"The harder I try to paint a picture of the way it was back then, the more i miss the good times, baby, let it roll again"

Tonight I am attending the World Premiere of the long awaited Shane Meadows film about The Stone Roses 'Made of Stone' at Victoria Warehouse, Old Trafford. Here is an piece I wrote on the 24th May, 2012, the morning after I, alongside 899 others, witnessed the first classic-line-up Stone Roses gig in over 20 years. 

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It was a Wednesday just like any other for me, except it was scorching hot. I spent the morning in Warrington at my dads, took my mum to work around midday and then got back on the M60 and returned home to Didsbury at around 4 o clock. I had no food in so I thought I better go shopping. Whilst getting ready, I was on the phone to Southern Electric who were threatening to cut off my gas and electricity due to none payment. Habitually multitasking, I checked my emails at approximately 4:09pm only to find “The Stone Roses will play a free concert tonight at Warrington Parr Hall”. Frantically scanning the email, I caught a glimpse of the vital info, mainly “Fans can collect one wristband per person from the Warrington Pyramid box office (next to Warrington Parr Hall) from 4pm today”. Without thinking, I hung up without saying a word, grabbed my car keys, ran downstairs and jumped straight into the car. The engine starts, my tires screech down lapwing lane as I head straight for the M56. I’ve never driven to the centre of Warrington before! I’ve only been driving since February, my dad lives in the suburb of Birchwood on the other side of town and whilst I’ve been to the Parr Hall before, that was on the train and Warrington really gets on my nerves with all of the roundabouts. Luckily, the reason I’d called into my dads that morning was to borrow his Sat Nav for a trip I’d been planning. So I turned that on and off down the motorway I went. My 1.0L VW Polo had never seen such punishment, as the speedometer climbed to about 110mph. I’m in the third lane, doing all of the things that I criticize other drivers for doing. I’m cutting people up, I’m undertaking, I’m putting my foot firmly on the ground when I see an amber light. I’m speeding!!! I don’t speed!!! I’m the kind of person that usually experiences “highway amnesia”, meaning that I can drive a journey and arrive at my destination and hardly remember most of it. Not this time, although I was in some kind of trance. Grinding my teeth whilst looking at the ETA numbers on the TomTom get lower and lower, I’m thinking of all the negative scenarios; Small venue, one of the biggest bands in the world. I got the email 9 minutes after the wristbands were released and I live miles away. They will have all gone. I got an email, what if it was also announced on Facebook and Twitter, oh god, not Facebook and Twitter!! I don’t stand a chance! Then, I start to believe. I start to think of the positives; You need something Stone Roses related to get a ticket. I had my t shirt, I grabbed 3 CD’s and I had my Heaton Park tickets on me. People will be in work, they will have to nip home…I have an advantage because I was sat at home when I saw it. Then I thought, this sort of thing happens to me all of the time. I had a VIP pass for Glastonbury in 2007. I saw James at the Academy 4, again in 2007. I went to Live 8 and saw Pink Floyd, not because I won tickets, but because a mate couldn’t go. Then I thought of all of the negatives yet again. A real whirlwind of emotions!

My patience was running out by the time I got to Grappenhall. The traffic was horrendous and by the time I was close enough to the centre of Warrington, I dumped the car and ran the rest of the way to the Parr Hall. It is worth pointing out at this point that I had just quit smoking 3 weeks previously after a 10 year stint on them and the last time I ran was around 3 years ago when I thought it would be a good idea to get fit (I ended up having a crying fit for 45 minutes after a 30 second sprint in Fog Lane Park left me feeling like I had done 10 rounds). I got there, I saw the queue and I didn’t know what to think. Was the panic over? Had I missed out? The camera man, who was just putting it in my face without asking any questions offered his opinion: “You’ll be alright” he said to me…I struggled to believe him. My hopes were raised a bit when the guy in front of me already had a wristband and was just saving the place for his friend. He told me that he was one of the first to get one and that, based on his counting, we would get a wristband. I still wouldn’t believe it. Then a friend of mine and his wife walked past! I shouted them over and we exchanged stories of dropping everything and getting here. They have a young son…I dread to think! What happened next was as much confirmation as I needed, but it still didn’t seem real. The security guards gave my Heaton Park tickets and CD’s a once over, stamped my hand, gave me a raffle ticket and told me to join the other queue in the car park, by the entrance to the box office! This was it wasn’t it? With wristband on, Heaton Park tickets in hand, stamped with “The Stone Roses 23.05.12. I Was There”, I tried to take it all in. I now had to sort logistics out. I ended up dashing home, having a shower due to the insanely hot weather and got on the next train from Burnage to Warrington Central. If I was gonna see The Stone Roses, I was gonna have a few drinks! I drew £40 from the cash machine to pay for such escapades and it gave me £50! Could this day get any better?

