Why The Cello is SO Rock & Roll!!!

Spencer 286 writes:

For those not familiar with The 286 we are a little different from most indie rock bands. Not only are we twice the size of a normal band, our line up includes 2 cellos and a violin, which play a massive role in our sound. With this in mind I thought I'd write about how cool I think the cello is for this week's blog!

There's something really special about the cello's sound. It can switch from playing real earthy notes in its lower reaches, and then switch to playing some incredible notes at the other end of its scale that are reminiscent of a weeping whale. Have I ever heard a whale weeping? No. But I'm if I did hear one, it would sound just like a cello. Work with me on this one... The cello is rhythmic, melodic and harmonic - and it's great to play!!

When picking out something to learn to play at primary school, my instrument of choice had to be the cello. Whilst others kids in my class followed like sheep and plumped for the violin (you know the type I'm referring to - the same kids that tried out the recorder the year before only to get bored with playing that after just a few weeks...), I fancied trying something different.

Between 10-12 years old I sawed away trying to get a tune out of the old thing. Admittedly I wasn't a great one for practicing, preferring to run through the scores of my favourite Beatles tracks as opposed to the exercises in my cello book, but I had great fun all the same. I guess that's where my link between the cello and rock started and, looking back, I now realise that many of my favourite songs feature the cello. In fact I'd go as far as saying that the cello is a bonafide rock instrument. Unconvinced? Well here are five reasons to convert you...

1. Tuned for Rock & Roll!
Cellos are tuned to fifths, rather fourths like a guitar. For non musicians I'm getting a bit technical here, but because of this, the cello is perfectly tuned to play your standard 12 bar riff. Essentially anyone who can pick up a bow, play two strings together whilst adding a finger on the thinnest of the two strings can pick up rock & roll riffs quicker on a cello than you can say Marc Bolan...

2. A Fifth of Beethoven.
The first rock riff was definitely created by Beethoven - and it was played on a bunch of cellos! Anyone who has heard the opening notes to The Beet's Fifth Symphony will understand what I mean here!

3. By All Means, Stand Me Up!
There's something very rock & roll about standing up whilst playing the cello. Playing an upright cello is far more cooler that playing a guitar sitting down. Period.

4. It's Only Rock & Roll...If You Do It Right!
There's a story that one of the cellists with 70s rock band ELO, Mike Edwards, had a famous party piece where, during each gig, he would fill his cello with explosives and blow it into pieces during a solo. Now THAT'S rock & roll! When famed drummer (and supposed epitome of all things rock & roll) Keith Moon did the same thing with his drum set, he managed to permanently damage the hearing of Who band mate Pete Townsend. That's not rock & roll - it's just plain stupid. Edwards used to also play his cello with a grapefruit. Fortunately Moon stayed well away from all things fruit based...

5. Respect From Rock.
Some of the best rock musicians reckon the cellos is pretty cool. Jack Bruce, Cream legend and collaborator with Eric Clapton, once said that Johann Sebastian Bach wrote the greatest bass lines ever, whilst other acts (Muse and Sting to name a couple) have recently recorded albums featuring fully orchestrated versions of their songs. If it's good enough for them, then it's good enough for me...and The 286!

So there you have it - the cello is definitely a rock instrument. Case dismissed!!! If you can think of any other reasons then, by all means, drop them by as comments, join the debate :)

Baby 286 and Montague Arms Gig Review

Alex 286 writes:

Meet the newest addition to the band! He/she is a bit small at the moment to join in but will be ready to join the 286 from around the end of April 2011. In the meantime, I’ll be keeping an eye on him/her to make sure he/she learns all of the songs! Various members of the band have already got bets on as to what instrument the new band member will play: Liv favours the sax, Harry the trumpet, and I reckon, with that belly, it’s got to be a tuba player! And as for names, if the baby’s a girl, she’s spoilt for choice: Sophie Sands, Lisa, Louisa...we could even go for Molly Pitcher. Yes...Molly Pitcher Jackman has a certain ring to it!

In other news, we had a great gig on Friday at the Montague Arms in New Cross. What a fab pub! If you’ve never ventured there, in the immortal words of Bill Bryson, take my car and go. Voted the best boozer in Britain in 2008 by the Rough Pub Guide, it’s an olde-worlde pub (featuring a human skeleton perched on the bar and an embalmed zebra amongst other oddities) that looks like it’s been teleported out of the countryside and into the wilderness between New Cross and Peckham. The land lord has been running the Montague since 1967 and I understand from Spencer 286 that he told him he's seen it change from a gangster pub (frequented by The Krays no less) to one of the longest continuously running unsigned music venues in South East London.

It was a fun-filled gig and we even got some of the older gentlemen in the pub boogieing along to Lisa Part II (no mean feat). It was possibly the latest gig we’ve ever done – we didn’t finish playing till nearly 12.30am and so we were a bit worried that Nathan was going to turn into a pumpkin by the time we finished as it was waaaay past his bedtime.

It was also great to see Tom, our former violinist, who came along to support us and made us all very jealous by announcing he was off to Andorra for six months to ski.

