ANNOUNCEMENT - KILL THE MOON Handover original songs written by Jake Marriott to CORAL SUN

 

A Late Hello - Stress and More Guitars...

 It's been eerily quiet here, almost like I haven't been living. I promise, I'm not dead although the last few months have felt a bit rough. I've spent most of this year constantly sorting my room battling between new and old things, neither that I actually need. I've sold on a few guitars that I never thought I would, ones that had more sentimental value than anything but weren't really worth anything. I've also bought new ones (part the reason why I needed to sell - I can't keep them all!)

I went to the guitar show in Birmingham with a friend; Aaron. Naively thinking I wouldn't come back with anything. We had a good hunt around and I spied a PRS that I quite fancied but the star for me was a Reverend Sentinel short scale bass which came home with me. As impulsive as it was, it's so much more comfortable than my Burns (now-ex) which I've now sold on. Well, actually I ended up exchanging it with my rotary pedal to put towards a Washburn I'd been after since last year. Both stunning guitars. I'm quite happy that I know I'm playing with quality instruments too.

Lets take a moment to honor the fallen (sold on) 

• Vintage SG, cherry red. 
• Jacksville strat copy (SVR imitation)
• Washburn MG-74, red, clear scratch plate, super strat. Serial: 1120981
• Burns Bison. Serial: 6070172.

I also gained one of Dan's (KTM guitarist/vocals) guitars recently as he was selling it cheap to fund buying himself an Orange amp head. It's Chris Miller's (YM@6) signature Ibanez. It's something a bit different for me as it's my only guitar with a P90 that's fitted in the neck pick up. All my other guitars have humbuckers or single coils. I should have mentioned the gig's that Kill The Moon had coming up here but I really haven't been in the mood for managing things like this. It's been too much lately and I still haven't got a proper break from work until the end of May. We've only had a couple at least and usually Facebook/Instagram does the trick. 

I do have some news though. I have a second band called "Coral Sun." I only made a page for it a few days ago so it's all very new with a big announcement coming later this evening (7pm GMT) - I guess I could schedule that here too maybe.

Now, what else...

Bit of a random one but I've started selling my games to Cex recently. Managed to get a few decent vouchers/cash injections from them. After selling my guitars, that lead to me finding a wavebird in another of their stores in Nottingham. It was in such good condition that I couldn't pass it up. £70 lighter but it was worth it. The Nintendo GameCube is a favourite and I've wanted one for a while. Just hope I don't ever lose the wireless adapter. Bonus with Cex is if I do change my mind - i've currently only lost £30 if I decide to trade it back to them. So not bad I guess.

I have to start getting ready for work soon so I'll probably wrap it up here for now and try to get back into a habit of posting more regularly again, even if it's just weekly/monthly, I don't know - we'll see!

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

Wow, I really Have Left It A While This TIme...

I used to post here so regularly that it would hurt my thumbs (I joke), during my times at Uni anyway. I was so proactive. This year has sorta taken that out of me a bit, having so many restrictions. I still feel them now even as they are lifted. Things don't quite feel the same. I'm starting to feel my "mojo" coming back now. I can actually feel excitement again. Yesterday, my behaviour was very irrational but I must have been hilarious to be around, that or an absolute arse.

I've been working on Kill the Moon's website today. I always try to fix it up at least a couple of times a month. Try to find new ways to make it look better and stand out. We've been talking about getting a proper domain so we look all professional and may even get some google ads going. It's all hypothetical at the moment, but next year all being well.

Check it out here: killthemoonband.wixsite.com/killthemoon

We've been talking about recording a single too... shhh. We need to talk to our lovely friends at Labyrinth Studios Nottingham to see how much it would cost. This is generating a buzz for me too. Which song will we choose?

Things have been hard lately so this is a nice relief. August few by with a hazy neutral mist. I was mostly working and fuck I was working my ass off. I had two weeks working 5 days. Payday this week is going to be mega and I need it to be. I've brought a new power supply/distribution for my new pedaltrain calssic junior pedal board which arrived last week. I had to wait about two months for it and now I don't have the energy to set it up. It's coming back slowly though, once I get into it I'll be on a roll.

I've been delivered a guitar to fix up by family friend, Den. It's a fairly beaten up Hohner Countryman in green. I've just been told to make it playable. I'm going to give it a clean. Maybe pick up a small file as a part of the edge of the fretboard has broke of and is a little sharp. Another little fun project anyway... Quite excite to see it shine if that is at all possible!

I promise I'll try to post more regularly now. It's good for my head.

Catch up - It's been a while again...

