Ross Shepherd (26) - Lyrics, vocals
Paul Shepherd (29) - Music, guitar, bass, keyboards, programming
Stephen Simmons (30) - Live keyboards
Grant Tulley (33) - Live drums
Influences
David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Faith No More, Muse, Manic Street Preachers, Nine Inch Nails, Mansun, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, QOTSA
Sounds Like
A mix of Mansun, Faith No More, Manic Street Preachers and Nine Inch Nails, with a distinct sound of their own strongly apparent.
A Citizen Above Suspicion treads a somewhat darker path than the other acts emerging from the seaside town of Brighton, England, fusing atmospheric, tension-filled, distorted rock backing tracks with lyrical narratives on the bleaker side of life. This intriguing mixture is evident in its brand new song All The Wasted Hours - a free downloadable mp3 taster of the musical and themes that will form the backbone of the band's imminent second album.
2001: Formation
Reflecting the dark, cinematic feeling of the music, the band takes its name from the Morricone-scored Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion, and was formed in late 2001 by brothers Paul (guitar) and Ross (vocals) Shepherd, who were driven to write their own material by a love of movie soundtracks, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Faith No More, Manic Street Preachers, Radiohead, Queens of the Stone Age and Nine Inch Nails. The band's current line-up is completed by Stephen Simmons (keyboards) and Grant Tulley (drums).
2002-2003: First recordings
"We have been engineering, recording and mixing our songs pretty much since day one," says Paul. "We thought it would be easier to learn how to produce our own recordings than it would looking for like-minded producers, and I always admired the DIY attitude of bands like Mansun and Nine Inch Nails." Based on ideas knocked up in the rehearsal room and on computer, the band set about self-recording and releasing two EPs worth of original material: Short Stories and The High Order.
These releases were issued free of charge in CD format via the band's website, and several hundred were distributed to listeners all over the world.
2004-2008: Evacuate
The majority of 2004 was spent writing and recording the songs that would form ACAS's debut album, Evacuate. "The aim with Evacuate was to try to create an album - in the old sense of the word - rather than just a collection of songs," explains Ross. "We had already released two short EPs of the songs that happened to emerge as we were learning our craft. But Evacuate was specifically written as a flowing piece, designed to tell a story from start to end." While the story was conveyed mainly through the album's lyrical content, the accompanying music was also designed as a journey. Paul: "We felt the music was a step-up from the earlier EPs. We tried to make it more melodic while retaining the dense layering and atmospherics. While the album story forms a cycle of sorts, so too does the music - we designed it as a loop, so the first sound the listener hears on the opening track is the same as the one that closes the final track No Man's Land."
As with earlier releases, the album was recorded and mixed entirely by the band itself, before being issued in CD and online formats in July 2005.
A highlight from the live shows in support of Evacuate was a highly coveted slot supporting ex-Jesus Lizard vocalist David Yow's new outfit Qui, in November 2007.
Evacuate is currently available for listeners worldwide from iTunes and CD Baby, with a selection of songs available for download in mp3 format from the audio section.
The present: Moving forward
"The follow-up to Evacuate currently under construction," says Ross. "While Evacuate felt like the first time we were able to capture the kind of material we'd always planned, we now want to go one step further".
The progress of the writing and recording process has been documented in the band's blogs on this site. For the first time, ACAS has also posted early live versions of many of the songs likely to be featured in the video section, and audio recordings direct from the rehearsal room will be added to the ‘Bonus' section for registered users of the site.
The first completed song, Words for the Living, was made available with an accompanying promo video (again created, DIY-style, by the band members themselves) in April 2009. "The next album is fully written, and while it will follow on naturally from Evacuate, it will mark a clear progression, in terms of being more a collaborative effort," says Ross. "All the songs have been written together in the rehearsal room. That means what we have so far sounds more organic and natural than anything we've done before. We're also really pleased to be making more use of social networking so our listeners can track the progress of the CD. We can't wait to finish it!"
