Welcome to the band's own personal Blogs
(usually ramblings about anything, really)
Four Go Mad in Liverpool 17 October 2007
They say that you should never meet your heroes. I wouldn't know, I've never met any of mine - Schwarzenegger won't return my calls and it turns out the Ghostbusters aren't real. However, one thing they do not say is that you should never play a gig at the place made famous because your heroes began their careers there. So with this in mind, the 'Tone made our way up to
Apologies at the outset that this blog is a little late; we have been tied up with other things. However, as nearly everyone says (except presumably those on Death Row), better late than never.
If you're going to the Cavern, you pretty much have to love The Beatles. If by some quirk of fate you find yourself in the Cavern Club or the surrounding environs and you happen to hate The Beatles, then whoa baby are you in for a miserable experience. The whole area is pretty much dedicated to them. Be it on shops, pubs, statues or pictures - even the new 'Hard Day's Night' Hotel - the grinning faces of John, Paul, George and Big Nose are everywhere. Opposite the entrance to the Cavern a statue of John Lennon in his leather jacket regalia reclines leisurely against the wall, every brick of which has the name of a famous band or artist who has played the venue engraved upon it (including a number of not-so-famous ones as well, such as recent addition Ray Quinn, Medicine Woman, off the Ecch-Factor). It is actually to be hoped that the Lennon statue is not to scale, as it would show up one of the world's greatest ever songwriter's for not only being a bit of a shorty but also having a rather enormous head (seriously, it's ridiculous, it looks like he has gigantism).
The other thing about the Cavern is that it is deep. Not like transcendental meditation deep, but deep in the ground. Descending the many flights of stairs to the club is like entering the bowels of the earth. But once you finally make it down there the place is very warm and inviting, with a band or solo musician up on the iconic stage beneath the arches. Nine times out of ten the band or artist will be playing a Beatles song (the other time they will be playing 'You'll Never Walk Alone'), and there will be plenty of tourists singing along.
That Saturday evening the bands were playing in the larger room located to the back of the venue with the bigger stage (called the 'Beatles Stage' for some reason, even though The Beatles played on the archway stage, as all photographic evidence attests. No, we couldn't work it out either). Paul was very chuffed with this as it meant he got a drum riser all to himself. A huge number of people had made the journey to
There were some excellent other bands on that night and the crowd was noisy and appreciative. It was also hotter than Satan's pants, and that was before you got up on stage and stood under the hot lights. We were the penultimate band for the evening, so had to walk the fine line between enjoying ourselves before the show and not enjoying ourselves too much so that we were plastered and unable to play. This is trickier than it sounds.
All adorned in white, the 'Tone came onstage to the cheers of the audience (yeah, we brought a lot of the audience with us, but big deal, that's how it works, cheg on). The sound was good, as you would expect of such a venue, and we rocked our way through a set comprising some Echotone classics and also a couple of newer tracks, 'Turn The Pain Away' and 'You And Me'. We also played every tune on our new E.P., Cloud 666 (available now at www.echotone.co.uk). The crowd was large and loud and the atmosphere was brilliant. There was much dancing going on in the front row and much sweating going on up onstage beneath the punishing lamps. The gig was enormous fun though, and it was a real buzz to play such a legendary place. When the crowd demanded more after 'Cloud 666' we could only play a song by the Fab Four (the other Fab Four). 'We Can Work It Out' went down a treat with our travelling supporters and the local Scousers alike. It seemed fitting to close the set with a Beatles tune in this venue; not just because everyone loves The Beatles but because of the inspiration that they have been to us and millions of other bands. Plus it's an utterly genius pop song. The full set was:
01. Who Says?
02. Turn The Pain Away
03. Getting My Life Back
04. You And Me
05. Let Me Go
06. Memories Are Enemies
07. Cloud 666
Encore:
08. We Can Work It Out
After the set there was much merriment and much imbibing of alcohol, in fact some people were a bit drunk (not me obviously. Ahem). We - I mean they - staggered back to their hotels with a warm glow in their hearts. The city of
JG
Radio Ga-Ga Radio Goo-Goo 7 October 2007
The opportunity to play live on radio is not to be sniffed at any stage of a bands career, so when we were invited to play at local radio station Link FM, 92.2 it was just a case of when and where do we sign.
It was the afternoon slot on the 'Cone Zone' with Gemma Smith on the afternoon of the 6th September. An early start at around 5.30pm meant it was a bit of rush for me and my drum gear to get there from the City, and with warnings of the train delays from Liverpool Street ringing out over the radio waves, Link FM were more than understanding of the situation as I arrived with James - who had been illegally parked outside the nearby train station waiting for me - in the nick of time. Lee and Mel had arrived earlier with plenty of time to spare, so they weren't quite as hot and bothered in the studio.
Time was of the essence as the lovely presenter Gemma ran through the format of the afternoon which would consist of a little chat, a live acoustic song, another little chat and finally another live acoustic song played live and acoustically in the studio.
The 'On Air' sign was alight and we chatted about how we formed and what we had been up to, mainly about the massive gig we played the week before in none other that the prestigious Cavern Club in Liverpool. Upcoming venues and ideas of development were also discussed with an attitude and style befitting a fiftieth radio interview not a first. Good banter and scintillating conversation from the get go made for a good atmosphere all round.
The acoustic set started off with the great Memories Are Enemies from the Cloud 666 E.P (available for order now from the Online Shop), which was shortly followed by the classic slow, good vibrating song, Where Do You Go To? to the rapturous applause of Gemma and no-one else (due to the fact that Gemma was the only other person in the studio, not because it wasn't any good).
The radio set was then finished off with a final little chat about the upcoming gigs and a general thank you from the Link FM crew to the band and from the band to the Link FM crew. All in all it was a fantastic experience for us and we had a great time.
Here's to the next bit of radio exposure for the 'Tone. We shall see you on the airwaves (not literally).
PW
On The Air and In The Bar(s) 17 May 2007
The Haunted Castle 20 February 2007
Another full live set for us again last Saturday (17th Feb) at St Anne's Castle in Great Leighs, headlining the night and with our biggest set so far. Unfortunately AloneMe couldn't make it as they were ill, so we stepped in with our size nines, took the night by the scruff of the neck, and gave the pub echotone's special sound. With Ethers Air, John Tucker and Lizzie B supporting beforehand, it was a good start to the night. We hadn't had a rehearsal recently because of the late notice, but we were still ready to go the whole hog.
The set got off to a perfect start with The Sun Only Rises For You, and as we tried for Who Says? as our second song, something strange happened. My amp started to make some odd noises halfway through and I had to swap guitars, it was like a new dance I had just created. Unfortunately due to the technical hitch we finished the rest of the night with just the acoustics, but the crowd still loved it.
For those who noticed, we played a spanking new song that we had just written that day. Cloud 666 seemed to be very popular too, which is always nice to see.
For those who didn't turn up, you missed a cracker. For those who did, here's the set list:
1st Half:
01. The Sun Only Rises For You
02. Who Says?
03. Cloud 666 - New Song!
04. You're Not Alone
05. Getting My Life Back
2nd Half:
06. Heavens Falling
07. Bed Of Dreams
08. Where Do You Go To?
09. Memories Are Enemies
10. Hanging Out
11. Back Room Of My Mind
So was it The White Lady who tried to sabotage our night? She is the legendary ghost said to haunt St Annes, and the story goes that she has done it to many bands and their equipment before. Even more spooky, the amp worked fine when I got it home. Dun-dun-duuuuuuuun! Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-haaaaaaa.
Thanks again to all those who turned up with your fantastic and loyal support.
LM