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Ok, let me try to explain why I love my band and why I get so passionately angry about manufactured, chart teeny crap.
I love music, I have to have music or I will go insane.
I play in a band that I love, I could never give it up.
And we are enjoying a mild level of success.
Been on Radio 1 a couple of times and Xfm, get mentioned whenever we play in their gig guide and now pull in crowds of 250+ when we play. And most of these people we don't know.
But it's hard work, unrewarding most of the time and can be soul destroying.
But that's the choice that you make if you need to play music.
Most bands never even get to the level we're at,let alone make it big. The odds are stacked against you from the start.
But you either accept that and die trying, or give up and get on with other things.
I rehearse 2 nights a week in a studio 32 miles from home.
That means I have to load my gear after a day at work, drive all that way, unload and set up, play for 5hrs, break it all down again, drive home at 1am and unload once more before I can sleep.
Next day I am shattered.
Gig days?
Get to the venue 5hrs before you are on stage for soundcheck, sit around afterwards until people start arriving in the evening.
10pm rolls around and it's time to play.
5-6 hrs of waiting for 45 mins onstage.
But that makes it worth it.
I look out and see people singing along, dancing about and having a fantastic time because of songs we wrote.
They cheer like mad and enjoy what we do.
They dont see the amount of work that goes into it - why should they?
They come to the gig and we entertain them, they get our CD and listen to it if they fancy it.
We are playing and listening to those songs 2-3 nights a week, 4-5hrs at a time because we love it and wouldn't do anything else.
Rehearsals, recording CDs in studios that cost you £1500 for 3 days.
Phoning record companies, doing the promotional artwork, sending out 100s of cds to labels, talking to A&R, organising gigs, writing new material, making sure you know the old stuff, letting people know when the next gig is, arranging transport for them etc etc etc, for 40 mins onstage and the vain hope that someone, somewhere, one day might see you.
You get lied to by record companies, promises are broken, phone calls are not returned. You can be made to feel like absolute crap.
We don't make money at any of this. We break even on door-money but we rarely see a profit.
We don't do it for money though, you do and you might as well quit.
We've played in pubs to 8 people, we've played in clubs to 500+, but each and every time we play like it's the last gig we'll ever do.
We work our hardest to make this music, and I am not complaining.
You have to break your spine making it work or you'll never get anywhere.
But what do I see?
Labels pumping millions of pounds into pre-fab bands of pretty faces, covering old songs and becoming household names, whilst smaller bands struggle, choke and die on the toilet circuits of Camden.
I have had the privilege of hearing and playing with dozens of awesome bands that will never be heard of again, simply because "it doesn't sell".
It would do if given the chance.
The Stereophonics were plugging away for 2 years before they got signed.
But most bands give up and cave in, because of the amount of work involved for little to no reward.
Putting your soul into a song that is heard by 10 people in a pub in Fulham, whilst teenies sing songs they didnt write to a click track and end up on posters in bedrooms.
You probably have a place near you that has bands on, but most people don't go to listen.
Whoever we have played with, whatever we thought of them, I respect them 100% for getting up there and doing it.
They are putting their heart and life into songs, spending hours and days/weeks/months trying to articulate something inside of them.
And it doesn't get heard by anyone other then the other bands and their girlfriends.
We're lucky, we write bloody good songs and we work every hour we can at making us big - it's gradually starting to happen now, each time a bit bigger.
But for every single unsigned band out there playing like their life depends on it, there are 2 groups of teens, smiling inanely and dancing in time to backing tapes.
It's not right damn it, but the only thing I can do is to keep playing, keep recording, keep busting my hands open and getting blisters.
Because I love music, it's what I do best and I will never stop, even if we end up playing in your pub.
I'm doing what I've always dreamed of, and that's enough for me.
I love music, I have to have music or I will go insane.
I play in a band that I love, I could never give it up.
And we are enjoying a mild level of success.
Been on Radio 1 a couple of times and Xfm, get mentioned whenever we play in their gig guide and now pull in crowds of 250+ when we play. And most of these people we don't know.
But it's hard work, unrewarding most of the time and can be soul destroying.
But that's the choice that you make if you need to play music.
Most bands never even get to the level we're at,let alone make it big. The odds are stacked against you from the start.
But you either accept that and die trying, or give up and get on with other things.
I rehearse 2 nights a week in a studio 32 miles from home.
That means I have to load my gear after a day at work, drive all that way, unload and set up, play for 5hrs, break it all down again, drive home at 1am and unload once more before I can sleep.
Next day I am shattered.
Gig days?
