Last Sticker standing.

I posted recently about the last poster of my band finally getting pulled down.
Well a friend of mine reminded me that there is still a sticker on a condom machine in Huddersfield.
Or at least their was till some drunk wrenched it from a wall the other night.
So thats that as they say.

First Gig of the year

So last night was the first gig of the year.
Four Year Strong, supported by some forgettable names.
Don Bronco and Marmozets plus someone else.
Don Bronco where alright, but I've heard it better else where.
I've already forgotten who they reminded me off.
The other guys where the same.
Good, but I forgot who they where.
Marmozets where just plain shit.
Melt Banana, Converge and The Locust all do it better.
The funny thing is not one of the other bands thanked them.
"You've all been awesome, stay tuned for Four year strong and whoever the other band where."
"You've been great, thanks to Don Bronco and stay tuned for Four year strong."
"Thank you everybody, we'd like to say thanks to Don Bronco and the other guys."
Shows the impression they left on the bands.
Why where they even on before Don Bronco?
Even the crowd wasn't impressed and normally that Unlistenable for Unlistenable shit really sells to a crowd of hipsters.
If you cant identify any of the bands on the bands t-shirts you know there only in it for the back stage access.
They where at my college at the same time as me.
Someone on another course warned me about them.
Beware their in Rock Sounds bands to watch this year.
Anyway,
Four Year Strong where great.
Its my first time seeing them live.
They had the crowd in their hands the moment they started to play.
Their heavy pop punk sound is great to watch live.
The crowd dancing and singing along.
Sixty minutes was just enough to stop from getting dull,
but long enough to make you want more.
Plus they are proof that beards do make you rock harder.
Was a good start to the year live.
Made me wish I was in a band again.
I just might go on www.joinmyband.co.uk and make a post.
wish me luck.

Number Two in my all time top five

In at number Two is Deftones.
I love them.
They have the greatest sound ever.
One of my guitars has been down tuned to drop C ever since the release of white pony.
I almost bought a seven string, then an eight string, just so I could play all their songs.
I love the sound of Stephen Carpenters guitar.
The trip hop drums.
Chinos voice is just amazing.
I have the side projects he's been involved with as well.
The Fantastic Team Sleep and Crosses.
As a band they have a sound that has evolved with my musical tastes.
They always seem to meet my needs musically.
The first two where during the Nu metal craze and broke the mould.
The Deftones wasn't just another dumb nu metal band.
Even though  nu metal had its time and place.
The last four are more mature and suit my grown up listening tastes.
lost of epic sounding songs.
They haven't let me down yet.
I have seen them live so many times.
Each show is just wall to wall greats.
I even got to see Team Sleep live at a festival years back.
Most of my wardrobe is Deftones T-shirts or hoodies.
My gig bag used to be covered in Deftones patches till it fell of my back and I had to get rid of it.
The best Deftones song?
Almost anything of the last four albums.
The worst?
I'm not going to say, but its on saturday night wrist.

Last Poster standing

My last bands, last gig was in Leeds Rio's.
We where in support of a local band.
I'm not going to name names, but they where rubbish.
To many divas in that band.
They where like a rubbish Paramore.
But hey, they lasted longer than us.
By that point I'm sure we all wanted to quit.
But the reason I bring this up is that we got on to a big poster.
Massive, with all the bands listed to play.
Our band on the same poster as Skindred.
It was fantastic.
They had posters of all the up and coming gigs inside on a wall you could see through a window.

So for the months up to the gig there was my bands name.

It was quite a buzz.
The venue closed down about a week after our gig.
We split up shortly after the venue closed.
I have to walk past it every day I go to work.
Every day since I have had to walk past our posters.
Hanging in the window of a closed down club.
Collecting dust.
Like a depressing reminder that we fell out.
After so long it stopped meaning anything.
All i wanted was the poster it's self.
It was the only one from all the gigs I've played that I didn't save.
Leeds Rio's has just been bought/rented and the new owners are gutting the place.
They've pulled out the bar,
the sound desk area,
the light rigging,
they even pulled the inside roof out somehow.
For the first time in a year and a half the posters are gone.
So is the wall they where stuck too.
I wish I'd known so I could have grabbed one.
In a way its like saying goodbye.
In another its like saying good riddance.
I'm not sure how to feel about it.
All I do know is that I miss playing live,
But I knew that anyway.

