I’m going to start my newsletter this week with my ‘Shout-Out’ section, which highlights some of the wonderfully talented members of my ‘beach house’ facebook group community (which is open to all my newsletter subscribers).
This week’s shout out is for Vince Nicoll from Yorkshire in England, and the reason I’m starting out my newsletter with him is that he really needs your support to help him kick-start his new venture ‘Cénico’, designing and creating unique women’s cycling wear.
Vince has been working for months on creating the concept and on initial design ideas, but is struggling to get the funds he needs to actually turn his designs into stock.
When anyone is starting down a creative path the time that they most need encouragement and support is when they are starting, but this is the time when it is so hard to get this encouragement and support as many people don’t understand or don’t share the vision (I can relate to that so well with my music) and so the dream dies.
If you would like to help Vince realise his dream by making a contribution to his crowd-funding campaign (whether or not you are a cycling buff) it would be so much appreciated.
And so, onto my weekly news – I’m sitting here on a Thursday evening with a glass of wine next to me feeling a little weary, but happy, after spending most of the day head-down, bum-up clearing out the last of the deepest lockers on Pied Piper. This is a photo I’ve just taken from the back of the ‘Dream Catcher’ in the beautiful early evening light. 
It’s staggering how much you can fit on a small boat. I found so many things squeezed into the tiniest, darkest places, that they had been long forgotten.
Anyway, it finally feels that the end is in sight and hopefully by next week we shall be ready to put Pied Piper on the market. We have so many plans for the re-furbishment of our new boat ‘Dream Catcher’ (a heater being the first priority as we head into winter) that it will be nice to be able to concentrate on her alone (oh, and my music of course!)
Onto the music front, it’s been an exciting week as I start to receive some airplay on various radio stations.
Each day I set myself a challenge to contact one new station to see if they would be interested in playing any of the tracks from my album. Some have quite a lengthy submission process, whilst others are relatively simple. It’s been quite eye-opening. Many stations receive hundreds of new submissions every week, so just to receive a message back feels very special, let alone being selected for airplay.
To date I have to thank Warp Radio, UK, Radio Wigwam, UK and KB radio, US for playing my music.
Don’t forget I’m still taking votes for a 3rd single release from my album, so if you have a favourite track, then just e-mail me at laini@lainicolman.com to let me know and I will send you a hand-written lyric sheet (so be sure to include a postal address). You can listen to all the tracks here:
The other satisfying thing about this last week, is that I’ve finally started to settle once again into some song-writing. I think there has been just too much going on in my life recently to give me the ‘head-space’ that I’ve needed for this.
As a song-writer I have become used to the fact that many song ideas and lyrics don’t actually turn into ‘good’ songs, but it’s important to keep writing them all the same as it keeps the creative juices flowing; and, every so often, one song emerges from the multitude that is a gem and I’m really happy with.
I’m not sure whether or not the current song is going to be a gem or not – it’s too early to say – but the pleasure it is giving me from working on it is worth every minute I spend. Here is a photo of the lyrics so far. 
I hope you have a good week. Until next time, take care Laini xx