Here are a bunch of excellent bands for you to listen to:
Giraffes? Giraffes! (Like Hella back when they were good)
Algernon Cadwallader (Sounds like Tim Kinsella fronting a more aggressive version of American Football)
Street Smart Cyclist (a bit Mineral/Sunny Day Real Estate/Itch)
x
Thanks to Owen Richards for taking these.
We’re releasing a back catalogue type thing over in Japan and Australia in April. We recorded a song to accompany the release called ‘Japanese Ultra-violence in D-minor (the saddest chord)’.
You can now listen to this song over at our myspace page:
http://www.myspace.com/thistownneedsguns
You won’t be able to buy it in the UK (unless you get it on import) and we’ll never play it live (we’ve already forgotten how to play it), but I thought some of you might be interested in giving it a whirl.
Thursday morning and Will is kind enough to wake me and Dan up at 8 with a cup of tea. Both he and Sarah have to get to uni and we have to get to Manchester for our first TV appearance. Wooo! Will and Sarah leave us with the keys to lock up and we head off not long after them, but not before leaving a special message:
The drive from Sheffield to Machester is stunning. There is some incredible scenery as we begin the journey, but unfortunately it isn’t long before bad luck hits. The road we’d planned to take was closed and we had to take another route. It added another 45 minutes to an hour to our journey. So much for our plan to arrive early.
When we get to Manchester, we discover that the studio is a gigantic glass building.
At first glance it doesn’t look like there is an entrance to this great glass monolith but from behind a sliding panel of glass, Rachael (someone from Channel M) steps out and tells us where we’re to load in. It is during load in that I rather stupidly use my hand to try and stop the sliding door. I had assumed that like with most automatic doors, this one would have one of those security sensors that would open the door after applying a little pressure. I was wrong. The door kept on coming and after I had pulled my hand away (to prevent it being cut off) I discovered that it had left it’s mark. Blood started to pour down my arm. This is not a good start.
Whilst I get my hand seen to the rest of the guys have loaded in and it takes us about 10 minutes to set everything up. Unfortunately it’s another hour or so of soundchecking before we’re finally ready to record. I won’t go into the details of what we did. But here it is in bullet form:
Here is our handy work. ‘And I’ll tell you for why…‘ and ‘26 is dancier than 4‘
Manchester to York is not as visually impressive a drive as our trip earlier in the day, but we make good time and it’s nice to spend a little bit of time with everyone before we play our last gig of the tour.
The soundcheck is brief and my ear-drum nearly dribbles out when a monitor feedsback right next to the right side of my head. It’s not the best sound on tour, but I’m too tired to care and it never sounds the same in soundcheck as it does when you actually play. Tonight this point could not have been proven more true. The sound on stage is great. We have an absolute blast. There are a bunch of people near the front who know the songs and appear to be having a great time. Dan manages to knock my guitar out of tune half-way through the first song, but it doesn’t matter. Tonight is about having fun. We don’t play the best we’ve played on this tour, but we have one of the best times on stage that I have ever had. It was sooo much fun!
Henry (Dartz) and Cameron (twoducksdisco) have come along tonight. We’ve been lucky on this tour and we’ve met up with quite a lot of our friends. It’s a good night to finish the tour on.
Rolo Tomassi get a mosh pit going for their set. I’m sure it won’t be the last they see on this tour. They just seem to be getting progressively more powerful with each set. It’s ruddy impressive.
IWACS are a class act again.
We are sad to leave tonight. None of us want to finsh this tour. We’re justing getting to know everyone and get into the touring ’stride’ but alas we must drive back to Oxford tonight so Tim can go to work in the morning. After a few group photos, we get on the road and finally reach home just before 3:00a.m.
This tour was great. Our only regret was that it was all over too soon. Rolo Tomassi and IWACS are still on tour together. If they’re playing near you, you should make the effort to see them. You won’t be dissapointed. I’m going to the London show. See you there?
