|
Latest live news 5th June 2009
It is with great sadness that Thieves' Kitchen must announce the cancellation of their gigs in 2009.
Throughout last year's jaunt to Europe supporting the release of 'The Water Road', our guitarist Phil Mercy experienced pains in his left hand . When prolonged rest of the hand over Christmas saw only a degradation in the condition, he sought medical help earlier this year. For the technically minded the condition he has is known as Extensor Tenosynovitis, broadly similar to RSI and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
At this time it's hoped that surgery will not be necessary and a program of physiotherapy has been embarked upon, treating it very much like a sporting injury. Whilst given time Phil can expect a full recovery, the specialist has informed him that the intense rehearsal and gigging schedule planned for the band in 2009 would have been highly likely to cause permanent damage to the inflamed tendons in his left arm, with long term implications for his guitar playing ability.
The band were very much looking forward to performing at FMPM, Orion Studios, and the CRS this year and hope that those planning to attend, and the greater progressive rock community, will understand and support the difficult decision we've now had to make.
For TK, we've had little chance yet to think of a 'plan B' for 2009 but, with live work out of the question until Phil recovers, the emphasis is likely to be on composition for album number 5. As a band we've had challenges before and we're sure we'll have more in the future, but with your support we've always persevered.
So, again, many apologies to you all, especially to the festival and gig organisers who were good enough to invite us to play and who put so much time and effort into keeping this music we love alive. We hope to make up for it in future years, fates willing.
Phil, Amy, Thomas, Andy and Mark
What a trip! 6th Nov 2008
Phew! Just a short note now that we're back from Europe to let you know what an amazing time we had at all of our gigs. We would like to send our warmest thanks to the new friends we've made and all those people who we spoke to, and who said such lovely things about our music and performances. Thank you all! And we're still reeling from the buzz of it all, particularly at the thunderous applause from the 1700-strong crowd at the Paris Olympia, followed by the kind compliments of The Musical Box, who were genuinely nice guys, and who put on such a breathtaking show themselves.
In the gallery I've put up some of the first pictures to come in - from our set at Spirit of 66 in Verviers, Belgium, and taken by Jaak Geebelin.
Whilst I'm attempting to fix the errors with the mp3 player, fear not that you'll be short of TK listening goodies: you can hear the tracks from our albums at StumbleAudio: The Water Road, Shibboleth, Argot and Head. Hopefully it won't be too long now until a fix is sorted and all is back to normal.
Keep checking back as more pictures and reviews come in!
Amy. xx
Multimedia frenzy 30th Oct 2008
We have videos, photos and shopping discounts in this last update before we head to Europe! On our new videos page (accessible through the 'Media' section) we have some great new bootleg-style footage - unedited - of our set at the Summer's End festival in September. You can see recordings of 'Returglas', 'Tacenda For You' and 'Chameleon', all from the latest album 'The Water Road'. It's a brave band that puts unedited footage up for public view these days, but we're very proud of our performances, especially considering that the videos show TK's first trip out in four years, and our first with Thomas at the keys. I think you'll agree we come off pretty well!
Gleaming winningly in the photo gallery are some brand new photos from the double-header we did at Chipping Warden, UK, with Nick May's excellent band Whimwise. As you can see from the photos a good time was had by all, and we were delighted, astonished and humbled to learn that some members of our audience had driven half the length of the country to attend. This fleet of photos are once again thanks to the remarkable Chris Walkden, who not only has a great eye for photos, but who arrived early from Cheshire to help us fit up, and was the last to leave the venue at night. Chris, thank you, you are a diamond and a gentleman.
Finally, we have a special offer on at the moment in the TK Shop - buy one of the new black TK T-shirts and get one of the old-style white ones for half price! The new T-shirts have been designed to mark the release of 'The Water Road' and our European tour this winter, and feature the logo and web address in classy cream on the front and back of a plain black 100% cotton T-shirt. They are available in a full range of sizes, including a great new Ladies' 'skinny-fit' version for the under-represented female prog fans out there! Please bear in mind that since we're away rocking Europe, your T-shirts won't be shipped until Wednesday 5th November, but get your orders in while stocks last, and we'll send them straight out to you on our return.
Thanks for being there with us over these last few wonderfully manic months, and for continuing to support Thieves' Kitchen.
À bientôt,
Amy. xx
Playing live 29th Oct 2008
In this website update, I am pleased to announce that Thieves' Kitchen have accepted the kind offer to play at the mighty FMPM (Le Festival des Musiques Progressives de Montreal) in September 2009! It will be our first appearance in Canada, and our only festival appearance in North America next year. You can read the announcement on FMPM's website as well as find out much more about this amazing festival that in just two years has become one fo the top progressive and creative music festivals in North America. Other bands already announced for 2009 apart from TK are DFA and Montreal's own Rouge Ciel. Exciting times ahead!
