MySpace Samples Lyrics Gigs & Reviews Thanks & Links Guest Book SHOP
|
|
Journal August, I’d just like to
start off by asking, “where the bloody hell did the year go?” I’d like to follow
that up by asking, “What the fuck happened to summer?” But moving on from
that… I have finally got
the gigs
page up to date, well, up to date-ish. There are a
number of dates that are distinctly lacking in details, but pop ‘em in your diaries anyway – if only so you have a handy
excuse the next time you’re asked to out with your “mates” from work… Still waiting to
hear what’s happening with the CD print problem – in the meantime we have
sample checked a number of boxes and fished out a bunch of ones that we think
are ok and I will have them available at the upcoming gigs. And returning to
the gigs topic, if you can’t make any others, make it to the Junction on the
11th, we’re headlining and it should be a cracking night. Stay well |
|
July 'ow do (as they say down in naaaarfick), couple of updates for you, firstly,
quick reminder on the gig next week, it’s in the Chemic Tavern in But i digress... look for more details on the gigs page Secondly, CD news.
The CDs have arrived, but... (you knew there was going to be a
"but" otherwise i would have spammed you
to death by now) ...
we've
had some issues with the print quality. We've sent some samples back to the
production place and they're investigating. At the moment we do have CDs for
sale (quite a few of them are fine) but we're not yet in a position to go
heavy on the advertising because we can't guarantee the quality. But they are
available, come see me after a gig (or pretty much anytime really, I’ll
probably have some with me) and for just four of your English pounds I will
sell you one of my 5 Track EPs. Printing aside,
I’m really happy with them. Lastly i just thought I’d stick a couple of links up showing a
couple of things have brought me up and down over the last fortnight. This really
depressed me, what are we coming to? http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7513416.stm This really
cheered me up! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlfKdbWwruY&feature=user That's about it
for now, if you can make it I’ll see you in June 2, Hilary has (of
course) come good and reminded me of where we’re playing next, it’s the Chemic Tavern in Also had a
confirmation that we’ll be back at Melton’s Too in the loft again on
September 3rd. It was a really nice gig last time and hopefully we
can have as good a session this time as well Still haven’t
heard anything on the cds, surely it must just be
days away? Surely? June, Quick update
today, two more gigs lined up, one in The other one I
want to get some early advertising in for is at the Rockvilla
hotel in Lochcarron, it's a pretty special place
and I think it's going to be a pretty special gig. More details, as always,
on the gigs
page. oh yes, and the confirmation
for the CD artwork went off at the beginning of the week, and the master disc
is at the pressing plant. How much longer can it take? Oh yes, and one
other apology, the website is all looking a bit funny at the moment if you
use firefox; obviously I'm blaming this on the new
version of firefox and it's nothing to do with my
terrible html skills.... Stay well May, It has been a
funny old month, very up and down and we’re not even half way through it. So, a couple of
updates for you. 2 gigs coming up, 20th of May with the Andy Curry
band at the city screen basement, and 4th June in Melton’s Too for
a special extended, all acoustic set. More details
on the gigs
page… 2 new songs also
up, one a classic Drew Stephenson song about death, but the other is a bit of
personal one this time, and sung after a weekend on the lash so my voice is a
bit on the croaky side but I think it works. It’s called One Way Flow. Find
it on the samples page following the “On the
way to CDs! Are not yet
here. Sorry about that, the last of the artwork is now in though and it all
should be off for production soon. Will let you know as soon as I do. So that’s about it
for the moment. Stay well April 2, 2 quick updates
for you: The shop is now
live and the downloads are available from www.souprecords.com. I am officially
excited. Also details of
the next gig are now confirmed – Sunday the 13th at the Junction
on Stay well April, On Monday the 7th
the site www.xaudia.com goes live along
with www.souprecords.com where you
will finally be able to buy downloads of my new EP. CDs will follow in about
a month once we’ve got everything sorted for the production and artwork
(which is a damn sight more complex that I had thought).There are 5 tracks on
the EP and they’re available for just 74p each to download - the cd will be £4.99 when it comes out (sorry about the price
hike on that but with limited runs comes high cost :¬( not a lot we can do about that). And if you sign-up
to the mailing list on the front page we’ll be able to spam you mercilessly er... I mean, um, keep you up to date with all the latest
news, gigs and releases, and things... Anyway, I’m pretty
excited by it. Stay well March, Ok, so it didn’t
feel like it at the time but March was a better month! So where are we?
Well, there’s actually quite a bit to go through this month so here we go: Firstly there on
the samples page there is a new link –
this has samples of the songs that will be on the EP. The reason they’re only
samples we shall come to later… And the EP
"Digging for Bones" is nearly there, we’re aiming for a download
release on the 7th of April with a cd release following
as soon afterwards as we can. I’ll be posting with details of where you can
buy both the downloads and the cd as soon as we’ve
got the site fully functional. Just for fun i’ve also stuck the draft artwork for the cd (and the download site) on myspace
in a photo album called Digging for Bones, just so you can have a shufti in advance. And so,
inevitably, we have reached an ethical dilemma. Those of you who
have read my previous blogs will know that I think
the music industry is in for a change, and some of it isn’t going to be
pretty. For the major labels we’re probably going to be looking at a
situation soon where the tunes are free and the live shows, merchandise,
advertising etc makes up the income. The sooner the big labels wake up to
this and stop trying to sue their customers, the better for all of us. However the
picture for the small labels and independent artists is a bit different.
