Love Commandos Mastered

Andy, Rob and I went on a trip to deepest darkest Cambridgeshire last Wednesday to visit SRT to get “Siren” mastered. We arrived in time to get breakfast at the local cafe (for local people) though luckily the characters from The League of Gentlemen did not make an appearance.
In true Commando fashion the operation was completed with military precision and, bar some minor disagreements about sirens, everyone is happy. Once the art is finished the CDs will be ready to press.
Consequently most of Friday’s rehearsal was spent listening to and commenting on the mastered recordings, though we did bash out the odd tune.

Tags: Andy, Cambridgeshire, darkest, disagreements, league of gentlemen, love commandos mastering, military precision, odd tune, Rob, Siren, sirens, SRT, trip, Wednesday

All quiet on the western front

After our last rehersal on the 9th it’s been quiet at the Love Commandos HQ while Neil gads about the USA on a solo tour of Phoenix. Meanwhile the rest of us are soldiering on regardless, but not actually rehearsing.

Ken has found tab and lyrics for ‘Orange Crush’ by R.E.M. so that may make an appearence in the set at some point.

Tags: Commandos HQ, gads, Ken, Love, Neil, orange crush, Phoenix, R.E.M, rehersal, rest, soldiering, solo, solo tour, tour, USA

Ken’s Hair… On Fire?!

Well not literally, but it has gone red again (some will no doubt say ginger). Regardless, it seems to have inspired the Love Commandos into a frenzy of cover version learning which saw them learn “Sex On Fire” by Kings of Leon in a single rehearsal session. We’re not sure whether that says more about the LCs musical abilities or those of Kings of Leon.

Anyway, like Vince Noir and Howard Moon of The Mighty Boosh, we like that one. Though we did come to the same conclusion as the Boosh boys, we don’t like everything that Kings of Leon do.

Tags: Boosh, commandos, frenzy, ginger, Howard Moon, kings of leon, Leon, Love, mighty boosh, musical abilities, rehearsal session, sex on fire, Vince Noir

Another week off

OK my fault this time – I went on holiday by mistake. OK, it wasn’t entirely “Withnail & I”, it didn’t rain, the cottage had heating and Uncle Monty didn’t show up.

However, I did notice a lack of posts in my absence. I should mention that at the last jam session we finally got around to working on “Sharpen Up the Knives” and once we remembered what we were supposed to be doing it sounded pretty good.

Tags: amp, fault, holiday, jam session, knives, last jam, mistake, Monty, time, uncle monty, Withnail

Two fifths of the LC’s go wild for Tori

Well OK the Love Commandos involved were Neil and I and we actually just sat quietly and listened, but Tori Amos commands that kind of respect. She might not be the first female performer you think of when you hear the phrase “rock chick”, but she definitely is one; helped, as always, by bassist Jon Evans and drummer Matt Chamberlain.

She is also pretty cool under fire – the batteries, presumably, failed in her wireless, in-ear monitor pack. Not great for any performer, but pretty much a show stopper when you are playing a Bosendorfer with your left hand and a Hammond B-3 with your right whilst singing. The solution? A quick nod to Bassist & drummer to loop the verse while you substitute lyrics (that scan!) to tell the crew that you can’t hear and you need a replacement pack and continue to play & sing (a narrative no less) while a roadie changes the pack, which was discretely, but inaccessibly, hidden under her over dress.

Of course as Neil pointed out he’s never been able to hear anything on stage, and he carries on regardless anyway.

So here’s to you Tori Amos – you’re our honourary Love Commando of the Week.

Tags: Amos, bassist, drummer, female performer, Hammond B-, Jon Evans, Love, Love Commandos, Matt Chamberlain, Neil, pack, performer, rock chick, Tori, Tori Amos