A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject.(March 2013) |
Shoes and Socks Off | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Tobias Hayes |
Origin | Brighton, England |
Genres | Anti-folk, grunge, electronic, experimental |
Years active | 2007–2012 |
Labels | Big Scary Monsters / Father Figure |
Website | shoesandsocksoff |
Shoes and Socks Off was a musical project by Tobias Hayes, based in Brighton, England, and active from 2007 to 2012.
After leaving Meet Me in St. Louis in 2007, [1] [2] Hayes began writing songs for an acoustic solo project. It started off as a solo endeavour, mainly involving just himself and a guitar, but was sometimes performed as a group, involving drums, guitars, bass, samples, programming and strings. [3]
His debut album From The Muddy Banks of Melitzer was recorded in September 2008 and released through DIY indie label Big Scary Monsters. [4] It was quickly followed by Hand-Reared Suburban Piglet, [5] featuring the same 10 songs, but re-worked with drums, strings, keys and programming.
In the winter of 2009, the third full-length album was released. To Where The Skyline Is Fortified With Windows And Doors [6] comprised 10 new songs, some of which featured members of Nitkowski, Palehorse and Blakfish. Following quickly in summer 2010, Robin Hood Waiter Champion Have-Not, the fourth album was released. [7] Hayes took it on tour with a band, featuring members of Nitkowski, Palehorse and Talons. A homemade video was made for every song on the record. [8]
2011 saw the release of Don't Blame Yourself, It's in Your Blood, a three-disc anthology of all SASO recorded output to date, [9] and 'Dot Dot Dot & Other Works', [10] a lyric book containing words to every Shoes And Socks Off and Meet Me in St. Louis song. With the book came a download link to 10 new demos, each of which had been recorded whilst on a 40-day tour of mainland Europe with Tubelord in 2011. [11] [12]
In May 2012, Shoes And Socks Off's fifth album Miles of Mad Water was released on BSM in the UK and Father Figure Records in mainland Europe. [13] [14] Toby toured the remainder of the year, this time with a band. Oliver Newton (Yndi Halda) on drums, and Alex Petersen (Elle Milano/Love Among The Mannequins) on bass, keys and guitars. [15]
On 13 August 2012, Hayes announced the end of Shoes and Socks Off via his official Tumblr blog [16] and a final tour followed, culminating in a final show at the Old Blue Last in East London. The last SASO song ever performed live was "Epic Sweet Proportions". [17]
Almost every Shoes and Socks Off song was written about Hayes' involvement with a consistently unnamed muse he came into contact with at the start of 2006. A strange friendship was formed, but the two were never to actually meet. By summer 2012, the long and peculiar affair ended, and as a direct result, the project had to be shut down. The 'unnamed muse' is an artist, and was responsible for nearly all artwork used for Shoes and Socks Off releases. After deciding to end the project, [18] one last record was written, an EP called As We Get Closer, The Room Gets Smaller. [19]
Release | Format | Year | Label |
---|---|---|---|
As We Get Closer, The Room Gets Smaller | EP | 2012 | Big Scary Monsters |
Miles of Mad Water | LP | 2012 | Big Scary Monsters |
Don't Blame Yourself, it's in Your Blood | LP | 2011 | Big Scary Monsters |
Robin Hood Waiter Champion Have-Not | LP | 2010 | Big Scary Monsters |
Piepton | EP | 2010 | Big Scary Monsters |
To Where Skyline is Fortified with Windows and Doors | LP | 2009 | Big Scary Monsters |
Hand-Reared Suburban Piglet | LP | 2009 | Big Scary Monsters |
From The Muddy Banks of Melitzer | LP | 2008 | Big Scary Monsters |
Bermuda Ern
Love Among The Mannequins
Shield Your Eyes
Meet Me in St. Louis
Body Parts
KnorX
Push To Fire
Strobe 45
Eugene Quell
Laundromat
Howard Earl Bailey Jr., known professionally as Chingy, is an American rapper. Chingy grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and began rapping in his late teens. He toured as an opening act with Nelly in the summer of 2002 and then became a protégé of Ludacris, who signed him to his newly formed Disturbing Tha Peace (DTP) record label. The rapper's 2003 summer debut single, "Right Thurr", put him on the musical map as a good-time rapper who specialized in catchy, club-friendly beats and simplistic lyrics delivered in a sing-song, nursery rhyme style.
