The polite patter of applause.

I am lucky enough to be the resident singer at the five star St David's Hotel and Spa in Cardiff Bay.

The hotel was built by Sir Rocco Forte but is now owned by the Principle Hayley group. The bar and restaurant underwent a huge refurbishment about a year ago, and I was asked to sing during the first two nights of re-opening. I have performed there almost every Friday night since and will do for the foreseeable future. The money isn't fantastic - However - and it's a big 'However' - the spin-off work I get from performing at the hotel is fantastic. Tide's bar is attached to the restaurant and quite a few of the customers visit the hotel for special occasions; anniversary, birthday, engagement even divorce! The important item in the list is 'engagement'. It's amazing the amount of work I get from people who have seen me perform at the hotel whilst they were visiting for their special engagement dinner. So in a sense I can follow the couple from engagement right through to their wedding party - But I draw the line at the wedding night. I can't really imagine being booked to sing Nessun Dorma at the end of a couple's bed during consummation...

I digress.

Being a hotel, there a very few 'locals' who drink in the bar. Over time I have got to know the few regular faces and they have become friends, including the staff (who are ace by the way). The majority of customers are people who are just passing through for a special occasion or a business event. However occasionally the 'celebs' come to town. Over the years I have performed to: Kylie Minogue, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Al Green, Michael McDonald, The Pussycat Dolls, Ant & Dec, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Stereophonics, Rhys Ifans, Cerys Matthews, Karl Jenkins, Amanda Holden, Oasis, Damon Hill (who I ended up playing in a band with), the entire England rugby team after they beat Wales the other week (very boring lot but apparently under orders not to get drunk or misbehave), Josie D'Arby, John C. Reilly (The perfect storm), Zara Phillips, Gabby Logan, JLS, The Hoff... the list goes on. They don't all acknowledge my existence, but some do and when they do, it makes it all worth while. Imagine being told by Sir Anthony Hopkins that I have a beautiful voice, or Al Green telling me that when he walked into the hotel and heard me singing 'Let's stay together' that he thought he was hearing a CD of of himself, or The Hoff commenting that if I had have entered Britain's got talent this year I would have probably won? All these are great up-side's to performing at this kind of gig.

There is however, a down side.

The majority of people who were at St David's hotel last night were not residents. A burst water main had left most of the bars and restaurants in Cardiff bay closed (it's illegal for a food and beverage establishment to open without running water), but St David's has a second separate water feed which meant it could stay open. Subsequently, quite a few of those people who had travelled to the bay last night for a meal ended up at the hotel. The bar and restaurant were packed to the rafters. I'm not being snobbish here (because even I can't afford to stay at the hotel!!!) but the punters were 'different' last night. Some of them looked slightly uncomfortable in the surroundings and I think a lot of them didn't know what to make of my singing performance.

I generally bash out a few swing songs earlier in the evening and ramp things up a bit later to get a bit of a party atmosphere going. People make requests and we generally have a bit of a giggle and I often get a polite patter of applause.

Last night - after every song - nothing.

It was odd, not even the regulars or my friends in the bar clapped and every performer knows that if that happens it's time to panic. 'What am I doing wrong?' I thought to myself. Then just as I was about to give up hope, the bar manager Tim came up to me and said; "Aubrey, you sound fantastic this evening. Your music choices are excellent and the volume level is great - keep it up!"

So I kept it up (Matron!). But still no reaction from the audience. It was only after I finished playing at the end of the night (and you could have heard a knat fart at the end of the last song) that I realised that people were enjoying it, it's just that the majority of them were too embarrassed to show their appreciation because they were out of their comfort zone and I don't think they realised that it was OK to clap at the bloke singing in the corner. My friend Simon who sat at the bar all night told me that he was watching peoples' reactions to my songs and they were obviously enjoying it. This was then confirmed when three people in a row came over to the bar where I was sitting to tell me how much they enjoyed it but even they commented how odd it was that no one was clapping!

Those three people that came and spoke to me put my mind at rest and made the whole evening worthwhile. Sometimes it's really hard to judge your audience - especially if they don't react, but I guess the thing to remember is that sometimes your audience is more scared that you are. People are strange, when your're a stranger...

So the next time you see someone performing, not matter what they are doing; singing, acting, comedy, public speaking, whatever - If they are good, don't be afraid to let them know. Clap! Say 'Well done'! Smile! Acknowledge their existence! Even a polite patter of applause will make that person's day.

