NAB Radio

Taken from BBC Kent Introducing’s myspace blog! We couldn’t of put it better!

The Deccas reviewed by listener Stephen Morris
Category: Music

Kent based band The Deccas are an exciting group of Mod Revisionists. Listener Stephen Morris visits their Myspace page and finds out more.

Mersey Beats:

The Deccas are a band from Medway but have the sound of band more likely to come from the Mersey. Their songs have a retro feel that brings back the sound of the early Beatles (think of songs like “You’re Gonna Lose That Girl” from Help) but they also summon up reminders of more recent bands like The Crescent, The Coral, The Zutons and, most recent of all, The Last Shadow Puppets.

There’s also some non-Scouse references in there. “Out of My Mind” could easily be found on a recent Oasis album while lead singer Wesley Wren has a snarly voice that sounds not just like Liam Gallagher but also Jake Burns of the Stiff Little Fingers.

Sounds of the 60s:

It’s an exciting retro-sound that brings the feel of Mod right up to the 21st century. For all they’re use of Hammond organs and Sixties era harmonies there is nothing old fashioned or stale about this band. The music is fresh, vibrant and riotous.

The songs are about the traditional rock and roll staples of love and heartbreak. “Leave it Alone” is about trying hard not to get back together with someone who is bad for you. Meanwhile “All Mine” and “Out of my Mind” are both about being caught in the middle of a difficult relationship and wanting to sort it out.

Let’s Stay Together:

The band’s Myspace page also currently features a video for “Don’t Take Your Eyes” which, again, covers the theme of wanting to stay together with someone you love.

Gigs:

All in all, The Deccas are an exciting band that bridge the generations from the sixties to the present day. They have quite a few gigs coming up across Kent in February and March so try and check them out if you can.

To hear more from The Deccas you can find a link to their MySpace via the BBC Kent Introducing friends.

Of course there’s always a lot goes on behind the scenes that you, the listener, doesn’t know about, or indeed should really even care about – as long as we keep playing great music, right?

Right! Except that a few of you might be kinda interested in what goes on at NAB, so here’s a few things that’s been happening lately.

At Southern Studio #2 we’ve updgraded to the latest version of SAM Broadcaster. It’s been used here since the start of broadcasting here back in April 2007, and has always proved both reliable and flexible enough for our needs.

We’ve just moved this onto a totally dedicated computer. We kind of had this before, but we also ran the station email, and web sites from this machine as well. Not any more. It’s just doing the radio stuff, and nothing more.

Just in are another dozen or so CDs from new artists, that we’ve requested after listening to their demos or promo tracks, and we’ll have those ripped and into the library soon.  Here at NAB we rip to 192K mp3, and stream at 128k, by the way.  We’d love to go all the way up to 320K, but it’s way too expensive for the extra fidelity you get. Ideally, AACplus at 48K is better than 128K mp3, but it limits the amount of listeners, in that many folks simply don’t have AAC set up on their computers. It’s quite easy to do, with a plug-in for WiMP, and Winamp plays AAC right out of the box. Still those that have other programs like Music Match Jukebox and other lesser known players, can handle it.

The Deuce Show has become a regular Tuesday afternoon slot at 3pm, and Gabby & The Wolf are brightening up many folks listening pleasure on a Saturday evenings from 8-10pm with their very own mix of chat and music.

That’s about it for now folks, keep listening, and keep reading this blog to find out all that’s happening at NAB Radio, where you’ll hear music you never even knew you liked!