camera obscura

On a Lighter Note...

2009-02-11T01:49:00.002+01:00

Good Afternoon, Morning and Night

I hope your have your hyperventilation-bags at the ready…

We are grateful for your patience and even more so for your impatience. As you know we have been busy seducing our new record label, the classy and top of the class 4AD and are now ready to shower you with album news.

Camera Obscura’s new album will be called My Maudlin Career and will be released on April 20th in places which aren’t the USA and April 21st in places which are. Not long eh? I suggest you draw up some sort of chart and tick of the days and maybe rating your excitement out of ten or trying to find a new word to express it everyday. This is what I will be doing for sure.

The album will be preceded by the single French Navy at the beginning of April and you can hear the title track on myspace RIGHT NOW but you can also purchase it from itunes or get given it as a present when you register at camera-obscura.net. We’re super generous and don’t you forget it. (This is the track I got to play Abba’s piano on, swede-pop/piano-trivia/pointless information fans.)

To celebrate the release we will be doing some special live shows. The deal is; you all come from miles, counties, countries and continents around to fill the shows and let us know that everything is going to be alright. And we will play songs for you and try to scrub up nice.
23 April - Shepherd's Bush Empire, ....London.....
Tickets on sale 10th Feb 9am - www.livenation.co.uk....

26 April - Barrowlands Ballroom, Glasgow. Tickets on sale
12th Feb 9am - 08444 999 990 / www.gigsinscotland.com....

I'd also like to annouce that due to family commitments (including being a proud dad) Nigel will no
longer be a full time member of Camera Obscura. But watch out for him
popping up at live appearances from time to time.

So much love

Carey and the band....

John Martyn 1948-2009

2009-01-29T19:23:00.002+01:00

Rest In Peace

x

Here is a News. Our Website is Down, But...

2009-01-23T00:56:00.003+01:00

Hello you few

Our website was smashed to smithereens recently by some bad types, all of whom I imagine eat exclusively from Pizza Hut and cannot imagine a world without curtains drawn. A new, improved site is on its way very soon, though - really - so please please please bear with us.

While you wait, click here to head over to our Myspace page, and go to the blog, where Carey has some real news for you. Happy New Year indeed.
Bye for now!

xxxxxxxxxxx

Tweenuts (or Oh, Christmas Twee, Oh Christmas Twee)

2008-11-29T19:18:00.005+01:00

I'm supposed to be keeping warm in my wind tunnel of a home by completing four years of miserable renovation work, and not by cranking the heating to my preferred "What Grandchildren?" setting and drinking hot toddies.
But there's no one around to stop me. Hah!

Just a quick recommendation today, and a bit on the previous side (although not quite as premature as the early-November Christmas trees dotted around the city; is it depression, escapism, cheery defiance, cheap irony or all of these? - discuss).

It's already spectacularly famous, and probably namechecked in all the usual weekend supplements at this time of year, so accept my apologies if I'm telling you something you already know (a renowned fault of mine), but if you haven't heard the beautiful soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas, by the Vince Guaraldi Trio, do yourself a huge favour and get it right now - it's on the net to buy or steal according to the dictates of your conscience.

You are dead inside if this treasure does not warm any part of you.

Wishing all peace-loving, casually patriotic Scottish types worldwide a happy Saint Andrew's day tomorrow. All non-Scots are welcome to join in. You can guess how we celebrate these occasions.

Kenny xxxxxxxxxx

Friday Night Lights

2008-11-24T16:02:00.000+01:00

Hello all but mostly Scots I apologetically guess.

Just wanted to draw your attention to event of the year that is me going out on a friday night. All in the name of work of course.
Tracyanne and I will be guest djs at the Modern Lovers club night in Edinburgh. As ever, I incite you to come along and make us appear popular. I'm sure there will be some sort of fun involved.

This week the band are trying to get into the Christmas spirit. You can find out how successful we are in the near future.

Elsewhere, I have been reading The Easter Parade by Richard Yates, listening to Nothing but Love by Attic Lights and am looking forward to seeing the reformed Vaselines do a special show in Glasgow soon.

Happy birthday Lee and super congratulations to our manager Frank and lovely Ciara on the arrival of a baby that is called Hugh.

love Carey x

A room with a brew

2008-10-11T23:12:00.001+01:00

Good evening. I was thinking I might try and assuage these non-specific, generic feelings underachievement by writing a blog for you.

I am staying in this Saturday night doing such satisfying tasks as hoovering. The satisfaction of the flawless floor is not to be sneezed at. This is not some sort of anti rock and roll, stay at home, protest. I felt a bit like going out this evening but Glasgow is horribly full of bouncing drunken football fans today and is best avoided.

Yesterday I was asked by my musical friend Victoria Bergsman to recommend her something to read which inadvertently triggered the old website-guilt. I’m sorry we’ve been a bit slack at updates but I promise that we will sort it out before the new album emerges. In case anyone is interested in what I came up with, and as some lame attempt at rectifying my bookish silence, I will list what I sent her at the end of this transmission. Before you go fumbling around for pens and paper, you could go and listen to the late-summer reggae sounds drifting from here myspace.com/takenbytreesmusic.

Cultural summary and Current Affairs: I have been watching the tv version of Brideshead Revisited and not finding time to go to the cinema to see the reportedly average film. I have been listening to Chariot Song by the Beep Seals. I read On Chesil Beach and it was sad. I was disappointed with the Guardian’s guide to the Piano and Keyboard which wasn’t very exciting at all. I did go and see I’ve Loved You So Long which was pretty beautiful. I have been listening to Richard Hawley’s recording of I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry made with Jools Holland. I have been remembering how much I enjoyed the documentary Young at Heart. I have been making walnut pesto.

We’re off on tour again next week. I think I am looking forward to it although I am nervous about playing a gig as close to my Kentish home-turf as I’m ever going to get. If you live in or near Canterbury, please come to the concert so my parents don’t think I’m unpopular. We’re all quite edgily excited about our first trip to Asia although we’re frightened of the humidity. There will be sweat.

We’ll have some news about the new album SOON I think. Be patient.

Take care
Carey xx

Maurice by E.M Forster
The Bandini Quartet by John Fante
Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates
And pretty much anything by Carson McCullers.

The Big Tuckshop in the Sky

2008-06-17T23:27:00.002+01:00

The Big Tuckshop in the Sky.
A snapshot.
Or
Why I Hate Flying.

I have turned into a disturbed autistic hunchback, bent over with my hands over my ears in a stubborn clamp and my elbows holding a book open, trying to shut out the noise of two hundred boisterous holidaymakers and an endless scream of announcements.

Three rows in front Lee and Kenny are trying not to think about the possible cons of taking a flight on Friday the 13th, the eyes of the cartoon woman clutching her life jacket and whistle bore morbid and unblinking into theirs from the unsafety information on the back of the headrest in front.

The air, laced with aviation fuel and microwaved pizzas retailing at the bargain price of £3.80, begins its own journey in and out of the mouth of every passenger and makes my skin smell wrong.

The excitable and therefore voluble ladies in the row behind finish every identical anecdote with, It was absolutely hysterical. I nearly am.

After another ear-splitting announcement telling us how we can buy perfume Kenny the soundman says, It’s just a big tuckshop in the sky really.

Whingingly yours, Carey

Superstition aint the way

2008-05-30T15:18:00.003+01:00

It was a late one last night in the overdub studio…

I think our man Jari thought we would have the stamina for an all nighter. Needless to say we didn’t but we did more than an average shift. Brilliant day though, we had a right laugh. Carey played a keyboard called a Clavinet, it's the same kind Stevie Wonder used on Superstition. She played it through a pedal called Electric Mistress and it was pure funky and even made Jari do a wee sexy dance that made us laugh for ages. He said what she played 'was better than Viagra'. She was on particularly good form and made Jari giggle by saying stuff like ' I've got the f*****g blues, man' while playing away. She also did a rendition of ‘Scotland the brave’ for us which is super funny ‘cause she’s from the garden of England.

To help get us in the mood we drunk a fair bit of 'peoples beer' (3.5%). It doesn't really get one drunk (probably a good thing) but gives one a bit of a buzz. Jari drinks one called Bright ‘cause it's low fat, which is a laugh cause I could probably lift him up with my left paw.

We read in the paper that our pal Richard Colburn (Belle and Sebastian)is DJing tomorrow night at a place called Kägelbanan, which is super close to our apartment, so that’s Saturday night taken care of. It’s such a luxury to have the weekend off, especially with the weather being as good as it has. I’ve got a tan, and that’s really just walking to and from the studio.

Right now Kenny is in doing some singing, Jari just said to him 'this time do it more like Paul Stanley from Kiss would'. He’s a funny wee man.

Oh look at the time, it's almost people’s beer o'clock already…

Tracyanne x

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

2008-05-29T09:33:00.004+01:00

That's me home. I left Stockholm yesterday evening, waving goodbye to Tracy, Kenny, Carey (and Field Commander Haapalienen with his wee army cap on giving us all orders) who have three more days of overdubbing bits and bobs before they get to go home too. Its a weird feeling leaving, but its nice to know we're coming home having done the job we set out there to do. Its been a really exciting session for us, we've been working towards this since we finished touring last October, and its great to finally be at this stage and have done it justice.

Anyhoo, i set off from the studio armed with my return bus ticket to Skavsta airport, 40 crowns for the tube and 14 crowns in change left in my pocket, my phone battery was about to die, and if you remember i'd left my wallet in Glasgow, so no cards on me. But what could possibly go wrong. Jumped on the tube, there was a fight on the platform at Slussen Station right outside my carriage with two burly fellows trying to punch each other out which looked like it was a bit nasty. I've seen enough films to know that having a fight next to a rail line with trains running along it is probably a worse idea than just fighting normally. Got to T-Centrallen and jumped off the tube, plenty of time, followed the signs for the buses, got outside, thought, i think i may have come out the wrong exit as these are different buses, wandered about with my bags and bass weighing heavier as time passed and i wasn't where i thought i was, headed back to the exit i'd come out from, managed to find a nice person to ask where the bus station bit was, i'd come out the wrong way and needed to go back into the tube bit, walk along the platform and come out the other side and walk through central station. Luckily the nice lady at the ticket counter let me back through on the ticket i had (thank you) and i legged it back along the platform feeling a bit like that family from the fast show that always appeared running everywhere with suitcases. 45 minutes it took all in to get from the tube to the bus bit. But made it i did, and the bus was late anyway, so it was all fine and dandy. Got to the airport, spent 13 of my last 14 crowns on some pucko milk, which was nice. Flight was slightly late leaving, but not much, we made good time and the captain announced we would be landing 15 minutes early. Woo, then he said we'd be landing in 10 minutes, magic, then they didn't say anything for a bit. Then they said they were going round in circles cause they couldn't land (i immediately thought of Die Hard 2:Die Harder) cause of the weather at Prestwick. More radio silence followed, then they came on and said, Bad news folks, we're having to re-route to Glasgow Airport cause the fog is too bad at Depressedwick. Woo, handy squared, except Sharon, cover star of our first single, was picking me up at Depressedwick Airport. It took an age for them to be allowed to park the plane cause obviously they don't want ryanair planes clogging up a decent airport, and we had to sit in our seats for an age till they got buses sorted to take us into the airport. I got a hold of Sharon who was already tearing back up the 77 like a trooper having heard the news that the plane was re-routed (thank you) and after a lengthy bit of hanging around on the tarmac cause they couldn't fit everyone on two buses, i got my bags and bass, and was collected safe and sound and finally got home at 2am.

In a spectacular piece of bad timing, 'Er Indoors left yesterday afternoon for fieldwork in Chile a few hours before i got home, so the flat is all empty and Lynsey-free. Plus i have to go to work in an hour. But i mustn't grumble, we've only been and gone and done it as Uncle Albert once said, the new record sounds magic, and we're all really excited about you all getting to hear it when its ready.

Gav

strings and things

2008-05-27T15:26:00.000+01:00

oor heids have just been blown clean off

gav

monday monday

2008-05-26T20:56:00.003+01:00

After the festivities of the weekend, its been back to work today.
All the gear has been moved from Atlantis to the new studio, and we went to visit Bjorn Again to see how his strings were arranged today. They looked great. Its quite the experience hearing Bjorn's string ideas played by Bjorn along to the track on piano, with occasional interruptions for swearing and the frantic scribbling of new notes on the music notations, followed by a smiling Bjorn turning to us and telling us, "thats kind of how it will sound". It gives us a good idea of how its all going to turn out, but its still a lovely surprise when you actually hear the strings and brass on the tracks.

Then it was back to overdub central, where Nicolai Dunger has joined us and is currently in the wee room through from us laying down some BVs as our manager calls them. He's some chanter as they say in Glasgow.

There is something really great about these Swedish Studios, there is such a plethora of great gear lying about everywhere you look. There is a Hagstrom 8 string bass hanging on the wall (an 8-string bass, who'd have thunk it) and a guitanjo, amongst several other vintage guitars and basses. You cannae move for Echo units and old analog bits and bobs that you rarely see in the UK anymore. Its like there was an overwhelming fear of a drought of reverb in the 70's here, and they all went a bit mad and bought everything they could get their hands on to provide echo and reverberation. I'm glad to say that the drought never seems to have materialised, and here they are with tons of vintage gear to make fantastic sounding pop records that we can use.

Strings and things tomorrow, cannae wait.

cheers, Gav

another day off

2008-05-25T19:35:00.002+01:00

have done very little today apart from sleep. Went round to the shops next to the park i was in yesterday and saw my wee tramp again, but decided to keep out of the way in case he decided to stalk me again. Days off are great, but can't wait to get back into the studio this week and hear all the overdubs going on.

cheers, Gav

a day off

2008-05-24T19:30:00.002+01:00

Its Saturday and after a long week we have a day off today and tomorrow before re-loading and firing again next week with an overdub frenzy.

Its been a beautiful day here in Stockholm, so after a lie in and a lazy brunch i went outside for a stroll about. I found an old Converse trackie top in the charities, which i was tempted to buy, but it was very shiny and i think i may have trouble carrying it off back in Glasgow unless Britpop makes a serious comeback. I went to the park for a wee seat and was going to read a book for a bit in the sun, but as soon as i sat down on the empty bench, surrounded by several other empty benches, a tramp appeared from nowhere and sat down next to me. You don't get many tramps in Sweden, so it was a bit of a surprise. Anyway he tried to bum a cigarette from me, and then just sat talking to me. I tried to convey that i couldn't understand him, but it didn't seem to bother him much, he just kept talking, the fact that i was trying to read a book didn't bother him much neither, so it was all i could do to pack up my book and my wee bottle of ginger and clear off as quickly as i could without appearing overly rude and that was the end of my park fun.

cheers, gav

Grand!

2008-05-23T22:07:00.003+01:00

It's after 11pm Swedish time and we're still in the studio. We're supposed to finish at 10pm because the Studio is in a residential area and the people upstairs probably want to get to their beds, or enjoy their Friday evening without us making a racket and disturbing them. It is quite a nice racket we're making though, even if I do say so myself.
We've been adding a few over dubs to the live takes. At this moment in time Miss Lander is tinkering on the grand piano. It's big and regal and it's fillling the room with beautiful noise. It sounds, eh, grand!
I'm very pleased to tell you that after listening back to the live takes, I'm very happy with how the tunes are sounding so far. I can't wait to finish this record. I can't wait for you to hear them. I can't wait to tour them. I just can't wait for it all to start again. Bring it on...

