The latest line up for Desertfest has just been announced and Orange is proud to once again be the backline supplier.
Grab your tickets for what is always an awesome event:
Facebook: @DesertfestLondon
Instagram: @desertfest_london
Twitter: @DesertFest
#df2020 #desertfestlondon
Website – http://www.desertfest.co.uk
Ticket link – https://link.dice.fm/desertfest20
At this point in time, many of you might still be knees deep in post-Christmas depression and January blues while dreaming of better days, potentially made even worse by dry January (I caved on the 9th and had a glass of wine, it doesn’t count if it’s with food right?) which equals stone cold sobriety during what feels like three hour long days. It’s okay though, spring’s not actually that far away – just look at this as an excuse to be a record recluse for a bit, personally I’ve only socialised once in the entire month of January, and hell, I wouldn’t want it any other way. I’m not quite sure when I’ll emerge from my winter slumber, but, it will definitely be in time for Desertfest London.
Since the launch of Desertfest London back in 2012, the festival has grown and gets bigger and busier every year, with 2020 looking huge. Among this years lineup, we’ve got some of the headliners from the first ever Desertfest London returning; Orange Goblin, who’s celebrating their 25 year anniversary this year, and Corrosion of Conformity. Also returning to the Desertstage is the mighty Graveyard, who’ll be accompanied at the festival by fellow Swedish countrymen Witchcraft, Maidavale and Lowrider, the latter due to release the follow up to their iconic 2000 debut album ‘Ode to IO’ on February 21st, a mere two and a half months before the festival.
Mixing things up a bit at this year’s festival with sunny, progressive psychedelia, is US bands Sacri Monti and Monarch, both hailing from Oceanside just outside San Diego. San Diego’s been on the frontline of modern psychedelia since the formation of Earthless in the early 2000s, and Sacri Monti and Monarch are just two of many bands who’s followed in their footsteps with a modern take on older influences – the rise of successful psychedelic bands from the area is so high that ‘San Diego Psych’ has sort of become a genre of it’s own.
Of course, as always, Desertfest is also a fantastic platform for up and coming bands, featuring some of the finest heavy acts in the UK underground scene, such as London’s very own Green Lung, who’s 2019 debut album ‘Woodland Rites’ received critical acclaim from the likes of The Guardian and Kerrang. Joining them on the bill is also Birmingham’s eerie doom band Alunah, and another London local in the form of The Brothers Keg, who despite having just released two songs, have caught the attention of The Obelisk who compared them to both King Buffalo and Sleep, eagerly anticipating for their debut album to drop.
We’re also excited to catch hard hitting and heavy two piece Big Business, the former rhythm section of the Melvins, and of course, doom connoisseurs Khemmis who will also be crossing the Atlantic for our listening pleasure, so there will be no lacking in the heavy riff department (okay dad…), not that that was ever a concern of ours anyway.
There are still some tickets left for the festival, so head over to Desertfest London’s website to get your hands on a pair and hopefully we’ll see you there! We’ll be catching up with some of the artists playing the festival in the next couple of months, so watch this space.
Unless you’ve been on holiday on Mars for the last couple of months, the news that Australia is suffering from the largest scale bush fires on record will be something you’re only too aware of.
It’s very hard to grasp exactly how big a problem this actually is, particularly in countries like the UK where wildfires aren’t something that affects us, so a bit of research and the following details begin to emerge:
As of 7th January, 25.5 million acres or 10.5 million hectares of land has been affected by the fires. That’s 32,000 square miles. For those of us in the UK, that’s an area that runs from Portsmouth in the South, as far North as Coventry and from Bath in the West all the way across to London in the East. Another way of putting it, is the whole of Belgium – burned and still ablaze with little end in sight. To try to visualise the fire-front itself is to imagine a picture of Hell… Imagine an unbroken line of fire, stretching from The East Coast of the USA to the West Coast, then back again, then heading back yet again, to the West Coast and getting at least as far as Indiana. That’s the fire-front in a single state alone! More than 1,000 homes have been destroyed, 24 people have lost their lives and estimates are that somewhere between 500 million and 1 billion animals have been burned to death a figure that beggars belief.
We at Orange would like to ask a favour of you guys – Please share the following links with as many people as you can. You don’t have to share our posts, take any mention of us out if you prefer – this isn’t a PR exercise as this message is too important. If you’re able to donate a small amount to one of these charities that’s wonderful but that’s your business. This is just our way of helping ensure that any donations you do make actually go to where they will make a difference. There are many other organisations out there and all are just as worthy but here’s some selected by us:
The NSW Rural Fire Service
These guys are volunteers! Donations made to the NSW Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS), or your local Rural Fire Brigade, directly benefit volunteer firefighters and are always gratefully received. These proceeds directly assist brigades in conducting their community activities.
