and the show.

Approximately 20 minutes before show time, we had a group discussion in which I expressed that I wished to cut "Sunshine of Your Love" from the set list, as I relinqushed the opportunity to soundcheck the song properly after the argument; plus it only conjured up bad memories of  it and without a proper warm up and soundcheck, all my fears about the performance from the day before were now heightened rather than calmed. For some reason at this point, Serena and Tamara followed suit cutting Jamiroquai's "Little L" and Emeli Sande's "Next to Me"; which they both were using backing tracks for, whereas "Sunshine of Your Love" would have been a completely live performance with Kian, Dylan and Luke accompanying me.

Doors opened shortly before 7 p.m. and the show started a few minutes later, by which point the venue was only half full with audience members. Stefan stepped out to introduce the show, but the room's main lights were still on which concerned me as I was unsure if they would be turned off in time for the first song or at all during the first half of the show. Thankfully, as we stepped out they were turned off and the show commenced.

Ironically, both Elica and Tamara's performances were interrupted by the sound of the laptop and the phone which were used to play their backing tracks, bleeping to indicate low battery which was undeniably audible above their tracks for a second or two. This diminished the technicial quality of the show and made it appear amateur - exactly what I was trying to avoid. 

Despite this and all the preceding drama, the show was a success and the venue was virtually full by the end of the second song as people were still arriving by that point. We breaked for a 15 minute interval at 7:45 p.m. and played through until 9:00 p.m. before packing up and leaving.

I was surprised and delighted by the audience turnout and their resounding support of all of the performances. They also became more vocal and interactive as the show progressed - Kian even had a moment of banter with an audience member towards the end. This is evidence that we did truly create a lounge atmosphere in which the audience felt relaxed and comfortable enough to interact with us. Furthermore, I am proud of myself for finding the humility to perform professionally despite how I was feeling emotionally and mentally from the mounting stress and pressure of the day and all the drama that occured within it. Lastly, I am proud of  the group for uniting in the end to put on a show that was very well received and enjoyed.

18 May, 2014: Bass Masterclass

Today I shared a budget plan with the group via Facebook, detailing how much money we've made, how much we could potentially make and how much should be assigned to each aspect of the show,  in advance of the food (our last, planned expense) being purchased tomorrow, so that those buying it will have a guideline on how much to spend and why.

This evening I went over to rehearse with Kian and Dylan at his grandparent's house as I was concerned about my performances of "Givin' Em What They Love" and "Sunshine of Your Love" which I felt were under-rehearsed.

After running the songs repeatedly I felt more at ease about performing them in the show. Kian then asked if I wanted to try playing bass guitar on his performance of The Smiths' "Big Mouth Strikes Again" and in response I insisted he teach me the bassline. He taught me a slightly simpler bassline which I picked up quickly, though I struggled initially with the song's tempo and the rhythm of the strumming that Kian demonstrated.

After a few minutes I was able to play along with them both and so Kian then taught me a different bassline for a short section of the song. This one was more complex as it required very quick fret changes which I was determined to master so I sat playing it repeatedly until I could play it at the tempo Kian was playing in.

Dylan and Kian shared some really helpful tips and pointers on how to hold the bass guitar and where and how to position my hands and fingers. These techniques made it much easier to play and towards the end of the evening I was able to play the song through, mastering the first bassline to the point that I could look away from the guitar as I played it without error. The second bassline sounded a little more sloppy however and I wasn't consistently nailing it with each run; but there were times when I played it accurately which spurred me on to keep rehearsing and practising it.

Whenever I made a mistake or struggled with the bassline, I would simply improvise a simpler melody using the same notes so that I got accustomed to doing this for the live performance if I didn't master the second bassline by then. Though I rehearsed the second bassline as much as I could, I wanted to ensure that in the event of me not being able to play it properly during the actual performance, I'd be able to effectively improvise a simpler bassline without the performance being disrupted and the audience noticing (unless they were very familiar with the song).

This last minute rehearsal was the most fun rehearsal I've had in a long time and has spiked my excitement for the show tomorrow. I am very grateful for the opportunity to play bass and Dylan and Kian's impromptu masterclass. I'm also thrilled that I managed to play alongside them repeatedly without lagging behind or playing discordant notes and so I am not concerned about playing bass before a live audience as I felt very relaxed. Tomorrow's final rehearsals will confirm for definate if I do play in the show depending on my performance and mood in rehearsals - but I'm sure I'll do fine as I'm very keen to show the rest of the group.

I'm most concerned about "Sunshine of Your Love" as the stress of the past week has taken its toll on my voice which is more hoarse and tires easier than usual. With this, there is also an increased tension at times when I sing that I do not normally experience, whether this is down to actual physical changes in my throat or simply nerves I am unsure of but it is causing me to struggle with the vocal arrangement of the song.

