# General > Music >  caithness music scene

## appleskin

its good to see a lively music scene in caithness alot of good musicians around

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## davem

So many good musicians ......................and no one can be bothered to listen for free, if you ask someone to pay £6 you might as well ask if the'd like to saw off a limb.
The Y Not has put lots of money,thought and effort into making a stylish inviting and well equipped venue; and in a place where someone sneezing can reported as pneumonia 40 miles away within the hour, muso's saying the advertising should be better doesn't help. The price of newspaper ad's here means you just guarantee your costs are way higher.

So I quite agree a great place to find good musicians, and they need twice as much enthusiasm as anywhere else to cope with local apathy. (Unless you play country guitar with a backing machine - then you're appreciated, but I don't get that.)

Edit-sorry - too gloomy - there are hard core music fans who do go out regularly, but the rest!

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## Gleber2

> So many good musicians ......................and no one can be bothered to listen for free, if you ask someone to pay £6 you might as well ask if the'd like to saw off a limb.
> The Y Not has put lots of money,thought and effort into making a stylish inviting and well equipped venue; and in a place where someone sneezing can reported as pneumonia 40 miles away within the hour, muso's saying the advertising should be better doesn't help. The price of newspaper ad's here means you just guarantee your costs are way higher.
> 
> So I quite agree a great place to find good musicians, and they need twice as much enthusiasm as anywhere else to cope with local apathy. (Unless you play country guitar with a backing machine - then you're appreciated, but I don't get that.)
> 
> Edit-sorry - too gloomy - there are hard core music fans who do go out regularly, but the rest!


Amen to that!!!

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## The Pepsi Challenge

I sensed a good 10-pager from this thread. Surprised no-one has come out and fought the corner already. There is no scene as far as I can tell.

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## Jeid

There is no scene? I think that is perhaps a tad harsh.

The scene is there... people just need to find it. I don't think it's very fair to criticise Joe Public if nobody is out harrassing them to come along... flyers, posters, radio, write ups in the newspaper(aye, the non-paying type) all do wonders for getting people in the door.

Advertising a website of some sort with music samples on it can also help(or have the opposite effect I guess).

We can't expect people to just turn up just like bands can't expect things to be put out on a plate for them.

Moaning gets nobody anywhere. A gig is only as good as you make it.

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## K dragon

breach brother!!

lol

totally agree wit jeid on this one.

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## Deemac

Its a simple case of supply and demand.

If you have a product that the public want to hear/see they will come, you will be booked and paid for your services (if you play for a fee - and lots aren't).

O course there is a vast difference and variety of live entertainment out there, from the one man and his accordion/guitar in the old village hall(possibly with a drum machine) to a 40 piece choir or orchestra.

The music scene is not just about young, loud rock bands struggling for their first paid gig. There's everything from bell ringers to livingroom organists out there.

To say there is no scene is very blinkered indeed.

Myself, I very rarely play in public these days. 98% of my gigs are private functions behind closed doors with an invited audience paid for by a host. (So much more civilised, though musically of a much more limited scope - still lots of fun!!)

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## K dragon

Myself, I very rarely play in public these days. 98% of my gigs are private functions behind closed doors with an invited audience paid for by a host


is that not public exclusion that somewhat dampens the whole music community? (genuine question, not an attack)

and i agree there isnt just one scene but many. but again as jeid said a lot of these artists are undiscovered and just stick to playing in their rooms, obviously im referring to the younger generation, but as jeid said they need to get out there and do summat. now heres my point, it seems that many dont know how, and many are pushed away from it.

whats the deal with thurso high, they used to be really good at encouraging bands and artists to get out there, now the gigs are pupils and parents only is it not? not sure whats happening on there front anymore.


mind you its obvious that no matter how many threads there are, we as a music community have not found the solution, to increase the scene. 

myabe spending too much time bickering on the org LOL!

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## Jeid

I think what Deemac means by that, is that he plays mainly as a function musician at weddings and ceilidh dances.

Thurso High have a parents and students only policy as there were too many people attending which was seen as unsafe by the fire officer(or so I've been told).

A lot of people stick to playing in their rooms as it's hard to find like minded dedicated musicians. It took me 3 years to find people who I thought I could play music with and that they'd have the same drive to play as I would. Not only that, they'd have to have a similar sort of taste in music to make things work and keep them interested.

There's plenty of musicians... it's just finding the right people to mix with I guess.

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## Deemac

It *IS* public exclusion. 

But that's my main point. 

The general punter isn't very interested it appears and certainly doesn't want to pay for it or even go if its free (why, it gets in the way of continuous and relentless drinking/scoring/fighting). 

So better to make your own scene. 

Things like, far instance, Lyth Arts Centre (Jazz, arty stuff), Dunnet Lighthouse (private invited guests only), Strathspey and reel society, the Northern Nashville . . . . I could go on and on.

All these entities have built up their own scene to cater for the punters that are interseted in that particular form. The young things will grow up eventually and either have music play no part in their existance or gravitate to what ever does it for them.

All of these entities *ARE* the musical community.

