Thursday 19 May 2011

Too tense for trousers.

13 gigs in the bag for us. They have been a varied mix of fun, frustration and the fog of war. Now, as promised, we are going to have a few weeks of rehearsal and recording in preparation for kicking off again in late June.

Here are some things for you to expect:

1. 3 singles, each backed by a pair of B-sides.
2. 1 album.
3. 1 drummer.

So that’s 12ish new recordings and 33.33% more Mashemon. That’s really not bad. More than I’ve ever got from my subscription to Fence and Hedge Aficionado, the bi-annual publication for the discerning boundary enthusiast.

Our two May gigs were very enjoyable. Both were in support of the Smiles For Japan event and hopefully we entertained the people who turned up in support. The Thursday gig was a hoot, good sound for us to play with and nice people. The Saturday gig was a more considered and restrained event since it was early evening, we were playing our quiet set and I had not exchanged much of my blood for fizzy attitude adjuster, although I made up for that afterwards…..

Playing the quiet set for a second time was alright, but given the amount of noise we have been making of late I think it is safe to say it will be going back in the box for a little while.

It was obvious that a lot of time and effort had gone into the Smiles for Japan fundraising, and we felt proud to be a part of it and give some support. Thank you Seba for asking us along. I particularly enjoyed the man in the Dolphin suit. A triumph.

Finally I would like to say thank you to the nice woman who felt compelled to curtsy to me when we were introduced on Saturday before the gig. I like to think it was on account of my good posture and regal demeanour. Or maybe I look like the Queen. Don’t know. Carry on!

Thursday 5 May 2011

Crackity crackity snappity snappity

That’s it for April then. It was a busy old month. We played 5 gigs, of varying quality, drank more beer than was probably good for us, were subjected to some prolonged interpretive dancing and carried a lot of heavy things up and down several flights of stairs over and over again.

Our final gig of the month at the Bad Format was a hazy affair and very enjoyable to boot. Frank made us feel very welcome and was a superb host. Thanks to the Mashemon faithful for sticking it out until the bitter end and a special commendation goes to Paul for his tireless shape-throwing. Relentless.

We’ve finished two recordings – Curtains and the Texas Sex Club Mix of Dead Dog and I am currently fiddling around with finishing a third – Wear and Replace. We’ve introduced two new songs into the set – Frank Bloke and Guts - and performed our first “quiet” gig in the FACT, which was one of the highlights of the month for me. I have also purchased my first roll of gaffer tape.

You would think that we would be taking it easy after that, but you would be wrong. Last night the two headed creature that waded out of the Mersey two-ish years ago began to grow an extra head. With a beard on it. And drumsticks in its teeth. We have two more gigs in May, playing for the excellent Smiles for Japan event that is being organised by Seba Rashii and associates and then we will be wrapping ourselves in a silky cocoon until the metamorphosis is complete.

Exciting times for us then. All we have to do now is find some places to play in the second half of the year and everything will be fine and dandy. Suggestions and invitations gladly accepted.