HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY!

JUST a quick entry for any new friends of this site who may just be dipping their toes into the waters:

This place was never really supposed to have a theme when I started out (back in the day this were all fields etc.) It was just meant to be somewhere for me to blather on about my experience of stuff and nonsense, anything that popped into the old noggin plus gubbins from the internet, the news and elsewhere (you know, popular culture and all that malarkey, music, videogames). A little more focus (and effort) may have catapulted BloodyGravity into the position of respected cultural commentator (you may have got see me pop up after Paul Morley on Channel Four's '100 Greatest Hat-Wearing Pop Stars' or something) but focus was always a bit thin on the ground as, in turn, were regular readers. (Note to self: one slacker will struggle to attract a legion of other slackers and even if he did, what then?)

Having said that, and looking back over the last five year's worth of entries, there does appear to be a thread of sorts - even taking into account some of the more straight-jacketed writing (that was for a local newspaper) and some of the stuff which was just done for catharsis (about leaving my position at said newspaper).

I mention all this because as of April BloodyGravity will be five years old and that's as good a reason as any to get reinvigorated. With the launch of the Chico Mendez website the possibility of building that elusive media empire looks, well, more possible.

Perhaps the best way to leave you on this fine Bank Holiday Monday is with a reproduction of the very first post on this august online publication. So here it is, much like digging up the Blue Peter time capsule (note to readers outside the UK: if you want to know what the Blue Peter time capsule is, get in touch and ask me; I assure you that your newly acquired knowledge will make the last line magically become funny):

Thursday, April 24, 2003

Welcome!

Here it is: the new home of my rants. But don't let that put you off. I have so many wonderful things to share. It's an exciting time right now. Let's have a quick update: Saints have made it to the FA Cup final in May, which is great if you like that sort of thing. Which I do. And I'm enjoying the last few months of my twenties, which has it's own...merits, I suppose. And I have it on good authority that a weblog can be a good way to avoid writer's block, which is great for me because I've had that nearly all my life.

Posted by Damian at 2:03 PM 0 comments

IT'S FINALLY happened. Chico Mendez and the Eling Allstars have gone live with their website, lovingly cobbled together by myself.

Right now it's hosted on some free server or other so the address isn't as catchy as we'd like but it will very soon be moving to a permanent home (www.chicomendez.co.uk) just as soon as 'Mr Internet' (Carl) gets a few technical creases ironed out.

Get your eyes and ears over there on the double and let me know what you think. You can email the band from the 'contact us' page and tuck into a selection of our music in the 'downloads' area, surprisingly enough. Rest assured there's plenty more to come from the band and their spiffing new online presence in the coming weeks. Listen responsibly.