Tour pt 1 - FBi Social.

The Day Job tour was interesting. I think saying we were "on" tour might be a bit misleading. More like we were "beside" tour, dipping in at showtime then immediately out again and back to reality for another seven arduous days. It was a sadistic cosmic coincidence that everyone in the band happened to be going through their own personal upheavals during this time. Mostly the shows felt like breaks of barely discernible reception in some heavy static. In this way it was tough to get the sense of being on tour as opposed to playing some unrelated gigs here and there but the one thing I can say is that a lot of learning happened.

FBi SOCIAL // 4 MAY
Briscoe, Bloods, Mushu + Lily So & Co

Despite being under-prepared for it, the FBi Social show was a happy success. It was our first headline show so I had a promoter's sweat on for most of the night, but plenty of people came and all the bands nailed it.

Lily So has a big band but still manages to create plenty of space around her songs with great restraint and really thoughtful arrangements. They played a beautiful set.

It was the first time I had seen Bloods and they were a lot of fun - catchy as hell and rocking the house through a Peavey practice amp, this is cool.

And Mushu are just one of those bands that I take friends to see and without fail they'll ask "why haven't these guys made it yet?" It was maybe the best Mushu set I've ever seen, and I've seen them roughly billions of times.

This felt like our most important show and we were appropriately jittery and excited, in a "yes that's her hand on my crotch: game on" kind of way but we kept our cool and walked out of there with big smiles and our gig bags slung strategically over our groinal regions.

Big ups to Dan Nash on the sound desk and Kimb who books the room - what a couple of legends.

READ PART 2 HERE

Photos by Kate Farquharson - http://www.facebook.com/katefarquharsonphotographer



         

briscoe guitarist jacob sewell: a long history

Jacob's 1964 album Texas Ranger hailed by critics as "A study in unintended atonality"

Jacob Sewell was born into a life of privilege- it was 1939 in a little town south of the Mississippi called Young. At the age of 16 he eschewed the good life and ran away to the big smoke with nothing but his great grandpappy's acoustic guitar and the harmonica he stole from old man McCutchin. And a suitcase full of old money.

He purchased a modest seven bedroom chateau on the harbour and made his way to the centre of town to begin his new life as a meager troubador. The cityfolk, however, didn't yet have a taste for country and western music, a fact he deduced from the many kicks to the groin he received from irritable passers-by.

After a particularly disappointing and painful afternoon in the summer of 1956, Jacob was on his way back to the Manor when he was stopped by a swarthy stranger.

"I have been watching you young Jacob"
"How do you know my name?" Jacob asked
"I know all for I am the Devil"
"Oh, I see"
"You have been having little success young Jacob"
"It hasn't been too bad" he replied, trying not to think about his throbbing nether region "they just don't like country music."
"No, they just don't like horrible guitar playing"
"Oh, I see"

The Devil accompanied young Jacob home and they ruminated on Jacob's problem late into the night. Once Jacob and Beelzebub had imbibed an appropriate amount of 30 year old scotch and had their fill of roast pheasant and tubers, the Devil made his proposition.

"I don't really know if thisssh is appropriate to shhay thiss but I really love you Jacob"
"YES YES, i was jussht going to say that to you jussht then!" slurred young Jacob
"I want to help you, i rooooeally do" said the Devil
"I want to help you tooo!" The Devil paused
"Um, anyway... how attachshhhhed are you to your soul?!"
"Oh, yeah! I can sell you my ssshhoul to you, and you'll make me great at playing the guitar like you did with Robert Johnston right?"
"Johnson" corrected the Devil
"Yeah, Johnston!"
"Well, i used all my wolfsbane and newt faeces on Robert so i can't do that ssshpell anymore..."
"Oh, I see."
"But maybe there'sssh something else I can do..."

The Devil explained that for the bargain price of one soul, he could grant Jacob everlasting life. In other words: the opportunity to hone his craft until the Universe's end, by which time he would surely have attained a level that no longer invited casual physical abuse. Jacob accepted and they celebrated with ramekins of candied sturgeon caviar and warm buttermilk.

Over the course of the next six decades, Jacob recorded 432 albums. His first forays into the world of recording artistry were disastrous. After his second and third albums, the venerable Daily Bugle ran with the headline: "Music is F *%@king Dead", and review after review delivered metaphoric kicks to his metaphoric groin.

Since those early attempts though, Jacob has had half a century to bud and blossom into the player he is today. Now widely regarded as the greatest guitarist of his generation(?), briscoe's members feel very honoured to count him among their number. I will post any album covers or songs i can dig up from his formidable back catalogue.

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