Filthy Blog | Blobsie

Newark Fake Festival

Sun, 17 Jul 2011 10:03:15 +0100

Well we came, we saw and rocked Newark.

Please see review from the NME( we wish)

" Yesterday saw the very last performance of the live of mature rockers Filthy Smith at the Newark Fake Festival.

This bunch of chances have been hovering round the pub/club/festival seen in North Nottinghamshire for nearly 4 years promoting their unique sound of shambolic rock. Often to be seen with real musicians and talent they have a unique ability to turn up anywhere ( who could forget the Woodborough driveway incident) and to play to a mostly bemused audience (who could forget Musicai Ram Raid that was the Greyhound pub in Beeston).

YEsterday though was a pinnacle in their short but bright career.

As the final local act ( the drummer was seen promoting this slot as the headline act) before the Tribute acts, Filthy Smith performed a stunning set of classic pop and rock covers, if only the audience had realised.

There were a good number of people watching, manly in disbelif as the band started in full on rock mode and then galloped through 20 songs in fifty minutes. Say what you want about Filthy Smith ( they cant play, they cant keep time, they blend, shove more like, songs together that really shouldn't be together, only 2 of them can sing although they all like to have a go) they do offer value for money.

A great way to end their career, this startling performance was only overshadowed by all the other bands on that evening."

Seriously...

We had an absolutely brill time, thanks to all at Fake Festival and the other bands that play and supported us (you weren't the headline act! ed).

Most of all thank you to all those who have seen us live, we hope you have now got over it, thank you to all those who booked us to play, we hope your business had recovered or undertook an orderly transfer in to insolvency.

Its been a stunning experience for all of us, to meet you, play places we never imagined and ticking off a number of bucket list items as we went.

in the immortal words of David Frost ( you have to do the voice)

Thank you and Good Night

Woodborough Drive-past Incident

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 16:35:22 +0100

In keeping with the Filthy Smith tradition of agreeing last minute gigs we play a suprise do at the Four Bells in Woodborough Nottingham, pic below and here

The gig was a surprise in many ways:-

1) We only found out the night before after a late night text from Stu, who i suspect had been drinking in said establishment until equally late

2) There was no stage only a driveway

3) It was in the open air with no cover and a distinct hint of of rain (albeit on the hottest day of the year)

4) We didn't know what we were playing...no change there you all cry however this was more shambolic than normal with random songs being shouted out by Stu, some of which we actually new

Added flavour was Ivan playing on 4hrs sleep and Iain playing somewhat fatigued having returned from a 'lads' - well elder statesman tour of Skegness ( what goes on tour stays on tour!!!!!)

Stu continued his well established form of wandering off in the middle of 'We will Rock you to engage with the crowd' much to the surprise of the crowd and the band. At one point Stu was seen dashing across the road into a local park to encourage the children to sing!. We have warned him about this sort of behaviour!

Woodborough for those who dont know is a quiet village in the heart of the Nottinghamshire Country side and as such is home to a number of equestrians ( horse riders) whose mighty steeds are not used to the onslaught that is a Filthy Smith gig. This was made apparent by a number of 'flighty' horses (and riders) out for a quiet hack on a SUnday afternoon who were a little spooked ... the set had a number of pauses to allow horses to pass and even a mid song stop ( which Jim hasn't done for a long time..he usually does this when he forgets where he is in a song)

The set rounded off with Ivan and Stu doing the wandering minstrel version of With or Without You, up close and personal with some poor punter who was probably only trying to get to the bar.

Many thanks to the Four Bells for having us and their fabulous Pork Cobs for keeping us going.

Look forward to seeing some of you at the Fake Festival on 16 July in Newark ....

If there is anyone out there who is going to the Fake Festival in Newark and not a band member or a relative of the band, make your self known to Jim the drummer after the FS set and he will buy you a drink! ( Terms and Conditions apply and i am not telling you what they are)!!

Fake Festival Update

Sun, 12 Jun 2011 14:20:09 +0100

With less than a month to go the boys are madly rehearsing ( surely badly ed) for the Newark Fake Festival.

The following is lifted from the Newark Advertiser and is not our work ... any issues re accuracy of the report etc is their fault not ours!!

"A host of tribute acts will join local artists on stage when the second Fake Festival takes place in Newark next month. The tour hits the Riverside Park on Saturday, July 16.

