Cradle of Filth up to Midian fucking rules.

[Yung Led Zeppelin]

Having done a lot of work in that field, £150 for FOH sound engineer is a fucking joke.

[StoutAndAle]

Years ago (holy fuck - 24 years ago!) I lived in a shared house in Portobello for about 12 months after I finished college and got my first proper job in Dublin. I found the room after it was advertised in the back of the Herald or some other newspaper. It was a big old pile bricks, the rooms were massive - it had two sitting rooms and the rent - surprisingly affordable.

I was "interviewed" by 2 out of the 3 people who were already living in the gaff. Went through the usual chit-chat and they seemed satisfied that I probably wouldn't interfere with their underpants drawers or kill them in their sleep.

Moved into the gaff at the weekend, it was Easter Saturday, and both lads that I had already met told me they were heading off to their respective home-places for the bank holiday.

"Don't worry though - Leonard is hanging about, if you need to find anything he'll show you."

Leonard, I assumed, was the lad living in the 4th bedroom who I hadn't yet met.

I tipped away at getting my room set up and headed to the shop for supplies. When I was walking up the road toward the house on my return I could hear Deep Purple's "Stormbringer" clear as day.

After I had let myself into the gaff, I could hear it even clearer.

"RIDE THE RAINBOW! CRACK THE SKY! STORMBRINGER COMIN'! TIME TO DIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

It was fucking deafening but, I thought to myself, "Fair play to the lad, it's only 2 in the afternoon" and that we might have something in common music-wise even though I don't like Deep Purple all that much.

The tunes stopped after a bit so I thought I'd go up, knock on the lad's door and introduce myself.

"What?" came a voice from behind the door.

"Eh, is that Leonard? My name is Stout, I just moved in across the hall there. I said I'd say hello and..."

"Is Rebecca gone out of that room?"

"Eh... I don't know who that is."

"Right. OK. You're living here. I'm living here. Fuck off and leave me alone." and then, from behind the still locked door, side two of "Stormbringer" started.

I shrugged it off and went back to wandering around the house and garden - accompanied by the sonic efforts of Blackmore, Lord, Coverdale et al.

A while later the music stopped but there was still no sign of this Leonard guy coming out of his room. I decided to head out for a few pints so I went for a shower.

The sound of "Her Ghost In The Fog" suddenly ripped through the air even louder than the Deep Purple album. I didn't know the name of the song at the time but I (correctly) assumed it was CoF or at least someone like that. When the track finished, it immediately started again.

And again.

And again.

And a-fucking-gain.

By this point I was out of the shower, dressed and after smoking a cigarette while debating what to do - should I go and tell him to turn it down? On my first afternoon in the gaff? I put on music in my own room but I couldn't block out Tiny Dan(i)cer and his crew of hired hands. So I decided to just head out - no point in getting into a confrontation on my first day in new digs.

The song was still playing at full volume as I left.

Cut to about 0100hrs, I got home from the pub, fell into my new bed for the first time and caught a bus to the Land Of Nod. Some time later, "Her Ghost In The Fucking Fog" ripped me from the arms of Morpheus. I hopped out of the bed like Jackie Chan - Christ, I miss my 20s - and was across the hall hammering on this fucker, Leonard's, bedroom door. 

"HEY! TURN THAT DOWN!"

The door suddenly flew open and I was face-to-face with a wild-eyed, pale, profusely sweating, rail thin, shirtless gentleman of about 30 wearing jet black Levis 501s and pointy Chelsea boots. There was a disgusting waft of cheap, Asha Boutique-style incense.

"What did you you say to me?!" he screamed.

"I said TURN IT FUCKIN' DOWN!" I roared back at him.

"Who the fuck are you?!" his eyes darting left to right, up and down the hall.

"TURN IT DOWN!"

"Fuck off!" and he slammed the door in my face - he did turn the music down though. But now I could hear him ranting inside his room.

"WHO the FUCK does HE think he IS?! Shouting at ME!" and then snarling "Hnnnnngh! ARRRRGH!"

I was genuinely afraid that this head-case was going to do something crazy so I put a chair in front of my door but the night passed off without further incident.

The next morning I was sitting on the front step of the house enjoying a cigarette and coffee in the Easter Sunday sunshine when I heard from behind me;

"Alright?" - it was Leonard, still in the jeans and pointy boots but now with a CoF long-sleeve on.

"Alight?" I offered back.

"About the tunes. I like listening to them loud, that's all."

"That's fine" I said "But it was about 3 in the morning"

"Was it? I rarely open the curtains."

"How come you played that one song over and over again?"

"Oh, 'Her Ghost In The Fog' from their record 'Midian'? I use that particular track to get psyched up before I go out on the piss and for when I'm ridin' women, yeah?"

"Shit. Did you have someone with you in your room last night?" suddenly feeling guilty for, to quote Joey The Lips Fagan, ruffling the lad's carnal savoir faire.

"No, why?" he asked, genuinely puzzled.

"Just... well it was the middle of the night and..."

"Ah. Nah, nah, nah... I've been coked off me game since Holy Thursday."

[Polaris]

Haven't listened yet but Alan Averill weighs in: https://player.fm/series/agitators-anonymous-the-alan-averill-podcast/analysing-the-cradle-situation-and-what-is-the-job-of-a-session-musician

[Eoin McLove]

Fucking hell... can I be arsed listening to that? 

[Grim Reality]

I don't think I've heard a decent AA pod. Ages since I checked him out. The covid era videos with the lad from gama bomb were alright, but solo on a pod didn't work for me.


On topic, I cannot fucking believe COF are still a thing. The mind boggles.

[Pagan Saviour]

Gave it a listen, doesn't really offer anything revelatory basically a laborious way of defining what a session musician does and can expect to command Vs someone that contributes to writing

[jpm4]

Lengthy reply from Dani on this now....fairly nasty although cloaked in reasonableness.

[Pagan Saviour]

Yeah lots of things to absorb from that very long post. Who to believe?

[jpm4]

The whole explanation of the contract makes no sense to me, the references to drunkeness and martial issues are not a good look for Dani.

He is digging himself a hole I think.

[open face surgery]

Ya, the contract thing is bollocks. From Sharon to Dez to Dani. Holy trinity of cunts.

[Sworntothecans]

https://youtu.be/hfionMmCGoU?si=SCjgXX31MrBH8Cih

[Petardo]

I'm shocked that a band with one permanent, and around 40 former members, would try to rip off a musician.

Social media is the last place this should be playing out though. If you leave a band in the middle of tour because you're being fucked, and have a legitimate claim, then you go to a lawyer, not to Instagram.

[Polaris]

I don't believe Dani's explanation of the new contract, which is contradictory: nobody his side looked at it before handing it out but also it was the foundation of a negotiation. Similarly, he's going to use the current drama (now that is has happened and it's public) to 'draw up a more elaborate contract that makes everyone feel protected'. This is also suspect, effectively, 'everybody has just received their publishing advance [presumably from an album released months ago]'.

Dani's references to yer wans alcoholism and suggestions of mental instability are possibly correct but this sentence is a bit undignified, which no doubt will prolong the drama: 'Also, no one knew anything about her pregnancy [and miscarriage] and if she was pregnant, why was she drinking at all?'

[Pagan Saviour]

Spot on!

[open face surgery]

There's also screenshots of them being asked to sign the contract. He's full of shit. The band is a circus inside and out.