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LATEST NEWS (03/28/00): the new New CD, "Gavada!" is now available for sale. Some of you asked us about the need to have 2 CDs and let us know that it was more of a pain than an advantage so we just merged the 2 into one. That way you can have the complete works on one CD, though the price had to be increased. So yeah, get it now at http://www.mp3.com/umass. Thank you for your faithfulness to our music :o)



(05/12/00): the new CD, "Gavada!" is out now and available for online order at http://www.mp3.com/umass. It's got 10 songs, including 3 by Chouche (Chouche!), it's for sale at $7.99 and let's face it... IT RAWKS!!!! Hey, would we release it if it didn't? You're right, we would. We're bad like that, hehe. But seriously, it's a cool lil' CD, it's got a lot of fun stuff on it. We think you'll like it.

On another topic, thanks to all the people who listened to our songs on our Mp3.com page. Just in the past 10 days, around 300 people have downloaded or streamed at least one of our songs. And since february when we put our material online, more than 1300 people have listened to at least one of our songs. We think it's totally awesome and we want to thank all of you who took the time to listen to our stuff. We were really sad as a band to think that after the split, the songs would basically disappear. Because we CARE about them, they're our babies, we put our hearts in them, whether you like them or not is another story and both options are equally respectable but you gotta admit we did what we did in an honest and truthful way. That's why we're extremely happy to see that our music is neither dead nor dying but it's even spreading and gaining new listeners each deay. Here's what we think: sure, you could do without our music. However, we'd think you'd do better WITH our music. So yeah, thanks again and sorry about the rambling :o)



(03/28/00): An update on the chart-thingy... the song moved to reach #25, then #21 the day after and is now ranked #35 again. "Day In" also appeared at #75 at approximately the same time, so for over a week or so, 2 u-mass songs were "On Fire!" and in the top 150 of the Mp3.com Power-Pop chart... way to go boys! :o)



(03/24/00): WHOA! lots of stuff happening around u-mass in the past month and a half. first of all, u-mass has now got a CD for sale on Mp3.com. you can order it there, it'll get to you in said time, guaranteed. thanks to Mp3.com, our music is now available worldwide and is getting some new exposure too. that's really awesome! now for some self-satisfaction: "Fly! Fly! Fly!" is ranked #35 in the Power-Pop chart of Mp3.com as of today, friday march 24th!!!!!!!!! :o) that makes us "hot mover" since we gained a LOT of spots in a short time or something... now ok, we know it's JUST some obscure chart on the internet and stuff but we can't help thinking about it and grinning :o)



(02/01/00): u-mass has got its own page on Mp3.com, the address is http://www.mp3.com/umass. Lots of interesting features there, worth giving it a try...



(01/01/00): The mixing is finally over! 17 songs made it to the final master, here's the tracklisting:

  1. World Together
  2. Can't Go On This Way
  3. Enlightened
  4. You're The One
  5. Gold
  6. Lasagna
  7. Day In
  8. Dress
  9. Dreamcake
  10. I'll Stick With You
  11. Blind
  12. Sad Tommy
  13. Boltronic
  14. 2.14.96
  15. Après Rock
  16. The Machine
  17. How Much Is Very Much?
Nine of these songs are available for your listening pleasure in the Audio section. And again, if your own copy of the CD, contact Gaby. Enjoy!



(10/22/99): u-mass is officially no longer operating. Here is the last message the band wanted to give:

u-mass, as of 10/22/99, is over! Chouchou, the bass player, had to leave to Lyon because of his work and Gaby is leaving to the US in a month. It seems like Bol and Eric will be involved in other musical projects in a near future but nothing definite right now. Thanks to all those who came to our shows during the past 6 years (yes, the first show was on april 10th 1993...), kisses to those who applauded and/or supported us of course, and to those who never liked us, we don't care, we like you anyway. We like everybody.

Huge thanks to Boris for this demo which opened us so many doors and especially a HUGE thank you to François, his brother and Stéphanie for believing in us and for all the efforts they provided. It is important for bands from Marseille to realize or to remember that there are people here with just as much passsion as they have and who are ready to help them and that collaborations may be established, whether these bands are beginners or already with some experience. The situation for a rock band in Marseille is not as bad as people like to think and there are enough people who think the contrary for great things to happen, with enough dialog, organization and motivation: talent is already here!

Before leaving, we recorded most of our work, that is 22 songs, with Olivier from Ishtar (huge thanks to him too, by the way) and we are now in the process of mixing them. All these will be available on CD probably dor the last week of november. According to the first lucky listeners, ”It's a total Gavada!!!”. To get your own CD copy, email the band at u_mass@usa.net.

(...)

The official u-mass site will remain operating. Its address is and will remain:

http://u_mass.tripod.com

Thanks again to all of you, we hope you had as much fun as we did during this little time spent together... best of luck to all those who remain!

u-mass

 

(09/01/99): A little update after the summer. u-mass hasn't started recording yet but will in the beginning of october. The sessions got delayed due to everybody's schedule but now everything is fine. During the summer, Gaby and Chouche recorded a cover of a Lucy Loves Schroeder song called "2.14.96 " AND it is available as an MP3 download :o) Go check the Audio section.

 

(06/07/99): Great show! Aside from some technical problems, it was a very enjoyable experience. The band's new project is now to record all their material over the summer, before they have to part. Yes, the boys will have to stop in november...

 

(25/04/99)u-mass will be playing at the Olive à Bulles next june. It is a very isolated venue in the middle of Nowhere, France, but it seems to be very cool so yeah. In the mean time, the boys will be getting ready for their finals and working on old as well as new material. They are also planning on recording all of their songs during the summer with Olivier from Ishtar.