It features tribute band King Of Lyon (Kings Of Leon) who appeared at previous festivals, along with new acts Blondied (Blondie) and New 2 (U2).

Festival founder Jez Lee said: "The 2011 tour is shaping up to be the biggest and best yet.

"The idea is to bring that authentic festival feeling to your home town instead of having to travel hundreds of miles and pay hundreds of pounds to experience it.

"Our bands not only sound like the real thing, but also give such a good performance that you may as well be watching the real band themselves."

Shane Crofts, from Coldplace, said: "This will be our fifth year touring with Fake Festivals and each year it just gets better.

"The crowds are bigger and the atmosphere is always electric. It's a special gig for us, each and every one we play."

The main stage is in a marquee with a state-of-the-art sound and lighting system.

There is also a secured area with food stalls, face painting and other activities such as surfing.

For the first time this year, the event is holding an introducing stage featuring emerging local talent.

Jez said: "We feel Fake Festivals is the perfect platform for unsigned artists to showcase their talent in front of a friendly local crowd.

"We like to encourage local artists to get involved with Fake Festivals as the support acts to the main tribute bands.

"We understand how difficult it is nowadays for new artists to make it in the industry so we wanted to provide a platform for them in their own regional area where we can help them gain further exposure."

Support artists performing at Newark include Filthy Smith, 3hour Week, Tonberry, The Jonny Guns and rapper Karlos Borito.

Tonberry are a four-piece pop punk band from Newark who have been together since 2006, under the original name of Jacket.

The band has its own original style that shows through their songs, bringing energy to the stage. The band is about to release a new EP, Those Three Words.

The Jonny Guns are an indie-rock original band from Newark who have been gigging round the area since 2007 with a great sound and set list that will have you up dancing.

Rapper Borito, also from Newark, has performed at various venues in the area along with supporting some up-coming bands that have been on tour.

Filthy Smith are a covers band from Nottinghamshire who are back at the fake festival by popular demand, performing a selection of indie and rock anthems.

3hour week are a four-piece original indie band from Lincolnshire, with catchy guitar riffs. The band has been recording with Arctic Monkeys producer, Alan Smyth.

Tickets are available from www.fakefestivals.co.uk or from Potts Stores, Long Bennington; Premier Stores, Claypole; Oxygen Clothing, Newark; Nisa Local, Lincoln Road, Newark; and Londis Stores, Hawton Lane, Balderton."

Royal Wedding 29 April 2011

Sun, 12 Jun 2011 12:51:07 +0100

We hav only just recovered from therapy needed after the amazing event that was the royal Wedding.

As followers of 'the Filth' know, we were invited to play at the evening celebrations of the Royal Wedding on the 29 April 2011. The band were forced in to a barn in Fiskerton in Nottinghamshire, although we believe that given the usual volume an gain setting we were heard in London!

The evening was a celebration of local talent ( and Filthy Smith) which was there to raise money for 3 local hospices. The vent raised in excess of £4000 so thanks to all that came out. More Photos here

The following is lifted from our Myspace page ... the webmaster cant beat this so i dof my hat in the general area of Meerkat, sit back and enjoy!

The early evening show started with Uncle Jim and his Dodgy Disco for the kids. The Filthy Smith drummer clearly had help putting the songs together as he is not particularly familiar with popular childrens tunes (he prefers ponderous epics by Yes or other such prog rock dinosaurs). The children indulged him and seemed to have a jolly good time showing off dance moves that even a Strictly judge could not fault (there were some very talented kids who were rewarded with chocolate!).

DJ Jim - Aaag-a-do-do-do

The first musical act was Peter Hudson's Jazz ensemble. Very cool duo playing memorable tunes from times gone by. It was good to see people enjoying music that was made before they were born.

Next on was the Minster School Ceilidh Band. Before they arrived, the boys from Filthy Smith had set up 7 mic's and chairs - we were slighty concerned to count 10 of them. As Jim had done the counting, this is not a surpise given his track record of counting drum beats. After a ten minute mad scramble by the FS sound engineers (Stu, Jim & Ivan), the Ceilidh Band were up and running. We enjoyed classic folk tunes and they raised the roof with a resounding rendition of Jerusalem - very patriotic!

