Wearable Art

The T-Shirt has landed:
Get yours here via bandcamp

205gsm unigender T-shirt with centre chest print of the Natalie Paddick  'Bunny' design. We've worked with Natalie before on video production using her stills in the video for Shut All The Clubs and also Checkered Land, her images compliment The Speed Of Sound's music and her 'Alice Through The Clockwork Orange' series of photographs are simply inspired, a perfect match.

The vibrant pink and yellow in this design creates a shockingly bright and eye-catching motif, while the vapour trails in the band logo to either side twist and perform aerobatic turns when worn with a loose fitting size. A design reminiscent of (but more brutal than) Andy Warhol's screen prints. Natalie has prints of her other work on sale via Lenswall and also at SaatchiArt online. Find her here http://www.npme.co.uk
Much more than a band t-shirt, this is wearable art.

It's a heavy weight t-shirt which makes it more durable and hard wearing than the standard lighter weight garments. Other features include a taped neck and twin needle stitching for neatness and strength.

S = to fit chest 35-37 inches
M = to fit chest 38-40 inches
L = to fit chest 41-43 inches
XL = to fit chest 44-46 inches
(overall product size tolerance = +/-2.5cm, chest size measured under armpits)
One piece cotton/Lycra neck for improved shape retention
Shirt Fabric 100% Cotton.
Fabric Weight: 205 gsm.

Postage is worldwide and trackable 'signed for' delivery.
If its in stock we'll send it out within five days (often sooner) if not we'll have to order specially which will take a little longer and we'll keep you advised of expected delivery.
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Washing instructions:
Wash at 30º celsius with garment inside out
Do not bleach
Do not tumble dry
Cool iron on reverse side of garment
Never iron over the print

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And you get a free download of English Electric Lightning F6 when bought through bandcamp. Fantastic.

More of the new

The hottest day of the year started with a four and a half hour rehearsal, working on some more new ones to pepper the set with on 2nd July at The Klondyke club and refreshing some we've not played for a while.

And, big thanks to Raul for sitting in when Paul wasn't able to drum with us at the private booking on 28th a year since his last gig with us and no rehearsal... its just as well we like to improvise. Experimentation is growth.

a video on the radio

The next gig is on 2nd July:

As usual some songs will be making a debut, along with others e've not played for a while making a come back.

The Speed Of Sound will be playing two sets, opening and closing the night. Troy Fridge is playing a solo set as well as DJ-ing, we have Nina Gerstenberger and President Ray-Gun guesting in a superb four act line up.

Doors at 7pm and it runs oil midnight plus the added attraction of modestly prices real ale. All taking place on major bus routes and a matter of yards from a railway station.

The Bunny knows this will be a good night out.

And

A video of a radio interview - and yes, it works

Electric50

An indescribably fantastic night for the 50th Anniversary of Bob Dylan's 1966 Manchester gig when everything changed... not a commemoration of 'the "Judas" shout' it was a marking of the birth of 'loud'. Before Mr D's '66 tour amps were just used to balance volume to an acoustic drum kit, regardless of the size of the venue. Since then amplification is used to make EVERYTHING louder. Bands couldn't hear themselves above the audience noise and May'66 is when that changed. thanks Bob. And thanks to everyone that came including a lot of people that were at the Free Trade Hall half a century ago. 

Drummers are always missing in photographs, Paul is there too.
Visions Of Johanna
photo by Jennifer Stevenson (thanks!)

And this was our view: 
Some audience photographs by Aidan O'Rourke 

image preview

We've been quietly working on a t-shirt with photographer Natalie Paddick, we previously collaborated with her on the videos for Shut All The Clubs and Checkered Land, and have also used some of here pictures on our gig posters.

A selection of her 'boxer 'photographs are exhibiting at Saatchi gallery online, just
find their website and tap her name into 'search'.

It's a great pleasure to work with her again and they are very striking bold graphics, exactly what a band t-shirt should be like.

We'll have some modelled shots of the prototype in  a week or so, in the meantime here 's a preview:

the underground route

Shut All The Clubs was included in Lord Litter's Magic Music Box on KWTF 88.1 in Bodega Bay California (where The Birds was filmed)

A German DJ playing a mix of international independent music in Berlin, speaking in English, broadcast in California and relayed via the net throughout the world. The 21st century is astounding sometimes. 

It's great to feature again in such a long running show and to have been there on the German language show on Radio Marabou and on the earlier Kentucky Fried Royalty show long long ago too. A sense of continuity. 

Lord Litter has been a lynch-pin of the underground music scene for many decades hosting radio since 1987 and was frequently described as the German John Peel.
His shows only feature physical releases and only those of independent artists (really independent ones). In his words:
"I only present physical releases. Today's mainstream, the internet
including "digital only releases" and so called "free services" like Facebook, where one person earns LOTS because each and everyone taking part means MONEY to the owner, this needs an alternative"
Here's the show link 
The Speed Of Sound played a walk up gig on Thursday night, we'd been expecting to rehearse but Kevin had double booked himself and was supposed to be running an open-mic night. We got there early and ran through our allocated Bob Dylan song for the Electric 50 gig on 17 May a couple of times and had it in the bag before anyone else got there.
Set List:
Visions of Johanna
I Don't Want Your Attentions
Love
The Moment Is Now
Seen It All Before
Day In Day Out

Lord Litter's website is here

A tangle of wires

A tangle of wires at soundcheck, like the snakes on medusa's head. Turning it up again last night at a private function, keeping it live and real; spot the new ones in the set list:

I Can't Say
Girl On The Roof
Brand New Cadillac
The Moment Is Now
Maid Of The Grey
Femme Fatal
I'm Real
Glide On By
Substitute
Shut All The Clubs
Poison Ivy
Only Everything
I Don't Want Your Attentions
Whatcha Gonna Do About It
Sit By The River
There's No One There