Studio time costs money, cds cost money to master
and produce, for the small artist there is no other source of income other
than the music (at least initially). I’m not going to be overwhelmed by
people wanting to buy a Drew Stephenson t-shirt, I can’t charge £15 a head
for a live show, no-one is knocking at my door wanting to use my songs in the
latest Volkswagon commercial, I need to sell my
tunes to make enough money to pay off the costs of the recording and
production. So you see my
dilemma? I support a move to a new kind of music industry but I find myself
having to follow the established formula myself. Hence the songs on
the site are samples and not downloadable - lets face it, if you can get them
for free, how many of you are going to then either buy the cd or the downloads? And why should you if I’ve already
made them available for free. I really can’t
think of an effective way of doing anything else. If anyone has a great
business model they’d like to share with me, I’m all ears... So I’ve sold out,
like the piece of scum you always knew me to be! I’m one of them muso-industry assheules... But anyway, have a
listen please, I hope you like what you hear. stay well P.S. I’m listening
to Paper Moon by Cohen and the Ghost at the moment and I highly recommend it. February, February has lived
up to form once again by being a crap month. I mean really, it has absolutely
nothing going for it at all. Half the damn time I can’t even spell the bloody
word. So this month’s
particularly bitter a februararian (I don’t care if
you don’t think it’s a real word!) update follows. The EP will not be
launched in feb. You’ve probably guessed this
because I haven’t spammed you all to death asking you to buy it. Things have
all gone a bit quiet actually but I’m hoping to hear from the label guys this
week and find out what’s going on. I’d also hoped to
do my first gig with my new cellist but the bloody thing was pulled. Arse. Did you notice how
I slipped the one bit of good news in there to see if you were paying
attention? Yep, I have found (well, a mate of mine found for me) cellist
who can improvise!
(Cue the sound of angelic trumpets! Hark to the sound of a miracle!) Here ends
February’s good news. March will be better. January, Firstly apologies
for the lack of a December update, but I’ll make it up to you this month.
How? I hear you ask (well I don’t, but if you were here and asked it I’d hear
you, probably), well this month I have not 1, not 2, but 4 new songs on the
site (disclaimer – ok actually 2 of them have been on myspace
for a month but that’s because it’s a damn sight easier to upload stuff). But
anyway, we have new songs, here, enjoy, or
don’t, see if I care (actually I really do). Also this month
I’ll be playing down at the Junction again. Another acoustic Sunday thing
there, I’ll be joined by TWO and a couple of others, more details on the gigs page. Finally a quick
update on the EP – we think we’re just about there with the recording, bit of
mixing to do, then the artwork to sort out, then the mastering and
distribution etc. So we’re probably looking at a February release. And when
that happens we shall probably see the end of this site as we move to the
more professional www.drewstephenson.com
site. So now is the time to get the last of your free downloads! Stay well November, Right then, back
in the studio for a couple of days again this month. Things are coming along
quite nicely I reckon. When the new site gets launched I hope we’ll have some
samples on the pages to whet your appetite. Gig news next: Think that’s it
for the moment, all calmed down a bit from last month. Stay well October, Well, back from But this is not a
running website! No sirree bob. Music is what
you’re here for (or you put a typo in your google
search) and music you shall have! Next gig is Monday the 29th at
the Junction. Check out the gigs page for
more details. Right, just a
quick update this month, but check out the MySpace
for blogs and a few more regular updates and the like. And now, I’m off
to September, Back in the studio
tomorrow! WOoHoo! There is something fantastic
about being able to be in a studio without having any time pressure. Usually
you’re clock-watching like crazy and thinking about how many £/hour this is
costing. But not this time. Which is pretty
sweet. Added to this I also
have a quick early warning on the gig front. Book Sunday the 25th
of November in your diary for a night down at Fibbers. I’m on with Great Lake
Swimmers, who are dead good. See the gigs page for
more details. Hope to see you
there, and to hopefully before then too – further bulletins as events warrant
(as Calvin and Hobbes would say). August. Not a great deal
for you this month, but not for all the negative reasons that June dumped in
our laps. Nope, this month has seen the start of the recording of the EP. So
we’ve had a couple of days in the studio and lots of time thinking about
overdubs and orchestration. Got a week’s holiday coming up as well and then
back in for the next sessions in September. Hope to get out
for a couple more gigs as well now that the day job has returned to something
less arduous. So, just to keep
you interested we have another new song on the site. It’s another political
protest song (which means I now have a grand total of two of that particular
genre) called “Ready to go”. It’s on samples page as part of the
Strange Customs album. Further news on
the EP as it progresses… Stay well July. Sorry about June,
but frankly, this year, June had a lot to be sorry about. Everything from the
weather, my job and the ongoing Iranian nuclear stand-off can be blamed on
June. Shitty month frankly and I’m glad it’s over. So there. But there is good
news! Firstly there are three more songs on the website! Yep, threeeeee songs. I’m too good to you. Check out the samples page and have a shufti at the
Strange Customs album. The new ones cover the usual ground of dead people,
monkeys and, er, aliens. Well, two of them are
usual… The other good news this month is that my demo session with
the record label went ok and they’d like me to come and record an EP. Details
still to be nailed down but this is as good as it’s got for me so I’m pretty
chuffed. May. More time my arse! The day job may
pay the rent but at the moment it’s eating my life. I’ve lost track of the
number of hours (generally of my time) that going to and from It’s not like I actually like But anyway, winge over, onto the
good news! Next gig is the 3rd of June (which is surprisingly
close – at what age do the years stop dragging and start flying by?), sorry,
where was I? Oh yes, Next gig, June 3rd at the Junction.
