Dublin Castle - The Recap

I think Lee (on the keys) described the scene best when he wrote:

I can't get the image of 4 teenagers in day-glo tracksuits waving flashing tambourines and hollering random cries of "Soundcheck, Soundcheck!!!" to cheesy synth bleeps out of my head now, For a few minutes back there last night I almost felt like my Dad must have felt when I was 18 or 19 living at home and he would loiter outside my bedroom shaking his head to the likes of The Smiths/Wedding Present and The Pixies etc coming from my stereo! I am officially old.... I think I need a holiday.

Yes, these gigs on London's toilet circuit may enable us to reclaim/cling to some part of our youth, but they also have a way of making you feel pretty damn old as well. To wit: at both of our first two gigs, we have gone on before bands whose members were easily half our age. As Lee describes, this one particular band was just pure comedy. I won't cite them by name because they at least had the politeness to wave lighters in the air during one of our more epic power ballads. So no hard feelings, kids.

The other thing is that being our age, seems to mean that we have friends who would prefer to stay home and watch the finale of... this actually hurts to type... The Apprentice... rather than go see a rock show. In fairness, though, 20% of the entire population was actually watching. So yes, attendance was not at our "normal" standard for this one. In fact, if it weren't for Reuben (on the bass) having the single nicest family ever -- it would have gotten somewhat embarrassing.

Nonetheless, the club said they wanted to have us back, which is nice. The sound there was horrible -- causing my friend Mike to compare us (enthusiastically) to Husker Du -- but who are we to turn down a gig?

No new gigs lined up for the moment, but be prepared for the return of the AM Nation this autumn at a shit hole near you.

11th June @ The Dublin Castle

What's that you say? You find this snazzy new AMN website so inspirational that you have decided to come see us play live? What can I say other than WHAT A COINCIDENCE! You are not going to believe this, but we are actually going to be playing live, and last time I checked, we just might be able to offer you a much sought after place in the audience for a mere £4.50.

That's right folks, the AMN returns for our challenging second gig on Wednesday 11th June at Camden Town's legendary Dublin Castle. The stage may be small, but it held all seven members of Madness in their formative days, so surely it will be alright for the six-strong Nation.

Doors at 8.00 pm. We go on first. Click here for a printable flyer. Hope to see you there!

"We Are Perennial" live at the Bull & Gate

For those of you who missed our debut mojo at the Bull & Gate, fortunately, there is a guy who works there whose job it is to rip-off up-and-coming bands by selling them poorly recorded videos at an absurd price. (Note to anyone planning to play at the B&G: he is negotiable, but I promised not to tell anybody.) Apologies for the sound quality. You get the general idea. It sounds better when you see us in person (hint, hint...).

The Birth of THE NATION (Our first gig and the story so far)

On Friday 2nd May 2008 (a Friday!) The Alex Maws Nation played our first official gig. For the 40 or 50 people in attendance at the Bull & Gate – each of whom we thank immensely for their kindness and charity – this may have been their first engagement with the AMN, but for the six (six!) of us in the band, the beginning was a much longer time ago.

How long? Well, that’s hard to answer. How do you pinpoint a date when six people’s individual frustrations from rock ‘n’ roll abstinence reached their breaking points? I can only speak for myself: that would be 24^th September 2007 – the eve of my 36^th birthday. That was when I placed an ad on Gumtree entitled “Aging Indie Nerds Unite!” (Yes, I debated long and hard whether to go with the American or British spelling of aging/ageing…)

And unite we did. First came Lee – with a wife, two kids, suburban home, a keyboard, and a love of Grant Lee Buffalo. “Yup. He’s in,” I thought. Then Mike on guitar. At 28, a bit too young, I feared. But he assured me he didn’t mind hanging around more mature gentlemen, and besides he helped me move a wardrobe into the flat the first time he met me, and learned four songs on the spot. Then came Pete and Reuben – not from the Gumtree ad, just because, well, what was I going to do – start a band and NOT invite Pete and Reuben to join? Impossible. Pete was an easy sell, to say the least. His new Fender needed some serious attention. Reuben took some mild coaxing and occasional bullying – at one point he even tried to claim that he “didn’t really play the bass very well” – but I knew he’d break. Ciaran also liked the ad, but I had to keep him at bay for a while – no use in having a drummer if you don’t yet have anything for them to drum along to. In December we all first managed to be in the same room at the same time. No easy feat, considering our sheer numbers, not to mention the number of band members’ kids (five), day jobs, weddings, etc. to work around.

I had forgotten the amazing feeling when a band plays a song for the first time and it just works. In all honesty, we were probably ready to play a gig in January, but there was the small hurdle of finding a venue that would have us. As a result, we have been playing the same seven songs relentlessly at Sunday afternoon rehearsals since then. And of course drinking a fair amount of beer. And talking about what to call ourselves. But these mundane bits are all part of the whole experience. Beer and band names. They are a significant part of the early development of a rock band. I think it was Freud who said that.

But of course, all of this would have been for nought if it weren’t for all of the lovely people who turned out for our first gig. For the time being, we don’t have any “fans” just “friends” – so your support means everything to us. Thanks for making us feel like we belonged up there. The story continues at the Dublin Castle on 11^th June. We hope to see you there…