Wyld Bird Seed

There are a small number of posters here in South Wales who are in bands and I'm sure there are other clusters of members around the world who would love to go out and support fellow Westone owners. If it's against board policy to allow members to promote their bands then please close this thread.

The band I'm in, Wyld Bird Seed aims to play 10-15 gigs a year. We've got the following gigs already in the diary....

• 31 January - The Fountain, Trellech Grange 9 p.m. onwards
  
• 26 April - The Yew Tree, Preston-on-Wye 9 p.m. onwards
  
• 4 May - The Queen's Head Monmouth
  
• 14 June - The Lion (beer festival) Trellech 5.30 - 6.30
  
• 23 August - The Lion (cider festival) Trellech 5.30 - 6.30
  

We'll probably play The Fountain a few more times this year and have our eye on some slots in some local festivals.

Our Facebook page has up-to-date details of our upcoming gigs. 

https://www.facebook.com/wyldbirdseed

Post moved to new Forum.   

Rumour has it that my band, Shanarchy, will actually be playing their first gig for quite a few years next month in deepest, darkest Lincolnshire. Those in the know also say that a certain Pearl Pink Pantera X300 will be seen out in the wild that night, too...

Best say no more at this stage though, in case I spook the herd...

Hey... !! For those of us that live just an ocean or two away.... how about pix or vid of the gigs being touted, eh?!

Thanks!!

I took my Pantera out of it's case for the first time in an age last week and boy; if these are that good, the 350/390 must be absolutely mind blowingly awesome! ....'cause the X300 is a very, very good guitar indeed...

Yep. All good.
Also, remember that this is a Forum, so please create a new topic thread for your event rather than continuing to add on to this one.

Makes it much easier to locate items of local interest. K?  

Barry wrote:Post moved to new Forum.   

Thank you, much appreciated

A couple of pictures from the last Wyld Bird Seed gig.

Auditioning a new drummer:



Yours truly groaning into the mike with Mrs Don doing most of the vocal heavy lifting.




The Morgan is a cracking drink only pub with a great warm welcome. I can heartily recommend it if you're in the area (and with the great scenery and walking in the area why wouldn't you be). They've invited us back and are talking about paying us cash money (so far we have received food and beer - much easier to account for on your tax return )

Sweet!  Love the pics. 

I'll update our's in a few weeks when Accelerator goes live at Covenant Road House.      I'm excited, it'll be the first time I do lead guitar live!  I've been a vocalist for years, not shy there at all, but lead guitar in front of 100+ Bikers should be fun!

Great pix!
Looks like you had fun, thanks.

We just got this feedback from the last gig...

Thanks very much for playing last Saturday. The reaction from customers was extremely positive, as we do not get to see too much of that style of music, in particular the Latin-type percussion content at the end of the set.
 
We would like to book (and pay) the band for our annual party, provisionally booked for Saturday July 19th.

Actually receiving cash money for making music is beyond our wildest dreams

Oh yeah, it's not just for free anymore!   That is a good feeling.  Makes you feel appreciated.

Don,
Im hoping to be there for the Monmouth gig in May.
Played with Chaser on Sat in Cowbridge

Wyld Bird Seed are now playing the Raglan Festival in 2014 on 14 June.  

The sharp-eyed among you will note that it's the same day as the beer festival at the Lion in Trellech. We will be playing both venues possibly with a more acoustic-themed set at the Lion and the full monty in Raglan (we get 2x45 mins from 8.30 in the Ship).

So it'll be a bit like Phil Collins at Live Aid except we won't be using Concorde to get between the gigs.

****ing heck - a festival !

Congrats on the gig. It seems that there are always free gigs to play but one that actually likes you and pays makes you feel much better and also fuels the egas. Good luck. 

Our back to back gigs in Preston and Monmouth are rapidly approaching:

• 26 April - The Yew Tree, Preston-on-Wye 9 p.m. onwards
  
  
• 4 May - The Queen's Head Monmouth 9 p.m. onwards
  
  

The Monmouth gig will be a fundraiser for Homestart, a local charity which support struggling families - sadly there are plenty of those at the moment so we'll so our best to raise as much as possible.


The set list is being honed over the next couple of weeks but looks like our usual combination of everything including 5 covers we've never played in public before (our version of Get This Party Started has to be heard to be believed), 3 Wyld Bird Seed original numbers  and our world (well locally) famous Carlos Santana medley.


WBS will also be putting in a guest appearance at Catbrook Village Hall on 10 May but will be in a stripped-down 4 piece configuration with just one guitar (yours truly) and no extra percussionist so we'll need to go through our current set and back catalogue to see what we can do. 

