I’ve just been forwarded this opportunity for Scottish songwriters who are 25 years old or younger. Here’s the press release, take this opportunity while you can…

Burnsong, in partnership with Mattie Foulds’ Mobile With A Home (producer/drummer for the acclaimed collective, The Burns Unit) today offers a brand new opportunity for young up and coming Scottish songwriters to record their first demo, working with industry professionals in this fantastic new recording studio. 

The Burns Unit’s debut album, Side Show, garnered glowing reviews upon its release in August 2010, with live performances taking Cambridge Folk Festival by storm, and has subsequently been nominated as one of  the albums of 2010 by a number of sources including Ian Rankin, Vic Galloway and Spiral Earth.

Produced by Mattie Foulds, the album grew out of a songwriting retreat devised by Burnsong, an organisation whose aim is to  nurture and promote songwriting in Scotland. On the first date of The Burns Unit’s 2011 tour, Sunday 16th January, at their Celtic Connections gig in the Old Fruitmarket, Mattie will announce the opening of this great opportunity to follow in the band’s footsteps.  

“I’m delighted to be supporting three young Scottish songwriters in taking their first steps into the music industry by recording a high quality demo in my new recording studio, Mobile With  A Home”.

The anonymous competition entries will be judged by fellow Burns Unit members, Karine Polwart, Emma Pollock (Delgados), Michael Johnston and Kim Edgar, and a panel of music industry experts including Scottish songwriter and lecturer David Scott (Pearlfishers, BMX Bandits) and music industry consultant Ronnie Gurr. With funding support from Creative Scotland, the winning songwriters will then work in collaboration with Mattie Foulds to plan, record, mix and master their  first professional recordings, which will help them to progress in their music careers.  

To enter the competition, which opens on Burns Night, 25th January 2011, young people aged 25 and below should go to www.burnsong.org where they can follow instructions to upload up to three entry songs, of any genre, for consideration by the panel of judges. 

The competition will close on 28th February 2011 and winners will be announced via the Burnsong website in March. 

For more information, or to set up an interview, please contact Mattie Foulds onmattiefoulds@mac.com , or  visit: www.burnsong.org  www.theburnsunitband.com

Okay, good afternoon and welcome to this week’s OOTB email, this week it’s a big week for us, because tomorrow (Tuesday 18 Jan) is the long awaited Out of the Bedroom number 407! We’ve been off the radar for several months but now we’re back, at the Montague Bar on the corner of St Leonards and Montague Street, from 8pm every Tuesday night (or 7:30pm if you want to perform).

FAWM 2011!

This week we’ve opted to have no featured act, so we can fit in as many performers as possible, so come along, and bring all your friends, it’ll be a party atmosphere, hosted by the charismatic Cameron Robinson, what more could you want?

Speaking of featured acts though, we’ve got a ton of them lined up over the next couple of months, check out our website for the full list, and get them stuck in your diary. Remember the website also has a guide to some upcoming gigs you might be interested in on our Events Calendar.

Speaking of upcoming gigs there are a couple of others happening next week that i was going to mention, both of them on Saturday 22nd January. They’re nice and conveniently timed so that they don’t overlap at all. First of all it’s the first ever Café DIablo Acoustic Schowcase, featuring no other than Caro Bridges and the River, Hannah Werdmuller and Sophie Cooke. This is actually free, and it’s happening at Café Diablo at 12 West Preston Street at 6pm on Saturday.

Then at 9pm the same night, at Nobles bar in Leith, there’s a free Bainbridge Presents gig, starring Hokum Jam and Emelle, two excellent Edinburgh blues/folk/indie bands.Click the links to find out what all these bands sound like if you’ve not yet heard them.

One other thing, thanks to everyone who came to the first Edinburgh Unplugged on Wednesday, it was great to see the Royal Oak so full, hope to see you all back there next month.

That’s it for this week, see you all on Tuesday night!

