Isn’t it nice when a plan comes together?

Alright, we didn’t write nearly as much as we had hoped to write over the summer, but we’ve got some new songs for you. I said we’d be back in October, and by Jebus, we will be.

This weekend we’re going back into the studio to record four new tracks for our second E.P. We’re so excited to get in there and lay down a more accurate version of the sound we’ve come to call our own.

It’s literally going to be straight out the studio and onto the stage with October’s gig listings looking comfortably plump. We’ve got a couple more to add on (including the Battle of the Bands date in Horsham), but here’s the list so far:

October:

7th – The Swan, Ipswich w/ Los
13th – Old Blue Last, Shoreditch w/ Cats and Cats and Cats
15th – The Boileroom, Guildford
21st – The Hobgoblin, Staines
23rd – Ducie Bridge, Manchester
24th – Live Radio Session for 105.7 Demon FM, Leicester

November:

3rd – The Half Moon, Putney
14th – Retro Bar, Manchester

You can now purchase a downloadable version of the Blackboard E.P. here. Once the new recording is complete, we’ll be setting up a way of ordering some physical copies of everything.

Friends I urge you to check out:

This is Not Revolution Rock (who are kindly putting us on at Old Blue Last)
Hold Your Horse Is
Porches
Killing Pablo

Thanks for reading.

Love

Tris.x

P.S. We're on Facebook these days. If you like us, click away...

Until October...

Hello everyone,

Some news.

We can sadly reveal that our moog mastermind, Chris, is officially no longer a part of The Brilliantly Simple. He is understandably busy with Los and Peak Recordings, which you should both support and love. On behalf of the four of us, I'd like to thank Chris and his index finger for all the hard moog playing they've done, and we look forward to recording with him imminently.

So we've just played a few shows with some lovely bands (Stagecoach, Hold Your Horse Is, Crooked Mountain, Crooked Sea, Forest and The Fire, The Brothers Streep) before a summer break of writing. The plan is to write some new tunes so we're set for the studio towards the end of September.

October is the month for playing some shows and trying out the new material. So it would be cool to see you at a gig or two.

Until then, thank you for reading this and checking us out. We've still got some Blackboard CD's left, all be it only a few. You can pick one up for £3 at a show.

Love

Tris, Si, Dan and Greg. x

P.S. Come down to the Lincoln Arms on Friday 13th August for Tris and Alf's birthday show. It's gonna be bangin'.

The purpose of this space is going to change slightly. After acting as a half-decent page for my half-arsed attempts of writing some creative jibes, it's now going to focus on the band.

I'll leave all previous posts down there and who knows, some new ones may appear once in a while? Come to think of it, the post before this one has actually turned into a song now. It's called 'Nothing finer' and it's a grand shouty affair, of which we've had lots of nice feedback.

We're going to play some more shows throughout July, then get writing over August and (hopefully) recording over September.

Maybe see you at a show soon.

Tris x

July shows so far:

16th: Cobden Club, London. (acoustic)
18th: Boiler Room, Guildford. w/Hold Your Horse Is & Stagecoach
21st: Fighting Cocks, Kingston. w/Hold Your Horse Is & Great Ancestors

Who do you believe?

I don’t usually write any social commentary prose, in fear that I don’t really know what I’m talking about. But, on that motive of confusion, I started a little spiel. So, here it is:

Who do you believe? And what base do you stand on?

If papers are there to drape us in fear, buy what is served, no matter how fucked or absurd.

The drapes have been drawn way before you were born and they’re going to stay shut for now.

Let’s impose our opinion and believe in the minions as a coward bends over in fright? And in lands such as China, I can see nothing finer than censoring truth for his life.

I read Pilger and Brooker as a bewildered onlooker of a course that’s all too close to my heart. So what do I say when soon comes a day and I’m asked for some contrite thought?

Don’t be angered by Mails posting Daily betrayals of a man hating girl hating child! It’s observation that’s key, to form synergy and preventing the flames spreading wild.

Wipe the news, swipe the views or prepare to stay angry forever. Don’t let paranoia become an endeavor.

Being paranoid is simply void if you see it as ignorance first. Create your opinion and block off the minions who strive to keep bubbles burst.

Acceptance and irrelevance are placed hand in hand, as long as you’re still deceived. Step back and look at the base where you stand, and think about who you believe.

Demo update and links to various

Just thought I’d post a little update on the progression of The Brilliantly Simple’s full-band, debut EP. Dan, Chris, Si and myself all met up at Peak Recordings last week to try and polish off the 4 track release, simply named; Blackboard. We got somewhere. But where that was, isn’t quite where we’d like to be. It’s kind of like ending up in the Channel Islands when you really want to be surfing in France. It’s nice and pleasant but not quite the pièce de résistance. But, we’re certainly en route. I reckon it’ll be one more session of tweaking and it should be ready to go. The artwork is done and I’ll be putting the first 100 together by hand. It’s imminent, so watch this space.

