the newts.net

Loving Coldplays new album, though I read the title track was plaigarised from some other guy. Apparently the comparrison song and video is on You Tube, I haven’t found it yet but while I was looking I stumbled across this cover version buy just 2 guys. One on guitar playing a bass drum and one on keyboards. I really like it, see what you think…



UPDATE:

I think this may be the video I was originally looking for, it’s Joe Satriani’s “If I Could Fly”. No doubt there’s definitely a very strong similarity…

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Sadly, SOUTH PARADE as we know them have split up.

From their site:
“south parade are no more. Fuelled by personality clashes and musical indifference the band have deceided to call it a day.

The lads would like to thank ALL of the bands that have supported south parade over the past 3 years, everyone who has been to the gigs and of course everyone who has viewed the website. Everyone in the band will go away with great memories of some amazing times.”

According to sources close to the band, James is going to be engaged in DJ’ing and mixing, including remixing some of the local indie scene’s tunes. Shaun continues to play with his covers band Relish, and I’m sure it won’t be long before sensible “Fingers” Freeman is back on the local indie circuit. He’s too good to lie idle for long.

Which leaves Oli & Tim who have gone on to form a new band, the NORTHERN LIGHTS.
Included in the lineup are Tim’s brother Pete Chapman on lead guitar and the mighty Dave Sprawka on bass. It’s early days yet but already web gurus Jamie & John have sewn the seeds of the band’s new website which you’ll find with a single click around about here: www.myspace.com/northernlightsgy

There’s already the beginnings of a great new tune called “Bring It On” on the site for you to hear, but just wait until the lads have it recorded with the full ensemble, It’s gonna rock. You’ll see more on the development of the band here on the newts.net, but be sure to check out the band’s new site and leave them a message or two.

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Found this really nice little desktop guitar tuner tonight. Not a lot of use if you snap a top E string live on stage, but really handy when you’re sat infront of your pc with your guitar to hand.

Download the guitar tuner from the Media Library.

It’s a .rar compressed flash file. If you don’t have .rar decompressing software you can download it for free here.

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2 Fantastic new tracks fresh from the South Parade studio featuring our Oli on lead vocals, along with James, Shaun and Tim.

You can check them out at South Parade’s new My Space site by clicking the pic above, or have a listen for yourself right here:

Golden Dawn —> Listen to the track in the Media Library
Play
Illusion —> Listen to the track in the Media Library
Play

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Tonight the South Parade lads played the Winter Gardens in Cleethorpes, supporting their mate Tom ‘previously of the Inspiral Carpets’ Hingley, and his new band The Lovers.

I only caught the last half of South Parade’s set but what I heard I thought was pretty damn good. To be totally honest, I’d rather have listened to another hour of them than another hour of Tom. Don’t get me wrong, Tom was great, but I’d heard enough shouty bollocks tonight at work without paying to listen to more. Check out more of the story with James’s review over at spmusic.

I’ll just leave you with a few of my ‘access all areas’ pics:

Oh and these rare little beauties that I took on my mobile phone:

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It’s been a couple of trips down the M62 and a while in the making but South Parade’s latest studio releases were worth every bit of the effort. This rough copy is hot off the press, received literally a few hours ago, and now available for you to download and Sample for free! Remember these are just an unfinished rough 1st edit and are yet to be finalised in the studio. The finished articles will become part of a proposed 6 track EP featuring these 3 tracks plus “Lovebug”, “Northern Soul” and the very latest track which is yet to be recorded called “Golden Dawn”. Once mastered you’ll be able to get hold of the EP for just a few quid at any South Parade gig or through the South Parade website. In the mean time, download and have a listen to these, they’re quality.

They’re all big files ranging from 4MB – 6MB so if you’re on a slowdem or you just want to pick one on the fly then my track of choice would be “Satellite”. It sounds fantastic, it’s catchy and it’s the smallest download of the three at 4.07MB. Featuring Oli on lead vocals, James on lead guitar, a consummate performance on bass from The Boy ‘Fingers’ Freeman and a very slick high hat routine from Tim ‘Bird Fucker‘ Chapman.

Satellite —> [4.07MB .MP3 file]

Next up is the most recent composition of the three, the wonderfully rocky “You Don’t Know”. This one just makes you wanna sing along with your Donnay squash racket air guitar. There’s definitely something of the Rolling Stones about this one. Crank it up loud, close your eyes, and imagine Mick Jagger, lips pouting, skipping up and down a huge stage swinging a microphone around his head. Love it.

