A Decade and Beyond was made my Dawn Rose and Christelle Kelley at our 11th Anniversary party at The Cross Kings November 2007. Couldn't post on You Tube as just a little too long, it's 12 minutes long. I hope you enjoy it! If it works that is . Gertrude

Hi there.

We are looking  for a creative individual who would like to make a pop video to accompany our  third album to be released in March.  This opportunity would suit someone who has a little time on their hands and is happy to do a small project, for the joy of it. We would pay some expenses.. but have a very small kitty!! You can choose the track..  We would be happy to  discuss your ideas and let's see where it goes. We would  like to post it on   you tube and myspace.

Some arty fun to be had.. contact us here.

Iona x

Hello friends.  We're looking for someone to do   some part-time work for us helping us to  do the work to get our distribution  sorted.

Expenses will be paid and / or possibility of  small  payment.. ..to be negotiated with the right person.

Duties likely to include helping  to do publicity, mailouts , phone calls etc..

We're thinking of around 3 hours per week but this is also subject to negotiation.

This could suit someone who is interested in running an independant label.. should have a commitment to the DIY scene and ethos. 

Exact details  to be confirmed .  Please  pass on to anyone who may be interested.   Message me here at myspace and I can give you my email / phone numer etc.

Hey there.  Yes it's bloody hot and there's not much to say about it but it's difficult to sleep... so I've heard -though must admit I don't find it hard to sleep on account of being cold blooded I think.- Isn't there something which should ask wot   are you listening to right now?  well I can tell you, it's the  unnatural sounding, pained sqeals of the foxes (family of 6 next door).

So Gertrude have just been spending a weekend at Ramparts  Social Centre in East London  recording our new stuff.   Everyone else was in the sunshine, while we were in a sensory deprivation box, with no natural lighting. We're still doing it ourselves and  it feels like it's getting better than ever.  We hired some additional stuff to try and improve on the  guitar sounds.  For you techy nerds, we hired a Royer mike-  the same as wot Albini uses for guitar sounds apparently-  this cost 35 quid  a day.  We also hired a posh pre- amp  which I don't know the name of - you can ask Ayesha if you like - find her at Bentstring Studios  in our top 8.

It took about 2 hours to set up all the gear but we felt good and relaxed.. Dawn decided to  mike  up her bass pedal putting the bass drum mike in the giant drum case next to the bass drum, this gave a fattish sound, quite drum n bassy sounding.

I would say that all the recorded sounds that we got sound really large and live - I think this may be because of the pre- amp which significantly boosts the signal.  The Royer mike seems to make everything sound more middy and bassy, but  Ayesha didn't think that  we should bother with this again.. However, I really think it makes my clarinet sounds sweeter.. we shall see..

We have a digital portable hard disk recording console.  the great thing about it, is that it  is quite portable and it's really accesible, each of us takes turns with the controls while  the others are recording.  We have become more relaxed with each other now that we are becoming more comfortable with the process.  I think we are listening to each other more..well anyway it feels really good.  The space we were using to record in is the gig space at Ramparts which is very large there will definately be a lot of natural reverb on the drum  kit.  We completed drums, bass and guitar tracks for 5 songs  in two days, it felt like a real achievement.

Ayesha and I ended up spending the night at Ramparts because we couldn't manage to lock the door and the pressure of having our cab waiting outside for 20 minutes caused us to make some really silly decisions. We posted the key back through the door of the key holder, meaning we couldn't even try  to get the key to work.  We took  the  gear in a cab back to mine and then returned with sleeping bags to protect the equipment at Ramparts .

Ayesha and I slept on the stage.. I had my usual rat - a- phobic  moments and  rodents were busy and noisy for  the early part of the night, some right behind our heads.. we had also noticed numerous cockroaches euugh!   I guess the reality is that we're missing our Euro -squatville tour this year and felt the need to slum it with the mice and rats, gertrude summer style..

