One from The Archives

Friday 14th July 2023

Once again I've been a bit lazy keeping these blogs updated. Life changes and things get in the way. 

Since I last wrote I've been busy. Drumming for the Punk band UK Subs, releasing a new album with my metal band Reign of Fury ("Exorcise Reality", available now on Spotify or to buy on vinyl and CD in our online store www.reignoffurylive.bigcartel.com) and I rejoined my old band 4ft Fingers...and then left again (to tour with UK Subs). I even joined and left another band, which probably aren't worth mentioning at this point. I'm also back teching for The Alarm, which is really nice. Theres a few other bits going on right now, goals to be achieved and targets to smash but maybe I'll write more on that another time.  

The real reason for this update is because I was trying to tidy up a few bits in the house and found my old tour blog from the 4ft Days 2002 - 2003. TWENTY YEARS AGO!!! I thought it might be interesting for a few people to have a read and get a little insight to what it was like for us back in the days before smart phones, sat-nav, social media and when all we wanted to do was tour by any means necessary. Back in those days we had a clear goal: Success or Death. What success was we had no idea but that didn't stop us from almost killing ourselves to acheive it.

So anyway, heres a highlight of one of the entries to that hand written blog that I spent hours every night writing that made me laugh!! Hopefully, it'll make you laugh too. If you like it, I'll find some other entries to publish.

SUNDAY 15th DECEMBER 2002:   The Little Civic, Wolver'ampton

Rider: 12 cans of Red Stripe, 12 bottles of water, a few cans of soft drinks, crisps, packaged sandwiches, chocolate bars.

Tonights gig is SOLD OUT!!

Today started with a BANG! Literally! Rob (lead singer and guitarist) was supposed to pick us up at 3:30pm from boots fountain in the centre of Cheltenham (our usual pick up point as me (drummer), Tom (guitarist) and Dougie (Bass Player) lived in town and it saves time rather than picking everyone up from their houses). I told everyone the night before to be on time. What a surprise, I'm the only one on time. Tom shows up 5 mins after, thats 5 mins earlier than usual then Rob shows up with the van a.k.a. "The Flying Fortress" with Scott Cole (photographer) in the front and Bov "The Merch Guy" in the back.

There was nowhere to park so as the van came round the corner we crossed the road (to get on the same side as the sliding door) so we could jump in quickly. Rob slowed down and I pulled the handle of the slide door to open it. Tom then grabs the handle and Rob then at that moment decides to speed up! Tom didn't have time to let go of the handle and as the van sped up, the door slid open and literally rips clean off in Tom's hand!! We're now standing in the middle of the road in the busy town centre with the side door of the van on the floor in front of us whilst the Rob is driving down the road looking for a parking space!! Fuck knows what Bov thought sitting in the back but my instant reaction was to laugh!

Rob pulls over and me and Tom just stand there for a few seconds trying to come to terms with what just happened and whether we should laugh or cry. We laughed. 

"What now?" I asked.

"Get on the other end" Tom replied, and we carried the door towards the van. We couldn't help but laugh and by now everyone in town was laughing too. We leant the door against the van. Rob, Scott and Bov came out to assess the damage. They too found it funny...for now. Scott grabbed his camera, the opportunity to preserve this moment with photographs was too good to miss.

 

The mood is changing

I don't think Im helping much am I

 

Then Dougie turns up. With his Irish accent and manner that didn't ever seem to help a crisis he asks "Whats going on?" Answering that question was not a priority, after all it doesn't take a genius to work out just exactly what was going on. After a few minutes of assessing the damage, the mood changed. The door was completly fucked!!

Of course, we all blamed each other but we set about trying to fix it whilst Scott kept taking photos. Things got worse. Dougie tried to suggest things which seemed to just annoy Rob even more. Scott then tried to phone people he knew with a van to see if we could borrow one whilst Dougie phoned our manager Darren to deliver the news.

We decided the best option was to get the van back to Rob's place and try to fix it there. Dougie made more suggestions but Rob was getting very pissed off now. No-one seemed to be laughing anymore and cancelling the show seemed like it might be a possibility. If something bad ever happened to us, it always seemed to be whilst we were about to play a sold out gig! 

We wedged the door on and persuaded Rob to drive carefully back to his house. He kept telling me to make sure the door doesn't fall off as he drove. To be honest, if that door fell, there was nothing I could do about it. If I tried to stop it, it would have taken me with it.

We got to Rob's at about 4:15pm and he went and got his Dad. He'd been doing a bit of gardening when he gave him the good news. He wasn't best pleased. After assessing the damage he grabbed some tools and started to fix it. If we could get the door on, we could get to the gig.

 

Rob's Dad saving our skin...again.

 

Darren was now on his way. Uh Oh. Whilst Tom and Rob helped with fixing, the rest of us tried not to laugh too loudly and took it in turns to hold the light. 

Me and Dougie then snuck off to the local garage to buy some food and cigerettes.

"Whats the betting whilst we're away they desperately need our help?" Dougie asked.

"Nah, they'll be alright" I replied.

We got back a few minutes later and it turns out our help was very much needed. Dougie sprang into action whilst I held the light.

After an hour and a half of hammering and straightening, Rob's Dad had bodged it back together and we could now set off. It was now about 6pm and Darren was well pissed off. Bov managed to get our arses into gear, we relaoded our personals which had been taken out just incase we couldnt open the side door again and we made tracks.

We were now running well behind. Bov and Scott jumped in the car with Darren and Nike (Darren's girlfriend at the time), me and Tom jumped in the back of the van whilst Rob drove and Dougie navigated. 

What made matters worse was the "team" in the front managed to join the M42, which takes us in completly the wrong direction to Wolverhampton. 

"Fuck it" I thought, and went to sleep.

We arrived at the venue at 7:30pm, loaded in then went to the dressing room to summarize the situation. We ate the rider and chatted to a very stressed Darren. After a while I sorted my gear out to save time later and then rejoined the guys upstairs in the dressing room. 

We went on stage about 10:10pm after a band called Firefly who'd managed to warm the crowd up nicely. We did a good job and Darren seemed to be happier and less stressed now. Scott though was absolutely pissed by now because the bouncers wouldn't let him on stage to take any photos of the gig. He kept giving us the "A OK" symbol every 5 mins to let us know he was still on his feet!

We got called back for an encore and did "Fake I.D" and "Bugsy". Afterwards we hung about signing stuff and giving drum sticks etc away then I made a start on packing my drums away. Scott came over to try and help with the packing but he was in no fit state. He then disappeared for a few minutes and Rob found him passed out on the floor. I ran up and told everyone to take photos. When I returned, he'd disappeared again. We then had to spend the next 10 mins looking for him. I checked behind the bar to make sure he wasn't filling his can up. We eventually found him at the bottom of the stairs, face down in a heap...with his can still upright! We laughed at him for a bit, checked he was still alive, took some photos and then the others tried to bundle him in the van.

