Paul was up first, recording drum tracks for all four songs in one day, a great effort!  Then Cara layed down her bass tracks, followed by a couple of long days of Ben and Owen recording guitars.  Nick at Sister Lung is busy putting a mix together so we can head back in and record all the vocals.

At this point, this is looking like being a real rock EP   Lots and lots of big guitars and driving rhythms.

Here’s a few photos from the sessions so far:

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This weekend we head back into the studio to start work on our second EP.  We will be tracking drums for the four tracks this weekend, with our good friends Nick and Rui at Sister Lung Productions in Napier.  Click tracks and muffins will be the theme of the weekend

Not too many gigs planned for the next little while, so we can focus on the recording, but there are a couple of things on the horizon:

• On the 25th of February 2012 we are playing at the NZ International Tattoo Expo, at Claudelands Event Centre in Hamilton.  Check out www.tattooart.co.nz for more information.  We are on-stage at 2pm on Saturday.
• We are in the running to open for I Am Giant in Napier on the 11th of February 2012.  To get this opportunity we need as many votes as possible on the poll they are running on Facebook here: www.facebook.com/pages/I-AM-GIANT/43730526195?sk=app_20678178440.  So please give us a vote!!

Entry is just $5 and the doors open at 8pm.  Music will start around 9pm.

Thursday night, we are playing at The Cabana in Napier as part of the Music Machine Muso Night.  Six bands playing, for just $5.  We are the guest band on the night, so will be playing for about 30 minutes.  Included in our set will be two brand new songs.

On Friday we are heading down to Wellington to play at Medusa with Invader Cain, Kobosh and Killing Bear.  Details here: www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=295858857106677

Saturday night sees us back at The Cabana in Napier with Invader Cain, Alec Withers and SKAper.  Facebook event here: www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=157015171058347

Sunday we are playing at Kazba in Napier, after the NZ vs France RWC final.  Last time we played there it was crazy times, and we are hoping for an even bigger night for the final

Times and dates:
Thursday 20th October – The Cabana, Napier – 8pm doors, $5 entry

Friday 21st October – Medusa, Wellington – 8pm doors, $5 entry

Saturday 22nd October – The Cabana, Napier – 8pm doors, $10 entry

Sunday 23rd October – Kazba, Napier – music starts after the RWC final (about 11pm), FREE ENTRY

Here, in Napier, Canada played France in the World Cup and we were on the bill at Kazba to play afterward and help keep the party going!  The night went a little like this (from Cara’s point of view in case you’re wondering):

The game ended and we start our set with a couple of covers, playing to a handful of people, and just doing our thing… next thing I know people are pouring in and before I could even register, the place was totally packed out and buzzing with excitement. We played for just over an hour and then had a little break. When I returned to my spot on stage, my mic stand had been adorned with a Canadian flag and later on, during our set, a lovely Canadian joined me on stage and draped me in my very own Canadian flag! He was quickly followed by a lovely French man who had me in a beret in no time. Owen ended up with a very pretty French girl draping a flag around his shoulders, as did Ben, and Paul ended up with a glorious red and white curly Canadian wig!  I’m sure that there will be photos surfacing on Facebook of a crazy band from Napier looking like a hot mess!

There were so many great moments during that second set, but one that really sticks out was when we were sorting ourselves out in between songs and the French side started singing their anthem. Their voices swelled well above any other bar noise and the result was spine tingling! Of course, the Canadians wouldn’t let the Frenchies get away with that and, after we’d played our next song, two of the boys jumped up on stage and led their side in the Canadian national anthem and that was just as awesome.

The coolest part, though, was looking out to the crowd and seeing people rocking out to our original songs and singing along to the choruses after they picked them up! AMAZING! Ever After and These Eyes were particular crowd pleasers and we were so tight and together it made for a great ride!Afterward, I totally felt like a rockstar. I was nearly mobbed with people asking to have their photos taken with me and say how great the band was and how they loved NZ and everything else that they wanted to say in broken English! Drinks flew, I was wrapped in flags and one guy even took his French jersey off (it’s ok, he was still fully clothed!) and put it on me to have a photo in it! It was just plain good old fun.

It was a really late night (or early morning!) and none of us got home before 2:30am and all of us had to work on Monday. I was buzzing so much I couldn’t get to sleep and woke up feeling the same so couldn’t get back to sleep again! It was just incredible and so unexpected and just, well, amazing. I loved it. Every minute… let’s do that again soon!

