NEWS / BLOGS

High Voltage, etc...
26th July 2010

Had a great week in London with the continued recording on Natalia’s record. Working in an SSL studio in Rupert Street in the heart of the west end afforded me the opportunity to roam about a bit...The studio was owned and operated by the son of Una Stubbs whom those of a certain age played the character of ‘aunt sally’ in the amazing kids show ‘Wurzel Gummidge’ he’s now a composer for film....

I happened to be walking past Leicester Square Odeon on Thursday at the moment Tom Cruise and Cameron emerged onto the balcony to promote their new film ‘Knight and Day’...it was mayhem!

Went to the High Voltage festival on Saturday and met so many people I haven’t spoken to in a long while and saw some very cool performances. Gary Moore was fantastic, ‘Empty rooms’ was just stunningly good and I had forgotten how good his voice was. Foreigner were very good, they’re one of those bands that have so many hits that you forget how many until they start playing them all!!

Saxon were the bee’s knees again, biff is still a massive powerhouse of a vocalist and the band just killed it! They deserve this resurgence and long may it continue. ZZ Top were the band of the weekend though, effortlessly cool and a back catalogue of songs to die for. Not just the obvious ‘sharp dressed man’ but ‘cheap sunglasses’, ‘gimme all your lovin’ etc etc it was a supreme gig from a band that just know who they are and do exactly what you want from them...
Anyway, im back in the studio again this week, im around one month away from completing my part in Natalia’s record and then onto pastures new...

Talk to you all soon


Scarborough
July 2010


More Free Downloads Coming Soon...
25th July 2010

Hi all

I've got Steve Harris mixing a couple of tracks for me this coming week, so a slight hold up for the next free downloads.

They should be available by Friday-ish.

Thanks





Things I've Learnt This Week...
20th July 2010

I type on the train to London, once more into the breach...

Recording Natalia this week and working with a fellow song writer Simon Ellis so should be a fun week. Heading down to the High Voltage fest in Victoria park on Saturday, so also looking forward to that! If you're going I may see you there...

Things I've learnt this week:

Don't take anything for granted. Might be an obvious one to state but we must all take stock from time to time and right now I am learning how to recognise this stuff more than ever before...another is to try to SLOW down a bit! I am always rushing and pushing!!! It works most of the time but not always and I hope my new found vigour doesn't rush me headlong into things that aren't right...so I'm taking steps to re-evaluate decisions and hope to be able to see the right path...

Very positive at the moment and wish to pay it forward...

Regards to all

Scarborough
July 2010



NEW SONGS + EP 3 NEWS!
16th July 2010

I am currently talking to various people about completing the 3rd EP for GUITAR, BASS and DRUMS. I have decided to go back to the basic format and start from scratch on this. I had quite a lot of material in the works but feel that now I have the time and a renewed sense of purpose about creating new music, it has to be exactly what it should be.

As you may now know, I have made available two new songs for free download, and expect to see more over the coming weeks. It's time to have a 'clear-out' and establish a new path, and I hope you will feel compelled to check it out! I will be announcing who I am working with on this very soon and hopefully some news of shows to accompany the release.

You'll notice that there is also a new selection of songs on the site's Jukebox. As well as the 2 new tracks (The Chosen One and Hurts) as mentioned above, there is also the following featured :

Motivated from 'Guitar, Bass and Drums' EP 1
Fools Gold and Viewfinder both taken from the 'Twisted Rhapsodies' album.
Better Off Without Me taken from the Toby & The Whole Truth album 'Ignorance Is Bliss'
and finally 2 rare, hard to find, Little Angels tracks:
Hard Times which appeared on the 'Ten Miles High' single and as a bonus track on the Japanese Edition of the 'Jam' album
Schizophrenia Blues taken from the 'Womankind' single

Speak to you all soon

Scarborough
July 2010



TOBY TO BE SPECIAL GUEST ON SKIN
FAREWELLTOUR, DECEMBER 2010
14th July 2010

I am pleased to announce that I have been asked to appear as special guest to SKIN on there December Tour. It will be their farewell tour after re-emerging last year at Download.

I will be playing a set of Little Angels and solo material.

For dates and ticket info please click here!

Hopefully see you there!


