(Mailing list letter from 24/11/08):
Hello all you wonderful friends and fans of Lemanis.
How was that for an opening line? Not bad? 4/10 I reckon. Yeah, not good enough. Scrap that, how about this one instead:
In the light of the moon a little egg lay on a leaf.
Now that is a quality opening line. Unfortunately, I didn't make it up. We all know where it's from, don't deny it. Can I write this newsletter in the form of a caterpillar metaphor? Surely caterpillar metaphors are now clichéd and maybe a little gay?
Well, if some men can wear pink shirts on the grounds that 'I'm so manly I can even wear pink' then I can write in caterpillar metaphors on the grounds that I'm so manly I can even write in caterpillar metaphors. As for the cliché bit, it seems fair enough to me. The close cousin, The Ugly Duckling, falls short by not having the mystical cocoon process separating the ugly baby to the beautiful adult. Also, no sooner has the caterpillar crawled from it's cocoon as a butterfly, it can flap it's wings and cause hurricanes the other side of the world. Now that is a transformation. All from a little egg laying on a leaf in the light of the moon.
Another classic opening line:
Once upon a time, in a land far far away.
It's a bit more intriguing than 'On Thursday, in a venue not so far away' but it's not specific enough to get you there. Can't have everything I suppose. Unless you live in a fairy tale, near the end.
In February we have a new album coming out which contains our very own fairy tale. Its somewhere between a fairy tale and 20 minute song cycle about the plight of a forest. We can't wait to get it out to you, but we have to wait until February. And until then we'll be disappearing from the Plymouth live map for a few months while we do whatever caterpillars do in those cocoons (the Lemanis cocoon will of course have 14 rooms, bar and pool table). But in our last few days as the hairy caterpillar, we've got 2 more little shows for you before we put together the album launch and everything that will come with it.
We're playing as an acoustic 4 piece in the B Bar on December 10th, and before then, THIS THURSDAY 27th November, we're playing in the Plymouth Hub as a 7(ish) piece. Come to this show if you can, its our last amplified one until February. Be warned though we will be on early. Due to other commitments Chris has to leave early so we'll be on either 1st or 2nd – don't miss us. Also playing that night are Rooftop Gambler, Fisherman's Mission and good friends Head of Programmes with his 1st headline show. Nice one James!
I'm off to eat through one apple, 2 pears, 3 plums, 4 strawberries, 5 oranges, chocolate cake, ice-cream cone, a pickle, a slice of Swiss cheese, a slice of salami, a lollipop, a piece of cherry pie, a sausage, a cupcake and a slice of watermelon. See you all at the Hub,
Phil & Lemanis
PS. My personal myspace is at www.myspace.com/lemanis – go there and sign up to the blog, I'm going to start using it. Sounds like fun.
PPS. Get to www.lemanis.net, sign in and leave us a message on the messageboard.
Blog was posted on 24-11-08Halloween Mailout '08:
Wesley! How Dare you!
That's the scream I used to get woken up by every morning a while back when I was lucky enough to live with Mr Nick Lemanis himself. It wasn't Nick yelling of course (he was far too busy doing fun and interesting things to be yelling at Wesley), but an old lady who lived next door. She had 3 dogs, Wesley and 2 others (who's names have been left out to protect the innocent... Innocent you say? I SAW them cr*pping in the yard...). Wesley certainly appeared to be the mischievous trouble maker of the three. My bedroom window overlooked Wesley's yard which meant I was able to ease his pain by throwing him the odd crumb (he must have got hungry sometimes, we all do), but also meant I was pained by the constant, incessant and often satanical yelling at the poor dog. I remember her as being about 160 years old, but in reality she was probably about 45. Forty-five centuries maybe. I hope she's not on this mailing list...
Witch.
Halloween see... Relevance to real life begins...
So one day, probably when drunk on White Horse or Ouzo, Nick suggested writing a song about Wesley. That was a silly idea, I thought, but a few days and a whopping 4 chords later, there it was. Eventually it was recorded for our 1st album 'Shell' and then followed up (not such a bad idea after all Nick) with 'A Witches Dog' on the 2nd album 'The Truth About a Push-Me Pull-You,' due out early '09.
