The Plucky Haggis [Original Acoustic + Covers, Solo Artist]

Blog (21)

Nine Years O’ Plucky Public Performance

29 May 2021Nine Years O’ Plucky Public Performance

Celebrating in STYLE, Plucky’s 29th original; ‘Adventure (Land O’ Discovery)’. Published on YouTube, as well as being performed LIVE today, Sat 29th May! Marking my 9 yr. debut performance Tue 29th May 2012. It’s a cracker too, both lyrically & melodically, perhaps recorded a bit faster than intended – but 99.9% of the right words, ‘twas good enough for my channel.

Yes, YEAR NINE 'officially' began 1st Mar, learning to sing, play guitar, learn a few covers, and try my hand at writing; it absolutely kicked-off May 29th, with the afore mentioned foundational publicly humiliating debut, dropping that first original SET at ‘The Watershed’; what ‘a watershed’ moment that turned out to be! Gotta love LIVE performance.

Live Performances, sadly still hang in the balance; despite the extraordinary vaccination roll-out & effectiveness of this passing 3rd, and very LONG, ‘lockdown’. That said, I managed to complete 150 Street Sessions closing-out Plucky’s FIRST full & financially self-supportive year, adding a further 28 days to Apr. 6th 2021. Singing my way through one of the toughest years known in our business, albeit by the skin o’ my teeth, by wholly/mainly busking, with >20% from additional areas of work/assistance.

Pretty stoked, and genuinely relieved. And with over 40 busking days in this Calendar year already; I’m prepared to continue the strategy through 2021, perhaps Spring ‘22. Well aware the music scene will take longer to recover than many; esp. with ongoing concerns & winter challenges ahead. But, hopefully, the worst is now behind us, and trust our collective effort bears reward.

Your support, in whichever way you choose to show it: subscribing to my YouTube Channel; following me here on LR; my Facebook Page; financially via PayPal.me/goPlucky, or otherwise, it’s ALL genuinely appreciated and essential. Thank you!

April’s delayed rain might not have been welcomed by all, but despite a uniquely cold dry start to this year, we had several hot days & a plenty dry/cold days – which helped boost High Streets. I’ve been humbled & delighted by ongoing local encouragement and generosity – many of whom stop to complement me on my voice, a vocal, song, &/or remark positively on performance. At least England’s new Monsoon Season in May, gave opportunity to write a new original! Every cloud ‘n’ all that. HAGGIS HUGS Y’ALL!

My Vision, going forward, is still to engage a producer & recording studio; to which end I’ve received a kind offer! Who knows, it if opens a door or two, I may even have enough quality songs for a FIRST album, within these first Twenty-Nine songs.

Blog photo is ‘a still’ from a brief clip being added to a video being produced to accompany my buddy Richard’s superb single; ‘Not Like The Other Ones’, av. to view via my YT channel playlist ‘External Selection’. Which I’ll swap, once his video’s added – irrespective of whether I make the cut or not! lol

Finally, I’ve added a NEW Website PAGE Full A-Z Rep. By Artist Only very few songs, don’t or seldom, ever see the light of day, and should probably be ‘cut’, as I’ve easily passed 200 that ARE active!

With a ‘fair wind’, I’ll have more interesting news to share next quarter, assuming opportunities to perform, paid gigs, festivals etc. start arriving. ‘Til then, please remain cautiously safe, optimistic, gracious, considerate, patient, humble, benevolent, kindly, and supportive. Treasure ‘our freedom’!

CHEERS! Plucky - tphx

New Originals! Valentine’s! HNY!

14 Feb 2021New Originals! Valentine’s! HNY!

Having waved ‘good-riddance’ to an awful 2020, COVID and all it robbed us of, it's time to cautiously look forward, hope for better; though many may grieve those left behind, let's determine to be more, kinder, caring, generous, thoughtful, and productive (it's Chinese New Year of the OX too, after-all)! Plucky's killing 2 New Year's with one Blog as well as...

Two New Originals added to my You Tube Channel, to start 2021 on the right foot! Song 27, ‘Divine (Heaven’s Way), needed to be profound, acknowledging the passing of Plucky's 1st ever Superfan March 2020. Celebrating her life & Christian faith (as 4 surviving Uncles & Aunties, and as many Cousins - the result of very faithful Grandparents & siblings.

Song 28, ‘Promises’; is a collaboration co-write between Superfan Ellie Valentine fae Aberdeen, who wrote the lyric from personal experience & challenged me to write a tune for it. We both adapted the lyric slightly, to encompass, highlight key elements many of us can sadly identify; especially so, for those losing 'pandemic' loved ones. Although the song stands alone, we're keenly aware how much more difficult, apt, & widespread the sense of grief, hopelessness, distance, & isolation, is magnified!

