This is what we’ve been doing over the last few months. Starting from last year: we started our project NEXT STEP with the help of funding from Communities First Castle Ward. The Project provides musicians with the experience of using an industry standard 24track studio. The project has been a glowing success with eight bands so far making cracking demos. The Project is still running please contact us if you would like more information.

Over the summer we worked in partnership with Swansea City Centre Partnership and filled Swansea City Centre with bands playing in the city streets every Sunday for seven weeks.

We did a similar programme of gigs for the Christmas Fair in Swansea City centre both projects attracting accolades from all that saw them.

On the subject of gigs we’ve also done a few benefit gigs here and there both for M.A.D and charities like the Christian Lewis Trust.

Nearly forgot to mention a great-combined arts piece involving masks dancers and poetry titled: The Road of Bones. Devised by local poet Mick Heigh and supported... by M.A.D. Performed at Mozart’s as part of the Swansea Fringe. What a mind blowing sight! Did you see it?

As you can see also – if you’re reading this – we have a swanky new website - with the help of web entrepreneur Mark Jubbie. We are indebted to you for all your help Mark! Thank you!

We’ve been putting together a business plan with the help of the Wales Co- op society and in the next few months we will be operating a not for profit social enterprise in Swansea to provide even more needed services for artists and musicians and dancers. It has been a mind expanding and difficult process with many long meetings devoted to cash projections and the like but we’ve finally completed it. Watch this space to find out more…

Talking about new services we now are the proud owners of a heat press – a machine that can press transfers onto t-shirts. If you need any doing drop us a line. Also we’ve now bought a spanking new video camera with funding from O2’s community programme: Its your community. So we can start to have a visual record of all our activities.

So what does the future hold?

Quite a lot really.. I'll give you a taster: bigger and better open air gigs in conjunction with Swansea City Centre partnership.. The West Wales Music Awards which M.A.D are organising the steering committee for. Hopefully more recording opportunities for musicians and artists - both audio and visual. And also a number of visual and combined art exhibitions are planned for later on in the year. We really want to help to strengthen the infrastructure of creative people in Swansea and I firmly believe we will succeed.

WHY?

Because we won’t give up!

Never!

Until we’ve regenerated the infra structure for the creative community of swansea - its artists, musicians  dancers and any other creative individuals.

What Swansea M.AD needs is individuals with project management skills to volunteer with us and help manage our projects. And also more artists and musicians to get behind us and work in partnership with us.

GET M.A.D – your City needs you!

"No eternal reward will forgive us now for wasting the dawn" Jim M ( An old friend)