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Never Mind The Guillemots, Here's Misty's Big Adventure

Started by 23 Daves, October 13, 2006, 08:46:53 PM

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23 Daves

Firstly, apologies.  I realise that I've already mentioned MIsty's Big Adventure's new single in another thread, but it certainly deserves highlighting again here.  "Fashion Parade" is a rather savage stab at current "indie" stylings and their limitations, and pokes fun at NME royalty.  By doing so, it's almost certainly going to alienate the likes of XFM and the music press who have been mid-wives to the scene they despise, which is why it's worth plugging as much as possible online, I feel, and I would encourage you all to do likewise.

So, here's the video again!



Apart from that, I genuinely do think it's about time we had a bit more of a chat about Misty's Big Adventure, because I happen to think they're the best live band in the country at the moment.  Eight or nine of them storm on stage like hyperactive children, apart from the lead singer Grandmaster Gareth who looks rather like a cross between an easy listening singer and a mongrel who has been left out in the rain for too long.  He stands looking at the audience with big sad eyes, deadpan, indifferent to the chaos around him, singing outsider tunes about the rat race, lack of success and broken love and (sometimes) warped playground ditties from another dimension.  The band's dancer, Erotic Volvo, is painted blue and sometimes jives with members of the audience in the crowd, inviting them to a part of the ridiculous spectacle.

Musically, Gareth's influences were very much sparked by one particular individual.  Aged fourteen, he wrote a letter to Julian Cope and received a "box of records" back in the post, including various very rare Krautrock and psychedelic albums.  Listening to them gobsmacked, he decided to incorporate the ideas into his work, and as he got older also grew interested in music hall, jazz and even avant garde work.  The interesting thing about listening to the band, though, is that sometimes a whole multitude of influences collide in one song (especially in a live environment) that makes them sound quite unlike anything else.  Jazz riffs meet ska riffs meet jolly music hall meet English psychedelia.  It's a very odd concoction.

They've had two albums out now, "MIsty's Big Adventure and Their Place in the Solar Hi-Fi System" (mostly filled with uptempo live stormers) and "The Black Hole" (described as their "dark album" and largely filled with slightly downbeat observations on modern society - probably not the best starting point).  Both were largely ignored by the mainstream press, apart from the first album which got a ridiculously undeserved 1 out of 10 in the NME ("Crusties" apparently - an interesting observation given that The Levellers and Back to the Planet were never really influences on the band, and certainly can't be heard as such.  I can only assume that the fact that none of the band are obvious cover stars and the fact they have a slightly anti-corporate stance alienated the Time Warner owned rag).

They'll be releasing their third album in a few month's time, and it really is about time the world woke up to them.  For one thing, I pity anybody who hasn't seen them live.  It's nigh on impossible not to have a good time, especially in the more intimate venues.  I've walked away from some of their gigs smiling for literally days.  For quite another, I like the way they irritate the fuck out of all the right people without really meaning to or trying.

Some MP3s:

I Am Cool With A Capital C:

http://download.yousendit.com/6DC1054D3C5C5F5B

Remind Me A Song:

http://download.yousendit.com/C43F3E767591F1AC

Microwave:

http://download.yousendit.com/8F48C2D77EE0E908

Oh, and some reading material:

Daily Telegraph Article on The Guillemots (who are good but not as good) and Misty's:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/core/Content/displayPrintable.jhtml?xml=/arts/2006/07/15/basuspects15.xml&site=6&page=0

And sod it, have the gig dates as well, because you're going to need them:

