Author: creepingash

I am a father and husband and love family holidays in the tent visiting Scotland which is perhaps the greatest country in the world. I love music and play in Weird Decibels as well as solo. I love video games but have yet to blog about that.

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Gigs shuffle down The Falkirk Music Scene

Shuffledown Day at the Dobbie 2025

Shuffle Down Day at the Dobbie 2025

With the sky grey with the promise of rain what better way to spend a May Saturday afternoon with a few hours of live music at the Day at the Dobbie, I mean Celtic were surely going to secure another Scottish Cup right?

This year was the tenth anniversary of the first Shuffledown. The festival grew over the next few years, becoming a highlight in the Falkirk music scene. The 2020 pandemic came along and many festivals were never re-established.

After a surprising and welcome return late last year the spiritual successor to Shuffledown found its feet, but this year, now back in its more traditional April/May slot the festival found its swagger.

Its home is definitely the Dobbie Hall; this year it was decorated with subtle lighting scattered around the hall and below the stage. Green, blue and red hues painted the artists in an array of colour. Of course the traditional lamps took centre stage.

We arrived early, the bar setting up and to the delight of some festival goers Stranger Brewery has dropped off a keg of their excellent Lone Goose…which eventually sold out!

With the crowd wandering in and the buzz building, Stirling’s Haver stepped up first, their sound was excellent, every chord change was on point, the acoustics and chiming guitars were a great backing to the soaring vocals, it was good to catch up with the band, cracking group of lads.

Haver on stage at the Dobbie Hall

We followed (Social Dancing), we didn’t have time for a soundcheck which is normal during festivals, so it was plug in and play. The sound engineers at Blue Audio were superb and after a couple of adjustments we were up and running. More on our set at a later date.

After we finished to a welcome applause from the crowd we could finally settle to a few beers and the remaining artist. I enjoyed the flowing rock of Talking About Ray the three piece filled the stage and the venue with their songs and the growing numbers clearly enjoyed them.

Intrigued by a solo set from Pictish Trail (I have their album Island Family; its quirky beat driven tunes make for a fine record). Singer Johnny Lynch donned a large puppet head halfway through his set of acoustic songs, occasionally backed by some beats. He had a few tales to tell the crowd; it was a good change in momentum for the day as we headed to the last couple of acts.

A mask wearing Pictish Trail on stage at the Dobbie Hall

I nipped upstairs for food, by this time I was hungry. This year the food was provided by local business Brina’s Jamaican Kitchen, its home found in Wooer St. Falkirk. Having the food stall upstairs gave it a nice feel. The food…I loved it, I had the Jerked Chicken and raved about it to about everyone I saw.

poster for Brina's Jamaican Kitchen

Davy Horne returned for another show at Day at the Dobbie. Backed by an excellent band he delivered americana tinged rock that filled the venue. I really enjoyed the set, and it set everything up for the finale The Crystal Teardrop their psychedelic keys and guitar driven rock suited the headline slot, with excellent guitar leaps from their singer Alex, the kind of leaps that made my hamstrings tremble with fear. It was some show and a fitting end to perhaps, one of the better editions of Shuffledown.

The new shorter format is working, the crowd is a healthy mix of ages, and it was fantastic to have my son attend a festival and watch us (and the other bands) live. The festival feels more family friendly than ever, and the vibe of this year’s event was one of warmth and people connecting again.

Every time I write a blog about Shuffledown I do stress its importance to the local music scene; my narrative isn’t changing after this years’ experience. It is such a vital avenue for local bands, some of which rarely get to play stages of this size (I include our wee outfit in this).

I think the line-up was spot on, the day started well and reached a satisfying crescendo. Some people I spoke to didn’t want the night to end but the evening finish feels just about right.

The happy crowd wandered off into the Saturday night, Greg and I were not finished. We had some old friends to go see playing live up in Falkirk. the mighty Buzzards of Babylon.

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shuffle down The Falkirk Music Scene Uncategorized

Shuffledown – Day at the Dobbie

Sweet P captured this cracking shot of Weird Decibels

The second festival within a year marks a confident return for Falkirks greatest music festival in recent times.

Photograph Sweet P

On the 24th May 2025 Day at the Dobbie takes place at the ethereal Dobbie Hall, the line up is a captivating mixture of local and national acts this year we will see:

The Crystal Teardrop

The Pictish Trail

Davey Horne

Talking About Ray

Social Dancing

Haver

You can find out more about these artists by hitting the links. Now is a good time to take you back through the history of Shuffle Down and Day at the Dobbie. Below are links looking back to some of the best editions of Shuffledown at the Dobbie Hall. The line ups have been, for me, a rich discovery of artists, some that have went on to ascend the astral heights of the Scottish charts. There have been some engaging headline acts and hidden gems. (to this day I will never ever forget Paddy Steer)

Shuffledown 2019

Suffledown 2018

Shuffledown 2017

Shuffledown 2016

And here is a little summary of why the festival has lasted so long in a world where the attention deficit is growing Reasons Why You Should Go To Shuffledown (Day at the Dobbie)

Lets not forget the hours that the organisers Rikki, Laura and their team put into this festival. After the 2020 lockdown Shuffledown suffered the fate of hundreds of musical events across the country, but somehow they found the spark to bring it back in 2024.