One of their quality Acoustic Sunday nights, and I’m Headlining.
WOOHOO! More details, as always, on the gigs page. Also new to the site is lost,
a new song written, recorded (direct into the computer in one take with one mic) and published in about half an hour. It’s quite
rough and ready but I kind of like it like that… Here’s to June! April again, (and definitely April this time). Just a quick update to let you know about the next gig, bit of
an acoustic rock night (hmm, that doesn’t sound so good when you say it like
that but it is!) down at the Junction on More details, on the gigs page. I have written a couple of new songs and I’ve even got some
new toys to play with when I record them but I have to confess that the
guitar has taken a bit of a back seat recently. Since last Saturday most of
my musical time has been taken up on the cello I’ve just bought. Can’t play
it yet and it sounds like I’m assaulting monkeys but I’m making progress. Now the rugby season has finished I should have a bit more
time… April, Spring is here! The grass is ris. I
wonder where dem boidies
is? Dem boids is on da
wing, but that absoid! Da
wing is on da boid! Blame my father for that… I’m glad spring is
here, March was almost as much as a disappointment as February and nobody
needs that. But, gig news first, next one is the 3rd
of April in Couple of new songs written as well so hoping to get them
recorded and up onto the samples page soon. And actually, for
all the fanfare above, that’s it so far. But more will come, and after me
will come others (in the words of the far side cartoon) March, Just a quick
update at the moment because it’s Thursday night and I want to tell you about
Monday’s gig. It’s at Cert18 again. It’s with the Lear
Jets It’s cheap to get
in. It’s not my usual
acoustic act sandwiched between two emo/nu-metal rock
bands, the Lear Jets are actually quite good. Doors are at 8 More details on
the gigs page February February, as I believe I may have mentioned previously, is a
shitty month. Really it is. You can’t count on the weather, you can’t get a
rugby team out, you can’t even spell it without having to think about it
carefully. Or maybe that’s just me. Either way, it’s still a shitty month. So to cheer you up
I’ve written a new song, it’s not short, but it does feature strongly in the
“dead people” camp so it’s still well within the usual remit. I’ve even got
round to recording it and uploading it this time though, check it out on the samples page. I’m still trying
to think of a title for the next collection of songs though, so any
suggestions, let me know. Also new for this
month is something I’ve been thinking about doing for a while but have only
just got around to, it’s a music video for Cirencester.
Click here to have a listen and a watch. It features Ekranoplans heavily… That’s about it from me this month, roll on March and a couple
of gigs… January Well here we are in 2007, and doesn’t it feel exactly the same
as 2006? Well, no, actually. For one thing it’s a damn sight warmer than this time last
year. And we’re all a year older, it’s Tuesday night and I’m still aching
from Saturday’s game. But enough of that. This year I will finally be getting round to recording some
more new stuff (I have a list in front of me), including Mugged in Spain,
Better Days and the latest simian-inspired number, 3 Wise Monkeys. But that’s later, before then we have my next slot, supporting
Get Vegas
and others at the Junction on the 24th of January. Sorry for the late
notice, but sometimes it happens like that. More details on the gigs page. That’s about it
for this month, I’ll be trying to put the music back to the forefront again
soon. December, Firstly, apologies
to anyone who’s been trying to look at the demos page using MS internet
explorer. I put the site together in Word and then checked it in firefox (I use this generally nowadays as it’s faster
than IE) and it never occurred to me that it would work in firefox but not in word. The other way round I can
understand but you’d think that if it was created using Microsoft it would
work ok? Well, I guess there’s a lesson there for all of us. For those of you
who do use firefox I hope to get the banner
pictures sorted soon! If anyone knows anything about coding html please drop
me a line on Contact@drewstephenson.co.uk. I’m sure a pint or two
would be in order. Secondly, quick,
late-notice update on the gigs front. Sunday the 17th at Cert
18 for another acoustic shindig. Usual mix of acoustic acts,
should be worthwhile (more on the gigs page). Hope to see some
of you soon. Cheers November 3, Three updates in a
month? I’m spoiling you, I really am. Well, maybe… Anyway, this
month’s updates are manifold, first up I’ve completely re-jigged the look of
the site; all that black was far too depressing. I’ve also made
significant changes to the samples page to make things easier
to find. They’re now grouped into a rough chronological order in the manner
of a proper discography. But it’s not all
cosmetic! I’ve also added some songs from The Southwold
Sessions, a live session I did with some friends a couple of years back. It’s
rough and ready but more endearing because of that. No news on the gigs front at the moment, but I’ll let you
know. I hope to get a couple of new songs down on tape soon as well. It’s
amazing how much you can do when you ping your hamstring and can’t go out and
have fun every night… November 2, Quick update – the
Cert 18 gig on the 12th has been cancelled unfortunately so the
only thing currently on the cards is the Stone Roses Bar on the 8th
with Player 1. Apologies to those
who’d hoped to come along on Sunday. October &
November, Big thanks to
everyone who came down to the two gigs in September, sorry about the absence
of anything much happening in October. Lousy month
October, as I said last year, it’s my second least favourite
month of the year, so I’ve not really done an update I’m just being
pre-emptive with November’s. Still I’ve got my marathon out of the way now so
that should free up a bit more time to do music stuff. Not that I actually
spent much time training mind, but thinking up excuses not to train takes
almost as long… So, for November
we have a couple of bits of news, first up is details of the NEXT GIG:
back at Cert18
again for another Acoustic Shindig on Sunday the 12th, not sure
who else is on the line up but there should be some good stuff. And at £2 a ticket
(£3 on the door) you can’t really go wrong. What else is there to do on a
Sunday anyway? Also this month
I’ve put some of the really old stuff onto the site, we’re
talking about stuff written a decade or so ago and the recording quality is,
well, let’s just describe it as “atmospheric” and leave it at that shall we.
