New Recordings...

...are now up for your listening pleasure on the MySpace profile. All 3 of them compressed into MP3 format and displayed like rare butterflies on pins for your inspection and (we hope) delight.
We'd be most grateful for your feedback and comments!

Recording went very well I feel. A long but rewarding weekend got off to a bad start when I managed to sleep in with half the band's equipment in my car. I think I managed to get a bit more professional after that however and we finished what we set out to do with time to spare! I think we've managed to progress once more, and think these recordings stand up well against a mainstream release sound quality-wise. I still have a couple of gripes about the levels in some places (as I always do) but think overall that a good job was done!

Many thanks to Fill Ross at Mill Hill for working his magic and putting so much effort into making us sound good.

Being with the band is fun, hope you all like the recordings. Something different for you in any case!

Cheers,

Brown

And the third one's the charm...

Three days in a row. Get in.

Afternoon all. Just a quick one to say we're recording tomorrow, so I'll be spending this evening on the sofa trying to remember what it is I actually play and explaining how I managed to break the bathroom light to the landlord (not for the first time). Bit annoying cos I was planning on going out to eat tonight, guess I'll cook some chicken fajitas instead...

Everybody else excited about the year of the fire pig? I'm a monkey myself (can't you tell?) so I was quite optimistic about the old fire pig, although apparently it's a bad year for monkeys so that's the end of that. Really want a bright red fire pig t-shirt though, anyone know where I can acquire such a thing?

Anyway, I'm hungry now. MP3s on the site soon y'all...

To Gig Or Not To Gig.. that is the ex-christian..

'Don't start me talkin'

Cold War Kids (http://www.myspace.com/coldwarkids) are playing tonight at the Barfly (Or The Monarch for you old schoolers out there.) with Tiny Dancers(http://www.myspace.com/tinydancers) as support and I can’t decide if I want to go or not. I saw some programme on Channel 4 recently about them and they sounded good.. I think it was straight after the Goo Goo Dolls live from Abbey Road.. which I found quite interesting to watch. There’s nothing like a bit of earnest American MOR rock is there? I actually bought Dizzy Up the Girl on the strength of Iris (much like two thirds of the other people who bought it probably), then proceeded to find the rest of the album not very interesting and just listen to Iris quite a few times resolving to never buy an album on the strength of one song ever again probably.. what else are b-sides for dammit!

Anyway, digressions abound! Cold War Kids.. I own nothing by them, have heard a couple of songs which I really liked and the gig is an XFM gig (I also keep accidentally calling them Cannibal Kids because of a song by that God-awful band Terris (http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/music/sites/terris/) who my brother once saw on a joint tour with Coldplay incidentally..). Tiny Dancers are signed to Parlophone apparently.. (Makes a change for the Record Label part of a myspace band site actually saying that rather than ‘Yes please..’) and I think they could be good, they sound alright, they made a lot of ‘Ones to watch’ lists so I am tempted, but hey, I have lots to do like… try and write some tunes for our own band, finalise extra guitar parts for recording, buy a fucking Glockenspiel (Good name for a band ‘The Fucking Glockenspiels’) and learn to play the parts I’ve already written.. I do have a day off tomorrow.. so no excuses really.. might see if my flatmate can help me decide.. I am leaning to yes at the moment.

That just made me think... for every Coldplay, there is a Terris. I was watching Coldplay on Channel 4 whilst wasting my life in a football management game the other night and they were playing some Ice Hockey megabowl in Canada I think and Chris Martin kept asking if ‘everyone was alright’.. like someone in the 75th row was going to put his hand up and say ‘Actually Chris, I’m not feeling so great’.. just imagine, in hearing this through the cheers.. they stop, tell everyone to shut up and the show becomes quite like a Christian preacher stadium gig..

St. Chris: ‘What’s wrong my child?’
Man: ‘Well.. firstly, my parents named me Onion and I have had to endure a lifetime of ridicule because of this and secondly, having been through years of therapy I finally get over all that and start enjoying my life and I start seeing a nice girl and for her birthday I forked out for the overpriced tickets to this show and quite frankly I wish we’d have just gone out to dinner somewhere nice because you’re not really rocking my world but I will endure you to make her happy so I’m not really alright... I’m kind of disappointed.’
St. Chris: ‘Foul demon, I command thee to begone!!’
Onion: ‘Excuse me?’

*Lightning Bolt disintegrates Onion and security take his screaming girlfriend away*

Band launches into Clocks

St. Chris: ‘Is everyone alright?’

Stunned silence from crowd.

St. Chris: (Psychotic glint in eye) ‘Sing if you know the words’

Crowd sing in pure fear.

St. Chris: ‘Amen to that… you-oooo-ooo… ah…’


Could happen.


Two posts in one day? Woo-hoo!
We're recording this weekend! Woo-hoo!
Yeah!

WFA

Valentine's is not that bad.

