Scissor decade! Tenth anniversary of our first gig!

Ten whole years ago this very day, The Scissors played their first ever gig! Has it really been that long? Back then, we were a trio of Stewart, Toby and original drummer Dan Sly (pictured).
Many thanks to Richard Rose who booked us for that first ever gig, at the now vanished Cellar Bar 8, round the back of the Grafton Centre. What a place (with a lap dancing club adjoining)!
Sadly I couldn't locate footage of that early gig, but here's a pretty early track, the original demo version of Lucy for London...

Many thanks to everyone who's stuck with us over the decade, we couldn't have done it without you! Onwards, to the next ten years! Or hundred!!

'Malawi' charity album out!

German Shepherd Records' new charity album, fighting famine in Malawi, is out now (and features a brand new track from us)!

Here's more about it...

'Malawi is in a state of emergency and facing its worst food crisis in many years. Parents are unable to feed their children and millions are going hungry.

A horrible combination of floods and drought throughout Southern Africa has devastated crops, leaving many families on the brink of starvation. It’s only set to get worse over the coming months. During this time of crisis a daily meal is a vital lifeline for vulnerable children in desperate need of nourishment.

In April, the President of Malawi declared a state of national disaster. 6.5 million people are facing chronic hunger. Severe droughts have left the country short of one million tonnes of maize needed to feed its people in the months ahead. The government of Malawi estimates that more than eight million people – half the country’s population – could need food aid by the end of 2016.

£12.20 is all it costs for the charity Mary's Meals to feed a child for a whole school year. We are asking you to donate a minimum of £3 for this album which will include music we have previously released as well as brand new tracks - all money raised after Bandcamp and Paypal fees will be then sent via Mary's Meals to Malawi'

Get it here

Salford Music Festival! and Malawi!

We're thrilled to be playing at The Eagle in Salford this Friday (30 September) as part of Salford Music Festival! Now in its seventh year, this grass roots, no-nonsense event, is part of the musical life blood of the city. Bob of Aural Delights has more info on his blog...

We're on a great bill alongside The Junta, Cambridge's Bouquet of Dead Crows, and Kit B. And it's free entry!

We'll also be promoting the forthcoming 'Malawi' famine-busting charity compilation out on 1 October on German Shepherd Records, which features (among other delights) a brand new track from ourselves, 'Glossy Magazines'. It's a song you might be familiar with if you've been to any of our gigs this year, and we're very proud to have it included on this worthwhile album.

Summer's not over yet!

Pic by Donna

Big thanks to all who came to the Portland on Saturday and made the psych-punk-fest that was The Machismo's last stand such a great night! The Moonstrips were on top mind-melting form, and C John Freeborn also dazzled with his intricate wordsmithing and guitar sounds!

But summer's not over yet! Next up we're excited to be back on the bill at a great little festival not far from Ely - Knackfest 2016 is at Karma Farm on 20-21 August, with some great acts in a truly lovely location (Karma Farm). Book your pitch for Sat 20th August, or make a full weekend of it and arrive on Fri 19th, by emailing karmafarmcampsite@gmail.com and quote "Knackfest" to make your booking, or stay on for longer and enjoy the beautiful surroundings of the Isleham Fen. Please note places are limited to around 100 people for camping. Music all day Saturday, with further open mic acoustic slots on Sunday lunchtime weather permitting - bring your instruments! KF is self-catering, local shops/farm shop nearby. Real ale on site this year! Donations encouraged at £5 pp so the organisers can pay some basic expenses, otherwise it's just camping fees to Karma Farm. Book a yurt if not already taken? Kids welcome!

Machismos, Moonstrips and more!

We're proud to be playing with amazing psychedelicists Moonstrips, and the legendary Machismos on 30 July at Cambridge's Portland Arms! The night will be compared by Virgil deVoyde, and all proceeds go to Down Syndrome Association.
£3 entry on the door

Strawberry summer

The Scissors at Strawberry Fair 2016, pic by Jay

Pond Life at Strawberry Fair

We're delighted to be playing Rebel Arts Radio's 'Pond Life' Stage at this year's Strawberry Fair!
We're on at 12 noon, ahead of a whole bunch of amazing bands - it's going to be a fantastic afternoon at the Pond!

