Knowing Your Shit…
2022 In Review & Awards
2022 In Review & Awards
That FabricationsHQ has been playing catch-up this last year and more is perhaps best highlighted by this 2022 In Review/ Awards nod feature popping up when the third month of 2023 has already Marched in.
(But then time waits for no man. Sorry, person).
That said these In Review pieces are always a good month or more after the year in question as, more times than not, some prettty good stuff appears very late in the year, which can be missed by those who are already wrapping up both media business and presents for Christmas, or are already on holiday.
Also, of course, you gotta be hip and in-step with the 2022 happenings that are reviewed in 2023, right?, such as the Brit Awards that were handed out in February. (Nope, not so much as second of it; but I’m willing to bet Harry Styles wore the soles of his shoes out the number of times he was called up to the stage).
Ah, The Brits, a show of gloss, glitz and glamour that, 90% of the time, isn’t so much about unbiased or objective Voting Academy choices as it is chummy kow-towing to those that carry the biggest popularity status, celebrity, fanbase, news worthiness and Radio play.
(Not that the Brits are alone in mutual backslapping and "want another medal, Mutley?" award manoeuvres).
And while I'm at it – et tu, BBC Radio 2? For a station that up until fairly recently gave a fair hearing to a wide range of the new and the established, there's now a noticeable circling of the mainstream programming wagons around conformity.
But those Brit pack comments, cheekily dismissive as as they are (FabricationsHQ tends to carry a healthy dose of cynicsm and humour within the more deliberating and serious aspects of such articles), does return once again to the fact that, as is now a broken (but newly manufactured 180gram vinyl) record at Fabbers Central, such artists are not really, nor ever likely to be, a part of FabricationsHQ’s musical modus operandi.
While many a big name/ musician/ artist across many a genre does still get, and will continue to get, page space or namecheck coverage (although a few notables are conspicuous by their absence, either because they don’t need the additional coverage, are part of the King’s (ooh, topical) New Clothes brigade or buy their success rather than earn it) the site remains focussed on support and passionate promotion for those who need, merit and deserve the wider-audience exposure, from Celtic/ trad. folk & roots music to progressive metal and jazz-fusion, and most points in between.
Sadly however, and to repeat the opening remarks, there’s been less time to offer such support of late for a multitude of reasons (real life getting in the way of the fun stuff is a brief but accurate summation).
That should change in the coming months however as early retirement from the 9 to 5 now beckons (thank your chosen God for small but essential Private Pension pots that matured just before Liz completely Truss’d it up for so many); it won’t exactly be getting my better half and I to the Bahamas but it should allow me to pay myself a part-time pocket-money wage until the State Pension kicks in a handful of years down the road (although what State that is likely to be in by then, etc.)
Limited time on music media support over the last year or so has however allowed me to step back, take stock, compare and look at the good (indeed excellent, many whom I doff my writer’s cap to), the bad and the downright ugly written (and spoken) word. More on which later.
My limited music-support has been compounded by the fact that there are seemingly more artists than ever trying to make a name for themselves, from the unsigned band that’s got something a little different to offer to artists that have perhaps already been noticed and are now starting to make progress up the ladder.
Covid-19 and the pandemic was about as negative a life (and death) event as you could imagine but it did allow time for many a budding artist, act or band to get it together and start looking to what they could do once out the other side (although, lest we forget dear flat earthers and unbelievers, Covid-19 hasn’t gone away (and may never be fully eradicated), it’s just much less of a threat).
And then there were a host of already established acts, in many a genre, who, for whatever reasons (extended lockdown times to record and (re)evaluate material being one of them), produced their best works to date.
Fellow Canadians Steve "one-man-blues-rock-band" Hill and Chris Antonik, for example, delivered their best studio albums thus far with the upbeat, horns driven rockin’ blues of Dear Illusion and wide-screen blues rock of Morningstar, respectively.
The latter, opened by the weighty swagger of the riff-led 'Waves of Stone,' got FabricationsHQ’s Album of the Year nod, while that lead-off song was cited by FabricationsHQ as "the best modern blues rock song of the year."
(But then time waits for no man. Sorry, person).
That said these In Review pieces are always a good month or more after the year in question as, more times than not, some prettty good stuff appears very late in the year, which can be missed by those who are already wrapping up both media business and presents for Christmas, or are already on holiday.
