2003 News Archive
4th December, 2003 - Finished the Music, now putting the kettle on!
After
auditioning several candidates for the job of lead vocals, and finding none
suitable, the boys have decided to revert back to Plan A and do the job themselves.
The music for the long-awaited, as yet still unnamed, album is now complete.
We can tell you that there are fourteen tracks... but so far that's all we're going to say... except that John has discovered a very nice instant tea beverage that has been sustaining the band through the long winter retakes. Also, the band have bought a brand-new computer to handle a serious recording software upgrade and the beginning of the vocal work, mixing and eventual mastering.
Thanks must go to former 'BAiTer', Ben Campbell, who has graciously loaned the boys a rather nice AKG414 microphone to warble all over... CHEERS MATEY!
27th August, 2003 - Singer Required and 'Isn't it about time that album was finished?'
The
band is interested in recruiting a dedicated vocalist to the line-up. Whilst
the intention has been to keep the vocal duties within the existing members
of the band, and this may well remain the case, it is clear that a front man
would lend a certain I don't know what to the band's performance on
stage and in the studio.
The potential applicant should:
- be able to sing well (ideally with a distinct voice) and contribute to an already strong songwriting team.
- be a resident of Coventry or within comfortable travelling distance of the city.
- be prepared to commit Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, plus Saturday daytimes to the band for an indefinite period.
- be an amicable sort of chap. We are :-)
- not be in it for the money. If this is your bag, try a covers band.
- have just the right amount of ego - not too much - not too little.
If you think that you have a natural gift with the old throatular tubes, and think you'd like to have a go, drop us a line on and tell us some more about yourself.
Album Progress
Work on the final versions of songs for the new album is progressing very well now, and all the band's energies are focused on finishing recording the instruments, ready to embark on the vocals. Currently, the album comprises 12 tracks, one of which may be dropped in favour of a newer, as yet unwritten track, with the probable addition of another track to bring the number up to good old 13. The five tracks which were recorded earlier in the year are being completely re-recorded to provide for good continuity of sound between them and the newer tracks. Given that the band underwent a whole paradigm shift (cringe!) in the way it records, this was really the only option.
Failing the materialisation of a lead singer over the coming weeks, lead vocal duties will be handled by Chris or Andy, with the whole band contributing backing vocals as and when necessary.
The stuff is sounding good. Oh yes indeedy! Just be a little more patient.
15th July, 2003 (16:15) - Here comes the son!
Ethan
James Pitcher was delivered into this world on the hottest day of the year and
exactly one week early (just like his dad, hardly ever on the beat!). Nicola
and Andy are absolutely chuffed-to-eck by their beautiful new 7lb 8oz arrival,
and wish to thank everyone who has emailed or sent cards, nappies, babygrows,
money (money!?).
As the THIRD BAiT baby, Ethan is, of course, looking forward to taking his rightful place in the spin-off power trio 'RE-BAiT' on bass (Fisher Price 4001) alongside the incredible Chivers sisters (Murron on Drums and Pippa on Hammond/Mellotron/Stilaphone) - move over CREAM.... actually it's more like Cow & Gate at the moment!
20th June, 2003 - Virtual Mellotron makes debut on BAiT website
Following the popularity of the VirtuBass and VirtuDrums, you can now enjoy the pleasures of Nick's VirtuKeyboards by following this link. At present, you can play a set of Mellotron sounds. What's a Mellotron? Oh, you poor, uneducated fool! You'd better have a look at this site. Nick has brought extensive use of Mellotron sounds into BAiT's music, giving the band an eclectic retro sound to its modern songs. It is about time we let you have a go on one, albeit disguised as a new-fangled keyboard, so it's up there and ready to be played.
Note that the Flash file is approximately 3MB in size, so we have given you the opportunity to download it, so that you can play with it off-line. Aren't we nice. We will soon be adding the ARP Pro Soloist sounds and (drum roll...) a new, greatly-improved VirtuGuitar and VirtuDrums. Can't wait!
8th June, 2003 - 1000101 - BAiT go totally digital (and erm... a bit analogue too!)
Whilst
things may have seemed a little quiet recently, rest assured this has not been
the case at Granny's (BAiT's recording facility, based at Nick's place). The
band have been busy moving the existing material from the Roland VS-1680 recording
desk to PC. This has allowed everyone in the band to take a far
more active role in the recording process and relieve Andy of the sole responsibility
for quality control.
Three new songs are under development and are coming together very nicely. More on these soon.
