Smilex

smilex call it a year early...last shows of 2011 and other news

2011-02-07T08:40:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! Just thought i should give u a little update on what’s going on in smilex world:
As u may remember, bassist jen is not coming back from her work sabbatical in New York til march 2012 now. Now, as a result, tom is going out there to join her for as much time as he can...aawww!
Me and Pat are going to use this time to finish our album in progress ‘la petite mort’ which truth be told, is really close to done just needs vocals and mixing, but for some reason, just like with writing and learning new songs, when we have gigs approaching, its all we concentrate on really, so in many ways are thankful for the opportunity to focus and actually finish the record we started recording in feb 2010! Keep an eye out tho, as we have videos currently in production for at least 2 new songs!
The tracklist currently appears to be: ‘9hz’, ‘deadman’s dirge’, ‘wasted youth’, ‘revive the revival’, ‘what is it u actually do again?!’, ‘la valse macabre’, ‘evil’, ‘manatee’, ‘please: do not feed the drugchild’, ‘one woman man’ – although u never know how things may change by its completion!
This means that these will be our last shows of 2011 (unless if one happens to fit in with tom coming back from New York and able to rehease/ gig in the short time he has here, which is doubtful tbh!) although not, as far as any of us know, the last smilex gigs ever – just for a very long time indeed!
The February ones should serve as our last ‘conventional’ venue gigs for the year:
Feb 15th – o2 academy with phantom theory and grinspoon
Feb 22nd – wahoo! (a rocsoc gig) with our stand-in bassist liv’s band the charm assault and more...
Feb 24th – fat il’s in witney with prospekt and age of misrule.
(These will be your last chance to hear anything off the album ‘7’ live for a very long time i suspect!)
The March shows are very different from anything we have done previously and really exciting...
As part of the Pegasus theatre’s ‘moving with the times’ event on march 10th and 11th smilex and contemporary dance choreographer and visual artist Naomi Morris present ‘the time of of our lives’
A twenty-or-so minute long specially created show featuring contemporary dancers on one side, smilex on the other and a whole host of visual/projected accompaniment...it’s going to be awesome! Smilex songs played will be: time of our lives – 9hz - flimsy fickle fashion (fuck off and die!) – la valse macabre – revive the revival. All with both visuals and choreography created by Naomi specifically! To say we are excited about this project is a huge understatement – we hope it will be unmissable!
Tickets are available for all these shows (check out www.smilex.org.uk) and as its the last chance to catch smilex live for a very long time, it would be lovely to see you there! Incidentally our album ‘7’ will be available for a bargain £5 each and all our previous ep’s priced at £1 each at all these shows!
As anyone who keeps up to date with smilex knows there will still be plenty of recent and older stuff appearing on our various music, social networking sites and on our youtube channels as always, as we raid our archives from almost 10 years of smilex action (we always struggle to pinpoint an actual anniversary but somewhere in the late summer of 2001 we actually all met so i guess it’s then? ).
As usual, thanks for reading and more importantly listening...don’t be stranger now...take care! x

Lee Smilex Xmas update

2010-12-17T11:42:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, hope this message finds u all well and happy! Firstly thanks for paying attention to the music i make, this year and any other, and hope u have found something that hit the spot, whether recorded or at one of the gigs i played this year! I thought i would wrap up the year with a list of releases in various shapes and forms so thought i would send a little message with them all listed so u can go check ‘em out of you are curious...

Smilex – as many of you will know bassist jen’s work sabbatical for a year in New York has been extended to another year meaning she will not be back til 2012 now. Sad for us as this obviously is, on the bright side, it does mean we get to keep hold of Liv ( from The Charm Assault) who is temping for us in the meantime for a little longer, which anyone who came to the recent show will agree is a silver lining and a half! Aside from our single ‘x’ and our ‘live at cornbury festival 2009’ ep on itunes (go get ‘em!) we also celebrated being playmusic’s best unsigned live act 2010 with new ‘live at riverside festival 2009’ album as a ‘pay-what-u-like’ download here: http://smilex.bandcamp.com ‘la petite mort’ is still in production btw! Stay tuned for more news on our follow up to ‘7’ and on exciting live plans for 2011 including an inventive new smilex-meets-contemporary- dance show in March at the Pegasus theatre in Oxford, we are really thrilled about! www.smilex.org.uk