Sziasztok, December 29-én, kedden este 21 órától élő, egyenes adásból Fonyó előszilveszteri koncertet hallhattok a Cragg! Rádió műsorán. Érdemes sietni, és időben kapcsolódni, mert a koncerthallgatás lehetőségét (vagyis a stream-et) 100 főre korlátozzuk majd! Pontos információkat aznap fogtok megtudni itt a szpészen: www.myspace.com/fonyo és a http://blog.myspace.com/fonyo oldalon ki lesz írva mindenféle link, és hogy mit, hogyan kell... Ezenkívül érdemes twitteren is követni, hiszen linkek és információk itt is kitudódnak! TWITTER elérhetőség: http://twitter.com/fonyo A koncerten új dalok is el fognak hangzani, melyek biztosan be fogják lopni magukat a szívetekbe! :)
Szóval, ne feledjétek! December 29-én, este, 21:00, Fonyó-ONLINE koncert a Cragg! Rádióban...! Számítsatok rá, hogy nagyon jó lesz, könnyed lesz, ütős lesz és miegymás...! :) Tehát infó később, tessék leskelődni! :)
Szép Karácsonyt Mindenkinek! ...:::szeFó cRew:::...
Hey, hope y'all don't mind the spam! In case you don't already know, Empora Studios is a little recording studio based in Burgess Hill near Brighton. The aim of the game is high quality recording for an affordable price. This includes access to great gear, engineering, mixing and production if required. Every band/artist receives the same friendly service and attention to detail. ER xxx
If you like your electro, check out K!tch's BitBeat//GoodTimes Out Now!. Grindy, wobbily, progressive electro with some huge drops. Preview in the Live-in Myspace player, we'd love to know what you think.
To help you keep recording during these times of economic crisis and price rises we would like to offer all our myspace friends a 40% discount on all bookings for band recordings from the 24th August to the end of September 2009. This means an hourly rate of just £25.
The heart of our recording studios is a Pro tools HD 2 system (x2) with C24 control surfaces together with an Allen and Heath 32:8:2 analogue desk for analogue mixing. We provide a mixture of classic, analogue audio equipment and cutting-edge digital technology. see our website www.altrecordingstudios.com for further details.
please mention myspace if booking, this is a one time offer prompted by our recent studio refurbishment
We're now accepting submissions for our next mixtapes, please submit your info at www. coast2coastsubmissions. com for your chance to get a spot on the next mixtape!
Enter the Hi Rollerz Records Contest to get a $20,000 record deal!
We're now accepting submissions for our next mixtapes, please submit your info at www. coast2coastsubmissions. com for your chance to get a spot on the next mixtape!
Hey there, just a quick NOYR update. Firstly we're having a big sale, you can pick up all our releases (including new albums from Young Heart Attack, 4ft Fingers and The Good Time Charlies, the InSoFar mini album and Loyalties, Radio Dead Ones and Devildolls vinyl) cheaper than you can buy them digitally! Head over to the Not On Your Radio website to pick up some bargains.
Our bands are keeping busy 4ft Fingers will be heading out on another uk tour soon and City 13 have just release their debut album.
We're currenlty working on a few new releases, more news on that soon and keep an eye open for our new website in the coming weeks / months / years!
I have a new blog and I invite you to come and read it
As everyone knows, My Space is still the #1 website community for bands & music fans. It is a hub for talent scouts & labels to fetch new talent. One way that a band can promote itself is by strategically allying themselves with KEY bands & socialites on My Space. How do they do this? Follow these 10 EASY steps.
Hey, hope you like this next Outshout... If you have a video of your performances on YouTube--you can make an Outshout and I'll feature it on my page. I really need more bands to feature. It's better if you do the intro, then if I do it, though...I'm kinda dry. Here's one with my Pops. Enjoy! -Kwesi ....
ROCK BRIGHTON presents FEEDBACK XIII
Friday 5th September at The Brighton Coalition
(Formerly The Beach), Kings Rd Arches
Doors open at 7:00pm
Over 18s Only
A Night of Acoustic, Jazz, Soul, Lounge, Chillout!!!
As May's Feedback was such a success we are bringing the Jazz Lounge vibe back for another round. Feedback XIII is the perfect way to a summer's night relaxing with Brighton's best Jazz, Soul and Lounge Acts.
.. 
