December 18, 2008
December 16, 2008
Finally...
I've probably written about 5 or 6 blogs in the past couple of months. Unfortunately, none of them have made it online because they were all shit. I was in hotels, airports or a train. Writing blogs when you're not hyper or even enthusiastic is a bit crap. I'm not really feeling hyper just now, but I have stuff to say.
Firstly, Giggage. Two of them in the next week. This Saturday we're in Skins with The Towers and Failed The Hero, £4 bucks at the door, 14+... come along, kidnap someone and make them go, it'll be a laugh. On Xmas Eve, we'll be in Skins playing a selection of Xmas Songs for all to hear... An Astronot Alternative Xmas. Super!
Songs... We'll be dropping a few songs after Xmas. Out will be Columbia, TRT and possibly a couple of others. Which leads me on to...
Writing. With Ally joining the band, it's really left me free to twiddle around and explore ideas. We've written a new song called "My Alibi" (or "My AllyBiy") so far, it's grand, little bits have been added to some of the older songs that we're gonna keep as well. Ally and I hope to spend a bit of time writing new songs together after Xmas, in time for recording in March.
Recording. We're going recording in March with Nick from My Minds Weapon. He's worked with some great up and coming bands from Scotland (Flood Of Red, Azriel etc) so we're excited about that. Dan Goldsworthy, who plays guitar with My Minds Weapon, will also be sitting in when we're tracking guitars and helping out with the production. We're really looking forward to this. We think that Nick can get us the modern, high energy sound that we'd really like. We've not quite hit what we want our recorded sound to be, this should be a step in the right direction. At present, I've not got a clue what songs we'll record. We'll probably demo stuff after Xmas and pick something out.
What next? Well, once we get some writing and recording done... gigs. That's what we want most. We spent a lot of time twiddling our thumbs and getting pissed off this year. I got really fucked off with even being in the band, as I'm sure I said in an earlier post, or somewhere on the internets. Ally joining should be a new chapter. We'll plan some stuff out and try and hook something up with another band. We need to do that!
Anyway... From me, and the rest of the guys. Have a good Christmas and a "Sensible" New Year :)
Jamie
Firstly, Giggage. Two of them in the next week. This Saturday we're in Skins with The Towers and Failed The Hero, £4 bucks at the door, 14+... come along, kidnap someone and make them go, it'll be a laugh. On Xmas Eve, we'll be in Skins playing a selection of Xmas Songs for all to hear... An Astronot Alternative Xmas. Super!
Songs... We'll be dropping a few songs after Xmas. Out will be Columbia, TRT and possibly a couple of others. Which leads me on to...
Writing. With Ally joining the band, it's really left me free to twiddle around and explore ideas. We've written a new song called "My Alibi" (or "My AllyBiy") so far, it's grand, little bits have been added to some of the older songs that we're gonna keep as well. Ally and I hope to spend a bit of time writing new songs together after Xmas, in time for recording in March.
Recording. We're going recording in March with Nick from My Minds Weapon. He's worked with some great up and coming bands from Scotland (Flood Of Red, Azriel etc) so we're excited about that. Dan Goldsworthy, who plays guitar with My Minds Weapon, will also be sitting in when we're tracking guitars and helping out with the production. We're really looking forward to this. We think that Nick can get us the modern, high energy sound that we'd really like. We've not quite hit what we want our recorded sound to be, this should be a step in the right direction. At present, I've not got a clue what songs we'll record. We'll probably demo stuff after Xmas and pick something out.
What next? Well, once we get some writing and recording done... gigs. That's what we want most. We spent a lot of time twiddling our thumbs and getting pissed off this year. I got really fucked off with even being in the band, as I'm sure I said in an earlier post, or somewhere on the internets. Ally joining should be a new chapter. We'll plan some stuff out and try and hook something up with another band. We need to do that!
Anyway... From me, and the rest of the guys. Have a good Christmas and a "Sensible" New Year :)
Jamie
October 09, 2008
A New Blog...
