Q&A with Leeds based Singer/Songwriter Craig Bevan

This is the first in a series of posts where we highlight local talent in Leeds. I had the pleasure of interviewing singer and songwriter Craig Bevan. He moved to Leeds in 2003, and launched his debut album last year titled ‘I think we made it’. Please do leave any questions you have for Craig in the comments section.

When/how did you discover you could sing/write songs?

Well, it wasn’t really a discovery; it was more of a desire. I’d just got back into playing guitar at 15 (I’d originally started learning at 6, but wasn’t very interested at that age!), and desperately wanted to start writing songs rather than constantly cover Oasis! So I locked myself in a music practice room at school one day and decided to write a song.

Fortunately, it came out OK, and I still play it to this day! That was one of the easiest songs I’ve written. Since then, it’s been a bit more difficult; no two songs are written in the same manner, and I find this quite frustrating, as I never know when one is going to materialise, and often when trying too hard, it simply doesn’t happen.

What singer/songwriter has inspired you the most?

Originally, Oasis drilled guitar music into my head, and since then I have drawn a lot of inspiration from lots of different artists and acts, but the 2 artists I’m probably most drawn to are John Mayer & Jason Mraz.

Where is your favourite Leeds live music venue and why?

From a spectator point of view, without doubt the O2 Academy is my favourite venue (One day I hope to play there!). But from my experiences as a performer I really enjoy playing at Verve, as it’s so intimate and free entry. I also really enjoyed a gig I played at Sub-Culture a couple of years back; there was such a good vibe coming from that place, and it was one of those gigs where everything just felt right. But there are a number of quality Leeds venues.

What were the main challenges recording your debut album ‘I think we’ve made it’?

Time! It takes so much time to home record and get it to a standard you are happy with, especially when you are trying to balance it against a full-time 9-5 office job! Other than that I’d say the biggest challenge is finally putting down the headphones and being happy with the song(s), mix and ultimately the performance. There is always the temptation to add or tweak something, but you just have to draw the line, otherwise you’d be tweaking the same song for the rest of your life!

Do you have any tips for any young musicians/singers in Leeds?

Just keep on playing, and keep on enjoying it! Try to get out there and perform on as many stages as possible to build up confidence, and more importantly, meet other like-minded musical performers.

I find nothing inspires you more than working with other musicians and bouncing off their ideas and performance styles etc. Also… Social networking sites are the key these days to holding an audience and building a fan base, so get involved! But as stated before the number 1 thing is to enjoy what you do!

Do you have a question for Craig? Ask him in the comments below.

Listen to a free download of one of the tracks or buy the album online

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Leeds Opera in the Park new ticket charge

Leeds City Council run Opera in the Park will now cost £12 a ticket for the previously-free annual music event. Not a huge surprise to be honest, considering the budget cuts, but what do you think? The good news is that Party in the Park will continue to be a free event.

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La Bottega Milanese to open in the Light

Great news that Italian espresso bar Bottega Milanese will be opening a new branch later this year in the Light shopping centre according to the Culture Vulture. There’s talk that the bar will be open until 10pm in the week and 11pm at the weekend, which is even better news.

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The Source hub at Leeds Kirkgate Market

Think of The Source as a hub in Leeds Kirkgate Market which helps promote food products and makes people aware of what food they can buy in the market. Various events will take place and on 23 April the National Farmers Union takes over the stall and brings a bit of the British countryside to the market.

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Let’s make Leeds the best place to live and visit

What I am trying to achieve on My Life in Leeds is show the world what a fantastic city I live in. I have found a great team of writers who are passionate about the city and love to share their experiences.  The guide/blog receives tens of thousands of visitors every month, and it is a great feeling when someone tells me that they visited a certain place because we have mentioned it.

Does Leeds need an identity?

There has been much discussion about the low visitor numbers at Kirkgate Market and Clarence Dock. Like many people, I do not think that Leeds has an identity and I have asked myself recently who is responsible for creating this identity, and why places like Clarence Dock is having a problem attracting visitors.

Lack of visitors to Leeds attractions

This weekend I visited Armley Mills Industrial Museum for the first time in a long time – it was Saturday morning, we arrived around 11am and I was disappointed by how few people were at the museum. In fact, in the time we were walking around, we only saw four people. Why such a poor turnout for what is a peak day of the week?

Improvements on marketing our attractions

As locals, we too have a responsibility and should be supporting places like Armley Mills and teach our children about the city’s industrial past, but while I am no marketer, I do wonder if we (that is everyone within the Tourist/Leisure industries) could do more to promote the city, and its events.

Since launching My Life in Leeds in late 2009 I have been amazed about how much does go on in the city, but when I tell family and friends about what is on, they are not aware.

Extending the city sightseeing bus route

We have a city sightseeing bus that drives around the city centre, but what about extending the route to the likes of Armley Mills, Temple Newsam and Kirkstall Abbey, so people coming into the city can take advantage of these fantastic attractions.

I am not against the idea of a city sightseeing bus because I think it is good for tourism.

Visit our local attractions

Marketing Leeds need to spend less time promoting the Victoria quarter and the luxury side of the city because it generates more revenue. Why is it when you go to the Corn Exchange and other places in Leeds that there are 1 or 2 leaflets promoting Leeds attractions, but tons and tons of leaflets for York, the Dales and places outside of Leeds?

Support places so they have a future

I am going to write a review of our day trip to Armley Mills, and our walk along the Leeds and Liverpool canal but I want to remind you that just like libraries we all need to do more to support places like Armley Mills and other historic places like Bramley baths, to make sure that they have a future.

Passionate about my home city

I am passionate about Leeds and I want to make it the best place to live and visit in the country, so I would like to hear what you would like to see happen to promote Leeds.  Do you think the city is promoted well to locals and tourists?

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