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February 2010 GIGS

We took February off - partly because Ben is in Valencia sorting out exchange gigs (when he's not in France with the manager of the John O'Gaunt Pub doing same) and partly because our manager (bloke writing this, i.e. Ben) was concentrating on the Spring and Summer season of gigs and forgot Feb!

But most of us are at the increasingly ripping and well attended Honka Monka Club deep funk jam and vinyl spin Sunday afternoons:

EVERY Sunday at John O'Gaunt Pub, Lancaster 3.30pm-6.30pm!

NEWS

Ukraine Tour is confirmed! April 7th - 10th mainly in Kiev and Odessa (and we did this for music and not through East European Dating sites - found out about those when looking for pix for the tour posters!) Full tour list will be posted later this month (Feb)

January 2010 GIGS

Sun. Jan. 17th: Hosting Honka Monka Club Funky Sunday at John O'Gaunt Pub, 53 Market Street, Lancaster LA1 1JG (3.30pm - 6.30pm)

Thurs. Jan. 21st: The Grad Bar, Lancaster University, LA2 0PF (9pm - 11ish+)

Sat. Jan. 23rd: The Piel Castle, 37 Market Street, Ulverston LA12 7LG (9pm - late)

Sun. Jan. 24th: Hosting Honka Monka Club Funky Sunday at John O'Gaunt Pub, 53 Market Street, Lancaster LA1 1JG (3.30pm - 6.30pm)

Thurs. Jan. 28th: John O'Gaunt Pub, 53 Market Street, Lancaster LA1 1JG (9pm - 11pm)

Sun. Jan. 31st: Hosting Honka Monka Club Funky Sunday at John O'Gaunt Pub, 53 Market Street, Lancaster LA1 1JG (3.30pm - 6.30pm)

December 2009 GIGS

7-Dec. Wed. Grizedale College Christmas Party

22-Dec. Tues. The Junction, Otley 9pm

26-Dec. Sat. John O'Gaunt, Market Street, Lancaster 9pm to 12

27-Dec. Sun. Palladium Club, Lower Gunstone Lane, Bideford. 9.30pm

28-Dec. Mon. Two Pigs, Corsham, Nr. Bath. 9-11pm

29-Dec. Tue. Queens Head, Box, Nr. Bath. 9-11.30pm

30-Dec. Wed. Old Duke, Bristol. 9-11pm

31-Dec. Thu. Gregson Centre New Year's Eve Party with Real Music, Moorlane, Lancaster. Tickets £10

November 2009 GIGS

14-Nov. Sat. The Stonewell Tavern, Lancaster, 9.30pm (free)

21-Nov. Sat. The George & Dragon, Lancaster, 9pm (free)

*Ben is tour manager for the CME UK Tour, Derrick Walker, and Big Baby Ernie, hence low number of Convulsions gigs this time of year. We were also recording in October (now done) for the video already filmed but not edited (we like to be untraditional in our multimedia approach).

October 2009 GIGS*

03-Oct. Sat. One Planet Festival Concert, The Park Hotel, Bowerham Road, Lancaster, 9.30pm (FREE)

09-Oct. Fri. Lancaster Music Festival, The Park Hotel, Bowerham Road, Lancaster, 9.30pm (FREE)

11-Oct. Sun. Lancaster Music Festival, The Gregson Blues Festival, Main Hall, 8-9pm (£5)

11-Oct. Sun. Fletcher Christian, Cockermouth, Cumbria, 5pm - 7pm (FREE)

September 2009 GIGS:

02-Sept. Wed. Penny Bank, 51 Penny Bank, Lancaster. 9.30pm

13-Sept. Sun. Birmingham Artsfest 2009, Victoria Stage, 12 noon. Also playing at Rhubarb Radio After Festival Party Sat. 12th, late night time and venue tba

20-Sept. Sun. Afternoon Funk Jam with Honka Monka Funk DJs and band . Penny Bank, 51 Penny Bank, Lancaster. 4-7pm

August 2009 GIGS:

Sun - Tues, August 1st - 3rd: Stockholm, Sweden

Fri. Aug. 7th: Dickie Doodles, Strickland Gate, Kendal
9.30pm - late

Sat. Aug. 8th: The Central, Egremont
9pm - 11.30pm

Tues. Aug. 11th: The Junction, Otley
9.15pm - 11.20pm

SW UK Tour:

17-AuMon. Aug. 17th: Two Pigs, Corsham, nr. Bath
Tue. Aug. 18th: TBA
Wed. Aug. 19th: The Bell, Wolcott St., Bath
Thurs. Aug. 20th: Old Duke, King St. Bristol
Fri. Aug. 21st: Queens Head, Box, nr. Bath
Sat. Aug. 22nd: Miners Arms, North Molton, Devon
Sun. Aug. 23rd: Coopers Arms, Pewsey, nr. Marlborough

Fri. Aug. 28th: Peterborough Beer Festival (see opposite)

Sun. Aug. 30th: Great British RnB Festival - The Dresser's, Colne. 9pm - 12

July 2009 GIGS:

Tues. July 7th, Park Hotel Function Room
- Jam, Rehearsal, Ales -
8pm - Midnight

Tues. July 14th, Park Hotel Function Room
- Jam, Rehearsal, Ales -
8pm - Midnight

Sat. July 18th, Piel Castle, Ulverston
9.30 pm - Midnight

Tues. July 29th - Tues. Aug. 4th Stockholm, Sweden. Thanks to Big Walker and the Blues Souls!

