Was Quite a Journey to get here guys and girls!

Welcome!
I would like to thank you for taking the time to stop by and check out another independent artist. I have quite a story to tell, but I think I will leave that until the end of this section. I'm hoping that TheGrandTwelve has finally found a home here, a place to grow and attract others. I've been dreaming of finding a way to launch this huge collection of music without having to answer to executives and managers that know nothing about art. Is this the place? You guys and girls tell me, I'm new here!
I promise to use any donations wisely and honestly, and only for this path. I also promise to spread a percentage back into this community if it is what I think it is.
One last thing before I get to the main story....
I LOVE music and I love the craziness this chase into the unknown has left me with, I just kinda need to eat and keep the lights on.
help me shove this music out of the door and I will make sure that no patron will ever have to pay to see me. You will all get exclusive access to this journey as i walk it.
I also promise to use talent from this site as things progress forward.
This is my favourite poem....See you at the end of this section!

TheGrandTwelve
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The Cloths of Heaven

Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven

by W. B. Yeats (1865-1939)

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Here we go! If you are inclined to a cuppa or cigarette, now is the time to get a brew on, light that cigarette and make yourself comfortable...

Whilst some people have stumbled upon this site/idea, other have been waiting all of their life for something like this to come along. I fall into the second category.
I was born into a lifestyle you see, nobody gets to decide who they are going to be. You wash up here on planet earth and everything is confusion until you are told how to speak and think.
For me, life began with my dad passing away just after running off with the last of our money. We were on welfare, every penny counted. I remember sitting on box's and mattresses whilst my mum worked night and day to keep 5 children fed and warm. It never seemed strange back then, My mum hid the path well and we grew up as best we could.
Kids are fucking assholes man. Not only did I end up getting a beating for being poor, but I also got a good healthy beating for being the only kid in class without a dad. Music released me.
I had mix tapes and I used to walk past my brother's guitars, they fascinated me. Especially in a house with so few luxuries and distractions, they were like portals to another place!
We moved around a lot when I was a kid. Always looking to find a place to settle, but we were to be pulled back to London when I was 15 as my brother had just been diagnosed with cancer. There was no point sticking with school now. My mind was made up....
I was going to get my family out of poverty through music. It was never a dream, it was a way out. I would make music, get in bands and release it to record companies....FAST FORWARD A FEW YEARS...
THE MUSIC INDUSTRY WAS CORRUPT! WHO KNEW!
I started making records when I was 14 years old, on an old Tascam 4 track. Those songs sucked but I loved the process. When we moved back to London, I began making demos on an old aiwa hi-fi stereo we had in our front room. Certainly, couldnt afford anything else! This began a massive journey, the one I am still on now.
Music released me. again.
Got signed in a band when I was 16, playing bass and singing. My manager turned out to be an idiot and I got to look behind the dirty curtain of rock and roll. Toured, took a lot of drugs and developed severe depression when my path wasn't what I thought it was.
Tried being a part of the world for a while, started a new band, toured, worked my ass off and got caught up in stupid money making business shit.
Walked away for a while this time, found my way by figuring out who I actually was again.
My journey imploded for the last time in February 2015. The incredibly special woman that helped inspire me to fight left this plane and I descended into chaos. We had a week with her in the hospital and eventually we let her slip away, but I left a promise in her ear...
I used to catch her singing my songs when I would visit her, I'd hear her whistling away the music that was going to save us from the pain of having to struggle to live, eat and somehow move forward.
When she died, I worked. I chased my tail and almost joined her a few times. I'm here because I refuse to give up and I KNOW I have something to offer the world.
There's more to my story, a lot more. I didn't realise how much more until I started typing this out.
I have nothing to hide, I have everything to give back.
Thank you for reading this.
If any of this resonates with you and you need someone to listen then please get in touch.
Love and Light, TheGrandTwelve