I am Will from The Rocky Nest. I play trumpet and percussion (and maybe even a bit of funky drumming on future songs - watch this space). We done did a gig so I wroted a blog............................

Badges, stickers, sweets, Lego and a drawing competition: If it weren't for all
the booze, you'd think the Nest had regressed... but all this occured last night
at our gig in Sheffield.

It is as difficult to fit us all on one picture as it is to get us all on one stage.

That Dan from The Pete Green Corporate Juggernaut (ace band, google them) invited us to play at his Popomatic event. Of course, we jumped at the chance, and then spent weeks acting very middle-management-focus-group about the logistics of it. To be fair, if you have eight band members (plus myriad home-town fans who want to tag along), a stack of instruments and sleeping bags, and various requirements about who can't leave Hull until after a certain time or has to get back in time for something else, a couple of flowcharts and a board meeting are neccessary to work out who's in what car and make sure nobody gets stranded with no clean pants.

Keep an eye out for this Popomatic brand on future events if you like your nights out to take the form of a bit of disco cheese and vintage distilled all-time classics sandwiched between warm doorstops of fresh indie pop bread and butter. They also have free badges and sweets. Add to this a drawing competition with excellent prizes, and you have the makings of something just a little bit special.

Just to illustrate (geddit?) how awesome the evening really was, The Rocky Nest delegation picked up silver AND bronze in the competition to draw a robot. Hannah came 2nd and won a little wind-up robot toy, and I got the 3rd prize of a sheet of shiny robot stickers.

If that wasn't enough, those of us who didn't need to get back home that night all trooped round to Andy's house to continue the party. Andy is a Hull ex-pat with a Nintendo Wii and Guitar Hero, a couple of cats, several hundred gigabytes of mp3s, a greater volume and variety of alcoholic beverages than the venue we just came from, and a lot of floor space to sleep on.

Oh, yeah... he also has more Lego than anyone I have ever met.

We walked in to the living room and were confronted by a mini Taj Mahal. Upstairs there is an entire room full of completed models and a couple of tonnes of spare bits. It really is a breathtaking sight. Apparently there was more in the cellar but I didn't get around to looking. I was too busy trying to find some INXS to put on.

Funnily enough, on the way home some of us succumbed to temptation and got a Burger King at the Doncaster services. With my meal I was given a voucher for half-price entry to various attractions, including........... Lego Land. After last night I don't think I really need to bother.



Respect where it is due:

Dan the main man and cheese DJ (Prince and Cameo = correct, Jamelia and Daphne & Celeste = not so much, but each to their own...) and his partners in crime Roo and Cara

The sound guy (in job description and also general demeanour) who called himself Nought but was actually ten out of ten

Support band Japanese Sleepers who combined electronic with organic and fun with heartfelt

Andy for his boundless hospitality

And of course all the lovely people who came out to hear us play, some of them dressed as robots. It was great to see some familiar faces and also some new ones.



Sheffield, we will return...

Hello Sheffields!

May 13 - Hello Sheffields!

We have a gig tomorrow night, that's Friday night, in case you're reading this tomorrow.

It's in lovely Sheffields at Pop-O-Matic.

We're playing alongside Japanese Sleepers, and there'll also be loads of pop music played, I'm really looking forward to it.

Also, there's a lovely poster.

So yes, hope to see you there.

x

- Jonny Nest

What are the Rocky Nest listening to Right Now?

Hello, Salbo on tha RadeeeeeYO!

First of all I would like to apologize for not regularly updating you all with a massive list of what we have been listening to. This list is mostly out of date. This is why:

1. This list was what the Rocky Nest were listening to circa the beginning of April. The individual Rocky Nest members could change their favourite song every minute if they wanted to!
2. We have a new member! She is called Sam and she toots a toots on the flute! this is great. That means there are 9 of us, and i want the Rocky Nest to be like an orchestra. Anyway, she wasnt physically in the band at the exact point that i collated this info so she doesnt have a song.
3. I'm a bit rubbish when its study time. FYI i am learning how to do things that are so boring, people charge me a fortune to know this information so they dont have to bore themselves with it.

However, i would like to award the top winning prize this time to Will aka Trumpeteer/coolest dancer in all the land/omnipotent provider of kindereggs. He wins because he is just totally enthusiastic about this song of the moment thing, i get regular texts from him saying what his favourite song is. He wins because he has a good taste in music. His song submission is ONLY 4 DAYS OLD!! win win win.

okay heres the list.

