As the lead singer of a rock band you’d think I would recommend screaming Grohl type artists but you’d be wrong. Anyway now and again I simply dive into the internet and browse for music to see what happens.
First up is Tom Day from Melbourne Australia with Peaks. Lovely sonic landscape that almost has me lying on a sandy beach down under instead of contemplating switching on the central heating in the middle of a Scottish June…
Any band that calls their latest EP ‘Once More With Feeling’ is going to get my attention ( we have a song with the same name on our new album) Canadians Ought track ‘Pills’ is a slow burning moody rock out track that builds to a lovely crescendo at around 4:15 mins. The vox are slightly low in the mix but it adds to the singers almost despondent mood;if you click onto the ep link New Calm pt 2 barges in Tim Darcy sings freestyle as the guitars swirl around him.
new Calm pt 3 is chaotic in its start; nice to hear a band that is preprepared to play what they like. At 13k likes in Facebook clearly people agree! Touring Europe.
Waiting, the last track on the EP has shades of the brilliant bands Ride and Bell XI. A cracking track. For me the best and the song that made me hit ‘follow’.
Another artist from Australia these guys like the doom guitars and they are high in the mix. A bit of Alice In Chains in here.The heavy laden guitars are often interlaced with dreamy fx laden vocals. Like a heavy version of Pond I guess. Built On Guilt is fantastic.
And there we are; a night of surfing through Bandcamp, a lot of sludge in there it has to be said but i liked these artists. If you find a gem please share their music.
As we finished the writing of Weird Decibels 2 we had a look at our set and decided that we did not have enough songs for the new album (out at the end of this year). So we wrote Its Who You Know, it quickly established itself as the first single.
Its Who You Know has been used many times in songs by other artists but it was apt for where my head was at the time. The 2015 general election was approaching; when I see many politicians I see people who have got their positions simply through their class and connections. I felt angered that people making the decision that effect my life and that of my family were made by those who were not there on merit (I must add that there are many who have worked hard to get where they are).
Indeed many walks of life are influenced by the people at the top favouring friends, family and people they know. Its human nature to surround yourself with people you feel comfortable with and are unlikely to challenge you. The music industry is a another example of ‘Its Who You Know’.
As my father often said when I was young. ‘its not what you know, its who you know’; he stills believes that to this day. However I believe you can make a difference to your life by working hard and never giving up but it is nice to know people with a little ‘pull’. Anyway this is what the song is about.
The Idea.
At 3 minutes the song is not long but it is an age in a music video. The idea was to have an interview with a pre-determined candidate guaranteed the job and the band being the hopeful applicants who did not stand a chance despite their qualities.
The successful applicant would walk through a door to find the band playing, a symbol of going it alone and doing things for ourselves without the help of other influences. The idea was a simple, realistic and a budget friendly plot.
The Shooting.
Kevin Byrne kindly stepped up to the lens and shot the video, he controlled the lighting and directed many of the scenes. His influence was crucial to the final outcome of the video. James Cattanach kindly let us have free roam of the Three Kings and we set up in various rooms to create the interview room, the waiting area and the stage.
Kevin grew slightly concerned about the time we had to shoot the film however once we were set up things quickly took shape.
The Cast
Chris Wilson: Chris played a cocky applicant who was guaranteed the job. He played his character with a swagger and style; look at the scene where he passes the band knowing he has the job. When he opens the door to see the band play is reaction is priceless.
Chris Burt: Brother of Jemma who appears on Weird Decibels 1 plays the interviewer who grills his victims and draws out nervous ticks and weaknesses of the applicant. A dismissive employer who enjoys wearing a ‘sacking tie’.
Dale Ashworth: Plays another cocky and smug interviewer who plays off his colleague to mock the hapless interviewees. Both members of the board are dismissive of all the applicants until Chris Wilson’s character appears and they shake hands. (which had the director and cast scratching their heads trying to work out the handshake in reverse order)
The Scenes
there were to be three scenes, the waiting room, the interview and the band playing at the end. The first scene had to show that Chris knew the members of the board. The interview displayed the hopeless interviews and the final scene is the band playing the song. We had great difficulty shooting the interview due to uncontrollable laughter! During the waiting rooms scenes I headed out the wrong door and the band followed!
Its Who You Know!
Editing
Greg, Derek and Stu did most of the editing with input from Kevin. The first edit of the film was not far from what you see in the final version. I had the idea to put ‘Tarantino’ titles before every scene to help define the story. We had real difficulty getting the timing right, we play our songs far faster live than the recordings. Greg had to use the force to get some of the playing in sync with the music.
The Release
Its How You Know is the first of three single from our forthcoming album Weird Decibels 2.0. the single has been well received and its nice to know that after two week its hit over 300 views. Thanks for the support!
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.
the er.. setlist
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!
Pabs sings his heart out
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!!
weirddecibels.com 