So why this email? Some of you who's addresses I recently stole from facebook friends will be even more confused. Well, serves you right for not signing up yourself. And you call yourself my friend...
Well, the point is this.
Firstly, people often ask what the story behind Wesley is. So there it is. Secondly, as a result of this email you may begin to become aware of a new-found fondness for poor old Wesley and want to sing along loudly to his song. And for this reason, for anyone who wishes to own 'Shell' and sing along to Wesley, go to www.lemanis.net now, sign in to the members area and buy it. Until November 5th (Bonfire night, burn her!) we will donate exactly half the profits of any sales of Shell from www.Lemanis.net to the RSPCA so they can help more animals like Wesley (in all honesty, Wesley wasn't abused, to our knowledge. Lets pretend though, it's fun). It's half price at a fiver to you special ones on the mailing list (yes, that's you if you're reading this), or a tenner if you can't be bothered to sign in.
Let's recap, just like in those books from school:
1: You're now pretty fond of Wesley.
2: There happens to be a song about him on Shell!
3: If you buy Shell from www.lemanis.net right now we'll donate half the profit to the RSPCA, so you'll have done a good deed, as will we, and everyone will be happy. (Except that old lady, who never will be). It's fast and easy, cheap AND for a good cause!
Thanks everyone, you're all super-stars in your own little ways.
Phil (& Lemanis)
P.S. Your password will be 'password' if I signed you up from a list at a gig or just stole your ad from facebook if you're my real life friend there. Go sign in and leave us a message on the message board.
P.P.S. Go and buy Shell right now and do a good thing. It's quick and easy (paypal), and these CD's make excellent Christmas presents too...
Blog was posted on 31-10-08The Letter to the Queen
In case any of you were late joining the mailing list and didn't get it, here's the covering letter sent to the Queen along with a demo CD.
Dear Your Majesty The Queen Of England,
Please find enclosed a CD of Plymouth based band Lemanis, which I play bass in. Please take the time to listen to it, I hope you find it enjoyable.
We work very hard and have been thinking of ways to further ourselves. While thinking about this, one question I asked myself was who to turn to for help. The thought hit me then that, if The Queen Of England can't help, then who can? So I was wondering, are you able to help us? I understand that you are a busy person but would greatly appreciate anything you can do for us. Maybe we could film ourselves singing a song in the palace, or have our photographs taken with you? That would be royally cool.
I really hope you like the CD, we put a lot of time and effort into making it. There is more information on the band at www.lemanis.net, if you are interested. I would like to thank you very much for your time.
Yours Sincerely,
Philip Baker
As of yet there's still been no reply, but if we get one I'll keep you all informed.
We now have the new album, 'The Truth About a Push-Me Pull-You' mastered and in our grubby little hands. Keep an eye out for new songs appearing from it online until we can give it the official launch it deserves, due early 2009.
See ya all soon
Phil
Blog was posted on 29-10-08New music ahoy!
Yup, the album release has been put back a bit (It's just a little hitch in the masterplan and all that...), but out at the end of November on One.c records is a compilation of sea shanties and other nautical based songs... and guess what... We're on it. We recorded our version of the Traditional shanty 'Santy Anno' for the record which also features friends The Dharma Bums, Fisherman's Mission and Head of Programmes. More details here: www.onec.tv
Now, does anyone want a free copy of our first CD Shell? Well you all do, of course. We're looking to record (film) us singing some acoustic versions of our songs in some interesting places. We're thinking so far in the Museum or the lighthouse, or both. Over to you... where do you want to see us playing a song? Any suggestions we like, we'll make that recording, and send you a free copy of Shell as a thank you. Email your suggestions to info@lemanis.net or leave a note on the message board at www.lemanis.net
Thanks all, see you soon Mateys!
Phil
Blog was posted on 14-10-08Hey everyone,
Thanks to every legend who came down to see us on Friday at the Voodoo Lounge - hope you all enjoyed the show.
For the first time since we launched the site we haven't posted any upcoming shows. But don't panic, they will appear sometime in the next week. We're just waiting to finalise some details and dates, so keep an eye out for specifics of the album launch party which will be released here soon.
