the kirsty mcgee hoboblog

Your patience has finally paid off

2011-07-20T06:25:00.000-07:00

Do you remember way back in February when we asked you to be strong and not succumb to the temptation of voting for Jackson Browne in the IMA Vox Pop?

Well, what did we tell you? We actually won the darned thing, didn't we!...No.5 by The Hobopop Collective is officially this year's IMA Vox Pop winner in the Best Live Performance Album category.

Interestingly, over 75% of the vox pop winners, voted on by around 57,000 members of the public from around the world, were different from the releases and songs selected by the panel of industry experts.

We'd like to say a huge thanks to everyone out there who managed to resist the finger-magnetism of the Jackson Browne button & voted for us this year. We're very proud of you. You did well.

By the way, just in case you've been in deep space or hibernation recently, we did an interview with the IMAs that they lovingly posted for us on their website. Nice people, those IMA people...

european tour dates march/april 2011

2011-03-27T13:23:00.000-07:00

we start our spring tour of germany next week, with brief hops to switzerland and the netherlands while we're out. hope to see you there!

for full details of the tour, visit http://www.kirstymcgee.com/live.html

hobo-house concerts

2011-03-12T11:15:00.000-08:00

in this “new depression era” the house concert is proving not only to be a fantastic experience for artists and audiences alike, but a real lifeline for independent musicians who still like to concentrate on the quality of their songwriting. if you’ve made it to this page we hope it’s because you are considering inviting us or one of our delightful, house-trained contemporaries into your home, and to that end we’d like to give you as much information and guidance on house concerts as we can.

credit is due to house concert pros and excellent musicians danny schmidt and jack stafford, from whose websites we have gleaned (or simply lifted) a great deal of what follows here.

other useful information can be found at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/house_concert

and for those of you who do the couch surfing thing:

http://www.couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=12850

WHAT IS A HOUSE CONCERT?

a house concert is a concert given in your home, or shed, or basement...

house concerts can be one of the most intimate and immediate settings to hear music. on the european mainland - and espcially in north america and canada - they are more common than in the UK, although the idea has been growing here too in the last few years. basically you invite a group of people to meet a touring artist who you are hosting for a night. in the course of the evening that artist will give a concert, in exchange for which your guests will make a donation towards their fee.

artists love house concerts because it gives them a direct contact with a genuine listening audience, and audiences love them because of the informality and opportunities to interact with artists and with their local community.

if you live somewhere beautiful and/or convenient, or if you love introducing your friends to music you care about, or if you just wish that your favourite songwriters would come to your town or village, then perhaps considering hosting a house concert would be for you.

IT’S NOT COMPLICATED

there are no hard and fast rules about hosting a house concert, but keeping it simple is often a good idea. as long as you have a space that can comfortably accommodate at least 15-20 people and a couple of musicians then you can host a concert.

you don’t need a sound system (unless your space is big enough for 50+, and in those cases many artists can bring their own), and you don’t need to cater for everyone (unless you want to). a simple ‘bring your own drinks’ policy is enough, or if you feel more adventurous a pot luck supper (for which everyone brings a dish) can work very well.

invite your guests for 30-60 minutes before you’d like the performance to begin, to give them time to arrive, meet and greet one another, have a drink and settle in before the music starts. artists will have their own ideas about how long to play for, but two sets of 40-45 minutes is typical, with a break in between.

WHAT DO I NEED?

not a lot, actually, but here’s a checklist of basic requirements:

-a house with a space in (underneath / attached to / round the back of) it that will hold upwards of 15-20 people.
-a circle of friends and contacts who are interested in coming to see artists play in your space.
-enough things for them all to sit on.

pretty much everything else is optional, depending on your own preferences and those of your guests.

PROMOTING & TICKETING

if you have a good network of music loving friends the chances are you won’t have to do much in the way of promotion. most artists will be able to send you posters if you want to open advertising to people you don’t know, too, and will list the show on their website, offering an option to contact you for details should anyone be interested in attending.

enthusiastic word of mouth is by far the most effective way to get folks to come to a house concert you are hosting. share some CDs around among your friends, talk it up and urge folks to visit the website and check out some more tunes. most artists will have some resources to help you with this - photos, free downloads, press quotes (there’s lots of stuff for example on the right hand side of this page, and on the press page of this site) - to help you put together an enticing invitation to send or email to your friends and family and colleagues. if you're excited about the house concert then spread that excitement among your friends. they'll be intrigued, at least. then it’s down to the artist to win them over, all you need to do is make them curious enough to give the music a try.

one note: it's important to make sure, in the promotional process, that your guests understand that this will be a house concert, and not just a house party that has some music going on in the background.

tickets aren’t usually necessary, but it’s a good idea to run a list and get RSVPs from people who intend to come to the concert. collect names, numbers and email addresses, so that if anything changes you can let everyone know, and so that you know who to expect on the night. that way you will know when you are full, too. people do cancel though, so keep a list of people who wanted to come that you had no room for - spaces can open up again.

apparently, evites allows you to create and track invites online, and of coursefacebook’s event system can be a very powerful organisational tool, too. it can then be linked to and promoted through the artist’s own page(s) on facebook.

WHAT ABOUT THE MONEY?

well, of course we all tour to make a living, and yes, we all have CDs for sale, but we do need something to keep us going.

house concerts are by their nature inclusive, and everyone is in a different situation financially, so organising payment for artists on a donation basis is often much more pleasant for everyone. typically a host will collect a suggested donation from the guests, either at the door or during the break. the suggested amount might be something like between £5 to £10 per person.

the important thing is to be clear with people from the start. be sure to mention in any invitations or promotional materials that there will be an expectation of money at some point during the evening. setting a suggested donation helps to formalise this gently, and make it clear that the artist does need more than simply some contributions towards their expenses. most people find that having the money pot at the door is the least intrusive way of doing this on the night. it also allows people to add more on their way out, if they have had a truly unforgattable evening!

most artists understand that house concert hosts are not professional promoters and will not ask you for a guaranteed minimum, but it is important to be communicative and let artists know in advance of the show if you think the attendance will be low, say, below 15-20 people, as it will help that artist when planning and financing the tour they are about to embark on.

THE HOUSE CONCERT EXPERIENCE

we really can do no better that to quote danny schmidt outright here:

“here's what's wonderful and unique about house concerts - there's no bright lights or raised stages to divide the artist and the audience. we are all sitting together in a room sharing and listening and connecting. there's a bunch of songs i'll only play in this sort of setting. and a bunch of stories and song explanations i'm only comfortable sharing in this intimate sort of setting.

“and just in general, there's something very real and tangible and human about the whole set up that can be very moving and touching and inspiring and invigorating. and that goes for me as much as for any listener. probably more so.”

voting for No. 5

2011-02-24T05:58:00.000-08:00

sorry to bang on about this - it's a big deal! you can now vote from the convenient location of this blog - just rollover and give us lots of stars in the box below. we know how tempting it must be to vote for jackson browne, but be strong. your rewards will come later.

you do have to enter an email address, but untick the box and you'll not be bothered by them at all.

thank you so much, old beans... x

http://www.kirstymcgee.com 
http://www.facebook.com/kirstymcgeemusic 
http://kirstymcgee.bandcamp.com 
http://www.hobopop.com

IMA interview

2011-02-20T08:29:00.000-08:00

we had fun filling out this interview for the idepedent music awards to go with the nomination of No. 5, and we thought you might have fun reading it, so here goes...

don't forget you can vote for our album in the 'best live performance' category right here, and we'll be ever so grateful to you for that. thanks.

Home Base: Manchester, UK

Describe your music genre: Hobopop - Vagrant music for the New Depression Era.

