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12 Nov 2007
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In my latest spat of rock and roll injuries, my wrist has given way. A
long-time sufferer of RSI, which flares up from time-to-time, I seem to
have twisted my right-wrist in an unfortunate manner during the gig a
couple of nights ago. This is not good news, partially because of the
spate of increasingly un-funny jokes linking any sort of wrist injury
to some sort of self-pleasuring.
Get. A. Life.
The gig itself was... an Ivory Black's gig. The sad thing about working
in such close proximity with local bands and venues is the having to be
nice part - I can't rip apart everything I'd like to without being
reprimanded further down the line for such behaviour.
It was an interesting return back to the olden days of the RipOffs -
playing there on a fairly regular basis; a trip down memory lane, if
you will.
With myself and Keith forced to do the soundcheck in the absence of
Haigie - turning up literally 1 minute before we took to the stage;
barging in, scarf flowing in the wind - it was never going to be the
best-prepared showing of musical brilliance in the world, but we pulled
it off - the newer songs sounding just as crisp as the last time. It's
a wonderful time to be part of the throbbing organ.
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20 Dec 2006
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Local Bands Suck.
Tonight was the eve of the first ever RipOffs outing to King Tut's as performers. It was the first time in a number of months that we had came together to play live, on a stage, to people. As a result, it was the cause of some... interesting thoughts and foresights.
Come the gig, we had help from a huge load of people, such as lighting-guy Hammy, all-rounder, sexy bearded Chris, the usual Eon Hetherton, and Alan Graham doing his photo-thing that he does best. I shall wait till I get the pictures back from him before posting any (well, obviously.)
A huuuge turn-out for us: possibly the biggest in our ticket-selling history... it made us smile, so if you came, or bought a ticket... thank you :) It was made even more brilliant by the fact that it was 18+, so many of our usual dedicated following were unable to attend [without the aid of fake ID].
The set went fairly well: me opening with heads on acoustic was a one-off experiment, on which I was not too keen. Anyone who knows me will know that playing myself, especially at the first gig in one of Glasgow's "most important" small venues is not something I'd jump at doing. However, it was done. Much to my horror, the acoustic was out of tune ever so slightly: ugh. My pet-hate.
Irrespective, swiftly the set moved on to songs such as Dada, White Wine, Stuck in Democracy, Fore, this is how we broke his toes [new!], Kala and Nearest as the Crow Flies... so all in all, it went from really quiet, to blissfully distorted.
I have to say I was amused that the barrier was put up at King Tut's at the front of the stage... I don't know whether they have to do that if there's more than a certain amount of people in, or whether they'd heard about our rock and roll grunge insanity. I think a bit of both... I find it even more amusing that they didn't expect to sell many tickets, hence why they added in an extra band (who happened to be relatives of Biffy Clyro), and the combined greatness of ourselves, We Are the Physics etc, made the place as busy as I've ever seen it.
We Are the Physics rocked, as usual... and actually changed their set about! At one surreal moment, I stood back, surveyed the flashing lights, the whisps of the smoke machine, the shine of the black plastic-rimmed specs, and the bubbles floating up in front of the stage, and thought: This Is Good.
So as we sauntered home carrying boxes full of rider, we smiled.
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30 Oct 2006
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So, this weekend past, your favourite three-piece descended on an industrial estate near Parkhead, to cobble together musical masterpieces.
It was a grand affair, with the piles of glass Irn-Bru bottles (used to pay the rent) and assorted strange objects littered around the room as usual: evidence of the bands who rent the property.
All was going well... the magic that comes when the RipOffs grace musical instruments was flowing, when a pause was declared to be needed to get some more refreshments.
A quick recce quickly revealed that the car keys were not, indeed, in the studio, but were somewhere else entirely. The sheer enormity of the developing situation took hold: The keys stared up from the back seat.
After it was clear that none of the locals who would be adept at car-jacking were around, and that the other bands in the vicinity were heartless fools, options of screwdrivers and hammers were considered; all to no avail.
The next option was to find a hard-looking mechanic, who after uttering some unmentionables, proceded to hand over a long, thin metal pole. Oh great.
However, due to some amazing criminal skills from yours truely, the panic was over, and we sat once again in our beloved green travel-wagon.
With hilarity like this on offer, you'd be a fool not to come to King Tut's.
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23 Jun 2006
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My amp is back to life. Oh yes!
Also.. a very belated diary entry regarding our appearance at the Whahey cafe the other week.
It was an interesting affair. A bit more serious than last time.... which was probably the downfall. Eon H played well, as usual.
I was up next and played three songs on the ol' acoustic... my first, and possibly last appearance on my own playing guitar. It went much better than I'd expected, and was made even better by the following performance by the RipOffs. It was fairly poor; really difficult to get into the mood of things, and lacked any edge. If you weren't there, you were pretty lucky...
No gigs booked for the next while. That's probably us broke up for the summer, as they say, but who knows...
Stephen
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06 Jun 2006
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Tonight, I was privileged enough to witness We Are the Physics supporting 'You Say Party! We Say Die!' at the infamous King Tut's Wah Wah Hut; my talents being put to good use, as I was soon drafted into the 'crew' as the Official Lighting Engineer. That's right baby; let there be light. |
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31 May 2006
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Glasgow Barfly w/ Missin' A Bit; supporting Takota
(photos by Alan Graham - click)
Downstairs in the Barfly was a new experience for ourselves, and definitely a good one. Playing with Takota (click for Myspace), from Orange County in California, one may be forgiven for expecting certain... attributes from such a band, however, all pre-notions that anyone has/had about arrogant Americans were completely false in this case, with the guys from Takota being one of the friendliest bands that we've played with yet. They also sounded far rockier and fuller in person than they do on recording, which is never a bad thing.
The stage was bigger than it usually looks; rather, it had less stuff on it than for other bands. It's amazing how many five-piece groups they have playing in a venue with such a small stage-space.
With one of the soundguys being trained up during our soundcheck, it made for a... slow experience. But, to pay credit where it's deserved, last night was one of the few times I've ever heard my vocals so clear through the on-stage monitors; so good show.
We employed a better technique of running songs into each other, which resulted in a lot more stage-time left than we'd expected, which was filled out by chucking a free t-shirt or two at some blue-haired dancing girls.
Despite my shaky voice quality over the past few days, and exploding amp, the Marshall which we had to replace my amp sounded altogether not too bad, and my voice held up pretty well (one note in Nearest as the Crow Flies aside... woops; hope no-one noticed; I certainly did 0: ) - it wasn't meant to be that high.)
The first gig to offer a proper rider also; after the gig finished, we stayed around the city with Takota themselves, with lots of rock and roll happenings that are too wild to be contained in this blog alone. (we got a curry)
People to note: Missin' a bit. Alan Graham and his camera. Chris and Jamie for being the trusty merch/crew. Eon H for being around, and everyone else for just turning up.
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28 May 2006
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It's one thing after another just now, as a tickly throat developed into a total loss of voice yesterday. It's slowly coming back now, so fingers crossed.
Amp is still deid though.
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23 May 2006
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In perfect timing - as usual - my beloved Fender valve amp has bit the dust spectacularly. Its roar has crashed to pathetic levels, and precisely a week before the support slot at the Barfly.
Fantastic.
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23 Apr 2006
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i would like to wish my sister a very happy birthday. I LOVE YOU CLAIRE!!!!!!!! i would like to thank her for her support for us the past year!!
keith=) |
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11 Apr 2006
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Soundhaus
A rather low-key event for us at the Soundhaus tonight, to fill a slot for a band which pulled out. Having never played the venue before, it was also another one to add to the curriculum vitae. What was a good turn-out ended up as an empty threat, as despite volume, the crowd was extremely lack-luster. Clap/cheer out of courtesy? Forget it. As another musician in the crowd aptly pointed out... "It's like a school disco" - except for the notable number of males who were scoring with an equally great number of females; not the sort of school event I remember. Maybe I went to the wrong school.
Despite their failure to grasp that the point of a concert is to go see the bands, some of the crowd totally changed round after The RipOffs branded stickers and free CDs were unleashed. Brother was set against brother in the ensuing battle for freebies. It's amazing what sort of reaction it entails... and that's not even mentioning the incident with Haigie's groupie (et al).
So, with a night of silence, hugs, "geez a loan of a poun' for a bottle of wine", and one overloaded car, The RipOffs move on.
The support gig at the Barfly at the end of May will be the place to be - forget these nominal side-shows. A special thanks to Karen and Jamie for their brilliance (:
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26 Mar 2006
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Origins of a logo
Back in the dawns of time, incase you don't already know, a great man named Arto soaked up our songs and lyrics, and the skull was born. It's come to represent a bit of all three of us... a bit of what the whole point of what the band mean to us individually.
As part of this, I felt like it represented part of me, and as a result, today... I got it tattooed onto my arm. Click here for picture.