Tracyanne x

stockholm and dry

2008-05-23T20:24:00.004+01:00

thats the end of week one of the sessions. Tonight we say goodbye to Atlantis Studios. Its been a spectacular week, we're all on the proverbial cloud 9 with the results so far, the songs are all sounding pretty amazing, and there is still a week of overdubs to go, and even then it will be a very different sounding beast once its mixed and mastered. So its basically all good. So its with a wee tear in each of our eyes that we are leaving here tonight. Next week we do the overdubs in another studio and then its home, heads down for a few months of live shows and day jobs and then mixing the album in July.

Someone asked if there was a release date set yet, but we haven't got a definite time in mind. It will likely appear from the ether at the start of next year, but you never know, if there is a good wind behind us it may be a little sooner. Whenever it ends up coming out and whichever label it comes out on, we'd like to tell you now, its going to be an absolute wee cracker.

I just turned on my computer to discover that some cheeky scamp from the band has replaced my lovely Doctor Who Timecrash desktop (my first laptop had a lovely 2nd Doctor desktop sitting at the TARDIS console with a 500 year diary and my second had a lovely Daleks vs Cybermen scene from the Battle of Canary Wharf, so it only seemed right that my this one continued the Who related desktop theme) (Timecrash was the wee 10 minute special Steven Moffat wrote where the 10th Doctor meets the 5th Doctor, and how happy am i that Steven Moffat is taking over from Russell T davies after next year (yes folks, its magic news) but i digress) has been replaced by a beautiful picture of ABBA in which they appear to be dressed in tinfoil (i say dressed, half dressed would be a more appropriate description).

In true obscura style, we couldn't help ourselves this evening and posed ABBA style outside of Atlantis for a photo, which we will doubtless stick up on the website/myspace in the next few days.

Cheers, Gav

Bliss & Blisters

2008-05-23T17:26:00.004+01:00

Most of us are feeling delicate today. As my esteemed colleague has mentioned, we had a little celebration last night at the very near completion of all the live tracks. I celebrated with extra gusto, relieved temporarily because I can rest my blistered, twisted fingers and poor limp wrists for a few more days before we start the overdubs.

When I made it back to the apartment I'm sharing with Gavin at half past three this morning, I thought I was locked out. We have one key between us and Gavin had gone home at a decent, respectable hour, unlike the rest of us. I rang the doorbell for half an hour, and had just about resigned myself to sleeping on a park bench (not such a bad deal in Stockholm) when I finally heard a very sleepy Gavin shout "Just turn the handle!" It had been unlocked all along and my hand had been too weak to open it. Nothing to do with the fact that I was also a teeny tiny bit tipsy, of course. Best half hour of my life.

In today's tambourine news, maverick Swedish pop producer Jari Haapalainen, (famous for his oft-used catchphrase "I love it when you do what I say") is adding some shaky hand-glitter to the songs. He is the only person in the studio today who has it in him to bash a tambourine against his hand for more than ten minutes. I'm not lying, it's really sore. Lee gave it a shot but he's already in pain from playing the best drums of his life. I didn't even bother volunteering. I'm a big lad but it brings tears to my eyes.

I'm all for the notion of someone else suffering for my art.

I cannot wait for you to hear this record

Kenny x

A Good Shoeing. Day Four

2008-05-22T21:44:00.000+01:00

Listened to all the songs. All the live versions are finished.
The final song recorded is my favourite. It jerked my tears.
I have somehow managed to complete recording all the basic tracks with no drop ins. Tracy prescribed me liquorice because she thought I said no droppings.
Tomorrow I get do tinkling on a grand piano. It might be The Grand Piano of Abba fame or that might the one behind the organ where I rest my coffee. I think for the sake of nerves I won’t ask till after.
The lovely engineer who looks like Roald Dahl and Charles Bukowski mixed a bit up is currently trying to get the vending machine to surrender its beer for us cos we’re having a little Relaxing Party.
Kenny has very nice shoes on.
He hasn’t for one of the songs. You can try to guess which later.
I should go and join the socialising bit now if that's alright.

Carey x

Nesta: Day Three

2008-05-21T13:17:00.002+01:00

Another day another dollar, as they say. We're on our lunch break after getting another couple of songs down, and we're in the middle of recording "Homey in the Sun". Jari keeps telling us we should be more like Primal Scream, and the new record is going to be very rock'n'roll. We think he's joking.

So far in my list of things i have managed to forget for this trip include, my brown suit trousers, my razor, my wallet and enough shirts to last till i go home. I should be used to this packing lark by now, but i still manage to always forget half my gear.

I'm excited because i'm getting to use an old Rickenbacker, it looks pretty battle damaged, but it sound as sweet as the proverbial nut. I used one a lot on the last record and have been dreaming about getting one for years, but i haven't managed to save enough pennies for one as yet. Must get organised before the next time we go to the States to get one. I'd have to re-mortgage my flat to get one in the UK at the moment.

Bjorn Yttling out of Peter, Bjorn and John is doing the string arangements for us again, and he's popping down to the studio tomorrow to let us hear what he's been up to. We're looking forward to seeing him again and seeing how he's been arranging his strings lately. Strange hobby to have, collecting bits of string and seeing all the different ways you can lay them out, but we all have our own little idiosyncracies.

Someone else will be along shortly to tell you more things that have been happening.

cheers, gav

Day Two

2008-05-20T17:09:00.003+01:00

Hello,
i'm sitting in between takes, suited and booted (it is work after all) on day two of the sessions for the new record. Its all go, after an age of rehearsing, rehearsing, rehearsing (the three R's) we're here, and its day two already. The Fifth song has just gone down. This week we're doing all the basic tracks in Atlantis, which is amazing (I should clarify that its Atlantis Studios, Stockholm as opposed to the lost underwater city, although i'm sure that would be amazing also). This is where Abba made all their records. Its a lovely gaff, reminds us a bit of Maida Vale, the BBC radio sessions studios, with big balcony bits and loads of amazing gear sitting about. Next week we move to a smaller studio to do all the overdubs.
After yesterday's slight hangover fest (what better way to celebrate your birthday than sip champagne whilst watching the freshest Doctor Who, ok, so maybe thats my ideal way to spend a birthday, but it was certainly grand) today has been freshtastic and with all the gear set up yesterday we just got straight down to business this morning. So we got two songs down yesterday and we've just done three today, and we're about to go and start a fourth, so i shall disappear for now. We're going to be keeping blogging throughout the sessions, we might even drop some of the song titles for you. Wait and see.....

Gav

City of Plans

2008-05-19T19:53:00.001+01:00

Day one. Monday 19th.
We're away away, the flight is flown. A return to the days of suitcase bruises on thighs.

The band are in Stockholm on the first day of work on the new album. We celebrated Tracyanne's birthday a little too vigorously last night and this morning we looked like a fog of ghosts. We are also a little foxed by Stockholm's cruel lapse into winter weather. My summer dresses look up at me with derision. Daylight is pretty irrelevant in the building of songs anyway.

One song in.

A glance backwards. Glasgow. Waiting for the underground train to arrive, leaning against the wall trying not to think about anything and to savour the last minutes of being yourself before you go to work and have to be the smile, watched a man whom it was impossible to picture as young. How do boys grow into having ruddy butcher's faces? He got into my carriage and at the next stop a man who looked exactly like him, round nosed, moustached, round wire glasses, dressed almost identically in neutral but specific smart-old-man-get-up, got on and sat beside him. No one else seemed to notice.

I'm off for song two.

Slightly more topical blog to follow.

Carey.

Camera Obscura in Doctor Who

2008-03-29T16:28:00.004+01:00

sadly this is not really the case (although there is a Doctor Who novel called Camera Obscura fact fans).

As some of you may know, i'm a bit of a fan of the old Doctor, and i am currently getting slightly over-excited at the prospect of the new series starting next Saturday (for those of you who don't know what it is, Doctor Who is basically the greatest TV programme ever, and the world's longest running sci fi show having started back in the day in 1963 and featuring the adventures of this fellow known only as the Doctor, who carts around the universe through time and space in a time machine that is stuck in the shape of an old British Police phone box (those of you who have been to see us live may have spotted the TARDIS sitting on top of my amp*) fighting evils and sorting folk in trouble out).

Yesterday as i was sitting in my living room surrounded by toy Daleks, I was perusing the old you tube and 'er indoors pointed me in the direction of a video that someone has made that uses our cover of Modern Girl as the soundtrack to a video of Rose Tyler out of Doctor Who. Theres an awful lot of these videos up there, and most of them are laughably bad, but this is quite well done and is worth a swatch, especially if you've never heard modern girl http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTvob7BcxD4

Should you be a fan of the series you can see the trailers for the new series at www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho. I for one am practically beside myself with excitement (THERES DALEKS IN IT!!! (i hear Davros is coming back too, thats well exciting (if you're a geek) even though its probably not true, Ben Kingsley was rumoured to be playing him, but i don't suppoose thats true neither))

Kenny had the idea of setting up a web site where every week a new version of the theme music is posted up. I've long wanted to do a version in the style of The Selecter by The Selecter, but haven't managed to actually get around to it. Maybe one day, Who knows.

Anyway, i shall stop wittering on about Doctor Who, although i shall mention that last year in Chicago, before the show some of us watched the episode where Rose leaves, but i shan't say which band member had a wee cry.

Also, should Russell T Davies be reading this, we have no objections to you using our music in any upcoming episodes.

Gav

*when we played in Mexico City last year, the stagehand who was packing our gear away came up to me afterwards and said, "Your time machine is in your bass case"

Older Faster

2008-03-04T15:28:00.002+01:00

Here are my news.

I have moved flat. My flatmate has talent and lovely curtains. I get to pile my books up against a different wall and make toast in a different toaster. Happiness blooms.

My favourite (ethnocentric) conversation of the month has been with a workmate about our limited grasp of the English language. He said he just realised that “alot” isn’t one word and I confessed that I still write “thankyou” all the time.

I read Jeanette Winterson’s The Stonegods and marvelled at her marble world. I watched the greatest-acting eyelid ever in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and wondered what those almost-tidal salt marks were on my glasses at the end.

We are rehearsing as hard as time constraints allow, and we are feeling the pressure like a little tiny ringing alarm clock all the time as the recording deadline looms. Or that might just be tinnitus from the fire alarm going off at work yesterday. If you didn’t know you were struggling you might fall off the edge of the mountain.

Thankyou alot.

Love, Carey.

Between a Rock and a Beardy Face!

2008-02-10T17:21:00.000+01:00

Someone told me that this was a real headline in the Sun recently, in reference to Branson's buying-up of Northern Rock. Is that true, did anyone else see it? Anyway that's enough of that beardy twit.

Just to let all you kids know that we've been rather busy lately, we've been rehearsing new stuff and even had a little visitor in the studio with us last week to help. It's all starting to come together a bit more now. Exciting - well, I'm excited.

We also played in Glasgow recently to a great crowd, great bunch of lads! My Granny came and everything! My auntie took her but I think they were far more excited to see wee Pat Nevin wandering around pressing the flesh than their own up their slogging his guts off. Ah well, grannies are a bit like cats aren't they, nothing really impresses them that much anyway. Och! She loved it, or so she said. We even played a new song, and a really old one, although I have to admit that the new one was more fun for me to play, especially with my new wee drum kit that looks like a toddler should be bashing away at it. I suppose it makes me look like I've got a great big hulking frame, having a tiny drum kit that is, not a toddler.

Basically I just wanted to assure anybody vaguely interested that we are keeping busy and we'll be joining you soon.

Anyone heard of the Lava Children? I chanced upon them on one of my extensive Myspace mess arounds and really liked their stuff. Anyone ever seen them?

Over and out.

The Opposite of Hallelujah

2007-12-11T01:28:00.000+01:00

I thought I knew what I was going to write but I’ve just watched the cursor go fleeing backwards through so many opening lines. I think there was going to be a mention of Rufus Wainwright having just put him on the stereo, but then that would be the third such blog entry. Such tedium. I should at least vary it by talking about sweet devastation brought on by Jens Lekman’s Night Falls Over Kortedala. Oh Jens, what a record.

Right now I have double blog-guilt; remorse for not writing and shame for trying, after Nobel prize winner Doris Lessing’s recent espousal of fears that the internet is turning us all into filthy time-wasting blog-addicts. Don’t worry, Doris. Be comforted that my trusty old version of Word still turns up its nose in a red sneer at the expression. Stephen Fry calls them Blessays, which is much nicer but then he writes about important things in beautiful ways and I just og.

I have a cough, which I find quite exciting because it seems so old fashioned. A slightly exaggerated splutter and I imagine I could be a Victorian oik hawking up under the gaslight, bristling with TB. I don’t think my flatmate is so entranced.

This has been a bit of an odd time for me lately. A rest was certainly in order after the touring but finding something substantial to fill my life with hasn’t been that easy. Even now I’m trying to write myself to sleep. I have been to see tons of films which is a nice distraction but probably not up there with building human relationships or helping the disadvantaged in when it comes to making something of your life. I tend to avoid my flatmate in case she asks me what I’ve been up to when the answer is always ‘failing to get a job’. We have begun work on new songs so perhaps I will feel a little less useless soon.

I think Doris would want me to go to sleep now. Or at least to og off.

Carey xx

Mazarron not a sprint

2007-10-26T23:11:00.001+01:00

Hello.

i went on holiday recently, to Mazarron, near Murcia in the south of Spain with 'Er Indoors and we took my Mum (she's a massive fan of Spain and hadn't been in ages, it seemed only right). My mother decided to try and smuggle half of Asda with her, it was a bit like the 70's when Scots smuggled a ton of lorne sausage via Thomson and Dan Air to Spain.

It was a delightful break. 'Er Indoors and i went to the market in Totana, and found Brainiac trying to make the world's largest Tortilla Espanol (i'm not sure whether they succeeded, perhaps friends from Spain can let us know when Brainiac Espanol airs on the telly) and a proper old school paella dish (along with a bunch of mad huge spanish garlic).

We went to Puerto de Mazarron, and had coffees and lovely dinners, we went to Isla Plana, which in Spain was a small town near the beach, but in Scotland would have been a bird. There was a lovely wee restaurant there. We had barbeques and tapas and had swims and some sangria and loads of tortilla, manchego and chorizo.... lovely.

My mother also made us watch the BBC's new Robin Hood, as she is a big fan.

I personally found myself watching Doctor Who on my portable DVD player at the poolside under the full glare of the sun. I would have been put off by the glare reflecting off the screen if it hadn't been for the sterling efforts of Tom Baker, bringing his all to the role.

My only complaint would be that we stayed in a country club (we found a nice villa for rent on the interwebs) and it was a bit disappointing to go to Spain, yet find yourself in what appears to be a small village in the English Home Counties, where no one integrates into the local culture, all of the local business are English run, and no one speaks any Spanish whatsoever (which is why we spent so much time in the surrounding villages, which were great). Seriously, why bother?

Plus, i was getting seriously worried that we would get harassed by John Nettles investigating another Midsomer Murder.

Brooklyn Follies and beyond

2007-10-17T23:29:00.000+01:00

Good Autumn to you.

What can I tell you about?

