ALTRES
Original gig poster from the Altres archive. This was done in the days before computers and graphics packages.
Live at the Tayside Bar, Dundee
- 23 February 1983
This is a recording of our first ever live performance. It was done after 3 rehersals together as a band and was improvised around a very loose structure, i.e. Set 1 - let's start with some wind noises, then go into a sequence for a bit, then make something up and then Maurice can play some electric piano until the end. Set 2 - start off doing something on the VL-Tones, then play something over Maurice's marimba-type sequence, then make a loud noise for a while, then Maurice can play some more piano and we'll end on another sequence...
(The wind noises are missing from the above recording - we forgot to switch the tape recorder on.)
The Venue
The plush Tayside Bar lounge
The Tayside bar was a not-too-luxurious pub in Dundee where, if you were a new band, you could turn up, ask for a gig, and they would put you on on a Wednesday night. If you pulled in a crowd they'd then give you a Saturday night. The manager would also pay you, which was a bonus - £30 for Wednesday, £50 for Saturday. (Unlike now* - the last time Altres were paid for playing was in 1985! *NOTE: This was correct at the time of writing in early 2006. We have since been paid on a few occasions.)
Much to our surprise, the doors of the pub had to be closed due to the number of people in the place. We were invited back on a Saturday night a few weeks later and played there several times over the next two years.
The Tayside Bar was demolished in the late 1990's to make way for a new road.
Equipment
We were all either students, unemployed or in low-paid jobs - skint in other words. Our equipment was very basic:-
- Joe - Moog Prodigy, Casio VL-Tone
- Kevin - EDP Wasp, Loco flanger
- Brian - Korg MS20, MS50, SQ10 and Casio VL-Tone
- Maurice - Casio C1000P, electric Piano, Casio VL-Tone
The equipment on the "stage".
All the above keyboards were fed through various echo units including a Wem Copycat and a Guyatone tape-echo, then into a PA system we'd cobbled together consisting of an H/H combo amp, Selmer Treble & Bass amp, FAL 150W slave amp, borrowed mixing desk, two 4x12"s and one 15" speaker cabinet. Apparently it was loud!
(You may notice we used a lot of Casio VL-Tones - these sounded great when put through an echo unit - note the first part of set two.)
The recording was done from the stage via two microphones plugged into a Technics cassette deck, hence the crowd chit-chat and general noise in some of the quieter parts. Some noise was also caused by various band members accidentally brushing against the mics - it was a very small stage.
The recording is fairly raw with a bum note or two, but it has a lot of energy. We've always believed that it's better to go out and DO SOMETHING rather than spend a lifetime perfecting musical technique in your bedrooom.
So, this was the start of Altres. This was what we did when we were 19/20 years old and most Dundonians still thought Punk Rock was adventurous.
We hope you enjoy it. We did.
(The recording of this gig became the second release on our Multi-Purpose Productions label - see Recordings page for details.)