Tuesday 31 August 2010

No way to run a railway

It was a frustrating day at work. NUFF SAID!


Got home and felt knackered after all the work silliness. Chilled for a bit and then had dinner while Sam and I brought ourselves completely up to date with WWE programs including the 900th episode of Raw!


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Last.FM Listening Post

Here's last week's top picks music lovers!

Top weekly tracks:


Top weekly artists:


Overall top tracks:


Overall top artists:

Monday 30 August 2010

HOLLYWOOD DOLL receive STEVE CLAYTON INC endorsement

To cap off a wonderfully relaxed weekend I have the following HOLLYWOOD DOLL news to share!

Hollywood Doll are delighted to announce that they have secured a band endorsement from Steve Clayton Inc for personalized guitar picks and guitar accessories. More information about Steve Clayont Inc can be found at http://www.steveclayton.com.

Matt Rowe and K.T.Glitz, the founder members of glam punk sleaze rock band Hollywood Doll have been using custom picks from Steve Clayton for two years now and haven't looked back since.

Bassist K.T.Glitz commented, "I can't recommend Steve Clayton Inc enough and want to thank them for their endorsement of Hollywood Doll. The quality of their picks is superb and their custom options are so flexible. We are firm believers in strong branding and after shopping around it was very apparent that Clayton offered the best options and prices for our needs. I've tried many picks over the years but don't use anything other than my Clayton ones now."

Lead guitarist Matt Rowe said, "Clayton provide a fantastic service and product and I can't thank them enough for their endorsement. I love their picks and wouldn't dream of use any others."

Rhythm guitarist Graham Mortis is new to Clayton picks and is delighted to get the chance to use them, "I love the look and feel of the Clayton picks that Matt and KT both use and can't wait to have my own."

More information about HOLLYWOOD DOLL can be found here: http://www.hollywooddoll.co.uk.

Personalized Guitar Picks and Guitar Accessories by Clayton, Inc.

Sunday 29 August 2010

....and relax!

Slow start to the morning with a lovely breakfast and doing a WWE catch up.

The afternoon was spent watching A New Hope followed by Empire Strikes Back.

No rest for anyone in a band and I was no exception as I spent lots of time doing various administrative bits, updating websites and social networks etc.

Tuna pasta was accompanied by series two of the 80s classic Desmond's.

Sometime just kicking back and relaxing is SO nice!

Saturday 28 August 2010

Chilling

Today was a fabulous day of doing absolutely naff all!

We got up and watched the outstanding two episodes of True Blood that we hadn't seen yet and then just snuggled and had naps.

I managed to get a load of Hollywood Doll stuff done too, contacting people about gigs and looking for cover mount CD opportunities.

Toni cooked a lovely chilli for dinner and then we had a musical evening watching Phantom Of The Opera and then Repo The Genetic Opera!

Friday 27 August 2010

Hollywood Doll @ The Box

It was an interesting gig tonight. The Box is the Post Office Social Club and a relatively unknown venue in Chelmsford.

Here's the stamp they give people:


It's not a massive place and the inside was like a large living room with a bar. The PA was phenomenal and completely over the top for a venue of this size.

We got everything set up for our soundcheck and the sound was pretty good, both out front and on stage. We hit the stage and it all seemed to go wrong! The sound from our monitors was truly dire and by all accounts it wasn't great out front either. Despite constant twiddling from the sound man our sound on stage never really improved which made it incredibly hard to play. We did manage to get through out set relatively unscathed and new song Love And Lipstick was a success and was also well received. There was a great set of lights in the venue too but for some strange reason they were only turned on for brief spells during our set which was a damn shame.

Overall we played well and were well received by the crowd (and we even got paid - not a lot admittedly but something is better than nothing and it did contribute towards post gig kebabs!).

I don't think we'll be making a return to The Box any time soon but it was definitely a gig worth doing.






See all the photos here:
270810HollywoodDollTheBox

Wednesday 25 August 2010

Thunderbird TWO

I won't talk about my day at work as I'll probably explode!

Went over to Eltham once work was done and after a quick spag bol, Toni, Gemima and I set off for Paddock Wood so that I could pick up my latest acquisition. Following on from ThunderKitty I am now the proud owner of what shall now be called Thunderbird TWO!