It started out with Max at Custom Inc. in Glasgow's West End... I of course, being the hardened rock star which I am, was not nervous about the whole process. Cough. Being my second tattoo, I was awaiting the pain. However, Max was a fantastic guy, and a couple of hours later, the deed was done. I even got some sweeties for being a good boy ;o
Note the picture is slightly scabby, oweing to the tattoo being slightly... scabby, as it's freshly inked. Better images will appear in time. (maybe)
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23 Mar 2006
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Bored at work/school? Tired of listening to Stuck in Democracy over and over again..? (boom boom)
check www.pandora.com - a unique personalised audio player which plays artists based on the style of music. The "Music Genome Project"
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22 Mar 2006
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"HAE" CD Launch - Glasgow Barfly - 21st March 2006
Tonight was the night we've been building up to for the past few weeks/months. We went away a bit shaky, and came back tonight with a great set, to an even more awe-inspiring following.
Sometimes, when things get hyped up, the actual end product can often be a total anti-climax; not tonight, as it were.
Bands from close, (and not so close) around us were on the bill tonight, with Nuground playing their vocally strong tunes to kick off the evening... with a pedal board to rival my own. Buttwieser (Sp?) followed on, with a surprisingly rocky sound...
The female fronted, Telecaster wielding Modo powered their way through as only they could - we salute them.
Having a CD launch is not about a new CD, no! Rather it is about piling up intimidating looking guitar amps, and needless switching of instruments halfway through sets just so you can show off your new Fender.
There is also no point in a band going away to improve, if no-one turns out to hear what they actually sound like. So tonight, the sheer number of supporters, new and veteran, really made the whole event worthwhile. Once again, we have to salute baldy Simon of MDK, also, for his backing of us when few else would bother.
The set kicked off with White Wine and Angels, and straight into newer songs. On-stage banter was, for once, natural, and a free t-shirt was almost distributed to a gallant young lassie for getting off with Haigie onstage, except... it was Kenneth, so no dice. Sorry.
As with most things in smaller, live gigs, there was inevitably an issue which clung to the coat-tails of the evening, and threatened to drag its calibre down... One which I am duty bound to comment upon; if only for my sanity. (hell, does anyone actually read this anyway?)
After six songs, on average 3 minutes a-piece, plus 3 minutes extra for talking sake... (7x3 = 21), to be told that there is but one song left in the set, because "you've already over-ran [the set time] by fifteen minutes" is an interesting theory.. considering that would mean that our allocated time would only have been six minutes. As such, our finely honed ending to the setlist had to be cut short, missing out classics such as Fore, Induction and finisher Nearest as the Crow Flies. So I shall comment no more on the matter, but leave you to work out yourself who got screwed - the venue by us "over-running" our time? or us for being a powerless minnow in the harsh world of music?
No matter; the guys were great, the CDs were sold, the alcohol was drunk (only one drink sold at a time of course - can't go making any silly rules about selling more than one pint at a time to people who have ID now, can we?), the new songs were played in glory, and with a fantastic crowd, truly won over, left chanting "One More Song!", can you really complain? |
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13 Mar 2006
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Vocals have now been recorded for the upcoming CD, provisionally titled "HAE". Now, you may be thinking that this is leaving it a tad late, due to the fact that the launch for this is in around two weeks at the Barfly (March 21st, March 21st, March 21st) However, we are The RipOffs, damnit! The tunes shall be ready and delivered with style and penache.
Clutching our various bits of equipment (oo err), we found ourselves in the top floor of an old coffee/bookshop in Kirkintilloch, with ageing "new" curtains, and off-cream walls. Surrounded by mini star lights, and glowing red lovehearts, the ambience for the evening was created, and the vocals were set and ready to go.
Despite my uncanny ability to forget the lines, I tend to do ok when actually recording the songs for real. This time, however, words failed me (well, excluding some particular 4 lettered ones), and so the songs took slightly longer than usual to commit to hard-disk. Of course, it's all part of the artistic license damnit.
God will bless Eon Hetherton mightily (or strike him down, depending on your view), for his patience in bringing the RipOffs music together, and all in all, the eve was wrapped up not too late.
Would have posted earlier, but being snowed in up north has meant other things were on the agenda.
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26 Feb 2006
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A day with the RipOffs
Today was the day where we converged on that place which seems so familiar, and whose occupants are probably sick of us - The infamous attic in a small Glaswegian town where the RipOffs have taken shape.
Teamed up with the old bearded one named Eon, we prepared ourselves for the day ahead with bottles of Irn-Bru. It was of course, recording day. Three songs were lined up to be committed to digital format, and at an almost un-godly hour in the morning, the pseudo-creative process began.
A pile of roll and sausages, some tiramisu, and much conversation later, two songs were completed, minus vocals. Fore and White Wine And Angels finally were given the chance to be immortalised, along with the newest track Kala - one which did not go as smoothly as hoped. Time quickly gained upon us, and before long, well... it was gone; leaving the vocals to another day.
The product of our toil and sweat will be released on the 21st of March at the Barfly - one which shall be full of fun and frivolity.
Tonight we went out on the semi-traditional evening out after recording. It may seem slightly (or totally) obscure that after a whole day forced together, that you would want to subject yourself to any more time than you have to. However, it takes time to wind down from the passionate juggernaut that we obviously are.
Take it easy troops. |
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09 Feb 2006
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Bandwagon at the GUU
Gigging again - the way it should be. A fair enough return, albeit one which could have been better. The "punk night" at the Glasgow University Union - a place not renowned for its embracing of the arts - was a strange way to start off the year, but a rather apt one, as obscure venues and setups seem to be where we find ourselves more often than not.
Only one new song was debuted live tonight, which was a bit of a shame, but more time was needed to pull new ones together. However, "Kala" was received extremely well, and was a great song to play. Newer songs will emerge in the next few weeks from the cloudy mist of the RipOffs to be embraced by the adoring public... so make sure you come to Barfly on March 21st; it looks set to be a milestone.
New guitars and amp also made their debut, and more than lived up to expectations. Infact, it's amazing that I ever did without them. Not being able to turn the amp up past "3" yet is also quite a novel concept... it's just so bloody loud.
The venue was had an ok turn-out and with a fairly responsive and attentive crowd, it was definitely a good way to start the year. "Captain Kate" who followed us on-stage were extremely pleasant guys from Aberdeen, and for once proved that you actually can have a half decent punk band and not be crap. They obviously enjoyed playing, and it showed. Definitely hunt them down if you like your punk music - think along the lines of bouncing souls.
Note to self: Whilst chocolate marshmallow melted crepes may seem like a good idea at the time, there are obvious practical troubles when attempting to eat the sticky masse. Think about these things before parting with your hard-earned cash. |
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29 Jan 2006
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Some moments in your life are inspiring - we tend to expect that defining moments are announced by the sudden appearance of fireworks, earthquakes and fanfares of trumpets, but more often than not, they simply come in the chance meeting of complete strangers, or a single line which alters the way you approach things.
Watch out for these moments, as these are which will spur you on to really explore your life to the full; don't just fall into the trap of the ordinary.
Some gigs are lining up for the next few months, and the new songs that are currently being pulled together are beginning to find a sound which I am comfortable with. I'm looking forward to getting back into playing again - to really 'feel' the songs live. Come along and see - It'd be brilliant if loads of people came to the Barfly gig - yeh, it's pretty ironic that the comeback gig will be the third of the year - no need to point it out; but it's going to act as a marker for us; a defining moment, you might say. |
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09 Jan 2006
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A wee update
So this is 2006, eh?
What better way to start a new year than with a new guitar (or two)? And whilst we're at it... some new effects, and a nice meaty valve amp to go along with the lot? Hell let's just overhaul all our equipment in a oner!
Just so you know... we haven't sunk into the abyss (excluding Haigie, that is.) Things have been happening in the silence, so to speak. New songs have been, and are being written; equipment is being aquired, as mentioned above; and contacts being made. The vaguest of images about what is happening in the near(ish) future is formulating, and we should be starting up the RipOffs gigging machine sometime February... it just needs warmed up before then to avoid any clunkiness, you see.
If you want a preview - albeit rather lacking in sound quality - then Haigie has left his mark with the address on the mainpage; but then, you knew that already, didn't you? ;o |
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09 Dec 2005
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mmmmm....
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30 Nov 2005
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So that was the last (planned) RipOffs gig of 2005. It inspires sort of a strange, fuzzy, nostalgic feeling... scrolling back through the old diary entries.
I wont get sentimental, as no doubt there will be another slipshod musical affair in someone's house or some other more casual affair, but this may well be the last diary entry for a while... But let's face it: probably not.
Upon arrival, I was greeted by a big baldy guy in the corner, surrounded by ruffians. Turned out to be old Comrades - "Sniffing Glue", who upon finding themselves doubled booked for rehearsal, had wandered into "The Tavvie" - as it is affectionately called by "those in the know".
