the tumbledryer babies

00052 // 28/12/11

2011-12-28T06:05:00.000-08:00

on the ninth of december i played the last tumbledryer babies gig for the foreseeable future (possibly ever) at the railway. it was nice, i was really drunk so it was probably quite embarrassing to watch but who cares. i lost the setlist but based on hazy memories and a scrap of paper i found, on which i was planning the set, this is what i think i played:

forget the past #6

pensioner's hands

dinosaur egg

wwf

if you see her, give her hell

now the geeks have a union

beautiful mental patient

island in the sun

just like pigpen

i think we might be weirdos

song for the season

we had it all to live for

the outdoor type

i told him it was wrong

runaway

tattoo

marty feldman eyes

there's no smoke without you

if this is wrong and you can correct me on the setlist please do, i've kept a pretty meticulous record of the songs i've played over the years so it'd be a shame for me not to know what i played at the last gig. charlot webster played after me and was absolutely amazing as ever, we've shared a few bills and she is always great. i got to play my records either side of the live music too which i'm sure annoyed passing trade but i loved it. quite a fun night really.

in other news the last of the pledge music records will be posted in the next few days, and there is a pledge music extended player coming out soon (it's meant to be done by now but i've got a pretty valid excuse for delaying the release i think), and the final tumbledryer album is written (i just have to bring myself to record it), then it's on to the other musical projects i have lined up for the new year. but for now, thanks for the support and bye bye tumbledryer babies x

00051 // 27/11/11

2011-11-27T05:47:00.000-08:00

it pains me to tell you that following numerous personal traumas my muse has adandoned me and i am unable to write songs anymore. i had hoped that recent events in my life might have at least inspired me to write more; alas i am utterly bereft of drive and inspiration and passion and joy and invention. after some consideration i feel the best thing to do is to finish recording the songs i've already written then take an indefinite break. apologies to everyone who has supported me over the last four years but i think it is for the best and i think you will understand. i am having one last gig at the railway hotel on the ninth of december. it is free admission and charlot webster is playing as well so it will be a lovely way to say goodbye. paul lagden is djing afterwards and he always plays great records from beefheart to the raincoats to the breeders and beyond. please come along and say hi, come and ask me for a record if you don't already have one.

in other news, the pledge music 7"s are done and the majority are now in the post. if you bought one of the more extravagant exclusives then yours will follow as i am currently putting the finishing touches to these.

on the fifth of november after the fireworks i opened for son of buff at the railway. son of buff were great as always, and here's what i played:

wwf

now the geeks have a union

pensioner's hands

beautiful mental patient

chelsea hotel #2

my body the temple and i the iconoclast

if you see her, give her hell

just like pigpen

man obsessed

i told him it was wrong

marty feldman eyes

there's no smoke without you

i am playing shangri-la tomorrow night with tom burgess and doozer from deferred sucess and that's free so if you can't make the ninth you should come along to that. and follow me on twitter if you like.

00050 // 29/10/11

2011-10-29T14:13:00.000-07:00

the reasons to be tearful records will be ready very soon so all pledgers will have their exclusives and 7"s in november. once they have all been posted the records will go on sale to everyone else. if any of you didn't already pledge please buy the new record because i need the money. anyway, i played a couple of gigs at the railway hotel this month. first one was on the twelfth playing with son of buff, caleb and sectarian flytrap. setlist went like this:

wwf
happy birthday, richard hell
beautiful mental patient
chelsea hotel #2
if you see her, give her hell
my true geology is not stone but fear
dinosaur egg
marty feldman eyes
there's no smoke without you

then on the seventeenth i played with dave woodcock and tim keech:

wwf
happy birthday, richard hell
if you see her, give her hell
dinosaur egg
beautiful mental patient
i think we might be weirdos
my true geology is not stone but fear
chelsea hotel #2
just like pigpen
island in the sun
marty feldman eyes
there's no smoke without you

i know both sets are a bit similar but i haven't been practicing very much and i can't remember the words to songs at the best of times.