It's in great shape and looks really nice and was an absolute bargain! The only thing I'll have to do is put new strings on it and I'll be up and running! Photos will follow in due course!

Tuesday 24 August 2010

HOLLYWOOD DOLL rehearsal!

Had a fantastic HOLLYWOOD DOLL rehearsal tonight.
It started off listening to the four tracks that we recorded at Midnight Studios. They are 99% finished and are sounding really good. Should have something within the next two weeks all being well.

We also received the proofs of the pics from our photo shoot which are looking fabulous so things are coming together at just the right time!

To cap it all off we have finally got another song nailed so that one will be making it's debut at The Box in Chelmsford on Friday night.

Next gigs:
27/08/10 - The Box (Chelmsford)
08/09/10 - The Gaff (London)
17/09/10 - Molton House (London)
12/10/10 - The Barhouse (Chelmsford)

Last.FM Listening Post

Here's last week's top picks music lovers!

Top weekly tracks:


Top weekly artists:


Overall top tracks:


Overall top artists:

Monday 23 August 2010

Rain, evacuation, boredom, geetar!

Today didn't start off too well! Got to Mottingham train station only for the heavens to open up. There is a time and a place for rain but not when I am on my way to work and the umbrella isn't easily accessible! Thankfully I didn't get too wet!

The only exciting part of the day today was having an emergency evacuation. Off we trotted out of the building like good little sheep to clog up one of the streets by St Paul's. There were quite a lot of us:




Half an hour later we all shuffled back in again for what transpired to be a day full of frustration and boredom. It was a great relief when it was finally time to go home!

Got in and had a quick chat with Sam, Livvy and Connor (and Tristan when he arrived) before I had a short blast on Wolfenstein on the PS3. Sadly I just couldn't get past the level I was on so went off to do some Glitzine work instead.

Highlight of the day for me was winning another Thunderbird bass on eBay which I am picking up on Wednesday all being well!

Sunday 22 August 2010

Chat, roast dinner and travelling back to Eltham

Had a great sleep last night following late night beach walk/fun!

We got up an had tea and toast and sat talking to Toni's nan discussing all manner of things regarding current affairs.

We all went out to a restaurant for lunch and had a roast dinner *nom nom*. Turkey was my meat of choice accompanied by roasties and yorkshires with veg. The cabbage was red which was a real novelty and also deliciously sweet :o)

We then went back and had a chat before loading up the car and heading back to Eltham. It was nice to escape briefly from the hustle and bustle of the real world (especially the moonlit walk along the sea front) although Bexhill is a little too quiet for me!

Got back to Eltham and caught up with emails etc and had fish finger and salad cream sandwiches as a yummy snack, very nice indeed.

The plan had been to dye hair tonight but tiredness dictated that this would have to wait for another day.



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Saturday 21 August 2010

Ugh and Bexhill

Ugh! I it in just after 02:00 following the gig at The Twist and it was probably around 04:30 that I actually got to sleep. Sadly I had to get up at 06:30 to travel to Toni's so we could go to Bexhill-on-Sea to go and visit her nan. Needless to say I wasn't firing in all cylinders this morning.

I did manage to grab 40 winks in the car but it was broken sleep and didn't really make me feel much better we arrived. We had a really nice salad lunch and then I managed to get a long nap falling asleep on Toni on the sofa.

After a reluctant waking up we then had a gorgeous meal accompanied by classical music and wine. Much chat and finishing of wine followed before Toni and I went for a late night stroll along the seafront while Aaron and Gemima kept Toni's nan company. We kind of lost track of time but it was a lovely night for strolling under the moon. I'm sure one section of the beach will never be the same again though ;o)

The weather got a little drizzly and as it was now midnight we decided we should probably go back and go to bed.

Friday 20 August 2010

HOLLYWOOD DOLL @ The Twist

A last minute confirmation yesterday meant that HOLLYWOOD DOLL were back at The Twist in Colchester again tonight for another night of rock n roll debauchery!

Things were looking up as our name was on the board outside:


Despite being billed as a Rock/Indie/Alternative night it actually turned out to be a real mixed bag of genres.