Calum Carlyle
Out of the Bedroom

Happy new year everybody. I took a week off from the OOTB email last week due to the festive season, and now the OOTB email is reclining into its new delivery window of Sunday lunchtime, which means the deadline for gig listings to be included is 10AM on Sunday from now on.

Secret CDs and Acoustic Edinburgh were great last week, and were quite well attended, which was encouraging for 2011. I’ll be giving you a few of this week’s upcoming listings in a minute but first…

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT OOTB

Many people have been asking me if OOTB is starting back up in The Tron. NO, it isn’t. Here are all the details you will need to attend OOTB…

It’s at the Montague Bar on the corner of St Leonards and Montague Street, and it’s on every Tuesday night, starting next Tuesday 18th January (not this Tuesday). It’s an 8pm start but get there by 7:30pm if you’d like one of the open slots.

Now, i just noticed that all the facebook and myspace invitations say that OOTB 407 is covers night. Now it’s out there, i don’t think there’s much we can do to take it back, so if you want to do a cover song on 18th January only then go for it, HOWEVER OOTB is for performers who write their own material only, we usually ask people not to perform anything they didn’t write themselves. Most of you will know this but it’s worth reiterating for any newcomers.

I would also stress that you are allowed to do your own songs on 18th January. You don’t have to do covers. You decide.We believe it’s possible to play, and hear, good music that you wrote yourself, without having to resort to yet another rendition of Hallelujah, Wonderwall or Redemption Song (no matter how excellent those tracks might be). Let me also stress that OOTB is a night that can be enjoyed even by those who aren’t there to perform. We’ve seen a lot of listening public at OOTB, however among the minds of the musicians, there is a certain air that they are only there to perform, some of them even signing up at 7:30pm and then leaving the pub until their slot comes up. It goes almost without saying that if you take this approach, you won’t enjoy the night, and furthermore, there’ll be nobody to blame but yourself. Sermon over, all i’m saying is, the main purpose of OOTB is to be enjoyable, so come along, have fun and enjoy it. 🙂

Next thing on my agenda is to tell you about Ben Young’s Atheist Advent project. He’s done 28 songs during December 2010, and they’re all stoaters, so go and check them out at atheistadvent.com.

Before we get to the events, i’ll remind you it’s nearly time for another FAWM. For those who don’t know this means February Album Writing Month. It’s a personal challenge that songwriters can set for themselves to write a 14 song album during February. In reality it’s a thriving online songwriting community. You can collaborate with other songwriters overseas and get practically instant feedback on all your new songs, and the bonus is, at the end of it all, you’ll have a lot of new songs (maybe not 14, maybe more than 14!) that you didn’t have before you started.

The whole thing is coordinated at www.fawm.org and their online community is already buzzing. I know a few Edinburgh songwriters have taken the plunge and got involved in previous years, why not give it a try yourself this year? Personally i have found it a very rewarding songwriting experience. Sign up now and get involved in the pre-FAWM discussions.

Okay, this week’s events. Well, tonight (Sun 9 Jan) it’s the Listening Room at the Blue Blazer on Bread Street. it starts at 9pm, with open slots, and then at 9pm it’s usually a featured artist, however i can’t see any information on their myspace about who this might be this week. Well, it’s all part of the unpredictability of life i suppose.

On Wednesday 12 Jan, it’s the first ever Edinburgh Unplugged, at 8pm downstairs in the Royal Oak on Infirmary Street. It’s only £2 to get in, and it features four acts, Lorraine McCauley and the Borderlands, Paper Truth, Hannah Werdmuller and Atomic Pigeon, all performing acoustically. Click the links, listen to the music (i actually got round to putting the links in this week!)