Never mind unwieldy unlockable doors and poncy people carriers full of  gertrude recording gear!- we love it and we love Ramparts!

Anyway these songs are in the early stages but we hope to release something -though don't know what yet, at our tenth party (February- April 2007) more to follow in a blog later on.

So long iona x

Who decides what is punk and what is not?  My middle-class lifestyle magazine supplement at the weekend seems decidedly mainstream with its emphasis on turning me into a super-slim, stylish man catching machine and of course a good consumer.  As a woman involved in punk, as  I get older the   contrast  between   punk-rock lifestyles and settled family life start to become more stark.

Punk rock seems  to have the most  energy and vigour when  speaking for  oppressed, alienated  and marginalised people.  Traditionally the state of being a teenager seems to most perfectly fit punk-rock. 

Jilted John's "Gordon Is a Moron"    speaks  volumes  to me about the   awkwardness, angst and lonliness of the teenage condition.

Being into punk in your thirties and forties seems  anachronistic.  All around you people are settling down and growing up.  some of them may question your continued commitment to  playing in a  diy punk band.

Being older is great,   hopefully our punk rock  voices have  become more sophisticated and less naive.  Hopefully we can stick to our principles.  The great thing about being in a female band is that we continually question ourselves and  do not feel the need to fit into neatly categorised boxes.     

I  think  we  continue to do music in the punk diy scene is because it's what we do. We also accept ourselves and acknowledge that we are what we are.. I don't know  if this makes sense to anyone else.

At the same time we all do mainstream jobs of one kind or another in order to fund our journey's into punk rock and roll.  Does this make us any less punk- or our  voices less authentic?- I don't think so.

I used to laugh at  punks who had anti-copper songs- thinking yeah but I bet they watch copper drama's!  I used to measure my punk-rock commitment by the fact that I would never  myself watch a copper drama- well I didn't  often have a tv then!  

Now I've been sucked into one, does this mean I'm less punk?- It's on Monday evening's and it's set in the Seventies and it  looks just like the UK did  in the Seventies.  It  has wonderful Seventies references like the test card and Hai Karate aftershave -(last week's episode).  The coppers are always chasing the crim's through narrow gardens which have lines and lines of washing hanging in them. It's also got that rather good skinny actor in the lead role..... doh I  think you know what I mean. Naturally I'm  only watching for the excellently researched Seventies references- you know...

iona

Hello friends of  Gertrude and random nosey blog readers.  These are the musings of the administrator of this site,  she hasn't done a blog yet and as  it says at the top of the page, if you don't like it you can delete it..  Well I don't think you can..but  I can.

Thanks to everyone who came  down to the launch of "Fetch The Parrot Blanket"    It was a super great night, special thanks to Soeza, Hinterlandt, Vis The Spoon, SexyRubberSole, Do The du, Laura Norder, Orla and  all friends helping on the door.

Unfortunatley lots of friends were turned away as we reached the capacity only 150, so next time get there early. 

Some of you may have noticed a warped looking chicken which squawked and fell off it's perch during the last song  of Gertrude's set.. That was made by the drummer Dawn and was supposed to represent the parrot of "Fetch The Parrot Blanket."

Zoe  had created a kind of cake sculpture with fairy cakes in which she spelled out Fetch The Parrot Blanket.  If anyone took a photo of this please let me know.

I announced this myspace thing on stage and was pleased to discover the next  day we had 7 friend requests.  My main musings so far this week concern this very site as I feel  it is very easy to get sucked into cyberspace never to return for a very long time....

I'm not sure about posting comments in public as   what it happens if it stays there for a long time- may not want comments to friends bands to be searchable on google but I guess that's the whole thing about networking, well I'm musing we'll see.

Gertrude news: check listings for new gigs posted in March and April- check the website www.gertruderock.com for Ayesha's handy and very sensible hints about  diy recording techniques and the making of  the latest album.