2024’s Day at the Dobbie took tentative steps towards success, very similar in a way to the 2015 edition of Shuffledown. Day at the Dobbie firmly found its feet in a world that had changed so dramatically (cost of living is one consideration for any artist or promoter these days) starting out again after the momentum that carried the festival to confident heights (the 2020 edition had two days of music!)

Falkirk and Scotland needs Day at the Dobbie, to have it back is incredible for local artists that could do with a little time beside more established acts, an opportunity that is often rare in arriving.

There are few tickets left, so come along, discover some new music, listen alongside a friendly family oriented crowd. Last year sold out…just saying…

Tickets here:

www.thefalkirkcollection.co.uk

www.ticketsource.co.uk/afterglow-events

Also at Silver Machine records (great record shop in Falkirk)

Words Pabs.

Categories
gig diary The Falkirk Music Scene

Gig Diary: Social Dancing

The Socials played their first gig at Behind the Wall 20th September 2024′

Words Pabs.

I’d literally just unlocked the front door to the house when the phone pinged. Greg would be kindly picking me up in thirty minutes. I dropped the works bag and the laid the laptop down, another week done.

With this much rushing about I didn’t really have a chance to think of the night ahead. Social Dancing’s debut gig, Greg and I’s first gig for some two years, and we hadn’t played in Falkirk since 2017 (again at Behind the Wall) and Kevins for two decades! I guess I was nervous but I felt prepared, the biggest worry was playing as a three piece, with me on guitars and vocals mistakes would be noticed.

Of course, there is an advantage to being an unknown band, no one knows your songs. If I forget the lyrics? Who cares! Just make them up! (and I did, a little)

Behind the Wall has recently been synonymous with the local music scene, many nights have been set aside for cover bands during the early 2000s, then progressing to some fantastic nights, including  RiFF, a short-lived rock night that Weird Decibels were part of. Some notable acts have also graced the stage, King Creosote springs to mind (incredible to think, as the last time I saw him live he had sold out the Queens Hall and this year plays the Usher hall).

To really cement our rock and roll credentials we had some hard coffee (no milk), then gulped down some pizza (BTW do good Pizza, really fresh). Soundcheck followed, It was great to be back on the BTW stage.

First up was Adam Donaldson, who has taken some of his solo work and developed it with  the band ‘An Opening Lie’  featuring Dario Palazzo, Gavin Paterson & Julián Pombo.

I really enjoyed these guys, there was a real energy to their set. Well-paced set with hints of Doves and the grittiness of Mastersystem. Thankfully the crowd had arrived on time and these guys enjoyed a god crow who lapped up their music.

After their gig I nipped back up to the greenroom, I enjoyed the moment of quiet, grabbed a few bottles of water then headed downstairs back into the bustling crowd. It was then that I realised how busy the place was, I was really pleased to see family and friends, it was the first time that many of us were in the same room at the same time.

After a quick tune up I laid the setlists down.

We played.

  1. Little Kingdom
  2. Mark as Read
  3. They Asked You a Question
  4. Dracula
  5. You Can’t Have It All
  6. Turn to Glass
  7. Breathing

I was nervous playing Little Kingdom, a couple of weekends before we were recording at Studio257, my playing on Little Kingdom was all over the place (thankfully the first take turned out well, it was the rest that were a car crash.). I lowered the tempo a little bit and it seemed to work fine. Mark As Read went down well I think, by this time I found myself really getting into the gig. Greg as usual, looked calm, taking things in his stride. Looking back Kevin seemed to be enjoying it, but there was a hint he was holding on for dear life! He nailed it though and our confidence grew.

We stumbled on They Asked You a Question, coming back into the second verse after a pause we tripped up but after a little laugh it was all good. Dracula is fast becoming my favourite. It’s strange, if you play and write music for years there is an urge to write ever complex chord structures that take you further from your early ideas (and playing). Sometimes however, its good to let the song come alive on its own. Dracula is one of those songs. A possible crowd favourite could be You Can’t Have it All, it was my turn to hang on for dear life, as the only guitarist, one slip up…and the chords fall apart. Just got through it. Turn to Glass is our moment to breath, my inner Belle and Sebastian coming out. It felt like seconds had passed and we were on our final song Breathing. To have the crowd still with us as the end felt great.

Headliners Aretsan which includes Ronnie Bisset on vocals alongside son Bryce on guitar, on Bass Dickson Telfer who recorded both Kevin and Weird Decibels for his late lunch series which aired back in the mid 2000s, so we did a little reminiscing in the green room. I enjoyed a few beers listening to the tunes of Aretsan, really nice mix of rock and alternative, they fling in a few different instruments for a bit of texture. Really enjoyed their set.