The prohibition smokers club- this june i finally finished and released ‘a clearing...’ after 3 years of members leaving, joining, leaving and so on... it’s a diverse selection of songs featuring a cast of plenty of the best musicians the city has to offer – it’s available thorugh i-tunes or at one of the shows the all new ‘smokers’ are playing – which anyone who attended will hopefully sing the praises of! With the current line up now fixed and really gelling well, we are currently writing material for our 2nd album ‘without fire’ which we hope to have out summer 2011! All profits from ‘a clearing...’ go to cancer charities so please do check it out! www.myspace.com/theprohibitionsmokersclub

Boywithatoy has been slow this year due to me and phill being busy with smokers/smilex and the delta frequency/dear city (check out their album featuring tom smilex on guitar here: http://www.thedeltafrequency.co.uk )respectively but we hope to get some new shit going soon as phill has got some new sexy gadgets! Watch this space: www.myspace.com/boywithatoy

Chateaux 69 has been very busy recording all year and are now putting finishing touches to our debut album ‘welcome to chateaux 69’ for release in the new year and plan yet another album before 2011 is out! Go to www.myspace.com/chateaxsixtynine to hear tracks and for updates!

This march i released my first ever solo release (although i got by with a little help from my friends to be honest!), a cover of radiohead’s classic ‘talk show host’ for BBCintroducing’s compilation ‘round the bends’ for children in need! It’s on i-tunes now! Hear it: www.myspace.com/leechristiansongs

This winter i started my new experimental beats/spoken word collabo project’s series of releases for the local homeless shelter oxhop on new donation based label Blindsight records ‘refuge for homeless prose vol.1 : circle breaker’ and features local legend Richard Ramage of The Relationships on narrations and a few usual suspects: http://refugeforhomelessprose.bandcamp.com/album/vol-1

I also contributed some words and mouth noises to my talented friends in tiger mendoza’s track ‘don’t hate me’ – their album: http://tigermendoza.bandcamp.com/album/aim-for-the-head

Plenty more on the way in 2011, Keep ‘em peeled! As per usual thanks for listening! Merry xmas! Please come and say hi at a show or drop me a line to tell me how i’m doing! Take care. Lee

interview with lee on musicinoxford.co.uk

2010-10-10T11:22:00.000-07:00

hey peeps! just a quick one to say i did an interview for the website formerly known as oxfordbands.com, now known as musicinoxford.co.uk it can be found here along with the dirty version of 'x' (and an exclusive instrumental version of 'evil' from the new album in the background):
http://www.musicinoxford.co.uk/2010/10/10/musicinoxford-co-uk-podcast-10-october-2010/

thanks to mark for editing me and the site for their support plus must get in quick 'ta!' in to dave gilyeat who is flying solo now on the bbcoxford introducing since tim bearder's departure (bye tim! thanks!) for his playing of 'x' (clean version!) and the prohibition smokers club too!

that's all for now - some excitement around the corner tho - check the blogs as ice-t would say! (we try to update youtube regurlarly now!)
thanks for reading...:-)x

we are the best unsigned live band of 2010!

2010-07-15T13:19:00.000-07:00

well, that's what playmusic think anyway! i always knew it! ;-)
seriously, we are really chuffed to get this as our live show means a lot to us and we always try to give 100% - its also nice as playmusic (available free in most musical equipment shops) is a mag that deals with the music side of things, not a fashion mag scared of circulation drops and told what to do by label and press agents!
the article is here (you may notice smilex's name on the same cover as the deftones!):
http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/launch.aspx?referral=other&refresh=E1d5cP408w1M&PBID=1313b4ee-7c89-43dd-8998-d74796657ee2&skip

thanks playmusic! you show great taste! now y'all better recognize :-)x

p.s. keep your eyes peeled for loads more clips on youtube and a live ep on itunes!

New single X out today on iTunes

2010-02-22T08:20:00.000-08:00

We are pleased to announce our new single 'X' is out today on iTunes. It's a download only single released via Quickfix Recordings. It is only 79p.

It was recorded during our sessions for our album '7' with Richard Haines at Dungeon studios as engineer and Ace from Skunk Anansie producing/mixering/mastering. The vocals were recorded by Umair at Keynote studios.

Hope you like it, it is a more mellow Smilex vibe! :)

Oxford Love Music Hate racism has produced an anti racist calendar for 2010

2009-12-01T16:09:00.000-08:00

We hope the calendar will help raise much needed funds for LMHR both locally and nationally to continue to hold music events with an anti-racist message.

The Oxford Love Music Hate Racism 2010 calendar can now be viewed and bought online at: http://web.bethere.co.uk/LMHROxford/

Smilex are featured in JUNE :)

Remix Single Out April 6th on iTunes

2009-04-01T13:30:00.000-07:00

So good news is we finally have our single with local rising talent Mr ShaoDow coming out on April 6th on iTunes via Quickfix Recordings.
It is a rock version of his track 'Look Out There Is A Black Man Coming' we had great fun making the track which also will see a percentage of the profits from sales go to Love Music Hate Racism.