During the rehearsal I did improvise different melodies and arrangements, but they still felt far inferior to the renowned original. Additionally, with the song being so revered I would rather cut it from the set list rather than change it too much and the performance not being well received by the audience. I will evaluate my performance in rehearsals tomorrow and converse with the rest of the group to gain their opinions also before making a decision to peform the song in the show or cut it.

16 May, 2014: Penultimate Rehearsal

Unfortunately, though I brought my backing track via USB and uploaded it to my Google Drive account - which I can easily access whilst at college to download the track - my efforts were not matched by Elica, Serena and Tamara who simply downloaded their tracks to their phones. This was not any better than lining up multiple tabs on an internet browser (as we had done before) to play the tracks from YouTube. At least when we'd done that, the aux was plugged into the computer throughout and did not have to be switched around from phone to phone as we had to during this rehearsal.

The failure to do as I requested meant that it was pointless of me to bring in the CDs to burn the playlist to and an opportunity to run through the set list seamlessly before the show date was squandered as a result. This also means that this CD will now have to be created on the day of the show which was what I was absolutely trying to avoid considering how busy we'll be executing final rehearsals and organising other tasks which can only be done on the day; such as purchasing food, getting into the venue and setting the up the staging, PA equipment, chairs and finally soundchecking.

More positively, the addition of costumes set a great atmosphere which was more professional than previous rehearsals and thus the transitions were quicker and the general attitude of everyone was much more focused. Whilst running the set list, we did rehearse the group songs which the run through revealed required more attention; "Golden Brown" and "Kiss From a Rose". This added time and also meant that the run through was not a seamless one. Our half hour break seemed to rob of us some focus and when we returned at 1:00 p.m. we were somewhat tired. We then needed to vacate the room which was pre-brooked for a lesson an hour later, but were allowed to stay where we rehearsed until 4 p.m. with varying levels of focus.

As today was our penultimate rehearsal before the show date, I opted to record as much of the rehearsal as possible via one of the college's Apple Mac computers as blogging throughout the day would be too time consuming and I wished to focus solely on rehearsing and perfecting the performances. The audio quality of the Mac recordings is atrocious however and so below I've uploaded a video I recorded with my mobile phone of what was the most enjoyable performance of the day:

Serena and Kian rehearsing Jamiroquai's "Little L" with improvised accompaniment from Will (one of our tutors):

15 May, 2014

Today we ran as much of the set list as possible before our timetabled break, though setting up could have been executed with more haste. After our break we continued but unfortunately without Tamara for the majority of the last portion of rehearsal due to an audition for a HND course.

To conclude the rehearsal, we had a discussion were I insisted all those using backing tracks bring or upload their track on a format - such as a CD, USB disk or alternatively the sharing mediums; email Google Drive or Dropbox  - from which it can be transferred to one of the college's computers. From there I will compile a playlist on iTunes with the backing tracks in the order of which they appear on the set list and burn the playlist on to blank disks which I will provide. A blank disk will then be given to the sound operator named Joe - a friend of Kian, Luke and Dylan's with experience as a Sound Technician for gigs at the renowned Craufurd Arms - on the day of the show so that all the tracks are arranged orderly on a single format, dramatically reducing the risk of error.

This playlist will also help our last rehearsals as we won't have to waste time switching the aux connection which we use to play the backing tracks in rehearsal from phone to phone - which would be technically unnacceptable in a professional live event. The creation of this disk is essential in ensuring our show flows seamlessly without disjointed and extended pauses.

We also agreed to come in full costume tomorrow and start promptly at 9:00 a.m. so that we can delve straight into running the set list from beginning to end as many times as possible. We were also  unanimous in deciding to stay at college beyond our timetabled end. The unity of the group and the shared desire to make The Lounge the greatest success that we can is reinstating my faith in this process and the group.

14 May 2014: Little Progress Made

I attended with a positive attitude, hoping to salvage the best out of a bad situation. All of us - excluding Kian, Dylan and Luke who were being chastised individually, one-by-one in meetings organised by the college - attempted to run the set list as best we could.

Luke, whose meeting was first came back first and initiated a vocal warm-up by playing the keyboard in preparation for Kian and Dylan's return. Once the full group was reunited by Dylan and Kian's return we had lost even more hours of valuable rehearsal time but soldiered on with rehearsing the group performances of "Time Will Tell" and "Golden Brown" regardless.

Luckily, "Time Will Tell" ran with relatively minor errors but the inclusion of claps in "Golden Brown" was a source of confusion which we spent time correcting. I believe the 3/4 time signature was difficult for a few group members to clap to at times as they are not accustomed to performing songs outside of the standard common time (4/4) bar set up.

