DAWN TRADER NEWS 
New Band Member
DAWN TRADER welcome to the ranks guitarist DAVE THOMPSON. Dave will add a new dimension to the music with that familair twin guitar sound and he has the nicest shoes out of all of us, said singer Mick Preston in a press interview this morning . . .
Don Bailey
With great sadness we share news that our former drummer, Don Bailey passed away.
Funeral will be 12 noon, December 13th 2021 at Ambergate Creamtorium and afterwards at the Byron's Rest pub in Hucknall.
(Family flowers only, but donations to Alzhemers Society welcome at the crematorium)
Condolences
Dawn Trader would like to express our deepest condolences and sympathy to Ben Evans and family over the recent tragic events. (August 2015)
Rock The Stocks 2015
Charity event raised over £2,300 for Notts/Lincs Air Ambulance and Rainbow Childrens' Hospice. Trader are very proud to have been a part of it and wish to thank the organisers, the bikers, the staff and our fans who turned up to support two great causes so magnificently !
Out of Rehearsals and Onto the Road
Dawn Trader prepare to announce plans for more gigging activity in 2015. Re-arranging much of the music for a four-piece band has been a challenge and has required many hours locekd away in rehearsal studios but now the band are bursting out and jumping with excitement at taking the music out for more live airings in 2015. Watch this space...
Steve Hickman
We were very sad and upset to learn of the sudden passing of Steve Hickman this week. Steve was a stalwart of the Dawn Trader road crew back in the day and we were really chuffed to have seen him recently at one of our gigs. Here's a photograph of Steve with Ric and Mick:
Trader play with Wishbone Ash
Dawn Trader have been announced to play the Rock Den at Hatfield on Saturday 27th September 2014
with Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash
More info Here
Get Tickets Here
The last time we played the Rock Den:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKiP45Iz9uY&list=PL68BADF6E864BFE14
Back on the Road!
Having operated as a 4-piece for a while the band are possibly about to announce a new member, details to be revealed soon but this will mean a short period of rehearsing before announcing some gigs in the near future. The band say "sorry for all the dithering but the result will be well worth it!"
Sad News
Dawn Trader would like to respectfully send our sincerest condolences to Paddy Flynn. R.I.P. Lydia.
Sadly we also send our condolences to Adam Parsons and family. R.I.P. Roy Parsons.
Trader New Line Up
DAWN TRADER have now confirmed new band members FRASER SHAW on bass guitar and IAN McKAY on drums. The band will perform as a 4 piece, adding new songs to the live set and announcing new gigs in the near future . . .
Trader play Metal Gods Festival
Dawn Trader have been confirmed for the Metal Gods Festival organised by MetalGods TV on Sunday May 26th 2013.
More info here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Metal-Gods-Festival/319448908145690
Hard Rock Hell VI - Awesome!
Dawn Trader played to a busy Hard Rock Hell festival on December 1st 2012. Alongside acts like Tytan, More, Solider and Cauldron the band's set was acclaimed by fans and press and, due to the excellent on-stage sound, by even the band themselves! A great festival in every respect and a very happy time had by all . . . . look you.
Interviews here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD6F0GQSD2k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ziIgM4cnrA
Footage of the gig here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIW1r_GV14g&list=PL68BADF6E864BFE14
Trader play with ODS
Dawn Trader support OLVER DAWSON's SAXON at the Rescue Rooms, Nottingham on Thursday 15th March, doors open at 7pm - gonna be a great night and we will have a LIMITED number of copies of the "Castle" album on vinyl available on the night at a special "one night only" price - these items are set to become collectors pieces so make sure you grab a copy now !
See a video of Graham Oliver on stage with Trader playing "Wheels of Steel":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u32YG3mntZM&index=8&list=PL68BADF6E864BFE14
Castle - New Format Releases
Dawn Trader's Castle is now officially released on the following worldwide digital platforms:
iTunes, Amazon MP3, Zune, Myspace Music, emuisc, Mediatnet, Napster, Nokia, Rhapsody, Spotify, Shockhound & Vervelife.
A very special limited edition run of Castle on vinyl LP will be released late in 2011. The album is expected to sell very quickly, we should have some available at the Xmas party and it looks set to become a collectors piece in a very short time . . it will have slightly updated artwork, full inner and outer sleeve and will feature slightly shortened tracklistings (due to contstraints on the vinyl)
Trader Support Status Quo!!!
And what a night it was! Status Quo, their crew and their fans took Dawn Trader to their hearts and we all had a fantastic rocking night with a big sound and a big stage and a clapping, singing, dancing wonderful audience! Pics and videos are all over facebook and we'll have more here too . . .
