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03.03.03
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| ahh..no entry
for a couple of months..here is a summary of the last sevenoreight
weeks: |
| carruthers has
a house warming which all stonebakers attend> fat roland does the
honours on the decks> sam wins the mini table tennis tournament
[to everyone's surprise as they all had their money on adrian]>
fil takes a turn on the deck when fats gets tempted away by the playstation> |
| life cafe/hmv
gig goes well> photographs soon> stonebaker's set features their
new song 'iceberg' which they have been honing for the past few weeks>
thanks to all who came to see us> thanks to the screaming girls
at the side of the stage~ dunno if you were screaming for us or just
screaming> thanks to phantom5000 for fetching your kit in> |
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19.01.03
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| after practice
on tuesday~ carruthers offers to take ade and fil for a 'razz' in
his new car> the boys are impressed by it's comfort~ speed and
natty cup holders> they all end up at manchester airport where
they sample hot beverages and almost get evacuated when the alarm
goes off [it was a test]> after a short play on the moving walkways
they elevate back to the car and head north> |
| last minute
gig at courtney's went down well> stonebaker were on a bit late~
but still had a fair few people to play to in a less htan normal venue>
gig report will be out as soon as photos come back> |
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09.01.03
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|
stonebaker
christmas drinks outing on 19 december was a low key affair with
only the band members in attendance> carruthers had the house
movin' blues and adrian was skint> their spirits were lifted
by many rounds of mini table tennis [carruthers' christmas present]>
adrian proved himself champ by being the winnerstayson for the entire
time>
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| these three
headed to the red lion and had a few pints until sam turned up>
they had some more beer then went to fill their bellies in rusholme> |
| after the curry
had gone down they returned to fil's house to sit down like computer
geeks and play worms until the early hours> carruthers being new
to the game [and owning a ps2] declared it crap before forcing the
party to break up by going to bed> |
| tuesday 7 jan>
first practice of 2003> a whole practice honing a new song~ working
title 'iceberg'~ which will be premiered at the life
cafe gig on 27 feb> |
| sam seems to
have spent the last month buying and selling his electronic equipment~
but now has settled on an even heavier keyboard> |
| stonebaker still
search for a manager to help them hit the big time> continue to
practice> will hopefully be gigging every month from now on>
they also plan to start a new recording as soon as possible and so
get their latest songs out to the people> |
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17.11.02
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fat roland
beats fil in an arm wrestle in the pub> new feature coming soon: stonebaker
arm wrestling league> all the arm wrestling action you can take> featuring
some musicians and their entourage locked in a tense~ brutal fight to the
finish> |
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13.11.02
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| fil holds a
bonfire party in his garden~ attended by a select few~ including sam
and adrian> carruthers was away somewhere or he would have been
there too> a large fire blazed and in all probability the fireworks
code was breached numerous times> highlights included a catherine
wheel which worked and many fireworks with names like 'green fury'
and 'atom bomb' which when lit failed to live up to their claims>
see sam's photos of the aforementioned pyrotechnics here> |
| dan took some
amazingly good photos at the night and day gig> you can see some
of them here> |
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30.10.02
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| gig at night
went reasonably well from a playing point of view but with much randomness
regrding soundchecks and fans' attendance> read the full story
in the gig report> |
| after a successful
gig stonebaker give themselves the tuesday night off from practising>
back to it next week though in preparation for november's
gig in keele> |
| sam and fil
gathered round at carruthers last saturday for what was meant to be
a band get together~ only ade couldn't make it> good job too or
he'ed have wupped the rest of them at playstation> as it was the
other three walked up a hill~ drank some beer in a country pub~ ate
chinese~ played computers and watched bond> |
| morrissey on
page fifty-nine of this week's nme: doesn't he look old? |
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09.10.02
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got round
to booking some gigs> one in manc and another
in keele> one due in newcastle under lyme shortly after that> photos
will be provided for those who cannot make it~ however no excuses will be
accepted> nothing more to say at present~ check out the rest of the site>
a few things are different and there is a bit more content> no~ find
it yourself> |
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22.09.02
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| as promised~
a quiet summer gig wise> however more than a few band gatherings
have taken place to work on new material in readiness for an autumn
gig frenzy [well maybe frenzy is too strong a word~ but they will
