Hi everyone and man does it seem like a while since the last post! I've been super busy working on some new Better Than The Book demos as well as some cool collaborations and sorting out stuff for the next 2 Jabun albums! Exciting times are coming! On top of that, after months of hard work, research and waiting on post, I've finally 100% fixed my vintage Yamaha YC-25D combo organ! So pleased and relieved to have it working at full capacity and you'll definitely be hearing it in the next BTTB album (and the upcoming demos for those in the $10+ tiers!). Busy busy but good times ahead!

Some cool news to share with you today as an old Nick Standing classic track "Mr. Knife" was featured here on Newgrounds.com's @TheTankTribune Halloween special (and the Halloween phonograph playlist)! Big thanks to The Tank Tribune for having me on and I hope you enjoy this old track of mine! Check it out below:

The Tank Tribune:

https://thetanktribune.newgrounds.com/news/post/1124008

Halloween Phonograph:

https://www.newgrounds.com/playlists/view/f916b0f36858c4cafa5ef09d01c34988

Mr. Knife is available on the Nick Standing Bandcamp page, and I'll be adding it soon to the Patreon back catalogue as we explore my Nick Standing and soundtrack work next year! Hope you're looking forward to it and if you can't wait until then, check it out on bandcamp below:

https://nickstanding.bandcamp.com/track/mr-knife

And of course have a listen here on NG:

Things are going to be getting very busy with posts again soon, and with another Bandcamp Friday coming up as well as a big announcement from Jabun next week, I think I'll have my work cut out for me with all this typing! Until the next one, I hope you're all doing well and thanks as always for supporting my projects! Stay safe and take care!

A 3 part interview on Newgrounds.com (my longest and most detailed interview to date!)

Hi everyone and hope you're having a great week so far!

I've got something super special to share with you today and something I hope you enjoy! Last month I took part in my biggest and most detailed interview to date, a 3 part discussion with The Interviewer here on Newgrounds.com all about my musical journey so far! It goes right back to my musical roots, through many of my notable projects including collaborations, bands from my teen years and beyond, through to my solo projects Better Than The Book and Jabun, discussing great memories, not so great ones, and my advice for musicians and creators from my own experience. It's a long journey, but I hope you get something out of it and enjoy the read!

A huge thanks to The Interviewer ( @The-Great-One ) for inviting me to take part in this, and I'd like to share some of his kind words before you read:

"Today's guest is quite possibly one of if not the hardest working musician here on Newgrounds. With his project Better Than The Book being a success here on Newgrounds and acclaim for his assistance towards other musicians here on the site. His skills are incredible as a composer, lyricist, singer, and guitarist. His story is long, but an amazing one and I wish for you to read it all the way to the end. I am most pleased to welcome, @Jabun."

"Jabun is a rare talent that you don't see in too many musicians nowadays. He is a musician of many hats which is what a lot of musicians used to be like. His songs are not factory produced by writers who are looking for that zany lyric or melody that will stick in people's minds. He makes music that not only he likes, but he thinks people will like. He is truly one of the best here on the site. I know this interview was in three parts, it is the longest interview I have done to date, and I felt it needed to be. Jabun's story needed to be told and I wanted you to experience the journey in hopes that it would inspire you. If you're a musician just starting out, I hope you learned something today and will take it with you."

Without further wait, I hope you enjoy the ride! Read the full interview below:

Part 1: https://theinterviewer.newgrounds.com/news/post/1119983

Part 2: https://theinterviewer.newgrounds.com/news/post/1119986

Part 3: https://theinterviewer.newgrounds.com/news/post/1119990

And thanks as always for supporting my projects in all the ways you Take care!

$1 Patreon rewards are out: Jabun's Daydream album (Mp3s, Art + a behind the scenes photo) + an exclusive sneak peek at next year's 3rd Jabun album for the $10 patrons!

Today's the first Wednesday of the month and so last week's Patreon rewards are now available for the $1 patrons (mp3s and artwork only). This month we arrive at the final entry in the Jabun discography (so far), Jabun's debut album Daydream! Read more and grab the rewards below:

Read more: https://www.patreon.com/posts/40080121/

$1 rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/40080120/

$5 rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/40080123

$10 rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/40080119

And thanks for supporting my projects!

It's Bandcamp Friday again!

Hi everyone and hope you're having a great start to October!

It's Bandcamp Friday once again, and in support of musicians impacted by the coronavirus, Bandcamp is once again waiving its revenue share fees on the first Friday of the month from midnight to midnight PDT (that's today)! That means that if you purchase anything from Bandcamp this Friday 2nd of October, the artists you support (including myself) will get more of the sales revenue than usual since Bandcamp doesn't take its cut, and you'll be able to support the music you love more directly than ever on the platform!

If you've been thinking of picking up Better Than The Book's "Hopes and Dreams" or grabbing Jabun's "Daydream" or one of my other tracks or albums, now's the best time to do so! Feel free to check out the Better Than The Book and Jabun Bandcamp pages below and thanks again for supporting my music in any way you can:

Better Than The Book

https://betterthanthebook.bandcamp.com/

Jabun

https://jabun.bandcamp.com/

Nick Standing (< The sillier old stuff)

https://nickstanding.bandcamp.com/

All the best and enjoy the music!

