19/12/02
With
all the distractions the Christmas break brings, we are keeping things
quite low key until after the New Year celebrations. That is not to say
we haven't been working away behind the scenes. Over the last few rehearsals
we seem to have created a new style of song. The deeper we got into writing
Feels like Autumn, the more the word 'mallard' seemed to become associated
with it. It's not easy listening but it sounds great.
05/12/02
After
the last four gigs (three of which we got paid for, wow), and all the
work we put into finishing the Serbian Spring cd (at least 24 hours worth
of mind melting graft), we took a well earned break. last night was the
first time we'd played since the Boat Race gig, and for the first 30 min's
it showed. We were rusty as Mrs Lee herself. Saying that, all it took
was a few hours of working on some new ideas and we soon gelled again.
So by the end, Feels Like Autumn and Among The Wolves were coming along
nicely.
13/11/02
1).
Well, we've gone and done it again. We have another CD available. Serbian
Spring: is the result of our desire, to capture a very live sounding band
recording. The whole package has been geared towards a very gritty feel.
The music, the mix, and the artwork. We spent about 20 hours of solid
brain melting hard work on this, and it sounds great. Any distortions
to your speakers, are supposed to be there. Go seek it out (Andys and
Parrot Records). See the Audio page for details.
2).
With our last two gigs, still fresh in the memory, it's already time for
a few more. See Gigs page.
3).
David, and I were interviewed a few weeks ago, for a new Fanzine/Magazine,
CAM (Cambridge Alternative Music). We had a great time chatting to the
very lovely John, and Jess. They even managed to conduct the whole thing
in the midst of much live jazz. That will teach us to choose the Elmtree,
as an interview venue. Anyway the first issue is out now, for a very reasonable
50p. So you have no excuse not to buy one.
31/10/02
Good
News: We managed to organise, and execute, all our, gigs, collaborations,
and rehearsals. Both gigs were totally enjoyable, were well received,
and seemed to introduce us to some new converts. Getting all six of us
together (for the collaborations) was hard work, but well worth it. I
think it's called 'time management', and in the end we got very good at
it. Working with Tom and James was great fun, so you never know when our
musical paths will be crossed again.
Sad
News: I just stumbled across the terrible news, that Ralph Hamilton,
was killed in a car accident, in July. Ralph was a very talented bass/guitar
player, who graced the likes of Andy Christ and his Biblical Mice, Useful
Idiot, and Bob Tilton, with his musical presence. More than that though,
he was a really great guy. Very friendly, and a good laugh. I still chuckle
at the cartoons, Ralph, Leo Collet, and I drew, to relieve the boredom
of our college maths lesson. "Dennis, come back with my apple pie"!
A great loss indeed.
15/10/02
With
the Holidays, Weddings, and other commitments over with, it's time to
get back to the Rock n' Rolling. So to ease ourselves back into it, we've
gone and booked two gigs, at the end of the
month. We should at least have lots of pent up energy, even if we can't
remember the songs. Our gig on the 29th October, will feature an extended
reprise of our recent collaborations, as a support slot.
27/08/02
1.
Our Intact Skylines CD is now available in Andys
Records. This is in association with Harvest Time, the new bi-weekly musical
evening, held at the Portland Arms. Drop into Andys for more details.
We play Harvest Time, in the rather distant future of October
29th, very close to Halloween ??!!!!
2.
While Doug has been taking a well earned holiday, in Iceland, it has to
be said the rest of us haven't been slacking. Matt, Dave, and I, got together
with James (bass), and Tom (trumpet), and came up with an opus of epic
proportions. It's a bit like playing a whole set, but in just one song.
Since we enjoyed writing, and playing this strange indie, rock, jazz,
metal concoction, so much, it spurred us into writing some more. The fruits
of this labor can be heard at The Priors, Bury St Edmunds, on the 12th
of September. With the possibility of a second outing, on the 29th
October. Hey we'll be supporting ourselves, strange, but cool.
3.
Also featured on the main page, of this site, is a link through to our
first interview. Actually, that's slightly wrong, as it was just me that
got to spout off to Jimmy Possession, of Robots
and Electronic Brains fanzine. It was a joint interview carried out
with Rosey (Bouvier), and myself. It has to be said, that the whole night
was a very enjoyable. All power to Jimmy P.
