Thinking Metal: Events
Stillstream Concert, 17th/18th April 2009
Stillstream are a fairly new internet-streaming broadcaster on the U.S. specialising in ambient and ethereal music. We'll be doing a more relaxed semi-improvised gig in April 2009, broadcast from our own living room / studio at Hughes Manor in sunny Houghton-le-Spring. This will be a free-to-air concert though the performance will be recorded and made available as a pay-for download later on.
This event has now been confirmed. See the news section for further details. Sorry, this is not a very Euro-friendly concert but we have to go along with their US_based broadcast schedule.
June 13th 2009 Ghosts in the Machine Festival
We're delight to confirm that we'll be playing at the Ghosts in the Machine festival in Swindon on June 13th 2009.
Generations 2009
Generations is a very special concert of electronic music, which will take place in St. Nicholas' Cathedral, Newcastle upon Tyne in 2009.
This event is unconfirmed.
Other events 2009
Through no fault of our own, three quarters of our gigs last year falled to happen although, in the case of the Hampshire Jam Jam, I decided to withdraw because totally improvised music is not an avenue I want to explore any more. This meant that we had a very lean year as far as playing live is concerned, which was absolutely not as we planned. So, we've set about adding far more gigs to the schedule for next year based on the theory that if one or more falls through for any reason then we will have others to fall back on.
Many of these events are in an advanced state of planning. However, until details of a specific event are cast in stone then they won't appear on this page. Please ignore any rumours you might hear. If it ain't here, it ain't happening.
So far, this is the schedule:
June 2009, Ghosts In the Machine Festival 3, Swindon
April 2009, Stillstream Concert, http://www.stillstream.com
July 2009, TBC
August 2009, TBC
September 2009, International Year of Astronomy Concert, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
October 2009, Awakenings, Burton-on-Trent
At the moment, there's a lot of TBC's in this list. We suggest that you bookmark this page and check on a regular basis so that you don't miss anything.
Past events aka Dave's Gig Guide
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly...
These are my musings on the gigs so far, both as a group enterprise and as a solo act. They're personal and don't reflect the views of the other band members, though I guess we're in fairly broad agreement. They're intended to give our side of the story, a view from the artist's perspective, though I have to admit that, in some cases, my recollection of the events maybe either biased or wrong because my memory isn't what it used to be.
To begin with, here's a rough history of the bands so far, to get the timeline established before we kick off. I won't bother with anything before 1993.
- 1993-1994 : Kinetic Engineering
- 1994-1997 : Tranquillity Bass
- 1997-2004 : T-Bass
- 2004-Present : T-Bass (currently in hibernation)
- 1999-Present : SkinMechanix
- 2007-Present : Ion
I'll also include a list of releases to put events in context:
- 1993 : Kinetic Engineering (Cassette, Kinetic Engineering)
- 1994 : Alien (Cassette, David J. Hughes)
- 1995 : Sampler 1 (Tranquillity Bass)
- 1995 : The Infection of Time (Tranquillity Bass)
- 1997 : Scanners (EP, Tranquillity Bass)
- 1999 : Connexion (EP, T-Bass UK)
- 2001 : The Fabulous Neutrinos (CD, T-Bass UK)
- 2002 : The Secret Life of Angels (CD, SkinMechanix)
- 2003 : MediaEvil (CD, T-Bass/SkinMechanix sampler)
- 2005 : Fallen Angel (CD, SkinMechanix)
- 2007 : Future Forever (CD, Ion)
- 2008 : Universal (down-load, Ion/SkinMechanix)
The Gigs
The good, the bad and the ugly...
In the end...
Like I said at the top, these are just my views, my recollections of events which are fast becoming distant memories and are therefore inclined to be biased and fogged as the years roll on. However, it's as accurate as I can recall. In compiling these thoughts, I'm attempting to set the record straight as I see it. I think it's important to document these events because they were a large part of our lives at that time and, as you may have guessed from the nature of the prose that my recollection of what actually happened is starting to fade as the years slide by. Another reason for compiling these memories is that I wanted to provide a roadmap for other performers just entering this world. It's my way of saying "Folks, this is what you don't do. Find another way. Not this way." At the same time, there are glimmers of hope. Radioplay for this style of music is slowly, steadily making a comeback, in part because this is the right time for a new voice to be heard, in part because the domination of the major record companies is on the wane.
What I hope is that I have avoided the rose-tinted glasses. Some folk may be upset and offended at what I've written and whilst I understand if this is the case, their actions at the time are a matter of record and they have to live with what they did. I don't believe in re-writing history just to mend fences. If someone, in my view, behaved like an arse, then that's a fact that they'll have to live with.
So, that's my view on all of the gigs thus far. Other gigs are in the pipeline although their form and structure has yet to be determined. I do feel that I need to get a new band together. Jules has agreed to stick with the programme on keys but Dave doesn't seem interested anymore. Times and people change but, as I'm fond of saying, never say never.
DJH April 2008