CCFM is back on track.

The phone line's been dead for a while. We know a lot of people out there have been expecting some kind of activity to pick up, or maybe even an official statement from us saying we call it quits. Instead the line stayed pretty much dead all year. We’re pleased to announce that this is about to change soon, for the better we can assure you.

A short recap; as we were writing new material with a freshly recorded EP under the belt we lost our bass player during last spring. To our dismay it took a long list of gruelling auditions to finally find our guy, but it was ok. We felt regenerated, up and ready to go!

The euphoria didn’t last long. Just two months in we had to part ways as he had to leave due to personal circumstances. For us that meant back to square one again!

With the sights set on possibly another few months of auditions, morale started sinking. Luckily for us, this time we didn’t have to look for long.

Just four days into auditions a very young lady came waltzing in to our studio. We hit it off right away, and despite her being a bit younger than the rest of us, she knew the way on her instrument like anybody else in the room. What really struck us the most, though, was her fresh outlook on the songs and the ability to translate that freshness to ideas..

We didn’t dare ask ourselves; “could she be the one?”.

Yes she is!

  

The young lady, who will remain anonymous (for now), has been with us for a few weeks now. We’re trying to get our act together as quickly as possible, but you have to take in to account that it takes a little while to adjust to the new setup in personnel. So give us just a little bit more time to get properly prepared.

Keep checking the phone, because we’ll be calling soon!

Collect Call from Mars is op zoek naar een nieuwe bassist(e)!

Wij zijn op korte termijn op zoek naar een nieuwe bassist. CCFM heeft een eigen oefenruimte (Amsterdam, melody line) waar we twee keer per week repeteren, heeft een booker, zijn bezig met een promo filmpje en hebben net een EP opgenomen. Wij willen weer veel optreden plus volgend jaar touren en zijn dus serieus aan de weg aan het timmeren.

Naar wie zijn wij op zoek?
  -Een bassist met enige bandervaring (bij voorkeur eigen materiaal)
  -Bereidheid om in ieder geval twee keer in de week te repeteren
  -Enthousiast is en veel plezier heeft in het maken van muziek en optreden

 Onze nummers zijn te beluisteren op www.collectcallfrommars.com.

Als jij je hierin kunt vinden stuur dan een reply met een geluidsfragment (audio/video) van
jezelf naar info@collectcallfrommars.com zodat we een keer een speel/jamsessie kunnen inplannen.

We hopen snel van je te horen!

Groeten,

CCFM

Audities bassisten

Een groot filosoof zei ooit “you can’t always get what you want.” Helaas gaat dit ook op voor ons en de plannen die we voor dit jaar hadden gemaakt…

Helaas hebben wij onlangs afscheid moeten nemen van onze bassist Robbert. Na ruim vier jaar trouwe dienst bleken onze visies en ideeën toch niet genoeg overeen te komen.
In plaats van het inplannen van optredens (hopelijk ergens vlakbij jou!) moesten we dus ineens op zoek naar een nieuwe snarenplukker. We zitten inmiddels midden in de audities, een spannend proces, die ons hopelijk snel weer een complete band op zullen leveren. We willen ons zo snel mogelijk weer kunnen storten op het schrijven van nummers en heerlijk optreden, want dat is alweer veel en veel en veel te lang geleden. Wat we nu wel meer dan ooit kunnen beloven is dat wanneer wij weer gaan optreden jullie een heel ander CCFM gaan zien; nieuwe bandleden, nieuwe songs, nieuwe stijl! Nieuw, maar ook beter!
So please bare with us a little bit longer, we promise to make it worth your while…

Incoming Call…

The phone rings, interrupting the silence which had been going on for far too long.
We’re pleased to inform you that the long period of silence is about to be broken.

