Starboard Hazes - EP2 and gig

Save the date! 

Plans are underway to rehearse, record and release the second Starboard Hazes EP within the first few months of 2023.

Is it just me or does 2023 still sound very futuristic? Time flies and time has become a little weirder since March 2020 when the world stopped for a while as the COVID pandemic took a hold.

However, I am reliably informed that 2023 is indeed just around the corner!

So, to kick things into gear, I've booked the good old 13th Note for the next Starboard Hazes show. Hopefully our second EP will be ready by then. The plan is to catch up to rehearse in January, then record the EP, a few more rehearsals and then play again.

3-songs are definitely ear marked for the EP;

1. Yeah!
2. Sunshine
3. So In Love With You (Beta Band Blues)

With a potential 4th song called Hung Up (not the Madonna song!) if we have time in the studio. Probably just an acoustic version - rough n raw ... and quick!

Sunshine was one of the very first songs I wrote as a teenager using the D & G chords. It was great to jam it with the band back in October. Jamie's pounding drums, Andy (picking up James guitar) going for Velvets-y sounds on guitar and James (taking on Andy's bass) came up with a great groove.

Yeah! is another old song, very Teenage Fanclub! It's the same 4 chord rhythm groove from start to finish, giving James freedom to do his thing on lead guitar.  Personally, this is one of my favourites to play with the band.

Beta Band Blues is an old idea that always stayed with me. With the capo on 5 I found two chords that worked really well together and I thought they sounded like the Beta Band. The lyrics are pretty simple and I never managed to write more than a verse, so the song is just the same verse/chorus repeated 3 times. I always liked the song/idea though and it was one of the first songs James and I played when we got together. He came up with a brilliant guitar line in between the verses.

When we took the song to Andy and Jamie, they also loved James guitar line and wondered if we could really expand the song into far out Beta Band territory. So when we have jammed, we finish the song and the beats really kick in, allowing James to go all Nile Rodgers on guitar and Andy to underpin everything with a bass groove. When we played live, Ronan from La Chunky joined in on trombone for the second section so we hope he'll play on the recording. And we might add melodica, synth and cowbell - really go for it and have fun.

If we can get the instrumentals down in one day, Andy and I will go back in and record vocals one evening. That worked last time, although I wonder if we might need another evening for Beta Band Blues. But then, Yeah! and Sunshine should be really quick and easy to record, leaving us with a chunk of time for Beta Band Blues. We'll go with the flow!

Our first gig and party was a brilliant night, it was sooooooooooo good to see lots of people enjoying live music and then dancing the night away. I'm delighted to say that Phil Redfearn will be back on DJ duties at 13th Note. We'll see what delights he can pull out the bag to get us dancing again!

It's not BYOB this time, but we've kept the ticket price as low as possible and hope you can join us for some fun. And that's what Starboard Hazes is all about - fun. Fun in rehearsals, in the studio and when we play live.

Tickets, priced at £7, are on sale from Event Brite HERE

It would be amazing to see you there.

Thanks

Murray

Everything Flows 1,000 blogs party

On Saturday night I put on a wee night at La Chunky Studio in The Hidden Lane, just off Argyle Street in Glasgow. In hip happening Finnieston.

I put 40 tickets on sale and within a couple of social media posts, all were bought in just a few days, even though the line-up was a secret.

There were a couple of changes to the line-up in the weeks leading up to the event and unfortunately a train strike meant a few people couldn't attend, but everything came together on the night.

I first came across La Chunky through my sister Carla's first band Futuristic Retro Champions. They recorded an EP in the studio and also played a very memorable gig outside on a glorious sunshine day for the old Hidden Lane Festival way back in 2010. I've stayed in touch with Ronan, one of the owners and was delighted when he said he'd be up for hosting a small night.

My friend Phil DJ'd before, between and after the live acts, wowing us all early on with an edit of Bowie's Young Americans. The lights were dimmed and friends started to stream in to the back room of La Chunky which had been turned into an intimate venue for the night. 

