Eastern Lane

Some of you may be already be aware of our situation already but for those of you who are not, i have some news. Over the last year or so Eastern Lane have been recording new material but we have unfortunately not been able to release any of it due to circumstances with labels and money etc. I have decided that for the mean time i am going to concentrate on some things i want to try on my own. I have been playing some solo gigs and hope to record in the new year. I would like to take this opportunity to thank every one of you, on behalf of myself and the other members of Eastern Lane, for all the support and encouragement you have given us over the last few years. Perhaps in the we will work together in the future, who knows? We have had amazing experiences as a band and I am proud of what we have done together. Keep your eyes and ears peeled and have a look around myspace.com/derekmeins if you want to hear my new material. Once again, thank you all very much and i hope to see you soon. Take care, Derek Meins.Just short of the Scottish border is the fortress town of Berwick-Upon-Tweed. Isolated? Yes. Eastern Lane are born of Berwick. Rehearsals are had in a converted farm shed out in the wilds. Even on a warm day it freezing. There, Andrew, Danny, Derek and Stuart knock out their set midst an array of gas fires, oil heaters and infra-red lamps and and a collection of borrowed road signs. A great place to practice. No interruptions, no distractions, just an opportunity to work on songs. Why 'Eastern Lane'? It is actually a street in Berwick, the band went through a stage of nicking various road signs and decided that Eastern Lane was the best - the sign now appears on stage with them at most of their gigs. After meeting at school the band got together and began writing songs. They started to perform locally and in 2002 armed with a load of songs and youthful enthusiasm they recorded their debut album 'Shades of Black'. The recording took place place in what used to be a small railway station not far from their hometown. After playing various UK and European dates and a tour with British Sea Power, Eastern Lane started work on the next album 'The Article'. 'The Article' was recorded in a converted barn on the farm where singer Derek lives. 2004 saw the release of the singles 'Feed your Addiction' and 'Saffron'. Both were NME singles of the week. The third single 'I said Pig on Friday', a light hearted ditty about bad luck drawing inspiration from small town superstitions. Apparently it is unspeakable to utter the word 'pig' on Friday in the local fishing communities of northeast England. To talk of the animal on the said day would surley result in either a terrible days catch or the sinking of your boat...we can't remember which. Currently stuck somewhere in between their teens and twenties, Eastern Lane are writing and recording new tracks for their third album. Watch this space for more news and gig dates.'Eastern Lane are just the prescription an overly cynical and pofaced music scene needs' - The Fly magazine. 'The Article fizzes with primal beats and urgent jangling guitars, which hang between dissonance and melodic magic.' - Time Out. 'Like the Strokes fronting the Pixies' - Metro. 'Clasp them to your heaving bosom now!' - NME. 'One of provincial Britain's better kept secrets" - Kerrang. This profile was edited with Thomas' myspace editor™ V2.5