Nick
has gone Prog mad and managed to acquire an ARP Pro Soloist analogue synth from
good old Ebay (Gawd bless 'em), as used by Tony Banks of Genesis, and, erm,
just about anyone who was anyone in the seventies. The band have decided against
Nick's suggestion of adding Supper's Ready to the set, but it has already been
used on one of the new songs and - it rocks! - well, actually it makes kind
of squelchy, farty noises, but you get the picture.
Whilst John breaks Nick's guitars (dodgy floor board in studio - now fixed, but there'll be no acoustic ballads for a while), Chris borrows them - currently an Epiphone Gibson Les Paul copy, and looks set to dig into his wallet and forking out on one of his own - DON'T YOU, CHRIS!
John has decided to have a go at recording future drum lines using profession drum samples rather than his acoustic drum kit. The quality of samples now is at a point when this has become a viable option and, for those of you who are familiar with the intricacies of recording drums, makes life a hell of a lot easier than it used to be, whilst retaining the feel of live drumming and none of that pre-programmed or drum-loop crap.
17th April, 2003 - Techno madness complete. Now it's back to music making.
At long last, this week saw completion of the mixing of the first five tracks from BAiT's forthcoming album. Things went fairly smoothly in the final analysis and the tracks are sounding pretty good (although if we have to listen to them again in the near future, I think we'll lose it!).
Because we're kind and considerate chaps, you can find one minute snippets of the material on the Sounds page. This should give a fairly good sense of the new BAiT sound and will whet your appetite for what is still to come.
Now that the knob-twiddling is over (and I'm not talking about some mad induction ceremony here), attention has been focused on playing instruments again. Chris has realised that he doesn't need a bow to play guitar, Andy has remembered that there are only four strings on a bass guitar, Nick has stopped blowing into the side of his keyboard and John has turned his drum kit the right way round. In fact, yesterday evening was the first time the new lineup has actually played together as a group, and would you believe it? The first embryonic parts of a song are already coming together nicely.
The current plan is to put together another four tracks, rehearse and record them, then produce another four in the same manner, so that towards the end of summer a whole set of new original music will be ready to rehearse and take back on the road, complete with album to sell.
We'll keep you posted. Enjoy the unusually nice weather!
8th April, 2003 - Never look at the Sun!
As
a slight aside from music, Andy and John take a visit to Bedworth Civic Hall
to see a lecture on Mars given by none other than Sir Patrick Moore, astronomer
and percussionist extraordinaire.
The talk turns out to be a hit with the crowd and John asks Patrick whether he regards Brian May more highly as a musician or as an astronomer, to which Patrick replies that Brian's music is not really his sort of thing, but that he is certainly one of the best in his field. Patrick reminds us all that it's Doctor May and that he is an expert in cosmic dust.
In
the meantime, Andy manages to retrieve a balloon used by Patrick to demonstrate
the principles of rocket science - an experiment which Andy is seen recreating
here for your entertainment, albeit without a ballon pump.
Sir Patrick lived up to all expectations and was a model of British eccentricity, resplendent in his monocle and suit, and name-dropping characters such as Orville Wright, Neil Armstrong, Yuri Gagarin and Albert Einstein, all of whom he met. He was looking a little frail and had to stamp rather than sign books, but gave an absolute sterling performance. Highly recommended.
Hoorah!
13th March, 2003 - Sample BAiT's New Sound
The
first five tracks of BAiT's new album are almost complete, with just a bit of
keyboard work left to do. Following this, the band will be mixing and mastering
the tracks, ready for inclusion on the new album.
As a taster of BAiT's new sound, the band has produced a very rough mix of one of the tracks on the new album, which can be downloaded from the Sounds page. From the messages we have received, you are anxious to hear how the new lineup sounds, and despite the band's reluctance to make available anything of 'pre-release' quality, it agrees that something should be made available. And so, Boldly Go should provide some indication of BAiT's new sound. Enjoy and wait for the finished product!
With the impending conclusion of work on the first five tracks, BAiT will soon be returning to writing sessions at the band's new home, Studio 24 - thanks, Nick!
Speaking of Nick, the addition of his keyboards to the existing band sound has given the material a whole new depth. Some very nice and very interesting sounds are making appearances on the tracks.
Those of you are interested in hearing the finished product, please bear with us. The band is certainly putting in the hours throughout the week, given their external responsibilities - more so than ever before in fact. It'll be worth the wait!
5th February, 2003 - BAiT Nicked!
