March Newsletter

Alas, there is not going to be an album of Kanye West covers performed on the kazoo. What you failed to grasp if you didn't donate is that the album idea was a joke in order to raise awareness of crowd funding. The £100 I asked for was going to go in the pot to make short films, documentaries, comedy sketches, the Saturday Breakfast pilot, and more podcasts. Please do make use of the PayPal button at the top of this page (and indeed all of my blogs) and make a contribution.

On my shop page there is a range of ways you can help, all of which involve buying something.

Why not get me to record a kazoo rendition of a favourite song for your own YouTube dedication? It might make a romantic gift for your loved one. Find out how here.

Here's a few things I want to get off the ground and need help with. Please remember that everything I make will be made available online for free, my gift in return for your gift.

Saturday Breakfast pilot, Woolworths based comedy short, bringing back Moonage Daydream (the Bowie podcast that takes a long time to write), bringing back and finishing off the Covermount podcast.

I am available for hire too, look here. In addition to the things listed I can also do you a nice press release sheet for your band, here's an example.

Ongoing:

The Sunday Alternative Podcast: This is perhaps the best new music podcast you could listen to, but then I would say that. I do it for free and don't charge for it, if you donated 52p a year then that's a penny per podcast. Catch up with all episodes here.

The Random Saturday Sessions: Possibly my favourite project, all I do is meet up with a gang of musicians and then find somewhere to play. We all do this for free and pay for our own drinks and food. With a healthy amount of donations we could pay to expand to other cities, maybe by buying a van to travel in. Catch up with all episodes here.

Thank you for reading and thank you in advance for your donations.

February Newsletter

To celebrate the fact that today is the first pay day after Christmas and we are all back in funds, I have brought the February newsletter out a few days early. What with today being the first Friday with a full wallet since being paid early last month, what better time than now to remind you about how much value you will get compared to the TV Licence.

There are a few reasonably big filming projects in waiting, and all it takes is a good blast of funding. Every penny that is donated using the PayPal button will be used to create short films, documentaries, podcasts, live performances and all manner of quality entertainment that I will put online to be enjoyed by everyone for nothing. This includes a chat show, a radio drama (both recorded in front of an audience and released online for free), and the pilot episode of Saturday Breakfast.

If you head over to my shop page there's a host of ways to help, including Sunday Alternative bags and t-shirts, audio books, and the chance to have a kazoo rendition of your favourite song recorded just for you.

So why not celebrate the first pay day of the year by donating £3.65 and getting everything I provide for just a penny a day (with a bonus day as it's a leap year), if you do it now before you go wasting it in food and utility bills then it is done for the year. Of course you could pay more if you want or even make a regular donation if you want to, it all goes to provide entertainment. Maybe one day I will be able to quit working for a firm of solicitors (possibly before they realise I don't really know what I'm doing) and draw a wage from this but for now I am happy to be the giver of fine art (or to piss about playing the kazoo).

In other news:

The Sunday Alternative Podcast rolls along every week, appearing online every Sunday, would you believe? Listen to past episodes here.

Bowie Day: The audio book of my short story is available to download for free with the option to pay what you like. It would be cool if you pay something though because it goes in the creative fund. Download it from here.

The Sunday Alternative Live: No immediate plans to do this again but there will be sporadic video releases of past gigs over the coming weeks. Check out The Sunday Alternative channel on YouTube, also contains performances from the radio show.

The Random Saturday Sessions: The final Nottingham tour (maybe) takes place on Saturday 30th January before branching out to other towns and cities, past episodes are available to watch from here.

January Newsletter (the £3.65 plan)

Happy New Year, let's make this a good one. Last year saw some planned projects stall due to lack of funding which is a shame and not just because it adds to this year's workload. Please consider the PayPal button when reading the blog or listening to a podcast because even the smallest sum will make a difference, to make it easier I thought of an idea - just donate £3.65 now and be done with it. That way you have paid me upfront for the year at the rate of 1p a day, it doesn't seem like much but it's more than nothing. Of course if you want to pay more then that is cool too, (and very much appreciated) so why not just donate £365.00 now and be done with it if you think £1 a day is reasonable? You would actually be getting one day for free because I have just realised that 2016 is a leap year.

The fact is that your donations really do help and in return I will use every penny to make documentaries, short films, long films if enough money is raised, podcasts, comedy sketches and a whole host of things that I will put on the Internet for the whole world to enjoy free of charge. Imagine how good you will feel knowing that you were part of that? 

In addition to the donation route there are also a range of items on my shop page. Why not get in early to beat the 2016 Christmas rush?

I will do record a video of myself playing your favourite song on the kazoo for donations of £5 or more and for the January sales I will do two songs (two songs offer ends on January 31st). You might also want to buy a video dedication for your loved one for Valentine's Day. What could be more romantic than 'your song' played by me on kazoo, perhaps the song you walked down the aisle to or your first wedding dance?

This year I want to (finally) get round to filming the pilot of Saturday Breakfast as a priority. Also in the pipeline is a chat show recorded on stage in front of an audience that will be recorded as a free podcast, a radio drama again recorded in front of an audience, and if I get the time I want to finally film the Woolly and Worth comedy documentary that has been on the back burner for far too long. 

I turn 40 in the summer so in many ways I see this year as a last chance to see through some of the projects that I have been wanting to get through for several years to enable me to start afresh. All donations go towards that goal. It would be nice to be able to draw a living wage from the PayPal fund and go full time but one thing at a time.

The PayPal button is at the top of the page, why not click it before you close this page? Many many thanks in advance and may your 2016 be a good one.

