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07.01.04
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| new year~ new
beard> due to a lack of contact with razors over the festive season~
adrian turns up to the first practice of the year with black furry
growth under his chin> and only under his chin~ with a little round
the sides> making him look just a bit thespian> photos soon> |
| sam~ adrian
and fil meet to listen to the recently recorded tracks for the new
ep> they also work on a new song entitled 'girl like you' a catchy
little troggsy sounding number~ but with stonebaker stamped all over
it> after this they tour their old haunts in salford and go for
a kebab at the famous 'spices of kashmere'> |
| as a present
to the whole band fil presents shocking roulette> four fingers
go into four holes in a plastic disk> the start button is pressed>
a tense countdown starts> one member of the band gets and electric
shock and ridicule form the others> |
| stonebaker christmas
night out is a roaring success> after almost being refused entry
stonebaker drink some beer in mr. thomas' chop house> on to zumbar~
pay to get in~ discover night is rubbish~ dance to two songs to get
moneysworth~ leave> on to po na na to dance with greater satisfaction> |
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02.10.03
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| to protect their
special secret recipe stonebaker only been meet in twos for the last
month> fil sees carruthers and sam~ sam sees fil and adrian~ adrian
sees sam> in this way they can continue with the important business
of getting the recording finished> however~ if the building they
are in collapses into an old mine shaft or is filled with a noxious
gas the stonebaker dream can continue> |
| thanks to the
risk aversion strategy outlined above~ stonebaker finish two of the
five tracks they are recording for their new e.p.> 'rust' and 'epic'
are now ready to be sent out as demos> you will be able to hear
the initial mixes of them on this site soon> to hear tracks off
the current cd click here> |
| band practice
continues in preparation for the gig
at the southern on wednesday 19 november> |
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02.10.03
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| with adrian's
guitar fixed up~ stonebaker get ready to burn up the stage of life
cafe in manchester city centre> the soundcheck turns farcical as
carruthers is not there~ stuck in traffic> stonebaker call on the
services of one of the other bands' drummers to bash away for the
soundcheck> he does very well~ coming up with a laid back shuffle
beat for 'iceberg'> |
| post soundcheck
stonebaker [minus carruthers] head out for their customary pre-gig
curry at a shameful pub> breaking with tradition they supplement
it with a coffee at the cafe next door> while drinking they discuss
how much they rip the piss out of each other and how justified it
is> |
| the recording
continues apace> fil is steadily laying down bass parts and adrian
is shortly to record his guitar and possibly vocals also in a day
long recording marathon> |
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03.09.03
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| adrian's guitar
is in the shop> the damage to the guitar was minimal> adrian's
ego also seems to have survived the humiliation dished out to him
from the rest of the band> |
| stonebaker play
possibly one of the strangest gigs of their lives out in the street
on a thursday evening> sheltering under a cheap plastic gazebo~
stonebaker entertain the passing public with the set they will play
at life cafe on 4 september> much appreciation
is shown by the rain soaked punters~ until a mother expressed concern
that the music ['though very good'] would wake her slumbering baby> |
| stonebaker excel
themselves in their tuesday practice~ in preparation for the life
cafe gig> the songs are sounding tight and sweet and adrians
falsetto singing in 'rust' [stonebaker's secondnewestsong] threatened
to shatter some windows> |
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12.08.03
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| more
recording news... |
| adrian
buys new strings for his guitar> six of 'em> he travels to the
studio> with the strings> he steps through the soundprooofed
door> he breathes the rarified and slightly sweaty air> laying
his guitar lovingly on his lap~ he carefully attaches the strings~
one by one> he plugs in and tunes up~ prudently stretching the
strings ever so slightly to prevent de-tuning later> this cautious
and judicious operation complete adrian then drops his guitar~ displacing
the neck and rendering the guitar unplayable> |
| as they are
unable to record guitar~ sam and adrian experiment with some vocal
mics and recording techniques> guitar tracks will be laid once
adrian's guitar has been in the shop> |
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04.08.03
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| true to their
word~ stonebaker get the next recording underway> sam and carruthers
spend a wednesday setting up drum microphones and honing the perfect
sound> the next day fil joins them and carruthers plays his little
heart out to the backing tracks> with only a brief respite for
sandwiches and crisps carruthers soldiers on from 9am until 3pm before
going home> sam and fil hang around to copy the tracks using the
world's slowest cd writer> |
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next stage
of the recording is overlaying the rest of the instruments and vocals>
this will be done over the summer and into september> tentative
release date for the new five track e.p. = october 2003> the
cd will contain the following tracks~ previously only heard at gigs:
rust: classic
songy rock/pop~ you'll be singing it in your sleep>
iceberg: if
a song can be pushy~ yet laid back~ this is it>
ringer: full
on rock instrumental>
epic: high
pitched chorus thing inside a 6/4 grinder>
wasted: low
key acousticy number>
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| try these songs
before you buy them> more gigs have been booked~ 4 september and
2 october> see gigs page for details> |
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13.07.03
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| the new recording
is finally getting off the ground> decision is made to record five
new tracks and get it out as soon as possible> |
| to that end~
adrian and sam spend most of the sunny weekend indoors laying down
guide tracks> they have brief respites to play tennis and attend
a school fete~ and still manage to get it all done> fil adds his
bass to the guide tracks on tuesday> |
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11.06.03
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| one
day before the gig and i'm sitting here writing this when i should
be coiling leads or something> |
| gig preparation
has been going well> a cracking practice the other day~ which bodes
well for an electrifying gig> miss it at your peril> |
| last saturday
adrian holds a party at his house~ for no apparent reason> fil
and danthephotographer travel down on fil's steel stallion~ meaning
dan loses his pillion virginity> they spend the evening standing
round the bar-b-que~ drinking weak beer and strong coffee> highlight
of the evening is a stereo war between adrian's house and next door
[who are also partying]> thankfully adrian's old soul and chic
wins out over next door's crowded house and dire straights> |
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14.04.03
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| just more practicing
and stuff> preparation for imminent new recording> lots of playing
to click tracks and arguing over arrangements> |
| individual
stonebaker pages have been updated and now feature the all new
stonebaker questionnaire~ which you can be
a part of> all band members [plus some hangers on] are asked
the same questions and their answers published to the site> make
of them what you will> |
| no more in-band
challenges to report~ though summer usually gives more scope for that
sortathing> |
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