After a very busy year, Witches are having a little break. We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has helped and supported us this year. We hope you had as much fun as we did.
Have a very happy Xmas and New Year. Bye for now.
Witches
Monday 7 December 2009
Tuesday 3 November 2009
BBC Introducing session
Check out our live session for BBC Oxford Introducing, recorded on the day of our Expansion launch. You can view the video here and listen back to the show (including two live songs and an interview) here. Oh, and we recommend signing up to the BBC Oxford Introducing podcast to get your weekly local music fix. We're really pleased with the outcome and had a lot of fun, so many thanks to Tim and Dave.
Wednesday 28 October 2009
Single launch and BBC session this Saturday!
This Saturday we're launching our brand new single Expansion at The Cellar in Oxford at our Halloween party presented by Big Hair.
Joining us will be Desert Storm and Les Clochards, and we'll be onstage around 10pm. Doors are at 8.30pm and it'll cost about a fiver to get in (no advance tickets).
There'll be prizes of HMV vouchers and Witches goody bags for the two best Halloween outfits and there'll be limited edition CD singles given away to the first fifty people to make it to the merch desk so get your skates on!
All this plus cheap drinks deals and DJing 'till the early hours. What more could you want?
ALSO, you can hear us before you head out on Saturday evening from 6-7pm when we'll be performing a live session featuring brand new songs for BBC Oxford Introducing. If you miss the show don't worry - you can listen back using iPlayer during the week.
We'll be playing more new songs at the launch - we're really proud of them so be sure to let us know what you think!
See you Saturday.
Witches x
Joining us will be Desert Storm and Les Clochards, and we'll be onstage around 10pm. Doors are at 8.30pm and it'll cost about a fiver to get in (no advance tickets).
There'll be prizes of HMV vouchers and Witches goody bags for the two best Halloween outfits and there'll be limited edition CD singles given away to the first fifty people to make it to the merch desk so get your skates on!
All this plus cheap drinks deals and DJing 'till the early hours. What more could you want?
ALSO, you can hear us before you head out on Saturday evening from 6-7pm when we'll be performing a live session featuring brand new songs for BBC Oxford Introducing. If you miss the show don't worry - you can listen back using iPlayer during the week.
We'll be playing more new songs at the launch - we're really proud of them so be sure to let us know what you think!
See you Saturday.
Witches x
Friday 16 October 2009
More radio play for Expansion
Tune into BBC Oxford Introducing this Saturday (17th October) where they'll be playing our brand new single 'Expansion', out at the end of the month (thanks Tim and Dave!)
Don't forget to come and join us at the Cellar on Saturday 31st for our Halloween party. There'll be limited edition CD singles for the first 50 people through the door, and prizes for the best dressed. See you there!
Don't forget to come and join us at the Cellar on Saturday 31st for our Halloween party. There'll be limited edition CD singles for the first 50 people through the door, and prizes for the best dressed. See you there!
Monday 12 October 2009
Expansion - first airplay
Congrats to Oxford FM107.9, the first station to schedule our new single 'Expansion' for their breakfast show later this week (w/b 12th October). Not bad considering we haven't even made the CDs yet! So tune in and be one of the first people to hear it.
The Halloween launch is getting closer.. There'll be fancy dress prizes and limited edition CDs for the first fifty people through the door. Not to mention a superb lineup courtesy of Jimmy and Big Hair. Oh, and we'll be playing some brand new songs as well, so come down and tell us what you think!
See you soon
Dave G x
The Halloween launch is getting closer.. There'll be fancy dress prizes and limited edition CDs for the first fifty people through the door. Not to mention a superb lineup courtesy of Jimmy and Big Hair. Oh, and we'll be playing some brand new songs as well, so come down and tell us what you think!
See you soon
Dave G x
Tuesday 22 September 2009
Expansion launch and Halloween party
We're proud to announce that we'll be launching our brand new single 'Expansion' at our Halloween party hosted by Big Hair at The Cellar on Saturday 31st October.
The single will be released on Big Red Sky, and label mates Les Clochards will be joining us on the bill, along with very special guests.
A limited number of CD singles will be given away at the launch, and the track will subsequently be available for streaming from Last.fm and download from iTunes.
Produced by Jamie Masters and mixed by Jimmy Evil, 'Expansion' is taken from our forthcoming second album, due out next year, and is our first official release since Heart of Stone in 2007.
The recording was partly tracked at the SAE Institute as part of our Jack.fm 'Next Big Thing' prize from earlier this year.
We're really excited about the launch, and hope to see as many of you as possible in fancy dress on Halloween. There'll be prizes for the best dressed, so don't hold back!
