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Thursday 21st August

[Dave says]

.....I love it when a plan comes together! It is in fact technically speaking towards the end of August and we are in fact now officially releasing 'The Ballad of the Dancing Bones', just like what Alexei's previous news installment predicted!.... bang on schedule! it never fails to amaze me when that happens. So head here:

www.myspace.com/thepictureshowuk

and/or here:

www.thepictureshow.net.... now!

We're releasing this as a free download off the web-site as the first of a regular installment (the plans says 6 - 8 weekly!) of new songs and self-recorded releases. We've had a great time writing and recording it and we hope you'll love it too. Any feedback will be as ever much appreciated as this is really a bit of an experiment.

This is also a great live track so we'd recommend coming down to see us and hearing the live version as soon as you can........ not that we're biased or anything! We're currently in the process of confirming the odd few London gigs now, along with the incredibley secretive big out of town gigs which we're not allowed to talk about yet, so keep an eye on the sites.

We hope you you enjoy the track and look forward to your feedback........

Thursday 24th July

[Alexei says] Once upon a time, we had a plan, and it was a good plan. We liked the plan and the plan liked us. There was a mutual, if platonic respect between us and we were settled and focused with our plan. It gave us a horizon to aim for and something to focus on and push for.

The plan was to write and record an EP of songs. Songs we loved and would then tour around the country with the added bonus of getting good and sharp without spending too much time on the radar. We accidentally got on the radar already in London and wanted to pull back before peaking our radarness too early so as not to drown in a sea of bands marked "good, but not yet great" and then left upon the shelf. There was so much fine tuning and work to do and whilst we've always known what we're aiming for and who we are, actually getting there seems to have taken a lot longer and been a lot harder than you'd think.

We've never been a "haircut" band, strutting about in skinny jeans and posing. Style vs Subtance is a debate which rumbles on and on and is probably the rock band's version of the sound engineer's analog vs digital debates which show no signs of abating anytime soon. We've always prided ourselves on strong writing, creativity and live performance, but to get really good at it takes time and practice. So that was the plan.

Write, record, play. A good plan, I'm sure you'll all agree. 

We've since recorded several songs and released (in our own way) two CDs with a couple of videos, artwork and lovely photos to boot. We've got in with good venues and good promoters (which isn't an oxymoron) and we recently finished a national tour which was the culmination of something ridiculous like four month's worth of organisation. And now, it seems, we are in un-charted waters.

We've given ourselves the tools to be a band - specifically The Picture Show - and now the next step is the trickiest of all. What to do next?

All of a sudden we've got people's attention. Should that affect our judgement and plan? Should we stay up at night worrying what people with the ability to make our dreams come true are thinking and second guess them? The tour in and of itself was our big idea - going out to people who had never heard of us and spreading the word. Seeing how people who knew nothing reacted to us and testing ourselves as a litmus outside of the bubble of London and the Water Rats where we've been a resident band. Getting people interested and having fun. Getting inside newspapers, blogs, magazines and fanzines. We never really thought about what to do once we came out of the other end.

We've taken a decision as a band to carry on doing what we've always enjoyed doing the most: Writing, recording and playing. Building up our song book and putting ourselves out there. Putting on our own nights and doing things ourselves.

Having done the tour, we came to the conclusion that from here on in, it's probably best to concentrate on London with the odd really good gig outside. It's hard to build up a following somewhere if you only play there once a year. We've got a good base of people who enjoy what we do in London so we want to focus on building a relationship with them. Writing a new song a gig and recording it ourselves and releasing it for free, but also trying to play with bands who we like and who like us, who our fans like and vice versa and just getting out of the almost McDonalds style circuit we've been sucked into where on a given night four or five bands will turn up and pretty much ignore each other, as will thier fans, go on, do thier half an hour and then f**k off without a second thought. We want to be involved in something exciting down at the grassroots level and give the bands some ownership and input into what's going on and make sure people enjoy it. 

As for releases, the costs involved in putting together an EP and touring it are quite large, but we've always been proud of the product. However the logistics of doing that mean that it's not something we can do regularly. At least not until we're doing it with someone else's money and on someone else's time. So in order to keep creative and increase our output, we're going to trial doing it ourselves and aiming for some sort of a release once every six to eight weeks. I know a lot of bands who've been playing the same set for years and whilst you should never drop good songs for the sake of it, I always feel a little guilty if people come down to see us and we don't have anything fresh to offer them. So from here on in, that's how it's going to be. We're currently working on recording a brand new song in "The Ballad of Dancing Bones" which should be up towards the end of August. Keep checking our site and our blog for news of gigs as well. We're starting to get some big gigs out of town which we're not allowed to talk about at the moment, but will confirm once the contracts come through. Otherwise, we'll probably be playing in a venue in Kilburn / Hoxton or Camden at some point soon!

Monday 14th July

[Dave says] Had a cracking night at Brick Fest last Monday at 93 Feet East on Brick Lane. Great turnout with some great acts and comedians - cheers to Geeta for top organisational skills on that one! Also managed to debut new song 'The Ballad of the Dancing Bones' which we're currently in the process of recording and will be sent out digitally via the web-sites and mailing list shortly. If you're not yet subscribed tell us at mail@thepictureshow.net and we'll make sure the MP3 and all subsequent free releases are e-mailed straight to you. Fingers crossed there'll be more to come by the end of the year!

