And the featured act this week is Norman Laomnt, ably assisted by James Whyte! Norman’s a really good songwriter as well as a pillar of Edinburgh’s acoustic music community, so come along and have a great time for free at The Montague Bar this evening, open floorspots as usual, and it’s at 8pm. Original music for original people.

Take care out there!

Calum Carlyle
Out of the Bedroom

OOTB Presents… Union Canal!

I’m sorry it’s been a while folks, i have been busier than usual, really, and i’m genuinely sorry i didn’t email to tell you about Kat McKenzie’s featured act set last week, but you all know where the OOTB website and FB group is by now…

Speaking of which Roisin Russell has been posting tons of OOTB videos onto our FB page, why not check them all out? Hours of fun for the whole family, thanks Roisin, for recording these for posterity.

And the same goes for Malcolm Mclean‘s tireless efforts to photograph OOTB from start to finish, scores of his excellently vivid photos are on the FB page as well.

This week (Saturday 18 February) Union Canal are the featured act at OOTB, 8pm start, 7:15 (approx) signup for performers, free admission, at The Montague Bar on St Leonards Street. Union Canal were excellent at the most recent Edinburgh Unlimited, so come to OOTB and check them out if you didn’t see them there (and if you did see them there, you’ll know they’re worth hearing again!)

Also on Sunday the 19th of February, starting from around 7pm.it’s the Matt Norris and the Moon thank you gig, in the back room of the White Horse pub on the Royal Mile. Free entry and limited seating, so get there early!

What else? The Ale House on Friday nights at 9:30pm, it’s still awesome, the Listening Room at The Blue Blazer on Sunday at 8pm every week, again, awesome, plus sauce, the Ale House has an open mic on Tuesdays too, and there are many others, one in Nobles in Leith on Thursdays (9pm start?) and one in Walkabout at the Omni at 9pm on Thursdays too, plus there’s a nice one in Bannerman’s (underneath South Bridge on the Cowgate) on Sundays from 2pm till 4pm.

Aw, you can tell it’s late and i’m tired…

See you all out there in Musicland!

Calum Carlyle
Out of the Bedroom

This week (TONIGHT) the featured act is.. let’s see, it’s… HOLY CRAP it’s DARREN HENDRIE! i’ve been waiting months for this lad to get a full featured act set, he’s awesome. Mesmeric, let’s say. Don’t miss it. It’s tonight (Sat 4 Feb) at The Montague Bar at 8pm and it’s free, PLUS there will be two hours from all of Edinburgh’s best singer songwriters (yes, ALL of them!)

Then tomorrow at The Listening Room at the Blue Blazer at 8pm it’s an hour of kickass floorspots then the properly amazing (i am NOT exaggerating) LAKE MONTGOMERY! For Free! And that’s sunday 5 Feb.

What else… NEXT WEEK it’s Edinburgh Unlimited at The Third Door (or Medina, you know, downstairs in Negociants) and for only £3, you get four bands, which are UNION CANAL, DAN GILLAN, DUSTY CUT, and TURNING PLATES. don’t miss it, seriously it looks like being a huge extravaganza of music. And don’t be late either, we’re starting promptly to fit as much music in as possible. And that’s 8pm on Wednesday 8 Feb at The Third Door.

Also, the Ale House on Clerk Street has open mic nights on Tuesdays and Fridays which are always awesometastic, 9pm starts for those i think, and the Captain’s Bar, and tons of other places have stuff on, check your facebook and google!

Also, February Album Writing Month just started, have you written and uploaded any songs yet? Why not FFS! Even i’ve done one and my shoulder’s busted!

Finally, you know tons of people who love live music, i know you do. Please forward them this email and get them to sign up to our mailing list so they get this mailout every week. They will thank you later if not immediately.

Okay that’s it, see you out there in musicland!

Calum Carlyle
Out of the Bedroom

OOTB Presents… Al Young!

hi everybody. i’m typing this with my left hand only, due to an injury so this week it’ll be short and sweet.

Al Young is this week’s featured act (on saturday 28 january), don’t miss it, he’s got a spellbinding touch to his songwriting.