I had some time to catch up with friends, family and neighbours, it felt like a real community gathering. Our Derek was there, it was great to see him. Of course, our thoughts turned to Weird Decibels and getting the tenth record recorded. I alter caught up with Greg and Kevin, we had some photos taken. It just felt good to be playing live again. Long may it continue.

A huge thanks to all that paid a fair sum for a ticket. The place was busy, we met some news friends and re-connected with old. We decided that night (we had been talking about it for a while) that all profits from the band will go to charity. Thanks to you guys we have some money to give back to the community.

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Great music from the forth valley Pablo likes this

Quitter, “Good Things Come to You.”

“Good things come to you” Quitter

*I only write about music that I have purchased, this record was bought on Bandcamp

An often unsung hero of the Stirling music scene Kenny Bates has had a significant influence within the folds of a rather healthy community within the gateway to the Highlands.

His lo-fi, alternative carefree approach has resulted in four releases that are available on Bandcamp (and a new album soon) to pick from I had purchased the 2021 release “Good Things Come to You” intrigued by the 4 track approach, namely taped to a Tascam 424 which is the very multitracker on which I cut my home recording skills.

Kenny sent through a cracking wee parcel with the cassette inside, a little laminate of the Tascam, a handwritten note (nice touch) and the tape itself painted glitter yellow, sparkling under the late spring sun as I loaded it into my old DCC player.

Slightly nervous, hoping the DDC wouldn’t eat the tape like a pup with a slipper the heads thwumped onto the tape and a little nostalgic pang erupted in my head as my speakers gently hissed.

The record contributors Mark Lough, Kyle Wood, Andrew Pankhurst and Luc Grindle provide the bass, loops and guitars alongside the composer Kenny, each feature on one of the five tracks. Written and recorded by Quitter over various 4 tracks then posted to the collaborators to add their parts.

Tremolo drenched opener Full Marks begins proceedings with a nice groove, when the beat stops to allow some space in the track, little snippets of studio talk can be heard, I always like this approach, it gives it a live vibrancy. The dreamy Stone has that warm fuzzy analogue sound I miss from my early days of recording, even the DI’d guitar will remind many musicians of their early approaches to recording, the intimacy of this unhurried track is its strength.

Never-ending Naval- gazing has that carefree approach to writing and reminds me of Kenny Andersons early musings. Bridging the final act is Evidence Board, part of the joy of recording music is letting ideas and sounds just flow, in essence capturing a moment that is unlikely to be repeated live. Its looping guitar is surrounded by experimental samples and towards the end simple beats as the pace picks up. Finally, Spoil The Island, arrives with other worldly alien like beeps before the guitars and live drums kick in to cap a thoroughly enjoyable 25 minutes or so.

I often think that supporting the local music scene is far more rewarding than people realise, you just don’t get music parcels like this, indeed Bandcamp still has many artists that fly under their ‘Bandcamp daily’ headline. Other examples include the brilliant Firestations (we’ll get to them later…)

Check out Quitters music on Bandcamp and grab this great wee record before it sells out at the time of writing there are just 6 remaining.

Words: Pabs

Categories
gig diary Gigs

Gig Diary: Bannermans Edinburgh 11/6/22

Pics Juls Sampson

Weird Decibels in full swing

It was a normal practise, the four of us had finished our set, brushing off the cobwebs that had gathered after months of lockdown. We enjoyed playing ‘February’ live and as we started to pack up Derek grimaced in pain.

We all looked, concerned that he was trying to stretch out his upper back, he had had physio but judging by his resignation, it seemed as through his drumming days were coming to an end.

‘That’s it’ I selfishly thought, finally that’s the end of the band. We can’t go on if one of us can no longer play.

However, there was a bright spark of hope, Derek had heard of a back support that may just hold him together, it came with a caveat, it could not be worn for long periods of time, or it would disrupt his posture. This didn’t sit right with me, but he wanted to give it a try.

A few weeks later we were setting up. It felt like our last chance if this doesn’t work then Weird Decibels is finished. Then Derek asked me to lift him up, “You sure” I asked tentatively, “yes” came the reply. So, I did.

And his back went pop.

A few minutes later he adorned his new armour, he looked like a contestant from the 90s classic gladiator. He sat behind the kit, clicked his sticks and we rocked out like we had always done. Full throttle.

Later at break, we were all looking at him. “Well?” we collectively asked.

“It works.” He replied, smiling.

Months passed, we practised whenever we could but its normal for us to miss weeks due to shifts and family life. It’s a rhythm we have settled into.

February live

Back in 2019 I was amazed when we manged to get away and record February. Once we had finished that, well, we all know what happened.

Time passed, all those live casts, yeah, they were fun, but it wasn’t us together on the stage. As the lockdown eased and bands started playing again, I wondered if we would return to the stage. The local scene, our peers included all started to post about gigs they were playing, We were going nowhere, and I was getting frustrated.

