Let the recording begin

Groove Temple embarked on a new direction on the weekend by commencing test recording of their live performances. The purpose of the recordings is for future demos and other projects the band is working on. All top secret stuff of course. They may tell you if you ask nicely, and to date no GT band member has been known to bite. So when you're at the next gig, ask away. See what they say. You would notice an extra mixing desk on stage when the band is recording live performances, usually under the mastership of Guitarist and resident Funkologist, Doctor K, Groove Temple's technical recording commander-in-chief.

Lead Vocalist Ang claimed on the Friday at the Dandaloo Hotel "We wanted to see if we could get a decent drum sound live, to save on studio time. Red is endorsed by Tama and has access to some sweet equipment, including drum mics from Billy Hydes Drum Clinic that also double as weapons of mass seduction. The resulting sound was earthshaking. The experiment was a success from the very start. Dr K's digital recorder sucked it right up. It was all there. Loud and clear. The best kick drum sound ever, ever, ever, ever. (I think I have made myself clear here.) We've decided now to go to demo stage immediately. We start doing digitally synchronised recording on Saturday 3rd June and will keep taking it one step at a time. This is so much fun."

The guys obviously had a good night on Friday, with the locals showing their usual spark, putting on a great show for the band. So much so that the guys are eager to come back, preferring to play there on a Friday night rather than the Thursday. Special thanks goes to a guest appearance from Jimmy Barnes and Mark Knopfler's girlfriend.

Saturday night was a horse of a different colour at the Shellharbour Workers Club. Scores of eager dancers crowded onto the dance floor, shaking and grooving to the infectious and eclectic beats of the masters of the dance floor, Groove Temple. There were a few birthdays and a big birthday for Shellharbour Workers Club itself celebrating it's 50th Birthday on the weekend. A pretty busy night. The vibe was one of the best there so far as the party atmoshpere was pre-primed before the guys even got there.

Groove Temple will be playing at the Goulburn Workers Club on Saturday 3rd June and are expecting some really cold autumn weather in the Southern Highlands, but hopefully a warm reception from the locals. Ang loves playing there because he gets to turn his PA up and "pump some air". Some ten year olds never grow up, do they?

Searching for the Inner Blue Groove

The weekend of 20th and 21st May saw Groove Temple searching for the Inner Blue Groove.* No, not belly button gazing, more like trying new experiences together by the way of groove experimentation. Few patrons at the Bomaderry Hotel on Friday night would have realised that the sound check was a subtle groove jam, with Red laying down some deeply incisive beat patterns over a pre-recorded bass and guitar rhythm. If they didn't notice that, they would have noticed the boyish and wicked grins on all three of GT's crew when they realised they were on a good thing.

Ted Hughes' "Thought Fox"** sneaked into the conciousness of all three in a short, delicious moment of creation.

The actual gig was pretty quiet, but the audience were very responsive. Creating a vibe early on likely set the scene for some dance floor action, and the the boys lit a fire which was difficult to put out, with some patrons having to be escorted out by security so the guys could pack up their gear in peace. Lead vocalist Ang said "We definitely made an impression and all three of us walked out of there very happy knowing we did a good job."

GT will be haunting dance floors at the Dandaloo Hotel, Kanahooka, on Friday 26th May and the Shellharbour Workers Club on Saturday 27th May. The guys are looking forward to rocking the locals. "Maybe we can help others find their Inner Blue Groove."

* "Inner Blue Groove" is a working title for some original material the band has been
collectively working on.

** In case you hadn't heard, Ted Hughes was a 20th Century British contemporary poet, who wrote "The Thought Fox", which became an iconic poem, particularly during the 1970's. It is a poem about how ideas develop in the human mind, often with a sudden rush of lucidity. If you want to know more about this modern poetic genius, try Googling "Ted Hughes the thought fox" and explore.

Welcome Cash & Luke. D.O.B. 4/5/06

This week, Groove Temple were honoured to have two new members born into the ranks of it's loyal supporters on the same day. Welcome Cash, we hope you learn how to play drums and drive your parents crazy. As for Luke he'll probably play football and his father may well drive him crazy. May the 4th be with you, Luke.

Regardless of distractions, Groove Temple played to their usual excellent form on Friday night at the Ocean Beach Hotel at Shellharbour. Punters were treated to some powerful dance floor grooves, too powerful to resist in fact, so they filed on the the dance floor like loyal groovesters. There were arms and elbows flying every where. The ones with the lack of motivation to make it to the floor danced where they stood. The Ocean Beach was rocking on Friday night!

The Sussex Inlet Tavern was also fun on the weekend and Saturday night was pretty typical of the seaside hamlet, leading into the winter months, with crowd numbers a little down and the locals fortifying themselves against the cold with dance floor gyrations and lots of BW&S.

Ang, lead singer during the load-out had cause to remember a similar gig in another band, years ago. "While loading out on Saturday night, one of us noticed a lurker and we had to be careful not to lose any gear."

"One night I found a guy hiding under the band truck when I was in a band called “Lionheart”. I pretended not to notice and shoved a couple of stands under the truck, nice heavy chromed Tama's. Got him on the head and neck. Poor guy didn’t get to steal anything that night and when he came out hot and ready for a fight, he didn’t bring one of those stands with him. I still had one in my hand and when I asked him if he was alright, he was taken slightly aback but had the hide to actually swear at me and slink off. By the time he had the courage to come back with a mate, there were four of us, all holding mic stands, smiling sweetly, wishing them a pleasant evening. Ben P. was the bass player then. He looked like a cross between Shrek and Conan the Barbarian. I was a skinny runt then, but Ben came from heavily boned Slavic stock and could scare a poltergeist. Later, we laughed so hard I thought my kidney was going to pop out. Dirty thieves are the natural enemy of the gigging musician. If you see one, poke him in the eye.

Ahh....gone are the good old days when you could bash with impunity."

G.T. are playing a private function for the weekend of the 13th May and will be back in the public limelight on Friday 19th May at the Bomaderry Hotel, an old stomping ground. See you there.