Creak forced to cancel December gigs

Sadly, London covers band Creak are having to cancel all their December gigs (2nd at Cross Keys, Hammersmith; 9th Hogarth Club, Chiswick; and 31st The Wharf, Teddington) so singer Paul Rodger can rest his vocal chords.

Surrey four-piece The Boo Hag Band, who have supported Creak on a number of occasions in the past, will be stepping into their shoes, which leaves one spare pair, being that Creak is a five piece.

If it makes you happy, why the hell are you so sad?

It’s not only the fact that Creak have the casually virtuosic Vladi Shlesman on lead guitar that makes me envy them; It’s also the fun that they always seem to have whenever they are gathered together to perform - which they are with some frequency of late.

This fun has been maximised by a number of personnel changes in their early days, but has paid off big-time, because as we all know, the fun-factor is essential for the longevity of any band. (Start reading between the lines, if you wish)

Last night my band Pocket Rocket was the filling in a sandwich on Creak’s classic rock ‘n’ pop bread, on the menu at The Hart pub in Hammersmith, which un-metaphorically speaking means: we played a set between two Creak sets at the invitation of the band, who are currently playing a monthly residency there.

The Hart was Pocket Rocket’s fourth gig in six months, and despite a low turnout, I enjoyed it. I settled into performance mode quite quickly, helped by a good sound, my first pint in 4 days and by the right wardrobe decisions - I over-dressed because I’ve noticed that the hotter I get, the more relaxed I feel.

Creak are used to playing to a decent audience - usually a partying one - but, unfortunately, despite hoping to attract our friends ‘out west’, Pocket Rocket was unable to help provide one, which was disappointing and a little embarrassing, but what can you do.

Indeed. What can you do? I was left wondering just that on my long tube train ride back across town.

When all the ambition has all gone. When the expectation is lower than ever. When every time you play you can count your supporters on one hand. What is the point?

I’ve been looking at skateboards recently. I love window shopping for skateboards, almost as much as guitars. I can’t buy one because I know that the motivation to do so is all about the feeling that riding a skateboard used to give me. It won’t be the same at 44. My mates won’t be interested in coming out skateboarding with me. If I fall like I used to, I’m more likely to break bones. And what’s more, I’d feel too self-conscious riding it around. If I bought one I’d probably just hang it on my wall, get it down from time to time to hold it, and maybe I'd stand on it occasionally in the lounge.

Which is maybe what I should be doing with the guitar - not standing on it in the lounge - but hanging it on my wall and getting it down just to play it for my own pleasure.

As you can tell, not in a good place right now.

Creak & Pocket Rocket at The Hart, King St, Hammersmith

[A good night's] SLEEP [& a day's work] 'TIL HAMMERSMITH: Tomorrow night: Creak & Pocket Rocket at The Hart, King St: http://bit.ly/ej3GHM

Creak go to the Ukraine

Creak go to the Ukraine: The full story: http://bit.ly/lXqC6H

Support band wanted by Creak

Creak are looking for a band or act to play with them at their residency at The Hart in Chiswick on Fri 6th May: Phone No. at: http://bit.ly/h223iT

Creak on Creak: Their review of their April gig at The Hart

Back at The Hart for April's residency - and it's lovely to see the place in the daylight!

Creak played a short blues set to kick the evening off. Every so often it's good to be subtle...

We were then joined by the wonderful Rad Orchestra who took us all on a Safari through world music, trance, blues, and folk. They played beautifully and enchanted the audience. Thanks guys!

For some reason, Creak then played a very loud set. Perhaps we were still a little deaf from playing at the Boat Race - but for whatever reason, we were a little loud. We'll tone it down next time. Having said that, we played a good set to much acclaim!

First Set
1.Crossroads A
2.Red House Blues
3.Automobile
Highway 61 Revisited E
4.Built For Comfort G
5.Route 66
6.Sweet Home Chicago

Second Set
7.Can't Explain
8.Sultans of Swing
9.20th Century Boy
10.Drive My Car
11.Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)
12.Word Up
13.All Day & All of the Night
14.Gimme Some Lovin’
15.Brown Sugar
16.Johnny B. Goode
17.Mustang Sally
18.Honky Tonk Women
19.Born To Be Wild

20.Creakin’ All Over

Creak: From The Old Ship to The Hart this Friday 1st April

Four hours performing outdoors, by the river, on boat race afternoon, fancy that?

