And so we set about browsing through the shop at the guitars and basses that we wanted (they had no drums on the shop floor so Gav was stuck looking at guitars). James and I chose our musical weapons and we left the store in search of money to buy them.
The first port of call was obviously our parents (where else do you go for money when your 13 lol). James managed to get money for his Bass off of his parents and so purchased a red 'Encore' 4 string bass guitar and amp. I however was given £200 by my Nan to go and get my guitar, and so I did.
A few days later after finishing another day at secondary school I rushed out of the gates, ran home and got my Mum to drive me to the music store. We managed to haggle the guy down to the even £200 for a blue 'Stagg' 6 string electric guitar and a small amp and lead. I went home that night beaming from ear to ear and set about teaching myself how to play guitar.
I started off just getting the chord diagrams off the internet and practicing them and then practicing moving from one chord to another etc. Eventually I got the hang of it and was able to play most if not all songs I came across.
Next came the long and gruelling task of running through our local free-ads looking for drum kits. A brand new one would cost £500 so we had no choice but to buy second hand. We eventually found one for £80 and picked it up the same day.
And so, with the smallest of amplifiers and the most basic of instruments. The band was born. Now we just needed a name.
'Monkey + Chainsaw = Fun!' was the first suggestion made by Gav. That one went out the window once the 3 of us were walking though the school and saw a rubbish bin. That spurred a bright idea and so the ban 'Bin' was born.
We practiced occasionally, mainly in my back garden or my Grandad's warehouse that he'd let us use. Annoyingly though, we never actually laid down an entire song. James & I would learn the bits we needed to but when it came to putting it all together with the drums we just fell apart. The aspect of the band we worked on most though was logos and ideas. Mainly when we were supposed to be concentrating on maths or science, we were sketching logos, writing lyrics and dreaming of stadium gigs.
The only thing the band ever accomplished really was our website. By which point we'd been reading the Blink 182 biography 'Tales From Beneath Your Mum' and had stolen Mark Hoppus's first band's name: 'Of All Things'.
As 'Of All Things' we did one gig. A house party near to where we lived. No drums though, just James and I with our tiny amplifiers that had to cope with a guitar and mic each. Lets just say that it wasn't a success... everyone got drunk though and thought we were great! So the night wasn't a complete failure.
The band evolved gradually over it's year of existence, ranging through various styles (we became grunge and wanted to be like Nirvana), various drummers (Gav left, Ricky Oldcorn came in, then Phil Grimsdale) and also various names (due to the Nirvana influence we changed our name to 'Lithium'). However even though we went through so many overhauls and modifications we STILL never got an entire song laid down.
Over the next few months we practiced less and less and eventually the inevitable happened and we split up. I had just forked out on a £200 second-hand PA System which was now useless and a new 'Squier' electric guitar which was also pointless. Not to mention the new Marshall amplifier my grandparents had bought me for my birthday. So much time, money and emotions invested yet it had all gone to waste.
I decided I could do one of 2 things:
- Sell everything and give up on guitar
- Keep the PA System, learn some more 'friendly' songs (instead of Nirvana lol) and go solo.
And as you're reading this, you know which of the two paths I chose.
I ended up part-exchanging the electric guitar in for an acoustic (as electric never sounds right without bass and drums behind it) and so in 2003 I did my first solo gig. I had been singing at karaoke at our local club (The Felpham Club) for ages and had gained most of the clientele as fans. And so one day we asked Dom, the MC of the karaoke if I could plug my guitar in and do 3 songs. He said that was fine and I did my very first mini gig. From then I began performing every other week in the Felpham Club, rotating with Karaoke.
I then spent the next few years branching out and performing at various open mics and gigging around West Sussex and Hampshire. Gradually building up a small fan-base and gaining support.