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## K dragon

there seems nothing wrong with the private things such as the lighthouse and what you do, but that does justify my point that there is nothing left for the youth of music. how can the music scene prosper in years to come if the youth, which lets face it will carve the music genre and scene when they grow up, have no place. and if they choose to go private then, we will be where were at now.

seems wrong to me somehow, not that my words are said in an angry tone, im just debating, but it makes me feel empty and hopeless about the whole music scene.

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## theboss

> there seems nothing wrong with the private things such as the lighthouse and what you do, but that does justify my point that there is nothing left for the youth of music. how can the music scene prosper in years to come if the youth, which lets face it will carve the music genre and scene when they grow up, have no place. and if they choose to go private then, we will be where were at now.
> 
> seems wrong to me somehow, not that my words are said in an angry tone, im just debating, but it makes me feel empty and hopeless about the whole music scene.


I don't understand what's so different for high school kids now than say when I was a teenager?

During my time at High School there were plenty bands and musicians out playing the pubs and clubs around (and beyond Caithness). The Rubber Banned (who eventually morphed into Buddha Crush) were doing it, Isaac did it in many different forms, Stuart Conaghan, Barry Gordon, Ralf Speed,  New Experience, not to mention all of the traditional Scottish musicians who were out playing at functions and events. Even in the more latter years you have the likes of All Stitched Up, Cyanide... all bands/musicians who at the time were quite young to be playing in pubs/clubs/local festivals. It didn't matter whether it was friends family or Joe Public at the school concerts. The majority of the musicians mentioned above who played the high school concerts used those events to maybe do something a bit different to what they were doing in the pubs. And it would be easy to argue that there were more venues back then but there wasn't, infact, i'd say there were MORE local pubs/venues willing to take younger musicians NOW.

So... the real argument would surely be... if kids 10 years ago could arrange to play events outwith the high school, what's stopping todays young high school bands doing it?

If they have the ambition, I can't see anything stopping them.

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## Deemac

As a young musician you will go down a certain path depending on your talent, self-motivation and most of all  - Luck.

You start off full of promise and hope that your own music is unique, that everyone on the planet MUST like it for the perfection that it can only be!!

You may be lucky. The luck lightning bolt may land on you and you make it in the music business and you live happily ever after!!

In reality, for the vast majority, compromises start to creep in one by one. You get older, a job, responsibilities etc. etc. , you have less time to dedicate to your art and you either give up playing entirely forgetting about that buzz and rush you once loved so much . . . .

or

retreat to the living room or family gathering round the piano and are never (in a musical context) heard of again . . . .

or

join or form a cover band playing occasionally in a semi-professional or amateur format. The cover bands come and go in various formats and musical styles until one day you find yourself playing in a wedding/function band!! Musically worlds apart from your initial personal tastes or desires, but you get to perform your craft, its on the whole fun and you get paid quite well (in a pocket money sort of way) for playing the instrument that you started with.

I hope I'm not depressing you and I genuinely wish you all well with your own ventures. Its great to be able to feed off someone elses success (see Xfactor for a superb formula in this area).

not sure where this is all leading, but just some of my own thoughts . . . . . :Smile:

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## moncur

My views on the caithness music scene are mixed.

There are plenty of bands on the go at the moment trying their hardest to get their music out there to the people of caithness and beyond (Estrella, Astronot, The Gaels, Crimson Tide, All Stitched Up, Fatts & Son). All with their own styles which is a very good thing as it gives punters a bit of choice. Hats off to them for that i say.

Some pubs are keenly taking on a good share of bands now aswell. most noticeably the Holborn, Newmarket & The blackstairs.

I find it odd however that some bands only play certain venues in caithness. No offence to these guys, I think your music is great & did a lot for the local scene but just using this as an example, I've never seen or heard of Boss Hogg playing in a pub (not locally anyway). they've played larger venues such as the Redwood, Skins or the Viewfirth (may it subside in piece) which is all good but sometimes its good to see a band in a more intimate venue. Adds to the atmosphere IMHO. There seems to be more craic when i've played pubs as opposed to the larger venues.

Other important factors which indirectly affect the music scene IMO are things like rehearsal spaces (it took Duress months to find a decent place to practice without costing too much), Transport, Equipment, and as Jeid mentioned in a previous post, finding like-minded musicians. I still plan on building a big jamming shed when i grow up and buy a house!

With regards to the High School, not sure what their policy on bands jamming at lunch or after school is now, but when i were a lad the huts were still there so jamming at lunchtimes and occasionally after school was easy to organise and caused little disturbance. To be honest, the music dept was the only thing that kept me interested in school enough to stay until 6th year. There was also the youth club who regularly put on small fundraising gigs.

Whoever said the music scene is dead must be living out at sea. Every week theres sure to be something going on wether its a private gig, pub gig, folk jamming in the comm, people recording material, charity events.

