An old winter coat

After the best part of eight years, 54 gigs (including 9 as Soundguardian) and 63 songs by 13 artists, Radio Seattle are wrapping things up with one last gig before the Space Needle stops transmitting. 55 must be a lucky number.

Come down, and waste away with me

Spring is here again – it keeps happening every year seemingly – so what better way to celebrate nature’s perennial revivification and those lengthening evenings than a grunge night. Radio Seattle is kicking the year off with an unplugged set courtesy of Jonny and Mark (and a couple of new songs, including one pushing the grunge envelope a touch but which you’d be foo-lish to gainsay…). Yes, Croyattle is back, at a new venue, The Scream Lounge, and the line up includes Superfecta, Trevor’s Head and Alice in Chains UK (you can catch them doing Sunshine at the last Croyattle here). Tickets £5 (door).

A riddle so strong

Grunge is NOT dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. … Grunge was NOT as dead as a doornail.*

The sky was your playground

The more astute of the (precious few) regular readers of my blog among you will be acutely aware that I don’t always post as promptly as I intend. The record for a delayed post was the review of the Pearl Jam gig in Prague, which I got out a whole year – albeit to the day, I proudly trumpet – after the actual gig. (Great gig, btw.)

So I’m not doing too badly with this one, which is to share photos and a video from the Radio Seattle gig last Halloween – a meagre 14 weeks after the event.* It was our first gig with new members Paul on guitar and Markus on bass, and we were back at the Railway Tavern in Crouch End.

Turning eagles into vultures

A classic photo of Yamamoto-era Soundgarden

Just came across this video of Soundgarden from Düsseldorf, 16 April 1990. It’s a solid performance from the first of the grunge bands to break out of Seattle; I hadn’t realised how much Cornell played guitar live in the (relatively) early days. I’m not sure what Matt Cameron’s drumkit did in a former life, but it must have been pretty wicked to deserve this sort of treatment.

Get me to the stage – it brings me home again

Radio Seattle, the band attached to this blog, are looking for a new lead vocalist. It’s with regret that we announce that we have parted company with our singer, Dave. His time in Radio Seattle has been a pleasure for us all and he’s contributed greatly to the band’s growth in the last 18 months.

Radio Seattle will of course continue, so we’re busily looking for a new singer. We’re based in London and play songs by the bands you’d expect from looking at this blog: Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe, Winger, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden…

Waves roll in my thoughts

Back in the summer, when we put the band together, one of the first things we had to figure out was, well, what would we play? As a grunge covers band, which bands and which songs would we cover: who were the bona fide flannel-wearers and who were the bandwagon jumpers with stick-on goatees and a dodgy metal past?

Since then, the five of us have been kicking these questions round, gathering groups, selecting songs. Some choices are gimmes: the leading Seattle bands of the early 90s, or, to be precise, Washington state bands, as Nirvana hailed from Aberdeen up the road. But how deep should we delve into the Seattle scene (can’t touch the bottom), and how far from Seattle could we stray?

Rehearsal 06.12.11

Now with added photo! (lucky you)

This is us rehearsing in the glamorous setting of Mill Hill Music Complex, north London’s finest rehearsal complex. Let’s hope we get money off the room rental for the plug. I’m behind the camera; there are more photos but I’m having trouble uploading them. You can see the others (including my “friend of Earl Hickey” impression) on our Radio Seattle FB page.

Fell on Black Days (the song, not a comment on the rehearsal space).

Things I learnt in rehearsal this week.

1. None of us much like having our photos taken.
2. I’m rubbish with a camera. To be fair, I already knew this.
3. Cherub Rock could make a good set opener, but it needs a bit of work.
4. Dave S loves pick slides. I already knew this one too.
5. Given half a chance between songs, not only will I kick into that grunge classic Harvester of Sorrow, but Zeek will readily pretend to be Lars, whilst the others patiently wait for us to get it out of our systems.
6. Most of the songs are sounding really good, we just need to tinker with the balance of the sound a bit. Let’s gig! Hello, err, somewhere!
7. Think that’s it.
8. No, hold on, did I mention Dave S and the pick slides? I did? Ok, that is it, then.

A first chance this week to play Say Hello 2 Heaven as a five-piece. Rich and Zeek have got Jeff and Matt down pat for this one. Dave S nailed the solo second time round, but there’s a bit of work to do to get the subtle interplay between the two rhythm guitars right. When we do, they’ll be a prefect complement to Dave P’s vocals. For a man who doesn’t like singing Chris Cornell songs he’s doing a damn fine job.

Setlist 06-12-11:

Cherub Rock, Nearly Lost You, Plush, Fell on Black Days, Alive, Breed, Man in the Box, Rooster, Would?, Heart-Shaped Box, Outshined, Say Hello 2 Heaven, Better Man, Interstate Love Song, Yellow Ledbetter

Rehearsal 28.11.11

Rejigged the setlist again for this week, but at the last minute Dave S was unable to make it, so we focused on a few of the songs instead as a four-piece.

The main thing was a first stab at Say Hello 2 Heaven. It’s a lovely song to play, even if picking and hammering round the barre chords in the third verse, and Chris Cornell’s vocal line on the third chorus, aren’t exactly straightforward! Dave S has got a tremolo pedal (if he can locate it on his neverending pedal board) which he’ll be wheeling out for the intro, look forward to hearing this at the next practice. A bearded Chris Cornell joined Pearl Jam at PJ20 a couple of months ago to play this and Hungerstrike. Check it out on youtube. Temple of the Dog reunited!

There were impromptu run-throughs of Black and Release – not currently on the setlist – and a jam round the genesis of our own song, with a big fat dropped D riff. We also slightly inexplicably messed about with Knocking on Heaven’s Door at the end – don’t tell anyone we were being that clichéd – giving me the excuse for a long noodle, (squeaky) wah-wah a-go-go (sorry). I think we should jam more, it tightens us up as a band.

Here’s the setlist we would have done, will probably give it a go at the next rehearsal and see how it works.

Rehearsal setlist 28-11-11:

Cherub Rock, Nearly Lost You, Plush, Fell on Black Days, Alive, Breed, Man in the Box, Rooster, Would?, Heart-Shaped Box, Outshined, Say Hello 2 Heaven, Better Man, Interstate Love Song, Yellow Ledbetter