Overall, I feel that little was achieved today due to the meetings that took place in the first half of the day which robbed the group of rehearsal time. Despite this, I'm making every effort to stay optimistic and positive so that the little rehearsal time we have is as productive as possible. I've contributed far too much work into this final major performance to give up now or simply settle for the bare minimum because I'm terribly stressed by the decisions of others.

13 May 2014: Unfair Punishment

Today was incredibly frustrating as we were informed that Kian, Dylan and Luke were not allowed to rehearse with us until they have a meeting with college tutors about their unauthorised absence last week. Considering we've already lost a week of rehearsing with them, I find it ludacris that the rest of the group is being punished for their decision to go on holiday. With The Lounge commencing in less than a week, it is essential we utilise as much rehearsal time as possible, especially considering that all but one of our instrumentalists have been absent for the past week - 2 weeks before the show date might I add.

I feel the college I attend has made a critical error in banning Kian, Dylan and Luke from rehearsing with us until it is decided how to punish them. In doing this, they jeopardise the success of our event even further by robbing us of rehearsal time that we are already very short on. Myself, Serena, Crystal, Stefan, Elica and Tamara did not book a holiday during term time and we do not deserve to suffer from the added stress caused by this decision at such a critical time in our rehearsal schedule and course as a whole. Our show will most certainly be impacted by the loss of another day's rehearsal - there's only so much we can rehearse to pre-recorded backing tracks. This decision has made me very resentful as it's caused unprecedented levels of stress that are affecting my ability to rehearse effectively and fulfill the responsibilities of my job role.

Furthermore, when we attempted to commence rehearsal without them, we had to waste more time looking for a room to rehearse in which I feel is completely unnacceptable considering this was a scheduled lesson.

With tension and stress levels high we did not do much rehearsing other than giving feedback to Elica who performed her solo, "Read All About It". Instead we discussed our plans for the food and refreshments we'll be selling on the night along with entry frees.

After today I am very concerned about the outcome of our show as it has become apparent that our college clearly does not have the group's best interests at heart. This is implied by the college's insistance on punishing Kian, Dylan and Luke at the expense of the rest of the group who have done no wrong; possibly jeopardising our grades as the quality our final performance will certainly be impacted with even more rehearsal time lost - not to mention the lack of rehearsal space.

9 May, 2014: Technical and Visual Progress

We spent the day organising the visual and technical aspects of The Lounge as oposed to the audio.

I brought in the outfit/costume I intend to wear for the show so that I could compare it with everyone else's costumes to ensure we look like a well-presented and cohesive unit on stage. As we previously agreed on a red and black colour scheme for costumes, I brought in a black, collared shirt, red and black checkered trousers, black shoes and necklace. The response from the group to my outfit choice was universally positive as it met the colour scheme whilst also looking smart - fitting with our sophisticated lounge theme.

I loved Serena's inclusion of a bright red head wrap to her simple black ensemble as it invoked the spirit of Erykah Badu's style during her first albums Baduizm and Mama's Gun. The head wrap will also add a more worldly to our overall apperance on stage as its a very common piece of attire worn by African women.

Elica brought in her 2 cordless microphones and accompanying kit for us all to see as we'll be using them in the show. They'll be a great aid as they'll encourage and allow for a greater range of movement for those like myself who have either specific choreographed movement or just intend to explore the stage during their performances beyond the confines of the microphone stand and cordless mics - which will easily get tangled and become a safety hazard with the number of microphones we will be using.

8 May, 2014: My Birthday

Keen to develop our performances after the feedback we recieved from other groups the previous day, we focused on running our set list. I initiated a vocal warm-up by singing lip trills to a major scale, which gently prepared my voice for the rehearsal.

Before running through the set, we lent time to rehearsing the group performances; "Golden Brown" and "Pride", focusing on the vocal arrangement and harmonies to ensure the utmost accuracy; as I've noticed at times other group members being inconsistent in their pitching, causing all of the vocals to sound discordant. In rehearsing these songs it became immediately apparent that 11 days before the show others were still unsure of what their melodic lines were. This causes me great concern as it shows a lack of initiative and ability to rehearse independently without the aid of the group.

We then ran through our set list, pausing to share feedback after each performance. I took notes during each solo performance so that my feedback could be as detailed as possible.

Elica commenced the run with Emeli Sande's "Read All About It". She sang more confidently than previous renditons but her ability to project is still lacking, especially on the bridge and last chorus - the climaxes of the song which require the most projection, power and passion. Her pitching on the bridge is still inconsistent but she has expressed that she struggles on this part of the song. I have suggested that Tamara or all of us could provide backing vocals on the two final sections of the song. This may boost her confidence, resulting in better projection of her voice. I must note however that her eyes were engaged throughout the song which is a stark contrast from the nervous laughs of previous rehearsals. She could improve her performance further with very simple gestures to emphasise the lyrics - which are very poignant at times.

