The Crush - Portsmouth, Southampton, Gosport, Fareham

The Woodman, Purbrook – Saturday 18th February 2012

rich — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 10:45:35 +0000

We got the call Friday lunchtime asking if we could play at The Woodman, Purbrook because the band they’d had booked let them down. How could we refuse?

Suffice to say we had a great night and it was great to see old friends, familiar faces and the regulars having a great time.

If you didn’t make it, here’s what you missed:

1. In the morning
2. One I love
3. I can’t explain
4. Crossroads
5. Wishing well
6. Smoke on the water
7. Money for nothing
8. All day and all of the night
9. Need your love
10. Long time coming
11. Hard to handle
12. Heatwave
13. Superstition
14. Brown eyes girl
15. Slam the door

1. La grange
2. Dakota
3. I want to break free
4. You really got me
5. Take me out
6. Chelsea Dagger
7. Long train running
8. Crazy little thing called love
9. Teenage kicks
10. Money
11. Summer of ’69
12. Mamma told me not to come
13. Mustang sally
14. Sweet home Alabama
15. Heroes – Encore
16. Can’t take my eyes off of you – Encore

LAST MINUTE BOOKING – The Woodman, Purbrook – Saturday 18th February 2012

rich — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:18:13 +0000

Hey guys, just had Trudy from The Woodman, Purbrook on the phone. We’re now playing there tomorrow night (Saturday 18th February 2012) fom 9pm onwards.

It’ll be great to see you there!!

Rock on!!

Gig reminder – The Waterside Club, Holbury – Saturday 25th February 2012

rich — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 12:57:09 +0000

Heads up everyone!! We’ve got a mega-important gig coming up at The Waterside Club, Holbury on Saturday 25th February 2012.

Please show your support by coming along to this fantastic venue. In return we’ll play our very best tunes for your entertainment.

More details here

Rock on!!

The Loco Club, Eastleigh – Saturday 4th Feb 2012

rich — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 07:53:41 +0000

Yeah baby!! Another great night at The Loco. Great crowd in again for this one and it was good to see so many people up and dancing. We even threw in a new number. Can you spot which one it was?

For those that couldn’t make it, here’s what you missed:

Set 1

1. In the morning

2. One I love

3. I can’t explain

4. Crossroads

5. Wishing well

6. Smoke on the water

7. Money for nothing

8. All day and all of the night

9. Need your love

10. Long time coming

11. Hard to handle

12. Superstition

13. Brown eyes girl

14. Slam the door – Original Number

Set 2

1. La grange

2. Dakota

3. I want to break free

4. You really got me

5. Take me out

6. Chelsea Dagger

7. Long train running

8. Crazy little thing called love

9. Teenage kicks

10. Money

11. Summer of ’69

12. Mustang sally

13. Sweet home Alabama

14. Can’t take my eyes off of you

15. Disco 2000 – Encore

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

rich — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 08:52:05 +0000

Huge birthday wishes to our very own Mr Peter Gosling!!!!!!!

We’re still waiting for the carbon dating results to come back so we don’t know exactly how many candles to put on the cake.

Have a good one mate )

J and Rich

Gig reminder – The Loco Club, Eastleigh – Saturday 4th February 2012

rich — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:00:39 +0000

We’re live at The Loco Club, Eastleigh this coming Saturday (4th Feb 2012) and it’s going to be a stonker of a gig. We might even have some new songs for you to listen to ;o)

Details here

Ian Collins Wants A Word

rich — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:22:48 +0000

Our good friend and long time serial retweeter Ian Collins launches his brand new show ‘Ian Collins Wants a Word’ on Tuesday 31st January 2012 on iTunes. We’ve had a sneak preview and can confirm that you won’t be disappointed :o)

Ian Collins wants a word

All the best with the new show, Ian!!

We gotta get some Cossack outfits…

pete — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 16:41:18 +0000

A.k.a. Petrov Goski, Jameski Lovich and Ricov Setforsky…

On a serious ‘last minute stop press’ note, THE CRUSH are now playing at The Loco Club, Eastleigh on Saturday 4th of February. Hope to see you there.

Normal dress though…

Hole In The Wall gig cancelled

pete — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:18:09 +0000

In case any of you wonderful, loyal followers were thinking of taking the journey over to Chichester on 4th February, we are sad to announce that the gig is no longer on due to a change of brewery and event plans at The Hole In The Wall. Damn shame, we were looking forward to that as the last one was a blinder. Hey ho, see you all at another one. Keep an eye on here, Facebook and Twitter.

Keep calm, carry on.

New gear

rich — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:28:03 +0000

I’ve had a number of guitars over the years and have always ended up going back to my trusted Vester Strat. One guitar that has always stuck in my mind was a honey burst Epiphone Les Paul Standard. For some daft reason I sold it on and have regretted it ever since.

Well I can regret no more because I only went and bought myself another one from Nevada in Portsmouth. It got it’s first airing on Saturday at The Woodman, Purbrook and boy did it impress.

The Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plain Top in Honey Burst - so playable and responsive it hurts

These guitars have come on leaps and bounds over the years and this new one really delivers the beans. It’s an absolute tone monster and compliments my Vox VT-100 like a dream. The tone is incredible and the pickups seem even more responsive that the last two Les Paul’s I’ve owned.

Suffice to say I’ve been stood in front of the mirror for hours with this little beauty!!

Happy birthday Jamie!!!

rich — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 14:49:33 +0000

It’s J’s birthday today!!!

Happy birthday pal – Pete & Rich

The Woodman, Purbrook – Saturday 21st January 2012

rich — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 11:38:41 +0000

Our first gig of 2012 was a corker. Thanks to everyone at The Woodman, Purbrook who turned out to see us and thanks to all those who came up to us at the end to have a chat. It’s always great to get feedback and comments, thankfully its always positive but none the less, it’s good to talk.

For those that didn’t make it, here’s what you missed:

Set 1

1. In the morning

2. One I love

3. I can’t explain

4. Crossroads

5. Wishing well

6. Smoke on the water

7. Money for nothing

8. All day and all of the night

9. Need your love

10. Long time coming

11. Hard to handle

12. Superstition

13. Brown eyes girl

14. Slam the door

Set 2

1. La grange

2. Dakota

3. I want to break free

4. You really got me

5. Take me out

6. Long train running

7. Crazy little thing called love

8. Teenage kicks

9. Money

10. Summer of ’69

11. Mustang sally

12. Sweet home Alabama

13. I’ll stand by you

14. TUSH

15. Can’t take my eyes off of you

Ready to rock The Woodman, Purbrook

rich — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 20:27:26 +0000

Here we go!!! In, set up and texting as usual lol

Mobiles!!!!

MORE new stuff

pete — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:03:33 +0000

Well, it’s like this… I dropped a few hints every day since about October to my darling wife about how beautiful this guitar was and the sad fact that I’ve never, ever had a brand new guitar in my life, and you could have knocked me down with a feather when I unwrapped this gorgeous Fender Squier Vintage Modified 5 string jazz on Xmas day!! (Thanks to Nevada Music in Portsmouth). It really is so ‘easy’ to play, the neck and action is something I’d expect on an intsrument nearer the thousand quid mark. And the sound….oh, man…makes me go all mushy inside. You’ll be seeing me with this as my main ‘gigger’ for some time to come.

So now all I own are this baby, the blue Yamaha 775 and my trusty old silver (ESP) LTD B-55. The red Yamaha 375 and the Vintage Music Man lookalike went via jolly old ebay. I’d love a whole room full of gear, but it’s true, you can only play one at a time. Still working on that lottery though… Mwahahaha!!!!

Gig reminder – The Woodman, Purbrook – Saturday 21st January 2012

rich — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:49:46 +0000

Our first gig of 2012 is at The Woodman, Purbrook this coming Saturday (21st January). The fun starts at 9pm so make sure you’re there in plenty of time.

Details here

New song!!

rich — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:31:30 +0000

Rumours are spreading about our brand new song ‘Long time coming’. Well, let the rumours be gone! We ARE going to be recording LTC within the next few weeks and unleashing it on the world so watch this space for further news and updates.

The Malt, Hythe – Saturday 31st Dec 2011 – New Years Eve gig!

rich — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 04:30:18 +0000

We couldn’t think of a better way to end 2011 than play at The Malt, Hythe. This intimate gig was perfect in almost every single way. Family, friends, fans. What more could we ask for?

Happy New Year everyone and lets hope 2012 is a good’un!

Here’s what we played:

Set 1

1. In the morning

2. One I love

3. I can’t explain

4. All day and all of the night

5. Cross roads

6. Wishing well

7. 20th century boy

8. Smoke in the water

9. All along the watchtower

10. When I come around

11. The bartender and the thief

Set 2

1. La grange

2. Money for nothing

3. I want to break free

4. You really got me

5. Brown eyes girl

6. Hard to handle

7. Superstition

8. Need your love

9. Long time coming

10. Slam the door

11. Everything about you

Set 3

1. Dakota

2. Take me out

3. Long train running

4. Disco 2000

5. Crazy little thing called love

6. Teenage kicks

7. Money

8. Summer of ’69

9. Mustang sally

10. Sweet home Alabama

11. Can’t take my eyes off of you

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

rich — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:01:59 +0000

Happy new year to one and all!!!!

Jamie, Pete and Rich wish you a happy, healthy and wealthy 2012.

Rock on!!!

Gig reminder – The Malt, Hythe – Saturday 2011

rich — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 09:27:44 +0000

This is your last chance to see The Crush live……….

……in 2011!!!

We’re playing at The Malt, Hythe on Saturday 2011. It’s an all-ticket event so if you’d like to go then you need to contact the venue for tickets. Details can be found here

Fun starts at 8:30pm. See you there!!

The Bridge Tavern, Holbury – Saturday 24th December 2011

rich — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 09:04:33 +0000

Our 2nd visit to The Bridge Tavern didn’t dissapoint. It’s one of those pubs that if you could play there every week, you would. Great sound, great crowd and great hospitality.

This was the end of our Crushmas Countdown ‘Tour’ and we were out for a good time. Yep, we got that alright.

One pile of The Crush Please

Got got to The Bridge Tavern a little early so unloaded all the kit in to their lobby. Above is a pic of what all our stuff looks like packed. It might not look like much but it surprised us has much stuff we really have.

Pete and Jamie getting in to the Christmas Spirit

It really was a fantastic night and we’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone at The Bridge for making our Xmas a special one.

For those that couldn’t make it, here’s what you missed:

Set 1

1. In the morning
2. One I love
3. I can’t explain
4. Cross roads
5. Wishing well
6. Smoke on the water
7. Money for nothing
8. All day and all of the night
9. Need your love
10. Long time coming
11. Hard to handle
12. Superstition
13. Brown eyes girl
14. Slam the door
15. Everything about you

Set 2

1. La grange
2. Dakota
3. I want to break free
4. You really got me
5. Take me out
6. Long train running
7. Disco 2000
8. Crazy little thing called love
9. Teenage kicks
10. Money
11. Summer of ’69
12. Mustang sally
13. Sweet home Alabama
14. Merry Christmas
15. I love you baby – Encore
16. Tush – Encore

The countdown to Crushmas 2012 has begun

rich — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 08:32:57 +0000

Woo hoo!!! Crushmas 2011 was huge and if we could do it a again we would in a heartbeat.

The Countdown to Crushmas 2012 has begun. You only have this long to wait until the big day:

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

rich — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 00:01:42 +0000

Pete, Rich and Jamie would like to wish any one reading this a very Merry Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or just a plain old happy 25th December (please delete as appropriate)!

Whatever you do we hope your day is full of great company, good food, drink and lashings of non-repeated TV programs that you can veg out in front of.

Rock on!

The White Horse, Netley Marsh – Friday 23rd December 2011

rich — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 15:19:17 +0000

Humongous thanks to everyone at The White Horse, Netley Marsh for a great night.

And thanks to everyone who turned up, it was great to see so many familiar faces again.

We’re going back in 2012 so watch this space for more gig dates.

Here’s what we played

1. In the morning
2. One I love
3. I can’t explain
4. Cross roads
5. Wishing well
6. Smoke in the water
7. Money for nothing
8. All day and all of the night
9. Need your love
10. Long time coming
11. Hard to handle
12. Superstition
13. Brown eyes girl
14. Slam the door

1. La grange
2. Dakota
3. I want to break free
4. You really got me
5. Take me out
6. Long train running
7. Disco 2000
8. Crazy little thing called love
9. Teenage kicks
10. Money
11. Summer of ’69
12. Mustang sally
13. Sweet home alabama
14. Merry Christmas
15. I’ll stand by you
16. I love you baby – Encore
17. The Bartender and the Thief – Encore

Rehearsals at River Studios – 21st December 2011

rich — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 16:55:45 +0000

We had the last rehearsals of 2011 at River Studios last night (21st December 2011). To mark the end of a remarkable year at River we asked Charlotte Setford to take some photos for us.

Discussing songs

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 9

Discussing songs

GIG REMINDER – NEW YEAR’S EVE – The Malt, Hythe – Saturday 31st December 2011

rich — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 12:41:01 +0000

This is the last gig of 2011 and we and pulling out all the stops to ensure it’s a blinder!!

PLEASE NOTE – This is a ticket only event!! YOU MUST get tickets from The Malt if you want to go!!!!

Details can be found here

Gig reminder – The Bridge Tavern, Holbury – Saturday 24th December 2011

rich — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 12:13:46 +0000

We can’t think of a better way to see Christmas in that play at the fantastic Bridge Tavern, Holbury.

Come and celebrate the festive season on Saturday 24th December 2011. The fun starts around 7:30pm. You’ve got a double whammy of live music and a disco to keep you entertained. What more could you ask for?!?

More details can be found here

It’ll be great to see you Saturday!!!!!

Ho ho ho

rich — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 21:47:53 +0000

Baubles

Ho ho ho!

Gig reminder – The White Horse, Netley Marsh – December 23rd 2011

rich — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 19:37:55 +0000

WOOO HOOOO!!!! This is the gig we’ve been looking forward to all year!!

Come and have a festive Crushmas celebration at The White Horse, Netley Marsh on Friday 23rd December 2011. The fun will start around 8pm. Details here

ROCK ON!!!!!

The Forest Inn, Ashurst – Friday 16th December 2011

rich — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 12:52:52 +0000

You know when you’re doing a gig and you just don’t want to stop playing? This was one of those gigs. Our second visit to The Forest Inn, Ashurst was certainly one of our best gigs this year and we can’t wait to get back in there next year.

Tonight saw our premier performance of our brand new song ‘Long Time Coming’. Suffice to say it went down a storm

Pete & J - Pre-gig relaxing

Thanks to everyone who came along and a very happy birthday to Helen. Thanks for chosing to spend your birthday evening with us.

For those who couldn’t make it, here’s what you missed:

Set 1

IN THE MORNING

THE ONE I LOVE

I CAN’T EXPLAIN

WISHING WELL

CROSSROADS

MONEY FOR NOTHING

SMOKE ON THE WATER

THE OTHER PART OF ME

YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME

ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT

BROWN EYED GIRL

SUPERSTITION

HARD TO HANDLE

NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD

LONG TIME COMING – Brand new song!!

ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER

Set 2

LA GRANGE

DAKOTA

I WANT TO BREAK FREE

YOU REALLY GOT ME

LONG TRAIN RUNNING

TAKE ME OUT

CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE

TEENAGE KICKS

MONEY

MUSTANG SALLY

SLAM THE DOOR

SWEET HOME ALABAMA – Encore

CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU – Encore

Gig reminder – The Forest Inn, Ashurst – Friday 16th December 2011

rich — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:02:30 +0000

Phew!! What a week its been! I’ve only just found the time to post about tomorrow’s gig at the fantastic Forest Inn, Ashurst tomorrow night (16th Dec).

We’ve got a brand new song for you to hear, the self-penned ‘Long Time Coming’. It’s a toe-tapping, head bobbing stonker of a number. We know you’re going to enjoy it )

More info can be found here

The Happy Cheese, Ashurst – Friday 9th December 2011

rich — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 13:05:52 +0000

Last minute bookings are always welcome and we were besides ourselves with excitement when we got the call from The Happy Cheese, asking if we could play there on Friday 9th Dec.

It’s a great pub to play and the patrons certainly know how to appreciate good music when they hear it. You really had to be there to know what I mean.

Anyway, for those of you who couldn’t make it, here’s what you missed:

Set 1

THE ONE I LOVE

IN THE MORNING

I CAN’T EXPLAIN

20th CENTURY BOY

WISHING WELL

CROSSROADS

MONEY FOR NOTHING

SMOKE ON THE WATER

ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT

BROWN EYED GIRL

NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD

WHITE ROOM

ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER

Set 2

LA GRANGE

DAKOTA

I WANT TO BREAK FREE

YOU REALLY GOT ME

LONG TRAIN RUNNING

SUPERSTITION

HARD TO HANDLE

DISCO 2000

CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE

SLAM THE DOOR

SWEET HOME ALABAMA

GIG NEWS – The Happy Cheese, Ashurst – Friday 9th December 2011 – 8:30pm

rich — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:23:31 +0000

Hi all,

Good news, The Happy Cheese in Ashurst called and asked us to play tomorrow (Friday 9th Dec 2011). How could we say no?

More details here

The Fox & Hounds, Waterlooville – Friday 2nd Dec 2011 – CANCELLED!!

rich — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 11:42:31 +0000

Bad news folks! The Gig at The Fox & Hounds, Waterlooville has been cancelled due to structural and electrical issues at the venue. Fear not, we’re back there in March 2012!

Sorry :O(

Gig reminder – The Fox & Hounds, Waterlooville – Friday 9th December 2011

rich — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 20:04:58 +0000

Hi all,

Make sure you’re at The Fox & Hounds, Waterlooville for 8:30pm on Friday 9th December 2011.

It’s been a couple of weeks since we last gigged and we’re itching to get playing live. We’ve got some new material for y’all.

Rock on!!

The Crown, Littlehampton – Friday 18th November 2011 – CANCELLED

rich — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 19:45:15 +0000

Sadly, due to events beyond our control, the gig at The Crown, Littlehampton on Friday 18th November 2011 has had to be cancelled.

Apologies to all.

The Happy Cheese, Ashurst – Saturday 12th November 2011

rich — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 17:01:08 +0000

Our 2nd gig this weekend saw us play at The Happy Cheese, Ashurst.

Yet again we had a great time and it was fantastic to see familiar faces and gain new fans.

