Video “footage” of last gig

Last gig ever

Another Gig. We are getting very tired.

Another gig, another poster.

We have another gig coming up, which I’ve done another poster for. It should go off. Great concept and great bands.

We have another gig the following night in Bradford at the Love Apple.  Then we’ve been invited back for the Tea Time Shuffle in Novemeber. Get us.

Tea Time Shuffle

Many thanks to everyone that came down to see us on Friday. We had a brilliant time, and thoroughly enjoyed playing. The sound on stage for us was perfect, and I think for the first time we were all happy with it. It certainly makes a big difference when you can hear what you’re playing.

The good news is that Rob, the promoter was impressed enough to ask us back in the future, when we’ll be higher up the bill. It’ll be a while yet though, as we don’t like to over do things.

The Tea Time Shuffle!!!

This should be a really good gig, the two headlining bands are both getting a lot of media attention and are great, particularly our occasional tambourine player Mickey P Kerr and his amazing mix of comedy folk and hip-hop.  Check out their myspace pages to be convinced further.

And of course there are us doing our Braxton thing, including another new tune (and some very old ones)! We are on at 6.30pm which is pretty early but you know that unique feeling you get going out straight from work on a Friday – it all makes sense – finish work – hit a happy hour bar for a couple and then head over to the hi fi about 6.15 to meet up with all the other Hickettes in time to get a seat and watch our set – even if you stay for all five bands you can still be home cooking frozen chips by 10.30pm!  Alternatively your ticket for the gig gets you free entry into the funky club afterwards, so get on it.

Speaking of Myspace we have recorded a couple of tunes with top local producer Ryan “I am the Devil” Morris. This went a lot better than before when he was on the old Front and Back so he managed to include all members of the band this time.  Rough mixes are on our myspace and we hope to have the finished versions in time for the gig.

I think the gig will be a sell out so email us if you are interested in a ticket (like Glastonbury innit) and we will sort it out so it’s a bit cheaper than paying on the door and we may even throw in a copy of the CD.

Hot News – Tea Time Shuffle booking

News just in is that we’ve secured a slot at the hugely popular monthly Tea Time Shuffle held at the HiFi Club in Leeds. We’ll be playing on 6th July. Also playing are Mickey P Kerr & The Dudes + International Trust + Insect Guide + I Concur. Doors are at 6.00pm, and the way things stand, we’ll be on first at 6.30.  This is a ticketed event, and we will have discounted tickets nearer the time.

Club Melody Maker Gig last Friday

You know when everything that could come undone does ? Well it did. We were all really pissed off about how badly things went.

First off, we didn’t get a soundcheck. It’s the second gig running, and no soundcheck is never good, but when you’re throwing a load of new things in, it’s even worse.

Then as we were setting up, my software kept crashing. It took three reboots before it worked and we were ‘ready’ to roll.

My capo was on the end of my guitar, at home.  Does Danny have one ? Not with him….we were a capo short, despite pleas for help from those present, there wasn’t one capo in the house. The other bands must have been proper musicians… As a result, we had to drop ‘fans favourite’ Song For Ryan. I say fans favourite, I’m sure I heard someone asking for ‘one we know’. It was a shame, as that might have helped us get some sort of levels sorted.

So we started with ‘Got to get to you’, aka ‘Glue’, then ‘Calling Time’, before calling Hilda up for ‘It’s a Given’ (Gibbon). Further messing with sound levels, fighting feedback followed. Things started to look up toward the end of the song.

Time for a new one. ‘Hello Sweetheart’. Goodbye strings, goodbye mic, goodbye good feeling about the rest of the gig.  Ste broke a string, my mic made me sound like Norman Collier, and things were going from bad to badder.

Ste’s broken string and lack of a guitar tech, spare guitar, and time, meant we had to drop another song, “Take Me Home (for Gravy)”.  Thankfully the finishing line was in site.

It was time to get the glow sticks out.  That’s not a euphemism. Paul and I had been in the back room (again, no double meaning), snapping some off (stop it) to give out, and add a bit of colour. They seemed to go down well, although maybe asking Sandi to give them out was a mistake.  I reckon he got quite a few funny looks, as some people thought he was a dodgy street vendor.

Anyway, to crack on, ‘Noahs Ark’, another new song, was next. Our first song to include keyboards, our first live attempt, and to be honest, it was a shambles. The levels were all over the place, no one could hear anything on stage, and my mic wasn’t working. The well rehearsed idea was to end the song and to mix into a sample of Mason vs Princess superstar’s ‘Perfect Exceeder’ and flow effortlessly into Wakey rap. No chance.

Despite all this, we got a few positive comments from viewers, but I can’t  help thinking they were just being kind. We had a converstaion with “RPC” the promoter of the Tea Time Shuffle, who said we’d definitely get a soundcheck when we played for him, whenever that might be. That’s one to look forward to…

Calling all Hicks!

This is where we can keep track of what we’re all up to.  Training to be given to all band members.