Howdy y'all!
It's been almost a month.... sheit sheit!
It's been a productive month though. We've finished lyrics for the 2 songs we recorded, we wrote a new song with lyrics in the past two weekends and we've been introducing Ally to all the songs we play. It's been hard work, but it's paying off. The 4th member has certainly made my job a lot easier. It's made the guitar sound bigger and better. The layers and the guitar interplay is great fun. Ally has some good guitar lines and we're all really happy with the progress we've made with him on board.
We're about to announce a couple of gigs in Thurso towards the end of the year. We've just got to get the other band sorted and that'll be it. Hopefully they'll text back tonight.
I think we might record another song this month, depends how we get on over the next two weekends and what the other guys can manage. Should make it though.
I shall report back shortly!
Jamie
Oh yeah, I might take the camera down to rehearsal... I'll remember now, I promise!
It's been almost a month.... sheit sheit!
It's been a productive month though. We've finished lyrics for the 2 songs we recorded, we wrote a new song with lyrics in the past two weekends and we've been introducing Ally to all the songs we play. It's been hard work, but it's paying off. The 4th member has certainly made my job a lot easier. It's made the guitar sound bigger and better. The layers and the guitar interplay is great fun. Ally has some good guitar lines and we're all really happy with the progress we've made with him on board.
We're about to announce a couple of gigs in Thurso towards the end of the year. We've just got to get the other band sorted and that'll be it. Hopefully they'll text back tonight.
I think we might record another song this month, depends how we get on over the next two weekends and what the other guys can manage. Should make it though.
I shall report back shortly!
Jamie
Oh yeah, I might take the camera down to rehearsal... I'll remember now, I promise!
September 11, 2008
A New Member
Hey, A quick update...
I'm sat in a Premier Inn, in East Kilbride just now. Super dooper!
Anyway, the recordings are slowly moving. I'm away working a lot just now so that's kind of been a big problem. Soon though.
We're working on more new songs and we've employed a new member to help us with that. Ally MacIntosh has joined on guitar. I think we're all quite excited about it. His addition should add some more beef to a sound that's already quite big. Bring some earplugs along to future gigs!
I should also probably apologise to Big Kev in advance, as he's gonna hate us even more now... sorry biy. He probably doesn't care actually... He'll be trying to plug something in.
We managed to get some pictures taken with Ally... I think we scared Megan though.
We'll hopefully get some video footage or something up soon.
Gigs before the end of the year I think.
Jamie
I'm sat in a Premier Inn, in East Kilbride just now. Super dooper!
Anyway, the recordings are slowly moving. I'm away working a lot just now so that's kind of been a big problem. Soon though.We're working on more new songs and we've employed a new member to help us with that. Ally MacIntosh has joined on guitar. I think we're all quite excited about it. His addition should add some more beef to a sound that's already quite big. Bring some earplugs along to future gigs!
I should also probably apologise to Big Kev in advance, as he's gonna hate us even more now... sorry biy. He probably doesn't care actually... He'll be trying to plug something in.
We managed to get some pictures taken with Ally... I think we scared Megan though.
We'll hopefully get some video footage or something up soon.
Gigs before the end of the year I think.
Jamie
July 27, 2008
Bass Face Biy!
So, another week(just), another blog... getting good at this carry on now.
So, Stevie's house was the location for todays work. We kicked his mum out and set out to record some bass. We used his computer room and set his bass amp up in there. I setup the "control room" in his bedroom. Was grand. While we waited for Darren to arrive with some longer leads, Stevenage fixed me up with some lunch. A tasty ham baguette, a bag of crisps and a finely chilled Coca Cola. Thank you Mr Bruce ;)
Darren finally arrived and it was down to some hardcore recording... only after I nearly brained myself on a trip wire that Stevie had setup in the hallway. We got the four songs done within three hours. That's pretty good for Stevie. Much more relaxed when you're just at home... no clock watching, no man counting pennies as the seconds, minutes and hours tick by. It's just us three taking the piss out of each other.
