Browsing Tag

Dakesis

Metal, News

2 Girls 1 Band: Missing In Action

April 10, 2015

dakesis-quinphonic

Photo © Ian Black

Well we may not have been kidnapped or fallen off the face of the earth, but we have definitely been held prisoner by our own lives most recently. Those of you who have been following us may have wondered where we have been and it’s been driving us crazy being away from our very own ‘blogosphere’. The truth is, that we’ve been putting a lot of our time and effort into the band and haven’t really had any left over for all the fun things, like talking about makeup and beauty! A long while ago, we started our first blog “2 girls 1 band” where we would review the dressing rooms ‘dressing rooms’ of some of the venues we played in which I have to admit was most fun and pretty hilarious to look back on. But it’s something we may consider carrying on under the Hellbent for Lipstick name if there is some enthusiasm sparked for it.

Alas I guess this is a rather short post to tell you all what exactly we’ve been doing with the band and why we’ve been surrounded by mic stands and cables instead of our all too familiar mascaras and lipsticks. Over the past few month’s we’ve been working flat out on the writing process for our upcoming album and part of this preparation was getting two new songs ready to play live for some upcoming gigs, the first of which was the Saturday just gone. This has meant full days spent in the studio rehearsing until our fingers and throats were sore, but we came through Saturday’s gig feeling overwhelmed with joy that we’d managed to pull off not one but two brand new songs in such a short space of time.

We’re still super busy with all the preparation that comes before recording our next album, but we’re still here we promise and will make sure we still get our dose of beauty blogging into the mix, even if it is interspliced with a bit of band news and us squealing mindlessly about how excited we are to be in the midst of album prep.

Here’s a few shots from Saturday night where we played the Quinphonic Prelude Party at the Barge and Barrel in Tipton. We had an absolutely amazing time, not to mention meeting some new friends with Rainover and Temperance the other bands playing – and our month away from the real internets truly paid off.

amie-gem-quinphonic

 Photo © Ian Black

amie-quinphonic

 Photo © Ian Black

gemma-quinphonic

Photo © Ian Black

If you’re interested in following the band you can also head over to the Dakesis Website although we’ll most likely be shouting from the roof tops as album 2 progresses (however our next post is definitely beauty related!)

Totally hellbent for girls who surprisingly -can- play metal

Pants

Metal, Music

To the End.

September 13, 2013

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Last night saw Dakesis play our first hometown show since “the big line-up shuffle” (which is the nice way of saying it I think) and wedged between the awesomeness of Captain Horizon and Attica Rage, in honesty, my nerves were running high.

We’ve already had two very well received shows in Hull and Derby, but playing the home turf to familiar faces is the real point of judgement. As the intro track started I was facing drummer Adam, and I was grateful for the optimistic smile he gave right as the first song was about to kick in.

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As I turned to face the sea of encouraging smiles in the crowd though, I knew I had nothing to worry about all along. Our nearest and dearest stood with horns and hands high in the air, Josh from Captain Horizon stood in salute for almost a whole song, the sound man Neil looked like he was having a party of his own in the desk, even the new faces, and the ones right at the back of the room looked like they were having a blast, and if the audience is happy then obviously the band will be happy!

There is something very magical about turning to look at your bandmates on-stage and seeing wide smiles. At a few points in the night when I paused for water (which I leave on the drum riser as not to give the audience even more of an eyeful!) Adam grinned and shouted “fucking triumph!”, and honestly that is what last night was for us. A big cheesy power metal triumph!

The cheer that went up at the end of our last song, Valhalla, cemented that no matter what happens, Dakesis will keep at it, through the good and the bad till the very, very end.

Totally hellbent for there being no place like home.

– Gem

 

Metal, News

What a week!

September 1, 2013

I promised myself I would blog a lot this week and have hardly posted at all! I do have a very good excuse though….

 

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Yup, that’s my rather inconveniently sprained left hand. I’d like to say I did it doing something terribly exciting but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. No, silly me managed to tear the ligament beneath my thumb…getting out of bed.

So my left hand is completely unusable for a while, and I have to keep it in this very uncomfortable (and ugly – why doesn’t it come in black!) splint at least til my next hospital appointment next Thursday.

The pain seems to be lessening slightly now, and I’m finding it more annoying! One of the (ridiculously vain) reasons I’m most annoyed is that I cant put enough pressure on my thumb to remove my nail varnish, nor manage to slide it into my Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover , so I’ve been repainting the same red over and over!

Guess this means no NOTD posts from me in the foreseeable future! My injury hasn’t hindered my ability to shop online though, so I have no excuse not to write a few reviews with parcels from Fragrance Direct, Avon, Cosmetics Fairy & Ebay either arrived or coming soon!

In band news we had a show in Derby last night which went really well!

Photo credit -  Christopher Jarrett

Photo credit – Christopher Jarrett

 

I cant decide if my splint was a hindrance to my usual plethora of dramatic hand gestures or an awesome perma-grym-hand! I’m certainly glad that I don’t need to play keyboards at the moment that’s for sure – even with only a mic stand to master I had to fumble about and get Amie’s help to raise up the clip!

Still the night was very enjoyable, and I barely noticed any pain during the set once the adrenaline kicked in. We had lots of compliments and positive words from fans and friends old and new, which is very appreciated in a time of such stark change for the band. It makes me very excited for the future of Dakesis =)

 

Totally Hellbent for painkillers, ice, helpful bandmates and having a boyfriend willing to cut all my food into little squares for me.