Oct 19 2006 8:00A
Rocker @ Anglia Ruskin Uni CAMBRIDGE
Oct 20 2006 8:00A  Academy 2 NEWCASTLE
Oct 21 2006 8:00A  Barfly BIRMINGHAM
Oct 23 2006 8:00A   West End Centre ALDERSHOT
Oct 24 2006 8:00A  100 Club LONDON
Oct 25 2006 8:00P  Brunel Rooms - CHANGED BACK !!!!! SWINDON
Oct 26 2006 8:00A  Thekla BRISTOL
Oct 27 2006 8:00A  Academy 3 MANCHESTER
Oct 28 2006 8:00A  SUMO LEICESTER
Oct 29 2006 8:00A  Soundhouse BOLTON
Oct 30 2006 8:00A  Boardwalk SHEFFIELD
Nov 1 2006 8:00A  Point CARDIFF
Nov 2 2006 8:00A  Club Aura TAUNTON
Nov 3 2006 8:00A  Underground SOUTHPORT
Nov 4 2006 8:00A  Taylor Johns House COVENTRY
Nov 8 2006 8:00A  Social NOTTINGHAM
Nov 10 2006 8:00A  Crypt HASTINGS
Nov 11 2006 8:00A  Forum TUNBRIDGE WELLS
Nov 12 2006 8:00P  Pressure Point BRIGHTON
Nov 13 2006 8:00P  Unit 22 SOUTHAMPTON
Nov 14 2006 8:00A  Magnet LIVERPOOL
Nov 16 2006 8:00A  The Vine LEEDS
Nov 17 2006 8:00A  Brickyard CARLISLE
Nov 19 2006 8:00A  King Tuts GLASGOW
Nov 20 2006 8:00A  Henry's Cellar Bar EDINBURGH

Marvin

They really are great aren't they? I only just got into them very recently but they're such an easy band to love, and their live performances are excellent. Not much to add just now, I'll probably come back later, but nice to see a thread for them anyway, and if you haven't then do check out those mp3s.

Al Tha Funkee Homosapien

Heh, that video is ace. Might have to check them out.

Marvin


Paaaaul

Just listening to those songs posted above, I love them, great fun pop.
I'm thinking that these guys have got a few Julian Cope records in their collections. (<- Good thing)

Anon

"Lotsa money, lotsa lotsa money!"...man that's gonna be in my head for weeks now.  Thanks for posting this, sounds like a band I'm really going to have to investigate further.

Marvin

Julian Cope is a huge inspiration on them definitely.

I've just been looking at their Myspace page and there's a very funny story about the video.

QuoteThe Teats played a gig with us a while ago. They were awful. They're friends with Johnny Burrell apparently. Good luck to them! Anyway, our new single is about four guys who buy a load of post punk records, rip them off and make a ton of money. We needed to find a band that would play them in the video. We instantly thought of The Teats. I managed to get in touch with their singer Charlie and told him we were doing a video, we needed a band to be in it and would they be interested. It would hopefully get on MTV and we might even be able to give them a bit of money for doing it.
He said he'd get back to me.
The next day, I got an email that was supposedly from their manager Martin Hazard (though judging by the spelling mistakes I'm guessing it was actually written by Charlie). It said that though they were friends with Johnny Burrell and they were already "on the radar" having had quite a bit of interest from EMI, they would do the video. They hadn't heard the song. I suggested they should, but they replied it wasn't necessary, they weren't really into our music "cause it's a bit weird".
The filming went without incident. They did what the director Mark Locke asked, and at no point did they question what the song might be about. They were let's say, very professional! When we weren't filming, conversation was a little hard going. All they were interested in talking about was themselves and their "great new album they're currently working on called 'On Yer Radar'."
But we got through it!
However, the day after we finished filming, I received a strange text message that said "Ur ded cntz". I had no idea what it meant. Erotic Volvo suggested it might be some sort of ancient inscription. He always thinks things are ancient inscriptions. But I started to worry it might have been from The Teats. And sure enough, the same day, our manager Mathew got an email from Martin Hazard saying something along the same lines. They'd finally heard the song, realised we were taking the piss and wanted the video withdrawn. They also wanted more money and an apology.
"Bothered" was my initial reaction. We did nothing.
Except, of course, finish the video.
Well since that time, we've been bombarded by abuse to our email. We also began receiving loads of spam on the message board.

They link to The Teats' Myspace page where The Teats leaked the Fashion Parade single before it was launched so they'd get in trouble with their label and 'hopefully get dropped'.

Marvin

Oh and also you can see a really super high quality version of the video here:

http://www.fortmarkfilms.com/

Al Tha Funkee Homosapien


Whirlybird

Quote from: "Paaaaul"I'm thinking that these guys have got a few Julian Cope records in their collections.