Get to the venue 5hrs before you are on stage for soundcheck, sit around afterwards until people start arriving in the evening.
10pm rolls around and it's time to play.
5-6 hrs of waiting for 45 mins onstage.
But that makes it worth it.
I look out and see people singing along, dancing about and having a fantastic time because of songs we wrote.
They cheer like mad and enjoy what we do.
They dont see the amount of work that goes into it - why should they?
They come to the gig and we entertain them, they get our CD and listen to it if they fancy it.
We are playing and listening to those songs 2-3 nights a week, 4-5hrs at a time because we love it and wouldn't do anything else.
Rehearsals, recording CDs in studios that cost you £1500 for 3 days.
Phoning record companies, doing the promotional artwork, sending out 100s of cds to labels, talking to A&R, organising gigs, writing new material, making sure you know the old stuff, letting people know when the next gig is, arranging transport for them etc etc etc, for 40 mins onstage and the vain hope that someone, somewhere, one day might see you.
You get lied to by record companies, promises are broken, phone calls are not returned. You can be made to feel like absolute crap.
We don't make money at any of this. We break even on door-money but we rarely see a profit.
We don't do it for money though, you do and you might as well quit.
We've played in pubs to 8 people, we've played in clubs to 500+, but each and every time we play like it's the last gig we'll ever do.
We work our hardest to make this music, and I am not complaining.
You have to break your spine making it work or you'll never get anywhere.
But what do I see?
Labels pumping millions of pounds into pre-fab bands of pretty faces, covering old songs and becoming household names, whilst smaller bands struggle, choke and die on the toilet circuits of Camden.
I have had the privilege of hearing and playing with dozens of awesome bands that will never be heard of again, simply because "it doesn't sell".
It would do if given the chance.
The Stereophonics were plugging away for 2 years before they got signed.
But most bands give up and cave in, because of the amount of work involved for little to no reward.
Putting your soul into a song that is heard by 10 people in a pub in Fulham, whilst teenies sing songs they didnt write to a click track and end up on posters in bedrooms.
You probably have a place near you that has bands on, but most people don't go to listen.
Whoever we have played with, whatever we thought of them, I respect them 100% for getting up there and doing it.
They are putting their heart and life into songs, spending hours and days/weeks/months trying to articulate something inside of them.
And it doesn't get heard by anyone other then the other bands and their girlfriends.
We're lucky, we write bloody good songs and we work every hour we can at making us big - it's gradually starting to happen now, each time a bit bigger.
But for every single unsigned band out there playing like their life depends on it, there are 2 groups of teens, smiling inanely and dancing in time to backing tapes.
It's not right damn it, but the only thing I can do is to keep playing, keep recording, keep busting my hands open and getting blisters.
Because I love music, it's what I do best and I will never stop, even if we end up playing in your pub.
I'm doing what I've always dreamed of, and that's enough for me.
Ok, let me try to explain why I love my band and why I get so passionately angry about manufactured, chart teeny crap.
I love music, I have to have music or I will go insane.
I play in a band that I love, I could never give it up.
And we are enjoying a mild level of success.
Been on Radio 1 a couple of times and Xfm, get mentioned whenever we play in their gig guide and now pull in crowds of 250+ when we play. And most of these people we don't know.
But it's hard work, unrewarding most of the time and can be soul destroying.
But that's the choice that you make if you need to play music.
Most bands never even get to the level we're at,let alone make it big. The odds are stacked against you from the start.
But you either accept that and die trying, or give up and get on with other things.
I rehearse 2 nights a week in a studio 32 miles from home.
That means I have to load my gear after a day at work, drive all that way, unload and set up, play for 5hrs, break it all down again, drive home at 1am and unload once more before I can sleep.
Next day I am shattered.
Gig days?
Get to the venue 5hrs before you are on stage for soundcheck, sit around afterwards until people start arriving in the evening.
10pm rolls around and it's time to play.
5-6 hrs of waiting for 45 mins onstage.
But that makes it worth it.
I look out and see people singing along, dancing about and having a fantastic time because of songs we wrote.
They cheer like mad and enjoy what we do.
They dont see the amount of work that goes into it - why should they?
They come to the gig and we entertain them, they get our CD and listen to it if they fancy it.
We are playing and listening to those songs 2-3 nights a week, 4-5hrs at a time because we love it and wouldn't do anything else.
Rehearsals, recording CDs in studios that cost you £1500 for 3 days.