Interviewed by Jude Clarke for Cambridge News

We're interviewed by Jude Clarke for today's Cambridge News! Read the full interview.

This week we meet The Scissors, who love rock 'n' roll outsiders, hope their best song is yet to be written and would like to be covered by The Fall.

1: How long have you been together as a band?

We've been going in various forms for 10 years, come this December! But the current line-up's been together since 2010.

2: Talk me through the band members: what do they do and what are they like?

Stewart (second right) sings and plays bass. Loves cats and cookery, though not at the same time.

Toby (second left) plays guitar. Loves ephemera, pop art and ancient megaliths.

Simon (far left) plays organ and homemade electronic contraptions. Likes making mechanical greetings cards.

Huw (far right) plays drums. Likes walking and cycling, loves Emily.

3: What's your favourite thing about Cambridge?

The way the river meets the trees meet the pubs.

4: What's your best song?

We've not written it yet, hopefully! But Phone Calls from the Dead (a cautionary tale about not believing everything you hear, driven by a severely off-kilter guitar riff) always seems to go down well, as does Your House has Ghosts (garage-psych stomper about being trapped by one's own memories).

5: Best local show?

Our recent album launch gig was great to play. It was fun to curate the evening, with punky-folkpop singer-songwriter Helen Robertson and local punk pop legends Rubber Dux supporting. We decorated the Boathouse gig room with hanging cut-outs of esoteric Victoriana (cats' heads, medicine bottles, haunted mirrors) to create the right atmosphere.

6: Who are your musical heroes or heroines?

We love rock'n'roll outsiders, like maverick record producer Joe Meek (The Tornados, Screaming Lord Sutch), Brit-rock/glam/punk legend Jesse Hector (Crushed Butler, Hammersmith Gorillas), neo-music hall poet Viv Stanshall (Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band), or 90s psychodramatic lounge legend Paul Hofner (Gretschen Hofner).

7: Which bands or artists would you pick to play your perfect festival?

The perfect festival is one where none of the good bands clash at the same times, so you get to see them all. Huw would have The Mars Volta, circa 2003-2005. Simon loves the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, but The Demon Barbers are probably his favourite festival band. Stewart loves Dreadzone at festivals – they're perfectly suited to that environment and never fail to unite a crowd in a nonstop dancing frenzy. Toby would love the original line-up of Thirteenth Floor Elevators, but that's not likely to happen on these shores any time soon.

8: If you had to cover one song, what would it be; if you could pick any band or artist to cover one of your songs, what would it be?

We'd cover Garden of my Mind by The Mickey Finn, a classic UK psych-rock track from 1967. It'd be nice if The Fall covered one of ours. We once covered The Stooges' I Wanna be Your Dog in the style of The Fall, with Stewart shouting out random breeds of dog in the manner of Mark E Smith…

9: Who would you get to play you in a video?

Huw – Jim Dale

Stewart – Terry Scott

Simon - Bernard Bresslaw

Toby – Sid James

10: Can you suggest another local band or artist that we should feature on this page?

Think most of our favourites have been featured! (The Seven Twenty, Bouquet of Dead Crows, Beverley Kills), but maybe you've not featured Moonstrips, a fantastic Cambridge garage-psych trio who have just released a cracking three-track EP (facebook.com/moonstrips)?

Read more: http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Introducing-Scissors/story-29186872-detail/story.html#ixzz476qj4WYD
Follow us: @CambridgeNewsUK on Twitter | cambridgenews on Facebook

Summer gigs coming up

We're looking ahead to summer. Nice(ish) weather and outdoor rock'n'roll. Knotted hankies in the style of Steve Jones optional. We've added a few dates to our gig calendar!

Saturday 4 June
Cambridge, somewhere. More info soon...