It is quite a new style for us and very much influenced by the Judgement Night Soundtrack released a (few) years back which was a wicked compilation of rock/hip-hop cross overs featuring the likes of House Of Pain, Sonic Youth, Cypress Hill, Pearl Jam etc. We have also filmed a video which was huge fun and should be finished very soon.

We shall be supporting the fantastic MC Lars on Mon April 6th @ The 02 Academy Oxford, tickets are £7 http://www.wegottickets.com/event/45193 - it will also be the launch for the single, so we will be having some fun and playing the track live with Mr Shaodow.

That's all for now. Don't forget to buy our new single for I guess 79p from iTunes on the 6th April, it is all for a good cause. You can hear a sample of the track over at www.myspace.com/mrshaodow. Let us know what you think.

Interview in Oxfordshire Music Scene Magazine

2009-02-02T12:07:00.000-08:00

So the lovely people at Oxfordshire Music Scene Magazine have decided to let Smilex grace the cover of Issue 4, of which is an honour.

Also this fine issue features an interview with us too, a very nice review also from our last gig at the Cellar and some lovely new photos of us looking rather dead and messed up!

Thanks to Darren, Liz, Johnny and Sam for making us feel like we are 'loved' this month, with a combination of their photos and writing skills!
If you fancy picking up a copy they are all around town but you can also read it online here if you are out of County or to lazy to go out into the snow to pick up a copy, (although we recommend the nice glossy version)!

"From vicious-tight Ape Pig Man to limber Rock’n’Roll Roulette the band smash riffs and props against a willing audience" Liz Dodd

This issue as ever loads contains loads of reviews on local music and also the best photos of 2008. Check it out.

2008

2008-12-27T06:15:00.001-08:00

2008 - A Review

It's been a pretty good year for Smilex this year, we got to do quite of a few things that all were personal goals for all of us and spent most of it promoting our album '7'.

2008 began well with a headline set at this year's Equi-truck @ The Jericho Tavern, followed by great support slots with Stone Gods and Them Is Me at The Carling Academy & Jericho. In Feb we returned to one of our favourite venues in Leeds to play with our friends the Scaramanga Six it was great however, poor old Tom was struggling that night with flu and having to drive as well. I am sure this gig is not on his top highlights!

In April we had the pleasure of headlining the Oxjam gig playing along side Borderville and Mephisto Grande downstairs at the Carling on a very big stage! Which was great fun. In May we played for National Comic day dressed as Batman Villians which was great fun. May was also the month in which we played in St Albans for Equitruck, although not many people were there it was a lot of fun, Oxford descended well and truely upon St Albans!

This year we also had the honour of headlining The Charlbury Riverside Festival which we really enjoyed especially as the festival started in Pat's own garden. We had fireworks and strobe lights and for one night we felt very Rock!

We then also played The Cornbury Festival, which as soon as we took to the stage the rain came down very hard... but for some reason the loyal people of Charlbury sat on their hay and made us feel very welcome.

Towards the end of the year we played some fun gigs at the Wheatsheaf and The Cellar too which ended in blood, bruises and broken glass as ever.

We also took a trip to the infamous Hull Adelphi, where we had all wanted to play for ages. We made new friends with the Holy Orders and made a lot of new friends in Hull who welcomed us with open arms which was nice, giving us all a boost and reminding us of why we sit for hours in cars/vans and spend so much time shut in rehersal rooms!

So what are the plans for next year? Well hopefully you will see our download single of our remix of Mr Shaodow's 'Look Out There's A Black Man Coming' and also a new single from us which is a track called 'X' which is from our recording sessions with Ace. We shall also be writing some more tunes!

Other than that...who knows where 2009 will take Smilex.

So what musically has made Smilex rock this year...? Well it has to be the new Guns 'n' Roses album of course! What did you expect us to say?!

So we have one last gig of 2008, which is headling NYE at The Carling Academy Your Song... we shall be playing a few covers and drinking lots and dancing to bad songs so if you are at a loose end come and join us.

Thanks to everyone who has supported us this year. You know who you are.

Happy New Year

Smilex

Smilex Animation!

2008-10-10T02:25:00.000-07:00

We have a spanking new animation/video for our track Xplode! from our album '7'. Thanks to talented animator Edward Shackleton - check it out! Plus we have uploaded some live videos onto our youtube site so if you are bored have a look at some of them too. We shall be uploading stuff to this all the time so keep an eye on it.
www.youtube.com/smilexvideos

Smilex on Totalrock radio tonight!

