Post by Lawrie on Jun 12, 2008 21:22:27 GMT
Paul has posted two updates on the PRR Myspace for anyone who hasn't seen them:
No 1 - New Video/2007 Review
New Video
Due to the hobbit-like camera-shy-ness of our little group we've had very little material to work with to produce any eye-candy for you deserving fans. And so, I've just uploaded a fun little video of various scraps of footage of all things PRR from the last year. It includes footage from the studio, Monto Water Rats, our support tour with Porcupine Tree and our trip to the USA, which includes NEARfest. Hope you enjoy it!
New Blog
I've also blogged 'My Review Of 2007'. Which is something I started writing back in January but have only just got around to finishing. It's been good to look back over the roller coaster of last year and remind myself of all the fun!
Album
So the latest news….. Yes we are nearing the end of the album recording! But there's to be no celebrating just yet, there is still a little way to go and a couple more tracks to finish off. The tracks we have finished have been sent off to our favourite producers to be mixed so we're very excited about hearing back the final edits and deciding which mixes will make the album.
Barfly – Thursday 30th July
Tickets are already selling well so we anticipate a sell-out but we promise it won't be quite so 'rammed' as the Water Rats! We'll be taking to the stage at around 9pm, expect more of our new material and our favourite old favourites. To avoid disappointment book your tickets early. www.barflyclub.com
Fan Forum - www.prrambassadors.proboards41.com
Fan Discography - prr.baldyslaphead.co.uk
Last FM - www.last.fm/music/Pure+Reason+Revolution
Paul x
PS - found the video he was talking about on Youtube, it's at www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3WkQyl0Aik - the lesser spotted blondeambassador, dreadambassador, The Dark Fourth and scat1620 can all be seen at points during the Water Rats videos: anyone else round here make a claim for fame?
No 2 - Paul’s 2007 Review
2007 was a particularly eventful year. I thought it's about time I reviewed some of my highlights
January kicked off with my recording debut on a Pure Reason Revolution track. We cut drums at Doghouse Studio in Henley, owned by Barry, drummer for Jethro Tull. It's a lovely little studio right on the river, garden, swimming pool etc etc… It was nice to be working with producer Adam Whittaker again (I worked with him back in 2004), he always provokes me enough into getting an extreme and 'nasty' drum take, which is exactly what that particular track (Victorious Cupid) needed.
My first major European tour in February, with Pure Reason Revolution, was obviously a massive highlight. We were supporting Blackfield (Steve Wilson and Aviv Geffen's collaboration) 9 Countries in 13 days. Big crowds, plenty of site seeing, blood, sweat, tears, beer, and almost too much fun! I learnt allot from Tomer Z (Blackfield's drummer) and having him join us on stage for some double drumming, was just the icing on the cake for me. (Video available on You Tube – Search 'Golden Disco').
After 5 days off we were out on the road again for a little trip around the UK, which took us into March. This included 2 shows mixed in Quadraphonic Sound, which is always good for a laugh. The first was at The Fez Club, Reading, it was so good to see and play to many friends and family. The other was at The Barfly, London where we had to drill holes in the bar to bolt the rear speaker stacks to run the Quad sound.
With April came a little trip to Spain and despite James 'Bobo' Apperly (our faithful trusted sound engineer) being extremely unwell during the drive down to Barcelona (vomiting in the tour bus is never pleasant) it was a good trip. We drove thru France stopping at a couple of little towns, to relax and soak in some European air. When we arrived in Tiana (just outside Barcelona) we were taken to our accommodation. It turned out we were staying in a religious hostel high up on a hill with a beautiful view of the valley, the sea and a Monastery directly bellow. No beer allowed on site and no loud talking after 11pm! It doesn't sound very rock n roll but we actually had a very peaceful and relaxing stay.
The next day we played the Tiana Progfest show, it went well despite me dropping a few too many sticks during the set (whilst top UK drummer Andy Edwards watched from the side of the stage… how embarrassing!). After the show, everyone started dropping like flies, the bug that Bo Bo had was obviously spreading. Jon and myself were unaffected, so, even thou we knew we were leaving at 10am the next day, we headed straight for Barcelona. Arriving via taxi at midnight we set out on a mission to see as much of the city as we possible. It was a mixture of bar hopping and jumping in taxi's and politely demanding "take us somewhere of significance!" We went to the port; we walked around the old lanes, old part of town, and the new part, all with a few beers along the way. We were on a real mission to see the sites and bars all at the same time. This went on till about 3 or 4am when we remembered that we had guest list places arranged for us at Razzmatazz, which turned out to be the biggest nightclub I've ever seen…
I think we got back to Tiana around 7 or 8am… and after just a couple of hours kip it was straight onto the tour bus. We made our way back thru France with a bit of site seeing along the way….an eventful trip…almost too much fun for just one live show!
