after a week off, we return with shows in Toronto & Lindsay next week!
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October 2, 2015
PartyTober Dates!
October Fun!
Friday Oct. 2nd – Resident Dj for Montreal Ska Fest at Petit Campus, Montreal – 8p til close
https://www.facebook.com/events/1615684882048528/
Saturday Oct. 3rd – Resident Dj for Montreal Ska Fest at Petit Campus, Montreal – 8p til close
https://www.facebook.com/events/1064695006873912/
Friday Oct 16th – Bass/Percussion with Hayley Carro at the Local Gastropub. Barrie – 7 til close
http://thelocalgastropub.com/
Friday Oct 23 – Bass/Percussion with Hayley Carro at the Sawdust City Saloon, Gravenhurst – 8 til 11
http://www.sawdustcitybrewing.com/events-news/
Thursday Oct 29 – Drums with The Mightabins at Silver Dollar, Toronto – Set time TBA
http://www.silverdollarroom.com/ https://www.facebook.com/themightabins
September 18, 2012
when it rains, it blogs!
tis a cold, wet, rainy late summers day so why not give the ol’ blog some love?
some news on the acoustic duo, “raised on promises” since that is where we have been the busiest. after a few select but successful shows, we’ll be taking a mini break for October. you can still catch the act opening for Those Handsome Hooligans on Saturday, Sept. 22nd and/or opening for the debut of the MTN DUKES on Friday, Sept 28th!
happy friday!
great times were had with the duo at British Arms, Manhattans and the Local Gastropub in Barrie! each place was a unique experience that rocked & much to our surprise… we had dancers! the interaction between us and the patrons has been a sheer delight! we will never forget the singalongs and stompalongs! perhaps its something that has to do with just being a duo that makes us more approachable… could be a theory but the intimacy level has been a great experience. also, since we are not a karaoke act but we actually play the songs, that gets us some added good feedback. soundwise, providing the low end and percussion has proven to be a challenge but the addition of a simple stand(for a mere $35) for a kick pad that we run thru an Alesis DM5 has proven to be a winner!
kick pedal with stand
the only issue we’ve had is the amplification of the kick. running it thru the same sound source as the bass makes it tough to define. moving fwd we are going to keep it simple and run it on its own with its own amp/speaker.
manhattans duo setup!
this Manhattans show in the pic, we ran the kick thru the 4×10 along with the bass. that overwhelmed our markbass head and it actually stopped on us twice during songs. we may have been running the drumkick signal too hot to get it to sound right so the next smaller show(pictured below) we ran both the bass and drumkit thru a couple of PA speakers but the sound of the bass suffered. it was ok, but not the best. thru the process of elimination, keeping them separate seem the best way to go moving fwd.
rig at the local
after so many recent shows with just the acoustic duo, we are really looking forward to this weekend and next! full band shows will be music to our ears!
May 5, 2012
for starters
rather been a reflective few wks. bdays and some free time can cause that we guess.
of the many thoughts we had, there was one about us and bands. one previously unknown similarity has come up.
that we tend to stay with the bands we had a part in starting.
we look back to all the bands we’ve had the great opportunity to play and perform with and see that point come up way too often. its great to see how a band evolves from nothing and the road it goes on is well worth all the time spent. perhaps that is the fire that keeps us involved thru thick & thin. the great thing about the 3 bands we are in right now is that we’ve been there in all of them in the formation stages. that bodes well moving forward. the forecast is solid and is going to be busy!
the reasons why we haven’t stayed in the bands we weren’t there in the formation stages all vary. trying to come up with a catch all, all encompassing phrase for the reasons but so far it has eluded us. perhaps its a lack of feeling that we are not a contributing part of something but rather a bit player or a gun for hire or some other elusive feeling. or since we weren’t there from day1 we are not that emotionally and time invested and that makes saying au revoir easier.
speaking of feelings, it feels like this post will likely get edited once we come up with more answers and think this thought thru more fully! at least we’ve started the thought process by finally writing it down!
