Ian aka Paz aka The Humdrum Express is responsible for guitars, bass, drums, keys, vocals, songwriting, recording, production, promotion, gig booking, washing up, drying up, putting away. Indie in the true sense of the word.
Influences
Billy Childish, The Clash, Graham Coxon, The Young Knives, The Libertines, The Futureheads, The Smiths, Billy Bragg, Tony Hancock, Ronnie Barker, Carry On films, The Small Faces, The Buzzcocks, The Jam, The Specials, Vic Godard, Art Brut, Wire, I Ludicrous, The Ruts, The Creation, XTC, The La's, C-86, Gang Of Four, Jamie T, Good Shoes, John Cooper Clarke, The Rakes, Blur, Television Personalities, Harry Palmer, The Fall, The Lemonheads, Half Man Half Biscuit, The Auteurs, Jim Noir, Leonard Cohen, Leonard Rossiter, X Ray Spex, Scroobius Pip and, of course... John Peel.
Sounds Like
"A narky little sarcastic bugger" - Kingsley Chapman (The Chapman Family). *****
"This is English guitar pop music at it's very finest; witty, observational, engaging and jaunty" - Decode magazine
Bespectacled observationist from the heart of England . . . Casting a cynical eye over these exasperating times, meet The Humdrum Express. One man, a few instruments and a thousand things to worry about. Cool-nerd (amounts vary) home recording specialist. Dusty amps, tangled leads, retro effects and scribbled rantings.
Has released 2 full albums (All Aboard and Little Victories) and various EPs since May 2005. Live work is stripped down to the acoustic bare bones with a few loops and samples thrown in.
Previous honours include gigs with Get Cape Wear Cape Fly, The Wombats, Half Man Half Biscuit, Bob Mould, I Ludicrous, Evan Dando and Vic Godard. Don't let the bastards grind you down...
Hiya! I just got over that gig we played in Wolvo - what a laugh! In a good way, mind you. Loved all the dancing and banter. Hope we share a bill again! Andus x
“Friday night at BASE STUDIOS in Stourbridge we film
bands and musicians who come down to play the OPEN MIC and we
make promotional videos for FREE. Just turn up at 7pm to play the OPEN MIC. Filming begins at 7pm.
There's always a crew there. The Bar opens at 7pm too and if you want more
people in your video then bring a crowd down with you (It makes your videos
look better)” - Nick
Interview: Camera: Andy Watts
Music clip Director/editor/camera: Nick J.Townsend
Hey.Just to let ya know if you have any gigs coming up I'm still doing gig photography for only £30(not for too much longer though).Also doing portraiture/promo and documentary.I've added some new examples recently so have a look to see if you like it.Let me know if ya want owt doing.Cheers.Thanks for the add if I havent said so before.
A special DVD set of the February shows is now available to pre-order at the wire-sound shop
This strictly limited edition 2 disc, region free, PAL format DVD set will be shipped in June.
The ‘Real Life + Thereafter’ DVD contains the entire concert filmed at Manchester Academy …
PLUS … Extra features include ‘Feed The Enemy’ filmed at the rehearsals, an alternate take of ‘A Song From Under The Floorboards’ and exclusive images from the period …
PLUS … On the second CD disc, you get an audio recording straight from the desk of 11 songs from the show at The Forum, London …
PLUS … In the package, you get a free tour T-Shirt in any size you like ranging from Super Small to Mighty XL and all stops in between.
Hey Ian, What kinda gigs you after? Could probably get you non-paying ones, but then you're reliant on CD sales and Nottingham's a long way to come... Helen x
Mate that sucks!! Try to stay focused and not to let that shit get you down. There are GOOD people in the world who wanna hear your music, and that don't wanna take your guitar as payment :)
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