The Death of BSOD

We wanted to explain the reasons we decided it was time to kill The Blue Screen of Death and start a new band.

BSOD was formed by Harry, Paul, Steve and Pete. With Pete leaving, Harry switching from drums to guitar and the addition of Gizmo, it very much feels different. Different like something that isn't BSOD anymore. Being in the recording studio and laying down new (totally rad) tracks accentuated this. Continuing with the BSOD name undermines the part Pete played in BSOD as well as the part Gizmo now plays in the new band.

There are lots of elements that will carry forward into the new project, but there are also inevitably things that will change. The name being the first.

Although we are fond of it, BSOD was never a perfect fit in the first place. For people that didn't get the reference i.e. non-geeks (of whom there were many), the word 'death' conjures up images of a metal band, which we are not. In this day and age it's difficult enough to get people to listen to a band or go and see them live without the added hazard of misleading expectations.

There's also another (more popular and probably better) band called The Blue Screen Of Death based in Germany. With Felix (who is a jolly nice chap), the drummer from our German band namesakes coming over to study in Southampton, it has highlighted the fact that we are not alone.

On top of these reasons you can add the fact that BSOD is rather tough to Google, plus it's so long that it rarely fits on gig posters.

All in all, the time has come for change.

The Blue Screen of Death is dead.

Gizmo, Harry, Paul and Steve

P.s. You won't have to wait long for new material...

Fool's Facade

Has anyone noticed that the opening four notes of the bass line to our track "Fool's Facade"...

LISTEN HERE

...sound a lot like the four notes used in the Microsoft Windows XP closing down sound...

COMPARISON

A coincidence or clever parody?  You decide.

Introducing the new BSoD drummerererer...

Gizmo signed for a fee of £8.32 plus a Curly Wurly

Guillaume Redonnet-Brown (a.k.a. "Gizmo") is a demi-French percussion prodigy with a grade 8 in drumming and a grade 8.5 in being a badass. At only 18 years old (although, due to the linear nature of time, this will change), speculation remains as to whether BSoD guitarist Harry Shogun Gardner might in fact be be his biological Father (Harry is old).

Gizmo grew up on the mean streets of Sutton in Surrey, so he knows how to handle himself (and a switchblade). It was here that he earned the alias “Gizmo” (in an event which took place in a kebab shop just after midnight, but Gizmo does not like discussing it).

He is currently studying for a degree in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Southampton. It remains to be seen whether he is any good at making paper aeroplanes.

It is hoped that next year he may be coerced into taking part in the charity fundraiser known as “Movember” to allow the pun “Gizmovember”.

It is testement to his ability that we chose him out of the many excellent drummers we have met over the last few weeks.  We now intend to educate our young padawan in the ways of the Blue Screen, then in 2013 we will unleash him onto a stage near you (although this does largely depend on who you are and your geographic location).

After paying the extortionate transfer fee to acquire Gizmo's services, we are even more poor.  Help us out.  Buy a CD (or 12). Please. Thank you.

Beware the paradox

This is a blog about a blog...

BSoD frontman, and general silly sausage, Steve a.k.a. "Smeghead Steve" has written a blog about some bands which you may or may not have heard of, but are good-to-the-max.

You can have a read here:

http://www.designermagazine.org/FourBandsThatWillBreakYourBalls.htm

The search for a drummerer has begun...

Obviously, after Pete's departure, we are left without a full band. Suffice to say that, if I were a Panda right now, I would be a sad Panda.

But there is no point crying over spilled caramel (this is a vague attempt at "satire".  Ideally, I would have preferred there to have been a major oil slick in the last few days which I could have referenced at this point, but I had nonesuch luck), so we shall pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and begin trying to find someone that can sit behind us when we play music and make a lot of noise.

For some reason, the type of “people” that like to hit things with sticks, latin name Drummi drummerus are often a very rare breed. They fall into two main categories, each with their own strengths and “areas for improvement”.

Rain Man

These drummers will often posses a high level of intelligence pitched against a high level of social anxiety and awkwardness. For this reason they are often solitary creatures, preferring the company of innate concepts, such as “time” and “knowledge”, rather than human interaction. Meticulous and methodical in their approach, they are often perfectionists.  Practice will come naturally to them and they will thrive in this environment.

Sergeant Bash

In it for the party. Popular and cool, these guys will bring people to shows, post things on the facebook and give gnarly interviews, however, they are prone to oversleeping and under-practicing and may well “forget to turn up” to the odd thing, like a gig. They can often be spotted by their propensity to wear “sunglasses” or “hats” or other such fashion accessories*, and may well posses painted skin, which I believe the kidz call “tatoos”.

Of course, a history of inbreeding has led to hybrid drummers emerging, with a mixture of characteristics from both species. Depending on their dominant defining attributes they will either be known as “Sergant Man” or “Rain Bash”.

