Well this is going to be another one of those 'there isn't much time for blogging as I'm so bloody busy' postings. I guess the main reason for this is that I've been working full time in Balcony Shirts as it's very busy in there at the moment - as a self-employed person I'm rarely if ever in a position to turn work down and so am very grateful for this opportunity to earn some money, as well as being able to help out. This of course means that I've only had the evenings to do anything for myself - how on earth do people with 'real' jobs ever manage to have a life outside of work?!? Or maybe I'm so used to doing everything at what would be seen as a leisurely pace by 'real' people..?
Anyway here's what's been happening in Leigh's Mad World Of Guitars over the last week-and-a-bit -
- I saw The Damned at The Royal Albert Hall.
What a night - and what a great band The Damned are. I somehow managed to miss most of their first set through being (ahem!) caught in the bar with Segs and Steve Beatty of Plastic Head Distribution - they've just put out 'Psychic Attack' which was released on the day of the gig and so was the cause of much merriment and indeed celebration. This combined with the effects of continued merriment and celebration at the aftershow party (I got home sometime after 5 am having run the gauntlet of the night bus. Scary!) meant that the following day in the shirts shop was a long and complex one…
- I saw The U.K. Subs at The 100 Club.
…after which I somehow made it along to my third Subs gig in four weeks. With the venue packed to capacity Charlie and co. could do no wrong and a suitably blazing show ensued. Great stuff - although I did have to spend most of the next day asleep.
- I guested with Department S at The Fighting Cocks in Kingston with Ed Tudor-Pole.
Well they asked me to do it again and it would have been rude not too - the same 3 songs as last time ('Wonderful Day', 'Is Vic There?' and 'I Want' since you've asked) with the addition of 'Swords Of A Thousand Men' with Ed Tudor-Pole on vocals. The astonishingly-named Fighting Cocks turned out to be a great venue and opening act The Marksmen are well worth catching should you ever see their name on a poster. Another excellent night.
- I saw Iggy Pop at The Royal Albert Hall.
Aided and abetted by Josh Homme and co. and playing a set of songs mostly from 'Post Pop Depression', 'The Idiot' and 'Lust For Life' the mighty Mr. Pop reminded us all why he has attained legendary status with a blistering performance that all but left the venue and indeed the audience in ruins. One of the best gigs I've seen in a very - make that VERY - long time.
- I played two gigs with Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks.
And as so often happens the two shows were very different from each other. The Manor Club in Shepperton was a new venue for the band, and while it was by no means the worst place we've has ever found ourselves in it was hampered by a neighbour who apparently complains every time there is a band or event on at the club. This resulted in us (a) being told after a few songs that we were too loud (we weren't, or at least I didn't think that we were) and (b) being told in the interval that we would have to finish at 11.15 and so could only play a short second set. This was a shame as we were playing well - still, Bank Holiday Monday's 4 pm appearance at The Horns in Watford more than made up for any in-band disappointment about Saturday's show as we were on top form from the word go. Rather ironically I thought that we might have been a bit loud (no, really, I did!) although I'm told that it was fine out front. A great gig, although to be honest the previous one wasn't bad, just a bit weird - not least because Strawbs guitarist Brian Willoughby told me that he liked my guitar playing and sound. He then said he needed to go home as he'd been 'drinking all day' which rather ruined an otherwise triumphant moment.
- And probably some other things as well.
As I say, it's hard to remember sometimes...
This week, more of the same - hopefully!
Showing posts with label Psychic Attack. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Psychic Attack. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 01, 2016
Friday, May 20, 2016
'Psychic Attack' by Ruts D.C. is released today!
"Great. The Ruts are back in black - with hats. Love the tunnels… great acting, great sound, true to what so many of my old muckers are feeling these days… longtime fan Pete Townshend."
Yes, Pete Townshend. That Pete Townshend. You know, the one out of The Who. That Pete Townshend.
What's he talking about? I'm glad you've asked… he's talking about the promotional video for the new Ruts D.C. single 'Psychic Attack'. No, really, he is. Even I couldn't make that up, and I can make some pretty weird things up. But I didn't make it up, not least because I didn't have to. The video was premiered Monday night on the Vive Le Rock and Rebellion Festival websites and you can watch it here if you like - Graham Trott did a fantastic job didn't he?
And today the single is released on the band's own Sosumi Records in association with Westworld Recordings - I could be prouder, but not much, and I don't give myself much credit for what I do. Louder Than War have given it a great review (thanks Ged!) and tonight I'm off to see The Damned play their 40th anniversary show at The Albert Hall, which seems oddly appropriate given their connection with The Ruts over the years. What better way to celebrate? It should be quite a night, and if you're going then I'll see you there. Excellent!
Yes, Pete Townshend. That Pete Townshend. You know, the one out of The Who. That Pete Townshend.
What's he talking about? I'm glad you've asked… he's talking about the promotional video for the new Ruts D.C. single 'Psychic Attack'. No, really, he is. Even I couldn't make that up, and I can make some pretty weird things up. But I didn't make it up, not least because I didn't have to. The video was premiered Monday night on the Vive Le Rock and Rebellion Festival websites and you can watch it here if you like - Graham Trott did a fantastic job didn't he?
And today the single is released on the band's own Sosumi Records in association with Westworld Recordings - I could be prouder, but not much, and I don't give myself much credit for what I do. Louder Than War have given it a great review (thanks Ged!) and tonight I'm off to see The Damned play their 40th anniversary show at The Albert Hall, which seems oddly appropriate given their connection with The Ruts over the years. What better way to celebrate? It should be quite a night, and if you're going then I'll see you there. Excellent!
