BASELINE GIG - 24th Feb. - photos

A selection of photographs from this great opening night.

Lazy J being lazy

....and working hard

Babelfish

The Picture

You pay for what you get and you get what you pay for

Four days to go to the opening of THE BASELINE (mark 2) and i feel i must respond to a comment i discovered on a Facebook group recently. It was a comment written by a local pub landlord who was having a "dig" at venues that charged for entry (like us) and venues that don't (like his).
Under some circumstances i can see where he's coming from, but there is a difference; in fact - many differences that should be accounted for.
Firstly, most pubs get an "entertainment budget" from the brewery, a weekly amount used to pay bands/artistes. In many cases this money is syphoned off at source and the bands are expected to play for nothing. This is not always the case, but it does happen.
In our case bands get 50% of what they sell. The other 50% is used to pay door & stage crew and contribute towards our equipment investment costs.
Secondly, most pubs provide the corner of a room, and a power supply. Some may occasionally provide a P.A. (paid for out of budget, thus denying the bands), but bands normally have to bring their own gear.
In our case bands can bring their own gear if they wish, but we supply all the equipment needed, full back line, drum kit, P.A. with mics and a damn good sound engineer to mix it all.
On top of that we provide a lighting rig and all the necessary organisation. And to cap it all the Bands get a recording (high quality too) of their performance.
What about the people who pay good money for their ticket. well, some people like the atmosphere generated in a small pub by a live band, but most like to see the band and hear a quality reproduction of their sound, instead of having to peer around a pillar or be squeezed against a P.A. cab.
At the end of the day free entry venues are a great thing, but they should not be confused with what we're trying to do at The Baseline, its chalk & cheeze and both have their place. its a long time since i've had a gripe on this blog but i stick to the true meaning of the title of this piece.

Basement Studio - Continuous Equipment Upgrade

As part of our policy of upgrading the studio's equipment we are replacing the old Marshall 100 watt mosfet heads (circa 1990 ish) with brand new (and stylish) Marshall MG 100 HDFX heads.

We have taken delivery of the first of these, and installed it in Room 3. Two more will arrive in March and replace the heads in Room 1 and Room 2. Room 1 has now been equipped with a newer

Laney Pro-Linebacker 100 watt system (see an earlier post on equipment upgrade 21st June 2011).

The older Mosfet heads will be available for purchase. Both have been recently serviced and we are open to serious offers for these virtually bullet-proof heads.

The new Marshall MG100 is pictured below



All ready for 24th

P.A. and lighting installation complete



Recording Enhancements

Continuing the policy of upgrading our studio equipment, we have recently upgraded our stock of recording equipment including a Rode NT1-A vocal condenser microphone. Ideal for layered or live work, we look forward to using this on the upcoming Target by Numbers and Red Line Ratio studio recordings.



Express & Star Wed 1st Feb

The build up is in full swing to our opening night of THE BASELINE @ The Court House, as this article from The Express & Star illustrates



Baseline - Opening night change

Red Line Ratio have been replaced by The Picture as the main support band on Feb 24th. More details on the main site at www.thebasementstudio.co.uk/baseline.html

Baseline Line-Ups February - May

Feb 24th: Lazy J, Red Line Ratio, Babelfish
March 30th: Halogen Pup, Synopsis, Swamp Snakes
April 27th: Target by Numbers, The Picture, The Styles
May 25th: Red Line Ratio, Emissaries, Lee Hughes

All 8.00pm start (Doors 7.30)
Tickets £4 in advance (from bands, Basement Studio or Court house)
£6 on door

New Baseline Equipment - Part 2

The second in our series outlining the new equipment installed at The Court House for our Baseline Gigs starting on February 24th. This time we look at the PA comprising a BEHRINGER SX2442FX 24 channel mixer and a pair of ALTO TS 115 800 watt active heads and a single ALTO TS 1200 watt active sub giving a total of 2800 watts of music power.

A pair of LONGeR DB floor monitors completes the set-up.

All this supplemented by SHURE SM58 vocal mics, YOGA D727 instrument mics, SHURE PGDMK4 drum mics and BEHRINGER C2 condenser mics supervised, as usual, by our resident sound engineer, James Callaghan - quality sound is assured.



New Baseline Equipment - Part 1

Gearing up for our opening on February 24th, this is the first in a series outlining the equipment we are installing at the venue. We start off with the drumkit, a YAMAHA Rydeen 5 piece kit with AQUARIAN Performance 11 Tom Heads, AQUARIAN Super-Kick 11 Bass Head and an EVANS power centre snare head.



