Mr Gavin Petz!!!!!
Well some of you may have noticed, although I think we hid it well, that 2011 was quite a turbulent year for us.We started off with good intentions to overhaul the website, get the iPhone app out, record more tunes (including some originals....intriguing huh?) and swap out some of the songs that we’ve been playing for way too long (for some of us, that’s nearly six years!!).
Unfortunately, as is the case for most good intentions, life got in the way! This manifested itself in the form of bassman Stu Pagett deciding that, after two years of excellent service, family commitments meant that he was unable to devote enough time to the bands gigging schedule - obviously, we respect his decision and wish him all the best for the future.So, we set about trying to find a new bassman and I’m pleased to say that we were overwhelmed with guys (and girls) that wanted to try out for the part. After trying a couple of guys that didn’t quite fit, we auditioned our new guy. The audition itself was so successful that we cut it short and went down the pub to celebrate!!
Our new guy, as you may have noticed, is Mr Gavin Petz! - a fine bassplayer with tons of experience that adds to what we’ve already created in a very complimentary way.…...now some of you may say “hasn’t Gav been in the band since September?”, and, erm, yes, you’d be correct......I’m afraid we’ve been so busy peddling as hard as we could to keep up with where we were that we’ve not had the time to stop and make a formal announcement.........so this is it!
The Guards welcome Mr Gavin Petz!!
Jam with us at the Brewery Tap
Songwriting!!!
We've all be busy behind the scenes embarking on a new project.......An album of original material!!!!
Over the past couple of weeks we've been getting together to share individual ideas with each other with a view to putting together a collection of band orientated original songs.
It's very early days yet, but so far it's been very positive. Lots of great ideas floating around, some in the form of song parts and also quite a few complete songs. We hope that we can tie down what we've got so far into a collection of demos that we'll use to create 'full band' arrangements.
We think we should have a great collection of songs ready by the end of the autumn - hopefully we'll have some acoustic versions for you to listen to along the way.
New Video Release
We have released our first video. It is a cover of Going Underground by The Jam. Check out the video on our home page.
We are in the process of recording three more videos for our 3rd and 4th single releases over the next month or two.
Dazza recorded and produced the track and Jason directed the video. There are no prizes for spotting the influence for the video as it is similar to the Jam's own.
Get on our facebook page and let us know what you think of it.
New recordings and videos
We are really pleased to announce that we will be releasing our first video alongside our release of Going Underground by The Jam. The video and recording are in post production and should be posted up on our site in the next week or two... so watch this space.
The release will be followed by another recording and video of Somebody Told Me by The Killers, which again is in post production. Our producer, Dazza has been busy indeed.
Happy New Year
Well here it is 2011. What is this new decade called anyway... is it the teens? The new year sees The Guards kick off with new songs and new venues. The band has already visited St Albans, Southend and Northampton and hopes to add London, Birmingham and Leicester to next years gig list.
If you know any good venues where you would like to see The Guards play then please let us know. We know there are some really good venues out there that the band would love; so let us know.
Happy New Year guys!
Road users jubilant! New Bank Hol planned
The Government is considering an extra bank holiday to celebrate the fact that Dazza is off the road for a short time. Local resident, Reg Jones said "I heard that menace was off the road for a while so I made the most of it and drove to the shops today. It was so peaceful and enjoyable. I'm used to a certain level of danger as I am a bomb disposal expert but driving in Sawtry is usually lunacy."
The Institute of Experts declared Dazza to be the worst driver of his generation. Tests revealed that his observational skills were off the chart and not in a good way.
An expert said "We're not sure if he is all there to be honest. We put Dazza and a lab rat on a mock up road maze. The Rat out performed Dazza in every way. In fact the Rat went back in and pulled him clear. When we played back the CCTV we noticed that Dazza hit the maze wall on no fewer than 46 occasions. It was painful."
Pete Best of Budget Insurance said "I've been looking after Dazza's claims for years. It's the most challenging and demanding job I've ever had. The excuses he comes up with are priceless. I was on hand to take down the details of his latest howler and when I asked him what happened he said "No one was to blame for the accident, but it never would have happened if it wern't for my rear end. I was on the way to the doctor with rear end trouble when it gave way causing me to have an accident. Then I was all over the road. I had to swerve a number of times to hit the tree that was coming the other way. I nearly missed it."
Police have issued guidance to motorists ahead of his return to the road. PC Richard Head had this to say to motorists "Get off the road now. You have a short time in which to sort out your affairs. I understand he is looking at getting a faster car with better handling. God help us all!"
Dazza, the stick man with the Legendary band The Guards has a month to recover before getting back on the road. Dazza said "I've learned from this one. You won't catch me losing me back end again.... but the tree got what it deserved!"
Band van - failure man!
