Happy New Year

Wishing everyone a very happy New Year, and all the best for 2012.

We're really starting to step up planning for 2012, with studio sessions increasing to finish the album, and also the first few live dates being confirmed. Our first of these is back at the venue we finished off back in July - Jagz in Ascot. Please come and join us on January 24th in the bar area for a free entry show to ease us back in to gigging! If we're horrendous - at least it hasn't cost you anything!

More dates to follow, along with a much more up to date blog as the new album draws ever nearer.

Thanks for the continued support

News Update

We're delighted to announce the arrival of our new bass player - Ian Greening.

Ian, being nearly as old as Adrian (we didn't know such an age existed) comes in to the fold with a wealth of experience in many different styles and genres. He's a very solid bass player which will work with our material well we think, and we have already got stuck in to writing the last couple of tracks needed for the new record - so he has to stay now!

We'll hopefully be announcing a couple of live dates for early 2012 very soon, so watch this space for the debut of the 3rd different ATC line up - and its always the bass players!

November Update

Hello Everyone

Thought it about time for a bit of an update, just so you know we’re all still alive and the band does still exist!

We left you a couple of months ago with the news that Emma had given birth to a baby boy. Well we’re pleased to say that all concerned are doing very well. Baby Robert seems remarkably good so far, so credit to him. Emma seems to be taking to motherhood like she takes to most things – extremely smoothly and as if she’s been doing it for years. She’s even had time to start dabbling in a completely new musical project, alongside the good ship ATC. Who says parenting is difficult!

Our now former bass player – Mr Ben Halls, is we believe doing well for himself in his new home of Boston (USA, not Lincolnshire). We can’t confirm this as we have barely heard from the bloke nearly 3 months after he departed – but we hear these things on the grapevine.

The big news for us is that we have started working with a new bass man. Ian Greening is an extremely affable chap, a very good bass player and seems to like folk music, which is always a plus. We’ve so far worked on some of our old material with him, as well as working on the last bit of new stuff we need for the album, and all is going swimmingly so far, which is good. We’d like to welcome Ian to the fold, and hope his stay is a happy one.

So, plans are slowly beginning to be put in place to actually get back gigging. We have missed it badly, but know we need to make sure we are 100% ready before venturing back out. In the next couple of weeks we will start to name a few dates for early 2012 – which we will no doubt keep you posted about. There is currently a slow burning urge to get a show in before Xmas, but with the album being the absolute biggest priority currently, this will likely be a last minute thing if it does happen. We will of course give you as much notice of any shows as possible.

The album is starting to sound great. We are now finishing off songs and can start to visualise the finished product. We’re still a fair way off, but the plan is to have the recording finished by February, and it being ready to be duplicated by March/April, ready for a May/June release. There’s a few exciting things in the pipeline including working with a promotions company to help push the record, along with some big shows we’ll be lining up.

So, as another taster of the new album, we now have a really nice bit of video shot at one of our favourite nights, The Icarus Club in Hither Green, London. It is footage of the song 'Grasslands', which will be appearing on the new record, and it was recorded back in the summer. Head over to the video section of the website where you'll find that, and a few other older ones you may not have seen. It's worth 10 minutes of your time we think!

So, that’s about it. We’re very close to all systems go again and there is a real buzz about the band currently which is good to be a part of. Watch this space everyone – ATC will be rising again very soon!

Jagz Gig Ticket Info

With Ben's last gig on 29th July fast approaching we thought it would be useful to let you know how to buy tickets for the show online!

You can get your tickets for the Jagz gig at www.wegottickets.com/event/123871. Tickets are just £5 and for your money you'll not only get us - but to open the night, we have booked the outstanding acoustic duo The Paper Shades. They are worth the ticket money alone!

Obviously we're really keen to get as many people out as possible for this show - as it'll be the last time you'll see us with our current line-up and we really want to give Ben a great send off.

