Dec 2012 | Panama, 99.4fm, Salto 1 TV & 2013 plans.

Posted by unquiet nights on January 3, 2013 · Leave a Comment

So December, and 2012 are over. A lot of hard work saw it go well for us all considered, huge improvements in our position since this time last year. In terms of the types of gigs & tours we’re offered and some of the radio stations we wanted to get on last year, and have managed to. Still, no downtime and lots of plans to make next year better again.

» Amsterdam | Panama Club

The Amsterdam trip and the gig at Panama worked out well in the end. The travel started with a little contretemps in Belfast Int. Airport when one of us decided to risk a hot breakfast minutes before the departure gate was closing, and one of us thought passionately that it was better not to take the risk, while I watched and said nothing. We got there in time though, and to Schiphol where I underestimated the promoter Rene’s height. So we waited for a man about 6’2 when in fact he’s more like 6’5, but we found him outside and he took us to the hotel. We got some guitars off him for the next morning’s session on 99.3fm & Salto 1 TV and then headed into the city. Click below for a photo album.

» 99.4 FM | English Breakfast Show

On the morning before the gig (Friday 14th), we did the English Breakfast show on 99.4fm and Salto 1 TV in Amsterdam. We walked around the pier in sub-zero temperatures for a while, before a woman in the Cruyff clothing office told us where the Salto TV studios were. So we went upstairs and did the interview, plus a couple of songs – “Destiny Does The Splitstep” and “We Were The Ones”. Have a look, the audio is decent even if the video isn’t.

» Videoblog | Leaving Salto 1

We left Salto and went in search of somewhere to get breakfast on the pier at Piet Heinkade. Somehow it broke into Sean Connery impressions and talking about architecture. But we found a place to get breakfast in the end.

» Videoblog | Load-in & Soundcheck

Here’s some video of us arriving at Panama, loading the equipment in and taking a look around the venue. John makes a noisy but otherwise flawless entry onto the stage ramp. Plus, some footage of the sound check, and a new song that we played for the first time. All in all a good trip, and hopefully we’ll get back there sometime soon.

» 21st Century Redemption Songs

December turned into a decent month for sales of 21st Century Redemption Songs, both digital and physical which definitely helps us to keep moving forward in a way that only hard working indie bands can appreciate. Thanks to all of you who’ve paid, considering that a lot of the songs are available for free elsewhere. To show our appreciation, Team Essential Credential have added a UN pin badge (as below) to every order this month. Thanks, grazie, danke.

» Irish Tour 2013 | Latest

A reminder about the Irish tour we’re doing in February, which at the minute includes Dublin on Wednesday 13th (The Mercantile), and Belfast on Friday 15th (Stiff Kitten). We’re talking to people about other dates/cities too, so if anyone reading is in a position to help with that, you can contact us. It’s the first time we’ve played in Ireland since April 2012, and probably these dates will be the last until at least summer 2013, depending on which festivals we’re offered.

» December | Radio

Other priorities took over a bit this month, but new radio included Earbits rotation & Radio XRP. Also it’s great to see our presence continue on the new music playlist of Radio 2Xs through another month. Ed’s Mixed Bag had “Letter From Abroad” in his artist spotlight, while Indie Guild & Moonacrobat had “We Were The Ones” in different playlists. Also Paperlate.nl asked us to record a Genesis cover for their 750th episode on January 6th. It’s a progressive rock show on Zuid-West FM, SLOS 107.4 & Omroep Tholen 106.5 in the Netherlands, and I did “Follow You, Follow Me“. We’ll get back to building our radio empire though with upcoming releases leading to the second album.

» Future Plans | Upcoming Singles

We’re coming towards the end of the promotional cycle for “21st Century….” and it’s singles. Obviously it went well, something like expected and with any luck that momentum will continue. We plan to release a number of singles as we go during the production of the second album, which is a bit different than the approach during the first album. Most of the songs had been available and on radio each month in the year or so up until it’s release. We needed to allow a bit of buzz to generate by having the songs out and getting us some exposure while we worked on “21st…”

This time it’s different in that there’s already a full release available for anyone who wants to check us out, and hopefully a certain number of people are waiting for the next releases. So instead of most songs having been heard by the time it’s released, the plan is that at least half the album won’t have been. We recorded the Amsterdam gig, and some of the songs sound great so we’re planning to include some of those as B-sides on the next singles. So there’ll be at least a couple of tracks of new, unheard music on each single.

» Don’t forget…

If you want a copy of 21st Century Redemption Songs like Rafaella, go to…

There’s a lot of free music at unquietnights.com/music, but if you do that as opposed to buying the album, atleast join the mailing list, our facebook page, or twitter so we can stay in touch.

Until the next blog…

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