Falling out of loop without those emails apparently. :) Good to know.

Churches do typically get placed in somewhat remote areas though no? And they own their own land so: can't be that expensive. ;) But you're right, makes sense the land bit would apply more to really big events, though maybe Woodstock was an exception. Never heard of one not being played in a central arena here..

Yeah... just can't place it. :/ Was thinking maybe Alanis Morissette but not finding anything similar now... I'll definitely let you know if it comes to mind or I stumble upon it again.

You weren't that into horror then huh? ;) It's like watching scary movies alone in the dark... nothing quite like the amplification except maybe a pandemic! Ghibl's great too though. I feel like you need some dark content to appreciate the bright too. And vice versa. As with life. Good to hear the pudding turned out tasty, and fingers crossed for flour...

Over here I'd say churches aren't that remote... they're usually in the center of town, or a little outside the centre (not on the edges or in the countryside anyway), so I imagine the land's quite pricey?

Intriguing!

Depends on the kind of horror, but I have to be in a specific mood for that XD True dat too with regards contrast. No flour this week either I'm afraid, and coconut flour doesn't count DX

Interesting. Over here the church is maybe the biggest land/property owner of all, since way back when they were akin to government, and all of their establishments first built. Of course newer churches do exist for newer branches. And there are definitely ones in the city too, I guess we just might not be as populated overall. Curious about property values/ownership regarding churches in different countries now though, maybe it's pretty different...

Yupp!

Too true, special mood most definitely required. :) I've barely watched a horror movie in years right now though, maybe it's just really starting to feel like time again... ah that's a shame. Do they have oats otherwise? Even if they don't have oat flour you can mix/maul down the regular ones pretty easily, maybe that's a more similar-tasting replacement. Not as easy to bake with as wheat but it's pretty much as close as you can get when it comes to the gluten-free stuff. ;)

Coconut's definitely different...

I guess the towns were built around the churches back in the day over here hence why they're usually in the town center? Maybe even it's the church which made the land more expensive for others to build around in the first place (higher price for the privilege of being near the church)? For sure I imagine they're one of the biggest land owner overall.

Nor I, I used to watch them a lot more with my bro (he's definitely a big fan). We do have oats! That's a useful tip. I think it might work ok in baking but I'm thinking other uses of flour too like making white sauce or something... I wonder if oat flour would work for that... Oat cake sounds like it could be nice though! We've often used a mix of flour and oats for certain cakes and that's very tasty! Maybe a 100% oat cake could work?

That'd definitely make sense! You'd think it was the same over here. Maybe they just placed them further out as to keep some open space for graves and what-not... or just a bit more peaceful by the side? I guess we'll never really know now though.

Nice. :) For more foody sauces cornmeal/flour/starch would probably work best, that's what most restaurants go with these days, but I suppose oats would as well. With berries and fruits we usually thicken with potato flour/starch.

Oat's definitely good for everything taste-wise, it just doesn't have as big a leavening effect... if that's the right word for it? Might need to add in some extra baker's yeast or what have you. It's perfect as is for pie dough and similar though.

I just assumed it'd be the same everywhere but interesting to hear it's different over there. Intriguing!

Still can't get that either to the best of my knowledge XD True that that oats seem pretty universal taste-wise and I think we have some baking powder or yeast still. Oat pie sounds great!

indeed! Same here.

Ah alright, complicative shortages. :) Hope whatever you make turns out alright...

Cheers, I'll let you know if anything interesting happens :D

Will do!

"The $5+ Patreon rewards have been sent out: Verlies Projekt - (Feels Like) Heaven [Jabun Hardcore Remix] (Mp3, WAV + Art) + another exclusive demo from Jabun's upcoming albums for the $10+ patrons!"

$5 rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/36611523

$10 rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/36611529

Hi everyone and hope you're having a great May so far! It's certainly been a while since the last one, but it's once again the final Wednesday of the month which means another set of reward posts for the $5 and $10 patrons are out! After a few months' break we're finally back to the Jabun back-catalogue of tracks too, and this time we're starting on the 2016 discography with another remix track: "Verlies Projekt - (Feels Like) Heaven [Jabun Hardcore Remix]"!

