The Deserters
HOW many?!
Yes, it was a whole 25 years since The Deserters came into being following a showing on BBC of The Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine” that inspired four young and impressionable Scottish lads, with barely a modicum of musical experience between them,…
Fire Engine Nudity
I came across this headline today, which reads like a collection of The Deserters‘ and The Lunacy Board‘s favourite songwriting topics:- – Woman Tries To Steal Fire Engine Half-Naked – The young lady, recently released from a mental hospital jumped…
Inverbegnac Regurgitated
I’ve been doing a lot of mixing of live recordings over the last few weeks, and needed a little break, so last night I messed around a bit with a couple of video editing programs to see which would be…
Going Live
This gig forms the grande finale of the theremin shindig I mentioned a while ago. I’ll be part of the ‘UK League of Thereminists’ playing a few structured improvised pieces as part of a ‘theremin orchestra’. There are a number…
Best Batch Yet
Something I’ve never come across before for some reason is Captain Beefheart’s “10 Commandments for Guitarists”. I found this at the ever-informative Music Thing, though it appears on a few sites around the web. The annotations in italics are mine.…
It Was 60 Years Ago Today
Forty whole years have passed since the world first heard “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band“. A pretty good innings for a piece of pop music, ephemeral as the genre usually is. It’s not an album I even own (The…
An Ancient and Distinguished Instrument
I came across a Yahoo group yesterday that I thought might be of interest (Novelty Music), and this morning heard back from founder member Paul Moore. Paul has a one-man-band and plays the ‘Zob Stick’ which, upon further investigation, turns…
The New Yobstick
At last, I finally got around to finishing the new yobstick. It’s quite a departure from previous efforts – lots of natural wood and more emphasis on playability instead of durability. I’ve only played it for a short time tonight,…
Festive Goodies
Back in the mists of time (1985) the Deserters produced a short run of magazines for those following our music at the time. They featured interviews with members of the band, articles about the music and anything else that happened…
December Will Be Magic Again
We’ve managed to squeeze in a last Lunacy Board session before the end of the year, and I’m pleased to say that it was a bit of a blinder. Having had a few sessions now to settle into what we’re…