June 2009 GIGS:

Fri. June 5th: Keswick Beer Festival

Tuesdays in June: Rehearsal at the Park Hotel, Lancaster with gig option after (7-11pm)

Fri. June 19th: Grad Bar Beer Festival, Lancaster University (SW Campus)

Wed. June 24th: Penny Bank Pub, Penny Lane, Lancaster (9.30pm)

Sat. June 27th: Dundee Blues Bonanza - 2-4pm The Doghouse, 10pm+ Nether Inn

Tues. June 30th: Junction, Otley, 9pm

Older News:

We've been invited to play the New Year's Eve gig at the Gregson Centre, Lancaster which would be our first choice in this town!

Honka Monka Club - every Sunday afternoon at the Penny Bank (4.30-7pm) we get together with other musicians to play deep funk and 60's garage. Yours truly spins old funk and soul records in the breaks

We have a Bluesbunny Review for Lancaster Music Festival! Click on the the bunnies!!!

Hmm, we appear to be on Last FM - not sure how that happened! http://www.last.fm/music/The+Convulsions

One Planet Festival a blast too! Though knackering as most of it was powered by bike (by you know who - with some guest legs the loveliest of which were Dawn's from One Planet Festival's committee who managed to power an entire song before we reverted to mains electricity)

Birmingham Art Fest a succes. The trio went over there too.

Work starts on the re-recording of Hole in the Head for the video. Recording starts in Oct. and hope to have the video mastered by December.

We have a spotter looking for a possible deal for us.

Peterborough Beer Festival - what a superb organisation. Thanks so much to Mike Lane for being a superb host. We came, we played, we drank an awful lot of excellent ale. Hard life, someone has to do it!

SW Tour. This band keeps getting weirder and weirder. Wondering why my right arm was a bit stiff today I remembered it was probably due to swinging from a lamp post with it while playing gobiron with the left Sun. 23rd. Then there was the traffic cone on the head during 'Don't Need No Doctor' (no, just a psychiatrist) a constant stream of inane babble. A third of a bottle of port preceeding, two pints of Twiddly Dike right before then double brandy redbull and pickled egg during. When in the SW of this country it's hard not to go native and join in the exuberant strangeness and good humour that survived the Celts, the Romans, the Anglo Saxons, the Danes, Normans and grockles of the twenty first century in craven caravans.

The Swedish tour was a revelation. Thanks very much to Derrick Walker of Big Walker and the Blues Souls for putting us up and up with us and the same to the marvelous Wirstroms Pub in Gamla Stan (Old Town) of Stockholm - Ian you were a life saver, Royce you're a chef par excellence (fish and chips in an Irish pub in Sweden and the fish comes from New Zealand!) and Sigfrid you are the most sparkle barmaid in northern Europe!

We also learnt to play a new style. The first night we had no guitarist (Mo couldn't do the tour so Derrick was to provide us Diamond Dogs, ex Johnny Thunder rocker Stevie but was his birthday). It worked so well, we developed so many on the fly technique we chose to play the entire week without a guitarist.

And it WORKED! Boy, did it work - we even wrote two new songs on the spot and created a 12 minute funk medley narrative involving a bit of Memphis Soul Stew, Money, Shake Your Money Maker and Land of 1000 Dances!!

Lips are still scarred though!!!

he last installment of the Bristol video shoot. Very "sweet and sour experience" (bad pun - see "China Gets It" by way of explanation in appalling taste)

What next? Re-record the song with the new lineup that's what (and a few new ones to boot - great that Mo's actually an engineer)

They liked us in Dundee (Dundee Blues Bonanza - June 27th 2009!

"Sat Late at The Nether Inn
Was recommended by a colleague to drop in to catch a band called The Convulsions. Am soooooooooo glad I did. I have never seen anyone playing a harmonica at that speed or anyone play a Hammond organ at that speed. But Ben the lead singer did both AT THE SAME TIME!!!!!.

This is a band that puts so much effort into their performance, it simply defies belief. They delivered an astonishing blues and funk mix in a style that I would describe as having a large helping of Dr Feelgood and another of The Ramones. My mate and I both stood there like the rest of the audience, grinning from ear to ear at a jaw dropping performance that kept us there right to the end. The audience were absolutely spellbound by a band that we sincerely hope will be back next year.

One of the biggest highlights for me, simply awesome!!!"

We've been picked out of over 100 acts to perform at the Peterborough Beer Festival on August Bank Holiday Friday (see opposite). And having found the camping bug at Off the Tracks last month we're bringing the band tent!

Actually, beer festivals seem to be a new niche for us. Keswick Ale Festival June 5th went down really well (as did the superb ales)!