So - don't delay - get yourself a ticket and join us at Jagz in Ascot on 29th July. It'll be a very lovely thing.

Dec News

Folks, we have new video footage on our You Tube page at www.youtube.com/user/allthingsconsideredu, and also for next few days you can hear our track played by Tom Robinson on BBC 6 Music.

This link www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00wnyfd#segments will take you to the page and you'll need the 'Listen Now' button.

End of Another Year!

Well - we've come to the end of another year and it seems to be finishing the way it started, with stupid amounts of snow on the ground and things being cancelled left, right and centre. Nice for a day or two but bloody annoying after that!

Luckily we've finished gigging for the year, with probably more travelling this year than any other in our time as a band. Bath, Bristol, Norwich, Portsmouth - various parts of Essex, Lincolnshire etc. The cars have certainly racked up the miles.

The studio sessions have started really well for the new album, which will hopefully be all done and dusted by the spring. You never realise quite how much there is to do until you start, but we're pretty solidly plugging away at the moment, with the hope we should have all the major bits down by February. There should be a few bits and pieces we can show you all around that time, so we'll keep you posted.

We do however have a couple of the newer tracks you'll find on the record up on our You Tube page. Some great footage was shot when we played a gig alongside our good friends Spriggan Mist a couple of months back, which we have now uploaded on to our page.

You can check out footage of us playing Selfpity and also one of our much more recent tracks - the first airing of Past Times at www.youtube.com/user/allthingsconsideredu

We've also recently had some more national radio play, which is always nice. Tom Robinson (yes, he of 2-4-6-8 Motorway fame) played Clear Your Conscience on his BBC 6 Music show. If you'd like to hear that, you can for the next few days by visiting www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00wnyfd#segments and clicking the 'Listen Now' button.

Anyway - we'll close by thanking each and every one of you who have supported us this year, whether it be punter or promoter. As with all bands trying to make an impact we need all of you on board and we're extremely grateful you have chosen to take an interest in our music.

We hope the new album when it is ready won't disappoint!

Have a great Xmas, and we'll see you all in Lewisham for one of our favourite gigs on the circuit, on January 13th.

Cheers

ATC x

Lightwater gig

Just a quick one folks to say we'll be doing a set at The Crossley Club in Lightwater tomorrow (Friday 12th), on at about 9pm. The night is part of the Spriggan Mist Presents series, and will include sets from our good friends Savour the Flavour, and obviously Spriggan Mist, along with a couple of other acts.

Be great to see a few heads down for that one - our last before we start recording the 'tricky' second album. Entry is £2, and it all kicks off around 7.30pm.

Also, just a reminder that we're doing a short set supporting Martha Tilston at Jagz in Ascot on Wednesday 24th Nov. Check out the gigs page for ticket links.

One last plug - if you haven't already, please follow us on facebook - www.facebook.com/pages/All-Things-Considered/14405050679. With the new album due shortly, we're really wanting to build this page. Cheers!

News Update

We've just confirmed a short slot supporting Martha Tilston at Jagz in Ascot on Wednesday 24th November. Tickets for this are available from the Artree website - www.artree.org.uk.

Also just confirmed - we'll be back in Lincolnshire next summer, this time for Solstice weekend 17th - 19th June at Ecofest. More details about that to follow - and both gigs will be up on the gig pages shortly.

An ATC Blog Post - As Rare As A Goal From Emile Heskey......

Yep – I know, it’s been at least a month since our last blog post. Hardly prolific we’re well aware so again I’m sitting here saying to myself (and the others) that we’ll rectify that and update this far more frequently, but I doubt any of you would believe us…..

Rest assured – if we had anything worthwhile to say we would say it, promise!

You’ll be pleased to know I can think of a few worthwhile things to talk about this time, which is good as this post would be pretty damn pointless if I couldn’t.

The big project some of us have been working on over the last few weeks is putting together the music for the inaugural Headspace Youth, Disability and Communities Festival which is due to take place at Long Hill Park in Bracknell on Saturday June 19th. (http://www.headspacefestival.co.uk/index.html - not quite a completed website but it’ll give you the jist!)