In early June I resumed drumming duties for solo artist Mr Fogg to play a couple of UK shows. The first show was particularly memorable for its record-breaking qualities. We were playing at The Loft in Cambridge. A combination of bad navigation and a huge traffic jam meant that we were so late that we missed soundcheck and arrived only 15minutes before our performance time. We ran in with minimal equipment, there was a drum kit already on stage so I just jumped on that rather than setting up my own. We started our set perfectly on time and performed for 30minutes. We exited the stage with our equipment and all gathered back in the van. A quick time check revealed that we had been in the venue for a total of 1 hour. It was declared 'a drive-by gig' and a new record.
In June PRR headed to The United States of A for some live shows. We were greeted at the airport by our tour manager, Chris (Jacobs), a fun loving Van Halen fan who insisted on putting on a cockney accent anytime we took the piss out of him – a fair retaliation. First stop was Boston, luckily Chris' hometown so we were given a whilst-stop guide of Boston. That night we played TT & The Bears a legendary little club in the city centre.
The next day we made the drive down to New York, consuming as much American junk food as we could along the way. Wendy's Baconator with extra pump-cheese hmmmmm! That night we played The Mercury Lounge to some of our industry friends. Something went a little wrong with our on-stage computer resulting in mass confusion during the middle of our epic 12min tune Ambassadors. Pah technology! After the show, Chloe, Chris and Jonathan (our manager, referred to on this particular trip as The Guvnor, in a cockney accent) went back to the hotel. Meanwhile, myself, Jamie, Jon and Bobo went out to see what NY had to offer. After a few bars and a club and when the hour was early we headed for our hotel. It turned out to be the grottiest hotel EVER (they charged by the hour, if you know what I mean?) Myself, Jamie and Bobo arrived in our room to discover there were no sheets on the beds and I think there was blood on one of the pillows; it was now about 5am so we had little choice but to just go to sleep. In the morning everyone was up early and eager to leave this nasty little hotel, so we skipped the usual bathroom rotation and headed straight for Bethlehem, Pennisvainia, the location of our final show………………..
……….The highly acclaimed Progressive Rock Festival 'NEARfest'. After a long drive (all feeling a little groggy and grubby) we arrived at our hotel arranged for us by the festival organisers. In total contrast to the previous nights stay it was luxurious! Massive beds covered with cushions, cable TV, plasma screens, expensive soap etc… etc.... … Chloe even had a hot tub in her room!
After a short rest, wash n' brush-up we drove over to The North Star, Philadelphia for our last warm-up club show before the big event. After soundcheck we had some time to kill, so, guided by Jamie's friend, Chris, who happens to live in Phili, we headed for the famous 'Rocky steps' (you know… he runs up them when he's training). And yes of course, we did race up them. After the show it was straight back to Bethlehem, and back to the posh hotel.
Next up was our NEARfest performance. Now let me just explain how this impressive festival works…
It's held in the stunning architectural achievement that is The Zoellner Arts Centre with its huge state-of-the-art 1000 capacity, seated auditorium. The festival runs over 3 days and works in an unusual way. The audience are seated giving the festival more of a 'classical concert vibe' which encourages the listener to sit, relax and appreciate the music, a refreshing change from the sweaty rock shows we're used to! The audience are also ushered out after each performance and brought back in for the next allowing for each band to be properly set-up and sound checked. We were so well looked after the whole time. Todd G, the NEARfest drum tech took care of everything, building and tuning my kit perfectly. When it came to our soundcheck time I was backstage on the drum riser checking the kit when all of a sudden it started to move and I was wheeled onto the stage sat at the kit much to the amusement of everyone on stage. After our usual warming up rituals we headed for the stage where a very enthusiastic NEARfest audience welcomed us. After an hour and a half set we were whisked off the stage and lead to a signing table where a queue of a couple of hundred people where waiting for signatures and photos. Can't wait to go back!
