July 2025 News Post: Radio features and a TONNE of Newgrounds awards for Better Than The Book's Side Character In My Own Life album, Announcing the bonus Instrumentals album (+ Early Access for Patrons) + Guitar and CD/Vinyl videos and more updates!

Hi everyone and hope you're having a great summer so far! As I'm sure you're already well aware it's been a monumentally busy month gone by as Better Than The Book released its 3rd full-length album Side Character In My Own Life on June 13th, and what a splash it's made already in only the first 2 and a half weeks since its release! There's still a lot more to share on top of that this post but let's get started with that!

In case you haven't heard already, Side Character In My Own Life is Better Than The Book's 3rd full-length album: 10 tracks + 4 bonus tracks + 4 radio edits for your playlisting convenience! It really follows directly on from where the Hopes and Dreams album left off and takes a darker more aggressive tone reflective of the intense pandemic years during the writing process. Reaching even further across genres than BTTB's usual ska and pop punk tones and rock experimentation, Side Character In My Own Life is undoubtedly Better Than The Book's (and my own in general's) most ambitious release to date!

The first Single Plot Holes released on December 30th 2024 and was featured on BBC Introducing The South! The second single and title track released on March 28th and featured on the Ska Time show on Button Down Radio, The Warp Factor Radio Show, Tonic Ska Radio and Beefy's Ska Club in Australia (which also featured the bonus track Hearts Racing Backwards)! The final pre-release single Bump In The Night released on May 23rd and was also featured on BBC Introducing The South! EVERY track on the main album as well as 3 out of 4 bonus tracks and the full album stream received Front Page Feature awards (15 awards total) and have racked up a collective over 43,000 plays here on Newgrounds within the first 2 weeks of the album release! If you're wondering, the only track to not get the front page feature was the bonus track Plot Holes (Alternative Version). It's still racked up over a hundred listens though and interestingly, the regular version of Plot Holes received 2 front page features (one for the album version and one for the radio edit)! The album's up in full on Newgrounds now too, so check out the full playlist here:

or the full album stream here:

Along with the radio and Newgrounds features (including being finally scouted for the Art Portal for the album's cover art), the release has been shared on a few cool music sites and blogs including my good friend World Beyond's Blog, The Punk Site, Pete's Rock News and Views, and even the elasticStage Instagram (who are the people who make the CD and Vinyl releases for the album)! Check out some fantastic podcast replays of the radio shows and the blog features below:

June 21, 2025 - Better Than The Book's Hearts Racing Backwards featured on Beefy's Ska Club Podcast (with an album review!)​​

​June 20, 2025 - Better Than The Book's Side Character In My Own Life (Single) featured on The Warp Factor Radio Show​​​​​​​

​June 14, 2025 - Better Than The Book's Side Character In My Own Life album featured on the World Beyond Blog

​June 13, 2025 - Better Than The Book's Side Character In My Own Life album featured on ThePunkSite.com

June 9, 2025 - Better Than The Book's band feature page updated on Pete's Rock News and Views

​June 9, 2025 - Better Than The Book's Side Character In My Own Life CD and Vinyl releases featured on elasticStage's Instagram

And along with a tonne of nice encouragement and comments for the new album and Better Than The Book, I'd like to share 2 of my favourite comments I've heard since the release:

''​A huge milestone and a massive effort, Better Than The Book's new release is a heartfelt reflection on everything Nick’s been through since the last release. Yet, in true ska-punk fashion, it’s not just about struggle—it’s a celebration of the good stuff life throws your way between the chaos. Packed with irony, energy, and infectious optimism, this record reminds us that even if things go off the rails, they do get better'' - Vladimir Kuznetsov via Bandcamp on Side Character In My Own Life

''Not every track is a ska track... there’s a few ska tracks; there’s a few rock tracks; there’s all sorts; there’s something there for everyone! ... Well done, Nick! I am very VERY encouraged by this album... Compliments to the chef! ... Go and buy it, just buy the album people! Nick has put a hell of a lot of work into this one and it shows! It’s so good; so well produced as well! There’s not a bad track on it!'' - ​Beefy on the Side Character In My Own Life album | Beefy's Ska Club (#1 Ska Radio Show in the world)

What can I say? Thanks so much to everyone for the support and for sharing my music and I'm so happy that people are enjoying this new album (I think the above accolades and comments say it all)! Being super honest for a moment, I know that not many people are buying music these days, but if you really enjoyed Side Character In My Own Life (or Better Than The Book's music in general) and want to support the project, please consider picking up a copy on Bandcamp (or becoming a Patreon Supporter to download the album) or a CD / Vinyl from elasticStage. Remember that despite how it may seem, I'm still just one guy making these records with whatever equipment I can scrape together, no label, or financial backing or anything like that, just the kindness of people who want to help me out however they can, so anything you can do to help means the world to me to try and keep this project going and growing to new places (and there are some big plans in the pipeline if I can make it happen)! Thanks so much again everyone and if you STILL haven't listen to the album yet, check it out on Bandcamp and or pick up a CD / Vinyl below:

https://betterthanthebook.bandcamp.com/album/side-character-in-my-own-life

https://elasticstage.com/betterthanthebookuk/releases/side-character-in-my-own-life-album

