arockpoet’s blog

It's been a while since I had the chance to write in my blog, we have been so busy that it has been out of my mind updating the vox. I'll make a special effort to update more from now on. The band begun the build up to the 'Staring Stars Down/G.I (Generation Innocence)' release on May 1st in Ireland and the UK. Covert PR have taken over the reigns on this and with the release date set for October 6th we hope everyone will be well aware of the releases to follow. It's been a weird one with 'Staring Stars Down' being one of our most successful tracks and yet has never been released so I know alot of people are finally going to get their hands on this.

We have been over at events such as London Calling since my last blog and done some really cool gigs last night being one of them in the 'Spirit Store' in Dundalk, Ireland. It was streamed for the first time live online and reports are it the stream went extremely well with no stalls or hiccups (please check www.livewebstars.com). We also streamed from a radio interview in Iur Fm, Newry just before the gig which I think caught the presenters slightly off guard (sorry girls). Our next gig is on Saturday 26th of July at the fantastic Glasgowbury Festival which will also have  a few acts I'm looking forward to seeing Ash (their secret gig in Proud Galleries last year was immense), Fighting With Wire, General Fiasco, Oppeinheimer and The Panama Kings.

We have added alot of new dates to the gig calender and more are being updated as we go along, all of which are on www.myspace.com/beatpoets

Our new web-site should also be launched next month with finally an online merch store, new galleries etc. We also have hours and hours of live footage which Graham Smith is looking at and editing for his documentary of the band and Staring Stars Down video. We should have some new live clips for you tube too and I think Live Webstars will be putting the Spirit Store gig live online again sometime.

The CMJ festival in New York spotlighted us this week and it has been immense (www.cmj.com) and Sonicbids have asked to have the band represent them worldwide for the next 12 months all their associated events etc which is fantastic.

Reviews so far of the new single have been immense and while we have a video for Staring Stars Down we are also contemplating a video for G.I also.

We'll its a Saturday and I'm off so a pub now beckons, hoping the the weather stays ok as it has been pissing down in Belfast since May ended which is no fun for summer! Anyway keep rocking everyone and hope to crowd surf with u all soon!

Over the last few months I've been working quite intensely on a big project that will be announced this summer. It has been in planning since November so thankfully we're nearly ready to launch. We have a several big Irish dates coming up in the meantime and we're also working on alot of new material as well as going through hours of footage for our documentary and new youtube clips. Below is a recent review of our gig with The Duke Spirit in the Limelight Belfast, it was a great show!

 

 

 

Well we are just back from Canadian Music Week and I must say it was fantastic! Arriving on the Wednesday night we indulged in the local Keg Steak House were I finally met up with Cara Heath (and her husband Ian) who's company With a Bullet PR had successfully placed us on the bill for The Bovine Sex Club on March 6th and worked tremendously in promoting the band before and during CMW (www.withabullet.ca).

The day of the first show at the Bovine was pretty hectic as we were in the Royal York Hotel most of the day meeting people. The Bovine was rocking that night and we met up with familiar faces from last year Ian, Yoko, Renee, Pete, Myles etc. It was a great slot to be on at midnight and a great crowd battled the snow making it to our show. Below are some photos taken by Pete Nema (www.petenema.com) at the Bovine.

 

 

 

 

 

The next few days were saturated in interviews with Greg Godovitz on Rock Talk CRFB 1010, Yoko Sanchez Show, My Living Room Radio Show, Andpop.com, The Radtastic show, Noise Makes Enemies etc. It was also great to finally meet Cheryl Hoar who had also helped with us in 2007. Below is me Keith and Mark on the Yoko Sanchez show:

On the 8th, snow storms had left Paddy Casey and Delorentos stranded in New York so we filled the last slot on the bill for the Music From Ireland showcase that had some great Irish acts on the bill such as Fight Like Apes, Iain Archer, and the Lost Brothers. In fact it was the worst snow storm Toronto had seen all winter! Again it was a packed show and we were greatly received and I must say hello to two Canadian bands we struck up a bit of a friendship with over at CMW firstly The Conmen....the whisky drinkers and secondly MicLordz and Sauce Funky who I thought had a great show in The Smiling Buddha!

Sunday normally a day of rest saw us meet more people from many labels and producer Paul Milner (Keith Richards, The Cult) and discuss some more exciting developments for the band. Monday was a city centre photoshoot that meant a swift recovery from the drinking session in the hideout with the other Irish acts on CMW. Looking forward to the pics Renee and Pete!

Flying home on Tuesday we got ready for our first live TV broadcast on BBC2 N.Ireland on the Imeall Gael show (13th March) and also found ourselves the editorial feature of Northern Homes and lifestyle!

