Memories in Music

Life Lessons of Music: Alcoholic Depression to Joy

Sun, 30 Jan 2011 14:44:17 -0500

The 'Music Taught Me to Love' post has made me think of the many people I’ve known that have learned important life lessons by listening to music. Music can reach people where other influences cannot, and this seems to be a commonly shared experience. The lessons can be really big ones, or just small; music can help you dream of bigger and better things and set you on a particular life path, or it can simply take the sting out of an annoyance and put a smile on your face. Either way, life without music would be much poorer.

I wanted to share the stories of a few of my friends who have been affected by music. I find their stories inspirational, and it’s one of the reasons I set up Memories in Music, so I could come into contact with more music fans. I want to hear their stories and share them, hopefully to inspire others to give to charities in honour of the musicians that have enriched their lives. Because I am a huge Led Zeppelin fan, these stories involve their music, but I would dearly love to hear from the fans of other musicians too!

The first person I ever knew that was deeply affected by music was my friend Merle. Merle grew up in small town USA. He said his life was ‘painfully middle class’ and uneventful. He fell into a depression when he was around 15 because it seemed to him that life was just stretching out in front of him in a long, dull series of events by which he felt no real inspiration. Getting a job, getting married, having kids- it all felt like a trap to Merle. He started drinking with his friends, just a beer in the back of the school yard type stuff, but for Merle this quickly turned into alcoholism. A couple of beers became several six packs and then bottles of Southern Comfort. He dropped out of high school and wasted his days on drinking. Years went by in a haze of drunkenness, but nothing inspired him to really live his life with joy. Merle wasn’t a violent drunk. He didn’t hurt anyone or fall into some dramatic life of crime, he was simply quietly drinking his life away, making no real connections to people. He just drifted in his alcoholic depression. He told me he had no joy and was just numb. He spent his whole life drunk. He lived in his truck, only occasionally doing part time work to eat and buy alcohol.

Then in 1973 a friend of his got two tickets to see Led Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden and invited him along. He said that he wasn’t too excited and just went for something to do. He’d packed his bottle of Comfort in his jacket and planned on getting even more drunk. I can still see the massive sparkle in his eyes as he recounted this to me. "That band was incredible, bursting with unbelievable passion, a passion I had never felt, not even once. I was electrified from the first song, but it was Jimmy Page who completely broadsided me. He slapped me upside the head so hard with his playing I saw stars. It was like he’d plugged his guitar into me. That concert changed my whole life. He turned an old drunk into a joy-filled music zealot in under 3 minutes. Somewhere during that concert I put down the bottle of booze and never picked it up again."

Merle started reading the band’s interviews and learning about their musical inspirations. "I had no money, but I had to have this music, theirs as well as whoever they said influenced them, so for a time the only way to achieve hearing it was to go to the library. I was motivated to get a real job - quick."

Merle was so in love with music he decided to make a career of it. He somehow persuaded friends and family members to give him money, and with it he rented an empty shop and opened a music store in 1974. "I think they were just amazed at the change in me, so they took the risk." He told me his Aunt gave him the majority of the cash needed and said to him, "Whoever this Jimmy Page is, he has my undying gratitude."

My Uncle took me with him when he visited Merle’s shop one day. He told Merle I was a fan of Led Zeppelin. Merle smiled at me and said he was impressed that such a little girl had such great musical taste. Merle said he had a picture to show me. He brought me over to a wall at the side of the shop, and there on the wall was a black and white photo of Jimmy, framed along with his ticket to the Madison Square Garden show. Over the years, that wall grew and grew with photos and tickets, and that shop was where I learned all about music. It was also where I learned to love memorabilia. It was a refuge for me while I grew up.

Merle never set the world on fire. You will not have heard of him unless you happened to live within the area of his shop, but he was an inspiration to me and a lot of other people. He was always handing out jasmine tea and sitting people down to let them listen to tracks and seeking out music for people. He spread a lot of joy, and it all began with one concert. Music changed his life from drunken despair to one that was happy and productive. He died of cancer a few years ago, but I will never forget him or his massive enthusiasm for Led Zeppelin. When anything bad would happen people would often go to his shop because he had this ability to make you feel better. "Yep," he would say, "it’s all gonna be OK - just drink this tea, turn up The Jimmy and smile!"

Music Taught Me To Love

Mon, 3 Jan 2011 20:41:39 -0500

A musician friend of mine rang me this morning very excited about a programme he was watching about music. He thought I might find it interesting. Tuning in, I found some music professors having a chat. One of them held the illustrious title, "Professor of Cultural Musicology." Geeze, fancy stuff! Not something I would ordinarily watch, but just a few sentences later I was hooked when I heard one of them say that music produces very strong responses in us and can have physical as well as deep emotional affects relating to our core needs. It is not all just a bit of fun or purely entertaining.

The programme meandered through various scientific experiments which were interesting. Why do babies from all over the world respond to the singing of a lullaby no matter what language is being used to sing it, or even if singing is absent? Patients with advanced dementia recognise and sing songs that mean a lot to them, and music can even help people to communicate who have lost the ability to speak due to brain injury -they can sing sentences that they cannot speak. Apparently music has a measurable effect on the brains of musicians as well. The areas of their brains where music is processed are noticeably larger and thicker than in non-musicians. Even the universe makes music. Fifty-seven octaves lower than we can hear, you find the vibration of a black hole resonates a B flat when raised to our hearing level. And some believe that a string is found at the centre of all matter that vibrates as the string of a guitar.

Amazing stuff, but by far the segment I found most meaningful was the effect music had on children. Not only does it help them learn things like maths and syntax better, but it helps them interact socially. The celebrated pianist Daniel Barenboim supports music kindergartens, where he has observed that when children are exposed to music (simply through listening not playing an instrument), they learn discipline, sharing and love. Love? They learned to feel love and express love to others because of exposure to music? That struck me forcefully. I don’t have any fancy Professor of Musicology title, but I don’t need one to know that is certainly true because this is my experience of music, that it actually taught me to love. I have never heard anyone confirm this is real, so since it is my experience, it was great to hear. By studying the children, and audience reactions to music, it is seen that music creates unity, and is able to connect you to yourself and others.

Experiencing music in this way is life changing when you have no role models or loving guidance to help you process emotions and teach you how to relate to the world at large. I shut myself off and wouldn’t allow anything to reach me because I feared it would bring more pain. But one day I heard music that changed all that. I had no idea why, but suddenly I felt connected to something, drawn, and the more I listened, the more connected I felt – first to the music, then to the musician, then to myself, and then to others. Those stages of broadening connections were a healing and learning process for me that was real. The musician was able to break through all the barriers I had built around myself, and here was a group of scientists telling me so.

This is how music saved my life. It can sound very 'fan-like' and silly to some when you say that, but it is real and powerful. Much of the recovery progress I have made relates back to this experience, and I am forever grateful to the musician that unlocked my prison and helped me take the first tentative steps out. I think perhaps a lot of music fans share this experience, just to differing degrees. Anyone else have similar experiences to share? How was music life-changing to you? A big way? Just a little? I’d love to hear. I’m still thinking all this through. I’m really stunned at what I heard. Music is everywhere, and it lies at the core of life; connected to love. I always knew it!

A Trip to The Outside Edge

Thu, 9 Dec 2010 19:07:18 -0500

On Monday I went to visit Phil Fox, Artistic Director of The Outside Edge Theatre Company. The reason for the visit was the Memories in Music Fanfare Group. With our donations this year, we Jimmy Page fans will be supporting Outside Edge in Jimmy’s honour. As well as the group sessions and the drama productions, they also do one-on-one counselling. They strive to provide all their services free of charge, which, as you can imagine, takes a lot of effort. He was very grateful for our help, and he told me that Memories in Music’s Fanfare is the first group that has ever approached them for regular funding.

I was really looking forward to my chat with Phil, as he started this company from pretty much zero, just his dream. It’s very inspiring to meet someone who has battled with drug addiction, yet come out the other side and is now using his love of dramatic arts to help others. "Drama saved my life," he told me. He felt that drama could give other addicts exactly what it gave him. You only have to hear of the people he’s helped and the programmes they run to see that is true. His vision has created the only group of this type in the UK.

This all resonates with me. It was music that saved my life, and like Phil, I wanted to find people who felt the same, in my case music fans, and work together with them to help others. It can sometimes feel like the odds are insurmountable when you start something and it’s small and basically unnoticed, misunderstood, and sometimes even scoffed at. Although they have been working for 11 years, Phil says his group is still fairly obscure. "Having Jimmy as a Patron has really helped raise our profile," he told me. That’s certainly true - it’s why our Fanfare Group is here!

The offices on Munster Road in Fulham were very nice. It’s a beautiful building full of light. They share the space with another programme. Phil showed me the area where they do the group sessions and then the private meeting rooms for the one-on-one counselling. He explained that there is an emphasis on the addicts being clean when they come to the meetings. "When you come to us to participate, you have to be clean that day," he said.

