It's been a very busy time for us recently. We finally waved goodbye to The Doghouse Studio. We have had a great time living and working there so we were a little sad to leave. Next on the agenda is mixing the album so we are moving into a studio in Chiswick called Sofa Lounge.
I have also been spending a lot of time in Liverpool recently playing first at a Capital Of Culture Party at the Pan Am Club a couple of weeks ago and then at Jamie Carragher's Birthday Party at the weekend. It was a thrill to be able to play in front of Scouse Royalty such as Sue Johnston, Sinbad from Brookie and Phil Redmond at the Capital Of Culture Party.
Of course being a life long red I jumped at the chance to play at Carra's bash!
The songs are really taking shape now, my own personal favourites are 'All The Plans We Made' and 'Boy In Waiting'. We should have some new material for you very soon.
It is great to be able to play at the Isle Of Wight again. We have some fantastic memories from the festival not least the time we played just below Paul Weller when the festival was in its infancy. Hyde Park should be good too. There won't be the distraction of the football this year as England failed to qualify for Euro 2008 (every cloud and all that!).
Special thanks to Barriemore Barlow who has been looking after us at the studio (his stories from his Tull days and his regular jokes have kept us entertained) and the chef Jim Hall whose cooking has been superb. We are putting the finishing touches to a busy summer schedule so hopefully we will be coming to a town near you (wherever you are in the world).
dort hinten wird's hell und schwarz wird zu grau wird zu rot wird zu licht und benommen, verschwommen erkennen was man will meine welt aufgehoben, meine welt in 3 wörtern erklärt
dort hinten wird's hell und schwarz wird zu grau wird zu rot wird zu licht und benommen, verschwommen erkennen was man will meine welt aufgehoben, meine welt in 3 wörtern erklärt
Well it’s been a long time in the making but we have finally finished recording our 4th album (hope I haven't spoken too soon!) It’s certainly been an adventure! We have been to 4 studios (Real World, The Doghouse, Sofa Sound and Eastcote) and a whole cast of characters have been involved getting to this point. Undoubtedly the two people who have put the most effort in the studio (apart from the band) are Producer Steve Osborne and Engineer Dan Austin (Who is also working with Doves at the same time! No wonder he looks knackered!). Our A&R man Chris Briggs has been in frequently regaling us with tales of his life in rock n roll (Chris has been working at EMI for years. What he doesn’t know about The Waterboys, Robbie Williams, Jethro Tull and Tottenham Hotspur is not worth knowing!)
We have 16 songs recorded with 12 possible contenders for the album. Regular visitors to the site will be familiar with the titles 'Tell Me Its Not Over’, ‘Boy In Waiting’ and 'All The Plans We Made'. There is also 'The Thames’,’ Hurts Too Much,’ You Never Get What You Deserve’,’ Listen Up’,’ Under A Neon Sky’,’ Safe At Home’,’ Change My Mind' and 'Stars and Stripes'.
There has been an emphasis on strong melodies and simple arrangements for this album and the guitar playing of Richard Warren has definitely enhanced the sound. I'm not one for slagging off the last album and saying this one is 100 times better because the last album definitely had its merits. However we have spent a lot longer writing and recording this one and the result is the perfect companion to 'Love Is Here.’
On a totally different note I recently devoured 2 series of 'Life On Mars' during a recent bout of illness and was absolutely blown away. I saw Supergrass at The Roundhouse (You forget how good they are) and I have been reading George Orwell 'Down And Out In Paris And London. Oh and the workmen finally finished the kitchen!
See You Soon
James
dort hinten wird's hell und schwarz wird zu grau wird zu rot wird zu licht und benommen, verschwommen erkennen was man will meine welt aufgehoben, meine welt in 3 wörtern erklärt
It's been a very busy end to the week for me with a performance at Hard Rock Café on Thursday and The Indy Awards on Friday.
It was great to be asked on the last minute to do a mini-set (3 songs) opening for The Charlatans at the Hard Rock in London. I was there in the afternoon with Tim Burgess to open 'The Vault' which is the room where they keep the most valuable items. My favourite piece of all was definitely John Lennon's US Army jacket, complete with a pair of his sunglasses.
The party later on lasted long into the night and the sambucas I'd had a few hours before didn't seem like such a good idea when I woke up with the mother of all hangovers!
The Charlatans were on fantastic form and they all seemed in fine health. Sometimes 'corporate' dos can be a bit of a nightmare. Usually everyone is there for the free booze and talks through the performance. I'm happy to say this was not the case. The crowd were very responsive during my set and The Charlatans ended the night in spectacular fashion. A good time was had by all.
Friday night I was at The Forum to play a few songs at the INDY Music Awards. The INDY Awards recognise new and unsigned talent giving young bands a great opportunity for publicity and a chance to perform at the prestigious venue. Venues across the country vote for the best unsigned band they have had on. I was pleased to present 'Little Fish' with the award for 'Best Rock Act'. I'm sure you will be hearing a lot about them in the coming months.
On the subject of new bands I was very impressed with Beggars who played at the Soho Arts Club the other night. Their sound is kind of Libertines/Merseybeat and they are great musicians.
I was in town to see another group, those of you on the site will be familiar with, called Scars on 45. They were playing at the 100 club with a South African group called 'The Parlotones'. It was a bit hectic trying to fit both gigs in but I managed to see a bit of all the bands.
See You Soon,
James
dort hinten wird's hell und schwarz wird zu grau wird zu rot wird zu licht und benommen, verschwommen erkennen was man will meine welt aufgehoben, meine welt in 3 wörtern erklärt
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