Hello Ladies and Gentlemen of Cyberspace!

This is just a little announcement to say that the Down & Outs have revamped their myspace page with 4 new songs, some gig dates and the intention to bring you a summer of new music and retrosexual experiences!

Here are four tracks from a recording session somewhere back in the mists of time:

1. She's My Baby (The Video coming on a 'Tube near you soon!)
2. Stormy Weather - reminiscences of late nights and early mornings
3. What More Can You Take?
4. Johnny B Goode (Live at the Dalmarnock Working Man's Club 2008)

We'll be playing a few gigs in June and July trying out our new songs and new sound, and maybe even a few new members so keep your eyes peeled, collars starched and lips firmly on the glass edge. The Down & Outs Club Night will soon be open for fox trots and punch bowls.

Please post your comments so we can take a survey of who is still alive.

Here's to a long hot summer,
Chris, Clark, Fisher and Jak

www.myspace.com/thedownouts

Date: 12 August 2008

Written by: Leigh Rafferty

Sun 3 Aug - Live at Loch Lomond (3/5 rating)

60's inspired indie outfit The Down and Outs opened their set with Runrig's 'Loch Lomond' entertaining a practically full tent. Their vibrant sound brought a real mixture of people to their set from punks to fashionable scenesters, proving they have the real potential for mass appeal, especially when taking into consideration the fact that their slot clashed with indie giants Idlewild.

With their songs packed full of "ooop ooop ooops" and "sha la la laa" they cry out The Small Faces, Frank Wilson and The Ronettes. If they manage to stay true to their pop deluxe roots then there is massive potential for this underdeveloped band.

Today we took ourselves along to Xfm Scotland to record a quick acoustic session for Jim Gellatly's show, to be aired sometime in the near future. We recorded three songs:

1. White Wine
2. Forever In Your Shadow
3. Lost Inside The World

We stripped back the arrangement of the songs to 2 Acoustics and an Electric Guitar for the Bass, Jak tapping away on a box and shaking his marraca. A few hamonies, hamonica and a return from the kazoo!

On the night of the 14th of February 2008 Clark, Fisher and Demon Motorcycle Bluesman from Hell congregated in a cosy tweedy kitchen style fireplaced living room to embark on a short and enjoyable recording. The song Good For Nothing was one that had been in the back of some minds since 2004 when Clark wrote it on a rocky road and bagged it away after suicidal musings came to a transatlantic blow although the song had been demoed and bassed and considered for Clark's first and only single Matter of Time (backed by Central Parade and I Like You - inquire for further details.)

With only a newly acquired and fixed John Lennonish guitar, a Motorcycle masterwizz on a Pink salmon strat and a trusty old Claymore in the hands of our resident dancer we set off on recording something unusually, odd and vaguely listenable. We hope you enjoy it for all its imperfections and please leave your comments. Any negative opinions or criticisms can only be directed at the mortality of the producer who shall not be named for legal reasons.

With love, or what you will,
Clark and Fisher (And i'm sure Miggy and Jak when they hear about this having been recorded)

http://www.xfmscotland.co.uk/Article.asp?id=159592

X-Posure Showcase: The Down & Outs

 

 

 

 

Who?
Clark Gilmour - Guitar/Vocals
Craig Fisher - Bass and Dancing
Jak Donnelly - Pots and Pans
Miggy - Guitar
 
Where?
We're based in Glasgow. You can usually find us making a racket in our Victorian hide out in Ibrox, in spying distance of Fraser Thomson or doing a fox-trot or waltz in Box, Sauchiehall St every Friday from 6-8 where we hold a weekly residency playing some of our favourite songs and hopefully some of yours too!
 
When?
Our stories go back to the 80s when we were just glimmers of hope in our parents eyes but we all came together Around 2004 through a mutual love of old films, early sixties R&B groups and spending time in the common room studying the finer points of dogging class very intently.
 
Why?
We were tired of playing to our parents, or, to be honest, they were tired of hearing us practice in their houses! We wanted to emulate our heroes, and not just in the mirror. We've got a lot of things we want to say and a lot of people we'd like to entertain, and most importantly of all, because it's fun.
 
Influences?
The Beatles!! Everything they ever did including our favourite 'You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)' The Kinks!! Ray Davies has written some amazing songs, especially stuff from The Village Green Preservation Society and albums after that like Arthur, Preservation Act 1 and Muswell Hillbillies. Other early 60s beat groups like The Merseybeats or Gerry and the Pacemakers Old Sun stuff like Cash, Orbison and Elvis. Bob Dylan, Oor Wullie and The Travelling Wilburys. Old fashioned films and musicals that make you feel like there's a shred of hope and goodness in this world like It's A Wonderful Life, Mr Smith Goes To Washington and The Sound Of Music. Old 78s by Vera Lynn and Irving Berlin on record players that barely work. Nice wholesome music by John Denver and Don McLean help us cope with fast city life, sex drugs and rock and roll. We're heavily under the influence, figuratively speaking…
 
Currently listening to?
One of our biggest influences right now is Pro Evolution 2008 where Clark and Fisher will spend hours listening to new music as we silkily swerve about the screen. Right now we're right into Paul McCartney and Wings, particularly Band On The Run, Ram which are up there with the Beatles Albums for us… Of course occasionally we do listen to some modern bands such as The Law, The Ramblers, The Apple Scruffs and the wonderful Mr David Viner along with some of the better known bands around like The Cribs, Pigeon Detectives and the FABULOUS VINCENT VINCENT AND THE VILLAINS!!!! As we type we are being serenaded by a crazy old lady next door playing an out of tune Ukelele, accompanied by a choir of stray cats on the wall.
 
