Friday, May 06, 2005
On the Blog.
This week saw Müf, White Sunday and Red Antennae all acquire pages on arkade.com, a lovely, spanking new site for bands to promote themselves and sell music through. I wish I could find my copy of the Müf CD (and I know that Rob B will be deeply unimpressed by the fact that I have managed to mislay ANOTHER copy, he's already burnt three for me!) so I could upload "We Could Be Friends" and "Schmindie" to the Müf site - the two tracks that are currently up on arkade.com are currently available from our website as well, whereas the other two are not. If we could sell 5 million copies of Schmindie via Arkade I could start looking at yachts and things, which would be nice.
All three of the tracks available from Arkade feature guitar parts designed to have children and adults alike posing with tennis rackets in front of mirrors in their bedrooms - this, I have decided, should be the ultimate aim of anyone who writes guitar-based music. I love the idea of having someone listening to the tunes and waging an internal war/dialogue about whether or not they feel secure enough in themselves to prance about with a tennis racket in front of a mirror. In fact, I've found that prancing about in front of a mirror with a tennis racket is the best way to develop and practice new poses and "moves" as it completely liberates you from guitar-related practicalities and leaves you free to concentrate on how to moonwalk and play behind your neck at the same time. Plus I'm happier smashing up a tennis racket than I am a guitar. Justin Hawkins once remarked that smashing up a guitar was on a par with beating your wife, but I'd say that it was worse than that. A guitar doesn't expect you to buy it dinner and jewellery before it will let you run your fingers all over it as you try to coax some sexy noises out of it.
This week also saw the inaugural night of hip-shaking and finger-waggling at Po Na Na nightclub in Reading, as Unsigned Showcase prepares to transfer itself from Colorz. T'was good, much better than Bar Oz/Colorz from a punter's point of view as there are seats and nooks and crannies to sit in and chill without being deafened by a PA, as well as cheap booze, etc. From a band's POV I think the stage is a bit small and there's not much of a dance floor compared to Colorz, but then you need fewer people to make it look busy! It was one of Reading's strongest line-ups, The Palestinians, Pete and the Pirates, Heartwear Process and Rebus played, with a fair few people in attendance. White Sunday are playing there next Tuesday (10th May) so I'll report back with a front-line perspective next week.
White Sunday are also playing the last night at the former spiritual home of the Reading music scene at Colorz on 19th May along with LIV, Bernard and Call Sign Panda, which should be a great night. I haven't seen me old mate Dez with a bass in his hand for a while (he beat me in an air guitar contest once - he's a worthy adversary!) so I'm looking forward to hearing CSP, and Bernard are supposed to be good too (as I'm sure LIV will be!). I'll miss the place, have had many a good night there. Ah well, all good things end in come.
I'm flying up to Aberdeen to play a gig there next month, my first time being flown to a gig. Looking forward to doing the "walking across tarmac to the airplane carrying a guitar case" bit - will feel like un petit peu du roque star. Actually all our kit is being driven up in a van, but what's the point in being flown about the place to play gigs, etc. if you can’t let the whole world know about it? Money just isn’t enough of a motivating factor for me, I need to be able to live out these public cameos or it just stops being fun.
Re; the Aberdeen gig, someone mentioned that the party who booked us may be expecting a "traditional" Scottish band, so I am learning "Kayleigh" by Marillion in order to set-up a gag.
"We were expecting a Celidh!"
See you next time, grapple-fans.
E-A-S-Y! E-A-S-Y! E-A-S-Y!
You! Shuuut uuup!!! Etc.
All three of the tracks available from Arkade feature guitar parts designed to have children and adults alike posing with tennis rackets in front of mirrors in their bedrooms - this, I have decided, should be the ultimate aim of anyone who writes guitar-based music. I love the idea of having someone listening to the tunes and waging an internal war/dialogue about whether or not they feel secure enough in themselves to prance about with a tennis racket in front of a mirror. In fact, I've found that prancing about in front of a mirror with a tennis racket is the best way to develop and practice new poses and "moves" as it completely liberates you from guitar-related practicalities and leaves you free to concentrate on how to moonwalk and play behind your neck at the same time. Plus I'm happier smashing up a tennis racket than I am a guitar. Justin Hawkins once remarked that smashing up a guitar was on a par with beating your wife, but I'd say that it was worse than that. A guitar doesn't expect you to buy it dinner and jewellery before it will let you run your fingers all over it as you try to coax some sexy noises out of it.