The area of Fulham where you come to the offices is a very affluent area. It seemed strange walking past all the lovely shops - I suppose because you think of addicts and automatically think of run-down areas. Phil told me that his experience of being located in that area only shows the choice of substance abused is different, the struggles are the same. In the wealthy neighbourhoods the drug of choice is often alcohol, while the poorer neighbourhoods have crack problems. But, they can all come together at the Outside Edge for some very unique and inspirational help. It was wonderful to be able to surprise Phil with a Christmas gift, £380 from Jimmy’s fans. I wish you could have seen his reaction. It’s just wonderful to be a real blessing to people. Everyone who gives to Fanfare should go smile at themselves in the mirror and say, "I make a difference." Because I promise you, even if you only give 50p a week, you DO make a difference.

I spent a nice hour and bit chatting to Phil. I am looking forward to learning more about what they do, especially because my own family was ravaged by drug and alcohol abuse. Besides being a help, I am sure I will learn things that will help me too.

We’re going to meet again in January and discussfundraising idea I have to benefit them. It would make me very happy to bring more attention and money to their cause. If you want to find out more, check out the website: http://www.outsidedgetheatre.com/index.html We’d love to have more music fans supporting the Edge. Contact Cathy at fanfare@memoriesinmusic.com and she will fill you in on how you can help.

Annie x

Cathy Takes Fanfare 2011

Mon, 8 Nov 2010 16:53:02 -0500

The Fanfare programme, where music fans can join together to give to charity in honour of their favourite musicians, is getting a much needed boost by a new volunteer. Cathy Kelty, a supporter of Memories in Music since day one, has stepped forward to become Fanfare manager.

I’m so grateful for her help. With all the irons I have in the fire running Memories in Music, I don’t have the time needed to help the programme grow. We have such amazingly dedicated fans giving to Jimmy Page’s Fanfare, and they deserve more attention. Thanks to Cathy, they are going to get that attention, and she will be able to spread the word far and wide that Fanfare exists so that more fans will have the chance to join in with us.

Fanfare is close to my heart because music became a huge part of my life when I was searching for direction and struggling with life in general. The influence it had on me was profound and meaningful, and I have always been deeply grateful to those who brought it into my life. Sometimes people roll their eyeballs when you say you are grateful to musicians and care about them, but I find that a sad reaction. Why should you not be grateful and care about people who made your life happier? As long as the expression of that gratitude and caring is appropriate, it’s a very good thing. I’m NEVER going to stop expressing my appreciation for music and the musicians who make it. More gratitude and less attitude can only make the world a better place.

My fanfare goals for 2011 would be to add more fans to beat this year’s £615 total, and I would dearly love to see new Fanfare lists for other musicians, especially for another personal favourite of mine, Janis Joplin. I remember sitting in the car one day waiting for my father to come out of a store, and hearing her on the radio. Her voice was so powerful I was instantly affected by it. Here was a musician that could sing the pain and rawness of emotion that I felt but had no idea how to express. I still turn to Janis to release bottled up emotions. Letting songs like ‘Cry Baby’ and ‘To Love Somebody’ sink into my soul is awesome. Just like listening to Jimmy Page play, the effect is instant and dramatic. If there are any Janis fans out there who like the idea of Fanfare, please get in touch.

With a new volunteer at the helm, some new ideas to try out, as well as a new charity to support in honour of Jimmy Page (details coming in the next few weeks), it’s all looking really exciting for 2011. I’m looking forward to it! Thanks Cathy, and thanks to all the Fanfare members, present and future. Like Cathy said in her Fanfare introduction: ‘Let’s make noise!’ http://memoriesinmusic.com/fanfare.html

Fans who REALLY make a difference

Sun, 24 Oct 2010 20:36:03 -0400

I am so happy today. In fact, I am thrilled to pieces! When you are part of something that changes lives, it is a great feeling.

Last year, Memories in Music started Fanfare. It was created for music fans who wanted to do something to truly honour a musician they admire by donating an amount of money each week to support charity. It was open to fans of any musician, and there was no set amount to give, just whatever fans could afford - even 50p a week is a big help to charities. As it turned out, only one musician had fans that were willing to be part of this fledgling project, fans of Jimmy Page. The money was collected to give to Task Brasil’s Casa Jimmy in his honour.

Of Jimmy’s fans I tried to reach, ultimately eight decided to join in with me. I got worried emails from some of the eight saying that we couldn’t possibly make a difference with such a small group, feeling bad that they didn’t have larger amounts to give, or that they couldn’t get other fans to join in, but I was quietly confident it would all be OK. Sure, I wished more fans had decided to help out, but I’ve been to this rodeo before. This was a great opportunity to show how much could be done with just a little.

I am proud to say these eight Jimmy fans have given £615 ($965) towards the care of the children in Rio. £615!! Awesome.

These fans have done something amazing as fans, and they did it with no reward and no admiration from anyone really. Over in Rio though, some poverty-stricken children are going to get their needs met because eight Jimmy Page fans appreciated Jimmy enough to do something truly beneficial. It hasn’t embarrassed/upset/annoyed Jimmy or his family, it isn’t illegal, inappropriate or mean-spirited, it hasn’t glorified the egos of those that should hang their heads in shame, or enriched the coffers of anyone but those in need. FABULOUS! It’s wonderful any way you slice it, and all the money goes straight to Casa Jimmy.

Fanfare is a blessing to musicians, to charities, and ultimately to those who give because it changes you for the better when you reach out and give. So I am wildly happy today!

As we begin our new year of giving I hope more Jimmy fans will join us, and fans of other musicians too. We’ll set up a Fanfare Group for any musician and see that the money goes to a charity they support. Maybe our eight will turn into 18, or 80 or 800… imagine what can be done with 800 people giving 50p a week? Wow. That’s fan power! But we’ll keep on keeping on no matter what. One day these fans will be honoured. I will see to it.

Kevin, Dawn, Cynthia, Maja, Lucia, Kathy, Alexandra and Youko – thanks for joining me in this project. What you have done made a real difference in the world. From my heart, thanks.

- Annie x

The Music Heritage Project

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 14:45:23 -0400

For the past year I have been putting together a business proposal for a permanent building dedicated to preserving and promoting the legacy of the amazing musicians of the UK. With the opening of the Memories in Music in the Midlands exhibit, The Music Heritage Project is officially launched.

A long time before setting out to create this project, I wondered why there was nothing quite like it in the UK, or indeed, the world. We do have awesome music exhibits out there, but nothing like this project. I feel it is long over-due, and I am glad to say a number of the musicians and business people I have approached with the idea agree. In fact, so far all of them do. Tourist attraction type music exhibits are great, but I want a heritage setting to compliment those attractions and to honour in a deeper way the legacy musicians have left us.

We need to give our musicians, the mega-famous as well as the local heroes, a place to leave their personal treasures where they will be looked after in a museum quality environment, and not used purely for the profit of a select few. We do this with all the great pieces of art in the world, preserving even every day objects of antiquity. Musicians deserve no less. We are the generation that can do this for our contemporary musicians. Fans of the future will want to see and experience what we have because the music and the musicians we are privileged to live with now will be just as influential when we are all distant memories and new fans are born. I want to leave The Music Heritage Project for those fans.

I feel this statement is as true for many people as it is for me: Art and antiquities are important, but musicians have inspired me far more than say a Constable painting, a Viking relic or a Roman pot.

The impact of listening to my music hero play has enriched my life greatly. I want to honour him and all those whose musical talents have contributed to our lives. And, because my music hero taught me this, I want to include all music genres in the project and not limit it to one type of music.

I’m seeking out experts in their fields to join me in this project. I need fans who have appropriate memorabilia to donate or loan, people who can preserve paper, cloth, film, sound and photographs, people who believe in the project to make financial contributions, and I am looking for a Founding Patron. These are just a few of the required elements. It will be quite an adventure!

Of course, as with all the Memories in Music ventures, the Music Heritage Project is non-profit and will benefit charity.

Visit the project page to learn more and get in touch if you would like to offer help: http://memoriesinmusic.com/musicHeritageProject.html

I’ve already got business people and musicians making arrangements to talk the project it over with me, so we’re off! I hope to find kindred spirits who will join me. Let’s do it!

MIM and Blaze Bayley

Sat, 24 Jul 2010 02:24:14 -0400

Meeting musicians is always an enjoyable experience for me because they have seriously contributed to the happiness of my life. Apart from my opinions of them formed by admiring their musical talent, I really have no idea what they will be like as people. There is a tendency to get the wrong impression of anyone in the spotlight, so interviewing in the way that I do, just conversational style, can be very revealing as to the person behind the fame. Like I would with people I meet everyday, some I connect with, some I don’t.