Thanks to the following; The TTNG WAGs for letting us leave them for a few nights to play music to strangers. Team IWACS; Simon (tour manager), Mike (driver/merch guy), Dale (roadie), Dan (soundman), Todd and Will. Team Rolo T; Dan/Beecher (driver), James, Joe, Joe, Ed and Eva. Phil, Will and Henry (Dartz). Cameron (twoducks). Simon’s mum. Channel M. All the promoters who put us on and most importantly the people who came along to see us play.
Simon (with a little help from his mum) treats us all to egg and bacon sandwiches and we head off to Sheffield pretty early. Todd decides to come in the van with us while the rest of the IWACS team head off to Wills house to pick him up on the way. It’s nice to have a new person in the van. It certainly helps to stimulate conversation. I think this is the first journey we’ve taken where Chris hasn’t slept from beginning to end (although he does still find time for a quick nap).
The Corporation is a cool venue. Everything gets unloaded and we head off to the city centre to buy some lunch and a copy of Predator on DVD (we left Dan’s copy in Oxford, so we have to buy him a replacement). When we get back to the venue there is bugger all to do so the members of TTNG can be found outside the venue re-living their youth with a few good old games of wally and kurby, before we begin devising our own game of Rugball.
When we go backstage Dan (IWACS soundman) teaches me how to open a bottle of beer using a water bottle. A surprisingly useful tip 
So after waiting around for 5 hours we get a ten minute soundcheck before we get to watch the first few minutes of the England friendly. Will (Dartz) and his girlfriend Sarah show up. He’s the second member of Dartz to come see us this tour. Phil came to the Oxford show. It’s good to see them again. It would appear as though Nottingham was something of a blip, as we play really well again tonight. The crowd seem pretty responsive, but considering that the stage is about half a mile above the audience it’s difficult to tell.
26 is dancier than 4 @ Sheffield Corporation
Rolo are incredible (again) and IWACS do sterling work once more. Dan joins them onstage for two songs tonight; ‘Hunters Daughter’ and ‘Echoes’.
After the gig the venue turns into a ‘School Disco’. Nothing can prepare you for the horror! I have major issues with large crowds. An hour after the gig is over and we’re still packing up. Every 3rd rate student in a 30 miles radius has been inticed by the promise of 50p shots, loose women and pissed up rugby players. Oh dear! The main room is a sea of people and the stench of cheap booze and even cheaper perfume saturates what little air has been left by the great unwashed. It’s a grim sight and one I hope to never see again.
Vans packed, we head off to Will and Sarah’s house via an indian takeaway/pizza place/kebab house. As we leave the venue we see a couple of people stumbling out onto the street more than a little worse for wear. This was after an hour of doors opening, I can’t imagine what it must be like at chucking out time. Will, Tim, Chris and Dan indulge their Pro-Evo obsession when we get in. We’re all knackered and tomorrow is a long day. Bed time.
Review:
Shefbase.com
So I’m sure anyone left still reading these things is bored of hearing about how we get to the venue and what soundcheck was like (I’m thinking of you while I write this Hootie) so let’s just say that things are running like they normally do. We’re late.
We have a pretty rushed soundcheck and enough time to grab a drink (from our very own fully stocked fridge. Woo) while I set up the merch stand. IWACS finally get their merch tonight, so between the three bands it’s a bit of a squeeze, but we manage to perch on the end ok.
Firstly Dan and then Chris, do the now standard dissapearing act 2 minutes before we’re supposed to go on. I’m past worrying about it now though. I just know that they’re going to turn up….eventually.
The sound on stage is wierd. I just can’t get in to it at all. It doesn’t help that I screw up at least twice during the course of the set, but what makes it worse is that there is a girl on the front row telling me to “get your cock out”. Awkward much?!
After we play, a whole bunch of people come up to say hi and say they enjoyed the set. It’s weird how that happens. The other guys in the band think we did ok to, but I was so dissapointed (especially after we’d been playing so well). I suppose that is music though. There’s no hard and fast rules to it. What one person loves, another will hate. This is something that everyone knows. I’m being boring again. I’ll get on with it.
