NWB - Community Blog

they should have at least gave you a listen.

pretty poor if u ask me

Sorry to hear that Guys -my mate Chris was telling me how good you are, Hermits loss Id say

Uhm, so what is the definition of a band? 3 no that's a trio, 4 no that's a quartet etc etc.
What a pisser.

when me and dave first came to see you it wasthe night before you had your first gig at the hindley arms and my coment to dave was weres the drummer but we stayed and what a shock you were amazing and we new then we had got it right by booking you, our customers cant wait till you are on again, so all i can say about the hermit is there loss, thay dont know what thay are missing dee

whole new blog RFB... what is a band? Is 2 people and a backing track a band? Is a vocalist and a backing track a bang - or is that Karaoke? Are Simon and Garfunkel a band or Duo? Are the Proclaimers a band? Its very easy to play and sing along to a backing track - its a lot harder to play along to a drummer, bassist, other guitarist as they all have to be in sync. I almost put a post along these lines a couple of weeks ago - saw 2 "bands" in one night - one was a duo wih backing, one was a 5 piece; personally, the duo, whom the pub were advertising as "live band" didnt o it for me, but that was pubs fault not theirs.. if it had said vocal duo or instrumental duo or whatever, wouldnt have been as bad.
I cannot say a word about Anthem, ive never seen them and what has happened is completely wrong. Youve turned up to perform and been stiffed. Not fair

rough luck that boys, we all know you can hold your own against many bands out there

@Jez C - having played with drum backing tracks and had a real live drummer, I can say with confidence that they are completely different kettles of fish, and both have their own difficulties.

Playing with our drum tracks, we had to be on the money each time we played a song, any mistakes could feck up the whole song.

With a drummer, there's more flexibility to cover up mistakes, extend songs etc etc.

Although I do take the point that playing to a whole backing track is much easier than with 4 other guys!

As for Anthem - thats really shitty guys. The pillock should have at least listened to you. Christ does it matter if you put on a good performance?

Mick

Guys
I was at the Griffin watching the Outlaws....we were talking about you lot being at the Hermit and said that there may be trouble because you were not 'a full band'.....
I know 2 of the lads from Sticky Fingers came over to see you.....the rest of us feared the worst knowing the score.....sorry you had a wasted journey....you deserve better.....
All the best
Gary

Come taste the band ! - who's album was that Mark? You guys would have ROCKED the JOINT, no probs. If I were there, I would have said to the guy - Andy, I'll pay and if you and your crowd are not with it, they must be fekkin deaf !

Rick - Seen these guys many times and can't get enough !

.... and Andy, I'm probably not doing my band any favours but I rang YOU 3 times today to offer my band as cover for your cancellation and you never rang me back - I had to ring your place THREE TIMES over a NINE HOUR PERIOD, having rang my band several times and put them on hold. Not good Andy and you said you had spoken to our singer, who informs me that you never did ???? book us or fook us, life's too fekkin short mate, I know that inabundance

Cheers,

The 45's. - now booked up for the year barring cancellations and pub closures - bless them.

Dudes, I'm sorry to hear that. Not nice, at all.
What is the definition of a band anyway!!!!??? (please, purists do abstain...)

Come Taste The Band..... Only the second best Deep Purple album ever

I play to click tracks in Face Value and you have to have your timing spot on. With a live drummer and bass you can afford to make mistakes but that click just keeps on going and you have to recover quick.
Will have to see Anthem soon as heard many good things about them and after all it is about the music not how many people are on stage.
Sorry to hear that the landlord was a little uptight about letting you guys play. His loss eh?
Best wishes
John

little off topic guys but i heard there is a guy who lives at the back of the hermit, with a noise meter who rings the police if it goes over a certain level, which means bands have to turn down a lot??????? is this true or was someone yanking mi chain??

sorry to hear about that anthem, its a bit rubbish that.

craig

Turned up at The Hermit to catch Anthem's second set,hadn't realised they are a duo until we'd caught The Outlaws first set at The Griffin and spoke to Gary.I'm not really a fan of duos and backing tracks,but thats only cos i drum,but We wanted to see them on the basis of the set list so we went anyway and was annoyed to find "nowt" on and looking at the clientele,i think they would have gone down very well!
I think in these uncertain economic times,pubs and their managers should should get their own "acts together" and try to please the paying punter,after all,thats why pubs and bands are there,personally it was my first time at the Hermit,but i wont be rushing back just in case they cancel the "band" cos they dont like the look of em! Music is for listening to regardless of how many people play it,i dont hear pubs complaining when people are feeding coins to their juke boxes and music comes out of them! Anthem should have been given the opportunity to play and entertain!
Rant over! CSF.
P.S, wish we'd stayed at the Griffin now!