Thursday 26th June

[Nick says] Well, we're back in London after quite the week. Not sure how many miles we covered, but I think the side of my face still has an imprint of a car window on it.  There were loads of highs (venue and alcohol induced) and amusements (twatish promoters and over-enthusiastic heroin fueled fans), but generally it was a very successful tour. Thanks very much to all those who managed to come down. We've come out of it all a lot closer together and with a new song which we'll be playing for the first time on the 7th July. We're now looking to get our heads down and start some serious writing so watch this space. We're all very excited about the upcoming months, which will also include some major gigs.

We're next playing on the 7th July as part of Brick Fest at 93 Feet East on London's Brick Lane. This should be a cracker as there'll be two other bands - Broken Stars and the Vibrants - as well as a number of comedians. All the profits are going to charity so, yes, we're playing the guilt card to get you down. :)

Tickets can be bought through us or here: http://www.93feeteast.co.uk/diary/index.cfm?View=Day&EventDate=2008-07-07 . Hopefully see you down there.

Thursday 12th June

[Alexei says] Our new single "Close" is officially available to download from here or our other sites for free! We're hugely pleased with the recording and the song itself as it's not usual that you manage to capture on record the energy you feel when you're playing something live. We also have it on a CD with the video and a few other things which you can get from us at gigs!

The tour dates are as follows:

12th The Grey Horse, Kingston
13th Oxford - Jericho Tavern
15th Cardiff - Buffalo Bar
16th Nottingham - The Maze
17th Doncaster - The Leopard
18th Stratford upon Avon - Cox's Yard
19th Cambridge - Man on the Moon
20th Liverpool - The Cavern
21st London - Tommy Flynn's
23rd London - The Water Rats

See you all there!

Thursday 5th June

[Alexei says] Well that was certainly an interesting gig in Kilburn last night! Tommy Kennedy who puts the gigs on at the Cock Tavern and at the Inn on the Green has always been very supportive of us so it's always good fun to play his gigs and especially to go somewhere new. Anyway, we feel ready and raring to go for our tour which is happening next week. Ahh yes... the tour...

The last week has been a logicstical and organisational nightmare the likes of which we've never seen before. Two promoters have gone AWOL, most of the press "didn't get our packs" and now we've been suspiciously double-booked at the Cavern in Liverpool with a band who are being supported by another band including the person who has double booked us at the last minute and is trying to cancel us. Contractural wrangles can, I'm told, be fun.

As it stands the confirmed gigs are:

12th The Grey Horse, Kingston
13th Oxford - Jericho Tavern
14th Derby / coalville - Victoria Bikers Pub
15th Cardiff - Buffalo Bar
16th Nottingham - The Maze
17th Doncaster - The Leopard
18th Stratford upon Avon - Cox's Yard
19th Cambridge - Man on the Moon
20th Liverpool - The Cavern (disputed)
21st London - Tommy Flynn's
23rd London - The Water Rats

UPDATE: We have now confirmed an extra gig in Kingston on the 12th!

Suffice to say we're really really, excited about finally going on tour and finally seeing the fruits of what has been a good three or four month's hard work. I'm sure there's plenty of time before now and next week for more things to develop, but either way there's something very cool about going around the country and taking our music to people who have never heard it before.

We will also release "Close" before we go on tour and it will be available to download for free from our various interweb portals, so please keep a close eye on them for updates and information about gigs and our progress!

Tuesday 20th May

[Dave says] New tunes!

With most of the tour planning now in place we're working hard to get some new tunes ready and gigable for the beginning of the tour. Still a fair bit of chasing up for responses to the recent mail-out left to do but it's nice to get some time to actually focus on the music for a bit as well!.......... it's easy to forget that that's what we're doing it for but unfortunately the organisational c**p has to be done if you don't want to be playing the Rat & Parrot for the rest of your life!

Thursday 24th April

[Alexei says] So much going and so little time to talk about it. Firstly, we have a new video which we've put up on the site and in various other places. We owe a massive thanks to both Alex Moss and Amy Power for the hard work they put into it as well as Sandrine for doing the audio. We're very, very pleased with it and it was about damn time we did something like that I reckon. Let us know what you think!

The gig on Monday went very well in the end. Both Ashley and the Broken Stars were excellent and we're very much hoping to play with them both again. Thanks to everyone who turned up - I have to say that I was plesantly surprised with just how many of out came out to see us in Camden on a monday night! It's always very humbling and thrilling to get such a positive response from people.

The tour is shaping up nicely. We're waiting on a few confirmations before we put them up on the site, but we think we've now got most of the dates in the bag so once they're up please have a look and if we're near you, come on down and we'll get you a drink...

Friday 18th April

[Dave says] It's all a bit manic at the mo! Have just got over a minor fit trying to deal with copywrite and CD pressing issues...... just one of those things that makes me illogically incredibly angry for no apparent reason....... 'please Mr CD Pressing company can I not just send you a CD and you make a thousand more and send them back to me?..... in hindsight thats probably a little naive but fits in nicely with my simple happy world inside my head (the less said about that probably the better!). Anyway, news......... I think the tour dates are pretty much finalised now with a back to back run of 10 dates (not including The Water Rats showcase at the end) and only one blank for which we're still chasing a few promoters. The remaining dates should appear on web and My Space shortly.