I packed up as quickly as possible and as I brought my stuff to the van Scott was still walking around completely off his face. We sat him down with a friend of ours and carried on with the packing. By now Scott couldn't move his arm and we thought we might have to drop him off at a hospital. He decided to leave it until the morning and see how it feels then. 

After a couple more photos with some fans we set off home. Tom drove, Rob and Scott in the front, Dougie, me, and Bov in the back. We got back to Cheltenham at about 2:30am I think. Pick up tomorrow was 1pm. 

 

What a fucked up day!!!

Magic Dave

Back then, stresses got forgotten about very quickly

All photos Copyright Scott Cole.

Forward into Battle

REIGN OF FURY UPDATE

Late 2016 - August 2017

Through 2016 we'd had a few set backs. Our bass player Paul Bielby left the band due to health reasons. Then just as we replace him with Chris Musgrove, our guitarist Lenny left us and joined Abhorrent Decimation. So that meant we were back to finding another guitarist.

We as a band were now in a bit of a dilema and decided to ask our original guitarist Ed if he'd be up for getting involved again. Afterall, we were supposed to be writing a new album and the thought of searching for another guitarist, jamming with him for a while to see if we clicked and got along with each other and even whether we could write songs together was something we weren't really up for at that moment in time. We had a chat and decided we should ask Ed if he wanted to be involved.
With Ed we knew it was a team that worked. We'd already done two albums and an EP together, we didn't have a guitarist at that time so fuck it, lets do a 3rd album together and make it the best it can be.

I had a meeting with Ed and great news, he was up for it. However, he wasn't up for doing gigs. As Lenny left the band he suggested a guy called Joey Jaycock from "From Eden to Exile" and assured us he was the man to replace him. So I rang Joey and explained the situation to him:
"We need to write an album, Ed will be helping us with that but we do need a guitarist to play his parts live".
Joey was up for it.
We gave him the set to learn and we got on with writing new material with Ed.

After a couple of rehearsals and gigs with Joey and a few months of writing stuff with Ed, another obsticle was thrown in our path. Jon rang me and told me he had Testicular Cancer. So that was that. I told our booking agent not to book anything. We already had Amplified Festival and a show with Death Angel in Wolverhampton booked but they were a few months away yet and I didn't want us to commit to anymore gigs while Jon was dealing with Cancer.
Luckily, Jon caught it quickly, had the operation and to my surprise was back to his usual self in no time.

Then Ed said he wasn't feeling the vibe and decided to leave again, so I rang Joey and offered him the slot. He accepted and it was game on!
Chris and Jon got together that week and wrote a new tune and Joey got to work on some new riffs.
We're now back at full strength with five permanent members and the mood is good.
We just had two gigs to get through and then we knuckle down and get this album finished.

Rof early 2016. Two days later it all started to change again

RoF July 2017-Present. With Chris Musgrove and Joey Jaycock

AMPLIFIED FESTIVAL 2017
July 21st, 22nd, 23rd

Not much can be said about this weekend that hasn't been said already. It fucking pissed it down with rain for almost the whole weekend!! Some bands/acts got cancelled and some bands still played. Some team members worked their arses off to keep the festival going while some didn't. Some punters had a great time while others not so much. The reviews on the facebook page have been mixed, some saying it was awesome and some were left wanting more for their money. What I did see though was the stage crew working their arses off to keep things running as smoothly as possible dispite the shittiest weather any festival could have to deal with. Olly from the Frog n Fiddle in Cheltenham was running the Shoot Your Hoops stage as smoothly as he could and Gary (the organiser) running around the whole site trying to keep people happy.

Missy shows her support for "Rain" of Fury.

I was only there for a few hours on the Saturday. Our slot was on the main stage at 18:15 for 45 mins. Luckily for us the people who were there came out of the dry and willingly moshed their hearts out in the pissing rain infront of us.
We'd also opted to where Hawiian shirts for this show too, which turned out to be a great idea although very ironic.
The new song "Haunt The Murderer" got a great response as did the rest of the set and we managed to get our usual "Born to Die" stage invasion too with serial merch buyer John Mathews taking centre stage along side serial crazy fucker Jag Bahra.

Pic By Topher O'Meagher

Musgrove. Wasted.

Jon conducts the "Born to Die" stage invasion. Pic by Critical Mass Photography.

This was Joey's first show as an official permanent member of RoF too and the crowd welcomed him warmly. He was enjoying himself so much that instead of pressing the lead boost on his amp for the "World Detonation" solo, he managed to switch the distortion off completely giving us a flamenco sound for a very crucial part of the song. All good though as it makes my blogs slightly interesting.

Someone needs to tell Joey he's in a metal band and should be frowning not smiling!!

After the show, I packed up my stuff, met a few guys and headed home a couple of hours later. The others stayed. Chris was wasted and in no fit state to drive. Jon was part of the stage crew for the weekend so he still had the rest of the night and the next day to go yet. I spent the night in my nice warm bed not thinking of the others.


WOLVERHAMPTON, Slade Rooms

AUGUST 8th 2017

This was our last planned show of the year. It's only August but we NEED to finish writing our 3rd album. If we keep accepting gigs it'll be another year before we finish writing it.

Today we were supporting Death Angel with Eradikator and Warbringer on the bill too. We're on first too, with only 30 mins to play. It's very hard to get what we're all about accross to the crowd with only half an hour. Most of our songs are quite long so we have to choose the shorter thrashier songs for these sets and leave out the longer dramatic songs. We could fill 30 mins with 2 songs. But that wouldn't really be fair on the guys who've bought tickets to see us.

Every band got a sound check...except for us. In fact this is the first time I've ever played on a drum kit where I haven't hit it at least once before our set started. We were that short on time! Personally I think if there is no time you should only soundcheck the 1st band. Anyway, we've been doing this shit for years so we know how to handle it.
Doors were 7pm, stage time was 7:15pm. We played 5 of our fastest, shortest songs and tried to make the best impression we could. The crowds response was great and it sounded awesome.
The new tune is getting good reactions too.

Has nobody told Joey to start frowning yet?!!

See Joey, this is how you frown. It makes you look older too.

How could you resist?

As quickly as we started, we finished. I packed up my stuff and joined my wife Missy on merch for the rest of the night. Eradikator went on did their thing and finished 10 mins early!!!
Warbringer were on after them followed by Death Angel. At one stage Death Angel took between 10 & 15 mins to introduce the band members with the singer for some strange reason insisting on introducing each member twice!!

