This past weekend we played our biggest gig ever. Supporting Idlewild at Fat Sam's live in Dundee.
A few weeks ago we supported The Departure in Edinburgh and Dundee. The gigs were super sweet, and the Departure were an amazing live band and all round grand human beings. The day after the Dundee gig, whilst we were still in a mild state of post-orgasmic chill, we received an e-mail asking if we would support Idlewild in Dundee. We promptly said "Awooga, a hell yeeah!". So Saturday came, we recruited one Daniel Quinn from local indie kings Dave? to help us sound-check while Markie worked hard in his hellish day job, then we hit Fat Sam's and did all the technical tomfoolery. Doors were at 7.30pm, we were to go on at 8pm, so from about 6pm we sat upstairs in the venue, quietly drinking and climbing anything that could be climbed and killing the minutes. 8pm came along, we trotted out expecting the early comers and venue staff to be standing in a mostly empty room, we were wrong. The place was darn busy, we played in front of a few hundred people and were happy as Annie!
The rest of the evening was filled with blagging VIP passes, stealing headline acts rider and playing Frisbee on a tanked up Ned street. Glory.
Next up we are off to Glasgow (I hope, once again day jobs are putting the trip under threat), then its back in Dundee again to play at The Doghouse as part of the venues 25 band unsigned extravaganza. Going to be sweet. I'm sure we will go down like a lead balloon in front of an indie happy crowd, but I look forward to the challenge.
I look mighty forward to winter gigging. This time of year always gets me. I feel like some kind of sentimental old woman saying it, but the chill in the air, the red cheeks and fairy lights on dark nights, all that sort of early winter stuff makes me feel strangely romantic. Even the shit stuff, bus journeys home from work, half pissed and feeling sorry for yourself, it all feels slightly more magical against a nippy and dark back drop. As much as I'm sure it is a great time for gathering, I always find it's a time when being sad and lonely has its perks. You feel more justified in being miserable at this time of the year, and its easier to slip under the radar and do what you like when everyone else is getting cosy and festive. And an obvious drink problem can be disguised as "Festive Spirit".
Merry October to all.
Wednesday, 24 October 2007
Saturday, 6 October 2007
Scratching the Surplus
Hello.
After a little delay due to mixing and our own fussiness our new demos are up on our myspace page for all to enjoy, or not enjoy.
So far the feedback we have received has been super swell, we are mega grateful for the support. And we are also very grateful to those who have helped us sell out our allocation of tickets for our gig with The Departure at The Westie this coming Wednesday. It is going to be fantastisch! To say I'm excited would be rather wide of the mark, I think I may explode in my attempts to sleep on Tuesday night.
I'm glad the songs turned out how we wanted them to, loud and a bit sexy, as up until the moment I heard them finished on Thursday I was in quite a little stormer. Reading music press never fails to get me more wound up than badger with a stubbed toe. It began on Wednesday night reading the NME. Having all these twats in shit bands hark on about how different they are really is begining to grate, if you make music that obviously rips someone of, but you do it well, then just hold your hands up, don't claim to be "re-inventing the wheel". Bollocks. Then I read some reviews by Dundee's premier music reviewer. Someone who I never really take exception to, it would be like be offended by a semi-literate child, but reading some of his latest reviews I was shocked at a serious wave of arrogance creeping into his half-arsed scribblings. This is most likely due to many of the bands on the scene taking his approval as some sort of grand badge of honour.
I then picked up a copy of a national music magazine, flicked to the Dundee section, and had a study. Once again the fella writing it has taking a terribly unattractive and snobby stance, once again putting spotlight a certain type of band (friends and family really) and disregarding everything else. This typical of the current set up around the city. You have your alternative indie types, they wont give you a second look if your prime influences ain't obscure and American and if you don't consider yourself to be "post"-somethingorother. This section probably scoff and snigger into their art portfolios at the mention of the other types of indie in the city. Though on the other hand you have the fairly tight knit group who see any experimentation as evil black magic wrong doing. The indie is indie is guitar bland selective.
I love bands from both sides of this divide, but struggle to get along with the attitude of either.
So we have set up our selves in a new category. Bands with no mates who suffer extreme disillusions of grandeur. Hail.
Har tee har.
It's not just the music media which has caused me confusion of late, watching 24 hour news and reading papers I can't help wondering if it's all just one big social experiement to see how we react when prompted to see things from a particular viewpoint. I was half expecting to see a video of some Burmese monks being shot the other day then have the news reader tell me of the great struggle of the militery and their battle against these religious terrorists. Just to fuck with us. Trouble is though, most would probably just agree. Scary stuff.
x
After a little delay due to mixing and our own fussiness our new demos are up on our myspace page for all to enjoy, or not enjoy.
So far the feedback we have received has been super swell, we are mega grateful for the support. And we are also very grateful to those who have helped us sell out our allocation of tickets for our gig with The Departure at The Westie this coming Wednesday. It is going to be fantastisch! To say I'm excited would be rather wide of the mark, I think I may explode in my attempts to sleep on Tuesday night.
I'm glad the songs turned out how we wanted them to, loud and a bit sexy, as up until the moment I heard them finished on Thursday I was in quite a little stormer. Reading music press never fails to get me more wound up than badger with a stubbed toe. It began on Wednesday night reading the NME. Having all these twats in shit bands hark on about how different they are really is begining to grate, if you make music that obviously rips someone of, but you do it well, then just hold your hands up, don't claim to be "re-inventing the wheel". Bollocks. Then I read some reviews by Dundee's premier music reviewer. Someone who I never really take exception to, it would be like be offended by a semi-literate child, but reading some of his latest reviews I was shocked at a serious wave of arrogance creeping into his half-arsed scribblings. This is most likely due to many of the bands on the scene taking his approval as some sort of grand badge of honour.
I then picked up a copy of a national music magazine, flicked to the Dundee section, and had a study. Once again the fella writing it has taking a terribly unattractive and snobby stance, once again putting spotlight a certain type of band (friends and family really) and disregarding everything else. This typical of the current set up around the city. You have your alternative indie types, they wont give you a second look if your prime influences ain't obscure and American and if you don't consider yourself to be "post"-somethingorother. This section probably scoff and snigger into their art portfolios at the mention of the other types of indie in the city. Though on the other hand you have the fairly tight knit group who see any experimentation as evil black magic wrong doing. The indie is indie is guitar bland selective.
I love bands from both sides of this divide, but struggle to get along with the attitude of either.
So we have set up our selves in a new category. Bands with no mates who suffer extreme disillusions of grandeur. Hail.
Har tee har.
It's not just the music media which has caused me confusion of late, watching 24 hour news and reading papers I can't help wondering if it's all just one big social experiement to see how we react when prompted to see things from a particular viewpoint. I was half expecting to see a video of some Burmese monks being shot the other day then have the news reader tell me of the great struggle of the militery and their battle against these religious terrorists. Just to fuck with us. Trouble is though, most would probably just agree. Scary stuff.
x
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