3rd December 2011
Wow what a party!Ian and Charlotte were very lucky with the weather and very lucky to have such wonderful friends and family. This party was possibly the best of the year as everyone was up for a great time. They danced from the first song to the last and would have kept going until the cows came home given half a chance.My little arms were exhausted , I felt like I'd been stretched on the rack.
This wedding was organised by Tillyboo., a Nottingham wedding organiser who we can highly recommend. Sarah ran the event with Military precision and is a thoroughly lovely girl to boot.
A word about the dj who had some fascinating stories about Ghosts. I've got a few skeletons in my cupboard and I'm haunted by 3 ghost every Christmas eve , so we hit it off straight away. Mr dj has his own TV series next year on ghost hunting so watch out David Ancorah , there's a new kid on the block !
Beautiful venue for a wedding and everything went swimmingly, literally.
A tap in the bedroom above the stage decided to drip, then to run and then to gush 20 mins before we were due to go on. Help !!! Returning to the stage to play , I discovered all my drums were soaking and our amps were wet too. Danger, danger ,danger!
Paul and Martin did stress a little over their vintage 60's Marshall tops which looked ruined , but after 20 mins of frantic drying and wiping we eventually managed to play. I must say we have never been as stressed on a gig and was very relieved when things got going again. The groom and guest were very understanding and I know they enjoyed themselves in the end.
Just a word about the management , they were professional and calm in the face of such tribulation and deserve a medal for getting things back on course in such a short time.
12 th November 2011
40th Birthday Party
The Winery Burton upon trent
Hob nobing in a Winery , how very posh.
Our host was a very popular chap with hundreds of friends.
Everyone bopped all night and we even got a tip, Hoorah!
Highlighted by a 3 year old showing me how to play Seven Nation Army, mum and dad loved it. Upstaged again.I wonder what he wants for Christmas hmm?
Joanne and jamie wedding 29th October 2011
Worsley Park Marriott Hotel Manchester
Lovely joyous wedding for Jamie and Joanne, we all had a ball.
All the shenanigans began subsequently, read em and weep as Meat Loaf once said.-
Firstly, Mr Satnav had a bit of a nightmare sending us to the back end of our travelodge as per postcode which had no entrance meaning another 20 min trek. Secondly , we had N'bubz staying in the adjoining rooms at the Travelodge who decided to party in the corridor at 3am .
Day were speakin der lingo for wot seemed 2 hours man.
Paul finally snapped and told them in polite terms to shut the f£"%£$%$ up and peace finally returned .I thought he was very brave and fully expected them to beat him to death.
Thirdly,the Satnav took us back through the peak district ,although lovely scenery we got stuck for an hour at Buxton for roadworks ,arghhhhhhhh. Back home for 1 pm. Phew !
Be warned people , Travelodges have no security and no phones in the rooms so if there is any trouble , you are on your own. Go for Premier Inns and have a good nights sleep !!
Its the annual August bank holiday marathon , the time when I say bye to the wife and kids for the weekend and play some killer tunes to unsuspecting party goers. The whole thing can be very exhausting especially for drummers who are the hardest working members of any band .Can you imagine my little arms come Tuesday morning , they felt like they'd been stretched on the rack, my knuckles are dragging on the ground. I felt like king Kong with a head ache and probably smelt like him too !
On the road, guys in the band went through their considerable back catalogue of drummer jokes again, which I fully appreciate , here's the best-
What do you call someone who hangs around with musicians? A drummer
How can you tell a drummer's at the door? The knocking speeds up.
What do you call a drummer that breaks up with his girlfriend? Homeless.
What do you call someone who hangs around with musicians? A drummer
Anyway for anybody who thinks drumming is easy check this out !
the gigs
19th August Manpals 50th Bar 5 Derby
We don't tend to play locally ,so were pleased to receive this booking from an lovely chap called Manpal .Our hosts were very generous and looked after everyone superbly. I thought they might object to our song-list as there is a severe lack of Bangra ,but to my surprise they all enjoyed themselves immensely. Hoorah !
21st Aug Melbourne House
So nice of Robbie Savage to turn up to Anna's wedding at least we thought it was Robbie Savage? Anyway when we arrived we were told the neighbours had been on the dog and bone to complain about the noise on Saturday nights. Apparently they had been stood on the other side of the fence with a decibel metre. Now I lead quite a boring life but even I've got better things to do on Saturday nights than stand in my garden waving things around. Anyway we kept the volume down and I think everyone was happy .
21st August 2010 Morley Haze wedding
Now golf clubs tend to fill me with dread , the rooms are usually very mod , heavily carpeted etc . Not good for live music at all . To my surprise Morley Haze was very good though . A nice wooden floor and a buffet to die for . Anyway proceedings went well despite lots of children running around. Sunday weddings are always subdued as everyone has to get up for work on Tuesday.
What a beautiful venue for this wedding. Nice big room with a wooden floor , perfect for a live band. Our clients were perfect hosts ,treating us to food and drinks .They offered kind words at the end and we wish them well.
On the way down we listened to the whole Deep Purple box set again, which included some Rainbow songs.I still can't believe Ronnie James Dio has left us . In my eyes the best ever , You could argue Paul Stanley from Kiss , Axl Rose, Robert Plant, Ian Gillan to name a few , but for pure power and range the little man was top dog for me.
He is even credited with inventing the Devil Horn hand shape which has become standard for all Heavy metal lead singers.
Never forgotten RJD RIP.
Just catching up on things . Twelve gigs in August was just amazing. Here are notes from the 11th-----
Another gig for our troops, this time at at RAF Brize Norton. We were greeted by some very friendly squadies who showed us to our stage. Given the enormous room size it was obviously time for the "Wharfedales" , the Superfuzz back up speakers .They were recently on tour with Motorhead ! They weigh a tonne and once hooked up have the power make your ears bleed ( if needs be). Anyway our guests were in a great mood, they danced , bopped , hopped and jumped around all night long. Its amazing how drunk you can get on two pints of John Smiths bitter ???? Proceedings were interrupted for a while so that medical administrations could take place- but otherwise , what a hoot !!!!! Thanks chaps and chocs away old beanz
