Refreshing
Mmm holidays – delicious, and indeed refreshing. There’s nothing like waking up at 1 in the afternoon to remind you that for all the crime, corruption and disaster in the world, good still prevails. It’s also refreshing to be writing a blog post again, now that I think about it. And now that I think about me thinking about how refreshing writing is just then, part of the reason why we’re feeling so refreshed is probably because we’re writing new music. Did that sentence confuse you? Well, me too. But the absence of a squiggle means that Bill Gates followed along quite nicely. Thank you, Microsoft.
(If you thought “Refreshing” referred to refreshing this website in order to receive new blog posts and are feeling disappointed, I’d like to apologise. I’d also like to apologise for the immense strain your keyboard must have taken refreshing this page over and over for the time we were away.) (more…)
See You This Wednesday™
Hey errboddeh!
I know. It’s been a while.
A good… Long while.
Now I am telling you that we’re back with our first gig of the year at Zula Bar this Wednesday (16 Jan, 2013, just in case you wanted to put that date on your calendar or list of things you totally have to do) for Early Bird Wednesdays! FREE ENTRY (c’mon, seriously.) 4 BANDS –
9pm – Jesse And The Process
10pm – Set For The Sky
11pm – Forefront (that’s us, in case you were weren’t sure)
12pm – Elusive Moose
11: Catch Up
Morning world.
It’s been years since my last post. Literally. Well a year. Well part of a year. It’s been a while…You get the point.
In the time that I’ve been gone so much has happened. I’ve met Linkin Park and a whole lot of their awesome fans, Done a whole lot of recording and mixing for the EP, and I’ve taken a trip to the land of traffic and crime with the ginger.
Joburg was lots of fun. Dancing on high ways (Just for the record, this is a load of fun. If you guys have so much traffic there, I don’t understand whai [why] this hasn’t become a daily pass-time), almost getting arrested (literally), and klapping the gym of course. ‘Cause when you’re in Joburg so as the Joburgians do. Okay that last one didn’t happen. (more…)
Fore(front)word
Good morrow, all!
Welcome to the resurfacing of Forefront!
It’s been quite a while, but I’m back, and we’re back to give you a treat.
For a good couple of months people would be like “Hey man, how is the band?” And I’d just be like, “Uuuuh, yeah it’s going great, we’re busy finishing off an EP.” And have nothing to show for it.
But now there’s a song 😐
And a super cool bonus 😐
And photies 😐
I’m going to start with the photies. On top of the fact that we’ve had a whoooole load of material to track and release, we still did some shoots and put a bit of a compilation together on our website gallery. In some of the photos, we don’t even look THAT stupid 🙂 #checkitout #YOLO (more…)
Greeting from the silence
Awe
Hey there. Long time no see, sadly. I thought it’d be write of me to hit up the internet again, so here I am. Yes, that was an attempt at a pun. Everyone is crazy busy at the moment, but that isn’t really an excuse not to give you delicious blog nutrients. After all, we did promise to keep you fed. I’m halfway through the toughest exams I’ve ever had to write and I’m taking time out just for you. We do still care.
People have been saying to us “Forefront, when are you playing again? We’d really like to see you play again soon”. My usual response to this is yelling “My name isn’t Forefront”, before rushing to the bathroom in tears. In truth we have been out of the loop for quite a while now, and it’s starting to get to us. We like playing for you, really we do, and we should be playing again regularly quite soon.
Now, and don’t get mad when I tell you this, we actually played on Friday. Please, I asked you nicely – calm down. We couldn’t invite all you lovely people because it was a private function. I won’t tell you how fun it was, because that would be a little rude, but we did enjoy ourselves quite a lot. I won’t even tell you how awesome it was setting up and playing at a street party. The good news for you is that we remember just how fun it is to play and have been encouraged to do more of this performing thing soontimes. (more…)
Fun in the Sun
Well heeeeey there everybody! Hope you’ve all been well doing your thing and having a good time and lots of fun in the sun, for summer is cloooose by and soon we’ll all be frolicking on the beach together and be happy. In the sun.
So its been a little while since you’ve seen Forefront on your newsfeed, which is good news and bad news. Neutral news. Bad news because interacting with all you cool cats is a huge part of what we’re all about, and keeping you in the loop is pretty important as far as we’re concerned. On the good side, however, its not because we don’t love you! We’ve been busybusybusy recording, mixing, getting things organised on Forefront’s front, as well as exams and other work that we’ll all doing. However, at the rate we’re going, we are setting a vague HB pencil date of releasing our hugely anticipated (by us) First & Foremost in November! Yeah! We’re all still lank excited about the project, and we hope you are too. And, in a month and a bit, you’ll have a little something to keep us by your side. And in your ear holes.
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Wowzors
It’s been a while. A few whiles, even. But don’t worry, we’re still alive, we’re still playing music and stuff, and I still have a moustache. And some new shoes. But that’s not relevant, so I won’t bring it up. Right. A fair amount has happened in our absence from the land of blog-posting, but we return home once more with goodies from our travels.
