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'Studio Sucks' -gig, Kälviä 21.11.2008
Here was a perfectly timed escape from the studio to get our shit together playing-wise as a band. When in the studio you play 'by yourself' with a click and some drums, it isn't exactly the same as playing live with the entire band. AND, there was the gig initiation of Olli also!
The 'venue' was also perfect for our needs, a small space with next to nothing to set up. The nice surprise was that quite a few Schmorfettes were present also. During the 'classics' a mosh pit emerged, and the response for the new song called Paranoid, was waaaaaaaay better than expected, but generally the interest for the new material is quite nice, so that's to be expected *coughcough*...
On the 'glitch side of life' we were - as always - a bit boring. Nothing broke, everyone was in tune, and the perfomance was good, all in all. In one point the battery died on the wireless mike, but even this happened between songs... So just you wait, one of these gigs the law of Karma will get to us, which has amassed the strength of 666 T-Rexes by now, no doubt. Maybe the town will explode or seas boil? Maybe insects will eat all of the band members? Perhaps the audience will turn into bloodsucking, ill-tempered goatherders with a snake growing from their lower lip, who knows...
Here's the set list:
2.0
Paranoid
Girls just wanna have fun
Metaschmorfosis
Oblivion
Face Polish - Disapproval
The goal was to divert our thoughts of studio work and get rid of gig rust, and we delivered. The fine audience and all that was an added bonus, so what the fuck! Back to studio!
The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, THE Arena 10.8.2008
Now this is THE shit. If every gig had a venue like this, an audience like this, the PA and lights like this, life would be good.
If you weren't there, i pity you! Just to get a small hint of the feeling, check out the GBU site for info and gig pics, and the videos on youtube:
Brainwashing
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
The set list was pretty much copied from Raahe, without Empty and Capische, and little bit fucking around with the order of the songs.
For the first time the band reached a nirvana-like state of mind, and it showed. Also some excellent video, audio and still picture material was produced, and will be used in the future. Everyone was left speechless, and come next year, things will surely seem interesting...
The Good, The Bad And The Ugly Talent Show, Corner's Pub 10.8.2008
A small showcase with info on the whole project and few songs performed by all the bands. For more info and pics, check out the official The Good, The Bad And The Ugly site.
Raahe, Rytmikellari 9.8.2008
Rytmikellari is the place to play a show. No, it's not the biggest of venues, but the place and the staff is great. So, again, i am sorry to inform that nothing went haywire, not a fuse blew or a musician beat up. A bunch of new fans were created, and some nice musical chitchat after the gig accompanied by a few cold ones happened.
We played a full 1,5 hour set with everything we got, and again it was a blast to perform with all our repertoire. Set list:
Brainwashing
Choice
Urban Chaos Committee
Egosystem
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
2.0
Empty
Metaschmorfosis
Oblivion
I Am
Capische
The Rift
Face Polish – Disapproval
The surprise was: with next to no rehearsing, the band clicked like clockwork. There's something we are doing right, right? NOT.
The afterparty was something out of a Stanley Kubrick movie, again. Again, tons of material was produced from the entirety of the trip, including how we got there, soundcheck, gig, afterparty, videos, pictures - the whole nine yards. All of these extra material will be handed to you on a silver platter, as soon as we have the chance to bleep out the x-rated stuff, if you know what i mean... I know the previous sentence comes from a band with a male stripping video on they're website, but believe you me - there exists a line we don't cross. Yet...
The gig attire was the usual - face paint, skirts, wigs, pyjamas and of such sort. Equipment-wise, the virgin run with Janne's brand new 6505 amp and 5150 cab worked out great. The sound was heavier and cleanet than ever. I'd like to say 'improvement', but who the fuck am i kidding?!
By the way - do you know what 'Tetris'-hair means? One example is a mohawk, completed with a fellow band member with anti-mohawk: the strip of hair shaved, leaving the rest. So sweetly they complete each other.
Kajari, Kalajoki 2.8.2008
This was a first for us. When the merry party of Schmorf arrived, there was quite a bunch of people (also a first...), but 'Stop and Go' does not even begin to describe this one. We actually were at the site for an hour.
Nonetheless, the show was a solid 25 minutes of - you know it! - Schmorf at it's finest. The wardrobe 'malfunctioned' even more than at the last one, now complete with face paint, more skirts and funny hats!
