Throughout my musical “career” I’ve written and played solo acoustic songs live. The benefits of playing solo are many and obvious – less gear to lug around, less people to organise and rehearsals are a breeze to get together. The limitations of the single instrument plus voice also force you to be more creative.
I even recorded and released a four track EP called Hand Drawn and Quartered in 2008. I was pleased with the way it came out, especially as it was in the midst of AKP‘s intense noisy activity – it provided a little oasis of calm.
I’ve not played acoustically in a live environment for a few years now – mainly due to being busy with other things, but partially because I’ve not written any new acoustic material for a while. I’m a firm believer in only stepping into a medium or arena when I can say something unique or fresh, and this is pretty hard to do with just an acoustic guitar and a male voice. Having said that – it’s a challenge I’m likely to revisit at some point.