This one was a fun remix for a competition back in September 2016, just after I'd moved out of my parent's place but before I had a dedicated studio room set up. My "studio" at the time was an IKEA coffee table in the living room / kitchen with my laptop, some Logitech speakers and Sennheiser headphones, and a couple of synths and my MPC, and it was an interestingly limited time for making music to say the least! Anyway, along came a remix competition and it sounded like fun so I thought, let's try something completely different to my usual sound: a hardcore remix! After ironing out some crazy mixing anomalies I didn't expect due to my less than ideal listening environment, I'm super pleased with the way this one turned out, and I hope you enjoy something fun and different from me this month!

Listen on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrFhWqrLoLY

For the $10 patrons, you've got another exclusive demo from Jabun's upcoming albums to look forward to as well as an article on the composition/production process for it! Become a $10 patron to access that article and many more now, and remember that you'll gain access to all historic rewards and posts for your Patreon tier too when you become a supporter! With the new REWARD ARCHIVE tag it's never been easier to catch up with all those posts and music downloads you've missed too! I hope you enjoy them :)

https://www.patreon.com/NickStanding

That's it for this month's rewards! Next time is looking to be something (sort-of) new again from Better Than The Book, and possibly a little earlier than usual too for the $5+ patrons? We shall see how the timing goes but until then, I hope you have an excellent time whatever you're up to and thanks as always for supporting Better Than the Book, Jabun and my various projects on Patreon! Take care and enjoy the music!

It’s the first Wednesday of the month which means another set of $1 Patreon rewards​ has just been sent out (mp3 + art of last week's $5 rewards)! After a few months' break we're finally back to the Jabun back-catalogue of tracks too, and this time we're starting on the 2016 discography with another remix track: "Verlies Projekt - (Feels Like) Heaven [Jabun Hardcore Remix]"! Read more and become a supporter on Patreon to grab the rewards below and I hope you enjoy the music:

Read more: https://www.patreon.com/posts/36611526

Get the $1 reward: https://www.patreon.com/posts/36611524

Become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/NickStanding​

Hi everyone!

Hope you're having a great week so far. Just a quick post today:

In support of musicians impacted by the corona virus, Bandcamp is waiving its revenue share fees on the first Friday of the month from midnight to midnight PDT (that's today)! That means that if you purchase anything from Bandcamp today, the artists you support (including myself) will get more of the sales revenue than usual since Bandcamp doesn't take its cut, and you'll be able to support the music you love more directly than ever on the platform!

If you've been thinking of picking up Better Than The Book's "Hopes and Dreams", or Jabun's "Daydream" or one of my other tracks or albums, now's the best time to do so! Feel free to check out the Better Than The Book and Jabun Bandcamp pages below and thanks for supporting my music in any way you can:

Better Than The Book

https://betterthanthebook.bandcamp.com/

Jabun

https://jabun.bandcamp.com/

Nick Standing (< The sillier old stuff)

https://nickstanding.bandcamp.com/

All the best, stay safe, take care, and enjoy the music!

Read about those upcoming Bandcamp specials earlier too, maybe you posted about them hmm. Hope you get some extra sales! Pretty cool of them.

Feels like time's sped up drastically these days... hope you're doing alright too! All the best!

I think this is the first time I've posted about them (I kept forgetting beforehand DX). Pretty cool indeed though!

And yeah, time's going crazy fast lately... very strange times indeed. All the best to you too!

BIG NEWS: Better Than The Book announces the "Hopes and Dreams [Instrumentals]" bonus album + lots of Patreon rewards are out in celebration!

Hi everyone and some huge news today as Better Than The Book announces its "Hopes and Dreams [Instrumentals]" bonus album to be released on July 19th 2020 in celebration of 1 year of "Hopes and Dreams" and everything the album achieved!