This gig also marked the spot for being the first one with slight technical difficulties, but just slight. The amps were not ours, which made us scratch our heads, and a small tuning mishap reared it's ugly head, but that's just nuances, we actually don't give a rat's rectum. Unlucky 13 my bum!
The happening was promoed to be a 'Pop'-type of thing, which is nice. You see, we stand out an inch or so. Here's the set list:
I Am
Egosystem
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
Oblivion
Metaschmorfosis
2.0
Short, but to the point. The very instant when a few female audience members started chanting 'pussysweat' baffled us a tad.
Performing was fun as shit, and the whole crew would've liked to see all the other bands and... you know - participate. But, business as usual, there's places to go, people to meet. Busybusybusy. Next stop = Raahe!
WestParkRock, Kokkola 5.7.2008
Back at Länsipuisto! This is shaping up to be an annual tradition for us... Outdoor performing is always welcome!
This time we didn't have the question mark hanging over our heads like last year. Everybody pretty much knew to get ready for anything. This time the rags were a little... different. Wardrobe malfunction, anyone? Skirts, sun covers, questionable band shirts, hawaii-style shirts... you name it. Bicycle helmets to top it off. And Juice Leskinen-style hairdos.
We started off the evening with our show, which was kinda nice because the sun was still shining. It disappeared when we left the stage, which is what we call Karma. The other bands consisted of 'slightly' younger people, so the audience was quite baffled, to say the least. But smoothly we got them turned on with 'SIIKA!'-chants. For those who don't know what i'm ranting about, check THIS out.
The sun brought out a few gallons of sweat, but it is quite strange - and nice - to feel the wind on your face, especially when you're used to dark cellars with smoke machines.
The set was short, but it got the message across, trust me...
Metaschmorfosis
Egosystem
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
2.0
Oblivion
I Am
Capische
With the occasional fucking around, of course. The gig was the easiest one to us, as we didn't have to set up anything, just plug'n play. Everything worked, no glitches and tons of nice times!
By the way, is it a habit for bass players to soil themselves after 12 gigs with their band?
Corner's Pub, Kokkola 29.5.2008
Let me kiss the concrete, because the boys are back in town!
Refreshing after a while to haul the gear for two blocks instead of 220 km. The cellphones rang and with threats, extortion and bribes we got a very nice crowd together. And you know what this does to a performer, it brings out the last 5% in our 56% repertoire.
Of course we didn't get through the night without seeing some manboobs and genitalia, but that's what keeps us going. Ugly balls.
Stage raps were of the biggest caliber, and we witnessed a 'situation comedy'-type of event also. In between songs, the incident involving a Koskenkorva bottle and the place where it went during 'A Night in Kristiinankaupunki (tm)' was play-by-played, with additional Alfa Omega & The Päissääns -background music. Very emotional. The person in question happened to be at the little girls' room at the time, but as soon as he entered the dancefloor his name was shouted out. The man didn't know what was going on, just cheered along with everybody. Well, now he is famous for something. Perhaps an email to all his relatives...? Hmm....
Also in the midst of all the trashing out and moshing around, blood was spilt during the night. Antti strutted his stuff around, only to hit his forehead on Janne's guitar, and busted his face open. Nice!
The set was a small variation from the last gig, and this time it was perfect. It got the crowd wild in the first songs, and just grew from there leaving everyone with a smile on their face. Our best gig, by far!
Corner's Pub, Kristiinankaupunki 24.5.2008
Here was a trip to decorate the christmas tree with...
Gig-wise, everything was good, the stage was nice, band was on fire - as always -, the trip was relatively painless (though smelled of cigarrettes and beer), and so on. But what happened after the gig at the ho(s)tel, was another thing.
This was the night Finland got beaten by Sweden at Eurovision, which is a sign of bad things to come. The universe has tilted on it's side, oceans will start to boil and turn to blood and such. The usual. That meant a late gig, but that's no problem! No Maverick this night, i might add. It was like a piece of the heart was torn away. He was missed. That will be corrected to the next gig, of course.
Lots of sweat and harmonic sounds were emitted from the stage. The set was pretty much the same as in Alaveteli, minus Trouble. Because Elvis has left the earth. Evaporated. Gone. Dead.