Tamara followed with "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me". She performed and sang confidently, gesturing to the audience and effectively using body language to emote and perform the lyrics rather than simply sing or recite them. The only negative was her inability to cover mistakes seamlessly. Whenever she did something she did something she perceived to be wrong, she'd make it very obvious in her facial expressions - when we hadn't even noticed up until the point where she let it get to her. As well as mentioning the points above, I suggested that she explore the stage to take her performance to the next level.

Crystal's choice of "Edge of the World" by Within Temptation is the perfect match for her voice, which floats effortlessly on the song. Her beautiful vocal performance was really refreshing and I love her style. As her vocals are faultless on the song, I think she should definately focus on working on audience engagement, movement, gesture and the use of eye line which are noticeably lacking, which is a shame considering how beautiful her vocals are.

Crystal passed the torch to Serena who also delivered pretty vocals, this time on Lianne La Havas' "Lost & Found". Though beautifully sung, I commented that she should also work on matching her body language to her vocals and emote through her face just as much as she does vocally, so that all contribute to the performance for greater impact.

Tamara and Crystal performed their duet, "My Immortal", with different staging which made for a more interesting visual set-up. They also appeared more relaxed which will lend itself well to our lounge theme. Their harmonic blend was euphonious but there were quite a few mistakes which disrupted the flow of a performance unfortunately. It is evident that they need more rehearsal but I look forward to seeing them perform the song error-free. I commented that they should work on their facial expressions and staying focused regardless of mistakes, so the intensity of their performance is maintained for the entirety of the song.

Tamara displayed her vocal agility on her performance of Jessie J's "I Miss Her". Once again maintaining focus in the face of errors was an issue but her vocals were very pretty throughout and she was noticeably more engaged emotionally and artistically in the second half of the song, which was touching.

Me and Tamara received very positive feedback from the group for our "Say Something" duet. Crystal described the performance as "incredible", which was very encouraging and she commented that there was a much stronger connection between me and Tamara. One negative that both her and Elica pointed out was that I pulled away from the mic too much causing me to be overpowered by Tamara at points. I tend to overthink whilst performing and worry about being too loud during the climaxes in the song and so I pull back so that the sound of my voice is not distorted, but from the feedback received it is clear that this is not an issue and so I will work on focusing completely on emoting rather than analysing whilst performing.

6 May, 2014: FMP Showcase

After cancelling a rehearsal yesterday due to bank holiday we along with all the other FMP groups were required to showcase our most and least rehearsed pieces to each other. With our event being based on a 'live lounge' theme and the majority of our instrumentalists being absent, the outcome for us was already looking to be painfully uninspiring. To make matters worse, it took us time to find a room to rehearse in.

Once we'd found a room, we decided on the two pieces to showcase, settling on the group piece "Golden Brown", which we'd rehearsed as a whole group numerous times and my solo (featuring Serena and Stefan) "Fire" which is a relatively new and late addition the set list. We rehearsed for the first time using the one of the instrumentals Kian and I recorded. I suggested we develop the performance with some movement and we implemented some swaying and synchronised clapping to make it more interesting for the audience as it is an upbeat song.

Me, Serena and Stefan then briefly ran through "Fire" and though the vocals all-round sounded fine, the simple choreography was not executed well which concerned me about showcasing it in front of the other groups, considering one group is putting on a dance show. My fears were put to rest when we received feedback for our performances which was mixed but not overtly negative or exceedingly positive. In the feedback for "Fire", the audience commented that the mistakes in the execution of the choreography was the giveaway that it was the least rehearsed performance and so I will be rehearsing this vigilantly with Serena and Stefan to ensure it is so well embedded in their memory that it's second nature to perform.

Today's session certainly highlighted areas for improvement on both songs. Though "Golden Brown" was much better rehearsed than "Fire", this wasn't reflected in the feedback which is of concern to me and signals that the standard of all the group peformances desperately needs to be raised if we want to put on a great show instead of a reasonable or mediocre one.

I do feel though that our performances could have been better had there been a room available for us to rehearse in. This would have given us valuable time to rehearse "Golden Brown" with mine and Kian's pre-recorded instrumental.

More positively, today we made progress in the marketing department despite Luke and Dylan's absence, thanks to Crystal; who travelled to the city centre of Milton Keynes to distribute physical copies of The Lounge poster I designed. I was unable to assist due to a rehearsal for the college's prestigious Student of the Year Awards, which I am performing in.