Sam Naylor and Melissa Allenby were on next. Two young vocalists who delivered haunting covers both individually and as a duo. These two guys are looking for opportunities on the gig circuit - any pub owners should give them a go.

Just when we thought there could be no more talented people left, Fay Brotherhood knocked our socks off with her acoustic set. Ivan would like to state for the record to Mrs Bere that helping a lady take off her cardigan does not constitute 'undressing'. Jim and Ivan particularly enjoyed The Wild Rover teaching the kids to stamp their feet at the appropriate moment.

It was clear that all the talented acts had been exhausted so Filthy Smith took to that stage. At any Royal Wedding, all talk is about 'the dress' - it was certainly the case when Stu and Ivan made their grand entrance.

The happy couple

Because you're gorgous........

Mr Nicholas's dress was a unique union flag design with whalebone bodice, bussel and no less than 400 nickel staples holding it together. Mr Bere's outfit complimented the dress with union flag trousers, cape and stove pipe hat. FS accept no responsibility for trauma caused by anybody seeing Ivan and Stu in their under krackers getting changed behind the chip van (although, the sight of Stu being shoe-horned into his corset was rather funny).

Stu would like to state for the record that he IS a fairy princess no matter what the cruel children said about his body hair (hairy princess!).

We set off at our usual pace and volume. Proper sound engineers would probably have spent hours trying to compensate for the barns metallic acoustics; we just threw wattage at it. Surprisingly, some members of the crowd looked a tad nervous when a bloke in a frock headed their way with a microphone to join in on We Will Rock You.

Run to the hills

Aside from usual numbers we had a couple of surprises in store - some of them quite a surprise to other members of the band! The first surprise was Stu's lengthy history of Fiskerton followed by very brief history of Morton (rock and education hand in hand). Lip readers may have noticed Iain, Jim & Ivan looking bemused and mouthing WTF.

The 'A N' fell off

WTF?

OMG!

The next surprise was for the Master of Ceremonies, Russell. Suicidally, he had expressed a wish to do a number with us but had failed to show when invited to practice. We cobbled together an idea in the pub to take revenge for wimping out. Invited onto stage, Russell was given a cowbell to play during our unrehearsed rendition of Don't Fear The Reaper. Unfortunately for Russell, Filthy Smith have a nasty habit of putting unlikely song combinations together. Just when he least expected it, we launched into Gay Bar. Poor man looked justifiably terrified as a hairy bloke in a frock stroked his head and invited him to a Gay Bar. Bloke dressed as a woman singing a homo-erotic song with explicit lyrics to another man in front of a family audience - class.

YOU!!!!! I wanna take you to a gay bar.....

Me too!

A further surprise was announcing that Meerkat would lead the crowd by playing the National Anthem on Spanners guitar. Bass players are not known for their light touch and he immediately snapped the strings on the first note. Undeterred, he persisted with the National Anthem before getting fed up and launching into God Save The Queen, Sex Pistols style. This was a suitably punk version as it was played on a guitar with broken strings and the rest of the band didn't know the song.

Ivan easily snapped the guitar strings. Iain struggled to snap those on the bass.

Luckily Spanners had brought a spare guitar and normal levels of shambolism were resumed. We enjoyed watching the dancing and the crowd are congratulated for making use of the furniture to use as air guitars.

The evening ended at midnight. Some people asked for an encore but unfortunately, FS are law abiding citizens and could not play beyond the allotted curfew. The Council are probably wise in ensuring limited exposure to Filthy Smith.

Blog Update

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 18:07:25 +0100

Sorry to one and all for the lack of updates. Real life has overtaken us with work and other commitments needing some focus.

On the other hand the boys are out and about over the next couple of months playing their unique approach to rock and pop covers to audiences who have actually paid ... although it has to be stressed not to see Filthy Smith!.

The next gig is Friday 29 the April. This is a charity night, with many local bands, playing jazz, folk and Shambolic Rock. Expect animal in full on Jazz improv styllee during Here I go Again! Tickets are £10 for adults, £5 11-16 and free for under 11. PLease email me on webmaster@filthysmith.co.uk if you want some tickets. The event is raising money for 3 charities including, Breakthrough Breast Cancer, Notts Air Amublance and the local Newark hospice, Beaumont House.