Our launch will be followed by a mini-tour in November, including a performance at the Carter USM aftershow party at Jamm in Brixton. See the Witches website for more info - more dates will be announced nearer the time.
Eleven songs have been recorded so far for the second album, but we're currently working on a second batch, many of which will be aired at the Halloween gig for the very first time. We're very proud of our new tracks, so come down and see what you think.
See you soon
-Dave G
The single will be released on Big Red Sky, and label mates Les Clochards will be joining us on the bill, along with very special guests.
A limited number of CD singles will be given away at the launch, and the track will subsequently be available for streaming from Last.fm and download from iTunes.
Produced by Jamie Masters and mixed by Jimmy Evil, 'Expansion' is taken from our forthcoming second album, due out next year, and is our first official release since Heart of Stone in 2007.
The recording was partly tracked at the SAE Institute as part of our Jack.fm 'Next Big Thing' prize from earlier this year.
We're really excited about the launch, and hope to see as many of you as possible in fancy dress on Halloween. There'll be prizes for the best dressed, so don't hold back!
Our launch will be followed by a mini-tour in November, including a performance at the Carter USM aftershow party at Jamm in Brixton. See the Witches website for more info - more dates will be announced nearer the time.
Eleven songs have been recorded so far for the second album, but we're currently working on a second batch, many of which will be aired at the Halloween gig for the very first time. We're very proud of our new tracks, so come down and see what you think.
See you soon
-Dave G
Monday 10 August 2009
Album update - 2
We had a superb session at SAE last weekend (7-9 August). The team at SAE did a wonderful job of setting up a huge number of microphones in the biggest recording room I've ever seen. The golden rule was - don't break anything :)
After setup we tracked eight songs in 13 hours, and we're really pleased with the outcome. Our producer Jamie Masters pushed us hard to get the performances we needed, and it was well worth it. With two additional songs already overdubbed and mixed the album really feels like it's starting to come together.
The next stage is for Jamie to do a few edits and then we're doing a lot of overdubs at Echo Studios in early September, where we'll also track a couple of additional songs we didn't have time to do at SAE.
Tonight (10th August) we start work at Studio101, aka Martin's studio, where we will be developing (and ultimately recording) a further batch of new ideas over the next ten weeks. Martin's new vibraphone will no doubt make an appearance alongside whatever else we can find hidden away in his loft.
A lot of you have asked: 'when will it be finished?'
The most accurate answer I can give at the moment is 'next year', depending on who releases it.
In the interim, we'll have some brand new songs to play for you at our Halloween gig at the end of October, as well as a new single penned for the forthcoming album (hopefully, fingers crossed).
-Dave G
After setup we tracked eight songs in 13 hours, and we're really pleased with the outcome. Our producer Jamie Masters pushed us hard to get the performances we needed, and it was well worth it. With two additional songs already overdubbed and mixed the album really feels like it's starting to come together.
The next stage is for Jamie to do a few edits and then we're doing a lot of overdubs at Echo Studios in early September, where we'll also track a couple of additional songs we didn't have time to do at SAE.
Tonight (10th August) we start work at Studio101, aka Martin's studio, where we will be developing (and ultimately recording) a further batch of new ideas over the next ten weeks. Martin's new vibraphone will no doubt make an appearance alongside whatever else we can find hidden away in his loft.
A lot of you have asked: 'when will it be finished?'
The most accurate answer I can give at the moment is 'next year', depending on who releases it.
In the interim, we'll have some brand new songs to play for you at our Halloween gig at the end of October, as well as a new single penned for the forthcoming album (hopefully, fingers crossed).
-Dave G
Thursday 6 August 2009
Album update
Hi there. I thought it was about time for a quick Witches album update, since many of you have been asking about it!
We're off to SAE this weekend (7-9 August) to track much of the new material for our second album. The session - worth £2,000 - was part of our prize for winning the Next Big Thing competition, organised by Jack.fm earlier this year.
We've been working closely with our producer Jamie Masters for several months now, pinning down the arrangements and making sure everything is super-tight. Jamie will be coordinating the sessions alongside the excellent team they have at SAE.
Much of the overdubbing and additional tracking will be completed at Jamie's Echo Studios in Buckingham in early September. Over the two sessions we're hoping to finish off around 10 songs for the new album.
Though it won't stop there. We've decided to write even more stuff and have booked additional time at Martin's Studio101 to write and record additional tracks over the comings months. We figure the more good ideas we have to choose from the better the album will be.
Also, a couple of tracks recorded last year (There's a Darkness and Church Beds) have been beautifully remixed by Jimmy Evil and there's more than a good chance both will appear on the album next year. God bless Mr Evil and his ability to create killer drum sounds.