When Blaze walked into the Gallery for his interview I was already concerned. There was a mix-up which meant that no one was at the Gallery when he arrived. There is nothing worse than not being there when your star turns up to be interviewed! I was mortified and apologised, but it looked for all the world like I pissed him off and now I was screwed. Well, nothing could have been further from the truth. The camera went on and right from the first question Blaze was very open, very interesting, and very entertaining. I could hear his appreciation of his Midlands roots as he told his stories about growing up in the area, getting into his first band, and just plain working hard to achieve his goals. He was great and one of my favourite interviews. His passion for music and his fans really was evident. Even if you aren’t necessarily a fan of Blaze, I hope you’ll watch the interview. With the projects I am planning with MIM, Blaze’s attitude was very inspiring.

He even gave me a real-life example of a ‘Spinal Tap’ moment. When the cameras stopped rolling, we chatted a bit about fame and the odd response people have to it, Blaze saying that image takes over the real person in many cases. He told of a band that had a smoke machine on stage that went into total over-drive and none of the musicians could see what they were doing. He heard the guitarist turn to the crew backstage, and practically crying, said, "I can’t see! I can’t play! What should I do? I can’t see my fingers!" The next thing he heard was a stern voice shouting back, "Stop crying! We’re supposed to be hard!"

I’ve asked Blaze to help out on some of my projects, and I hope he says yes. In the meantime, you can see the leather jacket that he wore for the making of his first album and tour, and a t shirt, on display at the exhibit this September. He handed them to me before he left and said, "I don’t want to see them on Ebay!"

"What kind of fan are you?!"

Mon, 5 Jul 2010 10:41:39 -0400

I recently received an interesting email from someone requesting information about a situation with a musician. It’s not unusual because people look at my website and see that I have contact with certain musicians and/or their management, and ask if I can help with their enquiry. I don’t mean to be unfriendly or unhelpful, but I want to say to anyone who happens on my blog or my website with enquiries about musicians: I don’t give out any information about the musicians I deal with for MIM projects. If you are looking for contacts, in my experience, you will make them if you have business they want to discuss. I know some fans are happy to give out contact information, addresses, or tell about what they know or have discovered after talking to whoever about whatever, I’m not. Aside from the fact that I have been asked specifically by some contacts not to do this, I wouldn’t anyway. This response from me prompted the rather surprised and slightly annoyed question, "What kind of fan are you?!"

Well, that’s a legitimate question. What kind of fan am I? It’s maybe easier to say what kind of fan I am not. First of all, I am not a ‘reporter-type’ fan. I am not going to be digging for information on musicians and then publishing it on this site. The only things I want to write about here are things associated with MIM activities, and very occasionally, about something the musicians themselves are currently talking about or doing and are happy for it to be in the public domain. I’m not looking to be the breaking news site, again unless it is MIM-related. I had one person say to that, "That’s because you don’t know anything." Well, you reckon? OK then, no need to come ask me any more then. Easy.

I am not a ‘hint, hint, hint-type’ fan. I’m not going to be the one who gives heavy hints about what I know but in the end just can’t reveal, or can only say stuff like, "My sources/contacts/people say big news is coming," or "I’ve heard the most amazing news about so and so, but I just can’t tell you." In truth I don’t understand this anyway. If it cannot or should not be revealed, why say anything at all? Why even hint about it? I have my theories as to why some engage in this behaviour, but you don’t need my theories. You decide why.
I am not a ‘tell-all/gossip-type’ fan. I am not going to write every last detail of every conversation or email, or endlessly speculate. I don’t think everything is necessarily bad from the ‘tell-all/gossip’ camp, it’s just that I don’t want to be the person that had a conversation with a musician and then they go on my site to read about the MIM charity updates and see what they were wearing, drinking, eating, how they moved, every word of what they said, who they were with, or have to endure gossip about their private lives or situations - you know, a huge load of too much. It amazes me that some fans speak with such authority about people they have met casually 25 years ago, or never met at all - in truth people they don’t know a thing about. But if you do happen to know or work with anyone famous, you surely understand discretion is much appreciated by those whose every move is hounded and written about. If you want to do them a good turn, realize some things are inappropriate to reveal or discuss. Not always wrong, but often not expedient. Inappropriateness is defined differently by everyone; but for me it mostly means: Shut up about stuff Annie. How will this make me look to the people I am talking about? How will it make them feel?

So, what kind of fan am I... a fan that wants musicians and people associated with them to feel extremely comfortable working on charity activities I organise. To me, that means I cannot be any of the above. Erring on the side of caution works for me, and I have seen that it works for them as well. At the end of the day though, it comes to this - I have to look at myself in the mirror and be happy. Being so cautious seems to irk some fans, and I am sorry for that. But I have to sleep at night.

If you are a reporter-type fan, a hinting around-type fan, a tell-all/gossip-type fan, and that works for you, OK. I’m not telling you what to do by any means. I thought about what kind of fan I am, and what kind I wanted to be, and you know, I’m just sayin’... maybe you should think about it too.

MIM with Nick Mason

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 20:40:06 -0400

On Thursday morning my taxi pulled up outside a little nondescript building in London. Up a flight of stairs and I was in a lovely loft studio. No one was there, but it was easy to see I was in the right place - there were several drum kits by the door, and on a bookshelf, copies of a book by Nick Mason.

It was hard to believe I was about to be filmed talking to a Pink Floyd legend, but then Trev and Jon arrived to set up the cameras, and while they did, in he walked. He told me he was in a good mood today when he shook my hand. That’s nice to hear! I am not a professional interviewer by any means, so really these films are just me, a fan, chatting. I just let the conversation flow as it will. Nick was fun giving me his best Birmingham accent as we started. He actually grew up in London, but when you hear his best Brum talk, you’re in no doubt he’s from there!

We had a nice half an hour talk sitting there amongst the drums. The kit he was sitting behind had just been delivered by Ferrari, and it was huge. It’s the first time I have ever sat behind a drum kit and it’s quite impressive. I don’t know anything about drums, which you will see on the film when it gets posted. Sitting there made me think what it would be like to sit there in front of a huge crowd playing. I could barely see over them!

A lot of the most interesting bits of conversations I’ve had happen when the film stops rolling. I guess because famous people are naturally cautious in interviews (and judging by the way things get taken way out of context or blown out of all proportion it isn’t surprising). While we were taking everything down, he chatted to us about his business and his motor racing and the plans for my company! Cool.

It was a great day, and I even got to have a fan girl moment when I left. I hugged Nick and thanked him for all the joy he’s given me with his music, and he kissed me on the cheek. OK, OK, to all of you now rolling your eyeballs - sorry. But it was a great moment for me. When ever I listen to Pink Floyd from now on, I have this great memory to go along with it.

Musicians are special people, and I am having a great time meeting them. If you’ve got some memories to share, send them in. Fans will definitely enjoy reading them and seeing any photos you have. In the meantime, I will keep sharing mine.

If you want to see bigger pictures, go to the MIM Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/memoriesinmusic/sets/72157624254085336/

Fairport Convention, Pink Floyd!

Sun, 6 Jun 2010 20:44:46 -0400

This Thursday I spent the afternoon filming interviews for the upcoming Musicians of the Midlands exhibit in Birmingham. It’s always a lot of fun talking to musicians, but this was even more special because we were invited to film at the home of Fairport Convention’s esteemed violin player, Ric Sanders.

Travelling into the lovely village where Ric lives, I got a bit concerned I may have missed a turn because I didn’t see a house name at first. I am terrible with directions, and I was a bit nervous to travel down this narrow track to the cottage at the end in case I was in the wrong place. I’d have to back out and that looked daunting. Well, there was nothing for it but to check as this was the right street according to Darlene (my sat nav). I knew I was in the right place when Ric appeared in the drive - playing! How awesome to be serenaded a welcome to the house.

It was a ‘picture postcard pretty’ cottage, and because the weather was warm and sunny, Jon filmed us on the porch of a summer house at the bottom of the garden. You couldn’t ask for a more idyllic setting. Ric is awesome and great to talk to - the interview went on for an entire hour but it felt more like five minutes. It is such a privilege to spend time with musicians, and Ric is the type of guy you could happily talk to for a lifetime and never have a dull moment. I’m really grateful to Jon at Scadge Productions for donating his time and all the equipment to film these interviews, especially as all he gets is a meal and has to listen to me endlessly squealing with excitement. Sorry Jon.

I’ve been asking musicians what song they would like fans of the future to hear that they felt represented them best. Ric picked Rose Hip, which I knew from his Still Waters album. Much to my surprise he went to get his violin and played it on the film for me. Gosh- that was just wonderful!

