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Step
four:
"Call
from 93 Feet East. "Can we play one evening in June?"
"F**k yes!" is our answer. But after the elation
the fear and panic take over.
It's our first
London gig at a fabulous venue. We have to get the website up and
running, produce flyers, tell our friends and sort out the transport
logistics. How do we as a band get up to London? The most glam way
possible of course: two of us by bus, the other two in a car with
all the equipment.
Likewise, our Oxford-based
supporters have been offered no such luxury as a coach laid on by
us...only a flyer, a map and a bus timetable.
While we worry
about this, we are trying to focus on band practice too. Lots of
it! We have a final rehearsal on the Friday - the gig being on a
Monday - to sort out the set list.
Step
five:
"More
worry. We're sharing the bill at 93 Feet East. How good will the
other bands be? Will we impress the crowd? Will we be asked back?
Could a record deal land at our feet? (Well, there have to be SOME
positive thoughts!)
Step
six:
"The
day of the gig. The morning drags badly and we make it unscathed
to the venue for our 5pm soundcheck - bassplayer Ant only by the
skin of his teeth.
The line-up is
eclectic: Money Shot (double bass, violin), then us, followed by
Dog Bonfire (scary) and Salvatore (Norwegian, stoned?). Backstage
is an eye-opener with beer, a fridge, sofa and chairs and a toilet
with a seat! Venues take note: a precedent has been set.
 |
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The
object of all that hard work: us playing our first London
gig at 93 Feet East
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And the gig itself?
It actually goes very well. The sound is great and people seem to
enjoy our set. And lots of support does turn up, which is a HUGE
bonus.
We stay until the
end of the night, getting quite drunk (or perhaps that was just
me). We make it back to Oxford courtesy of a black cab and then
the X90 bus at around 1.30am, ready to pass out.
Step
seven:
"Wake
up to realise I am not actually a rock star. Do alarm clocks exist
in the dimension of rock and roll? Back to work and normality -
there's nothing quite like it to remove any delusions of grandeur.
Where to now? Well,
we've been offered a gig here in Oxford for local label Truck Records.
But hurrah! We learn that we'll be back in London to play at Islington's
Hope & Anchor at the end of July. Dare we believe the buzz is
spreading?
And the challenge
now? To keep writing new material and not sit back reeling off the
same old set each time. And, of course, to get those A&R people
listening..."
Roquphane
play The Hope & Anchor, Islington on Thursday 31 July. Doors
7.30pm. Roquphane's set begins at 9.30pm. Catch the band also at
Putney's Half Moon on Thursday 21 August.
Back
to part one of Roquphane's story here>>
More
Music news, features, gigs and reviews here>>
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