ALTRES
Original gig poster from the Altres archive. This was in the days before computers and graphics packages.
Live at the Tayside Bar, Dundee
- 23 February 1983
Download:
- Set 1 (24:52) 25MB MP3
- Set 2 (35:58) 35MB MP3
(Thanks to Jez Creek - Modulator ESP for temporarily hosting the files on his server.)
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 drew 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!)
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 in 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 if run through an echo unit - note the first part of set two.)
The recording was done from the stage via two microphones run 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.