We're still hoping to release a single at our Halloween party at The Cellar, Oxford on Saturday 31st October - make sure you put the date in your calendar, it's going to be an AMAZING night.
See you soon
-Dave G
We're off to SAE this weekend (7-9 August) to track much of the new material for our second album. The session - worth £2,000 - was part of our prize for winning the Next Big Thing competition, organised by Jack.fm earlier this year.
We've been working closely with our producer Jamie Masters for several months now, pinning down the arrangements and making sure everything is super-tight. Jamie will be coordinating the sessions alongside the excellent team they have at SAE.
Much of the overdubbing and additional tracking will be completed at Jamie's Echo Studios in Buckingham in early September. Over the two sessions we're hoping to finish off around 10 songs for the new album.
Though it won't stop there. We've decided to write even more stuff and have booked additional time at Martin's Studio101 to write and record additional tracks over the comings months. We figure the more good ideas we have to choose from the better the album will be.
Also, a couple of tracks recorded last year (There's a Darkness and Church Beds) have been beautifully remixed by Jimmy Evil and there's more than a good chance both will appear on the album next year. God bless Mr Evil and his ability to create killer drum sounds.
We're still hoping to release a single at our Halloween party at The Cellar, Oxford on Saturday 31st October - make sure you put the date in your calendar, it's going to be an AMAZING night.
See you soon
-Dave G
Sunday 12 July 2009
Cornbury
Thanks to everyone who came to see us play at Cornbury. We had an amazing time - hope you did too.
Don't forget - if you liked our stuff you can buy a copy of our debut album Heart of Stone from iTunes or Amazon. Check it out first for free on Last.fm.
Also, we're playing a headline set at The Cellar in Oxford on Thursday 16th July, and if you're in London you can see us at 229 on Wednesday 15th July (onstage 8pm) - come check out more of our songs - we'll have t-shirts and badges too.
For more info drop us an email: info@witchesband.com. Hope to see you soon!
Dave G (singer Witch)
Don't forget - if you liked our stuff you can buy a copy of our debut album Heart of Stone from iTunes or Amazon. Check it out first for free on Last.fm.
Also, we're playing a headline set at The Cellar in Oxford on Thursday 16th July, and if you're in London you can see us at 229 on Wednesday 15th July (onstage 8pm) - come check out more of our songs - we'll have t-shirts and badges too.
For more info drop us an email: info@witchesband.com. Hope to see you soon!
Dave G (singer Witch)
Wednesday 8 July 2009
Witches have Big Hair (and other news)
YO
We will be playing in the Oxford Cellar on Thursday 16th July for Big Hair. We're particularly proud to have Baby Gravy as main support - they are a superb band, and we look forward to sharing the stage with them for the first time in nearly three years (by my reckoning).
Also joining us will be Hearts in Pencil, an exciting up-and-coming Oxford band who Oxfordbands, raving about their debut release Hannibal Ad Portas, describe as 'definitely be a band to look out for', a band with 'real promise'. Be sure to come down early and check them out.
Tickets are normally about £4 on the door (no advance tickets), and doors open at 8.30pm.
We're currently continuing work on the next album with producer Jamie Masters, with much of the recording taking place in August and September. We're hoping to complete some of the tracking at the amazing SAE studios in Oxford, courtesy of Jack.fm's Next Big Thing competition which we won back in May.
We're also hoping to release a brand new single, taken from the forthcoming album, in October. Confirmation on this and additional info will follow.
The new album will hopefully be released in the first half of 2010 - we're taking a bit longer than originally planned in order to write some additional tracks in Martin's Studio 101. One thing is for sure. 'Heart of Stone' was a country album. This second album will be a rrrock album :)
-Dave G
PS we're also on the cover of the latest issue of Oxfordshire Music Scene. If you don't live in Oxford you can download a copy for free. Go check it out!
We will be playing in the Oxford Cellar on Thursday 16th July for Big Hair. We're particularly proud to have Baby Gravy as main support - they are a superb band, and we look forward to sharing the stage with them for the first time in nearly three years (by my reckoning).
Also joining us will be Hearts in Pencil, an exciting up-and-coming Oxford band who Oxfordbands, raving about their debut release Hannibal Ad Portas, describe as 'definitely be a band to look out for', a band with 'real promise'. Be sure to come down early and check them out.
Tickets are normally about £4 on the door (no advance tickets), and doors open at 8.30pm.