We have another gig on theSunday 15 May at Southwell Rugby Club. This is a free gig to support the Rugby Club. We will be kicking off at 4pm

End of May TBC.... The Biker Gig more to follow

Finally Sat 16 July Newark Fake Festival. More to follow.

Hope to see some off you there!

Filthy Smith in positive review shock

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 19:59:02 +0000

"FILTHY SMITH (COVERS BAND)

Filthy Smith are one of those great covers bands that seem to have a knack of playing the right songs at just the right time. You know they type we mean, just when you think it can't get any better they throw in another classic that keeps you up on your feet. The lads are all local and just love performing at the Fake Festivals. This will be their 2nd year and we are really pleased to have them back. Whatever you do get ready for Filthy Smith to entertain you from their opening song to their closing song. "

Thanks to Jez at Fake Festivals for this fantastic review of Filthy Smith. Cant waiting to play the gig now.

Gigs upcoming

April 29 Royal Wedding Celebration Fiskerton

May 27 Biker Bash

May/June TBC Southwell Rugby Club

July 16 Newark Fake Festival

Oh lord they want us back!!!!

Fri, 04 Feb 2011 18:05:12 +0000

Filthy Smith are absolutely delighted, nee flabbergasted to have been asked back to play at the Newark Fake Festival on July 16th 2011. More details here

BIG SHOUT out to Jez and the team. we played the Festival last year (see photos) and had the time of our lives. Looking forward to this year!

HELLO NEWARK its great to be back, have you missed us!!!

ARE YOU READY??....ARE YOU READY??....ARE YOU READY FOR FILTHY SMITH??!!

Drummer closes his eyes and breathes in the atmosphere of 2500 people cheering FILTHY SMITH .... He opens his eyes to witness the adoring crowd... looks at Stew and Ivan their faces adorned with beaming smiles... All eyes look to Spanners who has turned on the back line.

Staythorpe power station turns up the electricity output to 150%, all non essential power is diverted to the 13amp socket Spanners is using.

The crowd hush expectantly...there is a gentle hum in the background...The anticipation is growing, whats the opening song? Back in Black, Purple Perry Megamix, a strange version of Gay Bar in a smooth jazz/Norwegian Death Metal stylee.

All eyes are on Spanners, he steps forward .... plectrum poised...his left foot hovering up above the flange pedal...The sound engineer is waiting with his hands clasped around his headphones ready to whip them off his ears when Spanner hits the first chord.

And then slowly ( cause that the way the drummer likes it) his hand hits the first chord .... G.... and again G and again G.

These heavenly chords fill the tent the crowd scream and run ears bleeding.

Spanners continues G G G the rest of the band look on in awe

It should have started in E and with the Bass!!!

Filthy Smith's version of Shambolic Rock entertains like nothing else!

We will see you there!!!!

The Siege of the Castle at Newark 2010

Sat, 22 Jan 2011 17:39:33 +0000

Well the boys went wild had did a gig on a school night at the wonderful Castle Pub in Newark Notts.

The was a slight worrying moment when we arrived to find that the FS boys had been double booked with Robbie Vice. Much hilarity ensued when it was sorted out.

Thanks to wayne the landlord for sorting everything so smoothly and big thanks to Robbie Vice for swapping with us.

So the boys set out unpacking 4 cars full of various bits of lighting, PA, monitors, drums, lighting, cymbals, guitars, more lighting to notice that it was a compact stage area and we didn't have enough room for the full onslaught that it Filthy Smith live.

We subjected the punters to the usual eclectic mix of music in our trademark shambolic rock style. Some people had seen us before and remarkably, stayed to listen again despite the risk to their health and welfare. The unique Filthy Smith gig elements were all present: Random timing changes, loose adhereance to key signatures, inability to start or finish a song at the same time, mickey taking at each others expense etc. We observed much laughter, dancing and singing along - we joined in.

It's always nice to have a birthday and we wished Zoe (who had come to see Robby Vice) many happy returns. So as not to completely ruin her day, we invited Robby Vice up to do a couple of songs. Proof that Filthy Smith are not the only ones to do random things with other peoples songs, Robby knocked a out a unique version of Billie Jean and one of his own compositions. Check them out at the Castle on 26th Jan or on Myspace. We do not normally associate with proper musicians but we make an exception in this case.

