Crash Course Muso are enjoying their 2nd Birthday and celebrating by offering their well-known online guitar course at a never-before-seen crazy low price. The jammed-packed guitar course regularly sells for $97.00 which is cracking value, but for a very limited time, you can grab the course for only $29. Yup, that's not a misprint, for about the price of one single lesson, you can grab an entire guitar education for just $29. http://crashcoursemuso.com

Don't miss this rare opportunity to grab the UK's #1 Online Guitar Course whilst they celebrate their 2nd Birthday. Perfect for Christmas presents too.

The boys are Rocktastically pumped to hear our gritty guitar riffs knocked out to some sexy Daisy and Duke boys action.

Ladies & Gentlemen – Boned have entered the building \m/

Hey folks it Challenge time again and for me that mean two things;

1: Create a music video for The Challenge

2: Go through the Challenge to keep up-to-date with all the cool marketing tactics.

For those of you who don't know, The Challenge is a module based training program, designed for busy people to work through at their own pace, which will show you step-by-step how you can make your first $1 online. All the training is 100% free and absolutely nothing is held back, plus there are no hidden catches whatsoever.

I've personally learned truck-loads from The Challenge over the years and if you're serious about starting a business online, I whole-heartedly recommend you check out The Challenge, as you will benefit greatly from the free training provided by the excellent Challenge team. I'm proud to be associated with the Challenge and hope that my small contribution helps to put a smile on your face, as that's exactly what this music video is intended for. A special thank you goes out to my supportive, talented family for all their help throughout, thank you Eva, Oscar and Katrina, love you all to bits.

Ed Dale's cool persuasion tactics forced me into making this years Challenge song, somewhat a little different, fun and enjoyable all the same.

All ego-supporting comments are most welcome.

A Police spokesman confirmed that a 27-year-old woman had died in Camden and that the cause of death was as yet unexplained. I would suspect some kind of drink or drub abuse was the cause of death, given her time in rehab. I personally have little sympathy for anyone who dies from drug abuse, but it’s very sad she has died and her music will be missed the world over – R.I.P Amy.

The sad loss of Amy Winehouse has robbed us of a young, gifted vocalist. As a home-grown singer, she was with without question the outstanding vocalist of her generation. Without Amy, there would have been no Adele, no Duffy and no Lady Gaga. Amy Winehouse was a true British great.

Surrounded by a mass of sickly, manufactured chart pop, Amy stood a long way out from the crowd and her voice was the real deal. Her rawness and emotional honesty harked back to an era when the best singers were more believable. For a white girl raised in the North London suburbs, she had the sweet, soul vocal of Aretha Franklin or Etta James.

Her death has raised hugely varying emotions, with some sad to see her gone and others glad to see her gone, whatever your opinion of Amy, her music will most definitely live on.

‘That was a pretty good day, why couldn’t I get that day, over & over & over?‘ Here’s a grainy pic of me meeting Harvey Goldsmith backstage at the Royal Albert Hall. What a great down-to-earth chap he is and it was a real pleasure to talk to one of the most important and influential people in the entertainment industry.

Harvey Goldsmith has organised and produced more events than I’ve had hot dinners, with his most recognised being Live Aid in 1985 with Sir Bob Geldof. In October 2006 he was honoured with the 15th Music Industry Trust’s Award (MITS), one of the highest accolades to be awarded in the music industry, in recognition of his contribution to the music industry.

Rocksmith’s new game is like Guitar Hero but uses a real guitar rather than a plastic one. Might be time to Learn To Play The Guitar. There is even talk of Ubisoft negotiating with Gibson and others to bundle the game with a $200 guitar – cool. Anyway, enjoy the 1 minute video and smile for the rest of the day

Life Begins At 40, or so they used to say. I turned 40 the other day (8th Sept 2010) and a couple of people asked me what it's like now I've turned 40. It always makes me smile when people ask that on your birthday, as if you must feel so different from yesterday when you were 39 and about 364 days old

Apparently 50 is the new 40 anyway and some say 60 is the new 40. I'm not bothered either way as turning 40 isn't such a big deal – sure I'm going to celebrate turning 40 with a party next month, but that's just an excuse to socialize with so many friends I don't see that often. Turning 40 was no different to turning 30 or 39, it's just a number and I'm actually really enjoying it.

But turning 40 did make me take a close look at where I am right now in life and ask myself if I'm happy.

The answer is yes. Both kids are happy at school, Eva is in a new year growing up fast, she's 8 going on 18 and Oscar is loving his new venture at his new Grammar school. Katrina's at home helping me with articles and transcriptions of my guitar videos and now has a little extra time now to work on her books in hope of one day being published. So, yes I'm happy, because I realised that everything I do in life has one main goal – and that's to be happy. When my family are happy, I'm happy and regardless of workload, health and finances, we're happy and we cherish every minute we get to spend with each other – and to me, that is priceless.