2008-08-04T03:18:00.000-07:00

Tonight the lovely people on the 'New World Order' radio show on Totalrock radio will be playing Smilex and talking about us.

Tune in if you can, it is a great show which aims to showcase the best in up-and-coming rock and metal talent.

Show details:
Listen online tonight to hear us!

Monday 4th Aug 8-10pm
TotalRock Radio: www.totalrock.com
www.myspace.com/totalrockradio

cheers

Summer Fun!

2008-06-09T06:27:00.000-07:00

Hey Hey the sun is out and summer is here!
We have been confirmed to headline the Sat night of Charlbury Riverside Festival 21st June, and we are also playing Cornbury Festival & Black Swan Festival over the summer. We are really looking forward to playing these shows. Head over to the following websites for full line ups and details.

www.riversidefestival.charlbury.com - Sat 21st/22nd June
www.cornburyfestival.com 5th/6th July
www.myspace.com/blackswanfestival - 16th Aug.

Enjoy the summer!

Free Comic Book Day!

2008-04-29T07:45:00.000-07:00

As ridiculous as it sounds, for one day on 3rd May,2008, Videosyncratic Oxford will be giving away THOUSANDS of completely FREE comics! No strings attached, no purchase necessary, just loads and loads of FREE COMICS! There will also be FREE TOYS and other various FREE bits n bobs.

In the evening, there will be a gig at Port Mahon featuring SMILEX in full Batman villains mode, supported by PALACE OF RIGHTEOUS JUSTICE who are always superheroes. Free stuff will be given to you there aswell!

www.freecomicbookday.com

things get shittier and shittier don't they?

2008-04-24T07:24:00.000-07:00

well as you may have heard we have had to pull out of 'lovemusic-hateracism' at the exeter hall this friday 25th april due to pat's back problems resurfacing...not good!
we are gutted to not be playing and urge everyone to go anyway and support a great bill and a good cause! mr shaodow (who is on the bill too) is coming by on friday afternoon to do some new vocals on our remix of 'look out there's a blackman coming'
which is a silverlining to a cloudy day! will promise to keep you up to date regularly as i am now online! sorry again to pull out of friday's gig! leesmilex xx

Playing Carling Academy Oxford this friday 11th April

2008-04-09T03:33:00.000-07:00

Smilex headline Oxjam this friday 11th April @ The Oxford Carling Academy downstairs!

It's just a fiver (only £5 !!!) for a whole night of bands and clubbing:

Smilex
100 bullets back
Borderville
Liam ing reeves and the East Oxford Community Gospel Choir

Smilex are on at 10pm - should be immense fun and we are chuffed to be asked to play on such a good bill for such a good cause! Will be rocking!
8pm-4am (dj's and 'dogshow' live dance act after 10.30/11-ish)

Please come and support a good cause and get a bargain night of fun in too!

Also we are interviewed in the new Oxford Music Scene magazine which is a great new glossy local magazine which you can pick up all around Oxford...so take a look.www.myspace.com/oxfordshiremusicscene

Bar Monsta Camden Sat 15th March

2008-03-10T07:46:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to be playing Bar Monsta Camden London on March 15th, we are on stage @ 8pm, come down if you are in the area, it is a decent little venue. Download the flyer below if you are coming please and hand it to the door staff:

Reviews!

2007-12-04T04:57:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who has purchased our album so far and for all the nice feedback we have had. The first review is in from Local Magazine Nightshift, take a read here

The Oxford Mail has also had some recent kind words to say about us, thanks to Tim Hughes. take a read here

smash it up! - some happy talk by leesmilex

2007-11-22T10:12:00.000-08:00

hey sorry for longtime between posts! here's the latest:
thanks to the p.t.and the awesome wrath records lot for our gigs last weekend!
p.t. free gig was good fun ( cheers to dave for hard recording work!)
set was all new stuff:
9hz
the dead man's dirge
what is it u actually do again?
one woman man
please: do not feed the drug child

thanks to those who came down and bought cds too!
also big up tagbae/andy kink, the wise and dj thundercat & liam ing reeves for making it a varied night of quality tuneage!

the next day we set oof for leeds with a bit of an entourage! great fun!
watched fawlty towers and terminator 2, played music quiz etc! :-)
then we got there and watched lots of bands, got changed into our supervillain costumes (no really - check the pictures!) and played a very theatrical set:
(it's always a bit tricky balancing me with leesmilex anyway but adding the joker to the mix makes it quite a strange psychological make-up!
anyway, we played:
syllabus
rock'n'roll russian roulette
xplode!
sex for sale
the deadman's dirge
please: do not feed the drugchild
everyone played great and tom rocked the green tights again!
then we caught our breath loaded off and watched
international trust and scaramanga six both of whom were awesome!
'bruce lee' and 'baggage' were my faves respectively!
we set off home and were back by three or four depending who u are!
thanks to grant for comedy genius and terri, becky and grace for help! x
was a good fun trip! thanks to deadly for being an excellent driver! :-)

