Farnham Secret Garden Festival is quite secret. I can’t find it. This does not make me happy. I have been moving house and am really rather tired. It’s OK though, I’ve still got fifteen minutes…. More walking around. I’ve still got ten minutes….. five minutes to go, I’m still OK, I’m not late, and then I spot a promising looking white tent, and there are musicians in it. Phew….. Arrrgggh, the musicians (I use this term loosely) are Brassneck. Cue panic! I break into what can only be described as an incredibly feeble attempt at some slightly faster than average walking, and find that in fact there isn’t any panic at all. Ben’s guitar won’t work. I sort myself out, get on stage and Ben’s guitar still won’t work. He tries different leads, different tuners, someone else’s (extremely kindly leant) guitar, pretty much everything and the damn guitar still doesn’t work. I don’t have a pint and am temporarily distracted from the problem in hand by an overwhelming urge to ditch 'Brassneck' and re-hydrate myself at a bar somewhere, when suddenly Ben’s guitar works. Hooray! (Except the obvious; I don’t have time for bar hunting). Ben joins in the stage/tent, plugs into the DI box and his guitar won’t work. Time for more lead/tuner/guitar hitting/dreaming of beer…. George appears, removes the lead from the badly behaved guitar and reinserts it. It works. Apparently Ben’s guitar only works when George puts the lead it. Hmmm, this could be a problem, but for now we are good to go. We play a reasonable set, it all feels a little slow to me, but this could be due to the fact that the only thing standing between me and a beer is the set!
Lots of our usual friends are around, so once we finish and I get my beer we have some nice chats. I go home to pack more boxes and put more furniture in a van. I hope the rest of the world had a better bank holiday weekend that I did!!!
Kat.
Friday, 29 May 2009
Dublin Castle, Camden, London, 20/05/09. Sid's Tour Diary
I like the ‘Dublin Castle’. I tell the rest of the band this over and over again on the way up there and when we first arrive. Countless stories of how I got my first review in the ‘NME’ there (when I threw up in the gutter outside) or the time the landlord relieved himself up the back of my old band’s van while we were loading up - and all he could say was ‘I’m the landlord here, I can do what I like” ! Happy days ! We also have bets on the way up as to whether we would arrive before the soundman or any of the other bands. I say yes to the soundman, but no to the bands. I was right. There’s already another band here when we roll up. In fact, Ben still hasn’t paid up the £100 he owes me for this fact.
‘The Lasting Days’ are the other said band and introduce themselves straight away as we’re heading for the bar. A band that’s here before us and a band that is nice with it, such a rarity on our gigging schedule.
Eventually the soundman arrives, but the headline band hasn’t. He decides to soundcheck ‘The Lasting Days’ instead. This takes ages, and then some. They have a multitude of different instruments and are a drummer down until later. This means differing band members are sounchecking differing instruments. It gets confusing. We get bored. After what seems like an eternity we do get to do our soundcheck though, it goes well. F***ing loud, but good. The first band on then soundcheck and we head out to the bar.
More drinks are bought and consumed as various fans and friends start to arrive to see us play (hello Sam, Rock ‘N’ Roll Steve, Depak et al). In fact, the whole place is starting to look lively and busy. We like this.
We amble in to watch the first band, they’re called ‘British Broken Class’. They have 2 guitars, 1 laptop and only 1 tune. They play it, they change the drum pattern, they play it again, they change the drum pattern, they start to play it again, they realise the drum pattern is wrong, they stop, they start again. To be honest I switch off.
Then, it’s us up. We rawk ! Quite literally. It’s f***ing loud. People are impressed. We get a queue going for our new free cd afterwards. Lots of people are joining the mailing list as well. We must be doing something right, our friends variously say we are improving so much and that the song’s are really catchy and well thought out. This is just what we want. We’re happy. The banter / vibe / piss-taking is great. ‘Brassneck’ really are on top form tonight.
Following us come ‘The Lasting Days’, they have fiddles, mandolin’s, harmonies, talent and energy in abundance. We’re impressed. Not only were they here before us, then they were nice to us and now they turn out to be a great band. What’s going on ? Well, before we get too carried away their set tails off a bit towards the end. We still like them though and despite their free cd not doing them justice (y’see they give away cd’s the same as us too !) they’re easily one of the better bands we’ve gigged with on the circuit for quite a while.