Our NEARfest performance was captured on record so 'Live at NEARfest 2007' is being released on NEARfest Records on 20th June 2008. More info: www.nearfestrecords.com
The next day we were driven to the airport and boarded a flight back to the UK. But not to go home….oh no. We arrived at Heathrow at 6am where a tour bus picked us up and without delay we headed for Holland where that night we played to a 1800 strong crowd for our first night opening for Porcupine Tree on their 'Fear of a Blank Planet' European Tour…
We arrived in Efenaar, Eindoven, completely exhausted and jet-lagged. We loaded in, did a quick soundcheck, showered, changed, and then straight out on stage. The venue had filled up quickly and we played to an almost full house from the start. Jamie's amp went down during the set (an amp going down almost became a feature of our set during that tour), which started a long and close relationship with Hans, PT's guitar tech. He was a source of much support, encouragement and entertainment for us. Even though he was employed by PT, he helped us so much; Restringing and polishing guitars, first aid for Chloe when she hurt her wrist and mending my drum triggers, if anything went wrong on stage he was right there. He is such a highly respected tech that whilst on the tour he was interviewed by a major Dutch guitar magazine.
The whole tour was hard work but very rewarding. The venues were all quite large so loading-in all our gear and getting ready for the show was a daily challenge. We spent allot of time watching, talking to, and learning from PT and their crew. They were very welcoming and happy to help. John (Wesley) gave Jamie and Jon a full demo of his set-up. I got a chance to sit behind Gavin's (Harrison) kit and he gave me some good advice and recommended some books to study. Steve (Wilson) and Jon were often seen having 'Logic' (music software) tech-offs, and our sound engineer (James Apperley) and PT's (Ian) got along great, as they did before on the Blackfield tour.
The 3rd night of the tour we played an odd little show in Lille, France. It's a venue called Le Splendid, which was converted from an old cinema. All the back stage areas had wonky wooden stairs and the balcony still had the original seats.
The show was packed and it was a really hot evening. The crowd were rammed in, very very hot and there was no easy escape. Some girl fainted and was carried to the front and was quickly looked after by some first aiders. It was a frightening experience, Jamie was so concerned he started handing out all of our stage waters to the crowd, bless his cottons…
The next day we spent some time looking around Paris. Jamie and I spent some time sitting in the sun by the Eifle Tower and watching the world go by. The next night we played Le Cigale in Paris, the crowd were so loud and enthusiastic, they sounded like 18 thousands people, not 18 hundred!
A few days later we were in Berlin and played at the Columbia club. During the show, every-so-often, an M & M (milk chocolate candie) would randomly bounce off my drums and fly off somewhere. This kept happening until I realised Hans (PT guitar tech) was throwing them at me from the back of the stage. Right at the end of the set Jon's amp totally fried. We were half way through Twync/Willows when his amp cut out, Hans came rushing over, but shook his head and held his nose drawing attention to the strong electrical burning smell in the air. Meanwhile Chloe, Jamie and myself where battling through the song, Jamie having to play many of Jon's guitar lines.
After the show we all (PRR, PT and crew) went to the only bar open late. Which turned out to be a bizarre yet pleasant gay bar. It was bizarre because nailed to the walls around the entire bar were Barbie & Ken dolls dressed in weird and wonderful ways. I can't remember much; I think the drink was flowing a little too freely. I have a vague memory of arguing with Steve (Wilson) about whether 'Best Of's' should be allowed on my list of Dessert Island Discs.
We had 2 fantastic shows in Poland. Club Stodola Warsaw and Hala Wisla, Krakow. Poland has become one of our favourite places to play because of the warm welcome we always receive on and off stage.
One of my favourite venues of the tour was Parkbuhne, Lepizig. The venue was in a wood in the middle of a parkland area. It was a kind-of outdoor Ampi theatre with trees overhanging the walls into the theatre. And luckily for us it was a beautiful sunny day!
The city itself was also beautiful. Lots of old buildings, cobbled streets and quaint little courtyards with street performers around every corner. I recommend a visit.
We had a very entertaining couple of days in Copenhagen. By stoke of luck my dad was just passing through on business so Jon and myself met him for lunch. By that stage of the tour it felt like we'd been away for a long time so it was good to hear news from home, and of course it's always good to see my dad.
After a long afternoon of site seeing, shopping in retro clothing shops and coffee by the harbour, we all (PRR, PT and crew) met up in John Wesley's favourite bar to celebrate Hans' birthday. The Elephant and The Mouse, an odd little bar with short wooden stools, sawdust on a cobbled floor and wine bottles with candles in for light. And most intriguing of all, a beer pump that was a carved wooden elephants head that 'Elephant Beer' came out of (supposedly named because it could get an elephant drunk, obviously). The tradition of this bar was that you had to have a 'Mouse', a double shot of this Absinthe kind-of drink, followed swiftly by a pint of 'Elephant'. Needless to say the night was a rather messy one! We had so much fun there that they offered to keep the bar open late the next night so we could go there for after show drinks.
