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.

P A B L O ' S M U S I N G S Pabs General music thoughts

Music 2015. The buzzword will be ‘windows’

Post author By creepingash
Post date December 15, 2014
No Comments on Music 2015. The buzzword will be ‘windows’

Not the Microsoft kind although that is due as well. Windows is the term for the difference in time between physical media releases and them appearing on streaming services. (just in case you didn’t know)

It presents a wee dilemma to our band; we have a small but perfectly formed (and extremely loyal) following and we must make sure they are looked after. Which presents a challenge as we need to pay for the album (albeit we keep the costs low)

Weird Decibels 1 was paid for mostly by ticket sales (for gigs we organised), private function gigs (covers..) and then finally CD sales. Streaming did not contribute much at all (in fact by the time we paid set up fees we lost money this way)

So this has got me (over) thinking. How do we develop a ‘release strategy’; sorry I sound like a bit of dick but hey got to get with the times.

Weird Decibels 1 was the first album we released on both the internet and CD. Previously we simply handed out CD’s like everyone else from that era (90′, 00’s).

WdB1 landed on Bandcamp first; a lot of people listened on that platform but we got no download sales. Due to a delay the CD was released a month later; it sold better than our previous albums probably because our listener base is orientated to a physical release (a kind way of saying we’re getting older!). Spotify and the rest followed and the payback was minimal.

The next HMR release (my solo album) Paul Henry Smith – Morningday aired on Spotify, iTunes and other digital services first. Listening rates were good and there was even a few downloads but again not enough to cover set-up costs. The CD sold a few copies but well down on WdB1 (I won’t take that personally!!). Did people settle to listening to the album on the stream?

Then along came Taylor Swift; not to our gigs or anything like that, no she pulled all her music from Spotify because it paid her (and her record company) a pittance per stream. This got the whole industry talking about release ‘windows’; basically your favourite artist (Swift is a long way from that) releases a CD or vinyl and then weeks later it will appear on streaming services. Great…

I love Spotify; I get my Uncut magazine and I listen to the radio; I will hunt for the album on Spotify. If I love it I will order the CD. Now if ‘windows’ are to take effect I’m screwed.

The conflict? Spotify unfairly cuts the band and I from the financial stream. I wish they would pay more.

I love being on the service; many of our friends have ventured to other lands and yet they can still enjoy our albums and even share them with new audiences. I believe, and I speak for myself, that it’s a price worth paying.

However we need to think of our next album and as you can tell by this blog entry my thoughts are going round in circles. I hate the idea of ‘windows’ I love music embracing new technology (hi def streaming etc); I love that fact I can listen to any album when ever I want and I pay for this service every month, not only that, I love CD’s dropping through the letter box!! (sorry record stores, although saying that I bought a few CD’s out of FOPP the other week)

Gigs we organise help pay for future recordings. So thanks for coming!!

I pay through my teeth for music, CD’s, Spotify premium and gigs and yet my record collection is all over the place because the industry has no clear vision. My CD collection slowed over the last couple of years. My iTunes collection; the hours spent ripping CD’s etc’ has stopped (waste of time and money downloading to be honest) and now Spotify could end up become a music library like Netflix is to movies (ie no new releases)

Well my head is bursting now; basically the music industry is going to have to find its feet. Those who love music will always pay; it just seems we have to change our plans for everyone else.

Anyway back to the band’s next release. We’re thinking about a ‘window’!!! ( 4 weeks tops! Buy our CD please!!)

Or maybe we won’t… Maybe we should just be happy that in this day of music overload you still have the time to listen to our music.

Love to you all

Pabs

Happy listening whatever and wherever that may be

Here is a fantastic music industry blog that tries to find the answers that I have clearly failed to find.

http://musicindustryblog.wordpress.com/

Tags 13th note glasgow, albums, alternative, bandcamp, CD, discussion, Featured, future of music, gigs

J O U R N A L music review of the year

Weird Decibels our 2014.

Speak video final scene

Weird Decibels review of the year 2014

January

The year started with a mixture of optimism and permission; we had started writing weird decibels 2 and it wasn’t really taking off so we had to find some inspiration from somewhere. We booked ourselves a wee lodge in Oakley for the end of the month.