But I still reckon there’s a few good songs in there. Check it out on the Samples page. Again, only the full length stuff on here so I guess
it’s broadband users only really… Lastly a quick
plug for Jo’s new site, check out some seriously good photography at Pixeen! That’s about it
for this month. I’ll update the gigs page when I know who else will be on
the bill for the twelfth, and if you want cheap tickets come and see me
before the date and we’ll sort something out. Stay well September, Just a quick
update at this point, proceedings at Cert 18 on the 17th start at I’ve also managed
to solve the technical problems I’ve been having recently and have upload
another song to the Samples page, please have a listen
and download any thing you feel like. I should shortly
be getting the rest of the decent old stuff uploaded soon as well so watch
this space… See you soon, stay
well. August, But just barely,
what can I say, I’ve had a holiday. And been lazy. But moving swiftly on… Big thanks to everyone
who made it down to the Humanity in the Park session last Sunday, some great
acts on, just a shame that some antisocial wanker
on THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RIVER complained to the council and Boss Caine had to cut their set short. Bastard. Still some funds
were raised and music played and people had a good time. You know, reading
that it occurs to me that ‘The Other Side of the River’ isn’t a bad band name
actually. All I need now is the band. But moving on, again,
2 gigs coming up this month, as I mentioned last time, they are: 17th
September @ Cert 18 an Acoustic Shindig. £3 on the door or £2 in advance from
me. Amongst those also playing are Boss
Caine and Andy
Curry (of Dust Bowl Central). Then on the 20th
@ Fibbers I have the privilege to be supporting the excellent Stewboss,
over from the states and sounding like a rocked-up Counting Crows. This will
be £7.50 on the door or £4.50 with the flyer. Check out the gigs page for more details And don’t say I
didn’t warn you about the weather… July Another late
entry, I guess I haven’t caught up with June yet. But this time I have a
couple of proper updates to go with it. 3 more gigs lined
up, full details on the gigs page but quick summary is: Saturday the 5th
of August, Cert18:
Support slot with Babystrange, American neo-rocknroll / soul-survivalists. I’ll be second of 4 acts
on, cost is £4 on the door or £2 from me in advance. Next two are a bit
of a way off being the 17th and 20th of September so
more details will follow as I firm them up. The 17th is at Cert18
again and is going to be an ‘acoustic extravangza’
(apparently) the idea is to get a bunch of people from The gig on the 20th
is back at Fibbers
supporting the excellent Stewboss. Think a
sort of rocked-up Counting Crows and you won’t go far wrong. This will be £4.50
with the flyer or £7.50 on the door. I have also got
another song written and recorded but I’m struggling with a couple of
technical problems that I need to overcome before I get it uploaded. Keep an
eye open for it in the next two weeks That’s about it
for July, take advantage of the weather, apparently we’re in for a record-breakingly wet winter… Stay well June A bit late this
month but it's been a bit busy what with another trip to New stuff on the
site this month includes a link to myspace on the left, please log on
and link up if a myspace monkey also sits on your
back. Also new is a song
called "I left a light on for you" which is available in full and
sample form on the samples page. What has taken a
while to get sorted this month is the tab on the samples page called 'old
stuff'. This, fairly obviously, is older recordings (I did think about pretentiously
naming it ‘back catalogue’ but I suspected some people might not appreciate
the irony)- mostly made on a fourtrack cassette so
quality is variable at best - that I have finally got around to putting in
the digital domain. I'll get around to putting the lyrics up soon. I don't have any
gig news for you yet though, I need to catch up with Fibbers and a couple of
other places but we appear to entering the summer lull when everyone goes off
and does festivals (something I could do with doing myself next year).