We’ve played some really fun gigs in the last few months!  Opening for Devils Elbow, Sleeping Dogs and House Of Mountain, a benefit gig in Masterton and at The Kazba in Napier.

The Devil’s Elbow gig was great fun, with a really good turnout and amazing bands.  But a bit of sadness that it was Valve’s last gig.  Good luck to all the lads, it was great sharing the stage with you.

Our gig with Sleeping Dogs was very rock ‘n’ roll!  The night ended out to be a lot of fun, and all the bands were on form and delivered superb performances.  Unfortunately time was against us and A Beautiful Chaos did not get a chance to play, which was very disappointing as we are big fans of the band!  Hopefully we can organise something soon to see them play.

Our gig in Masterton for the Jam For Lincoln was amazing!  Great turnout, fantastic bands and really good people involved   It was an honour to be asked to play for such a great cause.  And the after-show shenanigans were top notch

We played a really fun gig at The Kazba in Napier on the 3rd of September.  The first with our new guitarist Ben!  Here’s some photos from the night:

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Our next gig is back at The Kazba, on the 18th of September. We are on right after the France vs Canada World Cup game, which is happening in Napier.  Hope to see you there

As the poster says, it’s FREE ENTRY, so get along and have a great night out with us!

Related show

• Artist: Ninja Monkey
• Date: Saturday, September 3rd 2011
• Time: 9:00pm
• City: Ninja Monkey in Napier
• Venue: Kazba
• Address: 26 Hastings St
• Country: New Zealand
• Admission: FREE
• Age restrictions: All Ages/Licensed
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From the organiser:

Lincoln is 4 years old and is battling Leukaemia. At the moment he’s down in Christchurch getting treatment. We have some of the Wairarapas best bands coming together to help raise funds for Lincoln, and through the Child Cancer Foundation we can help the 15 other kids in the Wairarapa that are also going through treatment for cancer. We have a sweepstake style raffle that will be drawn on the night with some huge prizes to give away. Tickets for the raffle will be everywhere very soon with more info on the prizes to come.

Saturday 6th August at Solway Park – a fundraising concert 15$ a ticket to raise funds to help our kids going through this frightening battle. All ages welcome. There is a cash bar, it will be the cheapest bar in town on the 6th of Aug.  Thanks to COPTHORNE SOLWAY PARK and our many sponsers also food avalible on the night as well.

WHOS JAMMING?????

Warren Maxwell (Trinity Roots, Little Bushmen, Fat Freddys Drop)
Rainbow Country
Deaf Lemon (national battle of the bands runner up)
SKAper
Sneaky Roots
Masterhuna
Ninja Monkey (Napier band)
Wicked Minx

It’s going to be a great night out that wont dent the old wallet to much, and you get to support Lincoln in his time of need…
So lock it in, it will be the only place to be on Saturday 6th of August.

Tickets are $15 and are available from: Sthil Shop Masterton, The Vault, The Sanctuary, Masterton Music Works, United Video Masterton and Vinyl Heaven.

Related show

• Artist: Ninja Monkey
• Date: Saturday, August 6th 2011
• Time: 6:00pm
• City: Ninja Monkey in Masterton
• Venue: Copthorne Resort Solway Park
• Address: High Street
• Venue phone: 06370 0500
• Country: New Zealand
• Admission: $15
• Age restrictions: All Ages
• Notes: Jam For Lincoln – fund raiser for the Child Cancer Foundation.
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Tickets are available from The Music Machine on Hastings Street in Napier, and are just $5.  If you turn up with a ticket, you get a free mini-cupcake as well!  How good is that??  Otherwise, you can get in at the door for $5 and enjoy the drink specials (until 9pm)

Related show

• Artist: Ninja Monkey
• Date: Friday, July 29th 2011
• Time: 8:00pm
• City: Ninja Monkey in Napier
• Venue: The Cabana
• Address: 11 Shakespeare Road
• Country: New Zealand
• Admission: $5
• Age restrictions: All Ages/Licensed
• Notes: Sleeping Dogs (www.sleepingdogs.com) with Ninja Monkey, House Of Mountain, A Beautiful Chaos and Hera Hjartardóttir at The Cabana in Napier.
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