A Restless November

 So far this month has been pretty non-stop, even with being off work for a bit - I had a fair bit planned including gigs and Alton Towers. Before that though, last month marked the start of a couple of things... As a band we agreed we wanted to get something out soon so we have made a decent start on the recording process. I've dug out the old MIDI drum file for Book Of Nothing to build up from and redevelop, Fluctuate too. I need to create some more as references for Dan but I'm in no rush to stress over it. I'm hoping to get some bass recorded over the next few days but would prefer to restring my bass first. The Weather has been really shitty the last few days, heavy rain is making me think twice about travelling into town since there's risk of flooding today. I have debated just popping into my local music shop  (Zebra) but I always feel awful going in because I hardly do (shameful, I know but I usually go to The Music Inn - whom I also need to pay a visit to soon.) The other thing - Secret band No. 2 is in the works.

I guess I got a few days to myself being while away from work. Originally I was going to see Marty at Rough Trade. This was a rescheduled gig since the previous one in October was cancelled last minute due to bad weather - I had literally just made it into to town when I found out and I remember traffic bad. I guess the bands originally booked were double-booked and couldn't make the new date as we ended up being offered a support slot which we were very excited for. This marks our first time playing Rough Trade, Nottingham which was both a fantastic opportunity and experience. Marty are more pop-rock, certainly much lighter than us not that we are in anyway a heavy metal band. It's all fuzz and distortion. I think we still went down very well anyway and that's what matters. I noticed a few people I had spotted at other gigs, fans of mutual bands if you like. I wore out my shoulders and arms carrying gear though town and the following morning I was off to Alton Towers for the day so that was fun.

In all seriousness, Alton Towers was great as always... I was just a little worn out already but I still managed to survive a full day somehow. I set off around 8:30am to pick up Chantelle then set off. It was just us two going this year which admittedly made things much easier in terms of planning the day and navigating around faster yet still at our own pace. My first ride of the day was Nemesis. It had to be. It was the penultimate day before closing for re-tracking and she still feels just as good as the first time I was persuaded to get on in 2011. Nemesis is the same age as me - built in 1994. Not bad at all. I recall giving the coaster car I rode in a couple of taps and saying, "Not bad, you've still got it" as I was about to disembark and the ride photo really says it all. I had to this one on my own but after we both went on the Pirate ship opposite (Blade) then Air/Galactica (It's still air to me, especially now there's no VR) - unfortunately we didn't get a photo from this one as they had to reboot the system and our photo seemed to just not be there when we got to the automated kiosk which is a shame as it was Chan's first time riding and she actually enjoyed it - I think. We walked back though past Dual which was suspiciously closed - hopefully not for good. There were signs up saying the property had been repossessed, which for a haunted house can only be good news. Somehow, I don't think Merlin have gone bankrupt since it was a sold out day. (28K people) I can't remember where we went next but I remember riding Hex, Oblivion the Congo River Rapids and Wicker Man before it was time for fireworks which really isn't bad going for a sold out day! Margining on impressive. I'm not gonna talk massively about the fireworks as they were amazing as expected but I will mention that they also had drones this year which I wasn't expecting. I've uploaded videos to my YouTube channel anyway (STKMY) 

After the fireworks, we were kinda stuck in a sort of big holding pen for half an hour as they got the rides ready again for the last two hours. I had decided beforehand that I wanted to go on the Smilier - I hadn't been on it for years since the queue times are usually ridiculous 70-90 min mark. It was a horrible experience when the flood gates were finally opened. People were pushing people that couldn't move. When we got to the end of the path past Spinball it opened up a little and people started running to the ride they were after. I was that irritable at this point I stopped a young gal from queue jumping by putting my arm in the way. I was here now. Experiencing The Smiler in the dark was certainly something. I wasn't waiting too long either - roughly half an hour I think, maybe a little longer. It was so nice to finally experience it again. We went to the gift shop (again) before leaving. I bought my friend Bekkie that now lives in Finland a Nemesis scarf (she loves Nemesis like me) which has since been delivered as her mum went to visit recently. I also bought myself an Alton Towers Christmas jumper that looks like its trying to be a band tour shirt and I love it - it has all the big rides on the reverse. The drive back was a bit of a nightmare, lots of heavy fog coming out of the village so I daren't go over 30mph because I couldn't seen 2m in front of me. Even my fog lights didn't help all that much. We made it back ok though in the end.