IMA categories entered: Live Performance

Work submitted: Kirsty McGee & The Hobopop Collective - No.5 [A Live Album]

What other artists are featured on your IMA nominated work:

The Hobopop Collective:

Mat Martin - Banjos, Tenor Guitar, Uke, Vocal

Nick Blacka (Aim, Magic Hat Ensemble) - Bass

Rob Turner (Neil Yates Ensemble) - Drums, Junk

Special Guests:

Christopher Cundy (Guillemots) - Saxello, Bass Clarinet

James Steel (The Brute Chorus) - Electric Guitar

Clive Mellor (Richard Hawley Band) - Harmonica

What’s the name of your record label: Hobopop Recordings

What artists and bands are your musical influences:

The Hobos of the last few hundred years in art and literature - see our article for Spiral Earth on the subject:

A list might include Tom Waits, Louis Armstrong, Randy Newman, John Steinbeck, Jelly Roll Morton, Harry Partch, Moondog, Captain Beefheart, Grappelli & Reinhardt, John Hartford, John Lurie, Leadbelly, Barnett Newman, Morton Feldman, Sun Ra, John Cage, The Brute Chorus, Sergio Leone, Mikhail Bulgakov, Tom Robbins, Jim Jarmusch, Marc Ribot, Samuel Beckett, Charles Mingus, Kerouac, Bukowski & the Beats...

What’s the meaning of your band name? Were there any other contenders:

Kirsty McGee is her own name. The Hobopop Collective are a renegade and ever evolving chain gang of revered musical vagrants. The line-up of special guests regularly changes so that no two shows are identical. The word Collective reflects this pool of musicians which is larger than the band you may see at any one time. The word Hobopop refers to music of no fixed abode or genre, which falls down the cracks between styles and lands in some beautiful secret places.

Describe your nominated work:

'No.5' was conceived as being as honest an account of a Kirsty McGee show as could be imagined on disc. The album was recorded at a single show to a deliberately small crowd, and no repairs, overdubs or alterations were made to the material after that. Selections were made by the band from the whole 90mn show to form an album's worth of material, based only on which songs they felt came over best. The songs were mixed, and the album was finished. We intended for this first release from the Collective (Kirsty McGee's previous albums have all been released simply under her own name) to capture the energy of what has always been a live project, and to document our relationship with some of our favourite guests from the previous years.

Why did you choose to submit this work the 10th IMA’s:

Mostly because we are enormously proud of this record, and still very excited about it too.

The IMAs are the only awards we have submitted to for this project. We are an independent band, with our own independent label, following our own noises. Most awards concentrate heavily on marketing and commercial factors, whereas the IMAs seem to have a healthy respect for the truly independent approach. So far our desire to make the music we care about has outweighed our desire to consider the commercial collateral of our work. We still believe that by doing what we do very well we can reach people who will have a longer and more meaningful relationship with us. The IMAs may help us acheive that.

Did you use any unusual effects or instruments in this recording:

No unusual effects or recording techniques were used, but you can hear some unusual instruments on parts of the album. Fretless banjo and saxello (an early relative of the soprano saxophone, with a wider bore and slightly curved shape) are used on several tracks, along with a tenor guitar made from recycled timbers (old furniture, a bar handrail, and a board from a dancefloor in Memphis, TN). The album opens with a drum riff played on a washboard and two watering cans.

Were there any happy accidents while in the studio, or did everything go as planned:

Nothing goes as planned with a live recording! This is why it is an exciting project - you only know how it sounds when you play it. We were dependent on a good, responsive and quiet audience, on just the right amount of rehearsal, and on an engineer we could rely on completely. All of these factors really helped to make the record come out as well as it did - the audience were just perfect, and so generous.

Were we to record again we might have fixed the creaky floorboards you can hear in places on the album, and maybe used the space differently, for more separation upon mixdown. I am looking for an answer because you asked the question though; the point of an album like this is that it is a document of how it did happen, not how it should have happened!

Did fans help you fund this project:

In a roundabout way. We don't really believe in direct fan-funding as a sustainable way of making records. The audience bought tickets to the show (which cost the same as the CD would later), the money from which went back into the recording budget. Each ticket holder was then sent a copy of the finished record two weeks before the release date, with a signed letter of thanks for their support. We wanted it to be a good deal for them.

Who’s sitting in your audience:

For this project? People from all over the UK, come specially to be a part of this album. Some friends, of course, many people we had never met before, some long-term fans, some people who took a chance, and some of our favourite local musicians and artists. We are very grateful to them all for the energy they poured into the project. Audiences don't always see that the energy they give off can shape the show they receive - these guys were right in there with us from the first note.

What makes your fans unique:

The same thing that makes any individual unique I guess. That and their amazing patience for our prefixing the word 'hobo' to almost everything (did you know you can now download the HoboPod-Cast from the HoboShop?).

Are there any songs you wish you wrote:

That's hard... off the top of Kirsty's Head:

Danny Schmidt's 'Stained Glass'

Bob Theile & George David Weiss' 'What A Wonderful World'

Randy Newman's 'In Germany Before The War'

Jesse Winchester's 'Songbird'

What artists are you listening to that would surprise your fans:

Right now we're listening to a wide variety of stuff - the next album will certainly sound very different again (this happens every time). Our guitar and banjo player Mat just bought a record player last year, after not having one for a while, and our listening habits have changed a lot as a result. We are spending more time than before with individual albums, getting to know them the way we used to. Recent fixtures on the turntable have been Dick Dale's 'King of the Surf Guitar', The Rolling Stones' 'Exile on Main Street', Dr John's 'Gris-Gris', and a lot of Jazz. Old grungey gospel music and New Orleans Jug Bands have just come up on our radar. Oh, and the last Grinderman album.

What is your dream show lineup:

Wow, it would involve inventing a special 'back from the dead' syrup for some of the bands, and we wouldn't want to play, just listen:

The Brute Chorus

Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Moondog & his Honking Geese

Tom Waits

Louis Armstrong's Hot 5 or Hot 7 (depending on how much syrup there is)

What are your guilty pleasures on the road:
Good hot food. Warm beds. Decent coffee. Spas. Shopping for vinyl and weird guitar picks. When in Belgium, excellent beer and chocolate. When in the Netherlands, amazing peanut butter. When you tour as much as we do you soon realise that boring stuff is way better than gallons of whisky and TVs out of windows.

Any close calls or mishaps while on tour:
We've been lucky. It's usually just a parking ticket here or there. We did have an interesting experience getting stuck on a Norwegian island once, while the audience had been shipped to a neighbouring island by mistake. We played in a room big enough for 250 people, to about 7 of them. We were very, very seasick.

Do you have any backstage rituals/routines before you go on stage:

We like to dress to play. Even if it is just changing into different jeans. There is a psychological benefit to wearing your "playing shirt". Kirsty has a bunch of tiny vocal excercises she tends to do, to open up the voice and get used to making noise. A small beer and an onion bhaji are usually all it takes to get Mat set.

Should music be free:
Ultimately it isn't up to us as musicians to decide that, but instinctively we would say no. At least not all music, unless of course everything else was made free, too. We do give away the odd single or demo, and Kirsty's first solo album 'Honeysuckle' is available for free at the HoboShop. There is a good chance though that if music becomes completely free the overall standard of quality will drop, and people will have a much less fulfilling experience. Making music at a professional level is a full time occupation, and costs money, and if artists can't be paid then they won't be able to go on doing what they do now. We wrote a blog about that a while back. I guess the way we pay for music will keep changing until it settles somewhere that makes sense to everyone.

How has digital affected your career:

Less than the careers of other bands we know, but still noticeably. It seems that our core audience still like to buy CDs. On the one hand, digital is great for us as the production costs are low, there is an unlimited supply of stock, and we can distribute worldwide for next to nothing, but on the other the file-sharers are encouraging people to help themselves with flawed arguments about why it's OK, and that attitude is affecting physical sales for everyone. It's a very exciting time though, and being able to offer digital music files as well as physical product has allowed us to engage much more with our audience, and make the things we do want to be free very easily accessible.

Are digital singles vs. full albums the future:

We don't know, but we would be very sad to see the album die. Songs alone, released in a stream of singles, are unlikely to hold you for any length of time or change your life in the way an album can. We have no plans to stop making albums here in hoboland.

Finish this sentence: The music Industry is...

... dancing like a fish on a line.

http://www.kirstymcgee.com 
http://www.facebook.com/kirstymcgeemusic 
http://kirstymcgee.bandcamp.com 
http://www.hobopop.com

awards and books

2011-02-17T10:33:00.000-08:00

it's been a while. we've been hibernating, and writing new songs (some of which will appear in demo form on this blog soon i'm sure), and booking new tours. but mainly hibernating.

this is how it's done - a professional hibernator at work.