The rest of the evening seemed to go really fast and before I knew it I was inside Warrington Parr Hall, queuing to get to the bar next to former Manchester City player Paul Lake and Stone Roses official biographer John Robb. The atmosphere in the room was strange, but in a good way.

Stoned Love by The Supremes was the choice of walk on track for The Stone Roses and as the four of them emerged I was cheering, jumping and spilling beer everywhere as I’d stocked up so I wouldn’t have to go to the bar. Stood in my usual place for every gig I go to (at the back, next to the sound desk), everyone around me was feeling the same way. I bumped into a few mates who I go to United games with which made it even more spectacular. It’s been an awful last month or so with City winning the league, my own band being in slight turmoil and other things, but at least The Stone Roses are reds (for the most part) and the “K Stand Reunion” me and my friends were predicting for Heaton Park had come to fruition a month early, completely by accident. Then it started. I think I broke my face with the size of my smile. The opening bass line from I Wanna Be Adored could barely be heard due to people ‘der der dering’ along and you could forget about being able to hear Ian Brown’s vocals at this point. Who needed to hear it? We were all here, we were witnessing history. It had been exactly 21 years, 11 months and 15 days since Ian & John & Mani & Reni had last played together in what many consider to be their greatest ever gig on Glasgow Green. Almost 22 years had passed and the anticipation and the hunger for this reunion were ever present throughout those years. The rest of the set just felt like a dream. I was higher than the sun. This was having a greater effect on me than any drug could ever have. Mersey Paradise came next, then Sally Cinnamon, then Made of Stone, after which, Ian Brown decided to have a dig at the hordes of people who he said “weren’t living in the moment” by filming the gig on their phones instead of watching it. I agreed.

Later in the set, my 2 all time favorite Stone Roses songs were played, much to my surprise. Less so with Where Angels Play but when they began playing Tightrope I was just in heaven. I love The Second Coming and always have but to hear an album track from it took me, and I think everyone else, completely by surprise! After that it was Waterfall, She Bangs The Drums and Love Spreads and it was all over. I’d just spent the best part of an hour in a room with 900 other people watching The Stone Roses. Trying to read what was on Ian’s t-shirt, perving on John Squire’s beautiful guitars and Reni’s spectacular drum set up. The house lights came up as soon as they left the stage and although we all waited for I Am The Resurrection, no encore ensued. Shane Meadows stood on the stage, camera in hand, filming for his documentary about the band, whilst the road crew dissembled the drum kit and John Squires 4 Mesa Boogie combo amps. Redemption Song played through the PA. Perfect.

Reluctantly spilling out on to the streets, there were camera crews everywhere, making sure that every last bit of the history was captured. I was interviewed. They asked about the night and what I thought about Ian’s voice. I was drunk on music, and on alcohol, which is probably why, halfway through the interview I shouted “Look, its Jimmy from Puressence!!! JIMMY!!!!”. I somehow doubt they will use the interview now.

I got the last train back to Oxford Road, nipped into Spar to get some cans of Stella for the bus ride home and asked a lad with a Stone Roses t shirt on if he had been to the gig. He had been to see The Enemy at Manchester Academy instead. Poor guy, I really felt for him as I saw them a couple of years ago at the same venue…not good, in case you were wondering.

The day after was a slow one and I spent the day listening to The Stone Roses and picking out lyrics that helped me make sense of what happened. I felt like I was coming down from 10 E’s, or a dose of Heroin. I honestly did feel like no matter what I did or planned to do in the future, nothing would top the night before. A real class A feeling. I reflected on the day before, feeling bad for a couple of my mates who had been there in the early days, friends who were at Blackpool and Spike Island, yet missed out on last night. Then I remembered that I was there and I was too young to be at Blackpool and Spike Island. Kiss me where the sun don’t shine, the past was yours but the futures mine

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This article has been amended on 30/05/2013 but was originally published by Designer Magazine in May 2012.