be gigging]> one new song is complete and just needs polishing~
two more are still in the development stage> stonebaker are currently
trying to find suitable management to assist their push> |
| last sunday
adrian~ fil and fat roland rose early~ drove to london for thrill
jockey record's tenth anniversary all 12 til 12er at ocean in hackney>
they delighted in chicago underground quartet's jazz~ the sea and
cake's beautiful chilled songs~ bobby conn's robbiewilliamskatebush
campness~ some fine djing and of course the mighty tortoise> left
london at 11.45 and drove back up north through the night> fats
and ade did a sterling job of keeping fil alert and not asleepatthewheel
by playing 'guess the old tv programme theme tune' with him> after
a long stint of this game all three got quite depressed when they
realized the amount of their youth they had spent watching crap tv> |
| more news will
be broadcast here asithappens> |
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08.07.02
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| things are gonna
be a bit quiet for a while> carruthers heads off to tanzania [ofallplaces]
for three weeks> the other boys stay behind to develop songs~ eat
sam's biscuits and get annoyed with his cats> |
| promised photos
from pub outing are posted here> |
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26.06.02
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| lots of new
photographs for your delightnpleasure from the overdraught gig>
click here to see 'em> |
| adrian's professes
that his rib is fully healed as he can now do pull-ups without eperiencing
pain> |
| having not practiced
for a couple of weeks there is not much to report> last week instead
of a practice the boys congregated at carruthers' local country pub>
carruthers took some photos on a ridiculously small digital camera~
so you should be able to see those soon also> betcha can't wait> |
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09.06.02
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| yet again another
large gap in communication> apologies> and quite a lot has gone
on> |
| fil had a birthday
which was celebrated in his traditional style of going to the crecent
public house in salford> ales were sampled and presents received>
after eleven~ whilst waiting for a bus sam and fil decided to use
the bus stop roof as a wrestling arena> empowered by his extra
year of age~ fil was pretty much sam's equal~ unheard of previously>
adrian joined in~ but being the fair person he is [impartial~ not
blonde] proceeeded to punch both fil and sam~ in turn> |
|
down on the
ground more tomfoolery occurred~ generally of a fighting nature>
tough boys~ stonebaker> a run for a taxi saw stonebaker on their
merry way into manchester> in the taxi adrian attempted to prove
his strength by letting fil punch him in the chest 2 or 3 times>
very hard> a few days later the following e-mail conversation
occurred:
adetofil: i
have a cracked rib
filtoade: oh
did i do it?
adetofil: yes
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| that
is about it for now> no gig report on the overdraught gig> couldn't
be bothered~ didn't seem worth it> may be some photos though~ keep
an eye out in the next few days> |
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15.04.02
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| been a bit quiet
over the easter period~ though not for adrian who has been working
like a mule to get his pHD finished> practice begins in earnest
tomorrow for the gig at overdraught
on 16 may> this has been rescheduled from 2 may~ so don't turn
up then~ turn up two weeks later> |
| the roadhouse
gig went beautifully~ good turnout~ happy crowd~ happy roadhouse people~
psyched up band called 'poet's corner' before us~ more chilled band
from york after> some mean and moody blakc and white photos too~
thanks to dan> no gig report~ a picture speaks a thousand words>
so get the equivalent of a long essay by clicking here> |
| cds still sellinglikehotcakes
click here to get one [or more]> |
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05.03.02
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gig report for bear
finally posted complete with smashing photos> see it here>
cd selling well getitwhileyoustillcan>
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25.02.02
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| well we were
stupid to think that the hassles were over and all we need do was
wait for the cds to be delivered> the ideal~ in fact the intention
and the order was that we have them for the gig at the bear last saturday>
unfortunately on friday [when they should have arrived] we found out
that they were in a warehouse in germany> |
| consequently
we had a launch gig with no cds to launch> it went well all the
same> a gig report will be posted tomorrow when there are some
photos to back it up> |
| anyway>
cds arrived today> big box> full of smaller boxes> full of
cds> quite pleasing to look at~ not least because the cd is a lovely
shade of blue> if you want to know how to get one click here> |
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12.02.02
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| with
respect to the promised increased frequency of diary entries~ here
is one detailing the recent saga of the completion of the CD> |
|
day=saturday
02.02> all the tracks are recorded and so the boys gather round
at sam's in preparation for a marathon mixing session> they have
to start without adrian for reasons best explained by the text messages
he sent:
| 09:12:39
- bad news. i am on a bus, as there are no trains, just buses.
