Tuesday February 28, 2006 MARCH HAIRS
Posted by pavel
Work is underway on spanking new songs, some of which are being showcased at tomorrow night's shindig in SIN-E. Pop along 8:30-ish. To hear ourselves and Colin Scallan. Lend an ear to some new tunes, recorded last week at On the Verge. Gigging continues in April with a stint in Bewleys, Grafton Steet where we'll probably be playing the songs 20x too fast due to all the coffee beans.
Monday, November 14, 2005 HEADLINE ACT
Posted by pavel
No news is good news, right? Wrong. No news is a TV reporter who falls asleep mid-bulletin, a newspaper without ink, or a coma victim. The West Seventies camp has news - enough news to rewrite CNN's evening schedule - but you don't want to hear about the South American coups, gold bullion heists, kidnapping or extortion. No, you want the good stuff. West Seventies album news. The sequel is on its way - more
Empire Strikes Back than Breakdance 2: Electric Boogaloo - recorded this time on home turf with songs so staggeringly attractive that Christy Turlington is taking tips. >
Thus far we have a Bible of new toons and the dusters are out, shining these babies like the bonnet of a Lexus L-Finesse. Meantime, receive some aural pleasure when the West Seventies pop into SIN É in Dublin - on the Quay's, near the Voodoo Lounge, past the Four Courts (where we're all going when word leaks about aforementioned coups and kidnapping). Comprende? It's part of poet and prophet Brendan Hickey's On The Verge wondrous acoustic sessions. Let's make a date: Wed. 16th November from 8:30pm; and it's as free as a nudist's whatsits. Don't just wait for the news, be part of it. We'll see you on the night, superstars.
Wednesday, January 5, 2005 TAKING OUT THE TRASH
Posted by pavel
The West Seventies are supporting cult band The Trashcan Sinatras later this month. Performances include Rosin Dubh on Tue 25 Jan, Dublin's Whelans on Wed 26 Jan, and Dolan's Warehouse on Thu 27 Jan.
Wednesday, January 5, 2005 RADIO GA GA
Posted by pavel
Turn off the TV, quit yer yackin and tune in to 2FM where DJ extrordanaire Dan Hegarty is playing the West Seventies live in session: Tue 4, Wed 5 and Thu 6 of Jan. 12:00am-2am. Dan's an old friend of the band - he's so tall my neck hurts when I talk to him - and he's probably the only DJ in the stratosphere to have the balls to set AC/DC's Highway to Hell in a face off with Back In Black. If you're across the pond, log on to West Seventies Rock RTE and experience the joys of our tasty nu tunes.
Sunday December 19Merry Christmas
Posted by Pavel
Ho Ho Ho. It's the three prostitutes. Merry Christmas to all our fans. See you in the new year!!!!!
Wednesday, October 6, 2004 LORD HAVE MERCY
Posted by pavel
Dublin West Seventies fans! This weekend the band is playing a show in Ron Blacks on Dawson Street as part of a cultural week of events sponsored by Dubliner Magazine. You can catch us playing acoustically (still with drums and loud noises, mind) - the venue is located just opposite the Lord Mayor’s gaff. Speaking of such matters, we invited ex Lord Mayor Royston Brady to pop along but he can’t get off his pizza delivery shift that night. See the rest of you there: Saturday 10 October, 9:30pm.
Saturday, March 20, 2004 EVERYTHING MUST GO
Posted by pavel
As ye's should hopefully know, The Deeper You Go is now on shelves in Tower Records and Road Records (Dublin). Get your copy fast! Upcoming performances include a show with Rubyhorse in Dublin Village, and with Veneer in Whelans. Check out the events board for details.
Wednesday, December 17, 2003 OOH. NICE CLOGS
Posted by pavel
The Dutch dates are up on the Events page now. A few gaps there to be filled in, but that's the bulk of it.
Friday, November 21, 2003 GOING DUTCH
Posted by pavel
The West Seventies will be returning to Holland for a tour from around January 7th to January 21st 2004. We'll let ya know the dates when they arrive.
DAY OF THE DEAD
Posted by pavel
Yesterday the band wrapped up the Come In From The Cold video shoot with a performance in the Cobblestone, Smithfield. Suits and pallid make-up were the order of the afternoon, with a bunch of extras roped in to sit around twiddling their thumbs and sup pints while the director Lindsay ordered Pavel, Mick and Robin to assume the position. After 40 minutes of make-up each we looked like extras from a George A. Romero flick.