It turns out that nobody won the band's recent competition to guess the value of the van's MOT, this was due to the sheer number of zero's in the quote that was received blowing away the initial expectations that the band had.
On Wednesday 20th October the band invited Facebook group members to vote on the value of any repairs to their 17 year old VW Transporter. Votes ranging from £350 to £650 were cast as a result but the actual cost of repairs was to be way in excess of these amounts.
One mechanic simply refused to play ball stating "You're having a laugh!".
After a long search for a mechanic that wouldn't laugh quite so much at the situation, a quote was prepared and sent to the band. Reports from a source close to the band describe the quote as "...containing three zero's with a one at the front"
This news has caused many tears to be shed by band members, even from Bassman Stu who, after the initial shock, has now come to terms with the fact that he may have to use his car - he is now said to be in a stable condition and is expected to make a full recovery and be back to fishing any day now.
When asked to comment, drumming legend Dazza said "Can't somebody else deal with this?" while guitarist Jason added "Its all going to be fine, honestly, nothing to worry about, trust me, its all ok........isn't it?....it will be ok wont it??" and singer Rob added "At the moment there is a huge hole in our van and we're all currently looking into it".
Charity Performance for the Rudolf Fund
The Guards are proud to announce a charity performance to be held at the Parkway Club on Maskew Avenue in Peterborough. The Guards are performing in aid of The Rudolf Fund who raise money to make Christmas Special for Special children. It is a fabulous charity and we urge you to to check out their website to see the good work that the charity does and the joy they bring to many children.
If you want to attend and support the charity whilst watching The Guards and enjoying a nice pint, you can purchase tickets from the Parkway Club or from John Fox on 07540 358396. Tickets are £6 for adults and £3 for children.
It's a great cause and the Guards hopes to see their friends attend and support the Charity.
The Deeping Raft Race
The Guards have been booked to play the Deeping Raft Race on 8 August!! The Raft Race is an epic day and is an event that just keeps building and growing momentum. The Deeping crowd are good at the best of times and the band cannot wait to play there again.
Other bands playing are The Replicas, Hooker, Mauricky Collings and Spirit!!
The Annual Deepings Raft Race has now become one of the largest events of its kind in Great Britain - a testament to all of the hard work and commitment of the current organising committee and those other much needed supporters.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Posted 26/07/10
O'Neill's Battle of the bands!
The Guards are due to commence battle against their old friends and rivals Circa '73 on Sunday 29 August at the Deeping Stage in Deeping.
The bands went head to head last year and the occasion turned out to be a real success. The bands battled to a dodgy draw and will be fighting hard for the honours in 2010.
The two bands will be going head to head playing the best they have to win the applause of the crowd. Each round will be judged by the clapometer until each band has played 12 songs. Then the rounds will be added up and the winner announced.
If you are a friend of The Guards get yourself down to the gig and cheer them on. It's going to be a great Sunday night and you have Bank Holiday Monday to recover.
Come on The Guards!!
Posted 26/07/10
The Guards are mobile!
The Guards have bought themselves a fantastic band mobile (van). Yes we will A-Team it up and pimp it at as soon as possible. Registered fans will be able to have their photos taken with it and if they are lucky they may even have a photo taken at the wheel (steering). This means we will be venturing a little further afield to spread the love. Careful out there folks.
Posted 06/05/10
iPhone app
The Guards are in the process of developing their own iPhone and iPod Touch application. The application will allow fans to access the latest news, information and gig dates whilst out and about. Fans will be able to upload photos and comment on the band as well as listen to songs and watch video.
Dazza, a keen exponent of the iPhone, said "We are really excited about the new app. We hope the app will utilise the GPS functionality of the iPhone so fans will receive a message if The Guards are playing near to them. We love that idea. We even want the app to welcome fans to the gig if the GPS recognises that they are there. That would be funny."
There is plenty of work to be done and although there is a working prototype there is plenty to be done in order to get the app on iTunes. We'll keep you posted. In the meantime if anyone has any ideas or suggestions that may feature in the app please let us know.
Posted 23/04/10
St Patrick's Day Report
The Guards played O'Neill's in Peterborough on Saint Patrick's Day and what a night it was. The venue had, as usual, gone to great efforts to make the venue look great with a fantastic Irish feel to it. The atmosphere was awesome and everyone had a good time.
The Guards were the first band on and were delighted to play through the rig provided by CW Services. The sound engineers were first class and for a moment The Band felt they were in U2 as all of their gear was loaded on to the stage and set up for them. Hey ho back to lugging your own gear now fellas.
The Guards played their socks off as usual and had a great time. The Guards were followed by The Brays who were, as usual, awesome. They played a mixture of cover songs and original songs. The original songs stole the show in Jason's opinion and you would not be disapointed if you purchased their songs online. Check out their website and Youtube for yourself.