We’ve managed to put together a really solid line-up of music on two stages, with a broad cross-section of different genres, from young up and coming acts to the more seasoned pros (we’ll let you make your own minds up where you think we fit in to that).

Highlights will include a rare local performance from our good friend Rory Ellis from Australia, one of the brightest acoustic prospects around today – Lou Brown and also a set from the brilliant prog-rock band Heights, who have as their guitarist our producer Al Heslop.

It’s gonna be quality – although bloody scary as this is the first one, so anything could happen! Stick the date in your diary – at £5 entry on the gate (with all proceeds going to Headspace), it’ll be well worth your time. And yes……there is a beer tent.

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For those that haven’t yet – please look us up and become a fan on our Facebook page. A lot of us have been working hard to get this medium going properly so would be great if you could link to us – even if you get this blog having signed our mailing list at some random gig and you’ve forgotten who we are – sign up anyway!

You’ll find us (so I’m told) at this link:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/All-Things-Considered/14405050679

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Finally, we have a gig at Jagz in Ascot tomorrow. We’re doing a short opening set for the band Grey Matter, on at about 8pm or thereabouts.

The gig is significant because it marks the end of our winter/spring gigging run, as we’ll be off the circuit for about 5 weeks due to Emma flying out to Cyprus to get married!

Now some of us in this band have known Emma for a long time now – she was basically still a kid when me (Phil) and Adrian started writing with her back in the summer of 2003, so we’ve seen the odd geezer come and go, most of whom were the stranger side of weird.

However – a couple of years ago she introduced us to Darren, the flame haired cockney who actually seemed reasonably normal…… Could this be? Well yes – it appears it is, as in less than two weeks time they fly out to get wed, and then spend the following 3 weeks in the sun, while the rest of us poor bastards who couldn’t afford to go hope for the best we might get a day in the next month where the temperature reaches double figures……

So – as this will be the last blog post (going on our current updating efforts) before she jets off – I’d just like it to go on record to say we all wish them the very, very best. Darren is an absolute diamond geezer and the two of them are perfect together. Whether or not things go quite as swimmingly if and when she pops a sprog and we’re still gigging 6 times a month is anyone’s guess……….

But we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Due Another Blog Post

Nice gig in Portsmouth last week – back at Roger Courtney’s Open Mike Night. Always a great crowd in there, and although a few technical issues at the start of the set, it seemed to go down fairly well again – apart from us getting the name of the venue wrong, much to promoter Nick’s amusement…..

We followed a great set by local Jeff Radford, who did a blinding version of Mr Jones by Counting Crows – which is alright by me.

Of course there was the famous rock and roll raffle which was one of our highlights of last year (as those avid readers of our rapidly diminishing blog posts will remember). We had a winner this time around – Ben managing to snap up a tin of tuna from the prize stand……which he said he was planning on eating last Tuesday, at about 1.45pm. We haven’t yet found out whether that was the case, or indeed the quality of the product, as we haven’t actually heard from him since……..hmmmmmmm.

Bournemouth this Sunday, we’re loving the South Coast at the minute. This will be our first set at Bournemouth’s famous folk club, although I believe this one is more of a showcase night. So if you’re in the area, come along and see us – I believe we’re playing at about 8.45pm.

There’s also been a bit of movement on the festivals side for the summer. Unfortunately we weren’t selected for Glastonbury (yet), but we have confirmed a few summer events, with hopefully more to come in the coming weeks. The thought of hot summer days, playing live music in a random field with a load of new age hippies and drinking warm ale is seriously appealing right now……

Anyway – check the website for those dates and indeed further gigs announced over the next few weeks. It’s gonna be a busy summer.

News Update

Sorry to all the people who were looking to come out and see us at the cancelled gigs a couple of weeks ago. There really wasn't much we could do about the snow - we're very glad it's gone!