 

We hope now to return to Toronto for NXNE and follow on from the fantastic week at CMW!

Ah how the change on a digit on a sequence of 4 numbers can reinvirgorate a band! 2008 is really heating up now as we begin the PR campaign for the bands series of UK and Irish releases. We have been in the studio over January and working now on new material for the album. The new poets web-sites will be launched next month and full of cool new features as we had two genius designers working on them. Yesterday we spent the morning in the new Oh Yeah building in Belfast (Many thanks to Stu Ballie for allowing us to use it) and done a great photoshoot with Graham Smith. The building was freezing first thing on a Monday so we made the best use of the 1000 watt amps to heat ourselves in between takes....the coffee helped too! I'm really looking forward to these shots as new styles are definitely present...especially with the beef!

Over the weekend however we got the exciting news we will be returning to Canada for Candian Music Week 2008. Our showcase is in the Bovine Sex Club on Queens St. We spent alot of time here last year as it is a fantastic rock venue and it's an honour to play here this year...big thanks to Daryl and Cara! If anyone has any Press/Radio/Media enquires for us at CMW please contact Caraheath@rogers.com

I also got a CD through the post from the Glasgowbury festival last year (they used one of our tracks as promotion for the CD)....ah it brought back memories of great day and anyone in N.Ireland this summer should make a point of getting to this small festival it's immense...www.glasgowbury.com

 

 

It's been awhile since I wrote due to how busy we have been. I have just come back from the studio were we have completed the tracks for the first single release due out in May. The PR campaign begins in the next two weeks as we build up to the album release in October. Its been a very exciting time and having just come back from London the mood is in top form regards the release and our development of an Indie label around the Poets. We are finally going to release Staring Stars Down with G.I as the first single and new additions and mixes to the tracks have been immense. At the moment a UK May Tour is being planned with some new dates between now and then back home in Ireland. We have some top people in London working with the band this year so we're hoping to get our music out to as many fans as possible - Just a small press release from the band's website is below from a new internet music channel www.angel22.tv

The Beat Poets on 'The Nu' - www.angel22.tv

www.angel22.tv's are proud to present THE BEAT POETS DEBUT SINGLE on THE NU MUSIC SHOW...2008 will see Ireland's hottest new band release 3 singles and a new album in the UK and Ireland. STARING STARS DOWN will be the first single of the new album (due out October 2008) and will be released on the first week of May 2008. Angel22.tv flew to Belfast, caught up with the Poets and recorded the first ever video of the debut single live at THE SPRING & AIRBRAKE in BELFAST on the band's home patch! Catch the Poets next live performance on BBC 2 N.Ireland show Imeall Geal (Sky Channel 943) on March 13th at 10pm!

Click the link below for to see the video:

http://angel22.tv/joomla/content/view/190/35/

Unlike most years I had a fantastic Christmas in 2007 which has set me up for an exciting 2008. We have been secretly working behind the scenes in camp poets as we prepare for our biggest year so far and the development our own small indie label and team to push the band's music to the next level. Our debut album is now set for this year with release in October 2008 and three singles to push out in the intervening time. We have been working hard on studio material and will continue this right throughout the year. It's an exciting yet nerve wrecking feeling to put fate in your own hands but with our experience of 2007 being mostly stagnating through forces beyond our control we are now keen to learn from this and push forward.

The first gig of the new year will be in the Empire Music Hall in Belfast on the 17th of January and will start the transistion into the new poets era. The first single will come out at the end of April with the first UK tour of 2008 in May. In between now and the first release we will be expectionally busy and do some sporatic shows to test the new tour shows. We will also be doing our first live TV performance on BBC 2 N.Ireland at 10pm on the Thursday the 13th of March for a new Irish language show Imeall Geal. Its the St.Patricks day special show so I'm looking forward to this one. The Photo below by Graham Smith I think is a great metaphor for the New Year....crossroads time baby!

In saying that I am looking forward to the next 12 months and hopefully I will have plenty to read about and you'll enjoy reading my journal and a first hand account of the internal affairs of the The Beat Poets!!

Happy New Year!

Bon Scott definitely had a good point, sitting back with the band over the last month and evaluating 2007 and getting ready for 2008 has been a real eye opener. We have 3 singles ready to rock in 2008 and are gearing up for potential self release. We have a great team built around us and it is amazing how blind we have been to this and the fact that there is massive influence and potential for the band to raise themselves to higher label without waiting around on an industry that has the pace of a snail in change. The ability of bands to place their music in the hands of fans is easier than ever and with the right PR, Marketing and distribution this can be achieveable to any group who is aware of the pitfalls, or in our case suffered them and thus learned valuable lessons in the process.