It was then suggested by a friend that I create a YouTube channel and upload some videos of me singing and playing. And so I uploaded my first video: a freshly learnt cover of Michelle Branch's 'Goodbye to You' and I was staggered by the positive response it received. I soon followed that by uploading a cover of every 'Calling' song you could think of and got such good feedback it restarted my love for performing and re-ignited a hobby that had started to become tiresome.
The YouTube channel went from strength to strength and I gained support, subscribers, fans, confidence and feedback as time progressed. I used the positive comments left by YouTube users as inspiration and used the negative ones as constructive criticism. I leant a lot about my performing style and how I should change it from the very people who might one day buy my music. I fine-tuned my voice and subtly changed my mannerisms based on what the viewers of my channel suggested and it paid off. I was gaining subscribers by the van load and my fan base was increasing from not just being regional, not just national but I was now known worldwide. I found myself eager to upload videos more and more often as I loved the feedback I would get from them. It had kicked my music career up the arse and had given me a new-found love for entertaining again.
Then on the 28th of June 2006 I was asked to do an hour's set at the Junction public house in Bognor Regis in aid of our local hospitals charity. I was the 3rd performer in what would end up being a 12 hour live music festival. It was my first 'invitation' gig. I wasn't getting paid for it but that didn't matter. All my other gigs had come from me approaching the pubs but this was the first time I was invited to perform... it felt good.
The gig went really well. I even managed to catch some of it on film and uploaded it onto YouTube as soon as I could.
From then onward things just went up and up. I began performing at Open Mics twice a week and uploading videos onto my YouTube channel frequently. I felt a sort of 'duty' to my fans to keep giving them new material and new tracks to listen to and videos to watch.
I then decided to audition for X Factor, thinking that maybe that would be my break. Maybe I might win and get the record deal I had been yearning for. No, I didn't even make it in front of the celebrity judges. I was shown the door at the first hurdle. It didn't really matter though as my friend had joined me on audition day up at Wembley Arena in London and we had spent the entire day entertaining the holding room which was full of nearly 1000 people. It was the biggest gig I'd ever done, even though it wasn't a proper gig! I even got filmed singing and playing, annoyingly though it didn't make it onto the final edit and I never made it onto TV. No matter though, as the thrill of the day left me buzzing.
Having auditioned for X Factor and failed I knew that if I wanted to make it in music I had to do it myself.
I uploaded myself onto every network site I could find to try and gain more and more exposure. I was advertising myself with leaflets where I worked. I even considered knocking on doors and handing out brochures!
The next week my parents went away on holiday and I was in charge of looking after the house. And in the tradition of what had followed the year before, I had all my friends over for a 2 week sleepover/party! Only this time, we decided that 'Of All Things' was to reform for a one off gig. So James, Gav, Phil and I set up a PA system, full-size drum kit, guitar amps and bass amps in my parent's living room and started practicing. Only this time, we had 2 drummers who each did a set and we were A LOT better. Green Day songs, Blink 182 songs even a bit of Sex Pistols; we knocked each one out with ease, why could we not do this 2 years ago???
We invited a good 20 of our mates to come round and watch us perform and the mini gig in a cramp living room went off with a hitch. We had finally finished what we'd set out to do, we'd finished not only a complete song, but a complete set consisting of approximately 20 songs.
'Of All Things' could now finally be laid to rest.
A few weeks after the 14 day reunion I was then contacted by a guy called Andy via YouTube. He hosted an online East London radio show called 'Grass Roots' on X-Stream East. He invited me to come up to London and come on the show and be interviewed and play etc. I couldn't believe it! I was going to appear on a radio show!
And so my brother, best mate and I travelled up to London one Thursday night and went up and performed on this radio show. It was great fun, I'd never done anything like that and I really did feel like a star for the first time. Being invited by someone I'd never met to appear on their show. It's a weird but very flattering feeling.
Then a few weeks passed and while browsing through a magazine I found a mini recording desk that could be plugged into my computer at home. Of course at first I jumped at the idea of getting it and began saving up. However Christmas was approaching and most of the money I'd saved had to be spent on presents for every one else so I was gradually losing sight of being able to get the desk and my dream of recording an album.