It is available here in its original form

http://designermagazine.org/TheStoneRosesWarringtonFans.htm

Ever caught a glimpse of how the others must see the faker?

It's been a couple of weeks since the last blog post now but I'm gonna try and keep this short. I was halfway through watching 'David Bowie - Five Years' which I'd recorded from Saturday night but the fire alarm in my building went off which distracted me and made me want to write something.

Last night me and Tommy tried something new. We did a not-quite-acoustic gig at Ye Olde Cock Inn in Didsbury. I took my Telecaster, and Tommy brought his acoustic guitar and his newly acquired (1 hour before show time) electric piano, which we may as well have stolen from some poor Spaniard who was desperate to sell before he went back to Madrid "In search of work". I think I put the boot in a bit when I quoted Spain's unemployment rate but he had a dig at United so fuck him. Anyway, what was new about it was the set. It was comprised of 100% covers! We opened with Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen with me on the Telecaster and Tommy on keys, which played out like an unravelling dream: every single line delivered with pure joy. Then we did Mr. Brightside by The Killers before going into Big Love by Fleetwood Mac, both with Tommy backing me on guitar whilst I just sang. Then we finished off with Sit Down by James and Don't Look Back in Anger by The Burnage Beatles. It was an experiment but I think we will be doing more of this in the future as it went pretty well. Great craic. Chris rehearsed with us and was supposed to be involved but he wasn't feeling great so didn't make it in the end. Its a bloody long journey from Atherton to Didsbury and back on public transport anyway so fair play to him for doing it as often as he does. Like I said though, a shame, purely because the version of Get Back by The Liverpool Beatles that we have been messing around with is incredible but only works with the three of us. We've been rehearsing quite a few other tunes as a three piece like this too, including our own set, so look out for pop up gigs like the one last night. We announce them all on the day on Facebook and Twitter so be sure to follow us on both. 

Other than that, I have done quite a bit of writing recently. It's interesting material (for me at least) and it certainly isn't like anything I've written before. Like anything I write though, its just the right riff away from being a rock and roller that pays homage to The Glimmer Twins so this paragraph could be rendered useless on reflection. I've been listening to far too much Ryan Adams and Rolling Stones recently so lets hope the final product comes out somewhere in the middle. 

In other news, we are trying out bass players this week which is great because it opens the door for Tommy's long awaited move to keys/guitar. We are also talking to our preferred venue for our next Manchester show, although it is looking like it will be towards the end of summer now, as opposed to July as originally planned. The whole thing is shaping up to be massive and I can promise it is gonna be worth the wait. If you are willing to travel in the mean time, we are playing at The Talbot, Burnley on June 5th followed by a double header in London in August starting with Brixton Windmill on August 10th (day before the Charity Shield…against FA Cup Winners, Wigan Athletic…arf) and ending with our hugely anticipated show with The Madding Crowd on August 24th at Archway Tavern (pictured below, Kinks style).

Speaking of The Madding Crowd, Ben and Dom played a fantastic acoustic set at The Go Go Club in Oldham on Saturday night. Now the Metrolink runs from Didsbury to Oldham, I thought I'd go and see them play in their native 'Norf Manchester'. Its a strange trip for an honorary south-sider but I somehow made it out alive. The gig was fancy dress (nobody told me) to the theme of Bugsy Malone, which is my favourite musical but only because I played Leroy when we did it at school. Their set was eclectic to say the least. They played some old favourites, covered Bad Guys from the Bugsy Malone soundtrack and played some new songs from their soon to be released EP 'A Stitch in Time' which I am looking forward to for many reasons, the main one being that the songs are sounding great when they play them live in their stripped down acoustic form but also because they are recording a track with me in my studio which I honestly could not be looking forward to more if I tried. To my ear, their new tunes sound rich. I know what I mean by that but I may have trouble expressing it with words (thank god I found music eh?) so I will just say that one track instantly said to me 'if Rodger McGuinn wrote Piano Man'. Remember, The Madding Crowd possess so much raw power that they make SSAC look like One Direction feat. Justin Bieber. So, now I've turned the hype machine on amongst fans of our own, check The Madding Crowd out all over the internet and keep an eye out for 'A Stitch in Time'. I will be plugging that and the new Faraday EP quite a lot in the coming months.