With 8/10 tracks featured on the radio worldwide from the USA to UK to Australia including on idobi Radio, BBC Introducing, and The Ska Show with Beefy (the number 2 ska music show in the world), dozens of web blog and zine features, and the subsequent formation of the Better Than The Book LIVE band, "Hopes and Dreams" was my most successful album to date and made a mark I couldn't have even imagined when I first launched it! A huge thanks to everyone who helped make all this happen with a huge shoutout to Meg, the album's PR extraordinaire, Beefy and Melita for their continued radio support and great vibes, the BTTB live band's Eamon, Sam and Andy for their boundless enthusiasm to take these tunes to the stage, and of course to the patrons who keep my music going with special mention to Nathan, David, and Michael! Thank you all so much!

"Hopes and Dreams [Instrumentals]", much like I did for "Two Years On" will be a complete off-vocal version of the album for you to sing along to, make silly mash-ups, or simply listen to when you want some BTTB but without any vocals! I hope you enjoy it and I look forward to sharing it with you at 10am (BST) on July 19th 2020!

Check out "Hopes and Dreams [Instrumentals]" on Bandcamp to explore the full album credits, listen to / pick-up the pre-release single "Artificial Ignorance [Instrumental]" (the clear the fan favourite of the album), and pre-order the album now:

https://betterthanthebook.bandcamp.com/album/hopes-and-dreams-instrumentals

Also, if you pre-order the album today on June 19th (from midnight to midnight Pacific Time), Bandcamp will be donating 100% of its sales share (about 15% of the price you pay) to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, an organisation fighting for racial equality. Read more about their fundraiser here:

https://daily.bandcamp.com/features/bandcamp-naacp-ldf-fundraiser

Of course you can also listen to "Artificial Ignorance [Instrumental]" on NG as well!

With such a big announcement comes rewards for my supporters on Patreon and there are a whole lot of rewards for today:

$1 rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/37814853

$5 rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/37814852

$10 rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/37814797

For the $1+ patrons, you're getting all that publicly launched good stuff right now: downloads of the full resolution album artwork and the pre-release single "Artificial Ignorance [Instrumental]" (mp3)! I hope you enjoy them!

For the $5 & $10 patrons, you'll be getting the entire full album right now over a month before it goes out to the public, with the $10+ patrons getting an exclusive first look at the final album artwork for the upcoming 2nd Jabun album too!

If that sounds good to you, then become a patron to grab those rewards below! Remember that you're not just getting these things when you sign up, you'll also be gaining access to all past rewards for you tier too including the full Better Than The Book discography, a tonne of Jabun, many Patreon exclusive downloads and a whole lot more! Hope to see you in the community!

https://www.patreon.com/NickStanding

And that's it for this post! The next one will likely be when the "Hopes and Dreams [Instrumentals]" bonus album is launched on July 19th, but until then I hope you enjoy the new(ish) music and artwork and thanks as always for supporting Better Than The Book and my various projects! Cheers!

Awesome news! Better Than The Book makes its Canadian radio debut on "Le Big Bro Show" on PunkRockRadio.ca!

Hi everyone and hope you're having a great day so far (and keeping cool)! Some awesome news to share with you today as on Monday Better Than The Book made its debut on Canadian radio on "Le Big Bro Show" on PunkRockRadio.ca with not one, but 2 tracks: "(The Travelling To See Eva Song)" followed by "The Hardest Part"! Thanks so much to Paco, Chris, and Le Big Bro Show for having me on and sharing the music! Have a listen to the replay of the show below and enjoy:

https://www.mixcloud.com/punkrockradio/le-big-bro-show-22-juin-2020/

And I'm told by Paco that there's a big chance for more radio features in a few weeks too! Looking forward to sharing the news when the time comes!

That's about it for today, but it looks like there'll be a surprise bonus Patreon reward coming very soon, so keep your eyes out for that! Until then, hope you have a great end to June and thanks as always for supporting Better Than The Book, Jabun and my various music projects! I'll be back shortly with another post! Take care!

Maybe this quarantine thing might actually be opening up certain new opportunities when there's all the more interest in music at a distance? ;) Or you're just all the more hard at work promoting!

Either way: awesome news.

Cheers CD :D More promo work indeed but this one was actually an out of the blue suprise! I think you might be right with some of the quarantine things opening some opportunities. Looking forward to finally being able to gig again though XD Hope things are well on your end!