Well, Creak got just that opportunity, at the Old Ship at Hammersmith last Saturday, and managed the whole thing without having play the same song twice - and still the punters wanted more!

Word is, the landlord of the pub was blown away and his regional director is talking about the possibility of Creak playing at the Thames Festival. How cool is that!

The second of the band's regular residencies at the Hart is this Friday 1st April. Guests this month are The Rad Orchestra.

Creak's residency begins here:

The 2010 ROCK-TIL-YOU-DROP-AWARDS

I had big plans for the ROCK-TIL-YOU-DROP-AWARDS this year. I remember planning to get sponsorship, and have more awards. Well, it didn't happen. I sent some emails, got one back from Hiwatt, who seemed a bit interested; Marshall sent me a nice email back, saying thanks but no thanks; and the rest ignored me.

Still, I'm not one to be put off by such things; if I was, I'd have given up making music around 1987 when the demo cassettes started coming back in the post along with xeroxed record company letters 'passing' on them. The show will go on, and the awards will be lovingly handcrafted and the engraved brass plaques will be funded by the 'firm', just as they were last year. The ERNIE BALL-ROCK-TIL-YOU-DROP-AWARDS sounds shit anyway. (The ROTOSOUND-ROCK-TIL-YOU-DROP-AWARDS sounds okay, though -Ed). (Fuck off - Author).

Last year's deserving winners of a 'Coffin' (so-called because that is indeed the shape of the award) were Creak for Best Band, 14 Carat Grapefruit for Best CD (Long Time Coming), Punks Not Dad for Best Song (In Me Shed), The Joint, Kings Cross, for Best Rehearsal Studio and the Dublin Castle, Camden, for the Best Venue.

 

I haven't decided how and when to present the Coffins this year, but I'm a few weeks ahead of where I was last year, so I'm not panicking. Quite yet. Gotta source some wood first, preferably oak...um, floorboards, like last year. No, they looked good, ask any of the winners, who incidentally are currently residing in the where are they now? file, where all award winners end their careers.

Of course that's not true. I know, cos they're all playing in December. See the RTYD Calendar for more details.

Voting link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NJR8C56

Now that's what I call a good night: Creak & Kryptic Klu at The Libertine

People came. People drank. People danced. Musicians networked. People added their emails to the mailing list, even! The place was b-u-s-y, BUSY! So, it is possible to fill the pub on a ROCK-TIL-YOU-DROP night. The bands just have to bring there friends and family in abundance, like Creak and Kryptic Klu did, God bless 'em. There was the added bonus of the stag party that arrived to fill the far end of the pub; but who cares who they were? They were there. At the Libertine. All of 'em. That night.


The first band of the evening, Kryptic Klu, has been evolving for six years or so. It is a five-piece guitar band led by Ray Hyde. The band rehearses regularly (their guitarist Liam Barnes once told me that weekly rehearsals were written into each of their marriage vows!) but has played less than a handful of gigs. Last night was the boys' first gig in a long time, and was therefore a very special occasion indeed, which galvanised friends and relatives, from teenagers and upwards. And they didn't disappoint their travelling massive, with a solid set of Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan-flavoured rock songs.


Winners of ROCK-TIL-YOU-DROP's Best Band of 2009, Creak had a hard task following the Kryptics, but rose to it, and kept the room buzzing with their mix of classic rock covers. Their guitarist Vladi arrived in the nick of time, straight from the airport that he'd flown in to from France, put his luggage down, got himself a Guinness, plugged in his sunburst Les Paul, and spent the next 45 minutes throwing the rock moves and shapes that have become his trademark. Creak is solid, professional and loud, but never uncontrollably so. I want a rhythm section like theirs, and a lead guitarist like Vladi or Paul. Singer Paul Rodger can join me on stage for our encore, a rendition of We're Not Gonna Take It.

Musicians met musicians. Promoter met musicians; I was introduced to the members the Foaming Beauties, a band I had not come across yet, who seemed very nice - I look forward to finding out more about them.

Youtube video of Creak and Kryptic Klu to follow shortly.

The 2009 ROCK-TIL-YOU-DROP Awards

2009 is the first full year of ROCK-TIL-YOU-DROP's existence. For those who didn't know, it all started one autumnal evening early in October 2008. So it only seemed right that we celebrate the scene we have created for ourselves by presenting a series of awards for bands, venues and studios voted for by members of the network.

The presentations were made at The Hope & Anchor in Islington last week midway through the Xmas-Rock-Til-You-Drop gig. My good friend, AXE-FM DJ and respected RTYD member, Colin Gillman opened the envelopes, announced the winners and presented the awards.

