Here are a few thoughts for the month of November, there won’t be much to interest you in here… apart from the nudity of course.
Now Movember is upon us, it once again scares the shit out of me at how life races by. It seems like a couple of months ago I walked along the beach with Michelle and the kids sporting a pathetic attempt of a moustache. Last year was a piece of piss really.. I didn’t have to go anywhere. This year I have three gigs throughout the month so by the time Soul Heaven comes around I will be fully MO’d up. I think I’m going for the pencil look.. who knows. I won’t be bleaching the fucker this year, that’s for sure !
This time last year I had 5000 people I could ask for money off for donations.. this year I have nowhere near that many friends on Facebook and seeing as I have no real friends I have to ask all my fans to help. Our team is 26 strong and we are sure to beat last year’s target but I still need some donations to my own page… if you can spare anything then please visit my Movember page.

So the first of the gigs start on Saturday in Croatia, am looking forward to that, followed by the reunion on the 12th and Soul Heaven on the 26th. Big gigs. Should be a much better month than this time last year when the ‘depression’ was kicking in… I’ll do another recap of the year in December – how different it’s going to be this year !
I have been extremely busy over the last few weeks (I just had to sit for a couple of minutes to remember what it is I have actually been busy with), but take my word for it.. I have been sat in front of this monitor all day every day and most nights. Mostly working on things for the Vocal Booth, designing stuff for the new website, preparing the artwork for the DVD etc etc. Remember, you need to be subscribed to the VBW mailing list to get all that juicy stuff and more importantly get ready for the loyalty scheme !
Subscribe/update your details here. If you don’t it WILL cost you money.
One of the key things I have been working on is changing the face of the VBW website. I am all ready to go with it and it is going to do my head in for the next 5 weeks while I have to wait. There is a calculated plan of attack regarding it and all that it involves, I do get conscious of information overload but the fact of the matter is, despite being locked into the project here constantly there aren’t that many mails that get sent out. Furthermore, the mailing list is ALL people that have subscribed themselves so hopefully the info they get is of use. The same goes for you guys here.. as you can tell from the way that I write it is a very personal blog now and only for those of you who care to make the effort to read it (I said ‘Thank You’, didnt I ?).
One thing I have learned which I touched on in the show this week, is the effectiveness of mailing lists. The wonderful Mailchimp portal has opened up a world of possibilites.. it is nothing new really to people in that field although I am now happily fully involved. Did you know that the industry standard for reach is 15%, meaning you mail to 100 people and only 15 of them will actually open it. In the recent two mails I sent out to the VBW list, I am at around 40% at the moment, which is much better than the ‘standard’ but still pretty useless if you think about it. No wonder every bastard is always asking stupid questions I spend hours answering on line !! (I just did a fist shake to the screen).
The whole point of me bringing this up is to maybe open your eyes to the wonders of Mailchimp if you have a large database of people to reach and want to see who reads your hard work.
For now, I’ll keep this site running the same as it is… the info is there if people want to find it.
Hmmmm.. what else is happening ? Well, I said last week that Twitter was shit and within 24 hours I owned 2 accounts. Proper ! Follow me for the occasional randomness, there are only a few people following me which means I am bound to come out with loads of shite ! @handyward is my twitter name or whatever it’s called.
Had a coffee break.. lost my train of thought…
I guess the biggest thing for me in the last weeks is the finishing of the VB movie.
It has been filmed, directed and edited by Martin Clark who has done an amazing job. It comes in just short of an hour for the main movie, with extra footage, testimonials, photos to download as well as last year’s 25 minute movie for you to own.
All the info is over on the VBW site and next Saturday when we do the private screening I am going to be a bit embarrassed as the first 5 minutes are just me talking about the history of the event and how we got to where we are today. Then there are loads of nice comments about what a wonderful person I am by the guys I paid to say nice things about me. Once all that back slapping is out of the way it really does kick in with the full blown VB experience. I am fighting the temptation to over hype it as it really is wicked, but of course I am going to say that because it is ‘my baby’. I also can make the excuse that I didn’t choose what went into the final cut when everyone moans it’s all about me.
Why wouldn’t it be? What, you mean you don’t want to pay £15 for a “We love Andy Ward” documentary ? Piss off then !
Here is a clip of what to expect:

That also reminds me, in the coming weeks I will also be changing the home page on this site, giving it a slightly different look but I am more than happy with how it works so nothing else will be changing.
I was sure I had more to say, you may want to check back here later as I may have added to it.
I hope this message finds you in a happy place. I am very happy at the moment, life is good. I love you for taking the time to read my thoughts.
P.S – there are no nude photos.. but it got your attention.. Sex Sells !