Before we were due to set off we had the small matter of releasing a new music video. Speak was the song we opted for.

http://youtu.be/bhh3IeKejGM

We stayed true to the black and white theme of Weird Decibels 1. It was shot down at the practise room with a mixture of stills and live footage. The idea was to have a bit of fun with each of us switching musical positions. The video did quite well; sitting at over 1000 views and that isn’t taking into account the Blank TV stats. A good start!.

The Falkirk Herald kindly ran a story about the video. Nice folk.

http://www.falkirkherald.co.uk/what-s-on/weird-combine-sound-and-vision-once-again-1-3271181

Moshville times wrote a nice piece for us as part of their ‘Band of the Day’; my favourite quote would be ‘not exactly radio friendly (!)’ and ‘ an overall undercurrent of folk’ this led us to utter a new genre Folking Metal!

http://www.moshville.co.uk/botd/2014/01/new-band-of-the-day-weird-decibels/

as January came to a close we headed off to Oakley with the acoustic guitars and a shit load of beer. We wrote 6 songs. ‘I Hear The City’, Little Thoughts Lost’, ‘Digital Takeover’, Curtain Hits the Cast’, ‘Quoted Not Voted’ and ‘Hit Me’ the latter had everyone reaching for their beers a little quicker. ‘Its a song about depression’ quipped Stu. We never played it again.

February

This took us neatly into February and Tommy Clark of the Third Class Ticket Show continued to do us proud by playing us on his show; ‘Speak’ getting the slot.

Click ‘like’ here

https://www.facebook.com/TheThirdClassTicket

March

We were looking forward to playing Stereo but the gig was cancelled. I was gutted at this news; A because I love playing live and B because its a cracking venue.

We also uploaded the remasters of One More Solo to limited success!! I’m not sure if its worth doing the other albums; the overpowering bass of the original master was swamping the album. I like the new master though.

Hear for yourself.

http://weirddecibels.bandcamp.com/album/one-more-solo-remastered

April

April was quiet for us. I was busy working on Morningday; an album I recorded with Kevin Byrne and Jemma Burt.

May

Derek and Ann tied the knot. Its good to have a least one celebrity wedding a year.

World cup fever was building, we continued to practise the new songs another quiet month.

June

We had a gig at Pivo Pivo to look forward to. We were sitting in the practise room mulling over the limited response to the gig (we would learn that gigs are best played on a Friday or Saturday); we got a phone call from PM promotions who had helped us have some cracking gigs in 2013 (Oran Mor, ABC 2). It was to be at the QMU; an old stomping ground for us. The big stage right? We asked the promoter.

Ah no its Jims Bar.

Mmm it still looked ok so we went for it given that Saturday gigs tend to be better. First gig of 2014 booked… in June… Anyway it was to be part of the ‘West End Festival’.

June would also see us attempt our own event. We booked a gig at the brilliant 13^th Note with young rockers Ciceros secret, Miss the Occupier and The Dark Arts. Things were picking up!

The 21^st of June would see us play Jim’s Bar. I filmed the approach to the gig hoping to start a documentary for the band. It was a clammy summers day, the football was on and the venue was like a an oven. Not the greatest gig; our patience with PM promotions was staring to run low.

https://weirddecibels.wordpress.com/2014/06/29/pabs-gig-diary-jims-bar-qmu-live/

July

The film I made for the Jim’s Bar gig was quickly shoehorned into a video for Joker’ we hadn’t had a presence on YouTube for a while and this was a chance to get back on.

Not our greatest video by any stretch but it was a bit of fun. Views? 120 on our page around 600 on Blank TV. Very disappointing given the success of the other videos. A fickle world indeed!

Go on click the link and make it 121 views.

http://youtu.be/5GAXNtruyqA

August

I was with Lewis sipping a coffee at the Helix when the phone rang. James Trimble from the Falkirk Herald looking for an interview! So look out for our article in the next couple of weeks! Thanks James. This was a Facebook post I wrote the day James Trimble phoned my mobile as I sipped a coffee. You should have seen the looks of the other costumers as I was talking about writing albums and playing gigs!

http://www.falkirkherald.co.uk/what-s-on/falkirk-s-kelpies-are-rocking-horses-in-music-video-1-3501992

It was a very good article from James Trimble.