Monday, May 09, 2016
'Time and the devil is gonna bring me everything I need...'
Well it seems like ages since my last blog posting - probably because it is ages since my last blog posting. It turned out that it was a long two weeks, not one… it's been a busy, one might even say intense time since last we spoke - here, in no particular order, is what's been happening...
- Work has continued on the Ruts D.C. album 'Music Must Destroy'.
Myself and Segs recorded some guitars at Jamm in Brixton and even though I say so myself, we made a pretty good job of it. There's still a way to go, but we'll get there in the end.
- I saw The Blockheads in Chelsea.
I'd not been to Under The Bridge before - what an extraordinary venue. And what an extraordinary band The Blockheads were, are, and will continue to be. A great gig.
- Ruts D.C. rehearsed for and played at the 'Scotland Calling' festival.
A couple of short sessions at The Music Complex in Deptford set us up for a barnstorming 40 minute set at The ABC in Glasgow, which in turn set your humble narrator up for a barnstorming evening that saw much drinking, merriment and a fair bit of time spent in The Ramonas's' dressing room (no, I'm not quite sure how that happened either!) among the other many and varied highlights. Excellent!
- I worked many-a day at Balcony Shirts.
It's a busy time in the shop so I've been helping out whenever I can.
- We made a promotional video for the new Ruts D.C. single 'Psychic Attack'.
Filmed by Graham Trott and featuring noted actor Peter O'Connor, I've seen a rough cut and it looks bloody great. The single and indeed the video is out at the end of next week. Exciting stuff!
- Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks played at The Queen's Arms in Colnbrook.
It was Al's birthday, which went some way towards explaining the lightness of the mood - right up until the moment that someone shouted 'IT"S ALL KICKING OFF OUTSIDE' and virtually the whole pub ran to the windows or indeed went outside, presumably in the hope of witnessing said 'kicking off'. I always think that people who do things like that have never been unfortunate enough to have been caught in a violent incident, as anyone who has generally moves quickly in the other direction… incidentally it didn't all kick off outside, or indeed anywhere else for that matter. Good.
- I guested with Department S at The Fleece in Bristol supporting The U.K. Subs.
I joined Dept. S for their last three songs and they sounded great with or without me; The Subs were of course as mighty as ever, and first band on Knock Off were pretty good too.
- Probably some other things as well.
It's hard to remember sometimes...
Obviously there's a lot to more to say about all of the above but, rather like the tale of The Giant Rat Of Sumatra, that's a story for which the world is not yet prepared. Or that I haven't got time to write up. Or something.
More this week. Or next week. Or something.
- Work has continued on the Ruts D.C. album 'Music Must Destroy'.
Myself and Segs recorded some guitars at Jamm in Brixton and even though I say so myself, we made a pretty good job of it. There's still a way to go, but we'll get there in the end.
- I saw The Blockheads in Chelsea.
I'd not been to Under The Bridge before - what an extraordinary venue. And what an extraordinary band The Blockheads were, are, and will continue to be. A great gig.
- Ruts D.C. rehearsed for and played at the 'Scotland Calling' festival.
A couple of short sessions at The Music Complex in Deptford set us up for a barnstorming 40 minute set at The ABC in Glasgow, which in turn set your humble narrator up for a barnstorming evening that saw much drinking, merriment and a fair bit of time spent in The Ramonas's' dressing room (no, I'm not quite sure how that happened either!) among the other many and varied highlights. Excellent!
- I worked many-a day at Balcony Shirts.
It's a busy time in the shop so I've been helping out whenever I can.
- We made a promotional video for the new Ruts D.C. single 'Psychic Attack'.
Filmed by Graham Trott and featuring noted actor Peter O'Connor, I've seen a rough cut and it looks bloody great. The single and indeed the video is out at the end of next week. Exciting stuff!
- Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks played at The Queen's Arms in Colnbrook.
It was Al's birthday, which went some way towards explaining the lightness of the mood - right up until the moment that someone shouted 'IT"S ALL KICKING OFF OUTSIDE' and virtually the whole pub ran to the windows or indeed went outside, presumably in the hope of witnessing said 'kicking off'. I always think that people who do things like that have never been unfortunate enough to have been caught in a violent incident, as anyone who has generally moves quickly in the other direction… incidentally it didn't all kick off outside, or indeed anywhere else for that matter. Good.
- I guested with Department S at The Fleece in Bristol supporting The U.K. Subs.
I joined Dept. S for their last three songs and they sounded great with or without me; The Subs were of course as mighty as ever, and first band on Knock Off were pretty good too.
- Probably some other things as well.
It's hard to remember sometimes...
Obviously there's a lot to more to say about all of the above but, rather like the tale of The Giant Rat Of Sumatra, that's a story for which the world is not yet prepared. Or that I haven't got time to write up. Or something.
More this week. Or next week. Or something.
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Rebels with a cause
You know how every so often you get one of those 'did that really happen?' moments? I had one of them on Sunday evening. And it was good!
But more about that in a minute. With your humble narrator's famous finger nearly back up to full strength (whatever 'full strength' is for a finger) things have thankfully been getting much easier, both on guitar and in everyday life generally. It's amazing what problems a little cut can cause isn't it? Anyway hopefully that's more-or-less the last we'll hear of it (thank gawd!) so it's on to bigger and better things - and not a moment too soon, as Ruts D.C. return to the stage next Saturday (April 30th if you're counting) at The 'Scotland Calling' Festival in Glasgow. Rehearsals will occur next week, and maybe some other things as well. It'll be great to get back into things - the 'Psychic Attack' single comes out next month and there's still work to do on our 'Music Must Destroy' album so I'm very relieved that my finger seems to be better at last.
Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks were out and about the weekend just gone, on Friday at The Black Horse in Eastcote and at The Halfway House in Barnes on Saturday. We've played both venues several times before, and since there's not much room at either Al decided not to play electric guitar, thereby saving stage space (or to be pedantic floor space as neither pubs have a stage) normally taken up by his amplifier. He still played acoustic guitar and saxophone (although not at the same time!) but it meant that we had to rethink things a bit - some songs featured acoustic rather than electric strumming (and dare I say it sounded all the better for it) while others were dropped altogether. A recently-purchased alto sax (he usually plays tenor) featured on the new-to-the-band 'Baker Street' and both shows saw much dancing and cavorting from various audience members so I guess we must have been doing something right. Two good shows - but neither prepared us for the goings-on at The Battle Of Britain Club in Uxbridge on Sunday…
Sid Phillips played saxophone for a great many artists and bands over the years, not least Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers back in the day. He sadly died last year, and Sunday's gathering was something of a celebration of his life and work. Big Al had been asked to provide the PA as well as playing a few songs, and the news that ex-Rebel Rousers Chas and Dave were also to be appearing went down well with all concerned. The first set of the day started at around 4 pm and featured Cliff Bennett with a makeshift Rebel Rousers line-up with Geoff Nicholls on drums and guest appearances from Searchers bass man Frank Allen and Good Old Boys singer Alan Barratt. It was unrehearsed and therefore a bit shaky in places but that hardly seemed to matter given the circumstances. We were next up - our six songs flew past in no time at all, which is generally the sign of a good performance; given the fact that we were offered two gigs on the back of it I suppose you can say that it was! I managed to miss a short set from Roy Young as I was in the nearby chip shop (a big mistake - but I was hungry!) but I'm reliably informed that he was excellent. By now Chas and Dave were in the bar and the scene was set for a memorable performance. Aided and abetted by five saxophone players (referred to as 'The Sid Ensemble' by Chas during the show) they were simply brilliant - I first saw them supporting Led Zeppelin at Knebworth in 1979 and they remain a band that it's pretty much impossible to dislike. Well I think that they are - I can't pretend to have followed their career intently but they are great musicians and, as is evidenced by their presence at an event such as this, decent blokes. As they finished with 'Ain't No Pleasing You' (lump in the throat time for your humble narrator as it was one of my mum's favourite songs) drinks were raised and the waltz was waltzed - it didn't take much imagination to think that a similar scene might have occurred 70 or so years earlier in The Battle Of Britain Club, albeit under rather different circumstances. As I say, it was lump in the throat time for me, and I wasn't alone.
Did that really happen?
But more about that in a minute. With your humble narrator's famous finger nearly back up to full strength (whatever 'full strength' is for a finger) things have thankfully been getting much easier, both on guitar and in everyday life generally. It's amazing what problems a little cut can cause isn't it? Anyway hopefully that's more-or-less the last we'll hear of it (thank gawd!) so it's on to bigger and better things - and not a moment too soon, as Ruts D.C. return to the stage next Saturday (April 30th if you're counting) at The 'Scotland Calling' Festival in Glasgow. Rehearsals will occur next week, and maybe some other things as well. It'll be great to get back into things - the 'Psychic Attack' single comes out next month and there's still work to do on our 'Music Must Destroy' album so I'm very relieved that my finger seems to be better at last.
Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks were out and about the weekend just gone, on Friday at The Black Horse in Eastcote and at The Halfway House in Barnes on Saturday. We've played both venues several times before, and since there's not much room at either Al decided not to play electric guitar, thereby saving stage space (or to be pedantic floor space as neither pubs have a stage) normally taken up by his amplifier. He still played acoustic guitar and saxophone (although not at the same time!) but it meant that we had to rethink things a bit - some songs featured acoustic rather than electric strumming (and dare I say it sounded all the better for it) while others were dropped altogether. A recently-purchased alto sax (he usually plays tenor) featured on the new-to-the-band 'Baker Street' and both shows saw much dancing and cavorting from various audience members so I guess we must have been doing something right. Two good shows - but neither prepared us for the goings-on at The Battle Of Britain Club in Uxbridge on Sunday…
 |
| Chas & Dave at The Battle Of Britain Club in Uxbridge. Really! |
Did that really happen?
Monday, March 14, 2016
Single album, double album, single... er, single...
 |
| Shameless self-publicity continues... |
And if that wasn't exciting enough (and believe me, from my admittedly often rather naive point of view the word 'exciting' doesn't get close to covering it!) the new Ruts D.C. single 'Psychic Attack' is released on May 20th. Released by Westworld Records and distributed by Plastic Head it'll be available on CD and 7" vinyl (oh yes!) as well as download - we've just got the final mix back from engineer extraordinaire Lee Groves and even though I say so myself it sounds bloody great. It'll be available in all good record shops (as the old saying goes) and of course from us at our gigs, but in the meantime if you can't wait that long it can be pre-ordered here. Go on - you know you want to... and work has continued this week this week on the upcoming album - recently re-titled 'Music Must Destroy' and due for September release we're currently working on a perspective 14 tracks between Ealing and Brixton; I was recording guitars (during which I got to play a Fender Electric XII on 'Soft City Lights' - oh yes!) with James Knight while Dave and Segs were working on vocals at Jamm. There's still a long way to go but we'll get there in the end...
Meanwhile Friday evening saw your humble narrator catch two halves of two Uxbridge gigs, starting with The Dirty Dog Band at The General Eliott. I went to meet Big Al Reed there, and was just saying hello to him when I heard a cheery 'hello Leigh!' from behind me - I turned around to see the smiling face of Tom Edwards who it transpires plays in said combo. I didn't know that he was going to be there and it was great to catch up with him and indeed to see him play. From there it was a short walk across to The Dolphin to see the second set from The Ska Faces - the place was packed and they sounded much better than when I saw them in Watford last month.