Time for a short recap: as you undoubtedly know, we’ve had a slight change in our line up when versatile keyboard player Barry joined the fold about a year and a half ago. At that time we had some gigs to attend to and little time to find our place within this new configuration, let alone write new material. Last summer, though, a new song called “Picture Frame” emerged. We hastily ran into the studio to record it, along with three other tracks.
Just as we were gaining some momentum, Barry decided that he wanted to do some studying abroad. Before we had any idea what was going on, the bags were packed and off he went to Norway. When he returned in January, it was back to square one.
Every downside has an upside though, as we now had time to determine our roles and find our new sound. Although it may have taken some time, the new songs are finally coming in and they’re shaping up nicely.
AND, we did have the four recorded tracks! We’ll let you in on a little secret; they’ve actually been finished last week and we’re all very pleased with the result! There are still some minor things which require attention, but you can expect to hear the fruits of our recording efforts very soon! Stay tuned for that.

So on to the present: at the moment we’re still very busy working on new material, but we intend to hit the stage again soon, maybe in an arena near you. So stick around, for we’ll call again soon!
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Recently we’ve been calling Facebook too. So go online now and pick up the phone at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Collect-Call-From-Mars/59660784552

CCFM needs to pick your head :)

We need help! CCFM wilt een promo filmpje maken samen met vlijmscherp producties met als thema: "Good idea/Bad idea" in relatie tot CCFM. Nu willen wij graag aan jullie vragen om ook wat ideeën te spuien. Mochten we jou idee gebruiken, en als je wilt, dan speel je tevens in onze promo film. Hier alvast een voorbeeld:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlyF6V9-ouc&feature=related

Kom maar op met die brainstorm sessie.

Memories

What a year and what will the future bring?

This turned out to be a crazy year. Caron has been with us for a year now and Barry only for six months, but it feels like we've been playing together for years. Having fun, having the occasional quarrel every and of course having a beer (or two).

We've changed a lot musically this last year. We've grown as persons and artists and really like the direction this new collective is taking us. We've performed
a couple of times this year and did a lot of radio gigs, but mostly we've been focussing on getting acquainted with each other's musical backgrounds, playing styles, and additional talents Trying to figure out how we could make them work together. We've spent a lot of time practicing at the Melody Line developing our sound, writing new songs and playing along to a metronome. In the process actually even seeing more of each other than of our own families, but in the end it was worth it!

Due to Barry's departure to Norway (don't worry, he'll be back) there will be no public appearances until his return. This bought us some time to get the band ready for 2011. Jenny will be spending her time recording vocals (with Caron providing some assistance and backing vocals) for the new EP that we've been working on with Niels van Pelt. This EP will be bringing you five songs of which three are brand new ones. Additionally we will be looking for a booker and Robbert is secretly (oops..) working on a completely new website for CCFM. Ernesto Bos will be making a nice video for us, but we'll keep the details for ourselves for now.

Meanwhile, Caron has some more time to work on his drum 'n bass dj collaboration with Vinnie. They are called Mobility and will be part of the CCFM side projects called Creative Collective of Five Martians. Friday the 27th of August will also mark the start of their monthly 2 hour show "170 Feel" on Radio Aalsmeer.

Of course there are new songs to be written and we are still in contact with Barry a lot, for now he has internet at his room in Norway and he will be hearing from us regularly through long annoying chains of bandmail, whether he wants to or not. LoL. Ow, and if you'd like to stay updated on Barry's travels you kan check out his blog: barry-noorwegen.blogspot.com. You can follow us at facebook or twitter to see how we will cope during these months without Barry :(

A special thanks to everybody who has helped us this last year. Vinnie for always being there to help us out with camera and/or video, or for putting on
a doctor's coat and playing the scientist for us zombie freaks at Halloween. Eva & Danielle for doing our merch. Koen and Jan for having us at radio Aalsmeer Dragnet and helping us out. Niels and Ernesto for helping us out with the lighting, sound and recordings during, before, and after shows. Tommy Neys for the nice photo's.

Fans, parents, family and friends for supporting us every single gig.

Our work is not done yet and we promise to bring you an unleashed CCFM in 2011.