Don't forget, if you have an audition for Undersiege this year, go along to Mid Kent collage THIS SUNDAY (the 19th May) at your given time. Tips: try not to be nervous, be orignal, and BE NICE TO THE JUDGES!! Oh and have fun of course! 

Heard about our Rock Schools? Click here to apply! Also, click the image above to see it a little larger

Well everybody, the news everyone has been waiting for is here...

Yes that's right, it’s back for 2013 – The BIGGEST youth concert around. This year we are looking for young talented singers, musicians and bands to play on the BIG stage. If you are ages 13-19 and live in Medway, this is your chance to get the memories of a lifetime!

Auditions are on the 19th of May at Mid Kent Collage and the actual Under Siege event is on the 21st of July. Be avaliable for rehersals inbetween times.

Last year, over 5000 people saw this amazing concert and you could be on the stage this year! If you fancy applying for this great opportunity, click here to fill out our simple form!

Ever wanted to learn how to use a camera like a pro? Why not be taught by one? This is a high quality master class for people of all ages who want their photos to be the best they can be! Join in on the 1st and 2nd of April at Greenacre School and BE the photo boss.

For more information on pricing, location and the master himself, visit the event Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/events/613742011972568/

"In year 11 and looking for a music industry-based course with real gigs to learn from? Come and find out about our Level 3 Music and Music Tech courses... If you live in Medway and want to study a music course in the sixth form, come to the home of Training them Live for a course full of live music opportunities and great tutors."

Why not get your share of this great opportunity? Join the event on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/events/210851115722040/?notif_t=plan_user_invited

A massive happy new year from Training Them Live!
If you want something fun to kick off your 2013, on Friday the 19th January, head on down to the Poco Loco bar and restaurant. With "some of Medways finest bands", you would want to miss this gem of a gig!

"So, you know how people generally get some money around Christmas? USE IT ON THIS GIG. We have got some of the best acts around, along with some new faces that you will be certain to remember! It is not a night you are going to want to miss, we assure you. So get on down to Mojos in Chatham on the

27th December " -Christmas Party@ MOJOS Facebook event.

The acts playing this year include CzechMate, Crybaby Special and the Monsters, Port, Finding Normality, Richard De Soussa Silva and Take a Stand (all of which are awesome by the way). Its well worth checking out, so get down there on the 24th December for some xmas fun!

See the Christmas Party@ MOJOS Facebook event for more details.

The 24th of November was a cold and wet day but the hoards of Santas still gathered in Rochester for the Medway Rotary Clubs annual Santa Fun Run.

TTL provided the musical entertainment for the charity event as hundreds of people dressed in Santa Suits turned up to Run around Rochester. One participant described the day as hard, but enjoyable with the music providing encouragement for them and "spurring us on".

Training Them Live joined forces with the Medway Rotary Club this Saturday, using the combined power of music and beer to raise money for charity. The Star Meadow Sports Club was host to a beer festival who’s aim was to raise money to send children with life changing or limiting illnesses to Disney Land Paris.

In order to reach the £18000 target, TTl had provided some great acts to make the evening more enjoyable and keep the beer flowing. The first act onto the stage was Phil Vidler. His Harry Potter song “Your Broom is Your Best Friend” captured the light hearted mood of the sunny day. He was also enthusiastic about the cause, “I think it’s a brilliant opportunity for families who have sick children to have a lovely holiday in Disney Land. I think it’s a lovely thing for (the organisers) to do”.

Another long time TTl contributor, Charlotte Rose Ellis, was at the event with only her beautiful keyboard and her voice. Her heart felt original songs added depth to the day’s entertainment. One musician who opened with a beautifully smooth free style was Richard De Saussa Silva. The reggae influences in his songs, one of which was sung partially in Portuguese, added originality to the tunes.

The youngest TTL member Callum Rafferty drew a crowd with his clever loop pedal compositions. The depth the layers gave made his songs thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining.

The first Rock band of the evening was The Broken Banjo. Their classic deep based rock with a nice bit of roll thrown in got even the oldest of punters dancing. It was particularly impressive when the lead guitarist started playing the guitar on his back to the delight of the huge crowd they had drawn. One of my favourite TTL bands also made an appearance; Dirty Vibes made themselves know when they took the stage. Their throaty vocals and intricate rock melodies got the crowd going and the beer flowing. The weather and lively entertainment made the day completely enjoyable, and for many I’m sure the beer helped too! It was great that Training Them Live could be involved in the community in a way that can make such a huge difference to the lives of others.

The Sunday of 22nd July was the biggest, best and balloonest Under Siege ever. Breaking from tradition, the sunny weather helped draw a crowd of at least 5000 rockers to Rochester Castle. Back stage the 19 acts nervously did vocal warm ups and tuned their instruments as they waited for their call.

