TimeTo GIG Deep Again

Arrangements for the April/May charity gig (venue to be considered at a later date due to rising interest) look promising at this early stage.  The charity's considered this time (as I'll have a helper) will be Canine Partners and one of the Pink Breast Cancer charities, following my own recent scare! As well as my own two sons' bands,  I'm lucky enough to have 2 bands of older generation members, namely (The 117) and (The Signals) who have both played for charity many times before, seem happy enough to join the artists list. One of them asked if I could arrange for them to 'support' my older son's band sometime, which was rather touching.




Talking of which me older lad (PrettyBoy)s band, Hotel India (these guys) are on the up with more and more requests to play at gigs. Formerly Casino, they had to drop their name as another signed band called Casino said there would be copyright problems if they were to be signed themselves.  In a weird fashion, I suppose that's a compliment!!


The new name derived from the phonetic alphabet - you know all that Tango, Charlie, stuff. Initialled to the simple pleasantry of HI, (wave your handies!) Hotel India was eventually chosen. Took a little getting used to but the change see ms to be falling in their favour. Silly gimmicky advertising in response to this kind of advertising below: (as on view down my sidebar - you can click on the pic, look for the 'like' at the top of page and you'll be helping raise the interest before the charity gig) has been successful in gaining fun interest and Facebook fans. Just one quick-click  visit (and a listen if you fancy it!) and it's all over!

Make 'Room' For A Listen (no extra charge)

 

Have YOU snuck into the Hotel yet?

Present fans that sneak other newbie's into the Hotel, and rise the 'likes' status get rewarded with a new track once the desired number is reached.  Demo's will be thrown out the Hotel windows and you have to be online at certain dates to try catch them.  Daft quizzes for merchandise is another future consideration. And if music can't be fun at the same time, what's the point in being a band!!??

So it seems as if people are up for slipping in the back way when the concierge ain't looking! Who knows what the guys will come up with next, (apart from amazing new material) but a little change sometimes goes a long way! And anyone who doesn't want to join in the mania can simply Foxtrot off!

No Need For Eyeballs - Just Your Ears.......

Here's my younger son's band NO NEED FOR IDOLS, with their latest recording. I am simply stunned at how a bunch of 16 & 17 year-old's come away with this kind of talent. While some kids that age wile away the hours and school holidays ect, setting fire to things, these guys come up with musical magic. Oliver - the lead singer - has the most amazing voice for such a scrawny wee thing, a two-pint-wonder even but I noticed the talent in him from an early age. Anyhow - have a listen, it's a beautiful wee number:

Find more artists like No Need for Idols at Myspace Music

Casino - Studio Students Get High!

Some may not know, but I love music. Not too many genre's. I hate R&B, metal, rap, dance (that the fucking most!) country and keech, and if I've offended anybody here, sorry, but I'd rather shove wasps up my arse than listen to it.

Now, I suppose I have to be biased here, but my son Ross's band, Casino are great! Their songs on myspace are few and mainly cover Indie sounds but with a great British feel to them. Other tracks that haven't yet been recorded (due to studies, work and almost constant gigging) are nonetheless brilliant. My particular favourite is A Little Bit Longer, which takes on a sleazy sound with minimal "shoop shoop's" and cheeky pauses in - one feels inclined to go shag a priest after hearing it. It has wonderful illicit words and tones. Sodom and Gomorrah is pure rock but not to heavy, with lines like "the sound of the circus, is causing confusion" is mind-boggling but it fits. And the quirky, All In The Making, takes me back to my early 80's youth. So they're no one-trick pony's! However, their newest song, Creeper, (about a one night stand gone wrong) is the one that gets me the most excited (no shagging thoughts involved here!). It's just phenomenal. Right now I don't think it fits into any category just surpasses typical local band sounds.

I spent a huge amount of time with my son's last band, The Valentines , his high school/first year college band and - with the help of my exceptional neighbours, Liz and Tam who happily endured all their practice sessions and went to gigs - they won their regional Battle Of The Bands contest, beating 138 other local bands! And one of the lead singers was a duff-noter! Their tracks even made it into our county's, Stirling Rocks CD, which is compiled by the council for the best music locally around! They also were the only band to have TWO tracks on the song list. The feeling of going into a renowned record store (HMV) and lift a CD with your son's band in it - (and announce it quite loudly if you're with a friend!) - it's quite exhilarating.

This week end my younger son, Adam, will be recording his first demo with his band (he's the drummer, too!) No Need For Idols and they'll be entering the same competition The Valentines, did. I'm out for a second win here, too!

So, I'm glad I inflicted music on my sons. Glad that I built up the confidence I lacked. Happy that it was obviously in their blood. And even happier that now, the lyrics and music flow independently from them. What I didn't expect was that I would be constantly attending their gigs. And little do they know that I've got tee-shirts made with their bands' name on the front and "Mumma of the Drumma" on the back so their fans know who the old fogey elbowing the fuck out of teenagers faces to get to the front, is!

Casino's latest video The High is just to the right on the side profile. Remember to double click for the bigger pic!