THIS WEEK : GREG BLACKMAN
Greg Blackman is a soul singer,songwriter & musician based in Colchester,Essex.
As well as being an independent singer, songwriter and professional musician in his own right, GB also forms one half of ‘The Paragons Of Goodness’ with long-time friend & collaborator Nathan Wacey of Long Track Studios and works as a songwriter and vocalist with and for DJ Vadim, Nightmares On Wax, Rae & Christian, Utah Saints, Featurecast, Mr Bird, Smoove & Turrell, Suonho and others.
He is always on the move is Greg as his Prick and Ding answers will show you below.He appeared a few week ago on the Fresh on The Net Listening Post and the song which was my planned choice to showcase his work here has been replaced already as Greg updates his soundcloud page so often that songs come and go almost on a daily basis-this man has places to go,people to see.
Greg has a sweet soul voice and for me his most interesting work steps forward through the ‘Tom Waits goes twisted soul’ that he has been developing & showcasing on his Soundcloud page.I know he is working up some of these recent grooves a little more and I look forward to hearing the finished results real soon.
He has the voice of an old school soul singer with a ability to flesh out something new & interesting,keep your eyes out this dude.
Greg has an album ‘Low Fi Classics’ out on BBE records in the summer of 2013 and you can catch him singing with the New Town Kings for one night only at The Judge & Jury in Colchester on New Year’s Eve.
We come from the same neck of the woods(Colchester) and I’m sure one day soon we’ll bump into each other.
Good luck Greg,thanks for taking the time & over to you with this week’s Prick and Ding interview.
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1. What are you up to at the moment?
Right now being a Dad and a Husband, working on material for my next album with my producer Nathan Wacey of Long Track Studios, listening to the fresh mixes from my collaborative projects with DJ Vadim, Olly Howe, Mr Bird & Tommy Suonho aswell as finding time to illustrate a graphic novel I’m working called The Legacy Of John Stamping Crow.
2. Favourite childhood memory?
As a small child my parents used to take all the cushions off their big leather couch so I could jump about on it while listening to music. I was still very small so the couch with no cushions was like a trampoline for me and I used to bounce around like I was lighter than air. I can’t recall one specific occasion that was better than any other but I remember the feeling of exhilaration as each bounce reached it’s apex. That total freedom from thought and abandon in the moment that it’s so hard to achieve as an adult but comes so naturally to the young.
3. Hero?
Bill Hicks. Spoke the truth to power to his last breath, and paid the price of loneliness and scorn.
4. Villain?
Whoever gives presidents and prime ministers their orders. The invisible men we never see but who puppet every aspect of our culture to a degree that most people would find mind bogglingly unimaginably ludicrous. I’m not talking David Ike’s reptile overlords here, just to be clear. I’m talking about the richest %5 that visibly, provably and without hyperbole own everything, us included.
5. What/who makes you laugh?
I love the standup of Dave Chapelle, Chris Rock and that dude who does Achmed The Dead Terrorist who’s name I can never bloody remember. I also get a lot of laughs from shows like The IT Crowd, Garth Merenghi’s Darkplace and it’s sister program Man-To-Man with Dean Learner, Mystery Science Theatre 3000, Blackadder and A Bit Of Fry & Laurie.
On a day to day basis though my most carefree, un self-conscious gut laughs come from my son Ralph and my daughter Lily. There’s almost infinite comic potential in watching a 4 year old and a one year old go about their business. They both make me laugh a lot.
6. Describe what you do?
I’m a self employed singer, songwriter and illustrator. In reality this means I support my family with a combination of gigging in various incarnations and combinations of musicians, session singing for radio and TV, the occasional freelance illustration job and a lot of money borrowed from my folks that I never am able to pay back.
7. Who’s hair would you like to have for just one day?
That’s easy: Wolverine’s.
8. Best musical experience to date
Probably playing on a private beach in Ibiza for Diesel Clothing as part of Nightmares On Wax. They had a load of freebie clothes waiting for us but I’m a big guy and naturally fashionable labels don’t acknowledge the existence of non perfect individuals so none of it fit me. Not only was the gig an amazing experience in luxurious and beautiful surroundings but I rocked the whole thing in clothes bought from Peacocks in Colchester for a sum total of about a tenner. I call that a powerful dose of Winsauce right there.
9. What artist inspires you?
At the moment it’s a combination of Bobby Womack, Tom Waits, Frank Sinatra, Squeeze, Cake, Mike Patton and the Beastie Boys, but it changes all the time.
10. What does Fresh On The Net mean to you?
Exceptionally quickly prepared seafood? An online marketplace for non-perishable goods? A nice smelling but not in any way talented trapeze act? I dunno. You got me.