Also, of course, you gotta be hip and in-step with the 2022 happenings that are reviewed in 2023, right?, such as the Brit Awards that were handed out in February. (Nope, not so much as second of it; but I’m willing to bet Harry Styles wore the soles of his shoes out the number of times he was called up to the stage).
Ah, The Brits, a show of gloss, glitz and glamour that, 90% of the time, isn’t so much about unbiased or objective Voting Academy choices as it is chummy kow-towing to those that carry the biggest popularity status, celebrity, fanbase, news worthiness and Radio play.
(Not that the Brits are alone in mutual backslapping and "want another medal, Mutley?" award manoeuvres).
And while I'm at it – et tu, BBC Radio 2? For a station that up until fairly recently gave a fair hearing to a wide range of the new and the established, there's now a noticeable circling of the mainstream programming wagons around conformity.
But those Brit pack comments, cheekily dismissive as as they are (FabricationsHQ tends to carry a healthy dose of cynicsm and humour within the more deliberating and serious aspects of such articles), does return once again to the fact that, as is now a broken (but newly manufactured 180gram vinyl) record at Fabbers Central, such artists are not really, nor ever likely to be, a part of FabricationsHQ’s musical modus operandi.
While many a big name/ musician/ artist across many a genre does still get, and will continue to get, page space or namecheck coverage (although a few notables are conspicuous by their absence, either because they don’t need the additional coverage, are part of the King’s (ooh, topical) New Clothes brigade or buy their success rather than earn it) the site remains focussed on support and passionate promotion for those who need, merit and deserve the wider-audience exposure, from Celtic/ trad. folk & roots music to progressive metal and jazz-fusion, and most points in between.
Sadly however, and to repeat the opening remarks, there’s been less time to offer such support of late for a multitude of reasons (real life getting in the way of the fun stuff is a brief but accurate summation).
That should change in the coming months however as early retirement from the 9 to 5 now beckons (thank your chosen God for small but essential Private Pension pots that matured just before Liz completely Truss’d it up for so many); it won’t exactly be getting my better half and I to the Bahamas but it should allow me to pay myself a part-time pocket-money wage until the State Pension kicks in a handful of years down the road (although what State that is likely to be in by then, etc.)
Limited time on music media support over the last year or so has however allowed me to step back, take stock, compare and look at the good (indeed excellent, many whom I doff my writer’s cap to), the bad and the downright ugly written (and spoken) word. More on which later.
My limited music-support has been compounded by the fact that there are seemingly more artists than ever trying to make a name for themselves, from the unsigned band that’s got something a little different to offer to artists that have perhaps already been noticed and are now starting to make progress up the ladder.
Covid-19 and the pandemic was about as negative a life (and death) event as you could imagine but it did allow time for many a budding artist, act or band to get it together and start looking to what they could do once out the other side (although, lest we forget dear flat earthers and unbelievers, Covid-19 hasn’t gone away (and may never be fully eradicated), it’s just much less of a threat).
And then there were a host of already established acts, in many a genre, who, for whatever reasons (extended lockdown times to record and (re)evaluate material being one of them), produced their best works to date.
Fellow Canadians Steve "one-man-blues-rock-band" Hill and Chris Antonik, for example, delivered their best studio albums thus far with the upbeat, horns driven rockin’ blues of Dear Illusion and wide-screen blues rock of Morningstar, respectively.
The latter, opened by the weighty swagger of the riff-led 'Waves of Stone,' got FabricationsHQ’s Album of the Year nod, while that lead-off song was cited by FabricationsHQ as "the best modern blues rock song of the year."
Steve Hill, for his part, didn’t stop with the Dear Illusion album; there was also a limited edition Dear Illusion comic book, which cleverly told a (sci-fi) tale linked to the songs on the album, with artwork landscapes and themes that tapped into Hill’s previous solo album Desert Trip (discussed in FabricationsHQ’s extended chat with Steve at the top of 2023).
Steve Hill is far from the first to dovetail rock music with comic book imagery, but he did manage, quite unknowingly, to parallel such an artistic endeavour with another outstanding 2022 album from a new band featuring another Canadian (there must have been something in the 2022 Canada Dry Ginger Ale).