BUT... two really exciting things have happened. here they are:

1. No. 5 HAS BEEN NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD.

of course, this is great news. our live album No. 5 has been selected by the independent music awards (IMAs) for the shortlist in its 'live performance album' category, an award that is both judged by a panel of industry types (including tom waits & suzanne vega!) and voted for by 'the people' (that's you). we're delighted to get a nomination from the IMAs in particular since they really do represent a voice for the independent music scene, or as they put it, "honor exceptional independent artists, traditionally ignored by mass media and big box retailers".

we're hoping for that reason that the energy of the album and the honesty of the recordings will hold their own with the panel of judges. or something.

we wouldn't mind a little moral support though, so please, if you can, bob over, log in and vote for us, and ask your friends to do the same. send them to the website or to the facebook profile page if they haven't heard anything yet/for a while.

you can vote here - there is a log-in, but it's not complex, and your help would be very much appreciated.

this is what an award-nominated album looks like.

2. MAT HAS WRITTEN A FREE E-BOOK ON BANJO PLAYING.

mat has been writing this book for ever, on tour, in hotel rooms, at service stations, and finally it is finished. it is called 'a small clawhammer banjo book' and is an introduction to the clawhammer style of playing 5-string banjo, full of ideas, examples, techniques and tunes.

the book has recceived some very good feedback and been featured on a bunch of banjo blogs (including one with an amusing rude name). here are some quotes lifted off mat's swanky new website:

“a delightful book. easy to read, clear, fun and personable.”
- carolina bridges, deering banjo company

“a small clawhammer banjo book is an excellent starter guide to the 5-string.”
- uk bluegrass

you can download the book for free from here - we hope you'll enjoy it!

this is not from mat's book. but it is true.

http://www.kirstymcgee.com 
http://www.facebook.com/kirstymcgeemusic 
http://kirstymcgee.bandcamp.com 
http://www.hobopop.com

video blog #6 - midwinter in europe

2011-01-01T09:02:00.000-08:00

it's been a while, but here's a new video blog, from our midwinter trip to germany and the netherlands. as usual, the footage is of the shaky type, but the connoisseurs know that this is the best kind, and the seasickness doesn't last long. the sound has the trademark hoboblog grain to it, too.

this is the first video blog to feature a dinosaur. if you just came for that, it's at around 02:29. enjoy.

happy new year everyone.

http://www.kirstymcgee.com 
http://www.facebook.com/kirstymcgeemusic 
http://kirstymcgee.bandcamp.com 
http://www.hobopop.com

proper video posting

2010-11-13T10:28:00.000-08:00

life on the road. it's not all its cracked up to be... for a start you can't do the online thing as easily as you'd like. still, we've been having all the usual fun, and finally, here's our single for those of you who haven't found it elsewhere already. you can listen to both tracks and download them right here from the magic box below.

here's the video, too - we hope you enjoy it.

we hope you're having fun, by the way. if you've been at any of our recent uk shows, we'd like to say thanks in particular. they've been just fab.

http://www.kirstymcgee.com 
http://www.facebook.com/kirstymcgeemusic 
http://kirstymcgee.bandcamp.com 
http://www.hobopop.com

new single and video

2010-11-08T02:37:00.001-08:00

our new single, "wife / alligator teeth" comes out today, for free download from the hoboshop, alongside the usual digital outlets.

released in collaboration with our good friends the brute chorus, we are presenting two recordings, each one a cover version of the other's song. we have recorded "wife", a song from the brutes' last album "how the caged bird sings", and they have recorded the previously unreleased kirsty mcgee song "alligator teeth".

what's more, we have a video to offer you for our half if the collaboration. you can see it at http://vimeo.com/16582621

(blogging on the move... we'll embed it properly up here as soon as we can)

please take a moment to download the two songs and check out the other band involved, who we're honoured to be working with.

http://www.kirstymcgee.com 
http://www.facebook.com/kirstymcgeemusic 
http://kirstymcgee.bandcamp.com 
http://www.hobopop.com

a plague

2010-11-06T07:45:00.000-07:00

HoboPod-Cast #7 - A Plague by hobopop

a quick blog post - here's the first in a bunch of new songs we'll be demoing as and when we find the time to work on arrangements. it features mat's new cigar box guitar - a 5-string eccentricity from quebec, received last week and already christened 'the l'il heartbreaker'...

hope you enjoy the song. let us know what you think, why don't you?

http://www.kirstymcgee.com 
http://www.facebook.com/kirstymcgeemusic 
http://kirstymcgee.bandcamp.com 
http://www.hobopop.com

poster

2010-08-28T04:25:00.000-07:00

we just made a poster for the launch of our new single at manchester's landmark band on the wall venue. we're very happy with it, so we thought we'd share it with you.

it's going to be a great night, and as always with the hobopop collective shows, we're working on a great roster of special guests to help us in our noise-making. we can already confirm that k. c. mckanzie will be opening up the evening's festivities, and that once again we will be joined by all but full-time hobopoper james steel of the brute chorus, who has performed with us so many times before. all the more fitting this time since he wrote the new single himself. he'll also be DJing between the bands.

we'd like to make a point of thanking the lovely folks at contact, too, who hosted the recording and launch of the last album so graciously, and have agreed to co-promote this one with the band on the wall folks.

we've opted for a small capacity arrangement at band on the wall, because these shows work so well when they're intimate and comfortable, so it's worth getting your tickets well in advance if you'd like to come. they're available already from the website and on 0161 834 1786, and it won't be long before we start really shouting about them, so now's your chance to get in quick.

we're recording on monday - doubtless we'll tweet or blog about that while it's going on.

http://www.kirstymcgee.com 
http://www.facebook.com/kirstymcgeemusic 
http://kirstymcgee.bandcamp.com 
http://www.hobopop.com

video request

2010-08-26T04:23:00.000-07:00

we are recording a new single. it's a song called 'wife' and it's by the brute chorus, who we love very dearly. they will be recording one of our songs, too, to release at the same time.

we'll also be shooting a video - nothing fancy, of course, but we need some volunteers to be in it. without wanting to say too much, we're looking for women of all types to come and be filmed in front of a blank wall, spinning slowly on a chair or something like that. we'll set everything up, all we need is for you to show up and let us film you.

here's a page from mat's notebook, to give you a rough idea:

the provisional date for shooting is saturday, september 25th, 2010, during the daytime. this will be at a central manchester location and we would need you for no longer than 30mn to 1 hour. i bet there'll be tea, too.

if you'd like to take part and you can make it on that day (anytime from around 10am to 4pm) then please drop an email to info@hobopop.com with your name and things so we can keep you up to date on exactly when and where we need you to be. there are no criteria (except that you need to be a woman, over 18), we don't need to see a picture of you or anything like that - we're just looking for people to take part.

if you really want to be involved in this but you don't live near manchester or you can't make that date please get in touch anyway, and if we have enough enquiries from outside our area we'll try and think of something to do about it.

http://www.kirstymcgee.com 
http://www.facebook.com/kirstymcgeemusic 
http://kirstymcgee.bandcamp.com 
http://www.hobopop.com

video blog #5 - prison

2010-08-15T16:42:00.000-07:00

here is the last of the current crop of video blogs from our european tour this summer. we've actually been back a few days already but we're now feeling good about being up to date. well done us.

here you'll find excitement surrounding some of the great jazz musicians who have visited the german town of burghausen, an alp, some rowing, bavarian costume, a goat, and behind the scenes footage of the 'sweet prison tales' show we did in the veenhuizen prison/museum on august 07th with otto groote and linde nijland. also an interview with kirsty about what being in prison is really like.

we've enjoyed doing this. now that we're back we'll go back to blogging the usual way, but next time we go on tour we'll try and take this up again. sorry about that.

http://www.kirstymcgee.com 
http://www.facebook.com/kirstymcgeemusic 
http://kirstymcgee.bandcamp.com 
http://www.hobopop.com

video blog #4 - bavaria, including how to make soup and crash a car

2010-08-14T06:43:00.000-07:00

we are way behind with this now, as well as out of order. the footage from the 3rd video blog comes from about a week after this, but we're doing our best so please be nice to us.

here is a selection of highlights from our trip through bavaria, which included a visit to a perfect bamboo forest, the chance to get into a kitchen for the first time in weeks and a show at one of the best inner city festivals we've ever played. they really have festivals nailed on the continent. more like this please.

the final eurohobo video blog will follow shortly, with footage from our dutch adventures, during which we went to prison for a bit.

http://www.kirstymcgee.com 
http://www.facebook.com/kirstymcgeemusic 
http://kirstymcgee.bandcamp.com 
http://www.hobopop.com

video blog #3 - veenhuizen, veenhuizen, veenhuizen (paradise).

