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722 days ago
In 2005 we supported a well known 80s band at the City Hall. This band had several number one hits and following what I can only presume as the singer getting a particularly big gas bill, they decided to reform and tour the UK. We got the gig through our then manager, a larger than life (in every sense of the word) chap who had the gist of the gab and a capacity for blagging that was without compare in the city. So, we ended up third on the bill behind two 80s behemoths, at the second biggest venue in the city. Now all we had to do was sell the tickets... we were able to claim back £5 from each of the £12 tickets we sold, but not those sold direct from the box office: the headliners got them. The first sign of trouble arrived when we got to the venue, as requested, at 4pm for a soundcheck. Gear was dutifully loaded into the venue and we waited... and waited.. and waited... Eventually the headline band rolled in, exhibiting a diva like attitude unbecoming of their current level ...
739 days ago
We played our last gig of the year on Wednesday. Despite being up against England vs Croatia we still pulled a decent sized crowd of friends and family, and a good night was had by all. Decent money this time - £40, which went straight into the kitty for our album recording. We've done seven tracks so far, 3 or 4 to go. I'll fill you in on the recording process in a future entry. Highlight of the night was the bass player leaving his coat at the venue and thereby locking himself out of his house. Our drummer had to exchange harsh words with a punter while the support act played their set. This female was loudly questioning "why are you clapping, they are rubbish" and when challenged over this breach of etiquette she retorted that she "promotes and books bands". That would make her the arbiter of all musical taste then... She was offered the option of "sticking around and not clapping to our band, or going to a venue without live music". She ...
747 days ago
Harrogate. Very posh town, we were playing in a coffee shop. Arrived nice and early, and got set up. Beautiful building, with a lovely atmosphere, nice cakes and a country music record playing. We set up, soundchecked, ate some burgers (it's a romantic life, you know) and waited for the audience to arrive. Presently, a handful of people turned up. Perhaps the most unusual thing was that most of them seemed to be in the company of their carers. In fact, the more unusual thing was that it was one of the best audiences we've ever played to - fully appreciative of the music and - for once - a room full of people who didn't want to talk over us! The drummer commented later it was like playing a gig in Royston Vasey. He had a point. We'll be playing there again soon - this kind of gig is the reason I do what I do. Payment? 35% off our food and 2 cans of Carlsberg each. Awesome.
749 days ago
Today we played at one of our contemporaries' album launches. 5 acts, playing 20 minutes each. The whole evening was hosted by an overenthusiastic compere with a ukelele. We played well - by our standards - and at least managed to play our six songs something like in tune. The headline act were not so lucky. Guitar tuning problems and technical issues prevented them from playing their best. Once again we played for free; highlight of the evening was one of the other acts plugging our end of year performance next week then mentioning that he himself was playing the same night at another venue. He knows where he'll be...!
