thanks to Jan
Uh, so... steal update, wow. let's go!
First off, a well-wisher pointed me in the direction of an internet forum where we got described as "totally the biggest dorks in hardcore", how cruel... even if it is meant in a nice way. As of late we've been trying to cultivate a more macho orientated image; i got some old school tattoos, dave stopped shaving for a while, Pavey invested in some 'Rollins style shorts' and Lindsay has been taking his top off more frequently, so to hear this is a severe disappointment to say the least...
Also, as i got distracted looking around this forum i stumbled upon an argument over the use of the word 'shows', apparently it's a major faux-pas these days to use such an Americanism... dang, we're screwed. Or should i say "bugger, we're done for". Lingustic Xenophobia eh? it's a funny old game.*
So we played a couple of Super Happy Party Times this past week and the overall verdict has been... amazing!
we played in Dorking last friday and it was 100% fun-o-rama, they have themselves sorted out with a rad scene there, the show was put on by a collective of volunteers who not only were nice as pie but also sold vegan ginger snaps, wowzers. The money made from the Super Happy Party Time (SHPT) is going towards a local charity called "Us In A Bus", here is a little bit about them -
"Us In A Bus is an independent, not-for-profit organisation working with people who are often isolated and can seem ‘difficult to reach’.
Our clients are people with profound learning difficulties. They may find the everyday things that we take for granted – talking to friends, sharing a joke, choosing what to eat – a huge challenge. This may also be because many will have complex needs, often physical, which can make life difficult.
What Us in a Bus aims to do is to cut through some of these complexities and concentrate on what makes us all the same: the need to connect and communicate with each other in a way that means something to us."
Which i think is an amazing thing to be doing, not only because it's something i have had first hand experience with and can understand how important and life-affirming these things can be, but also because it's something involving their local community. I think sometimes these days the concept of charity has been skewed somewhat, more often than not you could be way more helpful giving up your time
volunteering somewhere that is trying to improve your local environment or community rather than sending your money off to some far-flung place that has no relevance to your own life.
Anyway, that's enought of that... The other concert we performed at was in Kingston at our beloved Peel. We played with
Comeback Kid and the place was, as they say, "Rammed". More Art, more fast and it took a while but the ex-ska kids were teased out eventually... BINGO!
Uh, over the course of these days we sold-out (bar, 4 shirts i think?) all of our merch, the tote-bags went down a storm... leaders not followers, trust us. So you'll have to wait again till the dagger deems it appropriate to stay up all night intoxicating himself with ink and fabric.
We have a few gigs aligned up... the 31st in Southampton at THE HOUSE, now this is going to be the last ever show at this place and the time we played before was one of my favourite gigs EVER, so we're all dead excited... also playing are
Gordon Gano's Army (amazing!!!) and
Little Flags (pete miles playing drums... amazing!!!). We are also playing on the 29th of April with our chums
Capdown at the Concorde 2 in Brighton, sunny day by the beach anyone? I think there are more... i willl find out for you all, lovely.
Also... we are waiting for vocal takes and mixing then the records will be complete, waiting, waiting, waiting...
BIG LOVE.
THE STEAL.
x
*P.S. 'show' is way easier to rhyme with than 'gig'... twig, pig, lig, jig