For those that couldn’t make it, here’s what you missed:

Set 1
1.	THE ONE I LOVE
2.	IN THE MORNING
3.	I CAN’T EXPLAIN
4.	20th CENTURY BOY
5.	WISHING WELL
6.	CROSSROADS
7.	MONEY FOR NOTHING
8.	SMOKE ON THE WATER
9.	THE OTHER PART OF ME
10.	YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME
11.	ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT
12.	BROWN EYED GIRL
13.	NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD
14.	WHITE ROOM
15.	ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER

Set 2
1.	DAKOTA
2.	I WANT TO BREAK FREE
3.	YOU REALLY GOT ME
4.	LONG TRAIN RUNNING
5.	TAKE ME OUT
6.	DISCO 2000
7.	CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE
8.	TEENAGE KICKS
9.	MONEY
10.	SUMMER OF ’69
11.	MUSTANG SALLY
12.	SLAM THE DOOR
13.	SWEET HOME ALABAMA
14.	CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU

The New Inn, Gosport – 11th November 2011

rich — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 02:52:33 +0000

Look, it’s like this. it’s ten to three in the morning and I’m blogging. Why am I blogging at this ridiculous time in the morning? Because I’m still buzzing from the frankly amazing gig we had last night at The New Inn, Gosport.

We have good gigs, great gigs and we have amazing gigs. This was beyond all those and I ain’t joking. Those who were there will know.

Pete, J and I must offer a huge thank you to Steve for calling us during the week and asking us to play. We can’t wait to get back there next year.

This gig also saw us play a brand new song. See if you can spot it from the list below:

Set 1
1.	THE ONE I LOVE
2.	IN THE MORNING
3.	I CAN’T EXPLAIN
4.	20th CENTURY BOY
5.	WISHING WELL
6.	CROSSROADS
7.	MONEY FOR NOTHING
8.	SMOKE ON THE WATER
9.	YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME
10.	ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT
11.	BROWN EYED GIRL
12.	NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD
13.	WHITE ROOM
14.	ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER
15.	THE BARTENDER AND THE THIEF

Set 2
1.	LA GRANGE
2.	DAKOTA
3.	I WANT TO BREAK FREE
4.	YOU REALLY GOT ME
5.	LONG TRAIN RUNNING
6.	TAKE ME OUT
7.	DISCO 2000
8.	CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE
9.	TEENAGE KICKS
10.	MONEY
11.	SUMMER OF ’69
12.	MUSTANG SALLY
13.	SWEET HOME ALABAMA
14.	SLAM THE DOOR
15.	CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU - Encore

The Crushathon starts tonight!!!

rich — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 08:13:12 +0000

The Crushmas Gig Crushathon starts tonight (11th Nov 2011) with a last minute booking at The New Inn, Gosport and then we’re going to be tearing it up at The Happy Cheese, Ashurst tomorrow night (12th Nov 2011).

We’re counting down to Crushmas in style over the coming weeks so keep an eye on the gig calendar for the very latest updates on venues, dates, time etc.

When you come to one of our gigs make sure you pop over and say hello. You never know, you might get a free badge ;o)

Pete, J & Rich

Rock on!!

Last minute gig news!! The New Inn, Gosport – Friday 11th November 2011

rich — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 21:47:17 +0000

Just got a call from The New Inn, Gosport. The band they had booked for Friday 11th November 2011 has let them down and the word on the street is the The Crush is the band to get in to fill the slot!!

This will be out first time at The New Inn and we can’t wait. More details can be found here

Rock on!!

Gig reminder – The Happy Cheese, Ashurst – Saturday 12th November 2011

rich — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 16:00:52 +0000

Hello all!

Just thought we’d remind you that we’re live at The Happy Cheese, Ashurst this coming Saturday (12th November 2011). We’ll be starting around 8:30pm as usual.

More info can be found here

Rock on!

The Swan, Bedhampton – Saturday 5th November 2011

rich — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 14:22:37 +0000

Just a quickie, I’ll do a full write up later.

We played at The Swan, Bedhampton last night. Here’s what we played:

Set 1
1.   THE ONE I LOVE
2.   IN THE MORNING
3.   I CAN’T EXPLAIN
4.   20th CENTURY BOY
5.   WISHING WELL
6.   CROSSROADS
7.   MONEY FOR NOTHING
8.   YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME
9.   ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT
10.   BROWN EYED GIRL
11.   WHITE ROOM
12.   TUSH
13.   ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER
14.   SMOKE ON THE WATER
15.   THE BARTENDER AND THE THIEF

Set 2
1.   LA GRANGE
2.   DAKOTA
3.   I WANT TO BREAK FREE
4.   YOU REALLY GOT ME
5.   LONG TRAIN RUNNING
6.   TAKE ME OUT
7.   DISCO 2000
8.   CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE
9.   TEENAGE KICKS
10.   MONEY
11.   SUMMER OF ’69
12.   MUSTANG SALLY
13.   SLAM THE DOOR
14.   SWEET HOME ALABAMA
15.   CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU

The Crushmas Countdown!!!

rich — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 20:30:44 +0000

There’s nothing like getting in the Crushmas spirit a little early. Asda have had the decorations in since June and Lidl got their first batch of turkeys back in January!!

The Crushmas Countdown has now officially started!!! You only have to wait this long:

Gig reminder – The Swan, Bedhampton – Saturday 5th November 2011

rich — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 07:50:40 +0000

We’re going to be making Saturday night at The Swan, Bedhampton go with a bang so make sure you’re there for 8:30pm when the fun starts!

You never know, we might even have a new song or two ;o)

Details here

The Vine, Gosport – Saturday 29th October 2011

rich — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 08:51:57 +0000

A gig at The Vine is always going to be a good gig and last night was no exception. They certainly know their music and a good band when they see/hear one.

The Vine is now under new management and I know they’re looking for new bands to perform there so check out their Facebook page for more details

For those that couldn’t make it, here’s what you missed:

Set 1
1.   THE ONE I LOVE
2.   IN THE MORNING
3.   I CAN’T EXPLAIN
4.   20th CENTURY BOY
5.   WISHING WELL
6.   CROSSROADS
7.   MONEY FOR NOTHING
8.   THE OTHER PART OF ME
9.   YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME
10.   ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT
11.   BROWN EYED GIRL
12.   NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD
13.   WHITE ROOM
14.   TUSH
15.   THE BARTENDER AND THE THIEF

Halloween at The Vine, Gosport

rich — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 19:20:00 +0000

We’re at The Vine and we’re all ready to go!

The fun starts at 9pm so drop in if you’re in the area.

Posted from WordPress for Android

A Halloween Ditty

rich — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 10:50:21 +0000

If the shite on telly is driving you BATS, and you want something WITCH you can get your TEETH into, don’t sit there turning into a PUMPKIN, it’s no TRICK, TREAT yourself to a night of great rock music and boogie along with THE CRUSH at The Vine, Stoke Road, Gosport tonight. Get there early, it’ll get packed.

Gig reminder – The Vine, Gosport – Saturday 29th October 2011

rich — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 14:00:16 +0000

Just a quick reminder that The Crush are playing at The Vine, Gosport tomorrow night (Saturday 29th October).

The Vine is a great venue to play at and we’re really looking forward to our third visit there.

More info here

Rock on!!!

Practice at River Studios – Monday 24th October 2011

rich — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 19:00:10 +0000

As you almost certainly already know, we normally rehearse on a Wednesday night at River Studios but just for a change we rehearsed on a Monday this week.

Rich’s daughter came along and took some photos for us. Enjoy!

Rich at a funny angle

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Picture 1 of 11

The Woodman, Purbrook – Saturday 22nd October 2011

rich — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 09:19:36 +0000

Another good night at The Woodman, Purbrook!! Smallish crowd but very appreciative none the less. It’s great to get feedback from the audience and we had loads of positive and useful comments.

For those that couldn’t make it, here’s what you missed:

Set 1
THE ONE I LOVE
IN THE MORNING
I CAN’T EXPLAIN
20th CENTURY BOY
WISHING WELL
CROSSROADS
MONEY FOR NOTHING
THE OTHER PART OF ME
YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME
ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT
BROWN EYED GIRL
NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD
WHITE ROOM
ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER
TUSH

Set 2
LA GRANGE
DAKOTA
I WANT TO BREAK FREE
YOU REALLY GOT ME
LONG TRAIN RUNNING
TAKE ME OUT
DISCO 2000
CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE
TEENAGE KICKS
MONEY
MUSTANG SALLY
SLAM THE DOOR
SWEET HOME ALABAMA
CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU

The Woodman, Purbrook – Ready to Rock!!

rich — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 19:29:00 +0000

We’re in, set up and ready to rock!

Jamie’s just trying to suss out how his phone works though!

The Thinker

Posted from WordPress for Android

Gig news – The Woodman, Purbrook – Saturday 22nd October 2011

rich — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 12:15:05 +0000

OK folks, this is the gig we’ve been asked so much about!! We’re back at The Woodman, Purbrook this coming Saturday (15th October 2011). The fun starts circa 8:30pm so make sure you get there to get a seat. Details here

We love The Woodman. It’s one of those pubs you just feel at home in as soon as you walk through the door. This will be our second gig there and if the last gig is anything to go by it’s going to be a good’un.

See you there.

Rock on!!

The Bridge Tavern, Holbury – Saturday 15th October 2011

rich — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 10:07:00 +0000

Oh yeah baby!!!! You can chalk that one off as a complete success. How can we confidently say that? Well a pub full of people dancing and singing for two and a bit hours, three encores combined with the offer of more gigs for this and next year kinda says we did alright!

The Bridge Tavern only re-opened a few weeks ago and we were lucky enough to be the first band to play there. The Bridge has a fantastic sound, fantastic patrons, fantastic landlord and landlady and is, on the whole, fantastic. We really, really can’t wait to get back there in December and then again twice next year.

We must also thank our friends, family and avid followers for coming along and giving us your support. It’s very much appreciated.

For those who couldn’t make it, here’s what you missed:

Set 1
THE ONE I LOVE
IN THE MORNING
I CAN’T EXPLAIN
20th CENTURY BOY
WISHING WELL
CROSSROADS
MONEY FOR NOTHING
THE OTHER PART OF ME – Original Number
YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME
ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT
BROWN EYED GIRL
NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD
DAKOTA
TUSH
THE BARTENDER AND THE THIEF
THE IMMIGRANT SONG

Set 2
LA GRANGE
I WANT TO BREAK FREE
YOU REALLY GOT ME
LONG TRAIN RUNNING
TAKE ME OUT
DISCO 2000
CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE
TEENAGE KICKS
SUMMER OF ’69
MUSTANG SALLY
SLAM THE DOOR – Original Number
SWEET HOME ALABAMA

CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU -Encore
MONEY – Encore
ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL – Encore

The Fleming Arms, Swaythling – Closed

rich — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 12:29:48 +0000

I know quite a few bands check our website (and why not, I check yours lol).

Please be aware that The Fleming Arms in Swaythling has closed. I’m reliably informed that it will remain closed for at least the next six months.

Rehearsals at River Studios

rich — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 06:17:43 +0000

We thought it would make a nice change to post something about where we rehearse.
The Crush have been coming to River Studios for a few months now but it feels like years. It’s a great place for bands to record and rehearse and if you haven’t looked at www.riverstudios.co.uk yet then you’re missing out!

Posted from WordPress for Android

Gig news – The Bridge Tavern, Holbury – Saturday 15th October 2011

rich — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 19:07:06 +0000

Happy days!! We’re going to be playing at The Bridge Tavern, Holbury on Saturday 15th October 2011.

We always relish playing at new venues and can’t wait to get in to The Bridge.

Roll on Saturday!!!

More details can be found here

URGENT – CANCELLED – The Colonial Bar, Horndean – Friday 7th October 2011

rich — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:00:56 +0000

Sadly, The Colonial Bar, Horndean double-booked and The Crush have lost out. ‘Stolen’ are playing there instead and they are well worth seeing!!

Hopefully we’ll get a replacement date very soon.

Apologies

Download all our original material for FREE!!!

rich — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 17:30:48 +0000

We’re making all our original tracks available for FREE download! How good is that!?!?!!!

Just use the players below to take a listen and if you like what you hear then click the download button and away you go. Enjoy!!

Slam The Door – Our brand new song – FREE DOWNLOAD

rich — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 15:00:52 +0000

Here it is!!! This is what you’ve all been waiting for!!

Slam The Door

We are incredibly proud to announce that ‘Slam The Door’ is finally available to download FOR FREE!!!

You can download or listen to the song by using the player below or by simply clicking here

Enjoy!!!

Gigs this month – October 2011

rich — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 23:01:03 +0000

~~The Colonial Bar, Horndean – Friday 7th October 2011 – Details here – CANCELLED due to double booking~~

The Bridge Tavern, Holbury – Saturday 15t October 2011 – Details here

The Woodman, Purbrook – Saturday 22nd October 2011 – Details here

The Vine, Gosport – Saturday 29th October 2011 – Details here

‘SLAM THE DOOR’ DOWNLOAD – The Countdown has started!!!!

rich — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 17:30:32 +0000

We are incredibly proud to announce that our new song, Slam The Door, will be available for download on Sunday 2nd October 2011 from 4pm. Best of all we’re giving it away FOR FREE!! That’s right, it’ll be a free download!

Twitter is alight already with talk about ‘Slam The Door’ with one of our followers saying “really enjoyed it! It’s one to make you get up and dance. Well done lads !!” after they heard it live.

Another Twitter follower described ‘Slam The Door’ as “infectious”

If you’ve been to one of our gigs then you’ll know what all the fuss is about. It’s taken us a while to get it recorded but it’s been worth the wait!! Oh, and did we mention that it’ll be free?!?!

Tell your friends, family, loved ones, neighbours, dog, cat, whoever to check the website at 4pm on Sunday 2nd October 2011 for the link you’ll need to use to download ‘Slam The Door’!

And you only have to wait this long:

The Admiral Drake, Portsmouth – Saturday 24th September 2011

rich — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 12:13:00 +0000

WHAT A NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I haven’t played at The Admiral Drake for years and to be honest I’d forgotten what a fantastic venue it is for live music. They’ve got the layout in the place absolutely spot on for bands to set up and be close to the crowd. Combine that with great acoustics and you’re on to a winner before you’ve even played a note.

The band chillaxing before the gig

We had loads of followers come to see us which is always brilliant to see (thanks to you all, you know who you are) and the pub itself was packed with its regulars who obviously know a good band when they hear one. Again, thanks to you all for joining in and making it a night to remember.

Setup and ready to rock

And after the gig one of our new fans convinced J that she was some sort of semi-pro drummer. It turns out she wasn’t LOL!

Jamie's replacement? We think not.

For those of you that couldn’t make it, here’s the tunes you missed:

Set 1
THE ONE I LOVE
IN THE MORNING
I CAN’T EXPLAIN
20th CENTURY BOY
WISHING WELL
CROSSROADS
MONEY FOR NOTHING
THE OTHER PART OF ME – Original Number
YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME
ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT
BROWN EYED GIRL
DAKOTA
TUSH
THE BARTENDER AND THE THIEF
IMMIGRANT SONG

Set 2
WHITE ROOM
LA GRANGE
I WANT TO BREAK FREE
YOU REALLY GOT ME
DANCING WITH TEARS IN MY EYES
LONG TRAIN RUNNING
TAKE ME OUT
DISCO 2000
CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE
TEENAGE KICKS
MONEY
SUMMER OF ’69
MUSTANG SALLY
SLAM THE DOOR – Original Number
SWEET HOME ALABAMA
CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU
HYSTERIA
I’LL STAND BY YOU

The Admiral Drake – Setup and ready to rock

rich — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 19:44:00 +0000

The Admiral Drake is just about to be ‘Crushed’

Pop on down if you’ve got a spare couple if hours.

Posted from WordPress for Android

Gig reminder

rich — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 15:22:31 +0000

We can hardly contain our excitement at playing The Admiral Drake, Portsmouth tomorrow night (Saturday 24th September)

It’ll be great if you can make it. Make sure you pop over and say hello if you do come along.

Rock on!

Posted from WordPress for Android

Google+ – We’re now on it

rich — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 08:28:26 +0000

Hi all,

A few of you have asked if we had a Google+ profile set up. Well the answer to that is now a definite YES!! You can find the new Google+ page here so please add us.

Cheers

Gig reminder – The Admiral Drake, Portsmouth – Saturday 24th Sept 2011

rich — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 14:05:40 +0000

Hi all,

We’re playing at the world famous Admiral Drake in Portsmouth this coming Saturday (24th Sept).

We’ve been itching to get in to the Admiral Drake for ages! Bring it on!!

More details can be found here

Gig – The Fleming Arms, Swaythling – Friday 2nd September 2011

rich — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 10:19:09 +0000

Another great night at The Fleming Arms and the perfect venue to spend our birthday. Huge thanks to everyone who came along.

Here’s what we played:

Set 2
LA GRANGE
I WANT TO BREAK FREE
YOU REALLY GOT ME
DANCING WITH TEARS IN MY EYES
LONG TRAIN RUNNING
TAKE ME OUT
DISCO 2000
CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE
TEENAGE KICKS
MONEY
SUMMER OF ’69
MUSTANG SALLY
SLAM THE DOOR – Original Number
SWEET HOME ALABAMA
CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU

Set up at The Fleming Arms, Swaythling

rich — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 19:36:43 +0000

Here we go! Just under 20 minutes to go.

Come along if you’re free

Posted from WordPress for Android

Happy Birthday to us

rich — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 01:07:25 +0000

Woo hoo! The Crush Band Limited is one year old today.

Please come and join the celebrations at The Fleming Arms, Swaythling tonight.

Huge thanks must go to all our fans, followers and families for your support this year. We couldn’t have done it without you.

Rock on!

Posted from WordPress for Android

Gigs this month – September 2011

rich — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 23:01:42 +0000

~~The Fleming Arms, Southampton – Friday 2nd September 2011 – Details here~~

~~Two weeks holiday – Woo hoo!!~~

~~The Admiral Drake, Portsmouth – Saturday 24th September 2011 – Details here~~

In the press – Interview for The News, Portsmouth

rich — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 12:30:51 +0000

You may recall that a while ago we mentioned something might be happening that we couldn’t say too much about at the time? Well, here it is. We’re in the paper!!

Emma Judd, journalist at The News, Portsmouth got in touch with the band expressing an interest in the set up of our limited company and the many benefits that it brings.

Well, the article was published in the paper on Tuesday 30th August 2011 and you can read it on-line here.

Thanks Emma. We’re looking forward to seeing you again very soon.