$5+ rewards are out: Jabun's Daydream album (Mp3s, WAVs, Art + a behind the scenes photo) + an exclusive sneak peek at next year's 3rd Jabun album for the $10 patrons!

Hi everyone and hope you've had a great September! It's the final Wednesday of the month which means I've just sent out the $5 and $10 Patreon rewards and this time we've reached the final piece in Jabun's discography (so far), Jabun's 2017 debut full-length album Daydream!

After releasing Distance and Home in 2013 and 2014 respectively (which would be remastered for the Daydream album in 2017), I started formally working on the album which would become Daydream in summer 2016. After the high energy ska punk adventure that was Better Than The Book's Two Years On (released February 2016) and having just moved away from my parents to the seaside town of Herne Bay with Eva, I was ready to explore some experimental and chill vibes as Jabun once again from that makeshift IKEA coffee table studio which I've mentioned in past posts. Shortly before the move I'd bought myself a Yamaha Reface CP mobile keyboard which is basically a truckload of vintage electric pianos and effects in a 3 octave portable package and would be the most valuable player in much of my Jabun music to come! Along with my mpc1000, sm58 microphone and a few synths, I put together a lot of that album throughout the rest of the year, firstly from the floor of our Herne Bay flat, then later from my first purpose organised studio room in Margate. A photo of the Margate beach at sunset would become the cover for the album which was released on May 4th 2017, a heartwarming, chill journey which would be featured in many online zines / blogs, on YouTube music channels, and even a game on Newgrounds (along with some Newgrounds awards)! It's an album I hold close to heart and brings me back to those days living by the sea!

Included in the reward download packages are the full 10 track 43+ minute album (Mp3s and WAVs), album art and alternative album art, and a picture from day 1 of recording, my equipment spread out on the floor after recording track 07 Palindrome! I hope you enjoy Daydream!

Tracklist:

01 Dreaming (Parts I - III)

02 Morning

03 The Grind

04 Distance

05 Daydream

--------

06 Anxiety

07 Palindrome

08 Home

09 Evening

10 Dreaming (Parts IV - VI)

Listen to Daydream on Bandcamp:

https://jabun.bandcamp.com/album/daydream

For the $10+ patrons, you've also got an exclusive sneak peek at next year's 3rd Jabun album to look forward to! Become a $10 patron to access that and many more rewards now, and remember that you'll gain access to all historic rewards and posts for your Patreon tier too when you become a supporter including the full Better Than The Book and Jabun discographies and much more! With the REWARD ARCHIVE tag it's never been easier to catch up with all those posts and music downloads you've missed too! I hope you enjoy them!

$5 rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/40080123

$10 rewards: https://www.patreon.com/posts/40080119

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

That's it for this post! With Daydream finally out to the patrons, that's the entire Jabun discography available on Patreon now! As such I'll be taking a short break to finalise things ready to announce Jabun's 2nd album in November, and you can bet that there'll be a tonne of Patreon rewards to celebrate that! Until then, I hope you enjoy all the music and thanks as always for supporting Jabun, Better Than The Book and my various projects on Patreon! All the best, take care, and I can't wait to show you Jabun's brand new 2nd album next time! Look forward to it!

Better Than The Book future gig updates:

Hi all and hope you're doing well.

Due to the ongoing coronavirus situation, band members being heavily restricted due to local lockdowns (including myself as of Friday), and general concerns with regards public performance at this time, Better Than The Book will no longer be attending the upcoming gig with Sweet Jonny at The Cave in Addlestone (UK) on November 7th. Additionally, we will be postponing booking any further gigs indefinitely until the live music performance industry is up and running safely again.

Apologies for any disappointment, though the safety and comfort of our audience and the members of the BTTB live band are my top priority, and we all hope to be entertaining you again soon with some well needed and upbeat skapunk when the time is right and safe for it. I'll be working hard in the mean time, practicing the tunes and writing/recording some new ones, and I look forward to bringing an even better live show to you as soon as possible! Thanks as always for your support!

All the best, stay safe, and keep on skankin'

Nick / Better Than The Book

Better Than The Book's full Hopes and Dreams [Instrumentals] bonus album is now streaming and playlisted on YouTube, SoundCloud and Newgrounds!

Hi everyone and hope you're having a great week so far! After many months of promo for Better Than The Book's Hopes and Dreams [Instrumentals] bonus album, we finally arrive to the last post of the series, and today's is just a quick one to say that Better Than The Book's Hopes and Dreams [Instrumentals] (Full Album) is now streaming on YouTube and Newgrounds! Check out the streams below:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGDy94xGu_E

I've also curated playlists of all the individual tracks from Hopes and Dreams [Instrumentals] on YouTube, Newgrounds and SoundCloud too, so if you've missed any of the tracks, feel free to listen to them online via the playlists below, or on Spotify:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLblIGQa1OFi6NGA101mVS4jdsOTi55Bjb

Newgrounds: https://www.newgrounds.com/playlists/view/2d399b083d2369a5b1f5fbf7a1e8b2cb

SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/bttb_uk/sets/hopes-and-dreams-instrumentals-album

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4GUCmKQoIk3bNWGiXDGkrp

And if you like what you hear, pick up Hopes and Dreams [Instrumentals] on bandcamp along with the rest of the BTTB discography:

https://betterthanthebook.bandcamp.com/album/hopes-and-dreams-instrumentals

Or grab it along with this month's new exclusive download for Jabun [Alternate Reality]'s Warrior when you become a supporter on Patreon for as little as $1! More rewards coming next Wednesday! Find out more below:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/40080256

That's it for this final promo post for Better Than The Book's Hopes and Dreams [Instrumentals]! I hope you've enjoyed listening to all the music over these past few months and I look forward to bringing you more Better Than The Book as soon as I can! Been back to writing recently, so hopefully I'll have more to report in the skapunk department next year! Until the next post, thanks as always for supporting Jabun, Better Than The Book and my various projects and take care! All the best!

Better Than The Book's Hopes and Dreams [Instrumental] is now streaming on YouTube, SoundCloud and Newgrounds!

Hi everyone and hope you're having a great week so far! Just a quick one today to say that Better Than The Book's Hopes and Dreams [Instrumental] is now streaming on YouTube, Newgrounds and SoundCloud! That's all the tracks from the Hopes and Dreams [Instrumentals] bonus album uploaded for streaming online now, but I still have one more thing to share with you next week! Until then, check out Hopes and Dreams [Instrumental] below:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQzVnc0yD6I

SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/bttb_uk/hopes-and-dreams-instrumental

And if you like what you hear, pick up Hopes and Dreams [Instrumentals] on bandcamp along with the rest of the BTTB discography:

https://betterthanthebook.bandcamp.com/album/hopes-and-dreams-instrumentals

Or grab it along with the new exclusive download for Jabun [Alternate Reality]'s Warrior when you become a supporter on Patreon for as little as $1 a month! Find out more below:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/40080256

Until next time I hope you have a great September and thanks as always for supporting my projects! Take care and enjoy the new music!

Better Than The Book's You've Got A Lot To Say [Instrumental] is now streaming on YouTube, SoundCloud and Newgrounds!

Hi everyone and hope you're having a great week so far. Just a quick one today to say that Better Than The Book's You've Got A Lot to Say [Instrumental] is now streaming on YouTube, Newgrounds and SoundCloud. New tracks from the Hopes and Dreams [Instrumentals] bonus album will be uploaded each Friday until the end of September (just 2 more weeks to go). Check out You've Got A Lot to Say [Instrumental] below:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX-kuYDGtZM

SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/bttb_uk/youve-got-a-lot-to-say-1

And if you like what you hear, pick up Hopes and Dreams [Instrumentals] on bandcamp along with the rest of the BTTB discography:

https://betterthanthebook.bandcamp.com/album/hopes-and-dreams-instrumentals

Or grab it along with the new exclusive download for Jabun [Alternate Reality]'s Warrior when you become a supporter on Patreon for as little as $1 a month! Find out more below:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/40080256

Until next time I hope you have a great September and thanks as always for supporting my projects. Take care and enjoy the new music!

Better Than The Book's GG [Instrumental] is now streaming on YouTube, SoundCloud and Newgrounds + it's Bandcamp Friday!

Hi everyone and hope you're having a great week so far! Just a quick one today to say that Better Than The Book's GG [Instrumental] is now streaming on YouTube, Newgrounds and SoundCloud! New tracks from the Hopes and Dreams [Instrumentals] bonus album will be uploaded each Friday until the end of September! Check out GG [Instrumental] below:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnD937m_8jM

SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/bttb_uk/gg-instrumental

And if you like what you hear, pick up Hopes and Dreams [Instrumentals] on bandcamp along with the rest of the BTTB discography (more about Bandcamp in a moment):

https://betterthanthebook.bandcamp.com/album/hopes-and-dreams-instrumentals

Or grab it along with the new exclusive download for Jabun [Alternate Reality]'s Warrior when you become a supporter on Patreon for as little as $1 a month! Find out more below:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/40080256

Back to Bandcamp, in support of musicians impacted by the coronavirus, Bandcamp is waiving its revenue share fees on the first Friday of the month from midnight to midnight PDT (that's today)! That means that if you purchase anything from Bandcamp this Friday 4th of September, the artists you support (including myself) will get more of the sales revenue than usual since Bandcamp doesn't take its cut, and you'll be able to support the music you love more directly than ever on the platform!

If you've been thinking of picking up Better Than The Book's "Hopes and Dreams" or grabbing Jabun's "Daydream" or one of my other tracks or albums, now's the best time to do so! Feel free to check out the Better Than The Book and Jabun Bandcamp pages below and thanks again for supporting my music in any way you can:

Better Than The Book

https://betterthanthebook.bandcamp.com/

Jabun

https://jabun.bandcamp.com/

Nick Standing (< The sillier old stuff)

https://nickstanding.bandcamp.com/ 

And until next time I hope you have a great start to September and thanks as always for supporting my projects! Take care and enjoy the new music!