| August 2, 2005 @ 09:56 PM |
| WebComics and stuff. |
| I've been reading webcomics for years, but i've never found myself of want of a daily update more that by reading http://www.questionablecontent.net/ . Even nothing nice to say doesnt get checked every day like QC does. Also, 21 Dead Monkeys is a bit funnier because i'm seeing Steph and am actually aware of the bands in those comics. I still dont like Ska though. and I didnt listen to the whole Skylar album today either. I didnt. .... WHAT? |
| August 2, 2005 @ 09:49 PM |
| SellOUTZ |
| Due to the fact I have 0 cash to last me a month. I'm putting a load of stuff, CDs mostly, on Ebay. http://search.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZmanaknq Grab yerselfs a bargin. |
| July 18, 2005 @ 10:20 PM |
| PHP stuff |
| I fancy making use of my hosting. Forums are useless, there are enough of them. Weblog is here. So, what else? A wiki? a CMS? I need ideas. |
| July 17, 2005 @ 11:23 AM |
| The First On My Day Off Set |
| 1. Paper and Film 2. Alkaline 3. We Have A Problem 4. Kiss the Bottle 5. Not Everyone Listens to Capn Jazz |
| July 6, 2005 @ 09:39 PM |
| Scrapbook |
I havent updated my blog in a while. Did you notice the radio.blog on the main page? Nice, isnt it. Anyway, I've been filling up my Band Scrapbook  I managed to cobble together all the rapid reaction stuff I could find, moving on to the Sudden stuff next, not got all of that together just yet. Like I Care is going to be a big challenge.   Looking good though. |
| July 5, 2005 @ 10:03 PM |
| God. Posting Quiz results... |
| I scored a 44% on the "How MySpace Are You?" Quizie! What about you? Incidentally. Add me if you read this. |
| June 27, 2005 @ 09:28 PM |
| Day For AirStrikes / Maple State Bootlegs |
| http://www.ftp.liarsandtaxis.com/video/ Download if you like. |
| June 24, 2005 @ 11:19 AM |
| Jon Danzig, Founder of Libranet, dies at 57 |
Jon Danzig passed away on June 1st 2005 nearly a year and a half after he was diagnosed with cancer in October of 2003. The time from his diagnosis to his death was a long and difficult journey helped by family and friends. Jon founded Libra Computer Systems in 1984 selling Unix systems and custom software solutions. In 1999 Jon became excited about the possibilities of the GNU/Linux system, and along with Tal, his son, released the first version of Libranet later that year. It was Jon's vision that made Libranet into the product that it is today. Tal takes over as leader of the Libranet team, continuing Jon's legacy. Away from Libranet, Jon enjoyed the British Columbia wilderness were he and his family hiked. He held a private pilot's license which brought him great joy and a sense of accomplishment. Jon will be missed by his family, the Libranet team, and the Libranet community. Donations in Jon's memory can be made to the North Shore Palliative Care Program c/o Lions Gate Hospital Foundation[1] or to the Western Canada Wilderness Committee[2]. [1] http://springerssl.netnation.com/~lghfound/files/tributes.html [2] http://www.wildernesscommittee.org/org/support/gifts/ |
| June 16, 2005 @ 09:28 PM |
| Five Knuckle Review |
| Gigs at satans hollow are an experience every band must go through, the prospect of playing a venue 'in the round' seperates the men from the boys as it were, for a few reasons. Firstly, its difficult, without the lack of proper monitoring to hear everything thats going on, and also with potential for the audience to be all around you find yourself with nowhere to hide on stage. Irrelevant Plea open this show, which already has a buzz being the last gig of a long running UK hardcore band later in the night, so maybe peoples minds arent focused to begin with, or maybe Irrelevant Plea are taken aback by the battle they have, but the set seems to lack an edge. The singer attempts to stalk his territory on the stage, but struggles to find space to really let go. The guitars, whilst competent feel distanced from the band as a whole. This isnt all bad points, the Bass and Drums have locked in together and save the band from the