the case for the defence

work sucks the life out of everything but i guess thats the world we live in.since our last gig in cleeres we ain't been able to do much of anything because of the freakin arts festival but there be only two weeks of boredom and kids shows left so at least for that we should be thankful.
more new songs on the way and some gigs towards the end of september.updates are slow here because logging on in work is not really kosher.El Capitano Moonbeams album is just about done and after that i resolve to do no work for anybody else.till the next cartoon..................

saturday sun.....................

aural pleasures

some demos of new tracks.recorded to four track and then converted to digital.
ruff sketches but you get the idea.

cough medicine and gin.mp3
rhythm.mp3
sophomore junk.mp3
c major twice around.mp3
western failings.mp3
ego spindles.mp3
spacek.mp3
microscopes.mp3

return of the whack.................

Bootsy Butler
The Big Snare
The sonic muffin
ryans 15 july



great gig in Ryans on wednesday.new songs ,old songs,cover songs all got a great reaction for which we are all very grateful.lots of gin was consumed to ease the nerves which resulted in forgotten words in one of the new songs but it's pretty safe to say noone noticed.
setlist was
1.Cough Medicine And Gin
2.The Space Between Spaces
3.Rhythm
4.Solid Soul
5.Microscopes
6.Laughing(REM)
7.The Heart's A Fatal Flaw
encore
8.Major Leagues(Pavement)

thanks to Noel and all in Ryans bar for helping us find our mojo again

next stop:Cleeres on Saturday supporting The Holy Roman Army
p.s.all photos by Byrnoes, our esteemed tour manager

ryans,july 15 2009

new strings on,lyrics finished,drums tuned,bootsy is stoned,good to go...................

and another thing.............

it's been a very long time.
not a waste of time but a long time.
a rethink,a reshuffle and now............
enthusiasm again.
been working on new tunes and other acts albums.now the other albums are done and i can get back to whats really important.
Brian now plays bass,no more backing tracks live and a wealth of new tunes and clothes to try on.
first gig back is on wednesday in ryans,next one is in cleeres on saturday,footage will be posted from both over the next week.
it's good to be back,it won't be so long again

RSI Friday

13 hours a day with a mouse in one's hand is not good for the one's hand.but in the long run it's worth it.Halfway through the River Valley Band's post production and their album is sounding freakin amazing.had the good captain moonlight up during the week and we have started to finish the tracks for his new album now.Razo and the Big Snare were up last night and now Razo has some seriously fresh dark shit for the Split lip album.Dj set in the pumphouse tomorrow night so i think i will record it and post early next week.
barely time to think about the goodest of tigers but as soon as i get these done then it's full steam ahead.

seriously digging Yo La Tengo at the moment.
peace out

a real tailbone all of my own

it's been an exhausting but really great week in the studio with The River Valley Band.late night sessions with mountains of Joe's chips,Eddie B doing his best Scorsese impersonation,killer weed,and most of all great tunes with a great group of guys.post production and mixing starts next week in The Atomic Greenhouse,along with getting back down to Good Tiger,Split Lip and Captain Moonlight albums.
tonight is my night off though,so i shall be found by the river with a bottle of gin in my hand and a space echo in my heart.............
later

lipstick on a minger......................

good afternoon,it's been a while.since last contact christmas and all the commercial greed it entails has come and gone,2008 has bit the dust and to be honest i don't know too many people who are sad about that,i have joined the growing list of people in Ireland who have to ask the freakin government for handouts each week and i just stopped posting here because i had nothing good to talk about.
BUT.................
Times change...............things slowly but surely get better.The new Good Tiger material is starting to take a shape that i am pretty happy with and we begin live rehearsals in a week or two.The Split Lip album is almost finished and we expect to release it in March.
As I type i am preparing for day/night number two in the studio with The River Valley Band and i can reveal that their album will be pretty special.
Myself and the good Captain(Moonlight to those of you who don't know)reconvene to finish tracks for his third album next week.
and i really want to buy a microkorg.

normal service has now resumed,lots of music on the way

The Atomic Hour #1

as promised on friday,here is the first mix from Tigertowers,just a taste of little things that have been floating our boat this week.you can listen to it here,or it will be available for download for the next two weeks.This episode includes scuzzrock,powerpop,South African funk,chillout,postrock and an ode to my favourite drink among others.

The Atomic Hour#1
1.The Thievery Corporation-The Time We Lost Our Way
2.Barbera Lyn-The Thanks I Get
3.Letta Mbulu-Mahlalela
4.The Rolling Stones-Torn And Frayed
5.Mogwai-Summer
6.Low-Just Stand Back
7.The Velvet Underground-Oh Gin
8.Yeah Yeah Yeahs-Modern Romance
9.Yo La Tengo-Season Of The Shark
10.Schneider TM-Frogtoise
11.Black Ivory-Surrender
12.The Beatles-You're Gonna Lose That Girl
13.Teenage Fanclub-Sparky's Dream
14.Spaceman 3-The Sound Of Confusion
15.Pavement-Major Leagues
16.Loose Fur-Laminated Cat
17.Dae Kim-Angel Of The Universe

The Atomic Hour 1.mp3

the wicked little atom oblique strategies

being a huge fan of Bowie and Eno,i have always been interested in the Oblique Strategies that they used during the Berlin era.since i could never afford a pack of the cards and also found that obliqueness is a pretty subjective thing i decided to tailor some to my needs.
And now i am going to publish them here,just for the laugh but also just in case someone gets blocked sometime ,they might come in slightly useful.


