tag:www.dannygruff.com,2005:/blogs/album-update-1?p=1Album Update #1 2019-05-10T22:14:24+01:00Danny Grufffalsetag:www.dannygruff.com,2005:Post/49971652017-12-28T18:24:44+00:002020-08-02T08:01:06+01:00Goodbye 2017<p style="text-align: center;">As 2017 draws to an end, I want to reflect back on the year that has probably been the most important of my musical career. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">I write this blog as more of a self assessment than boasting, but it’s been a pretty spectacular year for me musically, and also a year that almost ended my career. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">In January, I was finishing off my debut album in Leeds and it was going as well as it could’ve. Andy was great to work with and I made my imprint in the studio sofa, sat there in awe of what Andy was doing to my songs. However, when I was called up to sing on one day, something was wrong. Over Christmas 2016, my voice completely went. I struggled through 25 gigs that month with the help of every vocal enhancing gadget and tea bag you can imagine. It was horrible, but at some points, behind me on stage were more pills, pastilles, hot tea, lemon and honeys than there should’ve been. Before recording my album, I took a week long break to recover and it seemed to have done the trick. We managed to record everything just about, but it taken way longer than it should’ve because of my voice. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/0ea504ae8fb5bc67adccc3a65d9208bc6961a98a/medium/15025216-923901334409391-1310199598915957236-o.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Recording the Album</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">We finished tracking the album in January and I went back to my job of singing at bars/pubs/weddings but my voice still wasn’t right. I ended up biting the bullet and going to see a Doctor. I hate going to see the Doctor because more often than not, it’s bad news. Lo and behold, it was bad news. I got told I have vocal nodules, which is pretty much every singers nightmare. Since that moment, I’ve done everything in my power to dissolve these modules back into the muscle (this was option 2 after surgery, which didn’t really appeal to me *google Julie Andrews*). I’m happy to say that my voice is now up to the point it was circa June 2016, when I thought it was the strongest it’s ever been. I had to learn to not take so much on and had to start exercising….physically and vocally. I go for a check up next month to look at the state of the nodules but I have high hopes. I’m not worried though, Freddie Mercury had nodules…..actually, maybe that’s what killed him? </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/73cb12bd6879949c4880a48f9d67e3697fbeffcf/medium/screen-shot-2017-02-22-at-20-41-35.png" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Me Steaming and Drinking Tea before a gig</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Aside from that ‘minor’ setback, I powered on and released my debut album and the feedback has been incredible. Some radio stations actually played it, while some continued to ignore me(thanks BBC introducing…), but most importantly of all, it was listened to. At this point of writing, it’s had 270 000 individual track streams (Comfortable is nearly at 100k on Spotify) and I’ve managed to shift a few of the CD’s I made (I mean, who buys CD’s anymore?).</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> <img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/03ff400b3467e4b98e49c3c13f967f2648577a76/medium/danny-gruff-album-cover-awal.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /><em>Album Artwork by Josh Elms</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">One of my favourite things to do as a musician is touring, and I’ve been on 3 tours this year. The first was around Europe before the album came out. This was the first time I was playing the new songs and it was great. I met so many nice people and alas, fell in love with Italy, Switzerland, France, Germany and had a panic attack in Amsterdam. I’d love to be able to do this again, and hopefully the Swiss police won’t fine me next time. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/5898cb80b1a67adbcc019f277c07dc38a65ebb18/medium/img-4225.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /><em>This building was opposite the leaning tower in Pisa</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">The second tour was to promote my album in the UK. It was a relatively small tour, but it was my biggest headline tour to date. A month before the tour, 3 of the dates were already sold out, another 2 closely followed and other 2 were just as amazing. I got to have Candle Thieves and Dave Giles support me, which is always a nice day out. I didn’t drink alcohol or eat chocolate on the lead up to this tour, maybe that was the key to its success, the hunger….the literal hunger. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/9c99db6a0475c828bcaeac9b1d1b323aeeaa0dff/medium/20286891-10209496527066967-6410208612613326762-o.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>On Stage in a sold out show at The Castle, Manchester (Photo by Pamela Hardcastle)</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">The third and final tour was with a band (ish). I did 2 dates with a band and 2 on my own, one of the band shows was my biggest headline show ever and of course found it’s way into top 5 favourite shows I’ve ever done. Thanks to Jac, Tom and Nick for making me sound good. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/b105f8ff0f096b8c0864fcac46c3c0e7ceeaa293/medium/22538838-10210030062725025-4731635007438962756-o.jpg" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>On Stage at Camden Assembly (Photo by Pamela Hardcastle)</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">These were all part of my New Years Resolutions last year. I also wanted to book a flight to Nashville, which I didn’t do. But my friend Dave Giles did raise over 20k to record him album there, which is pretty much the same thing. I also planned to learn Piano, which I’ve planned to do for about 5 years and still haven’t managed it. My problem is, is that I assume it will be easy. It turns out, it’s quite hard. I have wrote out my goals for 2018, but as my friend once told me, never tell any one your goals, so I won’t. Which makes the end of this blog quite the anti climax, but then again so was the TV show ‘Lost’, and people fucking loved that show.</p>Danny Grufftag:www.dannygruff.com,2005:Post/48623982017-09-23T12:17:39+01:002020-06-30T12:32:48+01:00October Support Acts<p>The 4 gigs in October are approaching, and I’ve now confirmed all the support acts, how exciting! I wanted to play with people that I’ve never played with before. This is a blog just to talk about them a little bit and to try and convince you to come and see me. I’m so excited to get out and play again. Even more so for Manchester and London where I play with a band. The band are sounding great as well. But anyways, where was I? O yeah, supports….. </p>
<p><a contents="1st October, Wrexham, UnDegUn&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.wegottickets.com/event/410370" target="_blank">1st October, Wrexham, UnDegUn </a></p>
<p>Supports: <a contents="Joseph McCorriston" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://joemccorriston.com/" target="_blank">Joseph McCorriston</a> and <a contents="Jamie Jay" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/jamiejaymusic/?pnref=lhc" target="_blank">Jamie Jay</a> </p>
<p>The first night of this tour is the return to my hometown of Wrexham. The venue is an arts space, which used to be JJB sport. I played there a few years for ‘<a contents="Focus Wales’" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.focuswales.com/" target="_blank">Focus Wales’</a>, a lovely festival based in Wrexham that you should check out. First on this night will be my mate Jamie Jay. I’ve known Jamie for many years now. We were on the same pub circuit when we both lived in North Wales. I remember playing around Llangollen, and people saying ‘You should check Jamie Thomas, his voice is incredible’. I then met him, at one of my gigs I think. He moved to London for a bit and we were both residents at Proud in Camden. He’s a great lad and his voice is something you have to hear. </p>
<p>Second up will Joseph McCorriston. It’s really strange that I’ve never actually met this guy. He’s toured with <a contents="Dave Giles " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.davejgiles.com/" target="_blank">Dave Giles </a>a bit, but for whatever reason, I wasn’t able to make that tour. When Dave returned from his tour with Joe, he said ‘You’d love Joe, you’d get on so well, he likes <a contents="McFly" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.mcfly.com/" target="_blank">McFly</a>’. That’s enough for me to get on board with someone. Joe released his album <a contents="‘The Party We Came For’" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://joemccorriston.bandcamp.com/album/the-party-we-came-for">‘The Party We Came For’</a> last year and it’s great. He tours pretty much constantly and I love that about him. Don’t be surprised if we end up doing a McFly cover on the night, I’m already planning it. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="GTJrDJffmVE" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/GTJrDJffmVE/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GTJrDJffmVE?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p><a contents="8th October, Manchester, AATMA" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.wegottickets.com/event/410372" target="_blank">8th October, Manchester, AATMA</a> </p>
<p>The second night of the tour will take place precisely 7 days later in a new venue for me. It’s called AATMA, and it’s in the Northern Quarter, around the corner from <a contents="The Castle" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://thecastlehotel.info/" target="_blank">The Castle</a> and <a contents="Gullivers." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://gulliversnq.info/" target="_blank">Gullivers.</a> This night is also the first time anyone will see me play with the brand new band. First up this night, will be local boy(ish) <a contents="‘Arms and Hearts’" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://armsandhearts.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">‘Arms and Hearts’</a>. I was sitting at my computer one day replying to emails and doing what can only be described as ‘Painfully boring admin’, and I put a tweet out asking about new music to listen to. My friend Steve (I like to think we’re friends, I’ve met his missus, that makes us friends right?) replied with a link to Arms and Hearts. It took me approximately 10 seconds to fall in love with it. He sounds like Gaslight Anthem crossed with Tom Joad era Springsteen. What’s not to love? </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="XgJ_ReeSD7U" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/XgJ_ReeSD7U/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XgJ_ReeSD7U?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p>Second on the night will be <a contents="Scribble Victory." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.scribblevictory.com/" target="_blank">Scribble Victory.</a> When I played Bodega in Nottingham a couple of years ago, these guys were opening up. I completely fell in love with their stage craft. It was just the two of them on stage harmonising like their lives depended on it. The drum set up is a beauty to behold as well. If you’ve ever seen <a contents="MckNasty," data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://twitter.com/MckNastyMusic?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" target="_blank">MckNasty,</a> the drummer reminds of him a little. It’s so good. Think <a contents="Dashboard Confessional" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.dashboardconfessional.com/" target="_blank">Dashboard Confessional</a> crossed with <a contents="Modern Baseball." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.modernbaseballpa.com/" target="_blank">Modern Baseball.</a> So excited to have these guys on the bill. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="k_lLfDRKCks" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/k_lLfDRKCks/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/k_lLfDRKCks?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p><a contents="15th October, London, Camden Assembly&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.ticketweb.uk/event/danny-gruff-the-camden-assembly-tickets/7502255?pl=camdenassembly" target="_blank">15th October, London, Camden Assembly </a></p>
<p>The third night of this tour is my biggest headline show ever, in that it’s the biggest venue that my name has been on top of the bill. It’s at <a contents="Camden Assembly," data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://camdenassembly.com/" target="_blank">Camden Assembly,</a> previously the Barfly. I played my first ever London gig in Camden Barfly in 2010, and 7 years later, BAM, I’m headlining. You can’t deny that progress *insert sarcastic emoji here*. Opening the night will be London based duo <a contents="‘Croft and Cotes’." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.croftandcotes.com/" target="_blank">‘Croft and Cotes’.</a> I got an email a few months off these asking to support. When I opened the music link they sent, I loved it. It was for their latest single ‘Why I’m Here’, it’s folky pop little number. I love it. Can’t wait to see what these guys bring to the table live. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="07OW5SjqNIs" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/07OW5SjqNIs/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/07OW5SjqNIs?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p>Second on the night will be my good friend <a contents="Tom Dibb." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.tomdibb.com/" target="_blank">Tom Dibb.</a> I met Tom a few years when I moved to London as he was a resident tea drinker and shower taker at the house I moved into. A few years ago, Tom decided that the conventional way of living was not for him and decided to live in<a contents=" his VW Camper Van" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.tomdibb.com/" target="_blank"> his VW Camper Van</a>. He’s a regular on the VW festival circuit around the UK. O yeah, one minor little thing he did as well…HE DROVE TO AUSTRALIA!!! Tom has literally just got back from his trip to Australia. He drove down (through as many roads as he could) to Australia and played to any one and everyone along the way. He’s an inspiration and a lovely fella. He’s got a new album out soon, check out his latest <a contents="single here.&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArTwRqRgEjs" target="_blank">single here. </a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="ArTwRqRgEjs" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/ArTwRqRgEjs/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ArTwRqRgEjs?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a contents="29th October, Leeds, Verve&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.wegottickets.com/event/410297" target="_blank">29th October, Leeds, Verve </a></p>
<p>The final night of this tour takes place in the<a contents=" Verve. " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://verveleeds.co.uk/" target="_blank"> Verve. </a>This is the fourth time I’ve played here and I love it. Its booked through Mick a<a contents="t Double Denim Live, " data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.double-denim-live.co.uk/">t Double Denim Live, </a>who is one of the good guys. It’s a tiny little venue in the city centre and is always a great atmosphere in there. Tickets are nearly sold out for this one as well. Supports for this night are Arms and Hearts (see above) and Iona Lane. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="LtjAyt_t_94" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/LtjAyt_t_94/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LtjAyt_t_94?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p>I put a post out a week ago asking for local supports in Leeds and was recommended Iona. She’s studying in the university I went to, but a far more interesting course. I was sent her latest <a contents="EP, ‘Pockets’" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://open.spotify.com/album/6Jt7CXWHrzPw2oeusoVWGX" target="_blank">EP, ‘Pockets’</a> and I loved it! I’m very excited to see Iona on this night, I’ll definitely learn a thing or two. </p>