Last up are ‘Jive Stick’. They didn’t turn up for their soundcheck and now they’ve just plugged in to Neil’s bass amp without even asking if they can borrow it. I see red. I bound up to the stage just as they’re about to start. ‘Do you know who’s bass amp that is ?’ I ask the bassist. ‘Errr, no’ he says. ‘Don’t you think you should have asked someone before just assuming you can use it ?’ I say. ‘I thought it was an in-house one’ he replies. I’m not happy. If they’d been here for the soundcheck they would have known it was Neil’s amp and then they could have asked if they could borrow it like any decent human being would. I can’t be bothered to watch their set now, especially after 2 songs when Ben leans over to me and says “It looks like you’re not even the worst singer in the building tonight Sid”. I howl with laughter. He’s right. I could sing better than that. I leave to talk to Smith from ‘The Lasting Days’ in the bar.
All in all though, a good night. I must admit I’ve had a few to drink by the end of the evening (I’m not quite throwing up in the gutter outside though) and when we load up the band ask that usual question ‘Are you going to get us lost on the way home Sid ?’ ‘I’ll try not to’ I say but it really does look different going home. I can get us to the gigs in Camden blindfolded but sometimes getting out of Camden confuses me, must be the drinking that I do in the evening eh ! Anyway, today’s exit goes well and we’re out on the normal route home in no time. The banter’s good again. Ben liking boys (allegedly), Kat liking listening to people being killed (allegedly) and me liking watersports (allegedly) !! How come Neil and Mark never admit to anything dodgy on these journeys ? Oh yeah, Neil goes the other way on his own (so to speak !)………and Mark’s the drummer !
Sid.
‘The Lasting Days’ are the other said band and introduce themselves straight away as we’re heading for the bar. A band that’s here before us and a band that is nice with it, such a rarity on our gigging schedule.
Eventually the soundman arrives, but the headline band hasn’t. He decides to soundcheck ‘The Lasting Days’ instead. This takes ages, and then some. They have a multitude of different instruments and are a drummer down until later. This means differing band members are sounchecking differing instruments. It gets confusing. We get bored. After what seems like an eternity we do get to do our soundcheck though, it goes well. F***ing loud, but good. The first band on then soundcheck and we head out to the bar.
More drinks are bought and consumed as various fans and friends start to arrive to see us play (hello Sam, Rock ‘N’ Roll Steve, Depak et al). In fact, the whole place is starting to look lively and busy. We like this.
We amble in to watch the first band, they’re called ‘British Broken Class’. They have 2 guitars, 1 laptop and only 1 tune. They play it, they change the drum pattern, they play it again, they change the drum pattern, they start to play it again, they realise the drum pattern is wrong, they stop, they start again. To be honest I switch off.
Then, it’s us up. We rawk ! Quite literally. It’s f***ing loud. People are impressed. We get a queue going for our new free cd afterwards. Lots of people are joining the mailing list as well. We must be doing something right, our friends variously say we are improving so much and that the song’s are really catchy and well thought out. This is just what we want. We’re happy. The banter / vibe / piss-taking is great. ‘Brassneck’ really are on top form tonight.
Following us come ‘The Lasting Days’, they have fiddles, mandolin’s, harmonies, talent and energy in abundance. We’re impressed. Not only were they here before us, then they were nice to us and now they turn out to be a great band. What’s going on ? Well, before we get too carried away their set tails off a bit towards the end. We still like them though and despite their free cd not doing them justice (y’see they give away cd’s the same as us too !) they’re easily one of the better bands we’ve gigged with on the circuit for quite a while.
Last up are ‘Jive Stick’. They didn’t turn up for their soundcheck and now they’ve just plugged in to Neil’s bass amp without even asking if they can borrow it. I see red. I bound up to the stage just as they’re about to start. ‘Do you know who’s bass amp that is ?’ I ask the bassist. ‘Errr, no’ he says. ‘Don’t you think you should have asked someone before just assuming you can use it ?’ I say. ‘I thought it was an in-house one’ he replies. I’m not happy. If they’d been here for the soundcheck they would have known it was Neil’s amp and then they could have asked if they could borrow it like any decent human being would. I can’t be bothered to watch their set now, especially after 2 songs when Ben leans over to me and says “It looks like you’re not even the worst singer in the building tonight Sid”. I howl with laughter. He’s right. I could sing better than that. I leave to talk to Smith from ‘The Lasting Days’ in the bar.
