Well...WHAT a year! A definite roller-coaster of months; with a few sicky bits and swooping lows, but also some incredible and exhilarating highs 
Recording our first album was a fantastic experience and to have Chaos Illumination lighting up the launch was an unexpected bonus; even more so when we discovered we'd made some fabulous friends into the bargain! To then receive such a positive response to our music and see it selling on ITunes was more than we'd ever hoped.
Playing at Hawkfest (and moreover meeting Katie the Hawkdog 
) was the realisation of several dreams AND a particularly wild and wonderful weekend; to be repeated we hope!
It may however, have made Darren and Adam leaving the following week an even more crushing blow. I never realised quite how that would feel - it seems that being in a tight-knit band is akin to being involved in a complex (and communal I guess!) love affair and losing them was like losing TWO limbs at once. The feelings of sadness/anger/disappointment/hurt/despair etc etc were quite unexpected. THANK GOD IT ONLY LASTED 10 DAYS!!!
All's well that ends well (surely ancient cliches are allowed at such a cheesy time of year?!) and the next up-swing took us higher, further and faster than before 
It was all a matter of fate in the end - Paul and Simon dropped straight in to the band and have really cemented us as a tight, comfortable and creative unit that is far stronger than before. Adam & Suzie are now having a baby (yay!!) and Darren is establishing himself as a talented Luthier as well as playing with lots of other musicians. Dooberies past and present got together at a weekend party last month and had a great time. Top fellas all! (says the only girl 
).
Off The Tracks was the benchmark for next year - we want to spend EVERY weekend in that way! Great festival, great gig (9pm Saturday night - we weren't expecting that slot!) and great time had by all. I'm determined not to bang on about that though, as it DID get a blog of its own! All we need now is a Dooberies tour bus...all donations welcome 
The MOST unexpected event of the year though, was probably the Derbyshire Times Band of the Year competition. We'd had absolutely NO thoughts of entering that, or any other "Battle of the Bands" affair for that matter - "music" and "competition" don't really go together in our book. The Derbyshire Times gave us a great review of "Omens" though (thanks again Akira!) and as they suggested it, we thought it would be rude not to 
What a surprise that was!
Being a "mature" (he he) and non-poppy band, we were quite chuffed to get through the selection process to start with, but were fairly dubious about playing to a whole crowd of teenagers. When we arrived at the venue to find that a good chunk of these were in the 14-16 yr age bracket and not just 16-19 yrs, our hearts most definitely quailed! We'd also heard that the previous year had been SERIOUSLY bitchy... to the point of fans being beaten up! NOT our bag at all, but therefore an even greater pleasure to find that the other bands were absolutely sound.
We'd come across the odd one like Pop Lost in our travels, but as we tend to play a different circuit, we hadn't heard of most of the "competition". Freefold were a fabulous discovery and we were also impressed by The Trilbys and The Extras. So impressed in fact, that to find we'd won the first heat of 6 bands was a little bizarre, especially as we weren't the crowd's favourite. Nice kudos but a somewhat hollow victory. We went along to the next heat the following week just to hear some great music! I'm slightly ashamed to admit how amazed I was actually, in that my musical expectations weren't that high to begin with. Roll on disillusionment!!
How smug was I to have already stated on the "Number Two" blog that All At Stake would walk with the title; but they really shone in heat 2 as the best all-rounders of the comp. We played with them in the finals and I've got to say that they are absolutely brilliant blokes too! Sam the bass player is also the most tactful chap I've ever had the pleasure to converse with. He left a beautiful message "congratulating" us on a great set, instead of commiserating that we hadn't won! What a hero 
but we really had the best time. As I said - winning the heat was a hollow victory, but losing the final and having OUR OWN MOSH PIT HA HA!!! was extremely satisfying! Thanks to all the guys at the front (including Chaos again! Bless ya!!) who gave us some hand-slap too - that was a great "rock n' roll moment"
So...we're REALLY excited about 2008. We've almost got all the material for the new album together and will start recording early in the new year. There will also be a proper video for at least one of the tunes! We're determined to play a good few festivals over the summer and also to spread into a few more counties gig-wise. Watch this space...
Best wishes to you all for 2008 - may it be a happy and prosperous year for everyone!