So, I guess the question is; do Blue Screen want a Rain man, a Sergeant Bash, or an inbetweenie? To be honest, at this precise second, if someone told me Idi Amin had risen from his grave, moved to Southampton, become a badass drummer and was looking to join a rock band with some subtle stoner rock influences, I would say “Deal Noel” without a second's hesitation. Not even stopping to ask myself the question “Why am I speaking to Noel Edmonds?”.**

*Although both Sunglassess and hats have functional purposes, in this instance they will generally be exhibited as fashion accessories due to the circumstances and manner in which they are utilised. For example, sunglasses at night time, or the occurrence of the same hat many times, regardless of the prevailing weather conditions.

**Of course, this is NOT true. I would never play in a band with the reanimated corpse of Idi Amin. Apart from the fact that he was a horrible man, I wouldn't play in a band with him because I'm a massive racist. Sieg Heil etc.***

***It irritates me that I am not bold enough to make that statement for comic effect without this qualifying rebuttal. Obviously, I am not a racist. In fact, I'm extremely liberal. I would go so far as to say fanatically liberal. I can and will break promises (specifically relating to tuition fees) willy nilly. There we are. I did it. I achieved "satire". Thank you, and good night.

And then there were three...

For those who don't know, Pete Davis*, BSoD lead guitarist is, as of last night, no longer the BSoD lead guitarist.

Being in a band is very much like being in a relationship. Except, in our case, without the sex. Therefore, being in a band is very much like being in a relationship, but without the good bits.

Breaking up a band is remarkably similar to the end of a relationship. Except without the sex. There are tears, anger, regret, paranoia etc. and maybe just a little bit of sex.

It's like being on a roller coaster of emotion. On this roller coaster you are sat on the middle seat. You think to yourself "they've clearly made an effort to make these roller coaster seats comfortable, but is the large, potentially testical-crushing bulge between my legs really necessary?". 

On one side of you sits the Drill Sergeant from“Full Metal Jacket” undermining and belittling you in increasingly imaginative ways.  On the other side is Wesley Snipes with his sharp hair cut who is glaring at you from behind his sunglasses and repeatedly growling the phrase “use it”.  Then, when the ride is finally over, you get off only to be confronted by Vinnie Jones, who says nothing, but kicks you in the testicles (which, ironically, you had carefully avoided crushing on the roller coaster seat) before running off. You think you can hear him giggling to himself as he goes, but then again, somebody running and laughing would sound almost exactly the same as somebody running and crying.

Today I feel numb. This may or may not be related to the fact that I am cold because I am wearing nothing but pants, but then the reason I am wearing nothing but pants is because I feel numb. It's a chicken and egg situation. A big 'orrible chicken, laying an egg so mutated that it looks remarkably like masterchef host, Greg Wallace.

In difficult times like these, I feel it is important that we look at the bigger picture, and take a minute to remind ourselves just how much of a twat Greg Wallace, masterchef host, really is. He's a big 'orrible chicken twat giving birth to a disgusting egg that is so mutated it looks remarkably like masterchef host, Greg Wallace.

I feel it maybe time for me to metaphorically and literally, but mainly literally, put some clothes on.

*I misread this as "Pete Davis" live at Twin Towers.  I feel I should point out that there are FIVE volumes of this toss, and each CD is priced at $28, NOT INCLUDING POSTAGE.  I can only presume that Pete is no longer in Blue Screen because he is buying himself a small island somewhere with profits from these albums, but I sincerely hope that he does not make any more.

Music from the 80's/90's.....it wasn't all bad!

Hi everyone, its Pete here. I thought it was about time I started sharing a bit more on here, so here goes.

Being born in the 80's and then growing up through the 90's was surely nowhere near as good musically as growing up in the 60's and 70's like my parents. I often find myself criticising music from the time of my growing up until i look through my album collection. It suddenly dawned on me how much stuff i love from that time.

As a kid learning to play guitar, I only listened to old stuff. When you start going to secondary school this is not cool. Especially when you are the wierdo stood in the corner at the freshers disco refusing to dance because you are terrified to get the latest moves from the chart wrong. Then maybe the more popular kids would crucify you on some of the gym apparatus and display you to the the rest of the school as an example of an inferior being. However this did place you in a predicament if nothing in the chart makes you enjoy music in anyway. So what do you do as weirdo with a guitar and no inspiration. You go round your friend John's house and have him play his older brother's cd collection to you. Amazing what a difference a day can make. One minute you are thinking about cutting off your hands because people don't like guitar music anymore, they like TL fucking C and Craig fucking David. Next thing you are going home singing 'Come as you are' and 'Spoonman'.

So tonight I'm sharing a song from that day. My good buddy John Fackrell made me a tape of 'cool shit' which I listened to endlessly. Sat in the corner of the common room at school, headphones in with the first Foo Fighters album smashing in to my ears. The stand out track for me was 'Good Grief'. The drums at the beginning, to me, sounded less like someone playing the drums and more like someone trying to destroy a drum kit! Its catchy lead line on the intro and its screaming rip roaring chorus stayed with me forever. The mix had so much fuzz in the background, it was dirty, filthy, rawcus rock and I loved it! Even to this day, if it comes on the cd player in my car, passengers have to be silenced and the volume pumped up to eleven during the fuzzed up bridge riff which is bursting with guitars layered over one another, each one more filthy than the next. Shame they don't seem to play it anymore...ENJOY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DN5H4UbP6Q&feature=related