Happy Christmas from The Shine

To all the great venues, all the great people we've worked with in 2010 and all the amazing people we've played to throughout the year....

From Andy, Stevie, Iain and myself, we wish you all a fantastic Christmas, Happy New Year and all the very best for 2011.

See you all in the new year.

Peace, best of luv and God bless.

Neil

The only thing that can stop The Shine!

It was with real regret that, unfortunately, we had to pull out of last Saturday's gig (4.12.10) at the fabulous Lorne Hotel in Oban.

With the worst snowfall and freezing temperatures in 30 years, not only was it not safe to drive up to Oban but - being honest - 3 out of the 4 of us couldn't even get to our vehicles which were buried in snowdrifts.

Bloody weather! It's the whole principal of The Shine NEVER to cancel a gig or let anyone down but with these exceptional circumstances I'm afraid it was inevitable.

Bring on 2011 and we'll make it up to you good people of Oban! 5 bookings in the diary and we'll make every one of them a night to remember.

Take care, best of luv and have a great Christmas & New Year.

Neil

King Haakon Bar, Skye - Sheep Have Webbed Feet!!!

Captain's Log - Stardate 06.11.2010 - The Shine venture further north than ever before to seek new lifeforms of partying... And by God did we find them!!!

Even the journey north was amazing with great opportunities for band photo shoots and Stevie & I firing off more shots than the average Japanese tourist!! Stevie did, however, get caught taking a shot at a cute German girl's butt as he forgot to switch the flash off!

This was our first gig at the King Haakon Bar at Kyleakin on Skye but, as it turns out, the first of many. We arrived at about 6pm and were made very welcome by Kate the barmaid who told us Robert would be down in about half an hour. That was cool, time for a pint!! This was also the first gig we'd all be away overnight together and we were going to enjoy it!

Robert appeared about 6.30 and gave us the lie of the land - set up about 8.30, play from 9.45 to 1am. Absolutely fine we thought, we've got tons of material so no problems. Time to tuck into our burgers, fish & chips and fajitas!

When we kicked off, the bar had about 20 diehard locals who'd been there for a few hours already... then the place went mental....!! It started to fill up as the night went on and just kept filling up! We had the girls from (a different) Kate's 18th birthday party, we even had loads of folks still in Halloween dress a week after Halloween! Believe me, when the party starts in Skye it just gets better and better as time goes on!

There was tons of walkabouts (or more accurately "runabouts") as Andy, Stevie and I all went through the appreciative crowd. So much so, Andy lost the cover for his radio unit in the melee.

Eventually at 1.05am we decided to call it quits as there were more girls on stage than there were band members, the local Police were hovering and Robert had the house lights on. Quick stripdown of the gear and it was time for a quick drinkypoo with the King Haakon crew. At 3am we decided to call it a night and crawl off to bed.

Next morning we were up at about 8.30 and thinking "how the hell do we go downstairs when there's no sign of life?". Well, Iain and I discovered the answer to this - we set the intruder alarm off!

Leisurely load up of the van, a chat with Robert and 4 more gigs, and we were off on the road again at about 10.30 for a slightly bleary and hungover drive down the road.

And now the punchline - On the way up Stevie was asking us why he sunk in a bog in Wales but sheep could trot over the bogs. His theory is that sheep have got webbed feet...!!! Laugh, we needed dry underwear!

Until next time you lovely, mental West Highland people!

What could be better than Finnegan's Wake?

That's right - a double header at Finnegan's Wake!!

Big thanks to Danny, we picked up an extra - our first Friday night - at Finnegan's on Friday 8th October. This was then followed by our "official" booking on Saturday 16th October. The challenge? To have two radically different setlists but keeping the handful of guaranteed crowd pleasers as well.

So, we rolled into Victoria Street on Friday 8th for the "extra" gig - and boy what a gig! The Friday crowd were every bit as enthusiastic as the usual Saturday crowd! Despite (personally) feeling pretty duff, we stormed into a selection featuring older stuff and some tracks which had never been played before. This gig also gave us the opportunity to take time in setting up the gear in a new way through the Finnegan's rig. Time well spent.... Where previously we were overdriving the house desk, this time we took a direct feed from our desk into the house amps! What a sound, what clarity! This was also the first gig at Finnegan's featuring my Roland GR-20 guitar synth and, my God, it sounds awesome through a good rig!

Following our first outing to Finnegan's on 18th September and subsequent "social" visits, our challenge was to stop the inevitable exodus at around 12.30am. We succeeded!!!

