And to top it off they finally made a dream appearance on the Mix! The five piece from Lincoln contain the members Jim Flaherty (Drums), Colin Lewis on Bass, Dale Simpson plays keyboards; Colin Stewart (Guitar) and completing the line up James Styring is the lead vocalist. Accompanying them into the studio was also their manager, Tim McKeating. The band started out in the November of 2005 when the members were all in various cover bands. However, due to series of friend’s networks they ended up together with the exception of Dale who responded to an online advert. It took them till the March of last year to secure their first gig but since then they’ve travelled from Cleethorpes to Convent Garden, from Norwich to Old Nick’s (Horncastle) and from Sleaford to Sheffield. The first gig though was in the fair city of Lincoln at the Drill Hall where they performed at a ‘Showcase’ evening. This was a simple set without drums, focusing in on the bands acoustic talents. Arguably their biggest gig to date though came on Tuesday 16th January 2007 at Christopher’s. Sevenday Weekend were amongst a line up consisting of them and four other Lincoln bands in a night put on for Columbia Records. The record label had sent Olly and Marc Jones to check out the local talent on offer and the band were pleased with how the evening went. The quintet were pleased none of the bands had an ego with so much at stake and also very grateful to the manager at Christopher’s to host such an event. Ian Richard’s from the Lincolnshire Echo gave a more than favourable review in a massive write up for the paper but the most satisfying part of the gig was the fact Olly and Marc requested a CD from the Lincoln five piece. Olly and Marc gave very positive feedback to the lads saying it was nice to hear melodic, well constructed songs and a band with a good stage presence. Talking about other venues in the area the band enjoy playing at the Bivouac (Lincoln) where they say you always get a great sound. They also enjoyed an open-air gig at the Waddington RAF base where they were able to get a great live recording of one of their tracks. It was also a rare occasion as their manager, Tim got on stage to support the band! The band is very excited about the current state of the local scene with lots of venues to play at. Sevenday Weekend feel local music is in vogue at the moment and live music’s coming back round. They enjoy the fact the bands are so diverse with their sounds and styles and feel there’s definitely something for everyone. Audiences all over the local area are very open minded and Columbia Records loved the Lincoln music scene and couldn’t believe how massively popular it was when they came up. Sevenday Weekend say that Myspace is very good and has enabled them to get a few gigs. It features their three track demo, a CD they give away at their gigs, so make sure you ask them about that when you go see them! As well as the three track demo the band has a ten track album they recorded at TEN21 Studio’s in Maidstone, Kent. The album was recorded and mastered in roughly a week and mainly recorded whilst the band had hangovers and between drinking sessions! The band said that if their album was sponsored it would probably have been by ‘Heineken’ and ‘Gummy Bears’! Apparently this came about because they socialised frequently whilst they were down south with Sean Kenny, the engineer. They were very appreciative for his input as he improved the quality of the sound and was a major help. Another person to aid the band was Jim’s cousin Karl who tours with James Blunt as his drummer. It was Karl who recommended the recording studios to Jim and is always available to give the band a hand and advise when they need it, something they are very grateful for. In the future the band aim to carry on with their love for ‘Gummy Bears’ by going on tour dressed in costumes of their favourite sweets. This would tie in nicely with the fact they want to continue gigging and building up a following and profile. They say they’ll take each day as it comes but first and foremost carry on doing the thing they love. To them it’s not just about trying to get a record deal, if they make just one person happy, they’re happy. By the end of the year there might even be another album on the way but in the meantime if you frequent in the Wheat Sheaf pub in Waddington or Old Nick’s in Horncastle, keep and ear out, their albums on the Jukebox! | 