Stu stamps the pedals

Greg was trying, he books most of our gigs. We were offered a cracking event, but it fell through as for various reasons we couldn’t commit.

The phoned pinged, it was the band chat, it had fallen a little quiet, so I wondered what was happening. To my delight Greg had secured us an offer of a gig at Bannermans, a great wee rock bar in Edinburgh.

After a few details were ironed out (we don’t do pay to play, and thankfully nor do they) we confirmed that we would be playing alongside punk funk rockers Radiofury and metal veterans Rhabstallion on June the 11th 2022.

It was only a few weeks’ notice; we managed a couple of rehearsals but these days its fair to say we practise separately then bring it together. It seems to work. We finally had a set list and within that were songs from February that we had waited two years to play.

Bannerman’s beckons.

After nearly four years we were back on the live scene. Greg and I arrived at Bannerman’s, the pub was bustling, a mixture of punks, rockers and everything in-between. Thunderous music blared from the darkest corners of the stone walled building. The atmosphere was lively.

Pabs AKA yell it

I now remember the wait to play, we had arrived for the load in at half six, there was to be no sound check, which was a little disappointing. However, we’ve been there before! Derek and Stu arrived, advising me not to look at the latest Scotland score…

I cracked and had a beer; Derek was amazed at how slowly I was drinking it. Time continued to crawl, I wasn’t nervous, after all we had played many gigs before. ‘Always get the first line right’ is what I always tell myself.

We watched Radiofury, loved that band. Tight, energetic, superb live and their tunes flew by.

We were up, James the sound engineer was helpful, we had to use the backline of the venue, which was handy for us, no lugging amps tonight.

We had just a few minutes to get ready, would the amp work? Stu’s was…mine? Phew yes, we were on. Derek did a roll of the drums, lovely deep kick reverberated through me as I stood on the stage, that feeling of playing live is hard to beat.

I flung the set list around the stage, and we began.

Not Giving Up opened, according to our stream count this is by far our most popular song. Its hard to tell if we have written everyone’s favourite after 25 years, many of our songs were released before Napster was even a threat. Still, it went down well and will probably open many future sets.

I somehow fell half a bar behind the rest of the guys in Stranded but got there in the end. The nerves were surprisingly bad…it had been too long.

We dug out a few older tunes, Its Who You Knows is always a pleasure and it went down well with your ever loyal crowd. It was great to see some of our pals, some who, have followed us from our first nervous steps on stage at the Martell back in the 90s.

Bannermans is a great wee venue

Angry was tremendous to play live, sure the lyrics went awry, sometimes it’s nice to sing what you’re thinking at the time. This could be another live favourite. Some songs work recorded; some work better live, Angry very much falls into the latter.

Speak is staple…possibly our most played live track now. Written back in 2008, it’s been in our sets ever since. The drum intro just gets the heart beating faster.

Then came The Ability. We had avoided this ever since we put it to record. During the recording we nailed it, but it had been a horror to play live at rehearsal, in particular the ending.

I was desperate to give it a try, but I will say a little annoyed as I thought we were going to avoid it. However, to be fair to the guys we tried it at practise, and it clicked. Instead of counting the bars, I just sang, Stu kept his eyes on the drums, and it just worked. I could hear Stu cheering, what a moment. It just blew me away. So much fun to play.

Before we knew where we were it was time to play our last song Protein Shaker, probably our new closer! What a gig that was…

Rhabstallion played some amazing rock and metal. Solo after solo bounced off the cavernous walls. And it was loud. You can tell these guys have played for years together, it just looked effortless.  

Before long and after a few welcome IPAs the night was ending. I got a good catch up with the guys from Radiofury. After a stressful night behind the desk James looked a little calmer now that the job was done. The sound was excellent it was surely a challenging room.

The music scene is struggling, especially at grass roots level. Its rare to make money these days, and our concerns were confounded by the reduced train services which has wiped out a few of the last trains.

Derek had ordered a bus, we had a little wait in the street, it gave us a chance to catch up with some of the people that came through to see us. Eventually we were safely on the bus and on our way home. Singing started, then came Kirsty’s crisps, she had bought a bag full! That silenced everyone, all that could be heard was rustling and munching of hungry drunk folk.

Once we were dropped off, Kirsty and I walked off into the stillness of the night towards our home. My ears were ringing, and I was a little tired. But I was buzzing.

Thanks to all our friends and family for coming through, hopefully made some new ones!

Words Pabs

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making the tenth writing

Writing the Tenth part 1

Writing the tenth album part 1: Are we really going to do this?

Towards the end of 2021, as the winter hinted at its arrival, we were sporadically meeting for practise. We’d belt out some set lists that we had each written, Stu went for some of the solo laden songs, Derek dug out a range of rarely played tunes from over the years, and Greg went for the early stuff.

Stu tunes up the guitar

It was fun, but we wanted to move on. Lockdown was still with us, there was little chance of playing live, and to be honest it hasn’t been on the horizon for various reasons.