The Montague Arms marked our last gig for a while as we get back into the rehearsal studio to learn some new songs and record some of our current material...oh yes, and we’ll be celebrating the wedding of Spencer 286 and Natalie in December too. Hooray! We’ll be back in the New Year (if not before) as we hit the festivals as well as doing lots of other gigs.

286 Recordings Update, Andy Wallace, Radio Sunlight & Montague Arms

Adaq 286 writes:

Hello, dear followers! I'm Adaq (that's pronounced add-ak...). I play the violin. I like tea, coffee and Andy Wallace. Wikipedia him, he's a genius and has a very nice SSL4000G+. I'm a bit of a music production geek – I do it for my day job and in all of my spare time, so it's my pleasure to be working on The 286 recordings, even though I don't have a very nice SSL4000G+...

This weekend Spencer and I had a session working on Sophie Sands. We're going for a richer and more contemporary sound. Key to any mix is (in many ways) using the right compressor. If you alter the dynamics of any element in a mix then you affect the perception of the entire track – this isn't rocket science of course!

Whilst you're not actually changing what was recorded you can radically change the feel of the track. Find the right compressor and you can make a recording sound solid, pushed back or in your face, or punchy, fat, heavy or bouncy... anything you want! I currently use a Universal Audio 2-1176 twin vintage limiting amplifier. It does a great job, but there's still work to be done before we're happy with the mix of the song...but we'll get there!

We're also in the beginning stages of working on a website (http://www.the286.com/) starting with the design concept and layout template. We always love to get feedback from fans etc, so if you have anything you would specifically like to see on the website then do let us know! We'll update on our progress here on the blog over the coming weeks/months.

Finally, here's a photo that Spencer took of us whilst we were waiting to go into Radio Sunlight's studio for the live session. As Harry said in the last blog entry, we had a great time and played acoustic versions of four of our tracks, as well as a lenghthy interview. You can hear recordings via the links on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/pages/The-286/244161049552)

Next up for us is our gig on Friday, at the Montague Arms in New Cross Gate. We're on stage at 10.30pm. We'll make sure to post our experiences from the gig in our next blog entry!

Alladin Medway (Radio Sunlight, Bowie & New 286 Songs)

Harry 286 writes:

Hello everybody, Harry here (you know, the bassist, I tend to end up hidden behind PA stacks so you may not have seen me). This week it is I who shall be in charge of the Blog entry so plug yourself in and steady yourselves.

I should probably start by introducing myself.

I'm Harry (hello), I've recently finished my Masters in Composition, I've been doing the band thing on and off for 10 years and have an unhealthy obsession with David Bowie. Actually, I think it's rather healthy, the man is a genius! I'll respect anyone who can work with such diverse acts as John Lennon, Brian Eno, Arcade Fire and Nine Inch Nails, continuously (bar a slightly odd patch in the 80's) pushing the sonic boundaries of Pop music. If you want any questions answered on Mr Bowie, give me a call. I'm also obsessed with India for similar reasons... I'll stop there before I go off on a tangent.

Introductions aside, here's the rub on the continuing story of Bungalow Bill... Sorry, I mean The 286. Well we are officially flying in the ether of Kent's airwaves (a fact I am particularly happy about, Kentish Man that I am). Last night we all convened in Gillingham at the Sunlight Trust (Radio Sunlight) to play on Fizzer's Radio Show (http://www.fizzersradioshow.com/) - we all thought it was brilliant! Nathan even managed to get some swearing in, you'll see what I mean once we get the recording up online.

We're also heading back in to the studio soon to record some more gems for you all and all going well we should be getting some new material going in the near future. It's all very exciting times!
It's Rock and Roll!

H

Upstairs At The Ritzy - Just...Superb (Plus ELO)

Nathan 286 writes...

Well, we have just got back from playing a lovely unsigned venue in one of my three home towns called "Upstairs At The Ritzy" in Brixton, South London.

If any gigging bands are reading this and are put off by the tiny stage then don't be. The night was superb, the crowd were superb, the sound was superb the other acts were superb and best of all, the whole darn thing finished well before 11PM so the trek home was not so much of a trek! More a "sojourn". To sum up, I belive the word is "superb".

Keen eyed fans of the 286 will have thought to themselves "my, doesn't Alex look like Petra?" and they'd be correct as Petra very kindly depped for trapped-in-a-ski-lodge Alex at very short notice and we are pleased to report that Alex has found the spare cabin key and will be returning to us in time for Saturday's show. We are thrilled to have her back. Superb! Have I said that already?

Next, we're off to Grays Theatre in deepest Essex on Saturday to entertain fans of the tribute band "The ELO Experience" in the foyer prior to the concert, can you guess whose songs they do? Joking aside, they are (here comes that word again...) superb, really authentic and the "Jeff Lynne" even wears a false Jeff Lynne beard! What? It's a REAL beard? OK, now I'm jealous!

So we'll see you all soon. Oh, and check out current underground R 'n' B sensation R. Pubes, we're all massive fans of his work......and not because his name is an anagram of......SUPERB!!!