Now then, how do, whassup? I'd like to take this opportunity to apologise for my lack of regular blogging and just general info regarding the goings-on of the seemingly erratic band that is Arcady Bliss. In short, I found the tail end of last year quite difficult because we just couldn't seem to get our proper momentum back after Jake left, despite doing some other cool things that I've mentioned on the blog before e.g. playing at the Indig02, doing the Yamaha podcast, recording Surround and other such tomfoolery. I think it was mostly because we had to turn down lots of gig offers because we simply couldn't do them - we didn't have a full band. We still don't, which brings me to my next bit of news...
Ben, our original bassist and my best friend, is leaving the Arcady fold in order to pursue his other musical and creative projects. It's an amicable and not unforeseen turn of events and, of course, we wish him all the best with his future endeavours. He will, I hope, still be involved in some Arcady things in the future, most likely using his video-graphic skills to get Arcady TV finally up and running.
Thankfully, we are remarkably fortunate to have great friends at hand who have come to our aid in our hour of need. The diligent talent that is Adam Millest has taken up stick duties for the forseeable future and so far we're having a blast playing with him. In addition to this, he's slowly but surely confirming our long-held suspicions that he might just be The Nicest Guy In The World™. We've got some ideas in the pipeline for a possible full-time bassist replacement but if you think you can help or would like to try out, please contact me here: chelwess@gmail.com
We're doing a gig in Guildford tomorrow (14/01/2010) at The Star, just at the bottom end of the high street. So please come along and support us. All being well we'll have our great mate Naz Adamson (check out his re-arrangements on his website by the way because they're superlative) holding up the bottom end of the sonic spectrum for this gig so you can rest assured it's gonna be a blinder.
That's great, I hear you say, but what's going on with that EP of yours? Well, I'm glad you asked. We've decided after much dillying, and indeed dallying, that we're gonna try and do it ourselves. We'll be laying the drums down in the next couple of weeks and then the rest of the tracking and mixing will be done at my house. We then plan to get it all mastered by Denis Blackham at Skye Mastering. As for a release date, well, we'll keep you posted.
More gigs coming your way soon and later this year - we're in the process of confirming a really good slot at the small but perfectly formed Aeon Festival this summer and we've got another gig at The Hobgoblin in Staines in the works for Valentines day. There's more to come as well, trust me :-)
I hope that's cleared a few things up and whetted your appetite for an Arcady Bliss shaped 2010.
To end, as ever, I've got a little video for you. It's of me old mate George Craig from One Night Only strutting his stuff for Burberry last year in Milan of all places! Now I confess I haven't seen him in a bloody long time, but it's weird to think that just a few years ago he was lying on the floor of the stage at The Junction pub in York keeping my old band's bass drum from sliding along the floor because we'd forgotten our drum mat - silly old times! As you can see he's gone a long way since those halcyon days in York and Helmsley and it's always a pleasure to see people you know doing well. Hurrah for commerce!
It's just crazy, innit?! :-)
Yours, til next time,
Charlie
xxx
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