A rather sparse(!) PA led to much grumbling, but with time passing... and me staying well clear of the many "experts" who rushed immediately to "help" "fix" the "problem", the sound quality improved somewhat; with even my vocals being heard. Unbelievable. Oh, and on a side note: Over-use of quotation marks is sexy.
Three bands on, of which we were second. Started off ok, with me deciding to swap around the setlist halfway through. As punishment for my sins, a string broke. The one time I didn't bring the Telecaster as back up. Damn fool. Like a winged angel, Jim from Sniffing Glue appeared with his newly purchased guitar to drape over my shoulders. Hilariously low-slung due to it never being played before.
An audible gasp was heard from the whole band as Haigie's Trace cut out, and flickered with a red light... but proved to only be a minor fault.
It seemed like every person in the building by the end of the night had on a RipOffs sticker... to you good people, we salute you.
Pictures below:
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25 Nov 2005
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Wha hey! That was the newly established Whahey music cafe in the old space of the Kirkie Baptist Church bookshop; mainstreet Kirkie - across from Ghiloni's.
I turned up to find Keith and Haigie already there, with the setup looking incredibly snazzy. The windows facing out onto the mainstreet were steamed up, with shillouettes illuminated by the coloured lights inside.
It was clear from the outset that it was going to be a relaxed affair. A few people turned up for the soundcheck, including a local paper photographer - felt a bit strange to have photos taken when not in full swing of my rawkage. However, such is the life of a rock star.
A wee crowd had begun to gather by the time that the bearded one (with much less hair than usual) - Eon Hetherton - climbed up onto his wee stool and started strumming away. Any concerns he may have had about the attention or suitability of him playing were totally unfounded, as he completely suited the format of the night, and set the scene for a laid-back night. Making great use of an incredibly cool pedal which allowed him to set a rhythm, then play over the top as if there was two guitars - sounded amazing. As well as this, a Lemonheads song was covered... Pure brilliance. Go download some Lemonheads now if you like jangly, slightly grungey music.
After a wee bit of a break, we opened with White Wine and Angels - a bit of an unusual choice for any other gig, but one which completely suited this evening. Following on from that, it became clear that we didn't have any set set-list, and thusly asked for suggestions for songs we could play. Some were mentioned, and rejected outright - "Crow? Psht. You should know by now that comes later on"
What did we end up playing? Errr.. I can't actually remember.
Many old songs from the Crypt emerged (for what hopefully is the last time) - including Simply. Yes, Simply. Definitely a candidate for a B-Side... (or a C =P)
Cries of "Drum solo!" were heard. When they were rebuffed, the response was:
*pause* "Bass solo!"
Ah the banter.
Haigie had the perfect chance to go for it... and he didn't! Times certainly are a-changing. A-Changing indeed.
Coming to a close (or so we thought) - with two songs to go, much booing was to be heard. Just when we thought it was going to end, covers were brought into the equation. Basketcase, Blitzcrieg Bop and Welcome to Paradise - MC joining us to sing the end of Basketcase: A strange moment indeed. Hearing a different voice joining the fray, and thinking... "bloody hell, that's not Haigie... who the?!" - only to see MC hanging off the mic-stand.
The regular songs in our armoury stood out obviously as more refined, practised numbers - as you'd expect. Even Despite the Name went fine.
Overall, the mood was incredibly relaxed. People were chatting, singing along to the words, suggesting songs - it was brilliant. An hour of chilled music. Whahey is a fantastic venue to play in; a really intimate place. Even with my usual hatred for playing the older covers and songs without practise or enthusiasm was abated - and I actually got into the swing of things.
Everyone who I spoke to after had had a good night - loved the relaxed atmosphere of things. Whilst technically not the greatest musical night in the world, it was the sort of gig you need to have every so often; to really enjoy the music.
I've never been one for hassling people to come along to gigs or buy tickets; why should they? I mean, it's only me. It's only us - friends - people shouldn't have to pay to come see us play. Hell, we should be paying them. Part of the reason that it's so crap when it's a bad gig, is because you almost feel like you've let down people who come to see you - whether because the performance, or the sound is lacking, or the lack of new material.
Tonight was great because it was everyone together - joining in and having a good time. We wont go on about it forever, but we really do appreciate everything.
Aside from that, the sound was great. The old guard - Mac and Deacs were there, and got it absolutely spot on. The vocals were the "best [we've] ever sounded" - in the words of other people.
Hopefully the Whahey music cafe will do well... whatever happens with it. Who knows, we might even make a return appearance sometime in the future.
After the next gig or so, (the Attic, Glasgow - Tuesday) we're going to spend some time away in an attic (not the aforementioned) tucked away to find some new tunes - it's about time, and come back sometime in the next year with a more refined arsenal.
Great night. |
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23 Nov 2005
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Like a good little commuter, I caught the subway from work straight into the beloved city centre of Glasgow to saunter in the (general) direction of where I'd been informed the ABC lives. (You can never be too sure)
Luckily, it wasn't as far along Sauchiehall Street as I had anticipated (dreaded?), and I was both early and late; ahh what a paradox. Early due to the fact that I arrived before the remainder of the trio (+Abby), and late because soundchecks were meant to run from 4-6, but due to my fantastic temporary occupation of network administration, I was unable to escape the joys in time.
The ABC is an interesting venue... (ABC2). As their own website states:
"the ABC challenges the notion of the live music venue as a bleak, inhospitable place; where poor surroundings and low standards are sold as underground, dissident and charming."
The modern furniture, colour schemes and other decor display this view; the venue more like a trendy urban bar or club than a music venue. One can only guess how long the interior will stay as clean and polished, although the recent artists hawking their wares at the venue suggest that the ABC wont be aiming to appeal to those likely to induce riots or political uprisings. That's us out of the picture then.
It struck me as a sort of aspiring "up-market" King Tut's - for a different crowd, but with much the same format (or vice-versa).
On arrival, not only was there food provided, but there was actually some left. Now, this may not mean much to you, but it is definitely a work of God. Tomato pizza with chilli peppers... mmm; good job I'm a hot piece of man.
The rest of the band soon followed suit, but with substantially less pizza left. First impressions were good... cool couches, not bad capacity, decent stage, lighting etc. On top of this, despite being the only band not to soundcheck, we were positioned second last for the evening - just before a band who hadn't taken part in the project, but were just there to round it all off.
The venue pretty soon became full - there was a queue for ages outside the venue, and people streaming in all the time. Fantastic. Well, sortof.
The crowd stuck around for a fairly long time, but it became clear that most bands didn't actually give a toss about the requests made clear by the organisers... to "stick around to give other bands some support". Now, I don't need or particularly want emotional "support" from the majority of other local bands, or indeed the majority of the population, but it's not just about the other bands - it's about respect for people who've put quite a bit of money and effort into making something happen.
Despite this, there was a fair crowd most of the night - even if it was fluid.
Horror struck when at one point some girls came up and asked Haigie: "You played at the SECC didn't you?". A collective scream was heard from myself, Keith, and anyone who has read the previous diary entry from the SECC.
The gig itself was not bad. Lack of soundcheck resulted in a bit of a shoddy guitar sound, but didn't compromise terribly. Haigie dedicated Stuck in Democracy to "all the people held captive by Rock Steady downstairs" - Rock Steady providing the security for the evening, along with their trademark aggressive and contemptuous manner. Even band members were refused to be allowed to leave and return - despite having been in the venue for hours. This resulted in a number of interesting eye-contacts with the security, and fears of being locked up in a movie-style beating after-show.
A fair few of our flock turned out to roost. Maybe it was the free tickets that did it - none were impressed at the lack of alcohol being served (or not) at the bar. More still didn't even get into the venue because of the queues.
Believe it or not, after the set, a member of the band who were proceding us said that he loved our energy... and that we had the same vibe as a band he knew. When questioned to their identity? Daedalian. That's right. Make of it what you will...
Another jazz musician said he loved the Nearest as the Crow Flies bass line, and (much to the displeasure of Haigie) praised the "raw" sound of the guitar... with the words: "...no bullshit with hundreds of pedals and effects, just pure raw. That's the way to go - don't change it."
Now there's a compliment if I've ever heard one.
Had a chat with our "mentor" - Mick from Deacon Blue - who expressed amazement at my use of a Shergold... "I haven't seen one of them since the 70s!" as well as his desire to own a Tele... all adding to Haigie's disbelief.
Looking forward to Thursday... a more relaxed affair.
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23 Nov 2005
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The Abc eh??? all in all i thought we played pretty good. apart from the crappy hi-hats the drums were enjoyable. but im not really here to talk about the gig...more Rock Steady Security. i have words i like to call them but this is a family place =p! having not eaten for wot seemed days (7 hours or so) i was realy looking for a good chippy....when i got to the doors i got told i cant leave and if i did i wasnt getting back in.....hmmmmmm. also making people stand out in the cold for about an hour so isnt that fair either. i hope i never have to work with these (insert word) again. anyway in college with nothing to do heh!!
keith=) |
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20 Nov 2005
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Hmm...