We recorded new single 'Close' on Saturday and we're all dead chuffed (sorry been hanging around with too many northerners) with the outcome. As we speak this is finding it's way onto The Picture Show DVD which is being compiled and sent to press over the next day or two and (fingers crossed) will be back with us ready to send out to press and the industry by Sat 3rd May.... the next couple of weeks will therefore be spent finishing off researching contacts for the mail-out!

Thursday 3rd April

[Nick says] The last month and a half of work culminated on Monday with our gig at the Water Rats. Thanks to everyone who came down. It was a great to be back after months of limbo and with our first gig under our belt with Chris we can now get ready to drive even further forward.  

We're taking a little break this week just to step back and take a breath before diving head first back into it next week. A week this Saturday we're heading up to Birmingham to record Close so our attention is currently focused on gearing towards that, but we'll be playing again on the 21st April in Camden.

Monday 24th March

[Alexei says] It's been one of the busiest months for the band I can remember and it looks to be even busier in April. We're in the process of booking the tour, filming a video, getting photos done, sorting out a press release, getting ready to record a new track and preparing for the gig a week today.

We've got a lot on the go at the moment and some potentially very exciting developments up our collective sleeves as well, which all bode very well for the future. We've got a few extra dates for the tour and a few more inbetween. I'm especially looking forward to playing the Bullet Bar in Camden on Monday 21st of April with Broken Stars and Ashley Hicklin. Obviously the gigs at the Water Rats are always top notch so we don't usually agree to play elsewhere, but we were offered the ability to choose the other bands here and we went straight for Ashley and Broken Stars who are cracking acts and we've wanted to play with for a while, so put the date in the diary!

Saturday 23rd February

[Nick says] We're finally back on track and into the mist of things. There's alot of work to do over the next few months. Aside from getting Chris up to speed and gelling musically, we're busy booking tour dates and organising everything for the release of the DVD. It looks like our first gig since last year will be at the end of this month (31st) at the Water Rats. A Monday, I know, but we've got a nice earlier slot so hopefully we'll see some of you down there.

[Chris says] Hey this is Chris, pleased to be with the band!

I am at drumtech in Acton at the moment so I am kickin round those parts although I am from Stratford in the middlands originally! I am the new drummer and very excited to be. Been in a few other previous bands from back home. Now by starting a new life down here in London, a band was seriously missed. Now obviously I am chuffed as a bugger to be with such a nice and talented group of gangsters...

Sunday 10th February

[Alexei says] After a very, very long and exhaustive search, The Picture Show are delighted to announce that we have finally found a new drummer in Chris Rush. It really was not an easy process as so many of the candidates were of such a high quality but after two months and tens and tens of drummers later, Chris is definately the right man for the job. We had to take our time in making sure we didn't simply get the best person available, but actually found someone who suited our style, got on with us well outside of the rehersal room, was talented enough to play a variety of different musical styles and bought into our vision as a band.

Chris joins us having previously drummed for current scene darlings The Enemy, and is currently studying at Drum Tech. We are absolutely certain that both his experience and positive, enthusiastic attitude will perfectly complement the chemistry already in the band and would like to welcome him in with open arms.

Now, of course, the real work begins. It's difficult to explain how frustrating it is as a gigging band to have to put things on hold for any reason at all and in that time you tend to build up a backlog of ideas and ambitions which we're now hoping to realise. We've started booking the tour in June and have a few gigs confirmed already. We also want to get into the studio to finally record a version of "Close" as soon as possible, as well as just getting our heads down and getting sharp again and playing regularly.

Monday 4th February

[Nick says] We're coming close to selecting a drummer and should hopefully have someone sorted by the end of the week assuming all goes well. We've all been itching to get back in the saddle and pick up from where we left at the end of last year. Booking for the June tour has begun and we've already got a few dates down with more expected soon so, fingers crossed, it should be a good one. There's going to be a lot of work to do before then but  we're looking forward to it and, hopefully, making our mark in 2008.

Sunday 20th January

[Dave says] Busy week last week for meeting drummers. Had 7 scheduled in at our regular meeting place 'The North Star' in Ealing at the start of the week. Bit of a bizarre turn of events on Tuesday though with both drummers who we were supposed to be meeting pulling out but one who we weren't supposed to be meeting until next Tuesday randomly turning up on the wrong night! All in all the weeks work resulted in 4 people to audition next week all of whom seem really promising so we're looking forward to that. Also started to formulate some plans for a tour and digital release in the Summer so watch this space.........

Saturday 12th January

[Alexei says] Well we're finally back from our Christmas holidays and feeling energised and with a renewed purpose. We're interviewing a lot of potential drummers at the moment and hope to have someone in place fairly soon, though it's doubtful that it'll happen before the gig on the 1st of Febuary at the Water Rats (which has been moved from the 31st of January).

Obviously it's a decision we have got to get right and it's a critical process so something which we have to take our time over which has been a bit frustrating for us at times, but the morale in the camp is extremely high at the moment and we're really looking forward to getting back into gear.

We've been thinking a lot about our future as well and are hoping to record "Close", finally, at some point in the next few months and put it out as a digital release, hopefully with a short, but action-packed tour of the country. We're sounding out a lot of promoters at the moment, but we're hoping to cover most of the country which is something we'd absolutely love to do, ao keep your ears pricked and your eyes peeled over the next few months!

