Bog Standard studio blog.

When your day starts by having to walk 20 minutes in the snow to buy petrol for the now-empty car, you know the day has started badly. Luckily for me, Josh got the petrol and I sat in the car with the gear whilst he trudged to the garage and paid £5 for about a cupful of petrol, so not a bad start all-round, for me at least. Shit is getting wild with petrol prices these days and it's not cool. Anyway, this made us late for the recording session we had planned at Joe's studio where we hoped to demo everything for our upcoming 7" so when it comes to recording for real in a few weeks, we know exactly what we were doing. Joe lost the studio keys and turned up late too.

Sometimes, I guess, lateness works in pairs and evens itself out eventually, its nice when things work out like that.

Studio accounts are generally boring and this is not likely to be anymore entertaining than any of the million accounts there are floating on the cyberspace. The problem is, recording is a fairly dull process of doing stuff, doing it again, doing it again, talking about tones, stressing about time and wondering why the songs don't sound quite like you hoped they would and how to correct that. Its not, unfortunately, something I usually enjoy. And I wish I did, because if things work out like I hope they will in the long run, I'll have to spend more time in a studio recording our multi-platinum, award winning records. Anyway, we had something like 7 hours to knock 4 songs out. They didn't have to sound awesome so setting up was quick and painless and everyone played really well, blah blah and we came away having done everything in a few takes and it actually sounded pretty decent for what is essentially a demo. I was really, really happy. PJ fell asleep while I did my (perfect) guitar takes and Josh talked about putting a voice-over on a particularly awesome break-down part of a new song saying "I want everyone out there to MOSH! Circle PIT!!". It was not unanimous.

I actually enjoyed recording this time which has made me even more keen to do it for real in Manchester at the start of February. I'm really excited about this next release, it's the first time we'll have a record where all 4 of us have our input on everything and (obviously) I think the new songs are our best yet. The 7" will have 1 new song per side and will come with a CD with the new songs and full-band versions of 2 of our older songs. If everything goes to plan, and it really should because we're starting so early, we should have it done for our April tour with Rooftops. I mean, we booked that tour as a record-release tour, so it would be pretty lame if we failed on that.

Here's some bog-standard studio-style photos and a very boring video of Joe doing some mallets. I wish I had filmed more of him doing really interesting drum-parts but you win some and you lose some.










































Till next time team!

Dan

Drumbelievable! from danbondissafe on Vimeo.

How I almost gave away our bassist.

At sometime in mid-2009 I find myself drunk at a bar with Greg who puts on shows in South London under the name Staying South. He's a very good dude who has put us on a few times in the past and always puts on well promoted, well attended shows. I think it was a Bomb The Music Industry show, but I have no idea really. Greg is telling me he wants to start a band and do I know anyone interested in joining. PJ (from PJ and Gaby) had been telling me a few months earlier that he really liked our band and if we ever wanted a bassist he would be that guy and would tour the world with us. I turned him down. Politely, of course. I said we were happy being a two-piece (when we wern't really, but hadn't discussed getting more people involved) and that if our situation was to ever change we would let him know immediately. I told Greg to speak to PJ as PJ always wants to play, is rock-solid at pretty much every aspect of being in a band and was looking to join another band that he could do more shows with than was possible within PJ and Gaby. PJ was, absolutely, the guy he needed.

Anyway, they formed Rooftops, with Jugs on guitar and Pook on drums. Awesome.

A very short period later and things have goten so bad within our band that we decided we had to get more people involved, a drummer and a bassist. Josh saw PJ first and asked him to join our band on drums or bass, whichever he wanted. PJ had just joined Neil Sutherland and Friends filling in on guitar and was practicing and playing bass in Rooftops frequently. Needless to say, he was a bit pissed off and we felt like assholes. He said to leave it with him for a while but I wasn't keen on waiting. At some point I found myself running through an Asda car park at PJ as he was leaving to a show with Neil Sutherland mid-tour yelling "join our band!". He gave in and now we share PJ with Rooftops. It's working so far and whilst PJ probably has very little time to himself, both bands are that much better. But, how do you share a bassist with another band when you both want to tour?

YOU TOUR TOGETHER!

Officially announcing the Rooftops/AIHN UK tour from 1/4/10 to 9/4/09

I would have been better if I announced this when all the dates were finalised and the tour flyer was done, but whatever, I have tons of stuff to post here over the next few days and (including studio photos and a real-life video). Here's a photo of Greg wailing to tide you over till April.

Dan.

Equip the Sword of Legasis to your alt-bar.

I recently got linked to a forum discussion on a mixed martial arts website and I've been having a great time wading through it all. The thread I'm interested in isn't about Jujitsu or Bavarian Boxing or anything like that and I have no plans to participate in any sort of "bout" - The thread that has my attention is about porn. Sort of. This is probably old news, but A-list porn star Tyler Knight started fielding questions on an MMA forum regarding his life, his thoughts and, mostly, who he has and hasn't had sex with in the industry. He also covers what it's like having sex with women for money in-front of a camera and what that does to a persons mentality and personal relationships.

To say its been an eye opener would be an understatement, it is a genuinely well written, well thought-out, honest account of life as a porn star. Firstly, I should point out that the Tyler himself seems like a genuinely OK guy and whatever your thoughts about the adult entertainment industry are*, it would probably be an interesting read and may confirm or destroy your own perceptions on the industry and open up a whole side of the business you never thought about and probably never cared about. Anyway, the parts I find most interesting are the personal sides to his postings, not the (non-graphic) accounts of who he has had "relations" with. I find reading honest accounts of anything by anyone who reached the top of their profession interesting - everything is always so much more corrupt and complicated at the top. Anyone interested can click here and read about it.