<p>There you have it, all my supports for the tour in October. I can’t wait! Head over to my <a contents="‘Shows’ " data-link-label="Shows" data-link-type="page" href="/shows" target="_blank">‘Shows’ </a>page to get your tickets now! I’ll see you there.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/8f588e2f684d72f9ab1d4d3e6422b796536d041d/medium/all-supports-october2.jpg?1506165658" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>Danny Grufftag:www.dannygruff.com,2005:Post/48371672017-09-04T22:02:34+01:002020-07-17T07:03:02+01:00The Band<p>I realise it’s been a while since I blogged. I should’ve blogged about my album, or the tour I did in July. I probably should’ve even blogged the final part of my European Journey, I will get round to that though, Germany was incredible. However, for now, this is a blog about a very big thing to do with my upcoming dates in October. After years of playing solo, I’ve decided to do a few gigs with a band again. When I lived in Wrexham, I put a band together and we played together for a couple of years, this band was called The Peacemakers. Since I moved to London, I’ve been doing things solo, as it costs a lot to bring a band down from Wrexham. Until now…I have got together a few uber talented friends and we’ll be doing a couple of shows together in October. </p>
<p>People have been saying for a while that I should get a band, mainly because I always record as a band, so I suppose people are used to hearing these big arrangements. As much as I’ve tried to recreate and rearrange the tracks for just my self and a guitar (and a few other toys), getting a band together is a completely different ball game. Let me introduce you to the members of the band: </p>
<p><strong>Drums: <em>Tom Shepherd </em></strong></p>
<p>Tom is the drummer out of my function band, In Session. He joined the band at a similar time to me and we got on like a house on fire ever since. Tom is one of those musicians, who have a ridiculously good musical ear. Working as musical director on Cruises for years means that he can bring that extra sparkle to the band when it comes to arranging. Not only that, he is a great drummer and ridiculously versatile. Tom also plays in a band called ‘Bond Street’ who do like 50’s style arrangements of modern songs. Check them out here. He also played in ‘For Apollo’ with Nick. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="6AjDWoXDFqI" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/6AjDWoXDFqI/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6AjDWoXDFqI?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Bond Street</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/31f6310e0ccad07ccb728d759262e75262e53767/medium/13064548-1011486352233058-9118475130407951118-o.jpg?1504558892" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>In Session</em></p>
<p><strong>Bass Guitar:<em> Nick Kent </em></strong></p>
<p>What can I say about Nick Kent? I’ve known Nick for around 6 years now. We’ve lived together for just over 3 years. He is one of the people that forced me to move down to London. When I first moved to London, he was the one person to motivated me the most to go out and get work. This was because I spent most of my days on the sofa being hungover and watching rubbish TV. He’s always been there for me to lend a helping when I need it. During my ONTAW project, he borrowed me his really nice bass guitar almost every week. He also filmed a few of the videos, and featured in a couple….most notably ‘Blank Page’. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="X-8A5Q7JSto" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/X-8A5Q7JSto/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/X-8A5Q7JSto?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Blank Page</em></p>
<p>Nick studied Bass guitar at degree level, during which time he joined a band called ‘TAT” and toured the world as a blue haired punk with a mohican and neck muscles of a greek god. During his spell with TAT, he’s opened for acts such as Alice Cooper, NOFX, The Used, Me First and the Gimme Gimme’s, Bad Religion as well as doing a few Warped Tours. Since then, he’s been dabbling in bits and bobs, like playing Bass for the American Idiot UK theatre tour and most notably playing for Dave Giles, which he often describes as his proudest moment as a musician.* </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="E1C9N7z5sPc" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/E1C9N7z5sPc/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/E1C9N7z5sPc?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Tat</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/6baa4491996a83cc2fffb58d256e28342df2a8fb/medium/12378046-10153257945686700-1794364667972579868-o.jpg?1504558891" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></em></p>
<p>As well as that, he’s an awesome photographer and most of pictures you see of me were taken by him. He is mastermind between the swiss roll picture, which he describes as ‘A Modern Day Mona Lisa’. He also directed/filmed/edited the music video for ‘Comfortable’. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="Ym4K3kmvM0k" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/Ym4K3kmvM0k/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ym4K3kmvM0k?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Comfortable</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/fe9917744562f9f58c063c7e2fb356e975e9b7d1/medium/10869404-10205869291957190-6016517681866331940-o.jpg?1504558892" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></em></p>
<p><strong>Electric Guitar:<em> Jac Roberts </em></strong></p>
<p>I’ve known Jac the longest out of anyone in the band as he is a fellow Wrexham lad. I first met Jac circa 2006/2007 I reckon? The first band that I sang in, needed a guitarist and he was one of few people that replied to the advert. He joined the band, which was called ‘The Rigbys’ and it was one of the most fun musical ventures I’ve ever had. We were together a few years and played some awesome gigs, some of which included supporting The Subways and Nine Black Alps. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="oEy6fVuLjfk" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/oEy6fVuLjfk/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oEy6fVuLjfk?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>The Rigbys</em></p>
<p>After The Rigbys, Jac went on to play guitar for various projects while studying at Cheltenham. Jac had a fair level of success with his band ‘Deaf Club’ who played some pretty big shows including Koko in Camden and also SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/54af84f8ad79332722c5dea6d53e2c0650216144/medium/1930291-19399394276-3696-n.jpg?1504558891" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/459faaffaead57c456903b7b1b1a4f785fc9fed8/medium/59196-1619882622067-6814496-n.jpg?1504558891" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>So, there’s my band. I’m so excited to play these shows with these guys and play the songs louder than ever. I’ll be playing Manchester on 8th October and London on 15th October with the band. Here’s where you can get tickets: </p>
<p>Manchester: <a contents="http://www.wegottickets.com/event/410372&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.wegottickets.com/event/410372" target="_blank">http://www.wegottickets.com/event/410372 </a></p>
<p>London: <a contents="https://www.ticketweb.uk/event/danny-gruff-the-camden-assembly-tickets/7502255?pl=camdenassembly&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.ticketweb.uk/event/danny-gruff-the-camden-assembly-tickets/7502255?pl=camdenassembly" target="_blank">https://www.ticketweb.uk/event/danny-gruff-the-camden-assembly-tickets/7502255?pl=camdenassembly </a></p>
<p>Hope to see you there! </p>
<p>Danny</p>Danny Grufftag:www.dannygruff.com,2005:Post/46876262017-04-27T18:38:43+01:002020-06-30T12:33:06+01:00European Tour Blog Pt.3 <p style="text-align: justify;">Let’s pick up where I left off on the last blog. Dave and I woke up in the aforementioned ‘Lovely House’ in Milan and decided to make our way to Pisa. In my life, I had learned two things about Pisa. 1. They have a tower that is falling over and 2. It kind of sounds a little bit like Pizza. I love Pizza and can’t resist a trip to a landmark so off we went. The town itself was gorgeous, walking around Pisa was where my love for Italy started to take hold. We visited the leaning tower and it was as expected…leaning. Throughout the trip, I planned to get Naomi a snow globe from each place we visited. It’s a thing we started a while back and I like it. My Nan has a collection of bells, which people have bought her from their travels. I felt the snow globe thing was a tradition like that. Finding a snow globe was not an issue at all, in fact, you could buy pretty much anything with a wonky tower in it or on it. The tower was beautiful, however, the buildings around it were also stunning and I felt sorry for them. The leaning tower was a little bit like Gary Barlow (chiselled, handsome, great singer……I’m losing the metaphor), and the buildings around it were like Howard Donald and Jason Orange (under appreciated).</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/e87ad0fa983a03a14bb87a8704c0bcf6b2d64368/medium/img-4230.jpg?1493314272" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/5898cb80b1a67adbcc019f277c07dc38a65ebb18/medium/img-4225.jpg?1493314269" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Top: Gary Barlow<br>Bottom: Jason Orange</em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><br>That wasn’t where the beauty ended, we walked into the town, where we surrounded ourselves with stunning architecture and quaint shops. Next on the list to do was get a pizza. Dave’s girlfriend, Faye, did some research for us and we found a place where we could order a Pizza that was a metre long. It turns out, that is somewhat of a novelty. When Dave and I received our pizza, the onlookers were baffled and I can only assume to be impressed. We made light work of that and marched off to H and M to buy clothes for the wedding the day after. I know what you’re thinking….”Danny, you’re in Italy and you still shop at H and M”. Yes, yes I do. Other clothes shops scare me and I knows what I like. The building was an old bank and it was stunning. Marble floors, stone pillars and majestic artwork. Coincidentally, the only other shoppers we spoke to in there were British. They were probably in the same boat as us. After that, we visited a Gelato shop and I had a Gelato and an espresso. The lady who owned the place put Olive Oil on my Gelato, which solidified my theory that Italians put Olive Oil on everything…..except she was originally from Northampton. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/5403977a356a1538aeab33ced90224ffe4bed668/medium/2017-04-13-14-12-33.jpg?1493314265" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Impressive</em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">After that, we headed up to Volterra, where we would be playing a wedding the day after for the future Mr and Mrs Brown. They invited us to the Villa for drinks and food the night before. It was a great opportunity to meet the guests and to soak up more of Tuscany’s beauty. We had a few drinks, ate some pizza, tried to make the wedding guests laugh and took part in a quiz. I was on a quiz team with the groom’s mother and the bride’s mother, so I was on my best behaviour. Saying that, I still managed to slip in a ‘That’s what she said’ joke before we left them to sleep before the big day. It’s the little victories. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/80ed190c19cd8281ce47cf05963f5c798666741e/medium/img-4228.jpg?1493314266" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>H and M's finest</em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">We woke up on the day of the wedding and the weather was stunning. We didn’t have to be at the villa until 2pm so we headed off into Volterra town. Considering it was in the middle of the mountain, I wasn’t expecting much. I couldn’t be more wrong. It was equally as beautiful, if not more beautiful, than Pisa. The views from the suburbs of the town were stunning and again, the architecture was amazing. We took a walk around and got ourselves a local cuisine of Pasta and Bruschetta. It was at this point where Dave and I coined the phrase, ‘Take Me Home’. We would look over the Tuscany hills and say ‘Take Me Home’. We would take a bite of the best Pasta available to man kind and say, ‘Take Me Home’….you get the gist. After some food, we headed to the Villa to set up and get ready to play.<br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/622f83bddc73d0f8835bdf6cf74fe1ac5711525c/medium/img-4229.jpg?1493314271" class="size_m justify_center border_" /><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/837ecbdd773884f2f67e715d9d65e736bcec4291/medium/img-4232.jpg?1493314283" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Top: Take Me Home<br>Bottom: Take Me Home</em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><br>We had two slots to play, one at the ceremony where they would say their vows and one at night. This left us with approximately 6 hours off. We played ‘Here Comes The Sun’ and ‘I’m Yours’ at the ceremony, and from that we knew that the day would be great. The guests were all super friendly and welcoming. The weather was stunning and the surroundings were perfect. Because of this, we decided to play a few songs in the background while they were having afternoon drinks, instead of us sitting in a room trying to make conversation with each other. Dave played 45 minutes on his own and then I was to play 45 minutes on my own. By the time I was playing, I think that their Prosecco had kicked in and the guests were ready to hit me with ridiculous requests. I opened up with ‘Tribute’ by Tenacious D. After this, someone requested ‘Sorry’s not good enough’ by McFly, which of course I knew. This lead me to perform a full history of McFly. I’m still not sure why. The day carried on in the same vain and Mr and Mrs Brown said to us, ‘help yourself to anything’, which meant ‘FREE BAR’ to me. I haven’t been drinking alcohol lately because of worries about my voice, however, ‘I was on my holidays’. Dave and I ended up playing 3 and a half hours straight at night. They never stopped dancing once, it was so much fun. Definitely one of the highlights of my wedding singer life. If you are reading this and you were at that wedding, thanks so much. Everyone there made the day incredible. Most of all, thanks to Sam and Charlie. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/c3b4502eba2d0b9453301a411a4138971e7db7b7/medium/img-4231.jpg?1493314278" class="size_m justify_center border_" /><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/d4be60fc5b9d5ed031f4d257a0e417cfeef9bd89/medium/17991544-10154349302060880-2120045103328475593-o.jpg?1493314262" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Top: Take Me Home<br>Bottom: At the wedding (photo by <a contents="RobWestPhotography.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/robwestpix">RobWestPhotography.com</a> Lovely guy)</em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">As we got into bed around 2am, Dave said we were to be up 6:30am to drive to Munich. I knew a hangover was coming, but it was worth it. Part 4 of the European Tour Diary coming soon! </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">As a side note, Album pre order should be up next week. Tickets for the tour are still flying. Get yours now!