As for listings, there are a lot of good things on as usual over the next week, but rather than rave about them, here are some links. please click them.

http://www.facebook.com/events/157499561027825/

http://www.facebook.com/events/149009341880425/

http://www.theskinny.co.uk/event/48497-rm_hubbert

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rvot4RYamtU&feature=share

http://www.facebook.com/events/112451098874484/

That’s it, all the usual ale house/listening room/captain’s bar stuff is on as usual, check your facebook invites!

hopefully i’ll type more next week, take care till then!

Calum Carlyle
Out of the Bedroom

OOTB Presents… Dave Keir

Oh dear, well i’ve been through the wars this week, not that that’s particularly relevant here, but anyway that is the reason for this slightly tardy and rather short OOTB email this week.

Okay, OOTB is now on Saturdays, at The Montague Bar (practically across the road from St Leonards Street police station), and it starts at 8pm. We’ve got a half hour featured act every week, and at least eight open floorspots. If you’d like to sign up for a floorspot, 7:30pm‘s probably the latest you can do that because the slots are allocated on a first-come/first-served basis by the host of the evening on the night, no phoning in advance or getting a friend to sign you up. PLUS we don’t allow cover versions. You can perform whatever you like (at the discretion of the bar, that is, and the law, of course!) so long as you wrote it yourself. Also it’s free, and the standard is usually very high, so bring your friends and have a listen, this is not just a night for performers!

This week the featured act is Dave Keir. I’ve heard him several times and got his CDs and he’s very very good. He writes intriguing songs, and his fingerstyle guitar playing really reminds me of John Renbourn amongst others. His 45 minute set at the Listening Room a couple of months ago was great and his set at the four hundred and fifty seventh Out Of The Bedroom this coming Saturday (14 January!) will no doubt be at least as good. Don’t miss it, honestly, for free this is pretty much the best gig in town this Saturday! 🙂

And on Sunday another free one, this time at Medina (ahem i mean The Third Door). We had an excellent band at Edinburgh Unlimited on Wednesday just past, called Small Feet, Little Toes, and they will be playing a FREE gig at the Third Door on Lothian Street on Sunday at 7pm, here’s a quick preview of their music: http://www.myspace.com/rachelandersonmusic

And the Ale House open mic and the Listening Room at the Blue Blazer are on as usual, tonight (Friday) at 9:30pm, and on Sunday at 8pm, respectively, they are always good.

And that’s it, sorry if i missed anything out i am highly preoccupied with emergencies at the moment and can’t really devote hours and hours to this email any more, though i will continue to do my best to bring you regular roundups and previews of the OOTB weekly nights, as well as choice listings details and other goodies like free downloads. DO forward this email to your friends if you think they would be interested in this stuff, and get them to sign up on the mailing list themselves (which they can do at www.outofthebedroom.co.uk of course).

Thanks, and keep on rockin’!

Calum Carlyle
Out of the Bedroom

OOTB Presents… Michael MacFarlane!

Hi everybody and happy new year!

Right, we’re moving OOTB to SATURDAYS as of this week. The thirty-two of you who have been reading the emails these past few weeks know this already, everybody else TAKE NOTE. 🙂 Everything else stays the same by the way, it’ll still be in the Montague Bar with the music starting at 8pm.

Michael MacFarlane’s very good, or we wouldn’t be booking him for a featured act slot, much less have him kick off our new year and new slot on Saturdays. Right, where was i? Yes! He’s very good, and you should come and hear him doing his featured act set on Saturday (7 Jan) at OOTB. Also, there will be a plethora of excellent acts filling up the open slots and making our lives joyful and happy. You may as well come along and enjoy yourself, after all the world’s due to end this year, so fit some fun in while you still can, eh? (that is supposed to be humour by the way, just in case it’s not immediately apparent)

What else did i have to tell you? Well, i wanted to mention Roberta from Banana Sessions’ regular Unpeeled night, it’s on in the Jazz Bar on Chambers Street and the next one’s this Thursday (5 Jan) at 9pm. It’s only a fiver to get in and this time there are four acts, and they are: The Darcy DaSilva Band, The Last September, The Dirty Demographic, and Calum Carlyle. It will be my final gig in Edinburgh for a while (i’m doing an OOTB featured act set in April but i have nothing else lined up), and the other three acts are all very good, so don’t miss it. I’ll be doing songs from my new CD “Better Out Than In”.