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## theboss

There are a few reasons that BH have never played pubs... the main reason though is that BH never did the cover band thing. Now don't get me wrong, I LOVED playing in a cover band. My time in The New Experience was not only great fun but a fantasic learning experience, but IMO I don't think BH would work in a pub situation. If we do get offered to play in a Joe Public venue, we usually try to throw some covers together and mix it with our original material (as we did at our last Skins gig) but we don't have enough cover material to play for 2 hours. We considered putting a cover band together at one time purely for a bit of banter and some cash but if Boss Hogg want to be seen as a band concentrating on their own material then pubs aren't the way forward in my opinion. We're also not stupid when it comes to understanding our fanbase. The age-group that turns up to a BH gig is usually between 14 and 25 therefore if we were to stick to pubs rather than venues that allow U18's we would be alienating almost half of what we consider our fanbase.

I don't think what i've said above applies purely to BH either. Crimson Tide don't do pub gigs these days either. They did initially when they were finding their feet and they obviously decided to concentrate on their original material and are now playing venues further South. Astronot also have never done the cover band/pub thing, and that was again purely because we'd rather play our own material to a crowd who came specifically to hear the music we want to play.

Like I said, no disrespect to the cover bands out there as there's nothing better than lying back in a pub listening to a band blasting out some old favourites but it's just not what I want to do. I'm sure I could say the opposite for Duress... why no original stuff in charge at the door, U18 venues?... but I know that's your choice, just as playing original material in these venues is our choice.

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## Chobbersjnr

I regularly missed Mondays due to gig fatigue etc etc throughout high school. I was fortunate in so far that I was born into a heavilly musical house & grew up learning to play.

the "music scene" et al is currently bouncing. I've also noticed that "pub audiences" are more open to original music than they ever have been in the past. I did a gig in "e' stairs" recently with my good friends TBITB & Donald Banks & there was a fair percentage of the audience of a younger age & I was getting a slight feeling of dread as I'm not totally into the modern music of the day, but they went for it, no matter what we played they applauded & laughed with the crack on the mic

Now from the postage stamp stage of the Camps all the way through to obscenely huge festival stages & my fav. gigs are the close situations in a bar with a receptive audience. As people doing the profeesional circuit will tell y'all that the average set time is 45mins-1 hour 15mins. It's not really that long when you get into it which is why I prefer to do gigs as long as possible where we can play more or less what we want which puts us in the pub. I also love sit down theatre audiences because amplification doesn't have to be floored just to get above the noise of an audience.

When it comes down to it as well, most of the possible gig scenarios are represented in Caithness at some point of year or another. Your small staged pub gigs happen all the time & we now have the Nashville country fest & the Big Gig plus whatever else rears it's head. 

So it can't really be said that there is no scene, there is a scene albeit in some ways blinkered re; paying admission aver £3 etc etc but it's always been like that since before a lot of us on this board had been born......

off the top of my heid

Thurso: 
Newmarket
Y-not
The Grove
The Holborn
TJs
The Weigh Inn (Ashes)
Skins

Wick:
Blackstairs
Spoons
The Backer
Zeroes????
Waterfront

I'm totally prepared for correction & a pile of additions to the list, if you took in the various places that functions (weddings etc etc) & annual meets (fiddle & Acc. Strathspey & reel etc etc) are held then the list gets bigger 

there is basically something for everyone in Caithness, if one can be bothered to find it. Heck I went to the pub twice last weekend to see live music & that's almost unheard of.........basically cos' I spend a lot of time in one gig or another, & sometimes the thought of going back to a venue for enjoyment is just brain curdling

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## theboysintheband

> There are a few reasons that BH have never played pubs... the main reason though is that BH never did the cover band thing. Now don't get me wrong, I LOVED playing in a cover band. My time in The New Experience was not only great fun but a fantasic learning experience, but IMO I don't think BH would work in a pub situation. If we do get offered to play in a Joe Public venue, we usually try to throw some covers together and mix it with our original material (as we did at our last Skins gig) but we don't have enough cover material to play for 2 hours. We considered putting a cover band together at one time purely for a bit of banter and some cash but if Boss Hogg want to be seen as a band concentrating on their own material then pubs aren't the way forward in my opinion. We're also not stupid when it comes to understanding our fanbase. The age-group that turns up to a BH gig is usually between 14 and 25 therefore if we were to stick to pubs rather than venues that allow U18's we would be alienating almost half of what we consider our fanbase.
> 
> I don't think what i've said above applies purely to BH either. Crimson Tide don't do pub gigs these days either. They did initially when they were finding their feet and they obviously decided to concentrate on their original material and are now playing venues further South. Astronot also have never done the cover band/pub thing, and that was again purely because we'd rather play our own material to a crowd who came specifically to hear the music we want to play.
> 
> Like I said, no disrespect to the cover bands out there as there's nothing better than lying back in a pub listening to a band blasting out some old favourites but it's just not what I want to do. I'm sure I could say the opposite for Duress... why no original stuff in charge at the door, U18 venues?... but I know that's your choice, just as playing original material in these venues is our choice.


I hear you, things are exactly the same with us The Maydays. 

But I still do cover stuff aswell!

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## Bill Fernie

> . The price of newspaper ad's here means you just guarantee your costs are way higher.



The cost of advertising in the Caithness.org What's On section is FREE but despite that we do not see it packed with ads for musical events that bands are playing at.  Some are placed and they appear on the front page on the day of the gig and are also available for the period before the event. 

