Breaking new ground in Killin!

Let's start in reverse order for once, just for fun...

Although probably our earliest finishing gig, I was conscious of getting home at a reasonable time to let our much appreciated babysitting father in law get home. As a result, I think the guys discovered I DID know where the accelerator was in the car! 35 minutes door to door from The Coach House to my house! Not bad going!

Sunday morning, and in fact all day, I was absolutely burst due to taking advantage of being the only adult in the house and finish the night with a couple of large glasses of red wine and a surf of the net. Well, wine finished I suddenly discovered it was 3am. Off to bed for this post gig rock dude! Unfortunately by 7am the wine wanted to come back out and could I get back to sleep after the visit to the wee room? No...

Rewind to the gig... Originally we planned that Andy and I would double up and head up together. Well, after a fruitless attempt to fill his car that plan was abandoned and both cars were required. Just goes to show that Andy doesn't swallow - well, his Audi anyway...

A return to the Coach House is always a welcome trip. We've been playing this one for about 8 years now and every time we're greeted with a warm welcome and made to feel like part of the family.

On with the acoustics and into our now obligatory "unplugged" session - this one kicking off with Proud Mary. A really decent assortment, including some really off the wall choices, followed - the most risky gamble being possibly the first ever acoustic outing of "Butterflies Under Glass" from our last album, preceded by my intro where I said the inspiration was a post nuclear landscape where the only survivors are cockroaches and drummers... Butterflies proved itself absolutely stunning done in the stripped version.

At the break we were chatting to Allan & Jock from Blue Steel (another of my band links from the past) who asked if they could do a couple of numbers. We agreed, they played... The return of The Shine saw us kick off again with a long rested "Sugar Mice" which was an absolute pleasure to play again (I LOVE playing the softer stuff like this, Whiter Shade Of Pale, Wish You Were Here etc). We then upped the pace to more rocky material - almost totally ignoring the setlist. New tracks (for us anyway) included Are You Gonna Go My Way & Walk This Way, both of which rocked. We also included a resurrected version of Andy's track "Different Day" - due to be recorded on our next album next month.

Finishing the night (and coming back full circle to relieving faither in law), we finished bang on 12. Allowing for the obligatory "one more song" - we launched into Sex On Fire, pleasing Kim. Down with the volume controls but... NO... Another "One More Song"! I looked pleadingly at Kerry before telling the still strong in numbers audience it would be disrespectful to the Robinsons to abuse their hospitality - only to discover the one more song request had come from Jan & Kim Robinson!

All in all, as usual, another brilliant night with some brilliant people! That was the last one for 2013 but certainly I'll be back up - both to see my friend Stuart McFarlane & also, hopefully with some of my fellow rock monsters, for the band night in November!

Saucy's - You Rock Our World!!

Well, just back from yet another triumphant trip to our Highland "Home From Home" - Saucy Mary's in Kyleakin!

It's fair to say that The Shine always look forward to an amazing night up in Skye's finest and last night did not disappoint. Started off in a really nice way as it turned out there were two bands on last night. As we settled down for something to eat at Saucy's, we were entertained by a great wee band Stor who were on their world tour of Scotland - from the back of a wee Nissan. If only we could fit all our gear in a wee car like this.

After the set up, we hit the stage around 10.30pm and, as usual, the audience were up for a party and stayed with us all night (more about that at the end...).

Although slightly trimmed due to the delayed start, we had a cracking night rocking Saucy's to the rafters.

A quick record time strip down, reload of the van and it was Beer & Dorrito o'clock. A pretty warm night led to not much sleep (and some stinky boy feet smell in the room) but as usual an absolute pleasure to be back at Saucy Mary's!

This morning it was the inevitable piling along to Harry's for breakfast with a smile. While there, a girl who was at Saucy's walked in and shouted "It's the band!!". Yup, we remembered her, she remembered us (obviously she wasn't QUITE drunk enough) and she then told us of the party they'd all had - including a bonfire on the beach - after closing time. Where was our invite I asked? Hmm, Hmm... I think she said we'd have been more than welcome but didn't think to ask - oh well, next time.

On that note, to Jonathan and his new team headed up by Kirsty, thanks a million again. Looking forward already to coming back.

The Shine - A Band In Reverse?

Now, a wise man once said "The great thing with The Shine is it's almost like a dream band in reverse! Most musicians start with the vision of conquering the world, then move into the testosterone fuelled rock band phase and, eventually as old duffers, end up in Clubland".

The Shine (well, a couple of us) have actually paid our dues in Clubland and now as we progress through our 40's are working ...back the way to the rock side. This has always been the ethos of The Shine. While we've got the professionalism and discipline of clubs and functions, we've also more importantly got the spunk and venom of a high energy rock band!

So, as we enter the Marshall Blackstar phase look forward to new material, new energy and new visuals. Think we'll draw the line at conquering the world but we'll certainly be riding the wave of a testosterone fuelled show!

