Life update - a winge
Here’s where I am.
Yesterday (Saturday)
Highlight of the year so far: Mental Anguish’s Open Loops Vol 4 arrived in the post! This has my track ‘Mental Anguish’ on it, and is in real terms my first release. Chuffed!
I was supposed to go to Andy’s flat in London and play kit on three tracks for The Little Smokes. I couldn’t ’cause I was working. So I finally go and rehearse with Mick.
The idea was to put a set together and play live. We did. We have seventeen original tracks that sound really good. However we have no gigs because… No one has thought about getting any. Now Mick wants to start recording. I am beginning to feel stale and am starting to begrudge and hate the ‘band’ not least because I’ve written a shed load of new material that is un-recorded.
I haven’t finished any recordings for an age, which I find hideously frustrating, and yet everytime I try to go near the studio I find something better to do, which is generally vegging out to the tube. So do I watch Enterprise or go and record?
Winge over.
January 29th, 2006 at 10:53 pm
The Little Smokes. A band? Who are they? What’s their music?
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Gigs. In my limited experience, it’s usually one band member who arranges the gigs, does the posters, schedules practices and draws up set lists. They’re often also the one who checks the equipment (even when it’s not theirs) and writes the songs.
Or, according to a friend of mine, “For a band to function you need one person who is absolutely determined that it happen, plus a few people to play the instruments.”
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Hating the band. Oh yes, I’ve been there a few times with bands in college. One I left when, after four months and no rehearsals, they decided overnight they were no longer hip-hopping over my tape loops - they were old school punk!
The only treatment I can think of is: Tell the band, “We are recording an EP, starting Thursday at 4pm. We have one week and five songs. Be there and no excuses”. Modulate with diplomatic language as appropriate.
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Enterprise. Hmmm. Try videoing your TV, exhaust yourself recording while it’s on, then flop down in front of the VCR for a few hours of recorded reward.
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Not that I can talk. I’ve spent the last fortnight finding endless distractions from starting an album.
Anyway, congratulations on your..erm..release of mental anguish.