New dates have been added since the last update - including a slot at the new Artree Music Introducing night in Bagshot, Surrey and also slots in Kingston and a rearranged date in Puttenham.

Keep checking the site for the most up to date listings.

2009 Round-up.......HECTIC!

Well, as we have our last gig of the year on Thursday, and Emma heads off to warmer climes for her regular Xmas excursion – we'll do the round-up blog now, as I imagine any other blogs posted between now and when we start up again in early Jan will mostly consist of one of us moaning about the cold/Xmas/working over Xmas etc.

It's been what can only be described as one hell of a hectic year – but we can all stand back and admire what we've done, the work and dedication we've put in to the project and results we've achieved.

The obvious one is the album. It was an idea that started pretty much exactly a year before it was released, and the finished product is something I think we're all very happy with, although are looking to top big style with album number 2 (tentatively scheduled for early 2011, so long as we're all still alive). The sell-out album launch gig was a night all of us will remember for ages – and indeed the 20+ dates we did over the summer to support it.

Radio 2 airplay was a massive highlight, as was all the reviews we've got for the record. It's nice to hear someone say something good about you when they don't have the first clue who you are! The radio slots were good fun too.

The main thing for me (Phil) this year though is how we've gelled as a unit. We are slowly but surely becoming a really solid act musically – both in the stuff we're writing and our performance. Everyone is confident playing the old material so can relax on stage and really enjoy it, and the new material – although requiring a little more concentration is really holding up against the established stuff. Always a good sign.

So – 2010 is looking likely to be just as mad. We already have multiple dates sorted for the New Year which sees us descend on the West Country acoustic scene in a fairly big way – and we're also planning on taking in a few more festivals in the summer – although that's if we get booked for any!

So for everyone who has followed us on here, come to the gigs and especially bought the record – thanks very much. I've said it for years, but it is the hardest thing for a band to do, get a loyal following and expect them to stick by them, but we're slowly getting to that stage, and hopefully the music we play, and juvenile banter that comes with most live performances have been of some entertainment to you all, and that you'll join us in the New year when we attempt to take over the world!

The future is Folk!

Cheers

ATC

P.S – One last gig for this year, tomorrow night (Thursday 17th) at Varsity Bar in Reading. We're on about 10pm with music coming before hand from Ben's mate Olly (who we're told is very good), our ex Ecoute guitarist James Fayers, and fantastic Reading acoustic act Scattered Few.

Free entry – kicks of at 8pm. Come and have a few beers.

More Reviews

We’ve had another album review, this time on NetRhythms - and again positive although I’ve had to apologise to the band for being too loud!


A five piece acoustic outfit from Berkshire fronted by Emma Johnson and with instrumentation that includes violin and African drums, their ‘folk fusion’ meld of trad, blues, and world music has seen them regularly performing across the South East and London. They’re now looking to spread the horizons with the release of their debut album. It’s a crowded field out there, but, ahem, all things considered, they have several factors in their favour.

For a start, Johnson’s pure but earthy vocals combine traditional leanings with a contemporary sensibility, so that you’re as likely to hear Jacqui McShee and Sally Oldfield notes as Denny, Eliza Carthy or Rusby. The playing too is strong, exemplified by violinist Gethin Webster’s short intro instrumental Kuebiko (a Japanese scarecrow deity) and the textures he brings to Manipulative Perspectives, Adrian Holden’s intricate guitar work and Phil Daniel’s smouldering ethnic hand drum percussion showcase on The Neverending.

The material stands tall too, with the bruised heart emotions of Self Pity, the heady musical interplay on Clear Your Conscience and the wounded Numb all highlights.
If there’s a reservation it’s that sometimes the percussion overwhelms the more delicate aspects, but there’s no reason to think this isn’t about to see their gig diary and order books about to become increasingly full.