Phoning record companies, doing the promotional artwork, sending out 100s of cds to labels, talking to A&R, organising gigs, writing new material, making sure you know the old stuff, letting people know when the next gig is, arranging transport for them etc etc etc, for 40 mins onstage and the vain hope that someone, somewhere, one day might see you.
You get lied to by record companies, promises are broken, phone calls are not returned. You can be made to feel like absolute crap.
We don't make money at any of this. We break even on door-money but we rarely see a profit.
We don't do it for money though, you do and you might as well quit.
We've played in pubs to 8 people, we've played in clubs to 500+, but each and every time we play like it's the last gig we'll ever do.
We work our hardest to make this music, and I am not complaining.
You have to break your spine making it work or you'll never get anywhere.
But what do I see?
Labels pumping millions of pounds into pre-fab bands of pretty faces, covering old songs and becoming household names, whilst smaller bands struggle, choke and die on the toilet circuits of Camden.
I have had the privilege of hearing and playing with dozens of awesome bands that will never be heard of again, simply because "it doesn't sell".
It would do if given the chance.
The Stereophonics were plugging away for 2 years before they got signed.
But most bands give up and cave in, because of the amount of work involved for little to no reward.
Putting your soul into a song that is heard by 10 people in a pub in Fulham, whilst teenies sing songs they didnt write to a click track and end up on posters in bedrooms.
You probably have a place near you that has bands on, but most people don't go to listen.
Whoever we have played with, whatever we thought of them, I respect them 100% for getting up there and doing it.
They are putting their heart and life into songs, spending hours and days/weeks/months trying to articulate something inside of them.
And it doesn't get heard by anyone other then the other bands and their girlfriends.
We're lucky, we write bloody good songs and we work every hour we can at making us big - it's gradually starting to happen now, each time a bit bigger.
But for every single unsigned band out there playing like their life depends on it, there are 2 groups of teens, smiling inanely and dancing in time to backing tapes.
It's not right damn it, but the only thing I can do is to keep playing, keep recording, keep busting my hands open and getting blisters.
Because I love music, it's what I do best and I will never stop, even if we end up playing in your pub.
I'm doing what I've always dreamed of, and that's enough for me.
I love music, I have to have music or I will go insane.
I play in a band that I love, I could never give it up.
And we are enjoying a mild level of success.
Been on Radio 1 a couple of times and Xfm, get mentioned whenever we play in their gig guide and now pull in crowds of 250+ when we play. And most of these people we don't know.
But it's hard work, unrewarding most of the time and can be soul destroying.
But that's the choice that you make if you need to play music.
Most bands never even get to the level we're at,let alone make it big. The odds are stacked against you from the start.
But you either accept that and die trying, or give up and get on with other things.
I rehearse 2 nights a week in a studio 32 miles from home.
That means I have to load my gear after a day at work, drive all that way, unload and set up, play for 5hrs, break it all down again, drive home at 1am and unload once more before I can sleep.
Next day I am shattered.
Gig days?
Get to the venue 5hrs before you are on stage for soundcheck, sit around afterwards until people start arriving in the evening.
10pm rolls around and it's time to play.
5-6 hrs of waiting for 45 mins onstage.
But that makes it worth it.
I look out and see people singing along, dancing about and having a fantastic time because of songs we wrote.
They cheer like mad and enjoy what we do.
They dont see the amount of work that goes into it - why should they?
They come to the gig and we entertain them, they get our CD and listen to it if they fancy it.
We are playing and listening to those songs 2-3 nights a week, 4-5hrs at a time because we love it and wouldn't do anything else.
Rehearsals, recording CDs in studios that cost you £1500 for 3 days.
Phoning record companies, doing the promotional artwork, sending out 100s of cds to labels, talking to A&R, organising gigs, writing new material, making sure you know the old stuff, letting people know when the next gig is, arranging transport for them etc etc etc, for 40 mins onstage and the vain hope that someone, somewhere, one day might see you.
You get lied to by record companies, promises are broken, phone calls are not returned. You can be made to feel like absolute crap.
We don't make money at any of this. We break even on door-money but we rarely see a profit.
We don't do it for money though, you do and you might as well quit.
We've played in pubs to 8 people, we've played in clubs to 500+, but each and every time we play like it's the last gig we'll ever do.
We work our hardest to make this music, and I am not complaining.
You have to break your spine making it work or you'll never get anywhere.
But what do I see?
Labels pumping millions of pounds into pre-fab bands of pretty faces, covering old songs and becoming household names, whilst smaller bands struggle, choke and die on the toilet circuits of Camden.
I have had the privilege of hearing and playing with dozens of awesome bands that will never be heard of again, simply because "it doesn't sell".