Before the gig started, the ho(s)tel, which was reserved by the drummer thank you very fucking much, was found to be 40 km away. This was the curveball everyone expected. NOT. At least we got that changed to a nearer location. And that's where the magic started to happen.
If you didn't know, here's a science fact. Mix a few men with a summer night, add excessive amounts of substances, a ho(s)tel and a tad of insanity, the outcome is a question mark. This time it meant noise, unnatural humor, politically incorrect clothing and speeches, and something no-one remembers. Or wants to. All this was recorded - of course -, but the thing is, we can't show them! Our families, countries and everyone in them will disown us. Maybe if you get us reeeeeeeeeally drunk, we might throw a hint or two.
Everything added up, the trip was great. New friends were made, tabus were broken, barriers were taken down. Schmorf style!
Café 13, Alaveteli 10.5.2008
The armored division known as 'Schmorf & entourage' arrived at the scene early on, as usual... Setting up the gear caused some grey hair as there was a little teeny tiny shortage of space. You be the judge.
Let me just say, this is THE place to be for a band, because everything, and i mean EVERYTHING worked like a charm. As soon as equipment was a-ok, we were wined and dined like never before. The meal was all sorts of yummy grub on a plate the size of Africa. No starving people here. The surprise was, Janne - being the fat, pot-bellied, grease-munching, bottomless-stomach man that he is - ate the whole plate of stuff in a mere 10 minutes, as the rest of us watched in awe. There is something so wrong in the universe. And yes - there was Jölli to be had. Jölli was included in the feast. We ate Jölli. You heard me, JÖLLI. Joonas: 'What did we eat?', Janne: 'JÖLLI. Two of 'em.'
By the way, Janne's two Jölli's were small. But that is obvious.
Next, the Wait commenced. You know, the awkward window in time and space in which there is absolutely nothing of use to be done. This is THE time for schmorf! We saw The Fly (not the movie, a certain magic trick performed by male genitalia), the Ballpants (a bit too raunchy to include in the pics-section...), bare bottoms, certain band members hitting on would-be fans only to find out they were 10 and 13, the usual stuff.
The night was beautiful to the point when we started to play. We are the ones who make ugly look even MORE ugly, you see! Tech-wise it was a boring night again, meaning everything worked. There was one power shortage, but nothing exploded, which is kind of a bummer, but the dream is still alive...! Here's the set for the night:
Set nr 1:
Brainwashing
Choice
Urban Chaos Committee
Egosystem
2.0
Empty
Trouble
Set nr c :
Metaschmorfosis
Oblivion
Schmorf
I Am
Capische
The Rift
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
Face Polish – Disapproval
And of course, the occasional short ones which are distributed unevenly and randomly around the sets. Our entourage held it's end of the bargain and provided the feel. In the second set the local folk joined in and we had a great party! The tables were used as props and one unnamed guitar player was lying on the floor playing in the end of the show. Amazing!
We also have to thank our buddies from Stigmatize for lending us some equipment! Cheers! I think we will meet quite soon...
Kälviä, 26.4.2008
There has to be something so wrong with us... AGAIN, we caused some ruckus, raised some eyebrows, stirred chaos and got into a bloody fine mess!
Now i just have to mention that (especially) here at giginfo-page, if there is some kind of perplexing comment about SOMETHING, there is most definitely a story behind it. Usually it involves nudity or urinating. Go figure.
After we got our gear to the place, we had to get rid of everything involving cars and driving. You do the math... And here's some cryptic comments about the evening:
*genitals recorded on a videocamera, don't know whose it was (meaning the camera...)
*aluminum foil hats
*beverages
*MacGyver-type duct tape worn as a hat
*Maverick, our #1 fan on stage getting a rise out of people: 'RYIJY! RYIJY!'
*urine in various places, not the most predictable ones
*more beverages
*eating 'Jölli'
*a bass player wearing only underwear (not his own), and our Sioux-wildman making fart sounds by blowing on his bare stomach
You know, the usual... Some of these can be witnessed at the PICS-page.
The whole damn show was taped with a videocamera (i wonder...), so videos will be available, too!
Performance-wise, everything worked great. Gets kinda boring, but that's us, always delivering 1500% without any glitches...