Whilst distributing the posters, Crystal received some great, positive feedback on the poster design from a stranger.

Here is Crystal's post in the group Facebook message explaining the story:

After such a wobbly start, this was a great morale booster and encouragement to keep striving for the best. It's also further evidence that my design is effective.

4 May, 2014: Recording EP of Group Songs Instrumentals

Kian, Dylan and Luke had mentioned their plans to go on holiday for a week from Monday 5 May, 2014 to Saturday 10 May, 2014. Concerned about how the week-long absence of 3 of the group's 4 instrumentalists only 2 weeks before the show date would impact rehearsals, I had suggested previously that Kian, Dylan and Luke record instrumental versions of the group songs so that we could still rehearse with their musical contributions despite them being away. They failed to this however, so I pressed Kian to come to my house to record his contributions.

Late Sunday evening after work and less than 24 hours before his flight, Kian came to my house with an eletric guitar of his, as he'd left a small amp there previously. Setting up to record proved a challenge as the highest surface I could find to place the amp on without disconnecting it from a power source was my desk. This proved problematic as the vibrations from the amp as the guitar was played transferred through the desk, distorting the sound that was recording through the microphone. To solve this, I used a large pillow to sit the amp on which stopped the audible vibrations, but the angle at which the amp was resting on was somewhat disconcerting.

We recorded methodically; Kian would record between 2 or 4 guitar parts which I would pan side by side at around 50% if there were two. In most of the songs where there were 3 seperate guitar recordings, I panned one 70% left, another directly center and the third 70% right. Kian would then record his vocal contribution which I panned directly in the center. I set a metronome so that the timing and rhythm would remain consistent throughout each song and Kian suggested that we play it loudly so that it's not only audible for him playing but also to those listening to the mixed tracks - as rhythm had been an issue for other group members in rehearsals on songs such as "Golden Brown" which has an irregular time signature for a popular song.

I applied a Hard Limiter, Graphic Equalizer and Reverb on each track individually to give the cleanest sound possible. On the master track of each recording I also applied the Mastering effect in Adobe Audition (the program I used to record and mix the EP) which amplified the overall sound of each song, making them sound louder but without clipping at any point.

Screenshot of the "Time Will Tell" recording; showing the 4 guitar tracks, a single vocal track and the effects used on one of the guitar tracks (click to enlarge):

Finally, I edited the ID3 tags of each track so that when the other group members download the EP and add it to iTunes for instance, the song name will show up in the designated spot, the artist will be shown as Kian Vaziri, the album FMP and the genre will also be accurate. This makes it considerably easier to find the tracks in one's music library as they are ordered and tagged like a proper EP release. I even designed some quick cover art lightheartedly from a picture I obtained from Kian's Facebook page; as group morale had been bruised by the announcement of the holiday.

The cover art I designed for the EP:

I then uploaded the EP to my Google Drive and shared a link to download the EP in the group Facebook message which all of the group use daily to communicate. Here is the download link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7J5dypzckmzZDhCeVM4ellKeTg/edit?usp=sharing

Despite the initial setbacks which prevented a clear recording of the guitar, I eventually managed to engineer an EP of high quality instrumentals which could be released if the metronome was not audible. Though a tiresome experience I realised just how good a sound I can create with limited equipment.

I feel these instrumentals will be a great and much needed aid in the rehearsal process while Kian, Dylan and Luke are away. The rest of the group can rehearse in group sessions with Kian despite him not being present but with the added conveniance of being able to pause, skip and repeat; plus the MP3 tracks can be transferred onto mobile devices as well as computers and CDs so the rest of the group can rehearse independently to them.

There is still a glaring downside and that is that the EP doesn't substitute for Kian, Dylan and Luke actually being present in rehearsal as they will still need to catch up on alterations that are made in their abscence. Another negative is we did not record "Kiss From a Rose" as Kian's musical contribution to the song is only vocal, so we will have to use a backing track to rehearse that as we did at the rehearsal that I housed, ironically.

2 May, 2014: Introduction of Choreography

Keen to speed up rehearsal progress and develop my performances, I brought in the instrumental that I used to perform "Fire" at the Talent Show fundraiser which features simple guitar accompaniment and backing vocals by myself, complete with counter melodies and harmonies. I retained the backing vocals as though I'd asked Serena and Stefan to accompany me on the sing by singing backing vocals, it would be impossible to replicate every single part I recorded.

I began choreographing by playing the instrumental repeatedly and improvising simple sways and steps which Serena and Stefan could replicate with ease. I settled with a combination of a lean and finger snaps/clicks for the intro and choruses whilst for the verses I choreographed a simple, variation of a right-left march but with the feet staying flat on the ground whilst the knees rise up and point forwards. The upper body should be free and led by the shoulders as it rocks from side to side as one alternates the movement of the legs. As the march gets repetitive in the verses, I developed it further by adding double time sections.