Saturday 22nd December

[Dave says] Just a final note for 2007 before everyone goes off to get drunk and eat turkey (or being a veggie like myself possibly a lentil burger)……… ahhh yes, the true spirit of Christmas! Been busy hammering the world wide web for drummers and coming up with quite a few who we'll endeavour to meet over the coming weeks (between turkeys and lentil burgers) so looking forward to a fresh new start and big things from 2008. We also enjoyed a band shopping day out to Brick Lane on Saturday and started considering the dirty word of ‘image'!*!????.......... also perhaps discovering the slightly more effeminate side to certain band members! However, it was a fun day and I particularly enjoyed the baffled looks on shop keepers faces when presenting them with our two sheets of A4 drawings and images attempting to indicate the kind of thing we were looking for.

Anyway, enough about shopping…. Hope y'all have a fantastic Xmas and New Year and we'll see you in 2008!

Monday 3rd December

[Dave says].....phew! What a couple of weeks! It's all been a bit manic since parting company with drummer Sam a week and a half ago with the Vox gig for Columbia's Indie Boy looming and promising some serious industry exposure. Seemed like a great opportunity come at just the wrong time but somehow (and still trying to get my head around how!) we managed to lynch an ex-drummer of The Picture Show in for one 3 hour rehearsal on the day of the gig and pull it off by the skin of our teeth! ........I'm guessing alot of work went on behind the scenes there too though so Joe, we can't ever thank you enough!

The gig went down a storm, we all had a great night, other bands were wicked, and it was good to meet a few more people in the industry and get some invaluable feedback and a little insight in to the sentiments of the industry at the moment. We understand the video of the night is in the process of being edited too so we'll have to see if we can get hold of a copy to post on the site.

....now it's time to stop and re-build the foundations. We've got a couple of very promising candidates to look at on drums and are looking forward to getting together with them in the coming weeks so we can get back gigging and working hard on fine-lining our live performances and finding that extra edge. We've also got plenty of new songs we're looking into at the mo so hopefully we'll get the time to make some of these giggable shortly as well.

Saturday 24th November

[Alexei says] Quite a lot has happened since our last update and I imagine that quite a lot will happen before the next one. The most important thing to say is that the Picture Show have, sadly, had to part company with Sam. It's a very unfortunate situation and there are no hard feelings involved as Sam's personal situation has simply meant he's not been able to continue. We wish him all the best and every success if he decides to carry on making music.

We're also only playing one of the four gigs we had advertised for the end of the month and December. The Water Rats and the Inn on the Green have both double booked, so we're going to move those gigs to January and we've had to cancel the Grey Horse in Kingston while we look for a new drummer. Picture Show Co-founder Joe Stocking has offered to play with us for the gig on the first of December though and we're very happy to take him up on that. In the meantime we've already spoken to potential new drummers and are hopeful that we'll manage to get the right person for the job in quite soon, though it's also not something we want to rush! We'll keep you all informed...

Tuesday 13th November

[Nick says] Thanks to those who managed to make it down on the 9th. I know it was a late one so it was extra cool to see you all.

Things might seem a little slow at the moment but behind closed doors we're continuing to hone ourselves. With four gigs lined up over the next month we will also be looking to bring in some new material... a lot more new material if time allows us. We play Kingston on the 28th and then head to Camden on the 1st for a free gig at Tommy Flynns. It sounds like that'll be a top night and it lands on a Saturday. Free and NOT a weekday: no excuses coming down. :)

Monday 29th October

[Alexei says] The gig on the 20th of the December has fallen through due to an administrative over-sight on the part of the promoters. However, we've actually been offered a more attractive slot on Friday the 7th of December as a continuing part of our residency instead which we're all rather pleased with. We're also looking into booking a few more gigs out and about, both inside and outside of London before Christmas, so keep your eyes peeled!

Monday 22nd October

[Alexei says] Thanks to those of you who came down to see us at the Horn on the 17th. Unfortuneately Sam ended up in hospital that morning and was unable to make the gig, so we ended up doing an acoustic set instead.

It's been quite a busy period for us lately and we've not really had much of a chance to sit back and chew the fat, but having sat down in the last few days and reflected on things, we've decided to postpone recording a new EP for a couple of months. Instead we are going to focus more on bringing through new songs and playing more gigs.

We're really excited about getting together and focusing on the writing especially as it's something we've not had a real chance to do in the last few months and hopefully when we do finally record the EP, which is still on the horizon, it'll be better off for it.

Sunday 7th October

[Dave says] It was nice to see the culmination of 5 months hard work start to bear fruition at our industry showcase at the Water Rats on Thursday night with an electric gig and our biggest turn-out yet...... seems that word is slowly but surely getting around! The gig, which was the conclusion of our mini-tour and 3 months of booking gigs, planning promotion and publicity, and sending countless (close to 300!) press packs & EPs out to the industry, seemed to go down a storm despite some unusual technical issues i.e. Alexei managing to launch his mic stand into the audience during one of the songs....... ok, he claimed he knocked it over but I think it was more likely rather a bizarre attempt at some extravagent rock n' roll antics! It was also nice to see a significant industry presence....... it being an industry showcase and all.

After a brief break however it's back to the drawing board and plans for recording our next EP and it's release hopefully early in the new year (pending talks with prospective management). We've also got two more great gigs lined up at the Water Rats before Xmas at their club night on Friday 9th November and showcase night on 20th December for which we hope to have a couple more new songs ready. Keep an eye out for details and don't forget to join our mailing list so we can keep you updated if you haven't already.