2010-08-07T14:14:00.000-07:00

this is footage from today. the sound is awful. sorry.

because we got so excited about seeing where we will be playing tomorrow (it really is wonderful) we made this little blog up even though there is plenty of footage from the last week that we haven't made into a video blog yet. we will do it soon, promise, and we will have to live with being out of order. worse things happen at sea all the time.

we are back in holland, as you will see, and this means two things:

1. our car is now packed to the rafters with the best peanut butter you can get anywhere in the world, and

2. we have resumed our search for an old-fashioned dutch style metal bread bin. if anyone knows where we can get one of these beautiful things please let us know. it's very important.

http://www.kirstymcgee.com 
http://www.facebook.com/kirstymcgeemusic 
http://kirstymcgee.bandcamp.com 
http://www.hobopop.com

video blog #2 - pieter & the wolf [banes]

2010-07-28T05:42:00.000-07:00

we love to visit our friends in brussels, and this time one of them had a show to play, too. kirsty intervews pieter here on the subects of pinball, rehearsal, multi-tasking and drummers.

http://www.kirstymcgee.com 
http://www.facebook.com/kirstymcgeemusic 
http://kirstymcgee.bandcamp.com 
http://www.hobopop.com

video blog #1 - lenscap

2010-07-27T08:13:00.000-07:00

we have been busy making a video blog. we're not very good at it. hope you enjoy this - we promise to improve...

http://www.kirstymcgee.com 
http://www.facebook.com/kirstymcgeemusic 
http://kirstymcgee.bandcamp.com 
http://www.hobopop.com

chart storming

2010-06-28T10:26:00.000-07:00

here's a word from the great john hartford...

...and through all this fiddling it starts to be clear

why we'll never be top of the charts.

but it's all just as well that it all stays just so

or we might have to share it with folks we don't know

from places we know we would not want to go

and in ways that would just break our hearts.

a while ago we put a song forward for what looked like a really interetsing project. some guys on facebook had decided that they would pick 40 artists making music of merit and orgainse an all-at-once co-ordinated song buying week which would result in said artists standing a good chance of charting in the UK top 40. they called it 'storm the charts'.

it was very well organised. they did their research. they took their time and waited until enough people had registered interest for the project to stand a chance of working. they divided up the people into smaller, more manageable groups and gave them artists to vote on. they probably did loads of other clever stuff after that, too, but that will remain a mystery to me.

in fact, it got so complicated that i forgot to pay attention ("oh, this requires some real attention from me - i'll do it later") and solicit votes for our song at the crucial moment, so you'll not be seeing us in charts any time soon.

do not dismay though. our good friend steven finn, who you may remember opened up the launch show for 'no.5' back in february, wasn't so distrait. you can buy his song - 'hail to the theif' - any time between july 01st and july 03rd and leave your mark on the UK top 40.

i must say it's very encouraging that so many people (over 31,000 at the time of writing) seem to care enough to sign up for this, an attempt to prove to the big machine that we still care about real music. hurray for all of those people, and hurray for the people who organised this project.

and boooo to us for not being organised enough to get involved properly.

here's steve - have a listen. buy his song. thanks.

http://www.kirstymcgee.com 

http://www.facebook.com/kirstymcgeemusic 

http://kirstymcgee.bandcamp.com 

http://www.hobopop.com

do we really love indie music?

2010-06-22T09:51:00.000-07:00

a few people have been speaking out recently in blogs and the like on the current position of the working artist. here's a considered response, with appropriate links...

we don't like to complain. we have a great life. we get to play the music we write to people who like to listen (most of the time), travel all over the place, meet great folk who become good friends and generally do what we love. we're lucky. it would be a mistake though to think that for that reason we don't have a hell of a time making it happen. it's hard work doing this.

not that it isn't worth it - and, for that matter, not that it shouldn't be hard work. it makes sense that you should have to earn the priviledge. except that sometimes it's hard to work out what you're supposed to do to keep your way of life sustainable. talking to a few people about what we do always throws up some interesting contradictions that continue to puzzle a lot of musicians.

the argument that i often raise - that doing this is 'self-indulgent' and that we musicians shouldn't expect to be supported to do what we want to do - is invariably dismissed by people who argue that providing music is an important job, that people require it, and that it is important to make sure it continues. that's an encouraging thing to hear, but these same people will easily agree that there is too much music out there, and will happily admit to acquiring their music without parting with any cash, be it legally or illegally.

the democratisation of musicianship can only be a good thing. the fact that now anyone who wants to can record and disseminate their work is a great thing, at least on paper. most are agreed that we don't want to return to a world of music that is dominated by the major labels' ditcatorship, but somehow the genuine differences between this model and the support of independents at the point of delivery haven't become clear yet. indie really is a healthy place for a band to be and it certainly has helped us and made us happy to be at the helm of our own ship, but it changes some things quite radically.

wasn't interesting independent music exactly what we all wanted when we said we were tired of the major labels? what we haven't yet realised is that these musicians who have been 'freed from the tyranny of EMI' (or whatever) can't do what they're doing without our engagement. the irony of it is that while people are delighted to see their money go directly to artists instead of to steve jobs or a major label, they are more reluctant to spend it in those circumstances.

i just read an excellent blog post written by a friend of mine. it ends with a simple sentence:

"there’s some fantastic folk music out there; it just needs your support."

because, amazingly, we seem still to be behaving as if the old model was current. my friend's blog expresses frustration at the fact that people are still only aware of the bands with the commercial support and the big publicity machines. with fewer people paying for recorded music in the first place, and concert attendances down (recent tweets and news stories from imogen heap make for a sobering read), there is no way that artists can pay for the cynical publicity machine that still seems to be required. the capital simply isn't there.

here's a tweet that was posted recently by another excellent blogger:

"shall we all chip in and pay for a national marketing campaign for a band who really deserves it? seems to be all it takes for chart success."

it's sad to think that these guys might be right - that you can pretty much buy record sales. that seems to defeat the object a little though... and it doesn't fix a problem that runs much deeper than that.

we are so used to buying into certainties that investing in a band you like just because you like them is hard to come to terms with now. what if they aren't cool? what if the zeitgeist disagrees with you? we end up then with the problem outlined in the blog i linked to above - that only those bands with the big PR budgets can galvanise the support they need. sadly, what those PR budgets generally mean for the artists is a choice between huge debt or major label involvement. this results not so much in us supporting indie music and turning our backs on the big machine, as buying into the impression that that's what we're doing without taking on the 'danger' of actually making an individual statement of taste. i suspect that even the bands who are managing to maintain a solvent profile would appreciate not having to, so they could actually have a go at living off the resulting sales.

we really do love what we do - we, and countless others like us, will surely always find a way of carrying on with it and avoiding the world of the 'proper job'. it's therefore surely dangerous and unhealthy to see these complications as anything more than a small part of our situation. i do think it's our own responsibility as artists to create a sustainable model and keep it going. my friend is right about one thing though, and that is that if people want the results of the indie scene to still be available to them we will have to find some way of supporting the musicians (who often engage and inspire those who then go on to channel the mainstream) - and it would be nice to do that before they died, for a change...

finally, we coudn't recommend more highly this article, which adds to this debate in a much more concise and literate manner. please have a read...

http://www.kirstymcgee.com 
http://www.facebook.com/kirstymcgeemusic 
http://kirstymcgee.bandcamp.com 
http://www.hobopop.com

a new song and the hobopod-cast

2010-06-18T04:09:00.000-07:00

the hobopodcast by hobopop

here is a link to the hobopod-cast, which we've been running since last autumn through the itunes store. we started posting things like rough recordings of new songs and copies of radio sessions we had permissions for during the run-up to the 'no.5' recording, and we've been enjoying getting email feedback on the new material from our subscribers.

