|
BLOGS |
|
|
|
|
A POST STUDIO UPDATE FROM TOBY:
I think I love
the Chapel studios! I mean it! No word
of a lie! unconditional LOVE!
I have been making records for 20 years
or so on and off with varying results.
The first few times were a learning
curve full of excitement and precious
little else, but the one thing that I
have found dictates the way a session
goes, besides needing the songs in the
first place, is the right surroundings
in which to carefully craft the tunes on
offer, and let me tell you folks The
Chapel has it in spades!
We have had such a good time working
down in Louth, the place just seeps
class and atmosphere but above all was a
place to really get your head into the
music. There is very little to distract
you from the actual task of creating. I
have worked in some studios where the
task of the day is secondary to getting
back in the pool, or in front of SKY for
the latest movie. I'm glad to say that
we concentrated 100% on the recording
and very quickly from moment one started
to hear great results.
Ahead of the recording, Joolz, Dante and
I had brought together five tracks that
we felt represented a great new start
for GUN. We were certain that they had
all the elements that were needed to
bring GUN back into the running but
believe me, when it comes to actually
putting the stuff down, it can be a very
difficult task fraught with uncertainty
and insecurity. This is where experience
and focus comes in and I'm happy to say
that the Chapel was the place that
allowed that to be realised. I have all
the vocals to do on the five tracks we
recorded, but I already know that we
have done what we set out to do; create
21st Century GUN rock n roll! The guys
did a stunning job and it was a pleasure
to work with such a talented bunch, and
I include the engineer Ewan Davies in
that shout, he has done a killer job for
us and deserves all the praise
available.
It shouldn't be too long before the
first track emerges and the EP will be
available before the tour so I really
hope you all dig it and get what we are
doing. I'm secretly certain you
will!!!!!
see ya soon
Tobe
29th September 2009
|
SPIDER-MAN:
Last night, I got the
biggest fright of my life! I was sleeping and I
thought there was a spider spinning a web on my
face - I actually saw the web and everythin! So
I jumped up and put on the bedside lamp on and
there were no spiders or webs to be seen
anywhere.
I musta been dreamin.
Though, the weird thing was, when I woke up this
morning, I tried to switch on the bedsite lamp,
but this time it appeared to be broken... it
wouldn't turn on. Creepy.
Anyway, the sessions are goin great, the guys
are all flying great ideas around the room and
the vibe is great. The peeps at the Chapel -
Ewan, Matt, Louise and Andy are brilliant and
are making our stay a welcoming one.
Assassins Creed - "Nah A Widnae"
Gordo
24th September 2009
|
BACK IN THE STUDIO:
Hey guys and gals hope your
all doing well. Just wanted to let you know that
we have just started recording some tracks here
in Lincolnshire for our EP. On the way down here
Joolz and I were discussing about our times in
the studio and discovered that this is the first
time in 13 years since we were last in a
residential, so lets hope it's not that unlucky.
As with all ressie's they are located in very
remote areas, as I think to prevent too many
distractions, but unfortunately Assassin's Creed
on Xbox 360 is putting halt to that theory, just
ask Joolz!
I think these are going to be very exciting
times for Gun and we all hope you'll enjoy the
new stuff as much as we intend to making it! Bye
for now. Will keep you updated on Joolz'
progress! X
LOVE
Dante
22nd September 2009
|
A QUICK UPDATE FROM DANTE:
We are currently in the
process of writing some new tunes for our EP due
for release for the upcoming tour. We have some
killer songs at the moment that I think all Gun
fans will totally love! Just at demo stage right
now.
As for the tour in November I think I speak on
behalf of us all that we are truly well up for
it, especially with new songs on the horizon. It
can really give you a lift in your performance
to play new material.
Also we are off to Austria, France, Spain and
Portugal to do some shows so really looking
forward to that. In the meantime hang tight and
we'll keep you posted on all up and coming
activities!!!!
xxxx
Dante
September 2009
|
GUN - IN THE STUDIO:
Just wanted to give yawl
the low down on some studio activity that we
have been indulging in since last we spoke....
We are now in full swing
with the writing of will most likely be an
initial EP release, of probably 5 maybe 6
tracks. Presently I can confirm that we have 5
great working ideas with lots of others coming
along. Dan, Joolz and I were locked away in my
studio last week to carry on the alchemy that is
song writing, and I have to say the chemistry
was sparking and we were getting excited enough
to start feeling like this is turning into
something well beyond our expectations. I think
we all feel that the only thing that matters is
to produce the best possible music we can, and
all of our efforts are currently directed that
way. It’s never easy writing songs; it is a dark
art that obsesses and confounds in equal
measure. I’m not certain how it happens, or
indeed if I have any right to expect anyone to
like the results! All you can do is trust your
gut instincts on what is emerging, and all I can
say is that the new songs feel fresh and
exciting. GUN have long been regarded as a band
who pushed the boundaries of rock convention,
they were always looking for a different way of
approaching rock n roll, to give it twist and to
stay away from the pack. This is not easy
either, but I feel it challenges us to find OUR
way of communicating the ideas, especially given
that I have taken over the vocal duties and as
such bring a new sound and ideas won’t be GUN of
the past, but it will still be GUN the band with
big ideas and a keen sense of what is happening
now. No retro for us people let me tell ya!
