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Dukes of…July

Jul 17, 2015
Stanley Dee
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Howdy all,

Blimey, is it really mid-July already?!

Stanley has been on recess for just over a month or so, albeit having taken part in the immensely enjoyable and successful Pepper Concerts for a week during June. It was fun to play some non-SD tunes as part of the overall ‘revue’ type set-list, but also good to slip in a Dan tune under the radar to try and convert some of the as yet un-enlightened in the audiences!

Talking of revue shows, if you’re not already aware, Donald Fagen has been busy in recent times doing a series of shows (now on CD and DVD also) as part of the ‘Dukes of September’ along with Michael McDonald, Boz Scaggs, and many members of the SD touring band. It’s a kind of updated version of his New York Rock n Soul Revue shows that he was putting on in the early 90s which is also available on CD. Some very tasty playing all across both of these albums (and plenty of SD tunes are present) so they come highly recommended for any Dan-fans yet to check these out.

We’re raring to get back playing again, and as luck would have it we are at the Farmers Boy St Albans on Saturday afternoon 18July, and then the Half Moon Putney on Sunday evening 26July. We have some new tunes to try out since our last gigs so we’re really looking forward to subjecting you all to them…..sorry, I mean playing them for you!

Keep on popping round to our Facebook page and saying ‘hello’ and hopefully we’ll see you all at some of our forthcoming Summer shows. Too busy?…….only a fool would say that!

Bye for now.

Dunfest 2015 is here!

May 13, 2015
Stanley Dee
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Calling all you Hertfordshire people….

Sat 16th May sees us come back to take part again in ‘Dunfest’ at Dundale School in Tring. We had a great time in beautiful sunny weather last year, so are very pleased to be asked back again.

Check out their Facebook event page HERE.

We’ll be doing a 45min slot in the afternoon, and there will be other great artists and all sorts of entertainment going on all day. If you’re local, and fancy a change from the same-y Saturday routine (shopping/mowing the lawn/teaching the dog French…..all the usual stuff) then do yourself a favour and pop along.

Oh, and beer……..there will definitely be beer.

Stanley Does Pepper

May 7, 2015
Stanley Dee
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Hi everybody,

We are proud to have been asked to participate in this year’s Pepper Foundation charity concert week at the Pendley Court Theatre between 9th and 13th June. You can read more about this great charity and event via the link HERE and can also buy tickets online.

As a bit of background to this, various members of Stanley Dee have been involved with Pepper for many years, and it was from this connection that the band actually formed in the first place. We will be performing a 5-song section of the show, including a Dan classic alongside some cover songs – so you will get a rare chance to see us stretch out a little beyond the tunes of Donald and Walter!

Being busy little bees, some Stanleys are also involved in the show with their other bands so we will be well represented during these concerts! There will be other superb musicians and singers involved, so in addition to raising money for a great cause, it should be a really fun event to take part in and to watch.

It would be great to see some of you there if you can make it. Otherwise, we look forward to seeing you at other forthcoming Stanley gigs during the year!

Dear Diary..

Apr 13, 2015
Stanley Dee
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For anyone who hasn’t yet stumbled across this, there is an entertaining diary column which Donald Fagen is writing for Rolling Stone magazine. Documenting the current leg of their US tour (including the Coachella Festival gigs) it has the usual mix of wry observations, grouchiness, and humour we’ve come to expect from Mr F!

Read all about it on this LINK.

As if that wasn’t enough, why not check out the Noisey Guide To Steely Dan for some more insights into why you have to love the Dan!

Thanks to all those who have come to see us at our 2015 gigs so far (that’s this year you understand……we haven’t done two thousand and fifteen gigs……that would be ridiculous). Hope we’ll see you at some future shows, and remember to keep us informed of any requests you might have for songs that don’t currently feature in the Stanley set-list.

bye for now!

Reviewing the situation…

Feb 20, 2015
Stanley Dee
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We’re always very grateful when we get nice comments, so were really pleased to see the following 5* review which appeared in the Watford Observer (Stanley’s home-town quality journal of choice!) today:

Nice to see that it comes from a genuine Dan-fan too!

Thanks so much for the review Melanie…..and we’ll remember to take our sound-checks more seriously in the future!!

40-odd years on….

Feb 17, 2015
Stanley Dee
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….and it seems Steely Dan are still causing controversy and dividing opinion!

Currently ‘trending’ on the WWW is the current hot topic of their forthcoming appearance at the Coachella Festival in the US. A festival that has in recent years seen the likes of Snoop Dogg, Rage Against The Machine, Kanye West amongst others tear up the stage. It would appear that the inclusion of Steely Dan in this year’s line-up has really upset some people who think they’re too uncool, too boring, and too damn old to be a part of such a fashionable fest. That’ll be the same Kanye West, by the way, who personally wrote to Steely Dan to request the use of a Kid Charlemagne sample in his song ‘Champion’!

Anyway, there are some interesting takes on this subject on this LINK:

Am sure they will storm it and show some of the uninitiated what they’ve been missing out on.

And if not……there’s always Glastonbury if you fancy it guys? Just sayin’….

