Where can I play a gig in your town? And why you should download MOVEMENT….

Hello again. Hope this finds you all well.

I’ve started booking up gigs again. Do you know a good venue in your town/city I can come and play? Perhaps you’ve got a number for someone who books shows – even better!

Or if you’re feeling really adventurous, maybe you can arrange a show for me…!

Half the time when I trawl the internet looking for venues, I’ve usually no idea whether somewhere is suitable or not until I turn up. That’s where YOU can help! Message me on Facebook, or drop me a line with your suggestions: cosmoinnit@talk21.com. Many thanks!

I’ve just got back from Hungary, where I caught up with that side of my family for the first time in over 10 years. I had a great time, and after a couple of beer-fueled jams I reckon I might have a new folk/trad/gypsy/skank musical project together. Watch this space – very excited!

Many thanks to Jetta for putting me in touch with the musicians.

I’ll hopefully have a full report up a bit later about the whole mission.

Finally, the No Borders network, who campaign against migration controls/migrant deportations etc, have produced a new edition of their newsletter Movement. Or more to the point, it has fallen to  No Borders South Wales to do it, (the task is usually rotated around the different No Borders groups in the country).

And you know that if it has got anything to do with the No Borders South Wales gang, the latest edition of MOVEMENT will kick ass!!! So what are you waiting for? Download it here!!

http://noborderswales.org.uk/2009/11/07/new-newsletter-movement-1/

Attention all you Welsh culture vultures – check out the Aun Lewis Project!!

I’ve been doing gigs in Cwmaman in the valleys near Aberdare, South Wales for years, thanks to promoters Bronwen Davies AKA Little Eris and Vic Doyle.

But I’d never heard of poet and one-time Cwmaman resident Alun Lewis until I was asked to work with some local people there and set readings of his work to music.

Lewis was a left-leaning pacifist and a school teacher until asked to fight in the Second World War. Sensing a duty to fight fascism, he changed his views on violence and got stationed in India. He died there tragically in a shooting accident before the war ended.

His poems use dense, complex language to describe valleys life and life in the trenches. It’s all there: war, poverty, politics……and love, of course. Lots about that!

Vic and I recorded local residents reading his poems and then and added music in the background.

You can hear the results by clicking on the link below. Don’t expect some nobby BBC poetry nonsense – these are real people reading real poems in the accent they were conceived in!

Vic and I cornered people in the nearby institute, in the church and on the way to work. We also got kids off the street who were playing and got then to do a turn. It’s a real slice of life.

Cwmaman is now known as hometown of the Stereophonics. But, like some other places in the valleys, it has had more of its fair share of social problems caused by the collapse of traditional industries and patterns of life.

The challenge with these recordings was to create something that celebrates the past and reconnects people to it, while acknowledging the present and looking forward to the future.

All the recordings are of Alun Lewis’ work, but the final word – a tribute – goes to Cardiff poet Emma Williams, whose website is here. There are also two recording of readings set to music from a locally-produced DVD. In addition, one poem, “Monologue,” is read in English and Welsh, courtesy of a translation by Nicola Soal.

Everyone who took part in this project hopes you enjoy listening!

Just follow this link:

Alun Lewis Project (NB click on the “Play” button on the title banner – it’s a bit tricky to see!)

Find out more about Alun Lewis by clicking on this link:

http://www.warpoets.org/conflicts/ww2/lewis/

Sandor Dus (Cosmo), Vic Doyle, Mike Rosser, Marion Parry, Terry Clarke, Geraint Davies, Helen Roberts, Lee Davies, Mark Williams, Brian James, Nicola Soal, Angela Olden, Keighley Taylor, Peter Mumford, Tim Berry, Dave Sewell, Jo James, Joel Lloyd-Roberts, Anthony Lee Buffalo. Emma Williams.

Promise I’ll stop going on about Oi Mush now..but it reached number two not 44!! (stats correction ahoy!)

Ok folks, due to a mad amount of booze, I incorrectly reported some chart positions. Here are the corrections:

* Oi Mush reached number two in Amazon’s folk download chart. Wooo!!!
*It reached number one and number 44 on Cosmo Frazer’s Amazon chart, not the Reggae and overall download chart as previously reported.

Apologies, lots of confusion due to being a techno illiterate….Many thanks to Reuben Yeah for pointing this out!!

I’ll shut up about it now, promise…. I’ve got a gig in London this Saturday but it’s pricey. Here’s the link to the theatre’s webpage, and here’s a link to the Facebook event page.

Laterz!!!

Oi Mush reaches No. 44!!! (Sort of….)

Wooooooooo!!!

Well, it seems Amazon has come up with the most surprises!!! It puts Oi Mush at no. 44 in its download charts!! (follow the link here). This is on top of it topping the Amazon reggae charts yesterday by mistake (I share a first name with Cosmo Fraser) and outselling Neil Young (for about 2 hours yesterday!!).

However, the song hasn’t entered the Official UK Top 40…..

But…is that the point? This has been the biggest laugh getting together – from making the video, to the amazing support I’ve had from people on their blogs, profiles etc, to all of y’awl who downloaded the song. The gigs on the Oi Mush tour have been fantastic and the smiles on people’s faces that the various parts of the mission have brought have been worth a whole lot more than chart placings.

I think this has sent out a bit of a wave, and I’d like to build on it….Perhaps we could knock an mp3 of F@ck The BNP into the mix early next year, given that we are facing a resurgent Far Right….?

