Well, it really has been ages since we last posted anything on our Bebo page. To be honest, we're still much more at home with Myspaz, but we've finally revamped the Bebo page too.

You can hear five tracks we recorded ourselves, as well as two radio session tracks we did for Fresh Air. We did originally have lots of other demos on the page, but it had become too confusing, so they're off. Huzzah!

John has been sent to Egypt for the next wee while, so we welcome Pete Hopes on bass and backing vocals. He's used to heavier bands than us, so he's bringing the bark. And the beard. And the bike. Yuss.

Hope you like what you hear,

x

Well, it's been a while since the last blog, so I thought a wee update was in order...

The last month has seen us finally get out of the rehearsal room and onto the stage. We started things off with an acoustic session on Fresh Air radio (two of the tracks are on the player) which was an unusual way to make our first steps into the world, but was a blast all the same. After we'd played our songs, we were challenged to do a covers medley for the programme to end on, so we knocked out the slightly unholy marriage of Weezer's "Island In The Sun" and Billy Bragg's "New England". I'd love to say that we were making an important point about globalisation and the new imperialism, but the main reason was that they both had a suitably placed "G"...not exactly Red Wedge, but hey ho.

The following day we did a short acoustic set at Bannermans in Edinburgh, complete with my incredibly sore throat. Our stage set-up may have made us look like we were trying to recreate a Queen video, but it was nice to have a relaxed gig before our first full band outings, and the crowd seemed to really like it.

After a few days off, we rolled onto our first proper band gig at The Greenside in Leslie. There was an element of Fear and Loathing in Glenrothes to the evening - we went for a kebab only to be confronted by a shaven headed Rangers fan asking us if we'd seen the fellow who's teeth he was trying to kick in. We probably should phoned ahead to Manchester there and then...

The gig itself was excellent, and Raegan (the promoter) couldn't have been any more helpful. We were obviously glad to finally be playing live and loud, but this was the acid test - would all of our rehearsing pay off? I'm glad to say it did, and although we flew through our set at a million miles an hour, we played better than I could have hoped and managed to inspire a small troupe of dancing girls down the front, which is always a good massage for any new band's ego.

Our next gig was our proper Edinburgh debut, supporting Chatham's Underground Heroes at the Ark. The venue was gratifyingly busy as we hit the stage and once again we dived headfirst into our set at breakneck pace, high from the confidence earned at the Greenside. We played even better than we had before, and seemed to win over a lot of people, including the Underground Heroes guitar tech who had some lovely things to say about us. Bless him.

Now, at this point we might have gone a bit Alan Cumming in Goldeneye - "I am eenveeeenceeeeeble!" - but, ever the realists, there was a nagging feeling that things had gone a bit too smoothly for us not to expect a hiccup sooner rather than later. And, lest we forget, a pessimist is never disappointed...

Roll on to our first Glasgow outing, playing Box on Sauchiehall Street. Now we didn't think when we booked it, but this was to be the same night as the Champions League final, so as it was we didn't get on stage until after 11, just as everyone was heading off after the exertions of the football. To make matters worse, one of the amps broke down before we'd even started to play and we lost a distortion pedal two songs into the set. The technical hitches put a bit of a downer on proceedings, but I can say with hindsight that we did see a reprise of the dancing girls, and we finished our set with a little more vitriol than befits a self confessed pop band...

At the same time as all of this, we had found time to nip into the studio to record drums for six songs. We'll be doing the rest at my home "studio" because we're all too poor for anything else, but we should be finished in the next couple of weeks. Keep your ears peeled, if such a thing is even possible.

x

Never thought I'd be quoting Yazz, but there you go...

So, things are moving along really rather splendidly in the Curators camp. We welcome the hard-hitting and just generally excellent Mr Rich Baty to the drum stool - two practices in and we already sound like we mean business. Ask anyone, you're only as good as your drummer and now we're GOOD. Oh yes.

Gary and I recorded four acoustic demos this week, mainly to practice our harmonies (think Abba on crack) and they turned out to be so damn charming that I've posted them here. Have a listen - it's like being in the womb.

We're starting to put together our set. Thanks to everyone who's offered us gigs so far - we're really grateful and once we feel match fit, we're there.

The bottom line is that it's fucking great to fall back in love with music - that is, after all, why we're doing this. And true love waits, doesn't it?...

Jon

x