Shocks Draft two by Tom Slatter

I couldn’t help but add a couple of layers to Pete’s Electrick Shocks idea.

Pete has begun a song:
ElecktrickShocksdemo by Comrade Robot

Tear and crackle of the Velcro Man
Bristling palms of his sticky grab hands
Unfastening the buckles, unzipping his chest
Ain’t no heart beats in the gash in his chest

The inhuman rhythm of our velcro villain
In keys and swipes and pins and locks
Each time his mind begins to unwind
We administer electric shocks

Yesterday, Pete and I met to play some music and make some plans.

We commandeered the studio of a friend named Ben, and fired up Pete’s laptop. The plan you see for future Comrade Robot performances is to move away from the acoustic-centred ensemble we have been and involve more of the electronic percussion, pads and beeps that we already use in our recordings. So we had a bash through Bleached Bone Fields, Stand and Clap and an old song called Ghosts, and you know what? It sounded pretty good.

We also made some plans to get Comrade Robot back on track, so in the coming months expect to see:-

• A finished version of Songs for the End of the World, with a couple of tracks gone, a couple of tracks remixed and a properly finished cover

• Some new recordings (August and Whiteface and Moon Behind the Sun or the most likely candidates)

• A Ustream gig (Because I did a solo one and we liked the results)

Many more exciting shenanigans, including hopefully a new video.

At the end of time we feel nothing
But Mrs Underwood how I love you so
Could you teach of morals and ethics?
Could you show me love from a billion years ago?
We’ll travel in time to Bromley
We’ll travel in time though time will soon be gone!

Sing out for a sail or a whale to come near
Sing out this night for your lives
Sing out for the stars from afar, how we fear
Strangely as the moon to an Earthsman
Strangely we rush this unusual night

We’ll picnic in cities decaying
Mrs Underwood, I’m learning from all that you say
Of London, of love and betraying
Of brigand-musicians, and palaeozoic days
We’ll travel in time to Bromley
We’ll travel in time though time will soon be gone!

Sing out for a sail or a whale to come near
Sing out this night for your lives
Sing out for the stars from afar, how we fear
Strangely as the moon to an Earthsman
Strangely we rush this unusual night

This conceit that I would love you
Has somehow become more than a pleasing diversion
Though our cities are slowly dying
The doomsayers they rage, in hopeless impotence
We’ll travel in time to Bromley
We’ll travel in time though time will soon be gone!

Sing out for a sail or a whale to come near
Sing out this night for your lives
Sing out for the stars from afar, how we fear
Strangely as the moon to an Earthsman
Strangely we rush this unusual night

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
Sing out this night for your lives
Sing out for the stars from afar, how we fear
Strangely as the moon to an Earthsman
Strangely we rush this unusual night

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:

Rehearsal Noun – A situation in which musicians loudly hack their way through a couple of songs with gusto, paying only marginal attention to matters of tuning, timing, finesse or musicality.

Today, Pete and I rehearsed in this manner. It was lots of fun. We also took a couple of videos. Recording rehearsals is a good idea because it forces you to concentrate a little more so as not to mess up the recording. However, it also provides evidence of exactly how bad my posture is when singing. I need to sort myself out.

Anyway, gig on Thursday. The other performers are:

Freddie McConnel
John Carter
Derek Hampson
Costas
Eric Walker

Seriously, I could only find one of these musicians on the internet. I guess that’s a drawback of performing under your name rather than a band name:- less likely to turn up in web searches. Ah well, it means Thursday shall contain many suprises.

Thursday 20th August
The Fiddlers Elbow
1 Malden Road,
Camden,
London
NW5, UK
8.30pm.
£5

Here’s a map

‘August and Whiteface’ is the title for what I cannot help but refer to as the ‘evil clown’ song.

Here we are, playing it through for the first time. This video is also proof that even with the lyrics in front of me, I will still get the words wrong to any given song.

Gig!
Other subjects covered at next Thursday’s gig will include zombies, pirates, novels Pete has read, and telephones.

Thursday 20th August
The Fiddlers Elbow
1 Malden Road,
Camden,
London
NW5, UK
8.30pm.
£5

Here’s a map

Every 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 tomorrow’s come and gone
And my robots still aren’t here

But that’s not the thing I’ve always yearned for.
I’ve seen it in the films, I’ve been waiting now for years

When will I get my jetpack?
When will I be free to soar?
To escape the bonds of gravity
Rocket powered liberty
When will I get my jetpack?

Flying cars I’ve never cared for
Hover boards won’t set us free
Jaunting never works for me

When will I get my jetpack?
When will I be free to soar?
To escape the bonds of gravity
Rocket powered liberty
When will I get my jetpack?

There’s just one little drawback,
Technical but oh so cruel
However big you build your jetpack
You’re in for dissapointment
They don’t carry much fuel

When will I get my jetpack?
When will I be free to soar?
To escape the bonds of gravity
Rocket powered liberty
When will I get my jetpack?

Every now and then, Pete and I rehearse. It might not sound like it, but we do.

These recordings were done with my phone at our last rehearsal. The first is our first ever live, playing at the same time attempt at Espers, (one of the b-sides that you can find on the mailing list). Considering Pete, as is his wont, as changed the lyrics to it, I think we did okay.

Download Espers (rehearsal)

This second recording started as Measure of a Man, but sort of became a System of a Down song instead. Weird how that can happen.

Download Measure of a Toxicity.

After rehearsal, as I was walking back home past Crystal Palace Park, I saw a sign advocating the reintroduction of the Sydenham Ducking Stool for nagging women and ‘rapscalions’.

I assume it’s a joke, but who can tell?

Anyway, there are all sorts of extra tracks in the Fans’ Area, not just Espers. Hear ‘em by joining the mailing list: