22nd September 2008 Dave: It's been quite a while since the last online diary entry, and quite a lot has happened then, so here we go.....   We were all really pleased with how the release of single 'Caught In A Storm' went, thanks to everyone who helped support it. With everyone's backing it got to number nine in the indie charts and also got a pretty cool mention in MOJO magazine's play list. We are now looking forward to the release of our album on October 6th, and things have been buzzing along in preparation for it, but more of that later. Gig-wise we have been having a great time, including another great night at the Ceol Castle in Birmingham, a packed out gig at Mersea Island in Essex and also a rockin' half-hour set in Centenary Square for this year's Birmingham Arts Fest.  The Arts Fest gig was great fun, hello to everyone who came along. I hope that like me, you still managed to get your Sunday roast!  Thanks as well to everyone from the Arts Fest and Kerrang! Radio who put the whole thing on.  There's a couple of pics from the day here, more photos are on the way courtesy of Jim Weaver, watch this space..... This weekend sees us play two more gigs which are shaping up to be just as exciting. On Friday we're up in Sunderland playing an NUS night with three other bands, including two excellent bands we have shared the bill with before, Hungover Stuntmen and The Flytes.  With a great line-up and a 1000-strong sold out crowd it's gonna be good.   On Saturday though, we have the launch gig for our album at Birmingham's Barfly. With as many of our friends along as possible, and a brand new club night following on from the gig, the party could go on all night! It's a real buzz that the record is finally getting out there.  It's been quite a journey just getting this far, but we believe we've got a great sounding record with really good songs from start to finish. We've had support from so many people along the way, and it's good to know that all that love hasn't gone to waste. Let's keep it going and make it the success it should be!   all the best, Dave

Double Diary!! A word or two from Tim and Dave - 1st May 2008 Tim: I'd like to take the opportunity to write a message to say a big thank you to all of the friends, family and everyone at Acid Jazz who supported us at The Cock Tavern in London for our launch party gig for the single. It was great to have such an excellent crowd to perform to, and made for a great atmosphere and a really enjoyable night. Our next gig coming up is this Friday, the 2nd May, for the charity 'Don't Lose The Music' (check it out!). The gig is at South Birmingham College in Digbeth. We've played at the college before and the auditorium is well equipped to make it one of the best venues in town. We're on at 10.15p.m., check out our myspace for details. We're currently writing and creating new songs and musical ideas, potentially for the next album!! With a busy next few months ahead, it's a creative time for The Elements.... see you soon, Tim

Dave: I also really enjoyed the launch gig at The Cock Tavern, and have a few thanks to hand out! Firstly to Smashing Time, top guys who provided an excellent support slot and really got the place going. If only there had been enough room for the brass section too! A big wave to the 'barmy army' and other friends who came down on our coach from Brum, it was great to have so many familar friendly faces there. Finally, a quick doff of The Hat to the DJs that night (hello Rich) for playing quality tunes throughout.... While on the subject of London gigs, I really enjoyed our support slot for Inspiral Carpets back in March at Shepherd's Bush Empire. It was particularly pleasing for me having been a bit of a Inspirals fan for as long as I've been buying records! A big MOOO (Oldham thank you) to all of the Inspiral Carpets and also John from SJM for everything there. Clint Boon (keyboards) has a show on Xfm in Manchester and has given our forthcoming single 'Caught In A Storm' an airing, making it his 'vibe tune of the week.' You can have a listen if you follow the link from our news page. Caught In A Storm is going to be released as a download and limited 7 inch vinyl on May 26th. Release details and weblinks will be on here shortly. The vinyl copies will be availble from several places, one of which will be Swordfish Records in Birmingham. We're all looking forward to getting the songs out there and getting them heard. So get on the case that week and get your copy downloaded or bought, your support is appreciated by all of us. a little love, Dave

Hello again everyone, it's certainly long overdue that one of us posts another diary entry to keep you all up to date with what's going on in the world of The Elements, so here it is.  Firstly, I hope that you all had a great festive season, and that maybe a few of your new year's resolutions are still intact!

A special hello to those of you who made it to our first gig of the year in Stourbridge, particularly those who travelled a significant distance to be there.  It must have been well worth the trip though as the gig had the usual excellent atmosphere we've come to expect at Katie Fitzgerald's.  We all certainly enjoyed the night anyway.

 

It may seem that things have been a bit quiet for us over the festive period and January, but this would certainly be wide of the mark.  The last few weeks have seen Lee support Ocean Colour Scene, Andy play with OCS throughout December and on New Year's eve in Belfast, all four of us having a 'production' day at Birmingham Carling Academy (thanks to everyone there), a photo shoot for future flyers/artwork (thanks to Ella Carman and Jim Weaver), and our previously mentioned gig in Stourbridge.

 

In addition to this, Andy and Lee have begun work on demos of new songs, and as a band we have been in the studio to record a very special cover version, which we will be telling you a lot more about further down the line.  All I'll say for now is that it's a song none of you have heard us play before!

 

Our 'myspace' sitehas also had a bit of a 'facelift' recently, including the addition of two new 'samplers' of songs from our LP.  These are 'Caught In a Storm' and 'Holding Out' which have been well received at gigs.  Please check these out and also feel free to download the ever popular 'A Little Love,' which is there in it's full version.

 

On a personal note, I have also been able to get to a few good gigs over the last two or three months.  The most notable of these have been OCS in Birmingham (with support from Lee!), Crowded House at the NEC, Purresence on their home turf in Failsworth (Oldham), The Verve at the G-mex in Manchester (with excellent support from The Coral) and just last night Kula Shaker at Birmingham Academy.

 

As for the rest of 2008, it looks like it could be pretty busy for us and we'd love as many of you as possible to share in what could be a great year.  Next up gig-wise is The Bonded Warehouse in Sunderland, on 22nd of February.  We're playing with local band The Flytes, who also look destined for good things.  There are plenty more gigs on the way too, including a return to The Jug Of Ale in Birmingham, which played host a a fantastic night for us last November.  For now though, I'll leave you with my usual 'playlist' of songs that have been getting repeats on my hi-fi over the last few weeks.  Having left it so long, it's a bumper edition this time!

 

Freddie King - I'm Tore Down

Aaron Neville - Get Out Of My Life

Cast - Guiding Star

Muddy Waters - Tomcat

Lord Large - Stuck in A Wind Up

Crosby, Stills, Nash - Wasted On The Way

The Band - Jemima Surrender

Inspiral Carpets - Generations

The Radiants - Voice Your Choice

The Kinks - Picturebook

The Charlatans - North Country Boy

Alicia Keys - Like You'll Never See Me Again

Bob Dylan - Love Minus Zero/No Limits

The Risks - Something On My Mind

The Len Price Three - The Last Hotel

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Lookin' Out My Back Door

Jimi Hendrix - Still Raining, Still Dreaming

Dave's blog - 25th November 2007 Hello again, having played a few gigs in November it was about time to get another blog up here to keep everyone posted.  I signed off last time looking forward to our support in Leeds for The Bluetones, and it turned out to be as good as I'd hoped!  It was nice to see at least a handful of familiar faces in the crowd that night, thanks to those of you who made any kind of trip to be there.   We ended up supporting The Bluetones again (at short notice) just a few days later at Birmingham's Carling Academy.  It was great to play to their crowd in our hometown, and gave us another chance to plug our own Birmingham gig a week later at The Jug of Ale.  The gig at 'the Jug' was turned out to be great night out for everyone.  It was nice to see such a good turnout, which always helps.  Thanks to Hungover Stuntmen and Carousel Circus for two excellent supports, I'm sure will be seeing and hearing plenty more from these two bands in 2008.  There should be some photos up on this site soon from these two gigs, watch this space!!   The following week we were in Redditch at The Tardebigge, playing a gig with Bi-Polar Baby.  As a venue it has certainly been vastly improved since our last visit, hello to everyone there.  Which leads me nicely on to our last gig of November which is this Friday (30th) in Bedford, at a venue called Esquires.  We're playing with a band called The Culture, a Luton based bunch of lads with lively punkish guitars and no little 'mod' influence.....  As potentially our last gig of 2007, it would be great to see another good turnout for this one.   December is quiet for us on The Elements front, not least because Andy is off on tour again with Ocean Colour Scene, leading right the way up to Christmas.  I shall certainly be trying to get to at least a couple of these dates, particularly the Birmingham date on the 23rd.  I recommend those of you going to that one turn up nice and prompt as you may get a pleasant surprise.....   The lack of gigs does not mean we will be entirely inactive over December and the new year.  In fact there a few things in the pipeline which will hopefully bear fruit in 2008, not least a new set of dates for you lovely people to come and see us!! I'll leave you meanwhile with a random selection of some of the tracks my neighbours have had to put up with recently:   Don't Ask Me Why - Billy Joel Tomcat - Muddy Waters Concrete Jungle - The Wailers Bruised But Not Broken - Joss Stone Deep Water - Grapefruit All I Know - The Real People Rocks - Primal Scream Some Of Your Lovin' - Dusty Springfield Don't Worry Baby / I Know There's An Answer - The Beach Boys You Don't Own Me - The Pirates   all the best until next time, Dave

25/10/07 - Message from Dave Casswell
Hi all, that time has come again for me to keep you up to date on what we've been up to and what's in store for The Elements over the next few weeks. September and October have seen us play a gigs in both new and more familiar venues with a mixture of different bands.

We enjoyed playing at the Custard factory as part of September's Birmingham Arts Fest on what was a good afternoon of music. Thanks to all of you who came along for the show, Mark for his organisation, but especially those of you who sent us some of your gig pictures (hello Ian and Debs) and Jim Weaver for his photographic skills. Playing right by the fountain was something a bit different and provided the occasional refreshing spray on a warm afternoon. On a personal note it was equally refreshing to retire to a nearby Digbeth pub (The Wharf) afterwards!

Our gig supporting Hungover Stuntmen in Newcastle was a nice 'little' road trip to a cracking live music venue (The Cluny) which we've not played at before. It was great to finally catch the Stuntmen's (impressive) live set. I recommend anyone coming to our gig at The Jug of Ale in Brum on 10th November get there in plenty of time to catch the support bands. As well as Hungover Stuntmen there's also Carousel Circus, a top bunch of lads who we played with last year at Tamworth Assembly Rooms.

October saw us play Katie Fitzgerald's in Stourbridge, a venue we keep going back to due largely to the warm reception we always get there from both the music loving regulars and fab hosts Eddie and Trina. Thanks go to our pal Rob Stephenson who provided the support with a well received acoustic set of covers. Three days later we were back in the even more familiar surroundings of the Hare and Hounds in Birmingham, another gig for the cool King Kong Club. Free banana sambucas and a last-minute stand in support slot from Mickey Greeney helped make this another good night there. I think this was possibly our best performance at this venue. It was great to catch up with some more of our myspace friends, including familiar faces and newies too....

Before I sign off I should also give a quick mention to what was a blinding night out in Manchester with my brother which managed to include England winning a world cup semi final (shame it was rugby), an excellent gig from Puressence at Manchester Academy, the brilliant Mojo club plus at least a couple of other bars along the way...... One sentence doesn't really sum it all up but let's just say as nights out go it was LEGENDARY!!!

That's nearly it for now except to say that we're all looking forward to our support slot this Friday with the Bluetones in Leeds, our Jug of Ale Birmingham gig on November 10th (one not to be missed I guarantee it!), and also the 15th of November at The Tardebigge in Redditch. If rehearsals this afternoon were anything to go by, they should all be blinders! I hope we'll be seeing you at one of them, I'll leave you meanwhile with my recent 'playlist' recommendations.....

I'm Tore Down - Freddie King
Am I The Same Girl - Barbara Acklin
Disney Girls - The Beach Boys
Drop Down To Earth - Puressence
Going Down - The Stone Roses
It's Not Over Now - Players
I'll Take You There - The Staple Singers
Pick Yourself Up - Ella Fitzgerald

a little love,
Dave

22/08/07 - Message from Andy Bennett
Just updating everyone on what we have been up to lately.  Since recording our LP we have now had it sequenced and been listening to it and I am pleased to say I still like it a lot, so when it does come out I hope it withstands the test of time.  I know it’s a bit early to say but at least the band are totally happy and satisfied.