We then called round at his local pub for a bite to eat (and even more chatting!), and Dave Pegg turned up. We sat outside in the sunshine for a bit and Dave entertained us with his awesome stories- like how he actually made it through the traffic to get on stage in time for his slot at the Bath Festival in 1970 and other cool memories. He’s a lot of fun, always laughing - an instant party in a person! I interviewed him on the porch of the summer house too, and because he brought the item with him that he was loaning for the exhibit, he talked about it on the film. It’s a special bass guitar that was made for him as a birthday gift. He ended his interview by asking, "Can I go to the loo now?" LOL!

So now I have some great new memories to share with fans; and Dave Pegg’s bass guitar, and one of Ric Sander’s violins residing in my bedroom. Running Memories in Music - not just a job, an adventure!

This week there will be another instalment to the adventure. A member of Pink Floyd has granted me a filmed interview in London. That’s very exciting! The projects I am working on with my fellow MIM volunteers are really moving ahead too, and I can’t wait to report on those when I am able.

Any music fans out there who want to help, you are welcome! I only ask: 1. That you love music; 2. You respect the musicians in word and deed; and 3. You want to benefit charity.

Visit here to see what you can do: http://memoriesinmusic.com/getinvolved.html There’s nothing like spreading the joy that music brings!!!

Bonham, Palmer, Lee and balloons!

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 20:55:49 -0400

It’s always great when people respond to a project that is dear to your heart, especially when the project honours someone you admire and benefits charity. I feel really blessed that Memories in Music in the Midlands has been receiving support from musicians as well as people in the music industry, and businesses who would like to help out. Fans have been getting involved as well, so there will be a variety of great things on the display in the Gallery come September.

Last week I took another trip up to Birmingham. Trevor and Jon (and Laura who is working with them learning about the industry - great to meet you Laura!) have been filming me doing interviews to capture some of the memories of the people who have made music in the area, and last week we had the privilege of speaking to Carl Palmer and the amazing Albert Lee.

Carl Palmer was the first interview of the day. I interviewed Carl at the beautiful New Hall Hotel in Sutton Coldfield. I say interview, but really, it is just me chatting with the musicians taking part. I like chatting better, and to let them lead the conversation rather than me guiding it with a list of questions. I do have some, but mostly I just take my cues from them. Once we start talking, I find that I could go on and on because it’s so interesting, but I try to keep it to a 30 minutes or less format. Carl shared his memories of the music that influenced him as a kid, his first times playing drums in public, and of his days in his band Atomic Rooster. He was so much fun that even after the camera stopped rolling we went on talking about all sorts of things.

After lunch we all headed off to speak to the manager of a venue we are going to use to stage a benefit concert associated with the exhibit. An announcement about the concert will be coming soon. Then it was over to The Robin 2 in Wolverhampton to talk to Albert Lee and his assistant Sue. Sue is one of those people that I am sure many fans dream they could be - she started off volunteering her time to put together a newsletter for fans so they could hear about upcoming gigs, and ended up as Albert’s assistant. Sue is a Memories in Music Heroine, a lady who doesn’t seek praise, isn’t interested in using her position to lord it over other fans, just a sweet lady who genuinely wants to do good for the musician she admired. I really loved meeting her and filming some of her memories. More like Sue in the fan world please!

Filming Albert I found the most daunting, probably because he is just so amazing, a real living legend. He’s played with Buddy Holly, The Everly Brothers, Eric Clapton, and has 2 Grammys. I’ve been listening to him play for a long time, and when the camera started rolling I made the mistake of looking at him before I opened my mouth and thinking, ‘Oh my God that’s Albert Lee!’ I had to start over and still I was nervous. But I settled in (I think) and had a fun time talking to him. The venue was really dark and we had these huge bright lights on us which didn’t help my nerves. It’s hard to believe I was sitting in the middle of band set-up talking to Albert about bombs dropping near his home during the war and record shopping with Jimmy Page... Fun times!

I was invited to stay for the concert, and it was smashing. I love intimate venues where the crowd knows the music, the musicians have a connection to the audience, and everyone is having fun. I got to see Albert play Country Boy! I hung around until the wee hours meeting people and sharing music memories with them. A really fun day.

Saturday started off with shopping in the Bull Ring, and finished in a meeting with another of my favourite musicians, singer/songwriter Deborah Bonham. Deborah and her managers had lunch with me to talk over the exhibit and after talking to me about the whole concept of the exhibit and the company, they are all prepared to help. Deb is a really lovely, warm person. I’m excited to work with her on this exhibit, and hopefully put together an event for her charity that rescues horses from the terrible fates that can befall them when they are no longer able to race. We had a good laugh talking about all sorts, including some of our more eye opening Zeppelin-related experiences. Both of her managers are super as well, and I could have talked to them all day long. How many times do you leave a meeting with lovely balloons as a gift from a manager? I’m guessing not many, but I did! It’s great just to meet all these people, never mind knowing that you have their support as well.

So that’s the update. More filmed interviews are being scheduled later this month, and the ones that have been filmed will show up on the website in due course. If you want to take part in this exhibit, drop us a line. You’ll be in good company and who knows - you might just get a balloon too!

Musicians of the Midlands - Steve Gibbons

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 10:40:28 -0400

While at the Fairport Convention gig in the Birmingham Town Hall, I met another of the musicians that have kindly agreed to take part in our charity exhibit, Steve Gibbons. Steve was backstage chatting to Simon Nichol, and I was able to introduce myself. It’s really great to meet people that have made music you know. It’s an adventure too, wondering if your image of them from hearing their music will be what greets you. Steve was very nice and helpful as well, offering his advice on a benefit show we are planning to stage during the exhibit. I’m arranging to do a filmed interview with him which I am sure will be really interesting as Steve’s career has spanned a number of decades.

Growing up in the USA, I was made aware of Steve by a friend of mine who knew The Steve Gibbons Band primarily as the opening act for bands like The Who, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and The J Geils Band; and for the albums, ‘Any Road Up’ and ‘Rollin’ On.’ But there’s lots more to know about Steve’s career than just those things.

Steve was born in Harborne, Birmingham, and reportedly was all set to become a plumber. Instead, he joined a group called The Dominettes in 1960 and began playing in the pubs and clubs around Birmingham. The group changed its name to The Uglys, and recorded a single called ‘Wake Up My Mind.’ This song was unlike most of the songs of the period with lyrics like:

Somewhere there’s hunger, somewhere there’s war
But I can do nothing so I’ll just ignore
The cruelty around me, pretending I’m blind
In case I start thinking and Wake Up My Mind.

And the days break and the nights fall and drift into time

I read in the papers, a policeman shot down
Two negros in cold blood in some racial town
And I’m having a new car but I don’t know what kind
But one of these days I will Wake Up My Mind.

Quite heavy-duty for the mid 60s. The next band Steve became a member of was Balls, along with Trevor Burton, Denny Laine, and drummer Keith Smart. Steve left the band after a short period, and moved to Idle Race, which eventually became The Steve Gibbons Band. Spotted by the manager of The Who, this is what led to Steve recording his album ‘Any Road Up,’ and to his work touring with the The Who and other bands.

Steve has recorded nine albums, and still tours with his band. He also plays in the Brum Rocks Live shows along with Trevor Burton and Bev Bevan, two other artists who are taking part in our Midlands exhibit. Be sure to check out the music of this inspiring Midlands artist! His gigs are listed on his website here:
http://www.stevegibbonsband.com/

Weekend in Brum

Mon, 8 Mar 2010 16:57:15 -0500

Memories in Music had a very exciting weekend in Birmingham March 6th and 7th. We met some great folks who are willing to help with the charity exhibit, did a couple of interviews with local musicians, and attended The Fairport Convention show at the Birmingham Town Hall as guests of Fairport’s illustrious violin player, Ric Sanders.

The weekend started in St Pauls Gallery, where Symon Bland was kind enough to allow us to use the Gallery as the interview venue. I wanted to get Symon in an interview too, but he somehow escaped! I’ll get you next time Symon!

Musician Joe Digman was the first interview. Joe is a drummer, and his bands, Light Fantastic and Sight and Sound, opened for the bands Sweet, Mudd, and Showwaddywaddy. The Sweet even played at Joe’s wedding. He had some great stories to tell about exploding pyrotechnics blowing tiles off the ceilings of working men’s clubs, pushing his drum kit to pubs in a pram, and playing in local skiffle bands. We had an extra treat when Joe picked up some drumsticks and played the drum kit that is currently on display in the Gallery, once owned by the drummer of T Rex.

The other interview of the day was Jem Brent, who has starred in musicals such as 42nd Street, Rocky Horror, and Starlight Express. Jem shared his stage experiences being understudy for an entire cast plus learning a whole script in German, and being Cookie Monster on wheels. There are fascinating musicians in the Midlands! All the fun was captured on film by Trevor and Jon from Scadge Studios, who are kindly donating their time and film to record these interviews. I am very grateful to them. I’ve got to get them in front of the camera soon…

Later that evening I arrived at the Birmingham Town Hall and was ushered backstage to meet Ric in his dressing room before the show. It’s the first time I have seen him play live, although I have been listening to him play with Fairport, and his own Ric Sanders Group, for a number of years. He’s such a lovely guy. I wished that we’d had the camera there right then to start recording the interview, as I enjoyed chatting to him so much. We’ve arranged to catch up for the filmed interview when he comes back from a quickie tour later on this month. I’m really looking forward to that!

