My next tattoo!

Gonna be done by Lyndsey at Old London Rd tattoos. Awesome

ON TOUR!!!

as of next week, i'm off on my first tour in over 15 years!





I'll update with shenanigans once i'm back!

s'laters!

The Mercies Story So Far

I replied to an ad on Punktastic.com back in April 07 for a punk band looking for a guitarist, to play stuff in the style of Youth Brigade, Dillinger Four, 7 Seconds. I'd been on the lookout again after not playing in a band for 15 years, and this sounded perfect.

The unamed band consisted of

Sarah (drums) and

Adam(bass).

We started rehearsing pretty much straight away (after swapping many emails with sarah), and for the first time in years, i was playing in a band that was pretty much perfect. Within three weeks, we'd approached 5 songs, and continued at this pace for a month or so.

We tried singing as a three piece - but realised we couldn't write lyrics, and none of us actually "had a voice" as it were.

We got in Andy Last from The Witchdoktors to give us a much needed kick up the arse for one rehearsal. Then when he couldn't commit, we ended up getting Phil, the bassist from Shermer to join us as lead shouter.

Then Sarah christened us "THE SMALL MERCIES".

By October, we were playing gigs regularly and tearing shit up as a four piece. But by the start of the new year, differing outlooks on the way the band wanted to go between us and Phil was pretty apparent. Phil left the band in Feb, after giving us an even bigger kick up the arse. He'd got us out playing and provided us with a "voice".

When we started trying to work out what to do, it took one rehearsal to realise that yeah, we could do this as a three piece. For some reason, at this point all three of us had found our "voices" within the band and found we were able to carry the band vocally. We also found we had an untapped talent for lyric writing in Sarah (with odds and sods added by me).

So onwards an upwards. We were totally excited about this change in direction, and we haven't looked back since.

We immediately went into the studio for 4 days and recorded all 9 songs of our set for our first CD.

Another couple of days mixing, and the CD was finished.

So where are we now?

We're 14 gigs in, and are about to start a major set of shows for May, June (first UK tour) and July. Tshirts are due to arrive soon. Cds are being burnt and stamped up at an alarming rate.

And i can't wait for whats to follow!!!

City Invasion

Me and Sarah Blackwood from The Creepshow. I sent this from my mobile to see if it works. it appears it does.

ROLL ON TOUR BLOG IN JUNE!!!

1-2-3-4!

blimey. where do i start?

i got the idea for doing this from reading my mates daughters blog, and from my tattooist Jo Harrisons "round the world" diary blog (see links).

this will be a place for me go on exclusively about my band The Small Mercies, and what we get up to. hopefully it'll be vaguely interesting and relatively amusing. it'll also save me from going on about it in my other blogs.

i'll get round to writing a proper blog soon. in the meatime, you'll have to put up with this "place holder"...oh, and a pick of me misbehaving recently at The Mingers last london gig...



until i get around to working this stuff out...s'laters!

Tony