BIG update!

We pretty much suck at updating this. It doesn't mean there's been nothing happening with Default This though- we've been super busy!

1) AUXES! (www.myspace.com/auxes)
Currently we've been working closely with American band Auxes. If you're not familiar with them you really need to be! The band was conceived by Dave Laney (you may remember him as the frontman in Milemarker or Challenger) - and now features a handful of other very talented musicians. Their second album Ichkannnichtmehr is punk rock gold! Think gruff vocals, riffs galore and a lot of attitude. We've been lucky enough to bring them over to the UK for their first ever tour here!

Thursday 16th Sept Nottingham, The Chameleon
Friday 17th Sept Newcastle, The Northumberland Arms
Saturday 18th Sept Manchester, Nekro Bar
Sunday 19th Sept Leeds, The Royal Park Cellars
Monday 2oth Sept Plymouth, White Rabbit
Tuesday 21st Sept NEED HELP
Wednesday 22nd Sept London, Brixton Windmill
Thursday 23rd Sept Exeter, The Cavern Club
Friday 24th Sept Kingston Upon Thames, The Fighting Cocks

We still have one date left to fill so if you think you can help, get in touch! default_this@hotmail.co.uk

We've also been doing some PR for the band, you can check out a couple of early reviews here:http://onebeat.squarespace.com/main/2010/7/3/review-auxes-ichkannnichtmehr.html
and here: http://www.subba-cultcha.com/album-reviews/auxes_ichkannichtmehr/article/contentID/20050/

2) HOCKLEY HUSTLE!
This will be our third year participating with Hockley Hustle- a great music and arts festival in Nottingham that raises money for Oxfam and local charities. Having previously had bands such as This Town Needs Guns, Pulled Apart By Horses, Tubelord, Blakfish, Dinosaur Pile Up and Talons play our stage at the Bodega we decided to do something a bit different this year! We've got some of the best local Nottingham bands to cover some of THEIR favourite artists. It looks like it's going to be a fun day! Confirmed so far:

Slowcoaches take on PIXIES
Solomon Grundy as FUGAZI
Fresh Eyes for the Dead Guy as SONIC YOUTH
Bronze Medals as REFUSED
Nephu Huzzband as ...AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD
A band that doesn't have a name yet (!) as AT THE DRIVE IN

Time to get your mosh on, reminisce over all our old favourite tunes and raise some money for charity at the same time.

3) GEOFF FARINA & CHRIS BROKAW
We had so much fun with Geoff and Chris last time they came to the UK that we're putting them on again in Nottingham. This time we've gone for a slightly bigger venue (Spanky Van Dykes) as although Lee Rosy's was a great show it did get a bit sweaty in there! Keep the 2nd December free, we'll have tickets and support confirmed soon!

3) BIRTHMARK
Calling all Kinsella fans! Birthmark is the name of Nate Kinsella's new project- having previously played in Joan of Arc and Make Believe, Nate is somewhat of a legend on the emo scene and we're really excited to be putting him on. With Birthmark Nate is flying solo- performing all instruments on his debut album 'The Layer' himself. It's hauntingly beautiful music and something that will be amazing to see live. He's playing for us in Nottingham at Spanky Van Dykes on the 9th January 2011. Tickets and support to come soon!

4) EXPANDING OUR HORIZONS!
Some of you may already know that soon we're taking the plunge soon and moving to the Big Smoke! It's an exciting and stressful time but we're really looking forward to taking Default This to another city. We'll still be back and forth to Nottingham to do gigs, but we're going to concentrate our efforts on doing London shows for a while. This is good news for Nottingham bands though- now you can come play for us in a venue other than The Chameleon!
We're also branching out from just promoting and taking on new projects. Rupe's taken on the very challenging role of booking agent (don't worry he's not going to turn into a cock) and has done his first tour with Auxes. I've decided to go into the wonderful world of PR and have been handling press for them. I've also got work with Solomon Grundy and Fresh Eyes for the Dead Guy coming up. It's all still early days yet but it's nice to have other stuff to sink our teeth into! If you're looking for some help with PR or booking a tour get in touch (rupe.rennie@gmail.com / kelly.bennaton@gmail.com).

5) SOLOMON GRUNDY (www.myspace.com/thisistheendof)
Obviously i'm a bit biased with this, Rupe's the singer and bass player, but they're genuinely a band I'm really excited about at the minute. If you like Fugazi, Drive Like Jehu and Frodus you'll do well to check them out! A demo of their first EP is available for free download from here:
http://solomongrundy.bandcamp.com/
The EP is soon to be mixed and released so keep an eye out for them. They've already played with some awesome bands (Tubelord, Shield Your Eyes, Silent Front) and opened Off The Cuff Festival in Birmingham. They'll be playing some dates on the upcoming Auxes tour so go and see them!

Erm... and I think that's about it. Sorry about the mammoth update!