Rolo are amazing again tonight. At the merch table there is a seat that when stood on, gives me a really good vantage point. So much energy in their performance. They were really great. Eva is a bit pissed off that she couldn’t hear her vocals, but the rest of the band seem pleased.
Hometown(ish) show for IWACS tonight and they too are full of energy. Dan joins them onstage tonight to play trumpet. He was hoping to do two songs, but considering he has to figure out the parts by listening to them on Will’s laptop backstage, he only has time to learn ‘Echoes’. It seems like the sexual deviant on the front row is still at it. Fortunately Todd doesn’t take up the offer and keeps his “chode” safely tucked away
After the gig we go to the Rescue Rooms and order some food just before closing. I always feel bad doing that. After working in Pizza Hut for 3 years to get me through uni, I fully understand how annoying it is to get a last minute order as you’re getting ready to close. After that we head to ‘The Social’ where they’re in the middle of their first ‘emo’ night. It’s not the best, but it certainly isn’t the worst. The dj’s make an effort to play some old(ish) stuff. I definitely remember hearing ‘Used for Glue’ and I’m pretty sure there were some other classic tracks in there to. 12 o’clock comes round and it is now Dan’s birthday. We give him a rousing rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ and promise that we’ll do whatever he wants tomorrow.
We say goodbye to the Rolo crew and the rest of us set off to Simon’s (IWACS tour manager) house. Todd and Dale entertain us into the early hours with tales of previous tour adventures that far exceed our own humble efforts. It’s times like these I realise that we are super dull 
Me, Tim, Chris and Mike share the lounge. Almost as soon as my head hits the pillow Mike starts to snore. Gutted! It would appear as though he wasn’t the only one. When I wake up in the morning, I discover that between the two of us we have been making enough noise to keep Tim and Chris awake all night. So much so that Chris has spent the last 4 hours listening to his i-pod. He informs me that he is completely bored of listening to Owls. Something no one thought possible.
So the day after Tunbridge Wells was officially a day off, which was nice as it meant we could spend some time with our girlfriends and wives, before we leave for the rest of the week. Lazy Sundays are just about one of the best things ever.
Late Sunday evening (about 2 in the morning) the IWACS crew bowls up to our front door with matresses, suitcases and sleeping bags in arm. We are fortunate in that we have a rather large living room and after a quick chat about how their ‘instore’ and gig in Kingston went earlier in the day*, I head back to bed and leave them chatting downstairs into the very early hours.
Monday morning, we all have to go to work and abandon IWACS sleeping in the lounge. We leave them to their own devices while we go earn money to pay the rent and feed ourselves. It is the last day before the tour can begin for us in earnest and I long for the working day to end so I can get on with playing gigs
When we get to the Zodiac we discover that Jimmy from the Cellar is doing tonights sound all on his own. This is great news for us, as Jimmy is ruddy good. We actually get a soundcheck for the first time in about 6 months. None of us really know what to do with ourselves in soundcheck anymore, so it’s a pretty laid back affair.
We’re all a bit worried about tonights gig as pre-sales haven’t gone great, so it’s a relief when we discover that there are 120 people in tonight. It doesn’t make the Zodiac full, but it certainly helps having a decent sized crowd. We try to mix the set order up a little tonight and change a few things around. It’s fun, but it does mean that there are fairly long intervals between each song. On stage it feels like an age. It usually takes a few gigs into the tour before stage banter becomes any good, so we decide to stick with relative silence between songs. It’s for the best. The sound on stage is incredible tonight and we all really love playing. It’s pretty much the best we’ve played in Oxford for ages and we’re really pleased.
Rolo Tomassi are immense tonight and I am a fully fledged convert. I love pretty much everything they do tonight. Soooo good. Curry and Film Noir, are both highlights.
