Winter 2025
Exciting times! We rehearsed the new songs from our writing session at Derek’s. Sadly Stu couldn’t make it due to lurgy. We decided to practise anyway, and let Derek structure his drums around our sketches. It was a great night.
Looking forward to our next practise, as we left we knew that three ideas from the writing session had made it into new songs, we just need the Stu ‘magic’ to be sprinkled over these tunes.
So a step closer to a new album in 2026, our tenth.
The only wee cloud? The Korg D3200 is showing its age, little hardware issues are creeping in. I need to decide whether to invest (and learn) a whole new setup before we record.
In other news…we’ve been selling albums. Ok so not a lot but honestly I cannot thank enough the people who have bought digital and physical releases of our music over the last few months. Not sure what’s happened…but we love it, the monies have paid for our website costs and will also go towards the tenth lp.
Summer 2025
Update:
As we head towards the lighter nights and the lifting mood that longer days brings things are picking up a little. We are back rehearsing, we recorded demos for 8 songs. Sure the performance is a little rusty but there are hints of a great album coming. Lets say 2026 for our 10th LP. Would’ve been nice to release during our 30th year, but still a bit of writing to go!
We are playing live at the Monarch Bar in Dunfermline on Friday 19th September, supporting Heaven and Hellvis.
July 2025 we are putting out a 30th Anniversary podcast special. It’ll be on Youtube and clips across Social Media.
We recently had another writing session on the 14th June. It proved to be a successful day with 4 songs and a few ideas emerging. Pabs has still to mix it but it could go a long way to finishing the writing of our tenth lp due for release 2026.
Winter 2025
Hello all, it is a new year and a very special year for us.
February 6th will be 30 years to the day that we set foot into our first rehearsal. We never thought that three decades later we’d still be doing this.
We have to acknowledge that this has been the quietest time in our history, five years since our last album February and three years since our last gig.
We still meet up on a regular basis, frustratingly not in the same room, but when we do its like we’ve never been away.
We have plans for 2025. A recorded rehearsal recorded for YouTube. Hopefully before spring. The tenth album…hopefully in our 30th year.
More news soon, until then, take care. Love WdB xx
Summer 2024
Hey all!
After what feels like a looong holiday the four of us are just about ready to get back into rehearsal and hopefully finish off the writing of our tenth album. With 2025 being the 30th anniversary of the band (crazy) we are hoping to have a new LP out by the end of next year.
Who knows how we will record it. Pabs will want to head off to the remoteness of the country no doubt, but that takes most of us away from the kids and our stressed out partners!
Whatever way we record the next one, we will be sure to write about it here.
Hame Made Records (HMR), our label have finally released their website. You can stream, for free, every record released on the label. If you are on mobile watch your data. The songs are in the same resolution as they were recorded (lossless) https://hamemaderecords.com/index.html
Social Dancing
Meanwhile Social Dancing have been busy. Recording time has been booked at https://www.facebook.com/stu257 Studio 257. Pabs, Greg and Byrne also have their debut gig at Behind the Wall, Falkirk on the 20th September. https://www.skiddle.com/whats-on/Falkirk/Behind-The-Wall/Artesan–support—Falkirk/38294876/?fbclid=IwY2xjawEwZ-9leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHdiBbgip9SUPMVEid66D8kJz3dli2OFp8zBMSano1x8mhwCzy731UT8yjw_aem_757s_Mj7dWmfH3DNVhEXyw
Pabs new solo record.
In more news Pabs has released his tenth solo album ‘Why Move When Everything is Still?’ on all digital platforms and on Bandcamp. Hit this link for a listen https://open.spotify.com/album/7d5GyUyIDic6wZy57cyIBp?si=xZtgBBwXTAWLky9mnWe6IQ
Winter 2024
Finally…after sometime out we were back in the room, some 29 years since our first practise we were back to pick up where we left off…writing album 10. We spent the night playing through the new songs, still in their embryotic form, some are showing signs of potential.
But above all it was just bloody fun to be back. Pabs started strumming the chords to Hometown (from our 2000 album Coldhome Street), what a buzz that was.
We won’t be getting together every week, its just not possible now, however we need to get our heads together and work out how we can bring the 10th lp to you.