The aim was to keep this short so I'm gonna go back to being dazzled by Bowie. I will leave you all with a picture of Bowie and Ronson on a train to Aberdeen that I discovered earlier in the year when I visited the Glam! exhibition at Tate Liverpool, a trip I was reminded of this afternoon. Since then, this picture seems to have popped up all over the place and it always reminds me of my Rock and Roll brother, Chris Gilman. And because we have each now created a title for a blog post from the Bowie song Changes, here is Changes. Only realised today that this song is probably about his rise to fame (or possibly lack thereof at the time) so its fitting, hence the title in the first place. Oh look out you rock and rollers, pretty soon now you're gonna get older

Still...whats another year?

"Well, you don't know where you're going now, but you know you won't be back"

My word, its been a strange week or so. It all started with a letter. After the bank holiday (most of which I spent doing my best impression of the drunkest man alive..apologies to all those harmed in the making of that), I received a call from my good friend Shaun saying that I should send a copy of 'From Heathens to Devils' to Jonathan Rigby. "He's the head of marketing at United, I've got his address". So I did. With the CD, I included a carefully worded letter, explaining my years as a season ticket holder, the United theme behind the EP and also if it would be possible to have a song from it played at Old Trafford during Sundays game against Swansea. With 1st class post, I'm guessing he received this on Wednesday…the day that Alexander Chapman Ferguson decided to announce his retirement from Manchester United Football Club after close to 27 years of service. So I put it to the back of my mind whilst I took in the news: on Wednesday night I was asked to be part of a United fans forum on BBC Radio 5 Live with a handful of other reds and a panel of former MUFC players including Robbie Savage, Dion Dublin and Paddy Crerand. If you aren't into football (or support Liverpool, Leeds or City) you may think its a bit strange of me to say this, but I really was consumed by Ferguson's retirement to the point where I genuinely couldn't think about anything other than Jose/Moyes, and then Moyes/Jose before reaching the stage I arrived at on Friday morning…Moyes. Then I got a message from my mate Paul, telling me to check my twitter. It was a link to an article on the Daily Telegraph's website about "Sir Alex's Farewell playlist". I had a quick scan up and down the list..some great songs, some appropriate songs..Stone Roses, Iggy Pop, The Impossible Dream…Some Facts…hang on, what?!?! There it was, at the bottom of the list, the song the players would walk on for the second half to…Sam Smith & Company - Some Facts. But it wasn't to be, more on that later. 

So, in line with that, Tommy has been helping us build our United following. Through his ties with Red Issue, he managed to get us a full page ad in the latest issue, the last one of the season and the Ferguson special. As its on the back page, its hard to get a picture of it and say "Look!!! here is and advert for the band in the United fanzine I grew up reading", so here are 2 together. If you have bought the mag today, have a look. If not, pick one up in Aleef's newsagents in town or on Sunday at West Brom (if you are lucky enough to have a ticket…any spares?). Also, Tommy has been booking gigs for us recently, which is a god send as it takes the load off me for a change. Last night (Saturday May 11th 2013) we played at The Robin Hood in Stretford, for too long…staying with the United theme, "if I hadnt seen such riches I could live with being poor" and thats all I'm gonna say about that. We recorded both audio and video for this gig it so I may put something up on YouTube later. We will see. 

But back to being on Ferguson's Farewell Playlist. After the Telegraph incident, we obviously announced it via social media and everything blew up. We had tons of interactions on both our Facebook page and Twitter, but on a more personal note, the amount of well wishes I received via text, email, Facebook message and on various United forums was truly overwhelming. People telling me how much I deserved it, how proud of me they were, how my hard work was finally paying off and of course, the obligatory "don't forget me, when you're famous" jokes. It was a nice reminder of how many real friends I have which was incredible in itself so, thank you! But it didn't happen in the end and again, we will come back to that. 