You Don’t Know —> [6.0MB .MP3 file]

Finally one of South Parade’s original set list tunes is James’ “The Music Makes You High”. Aka (On some live outings) The music makes you gay. Love the opening riff and the ensuing relative serenety of the opening lyrics. It’s got a sweet jangly sniff of stereo chorus to it. Don’t be fooled though, we quickly descend into a thrashy guitar and vocal distortion. A bit of a Pandora’s box this rollercoaster ride of a tune. More so when they nail it live, but it’s refreshing to hear it in this studio guise with added keyboards, post production after effects and those Oo la la’s definately have a head shaking ‘Beatlesque’ feel to them.

The Music Makes You High —> [5.40MB .MP3 file]

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So me and Rach had a trip down to the local college drum bar to see the latest episode of “South Parade – The Band” unfold.

First on stage was Nick Austwick, a hardened writer and performer but usually in his solo guise. Today he fledged his new band Turning Tides. Before the gig started I was informed of the somewhat lengthy sound check and a unanimous vote of no confidence in the sound guy. He wasn’t good, and Nick’s sound suffered a little at the start. But after a few minutes that was rectified to an acceptable level.

I liked their sound. No drummer (that’s pending) just acoustic, lead and bass guitars. I’m looking forward to hearing more from them and I’m sure they will be on the set list of many a forthcoming South Parade gig.

Next up were the quality rock outfit Sonic Purveyors (aka the sonics). I loved their first track, and their whole set has a definite air of polished performance. They have a great stage presence, especially Simon’s vocal and physical exertions. Consensus seems to be they could easily move further up the scene.

Then the parade boys took the stage. First song up was at the mercy of dodgy the sound guy on the mixing deck, but he finally pulled his finger out of his ass and sorted it out. I thought it was another well rehearsed gig, well executed by all, and with the drum bar pretty full and buzzing there seemed to be an extra slice of passion in their performance. “Ben” was brilliant, loved it.

Looking forward to their next outings on Thursday 20th October at the Spiders Web in Grimsby, and why not join me on my birthday as we descend on the bright lights of Cleethorpes and the Bootlegger on Friday 4th November. A great night guaranteed – music or no music ;0)

Other memorable moments of the night included:

1) A veritable plethora of women describing the lesbian love scene they’d just witnessed in the toilets. Not once but 3 times and involving different birds each time. Unfortunately the information only made it back to the male fraternity once the action was over. Again, not once but all 3 times :0(

2) Gaz’s indepth and unabridged lecture on the design, installation, setup and workings of the drum bar’s air conditioning system. (Which he fitted). Very thorough, including an external viewing of the outdoor units.

3) The emergance of Tim’s lovely girlfriend Aimee. Finally we can quosh a few of those rumours.

4) Tim’s new hairdo.

5) The very sad news that Tim’s hawk “Kes” had finally succumbed to living with Tim and decided to hang himself. Please feel free to sign the very sentimental and touching book of condolance that subsequently appeared on the South Parade website.

Excerpts of which include:

“oh and Kes is dead you heard it here first, tim was upset for a few minutes and then realised he loves killing animals so alls well that ends well”

” RIP kes. i personally think kes’ death was suicide…i dont know many birds of prey (hetrosexual ones anyway) that enjoy living in solitary confinment inside a childs play house with only a dead baby black bird, a rirfle and some rabbit heads for company!”

” suicide was my first thought, but the autopsy found him with a tiny gimp mask and a penis size hole where his arse used to be. Tim is definately a serious animal lover. “

” get fucked you lot kes is now in my freezer”

” Any one fancy sparrow hawk and chips round at tims tonight. ha ha “

R.I.P. ‘Kes’. 2005 – 2005

James’ thoughts.

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Local indie rock *legends SOUTH PARADE have returned from their Nottingham adventure better men. Armed with memories of appearing on the same bill as Tom Hingley and the Lovers (previously of the Inspiral Carpets), singing live with Tom on one of their favourite songs Saturn 5, and surviving he journey home with crazy man Tim behind the wheel. What more could 4 unsuspecting Grimsby lads wish for?

Well how about appearing on the same site as Liam Gallagher & Big Brother Bez? How cool is that!

Liam Gallagher here. ~~~ James & Oli here.

You can read South Parade’s review of the gig on their rapidly expanding site here.