Opening this year’s biggest free Medway music event was The Revelations with their cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstitions”. They warmed the crowd up with their hot combination of classic motown and rock. It was their first time preforming at Under Siege, and their lead singer Jess explained how she had prepared for the day, “I do lots of lip rolls, shhhh exercises, breathing but watching lots of videos of Beyoncé helped me. That woman is amazing!” Their guitarist Adam seemed more confident in his response “We’re gonna rock it!” Another act that almost cracked the stage was Amber Stevens who performed in 2010 as well. Her seductive style sent the crowd crazy and got them all jumping to her “Somebody to Love”. She said that compared to her first appearance at Under Siege, “the crowd were so much more responsive. Amazing. My heart rate was right up- it was like flying”. Then on came the fantastically colloquial Georgie, who understood her audience completely and her personal originals were easily relatable. The awesome dynamic control with the heart felt lyrics got the crowd swaying and emotions flowing in the sweltering afternoon. But it seemed like Georgie came out of it for the better as “It cured my stage fright”.

The big rock ‘n’ rollers at the concert were heavy metal Spyder Byte. Their ability to sing and play instruments to a seriously high quality got the crowd pumped. Everyone was jumping and a mosh pit even formed. Luckily, I managed to escape it and live to write this. Ksenia are an epic medley of classical instruments and rocky edges. Their cover of Mumford and Sons “Little Lion Man” is so original with a folky under tone in the violin and cello base. Their unique and diverse act made the crowd love them; they defiantly did not “fluff it up this time”. They explained how they were apprehensive having to follow the hard rock groups “you never know whether the crowd’s going to like it or not, but they loved it today.” They believe that they still got a lot out of performing in front of such a big crowd, “When we started, we had a violinist, a cello a guitar and a voice-it’s a bit of an awkward composition to make music out of. But the reaction from the crowd today was a real boost.”

Dumb Angel, who spent the half hour before their performance doing star jumps back stage, truly worked their way into the hearts of the crowd. Their improvement from last year was visible and welcomed, “We’ve got a better performance all round. We’ve matured over the year and hopefully this will take us other places.” Their performance was full of energy and the drummer managed to play standing up while doing some serious head banging Closing the day were the astoundingly talented Brothers at Heart, the duo of Alby Wallbank and Jamie Johnson. Jamie’s huge harmonic voice suited Alby’s style of guitar perfectly. At the finale all the acts brought TTL balloons on stage with them while Jamie sang “We Found Love”, bringing the day to a brilliant conclusion. 200 balloons were released and over 1000 given out to the crowd, joining everyone together in a floating sea of yellow.

Dan Wise of Training Them Live excitedly summed up the day, “Biggest crowd ever, most number of balloons given out in history, I think it’s a world record. A massive amount of talent, an amazing, brilliant team and the best one yet.”

The 2012 auditions for the Under Siege line up was the busiest it has ever been, with over 80 applicants this year. On the 12th of May at Mid Kent Collage was filled with the nervous anticipation of dozens of young musicians and presenters from all over Medway. They were all waiting for their chance to show 3 of the 6 judges their musical abilities in order to be selected to perform at Rochester Castle on the 22nd of July.

Under Siege has been running since 2008 and is a collaboration between youth music project Training Them Live, Mid Kent Collage and Medway Council. It is a free concert open to people of all ages to showcase as much of the musical talent in Medway as possible. Last year, over 4000 people turned out to watch the concert making this the biggest free music event in Medway and for many, the pinnacle of youth music opportunity in Medway.

Young people were also auditioned to present Under Siege by introducing the Acts to the judges. Under Siege demonstrates the wide variety of youth music going on in Medway.

Sam Hall from folk Act called Ninety Nights said, “It’s a really good opportunity for us, because we’re a new band”. They are typical of the variety showcased at the event with a cellist, a violinist, a guitarist and a lead vocalist. Other Acts included a beat boxer, solo singers, duets, heavy rock group, jazz band and an acapella girl group.

The 80 hopeful applicants who applied will have to wait one long, painful week before they find out if they are through to the live gig. But for a lucky few, the hard part is over; all that’s left for them now is to turn up on the day, enjoy themselves and most importantly rock their hearts out.

Dan Wise from Training Them Live was very excited about the concert this year, "the huge turnout and high quality this year means we are looking forward to a great showcase of young musicians forging a career in the local music industry. This show means a lot for the future of Music in Medway."

With an amazing line up, the rehearsal for Under Siege was brilliant. Here are some of my personal favourites.

Opening the concert were The Revelations, a fantastic nine strong band. They play feel good funk with flicks of jazz to get your feet tapping. They’re lead singer, Jess, really brings energy to the stage with her massive voice.

Then we have Dumb Angle. I can safely say that the rock angels have descended and they are sure to make you smile. When asked how they’re preparing for Under Siege, they said “Practicing regularly. We think about it. We dream about it. We plan our outfits.”

Spyder Byte defiantly has the best head bangers. It’s either their poison or their rock that’s making my foot move to the beat.

A girl who knows how to give a seductive edge to rock is Amber. Without fail, she can bring energy, musicality and smoking hot rock onto the stage.

Finally, with a voice like Lily Allen meets Kate Nash, Georgie has an amazingly harmonious voice with fantastic volume control. You know she sings her own songs, as no other act draws in the audience with such expression of emotion.

Welcome to the Training Them Live Website. There are many new features which Andy has worked tirelessly on. We look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming events and hope that the website has all the information to stay up to date on our many activities. Please get in touch if you have any questions.

Upcoming events: Power Play, Gillingham Youth Centre, Most Tuesdays 4-6pm (call Gwen on 01634 861593 x 240 for details)
Coming soon:
Rock School 2013
Photography workshops