(This was) what we called a demo

The most recent upload to Soundcloud is quite a treat for Saloonatics. It is the full 12 track demo recorded for the debut album.

It was recorded onto our 8 track mini-disc recorder with me on mixing duties. After this mixing became a much more shared endeavour, with Amanda taking on more mixing responsibilities.  The final two tracks here were recorded at the same time but we decided not to include them: Free Fall went onto a 7” and Coda we didn't record again, although it did become the opening theme to La Jetee 

Anyway I hope you like these early versions and don’t let them put you off buying the album from our shop. 

(Additional 7.1.13 - I have edited the Soundcloud files so they are now downloadable. Enjoy.)

Singing Adams

Currently Matt is the guitarist in Singing Adams who have a new album out called ‘Moves’

The lead singer of Singing Adams is Steven Adams formerly of Hofman, who were quite loud and Pixie-ish and were played a lot by Lamacq in the late 90’s and Broken Family Band who sounded like a Cambridge Herman Dune and were incredibly popular in comparison to any of the rest of us. Personally of his two bands I preferred Hofman but perhaps that is me just being contrary. Saloon played with both of Steve’s previous bands both of which were infinitely more slick, professional, loud, erudite, better dressed and popular than Saloon ever were.

They recently released this video called ‘Dead End’ which is taken from their new album.

To me the repeated two chords sounds vaguely like The Good Life from the second Saloon album. Only faster, and more professional and erudite. 

Even their flipping embedded YouTube video is bigger than the Saloon one. 

Mastermind

A couple of weeks ago my Dad told me that a contestant on BBC TV’s Mastermind answered a round on John Peel’s Festive 50.

Sadly ‘controversial’ 2002 ‘winners’ Saloon did not get a mention,  but after finding it on the BBC iplayer I was glad to see the contestant who did the Peel round was Rachael Neiman and that she went on to win the show.

Mastermind

I seem to remember, that Rachael played Arthur and Martha on her radio show a number of times and I think she may have come to one of our gigs in Leeds. She has been on TV before on University Challenge a few years ago, although her on that occasion her team were beaten by the eventual winners and the inimitable Alex Guttenplan. (My extensive research here comes from the Jewish Chronicle  Anyway, fingers crossed that Rachel wins Mastermind and lands a cushy job on Eggheads or The Chase.