pete ross & the sapphire

Postcards from France, March 2013

March 27, 2013 — Leave a comment

Wow, I’ve been back in Milan for two days and I’m still on a high from our tour in France.  Both completely buzzing, and also about ready to collapse from exhaustion after the long days at work since I got back, so I think I’m going to spend Easter on the sofa eating cake and trying to do as little as possible.  Well maybe I will work on a new song that I wrote in my head during the drive back from Chambery on Monday morning.

I think all three of us left a little part of our hearts in France this March.  We were received with such enthusiasm and hospitality everywhere we went, the shows were brilliant, and after 3,700 kilometers of driving we left already excited to come back in June for another round.  Special thanks to Beast Records, Seb & Alex, Slim Mitch, Franck, Headsucker & Emma, Dimi & Sof, Gui and all the venues and the bands we played with, Head On, Bed Bunker, Tulla Larsen, The Strong Come-ons, The Mythomans, Aurelien Blues Band & the Denyals.  Merci à vous !!

Snow?!
Purple Bar
the guys with Michel
Le Baraka, Clermont-Ferrand
Headsucker & Emma, Le Magellan
Headsucker & Emma, Le Magellan with the Queen of self portraits.
in Headsucker’s fabulous bunker
Backstage at Mondo Bizarro
Backstage at Mondo Bizarro
Backstage at Mondo Bizarro
Backstage at Mondo Bizarro
Backstage at Mondo Bizarro. BEAST RECORDS!
Mondo Bizarro. Day 2
Mondo Bizarro. Day 2.
Mondo Bizarro. Slim Mitch
Mondo Bizarro. with HEAD ON
The most famous window mirror in Paris.
Dimi
TULLA LARSEN @ Le Mechanique Ondulatoire
Le Mechanique Ondulatoire.
L’Imposture, Lille
L’Imposture, Lille
THE STRONG COME-ONS @ Infrared, Orleans
Awesome people!
Awesome people!
My new friend, keeping an eye on the car.
With super Gui
Mistral Palace, Valence
Mistral Palace, Valence
Mistral Palace, Valence
552 km of our 3,700 km journey.
Valence
We are beyond tired at this point. Fast food in dire need.
Sound check at Le Brin de Zinc, Chambery.
Welcome to Italy.

Backstage at Brin de Zinc

March 24, 2013 — Leave a comment

The troops are pretty tired on day twelve of our tour.  We relented and went to McDonalds for lunch, and now we’re waiting to unload the car and set up for the last show at Brin de Zinc in Chambery.

Tired Face #1

brinalessio Tired Face #2

brinpete2And Tired Face #3

brinsusy

I’m sure we’ve got just enough juice left in the tank to deliver one more show tonight, perhaps with the help of a mouthful of whisky.  Back to Milan tomorrow and this week we’ll announce the dates of our 10-show German/Europe tour which begins on Thursday 11 April in Switzerland.

a tour update quickie

March 19, 2013 — Leave a comment

We’re almost halfway done with our tour.  So far we’ve been battling against snow, rain, sore throats and illness, but the show must go on, as they say.  It has been amazing catching up with so many wonderful people along the way.  We had a fantastic night at Mondo Bizarro on Saturday with Bed Bunker and Head On.  Here are a couple of pics of us with the boss:

beast records

 

And not forgetting the awesome show at Ernee on Friday night, put together by the one and only Headsucker, and his beautiful wife Emma, who made sure that we left their town at least 3 kilos heavier than we arrived.  Here’s a video of a song we just recorded at SAE with Ivan Rossi, a cover of the JC classic, Give my love to Rose.  Keep your eyes and ears peeled for a new Beast Records release coming out soon in tribute to the man in black.  This video is courtesy of Phil LaCleck, (merci Phil).

Pete had an unintentional night off last night to rest his voice, sorry Caen, but we’ll be back next time I promise.  He has slept and dosed up on everything under the sun to try and recover for the rest of the tour.  Thanks so much to Alex for all the help and honey.  Tonight we head to Le Mans, tomorrow Paris.  Hope to see you on the road.

Santé!