There were five categories: Best Band, Best Song, Best CD, Best Rehearsal Studio and Best Venue. The winner in each category was to receive a solid oak coffin-shaped award with engraved plaque.

Ben Ellis collected the award for Best Rehearsal Studio on behalf of The Joint in King's Cross.

The award for Best Venue went to The Dublin Castle and was collected by Bugbear employee Marcie. Sorry, no pickie of Marcie.

The award for Best Song went to Punks Not Dad for the excellent and hilarious In Me Shed. Unfortunately, due to a severe weather warning that night in Wales the band were unable to play the gig. But Otto Pthrugg of 14 Carat Grapefruit was happy to accept the Coffin on their behalf, if only for the opportunity to publicly slag them off for being frightened of "a little bit of snow".

14 Carat Grapefruit won the award for Best CD with their brilliant LP Long Time Coming, which they have been generously distributing free to those who have attended their gigs this year. You can listen to some of it at the ROCK-TIL-YOU-DROP-RECORDS store here.

The award for Best Band went to London covers-band Creak. Paul Rodger and Paul Stansfield, singer and drummer respectively, stepped up to collect the award on behalf of the whole band. Creak's line-up which was in a state of flux ealier this year has settled to include (another!) Paul on guitar, Vladi on lead and Pete on bass. The boys have worked very hard on the live circuit this year and are reaping the rewards now. They are even getting paid to play the occasional gig! I had the pleasure of seeing the boys play for RTYD earlier in the month and they certainly do put on a good show.


Next year, more categories, more awards, and sponsorship.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Toby

Blues-Rock-Til-You-Drop at the Fiddlers

I have to confess I was dreading the soundcheck for the Blues-Rock-Til-You-Drop gig last night; 4 bands, 18 musicians. 1.5 hours. Guitarists plus-plus, Keyboard players times-two. It would have been a total nightmare, if Creak and Dove Jones hadn't boldly forfeited their soundchecks, the former due to the late arrival of their drummer, and the the latter because they are so used to a 'plug and play' approach to gigging.

Thanks to them then, the evening kicked off on time with Bang To Rights' whose take on the blues, included a great rock cover of You Keep Me Hanging On by Diana Ross, before it edged towards that less-well known sub-genre, disco-blues. And why not?

This got Creak thinking that now they were in, and once they were on, their version of the blues could follow this liberal view. Fairly well oiled, as a result of hanging around for about three hours to set foot on stage, they proceeded to romp through a set of blues-rock classics, throwing in the odd T-Rex number - in this case 20th Century Boy - and ending with their customary set-closer Creakin' All Over.

It is always a pleasure to watch my friend Dove Jones performing, and last night he was on fire as usual, offering up a set of blues-covers and throwing in an original at the end for good measure, appropriately entitled I Got The Blues. Imagine Mick Jagger fronting the Stones while playing keyboards and sweating like Joe Cocker at Woodstock, and you get an idea of the energy and passion of Jones's semi-sedentary performance.

It's 11 o'clock before the final act of the night take to the stage. Unfortunately, the room empties by half. It's not personal. It's just bed-time for many of those here, including The Beast. But those who exit don't know what they are about to miss. The Beast come on stage after a twenty year break and play the loudest, ballsiest, filthiest rock set I've heard in a while, crossing the vocals and drums of Led Zep with the dirty blues riffola of early AC/DC.

With 22 paying customers, 18 musicians, 10 or so non-paying barfly regulars, one of which tells me "at last we got some decent music in 'ere", and a few WAGs who blag their way in, there were enough people at the gig that the place wasn't rattling; a handful were even dancing at points during the evening, which was great.

So it was not a great night door-takings-wise. Bar-takings-wise, maybe? But I'm not out of pocket, which is good, and the whole night is worth it simply because it is both a musicians' social-networking opportunity and a chance to hear some great music and see some great musicians play. It was a chance too for some of those who know each other on-line to meet in the real world.

Patrick Begley of the Dipsticks comes down to support his former band-mates, Toby and John from The Beast, and in the process ran into a former brother-in-law, who is drumming for Bang To Rights. Small world. I put two and two together and realise that Maggie Brown for whom Mark McKendrick of the Dipsticks plays bass occasionally, is the backing singer in Dove Jones' band. Small world, again. Stephen Denholm and John from local blues band The Mighty Caretakers are also in attendance. You'll be seeing more of these two in the new year.