Wednesday 25 March 2009

Hi folks. Well the EB Band has begun rehearsal again. We had a lot of fun last weekend. We are trying to add some extra sounds and parts to some of the old songs by fairly simple means i.e. running a stereo track from an I Pod with sounds and extra parts we couldn’t realise otherwise. One side has the parts and the other a percussive pattern for Steve to play along to. He has to wear head phones for this and in spite of this being a bit strange for him at first, he soon got to grips and it all went along quite well. Getting the tempo right as well as what the drummer listens to is crucial to it all working. The tracks were made including all the speeding up and slowing down on the original recordings but it was decided it would be easier to keep the tempos constant. Adjustments were made until Steve was comfortable playing to the guide. So there it is, extra acoustic guitars on Hotel room which allows for real slide guitar, the original strings on Evening over rooftops, backing vocals, the effects on Green lights and so on. We used this technique years ago when we used an old Apple computer to drive the patterns and parts Steve played to.


Luke is playing some acoustic guitar and I've got a few songs where I don't play guitar which is all adding to the dynamics of the songs. We are making some very subtle changes as well as some quite major ones. We’ve put Dr Spock back in the set along with Side by Side / Sister Angela, Night Hogs from Super Chip, Speak Down the wires, Roccoco Cooler and other old favourites. We are planning to put together a show that starts small and ascends through the set to flat out mayhem. I hope the above tech stuff isn’t boring. I know some people like to know how things work so I hope those that don’t care forgive the inclusion.
It was a good weekend made all the better by the continuing rampage of Liverpool F.C. Yer !Later on Sunday afternoon, young Sonny had a good work out on his dad's drums. It was a bit like listening to the fire of a heavy calibre machine gun stuck on automatic jumping around on a marble floor. Wicked innit ?
Pic below.

It seems Gordon Brown is not just a chip off the old block. There are signs that he is implementing some interesting and welcome policies. I was very interested in the announcements around citizen responsibility to look out for and to intervene for children at risk which came out of the govt white paper “Every Child Matters”. Perhaps this might be considered especially welcome at a time when a comprehensive survey stated UK children were more poorly served than in most other European countries and some non European countries.
This policy was rolled out as a new “duty” for all local govt / public service employees, at all levels. The idea was that this new responsibility would be extended to all citizens. I am not sure how this being implemented and how it is being progressed but it was/ is a good sign.
The latest development applies to all adults along the same lines. It involves the setting up of a pool of social workers across the country who will investigate any complaint brought to their attention in respect of treatment received in any public service environment such as hospitals , youth provision , residential care homes etc. If the complaint by any person friends, relatives or ANY member of the public is found to have substance then an advocate can be employed to pursue the case. I know this is about to run in some parts and it seems to me that this is the kind of idea I can totally endorse. Hey! this what I voted for and expected to get from Labour. I know it’s early days but let’s give it a chance. I know I bang on about the lack of labour commitment to the crucial things but I like to think I will also give credit where credit is due. We need a lot more accountability especially where the care of vulnerable folk are concerned.

So Sir Fred the banker is shaken that people have trashed his car and had a go at his house. I don’t condone the senseless vandalism lol but, nor do I care that he is inconvenienced. This is the tip of the iceberg and people will take what they consider to be direct action when they feel let down by the people who should have intervened to prevent him getting away with it in the first place.

R.I.P. Jade Goody. Perhaps thousands of women will be saved from the tragedy she faced because of her. Perhaps we should be extremely grateful that her loss will be of lasting benefit through her contribution to the seed change in public awareness around cervical cancer. Reviled she was but if we are to be judged by the harm and good we do in our lives then perhaps she has the edge on most of us. Judge ye not ! We didn’t look after her all that well after all. Did we?
Well I am off to learn the words to Roccococooler. I am probably a dead man if I turn up with a lyric sheet for the next rehearsal. No rest for the gifted eh?

Peace

copyright e d g a r b r o u g h t o n 2009



11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Have you thought about including 'Dawn Crept Away' in the set Rob? Now that would be an awesome choice, though I think you possibly would be forgiven if a lyric sheet was present now and again! lol

Can't wait for more UK shows!!

