6 posts tagged “green room”

Another champion photo of us playing in a sci-fi themed bar at the "Have You Got The Nerve?" Manchester event on the 16th April.

I think I just stubbed my toe.....!  :) Nice photo, Joseph... (hope you don't mind me sharing it on here.)

Anybody around for the bank holiday can see us live at The Green Room in Manchester doing an intimate show for Green Bohemia vs. Futuresonic 2008. It's free in and it starts at 9pm.

cheers one and all!

Ben

Hello faithful reader,

Last week, we were a "local interest" story, this week we are being podcasted.

Well, anybody interested in hearing some new bands should check this out, as its a new music podcast full of nice tunage handpicked by an artist we've come across through MySpace who I believe is from Leeds, called Penny Broadhurst. Penny writes lovely pop tunes.

Luckily and fantastically, she emailed us recently to say she was going to play a track from "This Morning Call" in the March edition, and would it be OK. Of course it would, I replied.

Penny seems to be really keen on new music and its great to meet someone with an obvious enthusiasm, and great taste!

If anybody would like to check it out, here's a link to Penny's MySpace page, and from there, just go to her blog and follow the link to the most recent podcast download.

http://www.myspace.com/pennybroadhurst.

The written reviews for "This Morning Call" keep coming in thick and fast, and this week we've had another stateside review - if anybody still has a thirst for more TMC hype - then you can follow this link to read it. Its very complimentary, although it does suggest that we've released a debut CD, which of course we haven't. However, I think we've done very well for reviews since Christmas. Keep 'em coming...!

http://indiepoprockmusic.suite101.com/article.cfm/this_morning_call

Lets have a picture to break up the text...punch the sky, Ben, go on!!

Lots of gigs on the horizon now as well...

12 March 2008  -  Trof, Fallowfield, Manchester "While Other Bands Park Vans" - onstage 8.30pm ACOUSTIC SHOW

3rd April 2008   - The Troubadour, London -  on stage tbc

16th April 2008 - TV21, Northern Qtr, Manchester "Have You Got The Nerve?" TV show launch night - 9pm

04th May 2008 - Green Room, Whitworth St. Mrc. "Green Bohemia vs. Trip Tronic", part of the Futuresonic Festival

23 - 26 May 2008 - MAPS Festival, Northern Qtr, Mcr (time/venue tbc)

31st May 2008 - Moon and Sixpence, Glossop

13th June 2008 - BIG HEADLINE SHOW at The Ruby Lounge, Nr. Market Street, Mcr (followed by a massive party)

best wishes,
Ben

 It was In The City this weekend, and I’ve learnt another valuable lesson about the music industry. It’s very much a people business. It’s all about talking, talking, drinking, and more talking. In fact, people are so desperate to talk that they’ll even hire limos and drive round the city with no particular destination in mind just to have a chat. I was rather surprised to find myself in the back of a limo on Saturday afternoon discussing This Morning Call with some industry folks and a couple of other acts, with the free champagne and the blacked out windows. Just one of the rather bizarre and interesting things to have happened over the weekend.

 

With the recent death of Tony Wilson, there was a definite sense of a city pulling together this weekend, and it was great to go round and enjoy myself in all the great venues. Not just ITC delegates, but lots of ordinary people and music lovers turned out to support. Also, and quite unusually, there wasn’t any particular act that I thought was grabbing all the attention. It was quite an open playing field, and I think that makes for a much more interesting festival. You don't quite know what's going to happen.

 

Friday night, I took myself (and my already protesting liver) down to The Enchanted Brave, which takes place upstairs at the Britons Protection pub near the GMEX and is one of my regular haunts. Their ITC showcase did not let me down. Some great music was on offer, all on the acoustic trip, including Gillan Edgar who is a wonderful performer with decent songs, and I also managed to catch a set by Mcr band “The Travelling Band”, who used to be called “The Brothers With Different Mothers”, who play this wonderful mixture of Crosby, Stills and Nash-esq folk tinged pop, stripped down melodic indie and gipsy soul. I liked it. Too many guitars in the band, though. At one point they had three acoustics and one electric and the room only seats 50!

 

Anyhow, Saturday arrived and involved my inpromptue attendance at an industry seminar that I think was called “Break In The City”. Now I didn’t know until Saturday that this was going on, I literally just turned up, and I must admit to being a bit lax in the demo production department. I arrived with one CD and about 50 flyers in my pocket. Thank God for them. I could have done with about 200 CD’s and 1000 flyers. Next thing I know I’m in the back of this limo with my one CD on the stereo, talking to the fella who books for the secret garden festival and an A+R chappy, who talked a lot, but I’d never heard of the label he apparently works for. The other artist sat next to me said he was a builder from Preston and put his music on and our jaws dropped to the floor, it was that good and so unlikely to have been generated by a builder from Preston. His stuff I could hear on Radio 2 – had a touch of the MOR about it for sure – but I could tell the industry guys were impressed. I gave him a flyer. He gave me his CD. I’ve now got a lot of new CD’s after this weekend. Literally a CD in every pocket. I fell into bed last night and when I woke up this morning, there was a CD right there in bed with me. Ridiculous.