Then Christmas day came and what had my brother bought me? The mini desk!
I immediately got home and set up the desk and began tinkering and play around with what it could do.
A few weeks later after fooling around as much as I possible could with it, I sat down and began writing. I managed to come up with 2 songs. A slow sad one about a recent long-distance relationship of mine that went wrong aptly entitled 'Distance'. and a feel-good, upbeat love song about ironically the same topic called 'Our Last Night'. Don't get me wrong I'd written songs before but usually they just consisted of stealing another artist's lyrical melody and putting different chords and different lyrics. A good recipe for a dance track, but not so much for a new, original artist.
Upon completion I was quite proud of the songs and debuted them on my YouTube page and received very good feedback. It was the first time I'd ever really released my work into the public so was quite tedious about the whole affair. It's like someone reading your diary or reading the messages on your phone, people all over the world are literally getting inside your head and seeing your deepest, darkest feelings and secrets. It's quite an unnerving thing but at the same time, it's the biggest form of flattery having people like what you have forged from nothing.
I tried and tried for years to write something, anything even half decent but had always failed and for a brief moment or so, I was able to write these 2 songs. But sadly the moment soon passed and I was back in what musicians and authors call 'Writer's Block'.
What followed for the next year or so was me repeatedly trying to write more songs. Every time I tried to find a new melody or chord pattern I ended up with either playing an Oasis song or a Calling song. It was hopeless. Trouble was that in the meantime I had promised all my fans that I would release an album soon and as I didn't have permission to put my covers on an album, all I could fall back on for album material was my own material... of which there were just 2 tracks.
Things kind of went quiet on that front for a while. I couldn't write anything so kind of gave up trying. I still had a go every now and then but I was trying to fight a losing battle. I had no ideas, nothing new to work on and no hope of writing something even half decent.
At that point another friend of mine was having relationship problems and he, just out the blue, wrote a couple of songs. Just lyrics mind but good lyrics. He asked me to do something with them so I came up with a lyrical melody and a chord structure. The songs then began to take form and were soon finished. He wanted them to give to the girl he was seeing. And so our side project 'The Bradbury-Moyse Project' was born.
We only got as far as putting the songs on MySpace and creating an account for them but nevertheless, I was writing... in a way. They got a great response too.
The next few months went pretty quiet again. Carried on doing the Open Mics, occasionally trying to come up with the next 'Angels' or 'Your Song' but failing. Then a couple of months into 2007 the X Factor auditions came up again. So this time my mate and I decided to audition as a duo.
We got through the first audition which was held at the Emirates Stadium (Arsenal Football Club's home ground) in London back in April. Then we were put through into the 2nd audition which was held in June. That one was held in the morning and then if we made it through that, then we would be up in front of the judges.
We made it through and that afternoon we stood in front of Simon, Danni, Sharon and Brian (Louis hadn't rejoined yet). We sang 'She Will Be Loved' together but the judges stopped us just before the chorus. Upon a small argument ensuing between my friend and Danni, all 4 judges asked me to single solo. So I sang the verse and chorus of 'Wherever You Will Go' by the Calling and they liked it. They said I needed to be more relaxed and to not look so intense (I hear that a lot lol) but they put me through to Boot Camp. Personally I wasn't too happy about this as I'd auditioned last year solo but hadn't got through and now this year we auditioned as a duo and now they wanted me solo. I checked with my friend and he said he was fine with it so that eased my mind a little but to be honest I still wasn't happy about going through without him and was contemplating turning it down. Then what followed was them putting a ridiculous contract under my nose (of which I can't go into the finer details but I wasn't prepared to sign it). My mind was already made up but the contract helped me swing my decision completely in the right direction. I turned them down. Apparently I was the first person in the whole of all the series of Pop Idol, Popstars, X Factor etc to ever turn down a chance to go through to the next stage, so at least I was original lol.
