Out with the negative and in with the positives. The EP is being well received by virtually everyone who listens to it, which is fantastic. We finally have a fan base too, which is nice as we have spent so long trying to build one. Everyone who comes to our gigs at the moment seems to go away with a big smile and a satisfied pallet. Last night aside, I couldn't be happier with that.
We've got a lot in the pipeline for the coming months, starting this week with the competition we have entered where 8 bands get to play at Download Festival. I've given this much thought and I really think that Download would be the best festival for us to play, which is why we have entered this one (we don't usually do stuff like this). Voting closes at 5pm on Thursday and you can vote once every 24 hours so if you feel compelled, please vote and spread the word. We only need to get into the top 100 and the judges do the rest so with that in mind, I think we stand a very good chance of actually winning this competition. At time of writing we are at #170 in the standings. We are just a final push and some good will on social media away from being shortlisted. I will be sacrificing seeing Bruce Springsteen at Wembley should we get chosen, a decision I could probably lie about and say "came with a heavy heart" but the truth is, nothing is more important than SSAC is it? From there, we are talking about going back into the studio as early as next month to record a single. Our yet-to-be-named new tune has been received really well by the audiences we have played it to and also, which is great for me, by the rest of the band. It's looking like it will be the song we end up recording so if you catch it at a live show, let us know what you think. It's a shame I didn't write it in time for it to end up on Heathens as it would fit really well.
Finally, a bit of news! 'From Heathens to Devils' will be on iTunes/Spotify and all other online stores very soon! I'm just waiting to hear back from the distribution firm. It could be as early as next week but could be later so I will keep you all posted. And the big announcement that we promised yesterday but didn't deliver (sorry, we busy slaying engineers with enthusiasm and professionalism) is that we have finally organised our return to The Smoke (thats London for those of you who aren't northern). We are playing at The Archway Tavern on Saturday 24th August. Now, the circumstances surrounding this gig couldn't be more amazing. For a start, it is with our rock and roll siblings, The Madding Crowd, a band who are by far our favourite on the Manchester music scene. In addition, there is a very good chance that the charity shield will be on the Sunday following the gig which means, providing City win the FA Cup, it will be a Manchester derby at Wembley again. That will be great for us on account of our huge United following. I was at the last Manchester derby charity shield and went to see Morrissey at Brixton Academy straight after the game. Great day. But of course, the real reason for me personally to buzz about this gig is that the venue is the sleeve art of Muswell Hilbillies by The Kinks. Definitely my favourite Kinks album and it's probably one of my favourites of all time too. Nice little reason to play there (not that we needed another one to be honest).
So yeah, things are on the up! Thanks for everyones support recently (especially at The Roadhouse, still coming down from that) and I hope the good will towards us stays strong.
Here are a few links:
http://ssacstore.bigcartel.com - We still have a few t shirts left from The Roadhouse last week, we wanna get shut of them and move on. You can also buy the EP on CD from there
http://download.redbullstudios.com/band/sam-smith-company/ - The Red Bull/Download Festival competition voting link. Keep voting for us and we can do this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owHQOBMUOQk&feature=player_embedded - Finally, Dirty Logic is still on YouTube…give it a share if you like us. We have relied massively on word of mouth recently, which is a great thing. I realised this week just how brilliant and loyal our fans are…its a very nice thing to know, thanks again!
Sam Smith
21.04.2013
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