Last night was a world on it's own. Worry and confusion of my late comer Sweeds, insane guitar interference and bass-pedal related issues.
However. There's an important issue I want to address right now. Parents. Friends and family. All year round we've been supported by our families and secondly by our closest friends and following. In reality it's all down to our parents for what we have achieved so far. Allowing us to be able to save up for instruments, lending money for equipment (mmm... Trace), driving us to our own shows! North, South, East and West. Only a phone call away. Last night I'm kicking myself, becuase I forgot to thank them. Don't get me wrong, I still say it to them. But I want everyone else to know that these guys are the greatest.
Now last night; for me, it was somewhat disasterous. But everyone pulled though; the support from the band, WTDK, Gemma and everyone else who came out. I'd also say a warm thank you to John Bowman, club owner for being a great guy. True legend.
The evening opened with the afore mentioned Paul Watson with a classic blues vocal impression that came from no where; stunning. really really awesome. Really cool tunes too. Didn't recognise any of them, so well in man if they were yours.
Smackdown. These guys are top class. One of the best performances I've seen for so long. Very kind and generous people. I couldn't be happier that they came along, and it'd be great to do it again. Props to them, for traveling across Europe then up and down the UK in their van, with the dodgey door. Some good banter and singalongs on my journey with them, as well as the oddest pizza ever; no cheese; and every vegetable you could imagine!
Our set? I felt weird... Like a step ahead of the rest of the band. An abstract state of mind; at times this had me confused. just felt so lost on stage. As it stands, apart from the technical flubs I felt we played quite alright, and for a change was fairly happy with my vocals. Not enough blood & destruction on my part, however, I will strive to change that for the coming shows. Beaware.
What The Dead Know. Being one of my favourite bands, it goes without saying that I really enjoyed them. Probably not their smoothest gig ever, but I loved it regardless. The duet between Camebull and Neil was beautiful.
Again, thank you all. Don't let anyone tell who to be. Don't let them tell you how to be you. Stay funky. |
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20 Nov 2005
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On an especially cold Saturday morning in November, I woke to find that I was going to be late for getting my earplugs fitted. As if by the grace of God, the Metro was the one car in the whole street not to be totally iced up, due to a single shaft of sunlight streaming down to engulf the vehicle.
Arriving about five minutes late, and going through the usual fitting and hearing tests, (not to mention parting with my hard-earned cash), I left with the new Elacin "Ear defenders" - It never ceases to amaze what the inside of your earhole actually looks like. They're a stranger colour than the last ones - too clear for my liking.
I sauntered back up the road to have beans on toast, and check my stocks on the laptop (well, not quite), before heading back down to Club Go - to find myself being the first one to arrive; no big surprise really.
With one full band (us), one half band (What the Dead Know), and no sign of "Smackdown" - the Swedish band, it made for an interesting wait about. Chips and Curry sauce with two fritters helped appease this time, with Keith playing drums for the What the Dead Know soundcheck - a novel moment indeed.
Time goes by, and so it did, with much confusion when the Smackdown turned up after the gig was meant to have started, having gotten lost along the way from Aberdeen.
Paul Watson went up first, with his acoustic... I was quite impressed with the voice that he managed to produce seemingly from nowhere.
The Smackdown, complete with really tight trousers then took command of the stage, and it's pretty safe to say that everyone in the room was jolted into listening. A flurry of legs flying over heads, and the singer throwing himself around the stage, complete with handstands and other acrobatics were a sight to behold indeed. Anyone who wasn't there definitely missed out big time.
We were up next, and everything was going fairly well. The relatively small crowd for Club Go were pretty responsive. Near to the end, however, things started to act up. What seemed to be the guitar, cut out, so after checking the pedal connections, I switched to the Fender which was waiting in the wings. Mid-way through the next song, same thing happened. I then agonisingly switched the cables over to check that it wasn't one of them; nothing. Turns out the lead in the back of the amp hadn't been put in properly, or had been knocked out, so was cutting out intermittently. After this, there were two songs left: Fore, and Nearest as the crow flies. Just as fore was coming to a climax, so to speak (h0h0h0!), the Fender electronics decided to pack-in, after threatening to do so for the large part of my ownership of it. Fantastic.
We ended on Crow, with the Shergold. Sadly, there are few strings left on it, due to them being urm, ripped off. It's harder to do than you might expect.
The end of the gig saw the control plate on the Shergold getting shattered, and needing replaced, as well as one of my leads for connecting up the pedals getting snapped, which I'm not sure when it even happened.
For now, Gaffa tape will need to hold the bits and pieces in place till I get a replacement pickguard, and as for the Tele: well, let's hope it's just a loose wire.
Anyway, if Haigie reads this, he should write his own entry, since it was his event after all. In my opinion, it was a good night, and it raised the profile of the Kaite Trust cancer charity. |
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17 Nov 2005
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The organisation that Stephen refers to in the last entry would be the Scottish Music Network.
The guys don't listen to me enough as it is... And that's them without earplugs! GARGH! 
PLANK! |
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16 Nov 2005
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Another gig in Ivory Black's with the wonderful bald-man that is Simon. I just hope his name is Simon, and not Simone, for that would be unfortunate. (not because the name is unfortunate, but because I would be spelling it wrong)
Probably the last time we'll play such a gig for quite some time.
We ended up playing last - which, whilst usually being a blessing; a sign of respect... is a kick in the balls when you do this sort of gig, since all the crowd are actually only there to see some other band's first (or only) gig - and so leave after they've played. As a result, we ended up playing to a grand total of 7 people, not counting the venue staff.
Clearly, there was a lack of understanding of what happens at gigs by the vast majority of the other bands' members there. At the start of the night, we had two guitar amps from bands, as well as a mini half-stack Marshall thing which the venue supplied. One bad, who went on second, and incidentally, brought the biggest guitar amp, decided it was appropriate to leave straight after they'd played. Sporting chaps. I forget the name of their band, but to be perfectly honest, it wasn't that impressive anyway.
The other guitar amp was promptly removed as well. But this time, they didn't even bother to tell us before soundcheck that they'd be taking the amp away before we played; letting us blindly carry on. How nice! How thoughtful! That's exactly what we should do! Let's all bring guitar amps with the pretence that other people can use them for the backline, then take them away before the end of the gig! Wow! That's the attitude to get by in the music world!
Now, I say this not just because it's completely against gig and music etiquette to do such a thing, but also because it is not the pot calling the kettle black. We supplied the bass rig, and have done many times, with the band members who could, sticking around to make sure it was availible till the end of the gig. Even when we're the band who've travelled furthest away - to Dundee for example, when plenty of local bands could have helped out. So I hardly think that it would have been a tremendous effort for the "Trio of Four" to stick around for an extra hour, or at least tell us before the soundcheck so we could do it with a different amp. To top it all off, I actually gave those amazing chaps a guitar string when they were in need. That's right: I was giving.
In the end, it didn't matter. We played with energy and passion, and it sounded not bad. A few people we've picked up along the way stuck around, as well as a reviewer from "New Music in Scotland" or some such group.
Despite all of this, the lowest point of the evening was definitely the Supper for Two Pounds. Despite the usual witty banter in the regular chippy, the food just wasn't up to scratch. It is a sad day for us all. |
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13 Nov 2005
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Subway, 69 Cowgate, Edinburgh: the sort of establishment with an exterior which makes you recoil in fear. Inside, not too shabby. Some various circle shapes on the walls made for some interesting deco. A meaty PA was to be found, with an extremely friendly sound-guy.
We'd already been reminded of the "least friendly city in the UK" by a pleasant local girl giving us a two finger salute as she passed by our band-wagon, but the past gigs in Edinburgh have had mostly friendly folk, and this was no exception. Pretty quiet on the whole, but a good night - with Daedalian on top form, and sounding fantastic... I'd almost go pay to see them ;o
I am at a loss for words.
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11 Nov 2005
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Whilst browsing the stats for the site, I noticed a peculiar entry.
Someone stumbled across our site by typing "deaf sex meet tonight" into Google. How rare, and... disturbing. |
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03 Nov 2005
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Kirkie High Battle of the Bands
Last night was the traditional Kirkie High battle of the bands, and for once in a long time, the RipOffs were not on the bill: a sad day indeed. However, Haigie was playing with various parts of the "nameless" - to form a Green Day covers/original band, whose name I forget; it was fairly witty as well.
Keith had also blagged his way into *presenting* the whole event, donning trademark orange hat and tie to cause general havoc on (and off-stage)
So it was for this reason that I actually parted with some of my (well...) well-earned money to attend this event. Some of the bands were better than others, and some... not too shabby at all. Bit strange being back in the old haunt of the RipOffs and not playing though.