The Copenhagen show was yet another hot one, with more stage water being thrown at the crowd, and yes of course we did end up in The Elephant and The Mouse!
On the 2nd to last morning I awoke in my bunk on our tour bus after a long night drive. I'd had an unusually long and deep sleep and when I awoke I was really disorientated. There was no one else on the bus, and I didn't know which city I was in (when you go to a new city everyday for 3 weeks, it's hard to keep up). I stumbled out of my bunk and down the tour bus to look out of the passenger window. To my surprise we were parked in a small side street and the passenger window was looking directly into the side window of a shoe shop. Just as surprised as me was a young, absolutely stunning (typically blonde hair'd and blue eye'd) shop assistant who had just arrived at her window and was greeted by me, fresh-out-bed, just wearing a pair of tight boxer shorts! A priceless moment…
As it turned out we were in Oslo and playing at a fantastic venue called Rockefeller. An 1800 capacity sold out show. It had 4 tears of balcony so it felt like the whole audience was right on top of you! As the tour was drawing to a close it seemed like the perfect opportunity to invite Gavin (Harrison) out on stage for some double drumming! We had no time to rehearse in sound check so I just had to describe the structure to Gavin and he winged it like a true pro. Much fun!
The last night of the tour was Tradgarn, Gothenburg – This was a venue of much class, with its polished floors and high ceilings. The doors of the concert hall opened onto a large public botanical garden, it was a very peaceful place.
After PT came off stage we all gathered in the backstage area and ordered in the Champagne to raises some glasses to a very successful tour.
.
The rest of the year was a mix bag of live shows with different artists and recording with PRR for the next studio album. Some memorable events include….
…Playing on Janice Long's BBC Radio 2 show with Mr Fogg for a second time. She's so friendly it felt like we were going to visit 'Aunty Janice'. Although we had a great time in the studio, the event was dampened by the van breaking down on the way home so we had to spend the night on the hard shoulder of the M42!
…An unusual performance with Mr Fogg at The Secret Garden Party Festival was both fun and challenging. It was just a String Quartet, Mr Fogg and me on a very small drum kit. A big change from his usual synth-pop!
So there you have it, a year full of events that I'll always look back on with fond memories. 2008 already has some stories to tell; I wonder what the rest of the year has to offer!
Paul.
x
Wow, that's an ESSAY! I doubt even hyperborean could cram that many words into a single blog!
;D
Haven't read it yet, mainly due to making this post, but stand by for my (and presumably your) reactions and discussion in this thread.
But I think the most important thing to pick out is that in Blog #1, we're hearing that the album is on the way to being finished even though there's still work to do. Here's hoping for that September release, it's looking promising at the moment - wahoo! ;D
No 1 - New Video/2007 Review
New Video
Due to the hobbit-like camera-shy-ness of our little group we've had very little material to work with to produce any eye-candy for you deserving fans. And so, I've just uploaded a fun little video of various scraps of footage of all things PRR from the last year. It includes footage from the studio, Monto Water Rats, our support tour with Porcupine Tree and our trip to the USA, which includes NEARfest. Hope you enjoy it!
New Blog
I've also blogged 'My Review Of 2007'. Which is something I started writing back in January but have only just got around to finishing. It's been good to look back over the roller coaster of last year and remind myself of all the fun!
Album
So the latest news….. Yes we are nearing the end of the album recording! But there's to be no celebrating just yet, there is still a little way to go and a couple more tracks to finish off. The tracks we have finished have been sent off to our favourite producers to be mixed so we're very excited about hearing back the final edits and deciding which mixes will make the album.
Barfly – Thursday 30th July
Tickets are already selling well so we anticipate a sell-out but we promise it won't be quite so 'rammed' as the Water Rats! We'll be taking to the stage at around 9pm, expect more of our new material and our favourite old favourites. To avoid disappointment book your tickets early. www.barflyclub.com
Fan Forum - www.prrambassadors.proboards41.com
Fan Discography - prr.baldyslaphead.co.uk
Last FM - www.last.fm/music/Pure+Reason+Revolution
Paul x
PS - found the video he was talking about on Youtube, it's at www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3WkQyl0Aik - the lesser spotted blondeambassador, dreadambassador, The Dark Fourth and scat1620 can all be seen at points during the Water Rats videos: anyone else round here make a claim for fame?