If more bands began to add their gigs to the What's On then maybe more folk would check it to see what was happening.

I know everything takes time to do but sitting down once a week for a few minutes to add the gigs that are booked might just begin to have some affect on audience sizes.  Also it lets folk from much further away see that Caithness lots of music going on and they might be tempted to come along when they visit the county.

We also offer free pages in the Arts section with links to the band web site.  Are you all listed - See http://arts.caithness.org/category.php?cat=16
If not are your contact details easily found elsewhere for anyone looking to book a band etc.

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## Deemac

Bill,
Thanks for the advice - good to know.

I recommend you invest in a spell checker though . . . . . . ::

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## Reev

> Thurso High have a parents and students only policy as there were too many people attending which was seen as unsafe by the fire officer(or so I've been told).


Haha, i can remember OH so long ago, the hallw as so crowded, there were people sitting on the piano, and then there were flying chairs and, someone incited a sort of riot (when i said breakstuff, im sure i didnt mean litteraly)  ::

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## Reev

If a band want a gig, go and ask somewhere, there simple, thats all it takes, 

Then again, many bands dont want to do that, some gig sporadically, some a lot, some never,

we all like differant things, some see it as a future, some see it as a hobby, some js see it as a laugh, we all see it in differant ways

the music scene to me, well, im going to say this as it is, if i didnt play in bands, i probably wouldnt care, all i care about is that if i feel like i wanna play a gig, i can go and get one, thats it, thats all, right now im having enuff fun with my spidey costume, but again, that shows my opinion, it isnt the be all and end all of what i do, 

im delighted im awesome at what i do, and every week im jamming somewhere, maybe not gigging, but constantly jamming, i look on it as a routine sorta thing, i love to jam, and on a week to week basis, i know i will be able to, play a gig here and there, get many a compliment, boost my massive ego a bit more, its all good

If young bands want a gig, thats all they need to do, when silverstone left school they got a couple of gigs easily enuff, then we went our seperate ways (life got in the way. anyways, it was js a high school band, well, thats how i look at it now, marilyn manson can only be played in so many places, haha) Grannpa Duke were all made up of high school going guys, but started gigging outwith the high school, only played there as we could cause of our age, the duke were a pub band, we were all teenagers then but thats what we did, wanst hard, organised our own gigs at the start of it, easy enuff it was then too, and just as easy now, unless of course you start organising events, ive been there, done that, worn the t-shirt, but im talking about bands getting their own gigs, the event thing is something else entirely

if i want a gig somewhere, i js go in and ask, unless im asked first, thats all it takes, then again i can play in excess of 3 - 4+ hours

still though, not hard..........

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## moncur

Ah the good ol' days of shug and spaz!

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## zebedy

mon the voodooqueen

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## Jeid

I thought it was Vooboo Quen  :Wink:  Ben will know what I'm on about... well, if he remembers.

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## the_big_mac

> I thought it was Vooboo Quen  Ben will know what I'm on about... well, if he remembers.



Christ, was my wee bro not in that band?

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## Studio66

> Christ, was my wee bro not in that band?


Yip, he was the lucky one who was allowed to use the wireless mic. when it didnt work he threw it on the ground and started using the normal mic! (Moncur logged in on studio66s PC)

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## Jeid

> Christ, was my wee bro not in that band?


Yeah, and at the time he loved Korn. When he saw that Korn used a back-to-front "R" he decided to do the same with the "D" in Voodoo and wrote it on a table or a chair somewhere... Reev and I used to laugh about that.

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## Studio66

> Yeah, and at the time he loved Korn. When he saw that Korn used a back-to-front "R" he decided to do the same with the "D" in Voodoo and wrote it on a table or a chair somewhere... Reev and I used to laugh about that.


Ah the good ol' days of Reev & Jeid (Moncur still using Andys PC)

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## Reev

> Yeah, and at the time he loved Korn. When he saw that Korn used a back-to-front "R" he decided to do the same with the "D" in Voodoo and wrote it on a table or a chair somewhere... Reev and I used to laugh about that.


haha whenever i talk about Silverar......stone, silverstone, i talk about vooboo quen, when he wrote on the chair he missed an e, and the d (back to front) had to curls, looked like a b, hahahaha, i remember all to well  ::

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## zebedy

never have heard such a beast of an attempt at twist by anyone rather than callum mackay!

when he sang twist that one year!

was awesome !

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## K dragon

damn! missed that, i remember silverstone, performed "hell yeah" by h blox one year, was wicked. then the spin off goldrock lol

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## the_big_mac

> Yeah, and at the time he loved Korn. When he saw that Korn used a back-to-front "R" he decided to do the same with the "D" in Voodoo and wrote it on a table or a chair somewhere... Reev and I used to laugh about that.


Im also sure that it may well be on the back of a certain door in the town too.

Somewhere alongside our list!

 :Wink:

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## Jeid

Haha, I remember the VQ sign... our list reigns supreme though!