As usual (at this point) I've left it a while since I last posted - mainly because I haven't had much to talk about that's all that interesting. The drama with work has settled for now. I put in an appeal which I won in February and Since early March my slate has effectively been wiped clean. I was even surprised to find I received my bonus. I wasn't expecting any.

We're still in lockdown so theres not all that much to do. No non essentials shops are open but kids are back in school. From the 12th this months we'll get our shops back, the ones that have survived anyway... I've mostly kept in contact with Chantelle and the band over these times, and Will occasionally. We've had a few adventures together. We even slipped off to Alton towers as a small group last year which was questionable. With things easing up, we had a few chilled drinks together too which has been nice. I had almost forgot was socialisation was, I mean I was always shit at it anyway - I didn't need this last year to make me worse.

I'm hoping we can start rehearsals next week, I haven't got one booked yet but even just a jam session in one of our gardens would be nice at the moment. We have plently of time until our first gig although we may squeeze some more in before that if we're quick at getting to work. Last time we rehearsed we were mainly toying with a few covers and started going over some of the originals. I'm open for a change to our sound at this point, it could be hard at first but I'm looking forward to all these possible changes.

I got my Sanrio Amiibo cards in the post today. I ordered them about a week ago and I'm just so glad I've finally got them to add to my collection. I should probably start collecting the main series again, but they are just so expensive...

YT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxMuhd-f7qI&t 

Kill the Moon - Gigs 2021

A Year Of 2020: Summary

I haven't posted much this year as I have't really had a lot to talk about. Due all the restrictions due to the pandemic, my field has been limited. Also, I realise, it really has been a while this time. The last time posted was mid-August which seems ages away. It's been a long five months and I've been struggling - If I'm really honest. My job security is threatened (retail). My industry is dying (entertainment, live music & performances) but on the plus side I've had my fair share of support.

I see myself as an open person - I mean I blog and often type reasonably personal things on here, or what some may consider. I knew something was wrong for a while, to the point that I've been dabbling writing about it at times already but when the first lockdown hit the alarm bells rang clear. Nothing really made sense anymore. For those few months I felt like my life didn't really have a meaning anymore. Everything I find pleasure in had been taken away. And yeah, I get it - everyone else had to go through the same thing but I was spending the majority of my time in my house playing Animal Crossing. (No shade on AC, it's a good game to help deal with this sort of thing) My point is, I wasn't really doing anything productive. I just remember feeling so frustrated by the whole circumstance - I mean, I still am to a lesser extent. I've felt so angry to the point that I've wanted to use violence (but haven't) and that's just not me. 

This year has just been super stressful and I never want another like this again. At the moment it's looking like "lockdown 3" is going to last until March time. That's another 3 months without gigs, without being about to make any plans without the fear of having to cancel.

Thankfully, I've still been able to see a handful of my friends over these strange times and hear from a few others. Those folk are the ones that have really kept me sane as well as 4 months of meds and a fair amount of counselling sessions. I need out of retail in 2021 - or at the very least out of a supermarket name brand. I've felt like just a number this year and it's absolutely shite. The lack of care is fucked. Make one wrong move through a rough patch and rather ask whats wrong they throw you under a bus. Twice. Yeah, fuck that. I need better for 2021 and I know I can do it. (...hmph) But no, really... I've been talking to a careers advisor and he's helping me realise my potential and give the polite kick up the arse I need. That's one positive at least...

Pumpkin picking in October must be one of the few highlights of the year. Oh, and maybe the time me and a few friends had a cheeky night out (when it was legal) and the sneaky trip to Alton Towers. There's were a few other highlights before the pandemic hit the UK hard. Pendulums Fall's penultimate show at Alberts, Nottingham. 

Watch here: https://youtu.be/iOQKEZLAKeQ

...Kill the Moons gig at The Chameleon with support from Desenitised, Alice's Ants and Red Puppets. Our final gig of the year at Grantham in March (takes the piss...)

I became quite an obsessive collector this year too. AC Amiibo Cards, Video Games - my fave to collect being 3ds & GameCube. Nintendo is my absolute bae this year. I see it as an investment though, maybe one year I'll lose intrest and have £££s worth of games to sell. I know there's a handful in my collection already that sell for way above originally RRP - Pokemon Soul Silver (£90), Majoras Mask 3DS Special Edition (£80?ish) - there's too many more to mention. In some way this is my positive. Not the most healthiest positive but it's also allowed me to restart my YouTube channel and reinvent it with some fresh content such as show casing my collection. I started a series called "Retro Games & Collectables" which I'm hoping to start to make on a weekly basis (since we're still in lockdown) who knows, if YouTube's algorithms pick it up it might be a nice little earner.