Wednesday 26th September

[Alexei says] It's been a very, very busy few weeks. So much so that we've neglected this poor website a little, but things have been going very well. We've played gigs to the good, the bad and the pretty empty in one case, but it's been an absolutely great experience to just get out there and do what we love and see other people getting into it.

Unfortuneately the gig in Ealing got called off at the last minute because of a misunderstanding with the promoter. Despite us being on thier website, apparently there was no record of ever booking us, which is disappointing as we were looking forward to playing our home. Anyway, we're off to Maidenhead tomorrow and then, finally, the Water Rats on the 4th for what is going to be a cracking gig. See you all there!

Wednesday 19th September

[Sam says] We're now pretty much half way through our tour, and it's been great to see some of the same faces showing up again! Kicking off the tour at The Water Rats, we've been gradually building the momentum for the showcase gig back at the Water Rats on the 4th of October- it'd be great to see you guys at all the gigs, but if there's one date to put in your diary it's got to be that one! It's been fantastic to play in some new (new to me anyway) venues, the Grey Horse gig in Kingston was a bit chaotic, but was a blast.. and The Boiler Room in Guildford is definitely somewhere we think we'll return to at some point. Of course it's always great to play in my home town so thanks to all that showed up at the Courthouse in Dartford. Just preparing now for the upcoming week, in Hertford, Derby, Ealing, and Maidenhead- hope to see you all there or thereabouts!

Sunday 16th September

[Dave says] We've finally kicked into the long awaited tour with warm welcomes at the Water Rats, The Grey Horse in Kingston and The Boileroom in Guildford this week and are looking forward to the weeks ahead (despite managing to get lost trying to find 2 of the above 3 venues!..... bloody one-way systems!). It also feels like people are gradually starting to take some notice with the odd bit of industry interest filtering through and the mailing list growing ever longer. Keep an eye out on the gigs page and catch us soon!

Sunday 2nd September

[Nick says] After a two week respite we are back into the routine of things and gearing up for the start of the tour which kicks off on the 10th at the Water Rats. We are also working on a new song which should hopefully debut then and looking forward to playing a host of new venues outside London.

Friday 17th August

[Alexei says] We've been offered to move the date on the 11th of September to the 10th for a better slot which, after some consideration, we've decided to do. The chance to play with people of the calibre of Julian Velard is definately alluring, but the show on the 10th along with International One and Matt Maher, possibly with Headway headlining was too good to turn down.

We're still in the process of booking our tour and working on new material so hopefully there'll be a couple of new dates to add in the next few days. We're working on Brighton, Cambridge, Derby and a couple of others, but there don't seem to be enough hours in the day to get everything sorted. Eitherway, we're looking to have new material in the set by the 10th when we kick off the tour. Hope to see you all there!

Tuesday 14th August

[Dave says] Another great night last night at The Water Rats, with another decent turn out and some top quality acts. Already looking forward to next gig there, which incidentally is the Julian Velard support on 11th September (just time for a quick plug!), but in the mean-time we'll be hard at it hammering the local media for coverage of our EP release and Autumn mini-tour and bugging the industy to come and listen to us after our mass mail-out a couple of weeks ago. We're also working hard to get yet another new song ready, hopefully in time for September but we'll keep you posted on this.

Sunday 11th August

[Alexei says] Thanks to those of you who checked us out in Dartford! Breaking two strings aside, it was a fun gig with a great line-up as well as hopefully being a nice homecoming for Sam.

Preparation for Monday is going at a good pace. It's our first gig since making our residency official, so we're hoping to mark it with a cracker. Hope to see you all there!

Monday 6th August

[Alexei says] Thanks to all of you who came down to support us at Finnegan's Wake in Ealing. Nick and I have both lived in Ealing all our lives, yet it was the first time we played, so it was quite a strange experience for us!

We're quite busy this month with another two gigs, one in Dartford next week and then one in the Water Rats a week today, so please come down and support us if you're about as the gigs should be great fun.

Wednesday 25th July

[Sam says] Hi Sam here! last night went really well. Thanks to all of you who made it to the Water Rats, despite the crappy weather and it being a school night. It was great to play our new song 'Close' the first song which in The Picture Show's present carnation was something we were all involved in creating, and I think it went down pretty well too which was a cheeky bonus! We're in the other guys' neck of the woods for our next gig at Finnegan's Wake in Ealing on the 4th of August, and then in my home town of Dartford on the 9th of August at the Court House; which I must say I am pretty excited about!

Sunday 22nd July

[Nick says] Despite busy schedules work has continued unabated the last few weeks as we gear up for our return to the Water Rats. Fortunately it has paid off as it looks like we will have a new song to play on the 23rd, the first from the ground up for Sam and myself so we're looking forward to the response. See you all on Monday.

Thursday 6th July

[Sam says] Hi, Sam here! It's been great getting the chance to meet some of you at our recent gigs which have been a great experience; and we're really getting hyped up for our forthcoming tour.

Off-stage we've been busily working on a couple of new songs which have given Nick and I a fantastic opportunity to really get involved as members of the band, and we should be finding a place for them in the set lists soon. For all of you that haven't yet had the chance to get down to see us we're back at the Water Rats on the 23 rd of July and on the 4 th of August in Ealing; so I'm sure we'll see you soon!