One night, as we shivered in the cold night, enjoying fresh air and a break from the masks we started to have a chat about new recordings. Many ideas zipped around our heads, genres eps, balls out rock, another live acoustic album? Nah, another studio album first. ‘What about a double album then?’

And that got me thinking, could we write an album of piledrivers laden with guitars and an album of subtle acoustic thinkers. I started writing (pic of guitar and lyric book) and there was time as we were mostly confirmed to the house and hours of Netflix.

The tunes came think and fast, everything gets recorded to the phone using RecForge. Every little idea, every lick. What was missing was lyrics, hit a wee wall there.

After a few weeks though the songs were developed to a basic level, and just at the turn of the year I let the guys hear them at a rare practise. The response was lukewarm at best.

I’m guessing the mood had changed a little, especially from Stu who wanted something a little ‘darker’. The ideas were ‘too happy’ according to my lifelong guitar partner.

I wasn’t defeated though, I made a few changes and stored some of ‘happier’ tunes for another day.

Time flew by, winter arrived and departed as quickly and the world around us was changing once more, the war in Ukraine played on my mind, (and a guilty realisation that wars are taking place across the world, when it gets closer to home you start to wake up to this fact.)

What was playing out on out screens started to creep into my, lyrics and the ideas I had developed. We finally arranged a date to have a writing session. And it would be in Derek’s Slange bar.

Greg gets ready to Bass it. Lyrics book open for tunes

April 1st 2022 Unnamed tenth album, writing begins.

I had about 7 or 8 songs, with printed lyrics, progressions, probably the most prepared I had been before writing with the guys. So, I was quietly confident.

Even in our mid 40s there was still excitement when Derek pulled up to collect the gear and myself, it had been weeks since I had seen him, but we just take off from where we left. We picked up Stu, he strode towards the car looking ready for a gig.

The bar is a cracking wee room with a tap, no half measures here. I started to set up, there was a buzz in the air. Greg arrived, the pints poured, and Derek, like our kids when we take them on a long drive was asking ‘are you not set up yet?’.

Once we had set up the Korg D3200 I opened the folder of lyrics and played these songs.

Set list

1. My Internal Wasted Mind

2. Fire in the Garden

3. Science Will Save Me

4. Bad Things Happen When You’re Bored

5. If Heaven Exists, It’s In Little Bits

6. I Try to Be Strong

We weren’t finished there.

7. Derek’s Piano riff

8. Gregs bass riff

9. Dereks guitar riff

All songs were recorded live, in stripped back acoustic form, and after not playing for so long there was an energy that we hadn’t had in a while. I Used the trusted Blumlien technique to capture the room while adding DI for the body of the guitar sound. Later Derek would add some keys.

We hadn’t had this much fun in ages. Perhaps since the ‘Haddows’ days of Firkin Outburst only this time we had recordings to remember the songs!

The Korg D32 back in action

All the basic ideas I had went well, writing lyrics beforehand helped the structure, the guys helped bring dynamics and even changing the tempo of one or two tracks really brought out the songs. If Heaven Exist was practically transformed by the change of pace; the lower tempo allowed the lyrics to breath.

Dusk started to settle around us, the warm glow of the lights in the bar was perhaps a side effect of the ale, regardless the atmosphere was great as we shifted towards Greg and Derek’s ideas.

They came out with some really nice riffs and for the first time in an age we started to jam, one off moments caught in the recording. Greg adding some lyrics to the mix.

The first writing session was a success, sure the weeks that followed it was really hard for us to get together, but with the recording down we can develop them on our own and bring it together when we meet again.

Another couple of sessions like this and we’ll be off on another recording adventure…

Pabs

Categories
Great music from the forth valley

Constant Follower release debut LP

One of the best bands to emerge from the Forth Valley release their stunning debut LP.

Artwork for Constant Follower LP Neither Is, Nor Ever Was

Constant Follower. Neither Is, Nor Ever Was

Vinyl, DL, Stream Bandcamp

At time of writing available at:

Avalanche Edinburgh

Low Port Music Linlithgow to name just two.

Over the last five years or so, Constant Follower have carefully navigated their way to this moment, the release of their debut album.

I caught them a few years back at the Mediterranea in Stirling. My phoned pinged with a message from Kenny Bates, an ever present force within the Stirling scene and a prominent member of the excellent Death Collective. He believed he was breaking an (self-inflicted) oath never to be a ‘spam guy’ by sending messages advertising the fund raiser gig.

I am glad he did. 

Several brilliant acts played that night; it was then I first heard Constant Follower. It was a stunning set, I wandered over to the merch stall and purchased the ‘Gentle Teachings EP’, packaged in a neat little envelope with a download code inside it. I couldn’t stop listening to the ‘Gentle Teachings’ EP (When Weird Decibels were in the borders recording ‘February’ I took a wee walk out into the starry sky listening to Gentle Teachings, it’s a moment I won’t forget.)