SiX BY SiX, a power-trio supergroup featuring the talents of American singer/ songwriter/ multi-instrumentalist Robert Berry, Saxon drummer Nigel Glockler and guitarist Ian Crichton of Canadian prog rockers SAGA, produced a comic book entitled The Journey Internal to sit aside their sonically vibrant, progressively-tinged, modern rock self-titled debut album (earning the FabricationsHQ nod as Rock based Album of the Year).
Other progressively themed notables included the metal-shod Kandia from Portugal (built around the impressive vocal talents of Nya Cruz and guitarist André Da Cruz) and LALU (aka French recording artist, keyboardist and producer Vivien Lalu) with Paint The Sky.
Both helped prove music, in its most interesting of forms, can come from any country you care to check out.
In instrumental fusion circles, Russian composer and keyboardist Valeriy Stepanov, as the Valeriy Stepanov Fusion Project, released the excellent Album No. 2.
An even stronger companion piece to 2018’s Album No.1, Stepanov and the follow-up sat a little more under the radar than would have normally been the case, for obvious homeland reasons.
Also instrumentally shining, in rock terms, was Joe Satriani, with one of his more sonically exploring releases The Elephant of Mars.
Guitarist Dave Cureton (of Birmingham based symphonic progressives IO Earth) delivered his own, primarily instrumental album State Of Mind in the esteemed rhythmic company of talented bassist William Kopecky and renowned drummer Marco Minnemann; collectively they gave Satch a run for his rock instrumental money.
Coming from a more ambient soundscape field was Scottish composer and guitarist Ali Ferguson whose album The Contemplative Power Of Water was a heady and inspired mix of Floyd-esque passages and soft-toned vocals (if there had been an award for Album Title of the Year he’d have nailed that too).
Steve Hill is far from the first to dovetail rock music with comic book imagery, but he did manage, quite unknowingly, to parallel such an artistic endeavour with another outstanding 2022 album from a new band featuring another Canadian (there must have been something in the 2022 Canada Dry Ginger Ale).
SiX BY SiX, a power-trio supergroup featuring the talents of American singer/ songwriter/ multi-instrumentalist Robert Berry, Saxon drummer Nigel Glockler and guitarist Ian Crichton of Canadian prog rockers SAGA, produced a comic book entitled The Journey Internal to sit aside their sonically vibrant, progressively-tinged, modern rock self-titled debut album (earning the FabricationsHQ nod as Rock based Album of the Year).
Other progressively themed notables included the metal-shod Kandia from Portugal (built around the impressive vocal talents of Nya Cruz and guitarist André Da Cruz) and LALU (aka French recording artist, keyboardist and producer Vivien Lalu) with Paint The Sky.
Both helped prove music, in its most interesting of forms, can come from any country you care to check out.
In instrumental fusion circles, Russian composer and keyboardist Valeriy Stepanov, as the Valeriy Stepanov Fusion Project, released the excellent Album No. 2.
An even stronger companion piece to 2018’s Album No.1, Stepanov and the follow-up sat a little more under the radar than would have normally been the case, for obvious homeland reasons.
Also instrumentally shining, in rock terms, was Joe Satriani, with one of his more sonically exploring releases The Elephant of Mars.
Guitarist Dave Cureton (of Birmingham based symphonic progressives IO Earth) delivered his own, primarily instrumental album State Of Mind in the esteemed rhythmic company of talented bassist William Kopecky and renowned drummer Marco Minnemann; collectively they gave Satch a run for his rock instrumental money.
Coming from a more ambient soundscape field was Scottish composer and guitarist Ali Ferguson whose album The Contemplative Power Of Water was a heady and inspired mix of Floyd-esque passages and soft-toned vocals (if there had been an award for Album Title of the Year he’d have nailed that too).
Rock fans and comic-book geeks of the world unite (artwork by Rob Cannon and JC Baez, respectively)
In the blues world, it was great to see and hear old-stager Larry McCray getting deserved kudos for his album Blues Without You, ably assisted by Joe Bonamassa and his Keeping The Blues Alive team (the independent KTBA label helps put those who have been out of the spotlight (or never really been in it, and deserve a chance to shine) back under it.