To top off this fantastic month we played our gig at the 13^th Note. One of the best we played and we met some good friends old and new that night. I also highly recommend the Notes veggie burgers!!

https://weirddecibels.wordpress.com/2014/08/23/gig-diary-22nd-august-13th-note-glasgow/

Oh before I finish August we had promised for weeks to do the ‘ice bucket challenge; the Facebook craze that had went mega viral, listen close and you will hear Stu scream like a big girl!

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=868665706491852&set=vb.128933433798420&type=2&theater

September

We booked another gig; this time at Ivory Blacks. It looked very promising; although it was on a school night…

September was a quiet month of writing and recording practise sessions. We actually started writing in the old room again and the results were pretty good.

October

We launched our very own website this month in a hope not to rely too much on Facebook. Its hard to say where this is going to go. My how did we get to attached to Facebook. Disturbing…

anyway here it is.

http://www.weirddecibels.com/

The website will probably evolve to become more of a tribute to our 20 years together. Watch this space.

We started drinking tea and coffee at practise; yes you read that right.

November

We hyped the Ivory Black gig as a send off to Weird Decibels 1. A very disappointing gig and a rather sad end to the live life of Weird Decibels 1. Maybe we’ll do another show and send it off in style.

As I write about the highs and lows of unsigned music life there are certain things that quickly pull you back into perspective

Our good friend and fellow musician Chris Masson passed away at the age of 37. Too young. Too soon.

https://weirddecibels.wordpress.com/2014/11/15/chris-masson-1977-2014/

On the 22^nd of November the guys brought their gear around to my place and we set up the studio. We wrote another batch of cracking songs for Weird Decibels 2. This will be the way we write in the future given the success of the session.

https://soundcloud.com/weirdmusiconline/the-canine-with-no-teeth

December

The band has wrapped up early this year, work and the festive season have taken their toll on our practise sessions.

All is good, we have a batch of songs ready to be rehearsed and eventually recorded next year

2014 has been a mixed bag. Some highs some lows; I feel we lost a wee bit of momentum this year due to different circumstances and perhaps poor choices.

2015 is our 20^th anniversary. A new album is due, new videos, gigs, podcast and hopefully a film. So a lot to look forward to,

Massive thanks to the unflinching support of our family and friends

The unsigned musicians work is never done!

Tags 13th note glasgow, abc 2, alternative, falkirk. music, Featured, glasgow music scene, live, new songs, recording, review of 2014, Rock, Writing

Uncategorized

Chris Masson 1977-2014

Chris was a thoughtful caring person

Chris and Cage

There are a few reasons Greg and I started Weird Decibels; seeing Chris Masson on stage was one of the biggest. A truly dynamic singer; he fronted the rock band Cage in the late 90’s. Seeing him play live opened a door for me; he gave me confidence to pick up the mic and try it myself.

Chris was one of the most energetic front men i ever saw.

Thursday nights at the Martell were a highlight of our week. We’d grab a few Gold Beirs and watch local bands play. Cage were probably the best I saw. They were solid; tight as hell. Ewan is a fantastic drummer and he knitted with Warren on bass. Phil, took care of the guitar. Their music was frantic, aggressive and raw. While the trio played there was a front man who would pace around the stage and as he sang he would scream into the ground, kneeled over trying to get every ounce of young anger from his soul. He would rock back and forth as the music took a hold of him. He was intense and it felt as if he meant every word he sang, he was one of Falkirk’s greatest vocalists. He was Chris Masson.

As I left the Martell with my best mate Greg, I turned to him and said; lets start a band.

There was a cost to the late Thursday nights; we would have to go to school the next day and i guess it had an impact as we stumbled out of school towards Falkirk college to follow hopeless dreams. Chris and I were young and we were having a laugh.

We were a close group although I'm the awkward one. — We were a close group although I’m the awkward one.

Falkirk College and Firkins.