Gig Reminder – The Fleming Arms, Swaythling – Friday 2nd September 2011

rich — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 13:00:06 +0000

Hi all, don’t forget we’re playing at The Fleming Arms, Swaythling this coming Friday (2nd September) kicking off around 8:30pm.

This is the bands 1st birthday as a limited company so please come along and help make it a night to remember.

Rock on!!

Gig News Part Two – The Woodman, Purbrook – Gigs for 2012

rich — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 19:47:15 +0000

And we’ve got to say a huge thank you to Becky and Paul at The Woodman in Purbrook who have also given us four more gig dates for 2012.

We love The Woodman. It’s a great pub to play.

Thanks B&P! Much appreciated.

Gig News – The Green Dragon, Gosport – 2012 gigs!! Woo hoo!

rich — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 18:05:56 +0000

We got a call from Lee at The Green Dragon in Gosport on Friday of last week. He’s only gone and offered us some dates for 2012!!

So dates for your diary:

Saturday 25th February 2012

Saturday 19th May 2012

Saturday 22nd September 2012

More details can be found here. 2012 is shaping up to be a fantastic year. Bring it on!!

The Loco Club, Eastleigh – Saturday 20th August 2011

rich — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 01:04:26 +0000

Got home from The Loco club about 1:15am after an absolutely fantastic night. There’s always a great crowd at The Loco and it’s great to see familiar faces in the crowd. What’s more we even had people come along who’d found us via Twitter. The power of the internet never ceases to amaze me.

We had lovely ladies up and dancing the night away and those that chose to stay at their tables were still bopping away in their seats.

And what’s more I thought the band played incredibly well. I know I would say that but we did ourselves proud tonight. I bloody well love being in The Crush.

For those who couldn’t make it, here’s what we played:

Set 1

I CAN’T EXPLAIN

20th CENTURY BOY

IN THE MORNING

WISHING WELL

CROSSROADS

MONEY FOR NOTHING

YOU REALLY GOT ME

THE OTHER PART OF ME – Original Number

YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME

THE ONE I LOVE

ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT

NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD

DAKOTA

TUSH

IMMIGRANT SONG

Set 2

LA GRANGE

TEENAGE KICKS

DANCING WITH TEARS IN MY EYES

I WANT TO BREAK FREE

LONG TRAIN RUNNING

TAKE ME OUT

DISCO 2000

CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE

I’ll STAND BY YOU

THE BARTENDER AND THE THIEF

SUMMER OF ’69

MUSTANG SALLY

SLAM THE DOOR – Original Number

SWEET HOME ALABAMA

CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU

When do we start?

rich — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 19:43:00 +0000

The warm-up act - The WAGS

Here we go? Ready to move some air at The Loco Club. Fun starts at 9pm so you ain’t got long to trot on down.

Posted from WordPress for Android

Gig reminder – The Loco Club Eastleigh – TONIGHT!!

rich — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 08:31:42 +0000

That’s right folks, we’ve got our 2nd gig this weekend tonight at The Loco Club in Eastleigh.

It would be great to see you there.

The Heroes, Waterlooville – 19th August 2011

rich — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 01:20:02 +0000

Yep, chalk that one up! Great night at The Heroes.

Granted it wasn’t as busy as we’d of hoped but there were familiar faces in the crowd and everyone we spoke to after the gig was full of nothing but positive comments. You can’t really ask for more than that.

For those that couldn’t make it, here’s what you missed:

Set 1

I CAN’T EXPLAIN

20th CENTURY BOY

IN THE MORNING

WISHING WELL

CROSSROADS

MONEY FOR NOTHING

YOU REALLY GOT ME

THE OTHER PART OF ME – Original Number

YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME

THE ONE I LOVE

ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT

NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD

DAKOTA

TUSH

IMMIGRANT SONG

Set 2

LA GRANGE

TEENAGE KICKS

DANCING WITH TEARS IN MY EYES

I WANT TO BREAK FREE

LONG TRAIN RUNNING

TAKE ME OUT

DISCO 2000

CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE

I’ll STAND BY YOU

SUMMER OF ’69

MUSTANG SALLY

SLAM THE DOOR – Original Number

SWEET HOME ALABAMA

CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU

Ready to rock at The Heroes

rich — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 19:36:54 +0000

We’re ready to rock The Heroes in Waterlooville.

Big crowd already as well. Woo hoo!!!!

Posted from WordPress for Android

Gig reminder – The Heroes, Waterlooville – Friday 19th August 2011 – 8:30pm start

rich — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 18:53:32 +0000

Can you tell we’re excited about The Heroes gig on Friday?

Make sure you’re there as it’s going to be a great night!!

Gigs this month – August 2011

rich — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 18:55:40 +0000

~~The Fountain, Rowlands Castle – Saturday 6th August 2011 – 8:30pm start – Details here~~

~~Wedding reception gig – Thursday 11th August 2011 – Sorry, this one’s private~~

~~Wedding reception gig – Saturday 13th August 2011 – Sorry, this one’s private~~

~~The Heroes, Waterlooville – Friday 19th August 2011 – 8:30pm start – Details here~~

~~The Loco Club, Eastleigh – Saturday 20th August 2011 – 8:30pm start – Details here~~

That’s it for gigs this month. Roll on September!!

VENUES!!! – Please note that our diary for 2012 is starting to look rather full. If you’d like to book The Crush then please contact us ASAP. Thanks.

Congratulations to Cheryl and Tony – Marriage vows renewal/Handfasting gig – Saturday 13th August 2011

rich — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 16:38:38 +0000

Many. many, many congratulations to Cheryl and Tony on their Handfasting Ceremony yesterday for which The Crush were invited to play at.

The event was held at The Curlew, Havant (a venue The Crush has played at a few times before and really enjoy performing there) with the ceremony itself being held under the stunning willow tree they have there.

The band was asked to perform that evening for the reception party and how could we refuse?!?

Thanks again Cheryl and Tony and thanks for a fantastic day and evening.

Set up and ready to rock!!

That's us that is

Looking in from the outside

This Crush Follower can't wait for us to get going

Another rare photo of The Crush playing

The Crush - Don't we look great?!?

Here’s what we played:

Set 1

MONEY FOR NOTHING

20th CENTURY BOY

WISHING WELL

CROSSROADS

YOU REALLY GOT ME

I CAN’T EXPLAIN

IN THE MORNING

THE OTHER PART OF ME – Original Number

YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME

THE ONE I LOVE

ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT

TUSH

NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD

DAKOTA

IMMIGRANT SONG

Interval – VALERIE with Charlotte Setford on lead vocals

Set 2

LA GRANGE

LONG TRAIN RUNNING

TAKE ME OUT

DANCING WITH TEARS IN MY EYES

I WANT TO BREAK FREE

DISCO 2000

CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE

I’ll STAND BY YOU

TEENAGE KICKS

SUMMER OF ’69

SLAM THE DOOR – Original Number

SWEET HOME ALABAMA

MUSTANG SALLY

CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU

Congratulations to David & Katie – Wedding gig – Thursday 11th August 2011

rich — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 16:15:50 +0000

We’d like to say a huge thank you and and even huger congratulations to David and Katie for their wedding yesterday (Thursday 11th August 2011). Jamie, Pete and I feel honoured to have been invited to play at your very special event.

And what an event!! We played at The Kings Arms, Fernhurst and what a beautiful venue it is. If you’re looking to have your wedding reception or indeed any other function then check them out.

This was our first wedding reception gig

As well as providing live music, The Crush can also provide disco entertainment as well during the periods we aren’t playing. Yes, we really are that versatile.

So here’s what we played:

Set 1

MONEY FOR NOTHING

CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE – For the happy couple’s first dance

20th CENTURY BOY

CROSSROADS

YOU REALLY GOT ME

I CAN’T EXPLAIN

IN THE MORNING

THE OTHER PART OF ME – Original Number

YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME

THE ONE I LOVE

ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT

TUSH

SET TWO

BROWN EYED GIRL

DAKOTA

IMMIGRANT SONG

LA GRANGE

LONG TRAIN RUNNING

TAKE ME OUT

DANCING WITH TEARS IN MY EYES

I WANT TO BREAK FREE

EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU

SET THREE

DISCO 2000

CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE

TEENAGE KICKS

SUMMER OF ’69

MUSTANG SALLY

SLAM THE DOOR – Original Number

SWEET HOME ALABAMA

CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU

Great news!!!! Gig at The Swan, Havant – 5th November 2011

rich — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 19:02:02 +0000

Fantastic news for everyone in the Havant and Waterlooville area. We’ve managed to secure a gig at The Swan, Bedhampton, Havant on Saturday 5th November 2011.

We contacted Cathy at The Swan a couple of months ago but we simply couldn’t match any free dates up. Well we’ve managed to shift a few things around have been lucky enough to get this gig.

Thanks Cathy, we owe you one.

Check out all our gigs here and if you haven’t signed up to our newsletter yet then you’re missing out. It only takes a few seconds. Go on!! You know you want to.

The Fountain, Rowlands Castle – 6th August 2011

rich — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 01:41:13 +0000

Well. as my ten year old daughter would say, OMG!! What a great night. I guess we already knew that playing at The Fountain in Rowlands Castle would be a special event but we really didn’t appreciate how special. It’s one of those places that has got an atmosphere with an almost magical tinge to it.

We revealed our latest tune ‘Dancing with tears in my eyes’ by Ultravox. I always get nervous when playing a new tune in front of an audience but I don’t know why I worried last night, it went incredibly well :O)

We had a great crowd yet again. And I can’t let the hospitality that was extended to us by Herbie and his crew go without saying that it was second to none. Thank you to everyone at The Fountain.

A rare shot of the three of us actually playing!

Good times were had by all!!

For those that couldn’t make it, here’s what you missed:

Set 1

MONEY FOR NOTHING

20th CENTURY BOY

WISHING WELL

YOU REALLY GOT ME

I CAN’T EXPLAIN

IN THE MORNING

THE OTHER PART OF ME – Original Number

YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME

THE ONE I LOVE

ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT

TUSH

NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD

DAKOTA

CROSSROADS

IMMIGRANT SONG

Set 2

LA GRANGE

LONG TRAIN RUNNING

TAKE ME OUT

DANCING WITH TEARS IN MY EYES

I WANT TO BREAK FREE

THE BARTENDER AND THE THIEF

DISCO 2000

CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE

I’ll STAND BY YOU

TEENAGE KICKS

SUMMER OF ’69

MUSTANG SALLY

SLAM THE DOOR – Original Number

Ready to rock at The Fountain

rich — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 19:32:01 +0000

Bring it on. Its getting very busy already. This is gonna be a stonker!!

Posted from WordPress for Android

Gig Reminder – The Fountain, Rowlands Castle – Saturday 6th August 2011

rich — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 10:12:20 +0000

And what a gig reminder!!! We’re only playing at The Fountain in Rowlands Castle this coming Saturday (6th August 2011). Proceedings will start around 8:30pm but we’d highly recommend getting there early to get a seat.

This is gonna be a night to remember!!

Join our newsletter

rich — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 17:18:20 +0000

Hi All,

We’re officially launching our newsletter today. To sign up simply go to the top of this webpage and look for the ‘Join our mailing list’ box. Fill in your name and email address and we’ll do the rest. You’ll get a link sent to your email which you’ll need to click on to activate and confirm your subscription. Easy peasey!!

You can unsubscribe at any time and we promise not to pass on your details to anyone else.

Go on!! Go for it!!

The Heroes, Waterlooville – Friday 19th August 2011

rich — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 12:25:00 +0000

Now that’s what I call a result. Sam from The Heroes in Waterlooville gave us a call to see if we could play there on Friday 19th August 2011.

Now technically speaking we had closed the diary for this year but how could we pass up the opportunity to play at The Heroes?!? Well our people spoke to their people and we managed to arrange things so we can play there on the 19th!! Woo hoo!!!!

Can’t wait! We’re really lucky in that we’re getting to play in some fantastic venues this year. Thanks to everyone!

Spread the word.

Charity Event at Ferneham Hall, Fareham – 23rd July 2011

rich — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 23:41:19 +0000

A huge, huge thank you to everyone at Southern Arts Academy for letting us take part in their 2011 Showcase event at Ferneham Hall, Fareham in aid of Rowans Hospice. We had a brilliant afternoon and evening watching the staff and students at SAA put on a frankly stunning performance. We were proud to be a part of it.

You’ve almost certainly already seen the photos below of us setting up for the event. Keep an eye out for upcoming video footage and hopefully a few more photos.

Thanks to Katrina for inviting us along. We hope we can help out again next year.

Some photos from Ferneham Hall, Fareham

rich — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 17:49:20 +0000

Just a few shots from our break at The Ferneham Hall, Fareham

Posted from WordPress for Android

Live at The Ferneham Hall, Fareham

rich — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 16:55:05 +0000

Big day for The Crush. We’re only playing live at The Fernham Hall, Fareham for Southern Artists in aid of The Rowans Hospice.

The kids who are performing their 2011 Showcase are amazing.

We’re on again 7pm and can’t wait. Its a great way to spend a Saturday.

Rock on!

Posted from WordPress for Android

The Crown, Littlehampton – 22nd July 2011

rich — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 23:27:43 +0000

Seriously?!? Is it possible to get any more people in a pub? The Crown was busy when we turned up and just kept on filling up as the night went on.

This was, without doubt one of the biggest pub crowds we’ve ever played to and to be honest I don’t think I could guess how many people were there.

And what a crowd!! Three encores and demands for more meant we finished on a high and we really can’t wait to get back to The Crown in November.

Here’s what we played:

Set 1

MONEY FOR NOTHING

20th CENTURY BOY

WISHING WELL

CROSSROADS

YOU REALLY GOT ME

IN THE MORNING

THE OTHER PART OF ME – Original Number

YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME

THE ONE I LOVE

ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT

TUSH

NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD

DAKOTA

Immigrant song

Set 2

LA GRANGE

I CAN’T EXPLAIN

ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL

LONG TRAIN RUNNING

I WANT TO BREAK FREE

TAKE ME OUT

THE BARTENDER AND THE THIEF

DISCO 2000

CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE

I’ll STAND BY YOU

VALERIE

TEENAGE KICKS

SUMMER OF ’69

MUSTANG SALLY

SLAM THE DOOR – Original Number

SWEET HOME ALABAMA

CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU

The Crown – We’re in

rich — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 19:34:00 +0000

Yeah! We just about got everything in to this great venue. Soundcheck went well. Roll on 9pm

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Gig reminder – The Crown, Littlehampton – Tonight!!

rich — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 06:42:46 +0000

Morning fellow Crushers and Crushettes.

We’re playing at The Crown, Littlehampton tonight. The fun starts around 8:30pm so make sure you’re there in plenty of time.

That is all.

Woo hoo! Praccy tonight and gigging on Friday!!

rich — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 06:10:36 +0000

We bloomin’ well love Wednesdays!!! Why? Rehearsal nights at River Studios that’s why. You’re more than welcome to pop along and have a listen if you have some spare time on your hands.

And don’t forget we’re playing at The Crown, Littlehampton this coming Friday. The fun starts around 8:30pm so make sure you’re there in plenty of time.

We’re working on a new song tonight that we’re hoping to play at The Crown. I’m saying no more than that at this stage other than the first run through we gave it last week made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up!!

Rock on!!

New Facebook Page

rich — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 12:30:53 +0000

Due to limitations placed by Facebook on The Crush’s group page we’ve had to set up a new dedicated area for news, reviews, photos etc. We’d really appreciate it if you could click on this link http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Crush/108295845933686 then click ‘like’ in order to keep up with all the news etc regarding The Crush. Thanks very, very much

The Vine, Gosport – Saturday 16th July 2011

rich — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 01:06:25 +0000

Oh sweet Mother of Pearl was that a great night at The Vine in Gosport. Loads of familiar faces (always a great thing) and a great audience.

As the evening went on the crowd just got more and more in the music. I lost count of how many people were on the dance floor for the last hour or so. Simply brilliant.

Highlights for me personally were You Do Something To Me, Need Your Love So Bad and I’ll Stand By You. But then I’m a bit soppy like that.

If you didn’t manage to get along, here’s what you missed:

Set 1

MONEY FOR NOTHING

20th CENTURY BOY

WISHING WELL

CROSSROADS

YOU REALLY GOT ME

IN THE MORNING

THE OTHER PART OF ME – Original Number

YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME

THE ONE I LOVE

ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT

TUSH

NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD

DAKOTA

IMMIGRANT SONG

Set 2

THE BARTENDER AND THE THIEF

I CAN’T EXPLAIN

LA GRANGE

LONG TRAIN RUNNING

I WANT TO BREAK FREE

TAKE ME OUT

DISCO 2000

CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE

I’ll STAND BY YOU

TEENAGE KICKS

SUMMER OF ’69

MUSTANG SALLY

SLAM THE DOOR – Original Number

SWEET HOME ALABAMA

CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU

SEX ON FIRE – ENCORE

VALERIE – ENCORE

WHEN I COME AROUND – ENCORE

ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL – ENCORE

In at The Vine

rich — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 19:10:33 +0000

Pete having trouble with his nuts again

We’re ahead of schedule. In, set up, and now waiting for kick off.

If you’re in the area then come along and have a listen.

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CPD for The Crush

rich — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 10:17:50 +0000

You won’t get many bands admitting to the fact that they have lessons of one sort or another. Personally, I’ve never hidden the fact that I had singing lessons from Dielle at Igloo for several months before taking over singing duties with the band.

As you already know, we rehearse at River Studios in Totton. Lucy very kindly put us in touch with Robin Gair from SSPS who came along for an hour or so last night to hear our music and offer advice. Suffice to say we were blown away by both his positive comments about the band and the honest and constructive pointers that he gave us. All three of us were buzzing after Robin left and have already got plans in place to implement his thoughts and suggestions.

We can’t recommend Robin’s services highly enough. Also, if you haven’t looked at River Studios website yet or been along to check out their facilities then you are seriously missing out.

Gig reminder – The Vine, Gosport – Saturday!

rich — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 11:56:18 +0000

Afternoon everyone! Don’t forget that we’re playing at The Vine, Gosport this coming Saturday (16th July 2011). You can find more details of this and all our other gigs by clicking here

Come along, it’ll be great to see you. We should be kicking off around 8:30pm.

New rehearsal rooms

rich — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 06:28:39 +0000

Pete, taking it easy in the new air-con'd rehearsal room

Jamie preparing for the next number

Rich - there are no words

We’ve found a new home, The River Studios in Totton.

Some serious money has been spent on these brand new rehearsal rooms and its paid off, they’re stunning.