Anyway, we packed up the merch after their set. Missy had made friends with Warbringer's merch girl (the singers wife) and exchanged details. They're from L.A. and we have a holiday booked out there later in the year so hopefully we can meet up and swap tour/war stories

No more shows now for Reign of Fury. Time to write this bloody album!!!

These are our "work faces"

In the meantime though, I've also rejoined 4ft Fingers again and we will be doing a reunion show on new year's eve at The Frog n Fiddle in Cheltenham. That is gunna be mental. It'll be the first time we've played a set as the "classic" line up for about 12 years!!
Support comes from Whippasnappa, The Splash and The White Crosses.

One crazy mixed up night of punk rock, nostalgia and booze! What could possibly go wrong.
More details on that another time. Visit our facebook and instagram though.
www.facebook.com/4ftfingers

 

The Dreaded Door Deal

GETTING PAID FOR GIGS. PART 2.

Following on from my last blog on how to ask promoters to pay you when they start chasing you for gigs I'd like to share bit of information about door deals and some of their many variations.

Reign of Fury still use them if we deem the deal worth it and 4ft fingers also used them at certain shows, usually with great success. Of course, what I deem worth it might be completely different to you but maybe some information on the subject and an explanation how they work might help some of you in some way.

WHAT IS A "DOOR DEAL"?

"The dreaded door deal" as I like to call them is when your band gets an agreed amount of money from each ticket that is sold for the gig. So the more tickets sold, the more money you get.

There are a few different types of door deal though and they can be a good deal on a good night or a bad deal on a bad night or if you've made the wrong agreement with the promoter an absolutely shit deal, even on a good night. I'll explain.

A promoter asks you to play a show where each band gets an equal share of the ticket money at the end of the night.
"Cool, sounds great. How many bands are playing?" you ask,
"five" says the promoter.
"Should be a good night, how much are the tickets?"
"£3 each" he replies.

So that means each band would get 60p per ticket. If the promoter gets 100 people in, each band gets £60. Even if 200 people turn up you'll only get £120. So as a headliner, I don't think that's a good deal. As a support band that's not too bad. (Keep in mind how much it costs to play a show). Personally though £3 for any gig is too cheap!!
If the tickets were £5 per ticket, each band would get £1 per ticket bringing your fee up slightly. Not by much but it's getting better. Still not a great deal for a headliner though. Less bands on the bill would push your fee up slightly.
But whether it's worth it or not really does depend on you and your band. Remember, you should have merch to sell too but you want to use as little of that money as possible.
Its also worth noting that I've used an example where the bands get everything shared out between THEM and the promoter isn't taking anything himself. If the promoter is taking something, you'll get even less.

DOOR DEAL VARIATIONS

There are many variations of door deals as I mentioned earlier.
It could be as a headliner you get a bigger chunk of the ticket money ie: £2 per ticket instead of £1. You could even negotiate a small guarantee, something like £100 (of which 50% is payed upfront via bank transfer) plus a cut of the ticket money. That means you are guaranteed at least something towards your costs regardless of how many people turn up. This puts some of the risk back on the promoter rather than the bands risking it all and gives him a reason to actually promote the show.

Another variation is a band agrees to play a show and their fee depends on how many tickets they sell themselves.
The promoter gives the band a certain amount of tickets. The band agrees to give the promoter a set amount of money per ticket sold and the band keeps the rest. Some promoters will say you can sell them for as cheap as you like so long as they get their agreed fee per ticket. If you deem the gig worthwhile ie: it's supporting a decent band then this could work out. I wouldn't do it as a headliner though.
The trouble is, the other band/bands playing might be selling tickets cheaper than you for whatever reason therefore you won't sell as many. So you'll have to get creative.
You could sell discounted tickets when bought with merch on line, discounted tickets when 2 or more are bought or anything else you can think of. Think outside the box. With the correct use of the internet this could work out in your favour. But you'll have to push it!!
I'm currently trying this method out with a show Reign of Fury has later in the year so I'll be able to report whether this works or not at a later date.

The best door deal you could possible get for your band though would be 100% of the door. Which might seem far fetched but does happen sometimes.
I hire out a venue in Cheltenham every year for a Reign of Fury "home town" show. We take all door money. I do always pay the support bands an agreed fee though. You could do the same in your town.

Basically, it's down to the promoter's imagination to decide what door deal he wants to go with. Your negotiation skills need to get the best deal possible for your band.

YES OR NO

"The dreaded door deal" is a hit or miss deal. It's usually a better deal for the support bands  especially if the promoter expects the headliner to provide all the backline (unless you've negotiated well). If you've had success in that particular venue before it could be worth it but only if it's promoted well, the punters turn up and you've negotiated a good amount per ticket.

THE DOWNSIDE

One of the problems with some promoters that do door deals and not guarantees is that it takes the risk out of their hands. If you're not from a particular town then you really do rely on the promoter to do their job and actually promote the gig he's asked you to play. If you're not on a guarantee then they don't have to pay you anything. So if they can't be bothered to promote for any reason then no-one will turn up and you'll definitely go home with less money than you started with. And that is a good way to kill a band off.

THE UPSIDE

You should benefit well If you've negotiated well with a promoter of a venue you're 90% sure you'll fill. 4ft fingers used to play a small venue in Bournemouth called Mr Smiths. Capacity was only about 100 but we got 100% of the door. I think entry was £5 on the door and it always sold out. That meant we got £500 per show. That's a good deal. Of course, if it went the other way, we'd end up with nothing.
The greater the risk, the greater the reward.

AND FINALLY

In my experience with the exception of only a small amount, the best gigs Reign of Fury have played (not including festivals) were gigs that I managed to get deposits for. I really believe the reason for that is because when you take money out of the promoters pocket at the time of booking they adopt the attitude that they really need to get people through the door to make their money back.  Therefore, they do their job a whole lot better. So I would always advise you to push for some sort of guarantee rather than a door deal alone.

Whatever happens though GET IT ALL IN WRITING AND GET A CONTRACT SIGNED!!
When I took over from our old manager for RoF I made sure we got deposits and contracts signed. It was a game changer. It instantly stopped the amateurs dicking us about and the crowds got bigger.

Just make sure when a promoter gets in touch with you about a doing a door deal gig, ask these questions before you bite their hand off:

a) How many bands are playing?
b) How much are the tickets (in advance & on the door)?
c) How much you'll be getting per ticket?
d) Capacity of the venue?
e) Who's headlining and where are you on the bill?
f) Backline situation (why should you get the same as everyone else if you're providing the backline?)

Then you can do some simple maths and work out the best deal for your band or decide whether its even worth doing at all. And I always base my sums on getting 60-100 people minimum through the door.

