Archive for the ‘lunacy’ Category

Sheashon’sh greetingsh

Monday, December 24th, 2012

Klepsie, Shazomei, Camrath, Blacksnip and Ullan would like to wish all their friends, fans and listeners the compliments of the season. Bah, humbug.

Things have been a bit quiet at Donutsh Central for a couple of months due to new jobs (two) and house moves (one) in the band, but we should be gigging again in the New Year, and even recording more new material. Songs continue to be written for the Difficult First Album.

A piece of advice for your new year’s resolution: people will sometimes tell you to “dance like nobody’s watching”. Well, sod that. Based on our experience, there is only one way to dance, or indeed to live your life in general, and that is to conduct yourself as if everyone is watching, and applauding you frantically.

Remember folks, support independent music in 2013, or there may be none left by 2014.

Donutsh *not* defeated by frosting

Sunday, February 5th, 2012

Why is it that every time we have a gig in the winter, it snows? It hardly seems like a year ago when our very, very first live show ever got snowed off entirely…

Thankfully the snow started too late to completely wreck our Water Rats gig last night, and we got a good showing — extra credit to all the brave souls who showed up from as far afield as Southend and Kingston. To all those who couldn’t make it owing to the weather, don’t worry, we understand (just come to the next gig instead, you lightweights…)

It was a pretty great night — not a duff band on the bill, a decent venue with a sound system and engineer that actually worked (this is less common than you might think) and that most intangible of assets to any music venue, an Atmosphere. This last can only have been assisted, in our case, by the presence of a large blue dog costume called Clive dancing happily up the front throughout our set. If only his name had two syllables we might have been tempted to change “Johnny Don’t Care” to “Clive Don’t Care”. The new songs “Demon Core” and “Drive On, Driver” both went down very-well-thank-you; we’ll be playing both them again, for sure.

We finished the show, staggered outside for a fresh air and fag break… and gazed at the still-falling white mantle of snow that was draping itself upon London like a satin cloak on the shoulders of a pro wrestler. Oh dear, we thought. We’re going to have fun getting home, we thought.

And lo, it was so. Here’s a tip for anyone thinking of forming a band: if you’re going to play gigs in winter, make sure your bassist’s house isn’t at the bottom of a steep hill on an estate with only one way out of it. Or if you must have such a bassist, make sure his house has comfortable sofas. Having almost burnt out Klepsie’s clutch trying to escape from the roughest estate in north London, Klepsie and Shazomei wound up having to spend the night in Camrath’s living room, menaced by his enormous fluffy cat. We repaid his hospitality by drinking his last bottle of Rekorderlig, though, so the night wasn’t entirely a dead loss…

Should have the date of our next London gig confirmed shortly, so watch this space and keep your diaries free for March until we tell you you’re allowed to schedule anything else. Okay? Okay.

Oh I do like to walk along the prom prom prom

Sunday, September 11th, 2011

After our frankly triumphant gig at the St Moritz a month ago things have outwardly been a bit quiet here, partly because some of us have been on our summer holidays, but also because we’ve been buckling down and are doing our first proper demo tape (which appears to be what most people still call it, despite the fact that tape has nothing to do with it). We seem to work well in the studio, and are certainly enjoying the hell out of the process. Watch this space for more details shortly!

Meantime, though, last night four of us (minus Blacksnip, who couldn’t make it) went out to the Proms in the Park, in honour of Camrath’s birthday. It was interesting to note how the different band members responded to the entertainment in different ways:

Shazomei sat, rapt, listening to every piece of music on offer

Ullan sang along to everything, and despite being Belgian knew all the words (including the various British patriotic songs for which the majority of the audience knew about two lines of the lyrics)

Klepsie sat scribbling in a songwriting notebook (“so I don’t have to listen to Westlife”)

And Camrath went to the bratwurst van.

Afterwards, drink flowed, and people became a little silly. Ullan danced a hornpipe; we turned “Rule Britannia” into a barbershop quartet; and then we sang Monty Python’s “Knights of the Round Table” lyrics when the concert got to “Land of Hope and Glory”. I don’t know how we avoided being lynched, or arrested for treason.

A good night.

Hello! My name is Simon Quinlank!

Tuesday, May 17th, 2011

As you should know by now I am the Duke of Hobbies. This is better than all other hobby nobility because they are only marquises or earls of hobbies and Dukes get to wear nicer coronets than them. Ha! I am here tonight to tell you of a new hobby which you all can do, and here is what you will need for this hobby:
–A computer with internet connection
–A printer
–A pair of ears
–A flask of weak lemon drink

This hobby is called ‘Being a fan of that super up and coming group the Donutsh’. In order to do this hobby you first need to go to the Donutsh’ website and see where they’re playing next. Today I see their next gig is at the 229 in London on Thursday 19th May — ha! Perfect. Then you need to find the flyer for their gig, which is usually on the website too, unless the band have been crap and forgotten to get their webmistress to put it up in time. Print a copy off, and off you go to the gig! You might like to drink your flask of weak lemon drink on the way, as some venues don’t like you bringing your own drink in and arguing with security guards may spoil your enjoyment of the Donutsh’ piquant original compositions.

When you get to the venue you need to go to the man on the door and say “Is this the venue where the Donutsh are playing a gig tonight? ANSWER ME!” If he says yes you show him a copy of the flyer, pay him and go inside. And then you listen to the music! If you’re really enthusiastic about this hobby you can dance while they play. But if you want to declare your eternal love for the Donutsh, or rub yourself all over Camrath’s lithe muscular body, it is best to wait till they’ve finished the set.

And that is all from me about this hobby! Isn’t it a cracking hobby!