No 2 - Paul’s 2007 Review
2007 was a particularly eventful year. I thought it's about time I reviewed some of my highlights
January kicked off with my recording debut on a Pure Reason Revolution track. We cut drums at Doghouse Studio in Henley, owned by Barry, drummer for Jethro Tull. It's a lovely little studio right on the river, garden, swimming pool etc etc… It was nice to be working with producer Adam Whittaker again (I worked with him back in 2004), he always provokes me enough into getting an extreme and 'nasty' drum take, which is exactly what that particular track (Victorious Cupid) needed.
My first major European tour in February, with Pure Reason Revolution, was obviously a massive highlight. We were supporting Blackfield (Steve Wilson and Aviv Geffen's collaboration) 9 Countries in 13 days. Big crowds, plenty of site seeing, blood, sweat, tears, beer, and almost too much fun! I learnt allot from Tomer Z (Blackfield's drummer) and having him join us on stage for some double drumming, was just the icing on the cake for me. (Video available on You Tube – Search 'Golden Disco').
After 5 days off we were out on the road again for a little trip around the UK, which took us into March. This included 2 shows mixed in Quadraphonic Sound, which is always good for a laugh. The first was at The Fez Club, Reading, it was so good to see and play to many friends and family. The other was at The Barfly, London where we had to drill holes in the bar to bolt the rear speaker stacks to run the Quad sound.
With April came a little trip to Spain and despite James 'Bobo' Apperly (our faithful trusted sound engineer) being extremely unwell during the drive down to Barcelona (vomiting in the tour bus is never pleasant) it was a good trip. We drove thru France stopping at a couple of little towns, to relax and soak in some European air. When we arrived in Tiana (just outside Barcelona) we were taken to our accommodation. It turned out we were staying in a religious hostel high up on a hill with a beautiful view of the valley, the sea and a Monastery directly bellow. No beer allowed on site and no loud talking after 11pm! It doesn't sound very rock n roll but we actually had a very peaceful and relaxing stay.
The next day we played the Tiana Progfest show, it went well despite me dropping a few too many sticks during the set (whilst top UK drummer Andy Edwards watched from the side of the stage… how embarrassing!). After the show, everyone started dropping like flies, the bug that Bo Bo had was obviously spreading. Jon and myself were unaffected, so, even thou we knew we were leaving at 10am the next day, we headed straight for Barcelona. Arriving via taxi at midnight we set out on a mission to see as much of the city as we possible. It was a mixture of bar hopping and jumping in taxi's and politely demanding "take us somewhere of significance!" We went to the port; we walked around the old lanes, old part of town, and the new part, all with a few beers along the way. We were on a real mission to see the sites and bars all at the same time. This went on till about 3 or 4am when we remembered that we had guest list places arranged for us at Razzmatazz, which turned out to be the biggest nightclub I've ever seen…
I think we got back to Tiana around 7 or 8am… and after just a couple of hours kip it was straight onto the tour bus. We made our way back thru France with a bit of site seeing along the way….an eventful trip…almost too much fun for just one live show!
In early June I resumed drumming duties for solo artist Mr Fogg to play a couple of UK shows. The first show was particularly memorable for its record-breaking qualities. We were playing at The Loft in Cambridge. A combination of bad navigation and a huge traffic jam meant that we were so late that we missed soundcheck and arrived only 15minutes before our performance time. We ran in with minimal equipment, there was a drum kit already on stage so I just jumped on that rather than setting up my own. We started our set perfectly on time and performed for 30minutes. We exited the stage with our equipment and all gathered back in the van. A quick time check revealed that we had been in the venue for a total of 1 hour. It was declared 'a drive-by gig' and a new record.
In June PRR headed to The United States of A for some live shows. We were greeted at the airport by our tour manager, Chris (Jacobs), a fun loving Van Halen fan who insisted on putting on a cockney accent anytime we took the piss out of him – a fair retaliation. First stop was Boston, luckily Chris' hometown so we were given a whilst-stop guide of Boston. That night we played TT & The Bears a legendary little club in the city centre.
