Change The Ride is a solo project based near Inverness, Scotland, focussing on writing and recording a mix of styles but predominantly Rock music with Political and Controversial undertones.
At a time of mass compliance and acquiescence to the whims of those in power it seems almost a revolutionary act to revive the Protest Song genre. Of course it never really went away but has systematically been buried deep underground. It is passed time it resurfaced and Change The Ride, along with others, intend to play a part in seeing that it does.
The music of Change The Ride, sometimes dark, other times uplifting, is performed with the drive expected from guitar based Rock music but also introduces electronic instruments and sounds into the mix, spicing things up a little.
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..and there we go.. a nice concise introduction.. now I am going to get wordy and I don’t mind if you don’t read it all.. but it’s me being honest..
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Let’s get one thing out here right from the start. I write and record music for me, myself and I. It is a means for me to get out those things which .. I feel the need to say, good or bad.
If other people listen to the music and enjoy it then I’m super happy. If someone feels they would like to support what I do by buying an album or even just one track, perhaps just listening on Spotify etc and popping a couple of songs on a playlist then I am delirious and I thank you for giving me that feeling.
So, think of a garage band. Don’t expect professional mixing, mastering and engineering because that is not going to be happening. I play all the instruments, give the vocals my best shot and am always learning more about the recording aspect.. it’s all fun.. and that is what music is about for me.. fun.. I do my best.
Now then, this is where I tell you a bit about myself.
I was born in 1960..yeah I’m an old bastard but no I don’t go on about the good old days, it was always the same. My name is Mark but for some reason at Primary school I got the Angus nickname..this was 10 years before AC/DC and Angus Young who I would have had no objection to being nicknamed after.
I grew up in Dunfermline, that’s in Fife, Scotland. I started playing guitar when I was about 6 or 7 I guess, when my brother bought himself a guitar from the money he saved from his paper round.
During the 70’s I played in a local band, original material. These were exciting times, we had just had glam rock, now it was Punk Rock. Bands like Nazareth from Dunfermline had made it big in the early 70’s, then we had The Skids..there were bands everywhere and we were one of them.
Time went by and I got married, had kids, mortgage, all the usual expected stuff, but I also kept writing songs, kept trying to get a recording contract. This was before the Internet and before we could do things for ourselves, a recording contract was the thing to have..and I didn’t, still don’t..the difference now is I don’t want one, I can do what I need to do without them. In recent years my focus has changed anyway from trying to make money with music to just doing it because it’s what I love doing.
Here we are now..I still write songs and they have progressed from occasionally to the nearly always having some comment on the state of society in one way or another. I also find it surprising but also sad that lyrics I wrote in the 70’s and 80’s still ring true today.
So that’s a quickie who I am. Right now I am still trying to figure out this WordPress site building carry on and so should really go and do that rather than writing my life story just now.
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