However, if they are rubbish - throw monkey pooh.

Until next time...

So here goes...

I'm not entirely convinced that my innate ramblings will be of interest to anyone other than my mother (like pet dogs mothers give unconditional love) and myself. However I have finally taken it upon myself to start letting those who are interested what life is like as a professional corporate, wedding and party singer in the UK and Europe. In addition to the sweet little anecdotes that I intend to bore you with dear reader, I will also be spoon-feeding those of you out there who are interested in walking the same path that I have chosen by giving out tips and information that will help your musical career - and all of this for no money. Nada. Dim. Non. Zero. Nout... whatever.

So what do I do?
Well I sing and get paid for doing it. I've been at it since I was 13 years old and I'm now 42 and rapidly speeding towards the old people's home - but not to sing. Although I have performed at a few in my time. Lovely places to perform if you like the atmosphere of hopelessness and the smell of wee, but that's another story for another time.

Who am I?
My name real is Matthew Robert Parsons but everybody, including my children, call me Aubrey. It's an unusual name and most people are too bashful to comment when I tell them my name is Aubrey. I'm pretty sure that I can see a glimmer of amusement in peoples eyes when they ask. 'Poor bugger, his parents must have hated him to give him a name like that.' they think. Well here it is folks the answer you've all been waiting for, why am I called Aubrey when my real name is Matthew? Cartoons. That's the answer. Now if you can be bothered to take the time to look up and 80's cartoon called 'Aubrey' on the internet you will find out exactly why. You didn't expect me to give you the whole answer on a plate did you? Too be honest I'm fed up of explaining my name so you can jolly well look it up for yourself on tinternet.
I was born in St David's Hospital in Cardiff in 1969 - it's not there any more they pulled it down and built houses on the site. I am married to Mariane a beautiful red-headed jobbing actress and we have two children; Elinor who was born in 2000 and Genevieve born 2002. We are based in the Vale of Glamorgan and like many people these days, we live a hand to mouth existence; constantly wondering if we are going to make the next mortgage payment on the house and frequently failing to do so. My next line was going to be ‘Life as a musician is probably not the best choice for someone who suffers from high blood pressure and a subversive eating and drinking problem.’ but then I thought what the hell am I talking all musicians have to suffer for their art. As I mentioned, I am forty two years old and I never made it onto Top of the Pops but I have been around the musical block once or twice and now seems like a good time to put into words my life so far. Let's face it I need to write all this down before the sex, drugs & rock ‘n’ roll completely scramble my brain.

As a teenager I convinced myself that I was going to be a rock-star - A household name revered by millions and living the playboy lifestyle by the time I was twenty one. However, the careers officer at Cowbridge Comprehensive School in 1985 told me not to be so stupid and to get with the real world and get a 'proper' job. I ended up working at a number of normal jobs for nearly 15 years, but during all that time I had a 'side job' as a singer with a number of cover bands and more increasingly as a solo artist performing well known songs. Then one day redundancy from quite a lucrative and secure job forced my hand. I had no choice but to rely on the income from my singing career and so I threw all my efforts into improving my chances of getting gigs.
Six years down the line as a full time singer and I'm still kicking myself that I didn't bite the bullet as soon as I left school! I'm not saying that it's an easy life - being self employed is not for the faint hearted or lack-lustre. It's a scary world at first, but the benefits are amazing.
I just wish that there had been some kind of resource that I could have drawn upon to help me on my mission to make a living as a singer. The idea for this book came about after I searched the internet and book stores for some advice on getting gigs as a solo performer and was amazed at the complete lack of relevant information available.
Some of you reading this may have always dreamt of making a living through music, and some of you may be just starting out and wondering how you go about getting those all important paid gigs, and some of you may be dreaming of super-stardom. If you are the latter, then I'm afraid this blog isn't really for you.
You are reading what will become a guide which will speed up the process of improving your voice, getting gigs, promoting yourself and more importantly earning money as a singer. Don't get me wrong, there is no short-cut to easy money as a jobbing singer - and anyone who tells you so or makes promises that they can speed up the process is lying. You will have to work hard, damn hard, but by the time you finish reading these blogs you will have improved your gigging prospects and therefore the amount of money you earn by using your voice.

Right then, I'm off for now - so you need to realise that the only way you will learn about my pearls of wisdom is by following the blog. Hey it's free - you see some things in life are!

I'll try to post at least one a week.
Back soon...