OOTB is on Saturday of course, featuring Michael MacFarlane, details are as above.

On Sunday 8 Jan at The Blue Blazer on Bread Street it’s The Listening Room, open mic and featured act, from 8pm, and this week the featured act is Jamie Hay, who will be familiar to OOTB regulars.

Also, please check out the newest Labelled Independent podcast, using the link on the left hand side of this mailout, they have a sort of roundup of local independent music of 2011 on the new episode, and as always if you’re a local musician, you can get in touch with them to hopefully be featured on a future episode.

Also, Music News Scotland have started doing a very snazzy looking set of online gig listing publications, with ads and articles etc. Check this out for example: http://musicnewsscotland.wordpress.com/mns-digital-publication-links/

There’s no Acoustic Edinburgh this month, and there’s no Regent Showcase either, and Secret CDs has stopped as of this month too, however there WILL be an Edinburgh Unlimited this month, next Wednesday 11 January, it’s only £3 to see four acts, what a bargain! And that starts fairly promptly at 8pm in The Third Door (formerly Medina, next door to Negociants) and this month the performers are: Small Feet Little Toes, Jason Kyrone, Colin Adams, and Damian Casey-Boyce. Hope to see you there.

So yeah, that’s it from me, hope you have a very musical 2012, stuffed with live music, fun, and dare i say hilarity…

Calum Carlyle
Out of the Bedroom

HEY EVERYBODY! OUT OF THE BEDROOM IS TAKING A WEEK OFF FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON, AND THEN WE’RE BACK AT THE MONTAGUE BAR, BUT ON SATURDAYS!

AS OF SATURDAY 7 JANUARY 2012 OUT OF THE BEDROOM WILL BE ON EVERY SATURDAY AT 8pm (7:30pm is pretty much the latest sign up time for performers booking one of the open slots).

OOTB Presents… Jamie Hay!

Hi everybody, how’s it going?

Right, this week’s featured performer is relatively new compared with some, it’s Jamie Hay. He’s been a regular attendee at OOTB all through 2011 and has really come on, so pop in tomorrow (Tuesday 6 Dec) and check out his featured act set. You know, of course, that there will be at least EIGHT open floorspots filled with the cream of Edinburgh’s performing songwriters. I am constantly surprised by the high standard of performers that grace our little stage at OOTB, even after all these years. Anyway, that’s at The Montague Bar on St Leonards Street if you can make it, and the evening starts at 8pm (or 7:30pm if you want to sign up for an open slot).

And i have tons of other events to tell you about this week as well. First of all i just want to mention though that as of 2012 we are going to be running OOTB on Saturdays, and not Tuesdays. For most people, we hope this will be an improvement. Same location, same times, but on a Saturday. So our final Tuesday will be December the 20th (with Henry Bird as our featured act) and our first Saturday will be January 7th (with Michael MacFarlane as our featured act). the other thing i was going to mention is we’ve now filled up all the featured act slots until the first week in April, which i think is great, and that’s a testament to the high amount of great talent we’ve got coming through the doors at OOTB. Long may it continue. So yes, if you want to check who the next few featured acts are at any time, that’s one of the many pieces of useful information you can find on our website at www.outofthebedroom.co.uk.

But before i launch into this week’s featured gig listings, i just want to try a little social experiment, if only to clarify something in my own mind. Once you’ve read this email, can i just get you to click “reply” and send me a wee email please? As an incentive, for everyone who does reply, i’ll send you a few links to downloadable mp3s of my songs (songs which aren’t available on my website, i mean). Basically, we have hundreds of subscribers, and i just want to see how many people have actually opened and at least skimmed the mailout on any given week (in this case, this week). so yeah, please just send me a reply, you don’t need to spend any time thinking of something to say (though feedback is always appreciated), it’s just so i know how many people have read this week’s OOTB email, and i’ll send you some exclusive mp3 song links of mine in return. Thanks!