</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/1ca84b51f6ba349835947b36c94072bdbf323e80/original/18118747-1367304313307330-3719981293857172469-n.jpg?1493314715" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>Danny Grufftag:www.dannygruff.com,2005:Post/46748772017-04-18T10:37:01+01:002020-06-05T05:15:52+01:00European Tour Blog Pt.2<p style="text-align: justify;">Before I start this blog, I do want to point out something that’s kind of been on my brain. One of the reasons I’m doing these blogs is because it will help me remember these experiences when I look back in the future. It’s hard to know how far you’ve come, without looking where you’ve been. Hopefully I’ll look back at these blogs in my mansion in Chiswick in 10 years time and laugh about the time that I thought I was going to get killed by an owl in 2017. Read on to know more. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/2b9e8d6b845141283c59a21e0cf8d9f6de927cbb/medium/img-3886.jpg?1492507831" class="size_m justify_left border_" />We left off the last blog when I was in a forest in France. We were in Osenbach, surrounded by this awesome scenery. I drank a little bit of red wine and started writing a song. The song itself was called ‘Skin and Bones’, don’t know if it will ever be heard by any one else but it was nice to be writing again. I’ve started getting really inspired on this trip. Using your brain is hungry work so we asked the camp site owner where we could grab some food and maybe a bite to eat. He told us of a Restaurant in the next town along, which was 3km away. I couldn’t drive, because of the wine and I thought Dave deserved a drink so we walked. The weather was OK but it was getting colder an the sun was starting to go down. We walked down a big hill through a forest like area, and we still had only travelled 1km. It was at this point, we realised how far away it was. 2km later, hungry, thirsty, tired, we arrived…..and it was shut. Raphael (camp site owner) has sold us down the river! We couldn’t believe it. At this point, the sun had gone down and the weather had took a turn. The beautiful forest like area was now pitch black and silent. I’m pretty sure that I’ve seen horror films that start like that. We survived and went back to the camp site and ate cereal bars. It was around about 3am, when I realised sleeping in a camp in April was a bad idea. I ended up sharing a duvet with Dave for fear of death from the cold. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The next morning, hungry and cold, we headed to Switzerland, Bern to be precise. Here, we would meet up with our friends Anni and Nathalie, who collectively make a wonderful duo called Van Bloom. This was for our 3rd gig of the tour in a place called The Piazza Bar. We first went to a place to grab some food, and apparently this place is lawless. It was a little but surreal, but to its credit, the Graffiti was amazing and the food was a delight. The food was pricey but I suppose they can get away with daylight robbery. They also had implemented a system, which I believe should be brought to the UK. They had a centre, where drug addicts can go to legally get drugs for their fix, and take them in a clean and safe environment with professionals surrounding and assisting them. I asked a few people about this to get their opinion and they said it certainly helped lowering the crime rate. I liked that. We took a little stroll and headed to the venue for the gig. <img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/1b96a8ad944e07536bbf8cdb049c97cffd77e7fb/medium/img-3887.jpg?1492507876" class="size_m justify_right border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">It was a lovely little bar, just around the corner from the centre. The only people that we knew in Bern were Van Bloom and without them, we probably would’ve played to an empty room. They brought loads of their friends along who all made us feel at home. I started off by learning a bit of Swiss. I could blag my way through a 10 second conversation, which is better than being silent I suppose. We weren’t getting paid for the gig, we were doing a ‘here’s a hat, put money in it if you liked us’ job. Since we done the ‘Pay What You Want’ tour in October, our attitudes towards paid gigs has somewhat changed. Van Bloom went on first and were great. Here’s a tip for the future for musicians…don’t have a support act who are better than you and bring all the crowd. It didn’t half make me nervous, they were great and it’s a massive shame they don’t play together more often. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/d91a418524a89635c3ac8022a73121cdbf9d1331/small/img-3890.jpg?1492507961" class="size_s justify_left border_" />The thing with Van Bloom, was that they had the lingo on their side. They could speak Swiss, Dave and I however, not so much. So before Dave started, I suppose we were both a little nervous of how it would translate. Some of our songs are a little wordy, so we tried to tailor it. Luckily, the crowd were awesome and welcomed us both with loving arms. I even managed to get a swiss sing along for the new song, ‘We Got This’. Afterwards, we drank with the locals until closing time. At closing time, the bar staff insisted that we all had a shot with them and eat the remaining pastries that they sold, not a problem. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">After we left the bar, we were treated to a walk around the town with some of the locals who were at the gig. It was beautiful. We were shown a statue of a man eating a baby, which apparently used folklore to make kids behave when they were younger. There was Einstein’s house. The city hall was beautiful. We then found a late night and had a couple of beers and returned home. The next morning, we got up earlyish to explore the city in the light. It was just as beautiful, if not more. It was one of those places (like Luxembourg), that everywhere you turned there was a new beautiful sight to see. I had a lovely coffee from a place called Adrianos. It was at this point that I realised that Europeans tend not to do coffee the same way that we do. Apparently, they were quite offended when I ordered an Americano.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/49aba401057bd1c4ea6fddddc1901034001fe0a8/medium/img-3936.jpg?1492507948" class="size_m justify_center border_" style="text-align: justify;" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">I’ve tried to open my eyes a little bit since this. O yeah, just one more little thing…BERN HAVE BEARS!!! There are bears living by the river. That was incredible and so were the views. Thanks to everyone who made Switzerland such a special time for us. Anni, Nathalie, Susi, Cloe, Dave and anyone else we met along the way. <img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/c0af1fb2890bfbe63ce744b38bc749e8011201a8/medium/img-3932.jpg?1492506829" class="size_m justify_right border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">I realise this blog is already long. But, I had to finish off day 6 before I bid you farewell. We went to Milan. On the way, we crossed the Alps and some of the most beautiful scenery in which I have ever seen. I couldn't believe that we were driving through this for free! It turns out, it wasn't free. We needed a sticker for our car for 40 euro....we didn't know this. And because we didn't know this, we were fined 200 euro by the Swiss police. That was a bit of a downer for the day, and we needed perking up by the time we got to Milan. That didn't happen.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/27e58f00deb1f8c197857c4e21bb7c062d931cdb/medium/img-4009.jpg?1492506947" class="size_m justify_center border_" style="text-align: justify;" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><br>We stayed in the ironically named ‘Lovely House’, which was in the Bronx. Luckily, i’d seen 8 Mile the week before, so I knew how to do deal with this situation. We went for some disappointing food, which was not what I become to know if Italy. The Cathedral was pretty lovely though, I’ll give it that. The next morning, we woke up at went to Pisa. But that’s for the next blog. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Also, as a side note. 4 tickets left for Birmingham on the tour in July, let’s get it sold out by the time I return!</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/b2cf16323189f07cef636f11042c48836c04f0ee/medium/img-3963.jpg?1492506879" class="size_m justify_right border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/9e79a5f821d4a8a191c09328e54bed6ac55783d8/medium/img-4033.jpg?1492507017" class="size_m justify_left border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"> </p>Danny Grufftag:www.dannygruff.com,2005:Post/46664032017-04-11T14:23:27+01:002020-06-05T05:16:00+01:00European Tour Blog Pt.1 <p style="text-align: justify;">Hello from the middle of a mountain in a place called Osenbach. But more on that later. It’s day 4 of my European tour with Dave and I thought I’d do a quick update. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/bf2dfbe1f6e754feaf432726dbe634b78191aff2/medium/img-3744.jpg?1491916565" class="size_m justify_left border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">On Friday, I headed to Hasselt, Belgium, with my girlfriend for the first date of the tour. I’d played Hasselt before in November so I had an idea of what to expect but I wanted to explore a bit more. Naomi and I checked into our hotel for the evening just outside the centre of town. We also checked into our first reality of what I could only assume was European culture. The hotel room was inclusive of our bathroom, as in the toilet was right behind where we lay our heads that night. Luckily, the whole thing was kind of hilarious. The gig itself has it’s problems as well. One song in, the mixing desk blew. I then got it working, and it blew again. It eventually decided that it was bored of breaking and just worked for the rest of the night thankfully. The gig was great fun, and the town is really pretty. I hadn’t done much exploring when I was there in November so it was nice to have a bit of a wander. Also…Shanti Beans is a great little coffee shop run by a guy called Sven. I had a coffee called ‘Rwanda’, was pretty delicious. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/50cd75e4756bc11ac7994104bd9e1660b35033de/medium/img-3757.jpg?1491916591" class="size_m justify_right border_" />Next up, Charleroi. After we checked out of our hotel is Hasselt, we headed for some lunch and by coincidence, bumped into Dave and his better half. We had some lunch together and then off we went to our respective gigs. Whilst we were on the train to Brussels, to get our connection to Charleroi, I got a text off my best friend asking if we were in Brussels. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/bc10c6d7d61673365abf31e769b5ce0d97779141/medium/img-3775.jpg?1491916597" class="size_m justify_left border_" />It turns out they were and right by the station. We got off the train and had a pint with them…and then another. Before I knew it, I was supping long island iced tea and totally forgot I had a gig that night in another city. Naomi and I ran for the train and ended up perching ourselves in 1st class (we didn’t know we had done this until we got off…cheeeers). The gig itself was a lot of fun, and the first time I’ve played tipsy for some time. There was a guy called Sergio there, who bar staff described as a ‘one man party’. He looked a bit like a Belgian Aaron Crascall, I wanted him to be at every gig I ever had from here on in. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><br>Day 3 was when I met Dave in Charleroi to start making our way out of Belgium, and into France. Dave told me that Luxembourg wasn’t too far away and wasn’t that much of a detour.<br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/4ab18db2574cac6c03ea02e9a907a27ec02d0757/medium/img-3815.jpg?1491916664" class="size_m justify_right border_" />At this point, every where I was going was quite literally foreign to me and I had no idea what to expect. I’d been to Belgium before, but never anywhere else on this trip. We drove into Luxembourg thinking ‘this place isn’t that great’, until we got parked up. Everywhere we looked was a beautiful view. I’ve never seen anything quite like it, truly beautiful. As we were walking around, we walked passed a house, where 2 American children had set up a stall on their front door. They were selling homemade Lemonade and Cookies. It turns out that they were raising money for children who need heart surgery at a young age. They had another brother, who the Dad described as an American Banksy, just drawing pictures and handing them out randomly. The place felt so homely, it was lovely. Just as we were leaving, I stopped into a Souvenir shop to get Naomi a present. The guy behind the counter asked me if I was from ‘Brexit’? I apologised, and assured him that I still liked him. I’m pretty sure he short changed me. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/c0c4b3ba51d7ba790f7fe2c57d911a7475d1d664/medium/img-3841.jpg?1491916678" class="size_m justify_left border_" /><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/2c191d57dc962aefe1dc8528d90be4ff5e281306/medium/img-3792.jpg?1491916644" class="size_m justify_right border_" />Later that night, we were staying at a place called Metz. We knew that eventually, we needed to end up near Switzerland and Metz seemed to be on the way. We struck Gold again. We turned up at this beautiful picturesque town just before sundown.We took a walk around and discovered some beautiful architecture and scenery. Most beautiful of all was the sight of a local entrepreneur (drug dealer), recovering his goods (drugs) from a bush. I found that particularly romantic.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">That leads us to now…in a forest in Osenbach. Next stop, Switzerland for our 3rd gig in Bern. I’m enjoying this far too much, I wonder how long it will last! </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><br><br>Also, as a side note….tickets for the tour are still selling well. 8 left for Birmingham and 14 left for Leeds! Get involved quickly! </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">www.dannygruff.com/shows<br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/0d5cd02d72ea617b808df9a990e285c52e4b3b2f/medium/manchester-sold-out.png?1491307659" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>Danny Grufftag:www.dannygruff.com,2005:Post/46572552017-04-04T13:08:15+01:002020-06-05T05:16:09+01:00Coffee Beans<p style="text-align: justify;">Recently, I’ve started taking up drinking coffee again. I had to stop for some time because apparently it’s dreadful for your voice. I think I read far too much into what is good and what is bad for your voice. I’ve given up chocolate and take aways (mainly pizza) for lent for that reason….but they are good for the soul and I can’t wait for Easter Sunday to come around. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, my coffee fascination started a few years ago when I was in a studio in Ireland with my band JKLMNO. They had a coffee machine in the studio or as we called it, ‘The Fresh Pot Machine’. On the way over, we watched that video of Dave Grohl just shouting ‘FREEESSSSHHHH POTTTTSSSSS’ in the studio. Lo and behold, every half an hour, you would hear a beckoning from the kitchen of the studio of ‘FREEESSSSHHHHH POTTTTTTTTSSS’, that’s when you knew someone had made a coffee. For that Christmas, I got a coffee machine for my house. Between that, and my friend Lorna working at Starbucks and giving me ton of free coffee beans, the obsession had begun. It’s kind of like when my obsession with Whiskey started. I like to think the coffee one is healthier, but I don’t think it is…saying that, the two go hand in hand beautifully. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">So for this blog, I’m just going to direct you in the way of a few of my favourite coffee places that if you’re in the area, you should check out. Number 1 is where I’m currently writing this blog: </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>The Coffee Traveller</strong><em> (<a contents="http://www.thecoffeetraveller.com/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.thecoffeetraveller.com/" target="_blank">http://www.thecoffeetraveller.com/</a>)</em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">This coffee shop is located by the river in Kew, just off Kew Bridge.I discovered this place on twitter and thought I’d check it out one day. It’s nice and quaint and the staff are really friendly. The first time that I came in here, I got to play with a dog whilst doing some other work. That was nice, great coffee too. I’m yet to discover more about what beans they use and such like, but that will come in time. </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/9d49b2128ee2f9320b568c85e48c36b0dd01697e/medium/img-3684.jpg?1491307308" class="size_m justify_center border_" style="text-align: justify;" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Rhythm and Brews </strong><em>(<a contents="https://www.facebook.com/Rhythm-Brews-832301163531851/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/Rhythm-Brews-832301163531851/">https://www.facebook.com/Rhythm-Brews-832301163531851/)</a></em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Another London one this, just by the field in Chiswick. I remember a few months ago, I was in the car with my girlfriend and I started saying how I’ve had a brilliant idea for a coffee shop and it is called ‘Rhythm and Brews’. Turns out, it’s a place that already existed and it’s a million times better than I could’ve thought up in my head. You walk in and there and there are original prints by the photographer Robert Ellis. He was one of the world’s leading photographer in the music business when quite frankly, music was better. There are pictures of John Lennon, Elton John, Freddie Mercury, Stevie Wonder, amongst many more. The coffee is absolutely delightful and so is the food. Again, staff are great. Also, down the stairs, they have chalk board walls where you write your favourite song down. I have yet to see one of my songs there…hint hint. O yeah, and they play Vinyls, and have a massive selection there. They let me pose for a few photos there the other week when Nick Kent was taking photos of me. </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/82ef767bbd11acf0d72bd8f57c376820bd24f491/medium/danny-gruff-chiswick-170.jpg?1491307359" class="size_m justify_center border_" style="text-align: justify;" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Taken by <a contents="Nick Kent Photography" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.nickkentphotography.com" target="_blank">Nick Kent Photography</a></em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><br><strong>King Street Coffee </strong><em>(<a contents="https://www.facebook.com/kingstreetcoffeecompany/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/kingstreetcoffeecompany/" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/kingstreetcoffeecompany/</a>)</em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">This is a Wrexham one. It was a company set up by two brothers, Phil and Andy Gallanders. I’ve known these two for years. I used to play in bands with Phil and Andy used to run music nights, which I played at. Weirdly, Phil and I played a year 6 prom once and covered a high school musical song. Not my finest hour. They used to work in a big chain of coffee shops and I remember Phil saying years ago that he’d love to have his own coffee shop. It was definitely worth the wait, them boys knows their coffee. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">I was in there yesterday and I expressed an interest in making coffee. They went above and beyond to show me alternative ways of making coffee. It opened my eyes no end, and I massively appreciated them taking the time out to do that. We did an espresso tasting and made a coffee using a V60. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">These guys use a Liverpool based company for their beans called ‘Neighbourhood’. Not only is it great coffee, they use great puns in their coffee types. Such as ‘I Can’t Get No Caffeination’, ‘Grind Control to Major Tom’ and my personal favourite, ‘Espresso Yourself’. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Seriously, if you’re in Wrexham, check these guys out. They’re located in the Wrexham Bus Station. In a time when Wrexham is getting a lot of bad press, these guys seem to be pushing for a better view of Wrexham. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">This is just something I wanted to get out there. I love independent coffee shops, and they’re definitely worth supporting. One day, I do plan to have my own but I’ve still got a lot to learn. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/8c0026f576f32741dfcfb34276c25693d90eb808/medium/screen-shot-2017-04-04-at-12-59-44.png?1491307305" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Me with the King Street Coffee lot!</em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Anyways, other news. The tour in July is selling ridiculously well. Nottingham and Manchester has already sold out. Leeds, Birmingham and London are not far behind. Newcastle and Glasgow are selling steady but I never expected them to sell out. I never expected any to sell out to be fair. I’m truly overwhelmed, so thanks very much. <img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/0d5cd02d72ea617b808df9a990e285c52e4b3b2f/medium/manchester-sold-out.png?1491307659" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The album will be out soon. Mid May seems to be the target. The artwork is nearly done, the mixing is nearly done and all the other stuff surrounding it is nearly finished. There will be different packages available for the album. One package includes the lyrics to a song called ‘Coffee Beans’, handwritten onto a sheet of coffee paper (made from recycled Coffee Cup Paper). </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">One more thing, I head out around Europe with Dave Giles on Friday. We’re still looking for dates in Amsterdam and Germany. If you know of any promoters or anything, send them my way.<br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/de2732062df64e9531ed5e2c95844eae28ed7bd0/medium/eurotrip.jpg?1491307303" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>Danny Grufftag:www.dannygruff.com,2005:Post/46021792017-02-22T20:45:17+00:002020-06-05T05:16:17+01:00Honey and Lemon<p style="text-align: justify;">The start to 2017 has been a strange one to say the least. It started with me just getting over an illness, which was nice. Then my car broke down, which cost me more than I cared for. I then took on every gig possible to raise funds to fix the car. During this time, I got ill again. I went to a Doctor and he told me to stop, I said no and proceeded to record my debut album. I got back from finishing the majority of my album and had a few gigs booked with the wedding band I’m in. A lot of people in the wedding band industry don’t care about their job, it’s a way to pay rent and they go through the motions. As with everything I do, I want to do the best job I can possibly do, and I wasn’t able to.<br><br>All credit to the band<a contents="(In Session)," data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.insession.co.uk" target="_blank">(In Session),</a> they humoured me and lifted my spirits at a time when I was really reconsidering my career options. My voice still wasn’t getting better despite any amount of honey and lemon I was drinking, steaming I was doing or social events that I was not attending. I went to see a vocal coach for the first time in my life. She told me that I might have vocal nodules, which basically means I would have to have some form of operation which puts me out of action for a few months. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/73cb12bd6879949c4880a48f9d67e3697fbeffcf/medium/screen-shot-2017-02-22-at-20-41-35.png?1487796119" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Steaming before an In Session gig</em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">So at this point, I was feeling pretty low and didn’t know what to do. But it was all good, because I was on my way to Disneyland with my girlfriend. That was great, and I’m sure the screaming I was doing on the rides was definitely helping my voice. When I got back, I knew I had a small stint of a tour coming up with Bry.<br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/a8f3e9165c88a84a61e3fe560c9a6e2f0e147552/medium/img-3241.jpg?1487795997" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>At Disneyland</em> </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">I’ve toured with Bry a couple of times, and he just keeps getting better and better. If you haven’t checked him, go to <a contents="website here." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://bryontour.com/" target="_blank">website here.</a> Check out his debut album and fall in love with his Irish charm. I joined the tour in Birmingham, at a venue called Mama Roux’s. Lovely venue, the venue kind of looks like it should be outside but it’s inside. Then we played Cardiff (The Globe), Leicester (Academy), Norwich (Waterfront) and I left them after the show in Brighton (Komedia). I was playing to a 99% new audience, which was super exciting. I was professionally underprepared for the tour. I hadn’t even planned a warm up show to prepare, which is something I usually do. 2 days before the tour, I got asked if I wanted to support a band called The Wooden Sky in London. I jumped at the chance as it was a day before the Bry tour. That gig alone was enough for me to feel stupid for even thinking about reconsidering my career options. I love playing on stage, even when I’m not at my best. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/e8fcf55fcdd2d1bd4d7d25c0848ba9e74614cf35/medium/screen-shot-2017-02-22-at-20-40-26.png?1487796047" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>On stage in Leicester</em><br><br>There’s no feeling quite like getting on stage in a room full of people and trying to prove yourself. Sometimes it doesn’t go your way, sometimes it does, I think that’s part of the thrill. The audiences I played to over the past week have been nothing but a pleasure. It’s frustrating waiting for one of your favourite acts to come on, especially when a Welsh singer songwriter is shouting songs at you on a stage. So if you were at any one these gigs and you saw me, thanks for being nice to me, it means a lot. I’m sure I won’t be forgetting those gigs in a hurry. I want to send big love to Bry, Bry’s band (Gerry, Adam and Gary), Tessa Violet, Bry’s wife Candice and my girlfriend Naomi for helping me out and being lovely to me on this tour. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/c588f8ee22f6e5ee3222393021132ce976244ea6/medium/screen-shot-2017-02-22-at-20-40-17.png?1487796044" class="size_m justify_center border_" /><br><br>So what’s next? This weekend, I go back to Leeds to finish my album. Then it goes to mastering, and then it will be ready to release. My plan is to release it by April/May. There’s going to be a few bundles available as well with some bonus material. There’s a new logo in the pipeline as well, which means there will be new T Shirts and such like. It’s all very exciting and I can’t wait to get music out there. I also have a tour booked for July. If you want to be the first to hear about it, sign up my mailing list now! <br><br>You can also catch me supporting Ryan Hamilton in Cambridge on 2nd March. He's just released an album with his band 'The Traitors', check it out, it's awesome. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Also…I have 4 hats left and around 25 wristbands left if any body wants to snap them up, head over to my site now. </p>Danny Grufftag:www.dannygruff.com,2005:Post/45594152017-01-22T12:25:56+00:002020-06-05T05:16:27+01:00We Got This...<p>It’s been a year to the day since I finished my One New Tune A Week challenge. For some reason, it feels like a lot longer, maybe was last year was busier than I remember? </p>
<p>Anyways, I’m going to use this as an opportunity to not dwell on the past, but focus on the future (can the smell the cheese in that sentence?). I’m currently on day 10 of recording my, as yet untitled, debut album. I’m sat here still trying to pen some final lyrics to the songs. This is probably the main difference from recording the ONTAW stuff, to recording the album, I have a lot more time to focus on the lyrics. When I was doing ONTAW, I’d usually write and record the song in the space of 48 hours. This resulted in a lot of lyrics that I hate because they simply filled the gaps rather than serving a purpose. I also recorded demos for this album, so if I’m showing someone a demo and there’s a lyric or a melody that I cringe at, I know it needs to changed. Here are some lyrics that I’ve scrapped from the album already. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/1b97a292af5bf8c77511c1b69820b9ace705a5bd/medium/img-2974.jpg?1485087860" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>‘You’ve gotta shake it off’ </p>
<p>‘Are you falling in less than three?’ </p>
<p>‘I don’t miss all her little ways, the way she BERATED all my mates’ </p>
<p>Aren’t you glad I’ve had to rethink some of these? Granted, there are still a few lyrics and melodic ideas that are considered ‘cliche’ on the album, but sometimes they just need to be there. </p>
<p>So what have we done so far? The morning of the recording, I finalised what tracks I wanted on the album. I wrote around 20-25 songs for the album. 10 of which are being used along with one track from the ONTAW collection. I planned on making it all brand new tracks, but this one track really fitted with the theme of the album so it seemed a shame not to put it on. I actually finished one of the demos on the morning of the recording, the vocal was done in a travel lodge and I was practically whispering into the microphone. I’ve since changed almost every single lyric, rendering that demo, pointless. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/01e02d1ffccd6f3b07345fc2397477d1287e82e8/medium/img-2980.jpg?1485087874" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>I'm recording the album in a beautiful converted church in Leeds. It's called <a contents="The Nave" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.navestudios.com/" target="_blank">The Nave</a>. It's stunning, and the sounds that come out here are incredible. The guy who is producing the album is a guy called Andy Hawkins. He’s worked with a bunch of different people but I particularly love the work that he did my buddies The Candle Thieves. I’ve always loved their blend of live band, electronics and qwerkiness. I felt like the songs that I was writing lent themselves to that style of production. It turns out they did and Andy is doing a boss job. He’s also played bass, drums, some guitars and some keys. He’s one of them people that can play everything….’pricks’ I believe they’re called. </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/a5114f36fa8cc77d9222f4f8fda93cc58f47f730/medium/img-2984.jpg?1485087879" class="size_m justify_center border_" /><br><br>I’m currently sat in the kitchen listening to Andy editing my vocals in the control room. Annoyingly, I’ve still not shaken off the illness that I had over Christmas so some of my vocals are quite laughable but Andy’s making sure the final vocals are putting my best foot forward. Slowly but surely, the songs are coming to life and I’m getting more and more excited about the final product as time goes on. I can’t wait to release it and start playing these songs live. There will be a new video, new tour and a bunch of other stuff that still need to be sorted but rest assured, it will be a fun year for me. I’m just hoping people enjoy it and join me on the next part of my career. </p>
<p>I also want to send a massive shout out and thanks to the people who have housed and fed me this week. Pam-e-la and Michael let me sleep at theirs for 3 nights and I managed to cook a meal and set a fire alarm off. I don’t think I’ve ever appreciated a kitchen more than after having McDonalds for two nights on the run. And the Jones’ are making sure I have roof over my head for the next two nights. Last night, we had a boss meal, drank some whiskey, chatted about all sorts of stories and ended the night playing Dave Giles, Ryan Hamilton and McFly songs. So much love for these people.<br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/94573de42896e9121a3fc34949267bf15292fc6f/medium/img-2987.jpg?1485087944" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>Danny Grufftag:www.dannygruff.com,2005:Post/45202842016-12-21T14:53:07+00:002020-06-30T12:33:25+01:00New Year Resolution<p>It’s that time of the year when you hear the words ‘In January, I will…..’ followed by some life change that could easily be started in the next hour. I’m not judging people who do that, I’m the king of ‘my diet starts on Monday’, ‘I’m going to learn to cook’ and the old chestnut, ‘I will learn how to play Piano this year’. However, every year I do set my set some challenges and goals that I’d like to achieve by the end of the year. </p>