*Anyone who appears on the same site as band members of bands who have 2 albums in the all time top twenty best albums in the whole wide world ever automatically assumes legendary status. (New rule on the newts.net)

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Last night we wandered across the road from work to go and watch Shaun, Tim, James and Oli ~ aka ~ South Parade play at the Fiddler in Cleethorpes. I had the good fortune to miss the first band on stage, because apparently they were a bunch of pissed up layabouts who couldn’t even finish a song. South Parade however are just improving gig after gig. I’ve missed the last few gigs due to not being able to get the time off, so their playlist was somewhat more polished than last time I heard them live. Same great songs, just with a little more technical infill or shall we say, icing. The sound guy did a great job too. Loud enough, clear enough and vocals audible over the music. One of South Parade’s downfalls in the early days of the Solid / Winter Gardens gigs.

Fingers Freeman was technically very sound on bass, he always is. And his harmonies add another, richening dynamic to the songs. I don’t know how he gets that high though? G-clamp on the bollocks? Girlfriends thong? Unfortunately he was sporting a pot on his foot so a mad cap shindigg-esque stage performance was never on the cards, but hey, this is sensible Shaun we’re talking about here, is it ever?

Jimmy T-Bird wasn’t pissed – a good start. The lead fills of the songs are coming on so much that they are starting to take on a certain familiarity. There’s always room for artistic license live on stage but it’s got to be a good idea to hone the basics first. His performance felt somewhat more confident in that the time the band has put into rehearsing is obviously paying dividends. I think another factor that added to James’s, and as a consequence the band as a whole’s performance, was the recent addition to his armoury of a number of quality effects pedals. I specifically liked his use of wah-wah pedal. It’s tempting when you start amassing a collection of effects pedals to use them all the time. Two at a time, echo on distortion with a tad of cry baby thrown in for good measure etc. I know, I’ve done it myself. James used the wah wah to great effect. Not too much, in the right places and well executed. I liked it a lot. Quality performance.

Timpani Tim was spot on the beat, again he always is. The driving force behind the live performances and technically each song seems to be more tailored in style as opposed to a standard rythm if you know what I mean. I can only imagine how good he could get if he actually turned up for practice when everyone else did!

Oli thenewts jr. also put on a fantasic performance. Quality guitar work and like james, good use of his new effects pedals. A lovely strong voice and not a note out of place. I tremble when I know the high notes are coming but he nails them every time. I don’t know how he does it, we’re form the same beginnings but I could never sing that high. The hours of practice that they all put in is starting to bear fruit. The band are gelling very well. Certainly the most professional and polished performance I have witnessed from South Parade to date.

Criticisms? The only recognisable area for improvement I think is in their harmonies. I must say that they are much much better than the early days, but I know they can improve on them further. It’s not a question of ability, all those involved can reach the required notes. I think it’s a question of practice, practice and more practice. I know they can do it so well, I’ve heard the bands studio recordings where they’ve had a guy in the booth getting them to do it over and over again until it’s right. And when it’s right it stands out so much, it gives such a professional veneer to their work. Obviously it’s easy in a studio with no audience, no bright lights, no external distractions and as many goes at it as it takes to get it right. As opposed to being live on stage trying to hear yourself through stage monitors. That’s what’s required to ascend to the next level though, and that small area of criticism is what I think, if worked on and mastered, will step them up several rungs of the Rock and Roll ladder in one go. Of course this is just my humble 2 cents worth.

My song of choice… Well it’s nearly always “BE” because that one’s so well rehearsed and has great harmonies on it, but I must say that me and a few others we spoke to really liked the rock n roll number “You Don’t Know What You’re Doing To Me”.

A great performance that we didn’t want to end. Good luck to the band who are travelling down to Nottingham today to support The Lovers, the brainchild of Tom Hingley who was the lead singer in The Inspiral Carpets.

I have video of several songs and Shaun’s got the recording off the deck for the performance so we may marry the two together and make available a video for download. Watch this space! Or possibly even this space.

Update:

The mini disc recording didn’t happen but here’s a couple of clips straight from the video cam…

[LOVEBUG] [NORTHERN SOUL]

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After an undercover late night session involving 40 posters and a pot of of wallpaper paste, the South Parade lads receive a call from the council’s Poster Police department and are forced to spring into action with OPERATION CLEAN-UP!

If by some remote chance you didn’t see one of their adverts for the latest set of gigs, you’ll want to be paying a visit to their website.

Forthcoming gigs include:

Thurs July 7th ‘05 – The Fiddler, Cleethorpes
SOUTH PARADE + Richard Dutton + Guy Keeble (DJ)
Admission £2.50

Where the newts and a small entourage will be in attendance for filming, photographic duties and generally a good piss up with the obligatory after gig trip to the Indian.