potential of sounding stale. As they mix through a set that switches between Fat Wreck Chords punk and modern heavy emo bands they do leave the impression of lack of confidence, both in songs and presence. So with them off and the stage clear, a three piece set up their gear and announce to Satans Hollow that they are Me and Three Others. The first thing you notice about this band is how tight they are, though they sometimes slip up, which is a shame as this is purely down to the sound of the room, but they carry it off. The songs themselves are a big risk in a Venue like this, chopping and changing riffs, vocal lines and drum fills all in the space of one song, but just enough to make them stand out above many young punk bands, the interaction between the bass player and the guitarist provides for some good entertainment in between songs, and they play as a band as whole, rather than the some of their parts. Durai are the third band of the night, and play a much rougher, more emotional punk akin to maybe Small Brown Bike or Hot Water Music, again though the drummer seems to struggle with being able to hear the rest of the band, and whilst it is tight, the anticipation created by the drummers worried expression leaves you hoping they make it to the end of the song. The key to this band is the vocals, they are considerable more fuller than the previous two bands, and leaves the impression that Durai have a very competent vocalist fronting the band. They play one full instrumental song, which surprisingly doesn't stand out in the set and get a good reception from an audience now eager to see tonights headliners. Who seem to take forever and a day to setup their equipment, people are checking watches, worried voices discuss trains and taxis but seemingly just in time Five Knuckle take to the stage. Having made better use of the space they appear to have moved mikestands and amps to give their lead singer more space to move and kick off this night properly, not that he wants it, he's more happier out in the audience and moves so fast its hard to keep up. They remind this reviewer very much of downset and early refused, and gell elements of Punk, Hardcore and even a cheeky Ska riff or two, complete with 'Knees Up' dancing. Tonight is about respect, and opportunity, as the band play, you notice every member of every support band tonight is watching, a feat rarely seen at gigs. This shows the respect each band on tonight has for the headliners, and they appreciate it. A short speech is made about friends in Manchester over the years, and a friend of the band named Bob jumps onto the stage to play bass for one song. A cover of Minor Threats “In My Eyes” is wheeled out, complete with audience participation, and before you know it, it is all over. Or is it? The audience wants more, so the band re-take the stage, to play for the final time in Manchester. |
| June 13, 2005 @ 07:07 PM |
| Owen Gig |
| [quote]Wednesday 27th July [b]OWEN[/b] (USA, Polyvinyl Records) Mike Kinsella of American Football and many other bands. [url]http://www.polyvinylrecords.com/bands/band_info.asp?bandID=10[/url] [b]THE CITY ON FILM[/b] (USA) Bob Nanna of Braid/Hey Mercedes fame. [url]http://www.cityonfilm.com/[/url] [b]DAVID THOMAS BROUGHTON[/b] Amazing experimental haunting folk from Leeds. [url]http://www.birdwar.com/[/url] [b]THE PANTHER, THE LION AND THE WOLF, VIRGIL[/b] Two amazing guys from Macclesfield, guitar and bass with samples over the top. No site for these guys. Upstairs at The Phoenix, off Oxford Road, Manchester Doors at 7:30pm, £4. [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v337/selfhealer/Owen-Flyer.jpg[/img] [url]http://www.manchestershows.cjb.net[/url] for some more info. Come along![/quote] |
| June 12, 2005 @ 10:37 PM |
| TESTs |
| June 11, 2005 @ 09:30 PM |
| Scrapbooking |