In modern blues terms South Africa’s Dan Patlansky delivered once again with latest offering Shelter Of Bones while the rootsier side of the blues was extremely well catered for, with great albums from Elles Bailey (Shining In The Half Light), the Nashville based Steve Dawson (Gone, Long Gone and the wholly instrumental Phantom Threshold) and Toronto’s The Commoners, who delivered the soul-fuelled roots blues of Find A Better Way, which pipped Miss Bailey’s album here at Fabbers for Roots based Album of 2022.
English singer-songwriter KB Bayley also has a rootsy/ slightly Nashville air about his compositional style but is undeniably and quintessentially British (his songs are, in his own words, inspired by the "rain swept seaside towns of modern Britain").
His album Flatlands (primarily performed on an open tuned Weissenborn guitar) was as intimate as it was evocative, making it FabricationsHQ‘s choice for Singer-Songwriter Album of 2022, while Alice DiMicele got the nod for Trad./ Folk based Album of the Year with Every Seed We Plant.
Taking slow but sure steps on the singer-songwriter front was Jack Mylchreest, whose debut EP In My Stride (perfectly named given the crapshoot that is today’s music path, which has more tripping hazards than pavings with good intentions) caught the ear of FabricationsHQ, among others.
That Jack is one to watch is not in question, as are the broad-scoped and multi-styled blues rock band Brave Rival, whose debut album Life’s Machine made quite an impression on many a blues rock fan and critic.
It edged out Chaos is Calling, from contemporary hard rockers Kira Mac, as Debut Album of the Year here at Fabbers Central.
In the metal spectrum, Ardours (formed around the talented duo of Italian vocalist Mariangela Demurtas and fellow Italian & multi-instrumentalist Kris Laurent) impressively blurred the lines between alt-rock, metal, 80s New Wave and goth; making a large blip on the heavy rock radar were The Howling Tides, a no frills quartet of passionate young guns who mixed the contemporary with the classic to fine effect on second EP Blue Moon.
The same sort of no frills, sleeves up attitude was heard on the sonically impacting guitar rock of Stand And Fight, the third studio album from Burnt Out Wreck, fronted by ex-Heavy Pettin man Gary Moat.
Both album and band are as defiant in their old school stance as they are dogged in their determination to keep it rock 'n' real.
As an aside, it’s interesting to note Heavy Pettin, who reappeared in a three originals reunion guise some six years back, now sport the same number of Pettin originals (singer Stephen Hayman) as Burnt Out Wreck – Hamie Pettin, anyone?
In modern blues terms South Africa’s Dan Patlansky delivered once again with latest offering Shelter Of Bones while the rootsier side of the blues was extremely well catered for, with great albums from Elles Bailey (Shining In The Half Light), the Nashville based Steve Dawson (Gone, Long Gone and the wholly instrumental Phantom Threshold) and Toronto’s The Commoners, who delivered the soul-fuelled roots blues of Find A Better Way, which pipped Miss Bailey’s album here at Fabbers for Roots based Album of 2022.
English singer-songwriter KB Bayley also has a rootsy/ slightly Nashville air about his compositional style but is undeniably and quintessentially British (his songs are, in his own words, inspired by the "rain swept seaside towns of modern Britain").
His album Flatlands (primarily performed on an open tuned Weissenborn guitar) was as intimate as it was evocative, making it FabricationsHQ‘s choice for Singer-Songwriter Album of 2022, while Alice DiMicele got the nod for Trad./ Folk based Album of the Year with Every Seed We Plant.
Taking slow but sure steps on the singer-songwriter front was Jack Mylchreest, whose debut EP In My Stride (perfectly named given the crapshoot that is today’s music path, which has more tripping hazards than pavings with good intentions) caught the ear of FabricationsHQ, among others.
That Jack is one to watch is not in question, as are the broad-scoped and multi-styled blues rock band Brave Rival, whose debut album Life’s Machine made quite an impression on many a blues rock fan and critic.
It edged out Chaos is Calling, from contemporary hard rockers Kira Mac, as Debut Album of the Year here at Fabbers Central.
In the metal spectrum, Ardours (formed around the talented duo of Italian vocalist Mariangela Demurtas and fellow Italian & multi-instrumentalist Kris Laurent) impressively blurred the lines between alt-rock, metal, 80s New Wave and goth; making a large blip on the heavy rock radar were The Howling Tides, a no frills quartet of passionate young guns who mixed the contemporary with the classic to fine effect on second EP Blue Moon.