Social Dancing a side project from Pabs, Bo and our long time collaborator Kevin Byrne will hopefully be recording their first EP soon. Another record to add to the Hamemade roster…speaking of which…
Hamemade Website – the hobby label is getting an archive website, in true hame made fashion its a DIY coding project from our Pabs, look out for it in Spring, all the records catalogued by the label will be available for streaming, for free.
Summer 2023
Hello everybody! Its great to be back. We are back in rehearsal after a few months out doing life stuff. We are writing a new album! (well we have been since April 2022) however, we are finally getting some time together in the room.
Also! Look out for some new stories from our Pabs, now that he is finally finished uni he will be writing again.
And on the live scene we are on the lookout for gigs so if you want to hook up just get in touch.
Love WdB
Winter 2022/23
December
We released a collection of demos and rough takes recorded during the Weird Decibels 2 sessions back between 2013-2016. Its now available on Bandcamp https://weirddecibels.bandcamp.com/
November.
Stu and Pabs recently got together to develop some of the songs we had started in April. The duo spent an evening with biscuits and coffee in our studio and hopefully we’ll all be in the same room early ’23 to try out the ideas.
Look out for us on the live scene in 2023. We’re aiming to get a handful of dates sorted for throughout the year.
In the meantime check out our music documentary! The Making of Weird Decibels 1. If you are in a band and you are determined to keep it DIY, this might be the film for you.
Whilst it would be amazing to be successful in music, many of us don’t get there.
The key is to enjoy your craft. Music helps maintain positive mental health not matter what level you are at.
Thank always for your support. Love WdB xx
Summer/Autumn 2022
Well we’ve let the cat out of the bag and released our first film feature, The Making of Weird Decibels 1
Filmed ten years ago during the recording of Weird Decibels 1, we were a band with little hope and direction. Armed with songs we thought that no one would ever hear we headed to the borders in a van full of beer and gear.
Watch as a band struggle to piece together their ambitious 7th Album, we laugh, we scowl and we lost a few days. We had ups and downs, but we made it and the times that followed were some of the best we ever had.
So grab the popcorn and hit play. Expect bad language, drunken scenes and camcorder footage.
Spring/Summer 2022
We’re back live! Bannermans Edinburgh playing alongside Rhabstallion on Saturday 11th June.
Winter/Spring 2022
We’ve pencilled in April Fools day 2022 to start writing new material for our tenth record. Its been a tough 12 months. We had been practising on and off but for various reasons we haven’t been able to string a few sessions together.
However this hasn’t stopped us before, Pabs has been writing (during a few spells of self isolation) and Derek has a few ideas as well.
We’ll be meeting up with the guitars over some coffee, what really worked the last time was Stu having an idea of the riffs and writing the solos in his own time.
Then in April we’ll bring it all together and start rehearsing. 🙂
Autumn 2021
Back in 1995 when we started the band we were teenagers with infinite time ahead of us. Now in our forties and we often get reminded that this is not the case, for example, in a recent game of fives I tried a Zidane roulette only to hear my knee click and the ball trundle away harmlessly to the opposition.
2021 has been a difficult year, I think I can count one practise, it was during the summer. For various reasons we had to stop again. I was reminded never to take Weird Decibels for granted.
Roll forward to the 9th of September 2021. Lets take another stab at it we said. And what a night it was. We played a small set of our songs. It was clear that we had all practised in our own time, desperate to make our rehearsal a success. I’ve not had as much fun at a practise since the early 2010s, it was fantastic. Hometown (a song from 2000, was nuts, so much fun to play) Given we’ve not even gigged our last album February the songs sound ready to go.
Its early days, we have a few things to sort out so we are not making plans other than practise, practise, practise. I’ve written a bundle of songs that will turn up somewhere.
Sure we need to start again. Few people will know or remember us apart from the loyal fans we have always held close to our heart. If we start a new adventure I will be delighted, you never know where its going to go. Sometimes you end up playing amazing gigs, recording albums (looking at you Wdb1 and 2) and sometimes things kinda go quiet. That’s what I love about being in the band, we just don’t know, and as long as we’re having fun, we just don’t care.
Pabs
Spring 2021
Hello dear visitors of the website it sure is nice to be acquainted again. Its not unusual for Weird Decibels to fall quiet. But things are still happening.