Here are the lyrics in my shortened arrangment of Michelle Williams' "Fire" - which does not contain the bridge, last chorus or outro of the original song - colour-coded with choreography pointers:

Key:

Choreography: Lean & Finger Snaps

Choreography: March & Sway

Choreography: March & Sway (Double Time)

Lyrics not used in my arrangement

Oh yeah
Oh yeah

They say anything that is worth it you must take it slow
They know when you come around ain't no choice but to grow
Listen for what you say when I lay down my head
I don't know no other way, but to let you have your way

And no it don't always feel good
But yet, it all works for my good
You say I can take the burn blazing deep inside

It's feels just like fire, fire caught up in my bones
Don't leave me alone, don't leave me alone
Oh my, my little light
I need to feel that heat come from your (fire)
Fire, fire caught up in my bones
Don't leave me alone, don't leave me alone
Just shine like stars in the night
We need to feel that heat come from your fire
 

Oh yeah
Oh yeah

 
Just like them boys Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Abednego)
I know when I come out the flames won't be smelling like smoke, oh no
Yup, that's just what you said, it went straight to my head
Remembering every day, to let you have your way

And no it don't always feel good
But yet, it all works for my good
You say I can take the burn blazing deep inside

It's feels just like fire, fire all up in my bones
Don't leave alone, don't leave me alone
Oh my, my little light
I need to feel that heat come from your (fire)
Fire, fire caught up in my bones
Don't leave me alone, don't leave me alone
Just shine like stars in the night
We need to feel that heat come from your fire

[Bridge:]
When your work is done, I'll be here shining bright
The pressure upon me, like diamonds in the sky
Turn into fire, I want to feel your fire
All over it fills me, Jesus you purify me
[Chorus: x3]
It's feels just like fire, fire caught up in my bones
Don't leave me alone, don't leave me alone
Oh my, my little light
I need to feel that heat come from your (fire)
Fire, fire caught up in my bones
Don't leave me alone, don't leave me alone
Just shine like stars in the night
We need to feel that heat come from your fire 

[Outro]

In place of the original song's bridge, the following series of repeated choruses and outro, the acoustic instrumental I found on YouTube (and edited) gradually fades out as I ad-lib to end the song.

Serena picked up the simple choreography instantly but Stefan (who has not studied dance previously as myself and Serena have) struggled with the synchronisation of his feet and his upper body on the marches and also the double time sections. By the end of the rehearsal he did manage to perform the choreography but was still inconsistent and looked awkward on the marches. This is something I'll work on with him as it is vital that everyone looks comfortable and at ease on stage with our theme and event title both being The Lounge.

Stefan was far more confident providing backing vocals however. Whilst Serena sang the lead vocal melody on the chorus (allowing me to ad-lib), Stefan competently improvised different harmonies throughout the rehearsal to see which worked best with no input from me whatsoever, which allowed me to focus on the visual side of the performance. 

I also lent time to Elica's solo performance of Emeli Sande's "Read All About It, Pt. III", giving her feedback after she performed it for the rest of the group. I commented that though it is evident that her nervous laughs are under control, she still needs to build her confidence and project her voice so it travels across the room and not get lost in the space or behind the instrumental track.

1 May, 2014: Promotional Videos by Serena and Me

In terms of rehearsal, we did not make much progress though we did run the group performance of "Kiss From a Rose" a few times before Kian had to leave due to work commitments.

After the poor overall effort from the group earlier in the week, to participate in and contribute to executing a promotional video to share on social media, I took the initiative to post my previously uploaded and shared studio cover of Michelle Williams' "Fire" - one of my solo performances in the show - to my personal Facebook and Twitter accounts. 

My Facebook post which details the venue, date and time of The Lounge, and links to the event page (where prospective audiences can RVSP), along with venue's, has received 14 'likes' and 3 'shares' - 2 of those shares being from Serena who shared my post on her personal account and also on The Lounge event page. 

Having encouraged the rest of the group to follow suit, Serena actually beat me to it by posting a clip of her rehearsing Erykah Badu's "Otherside of the Game" (which myself and Kian will be accompanying her on for the final performance) on Facebook - the same day I asked the group to post videos independently.

My Facbeook post

Serena's Facebook post

Serena's post was clearly the most successful and I really appreciate her haste in getting a video up, thus promoting the event - I just wish this enthusiasm was shared by the entire group.

29 April, 2014: First Group Visit to Venue

With everyone present we discussed our individual progress thus far with FMP coursework (blog and portfolio) before walking over to the venue which will house our event, Milton Keynes Christian Centre - which is conveniantly only seperated by a road, leading to a commute time of appoximately 5 minutes between college and the venue - for a 2:30 p.m. appointment set up by Serena.