Ric introduced me to some great folks after the show who are willing to contribute to the exhibit in various ways – sharing memories, making contacts with musicians, and sharing their own memories on the website. Meeting Steve from a radio station in Wolverhampton was fortunate, as I hope to be able to spread word of the exhibit to fans of area musicians to see if they might loan us their memorabilia. I love fan items – they are what I had access to see when I was a kid and the memory of how exciting I found it all never wore off.

Dave Pegg (bass player for Fairport) was a lot of fun to meet. He’s going to allow me to film an interview with him, is going to loan me some items from his personal collection, and has already started networking for me – and believe me, you don’t have a clue what networking is unless you’ve had Dave Pegg networking on your behalf! Trust me on this.

So not only did I walk away from the Town Hall on a cloud from all the great music, I also went out with some great new friends and a pocket full of telephone numbers. It’s going to be a great exhibit!

The first of the interviews will be up as soon as Trev can polish them up, and more will be recorded on March 18th. Stay tuned!

Musicians of the Midlands: Bev Bevan

Sun, 7 Feb 2010 16:38:39 -0500

Posted by Annie on February 7, 2010

One of the musicians taking part in our charity exhibit this September is Bev Bevan, drummer for ELO, The Move, and even for a time with Black Sabbath (replacing Bill Ward when he became ill) on tour and playing on their 'Eternal Idol' album.

Bev was born in an inner city area of Birmingham called Spark Hill. Deciding to leave a glittering career as a department store buyer, he picked up his drumsticks and played with Denny Laine in a group called Denny Laine and the Diplomats, moving on to The Vikings before finding a place in one of the most influential bands of the 60s called The Move. The Move had nine Top 20 UK singles, and it was Bev and two other members of this group, Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne, who formed The Electric Light Orchestra. Unlike The Move who never enjoyed success in the USA, ELO found fame there first. The band had 27 Top 40 singles on both sides of the Atlantic, and has sold over 100 million albums worldwide.

ELO ended in 1986, and since then Bev has continued to play, in ELO Part II and a reformed version of The Move, Bev Bevan’s Move. He has also written a book about his life as a star in ELO called, ‘The Story of The Electric Light Orchestra.’ He has organised and taken part in several charity gigs to raise money for the Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Barnardos. He now has a weekly radio show on BBC West Midlands and writes a column for The Sunday Mercury: blogs.sundaymercury.net/bev-bevan/

Bev has kindly agreed to loan Memories in Music items from his personal collection for our charity display at St Pauls Gallery. Among these is a tour jacket from his ELO days. Check out some of Bev’s columns, and of course, his music. Bev Bevan has made a huge contribution to music history.

Are you a fan of ELO? Have you seen them in concert, have memorabilia to loan or share on the website? Met Bev? We’re looking for fans to share their memories. Get in touch and your

Fan Memories: ELO

Sun, 7 Feb 2010 11:18:39 -0500

Many thanks to Dawn Atherton, who has shared with us some concert memories, one being ELO. Thanks Dawn!

Dawn shares: OK, starting chronologically, first up is ELO. I saw them at Bingley Hall in June 1978. I was still at school and too young to drive,so my dad took me and my friend Helen, in the car. Bingley Hall was about an hour and a half’s drive from where we lived. I remember telling someone at school that I was going to Bingley Hall and them telling me that was where they did livestock auctions - Bingley Hall was then forever immortalised in my mind as - that cowshed in a field!.

Helen and I went into the hall, I remember that the seats were the folding type that you typically get in church halls or community centres, not the fixed type you get in today’s arena venues. I don’t recall much of the detail of the concert, except that it was absolutely incredible. I couldn’t believe that a band could sound so good live. I had copies of ELO’s LPs 'A New World Record' and 'Out Of The Blue' and had played them to death. I was dumbstruck by the quality of the sound and the musicianship and found myself really LISTENING to the music, in awe. We had fairly good seats and got a good view of the band on stage. We wandered out into the night, shaking our heads in amazement at the band we had just seen, I never expected the live versions of the songs I knew so well from my LPs to sound as good live, but they actually sounded better.

My dad had told us that he would stay in the car whilst the concert was going on, however on meeting back up with him I found him with a massive grin on his face. Turns out he had got bored sitting in the car and had gone for a wander round. He bumped into one of the security guards, who let him in – and my dad watched most of the concert from right beside the stage! He has been an ELO fan ever since, and my LPs ended up being played more than ever in the house.

Join Dawn and share your musical memories with Memories in Music. Send your memories to: stories@memoriesinmusic.com

We look forward to hearing from you!

Be a difference in 2010

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 11:00:04 -0500

Music fans! Memories in Music is looking for your help to raise money for musician’s charities in 2010. There are a number of ways you can help, and I hope that as many fans as possible will decide to take part this new year. Fans are often a forgotten element in the music industry. When musicians are awarded for their achievements, the fans don’t usually get invited as guests.

Fans are not often quoted for articles in magazines or newspapers about musicians they admire. Fans do have a voice when it comes to sales and voting in certain polls and awards, but not many seek us out to tell our stories and experiences in music. Memories in Music is a chance for you to be heard. We are looking for your stories about concerts, meeting musicians, your photographs, and your memorabilia - tell us what you have, how you started collecting it; tell us a concert experience; donate some memorabilia to the fan collection we are starting. By helping us, you will become part of the legacy of your favourite musicians, and you will benefit charity too. Everyone wins!

Even if you have none of the above, are you a music connoisseur? Do you know your stuff about a particular band or musician? Have an awesome music collection? We’d love to have you share your knowledge by writing an article for our website.

Do you play an instrument? Send us a video and we’ll share it with fans.

Run a fan-based unofficial website? Let us know where it is, how it got started, and we’ll feature it.

Do you have a bit of spare pocket change each month? A dollar a week? 50p a week? How about putting it to a very good use by donating it to the chosen charity of your favourite musician? Our Fanfare project has a great group of Jimmy Page fans contributing monthly to his home in Brazil for abandoned street children, Casa Jimmy, and we are looking for more of his fans to contribute! How about creating a Fanfare group for another musician? Let us know who and we will get the giving going! 50p a week might not seem a lot, but if we get hundreds of fans giving 50p a week, can you imagine what could be done for charity?

I hear a lot of criticism of fans. Some is not justified, but some is. It is noticeable that some fans spend inordinate amounts of time on the web posting frivolous things, and sometimes things that are damaging or embarrassing to musicians. Even if the posts are good, so much of it is only found on highly specified websites of one particular band/style of music, and that is a shame because this limits the influence your knowledge can have on other music fans. If you spend a lot time on the web talking about musicians, why not give a little of that time, or a little of your money to help others? I guarantee you that is the way to be noticed by the musicians you admire. Helping a cause in their honour is a special thing that will make them proud!

Most of what happens in the fan world rarely benefits charity, but it so easily could! Memories in Music is striving to be a place where all types of music fans can come together to benefit musician’s charities and encourage each other to explore new music that maybe they would not have done on their own. When I started this non-profit, I heard a number of people say how much they wanted to do things for charity in honour of their favourite musicians. Many said they were eager to contribute to charity events and exhibits, to help if only they had a place that was dedicated to this purpose. Well, here we are! It’s never been done in quite this way before. I am confident the fans who join us will make the legacy of musicians richer and be a force to help those in need. Besides all that, it’s great fun!

Be a difference in 2010! Visit the website and get involved.

A Red Carpet Evening

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 02:31:13 -0500

On Tuesday evening December 15th, Memories in Music was fortunate enough to be at the premier of the Davis Guggenheim film ‘It Might Get Loud’ featuring Jimmy Page, Jack White, and The Edge. We had 14 VIP guests there, all looking fabulous ready to walk the red carpet and enjoy the film. Some of our guests were contest winners who generously supported Task Brasil by entering to win the tickets. We appreciate all the entrants! One guest in a particular, a lovely Jimmy fan called Alissa, donated an extra sum after she won her ticket. These are the kinds of lovely people Memories in Music is honoured to know! Thanks Alissa.

There was a terrible mix up with the guest lists on the night. Confusion reigned as people’s names were not appearing, and everyone was getting irritated standing in the cold while things were sorted out. After some phone calls, all my guests made their grand entry looking awesome! Unfortunately, that was the last time I saw most of them. Two of my guests were late, and I had to remain outside to wait for them as they couldn’t get in without the ticket I had to give them.