One different element was our new tee shirts. We have emblazoned the backs with some of the core Filthy Smith principles such as: 'Tinnitus For The Masses', More Pedals Than Raleigh', 'I am playing in Time - Mainly the 1980's' and 'Piddling In The Shallow End Of The Talent Pool Since 2007'. Learn these principles and you will earn a pink belt in Shambolic-do.

Many thanks to Wayne and Hel for inviting us to play and sorting the mix up. Respect to Robby Vice for stepping aside to make way for us (look forward to seeing you again on the circuit). All hail to everybody who came out on a school night and entertained us with fab dancing and helped us remember the words by singing along. Nice to see some familiar faces (Adrian, Rich, Stig).

On a final note, Meerkat will be working away which may limit our availbility for gigs in the coming months. On the plus side, Filthy Smith will be 25% less shambolic while he is away.

4 go mad in Newark in a School Night.

Sat, 08 Jan 2011 17:26:19 +0000

Filthy Smiths next gig is at the Castle Pub in Newark on Wednesday 19 January.

Expect the usual Filthy Smith madness with associated flu-like symptoms, the drummer going mad with white powder ( its lemsip officer!!), the lead guitarist spending his usual 3 hours warming up his fingers, the lead vocalist sucking on throat lozengers al night and the base player looking like death warmed up.

We cant wait!!

See you there for a fantastic night of ROCK!

Filthy Smith Endorsement

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 19:56:05 +0000

Filthy Smith are delighted to endorse the fine music emporium of Normans (click here) as purveyors of the finest musical equipment for the jobbing shambolic musician. They have excellent customer service and a very fine website. Go there now for all your equipment needs.

Forward Planning

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 19:07:31 +0000

We have been asked to keep this to ourselves as it is rather sensitive ....

Filthy Smith have been asked to play at the Royal Wedding on the 29 April 2011. The boys are honoured and delighted to have been asked to play at the celebration of such a wonderful event, that will bring the country together and fill individuals and communities with a sense of national pride and wellbeing.

The happy couple and their friends and families will witness some of the finest entertainment available and Filthy Smith will add their certain 'something' in a barn in Fiskerton well away from the main event in London.

A spokesman for the Palace said:-

" Neither William or Kate have ever heard of Filthy Smith and would never have such a band at their wedding. If you dont get off the line i will call the police"

A spokesman for Filthy Smith said:-

We hope to be playing at the celebration of Wills and Kate's Wedding, we are confident that the PA and Spanners unique approach of more volume more gain will enable the music (sic) of Filthy Smith to be heard in London. If not the population of Fiskerton and the surrounding villages will have a damn good time.

Local villagers are being advised to tape up windows in a 1940s sty-lee to minimise and damage.

More details to Follow

Night of the Living Dead!

Mon, 01 Nov 2010 17:47:44 +0000

Last Saturday 30th October saw the filthy boys return to their dressing up boxes to play a Halloween bash at the Rose and Crown in Sutton In Ashfield, Notts.

The boys turned out in style with Spanners as a scary clown in full face mask, which proved somewhat problematic in seeing the fretboard of his guitar, Meerkat dressed as Alex from A Clockwork Orange, resplendent with handmade codpiece, although it did lack a bit of filling (insert own joke), Zippy in full on Grave Digger and Animal bring up the rear as a man with flu!

Photos Here

Well done to all the punters who put on a splendid show of costumes

Check out or my space page here .

It was clear from the beginning of the evening that the Filthy boys were not 100% match fit with Animal hitting the lemsips and Red Bull ( thats is an interesting combination!) and Zippy hitting the Strepsils.

We had out first wedding proposal which took us all by supprise especially the bride to be! Normally an evening of entertainment from Filthy Smith induces bankruptcy or divorce. Our congratualtions to the happy couple ... may your relationship be like our Kate Perry Mega Mix long and uncomplicated!

By the middle of the second set Zippys voice was disintegrating rapidly so we broke out the 'close' harmonies to support him. We finished to rapturous applause and screams of more and gently returned to our dressing room, where we became aware of a misunderstanding and they wanted us to play until 12!

So we did what all men do of a certain age who peaked to soon, we reached for the drugs, More strepsils and lemsips were in order as were put together a quick third set, preceded by lots of ... "How does that go again?", "Have we played that before?" and "Can anybody sing that?'

