If you are a band and you were about to click that little friend request button over on the left of the screen before you saw this blog then listen up.

I have been putting off the decision to block bands from adding me for as long as possible but the time has come and as of today unless you follow the directions below you will not be able to add me.

I know that this might seem harsh or like it is going against the whole idea of Myspace as the end all be all in musical social networking...but I am tired of receiving friend requests from bands that obviously haven't made any effort at all to find out anything about me or my music...or even if I would like their music. These bands seem to think that musical success = # of friends on myspace. If you have 500,000 friends on myspace and none of them can name a song you have written then what good is it? If you are a death metal band and you have randomly added thousands of people who like to listen to Simon and Garfunkle you have thousands of digital friends and NO fans. If you live in Indianapolis and send me messages telling me how you hope I can make it to your next gig...when I live on a different continent...you are wasting your time and mine. So as a favor to you...and me...these bands will not be allowed to add me on myspace.

IF YOU ARE A BAND AND YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD ME...ASK YOUSELF THESE QUESTIONS.

1. DO I KNOW HIM PERSONALLY?
2. HAVE I BEEN TO ONE OF HIS SHOWS?
3. DO I OWN ANY OF HIS MUSIC OR HAVE I HEARD ANY OF HIS MUSIC BEFORE?
4. DID I APPRECIATE SAID MUSIC?
5. DO I REALLY THINK HE WILL LIKE MY MUSIC?

IF YOU ANSWERED YES TO ANY OF THESE THEN PLEASE SEND ME A MESSAGE AND I WILL ADD YOU AS A FRIEND.

 IF YOU ANSWERED NO TO ALL OF THESE QUESTIONS...WELL THEN WISE UP AND QUIT THIS STUPID MASS ADD CRAP OR STOP WAISTING EVERYONES TIME AND GET A DAY JOB.




 

Ok...so it is (unfortunately) very rare that I stumble across a band/artist who just completely blows me away. It is even more rare that I like these bands so much that I immediately stop what I am doing and find a place to buy their albums. This week I have found two such bands.

I am happy to announce that I have been chosen to be the "Artist in
Residence" for the 2009 Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival in Belfast. The
festival has been in operation for 10 years now and I am excited to be
a part of it this year. As the artist in residence I will be performing
at 5 or 6 events around the festival. I will be doing support slots for
several talented artists and groups as well as a comedian. I feel very privileged to have this opportunity and it will mean some huge exposure in the Belfast music scene that will open me up to even more people.  I have
uploaded the dates for the festival onto the website and myspace pages
and if you would like more information on the festival or would like to
book tickets then go to www.cqaf.com .

Ok...I know that I said in an earlier blog that the UK tour we did this month would be documented by a daily video blog. And while I had every intention of doing this I did not factor in the lack of high speed internet on the tour. So...since there wasn't a video blog I have thrown a few clips from the tour together in a brief tour video.

The tour was amazing and I had a great time. Thanks so much to everyone who came out to the shows and bought CD's. I hope I can make it back again soon but until then enjoy the video and leave me a comment!

Gentry

We have now completed the first three shows of the UK tour I am doing with Juliet Turner. We started out in Glasgow on Saturday night and played to a packed house at King Tut's. It was a great gig and there was a really nice feel for the night all around. A great way/place to start off the tour.

We moved on from Glasgow to Berwick - on - Tweed in England by way of our tour van. Driven by our ever helpful tour manager, JJ, we made our way two hours south to the Scotland/England borders. We arrived in Berwick and had a nice stroll around town where we stumbled upon an old fashioned candy store. Juliet bought herself a bag full of sweets and we were just about the head out the door when we spotted a basket full of Fisherman's Friend candy. The basket was full and for good reasong. If you have never had Fisherman's Friend before...well don't go looking for it. But we decided to buy one pack per person and set a challenge to get rid of them by the end of the tour by offering them to unsuspecting people that we meet. The first person to get rid of them all wins...I am not entirely sure what the prize is but...I am playing for the honor! The show in Berwick went well and we had a nice sing/song after with some of the staff...and one guy who makes up songs..."on the spot"...haha.

Last night we played at Telford's Warehouse in Chester. After a long drive to Chester and a radio spot in Manchester we arrived in Chester and quickly set up our gear. We had a great show and another wonderful audience. Today we are taking a day off and relaxing. I think I might go and see a movie...Watchmen anyone?