Last night was our last rehearsal before the Preston-on-Wye and the new numbers are sounding pretty good. In the unlikely event that anyone is intending to come to deepest darkest Herefordshire, please note that we are starting a little earlier at 8.30 p.m. (to allow us to escape back to civilisation  )

Pix and sounds, mate.... pix and sounds!!   

Be careful of what you ask for


https://soundcloud.com/wbs_the_don/sets/wbs-ep

Well the audience response to our gig last night at The Yew Tree was somewhat underwhelming (as we expected). Part of the problem was that the landlord is having problems with his licence renewal with locals so we had to be very, very, quiet. It was great practice and actually we sounded very good because we didn't saturate with noise. Overall we're glad to have a dress rehearsal for our big gig on the 4th at the Queens Head in Monmouth.

Four of the new numbers (Fools in Love, Superstition, This Town and I Want You to Want Me) went very well, Twisting by the Pool will need some work on Tuesday. Our biggest problem overall is volume control, when either Nigel or myself boost for a solo, the drums get louder and never get quieter, even playing at low volumes the keyboards (which are at a constant reference volume) eventually get lost - I need to buy the drummers some quiet sticks.

We're well set up for next Sunday, we've got friends coming to boost the crowd and I spotted a second hand smoke machine for £25 in a local shop - what could possibly go wrong .

The Don wrote:...the drums get louder and never get quieter...

That's up there with death & taxes...

What's needed is a device that electrifies the drum stool every time a drum or cymbal is hit too hard...

Ironic innit? The one guy in the band who plays an acoustic instrument is the loudest bugger on the planet!  

Don,
Looks like I cant make tomorrow, Mrs working (ITU in the Heath). Shame as a night out in Monmouth would have been good.
Raglan or Trellech next on the radar.

No problem - we had a cracking night. We managed to pack the place out with thirsty punters which pleased the landlord no end and after a few issues with levels (we really must get better at sound checks) we did a pretty decent job. The new songs went down very well but we need to think about having pub sets (relentless upbeat) and afternoon sets (mixture of tempos). 

The very best news is that we managed to raise just over £300 for Homestart (a local charity which helps families with young kids - mostly military families around here) from passing the hat around.

The Raglan gig is the first one that we've had a contract for - we even get a rider

Last practice before "Super Saturday" last night, it's going to be a busy day playing in two venues.

1400 - 1600: Set up drums and PA in second venue, get sulky teen to guard it while we're in the first venue
1600 - 1630: Travel between venues
1630 - 1715: Set up and sound check at first venue
1715 - 1815: One hour set at the first venue
1830 - 1900: Travel between venues
1900 - 1915: Set up and sound check at first venue
2000 - 2300: Two sets at the second venue

So we're playing 

• The Lion in Trellech at 1715 and 
  
• The Ship in Raglan at 2000 (probably more like 2015)
  

Poor "Sicknote", our drummer is in for a hard day. We usually have two drummers so Sicknote usually only has to do one set of an hour or so, on Saturday he has over three hours of playing to do. Sicknote is nearly 65 and is on his second set of knees - gonna be a challenge for him

Don't run out of fuel. It's been known to happen!

Westbone wrote:Don't run out of fuel. It's been known to happen!

Don't worry I'll be drinking heavily all day

 

  

     

 

God, how we suffer for art...
...meet Art

Rock on!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vr8Ib6OWv-E

Done - and we're knackered.

The first gig was a bit of a hassle, we played inside a baking hot tent while the audience sat outside in the sun. The band ahead of us just kept on playing which gave us about 5 minutes to set up and because we were on a schedule we had to zoom out of the car park through a menacing group of Morris men who were performing there at the time.

The second gig was far more relaxed, we played better and nothing beats playing outside as the sun goes down. The audience were great and sang along enthusiastically. Our drummer "Sicknote" has now officially lost his nickname after playing for well over 3 hours without problem.

Tiny mention in the South Wales Argus:

http://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/11279696.Thousands_enjoy_Raglan_Festival/

The festival had a whole host of musical acts performing at the village pubs such as Wyld Bird Seed, Trickster, Shootin’ the Crow, Abertillery Orpheus Male Choir and Crochez Moi, winners of Monmouth’s Got Talent.

Top billing, fame at last

A picture of us performing in Raglan - Yours truly and Spectrum FX on the right.

We also recently got some feedback about our gig at The Queens Head in Monmouth from their regulars. We unsurprisingly fell short of the fully professional bands they usually have there on Sundays and as a covers band failed to hit the mark for some BUT they were happy with our level of musicianship and were actually complimentary about Mrs Don and my vocal harmonies . Apparently we're welcome back there on one of their lower key nights which maintains our 100% record of being invited back to play

Looks like a good time was had by all... 