Chris and I attended Falkirk college in the late 90’s. He was in Cage and I was in Weird; both singers we had a lot in common. I believe he studied sports psychology (i could be wrong) and I was studying computers. Literally just staring at the screen if i’m honest. There were no mobiles then but we would meet in the busy corridors and arrange the weekend which would start on a Thursday at the Martell and end on Sunday morning as we were ushered out of Pennies. These weekends were an incredible time of hope for our bands and our futures.

Then came the day we got our bursary. Chris and I would laugh as we walked out of the college to the pub. We went to Firkins and with our new found wealth we would by some drinks and with our change we would fill the jukebox for the next few hours. Then we’d sit at a table by the window and watch the world go by. We would talk about music, women and anything else that a late teen would want to talk about. They were wonderful times. He was very supportive of our fledgling band. He would give me advice on where to send demos and how to handle gigs. I was unaware that Cage were coming to an end.

It was a gig in Cumbernauld town hall; we were on the bill with Cage. It was to be their last appearance. I truly thought that Chris would find another band and i think he tried different things. Cage came to an end and i was gutted. I thought they would be one of the first bands to break Falkirk; they had been signed to Baghdad Radio and put out a single on vinyl. I was amazed at that. Chris explained that they recorded the record at a studio called Split Level. He gave us the number. It was the greatest studio we ever set foot in.

Our Friendship

Chris and I would continue to meet in Firkins and occasionally head out to Glasgow to listen to music. The weekends flew by and we had many, many laughs. he introduced me to a very attractive woman called Kirsty who would become my wife. We were a close knit bunch of friends who would often sit on the floor of Firkins before we would get on our unsteady feet and walk down to Pennies. Then we would dance to Rage Against the Machine, Nirvana and other bands of that era. Chris would try with all his might to get me to fall in love with Faith No More but I was too obsessed with Kurt Cobain. As my relationship with Kirsty developed I drifted away from Firkins and saw less of Chris. Every time I did meet him he was the same warm and softly spoken soul that he ever was.

One of Our Greatest Listeners

Everytime I met Chris he would ask what the next record was or when the next gig would be. When I told him he would be there supporting us and he bought our CD’s. He would tell me what he thought of our work and it was honest. I knew him as a singer so I really appreciated his encouragement. Weird Decibels might’ve been around longer but I always looked up to the frontman of Cage.

Weird Decibels had started a series of podcasts and we had arranged to get Chris to come down and sing some Cage songs with us backing him. Everyone was so excited by the event; we talked about it and we planned it but it never happened. I feel we had let Chris down because i knew he was really up for it; we were playing a lot of gigs at the time and the weeks and months went past. Talking about doing things is fine but doing is so important and we didn’t do it. Life has a funny way of punishing you for not doing the things you say you will.

Encore

I stared at the screen of my mobile when the message came through about Chris. Another of our friends taken to soon. I knew someday we would meet again and catch up but i got caught up in the normal life that surrounds me. Time is a funny thing; it takes things away from you. Now it has taken Chris.

Yet time gave me those days with Chris; we sat in our favourite bar and we played our tunes. We would sip our beer together, we would share our stories and our jokes, we would raise our glasses and clink them together then we would look out of the Firkins window and watch the workers go by and we would forget all about time.

Pabs

Gigs J O U R N A L

Gig Diary. Ivory Blacks. 6th Nov 2014

Post author By creepingash
Post date November 15, 2014
No Comments on Gig Diary. Ivory Blacks. 6th Nov 2014

Black and white photographs by Kevin Byrne

It was a dark and stormy night as we pulled up to the slightly hidden doorway of Ivory Blacks; a venue known for its brand of heavier rock. We were looking forward to this despite the ‘playing on a mid week night’ doubts that were nagging us.

There were three other bands on the bill War head, Ritual Spirit and Fourth Gate, It was nice to speak to Bathgate rockers Warhead they were a sound bunch.

we got some chips for tea and we were ready to go

The sound check was kinda back to front; we wnet on first so we soundchecked and everyone else did a level check. I liked the sound on stage. The venue was empty though and we were due to play in 20 minutes.

Thankfully a few of our wonderful friends ventured through the doors just as we were due to strike our first chords. We played well to a largely empty venue. I really enjoyed the gig although it was slightly disillusioning that our final run through of Weird Decibels 1 was to a sparse audience given that we have had some great gigs recently. Forward was played for the first time in a while and it was nailed. Could be a regular again!

