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  • Andrew Shearer @ Global Cafe 2011
  • ....Andrew has the gift of making people feel good about themselves... Maija, Reading Musician
  • Cold Heart Andrew Shearer; cover star: Emilia Maria Zbuka
  • A cracking singer / songwriter Aquillo, Farnham Band

NEWS 2011

23rd September 2011


Hi,

I hope you all had a good summer.


Publicly it might have appeared that not much was going on at www.andrewshearer.com but actually there's been quite a bit happening behind the scenes:


1. "Julie Newmar as Catwoman" Video


There's a video tribute to Julie Newmar as Catwoman from the 1966 Batman TV series. The "Batman/Catwoman relationship" seems to be an archetypal femme fatale situation which matches the lyrical sentiment of Something Wild perfectly. The video and some thoughts on why the 60s' Batman TV series seems to mean so much to me can be found here.


2. Cheers - The Debut Gig Video


Way too long after the event but I finally managed to track down the three videos that were taken on the evening of 11th December 2008 and edit them together. Why is it called "Cheers"? Well much of the audience that evening were from both the Crackerjack Crowd and other good friends whose company I have regularly enjoyed (perhaps with a touch of alcohol). As I tried to put across in the song Crackerjack I've valued that camaraderie and indeed it was the support and warmth of the audience that evening that made it a success. I think "Cheers" is a fitting acknowledgment of what seems to be the heart of that evening. There have been a few "complaints" that there aren't enough crowd scenes which is true and that was a conscious decision in that I hadn't checked with everyone that it was okay to film them and so I was a bit cautious about how much I could show. (There are some crowd scenes in Crackerjack and Cheers). I'm thinking I might do a "DVD Extra" type thing with only the audience which I'd put on the site with a password only for the attendees of the evening but to be honest the editing takes so long I'm reluctant to spend much time on it without knowing if there is a demand. Anyway, although far from perfect, I think it's a nice record of the first gig and it can be found here.


3. Gallery Section


Don't worry this isn't a testament to a new found vanity. I've tried to stay clear of too many pictures of me on the site but I'm starting to appreciate that people want to know what you look like and get to know the person behind the "work". This is my small compromise in that regard. The gallery section can be found here.


4. Looking For Clues


This is actually part of the At the Water's Edge (ATWE) section of the website which is primarily concerned with the idea originated by Joseph Campbell of "following your bliss". As I said in a previous newsletter I feel I'm at the point where I'm "setting sail" somehow and I guess I've been taking stock of "where I'm at". As part of the process, I'm writing the story of how I got to this point and it's called Looking For Clues. The exercise has prompted me to reread some of the books that I have found "interesting" in the past and I'm finding that some of them seem to be even more relevant to me now than they were before (perhaps I'm just understanding more). Anyway, I'm finding this quite a useful exercise. If you would like to be notified when there are changes to this area of the site then please either "follow/ like" the dedicated Twitter or Facebook pages as I appreciate the music/writing fans might not be interested in this (and vice versa).


5. Public Performances


Now that the summer is over, I'm going to start playing again next week. I needed a break to be honest as I found I wasn't shifting the chest infection I'd picked up. I feel suitably rejuvenated and and I'm looking forward to (in the words of Eddie Izzard) having some fun.


6. Postcard


Is the name of the new album. I'm going to approach this one slightly differently to At The Water's Edge. I've found that the songs that I'm playing live have taken on a life of their own and are evolving and I'd like to let the "new" songs evolve in the same way before I record them. I now have a short-list from which I'll choose the songs. Though not all the lyrics are finished yet I'll put the whole shortlist on the site even though obviously some of the songs won't be used this time around. I don't know but perhaps this is the first ever album when the cover has been completed before the songs? It can be seen in the Gallery section here.


7. Finding Joe


Patrick Takaya's film about Joseph Campbell has its premiere in Los Angeles next week. The trailer can be found here and the theatre (cinema) release schedule can be found here. Can you believe I met someone in The Global Cafe last night who had known Campbell? (Seriously, Gospel Truth!)


8. Mountain Marathon


Finally, congratulations to Bruce Leslie and his team for raising more than their target for Help For Heroes through what sounds like a challenging (understatement) 24 hours (or just over) in July. More detail can be found here.


So, there you are, you're up to date! I guess now that's done, I better start writing about Shirley Maclaine, Out Of Body Experiences and UFOs. I've procrastinated for long enough on that topic.


I hope all is well with you,


Andrew