ghost

i have a bundle of computer gear - RAM, P1 motherboard, network card (I think), SoundBlaster 16. is that too low spec, or are you interested regardless?

I dunno - quite liked the Love Cats cover. He is talented & all the best to him. ~ noise

have sent you an email

oh for the old leatherless boar... nice cake too. cake...

Tch. You're right - but at the moment tea rules over wine...

*bouing*

Then Drakes really are the worlds #1 venue! Huzzah! *slurp*

oh that's something entirely sterident & won't be for a while. no solo acoustic shows. (thought i had an offer there you fuck!! )

sno fair. i forgut. belated best wishes.

i'll take offers... *bounce*

tuner = Zoom 504ii! Tis excellent! And there's one for sale.... (it has other FX too)... and it's shiny. http://www.aberdeen-music.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8083

worth it for the excellent sound FX alone! http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3177686500&category=30&sspagename=STRK%3AMESSE%3AIT&rd=1 ..plus there's some original gameboy games (Super RC Pro Am & Gremlins 2 - The New Batch) if anyone is interested? Boxed and with instructions. Offers? They work on GBAs.

ps: marie & band are performing at the lemon tree this friday lunchtime (27th feb, 1pm).

Probably looking for quality rather than quantity... The traffic's picked up a bit recently tho... I'd start up a mp3/demo review thread, but I'm firewalled at work and can't download anything. That sort of thing usually kick starts boards like these.

I know Paul Tasker is in pottedheid, but who else? And what did they sound like?

Baz informs me that the horrible computerised drum beat was in the first mix (masters were not available) was recorded in a different studio, and later removed as much as possible. The rest of the demo was recorded in a front room with a very critical producer at the helm. Shows that patience delivers good results.

www.salmusic.co.uk - send an email to Paul and he'll sort you out.

I was handed this CD almost exactly a year ago by fellow 'Big Break' acoustic finalists SAL, fresh from an acclaimed performance at the Celtic Connections festival. It kept me upbeat and awake during the long drive north with the rest of the Beakers and made the drifting snow seem rather unreal. This is definitely a summer CD, just right for playing while relaxing next to the pool or as background music to your family barbecue. Sparse arrangements and crisp unaffected vocals could fool you into believing this to be a collection of simple songs - nothing could be further from the truth. Featuring guitar licks John Martyn or Bert Jansch would be proud of, teamed with sweet powerful vocals that remind me of Nick Drake with more balls, this is an amateur CD that has to be heard to be believed. Fans of saccharine US teen show Dawson's Creek will love the "last dance of the prom" emotions evoked by 'Picture Postcard', while commuters will find themselves smiling out into bleak grey days as they drum their steering wheel to the guitar mute percussion on 'Nothing Left To Lose'. The payload comes with 'Sunshine Morning Smile' - lovely harmonies, Martyn style guitar and summer by the bucket load. It really is a song to eat breakfast to, while sitting on the balcony of your Parisian hotel of course.

i first heard of electric tibet on radio scotland, catching the end of their first radio session. i was of course surprised to hear that they were based in aberdeen. next thing i know i'm sharing a bill with sandy galloway (aka sandy future) in a quiet venue on a bright saturday afternoon. we were soon swapping cds and i think i got the better deal. when i heard local label fat hippy records were releasing a four track ep, i hot-footed it along to the launch and grabbed a copy. since then it's never really been that far away from my cd player, but i've been a bit lax with reviewing as you no doubt realise. ok this is ep is 11 months old, but it's still available and still bloody good. seek out a copy while you can! lead track "is it fear?" unleashes razor-sharp guitars desperately spitting chords at the feet of the steady energetic drummer, hooking the listener from the start. when vocalist sandy's deep burr becomes the eye of this sonic hurricane, you'll be forgiving for checking the inlay as his is a voice that easily draws comparisons with Iggy Pop. next up we have "fallout blues", a gentle instrumental track with the occasional smattering of light piano - is this the same band? it's a soundtrack to a 4am coffee watching unfortunates on their way to work. there's a real hint of menace in this one. "surfer rozanne" is an apt surf blues number which must have been in the running for lead track - it would have been my choice - featuring even more energy than the "is this fear?" and including a fantastic double-tracked guitar solo, this is a song that wouldn't have been out of place on the pulp fiction soundtrack had it been recorded a few years earlier and placed in the right hands. songwriting kudos for the hook line "there's a place in the garden where the dead leaves fall and nothing new grows there". next we have another instrumental - rosebud - perhaps the antithesis to fallout blues? this tracks pulls the listener along at a gallop, another soundtrack, this time to coincide with our hero driving a long straight road at sunrise. the happy ending and credits are in sight. of course the menace suggested in "fallout blues" chooses this as its cue and hello, if it's not mr death and his newly sharpened scythe. what's that? oh you're not taking any prisoners today are you? sorry. thwack. those of you regularly reading these reviews will know that i am a bit of a closet rocker - although it's got to be sharp and exciting/experimental to hold my interest for long (before 10,000,000 bland cds are thrust in my direction). electric tibet don't just fall neatly into this category, they level the competition and build a whole new playing field on top of the twisted corpses of their contemporaries. i'm rather excited and proud that aberdeen has produced at least two of the finest bands skirting around the rather large "rock" genre (the other being saint maybe) and can only hope that this, their first release, propels their popularity with those living outwith the area.

Kai's right, it was getting pretty dead in here. I'm working on a couple of new local reviews which I'll post here soon, but in the meantime here's some recent ones to dissect and disagree with. Released in late 2002, Marie Thain's first recording - the aptly titled "First Cut EP" - is a fine example of how home-recorded albums are quickly gaining on those produced by multi-million-demanding producers. From the mellow yet catchy 'Take A Look At Your Life' it's instantly obvious to the listener that this lass can sing. 'Don't Throw It All Away' keeps it upbeat and the only quibble I can find is the rather irksome computer click track that detracts from the complex guitar layers during the chorus (usually percussion is provided by very smooth tabla patterns). 'How Easily' is a battle against the sands of time set against slightly sleazy instrumentation and containing a great gospel harmony ending. 'Angel Child' hints at a Fleetwood Mac influence and Marie's voice is at its best. The chorus refrain "go to sleep" is the real hook here. 'Destination Unknown' is rockier than the rest of the tracks on this EP with hints of classic Neil Young a welcome surprise - the solo could well have been throttled out by the man himself. Final track 'You Make My Soul Fly' is stark, dry and very very pleasant to listen to. Again Marie's vocals are at their best, the (self) harmonies are tight and the sparse guitar still manages to tug at your emotions. Yup this track gave me goose bumps. Beautiful. This six track EP is perfect for languid days spent in the garden. The recording is spacious, the guitar nicely settled behind the layers of vocals. The high point for me is the final track 'You Make My Soul Fly', but the Neil Young vibe of 'Destination Unknown' is a worthy runner-up and proves that Marie isn't confined to the folk genre and Joan Baez/Joni Mitchell-esque arrangements. Go seek it out! Available from http://www.icebergmusic.co.uk or One Up Records, Aberdeen.

That made me chuckle. But it's friday and I'm in a good mood. 2/10.

is it really? you'll have the cd by now - 'Agents Of The Sun' sticker et al.

that and the brick.

surely they got paid for their work? bar staff always have and always will get shit tips, apart from christmas (if they're lucky). so glad i don't have to do that anymore - it's a thankless job.