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- May 13, 13
…creator of The Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and Batman Juniors’s Timetravelling Adventures Under The Sea*. I transferred him before I fully realising who he was and being able to say OMYFUCKINGSHITYOUWROTEWATCHMENANDVFORVENDETTAANDBATMANJUNIORSTIMETRAVELLINGADVENTURESUNDERTHESEA*ANDIMTALKINGTOYOURACTUALFACERIGHTNOW, which is probably for the best really.
The conversation went thusly:
Me - “Hello *standardised office answering blurb*, Barry speaking”
Guy on phone, rural accent, clearly not a young man’s voice - ”Hello, could you put me through to *some dude in another office*? I don’t have his number”
Me - “Yes of course *assumes he’s the dude’s dad or something* I’ll transfer you now, would you like the number too?”
Guy on phone - “Oh that’d be great, thanks”
Me - “Ok it’s: *number*. I’ll put you through now”
Guy on phone - “Ok, thank you”
Me, about to press transfer - “What’s your name by the way, so I can say who’s calling?”
Guy on phone - “Alan Moore”
Me - “Ok, here you go, bye *presses transfer and hangs up as brain makes the connection, bites hand in self annoyance* DAMN DAMN DAMN DAMN SHIT FUCK DAMN”
Ah well - one to tell the grandchildren/dazzle people in pubs with for many years to come.
*not that last one.
- May 03, 13
Stupid bodyclock being set firmly to “work” mode decided I still needed to be awake at 7am…hey ho.
Headed into York for a Wetherspoons breakfast & a stroll through the town, Gaz was surprisingly knowledgeable about a town he’d never been to. I complimented him on his obviously extensive tour research…”oh no, I just saw a Rory Bremner documentary about it the other day”. What a disappointment.
My illusions shattered, we strolled onwards to check out The Whisky Shop (so much whisky; spoiled for choice we purchased nothing) and then to a coffee shop for a cuppa with @sbry & @PopperClops where I had THE BEST MILK JUG EVER - I urge you to buy one, nay 5, as it is the most joyous way to pour milk that you can possibly imagine.
Cake consumed, we took part in the #fthcflag shenanigans (flagnanigans) around the castle ramparts before heading onwards to Leicester.
A far less brain numbing drive today, other than my “oh yeah I know the way” hubris which resulted in our doing about 5 loops around the one way system before finally arriving at the venue.
Our reward? I sneaky trip to Nandos for Gaz Brookfield’s very first taste of the spicy goodness; extra hot + XX hot sauce, because we are men. Arriving at the venue, full to the brim with spicy chicken, we’re told that we can have something from their menu for our dinner. Ever the health conscious, I opted for a pulled pork panini…but with salad instead of potato wedges to avoid any on stage regurgatatory unpleasantness.
A fairly quiet show audience-wise, it was still fun to hang out & see Dan Davenport Wright again, catch up with venue maestro Tinny, and talk nonsense with Gaz.
Afterwards we went back to Castle Trimble to drink a bit of Jamesons, meet Gerry’s new dog, and get nowhere near enough sleep.
That’s what tours are for, right?
- Apr 25, 13
(I saved the Leicester blog as a draft on my phone & can’t work out how to get it back…will try and retrieve it when I get home).
The cursed bodyclock struck again: asleep at 2am, wide awake at 7.30. Double bastard.
Still, an exciting day ahead of picking Jonah up from the airport & then heading into Nottingham to play Hit The Deck festival (or “Hitler Deck” as acoustic stage opener Shankland kept calling it).
Skeptical at first of the potential of an unlit, floor level stage at one end of a busy bar area, the people of Nottingham quickly dispelled any fears of it being one of those difficult shows, swarming in from the main room next door to listen & join in with the shows.
Rob Lynch was great, I had a fun show (climbed on a table, nearly smashed my head on the ceiling, rock!), then Gaz proceeded to dazzle all and sundry.
Then, the afternoon’s American trilogy began: Vinnie Caruana packed a bunch of Movielife & I Am The Avalanche singalong hits into his 30 minute set, Jonah delivered a spellbinding performance, including his version of Be Quiet And Drive, then Walter finished the evening with a chilled out run through some of his vast back catalogue, covers,and improvised songs about bees.
A great day, nearly spoiled by getting a parking ticket in the space I was told to park in by the festival…but then I was accosted by some merch hungry guys who bought enough stuff to cover the ticket fee…which was handy.
Back to Castle Trimble to relax & get an early night - fingers crossed that I’d get more sleep than the previous two nights combined.
Rock and roll!
- Apr 21, 13
Time went wrong today. Or Google Maps lied to me. Or…maybe there was just a lot of traffic, too many roadworks, and a couple of accidents motorway on the motorway.
I’m not sure which of these is the most likely explanation, but whatever happened it still took 6 HOURS to drive from Bristol to York.
6 hours? You could get most of the way to New York in that time.
Thankfully I had Gaz Brookfield on board to keep me sane, and we arrived in good spirits to find the city bathed in a summery glow.
