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Well, that's the first year of gigging sealed with a cracking anniversary set back at the Tiger Inn in our spiritual - and in two cases literal - home of Beeford. The place was heaving and, if I might say so myself, we played an absolute blinder. The addition of a fine new mixing desk - a highly complicated-looking contraption with loads of knobs, lights and sliders on which I'm not going anywhere near (me and technology are not comfortable bedfellows) - seems to represent the final piece in the equipment jigsaw and we're now sonically ready for world, not just the Wolds. Anniversaries are about taking stock as well as celebrating. In this vein, I feel it is appropriate at this point to recognise the contribution of some of the ladies associated with the band (hereafter referred to as The Retrochicks). We therefore pay tribute to the endless patience and endulgence of our wives and girlfriends - in alpha order Allison, Corrine, Joanne, Kerry and Sandie - who have watched with good grace and not a little enthusiasm as the process of Men II Boys continued apace. OK, so perhaps Mrs Rory was a little too graphic when detailing her particular Saturday morning sacrifice to the band interest but, well, drink had been taken.... Finally, a big shout out to Charlotte - Retrochick-in-Chief and as good and loyal a cheerleader as any band could ask for - and Amanda Good, who has followed us from the start and helped secure us many lucrative, high society gigs (she's a bit posh, is Amanda!), perhaps before we were really ready for them. Thanks both for your support and encouragement. There are plenty of other names I could mention but...well...it's Monday morning and I can't really be bothered. So we now approach our second active year with renewed enthusiasm and vigour, with a clutch of new songs and a handful of yuletide gigs. Motto for 2010: "Keep it Live...Keep it Retro" Much wuv Retro Rory
Well, as I sit here at the computer screen looking at the Retrofits website blog, a long time has passed since Rory's blog back in May. I am currently recovering from an incident with a ladder and Andrew is recovering from his keyhole surgery, well if you call a six inch scar and 12 staples keyhole surgery, I can't see why he keeps whinging so much, nothings burst out yet!!! In the middle of May we had the highlight of the year with our apperance at the Holderness Hunt Summer Ball near Beverley, armed with my new Box Trailer I filled it with every bit of equipment I could find, this was a prestigious do, I needed lots of speakers and lighty things!!! It took us nearly 3 hours to set up, then just as we sound checked we blew a fuse on the generator, I spent the next hour trying to fix the electrics whilst holding my mobile phone in one hand talking the sparky and a screw driver in the other hand. The situation was so serious I went without tea!!! The gig went brilliantly, 2 good sets, and we had the place rocking. June saw the band do a couple of gigs, The Priory Inn in Hull, where we were joined by the "Beeford Massive" for the night, thanks guys for turning up, I'm not sure setting up in front of the dart board was a good idea, neither were Andy's shorts that night, but it was hot.. The end of June saw us play out of the area for the first time, Oulton Hall Golf Club in Leeds, it must be good, Robbie Williams had stayed when he played Roundhay Park. This was a private do on what I must say was the hottest day of the year, the only down side was that all the guests were on the outside terrace, where you would be on a nice mid summer night and we were on the inside. Still it was a good do. We had a few pub gigs in July & August to keep us busy, The Duke of Cumberland in Cottingham & the Barge Inn in Brighouse, Christ that was the journey from hell, especially when the M62 is shut. In August we were booked to play a private wedding very near to Beeford where most of us live, the venue however was so remote, none of of us had ever heard of the place. It was a good day though, we were booked to play an afternoon set at a marquee wedding, with a crate of free beer included, it was at this point whilst opening a few bottles, that the WASPS arrived mainly round Andy's drink, it was Andy's sudden reaction to the wasps and the fact he could have given Usain Bolt a run for his money that we had our concerns about Andy's pain threshold, particuarly with his up and coming operation. We were all looking forward to September, we had 2 early gigs that month as most of us were away on Holiday later in the month, and with Andy's Op, were were going to be out of action until the end of October. The first gig of the month was a fundraiser for Driffield RUFC, another marquee do, great!! we thought, it has been a good summer on the coast, anyway it pissed it down all day, so most of the guests decided to stay in the marquee rather than sit outside on damp September night.Which made things very intimate to say the least. Over the Summer we had managed to put a string of songs together towards the end of the night that we knew would get the crowd rocking, no surprises then with a full marquee (Nick we need a bigger one next year) that people were dancing on other peoples shoulders, which was fine until someone who was worse for drink tripped on a divot, fell over, knocked someone else over who had someone on their shoulders who then fell stright onto Rory's Key boards and knocked them flying, which then knocked the spare guitars flying which then knocked over the PA Amps which turned off the PA. The look on Rory's face, his immediate reaction was like a re-enactment of the final battle in Braveheart, not a pretty site. Anyway, turned out well, and despite the fact we tried to copy the end of a 60's Who concert we had a good night.