 

Saturday day flew by. I get some really useful contacts re. synchronisation. Early evening, I hook up with my mate Alex from Gecko and get introduced to some music journos. What a bunch of gobshites. I mean that in a nice way, though. They have to be, its their job. I liked the fact that they had so much to say. I also liked the fact that they put me on the door for stuff. I liked that fact that he seemed interested in This Morning Call. I didn’t like the fact that I’d only brought one CD along and had already given it to the secret garden agent from the limo (…. I really want to play some festivals next year). But hey, I had flyers, so flyers will have to do. We went to the Green Room on Whitworth Street near the Palace Theatre and watched Stuart Avery and his band, who do competent, neat, indie rock, and some fella with an acoustic and a sequencer called Kev. The jurnos immediately took to him, in fact they were raving about him, and I came away thinking that this guy could do very nicely out of this years event. I gave him a flyer. Must remember to look up his surname.

 

Sunday came along, and it was our gig. Things started to go wrong fairly quickly as I managed to turn up to the wrong rehearsal room for the pre-gig run through and by the time I’d got it all sorted out, we only had about half an hour left. I'm normally so organised. Then the keyboard decided it wasn’t happy and the power kept cutting out. Gaffer tape just about kept it under control. Then we turned up to the venue to discover there was no guitar amp included. Drummer dashes home for gear. Guitar goes through a DI. I get the shakes for 15 mins due to drinking a red bull too quickly. Then we discover that every other band in the building is playing what I call “proper rock”.

 

Later, we wander onstage in a relaxed fashion doing our downtempo electronics, fat 303 bass drums and singy songs. We just about got through the set unscathed! The band on before us, Parkha, from Glasgow, ripped the place up completely. It was such an inappropriate contrast. My onstage banter included me describing us as "rather Baroque" and having songs "that sound good under duvets". Probably not our finest hour, but hey, happens to the best of them. Having said that, we did an interview for Coke Music and got the film crew down, so if nothing else, that was a success.

 

Sunday evening arrives. I’d promised to do some reviews for a local e-zine called “Guestlist”, and Sandman Magazine (which publishes out of Sheffield). I go down to see Dodoz, (French punk/new wave/retro thing, very young band, hot female singer who also plays bass, worth checking out) and Swedish for Beginners (leftfield Scandinavian pop, with 2 singers, sounds like The Magic Numbers, rather odd but lovely). Whilst accosting the Dodoz manager for a CD, I meet Saul who says he works in A+R. I say, “oh yes, anybody I might have heard off?” He says, “yes, Nude.” I big up everything under the sun to him, and then another A+R from Chrysalis, who heard me talking to the Nude guy and wanted a piece of the action, came over and wanted a word. I duly gave them both a flyer. I help interview the Dodoz for Coke Music, and then meet the guy who signed Radiohead, who also appears to be involved with Coke although I’m not sure in what capacity. I'd known him from a while back when he came to see one of my old bands in a rehearsal room in London. He’s the sort of guy who just needs to turn up to lend and event an air of credibility. He didn't remember me but told me I was a very nice man, which was lovely, and we had a proper chat. I gave him a flyer too. God damn not having any CDs!! Next thing, Channel M turn up, and say hello. I’ve started accosting people now, because I’m tipsy. So I accost Producer Dan from The City Centre Social, whom I need a DVD of last weeks TV gig. I think to myself, “If there are tumbleweeds blowing through my inbox this week, I may cry.” I resolutely decide to spend at least one evening this week actually making music.

 

And today I’m so croaky and husky in the voice department that I think I may need to have words with Stephan Hawkins.

 

Ben

 

We did an interesting gig this Saturday just gone (Green Bohemia @ The Green Room in Manchester), and one I think that will stick in the mind for a while, so while I get my thoughts in order about that, lets have some waffle about marketing and football.

 

One of things that these muso industry types look for in bands that they might want to involve themselves with is, for want of a better expression, “strength and depth”. By that, I do not mean that the bass player should be a solid midfielder with the ability to strike the ball at 18 yards into the top left-hand corner of the net, nor that the drummer should be both an effective goal keeper who can head the ball into the oppositions goal when he comes up for that 89^th minute corner. No. By “strength and depth”, I am referring to the need to have lots of follow up material to follow up your recent demo submission, a great and improving live show, and enough media savy to get yourself some decent press coverage and spread some of that all important word of mouth to friends, punters and industry people.

 

Although footballing skills are optional in the world of music, and indeed, some skinny jeaned, waif-like electro fans actually curl up and instantly fossilise upon the mere mention of the word sport, the rules of self promotion that apply to our modern day, twinkled toed premiership player also apply to your average, unsigned wannabe “alternative” pop star. You can certainly get yourself a lot further up the ladder by spending time talking to people and generally involving yourself as much as possible in various events going on around the city.