Nirvana colouring book

As I write this I sit in my mega old, battered, Nirvana hoodie.
My mega old, battered, Nirvana T-shirt.
In my lap is my brand new, battered, kurt Cobain Fender jaguar.
On the book shelf are some old, and battered, specials by Q and Mojo about Nirvana.
I really should take stock of my collection.
Lauren got me a cool new book on Nirvana from the local HMV.
Its bright neon yellow. It has lots of pull out bits and bobs, like old tickets and tour posters.
Its the second Nirvana book like it I own.
The first one been Cobain Unseen.
Books like this are wonderful.
Yeah all the posters and ticket stubs are recreations.
But then so is my guitar and it holds a magic of its own.
Cobain is an icon that has inspired thousands to pick up a guitar.
Grunge as a scene, as well as punk, inspired me to play.
But it was other grunge bands that set me off.
I own more Pearl Jam records than Nirvana ones.
I was a full blown Foo Fighters fan before I eventually bothered with Nirvana.
It was only Dave Grohl's involvement that made me listen.
But the same can be said about Nirvana and the Pixies.
Nirvana and Half Japanese.
Kyuss.
The Melvins.
Tad.
I wouldn't have heard of them if it wasn't for Kurt's need to write lists.
We all have to start somewhere.
Nirvana is as good as any.
I think the point Im getting at is even though I would never claim to be the biggest Nirvana fan.
They did set me off in the right direction for bands I now love.
Their music was there for me when I was having a shit time in school.
Back when I was the only kid in to alternative music in my school,
and all I had was my Dads copy of Nevermind.
They also helped me meet friends in college and clubs.
music means different things to different people.
For me bands mean different things from different times.
for me Nirvana was a beginning of sorts.
An opening dialogue.
Which is why I have so much crap knocking about, about Kurt Cobain and Nirvana,
and the first song I played on my Jaguar at the shop was In bloom.
...
Though maybe I don't know what it means.
...
What ever it was.

Fossil Collection

Here is a new demo I have just finished. I've been listening to the Daft Punk "Tron Legacy" soundtrack all day and it inspired me to make some music

Fossil Collection

Dust

Here is a link to one of my recent trip hop demos

Dust

Number One on my Top Five

I just got paid so as  usual my cd collection has grown again.
Filling up the ranks this time are two new sound tracks.
The social Network and The Girl with the dragon tattoo.
Both by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.
Trent Reznor has been my of my favourite artists ever since the first time I heard Closer in a steamy nightclub filled with Goths.
The drum beat, that fantastic synth bass, the pervy lyrics.
Watching the girls dance like strippers.
I was hooked and like most guys watching the dance floor, more than likely drooling.
Im not going to lie and say that I've been a fan since the beginning.
I was six when pretty Hate Machine was released,
Id only just discovered my Mum and Dads Motown records.
But i like to think I've made up for lost time by collecting everything Reznor has released, and seeing him preform live every chance I got.
Yeah Reznor's giving away his music for free is beyond cool,
but I still buy every record he produces.
I even bought a copy of Q, god help me,  just to get the free U2 covers cd with one song on it.
Not that its a bad cd or anything.
Point is, in all the music I make I use Reznor as the measuring post.
Which is why I delete so many demos.
My laid back trip hop, or scratchy punk/grunge can never compete.
The best album Reznor has been involved with?
...
I couldn't say.
my money is on either Year Zero or Ghosts.
The worst?
...
I wouldn't say.

My first proper band

We all have drunken first bands.
The kind we start at a night out drinking, and never do anything with.
I can lay claim to a couple of these type of bands.
One of these bands we decided to call "No more dick for us."
I started it with a lesbian and we both thought it was genius.
It didn't last a week.
My first proper band was sort of like this, but differs in a few ways.
Firstly we actually had a full line up.
Myself on guitar, Stoke Richard on Bass, Paul on drums and Drinky Chris was the singer.
Secondly we actually made it too, two meetings.
The first a meeting about what we should sound like.
Held at a pub like all good band related meetings.
We decide Punk was the way to go.
The other an actual practice of sorts.
Problem was we didn't all show up too them both.
The drummer missed the meeting, the lead singer missed the practice.
We played alright, some Rammones and Clash covers.
And Thirdly though we never met as a whole again, we never truly split up.
Drinky Chris moved on and away. Paul ended up in the army.
Me and Stoke kept on as we always do.
Stoke carried on as a sound technician, preferring it behind a desk in stead of being in front of it.
Myself, other bands awaited.
Me and Stoke are still close friends and to this day we still have a good laugh that every band I have been in since is in fact just a side project as my first band never split up.

The stars fall to earth

This is a link to one of my demos on soundcloud

The stars fall to earth

New year, new music

Since this is the start of a new year its time for new things.
Hi my name is Karl and I'm a twenty eight year old half decent musician. I'm not being modest. I'm about half as good as I should be.
I like to think off my self as a jack of all trades...
master of none.
I can play guitar and bass.
I can play piano and harmonica.
I can also play a mean stylophone.
I make up for my lack of skill with a strong determination.
I cant shred, but I can play most of the Deftones back catalogue.
I've been in and out of bands since I was sixteen.
I haven't been able to form a band since my last one imploded about a year ago.
I think I'm getting to my music sell by date.
So I thought I should take to the internet to rant about the state of modern music, post demos, bands I love and hate and go on about the bands I was in like the drunk old roadies you see in the punk bars that hide in out hometowns.