So from this 40 year old fart, I encourage you to take a look around you and see if those who are important to you are happy. Times maybe a little tough right now for most of us and you may not be exactly where you want to be at the moment but, with the love and support of those you hold so dear, anything seems possible and business success and financial freedom (whilst both really nice) seem to pale in comparison to happiness.

Make sure you're striving for your goals for the right reasons and not just to please others, your happiness is extremely infectious, so make sure you get plenty of it and share it out the best you can. I hope to be saying exactly the same thing in another 40 years, so look out for my next post in 2050.

Other folks who celebrate the 8th of September.

Peter Sellers	Martin Freeman	Ann Diamond	Pink	Brook Burke

Wow, can you believe that The Challenge (formerly The thirty Day Challenge) has come round again? Another year has flown by and the super-challenge-team have come up with an amazing new approach this year. You can check it out here – http://www.challenge.co/

If you've have ever wondered how to make money online and would like to set up a business working from home, then you'll need some guidance, top mentors and a plan. The challenge is now by far the best free training available anywhere on the planet and its run by some of the most wonderful people you could ever wish to meet. Do yourself a favour and check it out.

Of course a new challenge for me was to come up with a brand new theme song for this years challenge. With the help of family and few friends the music video to "Take My Hand" was born and the challenge had a new theme song. You can see what the song is all about in the synopsis below.

Song Synopsis:
As ever, the lyrics and sentiment are based around the whole ethos of what a challenge means to different people and how we all face different challenges of varying levels.

The video has a very show/theatre/Glee-style feel to it, starting off very sombre with a black and white visual. The opening shot is of the girl (Annie Larkin) see's her sharing her problems and how she's confused and unsure where to go and what to do from here. The manly hero (Josh Fish) comes to her rescue with "the challenge" being the solution to her problems – only to then reveal that he has similar problems too! They both unite and take the challenge together and the whole track ends with an upbeat crescendo which I hope will give people a positive attitude to get on with the challenge.

The whole "Take My Hand" theme runs throughout the song to let people know that they can achieve anything with the right guidance (the challenge course) and with other people behind them with the same goals and dreams as them.
End Of Synopsis

N.B: You might want to pause the video and let it stream down for a while if playback is a little choppy.

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Let me know if you're facing any challenges getting started online and I'll do my best to help. I'd also love to hear what you think about the music video and please click the "Like" box if you dig the tune. Please leave your comments below and I'll chat with you soon.
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Credit to the stars of the show.

A huge thank you to everyone who featured in the video from the College of West Anglia- Isle Campus. Your dedication and ability to learn a routine so fast was very impressive – Cheers. Those wonderful people are;

In Alphabetical Order
Jenna Allen, Lisa Arbon, Justyna Bartosevic, Becky Best, Hannah Boast, Katie Brown, Luke Burridge, Josh Fish, Lucy Groves, Allison Harley, Bryony Hewitt, Annie Larkin, Poppie Mason, Kayleigh Moss, Alistair Penman, Ellie Pettet, Victoria Rixon, Vicky Taylor, Richard Thompson and Toni Townsend.

The choreography was quickly put together by Michele Larkin and it was amazing to watch how quickly Michele whipped the students into shape, pulling off dance sequences in time with the track they'd just heard, for the first time only minutes before. Top-shelf Michele, your professionalism is always admired, thanks.

Thank you to my super lead stars – Annie Larkin & Josh Fish for your extra dedication during filming in the studio. You're both stars in the making.

Thank you to my super hand-holders – Delia Basuc, Eva Mason, Oscar Mason and Tony Twitchett.

A big thanks to Jack & Jo Griggs for letting me borrow Ross Griggs and stuffing him in a silver wig and blue dress. He has the best figure out of the 3 of us.

A Massive Super-Spangley (with glitter on top) thank you from the bottom of my heart to my beautiful wife and kids for putting up with me over the last few weeks. This definitely would not happen without your continued support. I Love You All – Thanks.

Music by Phill Mason
Lyrics by Katrina Mason
All Instruments by Phill Mason
All Vocals by Katrina Mason, Ross Griggs and Phill Mason

The final thanks goes to the lovely Silver – Blue beauties. Not sure who they are or where they came from, but they did sing the most wonderful backing vocals and they definitely have absolutely nothing to do with me what-so-ever, honestly, eerrrmm yup for sure, to be sure.

Following much extensive research, I took all the essential ingredients required to be able to play guitar and boiled them down into 30 high definition video guitar lessons.

You can join for free and check out the "Free Muso" guitar lessons to see if you like it. This is a great way to see if we're compatible. Do you like the way I teach and can you actually get something from it? I'm pretty confident I can have you playing within the first couple of minutes into the very first free lesson, so there's absolutely no risk on your part. Give it a go, I think you'll like it.

There is a monthly membership option an annual option and then there's the Crash Course which is called the "Course Muso" membership. This is the most intense and also the fastest learning course available.

