Jade's Music Blog

Well, the team at Darkline Studios are offering just that.

In a new ECHO competition, they’re offering one band the chance to record their demo, plus a gig at the Darkline Records launch at Parr Hall, a photoshoot and your own music video.

They’ll give the winning band two days in their purpose built studio based in Warrrington, with two engineers, recording, mastering and a copy of the tracks to CD.
Run by LIPA graduates Jamie Parker and Steve Cooper, the studio will also organise your band photo shoot from Greta Borsum at GretaVisionsPhotography, plus a band promo video.

Three runners up will also get prizes of a free one day sessions, worth £280 each.
To be in with a chance of winning, all you need to do is send in a demo CD along with a few words about your band (including names, ages and contact details for all members).

I’ll be judging the competition, along with a panel of industry experts.

We’ll be looking for the stars of the future – so don’t worry about recording quality, we’re looking for interesting, original songs that will make you stand out from the crowd.

To submit your demo, send your CD marked to ECHO/Darkline comp and with your name and phone number somewhere prominent to: Jade Wright, Liverpool ECHO, PO Box 48, Old Hall Street, Liverpool, L69 3EB.

We will not be able to return demos. The deadline for entries is Friday April 25.

Here's a few judges' tips on what we'll be looking for...

Make sure all contact numbers are bold so we can find them. In fact, put your contact info on everything – the covering note, the CD cover and the disc itself. Make sure it’s a number that we can reach you on during the day, or leave a message if needs be.

Feel free to include the details of your MySpace page if you have one.

Don't send reviews your mate or a promoter has written for you or anything weird – particularly naked photographs of yourself or money. We’ve seen it all before and your talent should speak for itself.

Put your best song first. Ideally steer clear of long intros. We understand that guitars can sound out of tune, or the drums might be a bit muffled, but if your singer can’t sing you haven’t got a hope.

And don’t worry about the quality of the demo. This isn’t about finding the best-produced track, it’s about potential, and that could just as easily be recorded in your bedroom as in a studio.

And finally, if you’ve burnt it yourself, make sure it plays in an ordinary CD player before you send it. I know it sounds simple, but you’d be amazed how many blank discs land on my desk each week.

More than anything – be fresh, be vital, be raw, be spontaneous, be anything but ordinary. Good Luck.