hi, long time reader, rare poster
I've been checking back on this board 3 or 4 times nearly everyday since March to witness the excitement and discussion around this release.
so firstly thankyou for all the info that i've absorbed from you guys

i'm by no means poor but I have been struggling to pay my rent over the last year or so, so my plan was to scrape some money together for the SMiLE 2CD box before christmas and then see if i could save up over the next 6 months and buy the box if things picked up workwise. It would be frustrating not being able to hear the sessions for that long but I could deal with it being that I've been extremely busy with work.
this morning i heard a little ding-a-ling on my doorbell, i opened the door to a lady with an amazon box. my immediate though was "oh, probably the gillet my girlfriend has bought me to stay warm in the house over winter.. cool". took the box upstairs and opened it in my studio
"HOLY SHITAMOLY".. there in the box was the big boxset and a small note "enjoy this. it's been a long wait. dadx"

i geniunely wasn't expecting this. it has truly given me such a lift. argggh my dad. what a man, probably the only person in the world who knows how much i've wanted this and understands the value of this music, not only as a listener but as a part of my education as a musician. it brought a tear to my eye

i dont want to rub it in cause i know some of you havent recieved your boxsets from amazon and i dont really deserve this but wow, what an amazing suprise.
hope you all enjoy your boxsets when they arrive,
injasonbow
x

[P]

it's Phun to stay at the... y.. Yes yes yes, I don't know how to follow the rules!.. c...a...
please
x

who was he? was he naughty?

yikes,
had to step in here and show some super furry love. for those who want to hear the BBs influence check these tracks (sometimes it's pretty subtle)


She's Got Spies
Turning Tide
Chewing Chewing Gum
Keep The Cosmic Trigger Happy
Sidewalk Surfer Girl
(Drawing) Rings Around The World
It's Not The End Of The World (pretty much 'Forever')
Receptacle For The Respectable (macca chewing carrots on this)
Piccolo Snare
Father Father #1 and #2
Atomik Lust
Run-Away
Helium Hearts

it's not always neccesarily in the arrangements but it's in the kinds of melodies they sing. I've read in lots of interviews that they used to get together as teenagers and listen to Surf's Up LP on acid which in a lazy journalistic way kind of describes lots of their music. particularly the albums from guerilla through to phantom power. High Llama's Sean O'Hagan often arranges their strings and horns.

it does bug me a little bit when people quickly check them out and dismiss them only because i did this a few years ago only to gradually get into them again and now they're probably my favourite band after the BB's. they certainly wear their influences on their sleeves but they take it all in a direction i dont think any other band have or will. plus they're definitely an albums band

argh! just give them a more of a chance!
p
x

cool i'm doing a show with nelson bragg in july at the hanbury if you're about?

hi, paul steel: frequent reader, occasional poster here.
just letting you know my album called 'Moon Rock' is out on iTunes US, Canada and Australia now. tis kinda like BBs, todd rundgren, jellyfish, costello .. that sort of ting.
we did a video for the song 'In a coma' which is on my http://www.myspace.com/paulsteel starring Ralph Brown (withnail & I, alien 3, waynes world 2) and lots of brighton bands (and me).

also made an animated film for my first album April & I which is being uploaded in weekly sections here http://www.youtube.com/user/paulsteeltv

also i'm making a few daft 15 second songs every now and then for download on my myspace.
cheers
Paul
x

i record it mostly at home in Brighton, UK but I've just been mixing in LA at Sunset Sound Factory and done the orchestral overdubs at Henson which used to be A&M..  Mr Morgan came a separate day to sound factory. he's had quite the career as THE harmonica man.. pretty good going!
cheers
paul
x

hey!
i'm just working on an album in LA at the moment and we needed a Bass Harmonica player.. who turns up? tommy morgan! was a huge thrill having him play on the track.. he spoke of session dates with brian where he and the rest of the wrecking crew sat and waited until brian had taught them all individually their parts..
brilliant!
paul
x

video of me playing surf's up on the New Friday Project with Tony Wilson

was a cold night! enjoy
paul
x

[Click here for my performance of Surf's Up on the New Friday Project]

Click here for my performance of Surf's Up on the New Friday Project

i was a bit coldy but i just about managed it.. i do really fucking hate the sound of my own voice though

