Ah go on then.

Good afternoon.

We have decided to do two final gigs, one in the North and one in the South.

We won’t be doing any more gigs, so if you want to see us again, come to one of these:

Thursday 24th September 2009 @ Uncle Alberts in Middlesbrough.
Buy a ticket: http://www.wegottickets.com/event/54420

Friday 25th September 2009 @ The Peel in Kingston.
Buy a ticket: http://www.banquetrecords.com/index.jsp?item=11251

We will be joined by some of our favourite bands who we’ve been lucky enough to become good friends with over the past four years.

Hopefully see you at one of the gigs.

Cheerio.

One last thing…

Kingsley from fellow Teesside band The Chapman Family wrote this in a bulletin about our split, I thought it was worth sharing:

“Dartz have split up.

I really liked Dartz, they were the only Teesside band that I’ve ever bought an album of in HMV by, (apart from Chris Rea’s Greatest Hits in about 1994).

Apart from being a brilliant band they (and various members side projects) were influential in re-energizing a flagging local “indie” scene too. Back in 2004/5 when every indie-by-numbers floppy fringed band was content to accept the adulation every other week of their mates and immediate family, Dartz were off playing in London or Europe; or getting played on “proper radio” by Zane Lowe; or having their videos on MTV; or getting signed; or releasing a proper album available to buy in proper shops for proper money; getting reviewed in Q Magazine; or hiding band members in flightcases in order to sneak them past the nasty guards at Travelodges.

They showed other Teesside bands that it’s not wrong to have ambition beyond Roseberry Topping to the south and Hartlepool Marina to the north and that spirit will be sadly missed.

It’s not just their mentality that has been influential though. Even when I go to gigs in Teesside now, there’ll be a band on who will be “a more heavy Dartz” or “Dartz with a keyboard” or “like a shit Dartz.” We tried to rip them off too at one point a long time ago but we quickly found out we couldn’t play anywhere near as well and our lyrics weren’t that clever. Bless em, I’m sure they’ll be back in separate forms soon.”

Very kind words indeed. Thank you to everybody else who has said nice things too, it’s very humbling.

See y’all around…

We have decided to call it a day.

Goodbye.

Stewie, Stewie Downing, Stewie Downing on the wing.

We played the Downing College May Ball in Cambridge last night. It was a very enjoyable yet remarkably surreal evening! We played in the main arena, taking to the stage at almost 3am – just after Pendulum. Definitely the hardest act to follow since we went on after The Academy Is… at The Great Escape back in 2006!

I’m pretty disappointed with myself ’cause I wussed out of my “hilarious” plan to buy hundreds of Stewart Downing postcards and leave them all over the college grounds. I’m sure the Cambridge folks would have LOVED that.

Before the ball kicked off, we enjoyed a nice chat in the park with some old friends:

Good times.

Anyway. The gig thing. Detroit Social Club and Baddies were amongst the other bands that played but to be honest, the bands were basically just a sideshow to the dodgems, chairoplanes, casino, crazy golf and plethora of tasty fooderies! Those academics certainly know how to throw a party.

Unfortunately we had to play as a three piece due to Nico sadly breaking his collar bone last week. He fell off his bike after his scarf became caught in his back wheel. OUCH! This meant we couldn’t play many of our new songs and had to dust off some old songs from the vaults – I was surprised we could actually remember how to play them!

We were planning to record some of our new songs at the end of the month but unfortunately the chap we want to record with is on holiday, so we’re putting it back to August. Keep your ears peeled.

Ta ra.

HJC.

Part Two.

I apologise for not writing this a while back. Some weeks have passed since we finished europa touring, so I’ll recall what I recall.

After leaving Copenhagen we were saddened to find ourselves stranded (again) on the autobahn, this time near Bremen. Eventually, after a ten-hour drive that felt more like a ten year one, we hit Groningen in the Netherlands. We were all a bit exhausted, so after playing our gig (promoted by the lovely ex Shai Hulud vocalist Gert Van der Velde) I crashed out in our ticketed (bastards) van and watched Curb Your Enthusiasm. As some people might say, ‘I was beat.’