Other things we have been doing I am going to keep under wraps – things are about to change for us for the better so watch this space!

Things I have been told to check out lately that I am in to are things like Wigan Casino’s reunion where Dean Parrish will be playing.  As I am far too young to remember the Casino days it will be nice to try and get to that.

Also there is a single coming out in September by Andy Lewis and Paul Weller that sounds great = so buy it!

Thanks for checking out our website and myspace, keep watching for gigs and keep listening to good music.

Thanks

Andy

PS Here’s a list of what I’ve been listening to lately (a la Dave)
Little Esther Phillip “Release Me” compilation
The Temptations “All Directions” LP
Stevie Wonder “Innervisions” I got on vinyl the other day
Andy Lewis “Billion Pound Project” on the Acid Jazz label
Sugarlumps another Acid Jazz compilation

17/06/07 - Message from Dave Casswell
Hi everyone, I thought it was about time we had a new diary entry, especially as we have been quite busy of late.  In fact it's hard to know where to start but I suppose a good place would be mini-tour of gigs which we have just finished.

Lee here, firstly I must tell you all that we’ve been recording our first proper album at Woodbine Studios, we’re all very excited about it as we had a few weeks beforehand to write/finish some new stuff so most of the songs are really new and fresh. One song I love is called “Everything to Mw” - definatley the best song I have helped to write. I’m sure it’s a number one - on America anyway!

Andy’s off on tour with OCS for a month or so, so we wont mix it ‘til he gets back - probably June, but we’ve got a northern UK tour lined up for then playing about 10 dates, Keighly, Whitehaven etc check the listings and don’t forget your sun cream.

We Debuted the new songs last Friday at a club in Birmingham call the Ropewalk, we are all please with them (I think) - it was really well attended which is great and thanks to everyone who travelled especially Clare, Mandy, Simon and Amy etc - cheers!

We’ve got some dates in Camden in May and are thinking of taking a coach maybe - let us know if you fancy it.

Anyway gotta go now ’til the next time, with Andy away I’ve been performing our pub duo gigs solo so please come and see me at The Actress and Bishop on Wednesday around 10pm, The Black Horse Sundays at 4pm and The Old Wharf Sunday about 10pm - all in Birmingham city centre, I’d love to see you :)

Lee x

1/2/07 - Message from Andy Bennett
We have been in the studio recording some new material as well as playing some live shows of which we played one of our new tunes in the set. The title is “Caught in a Storm” which proved to be a great opener.

The other tunes we have been recording, soon to be played live, include tunes called “Don’t Stop” another being “If I can’t Hold You” and “A Part of my Life”

Thanks to those of you who came to the Jug of Ale, it doesn’t go unnoticed and we all hope to see you at our other gigs around the country.

If you have been keeping track of the gig page on our website you will see that we have some gigs coming up in Yorkshire and in Oxford. Hope to see our regulars there as well as some new faces.

Although we have been tied up in the studio I have really enjoyed playing live lately as there have been so many of you coming to the gigs and hopefully enjoying the shows.

Lee and I have been writing and we have a whole new album which we hope to be recording in the summer, so by the time we get a release it will include some new songs as well as some of the old favourites and will make for a really good debut album.

Thanks again for supporting us, you make it all worthwhile.
Andy


04/01/07 - Message from Dave Casswell
Hello and of course, Happy New Year!  We hope that you all had a good Christmas and New Year and are looking forward to 2007.  It's been a while since there was an update on what we've been up to, so there's plenty to tell.

I've Got A Right To Love My Baby - B.B. King

Cheers - Dave


29/11/06 - Message from Lee Burns
Hello Everybody

Firstly it’s great to see the first proper Elements cd on the shelves. Thanks to everyone who’s bought /stole a copy or downloaded it or something. Anyway “A Little Love” pretty much shows the band off well and an added bonus is a Sargent rarity “I Can Tell” as a B side, done many moons ago at Woodbine Studios with someone else’s money.

The last few weeks we have been getting a set together for our Paul Weller support. We are just the kind of Band for a twenty minute set so it’s lucky that’s how long we’ve got! We have tried to pick all our catchy fast one, so don’t blink.

