Tuesday, February 21, 2006

CV

Good gig at Cabaret Voltaire last Thursday, except for the mix-up with our name that meant two people who came to see us were told we weren't playing. Work on the recordings continues this week - we may soon have a new demo for your aural pleasure.

You can hear four demos on our myspace account at http://www.myspace.com/thefolkedinburgh.

Sunday, February 12, 2006

MOD! MOD! MOD! Lambrettavespascoota

This Thursday sees the first gig of the year for us. It's an early show at Cabaret Voltaire with Delta Mainline and Earnest Cox. Rehearsals have been good so, looking forward to taking the stage again.

The recent purchase of the Arctic Monkeys album got me thinking about the last band that I liked who had singles that went straight to number one. I am talking about The Jam, and there are similarities. Weller broke through as a raw teenager. His lyrics - at times - suggested wisdom beyond his years. And of course, the sheer raw energy - as this clip of the first single In the City live at The Electric Circus August 1977 shows. Still only 19 at the time. Mr Weller, Mr Foxton, you are cleared for take off.

Tip - press pause and wait a couple of minutes for it to load.

Monday, February 06, 2006

Here, there, everywhere.

A bit of recording took place at the weekend. The songs are slowly taking shape and will hopefully soon be available on our new myspace account (we were always going to cave in at somepoint). There are some rough demos available at the moment.
We took a break from recording to go and see the St Jude's instore appearance. Very good it was too. The new line up is settling well and Alun has been a good close season signing - keeping things tight at the back whilst allowing the big man Francis more room to express himself.
The album - Happy Healthy Lucky month has appeared in it's full physical glory. As mentioned before, LJR played a big part in recording and producing the album. LJR and The Gadgee are guest singers on it too. The inside cover also boasts a photograph of what can only be described as a walking work of art with a cigarette drooping from his mouth. A proud association for The Folk all round. Now, if we can only get our own one off of the ground...

The Gadgee has a good post about Hamish Henderson. I mention no shit lyrics in the previous post on the Arctic Monkeys. Well Hamish Henderson was no less to the point. The wartime ballad D-Day Dodgers is a sarcastic swipe at Conservative MP Lady Astor (Westminster's first female MP) who coined the said phrase that somehow suggested those on the Italian front were having an easy time of it. The last two verses break from the sarcasm and take a more direct turn :

Dear Lady Astor, you think you know a lot
Standing on your platform and talking tommy rot
You England's sweetheart and it's pride
We think your mouth's too fucking wide
That's from your D-Day Dodgers, in sunny Italy

Look around the mountains, in the mud and rain
You'll find the scattered crosses, there's some which have no name
Heartbreak and toil and suffering gone
The boys beneath them slumber on
They are the D-Day Dodgers, who'll stay in Italy