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## appleskin

_having just finishing abook about blues players  has any caithness musicians sold their souls  to the devil _

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## Chobbersjnr

> _having just finishing abook about blues players has any caithness musicians sold their souls to the devil_


yip, went down to the crossroads & sold my soul to Santa. In consequence earning my bottleneck & the right to use open tunings

BTW where do I find the book????

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## Cazaa

> yip, went down to the crossroads & sold my soul to Santa. In consequence earning my bottleneck & the right to use open tunings
> 
> BTW where do I find the book????


Was that the Crossroads Primary School?

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## Chobbersjnr

> Was that the Crossroads Primary School?


LMAO how did you know.................all good blues people got taught there :Smile:

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## The Pepsi Challenge

To suggest there is a music scene in Caithness would imply that there is a stealth of bands (from a wide spectrum of genres, at least a % of whom are making their living from it); several live music-dedicated venues; knowledgeable and pro-active promoters; a place to network and strengthen resources (including servies to educate musicians, especially on the business side); positive support from local and national newspapers, and local and national radio; well-maintained record stores; a healthy number of music-goers attending - and supporting - live music shows with regularity; the regular appearance of touring and commercial bands; fully up-to-date, fully experienced recording studios and engineers made available to local artists. 

Now. There may be flecks of what Ive mentioned, but to put hand-on-heart and say all the above boxes are ticked - strong and healthy at that - well, I just can't.

The majority of bands in Caithness are, in the main in my opinion, indie-rock bands, many of whom dont make a living from music. The other bands? They appear to school bands yet to find their feet, run-of-the-mill covers acts and pseudo country acts. Granted, the likes of The Newmarket and Blackstairs put on regular live music, but where else can you see good quality live music every night of the week? When I lived in Caithness, you could play Scapa House, The Marine, The Coral, Viewfirth etc. None of these venues are around anymore. The ones that are certainly dont put live music on enough. There are no promoters in the area, nuff said. Where do musicians - apart from on here - meet up to talk, music top of the agenda? Do you not all get together to try and strengthen community spirit? Do the papers have reviewers coming along to cover gigs? I doubt it. Seems only one national tabloid is interested in covering local bands in Caithness, and thats me - when I can get the time off to take a trip north. Where are all the recording studios? Are any of them advertised? A healthy music scene ought to have such services made readily available. Do bands play live sets on local radio? Do the presenters interview bands about what theyre up to? Am listening. Music shops? Caithness doesnt even have any. Such a meeting point is a neccessity. Buying guitar strings and wondering if that new Chemical Romance CD has come in yet isnt the same when approached online. Gig-goers? How many people are turning up to indepdent gigs? Does anyone keep count? You should. When I took my band up recently, though the turnout was healthy and supportive, there was no reason why more people shouldnt have been turning out. There was no other competiton, and the gigs were well advertised. As the lad said in another thread (and am paraphrasing) -  someone with a cold in the Grove will turn out to have pneumonia when discussed 20 miles on the other side of county. James Bond couldnt get through town undetected so there was no excuse. I also expected a few bods from her to turn up, but, well... no matter. As for touring bands? Well, thats been talked to death. I meet bands on a daily basis and their reason for refusing to come north is all too familiar. No support, no encouragement, no punters. In short, a stopping off point before getting to Orkney... where they do care, apparently.  

The above might come across as a self-indulgent rant, but I challenge anyone to say the opposite. Far as I can see, theres a few bands kicking around playing the occasional gig, taking cheap jibes at each other, and hoping the occasional gig at Skinandis falls on their lap. Sorry, but that's the way I see it. Tell me how you see it.

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## Tubthumper

Couple of points TPC:
I gather you're in Edinburgh, population (including surrounding towns with good/excellent communications) around 1m perhaps? Percentage of population of the age group to be 'interested' in live music and with sufficient disposable income and no other interests to indulge - maybe 10% = 100 000?
Caithness: population around 30 000. Percentage of population of age group to be 'interested' in live music - maybe 10% = 3000. as for disposable income, who knows?
Centres of population = 2 large (10 0000 people) with virtually non-existent public transport in or out in the evenings.
Music shops: Gone, out of business. How are the wee independent shops in Edinburgh doing these days? Oh they've gone as well.
What percentage of the Edinburgh population are actually gigging musos? 10% of the 10% maybe = 10 000, which sounds enough to sustain a couple of decent music shops.
Same percentage applied to Caithness = 300, which doesn't sound enough.
Regarding the glory days, The Moonshine at Scapa closed in the 90's due to insufficient business. The weigh inn burnt down, as did Dominos.
Bands in the 90's complained bitterly that there were no gigs/too little cash/audience would rather get p**sed/no future/only interested in country or dad-rock, we're off south to make our fortunes...
Face it, even in the glory days the scene here was pretty insignificant, but we all liked it a bit.
Most people either grow out of music or face the facts that only a very lucky (or rich) select few ever make anything of a music career.
And the only thing that's remembered in Caithness in the field of popular music is when the Blonde Brothers' single was Sounds record of the week in 1978. 
An awful lot of musos did their thing in between, both here and down south, I wonder what happened to them all...
As far as I can see our music scene is pretty damn good for a little place like this. I'm glad you came back for a gig and I hope you enjoyed it as I'm sure the audience did. Come back again soon.