On Friday night, theguardian.co.uk published an article entitled "From the Soup Dragons to Sinatra: Sir Alex Ferguson's farewell playlist". It was a lovely, short piece that explored the psychology behind the song choices and how they related to the career of the great man. Much to my surprise, the reason behind the title of 'Some Facts' had been picked up on! I won't quote it on here, I will let you read it for yourselves on the image below. The most amazing thing here is that the newspaper I read were quoting my lyrics. I couldn't believe it. Even if it was just online and not in print, it was still an amazing accolade and I was having it! But then on Saturday morning, it turns out it was in print! After another influx of confusing messages (mainly via Facebook), I nipped to the shop, bought The Grundian, and yes, there we were. The picture is below, have a look. I still can't stop looking at it. A Bitter Sweet Symphony awaits...indeed.

I've gone a bit Pulp Fiction here with my timeline, I hope you have managed to stay focussed. Anyway, it was Saturday morning/early afternoon, but as we have already covered Saturday night (however briefly), lets fast forward to Sunday afternoon. I had to catch up on Coronation Street before going to the game. I'd missed it on Friday because of the Old Trafford/Guardian fanfare and I was far too busy laughing at Manchester City on Saturday to watch it so it had to be done here. Breif corrie window before shower, then head to game with Shaun. The whole thing was a bit strange though to be honest. My emotions were all over the place. Was upset about it being Ferguson's last ever game, but was also over the moon that 'Some Facts' was gonna be played. Pre game stop at Nando's in Fallowfield to calm the nerves (Shaun ordered 'the menu' as he often does) and whilst we were there, I got a tweet of good will from a friend of ours, boxer Anthony Crolla, the current English Lightweight Champion, who will no doubt get a world title shot in the next couple of years. He's has sat with us in K Stand Top Left a couple of times this season and its been great fun watching him get constantly harassed for pictures by Welsh Darren and insulted by our mate Phil during the derby. We sit close to the away end and when Phil found out that Anthony was a boxer he shouted over to the City fans "One of our lads against one of your lads…this is ours" and pointed at Crolla. Brilliant. Walking up to the ground, I picked up a Red Issue from our bass player Tommy, who was stood in his usual place at the top of Sir Matt Busby Way with an encouragingly small number of mags left. The gospel according to SSAC was spreading nicely via Red Issue it would seem. 

And now I am inside Old Trafford, waving flags. The first half was a bit of a blur (or at least it is now as this is a long blog post and I'm on the Artios). I nipped down to the concourse (passing our EP cover of course) for my usual crafty fag on 35 mins. I dived into my usual smoking cubicle and remembered that I don't smoke anymore! Auto pilot, ah well, I bought a beer instead. As I was down early, I decided to hang around until half time. I chatted to my biographer Carlo and my old friend Gedward before heading back upstairs to my seat for my moment in the sun, wondering why I couldn't find Kev. Passed the EP cover for the millionth time, caught the end of Good Times by The Rubys (their album is incredible by the way, get on it!), then Mutineers came on. This was it, it was gonna happen. Phase 1 of my 'build a following around Manchester United Football Club' plan was about to take place. I looked down, Shaun was reading the Scholes article on the back page of Red Issue and on the right was our ad…it was about to happen! Then Alan Keegan said "Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome Swansea City and Manchester United". Customary applause, the music stops and I realised that it wasn't going to happen. They ran out of time. I was gutted at first, and I still am to be honest but I got some great words of comfort from the right people and its all good. We are certain to get played next season as we now have ties with the club, not to mention the staggering amount of exposure and press we received this weekend. Lyrics in The Guardian!!! Was still feeling a bit dejected but when I got in, I received an email from BBC Introducing staying that they had finally listened to our EP! About bloody time! Lets hope that it leads to some airplay soon and we can build on some more positives.

So yeah, thats what's happened since my last blog post. I've been very drunk, i've been on BBC Radio 5 Live in a non musical context, been upset over Ferguson, had my lyrics quoted in The Guardian for being on Ferguson's farewell playlist and i've not had my song played at Old Trafford. 6 Rollercoaster days, after which I am forced to draw inspiration for my closing statement from Manchester United themselves. People often say that United are "Hated. Adored. Never Ignored". Well tonight I am "Hated, Adored…Sometimes Ignored (by MUFC If they are short on time due to Sky Sports)"

One Love. Good Night

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes.

