A final note for 2009......

We are a relatively new covers band in the local area and are now celebrating our first anniversary together. As any new band would know, its hard to get established, especially in the current climate. However, in our first year as an unknown entity, we have performed to over 1500 people at 18 live performances, raised over £200 for our nominated charity, built our own website, and more importantly, managed to secure a small local following and over 130 Facebook fans!

Whilst we would like to thank everybody for their support throughout our first year together, we would like to express special thanks to the following people, whom in our eyes, helped us along the way!

Donk for his consistent assistance humping the gear around; Wayne for his encouragement and continued promotion; Shirl; Gayvid & Sam; Dil; Jax; Rupert; Bazza; Mandy & Warren and Lionel for attending most if not all of our gigs; Simon for assisting with the sound & light at outside venues; Chaz from Slack Harry for filling in; Tracksuit Boy for all the photos and being on stand by to fix any equipment; Tanya of the Brewers Arms for having faith and giving us loads of gigs, Clumpy & Vikki for booking us for your special day and most of all....

Kerry, Heidi, Lucy & Mo - the band WAGs, for their continued support and understanding of our venture, and allowing the time away from our families during practice & gig nights.

We hope 2010 is as, if not more successful and look forward to rocking out with you all soon!

We'd like to wish everybody a very Happy Christmas and may 2010 bring you everything that you wish for!

Anniversary & Xmas Party Cancelled :(

It is with mixed emotions that we have decided to cancel the Christmas party this year and apologise to all who showed interest. The party was a success last year, and was only ever going to be a one-off but feedback from numerous guests that attended was the foundation of the band as it is today. Since Christmas 2008, we have played to over 1500 people at 20 gigs and raised nearly £200 for our charity. It has been a rollercoaster ride over the past year for us with varying degrees of emotion, and for those who have supported us, we thank you sincerely. The party this year was booked as a direct result of your feedback and was not only to celebrate Christmas, but also to mark our first anniversary together.

As it stands at the moment, we have made barely enough money to cover the cost of the hall for the evening (proceeds would have gone to the Cornelius Centre) and nothing else. Anyone that attended last year will tell you, it was not just us playing live music for the evening, there was quite a lot of effort and money donated for other activities and a fantastic spread of food, ensuring that everyone had a good time and got their moneys worth!

We could, in theory, still go ahead with the party this year, however the money raised so far would only allow the use of the hall for the evening, and for us to play live music for three hours.

Whilst we as a band enjoy doing it, and would play at a gig regardless, we think it would be grossly unfair for those who have bought tickets, to have spent their money to see something that they can get for free at any given weekend in a pub we are playing at. We cant say fairer than that!

Due to the current climate, we set the deadline for as late as we possibly could, and being as the party was due to take place on the 12th December, that only allowed us 12 days to get it ready. Obviously, some of the important time based material that was to be used for the evening was purchased and / or created in advance, on the assumption that ticket sales would have been the same if not better than last year. Subsequently, some of the funds raised have been spent already.

We have a detailed listing of all who have paid, and would like to stress that, if requested, you will receive a refund within 28 days. You could also, if you wish, decide to donate your ticket money to one of the nominated charities that would have benefitted from the evening, either the Cornelius Centre, or The Rowans Hospice. Needless to say, you are under no obligation whatsoever and can request your money back.

Those who have paid already will shortly be receiving a free gift, Nothing spectacular so dont get excited, simply a token of our appreciation for your support.

Once again, for those who showed interest, we would like to apologise for cancelling, and would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who has supported us in some way over our first year together.

The Brewers Arms - 5th December 2009

Well what can we say? What a night to finish of our first year! We were all pretty disappointed that our own Christmas Party got cancelled, so we were determined to make this one a good show to go out with a bang, and by Jove, we think we succeeded! Our only regret is that Jock, who had previous engagements this evening, was not around to enjoy it with us.

When we first turned up, there were only a handful of people in the pub, but it didn't particularly bother us we were pretty confident that being the last gig of the year, we would have a fair few people turn up to see us out. As we continued to place all the equipment, we didn't hardly notice until we sat down for a quick drink that the bar was now pretty full and we knew, at that point that we had to give it our all. It was nice to see that a few of our friends that hadn't been to see us for a while made the effort too, and in addition to the usual crowd and some regulars of the pub, the Brewers Arms was busy too say the least.

We were venturing into the unknown tonight with a special guest appearance by our girls Kerry, Shirley & Dil aka the A32's. These three girls have supported us right from the very beginning and only in rare exceptional circumstances have they missed a gig. On numerous occasions throughout the year, when the general public have been reluctant to get up and have a go, the girls have come up and assisted with backing vocals to such songs as "Ruby" & "Parklife". We thought it would be nice to give them something back and decided that we would give them the opportunity to sing on stage with a more female orientated song rather than just backing for Beanz. The five of us decided that for our Christmas party, we needed one of those good old "feel good" songs that everybody knows and would join in the fun. "Love Shack" by the B52's was the favourite choice and after only two practise sessions, the girls were confident enough and we all felt that it was good enough to perform live. Due to the Christmas party being cancelled and the girls going that extra mile for their debut appearance by buying matching dresses (corrr!) we decided to include them at our last gig at the Brewers to recognise their efforts and give the crowd something different to talk about, rather than saying sorry girls - your contributions were for nothing.