All in all though, a good night. I must admit I’ve had a few to drink by the end of the evening (I’m not quite throwing up in the gutter outside though) and when we load up the band ask that usual question ‘Are you going to get us lost on the way home Sid ?’ ‘I’ll try not to’ I say but it really does look different going home. I can get us to the gigs in Camden blindfolded but sometimes getting out of Camden confuses me, must be the drinking that I do in the evening eh ! Anyway, today’s exit goes well and we’re out on the normal route home in no time. The banter’s good again. Ben liking boys (allegedly), Kat liking listening to people being killed (allegedly) and me liking watersports (allegedly) !! How come Neil and Mark never admit to anything dodgy on these journeys ? Oh yeah, Neil goes the other way on his own (so to speak !)………and Mark’s the drummer !
Sid.
Haslemere Arts Festival, 19/05/09. Ben's Tour Diary
We played Haslemere Festival thing the other night. It was shit. Except for Byron Johnson. He was ace. And Aimee was as good as ever.
That is all.
Ben.
That is all.
Ben.
Farnham Festival, 09/05/09. Mark's Tour Diary.
Is it me or has it been ages since we last did a gig or practice?
No, I am right it’s been nearly 4 weeks. I don’t think in the history of ‘Brassneck’ we have ever had a longer break.
Still, it’s the Farnham Festival today and it will be good to get back into it, even though I have been musically busy doing other things so at least I’m not completely out of practice. I arrive at Kat’s with the missus just as the gang are finishing a quick acoustic practice.
Ben has brought the infant army along, which seems like a great idea and Karen and myself think perhaps we should have brought Eleanor to her first ‘Brassneck’ outing.
We all then make transit to Farnham and as we arrive we see it’s packed which is great.
We unload and in usual Brassneck fashion head for the bar.
I then setup the kit as we are playing with our usual friends ‘Thinking for Tuesday’ and Julia K.
There are loads of kids around, damn I wish we had brought Eleanor!
A quick phone call home to the outlaws and we get them to drop Eleanor off which is great as there is a good vibe in the place and it will be her first live gig.
2 Minutes in and then I decide maybe bringing Eleanor was not such a good idea as it’s the same old compere. My god this guy is shit I mean he is really shit I know he tries hard but surely he must know he’s shit? Some of his lines are so bad I am pretty sure any one of us ‘Brassneck’ lot could get up without prompts and still be better!
It’s a shame as the ‘Yellow Tambourine’ events are great otherwise. The first few acoustic acts go on which go down well and in the background another band is setting up in the corner. This at first seems normal until we see the line up which appears to be made up of transvestites. ‘Brassneck’ all look on thinking we have got to stay on to see what these are like!
‘ Thinking for Tuesday’ go up and play a good set but hey up what’s this? It looks like they have been taking a leaf out of ‘Brassneck’s book and actually look very well dressed which makes a difference.
Julia K and the gang also get up and do a great set which goes down well , the sound’s a little odd today but I guess its just because the doors are open to the outside and perhaps the sound is being bounced around differently.
I seem to have had quite a few friends turn up and as we are getting ready to play on stage (we are last on) think hopefully we should go down well.
We start well and finish well, everyone is a little rusty but hey for not having a practice for a few weeks I think we did great. The crowd enjoyed it and we even managed to get everyone clapping on ‘Treasure It Because You Care, Natasha’.
Nice gig this one and looking forward to the next ‘Yellow Tambourine’ night. And no, before you ask we didn’t get lost for once!
No, I am right it’s been nearly 4 weeks. I don’t think in the history of ‘Brassneck’ we have ever had a longer break.
Still, it’s the Farnham Festival today and it will be good to get back into it, even though I have been musically busy doing other things so at least I’m not completely out of practice. I arrive at Kat’s with the missus just as the gang are finishing a quick acoustic practice.
Ben has brought the infant army along, which seems like a great idea and Karen and myself think perhaps we should have brought Eleanor to her first ‘Brassneck’ outing.
We all then make transit to Farnham and as we arrive we see it’s packed which is great.
We unload and in usual Brassneck fashion head for the bar.
I then setup the kit as we are playing with our usual friends ‘Thinking for Tuesday’ and Julia K.