With such a great few weeks since the album launch, I'd like to announce that to celebrate all the radio play and Newgrounds features (etc...) so far, I'll be releasing a bonus instrumental version of the album on July 23rd (in about 3 weeks)! I know I usually wait a full year to do this, but it seemed like a good a time as any to keep the hype train going as much as I can! Here's to officially announcing "Side Character In My Own Life (Instrumentals)" which will be available as a digital download on Bandcamp as well as in all the usual streaming places on July 23rd! Check out the edited album artwork below:

And if you're a Patreon supporter, you have a download of the full-sized artwork package to look forward to in your rewards this month! For the $10 Patrons you have full early access to the Side Character In My Own Life (Instrumentals) album today! Grab the rewards below and I hope you enjoy it:

$1 Rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/132960623

$10 Rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/132960630

Reward Archives: https://www.patreon.com/posts/50344842

Find out more: https://www.patreon.com/NickStanding

Finally for this month, a quick round up of YouTube videos! It's the second month since slowing down from the 2 a week posting, so there's only a few new videos to share this time, 2 video previews of the CD / Vinyl release of the new album + a tappy guitar live performance which was my entry to the UK Guitar Icon 2025 Contest sponsored by Ibanez and Laney. Doesn't look like I made the cut so far but I was pleased with the way it turned out and I hope you enjoy it too! Check out the updated playlist below:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWEmqIhrNPvQTBoOjZdKLgL4ecTvLz6sm

On top of that, I also released a rather silly video revealing that the bonus "Hearts Racing Backwards" from Side Character In My Own Life, is in fact really just "Hearts Racing" from the Two Years On album (2016) but reversed and with new words?! Check out the comparison below (yes I am really losing my mind...):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M75Mu1A3DPU

That about wraps things up for this post! On top of all this album release work, I've also been super busy with a super secret project I can't wait to share with you (hopefully soon), as well as working on finally setting up a mixer and patch bay for the studio (exciting but LOTS of planning)! On top of that, plans are also being made to get Better Than The Book back in the LIVE scene and on the stage (even if just for one night)! More updates next time and until then, thanks as always for supporting my music and Better Than The Book and hope you're enjoying all the new tunes! Take care, all the best, keep on skankin' and if you like the new album then you know what to do: pick it up pick it up pick it up!

Better Than The Book's 3rd full-length album "Side Character In My Own Life" has been released! Grab it on Bandcamp or on CD and Vinyl at elasticStage!

Hi everyone and hope you're as excited as I am on this very fine Friday 13th of June! It's finally FINALLY time and I'm super excited to announce that Better Than The Book's 3rd full length album "Side Character In My Own Life" has just been released!!! Check it out including all the album credits and about sections over on Bandcamp and pick it up on CD and/or Vinyl over on elastic stage!

Bandcamp:

https://betterthanthebook.bandcamp.com/album/side-character-in-my-own-life

CDs & Vinyls on elasticStage:

https://elasticstage.com/betterthanthebookuk/releases/side-character-in-my-own-life-album

And here's a quick video of what to expect from the CD and Vinyl releases:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/b4LbNcz3bbc

And here's the full stream here on Newgrounds of course:

And I'm posting the album art as my very first submission to the art portal too:

Of course my Patreon supporters have a full digital download of album too, that's the Mp3s of the full 10 track album, 4 bonus tracks, 4 radio edits, the full sized album artwork and pre-release Plot Holes (Single) photo, and the vinyl album lyric sheets (+ the master WAV files for the $10 patrons)! If that's something you're interested then become a patron and remember that you'll get access too my full discography and past rewards for your tier including all the music from Better Than The Book and Jabun as well as a tonne of exclusive downloads and bonus tracks. Find out more below:

$1 Rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/130599781

$10 Rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/130599817​

Reward Archives: https://www.patreon.com/posts/50344842

Find out more: https://www.patreon.com/NickStanding

This album has been a major undertaking and undoubtedly my biggest project to date! I started writing Side Character In My Own Life back in 2020, and since Hopes and Dreams we've had a global pandemic, I've been to hospital a fair few times, had 2 major computer meltdowns, had a tonne of equipment broken, then resurrected, then broken and resurrected again, and had a handful of live shows booked which never came to fruition (for many reasons including those above). To be finally at the finish line so to speak with this project feels unreal to me and with all three of the pre-release singles featured on the radio before the album even released already, including Plot Holes and Bump In The Night on BBC Introducing and the title track Side Character In My Own Life making onto the Ska Time show on Button Down Radio as well as Beefy's Ska Club over in Australia, I have no doubt that this album is going to blow your socks off!

To everyone who's supported this project and Better Than The Book, the live band peeps, the DJs and promoters, friends and family, fans and supporters on Patreon with special extra mention to past and present $10+ patrons: Nathan Puray, and Michael White during this project, I extend my deepest thanks for giving me the time and space to make this dream a reality and I hope that you enjoy it and it's an album you'll remember forever!

