Hey Figsters!

It’s been a long time in the making but Trouble At The Rubber Plant was released online on 31st March 2011! You can get it now from the iTunes Store, Amazon, Spotify and Tesco Entertainment. Take your pick and Get Figged!

Holdable, throwable, coffee-mattable CDs are in production and will be available in the early summer; again, watch this space for news.

Making this album has been a labour of love for us Figs. As Keith said yesterday in a Facebook post about the album: “This is what blood, sweat and tears sound like”.  It’s a big task to take on the writing, playing, engineering and production of an album of songs, with steep learning curves and rocky patches of self-doubt. On top of that, we’ve been interrupted by BIG SHIT… TWICE… no more of that, we hope.

We’ve made the kind of album we want to listen to and it really is an album not just a collection of individual songs. The tracks are not ordered by commercial viability, with the big hit first followed by ever decreasing quality as so many albums are today; they are in the order they need to be in to provide the ups, downs, peace and trauma we all experience in life. This is how albums should be. Hey, the ones with the most commercial tracks first might sell more but as albums, they’re shit.

So, some people will hate it. Some people will like some tracks and not others. Some people, who like an eclectic mix of songs which don’t allow you to quite settle into one pattern, will enjoy all of it… we hope!

It hasn’t been all Tim and Keith, of course: we’ve  had help from some great friends, so big Fig thanks go to the following:

• Ewan Beck (bass on Body | Soul, Tsunami Of Soul and Rusty Car), Owen Curtis Williams (drums on Body | Soul) & Harriet Bruce (cello on Sirens) for their figtacular playing.
• Paul Gilbody and Andy Mallarky whose double bass and cello work never made it onto the final master, sorry guys!
• Wing Commander Jimmy Hooverfish for his ears and expertise during track mixing.
• Admiral Colin Douglas Usher for his  testing regime and constant badgering (and for his drum banging during Fig live sets).
• Simon Kirby and Paul Gilbody (again!) for Acoustic Edinburgh: one of the best monthly acoustic music evenings there is; and for their unending encouragement and repeat invitations to perform.
• All who have played with the Fig over the years and helped shape what we are today.
• All our family and friends for their love and support through it all. Fig bless you all!

We have gigs coming up and will be organising an album launch event in Edinburgh during the summer, so keep your eyes on this blog for more news.

Thanks for your on-going support, we really appreciate it and we hope you enjoy Trouble At The Rubber Plant.

Cheers

Tim and Keith.

Another solo set for the Keefster – Tim’s family have been struck down by a bug so he’s is looking after them – with the Dead Beat Club tonight at the Mercat, Maitland Street, Edinburgh, 9pm and it’s free!

I know it’s last minute, but I’ve only known about it for about a week, so get down there if you can… not sure when I am on, but if you get there at 9, there are loads of other musicians doing a set too.

Quoting Shona from the DBC’s email:

In a brave, some would say almost suicidal move, The DBC are attempting to perform without our beloved Mr Andrew G Tucker tomorrow evening.

Our loss is Loch Ness and the-first-camping-holiday-of-the-season’s gain.

Please join us as we hold a memorial service in his honour.

Friday 18th May
The Mercat
9pm sharp!
FREE

The ‘fantabulous’ Keith Paton (+ Special Guest), Roy Henderson, Sandy Black and a special, for one night only, Cartoon Coffee/The Asphalt Dirtrollers collaboration will be performing for your musical delight (we are currently in ‘talks’ to persuade some of them to lend The DBC assistance as we struggle on…beard-less…fighting back the tears….sniff sniff).

Flip flop tributes welcome.

Special “Guest Stars” and everything… that means that my guest will be pushed out of a moving vehicle at the audience’s feet, “Police Squad” style!

Maybe see you tonight then…!?

Kx