Hi everyone - and welcome to the second edition of Dark Angel Times!

We’re chuffed to bits with all the great feedback we’ve received from both the first issue and the recent special edition of D.A.T., so we hope you like this one even more! We’ve got news on a special competition for each of the April gigs (as promised last issue), updates on live releases (on their way soon!), and some thoughts from the band and crew on our recent live appearance at the Marillion Convention last month in the Netherlands.

In this issue

April live dates and competitions
Live DVD
As featured in Classic Rock Presents PROG!
What we did at the Marillion Convention!


April Live dates and competitions

Firstly a reminder of the 2 headline gigs in April –

Saturday 25th April 2009 - The Peel in Kingston. Support - Tinyfish
Sunday 26th April 2009 - The Robin 2 in Bilston. Support – Marc Atkinson (Riversea)

We can’t wait to get back out on the road again, especially playing with our great friends Tinyfish and Marc Atkinson of Riversea. Our set list has been put together especially for these shows and will feature a good representation of songs from both “Awakening” and “Dark Angel”… with a few twists and turns along the way! The band have been working hard on some new arrangements and sounds, so these two shows really are not to be missed.

We mentioned last time that we were going to have news of a special competition, but in fact we’ve got two! We have an electric guitar and a 6 string bass signed by the band and you will have the chance to take one of these away! Final details are being decided upon and we’ll let you know how to enter the competition very shortly!

Live “Bootleg” DVD

The live bootleg DVD from last October’s show at the Robin 2 in Bilston (the final date of the Dark Angel tour) is nearly finished and will be on sale at the April gigs at a special credit crunch price! Entitled “Live and Untrousered in Bilston 2008” the DVD contains the entire Robin 2 show with 5 different camera angles. More details on price and track listing will be announced soon, but it is looking great and will certainly highlight how much fun the band have together on stage.

As featured in Classic Rock Presents PROG!

This fantastic magazine was launched on 25th March and not only was Dark Angel featured on the cover CD, page 5 features a full page photo of Rachel (complete with her Dark Angel wings, of course!), there is an excellent article on the band on page 13, and an interview with Rachel (including even more photos!) in the “Ladies in Prog” piece on pages 32-37. Two of the photos used were taken at the Shepherds Bush Empire in November 2008 by our very own Mike Evans – a good friend, photographer and video editor - so we’re especially delighted for him! And the magazine itself has been selling out fast which is great news. We hope you got your copy!

What we did at the Marillion Convention

Some things live long in the memory and this will be one! Playing to a fantastic audience of nearly 3,000 was a really special moment and we’d like to thank Marillion, their staff and crew (and fans!) for making it possible. We will be putting more details up on our new blog at The Dark Angel Times Blog in due course but first just a few (highly edited, though you wouldn’t believe it) overriding memories from some of us, that we hope will give you some idea of what we got up to.

Dylan

“What a weekend!!! We all laughed hard on the trip over and to be with such good friends joking about and generally behaving like idiots made the trip over far less gruelling.

The sun shone for the whole weekend and despite the inevitable hangovers it was a pleasure to get up and embrace each day. On Saturday afternoon we drove our gear to the venue and managed to set up ahead of schedule so everything went smoothly and stress free. We sound checked with a minimum of problems and then sat backstage listening to The Wishing Tree sound check and perform. A few hours later we were on the stage ourselves and rocking our socks off. By all accounts it was a great performance. It was such a pleasure to look out over 2,500 people clapping and cheering us on and a gig I will never forget.

The rest of the weekend was spent wandering between the bar, the venue and our beds...we got drunk, watched more performances, met some wonderful characters and made new friends from all over the world... my only regret is that we had to come home on Monday morning.”

“Big” Dave

“One of the best weekends away I've ever had, being there with my best friends made it all the more pleasurable. The trip over was as fun packed as ever, Gareth reading Horoscopes, Vinden snoring in the van, Owain & Rachel doing their Labyrinth song routine and Matt listening to his usual musical diet of Led Zeppelin.

Trying to remember to drive on the right was interesting as well as watching out for all those really well hidden speed cameras (not that we were speeding of course). Unfortunately due to a road closure we found ourselves lost for a few minutes but then we got directions from a friendly local and we back on track and heading towards Port Zelande, but after starting out from Cardiff early in the morning we were only 45 minutes behind schedule.

The following day we were welcomed by glorious sunshine and slightly hazy heads, so most of us took a walk to the beach under the supervision of Nick, our European tour dude, who said the beach was only 5 minutes away. Well all I can say is that minutes must last longer in Holland! After briefly paddling in the freezing sea we all headed back to base and chilled out before commencing our sound check duties.