Stanley Boots-Up for 2015

Jan 8, 2015
Stanley Dee
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Happy Noo Year folks…..are we still saying that? Hope you all had a great festive season and are ready to square up toe-to-toe with 2015.

Stanley is preparing to come out of sleep mode and boot-up for the first gig of the year at, appropriately….The Boot, St Albans on Sunday 11th Jan. For those of you who saw us there last time (and it’s been a while) you can expect lots of new songs in the set and, depending on how Friday’s rehearsal goes, maybe even a shiny-brand-new-never-been-played-before one that we got for Xmas!

With a new year ahead it’s probably a good time for us to look back and thank all the venues who have booked us over the last year. We realise that putting on live music is not always the first thing on the agenda for many places in these tough times. And a whole evening of Steely Dan music can be considered a somewhat ‘niche’ prospect for some, but the packed crowds we’ve continued to see have been a revelation! So, massive thanks to all of these places who have supported us and continue to give us and loads of other bands a chance to do our thing on a stage. Keep up the great work guys…

The Half Moon, Putney / The Horns, Watford / Tropic At Ruislip / Jagz in Ascot / The Maltings, Farnham / The Harlequin Theatre, Redhill / The Boot, St Albans / The Farmers Boy, St Albans / Wokingham Music Club / The Oddfellows Arms, Apsley / Dunfest in Tring

Ok, and now on with the task of finishing off the last of the naughty Xmas snacks….

Everything Must Go!

Christmas Time…Out of Mind

Dec 18, 2014
Stanley Dee
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Ho, Ho, and thrice Ho!

Here we are again then….where did that year go? We’ve had a ball this year and met some lovely new people along the way. 2014 had some great highlights for us, including our expansion to an 11-piece band, playing some great new venues, and getting a load more wonderful Steely Dan tunes into the set.

We’ve already got quite a few dates in the diary for 2015 so hope to catch up with friends old and new at some forthcoming gigs. We’re back out again on 11Jan at the Boot in St Albans so would be great to see some of you there.

The pic attached to this blog (click it to expand) is sadly a fictitious album cover. Being the jolly and un-cynical couple of fellows that they are, I can’t understand why Donald and Walter never got around to a Christmas album! Ah well, maybe next year.

All together now…..”Santa Claus is coming to..Barrytown”.

Have a cool yule, y’all.

Stanley x

with thanks to earcandymag website for some of the content!

Stanley goes on tour……..

Nov 14, 2014
Stanley Dee
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…well, 3 gigs in a week – that’s just about a ‘tour’ isn’t it?

On Fri 21st Nov we will be driving West on Sunset (aka the M4) to the Wokingham Music Club. This is a new venue for us so we’re very much looking forward to meeting some new Dan-fans – and potential Stan-fans too we hope!

Sun 23rd Nov we’ll be driving East On Sunset…..ok, let’s not push this one any further….over to the riverside music mecca that is the Half Moon Putney. Always a great night at this famous venue, and we can’t wait to go back.

Then the following week on Sun 30th Nov, Stanley comes ‘home’ to the Horns in Watford. It has been quite a while since we played here and as this is our last gig of 2014 it’s bound to be a bit of party.

2014 has been a great year for Stanley Dee so far, so please do come along to one of our forthcoming gigs and join in the fun.

Yes….we’re gonna have a wingding!

The Joy of Sets

Oct 8, 2014
Stanley Dee
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So, there we all were at rehearsal the other night for our forthcoming return to Jagz in Ascot (Fri 10 Oct, as if you needed reminding), and the tricky topic of what to put in the set-list inevitably came up. The more songs we add to the repertoire, the more challenging it becomes when deciding which ones to leave in, and which to leave out.

With Steely Dan not being particularly renowned for troubling the UK charts much over the years, it makes sense that we tend to always include the BIG SMASH HITS! at every gig (you know who you are…yes, I’m looking at you Rikki and friends) and therefore a certain percentage of the set does tend to pick itself. But the rest of it comes down to keeping a healthy balance of new tunes we’ve just added, a mix of tempos, trying to recall which ones we played the last time we were at a particular venue, ones we’ve not played for a while, and so it goes….

It usually kind of works out ok, but I would guess we all have some of our own personal favourites left out from time to time. However, this must be more of a soul-searching conundrum for Don and Walt before they embark on a new tour, as Dan-fans are generally a knowledgeable bunch and obviously will have great hopes of hearing their favourites given an airing. They don’t tour that often (well definitely not in the UK…..hello guys? we’re still here and waiting you know?!) so to wait several years to see ‘em and then they go and miss out ”fill-in-the-blank-as-personally-applicable” ….well that’s going to be disappointing isn’t it? Solution? Come and see Stanley Dee on a regular basis, and if we aren’t playing the ones you want to hear just request them for next time and we’ll do our best to oblige. Although apologies must go to the regular requester of ‘Show Biz Kids’……we will get there eventually, we promise!

In the meantime, check out the link below to see what Steely Dan have been wowing the crowds with on their recent trek across the USA. Some pretty fine tunes included I’m sure you’ll agree:

http://www.setlist.fm/setlists/steely-dan-7bd6be38.html

Hope to see some of you at Jagz, but ’til next time….Toodle-oo!

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