we've had a few technical issues - you can still see the podcast at the itunes store but you can't subscribe to it. all the episodes appear to have gone. we're working on that in the hope that we can restore it, but in the meantime we've uploaded the podcast to soundcloud and to our hoboshop. we'll carry on doing that in future, too, so that you can get it from your preferred source. the hoboshop offers an RSS feed that will tell you every time we upload a new track, too.

if you haven't already heard the podcasts we've put up over the last six months then please have a flick through - you'll find early versions of songs like 'omaha', 'stonefruit' (this latter has a whole verse that was cut later on), and 'the last to understand' with gabe minnikin on mandolin, from the rehearsals for 'No.5'. the recordings (at least the ones we didn't make in the RTE studios in dublin) are pretty raw - you can hear the traffic outside and the magpies lauging at us through the window - but the songs are all there...

this sudden activity on the podcasting front is due to a new episode finally being ready. we tried to upload it recently and that was when we discovered that the itunes thing had stopped working. the new song is called 'hummingbird', and it's at the top of the list above. It's a very rough recording but the performance seems right to us. please tell us what you think.

http://www.kirstymcgee.com 

http://www.facebook.com/kirstymcgeemusic 

http://kirstymcgee.bandcamp.com 

http://www.hobopop.com

welcome to the hoboblog

2010-06-15T13:04:00.000-07:00

we've changed the name and address of this blog. it was a tough call. if you were following in an RSS reader you may be somewhat annoyed with us right now, and we are sorry. in fact, our heads are hung already, so don't shout. we hope you'll have found us again from all those links on our website and on the social media bits (in fact if you're reading this that's a pretty safe bet), and you'll consider asking your google reader or whatever to subscribe to this one instead.

the reason for moving on (apart from it being the hobo way, naturally)?

well, things are moving on. you know how it is. until now we've been blogging news of the last album and how wonderful it is, blah, blah, but it's been out for a while now - we're still touring it and selling it and all the rest of it but we're also getting down to some new things and even thinking about the next project already, albeit in an 'early stages' sort of way.

we wanted to be able to blog about that kind of thing, too, and generally talk about whatever we felt like talking about, so the 'no.5' blog was beginning to feel a bit limited. welcome, therefore, to the hoboblog, which we hope will be more entertaining, informative and representative of day-to-day hoboland. tell us what you want to see here, why don't you...

we'll start soon. promise. we leave for the continent in a few weeks, where we'll be playing a handful of festival dates and a few indoor shows, too, in advance of our tour in october. the summer dates, and those of our scottish tour are up online already by the way - come and see us if you can. in the meantime we'll try and think of clever things to say here, and keep you posted about what we're up to.

did you know, by the way, that kirsty keeps a photo diary? there's interesting fact number one for the new blog. she's got a great eye for portraits and details - she posts one photo a day, often with commenatry, which you can subscribe to in a reader if you're so inclined. we often post extra shots to our twitter account, too. we're actually playing with the idea of expanding the flickr account we set up to host our web gallery to incorporate these pictures, too. if you're a flickr user and you know how we might do that well, why don't you give us a shout?

http://www.kirstymcgee.com 

http://www.facebook.com/kirstymcgeemusic 

http://kirstymcgee.bandcamp.com 

http://www.hobopop.com

being on the road...

2010-05-25T11:49:00.000-07:00

our tour is over. we've made noises in over 30 different places since the album launch at the end of february, and driven more miles than all seven readers of this blog could shake sticks at. the early shows now already seem a long way off.

it's the nature of tours that you end up driving the same roads over and over again. we have got to know the M62 very well this time round. we have mixed feelings about the M62. it's quite a scary road. there's a whole house in the middle of it. it's full of trucks going all over it in every direction. but it has some great scenery. it's a feat of moorland engineering, apparently. and there's a really good lord of the rings bit between huddersfield and manchester (westbound), when the spiky tower thing comes out of the water.

(you also have a lot of time to think about these things when driving all day). our car is dirtier than is strictly decent, too, and it smells almost exactly as if two people had been living in it for weeks. a family of mice could live on the crumbs under the seats for months. we also have sunburn down one arm each now, one of the surest signs of having been sat alongside a car window for way too long.

a lot of sensible people wouldn't enjoy this sort of thing - we're actually a little sorry to be wrapping it up already. no more late night curries, no more cold hotel showers, no more traffic jams, no more afternoon radio documentaries about niche (to say the least) subjects such as traffic islands and roundabouts... at least not for a little while.

http://www.kirstymcgee.com 

http://www.facebook.com/kirstymcgeemusic 

http://kirstymcgee.bandcamp.com 

http://www.hobopop.com

special offers

2010-05-19T12:08:00.000-07:00

do you fancy a free copy of our new album? you mean you don't already have one? well, the lovely folks at kirk originals, who ran a feature on us on their blog last year, as we were preparing to record the album, are offering 5 copies in a competition on their website. you have until may 31st to get over there and take part, and while you're there have a nose around their site and blog - there's loads of groovy animations and features on some great musicians.

as if that wasn't enough we're also going to share a magic word with you. if you live in manchester you'll be interested to know that we're using the space we made 'no.5' in to occasionally showcase musicians we really like, and that the first of these events is happening on june 5th, with kreg viesselman (who's song share croppers we covered on our hobopop e.p. - the only cover we have ever released) and james apollo.

tickets are officially £10 and £6, but if you book before may 31st and quote 'hobo' on the phone you'll be given a magic 20% off. sweet.

we can't rate these guys highly enough. do check them out. you can download james apollo's new single for free from his website. you can see more about the show at the facebook and last.fm pages, and if you aren't local then both of them are on tour around that time.

finally, if you missed the no.5 tour, you have two chances to see us this week, if you live in dorset, that is.
20.05.10 - centre stage, bournemouth - 01202 707498
21.05.10 - square & compass, worth matravers - 01929 439229

http://www.kirstymcgee.com 

http://www.facebook.com/kirstymcgeemusic 

http://kirstymcgee.bandcamp.com 

http://www.hobopop.com

homogeny is elusive

2010-04-06T10:16:00.000-07:00

i'd just like to assure you all that the formatting of this blog is not an indication of our preferred visual style, but rather an indication of my inability to make any two posts look alike.

it is driving me insane. i am concerned for my safety andthe safety of those around me. i also suspect we'd gladly offer concert tickets or downloads or something to any good people who could explain this nonsense to us before someone has to lock us up.

thanks...

p.S. for anyone reading this as an RSS feed, you should be told that the true nature of this message of depth can only be seen at the blog itself...

from the ether

2010-04-06T06:27:00.000-07:00

this from the good people at the dyverse music blog...

Kirsty McGee: No.5 (Hobopop Recordings)

The case for Kirsty McGee as the best artist to come out of Manchester's neo-folk scene is strengthened by this live album, which manages the leap from orthodox acoustica to garage orchestra, with twisted electric guitar, malformed banjo, junkyard percussion and plangent reeds. Some of the songs are familiar from her other records, but the assured delivery shows how she now wears them like a second skin. McGee has a genius for removing the soft centre out of love songs and replacing with the hard nut of real feeling - Bliss and Dust Devils are skewed yet achingly vulnerable songs. Yet shape-shifting is no problem: she writes credibly as a scared soldier in Last Orders or as an unashamed Social Darwinist in Bonecrusher (bonus song, with cartoon animation). Her voice, with its crystalline diction and adventurous phrasing, is closer to jazz than folk.

we're having a lot of fun on tour right now... we're playing in durham next, on thursday. we heard a great singer at the open mic that opened our penrith show, and asked him to open up for us at the next show. we're delighted that he agreed - so watch out for a set from the astonishing rob heron at gala theatre on thursday.

http://www.kirstymcgee.com 

http://www.facebook.com/kirstymcgeemusic 

http://kirstymcgee.bandcamp.com 

http://www.hobopop.com

our best review ever?