That about wraps things up for today but Better Than The Book isn't done quite yet and I'm happy to announce that I'll be releasing a little extra something next month on July 23rd before I call this project closed. Some of you may have already guessed what it is but I'll leave that to your imagination for the moment! Until the next time, thanks as always for supporting Better Than The Book and my music projects however you can, and I hope you enjoy Side Character In My Own Life. Take care everyone and while I have no idea what comes next, I'm excited to see how things unfold! THIS IS MY LIFE!

Better Than The Book - Side Character In My Own Life

01 - 2020 Was A Write-off, But What Comes Next?

02 - Side Character In My Own Life

03 - Mood Swings

04 - Red Kite

05 - Rewrite

06 - Don't Be Too Hard On Yourself

07 - Hold Me Tight

08 - Bump In The Night

09 - Plot Holes

10 - You'll Never Be Too Old For This

Bonus Tracks (CD and Digital Only - Not Vinyl)

11 - Hearts Racing Backwards

12 - Plot Holes (Alternative Version)

13 - Hold Me Tight (Non-Acoustic)

14 - Side Character In My Own Life (Acoustic)

+ Additional Radio Edits for Tracks 07, 08, 09 & 10 (Digital Only)

Written, performed and produced by Nick Standing [Jabun]

Recorded, mixed and mastered at JabunAudio by Nick Standing [Jabun]

Artwork, images and photography by Nick Standing [Jabun]

No generative A.I. tools were used in the creation of this album.

Better Than The Book's 3rd full-length album "Side Character In My Own Life" releases this coming Friday! Join me for the premier / listening party on YouTube on Friday 13th June at 8pm BST!

It's almost finally time for the big album launch, and so I'd like to invite all of you to join me for the premier listening party for Better Than The Book's 3rd full-length album "Side Character In My Own Life" on YouTube! Mark your calendars, pin this link, and tune in below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhB1UtJKccw

The premier will be commencing on Friday 13th June at 8pm BST before the release goes live on Bandcamp!

Subscribe to JabunAudio to keep updated and in the loop:

https://www.youtube.com/@JabunAudio

And read more on the Bandcamp page below:

https://betterthanthebook.bandcamp.com/track/side-character-in-my-own-life

Remember that CD and vinyl pre-orders are now open on elasticStage!

https://elasticstage.com/betterthanthebookuk/releases/side-character-in-my-own-life-album

And for a sneak peek at those, check out these videos below:

Full video review:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXs83t1Nh1M

Short sneak peek:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/b4LbNcz3bbc

In the mean time, digital pre-orders are now open on Bandcamp too along with the 3 pre-release singles Plot Holes (Radio Edit), Side Character In My Own Life, and Bump In The Night (Radio Edit) ready to download! Check out the track list (note the format differences) and credits for the new album below and I hope you're looking forward to all the music still to come:

https://betterthanthebook.bandcamp.com/album/side-character-in-my-own-life

Better Than The Book - Side Character In My Own Life

01 - 2020 Was A Write-off, But What Comes Next?

02 - Side Character In My Own Life

03 - Mood Swings

04 - Red Kite

05 - Rewrite

06 - Don't Be Too Hard On Yourself

07 - Hold Me Tight

08 - Bump In The Night

09 - Plot Holes

10 - You'll Never Be Too Old For This

Bonus Tracks (CD and Digital Only - Not Vinyl)

11 - Hearts Racing Backwards

12 - Plot Holes (Alternative Version)

13 - Hold Me Tight (Non-Acoustic)

14 - Side Character In My Own Life (Acoustic)

+ Additional Radio Edits for Tracks 07, 08, 09 & 10 (Digital Only)

Written, performed and produced by Nick Standing [Jabun]

Recorded, mixed and mastered at JabunAudio by Nick Standing [Jabun]

Artwork, images and photography by Nick Standing [Jabun]

No generative A.I. tools were used in the creation of this album.

A huge thanks to my family and friends (both online and offline) for their support and to the current supporters on Patreon with extra mention to past and present $10+ patrons: Nathan Puray, and Michael White! Thank you all so much for your help and support in making my musical dreams a reality! You folks are amazing!

That about wraps things up for this post and I'll be back on Friday 13th for the long awaited big album launch and a tonne of Patreon rewards! Until then, thanks as always for supporting Better Than The Book and my music however you can and I hope you're as excited as I am for this next chapter of Better Than The Book! Mark your calendars for Friday 13th June at 8pm BST and see you at the party!

A sneak peek at the CD and vinyl releases for Better Than The Book's Side Character In My Own Life album (coming on Friday 13th June next week)!

Hi everyone and hope you're excited for the album launch next week! I thought I'd take a moment to give everyone a big sneak peek at the physical CD and vinyl copies of the new Better Than The Book - Side Character In my Own Life album from elasticStage! Check out the full video review on the JabunAudio YouTube channel and there's also a shorter sneak peek below:

Full video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXs83t1Nh1M

Short sneak peek:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/b4LbNcz3bbc

Just one week left until the big album launch and pre-orders are open for the CDs and Vinyls on elasticStage as well as the digital download on Bandcamp where you can already get and listen to the pre-release singles! Check those out below and get excited for what's sure to be Better Than The Book's biggest album project yet! SEVEN DAYS!!!!

elasticStage:

https://elasticstage.com/betterthanthebookuk/releases/side-character-in-my-own-life-album

Bandcamp:

https://betterthanthebook.bandcamp.com/album/side-character-in-my-own-life

June 2025 Patreon & News Post: Better Than The Book's Bump In The Night single release, less than 2 weeks until album release, CD & Vinyl pre-orders open, Radio features on Beefy's Ska Club and BBC Introducing, and MUCH MORE!

