Like polio, Betamax or enlightened governance, one might be forgiven for thinking that The Layers were no longer alive and a threat to public health, electronically recorded entertainment and the wicked desires of the 1%, respectively. And then here’s the convoluted prelude to another blog: Freddy Krueger’s hand emerging from the soil of a grave, heralding another brief period of horror, recycled ideas and slightly outdated riffs on popular culture.
So, metaphors, tolerance and credulity astrain, here’s what’s new in the world of the band currently tied by most bookies alongside Pope Benedict to appear on stage at next year’s Grammy Awards[1]?
Well, life in The Layers can be, as we know, tough on drummers[2] and another tub thumper has, sadly, gone for soup. Actually, it’s not really sad at all; having made a wonderful contribution to The Layers for a couple of years, Chris Bray’s musical ambitions have matured and grown and he’s decided to concentrate on the full time pursuit of his solo musical career. A cracking technical drummer; dedicated to self-improvement, Chris’ playing and singing will be missed but we look forward to sharing a stage with him as separate acts sometime in the future. His playing has shaped the direction of our music and forced us all to up our game and we are full of gratitude for his time in the engine room of the good ship Layers.
Having made a brilliant job of filling in for an injured Chris at a recent gig, new boy Dan had already learned the set and, appearing to have a high tolerance for the heady mix of insult, innuendo and utter bollocks that passes for rehearsal conversation, seemed a logical choice to offer the job to. Somewhat illogically, but luckily for us, he said yes and is now busily making the set his own.
Dan isn’t the only addition to the band. Having endured possibly the longest audition/trial by nonsense in musical history, Sarah has finally been admitted full-time into what had previously been a bit of a boys’ club[3]. She’s not quite keeping up with the farting but does double duty on the sexual innuendo, so overall, standards are being maintained.
And where does all this leave us musically? We’re relieved to say, stronger than ever. Keyboards having now become an integral part of the Layers’ sound, our previously eclectic sound has been able to embrace a greater range of styles and influences than ever before and we’re in possession of sufficient new material to fill a much awaited second album. It’s not going to happen soon, because our ambitions are grander than ever before and we want No3[4] to be at least the same step up that our second album was.
In other news, whilst mulling an unusually long set for a charity bash (more of which later) we decided that we could challenge ourselves musically by attempting, for the first time, some cover versions. It’s been fun and it’s energised us musically. We’re looking forward to surprising a few people with our choices at an upcoming gig.
That will be a fund raiser for the Tetbury Fiesta. Taking place at the Dolphins Hall on 21st April. As soon as full details are available, we’ll send out the town crier but for now, put the date in your diary and start delousing your dancing trousers.
Finally, we were privileged to play a support set at The Vaults this month for Brigid Kaelin and Steve Cooley, internationally acclaimed country artists. Paul, Neil and Caleb played an acoustic set that inexplicably failed to clear the room and were then treated to a fantastic set from two world-class musicians. It was a wonderful evening and we hope that we get to play with them again one day.
Well, there you go – a jam-packed Layers update. We’ll try not to leave it quite so long next time…
Layers out.