In other news, I went to watch Thrice, Glassjaw and Brand New the other evening. You can read my review of it here.

If you wish to pass some time or get out and see a show, our good friends Stagecoach and Los are playing a lot over the upcoming month. Check out their myspace pages for further details.

You may as well. What else are you going to do whilst you wait for the demo to be finished? Lock yourself away reading blog updates written by someone tirelessly battling the very scary realisation that sooner or later, he’s going to have to stop this nonsensical drivel and write another first person account of why a bilateral cochlear implant has changed someone’s ears forever? You're being stupid. Don’t be stupid. Go and watch some live music! But remember to wear some earplugs! Otherwise it’ll be you I’m writing it about for Cochlear magazine.

Fionn Regan

In the words of that guy from that band, Staind; It's been a while. So, here is a review of the Fionn Regan show I went to see last night. I highly recommend going to see him if you ever get the chance. 

Fionn Regan - The Luminaire, 11th November 2009

“This is not a pub. If you’ve come to chat with your friends when a band is playing, you’re in the wrong place.” Thank Jebus for venues like the Luminaire. Their white on black warnings printed around the room prove they’re a place which exhibits musical talent for people who are there for genuine appreciation.

Danny and the Champions of the World were the only support act on the night. A band whose folky, rock ‘n’ roll songs intertwined in such harmony, that they only paused three times during the set. Brief, but highly appropriate snippets of The Temptation’s My Girl and Bruce Springsteen’s Dancing in the Dark were sneaked in mid-song, giving them a vibe of a band that you’d love to have playing at your local on a Friday night.

It was to everyone’s surprise when the same group of lads returned to stage in preparation for Fionn Regan’s set, and struck up an introducing, bluesy instrumental, which Fionn soon joined – looking modest and chewing gum. With most people anticipating a quiet, solo acoustic affair, it was with great intrigue when the first few songs showed a pumped up, five piece display of folk rock. 

The songs were new, tight and punchy, with Fionn’s ever-ironic take on the world being delivered via his beautifully Irish, poetic voice. We were no doubt hearing previews from his second studio album, The Shadows of an Empire, which is due for release in February 2010. Expect the same critical out-look on life, but with a lot more pace, angst and power.

Cheers grew louder from the crowd when familiar songs The Underwood Typewriter and Hunters Map were played. Although structurally the same as the versions on The End of History, the band offered a fuller alternative to the stripped down acoustic normality. 

They left Fionn to his own devices for Put a Penny in the Slot, and whilst watching this earnestly boyish singer-songwriter (who is clearly wise beyond his years) play through songs he must have played 1000 times before, you can still feel the sincerity in the words he sings and the belief they entail.

With the band returning for the remainder of the show, more songs from the upcoming album were displayed, as was the renowned comparison between Fionn’s music and that of Bob Dylan. Although his words can be full of arrogance, there is a modest side to his stage demeanour, evident when he briefly interacts with the audience. “You’re the best!” screamed an excitable girl in the front row. “No,” replied Fionn. “You’re the best. I know you know.” Even his conversation is poetic.

Reading reviews and Reading rant

Here are my reviews of the Friday and Sunday of Reading Festival 2009:

http://www.gigwise.com/reviews/live/52325/Friday-280809-Reading-Festival-Day-One-@-Richfield-Avenue-Reading

and

http://www.gigwise.com/news/52331/Sunday-300809-Reading-Festival-Day-Three-@-Richfield-Avenue-Reading

and here's some thoughts that follow on from the weekend:

I don’t understand the mentality of the Reading crowd. Here we all are, with some of the best musical offerings in the world at our disposal, coming together in a mutual appreciation for music. The location isn’t half bad. Granted, there are a lot of people packed into the site, but there’s plenty of room for everyone to potentially have a good time. We have a drink, have a dance, have a sing-song… Then we start a riot, smash open doors, don’t use the bins, piss on people’s things, steal people’s things, act as totally outrageously crazy as possible in the hope that someone notices just how crazy you are, so that you can then what? Bathe in the satisfaction that you’ve just ruined someone’s weekend by throwing a cup of piss across a crowd?

What is going on? Have all these people been let off a leash for the very first time, that they just have to let out this ‘I’m going to be a general wanker for the weekend’ urge, in an environment that says it’s ‘OK’? Well to be honest, it’s not OK.

Festivals are there as an escapism. A lot of (if not most) people do turn into someone who they wouldn’t be when they return to work on Tuesday morning. But it’s generally a good transition. Free, enlightened, high, whatever. Not twatish.

I don’t get what it is about Reading (and I’ve been told Leeds is the same) that attracts this kind of mentality. Every August bank-holiday weekend, I tell myself that I won’t return, simply because of the way people are to each other, to the festival and to the grounds it’s situated on.