December Newsletter

It's December so it is okay to mention Christmas. Here are a few last minute present ideas.

If you're buying someone an MP3 player for Christmas, then you could load it up with a festive audio book or two. There's a range of them on my Bandcamp page including my readings of popular Charles Dickens Christmas tales.

A Kazoo Christmas with Steve Oliver is my debut album featuring ten festive favourites as you have never heard them before. It is released on my Bandcamp on Saturday 12th December and I ask everyone to share and tweet using the hashtag #kazooturday. The album will be free to download with the option to pay any amount you like.

This is the album cover

It is now too late to order t-shirts and bags for Christmas presents I am afraid, although they make nice presents any time of year, and the bags will pay for themselves by avoiding the 5p charge for carrier bags. It is also too late for a festive kazoo dedication video due to me not having the time, but worth considering for Valentine's Day?

As with all of my projects, all money raised will go not in my pocket but put straight back into creating short films, podcasts, comedy sketches, and documentaries that I will make freely available online in return for your gift. 

In other news:

The Random Saturday Sessions: Series one is all online now and at the time of writing this newsletter, episode two with Jay Brow is available now. There's an extended Christmas Special being released on Christmas Eve with Brett Sinclair, The Idolins, Gerry Trimble, George Gadd, Josh Kemp, Jay Brow, Alexa Hawksworth and a duet between Lisa De'Ville and Cibele. The version of 'Fairytale of New York' is something that has to be seen to be believed. 

The Sunday Alternative Podcast: Still going strong and available for free every Sunday, 2016 sees the fifth anniversary with a special concert. 

Steve Oliver's Nottingham Noise 2015 is a special four part podcast with my favourite releases from the city of my birth. The first part drops on Christmas Eve with the series continuing on Boxing Day, December 27th, and New Year's Eve.

Bowie Day (a short story inspired by A Christmas Carol): Due to not having time to give it publicity, I will be postponing the release of the audio book until January 1st 2016, the perfect start to the new year.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, if you buy one less drink when you go out and donate the money instead that would make a massive difference.

November Newsletter

Like it or not, Christmas is getting closer and so in the spirit of the season I am here to give you some present ideas. First though, the news.

The Random Saturday Sessions has kicked off and at the time of writing this newsletter there are two episodes already up from Paul Warnin and George Gadd. This doesn't cost anything to film (although it would be nice to have money available to pay everyone's travel expenses at least) but the editing is a time consuming process.

A Kazoo Christmas With Steve Oliver, my debut album, will hopefully be ready for release at the beginning of December. For financial reasons it will only be available as a download but with your help I could set aside some funding to make it available as a CD. LP, and cassette for Christmas 2016.

The Sunday Alternative Podcast will have reached 70 editions by the end of this year and there are no signs of me giving it up. Not only do I record and upload it for free, I also make it available for free. Everything I make will be available for free in return for your generous gifts.

Bowie Day (a short story inspired by A Christmas Carol) will be available very soon. It has been recorded and should be released early December as an audio book. If you're buying someone an MP3 player for Christmas, then why not load it on there as a bonus present. It'll be a free download with the option to pay what you want, and all the money goes into the fund to make entertainment for you.

The Sunday Alternative Live has finished for this year and may return if I have the time next year. Every band and musician has been brilliant but the project has been fraught with problems behind the scenes. My intention to make this into an online series has had issues from the start, both with the filming and the audio (I received two gigs worth of audio back - August and September - at the end of October). We are now working on getting them out as soon as possible and there's already one up to watch. All the door money was shared out between the artists and I took nothing, just saying.

Now for some shopping ideas!

The Sunday Alternative T-shirt, with or without the back slogan.

The Sunday Alternative bag helps you look cool and beat the 5p carrier bag charge.

T-shirt and bag are available from my shop page.

My audio books are all available from my Bandcamp page.

My books are all available from my author page on Amazon.

For £2 I will write a letter of complaint to the business of your choice, example.

For £5 I will record a cover of your favourite song on the kazoo, or maybe you'd like to dedicate a song to a loved one? Here's how.

Don't forget that all money raised goes into the fund to help make entertainment that I will make freely available. In the long run, it is better value than the TV Licence. 

BRAND NEW OFFER.

For £20 I will make a one-off unique cassette for you. Here's how it will happen:

1 - Hit the PayPal button and donate £20

2- I will receive an email notification from PayPal that contains your email address.

3- I email you to confirm receipt and to thank you.

4- You email me 10 songs of your choosing.

5- I record the songs for you with a special message and a bit of in-between song chat on a cassette that will be exclusively yours. Only one copy of this tape will ever be available*, you are free to share it online if you wish - it belongs to you.

6- I will make you a cassette sleeve that is just for your cassette and post it to you.

*One copy will be made and placed in my archive, this will never see the light of day, so not strictly unique but yours will be the original.

In 2016 I want to get cracking on a number of delayed projects that need your financial input, once made they will be available for everyone to enjoy free of charge. These projects include the delayed pilot episode of Saturday Breakfast (which will cost about £500 to make on the cheap), a radio drama in front of an audience that may pave the way for a series, a chat show in front of an audience which is provisionally a series of six episodes, an all day free entry gig on September 11th to celebrate five years of The Sunday Alternative, and of course the ongoing weekly Sunday Alternative podcast along with The Random Saturday Sessions series.

Please consider making a donation if you enjoy my daily blog or weekly podcast, either a one-off or a regular contribution would make a difference and enable me to make these projects a reality. If you can't afford to then please enjoy them anyway but make sure you share and tweet for me so that maybe someone you know can help. 