finally, on thursday i was recorded for the shangri-la soup podcast which is broadcasted live but you can still stream or download it from here. also playing on the podcast are tom burgess, dane glasby from the beatroots, owen williams and mick denny. it is recorded totally acoustically so i used my acoustic bass and had to sing a bit higher so i could belt the songs out a bit. also, excuse my horrible chitchat between songs, i'm trying to be a bit more affable and/or entertaining but i'm no good at that stuff. i play these songs on the podcast:

dinosaur egg
pensioners hands
wwf
i love you love me love
beautiful mental patient
my body the temple and i the iconoclast
marty feldman eyes
there's no smoke without you
chelsea hotel #2

once the records and pledges are all posted, the golden boy extended player will be released online. after that i'll finish recording my album weird summer and hopefully release it before the end of the year. if you haven't already, download all my albums and eps and singles from bandcamp (most of them are free) and follow me on twitter if you're into that sort of thing. next gig is fifth of november back at the railway opening for son of buff.

00049 // 30/09/11

2011-10-01T00:12:00.000-07:00

the digital version of the latest tumbledryer release, reasons to be tearful, is now available. if you pledged on it you will have received it in your email inbox, but if you didn't pledge you can stream it or buy the digital version from the tumbledryer bandcamp page. i am still waiting for the test pressing to arrive, once they do your records and paintings and other pledges will be in the post imminently. thanks for your patience.

00048 // 28/08/11

2011-08-28T07:30:00.000-07:00

on the thirteenth i played at the southend pier festival which was a total success and by all rights should be an annual event from now on. i played:

now the geeks have a union
beautiful mental patient
island in the sun
just like pigpen
wwf
my body the temple & i the iconoclast
man obsessed
i told him it was wrong
if you see her, give her hell
marty feldman eyes

then on the fifteenth i played at shangri-la with tom burgess, cusack and plantman, all of whom were excellent and it was great to be part of a lineup of artists who make me feel thoroughly lazy and ashamed.

now the geeks have a union
wwf
i love you love me love / beautiful mental patient
if you see her, give her hell
chelsea hotel #2
just like pigpen
i think we might be weirdos
rebel rebel
nowadays we are so very different
island in the sun
marty feldman eyes

then the following weekend there was love you till sunday: a collective tribute to david bowie at the railway hotel. there were some amazing performances, including a rather special steve hooker set, but my favourite song had to be phil burdett's rendition of 'young americans'. my setlist went like this:

modern love
we are hungry men
rebel rebel

the pledgemusic record is now at the pressing plant. they will be posted to you all along with the paintings and bindle bundles as soon as they are pressed. the digital versions will be in pledgers' inboxes on the fifth of september. it is called reasons to be tearful and here is the tracklist:

side one:
1 i think we might be weirdos
2 idiot savant garde

side two:
1 life as comic book
2 we had it all to live for
3 reason to be grateful

side one was produced by mister midi and side two was produced by me. i'm quite excited about it being out there because side one is unlike anything else i've done.

once the records have gone out to you all i am going away for a while to sort my brain out but will be back with some more new material and gigs in october, including a bonus extended player written for and about a pledger who went above and beyond the call of duty & at least one more album before the end of the year. find even more banal gibberish from inside my head on twitter (@tdb_andrew) if you like.

00047 // 31/07/11

2011-07-31T11:13:00.000-07:00

side one of the record is now finished. most of side two is recorded. more news to follow.

00046 // 28/06/11

2011-06-28T04:34:00.000-07:00

thanks to everyone who preordered our record through our pledge music project. it was looking grim for a while, but you people really came through in the last few days of the project and we met our target. i am in the process of making demo versions of songs for the EP and preparing all the bundles. i will continue to make demo versions and other stuff available exclusively to pledgers in the lead up to the record release in september. it will be available in vinyl and download formats. the 7" will be on green vinyl and all pledgers will be listed in the liner notes. i will be going on about the details of the record some live dates around the time of the record release on twitter so feel free to follow me for updates.

i played shangri-la at the railway last night with tom burgess, john bennett and artgruppe. artgruppe were particularly impressive, with their new members, a cellist and a new bass player, on good form. i was on first and i played:

tell me what to do
wwf
pr machine
my body the temple and i the iconoclast
dirty words & dusty corners
tattoo
if you see her, give her hell
beautiful mental patient
marty feldman eyes