SO HERE'S WHAT'S NEW:
the album '7' and the single 'dead horses' are out in all shapes and forms so please please please go get them (links on all sites) online or in your local shop!
when u get it you will realise that it is a more than worthy addition to your collection! the artwork (by the awesomely talented emily gray) is worth it alone!
the tracklist is as follows:
xplode!
sex for sale
syllabus
apepigman
for what it's worth
gett off the game
god given right

the concept behind the record is in essence a breakdown and realistic modern interpretation of the seven deadly sins though not the way organised religions or the western world's right wing powers would neccessarily interpret them! enjoy!

NEXT BIG NEWS IS WE ARE SUPPORTING THE DAMNED! :-) YEP, THAT 'THE DAMNED' :-)
IT IS A BIG HONOUR TO BE HAND PICKED BY THEM TO PLAY THE OXFORD CARLING ACADEMY SHOW!
THE BAND WHO RELEASED THE FIRST PUNK SINGLE EVER! HOW MUCH DOES THAT RULE?! :-)
TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE NOW SO GO GO GO - ITS GOING TO BE AWESOME! on a personal note i think captain sensible may be the first popstar i remember seeing on telly?! :-)

other dates round the uk are being booked and popping up so keep an eye cos we may be coming to a town near you soon! ( a note to promoters, next year our fee goes up so book us for the new year now and you effectively get a discount rate!
speaing of new year:
smilex to play yoursong on new years eve at the carling academy! anyone who has seen the five years we topped the bill for mac previously will know it's gonna rock! :-)

that's the lot for now...love u all loads, thanks for caring! leesmilexxxxxx
p.s. i wish people would get off amy winehouse's case...it's not going to help her! x

in the week we release our album...

2007-11-15T06:12:00.000-08:00

Debilitated CD Pushes Universal Music Earnings Downward

Universal Music Group (UMG) recently posted a slide in third quarter earnings, a result of worsening CD sales. For the three-month period, EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) slipped to €115 million ($169 million), a near-17 percent dip from €138 million ($202 million) previously. The revenue side showed improvement, moving upward 7 percent to €1.17 billion ($1.72 million). The results were packaged into a broader financial review by Vivendi, which issued results across its various media properties.

Other major label groups are also weathering rocky financial results, thanks to a free-falling physical disc. But Universal is easily the largest of the four, and that makes its financial report all the more important. Discussing the trend, Vivendi pointed to a "difficult recorded music market, unfavorable currency movements and an adverse sales mix" for its lukewarm results.

Meanwhile, the digital story continues to grow, just not fast enough to offset broader physical declines. For the first nine months of this year, digital revenues jumped 47 percent to €488 million ($716 million). Digital assets now comprise 15 percent of the broader revenue total, up from 11 percent previously.

ANYWAY THE ALBUM IS OUT NOW AND IF U CAN'T FIND IT YOU ARE NOT LOOKING HARD ENOUGH!
PLEASE BUY IT AS WE DON'T HAVE UNIVERSAL'S CLOUT OR WONGA AND NEED EVERY SALE POSSIBLE...THERE SHOULD BE A LIST OF ALL RETAILERS/STOCKISTS NET-WISE ON OUR SITES!
GO AND ASK YOUR LOCAL RECORD STORE TO GET IT IN IF THEY DON'T HAVE IT ALREADY! :-)
WE PROMISE WE WON'T GET RICH AND FAMOUS AND RUBBISH LIKE ALL OUR FAVOURITE BANDS DID!

THE TRACKLIST IS:
EXPLODE! (SLOTH)
SEX FOR SALE (LUST)
SYLLABUS (PRIDE)
APEPIGMAN (GLUTTONY)
...FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH (AVARICE)
GETT OFF THE GAME (ENVY)
GOD GIVEN RIGHT (WRATH)

IT WAS PRODUCED BY ACE (SKUNK ANANSIE GUITARIST AND PRODUCER OF MANY FINE UNDERGROUND ROCK BANDS INLUDING KING PRAWN) WHO ALSO PLAYS A GUEST SOLO!
OTHER GUESTS INCLUDE:
JENNI FROM THE ROCK OF TRAVOLTA (CELLO)
IONA FROM BABYGRAVY/HARLETTE (B.VOX)
TIM FROM MESAPLEX/APEHASKILLEDAPE/MEANWHILEBACKINCOMMUNISTRUSSIA (PIANO)

THE ARTWORK (WHICH IS INTRINSICALLY LINKED TO THE ALBUM LYRICS/CONCEPT) IS BY EMILY GRAY (SPOKENWORDLOCALICON/ARTIST/GENERALGENIUS) AND WORTH THE PRICE OF THE CD ALONE!