If you're a business and want to sponsor one of my projects then please get in touch. It could be the podcast or something else, email me and we'll talk.

Thank you.

Follow @SteveOliver76

steveEoliver@gmail.com

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August Newsletter

We are now in the eighth month of the year and at a standstill as far as work is concerned. In unrelated news, it is my birthday on the 27th of this month so a nice present would be a donation using the PayPal button. This would be spent on creating podcasts, documentaries, short films, comedy sketches and various other entertainments that I will make available to enjoy online for free.

The above t-shirt and bag is also available to buy, all the money goes to the same creative fund. They are on my shop page.

I'll play you a kazoo song request, find out how here.

Letter of complaint written for you for £2, here.

Fundraising news and kazoos!

The PayPal donations have been a bit thin on the ground just lately, (although I am grateful to those who have contributed) and I am trying to raise the funds to film a pilot for a cookery and music show among other things; those other things are:

• A live talk show filmed in front of an audience.
• A radio style drama, again in front of an audience, to be made available as a free download.
• The comic-documentary about Woolly and Worth, (the puppets from the Woolworths adverts) that has been on every bloody to-do list since 2009.
• A documentary about The Sunday Alternative (possibly to be screened in Nottingham and London) to commemorate the fifth anniversary in 2016, which will be extra special because it lands on a Sunday.

There are other things too and they cost money, not a fortune - I'm not trying to remake Star Wars or something, (I'd remake American Graffiti, the best film George Lucas made), but more than you'd think. Although I will be using the money to create all sorts of stuff (comedy sketches, documentaries, podcasts, short films, musical projects, art installations) that will be available to enjoy for free. Even if you paid £2 a month that is helpful to me, and more value for you than your TV licence. Ideally I would like to be able to draw a modest wage (I don't have a lavish lifestyle) and go full time self-employed but that is for the future, if I'm lucky.

There's a range of ways to donate by buying something over on my shop page, but I have come up with an idea.

For every donation of £5 or more, you get to request a song. I will film myself playing your request on the kazoo and post it on YouTube with a dedication to you. I am Nottingham's premier session (kazoo) musician and some people* call me the 'beating heart of Soft Silly'.

Just hit the PayPal button and donate £5 or more. The notification email from PayPal will contain your email address so I will write to you as soon as I can to ask for your song choice which I will then record just for you.

Deal?

The Record Store Day Video (working title)

The filming of The Record Store Video (working title) is going ahead (all going well) on the weekend of Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th March, and will be released on YouTube on the day itself. It's a short video about the ethos of RSD and my opinion thereof.

We are doing this on a reasonably low/none existent budget but as always could use a little help. Please do consider making a donation via the PayPal button above to help towards this and other entertainments, all of which will be available to enjoy completely free of charge online. If you can afford to give something then please know that it is much appreciated. If you can't afford to give anything then please could you share/tweet/Facebook the life out of it when it comes out?

Thank you

The Sunday Alternative needs you!

I am always looking for ways to improve the podcast and keep it constantly evolving as it is now in the fourth year of operation. To bring back the feeling of the old radio show I want to start doing it from a studio with facilities to host live music sessions and extending the podcast to an hour or more.

Here's the request for help:

I am looking for a studio that can help, the podcast would have to be recorded in the week and edited together before the finished audio is handed over for me to upload on Sunday morning as usual.

This needs to be a fairly long term project and I will want to agree on a legally binding contract. I want to be safeguarded against cancellations that are not my doing.

I will negotiate on the studio costs, and will be willing to run an advert for the studio within the introductions and name-checks; "This is the Sunday Alternative podcast recorded at (studio name and address, website, twitter handle) studios..."

I will retain all copyright on the podcast and the audio archive will not be kept by the studio.

With this in mind, I am once again shaking the collection tin. The podcast will now incur costs BUT will still be made available as a freebie to listen to and download. Please consider buying something from the 'Shop & Donations' page or making a donation using the PayPal button above. Whether you donate a penny, pound, or more, it all helps and I thank you in advance for it.

If you have a studio and would like to get on board, please email me steveEoliver@gmail.com 

Music and Cooking!

I have had the go-ahead to make a pilot episode of a music and cookery show that will hopefully become a series, either later this year or in 2016. The series has been mentioned on my blog in the past, and unless I can come up with a better title it will be known by its working title of Saturday Breakfast.

When/if it becomes a series, Saturday Breakfast will appear on YouTube every Saturday morning, and will provide live music and a breakfast recipe. Let’s face it, there just isn’t enough cookery in the media is there! The pilot episode will appear on YouTube but more importantly it will be used as the video on Indie Go Go to raise the money needed to make a full series.

Blue Vulture are the band appearing in the pilot, Oliver Smith Productions will be filming it and doing all the technical stuff, and the highly recommended Café 101 have allowed us to use their premises.

There are inevitably a few expenses involved in making a show like this, so I politely ask you to consider making a PayPal donation. If you want something in return then I will send you an audio book or a copy of Bowie Day, just email me with ‘I paid a pound or more’ in the subject box and your choice from the Shop & Donations page in the body of the email.

Don’t forget that all the money that comes my way will be used to make this and other entertainment such as podcasts, comedy sketches, documentaries and loads more which will all be available free of charge.

Thanks in advance for your generosity.

Bowie Day (a short story inspired by A Christmas Carol)

Today is David Bowie’s birthday and the day that my short story Bowie Day (a short story inspired by A Christmas Carol) is released. I have put the book on the Kindle after a lot of faffing around and it is still processing so who knows when it will get properly published. Not to worry, as I can let you have it anyway. All you have to do is donate one pound or more using the PayPal button above and then email me with ‘I paid a pound or more (Bowie)’ in the subject line, I will send it straight to you by email.