Sorry I missed it yet again. Whats next??

We're playing a private party in a couple of weeks time, we're up in Malvern again on the 19th July but the next times we're playing publicly and locally are:

Sunday 3 August - Wyld Birds on the Lawn - an afternoon gig in the beer garden at the Fountain Inn in Tellech Grange, not worked through the details yet

Saturday 23 August - Lion Inn Trellech - Cider, Perry and Music festival, we're on for an hour at 1730 but the music should be good all day
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Lion-Inn/253031831441054?ref=stream&fref=nf


The Lion does a good festival.

We've also re-branded, here's our new logo:

Mrs. Don and I at an open mic at the Lion in Trellech last night. The drummer (Jeff) did an amazing job of picking up as we went along.

Oddities in the timing are down to he phone-based recording app I used.

Oddities in pitch are my very own , my limitations as a guitarist and vocalist are fully on show here   

https://soundcloud.com/wbs_the_don/lion-open-mike1

We're playing at The Morgan in Great Malvern on Saturday:

http://www.wyevalleybrewery.co.uk/pubs/the-morgan-great-malvern.html#.U8dsVPldWqA

It's a cracking pub in a lovely part of the world and because it's owned by the Wye Valley Brewery, the beer isn't bad at all.

Music will be on most of the afternoon, we're the last band on from 1700 - 1900

The gig at the Morgan went very well indeed - we've had some interest from other venues up that way  - we'll see how our "tour" schedule pans out.



We've got another gig coming up at the Fountain Inn at Trellech Grange on 8 August from 1700-1900.

Usually when we've got 2 hours we'll do a 45 minute set, take 15 minutes and then play for an hour or so (or longer if encores are asked for). This means we're often tired, loud and ragged by the end of the second set.

This time we're going to try 3x30 minute sets with 15 minute breaks in between. This allows us to have distinctly themed sets (in this case acoustic - latin - rock and roll), gives us an opportunity to dial back the volume between sets and should mean that we're still fresh at the end.

There's the additional benefit that there's more opportunity for punters to make their way to the bar shich should endear us to the landlord.

Sounds a blast mate, nice going....

And I really like the design of the new logo, looks simple but its hard to design something simple and memorable  

Our next gig was due to be the Cider and Perry festival at the Lion Inn (or Loin Inn as it says on the posters ) on the 23rd August. Unfortunately both of our drummers have cried off (despite knowing about the gig for months they've cited previous engagements - I sense the dread hand of 'Er Indoors in both cases) so we're scrambling around at the last minute.

The fact that we have two drummers, neither of whom can make it (and we rarely have both) throws the long-term future of the band in doubt. Why is it always drummers that are the problem ?  

The Don wrote: Why is it always drummers that are the problem ?  

Guitarist...ten a penny, Drummers...(good ones)...few and far between....and some of them can play on that   

Well we've found a drummer and we have exactly one rehearsal with him. We're going to have to choose the sets very carefully. We may have to resort to a 45 minute rendition of Jazz Odyssey

I hear you   

http://thenewaustralian.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Tap-300x173.jpg

Just found this classic shot of Nigel   

http://cdn.mos.musicradar.com/images/features/metal-week/11%20metal%20movies/spinal-tap-630-80.jpg

Primstock 2014. We had just over 100 people round to our place for some music, some beer and a bbq.

Mighty Miss Blues stole the show - if you're ever around Bath they're worth seeing.

Here's the Spectrum FX in action during Wyld Bird Seed's set

Good pic. nice socks.

Often down in Bath. Good music scene around the area indeed.

After a short hiatus, Wyld Bird Seed is back in the saddle.

Due to various band tensions we decided to take a break after a series of gigs in August. This meant that we were really keen after a 6 week break. We've given ourselves a few weeks to freshen up the set with half a dozen new numbers that we can actually work on properly rather than just rushing through any old how.

We have had personnel changes. Our original primary drummer has chosen to quit the band because it's too much time and effort and he wasn't really enjoying it. Our other drummer was happy to carry on and while this means that we won't be able to play some of our Latin numbers, we're a more solid guitar band as a result. In the couple of practices since it's noticeable that he's found his own style and while he may be a slightly less proficient drummer technically, he's a better drummer for the band.

We'll debut our new set and new line-up on the 28th at our local pub, The Fountain.

Looks like we're going to get a decent turn-out tonight. After the best part of 3 months without a Wyld Bird Seed gig (just a few open mic sessions with Mrs Don) I have to admit to a few butterflies.

A track from Friday night, Mrs Don channeling her inner Debbie Harry

https://soundcloud.com/wbs_the_don/20141128-one-way-or-another?in=wbs_the_don/sets/live-at-the-fountain-20141128