SoundScan® is the organization used by the recording industry to monitor sales of all records. It now exists under the umbrella of the ratings company Nielsen Every time you purchase one of my albums, either on-line, or in your favourite independent record store, that sale is registered by SoundScan.

The little bar code on every CD means that SoundScan is keeping an audit trail of sales that everyone can trust.

This is important because, frankly, everyone from record companies to club owners look at these figures to figure out who to book or to back. Every SoundScan sale makes it that much easier for me to appear in your town or get my music placed in your favourite record store.

Support SoundScan by only purchasing records with the Soundscan bar code.

You can purchase songs and entire albums from several sources including iTunes, Amazon.com and Google Play. All are great, but you should recognise that there are differences between these formats:

The Amazon Store allows you to purchase physical CDsas well as downloadable files. The downloads are in MP3 form and and some think are of a higher quality audio than those from iTunes. As many of you know, iTunes files are highly compressed, which is perfectly adequate for listening on teeny, tiny earbuds, but not exactly pristine when heard over higher quality speakers. The MP3 versions are more like (but not quite) CD quality so they’ll sound better on your fancy home theatre system.

Most of you know that […]

I Need A New Drum Kit—In Praise Of Ringo & Art

My drum kit she is a gone. And she’s a no coming back. My loverly Ludwig Silver Sparkle set (aka ‘Old Ringo’ appears to have been ‘liberated’ from the storage space I had kept it at during my recent studio renovation. I am told that it is not insured for the current market value of $1,500 smackers.

So it’s time to mourn. Not just for the dough-re-mi. And not just because it was my pal for several decades. But rather because it was a critical part of my education as a musician. Drums are a big deal. Even if you’re playing bass or guitar, the more you know about ‘the set’, the better you do your job. So I shall grieve.

And then? I gotsta get me a new one. And, since every loss is also a chance to ‘learn something’ (grumble, grouse, grumble), I think I ought to use this tragedy to re-think my drumming.

From Pee Wee To Ring-o

My whole concept […]

After nine years? The first record from JCHMusic will finally be available as a professionally remastered version.

As long-term listeners know, in late 2007 I embarked on a plan to re-master the first four records prior to the release of Home. For some reason, I released them in reverse order, starting with Balance — then Compartments and Superpower. Then all heck started to break loose in my life and I had to leave off.

Until now, this has always been a great personal sadness for me. After more than twenty years playing other people’s stuff, Positive was a chance to finally get the music out there that I wanted to do. So, like many artists’ first records, it contains some of my best stuff (in fact, the sophomore jinx so many artists encounter is often simply the result of one simple fact: they’ve usually had umpteen years to develop ten great songs for their initial offering […]

We regularly receive questions about why we tour where we tour, and why not here? Whether it is Detroit or Dublin, the answer is pretty much the same:

Any confirmed touring plans will always be posted to this website and via Twitter (so following is always a good idea.
We are always actively trying to find ways to tour as many places as possible. We enjoy touring, we love to travel to new places, and we want to play to you.

The Challenges
The Band Thing

However, many countries/regions/cities are simply not always financially viable to reach. This is a complex balance of issues. First of all, there the whole ‘band’ issue. Which gigs do we bring the whole show vs. going solo? JC will happily rock the house for fifty devotees. But to bring the entire band and all the requisite gear requires not only at least 200 tickets, but obviously a larger venue.

The Popularity Thing

Shocking but true, not everyone thinks this is the greatest act in the history of live entertainment. Overall […]