It is extremely heartening to have positive feedback in the form of published reviews. You obviously take praise and criticism from your friends, family and fellow artists but this is endorsement from people who generally have no real idea who you are. They have made a judgement on your music with no other factors influencing them to sway one way or another. With that taken in to account, we can be nothing but delighted at the way the album has gone down since its release. We could however do with an upturn in sales……..

We’re in Reading next Thursday – a free entry gig at The Varsity Bar, which will either be fantastic or truly horrendous (we don’t have much luck with Reading). Why don’t you come along to find out? It’ll be our last gig of what has been probably the most hectic year of our musical lives (however 2010 is looking even more so – watch this space), so be great to see a few heads out for a celebratory pint.

We’re playing with cracking acoustic duo Scattered Few and also for all you people who remember most of us in our old Ecoute days, our guitarist from that time James Fayers (the bloke with the hat) will be doing a rare acoustic set. Nice.

Radio Blah Blah

We’re on the radio on Monday (7th), as guest on a show hosted by the most committed man in local radio, David Durrant at Brooklands FM. So this is a rallying call to get as many people listening to our show as possible! We have 2 hours to fill, which means we’ll be playing a few tracks (including a possible attempt at a yet to be finished new track – which could be horrendous, but might be a stroke of absolute genius, you’ll have to tune in to find out how that goes) and also you’ll get an insight in to the sort of music we listen to. Already knowing the list of tracks we’ve submitted – I can tell you its eclectic to say the least……

So here is the plan. To find out the amount of people listening in, we’d like you all at some point during the broadcast to send an e-mail in to the studio – so we can give you a shout out. As the station broadcasts only on the internet anyway – you’ll be at your computers/phones/whatever else you can get internet on these days, so a quick e-mail should be nice and easy. Call it a social experiment if you like, and not in the slightest a way of finding out if anyone actually gives a shit!

To listen in to the show, which will be on 8-10pm on Monday 7th December, head over to http://www.brooklandsfm.co.uk/ and click the Listen Live icon. The icon to contact the studio is next to it.

Another quick plug – and that is we now finally have a presence on You Tube. 3 videos have been uploaded and you can access them by going to the official site. These were all filmed on a phone, so credit where it’s due I assume on all three occasions to Emma’s boyfriend Darren, who can be seen at most gigs snapping away.

We’ll be looking to add more live footage so if anyone fancies coming along to a gig and shooting some live stuff, we’d be keen to hear from you.

Another Venue On The Brink

It’s with a great deal of sadness that we heard today that the legendary venue The Half Moon in Putney is facing closure after over 50 years of live music performance. Our gig scheduled there for January has been shelved as they have had to book acts that will definitely pull a full house while they get themselves sorted, and hopefully continue trading.

I think I speak for the entire band when we say that playing at The Half Moon is one of the highlights of this bands existence so far, such is the history and reputation of the place. The Rolling Stones, The Who, John Martyn, U2, Kate Bush and Nick Cave are all world famous acts that have graced that stage at one time or another. Even over the last couple of years it’s played host to the current crop of outstanding artists gracing the music scene from Newton Faulkner to Kasabian. There’s even rumour that Fairport Convention’s manager used to run the band from the pay phone in the corner!

It’s venues like this that bands like us, in our current position aspire to play. It ranks up their with legendary London venues like The Marquee and The Troubadour and is the sort of venue that, once you’ve played it you know you’ve made a giant step in the right direction. To be booked for places like The Half Moon is almost like getting your act validated.

So I imagine the immediate future will be fundraising gigs and the current staff doing all they can to get people coming through the door. With more and more venues going under because of lack of support for live music in these times – it’s increasingly difficult for venues like this to stay open, and without venues, you don’t have live music, and without live music you don’t have a music industry. Like Sting said recently, if you think the X Factor is the future of music, you’re very much mistaken.

So, have a look at the Half Moon listings – www.halfmoon.co.uk and see if there’s something there you fancy. There is usually something for everyone and the more they get in, the more chance of places like this staying open for years to come.