So, one week later and we were back... Gone was the comfort zone of familiar material in familiar places. Working a completely different set, this was a great opportunity to try a few new things - although the setlist kind of went out thew window as we adapted to crowd response. First new track (well, excepting a brave try the previous Friday) was Kings Of Leon's Sex On Fire. This second gig REALLY did it justice and we're now definitely confident it's a keeper! For the third gig running we also got the request for Summer Of 69 so despite Andy loathing the song (I love it) we cracked through a passable version even though it's never been rehearsed.

The night ended with yet another change... We always finish with David Bowie's Heroes, so much so Danny had cued up the video to play on the big screens in the background... And we ended with the first outing for our version of Runrig's Loch Lomond! It's nice not to be predictable!!

Only two glitches... The bass intro to Kaiser Chief's Oh My God left us thinking "Oh My God!" and, although we were recording the gig, the line input from the desk was so powerful that the recording was a distorted mush. Oh well, try again next time!

So, there we go - can't wait for the next batch of bookings at Edinburgh's finest!

Next up, our world tour of Scotland takes us further north than we've ever been before! The King Haaken Bar, Kyleakin, Skye!

Catch you soon and best of luv,

Neil

Farewell To Fife (well, maybe....)

So, off we trotted to the Woodside in Glenrothes last night.... Farewell to Fife? Well, certainly for 2010. Who knows what 2011 will bring?

Another belting night with The Shine! We arrived to very few punters in the venue but as we kicked off the place started to fill up... and carried on filling up all night!

The band were absolutely on fire - every one of us! Obviously this heavy gigging schedule makes us as tight as a frog's arse on a frosty morning!

Highlights?

* First live outing for the Roland GR-20 guitar synth - WOW!!!

* The random dropping in of "never played before" material - Sunshine Of Your Love & Hush - both of which worked!

*The girl in the yellow mini dress which was so mini Stevie and I got a full flash of her bum cheeks!

Next up, another great gig at Finnegans Wake - hopefully with The Shinettes and The Eyemouth Posse in attendance!

Until next time.....

Neil

The Triumphant Return!!!

The date was early December 2008, The Shine had just played our socks off and finished the night by landing another 6 gigs for 2009... Then an overly hot vindaloo at Khushi's upstairs destroyed not only Edinburgh's top venue but also the Indian restaurant and The Liquid Rooms.
21 months later, here we are - The Shine's triumphant return to the fantastic Finnegans Wake!! The venue's very different - gone are the dark colours, the alcoves and the beer soaked floor. This is now the new, improved version with tons of new wood finishes and stacks of atmosphere. Oh, and a killer sound system.

We arrived last night, Saturday 18th September 2010, with bags of excitement at returning to Finnegans, coupled with a wee bit of trepidation at using the house rig (justifiable after the disaster of using Behind The Wall's crap arrangement - who puts bass bins up near the ceiling?). This concern was completely unfounded as the Finnegan's system is awesome and with a clarity out of this world.

After setting up, come 10pm we launched into young Mr Keates return high energy set - titled on this gig as "the OMG it's good to be back at Finnegans set". Kinda says it all... We rocked our way through a collection of favourites old and new in the first set, spurred on by a great collection of hen nights - big up to Jenny's (?) hen night who were with us all night. Off for a quick drink top up and towel down by freshly scrubbed nubile virgins - and we were off again!

Set 2 kicked off with a strangely placed "Let It Be" and then we were off into the crowd pleasers Chesea Dagger, Monster, Song 2 and other rip roaring crowd stompers!

Highlights of the night? Getting firmly back into the saddle of working a crowd, taking them with us and all together singing our hearts out - on this occasion, Chelsea Dagger, Land Of 1000 dances, Song 2, Mustang Funky Sally.... One downside? My channel switch on my amp suddenly deciding (twice) to switch itself from clean channel to screaming lead at random!

So, until our next outing to Edinburgh's finest on 16th October 2010 (joined hopefully by The Shinettes and The Eyemouth Posse) - as Andy says "OMG it's good to be back!".

Oh, and it's true... The Edinburgh girls are just so Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!

Take care and until the next time best of luv!

N

Appologies to our female fans...

Yes, the Shine can exclusively reveal, ladies that you have indeed missed the boat. Our pocket guitarist, Mr Andrew Keates, the young good looking one in amongst the old codgers, will, this Saturday coming, make an honest woman out of his fiancee, Gwen. Our old friends, Soul Inferno with our erstwhile bass dude, Mr Stuart Grant at the helm will be providing the music for said occasion, which means a bit of impromptu jamming will be in order at some point in the proceedings. I hope we don't scare the grannies too much.

