Hey folksicles!

The band is in a state of flux at the moment - since last we met, Al C has taken leave of the group, leaving us in need of a bassist (we have one in the wings now, though, maybe :s) This does leave us in a slightly awkward position of having a no-longer relevant band name, but we'll work on that with time.

I've also been away on holiday for a few months, hence the lack of MySpace administration, and upon my return, it appears Jenny has wandered off to Borneo for a few months! We'll try to get someone to fill her lovely female-vocalistic boots for a while, but failing that, we'll just try to soldier on bravely without. I'm all for expanding the Pussycat Family though, so if you wanna nominate yourself for either job (or something else we may not have thought of yet), feel free!

Al K (whose initial we can probably drop now, him being the only Al) is also off on a fortnight jaunt around some islands, but when he arrives back, we shall start music-making again in earnest. In the meantime, witness our only Pussycat who has remained musically active, Lucy, playing with Machar Granite in a venue near you! (if you live in Edinburgh).

From henceforth, then, think of us still with fondness, but as The Al And The Pussycats in singular Al-tastic format.

Peace x

Niki =^.^=

This was on the Edinburgh Uni Untapped Talent page, off the back of the Battle of the Bands they hosted that we came 2nd in:

"Al's & The Pussycats:

Had the hardest task of the night following on from the Jazz band. Did
it very, very well though and a deserved 2nd place. Made me feel very
Scottish, and that's a good thing. Amy is such a fantastic song and Al
K is a great frontman. Bassist Jon from Jazz band thinks Al C is a
fantastic bassist, so he must be as well.

Sometimes less is more, and I think the sometimes minimal sound
really worked. It was definitely interesting to see the band not really
led by the guitar in places, with the violin and the flute providing
the lead. Although saying that, where the band can go from their
current position is a question. I would LOVE to see these guys take on
a Through the windowpane Guillemots style of music in a couple of
songs. Al K and Pussycat #1 have both got the voice for it and if any
of you guys can play piano, then do it I say! Ruariadh summed this up
quite well: "If I needed a bra, it would be taken off and thrown at
you!"

Best bit: Amy, Al K's shoes.

Bit that could be improved: A xylophone that could be heard!

Rating: 8.5/10"

So that's nice. We've got the long awaited Ever-So-Sweet bash tomorrow night from 7pm, which is very exciting. After that, we're on a bit of a hiatus due to conflicting schedules, but we shall of course update y'all when the dust clears and we can get back down to rolling out tunes to make you smile.

Other things I'd like to talk more about but haven't the time:

- Whistlebinkies was ok, but due to iffy sound & set-list invasion, we're in no hurry to play there again. Let's say it's been ticked off the list.

- Have your pussycat pics added to our Pussycats Gallery, in the photos section! Post a comment or send us a message if you wanna join the Pussycat army!

- Lucy's hilarious when she's had a few.

Peace & Pussycats!

=^.^=

This was featured on website 'The Journal' following the Cab Vol gig:

"Local folk-rock gang The Als and the Pussycats kick off an eclectic
collision of genres by charming the audience with their soft and
summery, laid back sound. While the politeness of their safe onstage
banter doesn’t stop them performing some less serene tracks, their
upbeat streak shines through by way of “Amy” with its jingle-jangle
playfulness. Aside from the cat ears they adorn themselves with, the
band leave little for the audience to remember them by; but it’s a
pleasant affair as their songs dreamily amble around the room.

... To an extent, all of tonight’s acts are one-trick ponies, and there’s
no real excitement factor to inspire or enliven this audience. Still,
it's possible to see the green shoots of young potential underneath it
all."

In the interests of honesty & full disclosure (as well as noting all stages of band development), the full review (consisting of the other bands who also played that night) can be seen here. Aside from the bits about us being unmemorable, it actually highlights everything we try to accomplish as a live act: a pleasant atmosphere with some variety in tunes. Being described as "charming" & "summery" is quite nice too :)

All in all, a fair enough start. "Green shoots of potential," and all that.

 =^.^=

Well, gosh, so much has happened since last we met!

Aside from being appointed to play the Ever So Sweet bash (which we are still VERY excited about), we played a gig at The Ark on a Friday just over a week ago. Turns out the evening was double booked by us and some nice young gentleman who had planned a musicians' evening amongst themselves, but who let us stay & play anyway. Which was lovely of them. We also registered our first official dancers during set finale Back To The House! Well done you guys! We dig the dancing! Exclamation!

Saturday turned out to be very serendipitous - Jennycat happened to bump into a friend, who happened to know we were due to audition for a Battle Of The Bands organised by Edinburgh Uni's Untapped Talent association (which no-one in the band happened to have heard about). We all happened to be free to play that very afternoon, and it happened to go very well (from our perspective at least). If successful, we'll play the final event sometime towards the end of March, at the Teviot student union. More news on that as it develops!