Well...I have got just a few more days until I hit the road again. I am going out on tour with my friend Juliet Turner again and will be supporting her for 2 weeks of shows. We will be travelling all over England, Scotland, and Wales so check out the tour dates here on the myspace page to see if I am going to be near you at any point. The tour starts this Saturday in Glasgow at King Tut's. While on the tour I am going to try and do a daily video blog to let everyone know how the tour is going and what we are getting up to. Hope to see you on the road!

Gentry

FREE DOWNLOAD FIXED

Ok...so back at Christmas I offered my EP up for free on the myspace page. A lot of you had problems downloading it because myspace was acting up that day so I have solved our problem and completely left myspace out of things. I will be giving away the EP for free to anyone who becomes a member of my website (basically signs up for the mailing list). So here is how it works...

1. Go to www.gentrymorris.com and click on the link to the "Store"

2. In the top right hand corner of the page you will see "log-in | not a member?"

3. Click on "not a member" and create a username and password.

4. Go back to the store...scroll down to album downloads and you will see the Members Only Download.

Becoming a member is basically the same as signing up for the email list but even if you are already on the email list you need to create the username and password so you can log in to get the downloads. There will be more perks like this in the future...early releases and other members only specials.

MORE FREE MUSIC!!

If you are really up for some free music then click on the poster below to go to Northern Ireland Charts where you can download my song "The Box" for free. Even if you already have this song I would ask you to do this because the chart is based on downloads and it will help me move up in the charts.



DUBLIN SHOW

I will be playing in Dublin on Tuesday, the 10th of February, as part of the Ruby Sessions. If you don't know the Ruby Sessions are a great acoustic music night hosted in the intimate setting of Doyle's (across from the gates of Trinity college) of College Street, Dublin. I will be playing with 3 other great musicians and it is only 6euro to get in...plus all of the profits are donated to the Dublin Simon Community. So you are getting a great night of music for a small price and it all goes to a good cause....why wouldn't you put on your warm coat and gloves and get out of the house for it? The doors are at 9pm and you need to get there on time because the place can fill up quickly. Hope to see you there!

GENTRY MORRIS @ THE RUBY SESSIONS IN DUBLIN
TUESDAY, 10TH FEB 2009
DOYLE'S ON COLLEGE ST.
DOORS @ 9PM
6 EURO AT THE DOOR




Ok...so that is all for now. Enjoy the free music!

Gentry Morris

My Birthday Rant...

SO...today is my birthday. When I got up this morning I had a plethora (i like that word) of multicolored envelopes full of warm birthday wishes waiting for me in my mailbox. Mixed into this easter egg colored assortment of envelopes was one plain, brown, envelope. Curiosity forced me to go for this envelope first and to my chagrin it was not a birthday card at all. Instead the contents of this card were in stark contrast to the warmth and friendship contained in the other envelopes. This envelope contained a "request" from the wonderful people in the TV licensing office telling me (very politely) that I should pay my annual fee to own a TV in my home. It continued to inform me (again politely) that if I failed to pay this annual fee that government officials would be sent out to spy on my house to see if I WAS using a TV in my home...and then...I can only imagine...storm the doors and take my TV into police custody.

The TV license is complete rubbish...I will pay it again...but I will not like it...and I will continue to consider the TV license office and their policies as highly sketchy and possibly part of an underground communist regime.


PS - After I opened the TV license envelope I went on to the more colorful cards...and thank you for my birthday cards. They were very nice.

It was cold
It was rainy
It was a small balcony overlooking Dame St. in Dublin
It was the perfect time to bring a new song into the world
It was awesome...

Check out the video of the new song "When The World Comes Crashing Down" on my myspace page. Click on the video to go to Youtube and leave a rating or a comment about the video. Let me know what you think of the new song!!

They say it is always better to give than to receive and since you all support me and my music so much I wanted to give a little something back to all of you this Christmas. So, all day on Christmas Day you will be able to go onto the Gentry Morris Myspace Page and download your very own copy of "The Bare Bones and Bad Ideas EP" for free. There will also be a free download of my song "The One" which is only available on myspace and isn't on any of the albums. This is my gift to you this year and I hope you will enjoy it. Feel free to tell your friends about this...the more the merrier! All that I would ask is that if you feel so inclined please sign up for the email list while you are on the page. It will help me keep you updated on the progress of the new album that is going to be coming out in the Spring of 2009. All the best!

Gentry Morris