Good luck

Magic Dave

Reign of Fury facebook
https://www.facebook.com/reignoffury/

Reign of Fury online store
www.reignoffurylive.bigcartel.com

Money for gigs

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

Band members never want to talk about money when it comes to gigging. They fear that they'll be called "sellouts" and their devotion to playing shows for the love of it will be questioned. It's a joke.

Being a sellout is "doing something you hate purely for the money" e.g: having a job you hate. The only question you need to ask yourself is: What can I do to get myself out of this crappy sellout situation? Trying to turn your hobby of playing music into your living is pretty hard (I still haven't managed it yet) but can only start by stating a realistic fee to promoters who ask you to play a gig.

So my next question is:
Do you want your band to get paid to play gigs?
You do!
Then read on.
You don't?
Then go and read something else.

TAKE ADVICE FROM THE RIGHT PEOPLE 

Lately, I've been sitting back and reading peoples blogs, articles and comments and it's pretty clear to me that some of these guys that claim to have been successful in this little metal "scene" are actually talking pish.
They tart up their words and convince people that they know what it takes to be in a "successful" band without ever being in one, how to run a "successful" band without ever running one, or put on a "successful" show without actually paying anyone. Personally, I think you should only get advice on how to build a good solid wall by somebody who has built a good solid wall.

Then you have those guys that complain about not getting paid but are too scared to ask for money (or don't know how to) when someone asks to book them.
Some even go so far as to say bands shouldn't be paid. If you're one of those people then you might as well stop reading now.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to get paid for something you love doing.

People are patting each other on the back and telling everyone what a great job they're doing for the "scene" while band after band are splitting up because they can't afford to be in a band anymore.

Bands that are playing a gig for free are even getting slagged off because they choose to mention whilst they're playing that they have merch for sale at the back of the room. Merch is the only way some bands can make any fuel money so they NEED to advertise it when they are on stage.
Worse still, you're getting bands slagging off other bands because they're not sticking around to watch the rest of the show and massage the ego of the headlining band. In my experience, that only really happens when the turn out of that gig is shit and the headliner is a bit miffed that nobody has turned up to see them. So they take it out on the support bands who are prob playing for free and have to leave the gig early because they have work in the morning.
Or maybe they think the headliners are shit. I won't watch a band I don't like.

It's pissing me off. So I thought I'd write a little blog for band members to read and hopefully give them some idea on how how to pluck up the courage to ask for some money for the gigs you play to help you continue to be a band.

I don't really consider any of my bands "successful" as I've always had to gig & work at the same time. Sure I've been signed by record labels, endorsed by companies, played hundreds maybe a few thousand gigs with both my bands 4ft fingers & Reign of Fury over the years and had an amazing time and even pulled some big crowds but success to me is about my "hobby" becoming my living. Or at least contributing to my living. I'm fed up of bands playing gigs for "exposure" alone while someone else gets to pocket all the money.

I have managed to get my band paid for gigs using contracts and non-refundable deposits so in that department I feel I am qualified to give advice about it.

MONEY IS NOT A DIRTY WORD!
 

Money, Maltesers and Tabassco sauce: 3 things every band need more of.

The only people in the music business that don't take the business side seriously are the band members. Not only that, they are made to feel bad about even talking about money.

REPLACE THE WORD "SCENE" WITH "BUSINESS"
 
Being in a band is expensive! Especially if you're in a touring band. Everything costs money. Your gear, fuel, rehearsals, merch, van hire or van maintenance (if you own one), insurance, beer, food, accommodation, everything. Even getting the day off work for the gig means it's costing you money straight away.

In the first stages of band life, money doesn't even come into it. You're a bunch of mates that get together every week to play some tunes. Musical talent has nothing to do with it (thanks to Punk Rock) and it's all about having a good time. You might even be rehearsing in a bedroom or garage somewhere like I did back in the day so you don't even need to pay for rehearsals. Bonus.
For some of us, life will never be the same again. You''re convinced you'll be as big as Metallica or Maiden one day and nothing is gunna stand in your way.
The dirty word, A.K.A. money, means nothing at this stage, but as you play more and more, that attitude will need to change.
You can't do what you love to do for very long if you're not getting paid to do it.

THE COST

Remember, everything costs money, keep that in your mind. The cost of a gig will vary from band to band. You will have to pay for van hire, fuel, maybe hotel rooms and maybe even crew ie: merch guy or sound guy and food money. For Reign of Fury that brings our cost of playing a show to about £270 minimum. And that's before any food money is even considered or if the show is too far to drive home after.If we stay somewhere, we'll have to pay for accommodation and an extra day's van hire. That would push the cost up at least another £150. So doing a show for any less than break even means we would be PAYING TO PLAY.
And we all hate paying to play!!
 
Now, lets assume you have no manager yet. Luckily in 4ft fingers we had a great manager that did everything for us (Darren from Crucial Talent). For the first few years he did it for nothing. Then when he started bringing the money in he started to take a small percentage. You've done all the ground work for the last 2 years by playing every toilet in the country. You no longer need sat-nav or a map to find the venues as you've played them so many times now. You've started pulling crowds so now the audience is no longer just the sound engineer whilst his dog walks around the place finishing peoples beer!! (Yes this did happen in Derby at The Victoria Inn. The dog is prob dead now. Come to think of it I bet the sound man is too). You're actually getting promoters chasing you for a show now instead of you begging to play.
This can only mean one thing. They see value in your band. They want you to play so that you can bring in paying punters so they can make some money. Now is the best time to mention the dirty word...MONEY.

WHAT TO ASK FOR

Don't take the piss!! It takes a long time to get £500+ and to get that you'd better be pulling big crowds. So be realistic.
Deal with "Guarantees"! This means you get your agreed fee NO MATTER WHAT!!
If you're in the early stages of playing then you can't ask for much but even £50 guarantee is something. And that's better then nothing.It also means you'll be on the next rung of the ladder.

If a promoter is selling tickets for £5 and 80 people turn up, that means he's made £400 on the door! £50 of that is not too much to ask for. If he's asked you to headline then £150 guarantee minimum as a starter I don't think is taking the piss.
I got very pissed off that the RoF manager let us go out for £150 a few years ago with the ticket price being an average of £8!! That means 100 people in (it was usually more) would rake in £800. Not very fair at all.
I do want people to make money, but I just want our fair share.

So, before you reply to any email to any promoters be prepared to walk away if the deal is a shit one. (Charity shows and festivals are a different).

You'll get an email from a promoter asking if you're available for a show on so and so date in such and such a place. Reply politely asking whether you're headlining or supporting. If they want you to headline, state your fee and terms & conditions. (I'll cover support slots later).
I always state our fee plus beers & snacks with 50% non-refundable deposit upfront via bank transfer. The booking is only confirmed when the contract is signed and returned AND the deposit is paid.
The non-refundable deposit acts as a cancellation fee too. So if the promoter cancels, we keep the money.I have found that none of the gigs I booked this way were cancelled and they all had a good turn outs too.
Be prepared to haggle. I usually price RoF with room to haggle unless I've dealt with the promoter before and we already have an understanding.
If the "promoter" disappears without a trace when you mention money, they are not worth dealing with!!