The next night I journeyed up to Derby to dep with The Pistols supporting The U.K. Ramones at The Hairy Dog. I'd not played with them for quite a while and it was great to see the lads again and indeed to play with them. The venue has been revamped since Ruts D.C. played there a couple of years ago and they've done an excellent job. We played well as did The U.K. Ramones who did a fine job paying tribute to Da Bruddas - it's a shame that there wasn't a few more people in attendance, but those that were there certainly seemed to enjoy themselves.
This week, working in the shop and playing some gigs, next week more recording. Keep on keeping on...
Sunday, February 07, 2016
'Turn and face the strange...'
41 years ago today, on the 7th February 1975, Dr. Feelgood recorded this still-extraordinary live performance which was broadcast a few days later on the teatime television show 'The Geordie Scene'. I remember it oh-so very well - I was 13 years old at the time, and came in from school just as the programme was starting. After the suitably cheesy introduction (this was the 1970s after all!) from Dave Eager (whatever happened to him eh?) Wilko, Lee, Sparko and The Big Figure roared into what for them was probably just another live performance but what was for me and people like me literally life-changing. As Wilko tore into his first jaw-dropping guitar solo I dragged my Mum in from the back kitchen to watch it with me - she was a bit of a rock 'n' roller back in the day and said that she liked it although she could have just been humouring me I suppose... anyway she went back to making our dinner while The Feelgoods hammered the riff to 'Roxette' home. By the time the credits rolled over 'Route 66' things had changed, and more than I could ever realised at the time. I went up to my room in a daze - I'd heard of the band and that they were supposed to be good, but nothing had prepared me for what I'd just seen. Amazing. It still feels exciting to be writing about it just over four decades later.
I went into school the next day as usual but as I say, things had changed. I enthused to my music-loving mates about the show that I'd seen the day before - a couple of them liked it but most of them didn't, they thought that the band looked a bit daft especially that weird guy on the guitar, surely you didn't think that they were any good did you? No you should listen to 'real' music like ELP, Yes and Genesis, not some bunch of herberts from the seaside.
Hmmm. Maybe I'd been wrong. After all when you're 13 you don't want to be the odd one out do you?
Except of course, I hadn't been wrong. And it took me a while to realise it, but it's actually alright to be the odd one out.
Incidentally Mum died 15 years ago today. How I wish she was here to watch the show again with me now.
It's been a busy week - I spent a day recording guitars with James Knight, two days rehearsing with Ruts D.C. at The Music Complex in Deptford working on songs and arrangements for this week's recording sessions, played with Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks at The General Eliott in Uxbridge on Friday and with The Upper Cut at The Salmon And Ball in Bethnal Green last night as well as working a couple of days in the shop. But this week it's all about more 'Psychic Attack' album sessions - oh and a gig at The 100 Club on Saturday. We haven't played live for over two months, so we'd better rehearse for that too. I told you that it's ok to have a quiet couple of weeks sometimes didn't I?
Still that all starts tomorrow. Today I'm going to play 'Down By The Jetty'. Again. See you in 1975.
I went into school the next day as usual but as I say, things had changed. I enthused to my music-loving mates about the show that I'd seen the day before - a couple of them liked it but most of them didn't, they thought that the band looked a bit daft especially that weird guy on the guitar, surely you didn't think that they were any good did you? No you should listen to 'real' music like ELP, Yes and Genesis, not some bunch of herberts from the seaside.
Hmmm. Maybe I'd been wrong. After all when you're 13 you don't want to be the odd one out do you?
Except of course, I hadn't been wrong. And it took me a while to realise it, but it's actually alright to be the odd one out.
Incidentally Mum died 15 years ago today. How I wish she was here to watch the show again with me now.
Still that all starts tomorrow. Today I'm going to play 'Down By The Jetty'. Again. See you in 1975.
Friday, January 08, 2016
Ruts D.C. 'Psychic Attack' recording sessions, December 2015
Saturday 19th December, 10.54am on a tube train going into London.
And so it begins.
Today is the first day of recording sessions for the Ruts D.C. album 'Psychic Attack'. We've spent two days this week with producer James Knight at The Music Complex in Deptford running through 6 songs - 'Psychic Attack', 'Secondhand Child', 'Surprise', 'Tears On Fire', 'Soft City Lights' and 'Golden Boy' - with a 7th song 'Innocent' on (for want of a better term) the subs bench. We played the first 3 on the Psychic Attack Tour this autumn, while 'Golden Boy' was played acoustically at The Rebellion Festival back in August. The other songs have yet to be played on stage although we've been working on them and quite a few other ideas throughout the last year or so. As often happens before a song is recorded there are changes to be made to rehearsal or live versions - James (a.k.a. Jim) suggested some arrangement alterations alongside different drum patterns and bass and guitar parts. It can sometimes feel a bit odd to have someone come in with ideas as to how songs might be played but in this case pretty much all of his suggestions were accepted by the band. I guess it's back to an oft-repeated adage that a fresh pair of ears will often hear something that the band may not; recording is very different to playing live as you're (hopefully) creating something that is potentially going to be listened to many times (and let's face it, will be around a long time after we're all gone!) whereas a live performance is just that i.e. over in the time that it takes to play. Sounds serious doesn't it? Well I suppose it is! That said I've got a really good feeling about these sessions - the band is playing well, Jim seems to be very easy to work with and no one that I've spoken to has a bad word to say about Perry Vale Studios or engineer Pat Collier. A good three days are in prospect - let's get on with it then...