I really feel we are having
fun doing the writing/recording; we have settled
into a rhythm now and the focus is sharp and
rapid. Expect powerful emotional music, but also
expect a curve ball or two, but above all expect
to hear a band, free of the shackles of the
past, having FUN and remembering what it feels
like to create music that ROCKS!!!!
Tobe
Scarborough Aug 09
|
Derrame Rocks – Asturias SPAIN 11th
July 2009-07-13:
Ok the GUN adventure
continued at the weekend with a performance in
northern Spain at the Derrame open air Rock
festival alongside Kreator, Soulfly, Turbonegro,
Backyard Babies and Gamma Ray.
We arrived in the region on
the Friday night after nearly 12 hours of
travelling, and went straight down the venue to
get a feel for the place. It is always good to
hang out with bands that are playing and to take
part in what is going on – plus there is always
free booze!!!!!!
First impressions: there
didn’t seem to be many there and it was mid
afternoon! But It soon became apparent that in
Spain, like many other European festivals, that
the crowds don’t emerge until early evening and
the main bands start around 6pm going right
through the night finishing around 4am!!!
I think we were all pretty
impressed with the set up of the gig; there were
two identical stages side by side, both boasting
superb sound and light systems, and judging by
the powerful sound charging out of them, the
guys doing the front of house were absolutely
bob on! It looked like we would have a great
day.
The show day when it
arrived, was great! After a spot of lunch in a
beautiful local town, we got to the show site
ready to play. I think it must have been quite
strange for Joolz and Dan, just like a lot of
what we are experiencing on this re-invention,
the memories of how things were back in the day
must surface and certainly GUN were a big band
in Spain when the hit singles were happening.
What would the response be? Would the fans
remember the songs or would we simply be an
unknown band on a bill of very popular
Spanish/international acts? I myself was a
little nervous, the Angels had never reached the
heights GUN did but we did ok, so I think we
were all secretly contemplating...
We need not have worried;
from the moment we started playing the crowd was
buzzing and I could hear that the sound was
bouncing, and tearing its way across the arena;
loud enough and clear enough to allow the songs
to register. It was helped by a healthy
smattering of GUN T-Shirts in the crowd and a
gathering of GUN die hards at the front leaping,
singing and punching the air. I reckon we played
in front of around 5000 and certainly by the end
of our performance everyone had their hands in
the air and the gathering had increased in size.
We played for an hour finishing with WORD UP to
rapturous applause. Job done!
The next day we had made
the papers, with reviews and interviews, so we
obviously made a good impression. There are
plans to get back into Spain in October to
follow up on the show, so I’m sure we will be
looking forward to that.
Thing is; it aint gonna
happen overnight, we need to slowly rebuild and
focus the energy on new music. Once that has
happened, we will be able to re establish the
band’s name for a new era and hopefully reignite
the old fans alongside the new all over the
globe – next stop Austria!
Toodle-pip
Tobe
Setlist:
Welcome to the real world / Don't say it's over
/ Money to burn / Inside Out / Better days /
Taking on the world / Money (everybody loves
her) / Let your hair down / Steal your fire/
Shame on you / Word up
|
22nd June 2009:
Oh my God my ears are ringing! I can hardly
hear myself type! and as I do so, I'm smiling to my toes! (see what I did there?)
Anyway, I got ribbed something royal for my
'novel' of a blog last time by all concerned, so
this time I'm gonna keep it short! I wont go on
and on about how great York and Wolves were! how
it yet again exceeded our expectations and put
another brick on our metaphysical wall of
comeback and return! No ill keep it light and
short, small and compact, lovely and cuddly for
you out there in the spaces between the reality!
I don't want to bore, I wish to enlighten and
entertain! My intentions are honourable and real
people! so let me just say this; I loved the
last few days, I love been in GUN and It will
not be long before we bring you all some new
music that will knock your socks off!
mucho love and gratitudes to you all who
attended
see you soon
Peace
Tobe
Scarborough 22nd June 2009
|
1st June 2009:
Hi folks, thought id start the year as we
mean to go on and give you an in-site into
the new GUN as and when it happens, and
seeing as we have just completed the first 3
shows of what promises to be a busy year,
here is a great place to start!
Let me start by thanking all those that
maybe reading this, who were in Inverness,
Aberdeen and Edinburgh for turning out and
supporting this new endeavour. It cant be
easy for fans, I always think, to raise the
enthusiasm to go out again and again to see
a band whom they have been supporting over
many years, especially one that has
radically overhauled the line up and has had
no new music for many years. I take my hat
off to you all that feel compelled to keep
coming out, it really is amazing and we
thank you sincerely for the commitment and
enthusiastic response to these early days of
the bands reinvention.