We are looking for gigs to play February live. Greg is our primary booker, some options have come up. Demand is huge for venues at the moment so it has been a bit of a challenge to get a weekend gig (which suits us better to be honest). We’ll have news at some point and we do have our own PA to fall back on so something will happen as soon as we’re allowed to do so!
Contact us via the Speak! message board for more live details
Not all has been quiet over the winter Pabs had been busy in the Steakpie Studio penning his ninth solo record. Released on our little hobby label HameMadeRecords.
Hit the bandcamp link to listen.
The Sky Is Always There When You Look Up | Paul Henry Smith (bandcamp.com)
Alternatively there is Spotify et al
Hope you enjoy his solo musings.
See you soon!
WdB xx
2021 should be a better year right? Hope you are all well. Its Pabs here, reaching out to the readers of this site.
We really hope to be back in rehearsal this year, I’m optimist that this will happen.
The British Library Sound Archive have been in touch. Looks like our music will be kept safe for many years to come. Its a rather proud moment. There are millions of recordings archived, but its nice to know that our body of work will be preserved for as long as the library pay their leccy bills.
I also have a new solo album out rather soon. the HMR catalogue continues to grow. I really hope another WdB album will be in there soon.
More news soon!
Pabs Feb 2021
Hello all, its June 19th 2020 and its almost the summer solstice whoop which means i need to get a lot of beer a sundial and a sacrificial goat (joke).
This news section feels more like a diary. Guess that’s a good thing right? Anyway LiveCast 5 went our a couple of weeks ago and they’ve been really popular (for us) so 6 will be recorded soon.
When I scroll down this section the word ‘quiet’ keeps popping up, we’ve been quiet etc. Well during the lockdown we seem to have found a new platform but this is nothing compared to playing live in front of you guys.
With that in mind, when we can practise safely we will be recording live sessions for you, yep full on rock with more Derek! This will be series 2 of our LiveCasts,
Summer 2020 pls scroll down
Hello all. Covid 19 is at the tips of all our conversations.
Its such a challenging time for us all now. We’re recording live in the hoose. Here is a link to our LiveCasts
We have recorded 4 so far and we will continue to record LiveCasts while this county gets back on its knees (then on its feet)
And we made one of our best music videos just by staying at home I’ll Always Be Here
We will be adding as much content as possible to keep you entertained over the next few weeks/months we might even release some of the unseen recording videos we shot at the lodges…maybe…
Spring 2020
25 year celebrations kick off with our brand new single Not Giving Up, released on the 7th of February. Just two weeks later 21/2/2020 our 9th studio album ‘February‘ is released worldwide.
Winter 2019
Hello all! Full album worth of songs recorded! We booked a cottage near Straiton in Ayrshire, took all the gear down and recorded our 9th record in just 4 days. So far the recordings sound fine, couple of dubs and tracks but all in all it seems to be mixing. 2020 is a really important year for us, 25 years since we first had a practise together so a new album will be a nice touch.
Its called February, no idea when it will be released but we reckon spring!
Meanwhile you can listen to our latest release Its A Grand Day Out here
Spring 2019
Its been very quiet for us lately, for a number of reasons. However we are very pleased that mixing for our live acoustic album has been booked for 5th May, expect this album just before the summer. Imagine sitting back, sipping on a Cider, listening to ‘A Grand Day Out’ yep a few of our songs from over the years will be stripped back. Yes I’m bias but they sound brilliant. See you all soon. Love WdB.
Winter 2018/19
Brr the cold starts to creep into our bones, we after all, a band from Scotland which at times is cauld. Its been quiet year for us, we’ve been around long enough that it happens. I guess more often than not these days. Work, Kids yada yada. The band will keep going though and we will be announcing new things soon.
January 26th 2019 will see us going into a studio for the first time in many years. We will be recording a number of live acoustic songs selected from our extensive back catalogue. We can’t wait to see how it turns out.
Autumn 2018
Ah the sights and sounds of the Autumn. Here we are again, what a quick year! We are currently working on two projects.
We’ve selected a few of our songs from our full catalogue to record ‘unplugged’; we’ll be taking these into the studio to record live. Hopefully we’ll have a few unplugged gigs to support the album, however it turns out! Its been interesting hearing some of our rock songs stripped back. Keep an ear out!
