Tabernacle gig – 1st gig under our belt

We had  a good time last night… Thanks to fans and friends for making it a great night!, but its always tough in The Tabernacle with a band… Anything above “quiet” and “one man and his guitar” becomes  too loud and indistinct even if you are playing softly in “acoustic mode”

I hear somebody turned up to see me, was told I wasn’t playing so promptly left. Apologies to whoever you are. Please get in touch!

Saturday 30th July

Next gig with the band we will be cranking it up to the max, and it will be filmed for broadcast by TFTV at AAA, Kensington High Street, on Saturday 30th July. Should be  a special night. the TFTV guys always deliver a great night with plenty of diversity

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Andy Mitchell official website: andymitchellmusic.com

Andy Mitchell (The Yardbirds) London Concert Saturday 25th June

Saturday 25th June – First headline “almost acoustic show with my band, featuring songs from my forthcoming album “Rooms”

Venue – The  Tabernacle, Powis Square/Talbot Road, Notting Hill, London W11 2AY
Doors 7pm
price: £6
website tabernaclew11.com 

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Looking forward to final rehearsal with the band today – time to break out the camera methinks.

Having recovered from a  touch of “Barcelona Belly”, Yardbirds Guitarist Ben King has been driving himself nuts with playing in my weird altered tunings

For some unknown reason, bassist Justin Bikram has been imagining big horn sections in all the songs… Whatever makes him happy!

Drummer Simone Freddi  will no doubt be contemplating this weekend’s sports fixtures

…whereas I will be momentarily thinking of our poor mud-soaked friends at Glastonbury this weekend (they might get lucky on Sunday)

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Andy Mitchell – FORTHCOMING GIGS http://andymitchellmusic.com/#/events

Saturday 25th June – First headline acoustic show with my band, featuring songs from my forthcoming album “Rooms”

Tuesday 5th July – Karin Fransson album launch. 5 Green Carnation, 5 Greek Street Soho http://www.greencarnationsoho.co.uk/ onstage 7.30

Friday 22nd July  – Regal Room at The Distillers Hammersmith – stripped-down and delicate acoustic set with Ben King from The Yardbirds on guitar. this is a fantastic intimate venue with a great sound

Tuesday 23rd August – The Bedford Balham – Acoustic set with my band – The Bedford is widely considered as the place to go and see top quality acoustic music in London. Come down and celebrate the release of my album.

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THE YARDBIRDS

1 gig in July:

29th July – Southbank Vintage Festival, London

http://theyardbirds.com/tour.html

–

Please sign up to the mailing list to receive news about upcoming gigs and the album release.

(facebook friends can go here to link up – the link will open a new window).

–

the official website of Andy Mitchell andymitchellmusic.com

facebook fans – click “like” and join the mailing list

Andy Mitchell on last.fm

Andy Mitchell on myspace

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Dave Pensado and Jack Joseph Puig – mega producers

Great interview on Dave Pensado’s  pensadosplace youtube channel:

Really cool discussion about mixing techniques and “home productions”

Dave Pensado and Jack Joseph Puig are mixing legends who have worked with the biggest names in pop and rock eg Black Crowes (one of my favourite albums Amorica), No Doubt, Gwen Stefani, Beyonce, Black Eyed Peas, to name a few

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xujND35MB4w&feature=sh_e_sl&list=SL

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Andy Mitchell – FORTHCOMING GIGS http://andymitchellmusic.com/#/events

Next gig – this Saturday 25th Jun at The Tabernacle, London W11 2AY – Doors 7.00 £6

–

THE YARDBIRDS

1 gig in July:

29th July – Southbank Vintage Festival, London

http://theyardbirds.com/tour.html

–

Please sign up to the mailing list to receive news about upcoming gigs and the album release.

(facebook friends can go here to link up – the link will open a new window).