4.
Just a quick update to finish. David's amplifier has made a full recovery,
and has been well and truly rocked, following it's convalescence. Since
this we have had guitar failure, and much problems with 4 track machines.
All of which are being resolved as you read.
16/07/02
Shock
Horror !!!Amplifier explodes.
1. Yep it finally happened, we rocked too hard. The causality was luckily none of us, but unfortunately David's trusty, but seemingly not indestructible, Orange Amplifier. Emergency surgery is about to take place, so we shall just have to wait and see. All being well, rehearsals should commence again next week.
1. Yep it finally happened, we rocked too hard. The causality was luckily none of us, but unfortunately David's trusty, but seemingly not indestructible, Orange Amplifier. Emergency surgery is about to take place, so we shall just have to wait and see. All being well, rehearsals should commence again next week.
2.
After David's discovery of the very raw, pre-punk garage combo, Rocket
From The Tombs (not Crypt), we have decided to indulge in a spot of rehearsal
room recording. After various successful experiments with one stereo microphone,
and a tape deck, we plan to expand to a 4-track system. This should give
us the opportunity to capture our current set, in the raw, and exciting
manner it deserves. We shall keep you posted.
10/06/02
There
are plenty of filthy rumors this month:
1. We will soon be back on the stage's of Cambridge again. With two
gigs confirmed, one on June 25th, the other July 6th.
2.
This posses the question are we going to have time to finish the three
new tracks, we have been working on? We hope so. Summon
The Darkness, and Warmer Climes are very
much under way, but Doug's Song 2 (it has no title, or words yet) still
has a lot more work to go.
3.
I also believe that I am to be collecting the next run of our 'intact
skylines' CD today. The first lot went in no time.
23/05/02
1.
Just added are some great photographs taken
at our May 2nd, and March 7th gigs. Thanks to David (crs*), and Andy
Bone for doing such a good job, and then letting us put them on the
site.
2. Our latest CD 'Intact Skylines' is now available. Keep your eyes pealed. If you would like to order a copy then please email us for details: thevisit24@hotmail.com
15/04/02
1.
The new recordings are all finished. Seven hours of mixing (on a Friday
evening no less) and it was all done. Davey really is great at the whole
recording process, but with this final stage he really came into his own.
He set up rough mixes of each song, and then let us have control of the
faders we needed to alter. Each time we ran through the track he would
tweak something here and there, until it was sounding spot on. He was
very accommodating of our wishes too. All ideas we had, no matter how
lame brained they might have seemed, were at least tried. Admitatly we
didn't use all of them, but that's experimentation for you. All tracks
coming to a CD player near you, soon.
2.
After such a hectic couple of weeks, it's good to be taking a short break.
David's gone off on holiday, Doug is chilling, Matt can now let his ear
recover, and I've finally had time to let my cold come on. It will soon
be back to work though, as it is only a few weeks until our next gig.
We've got so many ideas for this gig, but I'm not sure how many we'll
have time to rehearse. We shall see.
11/04/02
1. Well if you're not already coming to the Six By Seven gig tonight, this is you're final warning. Drowned in Sound.com has chosen it as their gig of the day, and the Boat Race have this to say about the proceedings: "Return of a fabulous band on the up, supported by hotly-tipped British Sea Power and The Visit. Book early. One day you will want to say you saw these three!". If you are very shrewd you can come and see us and get your tickets for a discount price, but shhhhh it's a secret. Get There Early!!
2.
This maybe number two in order of news items, but is probably even more
exciting. Over the weekend we popped into the Noteworthy studio, with
the ever patient, and resourceful Davey. The result of which is three
fantastic tracks: Don't Panic, The
Constant, and the epic Tofu Escape Clause.
All of which, we are mixing tomorrow afternoon. Look forward to hearing
them, they are well worth it.
02/04/02
1.
After a few days of wondering when our next gig was going to be, two turn
up. First off a support slot with the mighty Six
By Seven. Secondly, those Green
Mind chaps have offered us a slot with Interlaken, and Flotation Toy
Warning. So it is to be a busy month then. See Gig
Page.
2.