Short and easy to digest was top of the list when I created this course, as I'm very aware of the limited time people have these days and the ability to consume short bursts of information is far easier than hour long videos that you'll most likely forget. Short and sweet visual media consumption is the order of the day and plenty of it across 30 days. Everything comes with a full 60 day money back guarantee, so you've got nothing to lose and everything to gain by giving it a try.

If you're looking for something new in 2010 and you really do want to learn to play guitar, then try Crash Course Muso because it will take you from a complete beginner to an accomplished guitarist in next to no time.

Click below to see what others are saying about the course.
http://crashcoursemuso.com/

This is for anyone who’s performed on a stage and has had the privilege of the wonderful general public lending a helping hand. Not my words, but just too good not to share Enjoy!

How To Request A Song From The Band

When requesting a song from the band, just say "play my song!" We have chips implanted in our heads with an unlimited database of the favorite tunes of every patron who ever walked into a bar and all songs ever recorded, so feel free to be vague, we love the challenge. If we say we really don’t remember that tune you want, we’re only kidding. Bands do know every song ever recorded, so keep humming. Hum harder if need be… it helps jog the memory, or just repeat your request over and over again.

If a band tells you they do not know a song you want to hear, they either forgot they know the tune or they are just putting you on. Try singing a few words for the band. Any words will do. It also helps to scream your request from across the room several times per set followed by the phrases, "AW COME ON!" and, "YOU SUCK!" Exaggerated hand gestures expressing disapproval from the dance floor are a big help as well, such as the thumbs down or your middle finger up. Put-downs are the best way to jog a band’s memory. This instantly promotes you to the status of "Personal Friend of the Band." You can bet your request will be the next song we play.

Entertainers are notorious fakers and jokesters and never really prepare for their shows. They simply walk on stage with no prior thought as to what they will do once they arrive. We don’t actually make set lists or rehearse songs. We mostly just wait for you to yell something out, then fake it.

An entertainer’s job is so easy, even a monkey could do it, so don’t let them off the hook easily. Your request is all that matters. Once you’ve figured out what genre of music the band plays, please make your requests from a totally different genre. The more exaggerated the better. If it’s a blues band playing, yell for some Metallica or Slayer or Pantera. Likewise, if it’s a death- speed metal band, be sure to request Brown-Eyed Girl or some Grateful Dead. Musicians need to constantly broaden their musical horizons, and it’s your job to see that it happens….immediately.

”TALKING WITH THE BAND”

The best time to discuss anything with the band in any meaningful way is at the middle of a song when all band members are singing at the same time. Our hearing is so advanced that we can pick out your tiny voice from the megawatt wall of sound blasting all around us. And we can converse with you in sign language while singing the song, so don’t worry that we’re in the middle of the chorus.

Musicians are expert lip readers too. If a musician does not reply to your question or comment during a song, it’s because they didn’t get a good look at your mouth in order to read your lips. Simply continue to scream your request and be sure to over emphasize the words with your lips. This helps immensely. Don’t be fooled. Singers have an innate ability to answer questions and sing at the same time. If the singer doesn’t answer your questions immediately, regardless of how stupid the question may seem, it’s because they are purposely ignoring you. If this happens, immediately cop an attitude. We love this.

”IMPORTANT”

When an entertainer leans over to hear you better, grab his or her head in both hands and yell directly into their ear, while holding their head securely so they cannot pull away. This will be taken as an invitation to a friendly and playful game of tug of war between their head and your hands. Don’t give up! Hang on until the singer or guitar player submits. Drummers are often safe from this fun game since they usually sit in the back, protected by the guitar players. Keyboard players are protected by their instrument and only play the game when tricked into coming from behind their keyboards. Though difficult to get them to play, it’s not impossible, so keep trying. They’re especially vulnerable during the breaks between songs.

”HELPING THE BAND”

If you inform the band that you are a singer, the band will appreciate your help with the next few tunes, or however long you can remain standing on stage. If you’re too drunk to stand unassisted, simply lean on one of the band members or the most expensive piece of equipment you see. Just pretend you’re in a Karaoke bar. Simply feel free to walk up on stage and join in. By the way, the drunker you are, the better you sound, and the louder you should sing. If by chance you fall off the stage, be sure to crawl back up and attempt to sing harmony. Keep in mind that nothing assists the band more than outrageous dancing, fifth and sixth part harmonies, or a tambourine played on one and three and out of tempo. Try the cowbell; they love the challenge. The band always needs the help and will take this as a compliment.

Finally, the microphone and PA system are merely props, they don’t really amplify your voice, so when you grab the microphone out of the singer’s hand be sure to scream into it at the top of your lungs, otherwise no one will hear what a great singer you are. Hearing is over-rated anyhow. The crowd and the sound guy will love you for it.

”BONUS TIP”

As a last resort, wait until the band takes a break and then get on stage and start playing their instruments. They love this. Even if you are ejected from the club, you can rest assured in the fact you have successfully completed your audition. The band will call you immediately the following day to offer you a position.

This is so true it’s just not funny. I hope you enjoyed the read, please share, thank you.