We're currently continuing work on the next album with producer Jamie Masters, with much of the recording taking place in August and September. We're hoping to complete some of the tracking at the amazing SAE studios in Oxford, courtesy of Jack.fm's Next Big Thing competition which we won back in May.
We're also hoping to release a brand new single, taken from the forthcoming album, in October. Confirmation on this and additional info will follow.
The new album will hopefully be released in the first half of 2010 - we're taking a bit longer than originally planned in order to write some additional tracks in Martin's Studio 101. One thing is for sure. 'Heart of Stone' was a country album. This second album will be a rrrock album :)
-Dave G
PS we're also on the cover of the latest issue of Oxfordshire Music Scene. If you don't live in Oxford you can download a copy for free. Go check it out!
Friday 12 June 2009
Witches on Kooba Radio at FoxFest 2009
We're interviewed on the latest Kooba Radio show following our performance at FoxFest 2009. Kooba documented the entire festival with a radio and tv show.
FoxFest is a yearly event based at the Fox and Firkin in Lewisham, and we played alongside a host of great bands including Bleech, 23frames (both of whom we supported in January 2009) and the amazing UpCDownC.
Witches are big fans of Kooba Radio, and would like to encourage as many people as possible to go and check them out.
-Dave G
FoxFest is a yearly event based at the Fox and Firkin in Lewisham, and we played alongside a host of great bands including Bleech, 23frames (both of whom we supported in January 2009) and the amazing UpCDownC.
Witches are big fans of Kooba Radio, and would like to encourage as many people as possible to go and check them out.
-Dave G
Friday 29 May 2009
I hope my tent is dry
Hmm, long time no blog. Maybe I should get something Twitterish...
I'm just getting my camping supplies together for Wychwood festival, and hoping that the sunny forecast will be true.
We're playing the main stage on Saturday morning, thanks to winning the Next Big Thing competition - if you're attending, come and see us!
Whilst here I might as well give an update on another part of winning the NBT; the recording time in a big studio at SAE - we've got some dates pencilled in, so that should be happening later in the year, which will hopefully bring the new album a little closer :-)
Laters!
Dave B.
I'm just getting my camping supplies together for Wychwood festival, and hoping that the sunny forecast will be true.
We're playing the main stage on Saturday morning, thanks to winning the Next Big Thing competition - if you're attending, come and see us!
Whilst here I might as well give an update on another part of winning the NBT; the recording time in a big studio at SAE - we've got some dates pencilled in, so that should be happening later in the year, which will hopefully bring the new album a little closer :-)
Laters!
Dave B.
Thursday 30 April 2009
Witches win Jack.fm Next Big Thing
Crikey, we didn't expect that! Thanks very much to Jack.fm, 107.9fm, SAE, Wychwood Music Festival and Oxfordshire Music Scene for announcing us the winners of the Next Big Thing competition. We've won a £2,000 recording contract with SAE and a slot at Wychwood Festival, as well as further airplay through Jack.fm. From someone who never wins anything, thank you all very much!
-Dave G
-Dave G
Tuesday 28 April 2009
Next Witches gig - 100 free tickets available on the door
Yo!
As previously mentioned, Witches are one of five finalists at the Jack.FM Next Big Thing competition.
If you want to go, you can - they'll have 100 free, gratis tickets on the door Wednesday 29th April: O2 Academy Oxford.
Should be an interesting experience, as all the finalists have their strengths and weaknesses. I'm curious to see how this sort of thing works...
Anyway, it's on 6:30-10pm - early enough for a school night - so get down there tomorrow!
Laters,
Dave.
PS. With a bit of luck we might have some nice new merch as well :-)
As previously mentioned, Witches are one of five finalists at the Jack.FM Next Big Thing competition.
If you want to go, you can - they'll have 100 free, gratis tickets on the door Wednesday 29th April: O2 Academy Oxford.
Should be an interesting experience, as all the finalists have their strengths and weaknesses. I'm curious to see how this sort of thing works...
Anyway, it's on 6:30-10pm - early enough for a school night - so get down there tomorrow!
Laters,
Dave.
PS. With a bit of luck we might have some nice new merch as well :-)
Tuesday 14 April 2009
Witches through to Jack.fm top 5!
Following on from Tom Robinson playing B O K on 6 Music Introducing on Monday, Jack.fm have announced that our song Expansion (another track penned for our second album) has pushed Witches into the top 5 of their Next Big Thing competition. Apparently 130 bands entered, of which 20 bands recorded a song at SAE Oxford. We'll be playing alongside the other four finalists at the O2 Academy in the near future - watch this space. Thanks Jack!
Monday 13 April 2009
Second play on Tom Robinson Introducing
It's been an exciting weekend since we recently had our second play on Tom Robinson's Introducing show on 6 Music.