1.think notes,not chords
2.photographs
3.shift key
4.change mood
5.filter and delay
6.Stanley Kubrick details
7.harmonise
8.go LO-FI
9.+
10.find the perfect unifying note
11.think film soundtrack
12.explore panning options
13.psychedelic
14.why did you start?
15.is this too much?
16.78 RPM
17.does it have immediate impact?if not,>
18.what would Tom Waits do?
19.be patient
20.trust your ears
21.trust your eyes
22.double tempo
23.think Kraftwerk
24.dancefloor politics
25.smear the atmosphere
26.delay
27.turn the progression on it's head
28.lose the keyboards
29.soundscape
30.sparse rhythm
31.what would Curtis Mayfield do?
32.deconstruct the original idea to it's shell
33.think minimal
34.what would the Rolling Stones do?
35.lose the majors
36.drone
37.concentrate on the bass
38.sympathise
39.what would the Beatles do?
40.one instrument and one effect
41.lose the minors
42.what would Bowie do?
43.alternative tunings
44.build-up
45.how do you feel?
46.gate the pattern
47.lose the guitars
48.aphex piano
49.what was the last record you listened to?
50.spliff and coffee
51.say STOP
52.go electronic
53.turn the rhythm on it's head
54.go soul
55.is it needed?
56.honesty?
57.FM
58.what would Wilco do?
59.process the rhythm
60.what would Lou Reed do?
61.cut up
62.brass
63.switch parts to different instruments
64.first number in your head
65.detune
66.double the part with another instrument
67.distort
68.claustraphobia
69.the 3 minute formula
70.four parts,four different numeric patterns
71.change time measure
72.half tempo
73.acoustic
74.what would James Brown do?
75.monochrome
76.Issac Hayes strings
77.sample the natural
78.think Burroughs
79.subbass
80.Hunter S. Thompson
81.lighter
82.raw
83.count to ten
84.the B-movie angle
85.take four cards and combine
86.does it lose the initial groove?if so,>
87.treat the sound with two extreme effects
88.what would the Kilo do?
89.no drums
90.resample
91.reverse
92.technicolour
93.strangle the sound
94.what would Talking Heads do?
95.analog
96.New York
97.digital
98.play on one guitar
99.what would The Clash do?
100.feedback


obviously a lot of these aint that oblique at all and i don't really know what any of the mentioned artists would do but it's a good way of breaking the mental block for me anyway.
do with them what you will...........................

bombsville indeed

friday afternoon done come so here be a few updates from tigerland..........
our track thewisehand from the BMX ep is finished and is posted below.been a bit of a slow week on the mixing process because of indesicions and trying to put square pegs into circular holes and all that kind of jazz but it's all back on track now.
from this week on we begin our very own mix series-tracks we dig put together especially for your listening pleasure.check out for the first one on monday afternoon.
this weekend is set up to be another one full of long drives,grooms minus fingers and all the fun of the fair.
see you on the other side

and why the hell not?.............................

things.as they are.

so it's all starting to fall in to place.The ep is nearly finished but everytime i think its done something else comes along and i go back to the drawing board.nearly there though,and i have a feeling it may just be worth it.
the next collections of songs are falling into two pretty distinct categories-slow,mellow,stripped down late night stuff and other uptempo band-centric stuff.liking all of them a lot so i am just keeping going on all of them at the same time because they all seem to be bleeding interesting ideas into each other.
the Split Lip album is proving to be a real buzz and some of the tunes are going to blow people's socks off.
Captain Moonlight and The River Valley Band's albums are progressing very nicely and hopefully both will be completed fully by Christmas.
was fortunate enough to do the live sound for Glen Tillbrook from Squeeze last night.a lovely man and an incredible performer.
thats about it,don't ever deny where you come from people,
over and out.

Day By Day With The BMX Ep-the saga continues

lots done in the writing recording and mixing stakes this week.The Big Snare has been recording all over the place and Brian the Faceman made it down yesterday to throw his guitar through the space echo and have a few smokes.
Glasseye is now nearly finished so here is how it is sounding so far................

Of Lippage,Tigers,History And Flu...........

Quite a week.
Obama restored a lot of people's faith in the idea of America,now all he has got to do is live up to his own hype.The Tallest order i can imagine but hopefully if he pulls off a fraction of his ideas it will make America a better place.
I have been struck down with an unrelenting flu and this has put paid to my plans on having the ep finished next week up in the air,however we carry on in earnest.
the writing for the second album proper is going very well.most of the music is done and it is lyrics week next week.
The Split Lip album is moving ahead full steam and should be finished for Christmas as will Captain Moonlight's new opus(favourite track right now is Don't Follow Through,you will know why soon).The River Valley Band's debut album is starting to take shape in the mixing stakes now.
Been diggin these guys this week.

D-Day across the pond