Still, being outside and chatting to security had its benefits, as I was in a prime position to watch Mr Page arrive. A flurry of activity clearing the street and putting up extra barriers heralded his imminent arrival. When his car pulled up, everyone was carefully watching the door by the red carpet, but he got out on the other side of the car, much to the delight of the fans on the "wrong" side of the street! One of them was thrilled to pieces to be able to shake his hand, and everyone cheered at him. He was on his own and looking happy, relaxed, and wonderful - as always! He walked right past me and the security let me stand just 2 feet away from him to watch him being interviewed. I couldn’t hear what was said, but just seeing the whole thing happening with no one in front of me was great!

I happened to look up the red carpet just as Jimmy was turning to enter the building, and saw our fabulous Patron Zacron at the door waiting to welcome Jimmy into the premier. I couldn’t join him however as I was still having to wait for my (now very late) guests.

read the full story...

PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Attention

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 20:15:16 -0500

Memories in Music OFFERS CHANCE TO WIN VIP TICKETS TO THE LONDON PREMIER OF "IT MIGHT GET LOUD"

The UK premier of the film "It Might Get Loud" will be held in London at the Hammersmith Apollo on December 15th, and members of the public could win VIP tickets to attend.

"It Might Get Loud" is a documentary on the electric guitar from the point of view of three significant rock musicians: the Edge, Jimmy Page and Jack White. Visit http://www.sonyclassics.com/itmightgetloud/

Memories in Music has been given VIP tickets to the screening, and the contest to win them will benefit Casa Jimmy, Jimmy Page's home for abandoned street children run by Task Brasil.

The first 50 entries received will also be entered into a special mystery prize draw to accompany the tickets. Contest winners will each receive a pair of VIP tickets and a DVD of the movie. Contest closes Saturday, 12th of December.

To enter the competition go to: http://www.memoriesinmusic.com/contest.html

IT MIGHT GET LOUD - WIN TICKETS TO THE LONDON PREMIER!!

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 09:48:31 -0500

The UK premier of the film "It Might Get Loud" will be held in London at the Hammersmith Apollo on December 15th, and you could win tickets to attend! Memories in Music has been given tickets to the screening, and our contest to win them will benefit Casa Jimmy, Jimmy Page's home for abandoned street children run by Task Brasil. The first 50 entries received will also be entered into a special mystery prize draw to accompany the tickets.

Enter the contest here!

An Evening with Hossam Ramzy

annie@memoriesinmusic.com — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 21:42:00 -0400

On Friday the 9th of October, I took a trip to Bristol to see Hossam Ramzy at the City Academy. We set out at 1pm, but even that early getting to Bristol was a bit of a nightmare – who imagines stationary traffic at 3 in the afternoon? We battled the traffic with a coffee pit-stop for encouragement, checked into our hotel and went off to the show.

There was no where near the venue to park, so we had a little trek through the streets to get back to the Academy, and then we had to find the right building. Several of them were emblazoned with ‘City Academy Bristol,’ but hearing the lovely strains of an Arabic violin drifting through the doors of one building, we knew we had found the right one. A quick glance around at the waiting fans and you could see Hossam’s wide appeal, as there were fans of every description and age present.

Before going in, we stopped at the table where Hossam’s CD and DVDs were on sale and bought ourselves a few. While I was looking for the things we didn’t already have, I heard someone calling , ‘Annie, Annie, hello!’ It was Hossam, who had come out from his sound check to say hello to some of the guests. He was fairly quickly swamped with fans who spotted him, so we had a quick hug and hello before we went into the auditorium.

The first two rows were marked as reserved for VIP guests, so we took a seat right in the front row, dead centre. Richard always wants to go back a few rows where he knows the sound will be better, but hey - I wanted see everything as well as hear it, so we stayed at the front. The venue slowly filled up, and just about ten minutes before the show started, in walked a tall gentleman with long curly blonde hair, carrying a big bag. It was Robert Plant. He sat right near me just across the aisle. Cool.

Hossam was introduced by a very enthusiastic lady who picked up his mic for her introduction. She left it centre stage, so when Hossam came out to play his first order of duty was going to fetch it after noticing it was no longer near him. He is very warm and personable, so I instantly felt like I was at a friend’s house for the evening as he joked about having to work for a living while setting his mic back up. Incidentally, he had to do it again later because she did the exact same thing after the interval.

After introducing the band, they launched into the first number, which featured a gorgeous flute solo that floated hauntingly around the room. Now, I love Hossam’s music, but I am sorry to say that I can’t pronounce the names of the numbers, so I don’t have a set list for those of you who know his music well. But the titles hardly matter, the music is simply amazing. If you haven’t experienced Arabic music, you are really missing out. I first got into it by listening to Robert and Jimmy talking about their musical influences, and as usual, where they go musically, I am glad to follow. It’s definitely something you should add to your music library.

Hossam told us bits and pieces about the music he was playing, and so I learned more about Arab culture along the way too. Every musician on that stage was superb with their instrument, but like his wife’s dancing, Hossam is a cut above, and a master of his drum. There wasn’t one person leaving that building that didn’t have a huge smile on their face excitedly praising the show. They played until around 10.45 I think - time sort of flew past!

One funny incident happened, during one number the musician playing a tambourine looked down to see the jingles on it falling off. He lost several of them, but carried on valiantly as the drummer next to him laughed at his predicament. All was well for him after the interval.

If we absolutely had to find something to criticise, Richard thought the sound was just slightly too loud. It was a wonderful, wonderful evening. If you have never seen Hossam play, I urge you to go if you get the chance. I am hoping to have him play somewhere at a Memories in Music event. If you love music, Hossam and Serena’s show is one of those things in life that you owe it to yourself to experience.

To check out some of Hossam's music, on Amazon UK, click here

Big Bad Licensing Issues

annie@memoriesinmusic.com — Sat, 3 Oct 2009 16:13:43 -0400

For the past few months I’ve been working to find out exactly how to go about selling certain music related items in my online shop and at exhibits to raise funds for the charities we support. It’s a huge undertaking, especially when you are minus some key ingredients that make it easier, namely a fancy lawyer and millions of pounds to make doors open. I’m just an ordinary fan trying to do something good for causes I feel passionate about, and resources are limited. Still, I’m proud of what we are doing, so I waded in. The people I have dealt with have been polite and I have learned a lot, so I am finding it a good experience over-all.

I’ve discussed the process with friends and briefly online. The different perspectives and stances people take on licensing and copyright issues are fascinating. On the one hand you have the musicians and the licensing companies who work for them. Musicians work extremely hard to create the music and the all the trappings that go with making an image. Most reasonable people agree these things deserve to be protected, and people wanting to use them should expect to have to get permission/pay before they do. It’s only right. Can you imagine how hard it would be for a musician to look after and protect copyright/trademarks on their own with practically an entire world of people waiting to use their work for various purposes? It’s more than a full time job - answer all requests, examine all merchandise or websites to decide who has a use you find genuine- it would be impossible. They’d never be able to do anything else again if they attempted this job alone, so enter licensing companies.

But it helps to realise too that not every thing is a bully tactic by a licensing company, and not every person who wants to use material that is protected has a good motive. Some hide behind loud righteous indignation to justify actions they know are wrong. I’ve heard lots of excuses for poor behaviour, and a fan can be just as big a bully as a licensing company, and seriously unreasonable in their quest to do whatever they want with protected material. I dislike this as much as I dislike it when licensing companies are heavy-handed.

I am working to raise charity money, so I will strive to abide by the rules even if they are harsh. That may mean that I have to pump sunshine all over things that others will resist. Whatever you do, whatever the outcome of your permission seeking, before you act, think of others, put yourself in their place, and act responsibly. That makes for a happier world all around no matter what the issue.

Read more! Memories in Music's Blog

Memories in Music IN THE MIDLANDS CHARITY EVENT

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:24:09 -0400

Memories in Music C.I.C (Community Interest Company) is staging an event of music, memories, and memorabilia representing the history of music in the Midlands in March/April 2010. Memories in Music is a non-profit company, and the proceeds of the event will benefit Macmillan Cancer Support and Task Brasil's Casa Jimmy, a home for the abandoned street children of Brazil. The event will be held at St Pauls Gallery in Birmingham. A private party for event contributors and VIPs takes place on Friday March 19th at 7pm, and the exhibit will be open to the public from Saturday March 20th to Sunday April 4th. We are looking for both fans and musicians to contribute to the event. There are several ways you can help:

° Loan the exhibit your photographs and memorabilia. All litems will be properly handled and displayed, kept secure, and insured for the event's duration. All items will be promptly returned when the exhibit finishes.

° Send us your memories of attending concerts, meeting Midlands musicians, or your experiences as a musician from the area. We will print the memories in a programme and may film some of them for our website.

