Side Projects
The Dust Rackets
The Dust Rackets are the experimental side of the band. The name was originally used by the band during three comeback gigs in early 2004, and was used on Singin' It All Wrong, a collection of six songs given out to fans at The Dust Rackets gigs.
Since then, The Dust Rackets have given out Thee Blackstar/Red Star! Arkestar, Thirds, Fourth Quarter and Fifth, each with its own unique style.
The band requested that The Dust Rackets CDs are not distributed via the internet, or sold on eBay (they are free after all), and that fans should spread the CDs using good old CDRs, jiffy bags and the Post Office. To help the cause, this website runs a Dust Rackets waiting list, details of which you can find on the Dust Rackets Distribution page.
Troubles Musick
The Troubles Musick project is an experimental electronic / ambient music project. Consisting of Joel Clifford, Sam Herlihy, Michael Hibbert, Simon Jones, Mike Siddell and Jon Winter, Troubles dabble in lo-fi, Eno-esque ambience. The band sold their first double album during their Slow Down Or Die tour in December 2006.
You can follow the progress of Troubles Musick by checking out their MySpace page: www.myspace.com/troublesmusick or the new Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troubles_%28band%29.
Live sets are pretty different to the recorded stuff - so here's the London College of Fashion gig (06-12-06) to download.
Blocks
Blocks is Sam's new solo project, which came about as a result of the summer 2006 laptop tinkerings. First song 'Kernikal' sounds similar to that of the Troubles Musick works. Exciting prospect.
MySpace demo downloads: kernikal | sekilitery | fexxef | missehistz | fivetines
On November 16th 2006, Sam released a Blocks demo on the Hope of the States message board, that fans could freely download in exchange for a small donation to the Barnados charity. Click here for more information.
Check out the official Blocks MySpace page: www.myspace.com/blockssonics
Thee Hope Of The States Wooden Electrik Arkestar
Not a side project as such, but the Arkestar consist of an acoustic Hope of the States, plus Ryan on trumpet and possibly another one or two people that I can't remember. Their only performance to date was at the Buffalo Bar in October 2004, in which they played new versions of early demos, many of which for the first time.