I had a few days to recover after this, although I did decide to go to a gig the night after and met some new faces. It was at The Old Bus Depo in Nottingham. It was my first time going and I rather enjoyed it. Saw a few familiar faces too - Sam and Emily from Alice's Ants, Mark from Labyrinth and the Marshall AVTs on the stage which were definitely ex Clarendon. Absolutely had to be. Line up was Paste, Kynch and A Void. I had seen A Void last month in Derby but their sound was so much better at this venue and it was a much more intimate experience. I got chatting to the bassist a little after the show which was interesting. I had seen Kynch before too but it was quite a few years ago. They're drummer reminds me of Michael Ives - one of our past drummers. Drums so hard (and well) that the kit shuffles forward constantly and attacks the front man. This ended up being a later night than planned as I went to Percy's with Sam & Emily afterwards with Martin from Confyde.

Originally we planned to have a second jam with secret band No. 2 on the Wednesday but a certain someone forgot to book it which lead us rescheduling and costing more pennies yesterday. On Thursday 10th November I went to see Deaf Havana at Rock City which I'm still blown away by. I really love their new sound. Very Alt-Pop with dark themes and some lighter wholesome nods. I'm so glad they played some of my favourite tunes including "Sinner" which I think went down best with most singing along. I definitely want to see these guys again if I can, wish they opened the balcony up though - there was a few of us that wanted to go up there.

I still haven't stopped. As I briefly mentioned, we had another jam session yesterday toying with more ideas. I shared a few new riffs again and we managed to develop one into a full song structure in an instant which is just ridiculous. I'm really enjoying playing guitar again though, not that Kill the Moon has taken a back bench or anything it's more that we're not busy at the moment (gig wise) I definitely need to resting my guitar soon too though, I've been using my Washburn KC-40 for these sessions, such a fun little superstrat to play, I don't think I could ever part with this one. Exciting times for sure!

RIP Aaron Carter

 I was in shock when I heard the news but then if I'm honest with myself, almost immediately not surprised. I remember checking up on what he work he had done more recently and not really being impressed. It's sad really. I used to listen to his early music as a teen on a daily basis. It would play on my mp4 player on the way to school and later college. More recently, I found that mp4 player - it's a Sony Walkman something-or-other and it still holds charge really well and works brilliantly. Which means I found myself listening to these songs again. I still knew the words. They hadn't fell out of my head all these years later. It's a shame no one could help him out of habits and push him back in the right direction. 

I listened to some of his brothers music too. Was never big on The Backstreet Boys but some of Nicks solo stuff was great. I think it's important to note that I discovered these artists in a different time - before streaming was a thing and illegal downloading and torrenting was in. I did own an Aaron Carter CD eventually but I bought it from a Music Magpie outlet - Can't remember the name of the store any more but I used to love it. For CDs, it was like Cex on steriods. Some crazy offers on bulk stock, some priced at 99p, multi-buy offers like 3 for £5 or £1.99 each. I miss that. I can't remember how much I would have paid for Aarons CD but it wouldn't have been much and he wouldn't have received a penny for it with it being resold on stock/pre-owned.

Hopefully he's in a better place now, away from his demons. Somewhere that he's cashed out his NFTs and just spending unlimited money with no troubles. That seemed to be how he liked to live his life in recent years. So young too. RIP Aaron Carter.

Wonder

 I saw an advert today that reminded me of the plans that I was starting to form pre-pandemic. It was an advert for flights to Norway. I can't remember if thats exactly where I was thinking of travelling - I do however remember it being to see a gig. It's feels a bit strange thinking back to this now, how everything was seemingly cancelled all at once. I hope I never have to encounter a year like the ones with national and regional lockdowns ever again. Not that it's completely over now, Covid is still around but no one wants to talk about it anymore.

