Down for the Count - weekend of ban(d)ter!

Our next blog entry is straight from the quill of Max Fagandini - our deputy lead trumpeter, who is filling in for Tristan whilst he is off doing clever physics-related things in Singapore.

Down for the Count recently ventured over to Sheen to play their first live gig in London at the delightful restaurant-cum-bar, Don’t Tell Fred. It’s really a lovely place – though most of the band elected to shop a little further down-market for our dinner that evening (which is to say, fish and chips), we do have it on good authority that the food is great and, well, we can certainly vouch for the entertainment. Kicking off with a few Real Book numbers including a cracking rendition of It Don’t Mean A Thing and that old favourite, Misty (reggae-style, naturally), the band launched into their first jazz set as people began to filter down from the restaurant upstairs. Notable guests included most of the Ballard clan and Michael Buble himself [citation needed]. More people came down to join us throughout the evening and by the soul set at the end of the night the audience was so lively that some had even been moved to have a little dance. The staff were charmingly welcoming and word on the grape vine (which I understand is a reliable mode of communication) is that they enjoyed us so much they’re asking us back next month. So clear June 24^th in your calendars and come on down to Don’t Tell Fred for another sensational set!

The fun wasn’t quite over though – in preparation for Down for the Count presents On The Town, we spent most of the weekend at Audio Underground in Stoke Newington getting some rehearsal done and taking a look at some new charts for the gig. Interspersed with laughs, ban(d)ter and enough food and drink to feed a small Baltic state, it was great fun and left us all without a doubt that On The Town would be a fantastic evening for all concerned. As we all parted ways on Sunday afternoon, we bid a sad farewell to Claire who regrettably won’t be able to join us on the 21^st due to having her own show to run (other musical commitments? Sacrilege!). Naturally we all wish her the best of luck  and we’ll try not to have too great a time so she doesn’t feel left out.

Check out Max's very own blog here!

A Day in the Life of Down for the Count

On Friday 15th April we performed at the wedding of Rosalind Purvis and Oliver Lambert.  We were particularly looking forward to this gig; weddings are probably our favourite type of event to perform at, and we were particularly excited about this one as we were providing music for the wedding ceremony, a jazz band during the afternoon drinks reception AND a function band for dancing in the evening.  This meant a lot of preparation before the day, and over 65 emails and phone calls between us and the wedding family!

Luckily this wedding was only 40 miles away, so at lunchtime we met at our lock-up to load the van.  This is usually quite a quick process – however today both lifts had decided to break, so we were resigned to carrying all the equipment down a staircase!

To console ourselves, we stopped off to pick up a quick lunch at a supermarket (as we couldn’t quite justify a service station stop on such a short journey).  This invariably involves us buying lots of unhealthy food – although Steve shocked even us by buying three bars of chocolate (which he then proceeded to eat straight away, without even so much as offering anyone else a chocolate button).

 

After we arrived at the venue, we set up the piano for the wedding ceremony.  Mike then had a quick run through of the music for the ceremony – the couple had asked for a medley of songs from musicals before the service, and classical music for the procession, recession, and signing of the register.

 

After the ceremony, we immediately went in to the two jazz quartet sets.  As a surprise, the mother of the bride had arranged for us to play Louis Armstrong’s version of “Here Comes The Bride”, from High Society, as the couple walked through to the garden.  It was one of the bride’s favourite films for her childhood – so we hope our version did it justice!

 

After we’d finished the jazz quartet sets, it was time for dinner.  The family had arranged for us to have a delicious hot meal – widely accepted as quickest and easiest way to win a musician’s heart.

 

It was then time to put the set list together and then get changed – and, of course, for the girls to do their make-up!

 

We knew we didn’t have long after the main wedding meal had finished to set-up for the evening function band, so we started to get the gear ready outside.

 

Then it was time to move everything inside, and set-up in the performance space.

