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Speak, Brother

Updates and musings from the guys

“If only”s and “What might be”s..

So here’s something that’s been on my mind recently..

Have you ever found yourself imagining a life that is better than what it seems you have right now?

Mmm.. Yeh thought so..  Sometimes it’s a new car. Or a bigger house. A better job. A new phone. To be debt free. Or even as innocent as a simple holiday with the family. What ever it’s for, the daily routines of life can just be a constant reminder that these dreams are no closer than when first dreamt.

We’re often looking out ahead, or sometimes behind. Those “If only”s, or the “What might be”s that often fade into the distance.. They’re sometimes the fruits of regret or the fear of failure. But most of the time, they are the result of the overriding pressure that’s on us, everyday.

The pressure is this:

“Where we are or have is not good enough and we somehow need more to be happy, successful or comfortable.”

I’ve often said things like this concerning Speak, Brother. The band does take up a lot of head space and although it all seems like for a good reason, I often try to take things so far to the point of being completely consumed with making the most of everything.

This pressure can drive us away from the very thing that I believe we truly, desperately want. Companionship. Love. Friendship. But instead, all that falls by the wayside and true happiness and content is far away.

It wasn’t until a few key points in my life, which the song ‘Slow to Now‘ describes, where I remembered what I was leaving behind, in my pursuit for so called ‘success and happiness’.

It’s not found in tomorrow, next week, or some day. But right now. Dreams and desires are good. But what good are they, if you run with them on your own?

I think I’m realising that Dreams and desires are only attained when doing them with other people around you. Never go solo.

‘Slow to Now’ is now a constant reminder to me every time we play it to make the most of the people around me, right now.

So that’s me.. Can you remember your #SlowtoNow moments? A trip to the beach, a birthday, a long chat with a friend? Tweet @SpeakBrotheruk or share with us on Facebook 🙂

 

 

 

June 13, 2015 Add Comment

EP Preview – Track #2 My Love

‘My Love’ is obviously a love song. But this song is about the love of a dad for his daughter. On her own, she couldn’t be happy. She was convinced she needed the accepting, loving words and opinions of some bloke to feel any self worth. I know this girl and she is beautiful in every way and it hurt every time she completely devalued herself so I wrote this song as a message to her. It’s kind of a love letter to her from her Dad.

I don’t know why exactly, but the idea of being completely content with yourself, be it looks, personality, hobbies, what ever it is, can actually be hard to imagine. To be free from the judgement of others and their opinions is not easy.

I’m writing this in the dressing room (not as posh as it may sound) at a gig where I’m the featured act of a competition. As good of an opportunity a competition in a nice big venue can be for a young artist, it is all based on the judgements of other people. You’re trying to impress someone based on your talent, image, looks, style, individuality (which is probably more to do with whether you’re ‘interesting’ to someone or not.). It tests you on how good you are as a product, more than your music. I can hear the young contestants talking about their performance, some more worried than others. There are more sad faces then happy ones at the end that’s for sure. Why does life have to be about the ‘survival of the fittest’ or ‘may the best man win’.  What if it wasn’t? What if it was more to do with enjoying  yourself, enjoying your talent and enjoying others being themselves? Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as that.. With Magazines, Newspapers, Facebook Adverts, are all telling us there is something wrong with us, and we need to buy into whatever they’re doing to be complete… But hey.. I’m on the boundaries of ranting and should perhaps save that for another blog.

I don’t know of anyone who has it all figured out yet, but I’d hope that this song can be a reminder to us all, that we are all unique, lovable and that we are at our best when we are content with how we are made to be.

James

October 13, 2014 5 Comments

Tada!

Well.. it’s been a crazy few months for me. Eventful for many of us I imagine, with Christmas, New years, work.

On top of that, I’ve got a beautiful new wife, doubled my family, a house, with more bills to pay.. It’s certainly a season of new things.

But on top of THAT .. We (myself, Matt, Nath, and other good friends of the team) have been working hard to reveal some new things that have been bubbling up for months…….

This past year or so I’ve had many gigs.  Though there’re always ups and downs, I love them all. Playing my songs, sharing my stories and meeting you is quite a privilege indeed. Matt and Nath love it too. The idea of the three of use playing together was conceived over a year ago now after many gigs together it has grown into something rather special.

This year introduces Speak, Brother.

  • The same songs,
  • the same 3 faces,
  • the same antics,
  • … just a new outfit.

We thought long and hard about the name, we feel it sits deep within our ethos.. So I’m sure I’ll share bits about that in my blog as we go.

This year, expect:

Singles, music videos, new CDs, blogs and most important of all –  more shows near you.

Speak soon,

James Herring

January 16, 2014 Add Comment