Latest Goings On

Premature? Perhaps. But the Christmas countdown has begun!
Only 21 working days until I (Emma) set off for sunnier skies for a family festive season, and I couldn’t be more excited.

However, the countdown with All Things Considered is a busy period as we try to squeeze in as many get togethers – gigs, rehearsals and interviews between work parties and family gatherings as we can.

Our next event you are all invited to is in Battersea on the 1st December, and we look forward to hopefully seeing some friendly faces to welcome us to this new venue. Details of that gig can be found on the website as usual. Also coming up is a return appearance on Surrey radio station Brooklands FM on December 7th. We have a full 2 hour show to play a few tracks, pick a few tracks and generally have a bit of a chat and a laugh. We'll post details on how to listen to the show a bit nearer the time.

Anyone interested in coming to see us in Reading on 17th December - we'll keep you fully updated with that, as there are a few promoter issues with that gig currently (i.e. the promoter has left!). We're trying hard to keep the gig on, but will of course keep everyone 'in the loop' with any news.

In the meantime, I assure you we will be working hard, writing to keep our set fresh.
Also, keep checking back on the website as we have some pictures from previous gigs and even some potential video footage being uploaded on the site very soon.

Have a good week!

TFL - Just Another Nightmare

I’d like to start off this week’s blog by thanking everyone who came to support us at The Slaughtered Lamb on Sat night. It was great to catch up with you all and we hope you enjoyed the night. We enjoyed the night – at least we did up to a certain point…after leaving the venue to catch the last train home the evening took a gradual decline for the next few hours….

We left the venue in an attempt to make the 11.15 train back home, however Ben & I (Emma) managed to lose the others who had gone to catch the tube and we were left wandering aimlessly around for the next 10 minutes searching for a tube stop. Eventually, with the aid of a sat nav on a mobile phone we found the desired location. On we got, Ben successfully going his way, and me n my fella on our way to Waterloo, with little chance of getting there now to catch the train, but travelling in vain hope until the announcement of several lines being closed due to work being undertaken.

DAMMIT – we thought as we planned for a new route back.

45 minutes later, we were standing in Waterloo station looking for any train going in our general direction…we’d just missed 1 back to a nearby town by 3 minutes! Never mind…last train 1.05 – we’ll get that one. Off to Burger King it was to kill a little bit of time – and to be fair, it went quite quickly. 1.05 arrived and we happily made it to our platform and found a seat…we waited – and waited…and waited!! But our train never left – SIGNAL FAILURE – the guard informed us all.

Genuinely not having any other option other than to sit on a train which was now well over an hour late, which may never move or pay £80 for a taxi home – we opted for the taxi…only 50000000 other people had also had the same idea and there were no taxis available! We queued, n waited, n waited and queued but we didn’t seem to be moving in the taxi line!!

THE TRAINS GOING!, came the shout from out of Waterloo – so we ran, back to the platform, back onto the train, found yet another seat and sat there – and waited, and waited. We waited – and eventually – over 2 hours after schedule the train left the platform. We finally made it back to the station, where we now needed to get a taxi as we were further from home than we would have been had we not missed our initial train. So we stood in yet another queue and waited for taxis. I’m sure you can imagine taxis are few and far between at gone 4 in the morning so it was a fair old wait, but eventually – tired n grumpy we arrived at ours at 4.30am

So – conversations were had the next day as I informed people of the torture we’d been through the night before and the decision was made that never again will we ever trust public transport to get us to or from a gig!!!

We’re hoping for a more successful, more accessible and equally enjoyable evening on Thursday and look forward to seeing you all at The Icarus Club in Lewisham tomorrow!!

One More Time

In these times of hardship, the banks have quite rightly been getting it right in the neck for crumbling this once great country to the brink of oblivion – however for the common man, the bank should still be seen to be a place of trust, or good management with our precious monetary assets.