I have been on the receiving end of some wonderful live music experiences of late. I have to confess I am not the most enthusiastic gig-goer. I like the idea of it but find the reality can be tiresome; my drink-holding hand, not to mention both legs, aching, too occupied to applaud, shouting “what, dear?” to friends as they struggle to convey their inter-song commentary through ears neurotically stuffed with toilet-paper. I have already wandered away from the point like the shambling, squinting old-lady-looking-for- teabags-in-the-post-office- persona I frequently adopt.

The gigs, dear.

Yes, I went to see the resplendent Mr Richard Hawley on the Scottish leg of his tour. I am of the opinion that there are not many things I enjoy more of an evening than seeing a Hawley concert. I’d travel a long way for a good ballad.

I have also been dazzled and seduced by the magnificence of Rufus Wainwright and the wonders of his live show. I was shocked to be left wanting more at the end of a munificent two-hour concert. Perhaps the comfortable seat, understated volume and drink-free clapping-hands contributed to my joy.

I’m quite sorry that I seem to be unable to write the kind of blogs that people probably want to read, to comment on the gigs we’ve played and such. However that New York show was, and I intend to de-Americanise the expression, awesome. Thanks to everyone that came to see us on that trip and sorry to anyone I moaned about my insect bites to.

Also, we’ve noticed a lot of people writing to us from Indonesia recently, asking us to come and play. Well, I’m not sure this blog will have been a lot of use to you but I’d like to assure you that we value your affection and will definitely try to come and play for you at some point in the future.

This is what the children are up to these days http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=8wnRVauwTHs

Carey xx

When you get caught between the Moon and New York City...

2007-09-19T23:16:00.000+01:00

i know its crazy, but its true....

well, thats the touring all done. Our bags are all unpacked, we've taken our Roadhog hats off, and things are slowly reverting to normality. I'm so used to wandering round with my passport on me that i'm still carrying it about. It doesn't seem like a year and a half since we set off (aye it does).

We'd slowed down a bit towards the end, and it was quite nice to spend the summer popping up at festivals all over the shop. We thought it would be nice to wind up the touring with a week in North America and then the electric picnic in Ireland. Good choice.

Its always nice to hit North America, we all know folks over there, and its always a pleasure to say hello.

We hit Baltimore for the first time, which was cool, its always nice to go to somewhere new. Interesting place (i heard gunshots outside the hotel entrance, there was a strange man who appeared to be having a hand shandy in the hotel's gents toilet, and there was the woman telling the maid that she'd managed to get blood all over the towels, but i guess these things happen when your hotel is IN the greyhound bus station) but the folk there were great and the show was a blast, lovely venue which had just got a new $65,000 PA fitted that day.

Then it was onto Philly. Most of took the opportunity to taste the legendary Philly Cheese Steak. Not sure why we managed to miss out on that in our two previous visits there, but amends were made, and whilst none of us felt like trying to break the record of 11 in one sitting we were reading about on the wall of Jim's, it was rather pleasant. Vintage stores were rooted through and a fine pair of boots were procured by me. Kenny almost bought a new suit, but whilst the jacket fitted like a glove, the trouser legs only went down to his knees, not a good look. I saw a bass in a wee guitar store that looked like a cross between a Rickenbacker and a Burns. It was called a Dillion, and if you're Glaswegian, you can guess how close i came to buying it for the name alone. First time playing in the TLA, and it was another fun show.

NYC, and a couple of radio sessions and record shop in-store turned into a couple of sessions (First time we've ever had to go through airport style security on the way into a radio building. Its never happened at the BBC) and a surprise full show in Brooklyn in a wee bar in the back of the record shop. Seeing Carey doing an Animal from the Muppets on the ride cymbal during Teenager had to be seen to be believed.

Next day was our show at Peir 17. Just up from Wall Street, we wandered up during the day to load in and set up and get soundchecked. We'd spent the afternoon wandering round Battery Park, loafing, or heading off to buy perfumery from Manhattan. So we got set up and ready and went off for some dinner and to get changed. It was weird, having spent the day wandering round the area, and sound-checking on the stage, we hadn't really thought too much about it, not really sure how many people would turn up, couple of thousand maybe, but we turned up to play, and the place looked really busy, so we went backstage, and nipped to the loo, which was in the shopping mall next door, it was coming back out of the mall when we actually looked up around is for the first time since it had got dark, and we nearly fainted, the stage was basically facing the entire Manhattan Skyline, with all the office windows lit up, boats behind us, loads of folk sitting in bars around the pier and the front of the stage area full to capacity. about 8000 folks. Brown Trousers Syndrome struck, but it was such a beautiful backdrop for a show and a great crowd to play in front of that i suspect its a show we shall never forget.

Up into Canada the next day and our third visit to Montreal. Lovely venue, quite old school with a balcony. I received some tips on how to do a good english accent from a couple of kids from New York who were up in Montreal on holiday, always handy to get taught something new wherever you go i always say. Once again, a nice crowd as always.

The last show was in Toronto, again in a new venue for us, and the end of tour bug struck and i think we decided to try a couple of old songs in the soundcheck. After we tried then we decided not to play them, heh. Kenny played a wee version of Rocky Raccoon, which was brilliant. I got a microphone for the very first time, and when i spoke into it, it was turned off, so i felt a bit like Norman Collier in a country where no one knows who Norman Collier is or what his one joke is.

And it was all over, all too quickly. We headed off to Detroit the next morning and flew home.

Then re-convened a couple of days later to go to Electric Picninc. What a festival. Lovely atmosphere. Great folks all wandering around having a cracking time, very few casualties in evidence, it reminded us of festivals we've played in spain. Got to see bits of the Jesus and Mary Chain, Nouvelle Vague but managed to miss The Beastie Boys, who i REALLY wanted to see (Kenny missed them too, but he was standing at the wrong stage wondering where they were), but this was almost made up for when as we congregated in the van to head off back to our hotel, the Beasties appeared back at the Artist Village in two people carriers, spilled out into the road to have our sound man Jim leaning out of the van window shouting, "Nobody!! Can Do It!! Like Mixmaster Mike!!! 'Moan The Beasties!!!!" at them. They looked in equal parts bemused and afraid.

Anyhoo, as i appear to have wittered on for long enough, i shall leave you for now, cheers, Gav

Taken by Dublin

2007-09-18T17:07:00.000+01:00

Hello again

I warned you I’d be back soon.

So what have I been doing since yesterday? I went to see a film at the GFT (Glasgow Film Theater) called True North. It was about hard up Scottish fishermen transporting illegal Chinese immigrants form Belgium to the UK. It was quite grim but I enjoyed it none the less, even if it made me feel a little sea sick.

I’m going to Dublin for a short break so I booked my flight for that this morning. I’ve been meaning to have a non band visit there for ages. I’m going for ‘the crack’ of course, but also to see Taken by Trees play. Victoria from the band is one of my finest friends so might as well kill two birds with the one stone. I urge you all to catch her and the group if you can on their exclusive European tour. More details about the Dublin and other gigs here at www.takenbytrees.com. If you haven’t already heard of them I would strongly suggest you get out and buy the album. It’s called Open Field and is on Rough Trade Records. Some of you might be interested to know that there’s a song on the record written by yours truly. Plug, Plug, I have a red face now! Oh and course I’ve been working hard on the new songs. More about that soon…

Tracyanne x

towns, cities and countries

2007-09-17T17:57:00.000+01:00

Hello there!

Oh it’s been so long…

We’ve been so busy this year coming to visit you all that I’ve completely failed in my duty to write to you. Sorry! Well, we’re back from our travels now and I will try to keep in touch more often. Promise!

Thank you to everyone who came to see us play live over the past year or so. When I think of all the places we visited, I can’t quite believe it. We’ve been all over the world practically. I feel very lucky to have visited your towns and cities and countries and I hope we can visit again soon…

I think you’ll be happy to know that we’re at home in Glasgow currently writing songs for the new album. I feel very excited about it and can’t wait to share them with you. I’ll keep you posted on how it’s going. I intend to be in touch on a more regular basis.

For now I’ll tell you that I’ve updated my virtual tape page on our web site, it should be up for you to look at tomorrow. I also intend to get some new photos up of us on our travels for you to see too. We have a lot of catching up to do…

Bye for now

Tracyanne

"Like Sauchiehall Street on a Saturday night, but in the Somme!"

2007-07-12T22:11:00.000+01:00

How about the timing of that last blog, huh? You try relate a a light hearted tale of boy meets boy, when you're suddenly implicated in some sinister affair. I was going to tell you about the time I tried to buy two cans of medium strength lager from Tesco - I was ID'd and then refused because I don't really carry any - but then I'd probably find out that they've just invaded Denmark. That would be the last time they use my cymbal noises to sell their bleeding horses.

We're currently in the middle of festival season and enjoying it, Roskilde and T in The Park last weekend were really fun. Thanks for everyone who came to see us, we were genuinely surprised by the amount of folks who stopped by to see us and even more surprised that most of them stayed til the end! Really, we appreciate it. Festivals are fun to play because you get to see all these bands for free and even get to see them shoving grub down their necks in the catering tent (I saw Rufus Wainwright hovering around the salad bar at T in the Park). You also get to use the 'nicer' toilets and drink free generic lager. My only gripe with T in the Park is that I didn't see any cast members from River City, I thought I'd be literally bumping into all those Shieldinch guys backstage and I didn't even see Wee Bob's burd.

Anyway, hopefully we'll see some of you at Latitude, Benicassim and Sudoeste.
Lee

Did I Ever Tell You About The Time We Met Michael Barrymore?

2007-06-09T17:44:00.001+01:00

Well we did, in Australia, in Sydney. We had just played the Annandale Hotel with Rand and Holland, a good gig if I remember correctly, and were wandering the streets of Sydney with our label boss, sound guy and tour manager. We found a bar in an area popular with the buzzing gay community and Mardi Gras had just passed, the emptiest bar on the street no less as is the Camera Obscura way; in fact there was nobody else in the place. We had the company of a video jukebox to look forward to. I had just sat at a table when Gav came in and exclaimed that they had just spotted one time TV host and reality TV star Michael Barrymore sitting on a bench, alone, out on the street. Traceyanne had done that thing that my mother had once done when we saw the scary and zealous priest from the Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit TV programme, when on holiday in Spain years ago, and shouted the guy’s name out when she saw him. “Oh my God there’s…” insert famous name/s.
Gavin and myself talked ourselves into frenzy and sort of decided that we should talk to him and get him up for a beer, “of course he’d want to hang out with us, he’s miles from home. It’ll be a laugh”. “Aye, he always seemed pretty funny on TV” etc
The pair of us wandered nervously back to the spot of the sighting and sure enough there he was sitting nonchalantly on a bench on his own enjoying the summer evening. “Eh, Mr Barrymore” I piped up and I could feel myself shaking. He responded favourably after my scattered introduction, “Scottish band on tour…big fans blah blah”, c’mon! I had to humour the guy, you know how these celebrities are? He agreed to come for a beer with us and we began walking when I turned into a dithering idiot and asked a series of stupid questions, the nerves had kicked in and I was a freaking wreck, “mmmm so where is it you live these days?…Oh really, what you up to in Sydney?”. Poor guy must have thought we were from the stupid British tabloids, “tell you what, I’m just gonna pop in ‘ere for a magazine” he said after stopping outside a news stand, “what’s the name of the bar?” We told him and walked. That was it; I’d blown it with my nervous, daft and probably unintentionally probing questions.

It was a late night; we fed that hungry video jukebox and were rewarded with Luscious Jackson videos and possibly a spell of New Romantic classics amongst others, the place remained completely empty. We drank til closing.

Lee

Rufus Wainwright

2007-04-14T00:49:00.001+01:00

Been listening to him non stop on this tour. Seems to be going well with my mood, whatever that i?.
I'm diggin'(Carey will give me a row for using such language. Quite right!) his lyrics at the moment. It's a strange thing being on 'tour' you know. You find yourself having text only relationship's with people from your real life. So what I'm really trying to say is 'my phone's on vibrate for you'.

night night
Tracyanne x

How can anyone feel so lonely?

2007-04-12T00:50:00.000+01:00

The hotel room we're in is actually quite stylish, it has a faux-art deco both. art deco meets the eighties perhaps.
Francois spent two minutes in his room and then left because he says he feels too lonely in Germany, the rooms are so cold. We blame the use of black and mint green, too brutal on his tender soul.

We have been on tour for a long time. Almost all our lives it seems.

We're listening to quite sad songs because it is something past one a.m. Anthony and the Johnsons. Rufus Wainwright.

This morning we enjoyed using a beautiful launderette with a pleasant colour scheme. We asked a lady to help us as the instructions were in German (until we get to the English instructions, ahem) ((plus we only use launderettes on tour; unlike Eastenders, we have washing machines at home)). Miss Campbell decided to buy her a cake as a gesture of thanks but she refused it. what can you do?

Just now we listened to an interview with Dory Previn, favourite eccentric of this parish http://podcast.prx.org/showcase/audio/showcase_20070404.mp3
in which she swears and it made us laugh.

The church bells say it is bed time
night xxx
Carey and Tracyanne

Saint Valentine's day kisses

2007-02-15T20:19:00.000+01:00

Kisses were for sale last night in Portland. No one showed any interest. I'm quite sad about it I must say. Oh well, thanks to the mystery man for the flowers.
Love and kisses
Tracyanne

You know what happens when you guys hit the stage, 'aint nothing but a party!

2007-02-07T03:31:00.000+01:00

We are right in the middle, well we were last night. We are in Kansas City and the show is a late one because there's a, wait for it, honky tonk show on before ours. You have to love this country. Last night we played in Columbia, MO and met Beatle Bob. The title of this blog can be attributed to him. We were all a little bongo'd by the end of the night, indeed.
Anyway, the tour is going extremely well and we are all happy. I feel especially elated as my left ear was blocked and was driving me crazy, it just sort of stopped working for 4 days, anyway I went to a medical centre in Ann Arbor and got it fixed and now feel like a new man.
We parted company with the Essex Green a few days ago in Chicago and are all feeling a bit sad, it was so nice to hang out with those guys, a blast. You should definitely check them out if they play near you, a very good live band. I miss them already.
Chicago was so cold that I thought my ears were going to fall off my head, seriously. I walked outside for 10 minutes and thought I was going to die. We got caught in a proper snow storm too, bit scary, a bit exciting. If we'd been stuck in the snow we all agreed that if we ran out of food then eating Francois first would have been our best bet. He's the youngest, I think he would have been ok with that, really.
Oh yeah, you know I was talking about Roadhouse last week? well, in Kalamazoo...........

Lee

$5 Fine for whining

2007-01-27T20:55:00.000+01:00

So said the hilarious sign above the bar we went to after the show in Northampton last night, suffice to say that not one single moan escaped our lips as we lapped up some tasty Guiness after playing to another fine crowd. A few of us had some drinks with those fine Essex Green lads. It was so cold there last night, I applaud everyone who made it out there or any of the other nights we've played recently. Everyone assumes that Scotland is cold but this is something else, we have the Gulf Stream, mild winters these days, crappy summers too. Sounds lovely, huh?
At the moment we are in Boston and play the Paradise club tonight. I share a room with Francois and he's currently overdubbing some trumpet part on his tiny 4 track recorder. He never stops! I on the other hand will probably switch on the Chuck Norris channel on TV when i've finished this.
We watched The Departed on the plane on the way over so are all a bit weary of Boston's seedy underbelly, better watch it tonight! Only kidding, i'm excited because I have friends here and i'm sure they'll buy me dinner, talking of which, the competition to find the most generous audience is still on. Mine's a Whiskey with ice.