The day before, we shot some outdoor footage in a back garden doubling as a graveyard. It was pissing rain and I suspect we all caught influenza.
The finished product will be launched in Dublin's Irish Film Centre on December 12th. We'll keep you posted on times/tickets, etcetera.
Saturday, October 25, 2003 VIDEO THRILLED RADIO STARS
Posted by pavel
The West Seventies have won a Hot Press (www.hotpress.com) competition to have a video made. Handy, as the album's now being released in late January. Selected tune: Come In From The Cold. Production begins mid-November - we're talking about split screen, mazes, and possibly some snuff. Who's gonna get their comeuppance? Wait and c.
Wee promo tour of the country is currently underway. Pop down to the Mezz gig on 4 Nov if yer about. It's free admittance godammit!
Friday, August 29, 2003 ALBUM
Posted by pavel
Dusting off the excesses of our last Dutch tour, the band is ready and able to release our debut album - tentatively titled "Come In From The Cold" or "Hats off for the Underdog" (I dunno whaddya reckon?) Plan is a limited Irish release in October - combined with a tour around the Emerald Isle - with some dates in the UK. Another Dutch tour is planned for January with distribution there too. We'll keep you posted.
Wednesday, March 26, 2003 Guess who's back
Posted by pavel
No news is good news, right? Actually all's been quiet on the Western front since the band's return from Holland in January. Put it this way... we're all in recovery and Robin's in hospital ('nuff said). Presently greasing the guitars for a Summer tour which will take us around Ireland, to the UK (N.I., Scotland, Lahndan - that's London)and our favourite zone East of Hull: Holland! All of which coincides nicely with the release of our debut album.
Stayed tuned, friends, tour dates will be announced veeeery soon.
Thursday, December 12, 2002
Posted by pavel
This is from a few months ago but, honestly, who gives a Fiddler's Fart? It's a live, and rather slower, version of Chemical!
Chemical_live_radio
Thursday, November 28, 2002 INTERNET BROADCAST
Posted by pavel
The Seventies appeared at Dublin's Ruby Sessions Tuesday last week. Missed it? Don't worry, you can see video and hear sound from the performance here: RedFredTV
Hey, you even get to see us playing a Justin Timberlake song.
Tuesday, October 15, 2002 the last day on planet boulder
Posted by pavel
notes from the producer: After 9 fun-filled days with the lads from the emerald isle (and one slightly flatulent scotsman), wednesday found us with a whole pile of things needed to be done and only one day left in which to do them. Like, for instance, purchase of a new suitcase, using the last of the punch card for showers at the gym, dinner at the siamese plate cafeteria, the decline of the local economy (read: the strip bar) when the band leaves town, etc. Oh, and there was recording vocals and such, also.
Upon arrival at the studio at 10am, I posited a completion time of 'around 4'. As in, 4am the next day (good guess). It's never too good an idea to think that far ahead; better to just keep at the task at hand, because otherwise you'll just give up at about half 11am.
Anyway, Mick & I set out on the task of recording all his lead vocals and, nit-picking our way through every syllable, we made quite a bit of progress while Pavel and the unique one, Robin, occupied themselves with the aforementioned pursuit of a new piece of luggage and showers. Wouldn't it be a time-saver to get them both at the same shop? But I digress.
Once I had bludgeoned Mick through his paces, one lad at a time began singing his/her background vocal parts. Mostly well-done and in-tune, there were few complaints about 'I've a bit of a cold, just now' or 'I'm not quite warmed-up yet' or 'I'm hoarse from screaming encouragement during my lap dance' or any other of the many usual remarks, for which I have little patience near the end of an 18-hour day. Those that weren't well-done? I'll never tell what magic I weave. No matter how drastic!
More importantly, the non-background singers loudly competed at basketball shooting in the studio. In fact, I think their complaints and schoolgirl-like whining may be audible in a few of the background tracks. Something to look forward to when mixing. Sadly, despite all the shouting and fistfights, the quality of athleticism displayed was woeful (myself included). In fact, two days later, a young girl acquaintance of mine shattered all of the lads' proud record achievements during her first game, during which she hit 4 of 5 shots, including two from across the studio. That separated the men from the boys.