Yet, life moves on, and the best way we can respect another’s life (now past), is to live ours well!

2020 was also extremely challenging for me as a musician (as it is for all in the arts & hospitality), and busking fast became my KEY, almost only, income. Huge shout-out for ALL the regular & passing support I received in Bletchley, Bedford, and Northampton, collectively you truly saved ‘my bacon’! Alongside my Autumn tour. Fortunately, in some respects, I’ve been living on a shoe-string since leaving FT employment May 2014, to pursue this late career. Prior to last, I'd been able to subsidise expenses from my savings, but 2020 needed to be my 1st unassisted year; solely/predominantly living by live performance (public & private gigs – supplemented by busking, with a few bits & bobs; filming & local cash jobs). Arguably bad timing!

YET Ironically & Incredibly, I genuinely achieved & survived MY 1st independently financial year, ‘solely’ by performing music during a Global Pandemic! With a total of 128 Street-gig days (busking) between May 15th & Dec 24th, and less than 20% of total income coming from SE Gov support & alternative cash work. Really looking forward to another year of 'Street Work', just as soon as this Easterly Beastie 'does one'; roll-on Spring sunshine & smiling faces!!.

Apart from writing new material; I’ve been able to refresh/ hone/ practise; Plucky’s Full 200+ Repertoire.. again, no mean feat considering that equals over 12 hours of music & lyrics end to end! YEAH BABY!

Lastly; in this next full year, I hope to take a very significant step forward, assuming the ‘stars agree’; to engage a producer & recording studio, and ‘officially’ release a song or an EP. And possibly see it CHART! So, to such an end, I'm campaigning for additional support, which, alongside busking (hopefully paid gigs), aim to accomplish my goal before Spring/Summer '22. Meanwhile, I continue to live significantly more frugally than most; passionately & pluckily pursuing, what may prove to be, my final lifetime challenge, making the most of all this journey brings.

YEAR NINE 'officially' starts at the beginning of March; when I set-about learning guitar, to performing publicly prior to May 2012 ending. IF 'my goal' floats your boat & you can spare some 'change', consider the link, drop at a busk, or contact me directly; PayPal.me/goPlucky

Finally; My biggest disappointment this year, was hearing Glastonbury had been cancelled for a 2nd successive yr., therefore Plucky's stage debut there, is looking increasingly unlikely! Hard enough to see what we in the music business can salvage re Gigs/Festivals etc., given ALL the ongoing pandemic uncertainty. Still, I trust we'll eventually find our way out of this ‘storm’, for everyone's sake!

Continue to; Stay safe, remain positive, slow to anger, considerate, tolerant, respectful, generous, kind, and forgiving.

THANK YOU! Cheers! Plucky - tphx

Life, lemons, lemonade; 80+ busking gigs!

4 Oct 2020Life, lemons, lemonade; 80+ busking gigs!

Windier, cloudier, wetter, colder, darker.. Ay up me Pluckers, visitors, & friends, without doubt it’s been a particularly tough summer for everyone, despite good spells of warmth and sunshine, and it's going to be a longer tougher winter too; especially so for those involved in Entertainment, Creative Arts, & Hospitality! So gird-up yer loins!.

On the busking front: Jun. saw marginal improvement on May. Then Jul. surprisingly surpassed all expectations! Followed by an abysmal Aug., which saw a degree of retrenchment & too many blustery wet weeks (only 12 busk days). Sep. on the other hand delivered many good &/or profitable days. One doozy breaking my previous remunerative record for a single session: in Aberdeen £100+. Not to mention the added Primark gift card for £10 (pic); icing on an early birthday cake! Lush!

Prior to Abdn’s delightful boost; Northampton took me by surprise, the 1st day BJ told everyone could now go out wearing face-coverings in shops etc. Fri 24th Jul. Unfortunately, these two superb days remain outliers; the following Fri in N’ton I struggled to make £10 (in 3 hr!). LOL However, these ‘red letter days’, give an inkling to what may be possible post-covid, and certainly make up for 'performance slogs' yielding poor results; linked to minimal &/or negative engagement. I have had some ‘mares! But then, they too, are outliers somewhat – thankfully!

In contrast of course, there’s been several individual generous, appreciative, and understanding 'customers', which truly turnaround any day; always humbly, hugely, heartily appreciated. If that’s you – THANK YOU!