As always, this money will be used to create free online content such as podcasts, comedy sketches, documentaries, and short films. Feel free to donate at any time out of the goodness of your heart, or claim something for your money with something from this list.

My email is steveEoliver@gmail.com

The T-Shirt Wearer's Guide To The Ramones

A one-off podcast explaining the band to people who bought a t-shirt in Primark (other cheap and nasty sweatshop clothes emporiums are available) despite having never heard a single Ramones track. This was concieved in February 2014, written in March and finally recorded on 24th June 2014 but has remained unreleased until now.

It is a free podcast for you to stream or download, although I do ask as usual that you consider the PayPal donation button. This will enable me to continue to provide free online entertainment.

The podcast is available from here.

Can You Help?

The New Year is just around the corner and I’m trying to forget that we first have to endure Christmas before we get to it. I am bursting to get moving on various projects in 2015 but I need help.

Everything I make will be made available online totally free of charge, so I am asking you to please consider this when you see the PayPal button above my blogs. I make The Sunday Alternative podcast every week and write 365 blogs a year for no obvious financial reward. I rely on the donations to enable me to carry on putting out free content, and will use what goes into the pot to make entertaining things for you.

In addition to the donation option, I also have a range of audio books for download on a ‘pay what you like’ basis and books available for the Kindle. All the money I make from these sales will go into the same fund.

One of my audio books, A Christmas Tree by Charles Dickens, is too big for Bandcamp to host so I will email it to anyone who donates one pound or more and then emails me with ‘I paid a pound or more’ in the subject line, my email address is steveEoliver@gmail.com

A Sunday Alternative bag will be on sale in the New Year, sadly I couldn’t get them ready in time for Christmas but I’m sure they’ll go down well as Valentine gifts.

The first two projects for 2015 will be a pilot for a cookery and music series that will be uploaded to a YouTube channel on a weekly basis (if a series is made). The video will be used as the video for the crowd funding campaign on Indie GoGo. I will also be making a special video for Record Store Day that will be released on the day. Both of these projects need money to make them.

Even though it didn’t work out last year, I still haven’t given up hope of making a documentary about The Sunday Alternative. Ideally I’d like to have it ready in time for release in 2016 as the fifth anniversary of the show will fall on a Sunday.

As the party season is upon us, please consider buying one less drink on your next outing and donating to the fund, imagine how proud you’ll be at having helped.

A Dickens Christmas Collection - new audio book available now.

My latest audio book, A Dickens Christmas Collection, is available to download now. As usual it is free with the option to pay if you want to. There are three separate tracks on this collection, A Christmas Goblin, Nobody’s Story, and The Child’s Story. I was intending to make it a four track album with A Christmas Tree but unfortunately it is a long story and therefore the file is too big for Bandcamp to cope with.

All the money raised will go back into the fund to help me to create short films, documentaries, podcasts, comedy sketches and loads more that will be made available completely free of charge.

The Christmas Tree will be emailed to anyone who makes a donation of a pound or more using the PayPal button on my blog pages. Just email me with “I paid a pound” in the subject line, my email address is steveEoliver@gmail.com

You can download A Dickens Christmas Collection from here.

Back When I Was Crap At Radio...

I have overhauled a dusty old blog with a view to promoting it again. My collection of radio shows for Sherwood Radio is now freely available online to enjoy. Re-live my early days in radio when I was rubbish, and hear just how I managed to develop into the broadcaster I am today with shows in the UK and America. Although I don’t feel as though I deserved the plaudits comparing me to John Peel, I have listened back to a few of these shows in preparing this blog and can see how the seed was planted that grew into The Sunday Alternative.

Apart from a couple of missing editions, every show can be listened to again. Please realise that I know that I was shit in the beginning so there is no need to tell me.

I have installed the PayPal button so that you can help me to raise funds to continue to provide free online content. There is of course no obligation to pay anything if you can’t, but as always I thank you in advance if you decide to drop a virtual coin into my virtual hat.

You can listen to my Sherwood Radio archive here.

Audio book released today!

The audio book of Whatever Happened to Nathan McKenzie? is available to download now. Written by my brother Jack over four years, it has taken me the best part of this year to record it, it’s a long book but worth sticking with.

I have set a price for this which reflects how much work has been put in to this, although my share of the money will go into the fund for making new content.

If you are buying someone an MP3 player for Christmas then this is the ideal thing to pre-load, especially for fans of time travel mysteries.

The audio book is available from here.

The book is available from here.

Consigning An Idea To The Box Of Abandoned Ideas

I have made the decision to scrap a proposed podcast series titled The Shoebox Collection. Having written two episodes, I haven’t found the time to write the next two, and certainly don’t know where I would find the time to record it if I had.

The inspiration came from the public airing of John Peel’s record collection, and I decided to do a similar thing with the demo CDs I have accumulated over the years. I was aiming to find out what had become of some of the names in my archive, some still playing and some having stopped altogether. On the podcast I intended to play the songs on the CD and give some direction on what, if anything, the artists are doing today.

My reason for scrapping the project is mainly an issue of time, but also because I felt it would be a struggle to keep it interesting for the listener who has never heard of some obscure singer who sent me a CD in 2004 and presumably wouldn’t give a shit what they were doing nowadays.

So now the two scripts I have written will go into the box of abandoned ideas, perhaps to see the light of day in the future.

A Christmas Carol audio book

My audio book A Christmas Carol is being re-released this year as an album and is an available to download free or you can pay something if you want to. Any money made will be used to fund further free projects such as podcasts, documentaries, comedy sketches, and short films. 