00045 // 30/05/11

2011-05-30T01:52:00.000-07:00

the last few weeks have been all about our pledge music project. we are putting out a new EP in the autumn but we can't afford to pay for it, so we need you to preorder it. there are a few different pledges ranging for £10 (which gets you a signed copy of the 7" on green vinyl, download code and shipping) to £250 (which gets you all that plus a tumbledryer babies gig in your house). all pledgers get their name in the liner notes as a thank you for helping us put the record out. you can see the full list of remaining exclusives at pledgemusic.com/projects/thetumbledryerbabies.

by preordering the record through pledge music you get access to exclusive songs, videos and features, and you will help us reach our target which would mean a lot to us. that said, if we don't reach our target we will have to start again and find another way to fund it, so please preorder the record and tell everyone to do the same.

on the twentyseventh of april i played a set at the sunrooms which is always nice. here are the songs i played:

now the geeks have a union
my body the temple and i the iconoclast
man obsessed
just like pigpen
marty feldman eyes
island in the sun
if you see her, give her hell
there's no smoke without you
chelsea hotel #2

then on the sixteenth of may i played at shangri-la at the railway hotel with tom burgess, micky denny and darren jones. again, i always enjoy playing at this night so thanks to the shangri-la people for inviting me down. i played:

wwf
my body the temple and i the iconoclast
chelsea hotel #2
i told him it was wrong
island in the sun
beautiful mental patient
don't spoonfeed my heart
just like pigpen
if you see her, give her hell
marty feldman eyes

00044 // 15/04/11

2011-04-15T14:24:00.000-07:00

april started with a gig in aid of the benjamin foundation in king's lynn on the first, which for various reasons ended up being a solo gig. props to lindsay and matt of primakova for putting on the gig and for consequently raising money for this excellent cause. i played:

now the geeks have a union

first song on the setlist

wwf

dirty words & dusty corners

beautiful mental patient

chelsea hotel #2

just like pigpen

happy birthday, richard hell

there's no smoke without you

if you see her, give her hell

nowadays we are so very different

marty feldman eyes

now for some big business. since our 7" single was so well received we are desperate to get another record pressed. this time it will be an extended player rather than a single. the only problem is this: we are broke. our trip to sxsw cleaned us out. that said, we still want to put out physical records, and the solution i've come up with is pledgemusic. basically, by preordering the record you will help fund it. and your name will appear in the liner notes!

and if you want to go a step further, there are various exclusive bundles & experiences including (among other things) a day out with the band, limited edition framed cover artwork, a gig at your house and the chance to be the subject of a future tumbledryer download EP.

the whole thing kicks off in the next few days. during the two months of fundraising there will be downloads and other giveaways exclusive to pledgers to make it all the more pleasurable for you to help us fund this. remember, without your funding we can't put out the record!

keep up with pledge progress on facebook (/thetumbledryerbabies) and twitter (@tdb_andrew) and look out for tumbledryer gigs coming in the summer.

00043 // 23/03/11

2011-03-23T10:45:00.000-07:00

we just got back from playing sxsw in austin, texas. we got to see a little bit of austin and tonnes of great bands, including some of my absolute favourites in the shape of jad fair, mike watt and daniel johnston. also we got to see the likes of cults, la sera, dum dum girls, das racist, bearsuit, fever fever, etc etc etc etc etc. and we got to meet a lot of very interesting people. it was heavy going but so fun.

it was stressful leading up to the gig, what with it being a real chore to get our visas sorted in the first place as well as our first ever overseas gig, but dave and all the staff at the velveeta room were really friendly and helpful and kind which helped a lot. nevertheless i was terrified. but it went ok. the setlist went like this:

forget the past #6

now the geeks have a union

first song on the setlist

man obsessed

tell me what to do

wwf

dirty words & dusty corners

retail therapy

beautiful mental patient

ugly babies

happy birthday, richard hell

just like pigpen

i can't see the stars

there's no smoke without you

if you see her, give her hell

nowadays we are so very different

marty feldman eyes

big thanks to everyone who watched us play, especially the sweden and boston contingents! if you happened to see us on a whim or by happy accident while you were in austin you can download the majority of our back catalogue for free from our bandcamp page. hope you like it. our next gig is on friday the first of april at bar red in kings lynn. this is to raise money for the benjamin foundation and we are happy to be involved.

more news soon.

