The founder, the players, the audience and the room

Your founder

'Songwriting is story-telling. Stories are important because they are how we understand ourselves.'

Who am I?
Hello, I'm Simon Hopper, the founder of SCE. I've been writing songs for 40 years. I'm fascinated by the art and the craft.

My musical references are predictable for someone born in the mid-1950s who likes a solo performer playing acoustic guitar, singing songs about their life and experience. Of course this includes Dylan, the daddy of them all, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, etc.

(You can find an insight to my musical hinterland here, and if you want to know more about me: blog, songs, videos, website.)

I recently arrived in east London wanting to create an event to give me regular involvement in music. The idea was to make an opportunity to meet and play with others. SCE is the result.

So let me tell you what's in this for you.


The room / the stage
You'll have a room with a great vibe and a sympathetic audience. I've bought new stands for my stage lights and ordered two banner backdrops for the stage. It'll look cool. I'm a fussy bugger when it comes to my performance spaces and I'll make sure this one is just right for the gig. The pics of you singing there will be great on your social media.

We're going to go acoustic to begin with. We'll be in a chapel, with lots of stone and wood in a room that seats max 45. It'll be a listening audience and we won't be competing with external noise so I think it'll work that way. With those acoustics and a quiet audience, it'll sound lovely.

If we find we need some reinforcement, we can use my Bose column PA and Sure SM58 mics. The PA is the mutt's nuts.


Fellow performers
You'll meet and perform with other skilled writer-players. It'll be a great learning experience as well as a brilliant celebration of our art and craft. Together, we'll build a community in which we can support and encourage each other as well as polish our artistic skills.

Younger writers will be able to tap into the nous of the more experienced. Those longer in the tooth will be able to keep in touch with what's current. As well as song-writing savvy, there'll be a wealth of knowledge about recording, self-publishing, gigging, touring, whatever.


Money
All the door-take (after expenses) will be shared amongst the performers. You won't get rich, but you'll know that the income generated by the gig will end up in your pockets.


The Audience
By definition, since the event is in a dedicated room for a singer-songwriter event, the audience will be a listening one. Your songs and your singing will be properly appreciated and respected.

I'll be relying on you to bring some followers with you and hopefully some of them will become regulars. Perhaps some of our performers will drop in when they're not playing themselves.


You
You're a rounded songwriter of some depth. You have something to offer in terms of your body of work and your grasp of technique. If you want to be part of SCE and will enjoy talking a little about your songwriting chops to an interested audience, tell me where I can see you play - because that's how I'm going to select our performers.

If you'd say you're a developing writer come to the club and introduce yourself to me. If you think you have something to offer, let's talk.


It's going to be fun and it's going to be interesting. It's going to be a quietly special songwriting happening. Get on board!

@SongClubEast

For performers

THE CONCERT
Format
This will be a songwriters' circle: three artist on stage taking turns to play. They may contribute to each others songs (see below). There'll be two 45-minute sets with a 20-minute interval. You'll probably need half-a-dozen songs. It will take place on the second Wednesday of each month.

Craft Corner
I'm encouraging performers to talk a little about their writing:
Why you write
How you write
What it means to be a songwriter
Which songwriters you admire and why
Which song-writing forms/styles/techniques you use and why
Anything else you thing an interested audience would be interested in

At some point in the evening it would be nice, too, if you chose a song and briefly talked about one aspect of songwriting technique relating to it and why you chose it for this song. It could be the musical style or genre, the chord changes, the rhyme scheme, choice of chorus/refain, etc. (The story, the tale of the song, is not what this is about. That is usually addressed in the performance. What we're interested in here is songwriting craft and technique.)

Co-performing
Perhaps you could find a couple or more songs that your co-performers could contribute to on the night; a harmony, a little rhythm guitar, a lead line. If you could arrive a little early to chat things through, it would be good.

THE ARTISTS

Solo
The club will generally major on singer-songwriters performing solo.

Before you play
Please let me have a biog, a photograph and links to websites and web-based songs - at least one month in advance.

THE ETHOS

Community
It's hoped that we can built a roster of artists who will re-visit and perform on a regular basis - perhaps six or twelve-monthly. As a performer at SCE you'll be part of a community. Be kind and look after it like you would your neighbourhood.

Audience
The club will always rely on you to bring some audience with you. Eventually we hope to build a 'club' following, but this event is your thing, and we need your help with bodies. And it would be lovely if you felt moved to tell your other audiences about it - even when you're not doing the gig.

Social Media
Please give your attendance at the club maximum exposure on social media. Include this blog and our Twitter moniker - @SongClubEast - in any posts.

Attending as audience

It would be good if artists who are not performing will drop in to see others at work - bring friends!

Clearing away
The room will need to be tidied. Many hands...


THE MISCELLANY
Money
The door-take will be split evenly between the players after expenses are deducted.

And: rules...
... are made to be ignored when appropriate.

Welcome to Song Club East

Songwriting, Songs and Singers

Song Club East exists to celebrate the craft of song-writing as found in and around east London and to act as a nest of practitioners and enthusiasts to promote this craft through a monthly concert.


Venue: St Margaret's House, Bethnal Green, E2 9PL (2 mins BG Tube)

When: Second Wednesday of each month, 8.00pm (See below - starts 9th Sept '15)

Performance: Songwriters' circle - three performers on stage simultaneously

Host: Simon Hopper

Entry: £5.00. The takings will be split between the singers after expenses


To perform: Contact Simon with details of how he can see/hear you play live.