The following morning we rose early, ate black bread and fruit, drank coffee and went to see the oxen. Correct, oxen, near a petting zoo in Groningen, which we also visited. There’s something massively therapeutic about spending your time with cows, goats, pigs, ducks, the elderly, young children and a peacock. Uplifted, we drove to Lüdenscheid.

Our tour’s last dates, in Lüdenscheid and Trier, were amongst the best of the lot. In one we were handed a menu listing different pizzas with names like ‘The Metallica’ or ‘The Beach Boy,’ and the other had an indoor football pitch (it was raining outside). It’s the little details you remember about gigs I always think. Of course, in looking back over the gigs we’ve played, ‘good gig’ ‘bad gig’ can override most factors, but superb lasagne, Duomo, Mont Blanc, rubbing an owl for luck, the alps, fizzy pop in Chatelet, a broken Mercedes badge and a room full of comfy mattresses – these are what makes a tour a tour, and consist the things I remember most.

I shall spare you the tale of woe that was our journey back to Britain. It is impossible to say anything that is able to give a true idea of it to those who did not see it, other than this, that it was indeed very, very, very dreadful, and such as no tongue can express. OK, it wasn’t that bad. That’s what Defoe said about the plague (despite having been four at the time) of 1665. In actual fact, I personally described it as ‘a right fucking chew on,’ and I think that’ll have to do. Will on the other hand went somewhat insane.

A few weeks later we all left our respective homes and occupations in Middlesbrough, Sheffield, Oxford and London to head out for a weekend’s gigging. In Kingston I bought new clothes because most of mine had nearly worn down to being see-through. In Sheffield I went to bed at 5am. In Leeds I watched Skylarkin, Slow Club and Brontide. In Oxford we played football on my college lawns and I played a gig closer to my bed than ever before, the Jericho Tavern being about 3 minutes walk from my front door. I enjoyed all the gigs also, as since returning from Europe I had found myself drumming on my desk more than ever before.

Here are five photographs taken at random from the meager collection I shot on this tour.

A million thank yous and thirty-minute back rubs to every single person who helped us hobble along on this tour. I hope you don’t think it rude me not listing you here, but I don’t think there’s any need, because we’re polite boys, so I know we said thank you at the time.

Until next time, keep away from fire. Adieu.

Phil und DARTZ.

DARTZ EUROPEAN TOUR 2009 PART I

PARIS – On Monday the 6^th of April I took the TGV from Basel, via Strasbourg, to Paris. After arriving into Gare de l’est and shaking off the Italian teenagers who had annoyed me for most of my journey, I took a sweaty metro nine stops south west to meet William Anderson, Henry Carden and Nicholas Taylor (DARTZ) who were waiting in van number 1 with Gavin Glove / Chalmers (SCOTLAND) and William Bowerman (SUNGLASSES). Apparently it’s impossible to park in Paris, so we slowly lifted out our gear whilst running alongside the van as Gavin drove at 10mph around a block in Chatelet before driving into the Seine to cool his heels. If only we could tour on bikes. The venue was called Le Klub, and used to be an S&M parlour. Afterward the concert we stayed with Romain and Natalie, wonderful wonderful people.

DIJON – Dear Dijon, Hi. I write this whilst bobbing along on the ferry ride to Denmark. Are you well? It feels like forever since we were together. Nico is scribbling in his pad, Will appears to be asleep upright and Henry just offered DKK100 to the first band member to spot Peter Schmeichel in Copenhagen. What’s important is, well, we miss you. You were one of our favourite concerts thus far. I remember the time you took us to eat different cheeses, lentils and duck. I remember the time we saw <<The Lonesome French Cowboy>> slow dance with a terrified lady audience member. I remember the shiny stage too, but most of all, I remember Will’s assorted jam selection. Please can we play again? Dijon is a beautiful city. Hope you are keeping well. Yours floatingly, the chanteurs in DARTZ.