Hi everyone and hope you're having a great start to Summer! It's been an incredibly busy month and only set to get busier for the next few weeks too! With Better Than The Book's Side Character In My Own Life album coming next Friday 13th June (in less than 2 weeks), I'll be holding off for $10 DEMOlition Pigeon Patreon rewards this time, but hope to be back to it soon! There is MUCH to share in this post so let's get straight to it!

First of all as I'm sure you're well aware, on May 23rd Better Than The Book released the 3rd and final pre-release single Bump In The Night from the upcoming Side Character In My Own Life album and wooooweee did it go down well! Not only has it racked up over 4500 listens here on Newgrounds alone (on top of a front page award and Takeover Tuesday feature), but the single was also featured on BBC Introducing: The South's radio show too! Thanks so much for the support everyone and you can catch up with the BBC Introducing replay for the next month over on BBC Sounds (I'm on towards the end, but there are some great tracks throughout the show as usual):

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002cxxy

Bump In The Night was also featured on The Punk Site's news feed and on Retweeter Radio! Thanks for sharing the new music peeps!

May 25, 2025 - Better Than The Book's Bump In The Night single and CD/Vinyl announcement featured on ThePunkSite.com

May 25, 2025 - Better Than The Book's Bump In The Night (Radio Edit) added to The Retweeter Hits Radio Rotation

And flipping back to the previous single and title track Side Character In My Own Life, that track received its first international radio play in Australia on the #1 ska show in the world: Beefy's Ska Club (formally The Ska Show with Beefy)! The show is available to listen again as a podcast and what a heck of a show it was! I think it's the best shoutout I've ever been given on a radio show! Thanks so much to Beefy for sharing the music and all the kind words and I hope you love the album when it comes next week!

https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/beefys-ska-club-17th-may-2025-pod-2-ep-613/id1510126760?i=1000708862516

Also In case you hadn't heard, Side Character In My Own Life is now available to pre-order on CD and Vinyl on ElasticStage too and you can read more about the album and listen to and download the pre-release singles over on Bandcamp. Check it out!

https://elasticstage.com/betterthanthebookuk

https://betterthanthebook.bandcamp.com/album/side-character-in-my-own-life

Finally for BTTB news, I'm pleased to announce that after a little trouble clearing a public domain sample, the album has been fully approved for worldwide digital distribution too and will be available on iTunes, Spotify, Tidal and all those places come Friday 13th as well! Woot woot!

Onto some non-BTTB news, it's been a very busy month in other areas as I've been away on a few trips as well as fixing up some stuff around the studio! Starting with the trip, on May 11th I had the amazing and unforgettable opportunity to see one of my favourite bands ELLEGARDEN play their first European gig EVER! For those who don't know, ELLEGARDEN is a Japanese pop-punk band who started around the turn of the millennium but went on an almost 10 year hiatus before returning just before the pandemic hit. I never thought I'd have an opportunity to see them, but as soon as I found out they were going to be playing in London (alongside local heroes FEEDER) I just had to make sure I could go! I've been using these guys as mixing reference material since the One Small Step EP, and learnt so much from listening to their records! It was an amazing night and I hope they come back again soon! While I was in the pits only a few meters from the front, some other gig goers got some great footage of most of the concert from the balcony (you can even spot me in the crowd if you know who to look for XD)! Check it out below and if you every get the chance, go see them for one hell of a party!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4oqBMGy2FBglFJttux9g_fGcbltZwDGb

Next on the news for this month, some studio updates! While I was down for the gig I went to visit my long time mentor of sorts Martin, and as tends to happen I ended up leaving with a piece of his studio, this time an old Yamaha 8 channel mixing desk from the 80s! I've been looking for a mixer for a long time, so I was super excited when he offered it! After a clean, some re-soldering of connections and a hefty drench of electrical cleaning solution, it's working great, and I'll integrating into the studio along with Martin's old patch bay very soon! Thanks so much, Martin! Alongside fixing up the mixer, I also finally got around to putting grills on my homemade Leslie rotary speaker and got it put back together and serviced! There's a new YouTube video all about it which I'll get back to in a second. Finally in the studio updates, my main guitar amp for the last 18 years was acting up again and I really thought it was gone for good this time but again, I managed to resurrect it and it seems to be doing much better than even before now! Phew! While I was at it I figured I'd service the bass and organ amps too which were working but not quite as well as they could have been... A can of electrical contact cleaner sure does wonders!