The main reason for our absentness has been the ol’ recording thing. By now you must be thinking “will I ever hear these recordings?” or something along those lines. I must confess, until recently similar thoughts had plagued my mind. But I was put at ease by Jason who kindly allowed my ears to feel some of the stuff we’ve been working so hard on. The sensation was incredibly pleasurable, I assure you. I had to flick my hair out of my face afterwards (like in a shampoo ad) because it had landed there in my glee. You will have your shampoo moments too, I promise.
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Thesdhei
Soliek, time flies, and stuff. The term ends tomorrow. Fame is done and dusted. My hair’s grown a bit. Crazy stuff. I’m really looking forward to a little break, cozliek, busy bee and whatnot. But an idle bee gathers no pollen, as they say, and honey is a beverage best served while the iron is hot. Or something.
In the spirit of all that, we’re kicking off tracking next week at long lastly. This is good, because it means music. Our music, specifically. It’s a step closer to your ears, and we’re quite happy about that. We’ll undoubtedly keep you updated with pictures of Taylor on his phone, or other important steps of the recording process.
We’re also meeting up with the very awesome members of Soldier today. Hopefully we’ll be taking the stage together soon for a show with more of our kinda vibe to it. I’ll keep my puns to a minimum for the meeting, apparently it’s bad for PR. JK lol, that’s not happening. Puns are like water, and I’ll be dammed if I stop letting them flow. Teehee.
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Greek Speak
Yo yo. Cha. cha… Yeah.
Now that I’ve greeted you with sounds that Jay Z uses when he’s not rapping in songs, I think we can get right down to business.
In slightly irrelevant and only marginally interesting news, Rous and I have got to that point in the semester where we adapt so we now stay awake in lectures. Although our methods are rather similar, I think he’s got one up on me, which is good, considering his day is much longer, and vastly more boring than mine.
Rous’ coping method involves a blackberry (preferably not frozen and with some sort of battery life) and an installed version of Pokemon Silver. Yes, it is completely possible. I made him prove it to me. I took the less insanely awesome approach, and I spend my lectures playing Simsons. For all those parents out there (including mine) Simsons is the latest in lecture note capturing software. Great stuff. You can even record videos of the lectures on it. (more…)
Politics
Heyheyhey! So on the off chance that you didn’t realize, its nearing the end of August…which means the beginning of September is approaching! Which means that Spring is approaching! Which means that after spring’s undecided phase of playing hard-to-get with the sun, WARM WEATHER IS ON ITS WAY! And its about time too – this winter has been particularly cold, so props to everybody who has survived. But the days of shivering, shaking and shrinkage will soon be over. Rous has confessed that he’s been looking a bit white and pasty recently, and is more than excited to hit the beach and have fun in the sun.
So we here at Forefront have noticed we’ve been acting a little bit like a band of politicians: We’ve shamelessly plugged the release of our ‘First & Foremost’ demo, said we’ve been working hard producing the drums and bass, said we’ve made alleged plans to track vocals and guitar… But nobody’s seen any promised delivered quite yet. Well, truth be told, there is NO demo to look forward to, its all been a fabrication.
Mmmmmmmmhhhhhmmmmmmmmm.
Truthy-truth be told, there actually IS a demo to look forward to, but we haven’t had the time to begin tracking the guitars and vocals quite yet as we’ve all been furiously rehearsing for what is most definitely our biggest gig yet. Like, this is pretty big. Its so big, in fact, that we’ve had to hire out an entire school hall to pull this event off. Its so big, in fact, that we’ve had to add a completely new element in form of live acting, dancing, and choir singing with a cast of over 50 people! Its SO big, in fact, that we’ve decided to add piano, saxophone, clarinet, trumpet AND EVEN BASS-GUITAR to our sound!
Moving Forward
Ohheythere! I didn’t see you, but now that I have, I’m going to hunt you and force you to listen to what I’ve been telling everybody 😀
So, on the first front:
On Friday (and planning for another one today) we actually managed to have a band practice! Setlists were decided and run through, and it must be said that we’re all pretty amped for our show at Mercury on Friday. Yes Mercury. How much is entrance you ask? Oh yes, it’s free. So come. And bring friends. You’ll also be able to check out The Man Motels and The Dollfins on the night. Should be crazy.
On the second front:
We’ve been called in by the very cool local band “Soldier” to open for them at the Jolly Roger on the 8th of September, we’ll definitely keep you posted 🙂
Hi low
Hi low there.
How are you all doing this fine public holiday? Good I hope. I’d like to take this opportunity to wish all you fine ladies a great day of being a women. The one day where I will refrain (as much as Jason possibly can) from making kitchen jokes. Those of you who know me understand how difficult that will be… This probably won’t last very long. 
but I guess it’s the thought that counts.
So today is a public holiday… And for the little kiddies the beginning of a long weekend… A very long one. Id like to express my jealousy, as today I am sitting in a musical practice for approximately 12 hours. Well. Not so much approximately… Maybe exactly 12 hours would be a better description.