 

(17/04/99): Awww yeah, that was their best show ever! Although not as crowded as they were hoping, the show went extremely well and showed once again the big potential of the band. The boys are very happy to see that the hard work is paying off, as they're having such a good time on stage and able to experiment new directions in their music. Too bad though that there wasn't more people to witness it but, as they said, what matters is the response of the people who were there that night and it was a very positive one. Go boys!

 

(10/04/99): Congratulations to Gaby & Rachael who got married today!

 

(01/03/99): The band is scheduled to play on april 17th at the Balthazar again! They're really excited about it and have already started working on a lot of “surprises“...

 

(27/02/99): The boys did a guest appearance opening for Nnecra Packê at the Shogun this saturday for a short 3-piece accoustic set. Turned out alright but nothing terrific. Well ok, it was pure caca but they had to try.

(20/02/99): The gig was rad and the boys had a lot of fun! Their old friends from Nnecra Packê were opening for them, adding a little mayhem to the thing. Bol also premiered that night his coldwave remix of “Dreamcake“, which according to him is now to be reffered to as ”Boltronic ”. It had a big success in the audience, partly due to the guest appearance of Philippe for some wild break-dancing. You really should have been there ya know? Oh well, at least you'll be able to read the review of the concert anytime soon.

 

(12/01/99) : Here's the poster for the next gig, the one at the Machine à Coudre :




(12/01/99) : The band's email system has changed, it's now u_mass@usa.net . The previous one doesn't work anymore, don't even try!

 

(28/12/98) : The review for the last Poste à Galène show is now available in the Reviews section. Ooh bebe.

 

(17/12/98) : And another gig coming up! February 20th at the Machine à Coudre, a hip club, yawp. Currently, the boys are on a forced break, since Bol has some important exams coming in mid January so they'll start practice again by that time and lollygag around in the mean time I guess... I dunno really... oh well... *shrug*

 

(14/12/98) : The gig went extremely well, around 150 persons attended it and according to the boys, from the stage the place looked packed, which made the gig even more exciting! Here's a shot from the gig, courtesy of the RockInfo homepage :



A review of the concert is available there too, soon to be translated and put in the Reviews section. Ohh bebe.

 

(30/11/98) : After the "grande exito" at the ESC gig, da boyz are in for YET another important thingy, that is playing the Poste à Galène again on december 12th!!!!! They might even be headlining this time, John and Spinach being the 2 other bands on this local bill which sounds very promising. A radio show on wednesday 9th is also to be scheduled and maybe even a short report on regional TV, but that's still to be confirmed. So if you're in the area around that date and time, it'll be more than a smart move to go there, yawp :o) Come take a look at the poster for the show too, it's a neat one!

 

(09/11/98) : Come check the new Reviews section, gathering what people have to say about the band and its most recent concerts! It's actually an english translation from the reviews that can be found in the RockInfo homepage. Go read it!

 

(05/11/98) : The concert at the Poste à Galène went wonderfully well!!!! The Catchers themselves gave the band very nice compliments :o) The RockInfo homepage is gonna put up a review soon, so check it out!!! And alsoooooo..... the concert got filmed, and in very good quality too, thanks to Gérard :o) Write the band if ya want your own private copy.

 

(28/10/98) : Another cool concert coming 2 weeks after the Poste à Galène: on november 17th at Sup' de Co in the Luminy campus. 3 other bands are scheduled. Cum support da boyz!!!

 

(10/10/98) : Check out a (very good) review of the Balthazar concert in the RockInfo homepage. It's in french :o)

 

(03/10/98) : The boys are to play their most important concert so far on November 3rd. They'll open for the Catchers in the Poste à Galène, the hippest club in Marseillle !!! Woo hoo!!! Needless to say they're pretty excited about it... intensive practice has already started and they'll be more than ready when the Big Night comes. Check the RockInfo homepage for more official information. The band also wishes to thank François Devred for this, since he was the one who made it possible. François, if you read this, THANK YOU!!!!! :o)

 

(16/07/98) : The band's working on new songs. Five more have been added, which makes an amount of 17, a more than an hour and a half long show. The Balthazar gig turned out to be the best gig the band's played so far, tha boys had lotsa fun :o) It got recorded too! Contact the band if you want to get a hold of the tape...

 

(18/05/98) : The band will be playing on the 23rd at the Absolute Run Festival in Cavaillon, along with 2 other bands, DJ Gamin and Superstar Disco Club. Sounds cool :o) The band will also be playing a cool cool club in Marseille, called le Balthazar, on the 20th of June. This is very likely to be a great show, since the club's sooooo cool and cosy : don't miss them!!!!

 

(14/05/98) : The band has got his own email now. Write them at u_mass@usa.net. They'll answer you :o)

 

(02/05/98) : Gaby 's got a new haircut. Wow. Now THAT'S what I call news :o) Check it out on his homepage

 

(24/04/98) : The band will be playing on the 30th at the 2nd Festival Musique Etudiant of the ESM2 in Marseille (check the official site). The band was among the 12 selected bands (40 appliances) and is VERY proud and also TERRIFIED by the idea of playing in such a big venue with so many people (last year's festival attended 11,000 people...) but they'll kick asses... as ever :o)
Oh and there's a chance that the whole festival get airplay LIVE over the Internet, check the festival's site for more infos on that...

 

(21/03/98) : The band's recorded three songs. Check them out on the demo section