Venue was a small room above a pub which we weren’t expecting to fill it tonight thanks to the number of “sorry, we’re going to see Frank Turner in Leeds” messages we’d both received, and my brain was kinda fried from the drive, but it was a fun evening all the same.
Great to catch up with Jonny Gill, see the incredible Zak Ford for the first time, and hang out with promoter Craig (& his guinea pig) afterwards.
- Apr 18, 13
…3?”
Is my favourite soundcheck joke ever (I’m pretty certain I’ve Rich from Left Side Brain to thank for that one).
Anyway, I’m going in tour tomorrow and determined to actually do a tour diary this time…so testing the Tumblr app on my rapidly disintegrating android phone.
I had hoped to have an iPhone by now so I could just do a billion Vines every day, but The Man decided I wasn’t worthy. What a dick.
So, tour diary -1: tour starts tomorrow, see you in York, Leicester, Nottingham, Newcastle, Manchester, or London.
If you can’t make it and are planning on experiencing the tour vicariously via this blog…brace yourselves for some hilarious/baffling autocorrect action.
OT
- Apr 11, 13
Hello there.
I’m very excited to be hitting the road next week for a couple of shows with Gaz Brookfield, and then a few more with Jonah Matranga…I’ve been pals with Gaz for ages but not got round to doing a proper road trip with him, and Jonah is one of my all time heroes.
Here are the dates, with ticket links/Facebook events:
Friday 19th April - The Black Swan, York. w/ Gaz Brookfield. FacebookSaturday 20th April - The Cookie Jar, Leicester w/Gaz Brookfield. Facebook / Tickets.
Sunday 21st April - Hit The Deck Festival @ The Rescue Rooms w/Walter Schriefels, Jonah Matranga, Vinnie Caruana & Gaz Brookfield. Tickets
Monday 22nd April - Trillians, Newcastle Upon Tyne. w/Jonah Matranga. Facebook.
Tuesday 23rd April - Star & Garter, Manchester w/Jonah Matranga. Facebook / Tickets
Wednesday 24th April - Windmill, London w/Jonah Matranga. Tickets
Pass these on/come along/invite yr friends - it’s going to be all of the fun.
OT
- Apr 04, 13
What a day.
Great music, great cake*, and an incredible audience who kept energy levels up throughout the day - it was hot in that room…even hotter on stage…and having people yelling along/breaking into a frenzied circle pit on demand** was just an absolute joy.
And, let’s not forget; it was all for a great cause.
We’ve not had the full total yet as the organisers enjoyed a well deserved rest/suffered immeasurable hangovers for the rest of the bank holiday, but in the meantime if you couldn’t make it along and would like to contribute then head to:
https://www.breastcancercampaign.org/support-us/donate/donate-online/single-donation
and pop a few quid their way.
Make sure you include Gift Aid, and pop a note bigging up Lexapalooza in the “why you made this donation today” box - they deserve all the praise in the world.
Time to finish writing album #2, before hitting the road again later this month - hope to see you somewhere along the way.
OT
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Next shows:
19th April - The Black Swan, York w/Gaz Brookfield
20th April - Cookie Jar, Leicester w/Gaz Brookfield
21st April - Hit The Deck Festival, Nottingham
22nd April - Trillian’s, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne w/Jonah Matranga
23rd April - Star & Garter, Manchester w/Jonah Matranga
24th April - The Windmill, London w/Jonah Matranga
28th April - The Exchange, Bristol: www.live-music-scene.co.uk birthday showFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/oxygenthief666
Shop: http://www.oxygenthief.bandcamp.com
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*if any of you tried the Butternut Squash Cake - I made that.
**my favourite comment of the day being “Ben Marwood punched me in the throat during that pit - IT WAS ACE”
- Mar 18, 13
Hello.
Excited doesn’t quite come close to describing how I feel about the shows I’m playing next month with Jonah Matranga - he’s one of those musicians who have made project after project that completely flicks my rock switch*; from the mellowed out DIY acoustica of Onelinedrawing, to the riff heavy post-punk of Far, via the more pop punk-tinged New End Original and Gratitude…he’s got most of the spectrum of my musical taste well and truly covered.
If you’re somehow unaware of the wealth of his back catalogue, check out this little playlist I just threw together.
On the way up to meet him, I’m playing a couple of gigs with my pal Gaz Brookfield - we’re somewhere to play on Thursday 18th though, so if you’re able to help out somewhere between Bristol & York then drop me a line. it’s going to be a fun week:
- Thursday 18th April - TBC w/Gaz Brookfield (book us?)
- Friday 19th April - The Black Swan, York w/Gaz Brookfield
- Saturday 20th April - The Cookie Jar, Leicester w/Gaz Brookfield Tickets / Facebook
- Monday 22nd April - Trillians, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne w/Jonah Matranga
- Tuesday 23rd April - Star & Garter, Manchester w/Jonah Matranga Tickets / Facebook
- Wednesday 24th April - The Windmill, Brixton w/Jonah Matranga, Katie Malco & Jurassic Pop. Tickets
Hope to see you at one of these.