A huge thank you to all our friends who supported us through the Weird Decibels 1 era. We have learned a lot; we will be more picky about the venues in future and we’ll probably avoid playing midweek shows. See you for Weird Decibels 2.0 live!!

Tags glasgow music scene, heavy, ivory blacks, live, Rock, weird decibels 1

P A B L O ' S M U S I N G S Pabs General music thoughts

To CD or not to CD

Morningday is a wee album I made with Kevin Byrne and Jemma Burt. It was recorded when Weird Decibels had some down time. the sessions went well and we recorded an album that I am immensely proud of. It was just under a year of hard work, writing, recording, mixing, mastering and then designing the artwork.

My thoughts turned to its legacy, How do I get this recording to resonate through the world and through peoples musical conscience. I decided to try the on-line route; Spotify and itunes. The CD would come later in a big deluxe package.

Morningday started well; there was the launch party which was fantastic (thanks Mum and Dad), the record was being played on Spotify and there were sales on itunes. So I got prepared to launch the CD packages albeit in a fumbled way. There has been a limited response; so I looked at my own listening habits to see if I could find answers.

I listen to Spotify a lot. Every new song I hear on BBC radio is on Spotify; I listen to the whole album then if I like it I will save it. I add it to my virtual collection and I lazily scroll down my albums. there are fleeting bands to which I have listened once. I haven’t paid for that album so I don’t need to invest time in it to fully understand it. I add and add until I have a huge catalogue of bands that I claim to like. Its worrying because I cannot remember much of what I have appeared to listened to yet when I look through my CDs I can remember a vast majority of the records I listened to and the joy they brought me.

My CD collection is there it exists I can pick the CD and study the art work. However my collection stops around 2012 save for a few records that I simply had to have.

So as I wade through the digital sea, through the masses of talented artists who struggled to get listened to I realise that my £10 a month for Spotify premium isn’t enough. I need to start buying the physical format of music again before it disappears and the artists years of work putting out recordings becomes a fleeting moments of a listeners attention.

As I write this I have listened to CDs; Dinosaur Jr ‘I Bet on Sky’, Sonic Youth ‘ the Eternal’ an The Middle East ‘ I want That You Are Always Happy’

I will buy a couple of CD’s tonight…Via Amazon…there is not one record shop in Falkirk.

Weird Decibels next album WdB 2.0 due late 2015 will be released on CD first with a full deluxe package including the album. the full Oakley sessions, b sides, demos, and a full booklet! Once we sell a few maybe then will it float away in the digital sea!

Pabs

Tags CD, Featured, future of music, Spotify. itunes

Gigs playlist

The songs we played live from Weird Decibels 1

Post author By creepingash
Post date November 1, 2014
No Comments on The songs we played live from Weird Decibels 1

On the 6th of November 2014 we play Ivory Blacks in Glasgow. it will be the last gig we play in support of our last album Weird Decibels 1 before we retire that fine record to the retro corner. Our focus will then turn to Weird Decibels 2.0 (could we call it anything else?)

Derek setting up the kit for Tonight Live Not Completely Sold Out

We played a few gigs in support of Weird Decibels 1 so I thought I count up how many times we played each song. Its not an exact science but here goes. Gigs + songs – Beer – set list changes + requests = the song count below.

1. Speak played 8 times

1. Joker played 8 times

3. Wonder played 6 times (listed 7 but swapped for a request)

3. Wait played 6 times

5. Deliverance played 5 times

5. Steel played 5 times

7. Crown played 3 times

7. Power played 3 times

9. Forward played twice

9, Pay played twice

9. Industry played twice

12. Psalm played once

Notable others (from Forthcoming WdB 2,0) Miss Asphyxia 3, Kill It Kill it 2, I Hear The City 2, Little Thoughts Lost 1 and (from One More Solo)High Heels 1

The three songs with videos on YouTube or otherwise known as the ‘singles’ (Speak, Joker and Wonder) have been played (or listed) the most.

