The Football

Just been to the football to watch my team, Hull City AFC, play Stoke City at the KC Stadium. Wont bore you with too much detail, just to say that it was a draw (1-1) could have played better, I'm quite happy we managed to get a goal back because we did not look like we were going to score. I think we are still 18th in the table after 5 games.
I took these pictures on the way and whilst I was inside waiting for the game to begin, I think they look quite cool with this Photoshop filter added for good measure.
I spent the morning listening to the 4-track recordings made at practice on Thursday evening, listening for where I can make any improvements, and they did give me some ideas to work on. It's good to have a decent recording I can play along to! Anyway, I'll go and watch the rest of X-Factor

Band names please!

Last night we had our weekly band practice, did not get to bed while midnight (so I was tired whilst at work today) I took a couple of pics on my mobile and played around with them on Photoshop, one of a couple of guitars, shown here.
I suggested a couple of names for the band as we are yet to be named (the hardest part about starting a band) most of the suggestions were what someone else (a certain Mr Johnny Jazz) suggested. The names were: Dangerous Dog, The Dirty Monkey Racket, The Messy Furniture Company, Insane Badger, The Dirty Cow Gambit and Flamin' Nora. None of them seemed to go down well, I actually like them, they are imaginative.....on this note, if any of you have any suggestions you are welcome to put them forward!

The situation at work, with Pete (see previous post) got a little more heated today when another colleage 'Tony' (Harley Davidson rider with a bad haircut and a willingness to let people know how he feels when the mood strikes) made a comment in front of our manager about Pete leaving at 12:00 everyday last week, this did not go down well with Pete who then confronted Tony later on....they then set about having a little argument, later I witnessed Pete informing our manager about a number of misdemeanors that Tony had performed over recent months...nothing of any real importance, it was just Pete being petty really! There were no 'Yorkshire pudding' related incidents today either.
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It'll deflate!

People at work are becoming angry with Pete. There are 10 of us "Process Technicians" on the chemical plant, plus 1 manager, 1 planner, 1 engineer and 3 laboratory staff. We (the technicians) are left to our own devices when it comes to filling in our time sheets, and fair enough, everyone fiddles 15-30 minutes of extra time onto their total hours to make up for not getting paid on bank holidays like the rest of the site do.
Our plant manager knows this and "turns a blind eye" so long as the work gets done. But Pete is rushing the job in order to leave at 12:15 and claiming he is leaving at 14:00 when the rest of us leave.
Because of this, it's only a matter of time before they install a clocking in/out machine, which would then ruin it for the rest of us. Pete is a likeable old chap, but at times he is generally self centred and only thinks "what's in it for me" regardless of anyone else, which is a bad personality trait in my opinion.....there again it seems to be human nature!
I'll keep an eye on this situation and see what happens.

There was a brief but funny moment in the tearoom at lunchtime. Dean (young whippersnapper) entered the room and opened a ready meal, saw that the oven was on/in use and opened the oven door to see if there was any room for his meal. When he opened the oven, Pat (miserable old koot, who thinks he is the only one entitled to use the kitchen appliances) screamed NO!!!! and ran over to the oven, Dean jumped in shock and nearly tripped backwards over a chair, thinking the oven was going to explode. Then (clutching his chest after nearly suffering a heart attack) asked Pat "what's the matter?" to which Pat replied "I'm cooking a Yorkshire pudding and if you open the door, you'll let the heat escape, and it'll deflate" Dean (still clutching at his heart) just stared at him in disbelief.

What! No Beer Fest?

I have just got back from watching 'The Strands' playing live at 'Lamp', a good gig, I tried to take a photo but my mobile does not have a good enough flash/lens etc. to get a good pic in a darkened room! I left immediately after they played their last song as I will be getting up at 5am for work.

Another reasonable day at work on the chemical plant, when I arrived home at about 3:00pm, I planned to record a new song using my trusty 4-Track recorder(pictured). I have had a few ideas running through my mind over the last day or so, but when I got home I ended up sleeping for an hour or so!
I am becoming increasingly worried that this years 'Hull Beer Festival' will not be going ahead, I have checked the website to see if they have procured a venue because the usual venue (Hull City Hall) is not available. However, I am tempted to get a ticket for this years Nelsonica convention, which promises to be a real treat for guitar based music lovers....like me. It could coincide with the beer fest!

Things to do this week.....send off my 2 'Legend of Sid' CD's which I have spent the last two months recording, to BBC Radio Humberside's Raw Talent show, and see what they think/if it gets played.