I love being a musician. See, I could start my first ever blog introducing myself before inflicting my opinions on the world. Chances are however, you know me as the guitarist in Sam Smith & Company so you already know pretty much everything you need to. I’ve been here just over a year now, without actually having the time to keep a count of the days and it’s definitely been the best year of my life. I met Sam back in high school and more recently I’d been listening to cover songs he’d post on Facebook. When he posted an early version of Some Facts I instantly became a fan of what would be Sam Smith & Company. He asked me a few times if I wanted to join but thanks to self-doubt I foolishly turned the chance down. Now I’m working with some of the best musicians I’ve ever met. Sam is constantly pushing me, my band mates are a bottomless pit of inspiration and we’ve started to earn the support of Manchester’s new music lovers. All of the above assuring me that despite ‘pre-Chris’ Sam Smith & Company impressing me as much as they did, I did in fact have what it takes to join. Now it’s just a matter of convincing the world that most music is rubbish and they should probably be listening to us (mostly joking, mostly)

While Playing with SSAC I’ve had the chance to enjoy Manchester’s music scene, which is still worth writing home about and I reckon that’s going to be the main subject of my next blog. One of the artists we’ve met is Faraday (Martin Minshall) who supported us at the Retro Bar last summer. Since then we’ve gigged with him a few times and he’s become a good friend of ours. At first glance Martin strikes you as the kind of artist that would be a roaring success on music processing machines like ‘The Voice’ but he couldn’t be further from that, you know… having talent and what not. His songs are shaping up to be diversely fantastic body of work. With themes ranging from catchy love songs like ‘Hey You’ to politically inspired Of All The Madman, I consider him to be one of those rare performers that have both popular appeal and buckets of artistic merit. So at the start of the year when he asked me if I’d like to help him with his new EP I had to say yes.

It’s been nice working with Martin. In response to a bit of Sam’s last blog, he will always be my rock n roll brother, and I’ll always love him and the ‘Company’ but this has been a refreshing change of sonic scenery. I’ve even cheated on my amplifier! Calling my Fender Performer with the excuse of late office hours I’ve been enjoying the classic Stratocaster and Marshall combo championed by Jimi Hendrix. The EP is coming along nicely. I didn’t get the chance to ask Martin who he hired to play drums and bass but the rhythm section he has found compliments his music perfectly. One song I’ve particularly enjoyed recording was Hey You which I mentioned earlier. It’s full of hooks and brilliant lines like “wouldn’t it be nice to spend the best days of our lives doing things our mums wouldn’t like”. Besides that, it’s just really fun to play. The feedback has been really positive so I’m glad I was given the chance to be a part of it. Sign up to his mailing list and keep an ear out!

Despite the doc’s orders to rest, Sam didn’t need much convincing when I said it might be a good idea to join us. After offering his advice Martin asked him to record a few off the cuff overdubs which I thought were great. Suggesting Sam tag along wasn’t completely selfless; I was terrified and needed the support! I’d like to think he was also encouraging Martin to fully utilise his new studio monkey.

Back to the SSAC camp I return! I had a great time playing the CYCM Bar before the last FC United game of the season. While I’m not really a follower of football I love the support we’ve been getting from fans of both Manchester United and FC United. Perhaps you could consider me an honorary red? I find it impossible to glance left after leaving Piccadilly station and the sky blue background of my word processor has been giving me a head ache since I started this blog.

Tommy has been a great addition to the band, diving straight in with the workload and covering on bass all this time. He’s a good bloke to be around too as he’s had me in hysterics during tedious sound checks. We’re still trying out bass players, so to any potential bassists reading this please get in touch so we can have him join me on guitar.

I can’t let my first ever blog go out without thanking all our fans and friends either. Having you all sing ‘The Escapist’ at us made a year of working our collective arses off well worth it. Another thanks to the reds, ‘We only came for the Company’ is a top chant! The personal feedback I’ve been getting has really helped me come out of my shell too. Like I said in the opening paragraph, this year has transformed me!

Lastly, keep an eye out for our new mailing list! We'll be rolling it out in the next couple of days after I've made a couple of tweaks. If you do sign up, you'll be the first to hear about our secret evil plan for the summer! ...And some news that just made the post, Sam has been uploading his lyrics around the web! So if you fancy a sing along on this beautiful day why not be ironic about it and sing 'The Pouring Rain Is Bliss'?

