The last year or so has seen a steady increase in the number of posts and users of this forum which is great. Something that we have become accustomed to is a good number of reviews of Aynsley’s shows, by both existing forum members and new members, some of which have continued to post on the forum.
I’m not sure of the reasons, but it’s very disappointing to see so few reviews and comments about the performances that Aynsley has been playing since the It Bites tour. I feel there’s something special about seeing the Aynsley Lister Band and that these posts not only encourage conversation, but they are useful to visitors to the site who may be considering seeing Aynsley for the first time and wish to know a little more about his show. The other artists section of the forum is great in that it allows us to discuss other musicians that may be of interest and great for keeping the forum activity going when Aynsley is not touring or releasing new albums, but when it becomes the focal point when Aynsley is touring it does appear to make the forum look unbalanced.
Aynsley has played in many places from Kendal in the north to Crawley in the south in recent weeks, so it would be nice to hear from people how the gigs went. Those of us who have not had an Aynsley show to see in recent times cannot be expected to keep the forum ticking over when there are many reading the forum that have seen him in recent weeks and not shared their own experiences. So please hold back on any inhibitions and apathy and tell us how the shows have been.
Yes - I’m surprised we haven’t heard from the Venture South team, as I believe they were the support band on friday in Crawley. Come on guys, how did it go?
I will always take time out to post if I’ve seen him (or anyone come to that) but must admit my last effort reporting on the Farnham Maltings gig got badly sidetracked in a spat about seating and sound which ended up being more about the venue than the band. Having said that if the guys carry on playing the same set to the usual high standard there isn’t too much more you can say? As a conversation piece “ he played Purple rain, it was great” becomes a bit dull after a time.
I should have been at Crawley on Friday but didn’t go due to a mixture of logistics and to be honest a bit of Aynsley fatigue. I have seen him 7 times in the last year and only a month or so ago so as good as he is I am trying to spread my musical net a bit further and see some acts I have yet to see.
I have just received the pre order e mail in relation to the live album and must admit to not being as enthusiastic as I ought to be. I mentioned at the time that a live (kind of live) album was a bit of a stand still release as with the promotion required it wasn’t going to be until 2011 that new tracks will hopefully begin to appear in the set list.
As for IT Bites, ill try not to rake over old coals but IT Bites fans who did post on the forum either did so to defend the questionable actions of the band they support or as a bit of a peace offering (Tall Blonde) posted out of guilt for some of the abusive comments made about Aynsley on their own forum, to be frank I wouldn’t lose any sleep over them.
I just have a feeling things are at a bit of a hiatus at the moment…….. and I think that is reflected in forum activity
Well Chaps, from my point of view, I haven’t seen Aynsley since he played here in Bristol last year. I didn’t attend the Bristol “It Bites” gig as I’m not a fan of theirs enough to have swallowed the £18 + booking fee to see Aynsley do a shortened set, so I’ve tried to respond to some posts I feel worthy of comment. Also, I’m not a fan of posting for posting’s sake! I’d rather be a member with 50 odd meaningful comments than a senior member with 2000 irrelevant comments!!! Now before you senior members get on your high horses that’s not a pointed criticism of anyone!! most of the comments here are relevant and interesting apart from the It Bites debacle which did get out of hand and was totally avoidable.
I understand the comments made by R&B about seeing someone too many times. these days, money can be tight and some people have to prioritise where their hard earned goes. Aynsley is competing in a very competitive field, and has to constantly produce the goods to keep people interested. Fortunately, so far, he has and I for one can’t wait for the finished Tower sessions CD.
Those of us who attended surely will be fascinated to hear the finished article and judge how much “post production” work went into remixing, and dare I say “touching up” of the recordings. I’m confident Aynsley is an honest artist and won’t go down the roads of Thin Lizzy’s Live and Dangerous or Simple Minds Live in the city of light which weren’t really that live at all!! Joe Bonamassa recently said of his Live from nowhere in particular CD that if you listen carefully, you can hear the occasional faux pa showing the recordings to be live, warts and all!!