ALWAYS USE CONTRACTS

Get used to using contracts. They are a bit of a ball ache but they are invaluable. I've taken print outs of our contracts to shows and managed to get the money owed when they refused to pay and beer brought to the dressing room when they tried to not supply it. It's a legal agreement and should be respected.
On the other side, when I had to take over the "management role" from someone who didn't use contracts and refused to tie up the loose ends I found that on at least 3 occasions the fee given to me after the gig was £50 less than what was apparently agreed with him according to the gig notes in the band calender. Without a contract I just had to accept what the promoter was telling me and I didn't have a leg to stand on. Without that piece of paper in your hand it can be very frustrating.

Once the fee is confirmed, the contracts are signed and the deposit is paid, you are locked in. Respect the agreement and do your bit to promote your show. Turn up in good time and play to the best of your ability. Be nice to the staff and promoter. Remember, the more people that turn up and have a good time, the better chance you have of being booked again. When the crowd grows, you can ask for more money for the next time you play.
But keep it realistic. Don't think you can go from £50 to £500 with your second show in that venue.

That really is all there is to it at this level. Bands are too willing to play for nothing year after year partly because they fear that if they ask for money the promoter will turn them down and it'll be hard to get another show. If you're good enough, they'll come back.

Support slots are slightly different. You're there to promote your band in front of another bands crowd, alot of whom prob will not have heard of you so don't expect any fee at all. But if you deem it worth doing because the crowd is guaranteed, then go for it. Don't be afraid to ask for £50 and/or beer though.
Door deals are another thing too and can sometimes be better than a guaranteed fee.But sometimes a lot worse! I'll cover that another time.

Never make the mistake of agreeing to play a show then when it gets to a week before the gig, you then ask how much you're getting payed. It's totally unprofessional and will not end well. Especially if you then pull out because you can't actually afford to play the gig. If a band did that to me on a show I booked, I wouldn't book them again.

Finally, have some confidence and believe in yourself. Be realistic and start low. Anything is better than nothing. And coming straight in with money talk will let everyone know where you stand.
You'll be surprised at how easy it is.
If I can do it, anyone can.

Magic Dave

Check out my band Reign of Fury:
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/reignoffury/

Death Be Thy Shepherd full album:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUOXn7cwhMU

Our online store:
www.reignoffurylive.bigcartel.com

Lets Talk Drummers

It's a Groove Thing

As Metallica headline another UK festival, the debate on Lars's drumming erupts! Is he any good? Should that matter considering what he has done in the past? They are the biggest metal band in the world so should we just suck it up?

It got me thinking. I'm def not the best drummer in the world. I don't even come close to the 100th best drummer in the world. I struggle to do a paradiddle at any reasonable speed for Christ's sake, so I'm not really qualified to mention who I think is a shit drummer, but for the record I don't consider Lars to be shit. He does things live that annoy me but at the end of the day, it's his gig and he'll do what he wants. I'll still watch it and enjoy it but I can't help wishing he'd play those patterns and fills he played on the albums instead of the strange things he does now.

Throughout the years drumming has got crazier and crazier and there are some insane drummers that keep surfacing,in big bands and small bands, but I always go back to my idols to draw inspiration from them. Why? Because I like their songs and their drumming grabs my attention more. Drumming to me is about playing the song and giving it some groove. I can't stand it when a band seems to have written all their songs around the awesome drummer they have. It's boring (in my humble opinion).The Guitar riff should come first then the drums give it some feel.

So, I thought I'd share with you who some of my favourite drummers are, who I get inspiration from and why I like them.You'll be able to hear their influences in all my recorded work right from the 4ft days through to my latest Reign of Fury album "Death Be Thy Shepherd".

My drumming style is bang in the middle of Skate Punk and Heavy Metal. In fact, I remember Rob from 4ft once storming off stage in Leicester after a gig in a pissy mood. When I got to the dressing room he told me "I can't play with you anymore, you're far too metal". We then had an argument about my double kick pedal and how he thought it shouldn't be in punk. HA HA HA!

In no particular order,these are the drummers that moulded my style into what it is today.

Lars Ulrich - Metallica

Lars and Metallica have written some of the best metal songs ever written. They defined and era in metal and the grooves Lars comes up with on the albums complement the songs perfectly.He puts double kick where it needs to be and stays off it when the song doesn't need it.
He's the drive of that band and I seriously think that if Lars wasn't in Metallica, Metallica would not exist. He gets the job done, musically and business wise.
People slag him off for the whole Napster thing but he did have a very good point.Thats another story.

Like I said before though, I wish he'd play the songs the way they were written. I mean, he can do what he wants, but I get a bit disappointed when I air drum the big fill at the start of "Creeping Death" and he doesn't play it.The same goes for the first fill in "Fade to Black". It would be like Kirk not playing the memorable bits of his solos.

Saying that though, after watching their set on telly I go to bed, wake up the next day with an unexplainable urge to put "Kill em All" on and listen out for that awesome ride cymbal ticking away in the intro for "Hit the Lights", then find myself air drumming to the thundering toms of "Whiplash"!!

Say what you will about Lars, he is still a massive inspiration.

Smelly aka Groggy Nodbeggar aka Semour Butts- NOFX

Smelly (or whatever he is called in any particular NOFX album) is one of my biggest influences. I accidentally became a drummer. 4ft needed a drummer and I happened to be buying a drum kit at the time. I was originally a guitarist but said I'd drum for them until they get another one.I then got asked to be their permanent drummer after a few weeks and stayed their drummer for 12 years.

NOFX was the perfect skate punk sound to me. Slayer speed on the faster stuff with a very catchy sound. Smelly's drumming sounded like something I could do so I set about teaching myself to play fast. Again, he plays what needs to be played but just as you think to yourself "I could play that" he accents the beats with something slightly crazy that makes you sit back ant think about it.

The fast beat I use in a lot of my songs back then and today is still the beat I learnt from Smelly. At rehearsals sometimes we even refer to it as the "NOFX beat". And in the new album there are some little half beat stops in one of the songs that we refer to as "NOFX stops".
Listen to him live and you'll discover he is the glue of that band.

Vinnie Paul- Pantera, Hellyeah

Vinnie Paul needs no introduction. His sound is the sound every metal drummer tries to get.In fact, I used to tell my sound man in 4ft to make sure my kit sounds like Vinnie Paul's every night! And that was when I had used an eighteen inch kick drum! Two mics made it sound somewhere near Vinnie's.