Lee

A question of tipples

2007-01-18T02:11:00.000+01:00

Did you know that the Bombay Sapphire Gin factory burned down last year? Gavin just told me that back stage at The Earl in Atlanta, Georgia, preparing to kick off our tour of the States. He's full of interesting facts like that. I'm on a bit of a downer so was thinking about having a drink and someone suggested Gin. My god I think not. You know what they say about that particular tipple, I'll be crying by the 2nd tune. Instead I'm going for Campari and orange juice. Smiles all the way.

Love Tracyanne

And now I know what security means to me

2007-01-17T23:31:00.000+01:00

So here we are in that little america world. We sort of forgot how long the flight takes. And we didn't count on it taking two hours from getting off the plane to finally getting out of the airport. Flipping heck. They make you collect your luggage and then hand it in and take a train and pick it up again. The immigration guy was quite friendly for once though.

A journalist recently asked me whether we spiced up tales in our blogs. Cheeky bastard.

Ok here's one for you. Last night I dreamt I saw some badgers and told Bill Oddie about them.

new dress count: 1

take care and see some of you at the shows
carey xx

9.50am and Shooter's on.

2007-01-17T16:19:00.000+01:00

I have awoken in Atlanta, GA. It is 10 minutes to 10 in the morning and Basic Instinct is on the TV, that amazing bit where Mike Douglas turns up at that club wearing a jumper has just been on, brilliant! Genius! I'm not a big "so bad it's good" guy, although this and 'Roadhouse' with Patrick Swayze are amazingly entertaining pieces of crap. Especially the latter, Swayze as a Zen buddhist bouncer working rough Southern bars is particularly hilarious, Ben Gazarra is in it too. What more could you possibly want in a film?
After 10 hours on planes we arrived in Atlanta at 6pm'ish last night, it's cold here. We ate at a particularly classy joint called Ruby Tuesdays and drank some beer called Blue Moon. Anyway, some of the guys are watching 'Rocky Bilbaoa' and some are eating breakfast and I have to shower but only after i've seen Mick Douglas nearly being ice-picked to death, sexy death!
We play at the Earl tonight, more later.
Lee

Happy New Year

2006-12-31T14:54:00.000+01:00

This isn't one of my thought-out posts. Quite lame I suppose but one of us ought to manage some sort of seasonal greeting. Sometimes I really feel like writing, like when we've had a frustrating day in an airport. But that's all we have to moan about really, so we shouldn't.

And it's happened. Even my mother has nagged me that I ought to update my page on the website.

I have just been writing all the forthcoming tour dates in my new diary. gulp. see you in about a hundred years. hope next year is a good year for lots of you
carey xx

El Sweeney

2006-11-27T23:28:00.000+01:00

So this is our last night in Spain, its been an amazing two weeks, met lots of you, played some shows, even recorded a show for TV. We always like coming to spain, but for some reason, when we are here, we seem to have things happen to us. Our Pain in Spain tour in 2002 resulted in half the band being ill/injured. And this time started with me having my passport nicked on the way out, then when we arrived, Kenny's pedals had been damaged during the flight and he had to buy replacements, Carey lost her purse, i've left my DVD wallet in a hotel room in Malaga (hopefully i can get it back) and the most bizarre thing that has ever happened to us as a band occured on Saturday afternoon on the way to Santa Pola.

We were driving down the autovia, when suddenly an unmarked police-car started flashing its lights at us, blue light flashing in the roof, it overtook us and forced us to pull over on the hard shoulder. There was only one guy in the car, he got out, came over to the Minibus, and started demanding all our passports. Luckily Jenny, our stand in trumpet player, is fluent in Spanish, as he barked at us, asking who we were and why were we in spain, wher had we come from, where were we going, were we tourists? MUSICIANS!!! Did we have cocaine? he searched all our wallets, pockets, searched all our euro notes for traces of cocaine (obviously he'd picked the wrong band, but he kept going) after he had gone through us all, he seemed satisfied that we weren't mules, and let us go, before flying off down the motorway after some other poor unfortunate soul. We were left sitting on the hard shoulder feeling a little shellshocked, ever so slightly shaken. I don't fancy having to go through that again in a hurry. As Arthur Daley once said, "I don't like abroad, funny water, sawn-off toilets and Plod with guns" I have to be honest having an armed policeman going through your pockets and wallet is a serious brown trouser moment. In comparison i don't mind the water or the toilets to be fair.

Gav

The Real Hustle

2006-11-18T13:48:00.000+01:00

I am currently sitting in my hotel room in Madrid, its the second day of the tour as i write this, and last night's show in El Sol was great fun,
we're back in there tonight for another show, and it should be a cracker with a good Friday night feeling. Its been a couple of years since we last
played in Madrid, and its been really nice to wander round the city this morning and get to look around and chill out with a cafe con leche in the
Galiceria. But it nearly didn't happen, at the last minute on Wednesday, whilst waiting for our connecting flight to Madrid in Gatwick Airport, i
suffered an unfortunate occurence which i will now share with you all. This is a tale of a real hustle, a rollercoaster ride of theft, panic, stress,
whisky, newcastle brown ale and last minute good fortune in the face of adversity.

We were sitting in the Village Inn, a 'delightful' wetherspoon's establishment in the Gateway Village in Gatwick Airport, recovering over coffee from
an early flight from Glasgow. We had a few hours to kill before we could check in for the connection to Madrid. We were sorting out expenses, and i put
the remaining money back in my inside jacket pocket, and we continued to recover. We left the Inn shortly after and were sitting in a wee seating area
when i put my hand in my pocket and realised the expenses money had gone. I ran back round to the Inn to see if anyone had handed anything in. Ran back
to the seating area went through my jacket again, and bag, several times, suddenly realised that my passport was missing too. F**K SQUARED!!!! There had
been a slightly shifty character that had sat down behind me after we finished with the expenses. No one thought anything of the fact that he hadn't bought
a drink or food, and was just sitting at the table, i did think it odd that he was sitting directly behind me when he was on his own, but you never really
think too hard about these thinkgs until after the event. He had dipped my pocket and not only managed to nick our money, but also my passport which i'd put
in the same pocket.

Panic ensues, as i phone the police, explain the situation, get a crime number, am told to inform the airline and see what they can do re me flying, and
report it to the Passport Agency so they can block the passport. Airline tell me i can't fly without my passport. Even within the European Union, i ask in
vain, with my photographic Driving Licenece as proof of who i am, with a crime number for my stolem passport, and my passport number. Not a chance.
So i phone the Passport Agnecy, explain the situation, its an emergency, passport stolen in airport, can i get an emergency passport/travel document, NOPE!
Can i get a passport tomorrow so i can still fly out the next day in time for the first show? No sir, it will take 7 days for your new passport. But But But!!!
Surely in this situation, i must be able to get one quicker? No Sir, it will take 7 days. At this point the rest of the band are now checked in and i'm facing
the prospect of either having to stay in London myself and try and sort out a new passport, go home and wait for it to arrive and then fly out as soon as it
does, or go home to Glasgow, go the passport office there and again, wait till it arrives. I feel like greeting.

Just as the band are about to disappear through security, Francis, our manager phones, He's sorted an appointment at the London Passport office for 6.15, i've
got 2 hours to get over there from the airport, pick up 2 passport forms from the Post Office on the way, fill them in, get photos taken and cross my panic
stricken shaking fingers that the good people of the passport office decide our tour is important enough to that i should be able to get a passport first
thing the next day. So Kenny has to stay with me to countersign my forms, and his luggage has already been booked through. So a bagless Kenny and I leg it
through Gatwick, get the train to Victoria, find a Post Office, get the forms, get photos taken, stop for a pasty to sustain us in our hour of need, leg it
round to the Passport Offices, queue up, fill in forms, and wait as the staff there slowly go through the file notes on the case and read through the fax from
Elefant explaining how important it is that I get out to Spain the following day.

After an hour, happy that i have a suficient reason to be allowed an emergency passport, they sign off the case to allow the passport to go to print, only one
slight problem, before it can finally get the go ahead, they have to double check on my file with the Glasgow Passport Office. The Glasgow Office has now shut
for the evening, so they email them asking for my file to be faxed down first thing in the morning. So now i know that i will get a passport the next day, but
have to wait to see if it will come through in time for me to travel for the show. There's only one thing for it. PUB!!

In moments like this, only a bloody big drink will suffice, so Kenny and I retire to the nearest pub for some dinner and several pints of Newcastle Brown Ale,
feeling slightly more relaxed, we return to the hotel to for a little drink of Whisky and watch some League of Gentlemen, slightly banjoed.

The morning rolls around, and a phonecall at 8.53am informs me the passport has gone to pint and will be ready to be picked up at 12.53, in time for the flight
we were re-booked onto but unlikely to give us time to soundcheck. Ever the profesionals, we decide that after the previous day, turning up at the venue and
having to scramble on stage to set up in a rush was no problem in comparison.

We get to Madrid, jump in a taxi, get into the city centre fairly quickly then get stuck in traffic, finally get to the street next to the venue, to find there
is no access to the venue's street. Jump out and make the last stretch of the journey on foot. We arrive outside and a small group of people gathered outside
ask, "are you in camera obscura?", yes we reply, "you better get in, they're waiting for you." Never have we seen more relieved faces. There was still an hour
to doors, so we at least had time to set up our gear and even managed ten minutes of a sound check. Tonight, we'll get to do it properly.

I'm still slightly dazed by the past two days, but all's well that ends well, Tracy told the crowd last night that i had had my identity stolen by a Russian Mafiosa.
Whilst i suspect the truth is not quite so exciting, if the police manage to trace the guy through the pub's CCTV footage, i hope they give him a bloody good shoeing.

Adios Amigos, Gav

Does anyone swing by here nowadays?

2006-11-06T03:57:00.000+01:00

I wouldn't blame you if you didn't. All the same, I get the feeling there are one or two of you out there who are pissed off at our lack of posts, but who still sneak a wee look now and then, just in case. So, if you're one of them, I thank you for not just stopping off at Myspace like everyone else. I dedicate this otherwise utterly meaningless piece to you. Small reward, but it's all there is at the moment. If I may be so bold, please leave a little comment and let us know you're out there before we decide to channel our already stretched energies elsewhere.

Oh aye, and if you're Spanish - see you very soon. Can't wait...

Kenny x

Every Which way but Loose

2006-09-22T23:41:00.000+01:00

Hello there,
Well its been a very busy time of late, we're back in Glasgow for a couple of weeks before we go off globetrotting again. We've been all over the shop, UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, Spain, Germany, Sweden. Every Which Way But Loose (only without an orangutang). Aiports and Planes, Minibuses, lots of travelling, lots of waiting around. People often say to me, "Gav", they say, "How do you all cope with all the travellling and waiting about?" "Celebrity Lookalikes" i reply.
Celebrity lookalikes is the most fun you can have in an airport/any place that you have to wait about where there are other people. You can probably guess from the name what the point of the game is. Spot people who look like someone famous. Its not about getting a spitting image, its more about seeing someone who looks a bit like someone famous and has particular features that makes you think of said famous person, often more like a caricature of the celebrity. You then turn round discretely and say, "Check out *insert celebrity lookalike here*" And theres the fun, everyone you are with looks about to try and spot the celebrity lookalike. If you get spotted looking by the celebrity lookalike its a bit of a brassneck, but once you start, its compulsive stuff. Many laughs have been had by us playing this game over the years, so have a go at it, i guarantee you will enjoy it.
Have fun.... Gav

Granny Belter!

2006-09-14T01:03:00.000+01:00

My sister has just completed her nursing degree. Hooray! 4 years of study and all with a small, but bulky and very powerful, son raised pretty much on her own. That's the reason most people believe her to be my older sister when the contrary is true. Responsibility you see, brings a sense of maturity, apparently.

Anyway, we celebrated with an afternoon lunch and my Gran was there too. We'd eaten the main course and I was hoovering the rest of my pudding when my Gran lets slip that she'd tried to get into the Indian Summer gig we played a couple of Sundays ago in Glasgow's Victoria Park.

My Gran has always stayed near this park and knew there was a bandstand there which she thought we were playing in. She negotiated her way to the entrance and was told that indeed her grandson's band were playing and hadn't he put her on the guest list? Well no, she thought she'd just pop along and besides he'd already put his nephew and sister on the list. Well how much to get in? £33!
My gran got on a bus to go home.

If a story surfaces in a certain Scottish tabloid newspaper regarding a cold-hearted drummer in a minor Glasgow indie band, refusing his 84 year old grandmother entry to his gigs, well at least you'll know all the facts. Won't you?

Lee

Summer's what you make it

2006-09-04T14:15:00.000+01:00

Today I am wearing woolly tights, the front windows show it is sunny, the back; the moody glare of rain-sodden sky. Yesterday, Glasgow’s Indian Summer filled me with winter. I am not much of a fan of the windswept music experience. My shoes are wrecked.
But there were warm moments.
Anthony and the Johnsons were a burst of the finest purple-skyed misery. Yo La Tengo annoyed people with their self-indulgent guitar-shaking but reduced us to helpless smiles, they dedicated a song to us knowing they’re our heroes. Broken Social Scene also demonstrated a coy liking for us and churned up their set with frequent bursts of the Lloyd riff. I missed a lot of the music in the afternoon shivering like a coward as the rain sprayed down the back of my neck in the catering tent while Yo La Tengo talked to us about pornography.

In previous weeks we have been to Sweden, Germany and Ireland, watched the Dresden Dolls eating soup, swooned as the Swedish kids made hearts at us, been willingly patronised by Dublin bar staff encouraging us to drink 3 pint monstrosities of Guinness, let Jack White try on my glasses. It’s been fun.

Tracy and I are eating fancy chocolates for breakfast because there isn’t anything else.

Carey x

2006-09-02T14:02:00.000+01:00

Francis (our manager) and Carey are in my livingroom at this moment in time counting and sorting out our t-shirts. I thought I'd get out of it by being a smart arse and offering to blog.
We've been very busy lately so I haven't had much time to share much with you. We've been to North America and everything. Very nice it was indeed and I'd like to thank everyone who came to see us there. Special hello to Scarlet from L.A by the way. I misplaced a notebook she gave me but it turned up this morning out of the blue. Thank you for following us along the west coast. I do think you're a nut but in a good way. I'm going to put that notebook to good use next week and start writing some new songs. Exciting. well, I hope something good will come out of it.
Oh, I'm very very very happy to have El pero del mar supporting us on our up and coming UK dates. You are in for a treat kids. She is amazing and her songs will make you weep with joy and sadness at the same time. Check her album out.
Apparantly this morning Jonathan Ross almost played our new single 'Let's get out of this country' on his radio show but opted for 'an old clasic' instead. What's that all about? I think you lot should write in and complain.Jonathan.ross@bbc.co.uk. Put him in his place and tell him to stop being a bore. We don't need to hear old classics on the radio. There's too juch new stuff to be heard. Talking of new stuff, I can't wait to see Tilly and The wall tomorrow at Indian summer. We're playing on the same stage as them. I heard they are fantastic live and tap dance and everything. wonderful. Talking about Indian Summer. I'd better get myself along there now, I don't want to miss the lovey Guillomots. Been doing a lot of plugging in this blog haven't I?