Thanks to the crowd who stood by us and joined in the singing. Thanks to Landlord and Landlady Steve and Jackie for a great party, apologies for not being up to our usual standard and would look forward to returning sometime in the future.

If you want a great local pub with a friendly atmosphere check out the Rose and Crown, Sutton in Ashfield ... tell 'em The Filthy Boys sent you

Halloween Gig

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 08:19:35 +0100

In keeping with the Filthy tradition of dressing up on Halloween we have been given another excuse by the good people of Sutton in Ashfield via the landlord of the Rose and Crown pub.

Expect some serious fancy dress by the band some great set dressing, lots of smoke and an evening of ROCK!!!!

so to recap

Saturday 30 October. The Rose and Crown pub, Sutton in Ashfield

See you there

Webmaster in Tardiness Shock!!!

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 08:04:43 +0100

Apologies to all out there who wait with baited breath for the next instalment of the Filthy Smith blog...you would be hypoxic by now!

Anyway as an update the Filthy boys played Clipstone latest Rock venue 'The Ritz' and in keeping with the occasion dressed appropriately in black tie and DJs.

Stew and Jim look at entirely at home and a picture of sartorial elegance giving an impression of being at home in Park Lane, whilst Iain and Ivan looked like their home was a Park Bench!

The evening was started in fantastic fashion by our new showbiz pals, Planet Friday. This tight and musically accomplished three piece know how to rock check them out on myspace...you wont be disappointed. We enjoyed their set and even indulged in the customary game of Filthy belly conkers.

The boys were in feisty moody berating the audience for not dressing up and kicked of in their usual style with the rhythm section and stew playing 1 song and Iain playing another one. We added another new song that had not been performed in public before and also not practice in private namely Live and Let Die. We are working on huge pyrotechnics for the next gig!

We finished with I Predict a Riot joined by Planet Friday.

In short we had a fantastic time. If you like live music get down to Clipstone on a Thursday night.

Filthy Smith Return to the Navigation

Wed, 29 Sep 2010 18:36:49 +0100

Sunday 26 September saw the Filthy Boys return to the scene of previous triumphs ... The Navigation in Newark Notts.

This fantastic venue, is a massive supporter of live music and have really great bands playing on Wednesday and Sundays so it is with much surprise that we were asked back a 3rd time.

The evening starting in usual Filthy Smith style with Spanners guitar packing up before the first song and progressed along the usual shambolic road to end with a encore ... Great Balls of Fire in the style of the smurfs, thanks to Zippys new vocal gadget ... which Animal had no idea we were playing!

The boys went out with full PA and lighting rig, what they lack in musical talent they more than make up for in pretty lights. Also some new songs(ish) saw the light of day, the audience marvelled as there heard another song (Word Up) shoved into the Katie Perry megamix which now stand at 6 songs in and around the rock classic... I kissed a Girl. Katie would be so proud of what we have done!!

In addition the Sweet vs Girls aloud had the first live outing. For those who have not heard this, it is Blockbuster seamlessly merged with Biology. Go on ITunes and see if you can put the two together...there were people who said it was impossible but I tell you it isn't. This is as close as Filthy Smith will get to prog rock, with complex time signature changes, dramatic 4 beat to 8 beat transitions and a strange thrashy bit in the middle.

Many thanks to the couple at the bar who had great fun guessing what we were playing next, little did they know we were playing the same game.

Highlight of the evening was the bar staff wanting to swap teeshirts next time we play ... thanks girls your on!.

Thanks again to the navigation for allowing our style of rock to pass through their door and for their continued support of live music. Thanks to all who came to watch us and to those who were there for a quiet drink ... SORRY!!

Video of the boys in action here

NEW GIG

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:18:55 +0100

We have just confirmed a new gig in October on Thursday 7th at The Ritz in Clipstone where it is Rock Night!

Also new photos of the boys at the fake festival are here and on facebook here.

Thanks again to JEZ et al for making it a great day out.

18 July Red Lion and Fake Festival

Sun, 18 Jul 2010 07:53:44 +0100

A quick update.

Thanks to landlord and lady of the Red Lion at Farnsfield for allowing us our usual shambolic rock to grace their steps, goo luck in Woodhouse and we hope to see you soon. Thanks to all those who turned out and made the night a fun evening. Well done Stiggy who, played a special encore of 'Sanctuary' having only been out of hospital 2 days!