Finally for this month, some more YouTube videos to share! This is the first time in 2 years that I've not been recording 2 videos a week so this time it's just 2 videos to share this month but I hope you enjoy them nonetheless! Check out the updated video below:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWEmqIhrNPvQTBoOjZdKLgL4ecTvLz6sm

And here's a list of the latest additions:

• Choppy Glissando and Ghost Notes Organ Practice
• Leslie got grills!

That about wraps things up for this time! It's just 10 days until Better Than The Book's Side Character In My Own Life album finally releases (I can hardly believe it), so I'm going to be working my butt off to prepare all the promo for that, and trying to get some rest where I can in the mean time. More interesting projects are coming on the horizon now though so it won't be long until there's more music to come! Until then, thanks as always for supporting my work however you can and I'll see you next week for the big album launch! Take care!

$1 Rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/128920974

Reward Archives: https://www.patreon.com/posts/50344842

Find out more: https://www.patreon.com/NickStanding

Better Than The Book is back on BBC Music Introducing Sussex & Surrey tomorrow (Thursday 29th) night! Tune in from 8pm BST!

Hi Everyone! A quick bit of HUGE News to share! My ska / pop punk project Better Than The Book is back on BBC Music Introducing Sussex & Surrey tomorrow night! Melita says she'll be spinning the new single Bump In The Night! Tune and text in tomorrow! Thanks so much Melita! Details below:

BBC Introducing in Sussex & Surrey, 8-10pm Thursdays

BBC Sussex and BBC Surrey, BBC Sounds, smart speaker & DAB

Listen in Brighton on 95.3 FM

Listen in Sussex & Surrey 104-104.8 FM

Listen nationally & internationally online at BBC Sounds here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_radio_surrey

Text in during the show (you need to start texts with the word ‘sussex’ ) on 81333 (normal rates apply) with your name for a shout out

WhatsApp during the show on 08000 321 333 (start with ‘sussex’ ) or click here https://bit.ly/311cIYF

And feel free to tag me on Threads & Insta at @melitadennett

You’ll also find it here for the next month:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p001d7kh

There’s also a repeat this Saturday 8-10pm

Thanks for the support and hope to hear you there on the Radio tomorrow night!

The final pre-release single "Bump In the Night" from Better Than The Book's upcoming 3rd full-length album "Side Character In My Own Life is OUT ! Pre-order Vinyls and CDs now on elasticStage! Side Character In My Own Life releases on Friday 13th June 2025!

Hi everyone and hope you're having a great May 2025! It's time for another big music release and I'm super happy to share the final pre-release single Bump In the Night from Better Than The Book's upcoming 3rd full-length album Side Character In My Own Life! Check it out below and I hope it blows you away!

Bandcamp: https://betterthanthebook.bandcamp.com/track/side-character-in-my-own-life

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEDZKBDunR8

And here on Newgrounds:

And if you're a $1 Patron you have the mp3 and artwork downloads here:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/128923738

Bump In The Night is a nostalgic trip into childhood and teenage fears and horror franchises contrasting with the real scary stuff about adulthood. There's a tonne of references in there (which may shed some light on the album artwork now too), and overall it's a heartfelt pep talk to keep pushing on even when times seem the darkest. Without wanting to toot my own horn too (ironic since there aren't any horns in this track), although not flashy I think this track features my most soulful guitar solo to date and I'm really pleased with the way this one turned out! I hope you find something relatable and comforting in this song and enjoy all the references!

With the final pre-release single out, in case you missed it on Monday I am super happy to announce that the Side Character In My Own Life album will be releasing on Friday 13th June 2025 (Jason Voorhees reference lol), not only on digital download, but on CD and Vinyl too! Physical preorders are now open on elasticStage! Check it out below:

https://elasticstage.com/betterthanthebookuk/releases/side-character-in-my-own-life-album

And as mentioned on Monday, elasticStage is an on demand CD and Vinyl pressing service so if that's something you're interested in I highly recommend getting your pre-orders in early so they have time to make the record for the release date! I'll be making a full video review of the CD and Vinyl albums soon, but the short version is if you want ultra hi-fi sound and bonus tracks go CD, if you want big art prints, lyric sheets and that real world tactility (at the expense of some fidelity) go vinyl, and if you can't decide, just get both! XD

In the mean time, digital pre-orders are now open on Bandcamp too along with all three pre-release singles Plot Holes (Radio Edit), Side Character In My Own Life and Bump In The Night (Radio Edit) ready to stream and download! Check out the track list (note the format differences) and credits for the new album below and I hope you're looking forward to all the music still to come:

https://betterthanthebook.bandcamp.com/album/side-character-in-my-own-life

Better Than The Book - Side Character In My Own Life

01 - 2020 Was A Write-off, But What Comes Next?

02 - Side Character In My Own Life

03 - Mood Swings

04 - Red Kite

05 - Rewrite

06 - Don't Be Too Hard On Yourself

07 - Hold Me Tight

08 - Bump In The Night

09 - Plot Holes

10 - You'll Never Be Too Old For This

Bonus Tracks (CD and Digital Only - Not Vinyl)

11 - Hearts Racing Backwards

12 - Plot Holes (Alternative Version)

13 - Hold Me Tight (Non-Acoustic)

14 - Side Character In My Own Life (Acoustic)

+ Additional Radio Edits for Tracks 07, 08, 09 & 10 (Digital Only)

Written, performed and produced by Nick Standing [Jabun]

Recorded, mixed and mastered at JabunAudio by Nick Standing [Jabun]

Artwork, images and photography by Nick Standing [Jabun]

No generative A.I. tools were used in the creation of this album.