On Thursday 13 Jan, there’s the ReadEasy Writers Group at Forest, here’s what the organiser Harry Giles says: “We’ve set up the READeasy to be a safe and encouraging space forwriters to meet up, hear their words read, and get constructive critical feedback. The next open session is at the Forest, Bristo Place, 6 – 9pm, Thursday 13th January. It’s open to writers of any style, experience, identity and genre, and we welcome both newcomers and old hands — but places each month are limited. To secure a slot, e-mail inkyfingersedinburgh AT gmail DOT com in advance with your name and a piece of your writing attached — and then just come along on the night with cake and a ready mind. See the Writers’ Group website for full instructions (including length limits).”

On Saturday 15 Jan at Maggie’s Chambers, you can go along and support two OOTB related acts, Augustalia and Supermarionation are both performing in a Battle of the Bands at Maggie’s Chambers starting at 7:30pm. The other bands are Steel Rose, Fireproof Match and Deco Arcade, and it’s free to get in. Go along and be part of their success.

That’s it for this week, i hope you had a good festive season, and i hope you get yourself along to some of these events, because they’re all worth it, and you’ll enjoy them, and if you don’t come along then you won’t.

Calum Carlyle
Out of the Bedroom

We’re Back!

Finally, Out of the Bedroom number 407 is going to go ahead in our new home, The Montague (formerly known as The Maltings), on Montague Street. OOTB 407 will be on Tuesday 18th January 2011 at 8pm, and OOTB will be running on a weekly basis every Tuesday at 8pm after that. Our first night at The Montague will be entirely open mic slots but we’re hoping to bring back our trademark featured act slots very shortly too, and of course, this list is where you’ll hear all the details first.

Please turn up in person at The Montague by 7:30pm on the night if you’d like a slot in the open mic part of the evening, and since we’ve not been running the night for a while it’s worth quickly reiterating our house rules, we don’t sign up slots for people who aren’t there in person (ie: if they ‘phone ahead, or send a mate along with promises of being there later), and we ask that every performer performs only their own original material (specifically: no covers!). The slots are handed out on a first-come-first-served basis and amendments to this are at the discretion of the host on the night.

Okay, without further ado, let me get on with telling you what’s on this week.

Tonight (Tuesday 14th Dec) it’s the Inky Fingers open mic night at Forest Cafe, it’s for “not just prose and poetry and everything in between, but also songs, comedy sets, experiments and just about anything else.” and it’s run by a staunch Orkneyman named Harry Giles. Check their site first though, because he prefers you to get in touch prior to turning up i think. This month’s featured performers are Andrew C. Ferguson, a Writers’ Bloc regular and master performance storyteller, and Dave Coates, a “dark and deep” poet. Free entry, 8pm start i think.

On Wednesday 15 Dec (tomorrow), for a fiver, you can go to Joe Viterbo’s Christmas party gig at Sneaky Pete’s on the Cowgate, at 7pm, and Seneka will also be performing. Sounds like a high energy evening.

On Thursday 16 December, don’t miss “A Christmas Concert“, featuring Matt Norris and Caro Bridges, and from what i’ve heard, an enormous amount of other good, and familiar, performers too. It’s at The Lot (which is closing soon, in yet another sad Edinburgh gig venue closes story, so don’t miss this opportunity to go and see a gig there while you can) in the Grassmarket, it’s a fiver, but i suspect the amount of music and enjoyment will be worth far more than any amount of money. And it’s a 7pm start.

Okay, on Friday 17th there’s a Christmas Special at Noble’s on Constitution Street in Leith, hosted by Tucker and the Scattered Family. It will feature The Stormy Seas, The Douglas Kay Band, Pookah, Tucker & the Scattered Family, Ten Gallon Bratz and Paul Gilbody. It’s an 8:30pm start and it’s free to get in.