Hopefully this year will see Aynsley profiting from his Glasto experience, a very astute move and something I think he will enjoy immensely. He will surely pick up a lot of support from doing that, I know from having been myself on a couple of occasions that the blues stage is always very well attended and appreciated.
Does anyone know if Aynsley is actually playing at the Tower launch (at the Tower)? I’ve had the email, but is it the normal album “wine and cheese party” launch or is he playing some (new??) material??
I hate to burst your bubble Phil but my understanding is that the recordings made last August were not used and the band went back audience less in February ( correct me im wrong someone ) and did it again.
Personally I think you hit on what I consider to be the big news story in this first half of the year and that’s Glastonbury, although tickets went long ago I am genuinely excited for all the young Blues bands who are being given an opportunity at an event which gets a global following.
hahaha - its true, but perhaps the announcement, a while back, about the “return to the Tower” to re-record the album wasn’t meaningful enough for spasmcasm to comment at the time - only joking of course, but if people don’t bother to post anything, others may not bother signing on at all…...at least we try and get a few topics debated, we just need a few more to join in, to make it more interesting.
Oh, I understand about spreading the net wider to hear other acts, that is perfectly understandable and do not mean to infer that people should simply post for postings sake. My comments are meant for those that have seen Aynsley recently, whether they be regular forum members, occasional forum members or simply lurking on the site at present.
Some of the forum reviews we’ve had in the past have been not only a good read but quite insightful too, providing a different perspective from the ones we’ve all shared on here. Aynsley himself is certainly not on hiatus. Places like this need some fresh thoughts and conversation at times, it’s clear all of the recent threads are well read judging from the number of viewings, yet yet sadly it seems too many have chosen to pass the opportunity to join in. So again I’d repeat that if you’ve recently seen Aynsley (as mcraggs27 has) and would like to share your views, we’d welcome your conversation.
I said to Eldo earlier by e mail perhaps “the management” could do more to promote the website and by default that will bring many more to the forum. If 200 people turn up at a gig could they be left with something, a business card? Giving the site address, all news views etc. Have someone picking up e mail addresses? I know most artists hate the concept of marketing but if you want a full gig you are not only competing with other artists but how people spend their time and money.
The forum is potentially a great catalyst but in my opinion isn’t used to any great effect by the team.
Actually, I didn’t see the announcement about returning to the tower. Thanks for enlightening me there!! I wonder what the problem was, were they unhappy with the playing on the original recordings? or the heckling? (not pointing any fingers!!!) or was the overall quality not good enough?
it’s times like this that some sort of explanation (perhaps via the forum, or website) would be useful, just to keep people up to speed and possibly stop any false or inaccurate rumours spreading.
Not wanting to criticize, and merely offering this as a thought, observation, and topic for debate, but the website itself is pretty uninspiring when compared to other artists. you could almost say bland really…
Usually, a new album brings a new front page to artists site with sound clips, cover photos and relevant press clippings etc. Equilibrium had none of those, and as far as I can recall, the site itself hasn’t changed much in the time I’ve been acquainted with Aynsley’s work. Now that could be for reasons of budget, after all, these things cost money or that Aynsley considers his music to be the most important component of his “package”. I would understand that, but what if I was a young blues rock fan in the USA who had heard of this Brit who can play and sing a bit and wanted to check him out? I know there is the myspace site, but I do know people who won’t go near myspace seeing it as a teenage thing (wrongly so). Yes there is also you tube, but the sound quality on lots of the stuff there is sub standard, additionally, the ALTV section is made up entirely of live clips with no sound bites of previous studio CD’s, (That’s why it’s TV, obviously).
Like it or not, marketing, to a professional musician is a necessary evil and is what gets you noticed almost as much as your playing. Done properly, it is an investment for the future and finding the balance between what you’re comfortable doing and what is just a waste of time is the key.
Going back to Duncan’s original comment about reviews, they are so much easier when the artist does new material as there is much more scope for explaining tones, styles and rhythms (light and shade Nigel…) It’s more difficult when someone is playing basically the same as when you saw him last as there isn’t really anything you can describe about the songs which hasn’t been described before!! I often think the set lists could be swapped around with Aynsley starting and ending with other songs, but that’s a personal choice thing!!