<p>Since around 2012, every year, one of my many goals was to play a gig abroad. I did play in Spain in 2008 with my old band ‘JKLMNO’, but never as a solo act. The closest that I have got was singing Karaoke in Portugal at the beginning of 2014. It turns out, I can not claim that as an official gig. In 2016, I actually managed to achieve my goal in the form of two gigs in Belgium. I did write a whole blog about these gigs, but I’ll summarise in this one. I went to Belgium…I was exhausted so I slept a lot…I didn’t sing very well for the first gig, did better the second night…I did not learn the local lingo and I did not have a Belgian waffle. </p>
<p>In 2015, I set myself the challenge of releasing a song every week. Somehow, I managed to get through that and quite enjoyed myself in the process. At the beginning of 2016, I said to the world that I would be releasing an album come September 2016….this has not happened. I thought that writing 12 good songs would be a lot easier than writing 52 others, I was wrong. I did start recording it however, and it is sounding like the best thing that I have thus far, which is exciting. I go back in January to finish it off, it then it gets mixed in February, and then mastered. So, it should be released in 2017. </p>
<p>At the end of every year, along with the tax return, I do a gig count. With that comes its own New Years resolution, to increase the amount of gigs that I had done in the previous year. In my younger years, I was racking up maybe 30-50 gigs a year, this increased slowly over time. When I left University, I was doing around 150 gigs a year. At the time, I was thinking that that was enough and it would’ve been impossible to do more. The year after that, I did 200. The year after that, 230. The year after that I bagged around 247 gigs. At the start of 2016, I had 247 to beat and I’ve smashed it. I’ve done 275 so far, and end the year on 281. This does not come without its downsides. I am absolutely exhausted. I’m used to being tired, but it’s quite counter productive. I have not had time to write any songs, only bits and bobs of ideas. </p>
<p>It turns out gigging constantly does not bode well with trying to write and record an album. I’ve only had the occasional day off here and there since the summer, and on my days off, I am completely written off. I pick up a guitar every now and then but my voice usually refuses to work. I think my vocal cords have developed a stubborn personality. ‘IT’S MY DAY OFF!! WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO MAKE ME WORK!’. I love gigging, it’s the best job in the world 99% of the time. The negatives of the job are obviously the unsociable hours and the increase in fast food into my body. You’d often finish a gig late at night and the only places open are fast food chains and you haven’t eaten since lunch. It’s not good for your health, but it is bloody good fun. </p>
<p>So with all this in mind, I have a few New Years Resolutions and we will meet back here in 2017 at the same time and have my annual review: </p>
<p>Finish the album and release it <br>Do a headline tour promoting said album <br>Learn Piano, or at least 2 full Bruce Springsteen songs <br>At least sign up for the gym…thats step 1. That whole exercise thing is step 2. One step at a time. <br>Try and not take so much on. Gigging’s fun, but so is having a clear voice for most of the year <br>Book a flight to Nashville <br>European tour</p>Danny Grufftag:www.dannygruff.com,2005:Post/44826422016-11-24T17:13:28+00:002020-06-05T05:17:51+01:00Starting the Album...<p>When I finished my One New Tune A Week challenge, I said I was going to take some time off to write and record an album. Shortly after this, I announced a tour with Ryan Hamilton and then went onto play another 238 shows (2016 gig count of the day of writing this blog). Since I started taking this whole music career shenanigans a little more seriously, time off does not sit well with me. A few years ago, I would play 2 gigs a week and then do a couple of tours which usually lasted less than a week. It was at this point when I referred to my self as ‘The hardest working band in Wrexham’ after one too many drinks at my friend Steve’s house. They’ve never let me live this down. Little did I know…that was part time. And if I was to survive in that Big Bad London….2 gigs a week wouldn’t cut it. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/7f4c4af325ffd13e3106594e6c1a3842ce023d46/medium/15000241-923318714467653-3645194481696259276-o.jpg?1480007521" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>I did take some time off of writing though, as I felt like the metaphorical cupboard in the creative side of my brain was bare. This was my first mistake, it took me a few months to get back in the habit of writing. Around May time, I had 5 new songs in my arsenal, 2 of which I liked. The problem that I was having, is that I didn’t have a deadline. I needed to push my self harder. I kept a piece of paper on my wall of all the new songs that I’d written, and every morning I’d feel guilty about the sparseness of the page. I started to read a lot more and was taking inspiration from that. The issue was, I was gigging 5 times a week, which throws your routine off. I kept writing and by August, I had 12 new songs, 6 of which I liked. This was when I really needed to start putting the wheels in motion. I scouted around for a few producers before I chose Andy Hawkins to produce my album. Andy has an impressive body of work, amongst that work was ‘The Candle Thieves’. I’ve toured with the Candle Thieves a few times and they are one of my favourite bands. I’ve always loved the way their albums sounded, so Andy was the obvious choice. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/0ea504ae8fb5bc67adccc3a65d9208bc6961a98a/medium/15025216-923901334409391-1310199598915957236-o.jpg?1480007524" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>I booked 3 days in November, and 10 days in January to record and mix this album. So there I was, November 14th, in Leeds, about to start work on my first ever album. I didn’t sleep a wink the night before, I was nervous, anxious, paranoid and every other similar feeling you can imagine. Were my songs good enough? Was my gear good enough? Is Andy the right guy? Am I doing this too soon? About an hour in to the session, all my fears had gone away. We started work on a song called ‘Comfortable’. We were arranging the track and seeing what parts to change. There was a great moment when I was thinking in my head, ‘This song is crying out for a key change’, and just at that moment Andy said, ‘You know what, I think a key change is what this song needs’. I knew this project was going to fall into place at that moment. </p>
<p>We also looked at other tracks called ‘Coffee Beans’, ‘Pieces’, ‘Country Song’ and ‘Share the Same Skies’, but we spent most time on a song called ‘Surprise’. ‘Surprise’ for me, was the opener, it sets the tone for the rest of the songs that I had wrote. It was a bridge between my old material and where I was planning on going. By the end of day 2, we had finished tracking all the instruments and creating this epic outro. Any bit of space we could find, it was filled. We also tracked music for ‘Country Song’ and ‘Coffee Beans’. The studio is beautiful, check it out: <a contents="http://www.navestudios.com/&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.navestudios.com/" target="_blank">http://www.navestudios.com/ </a><br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/8fdd048ca6399597f9c59ad16b593b56e9275b40/medium/15042064-924407584358766-5842698534261349663-o.jpg?1480007523" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>After the sessions, I feel a lot more inspired to write. I feel like I now have direction. We decided to go ‘big’ on this album. Originally, the album would finished in January and released by March. I’ve booked in 4 extra days in February to finish it off. Not quite sure when it will be released though. Watch this space. </p>
<p>More studio time, does mean more money. So I’m starting to put more things on my shop! Check it out. Newest addition: Handwritten lyric sheets!<br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/7345c6e72361015e6d7cdd8adbf71c56e5232cae/medium/img-2588.jpg?1480007595" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>Danny Grufftag:www.dannygruff.com,2005:Post/44381272016-10-26T16:07:07+01:002020-06-05T05:18:03+01:00Pay What You Want<p>I’m currently sat on a train back to London after a very eye opening couple of weeks. There is a kid crying manically behind me, so if there are a few mistakes, forgive me. As you may know, my friend Dave Giles and I were booked to play on a tour with an Irish singer-songwriter called ‘Bry’. Bry then got offered a support tour with a band called ‘Twenty One Pilots’ and had to postpone our tour. That’s completely understandable, but it left Dave and I with 2 weeks free, which neither of us liked. We decided to book a mini tour around the UK. People had already bought tickets for the original Bry shows, so we didn’t want to put tickets out again so we decided to do a Pay What You Want tour. The response has been amazing, but ‘more on that later’. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/c88e03a72bc367890a2867c3f80857e9b865c45b/medium/screen-shot-2016-10-26-at-16-03-08.png?1477494234" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>The whole ‘Pay What You Want’ thing has been around the industry for some time now. The first artist to take it to the next level was ‘Radiohead’. They released an album called ‘In Rainbows’, I believe, and it was completely Pay What You Want. This shook the industry at the time. It’s a well known fact that the music industry is in a decline since the increase of illegal downloads and people having less expendable income. To me, it was a genius idea. Radiohead are a massive band and have been for years so they knew that their album would sell thousands, but in turn would also be illegally downloaded a lot. The fact that you could go on their website and download their album for free would surely mean there’s no reason to illegally download it. You’d have to put how much you want to pay for the album and it was on your hard drive. I suppose there’s an element of guilt of putting £0.00 in that little form. I remember downloading it for somewhere in the region of £1.50. It wasn’t an album that I would’ve bought, but due to the nature of the release, I had to give it a chance. There must have been a balance of people putting in £0 to those supporters that would’ve paid over the odds for it. It’s genius. </p>
<p>15 minutes later, the kid is still crying. </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/09f2868420cf5db02b3a62122706524753f6b9d4/medium/screen-shot-2016-10-26-at-16-02-36.png?1477494228" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Dave and I in McQueens, Knaresborough</em></p>
<p><br>Next thing I know, there’s a site called Bandcamp about. I’ve used Bandcamp for years and I love it. I never put my main releases on it, as they are on iTunes, Spotify etc (hint hint), but I do use it for special releases. I can’t remember my first release but let’s use an EP I released called ‘Sholly’ as an example. These were songs that I recorded with my band ‘The Peacemakers’ whilst recording the ‘Saturday Nights/Sunday Mornings’ EP. It was a choice out of releasing the two EP’s, which left me with a solid EP just lying around on my hard drive. I loved that EP, but it was not what I was about at the time. After SNSM had been out for a few months, I put Sholly on Bandcamp as a Pay What You Want EP. I received a great response, obviously some people downloaded it for free, and one lovely person paid £30 for it (Thank you Ashley). To me, it didn’t matter how much people paid, it was there for free. The fact that people wanted to pay for it was amazing and it helped fund my next EP (which never got released, but is on Bandcamp). When I did my ONTAW challenge in 2015, the main place you could stream/download the track every week was Bandcamp. I’ll leave a link at the bottom of the blog with these sites, there’s a ton of music on there. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/a9e37bbdc5ea6cde6694726b4d1e54a2a10152ab/medium/screen-shot-2016-10-26-at-16-03-00.png?1477494231" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Verve, Leeds</em></p>
<p>Onto the tour…Dave and I were left with 2 weeks in our diary that needed filling. We knew that we had to keep expenses down, as we were expecting the worst. Truth be told, we put the tour on sale expecting nobody to turn up. We searched high and low for venues in the cities that we were originally playing to not much success. We also had a gig booked with Bry in London at the time that was still going ahead, and a covers gig in Manchester which was helping us fund the travelling around. We ended up with this schedule: </p>
<p>DAY OFF, Norwich, Leeds, Manchester, London (With Bry), Cardiff, Covers gig in Manchester, DAY OFF, Newcastle. </p>
<p>We didn’t like the look of those days off. The first day off was the day after Dave had just done a 10 hour gig to raise money for a charity called Mind. He still wanted to do something on that day off. We ended up booking a few house shows. Down to Portsmouth we went, and in true style of the rest of the tour, the house shows were ‘pay what you want’ rather than our usual fee which we charge for house shows. On the drive down, there was fear that we were making a big mistake and might have to scrape together to try and make our rent at the end of the month. All 3 shows of the day were great and they all gave us money to help fund our travels. This was such a great feeling. We didn’t ask for money, we didn’t suggest that we wanted money, they just gave it to us. Incredible. </p>
<p>Kids still crying. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/6a04e01482b6c9fb631204ab3d775da02c91c23a/medium/screen-shot-2016-10-26-at-16-02-49.png?1477494229" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Supporting Bry, Borderline...Photo by Rachel Kiki</em></p>
<p>Just going to do a brief side step here. Yes, I know that Music isn’t about Money, but when it’s your only form of income, it kind of is. Dave and I play covers gigs all the time to help pay our rent. When we started doing that, we never got paid. You’d play charity gigs and free gigs to learn your ‘chops’ and get a reputation. But it gets to a point when you’re bringing 50 people to a gig that are paying however much a ticket, that you have to think that you’re worth more than ‘exposure’. Especially when you’re playing Wonderwall. Covers gigs help fund our original music, which at the best of times, we breakeven. I realise this blog is very Money Heavy, and I wanted to stress that I’m not a greedy S.O.B, I just need to pay rent and other expenses in my life. </p>
<p>Norwich the day after was our first proper gig of the tour in a real venue. The money was free to hire, and we’d ‘pre-sold’ around 12 tickets. (We set up a bandcamp page to buy tickets if anyone wanted to pay up front). When we turned up, we were told that if we didn’t have 15 audience members at the gig, the gig would be pulled. This was because they’d need to make £200 behind the bar to help pay the staff. This was understandable but also the same time, a bit nerve racking. Dave and I devised a plan, we would drink £200 behind the bar and sleep in the van if need be. Luckily, I believe 25 people turned up and we’d made enough to cover our expenses thanks to the generosity of the people who came to see us. In Leeds the next day, more people turned up and put money in our bucket, and this continued for the rest of the tour. About halfway through, Dave and I realised that we were onto something special. There were so many more benefits to this tour than we originally thought. </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/067578750d105b79b8c5867d72870ac3324bb2ba/medium/screen-shot-2016-10-26-at-16-02-43.png?1477494229" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><i>Jumping Jacks, Newcastle</i></p>