P.S. Henry bought a jar of mustard in your supermarket. Sorry. Interestingly, said jar is no longer with us, and its history will shortly unfold.

MILAN – Leon Cavallo is ‘the most famous squat in Italy,’ and on occasion one may sample vegan cookies there. Its temperatures average at around 20°c, has low humidity, and a wide range of Italian and Swedish graffiti artists. The tourist season begins on the 8^th of April 2009, coming to a close after a tour around central Milan and the exquisite Duomo on the 9^th of April 2009 at about 2.43 in the afternoon. The local speciality is Panzerotti, a doughy package filled with onion, olives, tomatoes or spinach and ricotta cheese, many of which may be purchased after a spot of sightseeing hosted by our recommended tour guide, Violee. Milanese quirks any Britain should make him or herself aware of: support bands are often replaced by an artist painting a girl taking a photograph (bon idée so we say), Berlusconi is a fucking idiot, and the people involved with Leon Cavallo are good and genuine through and through.

EGNA – Egna is in the German-speaking part of Italy, close to the Austrian border. Enclosed by the Alps. We played football in the car park and music in the Point. We ate lots of pasta and drank too much coke. The set contained two new songs, one called DEDALUS, and another without a name, currently referred to under the moniker NEW BAZZA T on account of the baritone guitar Will plays it with. We stayed at Maurice’s place, and ate more pasta, only this time at 3am. The following morning we could see the mountains, the bright and budding flowers and people milling around the town. We should have stayed put.

STUTTGART – We set off from Italy nice and early and drove through the alps and they were so beautiful and every lake I saw I felt like jumping in as they were green and cold and refreshing looking and then we took a quick toilet stop and Henry and Nic and Will B were watching a film in the back of the van and the place we stopped at was called PARADISE and I have a picture of it on my camera and then unfortunately one of our tires exploded on the motorway. You can read below what happened, or ask us about it sometime if you like. Needless to say, Henry lost his mustard.

DARMSTADT – The venue in Darmstadt (eleventh of April two thousand and eight) was Oettinger Villa; a grand old aristocratic house used today as a venue, hostel and youth centre. The mansion is surrounded by leafy gardens and dark blue and green sky rise apartments buildings, and boasts a long balcony above its main portico, on which we saw a red squirrel, ate vegan chilli and salad, and got sunburned. The gig was loud, hot and sweaty, and Will said this COME ON DARMSTADT SHAKE YOUR TAIL FEATHER. Oddly enough, they did. We didn’t meet the owner of the flat we slept in that night, though if I remember rightly his name was Bobby. Thank you for the fresh lemonade Bobby, you are very kind indeed.

BERLIN –

Westayedinberlinfortwodaysthefirstofwhichwasourgigataplacecalled
NBIandthesecondofwhichwasmoreexcitingaswedidntspend6hoursin
avangoingcrazyewokeupquitelateinFranksflat(thanksFrank)andafter
WillBsortedhishairandGavandWillAhadplayedeachotheratproevo
footballwewentoutandfoundlunchafterwhichwediddifferentthings.

Henry and Will B went to the Sea Life centre and took photographs of fish.

Gav, Nico and Will A went to look at paintings then ate crêpes by the river and found a Huey Lewis and the News album for only €1.

I sat in a café and had kafee und kuchen whilst I finished reading Tristram Shandy. I then accidently fell asleep in a nearby graveyard, not for long though.

WhenourlovelydayinBerlinwasoverwedrovetotheferryterminaland
stayedinahotelforthenightthatwasyesterdayandthisistodayand
wevejustarrivedinDenmarkthoughasWillApointedoutitsaysDanmark
onallthesignssowemusthavecometothewrongplaceohwellIthinkwell
playhereanyway.