The gig was faultless and to be honest I thought it was always going to be that way due to the amount of hard work the guys put in. Take from me (No. 1 Fan) as well as the 2,500+ audience, they rocked!!!!!!!”

Vinden

“Yeah! What a weekend! The trip over was quick and relaxing (Thanks to an in depth look at my eyelids and vocal warm-ups). I remember turning up late at Centre Parcs on Friday and listening to the crowd, feeling the bass through the ground. My first thought was "I wonder if ‘A Musing Dream’ will feel like this, so far away?"

The following day I spent the majority of the time pre-gig thinking about how it will all fit together and how we will be received. It wasn't long before we were setting up, sound checking and then moving all the kit to the back of the stage for later. When we arrived back after some food I peered above the stairs from backstage and looked at the heads bobbing around and thought "Oh yes! This makes me feel good and excites me immensely..........must do this more" : )

When it was our turn to go on I must admit setting up whilst having all those people looking did help me relax into things. All I could think whilst the others were tuning up/positioning themselves and as I peered at the crowd was "You're having it!" The crowd were all so energetic and enthusiastic towards us and I will never forget it...shame it was over so quickly!”

Graeme

“Crawling out of bed after 3 hours sleep on Sunday morning to get the show downloaded onto our hard drive (for future release!); meeting up with old friends and making many new ones on Saturday night and then on Sunday as we made our way from bar to bar; laughing so hard at the most stupid of jokes that it was difficult to breathe, but then seeing the band switch effortlessly into the true professionals that they are, hearing the crowd calling out for Breaking The 4th wall to be played (which it was) and ultimately being privileged to see The Reasoning play a complete blinder and totally winning over the audience. Job done!”

Nick

“Arriving in late Friday afternoon at Port Zelande, golden lighted birds were flying in magic beams of a shining sun which was slowly sinking. Everything pointed towards a great weekend with friends. The Reasoning kicked ass with their new opening to “Awakening”. I, just 5 metres from the stage, could feel the vibe of the 2,500 people behind me. The applause and a “happy birthday to Rachel” was really top. I was hugely impressed by the set and energetic performance. And yes mad dog Owain on guitar is a new diamond as well. But most credit must go to the 3 voices of The Reasoning, which makes their music really special and unique.”

Gareth

“As we set off in our trusty steed, Mega Bob, it was the usual funny noises and inane conversation from The Reasoning crew. When nearing Port Zelande, Owain and I looked out for a small man with a pipe to show us the way while “Big” Dave and Matt looked for more constructive ways of reaching our destination.

MUCH OF THE REST OF THE EVENING IS A BLUR.....

Next morning, Nick took us to a section of the moon which had been disguised as a man made beach. Very nice it was too. Amazing weather. Looked forward to the gig. Thanks to the sound guys for letting us load and sound check early. Sounded monstrous from where I was standing. The gig was great. I didn't forget to say Happy Birthday to Rachel, and the crowd saved me the humiliation of having to sing it. Cheers! Had a great time at the Adventure Factory after the gig. Much singing/dancing/drinking hilarity.

It was very cool to be treated like a rock star for much of Sunday, as we posed for photos, signed autographs and had beers bought for us. Contrary to what one gentleman intimated, it does not suck being famous! Evening fell. Drank beer. Drank whiskey. Ate day old boiled egg doused in whiskey. Felt ill. Went to bed.”

We were hoping to have some thoughts from Owain, but given that he spent most of Sunday asleep he probably doesn’t have a lot to say! And since he missed many of the impromptu signing sessions on Sunday his autograph now has great rarity value – so track him down at The Peel or The Robin and get yourselves a real gem! And if you want to hear what Matt and Rachel thought of it all…well you’ll have to come to the gigs and ask them! (Or check out the blog, the forum, Facebook, MySpace, Reverbnation….)


Well, that’s about it for now. We may indeed have rambled on a bit, but we had a great time… and you should have seen the unedited versions! Don’t forget that we will also be appearing at the Fish Convention on Sunday 9th August so hope to see you there! Tickets are available directly from FISH's official site - www.the-company.com . And why not join our ever growing Facebook fan club here where you’ll find photos galore and now our new promo video put together by our great friend Richard Pocock!

Should you have any questions at all, please contact Graeme at info@cathedralmanagement.com. Until then, take care and we will see you on the road very soon!

Lots of love, as always,

Matthew, Rachel, Dylan, Gareth, Owain, Vinden, Comet the Cat, “Big” Dave and Graeme xxxxxxxxx