Needless to say I will e-mail details out as soon as the they are available. That's about it
for the moment, stay well and try not to be too disappointed when Stay well May 2, Update on the Martin
Stephenson gig, Date is the 28th May, down at Fibbers,
cost is £8 on the door or just £5 with this flyer. Also on the Bill is Leeroy Stagger, normally a headline act himself. Check
out the gigs page for more details and links to
websites with down loads etc. thanks May, Good news and bad
news this month, bad news: I haven’t managed to get around to recording
anything new or sticking any of the old stuff onto the site. Good news: I’ve
had two weeks holiday, run a marathon in Which
is my excuse for not doing anything… More Good news, I
have another Fibbers slot on the 28th May supporting Martin
Stephenson (no relation), ex Daintees man,
singer-songwriter, poet of the people and all-round top performer. Well worth
a few of your English pounds. Bad news, this gig is at the expense of the Bic Runga one. I’m a bit gutted
I have to say, but you do what you can and play when you can. It’ll all
balance out in the end. It’s £8 on the door but I expect Fibbers will sort me
out with a flyer deal so watch this space. Apologies to
anyone who has printed the Bic Runga
flyer hoping for a cheap entry, these will no longer be valid so the cost is
£6 in advance (click here for tickets) or £7 on the door. I’ll
see you there if you’re going. So just a quick
update today. I’ll fill in more details on the Martin Stephenson gig once I
have them. Stay well April, Been a bit of a
busy few weeks, but sadly not too much to do with music so I’m afraid I don’t
have any new songs to post on the site, though I will get round to recording
Mugged in But now onto the
important stuff, I’m taking a couple of weeks or so off so the next gig I’ve
got lined up isn’t until the 31st of May, but it’s a doozy! Yep, on the 31st I’ve got a support
slot with Bic Runga! Now I appreciate
that quite a few of you may not have heard of her but Bic
Runga is actually one of New Zealand’s biggest
exports, bigger in the states than over here, both her previous albums have
gone multi-platinum and her biggest single ‘Sway’ featured in the soundtrack
to American Pie (apparently it’s when everyone is losing their virginities –
one each I assume). Not only is this
the first time I’ve got a support with someone some of you may have heard of,
it’s also a real pleasure for me to get a support with someone whose albums
I’ve already got. More details,
including the other support band on the gigs page, and click the link to get to the flyer that will get you in for just £4
(which for a major recording artist sounds like a bit of a steal to me). March 2, Just a quick
update to say thanks to everyone who came down to the Golden Lion again and
voted me through to the semi’s. It’s Judges voting from now on so you’ve all
done your job, now I have to do mine – which may involve staying a bit more
sober than last time… Don’t yet know
when the semi’s are but you can be sure I’ll be sending a note out. What I can confirm
is the gig with the Cellars is on on the 23rd.
See the gigs page for more details. Thanks again! March, Well thank f@%k that’s February out of the way. It is the shittiest
month of the year and it pretty much lived up to all expectations. But it’s
over now and I’m feeling better about myself and think I can move on. Maybe
soon I can even stop the therapy altogether… However, it having
been February it means it’s another month without any new songs being posted
I’m afraid, I have got a couple of new ones but haven’t got around to recording
them yet. I could claim that it’s because my voice hasn’t been up to much
with this world’s-longest-running-cold but in reality it’s just because I
haven’t got around to it. Thanks to everyone
who came down to the Langhorne Slim gig, cracking night really, shame about
the slight technical problems in the middle of my set but the first act and
the headline were spot on. Definitely worth catching if they head over this
way again. More thanks, this
time to Jo Auld for the picture above. Jo’s in the process of building up his
website but he’s already got some photo’s up there
so take a look at www.zen31034.zen.co.uk for more pics. Next up is round
two of the Turn of the Year competition at the Golden Lion (see gigs page). Thanks for voting me through
round one, but your work is not yet done. There’s still plenty of other
talented musicians we need to knock out at the early stages… Thanks also to
(this is beginning to sound like an Oscar speech) to the folks who’ve left
messages in the Guest book. It took ages to set up and I’m glad someone’s
finally put some stuff in it. Finally, I hope to
confirm the support slot with The Cellars on the 23rd next week
so will probably update again then. Thanks for
listening Stay well Oh yes, and I’m
still looking for a cellist! February, Thanks to everyone
who came down to the last couple of gigs, apologies for the mix up on times.
And thanks again for voting me through to the next round of the ‘Turn of the
Year’ competition. No new music for
you this month I’m afraid, just an update with news on the next couple of gigs: First up, Thursday
2nd of March, a support slot with Langhorne Slim. A bluesy-country-folk-rock-oldtimerish thing, check out www.langhorneslim.com, to me it sounds a bit
like the stuff from 'O Brother Where art thou' but with added swearing! Also on the bill
on the night are: Ryan Shirlow And A Bloody Mary
Or Two. This being
another couple of unknown American act it's £7 on
the door, BUT only £4 with the flyer (click here!), make sure you bring yours
along. I'll be kicking things off from about
Coming up next is the next round of the Turn of the Year competition at the
Golden Lion on And finally, a
likely support slot at the Stone Roses Bar on Thursday 23rd March. Details on
this to follow once confirmed. Thanks again to
everyone who's come down (or tried to, I understand that a few folks looked
in to the Golden Lion and decided there was no chance of getting a drink!). Stay well January 2! Just a quick
update to let you know about another gig coming up. February the 1st
@ Fibbers, supporting Jess Klein (Boston-born alternative folk songstress)
and a couple of other similar folks. Details are all on the gigs page. The evening starts early at January, Well, here we are
in January, a month that was only invented to lull you into a false sense of
security before February shits on you from a great height. So maybe I had
that subliminally in mind when I sat down not long after the shortest day of
the year and wrote another song about death. Yep, new to the samples page is
The White Tower (though it was nearly titled ‘Another short song about death’
but I thought that might put people off…) But despite all
that it also happens to be one of my favourite
little ditties from the recent batch and there’s a couple of other things of
note already this month. Also new to the
website is a guest book (link top left), comments welcome on any topic. I’d
better say abuse welcome also as I suspect that that will form the bulk of
the input… The Golden Lion in
I have promised
this year to get off my arse so as soon as I’ve
finished writing this up I shall be checking out what’s on in the various
venues and seeing what support slots I can blag.
