January 2009 Archives

I am partial to a bit of ska, so this night appealed to me right away.

First band up to kick off the night was our local young ska monger Famous Ape.

They are a young band, but don't hold that against them. I have saw them a few times and their gigs are always good. Two guitars, bass, drums, and three piece horn section - you can tell they really know their stuff and love ska music :-)

Next up was the crazy Peg & the Bouffants

The two girls that front the band are completely crazy, CRAZY I tells ya. But they are absolutely lovely and such a great laugh :-) They don't just play their set and bugger off like some bands do, they party for the whole night and then some. Both of the girls are very pretty, so they have a flock of young gentlemen that are fascinated by them, being all vivacious and full of fun.

Their set was amazing, Peg the guitarist, the bassist, the drummer and the sax player are a great band. They let the girls get on with fronting the show while they concentrate on the very tight music.

all photos displayed with kind permission from DM Photography

The favourite bits for me was when they covered 'Push It' by Salt n Pepa and their own song 'Deceiter' which really got the crowd going.

I thought Big Hand would struggle to match the energy of Peg et al, but they were equally as deranged and musically brilliant:

The trumpet guy kept on jumping off stage and into the crowd, dancing with strangers and checking out girls :-) The bassist was moving around theatrically and doing the occasional pelvic thrust when he had his leg up on the monitors, class.

They are a great band and they were well matched with Peg & the Bouffants as both bands have a great sense of fun.

I don't know if I was in an nostalgic mood that night, but my favourite song from Big Hand was their cover of 'Ice Ice Baby' by Vanilla Ice which they played slowed down in a rocksteady rhythm. When you read it I'm sure that you would think it would sound crud, but trust me it works!! This was also when the girls from Peg & the Bouffants went up on stage and started dancing gyrating to the song.

Quality night, such a great laugh. Go and see them!

photo published with kind permission from Lyncean Photography

he who is always making basses and I were watching a documentary on BBC Four about the history of prog rock, and I was intruiged to learn about the varying fortunes of all the musicians from that era.

It got me thinking:

Can you morally justify listening to and enjoying a piece of music if the composer was a horrible person?

Does the music itself take on a life of its own?

Can we appreciate its beauty irrespective of the failings of the person who wrote it?

* Wagner composed some very beautiful, dramatic music and his use of leitmotif inspired the composition of film scores for a whole new generation of composers. His most famous piece of music is 'Ride of the Valkyries'. His music was even used in a Bugs Bunny cartoon. But Wagner was an anti-semite and wrote essays on how the work of Jewish composers were inferior to his German counterparts. Only a few months ago I heard 'Ride of the Valkyries' on an advert for nappies!! Come on!!!
* Gary Glitter. I don't think anyone in their right mind would go into a record shop and ask for some of his music.

Hey everyone

One of the main things that I do apart from uni is that I am the Event Manager of Feugh Fest:

I don't expect for people brown-nose me, but I expect at least a small degree of professionalism..

Here's a hint to anyone that is looking for a gig in any festival or venue in Scotland. Start by being polite and introducing yourself and describing what you do. Don't pretend to be my best mate when you are a total stranger. Give me details of somewhere I can hear demos and info, and maybe some idea of what gigs you have had.

Or am I asking too much?

photo displayed with kind permission from Lyncean Photography

Happy New Year everyone!!!

Inspiration can strike in the most unpredictable of places, and I hope that in 2009 you all find inspiration to do the things that you really want to do.