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Gig News – Friday 2nd September 2011 – The Fleming Arms, Southampton

rich — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 19:12:14 +0000

A huge thanks must go to Trudy at The Fleming Arms, Southampton. I’ve just got off the phone to her and she’s only gone and offered us a replacement gig for Friday 2nd September 2011!!!

Brilliant news, I’m sure you’d agree.

Flowers for Trudy…………

Gig news – The Brass Monkey, Fareham – Friday 2nd September 2011 – Cancelled

rich — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 09:43:25 +0000

Had some bad news this morning. The Brass Monkey in Fareham is closing down and therefore has cancelled all it’s booked gigs, ours on the 2nd September 2011 being one of them.

Don’t worry though, Operation ‘Oh Bugger’ has kicked in and we’re working hard to get a replacement gig. Watch this space!!

Blogging heck it’s super J

jamie — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 14:04:36 +0000

Woo hoo up and blogging!

Brilliant night!!! – The White Horse, Netley Marsh – Friday 24th June 2011

rich — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 00:10:07 +0000

The White Horse never fails to disappoint, we always have a great time playing there. The locals certainly know a good band when they hear one and their support lifted us higher and higher as the evening went on.

I’m still buzzing and I don’t know what time I’m going to get to sleep. Well worth it though for gigs like that. Roll on December 23rd when we’re back at The White Horse.

Tonight saw some new material in the form of Wishing Well (Free), Tush (ZZ Top) and Everything about you (Ugly Kid Joe). We’ve also reworked You Do Something To Me (Paul Weller) and La Grange (ZZ Top) but you’ll have to come along to a gig to hear what we’ve done.

For those that couldn’t make it, here’s what we played:

Set 1

MONEY FOR NOTHING

CROSSROADS

WISHING WELL

20th CENTURY BOY

YOU REALLY GOT ME

IN THE MORNING

THE ONE I LOVE

ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT

YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME

DAKOTA

NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD

WHITE ROOM

TUSH

THE IMMIGRANT SONG

Set 2

LONG TRAIN RUNNING

LA GRANGE

EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU

I CAN’T EXPLAIN

I WANT TO BREAK FREE

TAKE ME OUT

THE BARTENDER AND THE THIEF

DISCO 2000

CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE

SEX ON FIRE

TEENAGE KICKS

SUMMER OF ’69

MUSTANG SALLY

SLAM THE DOOR – Original Number

SWEET HOME ALABAMA

CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU

The White Horse, Netley Marsh – We’re in!

rich — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 19:28:45 +0000

In. Set up. Sound checked. Relaxed.

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Gig reminder – The White Horse, Netley Marsh – 24th June 2011

rich — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 18:52:32 +0000

Don’t forget, we’re at The White Horse, Netley Marsh tomorrow night.

We’ll be kicking off around 8:30pm so make sure you get there early enough to get a seat.

New material, a reworking of a couple of old favourites and lashings of good quality rock and blues.

We can’t bloomin’ wait!

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The Oakdale, Poole – Saturday 18th June 2011

rich — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 01:01:18 +0000

Chalk that one off. Good gig, great venue, appreciative crowd. Yep, we want to get back in The Oakdale.

Odd gig tonight. Odd? Why? Well, I had a bit of trouble with the old voice. I guess anyone who fronts a band will have an issue with their vocals at some point. hey, I’ve got a bootleg of a U2 concert somewhere where Bono’s voice is shot. It happens.

Yet again there were some real highlights. We tried something a little different with ‘You Do Something To Me’ and it worked a treat. I’m not going to tell you what it was, you’ll have to come to a gig to find out what we’ve done.

‘I’ll Stand By You’ made a welcome return. It’s a real pleasure to sing that song and our stripped back, raw sound lifts the song.

And then there’s ‘Slam The Door’. This is an original number that just keeps gaining momentum. If you haven’t heard it live yet, you are seriously missing out. If you ask nicely then there may be a bootleg recording of it available but you never heard that from me ;o)

As you almost certainly already know, this was a last minute gig. We had quite a few people say that they would have loved to have come but already had stuff planned. No worries, we’re planning on getting back in to The Oakdale next year and also play more in the Bournemouth/Poole/Christchurch area in general.

Here’s what we did:

Set 1

MONEY FOR NOTHING

CROSSROADS

20th CENTURY BOY

SUBSTITUTE

YOU REALLY GOT ME

IN THE MORNING

THE ONE I LOVE

ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT

YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME

DAKOTA

NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD

WHITE ROOM

THE IMMIGRANT SONG

Set 2

LA GRANGE

I CAN’T EXPLAIN

I WANT TO BREAK FREE

TAKE ME OUT

DISCO 2000

CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE

LONG TRAIN RUNNING

TEENAGE KICKS

I’ll STAND BY YOU

SWEET HOME ALABAMA

THE BARTENDER AND THE THIEF

SLAM THE DOOR – Original Number

We’re in, set up, sound checked at The Oakdale, Poole.

rich — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 19:06:39 +0000

Roll on 9pm when we kick off at The Oakdale, Poole. We got a good sound in the pub so the rock should roll!

Come on down if you find yourself at a loose end.

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CONGRATULATIONS!!! – The latest addition to The Crush family

rich — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 06:43:37 +0000

Many, many, many congratulations to Becky and Duncan on the birth of their daughter Isla Rose who made her appearance at 3:29am this morning. A good weight and a quick birth by all accounts with mother and baby doing well.

Congrats to Pete and Rhona on becoming grandparents for the first time as well.

Welcome to the world Isla!!!

NEWSFLASH!! – Gig – The Oakdale, Poole – Saturday 18th June 2011

rich — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 15:23:43 +0000

Brilliant news! John at The Oakdale, Poole has come up trumps and offered us a gig this coming Saturday (18th June 2011). Thanks John, we owe you one.

Come one, come all. If you’re not from the area then why not go and spend the day in the wonderful Poole, grab a bite to eat and round it all off with an evening of quality entertainment provided by the band you know and love.

Go on, you know you want to.

Cancelled – Oliver’s Bar, Gosport – Saturday 18th June 2011

rich — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 07:19:31 +0000

Apologies fellow Crushers, Oliver’s Bar have been on the phone and due to unforeseen circumstances have had to cancel this Saturday’s gig.

We’re working hard to get another gig for the weekend so watch this space!!!

~~Hello Crush fans!!!~~

This time next week the band will be getting ready to rock at Oliver’s Bar Gosport. Guitars will have new strings, drums will have new skins, Rich will be taking his medication, Jamie will be fitting his truss and Pete, well we won’t say what Pete’ll be up to as the web might melt.

~~So, don’t forget: Oliver’s Bar, Gosport – Saturday 18th June 2011 – 8:30pm start! We is gonna rock!!!!~~

~~Also, have you got your official Crush badge yet? You can get them at our gigs (just come up and ask, we don’t bite that hard) or from our shop.~~

~~Laters!~~

NEWS FLASH – Thanks Liz!!

rich — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 19:45:54 +0000

We’ve got to say a HUGE thank you to Liz at Oliver’s Bar, Gosport. She’s only gone and offered us more gigs for 2012!! We haven’t even finshed playing all the dates we have there this year yet!!! Brilliant.

On a serious note, we can’t thank Liz and Ray enough for providing us with such a fantastic venue to play in. You guys set the bar really, really high.

Check out the gig calendar for all the dates, past and future.

The Forest Inn, Ashurst – Thursday 2nd June 2011

rich — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 08:34:13 +0000

Oh yeah! That’s the way to do it. We had a fantastic night at The Forest Inn, Ashurst last night. It’s a great pub to play and we’re really looking forward to getting back there in December.

A huge thanks must go out to the frankly brilliant crowd that turned out to see us. You helped elevate the whole gig. Pete, Jamie and I had a chat after the event (as you do) and we all agreed that The Forest Inn is certainly a venue we want to keep coming back to again and again.

Any working bands that are reading this (you know who you are) will hopefully relate to this. The more a band plays live, the better it should get. As time passes and we get more gigs under our belt we are noticing that we just keep getting more and more, I don’t know, fluid? Is that the right word to use? In truth, I don’t really know what I’m trying to describe because it’s a ‘feel thing’ that I don’t think can be defined.

Take ‘You do something to me’ for example. A reasonably simple song to perform but it’s the easy ones that can turn round and bite you. The way we played that song last night was, in my humble opinion, one of our best performances of it. The imagery that the lyrics conjure up really help you feel the song. When the solo kicks in, and you’re in the zone, it can just feel like satin. The same can be said for ‘Need your love so bad’, the old Peter Green number.

Our original number, Slam the Door, is rapidly becoming my favourite. When we’ve finished recording it and made it available for you to download, you’ll see/hear what I mean.

Another highlight for me was ‘Bartender and the thief’. That song makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Don’t get me wrong, I love playing all the songs we play, it’s just that those four songs really stood out for me last night.

Thanks again to The Forest Inn and its patrons. Thanks also to everyone who purchased one of our badges (also available in our shop).

For those that couldn’t make it, here’s what you missed:

Set 1

MONEY FOR NOTHING

CROSSROADS

20th CENTURY BOY

SUBSTITUTE

YOU REALLY GOT ME

IN THE MORNING

THE OTHER PART OF ME – Original Number

THE ONE I LOVE

SEX ON FIRE

ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT

YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME

DAKOTA

HEAD OF DREAMS – Original Number

NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD

WHITE ROOM

THE IMMIGRANT SONG

Set 2

LA GRANGE

I CAN’T EXPLAIN

I WANT TO BREAK FREE

TAKE ME OUT

THE BARTENDER AND THE THIEF

DISCO 2000

CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE

LONG TRAIN RUNNING

TEENAGE KICKS

SUMMER OF ’69

MUSTANG SALLY

SWEET HOME ALABAMA

SLAM THE DOOR – Original Number

CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU

Gig reminder – The Forest Inn, Ashurst – Thursday 2nd June

rich — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 12:16:07 +0000

Afternoon all! Don’t forget that we’re playing at The Forest Inn, Ashurst tomorrow night. We’ll be starting proceedings around 8:30pm and from what we can make out, it’s going to be a busy night so make sure you get there in plenty of time to get a seat.

That is all.

Oliver’s Bar, Gosport – Friday 27th May 2011

rich — Sat, 28 May 2011 01:29:04 +0000

Where do I begin? How about with the thank you’s?

Thanks go yet again to Liz and Ray for having The Crush play at Oliver’s Bar, Gosport. This was our second gig there and we can’t bloomin’ wait to get back there in a few weeks time.

Thanks to the great crowd who turned out to see us.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to come and chat with the band in the interval and at the end of the night. Your feedback and comments are hugely appreciated.

Thank you to everyone who purchased our brand new badges. I hope they remind you of what a great night we all had.

Don’t forget, our fantastic badges are now available simply by visiting our shop (link at the top right hand corner)

If you couldn’t make it, here’s what you missed:

Set 1

MONEY FOR NOTHING

CROSSROADS

20th CENTURY BOY

SUBSTITUTE

YOU REALLY GOT ME

IN THE MORNING

THE OTHER PART OF ME – Original Number

THE ONE I LOVE

ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT

YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME

DAKOTA

HEAD OF DREAMS – Original Number

NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD

WHITE ROOM

THE IMMIGRANT SONG

Set 2

LA GRANGE

I CAN’T EXPLAIN

I WANT TO BREAK FREE

TAKE ME OUT

THE BARTENDER AND THE THIEF

DISCO 2000

CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE

LONG TRAIN RUNNING

TEENAGE KICKS

SUMMER OF ’69

MUSTANG SALLY

SWEET HOME ALABAMA

SLAM THE DOOR – Original Number

The shop is OPEN!!!!!!

rich — Fri, 27 May 2011 15:54:53 +0000

This is what you’ve been asking for! The wait is over.

You can now purchase ‘The Crush’ pin badges by visiting our shop here

What better way can you think of for supporting the band and showing your love of our music?

Friday Festive Fun at The Forest (Inn, Ashurst) – Friday 16th December 2011

rich — Mon, 23 May 2011 12:52:17 +0000

Just got off the phone to the lovely Debbie at The Forest Inn, Ashurst. Not only are we playing there in a couple of weeks time (2nd June 2011, more details here) but she’s asked if we can provide festive entertainment on Friday 16th December 2011 as well (more details here). How could we refuse such a tempting offer.

Thanks Debbie. We’re really looking forward to playing at The Forest Inn on the 2nd June and again at Christmas.

Oops, more bass gear…

pete — Thu, 19 May 2011 22:05:27 +0000

Yeah, yeah, okay. I know I’ve got GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). I saw this, it was a bargain, only £90, you know the rest. (sob, sniff). But it’s a 4 x 10″, 4 ohms and 350 watts RMS. It sounds jolly nice, and anyway, I’ve bought it now, it’s not going back……..you can’t make me……..

New song ‘Slam The Door’

pete — Sun, 15 May 2011 12:12:23 +0000

So many people are asking when they can download our latest toon. Well, we’re planning to go into the studio within the next few weeks, so as soon as it’s done, we’ll announce it and include a link. Thanks to our loyal followers, old and new. Keep checking the site.

The Hole in the Wall, Chichester – 14th May 2011

rich — Sun, 15 May 2011 01:21:33 +0000

There’s a pattern forming here. Gigging at such great venues with stunningly superb crowds is leaving me with such a buzz that I can’t sleep when I get home.

How good was tonight’s gig at The Hole In The Wall, Chichester? 3 encores. That’s all I’ve got to say on that one. 3 encores!!!! Oh, and another booking of the 4th November 2011 (thanks Matt).

THITW is a great venue for live music. If your band hasn’t played there before, do everything you can to get a booking there.

And a huge thank you must go to Ian Collins (www.iancollins.com) for giving us a shout out on Twiiter (@collinslateshow). Cheers mate.

For those that couldn’t make it, here is what we played:

Set 1

MONEY FOR NOTHING

SUBSTITUTE

CROSSROADS

LA GRANGE

20th CENTURY BOY

YOU REALLY GOT ME

WHEN I COME AROUND

THE OTHER PART OF ME – Original Number

THE ONE I LOVE

ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT

YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME

HEAD OF DREAMS – Original Number

NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD

WHITE ROOM

Set 2

THE IMMIGRANT SONG

I CAN’T EXPLAIN

DAKOTA

TAKE ME OUT

DISCO 2000

CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE

LONG TRAIN RUNNING

TEENAGE KICKS

SUMMER OF ’69

I WANT TO BREAK FREE

MUSTANG SALLY

SWEET HOME ALABAMA

SLAM THE DOOR – Original Number

CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU – ENCORE

ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL – ENCORE

I’LL STAND BY YOU – ENCORE

Bookings for 2011 & 2012

rich — Sun, 08 May 2011 15:36:28 +0000

That’s it, the diary for 2011 is now closed. We are fully at capacity for the year. It’s a fantastic position to be in and we’d like to thank every venue that’s allowed us to play and all the venues we’re still due to play at.

But don’t let the fact that our 2011 calendar is now closed put you off booking the band. We are now taking bookings for 2012 and for a limited period you can make 2012 bookings at 2011 prices but get in quick as we’re not sure how long we’ll keep that offer open for.

Thanks again

rich — Sat, 07 May 2011 02:03:54 +0000

Simply click on the Facebook logo above and join The Crush Fan Club to keep up with all the news, views, and reviews.

The Fleming Arms, Swaythling – 6th May 2011

rich — Sat, 07 May 2011 01:55:00 +0000

Home, unload kit, shower, drink, food, gig report. You know the score by now.

Two things stand out from tonight’s gig at The Fleming Arms, Swaythling. Firstly, when we arrived and unloaded the cars it was a lovely, sunny evening. When we’d finished the gig we were playing ‘dodge the lightning bolt’ in a huge electrical storm.

Secondly, The Fleming Arms is a fantastic venue to play. The staff are friendly and welcoming and the venue has a warm, homely feel. The acoustics are OK, not brilliant, but not the worst I’ve ever had to cope with and certainly easy enough to get round with a bit of tweaking on the mixing desk. I know there are quite a few bands that check out our website so if you’re reading this I can highly recommend playing at The Fleming.

Suffice to say, we can’t wait to get back there in November.

Here’s the songs we played:

Set 1

MONEY FOR NOTHING

SUBSTITUTE

CROSSROADS

LA GRANGE

20th CENTURY BOY

YOU REALLY GOT ME

WHEN I COME AROUND

THE OTHER PART OF ME – Original Number

THE ONE I LOVE

ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT

YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME

HEAD OF DREAMS – Original Number

NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD

WHITE ROOM

Set 2

THE IMMIGRANT SONG

I CAN’T EXPLAIN

DAKOTA

TAKE ME OUT

DISCO 2000

CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE

LONG TRAIN RUNNING

TEENAGE KICKS

I WANT TO BREAK FREE

SUMMER OF ’69

MUSTANG SALLY

SWEET HOME ALABAMA

WONDERFUL TONIGHT

SLAM THE DOOR – Original Number

CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU

URGENT GIG NEWS! Friday 6th May 2011 – The Fleming Arms, Swaythling

rich — Mon, 02 May 2011 11:21:05 +0000

Trudy from The Fleming Arms has just called the band. Word has got round that The Crush are THE band to get in if you need good quality live music.

The upshot is that we’re play at The Fleming this coming Friday, 6th May. More details can be found here so if you can come along, it would be great to see you.

The Royal Oak, Southampton – Saturday 30th April 2011

rich — Sun, 01 May 2011 02:06:13 +0000

Yep, that was a good’un. Personally, I’ve never played at The Royal Oak before but really can’t wait to get back there and play again. Great acoustics and a fantastic, appreciative crowd made for a winning combination.

We played an updated version of our own number ‘Slam The Door’ which went down an absolute storm. Thanks to everyone who came up to us at the end for the great comments.

For those who missed the gig, here’s what we played:

Set 1

I. MONEY FOR NOTHING

II. SUBSTITUTE

III. CROSSROADS

IV. LA GRANGE

V. 20th CENTURY BOY

VI. YOU REALLY GOT ME

VII. WHEN I COME AROUND

VIII. THE OTHER PART OF ME – Original Number

IX. THE ONE I LOVE

X. ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT

XI. YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME

XII. HEAD OF DREAMS – Original Number

XIII. NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD

XIV. WHITE ROOM

Set 2

I. THE IMMIGRANT SONG

II. I CAN’T EXPLAIN

III. HEATWAVE

IV. TAKE ME OUT

V. DISCO 2000

VI. CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE

VII. I WANT TO BREAK FREE

VIII. LONG TRAIN RUNNING

IX. TEENAGE KICKS

X. SUMMER OF ’69

XI. MUSTANG SALLY

XII. SWEET HOME ALABAMA

XIII. SLAM THE DOOR – Original Number

XIV. CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU

We’re in!

rich — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 19:37:53 +0000

Everything is in and we’re set up. Shame Jamie has broken his drum kit already.