However, for one reason or another, we ended up on stage; it was bound to happen. The general volume level needed a boosting, and err.. well I think we just about managed that (: Borrowing a guitar from Kevin of Haigie's "side-project" ;), and grabbing the bits and pieces required, we closed the evening off with Nearest as the Crow Flies, and then Stuck in Democracy. Not the traditional order, but one which was most appropriate as we rushed to set stuff up.
Guitar sound was not exactly 'mine', but was nae bad, and gratefully received, so thanks again to K. for (some would say unwisely) allowing me to use it.
Tonight, we play an oddly named "Halt Bar" in Woodlands, Glasgow. |
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30 Oct 2005
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Tonight we played at the Soundhaus, me fresh off the bus from St. Andrews, having accidentally seen big ol' Zane Lowe at St. Andrews Uni Students Union the night before.
What a gig it was... the lighting was superb, we had massive Marshall Full stacks, there was groupies bearing their flesh in the front row of a massive, thronging crowd, chanting "RIPOFFSS RIPOFFSS" over and over again... with knickers being showered on us with waves of praise and endless cheering.
Well, not quite. We didn't quite receive the amount of adulation we deserved, thanks to charming Mark of System Collapse (once Radarr) "promotions"
It is time to expose this so called "promoter" as a sham. Tonight, the gig was cancelled three days prior to the actual event, but with nobody actually being informed. So, we turned up, only to find that no gig was actually going to be happening. This is just one more incident in a long line of misgivings by this dis-organised, ignorant promoter. So, as a warning to all would-be bands: Do not ever play or help out Radarr or System Collapse promotions ever again. They will lie, and abuse you whilst making your lives a pain in the ass, and from now on, we shall ensure that every single person contemplating working with them knows exactly what they are like. |
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28 Oct 2005
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Well, first time at the Vale, Dundas Street, Glasgow.
A place most local bands start out gigging at; for us, we only just played it there.
It's a strange, strange place. Downstairs it's very much an old man's pub, with the traditional wooden decor. Upstairs, it's attempting to be a trendy bar, with black *everywhere*, but not too bad inside, none the less. Not a place you would go for a chat though, as the music is so torturously loud that it'd be impossible to hear a police siren next to you (which is probably fairly likely)
The stage is quite high up, with a barrier sort of thing in front, to prevent u falling off (a wall), which is thoughtful, but does nothing for stage presence. It's virtually impossible to move, and combined with the lighting, standing on the wrong pedal, or falling into the amp is a very real possibility.
Haigie, however, managed to overcome this, by leaping up and over the barrier, and hurtling down to the floor below. Some were aghast; I was not.
All in all, set was ok, but the soundcheck was better. Fenced in and without the benefit of earplugs, the gig went ok, but with slipped chords, and lack of feeling. Shame, really.
Highlight: On the way home, whilst I scrounged money from Keith to make my train fare, he dropped 26 pence onto Queens Street Station floor. Next thing, a small woman in a luminous yellow jacket bent down and started to pick them up. How kind! you may think; as did we. However, this strange creature then proceded to err.. walk away. Well, ok then, not quite what was expected, but... |
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20 Oct 2005
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So as I'm sure you're aware... My life is pretty damn empty. I have nothing to do. Well; there's plenty; that I'm not gunna do.
Anyway. i went out for dinner, and as it turns out, I really enjoyed the Chinese food. Crazy world eh? Awesome ribs though.
I also found out that I HATE brandy.
And now, a special picture for all of you: Clicky. |
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13 Oct 2005
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NEWSFLASH
The horror. THE HORROR.
The lid to my tube of smarties has indeed gone missing. WILL SOMEBODY PLEASE, THINK OF THE CHILDREN!
Ah well. I shall just have to gobble them all.. MUWHAHAHAHAA!!!
And now, back to your reguler viewing. |
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04 Oct 2005
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This evening we rolled hot off the proverbial tour-bus from Dundee (some hotter than others, if you get what I mean ;) ), into a venue which has seen us play fairly regularly as of late.
I'm still convinced that the previous name was better - "Strawberry Fields" has such a better ring to it than Ivory Black's.
Anyway, this venue always seemed to be jinxed for me (if not the band) - I had almost resigned myself to the obvious fact, that we were never going to play any good in that particular venue. Tonight, however, changed that.
We were placed first on the bill, as we'd been asked fairly late on to fill in a spare slot in the gig. Million Dollar Kontract's Simon is a damn decent chap, if any of you ever have the pleasure of meeting him. Turned out we were playing alongside the intruigingly named "Salsa Sharks" - the same ones who played last time at the very same venue.
During the soundcheck, things took a turn for the better, when a heavenly lot turned up with a Marshal Half-Stack. No, not a "Bandit", not a Fake Half Stack, but a proper speak rig; fantastic.
I definitely miss my earplugs, as it was extremely loud on stage... I'm going to have to wear my old, cheapo ones till I can afford to get a new pair moulded... Crap. I don't expect the Vale will do me any favours in preserving my hearing either...
We strolled on to a fairly big crowd, with a fair number from our own faithful. The setlist was as follows:
Stuck in Democracy
Heads up, thumbs down
Handwriting of the Illiterate
White wine and angels
Fore
Nearest as the crow flies
From the beginning, the set just seemed to ebb and flow, ebb and flow... the songs seemed to just 'work' in that order, and for once, the energy of the whole band seemed in synch. The crowd seemed interested, and by the final crashing chords and snapping bass strings of Nearest as the crow flies, it was clear we'd actually played like we should for once.
I described playing gigs like taking a musical trip to the toilet for your brain... All the clutter and emotional mess that swills around with no outlet, builds up and intensifies during the opening, pounding bars of Crow, till it explodes into itself, and afterwards, you're left with less concern over what seemed important before, but as tonight did, sometimes you're left with the skin on your strumming hand shredded by the strings.
Gigs like tonight make all the crap ones worthwhile. |
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03 Oct 2005
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Ahh Dundee... affectionately called Scumdee by those who know it well, was an interesting trek for a gig.
I missed out on the drive up in the bandwagon with Stuart at the helm, as I was spending my weekend in the nearby St. Andrews. What I didn't miss out on, however, was the entire river-front roads in central Dundee being dug up, with endless sets of conflicting traffic lights.
An error in communication resulted in myself and my faithful female Jen positioned in Coupar Angus... around half an hour outside of Dundee itself... What's that? it's near Coupar Angus road in Dundee? Not Coupar Angus itself?! Much comic-style hilarity ensued, with directions from the "Shell Garage" proved to be misleading... as we were actually at a Shell Garage over 20 miles away, and failing to see the tunnel that we were meant to go through. Ahh, such side-splitting wit, h0h0h0. Incredibly amusing, as I'm sure anyone trapped in a car with an irate girlfriend can testify to. (I'm just kidding hunny... please don't hurt me =X)
Anyway, after finally arriving, around an hour and fifteen minutes late, to the "Doghouse", with a sign that looked a bit like something from the Beano, we discovered that we could have driven to Coupar Angus and back around three times before the gig would be actually near starting. Not too surprised, our motley crew ventured off into Scumdee to find "a chippy".
Apparently, chippies don't open in the aforementioned till nine-thirty at night, and we ended up opting for the ever reliable Debenhams restaurant, spitting on the Danbar stand outside as we passed their £20 worth of polystyrene "UFO" - Buy your child a book, not a remote control toy, especially one made by Danbar International.
The gig... Coming on after a Drum and Bass, Windows, Laptop DJ was interesting, to say the least. Actual playing was not too bad. Lack of earplugs resulted in me coming away slightly deaf, and resolving to buy a new pair as soon as possible. The sound was... passable, and despite feeling rooted to the spot for the first half of the set, I finally got into it nearer the end. Crow was the highlight for yet another gig.
Lots of pool playing commenced on the free-but-which-wasn't-meant-to-be-free table... with myself, a complete beginner, managing to beat Jen - who is bred for success in the world of pool playing. (well, I bet her once out of four games.)
The long roadtrip home commenced, with much debate on what our merchandise range should say. Watch this space for "What Hould Haigie Do?" T-shirts, and "Stiff Little Haigie" thongs...
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"We're driving down the middle of the road...!"
"Ah, so we are" |
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15 Sep 2005
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In addition to my earplugs, I have now lost my wallet.
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11 Sep 2005
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...From Ivory Blacks, to Williamwood Parish Church in Clarkston, outside Giffnock.
It was always going to be a strange one, with a completely different set of people, running a gig for local people to raise money for a trip to Vietnam.
Accompanied for the first time by Mhairi from tcheuchter-land, the most pressing issue of the day was to find the nearest chippy. No Suppers For Two Pounds in Clarkston, however. Almost being run over by a police van, and Keith intimidating a local-folk unintentionally by asking where the nearest fast food establishment was located, only added to the fun and frivolity of the adventure. Quite.
At first, the hall appeared to have that age old quality only found in church buildings... a horrible natural reverb, which, whilst maybe suiting the climbing tones of a holy choir, doesn't specifically lend itself to the sounds of Stuck in Democracy, for example. However, once the place filled up with a decent load of people, the sound improved drastically.