10.27pm in South London.
So - day one is done.
Just as we were about to start the first run through of the first song Segs turned to me and smiled - 'right, we're really doing it then'. I smiled back and said 'yes, yes we are' - not perhaps the wittiest reply that I've ever given but entirely accurate under the circumstances. Dave was in the drum booth (fairly obviously!) with myself and Segs in the main studio room and James and Pat in the control room - a 'rock' Ruts D.C. album (as opposed to a reggae or dub release) was indeed underway. Dave was playing his trusty Gretsch drum kit, Segs had bought along the Mark Bass amp that he'd bought while we were on tour in Germany and I'd plugged my Les Paul into the studio's Selmer Treble And Bass 50W amplifier (which in turn was plugged into a Marshall 4 x 12" cabinet isolated in another part of the studio so that the sound wouldn't bleed over onto the other microphones) and we were sounding good. Very good. That said it might have been a bit overambitious for us to start with 'Psychic Attack'; it's a fast song and since we were playing to a click track it required some serious
concentration. Also while Dave and Segs have done this sort of thing many many times I'm well behind them in the experience stakes and don't mind admitting it. It took us all a while to get used to the click track - I'm not actually sure that I 'got used to it' but I at least worked out a way to play to it - and as Segs and myself were only recording guide parts to be replaced later the drum track was the important part of proceedings; I think we've got a good one but we're going to listen again tomorrow and decide whether or not the last one recorded can be used.
Next up - 'Secondhand Child'. We've been performing this in various forms for over a year and so you might think that recording it would be reasonably straightforward, and indeed Dave got a great drum track down in only a few takes. Segs then overdubbed bass and a guide vocal before I started on the electric guitar parts. Generally speaking I'm not too bad at this sort of thing, but things were compounded somewhat by Sean turning up to record some footage for use in out current PledgeMusic campaign. Suddenly there seemed to be lots of people watching me and nerves began creeping in meaning that I maybe took longer over things than I might have liked, although plenty of good takes were recorded including a solo using a Maestro Universal Synthesiser System which Jim had bought along and which sounded ever bit as mad as I for one was hoping that it would. I'm not 100% sure that it'll make it to the final track but it certainly lightened the mood! Segs also added acoustic guitar (he came up with the original idea for the song that way so it seemed right that he played it) and Dave added percussion - 'Secondhand Child' is sounding very good indeed.
We then turned our collective attention to the third song of the day, 'Surprise'. After running through it a couple of times Segs made the somewhat radical suggestion that Dave record the drum track without us playing along with him but with Segs on a vocal mic saying whereabouts they were in the song i.e. 'verse 1', 'chorus 1' etc. At best this might be described as 'unconventional' but amazingly it seemed to work and although we'll have a critical listen tomorrow I think it sounds great.
We finished 20 minutes before the allotted time of 8 o'clock (9 hour days starting at 11 am is very civilised don't you think?!?) so it was obviously time for a drink. The nearby Blythe Hill Tavern serves magnificent Guinness, and a couple of pints augmented by bags of peanuts were a most welcome end to our day. As we left a chap on a nearby table was bursting into song, with his friends either looking as though they wanted to join in (but perhaps significantly didn't) or that they wished that he would stop. It somehow seemed a shame to leave.
Sunday 20th December, 10.47pm in South London.
Another day in the studio. I can't believe that I've just written that, after all it's only the second day. Mind you it's amazing just how 'at home' you can feel sometimes isn't it?
Today began with work on 'Surprise' after the drum track had passed a critical listen. This 'work' involved recording a lot - and I mean a lot - of guitar parts. It's interesting - we've been playing the song live for a few months now with only one guitar part (obviously!) but as previously mentioned the studio is a very different place to the stage, and suddenly there seems to be room for loads of the bloody things. There's been lots of doubling of parts and I doubt that everything that we've recorded will make it to the finished track - after all, I might come up with some more ideas... there was also bass and guide vocals from Segs, and an abortive attempt to use an overdubbed hi-hat part to trigger a Moog Voyager synthesiser which for whatever reason didn't want to work so phasing was used on the hi-hat instead. Even though I say so myself it all sounds terrific.
Time for another song - after running through 'Tears On Fire' a few times we decided to leave that one until tomorrow and instead looked at 'Soft City Lights'. This featured a pre-recorded bass synth part prepared by Dave and Segs a few days earlier - this may or may not make it to the finished track but it was easy to play along with and we got a good drum take in no time. The 'finished' version included a section where the drums drop out and then build up again - this hadn't been rehearsed but was incorporated when Dave stopped because he thought that he'd made a mistake (he hadn't!) and we all though that it sounded so good it stayed in the track. Jim then overdubbed a piano onto the song (some relentlessly pounding chords that reminded us all of 'I'm Waiting For The Man' which can only be a good thing if you think about it) and Segs added the by now inevitable bass and guide vocals. Once again Sean shot some film, and Rhiannon came along to take some photos and to give me the rather bizarre news that she'd had a dream in which I'd been 'a one man version of Department S'. What can this mean? Oh and we went to The Blythe Hill Tavern again, but you probably guessed that we would. In the meantime it's tomorrow tomorrow, which means more recording. Good
Sunday 21st December - except that it's after midnight so it's actually Monday 22nd. Oh well.
The third day of three, and as often happens the last day of sessions is often a bit, er, 'bitty'. Still good though...