The Salvation Army Australia
Feeding and supporting the firefighters and evacuees is a major military exercise but fortunately, there is an army ready and willing to help. The Salvos are right there at the front line.
The Australian Red Cross
Supporting thousands of people in evacuation centres and recovery hubs across Australia.
WIRES Australia
WIRES (NSW Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service Inc.) is Australia’s largest wildlife rescue organisation. WIRES has been rescuing and caring for wildlife for over 30 years and WIRES mission is to actively rehabilitate and preserve Australian wildlife and inspire others to do the same.
Six years ago, on Christmas Eve eve, I was sitting in traffic on the way home from work when an idea popped into my head. I wanted to make a contest. But not just any contest. I wanted to make the entry process simple and I wanted to make the reward huge. So I opened the Facebook mobile app and I wrote a post on the Orange page. It read:
“Wish Granted: Just tell us which Orange product you want and on Christmas day we’ll announce the winners.”
By the time I got home the post had 2,000 like and nearly as many comments. I knew I was onto something.
We had thousands of entries in year one. We had tens of thousands by year two. Each year we kept giving away more and more products. Those first few years I would personally sit at the computer on Christmas Day scrolling through the entries and hand-picking winners. It was tedious and it was time-consuming. But the joy it created made it worth the trouble. (Luckily our very tech-savvy marketing director has made the selection process much easier)
Around year three it was clear that Wish Granted had become part of our annual marketing repertoire. That’s when we began involving Cliff Cooper to help push the promotion via his heartwarming Christmas videos. That’s also when Cliff decided it was time to really expand Wish Granted to even more countries and even bigger prize packages. Now we find ourselves in the sixth year of Wish Granted and we just finished giving away more than $40,000 in Orange products to more than 15 countries after receiving upwards of 95,000 unique entries! See the full recap here.
What really warms my heart about Wish Granted is the feedback we receive from our fans. Here’s a smattering of extremely positive reviews from some of this year’s winners:
“I am 42 years old, last time I won a lottery was when I was about 10 y.o. – it was a small prize, less than a dollar. I am new to the Orange fans army but I do appreciate what this company does for the music-addicted society, I have never seen this before from other brands. It is so impressive that even if I would not win, my respect to Orange would have increased significantly just because of this unbelievable initiative.”
“I’ve always been a fan of Orange Amplifiers but being on disability have unfortunately never had the funds to purchase one. I’ve entered the giveaway every year you’ve run it on the off chance of being one of the luckiest individuals to walk the face of this Earth, never dreaming in a million years I’d win. That said, I cant thank you enough for the opportunity or the ear buds. You’ve definitely made my holiday season that much more enjoyable and with a bit of citrus.”
“Unbelievable! I have several Orange products and now they have my loyalty for life! I have had a really bad few weeks this is definitely the light at the end of the tunnel, cannot wait to play it! From my old trusty Crush Bass 25 now to a Terror Bass Amp!!! Thank you for making my Christmas!!!”
“3 years ago, my band was robbed and a lot of our equipment got lost, including my trustworthy Terror Bass. So winning one this time makes me feel double as happy as anyone else! Feels like the universe is returning something that always belonged to you. Thank you, Orange! You are and always will be the best amps in the world!”
“I am passionate about music and guitars in particular, I play it for more than 40 years. My son shares this passion and has been taking guitar lessons for 2 years. For Christmas I will offer him an electro-acoustic guitar. Your gift could not be better for this Christmas and will perfectly complement its equipment. I sincerely want to thank you and I wish you a very happy holiday season and a merry Christmas!”
It’s knowing that we helped make the holidays better for thankful guitarists that makes all of this effort worth it. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for supporting Orange and may 2020 be your best year yet!
Alex Auxier, Artist Relations Manager and USA Marketing Manager
As the year is coming to an end, it’s time to reflect on my musical highlights of 2019, before venturing on into the next decade; the twenties – how did we get here so soon?! Musically speaking, 2019’s been good to me, great, even! I’ve attended more gigs than I can even remember, and despite having been doing this work for years now, I’ve at times had to pinch myself in excitement about all these opportunities I’ve been given, and I just wish I could go back in time and tell my 15 year old self.