Saturday 2 July
Bar Hill Festival, Bar Hill, Cambridgeshire

Saturday 20 August
Knackfest, Karma Farm, Isleham Fen, Ely, Cambridgeshire

Helen Robertson on Dave Hammond's Smelly Flowerpot

We had our chum the fantastic punky-folk-pop singer-songwriter Helen Robertson supporting us at our recent album launch gig, and she subsequently appeared live in the studio on Davey Hammond's Smelly Flowerpot radio show. If you missed the show, it's now available on Mixcloud to listen to again!

New video footage from launch gig!

See (and hear!) footage from our recent album launch gig on the 'Video' tab above! Like this...

On Sonic Diary's Punk Show!

We've been featured on Sonic Diary's Punk Show on Salford City Radio! Alongside new tracks from our hero (and everyone's?) Iggy Pop, and loads of other cool stuff. Check it out on Mixcloud...

Toby Scissor looks happy about it (pic by Jay)

'Haunted Mirror' album launch reviewed in Cambridge Music Reviews

Big thanks to everyone who made Saturday's album launch such a great night! Mike Wright posted a lovely review in Cambridge Music Reviews, reproduced in full here:

"After ten years on the Cambridge music scene The Scissors release a new album, the grammatically challenging ‘The Scissors Is The Haunted Mirror’.
The four-piece promise ‘carnival freakshow organ, primitive synths, and rock’n’roll guitar powered psychpunkpop.’ and much of this manifesto is to be heard in show starter ‘Come With Me’, the opening track on the LP. In the week that Keith Emerson of ELP became the latest rocker to die in 2016, it was good to be reminded of the great Hammond organ sound as it pushed its way into the chorus of this punchy bass-driven song.
‘No Go The Lowdown’ is a rocker with a cryptic lyric and the clever effect of all instruments and voice sharing the hook line. We had a brief acoustic interlude featuring antique accordion and acoustic guitar for ‘Attack Of The Phantom Teardrops’ then ‘Phone Calls From The Dead’ and final track ‘Your House Has Ghosts’ are back to noisy pop-rock. Best of all is the slow-burner blues of ‘Why Don’t You Cry’, with theremin textures (always fascinating to watch), guitar fireworks and the vocals from Stewart Harris making the most of the straight to the heart melody.
It was a good advert for the album (although I would have liked to hear the keyboard rushes and emotional turmoil hidden behind the title of of ‘Don’t Hate Me Just Because I’m Yours’).
Their free lyric sheet proclaimed it was ‘a phantasmagorical entertainment to thrill and beguile the senses…’, they certainly proved again that they are one of the best live bands in Cambridge."

Pic by Jay

Pic by Jay

 

Looking to listen?

Our new album will be available in just a couple of days (Friday 11 March!), and you'll be able to get it digitally from German Shepherd Records' BandCamp page, on the 'Music' tab above (or indeed from most of the usual online outlets)!
Our older records are still available via our own self-release BandCamp page, which is linked to further down the page.
So just for a couple of days, the 'Music' tab only takes you to the pre-order page (where you can hear a preview of 'No go the lowdown')! But from Friday, you'll be able to hear the whole album on there. Hope that makes sense!
Happy listening!

Pre-order 'Haunted Mirror' album, get 'No go the lowdown' track now

You can now pre-order our new album from German Shepherd Records - and when you do you'll get 'No go the lowdown' to enjoy in advance!

What to expect from the new Scissors album?

Here's a lovely piece on our forthcoming album from Bob's Aural Delights!