Premature Book Plug

I have finished typing the final draft of my book Bowie Day. 'Book' might be a bit grand as is smaller than a book but bigger than a short story, so I'm going with 'novella'.

The story (my first work of fiction, unless expenses forms count) is influenced by Charles Dickens and has TWO main characters called David Bowie. It will be released on the Kindle and as an audio book download on Bandcamp on January 8th 2015, two days after you've taken the decorations down. I have picked that date because it is of course David Bowie's birthday.

In an ideal world I would have all the publicity blasted out on the actual day, which is a Thursday if you're interested. Before Christmas I will be arranging this, so hopefully I'll be spending that Thursday talking to people about the book.

The thought has crossed my mind about doing a public reading on Heddon Street in London (if you need to ask the significance then it won't be your kind of gig) which will be free but I'll be essentially busking. Maybe several ones spread out during the day. Even cooler would be doing all the phone interviews from THAT phone box!

Anyway, until January.

Goodbye America...

This weekend's edition of The Sound Of Nottingham UK will unfortunately be the last one. While I have enjoyed doing the shows and sharing the eclectic musical output from the city of my birth, certain factors are getting in the way of producing the show.

Most of Nottingham's music makers are nice people and I have made some good friends among them. The show has been well received by the vast majority, and even if people don't recognise me they twig when I mention 'that American radio show that plays Nottingham music'. My gratitude to Marshall Miles for giving me the show is as strong now as it was on day one. I never imagined having a radio show on an American station so that is quite an addition to the CV.

Sadly the negatives keep eating away at me. The biggest being the attitudes and ego within the scene, this hasn't got better and it is this delusion of grandeur that will prevent certain artists from breaking out. It used to annoy me when an invitation to appear on NottinghamLIVE was met with one of two reactions. The first was saying they'd come on when they had something to plug, when we explained that we asked people on merit and weren't a show that relied on people appearing as part of a publicity junket. This even happened when I was doing sessions for the American show! A few people found their way onto my blacklist which effectively meant that they received no more airplay on thee other side of the Atlantic. To my mind this diva behaviour hadn't been earned; you can only become a prick when you're at a certain level; Axl Rose is a good example. 

Then came the issue of new material. I have had to resort to asking for tracks for the show, and while most have been grateful some have treated the idea of American airplay as an inconvenience. A lot of the time this happens with artists with managers, so I would ask that they take a good look at who is supposedly looking after their interests and ask themselves if they are doing their job properly. Compere this to The Sunday Alternative, for which I receive songs from PR companies and labels from all over the world because this is how the music business works.

A combination of apathy and cliques are stifling Nottingham, as is the closed door policy of certain organisations. The Nottingham Post were good enough to run a story when I first started doing the show, it was a good angle to have a show for Nottingham musicians to receive their first American airplay, but no other media organisation got on board. I can't be too harsh on a certain arts magazine as they are still only just getting used to covering music, having only done so for the last three years of their ten year history. If I ran a cocktail bar they would have written pages about that. If I knew nothing about music and never went to gigs, I might have been asked to judge their talent shows too!

Nottingham musicians will still be played on The Sunday Alternative, which receives hits from all over the world and they will also be invited onto the new video version. I will continue to give my support to the local music scene, nothing has changed there, I am perhaps the most active supporter.

My advice to the new bands and artists is to try not to become part of a clique, and don't take any arsehole tablets as they are highly addictive.

It has been a pleasure doing the show, and despite the minority of twats I am proud to be part of the Nottingham music scene. My final show will be my favourites, and the version of the show that appears on Mixcloud will be half an hour longer.

Update

I don't do enough of these newsletters, but that's because there isn't a lot to say most of the time. Here is a brief update on what's going on in Planet Oliver...

The Sunday Alternative relaunching as a podcast has been a huge success, so thank you to everyone who has listened so far. Don't forget to tell your friends.

I'm still doing the American show every week. It won't be long until I'm at 100 editions of The Sound Of Nottingham UK.

I am developing two Internet television projects at the moment, The Sunday Alternative and Saturday Breakfast. TSA will be fortnightly (alternating weeks with the audio podcast) and SB will be weekly but filmed in a series bulk. Both will feature the best live music from around the country while at the same time remaining focused on the Nottingham music scene. I am filming a pilot TSA so that we can look at it and see what needs doing, which although being labelled as a none-broadcast will probably be released online at a much later date.

Filming a pilot edition of SB will be a little trickier, as I have only heard back from one suitable venue (it has to be a venue with a kitchen) and they want three hundred pounds for room hire. On top of other costs I reckon we can film it for five hundred and come away with something workable. I may even use the pilot as the fund raising video on a crowd funding site, or use it to try and gain sponsorship. Even if the pilot is filmed at this place I don't think we'll use it for a full series as the owners don't seem (at this point) to appreciate that it will essentially be an advert for them too.

These two little projects are top of my list at the moment, which is why I am once again passing my hat round. Once I have made the shows, they will become available online absolutely free of charge. Please find it in your hearts (and pockets) to make a small donation (or a big one) using the PayPal button on this page. I am not out to make a profit, I am just out to provide entertainment.

I will also put the money that my main blog makes from Kindle subscriptions, and downloads from my Bandcamp page.

Many, many thanks in advance

Steve

Nottingham musicians...

I posted this on Facebook earlier, and as it's too long for a tweet I'll leave it here. Basically it is my response to all bands/musicians who are entered in the Future Sound Of Nottingham competition. 