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## Jeid

> Most people either grow out of music or face the facts that only a very lucky (or rich) select few ever make anything of a music career.


Your brother didn't do too badly for himself though  :Wink:

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## Cazaa

Sorry guys, I reckon I've come to this debate far too late now. I think I'm missing the point now, though. 

From what I can gather on these posts, Caithness has a music scene and given the number of events discussed on these pages recently, I would say it was pretty healthy. My only criticism would be to add that no one has mentioned other forms of music on this thread. 
Now, please don't shoot me but where is mentioned Scottish Opera? They continually get a larger audience here than any other 'small' venue around the country (including Portobello - which is quite close to Edinburgh, I think!)
Heavilly advertised - well attended. 
Lyth Arts Centre - Un venue splendide je crois - Well advertised gigs, well attended even though it is in the country somewhere. In fact, at some gigs there they have to turn away punters due to lack of seats - something you wouldn't find in a similar venue in Aberdeen (the Lemon Tree) where they struggle to fill seats for such 'high-brow' avant garde.
What about the pipers and the fiddlers. The Orchestras, the choirs, choral societies and jazz/big bands? Don't they feature here.
Is there still a Thurso Live Music Association? Do they still get bands/acts up from the south?
Is the 'rock' scene in danger of becoming as elitist as these 'classical' genres have been in the past?
As far as I can tell, the scene at Thurso High School is still as vibrant as ever. The last I heard was another well attended concert with a wide variety of talents and performers (can't imagine that "at least a % of whom are making their living from it"). I believe it was open to the public in general. How many reading this thread attended? 
(I trust Mr. Dragon was there to find out "_whats the deal with thurso high, they used to be really good at encouraging bands and artists to get out there, now the gigs are pupils and parents only is it not? not sure whats happening on there front anymore_")

Not to be one to 'stroke groins' but I think Caithness seems to be doing very well on the music scene. I think to criticise it is to not even know it . .  . even slightly.

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## Tubthumper

> Your brother didn't do too badly for himself though


We don't like to talk about him. Ever since he got his hair cut he's not been the same. And he never sends any money home either, the sod.
Another point TPC, there ARE studio facilities around the county, which, even if they don't churn out endless chart material, allow musos to develop & hone their skills. Some of those who work there ain't in it for the money either. By the way, technology has moved on a bit, many people can do very good recordings at home these days, using computers?
And many of our musos, (at least those whose egos will fit through the door) are in contact with each other at gigs and via such media as this very forum.
How many big successes have come out of the burgeoning Orkney scene recently?

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## Jeid

> We don't like to talk about him. Ever since he got his hair cut he's not been the same. And he never sends any money home either, the sod.


The swine... I'm going down to London to see him in July... I'll sort him out for you. I'll see if I can get him to take a beer or two as well.

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## Tubthumper

> The swine... I'm going down to London to see him in July... I'll sort him out for you. I'll see if I can get him to take a beer or two as well.


Thanks for that. I don't think you'll have any problem persuading him to take strong drink - he's the only drinker in our whole family, very much the black sheep in fact.
Tell him his Uncle Thretfield Hetfield is poorly and he should contact Mama sometime soon. She worries so about him.
Do you think the London music scene will be better than in Caithness?   :Wink:

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## Jeid

Ask TPC... he seems to be the expert  :Wink: 

I'll pass the message on to Beeg Chimmy

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## Tubthumper

Consider Caithness music scene
As dismal as its ever been
According to young TPC
In Embra based, a refugee

Yeah, Yeah
The Caithness muse
Country, Western, Rhythm, Blues
Wedding dances, private dos
So wheres the punters?
On the booze

The schools are hotbeds, bands galore
Theyre playing rock and roll and more
Guitar and bass and drums, and voice
As cool as muck, those girls and boys

Yeah, Yeah
The Caithness Muse
Set up a gig, youre bound to lose
Before you start theyll nick yer shoes
So check the Groat
For no music news

Whats on the tranny, local based
No local bands? Well what a waste
No music shop? No record store?
This place is sunk
Its just a bore

No, No
The Caithness muse
Go to Skinandis, swallow booze
Or play the same old twelve-bar blues
No studios? 
Just one or twos

_Middle 8_
Surround yourself with adoration
Playing same old repetition
New guys working for a living
Playing, entertainment giving
Trying just to have some fun
And trying to please everyone
Its not like Glasgow, cant you see?
Its Caithness man, its only wee

Yeah, Yeah
The Caithness muse
It isnt much but still it dos
We like it lots, the mes and yous
You mock it?
Youll get black and blues

Yeah, Yeah etc
_Repeat to fade_

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## DOC ROCK

> Consider Caithness music scene
> As dismal as its ever been
> According to young TPC
> In Embra based, a refugee
> 
> Yeah, Yeah
> The Caithness muse
> Country, Western, Rhythm, Blues
> Wedding dances, private dos
> ...


