So the year is reaching its end...

...but my blog has not...yet.


So what has been happening since my last blog? A few gigs scattered amongst the Great British Isles which have been immense fun! Rock City in Nottingham was as usual, a complete and utter blast. Even met some of the Reef guys backstage whilst meandering around before the gig who were completely laid back and chilled out. We then played The Slade Rooms in Wolverhampton which was a first me and hopefully not a last. A really professional venue with a great bar (and CHEAP!) and brilliant P.A. The crowd were a little on the cold side to start with but by War Pigs, it is the loudest I've ever heard a crowd sing back to us. Qual-a-tee. 


Lordaeron have got a tour booked for next February which I am really looking forward to. We never gig enough but that's not down to laziness, simply finding venues who will have us and finding time to do them. We are doing the following dates; 


18/02 Alton Live Lounge
19/02 Leicester, Sumo Bar
20/02 Bristol the Croft
24/02 Croydon, Scream Lounge
25/02 Wolverhampton, Giffard Arms
26/02 Edinburgh, Bannermans
27/02 Derby, The Old Bell


We always end up stupidly tight after a run of gigs so can't wait for this.


Other news - My personal website is nearly up and running. It's taken a while but I am happy with that as it's given me time to get it right. My web designer Eugene has done an awesome job and has been a pleasure to work with. In Jan/Feb I will be heading to the studio with Rob Huskinson to record some "sample" tracks for the site so a lot to look forward to.


Until then, I bid thee adieu.  

Really must keep this updated more...

Seriously.


I set aside some time to write this blog and fill it out with weird and wonderful stories but then I just get sidetracked and it ends up being quite short. I've been reading some other blogs lately just to get a better idea and hopefully it will show.


Northampton - Thursday 4th November


I'll start with last weeks shows with Lordaeron in Northampton and London. I really enjoy playing gigs on the bounce with Lordaeron as I feel we get a lot tighter by the 2nd gig and people actually "get" what we do. We are relaxed, a lot more in the pocket and it just fits.
     The first gig was at The Racehorse in Northampton with Cancerous Womb (lovely though!) and some other bands I can't remember the name of. I'm not being rude but I see that many I just don't pay attention unless they are a) awesome guys b) awesome music. This was the first time I've played The Racehorse and hopefully won't be the last as it had a nice and compact stage and a tight sound on and off stage.

"no named band" Old school Death Metal

Grittles warming up

Phil, Grittles, Mikey (It's an Italian thing)

If the gig was on a Friday or Saturday and with a bit more promotion it would of been even better. We played a good set, it was fast and brutal and from the reactions of the crowd (mostly the other bands!) we went down well. Sold a few copies of our new album too which is always a good feeling (to our pockets). We hung around until the last band but Mike was driving and we had to get back to our abodes before the stroke of dawn. 


London - Sunday 7th November


I think we were all really looking forward to this gig for a while. It was at a great venue, The Purple Turtle in Camden and normally gets packed, especially if your on 2nd. The first band on here rarely gets the crowd as they are on so early. Luckily for us we were on 2nd. Or so we thought :-( A few niggles with the first bands members being stuck in traffic and we were demoted to 1st. It wasn't the end of the world because our friends from Thursday were playing, Cancerous Womb and tonight was just about having fun and a good time. 

Grittles looking a bit confused.

Grittles just looking like...Grittles.

Most important section of any venue.

The gig was quite a breakthrough for us. A lot of the crowd had seen us before in London but this was apparently the best they've seen/heard us and really got into the vibe of what we do. That topped the night off, along with Phil getting up to guest some vocals for Cancerous Womb! The drive back wasn't that bad although the first few miles getting out of London whilst everyone is still awake and buzzing can be a little bit "off putting" (Bastards!). 


Next gig is on November 27th, my birthday, and we are supporting Gorgoroth at Derby's newest  night club, Redemption. It should be a right good gig and I can't wait! 


Sack Sabbath


Tonight we play Yardbirds in Grimsby so no doubt a blog shalt follow. 


Until then...


Piss off.

Been a while!

It seems the more I want to write a blog the less time I have because I'm doing the activities I want to write about! Argh! A vicious circle indeed.

So what has actually happened since my last blog? I actually don't know because it's gone so fast. Most of it has been spent at work, which has been really busy as all the student's returning mean landlords go crazy about a week before they move in. 

It's been a bit quiet on the gig front too with only a handful popping up. They have all been great though and I got to blast out my new amp, the Genz Benz Max 12.0 Shuttle. It's a beast and probably the best purchase I've ever made. 