IWACS don’t display the same kind of energy they had in T-Wells, but they sound a whole lot better. Tonight is their first night with Dan ‘the soundman’ and it is a world away from how they were the other night. Todd unveils his ‘angel’ outfit. Good times.
We take what is left of the rider and pile into our vans. It’s back to our place. Somehow we manage to fit 17 people in our house tonight. RT’s driver (also called Dan/Beecher) has brought a copy of Predator on tour with him, so despite us managing to get halfway through the Matrix on TV, we decide to start watching Predator. We get up to the “there’s something in the trees” section, before tiredness/too much drink forces us to sleep.
Reviews:
Moderate Rock
Gigwise.com
*Apparently some fat jokes Todd and Will made on stage didn’t go down to well with a few larger members of the audience.
So another tour…another pointless attempt to document our adventures in an ex-postal van. This time we’ll be accompanying the nice young chaps and chapette in I Was A Cub Scout and Rolo Tomassi.
Saturday morning and we realise that we haven’t played the songs we need to play on this tour since we played the last gig on our tour with Dartz and Secondsmile back in December. We’ve been so busy writing (and not finishing) new songs. We simply haven’t had the time to run through the set. So early Saturday afternoon is spent panicing and trying to remember how to play all our ‘old’ songs. Consequently we are late setting off from Oxford (surprise, surprise). Regardless, we arrive at the venue with time to spare. We say hi to the other bands (including another band playing the night; All These Arms) and exchange pleasantries.
It feels like ages since we last saw Todd and Will, so it’s really nice to catch up with the whole IWACS team. I say team as they are accompanied on tour by Simon (tour manager), Dale (roadie) and Mike (aka Grylls - driver). Chris and I have been suffering with colds over the last week. Couple that with the minimal practice and our expectations for this evenings performance aren’t very high.
All The Arms put in a sterling performance. They remind me of Linkin Park, so it’s a bit of a blast from the past for me. Their set includes a cover of Haddaway’s ‘What is love’. A genuine treat.
We’re up next and defying all our expectations, I think we played really well. A promoter friend of ours from Ashford and his friends are up at the front, singing and dancing along to a bunch of the songs and the rest of the large crowd of people watching the gig seem to be in to what we’re doing. There is a video with fairly rough sound here:
Tonight is only the second time I’ll have seen Rolo Tomassi and they are absolutely brilliant. It’s so technical, but great. The band are really tight and despite Eva’s fears over her vocals, they pull off a really good set. Truth be told however, at this stage of the tour I was totally blown away by how good they were, but I still wasn’t sure whether I actually liked their songs. It was really odd.
IWACS dove headlong into their set and although they suffered a few technical issues, they put so much energy into the performance that it didn’t seem to matter. Some of the younger kids got a bit too excited and totally wiped out some unsuspecting guy. It was pretty harsh, but no-one seemed to get hurt so it wasn’t too bad I suppose.
After the gig we receive quite a lot of compliments from nice people who come up and say hi. That was nice.
What wasn’t so nice, was when Todd pointed out that with my new glasses I looked a bit like this guy from “Revenge of the Nerds”:
GUTTED!
We say our goodbyes and head back to Oxford. At some point on the journey I sneeze quite heavily and realise that I have no tissue. The result of this is that I spend half an hour with snot running down my face. Good times!
Review:
Subba-Cultcha.com
Hello,
We’re on the tele-box tonight. There is a pretty swish little TV station up in Manchester who will record and then broadcast over the airwaves/cable networks, a couple of our songs performed live. Also on the show will be Justice, The Whip and Lost on Campus. The show goes out at 10p.m. tonight. It should be a fun do. If you have Sky in Europe you can catch it on channel 203 and on Virgin Media 878 in the UK.
Hope you tune in. Hope you enjoy
x
…and they look like this!
Well nice I’m sure you’ll agree. We’ll be taking them out on tour with us, but if you can’t make it you can always order one online from the t-shirt section up there on the right.