Andy, prior to the gig totally re-arranged our set list and what a cracker it was. The first set was rock and punk orientated whilst the second set covered all the dancey well known favourites that everybody loves and sings along to. The song arrangements were superb - Well done Legend, you did us proud! We also have to take our hats off once again to the amazing Chaz, our step in bass player from Slack Harry. It's been several months since we have had to utilize his talents and with even more added material in our set that he didn't particularly know, he did a fantastic job with those bass lines.

We set up and did our sound check with AC/DC's "Highway To Hell" which enabled us to utilize the girls aswell doing some backing so that Dan could set all of the MIC levels up. It wasn't perfect but after a few little tweaks on the mixing desk, all sounded good. Dan as usual did us proud and we're so glad he is still working with us. Every band has hiccups, but having Dan onboard means we don't have to worry about it. Rarely does anything bad occur that he can't deal with and we are truly grateful. We kicked off just past nine o'clock and there wasn't one song that went by without applause and cheering. That's what we like! From the very first song to the last, the crowd were on side. There were plenty of mistakes by all of us but we had loads of fun and everybody joined in with the banter. We kicked off the second set with "Always look on the bright side of life" from the life of Brian. We all like doing this one as an ice breaker and a bit of fun but especially this time because Tanya commented on enjoying hearing it when she came to see us at the Spotted Cow earlier in the year. It went down really well and it appeared that the whole pub was singing along. A few songs later, then came the big one. The girls big chance to show themselves off. Even if they didn't admit or show it, we knew they were a little nervous and just to make things worse for them, we made history and for the first time ever had to stop playing suddenly and start again! We don't know what Harley was playing but it certainly was not Love Shack. Beanz panicked and initially thought that he had broken a string, but it turns out he was obviously elsewhere in consciousness!

Beanz played up to the crowd and laughed and joked about it with Andy whilst Harley seemed to pass the buck onto Chaz.....Blame the new boy, its easier but remember we can tell the difference between a bum bass note and a bum guitar note! It was funny but we started again trying to fight off the giggles. Beanz kicked it off with the male vocals then the girls took over, adding in their own little bits of add libbing and dance moves in their sexy little dresses. It sounded quite impressive through the monitors so out front from the PA must have been awesome. The dead giveaway was several blokes in the front having to wipe dribble from their chins we're sure! The second part of the song right after a four bar bass solo was the girls' nemesis and the part of the song that took the most practice, and in true overcome by nerves fashion, the bit they practised the most was the bit they forgot! Beanz waited two full bars before sneaking behind them and shouting "BANG BANG" to jump start them back into action! Suddenly they all gave a giggle and started to sing again and Kerry's rendition of "Tin Roof, Rusted" finished the song off superbly. With less singing in this song Beanz took the opportunity to look around the pub to see if the song was being appreciated and being a master of lip reading, saw the majority of the crowd singing along. It was great! Both Dil and Shirl also sang their own little bits and all three harmonised well. You did very well girls for your first time and we are proud of you! There were a couple more songs in the second set that they helped us with and we had feedback afterwards that they were good and had good singing voices, which filled out our music a little more. We will definitely be looking to let them join us again more regularly but are unable to utilize them as a permanent fixture due to home commitments. Both Kerry & Shirl are mums of four with homes to run whilst their men are out and about rocking it up. Dil is a hard working girl in the early stages of starting her own business so spare time for all three is rare. Keep checking the website next year to find out when the A32's are with us again.

We'd also like to thank Mo & friends for coming up and backing for "Parklife". They did well too and Mo gets a special mention for bringing loads of new faces to our performance. If it will be their last we are yet to find out!