OT
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http://www.oxygenthief.bandcamp.com
http://www.facebook.com/oxygenthief666
http://www.oxygenthiefmusic.com
*not a euphemism.
- Thursday 18th April - TBC w/Gaz Brookfield (book us?)
- Feb 08, 13
Lexapalooza poster ftw.
Cake & booze & rock & roll. - Feb 06, 13
I can’t believe I haven’t played yet this year…feels like I’ve barely put a guitar down between writing, and rehearsing/recording the full band stuff.
BUT, it’s now just one week before I pop this year’s rock cherry - come along, it’s going to be ace…not least of all for the unveiling of JURASSIC POP, which you are going to love. Plus you get to hear Warren Mallia (from off of The Attika State) and Aubrey Dye.
RSVP/share this Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/events/553873317959306/
And grab a ticket on a choose-a-price basis: http://oxygenthief.bigcartel.com/product/ticket-wednesday-13th-february-the-croft
See you there.
OT
- Feb 05, 13
Like the proverbial buses turning up all at once, I’m going to be all over your city in the next couple of months:
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Saturday 16th February - The Old Blue Last, Shoreditch
I’m opening for Spycatcher, The Social Club, and Her Parents: it’s free entry, and will be great.RSVP to the Facebook event and tell all your friends.
Sunday 17th February - The Windmill, Brixton
I have the honour of going on last at this one after Katie Malco, Matt McKee, Jurassic Pop (Jack from Alcopop Records singing songs about Jurassic Park!), and Russell & The Wolf Choir have all wooed you with their excellence.Show will be done by 10.30pm, being a Sunday and all. Hurrah!
Get a ticket here.
Do the Facebook thing here and also bring everyone. It’ll be great.You should definitely come to both of these.
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Sunday 31st March - Lexapalooza @ The Boston Arms, Tufnell Park
London, nay the UK’s, finest charity fundraising all dayer, the lineup so far is already fantastic (Jim Lockey & The Solemn Sun, Ben Marwood, The Retrospective Soundtrack Players & more TBC).It’s free entry, though a suggested £5 donation to Cancer Research is in place.
There will be cake, there will be booze…what more could you want?
Oh yeah, I’m playing this one as a full band show…which should be fun/noisy.
Get down there early as there are no advance tickets and it will definitely be rammed if previous events are anything to go by.
Full details at www.lexapalooza.138promotions.com
- Jan 31, 13
You say love, I say killing time
What’s mine is yours, and yours is mine.
You make me laugh, I make you cryI guess that rhymesAny of these would have been 100% better, sing them along next time you hear it:
- I MADE A PIE
- MY DONKEY’S FINE
- I LIKE EGGS FRIED
- LORRIES ARE WIDE
- LET’S PLAY I SPY
- THAT BISHOP LIED
- SHOELACES: TIED!
- I’VE GOT TWO EYES
- DO UP MY FLIES
- BEE BOO BUM BYE!
Talking of Spotify, my album still seems to have vanished somewhere inside it - when we ask them about it they say “nope it’s there - look!” and then we look and it isn’t. Odd. So listen on YouTube or Soundcloud instead for now. Or buy one?
OT———-
Gigs:
13th February @ The Croft, Bristol.
15th February @ The Labour Club, Northampton.
17th February @ The Windmill, Brixton.9th March: FULL BAND SHOW (!) @ The Louisiana, Bristol opening for Left Side Brain & Flights.
- Jan 07, 13
Long story short:
I’m playing an electric show…with distortion…and a drummer…and a bass guitarist.
It’s on Saturday 9th March 2013 at The Louisiana in Bristol, supporting the truly awesome Left Side Brain (who you should all go and listen to right now btw).
Facebook event is: http://www.facebook.com/events/139367616213695/
Buy some tickets, make some travel plans, prepare yourself for some serious rocking.
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Long story long:
Accidents do not happen they are caused…in this case, after the latest in a long line of “wouldn’t it be cool to hear some of your songs done as a full rock band” conversations ended.
Instead of accepting my usual protests the other participants (namely Neil and Whynto from The Retrospective Soundtrack Players) didn’t give up quite so easily. Instead, they went away to their studio, knuckled down in secret, and a couple of weeks later a full on rock instrumental version of Modesty Is Dead landed in my inbox with a cheeky little “what do you reckon?”.
Flattered, and frankly astonished, I played this to my wife and a couple of pals with a huge grin on my face. There was double bass drum pedal involved ffs.A week or so later, another one turned up. I fowarded this to the same pals, one of whom started a text message campaign that bordered on cyber bulling…however, instead of wanting my lunch money he demanded a live rendition supporting his band later this year. I said I’d wait and see.
Then I went to Portsmouth and jammed a few songs with the guys…which was loads of fun…so I texted back saying yes.
Ridiculous; years of “nope, never, no way, YOU CAN’T MAKE ME” turned to “ah yeah alright go on then” in more or less the blink of an eye.
“JUDAS!” somebody near the back shouts.