I've not been very focused lately, bar a couple of productive days. I had JEM over in the studio the other day and we've been working on a few tracks again. Other than that, I've been thinking a lot about my funk project. I always fear sharing the name of the project in case the name gets pinched (I think it's quite a good one that can lead to some interesting themes that suit) I downloaded an app called wonder, unfortunately it's one of those awful subscription apps (I really hate subscription models in apps) but it did offer a free trial which I made full use of for 3 days. The app creates artwork using AI and I've had some interesting results stemming off the themes of my project. I've saved so many to my phone and will most likely use some as album art, whether I combine a few. I've also thought of sending some over to my cousin as an idea to improve on. To give you an idea, most of these images consist of strange looking iguanas or lizards and tropical holiday vibes. I found the app really impressive. There's an option to buy the app without subscription but even at nearly £40 I'm not sure its worth it. I think I'd rather dip in a fiver for a week when I need some art inspiration on the fly.

Kill The Moon have a gig this weekend which means we'll be rehearing this week too. This Saturday we're playing a full show at The Gate Inn at Kimberley. It will be the fist gig that I provide my new PA (new to me) made up of a couple of cheap disco speakers and a four channel amp donated by a friend which I could do with tweaking (there's something stuck in the aux input that I need to remove at some point) I'm wanting to set it all up again beforehand to test it out since I've not connected it all up since June when I first got it. I also want to try it with my Soundcraft too so I know I'll potentially have a back up system. This all stuff I'll need to do tomorrow ideally so I'll know if I need anything else which is unlikely but then at least I've still got a few days.

I've still got a lot of stuff to be rid off too and my mum and dad have brought much more stuff back from the caravan that's now sold on. The Campervan is here and has taken my parking spot. It's most likely not going to move very much. It's a little harder for me to load now and I have to pull forward a little to make it easier. I guess ultimately I'll see what it's like on Saturday when I'm all loaded up. I'm really looking forward to this gig, hopefully it will be a busy one!

Home Stress

28. Struggling. Desperate for another sort out to clear more space (vaguely ongoing - sorted a small bag to donate already) my main problem is I'm so cramped and it's not just my room. The whole house is full of shit everywhere and it's certainly not all mine. Mum and Dad seem to want to save EVERYTHING they don't use or need anymore so the dining table is mostly unaccessible these days as well as the floor space surrounding the TV. The front entry is filled with my dads work stuff mostly paperwork piled up to the side which I step on every time lately, especially when loading for a gig. I have no turning space. 

This has made me think about moving out quite a lot lately but the reality is that I wouldn't be able to afford it on my own. I have no one to move out with so that leaves me stuck and unhappy living in a mess of a house. I get that I probably sound ungrateful, I'm lucky to have a roof over my head etc, etc - yeah, fair enough but it's becoming a dumping ground. My parents are obviously currently more bothered about "holidays." We have a camper on the way and it looks like I'm losing my space on the drive for it - the space that allows me to access my rear barn doors easier. If I move across I'll struggle to load in for gigs. It's already hassle enough without making it more difficult.

I need to take my amp(s) for repair soon. The Marshall that I bought recently needs fixing, it might just be a new valve or something but I have no idea. My Laney needs sorting too with the same issue but it's not as much of a priority (Marshall has always been more a favourite) It's been annoying really though, I had only had the Marshall for about a month when the power (sound) dropped then cut, I've been power ampless for a couple of months now but I've been advised to drop it in at The Music Inn soon anytime after the 10th for them to send it off to someone to have a look at. It's exciting to think it might be sorted again very soon - hopefully by the end of the month but I don't know for sure. It was to be expected mind, the amp is around 20 years old if not older I believe - it's a TSL 100.

Having a bit of a day out with mum day once she's back home from work. I think we might be going to my cousins pub, The Hayloft at Giltbrook. It's been done up recently, they're the new landlords and we love it there. It's nice for the family to have a pub. We've been invited up Christmas day but I'm not sure what we're doing yet. I've already said I'd love to go. Sounds lovely. Home politics makes it a slight impossibility but I hope we get past it and attend, though how likely that is at the moment I really don't know.

