Hi! I'm Lee. Welcome to my blog. Here we talk music: news, reviews, interviews, tips, tutorials and more. I'm also working on the upcoming podcast Influenced as a guest, writer and researcher alongside music aficionado Mark Williams and friends. Watch this space! I have been a lover of music for as long as I can remember, an amateur lyricist for 25 years, a music writer for 15 years and a hobbyist musician and blogger for almost 10 years. My tastes range from jazz to house to hip hop and I love helping artists from all genres develop their sound. My music, videos, reviews and interviews have been featured in a variety of magazines and websites, including: B-Boy Tech Report Gimme That Beat Humanhuman Audio Skills Dream House Beats Where Did the Road Go Beat Tape Co-Op Push Power Promo Drum Magazine You can find my music on Bandcamp: Monkey Mind Sounds AKA LeeTNB And you can find me on Facebook: The New Beatmaker page Lee's personal page
A musical genius takes tentative steps back into the spotlight Descending onto the Jazz Café stage from the steep stairway above, tall, slender and well groomed, in a black velvet coat, black pants and high boots, Shuggie Otis exudes superstar charisma. However, when he strikes the first chords on his blood red guitar and nothing comes out of his amp, nervousness washes over him. His raspberry coloured shades come off. ‘Soundman, can I have some help please? I can’t work this thing’. He apologises for the delay. ‘Take your time, Otis, we love you’ a voice in the crowd reassures, applause backs her up. It takes a few minutes for the soundman to bring the amp back to life. When Otis and the band then explode into ‘Inspiration Information’ it is to the relief of everyone. Buy from Amazon here Minor mishaps and musical mastery are tonight’s themes. There are gorgeous renditions of ‘Aht Uh Mi Hed’ and ‘Island Letter’ amongst others. In particular, drummer Marvin ‘Smitty’ Smith