<p><br>One of my biggest hates of being a musician is the text you get from a friend, ‘Can you stick me on the guest list?’. When I first started playing gigs, I loved having a guest list and putting a girl that I fancied on it, it made me look cool. It was only on my headline tour last year that I started notice a flaw. The people who I had on the guest list were the ones by the bar chatting over my set and the support acts. Also, I’ve never really had ‘Industry People’ to put on the guest list. I don’t see the point in coming to a show if you’re going to stand at the back with a pen and paper seeking out flaws in my performance. The greatest thing about this tour is that there was no guest list. It was technically a free gig. The weirdest thing happened, people who would’ve usually been on the guest list would come to this tour, put money in the bucket and appreciate the performance. If you put a value on something, you’re going to want to pay attention. </p>
<p>When you’re doing a ‘headline’ tour or a multi band bill, the ticket price is usually somewhere between £6 and £10, this makes it difficult for our supporters to bring a friend. Why should they take a chance on something if they’re going to be out of pocket and disappointed if they don’t like it? That’s completely fair. I’ve never had so many people come up to me and say ‘I came along with my friend, I’d never heard you before but I’d definitely come again’, as I have on this tour. It was a really nice feeling. This idea has blown my mind a little bit, and the support that we’ve received from people has been amazing. Thank you so much if you came out the shows, whether you paid or not. The fact we had full rooms at most of these shows is incredible for our level. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/9b17d3690152e70c92af0f1aa30d72ce7d3d1e2d/medium/screen-shot-2016-10-26-at-16-02-20.png?1477494221" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Cowboy in Converse, Sheffield</em></p>
<p>The tour ended up with a few shows with band called Room 94. It feels like I’ve known these guys for a few years because Dave’s toured with them a few times. I have no idea how long I’ve actually known them for but they are a bloody delight. I’ve never supported them until now, and I was super excited. The thing I love most about them is that they are exactly the same off stage as they are on stage. It’s just onslaught of ‘Bare Banter’…or is it ‘Bear Banter’, can’t imagine there being many Bear puns around these days. Dave and I combined our sets to perform a 40 minute long set of playing each other’s tunes. It’s quite terrifying being on the same bill as bands who are good looking, and then Dave and I come on stage, with our cowboy shirts and acoustics looking a little bit rugged. It was great fun though, the crowds were great and I met some lovely people doing it! <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/e2cabbc150d85b46a538a0ae1b70503123a410e7/medium/screen-shot-2016-10-26-at-16-02-29.png?1477494223" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Supporting Room 94 in Birmingham</em></p>
<p>I’d also like to thank the following for the past couple of weeks. </p>
<p>Dave: For being a pain in my arse. But a supportive pain in my arse. </p>
<p>The Venues: B2 (Norwich), Verve (Leeds, and also Mick for helping us sort it), Gullivers (Manchester), Borderline (London), Four Bars (Cardiff, and also Sara for helping us sort it), Wharf (Manchester), Jumping Jacks (Newcastle), Rainbow (Birmingham), Corporation (Sheffield) and also The Ashcrofts, The Hambreys and The Debnms for hosting the house shows. </p>
<p>Bry: Thanks for putting us on the bill with you in London. The show was so much fun, good luck with the Twenty One Pilots tour. </p>
<p>Room 94: Thanks for putting Dave and I on your short tour. Was so great finally getting to support you. You guys smash it constantly. </p>
<p>The People who let us crash at their house: Josh, Pam-e-la, my Mum, Heather, Anni and Richard. </p>
<p>McQueens: Great little Cafe in Knaresborough run by the Jones’ who are one of my favourite families. Check it out. We ate there twice on this tour. Lovely food. </p>
<p>Kid on the train: Thanks for stopping crying. </p>
<p>Links: </p>
<p>My BandCamp: <a contents="www.dannygruff.bandcamp.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.dannygruff.bandcamp.com" target="_blank">www.dannygruff.bandcamp.com</a></p>
<p>My ONTAW Bandcamp: <a contents="www.dannygruffontaw.bandcamp.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.dannygruffontaw.bandcamp.com" target="_blank">www.dannygruffontaw.bandcamp.com </a></p>
<p>Bry: <a contents="http://bryontour.com/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://bryontour.com/" target="_blank">http://bryontour.com/</a></p>
<p>Room 94: <a contents="https://room94.tmstor.es/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://room94.tmstor.es/" target="_blank">https://room94.tmstor.es/</a></p>
<p>Dave’s Charity Fundraising Page: <a contents="https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Davejgiles" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Davejgiles" target="_blank">https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Davejgiles</a></p>Danny Grufftag:www.dannygruff.com,2005:Post/44156892016-10-12T15:52:06+01:002020-06-05T05:20:04+01:00The Good Ole' Days Part 1<p>This week, I’ve started reading Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born To Run’, which is his autobiography. I’m about 100 pages in and it’s everything I wanted it to be and more. I’ve just finished learning about his upbringing and his first dip into the music industry. This coincided with a drink (or 8) I had with a friend last week, of who I used to be in a band with. This all got me thinking about the ‘good ole days’. So for this weeks blog, I’m going to talk about my younger life in music, t’was a simpler time. There’s so much to talk about, I’m going to split it up. </p>
<p>Before I even started playing guitar, one of the coolest things that I seen was a friend of mine (Nige, who would become a band mate 7 years later) playing Wonderwall on his driveway. My brother and I used to play football with him and one day he got his guitar out and started playing Wonderwall and I remember thinking ‘THAT SOUNDS JUST LIKE OASIS!! THAT’S AMAZING!!’. Obviously, I lived a very sheltered musical life up until that point. Now, every guy with an acoustic learns Wonderwall like it was loaded into their brain as they were born. I think that’s where the fascination started with guitar….I could play songs myself that sounded just like they do on my tape player at home (or at least it did in my head). At 12, I picked up the guitar because my brother did and I wanted to be better than him. My poor Mum had to listen to us practise for hours. I was obsessed with this Nylon string acoustic that I had. A year later, I would be playing ‘Wonderful Tonight’ by Eric Clapton with my brother at a school concert. I had a guitar teacher called Phil Watson, he was in a local band called Nemonix. He was great. He used to spend 20 minutes of the lesson playing Mars Volta riffs, then shout at my brother and his friend Ryan for being childish. Then would proceed to teach me Beatles riffs. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/12f8b563623e624bc4aa89372928cd11f43169ac/medium/309056-10150347871357709-514058605-n.jpg?1476283109" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Carl and I, playing my Mum's 40th (I think?) circa 2003</em></p>
<p>In December 2013, I played my first ever gig outside of school. It was supporting a band called ‘Katch 22’ who were basically my idols. Nige was in the band, along with Jay (singer, still one of the best singers I’ve worked with), Mike (Bass), Ned (Guitar) and Jono (Drums). Jono was like animal behind the kit. They sounded like a cross between Stereophonics, Oasis and The Calling and they were from Wrexham. They were our mentors. I can still remember the feeling before I went on stage. I remember crying because I snapped my Capo while practising backstage. I believe we made a make shift one from an Elastic Band and a pencil. We played In my Place (Coldplay), followed by With A Little Help From My Friends (The Beatles), Wherever You Will Go (The Calling) and I can't remember the other two. I remember the buzz I had when we came out and people were cheering. I was so nervous that I think I looked down at my guitar the whole time but what a feeling. What a gig. Katch 22 went on after us and tore Llay Welfare a new one. </p>
<p>My band was called ‘Endevour’ (It was spelled wrong but we were unaware for a good two years). It was me on Rhythm Guitar, my brother Jimi on Lead guitar, Carl on singing duties while Elliot and James Radhi provided the rhythm section. Radhi eventually left the band due to rumours going around the school that my brother and Carl were sniffing his mum’s knickers….I still don’t know whether that was true or not. My mum saved up to buy both my brother and I electric guitars, and that was it…I was a musician from there on in. In school, I learned songs to try and impress the girls, and got friend-zoned a lot. Around 2005, when McFly were coming out, they were my way to a girls heart. I also started writing songs at this point. As far as I know, my band at the time (Ruby Blue) were the first band to ever play an original song in a school concert. It was called ‘Changes’….I have a demo of it somewhere. It wasn’t half bad. I was still in Endevour, and we were playing the local Pub/Talent Competition circuit to great success. We won a few things and were getting paid for gigs in the end. We were on about £15 each for a good solid 6 hours of work. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/0f62ab636d69777abece53113b1a8f13bcf5fc3d/medium/10398814-8701954233-8748-n.jpg?1476283127" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>On our first tour...The Vine, Leeds., 2006</em></p>
<p>Endevour started playing more regularly and we were getting good. We were writing songs all the time and there was a progression. Nick had joined us on drums after Radhi left and that was a massive influence on us. He was great and had a shiny drum kit (that was all I knew and care about at the time). We practised in a community hall some weeks, and when Elliot’s parents were away, we’d use his living room. Neighbours didn’t like it. They also didn’t like it when we rehearsed in Carl or Nick’s garage either. The police were called a few times, which would lead me to hiding behind a shed for fear of being ‘sent away’. We never entertained the idea of practising in my house because my neighbours were coppers, so we would effectively be cutting the middle man out. My brother also left the band and was replaced by Pierce. This was during our transition of being a ‘pop rock’ band to becoming an out and out rock band. It was sad to see my brother leaving the band, but it did mean that I was promoted to lead guitar…which would surely get me the girls right? No. Endevour were great, I did my first tour with them in 2006 and it finished a day before I got my GCSE results. The band went onto become JKLMNO and we did a whole lot more touring and playing before I left in 2015. Endevour/JKLMNO was where I learned my ‘chops’, and probably wouldn’t be in this position now if it wasn’t for them. If any of the Endevour/JKLMNO lads read this, please write a comment below of any embarrassing stories you may of us from 2003-2006...I'm sure they are plenty. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/b1be5933b8463b808197f86532b5feb92c98369e/medium/230372-6771848654-132-n.jpg?1476283125" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>When Endevour became JKLMNO and played the Cavern, Liverpool</em></p>Danny Grufftag:www.dannygruff.com,2005:Post/44070852016-10-06T19:04:20+01:002020-06-05T05:20:07+01:00The Creative Process.....<p>I’m currently sat in a lovely bar in Cardiff called ’29 Park Place’. They have an Xbox 360 set up with FIFA on, the temptation to go and play and be counter productive is quite overwhelming. I’m playing in Gwdihw tonight, and did some filming for a show that will be shown on Made In Cardiff TV tonight. But that’s not what this blog is about… <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/8a2a664edd5d51ecd128194c0840d290a58bcf8f/medium/screen-shot-2016-10-06-at-16-57-28.png?1475775821" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>I’ve recently just finished reading Scroobius Pip’s latest book ‘Distraction Pieces’, which is basically transcripts from his Podcast which are equally as great. The book is split into sections such as ‘Politics’, ‘Mental Health’, ‘Comedy and Film’, but the section I found most fascinating was one called ‘The Creative Process’ and gave me the idea to talk about my creative process. I frequently get asked about how I go about writing songs, and this is a question without a definitive answer. However, I feel that if I talk about my previous experiences with writing, it may gave you a bit of an insight. Like Scroobius’ book, I’ve split it into sections. </p>
<p>ONTAW </p>
<p>‘ONTAW’ was the challenge that I set myself in 2015, where I released One New Tune A Week for a whole year. It was draining, emotionally and physically, but an exercise in writing that I would recommend to anyone. I originally set out to release a song every Wednesday. Due to other commitments (gigs….nights out etc), I fell a bit behind some weeks and tried to make it up in other weeks. The writing itself wasn’t an issue, the content was. Writing a song, recording said song, filming and editing a video for that song, all culminating in a weekly blog. I will just focus on the writing part for the sake of the blog though. I found that I was constantly writing, not so much with an instrument but in my head. I was very aware of my surroundings, and to quote myself, ‘Finding Beauty in Mundane’. When I reached around Week 20, I found that my brain never stopped working. I would boil the kettle and I’d get a lyric idea. All these ideas, I would write down in my phone. I specifically remember walking through my local park one day and seeing a conker on the ground. For some reason, it struck a chord (if you’ll excuse the pun), and before I knew it I had a whole concept for a song. I used to Conkers with my friends on the school yard when I was young. I’ll post the video below, and you can see where my mind took me. I always get lyric and melody ideas while driving as well, and my girlfriend bought me a dictaphone so I can get these recorded whilst on the M40. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="YpeDg5JqUNI" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/YpeDg5JqUNI/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YpeDg5JqUNI?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="200" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p>I found myself watching and listening to a lot of interviews with my favourite songwriters to find out about their creative process. One particular interview I remember watching was with Ryan Tedder. He talked about his career and claimed to tell his parents that he’ll be the Last Man Standing. I came up with another song that night which I’ll post below. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="4vxM-72dnGc" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/4vxM-72dnGc/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4vxM-72dnGc?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="200" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p>JKLMNO </p>