First class Tubthumper !!! That must be the best post ever.  :Smile:

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## Jeid

Awesome post!!  :Grin:

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## Tubthumper

All hail The Pepsi Challenge, he’s the saviour of our soul
He’s avant-garde it’s true, his band is pure and clean and whole
The godfather of music cited, now James Brown is Annie
But TPC has missed the point, he’s acting like a Danny (eh?)

You’d think his threaded contribution would stir up some hate
In fact we think he’s trying to create a mass debate
There is a point; compared to places like away down South
The Caithness scene would leave a punter fairly down in mouth

But Lo! What row in yonder pub’s disturbing Caithness peace?
The How-No? Bar is full of music, hormones, sweat & grease
As bands churn out old standards coupled with some sounds nouvelle
And punters nod their heids and throw their bodies round as well

Then in the Newmarket each Sunday there’s a load of racket
E’en when it’s Fats that’s churning out and raking in a packet
It doesn’t really matter whether band is cool or trendy
Or whether strat is played in bar-chords, whammy bar is bendy

And then there’s tribute bands that turn up playing in Skinandi
The punters dance around, the burds are blobby. sweaty, bandy
The blokes are always steamin’ but at end of rock and roll
They all trail off to bed and get some sweet ol’ Nat King Cole

There’s clubs in Thurso and in Wick where music comes in pairs
There’s Country and there’s Western in the Seaforth & Blackstairs
A manny with accordion, a bloke with backing unit
It doesn’t matter, ‘long’s you’ve got guitar and you can tune it

The classics get a bit of noise, cos every now and then
A string quartet appears to play some proper music when
The cognoscenti get together, black tie, shirt and tails
The only difference is the buffet, caviar and quails

And then we get to piping where our bands are pretty strong
Just get enough together and you’ll never know what’s wrong
The pipers march too slow, they will not heed a word that’s said
Their ears have been destroyed; they all require a hearing aid

Just pause ye for a second, what’s the point in all this ranting?
Debates ‘bout music industry, all puffing and all panting
We all get sweaty ‘bout a subject close to heart of all
My God! It’s almost just as bad as arguing ‘bout football!

Now whether R’n’B’s your thing or old-school rock and roll
Remember, music’s just the thing that soothes the broken soul
And lubricates the way from gig or even disco dance
Into the realms of sneck and cuddle, even to romance

It’s only entertainment, there are far more things to ponder
Like 3rd world bloody poverty, poor starving sods out yonder
Or war in middle east, or ozone layer been sent packing
If all you worry ‘bout is music, something’s fairly lacking

Like Eastenders and Emmerdale, or Coronation Street
It’s all a load of fantasy, admittedly quite sweet
So if you find you get wound up, that music’s only thrill
I think you need to see a doctor, get a chillout pill 

It’s fun! It’s loud! It’s daft and proud! It makes us feel quite jolly
We dinnae take it serious, if we do we’re velly solly
A little side agenda while we earn our daily bread
Those who think it’s all there is, are no’ right in the head

And you that lives down South, we thank you for the stirring up 
It’s nice to hear a point of view, from insufferable young pup
At least it helps us focus on just what we have around
Our music scene, whatever, is our very own Caithness sound

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## Jeemag_USA

Nice burblings  :Wink:

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## appleskin

> yip, went down to the crossroads & sold my soul to Santa. In consequence earning my bottleneck & the right to use open tunings
> 
> BTW where do I find the book????


i think you got a deal

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## Chobbersjnr

> i think you got a deal


yeah, damn straight I did......just been listening to Little Feat "the Last Record Album" Lowell is my absolute slide hero NO QUESTION.....

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## The Pepsi Challenge

Seems, the silence on this topic - just like the Caithness music 'scene' - is deafening.

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## Jeid

Uh oh... here comes Mr Know It All...

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## the_big_mac

> Seems, the silence on this topic - just like the Caithness music 'scene' - is deafening.


Aye, the three pages of posts certainly suggests that  ::

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## Chobbersjnr

> Uh oh... here comes Mr Know It All...


OMG there's 2 of you???? ::

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## moncur

> OMG there's 2 of you????


Quality! PMSL!!!!!

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## Jeid

> OMG there's 2 of you????


Cheeky...

However, I've never claimed to know it all. Mr P seems to sit and criticise from afar... and how easy it is to do that.

You should know... you're the only Hobbit that lives in Mordor. The Shire is a long ways away from you.

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## The Pepsi Challenge

> Uh oh... here comes Mr Know It All...


I know all, I see all. I shall lead you, guide you on paths of everlasting pseudo-karmic negligence, in the very midst of my drug-induced nocturnal emission; a cosmic love pulse matrix, become a technicolor interpositive!

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## Gleber2

> I know all, I see all. I shall lead you, guide you on paths of everlasting pseudo-karmic negligence, in the very midst of my drug-induced nocturnal emission; a cosmic love pulse matrix, become a technicolor interpositive!


Promises, promises!!!!!!

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## Jeid

> I know all, I see all. I shall lead you, guide you on paths of everlasting pseudo-karmic negligence, in the very midst of my drug-induced nocturnal emission; a cosmic love pulse matrix, become a technicolor interpositive!

