Misty's Big Adventure
are an eight piece band from Birmingham, England. Their music is an eclectic mix of jazz, lounge, psychedelia, two tone, pop and punk.
The current lineup is Grandmaster Gareth (real name Gareth Jones) (vocals), Hannah Baines (trumpet), Lucy Baines (saxophone), Lucy Bassett (keyboards), Matt Jones (bass), Sam Minnear (drums, percussion), Jonathan Kedge (guitar) and Erotic Volvo (dancer).
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MISTY'S BIG ADVENTURE TICKETS
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About the band
A long time fixture on the
Birmingham experimental music scene,
Grandmaster Gareth formed the band in 1996 with his friend Sam Minnear. The name was taken from a story in the 1968 children's book
The Magic Roundabout Annual
about a kitten, Misty, who meets a dog and they become friends.
Misty's songs typically consist of Grandmaster Gareth singing in a deadpan, maudlin style accompanied by lively guitar, keyboards and brass players. They occasionally include samples and toy instruments in their songs. Contrasting with Gareth's dour lounge-singer act is the dancer
Erotic Volvo. Dressed in a loose full-body red sack with numerous stuffed blue gloves attached, and his face painted blue, he dances continuously and in an exhaustingly frenetic manner, often moving around the audience. He occasionally also performs as a
human beat box.
All members of the band are trained musicians, and are predominantly based in the
Moseley suburb of Birmingham. The band's spiritual home was the
Jug of Ale venue in Moseley, where they played regularly until it was shut down in 2008; fittingly, Misty's played the last ever gig there. They have played widely outside Birmingham too and since 2005 they have toured extensively around the UK with forays into Europe, and support slots for
The Zutons and
The Magic Numbers. They are managed by
Mathew Priest, the drummer with
Dodgy.
Their debut album,
Misty's Big Adventure and Their Place in the Solar Hi-Fi System
, was released in 2004 with production by Richard March of
Bentley Rhythm Ace and Matthew Eaton of
Pram. Their follow-up albums
The Black Hole
(2005) and
Funny Times
(2007) were produced by
Brian O'Shaughnessy whose production credits include
Primal Scream,
Denim and
The Firm's Star Trekkin
Gareth occasionally tours as
Misty's Little Adventure
with a stripped down band, featuring himself on guitar, backed by drums, trumpet and saxophone only.
In 2003 Gareth recorded the solo album
Grandmaster Gareth Presents... An Introduction To Minute Melodies
. This was accompanied by a
John Peel session entitled "Grandmaster Gareth's Monster Melody" a CDR EP of which was available to purchase from the band's website. A second album of minute melodies
The Party Sounds Of Grandmaster Gareth
was released on SL records in May 2006. This featured 29 tracks varying in length from 47 seconds to 1 minute 29 seconds. A bonus monster melody (different from the Peel session) was also included to end the album. Contributors to this album included the other members of Misty's,
Brute Force,
Jeffrey Lewis, Dog Food's Mr Simon and Bom & His Magic Drumstick.
The humourist
Dave Gorman is a big fan of Misty's Big Adventure and the DVD
The Dave Gorman Collection features a special song and video as an extra. The song is titled "54 Dave Gormans". The band also provided the theme tune to his tv series
Genius.
In 2007 the BBC used the instrumental version of "Fashion Parade" as the music to their
The Edwardians
trailer, while ITV used the same version in their trailer for their reality show
This Is David Gest
. On radio, the instrumental version was used by
The Geoff Show on
Virgin Radio as backing music to one of their regular features. It has also been used as the soundtrack to an Irish anti-litter campaign.
Influences
Gareth cites local Birmingham bands
Pram,
Broadcast, Dog Food and
Novak as teenage influences. Seven-piece Novak had an "anything goes" attitude combined with skilled musicianship that Misty's exhibit.
Other influences include
Raymond Scott,
Julian Cope,
The Beatles,
The Specials,
Joe Meek and
Can
Extracurricular
Grandmaster Gareth worked as producer with antifolk artist
Jeffrey Lewis during 2004, however these recordings have, as yet, failed to see the light of day.
Misty's, and Gareth in particular, are strong supporters of the local Birmingham music scene.
Misty's 2006 single 'Fashion Parade' features 3/4 of
Northampton indie-punk rockers
The Retro Spankees, and a guest appearance by
Noddy Holder.
The video also features
The Teats.
Discography
Albums
| Title
| Year
| Label
|
| Allsorts
| 2003
| self released
|
| Misty's Big Adventure and Their Place in the Solar Hi-fi System
| 2004
| SL Records
|
| The Black Hole
| 2005
| SL Records/T.A.R.G.O. Records
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| Grumpy Fun
| 2006
| self released
|
| Funny Times
| 2007
| Grumpy Fun Recordings
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| Grumpier Fun
| 2007
| Grumpy Fun Recordings
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| Television's People
| 2008
| Grumpy Fun Recordings/SL Records
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Singles
| Title
| Year
| Label
|
| "I am Cool With A Capital C"
| 2004
| Awkward Records
|
| "Night Time Better Than the Daytime/I Killed the Neighbours"
| 2004
| Awkward Records
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| "Hey Man"
| 2005
| SL Records
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| "The Story of Love"
| 2005
| SL Records
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| "Where Do Jam Jars Go at Xmas Time"
| 2005
| SL Records
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| "Fashion Parade"
| 2006
| Sunday Best Records
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| "I Can't Bring The Time Back/Serious Thing"
| 2007
| Club Fandango Records
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| "Between Me and You"
| 2008
| Club Fandango Records
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References