Columns
25 Jan 2012
Since I wrote my last column, I played a gig! It was a birthday party at a local bar, and I decided to perform as I knew the birthday boy and expected that the night would be a supportive environment in which to try my hand at playing bass and singing. I enlisted my boyfriend as lead guitarist, but finding a drummer was a nightmare. It’s true – one is always within 3 feet of a guitarist, but you can barely find 3 good drummers within an entire city! Eventually I managed to snag the drummer from my brother’s band. We had one rehearsal, managed to gel pretty well, learned seven classic rock cover songs, and rocked up on the day hoping that we’d remember everything.
(more...)
15 Nov 2011
The music business has, for tens of years, been a place for individuality, creativity, passion, beliefs, romance, anger, and just about anything else that makes us human , to be explored, developed and displayed to our counterparts. I absolutely love being involved in such a colourful and diverse industry that’s not only welcoming, but extremely supportive of everything different and original. History has taught us that we girls have always been subject to oppression, to being controlled, our voice didn’t stand a chance, but over the years, this has changed. To be honest, at the moment being a girl is absolutely incredible - especially a British girl.
(more...)
11 Nov 2011
My name is Catherine Elms, I’m 22, I play the bass guitar, and I’m trying to join a band. This bi-weekly column will document my journey from bedroom bassist, to rock star. Or regular in The Kilkenny Cat. That works too.
My musical path has been a disjointed one, so here’s a quick run-through: I’ve been playing the piano on and off since I was about ten years old. When I was fourteen, I started playing guitar, and soon after started up a girl band with my female friends. We were together for almost three years, during which time we all wrote music together and gigged regularly in our city. Sometimes I’d fill in for the bassist, and loved playing bass so much that I bought my own cheap bass. When the girl band fizzled out, I turned away from the guitar and moved to the piano.
(more...)
27 Oct 2011
It's difficult to avoid hearing about old bands, dusting off their microphones and dancing shoes, ringing up their pals and having another pop at this crazy little thing called music.
Girls Aloud have been touted for a reunion for years, and over the past week we've heard of
Steps being chums again and the
Stone Roses giving it another shot. Sigh.
Now, we all love strolling down memory lane once in a while, whacking on some music we adored from our younger years, or getting that joyous feeling when shuffle surprises you with a nostalgic treat. The power of these songs lets us escape, if only briefly, back to a certain time, a certain place - a particular moment which our brains associated with that particular song. Whether it be a happy occasion, a song you heard whilst going through a painful break up, or an album you had on repeat whilst learning how to drive - these songs tend to stay with us forever. No argument there.
(more...)
