Back with a bang! - 10th March 2013
We would say this week has been one of the most creative weeks as a band. Rehearsal sessions are more enjoyable than ever, musically and lyrically we are at our peak. Last week we chose to rehearse in the comfort of our home studio, rather than sitting in arctic conditions in a huge empty space for 4 hours in the heart of Stockport. Although we can make more noise at The Greenhouse, we usually spend the first hour trying to defrost our fingers to be able to play our respective instruments, eat a chippy and drink a few cans of ale. The difference between being in a warm, close environment just seems to lift each band member and a lot more seems to get done. In the last 2 weeks, we have penned and rehearsed 3 brand new songs. “Take This Town” has actually been in the process of becoming reality for the longest and has actually been performed live on two occasions. “What you say” (as it’s currently called) and our latest track “Coming Alive” we pretty much written by George lyrically and arranged, rehearsed, practiced and then had the bass and drums put down within 4 hours. These are 3 songs that we are very excited about sharing with people. The recording process has already begun and the speed in which we are working at now we can hopefully release these to the world within a month or so. We had our first 2 gigs of 2013 last month in Wigan and at The Underbelly in London. Both great gigs for different reasons. Wigan we realised how much we loved to be playing together again and London because the people down there really appreciate unsigned talent. The underbelly was by far the best we have ever played as a band. The right sound, a packed venue, a great set of songs which represent FOTC exactly where we are today. This feeling disappeared from us for a while. But it’s back. 2013 could and hopefully will be good to us. Let’s hope it continues this weekend as we venture to Macclesfield to perform our longest show to date.
Gigs, Gigs, Gigs - 8th February 2013
Gigs gigs gigs 2013 sees us back with a BANG!!! First on the agenda is a return to one of our favourite venues working with one of our favourite promoters Indiependence in Wigan is a cracking venue which has always had a great atmosphere, we recently played a gig as main support to James Walsh (starsailor) and had a top night. We do have a bit of a soft spot for Wigan as its actually Pauls home town, the people there have always shown us fantastic support and they really do know their music!! You can find us playing live at indiependence on Saturday 23rd Feb Only 6 days later and yet again you’ll find the FOTC band wagon rolling through our capital!! London has almost become our second home, we spend nearly as much time there as we do at home. We travel to a new venue for this gig and are really looking forward to it. The underbelly at Hoxton has a great reputation as a live music venue and to be given the opportunity to play there was too good miss Friday 1st March will not be a night you want too miss!!!! The gigs continue to roll in and we will obviously keep everybody up to date Please check out the face book page for ticket information and remember, spread the word!!!! much love FOTC
Keeping a "track" of things! - 7th February 2013
The process of watching a song develop is something that is truly fascinating. Anyone who “creates” something already knows that how it starts is never how it ends, books, art, recipes, songs, I’m sure all change as the person figures better, more effective ways of ultimately achieving an end result. Listening to the ideas that George arrives with really excite us, but seeing how they change into the finished tracks really gets the hairs standing on end!! We went back to the studio on Wednesday last week and quickly slipped straight back into it! “Take this town” we all new was going to be another track to be proud of but it was only after coming back to the chorus it realised its true potential Such a simple change has really made a difference and we can’t wait to get it into our set at the next gig in Wigan There is also another song in the pipeline which is yet to be named, it’s a bit different than anything we’ve done before but we do like to keep things fresh. We once wrote down all the tracks we had done as FOTC and quickly realised that quantity does not always mean quality. We are all proud of those songs but it is amazing how different our “sound” has become. I’m sure other bands go through similar times and I hope they all have as much fun as we do!! It’s true that practice makes perfect, I’m not saying that we are perfect but we do hammer rehearsals!! Why bands choose to ignore this and plough head first into gigs is strange, but that’s a whole other conversation. Either way rehearsals are tough, but hearing that track be as good as it can be makes the 11pm finishes all worthwhile!!!! Keep up to date with all things FOTC On twitter and Facebook.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! - 1st January 2013
Freedom of the city would like to wish all our fans a very happy 2013. We're hoping this year will be good to us. We have a lot of great stuff planned with our management so fingers crossed this is the year we break through!! Thanks to everyone for your support. Love to you all.
Festival feeling - 28th December 2012
We have been confirmed for our first festival of 2013 and hopefully the first of many. It's the Headlander Festival, 2 day music festival near to us in Stockport. Keep an eye out for ticket details.