Oh knock that off; I’ll still be playing shows the usual OT way; with nothing but an acoustic guitar, voice, effects pedals, and hair to keep me company…but for this once (and possibly some other special occasions), I’ve a couple of pals to join in the fun as well.
Should be alright eh?
See you down the front
OT
http://www.facebook.com/events/139367616213695/
PS: Thanks for sharing the FB page today btw, keep going and there might be a little sneak (audio) peak when it hits 1,000: http://www.facebook.com/oxygenthief666)
- Jan 07, 13
Happy New Year everyone - I hope you had a better NYE than me; I spent most of last week in bed with a chest infection, and saw in the new year in with antibiotics and apple juice…rock and roll!
I noticed today that the OT Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/oxygenthief666) is perilously close to the 900 likes mark…if you haven’t already clicked the all important button, then head on over now and do so…if you have, then share/tweet it and when it gets to that point I’ll let rip with a news bomb that I’ve been sat on for a month or so.Deal?
OTps: if it’s already at 900 by the time you read this, then share it anyway…I’ll do something else at 1,000 I promise.———————— - Dec 18, 12
I can never quite get used to December; this is my 29th attempt at it (my 11th as a technical adult) and yet it always drops into my lap like an essay deadline you didn’t realise you had to meet because you’d skived off that week’s lectures to drink beer and…um…actually there is no “and”, just the beer thing.
Or (as I graduated nearly 7 years ago and should probably stop using University as an analogy for everything) like the sudden realisation that your car MOT expires in 8 hours and you’re supposed to be driving somewhere far away shortly afterwards.
That’s a much more grown up example of forgetful irresponsibility right?
So with another Christmas/New Year combo about to smash us with an uppercut of fun to our wallets/livers/waistlines, here are some of my highlights of the year:
- Getting married. This rocked for far too many reasons to list, chief amongst them though being my awesome wife.
- Getting asked to play the BBC Introducing stage at T In The Park.
Most things I do are the product of my own persistent emailing, but this offer just landed in my inbox completely unexpected and brightened up my summer.
I pulled a muscle in my back within the first footstomp of my set, the place was muddy as all hell, and I had to drive 9 hours home the next morning, but I had a fantastic time. You can watch the 2nd half of my set here: www.bbc.co.uk/events/ehxzp6/acts/arnc6q
- Being interviewed by Tom Robinson at BBC 6Music. Just look at my politely excited smiley face:
- Opening for Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls at their festival warm ups in Darlington and Frome - the two biggest crowds I’ve ever played to. Playing gigs like these is a bit moreish…
- Supporting Mongol Horde at their first ever show - the contrast between seeing Frank in Sleeping Souls mode and then in shirtless crowd-surfing fury in the space of a week was amazing. Video of their set is here.
2012 was a relatively quiet year for me gig-wise due to wedding planning & a few breaks from touring to (try and) get some new stuff written. By my count I played just 34 shows, almost half the tally from 2011…slacker. Some of my other favourites were:
- The Fleece, Bristol for Gaz Brookfield’s album launch: my first gig back after a month off for the wedding & honeymoon, relieved to find I still knew which way up a guitar was supposed to go.
- The Slaughtered Lamb, London w/Matt McKee, Mark McCabe & Luke Godwin: a really busy, fun, lovely evening. “Matt, Mark, Luke & Barry…how much more successful would the Bible have been if they were the four gospels?”. That whole week of gigs with Mark was great, especially making him do exercise-based forfeits during my set every night, and bullying him into joining Twitter via the #markmccabefacts game.
- Edge of the Wedge, Portsmouth w/The Retrospective Soundtrack Players & Ben Marwood; from 8 billion gigs with Ben in the last two years, to just 2 this year, so it was good to catch up again.
- Louisiana w/Chris T-T and She Makes War; good show & great company.
Gigs seen:
- Mastodon w/Dillinger Escape Plan @ The Academy, Bristol
- Alestorm @ The Fleece, Bristol
- Brand New @ Bristol Academy/Cardiff University
- Grebo (early 00s Bristol pop-punk) reforming for a one-off gig @ The Croft, Bristol
- Cursive @ Cargo, London
- Refused @ Kentish Town Forum, London
- Rachel Stamp @ Nambucca, London
- 2000 Trees Festival - despite, or because, of not playing in an official capacity, the lineup was stellar; Shapes, Hymns, Future of the Left, Hundred Reasons, Johnny Foreigner, My First Tooth, The Computers, and many more all rocked my soaking wet socks. It’s going to be tough to top last year…but I wouldn’t bet against them managing it for 2013.
Non-rock things:
- Richard Dawkins in conversation with Susan Blackmore at Bristol University.
- Jon Richardson at the Colston Hall.
- A surprise birthday trip to London to see The Woman in Black (terrifying), eat lunch at Wahaca (amazing Mexican street food) in Covent Garden, and be totally oblivious of the fact that the Queen was being paraded past a couple of streets away from where we were hanging out.