K.E.L.O. (from 3RDI)
First up were a couple of rappers billed as Kriss (although I believe they are the component parts of funk hip hop outfit 3RDI and it was actually K.E.L.O. who was the main man). Apparently they normally work with musicians but tonight they were rapping along to backing tracks. It was definitely an interesting experience. They actually seemed to be pretty good although the novelty wore off for most of the audience and number started to wane fairly quickly. Not sure they were really right for this bill but fair play to them for giving it a shot. I did quite enjoy them although they were a bit cheeky in over-running!





HOLLYWOOD DOLL
Another well received set for HOLLYWOOD DOLL. Despite there being a lot less people there than the last time we played we still got a good reception and to top it all off we played much better this time too!







THE OVERWROUGHT
THE OVERWROUGHT were no strangers to us as they played at The Twist on the same night that we were last there (28th July). I have to say they are much improved since we saw them last. They have overcome their first gig nerves now and were really giving it a lot of ooomph. It was so nice to see a band that is coming on well so I was really pleased for them. This time round their cover of You're Gorgeous seemed to flow better and then they finished things off with a fantastic cover of Fit But You Know It by The Streets. Big thumbs up to The Overwrought and I have a feeling our paths will cross again!





THIS BLANK PAGE
Eclectic is the only way to describe THIS BLANK PAGE! They are so hard to pin down and define and were certainly very different with so many different styles to their delivery going from rocky through to an almost disco/funk sound. They were all great musicians and it was interesting to watch a band mix up so many different styles without being a cover band. They even managed to throw in Hold The Line by Toto.




They did have one novel factor that I've never seen done before at a gig. Throughout the evening they just gave away raffle tickets which they then drew on stage and presenting prizes. I actually ended up with Ticket #6 which was a winner and won a fantastic police set!



Ian, the owner of The Twist, seems to really love us! He put two of our flyers in a frame in the Gents (prestigious I know but you can't beat free advertising)!


He has also asked us to give him two skinny t-shirts for his bar staff to wear (again, free advertising). To top it all off he has also asked us to prepare a special night for The Twist. More on that later!

The evening was rounded off by an impromptu performance by a cover band that turned up after their planned gig was cancelled. They sounded pretty good although everyone was really flagging by the time they came on. Sadly, I didn't catch their name so my apologies for that!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Happy Birthday Dad

Hope you have a great day

Thursday 19 August 2010

Better day, Eltham, Hollywood Doll

Had a good day at work today. Some of the barriers between WSS and CF seem to be coming down and the atmosphere is getting generally better. Still a long way to go before full integration happens but it's all a good start.

After work I headed to Eltham to see Toni. Bob (her step dad) had popped round which was nice as it was the first time I had met him. I ended up in maintenance mode and sorted out some problems with Bob's netbook. After he had gone we called for chinese *grin*

The rest of the evening was spent doing various Hollywood Doll bits and Toni giving me a sneaky peak at some of the photos that Jade took of the band on Sunday. Can't wait to see the proper results.

We also had it confirmed that we are playing a slot at The Twist in Colchester tomorrow night (20th August), YAY!

Wednesday 18 August 2010

New reviews on GLITZINE.net

Accept - The Abyss EP
Bad Way - Dead Letters
Director's Cat - My Sweet Revenge
Riot Queens - First Class Ticket To Hell
Who Shot Who - Onwards & Upwards
The Winter Olympics - The Winter Olympics II

Tuesday 17 August 2010

Sickness, tidying and stuff

Today was not started in the best way. I had been sick a few times in the night and so ended up having to take the day off work due to tiredness and still continuing the theme!

Managed to grab a fair bit of sleep mixed up with some visits to the vomitarium before I finally felt well enough to function.

The late afternoon was very productive as I managed to clean the house from top to bottom so now it is all shiny and sparkling and smells lovely.

I then managed to chill out for the evening and spent my time reviewing CDs for Glitzine and also playing NHL 10 and Wolfenstein on the PS3.

Just before bed I had a quick chat with Toni via MSN and she showed me some samples of the pics that Jade took at the Hollywood Doll photo shoot on Sunday. Wow is all I can say, they look fabulous and I can't wait to actually have the approved versions to share with the world!