Also on Friday 17 Dec, at the Wee Red Bar (at the College of Art), for only £2 (if you buy your ticket in advance) it’s Curators, Scrap Brain and Jump Press A and Jump Press A will be recording and videoing for a live EP and videos, so get yourself into a piece of history! And it’s a 7pm start.Also on Friday 17 Dec, at Pilrig St Paul’s (which is a church, about halfway down Leith Walk, opposite the end of Iona Street), it’s the Stars In Their Eyes Christmas Special, starring Withered Hand, Broken Records, Meursault, Jesus H Foxx, Eagleowl and many more. It’s going to be special, because all the bands are dressing up and playing covers. It’s a fiver admission, bring your own booze!

On Saturday 18 Dec at 9pm you can go and hear a rare (though slightly less rare these days i hope!) solo performance by Peter Michael Rowan at the Captain’s Bar on South College Street. Last time i heard Pete was when he supported John Gomm, and i can say he’s well worth checking out. It’s free as well by the way.

On Sunday 19 Dec, it’s the final Listening Room of the year, with no featured act, due to it being the end of year special. No Listening Room for two weeks after this! So it’s well worth attending. It’s at the Blue Blazer on the corner of Bread and Spittal Streets, it’s free and it’s an open mic from 8-9pm and the featured act from 9-10pm.

And next week, there’s something very special on Tuesday 21 Dec (which is of course the Winter Solstice), out in Roslin, you can hear Lorraine McCauley and the Borderlands live in Rosslyn Chapel, with the proceeds going towards aid in Mali. It’s 7pm at Rosslyn Chapel, and there will also be performances from Souriba Kanoute (a Senegalese Kora player), John Langan (Celcit Connections open stage winner) and a 27 piece choir! It’s a 7pm start and tickets are £12, and are limited to 100, so do book now.

Until i do get round to starting some sort of separate section which just lists the regular stuff that happens every week, here’s pretty much a copypasta of last week’s list:

On Fridays at McEwans Ale House on Clerk Street from 9:30pm it’s the McEwans open mic night, a really good one. On Sundays it’s the Listening Room at The Blue Blazer on Bread and Spittal Streets, open mic (though there’s no PA and no mic!) from 8-9pm and a featured act from 9pm till 10pm. Then afterwards, also on Sundays, go along to Espionage at the top of Victoria Street for an open mic night beginning at 10pm run by Jason Kyrone. I’m assured it’s welcoming, endearing and ambient, so do go along. On Mondays, at the Captain’s Bar on South College Street, they have an open mic night (no PA, just one mic and an optional piano), starting at 7pm.

Also Jason Kyrone runs a weekly showcase at Espionage on Mondays (also at 10pm i believe, so perfect for going to after the Captain’s Bar). Also on Mondays, at the Parlour Bar in Leith on Duke Street at 8pm there’s an acoustic jam session, and in the same place on Thursdays theres an open mic at 8pm as well, with a free drink for every performer. On Tuesdays, the Captain’s Bar has the Mike Bennett and Kirsty Jacqueline Lingard Music Open Session, and they have folk sessions on Fridays at 8pm, and on Saturdays and Sundays at 4pm. Be aware there are a lot of other regular nights on. I’ll try and update you as best i am able.

In other news, you can now get the new single by Three Long Words as a CD single or a download, from iTunes, Amazon etc, or from going to see them live of course. More details on their website.

That’s about it, hope to see you all at some event or other before we wind down for a (probably snowed in) Christmas (and Hannukah, Solstice etc etc) and New Year season, and definitely hope to see you all at OOTB when we relaunch in January.

Calum Carlyle
Out of the Bedroom

Who’d have thought the snow’d last this long, eh? Well, this week people seem to be just going out regardless (after a slight spate of staying in last week), which is quite odd considering the conditions for going out are probably worse this week, but anyway, we’ve all got things to do i suppose. Well, this week i’ve got some events to tell you about and also a few other wee updates as well, so here we go.