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## Cazaa

> Seems, the silence on this topic - just like the Caithness music 'scene' - is deafening.


LOL 

Given that we've all given answers to condradict your premise I would conclude that it is *your* silence which is deafening!

You've made no attempt to come back with any defence of your original 'attack', Chooky.

I would suggest you start with a reply to my post please - just in time for the Caithness Music Festival (round-about now?). Presumably it's been cancelled due to lack of a music scene?

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## The Pepsi Challenge

> Sorry guys, I reckon I've come to this debate far too late now. I think I'm missing the point now, though. 
> 
> From what I can gather on these posts, Caithness has a music scene and given the number of events discussed on these pages recently, I would say it was pretty healthy. My only criticism would be to add that no one has mentioned other forms of music on this thread. 
> Now, please don't shoot me but where is mentioned Scottish Opera? They continually get a larger audience here than any other 'small' venue around the country (including Portobello - which is quite close to Edinburgh, I think!)
> Heavilly advertised - well attended. 
> Lyth Arts Centre - Un venue splendide je crois - Well advertised gigs, well attended even though it is in the country somewhere. In fact, at some gigs there they have to turn away punters due to lack of seats - something you wouldn't find in a similar venue in Aberdeen (the Lemon Tree) where they struggle to fill seats for such 'high-brow' avant garde.
> What about the pipers and the fiddlers. The Orchestras, the choirs, choral societies and jazz/big bands? Don't they feature here.
> Is there still a Thurso Live Music Association? Do they still get bands/acts up from the south?
> Is the 'rock' scene in danger of becoming as elitist as these 'classical' genres have been in the past?
> ...



I think the main problem, here, is that we have widely contrasting definitions of the term "scene". Scottish Opera and Classical Music (as much as I like it), for me, don't really equate to what I would include as part of the contemporary music scene. Fair dos, though.

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## Cazaa

> I think the main problem, here, is that we have widely contrasting definitions of the term "scene". Scottish Opera and Classical Music (as much as I like it), for me, don't really equate to what I would include as part of the contemporary music scene. Fair dos, though.


You CLEARLY don't have any idea about classical music if you think that it is only music from 200 years ago. There are still people writing classical music today. In fact, one of the country's leading contemporary composers resides in Orkney. Maybe YOU do not consider this to be contemporary enough.

Perhaps a look at this year's TLMA programme will offer you the merest glimpse as to just how contemporary the WHOLE music scene in Thurso actually is.

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## gollach

> just in time for the Caithness Music Festival (round-about now?).


I think it starts on Monday  ::

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## The Pepsi Challenge

> You CLEARLY don't have any idea about classical music if you think that it is only music from 200 years ago. There are still people writing classical music today. In fact, one of the country's leading contemporary composers resides in Orkney. Maybe YOU do not consider this to be contemporary enough.
> 
> Perhaps a look at this year's TLMA programme will offer you the merest glimpse as to just how contemporary the WHOLE music scene in Thurso actually is.


I have an idea about classical music. And most who compose it nowadays eat stuff that is brown and lumpy. As Frank Zappa once said: "The present day composer refuses to die."

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## Metalattakk

So, sweeping generalisations and soundbites from dead American wierdos aside, you can't actually answer Cazaa's question?

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## Torvaig

Would this link be of any use to anyone wanting to make their presence known to any promoters, venues etc.?
http://www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/...musicians.html

Not many on so far but as word gets around and musicians start using this page maybe there will be more bookings for the young people who seem to be the ones looking for a showcase. As far as I can see, every music genre seems to be catered for via all the aforementioned venues. Just take a look at the adverts in the 'Groat this week; seems to be plenty to pick and choose from. Myself, I'm off to the Fiddlers' Rally tonight at 7.30 in the Thurso High School; time for a "hooch"!

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## Tubthumper

> I have an idea about classical music. And most who compose it nowadays eat stuff that is brown and lumpy. As Frank Zappa once said: "The present day composer refuses to die."


Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Frank Zappa a modern-day composer (orchestral stuff and crossover jazz-rock/orchestra) and didn't he die?
As for his dietary habits; after listening to some of his lyrics I wouldn't be surprised if he did eat brown lumpy stuff.
I myself am quite keen on mince, and I do enjoy listening to Mr Zappa. However a classical composer I am not.
Each to their own I say!
"Hydrogen isn't the most common element in the world... intolerance is" - Herman Schlachzeuger

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## The Pepsi Challenge

> So, sweeping generalisations and soundbites from dead American wierdos aside, you can't actually answer Cazaa's question?


I did answer the question. And Zappa was no more weird anyone else you may know.

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## Tubthumper

I think that from 'Freak Out' to 'Weasels Ripped my Flesh' it's safe to say that Mr. Zappa made a musical career out of being weird. Talented yes, rude definitely, weird certainly in comparison to even his contemporaries over his 30 year musical career.
Anyway, as regards the existence or otherwise of a music scene in Caithness, see other recent posts on this music forum to see that as far as 'musical differences' is concerned, we're doing all right.
Ding Ding, seconds out...

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