The electric shocks I received off the microphone constantly, did not, however. A foam cover was quickly brought in to reduce contact between my gentle skin and the possibility of being zapped by 240 volts.
With seven bands, each with 20 minute sets, and no time being taken into consideration for change-overs, it was always bound to go over time. What didn't help was other bands playing way over their alloted time, leaving us to play a stunning... four songs. Sounded good onstage, and there was people dancing. That's right, dancing. Plenty of energy involved, although each time I swung the guitar back away from the mic, I almost went crashing through the middle of a very badly placed keyboard.
Setlist:
Stuck in Democracy
Fore
Ramblings
Nearest as the Crow Flies
Whether or not it was any better technically than Ivory Blacks is up for debate, but there was something there which was missing on Thursday, that makes it feel worthwhile doing; not just a hollow performance. Luck of the draw.
We trouped off into the night, with three of the 'crew' heading off to Master. Wright's for an after-show gathering. |
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10 Sep 2005
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I have lost my Elacin ER-15 earplugs. That is all.
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09 Sep 2005
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Well, as we sit here eating blocks of Austrian Smoked Cheese, contemplating this evening, we are minus Haigie, who cancelled our wild aftershow party as planned, as it's a "school night" h0h0h0.
Anyway, onto this eve:
First band, the "Salsa Sharks" - great name, and stunning use of alliteration.
Second up, We are the physics. No, not us - them. They were refreshingly quirky, and highly enjoyable, believe it or not.
The other bands were good to chat to, namely "In Ernist", or "In Ernest", depending on their literary choice.
The triumphant return of the RipOffs was... not so triumphant. But hell, we got paid. What more can you ask for, really?
The first guitar amp I plugged into looked like something from the Ark. Even whilst clean, it seemed close to blowing up; if it had been able to muster the power to do such a thing. The second amp wasn't much better, with a "mini" Marshall half-stack.
Anyway, we trouped on second last, after an interesting coin toss to decide positions. "Whoever calls Heads goes on third guys, right?"
Err, what?
Gig was... (out of ten)
1. Banter - 8 - cool bands, but minor incidents with one in particular lacking gig etiquette.
2. 'Sound' - 6 - see above
3. Performance - 6 - a direct result of number 2.
4. Turn-out - 6 - ok for us, with two charming lassies from the Isle of Lewis who broke their RipOffs virginity after finding us online. Only given a six because of the general shittyness of the crowd.
5. All in all - 6 all rounder.
So there you have it: the official break-down of the gig. Videos etc do exist, but may be destroyed before public release.
On another note, I looked suave.
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08 Sep 2005
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ivory blacks.
well tonite saw us back in ivory blacks to see the start of The RipOff return to the stage. to be honest not the best gig we've ever done but i did like being back on stage. crow was the highlight for me not just because it was the last song it just seems like like the perfect ending to a gig...also showed the rockstar attitude of stephen throwing his geetar away... a rocky start coming back but i have feeling saturday will be awesome. i would also like to thank the thousands that turned up and were turned away because it was JUST TOO FULL...or the 7 people who actually turned up that was nice. stephen up next enjoyy his will be more funny, exciting and interesting.
i would like to add i liked stephens trousers tonight and We Are The Physics are one the best bands ive seen in A LONG LONG time.
keith=) |
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03 Sep 2005
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Today saw the first of the 6 or so weeks of sessions with the "Impact Arts" project in Glasgow. It's funny how places to do with music can look extremely shifty outside, but actually appear to be modern on the interior. Sortof like the Tardis. Sortof. Maybe.
Haigie, fresh (or not quite so) from a night-shift "packing water", and ourselves trouped along to Berkeley studios down the Clyde, to meet our 'mentor', who turned out to be none other than Paul, who used to drum with Teenage Fanclub.
Three hours of working on a couple of songs commenced, to tighten them up, after which, we took to the outside to wait upon a lift home.
Scotland were taking on Italy (cough) at the ol' game of fitba today, and so, we had the joy of witnessing no less than 4 "moonies", 3 people trying to piss on cars, and a man carrying a famous grouse (and I don't mean the alcoholic beverage) Mon the Scotland, eh?
Much witticisms were exchanged with the Impact Arts' folk, who were genuinely really decent.
Roll on next time.
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13 Jul 2005
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A quote from Keith Flint of Prodigy..
When, and if, I get to 65, I’d like to say that I did everything - the lot. I’d like to think I bedded loads of babes and lived out my ultimate sex fantasies. I’d like to think I’d been through every colour with my hair and everywhere that could have been pierced on my body had been pierced. Even if all my beloved tattoos have gone saggy by then, at least I can stand up and say, I did it. |
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03 Jul 2005
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Well, yesterday, the band + co (Jennifer), made our way over to Edinburgh to add to the numbers protesting for the Make Poverty History campaign in the city centre, as a response to the G8 summit, meeting in Gleneagles next week.
A veteran of previous protests, the atmosphere was friendly enough, with the police maintaining a very low-key presence, not threatening or seemingly overbearing. Some delightfully ignorant anarchist activists, taking part in a "black bloc" or "black block" depending on choice, violently attacked the police, resulting in themselves being surrounded and penned in. Note that all anarchists aren't violent ;) It's an important distinction. For a definition of a Black Bloc, click here
The Indymedia coverage, where you would usually find decent updates of the news from the protests, was disappointing.... dismal, some may say.
Many shops were boarded up, in anticipation of Genoa-like violence, but rather naively. Edinburgh is not the focal point for possible trouble - Gleneagles is.
Many people were spotted on the stroll round the city, notably the legendary Abubakr, never one to miss a photo opportunity:
Photos:
[Click]
[Click]
[Click]
Roll on Gleneagles... |
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01 Jul 2005
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Rumours...
Rumours are viscious things. Would just like to clear up anything floating around the toilet about my bum injury. It was not caused by monkey rape.
thank you.
peace. |
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25 Jun 2005
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Rockers - supporting "Sniffing Glue"
So, tonight was the night we supported the absolutely stunning "70s punk cover band" Sniffing Glue. After receiving a call from a friend - the bald one - Jim - who has toured all over Japan and such like with various bands, we ended up being the support for the eloquently titled.
We turned up incredibly early, as did the aforementioned, leaving a rather comfortable slot for soundcheck and so on. Guitar tonight sounded awesome tonight... or much better than usual. H, the owner/runner of Rockers, was surprised to see us: "what you guys doing here tonight?" - so that was good to tell him we'd been invited to support the legendary punk band.
During soundcheck, the guys blew us away, as expected, and the punk spirit of hunner's seemed to be relived in one guy's voice, as well as Jim's stage-presence. It's funny, but the more we play at Rockers, there never seems to be more of a homeliness, it's still a crazy place to play. However, it was a good night... despite the screw-ups by ourselves, the performance, as well as the actual tightness, the night was pretty good. It's good to support a band rather than just be one in amongst many in a lineup.
The guitar sounded good, and Sniffin Glue were damn cool fellows. Rockers seems to becoming a regular, and I'm not complaining.
Cheers LOADS to the usual who have turned up... like Wrightie, Lesley and all the others who aren't mentioned... Especially MC, who I turned to when I forgot the words... The fact you came along means so much that I can't tell you... but thanks so much.
See you soon (:
S.
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24 Jun 2005
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So, even though I graced Haigie with the opportunity to write the diary entry after the wonderful acoustic set last Friday, he hasn't bothered.
So, it was interesting. At first, they wanted us to play last, but we convinced them that this was not the wisest decision, given our lack of drummer, distortion, and well... quality.
After a rather tiring day of work, stepping off the train to hang around the station for a bit, before being rescued by Haigie's father, who passed by chance, the gig was not high on my list of priorities. However, donning a yellow hat, and a cocky attitude allowed us to sail through the following:
Stuck in Democracy, White Wine and Angels, Fore, Ramblings of a misguided fool, Handwriting of the Illiterate - not to mention a self-indulged rendition of "Portrait of Tracy" (spelling?)
Definitely lacked something without the big hairy mass on drums, and the distortion was sorely missed... I kept reaching for the pedals. Words afterwards were heard to the effect of: "guys... never do that again."
Today, we trouped round to be presented with a "best entertainment" award from the SECC. Aye.
S.
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15 Jun 2005
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Ivory Blacks, Tues 14th June
Tonight was a fun and different gig.
I'll start from the beginning. Mother dear and I set out for the club just after 4pm. We arrived at 5pm. Don't you just HATE stupid drivers? I mean seriously. You idiots. Yellow boxes, moron. You know - the ones you DON'T park in when lanes cross. Stupid people anger me. A lot.
Ironically, we were first ones there, then joined by the rest of the bands shortly afterwards. Of course, due to likely another one of someone's horrible mistake of a child we had to sit outside the club for 40mins. Why? Someone crashed, taking out traffic lights, street fences and the like, leaving the sound guy stuck in traffic.