Sunday 24th June

[Nick says] A busy few weeks finally ended yesterday with our gig at the Water Rats. A huge thanks to those who came. It was a good show with some entertaining bands.

Looking ahead now we have already started working on some new material which will hopefully get aired towards the end of next month which should be our next gig.

Thursday 14th June

[Nick says] Thanks to all who came down to our first gig, it was grand to see you all! We've got a busy week coming up playing next Fri and Sat, but looking forward to it. Hopefully see you, and those we missed, at the Water rats on the 23rd.

Tuesday 12th June

[Alexei says] Things have been moving so fast recently we've barely had to time to think, let alone update things. We've been working hard towards our first gig with Sam and Nick tonight and we've got a couple more this month in Bury St Edmunds and at the Water Rats the day after. The Water Rats gig is free entry so there's really no excuse for not going, unless you're at Glastonbury, so we hope to see you there!

Monday 21st May

[Sam says] Hello to everyone, I'm really excited about being apart of the great Picture Show adventure. Hope to meet some of you at our first gig in a few weeks time! All the best! Sam.

Sunday 6th May

[Alexei says] Things are finally stirring again. We've had to take our time to find the right people to compliment what we do and people we've thought were right for us rather than just taking the best people available. It's taken a while to do so, but we're now very happy to welcome Sam and Nick on board to step into our rhythm section. I'll update the site as soon as I can with their details and no doubt they'll have something to say as well but in the meantime we're also happy to announce our first gig for a while as well at the Betsey Trotwood on the 12th June.

[Nick says] Hi, to everyone out there. Glad to be aboard the show and looking forward to the next few weeks, working with Dave, Sam and Alexei and our gig in June. We have got a lot of work to do working on our set, particularly for those of us just coming in, but I am confident that we can pull things together. Hopefully see you all in six weeks!

Monday 26th March

[Alexei says] Many thanks to all of you who came down to support us at the Hope and Anchor on Thursday night. The turn out was massive for a school night and the atmosphere was suitably great. It's always fun playing those kinds of gigs though with any luck there won't be too many more acoustic gigs in the future. We're working on getting a new drummer in and have been holding auditions for a while, but just haven't been able to find the right person to fill the gap who ticks all of our boxes. Still, we're working and writing in the meantime and are booking gigs so life goes on as normal.

Tuesday 13th March

[Chris says] With great sadness we break the news of Nik's departure from The Picture Show. We had a great time with him while he was with us, and we wish him the best of luck in all he does now. A fantastic drummer, it's going to be hard to replace his talent and energy. Which is, in a way, where this news post is heading...

The Picture Show need a new drummer to fill our sudden percussive void. If you're interested in the band and live in London, and of course have the ability to drum, we'd love to hear from you - there's never been a better opportunity to jump onto the TPS bandwagon, and we'd love to have you along for the ride. We're eager to write new songs and get out there live and full on again, so you'd have to be committed and eager for what band life can throw at you from the outset.

Hope to hear from people soon!

Saturday 3rd March

[Alexei says] Many thanks to everyone who came down to support us for the acoustic set in Labrooke Grove. It's the first time we'd played there and the first time in a while in West London, so it was great to see everyone there. Despite some technical problems it was a great night and we'll be back there again soon.

In the meantime friend and Eulogies frontman Simon has put together a little taster video for After the Last Transmission from artwork he's done and is being considered for our next video. It's absolutely brilliant stuff which you can see here. Drop us your thoughts on the forum!

Sunday 11th February

[Alexei says] Thanks to everyone who came down to see us at Industry during the week. It felt really good to get back into the swing of things and back on stage after a short break. Things have been a bit sporadic of late but we're in the process of booking a late spring / early summer tour of the south east and currently talking to Alex about doing another video, this time for White fields and tower blocks.

Monday 19th December

[Alexei says] Many thanks to those of you who came down to see us in Sheffield, we had an absolutely brilliant time! We had a bit of a disasterous journey up and at one point weren't even sure we were going to make it, so getting there and receiving the support we did was extra special for us.

Anyway, we are now winding down for Christmas and the New Year and are taking January off to write new material and to organise things for later on in the year. Our next gig is in London at the start of February, but keep your eyes peeled as we should be adding a lot more dates very soon.

Tuesday 5th December

[Dave says] After taking The Picture Show sound to Bury St. Edmunds on 8th November, the band returned to a home (and seemingly ever multiplying) crowd at the Betsey Trotwood in London on the 29th. A good time was had by all at this intimate yet atmospheric venue!

There are a number of new songs in the pipleline, two of which we are currently working hard to get into the live set-up and hope to be ready & gigable by the new year. Keep your ears and eyes peeled for updates on the progress of 'Take Me' & 'Delphin'........

Tuesday 31st October

[Alexei says] After many delays and lots of promises, the EP is finally finished and ready to go and all I can say is that it looks and feels absolutely incredible. We're extremely proud of it and it's been well worth the wait for us. You can find out more about it here

Monday 23rd October

[Alexei says] The gig in Birmingham went well over the weekend in no small part due to to all of you who came down to see us. We enjoyed it greatly and are looking forward to Wednesday's gig in London and then in Derby on Saturday. Hopefully we should have the physical copies of the EPs in our hands by then!

Sunday 1st October

[Alexei says] We've finally got the mastered versions of the tracks up on the site here in the same format as before and the Master CD has been sent to the factory, so we should have physical copies of the EP in our hands in a week or so.