Tonight (Tuesday 7 Dec) it’s the Regent Showcase at the Regent Bar at the top of Easter Road, it starts at 8:30pm and it’s free, and it’s a showcase of Edinburgh’s acoustic performers, run by Cameron Phair. This time it’s a Christmas special, so i’ll be along there doing at least one festive classic. Also tonight (7 Dec), it’s Acoustic Edinburgh of course, free, at Medina on Lothian Street. Their headline act this week is a supergroup consisting of Ziggy Campbell from Found, and incredible folk musicians Nuala Kennedy and AJ Roach. Supporting will be Ken Barrett from Floozie Soo, Keith Paton from Hoochie Fig and Paul Gilbody from Gecko (among many many others!).

Oh wait a minute, just need to tell you you only have a few days to enter this competition. Audio Technica are running a competition for you to write a christmas tune, as far as i can see you need to upload your entry to youtube and then email then telling them the link. Go for it…

Now, also tonight (7 Dec) Paul Gladwell is launching his EP “Save Yourself” tonight at Henry’s Cellar Bar, just off Lothian Road at 8pm. He’s an incisive songwriter and performer, a bit edgy. Good entertainment.

On Thursday 9th December, come along to Frankenstein’s on George IV Bridge. Five acts for a fiver, and they are: Your First Mistake, Kid Fire, Michael Dodds, Miasma, and Calum Carlyle and the Mixed Reactions. This will be your last chance to hear Calum Carlyle and the Mixed Reactions in 2011, so if you missed our debut performance at The Lot (or if you came along and enjoyed it!) then do make a point of coming along. The evening starts at 8:30pm, and you can get discounted tickets in advance right here. I might just mention that these details are all correct. It’s nice to get correct gig details, even if only at the last minute…

Do you remember a chap called Mark Roper? Used to come along to OOTB regularly, performing his songs either with a keyboard or with laptop based backing tracks. Well he emigrated to Canada in the summer, but he’s just brought out his album “Album of a Nobody” by Enough About You. You can listen to it online and buy it from all the usual places, iTunes, Amazon et cetera, and Mark’s taken the unusual choice (for our little scene anyway) of getting session musicians in to record his songs, and the result is a very polished little project. See if you can guess who the lead vocalist is by the way. 🙂

Another thing i’ll just mention in passing is that we think we’re looking at a January restart for Out of the Bedroom’s regular weekly nights. Watch this space, just need to confirm all the details with the OOTB committee…

Now, if you went to Calton Studios for Three Long Words’ EP launch last week, you’d have been disappointed, as they had to cancel due to a shortage of band members. But, never fear, you can go to a free consolation gig at Costa Coffee in Stockbridge instead. It’s on Friday 10 Dec at 7pm, and it’s an acoustic event featuring The Koves, The Brief Encounters and Three Long Words. It definitely sounds tempting to me.

I need to maybe start some sort of separate section which just lists the regular stuff that happens every week. Here are a few things that happen every week anyway: On Fridays at McEwans Ale House on Clerk Street from 9:30pm it’s the McEwans open mic night, a really good one. On Sundays it’s the Listening Room at The Blue Blazer on Bread and Spittal Streets, open mic (though there’s no PA and no mic!) from 8-9pm and a featured act from 9pm till 10pm. Then afterwards, also on Sundays, go along to Espionage at the top of Victoria Street for an open mic night beginning at 10pm run by Jason Kyrone. I’m assured it’s welcoming, endearing and ambient, so do go along. On Mondays, at the Captain’s Bar on South College Street, they have an open mic night (no PA, just one mic and an optional piano), starting at 7pm.

What else? Jason Kyrone runs a weekly showcase at Espionage on Mondays (also at 10pm i believe, so perfect for going to after the Captain’s Bar). Also on Mondays, at the Parlour Bar in Leith on Duke Street at 8pm there’s an acoustic jam session, and in the same place on Thursdays theres an open mic at 8pm as well, with a free drink for every performer. On Tuesdays, the Captain’s Bar has the Mike Bennett and Kirsty Jacqueline Lingard Music Open Session, and they have folk sessions on Fridays at 8pm, and on Saturdays and Sundays at 4pm. Be aware there are a lot of other regular nights on. There are all the various Unpeeled/Miyagi/Dr Ruby’s/Secret CDs/Tigertown gigs too, but they tend to be monthly or sporadic, so i’ll continue to give you them on an ad hoc basis.

