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