Friends of Brutal Architecture

'I need to play live. And I need to play my music live.' Such was the whispering scream that had lived in the back of my mind before, during and after my previous bands. I loved playing live but didn't like playing covers - but it was always difficult to be involved in an outfit that didn't play covers.

In April 2004, I met with Paul Smith (once of Prime) and Andy Turton (from Mareva Injunction) to discuss forming a band; a band that would play live and that would write its own music.

We plumped for three songs of mine (Force of Habit, Burgundy and Cheers Big Ears) which had all worked live before. We also decided on two Prime songs which were co-written by Paul, Rob Charlton and myself (Awakening and Spiralling Down). Thus equipped, we had enough material to see us through a first session together.

We had made the right decision to 'give it a go'. The first rehearsal was on 5 July 2004. It was rough and mistake-ridden but it was also fresh and dynamic. Furthermore, we laid down the foundations to Zeitgeist - our first song. It was an auspicious start and we left that rehearsal aware of the untapped potential.

The band naming came later on in September. We convened in Portchester with a list of names. There were many differing suggestions but we decided to plump for one that would make us sound more like a voluntary society than a band. Friends of Brutal Architecture was simply the one we all liked.

After fifteen rehearsals, at the end of 2004, we had added four new band numbers (Just a Frightener, You Become What You Hate, Grind and Vicious Circle) and two of mine (Millennium Folly and The One). We had an hour's worth of material and, furthermore, we had a gig.

On Thursday 20 January 2005, we headlined Roger Courtney's Open Mic Night at the Milton Arms in Portsmouth. Although we played at a lower volume than we had hoped, the gig was a success evoking a warmly received encore and two positive reviews on the web.

The band continued to write further songs throughout 2005 (namely Running Away, The Light, The Arty Joke Song and Think Again) allowing us to play gigs with purely FoBA material - thus achieving the initial objectives of the band.

Throughout 2005 we played a further five gigs (two at The Frog on the Front in Southsea, two at The Railway Club in Milton and one at The Sidewalk in Gosport). The year culminated in a triumphant return to Roger Courtney's Open Mic Night in December.

Due initially to other commitments, a hiatus ensued from 2006. However, in April 2008 the band reconvened to complete their first EP. As of late 2008/early 2009 they are in the process of recording a further four tracks which will, combined with the EP, make up their first album.

The EP (called EPonymous) including Running Away, Zeitgeist, Vicious Circle and The Light (which was started in August 2006) was completed in May 2008.