Tag: 2023/4/22

Day 112

Thursday April 13

Having seen us do our thing on Sunday, Mike has decided we’re the show closers tonight in Bishops in Fulham, south London. This is a really classy venue and again, he’s put together a solid lineup and we sit back and enjoy the evening until it’s our turn. As soon as we start, the crowd is with us. Totally. And not just the musicians. A whole bunch of non participating regulars are here too and they really go for it as we once again get the audience to pick out the songs we’re going to play. I think Mike really gets this and the statement it sends out. First song to prove yourselves? Pick one. Last song to really close the show strong? Pick one. The order tonight is Nobody Said, Six Sense Lover, My Game My Rules then How You RocknRoll. I’m really glad My Game My Rules came out because I really wanted to make amends on this one after the speedfest of Sunday. And this time out, Mike is really seeing us as our usual assured and solid selves. There’s no rehearsal or growing experience like live and Sunday was a bit of a shock for us and I’ve spent time since then really getting into the tempos of the songs again and holding myself back to trust them. That they don’t need to be smashed out. Like I said the other day, they’re already designed that way. They were literally written to be pulled out and smashed into difficult and even hostile environments. That was always going to be our path as, right from the beginning, we set out to play bars that were not live music venues, or at least not original live music venues. 

Out there at the tables tonight, people are banging their heads and rocking and so many are also trying to sing along. And again, none of them have ever heard these songs before. And the energy becomes cyclical as the whole synergy between us and audience fills the room. But really, it starts with us as we have to front it out at the beginning and take it to them. And I can feel it as we do. As we leave the stage and stand in the middle of the room, then loom over the tables, I can feel it. ‘Almost arms folded, ‘who the hell are these guys and what the hell are they doing?’” But bravado and front will only take you so far. It’s when you can back it up that they really come with you. And they really come with us.

And tonight we have the first audience member to have our album title written on the back of his hand in the same way we wear it when we go out live. HEJ – with a backwards J. Damn, I’ve got so used to looking at ours, that this actual ‘J’ looks backwards to me now. His name is Robert and he is all over us in the best possible way. He admits to sitting back a bit at the beginning. It starts, and he thinks, ‘These guys are going to be terrible.’ A bit into it and it’s like, ‘OK, they can play, but really?’ The cynic isn’t letting go. But then. ‘All of a sudden I realised I was singing along.’ That was when his thoughts switched and he was absolutely with us from that moment on, and now it feels like we’ve got a fan. Then he says it. ‘You guys belong on the Jools Holland Show. That’s the next thing for you.’ Now, there’s saying you’re good and you enjoyed it and there’s saying, this is really serious. Yes. We are. Robert, thankyou very much. 

Now to say goodbye after Mike’s closed the show with a really cool cover performance joined by his singer friend. As he comes out to give us a huge hug goodbye, in the process saying, ‘You guys are amazing,’ he adds, ‘Anytime you want to play, just let me know and I’ll put you down.’ Great. We’re in. No booking, no need. We just keep an eye out, pick out an event of his we like the look of and we’re on it. We really do want to keep this London open mic thing going and the two shows with Mike – set up thanks to Zaid and his list – have been the very best start we could have hoped for.

Day 116

Sunday April 16

We decide to soundcheck at The White Hart. One of the reasons is to see if we can go through their house system because it really is a big and long venue. Secondly, we’re thinking we could use it to advertise ourselves for Tuesday. We arrange this with Kristoff and head on down there for around 6pm. First off, we discover after a while that we can’t go through the system because that requires a powered mixing desk which we don’t have. So our own stuff it is. That discovery made and we announce who we are and what we’re doing, then it’s into a few songs starting with I Like You (Better When You’re Naked). By the time we do this we have three tables in the place, so not a massive audience. Hardly any reaction. We try two more songs, both to pretty much nothing and call it a day. Oh well. We conclude we’ve caught Sunday afternoon hungover vibes and people just want to chill and aren’t at all ready for our in your face, shock and awe approach right now. Could we have gone for a quieter, more chilled set and would that have worked better. We do discuss this as we walk through central Covent Garden and down to The Marquis once we’ve packed up but we conclude that it’s hard to call in the moment but even if that had worked for that crowd, that’s not the side we wanted to show of ourselves. But having had this experience, maybe it would be better to slowly bring people in on Tuesday rather than running in and smashing it out. OK. That’s something to think about.

Into The Marquis and Tommy’s out front and in great form having just had a full on afternoon with The Pop Tarts cover duo rocking the place. The stage is all set up and the lads have just set down. Kristoff was kind enough to let us leave all our gear at his but we have brought the guitar. Tommy looks at us, points to the stage and says, ‘We close in 20 minutes but if you can set up and do something with that time, do you want to have a go?’ Oh wow yes. This time we have a warm crowd to work with, and it really is a crowd. No messing about here. It’s straight in with, yep. I Like You (Better When You’re Naked). Oh and it hits. It really hits. And so do we as we have no let up, keeping it right up to 11 with RocknRoll Tree then closing this mini show with The Cat. We simply tear the place apart. The reactions to the songs are simply enormous and we roam all around and totally take the place over. We even have the bar staff dancing behind the bar. Stepping up to this, we set ourselves right at the bar for a section or two and just give it to them. After the disheartening dampness of the reaction half an hour or so ago, it feels so amazing to have got right back on the horse and stormed it round the track. This is what we can do and this is what it’s really like when we play. Tommy is delighted, as are the bar staff, and Maja has now achieved one of her London ambitions. To play The Marquis. And this is all we need. Two, three or four songs. Give people a short sharp good time, throw our markers down and leave the stage, job done. And it feels perfect in here today as we head to the bar with beers courtesy of Tommy – thankyou very much – and settle down for the hang as they bring the tunes back out again for the last five minutes. Yes. This has all been timed very very well. And another drink on the house again. Again, thankyou very much.

As it settles down and things start to close, Tommy tells us we’re in no rush and we can stick around. So we do and we get talking to a guitar player called Jack who’s intrigued as to how we’ve been getting on. We tell him about our Now Hustle and his eyes widen. ‘Nobody does that,’ he says. ‘Nobody.’ Nope. And as far as we can tell, nobody ever has. And we’re probably going to do the same around here although not with the ‘Now’ element. But still, hustling bars where the original acts don’t play and just trying to crowbar them open for ourselves. And other people in the future. Who knows?

Here’s Tommy now to answer that question as he comes and joins us. We talk about w wide range of things musical and he introduces us to a few London bands he thinks we should check out, including a rocking Ska feel band called The Chase. As he does, he says to Maja as he gestures to me, ‘This fella has got a lot to answer to regarding live music in here. He got it going.’ Then, from his own memory of the time, he describes the process where I first cold called, got something of a reaction, then just kept knocking at the door every now and again. How about this week? This week? Until Tommy relented and said, OK, have a go. That was with my cover act The Insiders and we ended up playing in here every month for the next few years. And as those afternoons grew in popularity, so Tommy started introducing more and more live acts. Now he has them on all the time to the point that this is practically a live music venue. And yep. Tommy has confirmed today that I alone got the ball rolling on that.

As for what happens next for us in here, he says that of course he wants us in, especially after what we did today. He’s fully booked until August though and doesn’t have the diary with him now. And to be fair, he is in full post weekend wind down mode so I can see not really up for too much shop talk so I don’t push it. But yes, this will happen.