If you’re a fan of Marina and the Diamonds you may want to check this out:
…also..
I’m playing Dublin Castle on this coming Monday (the 14th of May) and would like to see as many of you down there as possible. The lineup is great. Shatter Effect, Billie Fountain etc.
x
Apologies for the lack of blog from me this last while. Where to start, hmm?: I watched 5th Element and experience the future-paradise that is Milton Keynes for the first time, played some amazing gigs, and wrote some new songs…
With the rhymes not paying the bills as easily as I’d like a few odd jobs were taken on this last while. I was stage manager for this nation-wide music/coffee tour, which means I had to make sure dreamy-space-cadet artists don’t get lost on the way to the stage. Spinal Tap is a reality! During the tour we did get a chance to check out some Banksy originals in Bristol, it’s the street equivilant of seeing the Monalisa ‘in the paint’…A-MA-ZING.
Other money grabbing schemes have seen me standing in the cold with a sign on my body, serving coffee, unblocking drains, gardening, I tell you it’s been all sorts.
The recession has hit rappers hard.
On the road I had various fails. EPIC BABE FAIL #
So I thought this girl was into me (typical) after some time I divided to visit her at the Nugget store she had told me about. I put my balls on the table and went ‘so I’m going to this gig tonight, wanna come?’. Th dude next to her behind the till pipes up ‘I’m sorry me and my FIANCE her are busy!’
:/
So with the girlfriend quest as dire as ever I’m pleased to tell you songwriting is on the up, I’m in a creative nirvana space candy floss bubble.
I’m playing an acoustic gig at the Goldhawk Tavern in Shepard’s Bush on this coming Wednesday (30th of November). Come down to here some new bits and coupled with the classics. FREE ENTRY!
When coming to watch me if you see these you’re in the right place!
Recently audiences coming to acoustic gigs including the prestigious/arty/serious British Film Institute have turned ‘Superstars’ into a Kape-Karoeke.
If all goes to plan Wednesday will not be any different.
X Cape
For those of you who’ve missed out on SOiL let me fill you in right quick.
The band was founded by 5 members:
Ryan McCombs – Vocals
Shaun Glass – Guitar
Adam Zadel – Guitar & Vocals
Tim King – Bass
Tom Schofield – Drums
They broke internationally (after being signed by Clive Davis at Sony) with their critically acclaimed second album and hard rock masterpiece Scars. From there SOiL lost lead singer McCombs to Drowning Pool and replaced him with AJ Cavalier. They continued releasing material for 7 years losing Shaun, and recently Tom and AJ… tonight however was a milestone in SOiL history…..
Ryan McCombs returns! emotionally…
and so we begin…
I arrived to the ball late missing support act Puddle of Mudd (She f***ing hates me!!!!) …bummed 
My POM disappointments where soon crushed by the sheer sonic chunkiness SOiL forced upon my ears. As just a four piece it made me feel so lame for ‘needing a big band behind me to get that full sound’. In spite of the conditioning I received during my 4 year jazz/pop guitar degree, I’m here to tell you that the musicianship shown by these metalheads was nothing short of phenomenal. Guitar tones were as good/better than the albums, bass made my tummy hurt and the drums were like some tribal war-cry. Music geeking to one side I’d like to focus on the real heart of this show…
The dynamic, raw and charismatic Ryan McCombs;
for whom the gig itself seemed to be an enormous healing process addressing the audience in a manner seldom witnessed at metal gigs…
‘How many of you remember SOiL…’ his opening line had the audience erupt reminding him of a life he hadn’t revisited for 7 years.
…he continued…
‘I was in another band, I was actually in two bands. quit those to join SOiL, was in SOiL for awhile. went to another band. now I’m back with SOiL.
…
‘In that whole f***ing process somewhere along the line I got a divorce….I’m thinking…
I HAVE F***ING COMMITMENT ISSUES!’
But…just as his confession begins to comatose the audience in sensitivity he snaps us out of it with…
‘BUT ARE YOU OKAY WITH US ALL BE HERE RIGHT F***ING NOW!!!’
‘LET ME F***ING HEAR YOU!!!!’
…and right into a dirty riff…
McCombs’ maintained his retrospective honesty throughout the night, which for me as a live SOiL virgin helped me ‘get it’ first time round. Ryan and SOiL are proof that not all metalheads live in Middle-Earth and sing about sacrificing babies and how much they hate the church. SOiL’s lyrics are largely positive and empowering:
Every time I fall
You catch me
And every time I lose control
You help me, you save me
And every time I lose myself
You find me, redefine me
The climax of the set and what seemed to be the highlight for the vast majority of the audience was Halo which remains SOiL’s most commercial single release to date. Edgy lyrics on top of an absolutely devastating guitar is a formula that has had boys bunking class to smoke behind the gymnasium for years.
I will stone you, stone you
Wrap my arms around you
I will stone you, stone you
My little HALO
All in all I know I’m gonna be listening to SOiL hard for the next few weeks. Hard.
Just one more story to leave you with…
We’ve all seen metal and rock bands…one hand shredding the guitar while the dude downs a beer with the other…I bet NO other frontman in the world has done what Ryan did tonight…downed some Jägermeister from a fans prosthetic leg :/
We hope it was: beer > leg-sweat, but will never know.
Great band, great gig. 4/5
ps. for those of you who think that you don’t get big bootie shakers at metal gigs think again…these girls were given it more than Beyonce in the Single Ladies video…good sports…
…i couldn’t resist…
~massive thanks to Mean Fiddler for yet another great gig~
So laaast week we were smashing it in Camps Bay at this Goldfish gig and I managed to grab band member Dom for a quick chat on how it’s all going. Check this out! This dude is a legend. So humble.
Check out the title track from their latest album Get Busy Living:
Get busy living featuring Emily Bruce (Radio edit) by Goldfishlive
