Shocks Draft two by Tom Slatter
I couldn’t help but add a couple of layers to Pete’s Electrick Shocks idea.
Archive for the “music” Category
Sing for a Sail (demo)
At the end of time we feel nothing Sing out for a sail or a whale to come near We’ll picnic in cities decaying Sing out for a sail or a whale to come near This conceit that I would love you Sing out for a sail or a whale to come near Recently, Pete came up with an idea for the chorus of a new song. I’m giving it the working title of ‘Sing out for a Sail’: Sing out for a sail or a whale to come near I’ve had a mess around with it, and extended it slightly. I’m not sure what the rest of the vocals might be, but here are my ideas for the song:  
People I met last night (but why don’t people do the internet right?)Posted on December 21st, 2009 by Tom in musicLast night I played a gig sans Pete (who sadly has been afflicted with a serious about of real life in recent weeks). Despite the icy conditions, I struggled out to the Zenith Bar in Islington, and played a set that included a few Comrade Robot songs, and also Two out of Three by Meatloaf and an old folk song named ‘The Trees They Do Grow High’. Also on the bill, in no particular order, were: 5 Minute Pop Promo Any act described as ‘folktastic prog-folk’ is going to get my vote. They arrived late, so only got to play two songs after me, but I really enjoyed this pleasant duo – a bit like Simon and Garfunkel, if Paul Simon took unreasonable delight in the death of celebrities. Annoyingly, and for reasons that escape me, they don’t have their own website. So I can only give you a link to their myspace: here Nicky Taylor Nicky doesn’t have a website either, but she does have a video on youtube, of course a myspace, and music that can be bought from itunes. Her music was nice, mellow and melodic, and reminded me of 1970s singer-songwriters like Joni Mitchell. Here’s a video: I don’t want to give a bad review, so I won’t mention the act that followed them and caused us to leave. What I will mention is something I don’t get – Why don’t these artists have their own websites? I wanted to include some pictures of 5 Minute Pop Promo, but the only pictures are on Myspace, which I can’t link to directly. A good website would have a press section and I could get straight at a picture. Nicky has music on itunes, but hasn’t included a link directly to it on her myspace. Both of these are good artists. I really enjoyed their sets and want to spread the word, but they’re not making it easy for me!
Cunning Mechanisms, Ingenious Devices, Winterval GigsPosted on December 13th, 2009 by Tom in gigs, music, newsAll has been quiet on the Comrade Robot front, due to real life getting in the way. Pete is still dealing with certain aspects of real life, and so this might turn out to be a solo gig:
(Yes, I know. We’re billed as ‘We’ll Write’. Hopefully this will not happen again.) The Zenith bar can be found on this map, and this website Fret ye not, I can still belt out a tune or two on my own. As if to prove this point, I’ve begun work on a solo project. Spinning the Compass – which is supposed to be Steampunk themed and contain longer songs with more twiddley guitar parts than would be found in a Comrade Robot recording. That’s my plan anyway. Two songs there for you to hear, more to follow. I hope to see you next Sunday, and I wish you a pleasant and gluttonous winterval. I filmed this (rather badly) over the summer, but for some reason never got round to uploading it. Here’s the first rehearsal of ‘Follow Man’: This morning I have been recording far too many guitar layers: Improvs - MinimalismA recent discovery I have made is the lovely Martin Auswick, who by pure coincidence also lives in Crystal Palace and goes by the name of ‘The Sound of the Ladies’. Despite the name, his is neither a lady, nor more than one person. However, wonderfully he is a Quantum Physicist I started paying attention properly to his stuff when I stumbled across a songwriting related post on his blog and made a few comments. From there I downloaded the free and lovely live EP ‘Live in Gipsy Hill’, mostly because Gipsy Hill is just down the road from me. I have since had it playing on a loop, and absolutely love both ‘The Clouds at the Top of the Sky’, and ‘Up! Went my Dreams’. You should download this too. If I were a music journalist I’d come up with some metaphors and similes to describe his music in a vague and ultimately useless way. But I’m not, so I shall instead say that he’s very good. He has a great tenor/baritone voice, strums a telecaster and sings songs that, like ours, are about more interesting things than how terrible it is to lose your girlfriend. Here’s a video: Last night we performed at the Fiddler’s Elbow for the Second time. It was lots of fun, and in my opinion Pete and I played the best we have for the last year or so. The set was a nice mix of songs we’ve never played before and three older songs. Trampoline Song was a highlight for me, though singing about hanging murderous evil clowns in August and Whiteface was also lots of fun. The set consisted of: Our cover of Hanging on the Telephone Also on the bill were Freddy McConnel and Eric T Walker. I would particularly recommend listening to Eric’s song TnT, which I think is great. There will be another gig in September, more news on that later. New Song, New Song! We’ve finally recorded a version of One More Time Around, which you can find in the fan’s area. PS. To access the Fans’ Area, you need to join the mailing list:
When will I get my Jetpack?Posted on August 4th, 2009 by Tom in demo and rehearsal recordings, musicEvery sci-fi fan that ever there was has yearned for a certain mode of transport. But it never arrives, no matter how long we wait… When will I get my Jetpack? (Join the Mailing list to download!) We’ve all seen the houses of tomorrow But that’s not the thing I’ve always yearned for. When will I get my jetpack? Flying cars I’ve never cared for When will I get my jetpack? There’s just one little drawback, When will I get my jetpack? |
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