New Cross

[shermarama]

That was the first Punch Judy gig ever where we've used all our own equipment. Jodie got a 150W Marshall for Christmas, see, and Debz now has a car and could bring the Ampeg from hers (though technically that's Ben's, I think) and with my car I could bring my own kit. We were the only band on tonight and couldn't swipe stuff from anyone else but it's only within these last few weeks we've been technically able to avoid doing so anyway. The car journey wasn't as bad as I was expecting, an hour and twenty minutes either way and in a car as efficient as mine, with two people in it, probably about as fuel-efficient as the train anyway.

As gigs go it was a bit bizarre. There was the actual soundman and there was the soundman we know in the audience, who was dispensing advice to someone far more experienced than him and in an irritatingly intrusive way. But we did fifteen songs, probably the longest set we've ever played, especially given that some of our more recent songs make it over the four minute mark. We even did Hey Thinker on the end, a song so new it still squeaked a bit but which is tremendous fun to play. So hey, £40 to go towards practices and I made it home in time for the Shipping Forecast, what more do you want?

Apart from more gigs, obviously. This weekend's going to be a bit nuts. We've got a gig with the Moon on Thursday, booked so long ago we'd almost forgotten about it, on the Thursday at the New Cross Inn again. On Friday we've got a pretty serious one at a place in Islington, put on by a promoter who also does the Garage so you know, if ever you felt the urge to come and see, then's your time, and on Saturday we're lined up for a squat party in New Cross with Kn0wn, which will be excellent in an altogether different way. Kn0wn will make us look like shit technically so we'll just have to try and beat them on, I don't know, something, in order not to look a bit pointless next to them.

I'm never going to forget Sunday morning. I'd been to a beer festival on Saturday evening which closed early enough that the idea of going to the pub afterwards held actual promise as well as just idiot-amusement value, so we did that, like idiots, which means that when Debz rang me at 7am to say we'd been offered a gig that night, I woke up and answered the phone quite sharply because I was still drunk and being careful rather than hung-over and useless. Her first words were "Oh my God, I can't believe she answered the phone!"

Comments

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

I have pointed my friend Irina (geebabygee) at your LJ - she is looking for bands to play her club night in Islington.

[shermarama]

Oo, smashing, thanks.

[editor.livejournal.com]

Which one's the New Cross Inn?

[shermarama]

It's halfway between the two stations, on the north side of the main road. It's got a chequerboard backdrop to the stage, if that's any use as a memory jogger.

[editor.livejournal.com]

Not really, alas - I guess I must not have been there. Is it on the corner, a little way east of the Nouvelle Spice?

And... do you mind if I ask you some questions about gigging in New Cross? Brock and I are toying with the idea of trying to get an act together.

[shermarama]

This will be where my shameful ignorance of curry restaurants in New Cross shows, I've no idea where the Nouvelle Spice is (I take a running guess at what it is.) It's right next to a handy kebab place that'll do you a smashing portion of chips in pitta for £1.50, though. It is also on a corner.

Go ahead and ask about gigging, I'll tell you owt I know, not that that's much.

[editor.livejournal.com]

Alas, I'm afraid I can think of about five kebab shops in NX, so that doesn't really help. Oh well.

All I wanted to know about gigging was: how do you go about getting a slot at one of the venues in New Cross? And do all/some/none have their own PA? (Very important, as we don't.)

[shermarama]

That was the first gig we've played in 18 months where we had a full set of our own drumkit, bass and guitar amp; normally you can borrow (though work it out beforehand) some fraction of those, from other bands or sometimes house ones. Nowhere would expect you to provide a PA, perhaps unless you were angling as a promoter yourself and in any regular music venue not even then. Everywhere in New Cross has its own PA and some of them have in-house soundmen too. But the easiest way to actually get a gig is to get in touch with local promoters - most nights are already tied to the promoters so you may as well use them and make life easier for yourself.

The best way to get in touch with promoters is to turn up to any live band night, really. They're always looking for new bands - I can't find it right now but I've got a flyer here somewhere from the bloke promoting last night, appealing for new bands. I wrote me set list on the back of it.

Do you have a demo of any sort?

[editor.livejournal.com]

That's great - thanks!

We don't exactly have a demo. We have several CDs of industrial hip hop; but we thought it'd be fun, as a side project, to get out of the studio and just play some indie covers in a bar somewhere. We don't have any recordings of that because we're still working out which songs, and whether we're going to need to find any new members. (At the moment Brock plays keyboards, and I play guitar and sing. We can put the drums and bass on a backing track, but if you know anyone who might want to be involved then please put them in touch!)

[shermarama]

Ah. Getting on stage as an indie covers band with a backing track for bass and drums could be, umm, tricker. Unless you've got some startlingly original angle on it or are playing a night that's going out of its way to be unusual, I suspect promoters (in the New Cross area at least) would rather give the slots to the large numbers of bands playing originals. That's not to say you wouldn't get a slot but you might have to talk fast, or head for a quieter area.

[editor.livejournal.com]

That's interesting to know, cheers. I actually imagined it'd be easier to get a slot playing covers, because, y'know, it's more accessible for the punters. I guess promoters find it more rewarding to promote new music.

I'll have to talk to Brock. Maybe we should just write a set. Cheers for the info, anyway!

[shermarama]

I think that would be true in a lot of other places but the promoters I'm aware of in New Cross just aren't minded towards covers bands, I don't think. I have to say the proportion of traditional teenage lad indie bands is far lower on average at New Cross gigs than anywhere else we play. Blame it on the art school or something.

[(Anonymous)]

Fair enough. Do you think that's principally because the promoters aren't interested, or because the arty types have different ambitions? (Doesn't really matter either way, just idly wondering.)

Oh, and would you like to drum for an indie covers band? ;)

[editor.livejournal.com]

And why am I anonymous? I demand recognition!

[damerell.livejournal.com]

See, I need to be at King's Cross at _some_ point on Friday... got any details?

[shermarama]

Ha-ha! Smashing. It's at a place called Leonard's Bar, there's four bands on and I believe we're on at 10, third of the four.

Hmm, it says Islington but if you look it up (42 Northampton Road) it's actually down by the Mount Pleasant sorting office.

[damerell.livejournal.com]

OK, that looks feasible - I'm expecting to go see naath that weekend, but I don't think she'll mind if I arrive late on Friday.

[shermarama]

Crikey. Top stuff.

[damerell.livejournal.com]

Any idea when it starts? Fancy a swift one beforehand (if you drink before hitting stuff)?

[shermarama]

Doors are at 8, I believe, so I'll be there quite a lot earlier for soundchecks at that rate. Only lime and soda for me before hitting things, though, I'm afraid.