The following day we were booked to play "Staxtonbury" near Scarborough, due to other committements we were offered an afternoon slot, bearing in mind that the previous day it had pissed it down all day, the weather was not much better. We had the opportunity to set up earlier before a folk band called the Zimmers (I think) came on stage, the only issue we had was trying to untangle the mess called Rory's Key board stand that had caught the full impact at last nights gig, and trying find a working Power supply, as the ones last night had also taken a hit.Any way, the zimmers had finished it was our turn to take the stage, the atmosphere was like Glastonbury..... the week before the crowd turn up, actually most of the crowd were behind the guy on the straw bale, who was camping in the next field and only came over the complain about the noise!!! well he did stay a while.
So then, our first anniversary looms round the corner, and what a year we have had, I would not have missed it for anything. I'm fortunate to be in a great band, with good guys who don't live out of each others pockets, and a good following of people who seem to like what we do, what more could one ask for? See you at the Tiger Nov 7th.
After a slightly troubled gig in York the previous weekend, I am happy to report that Beeford pop group The Retrofits were back to their "barn"storming best on Saturday in the teeming metropolis they call Thorngumbald. The best one yet musically in your correspondent's humble view. Enthusiastic - and impressively hammered - crowd and the proprietor was so pleased with us she unilaterally upped our fee and offered to re-book us. Furthermore, full marks to Max, our young sound engineer, who is doing great stuff with the mixing desk and has managed to crack the monitoring issues at last. Also mo' respect (as chaps of his age might say) to our Lee who sang a blinder despite - or more likely because of - his pre-gig overindulgence in Dublin's finest. Lee was also responsible for the second best comedy moment of the evening when, during the strip down, he turned to us and said in a louche, beery drawl "I'm not as pissed as you lot think I am" before wobbling and dropping a bass cab on his shooting foot. The best comedy moment of all was Charlotte Retrochick - a comely young lady of our acquaintance who often seems to have a bit of a thirst on her at gigs - commandeering a child's bicycle and riding it straight into some outdoor furniture in the beer garden. What a difference a week makes. I was a wee bit down in the dumps after the previous gig but now I'm thinking, once again, how great being in a band is. The increasingly steady flow of gigs is helpful too. I must tell you about the proposed Retrochicks Calendar 2010 sometime. All for cheridee of course. Can't say too much at this stage but I am led to believe it involves the baring of flesh - and not just Paul's either, God forbid... Much wuv for now Retro Rory
I love Beef Chow Mein. Particularly the different blend of ingredients that make it such a special dish. Garlic, Soy Sauce, mushrooms, and particularly the noodles. What the heck has this got to do with The Retrofits you may be wondering? Well, this past month without Rory has been a bit like a Beef Chow Mein without noodles. It's nice, it's still essentially a Beef Chow Mein, but it never quite captures the glory of Chinas finest because of the lack of those chewy treats that reach out to every corner of the dish and make it such a filling and satisfying experience. Still, it's fair to say I've enjoyed the last month, 2 practices topped off with an unusual gig on Friday night (why did I agree to have my face painted before hand, I looked like Ronald McDonald!!). I had presumed at first we would be taking a straight month off while Rory was away, so it's good that have been keeping our hand in, and we have, on several occasions, made what I believe to be beautiful music in his absence. But it's always lacked those noodles.... So, roll on Floral Hall in the early hours of Sunday 29th (our one hour set could technically last 2 hours, as I think we will be playing straight through the changing of the clocks..) when we are once again "the full shilling" in front of a crowd who will have been out on the lash for the previous 5 hours and will presumably be "mad for it". Bring it on!