It would do if given the chance.
The Stereophonics were plugging away for 2 years before they got signed.
But most bands give up and cave in, because of the amount of work involved for little to no reward.
Putting your soul into a song that is heard by 10 people in a pub in Fulham, whilst teenies sing songs they didnt write to a click track and end up on posters in bedrooms.
You probably have a place near you that has bands on, but most people don't go to listen.
Whoever we have played with, whatever we thought of them, I respect them 100% for getting up there and doing it.
They are putting their heart and life into songs, spending hours and days/weeks/months trying to articulate something inside of them.
And it doesn't get heard by anyone other then the other bands and their girlfriends.
We're lucky, we write bloody good songs and we work every hour we can at making us big - it's gradually starting to happen now, each time a bit bigger.
But for every single unsigned band out there playing like their life depends on it, there are 2 groups of teens, smiling inanely and dancing in time to backing tapes.
It's not right damn it, but the only thing I can do is to keep playing, keep recording, keep busting my hands open and getting blisters.
Because I love music, it's what I do best and I will never stop, even if we end up playing in your pub.
I'm doing what I've always dreamed of, and that's enough for me.
yeah, yeaH, yeAH, yEAH, YEAH, YYYYYYEEEEEAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
Rock and roll Goatgod, rock and roll.
Rock and roll Goatgod, rock and roll.
I would love to see you lot become big :)
Come and play in Scotland and I'll go watch :). Try King Tut's Wah Wah Hut (I think its called that). Radiohead played there ;)
What I hate the most is how great songs get bog all up the chart and those piece of cack get number 1's.
For example Fake Plastic Trees got number 20 and such forth :D
I'll try and cut down on Radiohead :)
Come and play in Scotland and I'll go watch :). Try King Tut's Wah Wah Hut (I think its called that). Radiohead played there ;)
What I hate the most is how great songs get bog all up the chart and those piece of cack get number 1's.
For example Fake Plastic Trees got number 20 and such forth :D
I'll try and cut down on Radiohead :)
Reading that has made me feel very small and humble next to you, Goatboy.
*wipes away a tear*
*wipes away a tear*
Mr Monkey knows what I'm trying to say, as does Snuggly or anyone else in a band, or anyone that knows anyone in a band.
There will be 200+ bands playing tonight in London alone, all hoping this is their night, that someone will hear them and sign them.
Chances are this won't happen.
But there's always the next time, and the one after that, or maybe the next one.
You either keep at it or fold.
Whenever I see a band playing, be it Wembley or King's Head in Fulham, I have nothing but respect and admiration for them.
Doesn't matter if they suck, or I dont like the music.
Fact is, they're up there giving it everything they have.
That takes balls to stand in front of total strangers and play music you wrote. It's a hard fact when you give it 100% and 3 people look at you, clap politely and then return to drinking beer.
But it's a harder fact when you see yet another boy/girl group shoot to number one because they look nice, when you've just played your guts out and gone home with maybe £30 between you.
That is why I get frustrated with these chart acts. Because two weeks ago, we played with some amazing guys from Cumbria that drove 9hrs to play in Camden to a handful of their fans and ours.
These are people that deserve to be heard, people putting every ounce of themselves into trying to convey their heart through music.
And Atomic Kitten now sings "Eternal Flame" whilst 200 bands are screaming their hearts out tonight somewhere in London to a few people that will remember them and maybe ask for a CD.
It's not right.
There will be 200+ bands playing tonight in London alone, all hoping this is their night, that someone will hear them and sign them.
Chances are this won't happen.
But there's always the next time, and the one after that, or maybe the next one.
You either keep at it or fold.
Whenever I see a band playing, be it Wembley or King's Head in Fulham, I have nothing but respect and admiration for them.
Doesn't matter if they suck, or I dont like the music.
Fact is, they're up there giving it everything they have.
That takes balls to stand in front of total strangers and play music you wrote. It's a hard fact when you give it 100% and 3 people look at you, clap politely and then return to drinking beer.
But it's a harder fact when you see yet another boy/girl group shoot to number one because they look nice, when you've just played your guts out and gone home with maybe £30 between you.
That is why I get frustrated with these chart acts. Because two weeks ago, we played with some amazing guys from Cumbria that drove 9hrs to play in Camden to a handful of their fans and ours.
These are people that deserve to be heard, people putting every ounce of themselves into trying to convey their heart through music.
And Atomic Kitten now sings "Eternal Flame" whilst 200 bands are screaming their hearts out tonight somewhere in London to a few people that will remember them and maybe ask for a CD.
It's not right.