I COULD LIST EVERYONE WHO HELPED BUT IT WOULD GET TEDIOUS (IF IT HAS NOT ALREADY!)
NEEDLESS TO SAY WE ARE GREATFUL TO EVERYONE WHO CONTRIBUTED AND HELPED MAKE IT HAPPEN! IT HAS BEEN A LONGTIME COMING AND RELIEF AND SATISFACTION ARE OVERWHELMING!

HOPE U ALL LIKE IT AS MUCH AS WE DO...IT IS WITHOUT DOUBT OUR BEST WORK YET BY FAR!

SEE U TOMORROW FOR THE FREE GIG AT THE P.T. WHEN WE START THE NEXT CHAPTER... LEE X

flogging a dead horse

2007-11-12T07:02:00.000-08:00

hey! it's another update and missive of thanks:
firstly, the 8th with mc lars, dead letter read and the evenings was great fun!
big thanks to all the bands for making it fun, mc lars for the guest freestyle and the crowd for rocking out shitloads! also all our streetteam, crew, tct music and the everlovable crew at the zodiacardemy (aynz and jimmy particularly!) we love ya!
set was:
syllabus
rock & roll russian roulette
wet and wild
sex 4 sale
flimsy fickle fashion
xplode
dead horses freestyle

the single 'dead horses' with lars is out now on i-tunes so please get it! ta! ;-) x
p.s. a dude told me that night that he hates my performances and the way i do things!
my only advice is that he watch the other members as there are 4 of us onstage! he also said he thought our drummer is wicked and does not like prince or iggy so i figure he would not like my style really but figure my solution is a sound one! ;-)

on friday we played the half moon in london with 'shut your eyes and you'll burst into flames and animal maths who were both lovely and ace! thanks to stuffy/club mooncat for the show! the set was a stormer and went like this:
-syllabus/rrrr/xplode!/sex4sale/fff/what is it u actually do, again?!-
during the set i taped my eyes up with gaffer and jumped offstage onto some dude cutting my tongue open! while this looked great it hurt loads and has affected some of my singing, which bodes ill for the show on friday which we are recording!
speaking of which:
this friday 16th we play a free show recording loads of new material at the purple turtle, oxford! more guests tbc but liam of sc4t/mephisto grande is confirmed! :-)

last but not least the album '7' as folks are calling it is out on i-tunes now!
the hard copy comes out in a week or so but those downloaders amongst u go for it!

until next time, lovage and thanks for the rock! lee x

p.s. keep joining the street team and we will give u free stuff! thanks! :-)

for your smilex viewing displeasure!

2007-10-26T07:35:00.000-07:00

hiya peeps! just a quick note to let u know the tracklisting for the big hair rock gig at the cellar last saturday night on the optix site:
http://www.theworldiswatching.tv/Optix.Reality.WebApplication/Streams/player.aspx
(go to the little menu thingy below, it's in six parts! my vocals are deafening!)

1. 9hz
2. what is it u actually do again?
3. ...for what it's worth
4. gett off the game (incl.'delirious')
5. wet & wild
6. please: do not feed the drug child

thanks to jimmy evil, jojo the dj supreme and the bands on the bill (figment, the fourth chamber, the german muse) but mostly u for coming down to watch with so much competition gigwise in oxford that night! well done street teamers and crew too! x

p.s. as an aside and a adendum to my earlier post regarding labels etc, i was watching 'meeting people is easy' the radiohead film last night and it really is no surprise (boom boom!) that those guys, as clever and cynical as they were ten years ago (how old does that make u feel?!) how much do u think they can be bothered with the music industry as it is today?! just wish we could afford to do the same as them!