It feels like every note on ‘Neither is Nor Ever Was’ is carefully considered, the tones swathe into a canvas of warm autumnal colours. Serval spins of the vinyl unravel subtle notes, neatly panned left and right. The keys and backing vocals provide a light, ethereal air to McAll’s gentle vocals. Indeed, there are many musicians on this record that add depth to the album.

There are few bands that can master subtle long held notes (Low spring to mind), few bands are comfortable giving their songs space and time. It’s incredibly tempting to fill the gaps. Constant Follower leave the notes ringing, and as one sound fades, another tone gently enters the field, Kurds playing throughout is precise but natural, his guitar adding brightness to the record.

The album starts with a sway, ‘I Can’t Wake You’ starts gently before the emotive weight builds from the second verse. Synths and keys fly upon the mix. It’s so well structured.

‘Merry Dancers on Tv’ is uplifting, the guitars and keys waltz as McAll observes “this thing is real, its blackened broke and dying”, the best artists always find a balance between dark and light.

Then there is ‘Altona’ a track that cleverly signals the end of the first act. One Word Away is beautiful, it’s impossible not to be lifted by the swelling chorus. WEICHA closes, offering new textures and perhaps a hint to where the band will go from here. I always love tracks that are off centre, landscapes of audio that transport you from the space in which you are listening. As an album it feels complete; it needs to be heard in its entirety.

‘Neither Is, Nor Ever Was.’ is a record of incredible warmth and balance. It helps close the door on the white noise that surrounds modern life. The band have (rightly) had plaudits from a wide range of critics from the national press, I hope they stay with the band in this industry of short attention.

My words may not have the weight of the press, but as a listener, I urge you to buy this record. It will spin on my turntable every time I wish to find a wee bit peace or perhaps, during the longer nights, a bit of solace. 

Pabs

Categories
RiFF The Falkirk Music Scene unsigned gems

Falkirk punk rockers release a belter.

Our fellow Riff friends are back with a cracking EP

Thirteen Ego Trap EP artwork

Ego Trap EP by Thirteen https://ukthirteen.bandcamp.com/album/ego-trap

Available on CD, DL and stream

Back in 2017, at the end of September, the nights were growing longer. Nestled in the centre of Falkirk there was a small, brief, but memorable alt. rock/punk scene playing its first showcase in Behind the Wall. It was (and still is) called RIFF. The explosive music night was driven by Dolly, the indefectible frontman of Falkirk punks Thirteen.

At the end of the night, when the satisfied crowd disbanded under the watchful ushering of the bouncers the bands involved had a chance to huddle around a table, count the ticket money and plot the next event.

At that point it felt like the start of something new.

A second successful night followed, then the momentum fell away. Thirteen regrettably imploded, leaving Dolly to pick over the remains of what was a successful era for the band.

If you listen to the 2017 pulsating ‘Spirit of Resistance’ EP you knew that this band could put out a great record. https://ukthirteen.bandcamp.com/album/spirit-of-resistance The track ‘We Will Overcome’ would become the frontman’s mantra as he refused to give up on the music.

Over the months and years that followed Dolly sought and found new personal for the band. Then came the lockdown. This didn’t stop them; instead, they headed to the studio to lay tracks for what would become ‘Ego Trap’.

Press play on the CD, and the guitars leap out, they have familiar tone that had me expecting Axl Rose to start screeching ‘You Could Be Mine’, but Dolly bursts in with his trademark vocals and Thirteen come alive with their own classic, high octane take on punk.

It’s an excellent production from Bryan Ramage, the pace is relentless, the second track, ‘I Am the Fire’ sparks off a flurry of snarls and guitar screeches. ‘Pearls and Piss’, perhaps the highlight, is uplifting. ‘How did to come to this? Drowning in Pearls and piss!” asks Dolly.

‘Trampled Flag’ offers a well-judged change of pace before the EP concludes with the squalling menace of ‘Thirteen’. This is a statement from the band; “I will never tire” asserts Dolly, “We are Thirteen” replies the band.

This is a great record; created and recorded throughout the most challenging of years. What once was the Spirit of Resistance now appearing to be the Spirit of Resilience.

‘Ego Trip’ is Spirited call to arms for all the Punks, Rock and Rollers and we know that they are out there in Falkirk, they’re just waiting for the shout. This could be it.

Pabs

Categories
2020

Well that was 2020

We’re all going to remember this year because we didn’t expect it to be this way. The start of a new decade, a new year, always brings a sense of hope and optimism. We raised a glass with our loved ones at the start of 2020. Cheers! We shouted, smiled and waited for our hopes to unfold.

Hogmanay, I have always loved it. These days we sit in the house, watch at the crap on TV and sometimes chuckle at Only an Excuse. As 2019 ticked over to 2020 I hugged the family, and we had a wee night of festivities. At the back of my mind was a feeling of excitement.