° A concert in association with the exhibit is being planned, and we would be pleased to hear from Midlands area musicians who would be interested in playing.

° Volunteer your time to the exhibit. We need people to staff the event, and if you have any special skills you want to contribute, please contact us.

° Contribute financially to help us pay the costs of staging the exhibit.

° Sponsor the event. We welcome corporate sponsorship.

° Donate an item of memorabilia for a permanent music history archive. Anything donated to us will always benefit the public and charities, and will never be sold.

If you can help us raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support and Task Brasil, please contact us. We very much appreciate your help.

For further details on Community Interest Companies, go to www.cicregulator.gov.uk Memories in Music is C.I.C. #6804437. Visit www.memoriesinmusic.com for more information on our company and our Patron, artist Zacron.

Contact the Organisers:

Annie Hollinshead Memories in Music, Director
E: annie@memoriesinmusic.com

Trevor Wilkins Scadge Productions, Production manager, Artist liaison E: trev@tightdigital.co.uk

Contact the Charities:

Michelle Pullen Macmillan Cancer Support, Fundraising Assistant
E: mpullen@macmillan.org.uk
T: 01223 577020

Task Brasil
E: info@taskbrasil.org
T: 020 7735 5545

Memories in Music MEETS... Michelle Pullen of Macmillan Cancer Support

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:36:42 -0400

Macmillan Cancer Support is an amazing national charity that works to help people coping with cancer in their lives. I went along to the Cambridge office to meet Michelle and the team, and to find out more about the ways Macmillan can help improve the lives of people all over the UK who are affected by cancer. Currently that is two million people. Although it is something none of us wants to face, cancer will affect one in three of us. If that time comes, Macmillan have a whole range of support they can offer to those with cancer as well as their loved ones. Memories in Music is pleased to support Macmillan with our company activities.

The Macmillan Cambridge office is located right in the middle of the city above the Cambridge Building Society. The offices are small, but so busy! When I was there Michelle was working alongside Sarah Jones and Jennifer Harding taking phone calls, opening mail, handling donation boxes - there were posters and flyers covering the walls and tables, it was obviously a hive of activity. I settled in with a lovely cup of coffee and asked Michelle how she got involved with Macmillan. "I always wanted to work in a charity. While I was at Loughborough University I was involved in RAG (raising and giving) which raised money for different charities. While I was there £600,000 was raised in one year for good causes, and one year our Hall of Residence was awarded the Most Improved Hall for fund-raising."

Sadly, Michelle's nan passed away from cancer, and she had been looked after by a Macmillan Nurse. "When the job came up in Cambridge I was pleased to take it, being local to the area." Michelle finished university in July 2007, and came to work with Macmillan in September that same year.

In such a busy office, the staff duties vary from general office work to going out and putting together fund-raisers. Michelle says that there are many ways they try and get support and interest among the community. They organise events, seek sponsorship from corporations, groups and associations, work with local government, and work on publicity to spread the word about their campaigns. It is clear to see that they can use as much help as they can get to accomplish all this, especially in the current economic situation. No matter what is going on in the economy, people with cancer need help, and so the work goes on.

It's a great advantage for Memories in Music to be able to stage events anywhere in the UK and support Macmillan nationally as well as locally. Our next event in the Midlands will support Macmillan in the Midlands area, right where the event contributors can see the benefits to their community. While listening to Michelle talk about all the things they do, I was very happy to be in a position with my company to be able to take some of the responsibilities and lend a hand. Michelle says people are great helping out. "Macmillan is a large national charity, and we have teams in each county to support events. People call in with ideas and because they have a team nearby it becomes like a family." The family has certainly had some very interesting ideas. One fund-raiser agreed to change his name by deed pole to something rather wild if he reached his target amount; one young man was staging 'The World's Longest Football Game' attempting to play for 40 hours, and there were even offers to hold a naturist coffee morning and a sponsored tattoo! Michelle laughed and said, "It's always exciting working with Macmillan. You never know who you are going to meet."
- Annie Hollinshead

Please visit our Macmillan page for updates. If you want to be involved in benefiting Macmillan with our next event, email us. Visit the Current Events page to find out more.

Memories in Music Launches into work!

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 20:32:04 -0400

On Tuesday August 11th, Memories in Music officially launched as a company. We had a great day and spent part of it filming Led Zeppelin fans on the grounds at Knebworth House, where the band played their last UK concert 30 years to the day. I just love talking to passionate fans, and that day was very special. You can still see all the excitement they felt 30 years ago, and to be able to look down to the stage site while hearing the stories was wonderful. These are the kinds of things Memories in Music wants to record for music history. Fans of the future will really enjoy the first hand accounts of people who were there witnessing events like the Knebworth ‘79 show. I did!

We held our private party in the Lytton Suite at the Hotel Novotel at the foot of the drive to Knebworth House. I won’t go into all the details because you can read all about it here (http://www.memoriesinmusic.com/launch.html) and see some great photos. We had very prominent guests from the business world, musicians, and even the owner of Knebworth House himself Henry and his wife Martha. But the best thing about the launch was the fact that people got excited about participating in our projects because they love music and they want to give something back to the musicians who gave them so much joy. Combining those people with charity events through Memories in Music will make a fantastic contribution to the music industry.

One very special charity project I would like to mention is Fanfare. This is a project for fans who admire a band or a particular musician and would like to do something to express their thanks. I’m looking for fans to become part of a team that makes regular contributions to their favourite musician’s charity. Memories in Music will find out what charity that is, collect the money, and send it off to the musician’s charity. We will send regular reports to the musician about their Fanfare list so they will know who you are and that you are making a difference in the world in their honour. Send me an email at info@memoriesinmusic.com and I will be happy to discuss it with you and set up your Fanfare List. We have one just about ready to go for Jimmy Page’s fans. I hope more fans will like this project and decide to take part. And please, do not think you need to contribute some great sum of money. No one will know what you donate each month anyway, just that you are part of the list. Only the group totals will be posted, and every little bit helps. Imagine if all the fans of a musician or band pledged to give one dollar/pound each a month for 12 months to charity - can you imagine how much money that would be? You can make a big difference with even a little giving.

There are a lot of projects on the go, and right now I am looking for fans of Birmingham based bands. If you are a fan of The Moody Blues, Black Sabbath, ELO, The Move, Duran Duran, Robert Plant - or any other band from Brum, get in touch. We have a very exciting project in the planning stages and we would love your help.

Check our website for updates!

Memories in Music: 3,2,1 Launch!

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 01:00:08 -0400

Tuesday August 11th marked the official beginning of Memories in Music with an exclusive private party beginning at Knebworth House and finishing off in style in the Lytton Suite of the Hotel Novotel.

Guests began arriving at midday bringing their memorabilia for a display. As the date of the party marked the 30th anniversary of Led Zeppelin’s last UK performance, the memorabilia had a big emphasis on Zeppelin. Alan Cousins dazzled us with all his fabulous Knebworth ’79 photos, Swan Song jacket, Knebworth sweatshirt, and a piece of Jimmy Page’s stationary from when he lived at Plumpton; the official Memories in Music photographer Ian Avey brought us his badges, Knebworth scarf, programmes, and his gorgeous Earl’s Court poster; Eddie Lombardi brought his rare magazines and 45’s; and I joined in with my Frank Melfi print of Jimmy, an O2 programme, wrist band, ticket, and newspaper stand poster. We also had great memorabilia from other bands that played at Knebworth in ’79 – among those items a press kit from the Commander Cody band, and a rare poster of The Fairport Convention.

Zacron, our incredible Patron, arrived with his memorabilia – photos of Led Zeppelin, clothing, Led Zep III prints – the room was bursting with fascinating items! We were also very privileged to have on display items from the artists and businesses that have agreed to help Memories in Music to raise money for charity. Simon Gynne brought his jewellery and other Led Zeppelin items, Peter Hunt brought along his painting of Jimi Hendrix, Cynthia Blair sent her drawings of the Led Zeppelin band members (my favourites being her recent drawings of Jimmy with his lovely silver hair!), and Bob Kelty sent along an example of his pottery that he is adorning with fan’s favourite lyrics. We also had the wonderful guys from St Paul’s Gallery displaying a beautiful print of David Bowie and the album art from Led Zep II.

After setting up, we headed off to Knebworth House with Zacron and fans of Led Zeppelin that had been at the show 30 years ago. We met Henry Lytton-Cobbold in the field where the stage had been and filmed the fans recalling their memories of the day. The weather was beautiful and you could almost hear the music echoing in the trees as the leaves rustled in the breeze around us. It was my job to interview everyone and it was really fun! Mark Foley, Alan Cousins, Danny Groves, Ian Avey and Andrew Cross all regaled me with their takes on that special day, and they each had different details to add to history’s account of the show. The filming was done by Trevor and Jon Wilkins of Scadge Productions and will be available on our website as soon as it is edited and ready. Our memories may also be included in Henry Lytton-Cobbold’s documentary on music at Knebworth! It was an amazing experience to be filming there on this anniversary, and Henry generously waived the filming fees.