Again,he plays the song and really does snap in something amazing at exactly the right moment. He has a very simple setup too. Something I try to do with my setup.

Everything he's recorded from "Cowboys from Hell" to "Far Beyond Driven" is perfect. The later Pantera stuff took me longer to get into though, but that was due to the songs not the drumming. But you really should have a listen to Pre-Cowboys era for some great stuff that just won't get the airplay the later stuff does.

Nicko McBrain- Iron Maiden

Probably the best drummer in metal. I don't give a shit about the Nile type drummers, Nicko's ability, knowledge and perfection to the art of drumming is outstanding. He has a massive kit but knows how to use it perfectly and still only uses a single kick drum pedal!!
He has character and groove. Again, you'll hear on all of my later recordings exactly which parts I take inspiration from Nicko on. "Heaven Waits, Hell Takes" from "World Detonation" is one example.

Brett Reed- Rancid

When I first heard "...And Out Come the Wolves" by Rancid, I didn't really like it. It was a bit too soft for me. But it grew on me. Then I got their earlier album "Lets Go". My drumming changed straight away! I realised there was a stepping stone between slow Sex Pistols type drumming to fast Slayer type drumming. "Lets go" was perfect. I started writing songs for 4ft with that beat in mind and it worked, brilliantly! Suddenly I could play fills a lot better too. Brett Reed will prob never know how important his drumming was to my development as a drummer and to my punk rock song writing!

Nick Menza- Megadeth

Groove, groove, groove! That is what Nick Menza is all about.
The first Megadeth song I ever heard was "Skin O' My Teeth". I put "Countdown to Extinction" into my tape player, pressed play and that drum fill kicked things off! It wasn't until years later I worked out how to play it, (with a little help from Greg from hardcore band Primate).
Megadeth were the first band I ever saw live too. Nick Menza was playing a Pearl see through drum kit! As a young kid of 14 years old, this was a great thing to see.

Even some of the stuff we write in Reign of Fury today gets broken down into the "Megadeth Groove" to change the feel of a riff.We really should call it "The Menza Groove". Check out our song "Love of a Dying God".


Paul Bostaph- Slayer, Testament, Exodus, Forbidden

Slayer are my all time favourate band. Paul plays with style. He has a great set up nowadays and his playing is very,very tight with that all important groove. His fills are fast and creative. His skills are what I aspire to achieve. Whether I'll get there or not I don't know.

I first heard him drum when I listened to "Divine Intervention" by Slayer when I was at school and was amazed at the way he played every note on the ride cymbal when playing the fast beat.
When I later took up drumming and learnt to play fast, I made sure I paid homage to Paul by playing every note on the ride and hi-hat too.Nothing pisses me off more than seeing a drummer perfectly capable of doing that but choosing note to, ie: doing that thing where they alternate the hi-hat and snare to play it. Like a slow blast beat. It's just lazy.

I know people will be saying how much better Dave Lombardo is but sorry, I prefer Paul Bostaph.
I first saw Paul play live at Donington '95 and then managed to catch him again when he played for Testament a few years ago.
I bloody glad he's back in Slayer and I'm looking forward to hearing their new album.

Not Forgetting

These are just a few drummers I draw inspiration from. I could go on forever about who else inspires me but I've got to cook the dinner sometime today.
Tommy Lee, Dave Lombardo, Tommy Aldridge, Clive Burr, Charlie Benante and Phil Rudd ,are also among my favourites and all inspire my drumming today. They each have their own style, sound and character but above all else, they have groove and I like the songs they play on. I'am not a fan of Ringo Starr though.

These choices of mine might seem predictable and you may be wondering why Keith Moon, Buddy Rich,Stuart Copeland and other greats aren't in there. The truth is because I haven't drawn anything from them and don't listen to their songs as much.
There are so many great drummers out there but if I don't like their songs, I won't listen to them.Unless by accident.
There is always room for improvement and inspiration so who knows where I'll get my inspiration from for next few albums. The other bands we play with are a good starting point.

"Never forget about your paradiddle"- Nick McBrain

"Hit hard, play fast, have a laugh"- Me 

Magic Dave.

Photo by Will Tudor

The Good,The Bad and The Ugly Part 2

Friday 29th August 2014

Selby-Riverside

After the Bullshit Connor at the Star & Garter pulled on us,I had a good nights kip on the drum riser of Sonny's band's rehearsal room.Sonny and Alex were good guys and their demos they had shown us were awesome,so we shared a couple of ours too.I gave the guys a couple of CDs to say thanks, said our goodbyes and headed off.1st stop was breakfast.

What else would a Heavy Metal Drummer from Cheltenham have for breakfast?

After filling our faces with the usual crap (apart from me) we stocked up on travel food for the journey to Selby.Not too far to go today so we stopped off at a music shop, went round slagging off the high prices of everything and I pretended to play some Jazz on the keyboards,you know,the general shit bands do when they go to a music shop.You can almost hear the staff moan as soon as you walk through the door,"Great,I bet they're a band which means they're gunna go round for ages and not buy anything." They even had the usual guitar player playing nondescript rubbish the whole time we were there.

I discovered a section that was full of signed gear and contemplated signing the guitars on the wall.As I pulled out my sharpie out though,Ed talked me out of it explaining it was probably not the best idea.

I get to meet Chad Smith

After half an hour of pissing about,the only thing bought was plectrums and a lead I think.We then set off for Selby.

Only a short drive compared to the rest of the dates on the tour but we managed to get plenty of piss taking in along the way.

We got to Selby nice and early so we buggered off to the pub for a pint before load in.Load in was 6pm,doors were 7pm.I had a word with the guys renovating a section of the place as soon as we turned up and managed to get them to let us in at 5:30pm instead.I didn't think an hour was enough time to load in and sound check us and the first band on,and today we want a sound check!

Sound check went well.I had to remove the drum riser though as my kit wouldn't fit on it but that was no problem.The PA sound was wicked according to Bison and we were all happy.

My mood had picked up today.I was starting to enjoy it.Maybe it was because I always need a few days to get back into it nowadays.Or maybe it was because I needed the aggression of yesterdays events to clear out the pistons.Either way,I was looking forward to the gig.

One band had dropped out tonight but that was ok.It meant the first band could go on at 8:00 instead of 7:15 so hopefully it'll give the people of Selby a chance to show up.Unfortunately though,the turn out was low which was a real shame.All the bands were on top form and it would have been an awesome night if only a few more people had been there.Tickets were only £3 too.

"Outright Resistance" were first on followed by "Past the Fall".Both bands were really good and worth checking out.I'd like to see them with a bit more of an audience too.

This was the first time I'd really watched BOTJ properly too.They played like the place was full and the sound was spot on too.