Once at the venue we were introduced to Dale, a member of staff at the venue who I've met previously at one of the church's events. He escorted us to the Discovery Suite which we will be using, however, the room was already occupied so he could not give us a tour of the site, instead we viewed the room through the glass door, which gave us a reasonable of the size - which is fairly vast.

This was far from ideal as I hoped we'd get an opportunity to fully inspect and size the stage, view the space behind the curtains and the adjacent rooms such as the kitchen for possible storage and preparation locations (as we plan to bring food and PA equipment) before and during the final show.

In addition to this, I also would have liked to do a test of the projector by projecting at least a random image or the video montage I created for mine and Tamara's duet of "Say Something", to evaluate how well it projects and take notes on what works and what doesn't so that I can fully utilise and make the most of the equipment, ensuring the audience can fully view and appreciate the projected visuals. However, I had not brought in a means of playing the video (such as a laptop) - a failure on my part, but one which didn't impact on progress as we couldn't access the room regardless.

The first draft/preview of the video I intend to project for mine and Tamara's duet, "Say Something. For the performance, the audio in the video will be muted:

I did enquire about how one would go about projecting an image or video to which Dale verbally responded that the projector would simply connect to a laptop and project whatever was being displayed on the laptop. This was a big relief as I was concerned that I may need to operate software I was unfamiliar with, which could be time consuming to learn and take my attention and focus from marketing, promoting and rehearsing for the show itself.

Dale did also mention that unfortunately due to another event we won't be able to access the Discovery Suite until 2 hours before the show. This will cut it incredibly close. In order for the night to be a success we will need to devise a detailed plan of who will do what on the day as we not only need chairs set up; but PA equipment, the sofas on stage, purchase food and set up tables for it to be purchased from to name just a few of the tasks.

Back at college, we discussed our job roles and what progress had been made in each department. I brought up my concerns about the virtually non-existant marketing and promotion of the event - which is Dylan and Luke's job role, with my role in marketing actually being the group's Graphic Designer. With the event date drawing near, I proposed the idea of recording a promotional video - which I would produce/edit as graphic designer - to share via social media and send to local media such as The Citizen publication (which our college in addition to Kian and Dylan's band, the Silver Tongue Bandoliers have been featured in before) to build an online buzz thus contributing to the marketing of the final show.

My initial idea was to have a montage of rehearsal clips set to music recorded by us; such as a studio recording of one of the group songs. This would allow us to record the audio and video seperately, splitting the workload, vastly improving sound quality and also creating a much more interesting video than a simple video recording of us singing one of the songs. I was particularly apprehensive about the latter approach considering how uninterested and unappealing everyone appeared to be during the rehearsals I filmed at my house on April 21, 2014, so I thought such a video could wait until we had worked harder on the visual aspects of our performance; such as body language, gestures, eye line, use of the stage and choreography.

A group video posted to our event page and shared by our individual social media pages could potentially be seen by the thousands of friends and followers we have collectively. Also, if all 9 of us shared the same video on Facebook (thus making it more popular), it would likely result in it appearing at the top of our Facebook friends' news feeds making it much more visible and increasing the likelihood of it being watched by many people.

Myself and Luke arranged for the group to use the college music studio from 4:30 p.m.to 5 p.m. to record audio which would play throughout the video, by liasing with our tutors. I then arranged for the group to meet at 4 p.m. to rehearse "Kiss From a Rose", which we decided as a group would be the best choice for the video as it truly personified 'The Lounge' theme and is one of the most popular group songs, having peaked at #4 on the UK Singles Chart in 1995; the most popular being The Stranglers' "Golden Brown" which peaked at #2, twelve years prior.

This rehearsal was essential as we had such a short window of time to get into the studio, set up the instruments and equipment and then record (mixing would have to be done later). By 4:15 p.m. virtually half the group was present; myself, Serena, Tamara, Elica and Luke (the only instrumentalist at this point). Dylan arrived shortly after this time but by 4:30 p.m. Crystal, Kian and Stefan were all still missing which I found incredibly frustrating, especially since Luke and Dylan (both instrumentalists) were not present at the last rehearsal in which we finished the vocal arrangement for "Kiss From a Rose" and so the rehearsal time which I allocated was absolutely vital in ensuring we had a rehearsed performance which we could record to not only a releasable standard but at a level which would entice audiences in very few takes.