1. Tom: Joanna Newsom - Good Intentions Paving Company


2. Paul: Talking Heads - I Zimbra


3. Johnny: The Fieldmice - Willow


4. Wendy: The Divine Comedy - Something for the Weekend


5. Hannah: OMD - Electricity


6. Izzy: Cinematic Orchestra - To Build a Home


7. Salbo: Deadmau5 & Kaskade - I Remember (Caspa Remix)


8. Will: guru (RIP) Ft Ronny Jordan - No Time to Play


Ciao! x

Volcanic danger

April 19 - Volcanic Danger

Due to volcanic danger, I'm sorry to say, through no fault of anyone, tada tátà will no longer be able to make it to our gig on Tuesday.

Volcanic ash has cancelled all flights and thus they can't make it over from Sweden.

The good news is we've added three more acts to the bill, Salbo Baggins, Isabelle Manley and Wendy Richards who will all charm you with a couple of their songs.

So now the gig offers five acts for the price of three - what value!

Please come along to join the fun.


Bigger poster

- Jonny Nest

Looking forward to playing live again

March 22 - Looking forward to playing live again.


Hey, don't strain your eyes unduly, larger poster over here

In real terms it might not be that long since our last gig (at the end of January) but it feels like a lifetime to me, and I am really excited to have another chance to play live appear on the horizon.

At the back end of last year we were probably playing at least two gigs a month in and out of Hull, and having a great time doing it. I think a few of the band - myself included - like to know where the next gig is coming from, and will happily put in calls and emails to make sure there is always something lined up.

We've calmed down quite a bit in 2010 when it comes to playing live. We've stopped making those calls and sending those emails - because for the moment at least we're making recording the priority.

Putting an album together is really exciting in itself, and I'm really looking forward to getting my teeth into that, but this doesn't stop me loving playing live.

Happily enough we do have this one gig coming up - largely because we'd already started arranging it before we started our self-imposed gig fast - and I for one am delighted that it's getting closer. Only a month to go.

Aside from the fact that I can't wait to play again, I'm extra excited about this one because I'm looking forward to playing alongside the touring band, I think they are ace.

I saw tada tátà play at Landet in Stockholm at the end of December. I hadn't been convinced that I was going to get to the gig - I had erm... plans earlier that evening so I was pushed for time, it was a very cold night, I didn't really know where I was going or who would be there, and I hadn't heard any of the bands before.

But once I heard tada tátà, I got excited about them very quickly.


tada tátà (ducks not actually in the band)

They have this fantastic clean, bright sound, catchy songs full of, hooks, beats and ace lyrics and (this last bit might just be me) the right blend of innocence and darkness to make the hairs on my arms stand up.

It turned out I did have a few friends along at the gig that evening, and I got swept along by it, in the best possible way.

After their set I asked if there was any chance I could lure the band over to Hull for a gig at The Adelphi - they were very much up for it.

Talking about this with Mattias of Cosy we decided the gig in Hull should be part of a tour of the UK, which is what they are now going to be doing.

I'm hoping that if you're reading this you can be enticed to listen to the band's EP on their Myspace page.

I think they are fantastic enough that once you've heard them play, you'll be wanting to come along.

I'm also delighted that we were able to convince the always wonderful Mammal Hum to come along to play on the night, as they really are one of my favourite bands in Hull. I always enjoy watching them play massively - they are great fun, and I know we're going to have an ace evening all-around. But then anyone from Hull reading this doesn't need me to tell them how great Mammal Hum are.

Visual aid - here they are now:



As you gathered from the above, it's also looking like the only The Rocky Nest gig for some time too, and we'd love to see lots of you along there.

Here are the Facebook and LastFM pages for the event, if they are any use to you.

Tuesday, April 20.
The New Adelphi Club.
De Grey Street.
Hull.
Doors at 8pm.
£3-£4

- Jonny Nest

Returning Home and thoughts of Clum.

March 20 - Returning Home and thoughts of Clum.

Hello there internets.

I've been away for a bit on my holidays, but I'll be back in Hull from tomorrow, and that means I'm thinking lots about that there Rocky Nest.

I'm very much looking forward to coming back and seeing my bandmates (among others).



Another thing I've been thinking about is Hull Album Clum.

Clum is a fantastic thing. Once a month a group of people from Hull get together for music-based fun. I tend to take part when I have time and think I could have fun doing the cover.

At the end of the evening each of those taking part puts an album name into the hat, and one is drawn out.