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New material! Be one of the first to hear ‘Slam The Door’

rich — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 16:22:33 +0000

We’ll be playing our new song ‘Slam the door’ on Saturday at The Royal Oak in Southampton. A few lucky people have heard the initial incarnations of the song at our last two gigs but Saturday’s rendition will absolutely blow you away.

We’ll be starting the recording process very soon so for those of you that can’t make the gigs, watch this space.

More gig news!

rich — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 13:36:43 +0000

Nick at The Brass Monkey in Fareham has just been on the phone. He only wants us to play there on Friday 2nd September 2011.

What could we do other than snap up the opportunity. Thanks Nick.

ATTENTION VENUES – Only a few dates left!

rich — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 11:58:34 +0000

I know that quite a few venues keep checking back to our website on a regular basis. Please be aware that we’ve only got a couple of slots left for this year so if you’re thinking of booking the band you’ll need to get in quick.

Check here to see how busy we are.

Gig news! Two dates announced for The Crown, Littlehampton

rich — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 11:53:57 +0000

Great news! We’ve been offered two dates at The Crown, Littlehampton those being 22nd July and 18th November 2011.

The Crown is a hugely popular music venue and have live music on what seems almost every night of the week. Thanks must go to Kevin for giving us these two slots.

Rock on!

Follow the fan club on Twitter

rich — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 18:25:45 +0000

Pete, Jamie and Rich are on Twitter. You can follow us to keep up with all the news and inside gossip relating to The Crush and get to see who we’re talking to. It’ll be more interesting than any glossy magazine (well maybe?!?!).

You can also follow the fan club for on the road updates, news, views and reviews.

Just click on the Twitter icons below:

The Crush Fan Club –

Pete –

Jamie –

Rich –

The Vine, Gosport – 23rd April 2011

rich — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 01:28:01 +0000

How did the gig go? I’ll let you be the judge. We were due to finish at 11pm but the audience were insistent that we played on.

In the end we finished at 11:30pm!

Great audience (happy birthday to the two lovely ladies who were there with their mates) and a great venue.

For those who couldn’t make it, here’s what we did:

Set 1

I. MONEY FOR NOTHING

II. SUBSTITUTE

III. CROSSROADS

IV. LA GRANGE

V. 20th CENTURY BOY

VI. YOU REALLY GOT ME

VII. THE OTHER PART OF ME – Original Number

VIII. SUNSHINE OF YOUR LOVE

IX. THE ONE I LOVE

X. ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT

XI. YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME

XII. HEAD OF DREAMS – Original Number

XIII. NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD

XIV. WHITE ROOM

XV. SLAM THE DOOR – Original Number

Set 2

I. THE IMMIGRANT SONG

II. I CAN’T EXPLAIN

III. DAKOTA

IV. HEATWAVE

V. TAKE ME OUT

VI. DISCO 2000

VII. CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE

VIII. LONG TRAIN RUNNING

IX. TEENAGE KICKS

X. SUMMER OF ’69

XI. MUSTANG SALLY

XII. SWEET HOME ALABAMA

XIII. VALERIE

XIV. WONDERFUL TONIGHT

XV. ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL

XVI. I WANT TO BREAK FREE

XVII. IN THE MORNING

XVIII. I’ll STAND BY YOU

XIX. CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU

The White Horse, Netley Marsh – Friday 15th April 2011

rich — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 01:50:59 +0000

Yet again I’m sitting on the sofa after getting home from another fantastic gig, this time at The White Horse, Netley Marsh.

Tonight saw some new numbers, namely Jimi Hendrix’s classic Red House and a new one of our own, Slam The Door.

We had yet another stunningly brilliant crowd and it was great to see so many familiar faces.

If you didn’t make it, here’s what you missed:

Set 1

MONEY FOR NOTHING

SUBSTITUTE

CROSSROADS

LA GRANGE

20th CENTURY BOY

YOU REALLY GOT ME

WHEN I COME AROUND

SUNSHINE OF YOUR LOVE

THE ONE I LOVE

ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT

YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME

HEAD OF DREAMS – Original Number

THE OTHER PART OF ME – Original Number

NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD

SLAM THE DOOR – Original Number

Set 2

RED HOUSE

THE IMMIGRANT SONG

I CAN’T EXPLAIN

DAKOTA

HEATWAVE

TAKE ME OUT

DISCO 2000

CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE

LONG TRAIN RUNNING

TEENAGE KICKS

SUMMER OF ’69

MUSTANG SALLY

SWEET HOME ALABAMA

CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU

I WANT TO BREAK FREE

Another addition to the stable…

pete — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 10:33:12 +0000

Bought this 5 - string Yamaha RBX 775 from a guy on Basschat (www.basschat.co.uk). Yamaha don’t do this model any more (God knows why), it’s switchable active/passive with an INCREDIBLY playable neck. Chucked on a new set of Rotosound Swing Bass 40 – 125′s and plugged her in. OMG ! Words cannot describe how fluid and comfy it is. It’s the first bass I’ve used which after 2 hours gigging doesn’t leave my fingers knackered. And the sound – don’t get me started !! If I ever lost this somehow, just don’t come near me, seriously…..

Waiting to start at The Loco Club, Eastleigh.

rich — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 19:31:36 +0000

So there I was, sitting on the sofa this morning when the mobile starts to ring. It’s only The Loco Club in Eastleigh. The band they had booked for tonight had let them down and word had got round that The Crush were THE band to get in.

Couple of phone calls, our people spoke to their people yada yada yada and here we are.

Roll on 8.45pm!

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The White Horse, Gosport – Saturday 2nd April 2011

rich — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 07:42:55 +0000

Had a great night at The White Horse, Gosport last night and we certainly hope to be able to get back in there soon. It’s a great venue with a shed load of potential for being a really popular live music venue.

Anyhow, here’s what we played:

Set 1

SUBSTITUTE

CROSSROADS

LA GRANGE

20^th CENTURY BOY

YOU REALLY GOT ME

WHEN I COME AROUND

SUNSHINE OF YOUR LOVE

THE ONE I LOVE

ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT

YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME

HEAD OF DREAMS – Original Number

HYSTERIA

NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD

WHITE ROOM

Set 2

THE IMMIGRANT SONG

I CAN’T EXPLAIN

IN THE MORNING

DAKOTA

HEATWAVE

TAKE ME OUT

DISCO 2000

CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE

LONG TRAIN RUNNING

TEENAGE KICKS

MONEY FOR NOTHING

WONDERFUL TONIGHT

I WANT TO BREAK FREE

SWEET HOME ALABAMA

We’re in and we’re set up at The White Horse, Gosport

rich — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 18:52:39 +0000

Right, now we play the waiting game. The kit is set up, Jamie and Pete have buggered off down the Chinese Takeaway and i’ve been left on my own.

Roll on 9pm when The Crush kick off!

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Brilliant!

rich — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 22:06:26 +0000

Wow! Great 45 min set. Just got off stage. Seemed to go down well with loads of people up and dancing.

Hopefully we’ll be back at The Brass Monkey very very soon.

This is what we just played:

SUBSTITUTE
CROSSROADS
LA GRANGE
YOU REALLY GOT ME
DAKOTA
MONEY FOR NOTHING
THE IMMIGRANT SONG
TAKE ME OUT
HEATWAVE
LONG TRAIN RUNNING
SUMMER OF ’69

Happy days!

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Live at The Brass Monkey, Fareham TONIGHT!

rich — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 15:14:25 +0000

Don’t forget we’re at The Brass Monkey, Fareham tonight. Should be a good night. Not sure what time we’re on as there are a couple of other bands playing as well.

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Testing testing 123

rich — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 18:37:19 +0000

Ok, so I’ve found a WordPress apply for my HTC Desire running Android.

I can now blog from anywhere! Mwah ha ha ha ha!!

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Oliver Bar, Gosport – Saturday 19th March 2011

rich — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 01:47:39 +0000

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. We had high expectations for this gig and suffice to say those expectations were exceeded. Personally, it’s been well over 15 years since I last played at Oliver’s. It was always one of THE venues to play and with the facilities that they now provide (great stage, really good PA and great hospitality) I see no reason why they won’t reach that lofty height again.

Right from the start we got a great response to all our songs (other venues take note). This always lifts a band. If you know the audience is having a good time, you have a good time and you feed off each other.

For those who couldn’t make it, here’s what you missed:

Set 1

1. SUBSTITUTE

2. CROSSROADS

3. LA GRANGE

4. 20th CENTURY BOY

5. YOU REALLY GOT ME

6. WHEN I COME AROUND

7. SUNSHINE OF YOUR LOVE

8. THE ONE I LOVE

9. ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT

10. YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME

11. HEAD OF DREAMS – Original Number

12. THE OTHER PART OF ME – Original Number

13. HYSTERIA

14. NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD

15. WHITE ROOM

Set 2

1. THE IMMIGRANT SONG (+Drum solo)

2. I CAN’T EXPLAIN

3. IN THE MORNING

4. DAKOTA

5. HEATWAVE

6. TAKE ME OUT

7. DISCO 2000

8. CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE

9. LONG TRAIN RUNNING

10. TEENAGE KICKS

11. WONDERFUL TONIGHT

12. SUMMER OF ’69

13. MUSTANG SALLY

14. SWEET HOME ALABAMA

15. WONDERFUL TONIGHT

16. CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU

17. MONEY FOR NOTHING

Can’t wait to get back to Oliver’s Bar. Bring it on!!

Oliver’s Bar, Gosport – Saturday 19th March 2011

rich — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 22:28:46 +0000

Quick reminder, we’re playing at Oliver’s Bar in Gosport tomorrow night (Saturday 19th March 2011).

Jamie has been beavering away at a completely re-worked set-list which is, frankly, stonking!!

Be there. Please.

Leigh Park Working Mans Club – Friday 11th March 2011

rich — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 01:10:38 +0000

Hey hey! Just got back, unloaded the car, grabbed a shower, made a sandwich, got a nice cold ice cold 7-up from the fridge and thought I’d do a quick post about our gig at The Leigh Park Working Man’s Club.

Here’s what we played:

Set 1

1. IN THE MORNING

2. 20th CENTURY BOY

3. THE ONE I LOVE

4. ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT

5. YOU REALLY GO ME

6. I CAN’T EXPLAIN

7. SUNSHINE OF YOUR LOVE

8. NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD

9. YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME

10. VALERIE

11. LONG TRAIN RUNNING

Set 2

1. CROSSROADS

2. SUBSTITUTE

3. TAKE ME OUT

4. ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL

5. MONEY FOR NOTHING

6. SUPERSTITION

7. IMMIGRANT SONG

8. I WANT TO BREAK FREE

9. I’LL STAND BY YOU

10. WHITE ROOM

Set 3

1. LA GRANGE

2. DAKOTA

3. ITCHYCOO PARK

4. HEATWAVE

5. DISCO 2000

6. CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE

7. WONDERFUL TONIGHT

8. TEENAGE KICKS

9. MUSTANG SALLY

10. SWEET HOME ALABAMA

11. CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU

We won’t be going back there again.

Competition Time!!!

rich — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 17:49:01 +0000

Competition Time!!! – How many bands do you see running competitions?!? None, that’s how many. Well, we want to give something back to our loyal fans.

We know that loads of you have been to http://thecrush.bandcamp.com and listened to ‘Head of Dreams’ and ‘The Other Part of Me’. Many of you have liked it so much that you’ve parted with your hard earned cash and purchased one or both of the tracks. For that we thank you.

To say thank you to everyone who has purchased our original material we’re giving away a fantastic stash of prizes. It’s very simple. The moment we’ve sold our 1000^th track (and that isn’t too far away) we’ll put the names of all the purchasers in a hat and draw one (yes just one) name out. That lucky person will win the following:

1. An electric guitar signed by all three members of the band

2. A limited edition CD signed by the band

3. A limited edition poster signed by the band

4. A one off ‘The Crush’ T-Shirt

5. A back-stage pass to one of our gigs

6. A night out with one of the band members (you choose who)

7. An invitation to come along to one of our recording sessions

8. An opportunity to be part of one of our new tracks (singing, vocals, whatever you fancy)

This is almost too good to be true and all you have to do is purchase one or both of our tracks on http://thecrush.bandcamp.com Once we’ve sold our 1000^th track we’ll make the announcement on Facebook, Twitter and our website.

We’re getting very close to selling our 1000th track so don’t miss out. Go to http://thecrush.bandcamp.com and have a listen, make a purchase and that’s it, you’re in the running!

URGENT!!!!

rich — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 19:30:08 +0000

URGENT UPDATE!!! If you are thinking of coming to see The Crush at The Leigh Park Working Mans Club, you must let the club secretary know by close of play Sunday 6th March 2011 emailing the names of all the people in your party who may be coming. The email address you need is workingmens.ins@btconnect.com

That is all.

Join our mailing list

rich — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 16:43:58 +0000

Ok, we’ve been asked by more and more people to make signing up for our mailing list a slightly more simple process. Well, you asked and we’ve delivered.

You’ll now find, in the right-hand column, our new mailing list sign-up box. All you have to do is put your email address in, hit the button and bang, you’re signed up.

The mailing list contains news, views, updates, gig dates, photos and more.

Happy days!

The Centurion, Crookhorn – Friday 11th February 2011

rich — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 15:05:32 +0000

We played at The Centurion, Crookhorn last night. Saw some old faces, played some new material.

Here’s what we did:

Set 1

1. WHEN I COME AROUND

2. 20th CENTURY BOY

3. ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT

4. ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL

5. HEROES

6. THE OTHER PART OF ME

7. THE ONE I LOVE

8. YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME

9. SUBSTITUTE

10. MONEY FOR NOTHING

11. I WANT TO BREAK FREE

12. HEAD OF DREAMS

13. WHITE ROOM

Set 2

1. LA GRANGE

2. CROSSROADS

3. IN THE MORNING

4. TAKE ME OUT

5. I CAN’T EXPLAIN

6. HYSTERIA

7. DAKOTA

8. SUPERSTITION

9. IMMIGRANT SONG

10. I’LL STAND BY YOU

11. LONG TRAIN RUNNING

12. DISCO 2000

13. TEENAGE KICKS

14. SWEET HOME ALABAMA

15. CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU

Gig news! – Leigh Park Working Mans Club – 11th March 2011 – Bringing Rock to the working man (and woman) (and possibly children as well if they’re allowed in)

rich — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 11:36:32 +0000

We’re very, very pleased to announce that The Crush will be playing at The Leigh Park Working Mans Club on Friday 11th March 2011. More details can be found here here

Can’t wait!!!!!

Follow the band on Twitter

rich — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 22:59:06 +0000

Pete and Rich are now using Twitter. Now that should be interesting!

More info here

Download the stunning ‘Head of Dreams’

rich — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 20:07:49 +0000

Pete, Jamie and Rich are very, very proud to announce that their new track ‘Head of Dreams’ is available for download at http://thecrush.bandcamp.com/ for a tiny 75p!

Take a listen here

[wp_bandcamp_player type="track" id="2895526705" size="short" bg_color="#FFFFFF" link_color="#4285BB"]

This stonking number is the essential download for 2011. You’ll be humming it for ages after it’s infectious riff and thought provoking lyrics get in your head.

You can also download our other track ‘The Other Part Of Me’ as well. The two songs compliment each other incredibly well.

Enjoy!

Recording ‘Head of Dreams’ – Mixing the magic

rich — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 17:36:54 +0000

Saturday 29th Jan 2011

Pete came over to my place this afternoon to lend an extra pair of ears to the mixing of all the tracks we’d recorded at The Dugout. I had the house to myself so it made sense to make the most of the peace and quiet.

I set up the Boss BR-600 in the living room with the monitor speakers (wish I’d taken a photo now) and the process began. It’s a pretty simple series of steps we take. First, the drums are balanced up, EQ’d and a touch of reverb and delay added where needed.

Next, the bass guitar gets some attention. A touch of EQ is really all that’s needed here just to lift the track out of the mix and add some definition.

The guitar comes next. This is where we get all secretive. We’ve developed a way of making the guitar sound really wide an expansive, almost a pseudo Q-Sound effect. I’m not going to divulge how we do it. You’ll just have to listen and enjoy the huge sound that comes out your speakers. By limiting this acoustic processing to just the guitar track(s) the whole song is made to sound like it’s bigger than the room your listening to it in.

After the drums, bass and guitar have been processed and levelled the vocals become the focus of attention. Again, EQ, a touch of reverb, a smidgen of delay and a bit of TLC is all it takes to make them sound the part.

Once we’ve found a mix we like through the monitor speakers we plug the BR-600 in to several different types of speakers (Hi-Fi, PC speakers, car etc) to hear what the effect is like in different locations. This normally means a little bit of tweaking here and there but never normally very much.

Once we’re happy with the final mix all the tracks are ‘bounced’ down to one stereo track. That stereo track is then listened to once more before being passed through final mastering. Mastering makes the whole song sparkle and come alive even more.

We’ve got a little bit more work to do and then ‘Head of Dreams’ will be ready.

Prepare yourselves.

Recording ‘Head of Dreams’ – Week 2

rich — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 19:26:07 +0000

On Wednesday 26th January 2011, we went back in to our rehearsal studios (The Dugout, Gosport) to finish recording the tracks for ‘Head of Dreams’.

Now all the various parts have been recorded the fun can really start. The mixing process will take place over the coming week with an anticipated release date of Monday 7th February 2011 so mark that date in your diaries.

Jamie recorded the drum parts the week before so he brought along his trusted Box Brownie and took a few snaps. Below are the fruits of his efforts.

Enjoy

The Dugout, Gosport – It’s a spooky place

The Dugout – Again

Pete takes it easy while Rich sets everything up (no change there then)

More setting up

The Boss BR-600 – Used to record the whole of ‘Head of Dreams’

Pete laying down the final bass parts

Next came the guitar parts – After multiple takes, Rich finally got it right

Cheesy shot of Rich recording the vocal parts

More vocals

That’s what listening to a very rough mix does to you

Pete. There are no words……..