Heh, 23 Daves' post indicated they have some of Julian Cope's records in their collections in a very literal sense.

The mix of styles that are supposedly evident here makes them sound right up my street, I'll be checking them out fo' sho'.

Paaaaul

Quote from: "Whirlybird"
Quote from: "Paaaaul"I'm thinking that these guys have got a few Julian Cope records in their collections.

Heh, Daves' post indicated they have plenty of Julian Cope's records in a very literal sense.

the mix of styles that are supposedly evident here makes them sound right up my street, I'll be checking them out fo' sho'.

Heh -
I must read posts IN FULL
I must read posts IN FULL
I must read posts IN FULL
I must read posts IN FULL
I must read posts IN FULL
I must read posts IN FULL
I must read posts IN FULL

etc

Marvin

Heh, I must read Myspaces in full!

You're quite right, they are clearly made-up, quite a nice little joke actually

//www.myspace.com/theteats

a pisstake so convincing it had me going for ten minutes.

Ciarán2

Arf! Well the vid is savage alright, and it did make me laugh, but it's just my first listen and I'm not sure the chorus is good. Anyway, they are interesting so I'll listen out more from now on. The vocals sounded like Julian Cope right from the off on "Fashion Parade". And I'm aware that this tune is meant to be "a grower".

Ciarán2

By the way, HOW IS IT POSSIBLE that The Teats didn't twig what the song is about?? They mimed along to the most blatant and blunt part of the thing!

Eight Taiwanese Teenagers

Why has 23 daves got such a hardon for this mediocre band?




ps Is it a bad idea to post when you're in the most abysmal of bad moods?

Marvin

Quote from: "Ciarán"By the way, HOW IS IT POSSIBLE that The Teats didn't twig what the song is about?? They mimed along to the most blatant and blunt part of the thing!

See above, check out their myspace, they're not real, rather an amusing hoax.

And ETT you must be in a really foul mood for that video not to bring a smile to your face.

Ciarán2

Quote from: "Marvin."
Quote from: "Ciarán"By the way, HOW IS IT POSSIBLE that The Teats didn't twig what the song is about?? They mimed along to the most blatant and blunt part of the thing!

See above, check out their myspace, they're not real, rather an amusing hoax.

Ah. Confusing all the same - I've just been on their MySpace and it seems half of the people leaving comments believe them to be a real band. So it's just a way of drumming up some hype is it - the idea that this genuinely shit indie band was duped?

Marvin

I was taken in for a minute but if you read the Myspace it's clearly a joke and it's pretty funny, the biog is ridiculous and there's a cookery comment by the band (as mentioned in Fashion Parade) and so on. Also their manager has a fake page.


Cack Hen

Quote from: "The Boston Crab"But The Guillemots write really storming songs.

Yeah. They're a bit patchy, though. I'll be annoyed if Trains To Brazil doesn't go down as a "classic".

Marvin

The Gulliemots are pretty good, as Cack Hen said, rather patchy but they've got a few excellent tunes.

I just noticed that someone's gone to a hell of a lot of effort on Myspace with that Teats thing, there's about 8 different fake myspaces, the band, the arsehole manager, the 'lolz random!' groupie, the pretentious hoxton venue (noticed they'd used a photo of The Legion, if ever a venue was worth taking the piss out of there it is) and so on.

Marvin

Fucking hell, I've just realised to my utter embarrassment that the Teats are played by a band I've actually been to see - The Retro Spankees, who are themselves not bad at all. Can't believe I didn't recognise them, lord knows I spent enough time in Birmingham.

Anyway, I've derailed enough. Does anyone else think that Gareth's voice is similar to Neil Hannon?

sproggy

Not heard or seen anything this good in a long time.

Excellent post too Daves, cheers.

I'm off into town to see if the local phonograph shop has any of their stuff in stock.

Ben Ordinary

Cheers for this, been meaning to make the effort to hear more Misty's for ages and you've made it far too easy for slack lazy idiots such as myself. "Fashion Parade" may already be my favourite song of the year now. Free sex all round!