Everyone then has one month to cover a track of their choice, before meeting up again. The freshly-minted covers are listened to, drinks are enjoyed, and at the end of the evening a new album is chosen from the hat.

In the past I have done Erasure, and The Human League covers.

It's a lot of fun. Last month was Doolittle by Pixies - an album I love.

Anyhow, with me being away quite so much, I wasn't really planning to contribute this month. But then my choice, The Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs, was pulled from the hat.

As you can imagine if your album is picked from the hat, you are very much expected to contribute.

So I rushed off a clum track before I left. I'm not entirely convinced by what I have so far, but hopefully once I have fiddled around with it, it should be okay.

There is also the tradition that there is a new hat each time clum convenes, and everyone must have their picture taken wearing that month's hat.

It's also a bit of an odd one for me this month as usually I gather together other musicians to contribute to the track I am working on. Essentially my only musical ability is playing the bass. However, this month - largely due to lack of time and being far away from any musical kit - I have done everything myself, including 'singing'. I can't sing. It should be interesting.

Anyway, there are still a couple of weeks to go until the next clum evening, so hopefully once I have produced it within an inch of its life, it might be okay.

- Jonny Nest

The Rocky Nest sleep together

... and amuse each other with toys.




hI5IVE xx T

High five kings and queens

"The high five is a celebratory hand gesture that occurs when two people simultaneously raise one hand, about head high, and push, slide or slap the flat of their palm and hand against the palm and flat hand of their partner. The originator of the high five is a subject of controversy.^[1][2] In the United States, there is an initiative to celebrate the third Thursday of April as National High Five Day.^[3]"


The high five is our greeting, our celebratory gesture, and a sign of rocky nest love (please see the photographs below, hopefully demonstrating what it may look like to receive a high five from each member of the band). If you bump into any of us in the supermarket, down the street, or in our local music emporium, we will only be too happy to provide you with a physical demonstration of this wonderful gesture. If we're too grumpy and refuse, you can report this to the high five hotline: info@therockynest.co.uk

Love from the nest xxx

Stop Nest Animation

March 2 - Stop Nest Animation

This might take a while to load properly, so give it a minute, but here is a stop nest animation of some of the band arriving at practice tonight at lovely Arc.



- Jonny Nest

Tuesday Night is Practice Night.

March 2 - Tuesday Night is Practice Night.

Oh yes it is.

Which is great news.

I love practice night, it means I get to hang out with seven lovely people and play music for hours and hours. How ace is that?

We do it on a Tuesday each week because, with eight of us, if we try to move it around and play it on a different night, it's tough to get everyone in the same place at the same time.

Tonight, I'm going to try to get some pictures and write about it later.

Basically, we go to this place called Arc, which is where Hannah Nest works, and they are lovely enough to allow us to practice after hours.

It's a lovely big triangle of a building and everything sounds great in there.

Also, we pay into the tea fund, and that means we are allowed to drink their tea and coffee. Yey.

Yey, practice night.

- Jonny Nest

Giving people the chance to hear your music.

March 1 - Giving people the chance to hear your music.

I was going to write this as a message to a friend, but I got part way through and thought it would make an alright blog post instead.

Earlier today I bumped into the friend I was writing to, James of Late Night Fiction outside Jack's in Beverley where we'd both gone to buy our respective lunches. We had a chat about gigging, touring, recording and the rest of it, as we tend to do whenever we bump into each other. (We work on opposite sides of the same street).

James was telling me about an event he had been to, where people from the recording industry, including someone from Polydor, were talking about the internet supplanting CDs in terms of music distribution.

Pictured: CDR production in full swing at Rocky Nest Towers.

Bands like Vampire Weekend can now climb high in the charts using 85 per cent download sales, something which would have been impossible just a couple of years ago. The line James heard was that due to the way the internet has changed things, it might be only a couple of years until the humble CD goes the same way as other now-defunct formats such as the minidisc, the tape and yes, even the wax cylinder.

It sounded really interesting, especially when we in The Rocky Nest are working towards producing a CD (rather than a CD-R) and all the costs that entails. I went away with plenty to think about.

Certainly when I buy a CD, it only tends to have a lazer hit its surface once - as my computer converts it for MP3 use - before it is filed on a shelf to collect dust. Call me old fashioned if you like, I still like having the packaging and artwork, but that is a small concern next to the music.

It took me a few hours, but a counter-argument occurred to me... and I'm sure I can't be the only one thinking it.

I know it might sound like I'm stuck in the past, but I honestly think gigging bands, and especially those without label-support, still need CDs.

Why?