I’ve not quite decided on what quote I’m gonna sign off on yet, so for now… “Tara…”

"Sent to me from heaven, you are my world"

So, we have had a bit of downtime since the last gig at The Night and Day. In my previous post I said that I would be updating this blog regularly and then immediately neglected it due to a bout of band aids. Fully recovered in the space of a week though and in that time, quite a lot has happened. Most importantly, the EP is now on most online stores including the big 2..iTunes and Spotify (links for both at the bottom). The only problem that we now face is the spelling mistake. I was in a bit of a run down trance towards the start of last week, which is when I submitted the tracks for online distribution. Even though I proof read everything several times, the EP has gone onto online stores with the title 'From Heathens to Devis' as opposed to 'From Heathens to Devils' so do look out for that when purchasing. Not sure how much it is on other stores but it is £2.49 on iTunes. This is a staggering .51p cheaper than the physical copies, which, by the way, are close to selling out so grab one whilst you can from our online store. We only pressed 300 copies and its overwhelming to know that we have sold over 200 in just over 2 weeks. I can't thank you lot enough for that. In addition, if you could help us out by sharing the image below that would be great. This is our official 'ad' of sorts so please upload it to twitter and facebook if you get a moment

In other news, we have managed to make some serious moves towards finally getting Tommy away from bass and onto guitar and keys, where he belongs (just wait until he melts your face with a solo in Flapper Fold). Trying out a couple of bass players this week and all looking good but its not too late if you want to try out! All you need is your own rig and transport and you are as good as in! I can't wait to be a five piece, properly. It has always been my vision for this band, ever since I wrote down my initial ideas almost 4 years ago. Good to know things are finally on the up. 

Speaking of being on the up, we played a gig at Gigg Lane, Bury today. FC United invited us down again to play at Malcolmses before the game and we had a great time as always. I played at CYCM by myself a couple of years ago (as did Tommy) and little has changed. Like last time, we were fed, watered, looked after and given full on rock star hospitality treatment, which is always a nice thing. Despite 5am dramas due to Pete's employers trying their best to kill him, we played a short but fast set to a great response. We came away with close to £70 in our kitty from EP sales alone which was nice too. A largely enthusiastic crowd is always a good crowd to play to, especially when its a room full of reds. Sorry if I upset anyone in attendance by asking if you recognised and remembered K Stand in relation to our EP art. I hope all was forgiven when almost the entire room came to us after the show to buy one! Memories eh? I'm glad we are making waves in the United community because we have so much more in the pipeline…next stop, Old Trafford! If Bruce can play there then so can we. Mark my words. 

In relation to the above paragraph (kind of), we are currently in the planning stages of something big for the summer. You may have noticed we have no Manchester gigs after next Saturday's show at The Robin Hood in Stretford…stay tuned.

Away from band stuff, me and Chris have been working on Faraday (Martin Minshall)'s brand new EP in Blueprint Studios this week. Chris has been doing most of the work there so will let him fill you in properly when he posts his first blog post early next week (I am assured..look out for it). I just turned up through boredom after being told to rest by the doctors in the hospital and added a bit of texture here and there. Nothing fancy on my part but Chris has put some truly fantastic licks down for Martin. Obviously, I've heard the EP in its current state and it is sounding incredible so look out for that one. Just pray for my sake that when he gets his inevitable break, he doesn't steal my rock and roll brother! 

And away from actually making music, I just seem to be sitting around waiting for the new Vampire Weekend album to leak. I see no shame in being head over heels in love with this band. Hope they play Manchester sooner rather than later. And also hope 'Modern Vampires of the City' leaks before I go insane. If it leaks tomorrow that means I will only have to wait 9 days before I can get the actual LP.  Then its onto obsessing over the new Queens of the Stone Age album which is dangerously close to release isn't it? I pray that both live up to all of the hype.

Finally, I will post all links mentioned above

First of all, iTunes! You can buy 'From Heathens to Devils' (Or 'From Heathens to Devis' depending on where you shop) from the link below

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/from-heathens-to-devis-ep/id639709399

You can LISTEN to it on Spotify

Sam Smith & Company – From Heathens to Devis

You can buy one of the limited edition physical copies on our online store

http://ssacstore.bigcartel.com

And check out Faraday (Martin Minshall) here. Drop him a line, he's a lovely lad, joy to work with

https://www.facebook.com/Faraday.Official

TO THE REGIMENT!