Ah that's awesome to hear. :) Maybe some potential to do some of those streamed gigs that a lot of other artists are attempting in the meantime too? Admittedly not as fun to watch, doesn't feel like the same energy as all as when it's really live, but would be better than nothing. Maybe a good warm-up for what's to come.

As for me things are going pretty good! Hectic with work and heatwave right now, but that yearly vacation's coming up fast... hopefully nothing comes in the way of it. Parents have been up North for a month already at this point; and I was there for the first week too, drove up together and flew back. Flights are normalizing at least on a national level, though face masks are obligatory on board. Fingers crossed we don't get a second wave that locks everything down again though. Cinemas are open too btw, on select locations, though I'm not taking any risks before summer at least.

How about you? Any signs that normalcy might be creeping back soon?

Maybe, though difficult with regards those streamed psuedo-gigs. Noise limits on people recording from home when their household is also working from home + Andy (the drummer) would need to travel to a studio to do drums. Not so easy unfortunately...

Indeed super hot over here too! Sounds like things are going well on your end though and hope you're able to take the usual summer break! Not sure if flights are running just yet, but facemakes are manditory (enforced by fines) on all public transport over here too (busses, trains, trams, etc...). I don't think cinemas are open just yet, but there's talks of them opening in the first week of July I think? Maybe even allowing people to visit people again and stay at eachother's houses (but socially distant)? I'm not 100% convinced on the government guidelines to be honest... I feel like they're trying to rush things back to normality without being as cautious as they should be... We'll see how it goes

Ahh, bummer. Sounds like you've been thinking about it too.

Wonder if there's any noise limits where I live, I haven't ever really had a need to research...

Do you happen to have any air conditioning over there? After a particularly qualmy and sleepless night a couple days back I panicked a bit, spontaneously rented a car and bought a real portable unit... doesn't cover the whole house but definitely makes it a bit more bearable. :)

So public transport at least is back to the usual? It's crazy you're (by law?) prohibited from even visiting your near ones though, might be a benefit to such regulation but it just doesn't feel very democratic... I guess a have a bit bigger a population to manage over there though. A lot of us here are already a bit socially distanced by default.

Yeah it seems that way all over, like they're rushing the re-opening a bit, even if the government wouldn't I feel like people would be impatient enough to revolt too. I believe the recent riots are in large part thanks to all the built-up angst everyone's been getting from staying inside so long already. Hopefully opening up is better than keeping people isolated and angry after all...

It's more that people are still working from home so for example, I can't practice guitar/vocals when Eva's on conference calls to clients etc... which pretty much means I can only practice/record Wednesdays or the weekends at the moment (though thankfully I can still mix and practice in headphones (not vocals) on the other days). Different situation for people living with their families though where they might not be able to make much noise at all (especially drums).

No air conditioning no and we're on the top floor so it gets HOOOT! Sounds like quite the big investment there, but sounds a little more bearable. I just have one of Eva's old ring-binder folders to fan myself with XD

Not quite, I think people are encouraged to only take public transport or travel if nessesary. To be fair, the UK's been pretty (insert profanity) with their response to the coronavirus as the number clearly illustrate... I've no idea really what the best course of action is. I think just trying to wait it out an be sensible about things is the only way to go.

An exclusive bonus Patreon reward: A cover of Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" for my dad's 60th birthday!

Hi everyone and hope you're having a great final week of June! Got a special bonus Patreon reward to share with you today in celebration of my dad's 60th birthday earlier this week, a cover of Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters"!   

So quick backstory, this track was a request (and challenge) by my dad as a 60th birthday present for him. He asked simply for me to record my own version of Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" and do whatever I want with it production-wise. With that said, I started on this about a month ago recording in my free time when I could, and after presenting it to him earlier this week, he's kindly let me share it on YouTube as well as giving an exclusive download to my supporters on Patreon! The cover features vocals, acoustic guitar, the doubleneck electric guitar I built with him in my teen years, as well as cello, my first time recording with it since 2015 and Better Than The Book's Two Years On album! As with all the musical presents I've given in the past, this cover is also free of tuning correction and "elastic audio" timing correction. In James Hetfields words: "Could be much more from the heart"! Without further wait, I present to you my version of "Nothing Else Matters"! Listen via the YouTube player below and grab the downloads below when you become a supporter on Patreon! I hope you enjoy it:

Become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/NickStanding

$1 rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/38637501/

$5 rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/38637502/

And remember that you'll be getting not just this track, but all past rewards for your tier including the complete Better Than The Book discography and a whole lot more when you sign up. Hope to see you in the community!

