It would be too damned easy to blurb critically and endlessly on about bleedin’ Valentine’s Day. Retail assistants up and down the country have been purchasing red and pink card from their local stationers to cut into various sized heart shapes for display purposes. More symmetrical shapes are achieved by folding the card in half first, then cutting out a half heart outline half-heartedly. Blu-tacked or sellotaped inside establishment windows, the central crease is always visible making the hearts fold further inward as the adhesive melts under hot shop lights. Therefore, as a result, they look more like pink alien butterflies who are visiting Earth to nibble on some heart-shaped chocolate once a year. Stranger things have possibly happened, I think. Anyway onto musical matters…

Featured act this Saturday is Dog On A Swing. The man himself is a prolific songwriter and performer. His cleverly crafted songs have an indie pop/rock feel to them with intelligent well thought out lyrics sung by Dog On A Swing’s distinctive strong vocals. He’s well known for preferring to play on his ‘five string acoustic guitar’ as the top E-strings on regular guitars simply get in the way of his up tempo strumming. It’s a double-date this weekend as Dog On A Swing is featured act at The Listening Room on Sunday night too! No excuses, you have to witness at least one, if not both, of these performances on what should be ‘National Dog On A Swing Weekend’ every year. Here’s a link to his Soundcloud page.

Get out of the shop and put down your scissors, sellotape and glitterpens. Come along, book some stage time and sing us those retail blues. It all starts at 8pm, but get here before 7:30pm to confirm a slot.

See you there…

Fraser Drummond, a regular performer and recognised talent of the music scene in and beyond Edinburgh sadly passed away recently. He was also a member of the band ‘Confushian’ and will undoubtedly be missed by everyone who knew him.

TB.

Hello, good morning, good afternoon, good evening and welcome to another week of hairy Sasquatchuan live music shenanigans in the heart of Edinburgh’s deep maple forest where strange men aimlessly roam about dressed in dark furry suits that behold a rather obvious silver zip running up their backs. Before I go on and put my bigfoot in it all I should mention this Saturday’s featured act.

End Of Neil is a well seasoned performer playing gigs in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling and beyond. His style evokes a mixture of indie folk and rock, which comes across confidently with his strong finger-picking and strumming style on acoustic guitar alongside the occasional harmonica solo. His unique lyrics and polished vocals take you on a journey where you might discover something as diverse as chimpanzees escaping from a zoo. Intrigued and want to hear more? Then bring yourself and your friends along to the Kilderkin for a drink or two and one fine performance. End Of Neil has kept himself busy with recordings too, so here’s a link to his Soundcloud page to get a better idea of what I’m talking about.

“What about me, what about me?”, I hear you all cry faintly from the speakers of my laptop somehow. “Well..em..eh..uh..”, I answer obliquely, “Okay then, slots are available as usual if you want to give us a song or three”, as I stare back in blank bewilderment at the source of the many soft ghostly voices. “Remember to turn up before 7:30pm to confirm a slot”, I hear myself additionally mentioning whilst reaching for the phone to book another appointment with bearded men adorned in white clinical coats who tell me it’s all okay.

See you there or be drowned in Sasquatch hair…

TB 😉

Hello there. Another week and another OOTB. At last our old timeless enemy ‘Time’ is dragging us out of the misery that is the long cold dark month of January into the cold, shorter and slightly less dark miserable month that calls itself ‘February’. Never mind, there’s a Scottish spring and summer not so far away now to sort of look forward to. Despair not, as the murky dull seasonal tones that grace Edinburgh’s winter grey will be tinted by the bright and vibrant colours of this Saturday’s featured act.

Young French musician Elbi Bauer has been singing since she was a child and soon realised that music was, and still is, her number one natural enduring passion and it certainly shows when you hear her songs. There’s a distinct jazz influence mixed with an electro beat sound that’s helped along by live looped samples as Elbi sings easily with a luscious fresh tone accompanied by her confident guitar playing. She’s taking valuable time out of her studies to entertain us this Saturday, so make sure you get along to the Kilderkin for a show of musical bliss and song-crafting talent. Here’s a link to her Soundcloud page to get a taste of what will be an unmissable live performance this week.

