2014 a great year

Yes, 2014 has been a great year. I have never before started so many new journeys in a sngle year.

To start the year, I wrote a Rock Opera. Not a bad way to start off a good year. That rock opera has gone on to make up a very important part of the rest of the year and the year's activities. Yes, that is the rock opera known as Wake Not The Dead.

In getting that rock opera onto a stage, I met many amazing new people. I got a band together. Through many line-up changes, I eventually got an amazing group of people playing and singing my rock opera. I had 10 people playing and singing my music. All my music and nothing but my music. I had bands before. Those were all mainly cover bands and musical theatre bands. Either playing cover songs at weddings and parties, or playing songs from other people's famous musicals. I even wrote many songs before. Mostly, those songs took only one or two slots in a night's set list. This was the first time I had 10 people doing only my songs for a whole show.

We had an amazing 5 peice band, and 4 amazing singers / actors. All amazing musicians and amazing friends. Yes, I knew some of them from working on previous shows together, but working so long on my show something special.

I will talk about Wake Not The Dead a lot more at different times, but let's get back to the year that was 2014.

Next, the Dog-on-blues Studio had a huge facelift. Yes, Wake Not The Dead sparked it off a bit, but this was much more than just the rock opera. The studio moved from a small 18 square meters room to a 54 square meters studio. Yes, that is a whole 6 meters wide and 9 meters long.

I took over the Swan Lake Dance studio, previous belongng to my friend Graham. It was converted into a rehearsal studio with the sound absorption panels later on, to become a true recording studio as well.

With the studio came a swamp. Yes. A whole swamp. Now I am - just like Shrek - an owner of my own lonely swamp.

Life is really great as I walk along the water front every morning before going to work, and every night before  rehearsals start. Things are seriously easier if there is no need to pack up all the equipment each night to take to a rehearsal studio.

After Wake Not The Dead had it's public viewing at the Fringe Theatre in Joburg, we started with another project, New Parade.

Another great band with a bunch of great guys. We already had 2 successful gigs in our fist month of operation.

The year that was 2014 had many more moments, but these must have been amongst the greatest. Each one of these moments were only seeds for a promise of an amazing 2015.