In 2019, we unfortunately lost the good Dr. John, but were also blessed with the news of the return of Rage, and with where the western world is heading now politically, we need them now more than ever. Preferably in the UK – perhaps in Hyde Park, please? Rage Against the Machine is the final band on my bucket list and I would pretty much walk through fire to be able to attend one of their shows, although I’m hoping I wont have to go to such extreme lengths. Anyway, as I’m bracing myself for the next decade, it’s time to get nostalgic about all the good times I’ve had this year.
Favourite Gig of 2019
This is such a tough one as I’ve seen so many incredible acts this year, however, taking my friend Holly to have her Sleep cherry popped at the Kentish Town Forum in October was pretty awesome – you just can’t beat a shirtless Matt Pike.
Favourite Album of 2019
My mates in Sacri Monti released their second album ‘Waiting Room for the Magic Hour’ and it’s just fantastic, a beautiful mix of the current San Diego psych sound, mixed with elements of 70s prog and twin guitars along the likes of Wishbone Ash. I love it, and so does my dad, which, let’s be honest, is the ultimate seal of approval. Dads know their stuff.
Favourite Festival Experience of 2019
I’ve enjoyed every single festival I’ve been to this year, but as the majority of them were for work (Desertfest London, Download & Black Deer Festival), I have to say the one that allowed me to kick back and relax, and more importantly, turn off my phone: Portugal’s Sonic Blast Moledo – from being drenched to the bone watching Earthless in the torrential rain, to be poolside for Giöbia while drinking Super Bock in the sun while surrounded by some of my best friends, it’s a pretty hard one to beat.
Favourite non-musical Music Event of 2019
I’m a sucker for a music exhibition and cried my way through both the Bowie and Pink Floyd exhibits in London a couple of years back, so of course – when Home of Metal announced their ’50 years of Black Sabbath’ exhibition I was hell bound on a train. A day out spent in Birmingham educating myself on the purveyors of doom – I had a blast.
Favourite Song of 2019
Hardly a new song, but Neil Merryweather’s cover of Donovan’s ‘Sunshine Superman’ is my most played song of 2019, which came as no surprise at all. Who doesn’t love some funky rock ‘n’ roll you can dance to? You can view and listen to my full Top 100 here.
With that done and dusted, I just want to say a massive thank you to everyone who’s read and commented in 2019, and I look forward to sharing more musical musings with you all in the new year. Happy holidaze!
Orange Amplification’s famous Wish Granted is back for 2019, and it is bigger and better than ever! For added Christmas cheer, Orange are also making their Rock Guitar Foundation Course completely FREE for the whole of December.
Founded in 1968, the company has grown into a global presence with a brand that is stronger than ever and Orange would like to say thank you to all their customers by inviting them to make a Christmas wish. To get a #wishgranted, entrants should visit any product page on the Orange Amplification website and click the competition button or comment on any #wishgranted post on the Orange Facebook page. All wishes and hearts’ desires must be posted between 1st and 24th December (20.00pm GMT) 2019. To help entrants celebrate and get in the mood for the festive season, this year’s competition winners will be announced daily from 12th through to 24th December.
‘I hope you enter, not everyone can win, but I sincerely hope you do,’ said Cliff Cooper, CEO Orange Amplification. He added ‘I would like to thank you for visiting Orange Amplification, and I wish you a very, very happy Christmas and a wonderful and musical 2020.’ Watch Cliff’s 2019 Christmas message here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vaXPCwEVvU
Get in the Christmas spirit; enter the Orange #wishgranted competition and make a wish for a merry and bright Orange festive season. The giveaway is open to everyone worldwide. Good luck to all who enter.
Orange ‘Where the Magic Happens®’
The Orange Forum is finally closing its doors. It had a great run, more than 15 years actually. We’re locking the forum and will leave it online indefinitely as a knowledge source/brain dump. Here’s a message from forum moderator, Billy Claire:
“This is the last topic on the Orange forum.
For the last few months there has been a real drop-off of interest in the forum. With the rise of Orange-specific Facebook groups, most of the questions that are being asked there would have been asked here previously. Times change. Add to that a rise in the number of spammers who join incessantly, and it has become difficult to separate fake members from real.