It's a bit of an easy target though isn't it? Franz Ferdinand and the Kaiser Chiefs*, no one's saying they're groundbreaking, and they aren't really part of the 'scene' anymore, they're much too playlisted for that nowadays.  Bands like the fucking Horrors are where the venom should be directed I reckon.
Here is a fairly spot-on Libertines parody I posted in the SE Youtube thread, which, although a bit too late, does a good job of sending up the 'street poet' image they're still purveying.  I do like the Libertines, but I think everyone's deserving of mockery:


*I remember when everyone here liked the Kaiser Chiefs before they were Radio 1 fodder.  You scenesters.  Wink etc.

23 Daves

Quote from: "Marvin."The Gulliemots are pretty good, as Cack Hen said, rather patchy but they've got a few excellent tunes.

.

Oh, The Guillemots are fine, it's just they're mentioned alongside Misty's in that article I posted a link to, and it seemed like a better thread title than plain old "Misty's Big Adventure".  Plus, it probably got some people's attention, as I reckon a lot of Guillemots fans will enjoy MBA's work.

As for the band "being too late" and picking obvious targets - if they'd released a single parodying The Horrors, I suspect the point would have been lost for the vast majority of people (rather like when Uncle Morris parodied Selfish Cunt on "Nathan Barley").  And believe it or not, I can remember a time when Franz Ferdinand were described as "ground breaking"....

I don't know, I'd consider it to be a valid argument against the vapid mass-marketing that exists in the industry at present.  It has left a shitload of interesting bands (such as Misty's) sidelined, and if the band have chosen to make that point using the most popular and visible mainstream targets, so be it.  

The whole sub-text of "The Teats" (the fictional band in the video) also highlights a number of points as well, don't forget - the kind of "we're mates with someone famous and are on the London scene" bands who have nothing new to say whatsoever, but have a bulging contacts book and hang around in the "right" bars.  The musical equivalent of attention seeking wankers on Big Brother who have a strong knowledge of a fashionable back catalogue but no real ideas of their own.  There's tons of them around.

I think you've all missed the best joke (and possibly best ammunition) as well.  The Teats in the video are shown to be ripping off The Teardrop Explodes, and yet Grandmaster Gareth admits that a lot of his influences come from Julian Cope's record collection!  And towards the end of the track (at the point where they sing "Lost the money! We've gone and lost the money!") I'm sure the brass riff is incredibly similar to the one on the album version of "Sleeping Gas".  So are they having a quiet laugh about themselves here as well?

Marvin

You're right, that riff is definitely very similar!

That Libertines pastiche would be quite amusing if it weren't so terrible in quality that I just couldn't watch it all the way through, plus Misty's aren't a novelty or pastiche band, and as much as I love Fashion Parade, I hope it doesn't give them that reputation.

I should be going along to the 100 Club gig I think.

Nuts 'n Gum

Brilliant Misty's video-been waiting to see that because they filmed in the shop I work(ed) in-Swordfish in Birmingham-They don't really have a Britpop section!
Great touch with the camera phones at the gig!

Rovis Teffyd

Misty's Big Adventure are quite good. Whenever I see them live they always put on a good show, and you can't help but get dragged in. But I've been noticing a little bit of critical hostility lately...for some reason, a few critics are claiming that they're now officially old hat. Personally, they're not that bad, and anyway it was only a few hipster prick critics saying this. It looks like the MBE band members don't use enough hair gel.

23 Daves

Pah, "hot", "not", "old hat", "new hat"... who gives a toss?  The important thing is the music itself, to coin a cliche, and Misty's Big Adventure haven't even had their moment in the sun yet, never mind had it "pass".  It's far too early to confine them to history's dustbin.

Incidentally, on The Teats MySpace profile did anyone notice that MBA went to the trouble of creating another false profile for someone called Sooze who is supposedly their biggest fan?  She's here:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=117072897

QuoteAbout me:
Elephants. Balloons. Fluffy clouds. The Teats. They're soooo lovely. OMG! Love life. Love my 'rents. And most of all I love Baz. He's so lovely. Big lovely arms. We met at a Teats gig. He's their security guy. And he's also mine!

LOLZER.  I can see they've had a bit of a field day with this whole "concept".