Weird Decibels had a new album due out in a matter of weeks, we’d release our 9th album on our 25th anniversary. A jolt of pride sparked in my heart; I was still making music with my best mates. Maybe, I thought, we’d get back on the gigs, play a few this year. Yes, 2020 was going to be a good year for the band.

February 7th

We released our new single Not Giving Up. I’m sure this was one of those songs we wrote near the end of our February writing sessions. The response was just incredible.

We put the video out, a collage of video clips from out recording session in Craigenrae. It proved that as we head through our 40s we are not growing up…The video was very popular, however to see it become our most streamed song of all time (on Spotify) was incredible. I couldn’t wait for the streaming payments to ping on my notifications.

Well, the phone did ping! We received enough money from our streams to buy two pints. However, the fact that people were listening meant I really didn’t care if Spotify et al. paid us or not (not being the default)

February 12th

We were back at practise! Greg, now a proud father, beamed as he strapped on the bass. We got straight to work, relearning the songs for the new album. At break we started to make plans for gigs. It was exciting.

February arrived on the 21st of…February and we had a brilliant small gathering of friends at my parents wee bar. A small fire crackled as we all caught up. Dad put the CD on the big Hi Fi, it was a sweet moment. A couple of us made mention of the news coming from China, the virus that had spread to Europe. We shrugged and cracked open another beer.

March 23rd We’re all told to stay at home

March 26th UK goes into lockdown.

I remember sitting in the house, our son was going though his lessons. He did really well. I stepped out into the garden. We are under a flight path; the roar of jet engines was a sound we had gotten used to. The silence was just incredible, in some ways unnerving.

This was getting real.

At some point during the lockdown, I picked up the guitar and started playing, I played for hours, most days. Weird Decibels tunes, solo tunes and covers. I even started writing. I hadn’t heard from the guys much. We were all trying to process our own thoughts.

I decided to build a wee set of songs that I would film then share online.

April 3rd

I could’ve streamed a live show, but the sound would’ve been that tinny, thin sound that you get from mobile phones. Instead, I recorded and mixed the live performance. I lifted a few songs off February, flung in a Nirvana cover and played what is perhaps one of my favourite WdB songs A801.

The LiveCast went down fairly well. The band got in touch, pleased that we had found a way to reach out to our listeners.

I text Stu to see if he would help with the second LiveCast I had planned  

April 12th

LiveCast 2 went out to the world, if play counts are your thing then you could say it was going in the right way. Modest numbers but I guess I’ve given up with all that counting nonsense (who am I kidding! Subscribe! Follow pleeease! ). Stu somehow managed to play live solos over my records, the tricky part was syncing them. That took an age. But it was great to see Stu through the lockdown in this weird kinda way.

Now my confidence was growing, and I wondered how to get Greg and Derek involved.

April 16th I’ll Always Be Here

Our second single from February needed a music video. but with the nation on full lockdown i was wondering how we would do this. Based on the LiveCasts I suggested that we film parts of the single to male a video. Derek went further and it was genius. He got his kids involved, playing drums and guitar! it was brilliant and it struck and emotional chord. I got my boy involved and Greg did the same. It was a celebration of friends and family, the antidote we needed for our heavy hearts as the days apart grew longer.

May 15th LiveCast 3

Greg stepped up and we finally got some bass onto the live recordings. Unfortunately recording into a phone is not best for catching lower tones however a bit of magic EQing in the studio helped a bit. For some reason I looked thoroughly fed up on this live show. The lockdown was starting to bite, I probably had had a few beers and nursing a headache.

Then trying to sync a bass and solo guitar onto my recording was tricky but we got there and people really started to get into the casts, some of the support we got was brilliant.

May 20th

Tommy Clark and Weird Decibels chat over Zoom.

If you are a regular reader of this page, then you will know that our friend Tommy has been a supporter of the band since the Weird Decibels 1 days. He has done so much for the local community and beyond. His radio shows have grown, and he is now heard on a number of stations.

When he agreed to have us on his ‘Next Up With Tommy Clark’ we were delighted. It was a great laugh and he played three songs from February.

May 15th LiveCast 4 A New Hope

It was probably boredom that set in, I started naming the LiveCasts with puns of Star Wars. This recording was probably my favourite, as we were all in this one. Derek had arrived on keyboards. A nightmare to edit all the parts but Greg did wonders with the video editing.

We even managed to fling in a track from the long-lost recordings of Sllablo

On May 24th the Vibration Festival held a live stream of clips of local artists. Hats off to them and I hope they are back in 2021. We appeared amid the numerous local bands. It was a good watch.

June 5th

We stream LiveCast 5 and this was one of our most popular. In addition to more Weird Decibels songs, we played a few covers and a Smith & McCairney track.

July 6th

LiveCast 6 and by now my heart was no longer in it. It was a good recording, Stu, Greg and I had a lot of fun with this one but it felt that it had run its course and there were a number of reasons.

I was missing playing live with the guys and it was getting repetitive. It was time to call a halt on this series. I started to plan a new series of LiveCasts that would be the full band in the rehearsal room.