Scarborough
July 2010



NEW TOBY BLOG
12th July 2010

Ok, so I’m trying to do a short blog once a week from now on...i was aiming for Fridays but was enormously sidetracked on Friday, so here it is on overcast Monday morning. Hopefully it will distract you all a little from the beginning of another week...

So why what was my Friday? Well, last week I had Matt E, my long time drummer and close mate up at my studio for the week working on drum tracking for Natalia’s record. We had two new tracks to complete the rhythm tracks on and also a number of new ideas to explore so it was quite a work load. Studio work is always, in equal measure, exciting and pressurising!!! Friday was a bit of a dash as we needed to complete some work before Matt had to break the gear down. Anyway it went on longer than expected....no change there then...!
This week is more of the same, although I am on my own this week carrying on with vocal edits, more programming and a bit of work on new tunes...

I’m on a countdown for Chris Nolan’s new movie ‘INCEPTION’ and only 4 days to go...for all those who perhaps don’t know his work (I’d be surprised if you don’t...Batman Begins, The dark Knight, memento, Insomnia, The Prestige...). I urge you all to go see...

What has been obsessing me this week passed?

I was shocked and dismayed about the whole Raoul Moat incident that came to a terrible conclusion this week. I know the guy was clearly disturbed and there is no excuse for what he did, but the nature of how the media circus yet again intervened to ramp up the expectation, fear and loathing was quite simply disgraceful. When will we as a nation start to come down from our voyeuristic soap boxes? It’s so easy to judge whilst watching these macabre situations roll out as part of our daily entertainment...I mean, there was a SKY TV helicopter hovering near the scene, reporters combing the area and interviewing everyone they could get their sticky hands on...meanwhile there is one dead victim, two injured and a suicide! 4 lives changed forever and hundreds more effected...long after our appetites have been sated and his image has faded from our screens. You cannot tell me this doesn’t have a huge affect on us all, least of all the dulling of our rational senses. I find it so disturbing...

Till next time have a great week....


Scarborough 2010



A MESSAGE FROM THE DESK OF TOBY JEPSON...
2nd July 2010

I've made it! Another Friday, the end of another week and I'm OK...just!! Why you may ask? Well, currently I am spending around 12 hours a day locked in my studio trawling through piles of vocal takes trying to make sense of the acres of recorded lead and backing vocals that were completed a couple of weeks ago at The Chapel studios in Wimbledon. What for? well, for the past three months or so, I have been, along side my long time mate and collaborator David Laudat, writing for and producing an album for a Russian pop princess who goes (currently) under the moniker of Nat Sav...It has been a very long development process and right now we are into the vocals and this is where the time goes...Its a record for fans of Pink, Katy Perry but with a dash of Blondie, a smidgen of The Black eyed Peas and a healthy ladle of The Foo Fighters!!!! Anyway, its shaping up really well and I think the album should be completed around the end of August, ill keep you posted...

So by now most will know that I'm no longer in GUN. Like I have indicated my decision was due, in part, to increasing writing and production commitments. It was a very difficult decision for me to take; I have loved being in the band and we had some great times and played some great shows. Joolz and Dante and Paul have been nothing but gents, class acts the whole way and I believe we will continue to work with each other in the years to come, and at the very least remain great friends.
Too all the fans of the band; my sincere thanks and appreciation for the commitment and dedication you have shown over the last couple of years. It was a pleasure to meet you all and feel the love you have for those great songs and for the acceptance of me and the new music we made together. I am very proud of what we achieved and hope you can continue to support Joolz and Dan in whatever they choose to do next with GUN.

So what now?
Well, I'm taking a little time to re group, but my focus is on a number of projects. Firstly, I have to complete Nats album. Then I will most likely be getting involved as producer with potentially 2 maybe 3 new projects, nothing concrete just meetings at the moment...then I shall finish EP3 and have already begun talking to my agent about supporting that release with some dates. Don't know exactly when but I feel duty bound, and I have to say EXCITED, about the idea of finally completing the long running saga of the 'Guitar, Bass and Drums' collection...I can only apologise to all those who have that lonely space in the package. I PROMISE its coming and hopefully by the end of the year...

I am also being offered quite a bit of work as an acoustic artist, specifically there are offers to open for other bands/artists. Nothing confirmed yet but shouldn't be long before I can make some announcements. It is also likely that I will be the singer in Fastway for a couple of shows this year, just waiting for that to firm up.

Quite a lot going on really!