In other news, I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you more about Phil Mercy's endorsement of Organic Guitars, and the developing relationship between the TK guitar genius and the groundbreaking artisan luthier whose burgeoning reputation is based entirely on the breathtaking quality, beauty and precision of their instruments.
 Duncan Wales of Organic meticulously hand-crafts every guitar, with the Organic Custom model being made specifically to order, and using no automated processes from start to finish. Since being blown away by the vibrant tone and stunning good looks of the Organic Standard, Phil Mercy has joined forces with Duncan to create an entirely new design of Organic guitar, one which will need no introduction to anyone who has been to a TK gig in recent weeks: the beautiful Organic doubleneck. Created as a visual match to Phil's current Organic in red-auburn Padauk wood, the doubleneck features six-string and 12-string necks, custom inlays, piezo saddle pickups and a Fernandez Sustainer ("for those special moments!" says Phil!). It has received compliments and admiring looks (even wolf-whistles!) from every audience we've played for, and for good reason. You can see more of Phil and the Organic doubleneck in action
on our gallery page, and pay a visit to Organic Guitars' website to see more of Duncan's work.
Finally, it's come to my attention that Firefox and Google Chrome are having trouble loading the mp3 player on the homepage and the sound files on the media page. However, these are both work perfectly when the site is viewed through Internet Explorer. Please try refreshing the whole site (shift+click 'Refresh') to see if that helps - if not, do accept my apologies, and know that I'm working to fix it for those of us who prefer to use other browsers than IE!
It's all go on Planet TK! Till tomorrow,
Amy. xx
Glass half full 28th Oct 2008
We're halfway through our European tour for 2008: 3 UK gigs finished, 3 European ones still to come! The gigs at Summer's End in Monmouthshire, Riffs Bar in Swindon and Chipping Warden Village Hall were all a huge success, garnering some amazing feedback from gig-goers who have all been so friendly, warm and supportive - it's been an honour to meet you and chat with you. The whole band have really enjoyed ourselves these last few weeks and are all set to rock Europe at the dates in Germany (Freakparade Festival, Nov. 1st), Belgium (Spirit of 66, Nov. 2nd) and France (supporting the Musical Box at the Paris Olympia, Nov. 3rd).
In this web update, there are some wonderful photos from TK sets at Summer's End and at Riffs Bar, courtesy of the very talented Chris Walkden, available for your viewing delectation on the gallery page; remember to click on the thumbnail to view the whole picture. There's also a nice gig review from DPRP about our set at Summer's End on the gig reviews page, and a new review of 'The Water Road' from Progression magazine just in: "Thieves' Kitchen's "The Water Road" is, quite possibly, the album of the year... It is stunning." Read more on The Water Road reviews page.
 We also recently received an email that has brought happy smiles to all of us: 'The Water Road' has just been nominated, by the official event board of examiners, for the categories Best Foreign Record and Best Artwork at the Prog Awards 2008! This is such a compliment for us. It is emails like this that make it worthwhile, knowing that our music is out there, and people are listening to it and loving it. The nomination recognises the sheer amount of blood, sweat, tears and joy that have gone into the making of our beloved latest album, and we're honoured to be among such good company on the list of nominees. You can follow the awards on the Prog Awards website.
Now, just to warm your cockles over the next couple of days now the cold of winter is moving in (brr!) we'll be updating tomorrow and the next day (you never had it so good!) so keep your eyes fixed on the news page for more TK info before we head to the Continent.
If you're reading from Europe, we look forward to seeing you in a few days!
Amy. xx
Live dates 31st July 2008
GIGS! Just a quick news update, this one, to announce the dates Thieves' Kitchen are playing in Europe this autumn. There are gigs at Freakparade Festival in Würzburg, Germany, Riffs Bar in Swindon, UK, and Spirit of '66 in Verviers, Belgium, as well as the two dates already mentioned on this website. Please visit our gigs page to find out the details.
We've had quite a haul of reviews from all round the world following the release of 'The Water Road', and the "10 out of 10"s and "five stars" are stacking up! It's really gratifying - and humbling - to see people enjoying the album as much as we do. We can't wait to perform some of the tracks live for you. The Water Road reviews page is chock-full of some really great reviews, with new ones marked with a  icon.