That's it for this surprise bonus reward! The next reward post will be on July 19th when Better Than The Book's "Hopes and Dreams [Instrumentals]" bonus album is launched, but I'm sure there'lll be more stuff to share before then! Until next time, hope you enjoy the new music, and thanks as always for supporting my projects on Patreon! All the best, stay safe, and take care!

'CouldN'T be much more from the heart' you mean? ;)

This was amazing. Not just so similar to the original but so intense, even with the more ambient moments.. Appreciate the added strings too, a little orchestral feel; extra feeling overall.

Ah right, understandable. A lot of working from home here too. Probably wouldn't be ideal to buy a drum set allofa sudden and start practicing. :)

Hehe, sounds familiar. :) Sitting on a top floor here too, dark roof, thin wooden walls, no surrounding shade and not a cloud for almost a week now, you close windows and curtains according to the movement of the sun but it's the last apartment house in a row on the side where the sun's blazing down on at least one wall at all times of day... you're bound to have a bit higher temperatures over there though so maybe even worse!

Yeah it wasn't cheap but worth it - managed to get one at a reasonable price too. :) Feels amazing to actually have some semblance of control over indoor temperature now. Maaan it sounds like you really need to get at least a fan! XD I mean you have plenty already but: the other kind.

I've noticed it also helps to shut off all surplus lighting, especially florescent lights, to never cook anything during daytime, keep the bathtub filled with ice cold water when possible, spray the curtains with water and walk around with a wet towel on your head at all times. Heatwave protips from the cool North. ;)

Right, same here, though it seems a lot of people are even though it's clearly not necessary. Celebrated Midsummer with another family in confirmed good health - on a balcony mostly - and the train there was packed. Not ideal...

Yeah. :/ Seems like more sensible people might wait, and others might not, and in the end maybe it'll all balance itself out after all... as long as cases don't skyrocket all at once. I'm not sure we'll ever really get rid of this, seems there'll always be those people who keep it going, but at least most don't seem to get so sick after all. Hoping everyone who's up and about will get immune and stop spreading it and things will calm down a bit then...

Hope summer may help halt the spread too. More outdoor time. Better ventilation. The thing about heat killing the virus doesn't seem that reliable though considering Florida, Brazil...

Correction on the previous post: Of course it's "CouldN'T be much more from the heart!" Darn typos... Nevertheless I hope you enjoy the track!

Darn it! You got there literally a minute before I typed up the correction XD Indeed that's the right line!

And super happy you enjoyed the track! Indeed I think the cellos were my dad's favourite addition too. I wanted to do something a little different but not too far from the original; less band, more stipped back acousitcy. Very pleased with the way it turned out :D

Ain't that how it always goes. :) Was hoping you'd have time to edit the post though, should've sent a PM right away maybe...

It reminds me a bit of this one. Really nice. It definitely sounds heartfelt that way!

Indeed XD

Haha, more of both would always be nice (fans). Gotta eat, but man does cooking get hot... I do occationally have a wet flannel on my face at night though :) Some problems on this end: No curtains, just blinds so can't really spray them, also, and I think this is the main thing which makes it extra hot, we have a skylight on the high ceiling roof we can't cover over or reach to open. Locks all the heat in I think XD

Yeah... not ideal indeed. Seems like the case numbers are accelarating again, but the mortality rate is getting lower thankfully. Yeah, I wouldn't trust the heat to help either... difficult to tell what'll happen as even 3 months into lockdown it's still pretty early days as far as a virus goes.

I only noticed when sharing the post out later... Just a little too late for the editing window.

Ah man, I actually saw these guys LIVE in my teen years! Although I didn't listen to this version for inspiration when doing my arrangements, I definitley had them in mind :) They're great!