We began with some guitar parts for 'Psychic Attack' (more about that in a minute) and 'Soft City Lights'. This began life in the key of B major but in the songwriting slalom that followed it's found it's way to the 'new' key of E major, meaning that what was once a jangly guitar riff featuring open strings is now played with a capo at the fifth fret. This has made it all a bit more difficult to play (that's my excuse anyway!) but I got through it in the end - that said it's been suggested that we borrow a Rickenbacker 12-string and re-record it on that as that might give a more appropriate sound so we'll see what happens next on that one.
Next we started work on 'Golden Boy'. This is usually played by Segs and myself on 2 acoustic guitars and Dave on percussion - Segs recorded a guitar part by playing along to a drum loop made by Dave based on the feel of 'How Do You Sleep?' by John Lennon which seemed right in both tempo and feel for the song. He then recorded a guide vocal (as usual!) and James suggested that we consider putting strings on the track - with this in mind we decided to think about it (I've thought about it, it's a brilliant idea!) and in the meantime started the 7th 'we haven't quite finished this one yet' song 'Innocent'. Although more of a jam than a song at the moment we all agree that it's got a lot of potential so we recorded a few minutes of it to give us something to work with before the next sessions. We then returned to 'Tears On Fire' which hadn't quite worked the previous day but came together well today - most of the track is in the tricky time signature of 7/4 (well, I think that it's tricky!) which took a while to get hold of but went well in the end.
At this point our good friend and U.K. Subs guitarist Jet arrived - he'd been recording with Charlie and co. the previous week and so had thought he'd come down to say hello. Much jollity ensued, after which it was decided that we should listen to 'Psychic Attack' and see if anything else might be needed. Earlier in the day we'd deemed the drum track to be ok (I thought it had sounded great when it was recorded!) and so had overdubbed rhythm and solo guitars - it sounded good but needed to be madder... with this in mind we set up the studio's 1970s Marshall JMP 100W head and turned it up as James issued his instructions - 'you've already lost the gig because you're drunk and now someone's slipped you 3 Es - play it like you don't care about anything anymore...'
The resulting cacophony received a round of applause from all in the control room. I wonder what it actually sounded like?
So that's it for now - studio days have been booked to record more new songs in February and there's work to do on these tracks in the meantime at various locations so next year should start with a bang...
Well that's what the scribbly notes say happened last month - work starts again soon!
And so it begins.
Today is the first day of recording sessions for the Ruts D.C. album 'Psychic Attack'. We've spent two days this week with producer James Knight at The Music Complex in Deptford running through 6 songs - 'Psychic Attack', 'Secondhand Child', 'Surprise', 'Tears On Fire', 'Soft City Lights' and 'Golden Boy' - with a 7th song 'Innocent' on (for want of a better term) the subs bench. We played the first 3 on the Psychic Attack Tour this autumn, while 'Golden Boy' was played acoustically at The Rebellion Festival back in August. The other songs have yet to be played on stage although we've been working on them and quite a few other ideas throughout the last year or so. As often happens before a song is recorded there are changes to be made to rehearsal or live versions - James (a.k.a. Jim) suggested some arrangement alterations alongside different drum patterns and bass and guitar parts. It can sometimes feel a bit odd to have someone come in with ideas as to how songs might be played but in this case pretty much all of his suggestions were accepted by the band. I guess it's back to an oft-repeated adage that a fresh pair of ears will often hear something that the band may not; recording is very different to playing live as you're (hopefully) creating something that is potentially going to be listened to many times (and let's face it, will be around a long time after we're all gone!) whereas a live performance is just that i.e. over in the time that it takes to play. Sounds serious doesn't it? Well I suppose it is! That said I've got a really good feeling about these sessions - the band is playing well, Jim seems to be very easy to work with and no one that I've spoken to has a bad word to say about Perry Vale Studios or engineer Pat Collier. A good three days are in prospect - let's get on with it then...
10.27pm in South London.
So - day one is done.
 |
| Guitars and amps in the main studio room. |
Just as we were about to start the first run through of the first song Segs turned to me and smiled - 'right, we're really doing it then'. I smiled back and said 'yes, yes we are' - not perhaps the wittiest reply that I've ever given but entirely accurate under the circumstances. Dave was in the drum booth (fairly obviously!) with myself and Segs in the main studio room and James and Pat in the control room - a 'rock' Ruts D.C. album (as opposed to a reggae or dub release) was indeed underway. Dave was playing his trusty Gretsch drum kit, Segs had bought along the Mark Bass amp that he'd bought while we were on tour in Germany and I'd plugged my Les Paul into the studio's Selmer Treble And Bass 50W amplifier (which in turn was plugged into a Marshall 4 x 12" cabinet isolated in another part of the studio so that the sound wouldn't bleed over onto the other microphones) and we were sounding good. Very good. That said it might have been a bit overambitious for us to start with 'Psychic Attack'; it's a fast song and since we were playing to a click track it required some serious
 |
| Drum booth in the background, bass on the right. |
Next up - 'Secondhand Child'. We've been performing this in various forms for over a year and so you might think that recording it would be reasonably straightforward, and indeed Dave got a great drum track down in only a few takes. Segs then overdubbed bass and a guide vocal before I started on the electric guitar parts. Generally speaking I'm not too bad at this sort of thing, but things were compounded somewhat by Sean turning up to record some footage for use in out current PledgeMusic campaign. Suddenly there seemed to be lots of people watching me and nerves began creeping in meaning that I maybe took longer over things than I might have liked, although plenty of good takes were recorded including a solo using a Maestro Universal Synthesiser System which Jim had bought along and which sounded ever bit as mad as I for one was hoping that it would. I'm not 100% sure that it'll make it to the final track but it certainly lightened the mood! Segs also added acoustic guitar (he came up with the original idea for the song that way so it seemed right that he played it) and Dave added percussion - 'Secondhand Child' is sounding very good indeed.
 |
| 'Music Maestro please...' |
We then turned our collective attention to the third song of the day, 'Surprise'. After running through it a couple of times Segs made the somewhat radical suggestion that Dave record the drum track without us playing along with him but with Segs on a vocal mic saying whereabouts they were in the song i.e. 'verse 1', 'chorus 1' etc. At best this might be described as 'unconventional' but amazingly it seemed to work and although we'll have a critical listen tomorrow I think it sounds great.