A huge thanks to my family and friends (both online and offline) for their support and to the current supporters on Patreon with extra mention to past $10+ patrons: Nathan Puray, and Michael White! Thank you all so much for your help and support in making my musical dreams a reality! You folks are amazing!

That about wraps things up for this post! Mark your calendars for Friday 13th June 2025 for Better Than The Book's biggest album launch to date and until then, I hope you enjoy exploring the CD and Vinyl releases (get those pre-orders in) and thanks as always for supporting Better Than The Book and my music however you can! Exciting times ahead, and I can't wait to fill your ears with more ska punk and pop punk vibes in 3 weeks time! Take care!

Announcing Vinyl and CD pre-orders and the final pre-release single "Bump In the Night" from Better Than The Book's upcoming 3rd full-length album "Side Character In My Own Life! Pre-order now on elasticStage and join me for the premier on YouTube on Friday 23th May at 8pm BST! Album releases on June 13th 2025!

Hi everyone and hope you're having a great spring 2025! It's almost time for another big music release and I'm super happy to announce the final pre-release single Bump In The Night from Better Than The Book's upcoming 3rd full-length album Side Character In My Own Life! The track will be premiering on YouTube on Friday 23th May at 8pm BST before the digital download goes live on Bandcamp! Come join for another premier on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEDZKBDunR8

Subscribe to JabunAudio to keep updated and in the loop:

https://www.youtube.com/@JabunAudio

And read more on the Bandcamp page below:

https://betterthanthebook.bandcamp.com/track/side-character-in-my-own-life

Not only that, but I'm super happy to finally announce that the Side Character In My Own Life album will be releasing on Friday 13th June 2025, not only on digital download, but now CD and Vinyl too! Physical preorders are now open on elasticStage! Check it out below:

https://elasticstage.com/betterthanthebookuk/releases/side-character-in-my-own-life-album

ElasticStage is an on demand CD and Vinyl pressing service so if that's something you're interested in I recommend getting your pre-order in early so they have time to make the record for the release date! I'll be making a full video review of the CD and Vinyl albums soon, but the short version is if you want ultra hi-fi sound and bonus tracks go CD, if you want big art prints, lyric sheets and that real world tactility (at the expense of some fidelity) go vinyl, and if you can't decide, just get both! XD

In the mean time, digital pre-orders are now open on Bandcamp too along with the other pre-release singles Plot Holes (Radio Edit) and Side Character In My Own Life ready to download! Check out the track list (note the format differences) and credits for the new album below and I hope you're looking forward to all the music still to come:

https://betterthanthebook.bandcamp.com/album/side-character-in-my-own-life

Better Than The Book - Side Character In My Own Life

01 - 2020 Was A Write-off, But What Comes Next?

02 - Side Character In My Own Life

03 - Mood Swings

04 - Red Kite

05 - Rewrite

06 - Don't Be Too Hard On Yourself

07 - Hold Me Tight

08 - Bump In The Night

09 - Plot Holes

10 - You'll Never Be Too Old For This

Bonus Tracks (CD and Digital Only - Not Vinyl)

11 - Hearts Racing Backwards

12 - Plot Holes (Alternative Version)

13 - Hold Me Tight (Non-Acoustic)

14 - Side Character In My Own Life (Acoustic)

+ Additional Radio Edits for Tracks 07, 08, 09 & 10 (Digital Only)

Written, performed and produced by Nick Standing [Jabun]

Recorded, mixed and mastered at JabunAudio by Nick Standing [Jabun]

Artwork, images and photography by Nick Standing [Jabun]

No generative A.I. tools were used in the creation of this album.

A huge thanks to my family and friends (both online and offline) for their support and to the current supporters on Patreon with extra mention to past $10+ patrons: Nathan Puray, and Michael White! Thank you all so much for your help and support in making my musical dreams a reality! You folks are amazing!

That about wraps things up for this post and I'll be back on Friday for the Bump In The Night single launch and more Patreon rewards! Until then, I hope you enjoy exploring the CD and Vinyl releases and thanks as always for supporting Better Than The Book and my music however you can! Mark your calendars for Friday May 23th at 8pm BST and see you on Friday!

May 2025 Patreon & News Post: CD Test print for Better Than The Book's upcoming album APPROVED (Vinyl on its way), features on Ska Time Radio, a Sonic The Hedgehog x BTTB mashup album(?!), stepping away from regular YouTube + more!

Hi everyone and hope you're having a great spring so far (and not battling hayfever hard like I am)! It's been a heckin' super busy month since the last post (only set to get busier) and there's tonnes of news to share so let's get straight to it!