The Malt, Hythe – 22nd January 2011 – Jamie’s birthday bash

rich — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 08:58:57 +0000

It was Jamie’s birthday yesterday and he wanted to celebrate in style. His missus wouldn’t let him do what he wanted to do so instead he got us in to The Malt, Hythe (a venue which we absolutely love playing). The place was packed from the start with new and old faces alike.

From the start, every song we played went down a storm. That’s always a great feeling. Seeing dozens of people singing along, dancing and generally having a good time gives us a huge buzz.

Here’s what we played:

Set 1

1. WHEN I COME AROUND

2. 20th CENTURY BOY

3. ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT

4. ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL

5. HEROES

6. SUNSHINE OF YOUR LOVE

7. THE OTHER PART OF ME

8. THE ONE I LOVE

9. NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD

10. SUBSTITUTE

11. MONEY FOR NOTHING

12. I WANT TO BREAK FREE

13. HEAD OF DREAMS

14. WHITE ROOM

Set 2

1. CROSSROADS

1a. THE IMMIGRANT SONG

2. IN THE MORNING

3. TAKE ME OUT

4. I CAN’T EXPLAIN

5. HYSTERIA

6. DAKOTA

7. SUPERSTITION

8. ITCHYCOO PARK

9. LONG TRAIN RUNNING

10. DISCO 2000

11. CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE

12. TEENAGE KICKS

13. SUMMER OF ‘69

14. SWEET HOME ALABAMA

15. MUSTANG SALLY

16. CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU

Recording ‘Head of Dreams’ – Week 1

rich — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 16:29:46 +0000

On Wednesday 19th January 2011 we went back in to the studio with the sole intention of getting our new song ‘Head of Dreams’ recorded. Experience has shown that it’s always worth taking your time over these sort of things. If you rush, you make mistakes.

The plan is to record over two nights. Night one involved getting the drum track laid. This gives us a solid foundation to build the rest of the song on. On night two, Pete and I will get the bass track, guitar tracks and all the vocals recorded. Once we’re done recording all the parts we’ll retreat to a quiet place to mix the song in to something listenable.

Well, suffice to say, Jamie did the biz and we got a good, solid take of the drum track (in one take I might add). Now it’s down to Pete and I.

Roll on next week when we’ll be getting the guitars, bass and vocals recorded.

Gig news – Two dates for your diaries

rich — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 12:32:29 +0000

This just in, we’ve been asked to play at The White Hart, Netley Marsh and The Woodman Purbrook on 23rd December 2011 and 22nd October 2011 respectively.

Your support is always welcome and very much appreciated.

Woo hoo!!!!

Wock and Woll at The Woodman – Saturday 15th January 2011

rich — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 10:32:03 +0000

Bit of a special night for me personally, this one. I met up with friends I hadn’t seen for almost twenty years. I met up with other friends who I hadn’t seen for almost a decade. There was a really good turn out from people I work with (sadly day jobs have to be done) and then there were our close friends whose presence was very much appreciated. All in all, we had a great crowd and it was a pleasure to play to you all.

The night was also made that little bit more special by the first performance of ‘Head of Dreams’. We’re really, really proud of this song and are hoping to record it and make it available for download very soon so watch this space.

Here’s what we did:

Set 1

CROSSROADS
THE ONE I LOVE
20th CENTURY BOY
ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT
ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL
SUBSTITUTE
HEROES
SUNSHINE OF YOUR LOVE
THE OTHER PART OF ME
NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD
YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME
MONEY FOR NOTHING
I WANT TO BREAK FREE
HEAD OF DREAMS
WHITE ROOM

Set 2

I CAN’T EXPLAIN
DAKOTA
WHEN I COME AROUND
SUPERSTITION
I’LL STAND BY YOU
LONG TRAIN RUNNING
DISCO 2000
CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE
TEENAGE KICKS
WONDERFUL TONIGHT
MUSTANG SALLY
CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF OF YOU

New Years Eve gig at The White Horse, Netley Marsh

rich — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 03:35:40 +0000

WOW!!!!! That’s the way to see the New Year in!! We played at The White Horse, Netley Marsh last night. I got home a couple of hours ago and I’m still buzzing from it all. Great crowd (who were well up for a party) and a great pub. Stick a great band in there and you’ve got yourself one hell of a night.

Thanks to everyone at The White Horse for making our New Year a memorable one. Roll on 2011!!!!!!!

Here’s what we did:

Set 1

CROSSROADS
SUBSTITUTE
ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT
20th CENTURY BOY
THE ONE I LOVE
ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL
SUNSHINE OF YOUR LOVE
THE OTHER PART OF ME
YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME
I WANT TO BREAK FREE

Set 2

HEROES
WHEN I COME AROUND
MONEY FOR NOTHING
I CAN’T EXPLAIN
IN THE MORNING
TAKE ME OUT
VALERIE
I’LL STAND BY YOU
SUPERSTITION

Set 3

WHITE ROOM
DAKOTA
TEENAGE KICKS
ITCHYCOO PARK
CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE
DISCO 2000
LONG TRAIN RUNNING
SUMMER OF ‘69
CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU
SWEET HOME ALABAMA
MUSTANG SALLY
WONDERFUL TONIGHT

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

rich — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:01:35 +0000

Happy new year fellow Crushers!!!!!

May 2011 be a happy, healthy and prosperous one for us all!

Rock on \m/ !!!!!!!!

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!

rich — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 00:01:27 +0000

Jamie, Pete and Rich would like to wish all out loyal fans (past, present and future) a very Merry Christmas.

Have a good ‘un!

Blackfield RBL Saturday 4th Dec 2010

pete — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 11:37:30 +0000

Wow, strange night at the Blackfield RBL. We must have played to about 20 people on a SATURDAY night ! This recession is hitting punters hard, and the rain didn’t help. Still, we had a great time with a whole bunch of new songs in both sets and it all felt good. Thanks to everybody that braved the elements and hope to see more faces next year. Roll on New Years Eve at The White Horse, Netley Marsh. A huge thanks to everyone’s support this last year, and PLEASE – don’t be afraid to comment or talk to us. If there are things you like or don’t like, we are more than happy to listen to your views. We just want to be good for YOU. Have a great Christmas, boys and girls (and those in between), loads of love from Pete, Richard and Jamie.

Here’s what we played :-

Set 1

IN THE MORNING

20th CENTURY BOY

THE ONE I LOVE

ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT

ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL

SUBSTITUTE

HEROES

SUNSHINE OF YOUR LOVE

NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD

YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME

THE OTHER PART OF ME

MONEY FOR NOTHING

I WANT TO BREAK FREE

WHITE ROOM

Set 2

CROSSROADS

TAKE ME OUT

I CAN’T EXPLAIN

DAKOTA

WHEN I COME AROUND

SUPERSTITION

I’LL STAND BY YOU

WONDERFUL TONIGHT

LONG TRAIN RUNNING

DISCO 2000

CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE

TEENAGE KICKS

SUMMER OF ‘69

SWEET HOME ALABAMA

Can’t wait for 2011. Look out, we’re coming baby…..

The Gleneagles, Hythe – 25th November 2010

rich — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 02:20:22 +0000

Played at The Gleneagles, Hythe tonight.

Here’s what we did:

Set 1

IN THE MORNING
20th CENTURY BOY
THE ONE I LOVE
ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT
ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL
SUBSTITUTE
HEROES
SUNSHINE OF YOUR LOVE
YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME
THE OTHER PART OF ME
MONEY FOR NOTHING
VALERIE
I WANT TO BREAK FREE
WHITE ROOM

Set 2

NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD

CROSSROADS
HYSTERIA
TAKE ME OUT
DAKOTA
I’LL STAND BY YOU
SUPERSTITION
LONG TRAIN RUNNING
CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE
SUMMER OF ‘69

The Colonial Bar, Horndean – Monday 15th November 2010

rich — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 00:48:20 +0000

We were lucky enough to be offered a 45 minute slot at The Colonial Bar, Horndean last night as part of their open mic night which they hold every Monday.

45 minutes sounds like a long time but when you try to pick all your favourite songs to squeeze in you soon realize how little space you have.

We did our bit, had a great crowd supporting us and are hoping to get another couple of gigs at The Colonial Bar in the very near future.

Here’s what we did play:

THE ONE I LOVE

I CAN’T EXPLAIN

I WANT TO BREAK FREE

TAKE ME OUT

THE OTHER PART OF ME

DAKOTA

WONDERFUL TONIGHT

CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE

DISCO 2000

TEENAGE KICKS

SUMMER OF ‘69

WHITE ROOM

Gig news!! – The Woodman, Purbrook – Saturday 15th January 2011

rich — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 16:18:19 +0000

I’ve just got off the phone to Becky at The Woodman, Purbrook. They only want us to play there on Saturday 15th January 2011!!

The Woodman is one of those pubs that you just want to keep going back to. I grew up in the Purbrook area and this was one of my regular haunts. Now they have live bands in there it’s gone even further up in my estimations.

We’ll be starting around 8:30pm. There’s plenty of seating there but I’d highly recommend getting there early to get a seat as we’re going to be drawing quite a crowd!

Thanks Becky and Paul!

Gig news! – The Centurion, Crookhorn – Friday 11th February 2011

rich — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 16:14:28 +0000

Great news!! Alex at The Centurion, Crookhorn has offered us a gig on Friday 11th February 2011 starting around 8:30pm.

This is going to be a great gig as The Centurion is a favourite pub of mine having grown up in the area. Take a look at their website http://www.centurionpub.co.uk/ for more info about this great pub.

Get there early to get a seat as this is going to be a capacity gig!!!!

We’re on Youtube…

pete — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 14:17:04 +0000

Need Your Love So Bad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RkJkhKnaFg

The Other Part Of Me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dex6Bal-TQk

Put the kettle on and take a look.

GIG – The Colonial Bar, Horndean – Monday 15th November 2010

rich — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 05:17:42 +0000

Right, we know it’s a bit short notice but we’ve been offered a 45 minute slot at The Colonial Bar’s open mic night on Monday 15th November 2010. Events kick off at 8pm but it’s worth getting there a little earlier to make sure you get a seat!

We’ll be playing the choicest material so this’ll be a real blitz of a gig.

Please come along and support us. It’ll be great to see you there.

Download ‘The Other Part of Me’

pete — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 19:57:19 +0000

Forget X Factor, don’t even bother looking at the music charts, our own song ‘The Other Part Of Me’ is now available as a download for a mere 75p on http://thecrush.bandcamp.com. If you haven’t yet heard it live, get it on your iPod, phone or PC and come and catch us playing somewhere near you. Come and say hello and we might even do a dedication.

The Jolly Sailor, Hythe – Music to fireworks

rich — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 01:28:30 +0000

Just got back from our gig at The Jolly Sailor, Hythe. The first job is alway to unload the car, then have a wash, grab a drink, maybe a snack then post on our website about the gig.

I always try to be as honest as I can about our gigs. I know other bands will be looking at out site (I look at other bands websites so why wouldn’t they look at ours) and if we played somewhere that was a little bit dodgy, didn’t pay or generally caused problems then I’d say so for the benefit of others.

Fear not! The Jolly Sailor in Hythe is THE place to go. Great pub, fantastic atmosphere and I’ve heard the food is very good as well. What made this evening all the more special was the huge firework display that they put on before we started playing.

Tonight’s set was a little different from the usual in that we played one 1hr 45min set (see below). The crowd loved us (I’m not just saying that) and we’re hoping to back back in the JS very, very soon.

Cheers

Set List

IN THE MORNING
THE ONE I LOVE
20th CENTURY BOY
ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT
SUPERSTITION
HEROES
MONEY FOR NOTHING
NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD
CROSSROADS
WHITE ROOM
SUBSTITUTE
DAKOTA
TAKE ME OUT
DISCO 2000
I’LL STAND BY YOU
WONDERFUL TONIGHT
CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE
TEENAGE KICKS
SUMMER OF ‘69
MUSTANG SALLY
SWEET HOME ALABAMA

MORE GEAR CHANGING

pete — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 22:45:53 +0000

Here I go again, more new gear ! I’m now playing through a Boss ME-50B, (another ebay bargain!) a fantastic stompbox with more effects than I could ever use, but very nice for gutsy ballsy bass on one or two numbers and a fine chorus on some quiet ones. This is now going through a brand new Ashdown Mag 300H EVO2 head (from Andertons in Guildford) into a Hartke 2 x 15″ 400w cab which I bought used from a guy on www.basschat.co.uk, a fantastic website for every aspect of bass playing. I am apologising in advance for any future loss of pints etc. from tables and bars due to excessive vibration. You have been warned so you can’t sue me.…

Lee-On-Solent Social Club – Friday 22nd October 2010

rich — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 01:41:42 +0000

We’ve gotta get ourselves another gig at this place! What a night!!

This has got to have been one of the best ‘club’ gigs we’ve done in a long while. We tried some new material out which went down an absolute storm and even managed to get the floor full of lovely ladies. Woo Hoo!

If you weren’t there, here’s what you missed out on:

Set 1

IN THE MORNING

20th CENTURY BOY

THE ONE I LOVE

ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT

UNDER THE BRIDGE

I CAN’T EXPLAIN

HARD TO HANDLE

SUNSHINE OF YOUR LOVE

NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD

YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME

VALERIE

Set 2

HEROES

SUBSTITUTE

TAKE ME OUT

OLD BEFORE I DIE

THE OTHER PART OF ME

ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL

MONEY FOR NOTHING

SUPERSTITION

I WANT TO BREAK FREE

I’LL STAND BY YOU

WHITE ROOM

Set 3

CROSSROADS

LONG TRAIN RUNNING

DAKOTA

ITCHYCOO PARK

DISCO 2000

CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE

WONDERFUL TONIGHT

TEENAGE KICKS

SUMMER OF ‘69

MUSTANG SALLY

SWEET HOME ALABAMA

CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU

We had a fantastic time, Thanks Lee-On-Solent!

The Malt, Hythe – 16th October 2010

admin — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 00:23:20 +0000

Ok. I’ve got home, the car is unloaded and I’m still buzzing from the frankly spectacular gig at The Malt, Hythe. What better way to unwind by having a little blogging session.

The band were on top form tonight. I know you’re probably thinking to yourself “well he would say that, wouldn’t he” but in all seriousness, it all just felt ‘right’. There wasn’t a spare seat in the pub and there were loads of people standing around the bar area right from the off. This would be the point in the show where I’d think to myself that people will start departing to go on to clubs etc but no, pretty much everyone stayed.

Every song was vigorously applauded and at one point, the landlady had to move some tables around so everyone had space to dance.

The sing-a-longs were great with the audience having a fine set of lungs on them tonight.

I like The Malt. I like it a lot.

And here’s what we did:

Set 1

20th CENTURY BOY
THE ONE I LOVE
ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT
ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL
HYSTERIA
SUBSTITUTE
HEROES
IN THE MORNING
SUNSHINE OF YOUR LOVE
NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD
YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME
THE OTHER PART OF ME
MONEY FOR NOTHING
VALERIE
WHITE ROOM

Set 2

CROSSROADS
TAKE ME OUT
I CAN’T EXPLAIN
DAKOTA
OLD BEFORE I DIE
SUPERSTITION
I’LL STAND BY YOU
WONDERFUL TONIGHT
LONG TRAIN RUNNING
ITCHYCOO PARK
DISCO 2000
CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE
TEENAGE KICKS
SUMMER OF ‘69
MUSTANG SALLY
Encore 1 - SWEET HOME ALABAMA
Encore 2 – CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF OF YOU

Photo shoot – Part II

rich — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 12:20:17 +0000

Luke Sutton of Effortless Images Photography snapped us on location at Fort Purbrook on Sunday 26th September 2010.

Many, many thank to both Luke and David Horne at Fort Purbrook for letting us roam around.

Here are the first official shots of the band. Enjoy!

PHOTO SHOOT

pete — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 17:15:14 +0000

Spent a great couple of hours at Fort Purbrook, Portsmouth this morning pretending to be a rock band. Luke of Effortless Images Photography did a professional job taking a whole load of photos of us and did his best trying not to shake the camera while chuckling as we clowned around. Can’t wait to see the results when he’s finished tarting them up and making us look like celebrities.

Watch this site for the pics, they’re gonna be good.

PRIVATE PARTY

pete — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 18:55:50 +0000

As much as we love pubs and clubs, we’re never happier than when we play at a party. Last Saturday, 18th September, was no exception when we made one of our fan club member’s and good friend’s 25th Wedding Anniversary go with a bang.

From start to finish there was no end of good times, especially when a young 15 year-old Craig Beard joined us on guitar in our second set to bash out a very fine version of Queen’s ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ and put the icing on the cake with a very fine solo in the middle. Good to see young talent, this lad deserves his own band and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see him early next year playing the circuit.

To top that, a fantastic little girl asked if we could autograph a paper plate for her. She was over the moon with it and apparently it’s now hanging, pride of place, on her bedroom wall. We were more than happy to make her night a memorable one.

So many people commented on our show and our musical attributes and that is what it’s all about. We make people happy, we’re over the moon and it all makes it worthwhile.

And that’s priceless…

Here’s the stuff we did:

Set 1

THE ONE I LOVE
20th CENTURY BOY
ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT
ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL
MONEY FOR NOTHING
SUBSTITUTE
OLD BEFORE I DIE
TAKE ME OUT
HYSTERIA
NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD
YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME
THE OTHER PART OF ME
WHITE ROOM

Set 2

CROSSROADS
DAKOTA
CHILLUM
I CAN’T EXPLAIN
HEROES
SUPERSTITION
HARD TO HANDLE
CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE
LONG TRAIN RUNNING
I’LL STAND BY YOU
DISCO 2000
MUSTANG SALLY

Encore = SWEET HOME ALABAMA

GIG NEWS – The Malt, Hythe – Saturday 16th October 2010

rich — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 19:49:23 +0000

Well, that was different!

Pete, Jamie and I met up for a pint at The Malt, Hythe. Pete ordered the drinks, I got a bag of pork crackling and Jamie got us a gig on Saturday 16th October starting around 8:00pm.

I’m now sitting here in the pub typing away while Jamie and Pete sort out our new material. Oh the wonders of modern technology!

Be there or be at home, bored.

HOLD THE PHONE!!! GIG NEWS – Lee-On-Solent Community Club – Friday 22nd October 2010

rich — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 15:48:02 +0000

The good people of the Lee-On-Solent Community Club got wind of what a great show The Crush put on and tracked us down. Our people spoke to their people. Their people spoke to some more of their people and then got back to our people again.

The upshot is we’re playing there on Friday 22nd October 2010 and we can’t bloomin’ well wait.