In at joint 3rd is Wait! a throwaway piece of rock that we loved playing but every time we looked up there was muted applause! So we decided to drop it from future sets. While at the bottom Psalm the down tuned 3 solo epic opener is the least played. This is partly due to the down tuning hassles and the limited time we had on stage. We played Psalm at the launch night (back at 20 rocks) when we had far more time to play. Pity, I would’ve loved to play that more. Forward and Pay never got played much; that happens with certain tracks I guess.

Here is the track listing for Ivory Blacks

1. Speak

2. Deliverance

3. Wonder

4. Power

5. Joker

6. Crown

7, Industry

probably high Heels!

So that gives us Speak 9 (plays), Joker 9, Wonder 7, Wait 6 Deliverance 6, Steel 5, Power 4, Crown 4, Industry 3, Pay 2, Forward 2 and Psalm. Oh not forgetting High Heels!

Pabs

Tags 13th note, 13th note glasgow, falkirk. music, gigs

Stumble Upon

Pabs Stumbles upon. VIIIAges live at Youngcamelot

Post author By creepingash
Post date October 11, 2014
No Comments on Pabs Stumbles upon. VIIIAges live at Youngcamelot

Stumble upon is a new series of blogs about hard to find music; basically I search the web and hope for the best

https://youngcamelot.bandcamp.com/album/vlll-ge-5-30-14

1st up is a live performance from VIIIAges and its fantastic they remind me of an earlier discovery DM Lied but their songs are more traditional than the pre mentioned band (that I love). The recording is wonderful; live energetic and knitted tightly by the prominent bass and slightly muted drums, The lightly distorted guitars are loud in the mix and on stage; you can hear the snare rattle.

This band have a new York feel, punky, edgy, the recording appears to be at a venue called Youngcamelot in Chicago Illinios who record the bands that play live. Its a fantastic idea; the whole feel of this record screams an underground music scene that we in the UK haven’t witnessed since our last US import of grunge.

This is different there is everything where. The finale New Era is a fuzz jam with a dominant guitar playing over a frantic bass. Stoney Pony has a strong riff laced throughout. The vocals are delivered with punky vulnerability reminiscent of Joe Strummer Stoney Pony shouts the crowd; that’s the name of it? answers the band!

The crowd play their part it sounds like a small but close knit group who back up the band with screams of ‘one more!’ as the step into New Era.

Superb record.

Tags 9m lied, chicago, indie, live, live scene, punk, Rock, VIIIAges, youngcamelot

Weird Decibels 2 Diary

Writing Weird Decibels 2. October 2014

Post author By creepingash
Post date October 10, 2014
1 Comment on Writing Weird Decibels 2. October 2014

Its been many months since I scribbled in the Weird Decibels 2 diary; I looked back and it was last year so apologies for that. We’ve been really busy since you and I last talked. So grab a bottle of red and I’ll bring you up to speed.

Back in July 2013 we had a list of around six songs;

1. Standing On a Viewpoint
2. Rain Parade
3. Feet First
4. Miss Asphyxia
5. Small Hands
6. Kill it! Kill it!

The writing session were running like my old Ford Focus (now scraped) there were various reasons why we stopped and started writing. Gigs were a huge drain on our limited time together, Derek hurt his ankle (as you have read in elsewhere in this blog) and we had several work commitments.

Time passed and the songs were slowing so we headed of to Oakley. We hired a small lodge nestled away in a large country estate. We had a wonderful time catching up and drinking beer; our trusted friend Kevin Byrne also turned up. Cracking time. We wrote 6 songs in two days it was a rampage of ideas. I guess the change of scenery really helped the juices flow.

1. I Hear The City
2. Digital Takeover
3. Little Thoughts Lost
4. Curtain Hits The Cast
5. Quoted not Voted
6. Hit Me.

We returned to our old practice room, played a few more gigs and looked up to the 2009 calender as the months flew past we agreed that it would be nice to have a new album for our 20th anniversary. We hoped that a return to Oakley could be booked but this is looking unlikely (although I want do to it. Badly)

We’ve been writing back in the room over the last months; we have another few tracks and ideas to add to the new album.