Read more about the party here!

Trent's Twitter Trouble

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:15:13 -0400

by Annie Hollinshead

I feel bad for Trent Reznor. The creative genius of Nine Inch Nails is having a hard time with “fans.” I think you have to put that word in quotes sometimes, because the way some people act towards people they claim to admire leaves one wondering. I think a lot of them are fans of themselves and use people like Trent to hear themselves talk or to feel important. It’s all about them, not about the musician.

Trent was being rather open about his life on Twitter, being in love. This is easy enough to do because whatever is on your mind you can just post on Twitter, or wherever you happen to be on the web. Yeah, it may not be the smartest thing, but it happens. He probably felt safe, and maybe thought, ‘Well, my fans care about me and being more open is good.’ But Trent discovered that some female fans were using his posts in a not-so-caring-about-him way on some website populated with people so inclined. He said, “I approached that (Twitter) as a place to be less formal and more off-the-cuff, honest and “human”. I was not expecting to broadcast details of my love life there, but it happened because I’m in love and it’s all I think about and that’s that.” The problem is, you can’t be honest and human with some people because they have no idea how to behave appropriately. We’ve become so focused on expressing whatever we want, we have forgotten that there are real people behind our comments, fantasies, opinions, and tale-telling, and words hurt. He went on to say, “Metal Sludge is the home of the absolutely worst people I’ve ever come across. It’s populated mainly by unattractive plump females who publicly fantasize about having sex with guys in bands. Kind of like a role-playing game where people NOBODY will fuck make up stories about their incredible sexual encounters with people they WISH they could fuck. It would be kind of funny in a sad and pathetic way except the fun doesn’t stop there – hate and good old-fashioned outright blatant racism are also encouraged to spice things up and remind you how truly ugly these scourges are. TRULY ugly on the inside.”

This type of thing reminds me why I want to have editorial control over what is published on my website about musicians. I’m going to think about them and their feelings, and not so much about the ‘rights’ of any person who comes along with a story to tell, a story that probably more than half is lies anyway. Yes you have a right to free speech, but not on my dime when it means you degrade it by not exercising concern for the person about whom you are speaking. Free speech is also degraded by those who give an ear to people who say anything with no regard for others. More selflessness and less selfishness is needed in our communications – badly needed.

I wonder about fans who listen to any kind of story about their musical heroes. Why the delight in the tales of people who betray musician’s friendships or relationships, or were placed in trusted positions in their lives and go on to write books or give interviews? I’m not talking about whistle-blowing for the good of society, just pure mean-spirited gossip about people that simply gave us music to enjoy. I just don’t get it.

Trent is getting beat up by the usual “He’s being a baby” crowd, or the “His fans made him what he is and he should remember that” brigade. Well, HE made himself what he is actually, and why shouldn’t he complain when he has been hurt? It seems some can say what they want, but the victim can’t. The victim just has to suck it up. Strange that.

I leave you with the words of Axl Rose of Guns N Roses. He got fed up too, and had a rant against a certain journalist in one of his songs, “Get in the Ring.” Surprise, surprise – the leopard did not change his spots, so in the light of recent events Axl’s song bears repeating:

And that goes for all you punks in the press
That want to start shit by printin’ lies
Instead of the things we said
That means you
Andy Secher at Hit Parader
Circus Magazine
MICK WALL at Kerrang

He goes on to complain they print lies and rip off the fans. In his own charming expletive filled way, Axl said what a lot of us want to say. But I’ll leave that to him. I’m just going to stick by my heroes and not give money, a platform, or credence to people who gossip about them, and make a place where the music and the musicians come first, not your story. Hang in there Trent, you might actually reach some people and change some things. Some people are listening, I just know they are!

The 2010 Festival

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 21:11:20 -0400

Memories in Music is currently planning a concert on the grounds at Knebworth House for late summer 2010, to benefit Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy. Read about their amazing work here: www.nordoff-robbins.org.uk

We are looking for music fans with the skills, equipment, and know-how required for an event of this type, who also possess a heart for charity and are willing to lend their services. As well as helping Nordoff-Robbins, we want the organisation of this concert to be a tribute from the contributors and performers to the musicians they admire as a thanks to them. If you would like to help people in need in honour of your favourite musician, please contact us and get involved.

Which musician inspired you? Will you take the inspiration they gave and use it for someone who needs help? Contact us and tell us how you can help and who you are thanking by giving your help, and we’ll keep a list of honour to show our gratitude is backed by action as we give something back.

This list is posted on our website under Current Events.
Contact us and add your name and contribution!

New Contest!

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:49:58 -0400

The Memories in Music Launch Party

Memories in Music is holding a launch party on Tuesday August 11th. This exclusive party is by invitation only, and true to our company name, will include a tribute to one of our favourite Memories in Music, the Knebworth Festival in 1979. The festival performers were Chas and Dave, Todd Rundgren and Utopia, The Commander Cody Band, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Fairport Convention, The New Barbarians featuring Ron Wood and Keith Richards, and of course, the mighty Led Zeppelin!

The party will start on the grounds of Knebworth House, where we will be visiting the site of the actual concert 30 years to the day and professionally filming and photographing our willing guests recalling their memories of the festival if they were lucky enough to attend, and if not, recalling another favourite memory of music. These memories will become part of our archive to inspire other fans to get involved with our fund raising activities benefiting musician’s charities.

Following this, we will move to the beautiful Lytton Suite at the Novotel located at the entrance to Knebworth Park, where we will enjoy a buffet meal, a company preview of our planned activities, and a presentation of the charities we will support. We'll be starting off our fund raising by holding a contest to win some great prizes. The money raised will be going to Casa Jimmy, the house for street children helped through Task Brasil. (Casa Jimmy link: http://www.taskbrasil.org.uk/projects/index.cfm?contentid=29) There will also be an exhibit of memorabilia and items from companies and artists who have agreed to take part in our Memories in Music Gift Shop, and a talk by our amazing and inspirational Patron, Led Zeppelin III album cover artist Zacron. We also hope to hear the ideas of our guests and receive their help to ensure the company becomes a profitable force for charity.

We have reserved places at our party for a few music fans in the UK who would like to join us. For a chance to attend, simply email your name, address, and a contact telephone number to annie@memoriesinmusic.com The names of two winners will be drawn from the entries received, who may bring one guest each. There is no entry fee to the party or to this contest. Entries close Monday the 27th of July, and are open to UK residents only.

We hope to see you there!

A Gift for Jimmy Page

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:57:13 -0400

by Annie Hollinshead

When someone has helped you in a very significant way, a natural response to that is to want to thank that person. I love hearing stories from people who had their lives changed by someone who inspired them. People who influence you deserve thanks, but what if the person who changed your life and helped you is a famous person? You can’t just call them up and thank them, or invite them over for dinner. There’s usually not much you can do, but the talents of well-known people really do make a big difference in the world, and music is one of the things that influences people most. It can reach you in the most terrible times and inspire you to carry on and fight another day, to pick yourself up and be happy, or to let out some sadness and cry.

Music was extremely important to me in this way, and no musician inspired me throughout the difficult times of my life more than Jimmy Page. Something in his music reached me and it helped. He made a very big difference to my life circumstances by sharing his music. I’ve always been very thankful for the privilege of hearing it.

Being famous shouldn’t prevent you from receiving thanks, even from a ordinary fan like me, and because he made such a difference to me I decided to try and find a way to send him a thanks. Having thought about it, I felt that a little book, like a very fancy birthday card, would be good. Inside it I would put a message to tell him exactly how his music influenced me and made me a happy person. But then I thought, there are millions of other fans that his music had reached too, and it would be much better for him to hear as many of those fans as possible. If I could go find some of them and get their messages too, that would make this gift more special. Fans don’t often get a chance to say thanks, but having spoken to a lot of them over the years, I knew they had such great stories to share. A close friend of mine was near suicide during his first years of university, but listening to Jimmy play gave him a new perspective on life, and now he is a highly successful person. Stories like that would be wonderful for Jimmy to know, so I set out on the book project in 2007.

The design was based around Jimmy’s black dragon suit, to be made of black leather, with the dragon from his suit on the cover along with his symbols and astrological signs. He had worn it, so I figured he’d like it! Terry’s creativity and skill changed aspects of the design along the way, and it was fascinating watching him work whenever I got a chance. The entire book was made by hand just the way it would have been done in the Middle Ages. Making it that way meant it was built to last, and Terry is sure that with reasonable care it will be around for hundreds of years – another aspect that reminded me of Jimmy. I am sure his music and influence will be around at least that long too.

Read more and view all the book creation photos at http://www.memoriesinmusic.com/story4.html>