Eventually, we entered the cavern likeness of Ivory Blacks. Very nice place; big stage, lotta lights and even more importantly; the bands' own "VIP" section. That's right. Exciting? Uhh.. yeah.
I am going to take this line as an oppurtunity to say that the people there were great. That should really read: hot.
I mean, really. Hot. Awesome. The people there were great for everyone's set, which was really cool; the atmosphere was rather animated; an appreciation shown for everyone.
After a lot of dancing on my behalf, with Fi's utterly first-class sunglasses, we shall fast forward to our set.
We go on, and do what we do best; make noise. Feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeedback. Feeeeeeeeeedback, and ensue a comeback of the song "Induction", last played in March '05. During this song, I managed to slice a nice wee chunk out of my thumb. Typically, it bled. A lot. Of course, what happens 2 minutes after we finished the set? It stopped bleeding. I had difficulty picking; the picks kept slipping from my fingers, and since my bass was blood-bound, my fingers would stick to the strings. Gargh.
I felt that this show was far from our best, but still had many encouraging fans. Cool.
A huge thank you to our adoring friends who came out to support us: Kirsty, MC, Fi, Wrightie, Lesley, Chris, Meems, Grant, Abby and also to Deacs for the use of the legendry Trace, Si from MDK for the gig and our parents for supporting us. (;
(Sorry if I've missed anyone; evidently you suck and aren't important enough - I love ya really. Unless you're stupid. I really hate morons.)
The other bands were quite cool. Up first we had a metal band - I can't remember the sentence of a name you guy's had, sorry - and they were pretty cool. The singer was someone interesting; sort of a scrawny, pacifist-looking guy; then all of a sudden deathly growls; crazy. Up 2nd, again, I forgot their name. An energetic pop/punk band with some catchy tunes and head-bopping music. Aeronaut, up after The Omnigods (The RipOffs) with a mixture of emo to poppunk to rock n roll to alternative-grundge. Very Biffy and I liked these guy's energy, yet no so in your face.
However, my favourite of the night would probably be that of This July; again, a mix of emo to pop punk and rock, some really catchy tunes, and Stuart's vocals imporoving imo, from their demo recordings.
Favourite song of the night? Not sure, since I played all of them poorly. Perhaps 'Despite the Name', or 'Stuck in Democracy'. Recordings to come!
peace,
<3 haigie. |
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21 May 2005
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Second spat of recording for our lovely selves, this time in "the Attic" that has played host to various acts across time - including Travis - then known as "Glass Onion" - I prefer the vegetable related name personally.
10am saw us load in rather half awake. For once, myself being the most organised. My, how times have changed.
Whilst the others set up, I decided it was an appropriate time to disappear and get some cash on mobile. Of course, due to the wonderful standards of customer service provided by Vodafone, the top up was not infact applied within ten minutes, but was credited to my phone over 3 hours later. A call to the helpline only served to add to frustration, with the automated voice stating: "Press 4 for problems with topping up your mobile."
*4*
"We're sorry, we cannot connect you to a service representative as you have used all of your calling credit. Please topup and try again."
All in all, the day went well, with the irony being that Fore, the song expected to be easiest to record, was actually the most complex. Today also saw Keith donning his first instrument, the guitar, to add some bits into fore also...
Mid-Motion and White Wine and Angels were also recorded, with a hurried medley of Stuck in Democracy/Nearest as the Crow Flies recorded live at the end - with the reversal of verses two and three of SID - much to the amusement of everyone bar myself.
There's not enough room to say the required thanks to the Lightbodies for letting us invade their house (and their kitchen!), as well as Eon, for putting up with take, after take, after take... I'm pretty sure he knows the words better than us now. Although, it wouldn't be hard ;o
Expect MP3s sometime in the future...
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09 May 2005
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Carnival Arts Centre, Glasgow
JumpOutPuts Launch Event
As I've said before, this place is a damn cool venue for a gig. Surrounded by graffiti, skeletons with pink fluff, mirrors, and the type of seats that are so comfy they can only be found in run-down places like this, the atmosphere is set as soon as you walk in. Well, it is if you come in when the lights are all fixed. Otherwise, it gives the impression of an abandoned flat, whose previous owner was of the clowning variety.
Arriving at around 2, with the day stretching ahead, it soon became clear that the drumkit which had been provided was far below par. Combined with various other things, the arrogant rockstar persona broke free, and words were exchanged with the organisers over lack of communication before the actual event. The pressure was clearly getting to Haigie, who viciously attacked Keith backstage. (Click for picture)
However, on first we went, and played well, with the onstage sound being more than satisfactory - no small surprise, I can assure you - for the first time, myself and Haigie almost even agreed on the guitar sound. Shock Horror. No screwups, and an incredible diary-worthy opportunity was missed, when Haigie jumped, and coming back down onto the stage, merely cracked the panel, not fully collapsing it. So, instead of an incredibly witty paragraph authored by me for this space, there is... this. Gutted.
Being just off-centre of town, I took the liberty of wandering around a bit after our set, partly to work off yet another £2 supper - after having the local "chippy-wuman" tell us: "that can't be good for you". We were also shocked to discover "ALL SUPPERS £1.90" at a nearby chippy. Thinking it must be a trick of the mind, we quickly moved on.
The other bands were.... well, they were. One notable exception is that of "SleepMode", who made the night worthy. Hell, anyone who can proclaim proudly on their website homepage: "Has anyone got a spare bass E String? Financially, things are tight since Merv started chain smoking again. " is worth checking out. Click here for their site. And just incase you don't believe that claim, here is his "junkie" pose: Here
In the end, all was fruity and nice, and we made peace over the original tiff which we had had; and once again denying that it was us who threw sandwiches out of the 5 storey window at the police, made our way home.
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05 May 2005
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Rockers, Thurs 5th May
Whelp, just in after what feels like a long evening.
After my superb directional instructions to Stephen's father, Blythe Snr., we finally arrived at Rockers for our second gig at such a charming venue.
Greeted by our adoring fan base (of which, consisted of absolutely no one, by the way), we entered the building, then promptly headed out for our typical Blue Lagoon special. All suppers £2. Awesome.
We headed back, and walked in to hear Regular John, a Queens of the Stoneage tribute band. Wish I had had some heavy drugs. The guys turned out to be rather funny in the end, and played well for what we caught of their set.
Our set. I felt, went well. We were extremely tight tonight, and the sound was a little clearer than usual, until our last few songs where the monitor mix went out the window, and into a bottomless pit of dog poo. Infact, the resonance in dogpoopies probably would’ve sounded better. Ah well, I had fun anyway.
Also - despite Stephen’s STD, he sounded great tonight imo. A little quieter than usual; but his voice was spot on. Personally, apart from sound it was I who brought our set down with my mass of mistakes; but hey, being that my sexiness is sky high, no one really noticed.
Sorry for the long entry. It is now time for therapy.
<3 haigie
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04 May 2005
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I was diagnosed with pharyngitis earlier-on today. It's basically a flammation of the pharynx, much like laryngitis except in a different part of your throat.
They attributed it to 'smokey atmospheres' and such like... ie, the gigs we've been doing a lot recently. Chances are we'll lay off a bit for the next while, to give it a chance to recover.
'mon the smoking ban... |
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01 May 2005
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SSP Pre-Election Social - Falkirk
The RipOffs have found what santa does during the non-festive period:
Yes, he plays banjo in a small ceiliedh band. Who'd have thought it?
First impressions of the venue were not brilliant. Two flights of stairs to carry a drumkit, amps, and various other equipment up is not something you want to see first-off. However, we valiantly conquered the challenge, and decided that we needed some trained monkeys to carry out the manual labour in future.
Never being one for physical exertion, I then lay in the corner twitching whilst Keith and Haigie went about the business of setting up various things.
Funnilly enough, I never really understood how an event organised by the Scottish Socialist Youth could be over 18s, but there you go. However, this was the first time we've done an event as a 'fundraiser' for a group, and they've actually bothered to come and say thanks/introduce themselves to us, so cheers for that, as everyone was generally very nice. (Read: Kirkintilloch Skatepark Initiative - Never again ;) )
If you happen to reside in Falkirk, do vote for the SSP candidate, as he is officially the greatest politician on the planet. Fact.
Anyway, we played rather well, with only the reappearance of 'Simply' pulling the set down ever-so-much. Once again we were pretty out of place, but it was fun to look down out of the windows to see people looking up to try and discern where the racket was coming from.
Local band Moya finished up the night, and we all gradually removed all of the equipment down the stairs-of-death to enter out into the rainy night of a Saturday in Falkirk.
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28 Apr 2005
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Well, today we found that for various reasons, I was receiving lots of emails with gig offers.
