Daintees Diaries Pt. 2
The calm before the storm (The Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh)
Part 2 of Daintees Diaries is here! Picking up the action in Birmingham and taking it right up to Scotland for 2 nights, a crazy week as you’d imagine!
First to the Midlands, and the Hare & Hounds in Birmingham, with the same, stripped back lineup as the last gig in Brighton. A long drive from home but in great company with Rupert and Adrian, plenty of laughs, some great music choices (Mainly of the Yacht Rock genre - Steely Dan, Tower of Power, Vulfpeck etc.) and a superb pre-show curry across the road from the venue, band bonding at its finest! The gig itself was great, we had a lovely sound onstage, and a welcoming audience too. A smashing gig all round, and the final southern gig of the tour, then it was off to Scotland…
Harajuku Punking, with Martin & Anna, Birmingham (Photo - Paul Sharkey)
Having some fun (Photo - Paul Sharkey)
In deep thought… (Photo - Paul Sharkey)
(Photo - Steve Harper)
(Photo - Anna Lavigne)
From Brum to Glasgow (via home for a well earned day off!), it’d have been rude not to stop off on route at Drummers Only, easily one of the finest drum stores in the UK. Greeted with fine coffee, and chat with Chris, Adam and co, it was an hour well spent, and a little drumstick-retail therapy for good measure! Going to give the Vic Firth Steve Smith model a try out for a change from the norm! A little heavier and more tip heavy, but a nice feel on the pad.
From drum shopping to work though, at Òran Mór (Apparently Gaelic for ‘great melody of life’ or ‘big song’ - how appropriate!), a sizeable venue underneath a former church. These Scottish gigs also are going back to the beefed up lineup as seen at the 100 Club earlier in the tour, with original Daintees guitarist Gary Dunn joining the lineup, as well as Harmonica-ace Spider McKenzie and Brass master Bruce Michie with an impressive lineup of horns (I counted Trumpet, Tenor Sax, Baritone Sax and Soprano Sax in one gig!). On the Glasgow gig there was also a guest appearance from Ken McCluskey (From the Bluebells) who played some harmonica on a couple of tunes, as well as Nicky Murray who as well as playing a stunning support slot) hopped on guitar for ‘Salutation Road’ - the perfect end to the night! It was another wonderful gig, with a lively Glaswegian audience (I don’t think a sedate audience is possible in Glasgow!), and for Rupert, Adrian, Gary and I, a late-night of beverage and chat was well earned!
Doing the bit at Òran Mór (Photo - Kevin Kerr)
Baker Boy hats are definitely my 2021 look if you haven’t already clocked it! (Photo - Kevin Kerr)
A sparkling kit sounds better…fact!
With the 2 Scottish gigs being relatively close together (about 50 miles all told), it was nice to have a leisurely morning in Glasgow after the gig the night before, a brisk walk around the city centre for some breakfast and coffee was a perfect start to the day. From there the band headed to Edinburgh, though I made time for a pit stop in Falkirk to swing by dD Drums and see my old mate Davie Dowell for some coffee and drum chat at his shop come teaching facility. Of course it’d be criminal not to hit some drums while there, in this case Dave’s vintage Sonor kit, with a Murray Drums snare (outfitted with Sheffield Steel VK hardware) and Meinl cymbals. It made a damn good noise!
2 Drummers in a room, what could possibly go wrong! (Photo - Dave Dowell)
Shufflin’ away on Dave’s Sonor kit (Photo - Dave Dowell)
From Falkirk to Edinburgh was the next leg, and a rather simple one albeit for the sluggish traffic getting into the city centre! But I was there and parked a couple of hours before we could get into the venue, so I made for a walk around one of my favourite destinations. A new discovery worth mentioning was Fabhatrix in the city centre, a proper hat shop (which is definitely not something you see often!) and for a new hat-lover like myself, a perfect opportunity to expand my collection (of one!). Having worn the black Baker Boy cap for all of the dates so far, a nice navy blue one was the perfect compliment, and ended up being my headwear of choice for the Edinburgh show too. Who says drummers can’t have some style!
As for the show itself, an intimate venue, another jam packed stage and one of the best audiences of the tour so far, and an emotional night on so many levels. It was what i’d call a magic show, where everything just aligns perfectly. A notable mention is that this show was also the first time all tour we’d played ‘Wholly Humble Heart’, which for Adrian and I in particular was a really special moment, him playing his uncle Anth’s parts, and me playing those that my grandad laid down some 33 years ago! To get that groove together, unrehearsed and in the moment, was a moment you couldn’t ever recreate again, incredible. Really the best end to the second run of dates, with the last 3 all coming next month, including what will be a very special homecoming show at the Sage in Gateshead on November 20th.
On stage in Edinburgh - New hat in tow! (Photo - Claus Schützenhöfer)
The Daintees engine room on top form (Photo - Anna Lavigne)
(Photo - Anna Lavigne)
The full lineup, with me hiding under that new hat! (Photo - Anna Lavigne)
Let’s talk drums…again!
So in a complete change from the last run, we’re back on a full kit now (as nice as the compact Flats rig is, there’s really nothing that beats proper drums!), and what a kit it is…
My workhorse for the past 3 years or more, Natal Cafe Racer in British Racing Green Sparkle (definitely the best finish they do!) 18” Bass drum, 12” Tom and 14” Floor tom, nothing excessive, but enough for the task in hand. I have them set with Evans coated heads top and bottom on the toms, UV1 over G1, tuned medium with added Snareweights to just keep the ring under control a bit, and a clear Evans EMAD on the bass drum for optimum thump, with a small pillow in the drum. As with the last gigs, the snare remains the same 1963 Ludwig Acrolite snare, which as I said in the last Daintees blog can go anywhere and do anything. Especially when outfitted with an Evans UV1 and Hazy 300, Puresound Custom Pro wires, and the black Snareweight M1 for all the sound options I could need, and the tuning held solid by some Tuner Fish Lug Locks.
Cymbal wise it was both the same and different to the last gig! Swapping the hi hats out for these gigs, to better cope with louder electric guitars, some Sabian 13” AA Regulars were the ideal fit, and have been my go to hi hats for a good while. Also added a second crash for more colours, a Zildjian 16” Armand thin, alongside the 17” Avedis Thin Crash (with the addition a Meinl Cymbal chain) and a 60’s Avedis 18” ride cymbal, which both saw use on the last gigs.
Again I was using Tama Classic Hardware, Yamaha Throne, Protection Racket & Ahead cases, Vic Firth SSG2 Natural finish Steve Gadd models, VF Gadd brushes and a Peter Erskine model felt VicKick VKB5 bass drum beater. I think that completes the drum nerdery!
So that ties up another Daintees Diaries post, it’ll be back to podcasting next week with the release of a new episode of Groovecast (always an exciting time!) but in the meantime, there’s no rest (as ever), with plenty of other work to fill the gaps and keep me more than busy.
Theres a couple more dates ahead so expect some further Daintees Diaries in upcoming blogs, and if you want to catch the tour, you’ll be able to find all of the dates and details here! In the meantime, time to rest!