Okay, i think that’s it, though i always worry i have missed something out. Sorry if you had something you wanted included, and i haven’t mentioned it. I usually find out about something half way through the week that nobody told me about too. Apparently Augustalia were playing at the Wee Red Bar last week for instance, and i forgot to plug my own gig at the Forest last week too. Okay, that’s it, come to all the gigs i just mentioned and i’ll see you there! 🙂

Calum Carlyle
Out of the Bedroom

Hi everybody, well, there’s a lot of snow about. It’s possible you’ve noticed. Anyway, if you’re snowed in then you’re not going to be at any of the events i’m about to tell you about, but if you can make it, i think lots of them will be well worth it, but then i always say that (and that’s because i go to a lot of these gigs and usually enjoy them thoroughly).

By the way, we’re still working on getting a new venue for the Out of the Bedroom open mic night, as soon as we fix a location for the long awaited OOTB 407, i’ll let you know, so watch this space. Okay, on to this week:

Tonight (30 Nov) you can catch Hannah O’Reilly (with Augustalia i think) and also Matt Midgley at Bannerman’s, on the Cowgate at the bottom of Niddry Street, though i don’t know the details (they’re not on hannahoreilly.com so i suggest you try Hannah’s Facebook to find out the particulars).

Tomorrow there are about six hundred things on that i have to tell you about.

Supermarionation are launching their EP at The Electric Circus tomorrow (Wed 1 Dec) from 7-10pm, with Lee Paterson and Otaku playing support. Its £4 in advance/£6 on the door and tickets can be had from http://goo.gl/H9aR plus, everyone buying a ticket will receive a full retail copy of the EP on CD. Also, i am told that drinks are £1.50 which means that if you were planning to go somewhere else and have a few drinks, then you have made your money back by the third drink if you come to Electric Circus instead!

Also tomorrow (1st Dec) Lorraine McCauley and the Borderlands are launching their excellent EP “Haunt Me” at Coda Music Shop on the Mound at 6pm. They’ll be playing live, and providing mince pies and mulled wine, then at 7pm, it’s drinks next door at the Deacon Brodie.

But wait, there’s more, also on Wednesday 1 Dec, it’s Secret CDs at the Voodoo Rooms, it’s £3 entry and you get a quid off your first CD purchase, and it starts at 8pm, and this month the bands are Hannah O’Reilly/Augustalia, Invisible Helpers, Karen Edward, and Fraser Drummond. You know i was going to give you all the myspace links, but i’d have to do it for every act i mention in this email. Honestly, just fire up google and have a listen to their myspaces if you don’t already know who all these people are. You really need to be googling and listening to local bands on a regular basis anyway, to be honest, if you’re interested in music at all, in my opinion. But remember, there’s no substitute for real live music.

Jump Press A are playing a very rare acoustic gig on Wednesday 1 Dec too, by the way, at a World AIDS Day benefit at Teviot Underground with doors opening at 7pm. Not sure who else is on, but they’re a very special act, i have a feeling this’ll be a unique wee happening. It’s £4/£3 to get in, with the money clearly going to charity.

For heavens’ sake! Nuala Kennedy and Cammy Robson are playing at the Captain’s Bar on South College Street on Wednesday 1 Dec at 8pm as well! I happen to know they’re both excellent and you’d often have to fork out tons of dosh to hear them live. I gather this is a new traditional music session they will be running every week.