The Band however will have to take things somewhat steadier because the next day they will be jetting it, or more probably, vaning it down to the Junktion7 club in Nottingham to support The Lovers, the brainchild of Tom Hingley who was the lead singer in The Inspiral Carpets.

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It started oh so nice and sunny and then the heavens opened. They must be gutted. Nothing sucks like camping in the damp wet weather, especially when you’re damp, wet and your tent’s sailed away!

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The lads of local band South Parade are currently building and maintaining their own NEW website. It’s early days yet but things are coming on at a pace and it’s filling up daily.

You’ll find them at: www.southparademusic.co.uk

Follow their progress on stage AND on the net!

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The recent musical theme continues here at the newts.net with this FANTASTIC music quiz.

It starts off with some random, usually obscure artist, but just type your own choice of band name in and run the quiz. The database must be HUGE, I haven’t found a band yet that’s not on it.

It plays you a 20-30 second snip of a song by that band and gives you 4 options to choose from. There’s 10 rounds per band, and if you replay the game it’s a whole new set of questions on the same band. Love it, it’s ace.

My first goes were:
AC/DC – 9/10
Oasis – 10/10
Madness – 10/10
Status Quo – 8/10
Coldplay – A rather disappointing 6/10
Frank Sinatra – 9/10
Erasure – Not me guv honest – 8/10
Travis – All I could get was Randy Travis?? – 0/0
Snoop Dogg – 4/10
The Verve – Comes up with The Verve Pipe – A Yanky database? – 0/0
The Doors – Comes up with 3 Doors Down – 0/0
Sister Act – Embarassingly – 10/10

Check it out, Quality: What’s That Song?

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Check this guy out. McRorie Tait is the ULTIMATE one man band.

I’ll say no more, just click the link and watch the vid. Awesome.

McRorie Tait – One Man Live!

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More local talent for you music lovers at the newts.net. A band I’ve heard several times live locally, and a great band they are. Plus the fact, anyone who lists in their influences AC/DC is welcome to a spot on the newts.net anytime.

Take a moment to surf their fabulous website by clicking here.

Introducing the Sonic Purveyors

Formed in Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire in 1999 and now based in Warrington and Liverpool, the sonic purveyors have worked hard to perfect their sound and build a local fan base and are now ready to take on the rest of the country!

The sonic purveyors are:

• Simon Cocks

– Simon is the singer, songwriter, lead guitarist and front man of the band. His influences are broad-(ranging from AC/DC to Interpol) and all filter in to the sound of the sonic purveyors.

• James Brown

– James plays bass, and supplies the glamour from his secret past as a male model

• Toby Green

– Toby is the pounding engine room of the sonic purveyors on drums

• Adam Horrell

– The latest addition to the line-up, Adam supplies keyboards and second guitar- as a student at the prestigious Paul McCartney Institute of Performing Arts in Liverpool, you can see the quality of the band’s musicianship right here.

The band met at school and on the gigging circuit, and have played around the pubs, clubs and festivals in North Lincolnshire for three years. They’ve built up a loyal local following, and recently played a packed and sweaty Christmas gig at the 1,000 capacity Winter Gardens in Cleethorpes. The sonic purveyors have been finalists in the countywide Rock Open, held in Scunthorpe, for three years, and have always been highly commended by the judges.

The powerful sound of the sonic purveyors is the result of their broad range of tastes, and their music echoes the sound of bands as diverse as the Kinks, the Stooges and Radiohead.

The sonic purveyors have toured the north throughout 2004, playing The Barfly and The Zanzibar in Liverpool, as well as gigs in Warrington hull and Widnes. The touring continues….

Pete Jackson – 07753 278495
bigpetejackson@yahoo.com

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The Lads of South Parade have had a trip across to Leeds to record their song Northern Soul in a professional recording studio. It’s quite strange to hear a song that I’ve heard so many times live – mixed down in a studio and professionally recorded. You know, things usually work the other way round. You hear a band’s recording and THEN go to see them live!

It’s turned out great. Oli and the band took a load of pictures during the recording so I made them into a montage type video with over 50 pics of James, Tim, Shaun & Oli in the recording studio to accompany the soundtrack.