BASELINE OPENING NIGHT - TRY BEFORE YOU BUY !!!!

To whet your appetite for our opening night on February 24th you can hear tracks from all three bands on our main site. Just click on the link below and select "2011 OPENING NIGHT" from the menu.
www.thebasementstudio.co.uk/baseline.html

BASELINE - GIG GUIDE

The first Baseline Gig Guide is now out. Copies can be picked up from The Court House in New Street from January 1st 2012, or, if you can't wait, get one from the studio. Tickets for the first four gigs and season tickets (called "Baseliners") can also be purchased at £4 per night or £20 for all nine dates in 2012. Baseliner tickets will also be valid for any extra dates in 2012....what a bargain. Gig guides will also hit the streets (well, selected outlets) very soon. The gig guide is packed full of info about our new venue which opens on Feb 24th with Lazy J, Red:Line:Ratio & Babelfish. Tickets are limited to BUY SOON to avoid disappointment. A new sound and lighting rig should ensure that The Baseline will be the venue you want to be at.

The Gig Guide is also available online at http://www.thebasementstudio.co.uk/baseline.html

BASELINE OPENING NIGHT & GIG GUIDE

Our new venue at THE COURT HOUSE, in New Street opens on February 24th with a great line-up: Lazy J, Red:Line:Ratio and Babelfish. A gig guide for the first four months and with all ticketing details will be available from Jan 1st at The Court House and the Basement Studio and all participating bands. Our second night in March will be three great local alternative rock bands. Synopsis & Halogen Pup form a Double Header with Swamp Snakes supporting while the April gig features three great local song-writing bands Target by Numbers, The Picture and The Styles. May sees the return of Red:Line:Ratio to headline a show to promote their new EP. Support bands for this gig tba. The gig guide is available NOW on our main site THE BASEMENT STUDIO

BASELINE @ The Earl of Dudley - Final Night 2nd Dec.

Great night had by all. Nice to see a few in to support the bands who gave a great show. Despite the problems with this venue we have enjoyed putting on these gigs and certainly have learned a lot; which we will take with us to THE NEW BASELINE at The Court House in February.
Here are the bands who gave us a such great time:

ROUGH AT THE EDGE



 24 HOURS

EASTWOOD

Baseline Final Gig at Earl of Dudley Arms

The final Baseline gig before our move to The Court House in February will be on December 2nd. (Details below) This poster is available from our main site. Simply click on the BASELINE menu and select NEXT EVENT.



October Baseline Gig

Photos of the three bands.

THE PICTURE

THE STYLES

LAZY J



NEW VENUE

From February next year THE  BASELINE has a new home at THE COURT HOUSE in new Street (by the Police Station). A Gig guide will be published in December with full details.



LAZY J - Poster

Visit our main site and select BASELINE from menu. Select NEXT EVENT and download full colour poster just like the one below



TWO GREAT NIGHTS

23rd and 24th September saw "The Baseline" host its first two-nighter. A varied selection of music over the two nights complimented by enthusiastic audiences. We eagerly await the live recordings. Here are some pictures of the bands involved.

COVER UP

THE PICTURE

TARGET BY NUMBERS

ROUGH AT THE EDGE

THE STYLES

AVANT-GARDE

DEATH BY DISCO



Its Official - Lazy J to headline THE BASELINE Friday 28th October



Lazy J are a four piece band from the West Midlands, England. Their music is a fusion of funk, blues and rock which draws influence from a diverse range of artists such as George Clinton, Led Zeppelin, Jane's Addiction, James Brown, and Reef.
Kerrang FM have played an active part in creating a surge of interest in Lazy J by giving their songs regular airplay and broadcasting interviews with the foursome, as well as voting them 'Unsigned band of the year'.
In summer 2006, tracks from the band's EP Inner City Funktion received critical acclaim from Steve Craddock of Ocean Colour Scene, while 2008 saw the release of the band's first full length studio album, entitled Kick The Spin. After 2 years in the making, the band released their second album Dysfunctional in 2011.
Outside the studio Lazy J are constantly gigging, having played headline sets at Camden Underworld, Birmingham Academy, The Yardbird (Birmingham), JB's Dudley and having also performed at Sound Leicester Square, Carlsberg Unsigned Festival, Storm Leicester Square and The Garage (London).