I've yet to fiddle with the bass, but in the rough mix I've created, it's good. We'll get something workable.
Lyrics and melodies are next, to be followed by vocal recording. I thought I'd take a video of the Brucemeister recording bass so you could get a cheeky peak at one of the new songs.
Stevie is recording "Isaac" in this video.
Contrary to rumours, no... the songs are not named after certain Caithness music celebrities. Isaac is named after Darren's favourite tink and Johnny is named after the mythical "John" that we call everyone.
I'll keep you posted on the progress of recording and how the melodies are panning out over the next week or so. Hopefully get down to work in the next week or so and get the melodies started on.
Cheers for having a look...
Jamie
So, Stevie's house was the location for todays work. We kicked his mum out and set out to record some bass. We used his computer room and set his bass amp up in there. I setup the "control room" in his bedroom. Was grand. While we waited for Darren to arrive with some longer leads, Stevenage fixed me up with some lunch. A tasty ham baguette, a bag of crisps and a finely chilled Coca Cola. Thank you Mr Bruce ;)
Darren finally arrived and it was down to some hardcore recording... only after I nearly brained myself on a trip wire that Stevie had setup in the hallway. We got the four songs done within three hours. That's pretty good for Stevie. Much more relaxed when you're just at home... no clock watching, no man counting pennies as the seconds, minutes and hours tick by. It's just us three taking the piss out of each other.
I've yet to fiddle with the bass, but in the rough mix I've created, it's good. We'll get something workable.
Lyrics and melodies are next, to be followed by vocal recording. I thought I'd take a video of the Brucemeister recording bass so you could get a cheeky peak at one of the new songs.
Stevie is recording "Isaac" in this video.
Contrary to rumours, no... the songs are not named after certain Caithness music celebrities. Isaac is named after Darren's favourite tink and Johnny is named after the mythical "John" that we call everyone.
I'll keep you posted on the progress of recording and how the melodies are panning out over the next week or so. Hopefully get down to work in the next week or so and get the melodies started on.
Cheers for having a look...
Jamie
July 22, 2008
Guitars... Ouch!
I reckon I've been sitting in the chair for close to eight hours now, the occasional venture to the toilet for a piss and the odd cup of tea has been had, but otherwise, I've been stuck in this seat in the same position. It hurts now!
Today has been a busy day. I had a driving lesson this morning, it was awesome! Then I came home and tried to record guitars. The first problem I encountered was the microphone I was gonna use. I had borrowed a "Shure SM57" from someone, but it turns out to be a fake one, oh dear. I managed to get another mic though and off I went.
Now, home recording is a little different than your usual recording experience. It's not just plugging in your guitar and hitting record, no, no. It's a fuckin adventure! Anything can be turned into a recording room/booth. So... when I returned home with the mic for recording, I got stuck in about the cupboard... and ripped everything out of it. What a mess the place was in... towels everywhere, old bits of computer, tools, boxes(lol, my bad), erm... just general shite that I've aquired over the years. I threw it all in the hallway and started making my "guitar booth."
As you can see from the picture, it looks like a bag of shite, but actually... the guitar sounded pretty good. I had cables going from the spare room all the way through to my room. There were cables everywhere. XLR cables, jack cables, power cables... gah! I should've taken a picture of the mess, it
was glorious.
It took a long time though, I wasn't really in the mood to record guitars earlier, but once I'd plannedonline as the "John I EP"... or something like that.
Anyway, once bass is done, I'll post some more of my really amateur pictures.
Adios!
Jamie
Today has been a busy day. I had a driving lesson this morning, it was awesome! Then I came home and tried to record guitars. The first problem I encountered was the microphone I was gonna use. I had borrowed a "Shure SM57" from someone, but it turns out to be a fake one, oh dear. I managed to get another mic though and off I went.
