Last week we introduced The Liner Notes, a revamped, reimagined newsletter from Lights And Lines.
As part of the revamp we promised you behind the scenes news and views from our artists, and TODAY we’re delighted to share the first in a series from our very own Gozer Goodspeed. Welcome to Running With The Outlier: Issue 1, the first Gozer Goodspeed hijack of The Liner Notes, written by Gozer himself.
Firstly, some gratitude: if you're reading this, thank you!
Social media is a strange beast these days. It still has its uses, but in general it's become harder and harder to reach the people who actually WANT to be reached.
Everyone's spread out across loads of different platforms, and you're competing for attention with essentially the entire world. And I'm tired of being at the mercy of algorithms that I have no control over!
So that's what this initiative is about – reaching you, the person who cares about independent music, with information that you actually might want! This is where I'll be rounding up all the news I have each month, and giving you more details and little bonuses than I'd ever be able to offer over on my socials.
The Opposite of a Weapon
As I write this it's the beginning of February, and I can't be the only one glad to see the back of January. In case you missed it though, February 2nd saw the release of some new music!
Don't tell Mike Five, but this one's not out on LAL! For one song only I collaborated with Canadian trip-hop artist AltbraKz, and provided some lyrics and vocals for one of his laid-back, groove-filled tunes.
The result is The Opposite of a Weapon, which can you hear on various platforms HERE. It was cool to get way outside of my usual genres, and play around on a song that had no guitars on it whatsoever.
Watch Me Walk
If you ARE a fan of guitars though, the good news is you're not going to have to wait long for the first new full-blooded Gozer Goodspeed single of the year, Watch Me Walk is coming in March.
It'll be the first single from an as-yet-untitled EP that I am approximately halfway through recording as I write this.
You can whet your appetite and hear an exclusive snippet of the song (mixed and mastered by the mighty GRIM17) here:
We're going to tackle releasing my music a little differently this year, and by that I mean we're going to prioritise those people that actually support the label and buy music.
Streaming is undoubtedly convenient, but it pays virtually nothing to artists, and the big streamers seem intent on making the plight of the independent musician harder not easier these days.
So, whilst Watch Me Walk is still going to get a streaming release on March 16th, anyone reading this who wants to support us will be able to purchase the track exclusively from the LAL website or our Bandcamp from March 2nd – and get a free bonus B-side as a thank you!
That B-side will be the full, original acoustic demo of The Last Blood Moon of the Year, which has never been released before, and was my first attempt to capture the voodoo mood I was going for that ended up on last year’s Escape Hatch Fever album.
You can hear an exclusive snippet of the track here:
As for the full EP, we're eyeing a June date and a full CD release for that at the moment. I'll keep you posted.
Live shows!
I took most of the winter off from gigging – I prefer to write and record in December and January – but I'm back playing a handful of shows from this month. If you're in the South West of the UK, here's where you can catch me:
Saturday 10th Feb – Steel Brew, Plymouth, 6.45 – 8.45PM,
Wednesday 15th Feb – The Highwayman, Dobwalls from 7PM (45 min acoustic set for Mark 'Wonky' Wilson's Acoustic Cafe)
Sunday 10th March – The Barrel in Bude, 2PM – 4PM
Speaking of live shows, I'm putting together a bunch of new dates around the UK, but as usual, it's all about finding the right venues.
If you're reading this and are interested in me coming to play in your town or city, and you know of the perfect venue, please email and let me know!
Geographically, nowhere is off limits – as most of you know by now, I'll play anywhere where the beer is wet and the audience is up for it!
What the Diddley Bow did he say?
To return to the new EP and guitars for a moment – I thought some of you out there might be interested in knowing what my weapons of choice are as of 2024, so here's a photo.
If there are any gearheads reading this who'd like to know a bit more about any of these instruments, let me know. Each one of them has a story!
Among them you can see the one-string cigar box guitar, also known as a Diddley Bow. This instrument is very dear to me, as it was built especially for me by Phil Thomas, who is a very good friend of the label's and a lovely man all round.
Phil challenged me to write a song with the Diddley Bow, and I told him I'd do better than that – not only would I write a song with it, I would make sure that song ended up on the new EP!
I'm literally in the middle of recording that song right now... If you want to hear what the Diddley Bow sounds like, I posted something on Tik Tok here:
That brings us more or less to the end of Running With The Outlier: Issue 1, I hope you enjoyed it.
Look out for more updates, all I can tell you is that there's going to be LOTS happening this year, and I’m looking forward to sharing it with you, the LAL community.
Above all, one of the things I love the most about this label is its willingness to experiment and support the people that support it – and I really enjoy seeing the label grow, and more and more passionate music lovers get involved.
LAL really represents something different in the current musical landscape, and I feel very protective over the label. I hope you feel the same.
See you in March!
GOZER x
Nice work Gozer! Looking forward to hearing the new releases in full!