We finished 20 minutes before the allotted time of 8 o'clock (9 hour days starting at 11 am is very civilised don't you think?!?) so it was obviously time for a drink. The nearby Blythe Hill Tavern serves magnificent Guinness, and a couple of pints augmented by bags of peanuts were a most welcome end to our day. As we left a chap on a nearby table was bursting into song, with his friends either looking as though they wanted to join in (but perhaps significantly didn't) or that they wished that he would stop. It somehow seemed a shame to leave.
Sunday 20th December, 10.47pm in South London.
 |
| A not-so fantastic Voyager. |
Today began with work on 'Surprise' after the drum track had passed a critical listen. This 'work' involved recording a lot - and I mean a lot - of guitar parts. It's interesting - we've been playing the song live for a few months now with only one guitar part (obviously!) but as previously mentioned the studio is a very different place to the stage, and suddenly there seems to be room for loads of the bloody things. There's been lots of doubling of parts and I doubt that everything that we've recorded will make it to the finished track - after all, I might come up with some more ideas... there was also bass and guide vocals from Segs, and an abortive attempt to use an overdubbed hi-hat part to trigger a Moog Voyager synthesiser which for whatever reason didn't want to work so phasing was used on the hi-hat instead. Even though I say so myself it all sounds terrific.
Time for another song - after running through 'Tears On Fire' a few times we decided to leave that one until tomorrow and instead looked at 'Soft City Lights'. This featured a pre-recorded bass synth part prepared by Dave and Segs a few days earlier - this may or may not make it to the finished track but it was easy to play along with and we got a good drum take in no time. The 'finished' version included a section where the drums drop out and then build up again - this hadn't been rehearsed but was incorporated when Dave stopped because he thought that he'd made a mistake (he hadn't!) and we all though that it sounded so good it stayed in the track. Jim then overdubbed a piano onto the song (some relentlessly pounding chords that reminded us all of 'I'm Waiting For The Man' which can only be a good thing if you think about it) and Segs added the by now inevitable bass and guide vocals. Once again Sean shot some film, and Rhiannon came along to take some photos and to give me the rather bizarre news that she'd had a dream in which I'd been 'a one man version of Department S'. What can this mean? Oh and we went to The Blythe Hill Tavern again, but you probably guessed that we would. In the meantime it's tomorrow tomorrow, which means more recording. Good
Sunday 21st December - except that it's after midnight so it's actually Monday 22nd. Oh well.
The third day of three, and as often happens the last day of sessions is often a bit, er, 'bitty'. Still good though...
 |
| Choose your weapon... |
We began with some guitar parts for 'Psychic Attack' (more about that in a minute) and 'Soft City Lights'. This began life in the key of B major but in the songwriting slalom that followed it's found it's way to the 'new' key of E major, meaning that what was once a jangly guitar riff featuring open strings is now played with a capo at the fifth fret. This has made it all a bit more difficult to play (that's my excuse anyway!) but I got through it in the end - that said it's been suggested that we borrow a Rickenbacker 12-string and re-record it on that as that might give a more appropriate sound so we'll see what happens next on that one.
Next we started work on 'Golden Boy'. This is usually played by Segs and myself on 2 acoustic guitars and Dave on percussion - Segs recorded a guitar part by playing along to a drum loop made by Dave based on the feel of 'How Do You Sleep?' by John Lennon which seemed right in both tempo and feel for the song. He then recorded a guide vocal (as usual!) and James suggested that we consider putting strings on the track - with this in mind we decided to think about it (I've thought about it, it's a brilliant idea!) and in the meantime started the 7th 'we haven't quite finished this one yet' song 'Innocent'. Although more of a jam than a song at the moment we all agree that it's got a lot of potential so we recorded a few minutes of it to give us something to work with before the next sessions. We then returned to 'Tears On Fire' which hadn't quite worked the previous day but came together well today - most of the track is in the tricky time signature of 7/4 (well, I think that it's tricky!) which took a while to get hold of but went well in the end.
At this point our good friend and U.K. Subs guitarist Jet arrived - he'd been recording with Charlie and co. the previous week and so had thought he'd come down to say hello. Much jollity ensued, after which it was decided that we should listen to 'Psychic Attack' and see if anything else might be needed. Earlier in the day we'd deemed the drum track to be ok (I thought it had sounded great when it was recorded!) and so had overdubbed rhythm and solo guitars - it sounded good but needed to be madder... with this in mind we set up the studio's 1970s Marshall JMP 100W head and turned it up as James issued his instructions - 'you've already lost the gig because you're drunk and now someone's slipped you 3 Es - play it like you don't care about anything anymore...'
The resulting cacophony received a round of applause from all in the control room. I wonder what it actually sounded like?
So that's it for now - studio days have been booked to record more new songs in February and there's work to do on these tracks in the meantime at various locations so next year should start with a bang...
Well that's what the scribbly notes say happened last month - work starts again soon!
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
'The only way to hear the noise is when it's good and loud...'