'The eleven track set grabs the attention from the get go with a thumping bass and drum combination, surging Hammond and searing guitars and excellent call and response vocals. “Come With Me” is a great opener, followed by the exceedingly catchy “No go the lowdown” which echoes classic british pop-rock with a tinge of urban blues and a smattering of soul in the vocals, and a killer hook.  This band is all about textures and layers and the visceral guitar tones of “Don’t Hate Just Because I’m Yours” introduce another memorable melody, which promises to be a real crowd pleaser with it’s more-ish chorus. The band keep the songs short and to the point, perfect little nuggets of modern music. After the up tempo start matters slow down for the more restrained “All These Things” which is notable for Simon Powell’s sonic explorations and busy drums from Wallace.  The punky motorik “I’m Not The Real Me” perhaps sums up the unique qualities of the band, conjuring a maelstrom of different sounds into a melange of psychedelic pop. The album title track is a tight little tune with a ska feel, great organ sounds, and tasty pop elements and a tidy guitar solo. “Phones Calls from the Dead” has another killer guitar hook, pumping bass and great changes echoing Zappa at his most playful.  Gritty picked guitar opens the blues drenched “Why Don’t You Cry” which comes across like the mutant offspring of “House of the Rising Sun”, nice soloing from Lefever, combined with some great feedback control make this the stand out track for the guitarist. “Sjhake” – I should have asked them what the added “J” was for, but I forgot, is a tasty portion of blue-eyed soul-rock.”Come With Me” reprises in a jam-like free improv way before morphing back into the main song. The album closes with ambient sounds and the measured “Attack Of The Phantom Teardrops” which takes a deep emotional breath after a such a busy and impressive selection.

A highly recommended second album release from a great band.'

Listen again to our Stagger Indie show appearance

You can catch our unplugged (and unwashed) appearance on Monday's Stagger Indie Cambridge 105 show on Mixcloud!

We played two songs live and acoustic in the studio, 'Haunted Mirror' (about 30 minutes in) and 'Attack of the Phantom Teardrops' (about 40 minutes in), plus some tracks from the album and other things we brought along...

Rubber Dux farewell

We're thrilled to have Cambridge's Rubber Dux play with us at our album launch gig on 12 March - but sadly it'll also be their farewell performance as they go their separate ways to do Other Things...
Let's make it a cracking sendoff for them - and here's a reminder of what they sound like:

Radio, live transmission...

The Scissors' new album will be released on 11 March, and to spread the word we'll be appearing on the radio on a few shows to play tracks from it and talk about how we (eventually) made it!

First up, we're on Stagger Indie on Cambridge 105 next Monday (22 February). Tune in at 10pm for fun and frolics!

The Scissors launch 'Haunted Mirror' album at Cambridge Boathouse, 12 March!

We'll be launching our new album (which will be released on German Shepherd Records) at a special gig at Cambridge's The Boathouse  on Saturday 12 March!
Special guests will include the fantastic Helen Robertson, playing her electrifying punk-folk songs in a solo set, plus more TBC...

Advance tickets are available! We're so excited to finally unleash 'Haunted Mirror' on the world!

German Shepherd to release Scissors' new album 'Haunted Mirror'

We're thrilled to announce that German Shepherd Records will release our new album 'The Scissors Is The Haunted Mirror' later this year!

German Shepherd Records is a Greater Manchester based record label who release cutting edge new music plus historical archive material from some of the legendary bands from the Manchester Music Scene and elsewhere in the UK - and we're really excited to be working with them on our latest release!
'The Scissors Is The Haunted Mirror' will be available on download and streaming services from all the usual outlets, plus a limited quantity of physical CD copies.
Watch this space for the release date!

Bowie charity tribute night, 29 January

Stewart Scissor's taking part in a Bowie Tribute Night on 29 January at the Loco on Mill Road, Cambridge. Lots of artists doing covers of songs by His Thin White Dukeness to raise money to help the refugees at the Calais and Dunkirk camps. Great fun and a great cause!

Happy new (tenth) year!

Been a while since the last post on here, sorry! But here we are, entering our tenth anniversary year of being The Scissors. We can happily announce that there will be releases this year!
The album, 'The Scissors Is The Haunted Mirror', which has been complete for a couple of months, will finally see the light of day - we'll announce details of which label has been kind enough to agree to release it for us (and when) shortly!
And there's another exciting project for a bit later in the year that we'll tell you about soon...
Once things are set in stone we'll get gig dates and radio appearances finalised and make some noise once more.
Thank you for your patience!
Love, THE SCISSORS