Today, I think I finished my transformation into a full-on geek. I actually read and understood some pretty complicated articles on guitar amp design and the differences between the circuits of common amps. I've found myself searching out this level of knowledge more and more recently and whilst I have no need for it, I have an unquenchable desire to know it. I don't know what is driving it internally, but I keep finding myself going over articles that no-one should ever in their right mind ever read, let alone want to read. I now genuinely want to build an amp. From scratch. On my own. Without my Dads help. I'm giving up. The tweed jacket with leather elbows is ordered and the pipe is on its way and I will become a full time garage tinkerer. Interestingly, Tyler knight is himself in a World of Warcraft Guild that is in the top 0.5% in the world. He is a geek too, undoubtedly.

Probably the only thing I have in common with an actual porn-star.

* This is coming through my own personal "glasses" where I have no strong feelings regarding this wing of the sex-industry. Those who oppose porn may take his postings in a different way to me and I would love to hear some conflicting thoughts on this. Obviously, the very basic act of people having sex for money on camera is a difficult issue for many, but then those involved in it probably feel the same way about the (often) boring jobs we do for a living, and if people are in sound mind and make choices based on their own will, well then I'm ok with that, porn or not.

Christmas holidays.

The last few days I have felt like this:


I am back at work today and I feel like this:



I just saved myself 2000 words.

You can't Blag a Blagger.

We played Reading this weekend with a bunch of people we have played with before and a few I have not seen before. The gig itself was in a pub after a last minute venue change, so while there was a noticeable lack of stage, lighting and door-entry money, we’ve played shows in pubs before on a donation basis, so it wasn’t unusual at all and despite the sound often being pretty bad at shows like this (at least when actually playing), they are often pretty fun too. The football was on before we got there and went on for a while so the place was full of people that didn’t look like they would be sticking around to watch a bunch of people singing with guitars after it had finished. As predicted, as soon as the football ended the ratio of people with piercings and ripped denim to Reebok Classics shifted pretty hard. It was obvious the pub, without the gig being on, would have been basically empty. As the place was filling up, I went to get some water – I always drink a ton of water before playing as my voice quickly gets dry in venues with cigarette smoke blowing in from the door and from having to raise my voice to get heard in the general din of a pub. I asked for 2 pints of water and the barman shook his head and muttered “fucking hell”. I didn’t take that as a good sign. The lady behind the bar told me if I wanted more water I would have to buy bottled water because they were there to make money. I told her I was singing tonight and I need to drink water, but she said she didn’t care as they had money to make and they only allow gigs to get more people in the door. She didn’t even have an answer for me when I explained that people were coming specifically to watch bands tonight who would never have been at her pub without us all playing the show. I decided at that point I would not buy a single drink at this place and got my water from the tap in the bathrooms.

Did she think that by refusing me water I would then decide to empty my wallet at her bar? Does getting water for someone really result in fewer overall sales? I just don’t know where to start with this sort or attitude. I got it once in Norwich as well and I think it’s only going to get worse. Playing shows isn’t a cheap hobby* and I am so grateful when we get given a few beers by the promoter, maybe some food (especially if we are touring) but at the very least, I don’t want to get shit for wanting to drink water at a show I am playing. If pubs are closing at a rate of 50 a week then attitudes like this cannot be helping and I hope the Blagrave Arms in Reading can realise that before they fall victim to the recession as well. In Europe it’s a totally different story, every band will tell you that. Getting paid, getting food and beer and a place to sleep is standard and they somehow all seem to manage to keep their venues open. Josh said we should consider charging the land-lady for getting to hear us play considering she didn’t pay to get into the pub or donate to the bands. I like that idea. We’ve got costs to cover as well, right?

*despite my long-term goals and commitments to this band, at this point in what some may call a “career” I can’t really describe our band as anything other than a time and money consuming hobby which I love. I hope one day I can call it something else, and then bitch about music being my job.

* This isn't any sort of "dig" at the promoter of the show, I know most promoters have issues with their venues and they way they are treated when putting together shows and although I only briefly spoke to Ian, he seemed like an awesome dude and the show itself was well attended and rad. Thanks Ian.

Purple Turtle Footy

Yo neighbours. I found this on the Youtube of us at our first full band show. Thanks to Strike a Chord for filming it!

Dan

The Year of The Tiger.

We’re in this months Rock Sound magazine (!) as one of the bands to watch going into 2010. That’s awesome, right? I’m pretty stoked on that but it puts some pressure on us too, which again, I sort of like as well, hopefully it will keep us on our toes and productive. The one thing I am terrified of happening to us is becoming stale. I'll rename us A2010gies, i have none for the rest of the year.

Anyway, with great press coverage comes great compromises. Primarily, the photo we sent them for the article got cropped and only my head-flailing hair and my telecaster headstock made it into the magazine. That.Is.Crazy. Even Joe got in it and he’s just a drummer. My ego is taking serious punishment today. Below is the photo in all its uncropped glory.

Anyway, mega-money magazine deals aside, not a lot has been going on except a lot of practicing and a lot of sitting about in traffic on our way to practice. You know that bit in the Truman show when Jim Carey is trying to get from one side of town to another and the big-wig executives want to delay him by telling all the people and cars to suddenly block his path? I think that’s happening to us every time we get in the car and it's really, really frustrating. Finally, it is time for this band to skip getting a van and go straight for a series of microlights.

Try stopping us now Boris!