A year ago, Tom played Josef's Lament from the Heart of Stone LP, and last night (13th April) he played B O K, a track planned for our forthcoming second album.
Tom said it sounded Like Hawkwind meets Spacemen 3 in an underground cavern once inhabited by The Velvet Underground. That works for us! Go check out the track on our Myspace site and tell us what you think.
Many thanks Tom for helping to spread the word.
Our friends From Light To Sound were also featured, so an excellent show all round!
A year ago, Tom played Josef's Lament from the Heart of Stone LP, and last night (13th April) he played B O K, a track planned for our forthcoming second album.
Tom said it sounded Like Hawkwind meets Spacemen 3 in an underground cavern once inhabited by The Velvet Underground. That works for us! Go check out the track on our Myspace site and tell us what you think.
Many thanks Tom for helping to spread the word.
Our friends From Light To Sound were also featured, so an excellent show all round!
Thursday 26 March 2009
Witches and Jack.fm
We're one of 20 bands chosen by Jack.fm for a free live recording session at SAE Oxford. Nice! Jack.fm will then choose their favourite five bands for a gig at the 02 Academy in Oxford. Their overall favourite gets a £2,000 recording session and a slot at Wychwood Festival. Whatever happens, it's good to be one of the top 20 - we're big fans of Jack.fm, which can often be heard blaring out of the windows of the Witches-mobile. More Queen? Yes please :)
Wednesday 25 March 2009
Witches confirmed for Cornbury Festival
We're very excited to be playing on the Riverside Stage at this year's Cornbury Festival (11th-12th July). The festival takes place in Charlbury and many of the main acts have already been confirmed, including Scouting For Girls, The Sugababes (our second gig with this lot!), Joe Jackson and The Pretenders.
Weekend tickets are available via the Cornbury Festival website. We'll be onstage on the Saturday afternoon, exact time tbc. If you only go to one festival this year make sure it's this one! Let's hope the sun comes out.
Weekend tickets are available via the Cornbury Festival website. We'll be onstage on the Saturday afternoon, exact time tbc. If you only go to one festival this year make sure it's this one! Let's hope the sun comes out.
Monday 16 March 2009
Mind fundraiser with Little Fish
The plans are finally coming together. We'll be main support for the (frankly stunning) Little Fish on Wednesday 8th April at the Bullingdon Arms, Oxford. With additional support from The Follys and Alphabet Backwards (playing an acoustic set) we'll be raising money for mental health charity Mind. This is set to be an amazing evening so make sure you get down there nice and early. Who knows what kind of crazy stuff will happen?
-Dave G
-Dave G
Friday 23 January 2009
Latest Nightshift review
Many thanks to Liz Dodd for our latest write-up in Oxford institution Nightshift:
Witches tear open a generous support set, exploding musical space between tense metal riffs. The sound is gigantic - stretching the boundaries of The Wheatsheaf – and wrenches excitement from every chord. Exuberant and spectacular: their crazy, Sovietwaltz beats splinter brass colliery band into a closer that bursts with vocal harmonies and hardcore maraca action.. Witches lift you out of your own head, whirl you around the room on the cusp of a trumpet tremolo and drop you, gently, back beside the bar.
Witches tear open a generous support set, exploding musical space between tense metal riffs. The sound is gigantic - stretching the boundaries of The Wheatsheaf – and wrenches excitement from every chord. Exuberant and spectacular: their crazy, Sovietwaltz beats splinter brass colliery band into a closer that bursts with vocal harmonies and hardcore maraca action.. Witches lift you out of your own head, whirl you around the room on the cusp of a trumpet tremolo and drop you, gently, back beside the bar.
Wednesday 21 January 2009
Thank you.
I would like to say a big thank you to the two bands who played with us last night at the Dublin Castle. Bleech and Airship were both excellent - one of the strongest bills I've ever played on.
I would also like to thank Club Fandango for consistently putting us on with good bands at good venues, and making us feel welcome in the Big Smoke, and to the friendly and helpful staff at the Dublin Castle.
Finally, thank you to our friends and fans who came from London and Oxford to see us play, particularly Johnny and Penny for braving the January cold.
It's a long old road but sometimes it's really really worth it.
Dave G
I would also like to thank Club Fandango for consistently putting us on with good bands at good venues, and making us feel welcome in the Big Smoke, and to the friendly and helpful staff at the Dublin Castle.
Finally, thank you to our friends and fans who came from London and Oxford to see us play, particularly Johnny and Penny for braving the January cold.
It's a long old road but sometimes it's really really worth it.
Dave G
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