We’re in a lucky position right now that we are making enough money from the band to warrant opening a proper band bank account. The days of Emma taking the couple of quid here and there and putting it in a nice piggy bank on her mantelpiece are now gone.

So, back in July we all wondered in to Bracknell town centre with the paperwork required to set up our account with this particular ‘reputable high street bank’, who are still (to my knowledge) one of the few who haven’t needed to worry about Government bail-outs. We thought this was a good sign, and as a few of us have banked with them for a long time, couldn’t really see any issues.

We gave all the details over to an affable bald chap, who duly took all our forms of ID, got our signatures and promptly sent the paperwork through. Done and dusted – great. Within a few days we’ll have a band bank account that will be so much easier to deal with than our current set-up.

Cue the 5th of November – some 4 months later and after the 5th copy of the mandate is sent out to us to sign AGAIN, another phone call is received by an ever increasingly irate Gethin – we believe this to be at least the 12th one he’s taken from this ‘reputable high street bank’. Still no account…..apparently one of the addresses they have is wrong, even though the correct one was confirmed to them on more than one occasion.

It appears the only thing wrong in this situation are the people that work for this bank. I don’t know whether the whole economic climate issues have frightened this ‘reputable high street bank’ – but it appears they are doing all they can to not open accounts. I blame the bloke with the dodgy eyebrows who always looks incredibly smug once a year while holding up a tattered red briefcase, which contrary to popular belief doesn’t hold the budget paperwork – but the latest copy of Viz and a moldy peach he forgot to eat a week last Thursday.

Anyway – in honour of this monumental hassle we’ve had, Emma has decided to pen the following poem, which may or may not turn in to a song at some point. A peanut to each of you who guesses the bank – it really isn’t that hard.

One More Time – By Emma Johnson (copyright All Things Considered 2009)

‘One more time’ they said to me
I’ve heard these words before
But still I trust, still I hope
It’ll be right this time for sure

But no it’s wrong again it seems
What’s your excuse this time
Just a few minor details
Where do we draw the line

But we forgive, we try again
They’ll get it right – you’ll see
But no, they still want more from us
The fricking _ _ _ _

We even went to see the man
Who claims to be the boss
But he was useless & a waste of time
We’re really at a loss

All we want is an account with you
Don’t play so hard to get
Or we’ll take our custom elsewhere
Your bank we will forget

One more time, it’s all we’ll give
You’d better get this rightOr we’ll release this wonderful track
Telling how _ _ _ _ are shite


In other news – if you’re London based we’re at The Slaughtered Lamb in Clerkenwell this Saturday, on sometime after 9pm - £5 on the door. Alternatively, you can pop along and see us in Lewisham next Thursday. We’ll be doing 2 short sets from 8pm at The Station Hotel, which is right outside Lewisham station, funnily enough. Free entry for that one. Hope to see you there!

Random MJ Ramble

Its 34 degrees in my office. The air-con has packed up, and with all the windows in the building unable to be opened due to health and safety (even though we’re only on the first floor and you’d be lucky to break a leg if you jumped), it’s pretty damn uncomfortable.

As luck would have it, I (Phil) have little work to do this afternoon so I’ve just been reading the reviews online of the new Michael Jackson concert film, released internationally last night. The consensus is a bit hit and miss, some of it is good, some bad – in some of it you can see his genius shining through, whereas in other bits he just comes across as a frail man with what seems like the whole world on his shoulders. As expected, every paper, news website etc has a comment on it – which is of course to be expected.

I personally am a little uncomfortable with the fact that this film has been reviewed in exactly the same sort of way any other cinema release would have been. It’s blatantly obvious that this material, however good, was never intended for mass viewing - at the very most a 10 minute segment as part of the extras DVD of what would have been no doubt a tremendous live DVD after the shows had been completed. The fact that respected film critics for national and international news agencies can criticise the filming techniques is a little out of line. I’m sure had they known the bloke was going to drop dead before the opening night, they would have got the finest camera and sound crew available to capture every last detail of the show……but they didn’t, so this is all we have, and maybe we just need to be thankful we even have that – but I suppose that view doesn’t sell papers.