There are loads of kids around, damn I wish we had brought Eleanor!
A quick phone call home to the outlaws and we get them to drop Eleanor off which is great as there is a good vibe in the place and it will be her first live gig.
2 Minutes in and then I decide maybe bringing Eleanor was not such a good idea as it’s the same old compere. My god this guy is shit I mean he is really shit I know he tries hard but surely he must know he’s shit? Some of his lines are so bad I am pretty sure any one of us ‘Brassneck’ lot could get up without prompts and still be better!
It’s a shame as the ‘Yellow Tambourine’ events are great otherwise. The first few acoustic acts go on which go down well and in the background another band is setting up in the corner. This at first seems normal until we see the line up which appears to be made up of transvestites. ‘Brassneck’ all look on thinking we have got to stay on to see what these are like!
‘ Thinking for Tuesday’ go up and play a good set but hey up what’s this? It looks like they have been taking a leaf out of ‘Brassneck’s book and actually look very well dressed which makes a difference.
Julia K and the gang also get up and do a great set which goes down well , the sound’s a little odd today but I guess its just because the doors are open to the outside and perhaps the sound is being bounced around differently.
I seem to have had quite a few friends turn up and as we are getting ready to play on stage (we are last on) think hopefully we should go down well.
We start well and finish well, everyone is a little rusty but hey for not having a practice for a few weeks I think we did great. The crowd enjoyed it and we even managed to get everyone clapping on ‘Treasure It Because You Care, Natasha’.
Nice gig this one and looking forward to the next ‘Yellow Tambourine’ night. And no, before you ask we didn’t get lost for once!
Tuesday, 5 May 2009
Depression Is a Young Person's Art Form - review
Here's a rather lovely review of one of our new recordings, Depression Is a Young Person's Art Form, by notable and esteemed music blogger The Legendary Frank. To find out what all the fuss is about and hear the track for yourself using the ReverbNation audio player click here.
"Depression Is a Young Person's Art Form
This is gobsmackingly, goosebumpingly good! Every I hear this live I go to pieces.
This song has everything in it and oozes emotion from every pore.
The song opens with a phone and disembodied voices. Add to this a bass that's like a slow heartbeat, a heart out of sync with the world. Then the drums come in like a military tatoo or maybe a death march? The sad violin underlines the sad reflections.
And that guitar. Subtle, understated, way down like depression. And weaving in and out that violin, not plaintive but plain sad.
And the bitterness of the singer mounts. The self pity mounts.
And yet amidst all that pity an acceptance "I know that it's over, although it overran".
And then the song changes gear.
The song becomes angrier and staccatto as the climax builds up.
Builds up to some great hamronica playing and if you're not already an emotional wreck you will be now.
This song will go down as Brassneck's greatest, great to listen to here and great live.
No Brassneck, it's not thanks for nothing, it's thanks for giving me great feelings even if those feelings are achingly sad and yet beautiful.
In other words everytine I listen to this song I am refreshed which is odd considering the theme of the song.
Maybe it's the sheer power of the song
and maybe we've all been there but have stepped back.
The Legendary Frank"
Visit Frank's blog here.
"Depression Is a Young Person's Art Form
This is gobsmackingly, goosebumpingly good! Every I hear this live I go to pieces.
This song has everything in it and oozes emotion from every pore.
The song opens with a phone and disembodied voices. Add to this a bass that's like a slow heartbeat, a heart out of sync with the world. Then the drums come in like a military tatoo or maybe a death march? The sad violin underlines the sad reflections.
And that guitar. Subtle, understated, way down like depression. And weaving in and out that violin, not plaintive but plain sad.
And the bitterness of the singer mounts. The self pity mounts.
And yet amidst all that pity an acceptance "I know that it's over, although it overran".
And then the song changes gear.
The song becomes angrier and staccatto as the climax builds up.
Builds up to some great hamronica playing and if you're not already an emotional wreck you will be now.
This song will go down as Brassneck's greatest, great to listen to here and great live.
No Brassneck, it's not thanks for nothing, it's thanks for giving me great feelings even if those feelings are achingly sad and yet beautiful.
In other words everytine I listen to this song I am refreshed which is odd considering the theme of the song.
Maybe it's the sheer power of the song
and maybe we've all been there but have stepped back.
The Legendary Frank"
Visit Frank's blog here.
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