We have been involved in the Unglamorous International Women’s Day since it started in 2022. This year was always going to be a difficult one. Since the loss of Ruth, Unglamorous has been run by her daughter Isobel and a committee of lovely Unglam women. There are now so many women bands that it was …
In the Stayfree Spares Shop we sell Chord Maple 2B 5A 5B and 7A. So what does it all mean and which one is best for your drumming style? There are plenty of other sizes but we sell the most popular. The number of the stick indicated the thickness of the stick, the lower the …
For the past couple of years we have been putting on Showcases at various venues around Leicester. The only criteria is that you have to rehearse here 🙂 If you would like to play at a Showcase then email or message us, it would be good if you could link us into your socials or …
We had such a year of highs and lows, looking back at 2023 seems like a decade rather than just one year. In January the Unglamorous Project started again with a new set of women ready to be in bands. This attracted to a lot of media coverage, local interest like Leicester Mercury and BBC …
The Stayfree Christmas Party at Firebug, or as we liked to call it ‘Stayfree Snowcase’ This was a great get together of customers and bands from previous Showcases. The first band on the night was Unglamorous Band – Mental Load. These women formed just 6 months ago . Facebook – Mental Load Next up was …
We recently caught up with our resident drum teacher Jack Freestone, owner of Leicester Drum Lessons to find out a bit about his background and what its like having a career playing drums. What got you into playing drums? Funnily enough, it was another resident of Stayfree – Bhav, of Beats And Vocals Studios that …
First on tonight at The Big Difference was the beautiful Joyce Embers. This was her first billing as usually she plays a lot of open mic nights. Her set was fantastic, with a range of ballads and heavier material. She is a thoughtful song writing with a great voice – Instagram –@joyce_embers Next band to …
When you first start out rehearsing and performing on stage, there’s a ton of new words to get your head round. We thought we would write a glossary to get you started. Please feel free to message us with any other words you think we should add to the list Equipment Combo – short …
This is the first of two showcases at The Big Difference this Autumn. This months line up starts with Pretty Dirty Rats, one of the great women bands to form out of the Unglamorous Project. These guys are funky, punky and have great rat based songs with very entertaining stories Facebook Next up was residents Dum …
This was our first showcase at OMC Music Venue on Frog Island, by far the easiest one to transport equipment to as I just have to cross the road to get to it. The opening band was brand new trio – Acute Echo, part of the Unglamorous project, they formed in May , had their …
Recently I have been to shows to see local bands and I have noted one or two singers that would benefit from singing lessons. Not that they are bad, they have been really good singers; but a bit of tweaking could make them really great singers. To say to someone they would benefit from singing …
Here at Stayfree we have a wide range of amps to choose from because every band is different. But how do you know which amp is right for you? Sometimes this comes down to the types of amps available. The most commonly known is the valve amp. So called because it uses vacuum tubes to …
A few weeks ago I was chatting with Glitch Magnet in reception and they mentioned that they had ticked off another item of their band bingo. I enquired what that meant; they explained that Band Bingo is where you collate a list of all the achievements you would like to accomplish as a band and …
Well its 30th June, exactly a year since our first Showcase and I’m please to say how much fun we have been having doing the event. This line up may look a bit eclectic from a distance but Jake from The People Assembly would only play a Showcase if they were to support The Verinos. …
Even if you are in a band, you may want to spend time rehearsing by yourself. In our experience we get a lot of drummers who like to get a few extra hours in between band practices. So if you are by yourself, do you need to hire a rehearsal room? Well we are bound …
This Showcase was all about pedal boards and plenty of sick guitar solos! The winner of the biggest pedal board goes to Mysterious Voices. I wasn’t the only person taking photos of their pedal boards too! Mysterious Voices opened up the night with a great set. They have a very interesting sound, the bassist often …
I downloaded Chat GPT a while ago to help me with a research project. After a while I wandered off what I was supposed to be doing and wondered whether it could actually write songs? I gave it a title and a synopsis of a song I am currently working on to see what the …