April 30, 2012
that’s a wrap April!
another month has flown by!
struggling with a flu bug for the later half of the month has made things more challenging but nonetheless, forward ho!
today we were sadden by the news that Molly’s Chamber, the cover act we left 7 weeks ago has now officially gone on hiatus. we thought it would be easy for them to find a replacement bassist as the material and the other players were quite solid. still unknown what exactly has transpired but its still sad news nonetheless. here’s to hoping they all land on their feet!
the dj nights at the Schomberg pub every Saturday have been a treat. the regulars and the casual atmosphere make for a great time out each and every time! its also been great to pick up on what’s new and happening in the music scene and to gauge what ppl want to hear. been havin’ a ball no matter who shows up!
also this past month, we’ve been jamming with a few guys we’ve known almost since day 1 on the bass. we have been lucky enuff to finally find a singer/guitarist that fits. so far its been a helluva lot of fun playing what we all like to play and hear in a no pressure/casual/just4kicks atmosphere. finally a group that wants to do a few Clash songs!
after Skipapalooza (pic=new sticks&bag this month!), the members of Rosalita asked us to become the permanent percussionist for the band. an offer in which we quickly/gladly accepted! its been a great way to keep our feet wet on the kit and also to learn/develop musically. the forecast calls for good times ahead & 2nite is our first official jam since the party. there’s lots of new material & a new bassist on the horizon as well!
Those Handsome Hooligans have been picking up speed for a rather hectic summer. expect more posts on that in the days ahead. expecting a tee shirt run in the near future. crazy! check out our posters while u sanitize!
lastly, we’ve been pickin’ at the ol’ geetar of late. been thinkin’ aboot an open mic nite in the near future. we’ll see. ah, so many songs, so little time… the fire that fuels us. new shoes this past month too! feels so good!
April 5, 2012
return of the bloodskin
if u can recall, we recently found blood on the rental drumkit at the rehearsal factory. so we even more recently returned (a full 2 weeks later) to the exact same room to not only find the same old blood on the snare but even more blood than before!
good thing we had anticipated this & had brought our own snare for the rosalita jam!
speaking of the rosas, we did our last pre skipapalooza prep show at an open mic at grossmans tavern this week. each member got to choose a song for our mini set which was way cool. also the stage setup at grossmans is now improved and makes a massive difference.
whoa! lights even! a riser too! better soundboard! the grossmans we knew has changed for the better! we played decently on the kit. but once we were done, we were once again told we were too loud on the drums. struggling with the combo of keeping the BIG drum sound of springsteen alive while not being too loud for patrons. its tough lesson to learn & even a harder one to put into practice & use!
March 25, 2012
bloodskin
so a week ago we were jamming on the kit with rosalita at the geary st rehearsal factory. after a song we realized there was blood drops on half the hihat cymbals & the snare. first we made the quick check that it wasn’t ours then got mildly disgusted. who bleeds on a hourly rental kit & then doesn’t clean it up? who doesn’t clean the gear? then we thought, why haven’t we come across this more often? fret not, we moved the hihats/snare so we were hitting the non bloody parts & told the powers that be about the mess.
lo & behold we come back a week later to find the same blood drops (see pics) on the snare! the hihats had been cleaned or the blood wore off. but no attempt had been made on the snare. now we were truly disgusted. rehearsal factory loses big points for not cleaning their gear within a week!
March 25, 2012
the Chamber door closes
just an quick update. things are moving fast here at the Hills (as u likely guessed) due to the lack of posts.
we had a killer show with Rosalita and Mollys Chamber on March 2nd at Duffys. Playing the drum kit for the Rosas has been wikked fun & we are enjoying the vibe immensely. Mollys Chamber’s new singer was on display for the first time with the band & hit a homer out of the park. great times all around!
here’s a megamix of some slightly distorted viz from the nite:
Sadly though this was 2 be our last official show with the Chamber as we had to give our notice just this past week. it was a great 7 month ride with the band & we learned a helluva lot of new songs & we also learnt a lot about bass along the way. can’t wait to see the band at their next gig as we are 100% sure they will have no probs finding an eager replacement! if u know some1 interested apply at their website. more posts soon!
February 18, 2012
tumbling along
so we divorced facebook at the new year to free up some time. & what do we do? we tweet more & put up a tumblr site. so far so good we thinks.
follow us on tumbr here: http://thehillsalive.tumblr.com/
tweets here: http://twitter.com/thehillsalive
tumblr has only been active for a few days but its turning out to be our multimedia feed of twitter. or like twitter on roids. we’ll see how that goes. its fun for the time being.
as for fb, we log on once a week. but since we trimmed our friends down its easy peasy to see what is important and comment/catch up. should have done that wayyy sooner but glad we finally did.
ps: here’s the latest pic of the drum kick head taped up. we smashed thru the last tape job but we scored a new head now (for free, thx tasty keith!) so once we bust thru this mess of tape, its onto a new one with a hardcore kick spot even!
February 16, 2012
skipapalooza 2!
its gonna be BIG!
so excited & honoured once to be able to do skipapalooza a 2nd time!
more deats to follow!
