 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
loading
Intro
Welcome to The Taste's official website.
This site will provide you with all the latest news and developments. We have wanted to have our site for some time, and thought that now was perfect, especially with the release of 'Hit The Hills' and another busy year to come in 2008.
So welcome and enjoy...
History
Matt Eades formerly of the bands Brubaker and Performance (managed by Paul Gallagher) met Danny Cawley (Alf and Delia, Hector's House) in the Autumn of 2002 through a mutual friend, the one and only Matt Lanyon (R.I.P).
Danny had returned to Manchester after spending some time in London and Brighton, and brought back with him some some songs and ideas he wanted to develop. Matt was also looking to get back into music after some time off, so the pair began writing and playing music together.
Matt and Danny both had bitter-sweet experiences of previous bands and were keen to avoid the stress and nonsense that tends to accompany being involved in a full band set up. They decided on the strength of their mutual respect of each other to minimise the chance of the kind of conflicts of the past cropping up. A course was set which to this day has proved to be fruitful.
"The first songs were written in 2002 and 2003; I think our first songs were Flower in the Snow and Hobo. I thought there was a good feel to the songs straight away" [Danny]. Using a 4 track, acoustic guitars and plenty of reverb, the partnership began to flourish and create demos with a distinctive style. "Pretty soon we had an album's worth of songs, so we decided to invest in a 16 track digital recording studio. We wanted to record an album and get the best sound possible" [Matt].
First Album
When the recording of The Taste’s début album began, “We were novices as far as using the new digital recording equipment was concerned, but with the benefit of some previous experience, and the dreaded instruction manual, we started to get to grips with it” [Matt].
One of the main obstacles was achieving a good drum sound as there were no plans at that stage to get a drummer involved. “Things become complicated when you have to make space for a drummer, so we had to get the best sound we could ourselves in the studio” [Danny].
Despite the plan to keep the number of band members to a minimum, there are several contributors to The Taste’s recorded work. “I wrote a song called Is This Heaven and I wanted someone else to sing it, so we got a mate called Mike Cloud into the studio and it sounded sweet” [Danny]. This began a ritual that exists to this day of getting in guest singers and musicians to add their own colour to the songs.
It was in the early stages of recording the first album that Matt and Danny met the third member oh The Taste, Clive Mellor. This was largely a chance meeting, but the result of a tip from Lazybones (aka Mike Wilson), a local musician, friend of The Taste and former front man of ‘The Sound Gallery’. “Mike told me about a folk night that was happening in a small club in Chorlton Cum Hardy, where you could just turn up and play. So we did. I had written a song called Bricks that needed a solo of some sort, and that night there happened to be a three-piece band with a harmonica player who absolutely blew us away. At the end I asked him if he’d be interested in coming to our studio to play on one of the songs; the rest is history” [Danny].
After one recording session with Clive it was clear that The Taste had found the perfect sound to compliment their music “Clive turned up at the studio with his yellow flight case and we played once through the song Bricks. I set up a mic, and I’m pretty sure that the solo you hear on the recording was Clive’s first take” [Matt].
Clive Mellor is a musician with a rich history, having been a long-standing key member of the ‘Lonesome and Penniless Cowboys’. He can currently be found working alongside Richard Hawley, has been on the music scene for years and has been described as the best harmonica player in Manchester.
“These days I don’t like playing live without Clive. He can’t always play as he’s in demand so much, which can be a drag for us; when we play live we’re not quite The Taste without him” [Danny].
Clive's input has taken the sound to a different level; “I think the songs are really strong, and there’s always something to get you involved. I love to add to the atmosphere and feel of the whole thing” [Clive].
During 2005 the band played throughout Manchester and the North West. “It felt strange to be playing live again after so long, but we wanted to take the songs out of the studio” [Danny].
The band also continued to record their début album, drafting in another local musician called Mark Pover, an old friend of Danny’s. Having a third pair of ears during recording and mixing helped the process, and assisted by Mark’s technical experience the band developed their sound further.
“Clive is continuously busy, and tends to turn up at the studio to do his thing - he generally doesn't get involved in the writing process. It was good to get Mark in and bounce some fresh ideas about; he’s also a great bass player” [Matt].
Another contributor is Carolyn Mason, a local singer, originally from Liverpool. She was asked to provide some backing vocals on the song Letting You Go. “Carolyn has a beautiful smoky smooth voice that works really well on this track; it wouldn’t be the same without her” [Danny].