Also, if anyone is interested in getting involved in our promotions team, send an email to either Phil or I for more details. Trust me, it'll be worth it...
Laters,
Nickx
Blog was posted on 22-09-08Hi Lemanisytes (as in acolytes, not parasites),
We hope you are all well and have had a cracking summer so far. Although festival season is over for us now now :( we had some great weekends and are already looking forward to more mud-fuelled shenanigans next summer.
It's only a matter of weeks until Plymouth welcomes back it's student population, and we at Lemanis will be joining in by playing at the Voodoo Lounge on September 19th - the culmination of a week of Freshers Gigs at one of our favourite venues.
Also playing will be Bristol's own Farthing Wood, Dartington College legends Not Now Bernard, and Dartmoor based songstress Ella Edmondson - we can't wait!
More info nearer the time. And other stuff. Probably.
Nickx
Blog was posted on 27-08-08Hey everyone!
Lemanis head off to the Maker Festival in a couple of days for a fun-filled weekend of frivolous behaviour - can't wait!
We hope that everyone who came to the White Rabbit last Saturday had a good time, we certainly did. Thanks again to the legends from World/Inferno Friendship Society, what a genuinely great bunch of people.
In other news our second album, Push Me Pull You, draws ever closer to completion. This week will be the final studio session before we send the songs off for mastering, so expect to hear more soon.... In the meantime, listen out for excerpts from the album at upcoming shows.
Look forward to seeing you all in the Maker sunshine!!!
Nickx
Blog was posted on 29-07-08Hello. Blog time again already.
2 good gigs in the bag (Volksfest and the Mutley Festival) and we're about to take a short break from gigging (until June 20th) to finally get this album finished.
The album, we can now reveal is to be called Push Me Pull You and will contain the following songs:
Push Me Pull You:
She Always Was A Dreamer, Moon Song, Wishing, A Witch's Dog, Go Blonde, Rub It When It Hurts
The History Songs:
Colosseum, Museum
The Forest Songs:
Across The Bridge, Loving Her Forest When, WoodShop/It's Lovely to Have Money, Mr. Mills.
The Forest songs are 5 parts of one big song about the demise of a fictional forest. It's been a bit of a mammoth task assembling this 20 minute monster, but its nearly there (AND it's not rubbish!) and we're one big happy band at the moment :-)
See you all at the Hub on 20th June for the Summer Party.
Phil
Blog was posted on 26-05-08Hey hey!
It's been a while since the first entry and we've been very busy in the last month or so...
The website launch gig went down really well, thanks for everyone who came along to support us. Check out the video of 'Lady' from that night on the home page - the camera quality was a little poor but thanks to Ben for filming it for us - it's better than anything we had before!
After our afternoon slot in the Guildhall main hall for the 'Love Music Hate Racism' festival (loads of fun...) we've taken a step back from gigging for a few weeks to concentrate on the second album.
And it's almost done!! Most of the songs are pretty much recorded except for a few horns and strings, and then it's on to the long process of mixing them down. Somehow we might even be on schedule...
Next show is this Saturday at the Volksfest - that's the 3 day event in Newnham Park, Plymouth. There will be loads of great bands playing all weekend, so be there if you can!
Also, get your friends to sign up to the members area - as soon as we reach our first target number we'll start competitions and prize draws, can't wait!
Nickx
Blog was posted on 21-05-08Hey everyone! Welcome to the first entry of the new lemanis.net blog. I hope you all like our new site - it's been in the pipelines for a long time but it's finally here!
Big thanks to Tom from eosinteractive for designing and building this for us - you are a legend sir!
Now you've signed up to our members area be sure to leave us a message or drop us an email (not too rude please - Adam has a weak heart).
If you're reading this before 3rd May, make sure you come down to the Voodoo Lounge to see our web launch gig this Saturday - it's gonna be huuuuuuge!
If you're reading this after 3rd May, we hope you enjoyed Saturday's gig, it was huuuuuuge!
Come back often for updates, photos, downloads, news, and much more. LEMANIS.NET.... awww yeah...
Nick x
Blog was posted on 30-04-08