*EDIT* Just realised I hadn’t put my favourite albums of 2012 anywhere here, what a tool. In no particular order as YOU CAN’T MAKE ME CHOOSE:
- Cursive - I Am Gemini. I love this band and, seeing as Thrice went on hiatus/a bit overly religion-centric, they have become my official favourite band in the world (I’m sure they’d be thrilled to hear that). Riffs, math-y bits, a twisted story that (unlike many concept albums) actually leaves an impression in your brain, and haunting moments…this is their best since The Ugly Organ as far as I’m concerned, and I loved Happy Hollow and Hey Mama. Listen to Gemini: when I read in an interview that the song structure is a mirror image of itself in the 2nd half, my brain imploded.
- Future of the Left - The Plot Against Common Sense. This probably would have made it on the strength of “Robocop 4: Fuck Off Robocop” alone, yet it also viciously kicks arse in a variety of different ways across its 15 tracks. So heavy, yet moreishly melodic, and weird in a way that says “we want to write brilliant songs, taking our own route” rather than “we are going to be difficult for the sake of it”. Falko’s superhuman distorto roar live is one of my favourite sounds on the planet.
- Desaparecidos - MariKKKopa / Backsell. Ok, not an album…but this single made me very very happy indeed when it came out. Seeing them in February is going to be a dream come true.
- I Hate Our Freedom - This Year’s Best Disaster. A chance “I wonder what the guitarist from Gay For Johnny Depp is up to now” internet investigation led me to these guys; also featuring ex-members of Garrison, Thursday, Texas Is The Reason and Millhouse. I’m glad I had that idle thought as Joseph Grillo is one of those songwriters who feels like they must have been created in a lab somewhere with the express aim of flicking my riffswitch; from Garrison’s “Be A Criminal” through the G4JD back catalogue and both IHOF albums, there is always something in his songs that grabs my attention by the balls and demands repeated play. Future of the Left played with them in New York about 3 weeks after our honeymoon there…I was almost physically sick with jealousy when I saw that lineup.
- Burning Airlines - Mission: Control/Identikit. Technically a reissue of both albums, these had already had a bit of a rebirth for me over the summer. A friend at uni copied these albums onto a Minidisc (yeah I know) for me years ago, and ever since I’ve dipped in and out of them; always thinking they were cool, but never fully engaging. For some reason this changed earlier this year as I became utterly OBSESSED with this band, M:C in particular. It’s like what the Foo Fighters could have been if they hadn’t gone all mellow and bleuuuuuuuurgh. Then I looked into what else their main songwriter had been up to and found:
- Office of Future Plans - S/T. Ahhhhhhhhhhhthisalbumisjustamazing: interesting guitar work, punk-pop moments, mathy bits, with occasional cello amongst the guitar/bass/drum. It’s deceptively simple sounding…I fucking love it, and it’s hardly even got any proper riffage in it at all. Listen to Fema Coffins and then listen to the rest of it. J Robbins also made an album under the name Channels and was in Jawbox. If he and Joe Grillo from I Hate Our Freedom formed a supergroup with Tim Kasher from Cursive, then they’d probably render all other music pointless.
I also really enjoyed; the new Jim Lockey & The Solemn Sun album; ”Frimley” by Hold Your Horse Is; The Retrospective Soundtrack Players’ “Catcher In The Rye”; got into Archers of Loaf via the “related artists” feature in Spotify; turned my daily commute into a 90s computer game by Anamanaguchi; and have a strong feeling that “Tonight We Hunt” by Dutch Schultz is going to worm its way deeper into my brain in the months to come. I’ve probably missed out something important, but I’ve got myself overexcited thinking about I Hate Our Freedom and Office of Future Plans so am going to have to go and have a brisk walk in the cold to calm myself down.
So there we go - see you later 2012, bring on 2013; an EP, a new album, more touring (really want to get to Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Cornwall & head over to Europe) and something a little bit special in the spring……….more on that very soon.
Have yourself a merry little festive overindulgence fortnightOT
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Cds, hats, scarves and t-shirts: http://www.oxygenthief.bigcartel.comLike: www.facebook.com/oxygenthief666
Follow: www.twitter.com/oxygenthiefYEAH
- Getting married. This rocked for far too many reasons to list, chief amongst them though being my awesome wife.
- Sep 14, 12
I’m playing a few shows with the brilliant Retrospective Soundtrack Players in October, and have a few gigs at the end of September as well.
It’s been approximately 3 million years since I last played a brand new song at a gig, so most of these will have something you’ve never heard before/I’ve never played in front of anyone. If I tell you it’s happening, that means I can’t chicken out right?
Friday 21st September - The Stag & Hounds, Bristol w/My First Tooth
Saturday 22nd September - Figure 8 Festival, Devon w/My First Tooth, Chris T-T, and more
Sunday 23rd September - Frogfest @ The Frog & Fiddle, Cheltenham
Saturday 13th October - The Wheelbarrow, London* free entry
Monday 15th October - The Louisiana, Bristol*
Friday 19th October - The Cookie Jar, Leicester*
Saturday 20th October - The Brighthouse, Birmingham*
Sunday 21st October - Edge Of The Wedge, Portsmouth*^ tickets
Monday 22nd October - Avondale House, Southampton* free entry
*With Retrospective Soundtrack Players
^With Ben Marwood
See you there.
