Ashley sherlock breaking into music

4 years in yet still at the beginning of his musical journey, Ashley Sherlock reveals how he broke into the world of music and keeps getting better . . .

Cradling his sweet hot chocolate to warm himself on such a cold day, Ashley Sherlock begins the recount of the last 4 years of his music career. We begin right at the start, when Ash became so inspired that he decided music was the world he belonged in. “From seeing a lot of bands i liked playing live, I thought ‘I could do that’ so I tried it one day and I’ve been playing ever since.” Which is such an inspiration to upcoming artists or people trying to come in to the music world; maybe all it takes is seeing their favourite artists live and it will spark the passion to keep pushing until you end up doing what you want to be doing. Even this talented musician didn’t start at the top. “My first gig was in the Cinnamon Club in Bowden and around a hundred people turned up, maybe less, and i was so nervous i nearly threw up! It was horrible” But don’t let that put you off because Ash played on through his nerves and put on a great performance which people clearly loved because he’s been reeling in fans ever since. “I still get nervous,” oh dear . . . “But not as nervous” Phew! “It just depends on the gig.”

Ash clearly has a natural talent when it comes to music, so he was bound to start attracting fans from all over the country soon enough. “My favourite gig was my headlining show in Manchester which was good, we managed to sell quite a few tickets. There was a group of girls that came all the way from London just to meet me and watch me play! It was really cool.” Wow he must be good for them to come all the way from London! It can’t always go quite so smoothly though . . . “I was playing as support for a band once and I was using a loop pedal. As I was setting it up I had a drink which I accidentally knocked over onto the loop and said “Oh fuck!” into the microphone, so it was just stuck on a loop of me saying ‘Oh fuck!” over and over. It was really awkward but at the same time really funny and everyone was just laughing.” Oops! At least they found it funny or that could have been a disaster!

However Ash’s musical popularity didn’t just spark overnight, he had to work really hard to get where he is now. “I do a lot of shows in Manchester and Didsbury, usually about 4 a week and at one point it was two a day” A bit more work than just singing along to our favourite tracks in the shower then! Talking about our favourite tracks, what does a dedicated artist listen to in his spare time? “I listen to a load of stuff. From the Red Hot Chilli Peppers to guns and Roses to Ed Sheeran to Bieber and Timberlake. All sorts of stuff.” It’s easy to see where he gets his inspiration from then listening to such a wide range of styles. Ash then uses this inspiration to write songs of his own. “I’ve only got a couple of songs recorded but I have a plethora of songs which sometimes I don’t play or just get lost somewhere” It’s sad to think that there may be some beautiful songs somewhere that we haven’t heard, however we have the songs that Ash has already recorded and there’s definitely going to be some more brand new songs in the future. This young artist has a lot more to give! We might also Fans also have the opportunity of hearing some of these originals live at gigs along with some breathtaking covers of hits you may already know.

Clearly Ash is having an amazing time as a solo artist, doing what he loves most, however it’s always an interesting mix up when musicians join forces in a band. “I’d like to join a band, it’s just the commitment, some people struggle to keep to commitments, they might say they’ll meet at a certain time then turn up late. If you’re gonna do it do it! I wouldn’t say I’d prefer to be in a band, it would just be something cool to try out.” So it doesn’t look like we’ll be seeing Ash in a band anytime soon but at least it means we still get to hear him on his own as he carries on with his solo career.

And finally we say goodbye to Ash after he has told us all we need to know about how he broke into the musical world but not before he’s given some of our readers some inspirational advice that could push them to follow his lead. “Success is determined in different ways, whether it’s money, downloads. It depends on what you want to do, just do whatever makes you happy” If this has inspired you or made you as interested in Ashley Sherlock as we are, go check him out on spotify, Itunes and soundcloud and make sure you follow his facebook page (Ashley Sherlock) to keep an eye out for any ever upcoming gigs.