Well it's been a while since the last blog entry, so what's been happening in the world of The Retrofits since we last spoke??? It seems like an age away now, but we played The Yorkshire Rose in Beeford before Christmas. What a great night, my mood bouyed by The Tigers draw at Anfield earlier in the day. The place was heaving, we had an excellent guest star (Nick Stubbs who produced our debut CD) who did a solo spot, and then helped out with some killer sax solos on a few choons, cheers Nick! That was it for 2008 (seems like we have come a long way since that first rehearsal back In June!) January has been a good month, a couple of good gigs (Leven Members Club and The Red Lion in Anlaby) and a few new songs to add to the set (With Or Without You is sounding pretty damn good, even after one practice!) We're going to have a few weeks off soon to recharge our batteries, and then back in full swing at the end of March, with a 1am start at Floral Hall, Hornsea for our next gig (1am? Seriously? Oh, OK, 1am it is!)
The Continuing Misadventures of the Retrofits- On my way back from band practice last Sunday I got pulled over by the long arm - or rather flashing blue light - of the law. The young PC was pleasant enough for a twelve year old (I had to use every ounce of my self-preservation instinct to avoid calling him "Sonny" throughout the episode). He said I had been doing 66 mph in a 60 zone. I thought this highly unlikely given that the car was weighed down with half a ton of band gear and the ground was icy but I realised - in time for once - that it wasn't worth the argument. Anyhow, he wanted to breathalyse me ("Just routine at this time of year, Sir". "That's ok, Son...I mean Officer...don't worry about it") so I took a deep breath, blew hard, waited the angst-ridden two minutes the device pretends to take to reach a decision on your sobriety or otherwise and....9 mgs. Whoa! Well under. Sphincter duly loosened. I had been the first to leave the practice session and, as a consequence, as my ordeal continued in the back of the police car, I could see my comrades-in-arms pass by the scene, their joyous, pisstaking little faces clearly visibile through the twilight gloom. After a few more minutes wasted whilst the young constable checked out my insurance and ownership details, we bade each other festive tidings and I carried on - ironically to the pub where I'd arranged to meet the others for a pint and a post mortem on the session. After a while all bands seem to develop a sort of gallows humour that I've never experienced in any other walk of life and I'm not sure I entirely appreciate. I park up and as I walk through the door of the pub the cry goes out... "Hey Rory! New idea for an encore, mate. 'Every Breath You Take'. The Police" Bastards
It's weeks like this that really test your resolve and make you ask yourself "is it really worth it being in a band?", fortunately the answer is a definite "YES!". 2 practices in the space of 5 days at 130 miles round trip for each, in horrible driving conditions (I knew at 11pm on Tuesday night that I would get to the bottom of Garrowby Hill, I just had no idea which way round the car would be when it got there!). Tuesday night was a very strange rehearsal, as it was the first time since Tiger that we had played most of our set (we've been concentrating on the new stuff instead mainly) and therefore we were a little rusty, and I know more than one of us left that night feeling a little deflated. But, as I said at the time, we needed to get that rehearsal out of the way so that we could be on top form for Sunday, last rehearsal before the Yorkshire Rose gig. I think it's fair to say we rocked on Sunday. All the new songs were sounding good, and I think we're happy to include them all at the Rose, and the old stuff was sounding back to how good we had got it for the Tiger gig. So, looking forward to Saturday now (and no, I don't mean the X Factor final!), I think we might just make it a good one!
