Rockin' it out...

"Where the hell is that chord?" John wonders what comes next as Emma waits patiently and Laurie expresses himself by shaking something for all he's worth.

Emma

Emma working her inimitable magic on the audience again.

If Looks Could Kill!

That mistake was nothing to do with me! Percussionist Laurie thinks long and hard about his next move.

Jim Hits It

Jim steps into the limelight to hit that harmony!

Birdingbury Club

April 2008

Emma at First Rehearsal - May 2007

Emma Wilkinson, our new lead vocalist, at her first band rehearsal with us.

Hard at Work!

Despite appearances we are enjoying ourselves! We're trying out new songs and making changes to the sets as we bring Emma into the lineup.

Laurie Explains it...

Hard at work at our first rehearsal with Emma. L to R: Laurie, Emma, Jim.

John's Studio

A view of John's home recording studio where the band works on songs for its live sets. We use MIDI technology to provide the instrument tracks we don't play, i.e. the keyboards, drums, bass and brass. On the left is a Tascam mixing desk and in the centre the excellent Roland XP50 synthesiser we also use on live gigs.

Mixing Desk and Synth

This is a closer view the mixing desk and Roland XP-50. On the right is an outboard rack. Also visible is one of the Alesis Monitor 1 speakers which are mounted on spiked, sand filled stands.

The Epiphone Flying 'V' is a knock-about guitar John uses instead of his cherished real Gibsons and Strat. That's a Marshall JCM 2000 TSL601 60w combo amp you can see sitting under the desk in its black cover: the one John uses on gigs.

Worm's Eye View

The PC is running Sonar 5, a sequencer program on which we arrange, edit and record our song backing tracks. In the far corner is a rack containing two ADAT digital tape recorders.

Ah, the 70s...

'Mature' folks in the Warwickshire area might remember Sugarcane (above in 1978), the popular band Laurie and John (left and second left) played in during the 70s. Also pictured are Ian Boycott and John Rushton.

Les Paul Gold Top

Sorry, John thought you might enjoy a bit of gratuitous guitar porn here, so here's his Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul '56 Gold Top replete with 'soap bar' pickups.

At Work in the Studio - Oct 06

Well, it's not like work, it's too much fun! We're taking a break here during the recording of of some new MIDI backing tracks for use in the live sets.

Another Pic in the Studio

Arty shot...

Here we are trying to look mean and moody, but coming over like grumpy old men!