BIMM GUESTS
Check out the latest special guest musicians and music industry professionals who have visited BIMM to talk to students and sign our Wall of Shame!
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		Guthrie Govan Guitar Masterclass (Feb 10) Back by popular demand, inspirational guitarist and all round nice bloke, Guthrie Govan dropped in to provide a fascinating insight into not just his playing style, but also his approach to writing and improvisation. Demonstrating an enviable variety of tones and techniques he showed a brilliant range of rhythm guitar techniques from Motown to Funk to Dizee Rascal in addition to some very inventive ideas on slide playing and creating a variety of special effects. Never a dull moment!

		Beverley Knight performs live at BIMM (Nov 09) British soul and R&B singer Beverley Knight came into BIMM for an exclusive masterclass. This included a special live performance which featured our musicians with Beverley Knight on backing vocals! Beverley has released 5 studio albums to date, received an MBE for her charitable work and the contribution she has made to British music. Widely labelled as one of Britain’s greatest soul singers she has received a host of awards, including three MOBO’s. Beverley made time during her UK tour to speak with our musicians about her career, influences and vocal technique. You can check out the performance now by clicking on the link below.

		The Specials Legendary Bassist Sir Horace Gentleman (Nov 09) The Specials bassist Sir Horace Gentleman aka Horace Panter came into BIMM Brighton for a masterclass. He began the session with a solo performance and played 3 influential pieces. He discussed his influences, how he analyses music from a bass player’s perspective and the merits of listening to different genres. Horace gave advice on how to play effectively with a drummer and how to develop a tight rhythm section. A Q&A from the floor rounded up the session and Horace was only too pleased to answer a range of questions, including tips on performing at festivals and his favourite bands. He even indulged us in hilarious stories about The Specials most famous performances. Before he left Horace kindly signed the wall and reviewed a BIMM band’s performance.

		Meet and Greet with the Noisettes (Feb 10) Ten BIMM musicians were taken to the Brighton Dome to meet the Noisettes and watch them soundcheck. Our musicians were treated to a couple of numbers at the venue before meeting guitarist and songwriter Dan Smith. Dan and his agent Natasha Bent, who is a BIMM graduate, answered an array of questions starting with how Natasha spotted them at Brighton music venue, Freebutt to their current chart success. They gave detailed advice on the music industry, 360 deals, merchandise and touring.

		Producer Dan Swift - Home recording masterclass (April 10) Producer Dan Swift who has worked with Kasabian, Snow Patrol and Aqualung, wowed a packed hall with his dynamic digital control. The prudent use of spatial devices such as delay and reverb were demonstrated and the intriguing but often perplexing business of mix down made understandable. BIMM musicians were shown ground rules on how to achieve high quality recorded music and given valuable advice on home recording equipment.

		Mercury signed artist, Tiffany Page acoustic session (Feb 10) Tiffany Page, a high priority artist for major label Mercury, dropped by for a Q&A and acoustic performance at BIMM. Fresh from her UK tour supporting the Noisettes, Tiffany gave us a sneak preview of her debut single Walk Away Slow. She performed the track live alongside BIMM graduates Dan Grace and Dave Delgado who successfully joined the band after an audition through BIMM. Tiffany answered questions from songwriting to copyright before closing the session for her gig at the Dome that evening. The band were off to Los Angeles to film the video for their new single in the desert!

		Madness meet and greet (Dec 09) 10 BIMM musicians went to the Brighton Centre to meet UK ska band Madness. They watched the band sound check for an hour before being taken backstage for a meet and greet. Founding member, keyboardist and songwriter Mike Barson and drummer Daniel Woodgate discussed their thoughts on various subjects such as their influences, songwriting, set lists and label deals. It was very interesting to hear their answers, arguments and their thoughts on such aspects. To round off the session our musicians were invited to watch the sold-out show that night. BIMM musician Ernst Carstens said “the concert was amazing and full of energy. I’m deeply grateful to have met one of my favourite bands.”

		The Temper Trap (Oct 09) Induction Day at BIMM Brighton was packed with music industry guests and bands. Korda Marshall, MD of Infectious Records came down with The Temper Trap’s guitarist and songwriter Lorenzo Sillitto and discussed the relationship between artist and label. This was of particular interest to our musicians since the band’s single “Sweet Disposition” was number 6 in the charts that week. Other industry guests included Felix Howard, Head of A&R at EMI Music Publishing who talked about their sponsorship with BIMM’s BA Songwriting course and a speech about the current music industry climate from CEO of UK Music Feargal Sharkey. BIMM bands Sweet Sweet Lies and Son of Robot performed on the day topped with a electric showdown with punk rockers Ghost of a Thousand (Epitaph Records).

		Little Boots (Oct 09) At a time when her schedule is frantically hectic with her UK tour, electro pop starlet Little Boots made time to meet up with BIMM musician Sabrina Altan. Relaxing backstage before her sold out gig at the Concorde 2, Little Boots aka Victoria Hesketh, answered questions on her career, influences, collaborations, future plans, songwriting and image. Jet lagged from her Japan tour Victoria described how her gigs have taken her from a sold out tour in the US all the way to Australia. She spoke about her inspirations that included Kate Bush, Brian Wilson and David Bowie and her forthcoming session with Gary Numan. Victoria then spoke in detail about her burning ambition to produce a film soundtrack before rounding up the session on where she gets her stage outfits. Before shooting off to soundcheck Victoria gave some advice to our musicians and said “take opportunities”, “get your demos out”, “be pro-active” and “study – it’s the building block”. Sound advice!

		Acoustic Guitarist, Clive Carroll (Feb 10) Acoustic guitarist, Clive Carroll recently held a masterclass in composition and arrangement techniques. Clive has worked extensively with Tommy Emmanuel and John Renbourn and been described by Acoustic Magazine as “probably the best and most original young acoustic guitar player and composer in Britain”. Clive looked at areas such as theme and development, rhythmic intensity and use of tunings. He discussed his approach to various acoustic guitar techniques and explained how you should employ them only to further develop the music itself. Our musicians were treated to a great level of insight into solo acoustic performance and collective performances.