19th July 2006

It is now July, friends. That means that it's… BIRTHDAY TIME! That's right-The Luke Draper Band is now one year old! (Cue: streamers, party blowers, balloons, hats, cake, gorilla suits, mimes, little colourful plasticky novelty things, gatecrashers…) Well, well… Welcome to the birthday entry. Unfortunately we didn't have a cake - or any other aforementioned party paraphernalia- but Luke did present us each with an LDB birthday card! (That was cool…)

As I look back over this diary page, I note that it has been such a long time since our last diary entry. (And yes, Luke is still seeing circling tweety birds from the mishap involving a chance meeting between the rear of the Live Site stage and his cranial region.) I suppose that I should just apologise now for our somewhat absence and irregularity of posts and fill you all in on some of our (sometimes) more interesting and/or important auditory adventures of late…

As for new news headlines:
While we all seem to have been in hibernation of sorts over the last couple of months, a momentum has been re-developing. We are currently busy setting about lots of new plans in terms of gigging and operational functions within the band at the moment. We have a number of exciting projects developing and others already on the go. Projects which we will fill you all in on just as soon as we figure out exactly just what the hell it all is we are doing ourselves…

Luke has been busy wielding that magical pen of his and has composed yet more remarkable material for us all to sink our teeth into. We are on the path with a couple of brand spankers, which are slowly moving through the works at the moment. Therefore some new material shall be added to LDBs' live playlist soon, adding to our expanding live sets further. So keep an ear out for the newies, which should reach the light of day at a gig somewhere within the next couple months.

Another issue for us on the topic of gigs, is the current state of the local live music scene, which has seemed to grind down to a slow ebb as of late. So we're currently concentrating on some exciting work in the studio and active in pursuing some more work at some fantastic venues throughout the City. We apologise to our local followers, regarding the current lack of local shows, but are looking forward to getting back to regular gigging shortly. Nonetheless, we do hope to see some of you loyal locals at our next show at Kay St. Entertainment Complex (Saloon Bar) on Tuesday 25th July.

Just another note, we are also on MySpace, so mosey on over there and check it out. Get added to our group of friends and please help network and spread the word about the Luke Draper Band! Also, don't forget to sign up for a membership to our Guestbook (it's FREE) and get some cool topics and conversations going. We love hearing from you all! We wanna read some interesting posts from you guys! We are also thinking of adding a regular electronic mail-out newsletter to anyone who registers their e-details with us to keep everyone aware of our goings on with info on gig dates, special notices, etc. That should be e-happening very e-soon…

It's a busy and exciting time for us here at the LDB camp at present.
As quiet as we currently may seem, we've once again hooked up with our good friend Brett Tippet, owner/engineer of local studio Spectrum Productions and are currently working with him in the studio on our first full-length independent album (ooooh…. al-bum…) release. Initially intended to be an official 7 track EP, we felt that we had enough material worthy of putting down and so the track listing has grown (and our bank balance has shrunk) proportionally. Included on the album will be a mixture of both the older and newer songs.

As it stands, we have finished recording all of the main drum tracks (so I get a break!) and the majority of bass guitar tracks. We are currently right in the middle of recording Lukes' guitars, guitars and more guitars (so Luke doesn't get a break...yet.)

Yet to be recorded are all of the vocals, backing vocals, keyboard and some more bass guitar parts before we do a preliminary mix and master of a selection of the songs by the end of this month for a couple of other projects we are working on, (but they're another entry...)

We will then take a short break before heading back in to lay down some more odds and ends of overdubs including a grand piano, string arrangements, more vocals, percussion and guitars and other cool bitsy fun stuff before we settle into the laborious and tedious task of final mixing for the album followed by a transfer of the project to Melbourne for mastering and manufacture.

On top of the whole recording itself, we have yet to do another photo shoot, cover art and design and much publicity amongst many other things. The album is pencilled in for release around November at this stage. (Exactly what year is yet to be determined…) No - just keep an eye on the website for more news, updates and official details as we post them.

Sorry, but now I have a story for you:

We recently went off on another of our greatly anticipated shopping binges to relieve some more G.A.S. build-up (refer to one of Bens' previous articles for more info on G.A.S…) The band acquired a new PA system for gigging and another bass guitar for B.T.s' growing arsenal. (I still think that they ripped him off – It didn't even come with any frets, for that price the cheap b*stards!)

Anyway, as we were packing B.T.s' Ford Explorer with all our new gear, me being me, I toddled off down the road to the drum shop. (Ahhh, bliss…) 10 minutes later, the other three chaps came in to find me mindlessly gazing around salivating in the cymbal section in front of rows of Zildjians, sticks in hand. Somehow they managed to drag me from the store and back towards the car.