The one thing that is certain is that everyone is in agreement this was going to be some show – so lets hope we actually see it one day, with the worlds top performers taking on the Jackson role.

Anyway – in other news, it looks like we might have finally sorted a date in Reading. After almost 2 years of searching for the right venue, it looks like we’re going to be playing The Varsity Bar on Thursday 17th December, alongside two as yet unnamed acoustic based acts. So, if you’re from the Reading area, like most of us are – stick it in the diary.

The Musical Raffle

It’s a Green Ticket, a Green Ticket – and it’s 107

A Yellow Ticket, a Yellow Ticket – and it’s 264

Shuffle!

You kind of have to perform the above, in a rock and roll style, with a walking bass line, to get the feel of the Rock and Roll Raffle that we had the pleasure of witnessing last night in Portsmouth. We were one of two featured artists at Roger Courtney’s Open Mike Night and had earlier in the evening played our best set in ages, to a really enthusiastic crowd at what is a great little club, just a stone’s throw from Fratton Park (in fact the pub to which the venue was attached to was a real home fans boozer, with pictures of the Pompey team from almost every year since the early 70’s adorning the walls).

The guy running the night, Nick Courtney – who has admirably kept the club going after his fathers passing some years ago, is one of the most affable men you could wish to meet. Not only that, but he seemed prepared for all sound and musical issues – having nothing less than a spare acoustic bass handy when Ben’s battery decided to die before we’d even played a note. You can’t beat that for forward planning.

So it was with interest that we sat down for a beer after our set, to watch some of the open mic performers. We were treated to a double act resurrecting the comedy song, a blinding bagpipe player with added percussion and then said percussion player then switching to guitar and running through a set of well played covers which included what myself and Adrian have come to agree was a song by the band Therapy? Certainly a mixed bag but all really good stuff.

‘You can’t leave before the raffle’ we were told by Nick as we upped to get on our way – ‘you’ve not seen anything until you’ve seen the raffle – it’s a rock and roll raffle!’.

And right there – we thought to ourselves ‘a musical raffle? We’ve seen that before……..’

Some time ago we did a show at what really was quite a similar set-up at a club in Watford. A nicer bunch of people you couldn’t wish to meet, although the builder who we spoke to outside who seemed to get a bit agitated when we said we didn’t know any U2 covers made us slightly uneasy.

However, other than a sound guy who enjoyed turning everything up to 11, and the odd random drip from the leaky ceiling, we actually had quite a good time, and played a solid first set.

………then however came the raffle…….the musical raffle.

Cue the theme from Bullseye, played on the slightly out of tune piano in the corner – it was all very music hall. Jim Bowen was not in attendance, so it was left to the sound guy to dart from the back in almost Ultimate Warrior fashion (80’s wrestling fans will know what I’m talking about), don a black bowler hat, and while doing his 2 step dance routine proceed to reel off the winning numbers. The excitement in the room as one after another people went up to get their prizes – a shower curtain, some lace doilies and a tube of toothpaste amongst other things.

When we went back on for our second set, we just couldn’t compete – it was so intimidating to follow what was obviously the weekly highlight that Gethin very nearly soiled himself – and that isn’t a lie.

So musical raffles – I’m actually excited to find the next one. I may make this part of the booking criteria that we only play nights with musical raffles. Sod bowls of M&M’s with all the brown ones taken out – or sandwiches with the crusts cut off, or 1000 purple balloons in the dressing room – the only contracted stipulation for us to play is that there has to be a musical raffle – it is the way forward!

To end – I’d just like to thank Nick and the folks at Roger Courtney’s Open Mike Night, one of the best nights we’ve played in a long time. If you’re ever in the Portsmouth area on a Thursday night, go along. There aren’t enough clubs like that – so long may it continue.