Tracyanne

Spectacular Blog Coming Soon!!!

2006-08-07T22:43:00.000+01:00

Stay tuned, one of us is about to publish! Oh, the suspense!

Did i ever tell you about the time i fell down a volcano...

2006-06-24T18:28:00.000+01:00

People will often tell you that travel broadens the mind. Billy Connolly once commented that conversely, travel narrows the mind, and the drums never stop. Our recent travels have been a great experience, and we're looking forward to our next trip over the water to North America (as opposed to 'doon the water' to Dunoon for a fish tea). During the tour, Carey reminded me of one of my previous travel experiences, and i suggested i share it with you, so here we go...

1983 was an interesting year for travel for me, it also turned out to be an interesting year for travel mishaps.

It started in the January, the family were going to New Zealand to visit relatives. "You're representing your country", my mother told me,"You'll need to wear your kilt". I argued that surely a Scotland Football shirt would allow me to represent my country equally well, but apparently not, so the kilt it was, 11 years old and forced to wear kilt whilst traveling halfway across the globe. I had to wear it for the long haul flight over, and on arrival in NZ, experienced the joy of being gauped by a large number of people awaiting the new arrivals, many of whom were holding those cards with people's names on them. Magic!

We flew into Auckland, but Were heading to Wellington. There was time to kill before our connecting flight, so my Cousins who lived in Auckland met us and took us on a quick tour around the city. The pinnacle of our first visit was being driven to the top of a volcano (now extinct) Mount Eden (i think it was) in the middle of the city. There were impressive views of the city around us, but for me, the highlight was gazing down into the huge crater in the middle of this mountain where the volcano had erupted. I decided i should go down to the bottom of the crater so when i got home i could tell all my friends that i had stood inside a volcano.

Off i went, jogging off downwards into the middle of the crater, excited at the prospect of being in the middle of a volcano. I was about a third of the way down when i realised that it was slightly steeper than i had given it credit for. I was getting faster and faster and very quickly realised that i was incapable of keeping up this speed for much longer without decking it spectacularly. Deck it spectacularly i did, tripping over a clump of grass. Normally, tripping over with a host of tourists watching you and landing on your head would be a touch embarrassing, but i had built up a fair bit of speed, and landing on my head was followed by rocketing on down the steep incline towards the bottom of the crater, and my embarrassment was to continue for a bit longer. I kept rolling until i came to a halt at the bottom. Then of course i had to clamber back out with said tourists still watching me. There is actually Super 8 footage of my re-emergence from the crater somewhere (thanks Mum) as a permanent record of my fall.

The worst thing of all though wasn't the indignity of the fall, nor even the bruises that were sustained during it, but i lost my sporran. Gutted.

The rest of the year was quite quiet in comparison. I did go on a 'foreign visit' with the scouts that summer, traveling round bits of Europe. I managed to get electrocuted on a concrete barge on the Seinne, get water blister burns on the Italian Riviera, and drop my camera from a ski lift in Switzerland... but that's another story.

Gav

The Importance of Elsewhere

2006-06-24T14:41:00.000+01:00

The second Camera Obscura tour of the United Kingdom is finished .The van is emptied of uneaten apples. The mosaic of crusty insects is lathered off the windscreen. The band return to their decreasingly normal lives. And dream or nightmare of America. Dire diary…

Leeds, The Aire
A ninth story hotel room, a view of the lochs. The beginning of our English summer. The only venue with effective air conditioning. Backstage and ever shy, a complex chair/curtain construction is erected to retain modesty at shower time .Monkey Swallows the Universe and everyone applauds. We shamble a little but tell ourselves the curse of Leeds is history.

Manchester , The Medlock
The Dry Bar doesn’t live up to its name. We share the dressing room with imaginary rats. Warm cheese is the taste of the tour. The crowd crowed appreciatively. Cursing the filthy state of rock and roll venues. The sweat dries in The Castle under the trickle of proper beer. Bridges are built. We need all the friends we can get.

Hull, The Humber
Seven necks crane to take in the Humber. We observe a disconcerting quantity of very short people, hesitate to say dwarves, scattered between charity shops. Our favourite eccentric of the tour marred slightly by the tissue issue .We are out-shambled. Always it is by bridges that we live.

London, The Thames
Six necks crane to take in our posters on the streets of London. Very grand. Francois’ frolicking makes us feel old. My keyboard module frolics right off the stage but is tougher than me. I applaud it. The presence of some old school friends in the audience re-conjures those obligatory- performing-in-school-assembly-nerves. Perhaps one too many gin and tonics for the successful re-creation of all 958 chords in Andrew Gold’s Never Let Her Slip Away.

Norwich, The Broads
The most surprisingly charm of Britain. We are wooed again by the beauty of the Arts Centre, and attempt to woo the crowd in return. The finest record shops of the tour manned by several characters from Nick Hornby’s Hi-Fidelity. Looking up at the rafters and down at the graves. It is flint. We salute you.

Colchester, The Colne
Again we dream, why can’t all music venues be like this? Disappointingly the pulpit is shut off so Francois can’t dance there. There is something sad about a building being de-sanctified. Our only home-cooked meal produced by a very quiet man. Bless you.

Cardiff, The Taff
A claustrophobic venue ornamented by an endearingly enthusiastic crowd, perhaps due to the rejuvenating effect of Francois and the Atlas Mountains on fine chaotic form. Wales apparently renames its local beer in my honour. Garlic overload.

Sheffield, The Sheaf
Everybody hums the entire back-catalogue of Richard Hawley songs to themselves whilst we are still 50 miles away from the mythical city. The leafy industrial beauty is never totally obscured by the ugliness of an empty club. Then the people arrived and all was pretty again.

Glasgow, The Clyde
Memories of the Truckers Café breakfast queasily subside.
The homecoming event, even for the homeless. I dine alone. The band perform a secret (C*ltic) huddle in the dressing room, orchestrated by Mr Pat Nevin. Overwhelming enthusiasm in the crowd throughout the entire concert. We try not to look surprised but apparently fail. Kenny fights the smoke machine because he is jealous of it. We take a bottle of whisky on stage to provide a distraction in any awkward gaps but there aren’t any. The manager sheepishly produces a plastic cup of flat champagne for everyone. We hardly shamble at all.

Aberdeen, The Dee and The Don
Outside the venue is littered with the corpses of suicidal pigeons. The worst ‘Italian’ restaurant ever; swipe the black pepper and run for the hills, I advise. See the sea. Francois and Victor sing You Shook Me All Night Long in their joyful, homoerotic, peculiar French way because it is the last night. We shamble again. It rains so much on the way home.

carey xx

We just stepped out for a short while...

2006-06-23T00:18:00.001+01:00

Here's a little of what we did (from what my tiny mind can recollect).

In Leeds, at the Faversham, we played a good show for the first time. We've not always had much luck there (our fault, not yours). For those of you who made it, sorry it took us so long. We would never have stopped trying. Monkey Swallows the Universe were excellent. I'm sure I heard their guitar player playing Bert Jansch in a little daydream.

In a cave at the back of Manchester's Dry Bar, we turned to liquid. Did anyone see our nipples? We played on a stage made from lots of little stages. Tracyanne dished out dessert and, ever keen to meet the needs of our discerning listeners, we played Books Written for Girls. We don't play that so often.

In Hull Adelphi, there was no toilet paper. Whatsoever. And yet it is known as one of the twenty British venues which make up the Toilet Tour. Great place - the bar is a bus. Go and see for yourself. Paul the owner is quite a character...

In London, at the Cargo, it was hot again. Lots of people came to interview and photograph us. Francois and his band, harpist included, blew the audience away and made us scared to play. Tracy got confused by technology. My trousers bunched up, Larry David style.

In Norwich Arts Centre, we were taken very good care of, once again, in what has to be one of the finest places to play live in any country - and that's swearing. In an attempt to stop melting in the heat I shaved off my beard and what's left of my hair in the basement of a funny little barber shop at the top of the hill, where the man said "Bit rough, that Glasgow, innit?". Or did I just imagine that?

We all got a bit merry that night, and Gavin told us all about the birds and the bees.

In Colchester Arts Centre, another beautiful building, a nice man made a huge pot of delicious chilli, and a very quiet audience gave us a very loud cheer at the end. Francois and his gang drove home to Bristol that night, accidentally via Nottingham.

We drove to Cardiff on the 14th. It was a day off. Nigel went home to consolidate his empire for a night. We ate out in town, and then a quiet night in the hotel. The following night, at Clwb Ifor Bach, Francois had his Big Band on parade, featuring the debut of one Lee Thomson on drums. It was such a relief to see some familiar faces and afterwards to find a bar open till 2am which didn't require an entry fee or a debate with bouncers. When I woke the next morning, there was a huge green band painted across the back of my nice new white shirt. What's that all about?

Before I forget - HEY EVERYBODY! CAREY GOT HER RESULTS BACK! SHE GOT A FIRST!

In Sheffield, at the legendary Leadmill, Lee narrowly avoided being smothered by a falling banner, and one of the "meticulous" security staff didn't allow Gavin onto the stage until he had his little sticker on. Oh, and they wouldn't accept Scottish fivers or tenners at the bar. I lack the skill to convey just how annoying that really is. Still, they were a decent bunch all the same and we had a great time and the crowd were lovely. Sorry to those of you who missed out on t-shirts, there'll be more soon...

We came home on Saturday, just for the day, to play our biggest (best?) Glasgow show to date at the QM Union. We always got the impression that only a handful of people gave a toss about us in Glasgow. Maybe we didn't have enough to offer until now. Who knows? Who cares? It was the greatest.

On Sunday on a very rainy Loch Lomond, hung over, cold and soaking, rowing a small, bashed boat into Balmaha Marina, I smiled to myself and thought, "If only I had a bucket to bail this water out." More on this another time.

We finished up on Monday there in Aberdeen, at the Tunnels. Francois and Victor joined us on their farthest trip north and with Lee on drums again, treated the crowd to the cutest AC/DC cover ever. When it was our turn, we had a few sound problems but, professionals as we are, we rose above them. We did, didn't we? Thanks to Hen for being a decent bloke.

Did anyone else speak to the man at the front who appeared able to communicate only by using Camera Obscura lyrics? Does anyone know if that's a recognised medical condition?

Thank you all. Thank you all so much.

I've just read this back. It's a little dull. But then I'm a little sober; therefore, so am I. A little dull, that is.

See you in a couple of weeks, Americans...

Kenny

2006-05-30T14:06:00.000+01:00

Oh I haven't written since the trip to America. Shameful. But you wouldn't really have wanted to hear about what I've been up to, not the academic bits. The other bits have been fun. There are lots of radio sessions about to emerge for your listening pleasure, which are always something of a challenge for us because of the difficulty of finding time to practice. That's my excuse anyway. And we decided to complicate and embellish by approaching them all differently, so it will be well worth you paying attention to them all. I'm sure I came up with some brilliant metaphor for how it feels playing live on air but the bout of nerves afterwards must have cleared it from my brain. Your loss.

Another project of interest is our contribution to the next Qmagazine CD. So go and buy it. And have fun listening for the deliberate mistake we didn't do on purpose.

The most exciting thing for me about my freedom from adademic responsibility is the prospect of finding time to read the piles of books that have accumulated in my room over the last few years and then updating my page on the website. Ahem.

In Dr Who news, I saw Christohper Eccleston at the weekend...impressed Gav?

The album will be out so soon, we hope you enjoy it.

friends FOREVER!!!11!

2006-05-09T21:34:00.001+01:00

Oh dear! Poor David Blaine. I tell you my heart just sank. Poor, poor David.
As a tribute I am going to cover my face in strawberry jam this August and have thousands of wasps and bees swarm all over my face for TWO whole weeks, I will then spend ten days inside a shark eating chum. All donations will be given to a charity of David's choice.

I remember a while ago when David spent a while in London hanging out in one of those "eye pods", I read an article where someone portrayed a feeling of nationalistic pride at the fact that so many people were pelting his bubble with all kinds of crap. Of course this could not happen in any other country, especially the United States.

I don't want to sound like a miserable bastard but I think if I had been in London then I too would have probably thrown an object in Mr Blaine's direction. I'm not really a REAL moaning faced Jock but the little things are starting to annoy me a little too much. Of course whenever I travel I get into the swing, I AM able to cast off that miserly British/Scottish greeting faced expression that I can become too attached to.

So please, don't let my face put you off when you're coming to see us on tour, right?
I only mention this because a certain female member of the band (who isn't the singer) has made a few wee comments regarding my temperament recently. Please remember that in my heart I LOVE YOU and YOU....ALL OF YOU PEOPLE, HUMANS, MUSIC LOVERS with your smiling faces with eyebrows and cheeks, your bodies with legs and arms all over the place.
Looking forward to it.
Lee (Your new BEST FRIEND)

Who in the what now?

2006-05-04T00:38:00.000+01:00

The inner geek in me has awoken (again).

Spring is in the air, and the new season brings the return of Doctor Who. Its been a hard time since the end of the last series, when Ecclestone left the TARDIS in a hail of Daleks. Sure, there was the christmas special, and the box set, and i got a sonic screwdriver*, but it wasn't easy not having new Who to watch every week.

I'm loving the new series. I loved the last series. I loved the old series (yes, i too did hide behind the couch, thats not just a myth - there was one story, Meglos, when i was SOOO scared, i had to wait three weeks to watch it again when a new story started), i even had a Tom Baker Scarf (thanks mum). For some reason the thought of this eccentric old renegade Time Lord, careering round through time and space in a ship which happens to be stuck in the shape of an old battered Police Box caught my imagination when i was a kid, and i've never quite managed to shake the excitement of waiting every week to see what happens next. Those cliffhangers, eh!!

I can hardly move in my flat for Daleks (remote control, talking and even inflatable), cybermen, and an assortment of Doctors. I even have a k-9, but its only little. My dream is to have a life size remote control one, or better still a real one that can go into the kitchen and fetch mixers for me. There is even a TARDIS in the hall, but thats another matter entirely.

Anyhoo, i hope some of you have been enjoying the thrills and spills of the new Doctor. Tennent is shaping up to be really rather good, and i for one am looking forward to seeing what happens next.

I am also currently being scared by the new DVD of Genisis of the Daleks, one of the finest original Doctor Who stories, featuring Tom Baker as the Doctor. Terry Nation went back to tell the story of how the Daleks came about, and in a story that took heavy influence from the rise of Hitler and the Nazi's, introduced Davros, the Daleks meglomaniac creator, and portayed the Kaled's as SS/Gestapo-like vicious warmongers intent in creating the perfect race, a move which at the time stirred up an enourmous amount of complaints to the BBC and had Mary Whitehouse frothing at the mouth. Its a serious drama and one of those examples where even on a budget, the crew managed to create a serial which looks perfect and still stands up today.

check out www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho to see whats been happening and you too can revel in being a Dr Who geek.