<p>JKLMNO was my old band, who I was with for around 10 years maybe? We had varied amounts of success. We played Benicassim festival, T In The Park and got played on the radio a fair bit. A particular highlight was James Dean Bradfield (Manic Street Preachers) praising a song that I produced on BBC Wales. In the grand scheme of things, we were useless at writing. Carl (singer) would usually come to practise with half a song and we’d put the rest to it. We found that we were always racing to finish these songs which made them suffer a bit. One month, we received a nice cheque from PRS, and we decided to book a writing holiday. We hired a cottage in Dumfries for 4 days. We set up all of our gear with the recording equipment in the room downstairs and when we had energy, we’d go and play. We had the occasional moments of jamming old songs but our focus was to write new stuff. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="LHdrcVH_i2E" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/LHdrcVH_i2E/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LHdrcVH_i2E?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="200" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p>The reason this worked was because we all had roles in this band for this trip. I was head of recording demos and programming instruments, Carl was head of Lyric writing, Elliot was the chef, Nick was the cleaner and Pierce had FIFA. We all have very varied music tastes, which made us struggle sometimes, but once we found the middle ground, the outcomes were beautiful. We came away from that trip with 3 new songs, nicely demo’d and it was such a good trip. We barely had phone signal in this place which was a massive factor. In Scroobius’ book, Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead, my body double) touches on this. He says that he works best when he’s confined. He hired a hotel room for a few weeks to write ‘Paul’, and because he was paying for this room, he stayed in it and was productive. It’s a great way to be productive. Confinement and costs. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="xSA_svaRd08" data-video-thumb-url="http://img.youtube.com/vi/xSA_svaRd08/0.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xSA_svaRd08?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="200" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p>CO WRITING </p>
<p>I’ve co wrote a fair few of my songs. I struggle finding people that I’m comfortable writing with though. I think you need to be able to be completely open and honest with the person, or people, that you are writing with. If you hate a melody, you should have the confidence to say that you hate it. It’s great when it comes to lyric writing because the other writers may have been through the same thing as you, and be able to phrase it slightly differently which opens up a whole new world of ideas. </p>
<p>I co wrote 3 of my ONTAW songs (I think…… could be 4). The first co write was with Jenny Stanley who was living with me at the moment. We were writing a song for her solo material, but we hit a wall and started jamming out other ideas. We started chatting about past relationships and then put pen to paper again. An hour later, a song called ‘Circles’ was born. It’s still one of my favourite songs that I’ve written. We never finished Jenny’s song. Apparently I used a lyric from it in another ONTAW song but I don’t recall which one. </p>
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<p>I’ve co wrote ALOT of songs with Dave Giles. We’re very good friends and very open with each other (sometimes too open), so writing is easy once we get down to it. We wrote an EP called ‘+1’ in 2013 and it only took maybe 3 writing sessions. One was accidental, we got drunk one night and started moaning about being single (or at least I did). As any drunken night used to go, we got a pen and paper out with a couple of guitars. We wrote a song called ‘Boy Who Gets The Girl’ that night, and I still think it’s a brilliant song. The original video that Dave put up was recorded that night, I was scared to watch it the next day. Before that, we wrote a song called ‘The Guitarist’, which we have both admitted is a dreadful song. Sometimes songs just come out fully written within the hour, ‘The Guitarist’ was one of them….In hindsight, we should’ve kept it to ourselves. </p>
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<p>MISCELLANEOUS </p>
<p>This is just another section of things to point that didn’t really fit in to the other sections: </p>
<ul> <li>Don’t be scared of the distraction. If you’re writing a song, and you feel like you want to give it a break and play a computer game, do it. Distraction is good. If you return to the song an hour after, you might’ve thought of a new idea. Making a cup of tea is always a good one as well. </li> <li>Persistence. After I finished my ONTAW challenge, I took a month off of writing as I wanted to give my head a rest. This is the worst thing that I could’ve done. When I got back to writing, it was so difficult. It felt like I was starting from day 1 again. Even if it’s just for 10 minutes a day, try and write a verse, or a chorus. Some are bad, some are good, which leads me onto the next point….. </li> <li>Always finish the shit songs. The amount of times in the past when I’ve started writing a song, got to the second verse and give up because it’s truly awful. What I learned when doing the ONTAW challenge, was to finish these songs. I have around 9 songs that I didn’t use for that challenge because I had to get the shit songs out of my head. I like closure. Sometimes, I persisted with a shit song, and it came out good. You’ll get the bridge or whatever, and you’ll spark a new idea which will completely shape the song. You’ll go back and change lyrics, the melodies and before you know it, you polished a turd. </li> <li>Open mics are good. Playing new songs live is KEY! I’m lucky at the moment as I have a residency at a venue in Camden. When I’ve been writing new songs, I’ve been playing them live. As you’re playing these songs live, you can gauge a crowds reaction to find what works and what doesn’t in that song. It’s worth risking your reputation sometimes…for the greater good. </li>
</ul>
<p>This was a long blog, but I hope you have taken something from it. I enjoyed writing it, It could’ve been 4 times longer to be honest. </p>
<p>Now I’m going to go and play FIFA, bye for now. </p>
<p>Things to check out: </p>
<p>Scroobius Pip’s Book (Amazon): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Distraction-Pieces-Scroobius-Pip/dp/1844039129/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1475776952&sr=8-1&keywords=scroobius+pip</p>
<p>Ryan Tedder ASCAP Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BgXIopnSyo</p>
<p>JKLMNO: www.jklmno.co.uk</p>
<p>Dave Giles: www.davejgiles.com</p>
<p>ONTAW Blog: https://dannygruffontaw.wordpress.com/</p>
<p>‘The Guitarist’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHIm8s0HR3Y</p>Danny Grufftag:www.dannygruff.com,2005:Post/43965022016-09-29T21:54:17+01:002020-06-05T05:20:14+01:00Every Cloud....<p>A few weeks ago, I got a lovely message from my friend ‘Bry’ asking me to support him and his band on their UK tour. I was over the moon and started telling people. A few weeks later, he sent me another lovely email telling me that he’s supporting Twenty One Pilots on their European tour. I’ve never really listened to them, or know who they are, but I do know that they’re a big deal. This however clashed with the tour that I was supposed to be on, which in turn, has been postponed apart from the London show. </p>
<p>So that left me (and Dave Giles who was also on the tour) with around 10 days free in our diary. I love touring more than most things in life. I love going out to cities and playing my own songs. Songs that I’ve spent hours/days/weeks/months writing in my bedroom, and sometimes people sing along. It’s the greatest feeling that I’ve known up until this point in my life. In my head, I was going on tour and I was really excited and now I had to find something to fill that void. Dave and I had a chat, and decided that to fill the void of a postponed tour, with another tour. </p>
<p>We had the idea on a bus coming home from watching American Idiot. We wanted to hire out small tiny rooms in the cities that we were meant to be playing. We didn’t want to charge people for the gig if they’d already bought a ticket for the original tour. So with this in mind, we decided to do a ‘Pay What You Want Tour’, as we need to cover our petrol and hotels and such like. </p>
<p>In all seriousness, the idea was the easiest part. That was last Thursday. Since then, we set up a group on Facebook and asked people to join if they were interested in helping us with the tour. The response was incredible, I was getting emails people offering to do websites, and naming every possible venue they could think. Dave and I were going to work on different cities individually and then only contact each other when we had good news. The good news didn’t come for some time. The problem with booking a tour this late on is that venues already have gigs going on. We were phoning every venue, sending out emails and joining groups on Facebook to try and get more help. </p>
<p>Unfortunately we couldn’t do the original cities on the exact dates so we tried to do the next best thing. And with a little help from our friends, this is what we came up with: </p>
<p>Sunday 16th October: B2, Norwich 14+ </p>
<p>Monday 17th October: Verve, Leeds 18+ </p>
<p>Tuesday 18th October: Gullivers, Manchester 18+ </p>
<p>Thursday 20th October: Four Bars, Cardiff 18+ </p>
<p>Sunday 23rd October: Jumping Jacks, Newcastle 14+ </p>
<p>I’d like to thank Sara in Cardiff for booking the Cardiff date for us, and Double Denim in Leeds for booking the Leeds date for us. We’re still desperately trying to get a Glasgow and Brighton date but it’s getting more and more unlikely as time goes on. </p>
<p>These gigs are PAY WHAT YOU WANT, but if you want you pre order a ticket and help us fund our travels here: </p>
<p>https://davejgiles.bandcamp.com/merch </p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for their help. It really is great to know people have you got your back when you need it. </p>
<p>And also…Massive Congrats to BRY for getting that massive tour. SMASH IT!</p>Danny Grufftag:www.dannygruff.com,2005:Post/43848562016-09-22T16:01:04+01:002020-06-05T05:20:26+01:00'The Art of Asking'<p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">At the beginning of this year, I set myself the challenge of reading 12 books in 12 months. It may not sound like much to you, but I’m not much of a reader. We’re currently in the 9th month of the year and I’ve just finished my 3rd book, the challenge is slipping away from me. </span><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/1c12c7267c055f93e5b58e87d0ef5986dd9d458c/small/img-1919.jpg?1474555790" class="size_s justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">However, the latest book that I’ve read is incredible. A year or so ago, my friend Ryan recommended a book to me called <em>‘The Art Of Asking’</em> by Amanda Palmer. I bought it almost instantly but it had been sitting on my book shelf (/microphone shelf/whiskey shelf/random instrument shelf) ever since. On my trip to Edinburgh last week, I thought I’d take it to pass the time. I was instantly drawn into it. Palmer writes about how she found it difficult to ask people for help/money/advice and in one case, a tampon. Then over the course of the book, you realise how important asking and trusting people actually is. If you don’t know much, if anything, about Amanda Palmer, she was the first musician to raise over 1 million dollars on a Kickstarter Campaign or any other Crowdfunding site for that matter. I can’t recommend the book enough, not just to musicians, it’s a great book for restoring faith in humanity (and we need that right now). </span><br> </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">Reading this book got me thinking about a few things as well which I’m going to write about now. Let’s start with my relationship with the people who follow my music (I hate the word ‘Fans’). I’ve been fortunate to be raised in this music world by peers who actively spend time with their followers. There is no barrier between the musician and the audience (however in some cases there is an actual physical barrier). First and foremost is Dave Giles. When I first met Dave, he had a very strong online presence with a lot of followers and he still does. He was around my house in Leeds once and he was tweeting people and I was asking who these people were, and he knew every single thing about that person…their cats name, what their favourite subject was at school, even their parents names. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but when it’s around 4000 people, it’s impressive. He had done this by spending time with his followers. REAL time, not just a photo and a high 5. I really liked this way of approaching things and adapted that when I started touring. I’m glad I did, it’s makes the whole touring process a lot less lonely when the people who turn up to your gigs are your friends. This is also why I'm kind of against 'VIP Meet and Greets' at shows. If I've got time, I'll speak to every person who came to the show and thank them for turning up. <br><br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/732b860373e0a45d43f29366fce9f095d6e4e041/medium/317140-2130476785373-2054936918-n.jpg?1474555740" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Dave and I, Leeds Cockpit 2011. On Dave's 'Touring For Tea' tour. My first proper venture into the touring world. </em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">When I really started to appreciate my relationship with my followers (is <em>‘followers’</em> less arrogant than <em>‘fans’</em>…I can’t make my mind up, give me a word), was when I would ask for things. Not in the sense of <em>‘BRING ME A 40 INCH PLASMA TELE’,</em> just little things. I successfully won a competition in 2012 to support James Bourne (of Busted/McBusted) of his solo UK Tour. This was through a voting system. I hate voting systems with an absolute passion but the people around me made me believe that I could actually win it, and I did. People would share the voting page with their friends and make marketing campaigns for me, it was incredible. The same happened in 2015 when I won another voting system competition to support People on Vacation. The reason I don’t like voting system competitions is because I like to earn something on merit. But with the way the industry is at the moment, it’s almost impossible to get noticed so you have to partake in them. I’m glad I did because I met some pretty awesome people through it. If you helped in either of those competitions, thank you so much, you won’t believe how much good it has done for me. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/9f040bdd57b65b7bf26ceaf37dfe0d7578dbabf2/medium/206628-10151343982217970-1596272911-n.jpg?1474555743" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><i>James Bourne, Myself and Portia Conn on Jame's Solo tour in Glasgow 2012</i></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">Sometimes I ask my followers for things that don’t benefit me and they’ll still help me out. My friend Carla was having a bad day once, so me and my friend Natalee decided to christen the day ‘Happy Sass Day’. We knew this would cheer Carla up. Natalee and I went round to Carla’s with balloons and alcohol which was a good start. I also sent out a Facebook status asking people to tweet Carla saying Happy Sass Day. She received over 200 tweets, and we still talk about that day now. That was pretty awesome. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/dd429df66064100fd0f28962f362e0fc00cbca11/medium/screen-shot-2016-09-22-at-15-25-12.png?1474555791" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">Asking people I’ve met and connected with for favours is a lot easier than asking strangers for money. Weird way to start a paragraph right? I’ve recently taken on a residency in a place called ‘Proud’ in Camden. It’s a lovely venue with a lovely terrace bar where you’ll find me 6-8 hours a week. The majority of our pay is dependant upon the kindness of the audience. It’s like a busking set up, but with a bar and a PA. I remember when I first did the gig, I played for 2 hours desperately trying to impress. I left a tip jar out with a couple of coins in. I don’t know what I was expecting, maybe people would think </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular"><em>‘SHIT, THIS GUY IS GOOD!!!’ </em>and put a £50 note in my jar. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">They didn’t, those couple of coins were left in there alone. I emailed the promoter and told him that it wasn’t worth losing my voice over for the money that you get paid from the bar. His reply was somewhere along the lines of </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><em><span class="font_regular">‘The other performers go around with their hat asking for change’. </span></em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">To which I replied <em>‘Isn’t that a bit like begging?’ </em></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">….it turns out it’s not and I realise that now. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">I persisted with the gig anyway because I like getting outdoors and playing music. I was still stuck in the mind set of ‘I’m not a beggar, but I am broke’. Slowly but surely I started getting more tips without going around asking. After my set one day, I got chatting to the guy who was on after me (I believe it was a guy called Luke) and he said: </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><em><span class="font_regular">‘I was like that, but I needed to pay my rent so I just did it. You’ve provided them with entertainment, some want to show gratitude’. </span></em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">I am probably paraphrasing there but the sentiment is there. So I started going around with my tip jar but saying ‘I’m trying to raise money to record an album’ and people would tip. I ended up making almost as much 3 times as what I was making. Not only that, I was meeting new people. Asking them for donations gave me a reason to talk to them. I’ve been drinking with people from all over the world because I’ve asked them for<em> ‘donations towards the live music’</em>. Some people buy me drinks, I’ve been left a few cigarettes in my jar before now, and even a packet of fruit pastilles. The way I see it is that I’ve sang them a few songs, whatever they put in my jar is a thank you for those songs. It’s not begging, it’s a two way street. Some people don’t tip, and I’m fine with that. They bought a drink at the bar, and supported a bar that hosts me. That’s how I discovered the difference between <em>‘begging’ </em>and <em>‘asking’</em>. Check out the bottom of my <a contents="‘Shows’" data-link-label="Shows" data-link-type="page" href="/shows" target="_blank">‘Shows’</a> page to see when I’m playing at Proud. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/d13fe2c9e63ed0b8f0beafe37d3dfc5a4437021a/medium/img-1925.png?1474555772" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>An Instagram post of me playing at Proud</em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">Lastly, I’d like to mention my album. At the beginning of the year, I decided it was time to finally record an album. A few of my friends have recorded albums before and I knew how much they cost. There was no way I could afford it with my wage alone. An obvious choice was to use a site like Pledgemusic or Kickstarter. On these sites, you can ask people to donate money towards your album in return for merchandise/music/hugs etc. As much as I love the idea of this, I have a few problems and insecurities with it. I never quite know what to offer. Musicians offer Handwritten lyric sheets, but my handwriting is awful so I wouldn’t feel comfortable doing it. Some people offer guitar lessons, I’m not that comfortable with that as my guitar skills aren’t up to much. What I’ve decided to do instead is sell new Merchandise with all profits going towards the album. The response to this has been overwhelming. If you're reading this, and you can think of something you'd want that would help me fund my album, leave a comment. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">A few months ago, I decided to make a CD called ‘Seasides and Necessities’. I had over 100 recordings which I’d never realised properly but thought they were good enough for human consumption. All CD’s would have a different track listing, all handwritten track listings and all CD’s were hand made. I planned to make 100, and thought I was going to sell 30 or 40 to begin with which gave me time to make them as I go along. Within 4 hours, all 100 had sold and I had raised nearly £400 for my album fund. This was when I started to believe that people wanted to help me. I’m not sure whether people bought them for the music or just to help me. Either way, it was incredible. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/93fa8685f482a53e1fc05732ce3bf28fdba1a688/medium/img-1926.png?1474555772" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><i>'Seasides And Necessities' post by Ellie Inman</i></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">A month or so after that, I decided to make USB’s with my complete discography on. I came across a design which was perfect but wasn’t confident that they’d sell. The design was that perfect, I simply HAD TO get them. I ordered 100, a few weeks later they were pretty much sold out and I was up to around £1600 in the album fund. People’s kindness and generosity never ceases to amaze me. I now realise that the people who are following my musical career are incredible, more incredible than I first thought. I’ve worked so hard over the past few years and I don’t think I would have if people weren’t believing in me. I don’t know if I’ve worded this properly, but I’m massively grateful for the people who support me. This is on any level from, people tweeting about my music, listening to my music, buying my merchandise, voting for me in a competition, coming to a show, hosting a house show, the list goes on. If you ask people for something, the worse they can do is say no. The other outcome is always surprising to me. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><em><span class="font_regular">‘You make your own path and you make you own luck </span></em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><em><span class="font_regular">Then you keep your head down and you never give up </span></em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><em><span class="font_regular">Keep all your friends and your family close </span></em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><em><span class="font_regular">They’ll have your back when you need it most </span></em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><em><span class="font_regular">You’ve got to keep faith in the path you chose’ </span></em></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="font_regular">Lyrics from a new song called <em>‘Don’t Expect To Be Surprised’</em></span></p>Danny Grufftag:www.dannygruff.com,2005:Post/43735782016-09-15T16:46:27+01:002020-06-05T05:20:38+01:00Edinburgh<p>So Blog Post #2…I’ve been looking forward to writing this one. I’m currently on a train back to London from Edinburgh. I’ve spent the last couple of days there with my girlfriend and seeing more friends along the way! It’s been awesome. Let’s start with Day 1…9am… </p>
<p>In March, I was on a train from Oxford to London and the train went on fire. I don’t like trains as it is, that’s why I learned to drive, but sometimes needs must. A train going on fire is a massive inconvenience, especially when it’s 2am and you’re stood in the freezing cold and haven’t slept in your own bed in two weeks. Anyway, everyone was safe and the train company apologised with a refund of my ticket price, and also a free first class return journey to use within a year. Straight away, I thought…EDINBURGH! So I booked a show and a hotel and packed my sense of adventure and away I went. When I turned up at King Cross, they told me that my ticket wasn’t valid….so a nice little £135 left my account to make sure I could do the show that night. Not the best start to the day, but it’s OK because I was heading to one of my favourite cities. 4 and a half hours and 100 pages of my book later, I arrived to be greeted my girlfriend. We then checked in at the hotel (which was a good 2 mile walk away, I definitely walked off my Maccy D’s breakfast) and headed to the show. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/da95de60b31bb2654bccad9b66541d84c8c1c7fd/medium/img-1617.jpg?1473954243" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>I’d been nervous about this show for a while. I knew there would be around 25-30 people coming to the show and I was familiar with people in the audience. My throat had been hoarse for a week so I apprehensive of that aswell. I turned up at the venue and it was stunning. Lovely little room, all seated out. It was the Speakeasy room in Voodoo Rooms, the staff could not have been friendlier. I had Ramona Rose supporting me, she was awesome. Her first time in Edinburgh, and her first time playing on the bill with me, hopefully not the last. Check out her social network things (/RamonaRoseUK). The show went off without a hitch, despite having 5 pints before playing (I kept drinking thinking it would get rid of the nerves, it didn’t, it just made me light headed and even more nervous). I can’t thank the people enough for coming to the show, it was great to play around 2 hours worth my music for you. Including some songs I’ve never played live, and some brand new ones. </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/C4khREbfN8g" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p>After the gig, my girlfriend and I headed out into the town with a few friends from the show. We were drinking in a rock bar, which is never good when you’ve lost your voice. Knowing I had 3 days off after that night, I chatted and drank away. I had a Bucky bomb for the first time (Like a Jager Bomb with Buckfast…vile). I’d say at this point, I was 8 or 9 pints and 2 Bucky Bombs down. Kieran (one of said friends) mentioned that his cousin has a bar that has live music til 3am. So we went there, and it was open mic. Being 3 sheets to the wind and with a voice hanging on by a string, I did 4 songs. All songs emanating to the finale of Mamma Mia. Of course. This was a great night. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/640a44ad1cc41edad3df95ca0de4f5f332204f5f/medium/img-1642.jpg?1473954330" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>The day after, was tourist day. The girlfriend and I met up with my friend, Pam (Pam-e-laaa for those who watch Gavin and Stacey). We visited all the Harry Potter tourist stops, including taking selfies in a Graveyard…I still don’t feel completely alright about that. What surprised me about Edinburgh was the amount of Street Performers. It’s a very creative city. I was reading ‘The Art of Asking’ by Amanda Palmer on the journey up and she discusses her early career as a street performer. Reading this made me empathise with them…I used every last bit of change I had. We also visited the Scotch Whiskey Experience, where you learn about Scotch Whiskey…obviously. This was great, and a great substitute for the Castle (which was £30 to enter, which would have been appealing if the earlier train ticket incident hadn’t occurred). We then parted ways with Pam (e-laaaa) and headed to Hard Rock Cafe. They let me put requests to play on the screens/speakers, that is one way you get a tip from me. The line up included…Bruce Springsteen, OneRepublic, Nachos, Against Me, Burger and Chips, Cocktail, Frank Turner, Cold Wars Kids, Beer followed by heartburn. The night ended in Fingers Piano Bar, which is my new favourite place. It’s a little cocktail type bar without the cocktails (I don’t think, I was on the Jamesons at this point) and at around 11, a guy came down to play tunes on the piano and sing. He was great, he did all my requests (Billy Joel, Elton John, Billy Joel, Elton John, James Taylor, Elton John…in that order). <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/1e18da1f7a484e9357721d78331ca453a4299650/medium/img-1631.jpg?1473954337" class="size_m justify_center border_" /><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/b5bb572d638d1853da5549201609986efb9e6174/medium/img-1651.jpg?1473954369" class="size_m justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>So that was my Edinburgh trip. I loved it and am now on a train sitting backward for 4 hours with a guy a few rows in front of me being kept on hold by HSBC…how do I know? He’s got the annoying music and recorded message on Loudspeaker. </p>
<p>I have no idea how often I’m going to write a blog. Probably when I’ve got something interesting to say. There’s some Wristbands on my Merch Store now available. They’re flying out. Also sign up to the mailing list to get a free download of Last Man Standing acoustic style. </p>
<p>And also, tour in October with Bry and Dave Giles…where tickets are apparently flying out. The Future Looks Good. </p>
<p>Links to check out: </p>
<p>Ramona Rose Facebook: www.facebook.com/RamonaRoseUK</p>
<p>Voodoo Rooms: http://www.thevoodoorooms.com/</p>
<p>Fingers Piano Bar: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fingers/131868623527520</p>
<p>Scotch Whisky Experience: https://www.scotchwhiskyexperience.co.uk/</p>
<p>Elephant House: http://www.elephanthouse.biz/house-menu.html</p>
<p>Greyfriars Graveyard: http://www.greyfriarskirk.com/visiting-kirk</p>
<p>Songs To Check Out: </p>
<p>OneRepublic-Future Looks Good </p>
<p>Cold War Kids-First </p>
<p>Billy Joel-She’s Always a Woman</p>Danny Grufftag:www.dannygruff.com,2005:Post/43564892016-09-04T15:58:04+01:002020-06-05T05:20:46+01:00New Tour, Album Update and General Happenings...<div style="text-align: justify;">It's been a whole 9 months since I've wrote a blog, so forgive me if this is a little rusty. This year was supposed to be a bit of a break for me, so that I could concentrate on my writing. However, I've been extremely busy. I think I've already racked up around 150 gigs. I've done a bit of writing, I've currently written around 13 songs for the new album. I've been playing a few of them live such as, 'Comfortable', 'Little Things' and 'Country Song'. I've no idea up until now which of these will make it onto the album. <br><br>I'm currently in talks with a few producers. I made a list of people that I'd love to work with and contacted them. The response rate is almost 100%, which is nice. As it currently stands, I think I'll be recording the album in Leeds with a producer called Andy Hawkins. <br><br>I bought a new guitar this week as well. I've been trying out guitars for 5 months now and still hadn't found the one I wanted....until yesterday. I was in a music shop (PMT in Manchester) looking at busking amps. I then stumbled across this beauty and immediately emptied my bank account. Totally worth it. Say Hello to Martina. </div><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/6a5a63f3fb2e517a54abe7a1b0421d7c941eb345/medium/14145563-1093636707395070-2146340129-n.jpg?1473000590" class="size_m justify_center border_" style="text-align: justify;" /><div style="text-align: justify;">As you may be aware, I've been 'Crowdfunding' my album. A few of my friends have used Crowd Funding websites, which works great for them but I felt I would do it without. I'm currently creating new Merchandise and all the profits goes towards my album. The total saved up currently stands around £2100, which is insane. So Thank You for that. I've also created a 'Donate' button at the bottom of this page, which can use if you like. I'm not sure how I feel about the whole 'Donate' thing, it may not stick around for long. <br>Other great news is that I'm going on tour again in October. My friend 'Bry' asked me if I'd like to support him alongside compadre 'Dave Giles'. We're playing alot of places. I'm very honoured to be on the bill with 2 great musicians. We all toured together in 2013 and it was so much fun. Since then, we've all come a long way as musicians so this should be great tour. Head over to my 'Shows' page to check out the dates and get tickets! Be great to see some familiar faces. </div><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/218097/80b2f8c4f27003e47cc14feb924ec0f1004db7ce/medium/14067571-838875739576851-1197791747637751170-n.png?1473000896" class="size_m justify_center border_" style="text-align: justify;" /><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br><br>That's it for this week! Hope you're enjoying the new look of the website. I plan to keep this updated as often as I can. I'm now going to go and write a masterpiece. I could fail. </div>Danny Gruff