We Shall Be Blessed...

[unbroken]

Remember folks, if you want to come see us one last time.

Its this friday at the East Neuk on King Street with Desalvo.

We may be on early as I have work I can't get out of, so turn up early.

Its gonna be ace.

[Hog]

Yeah, I wrote Neonfluxicide to get the chicks...and the

[stuartmaxwell]

all ye got was a load of pelters from a bunch of dickheads!

try harder!

[Tooms]

...

Brilliant gig over money any time though. I love playing live

yeah totally. but as I think dan pointed out the kicker is that IF you don't get paid, it is usually cos it hasn't been promoted and so therefore there is no one to sell anything to, thus you can't sell merch anyway.

but IF it is a "brilliant gig" (implies people are there!) then the promoter has obviously made some money from putting on your band, so isnt it only fair that you get a small cut of that too? i.e. your guarantee?

i think 'good gig/getting paid' and 'bad gig/don't get paid' both go hand in hand with each other. it should never be a case of either or.

we're always happy to get petrol money though because if we don't we often literally can't get to the next show. simple as.

[Guest treader.]

but IF it is a "brilliant gig" (implies people are there!)

not always. some of the best shows i've been to (either playing or viewing) have been amazing regardless of crowd size.

some nights you play tighter in front of 10 people than you would in front of 200 people.

i dont give a crap about money really. sure it's nice, but i'd rather just play live than be all bitchy and demand a guarantee.

[Alkaline]

not always. some of the best shows i've been to (either playing or viewing) have been amazing regardless of crowd size.

some nights you play tighter in front of 10 people than you would in front of 200 people.

i dont give a crap about money really. sure it's nice, but i'd rather just play live than be all bitchy and demand a guarantee.

Yeah, thats the way i see it. My favourite gig to play was Elgin at Oceans to about 40 people max. We sold quite a few CDs at that gig as well.

[stuartmaxwell]

surely if ye cant fork out 40 between five boys to get to the next show you are obviously going to be in trouble and shouldnt be going on tour (risking cancelling other gigs where others have put in lots of effort to get you to come play for them).

not trying to be a dick, but Im interested to hear what would you do if yer van needed a new tyre/repair? cancel the tour??? surely you have been in that situation before??

I think a lot of bands get pretty dramatic about not getting paid, I have heard a lot of bands (and in earlier days I have done this) spin the line of "how can we eat/get to next show" etc when being paid/not paid by a gash promoter, yet will stop at loads of service stations for a 3 can of juice and 5 BLT

[Guest treader.]

exactly.

[Dan G]

surely if ye cant fork out 40 between five boys to get to the next show you are obviously going to be in trouble and shouldnt be going on tour (risking cancelling other gigs where others have put in lots of effort to get you to come play for them).

not trying to be a dick, but Im interested to hear what would you do if yer van needed a new tyre/repair? cancel the tour??? surely you have been in that situation before??

I think a lot of bands get pretty dramatic about not getting paid, I have heard a lot of bands (and in earlier days I have done this) spin the line of "how can we eat/get to next show" etc when being paid/not paid by a gash promoter, yet will stop at loads of service stations for a 3 can of juice and 5 BLT

It's not necessarily "between 5 boys though" say if you're in a band where one or two members have a full time job and the others are jobless/rarely work/lot lower paid. Then it turns out to be the same one or two people funding the petrol after every gig that you don't get paid. That's before you consider the van tax, MOT and insurance etc...

Regarding van breakdowns mid-tour; one of the wheel bearings in our van totally buckled once - we had to get towed in the AA from leeds to southend. Cost a good few hundred quid to get the van fixed, as well as hassle, but we managed to sort it out and even get to the next gig on time. Luckily some of us had a few quid in reserve, so just got it covered.

The ocassional show of not getting paid isn't a problem, but when it happens a lot it's just annoying. 40 every now and again is neither here nor there but if that were to happen for say ten gigs, it starts to mount up.