| Last week, I bought a Black A3 Scrapbook, which i have been filling with all my band stuff, detailing what I have done with my 3 main bands over the last few years, roughly in order. I've put all the rapid stuff in, and am doing sudden at the moment. One thing that strikes me, is how consistent the Rapid Reaction stuff was, the band logo was always the same, the imagery we used in flyers and CD covers was always regular, Sudden was very slapdash by comparison, the Logo changed a few times, I went from dark imagery to pop art between various flyers. Maybe I felt like I didnt have enough control over the band, and I think it does show, I was trying to make Sudden a more democratic process as a band, I dont think it worked, maybe I should have tightened my stranglehold on it. Like I Care was Roys thing, and I would never touch anything on that side design wise. On my Day off will be mostly me, like the early days, as i'm trying to get back into promoting / flyer design, maybe I can enjoy the consistancy I seemed to lose whilst doing Sudden. Something to think about anyway. |
| June 7, 2005 @ 10:59 PM |
| I made this.. |
 I made this flyer for Steph. |
| June 3, 2005 @ 07:57 PM |
| I Picked a Name... |
 |
| May 31, 2005 @ 10:47 PM |
| Bank Holiday |
| In the attempt to get footage for the Documentary, we snook in two more gigs over the bank holiday. Not that this all went to plan properly, the first gig was in a small pub on the outskirts of Manchester, which was a secret gig on account they didnt have an entertainments license. Yeah, secret gig. Think about that for a second. The doors to the venue were closed, entry by ringing el doorbell, and obviously, posters and flyers were non existant. End Result, people didnt really show up. Well, locals turned up, and some people showed up (typically) after we'd played. Still, we had a laugh. Yesterday was Wigan, again, another lowly promoted gig, with 2 instrumental obscure bands, and a severe lack of audience. This was played as our last gig, which is the second time we've capitalised on the "This is our last gig" slant. Not that it swayed many people, personally I didnt think we played that well. I didnt anyway. But theres a bigger problem here, I feel like we're dragging this on, It should have been put to bed at the Attic gig, that was the night, it was emotional, it was a celebration, we played everything we ever wrote and more. We had people in the audience that had seen us before, and those who hadnt still appreciated us. So, to go from that, to Bank Holiday, makes me ask myself, for what reason? Footage? We've kinda gone past the point of selling CD's, they dont sell, we dont try. Reaching a wider audience? We've been about for long enough to have our name about, surely people should have heard of us by now? Theres no real need to fuel anybodys ego's, we all know we can play and we're all going onto new bands, so no reason there. So whats left? I dont know. We're going to try make a video on Saturday, but to me, the high point has been and gone, and I dont want to be promoting a band after its demise. I never thought about it before, but I wonder how barry feels after we took the name of the band he helped create, and carry it on. I imagine i'd feel a bit cheated if the band were to carry on with a new guitarist and drummer. The story continues.... |
| May 29, 2005 @ 03:19 PM |
| Everyone is falling....half asleep... |
| I know I've been spending too much time on MancPunkScene when its down and i realise I dont have that much more to do to kill time. This week, i've rekindled by pretentiousness by listening to lots of Joan of Arc. I've also been bidding on sound modules, I could do with sorting out cubase to start recording things on my laptop. The Edirol Sound Interface Roy's lent me is working wonders. Friday we spent in Satans, following my Trip to the Pub with 2 guys from work who are moving on, Satans was a good night, but it took ages and ages to get going. Sitting for drinks in the pub before going to a club should be done in future I think. Saturday I went to St/Helens to sort out possibility of getting a flat with Garry in Manc, then the evening was spent with Steph at the pictures, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is an awesome film, I watched little bits of the BBC2 series a while back, but i'd not read the books. The film was still really funny though, British humour does work on the big screen. Today, when Roy turns up, i'm off to the Castle in Manchester, which isnt the Castle in Oldham, and I'm convinced it doesnt exist. But we shall see when we get there. Monday, we're playing in 'that' Wigan. Andy |
