hello dear friends,
twenty twelve was a year of tumult and of small triumphs. and so let us reflect.
WULF! WULF!
the year began with manc pups wu lyf on letterman. but it was not enough. the year ended with their demise. their parameters of success had shifted beyond all scope. what hope did any of us have?
FURTHER DEMISE
in the shitty summer long time monsters wes and lewis fled south and east for reasons academic and pastoral. but in twenty twelve part one there was doublefun to be had. the shipley bowling alley big lebowski party. lauren paradox’s birthday at islington mill. finally playing SFTOC. fuel for scenewipers. farewell sweetheart and cutie pie, you did right good.
TWO WITNESSES ARRIVE
but brendan and aiden lunged from the shadows meaning a camden gig cancellation was avoided and the band saved,. they brought with them elasticity and nimbleness and gouged their fingers deep into the grout of the retaining wall. embrace them both closely to your bosoms.
A VIRAL MARKETING CASE STUDY
a series of videos served as a creativity/ego binge but also as a controlled experiment.
with the grizzled god of the ad hoc and chaos ruling the musical universe, and the neverending churn of tunes, how could anyone hope to sustain the gaze of those at the top of the pyramid of influence? by serving up your own constant churn. that’s how.
it didn’t really work.
TRW has had 95 downloads of the retaining wall and 3 proper reviews (thanks bibby/osborne/foster). there were a few pieces on the videos but these seemed to diminish in number with each release despite each song objectively being better than the last.
in conclusion, this approach will probably not be used again.
MOVING FORWARDS/ONWARDS/UPWARDS
we have now cleared out our musical loft
we’ve anointed a fourth man to our clan.
we’ve probably plateaued in terms of interest/fanbase
our singer has left his job of the last five years
you can taste a change in the water and also in the soil,
twenty thirteen will be an interesting year - for us if not for you.
highlights:
BALLAST III
writing and recording this:
http://monsterisland.bandcamp.com/album/the-retaining-wall
the palladium gig
making the vids
sounds from the other city
lowlights:
continued shunning from scene thug Marc “Lard” Riley
not winning any medals or money
almost playing at the incubate festival in holland but then being vetoed by JR*
look after yourself everyone.
some might have you believe that we don’t love each and every one of you.
listen to our music http://monsterisland.bandcamp.com
and read our words - http://islandmonster.blogspot.com
then ask yourself who are the real cynics.
love & light & rock n Lolz.
monster island. XXX