Reckon you are unmissable as well? Slots are open for show business as usual if you reckon you are one to be reckoned with alongside an unreckonable stage presence. Just turn up before 7:30pm as most, if not all, slots are booked by then.

See you there. TB 🙂

Hello to all you citizens in anticipation of the oncoming performers’ sweat, blood, egg and gravy outpourings extravaganza this Saturday. Agape arena doors hungrily await fresh musical meat to slaver over in a ‘Bio-tex’ nightmare forged of advert Hell. Fight with honour on stage against lions, tigers and washing machines whilst keeping at least one finger on your G-string. Many are strong and survive to come back to relive another epic tale in the OOTB amphitheatre. Up for the challenge?

Battle ready featured act this week is Kat McKenzie. New Zealand born Kat has been writing songs on keyboards from an early age and has always possessed a strong natural singing voice. Her pitch and tone are effortless as she delivers anything from a powerful ballad to a well written pop song. Kat is talented enough to have performed musical theatre at the Edinburgh Fringe and is included on the soundtrack to season two of BBC Three’s ‘Lip Service’. She has played venues around Edinburgh and at OOTB several times, so we are delighted Kat has accepted our invitation to play this Saturday as headline act. Not one to miss!

Also check out her website: KatMcKenzie.com

It all starts at 8pm and it’s usually best to turn up clothed in freshly washed coliseum armour before 7:30pm to book a slot.

Be there, or be bare…

TB 😉

Hi all. Last Saturday turned out to be a great night filled to the brim with top performances of live original music. OOTB 504 should be no different this week along with our featured act.
Simon Herron has played at OOTB several times and always to a hushed audience as he possesses a natural way of drawing people willingly into his sublime musical world.
Simon has been playing as a solo act for just over a year now and is currently putting the finishing touches to his debut EP, Masquerade. His sound could be described lo-fi indie-folk.
Early demos gave Simon a healthy following on Soundcloud and he was even awarded the accolade of “Soundclouder of the Day” earlier this year. BBC 6 music’s Tom Robinson described Simon as a “mysterious songwriter” whose “music speaks for itself”.

Check out his website for more: simonherron.bandcamp.com

It’s sign up time as usual if you feel like performing this Saturday. Get down before 7:30pm if you want a slot.

See you there 😀

Happy Ne….Happ…Ha…H… Nope sorry just can’t get myself to say it. We all know too well it will no doubt be another year of nonsense, drivel and bad weather. To counteract all that, OOTB’s doors are open for a happy new year (damn I said it!) showcasing talent new and established in Scotland’s capital city.

This Saturday’s featured act is no exception. Mike MacFarlane is fast becoming a seasoned performer and hosts acoustic sessions at Edinburgh’s famous Jazz Bar. His musical style migrates between folk and jazz, playing with confident finger-picking on acoustic guitar accompanied by bitter-sweet lyrics which are sung with an assured vocal delivery. Well worth getting yourselves along this week to see him doing what he knows so well.

Open slots are available as usual if you fancy a shot in the star-ridden limelight. If you are contemplating your first gig, then be brave and show us how it should be done. It’s not as intimidating as you think as we welcome with open arms any new acts who are willing to give performing in the big bad world a damned good try. Also check out our Open Mics page which has just been updated for this month if you want to expand your gigging horizons across Edinburgh.

See you there!

TB 😀

It’s that time of year we all love to hate and systematically waste our hard earned cash on presents nobody really needs. A dilute Christian festival now primarily based on the monetary value of gifts we all receive and give to each other. Santa is grateful although to Coca Cola for changing his suit colour to red rather than the awful dark purple that everyone seemed to hate. Poor bewildered Jesus these days is scratching his bloody thorned head wondering where he, his sacrifice and religion fits into this unrepentant calculated world of mass human commercial consumption. Father forgive them, for they know not what they do. Anyway, despite all that we are not party-poopers as OOTB is having a special Christmas celebration and we’re expecting some Christmas songs to leak from the pores of songsters this Saturday night.

