Wednesday 27 May 2009

US SUPPORTS NEW YORK SHOWS

Here is a List of our New York shows and the bands that we're playing with.

June 1st Demander, The Picture

We met Demander when we did the American NME tour with The Hold Steady. They are ACE. I cant wait to see them live again.

The Picture sound a bit like James to me.

June 2nd Murder Mystery, Les Sans Culottes

I have been visiting Murder Mystery's Myspace everyday for weeks. I love them. They remind me a little bit of The Magnetic Fields. Even if you cant make it to the show go to their myspace have a listen and buy their record. Here is their AMAZING video to Love Astronaut

Les Sans Culottes are awesome. They sound like a Damaged Goods band. I just had to go and check that they haven't released a record on Damaged Goods that I'd missed. I dont know why I dont already own records by them. Fantastic french glam.

June 3rd Tiny Masters Of Today, U.S Royalty

I dont know much about U.S Royalty but just went to their myspace and like their song Raincoats.

We met Tiny Masters Of Today when we were on Mute. I saw them about a month ago they were punk as fuck. I love their song Pop Chart

June 4th Cymbals Eat Guitars, Phil And The Osophers

Phil and The Osophers are ace they remind me of The Wave Pictures and Jonathan Richman with bit of Ezra Furman thrown in (although I am notorious for hearing comparisons between bands that arent really there)

Cymbals Eat Guitars are brilliant. Jasper played them to me a while ago their songs sound massive. Cant wait to see them live. They are playing with us in Philidelphia too

June 5th Jeffery Lewis, Keith Top Of The Pops And His UK/US Indie Minor Celebrity All Star Backing Band.

Im a massive fan of Jeffery Lewis. I've been trying to play a show with him since we started playing shows. Slap Dash For No Cash on our new album is a little bit about him. He is great

I play Bass for Keith in his UK Indie Minor Celebrity Backing Band. I'm terrible and yet his amazing songs always shine through. My favourite at the moment is 'Two Of The Beatles Are Dead' HERE is an entire show he played recently in London.

I think someone made me draw a fantasy band line up poster once for a magazine both Jeffery Lewis and Keith were on that poster.

The last two nights have sold out. I'm just boasting by writing about them here.

Although there are a few tickets available for the first three nights you can get them HERE

and Philidelphia HERE

A Q&A WITH INTRO MAGAZINE



I know the Half Man Half Biscuit song is called 'Tending The Wrong Grave For TWENTY THREE Years' but I was full of painkillers and confused.

Monday 25 May 2009

A BRIEF RECAP

I was intending to write everyday about all the spectacular fun stuff that happens on tour. Unfortunately though my Laptop got broken in Newcastle and my back stopped working in Amsterdam so here is a brief recap of what I can remember in no particular order.

NEWCASTLE

We played in the same venue as Calvin Harris, he played in the much bigger room. Im not sure what he looks like but I think I mistook him for venue staff and asked him to direct me to the ham and cheese or 'CHAM' as Ian calls it. Inspired by Calvin Harris' hit 'Acceptable In The 80s' Jasper wrote 'Acceptable In The 30's'

Big Game Hunting...It Was Acceptable In The Thirties
Domestic Violence....It Was Acceptable In The Thirties
Colonialism.....It Was Acceptable In The Thirties

I should point out that Jasper doesn't want these things to comeback, he just likes singing about them. Actually I think he would like to bring back Big Game Hunting he is always talking about how he'd like to 'try' Elephant.

INNSBRUCK

We had a day off in Innsbruck. I went to an Alpine Zoo with my girlfriend we saw an Otter and decided he was called Ray, Ray The Otter. When we left he had gone back in his house so we couldn't say goodbye. It was a shame, a shame about Ray.

Later on The Rock And Roll Idiots, Official Secrets Act and Keith TOTP & His Minor UK All Star Indie Celebrity Backing Band played at Weekender Club. It was one of the best shows I've ever seen. Although I played Bass for Keith and joined in with The Rock And Roll Idiots on their third time of playing 'Love Is Lethal' so might be a bit biased. Officials Secrets Act are our support on this tour and are brilliant every night. Younger, more handsome and far more talented than us. We wont tour with them again.

AMSTERDAM

Is where my back problems really began I was bent double, triple if that is even possible. I was the Hunchback of Amsterdam. I was worried for a bit that something was seriously wrong with me and had to go and see a Doctor who gave me loads of Valium and told me to rest. To explain why I wasn't jumping about and dancing as much on the tour we rewrote Modern Art adding a verse to explain how I did my back dancing to a painting of Paris in the Van Gogh museum. Depending on how soon I get completely better we may still be doing that in New York.

STUTTGART, BERLIN, COLOGNE.

I saw a masseuse, a chiropractor and a physiotherapist one in each of these places. They were all very nice. The masseuse was the first one I saw he worked on my muscles for ages, made me take a sauna,then put me in a figure for leg lock until I screamed and then told me to stop walking like an old man. This genuinely helped. I saw the physiotherapist second. She jiggled me around on a giant inflatable ball,this also helped. Lastly I saw the chiropractor she noticed that I had a rib in the wrong place and popped it back in for me,I think that helped the most. She also gave me exercises to do. So now Im fully on the mend.

I Cologne I was taken to a comic book shop to do an interview about comics, even though I was in agonizing pain. It was for the radio and he barely mentioned the fact I was in a comic shop so really it could have been done anywhere. Although I bought a copy of The Fantastic Four/Superman crossover (in English) and saw a German edition of the Booster Gold paperback so it was worth it.

In Berlin I bought a Robot that comes from 'Out Of Space' his name is Steve.

In Cologne we played with The Blood Arm. Their new songs are AMAZING.

BERN

We spent two days in Bern. Ian and I bought matching orange swimming shorts and black wife beaters. Taking casual to a whole new level. In Bern there is a very cold, very fast river that your allowed to jump into. I wasn't allowed in because of my back. Mike, Jasper and Jimmy our friend who is a Guitar Tech and a Pirate jumped in drunk at 7am long after the Lido, which is where you climb out, had been locked for the night. As they climbed out a security guard ran over and asked if they'd been in the river,shamefaced they said yes expecting a bollocking. Instead the guard just looked at them amazed and said 'respect' then let them out.

On the river there is a big sign saying last exit 240m (the 'm' is for meters not miles) after that I presume there is a big net full of drowned tourists.

TONIGHT

We are in Paris with Official Secrets Act. Its their last night I'm going to miss them. Then home for a day before zooming off to PRIMAVERA and GERMANY. Then we begin our week long residencies over in the states.

NEW YORK

CHICAGO


LA

as well as shows in PHILADELPHIA, SEATTLE and SAN FRANCISCO

I wonder how hard it is to take an 'Out Of Space Robot' through customs.