So more free music downloads for you to enjoy…

Just the song [4.93 MB .mp3 file]
South Parade – Northern Soul

The full video [23.2 MB .wmv file]
Download link

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Steve “Ol’ Slowhand” Newton’s latest outing with the Blues on Tap WOULD TOUR (yes would!), saw us down at the Charlton’s Club in Cleethorpes. Great night I must say. An appreciative and responsive crowd makes a big difference to a performers delivery, as do the ensuing ‘groupies’ to the ego!

So here’s another couple of Steve’s songs:

Hard Pill To Swallow —> [12.9 MB .wmv file]

And one he wrote himself:

Don’t Forget My Name —> [17.6 MB .wmv file]

Excellent.

And just as a little treat, how about a minute or two of John’s fast finger blues riffs. Not bad for a fat fingered fireman, see for yourself:

Guitar John from Blues On Tap —> [11.9 MB .wmv file]

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Currently touring local blues nights and venues, our Steve’s opening the set with his solo acoustic blues for John and Andy known as Blues on Tap.

Andy (aka Mr. G) is a great singer, I’ve heard him several times before solo, but I was pleasantly impressed by John’s fast finger lead guitar blues. So impressed it was a shame he was playing to backing tracks. He’d sound great as part of several piece band like Mister Sister for example.

Their next gig is at the Charltons Club in Cleethorpes on Wednesday 1st December at 8:30pm. We’ll be taking a small entourage along for an hour or two of the blues before a night of swilling lager, shooting pool and probably an Indian at the Agrah. Who knows, it’s on a Wednesday night, it might even be a prelim to a night at the Bags Ball at the Wintergardens!

In the mean time, have a free download. This is Steve Newton and the 1951 Big Bill Broozny blues number Black, Brown and White.

Steve Newton – Black, Brown and White —> [14.1 MB .wmv file]

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Hull’s Best Original Band winners, Shindigg, made the journey down from Hull last night to support South Parade playing at The Venue in Grimsby town centre. The two bands were supposed to be in the main room but a double booking meant that they were relegated into the smaller room. Pretty fine gig though, with a great atmosphere in the little room as well as great sound quality, largely thanks to Glyn from the Springhead pub in Hull on the sound deck.

I had a quick look in the big room and I reckon there were more in the little room watching South Parade and Shindigg!

Have a few pics from the gig, and feel free to click for BIGNESS:

Shindigg & Mad Mike the Bassist.

Tim —> Oli —> James.

Shaun —> James —> Oli.

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Open Mic Night.

And so last night we all piled down to the Tap & Spile to see Oli play acoustic solo. Shaun offered his services on the bass and vocal harmony so it became a duo. With a number of performers it was limited to just 2 songs each, so Oli & Shaun performed BE follwed by BEN. And fantastic it was. Jamie was there filming the night so we should have a dvd of the performances available for download soon. Watch this space!

Oli and Shaun.

Mine and Oli’s Uncle Steve has been itching to get back onto the live performance stage with his ‘finger picking good’ blues numbers, so after a little persuasion he agreed to play tonight as well. His first stage performance in quite a few years, although he has recently recorded a cd of his favourite work, and what an acomplished return it was. Apparently feeling a little nervous so he told us, it didn’t show with a fine performance of 2 of his reworked blues numbers. To be honest, I think Steve’s a bit too good for open mic nights, and we look forward to hearing him soon playing a dedicated blues night. There may be a gig coming up in Market Rasen soon. As soon as it’s finalised I’ll post the details on the newts.

Steve ‘old slow hand’ Newton.

I thought I recognised this next character! When he was announced it clicked. It’s me old Science teacher from Hereford School, Roge the dodge Beardie. One of the more amiable and witty teachers if I remember correctly. Of course I could be wrong! Students of Franklin College are welcome to leave their comments and correct me on this one! Mr. Beard as I know him played a couple of Irish numbers. I didn’t know he was a guitarist, and he warbled a mean tune too. Respect!

Roger Beard.

These guys were different. Broadsword – a Celtic Folk duo. The guy on the Mandolin, Phil, was a next door neighbour of Oli’s. He’s finger fast and apparently bangs a banjo too so I may have to tap him for a pointer or two!

Broadsword.

Back in Grimsby, it was nice to see our international ballerina cousin Alex who is home while Bov rips her london house out and her new dance season starts in August.

Alex Newton.

And finally, also home from his London pad, sporting his resistor colour code chart shirt, is cousin George. Joining us to cheer his Dad on. Pictured here recovering from the shock of getting change from a twenny after buying a round of drinks – he’s used to 50 squid rounds in London you see!

George Newton.

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