First of all in the big news, the CD test pressing for Better Than The Book's Side Character In My Own Life album arrived in the post from the distributor and looks and sounds BEAUTIFUL! 2 weeks before their estimated delivery date too! There are a couple of minor unexpected quirks, like CD text not showing up, or being cropped strangely depending on the specific CD Player (as well as the CD not working in my super old player from '86 which isn't entirely unexpected), but the printing looks great and the CD plays smooth and gapless (in players which support gapless playback) so that's veeeery nice! After multiple tests on various systems, I can say that this CD release has been APPROVED! If you're a supporter on Patreon (free or paid), then you've got a sneak peek of what the CD release looks like right now (see links at the end of this post)!

On another note, the test print for the 12" vinyl version was sent off for and apparently is now due to arrive TOMORROW, 4 weeks before their estimated delivery date! Fingers crossed that everything looks and plays great on that version too and if so it'll be time to solidify that release date, prep that final single (and full album) release and get ready for some much overdue ska punk mayhem! Not long now! Get excited!

Speaking of Ska Punk Mayhem, the title track of the new album got its radio debut by being featured on Button Down Radio's Ska Time show episode 14! The show was celebrating the London International Ska festival as well as showcasing a pick of the new ska tracks from around the world so it was a big honour to be part of it. Check out their post about it below:

https://www.facebook.com/buttondownradio5446/posts/pfbid02RxuGgBWKo7hL9qSsFhXdSQkikKhpdEuYctjUxgH5ubiwVZrffFCHYz5qrCkwCh6Gl

And you can catch up with the full radio show over on Mixcloud! There's some great organ work in this one. Fantastic stuff and thanks again to the Ska Time show for spinning the track!

https://www.mixcloud.com/CuttersChoiceRadio/ska-time-w-button-down-radio-ep14/

Next on the news, it was my birthday last week and on April 24th 2025, my twin Eamon (TallismanRogue) released the Sonic The Hedgehog X Better Than The Book - Endless Hopes and One-way Dreams Mashup EP to celebrate! It's incredible! Thanks and love you so much, Mon! I highly encourage you to check it out below. Gotta go fast!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QAg8Mu49JQ

Keeping in with the birthday theme, as a present to myself, I'm back to some wood/metalwork to FINALLY (after 3 years?) finish my homemade Leslie speaker by adding some grills! For the past 3 years, it's been all to easy to stick you hand/foot into the rotating drum while it's spinning, but now that'll be safely behind a few millimeters of perforated steel mesh. SAFE! As it currently stands, the 2 sides and top have been fitted with a permanent grill each while the front panel grill is complete (apart from possibly a custom badge on the front) and easily clips on and off for maintenance and if you want an open grill for stage presence. All that's left to do is sort out the grounding for electrical safety, give the mechanics their annual service and oiling, and put it back together and calibrate again! Hoping to have that done by this time next month with any luck and I'll be sure to put up a video of the completed project when it's done!

And on the topic of videos, after 2 full uninterrupted years of 2 videos a week on YouTube (that's over 200 in total now), I've decided to step away from regular scheduled YouTube content to focus on music creation (and releasing this upcoming album). April 2025 marks the last full month of videos and while there has already been one video released in May, for the first time in a LONG time, I don't have any new videos scheduled currently. That said there are a few more I have planned, and there's a WHOLE lot of new music to come very soon too. Check out the updated playlist below:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWEmqIhrNPvQTBoOjZdKLgL4ecTvLz6sm

And here's a list of the latest additions:

• New Studio Part 5: Shelves up and Art
• Volca Modular Keyboard Transposing Sequencer Tutorials, Tricks and Tips
• Korg EM-1 Keyboard Transposing Sequencer Tutorials, Tricks and Tips
• Korg ESX Arpeggiator Tutorials, Tricks and Tips
• Acoustic Guitar strumming in AGCFAD Tuning
• Homemade Superfuzz and Ashdown Bass Sub harmonic effect on Guitar
• 2 Years on YouTube + 35th Birthday
• New Studio Part 6: Acoustics Sorted + Acoustic Ceiling Tiles

Lastly for the news this month, after many years for the first time ever, there are currently no $10 patrons, and so I will not be posting a $10 extra reward this month. If the situation's the same for a while I may decide to change things up regarding Patreon rewards, but there are more urgent things to attend to currently so I'll be playing things by ear. To all the Patreon supporters past and present though, I'd like to say a HUGE thank you to you all for all your support over the years. I hope you're still enjoying the music and content ramblings and hope you're as excited as I am for all the new music still to come!

That about wraps things up for this month. With a vinyl test coming tomorrow, unless something's drastically wrong I should hopefully have a concrete release date for the Side Character In My Own Life album and maybe that final pre-release single to share with you (as well as other stuff) next time. Until then, thanks as always for supporting me and my musical endeavours however you can and I'm super looking forward to sharing what's to come very soon! Take care and all the best!

$1 Rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/126129247

Reward Archives: https://www.patreon.com/posts/50344842

Find out more: https://www.patreon.com/NickStanding

April 2025 Patreon & News Post: Better Than The Book's Side Character In My Own Life (single) is out, CD test pressings for the upcoming album have been ordered (with vinyl to come), press features, videos and more (+ an extra $10 reward)!