I've been toying with a little Boss Katana Mini since the Marshall blew. I quite like it, sounds alright to say it's only 5w but not so much when you start to push it. The built in delay helps clean up the distorted sound a little or at least makes it more tolerable and if it's late I can just plug in my headphones. I should probably have another play this evening, I've not been playing all that much lately and its most likely because of the amps breaking. Kill The Moon have a gig tomorrow so I have that to prepare for too, not that it'll take much - backline and PA is provided so should be a nice easy one it's D.H. Lawrence Festival and we're at The Conservative Club playing at 4pm. Hoping we have a decent crowd as this free festival is usually popular.

Kill The Moon autumn gig listings 2022

I've been looking at lighting for upcoming gigs we have booked for the start of October that's completely DIY and we don't have any as of yet. I think I might just buy a cheap pair to place on the floor either side of the stage. I saw a set on Amazon for less than £20 so maybe it will do. I'll ask the guys what they think tomorrow

And Just Like That, It's August Already...

I've been extremely lax on writing blog posts this year, I realise this whist reading my last post from January. I usually only leave it a few weeks or a couple of months max but I've not even really thought about it this year even though I still have plenty to talk about.

Kill the Moon is still actively gigging at the very least, monthly or sometimes even fortnightly. Our last gig at The Flowerpot, Derby on a rocking Saturday night was certainly our best yet. Expenses paid and we even managed to shift our CDs curtesy of Dan's smooth selling skills. We opened up for a band called Metal Fatigue, it was honestly such a fantastic night. Ended up being a late one mind. We're meant to be working on recording remotely over the next few weeks or so. We managed to record one "Between The Lines" earlier this year (honestly could have been last year, I don't remember anymore) but I'm still a bit unhappy with it. I need to make a start construction more guide drum and bass tracks so we can make more progress on some of our other songs, starting with the newer ones.

I've had a major sort out and donated a lot of old clothes to charity, you wouldn't believe it though as my room is still filled with all sorts of junk. I've already convinced myself that I'll need to turn it over again. So much stuff I just don't need yet still hold onto and seasonal clothes I need to learn to rotate. We've had a few crazy hot days this summer, one reaching 37 degrees in my area and I can certainly say that I'm already ready for the hoodie and wind-cheater months. Not Christmas though, I've already seen some chocolates in the shops and it's enough to make me feel sick.

West Park in Long Eaton is becoming a new favourite destination as I try to "be good." Free parking then a pleasant walk into the town. It's usually where I aim for if I can't be bothered with the cities. If I got to Derby or Nottingham I only end up spending too much anyway as I learnt the last couple of times, telling myself that I should only spend a tenner, then coming home £100 later... Always worth it when Superdry has a sale though, I can't resist. I found some linen trousers (that are very comfy) and a new sports jacket. Honestly can't remember what else I came home with, a new game probably, a small storage unit. Who knows...

I've been thinking while I've been out today, about what music I want to release personally. Originally, I wanted to release my work chronologically - in the order it was first written. I couldn't help but think I should be releasing when I believe is my best work first. Two Fingers. A song I wrote whilst at Derby Uni about anxiety, bullies and wanting to fit in. It certainly has the most powerful meaning behind it, followed by Disappointment. I wouldn't want "Disappointment" to be a B side to it though, they're too powerful together. My Auntie likes my song "Secret" but it would need redoing but suit the tone more so maybe that could work. It's still all ideas in my head. No dates but I'm so ready to push stuff out. I make myself so frustrated that I've off put it for so long, when some of these tracks have been solid for a decade now.

Hmmm... both tracks would still need work regardless, and then theres the artwork to consider. I bought myself some new pens to drive experimenting for art, I used to be creative in that way more when I was in school than anything. I want to have a go anyway and if that fails then most likely past it on to my cousins who are both much more skilled than me in that department (I should note; I was going to use the word talented but it truly is a skill) Caroline has sorted me artwork for the band before - the Book Of Nothing single artwork and it looks gorgeous.

