Quality over Quantity, and the Christening of the Loop Frog

I had a gig last night. It was one of those ones that I wasn’t really looking forward to - uncertainty as to whether the night was actually on, coupled with the fact that they’d put me on at 10pm on a dark wet tuesday evening, meant I wasn’t really expecting much of a turn-out!

And there wasn’t. But, bizarrely, that didn’t matter - I had a great time with the minute but enthusiastic audience - made up of the sound guy, the barman, a few members of my family, and a few members of the previous band’s entourage (Man and Superman - good old-fashioned fuzzy noisy rock - showing the Ark’s expertise at matching and sequencing similar acts - not. Nothing like a bit of contrast...) - who whooped, danced along happily to odd time signatures, bantered away with me between songs, and generally had a great time. They even demanded photos with me afterwards.

In particular, one exchange which went like this:

“Wooooah, how do you DO that?!”
“Well, I’ve got this little pedal down here...”
“I think there’s a frog stuck in the keyboard!”
“Yeah, Loop Frog!”

So, in honour of Man and Superman’s groupies, who made an empty gig worthwhile: Pedal, I dub thee “Loop Frog”.



Setlist:
Part Trust
Insult Like the Truth (Charlie Peacock)
Economology
Icarus >
A/D Loop Jam
Lazarus
Since 3 Days Ago
Starmaker
Puzzle
Doubting Thomas (Nickel Creek)

Halloween

Thanks to all to made it out the Halloween gig with davesnewbike and Fair Witness. A great time was had by all!

Don't forget the album launch gig on Thurs 12th Nov at the Lot - details here.
J

New album is out on Saturday 24th Oct - CDs and downloads! 3 gigs too!

Gigs! And a CD launch!

In excited anticipation announcing: 3 gigs!

1. A slot at Henry's Cellar Bar - 8pm, Fri 23rd Oct, £2

2. Supporting davesnewbike at The Lot - 8pm, Sat 31st Oct, £7.50 on the door/£5 in advance

And best of all...

3. Also He Made the Stars... album launch gig at The Lot - 8pm, Thurs 12th Nov, ticket price tba. With Dan Glover Band? supporting. It's gonna be great!

Keep an eye on our live page for more details!
J

A slightly frustrating day...

Well, I was quite up for a little more recording, but today the background noise near our flat has been crazy. I mean, there's usually a little traffic noise, but nothing that causes any bother on the mics or guitar pick-up. Today, we've had:

• Big lorries reversing up the street with those big-lorry-reversing noises.


• Lots and lots of fire engines.


• Helicopters. Not sure if it's a swarm, or just one very persistent one.


• Someone in the old brewery opposite shooting seagulls (or possibly just using a bird-scarer).


• Said seagulls complaining about being shot at (or possibly just being scared).

And all that without the usual banishing of the clock into the kitchen. So I didn't really try.

On the other hand, I have managed to get a fair bit more of the revamped website done (hence the change in theme on here, which gives things away a bit...). Coming soon...

J

Updates & Downloads

Hi guys,

If you missed the last gig...
...you missed out! We had a great time at The Art of Joy. For me, it was fantastic to dig out and re-learn my songs again, as well as taking up the challenge of learning some new covers and teaching my complicated songs to other people (who, incidentally, saxophonised and vocalled most agreeably). A quality venue (the Lot in the Grassmarket) and that rarity of a sound guy who really cares what you sound like made for a grand evening onstage.

Looking forward to the next one...

Also, you really ought to check out Calamateur, who put on a beautiful performance, showcasing songs from their (or, technically, 'his') super album Jesus is for Losers - which can be downloaded for free here (though I keep meaning to donate for it - it's certainly worth it).

Free Download
Some more exciting news is that DLDown's set is now available (free!) for your listening pleasure. You can download it here - audiophiles might want the flac files, but most of you normal people probably want to click the "VBR ZIP" link in the top left corner to get the whole set of mp3s. Alternatively, click the links in the setlist below to get individual tracks (right click and do 'download linked file').

The setlist was as follows:

01. Lazarus+
02. Part Trust
03. Reasons Why*!@
04. So Many Ways*!^
05. Left to My Own Devices*
06. Icarus+ >
07. Loop Jam (youtube clip here)
08. Lilies & Sparrows+
09. Come Awake%
10. Farther Up and Farther In+!

* 1st time played
+ with Fiona Earl (saxophone)
! with Iain McIntyre and Jack Wilson (vocals; Jack on keys on FU&FI)
@ Nickel Creek cover
^ Lies Damned Lies cover
% David Crowder*Band cover

Website
Um... yeah... so it hasn't had much attention lately - mainly due to not being able to access it except from my parents' computer - which I now live in a different house from. Working on it...

May your hovercraft be ever full of eels,
J

A new gig; a new download

Hi everyone,

Thanks so much to everyone who made it out to last night's gig - was my first in ages, and I had a very nice time. Got a good recording of it too, including the debut performance of new song Hide & Seek/Found You.

The whole show is now available for free download here.

Happy listening!
J



Setlist:
Lazarus
Missing
Puzzle
Lilies & Sparrows
Icarus >
Loop Jam
Part Trust
Hide & Seek >
Found You

For your alternative listening pleasure...

Here's a couple of great Edinburgh bands I've had the joy of sharing the line-up with over the last wee while. Both have tracks up on their sites which are well worth checking out, or better still go, and catch one of their gigs. Excellent stuff.

The Vacant Tourists
Cancel The Astronauts

J

Alright, who unleashed the frog?

Hi folks, we're delighted to announce the latest addition to our ever-expanding catalogue of live show downloads: Last week's gig at the Merlin, Edinburgh.

Thanks so much to everyone who came along for making it such an enjoyable experience for us - definitely our favourite gig so far! We loved playing for you. Download the show for free here.
J

Setlist
Icarus
Romans 7 ->
My Mind's Got a Mind of Its Own (Butch Hancock)
Loop Jam (as yet untitled)
Part Trust+
Frustration
Fly (Moxy Früvous) ->
Baker Street (Gerry Rafferty)
It's All In Your Mind

----set break----

Hitchhiker's Guide Theme* ->
Infinite/Intimate ->
Lazarus
Missing+
Puzzle~ ->
Ghostbusters Theme (Ray Parker Jr.) ->
The Final Countdown (Europe) ->
Puzzle
Farther Up and Farther In ->
Amazing Grace
Puzzled?

*first time played
+Jo solo
~contains section from Phish's "Twist"