Hi everyone and hope you're having a great start to spring! It's been a super busy time over here as I'm sure you already know if you've been following the usual posts and stuff. I decided to delay the monthly post given that it was April Fools Day yesterday, but now that that's all over I can post without worry of any misunderstandings! With such a big release less than a week ago I thought there'd just be the one shared news post for all Patreon supporters this month, but I managed to whip something a little extra up for the $10 patrons anyway! More on that in a moment, but let's get started with the news!

First of all, the big news in case you've not heard it yet: Better Than The Book released the 2nd single and title track from the upcoming 3rd full-length album Side Character In My Own Life on Friday! Not only that, but the cover art for the album has also been revealed as well as a vinyl and CD release for the album being announced too! Not only that, but $10 patrons now have full early digital access to the album too! I've already posted about it so I'll not repeat myself here, but read more and check out all the details in the Patreon post below:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/124775796

And listen on Bandcamp:

https://betterthanthebook.bandcamp.com/album/side-character-in-my-own-life

As it currently stands, the digital release is pretty much ready to go, and I've just ordered the very first CD test pressing from the distributor! If that comes back all good I'll go ahead and order a test vinyl too! All the physical release packaging is pretty much done, so all that's left to sort once the test pressings are approved is to solidify the release date (taking into account release lead times) and get the (personal) online streams sorted (YouTube, Newgrounds, Soundcloud etc...)! The next and final pre-release single is already pretty much ready to drop and I'll be announcing the concrete release date for the album when that goes live in a few weeks time once the test pressings are approved (if all goes to plan). Exciting times!

In the mean time, following from the physical release progress I have an extra reward for the $10 patrons this time! The vinyl release includes a lyric sheet for the main album (not including bonus tracks), so as an early access patron, you now have an early download for the lyric sheet to look forward to! If you're a $10 patron, head over here to grab the download:

$10 reward: https://www.patreon.com/posts/125676704

And the lyric sheets will be available to the rest of the patrons and on Bandcamp when the album drops in full in May/June!

Following the big launch, the Side Character In My Own Life single has racked up a few press features already in its first week live! Big thanks to The Punk Site for sharing the new music, The Retweeter Hits Radio for adding the track to their radio rotation, and to the great peeps at Newgrounds for the front page feature award! That makes both singles which have met the mark for all 3 of these features. Will the next single (and album) complete the collection? We'll have to see!

March 31, 2025 - Better Than The Book's Side Character In My Own Life single featured on ThePunkSite.com

​March 30, 2025 - Better Than The Book's Side Character In My Own Life (Single) added to The Retweeter Hits Radio Rotation

March 29, 2025 - Better Than The Book's Side Character In My Own Life (Single) receives Front Page award on Newgrounds.com

Away from Better Than The Book news, the home studio set-up is pretty much all set up now too! All the acoustic treatment (for now at least) has been sorted including a ceiling panel I'm very pleased with, and all that's left to do now is a quick speaker/room calibration when I have a free quiet evening. There may be a few stands to get/swap out but functionally it's finally back to how I've been wanting it to be now to get on with making music again properly! The next thing to do in the studio will be to plan out and set up a patch bay to integrate much of the electronics. It's something I've not done before so it's going to be a challenge and will take some capital to invest in all the cabling etc... so that might not be for a little while, but I'm looking forward to the challenge. Before that, I recon the next major project will be to add a grill onto the front and sides of the homemade Leslie speaker though so it'll be time to draw up some plans for that soon!

Next and lastly for this month's update, more videos on YouTube! This past month has been filled with some bass and slide guitar fun times and experiments, as well as my first saxaflute (bamboo saxophone) video! Check out the updated playlist below:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWEmqIhrNPvQTBoOjZdKLgL4ecTvLz6sm

And here's a list of the latest additions:

• Homemade Superfuzz on Bass sounds like brutal thunder
• Open G Tuning Acoustic Slide Guitar
• Alternative Tuning Experiment for Acoustic Slide Guitar OpenGSus2 DGDGAD
• Alternative Tuning Experiment for Acoustic Slide Guitar DGDF#AD
• Bass with Digitech Whammy Detune Effect
• Funky Bass with Digitech Whammy Octave Effect + MXRPhase 90
• Bass with Digitech Whammy Harmony Effect
• Jamming on the Roland J-6 with the Hold and Arpeggiator functions
• One month of learning the Bamboo Saxophone (uncut practice)

The next month is set to be my last month of regular YouTube videos (for a while at least) while I prepare for the big BTTB release. It'll also mark 2 full years of uninterrupted videos on YouTube so there's that too! More music to come soon though so you'll not be able to get rid of me just yet!

That about wraps things up for this month! I'm hoping that by next time I'll have a finalised test CD (hopefully even a vinyl too) in my hand, perhaps the next BTTB single out, and a concrete release date set in stone for the next BTTB album too, but now that all depends on how sorting these physical releases go (manufacture times etc...). Exciting times ahead and until the next one, thanks so much for supporting my music and I hope you enjoy the new music and videos this month (and to come)! Take care!

$1 Rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/124775854

$10 Rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/125676704

Reward Archives: https://www.patreon.com/posts/50344842

Find out more: https://www.patreon.com/NickStanding