More details can be found here

Hythe & District Social Club – 28th August 2010

rich — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 08:44:37 +0000

Yeah baby! That’s what I’m talkin’ about.

What a brilliant club to play in. Fantastically huge stage, superb acoustics and, most importantly, a great audience. We haven’t had that many people up and dancing for I don’t know how long.

Pete, Jamie and I would like to say a huge thanks to everyone at the H&D Social Club for asking us to play there. We hope we can come back soon.

Here’s the set we played:

Set 1

THE ONE I LOVE
20th CENTURY BOY
ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT
ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL
MONEY FOR NOTHING
SUBSTITUTE
HEROES
OLD BEFORE I DIE
TAKE ME OUT
UNDER THE BRIDGE
NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD
YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME
THE OTHER PART OF ME
WHITE ROOM

Set 2

CROSSROADS
DAKOTA
CHILLUM
I CAN’T EXPLAIN
SUPERSTITION
HARD TO HANDLE
CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE
LONG TRAIN RUNNING
ITCHYCOO PARK
DISCO 2000
I’LL STAND BY YOU
MUSTANG SALLY

If you took a photo or two and you don’t mind them appearing on our website or facebook, please email them to rich@the-crush.net

Recording and how we go about it – Part One

rich — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 16:45:05 +0000

I remember back to around 15 years ago when I first went in to a recording studio. It was both exciting and scary at the same time. The experience was a new one to me, as it was for the rest of the band I was in at the time. It was scary because of the expense. The pressure was on because we could only afford a limited amount of time. Mistakes cost money.

I recall having to take several attempts to get one particular riff correct. Somehow, the notes weren’t falling out of the guitar in the right order that day. After the fourth or fifth attempt the atmosphere started turning. I was getting funny looks from the other band members. The guy on the mixing desk was great, really supportive. He wasn’t parting with hard-to-come-by money though; the others were and there was still loads of recording to get done.

Then there was the mastering to think about. Studio recording is one thing. You then have to shell out again to get your hard work sounding good enough to go an a CD and be flogged to anyone willing to part with the cash to buy one.

Compromises were made and a riff was finally forthcoming. I wasn’t happy with it then. I’m not happy with it now. Too late. It’s cast in stone.

Leap forward to 2010. The difference is breathtakingly stark. I now have a recording studio that fits in a brief case (along with it’s power supply, spare cables, manuals, adaptors and spare memory cards). That said desk has a pair of in-built microphones that are so stunningly good that they’re suitable enough to record a drum kit with and make it sound almost as good as the big boys in their multi-million pound studios do.

I can record a guitar part. If I don’t like it, I’ll record it again. I can do that from the comfort of my spare room. There is no time pressure. The only expense has been in the purchase of the device itself which was incredibly low to start with.

I can record multiple takes of the vocals and find the one that works best with the song. I can go round Pete’s house and get him to lay down the bass parts.

For a few quid I’ve got a pretty darn good condenser microphone and a tube preamp.

A small investment has put a pair of very good quality monitor speakers on my desk which means that mixing and mastering has become a pure joy. Tip: Never use headphones for mixing and mastering. It don’t work, I tried it.

As for Mastering, that’s all sorted out in the little box of tricks. No more long drives to studios in London for mastering, it’s sorted at the touch of a couple of buttons.

Don’t worry, I’m going to be going in to more detail about what The Crush are currently using to record our demo tracks and original material and how we go about it. Watch out for Part II

Recording and how we go about it – Part Two

rich — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 16:40:13 +0000

Ok. So what do we use and how do we use it?

Let me firstly describe our acutal recording process. In it’s simpliest form we do it like this:

1. The band plays the whole song together and that is recorded on to a stereo track using a Boss BR-600

2. Jamie then lays down the drum track on to a new stereo track on the Br-600 whilst listening to the original recording through headphones. As many takes are made as is required.

3. Pete then lays down the bass part on to a mono track whilst listening to Jamie’s new drum track through headphones. As many takes are made as is required.

4. Rich then lays down the guitar part to a mono track whilst listening to the drums and bass parts through headphones. As many takes are made as is required.

5. At this point the vocal parts are recorded on to mono tracks. The original recording in step 1 would have been made using a Shure PG-58 for Vox (both Rich and Pete use the PG-58s live). This is swapped for a Behringer C-1 Condenser microphone which is run to the BR-600 via an ART Pro Audio Tube MP preamp (which has been retro-fitted with a Electro-Harmonix 12ax7 tube).

6. The song is then played back using the ‘takes’ that each of us were happy with. Any errors/corrections are then made prior to the final mixing and mastering.

All the above would normally happen in our rehearsal studios. The priority is to get a good take of the drums and vocals. The BR-600 is ultra-portable so bass and guitar parts can be recorded away from the studio, but it’s useful to get guide tracks down for those parts at the very least.

In part three, we’ll look at the kit we use in a little more detail. Keep an eye out for it.

Recording and how we go about it – Part Three

rich — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 16:35:40 +0000

This is where the fun begins.

The Boss BR-600 - A stunning bit of kit

I got a Boss BR-600 in May/June of 2010 as I had loads of ideas for songs but no real way of getting them recorded. I didn’t know whether to go for the BR-600 or the BR-900 but after a good chat with the ultra helpful (and very knowledgeable) chaps at Nevada Music I settled on the 600. After getting it home and having a play around it quickly became obvious that this was a seriously powerful piece of kit.

I’ll be the first to admit that I had to get my head around V-Tracks. The number of COSM effects is amazing as it their quality. The built in drum machine is as versatile as it is realistic and the whole recording process is, after a little practice, a joy.

My one and only criticism is that of the eight tracks, four are stereo i.e. two pairs. Not the end of the world, just a little limiting.

There are two built in mics on the BR-600. Frankly, they are amazing. I recall when I first recorded the band and played the track back through the P.A. We were all blown away by the frequency range that those tiny little mics could pick up.

All the demo tracks that have been/will be posted on the website will have had their drum tracks recorded using the built-in microphone on the BR-600. For anyone who’s interested, when recording, the BR-600 is located about two feet away from the front of the drums and circa two feet off the ground. It’s placed slightly off centre towards the floor toms.

As mentioned in Part Two, We’ll record an entire song played as a band on to a stereo channel. This gives us a live reference for recording each individual part later on.

The drum track is the first to be recorded. Jamie will don the headphones and play along to the reference track. This new drum track forms the back-bone of all the other tracks for that particular song and is recorded on to another stereo track.

After the drum tracks have been recorded and everyone is happy with them, the bass guitar is recorded on to a mono track. The bass guitar is connected directly to the BR-600 and the appropriate COSM setting it selected. Pete likes to have the new drum track at the front of the mix with a hint of the original recording behind for reference.

The same process is repeated for guitar.

Behringer C-1

Next comes the recording of the vocals. Some songs will only have a lead vocal where-as others will have backing vocals. The recording process is the same for both.

Using a Behringer C-1 Condenser microphone connected to a ART Pro Audio Tube MP microphone preamp (which has been retro-fitted with an Electro-Harmonix 12AX7), the lead vocals are recorded with zero F/X to avoid colouration. This helps enormously during the mixing and mastering stages. A pop shield is placed in front of the mix to avoid unwanted bangs and whistles.

The Behringer C-1 is a pretty cheap bit of kit. You wouldn’t know it though judging by the results that we’re hearing from it. Originally I used my mixing desk’s phantom power to run the mic (it need +48v phantom power to operate at it’s full potential) but I was advised that it’s a good idea to use a dedicated microphone preamp.

After some lengthy research I settled on the ART Pro Audio Tube MP to power the C-1.

ART Pro Audio Tube MP Preamp

This little beauty adds another level of clarity and warmth to the already great sounding C-1.

Part of this warmth is due to the replacement tube. I knew that the ART Tube MP would sound pretty good out of the box but it was obvious that the tube it was supplied with probably wouldn’t be the best. More research suggested swapping it out for a Mullens, JJ or EH would yield great results. I plumbed for the Electro-Harmonix 12AX7. If it didn’t sound as good as the original valve then I’d only be down a few quid and I’d probably give the JJ a whirl. As it was, the EH blew the ART supplied tube out of the water.

Electro-Harmonix 12aAX7

The ART Tube MP takes a little getting used to. It’s controls are basic but the results are stunning. Comparing a vocal take that’s been recorded with the Tube MP and one that hasn’t i.e. just using the preamp/phantom power from my mixing desk is like listening to a song being played with the speakers wrapped in cotton wool and then that wool being removed to reveal a very expensive Bang and Olufsen. The contrast is that significant.

The ART supplied tube was OK, don’t get me wrong, but I really do think that for a few extra quid, ART could have fitted a better tube. Also, and this is my only other gripe about the Tube MP, why didn’t they fit an on/off switch?

Despite the above niggles, if it broke tomorrow, I’d buy another one in a heartbeat. If anyone reading this has valve powered home stereos or studio kit for that matter, are you still using the tubes that were supplied with that kit? Is it time for a change? Tube changes are easy but always do a bit of research first.

Ok. All the tracks have been recorded. Everyone is happy with their individual contributions to the song. A very rough mix will be played through the PA at the rehearsal studio. On the whole, it all sounds great. All the tracks fit together nicely. The beginning is tight, the middle is great and the end leaves a lasting impression. There is, however, a significant amount of work to do before that song can be unleashed on the world.

: Cakewalk (by Roland) MA-7A desktop monitor speakers – Brilliant!

This is the point in the show where I’m going to hold my hands up and admit to a big mistake. I thought that I could mix our songs using my rather expensive Panasonic headphones. What a mistake. I also thought that I could use the Cambridge Soundworks speakers that are connected to my PC. WRONG! Big time.

To do the job properly you have to use dedicated monitor speakers. I wasted quite a few hours work before admitting to myself that I’d overlooked this vital bit of kit.

Again, more research. I didn’t know where to start looking. I must have spent a good couple of hours reading reviews and comments for the plethora of monitor speakers out there. You can spend a few tens of pounds or a few thousand!

I settled on the Cakewalk (By Roland) MA-7a desktop monitor speakers. I picked them up from Nevada Music, got them home, unboxed them, plugged in the BR-600, played back a rough mix of REM’s ‘The One I Love’ that we’d recorded a few days previsouly and my jaw dropped! The difference was incredible.

By using dedicated monitor speakers I have found that I can get a significantly better mix of all the tracks.

Mastering is also a real pleasure once you’re using good quality speakers. You know what you’re hearing is going to sound good pretty much where-ever it’s reproduced be it in the car, shower, kitchen, supermarket, where-ever.

During mastering, the Boss BR-600′s internal Mastering Tools come in to their own. Without them, I would have had to spend hundreds of pounds on either software tools or external hardware processors to achieve what’s in the BR-600. How do Boss do it for the money?

Once I have the final master, it’s transfered over to my PC and published to the world. Note, at no point do I use a PC/MAC for recording. Everything you’ll hear on this site has been produced on the BR-600.

The Boss BR-600 has 8 tracks each with 8 V-Tracks. That a total of 64 tracks! This gives plenty of scope for doing clever things with bouncing to make guitars, bass and vocals sound ‘bigger’ and ‘wider’. I think that’s another blog posting on it’s own though.

Thanks for reading.

It’s demo time!

rich — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 17:20:38 +0000

Here it is! Our first couple of demo tracks. They may be a little rough around the edges but keep in mind that it was recorded using an old dictaphone and the 8-track out of Pete’s Cortina.

Let us know what you think. Click here to listen.

Latest update

rich — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 21:03:21 +0000

You’ve almost certainly already read about the massive New Years Eve gig we’re playing at The White Horse, Netley Marsh so rather than bore you with all those details yet again and to try and keep our ranking in the major search engines, here’s a picture of Sam Fox.

The Lovely Sam Fox

Gig news – Saturday 28th August – The Hythe Social Club, Hythe

rich — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 12:49:46 +0000

Word is spreading. Pete got a call from the chaps at The Hythe Social Club, Hythe this morning begging for us to play there (well maybe not begging but they were as keen as mustard!).

By all accounts someone connected to the social club had seen us at The Malt and Hops on the 24th July. A word here, a whisper there and bang, we’re booked to play on Saturday 28th August 2010.

This is going to be a great night. I’ve just spoken to Pete and Jamie about the gig and we can’t wait!

More details can be found here

Gig – RBL, Blackfield – 7th August 2010

rich — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 02:39:21 +0000

Right, it’s like this. We love playing at the RBL, Blackfield. The reception we get is always second to none. What’s also good about playing there is the fantastic feedback we get. This is invaluable and helps us, as a band, get better.

All I can say is that we were blown away by the reception and comments we got from everyone at the RBL tonight. You guys rock. We’re very pleased that you like The Crush as a three piece now.

So, what did we play:

Set 1

THE ONE I LOVE
20th CENTURY BOY
ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT
TAKE ME OUT
UNDER THE BRIDGE
ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL
HEROES
MONEY FOR NOTHING
SUBSTITUTE
NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD
YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME
THE OTHER PART OF ME
WHITE ROOM

Set 2

CROSSROADS
DAKOTA
HYSTERIA
CHILLUM
I CAN’T EXPLAIN
SUPERSTITION
I’LL STAND BY YOU
HARD TO HANDLE
LONG TRAIN RUNNING
DISCO 2000
CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU
MUSTANG SALLY

Encore = SWEET HOME ALABAMA

As per usual, if you were there and took some photos, please forward them on to us so we can post them on Facebook and our website.

The Crush at The RBL

Pete

Rich

Dancing Drunk - Our No.1 Fan

Thanks again RBL!!!! Roll on December.

Hey hey!!! What a great night! New singer revealed and new material played

rich — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 02:28:28 +0000

There you go. The new singer has been revealed to the world. It’s me! Thanks for all the support from the band and the crowd at last nights gig at The Malt and Hops, Hythe.

After auditioning numerous singers post Guy’s departure from the band, we just couldn’t quite find the right person to fill his shoes. After a bit of tweaking (many, many, many thanks must go to Dielle at http://www.igloomusic.co.uk/ ; She’s my vocal coach) it was decided that I should give it a go. The results speak for themselves.

If you’ve got any photos from the gig and you’re happy for them to appear here and/or on Facebook then please send them over to rich@the-crush.net and I’ll see what I can do.

Here’s the set list from the proceedings:

Set 1

THE ONE I LOVE
20th CENTURY BOY
ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT
TAKE ME OUT
UNDER THE BRIDGE
ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL
HEROES
MONEY FOR NOTHING
SUBSTITUTE
NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD
YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME
WHITE ROOM

Set 2

CROSSROADS
DAKOTA
HYSTERIA
I CAN’T EXPLAIN
SUPERSTITION
I’LL STAND BY YOU
HARD TO HANDLE
LONG TRAIN RUNNING
DISCO 2000
CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU
MUSTANG SALLY

Encore = SWEET HOME ALABAMA

Thanks again,

Rich

You know when you’ve made it to the big time………

rich — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 09:00:44 +0000

….when you get advertised in the local rag!

Even the press want to talk about us

See you on the 7th August RBL. We can’t wait.

More rehearsals with Howard

rich — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 01:37:03 +0000

We’re really excited about having Howard on board. I know we keep going on about him but the difference he’s made to the band in the few short weeks that he’s been with us is beyond words.

Here’s a couple more piccys from last nights rehearsal.

The ladies favourite, Howard! He rocks

This is a close up of the very microphone that Howard uses to belt out the tunes!

Stay tuned for more updates.

Keep it real!

Rehearsals with our new singer

rich — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 01:12:22 +0000

As we’ve already mentioned before, we rehearse every Wednesday evening. We had our third run through with our new singer, Howard, last night. Suffice to say it’s all coming together nicely. We’re pretty much ready to be out here gigging now so roll on our gig on the 24th July at The Malt and Hops, Hythe.

Here’s some pictures from last night’s practice.

Howard, giving it large

Taking a short break

Howard's world famous Freddie Mercury impression

ROCK ON!!!!

We’ve got some fantastic new material lined up as well. Hope to see you one the 24th!

GIG!! – The Malt and Hops, Hythe – 24th July 2010 – New Singer and New material

rich — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 19:36:36 +0000

Fantastic news – We’re back and we’re gigging! Our new singer will be unveiled at The Malt and Hops, Hythe on Saturday 24th July 2010. We’ve got new material as well which we can’t wait to play live.

There’s loads of speculation going on through our Facebook page (link below) as to who the new singer might be. All I can say at this stage is that we’ve been auditioning singers for what seems like an eternity. We’ve finally found the right man/woman for the job and he/she will be unmasked on the night.

New Singer?

Please come along and offer your support to our newest member.

WOO HOO!!

New singer to be announced

rich — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 08:09:02 +0000

Early next month The Crush will be revealing the identity of their new singer. For those that don’t know we said a sad farewell to Guy a couple of months back and have been looking for a replacement ever since. We have now found that replacement and all I can say is watch this space…..oh alright here is a sneak peak….

It’s oh, so quiet!

rich — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 08:12:36 +0000

Looking at the server log files I can see that there are a lot of people that keep coming back to our website on a regular basis. This is great.

However, you may have noticed that things have been a little quiet of late. As you may have already read elsewhere, Guy is no longer in The Crush. Pete, Jamie and I have been auditioning singers on an almost weekly basis trying to find suitable replacements for Guy. It’s been a tough job as all the auditionee’s that we’ve had along have been really great singers in their own right. That’s made the whole process that much more difficult.

Well, the end may be in sight. I can’t say too much at this stage but keep checking for news updates.

Rich

Photos from The Curlew, 10th April 2010

rich — Thu, 06 May 2010 15:21:13 +0000

Big thanks to Kelly P/G for these stunningly brilliant photos. Kelly, you can come again!

Here's some of our stuff

This is, frankly, a world class band photo

The band

That guitar will stay in tune!

Sad news

rich — Tue, 04 May 2010 15:52:15 +0000

It’s with a heavy heart that we announce the departure of Guy from the band.

Guy has been with the band since it first formed last year but has left by mutual agreement.

Pete, Jamie and myself are still 100% dedicated to the cause and all our gigs etc will be going ahead as originally planned.

Watch this space for further news.

Thanks Guy. It’s been an absolute pleasure.

Royal British Legion, Blackfield – 24th April 2010

rich — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 10:29:17 +0000

Another great night at the RBL, Blackfield. Man, those guys no how to party.