So what have I got coming up? I'm going to see Porcupine Tree in Dublin with Dana on Monday, I really can't wait for this and apparently they are doing 'The Incident' in it's entirety. Epic. 

I started playing World of Warcraft and will probably regret the amount of time it eats away at my life but playing this game with your girlfriend definitely improves the experience ;-)

Unitl Next time when I can be arsed to write a proper blog...

Peace x 

What a difference a gig makes...

The Moses Gate

Aside from sounding like an epic gate way to some Biblical land in Egypt, the Moses Gate in Bolton is one of my favourite venues to play. It's not posh, it doesn't have the greatest sounding P.A and it's fairly small.

...So why is it one of my favourite venues?

The atmosphere is always brilliant, the reaction from the crowd is never less than fanatical, bested only by Boudens Boudoir in London and the owner is a gem (and is the spitting image of Dave Spikey, accent and all!). It's also nice to see regular punters and friends alike there too, the ale is very reasonably priced and you get a few free ones chucked in.

Tonight was no different and after a fairly brief soundcheck we made way for our support band, Beyond Recognition who are a 4 piece from just up the road apparently. They were quite a mixed bag and their sound was quite a mix but best described as heavy rock/metal with female vocals. The music was tight and played to a good standard but I felt the singers vocals slightly let the team down. They really entertained the crowd though and warmed them up perfectly.

Our set was one of the best we've ever played, despite a momentus cock up on the start of "Black Sabbath" by Bill's Bored!!! (It's FOUR FOUR, not THREE FOUR!) We cained the rest of the set and everyone had a great time with some heavy duty dudes at the front really going for it. I felt I played a good set but sometimes I dug in a bit too much and about broke my strings/fingers in the process. Sometimes you really need to hang back and not hammer everything full pelt. A lesson learnt though. If you don't learn or improve from every gig then something is wrong (or your a machine).

Can't wait for my next gig with The Beetroot Kings this weekend. HOPEFULLY, it will be with my Genz Benz Shuttle Max 12.0. A review will follow shortly! Until then...

Dan

Sack Sabbath @ The Robin 2, Bilston, UK

Sack Sabbath @ The Robin 2, Bilston

Tonight was our return to The Robin 2 in Bilston, a small suburb of Wolverhampton in the Midlands. A venue that has plauged us with confusion over why one night we can get 300 punters in but then also manage to play to the support band and their mates. Utterly bizarre! I always wonder if their is any way of prediciting crowds for gigs and so far, at this level, it's a fat NO. Have you tried it yourself? Over your next 5 gigs just try and predict the turn outs.

 

Tonight was one of those nights...Heavy rain outside, a Thursday night before the Bank Holiday madness and a drummer who forgot we had a gig at all. Me and James (Bill's Bored) got there very late due to some "un-forseen" events and had to set up in record time. I some how managed to perform a biopsy on my MarkBass cabinet cover and it now has a tasty rip in it, glue where art thou? We didn't soundcheck, monitor check or any other check you can think of. It was get set up, get off, get changed, get back on, get playing. In roughly 25minutes from arriving! Quite a feat for a bassist and drummer in any situation. The gig went well and we all played good, if a little slow due to fatigue (Black Sabbath slower than normal? DOOM!). The apparent crowd were warm and welcoming for their size and in the end it was a lot of fun for a Thursday night.

 

Next gig: The Beetroot Kings on Saturday @ The Royal Oak, Jacksdale.

Bills Bored, bored.

Ozzy Asbeen, AKA, Jon.

Some sort of side stage view.

My First Post!

My First Post

Well...I've finally crumbled and decided to start a blog! Hopefully it will provide some insight on being a working bass player in the UK. Now you've all read blogs and diaries of famous bands on the road but this will offer a look into how 99% of musicians have to deal with touring, recording, rehearsing and all things music related. So it will be un-cut, opinionated, stark, and not all that glamourous but real. Exactly what I want it to be.

I'm playing tonight with Sack Sabbath in Wolverhampton at a venue called The Robin 2. It's been a mixed bag for me this venue but holds a dear memory as it was my first ever gig for Sack Sabbath to a packed out crowd of around 300. Since then it has been a tough venue to get more than a 100 folks in and we've been shafted by the owner once because the organising band signed a contract without looking at it! Tools.

Will update my blog later and let everyone know how it went, post a few pics and anything else that pops up!

Take care,

Dan