Page 43 - Black Velvet Issue 88

BV88 pg43_BV88 pg43 04/04/2016 18:27 Page 1

BlackVelvetMagazine.Com - 43

Highlight(s) of your career so far?
I’m proud of what JD Music has achieved in a
relatively short space of time: airplay for our
artists on over 122 stations, both FM radio and
internet, forming partnerships with US promot-
ers and also LMC Records based in Stafford-
shire. It’s also great seeing how many talented
up and coming artists are out there.

Advice to others that may want to follow in
your footsteps?
I think it helps to have some experience of
music and promotion. JD Music is a good
Name & Location: What does a general working day or week combination I feel, because I know the side of
Darran Smith, South Wales. usually consist of? things from the point of view of a musician and
It’s difficult to generalise a typical day/week but someone who has had experience of the in-
What do you do - or what do you aim to do? it involves listening to a lot of music, which I’m dustry, and Jayne has been promoting bands
I am the ‘D’ of JD Music Promotion. We work certainly not complaining about; answering for the past 4 years. So between the two of
with up and coming bands, getting them air- any queries from our artists, for example, one us, we have a good balance of knowledge and
play, helping to build their fan base, etc. We do of our international artists wanted to chat about ideas.
have a number of plans which will see our pro- coming to the UK to do a series of gigs; and
motional activities branching out in a different Jayne (the ‘J’ of JD Music) does the PR side
Where do you go from here? Plans for the
direction, whilst still continuing with the radio of things, so she gives me things to look over. future?
plugging work of course. We have a growing roster of artists, so radio
Have you had any professional training or plugging wise we will continue as we have
How long have you been doing it for - and taken part in any courses to improve your done. Jayne and I have plans which will add
what made you choose this career? career along the way? an interesting dimension to the music promo-
JD Music is eight months old. It’s a natural pro- Not had professional training as such, but after tion that JD Music will be involved with … but
gression for me, after leaving Funeral for a spending 10 years with Funeral for a Friend, I I can’t say what just yet.
Friend, to mentor and promote young musi- can call upon my own experiences to help
cians. It’s something I enjoy being involved in when I’m asked for advice from any of our Website for more info:
very much. artists. www.jdmusicpromo.com

F It’s not just bands that work hard, some fans do too! Every issue
we shine the spotlight on a fansite. If you devote your time to
A working on a website to promote a band, let us know about it... and
we may feature you!
N Name: they go on tour or if they have a new album

S Barry Chamberland out (which has been a few years). Early on
I spent a lot of time to get all the information
I Fansite Name: that you currently see on the website and Aerosmith. Some of the most detailed con-
am always looking to add new and unique
The Aerosmith Temple
T Why and when did you decide to start information that you cannot find anywhere tent that has taken years to curate and
else.
makes our site unique to many other fan
your fansite?
E The website was created in 1996... as the Does the band know about it? Coolest sites is that you can find every single con-
cert date they have every performed, de-
thing to happen to you because of the
internet was fairly new at that point and I
was interested in learning how to build a fansite? tails about every album, lyrics to every
website. I was also a big Aerosmith fan so I have no idea if anybody in the band song, and just about any other Aerosmith
information you could ever want to know.
F I thought there was no better topic to create knows about my website but I have been The site also has a forum which is a great
contacted by various authors and TV net-
a site about! At the time I was visiting a lot
way for Aerosmith fans to share with one
O of other Aerosmith fan sites and thought I works for information when they were pro- another and I am always open to feedback
ducing Aerosmith based shows and books.
could add a lot more information than what
and have had a number of people contact
You can see more details here:
was currently out there... so that's what I
C did. http://www.aerosmithtemple.com/site-infor- me over the years to modify or add to my
extensive list of past tour dates. Basically,
mation
U How long does it take you to keep the Tell our readers why they should visit if you are an Aerosmith fan it’s a site you do
not want to miss!
site updated? How much time do you
S put into it? your site. What's it got? Website link:
As the title suggests, it’s got everything you
Currently it doesn't take very much time to
update as I only post something new when would want to know about the rock band www.aerosmithtemple.com
Eatin’ Ain’t Cheatin’ - Handmade Burger Spinach & Lentil Burger
After our interview with John Fred Young of Black Stone Cherry, we had time to kill before the band’s show at the
Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham so used the time wisely to fill our bellies with vegan burgers and fries. Handmade
Burger now have 4 vegan burgers in their menu and had a special offer through January and February for 50% off
for both Veganuary (where folks go vegan for the month of January) and the Vegan Society. We thought it was the
perfect time to venture there and try one. Birmingham has a number of Handmade Burger branches but as we were
near the NIA/Barclaycard Arena, we went to the one by the canal. The burger was impressively thick, very filling and
tasty. We couldn’t finish the fries as the burger itself was that filling. We also love that Handmade Burger stock our
favourite Fentimans Colas. Epic. Their vegan burgers range from the Spinach & Lentil burger (which we picked) to
the Cajun Vegetable & Bean burger to the Sweet Potato & Bean burger. We’ll have to go back soon to try another!
FANSITE FOCUS / BV CV / EATIN’ AIN’T CHEATIN’