Ryan's Gig Guide - September 2018

Some crap questions we asked The Nightingales... The Oxford, Birmingham, Cambridge & Brighton legs of your Autumn tour have sold out, is that normal? Brighton does tend to sell out.We al- ways do well in Cambridge but I think this is the first actual sold out show and although we do not play Brum too often it either does sell out or comes close. Several of the other gigs are very nearly at capacity, especially where we have both Near Jazz Experience and Stewart Lee in support - It is a very good 'triple bill'. Is your experience of recording/releasing much different from the early days of the band? We mainly record at the Faust Studio in Germany, where our bassist Andreas Schmid is the house engineer, and the studio itself is really great plus of course Andi knows the studio and the group as well as any- one. Obviously this makes recording a lot more enjoyable and positive compared to the early years when we were constrained by lower quality facilities and quite often by engi- neers who probably were not so keen on our music.As regards releases -We do now have an enthusiastic and com- mitted label behind us (Budapest based U.S label,Tiny Global Productions), which we never really had in the past but it is much harder to actually sell physical records these days. Are there any local bands peo- ple might not know about that you think our readers should check out? Looking forward to new albums from the old guard of Pram and The Cour- tesy Group coming out in the autumn. Of the newer groups we really like the wonky pop of The Nature Centre, skiffle group The Prodigal Scum and for an intense live experience The Day Ends. Also the Ondes Positives label based in Brum are putting out some very cool obscure soundtrack stuff in the most outrageous packaging. What hidden talents does each member of the band have that we need to know about? Andi - Can clap with one hand Fliss - Used to be a taxidermist Robert- A fantastic cook Jim - Can talk to wasps What’s on Stewart Lee’s rider? Twelve pints of Guinness, 40 Bensons, a packet of Opal Fruits and a full English breakfast. The Day Ends - “ an intense live experience ”  www.thedayends.com www.ryansgigguide.com rgg Sep 2018 9