Here’s the set list from last night:

Set One

IN THE MORNING
ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT
20^th CENTURY BOY
HARD TO HANDLE
THE ONE I LOVE
HEROES
UNDER THE BRIDGE
WHITE ROOM
NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD
YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME
THE OTHER PART OF ME
DAKOTA

Set Two

JUMPIN’ JACK FLASH
I CAN’T EXPLAIN
ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL
YOU REALLY GOT ME
SWEET HOME ALABAMA
OLD BEFORE I DIE
SUPERSTITION
MONEY FOR NOTHING
VALERIE
TAKE ME OUT
LONG TRAIN RUNNING
DISCO 2000
CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU
MUSTANG SALLY

Photos to follow (if anyone took any that is, there was soooooo much drinking going on)

The Curlew, Havant -10th April 2010

rich — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 02:41:23 +0000

WOW! What a night!! I’m still buzzing from it which is probably why I’m blogging at half past two in the morning.

Great crowd yet again. You guys just keep getting better and better. I think we can safely say that everyone had a good time.

The Curlew is a fantastic pub to play in. I gigged there years ago in a previous band and had fond memories from way back then. The staff there are great and we’re really hoping that we can get The Crush back in there at some point again this year.

Here’s what we played and the order in that we played it in:

Set One

IN THE MORNING
ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT
20^th CENTURY BOY
HARD TO HANDLE
THE ONE I LOVE
HEROES
UNDER THE BRIDGE
WHITE ROOM
HYSTERIA
NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD
YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME
THE OTHER PART OF ME – original number
CHILLUM – original number
DAKOTA

Set Two

JUMPIN’ JACK FLASH
I CAN’T EXPLAIN
ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL/WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW
YOU REALLY GOT ME
SWEET HOME ALABAMA
OLD BEFORE I DIE
SUPERSTITION
MONEY FOR NOTHING
VALERIE
TAKE ME OUT
LONG TRAIN RUNNING
CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE
DISCO 2000
CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU
MUSTANG SALLY

I’ll post some photos later.

Original material

rich — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:26:41 +0000

There comes a point in every band’s evolution when they want to start performing their own material. Well, that point has come.

Pete turned up to rehearsals a couple of weeks ago with a demo for a song he’d written. After a bit of listening, fiddling, bodging, badgering and artistic liberalism, we managed to learn it. ‘The Other Part Of Me’ is now proudly included in our set and is proving to be nothing short of a hit with any audience we play it to.

Well done Pete, you’ve produced a blinder. Well be putting a recording of ‘The Other Part of Me’ on the site very soon so watch this space.

Last night at The White Horse, Netley Marsh

rich — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 01:30:45 +0000

WOW! What a night. Fantastic crowd again, it’s great to see those regular faces coming along. Come up and say hello, we don’t bite.

The White Horse is a great pub to play in, I hope that we can get back in there again sometime soon.

We threw in a couple of new numbers just to keep things interesting, those being Disco 2000 and a real rocky version of 20th Century Boy. Judging by the reaction from the crowd, that was the right thing to do!

The set comprised of:

Set One

HEROES
I CAN’T EXPLAIN
20^th CENTURY BOY
ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT
STEPPING STONE
THE ONE I LOVE
WHITE ROOM
UNDER THE BRIDGE
NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD
YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME
THE OTHER PART OF ME
DAKOTA
ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL

Set Two

LONG TRAIN RUNNING
HARD TO HANDLE
JUMPIN’ JACK FLASH
YOU REALLY GOT ME
SUPERSTITION
OLD BEFORE I DIE
DISCO 2000
VALERIE
IN THE MORNING
TAKE ME OUT
ITCHYCOO PARK
CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU
SWEET HOME ALABAMA
MUSTANG SALLY

Usual request. If you took any photos, please send them over to us and we’ll try and get them loaded on here for the world to see.

LATE NEWS – GIG – Friday 26th February – The White Horse, Netley Marsh

rich — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 21:45:43 +0000

Late arrival this one. Luke, over at The White Horse, Ringwood Road, Netley Marsh, has given us a gig on Friday 26th February.

Brilliant, thanks Luke. This is one of Pete’s favourite pubs for live music and we can’t wait to play there.

More details can be found on the Gig Calendar

Gig – The Curlew, Havant, Hants – Saturday 10th April 2010

rich — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 17:18:52 +0000

Fantastic news!! Rich has just got off the phone to the Landlady at The Curlew, Petersfield Road, Havant. She’s very kindly given us a gig on Saturday 10th April 2010.

There have been loads of requests for a gig in the Havant area. Well here it is!! Given the amount of interest that’s there’s been, it wouldn’t be a great surprise if it’s standing room only at this one.

More details can be found here

The Crush are on Facebook

rich — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 12:21:37 +0000

If you use Facebook (and let’s face it, who doesn’t) you can join The Crush Fan Club group.

Simply go to http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/group.php?gid=180716373849 for more info.

Photos from The Shield & Dagger gig

rich — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 09:06:34 +0000

Big thanks to Kelly for providing these shots of us playing at The Shield & Dagger on 6th Feb 2010. Nice one!

Jamie's got a new bass drum skin - It looks even better 'live'

Here we are, giving it large again

and again........

and again.........

Ah! Pete's playing guitar in this one. Rich is having a stab at bass duties

Nice arty shot of Pete - I'm sure that was intentional

The Crush - Have you experienced being Crushed yet?

Many thanks…..

rich — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:33:12 +0000

…..have to go to Barry and everyone at The Blackfield Royal British Legion.

I’ve just got off the phone to Barry and they’ve only gone and offered us THREE more gigs for the year! Wow!!!!

Cheers for that. We can’t wait to get back to the RBL.

More details can be found in the Gig Calendar

Last night’s gig – The Shield and Dagger – Southampton

rich — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 02:15:51 +0000

Chalk up another great gig! Good crowd again, thanks to everyone that turned up. We’re starting to see some familiar faces at each gig now. Good stuff.

For those that are interested, our set comprised of:

Set One

1. JUMPIN’ JACK FLASH
2. I CAN’T EXPLAIN
3. ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT
4. STEPPING STONE
5. THE ONE I LOVE
6. WHITE ROOM
7. HYSTERIA
8. NEED YOUR LOVE SO BAD
9. YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME
10. UNDER THE BRIDGE
11. THE OTHER PART OF ME – First performance of our original number
12. DAKOTA
13. HEROES
Set Two

1. ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL
2. YOU REALLY GOT ME
3. SUPERSTITION
4. OLD BEFORE I DIE
5. VALERIE
6. IN THE MORNING
7. TAKE ME OUT
8. ITCHYCOO PARK
9. CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU
10. HARD TO HANDLE
11. LONG TRAIN RUNNING
12. SWEET HOME ALABAMA
13. MUSTANG SALLY

As usual, if you took any pictures, get them over to us and we’ll post them here.

TTFN

Don’t forget………

rich — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:53:17 +0000

…that we’re playing at The Shield and Dagger tomorrow night (Saturday 6th Feb 2010). More info can be found on the Gig Calendar page.

Cheers

Photos from The Royal British Legion, Blackfield – 16th Januray 2010

rich — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 16:01:20 +0000

The Crush at The Royal British Legion - Blackfield

Rich - Giving it the beans

Pete can play guitar as well

He can also use more than one finger at once!

Guy - Belting out the crowd pleasers

Jamie - Better than Animal?

Nice moody shot of Guy

This might have been Rich when he was singing 'White Room'! Then again, it might not.

Yes, that's a drumstick!

A Dancing Drunk - Every gig should have one!

First gig of the new year

rich — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 02:35:54 +0000

We played at The Royal British Legion, Blackfield, Fawley last night. Thanks to everyone who turned out, we had a great night.

For those who are interested, here’s what we played:

Set One
1. JUMPIN’ JACK FLASH
2. I CAN’T EXPLAIN
3. ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT
4. STEPPING STONE
5. THE ONE I LOVE
6. WHITE ROOM
7. HYSTERIA
8. NEED YOUR LOVE SOOOO BAD
9. YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME
10. UNDER THE BRIDGE
11. DAKOTA
12. HEROES

Set Two
1. ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL
2. YOU REALLY GOT ME
3. SUPERSTITION
4. OLD BEFORE I DIE
5. VALERIE
6. IN THE MORNING
7. TAKE ME OUT
8. CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU
9. ITCHYCOO PARK
10. HARD TO HANDLE
11. LONG TRAIN RUNNING
12. SWEET HOME ALABMA
13. MUSTANG SALLY

Gig Calendar

rich — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 22:40:28 +0000

It’s no secret that this blog is published using WordPress, probably the worlds most popular blogging platform.

I found a fantastic plug-in for publishing gig dates/locations etc. Simply take a look at ‘Gig Calendar’ within the ‘Pages’ box, just to the right.

Let me know what you think

Gig – Saturday 9th January 2010

rich — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 21:16:28 +0000

Good news – We’ve got our first gig of 2010. A private party (a wedding) over in Chichester

Bad News – You can’t come unless you’re invited. Don’t worry, I’ll post a mini-review and a set list after the event.

UPDATE – Because of the snow, this gig was unfortunately cancelled at the last minute. The wedding still went ahead, it’s just that the band (well, Rich) couldn’t get there.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

rich — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 23:01:59 +0000

Well, here it is! 2010. Where did 2009 go to?

The Crush would like to wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous 2010.

All the best,

Guy, Jamie, Pete n’ Rich

My gear – by Pete

rich — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:01:57 +0000

Well, any bass player’s rig doesn’t sound that exciting as we’re really only rumbling along in the background….unless you’re me, and you like being ‘felt’ as much as heard.

I play a variety of basses, my main one at present being a Yamaha RBX375 (I know, it sounds like a motorbike) which is a 5 string active and has a wide range of tones to compliment the wide range of songs we cover.

My other two are essentially spares, one I take on stage being a Fender Squier Precision on which I replaced the mediocre pickups for Gotoh’s which enhanced the timbre no end.

I also have an old Stagg Fusion which I again changed the woefully inadequate p’ups for a pair of Precisions and a single Jazz which again completely gave it a new voice.

My main amplification consists of a 210 watt, 1 x 15” Peavey 300 combo which is totally insane and needs to be pulled right back on the gas pedal. I wouldn’t change it for all the tea in Tesco’s as I’ve tried other combo’s but nothing comes near. I have a spare rig which is a 1 x 15” Acoustic cab powered by a 120 watt Carlsboro Stingray standing by in an emergency. (Hope it never happens, the Peavey is an extension of me and I know it’s soul and heartbeat).

I only have one stomp box, a Zoom B1 which at the moment is only used for one number, and I use Cleartone cables as I believe in getting the complete character from the guitar to the amp with next to no loss in signal, and just for the record, I use tortoiseshell plectrums as I love the versatility and ‘click’ over plastic and nylon.

Well, that’s my stuff, many apologies if your fillings come loose and your beer falls over.

11th April 2010

Had a bored moment and decided I’d have a change in my gear. I’ve still got the Yamaha RBX375, but now I’m used to 5 wires I feel there’s something missing when I play a 4. So thanks to jolly old ebay, I shifted my two other basses and got an ESP B-55. It’s not active but sounds a lot more lively and ‘Precision-ish’ which is the sound I’ve always liked. The neck’s not as wide either and it’s more of a comfy ‘C’ shape, so it’s a breeze to play. Nice and refreshing for my old digits.

While I was browsing I also came across another Peavey combo, a 1 x 15″ 150 watt TNT going for a song so I grabbed that too as a spare which I christened at The Curlew last night (10th April). It’s not as powerful as the 300 but it does the job nicely for a pub, AND it’s on castors. (Nice).

Well that’s me for now, no doubt I’ll be upgrading again in the near future, so until then, remember – two’s company, three’s just bloody tiring…

Gear – What do I use?

rich — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 13:57:53 +0000

At most gigs, most guitarists/guitar players/guitar owners will get a member of the audience ask them about their set-up.

I thought that someone might be interested to know about my rig. There’s not much to it as I like a nice, simple sound. I’ll start from the plectrum and work all the way through to the amp.

1. Plectrums – I use Tortex .88 (green) plectrums. Used them for years. They last ages, tend not to slip and are a nice colour

The Ibanez ART-120 - My main guitar

2. Guitars – My backup guitar is now a white Ibanez ART-120 with active humbuckers.

I’ve been playing this guitar just just over a year now having originally walked in to my local guitar warehouse with the intention of buying a Les Paul.

This guitar sounds great (in my opinion, naturally), plays fantastically well and has tremendous tuning stability (crucial for gigging).

Vester Strat - This isn't my one, I 'borrowed' this piccy until I get one of my own

My main guitar is a Vester Strat. It’s based on a ’57 Strat but with some modifications.

I took the original pick-ups out and loaded EMG SA’s. I also replaced the volume/tone knobs with chrome ones.

This guitar was a birthday present from my then girlfriend, now wife, Mandy. I’d had my eye on this guitar at the local music shop for ages until, one day, he’d sold it. Little did I know that he’d sold it to her. I pestered him for weeks to get another one in but a replacement never arrived. Now I know why.

I use this guitar as my main one and have done for years (must be getting on for 15!). It was recently re-fretted with medium wires which has made it even more playable and usable.

For some reason I don’t have a picture of my Vester on it’s own! A little daft but there we go.

As I’ve never been one to get on very well with tremolos, this guitar has had it’s tremolo set back as far as it will go so it’s fixed. I replaced the tuners some years ago which gave the guitar incredible tuning stability.

I only use D’Addario XL110 (.010″ to .046″) strings although the ART-120 does have Ernie Ball Regular Slinkys on at the moment for reasons that escape me.

The more observant among you may see me sport the occasional Telecaster (I have a black Squire Silver Series one). The guitar has the original pickups fitted which sound really good but simply don’t have the output of the EMG’s in the Vester or the Humbuckers in the Ibanez. This means there’s potentially quite a bit of knob twiddling required if I want to use it live. Personally I like “set and forget” which is probably why I don’t use it live much. Update – The tele now has a ‘fat’ single coil in the bridge position which has a far higher output: Great for that blues sound.

Boss AB-2 box - Does exactly what is says on the tin

3. Boss AB-2 – I use this to split my signal to a tuner (on the ‘b’ channel) and then the main signal path to the amp (on the ‘a’ channel).

It’s useful for when you want to change guitar or need to kill your sound quickly. My only criticism is that you can only use batteries in it, there’s no socket for a mains adapter. I’m just being a little picky though and a pair of AAA Duracell seem to last forever.

The LED indicators are clear and bright right up to the point of battery failure. The construction is very, very rugged and I think it would withstand quite a pounding.

A very useful addition to any musicians armory.

Marshall MT-1 Tuner

4. First split – Marshall tuner

I’ve tried lots of tuners in my time. Some have been better than others. This one was dirt cheap, I think I paid about £10 for it. The price doesn’t reflect in the quality though. Yes it’s a plastic case that wouldn’t survive if you stood on it but it’s dead easy to use, has bright LED indicators for tuning up in low light conditions and batteries seem to last forever.

I’d buy another one if I lost this one which is the first time I’ve said that about a tuner.

My one gripe is that it has an input but no output so you can’ add it to your chain. I suspect though at £10, you probably wouldn’t want it colouring your sound.

Behringer HB01 "Hellbabe"

5. Second split – Behringer HB-01 Wah-wah

I got the HB01 on the recommendationfrom a friend. It’s just so damn versatile. There are a wealth of settings which is incredibly useful when you’re switching between single coils and humbuckers.

One clever feature is that the pedal is sprung and kept in the traditional ‘closed’ position. As soon as the treadle is moved a fraction of a nanometer the wah effect is active.

The wah-wah range is brilliant from really throaty lows to ear-stinging highs.

The Behringer DC9

6. Behringer DC9 Compressor

Now, there’s always been and always will be a debate about where certain pedals should go in a signal chain. I must have read a dozen magazine articles and looked at two dozen web site articles on the subject. One point they all seem to agree on is that a compressor should go after a wah-wah (if you’re using one).

If I’m playing a wah heavy song like, say, White Room, the DC9 goes on right from the start. Everything is kept nice and even. I only add a little bit of compression to my signal. You’ve got to be soooo careful with these things. Compression is probably one of the most dangerous F/X you can use with regards to killing your sound.

Behringer DD-400 - Digital Delay

7. Behringer DD-400 Digital Delay

Are you noticing a theme yet? “Why Behringer” I hear you cry? Well, this deserves a reasonably detailed answer. You’re not getting one, I’m just saying it deserves a detailed answer.

In truth, most Behringer pedals are based on Boss circuitry. The cases are plastic rather than the cast aluminium that Boss use but who cares? It’s the same sound for less money. Go figure.

In truth, I use delay so rarely that I couldn’t justify spending a shed load of cash on a Boss, Dod, Digitech etc when the Behringer does an admirable job.

I’d highly recommend these DD400′s. The only point I’d make is that you have to watch the output levels. Also, get a mains adaptor because a 9v Duracell battery lasts about 30 mins!!

8. Belcat Chorus CHR-304

A stunning little pedal that provides a huge, thick chorus sound. I use it sparingly on the slower numbers to add another dimension. Works a treat.

Behringer PB-100 Preamp booster

9. Behringer PB-100 Pre-amp Booster

This is used for soloing. Great for when you want to lift your volume by just a few db’s and make yourself heard. Adding a little extra treble really helps cut through. I’ve used a compressor to lift volume in the past but I saw one of these PB-100′s listed on eBay and thought it would be worth try.

Dead easy to use with just bass, treble and gain dials. Again, this pedal is highly recommended but make sure you use a mains adaptor as it’s a battery killer. Well worth it though.

Tip: if you use a lot of gain on your amp, as I tend to do, then it might be worth just backing it off a fraction to accommodate the boosted signal that your going to deliver from the PB-100.

Vox VT100 - a 100w 2x12" powerhouse of an amp

10. Vox VT100 – I’ve amazed myself whilst writing this blog entry. I can’t believe I’ve got next to no photos of any of my kit on it’s own! I really must rectify that, if nothing else for insurance purposes.

Anyhow, this is my Vox VT100 (which replaces my Marshall 8080 after many, many years of faithful service). Man alive! It’s got a great tone, plenty of crunch and packs a real punch. For a 2×12″ it certainly knows how to move air.

I’d like to get another on and split my signal between the two. Problem is, they’re like Alfa Romeo 166′s in that once people get hold of them, they keep them forever.

11. Behringer EQ700

This 7 band EQ is used via the send/return on the Vox VT100. This pedal is used to boost the bass and treble frequencies when I go in to a solo. It just makes life so much better knowing that your sound is going to punch through a pounding drummer and bass that destroys foundations. These things are worth their weight in gold! If you play guitar and haven’t got one, get one.

Thanks for reading.