The Heavy, The Black Reds and me at the Rainbow

So getting asked to support the Heavy once was amazing, getting asked a second time is just awesome. It was so much fun the first time round so I was really looking forward to this especially considering how well The Heavy are doing. They’re on the way home after a world tour, they absolutely killed it in America, they played The Late Show with David Letterman and got asked to do an encore…thats unheard of!!!

I played first, I played essentially the same set but made two changes I threw in the cover of Jump Around by House of Pain to get people warmed up and finished with a new song called From Grace, It’s a singer songwriter style tune with guitar beatbox and string synths and I’ve been itching to give it its first live outing so I did and it worked.

Next up were the Black Reds. I had never seen or heard of them before but I was truly amazed by the sheer energy they expelled whilst playing. This two piece is made up of a guitarist and a drummer, the drummer plays stood up and is also the lead singer. They stand up front together and they play a truly admirable show, I tried to take a picture but every attempt was blurry as they play that fast. Their last number saw the guitarist playing the guitar and the bass drum whilst the drummer/singer took his floor tom into the crowd and seek out 3 people (myself included) to beat the drum. I loved it, I absolutely loved it. Basically imagine the White Stripes but actually really f@£$ing good. Find them see them and love them!

It’s been a while…….

since I last blogged but I have stuff to tell you now so it’s all good. Well I guess I had to wait until I had something just as cool as The Heavy show to talk about and by god I think I’ve done it! On the 29th Of January I played at Pressure-Drop which is a night run by Birmingham Ska outfit Tempting Rosie who’s main goal is to put on an eclectic and positive night of music. I arrived at the venue alone and had no idea what to do with myself but by the end of the night I had made loads of new friends from the other bands.

I was up first, I kept it up beat and funky and had a good time playing. Next up was Fistful of Dynamite these guys are the quintessential party band, they just tore the place apart with amazing funk and hip hop. Every song had a hook you just couldn’t get enough of be that from the keyboard, bass drums or brass. Next up were the hosts of the evening and they took it to another level. The sheer energy that they displayed was an awesome sight, the end of their set saw the whole place skankin and Ewan the over animated trumpet player stood on the bar playing out of his skin which is impressive considering he played in Fistful of Dynamite as well. I ended up talking with Craig from Fistful of Dynamite until the wee small hours about how much we love what we do and after playing nights like this it’s easy to see why.