2010-03-14T07:16:00.000-07:00

we've had some great reviews already for 'no.5'. we mentioned some of them on this blog already. not that we're up for blowing the trumpet too much, of course, but we did just get this on a wonderful little website called a negative narrative, and it could be the best summation of what we do at the moment we've seen in a long time.

we thought we'd share it with you:

"maybe tomorrow i’ll want to settle down. maybe tomorrow i’ll just keep moving on. actually, maybe tomorrow i’ll just form a jazz collective, eat out of bins, ride trolley-cars and folk reality off for an altogether happier existence of artisanity, yoghurt and blissed-out tunes. what do you mean someone got there first. oh - do you mean the rogueish hipsters that I saw hanging out by the bottle bank? well, not only are they good recyclers, top people and virtuoso musicians, they've also just raised the negative narrative bar again.

the hobopop collective are (at the core) kirsty mcgee and mat martin, with notable contributions from such revered illuminati as james steel (the brute chorus), christopher cundy (guillemots) and clive mellor (richard hawley). they crank like a banged-out mustang ’57 pissing petrol the length of a winding scottish B-road. think corinne bailey-rae arm-wrestling sinead o’connor for a dram of whiskey at a disturbed banjo buskathon for burglars, blind folk and beatniks, then drop a few of those variables and cram in some of the bluest blues, the greenest greens, and the wobbliest wobbles. this is more sonic scurvy than calenture, in the best possible way. download this if you don’t believe us."

the site interviews bands by asking them 10 questions. they're only allowed to answer in photos they've taken themselves. if you ever wondered what we find sexy, what's in our pockets, or what we're prepared to smash up then this interview might be for you...

if you ever asked yourself similar questions about our friends and colleagues, such as the brute chorus or curtis eller, you might find your curiosity sated there too, by the way.

we've had fun popping up in the pages of clash, Q and rock n' reel lately too. the album comes out tomorrow morning (as does the re-release of 'honeysuckle') and we're pretty darned excited. we've managed to gether a fair few hobopoppers who were involved in either the recording or launch shows for 'no.5' for a little party tomorrow night, to mark the occasion.

then it's back to rehearsing as we await getting back on the road in a week or so...

http://www.kirstymcgee.com 

http://www.facebook.com/kirstymcgeemusic 

http://kirstymcgee.bandcamp.com 

http://www.hobopop.com

other happenings around our release

2010-03-08T09:44:00.000-08:00

we have plenty going on right now. you'd expect us to, i guess, what with a new album coming out. we thought it'd be a good idea to let you know about it all.

plus we have some more great pictures from our album launch that we didn't put up last time.

(that's steven finn rocking the blues, for example).

firstly, there's the re-release of 'honeysuckle' to consider. this this the album that was nominated for a BBC radio 2 folk award in 2002, and that we have re-packaged and are about to offer for free download alongside the rest of the catalogue in the hoboshop. this is, in part, to mark the re-recording of 'bliss' on no.5 and celebrate the way the listeners and reviewers have all enjoyed discovering or re-discovering this older material. the two recordings are quite different, the new (live) version featuring the wonderful christopher cundy on saxello.

for the launch we were lucky enough to have mr will lenton of the caulbearers to provide some velvety tenor sax.

the album is a little shorter than its first release, but does feature a bonus track that's not on the original version. this is a recently 'discovered' rendition of the title track from the lost album 'little things', recorded for ugly man records in 2000 and never released. it makes for surprisingly good listening, we think.

the new artwork is related to this track. we went back to our good friend peter seal, who designed the original cover for 'little things', and he showed us some of his early sketches for the project, which we thought were just fabulous. a quick bit of editing on his part (he's a biro wizard) and we had the new 'honeysuckle' cover to sit in the window of your chosen media player.

our other activity of interest around release-time is the fact that we have been invited to edit the spiral earth music website for a week starting on march 15th. this is a site we've contributed blogs and articles to before, and who have run some great features, interviews and profiles on us and on other hobopop bands, so we're really excited about the project.

we don't want to say too much right now, but we can guarantee that there will be plenty of varied, interesting and eccentric things to wrap your eyes and brains around. the other thing we promise right away is that the guding principle of our editorship is that all content will be artist-generated, so expect articles from us, from k c mckanzie, myshkin, kreg viesselman, caulbearers, the little red rabbit collective, quiet loner etc, etc... all artists with an interesting and thought provoking take on their worlds, a sense of humour and a connection to what we do at hobopop.

if you don't already subscribe to the spiral earth RSS feed we'd recommend it, and not just for what we'll be putting up there in a week or so. theirs is a site with many hidden treasures.

will and rob turner (a drummer shared by the hobopop collective and caulbearers these days) having some down-time during the no.5 album launch soundchecks.

so as usual we're very busy, but of course that's a good thing to be. we're just getting into the first shows of the tour, too, and really enjoying ourselves. the sets and songs are feeling great right now.

we'll leave you with the final installment of our 'wall of 5' competiton. we're quite pleased with the way it turned out in the end, and by the sheer number of 5s in the world... we've got a modest 120 here. note that that's number divisible by 5, seems a good place to stop.

so the winners of the 'best 5' competition? they are hilly of hebden bridge for her scarf 5 in the snow, and susan esway, the dutch cat for her hand-painted effort. they each receive a copy of the new album.

http://www.kirstymcgee.com

http://www.facebook.com/kirstymcgeemusic

http://kirstymcgee.bandcamp.com

http://www.hobopop.com

the no.5 album launch - a rogue's gallery

2010-03-01T15:20:00.000-08:00

the release of the 'no.5' album is almost upon us. we've started getting the reviews in, and they're good so far. very good in fact. Q said the album was 'bewitching, exquisite and skeletal', gave it 4 stars, and selected 'stonefruit' as #24 in its chart of top 50 downloads for the month of april. maverick described the hobopop collective as 'one of the greatest groups in the current music scene'.

to celebrate, we're giving away that one track ('stonefruit') as a free download from the hoboshop, for one week only (01st to 07th march). please help yourself and tell your friends, we'd be delighted for heaps of people to hear it.

in the meantime, and in the spirit of celebration, we launched the album with what must have been one of the best hobopop collective shows we've ever had the pleasure to play, back where we recorded the album at contact in manchester. along with the usual suspects...

kirsty mcgee - vocals, guitars, mandolin

mat martin - banjos, tenor guitar, ukulele, vocal

rob turner - drums, percussion, watering can, washboard

nick blacka - double bass

we were happy to welcome some new and not-so-new faces to the fold...

clive mellor - harmonica extraordinaire, as heard on no.5

will lenton (caulbearers) - saxophones

pascal makonese - m'bira and vocal

steven finn (opening act and hobopop guest) - bottleneck and resonator guitars, harmonica, feet and vocals

and some awesome behind-the-scenes help...

julia roy-williams - jeweller, creator of the 5 pendants, brooches and key-rings, and admirable merch lady

ibrar 'ibs' haque - live sound engineer

we'd like to thank all these people very sincerely. they are all beautiful.

http://www.kirstymcgee.com
http://www.facebook.com/kirstymcgeemusic
http://kirstymcgee.bandcamp.com
http://www.hobopop.com

a UK tour, CDs in the post, special offers...

2010-01-13T05:11:00.000-08:00

we just did our first show of the year, a low-key affair with our good friends at debt records in manchester. it was a great bill - we opened up as a duo, as a warm up before celtic connections next week, followed by the extraordinary paddy steer on his one-man noise machine, and topped off with a generous helping of louis barrabas and the bedlam six. it's great to be on bills like this with like-minded people who all sound so different, but come from the same place...

we're excited to get back out on the road (tour dates below). rehearsals with the band began in earnest this week, and we've been writing setlists etc...

our CDs finally came. loads of them. the mailout went out a day or two ago to all the people who were at the recording in october. they do look great, and feel fantastic, too - rough card, slimline gatefold. it was worth the wait this snow caused us. we've had a bit of feedback already, via twitter and facebook etc. people seem to like it a lot, which is always nice.

the plans are coming together for the show in glasgow at the weekend. as it's an album preview show we will be playing the album through from start to finish at the classic grand on saturday 16th january, from 7.30. we have ruth notman and john smith on the bill, too. we're happy to be back at celtic connections again - it's our favourite uk festival.

as we've already said, the CDs will be available for one night only at that show, where we're also planning some nice collaborations for you. they then go back into hiding until the official launch at contact on february 27th.

incidentally, steven finn has agreed to come up and open the album launch on the 27th, which we're really excited about... and contact are very generously offering HALF PRICE TICKETS to all their shows this season if you book early enough. book for ours before january 26th to benefit!

we have also finally announced our tour dates for the spring. you can see them on myspace and on the website, and there's a facebook event for the whole thing, so you can invite any friends you think would enjoy the shows. the dates are listed at the bottom of this post, too. our new tour posters and flyers are in now, and they look great. you should be seeing them around soon...

