Murphys Law and Social Media....

Apologies for long time no speak on the ML Blog front. We have been busy gigging and rehearsing as per usual. The four of us have been in the recording studio briefly with a producer\engineer type chap called Pierre. We met Pierre when he engineered the sound for Stephens solo show at the Archangel in Kensington, London early this year.

A recent gig at the Cobden Club saw us showcase for the Broadcast Music, Inc. The BMI is one of three United States performing rights organisations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed. Good people to know and we think they were suitably impressed.

Last week Myself and Stephen attended an APRA (google it) workshop where the legendary Ralph Murphy presented his extraordinarily insightful "Murphy's Laws of Song writing." Canadian, English and American songwriter Ralph Murphy has achieved near-legendary status throughout his career as a performer, producer, songwriter, publisher, and most recently, Vice President, International and Domestic Membership, ASCAP.

Ralph travels all over the world giving songwriters the benefit of his years of experience in the business. Over the last three decades Ralph has written a whole songbook of hits including: "Beyond a Shadow of a Doubt" for Billy Fury, another No 1 for Crystal Gayle with "Half the Way" and "He Got You" was a big one for Ronnie Milsap. Plus cuts by Don Williams, Ray Price, Shania Twain and Kathy Mattea and then in 2006 he had a huge holiday hit in England with Cliff Richard.

Murphy's Laws of Song writing is published to inform writers of the general rules that almost all #1 hits follow and to offer industry advice. You can find out a bit more about it here at http://murphyslawsofsongwriting.com. Ralph was a very entertaining man and gave She Dancer the once over.......he was pretty positive....which was nice.

We have recently dedicated much of our time to improving the bands internet and social media presence. Although we'd rather be playing the music we understand you can never under estimate this vital component, so I thought perhaps I'd write a little about this in here.

So why is Social Media so important to Morning Lane and our brand .....?

Nowadays if you want to be a successful band or artist, not only do you have to have the songs and live performance, you must also have a web site and MySpace up and running. The internet bridges the gap between listener, prospective promoter, manager, record company etc. where as in the past it was a case of mailing out numerous CDs, Cassettes (back in the day) and mini-disks to everyone and anyone. These would usually probably have gone in a bin somewhere and never actually opened or listened to. Bands can now save money via the internet, by emailing links to MySpace for example.

However it is not only these internet media outlets that service the industry. Over the last few years the use of micro blogging sites and Facebook have transformed the way bands market themselves. As a fan, you can get closer to your favourite band and as an up and coming band or artist, it is essential to keep up with everything other bands are doing also. We make use of Twitter and Facebook as best we can and it is a nice and cost effective way of staying in touch with everyone. Why not visit www.morning-lane.com and see our links page if you want to get involved or share our stuff with anyone.

Morning Lane needs advocates to spread the word, so there is nothing better than social media for recommendations and share ability. It's quick easy and accessible in this age of technology and a constant stream of communication with fans is important to keep everyone focused on what we are doing.

Anyway sorry to go on......I need to go now, it's rehearsal soon. We are trying to have a crack at refurbing some old, old songs, that are too good to throw away. You never know, they may be aired at gigs before the year is out. We have potential dates soon at The Barfly, Clapham Grand and perhaps The Scala, so fingers crossed they all get confirmed. Speak soon and here are some more lyrics for you to have a read through.

Laterz

Tris
;0)

Mourn - available on iTunes http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/just-so-you-know/id359974775

When you learn that dreaming only gets you nowhere fast
You can sell your soul and move on with your life

If you feel there’s no beginning and no ending
You just need to stop and catch your breath
Before you fall apart

Now’s the time to cry
Now’s our chance to mourn
Now’s the time to cry
Now’s our chance to mourn

When you feel like running round in circles
With your fingers buried deep inside your ears

It’s the things you don’t expect, you don’t prepare for
You don’t see them coming round the bend
Until it’s much too late

Now’s the time to cry
Now’s our chance to mourn
Now’s the time to cry
Now’s our chance to mourn

I’ve wasted too much time
Thinking how we lost our innocence
I don’t think I will survive
While I’m alive

When you feel that fortune always favours braveless men
And tomorrow brings no guarantee of hope

Now’s the time to cry
Now’s our chance to mourn
Now’s the time to cry
Now’s our chance to mourn