On a totally un-visit related topic, but news worthy all the same. On
Easter Sunday of all days, Ollie Simpson and myself ventured into the
uncharted territory of Tottenham. "Why would you do that, when you
could be at home eating eggs?" I hear you say. To track down the
mythical Wolves
Of Greece, of course. I had heard a lot of raving about these guys,
but had never managed to see them. Were we disappointed, were we fuck.
They were totally amazing. 15 minutes of total energy expulsion. I have
to admit I can't remember a single note of music, but it was loud, chaotic,
furious, and over before you had time to take a breath. I would enthusiastically
recommend them to you all.
25/03/02
1.
A big thanks to Neil Jones who kindly had us on his Star 107.9FM rock
show, last night. The airwaves of Cambridge were filled with, our very
uninformed record reviews, tracks about shoe baiting and all manner intelligent
chat!!
David, Doug, and I (Matthew was listening, with his lady) all met up in the pub for a few nerve settlers, and then headed down to the studio. After a spot of attempted breaking and entering, we managed to find the more conventional way in, the door. As far as our radio debut went, we were made very welcome, said some words, and left to the sounds of An Eye for A Shoe ringing out through the offices. The whole thing flew by really. Before we knew it we were walking home, having a chat. So thanks again to all involved.
David, Doug, and I (Matthew was listening, with his lady) all met up in the pub for a few nerve settlers, and then headed down to the studio. After a spot of attempted breaking and entering, we managed to find the more conventional way in, the door. As far as our radio debut went, we were made very welcome, said some words, and left to the sounds of An Eye for A Shoe ringing out through the offices. The whole thing flew by really. Before we knew it we were walking home, having a chat. So thanks again to all involved.
2.
Thanks also needs to go to Drowned
in Sound.com's JaneyFerr, for slaving away over our band profile for
their site. It looks great.
11/03/02
1.
Thursday's (07/03/02) performance was almost a year to the day, that we
played our first gig. 11 outings down the line, and things just keep on
getting better. So Happy Anniversary to us xxxx.
21/02/02
1.
Even after last months shenanigans, we have been offered another gig.
We are first on so come along in good time, and you won't be disappointed.
There is the distinct possibility of a new song being aired. It's so new
that it hasn't got a title yet, although I call it Tofu
Escape Clause. So I'll have to see what the others think of that.
2. Just added are some pictures from our recent Moon gig.
3.
Wow, Silence The Poet was played on Jimmy
Possession's radio show last night. To top things off, the very next
Artist he played was Johnny Cash. How cool is that! For those who don't
know, Jimmy also produces the widely appreciate Robots
and Electronic Brains fanzine.
07/02/02
1.
Yep they've let us out again. This time to terrorize the good folk of
the Man On The Moon, Poetry and Jazz night. I'm not quite sure how we
fit in, but I feel exciting things could happen. Details
here.
2.
Our latest recordings are (slowly) making their
way around the Cambridge area. Initial copies have been dispatched to
those who asked. In a stroke of creative genius the cover art is very
similar to our last recordings, but this time on different colored paper.
Cunning continuity hey!
22/01/02
1.
Thanks to all those who turned up for the gig,
we really had a great time.
As predicted we managed to squeeze in a new track (Don't Panic), which went down like one of Mr Wonka's golden tickets.
As predicted we managed to squeeze in a new track (Don't Panic), which went down like one of Mr Wonka's golden tickets.
2.
We also managed to finish some more tracks, with Chris Bouvier. They were:
Shambles (the 'country punk' cockfest), Silence
The Poet (explosive prog/rock), and For Arid
Ears (70's psychedelic Sabbath esq). This gave us the chance to experiment
with some of our older material, and utilized some great backing track
recordings.
It
is interesting to note, that all the vocals were recorded using my sweaty
sock as a pop shield. Poor David. Keep your ears open!
02/01/02
Happy
New Year to you all.
There hasn't been much band stuff going on over the festive season, as
we have all been out celebrating our Christian heritage (or maybe just
getting pissed, and eating loads). Anyway, as long as the Lock-Up is open
for business tonight, we will be rehearsing for our gig
at the BoatRace (15th Jan).
Rumor has it that The Stars of Aviation, are to headline the evening, instead of TSH. Check the Dead Secret Site for details.