Also for this festive week’s featured act we have booked an amazing Scots-born musician who is known as Matt Midgley. Oxfordshire based Matt employs a unique percussive guitar style that involves a rather high calibre technical method of detuning, tapping and finger-picking which defines his alternative indie folk sound. All this is showcased in his 2010 debut album ‘Cyan’ and has now released part one of his second album ‘For Everybody and No One’. Well worth checking out if you want to witness something that’s a bit different and original. Find out more on his website: Matt Midgley.co.uk

Regular slots are available as usual if you want to don your Santa hat and play us a few songs, influenced perchance by the drunken pleasure of warm medicinal-tasting mulled wine and burnt Christmas pudding interrupted with a good long turkey burp.

Please note that OOTB will be taking a break over the holidays and will be back after new year on 12th January 2013. Have a good time everyone and see you real soon!

TB 😀

OOTB 500 is done and dusted and it’s now countdown (or is it count-up?) to OOTB 1000! Our special celebration on Saturday was a great night filled with cake, drink and music. Big thanks to everyone who turned up to play and join in the fun. Check out the review of the evening and performances (if you haven’t already) written by one of OOTB’s originals, James Igoe. Pics of the momentous night are on our Photos page.

Featured act this Saturday is Jack Blimey. An emerging talent from the Edinburgh music scene, Jack has been a regular (and now a committee member) of OOTB for some time now. His music is an energetic mix of eclectic beat poetry and 1960s spy theme music underlined with a touch of dark humour. He has an acoustic guitar phobia, so it’s normal to see Jack adorning one of his electric guitars which adds to his unique style and sound.

It’s business as usual with regular slots available for the taking. Just turn up 7pm-7:30pm to sign up for fifteen minutes of fame (you know the drill by now). Also check out our new Open Mics page which is a monthly updated list of such events in and around Edinburgh. See you there at the Kilderkin this Saturday, and possibly somewhere else out and about in music-land!

TB 😀

Out Of The Bedroom this Saturday is hosting its 500th event! Established way back in November 2001, OOTB has witnessed eleven years of live original music and performances from so many talented people coming through our doors to reach this incredible milestone. This longevity proves that OOTB has played a significant part over the years in promoting songwriters and original artists in Edinburgh, and often providing a stepping stone for those who are contemplating their first gig. With turnout of performers and audience being very healthy these days (and in the past of course!) along with new faces constantly turning up to play, it’s realistic to think that another 500 events are entirely possible.

To celebrate we are inviting performers to play cover versions of musicians who have played on the OOTB stage in the past. Alternatively you are welcome to play any song at all, whether it’s a cover of a song you love or your own material.

We are expecting our 500th this Saturday to be rather busy, so it might be one or two songs for each performer depending on how many people turn up before 8pm and throughout the evening. We’ve organised special OOTB events like this in the past and they’ve always ended up being fantastic nights of music and entertainment. Rumour has it that there might be a cake as well! It all kicks off at 8pm and is admission free as always. So come down with your friends and join in the fun, frolics and music.

Check out our new OPEN MICS page which is a monthly updated list of open mics (and the like) in and around Edinburgh!

😀 TB

‘OOTB 499?? Hmmm…now wait just a damn minute there, that must mean the next one has to be OOTB 500! Oh my God, are the folks at Out Of The Bedroom doing anything at all to celebrate this momentous achievement?!?’. Damned right we are, but more on this in a bit.

The act this week more than worthy of our featured slot is POL Arida.

POL is an accomplished singer songwriter working from Edinburgh, UK. Many of his songs are ‘subject specific’ covering areas far from the conventional love song.

His ‘hammer’ guitar style is widely regarded as unique, where the guitar is hit hundreds of times per minute to produce a multi-instrument sound. Many of the recordings have no backing or effects although more recently POL has been working with other musicians to compliment the songs.
He is a well known live performer in ‘Second Life’ playing virtual gigs on a regular basis.

Check out his website: cultx.com

On Saturday 8th December we celebrate not only reaching our 500th event, but also eleven years of hosting live original music in Edinburgh! OOTB 001 was launched quite a while ago in November 2001 where since then songwriters and performers have had an accessible platform to show off their talents to a supportive audience.
To commemorate all this we are breaking our own rules! Performers are invited to play cover versions, particularly covers of OOTBers (with their permission of course). Those of you who sign up to play are just as welcome to perform original material if covers are not your sort of thing. It all starts at 8pm, so come down with your friends to help us rejoice in what will be a heavenly night of music and damned good fun!

😀 😀 😀