Gav

*it REALLY works. Whilst travelling home from the pub last sunday night after more newcastle brown ale than was possibly wise, there was a taxi heading along Woodlands Road towards us, but its 'for hire' light was out. I pointed the sonic screwdriver at it, quick as a flash, the 'for hire' light came on and the taxi pulled over and stopped for me, amazing. I believe Tom Baker used to use the same trick in Soho.

as nice as a miracle

2006-04-12T21:33:00.000+01:00

For some reason my computer is doing what I want it to do and is deciding to work. So here I am blogging.
You don't know it, but it's a small miracle. I've been having so much hassle recently.
Francis (the boss) is getting sick of me not replying to him. I fully understand his frustration but I can't really help it. Well, I could try harder and go to an internet cafe, get charged £1 per 10min or whatever it is, but the fact is I'm stubborn and commited to getting this heap of crapmoving. By the way, the spacebar has given up too.Hmm.
I really just wanted to come on to tell you how much I'm enjoying my Wednesday evening,and here I am going on about the computer. well, I didn't win the lottery, or go on a date with a handsome fellow with a French name tonight, but I did have a good time listening to records.I must confess that a large part of the night has been spent putting Sheena Easton on the turn table and fantasizing about writing her a comeback song.Hmmm I wonder if that will be possible...

Tracyanne

A Fool and His Money...

2006-04-06T10:00:00.000+01:00

In 1997, or thereabouts, I rented a VCR from an electrical shop. For those of you who live in Glasgow and can remember - it wasn't Glens, Hutchesons or Stepek, it was the other one. (I apologise to international readers for the unfunny parochial in-jokery)

I was poor and unwilling to live without a bit of light entertainment. The video shop in Partick where I lived at the time had the biggest and best rental selection in the city. I couldn't miss out. So I signed up for a year, paying £9 a month, and I thought no more of it.

I have only just ended the rental contract.

I have paid approximately £1000 to rent a piece of equipment for which I would not pay £2 in a car boot sale. And I have the nerve to present myself as a purveyor of wisdom on our website! What an arse...

Still, every cloud etc etc. When I wrote to the electrical shop to end the contract, I joked that they should just let me keep the VCR instead of coming to collect it. They wrote back and said that they would let me do just that, because I had been "such an excellent customer". How right they were.

Now, where did I leave those magic beans?...

Kenny

COME OUT TO PLAY!

2006-03-28T21:14:00.000+01:00

Fans of the classic gang fighting (with roller skates and disco music) classic, The Warriors, may recognise the above title as the taunt used by the leader from the Rogues in Walter Hill's classic which culminates on a beach in Coney Island. Being one of my favourite films I gladly took up Nigel's offer to visit this delapidated beach front. As all the carnival stuff was closed, there was a pretty sad air about the place, a feeling that the best times had passed. I've never been, but it made me think of Blackpool, another working class holiday resort in the pits. Miserable and amusing at the same time. We walked the beach front and took pictures of the "shoot at the moving freak" stalls, we even went to that hot dog place where they hold the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot-Dog Eating Contest. But anyway that's enough about Coney, I recommend it.
The gig at the Knitting Factory was a cracker, it was full, people were very nice to us, Maria Taylor and 13 Ghosts were great, we drank whiskey and had a hotel room party afterwards. Apparently we throw decent after show hotel room parties.
We all had a great time on our recent US trip and cannae wait to get back in July, dates should be announced soon.
Hasta Luego,
Lee

Seven Flights Up

2006-03-22T17:57:00.000+01:00

Ah Sweet Home Alabama...
and that was just the film on the plane.

This will have to be a quickie, the credit is ticking away rapidly and who wants to spend their precious time in NY on the computer?

The band are having an excellent time. SXSW was strange, full of beautiful people and raindrops. Thanks to everyone who came to see us when there were so many other possible attractions.
We had a brilliant time in North Carolina too, a very busy show for a rainy monday night, thanks for making us look popular in front of our record label. And thanks to Spot from Merge for the drunken massages, a particular hit with our burly boys.
I am really looking forward to the Knitting Factory show tonight which is sold out.

I feel sick. I just ate my breakfast and half of Tracy's.

love Carey

Summer means new love

2006-03-14T11:24:00.000+01:00

Ho!
Well the butterflies are attacking. No, that's too twee. We're beginning to soil ourselves with excitement because it is now the week of sxsw. Can you believe it?
I shouldn't be feeling so excited because in this weeks Dissertation News I, er, still haven't written it. Oh well, why not flush your degree down the toilet at the last minute, eh?
Other news...hmmm...recent highlights include carrying the Yamaha Electone up 4 flight of spiral staircase to rehearsal last week. I'm not sure if Gavin will ever walk again. Excellent. And the Concretes record launch which was enjoyed through a rosy but not rosé wine haze, I deserved it after all, right?.
Feel free to write in and leave suggestion as to what I need to pack so that I don't forget anything.
love carey xx

This is definately one of those posts I hope the parents don't read.

And The Award For The Best British Male Goes To...

2006-02-20T02:03:00.000+01:00

...sigh...Who decided that then?

Anyway, it was good to see a grafter in my, er, age group (more or less) get an award. Well done, KT. (Woo-Hoo! etc.) I don't know her. I don't own her record. I might buy it now and not pretend it's for someone else. I can't be arsed to be snobby about her. She seems like a genuinely nice person; no - she is a nice person. I can tell. I bet she'd never hang out with Lady Victoria Hervey and Michael Winner at polo matches, eating fox-face canapes.

Who else? Well, the winner of the Mastercard (!?!) British Album was - OH, WHO CARES?

In an attempt to freshen my ears, I travelled through computer space and visited an internet radio station I found out about a couple of weeks ago, and I've not been off it since. It's called Last FM, and it's free. You probably know all this already. You just go on, type in a band or type of music you're interested in (like Camera Obscura, just for example of course) and it plays you a selection of tunes in that vein. It's a bit like listening to a great big mixtape. Generated by machines. Because you have no friends.

Anyway, click on the link above and explore for yourself. It's beautiful. It's beautiful. It's beautiful, it's true.

Bye
Kenny
(aka Mr. Potato Head, I discovered recently)

A Handful of Dust

2006-02-09T19:06:00.000+01:00

Well nobody* has offered me an arse-kicking for a while and hence no blogs. One day I might get round to investigating that autonomy lark. Still, I will attempt to kick my own arse since some people recently were kind enough to tell me they enjoy reading our blog and refresh refresh! with bated breath on at least a five second basis. Fancy that eh?

The real reason I am writing is because I am meant to be doing something else even more than this. I have the feeling I might have said that in every blog I have written and it is probably always true. I should be writing the ol' dissertation but I've spent so long checking emails and the like first that any semblance of concentration I had has dissipated leaving a nasty mess. No wait, I did just delete a word and then write it in again. Progress eh? Wonderful stuff.

I don't have much news to report other than the sad demise of my laptop. If you fancy enjoying a minute's silence on its behalf, feel free but I don't suppose it will help much. I should probably say that I have really enjoyed all of the gigs we've played in the last few months. I quite like playing live these days and such enjoyment is even evident on my face sometimes, or so I'm told. They were probably trying to be nice. And I too enjoyed the wonder that is Amy Allison and can't help but recommend you swing your mouse towards shoeshine records and purchase her albums. She also wins a prize for guessing one of the books I'm writing about for my dissertation (yeah I told her the title first) in one shot despite the distraction of Sauchiehall Street's glittering attractions as we passed down it in merry conversation. Smart cookie her.

Right that's your lot. I have words to shuffle.

Carey xx

*this can't be true now I think about it

Chopsticks! The new Pool?

2006-02-08T17:35:00.000+01:00

The last week has been very hectic and blurry. We played at the wonderful Spitz in London with the amazing Amy allison. David.M, Amy's dad did write Young Man Blues (The Who Live At Leeds) by the way. For the second time that we have played at the Spitz we were given sushi as a gift (thanks Keiko) but I made the rest of the band feed me because I can't use chopsticks although I started to get the hang of them by the end of the night. I reckon that using chopsticks is a bit like playing pool, you are crap on one pint, okay by two, amazing on three pints (trick shots and all) and crap again thereafter.
Last Friday back in Glasgow we saw Amy play at a place called the Mixing Rooms, weird place but she was great. I should also mention Amy's guitarist, Jon Graboff, who never made smoking and drinking whiskey looks so cool, he's up there with Hawley, great stories too. Afterwards we went to a basement bar round the corner and were subjected to Bon Jovi and other assorted eighties power ballads. There was drinking and there was dancing, I drank, I feel like a five year old at a birthday party when i dance these days.
Thanks to everyone who has come to see us live recently it has been a lot of fun and we can't wait to tour the new album. If anyone is going to be in Glasgow this Saturday (11th), you HAVE to go to Nice and Sleazies and check out Jens Lekman with Bill Wells. Should be a cracker if Jens' last show in Glasgow is anything to go by.
Hasta Luego.
Lee

Robert Burns

2006-01-25T22:05:00.000+01:00

Click here and have a read...

Kenny

Friday the 13th indeed!

2006-01-23T19:30:00.000+01:00

So, we played a gig in Edinburgh on Friday the 13th. We knew we were tempting fate playing on that particular night, and we knew we were tempting fate playing Edinburgh after the last time. You see someone threw a pint glass filled with beer at me. Violence at a Camera Obscura gig! Can you believe it.
Anyway nothing like that happened this time thankfully. We had a good gig despite the sound on stage not being fantastic. The crowd were very kind so thanks for that. Yes, we were looked after by the students and non students very well. There was even tuna sandwiches, melon and sweeties included in our rider.
Dot to Dot were the support act and of course they were as handsome and tuneful as ever. I always get a thrill from Ally shaking his lovely arse. Don't all the girls?
Our pal Victoria from The Concretes came along for the ride and she cut mine and Tara's hair in the loo. That girl is scissor happy I swear.
Aye, it was a good night and as much as I've enjoyed telling you about it, I actually have an alterier motive for doing so. It would seem my acoustic guitar went walkabouts from the venue. So, I guess I am appealing for any info about that from anybody who might know something. It's a Fender acoustic and is fitted with a mimesis blender pick. There was also a tuner in the guitar case. So, if anybody's knows anything about this could you get in touch with us at our website please? We'd really appreciate it. I've got lot's of tunes in my head and I can't get very far without a guitar to write them on. Could be a problem.
info@camera-obscura.net

Cheers
Tracyanne

2006-01-09T00:57:00.000+01:00

Well Glasgow is a rock and roll city as they say. Live here and you too could suffer the mild embarrassment of queuing up to buy your underwear behind Aidan from Arab Strap in Marks and Spencers.
Aye, stick your cybeos up your arse. What a stupid spelling.
Happy New Year
Carey x

Scrambled eggs

2006-01-05T13:41:00.000+01:00

I don't have much to report, but that 'cool youl' blog seems a bit out of date now and is getting right on my nerves.
I'm home for lunch and if you're at all interested I'll tell you that I'm going to have scrambled eggs with cheese and cybeos (that's spring onions to you non Scots). Carey hates it when I call 'spring onions' cybeos, so no doubt when she reads this she'll be spouting off about how scottishisms get right on her nerves. You've got to love her.
What else can I tell you? Um, we're making a video this weekend for our new single. That should be fun. All I'll tell you about it is that we have a very special friend from Sweden over to help with it, and a very special friend up from Bristol to help out too. Can you guess who they might be?
What else? I'm really into the new King Creosote album KCRULESOk. Track 4 is brilliant and I've listened to it about twelvety times.
I'd better crack on with the lunch then.
Cheerio

Cool Yule

2005-12-23T17:57:00.000+01:00

I'd just like to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New year. 2005 has been quite busy for us, and we hope that 2006 will be even busier, what with the new album coming out in the summer. Bring it on!
Oh, and by the way, big thanks to all of you who helped get 'I love my Jean' to number 7 in the festive 50. Brilliant! I am totally chuffed about that.
Hope to see some of you in Edinburgh on the 13th and in Glasgow on the 21st.
Best wishes
Tracyanne

An open invitation....

2005-12-11T10:07:00.000+01:00

If you'd like to visit Glasgow, but want to avoid the usual boring hotels, you can stay at my house for three days. All I ask is that you commit one day to assisting with some light restorative work.

This spectacular offer is open to anyone with experience of/interest in this sort of thing; there's a lot of woodwork and flooring to sand, some painting and wallpapering, stripping, plastering, possible glazing, chimney sweeping and lining, varnishing, furniture restoration, curtain-making, draught-proofing, taking rubble to the dump, going to B&Q for materials, coming back with a bag of chips etc.

Nah, forget it. I was just thinking out loud. I've been working all night. I'll go to bed and dream up a plan B.

By the way, thanks to all of you who came to see us in London and Glasgow recently. It was nice to start over again, and to see faces old and new. Come back and see us again sometime.

Kenny

GTF Sunday

2005-11-28T14:07:00.000+01:00

i am currently in London Village having travelled down a couple of days before the Water Rats show in order to do a bit of DJing last night at the Penelope Tree club in Bartok, Chalk Farm Road.

It was a great night (hello to everyone who came along) and much fun was had meeting some new folk and catching up with old friends that i only ever see in London.

Jim and Hatty are the resident DJs and the night was split into six sets, two each, so we'd all been on and played a set each, and i was just starting my second set when Hatty came over to tell me that the manager had arrived and the night was being cut short due to a 'private party' for industry people who were coming down and they wanted to be playing them lounge music. Bit of a stinker to cut off your regular night, but what can you do, we repaired to the bar and got the tinctures in and returned to sitting with friends and enjoying the night. It was a little later during a trip to the loo that i spotted the 'industry people' huddled at the back of the bar, the reason the night had been cut short was none other than Chris Evans and his minions. Not so much Thank F*ck Its Friday, as Get Tae F*uck Sunday. We resisted the temptation to go and give him some old fashioned Glasgow pish-ripping (althgough it was very tempting).

In other news the 24hour drinking laws down here seem to be taking off spectacularly. We were in the Winchester (yes, its true folks) having a coffee in the afternoon, and whilst walking out, this very happy wee drunk guy, who certainly looked like he had been drinking for at least 24 hours, came crashing through the doors, nearly fell over, staggered over to me muttering "never drink, never drink, i'm telling ya. looked at Lynsey and said, "can i get a taxi?" We exited quickly leaving him for the bar staff to deal with.

Certainly after midnight in Bartok there were a few 'characters' that the door staff started looking worried about having to deal with, our only wish was, if they caused any bother, hopefully it would involve Chris Evans.

Gav

Tis the season.

2005-11-27T22:07:00.000+01:00

See, the trouble with winter is that I spend a lot of time de-bobbling my knit-wear and not fully concentrating on the things that I should.

love Carey x

At The B.B.C. (part 3)

2005-11-16T00:23:00.000+01:00

Looks like Suspended from Class has been moved to the this week's Music Show this Friday (18th Novemeber)on BBC2 Scotland at 11.35pm

Mixed and Mastered

2005-11-14T14:32:00.000+01:00

Just back from Sweden where the new album has been mixed and mastered. We spent four days in an amazing studio in the middle of the Swedish Countryside near Sjobo (about 40 minutes drive from Lund) mixing and then up to Stockholm to master. So thats it, all done, and it sounds incredible. We're very, very happy with it.

