Engineering a charity music hit
An AJ Engineering project engineer will take to the stage this Saturday to perform in a gig which is about highlighting men’s mental health.
Gary Moyes will join seven other bandmates at Elgin Town Hall to stage The Conversation: I am Me with all proceeds from the night being donated to mental health charity MikeysLine.
Vocalist Gary, explained how the project began: “My mate Alan Jamieson was the original driving force behind this and it all started at the beginning of last year. We have been friends since school and have both performed in bands over the years, just never in the same one! He had penned some lyrics and asked me to record some vocals, it just began as a bit of fun and then it grew from there. I had commented to Alan that the lyrics were very ‘honest’ and different from what he usually penned. He shared his original demo with some of the others and, given the strength of the song, it’s subject matter, and it’s potential to help spread a positive message, the more people wanted to get involved.”
A one-off ‘band’ was formed featuring other well-known musicians from across the region including members of The Fragz, Into The Pines, Danny Mortimer and MacTa, and the song was recorded over a few weeks, under the stewardship of drummer and sound engineer Blaire Mackenzie.
Last month, the band under the name “The Conversation” released the song “I Am Me” and the music video has already attracted over 1,500 views.
Gary said: “I guess the lyrics just really got us thinking so we are putting it to good use, to raise awareness of the importance of talking and also of course, we now have the tie in with MikeysLine who will benefit from the event.
“If someone listens to the song, or sees the information about it online, learns about the gig or reads about what we have done in the newspaper, and chooses to pick up the phone to get help, then the song has done what we hoped it would.”
Speaking about performing Gary added: “I have not played live since 2018, so this is exciting, but it’s also quite daunting. That said, the camaraderie amongst the band members will see us all through it. We have all really embraced the song and its intended purpose. It’s been such a pleasure to not only be working with Alan, but also the other musicians who are some of the top and best-known musicians from Moray.”