I’ll keep you posted. Stay well and
don’t let February drag you down too much… December again, Typical, you go a
whole month without writing a song and then two turn up at once, also new to
the site is a recording of an older song of mine called An hour’s good walk.
Of the two new ones, A street with one tree is fairly simple and a bit
depressing whereas Six Monkey song is a lot more upbeat and, as far as I can
work out, totally devoid of meaning. If anyone does think they have a clue
what it’s on about, please drop me a line… So this, I guess,
is the real December update. You can always think of the one below as being
an overdue November. That’s it for now,
maybe if I spend a bit less time blatting around the country with three
working cylinders I’d write more music? Who knows? Stay well December Well, that’s October
out of the way, and it depressed me so much I didn’t do a November update, or
maybe I just didn’t get round to it… But anyway, not
much to add to the site this month I’m afraid, been spending a bit too much
time in the car and in the pub (not generally on the same night mind). So all
I’ve got for you this month is the lyrics to the last four songs that went
on. Still, have been getting out and about a bit more (which was one
objective) so hopefully we’ll have a couple of new songs up in January. Christmas coming
up so I’ll be getting my Scrooge mentality out and trying to dampen
everyone’s spirits leading up to the inevitable disappointment that it always
is. Just remember how much it costs you and how little you get back, then
remember about that whole giving thing and how it only ever seems to apply to
you and not everyone else. That’s the spirit! So, sorry about
the lack of updates but we’ll have some more in the new year. Happy Christmas… October And so we come, as
we must, to October. Probably my second least favourite
month, after February, it’s beginning to get dark (and the clocks haven’t
even gone back yet), it’s not properly cold enough to need a coat but all the
shops and offices have their heating on anyway, the colour
has gone from the trees and everything underfoot turns to mush. Terrible
month October. So for this month on’t site we have a new song, in the spirit of the month
it’s not a particularly cheery one. In fact, we’re back to a couple of
acoustic guitars and bass so it’s a return to form in more ways that one.
It’s called ‘Where is the light?’ because, well, because that’s the first
line of the song, and whilst lyrics and music seem to be coming reasonably
easily at the moment good titles seem to be eluding me. But anyway, it’s on
the Samples page as the complete song and a one-minute sample. Still haven’t got
off my @rse to do anything about playing properly.
Went to see Boo Hewerdine (who was superb) recently
and realised that I could have got the support slot
there if I’d pulled my finger out. Very galling that was but a lesson learnt. So I will
be out and about a bit more soon and hope to see some of you there. Cheers September So here we are in
August and the night-time is now officially longer than the daylight, but
before we let that depress us too much just remember, all that darkness is
better for a whole wealth of criminal activities! Right, a bit of progress
here at last as well. New song on the demos page, again a full version and a
one minute sample. Bit different to the usual stuff and using a drum sample
and squeezebox (but don’t let that put you off!). I have a couple of other
new songs written but haven’t yet got around to recording them, still working
on what I like best as the final arrangement on one and haven’t got a clue
what to do with the other one; might be best just to leave it as guitar and
voice. I’ll get it on the site like that and if anyone has any opinions they
can contact me either way. Couple more open mic nights recently but it really is time I got off my @rse and got out and about. Watch this space Stay well August No July update as
I’ve been away in That’s really
about it at the moment. I hope to get a few more sessions with Stu going in September so I’ll post updates accordingly. Stay well. June Couple more
updates to the site, my brother pointed out that if you don’t have a high speed
connection downloading 4 minutes of MP3 is a pain in the butt so I’ve added
back the short clips on the samples page. I’ve also added some new material,
“Not goin’” and “about a mile and a half later” are
a couple of things I’ve knocked up recently; they’re not studio quality as
they’ve been done in the comfort of my bedroom but they’re not so bad… Other good news!
Having just about given up on getting any response to my adverts for a
cellist I have had a response. First e-mail seems promising, will keep you
updated and get out and about asap if it goes well. Open mic night at Dusk is going well on Sundays but the
audience numbers are erratic in the extreme… Still, can’t complain as the
standard is way higher than most of the other nights in No other news at
the moment, stay well and have fun January, Firstly apologies
for the lack of a December update, but I’ll make it up to you this month.