Okay, this week’s gigs, some of them quite unmissable. I’m in a hurry this week, so i’ll copy/paste (and italicise) the blurb rather than giving you my usual characteristic rundown, in most cases. DO check out the artists and bands. As usual i have tried to bold them all so you can pick them out and google them (or whatever) before you go along to the gigs. And please let the organisers of these gigs know you heard about them from OOTB, if you would. It’s nice for us all to make friends with each other.

Tue 6 Dec: OOTB featuring Jamie Hay of course, details as above.

Also on Tue 6 Dec: Same night as OOTB, but for the final time, since we’re moving OOTB to Saturdays in 2012, it’s Acoustic Edinburgh, free entry, 7.30pm at The Third Door (beneath Negociants): Headlining are Abagail Grey, on their Winter & Icicles tour. Abagail Grey is the creation of highland singer-songwriter, Claire Campbell. Both a classically-trained pianist, and traditional fiddler, she is regularly joined by two harpists, trumpet, bass and drums and her music has been described as “serene, elegant and beautifully crafted” (The Scotsman), and her debut album was hailed as “one of the best folk albums to come out of Scotland” that year (Daily Record).

Our other touring band are the wonderful Brighton-based  Seadog. Signed to Folkwit records, they play music with cello, guitar, clarinet, glockenspiel, melodica, accordion, samplers (and more) that has been compared to the Mamas and Papas, or The Byrds. Source magazine described them as “steeped in an era where Nick drake and Neil Young records roamed the land…beautiful and ethereal vocal harmonies”.

As if this wasn’t enough (!) we have the singer, accordionist, sawista, pianista, yodeller, and redhead, Brigid Kaelin (her words, not mine!). Newly relocated to Edinburgh from Nashville, she is properly brilliant – last time I saw her she was wowing the customers of Favorit in the small hours by playing an impromptu set on the saw, but she has also played in on stage with Elvis Costello. And rounding off an extraordinary night of music, we have a welcome return to Acoustic Edinburgh from charismatic singer-songwriter Becca Fox.

Wed 7 Dec at Sneaky Pete’s, there’s another chance to hear Seadog performing live, £5 admission. They’re a touring band, so this week’s pretty much your only chance: It’s on Wednesday at Sneaky Pete’s. The gig is listed from 7-10pm and is £5.

Also on Wed 7 Dec, it’s the final ever Secret CDs: Secret CDs 49 featuring: Adam Holmes and The Embers, Blueflint, Emily Scott and Katie (ex-Dull Fudds)
Venue: The Voodoo Rooms Speakeasy, 19a West Register St, EH2 2AA Edinburgh, United Kingdom, Doors Open:7.30 p.m.
Entry: £5 – including £2 discount on all CDs bought on the night, free raffle ticket and cake!

The forty-ninth monthly Secret CDs night is at The Voodoo Rooms Speakeasy on Wednesday 7th December. It’s the last live gig we’ll be promoting, for a while at least, and we thought we’d go out with a bang with four of the finest acts to have graced Secret CDs.

James Igoe says, “It’s been four years almost to the day since Secret CDs launched in The Phoenix cellar bar and it’s time to move on… but we’re going out with a bang!  The four acts playing could easily have a career in the music industry given the right management, money and luck.  Adam Holmes absolutely packed the Voodoo Rooms back in May and since then he’s had some rave reviews – expect good things to happen in 2012.  Blueflint are one of the most established acts in the Edinburgh acoustic scene and packed The Bongo Club for their recent CD release.  Emily Scott coincidentally had her own packed CD release at Third Door the next day and her music is a thing of wonder.  The brilliant performer Katie Forbes is a force of nature, completely engaging and not to be missed.  Alongside the music we’ll have some extra things going on as it’s Christmas and the last do.  I’m sure it will be a positive night all round for those who love to hear quality music beautifully played.”

Also on Wed 7 Dec: It’s Marie Naffah (a touring musician, so hear her while you can) performing live at the Tea Tree Cafe on Bread Street, though i don’t know what time. The internet will know, or Maria is planning to play an open slot at OOTB on Tuesday so you could find out the details from her then.