It’s all getting out of hand! On Thursday 2 Dec, it’s the Captain’s Bar again, Roberta Pia and Calum Wood are running an acoustic session. If you go along, remember to mention Out of the Bedroom, it’s nice to stay connected. 🙂 Also, there’s an open mic night every Thursday from 8pm at the Parlour Bar in Duke Street hosted by Cat (Packets) O’Shea and everyone that plays gets a free drink (which i actually thought had been made illegal, but it’s Leith after all…)

Also on Thursday 2 Dec, you can hear Rose Nimmo (with band!) at the Grassmarket Black Bull from 10pm. Also, if you heard Underclass at The Listening Room on Sunday just past (or even if you didn’t) then you might want to come along to The Caves on Thursday 2 Dec, they’re playing a full size electric gig there with drummer and everything. A load of other good indie bands will also be on, such as The OK Social Club, Nature Boys, Cancel the Astronauts and Maydays. So you get your money’s worth. And i think it’s £5 or £6 to get in. Let them know on the door that you heard about it from OOTB as well please. We like our name to get around. 🙂

On Friday (3 Dec), Three Long Words are launching their EP with a gig at Calton Studios on Calton Road at 7pm. Tickets are £6 in advance, as far as i can see, you need to buy them from one of the band members, though their EP is available online.

Also on Friday 3 Dec, the highly characteristic Matt Midgley is playing a gig at Maggie’s Chamber on the Cowgate, with support, starting at 7pm.

On Friday there’s also, of course, the McEwan’s Ale House open mic night, a relaxed open mic in a relaxed pub. 9:30pm i think, and it’s on Clerk Street opposite the old Odeon.

On Saturday 4 Dec The Captain’s Bar is having Lynsey Hutchinson on at 8pm, and if you get there earlier, after 4pm, there’s an acoustic folk session there too. Or, if you’re at the Tollcross end of the town, Rose Nimmo is playing with band again in The Auld Toll at 8:30pm.

On Sunday 5 Dec, at The Listening Room, in the Blue Blazer on Bread Street, at 8pm till 10pm, there’s the usual open mic night, and then TBC are the featured act, according to their myspace! This should be interesting, for sure…

Also on Sunday 5 Dec, Lost Telegrams play their first ever gig, supported by Very Well and Hannah Werdmuller (who has an awesome voice and very quirky songs). It’s at the Wee Red Bar at 7pm. I have a feeling it’ll be 3 or 4 quid entry, not sure. Click the link and it may tell you. 🙂

On Mondays, there’s the new Captain’s Bar open mic night of course, from 7pm, as i’ve mentioned for a couple of weeks now. It’s not got a PA, but it does have one mic for vocals and a piano.

Also on Mondays, a fairly new jam session evening called Homemade jam, hosted by Andy Lang every Monday from 8pm. Everyone that turns up gets a pint or glass of wine, and it’s at The Parlour Bar in Duke Street in Leith (well spotted to Ian Sclater who noticed my “deliberate” mistake last week in not mentioning the venue!)

There’s another Regent Showcase happening a week today (Tue 7 Dec) too, at the top of Easter Road and Abbeymount, at 8:30pm for free, so do go along to that. I’ll be playing a few solo songs, in advance of my “Mixed Reactions” gig at Frankensteins next Thursday (9 Dec) at 7:30pm at Frankenstein’s. Sorry, totally digressed there! So, Cameron Phair will be running it and performing, and other luminaries of Edinburgh’s acoustic scene will be playing too.

By the way, The Forest Cafe is now not going to be imminently turned into yuppie flats, which is nice, however i gather the building is still being sold, theoretically. Still, small mercies and all that…

Here’s something else for you, it’s the second EP of the year from Paper Truth. He’s good. I’m going to be putting him on the bill (along with Lorraine McCauley and the Borderlands, and Hannah Werdmuller) for the first ever Edinburgh Unplugged, a new monthly night i’m going to be running in the Royal Oak starting in January, so again watch this space for more details.