Retro Games & Collectables playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLu1IpTgNg0_KU67gmzjFkvJm3_RrW1QGa

I've been brainstorming a few other new ideas to use on my channel - I won't share just yet as I've not quite worked it out but it's one of the few things keeping me both excited and motivated, even if the views I generate for now are dismal with only 55 subscribers.

I promise to blog much more this year as it seems already that I will have a lot more to talk about.

Stay safe! - Kim.

Worst week of the year...

It's only Monday and I can already say this quite confidently, although I guess some of the problems started a few weeks ago. I've always been open here and that will never change as it writing posts like these help me work things out and figure out my next moves. I had a plan for ages that I've never fully executed but maybe now the timing is right. I'll be closing a few doors this week, definitely at least one anyway but maybe it will help me move forward. Maybe it's best.

The problem with instances like this is that there is no real telling what is the right thing to do, or what really would be the best move going forward. I feel like I have so many ideas yet not many real opportunities and most new work places demand experience over qualifications which is a ridiculous expectation of the young - something I'm growing apart from being. 26 isn't old but it's somewhere in that weird in-between bracket when no one really cares, or at least thats how it feels. I'm thankful that I have at least had some highlights for this year as I imagine many haven't really had any because of this damned global pandemic and the paranoia. That scares me more than the virus, everyone living in fear that they may catch it and allow it to spread. These are strange times. I feel like I've worked hard though this but now I'm facing a disciplinary at work. I guess I can finally mention it and talk about it a little more freely since my hearing is coming up. I'm not worried about my job. I was, I really was when the investigation process first started but now I'm not so sure as it's brought out so much upset and anger in me. I couldn't stop crying at first, it took me hours to settle down and I had no choice but to come home from work early. Colleagues have been asking about me, those that were there on that afternoon. I appreciate the concern because all leadership can say for themselves is that "it's only policy."

I feel so done in. I've had sleepless nights - last night was on of them. The funny thing is that I try not care too much but then I get angry with myself and make myself more upset, like I am doing now. As hard as it may seem I need to try to focus on the positives. I do still have other things planned. If I lose my job (which I doubt) I can look for another, sign on for a short while while working on new projects. I feel like everyone else has had a break except me (which isn't true, I know, others have worked throughout this shit storm of a situation) Maybe I have one thing to look forward to this Friday. A friend of a friend has booked me as a photographer for a car shoot. I'm not really sure how that's going to go but it will be a little extra cash for me. Not a lot, no doubt it will probably go into my games collection. I have moved on from Amiibo cards now, although I am still collecting them. I just can't bring myself to pay stupid money for a bit of card board, no matter how cute. I do have some that are valued up to £55 (eBay prices) which is mental but I could never pay that sort of money myself. I just can't justify it. It is another thing that makes me sad though, knowing I can't complete my collection just yet and I'm convinced that prices are only going to get worse.

About my games collection though... that's really coming along to the point that I now need a bigger bookshelf to store them all. For now, I'm just juggling them between different spaces so it still makes sense but I'm going to have to invest and build soon. My latest additions are Sonic Adventure 2 Battle NGC and Spongebob Squigglepants 3DS - which is basically a Warioware rip-off. Gamecube and 3DS games are my favourite to collect at the moment, although I've been playing my Gamecube games on my Wii as my original console is old and battered. I think it's the laser, that or the disc spin motor that's wearing out. My poor baby. I do have a weird connection to these things and they have been helping me lately, even if it is mostly to zone out and chill out - forget about all the problems in the world. Some of them I could easily repeatedly replay unhealthily. I'm not 100% sure why, I think it's nostalgia related but the first couple of Harry Potter games really hit the spot for me. 

No doubt, I'll give an update soon on the proceedings of this week. I'll have other bad news to announce formally later on in the week too but I can't really comment on it yet. Also, it's a little late but, happy 3 years Kill The Moon!

Good Luck Never Lasts

I got stupidly lucky last Friday and I didn't even realise until a few days after when I received a message from Guitar Gear Giveaway. I had entered into a competition to win a Boss ME-80, something I had wanted for the last couple of years. I brought two tickets which cost me £1.99 each. I think it was 250 cap ticket draw so I figured I had a good chance and so be it - I won. My prize was delivered from GAK a few days later. In fact it's arrived quicker than my eBay item that I won, that still hasn't arrived which is disappointing.

