The Weston Echo news team is made up of volunteers, most of which have day jobs and dedicate a small amount of time per week to writing about the local subjects that interest them most.

We are expanding our news team as there are various areas that we do not currently cover in local interest which we would like people to write for, these categories are listed below so please have a look through to see what you would enjoy writing about. If you have any friends, family or work colleagues that would be interested please point them in our direction.

Benefits of writing for the Weston Echo

• Get your voice heard in the local community writing about the things you love
• Local recognition for your writing talents
• Free promotion for your personal or business enterprise
• Exclusive yourname@westonecho.co.uk email address
• Being part of something new and exciting

The following categories currently require more writers to submit their stories:

• Education
• Local Affairs (General News)
• Food, including restaurant reviews
• Sport – Football, Motoring, Rugby to name but a few
• What’s on, cinema and theatre

Are other categories not listed here always have space for more articles so take a look at the menu at the top, or even suggest a new category for us!

Contact Matthew Stone at editor@westonecho.co.uk for more information on getting started.

Matthew Stone is the Editor of the Weston Echo. He is also an established I.T. Professional working for a local database marketing company

Hey everyone… I know my last article was only a couple of days ago but I thought I would strike while the iron’s hot to let you know about a certain competition that is being held at The Kings Head tonight.

Heat 1 of the AXE FACTOR begins tonight to find the best musical (acoustic) talent in the Bristol and North Somerset area. Last year around 100 entrants were wittled down to a final  and this year it runs in the same way. Hopefully some people who entered last year are re-competing as the standard of musicianship and vocal talent was amazing. I wouldn’t like to name drop anyone in fear of dissension but I did have my favourites I have to admit. Alfie Kingston will be on hand providing the highest quality live sound for the performers and for  a small fee you can also get a professional video recording of your performance to both use as a powerful marketing tool for your music and also as a little reminder of your exploits in years to come. Something that is always worth spending good money on in my opinion. The winners of the competition will eventually be signed to Viper Music and win a cash prize.

Winner 2009 - Jemma Rycroft

Here is a description of AXE FACTOR taken from the online group

“The Axe Factor is back for 2010. This Acoustic Competition was a huge success last year with two of the finalists being signed to ViperMusic.

The first heat will be held on Wednesday 20th January and the final will be held in June. You can play originals or covers or a mixture of both. As usual there will be up to four Judges who will give constructive comments on the artistes performance over a minimum three song set. Feedback from last year was that this competition was great fun and a great networking opportunity which did lead in many cases to high profile performances around Bristol & the Southwest”
If you would like to enter please contact Mark Venus on facebook
http://www.facebook.com/mark.venus or e-mail mark@vipermusic.co.uk

DON’T FORGET: You don’t have to be a performer to go along and be involved. Having an engaging live audience is part of the whole experience for the live performer and your support means more than you may know… Get off the sofa and be part of your local music scene, there’s a swift pint in it for you too!

The Kings Head is located at 91 Bridgewater Road, Bedminster Down, Bristol

Ryan Inglis is a music columnist for the Weston Echo. He is also an established local musician who writes and sings his own music, and appears at gigs throughout the South of England. He also teaches guitar, and has been involved in various local charities.

Well here we go.  This is my first attempt at writing for a newspaper… It’s a very exciting time. I feel like a Fleet street high roller already.

So… the idea of my little posts will be to aid those of you who play music and need pointing in the right direction here and there to further your experience, confidence and knowledge. Also, to let you know of significant & relevant upcoming events and ways to help you ‘get out there’ and get your music heard in the North Somerset area and beyond.

To give you a bit of background about myself I started playing the guitar at 16 and moved to Weston-super-Mare when I was 21. After attending a lot of acoustic nights to improve my confidence and abilities I began singing a little bit… this then led to getting gigs and teaching guitar. I did the music technology course at Weston College (more info on that later) and ended up teaching there too. I have entered music competitions and worked on event management for a local music charity. I have been involved in running acoustic nights as well as performing all around the South of England. I like doing what I do and I hope these articles will be of benefit to you in some way.

Ok, so… you’re probably reading this because you’re into music. You might play an instrument and maybe even sing. Write your own songs? If the answer is yes then the next question is what do you do to get yourself out there?

At STAR 107.7FM radio they are currently accepting applications to get ORIGINAL, LOCAL music on air and to help promote what you do and what you’re up to. Having been on the show a few times myself with Darren Daley, Angela Cassidy & Chris Wakeling (also Joe Malik back in the day) I can tell you that the help and support from these guys is invaluable and it’s a great chance to be heard across the region.

Send your mp3’s to Darren Daley at darren.daley@star1077.co.uk. They are looking for 1 original acoustic track and 1 cover version. Here is a recording from when I went on the show last summer to give you an idea Ryan Inglis – Red Alert

If you are selected you will be called into the studio in the morning (usually about 8am!) and you will get interviewed live on the show and you will perform a couple of tracks too.

Well happy emailing and I hope to hear you live soon. Thanks for reading

Ryan Inglis is a music columnist for the Weston Echo. He is also an established local musician who writes and sings his own music, and appears at gigs throughout the South of England. He also teaches guitar, and has been involved in various local charities.