Calum Carlyle
Out of the Bedroom

Okay, it looks like we might have a new home for the OOTB open mic night, but it’s not in the bag yet, and we can’t start till the new year if so. Never mind, it’s promising news, and looking at the next week and a half or so, there really is a wealth of music going on in Edinburgh to keep us all occupied anyway. Take the opportunity to go to these events if you can, you’re only young once! 🙂

Tomorrow (Wednesday 17th Nov) at The Royal Oak on Infirmary Street at 8pm it’s an event called Magic Letters, which features the official debut performance by Caro Bridges and the River, it’s also the debut of a new five piece celtic band called Fine Fabric Combo, with exclusive solo support slots from Mutant Lodge and Calum Carlyle. All this for just £2!

On Thursday 18th Nov, it’s the EP launch of Hannah O’Reilly’s band Augustalia. This is at The Voodoo Rooms on West Register Street at 7:30pm, with support slots from The Dull Fudds and Lee Paterson. I’m not sure how much it costs to get in (£3? £4?) but i’m certain it’ll be well worth it.

Also on Thursday 18th November, it’s theRyan Van Winkle book launch and after party. The book reading is at 6:30pm at Blackwells on the South Bridge opposite the old college, and the after party, which is free, is at Forest Cafe at 8pm, and will feature Jed Milroy, Hailey Beavis, Billy Liar and Black Diamond Express.

On Friday 19th Nov, it’s the Word of Mouth open mic night, at 7:30pm at Word of Mouth, at the Leith Walk end of Albert Street. You usually get a cake or something for performing, and of course musicians are welcome, but they’re quite friendly to poets as well.

Also on Friday 19th Nov it’s Haight Ashbury Love Music, run by Miyagi Edinburgh. It’s £3 to get in and it starts at 8pm in the Voodoo Rooms. This time the bands are Junk Orchestra, klezmer band Hussy And The Wolf, Sea Bass Kid, Miyagi and DJ Lexington III. Do let them know you heard about them on OOTB if you go to this, because it’s nice to join up Edinburgh’s various musican social circles i think.

Also on Friday, one of my favourite open mic nights is on again at the McEwan’s Ale House on Clerk Street, opposite the old Odeon. It starts at about 9pm, and it’s always good fun.

On Sunday 21st Nov it’s The Listening Room open mic at the Blue Blazer, from 8pm, and then from 9pm it’s JJ Butterfield, who’s this week’s featured artist.

Next week there are some good events on the horizon too. For some of you Monday is Binkie’s night, but The Captain’s Bar on South College Street is now running an open mic night on Mondays, from 7:30pm, hosted by Roy and Richie Henderson. There’s no PA, just one vocal mic, but there is a piano. Given the lateness of the Binkies open mic, you could even do both, if you were that way inclined.

Next Tuesday 23rd November one of my favourite ambient acoustic bands, Eagleowl, are supporting Daniel Fred & Julie (ft. Julie Doiron) at Sneaky Pete’s on the Cowgate at 7:30pm, and it’s £7 to get in.

Then next Wednesday 24th November it’s The Lot Acoustic Showcase, starting at 7pm at The Lot in the Grassmarket, it costs £5 or £4 if you’re a student or if you buy your ticket from Tigertown Music in advance. The performers this time are the amazing Lipsync For a Lullaby, Hannah Werdmuller, Arran Arctic, and the public debut of Calum Carlyle and the Mixed Reactions.

Also, the International Songwriting Competition is still accepting entries, it would be cynical of me to suggest that they are just looking for some more money in entry fees, but anyway, they say: “The ISC deadline has been extended to December 3, so there is still time to enter. Go to www.songwritingcompetition.com for more info and an entry form. You can enter online, through the mail, or with your songs on MySpace.”

I’ve got some crackers of gigs to tell you about for next week and the week after as well, Matt Midgley’s coming back to Edinburgh for a one-off gig, and Lorraine M