Thu 8 Dec – It ‘s a Conscious Collective Christmas party at Henry’s, here’s the blurb: Conscious Collective bringing you the another evening of diversity of arts culture from in and around the city of Edinburgh. This event we have Acoustic Roots,Africa, Latin America Celtic , Beat boxing, Hip Hop fusion bands…

CONSCIOUS COLLECTIVE CHRISTMAS SPECIAL SHOW
Henry Cellar Bar 8-16a Morrison Street, Edinburgh, EH3 8BJ
Doors 7:30pm till 1am
Cost 4 pounds entry
Open Mic first hour for Rappers and Poets plus dj Miro on decks
The Conscious Route Band
Sacre Noir/Savage Sound System Ft Riddlah (UVbeats) and Werd (S.o.S)
HEAVY SPECIAL GUEST RAPPER ??????????
Dj Miro
Jugalbandi ( Celtic / Folk / Jazz)
Le Combo ( Instrumental Acoustic Roots Music)

Also Thu 8 Dec – Marie Naffah is playing at The Wee Red Bar. Again, i’m not sure of the time, not sure how much it costs to get in, that’s all i know, but she’ll be in attendance at OOTB on Tuesday so ask her then.

Also Thu 8 Dec – open mic nights are on at Walkabout at the Omni Centre, and Noble’s in Leith, as usual (as far as i know), also The Ale House has their weekly folk session.

Fri 9 Dec – The Ale House open mic night, of course, from 9:30pm in, where else but… The Ale House on Clerk Street.

Sat 10 Dec – It’s the Calypso Brown duo at The Ale House, presumably from 9pm or so. Calypso Brown is awesome by the way, as anybody will know who’s seen her perform (for example at the highly exclusive Edinburgh Unlimited gig she recently did). So why not go along?

Sun 11 Dec – well during the afternoon there’s an open mic at Bannerman’s on the Cowgate which is very welcoming: it’s called the Bannermans Acoustic Sunday Sessions and it runs most weeks between 3pm and 8pm. The address is Bannermans Bar, 212 Cowgate, edinburgh. The open mic is run by Ali Chisholm and Ritchie Beeby on alternate Sundays. Acoustic and electric guitars and percussion is provided. All musicians and instruments welcome from guitars to bagpipes,violins and beatboxers! We welcome one and all. The open mic is followed either by covers band Cranachan or on the first Sunday of the month by excellent blues band Jed Potts and the Hillman Hunters. all absolutely free!

Also Sun 11 Dec – The Listening Room at The Blue Blazer from 8pm of course, open mic plus featured act, and this week the featured act is TBC! Well, there’s an act i’ve heard before and really loved, so go along and put a bit of mystery into your life.

Plus check out the latest Labelled Independent podcast (link is in the sidebar), for some interesting local independent music, and get in touch with them if you want your music to be featured, too.

Phew! Right and that’s it for this week. I’ve got just as many interesting events for your diary next week, the place is bursting with great events that everybody should switch off their TVs and come along and participate in. You only live once. Now click reply, and let me know you read this email, please.  🙂

Calum Carlyle
Out of the Bedroom

OOTB Presents…

Right. Hello.

How are you doing? Apparently it’s something called “christmas” soon, and we’ve all got to stop our regular routine and do something else for a bit. So, our final OOTB of 2011 will be Tuesday 20 December, and we’ll be back on your radar on Saturday 7 January.

“Saturday!?!” i hear you exclaim with a wild hint of disbelief in your tone, well yes, we’ll be running OOTB on SATURDAYS in 2012, INSTEAD of Tuesdays. Now aren’t you glad you’re one of the few people that actually reads these emails? What a faux pas it would be to turn up on a Tuesday in 2012 at The Montague Bar and be left high and dry like an out of date packet of crisps that had somehow got lost down the back of the fridge.