One such offer would be from he who shall remain nameless, who opens with: "hi there folks, allow me to be blunt"
He then goes on to offer "Chrisitan" [sic] bands the "opportunity" to play at the fabulous Grimbsy Auditorium. Wow, not bad, you say. Well, that's not all, NO expenses will be provided (uhh... ok), you play completely for free, you must bring at least 20 people - who should be Christians, and wait.. that's not all: You also have to buy "one or two" of this guy's albums from his own website. But hey, you'll be on Christian TV!
So let me get this straight: You need to travel down to England for free, with no expenses paid, with all your equipment, not to mention the 20-odd folk that are meant to come along with you, buy two of this sponger's own CD, all to play to the converted?
I'll let you make up your own mind.
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21 Apr 2005
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Barfly
What a good night.
Not much can really be said about tonight, except that it was a bizarre mix. Upstairs we had us, an acoustic soloist, and some other bands - downstairs a blend of "laid back alternative country rock" - it was all very obscure.
We played pretty damn tight, or so it felt, and aside from one song, the set was really decent. During White Wine and Angels my guitar cut out - and I switched to use another. Funny thing was, it wasn't the guitar, but the cable that had came out the pedals - I definitely need locks.
Onstage, the sound was really good for once - the vocals were really clear. A soundguy who knew what he was doing, and was actually interested in it. Nice one
Some good heckling and banter all round... and the band with "no website and no name" deserve a mention for being sterling chaps, and offering us black olives - adopting the name "Pythagoras Threesome" for the night.
Cheers to those who turned up, including the legendary Abubakr. |
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10 Apr 2005
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Keith's lessons from Edinburgh:
1. Never order "salt and sauce" when buying a chippy
2. Always bring cymbal stands.
Having spent the best part of half an hour trying to find the location of the Leftbank, it all became clear. Of course it was the place down an alley in front of the derelict building! The stained glass window with the name outside only served to cause more confusion. It reminded me of something out of places you would read about in Enid Blyton tales as a child, but without the talking rabbits. Then again... if we'd stuck around long enough...
A bit of an odd mixture, with the "new" PA system apparently boasting a sound limiter, meaning that if we were to go over a certain volume, it would cut out, due to complaints from the main bar next door. It soon became apparent that every band apart from us was using some form of acoustic guitar. Damn. We did have slight issues with the fact that I had to turn down... again.... and again... annnd again, till my guitar was pretty much non-existent, much to the delight of Haigie, it must be said.
So, we opened, and got a not bad response. Shame the sound was so poor, but as people said afterwards: "About time they got some decent music in here". And despite the rather shoddy performance, people were all pretty receptive, and really chatty.
Once it had filled up, the Leftbank looked like something out of a badly filmed 70s sitcom; Full of students drinking wine and bearing haircuts from decades ago.
Thanks to Stocious who got us to come through.... even it was just for the craic of seeing our sound at the Leftbank, as well as for being sterling guys. Cheers to Steven for driving us through and sitting through the rather awful movie as well - it takes a lot to stomach us in a car, and you managed it brilliantly ;o
Setlist:
Stuck in Democracy
Mid-Motion
Heads up, thumbs down
Handwriting of the Illiterate
White Wine and Angels
Ramblings of a Misguided Fool
Fore
Nearest as the Crow Flies |
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30 Mar 2005
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MacSorleys, Wed 30th.
Well well...well, well, well, well, well...
being the first band there was a little worrying; thinking we'd have to take on the night and entertain smelly old punters for 3 hours. Luckily a bunch of cool guys known as Syrus (http://www.syrusmusic.co.uk/) joined us in the tavern a little late. So there it was.
First up we had Syrus with an exellent performance giving us some of their new tracks. Personally, I really enjoyed them and had me clapping away like the dunderhead I am. Yas.
After an hour of some fine rock n roll, we had the disastrous set of t3h RipOffs. All in all I enjoyed myself, and the brand new song "Happy Birthday" went down well, as well as my old favourite "Watch Me Care". I know Keith had the time of his life with the bizarre hi-hat clutch, and being Traceless felt almost like a crime. The house guitar amp also performed far better than I expected.
Finally discovering that Simone is Spanish was also an interesting adventure... However, I shall leave the rest of the ramblings for Stephen - so he can type up something that's actually interesting or funny. happy brithday ya pure plamf min.
Thanks to everyone who came out, was cool.  |
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26 Mar 2005
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Well, there goes Club Go - it seems like we're never away from that place. With the amount of money being raised for other people, it's amazing how we're still broke, and how the only speaker I have is a 10w Marshall practice amp.
On our second journey to the local chippy, myself and Keith were acosted by some young ruffians who rudely demanded: "Do you drink?"
They obviously wanted us to illegally buy them some alcohol to fuel their pointless, sad little existences. Instead, we proceded to inform the local business-women of their sordid plans. Hah, take that you inbreds.
It was good to see our usual crew invade the place, and Mac's PA was far superior to the last time. A rather sexy soundcheck was then scrapped due to a bit of mucking about in between, meaning our monitor levels were totally screwed by the time we came on stage.
The Andy Turnbull Experience were pretty damn awesome. Self professed "acid funk/jazz", they were pretty damn snazzy. That keys player sure can play.
Daedalian were next up, and much better than when I last saw them - rather energetic, and one of the riffs is stuck in my head.
On we trouped, and opened with Nearest as the crow flies... went pretty well. My guitar sounded really distorted, and pretty shoddy in all honesty, which threw me a bit, but this was only made even worse when Haigie, upon jumping back on stage, smashed the mic stand full on into my face. Contrary to popular belief, this was not the part I was pissed off at - more so that I could do nothing about the paltry sounding guitar. I never really got into the swing of things, due to the perfectionist that I am, but that's the way it goes.
After a rousing speech by Haigie, we finished with Stuck in Democracy; cue a stage-invasion; cue Club Go security swarming on to pull them off.
Roll on MacSorley's. |
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24 Mar 2005
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Mr. Fog/Eve Bulloch/Us
Ahh Maccys. With all the appearance of a pub who has never quite decided on what sort of pub to be, and never removed the old decor from a previous jaunt. As one of Mr. Fog was heard to declare: "There should be a coat of armour at every gig we play!" - adorned with flags, carved wooden ceilings, and more brass than an orchestra, MacSorley's is a rather odd place for a gig.
But gig we did... with the delightful Mr. Fog up first. Personally never having heard them, I was quite pleasantly surprised - the songs were much more original than other bands around the same scene I could speak of... but wont. Oh, and *every* band needs a hot girl bassist ;o
Eve was up after, and seemed to fit the venue much better than any of the rest of us; seamlessly slipping onstage, and fearlessly strumming out her songs, with a rather impressive use of her voice.
With so many cool people milling around, it just didn't feel like a gig - even Haigie was tamer than usual on 'stage' - I think the grand carpeting put him off slightly. The set went pretty well, despite me missing out a verse of "As long as it fits" completely, and a slight miscommunication during Fore. Stuck in Democracy, however, rocked.
Today saw me escape my duties to the world of Biology to do an interview with the local paper. Sigh. The life of a rock and roll star eh? *cough*
Anyway, I'm now sitting neglecting my noodles and toast, so this shall come to a close. |
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22 Mar 2005
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Well, today was good. Despite the gross lack of support shown by the school, which resulted in us having only 2 people come along (without any permission from the aforementioned institution), we still managed to bag the most attention - most coming in the way of the presenter's onstage jokes - all of which were stolen from us!
Anyway, partly due to our stunning brilliance in the face of adversity, partly due to Haigie's manicism, which resulted in a sort of mini-celebrity status, the "Kirkintilloch crew" were awarded a "best performance" prize. Maybe when they engrave our names on it they'll be spelled right this time =P
The SECC is positively a rabbit-warren of corridors and stairs. Foolishly venturing out to find the toilet, I returned some time after, with a definite increase in facial hair growth. One day, I plan on compiling a novel of the chronicles of my expedition.
The finale song was a stunner... with 300 high school pupils on stage... a diverse group, all brought together by the one realisation: that none of them knew the words to the finale song. Cue intervention by the show presenter ;o
Cheers you to you truants who came to see us, to Brown Paper Bag (Magazine?), John and David in particular, and everyone else who was rather cool to us.
**note - this does not apply if you chased Haigie around for an autograph.
That is all.
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21 Mar 2005
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Well well well... The new 'diary' section, where I (and the other, lesser members of the band) get to rant and ramble, as you would expect from a melodramatic rock band.
Today we arrived in a rather flash car to the SECC, where we were greeted by hordes of adoring fans:
After we were ushered in under the cover of heavy security, there was a few rather chatty folk around, including a band by the name of "Brown Paper Bag" - three females I might add, who used to be called "Innuendo" - never one to miss such an opportunity, we quickly got aquainted.
The crew onstage were rather helpful, and ran about plugging things in for us, which was a bit of a bizarre experience. The on-stage sound was really quiet and clear too, which makes a change from the usual, even to an earplug wearer like myself.
Roll on tomorrow, and the finger-buffet! |
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