will arrive macclesfield in about an hour, then train to manch..... |
| 09:22:54
- Please can you get spamse to videotape cd:uk today as the
cooper temple clause are performing. cheers |
| 09:50:00
- Fuel pipe has burst in the middle of nowhere. more gravely,
driver keeps playing the lighthouse family incessantly and at
high vol. i may well die here. remember me |
| 11:26:15
- On train to manch after having to endure macc for 45 mins.
current location is cheadle hulme. i'll make it yet.... |
the rest of
the day consisted of listening to tracks and being ridiculously
picky with them until they sounded the way they were intended to>
a short break for lunch of pizza~ mini cheddars and the carrot juice
[which smells and tastes like old potato peelings~ in case you were
wondering] challenge then it was back to it> at about eleven
pm they wrote four cdrs to take away and review before the final
mixes were decided on> after a good twelve hours with their noses
[or rather ears] to the grindstone~ stonebaker departed for shalimar
curry house and a disappointing curry> photographic evidence
of this day can be found here>
proving fil's
often expounded theory that nothingiseversimple adrian and fil find
later that their cds do not work~ so they will have problems dissecting
the mixes>
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| day=sunday
03.02 to enable the above mentioned dissection fil enters into secretagentspy
mode to retrieve a cdr and md from the wheelarch of sam's car late
at night> |
| day=monday
04.02> cdr is posted to adrian so he can prepare his thoughts>
a somewhat last minute discussion ensues as to the title of the cd>
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| day=tuesday
05.02> the final mixing session at sam's> him~ carruthers and
fil present> adrian makes his thoughts known via speakerphone>
at the end of a long night~ they are satisfied and record the mixes
to dat [or so they think[see above theory]]> |
| day=wednesday
06.02> carruthers e-mails to say that nothing is recorded on the
dat apart from the clothes-show theme which was on it before [don't
ask]> fil borrows another dat machine and heads round to sam's
later but he has sorted the problem and got the mixes down to tape>
everything appears to be in or-der [at this point please refer to
above theory]> fil goes home to complete the set up of the artwork
for the cd> he listens to the mixes on the dat machine he has borrowed~
rewinds it and tries to eject the dat> but he can't getitout as
the tape is wrapped around the head> by this time the artwork is
only half complete but fil has to pause at one am so he can take a
dat machine apart to rescue the master mixes> |
|
day=thursday
07.02> carruthers~ fil and sam head over to skipton [of all places]
to get the tracks professionally mastered by john at the
digital-audio company> last night's dat debacle only resulted
in a click at the beginning of the first track> after much scooting
around to get the artwork sorted~ the job is done and it is all
in the hands of the austrians> just like at the end of a children's
story stonebaker can sit back~ admire their hard work and wait for
the results of a job well done>
|
| if you made
it all the way through that~ well done~ sorry it was so long> certainly
was cathartic though> |
| cd release date is 20.02.2002>
click here for more details> |
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23.01.02
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| ok~ OK~ new
year and all that> time for another diary entry> these will
get more frequent [promise] its just that not much worth reporting
happened over christmas> well if it did~ i didn't hear about it> |
|
past two weeks
have been spent getting back into the habit of practice and inching
slowly toward finishing the ep. tentative release date is the palindromic
20.02.2002> the EP will contain eight tracks including: 'prepare
for love'~ 'dirt worm ninja'~ soundman' and 'motown'> current
demo tracks can be heard here>
|
| as you read
this sam is probably hunched over his computer~ eyes like pinpricks~
cramped mousearm~ working like a trooper to meet> that> deadline> |
| two more gigs
booked~ the bear in newcastle-under-lyme in
feb and the roadhouse manchester in march> |
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29.11.01
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| not much to
report that isn't in the gig
report> thanks to all who came to the bear~ hope to see you
when stonebaker are there again end of february> |
| the band are
feeling the need to get some more recording done sharpish as they
don't feel their demo reflects their live performance> an offer
of some free studio time has been gratefully received so a new demo