| May 27, 2005 @ 12:41 PM |
| Would I be Pretentious... |
| If i Called the project Liars / Taxis ? |
| May 24, 2005 @ 08:25 PM |
| 3 Legged Dog |
| ...Is up for renewal soon, in like 2 days. I think I will renew it, despite its not being used for much. I believe Roy is planning a Like I Care 7", but I dont know whether he wants to re-record in a proper studio, or stick with our previous 8 Track manifesto. Sudden wise, I dont think the songs will see the light of day, I've finished Manchester 3 Am, but its not been mixed down. But the rest of the songs havent been touched. I dont really want to release them as it, as i'm really unhappy with almost all the vocal takes. |
| May 22, 2005 @ 12:40 PM |
| Project Name |
| I've realised this week, i've not actually given my new musical project a title. Or even finalised the members, for that matter, me and Steph have practiced, and I know I have enough songs to make up a short set. Maybe this week, if i Get time, i'll try writing some keyboard parts to a song I was working on last week. In a "Hunting bears" style, I need a good rhodes piano sound though. Rhooooodes. |
| May 19, 2005 @ 12:09 AM |
| Prospective Song Titles |
| Rather you than me. Understanding in a Fire Hydrant. Guy Picotto. There are 3 more after this. Song 3 |
| May 15, 2005 @ 03:53 PM |
| Expendable Weekend. |
| Not really expendable. Friday was spent in Satans Hollow. Saturday went for a practice with Steph, who is awesome. Amongst other things. Today is Sunday, which should be mp3 player day except the Tape convertor for my car is bust. Off to the pub in a mo with Danny and Roy. In other news, my State of the Union compilation arrived the other day. Only got chance to listen to it today. |
| May 8, 2005 @ 01:21 PM |
| Sunday is playlist day, where i've been creating new playlists for my MP3 player which provides in car entertainment on the way to work and other places. #EXTM3U #EXTINF:0, - Track01.mp3 #EXTINF:0,at the drive-in - hourglass.mp3 #EXTINF:0,at the drive-in - napoleon solo.mp3 #EXTINF:0,Bad Brains - I And I Survive.mp3 #EXTINF:0,Bad Brains - Sailin' On.mp3 #EXTINF:0,Burning Airlines - Everything Here Is New.mp3 #EXTINF:0,Cave In - Brain Candle.mp3 #EXTINF:0,Coheed And Cambria - A Favor House Atlantic.mp3 #EXTINF:0,Coheed And Cambria - The Camper Velourium III ; Al The Killer.mp3 #EXTINF:0,Failure - Pitiful.mp3 #EXTINF:0,Failure - Saturday Saviour.mp3 #EXTINF:0,Failure - Sergeant Politeness.mp3 #EXTINF:0,Failure - Stuck On You.mp3 #EXTINF:0,Jawbox - 68.mp3 #EXTINF:0,Jawbox - I've Got You Under My Skin.mp3 #EXTINF:0,Jawbox - Savory.mp3 #EXTINF:0,Manic Street Preachers - Faster.mp3 #EXTINF:0,Manic Street Preachers - Ifwhiteamericatoldthetruthforonedayit'sworldwouldfallapart.mp3 #EXTINF:0,Manic Street Preachers - This Is Yetsrday.mp3 #EXTINF:0,Manic Street Preachers - Yes.mp3 #EXTINF:0,Patti Smith - Cartwheels.mp3 #EXTINF:0,Patti Smith - Mother Rose.mp3 #EXTINF:0,planes mistaken for stars - copper and stars.mp3 #EXTINF:0,planes mistaken for stars - standing still fast.mp3 #EXTINF:0,Smiths - I Know It's Over.mp3 #EXTINF:0,Smiths - The Queen Is Dead.mp3 #EXTINF:0,Soulside - I Find The Other Side.mp3 #EXTINF:0,The Copperpot Journals - glass & chrome.mp3 #EXTINF:0,The Copperpot Journals - pilots.mp3 #EXTINF:0,The Copperpot Journals - the future is a dare.mp3 #EXTINF:0,The Fire Theft - Heaven.mp3 #EXTINF:0,The Fire Theft - It's Over.mp3 #EXTINF:0,The Fire Theft - Summertime.mp3 #EXTINF:0,The Fire Theft - Uncle Mountain.mp3 #EXTINF:0,The Fire Theft - Waste Time.mp3 |
| May 7, 2005 @ 04:49 PM |
| Picture from Last Nights Show |
 Liverpool is now off. Not sure why. Blessing in disguise I think. |
| May 7, 2005 @ 03:49 PM |
| Recount.... |