I've also just seen a sneak preview of the video and it's looking awesome! I'm sure you will all agree when we put the finished version up in the next few days.

Friday 29th September

[Alexei says] A massive thank you to all of you who turned up for what was essentially our first gig as The Picture Show. It was an absolutely brilliant atmosphere and an excellent venue and one which we enjoyed playing in very much.

In other news, the EP has now been mastered, and the video is in the final stages of editing. The latter should be done by the end of the month and the former should be ready shortly afterwards. We'll sneak the MP3's up as soon as we get them though as a little preview

Tuesday 12th September

[Chris Says] The hectic pace continues... the band are back home after an exhausting but satisfying and productive weekend at the Priory Studio in Birmingham. We finished recording the final parts of 'Hymn for the Living' and got brand new song 'Oslo' down in it's entirety, and it's become a band favourite.

Many, many thanks to the frankly awesome Greg - producer, sound engineer and all round top bloke - his help making these songs sound as good as they could went above and beyond the call of duty. We look forward to next weekend when we finally mix down 'Hymn...' when we can work with him again. Right now, it's more rehearsals and more songwriting, as ever - but 'The Revolutionary E.P'. looks set to make some serious waves in the very near future. A mastering session beckons...

Thursday 7th September

[Alexei says] It's been a very hectic week or so. We've been working like mad at getting ready for the weekend and for getting the EP sorted out as quickly as possible afterwards. The original idea was to follow it up immediately with a tour, but as we've already said, the dates have been pushed back to the end of October / start of November. Still, we're really excited about the weekend studio session coming up and only slightly apprehensive. With any luck, the EP should be mastered by this time next week and on it's way to the Factory...

Wednesday 30th August

[Dave says] It's all starting to come together now for The Picture Show: Cracking new songs; 'The Revolutionary' video finished filming; Studio dates confirmed; EP Release iminent; Naked groupies following us everywhere;....... Vivid imaginations getting a little bit too carried away with things like naked groupies following us everywhere (that don't actually exist yet..... apart from in my head of course).

The band had a fantastic day shooting 'The Revolutionary' video on Sunday (27th Aug) and would like to thank all cast and crew involved in making the whole process great fun with no stress; in a couple of weeks we'll finish recording the tracks for the EP with a brand spanking new song called 'Oslo' currently being prepared for the occasion and starting to sound pretty shit hot in my view; and slowly but surely gig dates for the tour are taking shape.

I'm also currently compiling a news mail-out list to keep people that can't be bothered to look at the web-site all the time up to date with our progress. Mail-outs will be Monthly at first. If you'd like to be added to the list please e-mail dave@thepictureshow.net

Monday 14th August

[Alexei says] Things are moving along nicely. We've picked the final two tracks for the EP and have a studio date confirmed along with our first gig with the new line up at the Hoxton Bar and Grill on the 25th of September. We're trying to sort out the best route for the tour out of what's currently available, so keep checking the gigs and news sections for updates soon!

Tuesday 8th August

[Alexei says] It is done. After an absolutely exhaustive and painstaking search I'm very pleased to announce our final recruit, Nikola Vladusic on drums.

Nikola joins us having played in bands back in his native Serbia and over here as well. He has a wealth of experience and talent and a very rare connection and understanding with what we want to do and how we want to do it. The standard set by those who we auditioned was very, very high but in the end it was a unanimous choice for us.

We're now turning our attention to the immediate future and are trying to book gigs for as soon as possible as well as the tour for mid-Autumn. Things seem to be coming together nicely with the video shoot and the EP. I've put up a little storyboard teaser in the media section done for us by Simon from The Eulogies, who's been working tirelessly for us on various bits of design and artwork.

I've also added an extra track to the media player. White fields and tower blocks isn't a new song or recording, but one we were holding back for the EP, but we've since decided to change the feel of it, but thought it would be a shame to lose this recording. Enjoy it!

Tuesday 1st August

[Patrick says] Things are drawing to a head on the drumer front. We have a few strong candidates to choose from and hopefully will be able to announce a new member of the band in a few weeks.

Recording to finish the EP is going ahead and things are looking good for the Autumn tour. Keep an eye out for dates which we should have finalised by the end of August. In the meantime we'll be playing a few warm up gigs in London in September so all Londoners keep posted for those.

We're looking forward to a hectic couple of months.

Monday 24th July

[Dave says] Things are beginning to look up on the drummer front due to Alexei's recent assault on web forums and we now have a handful of promising candidates who at least talk the talk..... so at least that's half of the eqation taken care of. Auditions are going on this week to test the other half.

The videos to accompany the prospective EP release also now have 1st draft story boards which look pretty damn impressive if you ask me, thanks to our friend Simon in the kingdom of Oz.... Cheers Simon!

Other than that, rehearsals have been going well for the three of us and in particular focusing on developing harmonies to add another crucial dimension to the live set-up.

Monday 17th July

[Alexei says] Things are frustratingly slow on the live front, due to not being able to find the right person for the drumming position as yet. We've decided to take a more direct and open approach to looking for our final recruit, which will hopefully pay off in the near future. It's something we all agree is a triviality which can be rushed, we need the person to tick all of our boxes in order to avoid problems further down the line.

In other news, the plans for the EP and a couple of videos to go with it are still on course. We're hoping to have them finished by the Autumn for a prospective tour shortly afterwards. The dates are currently liable to change, so there is no point in posting them just yet, but hopefully this will be something we'll be able to announce in a matter of weeks.