I'm probably going off on one today but like I said there's a lot of gaps to fill in. My short term memory is awful these days so I like to keep track. My brain is better at storing all Potterhead info rather than anything that could be useful. I'm working on it though and still try to keep a dairy. I'll probably wind up doing this more often now as I'm trying to save pennies again. I've been doing ok this year on that front but not hit my target yet and with the way I've been spending lately it won't happen unless I have a few nights in treasuring what I already have. I'm sure I could rewatch all the Harry Potter films another time, I'm watching Chamber of Secrets now.

I promise I'll post more from now on.

So... How's January Going?

 All-in-all, not fantastic. I'm struggling to keep focused this month, I've had many things planned but just been avoiding everything. I think it may be a mix of still being busier than usual at work, general stress and overwhelming myself and just procrastination in general. I was a complete idiot last week too. We had a rehearsal booked at our regular studios and I didn't even realise - a bit of miscommunication, but never mind, the damage is done. We have another scheduled in a fortnights time. Why such a long gap? Well, in other terrible news, my mum caught Covid and tested positive Saturday. Shes in the all clear now and back to work and all that but she's still been coughing so there's a cautionary health and safety element too.

What did I have planned? As I alway say, every year, or at least most years.. I want to get some music out, released properly to the world. Initially, I thought the end of January would be good to release one of my older electronic tracks with something new, but I'm lacking in the creative inspiration department for the "something new" part. It doesn't help that it's been difficult for me to play guitar recently which co-insides with me playing much less. I chewed the skin off from my little finger a few weeks back after a bad patch and it's still recovering (You should know I don't filter this shit out), it's getting there though, and I've been trying to ignore it as it heals. This also means that I haven't been playing bass much either. Believe it or not, I find bass easier to play with ruined fingers, possibly because of the thickness of the strings. It's getting there and I should definitely have a try tomorrow if I can. Even if I just take it out its case! Give it some air!

I have some mixes from last year to finish and send off too. They're close to being finished but when I sent a track over recently, like an idiot I'd left the threshold on the vocal noise gate way too high. I haven't been mixing a lot over the last two years so I know I'm out of practice. I can sort-of redeem myself in saying I really was focusing on the balance and reducing any harshness... which I was!

In better news, I finally have the days I wanted two years ago at work. My days are all together and it should in-theory help to organise any band related stuff like gig dates, festivals, rehearsals are usually easy enough anyway. I'm looking forward to this year as it gets going. There are a few gigs I want to go to in the coming weeks so I'll be out and a about more so that should perk me back up - being more involved in the scene. The Addiction, Wed 26, Left-Hand-Lane Sat 29, more into next month. 

Our first gigs of the month aren't until the end of February. Both listed on our website and socials, both free!

https://killthemoonband.wixsite.com/killthemoon/shows

In other news, I've been wanting to start writing reviews again for some of the games I have in my collection. I posted one tonight and a brief explanation on how I want to make these semi regular.

https://bigscreenlittlescreenreviews.blogspot.com/

Thanks for reading.

- Kim

A Year Of 2021: Summary

 I sit here at my messy desk typing this, thinking where has this month gone? If I'm really honest with myself. I've not been very productive at all this month. Kill the Moon had a gig on the 1st December, this was a rescheduled date but still went well even with some last minute concerns. Anyway, this post is ultimately about this year as a whole, so I won't start here. 

I don't really remember the first few months, I think they mostly consisted of work. It may be partially because I don't want to remember those months too. Work was putting me through hell and I was fighting a disciplinary with an appeal. The good news is that eventually, without going into too much detail, I won. It was February by this time and I still had a month left on my first minor issue. Which meant, even though I was unsure about it, I still received a decent chunk of mu bonus. Work has been easier since with our stand-in manager but all that could change in the new year if lessons haven't been learnt and the same old, unhealthy, stressful practices start again.

