Blogs

Hi all - I woke up feeling wistful this morning after our first proper gig with Kim our new drummer at the Victoria Club in Chesterfield last night - a great venue, fantastic stage, big room, good acoustics and staff who really seem to care about music and want to keep rock music playing there. I am not sure if I dreamt/remembered or imagined a night of people dancing, loving live music and engaging with the band. Didn't it used to be like that?

OK, I'm from the North West the root of the country's wealth during the industrial revolution through to the late-mid 20th century. Here we have new creative industries like music with the major cities having a significant contribution to exports and GDP - in Manchester it was bands like the Happy Mondays and Stone Roses' latterly Doves and Elbow. Take That..... mmm, yes, weren't they that band that cavorted in bondage gear and leather in front of middle aged confused men in gay bars. Indeed.

Oh dear, we wound down on the gig-getting front last year for a number of reasons, finally exhausting our booked gigs in February this year - playing just two or three gigs between September and December 2009 but still racking up nearly 70 gigs in that year.

 What's happened -well venues have shut and we are in competition, ahem, with a whole load of new bands playing covers where we do them and a bit of a lull everywhere else. We can get gigs but very little is around until much later in the year.

Another blog from me! I really must get my act together and put my thoughts down more often.

 But I was so pleased with our most recent practice that I wanted to share it! It felt for me like coming home musically, like we were all excited by what we were playing and sounded fantastic together. My voice seemed to be coming from somewhere else - if you know what I mean - as if it was bypassing my brain! That is a great feeling......a kind of altered state...

When it comes to blogging I am quite lost. I have spent much time enjoying The Amplifires music and the friendship of the persons who make up this enjoyable group. Changes happen but noone who ever ventures close to The Amplifires is ever forgotten. 2009 was an excellent year full of adventure and song. 2010 has been even better yet still barely underway. This is due mostly because of the members relentless pursuit of gigs across the U.K. and building toward the second U.S. tour in the fall.

I almost remember how to do this, writing on a new fangled, coal powered processing machine - it's been a long long time coming !!

Brilliant! When asked "what's the biggest myth about the rock world?" Brett Anderson from Suede said "That it's a procession of carnal glamour; it's actually about spending a lot of time backstage, sitting on grubby sofas and fiddling with bits of cheese"

... to you all. 2010, who'd have thought we'd have got here 10 years ago when everyone (well except those geeks who convinced right-minded people to pay them a fortune to stare at a VDU screen for hours on 31st December - they took the piss and drank champagne whilst watching a re-run of Breakfast Club) was worrying about the Y2K Bug.

Regular visitors to the site may have been a bit disappointed that there has been little new in recent weeks. Well that's going to change real soon as we start to announce news and our plans for 2010 - including our return to the USA. And David and Larry are really busy preparing the ground for that. Meantime Larry has been building a home for us on meez.com - have a look at http://www.meez.com/roomz.dm?act=view&room_id=dr1.Kj5yAbcqlkDb&r=536223

Long time no blog....thought I had better break my silence and mention our recent gig in the wilds of Derbyshire (the best county in the UK, of course!) in Castleton or thereabouts. It brought back memories for me as I remember going on a train to Hope station as a child with my parents and my brother to experience camping and walking and other healthy outdoor pursuits. I can almost feel the bracing air in my lungs....