The Weather
Well hey there everybody! Hope you’ve been keeping well, warm and wonderful this fine winter morning. As usual, its cold as balls today, but the sun’s out to compensate for it. Much like the weather, Forefront too is a little cold as balls – but don’t worry, the sun will be out soon.
We’ve finally got our drum and bass recordings back from SAE after our resident diva and engineer Kenni Burnell thought it would be best to withhold them for a few weeks as he had lost all of the CDs in his car and had nothing else to bump & bang through his hood. Now in possession of these sessions though, Forefront’s next move is to start tracking guitars (ideally next week or so) and then vocals after that. It’s the calm before the storm, and this one’s a hurricane.
In other news, we’ve also gotten our photos back from the youngest-in-charge, Robin Taylor Photo, an awesome and madly talented photographer and good friend. And as predicted, they are indeed looking very sick. We’ve shared a couple of cool ones on the facetubes, but more will come with the release of the demo.
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(Photo) Shooting Blanks
Okcoolsobasically – it’s Monday. This means that it’s time for my blog again, unluckily for you. However, there is a bright side! We have actually been doing some cool crap for a little while, and I’m about to share this crap. With you.
Blessed hey?
Alrighty, the first biggie (at least in MY opinion) is my new acoustic guitar. It’s flipping gorgeous. I sifted through around 15 guitars before this baby landed on my lap and scored a comfortable pozzie in my heart. It’s a Tanglewood, I’ll give you that much. I will be playing live shows with it, and it’s featured in the new photos Robin Taylor is finishing up for us. Keep an eye out, and you can definitely expect some acoustic tracks in the near future.
Obviously the serious biggies at the moment are the new tracks going on the First And Foremost EP. Rous is going in today to put some finishing touches on the bass, and we’ll start layering guitars this week. We have some mad plans for guitars. Very. Very. Excited.
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Looking gewd.
Yello.
This be the Greek again. So as Im sure you heard… We were in studio last weekend recording the drums and bass guitar for our amazing new Hiphop compilation album. I hope you are all as keen for these gangsta beats as I am. If this does not tickle you fancey, dont be afriad. We have not convinced Rous to wear baggy jeans and basketball jerseys, and so have decided the Hiphop is not the direction to go in.
We have however started working on our Alternative Rock EP: First & Foremost. Filled with music you know and love. And things you’ve never heard.
We are very proud of how our music is sounding, and we cant wait for you to hear the final product… We’re also quite keen to hear the final product. Here’s a picture from the live room in the studio where Rous and I spent most of our waking hours playing our hearts out. It was emotional. Even though Nick was not able to join us, as he was busy being a fairy in the town of Graham, he did manage to send us some long and meaningful words of inspiration (Clearly the Shakespeare’s doing him good) that touched our heartstrings and made us perform as if we had at least one fan looking forward to our music. Taylor then informed me we have at least three. so now I’m happy.
For the record…-ing
Today is Monday. After a fairly atrocious week (for me at least), things managed to pick up this past weekend in the joy and accomplishment departments. If you’ve been following up on us, as I hope you have been, you’ll know that I’m talking about our time spent in studio on Saturday and Sunday recording tracks for our EP, First and Foremost.
This paragraph was going to be about recording, but now it is about me passing my driver’s, which is what happened earlier today. Breathe in deeply. In your mind’s eye, imagine a strategically shaved orang-utan in semi-formal clothing break dancing. This is as close a mental image of me after my test as it is possible to have. Cherish this image. Keep it close to your heart and call upon it in times of hardship. This is my gift to you.
This paragraph is going to be about recording. Thanks to our homie4life Kenneth Burnell (AKA Kenni), we were able to spend some more time in SAE’s Neve studio. Haven’t heard of it? It’s pretty underground. Legitimately. Around two stories, I’d approximate. The Neve is one of SAE’s finest and largest studios, and we’ve grown somewhat of a soft spot for it.
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The Coldbert Report
Alright well, I’m a little bit sick but otherwise in a good space to write a little splurge (I didn’t think ‘splurge’ was an actual word until my blackberry didn’t underline it as misspelled like right now) about what’s currently cooking in Forefront’s kitchen.
Firstly, if you’re in Cape Town and you’re all like “uuugh its so cold here its raining its freezing I wanna go somewhere warm its too cold naaaaaaww”, which may or may not have reflected my very own thoughts/public exclamations recently, you should stop and think about how lucky we are to live in Cape Town where even in Winter there’s some lovely sunshine and vitamin D goodness all up on your skin. You should really stop and take a second to think about all the truly unfortunate droves of people chilling up in GRAHAMSTOWN for the Arts Festival where the weather is severrrrrrrely chilly. I’m currently up performing in Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream and let me tell you, I’d dig to swing by Cape Town (just a chilled 12 hour bus ride) for a bit of warmth. Also, hit me up if you’re in Grahamstown and have access to a heater or fireplace. Or even bodyheat. I’m very cold.
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Forefront Band 