neujahr angst

A unique perspective to all of those of you digesting the minutae of tracks and tracks ... pre NYE party nerves and preparation from the mouth of one of Britain's top DJs!

Firstly note the new layout of t&t - thanks to an error by Blogger transferring data from the old site to the new one the sidebar was nobbled. Rather than whinge we've redesigned it, giving it a better feel and look. Displacement activity of course!

We've got the Bath Arms do tonight, and in our normal professional way we've been trying out new tracks over the last two nights, putting in 6 hours practice. Today we slept late and have tried to not play anything! NYE is a funny event as you're up so late so it's not a good idea to fall asleep at the decks. And there's stuff like doing the countdown and putting on Andy Stewart at midnight. And balancing a certain amount of grade A tross with the good stuff.

Last year's NYE do was at Horningsham Village Hall and was well tacky. We had a 70s DJ who had never used two decks before, and in a one hour set played one song three times! We also had a couple of geriatric teenagers playing all through the break the same record (some Bob the Builder tross that was number one last year) until I went up and threw 'em off the stage. And when twelve o'clock came everyone started going home! So you can see why I'm a little apprehensive about tonight! Truth is though everything's totally different this year - I'll be sharing the set with Trin, it's an 11pm start and it's in much more salubrious surroundings - and we're getting paid well for it! Last year was a freebie ...

And New Year morning I'll be up in time for the New Year's Day Concert from Vienna.

new year's eve ...

Well, we'd planned a quiet New Year's Eve with perhaps just a few round for a classic Brassey and Trin private party. But pound notes were flashed before our eyes and we couldn't resist, so this NYE we'll be back in Horningsham again but at The Bath Arms rather than the village hall.

It's a free show, entry to the skittle alley is from 9 in the evening, with the show starting at 11 and running till 1 or 3 am. You'll get the usual Brassey and Trin extravaganza with perhaps a little tross around midnight for the lemmings!

2007 will be the big push for us so don't worry if you miss the NYE event - we'll be pushing good music throughout the year in Bristol and beyond. 

Now! That's tross

December..... The time for merriment, drink, parties and crap DJ's. After our alarming DJ experience last week at the works festive Party I've become convinced the world is full of people with a deck or two who fancy themselves as DJ's but really should stay at home and watch The Tweenies.
This week saw me in Woolworths. Yep with the masses buying last minutes gifts. I was stood waiting to pay when I noticed a guy behind me clutching 'Now 65' and 'Now Christmas'.
He smiled at me "I'm a DJ" he announced. "I'm on me way to a gig. Needed some music. Thought I better stop and pick up something good"
'Now 65' and some crappy Christmas CD? Good?
How I despair.
How can people call themselves DJ's when they have no idea of music. They have no taste and no insight.
The moral is? Book us Brassey and Trin. You won't be disappointed.

sleigh bells ring

Brassey and Trin have had a week of Christmas fayre. Monday night was this meal thing at some Moroccan/ Turkish place.... Yeah right it was Turkish but I was told Moroccan by some idiot colleague. The food was brill and the evening wore on. The tables cleared and then the evenings entertainment commenced. How exciting.... A disco. Two young guys in scruffy tops brought from Primark... Not even hoodies. We took bets on the first track but neither of us could have been prepared for the horror that awaited. Fucking LeAnn Rimes and "Can't fight the Moonlight" Imagine that to start a party off? So we left. Smart move.
Tuesday was a kind of mud fest come train thing in a wood. Brassey was in his element. I was more concerned about my highly expensive cool boots and the sinking brown stuff.
The meal was more basic but nice but the horror of the Pan Pipes CD playing Christmas Crap was enough to send me right into the psychiatrists office.
Why does fucking Christmas music have to be so insipid? Look at Band Aid
"Well tonight Thank God it's them instead of you"
What a bunch of morbid miserable crap. Isn't Christmas meant to be happy and cool?
I rushed back to my decks and played some Plan B to rebalance my scorched psyche.
I'm planning a very merry Christmas with my new fiance Brassey... Did I tell you we were engaged?
And no, he is NOT having an Octopus for Christmas.

seaman dan

One of our pleasant tasks at Tracks and Tracks is to find little-known artists who have the ability to make your lives that little bit better! Fight blandness and a pointless life by filling your shelves and iPods with as eclectic and extensive a music selection as you can!

I discovered this fucker in a charity shop in Bristol. I expected absolute crap, but the album's a gem. Dan can croon with the best of them - if he'd been born in LA rather than TI he'd have been one of the Rat Pack.

He's Seaman Dan from Queensland's Torres Straits. He first recorded at the age of 70. The first track on Follow the Sun has echoes of the Kooks, others have an Hawaiian or blues feel. All are uplifting and life affirming. Let's just hope Paul Simon doesn't 'discover' him!