I started coming to the forum in 2002 when I was a fledgling Orange fanatic looking for information anywhere I could find it. I had all the amp books that had a fleeting reference to Orange, like Aspen Pittman’s “The Tube Amp Book” and Ritchie Fliegler’s book, “Amps!: The Other Half of Rock ‘N’ Roll.” Ritchie’s book had a black and white photo from Nite Bob’s archives of the back page of the 1973 catalog with the enticing spread of Orange gear across a field. I hoped to find information on the forum, but I found myself answering a lot of people’s questions instead. After a few months, I emailed Jason Green and asked why Orange wasn’t answering the questions on the forum, and his reply was “By the time we’ve read them, you’ve already answered them – would you want to moderate the forum?” So I did, starting in 2004, and it’s been a fun fifteen years of doing so.
Over the years I’ve come to know so many new people around the world that I regularly keep in touch with. In my travels I’ve met up with a few in London, Wales, here in the USA, and typically raise a pint or two with them! Some people that I’ve met have left the Orange camp, but I still keep in touch with them to this day. It was fun lending my amps to Orange for the 50th celebration display at NAMM a couple of years ago, and I really enjoyed meeting Cliff Cooper both at Orange HQ UK when I went over to visit and in Anaheim at NAMM. Everyone at Orange has been extremely helpful and friendly over the years and I would be remiss not to mention Alex Auxier, Mick Dines, Charlie Cooper, Neil Mitchell, Will Loftin, Ade Emsley, and many others who I have met or spoken to over the years. Add to that that I’m mentioned in the Orange coffee table book and I can die a happy man!
We will lock the forum but leave it in place as a resource for people looking for information.
So remember:
• check your fuse
• use a known working cable/guitar/speaker cable
• it’s probably tubes/valves
• don’t touch anything inside
• plug one 16 ohm cab into the 16 ohm out; two 16 ohm cabs go into the two 8 ohm outs
• don’t mix ohms
• don’t try to run two heads into a stereo cab
• call Orange
Some resources:
Orange Field Guide:
www.orangefieldguide.com
Orange Amplifiers Owners Group Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/246540289020198
Orange Amplifiers AD Series Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/369947780302017/
Vintage Orange Amplification Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/331897577479370/
It’s been great! See you out there…
Billy Claire “
Throughout 2019 Music for All has continued to promote the positive effects of making music through national campaigns such as Learn to Play Day and Make Music Day as well as its grant giving programme, available to those individuals and communities for whom music making would not be possible without our support.
Our aim is to raise £25,000 before the end of December, a figure which, if achieved, will enable us to fulfill the musical aspirations of 100 disadvantaged young people at the beginning of 2020. What a start to the New Year it would be for each of them to discover that their dream of music making will become a reality. The 100 beneficiaries will include those who are challenged socially, financially and/or physically.
But to make this happen we need your help. DONATE NOW.
Any support you are able to give will help us change lives. Lives of young people such as Millie and Luke:
Millie, 12, is autistic and struggles with anxiety and focusing. It was her dream to learn to play the piano. Music for All helped with the provision of a keyboard and lessons with a professional teacher who specialises in supporting those living with neurological and developmental conditions. Her teacher has been very impressed with Millie’s musical aptitude and reports that she ‘has the ears of a Grade 5 student already, as she can distinguish rhythm, timing and complex chord structures just from listening.’ In addition, Millie’s parents believe music has had a positive impact on her well-being as her anxiety levels have decreased dramatically, she’s calmer and happier. We have also just heard that she passed her Grade 1 Exam with a Merit!
Luke, 19, has a serious medical condition with only limited upper body movement. He loves music making, but his ability to do this was obviously terribly restricted. Luke asked Music for All to help with the specialist technology and software to enable him to create his own music. The charity worked with Luke and his family to provide a sound beam and appropriate music-making software. Luke is now making music and plays every day!
We all know that the OMEC Teleport can effectively “teleport” your tone, but when we decided to invite some of the top worldwide brands to join us for the ultimate giveaway, we couldn’t suspect that the winner wouldn´t be a musician !! … So we teleported not just his tone but his musical career…
… Jeremy !! No excuses !! Now you have to play the guitar !!
“My name is Jeremy Silverthorn & I live in South Florida (Ft. Lauderdale area) and work as a corporate video editor/producer. I keep up with lots of AV/recording/live sound trade magazines & websites, so I’m always signing up for different contests & giveaways.
I’ve never won anything close to this though! Honestly, I’m no musician, but I am a huge fan of music & go to tons of concerts (mostly classic rock and heavy metal) and have always wished I could play the guitar. Well, now I have everything I need… just trying to figure it all out still! LOL
Thank you to Orange, Kiesel, Eventide and all the other great sponsors for this amazing prize package !”
***
$5000 prize package including:
Our annual Wish Granted competition has become one of the most anticipated giveaways in the industry and every year we get tens of thousands of entries.