Not listening to?
A lot of the over hyped media fed drivel that lacks any real initiative these days. There's a lot of things Clark wants to say in this bit but he's being heavily edited by the rest of the band because apparently it's not acceptable to have a critical mind and quality control in one's record collection. Norwegian black death thrash metal has never been quite to our tastes either.

Future gigs?
Every Friday from 6pm - Glasgow Box
January 25th - Glasgow Capitol
 
Website?
www.myspace.com/thedownouts
www.bebo.com/thedownandouts

The Down And Outs Soundhaus 16.5.07 By Amy Mackintosh

I'm going to let you all into a little secret. Soundhaus, as well as being a music venue, is also a time machine. Yes, a time machine. On numerous occasions throughout The Down And Outs' set there, I wasn't quite sure what decade it was. From 50s to 60s to 70s and back again, the band embodied and embraced the musical landmarks of each decade and made them their own.

It is all very well for me to tell you that they sound like early-sixties Beatles, The Kinks, with just a touch of The Buzzcocks thrown in for good measure; but you've probably heard that all before about umpteen sub-standard indie outfits. Until you've seen the head-bobbing, waltz-dancing, retro-fest that is The Down and Outs, you just won't understand how good they are.

So they might not be avant-garde in their 'sound', but they are witty, they are intelligent and they are entertaining.

Lead vocalist/ guitarist Clark is clearly a natural frontman, with a self-assurance that would not be out of place in a more established band. The Down and Outs have a charm that grabs you from the get go, and holds on throughout their performance.

Stand out tracks were debut single 'Easy Come Easy Go' (the first time I heard the opening chords I could have been convinced that it was 'Dedicated Follower Of Fashion'), upcoming single 'Julie Andrews', and a rather unexpected but equally wonderful cover of 'Long Tall Sally'.

If this band doesn't go the distance, it will be a great injustice. The Down and Outs are pure entertainment, whatever the decade.

---------------------------

Hope that this is sufficient!

Amy @ Flukey-Orange
x

Single of the Week on Xfm, Scotcampus 2007 and The Skinny This week on XFM Julie Andrews is Jim Gellatly Single of the week on his xposure show! Tune in to hear it Mon-Thurs.

Jim's Cut - scotcampus summer 2007 issue

"It was actually through my xfm buddy Heather Suttie that i first heard about The Down & Outs. She'd met one of them and passed on a demo. Next i knew she'd dedicated a large section of her column in the Sunday Post to the band. After romping home on XFM's uploaded competition for new bands, coupled with airplay on my X-Posure show, the momentum is certainly starting to build for their debut single 'Julie Andrews' set to appear on Social Club Records. It's basically classic singalong indie and as i've taken to playing tracks from The Sound Of Music at the end of my DJ sets, the subject matter's perfect!"

The Skinny - July 2007

Jim Gellatly's X-Posure Top 10
1. The White Stripes - Icky Thump
2. Reverand and the Makers - Heavyweight Champion of the World
3. The Cribs - Men's Needs
4. The Down & Outs - Julie Andrews

Well we've got some good news. We'll be going into the studios to record our first single with Social Club Records on 30th and 31st of January.

Single Details!

This will be our first single, released on 7" Vinyl only and limited to 500 copies.

The A-Side will be "Julie Andrews" backed by an, as yet, unrecorded song called "Easy Come, Easy Go."

The record is due out late march/early april

We're expecting it to sell out pretty quickly and so there'll be a pre-order function on the social club records website shortly.

More details to follow including, artwork, release date and launch parties in both Glasgow and Hartlepool to follow!

We hope you're looking forward to it as much as we are!

~The Down & Outs

For Those Who Missed It

http://www.youngscot.org/e-zine/?ss=71&s=113&sr=198&ID=17877

The Down and Outs follow, and immediately place themselves at the opposite end of the upbeat indie guitar band spectrum. Its poppy, catchy and reminiscent of classic British pop, with the same urgent but oh so close to falling apart feel of the Libertines.

Their songs are the kind that you start to sing along to on the very first listen, because they just feel so completely natural. And their live energy and charm firmly places them up among the best.

Guitarist Ross is resigned to a chair this evening due to a footballing injury, but it doesnt seem to flatten the bands performance any although we can tell by the smiles that there are little bits they dont think theyre pulling off so well.

Front man Clark introduces Stop The Press by saying that if anybody wants a little waltz, to come and find him. And for those who havent seen The Down and Outs before, he means it! Mid way through, the song breaks in to a waltz and Clark goes in to the crowd in search of a partner. Aww bless. Its the kind of old fashioned, chivalric but slightly tongue-in-cheek behaviour that youd expect from The Beatles in A Hard Days Night. Those cheeky but loveable scamps

Closing with what will be their debut single, Julie Andrews, The Down and Outs take a pop at those who take life a bit too seriously, and ought to just lighten up and learn a thing or two about fun from Mary Poppins. But after that performance, well be smiling and in a giddy daydream for some time, with or without a spoonful of sugar.

If The Down and Outs are the cute litter of puppies at the pound, The Boyfriends look more like the old mongrels that nobody wants to take home.