And to re-phrase your first sentence slightly:

surely if ye cant fork out 40 for five boys to get to their next show you are obviously a ding promoter and shouldnt be putting on shows

[Tooms]

surely if ye cant fork out 40 between five boys to get to the next show you are obviously going to be in trouble and shouldnt be going on tour (risking cancelling other gigs where others have put in lots of effort to get you to come play for them).

not trying to be a dick, but Im interested to hear what would you do if yer van needed a new tyre/repair? cancel the tour??? surely you have been in that situation before??

I think a lot of bands get pretty dramatic about not getting paid, I have heard a lot of bands (and in earlier days I have done this) spin the line of "how can we eat/get to next show" etc when being paid/not paid by a gash promoter, yet will stop at loads of service stations for a 3 can of juice and 5 BLT

personally i take as much food "from home" as possible (also read as buy bread/sandwich filling etc from local asda's) so I am not spending money in service stations. However, at some point (particularly late night driving) you are just going to have to stop at one. can't really avoid it. But I plan round it as best I can. I look like a total nonce with my packed lunches lol but I don't care!! :-D

yeah, 40 for one show, is fine, totally do-able. what about couple of hundred for 5 shows? becomes a slightly different issue. that's all i was saying. I am sure (well, not sure), but I doubt we will be getting any money for our upcoming Glasgow gig but we;re fucking stoked to go down and play with those bands!! so will therefore gladly pay the cost of getting down. And it's also possible that we will get a few unpaid tour dates of a band we really love soon...again we'll do that by saving over the next few months. But in general, I don't think it's too much to ask to get 20-40 for petrol monies and a bit of food!!

also yes we save for our MOT! and one person in our band pays for all the insurance etc. we have been fortunate in that it hasnt blown up on the road yet. although the other week we did run out of petrol AND the door fell off...it was quite funny.

[unbroken]

thanks to everyone, it was great.

[Mordred]

Yipe indeed it was an excellant gig, just a shame a large portion of the crowd left after WSBB played, i cant believe anyone would miss DESALVO o_O

I might be one of the few who caught your first gig, your last gig and the last gig with your previous singer.

Personally i'll miss you guys as i think you had alot to offer and im still disappointed i couldn't put you on in Elgin before the split

On the Promoters front i've recently been putting gigs on in Elgin and petrol money is the minimum i'll always pay out.

If the band want a guarantee then thats what it is, if im not happy paying that i wouldn't put them on - simple as

You can find my Elgin Promotions page at www.myspace.com/thesyndicate2008

[quinnsdude]

the last blessed show was awesome. well enjoyed. trouble is, where are that amount of people at most shows these bands play hmmm?

a friend of mine in a glasgow band that recently split after 6 or 7 years together said that the last show was RAMMED and it was like....most of these people we havent seen in years. kind of bittersweet dont you think?

regarding the whole touring discussion, i feel that there are certain people on here that should really listen to tooms and dan who have toured the uk many times for weeks at a time rather than those commenting that have done the odd weekend scottish tour here and there. harsh but true.

[stuartmaxwell]

the last blessed show was awesome. well enjoyed. trouble is, where are that amount of people at most shows these bands play hmmm?

regarding the whole touring discussion, i feel that there are certain people on here that should really listen to tooms and dan who have toured the uk many times for weeks at a time rather than those commenting that have done the odd weekend scottish tour here and there. harsh but true.

to be honest, that was a diy/punk gig on a Friday night which did well because lots of people who go to (generally speaking) metal gigs went along to see blessed off. its pretty unrealistic to expect punks to go to commercial metal gigs and vice versa, esp on Tuesday nights / Sunday nights etc

im not sure if that snidey remark at the end is aimed at me, but you would be mistaken if it was

[quinnsdude]

im not sure if that snidey remark at the end is aimed at me, but you would be mistaken if it was

i find this kind of protestation hilarious.

[Captain America]

i find this kind of protestation hilarious.

[Dan G]

I'm very sorry, but that is neither original or even remotely accurate.

"Cookie monster" vocals refer to indecipherable, low, gutteral growls most often associated with mono-tone death metal vocalists. Listen to Necrophagist or Steve Tucker era Morbid Angel for a better idea of what you're attempting to reference.