Restrictions were finally easing, soon we would be back in our room playing live

This happened through the summer. We rehearsed our new album. Sure, we wore masks at practise and kept our distance, but it was great to be back making noise.

One night, as we stood in the yard having a break we even started to think about writing again. Everything started to fall in place as the autumn colours appeared on the trees

Then came the return of the restrictions

We fell silent again. I know some bands were still rehearsing through the new ‘teir’ restrictions, but we decided against it. Since then, we have not been in the same room together.

Then around October there was a video call. Derek wanted to make music videos! We all agreed! When we hung up after a slightly awkward video chat (I’m not good with video chats) I picked up my guitar and started to write some music.

Let’s leave it there.

Stay safe.

See you 2021.

Pabs

Categories
J O U R N A L Lockdown Uncategorized

Weird Times 2

It’s Thursday evening, I made my way downstairs to lock up the house. I look out the window up to the night sky, in the darkness hangs the moon, or the super moon as I would later learn it was called. I’m stunned at how clear it is. I wonder if my eyesight has suddenly improved or perhaps…with the planes no longer flying above us, that I haven’t been aware of how polluted the sky above my home is. It’s a reminder of the weird times that we live in.

As I write from the heartlands of Scotland I think this is week seven of the lock down. Many people now believe that the pandemic has been with us a lot longer. Slowly and silently creeping unseen through the streets, workplaces and homes of our nation. 

It was just a couple of weeks ago when I learned of the passing of my friend, colleague and manager Stevie Leslie. He was a gentleman, he guided me throughout my career with a calmness that I have always wanted to emulate. He had a brilliant sense of humour. He knew I was a keen runner and would often drive past me on the way to work. His small car had a sharp horn that he liked to beep every time he passed me as I ran. Every time I would jump three feet in the air. I would look towards the offending car to see Stevie’s broad shoulders shaking with laughter as he drove down the road. I will miss him greatly and my heartfelt condolences go to his family.

It was a brutal reminder of how horrible this disease is, it can touch anyone, this made me more determined to follow the lock down guidance as much as possible. When I look in horror at the daily increase in the numbers of people sadly passed, I think of all the loved ones that will be forever affected by this tragedy. 

Weird Decibels, like every other musical artist has had to adapt. We have put out another LiveCast and we are currently stitching together all the live performances for LiveCast 4. It’s our wee effort to try and pass time for people. It’s the most active we’ve been for months! 

stu

Just a few days ago I went for a run, I run a lot, but I had been injured so exercise was curtailed for a couple of weeks. As I ran my belly shook, not just a wee wobble but a proper wave. It was like my stomach had a time delay from the rest of my body. Then the wind caught my hair, my growing, peppery barnet that, for some reason I’m refusing to cut until my favorite CrossCuts in Linlithgow reopens. I find myself sweeping my hand through my locks like some washed out middle aged rock star…it feels like I’m growing my hair again, just like I did back in the 90’s when the band started. 

Its Friday I open the blinds. It’s another morning, the news lasts five minutes before I switch it off. I’m trying my best to home-school. I never took school seriously when I was young, now here I am as a stressed out parent hoping my kid will realise his potential while I’m trying to work out fractions. He’s correcting me. 

I still have to go to my place of work, I like my job but the thought is always at the back of my head. What if I catch it…It’s good to speak to people, everyone speaks as normal, there are some laughs but every conversation eventually returns to how bloody depressed I looked in Live Cast 3. 

Untitled

That was a pain to perform, but yeah I wasn’t in a good mood that day and I think the songs were quite sad. It was however great to get Stu and Greg involved. Derek is laying parts for the next one. I’m loving playing the old songs though. Stripping back the tunes to a bare minimum seems to give them new life.

The doorbell goes. I open it to find a small man walking to a white van. He returns staggering with a heavy box full of beer, he keeps his distance before cheerful shouting ‘That’s you sorted for the lock-down eh?’. I look around the street hoping the neighbours aren’t watching. I store my lock-down booze in my secret vault. I do some more verbs and nouns with the boy. The door goes again. Another box of booze sits on the doorstep. 

The 3rd LiveCast has done quite well some people actually liked the more reflective mood of this one,  this lifts my spirits. Shuffledown had a virtual festival online, they played acts from festivals past and it was nice to be included. I got in touch with family and friends and things seem to be ok. There are things I like about the lock-down. The silent skies that give way to birdsong, the clear air. Even just being away from busy roads and masses of people. I worry a little that I’m starting to like being separated from society. That thought leaves when I phone my family and then it hits how much I miss them. 

greg

I’m going to keep busy with work, family life and the band. It seems like some people think the lock-down is coming to an end, the roads are getting a little busier and people are going out more. It’s not the end, we have to see this through. Please stay in as much as you can, join us on LiveCast 4 if you can, we are playing some songs from the HMR vaults and our Derek will be involved. Take care.

Oh the house martins (not the band…the birds) have returned! All is good! 

Pabs

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