Anyway, at 4 am, we started to contemplate the approaching hour of 7 am when we'd have to leave the hotel for the airport. We managed to finish the necessary work and get to the hotel just in time for a little less than 2 hours of sleep. Ha! Who needs sleep. Well,er, me, I guess. If I sleep through the next 12 years, I MAY recover from 10 days with the nearly famous, hardly workingest band in rock & roll, the west seventies.
signed, col. wilbur 'bop-it' masisak, ret.
Wednesday, October 9, 2002 Tues Oct 8th (by Robin)
Posted by pavel
Getting into the later chapters of the Boulder adventure here, second last day. First few hours spent with me, Oaf and Pavel all finishing off fretwork. Time stress is setting in, but I'm taking it handy on the rubbing alcohol now cos we found a local off-licence (read as 'liquor store' in Americanese) which sells CIDER! Ha! Back to my favourite tonic, and some mellow acousticness is commited to tape, to contrast some of the more eccentric electrical exponentialism that's been going about in the last few hours. The owner of the offy takes an interest in us when he hears my accent - turns out that he used to run a nightclub in Barrhead (small town south of Glasgow)! Like, this geezer is a Mexican American from Colorado, and he's going on about the speed-ramps on the Paisley Road! I thought he was on the wind-up at first, but he certainly had the patter to back it up. V.strange.
Anyway, guitar slinging concluded, it's time to get warbling and chanting like the cherubs we are. Yes folks, it's Vocal Time! First up is little Pavel, who steps up to the mike to do his party pieces and - jings! He's giving it laldy! Go on there wee man. Jeez, ah didnae ken ye had it in ya! Makes me proud to know you, guvnor, Gawd bless.. So we leave Pavel in the spotlight for the rest of the evening's session and he gets it in the bag. Done deal. Superb. Business concluded, we stuff our faces with pizza and bump into MaryJane, who gives us a lashing (oh YEAH!), verbally that is..., for not calling her to sort out an excursion we were all meant to be going on tonight. We try to plead consumption by our art as an excuse, but she's not too h.a.p.p.y., so we run away and don't go to the "gentleman's club" tonight for fear of her powers of revenge. Time instead for a chill-out gazing at the Rocky Mountains as the sun sets, bottle of iffy American cider in hand, thinking how damn sweet it is when you actually get that moment where you are where you'd most like to be, doing what you'd most like to do, and what you know you should be doing........ talking drunken pish. A personal strength.
MON 9 OCT
Posted by pavel
As a backdrop to our Boulder adventures there's some lunatic sniping people across D.C. The Feds are finding it tough to profile this guy (and let's face it it has to be a guy) because he's neither a spree nor a serial killer but a combo of the two - it's a situation which is largely unprecedented. But in the realms of America's insane gun laws it's hardly surprising. Bush bleats about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, while readily endorsing access to such instruments on his own shores.
Hurt tears into the bulk of the guitar parts today. Blue Days sounds nuclear and Fresno should be committed. Barter cycles round a lake on the foot of the Rockies while Morris gets the beers in (again). In the evening, the two latter suspects set up camp in a downtown Boulder bar to be thrashed at pool by a little Samoan. Vocals start tomorrow.
Monday, October 7, 2002 SUN 6 OCT
Posted by pavel
And then there were three...
Keegan's gone and Hurt's up next on guitars. Before work starts we drive into the Rockies, ending up light-headed at 9,000 feet (about four times higher than the tallest mountain in Ireland). We pull into a small town called Ward, breached by cliff faces and golden-haired pine trees. Here is a car graveyard; ancient vehicles sunk into the mountain silt from years of heavy rain. It's creepy. Abandoned Chevys, old school buses and rusted pick-ups swallowed by the earth. When we drive further into Ward we notice that the whole place is peppered with abandoned vehicles. Only later do we hear rumours that when Boulder people disappear, many of their cars are found lifeless in this strange mountain hamlet.
After Hurt has pillaged Blue Days and Chemical with guitar magic, and that's about midnight, we head next door for Tigger's warehouse party (see last Thursday night) which has full PA, music gear and lighting equipped. Here we meet up with our new friend Mary-Jane, a stripper with a heart of gold who's been dancing to I'll Come Around in the club she works. Tigger gets us up on the stage around 2:30am and we tear the goddamn ceiling down, dude. Quite literally: Barter scissor-kicks and destroys a lighting fixture. But, y'know, it really was a special little performance with everyone dancing and freaking out and Barter's rapper friend improving on stage with the Seventies. Cries of "You Irish guys ROCK!" are left ringing in our ears long after sleep arrives.