In future, you might just want to say something along the lines of; "I think your vocals are generic and shit", rather attempting humour by using references that make it painfully clear how little you know about the subject in hand.

At least this way you could let Maxi know how much you want to bum him by voicing an honest opinion, rather than simply regurgitating something that you've heard someone else say in pictoral form.

2/10

see me.

[Guest treader.]

i'd say see Enter Shikari 'screams' on their album for the ultimate 'Cookie Monster' vocals, but I wouldn't know really.

[Teabags]

"Cookie monster" vocals refer to indecipherable, low, gutteral growls most often associated with mono-tone death metal vocalists. Listen to Necrophagist or Steve Tucker era Morbid Angel for a better idea of what you're attempting to reference.

There's an actual definition for "Cookie monster vocals"? Thats pretty fucking ridiculous.

[scottyboy]

I think we need to see some reliable references here

[Teabags]

Urban Dictionary: cookie monster vocals

Jesus fucking christ.

[Guest treader.]

"Idk, they're cookie monster vocals. You're not really supposed to focus on the lyrics anyway. Who the fuck cares what he's saying? Enjoy the brutality of the music, dipshit!"

wow, that's really something.

[Captain America]

I'm very sorry, but that is neither original or even remotely accurate.

"Cookie monster" vocals refer to indecipherable, low, gutteral growls most often associated with mono-tone death metal vocalists. Listen to Necrophagist or Steve Tucker era Morbid Angel for a better idea of what you're attempting to reference.

In future, you might just want to say something along the lines of; "I think your vocals are generic and shit", rather attempting humour by using references that make it painfully clear how little you know about the subject in hand.

At least this way you could let Maxi know how much you want to bum him by voicing an honest opinion, rather than simply regurgitating something that you've heard someone else say in pictoral form.

2/10

see me.

Ugh, the irony of your everything comes back to Maxi and calling me unoriginal is delicious.

I would never go as far as to call Ben WEAPON's vocals generic because that would be a slap in the face to every other singer/screamer in the world.

Oh and btw Cookie Monster sounds nothing like Morbid Angel, but he does sound an awful lot like this.

YouTube - MY MINDS WEAPON - Lucky Like Kokura

Don't believe me. Here's the Muppet cookie monster throwing down a vocal sample.

YouTube - Cookie Monster

PS: If you want another pictorial reference to his vocals. Here's one.

[Dan G]

I would never go as far as to call Ben WEAPON's vocals generic because that would be a slap in the face to every other singer/screamer in the world.

Megalolz. Some people like his voice, some people don't. Big whoop de doo. I hope your pretend hatred and exaggerated insults get those much sought after rep points from your peers...

Oh and btw Cookie Monster sounds nothing like Morbid Angel, but he does sound an awful lot like this.

Doesn't matter. You're taking it too literally. Agree with it or not, 'Cookie Monster' is a phrase used to describe a certain type of vocals, and Ben doesn't fall into that category.

I could record and listen to a bunch of native african's hitting coat hangers off an Iron girder and I wouldn't go up to a guy with the Immortal, Emperor and Darkthrone discographies on his iPod and proceed to tell him that I'm listening to "black metal" and he isn't...

PS: If you want another pictorial reference to his vocals. Here's one.

"Steaky" vocals. I get it. That's priceless. Did you come up with that one as well? Oh no, that's right - that was a phrase that maxi came up with and you hilariously put into pictures again. Except with a poo on top too emphasise the "shitness".

[Captain America]

Megalolz. Some people like his voice, some people don't. Big whoop de doo. I hope your pretend hatred and exaggerated insults get those much sought after rep points from your peers...

There is no pretend and I don't care about getting rep for this. Ben screaming is shit and he seems to think he's God's gift to music, underage emo girls and the world. That arrogance annoys me.

"Steaky" vocals. I get it. That's priceless. Did you come up with that one as well? Oh no, that's right - that was a phrase that maxi came up with and you hilariously put into pictures again. Except with a poo on top too emphasise the "shitness".

Well done, do you want a cookie or a balloon.