Band Homepage www.clan-rock.com
Well here we are again. 2015.
First thing to say is that we had a great night in Leigh, Lancashire last Saturday, and our first gig of the year at the Musketeer. It was very enjoyable, good hospitality and an appreciative crowd. We look forward to returning.
Our next gig which was to have been on 16th Jan has been cancelled due to the landlady being given her notice, shame as it was supposed to be a good venue and another new one for us. Happening quite frequently these days unfortunately, not sure I would want to be in the pub trade.
On a more positive note I am hoping we can continue to build on the highs we had at the end of last year with TBFM supporting us and several other high profile people also championing us on various radio shows. Of course everyone that supports us is crucial as without your support we won’t get the bookings; generally venues are interested in the number of people spending money to fill their bank accounts not necessarily the merits of the band, we can’t blame them for that. So if everyone could continue to push for us to appear at your local venues, share our postings, like our FB page, re-tweet our tweets etc. then it you may be quite surprised at how quickly the numbers of supporters will increase. It is one thing for us to tell people how amazing and brilliant we are (haha) but if it is other people spreading the word then it carries far more weight and kudos. It only takes a couple of seconds to click “share” or “like” but the way things are these days this is what promoters etc. use to judge the popularity of a band.
So expect to see us pushing hard this year with both new music and more merchandise etc .I am still working on the elusive T-shirt design. In addition we hope to play a few more high profile gigs so keep watching the web site and reading our announcements on Facebook and Twitter, you don’t want to miss anything.
Currently I think it is likely to be April before we can find the time to get into the studio.
Time flies and you may be astounded to hear that the band has been playing for almost five years now during which we have managed to build a good reputation for the quality of our shows and our own music. It takes time but if something is worth doing we will continue to persevere. It’s never easy and it may be my optimism but I do feel like we are getting somewhere at last. Not sure where, but somewhere.
Speaking of persevering I find it mindboggling that it is now 36 years since I played my first “proper” gig. Many things in the business have changed since then but some have remained the same – I still love playing live, there still seems to be an audience for Good time feel good rock despite the numerous musical trends that have come and gone over the time and unfortunately the equipment is still just as heavy. But will I stop? No – that is unlikely whilst I can still physically do it. Ultimately it won’t be the playing that stops me it will be the inability to cope with transporting the gear at which point I will focus on recording but it won’t be the same. Anyway – I see no reason why this should not be quite some time in the future as long as I can keep healthy.
Right what else – well I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year. I had a nice break doing not a lot to be honest. Christmas was family time and New Year’s Eve was spent watching the Queen concert and the London fireworks on the TV. I thoroughly enjoyed both actually; hey do I know how to party or what? Not too sure about the music that accompanied the fireworks, the individual tracks were ok but whoever edited/mixed it had made a right hash of it to as far as my ears could tell.
Enjoyed a bit of snow on Boxing day but really my festive break consisted pretty much of eating and sleeping, didn’t even drink much alcohol.
Along with the rest of the world January will be the start of an attempt to lose weight and detox. Think I will draw the line at joining a gym though, I don’t do gyms.
Had a positive start today, won a signed copy of the new Paul Raymond (Chicken Shack, Savoy Brown, UFO) CD on a phone in to Planet Rock radio this morning. I was hoping to be able to plug the band on the air but sadly the opportunity never arose. Ah well, can’t win them all, I must be slipping.
Rants
Have you ever noticed how when you are in a lift (elevator) , people getting in will press the button for their chosen floor even if it is already lit? In a similar way when waiting to cross the road people will often press the button to change the lights even if the Wait sign is already lit up. Is this because people don’t believe the button has been pressed even though it is illuminated or is it because they believe that pressing it again actually makes a difference? As far as I know once it is pressed it has done its job and pressing it again has no effect. There must be something in the human psyche that makes us do this. Like touching to see if paint is actually wet when there is a sign that says it is.
Something else I have noticed about lifts is how ignorant some people are; surely it is common sense to let people get out of a lift before trying to get into it or is that just me?
I see the politicians are starting their election campaigns, all very boring and I suspect most people already know how they are going to vote anyway so is it a huge waste of money? Does anyone believe what they say? I suppose it is just as well some people do have an interest in being in politics as someone needs to be running the country but personally I can’t think for the life of me why. A desire to make improvements or is it a power trip?
As regular readers will know I am not a great fan of football but I appreciate that I am probably in the minority. What I do object to is the emphasis placed on football within news programs. Football results and the showing of goals are not news in my opinion and should be reported elsewhere preferably on a sports channel.
Music
I was just thinking about the fact that I haven’t really heard any new music of interest recently and then lo and behold I discover that two bands I like quite a lot are to release new albums on the same day in February; 23rd I believe.
UFO are to release their” A Conspiracy of Stars” album and Black Star Riders are releasing their new album “The Killer Instinct”. I am already looking forward to obtaining both.
A question though, I wonder, do we get given too much information in advance these days? Both albums have the track listings published already and no doubt there will be previews of a few of the tracks etc. on the radio stations. Personally I would prefer a bit of mystique as it increases anticipation and makes obtaining the album a far more exciting experience. It’s a bit of a let-down if you have heard most of it beforehand.
FYI – The Black Star Riders are touring the UK in March together with Swedish rockers –Europe. I may try and catch a date on that.
The First Widowmaker CD which I ordered from Ebay well before Christmas never arrived which was disappointing. The seller says it was sent and he is happy to refund the money however the point really is that I was keen to hear it. Not as keen as I was initially having heard the below par second album but still interested.
So in the absence of that appearing what have I been listening to recently? The short answer is not a lot. I have been really focussed on writing and recording some new songs for the Clan so those are the songs buzzing around my brain currently. Can’t wait to be able to share them with you.
Therefore there is no recommendation or current listening this time around. Feel free to email me with your suggestions on clan-rock@virginmedia.com
In fact we are always keen to receive feedback from you or comments on the website.
Anyway,
Until next time
Keep Rockin’
Craig