This was our very first all women Showcase! As Stayfree is the home of Unglamorous, we have plenty of amazing women bands to choose from and Im sure there will be more women bands appear on our line ups in the not to distant future. Boilers opened the night. This brand new band played their …
We were back at The Big Difference last night with the First Showcase of the year, celebrating another set of talented young artists that rehearse with us. First off was the marvellously kooky The Societys who entertained the audience with their new up coming single ‘Keys Phone Wallet’ and my personal favourite ‘Goals’ They have …
Having had a great success with the monthly Stayfree Showcases we decided to end the year with a Christmas Party at Firebug on 16th December. Performances at this event would be by the staff, headlined by the much anticipated return of The Hunters Club. Max Mead started the event with his one man band. His …
I thought I would do a quick blog about our new acquisitions in 2022. ‘m not talking about the 12 mics, 20 mic cables, 20 guitar cables, 4 guitars, 10 pieces of drum hardware and countless audio leads, I am talking about the sexy stuff. Not that they are not important but lets talk about …
This was our first time at The Big Difference venue. I was very eager to put Showcases on at The Big Difference because it the bar is run by an old staff member – Anthony from Earls. This event was incredibly busy so I spent most my time upstairs on ‘door duty’ so my pictures …
Pheonixshire, 11 Years Tyranny, Wollow at Duffy’s Bar This month was all about Heavy Metal – Rock. Pheonixshire Eleven Years Tyranny The pace quickened somewhat with death metal/ metalcore Eleven Years Tyranny. There was a permanent mosh pit throughout their set, hair was flying everywhere! Alex on vocals …
Szyslak, Our Souls, First Wave at Firebug 29th July 2022 This was another great night of guitar rock with a punk edge to celebrate Stayfree’s 30th anniversary by showcasing some of the bands that rehearse or are based here. We think Firebug is a brilliant venue to see live bands and our second showcase gig …
First Wave punk band started in 2002, their current line up; Dean Ross, Graham Warne and Tony Taylor have been together for the past 7 years. They are an old school punk rock band with flavours of rock and pop, think Ramones meets The Clash with sometimes Killing Joke, UK Subs and Motorhead Riffs involved. …
The mighty Produkty started rehearsing at Stayfree June 2009. The same month that we opened up at Frog Island, the same day that Michael Jackson died! Produkty are Andy Sharman (front man from Sister Crow – who Ian managed in the 80’s) , Kerry Williams and Nikki Webb, they are a punk inspired rock trio …
Lillie House opened as Stayfree Music on 1st September 1995. The building had previously been the Inland Revenue from 1926 – 1990. We occupied 1a Conduit Street which was the top three floors above Sheehans Music. The First Floor consisted of Reception, Stayfree Cyber Cafe, Stayfree Internet, and office space The Second Floor was Cordelia …
66 Days to start a band and perform a gig? Women can do anything! Stayfree director Caroline McLavy was delighted to hear about and support a project that aims to get more women playing instruments and forming bands. Although there are quite a few women musicians already in Leicester, there aren’t very many female …
When preparing for a gig, we obviously all spend as much time getting our songs to be the best we can – so what about the gaps between the songs? There’s the obvious ones that you can prepare for like swapping out or changing the tuning on your guitar for example. Some things you will …
The Libertines is one of those classic British rock n roll bands complete with all the stories, and a few weeks back they did a pre-tour day at Stayfree. Originally formed in 1997, by Carl Barat and Pete Doherty, The Libertines played a big part in the garage rock revival. Their first album, produced by …
Everything you need to know. We have been an exam centre for Rockschool since 2018 so I thought I would do a blog post answering some regular questions we get asked and giving a bit of general advice and information. Rock School book us roughly 2-3 times a quarter, as soon as we have the …
We’ve started this new feature to the Stayfree website to show the many gigs that our bands and artists play every week. It would be great to show photos of your recent shows, as well as advertising what’s coming up soon. To be included, speak with any of our staff, or send information by email …
The great thing about rehearsing at Stayfree is flexibility! You can bring ALL the kit or NONE of the kit and our friendly staff are here to help. We have 30 years experience in helping bands get started quickly, and we know how annoying it is when you’ve forgotten something. If you are complete beginners, …
Based in the heart of the Leicester community, Stayfree aims to help non-musicians and less experienced players develop confidence and skills. With a little instruction, coaching and support, it’s possible to get started towards your dream of playing in a band, writing your own songs or getting up on stage. Our forthcoming programme of workshops …