It was in a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, in early 1983 for me. A young teenager who enjoyed playing the guitar for fun, who had studied some classical guitar at school. I was given a record from a local charity shop. That record was John Mayall Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton, commonly called the Beano album.
Having not much to do, this young teeneager started listening to the album in question and his blood ran cold. The sound of the Blues affected him physically, emotionally and much more.
A Melbourne guitar teacher called Greg Franklin guided him on a pathway that led to a lifetime love affair with electric, acoustic and folk blues, not to mention jazz, reggae and the guitar in general.

30 years later, after many twists and turns, ups and downs, good times and bad times, many many bands and live gigs, the love affair with the guitar still goes on …

And people, that is me, the blues happened to me !
My website is www.aljohnson-aljohns.com.

This project, starting up my own record label and musician’s advocacy service, needs funding to be able to realize it. But first let me explain the purpose of the project in more detail. The project team will consist of a proposed director and a small team of creative people who all have one thing in common, the love for music and helping out fellow musicians.

Part I, a record label

This is not just a run of the mill record label. This is a record label with specific purposes. The proposed director of this project (myself) has musical friends, colleagues and associated, streched out across the world. And the music is in various genres. The purpose of this record label, apart from making money, is to reach out to musicians who may never have had the opportunity to record, and by reaching out, we would be preventing the loss of talent. By that comment, what I mean is, I want to create opportunities for people who previously might not have been able to record, release a CD/DVD.

Part II, an advocacy service for musicians

By advocacy, we don’t mean legal in the French or Dutch sense of the word. But what I mean is a partnership, where we assist any musician find solutions for some of the problems that they could face. Problems could be, how to find medical assistance, find somewhere to live, a warm coat, in short, to assist in any way we could; direct intervention.

Part III, an ‘all over the world’ record label

We believe we can make a difference. We have contacts and know people personally, all through the world. To give a few examples; in Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, the Czech republic, the UK, Ireland, Canada, the USA, Australia and Japan. We believe that with contacts in all of these countries, we will make this a success.

Ask any of my friends and/or colleagues to describe me and they will refer to me as one with tremendous leadership and organizational abilities, the ability to analyze and solve problems under time pressure, being able to manage a team, steering them in the right direction and encouraging them to share their love for music. There is never a quiet moment in my team !

Music is a way people communicate with eachother and the world. Music is part of life. Imagine the world without the sound of music, without the possibility to share your music ! Can you imagine that ?

My team consists of different personalities, each of them bringing their unique skills to the project.

If anything I would like to ask you, to get the word out and make a bit of noise about my campaign. The project will need funding so if you are able to back me up on this one, that would be a tremendous support action. Sharing tools are available everywhere, use your social communication accounts.

Folks, isn’t music a part of our being. My aim is to make sure that no creative talent is lost and music can be shared and played for change, change for the better.