What is it like being in a Rock and Roll band? It's amazing most of the time. Most of our gigs are fun, I've always loved rehearsals, recording is a really uplifting process, turning ideas into something tangible that you can be proud of and will endure. Of course there are bad times. The False Dots have had 38 different members over the years and not all left on good terms, but that's true of every aspect of life. There are bad gigs, where for whatever reason, it just doesn't happen onstage, but that is pretty rare.
However there is one thing I dread. It is the day after. I alluded to this in my last feature in this series, where I recalled my feelings on returning from our tour of Sweden. I wrote "When I was home, I can remember running a bath and staring at the ceiling and wondering if times would ever be as good again. " The feeling when you've worked hard on a project, you've planned for it for months or sometimes longer, then its done. There is an emptyness. When the False Dots first started, Paul Marvin, son of guitar legend Hank Marvin was our drummer. Hank kindly let us rehearse in his private studio in his mansion in Radlett. Although he is an internationally famous guitarist, in his home he was just Paul's Dad. I was keen to pick his brains. I asked him for any advice for when the band started gigging. His reply was very insightful "Always try and have the next project lined up, before you finish the current one". He added that it's always good to give the fans something to look forward to when you are closing the show. At the time, I didn't really understand. When the band started gigging, I always tried to ensure that we always had one in the pipeline before we did our next one. It keeps everyone energised and engaged, but it wasn't until we got back from Sweden, with nothing lined up, that it really hit home.
In my day job, running the studios, we see a lot of celebrities and stars going out on tour. On Monday I had a quick chat with Leee John of Imagination. He was in rehearsing for some forthcoming gigs. I like Leee, he's a proper character. He always has a string of projects on the go. They all sound interesting and he has lost none of the energy he has for music and life. He gets a kick out of playing music and rehearsing. He posted this clip from their recent rehearsal
Leee is a great example of how keeping busy and energised keeps you in great shape! There are a few projects Leee has been working on for ages that sound brilliant. I am sworn to secrecy, but I always ask. The answer is usually, "Oh, I've just not had the time".
Once you lose momentum, it can be really hard to get it back. There are a fair number of studio customers we see, some who are (or were) high profile, who come in to try and get projects going. For such artists, the biggest problem is often that they put a band together of pro musicians and start to rehearse and then key players get poached by other bands or projects that actually have work in the calendar. It is hard to survive at the moment on the wages of a musician, so if you get an offer of regular work, it is hard to get back in the saddle.
At the moment, my band, The False Dots are in what might be called a rich vein of form. We've had a run of brilliant gigs, we released an album on Sunday, which has been well received. We have a gig in December lined up at The Dublin Castle, after a brilliant show at the weekend. We are also making a special live video as well as a fly on the wall video. We have also started work on a brand new album, provisionally called Groovetown. This is going to be a very North West London take on Northern Soul and Mod culture, with a sprinkling of Ska and punk in there somewhere.
We also need to start looking at the gig calendar for 2025. We have none in the book for the year at the moment. We need to rectify that before the 13th December, when we do our next gig. There is nothing worse than the day after feeling, when you realise that you've got nothing in the diary.
My advice. Keep energised.
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Talking of keeping energised. Please book a ticket for our next gig, it should be a corker and a great way to kick of Xmas! >>>>> CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS <<<<<
And here's our new album
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