das Contras are from rural Fife, on the east coast of Scotland, ancestral home of Johnny Cash and now the focus of the Scottish alt. acoustic scene, contrasting the burgeoning electric scene in the west. das Contras consist of any up to 8 members when playing with their ContraSquintet, but are centred around the nucleus of songwriting duo Sherman Watson (acoustic guitar, vocals) and Dave Webster (trumpet, piano, vocals).das Contras : the beginning... They met ten years ago when Dave stepped in at the (literal) last minute to drum for FiverDeal, an Pictish-American high school band with whom Sher was singing, and whose gigs are still something of legend in local folklore. They discovered a mutual love of Godley/Creme, John/Beverley Martyn, Simon/Garfunkel and Steely Dan. The idea of forming a band was mooted but soon put on hold when Dave split for London to study Jazz (trumpet) at Guildhall and Sher set off to paint at ECA. Both decided within the year that they had chosen wrongly, threw away the acryllics and the Real book, and returned to Fife to begin writing songs together.das Contras : the city... After their lost period in the wilderness, the lure of the city began to again take hold, and they took up their studies in their respective favourite Scottish cities. Dave went to Edinburgh to learn composition and go clubbing, while Sher took to Glasgow to study art and the live music scene. The two still met up every week to trade new ideas, harmonies and philosophies and the M8 Glasgow-Edinburgh motorway journey became a time where many ideas were born, lyrics written and hangovers fought. By the time they both recieved their degrees, they had a catalogue of a hundred or so songs, sudden freedom and a burning itch to get out and start playing live.das Contras : live... That Summer Sher moved to Edinburgh and das Contras played there first few gigs, as a duo, under the moniker 'Renegade Priests' (taken from the Bob Dylan song 'Changing of the Guard'). They played the Elephant House (where Harry Potter was written) and several other coffee shops, then on a bill at a hard rock gig in the city's Cowgate. Here they were spotted by a promoter who asked them to support Aberfeldy at the Bongo Club, their first 'proper' gig. A few weeks later they won the National Busking Championships, and used there winnings to fund their first recording. The demo EP 'Contraverse' was the result, a collection of 5 original songs, recorded partly in Fife in part live at Glasgow's RSAMD, with string quartet. This confirmed their sound as acoustic based, and harmony led experimental alt.folk/jazz.das Contras : on tour... Unbeknown to them, a copy of their 'Contraverse' made it to Sweden, and gained some airplay. They were invited to Stockholm to play a couple of gigs and ended up staying for a month over the festive period, returning poor in pocket but rich in new ideas. They wanted to form a band, and das Contras was born.das Contras : and now... This year has seen the boys play all the major venues on the Scottish live circuit , as a trio in smaller venues with new member Stoney(sax, flute) and with the full string accompaniment of the ContraSquintet and percussion in larger venues. see GIG LISTINGS Their live sound has grown with the in troduction of the second horn as a potential lead instrument, and was recently decribed as '..melting from manic Mexican psychedelia to mellow midnight musings' in an Edinburgh Festival Fringe review, calling the show 'orgiastic acoustic omnipotence'. They have played in three festivals this year, and Sher just returned from a promotional tour of Germany and Poland. das Contras are currently working on an album and single for release at the start of 2005.