It’s clearly not festivals in general. I bet half of the Reading goers attend a number of other festivals around the country, and they all seem to be left unscathed. The Big Chill manages to have a beautifully preserved lake, slap-bang in the middle of its grounds. No rubbish, no people, no urine get puts in there. The same goes for the Green Man festival, set in the serene mountains of Brecon Beacons, Wales. They have a fresh water river running along the site, where people can swim and bathe. Again, it’s left pristinely.

So what’s up with Reading? The only sign of a river there is when people’s piss and shit has filled up the what-used-to-be stream. I’d say that this would all eventually lead to the demise of the festival. But it won’t. For some reason, it’s seen as standard Reading. Why?!

I know it’s not everyone who’s there. If it were, God help us. But there are a lot of people doing these things and it ruins so much enjoyment of a festival that has the promise to be one of the best in the world.

Reading bells...

After returning from a simply lovely weekend at Green Man festival, (located in the stunning Welsh mountains of Brecon Beacons), I’ve found myself back in my orthopedic Chichester chair, writing about non-invasive ventilation systems with no time to spare (un-intentional rhyme) before dashing off to Reading festival tomorrow morning. I am to be reviewing it for gigwise this year, so am preparing myself for a whole different perspective and responsibility in comparison to the past 8 years.

This post is essentially a set-up for a chance to read the reviews to come. I’ve been told that as many bands as possible need reviewing, which myself and co-writer Andy, will strive to do. We also have interviews lined up with Placebo, Manchester Orchestra and Glasvegas. It’s all going to be a dramatic change to the carefree shenanigans of beer, banter and buzzing around the gritty fields of Reading, so I’m curiously looking forward to it.

This time next week should be a good time to check back here for the finished reviews of the whole weekend. I say ‘whole weekend’, I’m sure I’m just going to end up writing a ‘Radiohead featuring Jesse Lacey’ article which will no doubt lead to my gigwise demise (also un-intentional rhyme). 

See you soon

x

Reasons to be cheerful

I’m a little disheartened at the moment. For many reasons, most of which are fairly minor in the grand scheme of our existence, but never the less, current. I’ve moved back from the Midlands, (which is a big enough reason to be uplifted), but am now away from girlfriend and with family after 4 years of independent living. Again, these aren’t HUGE problems, but they’re enough to lift you up, turn you upside down and shake the foundations of the life you’re trying to build, out of your pockets and all over a field in West Sussex.

I reckon the main reason for this irrelevant moan is because I’m spending most days writing for a graphics design company who specialise in medical produce which I then have to learn about in order to write about in order to send back to the people who previously wrote about it who then check it over and see if I know what I’m going on about, which I don’t. But somehow, that’s what I’m doing and when you’d rather be back writing about a college in Mansfield, you have the right to be a little disheartened.

Alas, the future is something you can always look forward to. So I think a list of positives is in order, just for me (and Steve), to read and think about why things aren’t ever really that bad. A list to remind us that whatever predicament we may find ourselves in, it falls insignificant to the problems of others. Just look at Hugh Grant for example.

 

Things to look forward to:

 

1. Reading Festival
2. Birthdays
3. Music
4. Sharing homes with loved ones
5. Parties
6. Michael Jacksons death being left alone
7. The new football season
8. Brand New’s new album
9. Ventures
10. Writing meaningful blogs   

 

x

Beat-boxing and sub-editors

I recently reviewed the Midlands heat of the UK Beat-boxing championships for Nottingham’s Left Lion publication. The evening was a grand old time and I thoroughly enjoyed the unfamiliar experience, despite sticking out like a sore thumb. If you’re ever going to a beat-boxing competition, my advice is not to wear a hat and scarf with your ‘listen to the Beach Boys’ t-shirt. And, being the upmost professional that I am, I forgot my notebook and had to document the evening through saving text drafts on my phone. So not only did I appear to be an out of place rambler, living in the past, I was texting through the whole show. Cred.

Anyhooo, the review went live yesterday and as anyone who writes will know, your work has to meet the approval of the ever- tampering sub-editors. I understand that things need to be changed, facts need to be concise and the tone needs to adhere to whatever publication you’re writing for. But, when does your writing stop being your writing and morph into theirs? If I’m trying to establish a career by building a decent portfolio and writing, free of charge, for as many companies as possible, shouldn’t my style should be allowed to flourish into the form I choose? Or is it fair enough that people want their produce to maintain a specific presentation? I don’t really know to be honest – and in this case, the subbing wasn’t as terrible as I’ve suffered in the past, which makes this rant slightly unnecessary, but necessary dammit! Here’s the link: http://www.leftlion.co.uk/articles.cfm/id/2560
Check out some of the beat-boxers, particularly Petebox, he’s very talented indeed.x