As we turned the corner walking into the side street where the Exploder was parked, we all stopped suddenly and gasped, wide-eyed at each other – one of the back doors of the car was open and our gear trailer was unlatched… @%$#?+&*!!!

Our stomachs rose up in our throats as we all started running over to the car. “Our gear” we worried. As we neared the car, we noticed that it was unlocked and the trailer keys dangled freely in their locks. Upon inspection of the car and trailer it became apparent that we had been the targets of a certain individual who had momentarily disregarded the need or purpose for keys, locks, or even closed doors or any form of security for that matter!

*Let's just say that B.T. double-checked all the locks before we made our way into the gig that night…

With all possessions accounted for, we all had a great laugh about that and the fact that the Exploder was on a permanent 45 degree incline from back to front for the whole trip, due to all the extra weight of the days' purchases in the back. Its' front bumper could've knocked the teeth out of a third floor balcony sight see-er. The sights of reflections in shop windows along with the fact that the windscreen was acting like more of a sunroof were comical that evening as we merged our way into the metropolis to play another eventful Stork gig.

Sorry about the extraordinary length of this entry. (I believe our website hosts' server has now reached its' capacity.) I have been meaning to get around to writing this for some time now and every time I leave it, it tends to get llloooonnger…

Lastly, in all seriousness, I feel we must give a huge thankyou to each and every one of you who have supported and encouraged us in any and every way over the last 12 months, no matter how insignificant the contribution may seem. It has been the start of a great, exciting journey for us. We hope to be expanding this thing even further with you into our second year…

Tune in to my next contribution somewhere along the way and I'll have an amusing article rich in religious overtones to add to this somewhat gargantuan novel…

‘Till next time: Cheers and best wishes to you all and Merry Christmas.

Craig

10th April 2006

Welcome to April. We survived March, but only just. We had two gigs at the Commonwealth Games Live Site in Moe. The first gig on the 16th, was the Battle of the Bands, which ended up being a battle against the weather. We were the first band to play and the weather had been very ordinary all day. We set up in the sunshine but shortly after some late entries to the program arrived. The wind made a good performance, managing to blow down the back of the stage which conveniently landed on my head, stopping it from going through one of the other band's drum kits. The wind was shortly followed by the rain, which was coming down nearly horizontally, saturating the majority of the stage and PA. Ten minutes before we were to start, something went 'BANG' in the PA and we were asked to evacuate the stage due to the depth of the water and amount of leads submerged in it. It eventually stopped raining, so the stage crew got out the mops, cleared all the water off the stage and got us up there playing about half an hour late. The set went well and the weather held out for us. The bands after us were less fortunate and had to put up with the rain which started pouring again. It was warm to hear the original bands but freezing standing in the rain and wind especially in thongs.

Our next gig on the 26th on the same stage was a totally different story altogether. Everyone that came to watch got sun burnt. Siebii organised a great gig which saw many of its resident musicians belt out some great tunes. Tim Woods and Khristian Mizzi played great performances. It was a good gig and it was good to have a second chance on the stage. On behalf of the bands i would like to personally thank Brett, the sound engineer who pulled a great sound and brought the best out of all the performers. Thanks to everyone for turning up and making it a great gig. Its great to play outdoor gigs in the sunshine. Until next time.

Luke

24th October 2005

Yo, it’s Monday night and this is the first chance I’ve had to sit down and write a diary entry in ages! We just finished a fairly solid weekend of gigging and there are so many things to write about I don’t know where to start…

On Friday we were pretty pumped as our good friend Tim Woods had hooked us up with a gig down at South Melbourne. There was a bit of confusion though – he told us we were playing at the South Melbourne Town Hall, which is a building that closely resembles the White House. Turns out he meant to say, The South Melbourne Town Hall 'Hotel' which is a pub a few hundred meters down the road! Turned out to be a pretty average gig as we almost out numbered the audience (and yes, we are only a four piece). The place had some awesome gear though, pity most of it was lying in a mess on the floor.

We were on a bit of a downer after that gig as we headed back to my old mans place at Airport West. We woke my sister and her friend who were staying there (by moving a queen size mattress down the hall) but they got their own back as you will soon find out. We all ended up sleeping on the floor in my dad’s lounge which wasn’t ideal, but it was a laugh a minute anyway!

