In Lieu of leaving my camera in the car park at T in the park, here's a photo of the sunset outside my house last night. We get a lot of nice ones, but this one is particularly beautiful. The pink drifts of cloud especially
LATEST DIARY
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13th July 2009Sunset Photo
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11th July 2009Good for people watching
I’ve just returned home from T in the Park. For those not in the know, it’s Scotland’s biggest music festival, and one that I haven’t been to, or played at since 2003. The band has had a few memorable performances at this festival over the years. In 1998 making maybe our first festival appearance, the PA blew just before our stage time and we only played for ten minutes. In 2002, a few days before ‘the remote part’ was released, Rod rose to the occasion by playing a Hendrix inspired version of ‘flower of Scotland’ before we launched into the set. To be honest it’s a wonder why more bands don’t try this. We couldn’t go wrong after it. This year we were back, and it felt good. Friday felt a lot calmer, mainly due to fewer bands playing – the stage we were on had only 4, compared to 13 the next day. The backstage area also seemed civilised, the nice weather contributing to a relaxed mood. Our dressing room was sandwiched between the mars Volta and yeah yeah yeahs, so if was good for people watching. The Mars Volta men limbering up to a bit of John Coltrane, while Karen O’s impressive wardrobe selection was on display. The yeah yeah yeahs also had a pipe band playing with them, so amidst all these cool Americans were a punch of pipers from East Kilbride with their pints of lager. A different kind of cool maybe.
Technical issues aside (the bass amp cutting out, monitors not working) our show went well, as well as can be expected for a festival set. Like I’ve said before, very occasionally everything aligns and a pure festival moment is born, but these are very few and far between, and yesterday it felt more like a good concert to an enthusiastic (and at least from where I was standing, sizable) crowd. And it was sunny. And someone threw me a pair of sunglasses. You can’t ask for much more really. Next up for the band is the Wickerman festival in the Borders in a few weeks. It’s meant to be a good one ‘dog and child friendly’ apparently – not sure about the dog part, but we’re on in-between Billy Bragg and the Human League, and I’m interested to see both. Just keep me away from any Alsatians and mongrels. Colin will be back for that and from then on. He’s now the proud father of twin girls. I raise my proverbial cap to Johnny Scott though – a truly excellent drummer and a fine fellow who did a great job for us in Colin’s absence. -
29th June 2009you can never rely on technology
I've been following all the Glastonbury festival coverage on the radio, and it just makes me want to go. The band haven't played there for several years, I think 2003 was the last time, remembered more for the monitors onstage not working for the first few songs than anything else (for a band playing at a festival monitor death is about as bad as it gets - you can't hear yourself and yet there's ten thousand people listening to you). I was there briefly last year with my wife's group, but only had time to take tea & cake in a treehouse cafe and watch Edwyn Collins set before heading back to Bristol airport.
I went to Glastonbury festival for the first time in 1992, and returned the three years after that. Initially I didn't stray too far from the Pyramid stage, but by 1995 I was spending most of the time in the green fields. In my opinion they're the best thing about Glastonbury, and something that makes it so unique. Alongside it's anti-ageist policy, which is always refreshing. It's so much healthier to have a mix of ages, from children to grandparents. We've played at it four times and Although our performances have never been as memorable as ones at say, T in the park or Reading, I think it's one of those places where if everything aligns - songs, crowd, weather, spirit, then it can be a performance that defines a band. I think this happens rarely - Radiohead in 1997 is a famous example.
This year I watched a lot of it via the bbc iplayer on my computer. No substitute for being there, but for what it's worth I thoroughly enjoyed Neil Young and the Fleet Foxes. I haven't watched blur yet, but I will. During Spinal Tap the computer started doing that weird beachball thing, and it all got a bit frustrating. You can never rely on Technology. Hopefully next year I'll get to go, maybe we'll even be asked to play. That would be nice.
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21st June 2009in a surreal way
Always good to get back home after a tour. The past week with John & Kris was great fun as always, and got to visit a few places I'd never been - Wimbourne, Bury and Mugdock. It's the collaborative nature of these concerts that I like so much, and I always come away having learnt a few more old songs. John and Kris are like a folk jukebox. They can play anything. We even got a new song started, so hopefully we'll continue doing that throughout the rest of the year and record a new album in 2010. The good pub guide got a fair bit of use as well. If you're a touring musician I thoroughly recommend buying one. Finding a good place to have lunch really breaks up a day of traveling. The Chesnut Horse in Easton was a find, as was the Gray Ox just outside Huddersfield.
The other news of the week was regarding this fellow who was pretending to be me on Twitter. I barely knew what twitter was until it all started. People who read this site, or other things I write will know that I have a fairly dim view of these kind of social networking sites. Partly because I'm a bit of a luddite when it comes to technology, but mainly because I'd much rather be paying attention to the real world going on around me. For the record though this website is the only piece of cyber space that I inhabit. Anyone pretending to be me on other such sites etc - Isn't. Not to say that i didn't find the whole thing amusing, I did in a surreal way, but when the fake me was arranging interviews and threatening people with legal action it had gone a bit far.
I'm glad that everyone finally has their copies of 'Post electric blues' now. I was pleased with how the packaging looks as well. We'll tweak it a bit for the general release, just to make it a bit different. As far as I know we're quite close to having a release date and Label. Early September, followed by a UK tour in October/November. Colin will be taking some paternity leave for the upcoming July concerts, so filling the drumstool will be a friend from Glasgow called Johnny. He's a jazz drummer who plays in a metal band. Should be fun.
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30th May 2009old diaries
Spotify, is that not another way to rip musicains off? No, was the answer as I was explained it in detail, and it sounded pretty good to me, afterall if some one is going to stream an album for free after it's release, better that it be from a site with a paid subscription and PRS approval. So I checked it out, and now I'm hooked to it's naughty cyber charm. The radio facility is hard to argue with. Type in 50's and 60's jazz/country/blues and plug the computer into the stereo and you've got a day of great music that you'd never think of choosing. I've also been enjoying Graham Coxons new LP and the recent Horrors album. And there's so much Grateful dead on there that I think i'll be here for a while.
Moving, or rather packing to move, is never good fun. It can be, simply for the sake of un-earthing thing in the back of the cupboard that you'd forgotten about. In this case it was a pile of old diaries. here's a sample entry....
Friday 21st June 2002 - The windows are open down onto place de la rebublique as i sit at the desk in the Holiday inn. Paris is so full of life it's dangerous. especially if you're driving. Arrived here yesterday to do some press. Went out for a meal with French EMI and a fellow called Arno (who smokes more than a chimney and speaks better English than I do). The meal took four hours but it was rich and delicious. Rare steak, red wine, too many cigarettes - almost too many Parisian cliches. Concert this evening was a bit stressful, mainly due to Allans flight being delayed so he basically arrived as we were walking onstage, and as a consequence everything that could go wrong did. It was one of those fashion parties with a band, and the Hor d'ouvres were seemingly alot more exciting than we were. Jean Paul Gautier was in the audience ignoring us. oh well. Incidentally I'm writing this looking in the mirror (it's in front of the desk) but i worry this isn't healthy. I love Paris. The life that people seem to have here. I think ultimately that i'd like to go everywhere.
and so it ends, but there are stacks like it, sometimes embarrassingly so. Diaries are a good source for perspective. I feel so apart from June 21st 2002 that it's enjoyable to read back on. I have boxes to pack so I better be going. I'm moving somewhere with no internet (these places still exist thankfully) so my 'blog' entries will be fewer. But what will I do without Spotify!