Subba-Cultcha.com Podcast

2007-10-12T05:28:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to have our track Flimsy Fickle Fashion featured on the www.subba-cultcha.com podcast: NEUROCARNAGE III along with loads of great up and coming bands. You can listen online via the link below. Also on their website are loads of great music reviews/features and more podcasts so take a look and support this site as it is a fantastic site supporting new music. Thanks to the www.subba-cultcha.com team for their support.

industrial revolution:

2007-10-09T07:48:00.000-07:00

so it appears the music industry may be in some trouble...
first prince, after existing outside of majors off andon for years, releases his album for free in the uk to daily mail readers (unfortunate choice of outlet but i daresay he does not read it!)and fans who attended his 21 night stint at the o2 arena. hmv stock the paper and columbia pull the the album from release schedule in the uk to not enrage stockists/jeopardise relationships for other releases.

then radiohead release their new album online for whatever price their fans decide! the owner of there old label emi responded by sending a email to his company saying the industry had 'stuck it's head in the sand' with regard to the digital revolution happening in music and said more or less that industry/emi needed to evolve or die!

now nine inch nails express happiness at being out of contract - "Hello everyone. I’ve waited a LONG time to be able to make the following announcement: as of right now Nine Inch Nails is a totally free agent, free of any recording contract with any label. I have been under recording contracts for 18 years and have watched the business radically mutate from one thing to something inherently very different and it gives me great pleasure to be able to finally have a direct relationship with the audience as I see fit and appropriate. Look for some announcements in the near future regarding 2008. Exciting times, indeed."

with larger acts finding that they are earning more from tours and festival appearances than through record sales by quite a lot for some time now,they are less and less likely to feel the need for a record label and its restrictions and cut of the profits. the question of how labels who have nurtured this talent wil be able to do the same for future acts is a very reasonable one (i have encountered this problem with quickfix recordings, whilst on a lower level is same in principal) right up until the point where you see who they have nurtured (or should that be manufactured?) in recent times! especially when they by and large seem very opportunist and taste led intheir decisions, picking up flavours of the month only to drop them just as soon as that fad passes, far more than in the past!

how any of this affects smilex and quickfix remains to be seen...will all music eventually become free and if so how will it be paid for in the first place?
all i do know for sure is that the music industry i grew up with has abused its power and seems to be about to pay the price...maybe it serves them right, eh?!

i am particularly pleased that it is artists i can honestly say are pioneers and that i have repeatedly seen try to do new things that are at the forefront of this new approach! just because they can afford to, their bravery in not just following suit should be applauded...the irony being they are the onl artists i dont mind paying full price for as at least their outputs are worth the expense! :-)

our album btw is just being manufactured now...and no, it will not be free, sorry! x

lee ;-)

proof we are not metal!

2007-10-01T06:58:00.000-07:00

thanks to all who came to the gigs friday and saturday night! we found our selves feeling like the pussies on the bill as all the othr bands were metal both nights but really enjoyed playing for first time in ages! now back to writing and getting some other songs back in the set! if there are songs u want to hear - please say!
apart from that i am mixing the lars collaboration 'dead horses' with phill honey tonight! tres excitment! :-) have been soundchecking with new song '9hz' but never got to the end so far because of strings snapping and the like! getting there though!
read an awesome graphic novel called phonogram rue brittania lent by liv allyoumiss!
its got some really good and clever things to say about pop culture specifically britpop! its an image comic book if u are gonna hunt it down! take care peeps! x

lee's update for end sept/start oct:

2007-09-25T04:28:00.000-07:00

so that's the summer over then...i gotta say it has been a whirlwind since our busy period smilex-wise in may when we headlined the punt and the last night at the zodiac! i have meant to update this blog more than once in the past and just plain not had time! just in case u wanted to know, i have been working on my ever decreasing side-band 'the prohibition smokers' club', writing for smilex and other projects, having extensive dental surgery, putting on gigs (like the one-night-notice alternative truck gig!), going to gigs (living colour and kool keith @jazz cafe, nin & pumpkins at reading!), recording an awesome young band 'tristan and the troubadours', tidying my room, watching wrestling, seeing prince every second week (genius: a human embodiment of music!) and getting a bit hairy! live-wise we have been a bit quiet of late (with exception of the quickfest 7-7-7 alldayer which was awesome and the arcane festival which was diabolical, oh and one aborted-due-to-the-worst-ever-traffic london gig when we ended up at tgi's in high wychombe- like stepping out of the frying pan into hell!) but we are back to it and have lots of exciting stuff on the horizon. for example, we have a few new songs in the set and in finishing stages and recording-wise, we have been in the studio with jimmy evil and also phill honey working on both a 30sec track on punktastic's compilation 'short music for short british people' called 'small packages' out soon and a collaboration with the wicked mc lars called 'dead horses' which is in the mixing stages now...really different muscles stretched on each track, we really like the results, hopefully so will you! also we have gigs on the horizon...
returning to sorm of our favourite places: abingdon net, bull&gate, cellar etc...
go to gigs bit for info and come see us! but the biggest news of all has to be that i saw prince play a 3hour aftershow club gig, oops sorry i mean that the smilex debut '7' (produced by the lovely ace of skunk anansie fame!)is slated for november release - just in time for anyone who did not know what to get their nan for xmas!
;-) seriously though, it has been a longtime coming and we are all really happy with it and relieved to see it finally released into the wild (we recorded it a year ago now so it's long overdue) and just wait til you see the artwork by emily gray...it's truly breathtaking. i feel it my duty to inform you that the album itself is a concept record but don't worry, we have not gone all prog on you, although there is a pink floyd moment thanks to tom! it features some songs u will know by now like a suped-up sex 4 sale and others u may not know so well as we hardly play them live. weblord deadly has loaded up a new site with clips and artwork, so check it out!
terri (our long-suffering label rep/manager/site moderator) will no doubt reinform u in a less rambling fashion as and when all these exciting events happen but i just wanted to put u in the picture...until next time, take care of yourselves...lee xxx