The Studio was great, we've never seen so many amazing classic amps, guitars and recording gear. We stayed in a house which was a short drive away, and were given use of an old Volvo to get to and from the studio, and to get to the nearest shops (about 30km away). Kenny and I got to drive it, and its the first time i've ever driven outside of the UK, so it was interesting getting used to driving on the right side of the road. The Volvo was an old 740, and its seen better days, a lot of things didn't work, like the petrol guage and the lights. On the first night whilst going round a corner onto the dirt track to the studio, the back passenger door fell open of its own accord, and Tracy had to grab it quick to try and shut it without falling out. The door closed OK, but Tracy ended up with the handle falling off the door in her hand and trying to fit it back on without the door opening again.

So, we're back in the UK and getting organised for the next few months. Some good shows being lined up. We're supporting Teenage Fanclub in Glasgow, at the ABC on 25th November. Tickets are £15 and are available from Ticketweb on 0870 4000 818.

We're also playing a show with Karine Polwart for Celtic Connections on January 21st at the Garage, Glasgow

Gav

Message Board

2005-11-04T22:21:00.000+01:00

Hello,
we were having a chat during the week, and we were all really chuffed that lots of you take time to post comments here whenever we post our ramblings in the blog. We just wanted to say thanks, and to point you all in the direction of the message board on the website. Its for you, to talk about whatever you like. We have the blog to talk about what we've been up to and we wanted to give you the message board for you to do the same, so don't be shy and drop in and post some stuff.
Its worth popping along to check out to check out what folks are saying, plus there may just be competitions exclusive to the messageboard upcoming. Now theres a hint for you.
Anyway, if you fancy a look,
www.camera-obscura.net/obscura/forum/index.php
cheers, Gav

At The B.B.C. (part 2)

2005-11-04T11:56:00.000+01:00

Hi there,
Just a quick note to let you know that the new BBC music show, The Music Show, starts tonight on BBC2 Scotland at 11.35pm. If you live outside Scotland, you should be able to watch the show if you have sattelite/cable and can watch other regional BBC programming.
It looks like the video for Suspended From Class will be featured in the fourth show on the 25th November, if this changes we'll let you know,
cheers, Gav

They promised us there would be no stag parties.

2005-10-29T14:19:00.000+01:00

It was definitely one of the strangest bars I have ever been into, although I think we were both as mystified as each other. One of those places you could only experience if you were to leave these shores and travel to a relatively obscure ex Soviet bloc country. A couple of weeks ago I found myself in a Depeche Mode “tribute” bar, Tallinn’s only Depeche Mode themed bar. A weekend in Estonia crowned by this fantastic discovery. It goes without saying that neither myself nor my lovely travelling companion play in said 80’s electro/rock gods but I still felt a bit like Allan Partridge when he goes to his stalkers house and there’s that room with photos of him-self everywhere. This was our last night in Tallinn and we were feeling that maybe we had not yet seen all this city had to offer even though we’d just been to a garlic restaurant, had a drink in a Mexican bar serving Chinese food and with a Union Jack adorning it’s façade, (one of those “identity crisis” theme pubs”) and been to a gig at a warehouse where they played that awful Peter Fonda film, The Trip, on the walls. Peter is a “jock” who goes to see an “acid” doctor who ploughs the poor boy with head drugs and then the screen goes mental.
Bar DM is in a basement in the old part of the city and of course there were DM promo videos being played on a big screen that we could not escape from and it was empty when we arrived, well there was a young couple who were looking a little bongo’d and were sprawled all over a couch. The guy bore a remarkable resemblance to Bob Geldof, yes! I almost splurted my Bailey’s back out into my glass, incredible. We got our drinks and settled into a night watching the DM boys banging away at pipes in various industrial type locations, all very well until a young Henry Rollins look-alike (circa Black Flag’s Damaged era) sat across from us drinking tea with honey. A very intense looking young guy with muscles screaming at us from under his shirt, we whispered to each other that he was probably some kind of Russian mafia type who would rip our heads off very soon. Sir Bob’s girlfriend then stands up and walks over to Don Henry’s table and starts pouring his honey into a spoon and necking it, right there in front of him and she didn’t even ask, but he just stared at Dave and the boys banging away.
By now we started feeling a little bit edgy and were hoping to calm ourselves down with more Bailey’s and some beers, but no! This kid walks in with a coffee and he looks like he’s about 15 years old and he sits along from us and starts staring at our faces, the girl continues to harass the big guy’s honey and still the DM boys bang away at big empty oil drums. After we escape we see the wee guy standing outside a strip bar looking shifty and incredibly we see him join the queue for his plane to Hamburg at the airport the next day, “is he old enough to travel on a plane on his own d’you think?” I ask.

Lee

Together alone

2005-10-25T11:50:00.000+01:00

Thanks to everyone who came to see the Peel show, I thought the audience were totally lovely. My evening was made a bit stranger when one of my teachers from university turned up to see us. That hasn't happened before. He's quite a hip fellow though, taught me Experimental Prose Fiction, which made me think he probably wouldn't like us, we're not avant garde enough.
There was special edition of Hometruths on Radio 4 about John Peel with interviews with his family which was really lovely. You can still hear it. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hometruths/

No dogs have tried to bite/make friends with me. I've left my job at the pub but I haven't exactly told them yet. It's been a bit of a downer since coming back from Sweden because it was such a big deal being there. And it never rains there. It rained for about ten hours yesterday and I have discovered the bottom of my favourite shoes are maybe made of cardboard under the disintegrating plastic bit.

There was a Lukas Moodyson double bill on at the cinema on Sunday. That means there were a few hundred people looking through their dripping windows with regret and failed good intentions. Not me, I made it. I half expected some of the band to turn up to continue our Swedish fanclub, but only Tracyanne was there and she had to leave halfway through so I watched Together alone. Tracyanne says I look an awful lot like the miserable girl in that film.

Carey xx

At The B. B. C.

2005-10-23T22:55:00.000+01:00

There is a new BBC Music show starting on Friday 4th November on BBC2 Scotland (i guess if you live in England, Northern Ireland or Wales, you'll be able to see it if you have Cable/sky) and running for six weeks. We were filming Suspended From Class last week for the show. It was a fun day, our only previous television appearances have been live Spanish television arts shows, so its nice to be doing something for UK TV.
Filming was done in two different locations, firstly in a warehouse down near Yorkhill, where all the live shots were filmed, and then we moved up to the Old Jail House in Bridgeton, which is, you guessed it, an old Jail House that has been converted/refurbished and is used for artist studios/band rehearsal space/gigs and warehouse parties. Indeed, Hip young gunslingers Frank Ferguson started off playing in there.
Unfortunately, due to heavy rainfall the previous night, the prison was somewhat flooded during our visit, and sensible boots were the order of the day. It was a bit like Porridge after a typhoon. If you listened carefully you could hear the voice of Fulton McKay giving it, "Get that mopped up at once Fletcher"
Anyway, we'll let you know when the programme with suspended from class is going to be aired.

Gav

Who's afraid of the big dog ?

2005-10-18T14:15:00.000+01:00

I just made a complete arse of myslef while walking home from work to eat lunch. I sort of had an argument with a dog. I was in this sort of creepy derilict area of the south side when from nowhere it came running towrds me. Why do they always look like they want to bite me and make me cry? Anyway I sort of swung my bag at it and shouted a bit until it ran away. If anyone from the high risers was looking out I bet they had me down as a mentalist. Actually, in retrospect I think maybe the dog just wanted to be friends.
Anyway I think I need to go and eat a whole Kirriemuir ginger cake now to make me feel better. I'm still shaking. No joke.
Thank you once again for letting me sound off.
Tracyanne x

The Great John Peel

2005-10-14T01:21:00.000+01:00

Tonight we were proud to play a small part in one of the many nationwide tributes to this warm, charming, funny, sometimes bumbling, always sharp-witted, self-effacing man, without whose (surprising) support we'd probably not have made it this far.

Thanks to everyone who showed up at King Tut's. And you were there too Lee - a copy of I love My Jean was put on the stage. You got a good cheer. I hope nobody was too bothered by the shortness of the set-we just wanted to take part in any way we could, and tonight wasn't about us. It was a good laugh.

We were lucky to meet and play for John on several occasions, and were honoured to be invited to his home to play at his 65th birthday. We had no idea that would be the last we'd ever see of him.

The first time we went to Peel Acres to play, we were shit-scared and tongue-tied. He figured we were either very rude or very shy. Luckily for us he gave us the benefit of the doubt and we were asked back four more times. John and his fantastic wife Sheila fed and entertained us every time, even going as far as cooking haggis for the Burns Night special show we did.

I hope Sheila and her family are well, and that everything that's been going on round the country brings them joy. I'm sure she's acutely aware of just how much everyone loved her husband, and still does. We will never forget him.

To John Peel: the only man in the world with the balls to play us, then follow it up with a song by Scrotum Grinder....

K

seven eleven in Stockholm

2005-10-06T18:17:00.000+01:00

Well, it's nearly the end of our acquaintance with Stockholm. The album has been recorded and we're all over the moon with how it's turned out. It's still to be mixed right enough, but that's ok because we get to come back to Sweden to do so, and we get to meet Jari our producer again. He's the best!
Can't remember where we're mixing exactly, but I know it's far down south near the border with Denmark. Shame it's not Stockholm because I really love this place.
It's my last night here and I'm not quite sure what to do with myself. I've spent the day taking photos of my friend Petra in a vintage clothes shop. Actually, I didn't really take them, I just told the photographer what to do. We managed to take over the whole place in the process. The lady was very nice and she made us coffee and let us try the clothes on. Fun, fun, fun. After all the commotion we caused I just hope we can use one of the pictures for a single or the album cover.
Back to tonight. What will I do? I don't want you to think I'm Billy no mates here. I do have friends here, in fact I have some very good friends here but they're busy and I feel like being alone to reflect over the past two weeks anyway. I was going to get carried away and say that they were the best two weeks of my life there but I shouldn't really, that will only do a disservice to other brilliant times. I'm sounding very sentimental eh? I do feel quite emotional actually and I probably will have a little cry later while wandering around listening to The Cocteau Twins Peel Sessions and pretending to be local for one last time.
Right, I think you get the picture. We've all had a great time and I personally have had a bloody great time. I don't want to get on the plane tomorrow but I will because I know once I get back to Glasgow I'll be happy in a way. Plus, we've got a record to start promoting.
Thanks for letting me rabbit...
Tracyanne

My Last Day !

2005-10-03T12:01:00.000+01:00

Well here we are, my last day in Sweden with the band recording the new album. Unfortunately, I have to go home a couple of days early because of work. We're almost done here, but I'm sad I'm going to miss the day we add the strings. We met up with the string arranger last night to hear his ideas and they sounded great, even though he was playing them on a small casio keyboard thingy.

Anyway, we've all had a great time, working long hours and partying hard into the night. Come to think about it, I need to get back to work for a rest (well at least to give my liver a rest !).

Since Gav and Carey last blogged, we've moved from the big studio in the south of Stockholm to a smaller studio in the centre to do overdubs. Apparently our producer Jari has an accordian player coming later today to add something in. Big Gav did suggest getting Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham over but maybe not !

Ok. Thats me away to pack.

Nige

6.40pm

2005-09-28T18:36:00.000+01:00

Hello,
Three days into the recordings and its all going swimmingly,
The weekend was good, as we settled into Stockholm. We decided to have a competition to see who could spend most of their expenses before we even made it into the studio. Its an easy thing to do here. Kenny seems to have won the competition for who could get stung the most for drinks after getting charged £12 for two irish coffees. Jari was introducing us to some of favourite restaurants and bars. Stockholm is a very busy place to be on weekend nights and the kids are out in force having a tincture or twenty.
Things nearly didn't get off to such a great start when someone drove into the back of my car about two minutes from Prestwick Airport, luckily no damage was done to passengers or car, and the woman who drove into me apologised for hitting the car and had only done so cause she was looking at the traffic. Next time i'd advise looking at the traffic in front of you so you can see when it stops at a roundabout.
We almost missed the plane cause we were having a tincture in the bar des voyages and didn't realise they were planning on taking off twenty minutes ahead of schedule, but we made it in the end, Nigel sprinting down the corridor was greeted by the gate staff on walkie talkies telling their colleagues on the plane that the last one was on his way, and its ok, cause he's running...
Anyhoo, i'll away and let someone else tell you something,

cheers, Gav

4:52pm

2005-09-28T16:36:00.001+01:00

We're all falling over ourselves to write to you because we feel like we've really got something to say and I've made it to the laptop first while we're doing a song I'm not playing on. I can hear Lee's cymbals smashing away and Nigel, also currently absent from song creation, doing his office work next to me.
Stockholm is amazing and full of leaves. I always feel a bit homesick on the day I travel but can't help feeling happy here, doing this. I loved the bus trip from the airport, listening to Cole's Corner, looking out the window in the dark. It's the kind of album that demands that kind of sentimentality.

The band have been impressively sociable, out every night before starting recording and spending all our money on liquid refreshments. Our eyes are smarting from the late nights and early mornings. Our stomachs are soggy with over-priced evil hotdogs and the fingertip callouses are growing. In other words we're having the time of our lives.

love Carey

Butterflies

2005-09-22T17:00:00.000+01:00

Hello there,

I've got butterflies in my tummy. We're all off to Stockholm tomorrow to record our next album. Crikey! It's quite daunting really. We've only ever recorded in one studio really, and we've only ever worked with lovely Geoff Allan. This time we'll be in a strange country, in a strange studio, with a strange man in charge. Actually, I take the bit about the strange man back. Our producer Jari Haapalainen is not strange at all, he's very nice you know. It's going to be great and I hope you'll like the results.
Well, I just thought I'd say cheerio to you all and ask you to wish us luck. Sounds like I'm heading off to war or summat.

Bye for now and take care
TRacyanne

Post Pre-production Pre-production

2005-09-19T10:55:00.000+01:00

I work nights sometimes, and it's only when I get home at about 8.30 in the morning that I realise I shouldn't have had three cups of coffee in the last two hours. I repeat this idiocy regularly; I'm a slow, slow, slow learner.

So, now that I'm resigned to self-inflicted insomnia, I might as well prattle awhile. At least it'll keep that tyrant of a manager at bay. Blog! Blog! Mau! Mau!

We're doing some more pre-production this week. In other words the producer is (hopefully) coming back to Glasgow for a couple of days rehearsal to help guide us toward something very very special. I need to get a few hours sleep, but not too much, or I won't sleep tonight and oversleep tomorrow. So much to do. Parts to remember/scrap/learn/change. My favourite thing about being in this band is about to start in a few days time.

My least favourite thing in general, or at least in my Bottom Five (there's another idea for you, Nigel) is American Pie by Don McLean. It's just come on the radio. Surely I'm not alone in hating that song, in all its incarnations? I feel ready to force myself to sleep now. Mmm, whisky...

Don - I know you'll be reading this - I mean you no offence. Vincent (Starry Starry Night) is the true classic. Just beautiful.

Goodnight
Kenny

some bampot should blog

2005-09-16T19:46:00.000+01:00

I'm going to apologise before I even start. It's been ages since I blogged. Sounds like a confession or something. It sort of feels like one to be honest! Our manager just sent us all an email saying 'some bampot should blog'. I'm scared of him so I'm going to.
When the band decided to have a blog page everyone was under strict instruction to never let a day or two go by without blogging. We haven't been very good at sticking to that have we? Anyway, I'm sure you're all sick of me going on and on about how difficult I find it, so again I'm just going to tell you about a few of my favourite things at the moment.