Now, home recording is a little different than your usual recording experience. It's not just plugging in your guitar and hitting record, no, no. It's a fuckin adventure! Anything can be turned into a recording room/booth. So... when I returned home with the mic for recording, I got stuck in about the cupboard... and ripped everything out of it. What a mess the place was in... towels everywhere, old bits of computer, tools, boxes(lol, my bad), erm... just general shite that I've aquired over the years. I threw it all in the hallway and started making my "guitar booth."As you can see from the picture, it looks like a bag of shite, but actually... the guitar sounded pretty good. I had cables going from the spare room all the way through to my room. There were cables everywhere. XLR cables, jack cables, power cables... gah! I should've taken a picture of the mess, it
was glorious.It took a long time though, I wasn't really in the mood to record guitars earlier, but once I'd plannedonline as the "John I EP"... or something like that.
Anyway, once bass is done, I'll post some more of my really amateur pictures.
Adios!
Jamie
July 16, 2008
Recording...
Hey hey... another day, another update! Sweet!
We played in Invergordon at the weekend. What a silly, silly day! Some highlights include, calling everyone John, even the dog, rocking out with the kids... ok, I was taking the piss out of them a bit, Stevie making a new friend "have you got a girlfriend? I've got four!" Other highlights include Phil from Lad Lazarus sitting on the floor blazing drunk saying into the mic, "I think it's hilarious that you paid £4 for this shit"
We played fine. It wasn't exceptional and in all honesty, it was a poor night. We did have a good laugh on the way down and home though.
On Sunday, we headed for "the studio" aka, Skinandi's to record some drums for a couple of new tracks we've written. The plan is, to release these songs online for free download and distribution etc. We're lazy as fuck, and spending hundreds of pounds getting CD's duplicated isn't very cost effective. Fuck that, we make pittance at gigs... just have the songs!
Darren managed to record four songs in the space of a couple of hours. We've not got real names for three of them yet, so just now they're called, Big Kev, Johnny and Isaac. The other track we recorded is Those Feelings. I'm sure some people will be happy to see that we've recorded that song. I know a few of you who always harass me about playing it.
Big Kev joined us for our recording session. He was a useful chap yet again. He went and picked things up for us and he got a grand slagging for... well, we don't need an excuse really. He was just there and we slagged him off for it. Megan was also there and took a couple of pictures. We're not very interesting when we record. We gurn at each other a lot, Darren says "what do you think" and even when I say fine, he says "Hrm, there's one bit... but otherwise ok" What a dick!
Guitars are next I think, I'm not really sure when though. Next week sometime I'm guessing. Should be great crack... no really.
For now, cya John!
Jamie
We played in Invergordon at the weekend. What a silly, silly day! Some highlights include, calling everyone John, even the dog, rocking out with the kids... ok, I was taking the piss out of them a bit, Stevie making a new friend "have you got a girlfriend? I've got four!" Other highlights include Phil from Lad Lazarus sitting on the floor blazing drunk saying into the mic, "I think it's hilarious that you paid £4 for this shit"
We played fine. It wasn't exceptional and in all honesty, it was a poor night. We did have a good laugh on the way down and home though.
On Sunday, we headed for "the studio" aka, Skinandi's to record some drums for a couple of new tracks we've written. The plan is, to release these songs online for free download and distribution etc. We're lazy as fuck, and spending hundreds of pounds getting CD's duplicated isn't very cost effective. Fuck that, we make pittance at gigs... just have the songs!Darren managed to record four songs in the space of a couple of hours. We've not got real names for three of them yet, so just now they're called, Big Kev, Johnny and Isaac. The other track we recorded is Those Feelings. I'm sure some people will be happy to see that we've recorded that song. I know a few of you who always harass me about playing it.