Or in the age of being able to download music for nothing, is this all just a waste of time?

I’d be very interested to hear your opinions….In the meantime, thank you all who’ve supported this in whatever way, I really appreciate it. This has been a great end to a wicked summer, and I hope we can move this forward. Till next time!!

PS..I won’t find out about actual sales from my distributor Tunecore for about two months. However, I should get some sales info tomorrow, and will keep you posted.

Word up!!!!

Oi Mush – last day today!! Plus it’s Number One in Amazon Reggae charts!! (Thanks Matt for info!!)

Well folks, it’s the day of reckoning tomorrow….The gigs in Brighton and Bristol were great, thanks to all those who turned up. An old mukka told me ahe’d accidently downloaded the single 73 times!!!! It seems as well I’m number 1 in the Amazon reggae charts. Click here!

There are definitely some people buying it!!!

So tell your momma, tell your poppa..BUY OI MUSH!!!

Here’s how!!! (CLICK!!)

Will let you know how it goes tomorrow when the new top 40 is published….

Frank Turner, WelshIcons and The Sprout back Oi Mush!!!

Yes it’s true! Frank Turner has done a piece on his blog about it here. (Scroll down!) Nice 1 Frank!

Welsh Icons have done a bit about it here and here. Nice 1 Dom!

And the Sprout have done a piece about it here. Nice 1 Yas!

Gig at the Globe, Cardiff tomorrow….see ya there !!

www.cosmoguitar.net

Oi Mush….here we go!!!

Thanks again to all of you who’ve been buying the track and spreading the word. It’s been a fantastic start – nice 1!

For those of you who’ve been having trouble downloading from the links on my website cos your abroad and things, you can try some other links on the Facebook event page for Oi Mush week, which you can find here.

There have been some rather strong opinions expressed on the Wall for the event page, cos some people reckon the original “Oi Mush “is better. Well, I think the original is great, but personally it aint a competition! So if you don’t like my version, no problem – just don’t listen to it!

If any of you are thinking of steaming in there, let’s keep it sweet..I really don’t want this to end up a slagging match!

Lots of support has been coming in from the strangest of places. Will update again later!!

oi mush week!!!!!

It’s started folks! We’ve got till Saturday to make it top 40! So download the track from the website here.

And tell all your friends of course.

Updates to follow in the week. Nice 1!!!

All Cosmo’s songs for free!!!

Just proving that I can’t even give ‘em away….

All my songs are on my soundclick site. At the moment they are FREE to download. For the moment anyway! So fill your boots while you still can!!

www.soundclick.com/cosmoguitar

But of course there is no such thing as something for nothing. I will need your help promoting the Oi Mush single. Payback time will come soon, believe me….

HERE is the facebook event page for Oi Mush Week.

Let me know if you can give me a hand with promo! Thanks.

C

Catch you shortly!

So long Edinburgh…for now!!

Ok, so back I am in Cardiff, chillaxing in the new pad in Canton, no less! Thanks to all of you who came to see the Edinburgh shows from all round the country – it really meant a lot to see you all there. Also a big thanks to Ralph, Nora, David, Lottie and all the crew at the Ark for bearing with my crap jokes 10 nights in a row. That’s love, man….

There was a right old Brighton circa early 90s reunion as the shows progressed – hello Matt, Gav and Corrie! It’s good to see we’re all as incorrigible as ever!!

And thanks of course to all the crew at Sweet Entertainments for getting me on their roster, filling me full of beer and letting me terrorize their open mic evening night after night….

The photo is of my new best friend Carlyn Castiglia. She is from New York and was doing a stand up show at the Fringe. We bumped into each other when I was busking on the street and teamed up to promote our shows. It was hilarious – I’d beatbox and get loops going on the sampler and she’d freestyle at all the passers by. Then we’d swap over, each handing out the other’s flyers as we went.

At one point she got a guy out from the crowd and they started battling each other. The content got quite – how shall I say? – adult orientated, which of course is a no-no for the orange-jacketed dudes who were on the Royal Mile making sure we behaved ourselves. Needless to say we got into trouble, but we toned down the act the next day.

Hence the photo. Carlyn had worked out some more family-orientated lyrics!

There are two ladies who I met at the Camp for Climate Action who I persuaded after hearing their pisstake popsongs rewitten on protest themes to get a band together. They agreed, and we decided to team up for a show in Edinburgh later this year. Watch this space!

A couple of tips. There were two shows at the Fringe I went to which really stood out. One was Miles and Coltrane: Blue, collectively written by Concrete Generation from Charlotte, N. Carolina. It’s a jazz play, spoken and acted over a live band.

I was fortunate enough to be staying with them and we did some open mics together. They did some slam poetry which took the roof off – well worth a look.

My fave show was called Shut up, Play! by the Original Tempo fom Osaka, Japan. There is no language in their performance, only visual gags and mad musical journeys. At one point they sample the audience and make a techno track out of the recordings. The characters all wear yellow raincoats, they argue, squabble, much noodles and make music using alarm clocks, hoovers and cardboard boxes. Tickled me, they did!

Ok folks, so blah blah blah…onwards and upwards and all that. Next step is to get Oi Mush into the charts!!! So..between the 13th and 20th September, as many of you as possible have to download it from Itunes, Amazon, wherever!!

Further instructions to follow…..