"As one of the many cogs in the wheel of the local music scene, it would be unfair for me to pick a favourite and unprofessional to boot. Nobody involved in radio, podcast, promoting, or management should vote in the Future Sound Of Nottingham. I do however wish you all the luck in the world".

Some video changes

I am in the process of deleting an old YouTube account called The Oliver Sessions, a name I didn't really like but couldn't think of anything else at the time. It was set up when I started on Sherwood Radio and I suppose I used the John Peel connection/comparisons a little too much.

Two videos with the biggest amount of views have now been added to my own channel.

It is an almighty pain in the arse to do this as you have to delete your entire Google account, so in future my email address is steveEoliver@gmail.com

A Christmas Carol audio book

In December 2012 I released an audio book of A Christmas Carol that was available to download in four separate chapters (or 'staves' as I used Dickens' word) from my BandCamp page. As with all of my audio books, it was available to download on a pay-what-you-like basis.

While there are still audio books available to buy, I have removed the four separate audio books of A Christmas Carol for the time being. In December I will be re-releasing the book as one download in album form.

There will also be a brand new Dickens Christmas audio book this year.

You can download audio books from my page on BandCamp.

Under The Bonnet #1

I am doing some work to tidy up and streamline my presence on the World Wide Web, the first step was to remove my old website. From now on the nearest I have to a website is the main blog, and I will also make more effort to keep this newsletter updated regularly.

New podcast

A new podcast with a difference, this one won't be in the general public domain as usual. Blogcast Monthly will be available by email only from a dedicated address. 

The podcast will feature a selection of music from some of the best unsigned bands around, and general talk about whatever is going on, like an audio blog. It will only be about half an hour in length so will be ideal for downloading to your MP3 player for the commute to work. It will be emailed to you on the last Friday of the month, payday!

To receive the podcast all you have to do is send a blank email to blogcastmonthly@gmail.com now and you will be added to the mailing list. I will not make your email available to anyone else.

There will be an option to have older editions sent your way too, but there shouldn't be a need to as the first one won't be sent out until just after midnight on Friday 25th April.

The Sunday Alternative Film

Today is the first day of a 40 day run of the crowd funding campaign to raise funds to make a film about The Sunday Alternative. Aside from making a donation, you can help by spreading the word via social media.

Thanks

Let's Work Together

This year I hope to get several projects off the ground that have been put to one side for too long. These are short comedy films and an attempt at a documentary series. There is also a short human interest feature that was turned down by East Midlands Today, but has legs (and is of importance to people in Nottingham) and so will become an online video.

The first thing I want to get off the ground is a documentary about my radio show The Sunday Alternative. I originally thought of this in the week of the show's second birthday but realised that time was against me. If I can get it made then I will hold on to it until September and put on a screening before releasing it.

I don't really want to reveal too much about other projects, (mostly short comedies), as I am very protective about my ideas/paranoid about having them stolen (Broadway Cinema syndrome is what I call it). However, details will be revealed once sufficient money has been raised to finance the next idea.

Here's how I want to work it:

Rather than a- spend my own money making a film (something that only the richest people in the world would be willing to do) and b- spend even more money producing DVDs to distribute and sell, I have devised a lovely way of doing things that will benefit everyone.

Above my blog is a PayPal button. Simply show your enjoyment of my free archive of radio shows and podcasts/ reviews/ 365 free blogs a year (366 on leap years), by clicking on that button with a donation. I will ONLY spend that money on making short films/comedy sketches/ podcasts that in turn I will make available totally free of charge.

Likely costs:

People to film everything.
Expenses to actors.
Food, drink, petrol (cigarettes will come out of the personal pocket of any involved smokers, myself included)
Hire costs of cinema/conference area to host free screenings, which will provisionally take place in Nottingham and London but possibly other areas.

After the free screening, the finished result will be uploaded to Youtube for all to see and enjoy.

I won't make any profit from this, I am more interested in getting my work out there to be enjoyed.

Let's do this!

Happy new year.

Third and final series of LP Box

Steve Oliver's podcast series Steve's LP Box has entered its third and final series. Originally a radio show within a radio show, (the final hour of The Sunday Alternative), it has carried on as a podcast only affair. After showing a diverse range of albums, some of which you might not have expected to see in Steve's collection, the final series of five episodes will be it.

Says Steve:
"I've enjoyed doing this particular podcast series, but the time has come to end it. I'm looking forward to working on new projects in 2014, podcasts and filmmaking being the main focus".

If you'd like to help with future projects (that will be made available free of charge online), then please feel free to make use of the 'donate' button at the top of this newsletter. Every penny that goes in is used to fund creative projects.

You can hear the first episode of Steve's LP Box here.

The Nottingham Music Call To Arms

Dear Nottingham music makers

The city's favourite radio show NottinghamLIVE is having its live Christmas special on Wednesday December 18th, and at first we weren't going to have a live guest.

Then we changed our mind!

Rather than going through the ball-ache of choosing one of you to bestow the honour of appearing on the Christmas show, we want all of you to turn up instead. You might have seen the Facebook post already, and a lot of you have already said yes. We basically want an all-star Nottingham choir/rabble to sing Christmas carols/songs on what will be Darren, Cassia, and my first Christmas special as presenters of NottinghamLIVE. You don't need to bring instruments, the whole thing will be singing/chanting only.

As is stands, we want you to turn up to the live show at seven o'clock at the Trent Sound studios, a lot of you will be familiar with the place already, and at random times we will do a song. As it's a Christmas show we will also be playing YOUR festive tunes of course, so make sure to email them to nottinghamlive@trentsound.com (they might also be played on my American show y'know).

