Chocolate Biscuits....

I am spending this afternoon scouring the internet, and ripping off other musicians in order to furnish myself with new free tunes for this evenings dj set at the Moustache Bar in Dalston, London. I know this will have consequences for them as it does for us, when folk download our shit for free, but I'm doing it anyway. I am sick of my moral compass. No point having a heart in a heartless universe.

Inevitably, searching the internet for prolonged periods of time, while being in a band, does provide you with thousands of opinions on why you should give it all up, lock yourself in the nearest toilet and make busy with the razor-blades. Its hard to be strong all the time in the face of criticism and all praise is second-hand and anonymous.

As I sit down on this snowy, blustery afternoon with a Tunnock's Caramel Wafer and mug of Tetley's, I am reminded of the best piece of advice I have ever been given with regard to my relationship to the internet.

"Don't google yourself or your band ever. It'll just have you running for the chocolate biscuits."

How right that learned well known gentleman was.....

Flow Fest Fun!

Glamour!

Bears!

The English Pub!

Mates

Kittens in Drag!

Scenery!

Yes, in truth this trip had everything. A very good time was had by all and Ladyhawke was big! Wish we had seen Grace Jones and Kraftwerk but you can't have everything. We have beef or we've got beef, is the best bar in Helsinki...its actually the only bar we went to, if only everything didn't shut so early there would have been more raving. But hey it was great!

Thanks Finland and esp. Maria. Sorry we were so well behaved. We'll do better next time.

x

The Truth about MJ

http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=42291868&blogId=497035326

Well that made for an incredibly depressing read. At the same time I think LMP has been incredibly brave to put this message out, which does seem to contain some very personal information regarding her relationship with MJ. He has been such a catalyst in terms of polarising opinions on him. Misunderstood genius, damaged alleged abuser, big hearted naive philanthropist, childlike reckless father, MJ seemed to inhabit the same sphere of paradoxical complexity as those other long dead musical catalysts , Kurt Cobain and Ian Curtis in terms of his opposing personas and obvious self loathing. I'm really glad she went through with it and posted it, as it humanizes him as nothing else can. It strikes me that for all his talent, and fame, he could probably have done with a similar sort of gesture, a long time ago.

Frontmen, or women for that matter exist in this weird zone where you have the ability and the task of connecting with people on a massive, through the music but perhaps more importantly for you ( as a showman/woman) through the reactions and the synergy you achieve with your audience. But as you become more successful, you also become more remote, and more disconnected off stage. Some obviously deal with this through withdrawing into their own worlds but others appear to dearly need that connection to maintain mental equilibrium and as they drift further into the glamosphere (if you like) the specter of tragedy seems always to follow on behind them. Couple that with the parasitic hordes that such a dynamic figure attracts and you have a recipe for disaster.

Wherever you are now MJ, I hope it is peaceful.

Tea at Borders.

Today I am very tired and by a strange process of referencing totally unrelated bands, we have managed to write a song that sounds just like the Killers used to sound when they were good. Quite an achievement from people who previously happily have put down their middle names as things like Disco or Jiggy not more than a year ago. It will probably not sound like the Killers once it has been through the Pony Mincinator. Perhaps the Mincinator will render it shimmery and dance-floor friendly but maybe not. This band is changing.

Other news...the Fantasy Centre in Holloway Road in London closed recently. Probably killed by the recession. Bastard bloody recession. It should bloody hang for this.

The place was tiny, crammed with second hand science fiction and signed first editions of Harry Potter and Dune. The guys who ran the place could have served as the template for Black Books. Beardy one with permanent mug of tea and faded Hawkwind tee shirt. Check. Wild white haired guy with encyclopedic knowledge of the shop and boundless enthusiasm for the genre. Check. The Aspergery one with the tweed jacket with patches on the elbow, an inability to look customers in the eye and vaguely depressed demeanor. Check.

I'd been hanging out there since I was but a wee Maths nerd in -5.75s. It was the last bastion of idiosyncratic book shopping in the capital since Foyles sorted out their inane book-filing system (anyone else remember having to look for books by publisher?) and Compendium in Camden become yet another grotty shop selling cut price black pvc hot pants and knock off Green Day shirts to Danish punks. You would always be offered a nice brew and a biscuit. Whatever you wanted they would have. Probably in a totally unaccessible place but at least one of them would know where it was and go and get it for you. They'd have personal recommendations and news of where the latest literary wunderkund could harassed at first hand. It was great and its gone and all that is left are the monoliths like Amazon and Borders. No ones going to get you a cup of tea at Borders.

My New Blog...

Hey, check me out. I have a blog. I know lots of people have blogs but I actually wanted somewhere where I could ramble on and not have to worry about being the figurehead of NYPC. So yes, expect salacious gossip, inane nonsense, badly executed photography and spur of the moment competitions!

Its actually pathetic. I have had this blog for ages and never done a bloody thing with it. But there you go. At some point I may even have to learn how to write code and crazy nerd shit like that. I would be very pleased with myself if that happened.

Things that you should know if you are planning to read this blog:

1. I will not post stuff just for the sake of content. The word "content" might as well have four letters as far as I am concerned. If you are in a band, the specialists around you (management, record company, publicist etc) will try and convince that if you are to remain current that you should be posting pictures of your band looking at Cadbury's cream eggs in the services on the A40 or bemoaning the fashion industry's obsession with size zero or crying about the death of your relationship with *insert D list celebrity boyfriend here* but that isn't going to happen here. 

2. My sense of humour is a bit dark and I may say things you find offensive. If this is the case, I encourage you to familiarize yourself with the "back" button located on the far left hand side of your browser window. :)

3. I will post if I think I have something to say. Sometimes the things I say will regard the goings on of the band or me, sometimes they won't. 

Anyway, thanks for stopping by and see you on the other side.