Almost back in to the swing of being back home and at work. Played a nice wee show last night at Tonic in Dundee. Just a last minute set to help out Sarah who runs it, mainly covers with a couple of new songs from the album. Got a free dinner out of it, so can't complain.
I've added a couple new sections to the website since we spoke last. I guess they are related to each other. Firstly, you can now stream the new album from the music page before deciding to buy it (hint hint hint hint etc). Then you can head over to the brand new 'chords' page to learn how to play the songs. And finally, you can send me an MP3 of you covering one of my songs and I'll add it to the, aptly named, covers page.
There's already a few covers that I've found and uploaded, including Ross from Bandito Fleeto who gets the prize for being the first to cover a Despite the Blackout track. Cheques in the post.
Again, I have undying gratitude to everyone who's picked up a copy of the album. It has been selling pretty well through the Corporate Records site which is a good thing. If you know how the music industry works, not much money is made through selling DIY independent music, however, CDs that do manage to be sold make a good impression to the label for the artist. The label is, being a capitlist institution, more inclined to nurture those who sell well, if you get what I'm trying to say.
Basically, everyone on an independent label has a coat on a shoogly peg, and if the CDs don't sell, the coat falls on the floor.
My coat thanks you.
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Tuesday, 16 August 2011
Monday, 8 August 2011
Emotional battlefield
While watching people's homes and livelihoods being destroyed in London, I can't help but hope that everyone I know (or met) down there is keeping safe.
The tour is over now and I'm back home in Dundee licking my wounds but also smiling at the good times we had. Cheers to Ciaran Lenehan for coming out on the road with me. Of course, much gratitude and thanks are sent out to everyone who put on a show for us. Manchester, Beeston and London in particular are high-points for me. Many thanks as well to everyone who showed face at various dates around the country. Travelling hundreds of miles by buses, trains and cars is somewhat easier when you see familiar faces at the other end.
The album is still available to buy from the Corporate Records website (currently sitting at number two in their charts). People who have got their copy seem to be enjoying it and so I'd love it if more people could hear it.
Next gig: 25th of August, Roscoe Vacant Album launch at Nice'n'Sleazys in Glasgow. We'll be a three-piece electric punk rock band for it.
Right, I'm away to work out what I've learnt or got from all this.
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The tour is over now and I'm back home in Dundee licking my wounds but also smiling at the good times we had. Cheers to Ciaran Lenehan for coming out on the road with me. Of course, much gratitude and thanks are sent out to everyone who put on a show for us. Manchester, Beeston and London in particular are high-points for me. Many thanks as well to everyone who showed face at various dates around the country. Travelling hundreds of miles by buses, trains and cars is somewhat easier when you see familiar faces at the other end.
The album is still available to buy from the Corporate Records website (currently sitting at number two in their charts). People who have got their copy seem to be enjoying it and so I'd love it if more people could hear it.
Next gig: 25th of August, Roscoe Vacant Album launch at Nice'n'Sleazys in Glasgow. We'll be a three-piece electric punk rock band for it.
Right, I'm away to work out what I've learnt or got from all this.
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Monday, 25 July 2011
Despite the Blackout out!
Just a very quick post to say that the album is now released and you can get your copy from the Coporate Records website. I'm dead excited that it's finally out (and I can stop fiddling with the mix etc). And plus, Woody did the artwork which is ace.
It's a sliding payscale, so you have a bit of control over what you pay for it. It's six tracks, and I hope you find some enjoyment in it!
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It's a sliding payscale, so you have a bit of control over what you pay for it. It's six tracks, and I hope you find some enjoyment in it!
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Thursday, 21 July 2011
I say Spandau, you say...
Right, my head is almost back together after a wonderful weekend at 2000Trees festival. Rather than giving you my own recap, I'll instead give you a link to my wife's blog. It's a nice photo-diary of the trip. Absolute major kudos to Gareth for stepping in as driver (and harmonica tech) for the show.
On to more pressing business. It would appear that the UK tour starts tomorrow in Edinburgh. All the gigs are listed on the gigs page (with facebook events, maps, tickets), so check that out if you fancy coming to see me and Ciaran Lenehan play some songs. From memory, we are hitting Edinburgh, Full Throttle Festival (nr Newcastle), Manchester, Bristol, Tipton, Brighton, Cardiff, Great Barr (nr. Birmingham), Nottingham and Camden.
And finally, the album is finished. I'm dead pleased with it and really can't wait for you to hear it. You may have noticed that there are more menu items up there on that menu bar. Under the 'lyrics' section you can find all the lyrics that are on the new album, along with a couple tracks you can listen to. Once the album is out on the label website (on Monday!), I'll place a player to the full thing there too.
Thus it'll become the Despite the Blackout page.
Right, I'm away to pack. And obviously, the answer is that you say Ballet.
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On to more pressing business. It would appear that the UK tour starts tomorrow in Edinburgh. All the gigs are listed on the gigs page (with facebook events, maps, tickets), so check that out if you fancy coming to see me and Ciaran Lenehan play some songs. From memory, we are hitting Edinburgh, Full Throttle Festival (nr Newcastle), Manchester, Bristol, Tipton, Brighton, Cardiff, Great Barr (nr. Birmingham), Nottingham and Camden.