OT————————————————
Web: http://www.oxygenthiefmusic.com
Shop: http://www.oxygenthief.bigcartel.com/
Listen: Spotify
- Aug 02, 12
What a summer it’s been so far…unless you’re looking for meteorological consistency, in which case it’s been a bit of a mental bastard, but hey: I had 3 barbecues last week, so I think we’re winning overall.
Since the last time I blogged/tumblrated/did a mailout, I have done these things:
1: Supported Frank Turner in Darlington, to a big hot room full of enthusiastic people. Thanks to everyone who came to that, I had a whale (dolphin, manatee, and many other aquatic mammals) of a time.
2: Played at T In The Park which was, again, huge fun. Thanks to Tom Robinson and BBC Introducing for making that happen. If you weren’t there, you can watch the last 3 songs of my set here:
Or here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/events/ehxzp6/acts/arnc6q
3: Been to the Two Thousand Trees festival where either despite my not playing on the main bill (or possibly because of, I’m still not sure) I had the most fun of the past 5 years going to that particular field. I then got fairly drunk and sang/yelled some songs at around 1am on the last night, whilst other people got drunk and sang/yelled along (and, I’m reliably informed: started a mosh pit at one point).
4. Started finishing some new songs. This is different from starting to write some new songs, which I’m generally pretty good at…finishing them is always the hard part. They’ll probably start slipping out at some gigs soon.
Talking of “gigs” and “soon”, here’s what’s happening over the next month:
A: Thursday 9th August : The Mother’s Ruin, Bristol. A pay-what-you-want arrangement, with Andy Price, My Name Is Ian and Flamenco Thief supporting. I’ve gigged with all these guys before and they’re all great. Facebook event : http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/262732473842467/
B: Thursday 16th August: Cheese & Grain, Frome, with Frank Turner for his Beautiful Days/Strummer of Love/V Festival warm up. There are very few tickets left for this one, so get in quick: http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/user/?region=gb_south&query=detail&event=512576
C: Saturday 25th August: TreeFest, Westonbirt Arboretum. A festival amongst the trees. More information at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Treefest-at-Westonbirt-Arboretum/249699691784593
Catch you soon
OT
==================Like: http://www.facebook.com/oxygenthief666
Follow: http://www.twitter.com/oxygenthiefYEAH
Shop: http://oxygenthief.bigcartel.com/ - Jul 19, 12
I played at T In The Park a couple of weeks ago - watch it here.
-
Bio
- A guitar, a voice, and some effects pedals that make odd noises.
Gradually getting fed up of relying on other people being organised/dedicated enough to turn up to rehearsals, soundchecks, and gigs on time, Bristol’s Barry Dolan decided to start playing solo under the name Oxygen Thief.
Eschewing the traditional gentle folk leanings of the “singer/songwriter” acoustic crowd, he carried on playing with the same level of passion , intensity, and volume as most people would with a full backing band behind them - adapting his guitar technique over time to incorporate the absent rhythm instruments with bass heavy riffs and a rhythm-heavy strumming style that generally looks like he’s beating the living crap out of whichever guitar is unlucky enough to be chosen for that evening’s gig.
Vocally aggressive, but with a keen ear for a rousing melody and a tempting hook, his mix of bite, brevity and beards has won him support slots with the likes of Frank Turner, Johnny Foreigner, Chris T-T, and Tubelord, alongside an appearance on the BBC Introducing Stage at T In The Park 2012, and regular appearances at Cheltenham’s award-winning 2000 Trees Festival.
Following up 2009’s split ep with Ben Marwood and Jim Lockey (both now signed to Xtra Mile Recordings), his debut full length album ‘Destroy It Yourself’ was released in 2011 by Broken Tail Records.
In early 2013, two friends took it upon themselves to re-work some of his songs into full band electric versions and presented them with a sneaky "what do you reckon?" email - it was an offer he couldn't refuse and the first full band Oxygen Thief gigs have been booked.So, coming up this year: a full band EP, a second full length album, and plenty of shows in both acoustic and electric incarnations...busy, busy, busy.