Like I have said in past; this business is a strange animal, but I have learnt over the years to keep smiling, follow my instincts as they are rarely wrong in terms of satisfying my soul and keep moving forward. One door closes another opens...

Thanks for the great continued support and I will be seeing you all very soon.

Have a great weekend

Scarborough
July 2010



ANNOUNCEMENT
28th June 2010

Hi there

Due to increasing writing and production commitments for other artists, I have decided to leave GUN as the singer. I have had a fantastic time working with Jools and Dante and consider the music we have created together as being amongst the best I have been involved in throughout my career . I wish them well and sincerely hope that we will work together again in some capacity in the future. I stress that that I am in no way leaving the world of live music, far from it, it is simply that at the moment I cannot commit 100% to future GUN plans and would not want to stand in the way of the bands potential further development . I fully intend to resurface as a rock singer in one way or another in the near future so watch this space...

Scarborough
June 2010



AN UPDATE FROM TOBY
18th June 2010

Hi there

Just wanted to re-connect with all those out there who visit my site and have continued to show amazing support and loyalty over the last few years, specifically since I began releasing the Guitar, Bass and Drums EP's.

As I'm sure most of you know, I have been working with Joolz and Dante Gizzi in GUN for the last couple of years and because of that union have had to withdraw, for the moment, from my solo projects because of the commitment needed. However, I have always had the intention of completing the 3 EP set at some point as I know there are many who have contacted me wanting to know where it is! Let me say; I don't blame you! I know how this stuff can enrage and frustrate the fans! I truly do, I'm a fan of music just like you and recognise that it can come across as arrogant and flippant. Believe me nothing could be further from the truth. For the situation I've caused I apologise. I am currently working towards completing the last EP right now. I don't know how long it will take and when the release will happen but I PROMISE you all it will arrive.  Rest assured, I get email or a text from Nige every week prompting me...

In the meantime I have decided to remove the forum boards for a while as we were hacked last week which has resulted in all the data being lost or corrupted so it seems sensible to me to bottom out the problem and start again at a later date. I'm very sorry for any inconvenience and I know some will be annoyed but we have little choice. I sincerely hope you all feel compelled to rejoin. There is no one more angry about it than me. We are attempting to recover the data but it is proving to be difficult so until this issue is resolved I'm afraid it is all we can do.

While I'm talking here, I'd like everyone to know, once again, how much I appreciate the efforts made by all to support and encourage me and the projects I have been and am involved in. I does mean so much to me. I also know that I spend very little time on the site and that it may seem strange given that I was so involved at the beginning of my re-birth. I have no excuse apart from to say that my life is incredibly active and busy, not only because of GUN but I have also become heavily involved in producing and writing with other artists so I barely get time to see my nearest and dearest between my working periods, let alone spend time doing other things, so I had to take the decision when GUN kicked off to concentrate on the music first and foremost and to give others the responsibility of administration of the site. It may not be very busy but rest assured, Nige and Thinny keep me up to speed with everything that goes on and I do my level best to respond whenever anything is asked of me. I hope you understand and hope you can forgive my absence, its for no other reasons than the ones given. Here's hoping we meet again very soon. In the meantime, please contact Thinny or Nige with any inquiries.

Many thanks once again

Kindest regards

Scarborough
June 2010

 

SKIN TOUR SETLIST
14th December 2009

Many thanks to everyone that voted for the Little Angels songs that Toby was to play during his stint as special guest to SKIN.

The tour ended with a fantastic performance at Nottingham's Rock City on Saturday.  A big thank you to all the loyal fans that came out to show Toby their support. The set list was as follows:

Hopefully, we will have some videos from Nige in the YouTube section shortly!

The Thin Kicking Up Dust One
Toby's Webmaster



VOTE FOR TOBY'S SET LIST
ON THE SKIN TOUR!
25th November 2009

As you all know Toby will be special guest to SKIN on their forthcoming U.K. tour (click here for dates).

Toby has decided that his set each night will be a full acoustic set of Little Angels material!!
That's where you come in...I have been asked to ask you, Toby's fans, what you would like to hear at these show. Toby will personally look at the results and make sure that the ones with the highest votes get included.

To submit your suggestions please either email me at webmaster@gunofficial.co.uk or contact us through Toby's MySpace page!

We look forward to hearing all your suggestions!!

The Thin Deciding What To Request One
Toby's Webmaster