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Shedmen babble |
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23rd August 2008 As the advent of old age catches up with 75% of the band, we choose our gigs and opportunities carefully, so as to maximise enjoyment fun and frollicks, whilst minimising the hump-factor of dragging gear across the island in pursuit of the live buzz of a gig.
Last night was truly a night to remember - we have this mate called Steve. He’s been an active supporter of the band since before The Shedmen formed, when we were a band that time forgot (ERGO Bagawashin) Steve often plays a few songs as a support act for us, albeit that his favourite song is The Beathes’ “Just Seventeen”
Anyway, the point is this - the old giffer just turned 60, so we were delighted to help him hold it up in a venue of his choice. That venue was The Railway, and a splendid time was had by all. There are some notable highlights of the evening… a Chuck Berry tribute from Steve, an Irish folk interlude from the other Steve, a raucous set from us Sheds, and some bizarre dancing and cavorting by the audience, with some lovely aspects to go with it. Why put it into words when it’s captured on Youtube - follow the link, and it might just get you through. |
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5th July 2008 July sees us going party mad, with 4 gigs now booked up for the month… a busy time indeed. There have been a few updates to the site - notably “Shed expectations” which gives the reader an idea of what to expect at one of our gigs. Also, we have rehashed the “fans page” giving credit to friends of the band who have joined us on stage… there are some strange old sights there. Despite no demand whatsoever, we have also posted a page showing the band in full flow during rehearsals. These picture were shot in arty black and white, and look a bit out of place elsewhere on the site, so they have been put together on one big monochrome page.
On the Youtube front, we now have 11 songs posted for all to see - some marvellous memories there, and we hope you enjoy watching them. There is also a clip of our previous band “Bagawashin” recorded back in 2001. This was Jimmy’s first ever public performance, and as well as the four current Sheds on display, it also featured our old friend Pete Burton, who was original guitarist in the band.
22nd June 2008 Played the Creek last night but with a difference. Our resident bass player, Jimmy is out in Africa, and so Dave has kindly deputised for him over the last couple of gigs and has proved his worth as a reliable , adaptable bass player. Our thanks and best wishes to Dave for the future … we hope he enjoyed the gigs as much as we did! Our previous gig was a wedding reception at The Claremont Hotel. We were not sure quite what to expect but we needn’t have worried. The whole party had a great time and there was plenty of dancing and bopping all night, which made it a great occasion and one we feel honoured to be part of. It’s not every day a punk band get to play a wedding do!
We are very much into party season and July will see 3 private parties that we have been booked up for, at three new venues for the band, and so lots to get excited about. Finally, we now have the video edited from the Bushy’s tent gig during TT. Our thanks again to Ian for being cameraman for the night and keeping a steady hand despite the volume and activity around him. If anyone wants a copy of the DVD, please drop us an e-mail at the address below
8th June 2008 TT over for another year. Our planned gig on the beach at Port Erin Thursday night got re-scheduled for the Vaults inside, due to inclement weather. We still had a good time, and the crowd went wild! Friday night was our “top-of-the-bill” performance at Bushy’s Beer Tent, playing Senior Race Night for the second year running. What a fantastic night, once again. There are many thank you’s to record for the evening’s events. Phil and Dave for the sound, Wammy for the plugging and support, Lenny and Martin for their continued faith, the Smoke Bloke for providing the smoke (obviously) Karen for the pictures, Ian for the videos, Danny for standing at the front and drinking enough cider for all of us, Cainzie, Wriggzie and co for getting the dancing going, but most of all , the crowd for getting involved and making it such a memorable occasion. From an atmosphere perspective, on this island, it doesn’t get much bigger or better than this and we are privileged and honoured to have taken part in the festivities. Pictures are dotted around this site, also in our usual Photobucket, and there’ll be Youtube video clips posted in short order, once Jimmy shows us how to do that!
9th May 2008 So plans are coming together for the forthcoming TT festival. We have gigs at The Creek, Port Erin Beach and the infamous Bushy’s Tent to look forward. What with Jimmy’s trip to Africa coming up and different dates and commitments there will be all sorts of guesting and strange goings on happening within the rhythm section…. But The Shedmen keep rolling on
A number of people have asked us when we will be recording again—it’s been a while. The good news is that we have the facilities now to do this, and do it properly—the bad news is that we don’t seem to have enough hours in the week to make it happen. It will happen, over the next month or so… possibly
20th April 2008 What a week! A fantastic night at The Creek on Saturday12th April. Now it’s no smoking, a real joy to play and breath! There was a big crowd in towards the end with some familiar faces.
Then on Thursday we helped with the IOM Children Centre’s Charity Pop Quiz. Boz was quiz master for the evening, with the band helping out during the interactive rounds. We played a series of intro’s for the teams to guess. We then had a musical chairs round to the sounds of The Sheds playing “Monster”. There was a dance-off to “Take me out”, followed by a live karaoke round, where punters got up and replaced Boz on lead vocals. Kelly was the winner of the latter.
Then we debuted at The Railway in Douglas last night. Tremendous atmosphere from the very off, with lots of audience participation (Kelly again!) as well as Dave playing bass on Blitzcrieg Bop. Dave will be guesting for the Sheds during June whilst Jimmy goes does his missionary work in Africa.
23rd February 2008 We are taking a bit of an enforced sabatacle. There are a succession of holidays and personal commitments coming up which means we won’t be playing live again until 12th April—seems a lifetime away. There’s a bit of rehearsal still going on, inspired by the tv series “Ashes to Ashes” - hah ha, there’s plenty of 80’s material lurking out there, gagging for the Shedmen treatment . We have a fair few gigs lined up now up to, and beyond TT—take a look at the Shedule.
27th January 2008 100 not out! Last night played a private party for a close friend of the band, and had a great time. The dancefloor was a rocking, and the band was kicking. We debuted Stewie’s new Lin6 Spider III amp and it kinda made an impact—to the point where Sean now wants the kit miked up to try and keep up the sound. The gig was a great night, with “Don’t like Thursday’s” being crooned by the birthday in his inimitable style.
20th January 2008 Last night we played Jaks, and it was the 99th gig The Shedmen have played since their reformation in 2003 - to quote Boz, “99 lead balloons, and counting”
1st January 2008 Happy New Year! Yes, another year, and another re-launch of the site - I really must get out more. 2008 promises to be another year of fun and frollicks. We kinda pick and choose our gigs nowadays, mainly because we are not getting any younger, but also because work and family commitments are such that we like to prepare and make each gig an event. We kick off the new year at Jaks on the 19th of January, and then the following week, we are playing a private party for a good friend of the band. As it happens, the gig on the 26th will be the 100th Shedmen gig since we re-formed in 2003. Not that we are counting or anything, but we hope it will be a very special occasion |
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Common People |