| Driving home from work, i get the text message "Pick up bob, he is coming the gig". Balls. No Time for tea as I race home to get gear, over to Bobs and into manc. After driving around for 10 minutes, we resign to Canal Street Car Park, which is a good 20 minutes walk through picadilly to the venue. Soundcheck done, quick walk to cash machine to find my cheque hasnt cleared. FUCK. tapping out all I can (£10), its a race back to the venue to meet up with Cat before the gig. Cat turns up before we go on, and after hugs and kisses, we are on stage. Jesus its hot up there, theres a massive massive light on my side of the stage, which burns my face everytime I try to do the backing vocals. Ouch, my face. I dont usually sweat this much on stage, but the lights are making it worse. The set was a very stripped down set, DIY for Girls and Order of Things was dropped. Firework was added to the Set midway through. And we changed our usually order of songs. After the Gig, we hi-tailed it over to fallowfield to drop some stuff off at fee's, which is where Roy managed to get himself stopped by the Police, supposedly for speeding, but he didnt get charged with anything. And the end of the Night, Satans, met up with Bob, and said Hello to Skelton, Jess and Aimy. Partied until the early hours, then the round trip home. Awesome night. Liverpool is tonight. |
| May 2, 2005 @ 11:10 AM |
| The Weekend's Doodlings |
| OK, so friday the original plan was to go a gig, which we half did, well, me and Garry did. Roy wouldnt pay £3 to get in as the band we'd come to see had already paid. But hell, I wanted to see some of the other bands, so we went in. That said, the other band was alright, but a bit too mellow for my Party mood. So we went to Satans, which was good. Saw people i knew, and said hello to some of them. Partied until about 1:30, and a very nice girl gave me her number...Which I didnt save in my phone properly. Doh. Hopefully, she's coming fridays gig so I can apologise lots and lots. Saturday was spent trying to help fix the kitchen. Which I kinda did, but not very much of. I didnt go out Saturday night so I nipped out to take some shots for a video i'm trying to make for a ladyfriends composition. Sunday was Manchester Guitar Show, in which I didnt buy a new guitar. Monday is today. Woo. |
| April 25, 2005 @ 10:37 PM |
| Motivation |
| Its Half 10 and i'm trying to motivate myself to do some college work, which is supposed to be in on Thursday, but I cant. What annoys me, is that I actually can do this work, its easy, I just cant be motivated to do it. Yesterday was spent recording and practicing, and filming. We are starting to collect footage of life in a band. So as maybe to make some sort of film. |
| April 21, 2005 @ 08:37 PM |
| Thai Bride Link |
| Buy 'Non Contact Sports' by Thai Bride on Amazon |
| April 21, 2005 @ 07:57 PM |
| Wigan - Yesterday |
| I've been out to Wigan band nights twice, both times i've been playing. So then, it was a mighty change to go out to Wigan to see bands and not be involved in the night one way or another. On the Bill were some band, Thai Bride and Riding Shotgun. I never caught the name of the first band, to be honest, they werent worth remembering. Thai Bride were ace, Rick used to play guitar in Monomania, who I nearly saw but didnt on account of turning up late, at 7 o clock (?!). Picked up their CD, they'd made a DVD but the guy who had them had gone home by the time I got to speak to Rick. We left half way through Riding Shotgun's set, as Danny wasnt into it, but they now have a full band, not just singer songwriter types. |
| April 19, 2005 @ 08:53 PM |
| Just Testing... |
| The 'Latest Post' Script I have coded into it. |
| April 19, 2005 @ 08:29 PM |
| 2005 / 2006 |
| Liarsandtaxis.com Version 2006(!) Is being worked on now. I'm sticking with the simple style the last Sudden site was in, only more content. Except obviously, I have a blog and some Forums to add. I dont expect the forums to generate much traffic, but they're there just in case. I need to dig through my old CD's and find my old flyers and things. |