Best,

Phil Robb

Anonymous said...

There are many elements to your latest blog, Rob, all of which are worthy of comment. However, if I only pick one, I have to say that as I read that EBB would be including Dr Spock and Speak Down the Wires in the new set, I felt a tingle down my spine, hairs on the back of my neck reached skywards - such is the power of great music, we all have our favourites. I sing 'Dr Spock' to my little 'un almost every day whilst nappy changing. My singing voice is shite and he's too young to understand but it does me the power of good and seems to stop him wriggling around so much! I'm determined to have that baby on strike before he's two years old !
shoreham steve

antony smith said...

I love the "smell (can't really smell 'em but you know what i mean!)and feel of the studio photos , gets my excitment level rising!hoping that there may be few shows this year with new old songs and new new songs! Saw you play Arial at Leicester i dont think this has been on a disc yet but i remember the song and the drumming pattern (or what ever the musical term is!)and thought thats a classic Ebb song , not played any EBB for while but i think tonight im going to play Oora .... um fantasic just fantastic!
cheers
tony

Anonymous said...

Hi Rob

Great to see that you have put some more classic songs into the new set. Alot of your gigs circa 1972/73 started with Side by Side didnt they? A couple of recordings that I have, did anyway. Excellent stuff. Will be looking forward to seeing the band in the UK this year.
Agreed with your comments about Jade Goody, hopefully her publicised battle with cancer may save some lives in the future. However, did find some of the media's coverage ( i needn't say which media groups) of her last few weeks slightly macabre. And yes youre right we didnt look after her and there are lots more cases like that in this country.
On a different note, why oh why have UEFA decided to draw us with Liverpool again. Its getting very tiresome now!

All the best

Neil

STRUMMIT said...

I've spoken to a good few mates about the perfect EBB set, and it ends up with pretty much all the first six albums, plus a few A and B sides thrown in for good measure... a real personal favourite is always Call Me A Liar, as relevant today as it was when it was released in ... way back when!! That long ago... really, where did all those hours and minutes go. Last quick point... the picture of Luke playing guitar is the first time I've thought... he is certainly his Father's Son... winding the old clock back some. Health and Happiness and can't wait for some more UK gigs

Anonymous said...

Brown is a slightly more credible character than the truth assassin Blair. I like what you said about J. Goody. Bless her.
Yeah always good to get an idea of how you guys do stuff. I like the low tech approach though its clear you have a mastery of more high tech solutions from previous blogs. Simple is often best. You have inspired me for years and my amateur music recordings are filled with reference to your material. So thanks Edgar.
Jo

Anonymous said...

I once described Jacqui Smith as the worst Home Secretary in history - now it turns out she's the most expensive too. Gordon Brown says we should stop being nasty to her as she works very hard to keep us safe. Well, our lollipop lady works very hard to keep us safe and I doubt she gets £300K and a fancy set of bath taps. I can almost understand how her £40K husband remains in their 'second home' watching dodgy movies.
I am getting worried about Barack Obama. Hubris alert. Ever so clever attacking the true bravery and determination of the special olympic athletes. Has anyone noticed that he has developed a 'strut'? ('Look at me, I'm really important'). The 'strut' reminds me a little of Liam Gallagher. Perhaps Liam would make a better President - at least they would have a better anthem. Come to think of it, we could replace our cabinet with Girls Aloud. Cheryl would make a great Home Secretary.

Paul, cheesed off in the Dales

Anonymous said...

Paul , cheesed of in the dales Wenslydale perhaps!
cheese
tony!

Anonymous said...

hi rob its sonny liverpool are on a roll and i'm on a drum kit awesome c u soon m8

Anonymous said...

Yesseriebub, totally agree that one shouldn't condone violence or vandalism against that totalutterflippintotalutterbastardFred thingy - but - if anyone gets caught for for it, I'd like to see everyone stand up and say "I'm Spartacus!"

Pppppps

ramblinmadly x

Anonymous said...

I'm Spartacus!

Spartacus in the Dales