We took the stage and had a bloody good time.A few more people watched us and we managed to get a small pit going which included the guy taking the door money too.We even did ok on merch too.It's weird how these things work out sometimes.

We were supposed to be staying at the actual venue but unfortunately the owner changed his mind as the place was being renovated so BOTJ booked into a travelodge while Andy our driver managed to find a place for us to stay in Mansfield so after the gig we packed up and headed off asap.

We arrived around 3am ish I think and proceeded with blowing up those bloody airbeds at full volume again.After a bit of hip-hop dancing and general piss taking we settled down for some kip.Jesus Christ! Bison can snore!!! Luckily,I had my ear defenders but he really does have a vicious sound to it.During the night Jon had to move out of the room and sleep in the hall to get away.And Jon wears ear plugs when he sleeps!

We made it through the night and were once again woken up with Bacon sandwiches and tea.

Ed and his bacon sandwich

We met the dogs and one dog seemed to have a thing for first Jon then my leather Jacket.

Jon gets all the bitches...

...until I show up with my leather jacket

Bellies full,all showered and shitted, we set off for the long and boring journey to Norwich.I've always had good shows in Norwich,so has Jon and Bison so we're looking forward to this one.Also,the info was that the tickets have been selling well with the Promoter,Simon Powell,doing a good job of promoting this one.We'll see,but first we must try not to kill each other on this journey.

Did we kill each other on the way?Am I the only surviving member of ROF left.Of course not,but you'll have to wait until the next exciting instalment of Magic Moments to hear just how boring that trip was.

Magic Dave.

The Good,The Bad and The Ugly Part 1

(First of all,I'd like to state that everything I write is my own experience and my own feelings.They do not represent the feelings or opinions of my band or other fellow band members unless stated.Sometimes they agree,sometimes they don't.But this is MY blog about MY world of being a touring drummer in a small metal band).
Sorry for the serious lack of photos too.

Paul Joins RoF

Christ It's been a while!

It's been nearly a year or maybe over a year since my last blog.I can't be bothered to look.You figure it out.
Since then we've changed bass players,twice,released another video (Envy the Dead) and started work on our second album.The 2nd Headbangers Balls tour is about to start and we've been playing a few shows here and there up and down Britain.Some good,some bad.This blog is about is the "Fury Over England" mini tour with "Born of The Jackal" from Exeter.This is also our new bass player's (Paul Bielby) first official tour with us so it should be a right laugh!
Here's our latest video "Envy the Dead" for anyone who has not seen it yet too.

Envy the Dead

Wednesday 27th August
Exeter-The Cavern

I was looking forward to going back to this place.I played here a lot when I was in 4ft but that was a good few years ago.I was keen to see if the place had changed much.I knew Pippa still ran the place and was looking forward to their usual pizza and chips that they fed ALL bands without fail that stopped by.Good old Cavern.

I'd emailed a schedule to the band and driver but as per usual,things didn't quite go as planned.Nothing to do with the plan I might add but everything to do with the fuckin' van getting a flat before it reached the first pick up point!Luckily,me being the awesome planner that I am,I factored for problems so this didn't worry me.The van got to mine an hour late so we loaded up and set off.
The only problem now was the van was heavily overloaded,so we agreed to have a word with the Born of the Jackal guys and see if we can do a gear swap with their van.

We arrived at the Cavern only half an hour late,loaded in and set up.We introduced ourselves to BOTJ and got on with sound checking.I'm pleased to confirm that the place has not changed a bit! Still the same Sid Vicious and Frankenstein paintings on the wall,still the same tiny dressing room and Pippa still runs the place,although she wasn't there this time.Sound check was ok.The Cavern has a lot of bass rumble on stage which is annoying but it's better than a lot of other places we've been.At least I can hear Eds guitar this time.

I asked Bison to sort the merch out and I moved my gear to make room for the support bands kit.By the time I'd done that,everyone else had fucked off to the pub.So I looked after merch for a while.

It always takes me a few days to get into touring and I always start asking myself why I'm doing this.I sit by the merch bored out of my brain with my ear plugs in regretting leaving my book in the van just wishing I could get up there and do what I came to do quicker.Yeah I know,I should love being on tour,and I do,but nowadays I've just got to get the first few days out of the way first.

Luckily the bands weren't too bad especially one band.I can't remember their bloody name though,(when I find out I'll get it in here). This was the first time I'd seen BOTJ too.I didn't watch too much of their set today as I knew I was spending another 4 days with them and could watch them tomorrow.I watched a couple of songs and liked what I heard but then they stopped suddenly.I then heard them talking about their drummer John breaking his snare.Luckily,I had a spare so I grabbed that and lent it to him.Just in time too.He was about to grab my main snare and start using that!Cheeky bugger.I then decided to go back and do my warm ups.

BOTJ finished their set and we set up, only for the power on Pauls amp to cut out!So we spent the next ten minutes trying to figure out what was going on and how to fix it.In the end we just DI'ed it and got on with show.
I think everyone had a good gig except for me.I struggled to hear anything apart from a wall of noise all night,but the crowd seemed to like it so all good.
After the show,dinner was served.Pizza and Pasta.Good old Cavern!

We packed up and loaded the van,in the pissing rain!Then headed to Steve's (BOTJ guitarists) house for the night.

We stayed up for a while chatting to Steve and Steph (booking agent and Steve's girlfriend) and just getting to know them.With plenty of piss taking.Then they retired.
Paul had brought some airbeds for everyone to sleep on (he's fitting in well).He also had a electric pump with him which sounded as loud as a bloody hoover! Steve and Steph must have thought we were giving the place the once over.We also spotted Steve's weights and took it in turns to see how many we could lift.Not many was the conclusion to that!
I set up my camp bed and we all settled down to the chorus of band members arses.Luckily,when you've been touring for a while you know to always bring ear plugs or ear defenders with you.Good job I remembered mine as I was sleeping next to Jon and his snoring is disgraceful! But I hadn't experienced Bison's yet.That's for another night!

Thursday 28th August
Manchester-The Star & Garter

We struggled through the night of farts,snoring and Bison moving around on that squeakie fuckin airbed and woke up to Steph offering tea and bacon sandwiches.Of course we took her up on the offer.Bison could have courgette.A home grown one too I might add.

Steve had gone to collect his band and when he got back we swapped some of the heavier gear with BOTJ's lighter gear which included a horrible drum kit for the support bands.We then set off,sat nav says 4 hours to Manchester so leaving at 11:30 should get us there by 4/5 o clock.We assumed thats what time we had to be there but as tonight's promoter hadn't sent the contract back or even returned any emails we had no idea.Pilko (who is not on this tour as the van is too small) will be trying to get a response as we travel up there.What could possibly go wrong?