And so we left and weirdly enough, despite the kicking I got from all the people I have told; I still to this day don't regret my decision.
After X Factor I decided that was it for trying to get a career in music instantaneously. I decided that if I was ever going to make it, I would have to work for it myself and hope that I have something the charts and the general public wanted. By this point though, fame and fortune didn't drive me. I stopped being so persistent to get a record deal as I had seen first-hand how much they wanted you to give. That life was not for me.
After going back to performing at the various Open Mics, my friend and I decided that it was a good idea for us to run one. So we came together and ran our own Jam Night every Tuesday at 2 of our local pubs. It went quite well and we got quite a few people performing but not enough to satisfy the pub's takings so we decided to stop running them.
It wasn't until a few months later that I was suddenly hit by 2 ideas for new songs. I immediately got both of them recorded onto a demo and managed to get the lyrics down straight away. They literally flowed out of me in the space of an hour. It was the best and easiest bit of writing I'd ever done.
The first was a hard hitting, grudge induced, fast tempo-ed song about how much of a tease some girls can be which I entitled 'Thursdays' (which was the name of our local nightclub where the story of Thursdays took place). I had always wanted to write a song with a really fast, what I call 'driving' tempo. One of those songs that if you listen to it in the car makes you drive a little faster lol.
The second was a very personal song. Written about my troubled relationship with my father, it depicted a son's questions to his Dad. Why have you left me? Why haven't you called? You know I don't want you here but the least you could do is show you care by trying to stay in my life. It's the most personal song I've ever written and so the lyrics are very hard, cold and deep. It was entitled 'Blocking Out The Son'.
And so I now had a decent repertoire of songs. I debuted 'Blocking Out The Son' on YouTube, however 'Thursdays' remained exclusively to MySpace.
After my quick song writing blip, I went back into 'block' mode and had less ideas than a blown light bulb. I then concentrated again on putting up more YouTube videos and keeping my YouTube and internet fan base going. It was then that I had a few months off performing and music in general. I was moving house and had a lot going on, not to mention I got ill quite a few times in the space of these few months so I literally just didn't pick up a guitar. The last time I sang (I say sang but I had a sore throat and a cold so you couldn't really dignify it as singing lol) was on New Years Eve at a house party on a karaoke machine.
The next time I picked up the guitar and recorded was late March when I restarted my music. I decided that this time there was going to be no more blips or stalls. I had promised my fans an album and an album they were going to get.
I set about recording and finalising all my material and laying it down ready to be put on the album. I also set about plans for a live online gig which I could broadcast worldwide from my own home. I had so many plans and areas I wanted to take my music, and this time I wasn't going to be stopped.
I carried on posting videos and informing my fans of my future plans. In the process I found a website where I could upload my album and have it released onto all the major download sites like iTunes, Amazon MP3 and Napstar etc. I finished laying down all the tracks, put the previews up on my websites, copyrighted my material and then uploaded the songs to the World Wide Web.
I released 2 records.
'Untitled', which was a 3 track mini-album and 'Distance', which was designed to be the single.
And so we reach the present day.
I began uploading videos and doing my music not because I wanted to be rich or famous but simply because I enjoyed it and I loved that people all around the world enjoyed it. In a way I carry on performing for my fans more than my future. I was and still am quite happy being 'that guy off YouTube'. If the right offer ever came along then sure, I would take it (I'd be a fool not to). But I wasn't going to take it just for the stardom or the money. I have always enjoyed performing and entertaining people and I get such a kick out of knowing my fans enjoy what I do. So I will always do that first.
There's a motto that right from day one I have always lived by. It stemmed from watching all these 'plastic' manufactured bands mime along to their records on Top of the Pops years ago.
I never saw the point of performing if it wasn't live. People buy your record to listen to that. They go to your gig; whether in a small studio or massive stadium to hear you sing live and for that reason I will always be:
Live music first, recording second...
