So what's new..

well since we decided to call a time out on the band i have occupied myself with writing and practicing.

i have a couple of small projects in the pipeline which should keep me occupied for the time being. as ever i shall keep everyone informed

Have a break, have a kit-kat...

so for the past few weeks we have been dealing with the loss of a guitarist. it turns out that we miss his input more than we thought we would, and despite trying out a replacement, things feel empty and the band feels loose...

morale last night was at a low, we are back where dave and i started a year or more ago. after a 3rd unproductive practice, we have decided to step back from this band for a couple of months.

with having to get a new guitarist up to speed, by the time we are there and have written new songs, del will be lording it up in thailand for a couple of months so we have decided for now, that the band is on a hiatus.

we do plan to come back when del has finished his trip to thailand and won the heart of a thai bride, but for now, other projects will take place.

check back here for updates on what myself and the band get up to

The new guy...

so this week was our first without rich, it was kind of strange not having him there, as he had become a key member in the band in both music and band dynamic.

we did however have a replacement guitarist join us. when we knew richard was leaving, i called in a favour from a friend i have known years, a very talented metal guitarist.

we learned the songs really fast, and added his own spin on them, which gave them a bit more energy and made us play harder and with a heavier edge.

once he left, we played through the set prior to our festival slots coming up. we are planning to do these gigs and write a new set before embarking on a new stage of our existance.

its not that our songs are bad or that we are bored with them, but out of the 7 songs we have in our arsenal, only 2 were written as this band, the others written by myself and dave in various other versions of this band. we are hoping that a new guitarist and new songs will help us gel as a band and push us forward.

Update...

i must admit, i have been quite slow in updating this. so here goes the update.

we have finished recording our ep, we decided that rather than mix it ourselves we are gonna offer it out to a producer to get a better quality output.

unfortunatly tho, we have parted company without lead guitarist richard. after a string of good gigs with him, due to financial reasons he has had to pull out. he will be missed greatly, but as one says, the show must go on.

back to the studio's tommorrow with a trialist on guitar.

Hit record....

more recording was done for the 6 songs we have so far, we recorded the guitar parts for 4 of the songs, and we had a great laugh doing it.

unfortunatly, we didnt have a drummer, he decided not to come... what are we going to do with him?

Drop a beat!...

so its easter sunday, and i'm mixing/recording the rhythm section for the upcoming ep.

one thing i've learnt about mixing/producing is that the key to a good mix is good base material, especially from the drums, cos weak or loose drums will in turn make the rest of the recording seem sloppy and rushed.

so right now, i'm sitting with a bass, a click track and a set of drums.

at the moment the drums have had some minor tweaks done to bring certain sections in time, but on the whole they are pretty good.

still a lot of work to do, but we are gonna work on guitars tuesday so i'm trying to get some decent sounding drums and some decent base bass tracks for the fly boys to work with.

Pub grub...

so every now and then you have a gig that goes bad for you but great for everyone else.. this was one of those gigs.

we rolled to the portland in order to partake in a strawberry fair benefit gig as the headline act for the first time in our short history.

we got our gear in, set up, and the problems began with dave's amp getting broken, luckily we were able to get it fixed by the ever handy jazz prior to getting on stage.

having so much time to kill, we hit the bar which was my first mistake. i always make a point of not eating or drinking before a gig, it keeps me sharp, keeps me focused. but this time i decided that due to hunger and just generally being out of it from works stresses and strains that id partake in food.

we then went to watch the first band, chainstoke.. a sleaze/classic rock band who put on a good show, and if they didn't take themselves seriously they would be a good laugh.

east strikes west were next, the best sound ever at the portland i believe was said, mainly due to having a sound guy who has followed them on tour.

next up was us, we went through the first 2 songs without a hitch, before i realised my amp wasn't pulling its weight.. i found out through "over me" a cable had not been connected, so had to rush in and get it plugged... this was also the song my voice decided to go.

we hammered through "coffee is warming", and went into "burn forever" which we followed up with the simple machines tune "need more time".. this presented an issue as i couldnt keep my voice in key, due to a combination of not hearing myself and it being fucked and it just got worse through "right where i belong".

i cam off the stage feeling like shit, one of the worst performances personally for a long while, but the major contrast was that the others and the crowd enjoyed it.

on the up side we were tighter in terms of playing together, i just couldnt sing...

one has to take nights like this on the chin and get on with it. now we plan to take some time to get the songs finally recorded and mixed and then start writing new songs.

line up:

chainstoke
eaststrikewest
paper soldiers

set:

sleepy eyes
take me out
over me
coffee is warming
burn forever
need more time
right where i belong