Acceptance Speech
Nominee at the 10th annual LA Music Awards
Performer – 11th Annual LA Music Awards 2001
The design of http://www.stirlingbrig.com is so far beyond hypnotic it almost defies description – but since the band themselves describe their sound as ‘hypnogroove’, this fits in nicely and has helped them build up just as much of a following on the web as in the real world!
I am not exaggerating when I say that you could get lost at this site and never see the light of day again – every page is different, using bizarre fonts, psychedelic backgrounds and self biographies of the band which make you wonder what they were on when they wrote them! You have to check out this corner of the web for yourself. You won’t be disappointed: there is plenty of info on the band to get through, and many innovative features such as the facility to post your own review of the band straight to the site.
For the purposes of summing up the Stirling Brig sound I listened to their track ‘Moonphases’, which is available to listen to in MP3 form on the site. After only a few seconds I felt the unavoidable urge to crank up the volume and let the street know about Stirling Brig, and after I had listened to the track in full two or three times I knew I was a convert. Throughout, the groups passion for their music is evident – these are the sort of guys who play because they enjoy playing, not just because they want to hit the big time (although I see no reason why that shouldn’t happen).
Here’s the real winner for me: Stirling Brig not only know how to play their instruments with skill, but manage to find the time to write all their own tunes. How refreshing. We’re drowning in covers bands at the moment, and many of the so-called original artists out there can’t write lyrics to save their lives, so it is rare for a band like Stirling Brig to break the mould and give us something we can really listen to.
Previous reviews compare Stirling Brig’s live performances to both a modern day Eagles and the sound of Led Zeppelin. My own thoughts, from what I’ve heard, is that this is a band who sum up the heavier rock of the seventies and eighties while modernising it just enough to keep people coming back. Imagine a crowded arena with coloured spotlights everywhere and plenty of dry ice and guitar-bashing music – got the image? Put Stirling Brig into the picture, and you’d have the ultimate rock night out!!!