[Paul Steel Website]

hello everybody,
just to let you know my debut album 'April & I' is to be released on March 19th in the UK and is available to order worldwide at Paul Steel Website. It's a 27 minute concept piece very much influenced by the likes of Jellyfish, the Beach Boys, Steely Dan, High Llamas, Super Furry Animals etc. Hear more at Paul Steel Myspace... oh and it comes in children's story book packaging so you will have some visual stimulation also haha. You guys have always been very nice to me on this board so I thought i'd let you know what's going on.. I'm also recording my first major label album in my house in Brighton at the moment.. being mixed by tony hoffer over in LA.. expected release around August 2007 so keep your eyes peeled
anyways hope you're all good.. i still love this board
paul
x

hey if anyone's catching him on the English dates of his tour (tomorrow onwards) I'll be supporting him! would be great to meet some smile shoppers (plus martha wainwright is also supporting in London!!!)
cheers
paul
x
www.myspace.com/paulsteel

hello.. peeps.. i've just popped my new song called In A Coma up on my myspace
http://www.myspace.com/paulsteel

it's kinda like a phil spector and elvis costello mashup.. lots of bv's and stompiness
hope you like it
paul
x

rufus wainwright
super furry animals
jim noir
sufjan stevens
high llamas
hal
radiohead
ed harcourt
iain archer
simian
aqualung
hot chip
clor

http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=AEEBCFFC1734C29C
reposted if anyone else wants it
paul
x

hey, here is the master of my pop symphony 'April & I'.. sounds a bit more beefy and punchier..
also check out the April & I myspace

http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=3669DA8C42536A8C

http://www.myspace.com/aprilandibypaulsteel

hope you like it
paul
x

yeh i've got a few choices of how i might put it out label-wise..
rather than a big release it's just going to be one of those things that hopefully will get round through word of mouth and will be a credible base for a slighty more commercial album to follow...
just done a master up in london today... will post up after any tweaks! thanks for checking it out though
paul
x

Click here to hear Paul-Steel - April & I: A Bedroom Symphony

hey everybody,
hope you're all well. i've just finished my homemade pop symphony called April & I that i recorded in my flat in Brighton, UK with additional vocals from Kate Walsh and the Little Tiny Bill Symphonic Choir... it's just a rough mix... (doing a final mix and master this week). but i'm dying for you to hear it!.. planning to release it in the coming weeks....
thanks for checking it out (it's 27mins long mind!)
enjoy!
paul
x

www.myspace.com/paulsteel

thankyou sir! i demoing a kinda symphonic pop mini album at the moment... i'll try post it up if i can find somewhere to host it.. it's basically a track that's about 25 minutes long made up of 10 basic songs... quite pretentious but i must indulge myself!

hey, the tapeworm is pretty cool and free ... there's something called a Gmedia M-tron i think which is are high end mellotron samples.. and as a mellotron is really a big sampler.. it's fairly easy to get it authentic like... good luck

hey... nelson bragg managed to sort me out with a show in LA when i come over in august.. it's for the International Pop Overthrow festival.. and it's on August 2nd at Safari Sams on Sunset... would be great to meet some of you on my first gig ouside of the UK!... i mean sh*t... i havent even played in Huddersfield yet!

i just used a hired celeste on a track i did today... it's a very old one... for recording it was very noisy and you could hear the keys clunking and the damper pedal made the whole thing creek... it's lovely when you get one that rings but some are really dampened.... best for a kind of twinkly sound!
have fun if you get one

hey smileshoppers... unfortunately i have little internet access so i dont get a chance to pop by here anymore but it's been great catching up on all the goings on.. i sure do miss popping by and reading your posts... i'm currently in Konk studios (kinks studio) with craig silvey (magic numbers/coral) doing a few tracks for island records which i'd love for you to hear if they allow me to stream it off somewhere at some point. also going to cardiff next week to work with charlie francis (producer/engineer on Gideon Gaye and Hawaii by High Llamas) to record my string and horn arrangements. but everythings going well.. i'm still unsigned and havent signed a publishing deal yet  so i'm comfortably resisting any record company corruption! but should hopefully get something workable in the coming months.. anyways hope everythings good and i'll try get back into the smileshop rhythm

cheers
injasonbow
www.myspace.com/paulsteel
x

p.s. i've really missed aeijtzche's technical posts.. really cleared alot of stuff up for me!

www.myspace.com/paulsteel

heh thanks guys.. there aren't enough fun songs out at the moment!! c'mon smilers who make music...  lets make a change! ehem... for something with such as ridiculous subject matter i think ray gun does alright hehe