How? I hear you ask (well I don’t, but if you were here and asked it I’d hear
you, probably), well this month I have not 1, not 2, but 4 new songs on the
site (disclaimer – ok actually 2 of them have been on myspace
for a month but that’s because it’s a damn sight easier to upload stuff). But
anyway, we have new songs, here, enjoy, or
don’t, see if I care (actually I really do). Also this month
I’ll be playing down at the Junction again. Another acoustic Sunday thing
there, I’ll be joined by TWO and a couple of others, more details on the gigs page. Finally a quick
update on the EP – we think we’re just about there with the recording, bit of
mixing to do, then the artwork to sort out, then the mastering and
distribution etc. So we’re probably looking at a February release. And when
that happens we shall probably see the end of this site as we move to the
more professional www.drewstephenson.com
site. So now is the time to get the last of your free downloads! Stay well November, Right then, back
in the studio for a couple of days again this month. Things are coming along
quite nicely I reckon. When the new site gets launched I hope we’ll have some
samples on the pages to whet your appetite. Gig news next: Think that’s it
for the moment, all calmed down a bit from last month. Stay well October, Well, back from
Budapest and this month I have learned that it is possible to run a marathon
without doing any training. And I’m not talking about relying on some
Evil-Dr-Chan-level of natural fitness either. Nope, play about 3 games of
football, fish out your running shoes (last used one year previously) and go
for it. It’ll take you about 4 and a quarter hours but you’ll feel great afterwards
(mentally at any rate). But this is not a
running website! No sirree bob. Music is what
you’re here for (or you put a typo in your google
search) and music you shall have! Next gig is Monday the 29th at
the Junction. Check out the gigs page for
more details. Right, just a
quick update this month, but check out the MySpace
for blogs and a few more regular updates and the like. And now, I’m off
to France, apparently there might be a rugby match on? September, Back in the studio
tomorrow! WOoHoo! There is something fantastic
about being able to be in a studio without having any time pressure. Usually
you’re clock-watching like crazy and thinking about how many £/hour this is
costing. But not this time. Which is pretty
sweet. Added to this I
also have a quick early warning on the gig front. Book Sunday the 25th
of November in your diary for a night down at Fibbers. I’m on with Great Lake
Swimmers, who are dead good. See the gigs
page for more details. Hope to see you
there, and to hopefully before then too – further bulletins as events warrant
(as Calvin and Hobbes would say). August. Not a great deal
for you this month, but not for all the negative reasons that June dumped in
our laps. Nope, this month has seen the start of the recording of the EP. So
we’ve had a couple of days in the studio and lots of time thinking about overdubs
and orchestration. Got a week’s holiday coming up as well and then back in
for the next sessions in September. Hope to get out
for a couple more gigs as well now that the day job has returned to something
less arduous. So, just to keep
you interested we have another new song on the site. It’s another political
protest song (which means I now have a grand total of two of that particular
genre) called “Ready to go”. It’s on samples page as part of the Strange Customs album. Further news on
the EP as it progresses… Stay well July. Sorry about June,
but frankly, this year, June had a lot to be sorry about. Everything from the
weather, my job and the ongoing Iranian nuclear stand-off can be blamed on
June. Shitty month frankly and I’m glad it’s over. So there. But there is good
news! Firstly there are three more songs on the website! Yep, threeeeee songs. I’m too good to you. Check out the samples page and have a shufti at the Strange Customs album. The new ones cover
the usual ground of dead people, monkeys and, er,
aliens. Well, two of them are usual… The other good news this month is that my demo session with
the record label went ok and they’d like me to come and record an EP. Details
still to be nailed down but this is as good as it’s got for me so I’m pretty
chuffed. May. More time my arse! The day job may
pay the rent but at the moment it’s eating my life. I’ve lost track of the
number of hours (generally of my time) that going to and from London in the
last month. It’s not like I actually like London anyway. But anyway, winge over, onto the
good news! Next gig is the 3rd of June (which is surprisingly
close – at what age do the years stop dragging and start flying by?), sorry,
where was I? Oh yes, Next gig, June 3rd at the Junction. One of their quality
Acoustic Sunday
nights, and I’m Headlining. WOOHOO! More details, as always, on the gigs
page. Also new to the site is lost, a new
song written, recorded (direct into the computer in one take with one mic) and published in about half an hour. It’s quite
rough and ready but I kind of like it like that… Here’s to June! April again, (and definitely April this time). Just a quick update to let you know about the next gig, bit of
an acoustic rock night (hmm, that doesn’t sound so good when you say it like
that but it is!) down at the Junction on Leeman
Road. More details, on the gigs
page. I have written a couple of new songs and I’ve even got some
new toys to play with when I record them but I have to confess that the guitar
has taken a bit of a back seat recently. Since last Saturday most of my
musical time has been taken up on the cello I’ve just bought. Can’t play it
yet and it sounds like I’m assaulting monkeys but I’m making progress. Now the rugby season has finished I should have a bit more
time… April, Spring is here! The grass is ris. I
wonder where dem boidies
is? Dem boids is on da
wing, but that absoid! Da
wing is on da boid! Blame my father for that… I’m glad spring is
here, March was almost as much as a disappointment as February and nobody
needs that. But, gig news first, next one is the 3rd of April in
York with the Murderhouse. More details, as always
on the gigs page. Couple of new songs written as well so hoping to get them
recorded and up onto the samples page soon. And actually, for
all the fanfare above, that’s it so far. But more will come, and after me
will come others (in the words of the far side cartoon) March, Just a quick
update at the moment because it’s Thursday night and I want to tell you about
Monday’s gig. It’s at Cert18 again. It’s with the Lear Jets It’s cheap to get
in. It’s not my usual
acoustic act sandwiched between two emo/nu-metal
rock bands, the Lear Jets are actually quite good. Doors are at 8 More details on
the gigs page February February, as I believe I may have mentioned previously, is a
shitty month. Really it is. You can’t count on the weather, you can’t get a
rugby team out, you can’t even spell it without having to think about it
carefully. Or maybe that’s just me. Either way, it’s still a shitty month. So to cheer you up
I’ve written a new song, it’s not short, but it does feature strongly in the
“dead people” camp so it’s still well within the usual remit. I’ve even got
round to recording it and uploading it this time though, check it out on the samples page. I’m still trying
to think of a title for the next collection of songs though, so any
suggestions, let me know. Also new for this
month is something I’ve been thinking about doing for a while but have only
just got around to, it’s a music video for Cirencester.