 

45 minutes later, we were ready to start playing – starting with the first dance, for which the couple had requested Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel”.  It’s always great seeing what couples have planned for the first dance, and today’s routine was fantastic!

 

After that, it was on with the rest of the set.  The parents had requested we do as much Glenn Miller as possible, so we’d learnt two new songs for this gig – Pennsylvania 6-5000 and American Patrol.

After two fantastic Swing and Rat Pack sets, it was time for a quick break – during which we were invited to help ourselves to the fabulous cheese buffet!

It was then on with the Soul and Motown set – the highlight of every gig.  We finished with Can’t Take My Eyes Off You – which received so much applause…

 

… that we played two encores, including New York, New York – invariably featuring a kick line!

 

After that it was time for a quick coffee (by this time, we were feeling very well looked after!)…

 

… before packing up and loading the van, a process which always seems a lot quicker than setting up!

 

We were done!  Even though some of us had been at the venue for 11 hours, performing over four and a half hour’s worth of music, we’d had an amazing time and were made to feel extremely welcome at the wedding.  It was time for a quick group hug before driving home, unloading and getting ready for the next gig!

Down for the Count Recording Session - October 2010

This December we went to The Limehouse Studios in East London to record our new album and demo CD.  Recording a demo is probably the most important investment for a function band, but it’s also definitely the most exciting one – there’s a certain thrill in sitting down and listening to what you ACTUALLY sound like!

The work actually started months before the session, as we had to choose and then rehearse the best songs to record, bearing in mind that we wouldn’t have much time on the day for each song.  We were aiming to record ten songs in a single day – a hugely ambitious task, and one that we only managed because of the hours of preparation beforehand!

We chose The Limehouse for several reasons, but the main one was the incredible instruments they offered – a beautiful grand piano, a ‘best that money can buy’ drum kit, and a vintage Rhodes electric piano – which explains the smile on Amelia’s face!  (Plus they had free tea and coffee, which always helps).  We had a wonderful time there, and would recommend highly recommend it.

The first part of the day was spent setting up the rhythm section – piano, bass, drums and keyboards.  (Usually this is also the part of the day where Steve teases Rich for taking so long to tune his drums, today being no exception).

After we had recorded the rhythm section, it was time for the horn section to have their turn.  Stan, our usual trumpeter, had been taken ill in the week leading up to the recording session and he sensibly decided that belting out high notes all afternoon would not do him any good!  Luckily, we have an army of deputy players ready to step to the fore and were very grateful to Max for filling in for us at extremely short notice.

Recording the horn section was particularly hard work (for them) because Mike, having recorded his piano tracks, was now in the control room listening intently – and shouting abuse down the headphones with every wrong note!  However, there must have been a few nice things said as well because everyone is smiling here…

After the horns had their go, it was time for the final bit of recording – adding the vocals.  Katie had been singing ‘guide vocals’ in the control room all day to help us know where we were in each song – and finally it was her time to get in the studio and record them for real.

Finally, 11 hours after we had arrived at the studio, we had 10 tracks recorded!  All that was left was the tedious part – mixing, mastering, and burning the CD.  However, to do this bit you have to be awake and alert and after so long everything you listen to starts to sound the same and everyone.  So instead we headed home, to celebrate a successful day’s work in the traditional musician's way – beer and a curry.

The next weekend, it was back to the studio to ‘finish off’ the recording.  Even though we did hardly any sneaky ‘edits’ or ‘fixes’, there was still a lot of technical work to do to turn our recordings into tracks for the CD. 

But finally, we were there.  After many hours of hard work, fuelled by hundreds of cups of coffee, we were there!  We had 10 fantastic new tracks and a brand new album - "Say No More", which you can buy here!

Welcome to the Down for the Count's brand new blog!

Welcome to Down for the Count’s brand new blog!


We’ll be using this blog for two main purposes:
1. To keep you updated with our current projects – such as live performances and recording sessions;
2. To offer our advice to people who are considering booking a live band for an event.


We hope you find this blog interesting and useful!