00042 // 11/02/11

2011-02-11T05:56:00.000-08:00

because it's february i am currently recording an album for the rpm challenge (between sorting out visa stuff for sxsw and other headaches & traumas that is). so far i have written and recorded two songs for the album. it will be available for download as soon as it's finished, so some time towards the end of the month. you can download last year's effort for free from here.

we have had a couple of gigs since the last blog entry; on the last day of january i played solo at shangri-la with one of my favourite southend bands, son of buff. i played lake of fire by meat puppets on a whim, it was a bit ropey. here is the setlist:

wwf
now the geeks have a union
lake of fire
just like pigpen
if you see her, give her hell
beautiful mental patient
chelsea hotel #2
man obsessed
marty feldman eyes

next we opened for the lovely eggs at the railway hotel. they were so great live and their new album cob dominos has been on very heavy rotation on our stereo ever since the gig. plantman and ten tigers also played so it was a very nice lineup. we would like to thank culture as a dare for letting us play. we played:

first song on the setlist
tell me what to do
man obsessed
now the geeks have a union
wwf
i told him it was wrong
just like pigpen
happy birthday, richard hell
there's no smoke without you
if you see her, give her hell
beautiful mental patient
nowadays we are so very different
marty feldman eyes

last night we played goo nite at the wilmington arms. thanks to everyone who came along. we played:

first song on the setlist
tell me what to do
man obsessed
now the geeks have a union
wwf
dirty words & dusty corners
just like pigpen
happy birthday, richard hell
there's no smoke without you
if you see her, give her hell
nowadays we are so very different
marty feldman eyes

the next tumbledryer appearance will be the twentyeighth of february at 93 feet east. we really liked playing there last october so we're glad to have been asked back. then we are off to austin for sxsw. keep up with us in the lead up to that on twitter (@tdb_andrew), facebook (/thetumbledryerbabies) etc.

00041 // 06/01/11

2011-01-06T04:47:00.000-08:00

happy new year to you all. we want to make this year the year of the tumbledryer, which means lots of free downloads, more recording with other people, lots of gigs and a general good feeling towards all those we encounter on our travels. we started the year by releasing a new album on the first called oneoneoneone. you can download it for free from bandcamp. then on the fourth we were back at 12bar, this time for a blang records night supporting television personalities. also playing that night were sgt buzfuz, who played lots of songs about popes, and the guitaranddrummachine playing a.r.s. hellden. our set went something like this:

first song on the setlist

tell me what to do

if you see her, give her hell

now the geeks have a union

turbulence

just like pigpen

wwf

happy birthday, richard hell

nowadays we are so very different

my true geology is not stone but fear

beautiful mental patient

dirty words & dusty corners

there's no smoke without you

marty feldman eyes

we always love playing there. thanks to blang and to everyone who came along. next up is shangri-la at the railway hotel in southend, then a few gigs in february in the lead up to sxsw in march. more dates will be announced soon. in the mean time, keep up with tumbledryer announcements and mindless inane comments as they happen on twitter, download the new album for free from bandcamp and be nice to each other.

00040 // 20/12/10

2010-12-20T04:19:00.000-08:00

now that myspace is virtually unuseable i have had to transfer the blog to here. if, for some reason, you want to read old blog posts you can find entries 00001 - 00039 here.

i was sad to hear of captain beefheart's passing this weekend. he is a very important and influential figure to the tumbledryer babies and safe as milk and clear spot are absolute masterpieces. as a tribute we have recorded a cover version of 'too much time', which you can listen to by visiting our facebook page.

i played at the beatles convention at the railway last night. i was very nervous about it, given how bad i am at remembering the words to songs. i'm bad enough at remembering the songs i've written, yet alone the words to other people's songs. anyway, i played:

i'm a loser

i'm happy just to dance with you

if i fell

i'll cry instead

thanks to everyone who was there for being patient with me and not booing when i messed up. that was the last tumbledryer gig of twothousandandten. next up is the blang records night at 12 bar on the fourth of january where we will be opening for dan treacy (television personalities), then a few gigs in february as preparation for sxsw in march. next year is set to be an exciting one for us.

finally, our new album will be released on the first of january. you'll be able to download it for free from bandcamp. hope you like it. see you next year.