Click here to have a listen and a watch.
It features Ekranoplans heavily… That’s about it from me this month, roll on March and a couple
of gigs… January Well here we are in 2007, and doesn’t it feel exactly the same
as 2006? Well, no, actually. For one thing it’s a damn sight warmer than this time last
year. And we’re all a year older, it’s Tuesday night and I’m still aching
from Saturday’s game. But enough of that. This year I will finally be getting round to recording some
more new stuff (I have a list in front of me), including Mugged in Spain,
Better Days and the latest simian-inspired number, 3 Wise Monkeys. But that’s later, before then we have my next slot, supporting
Get Vegas and others at the Junction on the 24th of January.
Sorry for the late notice, but sometimes it happens like that. More details
on the gigs page. That’s about it
for this month, I’ll be trying to put the music back to the forefront again
soon. December, Firstly, apologies
to anyone who’s been trying to look at the demos page using MS internet
explorer. I put the site together in Word and then checked it in firefox (I use this generally nowadays as it’s faster
than IE) and it never occurred to me that it would work in firefox but not in word. The other way round I can
understand but you’d think that if it was created using Microsoft it would
work ok? Well, I guess there’s a lesson there for all of us. For those of you
who do use firefox I hope to get the banner
pictures sorted soon! If anyone knows anything about coding html please drop
me a line on Contact@drewstephenson.co.uk. I’m sure a pint or two
would be in order. Secondly, quick,
late-notice update on the gigs front.
Sunday the 17th at Cert 18 for another acoustic shindig. Usual mix
of acoustic acts, should be worthwhile (more on the gigs page). Hope to see some
of you soon. Cheers November 3, Three updates in a
month? I’m spoiling you, I really am. Well, maybe… Anyway, this
month’s updates are manifold, first up I’ve completely re-jigged the look of
the site; all that black was far too depressing. I’ve also made
significant changes to the samples page to make things easier
to find. They’re now grouped into a rough chronological order in the manner
of a proper discography. But it’s not all
cosmetic! I’ve also added some songs from The Southwold
Sessions, a live session I did with some friends a couple of years back. It’s
rough and ready but more endearing because of that. No news on the gigs front at the moment, but I’ll let you
know. I hope to get a couple of new songs down on tape soon as well. It’s
amazing how much you can do when you ping your hamstring and can’t go out and
have fun every night… November 2, Quick update – the
Cert 18 gig on the 12th has been cancelled unfortunately so the
only thing currently on the cards is the Stone Roses Bar on the 8th
with Player 1. Apologies to those
who’d hoped to come along on Sunday. October &
November, Big thanks to everyone
who came down to the two gigs in September, sorry about the absence of
anything much happening in October. Lousy month
October, as I said last year, it’s my second least favourite
month of the year, so I’ve not really done an update I’m just being
pre-emptive with November’s. Still I’ve got my marathon out of the way now so
that should free up a bit more time to do music stuff. Not that I actually
spent much time training mind, but thinking up excuses not to train takes
almost as long… So, for November
we have a couple of bits of news, first up is details of the NEXT GIG: back at Cert18 again
for another Acoustic Shindig on Sunday the 12th, not sure who else
is on the line up but there should be some good stuff. And at £2 a ticket (£3
on the door) you can’t really go wrong. What else is there to do on a Sunday
anyway? Also this month
I’ve put some of the really old stuff onto the site, we’re
talking about stuff written a decade or so ago and the recording quality is,
well, let’s just describe it as “atmospheric” and leave it at that shall we.
But I still reckon there’s a few good songs in there. Check it out on the Samples page. Again, only the full length stuff on
here so I guess it’s broadband users only really… Lastly a quick
plug for Jo’s new site, check out some seriously good photography at Pixeen! That’s about it
for this month. I’ll update the gigs page when I know who else will be on
the bill for the twelfth, and if you want cheap tickets come and see me
before the date and we’ll sort something out. Stay well September, Just a quick
update at this point, proceedings at Cert 18 on the 17th start at
7:30pm, chances are I’ll be on around 9ish but you really never can tell… I’ve also managed
to solve the technical problems I’ve been having recently and have upload
another song to the Samples page, please have a listen
and download any thing you feel like. I should shortly
be getting the rest of the decent old stuff uploaded soon as well so watch
this space… See you soon, stay
well. August, But just barely,
what can I say, I’ve had a holiday. And been lazy. But moving swiftly on… Big thanks to
everyone who made it down to the Humanity in the Park session last Sunday,
some great acts on, just a shame that some antisocial wanker
on THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RIVER complained to the council and Boss Caine had to cut their set short. Bastard. Still some
funds were raised and music played and people had a good time. You know, reading
that it occurs to me that ‘The Other Side of the River’ isn’t a bad band name
actually. All I need now is the band. But moving on,
again, 2 gigs coming up this month, as I mentioned last time, they are: 17th
September @ Cert 18 an Acoustic Shindig. £3 on the door or £2 in advance from
me. Amongst those also playing are Boss
Caine and Andy
Curry (of Dust Bowl Central). Then on the 20th @ Fibbers I have the privilege to be supporting the excellent Stewboss, over from the states and sounding like a rocked-up Counting Crows | |