Over the last few months, in between work and holidays, we’ve been writing some new material. So far three songs have been sketched. These will either make a new lp or ep, I do like the idea of going back to record in a remote cottage though.
August September 2018
We’re live at the Big Picnic on Sunday the 12th August; come see us! Bring a sandwich! The festival is at the Helix Park, Falkirk, we’ll be on the Park stage from 15:30.
We play with the mighty Buzzards of Babylon at the Windsor hotel 22nd September. Should be a top night as they celebrate the release of their new album; the excellent Micrometeoroid Modulation. Read what Pabs thought about it here
Pabs new album landed in July. Here it here
Summer 2018
We appearing live at Montys in Dumfermline. 22nd June 2018. First outing of Everyday Heroes.
Pabs had a new solo album coming early July. bandcamp
Spring 2018
We release our new EP Everyday Heroes; now on all streaming platforms including high quality downloads on Bandcamp.
Winter 2018
We’ve sadly had to part ways with our rehearsal space of 23 years. We have written, recorded and jammed so many tunes in that room but it was not longer possible to use the space. We’ve found a new home and hopefully it will work out, more news soon.
February will see the release of another new song from our forthcoming EP Everyday Heroes. So keep an eye out Speechwriter!
We have to pay the old studio bills and while we are happy to provide our music to digital distributors such as Spotify it provides with no income what so ever. So occasionally we play cover songs to raise money. We will be gracing the Dobbie Hall for the Larbert CAMRA Real Ale Festival looking forward to this and we hope you can join us!
We have released another new song. This time we take the foot off our distortion and bring a subtle approach for A801. You can view the video here
The AMiF 2017 awards are live and voting concludes on the 24th December, we’ve been nominated for best rock/metal act but I urge you to check out all the bands.
Brand new track has dropped. Take the Blindness From Your Eyes.
Winter 2017/18
Our 5th album was ten years old this year, already its starting to develop a bit of an attitude. wait until it gets to its teens. It’s now on all digital platforms including spotify
Autumn 2017
September we played at Behind the Wall in Falkirk as part of the RIFF showcase, it was a resounding success. More news on this soon.
Plans are ongoing for a deluxe version of 2016 album Weird Decibels 2 in time for record store day 2018. Unheard songs, demos and song creation sessions. Loads of stuff to share with you. Keep and eye on our Bandcamp page for this exclusive release.
June 2017
Its been 10 years since we released Riot Act so that’s the new theme for our next series of blogs coming shortly. Our booking agent is on holiday… Greg back soon to book gigs
May 2017
HUGE thanks to all that came to Shuffle Down what a day it was. Two blogs now readable. Gig Diary Shuffle Down 2017 20th May Shuffle Down 2017
Shuffle down just a week away and we have the setlist done! Can’t wait, at time of writing we are going to be on at 5pm. So grab a burger and a beer and listen to some rock. See you there people. shuffle down
We have shuffle down exclusive tees for sale next week
We have news of a gig in the Windsor at Kirkcaldy in Nov (4th) supporting a Metallica tribute. More details when this is confirmed.
February 2017
We’ve just been announced to play the main stage at this years Shuffle Down festival in the Dobbie hall, Larbert. Just 5 mins walk from the train station. More details to follow.
January 2017
*Update One Weekend in Falkirk was a huge success (from our angle) delighted to have been a part of it, now i just want to play more gigs!
Back with a bang on the live trial as we hit the Artisan Tap Falkirk on the 6th of January with Skelf, Blind Daze and Buzzards of Babylon. We’ll have a look back at this fantastic night soon. It was superb
HUGE announcement soon
December 2016
The Alternative Music in Falkirk awards 2016 results are in! We were voted best rock act of Falkirk 2016 so a big hearty thanks to all who voted for us. We wish all our follwers, friends and family a healthy and happy new year.
September/October 2016
Our new album Weird Decibels 2 is loose on the world. Its available on all digital platforms
Bandcamp Spotify and now on CD
Kill it! Kill it! video see it here
New Range of Merch
Our new range of tees and badges has hit our merch stall (and on bandcamp), We have new tees in the colour of Weird Decibels 2. We have also reprinted our back catalogue albums from Whapper to Cold Home Street! A full guide to all the albums is here.
weirddecibels.com 