This week also saw the inaugural night of hip-shaking and finger-waggling at Po Na Na nightclub in Reading, as Unsigned Showcase prepares to transfer itself from Colorz. T'was good, much better than Bar Oz/Colorz from a punter's point of view as there are seats and nooks and crannies to sit in and chill without being deafened by a PA, as well as cheap booze, etc. From a band's POV I think the stage is a bit small and there's not much of a dance floor compared to Colorz, but then you need fewer people to make it look busy! It was one of Reading's strongest line-ups, The Palestinians, Pete and the Pirates, Heartwear Process and Rebus played, with a fair few people in attendance. White Sunday are playing there next Tuesday (10th May) so I'll report back with a front-line perspective next week.
White Sunday are also playing the last night at the former spiritual home of the Reading music scene at Colorz on 19th May along with LIV, Bernard and Call Sign Panda, which should be a great night. I haven't seen me old mate Dez with a bass in his hand for a while (he beat me in an air guitar contest once - he's a worthy adversary!) so I'm looking forward to hearing CSP, and Bernard are supposed to be good too (as I'm sure LIV will be!). I'll miss the place, have had many a good night there. Ah well, all good things end in come.
I'm flying up to Aberdeen to play a gig there next month, my first time being flown to a gig. Looking forward to doing the "walking across tarmac to the airplane carrying a guitar case" bit - will feel like un petit peu du roque star. Actually all our kit is being driven up in a van, but what's the point in being flown about the place to play gigs, etc. if you can’t let the whole world know about it? Money just isn’t enough of a motivating factor for me, I need to be able to live out these public cameos or it just stops being fun.
Re; the Aberdeen gig, someone mentioned that the party who booked us may be expecting a "traditional" Scottish band, so I am learning "Kayleigh" by Marillion in order to set-up a gag.
"We were expecting a Celidh!"
See you next time, grapple-fans.
E-A-S-Y! E-A-S-Y! E-A-S-Y!
You! Shuuut uuup!!! Etc.
# posted by AK @ 12:21 
Comments:
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I disagree with your tennis racket theory mate: you can practise those moves all you want, but when you get on stage and realise that you can't play and pull the move at the same time, you're buggered. Witness my attempt at playing a flying V behind my head! Worked with a cricket bat...
Re: flying with a guitar - I've had no end of problems trying to get an acoustic in to cabin luggage (I've seen what baggage handlers do to innocent guitars). Martin Barre of Jethro Tull (name drop, name drop) once showed me how he'd had all the excess body of a Strat sawn off so that he could carry it on the plane. Mind you, the last time I flew with a guitar was into Kabul airport. Given how the Taleban destroyed every musical instrument they could, my guitar was more of interest than I was: "Guitarrrr?" "Bale, guitar" "Guitarrr ast!!" "Yes, that's right." "Guitarrrr!" "Mmm hmm" "......guitarrr?" "Yes, yes, alright!"
P.S. Review?
Re: flying with a guitar - I've had no end of problems trying to get an acoustic in to cabin luggage (I've seen what baggage handlers do to innocent guitars). Martin Barre of Jethro Tull (name drop, name drop) once showed me how he'd had all the excess body of a Strat sawn off so that he could carry it on the plane. Mind you, the last time I flew with a guitar was into Kabul airport. Given how the Taleban destroyed every musical instrument they could, my guitar was more of interest than I was: "Guitarrrr?" "Bale, guitar" "Guitarrr ast!!" "Yes, that's right." "Guitarrrr!" "Mmm hmm" "......guitarrr?" "Yes, yes, alright!"
P.S. Review?
# posted by 
: 4:14 PM
: 4:14 PM
Ah yes, review. There's nothing I can say at this point, really. I'll just get it to you as soon as I can and save you any more empty words. "God Damn Breeder" is a classic, and your singer has the best rock voice I've heard since Gary from Reef. That's my review in a nutshell.
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