I have spent my adult life slagging off valentines on the basis that is invented by Clinton cards and Interflora just to rip people off. And is always a time when the expectant recipients of gifts seem to slag off the opposite sex as much as possible. The reason behind that behaviour clearly to make the opposite sex feel they need to make up for something so buy a bigger, more expensive and shinier gift.

But this year I have actually enjoyed the ‘day of cupid’ (if you call it that it feels less American and less commercial). My other half offered up the suggestion off fish and chips in front of the football. What is a man to do, I had to oblige her request. But to make it romantic we drank a lot of Champagne and the fish and chips were candle lit!

Now Champagne and football go very well much better than 5 pints of Stella. You do still shout at ref and get angry when Arsenal score. Fish and chips and candle light is also a great combo. Both of these partnerships would never have collided but for cupid day so fair play.

All of that thinking and typing has brought me 1 segment of time nearer to being in the studio. Cant wait and am very excited. I have been instructed to dust off the double bass so if we get the time there may well be some real bass on this one. The acoustic studio at Chez Bruce is up and running so some new material will float its way onto the site soon as well.

word

Premium rate phone lines

In order to make an appointment to visit the embassy/consulate you must ring a premium rate phone line (£1 per minute) and use the automated service. What a rip-off! Wouldn't bother me but premium rate lines are blocked from my work phone (boo!) so looks like I'll have to spend my own money on a phone call for the first time in well over a year. Will be a bit of a nuisance having to pay for phone calls again actually, maybe I'll regress to email only.

Band practice tonight, guess we'll mainly be rehearsing the songs we're going to record on the weekend (exciting stuff!). I haven't really finalised my parts for anything yet, except maybe Agent 9 which is pretty straight-forward. We are also looking into turning Bruce's living room into a recording studio for acoustic demos which would be cool to stick on the site. Initial results have been 'rough but promising' apparently so that's, erm, promising. So new stuff coming soon! Recording around Bruce's house will also hopefully mean that he'll make pizzas for us.

Yum!

Road ahead closed. (Can you help me with my amp?)

Hi all,

I had to drive down closed roads and round obstacles like a go-cart course! But I got there in the end, and escaped without a fine or a criminal record! (I hope, damn CCTV)

I enjoyed last night's gig at 93 feet east and thanks to everyone who realised that snow isn't really that big a deal, being frozen water and little else, and came along. I was the only person from my whole department who came into work yesterday! Except one other person who came in at 11.00 for a couple of hours. They all go on about traffic chaos in the media but the real truth is that English people look out the window, see snow, remember being a kid and the school being closed and feel they have divine right to go back to bed. The trains ran, the roads were fine, people are just slackers!

Anyway, so yeah good gig last night, very well played all. Loved Fleeing New York last night too, great set I thought. I also liked the strange looking middle-aged men who came and took their set lists after the show and looked like trainspotters. Set list collectors of up-and-coming bands, like maybe they came more for a piece of paper with song titles scribbled on in marker pen than for the actual set. Having said that, I picked up the drummers set list when I was clearing out at the end. Anyone wanna make me an offer for it?

Joke. It's a priceless memory.

Anyway, Joe's just sent me pictures via email but for some stupid reason I can't open them?! Or I can but then there's nothing there! Apparently Bruce is going to put them on the site soon so no big deal annoying though. Also annoyed that I forgot my camera last night. I think I just forget that I have a camera to be honest. I kind of feel like it's Melek's even though she bought it for me. I'm not good at accepting things...

Ok enough! Next up we have a date with a recording studio which will be fun! I'm debating whether to go back into London tomorrow night to see someone called Tiffany Page play in Islington. She has some good songs but might be a bit of an effort, I think she's playing on a Monday night at the Comedy soon, that might be better? Ah well, anything else worth going to see?

When are Happy Attack playing again? When is the trumpet player back from Peru or wherever he's gone? I might ask Dave...

Gigging in the past and the future!

'Gigging in the past and the future. Discuss'. Sounds like a fantastic title for an enormous essay....or something......er.......yeah anyway.

Sooooooo. It's Joe writing this by the way....the FNG to Pearly.

Did the Betsey Trotwood gig as planned and we thank those who came along to support us that is Pearly. It was an interesting one. Tiny tiny place. Pea size......ok not pea size....but small.

Next up is the fantastic 93 Feet East!!!! Should be an amazing gig!!! Can't wait. Come along and get dancing and eat some curry with us! If you're up for curry put your hands up? Ok I can't see them. Get in touch if you fancy curry. Send us a message to our Myspace site or our website and we'll try and hook up with ya before our gig on Brick Lane.

We got some new shoes on (metaphor.....I won't actually have new shoes on. Instead I'll be wearing some 19th century clogs, which originate from Belgium and are incredibly rare).

Drumming so far has been wicked. Some enjoy my facial gurning and I apologise for that in advance for the new fans out there....but some find it hillarious. Thanks.

Anyway you've been great. Thanks alot. Good to see ya!

JBacon (no jokes please...well if you insist).