 

It’s all about getting you face known. Now, for some bands, this is quite easy, because some local hack will suddenly take a liking to you and start mentioning your name in the MEN at regular intervals. Or maybe you’ll be managed by certain supposedly influential radio presenters and get a lot of airplay. And that’s fine, that’s OK. It’s also inevitable that some people will get a bit of a leg up in that respect. Good for them. The rest of us have to get by with hoping that our demo submissions get noticed and that somebody will actually, genuinely, like one of the tracks, enough to spend ten minutes either emailing us or picking up the phone. And that alone can put a smile on your face.

 

Coming back to Saturday’s gig, we made a point to play a set that was deliberately different from the big show at this year’s PRIDE festival. There was only one song that survived both performances, predicably the track “Deserted”. It was an interesting experience to see if we actually could muster enough “strength and depth”. The set consisted of Mark performing a solo sax composition, including some samples and some improvised cello, that built and built into a wall of noise, and that broke into Orange Glow. We played a rather baroque version of Romance, with a harpsichord. We dusted off That’s Not Me, a very simple acoustic number, and Regrets, a tune from ages ago that I was thoroughly sick of but the rest of the band tell me is a winner. No Clockworks, Whistle, Healing Hands, or Big Up, which have been our meat and potatoes over the summer. Interesting, we played to an audience which only consisted of total strangers and genuine punters, which was great, and despite some technical problems (as usual…..what happened to the sound between the line check and the show is anybodies guess….that monitor most certainly had blown!), it was a decent show and certainly a lot more experimental than you might expect. If the PRIDE show was our A-side, this, then, was our B-side, our “strength and depth”, our score in the 89^th minute when all hope was lost. Or that’s what I thought after several post-performance beers (they weren’t selling cider) and I’d stopped fretting about the shit sound. As Jake commented after the show, we really must think about getting our own sound engineer.

 

For interest, here’s the set list:

 

Intro/Mark’s sax piece/wall of sound thing

Orange Glow

Deserted

That’s Not Me

Romance

Regrets

Outro improvised piece.

This is our new tune.

Smooth, soulful, great guitar riff, some cello and an ace melody. Lyrics touch on Greek Mythology, Icarus, the sea, and the usual emotional turmoil!!

Check it out and let us know what you think!

Hear it live in Manchester on 15th September at Green Bohemia, Green Room Theatre.

www.myspace.com/thismorningcall

Post Pride recovery, and new Doctor Who until 2010!

Right, lets cut to the chase, today, because I've just heard some big news about my favourite television programme, Doctor Who, which I'd like to share with you.

After the fourth series airs in 2008, David Tennant will continue in the role of the Doctor for a Christmas special at the end of 2008. After that, instead of a full series beginning filming, the production team, with Tennant still in the role, will be working on three Doctor Who specials, written by Russell T Davies, to be shown on BBC1 throughout the year of 2009. A fifth full series is scheduled for 2010.

How great is that! New Who confirmed until 2010. Hurrah!

As they say on Outpost Gallifrey* "squee!!!" - don't know what that means but everybody uses it so I thought I'd introduce it too you now. Lets all "Squee" together.

(*Outpost Gallifrey is an ace Dr Who fan website)

Well, ok, you can call me a saddo nobhead if you like for being a sci fi fan, but I really don't care. That's been the highlight of my day today, and in all fairness, that's no surprise after a lovely week off spent doddering round Manchester. Well, I needed a week off, look you, after the activities of the August Bank Holiday weekend, where we rocked the big stage at PRIDE (it was amazing) and proceeded to make a serious indent into the cider stocks of Greater Manchester. The party went on for 48 hours and I had to spend most of Monday in bed. Although, surprisingly, I didn't go to a single club over the weekend and spent most of my time loafing from bar to bar chatting to friends and getting increasingly over excited. So it was a goodun. Roll on next year.

The rest of the week was spent sending out a few CDs. Now I've finally got out biography and photos sorted out, I'm in a position to start pushing "This Morning Call" to appropriate press, DJ's and record labels. Now, this is a serious task that might take some time, but it's all systems go and I'll keep you updated as to how we get on. If anybody has any bright ideas as to who I should be sending CD's too, please let me know. I'm talking about people who are likely to be into what we are doing, so I can't imagine sending it to Goth Rock Records is the best idea!!

But come on, folks, lets have some suggestions.

Can I just do a quick shout out to our good friend Vicki Richardson, long time supporter of the band and DJ on our local station, ALL FM, who came down to watch us at PRIDE, we really appreciated the support, and to all you punters who have so kindly emailed us and messaged us over MySpace to say how much you enjoyed the show. It was rather unexpected and really fantastic to get such a great response. My ego has now inflated to three times its normal size, which, believe me, is big!

Our next gig will be something a little different. We are playing a night called Green Bohemia at the Green Room in Manchester on the 15th September. I'll say now that the set will demonstrate that we can make a good sound without a massive PA, laptops, computers, and loads of stuff. It'll be really interesting experience and I hope you'll be able to join us. More on that in the next entry.

See you all soon,

Ben