Kill The Moon Photoshoot 05/04/21
Photo by Chantelle Kemp

March was a refreshing month. At this point, talks of Kill the Moon reforming with a new front man (Dan Bacon) and Peter returning as the drummer had been on-going for a good few months- at least September of the year previous but we hadn't been able to rehearse due to all of the restrictions still in place which meant we still had to wait. We did however manage a shoot with one of my best friends, Chantelle Kemp which did us a kind favour and gave us some material to push to get people excited. We have some shots from this day that are still unused but maybe they will appear in an album soon.

It wasn't until April that we could properly start rehearsals. We tried Octave Rooms, where we would normally go but they had shut shop due to all the restrictions, they couldn't survive. It was sad to see the owner selling his gear listed on Facebook market place.We had noticed another new studio pop up in Nottingham, Labyrinth and from what they were posting we thought we would give them a try and we have stuck with them where possible ever since. Pirates all good but it's second rate compared to having an on-hand engineer all the time if needed. 

We made fast progress rehearsing once a fortnight in the beginning, since there was still the uncertainty of gigs, we took it steady. As things become more promising we starting having more regular weekly sessions where we could. We didn't have many gigs booked, just a couple. One was a livestream at the studio to help promote what services they offer, and another was with Boombox Entertainment at The Fairham in Clifton, both went pretty well for our early gigs. We soon picked up more, through the Uncovered Network, Boombox Entertainment and The Public House Brand.

The summer seemed to fly as we were mostly focusing on building up our setlist, we did have a few socials in between which was nice to just chill out. I was starting to pick up extra shifts more often to help out too which helped me save.

NIAHAS set-up October 2021
Recording Hedgehog Reality.

    As the summer came to an end, I had started to invest in more studio gear     for NIAHAS. I managed to get a nice Focusrite 56 from Labyrinth and        found another pro40 listed on Facebook market place. This lead me to        buying many xlr cables (I think I have at least 12 now) a shorter mic            stand for bass drums and a few extra cheap mics. I'm still looking to buy     more even now, after all, I have 16 channels to fill which is a big jump        from the previous 2. So, in September, I arranged a recording session in     October with a few friends to test out my new gear. It was a successful        day, I feel bad as I still have't sent them any mixes, I've just been too            busy - I have however made a start.

My Mini Clubman One

This was just after I got my new car (new to me) a13 plate Mini Clubman in white (cream), legally, I don't think they're allowed to put "cream" on the documentation. Purchased mid October, I absolutely love it. Ultimately, it's my dream car and it's a lot more fun to drive. I will miss my first car, my Toyota Aygo, it's served me well but it's onto bigger and better now. My only qualm is that it isn't fantastic on fuel, but its a much bigger car with the space I need and a much bigger engine... and a lot more security features. I'm still finding new things now. Only the other day I discovered a secret storage compartment and that I can roll down my windows with my key.

November saw a different kind of trip to Alton Towers. Another long drive test for my new mini. We went for the fireworks! Obviously we had a full day there too, on the rides and attractions. It was a long day but it was worth it and the display was phenomenal. I took a few videos, but haven't got around to uploading some sort of mash up to YouTube just yet. I was amazed by how long the fireworks who was. It was the first time I had been to a big fireworks event like this but it lasted a good half hour with audio/visual breaks in-between. Very impressive, definitely thinking of going again this year.

I've already mentioned December. I've been lazy as it's the time to be. I've had a busy year keeping the band in motion and starting to push new ventures. However, I did miss out this. (Possibly saving the best for last?) I had a Photoshoot with Paul Boast who took some fantastic portraits for me. While I was there, I felt so welcomed and it was lovely to finally have a proper chat with both Paul and his wife, Caz. I haven't uploaded them all just yet as I've decided I'll save them for special announcements for early in the new year. I hope to keep you updated on that soon when I have firmed some of my ideas. I have a scheduled plan for the year for music and I'm hoping that I can stick to it this year.

Photo by Paul Boast

Future plans:

- Release music. Kill The Moon & STKMY

- More uploads to YouTube, at least twice a month.

- More collaboration music projects.

- Kickstart NIAHAS, portable recording project.

New Years Resolutions

- Keep Productive

- Keep Focused 

- Play more guitar

...Just an additional little note, I will try to update this in the next few months too. Sort of abandoned it this year, which was never my intention