We might come up with a more organised plan, possibly recording the whole thing in advance a week prior. However, at the moment this is all we have. To accept our invitation, please either comment on this blog or email us at nottinghamlive@trentsound.com

Steve (on behalf of Darren and Cassia).

The Robin Hood Sessions, a new podcast series

Follow The Robin Hood USA Sessions on Mixcloud

Exclusive live sessions from Nottingham artists, originally recorded for American broadcasts on The Sound Of Nottingham UK on Robin Hood Radio. This is a weekly series in which you can enjoy these sessions again.

Available every Monday, follow @SoundNottingham for updates

The Film Of The Radio Show

Below is a message from Steve:

As you may have heard by now, I am currently working on a documentary to commemorate the second birthday of The Sunday Alternative. It will feature talking heads and commentary from myself as I talk about the rise of the show. Some scenes will be filmed during the birthday show itself on Sunday 8th September, (the anniversary to the day, the actual birthday of the show will be Wednesday September 11th).

I am aiming for release on December 22nd this year, which will coincide with the Christmas special of the show, making that a very special Sunday indeed.

In order to make it even more special, I want to do a screening in Nottingham on the Sunday afternoon before I go off to do the show. As it's Christmas I would like to see if I can put on the screening as a free event. There will also be minor costs that will need meeting; food and travel for those taking part mainly, and so I am going to give 'crowd-funding' a whirl.

I don't want the hassle of a kickstarter campaign, especially as I'll be using them next year to take some Nottingham musicians to Connecticut in connection with my USA radio show. For that reason, for this particular project I am asking that people make use of the PayPal donation button at the top of this blog. That is why it's there, so I can afford to give free content away, and if there's enough supportive donations for The Sunday Alternative Documentary (working title) then I'll be able to put the finished film on YouTube and Vimeo rather than selling it on DVD.

The side links on my blog also take you to my Bandcamp page where I have audio books and two music albums for sale, and there is also the option to have my daily blog delivered to your Kindle for 99p a month.

Many thanks in advance to all those who help, and I hope the finished film is as good on screen as it is in my head.

*UPDATE* Of course it was unrealistic to expect to have a documentary made in such a short time, however I still wish to do this. Thanks for the money donated so far, the doc about the radio show will be made in 2014.

Scrapped series

Statement from Steve:

I was going through some old papers and found the log in details for the YouTube channel that carried my experimental series Charity Shop Film Guide, and have decided to delete it completely.

Three editions were initially uploaded, and I had intended to do more. However, I never seemed to find the time to do so, and have wanted to remove the three videos for a while. As I didn't know the log in details, the channel has been sat gathering dust. Pleasingly, the videos had quite a good number of views and comments, although there were some illiterate insults from someone who has followed me since Myspace. How he knew about the videos is beyond me, as he hates me so wouldn't be reading my blogs or tweets would he? Would he?

I still have the originals of course, and the poster that used to sit behind me in the videos. These are in my personal archive of works, and will be left in my will to The British Library, as will all my radio shows and written material.

Thank you to everybody who enjoyed Charity Shop Film Guide, there were at least three more editions left to do as I bought the films. As I said, I can't find the time and so must draw a line under it. I still like the idea of doing a 'Bad Film Club' type thing in a small cinema as I know it would do well, but not in the foreseeable future as I am too busy with other things.. The reason I know it would do well is that Broadway Cinema in Nottingham stole the idea and curated 'Bad Film Night' and that did very well.

Back Back Back

Official press release:

This is quite possibly the news that everyone has been waiting for, and so close to David Bowie's surprise comeback too.

Let us get straight to the point; The Sunday Alternative is coming back.

Please allow that to sink in a moment. Steve Oliver returns to worldwide radio on Sunday 7th April with one of the most popular radio shows of all time.

Starting again at the new time of 7pm-9pm, the show has had a revamp without moving too much of the furniture around. The music will remain of the highest standard; unsigned, punk, ska, alternative, and live sessions. Steve actually hopes to encourage an 'open mic' type atmosphere on the show, with musicians turning up at random to play live on air.

Last week, Steve wrote on his daily blog:
"I resigned from Trent Sound as a result of a petty argument, and never actually wanted to stop doing the show that I regard as my baby. You shouldn't pick a favourite child, but of all the projects I am involved in, The Sunday Alternative is probably the one that I will always be associated with and I'm delighted to be able to bring it back, if only to stop people asking me if I'm ever going to do it again.

Obviously I am proud of my involvement with NottinghamLIVE and the promotion of Nottingham's music scene, and of course I also love the show I do in America, again promoting Nottingham's musical output. Both shows are of vital importance, not only to Darren and myself, but to Nottingham. I will be continuing to do these shows on top of my commitment to The Sunday Alternative."

The All New Sunday Alternative, 7pm-9pm exclusive to Trent Sound

Two Mini-Albums

Official press release:

Two releases occur today that will appeal to music lovers and radio historians alike. Nottingham's Mr Radio himself, Steve Oliver, has secured permission to release two separate compilations of live session tracks recorded on his much missed radio shows.

The Sherwood Sessions

Who can forget Steve Oliver's avant garde two hour shows on Ollerton based community station Sherwood Radio? For just 39 shows, Steve got away with producing a true underground classic. Thanks to the show not being approved by lazy management, this pre-recorded show slipped under their noses and into the ears of a bewildered audience of thousands. The archive of shows is available online, and they show Steve's development as a broadcaster (this was his first radio work, and it shows)  and his dedication to pushing the boundaries. Combining unsigned bands, alternative classics, TV themes, children's storybooks, comedy sketches, music hall, (a theme famously carried on during The Sunday Alternative), and all manner of nonsense, it wasn't long before the show achieved cult status.