By September 2005 The Taste had finished their first album. It had been recorded, mixed and mastered in Matt's home studio and the end result was impressive. With the help of Karin Albinsson, a photographer and friend, the album was packaged.
“We had done an album, on our own terms, no deadlines, no pressure. I thought there were some great songs on it. We did it for us, no one else, and it felt great” [Danny].
Hit The Hills
Danny and Matt started to record new material straight away; Matt was becoming very proficient with studio recording and Danny seemed to be writing constantly. “I reckon I write a song a fortnight….they’re not always usable, but I never seem to get a shortage. Maybe it’s because I don’t drink any more and my brain works” [Danny]
The band started work on the new album by recording Hey Ho, which seemed to be finished relatively quickly by their standards. However, they soon began running into problems. “We had some great songs, but we were struggling to get the right drum sounds for them. We had some ropey equipment at the time, and were getting bogged down; at one point I resorted to hitting anything hollow to see what kind of sounds we could sample. The drum machine we had looked more like a kid’s toy, so we invested in a more professional model and things started to move forward again” [Matt].
“There was a point where it seemed we weren’t getting anywhere, but if you just work through those times you come out the other side” [Danny].
Hit The Hills – Danny's Track Notes
Hit The Hills
I had the day off work and snow was forecast, but I knew it wouldn't snow in the heart of the city so I went up to the hills to find the snow. I found a lane called Gib lane in a place called Mellor (Derbyshire). I sat on a wall and could see an orange sky sunset behind Manchester. It was thick with snow in Mellor, and you could see the twinkling lights of the city; I thought how beautiful it was, where I was, and how mad it was in the city.
35 Summers
Probably my favourite on the album. I love the line “Keep shopping, don't stop to think”; I saw that on a banner at an anti-war march. It's a big song with a summer feel somehow?
Lucky Arms
This is our melodic, harmonic ode to the day after: the hangover and the reflection. One of Matt's favourites.
Country Woman
This one has a great feel to it, a real 'ye hah'! I suppose it's about loads of stuff. I don't know who the country woman is....I have known country women with sweet southern voices, but off the top of my head I'm not sure.
Nothing At All
Me and Mark recorded this one. I wrote it dead early in the morning when I couldn't sleep. The chorus is about using alcohol to numb yourself from life, but also not regretting things and moving away from negativity. I don't think you can do that without a clear head.
Shake Me
This one's about a number of things; a love, my time in Brighton at the end of my twenties and the end of my partying. I also comment on the changing times in this country. People got to watch what they can say.
Hey Ho
This is a purely fictional song about a naughty love affair. It was the first song we recorded on the 'Hit The Hills' album. It's a big tune with Pink Floyd influences.
Angel's Face
I originally wanted a piano on this, but it works with acoustic guitar and trumpet. It's an almost ghostly, sad song about change and being lost.
Wiseman
This one started off as a kind of folky thing, but turned into a monster of a track. You can hear the influences from the Stone Roses in the verses, then the chorus explodes into pure 'The Taste'. Kissing the devil could be about whichever vice you may have...
Story Song
I love the box sound on this. We used a shoe box with a towel wrapped around it, a mic and plenty of reverb. The guitar is dodgy but it works; it's my only acoustic playing on the record. “You've got a four by four, you're lucky like a king”.
Dog
Syd Barrett had just died at the age of 60, and this song is a tribute to his magic nonsense. It's not supposed to be a serious song. My brother in law sings the middle 8 by the way, it's not David Essex.
Big City
This one is about walking home at four in the morning with no taxi money, drunk, sweaty, tired and alone...I've done that a few times. It's also about Manchester's changing skyline.
On The Edge
This came out of nothing, it wasn't pre-written. Matt came up with a guitar riff, some melody and a lyric idea and we jammed it from there. It's a massive song and a perfect end of album song. It's over-indulgence at its finest and we have Rob to thank for the sample at the end.
Present and Future
The band are concentrating on promoting the 'Hit The Hills' album at present, and a number of shows are planned for 2008. They continue to record new material and have some new additions on the engineering side, so the recording of the new material promises to be an exciting experience.
We have a load more songs and there are a few more albums in us yet. We have already started recording our third album and we'll keep you posted...
Danny and Matt