Me holding my prize, the Boss ME-80

 

I've only really had a few quick plays with this so far but from what I've heard I've liked, I'm most enjoying the tera echo delay setting - it makes my solos sound amazing. Not really figured out the wah control yet, it was set as volume control and I'm not sure how to change it yet. I think it's something to do with the dial right next to it but when I last tweaked that nothing changed... hmmm... I am very impressed with this unit though. It's certainly an excellent piece to add to my collection. If I ever find myself in a situation having to play an ampless gig, this has me covered.

As I mentioned I'm also waiting for another, this one is a Zoom GFX 707. It's the same multi-effects unit my dad brought me when I was first learning. I only got rig on my last as it was in poor condition. The one thats on it's way looked to be in good condition and the price was fair, hopefully this doesn't turn into something that I have to dispute with eBay or PayPal, although PayPal are supposedly really good at handling these things... I guess I might find out soon. I really don't want to have to do that though as I have enough to deal with this end as it is. I'm currently doing some "homework" for work but the copy of my handbook was published in 2011 - which is the one I received upon first starting in 2015 (o.O) I'm amazed - have learned today that I need to ask for a more recent print.

Bassey - A Beat.. (STKMY REMIX) Track Preview

OUT NOW! 

Stream the full album here... 

SPOTIFY 

https://open.spotify.com/album/4hhvYA... 

APPLE MUSIC 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/a-be...

Bassey - Hollow Man (STKMY Remix) Track Preview

Here's a preview of what's to come - soon to be released! It's been great to be a part of this project and I can't wait to be able to share the full track with you all.

STKMY Feat. On New Bassey Album

ONE MAN TWO SONGS THIRTEEN PRODUCERS 

A song might be the creation of a songwriter but it’s the producer that develops it. As a singer/songwriter Bassey has got to know plenty of producers and so decided to try something different and this project is the result. Handing the song over with no rules to an eclectic range of renowned production talent, they had final say on the end product. 

The full list of producers is Nation of Teflon Souls, Toronto Blessings, Antonio Zee, Richard Thompson AKA Mr Ribbon, Scott Makepeace, Claudine West, Dickie, Russ Forster, Steve Turrell, STKMY, Brad Westby, David Fagin and Fatbwoi. Each version of the song has been recreated in their own vision creating this unique collection. 

‘Hollow Man’ and ‘A Beat...’ will be available on the usual streaming platforms, search ‘Bassey’. 

Fixing My iMac - HDD Replacement & Fresh OS Install

I finally got around to fixing that massive paperweight I bought last year. it only needed a new HDD. Thinking of selling it though as I don’t really have a need for it (originally was going to be some kind of back up machine but I don’t really have the space here) 

Mid 2010 model
Specs currently (might salvage RAM):
21.5inch screen
3.2 GHz Intel Core i3
8GB Ram
Seagate 500GB HDD
ATI Radeon HD 5670 512MB graphics
MacOS High Sierra 10.13.6 (Can potentiality install El Captain, 10.11.6 which may run better)
Disk drive/SuperDrive- working

This was my first time doing this and my main reference was a guide on YouTube. I had to remove the glass and screen to access the HDD behind. The glass, being a 2012 model just simply pulled off but the screen was screwed in behind, held by 8 screws, some ear magnetic points which made it difficult. To get to the HDD I had to disconnect a few cables (vertical sync, backlight power, display port and temperature sensor) so I could access where I needed safely without damaging any components or stressing any of these cables. Once I had removed the screen I set it to one side, out of the way where it wouldn't get damaged and started to disconnect the HDD. 

 

    For those interested, the new HDD I was replacing the old one with was a Seagate 500GB capacity. Think it was some model from 2015, I don't know much more about it and I brought it second-hand from Cex for £8. The original drive was also manufactured by Seagate - apple licensed, certain to be the original from its release in 2010, which is why I went with it.

 

A few more cables to note here the HDD sensor cable and bother the power and date cables. I unplugged these before removing the screws holding the bracket the HDD was secured into, once this was loose I could then tease the HDD out of it's slot and remove the bracket completely from the drive. Once the drive was free, the Bracket then needed to be fixed onto the new HDD and the support feet needed moving over too - the support feet just slot into the little holes at the bottom of the space for the drive once attached. This was probably the easiest part of the job. Once the bracket and feet were in place on the new HDD it was time to physically install it into the original slot. Feet in first comfortably, then I made sure the sensor cable wasn't trapped before screwing it securely back in place. From this point onwards it became a series of back tracking anything connection that had been unplugged to get the screen ready to be fixed back into place but giving it a good dust before hand - I don't think this Mac had ever been serviced in it's life. I had the most trouble with the display port ribbon cable but otherwise it was easy enough.