Big Kev joined us for our recording session. He was a useful chap yet again. He went and picked things up for us and he got a grand slagging for... well, we don't need an excuse really. He was just there and we slagged him off for it. Megan was also there and took a couple of pictures. We're not very interesting when we record. We gurn at each other a lot, Darren says "what do you think" and even when I say fine, he says "Hrm, there's one bit... but otherwise ok" What a dick!
Guitars are next I think, I'm not really sure when though. Next week sometime I'm guessing. Should be great crack... no really.
For now, cya John!
Jamie
July 05, 2008
I'm Getting Good At This Heh?
Check me, two updates within a short space of time. I'd check exactly how long ago, but that takes effort and means pressing that little back button in the top left hand side of my screen. I shall just guess that it's been under two weeks since I updated last.
Astronot have been not so busy to be honest. Which is a damn shame. We played a gig the other week. It wasn't the best, I'll admit that. We were rusty, the crowd was ceased and the headline band... well, I won't get into that. It just wasn't a great occasion for us. Nothing to celebrate. No matter. I swear, after the 12th of July in Invergordon, unless Dave Grohl calls me up on my own mobile phone, says "Jamie, I'll be your best friend forever if you support the Foo Fighters for the next leg of our tour," Then Astronot won't be playing gigs for a while. (Part of me hopes I get that phone call tbh.)
Moving along swiftly...
The final pieces of our equipment are slowly making it through the postal system. I tell you, I'm an impatient son of a bitch. As soon as they invent hardware delivery via some sort of system that's as quick as e-mail, I'm getting it! As our vocal mic wings its way from the good old US of A, our recording interface arrived, as did my studio monitors. My bedroom is now a makeshift mixing room. I don't think my housemates are going to approve of loud music all night.
Hopefully next weekend, Darren will feel like laying down some drum tracks and we can battle on. I feel like we've wasted a bit of time lately, so I'm gonna try and get another version of one of our songs recorded in the meantime. Gonna have to plan that one out though.
I've been working on something new, it's a million miles away from our usual stuff, very chilled out and relaxed... I'm trying to work on it though. Perhaps when I've got nothing to do tomorrow night I can turn it into a song.
When we actually do record, I'll take some pictures and put them in this blog. Simple people like looking at pictures, all this text gets boring after a while.
I'll report back soon.
Jamie
Astronot have been not so busy to be honest. Which is a damn shame. We played a gig the other week. It wasn't the best, I'll admit that. We were rusty, the crowd was ceased and the headline band... well, I won't get into that. It just wasn't a great occasion for us. Nothing to celebrate. No matter. I swear, after the 12th of July in Invergordon, unless Dave Grohl calls me up on my own mobile phone, says "Jamie, I'll be your best friend forever if you support the Foo Fighters for the next leg of our tour," Then Astronot won't be playing gigs for a while. (Part of me hopes I get that phone call tbh.)
Moving along swiftly...
The final pieces of our equipment are slowly making it through the postal system. I tell you, I'm an impatient son of a bitch. As soon as they invent hardware delivery via some sort of system that's as quick as e-mail, I'm getting it! As our vocal mic wings its way from the good old US of A, our recording interface arrived, as did my studio monitors. My bedroom is now a makeshift mixing room. I don't think my housemates are going to approve of loud music all night.
Hopefully next weekend, Darren will feel like laying down some drum tracks and we can battle on. I feel like we've wasted a bit of time lately, so I'm gonna try and get another version of one of our songs recorded in the meantime. Gonna have to plan that one out though.
I've been working on something new, it's a million miles away from our usual stuff, very chilled out and relaxed... I'm trying to work on it though. Perhaps when I've got nothing to do tomorrow night I can turn it into a song.
When we actually do record, I'll take some pictures and put them in this blog. Simple people like looking at pictures, all this text gets boring after a while.
I'll report back soon.
Jamie
June 25, 2008
Late Night Ponderisms... Is that a word? Hrm..
Sooo... It's nearly 1am and as usual, I'm not tired in the slightest, so... I feel a blog coming on. How obvious...
