Happy new year! - January 2020
Hard at practice!
8 weeks since our last gig has given us an opportunity to finally nail down the alternative arrangements a fully acoustic gig actually needs. People may think that to do an acoustic gig you just play the same stuff but just on a different guitar - the truth is very much different. To make the music have some texture it requires every one in the band to do something different. It also means that you have to choose different tracks to work with, because not everything you would do with a full electric set up works with acoustic. We sometime use a variax guitar which mimics an acoustic sound but plays very much as an electric guitar, but to get the full acoustic sound we need to use different td guitars and an acoustic guitar handle very much differently to an electric. If you imagine relearning how to drive on a left hand drive car, all the same components just in a different place, you'll get the idea. - conspiracy rising unplugged - 8th february at the lion and royal. (see our drummer sit on a box and try to erase his finger prints by hitting it really hard with the ends of his fingers)
Rogue saint
First outing for 2020 - boy what a night!! We were like coiled springs and it seemed that everyone else was too as the long road away from xmas came close to pay day. The calendar said 24th january, but we were sure it was january the 650th!. It was a hot affair but plenty of singing and dancing ensued. We played close to 3hrs in total and despite shouts for more the curfew kicked in and we played the final notes around 12:45 am. Some fine dancing, some fine cheering and a volume of applause that tolds us we had hit the right balance with our setlist. Love this place !
February 2020
Lion and Royal - Navenby - "unplugged"
This was our first every fully acoustic gig and we had been putting in extra practise sessions to ensure it was as polished as it could be. Speedy had worked tirelessly on new arrangements and new solos which would work on acoustics for maximum effect. For those who don't play an instrument, you'd be forgiven for thinking you just play an acoustic guitar just like an electric, in some parts that's true, but in the main, the way you play it, how hard you strum and how hard you hold the strings all add to the overall feel and volume. It also means that if you make a mistake it's much more noticeable than if you do the same on an electric with all the effects pedals etc. Steg was on the 'cajon' which in itself is a hugely difficult transition and played with all parts of the hands (palms, fingers, fleshy part of the thumb and finger ends etc) practise sessions had educated us enough to make sure steg had a good set of plasters on fingers before we started and a supply of superglue just in case of a split finger end. The gig itself was a tremendous success and had a whole different feel to it than a fully electric one. From the stage area it was a little strange as we could hear the whole venue chatting away all night, which we are sure happens at all gigs but just not noticeable over an amplified p.a. System and full drum kit. We managed to capture some decent video of the evening and also attempted to record everything from the mixing desk so we could pop a couple of tracks on the facebook page and youtube, the results were surprisingly good and the small set of wash lights we used really added to the look as well - go check them out if you've not seen them. We plan another "unplugged" later in the year at adam and eve tavern as we had a huge amount of congratulations and compliments afterwards. Thanks to lion and royal for indulging our wishes and allowing us to go unplugged, as not all venues would be happy to consider.
Illness
We had a scheduled gig in Wellingore on the 29th which fell foul of Simon’s illness (sore throat and loss of voice) - we had hoped this wouldn't have been an issue but after two weeks without practice it was clear that he was in no position to hit any notes, never mind the high range he needed for some of our setlist (Darkness/GnR) - so this is on the list to re-arrange
March 2020
Covid-19 (corona virus)
Towards the end of february there were noises coming ut of china about a particulary nasty and potentially deadly virus spreading into the west/europe. Following the news and advice given we took the early decision to cancel all gigs until further notice to fall in line with the social distancing and essential travel restrictions. This also means that practising as a unit is impossible. Try as we might we cant find any workaround for this. To be as tight a unit as we are involves side by side practice. Latency over the internet means online practice is not an option, so our only option is to take a list of tracks and each practice as best we can until restrictions are lifted. Jesus' better half is expecting their first child in june so he has automatically been classed as 'at risk' so he doesn't put her at risk and with the baby jesus due in mid june this means we are off the road until end of july, start of august potentially. All major sporting events and series are being cancelled and postponed so we fully expect british superbikes at cadwell to also follow suit, although no firm decision has been made just yet - as soon as we know we will post it here and on facebook etc. - stay safe everyone - stay at home - protect our nhs and everyone's loved ones.
The Covid Lockdown - August 2020
Covid-19 (corona virus)
As the Covid lockdown continues and at time of writing still no sign of any sort of music performance or gig normality, we have been busy writing some original music. This is something we have always wanted to do but have struggled with, largely because to keep our set fresh and interesting we are always learning new covers. Add into that the need to try and refine the set for large events like Cadwell it means we go through a huge amount of tracks before they actually get in the setlist, all of which leaves no time for original things to be worked on. Lockdown however has provided that opportunity for us. In addition you can see our lockdown video of 'final countdown' here. This is one we put together at the start of lockdown. It proved to be more of a challenge to do than originally thought but with the help of a couple of webcams, iPhones and Samsung's we think we got a good result. Mixed by speedy and video edit by chug.
As of august we are back in the practise room which is a welcome relief and the smiles on faces demonstrate there's nothing like playing music with your mates for a couple of hours to help distract you away from all the other crap that's going on right now.
Stay safe champions!
The Covid Lockdown - September -> New Year - 2020
Covid-19 (corona virus)
Following 'eat out to help out' and a return to practise and a faint hope of some normality, it turns out we are now in 'sup up and f**k off' with pubs closing at 10pm and students being confined to halls and the 'r' rate heading up now that universities are open. There are positives for us as a band though... Great news is that Jesus re-joined us bringing us back to full strength following the birth of his first son with his partner for which we are super excited and thankful of a successful and healthy birth. Big hugs from the whole Conspiracy Rising Family to baby Arthur.
In other news... We have now got our first original track 90% finished, which we are extremely pleased with. We have another half dozen we are working on and are hopeful of recording a handful of tracks before the end of the year to release in our own right. We will keep you posted on progress so keep your eyes on social media for details.
In the meantime whilst there is no prospect of live shows we are going to make the most of it with original tracks where we can, so stay safe, look after your loved ones, look after those that need love, contact people you've not spoken to for ages and be kind to everyone you meet x wear a mask and don't be a dick - we are all in this together. Big hugs to all. x
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