Anyway, I'm tired and need to go to sleep!

Amusing appeal

Thoroughly enjoyed watching Commando yesterday afternoon, I had not seen it for a few years! I also have a couple of Russian movies to watch when I get chance, what I have borrowed off a friend at work who is obsessed with everything Russian, don't ask me why.....although some of those Russian ladies are very attractive! I cannot pronounce the names of the movies because they are in Russian hahaha.

I was back at work today after my extended weekend, not a bad day at work, I don't mind my job, I have it pretty easy really it's just slightly boring at times and slightly too labor intensive at other times. It did throw me though, starting on the Tuesday and not the Monday.

I saw a highly amusing bit on the news yesterday, upon finding that a bad/deadly/lethal batch of Heroin is out on the streets, a police chief has appealed to drug dealers not to supply the heroin and to heroin users not to take it, I don't think this chief lives in the real world do you!

It's funny that Bazza commented "the interior of the Cavern looked more like a bistro then a rock venue" because it did have a continental feel to it during the day time, although the numerous tourists (Japanese, German, to name a few that I saw/heard) did detract a little from this feeling, I don't recall them serving food though, but there were many places round and about that did. It did start to feel like a live music venue as time meandered into the evening and groups/artist began to do their stuff.

Speaking about groups doing their stuff.....I have a band practice on Thursday evening 7-11pm at the practice room, I'll need to bring my 4-track recorder so we can make some recordings.....not for other people to listen to, but for self improvement!

Tomorrow I may well pop down to Lamp (pictured) to watch The Strands again and also to observe what the Wednesday evening of live bands called 'Sidekicks Lounge' is like, as the Sidekicks Lounge will probably be the night were I play the first gig with my band(although we are a few weeks off that yet) so it should be interesting. But I may choose to stay in and watch England play Russia (Football) on the TV.

Trip to Liverpool

Went to Liverpool yesterday to watch some friends play a gig at the Cavern club where the Beatles once started out, and I took today off work in case I was feeling a bit crook!

Not a bad little road trip, where I journeyed on the bands hired mini bus. It was a decent gig although I was a little disapointed that for the second time, I didn't get to visit the Beatles museum. Also a little disapointed that my brother and a mate did not go due to illness and available seats on the bus.

I like the Cavern Club as a venue for live bands, it seems to have the right atmosphere! I also watched a few acoustic acts performing some Beatles numbers (as you would expect in Liverpool) and when my friends band 'The Strands' had finished playing we got away earlier then I was expecting for the 2 hour ride back to Hull and I was back in bed for around 1:30am, which was cool!

Today I popped along to the KC Stadium with my brother to pick up a ticket for myself and my dad, for the forthcoming game (Hull City[football{soccer}]) against Chelsea on the 26th of this month, then when I got back I had a blast playing Bioshock on my XBox 360.

Anyway I think I'll go and watch a movie.....maybe some classic Schwarzenegger like Commando!

Let there be DRUMS!!!!

I'm back after a long blogging rest, rest assured though, I have not been lazy, I have actually been quite busy. I have written and recorded approx 22 songs with an alternative/unconformist /personal sound. I am actually quite pleased with the results mostly, especially as most of them ain't serious but actually for my alter ego/one man band "Legend of Sid" and considering I have done the vocals on them I'm chuffed that they almost seem to work!

I also joined a band a few months ago, and after some initial difficulty getting hold of a drummer we now have a brilliant drummer called Garry. We had our first practice with him on Friday night 7-11pm at a practice room and I have to say it sounded fantastic. I had started to feel a little lethargic towards the band practicing without a drummer, the songs which I enjoyed playing initially had started to lose their energy/magic and I thought they were in danger of going stale, and I have become a bit pissed off playing the horrid bass guitar which I am currently borrowing (gratefully) but I should have a new one in a matter of days, anyway, with the drummer bringing his enthusiasm and energy to the group it all sounds pretty rinsing!
When Garry has settled in and we a sounding a bit tighter, I have suggested we get 2 or 3 people to sit in while we practice to get used to playing in front of people again, anyway lets see! And I'll try to take a couple of photo's next time we are practicing.....it's so long since I last took a photo!

My rats are really annoying me at the minute, they keep detaching 2 of the 4 hooks to their hammock and using it as a swing instead of a bed! I have bought another hammock and also a bedroom/igloo type thing for them so hopefully this will solve the problem!