–

the official website of Andy Mitchell andymitchellmusic.com

facebook fans – click “like” and join the mailing list

Andy Mitchell on last.fm

Andy Mitchell on myspace

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Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell – “The Age of autonomy”

Great insightful interview with one of my all-time favourite singers Chris Cornell of Soundgarden:

http://www.3news.co.nz/Chris-Cornell-talks-Soundgarden-and-life—full-interview/tabid/551/articleID/215669/Default.aspx

Superunknown was one of those albums I would listen to tirelessly… and then years later I discovered that they had released another album after that: Down on the upside a fantastic raw punky behemoth, very different to Superunknown but equally compelling.

I always loved Chris Cornell’s colourful lyrics – they always have a surreal twist that conjours up vivid mental images… Quite psychedelic.

And I have always shared the love of altered tunings with Soundgarden, although I didn’t get the idea from them – That was Joni Mitchell

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Andy Mitchell – FORTHCOMING GIGS http://andymitchellmusic.com/#/events

 

Next gig – this Saturday 25th Jun at The Tabernacle, London W11 2AY – Doors 7.00 £6

–

THE YARDBIRDS

1 gig in July:

29th July – Southbank Vintage Festival, London

http://theyardbirds.com/tour.html

–

Please sign up to the mailing list to receive news about upcoming gigs and the album release.

(facebook friends can go here to link up – the link will open a new window).

–

the official website of Andy Mitchell andymitchellmusic.com

facebook fans – click “like” and join the mailing list

Andy Mitchell on last.fm

Andy Mitchell on myspace

–

Andy Mitchell – London show Sat 25th June

First show with my new band – Saturday 25th June –  featuring songs from my forthcoming album “Rooms”

Live at the Tabernacle London Sat 25th June

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Andy Mitchell – FORTHCOMING GIGS http://andymitchellmusic.com/#/events

Tuesday 5th July – Karin Fransson album launch. 5 Green Carnation, 5 Greek Street Soho http://www.greencarnationsoho.co.uk/ onstage 7.30

Friday 22nd July  – Regal Room at The Distillers Hammersmith – stripped-down and delicate acoustic set with Ben King from The Yardbirds on guitar. this is a fantastic intimate venue with a great sound

Tuesday 23rd August – The Bedford Balham – Acoustic set with my band – The Bedford is widely considered as the place to go and see top quality acoustic music in London. Come down and celebrate the release of my album.

–

THE YARDBIRDS

1 gig in July:

29th July – Southbank Vintage Festival, London

http://theyardbirds.com/tour.html

–

Please sign up to the mailing list to receive news about upcoming gigs and the album release.

(facebook friends can go here to link up – the link will open a new window).

–

the official website of Andy Mitchell andymitchellmusic.com

facebook fans – click “like” and join the mailing list

Andy Mitchell on last.fm

Andy Mitchell on myspace

–

The Yardbirds break out a psychedelic favourite

The Yardbirds

On our last gig we introduced a psychedelic classic “Glimpses” into the set, which went down a storm with the fans.

An intrepid Yardbirds fan was ready with the cam and special FX palatte:

We will definitely keep this one in the set for the forthcoming Yardbirds US tour

Yardbirds 2011 tour information 

http://theyardbirds.com/tour.html

–

Andy Mitchell – FORTHCOMING GIGS http://andymitchellmusic.com/#/events

Saturday 25th June – First headline acoustic show with my band, featuring songs from my forthcoming album “Rooms”

Tuesday 5th July – Karin Fransson album launch. 5 Green Carnation, 5 Greek Street Soho http://www.greencarnationsoho.co.uk/ onstage 7.30

Friday 22nd July  – Regal Room at The Distillers Hammersmith – stripped-down and delicate acoustic set with Ben King from The Yardbirds on guitar. this is a fantastic intimate venue with a great sound

Tuesday 23rd August – The Bedford Balham – Acoustic set with my band – The Bedford is widely considered as the place to go and see top quality acoustic music in London. Come down and celebrate the release of my album.

–

Please sign up to the mailing list to receive news about upcoming gigs and the album release.

(facebook friends can go here to link up – the link will open a new window).

–

the official website of Andy Mitchell andymitchellmusic.com

facebook fans – click “like” and join the mailing list

Andy Mitchell on last.fm

Andy Mitchell on myspace

–

Andy Mitchell – Rehearsals for upcoming gigs

Had a great first rehearsal with the whole band. It was great to hear the songs in  a differernt light.