We all woke up pretty early on Saturday morning and headed into town to drop my sis and her friend Liza off at Mooney Valley for the Cox Plate. We trekked all over town searching for the biggest and best music stores as we all suffer seriously from G.A.S (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) and drooled over the various items we’re all wishing for. The guys at Allens and the Bass Centre were great and so helpful but our day was ruined when the pricks working at an sound and audio business in South Melbourne treated us like dirt from the moment we walked in the door. Stupid move from them as not only are we looking around for a PA but we all have connections and associations with various live music venues and studios who regularly buy stuff from there. It’s safe to say that they will now be shopping else where for all their gear.

A few hours later and we were on the way to the Stork for what has become a fairly regular show. We had to make a short stop at crown though to pick up some stuff from my inebriated sister. Turned out to be a massive pain in the backside as she had no idea where exactly we could meet her and we ended up doing about five laps of the casino with the trailer on the back trying to find her!

We finally made it to the gig and it was business as usual while we were setting up until a massive fight broke out. Two blokes just went nuts and started telling people in the bar that they were going to kill them!!! It took ages to get them out and when they finally did we had to lock all of the doors to keep them out until the special response police team got there. They still tried to keep coming in though – they even threw some chairs at doors and smashed one of the glass panels! We played our set after that to a great receptive crowd and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Heaps of people really got into the music and we even got an invite to play up in Sydney.

On Sunday we were back in the Valley playing at one of our favourite venues, Seibii Gallery Cafe and Wine Bar. With the windows open and a room full of good people there isn’t a better way of spending a Sunday arvo. We were playing there by request of one of the owners, Stu, who was celebrating his 30th birthday. There’s just a great laid back vibe to that place that brings out the best in all of the local musicians who play there and we really had an awesome time. Anyone in the valley who appreciates live original music should regularly attend this venue! You’ll love it!! Anyway, I’ve hit a writer’s block so I’m going to stop writing now. Cheers for reading, catch you next time!

P.S. A big shout out to one of the best blokes I know and a great friend to the band, Brett Tippet of Spectrum Productions whose mother sadly passed away on the weekend after a long battle with illness. Our best wishes go out to him, his wife Jo and his Dad and sisters. Our thoughts are with you...

Benny T

30th September 2005

The fear of the unknown recording session at studio 52 in Melbourne went really well. We all had an early start and met up at the café out the front at about 9:15 for a coffee and a chat. Met the engineer, and loaded some of our gear in around 10. Studio A, which we were recording in, has this really narrow spiral staircase! We were all kind of glad Craig used their in house kit, because carrying the kit down the staircase could have been interesting. At the bottom of this staircase, we ended up in this awesome recording environment, with 4 different live rooms. We all hade a room each, so laying down the bass and drums while we all played the songs was cool. Craig and Ben were really tight .

Only took a couple of takes of Music War to get bass, drums and we DI'ed Rusty’s keys in them as well. Then we laid down She Takes a couple of times and got some really good bass, drum and key takes. With this all done before lunch we popped out for a bit and got some tucker. That left all afternoon for guitar, vocals and mixing which ran till 8 pm. What an afternoon! It took me 5 hours just to do guitar and vocals. We had to choose the two songs with free time introductions which meant we couldn’t us a click track as reference points to slip the acoustic guitar, in time and cleanly into the mix. I must have played each introduction 20 times, each one different, till Craig and Ben jumped into to their live booths and we re-did the introductions together.

It ended up being a great recording session for us all. We loved every bit of day in a really good studio. The mix sounded great, the engineer was great, the vibe was great, and we thank Studio 52 for giving us a go in their yearly project. The opportunity and experience was amazing and we all thank the engineer Jesse and everyone at Studio 52 for every thing they did for us.

Luke

24th September 2005

We just finished playing at the Stork Hotel down on Elizabeth Street in Melbourne. Turned out to be a fairly good gig, considering it’s not really a venue set up for live music. Actually you’d probably say that having only a tiny performance area (not much bigger than a beer coaster!) and being so close to the audience probably worked in our favour because the atmosphere was really cosy. It was great to play to a room full of people who were there to listen to our music – you’d rarely get folks down our way just walking in off the street, grabbing a beer and sitting back and relaxing to original music! Craig was a big hit with a bloke at the first table, he mimicked Craig’s every move and really got into the songs which was great.

It was Grand Final night so the room was full of mostly heartbroken West Coast fans desperately in need of some cheering up. Only one brave Sydney fan dared to enter the room but he didn’t stay too long. Overall, we all really enjoyed ourselves as did the crowd. Hopefully we’ll be back there soon!

Benny T