Mull Madness

Here's one particularly for our friends on Mull....

We're compiling a list of things we could do on the Monday, during the day following our Sunday night gig this October. Some of the options are :-

1) go otter spotting (John's idea as he didn't find any last year)
2) take a trip to Iona.
3) see if we could make it to Staffa & take some photos at Fingal's Cave.
4) read / drink tea / eat Jaffa Cakes in the room (John's favourite)
5) record some new material on my new portastudio.
6) build a wee campfire on the beach and roast the drummer's nuts
7) get pished at the Hog Roast

Any other suggestions? Feel free to post on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/theshineonline

Neil

New Lease Of Life

Hey good people!

Strange, we're now into our tenth year together and very recently I get the feeling we've turned a corner into recementing both our sound and the bonds within the band.

Things were feeling a wee bit fractious recently, not to the extent of any threat to the band, but following a really good chat last time up in Skye we're now even more focussed and driven into the next decade! Scary that huh???
Right, new addition! After about 9 years touring round Scotland with my trusty Marshall VS100R amp, I've finally succumbed and traded her for this beauty above! A Blackstar ID60TVP (www.blackstaramps.co.uk) - 60 watts of earth shattering and trouser shifting power. The great thing is that sometimes I was getting frustrated by the Marshall in that I'd have liked my clean sound to be more like a creamy Vox AC30 and, whilst my overdrive was classic Marshall roar, there were times I'd have loved a pure American Mesa Boogie sound.

This amp does ALL of this and more!

In terms of material, we're now being really productive too! Andy & I have written a new batch of originals (to be studio recorded later in the year) and we're agreeing on loads of new classics to include - some piss easy crowd pleasers, some a bit more challenging.

So, things are pretty awesome in "Camp Shine" just now. Come and join us, jump in, the water's lovely!!

Cheers,

Neil

The first of 2013

Spring? Really?..

Spring has sprung, and with it The Shine sprung into action with their our first gig of the year at the ubiquitous Saucy Mary's in Kyleakin.

Following our first couple of rehearsals of the year, we were back on the road for the first time since our last gig of 2012 at Finnegan's Wake in Edinburgh in early December, and boy had we missed it.

We set off for the long journey north at our usual time and pace, with the usual stop in Fort William to stock up on sweeties, tea and cakes that are perhaps not the usual rock band rider, but certainly keep The Shine, and in particular it's bass player department well fuelled for the night of Rock ahead.

On arrival, we were greeted in the usual warm manner by Ally and then by, surprisingly, but Laura, the erstwhile manager of the aforementioned hostelry. It was great to see her there, although she is only back in a temporary capacity, but she always puts a smile on our faces, and indeed an air of expectancy for a good night.

Refuelled and recharged with selections from Saucy's excellent menu, the setup was fairly relaxed and uneventful and at the stroke of 10pm, we launched into our first track of the evening, surprising most of the punters (and assorted members of the band who hadn't fully consulted the set list) by belting into the opening power chords of "Ziggy Stardust". The crowd reaction was immense from the word go, the pub being full to overflowing with both residents of the hostel and local punters out for the night.

The set then just went from strength to strength, with the crowd really getting into it and dancing themselves silly. We pride ourselves on giving the folks who make the effort to come out an see us a great time, and on the evidence of this performance, I think it was mission accomplished. Particularly worthy of note was our "new" addition to the set list, "Lay your hands" by Reef, which had everyone in the bar on their feet and getting into it.

A short break in the incredibly bracing conditions outside and it was into set 2 headlong, designed to be the rockier of the 2 sets and living up to expectation. The set built to the natural ending that is "Heroes" and then, just for the hell of it, the requested encore, a reprise of the bass heavy Be my Girl, by Jet. Clearly, the tea and flapjacks in Fort William had done their job and john was on fire until the bitter end. A quick strip down and outload and then some time to relax in the company of Ally, Laura and Craig, a new addition to the staff since our last visit and a top lad, being as how he's a scouser and he didn't complain regarding out Beatles' covers in the set!

The next morning it was up bright and early, a quick shower and then down to Harry's for a full English, "served with a smile". We commented during breakfast that i was great that the forecast snow had stayed away...

Famous last words. In true Scottish style and to quote Crowded House, we had the full "Four Seasons in One Day" treatment from mother nature on the way back home, periods of bright sunshine interspersed with near whiteout blizzard conditions, the worst of which was experienced when unloading at Neil's place. And the silly boy had forgotten his keys... In true Top Gear style, we abandoned him to his fate and went home. Don't feel too sorry for him, he is still alive after all and still has all of his digits. Ranald Fiennes, eat your heart out!

So we're now underway for the year, the first stunning gig in the bag and we can only hope that the rest of the year lives up to this experience. If you missed us this time in Skye, your next opportunity to catch us up there is in late April, but for a gig more local to our home area, and possibly yours, depending on where you are reading this, feel free to join us at the Riverside Inn, Callander on Sat 30th March from 9pm for our first gig in this venue. Are you looking forward to it?