This is in no way a criticism, but labels like Polydor can definitely monetise their operation through iTunes. This is because they have a roster of artists - Athlete, The Black Eyed Peas, Eminem, Lady Gaga, The Saturdays, Yeah Yeah Yeahs (just going on the front of their website) - who are going to be heard in a completely different circumstance than ours.

Many people hear the music of these bands when they are at home, on music shows and channels, on the radio, on adverts, and as incidental music in films and TV shows. Some of them might think "Yes, I like this, maybe I should download it" and there it is, the objective is instantly met.

For bands gigging independently, the aim of the game is often less about making money (because to be fair, just as we don't have the same resources a label has, we also don't have the same overheads) and more getting our music out there and hoping it strikes the same chord with listeners as it did with us as we wrote, played and recorded it.

The first step is to make sure people hear the songs, and it's really up to us to make that as easy as possible.

There is no magic bullet, and most of our recordings are only going to be picked up through getting out there as much as possible - going on tour, playing plenty of gigs, all-dayers and festivals.

So, what we need to do is make it as easy for any person at a gig to actually go home with the music we'd like them to hear. While playing, we need to be able to say something along the lines of: "This next song is on our CD. If you like what you hear you can buy a copy at the table at the back there... or just grab one of us as soon as we're off this here stage."

I think, you could also offer people the chance to go home and download your track, and they might think "Hell yeah, this band is ace, I will definitely download that."

But then they might have a couple more drinks, go home, and wake up the next day, maybe get a coffee, and forget to download it.

Not all of them, obviously. Some of them will remember. But I would be willing to wager that by not offering immediate availability, you will see a drop in the number of people listening to the music.

Basically by offering a download instead of a tangible CD, you've put a big barrier in the way of the audience member actually getting hold of your music, and that just doesn't seem a great idea.

I'm not saying bands shouldn't put their music on iTunes, I think that is also a great thing to do. Perhaps there is a forum out there of people who are interested in you, or people who keep an eye on you because they heard you a year ago, and they will grasp with both hands the chance to download the track. But for most bands, it's the gig goers who are the most likely to connect with the music.

I know, not normal blog fodder, but it got me thinking.

Maybe someone should do a trial, record two singles of roughly equal quality, pop one on CDR and one online, plug them both at gigs, and see which ends up being played more on Last FM.

Hey, maybe put one out on wax cylinder too, while you're at it, hit the all-too-often-overlooked 19th century demographic.

- Jonny Nest

Practice is ace.

February 25 - Practice is ace.

Practice on Tuesday night was ace. We gathered together as many amps and microphones as we could find, and did some live recording.

There was a crescent of amps around the drumkit - a range of shapes and sizes, it was impressive to behold.

We had loads of fun - I should have taken a picture for blogging reasons, but in amongst the playing of music, I forgot.

Sorry more-than-likely-imaginary readers, I am a low-class bloggist. I'll make sure to get a picture next Tuesday.

In the meantime here is a picture from a previous practice. Admit it, you can't even tell the difference.

I think this was in the summer at some point. It's quite light, and this was definitely an evening.

I picked this one of Wendy and Tom, because they look so happy and because in most band photos Wendy is hidden behind the rest of us, that's not very fair.

We also did an ace new song. There used to be another song with the same name, but it's very different now.

...You might already know this, but unless there is an over-riding reason to cancel we tend to practice each and every Tuesday. We've found that if we don't have a regular rehearsal slot it can be quite tricky to get all eight of us together.

We can spend a whole week each saying which days we are and aren't free.

There are just too-darn-many of us, clearly.

Maybe if there were more days than The Rocky Nest members, then we could sort this out.

Essentially we need an extra two days a week. I propose that they are placed between Saturday and Sunday and are counted as part of the weekend. Now, what shall we call them?

- Jonny Nest

What are the Rocky Nest Listening to Right Now?

February 21 - What are the Rocky Nest Listening to Right Now?

Hello everyone! I am Sally Nest, and I am poorly. Whilst the rest of the nest are in talks this very afternoon about our grand schemes for making our first pop video (very very exciting) I thought I would make a start on my blogular feature which can be easily done from the quarantined space of my bedroom.

I just asked everyone what their favourite song was currently and am going to post them up here. Since there are 8 of us, that is alot of ear candy for your very own ears!

I wasn't going to have winners, but Paul Nest is the winner at the moment for naming a song that I can't find the original of on Youtube, the obscure bugger that he is! I can only find a cover. Now, fingers crossed I embed the youtube videos okay and here we go!