may be in order> to hear the current demo go here> |
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26.11.01
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|
absolutely
cracking gig at the roadhouse on 22 november> no gig report~
well this is it really~ no point writing something twice in a different
way> the soundcheck was looking like a disaster as carruthers
was stuck in traffic> but in a fonz-like way he strolled through
the door just as the sound engineer asked 'where's your drummer?'>
after much standing round listening to other bands and forcing mailing
list cards into punter's hands~ stonebaker took to the stage>
the music
could not start as carruthers could not find the hi-hat clutch>
he went into the dressing room to get it off another bands drummer~
got accused of stealing by a large drunken man~ so gave it back
and walked swiftly from the room whereupon the drunken man laid
into the other drummer> big style>
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| much
thankfulness to those who came to the gig> we know it was a late
one and that some of you have jobs> to those who decided to giveitamiss
you may have givenamiss to the best gig stonebaker have played>
so far> |
| preparations
for the gig at the bear are underway and will
involve much shiftin and liftin on the day> remember bend your
knees~ not your back> report to follow> |
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30.10.01
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| gig at night
and day goes swimmingly considering the boys had no sound check due
to venue showing big screen football prior to gig> i ask ya>
however stonebaker can and did rise above this to play an intense
and taut set> half way through 'dirt worm ninja'~ when the barrage
lulls~ every ear in the club was attuned to the stage~ with none of
your normal background gig chattering> very satisfying> |
| fil
converts his bass playing fingers into phone dialing fingers~ chasing
up record company people to see if they have listened to the demo
yet> not many responses yet beyond the voicemail and the 'sorry
s/he's ill/off til thursday/in a meeting/in america> |
| recently
adrian seems to have been unwittingly secreting a potent pheromone
complex> so far this has attracted the attentions of [among other]
a stripper and a girl who claimed to want to only converse with him~
but tried her darndest to get jiggy with him big style at 0930 near
manchester university> despite their pleas~ adrian did not take
their telephone numbers~ politely refused them and continued along
the pure path> |
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08.10.01
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| almost forgot
to mention> adrian stares death in the face and then cheats it
when he is a passenger in a car which somehow ends up going the wrong
way down a dual carriageway> the car crashes into another going
in the correct direction> no-one was hurt> |
|
fil also toys
with death> in manchester town ~picking up tickets for the gig
on 17 october ~he cannot leave without riding down jutland street>
it
calls to him and he simply must ride his motorcycle down this ridiculous~
steep~ cobbled street [think hovis advert]> he was not hurt>
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| good long practice
on saturday afternoon> got lots of stuff done> gig readiness
is assured> |
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02.10.01
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| its
been a bit drawn out but at last the demos have gone~ or will have
as soon as fil gets his skinny backside across the road to the postbox
in the morning> adrian and fil beavered away cutting~ folding~
stuffing and sticking like a couple of undeground activists until
the demos were ready for the off> |
| practices
go on to prepare for the upcoming gigs> two more have been booked
since the last entry> more details on those gigs here>
more samples and loops have found their way into the set through new
songs or otherwise~ so they've got some work to do now> also adrian
has a new guitar which is warmer and gutsier~ more in keeping with
the stonebaker sound> |
| more news as
soon as there is anything worth writing> if you need more information
on the upcoming gigs or anything click here
to e-mail us> |
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12.09.01
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| gig
booked> night and day cafe, manc on wednesday 17 october more details
here> |
| fil moves
house with no help from adrian or carruthers but lots from sam [despite
his gammy knee]> moving furniture and boxes encourages lots of
chuckle brothers' 'to-meing' and to-youing' |
| look~ the last
three diary entries have been [totally unplanned] on the 12th of the
