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THE BEST EVENTS, TALKS AND SPORT
* Endangered Species Evening The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland is doing sterling work to protect animals and their habitats across the globe. Join a tour of the zoo to find out all about it. Edinburgh Zoo, Corstorphine Road, Thu 8 Sep.
* City of Edinburgh Sports Fair This is an excuse to get off the sofa and try a new sport or fitness class. There are 30 activities to choose from, including korfball (well, you’ll just have to go along to find out what that is won’t you?). Meadowbank Sports Centre, Edinburgh, Sun 71 Sep.
alg Scottish Geology Festival Join the nation's original rock group to find out more about how the hills and cliffs around us were created on one of the informative walks, or get your own minerals identified by the Rock Doctors. Various venues across Scotland. See listings and wwwscottishgeo/ogy. com for details.
* Women’s Self-Defence Workshop You may not become Jacqueline Chan in the first week, but this evening session could well keep you out of trouble when you’re on the streets of Glasgow. Gallery of Modern Art, Queen Street, Glasgow, Tue 73 Sep.
Sing it bac
Fancy going into a recording studio with your pals and coming out with a piece of pop history? Morag Bruce of Bird Flew tells you how it done.
he pair of nail clippers. (‘elery (trimmed not peeled). A large shepherd‘s pie. No distinct smells near the artist. A trained monkey. Oh
yes. all have featured on must-have backstage lists of
luminaries such as Pavarotti and Van llalen. A band‘s rider is their personal land of opportunity. where they can frolic amongst ridiculous demands to cement diva
status or at least allow them to get on the wicks of
promoters.
However. when you book Bird l"lew you‘ll receive no such list. All we require is that you are able to utilise technologies to render our voices listenable. We‘re not fussed about integrity: we just want validation that the noise coming out of our mouths isn‘t enough to make (iod wish he hadn’t bothered with ears.
So luckily for our band (created by means of an office—wide search) the team at MusicStars Productions were able to take our voices and create something that may change the face of music as you know it. A bit like a bad nose job might.
We were whisked from Queen Street Station in tinted-window heaven to the studio by the lovely Ian Mc(‘allum. Upon arrival. we recorded and mixed our version of All Saints‘ ‘Never liver‘. What about our own stuff. you ask‘.’ We think that for our first release it‘s wise to break people in gently. Rachael Bird l‘lew has been working on an l8 minute power ballad about MRSA called ‘l've Never lielt Like This Before’. which we hope will take the coveted (‘hristmas number one slot.
What do we sound like‘.’ Who are our influences'.’
We are totally unique. but there are definite smatterings of Bassey. (‘arey and St Winifred’s School (‘hoir in our work. Producer liddie Maearthur was charming throughout. ‘l)on‘t worry.‘ he said. loads of bands come in sounding crap. 'l‘heir manager falls asleep and wakes up to a brilliant demo. It‘s all in the editing.‘
Not everyone who takes advantage of MusicStars‘ tremendously entertaining recording packages shows Bird l’lew—like symptoms of greatness. and we took the process incrediny seriously. We didn't spend half our studio time mucking about playing at ‘Band Aid‘ or anything. (‘onsummate professionals throughout.
Once the track had been ‘laid down’ (that‘s what we say in the business when it‘s finished). it was time for a photo session for the single cover. Linda McCallum. MusicStars” owner. really captured the feeling of Bird New and we certainly didn‘t demand she took shot after shot because “my arm looks like it‘s mutant‘ or ‘l look like you‘ve stolen my last liver'.
Recording a single with MusicStars is fantastic fun: perfect for groups of males. birthday parties. ben and stag parties. or actually if you are serious (like us) and looking to record a demo.
Bird l5lew. catch us if you can.
To ‘enjoy’ a sample of Bird Flew go to www.music-stars.co.uk. Recording 3 track costs 2150 for up to five people, then £15 per person for up to ten. Each popstar gets a copy of the CD. See website for full details of video packages.
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