Seriously though, the other 75% of the shine wish Andy and Gwen all that they wish themselves and respectfully request that Gwen lets Andy out to play with us on a regular basis- after her honeymoon of course.

Mines a pint of you're asking.

Normal service will be resumed in approximately 4 weeks...

The Lorne Hotel, Oban, 31/07/2010

While sorting out the gear to take to Oban, we received the alarming, but frankly hilarious news that Stevie had done a "Spinal Tap" and fallen down his stairs at home and seriously damaged his shoulder. As Stevie was meant to be driving, we got serious immediately unpacked the beers that we had decided to take and then enquired after his health. True to form, Stevie cried the show must go on and avowed that it would be "alright on the night" once the adrenalin and the painkillers kicked in.

Having redistributed the driving duties off we went to sunny Oban, our progress only hampered by the plethora of mobile tin cans, ie, caravans on the road to the north west with us. A couple of vaguely frustrating hours later we arrived at the Lorne, where it was steak pie o'clock, so much so that we took a brisk walk along the front to give the bar some time to clear before we returned for some much needed scran. Oban was heaving with the holiday crowd and we dared to hope that more than a few of these visitors would visit us in the Lorne later.

Refueling accomplished, we then had another short wait before the bar could be cleared enough to get set up, which was accomplished in record time.

Having had a few minor sound issues at the previous gig, we prepared to start the proceedings, aware also that Stevie was not overly confident of his shoulder lasting the night out.

From the first chord it was clear that whatever had happened previously, the sound was spot on this time. The crowd got right behind us and sang and danced the night away with us. High spots; Whiter shade of pale- the second outing for this old classic and now we know what is coming up, we're right into it; the revisiting of Cocaine for the first time in many, many gigs was long overdue also. It was hot and sweaty, but that's just how we like it and at the end of the night, having played a blinder, we left the stage after an encore with the sound of "One more song" being chanted enthusiastically by the now well oiled punters.

All in all, a great night, as it always is at the Lorne. The afterglow of the night even made Stevie's arm feel better. Nuff said!

Rocking The Borders - Tavern Bar, Eyemouth

"Good Evening Eyemouth!!!" (no, this wasn't the crowd from Saturday 12th June 2010 - but ours was equally great)!

We were delighted to break more new ground last night - and what amazing ground to break! This was the first time ever for The Shine at the Tavern Bar, Eyemouth and what a night we had! Huge thanks to Douglas and his great team for making us very welcome, very helpful and very friendly (with a special mention to Jennifer "Bing" - our first Eyemouth fan!)

Despite the England Vs. USA World Cup match (1-1 draw, to Andy's disgust) and a wedding in Eyemouth, what an amazing night we had in this fantastic venue. We rolled into town about 7pm with plenty of time to suss out the stage layout and then off to the chippy for tea.

Gear set up, we hit the stage at 9.30 with the usual "Another Brick In The Wall" with extended intro by me! :-) From there on, we rocked the Tavern to the rafters with people on the dancefloor from the outset. Storming through a wide ranging set from The Beatles to Green day, there was something for everyone and by God they were into it! The good people of Eyemouth sure know how to party! And to think the bar staff said last night was quiet.... Roll on a busy gig!

Highlights, where do I start...?

How about the group of 3 girls who were with us pretty much all night (now our biggest fans Amber, Liz & Wendy) - one of them dressed like a pirate wench - Amber - (apologies if this wasn't intended and was purely Borders fashion). But thanks to one of you for letting me wear your big floppy hat for one song and then Stevie having a shot for the next.

How about the guys who kept asking for AC/DC - even immediately after we'd played "Highway To Hell" by AC/DC.

How about the great looking girl who invented what we'll now know as "The Shine Bra Dance" - almost like a can-can but with her top pulled up to her neck (NICE!!! We actively encourage this at all future gigs).

How about Bing coming out from behind the bar to dance her ass off to her favourite tracks.

How about to the biker chick with the low self esteem who wanted "Smoke On The Water" but was just too late in the night (and we made an arse of it in Killin). By the way, definite low self esteem - no you're not a saddo and yes you are good looking if you read this!

No, this gig goes out to our Stevie. Stevie's been with us for about 5 months now, got a good few gigs under his belt but really this man is now starting to Shine! We've been looking for a guy as into the band as the rest of us for a couple of years now and by God we've got him in Stevie. The guy rocks, the guy moves his booty, the guy integrates (wait til he goes wireless!) and now he sings! Stevie, this gig's dedicated to you!

Until the next time...