1. Smash The Glass
2. Almost Beautiful
3. Station Man
4. Untitled jam

Put the three sessions and we still don’t have a full album. Of all the songs the following are likely to make it (singers opinion)

1. Miss Asphyxia
2. Kill it! Kill it!
3. Curtain Hits The Cast
4. Little Thoughts Lost
5. Almost Beautiful
6. I Hear The City
7. Smash the Glass

8. Quoted not Voted
Many of the early songs have been dropped; they scurried from under the shadow of WdB1 and drifted away towards the bootleg vaults.

So we have many songs still to write and we are trying hard. We hope to have them well rehearsed before potentially recording them in the early spring of our 20th year.

All these records will be available to you in some sort of form; a deluxe version of Weird Decibels 2 or a bootleg. All the ideas are worth a listen.

Tags acoustic, albums, discover, discussion, Falkirk, music making, Rock, wrting

Gigs

Gig Diary 22nd August 13th Note Glasgow

Post author By creepingash
Post date August 23, 2014
1 Comment on Gig Diary 22nd August 13th Note Glasgow

Gigs we organise help pay for future recordings. So thanks for coming!!

Weird Decibels live at 13^th note 22/08/2014

A few months ago at practise, Derek suggested that we run and promote our own music night for a change; give the promoters a wee break. So Derek, Greg and Stu ( I was kinda leaving it to them to be honest) fused their music biz minds together and came up with SYTB promotions.(if you’re wondering its Strumit, Yellit, Twangit and Bangit)

A venue was needed, 13^th Note were offering their excellent venue plus sound man for a very competitive price. It seemed too easy. The only thing we needed now was other bands.

We talked about the bands we have played with over the years and wanted a good mix of styles for our debut event. Up stepped Miss The Occupier, Dark Arts and Ciceros Secret. Three fine and very different bands.

Here is the story of the night.

The first thing that surprised me was my car; the boot swallowed up the bass amp plus two guitar amps without so much as a shrug. Gear packed we battled though the rush hour traffic back to the city of Glasgow which is still basking in the after glow of the Commonwealth Games.

IMG_20140822_174646071 — derek couldn’t wait until the photo was taken and kept eating nom nom

We arrived early so I had time to sample some of the 13^th Notes grub. Its all veggie; to be honest I could do with a night of the red stuff so I ordered a cracking veggie burger. Once we were fed we headed down stairs to one of the cities most iconic wee venues. For a band our size it feels more like home; even a modest crowd fills the room so that settled us.

The sound check went smoothly; the other bands rolled in. It was nice to see Jon from the Dark Arts; we played for a least three years together in the Seventeenth. Now I’m not saying it was a time of high fives and fist pumps, we had our moments, but it is a time I look back fondly on; it was nice to see the fella again. I was tempted to ask if he still listens to the old Seventeenth records (I do) but I let that one pass.

Ciceros Secret arrived; they are a nice bunch. We played with this young band back in November 2013 at the Garage Attic that was a crazy gig; their fans stormed the stage and the place turned into a mosh pit.

Miss the Occupier are friends of our friends and it was nice to meet them.

Now that the greeting were out the way it was time to get down to business.

The crowd floated in as Miss The Occupier took to the stage playing a fine mix of their own tunes which reminded me of Joy Division, they had a really clean, punchy sound; Roz the singer owned the stage. The crowd swelled and the temperature rose; the 13^th Note atmosphere was here!

I really enjoyed their set you should check out their excellent video on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPZrhr5Pbn8

Sometimes it good to hear something you know, the Dark Arts provided a cracking set of rock covers for the now packed audience. Pearl Jams ‘Even Flow’ was excellent; Jon was particularly good on the bass. He had his sound spot on which was not really a surprise given that he was a perfectionist back in the Seventeenth days.

It was our turn to step up and time was pressing I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little rushed. I quickly set up the gear and we were ready to go. Or so I thought.

Set list

Speak
Kill it! Kill it!
Miss Asphyxia
Wonder
Little Thoughts Lost
Deliverance
Joker
I Hear the City

We started well with the now stable Speak which often opens our set. This flowed nicely into Kill it! Kill it! Slight confusion at the intro but generally nailed. Then it was a wee hello to the crowd; straight back into Miss Asphyxia. By now I could hear my guitar on stage and it seemed out of tune but we flowed onto Wonder where Stu held the notes. A quick tune up confirmed that the G string was well out (har har). That fixed we moved on to a strong finish. New song Little Thoughts Lost got a little lost in my head! However Deliverance, Joker and new favourite I Hear the City went down well.