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Tour
- Upcoming gigs:
2013- 7th June - Frog & Fiddle, Cheltenham w/Ben Marwood & Jim Lockey
- 8th June - The Louisiana, Bristol w/Ben Marwood
- 12th July - 2000 Trees Festival, Cheltenham
- 28th July - Stencil Magazine Festival, Chepstow
- 31st August - ArcTanGent Festival, nr Bristol. tickets
2013- 18th May - Rising Sun Arts Centre, Reading w/Ben Marwood (album launch show)
- 17th May - The Vic, Swindon w/Beans On Toast
- 16th May - Moles, Bath w/Beans On Toast
- 1st May - Catch, London w/Her Parents, Luke Godwin
- 28th April - The Exchange, Bristol:www.live-music-scene.co.uk birthday show
- 24th April - The Windmill, London w/Jonah Matranga
- 23rd April - Star & Garter, Manchester w/Jonah Matranga
- 22nd April - Trillian's, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne w/Jonah Matranga
- 21st April - Hit The Deck Festival, Nottingham
- 20th April - Cookie Jar, Leicester w/Gaz Brookfield
- 19th April - The Black Swan, York w/Gaz Brookfield
- 31st March - Lexapalooza, Boston Arms, London ***Full Band Show***
- 9th March - The Louisiana w/Left Side Brain & Flights ***Full Band Show***
- 7th March - Avondale House FREE ENTRY w/Hold Your Horse Is
- 17th February - The Windmill, Brixton
- 16th February - The Old Blue Last, Shoreditch
- 15th February - The Labour Club, Northampton
- 13th February - The Croft, Bristol
2012- 16th December - The Croft, Bristol w/Crazy Arm & more
- 30th November - The Lamb, Devizes
- 22nd October - Avondale House, Southampton
- 21st October - Edge Of The Wedge, Portsmouth
- 20th October - The Brighthouse, Birmingham
- 19th October - The Crumblin Cookie, Leicester
- 15th October - The Louisiana, Bristol
- 13th October - The Wheelbarrow, London
- 23rd September - Frogfest @ The Frog & Fiddle, Cheltenham
- 22nd September - Figure 8 Festival, Devon
- 21st September - The Stag & Hounds, Bristol w/My First Tooth
- 25th August - Treefest @ Westonbirt Arboretum, near Bristol
- 22nd August - The Wheelbarrow, London w/Mongol Horde
- 16th August - Cheese & Grain, Frome w/Frank Turner
- 9th August - The Mother's Ruin, Bristol
- 21st July - Harbourside Festival, 10pm @ The Louisiana Bar *free entry
- 8th July - T In The Park, Kinross. BBC Introuducing stage, 6.30pm
- 7th July - The Hub, Darlington w/Frank Turner
- 6th July - The Croft, Bristol w/Cars On Fire, Left Side Brain & Empire
- 22nd June - Tor Leisure, Glastonbury w/Ben Marwood
- 9th June - The Furnace, Swindon w/Fighting With Wire
- 8th June - The Fleece, Bristol w/Gaz Brookfield
- 16th April - The Louisiana, Bristol w/Chris T-T & She Makes War
- 11th March - The Cornerhouse, Cambridge
- 10th March - The Slaughtered Lamb, London
- 9th March - Port Mahon, Oxford
- 8th March - Green Park Tavern, Bath
- 7th March - The Lamb, Devizes
- 4th March - Mother's Ruin, Bristol
- 3rd March - Bright House, Birmingham
- 2nd March -The Garrett, Manchester
- 1st March - Royal Park Cellars, Leeds
- 13 January - MattSetbackStock @ The Croft, Bristol
- 15 Décembre - La Cantine de Belleville, Paris, France
- 13 Décembre - Black Hawk, Tours, France
- 12 Décembre - Mudd Clubb, Strasbourg, France
- 11 Décembre - Le Yeti, Lille, France
- 10 Décembre - Le Carré des Halles, Lille, France
- 4th December - House Show 2 Huddersfield
- 4th December - House Show 1 Leeds
- 3rd December - City Screen Basement Bar, York
- 2nd December - House Show, Kettering
- 24th November - The Vic, Swindon
- 19th November -Rising Sun Arts Centre, Reading
- 13th November - Slak, Cheltenham
- 12th November - The Crumblin' Cookie, Leicester
- 11th November - The Green Park Tavern, Bath
- 9th October - House Show, Wiltshire
- 8th October - Bright House, Birmingham
- 7th October - The Louisiana, Bristol
- 2nd October - matinée gig, The Swan Kidderminster
- 1st October - Manchester, The Garrett
- 30th September - House Show, Aldershot
- 29th September - Fool's Paradise @ Trinity Bar, Harrow. w/Hold Your Horse Is
- 24th September - Frogfest @ Frog & Fiddle, Cheltenham
- 26th August - The Louisiana, Bristol w/Planes (Placebo side-project)
- 30th July - The Harbour Festival, The Louisiana, Bristol
- 23rd July - The Louisiana, Bristol w/Hymns
- 15th July - 2000 Trees Festival - Late Night Unplugged (and in the rain)
- 15th July - 2000 Trees Festival - Greenhouse Stage
- 30th June - The Academy 2, Bristol w/The Hotrats
- 5th June - The Vic, Swindon
- 4th June - Jack Chams, Plymouth
- 2nd June - The Swan, Kidderminster
- 28th May - The Lamb, Devizes
