Nikk Carmichael

I hate writing about myself. I've never been good at it. How do you make yourself sound like you're not a complete moron?? The trick would be of course, to get someone else to write it but then it'd never get done and I'd still feel like a prat. So, as no-one else can "do it yourself", it's up to me.Here goes...I'm 36 years old and I've been playing music since I was 12. So more years than not, I suppose. I was writing songs before I knew more than two chords. (obviously they weren't very good songs with only two chords, but I had the bug and needed to express myself.) I've been in bands just as long. You won't have heard of any of them so I won't bother putting them down. (well maybe someone out there has but I don't see it as being terribly relevant. The past is past and this is something new.)I work as a sound engineer and producer and, like every other sound engineer, I got into the work in order to further my own music skills. I play guitar, bass, a little bit of trumpet and I sing. I work as a session musician from time to time and make part of my living out of playing or singing in cover bands but my own music is where my heart truly lies. It's taken me a long time to come to the realisation that unless I go it alone I'm never going to get my music to sound how I want it, so, for the first time in my life, I'm going out as a solo act (with backing band) rather than a member of a band. It's a weird feeling. I'm pretty used to being just one member of a group and now the buck stops with me on everything. So if people don't like the stuff then I've only got myself to blame for it. (rather than the drummer. lol.)I've played more gigs than I can remember with other people but I could count on one hand how many times I've been in front of an audience on my own. It's a scarey place to be when you can't rely on the group consciousness of a band being with you. As a great believer of feeling the fear and doing it anyway though, I have thrown myself into the singer/songwriter circuit as a man and his guitar, just to get out there and do it.I'm in the middle of recording my first solo album. Truth is, I've been in the middle of recording it for about ten years. As an engineer, I'm forever working on other people's stuff and when it comes time to do my own thing, I tend to just let it sit under a pile of dust. Every year I make a New Year's Resolution to finish it by the following Xmas. Every year I look back and kick myself for not doing it. Well, this year's going to be different. I've got three songs mixed and ready for mastering and more on the way. I've got a kick-arse set of musicians to play and record with and I think the songs are pretty good (even if I do say so myself.)I hope you like my songs and think that they have something to say that means something to you. They come from the heart and each one has special meaning to me. They are the story of my life, I guess. I don't write "throw away pop". A song comes when there's something I want to get off my chest. They cover many different genres. I don't think I write two songs in the same style ever. It's an eclectic blend of styles. From folk to blues to jazz to funk to rock. I try to keep them all fairly unique and not think too much about keeping with an "artist" theme but rather just let things flow out as they want to. I never force a song. I don't sit down with the intention of writing. I just let it happen and then look back at it and ask "how did I do that?" I've never had an answer to that question but I really don't mind as long as it keeps happening.Well, hell. I guess that's the bio. Not your average list of credits and venues played but who really wants to know that kind of stuff anyway?Cheers and I hope to see you at a gig soon. Make sure you come and say hello!! Nikk