A Much Needed Update

So, it's been a while.

That's actually not because nothing has been happening, but rather that too much has. Between careers, school, exams, driving lessons, birthdays, music, songwriting and all that other stuff, the poor blog has suffered.

So, in short, here are a few of the things we've been getting up to during our silence:

A Song For Niomi


Taylor's best friend Niomi was a Young Carer for a while when her mother was ill, leaving Niomi not just looking after her mum, but her little brother too. She joined the Red Cross Young Carers support group and has been heavily involved in making a video promoting the good work that Young Carers do, often without recognition or even understanding.

As part of the video project, Niomi wrote a poem and asked us to turn it into the song. The result was What If?

I actually quite hate that recording. We were pushed for time, and still getting acquainted with our equipment. There's a bit of echo and the vocal isn't best. We have plans to rerecord it in the summer when we have a bit more time and space to dedicate to the lengthy process of recording, but for now that one will have to do!

The song debuted at the video launch last saturday, and though most people thought Niomi was singing it, it was very well received so we were pleased!

Campstock Festival


Perhaps the most exciting development - Not Quite have a proper gig. Like 200 people gig! We're supporting some local acts at a local music festival, raising money for charity. The slot is about half an hour and we're doing a mix of covers and original tracks. We've not played to even close to that big an audience before so we will probably die of terror on the day, but it should be good. I'm excited anyway.

Not Quite's Debut Gig


Taylor and Ivy are regulars at a local Open Mic night, and in preparation for the big gig, they asked the pub they play at if they'd give us a slot as a band. We were given half an hour on Sunday night.

It wasn't the busiest time, but there were enough people there to make it feel official and exciting. We'd never played outside of our dining room before, and the pub had never hooked up pianos to their sound system, so it was a night of firsts.

And it went incredibly well. I was so nervous my throat completely dried up, but I managed to get through my songs, and my siblings were even better - their open mic exposure giving their confidence a boost. We were only supposed to play five songs, then come back for an encore later with two or three, but the bar staff and the audience were so impressed we were told to do our whole 6 song set twice through. We were better the second time round, which was good, as it made me confident that we could be even better at Campstock.

This video was taken by our mum and has a mix of all our tracks. It features such amusing gaffs as Taylor forgetting her microphone (look for my arm shooting across and waving as Ivy sings) but hopefully it gives anyone out there reading a taste.

And I think that's everything. Ivy is home for a while now, so we're hoping to move the video project forwards, alongside some more song writing and recording. I have big plans for music video number two that I want to get on the way soon. We need to make the most of the summer break - it's going to be a busy one!

~Liberty