- 27th May - The Croft, Bristol (w/Chris T-T)
- 21st May - The Thomas House, Dublin, Ireland (8pm)
- 21st May - Tower Records, Dublin (3pm)
- 20th May - Arklow, Ireland
- 19th May - Katy Daly's, Belfast
- 14th May - Jamboree, London
- 13th May - The Cricketer's, Kingston
- 4th May - The Mother's Ruin, Bristol
- 3rd May - Café Tarifa, Oxford
- 2nd May - Adam & Eve, Birmingham
- 8th May - Frog & Fiddle, Cheltenham
- 6th May - Banquet Records, Kingston (6pm)
- 5th May - The Cobbler's Thumb, Brighton
- 10th April 2011 - The Cellar Bar, Worcester
- 9th April 2011 - The Garrett, Manchester
- 8th April 2011 - Stereo, York
- 7th April 2011 - The Greyhound, Nottingham
- 31st March 2011 - TheStrand, Cheltenham
- 20th March 2011 - The Vic, Swindon (w/Chris T-T)
- 18th March 2011 - Private Party, Bristol
- 16th March 2011 - The Fleece, Bristol w/Dave McPherson
- 30th January 2011 - Wilmington Arms, London
- 29th January 2011 - The Brighthouse, Birmingham
- 28th January 2011 - Rising Sun Arts Centre, Reading
- 23rd January 2011 - The Vic, Swindon
- 22nd January 2011 - Farnsfield Folk, Farnsfield
- 21st January 2011 - House Show, Nottingham
- 20th January 2011 - City Screen Basement, York
- 19th January 2011 - G&D's, Oxford
- 18th January 2011 - The Louisiana, Bristol
- 16th January 2011 - Slak, Cheltenham
- 15th January 2011 - Cardigan Arms, Leeds
2010- 2nd December 2010 - The Croft, Bristol w/Johnny Foreigner
- 27th November 2010 - 2 Pigs, Cheltenham
- 26th November 2010 - Brighthouse, Birmingham
- 14th November 2010 - Koko Gorillaz, Cardiff w/Ben Marwood
- 13th November 2010 - The Caroline of Brunswick, Brighton w/Ben Marwood
- 6th November 2010 - The Fleece, Bristol w/Left Side Brain for LSBX
- 26th November 2010 - Frogfest @ Frog & Fiddle, Cheltenham
- 20th November 2010 - The Croft , Bristol
- 19th November 2010 - UWE, Bristol
- 12th August 2010 - Mr Wolf's, Bristol
- 31st July 2010 - Harbourside Festival @ The Louisiana, Bristol
- 18th July 2010 - 2000 Trees Festival
- 13th May 2010 - 13th Note, Glasgow
- 12th May 2010 - Blue Lamp, Aberdeen
- 11th May 2010 - Cardigan Arms, Leeds
- 9th May 2010 - The Vic, Swindon (evening)
- 9th May 2010 - James Street Tavern, Oxford (afternoon)
- 8th May 2010 - Brighthouse, Birmingham
- 7th May 2010 - Betsey Trotwood, London
- 9th February 2010 - 10 Feet Tall, Cardiff
- 8th February 2010 - Angel, Aberystwyth
- 7th February 2010 - House show, Treforest
- 5th February 2010 - 2 Pigs, Cheltenham
2009- 23rd November 2009 - The Louisiana, Bristol w/Johnny Foreigner
- 31st October 2009 - Walk The Line Festival, Cheltenham
- 23rd August 2009 - Drift Bar, Portsmouth
- 21st August 2009 - The Parish, Huddersfield
- 20th August 2009 - Trillians, Newcastle Upon Tyne
- 19th August 2009 - City Screen Basement, York
- 18th August 2009 - Cardigan Arms, Leeds
- 17th August 2009 - Castle Addis, Birmingham
- 16th August 2009 - Slak, Cheltenham
- 15th August 2009 - The Mother's Ruin, Bristol
- 14th August 2009 - Bell On The Green, Devizes
- 13th August 2009 - Oakford Social Club, Reading
- 18th July 2009 - 2000 Trees Festival
- 12th July 2009 - West Street Live, Sheffield
- 11th July 2009 - Nottingham
- 4th July 2009 - Owen & Helen's wedding, Bath
- 26th June 2009 - Rising Sun Arts Centre, Reading
- 20th June 2009 - Lexapalooza @ The Gaff, London
- 18th June 2009 - The Vic, Swindon w/Ben Marwood & Jim Lockey
- 20th April 2009 - The Mother's Ruin, Bristol
- 7th April 2009 - Doll's House, Abertillery
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Free Songs
March 2012
Download a free 3 track single comprising of Mestle & Portar, Paper Planes (M.I.A cover) and an insane remix of Terry Nutkins Salute in one of these ways:
1: Via the Oxygen Thief Facebook page
2: By clicking on this Tweet-Or-Facebook-Post-For-A-Download button:3: By emailing me via oxygenthiefmusic@gmail.com and asking for a download link, because I realise that some people don't use Facebook/Twitter or find these "pass-it-on" campaigns annoying. That said, if you could spread the word in some manner, that would be ace.
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May 2011
Click to download Terry Nutkins Salute for free.
The track comes from debut album Destroy It Yourself, which is available from www.amazon.co.uk , www.banquetrecords.com and iTunes.
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Shop
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Music
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