month> and the two before that on the 21st> strange> |
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12.08.01
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| practice continues
apace> practice room is good~ just a bit echoey> last tuesday
the workings were playing through current stuff and hacking at a song
adrian presented> |
| and after just
getting back into the
swing of things carruthers throws a spanner in the works by nicking
off to thailand for 3 weeks> still can't deny the boy a holiday~
must be knackering throwing sticks at skins> |
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12.07.01
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| practice venue
has been found> top secret location in south manchester~ unfortunately
without a mannequin~ but with lots of space> thanks to all who
made suggestions and were helpful through this barren time> |
| things are
on go slow a bit due to summer and there seeming not to be one week
when all members of stonebaker are in the one vicinity> they continue
to practice and work on recordings> big push in autumn [promise]> |
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21.05.01
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| sam's knee
is recovering> he is off his crutches~ not quite skating again~
but give him time> |
| some bad news>
stonebaker lose their video shop practise room~ through cicumstances
beyond their control> the demo is copied and will be sent out in
the next week~ but the boys are reticent to book gigs without a firm
practice location> any ideas? e-mail
us |
| as mentioned
above the plan is to be regularly gigging again as soon as possible>
join the mailing list to get information by
post and/or e-mail> |
| fil's birthday
was celebrated with much aplomb on the eighteenth at the usual venue
of the crescent pub> a select group then moved on to night &
day where dancing took place to motown records> |
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21.04.01
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| sam returns
from snowboarding with not a scratch on him~ only to get his comeuppance
at the skate park> while attempting to perform a 'frontside disaster'
[ironically] he falls and bashes his knee~ hard> in true hero style
he drives home and tries to tough it out~ but is forced to visit casualty
[that is er for any americans viewing] and is told he has fractured
his knee cap> consequently sam is doing his skating on crutches
for the next few weeks> |
| though disabled
sam valiantly continued with a prearranged recording session today>
adrian was due to arrive midmorning~ but rolled in at four with some
paltry excuses about trains and being up late> all the same a good
many vocals were recorded and hopefully more of the same tomorrow> |
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06.04.01
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| instead of
a tuesday night practice~ fil motors down to adrian's to eat some
of his amazing veggie chilli and work on some new material> they
also sit up into the early hours listening to 'love'~ 'the demon barbers'
and other recorded gems> |
| sam heads off
to the snowboarding slopes of france to snowboard on the slopes in
france> |
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15.03.01
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| well only two
months since last entry and in that time: |
| some photographs
taken for publicity purposes> you can see some of them in the
gallery> |
| drums have
been put down for the tracks on the e.p.> carruthers worked like
a machine [but with human intuition and skill] into the early hours
of the morning~ laying down the beats for 'bakerz'~ 'aggression flyer'
and 'dirt worm ninja'> the man is a marvel> fil records some
bass parts a week or so later> |
| just back from
snowboarding~ carruthers celebrates his birthday at a posh italian
restaurant> the rest of stonebaker are there to join the celebration
before scooting off to enjoy the
cooper temple clause's slant on rock at life cafe [only without
birthday boy~ who is knackered]> |
| fifteenth march~
another recording session to try out some vocals> things don't
go according to plan with a power supply emitting blue sparks~ computer
crashing and adrian's voice having an off day> all the same stonebaker
shall plough on> |
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18.01.01
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| it has been
finished~ the demo~ finally done and dusted and ready to be posted
out> two tracks are on it 'motown' and 'i will'> previews of
these tracks will be available on this site soon> |
| also planned
are more recording sessions to get enough tracks down for an e.p.