in the meantime we've been working on the artwork for the free download reissue of 'honeysuckle', to be released on the same day as 'No.5' (15.03.10). we're using an early sketch by manchester artist peter seal for the cover art of the lost album 'little things' from 2000, which was never released. we'll be including one track from 'little things' as a bonus in the download, too.

we've been writing and commissioning, too. not songs, but articles, for our week as guest editors of the sprialearth folk music website. we're working up a collection of artist-generated content for you - more details to come...

finally we need to check in once again on the wall of 5, as it continues to grow at an alarming rate. we're still accepting square jpg photos of the number 5 (any interpretation) to info@hobopop.com. the best ones win downloads...

no.5 spring tour 2010
all shows are by the kirsty mcgee duo except where stated)

january
08th - fuel, withington, manchester - debt records presents
16th - glasgow - celtic connections - 0141 3538000 (hobopop collective)

february
27th - manchester - contact theatre - 0161 2740600 (hobopop collective)

march
04th - boldron, teesdale - village hall - 01833 638210
05th - sedburgh, cumbria - people's hall - 015396 20788
06th - hallbankgate, cumbria - lacy thompson hall - 016977 46856
07th - penton, cumbria - nicholforest hall - 01228 577305
20th - rennington, northumberland - village hall - 01665 577185
21st - threlkeld, cumbria - public rooms - 01768 779038
25th - bellingham, yorks - BAA club - 07788 804784
26th - northwich - harlequin theatre - 01565 733197
27th - glossop - lift global music club - 01457 853821(hobopop collective)

april
03rd - bury - the met - 0161 7612216 (hobopop trio)
04th - penrith - plug and play theatre - 01768 867845
08th - durham - gala theatre - 0191 3324041 (hobopop trio)
09th - arlington - arts centre - 01635 244246 (hobopop trio)
10th - king’s lynn - arts centre - 01553 764864 (hobopop trio)
11th - camden, london - forge venue - 0207 3837808 (hobopop trio)
13th - amberley, sussex - the black horse - 01798 875476
16th - reeth, yorkshire - memorial hall - 01748 884759
17th - house concert, hebden bridge - oats royd barn (booking by invitation - please call 01422 881436 or email for info)
18th - bolton - the no name - email for info
20th - banbury - take thyme cafe - 01295 711444
21st - biddulph, north staffs - up in arms concerts - 01782 514896 (hobopop trio)
22nd - swansea - the chattery - 01792 473276
23rd - hornblotten, somerset - village hall - email for info
24th - torquay - the blue walnut - 01803 605995
25th - birmingham - kitchen garden cafe - 0121 4434725
27th - new milton - forest arts centre - 01425 619983
28th - islington, london - the old queen's head - http://www.themagpiesnest.co.uk
29th - bromsgrove - folk club -01572 833227
30th - fareham - ashcroft arts centre - 01329 223100

may
20th - bournemouth - centre stage - 01202 707498
21st - worth matravers, dorset - the square and compass - 01929 439229

no.5 release timelines - previews, shows and date.

2009-12-18T05:53:00.000-08:00

we just wanted to check in before christmas to give you the latest news on the 'no.5' project and to say we hope you'll all have a good time over the holidays. our winter tour in germany and holland was fantastic - we made a lot of new friends and saw some amazing places.

we're really happy about the way the new album is sounding, and the feedback from the few people to have heard it in the industry is very positive indeed - the CDs are in production right now, and we can't wait to get them out there. but we will have to wait a bit... here's the timescale for 5 related activities. those of you who have been following us on twitter or facebook will be aware of some of this already, but here it all is in one place:

january 11th - we'll be sending out the pre-release copies of the album to those of you who came to the show, a full two months in advance of release.
january 16th - album preview show at celtic connections festival. we're at the classic grand in glasgow from 7.30. your only chance to buy the album before the launch. also on the bill are ruth notman and john smith - tickets are £12.50 and available from the box office on 01413538000.
february 27th - official album launch show at contact, manchester - the place where it all started. tickets will go quickly, but they're on sale already to those in the know. support for this show is still to be announced. the box office number is 01612740600
march 04th - the tour begins, which will stretch through to may. more details on the website soon.
march 15th - 'no.5' is fnally released to the shops, download sites and all the other places you'd expect to find it.

we hope you'll be able to join us for one or more of these events, in one way or another.

in the meantime we're still accepting entries to our 'wall of 5' competition to win music. simply send your photo of a 5 to info@hobopop.com and we'll add it to the ever growing wall, which you can see is at least twice the size it was when it last made an appearance here. the best entries will win download codes for the album of their choice.

speaking of downloads we now have a lovely new shop that sells downloads and cds all together from one place. some of you have already visited (thank you). we're delighted to finally be able to offer our free and paid downloads from one place, in a choice of formats with artwork attached etc. we're now geared up for worldwide postage too, and anyone who buys a cd from us now gets the option of an immediate download of that same album, so they can start listening straight away!

we'll be posting our spring tour dates online very soon, and hoping to see some of you on the road before too long. we'll check back in with the details as soon as we can.

http://www.kirstymcgee.com
http://www.facebook.com/kirstymcgeemusic
http://kirstymcgee.bandcamp.com
http://www.hobopop.com

tracklisting, artwork and shows

2009-11-12T05:14:00.000-08:00

so this is everyone's first glance at the cover of our new record - in fact it's the first time we've bothered to isolate it from the general design to have a look ourselves. as usual it's plain and simple. we like it that way. the subtlety is in the proposed packaging - we are steering completely clear of plasic this time. it should look and feel great.

it's great running your own label - you can design your own album covers too.

you can also set the tracklisting for your albums, and that's what we've been doing these last few weeks. listening to the mixes in all conceivable orders, wondering which tracks stay in, which go out, etc... and we've finally settled on a running order for the album, which we can reveal now.

1. omaha
2. alibi blues
3. last orders
4. sandman
5. bliss
6. the last one to understand
7. stonefruit
8. dust devils
9. faith
video - bonecrusher

as we mentioned before, the album is about half and half songs from the kansas sessions and new songs, plus this new version of 'bliss' from the first album (we're still working on plans for a reissue of that album, more soon...) featuring chris cundy's saxello playing. the new songs have a lovely dark energy to them - we're still really enjoying the combinations of guests all over the record.

we're looking at a release around march-time right now (subject to all the changes these things invariably go through), with the advance copies for show attendees going out in january.

if you can’t wait for march next year to get your copy of ‘no.5’ (we know how hard waiting can be...) we have some solutions to offer. we hope to be taking pre-orders from the hoboshop from sometime in february, and we’ll be making copies available for ONE NIGHT ONLY at glasgow’s celtic connections festival on SATURDAY, JANUARY 16th. we’re delighted to announce that we'll be having an early album launch party there with the full hobopop collective (plus a guest from the album) and people in the audience will be able to grab copies around six weeks before they become commercially available.

those of you who can't make scotland in january will be happy to hear that we're looking at a special launch show in manchester nearer the time of release, and a full uk tour through march and april 2010 - dates will be up on the website before the end of the year.

finally, we are also happy to announce that the no.5 jewellery from wonderhaus is now available to buy online, just in time for christmas. you can get bold and stylish 5 pendants, brooches and key-rings from their site at etsy.com - we’re still working on the currency issue, but you can use any UK credit or debit card to pay in dollars. you won’t be able to get these anywhere else until next year’s shows. these are limited to 1,000 pieces, and judging by the uptake at the recording last month they might not last long...

we're in europe on tour right now. our first show tonight in germany. we'll be having to do as much as we can of the listening back to the masters and signing off the artwork from motorway service stations around the continent. we'll look forward to seeing some of you when we get back.

mixing the album - the synchronicity of 5

2009-10-28T10:21:00.000-07:00

i'm writing this from the sofa in the control room at valley wood studio, where we're mixing the no.5 album. all of it. in a day. big ask - but kinda fun, and certainly in keeping with the general idea of the project. do it all, do it now, keep it raw, keep it honest, don't spend too long on any of it, lest the energy is lost.

listening back you can't help hearing your mistakes - the things you might have done another way. and then you realise that you're completely missing the point of the thing by thinking that way. we're not mixing perfect performances here, we're mixing an energy captured at a moment in time. then it sounds right.