It was good to see the crowd right next to us; I was pleased everyone had stuck around to the end. It was hot; my shirt and tie combo was beginning to feel like a bad idea.

Before I knew it we were done and quickly packing up the pedals to allow head-liners Ciceros Secret on.

These guys are in their late teens; their music is high energy experimental metal. Its loud and in your face and I hate to say it but it took me back to the days when we started 20 years ago! Long hair waiving, loud music, playing hard and fast and not caring that some of the crowd were now starting to disperse into the late Friday night.

For those that remained they were treated to a brilliant show; their guitarists weaving through the crowd not missing a note. They were a brilliant end to the night.

We learned a few lessons on the night. Bands will run over, its natural with live music. So I’ll try not to rush my set-up in future. All in all it was a very successful night.

Final thought goes to our fans. Given that many of you have now seen us live many times we feel we are in a unique place that we have a group of friends that want to come tine and time again. The effort you guys make is quite simply brilliant. Thank you for keeping the band live.

Tags 13th note glasgow, ciceros secret, gigs, Glasgow, glasgow music scene, guitars, indie, live, loud, metal, miss the occupier, Rock, scotland, the dark arts, Weird Decibels

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Pablo likes…(discovering music)

Post author By creepingash
Post date July 12, 2014
No Comments on Pablo likes…(discovering music)

From time to time I will dive into the digital sea of internet sites that offer a quite often bemusing amount of music to listen to. Here is what I liked on the 12th of July 2014

Famine, Famine

https://wooaaargh.bandcamp.com/album/famine

Simple cover, straight to the point. A bit like the album

Fast and uncompromising metal Famine, from Germany, deliver a short sharp jab of crunch. Littered with samples of what sounds like physical pain and the odd quote the interlaced tracks on this album are short and brutal. There is not much in the way of information. http://www.wooaaargh.com/ the website takes you to a German site with similar artists and similar themes. This is guid though, that’s if you have a sick fetish for a short and sharp kick in the ears now and again. I love the guitar whammy bend in the riff played on the 53 second track ‘Stacks To Buy’. Try it.

Caves, Homeward Bound

https://specialistsubject.bandcamp.com/album/homeward-bound

Snappy punk wanders away from the slick sound I often stumble on while scouring Bandcamp. You can here the buzz of the amps, it sounds live and I like that. Its fast and it sounds underground. Their album starts strong ‘Time and Time Again’ and title track ‘Homeward Bound’ are impressive. These guys sounds young, it seeps through their music. The energy flows into your ears, gets the head nodding and the feet tapping. It sounds like one or two takes were played to nail this. Magic. Signed to Specialist Subject Records who seem to share the liberal feel of their music. The slogan, ‘Download Everything Free’ hits you when you navigate to the labels site. A two piece with Lou on guitar and Minty on bass and vocals. A quick look at the photos on Facebook shows you that the energy on their record evidently overflows into the gigs. New Year/New Start finishes the album with a nice acoustic texture, these lads from Bristol (nice city) have been a worthy listen tonight.

https://www.facebook.com/wearecaves/timeline

The third and final recommendation is from The Lucies, Houston Texas

‘I’m Afraid Of People Cutting Me Out Of Their Life’ is rather beautiful, a sleepy soulful song recorded and written by The Lucies, information is spare . This album is a self confessed lo fi experimental recording and admittedly the 2nd track is too harsh a change from the beauty of the first. If you can climb over this track the rest of this short record is rewarding. ‘Out Of It’ recovers with the title track, tape hiss and all. The beauty of this music is the spontaneous nature of the recording, the hit or miss. This is what is absent from mainstream music. The finale ‘Steamboat’ is a reflective wee song about a presumably drunk or high steamboat lizzy needing a lift to the infirmary. In the background you can hear a strimmer, an unassuming neighbour trying to get to grips with an overgrown lawn. It rips you out of the scene. You hear the artist sigh at this infringement. I smile because I’ve been here in my own home studio many times. That’s why I never record in the summer! That aside this is a great but vulnerable little album.