or mini album> |
| gigs are being
sorted for the next few months> check back on this site~ or better
still join the mailing list and receive updates
by e-mail and post> |
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30.11.00
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| adrian's guitar
is playing up~ or rather not playing up~ keeps cutting out> any
donation of a quality electric guitar to forward the stonebaker cause
will be much appreciated> if not i guess fil will have to fix it> |
| the last music
to provoke you has come and gone and a fair amount of people turned
out this time~ even though there was another gig going on upstairs>
stonebaker's set was well received and all in all the band thought
a good gig was played> fat roland showed another of his glittering
facets by plunging deep into a techno dance set before stonebaker
played~ but holding himself back for low key eclecticism after>
fat roland pronounced himself unsatisfied with his set~ though everyone
else seemed perfectly satisfied~ including one hanger on who spent
a whole loada time in front of the decks pronouncing 'good mix' every
so often> |
| inches~ centimetres
even~ away from the demo being finished and doled out to all and sundry>
thinking of developing a new moneymaking side project> got a project
you need delayed for months? while promising all the time the finish
date is just around the corner? call stonebaker> |
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15.11.00
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| sam announces
his engagement and with that stonebaker's hopes of becoming the next
blockbusting boy-band are dashed> still~ they never could get those
dance moves sorted out> sam plans to be married next summer as
a nation of eligible young women mourn> |
| last
gig [music to provoke you] was not too well attended and a bit down
heartening> could be due to it being fireworks night~ that guy
fawkes~ he can't know how much trouble he caused> photos can be
seen [in the gallery] of dj fat roland
and dj oggy hard at work at the decks despite the small crowd>
hopefully the next music to provoke you on 25th
november will be packed out> |
| not really
much more news> demo just needs to be mixed and then written to
cd> gig booked at keele university on 12th december~
click for more details> |
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25.10.00
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| a very successful
week all round for the stonebaker boys> first session in their
new practice room~ which will make life a whole lot easier [by lessening
the amount of equipment needing to be lugged from place to place]
and enable them to practice until later in the evening> also it
is in a prime location for carruthers to only have to make a short
dash to the country when playtime is over> the room has the added
benefits of its own mannequin and infra red sauna> |
| in addition
to this the demo recordings are finished> in all but name [whatever
that means]> in a week or so the freshly minted cds will be winging
their way toward the receptive ears of a&r people all over the
country> |
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28.09.00
|
having
a few problems with the new computer or~ more specifically~ cubase> the
synchronisation is all out between the tracks~ so we need a patch before
we can get it to work properly> needless to say this is slowing down
the recording but~ lets face it~ its not the first time> |
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01.09.00
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money
has been exchanged for the new computer and it is now up and running~ ready
to finish recording the new demo and get going on the album> |
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21.07.00
|
while larking about
in the grounds of keele hall~ late at night~ a run in with the boys in
blue> adrian and fil had discovered a large stage set up in preparation
for a classical concert the next day> they decided to explore the stage
and in the midst of a rendition of "voulez vous" saw some bright
lights coming down the driveway> they quickly exited~ backstage~ but
ended up nearly running into the lake> at this point they realized
the bright lights belonged to a police vehicle whereupon they were reprimanded~
names taken and sent on their way>
adrian swore he
could get them back to his through the woods> he was wrong> they
couldn't see their hands in front of their faces~ so they had to turn
around and head back past the stage> later arriving back at adrian's
for a fireside chat with his flatmates>
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03.07.00
|
sorry no entries
for while> still~ here's one> the recording is progressing~ if a
little slowly> we've had a gift of money from some kind benefactors~
which is very welcome> we could do with some more though> the tracks
are down for a new demo~ they just need some more parts recording and
then mixing down> the rest of tracks will take more time but this means
we will be able to put a lot into the development of them> more news
when more news is made>
sam celebrated his
birthday on 27.06 with
a gathering at solomon grundy's in withington> he seemed to enjoy himself>
adrian probably
celebrated his birthday a few days later~ but hasn't said anything about
it if he did>
fil has just recovered
from a viral infection which gave him spots and a sore neck and caused
him to be absent from work for one week>
carruthers has got
into a bad habit of suggesting social gatherings which no one else can
attend>
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30.05.00
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fulfilling
a promise which he rashly made some months before~ fil got out of bed at
5am [on a bank holiday] to take adrian to manchester airport so he could
get a flight to greece> |
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20.05.00
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stonebaker
entered a local basement studio to lay down two tracks for their new demo>
the tracks were "i will" and "motown"> it was a successful
session~ only needing two or three takes for each track> that done the
hard work now starts for sam who has to get them mixed and mastered> |
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18.05.00
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fil celebrated
his birthday in his usual manner of inviting all and sundry to the crescent
pub in salford> once there they took part in the normal pub activities
of chatting~ drinking~ playing pub games and trying to find some decent
records on the [once spectacular] juke box> |