Without a rehearsal, I decided I would no longer produce a promotional video on behalf of the group. I was very dissapointed that the entire group could not congregate for an hour and focus solely on rehearsing and recording "Kiss From a Rose" in the college studio - a recording which I would have mixed. Without a group recording, it seemed pointless to me to waste further time recording video clips of the entire group rehearsing if they were not present on the audio of the video - The Lounge is after all going to be a music show and thus the music should be the most critical element of a promotional video for it, especially considering the calibre of talent in the group.

Instead of the non-existant group video, I will share my studio cover of Michelle Williams' "Fire" which I posted in an earlier blog and/or record a live clip or snippet of me rehearsing the song and share it. I encouraged the rest of the group to do the same, so that combined we may come close to or match the impact that a group promotional video possibly would have made.

20-28 April, 2014: 'The Lounge' Poster and "Givin' Em What They Love"

20-27 April, 2014: The Lounge Poster
On April 20, 2014, keen to start designing the poster for The Lounge with the show date less than a month away, I messaged the entire group attatching a document with all of the varying poster designs I've annotated for my portfolio without any notes so they can simply tell me the page numbers of their favourite designs in the very least (as there is one poster per page) and also lend any other feedback or comments about the posters.

This would give me a starting point from which to design our poster with elements from the most popular posters within the group. However, it was - as expected - annoyingly difficult to get the group to complete the simplest of tasks and I had to ask numerous times, the last time being the 22 April, 2014.

Here are the responses I did get (3 of the 8 other people in the group):

On 27 April, 2014 I designed The Lounge poster using Corel Paint Shop Pro. I started with the concept of a sofa being central - as shown in the first of my research examples in my portfolio.

This is the sofa I initially began removing the background from as its original background did not exude the coolness that I wanted for our poster. Also, the clear daylight through the window would look out of place on a poster for an evening event and the original image itself was not long enough to fill an A4 sheet of paper - which is the size we'll be printing on.

Even after the arduous process of cleanly removing the background, I was not content with the choice of sofa and thought it was more appropriate for a Women's Institute tea party than a student-produced show titled The Lounge.

So I went in search of another image and settled on this:

The image's white background was easy to remove despite the reflection and shadow effects, plus I felt the dark, brown leather exuded the class and coolness that I was after.

I then found a high resolution image of a textured grey background with rich wood flooring, which I  added the background-free sofa too and then the text to create the first draft of the poster (click to enlarge):

Though the title of the event is very clear along with the date, time and venue, after sharing the draft in the group Facebook message, we soon realised that I had forgotten to add the ticket price or any info on them at all; which may have led many to believe the event was free, which would have been disastrous if we had an audience that turned up not expecting to pay anything.

I swiftly added ticket info and also made a few cosmetic changes which I think made a great difference and finished the design.

The final poster design for The Lounge (click to enlarge):

While I am very proud of the final design, I do wish I had started the process of getting group feedback sooner so that I could have completed the design sooner and thus leave more time to use it to promote the event.

I was really pleased and flattered by the feedback I received from prospective audience members who were enticed to seek further info on the show after seeing me post the poster on Facebook.

Here is some of that feedback:

The positive response to the poster was confirmation for me that the design is a successful one, putting me one step closer to effectively fulfilling my role as the Graphic Designer of the group. Though I shared the poster design on social media, I plan on printing the posters in the next few days  at my parent's house as my printer is not set up. They also have a laminator which I'll use to protect the posters from being damaged and becoming illegible.

28 April, 2014: "Givin' Em What They Love"
I arrived at 14:00 to find Kian and Crystal waiting, Serena arrived 11 minutes later and Elica soon after that. Stefan arrived around 15:00 and after discussing the general progress of rehearsals and planning of the show - which I feel is much slower than it should be due to poor attendance, motivation and focus from a few group members - we began focusing on solos.

Me and Kian began rehearsing Janelle Monae's "Givin' Em What They Love", which she performs with Prince - Kian's all-time favourite performer.

Janelle Monáe (feat. Prince) "Givin' Em What They Love" (from The Electric Lady)

I sang Janelle's verse and the first chorus an octave lower than she does on the original studio recording. Kian harmonises above me on the first chorus and then sing's Prince's verse in the same octave before dropping down an octave. I then come in with the second chorus but singing in the same octave Janelle does on the studio recording and Kian harmonises below me. We thought we'd arrange the song this way to build up interest and tension rather than start full out and have to maintain that level of audience interest throughout the performance.

We did not get onto the bridge but the song is a personal favourite of mine and Kian so I have full faith that we'll both rehearse the song independently so that when we rehearse it next we can cover all of it and begin working on the performance aspects of our performance as the show date is drawing ever closer and we need to speed up rehearsal progress.

Also, I need to rehearse singing in Janelle's octave as though I am fully capable of singing the notes, the fear of failing is preventing me from going for it in rehearsals and if I can't belt fearlessly in rehearsals then how will I do so in a live show?