Cheers,

Neil

Oban ROCKS!!!

Well, that was another cracker at The Lorne in Oban last night! My only wish is that we had started playing there years ago with this band... What a gig!!

The Lorne people (Declan & his team) are awesome and so are the customers. We totally love playing here! Whether it's a cold November or February or, like last night, a heatwave May the audience is out of this world! You guys rock!

The band was absolutely on fire last night (well apart from being slightly humid in the bollock department) and played a blinder start to finish. The sound was absolutely spot on this time round, unlike the problems at the previous Glenrothes gig where we overcooked the monitor mixer - blowing a supply fuse - and when the sound's right, the playing's great. We kicked through all the old favourites and did justice to the newer stuff. Slightly flagging by "Rat Trap" but fuelled by lager and cider made it through.

Couple of highlights of the night? Stevie announcing he was going for a w*nk at the break - at precicely the moment the entire pub fell silent - and singing happy birthday to Andy during the band intros! Oh yeah, and coining a new phrase for good looking ladies who appeal to one or all of us... "Fud U Like"!!! Ah, we're just cheeky hot rockin' boys....

Long trip home which I think we all had a wee snooze on (well, hopefully not Iain) and back home by 3.30am - 4am.

Can't wait for our next wee soiree up to Oban in July. Hopefully another hot one and good looking audience!

One question, where do all the short skirted and low topped girls appear from that we pass on the way out of Oban? We need you at The Lorne before you go to McD's!! It's just not fair seeing you all when we're drained and sweaty at the end of the night!!

Another new era!

So here we go again... Another year in the life of The Shine (6th one to be honest) and another bass player! We really must be Spinal Tap!

Quite seriously, Andy and I had an extremely sensible chat with Dave back in January. Whilst Dave was committed to the band, and us to him, he also had other priorities with his function band and other projects. Whilst Andy, Iain and I have the support of our "day jobs", Dave relied on music as a valuable source of income. The outcome was that we all agreed to be adult, remain friends, stay in touch when we needed each other but to cut each other loose to do what was best for each concerned.

Enter Stevie Patrick... Stevie was one of many bass players we, without sounding pretentious, auditioned. In addition to having checked out our setlist on here and learned a huge percentage of it, immediately brought a newfound fire to our sound. Stevie's playing is like an amalgamation of the best of who's gone before - the rockiness of Mark, the punchiness of Stu and the talent of Mike and Dave. One other difference - fuck, he can talk!!! It's also great to have another Glaswegian in the band.

After starting the year at another new venue for us, Fishers in Pitlochry, with Stu doing a brilliant job on bass, it was into the studio for a frantic runthrough with Stevie. Within 2 sessions he was gig ready! Just as well as, come 13th Feb, we all piled into Iain's famous Boogie Bus Mk.2 and headed up to the Lorne in Oban.

A fantastic time was had by all in Oban - this really is a cracking wee venue. Mid February in Oban? We thought this might be a quiet one - how wrong can one band be?? The place was, as usual, jammed to the rafters and rocking. The one thing I think we can safely say now we're into our second year with Declan and the Lorne is that this is always a fantastic gig with a fantastic audience. Yes the skirts are shorter in July but the reception would always defrost an eskimo's jockstrap. The one downside was that we discovered the "traffic light" noise limiter DOES work - twice! Something to bear in mind for the rest of 2010. We blame Stevie as this never happened with Dave. Anyway, Stevie... This was where he was either going to prove his mettle or we were going to kill each other. Bloody hell can this boy play! We thought he was good in the studio - stick him in front of a live audience and he's on fire!!!

The other great thing is Stevie's arrival has injected a new fire into the band. With no other commitments, Andy and I are now back to firing on all six to get The Shine back in as many venues as we can manage. We're now optimistic that a return to the fabulous Finnegan's Wake will take place in 2010 thanks to a great communication with Danny, still pursuing O'Neill's in Albion Street, Glasgow, secured a gig at The Tavern Bar, Eyemouth with more to follow in 2011, off to Skye in November with more to follow in 2011, more Pitlochry gigs and, last but not least, looking forward to a return to our "home from home" The Coach House Hotel, Killin.

On top of all this, 2010 will see Andy being made an honest man and frankly couldn't happen to a nicer couple - Andy and Gwen are truly a couple of the nicest, most decent people you could hope to meet! Also, our intention is to return to the recording studio later in the year to record some new tracks - some tried and tested live material and some brand new original material. This should be fantastic with the new sound and new line up.

Until then, hopefully catch you on the road somewhere.

Peace.

Neil