Coles Corner - (the new album by) Richard Hawley. It sounds big and romantic and you should all run out and buy it if you know what's good for you.
Green Tea with Jasmine - A cup of this sorts me out in the morning good style.
Zoe Strachan (author) her new book is called Spin Cycle and it's set in Glasgow and based around three women who work in a Laundrette. It made me want to work in one actually! Hmm.

All for now,

Tracyanne

You couldn't make it up

2005-09-07T13:36:00.000+01:00

Wow have you seen our new site? Good huh? With all these photos of us stuffing our faces on tour we are really spoiling you. How will we be able to keep up our miserable persona now eh?
There's even an oppurtunity to enjoy the ultimate music lover/interweb geekery crossover and talk on the forum. I can imagine kids joyfully skipping through the cyber fields where we are the flowers and animals and thanking their lucky stars they discovered us.
I have housework to do now.

Carey x

Pre-Production

2005-09-02T16:13:00.000+01:00

We spent the weekend in a studio (well, two studios to be exact) in Glasgow with Jari, our producer for the new record, doing some pre-production for the recordings. Its exciting times as we put the finishing touches to the new songs prior to travelling over to Stockholm for the session. Meeting Jari was great, a nice time was had in Mono and in the 13th note over veggie/vegan dinners and we got through a lot of work in the studios.

Its new ground for us working with a producer, up until now we've produced ourseleves, apart from eighties fan, which Stuart Murdoch worked on for us. This is the first time we'll have recorded in one long session as well, up until now we've been stuck recording over weekends whenever we had the time to go into Cava. Its not long now until we're off, and everyone is desperate to get into the studio. We're aiming high with this, determined to make our best record yet. The songs are sounding really good, and we think you're going to really like the new record.

Gav

2005-08-29T18:16:00.000+01:00

Hello,
I'm under strict instruction from management to get blogging. I really am rubbish at it aren't I? Someone emailed the band once to say that he sensed I was finding it difficult, and It's true, I can't deny it. Anyway he suggested I just share with you a few of my favourite records or books or films when I don't have much else to say. So, I've decided to do just that if you don't mind.
SPOOKS (TV program's about spies)- I'm currently making my way through the second series box set. It's very exciting you know, so much so it leaves me with an upset tummy sometimes.
SKEETER DAVIS (American country singer)- She makes it into my top 10 female singers of all time list.
SPACE RAIDERS (snack) - pickled onion ones are the best!

I'm bored now and I have to go for a meeting with the group so we'll talk later ok?

Tracyanne x

Gavin's new DJ Night

2005-08-28T10:46:00.000+01:00

I have a new night starting in Bar Bloc, Bath St, Glasgow on Mondays.
Its free, running from 9pm-1am, and i'll be playing a superfine selection of classic and current records for your listening pleasure, so, if you're in the area, pop in and have a tincture and enjoy some good music.

Gav

Redecorating is the new Rock 'n' Roll.

2005-08-28T10:30:00.000+01:00

It must be catching, after Tracyanne's painting extravaganza the other week, i've spent the last couple of weeks redecorating. I decided to move bedroom in my flat, which meant a new look was required in my bedroom to be. Paint was acquired along with some new brushes and a large dose of enthusiasm. The enthusiasm ran out around the same time as the paint. (Handy hint here: if you decide to take advantage of B&Q's bargain corner paint, which has been reduced cause they aren't going to stock it anymore, make sure theres enough to cover your walls so you dont run out and then can't get anymore cause they dont stock it anymore). After THREE coats of vinyl matt (i ran out a second time, but at least i could get the same colour again that time) Three coats of gloss (aye, i ran out of that as well, same story, bought the last tin of really expensive reduced paint and couldn't get it anymore). I always remember how much i hate painting just AFTER i start a new project, and i'm stuck with it till its all finished. However, it was all worth the effort, and the new bedroom is looking fantastic. I even sanded the floorboards down and varnished them. The best bit of all is that the next part of the project was that i could turn the old room into a music room. LOTS of fun. Now instead of having various pieces of musical equipment lying all around the flat, they are all in the music room, with a place to be sat in, or a table to be set up on. Now all i need is somewhere to actually sit down in it and we're laughing.

Gav

does your mother know?

2005-08-20T22:08:00.000+01:00

So we're having a wee party in Tracy's living room with our Swedish friends who have the tightest jeans in Britain and we are listening to ABBA. We played Super Trouper in Sweden when we played two shows there a few months ago and it was such a pleasure and not very much like ABBA. What a band.
ABBA was the first CD I ever owned because I went to Hungary when I was ten, singing with a choir (oh the irony)and as a leaving present they gave me a cosmetic bag, a bottle of wine (which i didn't drink myself)and ABBA Gold.

Gold indeed...
xxxxCarey

Lotte

2005-07-30T21:08:00.000+01:00

Hello there,
My friend Pat sent me a postcard asking if I had a 100yr old sister. Check this address out if you want to see what she looks like.
http://raster.art.pl/schad/il_o_lotte.htm

Love,
Tracyanne x

are scrap yards the new charity shops?

2005-07-28T23:32:00.000+01:00

I'm left wondering whether this is the case, (although with less cordorouy).

I remember going to scrap yards years ago, trying to find bits for my first car, which was to be fair, a bit of a donkey. but its been a long time.

recently, after accidentally running into the back of another car, i realised that it was perhaps time to renew my acquaintace with scrap yards in order to find a new headlight. i looked up yell.com and found a long list of scrap yards in Glasgow and set off to wander round them hoping to find a new headlight and who knows, maybe some other bits and bobs (carting loads of musical gear around in the back has casued a certain amount of wear and tear on the old thing over the years, trying to squeeze amps and bass drums into the back seat in a 2 door car is never recommended if you want to keep your seat levers and seat belt holders intact).

they've all gone, all of them (almost). It appears that new health and safety guidelines consider rows and rows of cars stacked on top of each other that people crawl in and out of in an attempt to find booty a danger to the public. In the end i only managed to find one of the Glasgow breakers yards still open, and it didn't have any mark III golfs.

After a tip off from an old friend, i heard rumour of a place in Paisley that was still open, still going (could it be true!!) yes indeed. i found it, buried along a small lane at the back of an industrial estate near Paisley town centre. Rows and rows of cars that people are allowed to crawl in and out of trying to rescue booty. Its amazing, i got a new boot lock hasp thing, cause my boot hasn't been shutting properly for too long, but the headlights had already been blagged. Realising that time is of the essence, and that not being able to drive at night cause i have a defective headlight, isn't really ideal, i went online and found online scrap yards (cheers to Kenny). Obviously, you can only virtually crawl around dangerous towering rows of cars in search of booty, but you get what you are looking for. I ended up buying a new headlamp instead of a scrapped one, but it was loads cheaper than from my local VW dealer, so result.

I HAVE TWO HEADLIGHTS AGAIN!!! now, i just need to buy new bulbs to put in it.

BUT i have a plan. I shall frequent this scrap yard, keeping my eye out for mark III Golfs and when they come in, buy up all the bits and bobs i need to make my car great again, and when this has been achieved, what then? Well, i was thinking i should give it to 'Er Indoors and buy myself my dream car. I've been after a Morris Minor for longer than i care to imagine, and after approximately 18 years, its about time i finally got off my arse and got one. what do you think?

Gav

2005-07-25T17:34:00.000+01:00

I'm sorry I've been extremely quiet on the blogger front. It's just that I haven't been up to much recently and don't have much to tell. I've been busy with group stuff I guess, so I assume that sort of gets me off the hook a bit? Maybe not. What can I tell you? I had a dream about the Queen last night and she told me she liked my shoes. Hmm, Maybe I'll stop there actually, even I think I sound a bit sad dreaming about the Royals. It doesn't happen often, honest. What else? Oh I know. I was waiting for a bus yesterday on Byres Rd and a Dennis the Menace mug fell from a tenement flat up above and just missed me. I could have died but I didn't. So, that's been my eventful weekend in short.
It was nice blogging to you. I'm off to rehearsal now.

Tracyanne

34 Today! You Wear It Well...

2005-07-20T19:37:00.000+01:00

Happy Birthday To You,
Happy Birthday To You,
Happy Birthday Dear Gaaaavin.....

EVEN THE ANARCHISTS WEAR LIPSTICK HERE

2005-07-19T22:14:00.000+01:00

It’s the summer and a window of opportunity was taken. My friend from Montreal was going to be in Paris for one week only. We spent all day Tuesday in a studio in Glasgow town with Mr McDonald and a lovely bloke called Ian at the helm. We completed a couple of tracks, which we intend to use for our future album recordings. Of course, it was a cracking day outside while we worked our arses off indoors.
I had to leave a little early as I had yet to pack even a pair of socks for my trip. This was my first to Paris and I had little idea of how hot it was going to be. Being a very fair skinned young gent, I naturally packed away enough sun cream to cover the Eiffel tower twice over, but Jesus, the heat. On arrival I waited for my good friend at the Opera metro watching exasperated scooter drivers gesticulating wildly at the intrusive cars. A lot of honking and swearing amidst the heat. I always could understand why much “civil unrest” occurs in such heat, I know I can certainly become a little cranky when the mercury rises.
My friend found me and we headed to Montmartre to check out various well-regarded and hugely expensive patisserie and confiserie establishments. My friend works as a pastry chef in Montreal and was therefore very much at home talking (in French) with the proprietors of these gloriously smelling shops whilst I sort of hung around trying to remember how to say things like “je voudrais des timbres” and other useful phrases I learned at school. In the evening there was, of course, wine and there were fireworks. July 14th, Bastille day. The town goes a bit nuts and in the evening I saw a drunk Parisienne grinning like an idiot whilst trying to indulge others with his small bottle of vodka, he was unsurprisingly ignored by the families flowing by him on their way to check out the light show. Poor wee guy, we heard a bottle smash as we turned a corner.
The next day we ventured into the salubrious Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise. A graveyard for rich, famous folks. If the band were to ever make enough dough then I will probably book a place there for myself. We couldn’t find big Jimbo (Mojo Risin’) but contented ourselves with reading the poetry on big Oscars vault. On leaving the cemetery, an old drunk guy garbled something, which sounded very poetic, to my pretty female companion. Something about fantastic beauty and smooth skin. Girls, come to Glasgow and an old Jakey may ask, “how’s about it doll?” Just say no. The sun beat down onto us until I became in danger of turning into a big walking, ginger lobster.
We walked through a park, saw the Eiffel tower, stood under the Arc de Triomphe and drank on the street. All very well, but believe me when I tell you that we found not one bleedin’ charity/thrift shop. What’s that about? Anyway, we drank more wine and later my companions made me eat most of a huge gateaux, later I felt sick. Jocks abroad!
Earlier on, my friend told me that she had been feeling wary wandering the streets of Paris as she felt her attire to be under scrutiny from well-dressed Parisiennes, besides, a friend in Quebec had once told her that in Paris “even the anarchists wear lipstick.”

Lee

News! Action!

2005-07-17T11:54:00.000+01:00

We don't spend all our time on countryside jaunts, sometimes we do work. Oh I'm only joking, its just a spot of djing and its not even with records- CD only (so expect a lot of Fopp £5 specials, Scots readers ((if there are any)).

Some of us are putting our names to an evening by the lovely Shoeshine Records at King Tuts featuring The Beauty Shop from Illinois, USA (that means America),
Eugene Kelly (some old guy), and The Hermit Crabs who we have frequently championed and invited to support us once (not in a care in the community sort of a way).

Poor old Mr Shoeshine is so excited about it (and the prospect of missing it by touring with a bunch of fannies at the time) that he got the dates wrong on the poster ho ho. And its true, his shoes really are in a sorry state.

So here are the details
King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow, Sunday 7th August, doors at 8:30 pm

Thank you readers xx Carey xx

The Electric Brae

2005-07-16T16:37:00.000+01:00

With half the band off Gallivanting round Europe, Nigel in Italy and Lee in France, obviously, in an attempt to keep up, I ended up in Ayr yesterday.

Burns Country they call it. I didn't see any fires though.

I did take a drive by Burn's Cottage, although didn't go in, Rab's got the painters in at the moment, and the were also touching up the thatched roof. But i reckon a proper day wandering around the Burn's Heritage Centre and Burn's cottage is on the cards soon. He was quite a cool guy, and i think its time i learned a bit more about him. I did take a wander over the Brig O'Doon, the bridge featured in the climax of Tam O'Shanter where Tam's Horse Meg leaps to Safety over the River Doon since the witches can't cross running water and saves Tam, losing her tail in the process. That was beautiful. The bridge was built in the 1400's and is all cobbled and old school and the view up and down the River Doon is rather splendid.

The highlight of the afternoon was driving round to the Electric Brae (also known as Croy Brae) which is a quarter of a mile stretch on a wee hill on the Ayrshire Coast. If you stop your car on the hill, and take the brakes off, your car rolls up hill. I stopped in both directions so i got to experience the car rolling backwards and forwards up the hill. In less enlightened times they thought it was caused by an electric/magnetic current within the Brae (thus the name) but these days they reckon its an optical illusion because of the way the land lies around it, and whilst it looks like you are rolling up a slope, you are in fact rolling down. In my opinion its no optical illusion and rather than being electromagnetism, its actually magic. These Scientists dont know what they are talking about.

Gav

The Last Post !

2005-07-10T10:30:00.001+01:00

Firstly, I have to say a big thanks to those who posted replies to my message last week. It caused much upset to our drummer Lee who could not understand why anyone would reply to my message and not his, which was, “much better”. Maybe it was something to do with me pleading for people to reply?

Anyway, it’s been a funny old week and last Saturday’s Live8 gigs seem a long time ago now, so much has happened in the UK since. What with the G8 protests and the G8 meeting itself in Scotland and the London Olympic bid success quickly followed by the London terrorist bombs, the journalists certainly couldn’t complain about it being a slow news week.

When I think of the euphoria in London surrounding the success of the Olympic bid quickly followed by the shock and grief the following day, it occurred to me that you just never know what’s around the corner. I suppose we just have to take each day as it comes and try to make the most of it.

Back in our own little world, it’s been a productive week. Last Sunday Blair took some photo’s of the band in a nice little park in the southside of Glasgow. It’s one of these parks that you often pass but never venture into. I havn’t seen the photo’s yet, but I’m sure they’ll be up to Blair’s high standards. We’ve also been working hard in rehearsals to get some of our new songs ready for some pre production recordings we’re going to do this week. We’re now getting really excited about going back into the studio to record again and there will hopefully be some news up on the website soon regarding this.

I have to point out that I’m writing this on Sunday morning and I’m feeling a bit rough. Last night most of the band went along to the 13th Note café where Lee was playing drums with his new band (don’t worry, he’s not left Cam Ob, it’s just a bit of a side project). Anyway, they’re called “Love Pump” and they play funky, electronicy, dancy sort of stuff. Gotta say it was pretty tight for a 1st gig, so if you ever get the chance and you’re into that sort of thing, try them out (that’s assuming they ever play again?).

Finally, I have some extremely sad news to share with you all. Hedges, our pet hamster, passed away quietly in his sleep on Thursday night. Thankfully, being the band trumpet player, I was able to give a very moving rendition of the Last Post, whilst Claire sent him into the hamster afterlife, via the rubbish chute in our apartment.

Bye for now.

Nige