 

    It's important to make sure all are fitted back in securely before closing up. When closing up, we aware of keeping the screen level and not grind screws against the metalwork. The best way to do this is to find an angle to lift the screen slightly, comfortable to get the first few screws in place but do not tighten them all the way, best to start with the ones not near any magnets to avoid any frustration.

 

It became problematic for me when I realised the new drive I had brought was in Windows format so when I tried to boot up the iMac for the first time after closing up I got the error message "BOOTMGR MISSING" which bricks the keyboard. I looked up various ways around this, thinking at first I'd hit another dead end. Most of the search results I came across were about Macs running Windows, which wasn't really what I was looking for advice on. I stumbled upon a command from a forum tread, CMD+R. This when held at the start-up chime boots up Internet recovery. At first I tried via WiFi but this gave me a time est. of 24hrs and eventually failed anyway. This model iMac has an Ethernet port on the rear so I decided to dig out an Ethernet cable and that's where I found success. 

 

Originally, my plan was to simply format the new HDD but for some reason it would not let me from disk utilities after Internet recovery. I had a time capsule prepared of a backup from another Mac. Again, this was not my original intention to have to use this but it was what worked for me. The New HDD was still a problem so the time capsule had to be stored in a new partition on the external hard drive that it was originally from. It seems like a long loop but bear with me. The size of my time capsule was around 280GB so it took around 6 hours to complete the recovery. When this had complete, everything was as normal (compared with my other 2009 iMac) except it was running off my external HDD still. It was at this point that I was able to format the new internal HDD (still not 100% why I couldn't before this point but it wouldn't let me mount it at all before) I then decided to shut down the system once the internal drive was formatted, unplug my external drive and power the iMac back up again using internet recovery (CMD+R) and this then allowed me to install a fresh copy of High Sierra 10.13.6 - none of my data had ever been on the iMac just the external drive 

 

Please not that if you use my short guide, my aim was to fresh install not to back up or recover any data. I hope this helps someone. It's a good feeling to be able to fix something like this by yourself and I'm quite proud. There probably was a better way around this regarding installing a fresh OS but this worked for me, it took a day or two but it worked!

 

Plus, either way it’s been a good project that’s kept me busy over my “holiday.”

Any questions, ask away! I may be able to help :)

 

Life at 26... almost

Well, the world has certainly changed over the last three months. I'm sat here at my Mac, trying to make plans to move forward with releases both external and through my own label Niahas records whilst the idiot minority dive to the beaches. The Black Lives Matter movement has been massive and thankfully all of my friends have reacted positively to the current climate with no racist remarks, in fact it's been nice to mostly see positive posts in my my Facebook feed. Social distancing is still a thing, although not to some apparently. Boris relaxed the rules a bit but said it has to wait until the 4th of July when the pubs and hair dressers reopen but I think the ignorant believe it's no longer exists. I've been in situation where I can't, mostly at work but I'm not mad paranoid like some. If I see friends, I ask them what they are comfortable with. It feels like common sense.

Enough of the depressing stuff, my gaming habits have again changed. I've not been playing so much recently because I've been working on some remixes that will be released externally soon (will mention more about it when I have more details) I've been playing The Last Of Us (the first part) on PS3 to catch up for if I ever play the new release. I'm ashamed to say I had not had a proper run through before but I'm enjoying it and I'm at a point where it is a bit terrifying. I had to stop playing one night because of the bloater in the hotel basement, although I have since got past that point and I'm now out of the sewers and in a hostel neighbourhood with a cosy sniper.

I'm not planning on doing much tomorrow, I can't really anyway! We're having burgers for lunch and I'm loading mine with peanut butter and jam - Annie's style! It would be nice to get a take out from there but it's just too far and they're not properly open until next week. I don't have any other plans, I might get to see a couple of friends but I'm mostly just bracing myself for all the Facebook posts on my wall. I'm ahead of myself, I've already thought about what I would like to buy with my birthday money, admittedly it's mostly games. I wanted to invest in more music tech this year but at the moment can't justify it with the social restrictions. I wanted an 8 channel interface so I could record more instruments simultaneously but that means more people and I hardly have any space in my room as it is. Plus, I was hoping to grab some gear from college but that plan fell apart. I might message AO soon though, I keep thinking about it.

Anyway, I've drawn up a plan for the rest of this year concerning my music and I'm happy with it. It's given me a new focus and it's probably something I should have done a few months ago. My issue is, I keep holding back and I need to start pushing forward. I was doing so well and I feel like I've fallen behind (I don't blame the video games at all, it's a personal choice) I need to focus on myself some more. The only thing I can announce right now is to expect some tracks from me this month. Two external releases and a remaster of a track I can't get enough of.

I hope I've given someone something to look forward to.