Set looked like this:
Urban Chaos Committee
Choice
Egosystem
Brainwashing
2.0
The Rift
Empty
I Am
Oblivion
Metaschmorfosis
Capische
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
Face Polish – Disapproval
Of course there was the usual intelligent random songs in between, but i can't remember which if my life depended on it.
We have to give a big hand to the other bands and the whole crew and staff, who made us feel welcome. We are, to put it bluntly, the new annoying kid on the block, the hyperactive one who just doesn't know when to stop and causes a lifetime mental trauma to all the small kids, so this was a great night for us - and i know - the crowd also! Cheers!
Kannus Pub, 12.4.2008
OK. Let me regain my composure here. Because this night was what we call EVENTFUL.
After some car battery problems we came to Kannus, and got our gear set up, and everything was looking peachy. The band locked itself up along with the crew backstage which in this case was a sauna department of a hotel. Next something blurred the minds of everyone involved, and wondrous and magical things started to occur. Male striptease, stuffing a person into a fireplace (what is it with us and all the fireplaces?), and the removal of pubic hair by burning, among other things i do not dare mention.
The first set started and everything was going super, even as we had the drummer backing up with his mouth with the stage raps. Here's the first set list:
Choice
Egosystem
Brainwashing
2.0
The Rift
schmorf
Empty
Trouble (as performed by Elvis)
So as you see there was new shit and a wink-wink to the manager, as he mentioned Elvis during the booking of the gig. Of course, Trouble was seasoned with heavy 'schmorf'-spices, as one could only imagine... Just some minor technical glitches were present, barely noticeable. The playing was tight, but that was to be expected because the rehearsing was quite frequent before this night. And yes - we are that good. NOT!
A small break and we were back, and here is where up became down, left became right. This is the set list we were prepared for:
Urban Chaos Committee
Oblivion
I Am
Lasten Mehuhetki (Tuomari Nurmio)
Metaschmorfosis
Capische
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Cyndi Lauper)
Face Polish - Disapproval
We began and distorted chords wailed, disharmonic low frequency noises roared. As we all know, our music is for the thinking man. The notes that are put in, are considered and made with one thought in mind - let's do something different. AND WE AIN'T FUCKING AROUND. This means if you're expecting 'honeybaby', 'bebop-a-lula', 'i miss you soooooooooo' and such, you're in the wrong place, cowboy. And sometimes this happens.
After the second radio-friendly tune, Oblivion, the warmth and affection that only two people can express to each other, started to fill up the place. Eyes looked into eyes, and romantic word combinations were stutteringly said. 'Love is in the air, and flowers everywhere'. Caring. Sharing. Unconditional togetherness. Fuzzy butterflies in the stomach. You get the idea.
We continued with I Am and Lasten Mehuhetki, and made a jump to Face Polish, and bailed. Sharing all that love with the biggest fans consumed our time in the spotlight, which faded, so the end was imminent.
Ravintola Kultakala, Kalajoki, 25.1.2008
What's that dust rising in the horizon? That's schmorf coming to rule with it's massive equipment repertoire!
With all the stuff we had, we could've set up a stadion gig for any band. But that is so us, little bit of exaggeration here and there.
Setting up everything took lots of time, but everything clicked and sounded great. Soundcheck AND gig, fortunately.
Playing a new town on your own, no familiar band to draw the crowd is a tough one. A lot of marketing has to be done. This time we had the few crazy ones in the front with schmorf shirts on screaming 'fear the toys you make' (which is another story), and that kept the music flowing. Afterwards, there were a few 'thankyou's' and such, so the more quiet rest of the audience was into it, after all!
Here's the set:
Choice
Urban Chaos Committee
Oblivion
schmorf
Empty
I Am
Lasten Mehuhetki (Tuomari Nurmio)
Brainwashing
Metaschmorfosis
Egosystem (a new one!)
The Rift
Face Polish - Disapproval
One glitch threw us offguard, namely Johnny's bass string that broke in the middle of Empty, i think. This meant retuning after each song, which was kind of a bore, but these things happen.
Egosystem is a new one by Antti, song and lyrics, this time. An even 10/4 verse with a hypnotic riff, a jumpy chorus and a sick middle part makes it quite different from other schmorf songs. Which is a good thing.
The folks at Ravintola Kultakala deserve a BIG hand for being nothing less but greatly hospitable the whole day!