Borderlands!

Hey dudes. If you are in Taiwan, our new album Borderlands has just been released so feel free to get it from all good record stores!
To celebrate we had a great interview on BCC radio with DJ Ken (one of the most popular shows at the moment) and we got a lot of good feedback from people ringing in and emailing. All good fun. Live radio is always more adrenalin inducing. You've always gotta be aware of what's going on. Kind of like a gig I guess. Lot's more updates to come as we start the campaign for the album. We'll see where it takes us.

Easy now

Calling all guitar geeks!

I thought I'd show any of you guitarists who might
be interested a bit of my set up at the moment. I've
just got a few new pedals in Taiwan and China which
are proving to be welcome additions to the "rig"! Check
it out:















So here's the nice distortion section: Moen overdrive
(from China) and a Big Muff (USA). The big muff is
great for a fuzzy sound, but the Moen is great for
everything else.

Below is my nasty distortion section. I bought these
two Danelectro pedals for £10 each in England -
they're kind of rubbish, but add beef to anything.















These ones are new from China as well: the Beta 3
C5-200 compressor and the Belcat analog delay
pedal. These are really warm and make my electric
sound great.















Below are my bass pedals: a Boss compression
pedal and a Big Muff (Russian) - these two tend
to be all I need for bass. They give a nice big sound
and have a lot of flexibility.















Here's my Farida FA17 - a great semi-acoustic.
It has great tone - very warm and very adaptable.















Here's my beautiful Fender Jazz Bass (Mexico).
I got this in Korea in the summer and love it.















So that's what I'm using at the moment. As we
tour around we use different amps, but the best
have been Marshall JCM 900 cabs with various
different speakers. And bass ampwise, enjoying
using Ampeg stacks. Well, that concludes
Geekfest '09. Sorry for the quality of the photos
and hopefully someone enjoys this - even if it's
just cos they're laughing at me!

Laterz y'all

China!

Hey dudes! Well we got back from Mainland China
yesterday after a very successful trip. The gigs we did
went really well with lots of possibilities for the future.
One of the best moments was in Saturday night's gig
when a local dog came and sat on the stage as we played.
We found out later that he does that for music he likes
so we took it as a compliment!

There'll be a China podcast shortly I'm sure, so watch out.
So we're back in Taipei and this week we'll be doing some
recording and gigging on the weekend. In the mean time,
stay lively and keep in touch!

Green Eyes!

We've been busy this last week rehearsing again now that Josh is better and recording a bit as well. Stay posted for more news on the results of our work in the studio.... The university tour recommences this weekend in Kaoshiung so that will be great. The 3 or 4 uni gigs we did a couple of weeks ago were really great so looking forward to getting back out there. Also we're off to mainland China for the week next week so that'll be very interesting too I'm sure - I'll keep the blog updated and let you know how we got on.

On Wednesday I went to see my friend's band Green Eyes at one of the most legendary venues in Taipei - The Wall! It was absolutely amazing - I love their music and the fact that every single gig they play is totally different. It's so cool. Yuchen their lead singer has a great studio in Taipei and Thursday and today we've been rehearsing there for the ridiculous amount of gigs that we have coming up in the next six weeks or so. It was great, the new stuff is sounding great and we're very excited about the new album which will be released in Taiwan very soon. Feeling good about the gig tomorrow as well. Will report when I something cool to tell you!

P.s. Please watch the first installment of our world tour podcasts by going to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5848vwBqiA

Studio!

As you can see from the picture, we have set up a little studio here in Taipei, mainly for production and mixing etc. Really loving it actually. It's an old skool radio studio - but it's really perfect for what we need. It's quiet, cold, beside our friend's office, and most importantly - near good food and coffee! Also it's across the road from a really amazing sightseeing landmark in Taipei called Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall. It certainly beats the makeshift studio I was using at our apartment (see the picture below). So we'll listen out for the mighty tunes that find their birthplace here! Take it easy now!

Life so far.......

Well, we've been on quite a ride here in Taiwan. We've played to thousands of people, met some of Asia's most popular artists and had some of the best food known to man! But that's just the beginning. In the next few weeks our new album will be hitting the stores in Taiwan and will be supported by a very busy schedule. Plus we are still doing a lot with our good pal Wing - possibly an e.p. which will be available in England!

We have started with a university tour - which so far has had an amazing response. And just last weekend we played the biggest stage we've ever played on for the 2009 Harley Davidson Hog Rally - which was very different to a lot of places we've played! But good stuff - a lot of very cool bikes around! I'll keep y'all posted on what we have coming up and let you know what we are up to. This week and next is mainly a mixture of recording in our cool new little production studio in Taipei (pictures to follow) and rehearsing for more shows coming up next week. I will try to get some fun stuff up here too, like possibly the odd tune from the Polar Bear & friends/Space Bear projects.

In other news - Space Bear's (a good friend of mine!) latest album was adapted as a musical - entitled Space Bear the musical this summer. So I'll let you know about the global implications of that.

Ciao

Polar online!

Ay Panda!

We online dudes! Please tell me what you think - and ask me anything you want to know. That doesn't mean I'll answer but I'll try my best. I'll be updating as Transition tours around Asia and beyond. There may even be some sneaky polar videocasts at some point!

Peace out,
Polar.