And finally, the album is finished. I'm dead pleased with it and really can't wait for you to hear it. You may have noticed that there are more menu items up there on that menu bar. Under the 'lyrics' section you can find all the lyrics that are on the new album, along with a couple tracks you can listen to. Once the album is out on the label website (on Monday!), I'll place a player to the full thing there too.
Thus it'll become the Despite the Blackout page.
Right, I'm away to pack. And obviously, the answer is that you say Ballet.
Late night busking at 2000Trees (taken by Lisa)
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Tuesday, 12 July 2011
Too many wonderful trees
Seems like an age since I last posted here, but it has only really been 10 days or so. Since then though, two major things have been put in front of the band and I.
First up, on Friday we are ecstatic to announce that we are playing the wonderful 2000 Trees Festival.Just look at the line-up and you'll see why we are over the moon. We'll be on the Greenhouse Stage at 13.20 on the Friday.
Secondly, in a strange turn of events last night, we can announce that we are supporting the awesome band The Wonder Stuff at their Glasgow show in October. This takes place on the 27th of October at the newly opened Apollo 23 (on the site of the original Apollo venue). Full details and ticket links on the gigs page.
Looking back now, this weekend was a hell of a lot of fun. Started on Friday evening at the Captains Rest with Billy Liar and Louise Distras for a night of acoustic punk rock. A nice wee audience made up of friends and punk rockers all having fun, that's what it's all about.
The next day was off the scale though. I mean, just look at this photo:
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First up, on Friday we are ecstatic to announce that we are playing the wonderful 2000 Trees Festival.Just look at the line-up and you'll see why we are over the moon. We'll be on the Greenhouse Stage at 13.20 on the Friday.
Secondly, in a strange turn of events last night, we can announce that we are supporting the awesome band The Wonder Stuff at their Glasgow show in October. This takes place on the 27th of October at the newly opened Apollo 23 (on the site of the original Apollo venue). Full details and ticket links on the gigs page.
Looking back now, this weekend was a hell of a lot of fun. Started on Friday evening at the Captains Rest with Billy Liar and Louise Distras for a night of acoustic punk rock. A nice wee audience made up of friends and punk rockers all having fun, that's what it's all about.
The next day was off the scale though. I mean, just look at this photo:
The renegade folk punk band at the Tall Ships Festival, taken by This Girl is
That's us playing in front of around 500 people in the Sugar Sheds down in Greenock for the Tall Ships Festival. I had some amount of panic when Dan and I went to meet Woody in the venue before our set. How would such a large audience, made up of people who had never heard us, feel about hearing 30 minutes of renegade folk punk. Especially since we were missing Jud who usually brings the more mainstream pleasing sound to the band.
In the end, it went very well. Dancing, singing along, smiles, and some well deserved beer in the summer sun. We even played a brand new song called Mirrors, which you can hear here.
This feels good.
The renegade folk punk band at the Tall Ships Festival, taken by Alan Hughes
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Monday, 27 June 2011
On the tracks
I've been spending much of my spare time over the weekend sequencing the new mini-album (and tweaking mixes, receiving guest slot's parts and general tidying up). I'm dead excited about letting people hear it in full. It's dead hard not to just upload it now and say GO GO GO!
Anyways, on Friday while the nation was gripped on Bono and Co's leather trousers, I uploaded a track from the album called "When You're Old" to the Facebook page. It's the album closer, but unfortunately, if you weren't one of the many who had a wee listen, it's now gone.
In it's place I have uploaded the album opener entitled Mirrors, and you can hear it again at the Facebook page. I think that if I was in a position to release a single from the album, this would be it as it sets the theme and style of it all. Let me know what you think of it, either comments here or on Facebook.
Finally, the tracklisting for the full album, entitled "Despite the Blackout" is thus:
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Anyways, on Friday while the nation was gripped on Bono and Co's leather trousers, I uploaded a track from the album called "When You're Old" to the Facebook page. It's the album closer, but unfortunately, if you weren't one of the many who had a wee listen, it's now gone.
In it's place I have uploaded the album opener entitled Mirrors, and you can hear it again at the Facebook page. I think that if I was in a position to release a single from the album, this would be it as it sets the theme and style of it all. Let me know what you think of it, either comments here or on Facebook.
Finally, the tracklisting for the full album, entitled "Despite the Blackout" is thus:
- Mirrors
- Discovery Itch
- The Bells
- How to craft a life
- Despite the Blackout
- When you're old
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Wednesday, 22 June 2011
Revisionist History
I had a wee bit of a change of heart over the weekend. The masters came back for the Seven Songs project, and while an improvement over the source tape, weren't what I was really looking for.
So, instead, I've been busy in the evenings recording a brand new EP of songs for the release on 25th of July through Corporate Records. It'll have 5 songs on it, including one re-recording from the Seven Songs EP, and a whole bunch of guest vocal slots at the end.
I think it'll be called Despite the Blackout, and I'll post the tracklisting on Monday once I know for sure.
Trust me, this is much better!
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So, instead, I've been busy in the evenings recording a brand new EP of songs for the release on 25th of July through Corporate Records. It'll have 5 songs on it, including one re-recording from the Seven Songs EP, and a whole bunch of guest vocal slots at the end.
I think it'll be called Despite the Blackout, and I'll post the tracklisting on Monday once I know for sure.
Trust me, this is much better!
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