We are!

Until next time, All the Best

Iain

Vroom! Vroom!!

YAHOO!!!

We're delighted to say we've been invited back to play the Mull Rally again for 2013!!

Bear Pit Bellachroy in Dervaig, we are so looking forward to coming back again! 13th and 14th October 2013 - hog roast anyone?

2012.... See ya!!

So, a recap of 2012... Where to start? As The Shine approaches it's 9th anniversary (God, I can't believe that) it's time for a wee look back at 2012.

2012 for The Shine was a real mix of old & new experiences! In terms of the old, we were delighted to maintain the relationships in playing for the Coach House in Killin, Saucy Mary's (more about them later) and the mighty Finnegan's Wake in Edinburgh. The reality is we have a great time playing in some of the more rural parts of Scotland - Skye, Oban, Mull, Killin etc and then come home to ROCK the capital city! Although our "road trips" are indeed many of the highlights, after 6 years of loyalty - on both sides - it could be argued that Finnegan's Wake is our "home".

For once, this year saw absolutely no personnel changes in the band - other than the odd dep. Very unusual for The Shine! It's quite disconcerting when going to regular long standing gigs and being greeted with "My God, you've got the same bass player as last year!".

So, on the road.... Firstly, it looks like we may have said goodbye to The Lorne in Oban during 2012. It would be nice to return but unfortunately following a cancellation on about 24 hours notice we've not been back up (other than passing through). It's a real shame as the Oban audiences rock - hopefully we've left the door ajar if not fully open!

As always Saucy Mary's in Kyleakin rocks our world! We've had a few funny ones up there in 2012 - invariably rockin' nights but some very different atmospheres. We started the year off with Laura having left and Steve taken over. As Steve got to grips with Saucy's we saw a change towards more a dining pub than the "hoolies" in 2011. This wasn't entirely bad, although the atmosphere was changed... High points were the night of the "Luv Muffs" in May and "The Night Of The Tittage" (as per the blog below). We then ended the year of Saucy's in November to find Steve had left and Johnathan had taken control. No bad thing, the atmosphere was amazing! This kinda leads me to believe that Steve was keeping a lid on the place - whilst Aly and the team are behind the bar, however, Saucy's is just amazing!

Some new ground broken? Yep, how about an acoustic gig in Andy's next door neighbour's garden back in the summer? This was actually great fun and a great opportunity to play about with some completely different material (most of which I hadn't pre-warned the guys about). "In the air tonight" on nylon string classical acoustic comes to mind...

Just like leap years, we also made our return to the Scribbler's Picnic in June 2012 - gladly doing our bit to raise funds for various invaluable cancer charities. Thanks a million to Ted Christopher for having us back - who knows, we might even get another invite in 2016! :-) A scorching wee set was delivered by the mighty Shine monster - blowing the cobwebs off a typically dreich June Sunday. Of note was when, near the end of our set, we got the signal for "one more song". No probs thought I and happily welded about 4 songs together into a rock medley - lasting roughly 20 minutes! Fair's fair, all the other bands were over-running so why the hell shouldn't we while we were on fire!

Dervaig... Mull... The 2012 Rally... Yeah, this needs a section all to itself! We were delighted and honoured to be invited by Nick & Debs at the Bellachroy in Dervaig to play for two nights at the "post Rally" party & hog roast! One slight problem, Iain was out of commission on sprogging duties. Into the breach stepped good friend Bruce Flaws on drums. Wow! What a player! Loud, powerful and absolutely precise - Bruce immediately secured his position as our automatic first choice dep! Not only had he put in his homework but he adapted seamlessly to my usual dropping songs in at random - some tracks NONE of us had done before! This gig (second night) also saw the birth of another new experiment in which John took on six string duties and I stepped back into bass. Overall we had a stunning couple of days - Mull absolutely rocked our socks off! Special mention (if I can remember all the names) goes to Nick, Debs, Kerry, Callum, Fiona, Shona, Alan, Ally and everyone else who was there - you guys wrote the book on how to drink and party! The gigs themselves were hot, tight and rocking - two almost completely different sets each night. The floor was awash with beer, as were our jeans after the inevitable floor slides! Hopefully we'll be back!

Finnegan's - what to say? As always, each night was outstanding and always a pleasure! Well, with one exception... There was the night of Andy's catastrophic gear failure! Complete Marshall meltdown. After a quick changearound, I stuck my guitar through my effects and into the rig - sacrificing my Marshall to Andy. All's well that ended well and we limped through to the end of another successful gig. Other than this one glitch, each night at Finnegan's was tight, rocking and home to the beautiful people.

So there we go, a short precis of 2012. Here's hoping 2013 is even better!!! In the meantime, why not join the "in crowd" and follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/theshineonline.

Catch you on the road and all the best for 2013.

Peace and best of luv!

Neil