The same sort of no frills, sleeves up attitude was heard on the sonically impacting guitar rock of Stand And Fight, the third studio album from Burnt Out Wreck, fronted by ex-Heavy Pettin man Gary Moat.
Both album and band are as defiant in their old school stance as they are dogged in their determination to keep it rock 'n' real.
As an aside, it’s interesting to note Heavy Pettin, who reappeared in a three originals reunion guise some six years back, now sport the same number of Pettin originals (singer Stephen Hayman) as Burnt Out Wreck – Hamie Pettin, anyone?
Beyond all the above were dozens of other acts and artists in various genres making 2022 another good year for music.
A small cherry picked selection include singer Tommy DeCarlo being more Boston than Boston on Dancing in the Moonlight; old stagers Tears For Fears delivering big time with Tipping Point; label owner John Clay’s Indie-rock vibe’d art for art’s sake album Rusty Guitar; blues-rock guitar virtuoso Eric Gales and his best studio work to date, Crown; The Zealot Gene, the first album to carry the Jethro Tull name in 18 years, was also worthy of its mention.
Then there's Laurence Jones, who got back on blues rock track with Destination Unknown, while The Starlite Campbell Band issued not one but two highly entertaining, genre stretching live albums (blues rock husband & wife duo Suzy Starlite and Simon Campbell favour artistic adventure over one dimensionality).
There were delightful sounds to be heard through The Round Window by the Essex based quintet of the same name (musically hearkening back to the mid-70s and that transitional period where the British rock and prog trees developed softer, melodic branches); Pat Travers knocked out his best album in years with the perfectly titled The Art of Time Travel, mixing his current bluesier rock with his classic 70s sound.
Similarly 70s sounding (specifically that mid 70s period of US music where rock mixed happily with soul, funk, AOR and bags harmonies & hooks) were The Moon City Masters (featuring twin brothers Jordan & Talor Steinberg) and their cheekily titled The Famous Moon City Masters.
Bringing things up to sonic sounding date was Rebecca Downes with The Space Between Us, where Miss Downes and band, whilst having a blues-rock foundation, stretched and pushed their bell-tolling, artistic boundaries further.
A small cherry picked selection include singer Tommy DeCarlo being more Boston than Boston on Dancing in the Moonlight; old stagers Tears For Fears delivering big time with Tipping Point; label owner John Clay’s Indie-rock vibe’d art for art’s sake album Rusty Guitar; blues-rock guitar virtuoso Eric Gales and his best studio work to date, Crown; The Zealot Gene, the first album to carry the Jethro Tull name in 18 years, was also worthy of its mention.
Then there's Laurence Jones, who got back on blues rock track with Destination Unknown, while The Starlite Campbell Band issued not one but two highly entertaining, genre stretching live albums (blues rock husband & wife duo Suzy Starlite and Simon Campbell favour artistic adventure over one dimensionality).
There were delightful sounds to be heard through The Round Window by the Essex based quintet of the same name (musically hearkening back to the mid-70s and that transitional period where the British rock and prog trees developed softer, melodic branches); Pat Travers knocked out his best album in years with the perfectly titled The Art of Time Travel, mixing his current bluesier rock with his classic 70s sound.
Similarly 70s sounding (specifically that mid 70s period of US music where rock mixed happily with soul, funk, AOR and bags harmonies & hooks) were The Moon City Masters (featuring twin brothers Jordan & Talor Steinberg) and their cheekily titled The Famous Moon City Masters.
Bringing things up to sonic sounding date was Rebecca Downes with The Space Between Us, where Miss Downes and band, whilst having a blues-rock foundation, stretched and pushed their bell-tolling, artistic boundaries further.
While the plaudits for all the aforementioned are genuine, most reviews on FabricationsHQ (and indeed various commentaries, articles and even interview features) also carry constructive criticism where it's a merited part of the overview; this goes against the grain of many music media, website and magazine contemporaries, who pepper any prose with the most superlative of A(wesome!) to Z(ero filler!) commentary, with never a negative word spoken or written.
The irony is while that tends to suit those in PR who don’t want an honest evaluation, just over-the-top literary lavishness from which to pick out a promotional quote or three, most artists (at least those that judge their work, and any success, by more than audience numbers) would much rather have a well-constructed review that is honest and accurate, justified criticism included.