We did "The One I Love" by REM for the first time in the Brewers tonight and listening to it back from the recording, we have to say that the backing vocals from both Harley and Andy in the chorus sounds awesome. Andy does quite a bit anyway but Harley should definitely do more. It suits him! Although for the last two gigs, we left "Johnny B Goode" out of the main set on purpose, we decided to put it back in as the last song tonight and dedicate it to Tanya as we've heard it is one of her favourites. But before doing so, we addressed the crowd and explained that it was our last gig of the year and we were proud to be doing it at The Brewers, especially as our very first gig as Kneeslider was played there. Since that first gig, Tanya has always made us feel welcome and has had us back 5 times, not to mention the "word-of-mouth" promotion she has provided us. Beanz made the excuse of desperately needing a pee-break which allowed Harley to escape to his car to get Tanya's gifts. During this transition, the pub looked to Andy for a drum solo and he nailed it! Totally unrehearsed, he went bonkers and we could hear the crowd cheering it on from outside! It was fantastic! We called Tanya up and gave her a mention and requested a round of applause before handing over a box of chocolates, some flowers and a special appreciation certificate, which we were chuffed to see went straight up on the wall when she returned to the bar. Thanks Tanya & Charlie, there will always be a special place in our hearts for you. On that note we kicked off "Johnny B Goode" for her, an even longer extended version due to Andy missing his "Wipeout" cue. When it did finally come around again, the whole pub jeered him on and Andy loved every minute of it. We're not sure if it was tears of joy or sweat escaping from the tin hat, but his face was wet. It went down a treat and seemed to bring the house down. We didn't even get to finish saying "goodnight" on the final notes before everyone was screaming for more, so we decided, despite Jock not being present, to do our version of "Down Under" by Men At Work. Harley gave Chaz a little explanation of the keys and we did it. Still not completely satisfied, the crowd still cheered for more and taking advantage of the atmosphere, we decided to end the night on a slow number which then goes into a big go banana's finale. You got it - "Freebird" by Lynrd Skynrd. As soon as the initial notes were played a heartfelt cheer came from the pub and 50% of the audience congregated in front of us in a group hug. Dancing? Looked more like ring-a-ring-roses but that was down to the shortness of space! The final vocals of the song which launches into a truly legendary performance by the musicians of the group was encouraged by non stop cheering and applauding. For us up front, it brought a lump to our throats that these people follow us around, not because they feel obliged to, but because they genuinely love us and appreciate the atmosphere that we try to invoke. We love you guys too, and whilst the slow part of "Freebird", with everybody singing seemed like a farewell song, it symbolises the end of a new beginning. Our first year complete. Four regular guys who got together for a jam a year ago have accomplished so much more than they ever dreamed of, and we're hoping 2010 will be as, if not more successful, venturing out into further territories and bigger venues.

Thanks to everyone who has helped us along the way. xxx

Market House Tavern - 4th December 2009

Pretty much like our initial thoughts at the The Chase a couple of weeks ago, walking in here was a little intimidating due to the number of people in the pub. Just a handful of people is always demoralising, not just because we are trying to promote ourselves, but because we try to have fun and involve the crowd as much as we can. Andy is always drumming it into us (excuse the pun) that playing a gig is 10% musical talent and 90% stagecraft. In the beginning the rest of us could not grasp this concept but after all of the gigs done this year, it is slowly coming together and we actually love playing the crowd, as long as they are up for it. You know pretty early on whether banter is going to be appreciated and if its not we turn to each other for support to get through the night. The musicians of the band randomly throw in deliberate bum notes to keep each other on their toes and Beanz tells Jock that he loves him knowing that his "camp not gay" perception would be shattered and cause a smile!

This was a strange gig looking back. It was as if we played it backwards. In the beginning the few people present were nodding heads and singing along but the second set sort of tailed off to nothing with no encores requested. When this happens, despite not being labelled and covering a wide variety of music, we as a band feel that either people dont like us or dont like the music we play. Saying that however, there have always been people outside the pub afterwards patting us on the back for a job well done and recommending further venues that they assume we will be appreciated at. Very confusing signals. As much as we like feedback after a gig and the possibility of future recommendations, we would prefer it to happen during our performance, so that we can feel assured that our audience is being entertained and moreover having fun, which is what we as a band started out to do.

We tried another different set up this time round as we have had an issue for some time with Jock struggling to hear himself, resulting in him turning his amp up to Dans disagreement. We have had issues at numerous gigs with getting the sound right. What you have to realize is what we hear behind the PA speakers is totally different from what everybody else hears out front, and it proves to be a continuing uphill struggle for any musician to perform well when unable to hear what you need on stage. We think, after several months of discussion, sometimes heated, we have finally found a short term solution that can be worked on for future performances. Since the unreliability of our powered monitor speaker, Dan had a fantastic idea of using our back up Peavey amp to power all three monitors. It worked ok at The Chase but still had its faults and we came to the conclusion that Andys bass amp that Jock is using is pretty old now and becoming tired. Jock has now agreed to use his own equipment at gigs, and tonight at the Market House Tavern, he sported his new toy which in conjunction with the new monitor set up, seemed to work a lot better in Jocks favour. The new bass amp looks the business and even has a gauge on it. Not sure what it is for at the moment but it looks good!

At this point we would also like to thank Andy aka tracksuit boy, for fixing an old stereo amp of Dans which can now be used to power our monitors and allow Dan to control what comes out of which speaker independantly makin g it easier for us on stage.

We had a rock n roll moment tonight also. Not sure if it was the couple of ladies dancing on the springy wooden floor or the power of Jocks new bass amp, but it appeared that we actually managed to shake a glass jug off of the ceiling shelf! Glad it did not hit anyone. Overall, we enjoyed ourselves and feedback at the end suggested we were appreciated. Thanks again to our posse who came and applauded. Its special to us that you continue to attend and offer your support. We just wish it could have been busier, especially as it was Jocks last gig of the year!