we're also still collecting 5 snaps for the wall of 5. there are millions of them in this one room. it's getting quite silly just how many. barkley (the engineer) is working on the project in digital performer, version 5. kirsty's vocal is sitting on the desk at almost exactly the +5 mark, except when we dip the signal while she's not singing. then it sits at -5, naturally. we've made a little explanatory video, with a lovely voiceover from the engineer (who understands what he's talking about, of course).

it's lunchtime and we're three songs in. 'sandman', 'omaha', 'dust devils'. starting with the downbeat numbers and working up to deal with the liveliness of the room on the louder numbers with full bellies. at the moment it's sounding lovely and smoky, dark and late-nightish. the vibe is infectious and we're loving the audience more with every cheer.

just beginning now to mix 'faith', and the studio cat, tinker, has joined us to make sure everything's up to scratch. i captured a fleeting moment of interest on camera. something must be working for her. it's interesting that the songs we seem to be picking to mix first are mainly songs that are on 'the kansas sessions' - the album is looking about half and half old and new. i would say though that the 'kansas' songs are definitely skewed differently, with different musicians and the weight of two years' touring resting against them. i think the two albums will be sufficiently different to be truly interesting.

man, the reception at the end of that song is amazing - it was the end of the set. you can hear the crowd's feet rumbling for more. nice.

and so we're moving onto some of those more torch-like duende / saudade type songs. 'last orders', the new dark anti-war song with the interplay between fretless banjo, harmonica and bass clarinet, and 'bliss' from the first album. these are harder to get right. the dynamic range is important - keeping it dark and slightly uncomfortable. chris' playing is just lovely - never predictable, all about tone and texture - he rasps his way through the underbelly of 'last orders' on bass clarinet like an undersea current; and he's poised on the edge of 'bliss' throughout - fragile and delicate, connected to the vocal. he earns the namecheck you can hear kirsty give him over the applause at the end.

the middle section of 'bliss' gives us some trouble. the sound is so much fuller and richer than the rest of the song, with nick bowing the double bass. barkley's magic riding of the faders as we print the mix creates a result that draws the breath right out of me and then drops me into the last section of the song with a palpable sense of relief. result.

another new song, 'the last to understand' (see our podcast for the preview from the rehearsals) seems to mix itself after that. it goes really well after bliss, too (note to self re. tracklisting the album).

so onto the last two tracks of the day - the loud ones, where we will have to work a bit harder to get the thing to sit right. 'stonefruit' and 'alibi blues', both featuring inspired electric guitar work from james steel. soloing the tracks to get the sound right we're realising just how inspired actually. nice work that brute.

we'll have to wait and see still how it hangs together as a whole, but i'm quietly confident that the energy of this record is just right. maybe we'll have time before the day is out to mix one last track not on the original list - details of which we'll keep to ourselves for now...

first photos back from no.5 recording session

2009-10-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

so we finally managed to get through several hundred photos taken at the session for 'no.5' on october 10th. the shoot lasted all day, while we set up, tested the levels, soundchecked, ran through the show, hung out backstage, blindfolded james, etc, etc. the usual stuff.

we've picked about 100 that show the atmosphere in the day and during the show, and we've put half of those up as an album on facebook (and on the website soon) - we'll put the second lot up in a bit. there's plenty to be going on with.

looking back at these we're becoming aware of the event in a different way. we aren't so busy getting it done now, and you can see that everything is pretty relaxed. so happy now that we stuck with the small space at contact despite invitations to go somewhere bigger or do two nights etc - the size and space were just right, and the decision not to use a stage, apart from helping with the sound of the recording, made for a real connection with the room which i am appreciating all the more seeing these pictures now. as if the connection between the players extended beyond a defined performance space and included the audience. you can hear it on the recordings, too - creaky floorboards and all. fab!

the energy in the performance is pretty clear too from these shots. we had to be careful on the night not to stray too far from the mics that were recording us, so we couldn't turn around and move towards each other as much as we usually like to, but again those connections look and feel good here. we're just putting a few of these up here to give you a taster, but do hop over to the full album and leave us some comments. we're excited that things are starting to come back from the night already.

http://www.kirstymcgee.com

http://www.facebook.com/kirstymcgeemusic

http://kirstymcgee.bandcamp.com

http://www.hobopop.com

what happens now - since 10.10.09

2009-10-25T06:05:00.000-07:00

october 10th was a big deal on the hobopop calendar - anyone who was anywhere near us in real or cyber-life will recall that between organising bringing guests up for rehearsals and performances and trying to explain that the show had been sold out for weeks to lovely people who wanted tickets we also had to write a set-list and play it through a few times. just a few, mind. it was busy, since we were (as always) organising the promotion and whatnot ourselves too, radio sessions here and there, and poster drops all over town...

we made a decision early on not to allocate the usual reams of press seats to give away to people in the hope of reviews. these are hard to fill and guarantee nothing. rather, we thought, put the energy into making a great show and filling the room with people who really wanted to be involved, in the hope that their energy would spill out of the room and that they would be not only the essence of the recording but also our publicity after the show. we certainly got an amazing amount of great feedback, and had a room full to bursting with genuine excitement and enthusiasm.

so, we worked hard - well what do you expect i guess. we always do. and i must say it was damned good fun too. the last minute additions of clive mellor on harmonica and the wonderful baba israel (artistic director at contact) who agreed to compere the night for us were worth the extra rehearsals and meetings etc. we do think it came off about as well as it could have done - and got that vibe back off everyone in the room too.

so what happens after that (apart from the aftershow with one of the best DJ sets i've ever heard james from the brute chorus play, i mean)? to be honest, we've been hiding away a bit. we skipped the country only days later, switched our phones off and spent a week with family halfway up a spanish mountain. we'd earned it.

but things have gone on in the meantime. just before we left we hooked up again with barkley, our recording engineer, to listen back to the show over soup and chocolate, and pick the tracks he was going to mix down for us while we were away - we're hoping to hook up again this week and put the finishing touches to the work, ready for mastering. at that point we'll come back here and give you a tracklisting for the record. exciting.

we actually got more than we hoped, too - the plan was for a mini-album, maybe 7 songs, but now it's looking like we'll have about 40mn of stuff we just don't want to get rid of. that's pretty much a whole album (are there rules about how long things should be etc?). it's all pretty honest - like we said from the start, we're not interested in doing any overdubs, repairs etc - it's all going down on disc exactly as it was on the night, despite the technical gremlins and the inspired wrong notes. the energy was right. that's what counts.

so now we are having fun with ideas, preparing some little interviews for the web, getting other plans in the pipeline (gonna be doing some fun internet stuff next year i think), putting the finishing touches to the tour for the spring, and collecting 5s:

just for fun, you understand - but if you fancy contributing to our 'wall of 5' please send your pictures to us and we'll keep growing the collage. maybe we could reward particularly awesome ones with CDs or tickets... pictures of you wearing your no.5 jewellery from wonderhaus also most welcome. it's to be available from the hoboshop in time for christmas.

more soon...

welcome to the no.5 blog

2009-10-24T11:54:00.000-07:00

we've decided to set this little thing up here for those who want to track the progress of the album we made, live in one take, on october 10th. maybe you were there in the audience, maybe you were one of those who couldn't make it or couldn't get a ticket, maybe you just want to know more about what happens to bring something like this about... whatever reason you may have, this is here if you'd like to drop by.

there are all the usual rss feed thingies to be had, or you can just pop back in from time to time and see how we're doing. we'll try and link back here when we've done something new so for those of you who follow on facebook or twitter - keep an eye out.

we'll be checking in irregularly ('we' being kirsty mcgee and/or mat martin as usual), we can almost guarantee the 'irregularly' part of that. but every time we have something new to share that relates to the album in one way or another, we'll drop by. please comment or email as much as you like, and let us know what you'd like to see here.

that's it for now... we'll post some video and pictures etc as soon as we can. been working on the artwork for the record already and will be giving some previews soon, for now you'll have to carry on looking at the banner at the top of the page.

thanks!

http://www.kirstymcgee.com

http://www.facebook.com/kirstymcgeemusic

http://kirstymcgee.bandcamp.com

http://www.hobopop.com