Meet Dlugokecki

Hi all,

As it was hot and sunny for once, I decided to go and track down Dlugokecki. This is quite hard as at the moment they are doing a UK tour. I did however get hold of someone...

1. Can we have a quick intro? Who are you and what do you do?

Hi! I'm Aidan, I'm the bassist for Dlugokecki though I do also dabble in guitar, keyboards and backing vocals too when required.

2. For those who haven't heard of Dlugokecki, how would you describe your music?

Rocky-poppy! Andy Wild is never going to live that down. He was very pleased with himself when he came up with on on a flight to Texas, now he's starting to hate it...

3. What was the first album you bought?

Travelling Without Moving by Jamiroquai - still one of my favourite albums!

4. Dlugokecki have supported some big bands and artists in the past. If you had the choice, who would you like to gig with next?

Out of anyone ever? How about supporting Paul McCartney at the O2? That would be cool.

5. What was the last thing you bought for band use?

My in ear monitors. Expensive but very much worth it...

6. Which venue would you like to play that you haven't yet?

We've played in all the venues in Southampton including the Guildhall (nice place but awful acoustics). I've also played Royal Festival Hall a few times and The Royal Albert Hall. I used to work at Wembley Arena but have never been on the stage, so probably there...

7. What has been your most stand out experience so far?

The USA trip, particularly the meat in Texas. Amazing.

8. What do you do after a gig?

Try and calm Ben down!

9. You're on tour at the moment, what's the best/worst thing about being on the road?

It's great to meet the far flung Dlugokecki fans that usually only exist on Facebook. To travel 2-300 miles and meet people that know the words to the songs better than I do is amazing. The worst thing? Trying to calm Ben down, even freezing his shoes didn't work!

10. What's next for Dlugokecki? 

Our next gig is North Crawley Village Hall, Newport Pagnell on Saturday 28th July. Tickets are nearly all sold out, I can't wait!

That's 2 days away guys. So get your tickets as quickly as possible and get over there!

Thanks for reading

Dlugokecki - Village Hall Gala Review

Hi all,

Since starting this blog, I've actually found its a lot of work. Hunting down people, finding gigs, trying to fit them in with other commitments, it can be quite hard.

When the opportunity came around to see Dlugokecki last Saturday I had already been out nearly every night that week so I was in 2 minds whether to go or not. Yes ok, they have supported people like Snow Patrol and David Gray, so they must be good, but how good could it possibly be in a village hall? I mean, its hardly Wembley Arena is it?

Luckily for me I decided to go along, jumped in a car with a mate, boot full of booze and off we went.

The venue was a typical Village hall. It could hold about 150 people, had a kitchen with a serving hatch and a permanant stage.

I did a double take when the supporting act came on. I initially thought it was Jarvis Cockers younger, slightly more chunky, brother. He was actually a singer/songwriter from Liverpool. Normally you see these guys just jump on stage with a guitar covered in stickers, this guy brought along a Cellist. This made a huge difference. I do get tired of these accoustic only people singing samey kind of "against the government" and "I understand you now, Dad" songs. This guy actually sung songs that were fresh, and the Cello gave it a bit of bass which was appreciated, especially somewhere that just sucked all the bass out the sound.

If you want to look him up, his name is Rob Vincent, you can find him here: http://robertvincentmusic.com/. I would recommend it.

Dlugokecki (derr-lugo-kenski) are a 6 piece band, including Keys, Bass, Guitar, backing singer, Drums and Ben himself who sings and plays accoustic guitar. Initially I did wonder where Matt Hayward (Drums) had gone, he was about 14ft back from the front of the stage, in a black shirt, behind black drums against a black background in the shadows. I could definitely hear him though. It's nice to feel some other beats rather than the standard basic and slightly monotonous 4/4. It's also nice to see a drummer who sets up a kit and actually uses it all, and can use it all properly.
Aidan had a moment on Bass when a string snapped. He covered amazingly by playing exactly the same riffs but on 2 strings. If you can play, you'll know how hard that is to do. The keyboard player (Andy Wild) was great and when it came to solo time, he was impressive. Actually made me laugh, changing the song style completely. I know the backing singer quite well, (you may recognise Kelly if you scroll down a bit) unfortunately I couldn't quite hear her. This is what happens in Village Halls though. Your sound balance can go all to pot. Its my only negative about the whole night is that I was itching to go up on stage and sort it out.

Now, to be perfectly honest, I didn't think I'd like the music. I'd listened to a couple of tracks and they weren't for me. I'm more into heavier stuff. My initial thought was that it was too...I don't know...Pop.
This is why I'm glad I went. The meaning of the word "Pop" has been taken and stomped on by this crappy X-Factor rubbbish we have in the charts now. Yes its popular, but only for about 3 seconds. You wouldn't recognise half these songs in 10 years, let alone the artist. After Saturday night, the meaning of Pop for me has been restored. This was pop music as in "popular".

There were people there from all backgrounds, from all age groups (literally in this case. Ages from 4 and up to about 70) and they were all having a good time. Everyone was tapping their feet, jumping up and down and shouting. I think Ben was thrown for a bit when they hadn't finished their set and everyone starting cheering for more. The poor guy only stopped for a drink!

In short, it was a really good night. If they are around, go and see them. Go and visit their website. Go and rediscover what "pop music" actually means.

Visit their site here: http://www.dlugokecki.net/about_dlugokecki.html

Thanks for reading,