The Picture Show’s blog

So much going and so little time to talk about it. Firstly, we have a new video which we've put up on the site and in various other places. We owe a massive thanks to both Alex Moss and Amy Power for the hard work they put into it as well as Sandrine for doing the audio. We're very, very pleased with it and it was about damn time we did something like that I reckon. Let us know what you think!

The gig on Monday went very well in the end. Both Ashley and the Broken Stars were excellent and we're very much hoping to play with them both again. Thanks to everyone who turned up - I have to say that I was plesantly surprised with just how many of out came out to see us in Camden on a monday night! It's always very humbling and thrilling to get such a positive response from people.

The tour is shaping up nicely. We're waiting on a few confirmations before we put them up on the site, but we think we've now got most of the dates in the bag so once they're up please have a look and if we're near you, come on down and we'll get you a drink...

The last month and a half of work culminated on Monday with our gig at the Water Rats. Thanks to everyone who came down. It was a great to be back after months of limbo and with our first gig under our belt with Chris we can now get ready to drive even further forward.   We're taking a little break this week just to step back and take a breath before diving head first back into it next week. A week this Saturday we're heading up to Birmingham to record Close so our attention is currently focused on gearing towards that, but we'll be playing again on the 21st April in Camden.

It's been one of the busiest months for the band I can remember and it looks to be even busier in April. We're in the process of booking the tour, filming a video, getting photos done, sorting out a press release, getting ready to record a new track and preparing for the gig a week today.

We've got a lot on the go at the moment and some potentially very exciting developments up our collective sleeves as well, which all bode very well for the future. We've got a few extra dates for the tour and a few more inbetween. I'm especially looking forward to playing the Bullet Bar in Camden on Monday 21st of April with Broken Stars and Ashley Hicklin. Obviously the gigs at the Water Rats are always top notch so we don't usually agree to play elsewhere, but we were offered the ability to choose the other bands here and we went straight for Ashley and Broken Stars who are cracking acts and we've wanted to play with for a while, so put the date in the diary!

We're finally back on track and into the midst of things. There's a lot of work to do over the next few months. Aside from getting Chris up to speed and gelling musically, we're busy booking tour dates and organising everything for the release of the DVD. It looks like our first gig since last year will be at the end of this month (31st) at the Water Rats. A Monday, I know, but we've got a nice earlier slot so hopefully we'll see some of you down there.

After a very, very long and exhaustive search, The Picture Show are delighted to announce that we have finally found a new drummer in Chris Rush. It really was not an easy process as so many of the candidates were of such a high quality but after two months and tens and tens of drummers later, Chris is definately the right man for the job. We had to take our time in making sure we didn't simply get the best person available, but actually found someone who suited our style, got on with us well outside of the rehersal room, was talented enough to play a variety of different musical styles and bought into our vision as a band.

Chris joins us having previously drummed for current scene darlings, The Enemy, and is currently studying at Drum Tech. We are absolutely certain that both his experience and positive, enthusiastic attitude will perfectly complement the chemistry already in the band and would like to welcome him in with open arms.

Now, of course, the real work begins. It's difficult to explain how frustrating it is as a gigging band to have to put things on hold for any reason at all and in that time you tend to build up a backlog of ideas and ambitions which we're now hoping to realise. We've started booking the tour in June and have a few gigs confirmed already. We also want to get into the studio to finally record a version of "Close" as soon as possible, as well as just getting our heads down and getting sharp again and playing regularly.

We're coming close to selecting a drummer and should hopefully have someone sorted by the end of the week assuming all goes well. We've all been itching to get back in the saddle and pick up from where we left at the end of last year. Booking for the June tour has begun and we've already got a few dates down with more expected soon so, fingers crossed, it should be a good one. There's going to be a lot of work to do before then but  we're looking forward to it and, hopefully, making our mark in 2008.

Busy week last week for meeting drummers. Had 7 scheduled in at our regular meeting place 'The North Star' in Ealing at the start of the week. Bit of a bizarre turn of events on Tuesday though with both drummers who we were supposed to be meeting pulling out but one who we weren't supposed to be meeting until next Tuesday randomly turning up on the wrong night! All in all the weeks work resulted in 4 people to audition next week all of whom seem really promising so we're looking forward to that. Also started to formulate some plans for a tour and digital release in the Summer so watch this space.........

Well we're finally back from our Christmas holidays and feeling energised and with a renewed purpose. We're interviewing a lot of potential drummers at the moment and hope to have someone in place fairly soon, though it's doubtful that it'll happen before the gig on the 1st of Febuary at the Water Rats (which has been moved from the 31st of January).

Obviously it's a decision we have got to get right and it's a critical process so something which we have to take our time over which has been a bit frustrating for us at times, but the morale in the camp is extremely high at the moment and we're really looking forward to getting back into gear.

We've been thinking a lot about our future as well and are hoping to record "Close", finally, at some point in the next few months and put it out as a digital release, hopefully with a short, but action-packed tour of the country. We're sounding out a lot of promoters at the moment, but we're hoping to cover most of the country which is something we'd absolutely love to do, ao keep your ears pricked and your eyes peeled over the next few months, especially those of you outside of London as we may be getting in touch to pick your brains about venues, promoters and all that!

Resolution is such a nasty word. The papers have been full of it and it's been on everyone's lips. After playing another excellent night for Vox's own Indieboy at Tommy Flynn's to an almost surprisingly receptive and enjoyable crowd (considering most of our own people couldn't make it) Nick and I made a break for the Anglian wilderness for a few days and emerged with a few resolutions of our own.

Amongst all the usual stuff that will be forgotten by March like getting fitter, drinking less and burning less orphanages to the ground, we decided, along with Dave, to really re-double our efforts with the band and aim to tour (roughly) in May in order to promote the digital release a new track we're hoping to record in the next couple of months. We've been working hard on all the smaller details of being in a band which often go unnoticed and we're hoping to get back to the meat and veg of making music i.e. recording, playing and playing and playing and sitting in each other's kitchens debating whether or not Frank Black looks like a paedophile these days (he does). Things have been happening quickly for us, almost too quickly, but we've got a good idea what we want to do and how we want to do it, so it's just a matter od getting it done really. It doesn't help that we don't yet have a drummer, but in some ways that's a bit of a detail. Until we get one anyway....