Right, now that’s out of the way let me tell you about THIS TUESDAY. It’s OOTB number 452, and our featured performer this week is Jim Bryce. I first heard Jim Bryce at the Edinburgh Songwriters’ Showcase, and he’s unique. I once saw him do a three song open mic slot, and each song he used a different instrument to accompany himself. And that’s at The Montague Bar on Tuesday 29 Nov from 8pm (or 7:30pm to sign up for an open slot), and it’s free. Now look, the slots get filled up quickly. We do usually have a few people who turn up maybe 7:40, 8pm, or later even asking for a slot. It really is first come, first served, so do be prompt to avoid disappointment. Sometimes the list is full by 7:31pm.

Now i’ve got a ton of special events to tell you about this week, and i want to draw your attention to www.outofthebedroom.co.uk as well. I often list various weekly things in this newsletter, but i don’t mention them ever week. Please do go and check out the website for previous announcements about things that happen weekly (if you get what i mean), like the stuff at the Captain’s Bar, the stuff at the Ale House, the open mics at Nobles and Walkabout etc etc. Here’s this week’s stuff though. Click the links, by the way, this email takes ages to put together every week. And come to the gigs too, you’ll enjoy them. 🙂

On Tuesday it’s OOTB featuring Jim Bryce, of course, details as above.

On Wednesday, it’s the final day of November Solo Album Month, so i’d better get that final song written for my next CD! Check out what the various participants have come up with this month.

On Friday 2 Dec, there’s a really special one off event happening at 42 Royal Park Terrace, Edinburgh, EH8 8JA – it’s a “house concert”, which is something i think Edinburgh is BEHIND at catching on to, so my hat’s off to the organiser of this one, well done. House concerts are always good fun. The performers this time are Ian Sclater, Kat McKenzie and Cloudland Blue Quartet. You’ll have heard all of them at OOTB (as well as The Listening Room, Secret CDs and Edinburgh Unlimited), and they’re all very good. Plus they’ll be performing a specially prepared set together as well as doing their own material. It’s at 8pm (Doors 7:30pm),  Bring Your Own Bottle, and it’s a suggested donation of £5. TO ATTEND YOU NEED TO EMAIL info@douglasinscotland.co.uk IN ADVANCE. See you there.

Also on Friday 2 Dec, it’s The Mine at Cabaret Voltaire. This month it’s Meursault, plus mystery guests. All this for £6 plus booking fee.

On Saturday 3 Dec, the Ale House on Clerk Street have got Jack Badcock & Roddy Johnston performing live, probably from 9pm (that’s a guess, but an informed one). And it’ll be free.

On Sunday 4 Dec, in the AFTERNOON (3pm start) it’s a FREE gig at The Jazz Bar on Chambers Street. There are three acts, and at the end there’ll be a bit of a jam session. The three acts are Reubam, Erin Todd, and Calum Carlyle.

On the evening of Sunday 4 Dec, it’s The Listening Room featuring Dave Keir. He’s fairly new on the Edinburgh scene, but he’s blisteringly good both as a songwriter and musician, so don’t miss this. I’m serious. It’s free FFS! And that’s at 8pm at The Blue Blazer on Spittal Street on Sunday 4 Dec. By the way those of us who attended The Listening Room last night for Darcy DaSilva‘s set were thoroughly enchanted. If you weren’t there you missed an incredibly good performance. Difficult for me to believe music this good is free admission these days.

Ironically i just realised i’ll have to miss Dave Keir‘s set myself, because i’m playing a gig in Glasgow that clashes. But you guys aren’t so there’s no excuse for not going along! 🙂 (unless you live in Glasgow, in which case i hope to see you there!)

And that’s it for this week. Clear your calendar and get yourself along to all these gigs. You only get one life to live! And i’ve got a ton of stuff for you next week too, and the week after, so get prepared. ALSO, tell all your friends. Your friends like good live music, too you know, why not combine it with whatever christmas outings you’ve got planned?

And the other thing is, if you remember, please mention that you heard about these gigs from www.outofthebedroom.co.uk when you go along to these things. The more connected we can make this scene, the better it will be for everybody concerned, and the more quality music we can offer you all. It depends on the audiences though, and this means YOU.

Okay, see you out there in musicland!
Calum Carlyle
Out of the Bedroom