Aside from all that, the show hosted several live sessions from Nottingham artists and singers from further afield. The first compilation features tracks from that all too brief period between 2010 and 2011.

1. Captain Dangerous 'I Am The Wind'
2. Dan Korn 'Lost Love Shanty'
3. Redtrack 'The Liar'
4. Jo Hamilton 'Think Of Me'
5. Groucott and Hayes 'You Come Alive'

The Sunday Alternative Volume 1

With the closure of Sherwood Radio in spring 2011, the relief was felt around the world when Steve Oliver returned to radio on September 11th 2011 to present The Sunday Alternative on Trent Sound. This new show not only heralded Steve's return to radio, but allowed him to build on his experience and produce some of the best radio shows ever heard.

"this show is the reason computers have speakers"

"the best BBC 6Music show that isn't on BBC 6Music, yet"

When The Sunday Alternative came to an end following Steve Oliver's shock resignation from Trent Sound, a gaping hole was left in the medium of radio. He keeps hinting that the show will return, but time will tell. Maybe this is Steve's version of The Next Day by David Bowie, and he'll just spring back from nowhere? If that's the case, we should all keep an eye and ear out around his birthday in August!

The eclectic mix of music was still there, as were the unsigned artists, many getting their first radio play (to an international audience) on The Sunday Alternative. As essential a part of Sunday as the roast dinner, the day of rest hasn't been the same since.

This compilation features live session tracks from a legendary show.

1. Adam Clarkson and Rob Rosa (Captain Dangerous) 'Executing Elliott'
2. The Golden Troubadours 'You Made It So'
3. Patrick Plunkett 'Hooked On Desire'
4. Marc Reeves 'Easy Way Out'
5. Will Jeffery 'Dorothy Jean'
6. Jake Morley 'Sideline'
7. William Tennant 'I'll Never Be Doctor Who Now'

A full collection of podcasts, and a radio archive, can be found at Steve's blog/website http://thesteveoliverblog.blogspot.com

Steve is available for publicity interviews regarding these new album releases, and can be contacted directly steveEoliver@gmail.com

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveOliver76



Piling On The Bowie Excitement

Worldwide official press release:

As March is already being referred to as 'Bowie Month', it is with perfect timing that we can announce the return of the ultimate David Bowie podcast Moonage Daydream. Originally presented by mysterious Bowie blogger Jean Genie, the return sees a new presenter in the form of the show's producer Steve Oliver.

Steve Oliver's name won't mean much outside of his hometown of Nottingham England, where he is a hugely influential broadcaster nicknamed 'Nottingham's Mr Radio'. He hosts NottinghamLIVE on the local station Trent Sound, and also takes Nottingham music to an American audience with his show The Sound Of Nottingham UK, on the Connecticut station Robin Hood Radio (see the link?), which is played twice a week to the East Coast on FM, AM, and satellite television. The show also has a cult following in Nottingham itself.

Around the world, his name is best associated with The Sunday Alternative. Earning him the mantle of John Peel's successor, Steve's Sunday night shows were compulsive listening around the world. It broadcast from Trent Sound in Nottingham every Sunday at 9pm-12am UK time, and featured the most eclectic range of music imaginable, from unsigned artists, live sessions, punk, ska, rockabilly, country, hip-hop, and for good measure, an old music hall song or two. One of his later features was Steve's Big Bag Full Of Bowie, in which three Bowie tracks were played together uninterrupted.

"The Sunday Alternative is the reason computers have speakers"

"The best BBC 6 Music show that isn't on BBC 6 Music, yet"

Something of a podcast factory himself, Steve started producing Moonage Daydream last year. Failing in his attempts to persuade Jean Genie to bring it back, he sought permission to present it himself, also taking over writing and researching duties. The show will be released twice a month, due to Steve's other radio and writing commitments.

Steve Oliver: "I'm very excited to be doing Moonage Daydream and becoming part of the Bowie canon. It's a popular show, so I hope I can do it justice and carry on the great work of Jean Genie and finish the David Bowie story to date".

Moonage Daydream will return with a look at the Ziggy Stardust era of 1972 into 1973. Each episode will centre around an album, but also tell the story of that particular time. There will also be episodes devoted to films, and even his 'Dancing In The Street' duet with Mick Jagger will get a mention, as will Tin Machine. The series will conclude with The Next Day, and the excitement surrounding Bowie's surprise birthday comeback in his 66th birthday.



Steve Oliver is available for publicity interviews, and can be contacted direct:

Punk, Pop, And Puppets

The second series of my podcast Steve's LP Box has finally arrived. Below is the official statement/press release.

Originally a third hour strand of the legendary radio show The Sunday Alternative, and now a podcast unfettered by the 58 minute restriction, Steve's LP Box continues to surprise. That is certainly the case with this series of six, which might just blow apart Steve's super-cool, Mr Indie, music snob, image. Acknowledging that good pop is better than bad (insert your preference here), Steve has included Kylie Minogue's debut album alongside Madonna's True Blue. To restore things slightly, there's also Nine Inch Nails, Blondie, The Clash, and The Muppets!

The podcasts were written and recorded in this order:

Madonna True Blue
Blondie Parallel Lines
Nine Inch Nails Pretty Hate Machine
Kylie Minogue Kylie
The Muppets The Muppet Show Album
The Clash Give 'Em Enough Rope

They are all available to listen to from here.

For promotional interviews, quotes or whatever, contact anothersteveoliver@gmail.com