As the next couple of gigs are more on the acoustic side we are adapting the set slightly. Sounds magical!

Yardbirds Guitarist Ben King is doing a great job adding some lovely atmospheric electric guitar tones

Bassist Justin Bikram and I go back a long way, but this is the first time we have worked together. His McCartney-esque style is adding a very cool flavour to my tunes.

Drummer Simone Freddi and I have worked together a lot previously, and it is wonderful, nay, awesome, listening to he and Justin locking in and grooving.

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Andy Mitchell – FORTHCOMING GIGS http://andymitchellmusic.com/#/events

Saturday 25th June – First headline acoustic show with my band, featuring songs from my forthcoming album “Rooms”

Tuesday 5th July – Karin Fransson album launch. 5 Green Carnation, 5 Greek Street Soho http://www.greencarnationsoho.co.uk/ onstage 7.30

Friday 22nd July  – Regal Room at The Distillers Hammersmith – stripped-down and delicate acoustic set with Ben King from The Yardbirds on guitar. this is a fantastic intimate venue with a great sound

Tuesday 23rd August – The Bedford Balham – Acoustic set with my band – The Bedford is widely considered as the place to go and see top quality acoustic music in London. Come down and celebrate the release of my album.

–

THE YARDBIRDS

1 gig in July:

29th July – Southbank Vintage Festival, London

http://theyardbirds.com/tour.html

–

Please sign up to the mailing list to receive news about upcoming gigs and the album release.

(facebook friends can go here to link up – the link will open a new window).

–

the official website of Andy Mitchell andymitchellmusic.com

facebook fans – click “like” and join the mailing list

Andy Mitchell on last.fm

Andy Mitchell on myspace

–

Amps…

In my last post I covered my current signal path:

I forgot to mention that I have re-introduced my Digitech Bad Monkey overdrive as an additional Tube screamer type overdrive.

I actually sold my Ibanez TS9 because I prefer the Bad Monkey tone … and I am in good company it seems!

Recent Bon Jovi lead guitarist, the incredible Phil X was using one for solos in front of the fabulous Evil Robot by John Kasha (you can hear the Bad Monkey at arond 3.30 in the following clip)

http://www.youtube.com/user/frettedamericana#p/search/1/Wt9d3G6PSRI

Amps 

Depending on my mood, I will plug into either a 1973 Hiwatt Custom 50, built by the great man Dave Reeves himself .

The preceding link is a must-read if you want to know anything Hiwatt related. which is  an absolute rockin beast…  great sounding amp… although very bright with the wrong speakers.

Or I use Framus Dragon, which is  a great sounding 100 watt 3 channel beast loaded with EL34s I generally use the clean channel at the moment – nice Fendery tone with lots of headroom for solo boosts if I am relying on my pedals… sadly it just blew up, so off to the amp doctor it goes… eek!

These plug into  a Framus 2 x 12 cab with Vintage 30s – very loud speakers, so I generally use my trusty THD Hotplate to knock back the volume.. absolutely essential with the Hiwatt!

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Andy Mitchell – FORTHCOMING GIGS http://andymitchellmusic.com/#/events

Saturday 25th June – First headline acoustic show with my band, featuring songs from my forthcoming album “Rooms”

Tuesday 5th July – Karin Fransson album launch. 5 Green Carnation, 5 Greek Street Soho http://www.greencarnationsoho.co.uk/ onstage 7.30

Friday 22nd July  – Regal Room at The Distillers Hammersmith – stripped-down and delicate acoustic set with Ben King from The Yardbirds on guitar. this is a fantastic intimate venue with a great sound

Tuesday 23rd August – The Bedford Balham – Acoustic set with my band – The Bedford is widely considered as the place to go and see top quality acoustic music in London. Come down and celebrate the release of my album.

–

THE YARDBIRDS

1 gig in July:

Southbank Vintage Festival, London

http://theyardbirds.com/tour.html

–

Please sign up to the mailing list to receive news about upcoming gigs and the album release.

(facebook friends can go here to link up – the link will open a new window).