DAVE FLIES HOME:
1st flight. Stewardess: Hey! great accent. where are you from?
Dave: Ireland.
Stewardess: Wooooow!
Dave: yeah, thanks. Can I have a wine please?
2nd Flight. Stewardess: Hey! great accent, where are you from?
Dave: eh, Ireland.
Stewardess: wow, really! I'm half Irish.......
Dave: WHITE WINE PLEASE
3rd flight. Stewardess: Hey, you gotta great accent, where are you from?
Dave: AMERICA, NOW GIVE ME A F@*$!#G BEER!
Stewardess: Yes Sir.
Sunday, October 6, 2002 SAT 4 OCT BY MORRIS...
Posted by pavel
greetings from the Oaf
Well Saturday started in the wee hours after the Gomez gig with the 4 of us wallowing in musician like remorse about the state of our world and its imminent demise. This,I must say ,was brought on by copious amounts of well mixed Margeuritas. It's all so hopelesh, hic.
This was my day to shine, Dave having done such a sterling job,and it worked out fairly well. I got out a lot quicker than I expected thanks to the 'drop king' Wil. He quickly moved on to Pavels guitars and I considered it my duty ,having done my work, to go on a re-con mission to the only bar within walking distance. The fact that the bar happens to be a topless joint with $1 beers is merely co-incidental of course.
To cut along story short I ended up in the boot of Wils car on the way to see off Dave who was staying with friends on his last night. Pavel and Robin took the buffalo by the horns and went into Denver where they found themselves in a bar named The Soiled Dove which was once a house of ill repute ( is there a pattern developing here?).
So that was Saturday.
Stay tuned for the next thrilling installment...........
SAT 4 OCT
Posted by pavel
11:00am, Barter's on the bus going from Velvet studio into Boulder for coffee. Bum sits in the seat in front , staring intently at the young musician.
Bum: "Hey man, you're John Lennon!"
Barter: "Uh, yeah, a lot of people say I look like him."
Bum: "No, you ARE John Lennon."
Barter: "..."
Bus Driver: "Hey shuttup back there, John Lennon's dead."
Bum glares at bus driver, looks at Barter then shouts back to driver: "Well he don't look dead to ME."
Saturday, October 5, 2002 FRI 4 OCT BY ROBIN...
Posted by pavel
Viewed from the skewed perspective of a Scottish lead guitarist:
Another day spent indoors, hidden away from the blistering Colorado sun, slaving over a hot axe as we nail down rhythm tracks. All is scarily, mindblowingly good on the musical front - at last we're making the album we hear in our heads! - but the absence of Buckfast in this country has me inhaling rubbing alcohol in order to maintain equilibrium. The sinuses are starting to suffer, as is the gut, due to x-large US portions in our local diner.
After hours, we're off into town for a night on the blag. First, young Barter blags us into the night's hot ticket, Gomez at the Fox Theater, as VIP celebs. Not a total scam as we're on good terms with their camp and have this vaguely sorted in advance, but a good bit of work nonetheless. The gig is damn fine; the lads are on a long tour of all points US, but match-fit and not at all jaded. Brief exchanges of scandal afterwards, then we're off on a drunken mission to find late night mischief in a frat (college) party. Yours truly takes over on the blagging front and, with a set of bogus character references and Scottish charm (!..) we're soon in a frat house (student residence, for the uninitiated - and believe me, you ain't missed much) entertaining and quaffing spirits with "America's future"... God help us all - the so-and-sos threw us out on our ear after we dirtied our bib introducing them to our brand of drinking games. Bunch of Gap-wearing WASPish wusses...
And so, complete with flea in our ear from a girl who sounded EXACTLY like Cartman from South Park (maybe not surprising, considering the territory), we cab it back to our studio retreat to slumber, snoring and sinus abuse. Sleep tight? Damn straight..
THU 3 OCT
Posted by pavel
We slog from AM to PM, building the foundations of the house (drum and bass) before we construct the walls (rhythmn guitars), install cool furniture (lead guitars), the roof (vocals), and little perks which make living easy like jacuzzis (keyboards) and jazz mags (assorted sound effects). It's a long day, and a hot one at that, but Keegan (drums) delivers enough socks to clothe all the homeless in Dublin. We emerge from Velvet Studios all bleary-eyed and headached but there's music coming from a warehouse across the way so we dander in. Long story short but Hurt and Oaf end up heading back to the hotel and Barter is left playing dominoes with two strippers having drunk half a bottle of JD while a Native American rapper freestyles in his ear.