One example that covers both sides of that argument is from a couple of years back when Unknown Refuge, a young band (only then just leaving their teenage years) thanked FabricationsHQ for what was a positive review of their rock-metal debut album, but also pointed out some weaknesses (which they took on board).
Meanwhile another reviewer, writing up the same album, concluded with the statement "these boys have just delivered a flawless album!"
Well there you go lads, best stop now, sell the instruments and get yourself other jobs because you can’t go anywhere now but down (and best of luck to anyone ever finding a truly flawless album).
Such overly-positive promotion brings me to the subject of those that are in the business of music media/ support for their own self-aggrandisement, personal gain or to seek advantage, where never a negative word will be heard, written or uttered; as the aforementioned Robert Berry said to me a few years ago in interview:
"A lot of writers want to get everything from everyone and not offend anyone so they get every favour."
Now, to be fair, there are many in all walks of music media and promotional life with an integrity, honesty and dedication to their craft that is to be applauded, but it’s the old adage of it only takes one bad apple, one that leaves a sour taste and devalues the work of those that adhere to the above values.
Personal favourites include the outrageous claims brigade, who do all in their power to look, sound, and act as important as the actual artists.
One such reviewer and interviewer (I’m using both those words in their loosest possible sense) started claiming a few years ago, to any and all that would listen (or daft enough to be taken in by it) hits or reads of "thirty to forty thousand" per review/ interview.
Having never been pulled up for it, the numbers kept growing – one video interview towards the end of last year claimed directly to the interviewee that said interviews were now "seen by 200,000" people, across many countries.
Turns out (it’s really easy to check some base figures and, for a fee, a full and detailed analytics report of a specific weblink or its host site) those numbers (and geographical locations) were a tad inaccurate, proof of which can be gleaned by checking any number of video-interviews by any number of interviewers/ media teams that upload to YouTube (the site for your visual wares to be seen and watched).
In the case of the Walter Mitty of music media, some viewing numbers snuck into four figures, but certainly not six, let alone five; more recently most were stuggling to break into three figures.
As regards video interviews that go up within hours
(or the next day) of being filmed/ recorded, completely unedited (a popular, quick, easy and lazy ploy) – if the artist knows or accepts it’s going straight up, unedited, just how open, relaxed or comfortable do you think an artist is going to be and, by association, how good or interesting do you think that interview is going to be?
(Real) viewing numbers don’t lie.
Nor can it possibly help an artist, or reader, when the quality of a written word piece is such that it is, for want of a better phrase, musically and grammatically illiterate.
One musician of note and decades standing, having read from one such poorly scribed source (which, in places, was musically non-sensical), confided to me that "if that’s supposed to be a description of how I play then I don’t know whether to laugh or cry."
Another friend, who had been a teacher, responded by advising that "if that had been written by a ten-year-old in English class it would be red-lined, handed back and told to be done again."
And therein lies both the problem and the great divide.
While some of us strive to be the best writers we can be (and proud members of the ever-diminishing-in-numbers Grammar Police), others are happy to knock out something that declares a 10 out of 10 awesomeness while looking like it has been Google translated (badly) from another language, without any commas or full stops.
It's the difference between knowing your shit and knowing you’re shit, or in the case of the latter, clearly not knowing.
But, of course, there's the counter-argument that any promotion is still promotion, no matter how amateurish or poorly couched it may be.
Fair play, it’s all about choice at the end of the day and many acts need all the support they can get, no matter how good, bad or ugly-worded it may be.
Media politics aside, soap box away (it's my webpage party and I'll cry (foul) if I want to) and in summation, I’m very happy with FabricationsHQ’s small but tasty piece of the 'Muirsical' pie (a small slice of which has appeared in Rolling Stone magazine, which trumps 200,000 pulled-out-the-air views any day of the week).
And so are those I work with, as a number of CD liner notes and Bio commissions, promotional pieces, various ghost-written press releases, proofing & editing work and ongoing advisories on a forthcoming book on a major rock band all help prove.
(My thanks also to friend & musician Nelson McFarlane for his excellent contributions through 2022).
And, with day job retirement now fast approaching, there will be more time to spend on review, support and promotion (and probably freelance PR), all based on the standards I’ve tried to adhere to since Day One.
