Trouble. (Sometimes) I laugh in the face of Trouble. Ray La Montagne is always singing about Trouble (www.myspace.com/raylamontagne). So is Chris Martin. I'd say Trouble is constantly leaving them both messages saying "Stop singing about me, man. It's freaking me out". Having finished with those gratuitous references to famous people in an attempt to lure you in, it's time to update you on the album, which will be called YOU'RE AN ELECTRON I'M AN ELECTRON.

As ever, one minute I'm sitting on my hands, hoping that is I can bear the pain for long enough so that I'll be left with funny corduroy marks on my lamhíns and then the next minute I'm up to me bollix in things to do. I was faced with a stark choice a week ago. I was advised by a wise friend in the music industry that I should postpone the whole thing until the New Year and work on getting a higher profile. The other option was to carry on regardless. I am a weak man and leaned towards gay abandon even though I'm not gay. This decision was facilitated by two acts of fate.

First of all Carol Vorderman announced her retirement from Countdown. This concerned me as I sing about her on the album in the subtly titled Carol Vorderman – Counting Me Down. Trouble. Oh Trouble, Trouble, Trouble. I was worried that my album will be obsolete by the time it was released. I contacted Granada Television and found out that her final appearance will be aired on Dec 12th

Secondly I discovered that the presenters of Breakfast Express on Spin 1038 in Dublin ( www.spin1038.com ) were leaving for better things. Joe and Keith have an Irish artist on every Thursday morning. As I drove to work I would fantasise about playing on air, knowing that if I ever got to play on their show then I was on the right track. On the Wednesday of their last week on Spin, I texted them saying – "I've spent the last 18 months recording an album just so I could get on your show! What am I supposed to do with my priceless work of art now? – www.myspace.com/briancanavan". I got out of my car and went into the office. I then got a call from a friend saying that they'd read my text on air and spoken about it a little. Later that afternoon their producer rang and said that they'd been to my site and liked what they'd heard. They had decided to cancel their idea of playing the best-of live artists and have me in instead. I contacted melodica player and pianist Ger Murphy and excitedly told him the news. He was completely underwhelmed. In anyway we arrived the next day, talked and played and the results are on the site. It went extremely well. After this radio appearance, I was tenuously offered a slot in the Oxfam tent at the Electric Picnic. I played at OXJAM last October and have stayed in contact since. Whether it happens or not depends on whether they can crowbar me in between Cathy Davey and Lisa Hannigan. Feel free to think about that for a minute.

I decided that luck like this needs to be seized upon. I contacted a number of printers/replicators – Trend Digital, Dupadisk and Easy Duplication. I negotiated a price for 1,000 copies with Trend Digital as they are based in Dublin and have a good reputation. I felt it best to have a printer that I could call into and meet, just in case trouble arose later. My producers Chris and Graham from The Production Suite put me in contact with a digital distributor who will put the album up on iTunes. They also put together a draft video of Carol Vorderman and I posted it on youtube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKL1-lXxYp0 (beware of lude songs on the web about men fantasising beastly acts of copulation with CV). I am currently talking to a few PR companies about what they can do for me. I was told this week by Entertainment Architects and another PR company that it's too late in the year to organise a release. It seems that time is of the essence and that my chances of success are lessened by my decision to go ahead with a release this year. I spent today flicking through the Hotpress Yearbook, ringing the papers and getting the contact details for album reviewers in the print media. It was a piece o' piss. I then went to the websites of all the major radio stations in the country and checked the schedule for Irish based programmes to send the album to once its ready. I rang a few and asked for details of who I should send newly released albums to. Again – EASY. Physical distribution is a totally different problem. Nobody is really interested in it. I called into HMV in Swords and asked a bloke if it was possible to leave stuff in. He said that it happens but not very often. Realistically it could be a case of going from shop to shop, offering cds to the manager on a sale or return basis but that's showbiz folks. I'm convinced that a top 10 single on the hit parade and an appearance on Larry Gogan will make it a little easier to sell. Having fans would also help. I am awaiting a response from Whelan's on whether they have a date free at the end of September for a gig. I have a website up and running - www.briancanavan.com . Also I have signed up to RAAP and MCPS for royalties even though I'm not sure what they do and I have created my own record label - Skyla Records - by registering myself with the Companies Registration Office. I did this by ringing the Companies Office and explaining that I was a musician who wanted to be registered and hadn't a clue what to do. The man was very helpful even when i rang him back twice to double check the proecure.

Having stared out the window at the rain for the past few weeks, aren't we all tired of wishing things were better? A friend of mine whispered to me to stop worrying about stuff and to just enjoy the summer. I will