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The gig went very well overall. There were some bits and bobs that could’ve been avoided but the team dealt with them very easily and quite quickly. I noticed that most of us worked well under pressure. The piece I directed was wonderful on stage. I gave the sound engineer the instructions for my track beforehand, which simplified my live performance. My song didn’t have a line up, so I was the only person on stage, performing vocally to the backing track I’ve produced. I found the experience very beneficial to me as a Singer-Songwriter, and truly rewarding as well, as I performed a finished song of mine live for the first time.

The group performed in front of Dave Landers, so we could have some feedback at the end. It was mainly positive, as there were just some bits and bobs missing.

I believe the performance went through quite successfully. There were some bits that needed improvement but my overall feelings are positive. “Sparky Got Flushed” (Joe) was my favourite song of the whole set. I found the song’s vibe extremely electrifying and the whole arrangement very well put. “Cameron’s Raven” (Oska) had a curious meaning. However, I found it a bit too repetitive. “Ben’s Tune” (Ben) was a very enjoyable instrumental to listen. The guitar and drums could be a bit tighter in rhythm, but the bass was heavy, which is good since we’re talking about reggae. “Summer Daydream” (Marie K) was an enjoyable tune to listen. As a house track, I think it had quite captivating lyrics. “Afrobeat” (David) had an engaging rhythm, with the guitar, keyboard and bass solos. I was the keyboard player for this song. When I heard my own performance of “Music Box” (Mary Jane Holland) on the Google Drive’s recording video, I thought the song needed improvement in some particular areas, such as arrangement, song length, and lyrics as well. I’ve then written some notes and personal feedback on how I could improve my performance and heard Dave’s feedback as well. Apart from the constructive criticism, I believe the song has a very meaningful story behind its lyrics and arrangement. For “Let Go” (Crystal), I think it could have a bit more of energy from the vocals, but apart from that, the song’s quite interesting. “You Know Me” (Josh) is a captivating tune. I think the vocals were very good and that’s the best feature of the song. The song “The Ill, The End” (Logan) was quite thrilling. However, I think it needed a bit more of rehearsing. It had a nice rocky vibe, but I believe that it’d sound better if it wasn’t so unstable from start to finish. “Let Go” (Katrina) was a good song but as Dave said, I think it needed a bit of bass guitar in it, to have a fuller sounding. “Keep Telling Yourself” (Michael Gough) had a very interesting structure. The song was snappy and nice to listen to. I think the guitar riffs were a bit out of time though. Apart from that, great tune.

I was by myself on stage performing “Music Box”. For my song, I needed to have a special stage presence. Since the song has a dark vibe, I needed to act the same way. I used my eyes mostly, my face and my hands to express myself. The was standing still with a purpose. The song I’ll be performing at the gig is about a ballerina that dances in a cycle, on top of a music box. I am the ballerina, the music box is my comfort zone, and I go round and around on my thoughts, that haunt or purify me with emotions. Eye contact is crucial for my song, as I need to connect with the audience as much as I can, engaging them and drawing the public’s attention to the lyrics and meaning of it.

The group has created a Facebook page to promote the event. I also have my own social media accounts as a solo artist so I’ve posted an image of the group on Instagram with the following description: “I'll be performing original material @ Fox & Firkin (SE13, London) ~ come see great new acts on the 26th of May”. These are my social media links: - Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/maryjhofficial - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maryjhofficial 

My experience as being a Musical Director is quite different from the other group members, as I will be performing on stage by myself. I produced the song by myself and will be performing it with live vocals and a backing track. “Music Box” is a dark song about a ballerina doll stuck in a music box. The ballerina stands for me, as an artist, and the music box is a metaphor for my life. I’ve written and produced this song in November of 2015. It is based on my own life experience.

Update: I’ve written the complete story line for the song. This will be included in the Track requirements document I’ve written for my song:

The intro has sound effects of a telephone calling tone, an answering machine and the sounds of the call being rejected. This is a representation of how the doll feels.

She was stuck there for 19 years, but only around that age she truly started developing feelings of frustration and incapacity due to self-sabotage. She is too judgemental of herself. The “morning” stated in the second verse is a metaphor to every beginning of everything she does. She cries every time she starts something new. She feels like everything she does and herself as well, are never good enough. If at least she had done things better beforehand, it would be easier to deal with the “morning”. In the third verse, she fakes (“I’m OK”) but she feels (“I’m really not”). In the fourth verse, when mentioning “the demons”, I’m referring to the ballerina’s own demons, the ones that live on her mind – her thoughts. The whole context before the first chorus is a demonstration of how vulnerable the doll feels at all times.

The chorus shows a fight between her good and bad thoughts, being vocally expressed through both speaking and whispering. It ends with her saying “such mixed feelings going through my head”, which means she doesn’t know which voice to follow, or what thoughts to believe in.

In the fifth verse, the ballerina sings “and there is no way around”, meaning that she’s lost in her own little space. She hopes to find her heart again, as it was before this whole chaos started. She consents that her heart is no longer a place of peace, but a battleground, of herself versus herself. Sixth verse, she lost her intention during the battle, but she notices she’s deceiving herself, by thinking she’s not in control. She starts then, in the seventh verse, believing a bit more in herself, affirming that her demons are like gravity, pushing her down and placing her “where she belongs”, not letting her move forward. Therefore, the doll becomes aware of the fact that she has the master key to the music box she is stuck inside of, she has the power to control her demons and free herself.