A short clip of the lights going out at the start of the set:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vpONWZZUkc
Photoshoot Video
Is now up on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HXbnP9p9yM
you can find it on our videos page as well
Classic Rock Magazine TRACK OF THE DAY
Classic Rock Magazine have made TURN DOWN their track of the day:
CLICK HERE to read about it and HERE to read what they said about the album
Album Launch Party!
@Stealth (Rescue Rooms, Rock City, Nottingham) Friday 13th May at 7:30pm
Footage here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWJsR6qFO8g
Studio Progress Report
October 2010 - Album Nearly Completed.
Studio Report by Ashley Mortimer
The long summer of 2010 was punctuated with sporadic outbreaks of Dawn Trader, we got ourselves mixed up between gigging and recording and had lots of fun deciding whether each rehearsal was for one or the other! Finally we made it to Sutdio 60 in Sheffield where top tracking engineer Paul Blakeman got the lads settled in the underground caverns and catacombs that make up the atmospheric and historic studio. As the pic shows, Ric soon found himself right at home!
The first morning was spent setting up but the band were actually recording by the afternoon, tracks went down, one after another as they eased themselves smoothly into the process. When I arrived in the evening there was a buzz of excitement at hearing the first recordings of Dawn Trader in over 20 years, and I have to say the sound was incredible, much more than even I expected as we sat in battered armchairs with tea and lager and listened back to the days work. There was a rather odd, but pleasant, sense of "rightness" with the whole thing.
Three more evenings passed in similar fashion, excitement, fun and a few laughs as the list of tracks now recorded grew. The main aim was to get drums and bass down in the atmospheric acoustics of the cellars and Pete and Ric really excelled themselves with their performances. By the final night there was a palpable feeling of something magic taking shape and I left the sound control room upstairs to be among the band as they rocked out on the last song of the session, which, perhaps to everyone's surprise, came out just perfect in the very first, and only, take. As Pete hit the final drum roll we all looked blinking at each other waiting for someone to be the first to say "F88king hell!!" For the record, it was Steve ;-)
Wayne and Steve went back again the following week to lay down "proper" guitar tracks and there was now a kind of tension among the rest of us as the week dragged on but each evening I carried back news of the results of the day to those left in Nottingham as Steve, Wayne, Paul and I sat in the control room and giggled to ourselves, hearing the songs take shape and the wild harmonies and fantastic solos that Steve and Wayne were laying down. Steve looked over as they blasted me with the intro to 'Whiskey And Coke' complete with 7 (!) guitars in harmony and said "What do you think of that?" I could only reply "Its like being in Thin Lizzy .. . TWICE!".
So eventually, with a couple of casualties on the cutting room floor (time constraints only) we left with a reference CD each to hear the unmixed tracking and listen for mistakes. Our time at Studio 60 was done but I had a hard drive filled with rare magic to take to Mine Music in Nottingham where producer John Paul was preparing to let Mick loose on the "real" vocals (you know, the ones where he actually remembers all the words!). I knew Mick was nervous, it was hard on him to see everyone else do their bits first and do them so well so I think he felt the pressure to perform really building but, on hearing the first results a few evenings later, it was clearly a good thing - What a set of pipes he has! I joked with him that he must have got that skinny lad from youtube in to do the session for him - his voice is unmistakeable after al lthese years and now, recorded in a world class studio environment, it was massively clear that this album is going to sound absolutely amazing.
More evenings with everyone crammed into the small space to sing the Dawn Trader trademark harmonies all under the expert gaze of JP who has magic ears and a really terrific manner with the lads, getting the most out of every performance, just as Paul Blakeman had done in Studio 60 with the instrumental sections of the band. So now the penultimate part of the recording is taking place as I write, JP is mixing down the multi-tracks into the final stereo mixes ready for the mastering process where the overall sheen of the album and final running order will be created. We have heard only 4 tracks . . but our socks are knocked off!!!!! It makes you realise just how good the playing is in this band, Ric is masterful, every note thoughtful and creative (unusual for a bass player) and Pete really excelled himself, drums are NOT just there to keep time, on these recordings they are an amazing addition to the music of each song and his performance is breathtaking. Mick's vocals (and indeed the harmonies) are also totally indredible but that this moment, what has really come home to me is just how good Wayne and Steve really are. There is a solo in Nights Out that would grace (and dare I say blow away?) anything UFO ever did, including the amazing "Doctor Doctor" - and that is no idle claim either!
Now, I've deliberately not mentioned something (well, only hinted at it) so for that final magical touch you'll have to wait and see . . . maybe . . if it even makes it onto the final album at all - with choices so hard between the recordings its going to be a big decision . . .
There will be more to follow . . . including news of the final release date which we think will be in late January or early Feb 2011 and some great build up along the way . . .be patient just a while longer . .