Lemmy. The very word itself is synonymous with rock 'n' roll excess. I first saw Motorhead in 1978 around the time of their first album and they were utterly unlike any other group that I'd heard - I saw them quite a few times over the next 30-odd years and that description still held true. Here they are in 1980 with Fast Eddie on guitar and Filthy Phil on drums, although in many ways it could have been filmed at any time during their reigh of terror. The word 'legend' gets overused these days but it definitely applies to Lemmy and indeed Motorhead doesn't it? It's sad to see him go.
In the meantime here we are in that weird bit between Christmas and New Year - shouldn't I be doing something? Anything?
This is my first bit of time off in ages. Ages. Well it feels like it is anyway - after three-odd months of Ruts D.C. gigs interspersed with local shows and working in the shop having a few days with nothing definite to do feels like something of an unexpected luxury. To this end I've got Columbo on the telly as I write this ('Murder By The Book' since you were wondering, a very good and if I'm honest somewhat distracting episode!) and no real plan for the rest of the day. It's been a while since I've been in this position.
There have been a few gigs since the last entry in these hallowed pages, the first of which saw Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks visit The Dolphin in Uxbridge. It being the Friday before Christmas no one was really sure how many people would be in attendance, and as Noel the guv'nor uttered the words 'you might as well go on now as I don't think it'll get any better' it seemed that our worst fears were realised. Our first set was witnessed by a handful of people at best, and as we began our second set nothing had changed - however about halfway through the place suddenly filled up, to such an extent that Noel asked us to play a third set which saw some very, er, interesting scenes on the dance floor and an end to our evening that couldn't have been more different to the beginning.
There was more from Big Al and the boys on Wednesday at The Sunningdale Lounge in Sunningdale and The Three Steps in Cowley on Christmas Eve. The first night was something of a party for Al who knows quite a few people in the area and who had invited pretty much all of them along. As far as I can tell they all turned up, which made for a suitably lively show although the next night might just have eclipsed it in the (in)sanity stakes. With keyboard king Chris away visiting family we considered song options well, although still somehow encored with 'Delilah' which usually has a piano intro - I managed to play something like it but I don't think that it would have impressed a keyboard player. The same line-up then played an afternoon show at The Horns in Watford on Boxing Day while in the evening The Upper Cut played The Dolphin for what I think is the fourth year running. When we arrived at The Horns it was pretty much empty and although there were a few in by the time we started at half past four it was probably the quietest that I'd seen the venue. Still it's a great place to play and we gave a good show with Al on form and the band all playing well. The Upper Cut gig went well too although again there wasn't too many people there when we started. Still the place filled up and despite the fact that I personally thought that we perhaps didn't play as well as we could have we were rebooked for next December 26th so I guess we must have done something right.
And Ruts D.C. began work on our new album 'Psychic Attack' in Perry Vale Studios with engineer Pat Collier and producer James Knight, The sessions went inordinately well and as is customary I made some scribbly notes - since I appear to have a bit of time on my hands at the moment (!) I'll do my best to get them typed up here in the next few days. In the meantime Columbo is hassling the bad guy as only he can, although I can't help thinking that it might be time to listen to 'No Sleep 'til Hammersmith'...
In the meantime here we are in that weird bit between Christmas and New Year - shouldn't I be doing something? Anything?
This is my first bit of time off in ages. Ages. Well it feels like it is anyway - after three-odd months of Ruts D.C. gigs interspersed with local shows and working in the shop having a few days with nothing definite to do feels like something of an unexpected luxury. To this end I've got Columbo on the telly as I write this ('Murder By The Book' since you were wondering, a very good and if I'm honest somewhat distracting episode!) and no real plan for the rest of the day. It's been a while since I've been in this position.
There have been a few gigs since the last entry in these hallowed pages, the first of which saw Big Al Reed and The Blistering Buicks visit The Dolphin in Uxbridge. It being the Friday before Christmas no one was really sure how many people would be in attendance, and as Noel the guv'nor uttered the words 'you might as well go on now as I don't think it'll get any better' it seemed that our worst fears were realised. Our first set was witnessed by a handful of people at best, and as we began our second set nothing had changed - however about halfway through the place suddenly filled up, to such an extent that Noel asked us to play a third set which saw some very, er, interesting scenes on the dance floor and an end to our evening that couldn't have been more different to the beginning.
There was more from Big Al and the boys on Wednesday at The Sunningdale Lounge in Sunningdale and The Three Steps in Cowley on Christmas Eve. The first night was something of a party for Al who knows quite a few people in the area and who had invited pretty much all of them along. As far as I can tell they all turned up, which made for a suitably lively show although the next night might just have eclipsed it in the (in)sanity stakes. With keyboard king Chris away visiting family we considered song options well, although still somehow encored with 'Delilah' which usually has a piano intro - I managed to play something like it but I don't think that it would have impressed a keyboard player. The same line-up then played an afternoon show at The Horns in Watford on Boxing Day while in the evening The Upper Cut played The Dolphin for what I think is the fourth year running. When we arrived at The Horns it was pretty much empty and although there were a few in by the time we started at half past four it was probably the quietest that I'd seen the venue. Still it's a great place to play and we gave a good show with Al on form and the band all playing well. The Upper Cut gig went well too although again there wasn't too many people there when we started. Still the place filled up and despite the fact that I personally thought that we perhaps didn't play as well as we could have we were rebooked for next December 26th so I guess we must have done something right.
And Ruts D.C. began work on our new album 'Psychic Attack' in Perry Vale Studios with engineer Pat Collier and producer James Knight, The sessions went inordinately well and as is customary I made some scribbly notes - since I appear to have a bit of time on my hands at the moment (!) I'll do my best to get them typed up here in the next few days. In the meantime Columbo is hassling the bad guy as only he can, although I can't help thinking that it might be time to listen to 'No Sleep 'til Hammersmith'...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