After
great searching, BAiT have finally found their elusive keyboard player, in the
guise of Nick Nugent.
Nick started his music career as a Mini Moog fanatic. He moved from monophonic to duophonic keyboards when he bought a second Mini Moog. His first dabblings were playing along to tracks by Magazine, Soft Cell, and early Genesis. Following stints with numerous original rock bands, he joined State Of The Art in the late 1980s, performing at such London venues as the Marquee, the Mean Fiddler and even the Royal Opera House (in front of Charles and Di). State Of The Art were almost signed to CBS, but their singer left at a crucial moment and the band disbanded.
Following Nick's return to Coventry, he concentrated on his solo work and played with Coventry covers band, Alter Ego. However, his desire to work in the context of an original band led him to apply for the position in BAiT. The guys instantly warmed to Nick and his keyboard style and are already working with him, initially on the five new tracks.
Nick hopes to add a different dimension to the overall band sound and is looking forward to enchanting audiences with sweeping Mellotrons, screaming Hammonds, and, frankly, some sounds you've never heard before!
14th January, 2003 - A new year, a new line-up and a new album
As
you’ve probably heard, BAiT are back as a three-piece, having taken the
live act off the road for a few months. Fear not though, this isn’t a
sneaky way of implying that any professional shirking is going on... Far from
it! The boys have been busy writing and arranging brand-new original material
for a new album (provisional title: 'BAiT 3' - due out in the early Spring),
as well as enduring a photo shoot and gearing themselves up for an arduous search
for the right keyboard player.
As we speak, they are recording the first five songs and preparing to write
about seven to nine more. The new material harkens back to BAiT’s shiny
melodic and harmonious roots, but with the addition of a few extras; namely,
their vastly improved personal musical / studio / production skills and the
excellent pro-guitar power and inventiveness of Chris Johnson (who will be pretty
up-front, majoring on lead vocals with Andy). Throughout this exciting stage
in their careers, the boys will be concentrating on a tight, fresh and contemporary
sound (without selling-out the essence of BAiT), and the addition of right kind
of keyboards will be the icing on the proverbial.
The five songs so far are Boldy Go, 2B, The Answer, Mr Nice Guy and No Sir Girl. BAiT are focused on producing music that will sound as happening in the headphones as it will be live; not an easy trick for a 3-piece to pull-off, but with their song-writing talents, renowned rhythm section and Chris’ growing FX ‘Board of Destiny’ in their corner, some butt may well be about to be kicked. We'll give you the chance for judge for yourselves ASAP!
7th January, 2003 - BAiT Radio now broadcasting
You can now hear the whole of BAiT's back catalogue (that's everything, folks! - and side projects) over the Internet. All you need is a suitable MP3 player (MusicMatch Jukebox or WinAmp will do just fine).
The songs are streamed at 96 kbps, which is not fantastic, but perfectly acceptable. Four people can listen in simultaneously (hey, we're not loaded you know!), so don't all rush over at once! At least our listening figures will rival those of Radio 1.
So, take a trip over to the Radio page and see what's playing there right now.
1st January, 2003 - Dan's farewell gig on New Year's Eve
2002
was seen out yesterday evening by BAiT, as the band played its farewell gig
to Dan at Radford Semele. As always, the band received a warm reception from
the local crowd (it was the second time that BAiT have played there on New Year's
Eve) and played an extensive set, reviving some numbers which have not been
played for a couple of years. The audience were treated to an old Radford Semele
favourite; not that it'll be mentioned here, because it's far too embarrassing.
Suffice it to say that Mike Batt would have been proud of our version.
Dan was on very good form for his last gig with the band and continued the revival theme by taking his Swirly Shirt of Destiny out of the mothballs and donning it for one final parade of optical illusionism.
The
overall mood of the evening was one of mixed emotions, Dan having been with
BAiT from the outset in 1996 and having experienced all the ups and downs of
the band that just won't die. Particularly choking was the moment when the remaining
three members, Andy, Chris and John, presented Dan with a Behringer V-Amp 2
guitar effects processor as a leaving present. Dan now goes on to pursue his
desire to concentrate on his songwriting skills. We'll keep you up-to-date with
any progress on this.
The remaining members of the band would like to take this opportunity to wish him all the very best of success and thank him for all his dedication to something for which we have all made great sacrifice over the past few years. Not that all four won't be meeting up again; the first 'social' occasion where instruments are swapped for the odd tipple or five is already being planned. Cheers, Dan and all the very best!