The way Alan explained it was that the band had six months more together after the original Tower recordings so were playing to a higher standard and they wanted the best quality recording out there, logical….but anyway, I’ve already said my piece.
Budget is always a consideration but marketing is so easy and relatively inexpensive these days
Take a look at the Bitter Monday clip and the mini ad for the European tour. Taken on a camcorder and as cheap as chips. Gives a flavour of the music the personality of the artist…sometimes people hide behind money.
And I think we are in agreement that the same set twice weekly isn’t newsworthy enough as a separate article, unless of course it’s a rookie poster whom Im sure wed all agree are more than welcome.
Yes - I’m surprised we haven’t heard from the Venture South team, as I believe they were the support band on friday in Crawley. Come on guys, how did it go?
Nothing to report really, all went fine and it was nice to catch up (both with Aynsley & band and with the other members of VS seeing as we aren’t all around). Like Ian says there’s only so many times you can add anything new if the set is the same and the playing is up to the same standard. As for our set, well as a rule of thumb I don’t write up about it afterwards as it just feels a bit odd, especially on the forum for another artist. There’s also the element of being careful about what you say which can lead to something of a ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ situation that is often best just avoided all together.
Yes - I’m surprised we haven’t heard from the Venture South team, as I believe they were the support band on friday in Crawley. Come on guys, how did it go?
Nothing to report really, all went fine and it was nice to catch up (both with Aynsley & band and with the other members of VS seeing as we aren’t all around). Like Ian says there’s only so many times you can add anything new if the set is the same and the playing is up to the same standard. As for our set, well as a rule of thumb I don’t write up about it afterwards as it just feels a bit odd, especially on the forum for another artist. There’s also the element of being careful about what you say which can lead to something of a ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ situation that is often best just avoided all together.
Yeah, but there’s usually something to say, good crowd, bad crowd, nice venue, bad venue, Aynsley played a new song, etc etc - saying nothing means we’re only left with discussing other artists…..for all we know, there may have only been 13 people there, or was that just at the Scott McKeon gig in Swindon????? Attaching the odd vid is always nice too, for those who can’t make it to the gigs…...
Yes - I’m surprised we haven’t heard from the Venture South team, as I believe they were the support band on friday in Crawley. Come on guys, how did it go?
Nothing to report really, all went fine and it was nice to catch up (both with Aynsley & band and with the other members of VS seeing as we aren’t all around). Like Ian says there’s only so many times you can add anything new if the set is the same and the playing is up to the same standard. As for our set, well as a rule of thumb I don’t write up about it afterwards as it just feels a bit odd, especially on the forum for another artist. There’s also the element of being careful about what you say which can lead to something of a ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ situation that is often best just avoided all together.
Yeah, but there’s usually something to say, good crowd, bad crowd, nice venue, bad venue, Aynsley played a new song, etc etc - saying nothing means we’re only left with discussing other artists…..for all we know, there may have only been 13 people there, or was that just at the Scott McKeon gig in Swindon????? Attaching the odd vid is always nice too, for those who can’t make it to the gigs…...
Fair enough. To be honest the main reason for not witting about it till now is as I say is because of us having supported. There were others from the forum that were there who are probably far better placed to comment. Anyway since you ask it seemed a good turn out. I don’t know the exact number but I heard someone mentioning 120, which at a venue that’s smaller than some of the other Feenstra venues is good, but I have no idea if that’s correct. Can’t remember the set list, partly due to bad memory and partly due to trying to sort out some of our gear etc. don’t have any videos but Prakash was there so I imagine there are some floating around YouTube by now.
Can I add to what Ian said about the explanation for the re-recording of the Tower gig. Although disappointed at not being part of the live recording, I saw Aynsley at The Brook long after The Tower session and I have to agree. The overall standard was head and shoulders above what we got on that Sunday afternoon. Regarding reporting of Aynsley gigs. I will continue to pass comment, good or bad on any show that I attend, so come on everybody , give us your thoughts, what ever they maybe, they are always welcome.