Our next mission is that we have already started recording for a new album; we have about sixteen songs that Andy and I have written, we may some of the tracks for download if we can finish them and they sound good.

Thanks for everyone’s support in 2006
Love Lee


01/11/06 - Message from Tim Jaques
Hi Everyone.. Another couple of busy weeks. We played a gig in Tamworth at The Assembly Rooms. A good crowd and we enjoyed the set. Thanks to those who travelled to see us. After listening to a recording of the gig we started planning some rehearsals. These have been going well and the band is sounding good at the moment.

The next gig was at The Jericho Tavern in Oxford. It was a friday and the turn out was the best we've had there. It is nice to see more people turning up to the shows lately. The night went well and we should have some more bookings there soon.

Also last week our cd was completed ready to be pressed. Its sounding good and we're really pleased with it.

A couple of gigs this weekend at The Old Wharf (Birmingham) on friday and The Cottage of Content (Chasetown, Cannock) on saturday. Come along if you can or another one for your diary is The Opal Lounge, Solihull..

Thanks for your support. See you soon.
Tim


10/10/06 - Message from Dave Casswell
First of all, I should say hello to everyone who came to our gigs over last weekend. It was great too see so many people at them, both familiar faces (you know who you are) and some old friends we haven't seen in a while. Both were good nights, but we all particularly enjoyed Saturday night's gig at The Jug Of Ale (Moseley, Birmingham). It's a venue that we have played enough times to feel at home, and as everyone enjoyed support band Soldier's set too, there was a dead friendly atmosphere to the evening.

I have also been working hard in the studio on mixes of four songs which will be available from sometime in late November. There will be tracks some of you will already be familiar with, and at least one very few (if any) of you will have heard before. Working with me on these has been our buddy and sound guy Tim Windridge, so many thanks for your assistance Tim (W)! The date these will be available from is yet to be confirmed, so watch this space!

I have also begun demoing some other new tracks with the rest of the lads, which are sounding really promising. These include two tracks provisionally titled 'Don't Stop' and 'I Wanna Make You Feel Good.' Hopefully these will get a live airing at a gig soon!

Thanks to all of you out there at the gigs and online for all your messages and comments, keep 'em coming!! Any of you yet to come and see us live can check out our upcoming dates on the gig page. Next up is Tamworth Assembly Rooms on 21st October. There are four other bands on the bill, including Carousel Circus, who also played at the B91 Music Festival earlier this year.

Finally, let me leave with a few songs that have been on my stereo / turntable / brain over the last few weeks:

(in no particular order)

1-2-3 Len Barry

The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game Ella Fitzgerald

Beautiful Daughter The Move

Legal Matter The Who

I'm Your Puppet James and Bobby Purify

A Sentimental Blues Ray Charles

Gimmie Little Sign Brenton Wood

Framed The Sensational Alex Harvey Band

Sail On, Sailor The Beach Boys

I'm Your Toy Elvis Costello

Check 'em out if you get a chance. Enjoy! Dave


25/9/06 - Message from Andy Bennett
I have been recording album tracks with Ocean Colour Scene in the studio for the new album. The sessions went really well.

When I finished there I popped down to The Elements studio where the rest of the lads have been doing work on three tracks, one of them being A Little Love for a CD which we plan to have available soon at gigs and on the website.

The other two tracks are Don’t Forget Who You Are, which Lee sings on and What’s With Love. Up until now they have been available to be heard but we are putting the finishing touches on and mastering them so they sound better than ever.

Also I popped to Spain Friday to do one show with the OCS boys, which went really well. Now I’m back in the UK that’s it for OCS until December, gig wise that is, as there is still more album tracks to be recorded, and singles so its down to the studio for me with my boys to rehearse for our gigs coming up which start Friday 6 October in Solihull, in Birmingham at Solihull Football Club followed by The Jug of Ale, Moseley on the 7 October.

Hope to see some familiar faces and some new faces, as these gigs are guaranteed to be rockin’.

Andy signing off now as I go and do my duo with Lee down the Old Wharf in Digbeth which we do on Sundays playing rock and roll and maybe a few Elements tunes thrown in for good measure.
Cheers, Andy