Fuckin' hell! What a shit drive.Roadworks all the way so far.Hopefully doors will be at 8 and it won't be a problem.So I text Pilko and ask him the question.Still no contact.Fuck's sake.We carry on regardless.At just before 4pm we're still stuck in traffic,and I get a text from Pilko saying he's finally got in touch.Load in is 5 doors are 7.We're still stuck in road works at least an hour and 30 mins away.No problem,we'll sacrifice our sound check.
After 6 and a half hours of being stuck in that van,we arrive at 6:30 (half hour before doors) and go straight up to make contact.I apologise and explain why we're late while the others start loading in.I tell him we won't sound check and then continue helping the lads get our gear in asap.He seems ok and lets us carry on.

A backline was already set up,sort of, so the first band on proceeded to sound check.Connor (the promoter) then asks me where BOTJ are.I told him they were prob stuck in traffic like we were.I told him we weren't given a load in time until a couple of hours ago as the contract wasn't returned.He reckons he's been sending them back.Of course,I've heard it all before and start to smell bull shit.Then BOTJ arrive.At that point I thought it would prob be best if I walk away and prep my gear.

5 mins before doors Conner then tells me we can't use our gear as it's now running late.
"What do you mean it's running late?Doors are at 7 right?"
"Yeah" he said
"First band is on at 7:10 right?"
"Yeah" he says again.
"Well get em sound checked and get em on stage on time then.It ain't running late until it's running late".I told him.
Alarm bells are ringing now,so I decide to make things easier,I'll agree to use the kit that's on stage.He seems happier with that and we get on with things.
After prepping my gear "backstage", I start wondering around looking at this dump while Jon sits on merch and the others go for a beer downstairs.
Again,I used to play this place back in the 4ft days.It was a real shit hole back then and still is.Only this time the toilets to the venue part are out of order.How this place is still open while other decent venues are closing down is a mystery.
I go back upstairs and sit down on the merch.It's a six band bill tonight,which is always a mistake.That's a recipe for running late.

While the first band are on,I notice the stage looks dark,so I ask Conner if there is a lighting rig.He then realises he's forgotten to turn it on!Nice one.So the first band,which were pretty good are practically playing in the dark.He assures me he'll turn it on for the next band.
During change over,it's still dark.So I mention the lighting rig again.
"Oh shit" he says, "I forgot" and he goes and switches it on. "Dick",I think to myself.
By now I'm thinking to myself,"why am I in the shit hole?" But then I remind myself that just because the venue is a dump and the promoter seems like he doesn't know what he's doing doesn't mean the gig will be bad.We'll see.I go downstairs and have a drink with the rest of the band.

I got a text earlier in the day from Pilko warning me that this guy could be unreliable and to get paid before we go on.We're well within our rights to do that too as the contract states we require payment 2 hours before stage time but personally I don't like doing that.It's not very trusting and feels awkward,but I decided I'll go and ask.
"Can we sort it afterwards" he asks,
"Yeah sure" I reply.As I turn around he says "don't worry,I'm good for it".
That sounds like it's all gunna be ok.I inform the lads.Everyone seems happy.

I go up and watch one of the bands.At this point there is a band on stage doing a damn fine job of making Cowboys from Hell sound like shit.I turn to Jon and say,
 "Sometimes I really regret some of the choices I've made in my life".
I can't remember the band's name.Prob best I don't find out either.
I fuck off downstairs to get away and ponder about my future.

Then after chatting to the rest of the guys and a Polish bloke who has come to see us,I go back upstairs and there is a band on stage that were awesome!
EXXXEKUTIONER! I think that's how you spell it.They were awesome.Their sound was wicked,Old school black metal/thrash.They looked cool too.At this point my mood picked up a bit.

BOTJ went onstage after these guys and did a good job of it and despite Connor going on about us not using our gear,we use it anyway.(we're sharing our gear with BOTJ).They're a good band and do what they do well.They get the crowd worked up too which is great.John,their drummer seems to be the most chilled out drummer I've ever seen though.It's like he's constantly stoned.Whether he is or not I don't know but he is a wicked drummer.

John from Born of The Jackal.Chilled out but damn good

We go on stage and do our thing.Despite the sound problems we had a good show.No power cuts,I think Paul forgot to plug his lead in at one point,which scared us a bit but all got sorted quickly.During the gig I actually thought to myself "despite this being a dump,it might be good to come back here some time." But believe me,that had nothing to do with the venue and everything to do with the people that had come to see us.It was a surprisingly good gig.

We finished our set,I thanked some guys for sticking around to watch us and went up to collect our fee.I could see Steve was already talking to Connor.Steve turns around and calls me over,
"He's not paying us" Steve says,
"What?"
"He's not paying us" He says again.
"Why the fuck are you not paying us?" I ask Connor,
"I'm paying you just not the full amount" he says,
"Why?"
"Breach of contract" he says.
"Breach of fuckin contract?How the fuck have we breached the contract?" I ask,
"You were late"
"You fuckin cunt,that's the first time I've heard of that." I said.
He then went on to tell us how he had made food for us,which was bull shit,and how he hired the backline because we were supposed to supply the backline for everyone but we were late.Of course I told him he's a lying cunt as the backline is the house gear and there was never any agreement made about 5 other bands using our gear.
After a few choice words,he backed off and practically hid behind his bird.The next step would be to a)either beat the crap out of him or b) drag him to a cash machine get the money then beat the crap out of him or c) walk away.I chose to walk away.But first I told him how I'd been warned about him and decided since he said he "was good for it" that I decided to trust him.Which he threw straight back in my face and for that he is a cunt.Then I found out he's staying in the same place as we were.Great.
He promised to bring us a little bit more to our accommodation.
We packed our gear and went to Abdul's for the 2nd best Kebabs in the country,then went to where we were staying.A rehearsal room down the road for one of the bands that played.Sonny Fox sorted it out for us.And what do you know,Connor was there with the little extra cash.He'd spent the rest of our fee on his dinner and a bag of weed.Little prick.
I thought against kicking off again and settled down for the night.This would be a Job for Pilko now.

The places we stay on tour!

Of course,my bed was on the drum riser.

I woke up around 7am for some reason and Connor and his bird had gone.The first thing I did was check out our cash tin.Luckily,it was all there.
Then we spent the morning chatting to Sonny and his other band member Alex.Listening to each others demos and giving them tips on being in a band.These two were cool kids and really helped us out by letting us stay at their rehearsal space.Cheers lads.
We then set off nice and early to head to Selby.Hopefully we won't have a dickhead who calls himself a promoter to deal with this time.

Did I cheer up for the next shows?Did we hunt Connor down and break his legs?We're the other shows any good?The Good,The Bad and The Ugly part 2 coming next.

Magic Dave