Dictated but not read.

Take care. Tired Philip off of DARTZ.

Van Crash

Good evening all.

Just a quick note to explain our absence in Stuttgart tonight.

Today whilst driving up autobahn 7 towards Stuttgart for the fifth gig of our current European tour our back tyre exploded, sending us skidding around the motorway and full pelt into the barrier at the side of the road. Miraculously, everyone in the van escaped unharmed, and we’re now lodged up in the small town of Memmingen trying to make the necessary arrangements to get back on the road, deal with insurance companies, and solve the problem of a somewhat battered Mercedes Sprinter.

We are forever grateful to Gavin, our driver, for taking control of the situation perfectly, to the German police and breakdown men who helped us, and to Thomas, who pulled over right away.

We’ll keep you updated.

Many thanks.

Dartz. 

European Tour 2009

Hello faithful websiters.

We hope you and yours are keeping well, I write to inform you that the band of vagabonds they call DARTZ! / Dartz / Dartz! are emerging from winter hibernation to take in the sights, smells, sounds and cities of Spring.

It is with pleasure we announce the following tour for your sonic delectation:

DARTZ! EUROPEAN TOUR 2009:
21. 03. 09 MIDDLESBROUGH – UNCLE ALBERT’S
30. 03. 09 NEWCASTLE – THE CLUNY (w/ THE YOUNG KNIVES)
06. 04. 09 PARIS – LE KLUB
07. 04. 09 DIJON – DEEP INSIDE
08. 04. 09 MILAN – LEONCAVALLO
09. 04. 09 EGNA – POINT
10. 04. 09 STUTTGART – KELLER KLUB
11. 04. 09 DARMSTADT – OETTINGER VILLA
12. 04. 09 BERLIN – NBI
14. 04. 09 COPENHAGEN – LADES
15. 04. 09 GRONINGEN – SHADRAK
16. 04. 09 LUDENSCHEID – ALTE DRUCKEREI
17. 04. 09 TRIER – EX HAUS
30. 04. 09 KINGSTON – NEW SLANG (w/ 1990s)
01. 05. 09 SHEFFIELD – THE STOCK ROOM
02. 05. 09 LEEDS – LIVE AT LEEDS (www.liveatleeds.com)
03. 05. 09 OXFORD – JERICHO TAVERN

It would be a delight to see you along for a gig or two, there will be new songs, truly there will. Furthermore not only will this be the first DARTZ! outing for 2009, it’ll be our first full length tournee with the venerable Nicholas Taylor Esq. on guitar – the icing on our musical cake.

Adieu one and all.

See you soon.

Deep Elm Sampler.

We were proper chuffed to bits when Deep Elm released our debut album in America. For me personally, bands like Appleseed Cast, Brandtson and Planes Mistaken For Stars all shaped my taste in music for a fair few years – especially Appleseed Cast – so become label mates of them was pretty special.

Anyroad.

Deep Elm have just released a new FREE digital sampler featuring loads of their most recent signings, including us. You should go and download it and then you should go buy some of their releases! I wholeheartedly recommend the Moving Mountains album, it’s a beauty.

http://www.deepelm.com/472/

Woooooah oooooh, Pogatetz is on fire.

So, after enduring Middlesbrough’s 3-1 home defeat to Bolton this afternoon (in sub-zero temperatures may I add), I’m about to do the only thing there is to do on a Saturday night: Bowling*. But before that, I thought I’d quickly post this flyer as a bit of a plug for our next gig:

Tickets are a fiver in advance or £7.50 on the door. Get one in advance, yeah? Yeah! http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/user/?region=gb_northeast&query=detail&event=293318

See you there.

* Speaking of bowling, you’ll be interested to know that my last few scores are as follows: 146, 115, 91, 131, 112, 101… not quite ready to go pro yet.