Last.FM Listening Post

Here's last week's top picks music lovers!

Top weekly tracks:


Top weekly artists:


Overall top tracks:


Overall top artists:

Monday 16 August 2010

Busy busy

After a productive-ish day at work I went home and had to crack on with a load of things that I need to do.

First up was handing over a load of the Edinburgh Capitals stuff that I am no longer doing so I am having to do some hand holding while Scott and Gill get up to speed with everything. It won't take them long hopefully!

Next up was cracking on with Glitzine stuff. Sorting out CDs for review, uploading them for reviewers and collating everything so that I can keep track. Getting there though so it should be full speed ahead from now on.

Sunday 15 August 2010

Hollywood Doll photo shoot

Today was another good day in the life of Hollywood Doll.
Toni and I went back to Eltham to pick up Jade and then we headed out to Canning Town to meet the rest of Hollywood Doll for a photo shoot. Despite some grumpings from various band members about being asked to do certain things it all turned out very well and Jade took 400 photos.

All we have to do now is wait for the results *taps fingers*

It was great fun to do and marked another tick in the box of things that we needed to do as a band. It's all getting very exciting now and hopefully a combination of our Midnight recordings and photos will provide us with the opportunity to do many more gigs (and with any luck more prestigious ones).

Following the shoot, Toni, Jade and I went to Nandos for a meal. We then dropped Jade off at Gail's and then went back to Toni's.

We had some fun with Toni's washing machine (well, fun wasn't exactly the word) and hopefully it isn't going to need any serious work; we are just elimination various potential reasons for it being totally ghey!

Saturday 14 August 2010

Dossing, True Blood, visiting Dan & Laura

Today was a day for a much needed lay in. We didn't get up until 12 and I have to say this was the first time since before we went to Wacken that I have woken up feeling refreshed. I think I may well have finally caught up on everything.

Our vow was to do not a lot today and we managed that perfectly!

We caught up with True Blood whilst having breakfast and then dropped Sam off at Livvy's before popping back to chill.

In the evening we nipped back to Chinnerys as we'd left something there and made an impromptu visit to see Dan and Laura. It's been ages since we last saw them so it was good to catch up.

We then went back to SWF and had kebabs and watched Surrogates which was a surprisingly good film even it was a little cheesey in places.

Friday 13 August 2010

HOLLYWOOD DOLL @ Chinnerys

Tonight was a good night. HOLLYWOOD DOLL made our first appearance at Chinnerys and what an appearance it was. Everything was right about this gig, the sound on stage was superb and we really let rip and got a really good response from the crowd. To cap it all off it turned out there were 110 people watching us play and that number rapidly went down as each subsequent band went on so we were delighted to have been playing to that many people.

Me with my artists pass (such a novelty) and wearing a necklace that Stuart's daughter made me:


Toni:


Livvy:


Sam:








See all the HOLLYWOOD DOLL pics here: 130810HollywoodDollChinnerys

The next Hollywood Doll gigs are:
Friday 27th August - The Box, Chelmsford
Wednesday 8th September - The Gaff, London

Thursday 12 August 2010

Work, Caps and curry

Today was one of those silly days at work where you just don't want to be there.
Lots of issues popping up that were a total pain and made me want to just go home!

Had a silly meeting that would me up with a comment being made that we "cut corners" with our QA at City Financials. Not sure who might have started spreading that piece of garbage (presumably because we never bothered with automated testing) but it really annoyed me. I should have taken issue with the statement at the time but a) I was too stunned and b) it was the first time I'd met the guy who made the comment. I suspect we haven't heard the last of this one!

Went back to Eltham tonight and Worked on my statement to release to Edinburgh Capitals fans as I will no longer be doing web and media stuff for them as I just don't have the time anymore with work, Hollywood Doll and Glitzine. Scott has been very good about the whole thing which was a great relief.

The evening was rounded off with a fantastic trip to Spice Island with Toni, Jade, Pete, Aaron and Gemima to celebrate Jade's 21st birthday. Food was lovely and it was nice to get out and spend some time with Jade and Pete.

Happy Birthday Jade

Happy Birthday Jade

Hope you have a great day.
See you tonight!