If I'm honest I hadn't been particularly looking forward to The Retrofits' first recording session as much as the others. I think this was for two related reasons. Firstly, as I regard myself primarily as a songwriter, the notion of going into a studio to record four classic pop tracks with a view to getting them as close as possible to the original versions seemed somewhat counterintuitive - a bit like being the session musos who played on those Pickwick "Top of the Pops" elpees you got from Woolies (RIP) in the 1970s on which (for half the price of the Ronco or K-Tel equivalents with the proper artistes on) you could hear half-decent approximation of the originals. Presumably the players didn't get their session fees unless they delivered a note-perfect match. The second reason is that, as a player, I am - to put it mildly - imprecise. My place in this band owes more to my versatility than my virtuosity. I am equally average on a range on instruments. My instrumental mediocrity doesn't matter a great deal in my home studio, where I can allow myself 20 takes to get one synth line right if I want or need to. Nor is it that big a problem live as people make allowances and the other guys tend to drown me out anyway. However, in the confines of a properly-equipped commercial studio being paid for by the hour the pressure was on not to mess up. Other than requiring a dozen takes for the organ part on the middle eight of Summer of '69 I think I just about got away with it. The pre-mix versions are fine - actually really good - and they'll do the business for us when they're all finished off. Our version of Stand By Me seriously kicks the shit out of any version I've ever heard, including Ben E King's. Our young singer, Lee, is quite simply the best I've ever played with. And, unlike most singers, he's not an arsehole. We had decided to have a bonding/boozing/reconnaissance session the night before at the venue of the next gig. I hadn't realised before quite how much my bandmates could drink. Next day I discovered how much they could eat. Bagfulls of food, they brought. When that was all gone they left the studio to scavenge for more. Paul, our larger-than-life (I think that's how the tabloids put it) bass wizard, was craving the chip shop with all the fervour of a junkie who's dealer has gone awol. As for me, as you would expect I settled for a quiet pint in the local tavern after my keyboard parts were done. The other thing of note was the weather. I love the snow and wind and ice for as long as I don't have to actually go anywhere. As it was, the journey from my home to the studio totals about 15 miles of ungritted country roads with dog-leg bends every 500 yards or do. I rarely got above second gear there or back. Particularly embarassing was the end of the session when my car, weighed down at the rear with amps, guitar,s keyboards and various related bits and pieces, just couldn't get up the hill from the studio. In the end, I actually had to be pushed by our singer, lead guitarist and the engineer's wife across a flatter route through the churchyard just to get back on the main road (a belated thanks to them by the way - I was not fancying a night in the car in sub-zero temperatures). As The Saw Doctors correctly observed:- "If This Is Rock 'n'' Roll I Want My Old Job Back"... Best... Retro Rory x
Went in to the recording studio on Saturday to record our first CD.
Star of the day, in my opinion, was Lee "one take" Rodmell (although we were all on top form I felt on the day!). At the ungodly hour of 9.30am when it's thick snow outside, we asked him to put down some guide vocals while we recorded drums and bass. We told him to look after his voice for later, so we ended up with what can only be described as his "Barry White voice" on the early mixes. He then pretty much had nothing to do for 4 hours apart from catch up with some sleep on the floor in the corner of the studio (following the previous nights "fact finding mission" at the Yorkshire Rose, scene of our next gig), and make the occasional trip to the car to catch up with important events in Portsmouth on KCFM.
When the time came for him to do his stuff, I think we'd all forgotten that he could actually sing, based on 4 hours of non stop listening to his Barry White versions. He then proceeded to rattle off 4 songs perfect in less time that it took Paul to find the local chip shop. There was no stopping him now as he then added some rather nifty cow bells and hand claps to "Stuck In The Middle".
By 6pm we'd received warning that we should "go home now otherwise you're going nowhere". Despite the obvious Royston Vasey-esque connotations of that statement what was meant was that the snow and ice was getting pretty bad, and Aldbrough was close to getting cut off. Not good for me getting back to Leeds ready for an early start at work the next morning. So, off we went, with a rough mix CD in hand. Rory couldn't get up the hill and needed pushing through someones private land to get him out of the village! Me and Lee had slightly more success as we slid our way up the hill pushed by the local neighbourhood. 2 1/2 hours later I arrive in Leeds with locals staring in amazement at my snow covered car (a beautiful day in Leeds apparently!).
Anyway, just waiting for the final mix to come through and we should have our first CD in hand! Cheers Andrew
Well we are all still on a high from the Tiger gig, the practice of 6 new songs at Far Grange Park on Monday Night was incredible, a few minor issues, but to get 6 new songs off in one go was brilliant. We are all looking forward to the 2nd leg of our world tour at the Yorkshire Rose, we've already been asked if we are likley to be gigging outside of Beeford, and of course, we will........ once we get a van!!!
Well our first gig has come and gone, and what a night! Thanks to everyone who came down to see us, you were a great crowd! There were a few nerves a-jangling before hand but we seemed to settle in to it fairly quickly. We had a few enquiries on the night from people who might want to book us so that was encouraging.
