Gooblar's EP is nearly ready now
Gooblar's EP is nearly ready now
Gooblar's EP is nearly ready now
Gooblar's EP is nearly ready now
Gooblar's EP is nearly ready now
Gooblar's EP is nearly ready now
Gooblar's EP is nearly ready now
Gooblar's EP is nearly ready now
Gooblar's EP is nearly ready now
Gooblar's EP is nearly ready now
Gooblar's EP is nearly ready now

And we've got a bunch of shows coming up.

Gooblar news for Sunday, 18 February, 2006:

We're pretty pleased that not too many of you came out to see our show on Friday. It's not that we don't want to see you (oh no!); we would have loved to see you. It's just that we wouldn't want you to see us like that. An almost unmitigated nightmare of a show. A grumpy soundman who showed up (grumpy) an hour late. An upside-down stool in lieu of a snare stand. Awful, awful, horrendous sound throughout the show. Jim's microphone was off for the whole first song! Richie's stick went right through the snare in our third song, and went through the other (intact) side in the fourth. Also: the guy at the door, who would ostensibly pay us after the show, left before our set was done (for Denmark, apparently). Good times all around. On the plus side, the band soldiered through like, um, soldiers. Soldiers on the western front of rock. We're definitely going to be playing with this promoter again. Definitely.

But that's all behind us now. We have lots to look forward to.

On Monday, 5 March, Gooblar is headlining at Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, in everyone's favorite cesspool of over-styled debauchery, Hoxton Square. Nothing can possibly go wrong at this gig, and so we urge everyone to come down for a nonstop thrillride of pop MAGIC.

We're waiting to hear back about a very special mid-March show, when Dave's parents are in town, and will let you all know about that as soon as we do.

In the meantime, we're making plans to (finally) record towards the end of March. It looks like we'll soon have a five-song ep to show the world what everyone who has come to a Gooblar gig has already suspected: "they're very good."

Also: Jim's new project is quickly coming together. We're not gonna say too much at this time, but just know that Jim Clements and the Right to Die are coming to turn you on.

More soon.

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See! Gooblar, performing "Uh-oh" at the Hope & Anchor on September 30, 2006. Hear! The band moving from controlled intensity to wild, unfettered, intensity. Tremble! As Dave loses his guitar pick and has to proceed WITH JUST HIS FINGERS. Rejoice! As you get to vicariously feel the power of a Gooblar gig without even purchasing a plane ticket to London.

In the grand tradition of bands such as Van Halen, Bon Jovi, and Zumpano (anyone?), Gooblar has taken the name of its best-named member. And, following in the footsteps of Eddie Van Halen, Jon Bon Jovi, and Jason Zumpano, D Gooblar is ready to submit to a life of having to tell people, "No, they're not just my backing band--Gooblar is the band." His bandmates seem cool about it too. Although they haven't really talked about it for a while.

Gooblar is now a band, a gang, a pack of wolves, a real team--there's no 'I' in Gooblar, is there? Chris Bartel, Jim Clements, Richard Clements, and D Gooblar now have an unbreakable bond: they're in a band. And, as history has shown, a band is forever.

Gooblar (just to clarify: that's the band) will be playing two shows in the next month. Saturday 30 September at the Hope & Anchor in Islington, and Friday 13 October at the Betsey Trotwood in Farringdon. Come see the first shows by the new and improved Gooblar.

Hey hey! Three Gooblar songs are now in rotation on the mighty Indiepop Radio! Even if you're not hunting down a Gooblar fix, you should check it out, as it has the capacitance to fulfill your recommended daily allowance of pop nuggets.

The new ep, I Twist the Twentieth Century is finally done, and ready to be heard. It was recorded, mostly over the past month, in New Jersey, at Willy's house. Willy provided the technology, the equipment, and lots of his time and producer's ear. The record, which includes drums sampled without permission from other recordings, is not for sale. Much gratitude to all of the artists sampled.

Tracklist:
1. Twentieth Century (contains a sample from "Silver Ponds" by Figurines)
2. Three Dollar Shirt (contains a sample from "Revenge!" by Spoon)
3. The War Against Boredom (contains a sample from "Fragile" by Wire)
4. Pick Up Where We Left Off (features additional vocals by Miranda el-Rayess)
5. Uh-oh (contains a sample from "My Boyfriend's Back" by Alice Donut)

The first four tracks can be downloaded from my myspace page. Please do download! The quality's much better than streaming. "Uh-oh" can be downloaded from here. All manner of response welcomed!

Proper details for the new record, I Twist the Twentieth Century will be up soon, but in the meantime, you can download all the tracks. The first four tracks are up on this page, and you can download the fifth--"Uh-oh", here. Comments, critiques, all manner of response welcome!

A little information about the four songs on offer:

All four songs are demos, to varying degrees.

"Three Dollar Shirt" is the least 'finished' of the lot; at the very least, the lyrics to the first verse will be changed. Recorded on my computer with audacity, as are the next two songs. Two rhythm guitar parts, a lead bit, two vocals, and a drum loop stolen from Spoon's "Revenge!". A very recent composition.

"Snake in the Grass" is a little older, but it's one that I almost never play, as I can't play the three guitar parts at once. This is one for which making a recording revealed its potential. I quite like the ways the guitars play off of one another. With no band as of now, such moments only transpire on tape (or disc, I guess). Three guitars, double-tracked vocals, and a drum loop stolen from Spoon's "Take the Fifth" (well, this is embarrassing. Yes, I do take drums from other bands).

"The War Against Boredom" is older yet; the recording is at least a year old. Two guitars, vocals, and drum loop taken from Wire's "Fragile." This song now has a bridge that is not on that recording.

"Uh-oh" is pretty new, written and recorded in December. For this one, I had the pleasure to record with my friend Willy in New Jersey. He's got pro-tools, as well as some actual recording gear. This mix isn't complete yet (say goodbye to the Santana-esque lead guitar, for one), but I think it's good enough for the time being. Two rhythm guitars, one lead, many vocals, and a drum loop from a live recording of Alice Donut's cover of "My Boyfriend's Back" (no joke).

I figure this is as good a place as any to say that all drum loops have been stolen with the utmost respect for their creators, and that at no point will these particular recordings be sold.

Well, I've finally gotten around to creating a proper myspace page, converting to an "artist/band" page. In time, I will decide whether I am an "artist" or a "band". As for now, there's 4 demos up for the perusal of the one or two people who happen to stumble upon the page. Comments greatly appreciated.