At the moment we have been working on even more material so we feel slightly ahead of ourselves (rule one, never allow this feeling to creep in!) so we have a whole new stage show coming also. On Monday we will do a free show for the rather fine people of Cork in The Old Oak and then we will have one more show to finish off what has been by and large a completely mental 2007. December for the unsigned market is a complete wasteland as the major labels swamp the charts with their acts and best of collections, so lesson two kids is to avoid this, hence an excellent time to redevelop, write and prepare for the new year.

Below are some pics from The Empire show last week, many thanks to Colin Patterson from ROKPIX for these.

 

 

 

 

 

We have been working like demons since March with gigs, press, publicity etc etc. Between now and January the band is working on re-vamping the set with a host of new songs. Over the next two weeks we'll be in the studio working on new singles that will come out in the new year. We're also revamping the stage show and it's all been really exciting and great fun doing. Last week we played Radio City in Dublin for the Trinity College freshers and last night we were back in Belfast headlining in the Empire for a charity show in aid of the Clark Clinic in the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. I really enjoyed last night and for the charity show we were asked to do a cover which we did for the first time and did a medley of Rebel Rebel by David Bowie and Fire by Jimi Hendrix.

Our next show will be in The Old Oak in Cork which is a great spot and the last time we played there the Cork people were fantastic with all the students back in the City were hoping for an even better turn out.

Above is a shot of portraits taken of the band by Bob Dixon backstage at soundcheck in The Village in Dublin. Bob is putting together a collection of Irish bands that so far include us, The Frames, Aslan, The Rags, Royseven, Paddy Casey and Damien Dempsey.

Last Friday night we played Oxjam Belfast in McHugh's basement bar. There was a great crowd and I really enjoyed the event. Our next show will now be on the 7th of November when we headline Radio City in Dublin as part of the Trinity College Freshers Ball. At the moment we have big plans for 2008 so were taking some time between now and January to focus on new songs, a new set and a new show (Although don't worry we'll still be doing shows but just not as many for a small period).

Since the beginning of 2007 we have been relentlessly working on promoting the band and gigging and it has really worked in getting the name out there. We now hope to release several singles at the beginning of the year followed by a debut album at some point in 2008. To get the sales rolling again we have relaunched the Turn It On/Shadowlands single which can be bought from Cargo Records at the following link: http://www.cargorecords.co.uk/release_zoom.php?item=3583

 

Mark the Drummer in the band has booked Steve Adler's (from Gun's and Roses) new band to play the small town (Warrenpoint) we come from in N.Ireland on November 24th which will be an immense session and experience. Also coming to play the same venue in Warrenpoint is Duke Special on Halloween night. Since we kicked off our music the local scene were we have come from has grown into a monster in the last few years. I read a small article in the Irish Times online about it hailing us a the areas Godfather's of music...oh I do laugh as the poets is only just over 2 years old!

The last week has been a hectic one as always. Last Thursday we hit the stage of the Sugar Club in Dublin with newly signed Universal Act 'Parlotones'. It was a great gig and a great crowd, MCD were fantastic to us and it was the beginning of 3 really enjoyable shows. The Parlotones are great lads and I encourage everyone to check them out!

Friday was an early start as we off loaded the backline in Belfast before flying to London to do our first show at The Borderline and I think it was definitely one of my favourite London shows to date with a really receptive crowd. The Friday afternoon we were at the GIO GOI HQ in London with John Byrne and got kitted out in some great gear! The label is doing fantastic with Liam Gallagher, Amy Winehouse, The Artic Monkeys, Kasabian and many more on their books. The new GIO GOI web-site (www.gio-goi.com)  that is being launched next month will have an unsigned section featuring the poets. After the Borderline show on Friday we confirmed up details for the Clapham Grand and anyone looking for tickets please click this address at ticket web to book for the 25th: www.ticketweb.co.uk/user/?region=gb_london&query=detail&event=236283

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The event being hosted by Feed Me Music should be a cracking one and it was good to meet the Dave of Feed Me at the Borderline on Friday (www.feedmemusic.co.uk). We also did an video interview with Dave and Stephen from Frogcast backstage at the borderline and this should appear sometime soon on www.22forty.co.uk/frogcast/index.php  be warned were rather sweaty looking having been nabbed just off stage!

Saturday saw us back in Belfast with The Parlotones for a show at the limelight, was great to finally play the venue after years of going to the nightclub there!

Throughout this journal I have put new photos from Graham Smith every where as part of the promotion for the teaser clip on you tube of the band on the road http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvXeYLa9c_o

The first photo is of Indie Live in Dublin and is actually my own blood on the guitar after I just cut my finger before going on stage and couldn't find a plaster that would stick......note too I managed to break a string which just added to the blood flow! In the words of Noel Gallagher...Thats Rock n Roll mister!