–

the official website of Andy Mitchell andymitchellmusic.com

facebook fans – click “like” and join the mailing list

–

Guitar stuff continued…

Current signal path:

1) Guitar >>> George L cable >>> either my beloved eighties Japanese Fender Tele, or an eighties Bill Lawrence guitar – also Japanese.

ZVEX super-duper 2-in1, a sparkly-sounding full range dual booster which sounds great into Marshalls. it has a very high impedance input (5meg ohms) – so no tonal loss.

2) Zoom Hyperlead H-01 http://www.samsontech.com/products/productpage.cfm?prodID=160 – This is supposedly a true bypass pedal, however it doesn’t pass signal without power…go figure!

3) Electro Harmonix small stone phaser – I love this pedal even though it is far from transparent. It has that Van Halen I vibe on slow settings to it (you can hear what I am talking about at 1 min 4 sec here on Jamie’s Cryin’) , and it also nails that Band Of Gypsys Univibe sound when I set the knob at 12 o’clock.

4) TC Electronic Nova system. This is  a great compact digital multi FX unit with analog overdrive and distortion. The only deal-breaker is the way the  switches work… The FX engage after you press the switch! I found this out after I had bought it! Still decided to keep it. Sounds great, although it doesn’t have modulation delay)

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Andy Mitchell – FORTHCOMING GIGS http://andymitchellmusic.com/#/events

Saturday 25th June – First headline acoustic show with my band, featuring songs from my forthcoming album “Rooms”

Tuesday 5th July – Karin Fransson album launch. 5 Green Carnation, 5 Greek Street Soho http://www.greencarnationsoho.co.uk/ onstage 7.30

Friday 22nd July  – Regal Room at The Distillers Hammersmith – stripped-down and delicate acoustic set with Ben King from The Yardbirds on guitar. this is a fantastic intimate venue with a great sound

Tuesday 23rd August – The Bedford Balham – Acoustic set with my band – The Bedford is widely considered as the place to go and see top quality acoustic music in London. Come down and celebrate the release of my album.

–

THE YARDBIRDS

1 gig in July:

Southbank Vintage Festival, London

http://theyardbirds.com/tour.html

–

Please sign up to the mailing list to receive news about upcoming gigs and the album release.

(facebook friends can go here to link up – the link will open a new window).

–

the official website of Andy Mitchell andymitchellmusic.com

facebook fans – click “like” and join the mailing list

–

Guitar stuff

As I briefly mentioned earlier, I am currently using and enjoying  an oddity from the mid-eighties.

It is  a long-discontinued Tele shaped hybrid by Bill Lawrence, made in Japan by a brand called Morris. It has  an L-500 humbucker in the bridge position, and a hum cancelling single coil size pickup in the neck position. The bridge is somewhat like a traditional strat tremolo bridge.

Apparently Bill Lawrence started using alnico pickups some time in the 90s, which means these are “less desireable “to some ears as they are ceramic. I like the clarity but I do find the bridge pickup is rather bright until the tone control is almost off.

–

Andy Mitchell – FORTHCOMING GIGS http://andymitchellmusic.com/#/events

Saturday 25th June – First headline acoustic show with my band, featuring songs from my forthcoming album “Rooms”

Tuesday 5th July – Karin Fransson album launch. 5 Green Carnation, 5 Greek Street Soho http://www.greencarnationsoho.co.uk/ onstage 7.30

Friday 22nd July  – Regal Room at The Distillers Hammersmith – stripped-down and delicate acoustic set with Ben King from The Yardbirds on guitar. this is a fantastic intimate venue with a great sound

Tuesday 23rd August – The Bedford Balham – Acoustic set with my band – The Bedford is widely considered as the place to go and see top quality acoustic music in London. Come down and celebrate the release of my album.

–

THE YARDBIRDS

1 gig in July:

Southbank Vintage Festival, London

http://theyardbirds.com/tour.html

–

Please sign up to the mailing list to receive news about upcoming gigs and the album release.

(facebook friends can go here to link up – the link will open a new window).

–

the official website of Andy Mitchell andymitchellmusic.com

facebook fans – click “like” and join the mailing list

–