Finally, there's also a new interview that Phil did with Italian prog mavens Arlequins, where he dishes the dirt on how we met Thomas, what writing the album was like, and just where the idea for 'Om Tare' came from...!
Best wishes, and if you're in the UK, enjoy the sun while it lasts! 'Sumer is icumen in' as the old song goes!
Amy. xx
So much news!! 21st May 2008
Hi everyone, and let me first and foremost apologise profusely for the inexcusable lateness of this website update. Things have been manic at TK towers since we released 'The Water Road' at the end of March and the album has met with rave reviews and critical acclaim the like of which we could never have imagined when we first set pen to paper, plectrum to string, clicking-finger to mouse, all those many months ago. You can read some of the wonderful things people have said about 'The Water Road' on the album's reviews page.
I'm proud to announce that we are going to be playing a few select dates in the UK and Europe later this year! These will be our first live gigs for nearly four years, and will be TK's first with keyboard player Thomas Johnson. On Sunday 28th September, Thieves' Kitchen will be playing the Summer's End Festival in Lydney, Gloucestershire. Summer's End has rapidly become the UK's finest progressive rock festival and runs for three days. This is a great festival to experience and having attended in previous years, we can say that the vibe is relaxed and welcoming, and they have a great line-up this year too, including Threshold, IQ, The Tangent, Magenta, Quidam, Frost* and Abel Ganz. Visit our gigs page for more information.
Another date I can confirm, and one that we are very excited about, is Monday 3rd November, when Thieves' Kitchen will be supporting the mighty 'Musical Box', the world's most prominent, meticulous and officially sanctioned tribute to Genesis, when they will be performing 'A Trick Of The Tail' at the legendary Olympia concert hall in Paris. I will be putting a link up for that on our gigs page shortly.
Final news is that Thieves' Kitchen have officially released a number one record! 'The Water Road' held top spot at the peak of the Global Progressive Rock Network Charts for three weeks, before finally being toppled by Magenta's new release at the beginning of May. If you too would like to know what has whipped up the critics, reviewers and listeners into such a frenzy, have a listen to a few samples from 'The Water Road' on our home page, and get yourself a copy of this groundbreaking album that ZNR Records call "the finest album made by any symphonic progressive band in the last 30 years. Period.". You can buy it from the Thieves' Kitchen Online Shop and get free worldwide shipping - and don't forget you can download it from iTunes too!
Tell us what you think... click the 'contact' link at the top of this page, and let us know your thoughts on everything TK. We look forward to hearing from you!
All the best,
Amy. xx
Useful links: iTunes - Thieves' Kitchen store
New album available! 17th March 2008
Thieves' Kitchen's fourth album, 'The Water Road' will be officially released on 31st March, but is now available for pre-ordering in our online shop. We're all thrilled and incredibly excited with the results. Have a listen to the samples in the player on our homepage - we can't wait to see what you all think!
The album was mastered at Aubitt Studios, Southampton, in February by the wonderful Rob Aubrey. Meticulous attention to detail has been evident at all stages of the making of this album, and the mixing and mastering processes were no different. In particular, listeners will find that the album has been mastered to preserve the dynamics in the performances and compositions, something that we're seeing shamefully less and less of in these days of 'brickwall limiting'. We'd urge you to check out the TurnMeUp! organisation, a movement advocating bringing dynamics back to music, to find out more about not only why 'loud' does not equal 'better', but why it may be progressively diluting the quality of recorded music, and thus providing you, the listener, with a product that is the sonic equivalent of fast food, and for no seemingly good reason!
This album breaks new ground sonically, creatively and compositionally - and we are immensely proud of it. We hope you enjoy it as much as we've enjoyed writing, recording and playing it!
Useful links: TurnMeUp! - Bringing Dynamics Back To Music.
New year, new album... 13th Jan 2008
Well, Happy New Year everyone. Again, apologies for the infrequent website updates. Things move apace and we're very near the point where all things that have to be recorded have been recorded. We hope to be able to have a first formal listen through to the album as a band down at Aubitt later this month, and a March release date is looking very likely.
So what's taking the time? Well, in summary I'd say it was attention to detail. We've been honing in on all aspects of the compositions and refining everything until we're happy. Thomas particularly has been really fine tuning his parts. The piano, organ, and especially his Mellotron work sound exquisite to my ears. We've shared some provisional mixes with close friends and, well let's just say there's been a lot of smiling going on.
So, I want to thank you all for your patience, it's not long now. I can't wait to stop talking about all this and just let 'The Water Road' speak for itself.
More later - Phil.
< back to News Earlier news (2005 - 2007) >
|