For the past week or two we've been working on some new songs, sounding good. In fact, really good if I do say so myself. Well impressed with the way we've written these new songs. One of them stemmed from a drum fill. Darren has his moments of genius, so he can take the credit for the newest song. Or not! Apparently I wrote it in an awkward time signature, it was really just the stupid drum fill time. I don't actually understand any of this 4/4 or 6/8 malarky.
We're currently scraping together some cash for some new toys. This week we should HOPEFULLY finish our shopping for the time being so we can get these new songs recorded. I think I said that in my last blog, but really, we've even picked out the stuff we want now.
Darren turns 27 this Friday. According to great rock'n'roll tradition, this will be his last year as a musician. He hasn't quite decided how he's going to make his great escape, but I'm sure he's plotting it. Hopefully he won't get something stuck in his teeth and decide that a shotgun is a good implement for removing it. Messy...
We're playing a gig this Friday in Skinandi's with The Jyrojets, shouldn't be that bad apparently.
We've had a couple of reviews done this past while. If you check out our Myspace page, link on the the right btw, then you can check them out. Not bad for a few hairy Highlanders I think.
Anyway, as they say in frog land... haw-he-haw.
Cya biy
Jamie
For the past week or two we've been working on some new songs, sounding good. In fact, really good if I do say so myself. Well impressed with the way we've written these new songs. One of them stemmed from a drum fill. Darren has his moments of genius, so he can take the credit for the newest song. Or not! Apparently I wrote it in an awkward time signature, it was really just the stupid drum fill time. I don't actually understand any of this 4/4 or 6/8 malarky.
We're currently scraping together some cash for some new toys. This week we should HOPEFULLY finish our shopping for the time being so we can get these new songs recorded. I think I said that in my last blog, but really, we've even picked out the stuff we want now.
Darren turns 27 this Friday. According to great rock'n'roll tradition, this will be his last year as a musician. He hasn't quite decided how he's going to make his great escape, but I'm sure he's plotting it. Hopefully he won't get something stuck in his teeth and decide that a shotgun is a good implement for removing it. Messy...
We're playing a gig this Friday in Skinandi's with The Jyrojets, shouldn't be that bad apparently.
We've had a couple of reviews done this past while. If you check out our Myspace page, link on the the right btw, then you can check them out. Not bad for a few hairy Highlanders I think.
Anyway, as they say in frog land... haw-he-haw.
Cya biy
Jamie
June 11, 2008
Oh Aye...
Our album is on iTunes... download it motherfucker!
And... we got a review. It was good. It's on the "Is This Music?" website.
And... we got a review. It was good. It's on the "Is This Music?" website.
It's Been A While...
Hey, admittedly, I've not updated this in a very long time, but what the hell... a lot has happened since I last posted in February.
Where to begin. The Studio I suppose. We were in the studio for the best part of a week... it wasn't long enough if you ask me, but I'm a choosy fucker anyway. It was great crack though. Late nights playing Guitar Hero on Playstation 2... Stevie thought he was the fucking king.... I mean, the boy can barely stand up... playing Guitar Hero? Haha... you're having a fuckin laugh right?
A story:
I should tell you right now that Stevie is a modern day Richey Edwards... he can't play bass to save his fuckin life... in fact, we had to pay some poor cunt to come in an play bass for him.
Now that I've dropped that bombshell, I shall continue.
Ah yes, the studio. A time of wine drinking(rose, yes, we're fags), Vodka(non) drinking. It took Darren 3 days to drink one glass. Give Darren his dues, he did make us breakfast, I was a lazy cunt and never made anyone breakfast. Fuck that, it's bad enough that I have to be in their presence most of the time, nevermind maintaining their existence!
We tracked 3 songs in 3 days. It was a great experience. Had a load of time to sit around and be picky about things. Mark was a pleasure to work with yet again. His attention to detail was great and he really knew how to get the best out of us. Yes, Mark threatened to kill us. He had Darren in a chokehold for a few seconds which scared the shit out of Stevie and I(quite literally in Stevie's case, it was more watery than normal though.)