This year we’ve reached out to a few of the winners to ask them if they’d like to talk to us about how if felt when they got the call from Orange Santa.
Your Name: Mark Johns
Country: UK
What made you enter the Wish Granted competition? Watching Cliff Coopers YouTube wish granted post inspired me to enter the competition.
Where did you first hear about Orange Amps?I first heard of Orange Amps back in the 70’s, a local band used an Orange PA system.
Have you ever owned any Orange products before?The only Orange product I owned prior to the competition was a crush 20RT. I still have it. I think it is superb and it gets played everyday!
Anything else you’d like to say? I would like to add that Winning the Orange Crush Pro 120 felt like a lottery win. The best news I had all year!! I find the sound and look of Orange amps quite unique and like no other amps I’ve owned or played. Sonic and visual works of art. My Crush Pro 120 win has inspired me to develop further as a guitarist. The sounds that this tone machine is capable of surpass all my expectations and suits my playing style and musical tastes. It’s everything I hoped it would be and more! Please pass on my sincere thanks to Mr Cliff Cooper for his generosity and musical spirit, it really is going to be a wonderful and musical 2019!
Your Name: Russell Graham
Country: UK
What made you enter the Wish Granted competition? Popped up on Facebook.
Where did you first hear about Orange Amps? First practice studio I ever used had Orange amps and cabs
Have you ever owned any Orange products before? Yes, I own an OB1-300 Combo
Anything else you’d like to say? Thanks once again for the prize, easy to use and practical! Also check out my band http://www.bitterdivide.com
Your Name: Chris Duran
Country: USA
Anything else you’d like to say? Thanks again ORANGE Amps!!!! The BAX BANGEETAR is already redefining my tone and has earned a permanent spot on my board. The range and control of this pedal is off the charts. This pedal is amazing, a true work of art.
Your Name: Farrokh Mehryary
Country: Finland
What made you enter the Wish Granted competition? I saw it on the Facebook first time. It was a very cool competition, not requiring me to record a video or similar things. I just had to tell what I wished for.
Where did you first hear about Orange Amps? I saw them on many OASIS videos and loved their sound, also the Tiny-terror head was extraordinary at the time! The first real-tube lunchbox head! It was massive news everywhere.
Have you ever owned any Orange products before? I had Tiny-terror head.
Anything else you’d like to say? Yes, I like to thank you for making the community happy, especially in Christmas time. I am a foreign student living alone in Finland, far from my family, and this was the only (Christmas) gift I received this year! Thank you orange! :)
Your Name: Adam Critchfield
Country: UK
What made you enter the Wish Granted competition? Saw it on Facebook, love Orange and thought I’d try my luck.
Where did you first hear about Orange Amps? To be fair probably Oasis.
Have you ever owned any Orange products before? Unfortunately, no.
Anything else you’d like to say? Superb company with some great gear. Epic-ly good sounding amps. If you wanna support me in my journey as a bassist feel free lol
Your Name: Yokoo
Country: Japan
What made you enter the Wish Granted competition? I am a big fan of Orange products and I happened to find it on your website.
Where did you first hear about Orange Amps? Originally I happened to watch the video demonstration of TH30 and I was surprised to see such a gap between the sound itself and the color image. After that I became an amp sound seeker from a pedal sound seeker.
Have you ever owned any Orange products before? I own OR100H, Micro Terror, Bax Bangeetar, PPC212OB, PPC108, and now Rocker 32! I enjoy colorful tones of Orange daily.
Anything else you’d like to say? I would like to try more Orange products for the tone. I was very curious about the tone of Rocker 32 so I could not be more pleased for winning it. Thank you so much. I will use it for a long time to come.
Your Name: Steve Blanco
Country: USA
What made you enter the Wish Granted competition? Because I love Orange amps.
Where did you first hear about Orange Amps? Many years ago as a kid. I grew up with music in my life, and saw pictures in magazines, and of course on stage at shows. Some of my favorite players like Geddy Lee used them, and I have friends that have Orange amps.
Have you ever owned any Orange products before? Yes. I own and tour with a Terror Bass 500 (old model) head, which has been all over the place with me on tour. I also have several Orange practice bass amps, and a small guitar amp.
Anything else you’d like to say? I’m a fan of the Orange brand, not only because I think they are the most amazing sounding amps, but also because the way Orange has been able to remain true to its mission over the years. Sort of a blend of edgy and elegant, while maintaining integrity. Music is a powerful device in this universe, and the way my basses sound through my Orange amps are a testament to that power. Thank you!