The day after that (my, what a music-filled weekend!), Al K &Al C performed an extended set at the Listening Rooms (a weekly open mic night hosted at the Blue Blazer pub), and they were gorgeous :)

On a personal note, I, Nikicat, am planning to doss around Europe for a few months this summer, so we're gonna try and squeeze in as many gigs as possible before I'm off. However, if you behave yourself and ask really nicely, the Pussycats (and, more likely, the Als themselves) may continue gigging drummerless over the summer months. There'll just be alot more foot-stomping and hand-clapping required of you lot.

Next up: Whistlebinkies on Tuesday 10th March, at 11pm, for free! If you're allowed to stay up that late, it'd be great to see you there ;)

Ciao and Miaow!

Niki =^.^=

Here's a lovingly and laboriously accomplished copy&paste of the blurb from Ever So Sweet, a super-delicious cupcake company, regarding their 1st birthday, and the Pussycats involvement:

"Last year Ever So Sweet launched as Edinburgh's first cupcakery, and
what a year it's been! We've made countless birthday cakes, catered
flat warmings, baby showers, weddings, leaving parties, corporate dos,
topshop store openings, burlesque shows - & much much more!

To celebrate our very 1st birthday we're holding a party at Cabaret Voltaire on March 22nd.

There's going to be live music with:

Dick Dangerous & the Love Bastards
(www.myspace.com/thelovebastards)

The Als and the Pussycats
(www.myspace.com/thealsandthepussycats)

DJ Shambles

& Sean Paul performing the music of The Early November

& CUPCAKES & much much more.

We're
going to be having some feel good charity action, by raising money for
Shelter (www.caketime.org.uk) by hiding special golden tickets in a few
of the cupcakes. Find a golden ticket & win a really cool prize
(more details of this can be seen on the night).

So mark the
date in your diary, tell your friends & come along to party, eat
lots of cake & help a good cause! It's FREE, it's fun & it's on
a weekend. Brilliant."

Aww. Doesn't that leave you feeling all warm & fluffy? Rather like a freshly baked cupcake, in fact!

Hey Hey!

ANOTHER GIG ADDED! Yep, it's back with our old friends at The Ark, on Friday 20th February, giving a pleasing symmetry to our upcoming gigs (30/01, 20/02, 10/03). We're hoping to ruin that by squeezing in another gig between The Ark and Whistlebinkies, but what with the Jinx Fairy hovering ever-near, I'll decline to add any further details til it's all Thunderbirds. As in, Are Go!

On a sidenote, anyone wishing to enjoy some Al & Al action without the distractions of loud instruments can enjoy them at:

-The Listening Room on Sunday 22nd February (at The Blue Blazer on Spittal St, Edinburgh),

or, as mystically intoned by Al C, at

-"a Thursday night gig at Totally Folking [at The Golden Rule, Polwarth]... probably sometime in February."

Pop on over to http://www.myspace.com/alkandalc for breaking news as it happens!!! (Or, when the Als can be bothered chucking it up ;).

Aside from that, Good luck to Lindsay Sugden And The Storm at Celtic Connections tonight, and well done to Nicky Carder for an excellent Ark gig last night! Gosh, that girl can sing!

Peace-y Cat =^.^=

Hello,

if you use last.fm, you can now find the pussycats at http://www.last.fm/music/The+Als+and+the+Pussycats

Hopefully the band's personal radio station will start working soon... (once last.fm decides who we are "similar" to, it'll generate a station for us). Woo.

Five friendly folk from four faraway places - Northumbria, Derry, Aberdeenshire & Lothian - converge in a city where river meets sea. Flung together by fondness of folk, rock and poetry, they form a family of voice, string, wood & drum. No fickle focus on being 'cool', but more of being good, and being good fun.

The Als And The Pussycats. Come sail with us.

Gosh, things move fast when one is being proactive!

So, that potentiality on the horizon has turned into a definite gig as part of Cabaret Voltaire's Duty Free season (yessss!). Unfortunately, contractual obligations mean we are no longer able to play The Ark gig on the 25th, but worry not people! The Cab Vol gig is free & on the first Friday night after payday (which, for most people, is the 30th), and also allows free entry into the rather stupendous Sick Note club night immediately after. And, being as we do adore The Ark more than a little, there is little doubt you'll see us again there in the future if you have your heart set on it.

We certainly do.

Niki x

Woo! A gig!

The Ark (who we love, for their ambience and the presence of Ralph the extremely sound Sound Guy) have given us the first gig of what will become known as The MySpace Years, on the 25th of January (Tell your family/friends/recently-parolled music lovers, etc!). I am also in the exciting position of knowing of more non-Ark gigs on the horizon (as much as we love them, it's necessary to fly the nest sometimes), but am reticent to post them up until we have definite confirmations.

To the outside observer, this post may seem giddily superfluous, but I am just chuffed that things are rolling in 2009. Check out one of our newest musical friends Nicky Carder, by the way, she is lovely :)