What's in a venue? Hootenanny Inverness

It's Wednesday and you know what that means.

When it comes to Lucid Liars, I've got a weird bucket list. It's relatively small scale in the grander scheme of things, but individually means a lot to me.

Some of the venues we play simply because in conversation with Robbo (our manager), I want to play somewhere that has a legacy tied to what I was listening to or shows I'd seen growing up. I'm running with the mentality that there's very much more shows behind us than there is in front of us, so every show has to count and mean something.

There's a handful of items on this bucket list we've ticked off so far. I wanted to play Hope and Anchor in London, as Joy Division were one of the bands that I have always loved and they played there. A band that basically shaped a major part of my life. Then earlier in the year we played Raigmore Motel, where Franz Ferdinand had played some 18 years ago. Another band that was a big part of growing up.

So with that, we've got a headline show in November at Hootenanny Inverness. 'Hoots'. One of the venues in town that has always been a destination on a night out due to the friendly atmosphere with usually a good band on.

I understand a lot of our audience is younger or not from the same area as us, so I want to kind of put something in context.

When I was growing up, music was just something that only rich kids got to do. It was something where only the established bands got to play on stage. I didn't get the concept of DIY music. To record, you needed contacts, money and a record label backing you. I got my first instrument relatively late in life. I think I was 17 or so when I first got a guitar and closer to 20 when I properly learned how to play it. Sure there was a bit of jamming and stuff like that with friends, but the thought of putting together a band seemed kind of out of reach for me. I didn't grow up in a musical family like my bandmates and rarely went to shows. So to me, imagining myself on stage was nothing but a pipe dream. The stage at Hoots where all the best local bands played was simply out of reach.

At the end of the day, the Lucid Liars trip has already taken us far further than I thought we'd go. What started as a hobby to get out more became something more tangible over time. Acquaintances turned to friends, turned to best friends, turned to brothers. If I ever get married I'd like all these guys/girls at the wedding.

So to go on stage at Hoots, where I first got a proper taste of live indie music, is something that's high up on the bucket list.

We're billing this show as 'Eras'. I'd like to make another blog post detailing the mentality behind this and why it's important for us to mark the 7th anniversary of Lucid Liars with an important cornerstone.

Tickets are available on the site under ‘Live’.

Until next time.