Flimsy FIickle Fashion New Single from Itunes

2007-05-04T02:36:00.000-07:00

flim·sy - [flim-zee] adjective, -si·er, -si·est, noun, plural -sies.

–adjective

1.	without material strength or solidity: a flimsy fabric; a flimsy structure.

2.	weak; inadequate; not effective or convincing: a flimsy excuse.

–noun

3.	a thin kind of paper, esp. for use in making several copies at a time of an article, telegraphic dispatch, or the like, as in newspaper work.

4.	a copy of a report or dispatch on such paper.

[Origin: 1695–1705; flim- (perh. metathetic var. of Film) + -sy ]

—Related forms flim·si·ly, adverb flim·si·ness, noun

—Synonyms 1. shoddy, weak, unstable, unsteady. 2. unconvincing, lame, vague.

fick·le –adjective

1.	likely to change, esp. due to caprice, irresolution, or instability; casually changeable: fickle weather.

2.	not constant or loyal in affections: a fickle lover.

[Origin: bef. 1000; ME fikel, OE ficol deceitful, akin to fācen treachery, fician to deceive, gefic deception ]

—Related forms fick·le·ness, noun

—Synonyms 1. unstable, unsteady, variable, capricious, fitful. 2. inconstant. 1, 2. Fickle, inconstant, capricious, vacillating describe persons or things that are not firm or steady in affection, behavior, opinion, or loyalty. Fickle implies an underlying perversity as a cause for the lack of stability: the fickle seasons, disappointing as often as they delight; once lionized, now rejected by a fickle public. Inconstant suggests an innate disposition to change: an inconstant lover, flitting from affair to affair. Capricious implies unpredictable changeability arising from sudden whim: a capricious administration constantly and inexplicably changing its signals; a capricious and astounding reversal of position. Vacillating means changeable due to lack of resolution or firmness: an indecisive, vacillating leader, apparently incapable of a sustained course of action.

fash·ion –noun

1.	a prevailing custom or style of dress, etiquette, socializing, etc.: the latest fashion in dresses.

2.	conventional usage in dress, manners, etc., esp. of polite society, or conformity to it: the dictates of fashion; to be out of fashion.

3.	manner; way; mode: in a warlike fashion.

4.	the make or form of anything: He liked the fashion of the simple, sturdy furniture.

5.	a kind; sort: All fashions of people make up the world.

6.	Obsolete. workmanship

7.	Obsolete. act or process of making.

–verb (used with object)

8.	to give a particular shape or form to; make: The cavemen fashioned tools from stones.

9.	to accommodate; adjust; adapt: doctrines fashioned to the varying hour.

10.	Shipbuilding. to bend (a plate) without preheating.

11.	Obsolete. to contrive; manage.

—Idiom

12.	after or in a fashion, in some manner or other or to some extent; in a makeshift, unskillful, or unsatisfactory way: He's an artist after a fashion.

[Origin: 1250–1300; ME facioun shape, manner < AF faço(u)n, façun, OF faceon < L factiōn- (s. of factiō) a doing, company. ]

—Related forms fash·ion·less, adjective

—Synonyms 1. mode; fad, rage, craze. Fashion, style, vogue imply popularity or widespread acceptance of manners, customs, dress, etc. Fashion is that which characterizes or distinguishes the habits, manners, dress, etc., of a period or group: the fashions of the 18th century. Style is sometimes the equivalent of fashion, but also denotes conformance to a prevalent standard: to be in style; a chair in the Queen Anne style. Vogue suggests the temporary popularity of certain fashions: this year's vogue in popular music. 4. shape, cut, pattern, figure. 8. frame, construct, mold. 9. suit, fit.