It has been a slightly stumbling re-entry
since I was asked to come sing well over 18
months ago. Ok so we have done a number of
shows such as the T in the park appearance
last year, and the shows at Christmas, but
nothing massively significant and I know it
must seem like we have been dragging our
feet and seemingly not doing enough! Well,
perhaps a little of that is true, but it
hasn't been without reason, and not wanting
to go into it, GUN has a new team
surrounding it and a new vigorous plan to
bring back the band and forge a new future
that can hopefully see it retake a position
on the world music stage.
The first thing I will say about these 3
gigs was how great it felt to be back in the
clubs in-front of a sweaty crowd. It is
perhaps the best it ever is as a band when
the audience is in your face and you can
react to the reaction. The set was mainly
composed of old faithfuls like 'Steal your
fire', 'money', 'taking on the world' etc
and as usual the reaction was killer with
the roof being raised as those glorious
chorus's were dutifully bellowed to the
night with much gusto. It is becoming a task
of reinvention to a degree, obviously from
my point of view, to fill Mark shoes is a
big enough task on its own, but it has to be
more than that. I'd argue that to keep a
band alive and to see it progress enough to
keep the fires burning, not only do we the
band have to be interested in the music but
the audience has to know that we are! That
in real terms means new songs and a constant
re evaluation of the old stuff. What seems
to be emerging is a tougher, edgier sound
than when we first started re looking at the
songs. Dante's bass playing has, I think
become more aggressive over the time, maybe
because Gordon has come a long and his style
is different to Scott and a subtle change
has taken place in the interpretation! maybe
it is simply because he is feeling his way
back into old songs and adjusting as we all
become comfortable with each other. Whatever
the reason, I'm loving how tough the bottom
end is feeling and how much he puts into it.
The revelation to me on this short stint
though was Joolz and his playing. I believe
he has grasped the whole idea again with
such passion that it has taken him over. The
feel, the power and the danger is all there
and I have so enjoyed watching it
re-envelope him again and allow him to
produce the best guitar playing of his life!
I cant wait to get in the studio with new
tunes, on this evidence it will be awesome.
The newest member, Gordon, although the
least experienced of us all I think did a
great job too. It must be tough for Gordon
to fill the drum stool after all the other
great players GUN have used over the years,
but he has done so admirably. I was most
impressed when I got to rehearsals as he
told me he had got a new kit that included a
24 inch bass drum! Good call for a band that
used the kick drum as a focal part of the
groove. In many ways Gordon reminds me of
Joey Kramer crossed with Mickey Curry, two
of my favourite players.
Thing is folks, its tough being in a band. I
mean that! Joolz, Dan and myself have all
been in this game for 20 years and we have
all experienced similar things and shared
the same ideal; to create and perform the
best music we can and to hopefully have
something interesting to say that keeps us
relevant. And that ain't easy, believe me.
Not only do you have the challenge of
creating the music but the biggest challenge
is maintaining good working relationships
and a happy camp whilst you are doing so.
After all we are only human and we all have
the same frailties, worries and concerns.
The biggest thing for us three, is that we
have all been there before; had the hit
records, played the tours; bin there done
that! We are older yes, but a hell of a lot
wiser also and that tempers our approach. In
this case, I think we are starting in the
correct manner; get the band happening, take
our time, get it right. This brings me onto
the new music.
Ahead of the dates, it was obvious to me
that we needed to get moving on presenting
something new as soon as possible. I called
Joolz and we talked about it, he spoke to
Dan and we all thought it would be great if
we could piece something together that was
good enough to present on the dates. We have
been exchanging ideas over the Internet for
a couple of months and had also had a couple
of sessions in my studio to see if we could
get started on the writing process. A couple
of things had begun to emerge one of which
was a tune Dan and Joolz had sent me called
'Let your hair down' that I loved. It was
part Blur, part Foo fighters, part QOTSA but
also a cool pop edged quirky thing that
really appealed to me. So when we got to
rehearsals we worked on it. To my absolute
delight it began to take shape really
easily, I added a middle 8 part, we re
arranged the song and sorted an ending and
within a couple of hours we were rocking and
rolling all over it. I could see the twinkle
in all of our eyes as it took shape and I
think became a sense of great relief to us
all, it certainly suggested how well we
could work together and crucially get
results.
So we played it at all three shows and I
think we were all looking forward most to
playing it, and the reaction was killer
every time, which in turn boosted our
collective confidence for the rest of the
set. You see that is how it works; you love
it; we love it and we need that validation
and warm fuzzy feeling to keep going!!!!
There will be more as we are planning a
release of some kind very soon. We need it;
it is the life blood of any band. The new
music is always what we want, always what we
need and always what is desired by all; fans
and band alike.
see you next time
Tobe
Scarborough 1st June 2009
|
|
GUN - The Official Site
 |
LIVE! |
NO TOUR
DATES CONFIRMED
AT THE MOMENT!
2010 TOUR DATES COMING SOON...
|