Much like the standards set by those on the following list who, along with every other artist and band (yeah, even those who featured in the Brit Awards), enrich our lives immeasurably through music.
You have to strive to produce your best and give it everything you got, people.
The irony is while that tends to suit those in PR who don’t want an honest evaluation, just over-the-top literary lavishness from which to pick out a promotional quote or three, most artists (at least those that judge their work, and any success, by more than audience numbers) would much rather have a well-constructed review that is honest and accurate, justified criticism included.
One example that covers both sides of that argument is from a couple of years back when Unknown Refuge, a young band (only then just leaving their teenage years) thanked FabricationsHQ for what was a positive review of their rock-metal debut album, but also pointed out some weaknesses (which they took on board).
Meanwhile another reviewer, writing up the same album, concluded with the statement "these boys have just delivered a flawless album!"
Well there you go lads, best stop now, sell the instruments and get yourself other jobs because you can’t go anywhere now but down (and best of luck to anyone ever finding a truly flawless album).
Such overly-positive promotion brings me to the subject of those that are in the business of music media/ support for their own self-aggrandisement, personal gain or to seek advantage, where never a negative word will be heard, written or uttered; as the aforementioned Robert Berry said to me a few years ago in interview:
"A lot of writers want to get everything from everyone and not offend anyone so they get every favour."
Now, to be fair, there are many in all walks of music media and promotional life with an integrity, honesty and dedication to their craft that is to be applauded, but it’s the old adage of it only takes one bad apple, one that leaves a sour taste and devalues the work of those that adhere to the above values.
Personal favourites include the outrageous claims brigade, who do all in their power to look, sound, and act as important as the actual artists.
One such reviewer and interviewer (I’m using both those words in their loosest possible sense) started claiming a few years ago, to any and all that would listen (or daft enough to be taken in by it) hits or reads of "thirty to forty thousand" per review/ interview.
Having never been pulled up for it, the numbers kept growing – one video interview towards the end of last year claimed directly to the interviewee that said interviews were now "seen by 200,000" people, across many countries.
Turns out (it’s really easy to check some base figures and, for a fee, a full and detailed analytics report of a specific weblink or its host site) those numbers (and geographical locations) were a tad inaccurate, proof of which can be gleaned by checking any number of video-interviews by any number of interviewers/ media teams that upload to YouTube (the site for your visual wares to be seen and watched).
In the case of the Walter Mitty of music media, some viewing numbers snuck into four figures, but certainly not six, let alone five; more recently most were stuggling to break into three figures.
As regards video interviews that go up within hours
(or the next day) of being filmed/ recorded, completely unedited (a popular, quick, easy and lazy ploy) – if the artist knows or accepts it’s going straight up, unedited, just how open, relaxed or comfortable do you think an artist is going to be and, by association, how good or interesting do you think that interview is going to be?
(Real) viewing numbers don’t lie.
Nor can it possibly help an artist, or reader, when the quality of a written word piece is such that it is, for want of a better phrase, musically and grammatically illiterate.
One musician of note and decades standing, having read from one such poorly scribed source (which, in places, was musically non-sensical), confided to me that "if that’s supposed to be a description of how I play then I don’t know whether to laugh or cry."
Another friend, who had been a teacher, responded by advising that "if that had been written by a ten-year-old in English class it would be red-lined, handed back and told to be done again."
And therein lies both the problem and the great divide.
While some of us strive to be the best writers we can be (and proud members of the ever-diminishing-in-numbers Grammar Police), others are happy to knock out something that declares a 10 out of 10 awesomeness while looking like it has been Google translated (badly) from another language, without any commas or full stops.
It's the difference between knowing your shit and knowing you’re shit, or in the case of the latter, clearly not knowing.
But, of course, there's the counter-argument that any promotion is still promotion, no matter how amateurish or poorly couched it may be.
Fair play, it’s all about choice at the end of the day and many acts need all the support they can get, no matter how good, bad or ugly-worded it may be.
Media politics aside, soap box away (it's my webpage party and I'll cry (foul) if I want to) and in summation, I’m very happy with FabricationsHQ’s small but tasty piece of the 'Muirsical' pie (a small slice of which has appeared in Rolling Stone magazine, which trumps 200,000 pulled-out-the-air views any day of the week).