Now looking forward to the 22nd when we've got a day in the studio booked so we should have some choons available for people to hear soon after! Cheers - Andrew
Hey, I'm in a band. Not, like before, a band in name only with me doing everything and pretending I've got some invisible friends like I did when I was a kid. Actually, now I come to think about it even my imaginary friends didn't like me much.. No, this here is a proper band with drums and big amps and lighting rigs and...wait for it...bandmates. Whoa! It's been a bit of a surreal experience to be involved in a real life band situation for this first time in over two decades. Partly, it's the whole karma thing. If I hadn't got barred out of my own local I wouldn't have started drinking in the bass player's local etc etc. But mainly it's because it's all so different now. See, when you put together a band when you're young it's generally (a) to play your own material, (b) to hang around with your mates; (c) to be cool; (d) to attract the interest of the fairest maidens in your particular postal district and (e) to get rich and famous, obviously. When you start out in your teens and early twenties, it's generally with a bunch of guys your own age, who you already know as mates and who have the same musical tastes and dreams of global domination as you do. The only fights tend to be about whose material gets most prominence, who does the guitar solo and, naturally, the aforementioned fair maidens. So how does that compare to a bunch of not-in-the-first-flush-of-youth geezers getting it together in the deepest remote part of the East Riding? Well, it doesn't really. The reasons are thus: a) Material: We are unashamedly a covers band. One of the first band bye-laws stated that "any person expressing aloud the desire to 'do some of my own stuff' will be taken outside by the others, bayoneted mercilessly by a sharpened microphone stand and shot like a rabid mongrel". The second band bye-law, for interest, was "FFS Andrew, will you pack in bringing your stinky pasta salads to rehearsals?" b) Mates?: Well, we all get on well enough socially but we're not in each others pockets. Andrew (lead guitar) and Nigel (drums) were in a band together way back, and Paul (bass) and Lee (vocals) go back a long way but we're pretty new to each other as an entity. I was a complete stranger to all of them other than Paul, with whom I was barely on nodding terms. We have been thrown together by nothing more than than geographical proximity, a degree of instrumental competence and above all the need to rawk, albeit in a sort of gentle, non-threatening, slightly middle-aged kind of way. c) With the exception of our impossibly young, gifted and handsome lead singer we are, in broad terms, about as cool as Gyles Brandreth's knitwear range. d) Fair Maidens?: Well, I'm afraid the word has already gone out from the WaGs to the effect that "you can look but you better not touch". Even if it were not for the fact that we all have longstanding 'significant others' it's hard to see, for example, me and Paul exciting even the same hysterical female response as, I dunno, Alan Titchmarsh say. In that respect, our time has been and gone, I suspect. e) Wealth and world domination? Nah..not for us. Reasonable out-of-pocket expenses, a couple of hundred quid, a few post-match beers and the rosette for Beeford's Top Pub and Functions Quintet will do us just fine. For me, having spent the last 20 years noodling away on my own or in a home recording studio, the most daunting task is having to get everything right first time. In the studio it doesn't matter if you need twenty goes to get a synthesiser sequence right. It will matter to hell in the hallowed surroundings of Leven Member's Club. Still, a couple of weeks 'til our first public outing and an air of quiet but non-complacent confidence has settled over Beeford's not-so-famous five. We're just about ready for the world. Toodle-pip for now... Rory Retrofit.
Last night was our first practice at Far Grange, Skipsea, with full stage set up and lighting and we had a proper professional photo shoot! Hopefully we will see the results of that next week and will get some photo's up on the website. 3 weeks and 1 day to first gig....better get practising!
Lee braved the man flu today at practice, legend!
Good practice last night, and the last one before Rory goes all Rick Wakeman on us with his double keyboard rack. Maybe we should buy him a wizards cloak to wear on stage??? There's no stopping a man when he's in love with his music....
Well here we are, the first entry in the blog for The Retrofits. So, where are we at, at this moment in time? Well, we've got a name, which is a major achievement (you wouldn't believe how long it's taken us all to agree on a name!) Looking back at some of the hundreds of emails we've had flying round over the past couple of months, we could have been anything from "Monkey Wrench" to "The Whisky Traders". There was a period of "Version 5", "Run For Cover", "The Retrosexuals", and, if we'd put our faith in www.bandnamemaker.com we could have been "Turgie Turgidson & The Turgid Milk Burglars"! Anyway, "The Retrofits" it is, and with the name in place we've got cracking on setting up our website. Rehearsals have been going great, and we're now feeling like we have a set of songs just about ready, but by the time the first gig comes along in November we will be well ready. We're hoping to get some good photo's done soon so the website should look a lot more "finished" then. That's all from me for now....
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Rory - 9th November
Paul - 21st October 2009
Andrew - 15th March 2009