1. Will Nest: Nite Becomes Day - Citizen Cope


2. Paul Nest: The Little Black Foal - Jake Thackeray (THIS IS A COVER)


3. Tom Nest: Everything Merges with the Night - Brian Eno


4. Wendy Nest: My Teacher Died - Diane Cluck


5. Izzy Nest: Jungle Drum - Emililana Torrini


6. Hannah Nest: Love is Strange - Mickey and Sylvia


7. Jonny Nest: Swans - Camera Obscura


8. Sally Nest: This Sweet Love - James Yuill


I hope you enjoyed our first installation of random ear candy! I'm going to check on my super spicy soup and get myself tucked back up in bed!

-Sally Nest

Mixtape magic

February 20 - Mixtape magic

On Thursday three of us, Han, Paul and I, went along to see one of Mikey's gigs That Exploded as did loads of our friends.


As well as getting to watch sets from Leeds' i concur, and Hull's Misshapen Lodge and Dead Sea Diver.


I'd not seen the Lodge before and I really enjoyed it. Known for being experimental, I wasn't sure what the Lodge'd be like - I sometimes have a tricky time when it comes to art with sound. But for my money when it comes to the blurry line where sound-art meets music, they were definitely where I'd want them to be.


You could hear influences from all manner of genres, and all sorts of bands in there. They also did the best dealing with a heckler ever. They gave him a massive wall of sound to the face.


It was lovely to see Dead Sea Diver too. I'd seen Landseer before, also featuring songs by Chris, but it had been ages, so this was a welcome return as far as I was concerned. I'm hoping for lots more gigs soon. Also Dead Sea Diver is a much better name.



But the other thing happening that evening, aside from the live music, was myriad recorded music being passed around.


Tom Wiles, one of the Lodge members, had instigated a mixtape swap, which Hannah and I took part in, alongside a fair few other people.


The tape I picked out of Tom's satchel was actually made by the very person whose idea it was in the first place.


This picture is the tape which Tom made for me.


I understand that as of just now he has also started a blog about this mixtape swap, called The Lost Art Of Making a Mixtape.


I thoroughly endorse the mixtape idea. It was a huge nostalgia trip to make a mixtape, I hadn't done that in years. And now I get to listen to a load of music selected by Tom, which I am really enjoying.


It really does bring home to me just how niche and gentle my taste in music in. Lord help the mixtapee who retrieved the tape I had put in Tom's bag.


(Pictured is the inlay of what Tom put on the tape I got)


One of the things which surprised me about the whole process, and I suppose shouldn't have surprised me at all, was how tricky it is to pick up C60 cassettes these days. There were some C90s out there, but I really wanted C60s.


After trying all the charity shops in Beverley on a lunchbreak, I eventually resorted to eBay. Who would have thought fifteen years ago that the blank tape would become such a tricky to find commodity by now.


Anyhow, I'm looking forward to future mixtape swaps now.


Hey Han, whose tape did you get?


- Jonny Nest

What is going on in Nestland?

February 19 - What is going on in Nestland?

So it's all very exciting in Nestland at the moment, which is why we thought it'd be nice to get this blog going.


We've been planning to record an album for a while now, and we have been working on, practising and polishing new songs, as well as some older ones.


We've got a list of songs which we're hoping will be on there, which people may well recognise from our gigs.


Personally I am most excited by two of the new songs - Grief, My Lonely Friend and First Came The Drum.


Grief... builds towards this fantastic ending which I get really excited about as soon as we start playing the first bar, I love the way it unfolds.


But First... has probably become my new favourite of our songs. Previously and for a long while it was Lenny and Jenny, but now I've moved on. It's so much fun to play and just romps along at such a fantastic pace.


I can't wait to record these tracks.


As well as the recording itself we're talking about artwork - we're all going to try drawing things - new promo photos, and even videos. It's all fantastic.


There is one thing missing. By necessity, we're going to be doing fewer gigs, but it's well worth it to create an album.


So yes, if you look at the Live section of the website, at the moment there is only one gig listed, but that's very exciting too, tada tátà, one of the fantastic Cosy bands are coming over from Sweden to play a UK tour, including a stop in Hull and I'm really happy that we get to host them here. Ace.


But anyway, how are you doing?


- Jonny Nest

The Rocky Nest are a band from Hull.

February 18 - The Rocky Nest are a band from Hull.

We've been playing together for a while now, and we're about to start recording our album.

So, we thought this would be a nice time to start blogging about that, and other things too.

- Jonny Nest