And so are those I work with, as a number of CD liner notes and Bio commissions, promotional pieces, various ghost-written press releases, proofing & editing work and ongoing advisories on a forthcoming book on a major rock band all help prove.
(My thanks also to friend & musician Nelson McFarlane for his excellent contributions through 2022).
And, with day job retirement now fast approaching, there will be more time to spend on review, support and promotion (and probably freelance PR), all based on the standards I’ve tried to adhere to since Day One.
Much like the standards set by those on the following list who, along with every other artist and band (yeah, even those who featured in the Brit Awards), enrich our lives immeasurably through music.
You have to strive to produce your best and give it everything you got, people.
Ross Muir
2022 In Review
2022 In Review
FabricationsHQ 2022 Roll of Honour
Album of the Year: Chris Antonik – Morningstar
Rock Album of the Year: SiX BY SiX – SiX BY SiX
Blues Album of the Year: Larry McCray – Blues Without You
Blues Rock Album of the Year: Steve Hill – Dear Illusion
Melodic Rock Album of the Year: Tommy DeCarlo – Dancing in the Moonlight
Metal based Album of the Year: Ardours – Anatomy of a Moment
Ambient based Album of the Year: Ali Ferguson – The Contemplative Power Of Water
Progressive Album of the Year: LALU – Paint the Sky
Progressive Metal Album of the Year: Kandia – Kandia
Roots Rock Album of the Year: The Commoners – Find a Better Way
Singer-Songwriter Album of the Year: KB Bayley – Flatlands
Trad/ Folk Album of the Year: Alice DiMicele – Every Seed We Plant
Instrumental Album (Rock) of the Year: Joe Satriani – The Elephants of Mars
Instrumental Album (Jazz/ Fusion) of the Year: Valeriy Stepanov Project - Album No. 2
Debut Album of the Year: Brave Rival – Life’s Machine
Live Album(s) of the Year: Starlite Campbell Band – Live! & Live! 2
Supplemental Awards
'Try Not To Smile' Feelgood Video of the Year: Everything You Got – Steve Hill
Keeping it No Frills & Old-School: Burnt Out Wreck (Stand And Fight)
Pushing Boundaries & Annoying The Blues Police (which deserves an award in itself): Rebecca Downes (The Space Between Us)
Artistic Expression over Commercial Gain: John Clay, for Rusty Guitar (album) and Stunted Records (label)
Ones to Watch: Jack Mylchreest; Howling Tides; Brave Rival; Kira Mac
FabricationsHQ 2022 Roll of Honour
Album of the Year: Chris Antonik – Morningstar
Rock Album of the Year: SiX BY SiX – SiX BY SiX
Blues Album of the Year: Larry McCray – Blues Without You
Blues Rock Album of the Year: Steve Hill – Dear Illusion
Melodic Rock Album of the Year: Tommy DeCarlo – Dancing in the Moonlight
Metal based Album of the Year: Ardours – Anatomy of a Moment
Ambient based Album of the Year: Ali Ferguson – The Contemplative Power Of Water
Progressive Album of the Year: LALU – Paint the Sky
Progressive Metal Album of the Year: Kandia – Kandia
Roots Rock Album of the Year: The Commoners – Find a Better Way
Singer-Songwriter Album of the Year: KB Bayley – Flatlands
Trad/ Folk Album of the Year: Alice DiMicele – Every Seed We Plant
Instrumental Album (Rock) of the Year: Joe Satriani – The Elephants of Mars
Instrumental Album (Jazz/ Fusion) of the Year: Valeriy Stepanov Project - Album No. 2
Debut Album of the Year: Brave Rival – Life’s Machine
Live Album(s) of the Year: Starlite Campbell Band – Live! & Live! 2
Supplemental Awards
'Try Not To Smile' Feelgood Video of the Year: Everything You Got – Steve Hill
Keeping it No Frills & Old-School: Burnt Out Wreck (Stand And Fight)
Pushing Boundaries & Annoying The Blues Police (which deserves an award in itself): Rebecca Downes (The Space Between Us)
Artistic Expression over Commercial Gain: John Clay, for Rusty Guitar (album) and Stunted Records (label)
Ones to Watch: Jack Mylchreest; Howling Tides; Brave Rival; Kira Mac