Carla went on first, opening with the beautiful Dreamers On The Run and then the playful Impossible Stuff. I love the feeling of Dreamers On The Run and the line we chased down our fears with a smile, chased bad demons into exile. 

Jenna always used to generate a reaction in the Futuristic Retro Champions days and it did again on Saturday night, but in a different way. The tale of friends forgetting worries for nights out sounded beautiful, stripped back to just Carla and her trusty Juno keyboard.

New song Sugar Honey Ice Tea hit a mark. Carla told of how she wrote it after being afraid to walk home alone in the dark and a few people in the crowd told me how the lyrics resonated with them. The demo is on a Fanclub CD that we've been playing in our car and the girls sing along with it as it's super catchy. Thankfully, they don't know that the lyrics have a darker edge. Sadly, one day they will. There is still so much to be done to help make women feel safer when walking alone at night.

Closing with Poster Paints Number 1 ahead of the album being released next week, Carla's voice sounded as crystal clear as I have heard it. I'm so glad Carla could play and open the night.

Then next up was my band Starboard Hazes. I think we just about passed the audition! Raw n fun indie pop. It's been such a rewarding experience to form a band. Initially it was just my friend James and I working on old songs I had written many years ago. Then, after recording an EP, we decided we wanted to play and recruited James' friends Andy on bass and Jamie on drums. We only got together for the first time on 1st September and we immediately gelled. 

We played; 1. Out Of My Mind 2. Yeah! 3. Keep On Dreaming 4. Beta Band Blues (with Ronan on trombone) 5. Kicking Our Heels 6. Reflected Sunlight

I think we'd had 6 practice sessions. Maybe just 5. But we played well (a few mistakes but nothing major). We only had one very quick practice with Ronan on trombone for our song Beta Band Blues, but he was great, playing on the balcony section and jamming brilliantly (video below). We loved it and it was nice to receive some positive feedback on the EP and show. 

Stephen Farrell AKA Stephen Solo has featured heavily over the course of this blog. With his band Sonny Marvello and then under his solo guise, releasing majestic DIY pop recorded on his iPhone/iPad - in his car, in his bathroom, behind his sofa, under bed sheets ... sublime dreamy melodies, heartfelt lyrics, insane imagination, all kinds of sounds and ideas.

In typical Stephen fashion, he'd spent ages working on backing tracks, beginning with him recording his worries about playing live for the first time since 2019. It broke the ice beautifully. Humour and honesty.

Suddenly Heaven soared with ease, new song Losing It Over You was super catchy and I'd forgotten how good Plastic Heart from the Pii album is. The way Stephen switched from vocal effects to the purity of his voice sounding super dreamy reminded me of Damon Albarn's work with Gorillaz.

Behind Your Eyes was one of the first iPhone recordings that Stephen sent me a number of years ago (must have been 2015) and I urged him to do more. The Albarn reference above was one that first came to me on the beautiful refrain.

Behind your eyes, I'll be waiting

It's so dreamy, you could float away with the melody. The little synth riff in the background is gorgeous. Then you have the crazy but clever verses.

Sonny Marvello's Whispering Song was utterly magical. The way Stephen pulled back from his microphone to sing from the bottom of his heart was spine tingling.

Who are you, who are you to hold me in your arms?

Crying Because, backed only by a blue ukulele was fragile and beautiful, interrupted slightly by someone having a sneezing fit.

And then we had some audience participation for Sonny Marvello's hit that never was - Made of Magic. The super catchy pop had everyone singing the chorus M - A - G - I - C what you're made of, is magic.

It was then time to dance the night away with DJ Phil Redfearn on the decks. Phil immediately kicked off with Come Together by Primal Scream. The Weatherall mix from the classic Screamadelica album. You'll see from the video below that he really got the party started!

We  know that music is music, gospel, gospel, gospel

People did come together for live music and to dance. And it was brilliant. The night ended with an encore, after shouts of one more tune, of Phil playing Neneh Cherry's Buffalo Stance followed by everyone getting together to hug in groups to The Beatles All You Need Is Love.

We must do it again.