Plucky’s busking tour this year, was significantly shorter than previous yrs, partly due to COVID uncertainty, alongside the difficult practicality clearing ‘our’ mother’s flat in Abdn - 1st availability post lockdown/s we were legitimately permitted to do this, since her passing end of March, was Sept.

On route, I narrowly managed to doorstep Bletchley, before driving onto Carlisle, then Perth, Aberdeen Thu & Sat, and a Newcastle session prior to returning home. There’s always 'a few' who just don’t ‘get what we do’, as IF our lives aren't tough-enough! All we ask/seek, is a little space & tolerance, a degree of empathy, a moderate amount of interaction &/or appreciation, and acknowledgement many citizens are delighted, encouraged, & benefited by our performance and presence. Trust me, if they weren’t, most of us would definitely do something significantly more profitable and rewarding instead!

Finally, ALL of Plucky’s Worthy Originals now have a Full Lyric added to ea. song via YouTube Info. Until recently, this wasn’t av. to me, so it took a while to add all 26. Trust it improves viewers experience & lyrical appreciation.

Given Xmas 2020 appears to have been effectively &/or largely cancelled, my next quarterly update, probably won't have much to say when we catch-up in the NEW YEAR. We have a lot of ground to make up Nationally & Individually. Fallout of Covid-19, GOV Lockdown/s & additional Measures etc., will take many years to unwind, a generation perhaps; we all hope the worst is behind us.. it may well be for some.. but for most, it really isn’t. Ergo, please continue to be kind and respectful of one another; emotional, financial, and mental recuperation & restoration will inevitably take substantially longer to fix,

'Til we 'GIG AGAIN' - have as lovely; an Autumn, Christmas, and Covid-free, Caring, Sharing New Year - as is possible! See you on t'other side my lovelies.

Cheers! Plucky - tphx

Post Pandemic Plucky Busking the wave

5 Jul 2020Post Pandemic Plucky Busking the wave

As soon as BoJo started to release 'us' from 'lockdown', I was out busking in Bedford Town Centre, strutting my 200+ Rep.; barring a doz. crimbo toons & a few others. Great relief to be BACK!

The photo is a still from Tim's video of me playing a cover of Ralph McTell's Streets of London at Pigeon Square, Bedford; av. now via Plucky's Tasty Covers.

To date, I've already sang, performed, played, and busked my way through THIRTY+ days on the street; Bedford, Northampton, & Bletchley/MK these past 2 months; having written-off ALL of Mar, Apr, & half of May - kiboshed by Covid & 'lockdown'! All told, there's probably too much 'ground' to make-up for all the losses. Sadly, most town centres WILL not recover, even though they're presently limping into life on significantly lighter footfall - making it all the harder for any of us to make ends meet; won't stop me trying mind!

On the upside, I've been greatly encouraged by the generosity of some, which, when combined with a tangible increase of complimentary comments - proffers in me, a degree of optimism! Confidence for any performer is everything - assuming the rest of the basics are in place of course! And it's to this end, that performing LIVE is significantly more enjoyable this year, despite the lack of ears; underlining self-improvement made during winter months, and stretching my repertoire past the 200 marker. Rewarding hard work, resulting in enhanced audience appreciation. Yeah BABY!!

As pubs start to reopen (Eng. 4th Jul), there's a long way to go before music venues and live gigs become common place again; sadly again, many will not return. The Arts & Culture sector has never known such pressure.. and it'll require 'our' collective creative ability to counteract this impending & costly result. Which, 'til recently, was worth c. £11 Billion a year to the UK economy, generating a further £23 Billion, employing over 360,000 jobs, and benefiting many more (like me!). For folks at the start of their musical career (8 yrs for me); 2020 may inevitably be toughest 'ever', therefore your support has never before been more vital, valuable, and valued!

So, IF you meet 'us' performing on the street 'for you', please consider demonstrating some appreciation, even if it's not dropping coin.. each passing wink, nod, wave, applause, acknowledging contact, or subsequent social media follow, like, etc. goes a LONG-WAY to affirm our contribution. I personally love when someone spends 5 min. engaged with me & my performance, or stops a minute to chat. These experiences are often the highlight of a session - and one, that may add to your day too! ;)

Brighter NEWS: Despite a backdrop of cancelled gigs, festivals, closed venues, and the future of Live opportunities heavily restricted for the foreseeable; I'm still earmarked for my debut Glasto performance & MC duty, now 2021 WTS! Obviously a lot can scupper present anticipation & excitement, however, it truly motivated me this winter past, and expect it'll do so again! :)

'Til we meet somewhere, continue to stay safe, remain covid-aware, be kind, tolerant, and support one another through strange & socially awkward times. CHEERS! Plucky - tphx

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