Thursday, October 3, 2002 WED 2 OCT
Posted by pavel
Lessons learned today:
1. Don't drink Newcastle Brown Ale from pub tap in America - it tastes like pish and comes back to haunt you.
2. Don't play competitive pool with hippies. They cheat.
3. The BPM of 'Chemical' is unkown to man, God or producer.
4. Hurt scratches his crotch more when he hasn't showered.
5. IHOP (International House Of Pancakes) is overrated.
6. Amidst heavy rainfall and fog, the Colonel's studio is transformed from Rocky Mountain postcard to Ballyfermot industrial estate.
Wednesday, October 2, 2002 TUE 1 OCT
Posted by pavel
Jetlag is a cruel mistress. Just when you think she's treating you good she sneaks up from behind and kicks you in the nads. Early morning rise gives way to coffee and cookies, then we're orientated and can actually pick up instruments. When we eventually get around to it we jam through the prospective tracks while the Colonel takes notes. Songs as follows: Come in from the Cold; Fresno; Blue Days; Torch Song; Promises; If I Fell; Are we Familiar Now; Untitled.
After the sessions there's Margharitas in the Mexican restaurant next door. Barter departs for the hotel with the Colonel. Work begins in earnest manana.
MON 30 SEPT
Posted by pavel
Queuing, sitting and near-overdosing on our way to Boulder, Colorado. Security is tighter than a gnat's chuff but we've got nothing to declare apart from Hurt's Nyquil and sleeping pills (which he intends on ingesting before the plane leaves London). Barter watches movies and curses Sandra Bullock out of it, Morris snores, Keegan orders more wine for Barter, comatosed Hurt dribbles while his legs twitch violently.
Hurt's got helter-skelter eyes when we land in Chicago and no one wants to endure another two hour flight. But we're all wiped during the trip to Denver despite an electrical storm which splits the night above Iowa.
The Colonel collects us in Denver but has to keep moving because of a Nazi traffic warden. Hurt's bag was split by asshole baggage handlers and he's giving off stink to the airport staff.
Back in the studio, Boulder, it feels like we've never been away. The blind mechanic has gone AWOL but the BusStop strip club is still there. Hella good, bro, it's great to be home.
Tuesday, September 10, 2002 GO ON THE CATS!
Posted by pavel
Played a funny old gig in Kilkenny on Sunday night. The Kilkenny hurlers won the All-Ireland so the City's inhabitants degenerated into a mass of heaving drunken bodies, draped in black and yellow flags, yelling about Kilkenny star DJ Carey and how the Clare team were a sorry bunch of turnips who got the arses beat off them. The streets were filled with cars, kids, dancing, and blind-drunk revellers. The Annaconda venue just had the blind-drunk revellers. We played about 10:30pm. Mick had swallowed ten pints while watching the match that afternoon. Robin had been clubbing in some upmarket Dublin joint Saturday night and had two hours sleep. I'd been watching artist Paul McCarthy's video installations in Kilkenny Castle for two hours and was feeling a little twisted after all that human degradation, mutilation, scatology and perversion. Anyway, the resulting West Seventies demeanour was on a par with the locals, and we even let them dress us up in Kilkenny Cats hats and flags while we played. Show business might stink, but it's never dull.
Thursday, September 5, 2002 L'AMERICA
Posted by pavel
Welcome to a sparkling new news page, with regular updates (dammit) and an insight into the weird wild world of the West Seventies. Colorado is only a month and a few thousand miles away. That's where we'll be recording with Wil Masisak in early October, scraping together enough songs to furnish an album and drinking margarithas in the Rocky Mountain shade.
America buoys you in ways. Uncle Sam Politik might stretch both patience and resolve but, Christ, you can't argue with the beauty of the place. Deserts, canyons, swamps, cityscapes breached by oceans, baseball on hot Milwaukee nights, freeways stetching like ties upon the chest of the continent.
Our road-trip from New York to Athens, then on to Austin, a couple of years ago was as memorable for the 'scapes as it was for the stage. Everything's just so... big! Big buildings, big mountains, big lakes, big houses, big dreams. Even the country's disasters have a magnitude unsurpassed elsewhere. September 11th made terrible sense in a nation where things are never done by halves.
Nuff said. We've no small ambitions, us and America gel well. Boulder! See you when we get there!
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