| April 14, 2005 @ 10:12 PM |
| Something Bad is Happening. |
| Something bad is happening in my life at the moment, but i'm refraining from posting about it on here, but i am acknowleding that it happened. |
| April 9, 2005 @ 09:53 PM |
| Burn to Shine |
| I've been inspired recently, having watched 'Burn to Shine' a video of 8 DC Area Musicians / Bands who play in the living room of a house which is to be demolised, I have been inspired to get into video documenting Bands that I am in / see around localised scenes. Those scenes being Leeds and Manchester. The reason why is quite simple, having been in a band and seen bands for a couple of years now, I have a few CD's / Photos knocking around for reference of things i have done. Sakura did some great shots of Sudden at the Barfly and Like I Care at the Bar Fresa, and we've have other photographers take shots of us and disappear into the night, but the photos still exist and will exist for as long as we keep hold of them. But we dont have any videos, now rather than blow my own trumpet, i'll talk about bands I have seen, we've been to some gigs where bands have blown my mind, but being small, you probably never see them again, of course sometimes you get the chance to see them again, and whilst the memories of those bands are great, if they split, they are lost. So why I want to do, is make documents of what is going on, there is some great music out there that can be heard, the means off course is our beloved internet, but what about seen? Bands cant get videos on MTV and you hardly ever see documentaries about small bands. This is what I want to do. Anyone with advice can email me. andy@liarsandtaxis.com Cheers Andy |
| April 5, 2005 @ 07:53 PM |
| SurfControl |
| Work is kinda getting interesting now, for those that dont know, I was recently made redundant from Via Networks due to their Clara Net takeover and me not wanting to go work in London. I'm now with UK Based Web Filtering Company SurfControl. Which is a massive difference for me work-wise, where Via were struggling, SurfControl are competitive, it does feel weird working for a company that is doing well, but i'm sure i'll adapt. Anyway, Technically, i'm supporting SurfControl's products, plus Exchange, ISA, Windows Server Families and things. They have some Linux based Hardware appliances which i'll be exploring later next week. But i'm actually taking to most of the Windows stuff quite well, despite that it be buggy as hell and random error messages, its not as much of a headwreck as i thought. |
| April 4, 2005 @ 10:48 PM |
| Goodbye Livejournal, Hello New Blog. |
| Last night we were at the retro bar in Manchester, which is always a fun gig. It was supposed to be part of an all-dayer but half the bands cancelled, so it started around 6pm I think. Although we didnt get there til around 8. Scheduled to play later on, gave us a chance to walk round the city. We went on around ten, no soundchecks or anything in this game, turn things up and hope it sounds ok out front. But hey, we're a punk band right? Had re-strung the GS1 so it sounded pretty good, plus the strings felt better to play, I need to re-string my guitar in a proper schedule. As I think the last time it saw new strings was before one of gigs before we took the break. So a good 9 Months I think. Music wise, I bought 2 new albums on the weekend, Enginedown and The Evens. I think pretty much every Dischord Kid has the Evens album by now, i'm so out of date with everything, not given it much listen yet, although I have noticed Ian's playing a Danelectro now. Come on Mackaye, if you wanted to play something like that, you should have made it yourself. This is a man with 2 Gibson SG's, so why on earth he's playing something made out of chipboard is anyones guess. On the Job front, i'm slowly settling into my new job, I didnt think it would be this hard, but apparently spending the last two months doing no work whilst playing with the offices 10 meg internet connection and getting my ass kicked on Unreal Tournament has screwed with my work mindset somewhat. Andy |