Citizen Smith played really well and once again Colin's ability to perform the police songs so well left you mesmerised. Handbags and Gladrags was one of the best live songs Jason had heard in a pub. Simply outstanding performance. You have to check this band out if you have not seen them.
Thanks for everyones support and we hope to see you again soon. Cheers.
Posted 20/02/10
Single Release
Yeah - I know, about time n'all!!
Finally we've released our first single and its now available to download for freeeeeeeee!!!
We decided to record Make me smile (Come up and see me) by Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel.
It's one of our favourites to play and always seems to get everyone dancing.we're going to follow this one with a series of releases including more covers and some original material - we're particularly excited about that!
We'd love to hear what you think of the recording so have a listen, go on, download it now - stick it on your iPod and get in touch either through Facebook or our contact page.Posted 01/04/10
O'Neill's Gig Report
Well the band have said that they are absolutely shattered after last night's awesome gig. The band played their hearts out until 01.05 in the morning and were pleased to see that the place was still full right to the end. The new songs went down a storm. It was great to see our friends again and all agree that the new decade has started with a bang.
The band have another little break until their next gig which is O'Neill's again on March 17 - Saint Patricks Day. The night is going to be amazing with The Guards kicking the show off followed by The Brays and Citizen Smith. Book Thursday off work if you can.
Posted 27/02/10
February and beyond
Well doesn't time fly! Only 10 months until Christmas already and we're about to play our first gig of the decade. Yes tomorrow night we'll be back at O'Neill's to show off a selection of new covers that we've selected for your enjoyment - we should be playing from ten-ish and we usually get through around 40 songs while we're there, so there should be something for everyone.
In other news....
Jason's still in plaster which should make the gig interesting; please don't push him over - he's getting bored of it now, do feel free to point and laugh though - we will be! Some of you may have already noticed our new website (www.the-guards.co.uk ). We've updated the look and feel of it a bit and built it using better technology which means that, as time goes on, we'll be more able to include stuff like music downloads, videos and podcasts, giving us a bigger platform for expression and giving you guys a richer taste of The Guards world. We're also busy recording songs and writing some original material. At the moment, we're thinking about releasing three singles comprising of one original song and one cover 'b-side' (those born after 1990 should ask your parents what that is). We have one cover that's almost ready at the moment which we may well issue as a free download 'taster' very shortly - watch this space. Looking forward to seeing some of you tomorrow night; reports so far suggest that it's going to be busy!Posted 25/02/10
Paddy's Day - O'Neill's
The Guards will be opening a great show at O'Neill's on Wednesday the 17th of March - Saint Patrick's Day. The Guards are will kick the night off with a two hour set at 6.30 and then The Brays will play followed by Citizen Smith. It's fair to say that this is one of the strongest line ups put on for O'Neill's and the Manager Kerry is, to say the least, excited. She said "St Patrick's day is one of the biggest nights of the year for the pub and I think that this is our best line up yet.
"I can't wait for the 17th. It's always jam packed and I advise people to get there early as once we have 600 in the doors will close sadly."
O'Neill's is defintely one of the bands favourite places to play and a good crowd is guaranteed. To be sure of a good night out make sure you come down for a Guiness or two but for heavens sake get there early to avoid disappointment.
Posted 18/02/10
Facebook Fan Page
The Facebook page is proving to be really useful for the band. Anyone who enjoys what The Guards are doing can keep in touch with gigs and news through Facebook and more importantly give us a shout. The band has over 100 fans signed up and they are chuffed to bits.
Posted 12/02/10
New Songs
The band has worked their socks off and learned 21 new cover songs and also written 3 new songs. The original material is a first for The Guards although most of the lads have been in original bands in the past.
They are really looking forward to showcasing the new songs and can't wait to see how they fare against the excellent selection of covers they have under their belts.
Posted 02/02/10
The Battle of the Bands
The Guards vs Circa '73
Queue Rocky theme...yes folks it's happening again. The Guards will be taking on Circa '73 in 2010. Many of yo
u will know that there have been two previous battles and lots of dubious decisions which have resulted in one loss and one draw! The band are adamant that the draw was really a win for The Guards but were content with shattering Circa' spirits winning the first 6 rounds!
There are two more battles planned this year. Firstly, the 30th of May at O'Neill's in Peterborough and secondly, The Deeping Stage on the 29th of August.
The battle will see both bands going head to head, song for song with the clapometer deciding who wins. The themes have been 90's versus the 00's thus far but the bands are presently dreaming up new ideas. If you have any suggestions please email the bands and let them know.
Truth be said the bands are great friends but they are both revelling in the competitiveness. It's great for the bands to do something a little different. It is fair to say that the last two battles were enormous successes and broke record takings for both pubs. The bands did not get record fees but they are working on that. If you want to listen to the previous battle you can find the link on our sounds page. We hope to see you there.
Posted 17/01/10