Scary Monsters , also known simply as Scary Monsters, is the 14th studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 12 September 1980 through RCA Records. Over the previous three years, Bowie had garnered massive artistic success with the "Berlin Trilogy", which consisted of Low, "Heroes" and Lodger (1977–1979). However, the trilogy had proven less successful commercially. By 1980, numerous artists Bowie had inspired with the trilogy were out-performing him commercially, leading him to desire a more commercial sound for his next record.
"Monster Mash" is a 1962 novelty song by Bobby "Boris" Pickett. The song was released as a single on Gary S. Paxton's Garpax Records label in August 1962 along with a full-length LP called The Original Monster Mash, which contained several other monster-themed tunes. The "Monster Mash" single was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on October 20–27 of that year, just before Halloween. It has been a perennial Halloween favorite ever since. Nearly 60 years after its release, "Monster Mash" re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 37.
Tim Christensen is a Danish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is known both as the singer, guitarist and songwriter of the Danish alternative rock band Dizzy Mizz Lizzy and as a solo artist. Since 2014, he has primarily focused on Dizzy Mizz Lizzy.
Big Scary Monsters Recording Company is an independent record label based in Oxford, England.
Meet Me in St. Louis were a post-hardcore band from Guildford, Surrey, formed in 2005 and disbanded in 2008.
The Outside Tour was a tour by English rock musician David Bowie, opening in September 1995 and lasting over a year. The opening shows preceded the release of the 1. Outside album which it supported. The tour visited stops in North America and Europe.
Heidi Mortenson is a Danish electronic composer, singer and music producer.
Major Lazer is an American electronic dance music DJ trio, which includes record producer Diplo, and DJs Walshy Fire and Ape Drums. It originates from Kingston, Jamaica, and was founded in 2008 by Diplo and Switch, with Switch leaving after three years in 2011. He was then replaced by both Jillionaire and Walshy Fire. In June 2019, Jillionaire left the group and was replaced by Ape Drums. Its music spans numerous genres, mixing reggae with dancehall, reggaeton, soca, house and moombahton.
Tubelord were an English alternative rock band, formed in 2006 in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey.
Brett Ewels, best known by his stage name Louis La Roche, is a house/nu-disco producer, remixer and DJ from Norwich, UK.
Blakfish was a mathcore band, also described as 'death pop' by the NME, The band from Birmingham, England formed in the year 2000 after meeting and becoming friends at school, contrary to their frequent fabricated claims that they all met in juvenile prison.
Tall Ships were an English indie rock band, formed in 2009 whilst studying in Falmouth and based in Brighton, England. The band was composed of lead singer/guitarist Ric Phethean, bassist/backing vocalist Matt Parker, drummer Jamie Bush and keyboardist James Elliot Field.
American record producer, DJ, singer and songwriter Skrillex has released one studio album, seven extended plays, 44 singles, and 23 music videos.
Sonny John Moore, known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ and music producer. Growing up in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he joined the post-hardcore band From First to Last as the lead singer in 2004, and recorded two studio albums with the band before leaving to pursue a solo career in 2007. He began his first tour as a solo artist in late 2007. After recruiting a new band lineup, Moore joined the Alternative Press Tour to support bands such as All Time Low and the Rocket Summer, and appeared on the cover of Alternative Press' annual "100 Bands You Need to Know" issue.
The AM Tour was a worldwide concert tour by English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys in support of their fifth studio album AM, featuring songs from all five of their albums.
William Sami Étienne Grigahcine, known by his stage name DJ Snake, is a French Algerian record producer, DJ and songwriter, first achieving international recognition in 2013 by releasing an instrumentation-oriented single called "Turn Down for What".
Side Effects is an EP by the Danish singer-songwriters Mads Langer and Tim Christensen, released on July 19, 2014 through RCA and Sony Music Denmark. The EP was awarded the "Danish rock album of the year", while the collaboration garnered the duo a GAFFA Award for "Danish rock band of the year".
Sigrid Solbakk Raabe, known mononymously as Sigrid, is a Norwegian singer and songwriter. She has released two studio albums, Sucker Punch (2019) and How to Let Go (2022), both of which charted in Norway and the United Kingdom. She has also released two EPs.
Alter Echo is the fourth studio album by the Danish rock band Dizzy Mizz Lizzy. It was released on 20 March 2020 by Sony Music.