These Boots …

March 11, 2013 — Leave a comment

.. are made for walking!  Great work Lee Hazlewood on writing this brilliant song.  Pete did a cover version what seems like a million years ago, way back in January 2010 in the kitchen studio of Mr Orville Brody in Rennes.  At the same time, over a 2 day recording session he put down acoustic guitar and vocal to 10 songs in fact, and it was planned to become the album Midnight Show.  When we got back to Milan for various reasons we decided to re-write the album and re-record the whole session with some the new and reworked songs.  So this recording got put on the shelf, and Midnight Show as you know it was recorded in an ugly ground-floor apartment in Milan, with me looking out the window to warn Pete when the gate was about to get slammed and ruin the track.

The good news is that we have decided to release this song, along with two others as part of the Devil Inside single, available at present in digital download only.  I added some vocals to the track as well, and joined Nancy Sinatra in spirit to Pete’s Lee.  The single is online and listenable here:

Now I’m a bit concerned about the weather in France this week as I’m seeing a lot of talk about snow flurries floating around the interweb.  I was hoping not to have to pack all my heavy duty winter clothing, but looks like I’ll be taking it, just to be sure.  We’ve got just one and a half days left here, and last minute preparations are underway.  I think this may be the most well prepared tour we’ve ever undertaken, and I hope it’s going to be the best yet.  12 concerts in 12 days, here we come.

PS My Ampeg Mini (code-named Ms Amy) has grown since the last time you saw her.  She’s nearly as tall as me now!

amy ampgeg stack

Last Rehearsal

March 7, 2013 — Leave a comment

Hello! Here we are at our last rehearsal in the studio just outside Milan this morning.  We are sure going to miss our morning coffee at the best coffee machine in the city.  It’s more like coffee flavoured water than coffee actually, but for some reason it has become an integral part of our rehearsal routine.

thebandshot

I think we are pretty much ready.  We’ve bought some new stuff to make us even louder than before (much), attempted to pack it tetris-style into the car (it fits, just), and written and re-written the set list.  We’ve had a run through of the Beasts of Bourbon song that we’re going to play with Head On next Saturday at Mondo Bizarro (that’s the 16th), and run through the song that we think Headsucker is going to ask us to play.

This weekend I’m going to stock up on car snacks and neurofen, get all the merch sorted out and packed up, and decide how many different outfits I can possibly fit into my bag.  Writing new songs has taken a back seat for the moment because there just hasn’t been the free time to concentrate on them.  Nonetheless, we have a couple already added to the set.  We’ll be playing the entire album in our show, all 10 songs.  I’m rather pleased about that.

Looking forward to seeing you on the road next week if you are in France!  Come and say hello, or bon soir as the case may be.

Bisous from us

 

SAE Institute Milano

February 13, 2013 — Leave a comment

This week we are playing house-band for our good friend Ivan Rossi, who teaches at the School of Audio Engineering here in Milan.  We’ve got a couple of songs to record, and I think we’re going to save them up for our next album.  Here’s some shots from our first day.

sae7sae6sae5sae4sae2

sae1

Ivan, Mr Boss Man.

✿ WIN ✿ Album of the week #12 – PETE ROSS & THE SAPPHIRE – Rollin’ on down the lane

December 18, 2012 — 1 Comment

Feeling festive yet?

Rollin' on down the lane Christmas giveaway

Just to help you get in the spirit of the season here’s your chance to win:

  • a signed CD copy of the new album ‘Rollin’ on down the lane’
  • a CD single of Devil Inside, which includes previously unreleased material
  • AND a crochet guitar pin, handmade by yours truly, SS

TO ENTER: All you need to do is send your name and city by email to rollin4xmas@yahoo.com

The lucky winner will be drawn by Santa’s little independent adjudicator on December 25th, at 5pm.

Good luck and Merry Christmas from SusySapphire

For all the rest of the merchandise we have available check out our bandcamp page here: Pete Ross & The Sapphire

Get rollin’ today

November 30, 2012 — Leave a comment

At last, the album is officially released.

Get in quick! The first 25 people to buy a copy of ‘Rollin’ will get a personalized Devil Inside CD single featuring exclusive and unreleased material, sealed with a special Susy kiss.

Devil Inside Single – Track Listing

1. Devil inside

2. The Great Mistake (alternate band version)

3. These Boots Are Made For Walking (Orville’s Kitchen Sessions – duet with Susy Sapphire)

4. Dream On (Midnight Show Sessions – featuring Marco “Python” Fecchio)

http://peterossandthesapphire.bandcamp.com/

Last night we put the vinyl on the spinner and opened a good bottle of wine to celebrate.

peterossthesapphire