Renaissance, our debut mini-album, was launched in March at a gig with Theatre Fall(yey) and some band from Glasgow who's name honestly escapes me right now. It's ok, they never really spoke to us much anyway. Theatre Fall were gentlemen of the highest order though. We spent most of the day with them, I highly recommend that you check them out. Great band and nice chaps to boot.
We played with Hayseed Dixie again in March... I think it was March, it's a bit of a blur to be perfectly honest. It was in Wick... a bit of a non-event really. Wick is hardly rock capital of the world.
We went to Aberdeen and Dundee in March. Mark, our producer, was doing sound in The Moorings... it was a bit of a shock walking on stage in a strange place with the sound man shouting "HI BIY" through the monitors. A pleasant surprise none the less.
I should probably take this moment to introduce our good friend and of course, the newest "member" of Astronot. Kevin "ehhh" Macleod. He's a fine chap, he carries our gear, he gets drunk, he gets Stevie even more drunk, he says "ehhh" A LOT, he mumbles and takes a hell of a lot of cheek. He's a good man though. He does the sound in Skinandi's when bands are playing, so he's a fine chap to have on our side.
What's happening now then? Well, since we recorded our mini-album in March, we've written three new songs. Well, I should rephrase that. We've finished one and have another two in the pipeline. We can't be fucked going to studios now, it's fucking expensive for a start. We're going to record ourselves and release our new tracks online via our website...aren't we? I think so, I haven't told Darren about the website thing yet, but yeah, that's the plan. So, not only do we give away free keyrings, stickers and sign male nipples, we're gonna give our music away now too. We'll package it into EP type things or release them in groups or something. I haven't quite decided yet, but I'd like to have some stuff available by the end of summer.
Finally, a bit ironic really, especially since I slagged fuck out of them in an earlier blog. We're playing with The Jyrojets at the end of this month. Yipee... or not.
I should note, that my earlier comments stand about them. I was voted against 2-1. Nevermind... sure it'll be grand.
I'll update again soon, promise.
Jamie
Where to begin. The Studio I suppose. We were in the studio for the best part of a week... it wasn't long enough if you ask me, but I'm a choosy fucker anyway. It was great crack though. Late nights playing Guitar Hero on Playstation 2... Stevie thought he was the fucking king.... I mean, the boy can barely stand up... playing Guitar Hero? Haha... you're having a fuckin laugh right?
A story:
I should tell you right now that Stevie is a modern day Richey Edwards... he can't play bass to save his fuckin life... in fact, we had to pay some poor cunt to come in an play bass for him.
Now that I've dropped that bombshell, I shall continue.
Ah yes, the studio. A time of wine drinking(rose, yes, we're fags), Vodka(non) drinking. It took Darren 3 days to drink one glass. Give Darren his dues, he did make us breakfast, I was a lazy cunt and never made anyone breakfast. Fuck that, it's bad enough that I have to be in their presence most of the time, nevermind maintaining their existence!
We tracked 3 songs in 3 days. It was a great experience. Had a load of time to sit around and be picky about things. Mark was a pleasure to work with yet again. His attention to detail was great and he really knew how to get the best out of us. Yes, Mark threatened to kill us. He had Darren in a chokehold for a few seconds which scared the shit out of Stevie and I(quite literally in Stevie's case, it was more watery than normal though.)
Renaissance, our debut mini-album, was launched in March at a gig with Theatre Fall(yey) and some band from Glasgow who's name honestly escapes me right now. It's ok, they never really spoke to us much anyway. Theatre Fall were gentlemen of the highest order though. We spent most of the day with them, I highly recommend that you check them out. Great band and nice chaps to boot.