On Sat 17 July Filthy Smith were privilaged to be asked to open the 1st Newark Fake Festival, we had a blinding experience with full professional sound, monitoring, lighting and AAA wrist bands. We've had a taste of the highlife!!!!

A huge thank you to Jez for letting us in and the really positive feedback. Thanks also to Subject to Change, a great covers band who were 2nd on and supported us brilliantly from the floor whilst we were performing. Thanks also to the sound crew for making sound brilliant.

If you have not been to a Fake Festival i would highly recommend it. You get a full days entertainment with loads of live music and 3 really good tribute bands.

Filthy Smith are off now for a long soak in the hot tub!

See you on the 26 September at the Navigation Waterfront in Newark.

New Gigs

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:59:09 +0100

New dates for your diary:-

Friday 16 July 2010 Red Lion in Farnsfield Notts, with Special Guests Calling for Heroes (in some form or another).

The boys take a well earned break from their hectic touring schedule to spend quality time with their families, therapists, significant others and sheep!

Then they are back on Sun 26 Sept at the Navigation Inn in Newark for a 3rd appearance. We look forward to seeing all our fans new and old at both gigs!

6 June 2010. Ahoy there matey!!!

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 20:39:23 +0100

6th June and FS were invited to provide entertainment for the Farnsfield Pre-School 40th Birthday Party. Children were invited to go in fancy dress and we felt that we fell into that category. So it was that the filthy pirates of rock (click here for photos and click here for video) set sail on a sea of shambolism.

Kicking off with the Queen/AC-DC mash, Stu (AKA Captain Jack Black, King Of The Low C's) made his big entrance brandishing his cutlass and singing 'we will, we will, rob you'. Once more, the wireless mic was deployed and the crowd were given the up close and personal experience.

Desperate attempts were made to kill Jim (AKA Seaman Staines). The smoke machine was set up pointing directly at his head and set off every time he missed a beat. Soon the room was full of smoke but Jim had survived. Stu gave the children his cutlass and asked them to take Jim outside and do their worst. Again, he survived the experience.

In the interval, Stu took on the mantle of master of ceremonies organising a game of pass the parcel for the kids. He also conducted the raffle (there was some talk of insider trading).

We were disappointed that we did not win the childrens fancy dress competition. Although, we did get a lolly each for taking part.

Spanners (AKA Roger the Cabin Boy) was bitterly disappointed that he could not deploy real canons for the occasion.

Meerkat (AKA Ships Mascot) was disappointed that all of the helium was used up on the balloons as he was looking forward to doing a chipmunk impersonation.

The crowd enjoyed numbers such as 'I Predict A Pirate' and 'Arrrrrr Right Now'. They also enjoyed Stu doing the moves to 'Big Fish, Little Fish' surrounded by terrified children.

5 June 2010 Ice Ice baby

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 20:36:49 +0100

FS were privilaged to play at the Sutton Sting Ice Hockey Awards on Saturday 5th (set up video here), reportedly a more lavish event than that thrown by the Nottingham Panthers!.

www.suttonsting.co.uk

Stu deployed his new weapon of choice, the wireless mic, and immediately shot off into the crowd hopping from table to table like a bumble bee getting people to sing along. This came as a bit of a surprise to some - not least the rest of the band.

Another surprise was the hockey mask that Spanners decided to wear in an axe wielding Jason Vorhees style. Possibly not the wisest choice given the heat and humidity. Soon steam was seen to rise from the holes in the mask and it was not evident in the second set.

Star in the making, young Jack joined us on stage for a rendition of Greenday and won himself a tee shirt to help him deal with the trauma of the experience.

Not wishing to be left out, some of the 'adults' grabbed the inflatable guitars we had strategically left lying around and demonstrated how to cavort like a proper rock star. Gentlemen, we are not worthy - you rock!

Not wishing to be upstaged by the old folk, the kids grabbed the inflatable guitars and between bouts of walloping each other sensless, gave a damn good show of rock star-ness (is that a word? it is now!).

The FS lightshow was enhanced by the thunder & lightning and we were badgered into a couple of encores before the disco ended the evening.

The kids blagged some sticks from Jim and had us sign the inflatable guitars and sticks as souveniers. These will probably find their way onto Ebay and exchange hands for thousands of pounds.