– Gem

Festivals, News

Breaking the radio silence

August 25, 2013

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I’ve had a unusually quiet online presence over the last week, no new blog posts, no twitter updates and only very brief periodic Facebook visits to check band messages.

 

Sadly one of my beloved cats, Loki, had to be put to sleep whilst I was away at Sunkfest with Dakesis, and I needed some time in private to grieve and deal with the horrible loss.

Seven days later and it’s no easier to understand how a feline member of my family was fine one day and gone forever the next, but returning my energy to the world around me rather than focusing on my grief is a good step in moving forward.

Vast and sudden change seems to be the recurring theme of my life recently, and thankfully it has not all been for the worse.

Last weekend was the first Dakesis show as a four piece, and despite nerves all around it all went very smoothly. We had one or two very small hiccups with the backing track, but otherwise it was a thoroughly enjoyable set. Lots of compliments both from old fans and new listeners and four Dakesians full of the warm glow of accomplishment.

I’ve always wanted to play an outdoor show where the sun sets throughout our set, and the encroaching night brought a brilliant atmosphere as we moved into the darker heavier numbers. Also there was an epic hair-blowing breeze at the front of the stage that has made me seriously consider getting a stage-fan!

Once our set was over we had a celebratory drink that ended up with us dancing in the rain till the early hours….

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.. then we met a man who was half me and half Amie..

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..and wrapped the night up with a giraffe suit of course

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All in all I had a great weekend with Dakesis and co. that I hope I will remember for positive reasons rather than the bad news we came home to.

I feel very blessed to have such wonderful friends and band-mates, especially in times of adversity.

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Totally hellbent for my amazing friends.

– Gem

 

Festivals, Metal, Music

Festival Season Fun!

August 12, 2013

Well we are finally back to normal life after over two weeks of drunken shenanigans at Wacken Open Air and Bloodstock Open Air, crossing many international borders along the way! We have Sunkfest (The first Dakesis show with that silly blue haired girl on lead vocals) next weekend to go and then we can put the tent away for another year.

Festival season ’13 has been absolutely brilliant, and though I’m sad it is drawing to an end, I’m already excited for next year (EMPEROR, EMPEROR, EMPEROR!!!)

 

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Needless to say we road tested plenty of festival essentials, saw numerous amazing bands (and wonderful festival sights!) and came back with more than a few new pretty things which we will share with you over the coming days.

 

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For now however it is time to shower and then play with the many boxes of make-up and assorted products that arrived whilst we were adventuring!

Totally hellbent for a night in my own bed

– Gem

Fitness, Music

Heavy Metal Workout Playlists 1

July 18, 2013

Ever had that moment at the gym where you think you can’t go any further, then a song comes on that gives you a surge of energy and enthusiasm? Well here’s my inspiration for those last few km today!

 

This song is guaranteed to get the blood pumping! Highly recommended for running!

 

 

Another little gem for a good sprint – THAT chorus always makes me want to push a bit harder no matter how worn I am.

 

 

 

Yes, yes, cheeky self promotion slipping in here, but as I’m going over the songs for rehearsal I discovered that this has a great feel for all kinds of cardio.

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLCp5U7wotQ

Manowar are ALWAYS my go to for weights. The song title says it all but the anthemic melody works a treat too.

 

 

Anything thrash is a winner in the gym, but this song just makes me want to break things*. This also got me VERY excited about seeing them at Wacken in two weeks!

*My targets, not myself generally

 

 

Today’s cooldown came courtesy of some friends of mine Captain Horizon. Not metal, in fact I struggle to stick them in a single genre and I’ve been friends of the band for about four years!

 

So there you have it, maybe there’s some new bands in there for you or maybe you’re going “ahh yes that’s a great song, why didn’t I think of that!”.

Are there any songs you would recommend to get the adrenaline flowing?

Totally hellbent for the healthy metal lifestyle 

– Gem

 

 

 

Festivals, Music, News

Fanciful Frontwoman

July 11, 2013

It’s been about seven years since I last fronted a band, and now circumstances call me to centre stage again. Now this is only planned as a temporary measure – we recently decided it was in the best interests of the band to move forwards without our ex-frontman and as we search the metalsphere for a new set of iron lungs I am taking over vocal duties.

 

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Knee-slide-alicious! © Stagedive Photography

 

For those not in the know – singing is actually my first “instrument”. I’m a vocal coach and singing teacher by profession so taking on the vocals themselves won’t be too taxing. Hell – I wrote the lyrics and vocal melodies to most of the songs too so that’s handy. It’s the physical part that is drawing the nerves.

 

©.Stagedive Photography

©.Stagedive Photography

For the past four years in Dakesis I have stood behind two behemoth keyboards for 90% of the time, and though it will be wonderful to have the freedom of the stage again, I wonder if I have the stage presence and physical stamina to lead the band through an hour of high energy power metal.

Starting this week I’ve been training my ass off (literally) with my lovely boyfriend, I’d love to drop some weight as well obviously, but my main objective is to be able to tear around the stage and give the people a good show for their money! Vocal practice twice a day including a warm up and general technique followed by song rehearsal is something I’m really enjoying and of course practice with the band too.

Our first gig* as a four piece is only a matter of weeks away, and two of those weeks Amie and I will be at Wacken and Bloodstock festivals so time is really of the essence!

Once we’ve got the music down I only have one more concern…what the bloody hell am I going to wear!

Totally hellbent for being front and centre 

– Gem

 

* Upcoming Dakesis dates with me on lead vocals!

16-18 Aug – Sunkfest
12th September – The RoadHouse, Birmingham
19th October – The Library, Leeds 
29th Nov – 1st Dec – Valkyrian Festival, Hull