We played with Hayseed Dixie again in March... I think it was March, it's a bit of a blur to be perfectly honest. It was in Wick... a bit of a non-event really. Wick is hardly rock capital of the world.
We went to Aberdeen and Dundee in March. Mark, our producer, was doing sound in The Moorings... it was a bit of a shock walking on stage in a strange place with the sound man shouting "HI BIY" through the monitors. A pleasant surprise none the less.
I should probably take this moment to introduce our good friend and of course, the newest "member" of Astronot. Kevin "ehhh" Macleod. He's a fine chap, he carries our gear, he gets drunk, he gets Stevie even more drunk, he says "ehhh" A LOT, he mumbles and takes a hell of a lot of cheek. He's a good man though. He does the sound in Skinandi's when bands are playing, so he's a fine chap to have on our side.
What's happening now then? Well, since we recorded our mini-album in March, we've written three new songs. Well, I should rephrase that. We've finished one and have another two in the pipeline. We can't be fucked going to studios now, it's fucking expensive for a start. We're going to record ourselves and release our new tracks online via our website...aren't we? I think so, I haven't told Darren about the website thing yet, but yeah, that's the plan. So, not only do we give away free keyrings, stickers and sign male nipples, we're gonna give our music away now too. We'll package it into EP type things or release them in groups or something. I haven't quite decided yet, but I'd like to have some stuff available by the end of summer.
Finally, a bit ironic really, especially since I slagged fuck out of them in an earlier blog. We're playing with The Jyrojets at the end of this month. Yipee... or not.
I should note, that my earlier comments stand about them. I was voted against 2-1. Nevermind... sure it'll be grand.
I'll update again soon, promise.
Jamie
February 28, 2008
2008... Wtf have we been doing?
Yo! We've been kind of busy this past while. I've been busy with stuff that isn't really all that important, so now, I should bring you up to speed...
What have we been doing?
Well, we've been locked up in the rehearsal studio writing and reworking some songs. It's been fun, dull and tiring... all at the same time. We've got 3 new songs that most of you won't have heard. One of them isn't even finished yet... well, it's 90% finished.
Played any gigs?
Ayeeeee.... Played with this band, christ... erm, Electric 6? Ever heard of them? From the USA? Did a song about a Gay Bar or some carry on like that? Anywho... supported them on February 22nd in Inverness. It was superb. The crowd were amazing and they were really on our side, it was indeed, a touch overwhelming.
Recording eh?
Yeah, indeed we are... a few days at The Byre with Muse engineer, Mark Thomas. We'll do three, maybe four songs. We should have a CD ready for March 29th.
Any gigs planned?
If you take a look at our Website or our Myspace page, then you can check that shizzle out yeah. March 29th in Skinandi's. We've got Theatre Fall and 2 Thirds Of Youth coming up to play with us that night. It should be good.
So, that about wraps it up for now. I'll do a studio blog next week and you can check it out.
Cheers
Jamie
What have we been doing?
Well, we've been locked up in the rehearsal studio writing and reworking some songs. It's been fun, dull and tiring... all at the same time. We've got 3 new songs that most of you won't have heard. One of them isn't even finished yet... well, it's 90% finished.
Played any gigs?
Ayeeeee.... Played with this band, christ... erm, Electric 6? Ever heard of them? From the USA? Did a song about a Gay Bar or some carry on like that? Anywho... supported them on February 22nd in Inverness. It was superb. The crowd were amazing and they were really on our side, it was indeed, a touch overwhelming.
Recording eh?
Yeah, indeed we are... a few days at The Byre with Muse engineer, Mark Thomas. We'll do three, maybe four songs. We should have a CD ready for March 29th.
Any gigs planned?
If you take a look at our Website or our Myspace page, then you can check that shizzle out yeah. March 29th in Skinandi's. We've got Theatre Fall and 2 Thirds Of Youth coming up to play with us that night. It should be good.
So, that about wraps it up for now. I'll do a studio blog next week and you can check it out.
Cheers
Jamie
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