`What a downer lads you sound like a band,and are certainly entertaining their loss. Well at least we know we won,t be playing there saved me a phone call, have a good one in Coniston Regards Johnny

"I think in these uncertain economic times,pubs and their managers should should get their own "acts together" and try to please the paying punter,after all,thats why pubs and bands are there".

I totally agree. If amateur/semipro bands were as disorganised as many allegedly pro managers and landlords they'd never play live. I've played a few gigs recently where the manager has put nothing into the night, got p1ssed at the bar, and then said that's it's not their fault that the pub's quiet, it's because the football is/isn't on, the weather is too good/bad etc etc. Not really referring to NW venues there BTW.

Sounds like a grade A tit to me, and will remain so until he posts his reasons. Even after posting his reasons he may still remain a tit.
Willowlikesthewordtit

His loss I'd say.

I feel now is the time to reply to all the critics that have commented on the reason we wouldn't allow Anthem to play. It was not because they were just a duo. It was we are a live music venue and as you all know these are few and far between, if you don't want to play here then thats up to you, as for the drummers out there that are struggling to earn a few extra quid, what will you think if your band mates made you redundant and bought a drum machine? Yes the soundcheck went ahead as the guitarists set their sound up and as the balance was right I left them to it, as far as I knew they were waiting for the drummer to turn up. It was only after a while I realised that there were only two members. As for not allowing Duo's to play here we have an acoustic session in the main bar but thats it we do not have false backing ie: drum machines. Regarding Juke Box issue we do not have a Juke Box, and as far as I know the same goes at The Griffin they do not allow drum machines or backing machines, unless that has now changed, As for the guy at the back with a db meter yes it's true unfortunately.

@The Hermit - I understand your reasons but I'm not sure that having nothing on is the best alternative. I would have let the gig go ahead and explain to the act why they would not be getting a return booking. It is your choice who you book and everyone should respect your decision.

Anthem have a strong case for being paid in full though.

Although we've got young Pete in the wings at the moment, we've often played without a drummer. We've also not actively recruited a stickman, he just happened to start working at Munro's workplace. It also doesn't detract from music in any way. I can't imagine Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream or JM Jarre would sound right with John Bonham hammering away instead of their drum machines/drum tracks! Playing to backing tracks has the benefit you can do stuff you can't do as a duo anyway, like adding odd effects here and there. As long as they're singing and doing the guitar-work, I can't see the problem. Most big bands you see at the MEN and other equally large venues use backing tracks in one form or another. I'd be curious to see Def Lepard perform their Mutt Lange era classics without them for instance.

If the lads don't have a drummer it's because they CHOSE not to! Better to have a nice tight backing track than a drummer who can't even manage "Rock Beat 1" without having a meltdown. Last time I checked drum machines, if well programmed sound bloody brilliant these days anyway.

Using the argument it puts musicians out of work using a drum machine is the most ridiculous statement I've ever heard in my life. To that end, every time I play a string sound am I putting violin and cello players out of business? I think not!

To Anthem I did not say you had got rid of a drummer please read the reply properly and don't try to influence others. Once again not once did I say you got rid of a drummer.

think we might take this as a warning not to play at the hermit considering it's supposed to be a venue welcoming talented entertainment.. reading these comments suggest they only welcome what they like and aren't very proffesional at what they do...

"as for the drummers out there that are struggling to earn a few extra quid .......... "

really struggling to understand this one. So, you fired Anthem off for not having a drummer, thereby disallowing them from earning their few quid, and you er, what? rang a band with a drummer so said drummer could earn a few pennies?

Or left your establishment bereft of entertainment?

And you heard them soundcheck ... assuming they soundchecked the lot, where did you think the drumming noise was coming from?

Not looking for an argument or owt but seriously can't get me head round the idea of leaving a pub without any entertainment for the punters for the sake of a "no machines" ideal.

Having said that, if it's your principal, then you stuck by it - but perhaps be a bit more careful and do a bit more research when booking acts

Willow

I can vouch for these guys, I should know as I've sung with them enough times. At least all concerned will be aware if it in the future.