Monday 26th June

[Alexei Says] After a quiet period of thoroughly searching for new personnel, I can happily announce our new recruit on Bass - Patrick Plunkett. Patrick is an extremely talented multi-instrumentalist and singer who gained much experience in his native Ireland before coming to these shores and hooking up with us.

[Patrick Says] I was immediately impressed with the material that Alexei and Dave showed me. I'm very excited to with be with two great musicians and people. Needless to say I've got high hopes for this band!

Monday 8th May

[Dave says] After an extremely positive response to the drummer and bassist adverts we've been busy over the last couple of weeks liasing with our fellow London musos and trying to narrow down a list of appropriate candidates for audition. We're looking forward to meeting up with some like-minded people and excited about the prospect of a fresh line-up!

Sunday 16th April

[Dave says] The introduction of a new state of the art multi-effects pedal has been keeping me busy over the last couple of weeks. The Boss GT6 surely is the ultimate! I've basically been locked in a room and reduced to hermit, only managing to tear myself away from my new toy for the odd toilet break and food intake, most of my time having been spent getting to grips with the beast and creating a host of enhanced sounds and atmospheric backgrounds for Picture Show tunes.

Tuesday 4th April

[Alexei says] It has fallen to me to announce the sad news that Joe has left The Picture Show. The split has been amicable and all parties involved have remained on very friendly terms, but due to some personal problems Joe has not been able to carry on.

Sometimes when people leave it can hit hard and other times not so hard, but Joe is one of the people I've worked with the longest in my musical career and we've been through a hell of a lot together. He will be sorely missed and I know he will also miss the music as well. We all wish him well in his travels though and in any future projects he undertakes, should he deicde to do so.

Sunday 26th March

[Dave says] Thanks to last Sunday's technical problems in recording 'Hymn for the Living' our time was used wisely for an impromptu photo session so you can now view our ugly mugs (speaking largely for myself here) on the 'History' section of the web-site....... dark yet mystical I think you'll find! Feel free to leave us your (constructive) comments on the forum.....

Other than that all's going onwards and upwards and we've had some promising candidates to fulfill the role of bassist as the live set-up is gradually taking shape.

Sunday 19th March

[Alexei says] It's been a long week. We were supposed to finish mixing down "Hymn for the Living" yesterday but fate seems to have conspired against us and for a second week running we couldn't actually get the recording going in order to mix it. Still, hopefully the third time will be the charm and I'll manage to get it going by the weekend if not during the week. Still we had a productive day and things are slowly gaining momentum. With any luck we'll be in a state to gig as a full band within a couple of months, in perfect time for when we aim to release the EP.

Sunday 12th March

[Dave says] Hey all, I'm Dave the newest addition to The Picture Show line-up on lead-guitar. I was found on a bus in Cambodia in September by an ex-girlfriend of Alexei's for those of you interested….. anyway, a return to the UK , several jam sessions (and pints) later and here I am. Been getting up to date with the material so far but can't wait to get back on stage again. The plan is to be ready to perform by April.

Thursday 9th March

[Alexei says] It's been a mad few days. I've added a flash player to the media section of the site and re-sized the artwork on the pages. Everything is still temporary, but I'm sure you'll all agree that it looks better. I've also officailly finished building the forum, so please drop by and have a look. This will be the best place to get in contact with us if you have anything you want to ask or just have a chat in general.

On top of this Chris and I finished demoing a new song "Delphin" which hopefully will get a proper band recording at some point, but is at the end of a long queue of things to do. There is a review of it in the forum and we may possibly post a link to the demo up there at some point.

Monday 6th March

[Chris says] The band prepare to take 'Hymn for the Living' into the final stages of production at the 2nd weekend of march. Meanwhile, this week: Alexei and I will prepare to lay down the groundwork of a brand new track. Right now, the sketch put forward so far sounds like it could either turn into an epic of incomprehensible magnitude, or we'll get sued by Royksopp. Stay tuned.

Friday 17th February

[Alexei says] Slowly but surely things are getting done. We've got a mix of The Revolutionary up in the media section of the site, though I'm sure we'll keep tweaking and tweaking it for months as we always do. Soon Hymn for the Living and White fields and tower blocks should be finished as well adn we'll spoil you with those as well.

Monday 6th February

[Joe says] It has been a busy weekend for the Picture Show; spending Saturday recording a new track and Sunday playing a gig with two other great artists: Kimberley Moore and David Baalham at the Falcon in Bury. Thanks to everyone who came down, it was a great night with a really relaxed atmosphere.

We will be mixing the new track in the next week or two, and as soon as we're happy with the mix we will pop it in the media section for you to download. The forum should be up and running in the near future too so let us know your thoughts...

Friday 3rd February

[Alexei says] We've uploaded some mp3's to the media section of the site now of a couple of tracks which may or may not appear on the forth coming EP, we've not yet decided on the running order.

Looking forward to going back into the studio tomorrow and then another gig in Bury SE on Sunday. Hope to see you all there.

Sunday 29th January

[Alexei says] After much wrangling and effort the main structure of the site is now up. It is still very much under construction and will eventually change quite radically, but over the next few weeks will slowly take shape more and more.

Feel free to contact us to sign up to the mailing list or just chat at mail@thepictureshow.net