The next day we made the drive down to New York, consuming as much American junk food as we could along the way. Wendy's Baconator with extra pump-cheese hmmmmm! That night we played The Mercury Lounge to some of our industry friends. Something went a little wrong with our on-stage computer resulting in mass confusion during the middle of our epic 12min tune Ambassadors. Pah technology! After the show, Chloe, Chris and Jonathan (our manager, referred to on this particular trip as The Guvnor, in a cockney accent) went back to the hotel. Meanwhile, myself, Jamie, Jon and Bobo went out to see what NY had to offer. After a few bars and a club and when the hour was early we headed for our hotel. It turned out to be the grottiest hotel EVER (they charged by the hour, if you know what I mean?) Myself, Jamie and Bobo arrived in our room to discover there were no sheets on the beds and I think there was blood on one of the pillows; it was now about 5am so we had little choice but to just go to sleep. In the morning everyone was up early and eager to leave this nasty little hotel, so we skipped the usual bathroom rotation and headed straight for Bethlehem, Pennisvainia, the location of our final show………………..
……….The highly acclaimed Progressive Rock Festival 'NEARfest'. After a long drive (all feeling a little groggy and grubby) we arrived at our hotel arranged for us by the festival organisers. In total contrast to the previous nights stay it was luxurious! Massive beds covered with cushions, cable TV, plasma screens, expensive soap etc… etc.... … Chloe even had a hot tub in her room!
After a short rest, wash n' brush-up we drove over to The North Star, Philadelphia for our last warm-up club show before the big event. After soundcheck we had some time to kill, so, guided by Jamie's friend, Chris, who happens to live in Phili, we headed for the famous 'Rocky steps' (you know… he runs up them when he's training). And yes of course, we did race up them. After the show it was straight back to Bethlehem, and back to the posh hotel.
Next up was our NEARfest performance. Now let me just explain how this impressive festival works…
It's held in the stunning architectural achievement that is The Zoellner Arts Centre with its huge state-of-the-art 1000 capacity, seated auditorium. The festival runs over 3 days and works in an unusual way. The audience are seated giving the festival more of a 'classical concert vibe' which encourages the listener to sit, relax and appreciate the music, a refreshing change from the sweaty rock shows we're used to! The audience are also ushered out after each performance and brought back in for the next allowing for each band to be properly set-up and sound checked. We were so well looked after the whole time. Todd G, the NEARfest drum tech took care of everything, building and tuning my kit perfectly. When it came to our soundcheck time I was backstage on the drum riser checking the kit when all of a sudden it started to move and I was wheeled onto the stage sat at the kit much to the amusement of everyone on stage. After our usual warming up rituals we headed for the stage where a very enthusiastic NEARfest audience welcomed us. After an hour and a half set we were whisked off the stage and lead to a signing table where a queue of a couple of hundred people where waiting for signatures and photos. Can't wait to go back!
Our NEARfest performance was captured on record so 'Live at NEARfest 2007' is being released on NEARfest Records on 20th June 2008. More info: www.nearfestrecords.com
The next day we were driven to the airport and boarded a flight back to the UK. But not to go home….oh no. We arrived at Heathrow at 6am where a tour bus picked us up and without delay we headed for Holland where that night we played to a 1800 strong crowd for our first night opening for Porcupine Tree on their 'Fear of a Blank Planet' European Tour…
We arrived in Efenaar, Eindoven, completely exhausted and jet-lagged. We loaded in, did a quick soundcheck, showered, changed, and then straight out on stage. The venue had filled up quickly and we played to an almost full house from the start. Jamie's amp went down during the set (an amp going down almost became a feature of our set during that tour), which started a long and close relationship with Hans, PT's guitar tech. He was a source of much support, encouragement and entertainment for us. Even though he was employed by PT, he helped us so much; Restringing and polishing guitars, first aid for Chloe when she hurt her wrist and mending my drum triggers, if anything went wrong on stage he was right there. He is such a highly respected tech that whilst on the tour he was interviewed by a major Dutch guitar magazine.
The whole tour was hard work but very rewarding. The venues were all quite large so loading-in all our gear and getting ready for the show was a daily challenge. We spent allot of time watching, talking to, and learning from PT and their crew. They were very welcoming and happy to help. John (Wesley) gave Jamie and Jon a full demo of his set-up. I got a chance to sit behind Gavin's (Harrison) kit and he gave me some good advice and recommended some books to study. Steve (Wilson) and Jon were often seen having 'Logic' (music software) tech-offs, and our sound engineer (James Apperley) and PT's (Ian) got along great, as they did before on the Blackfield tour.
The 3rd night of the tour we played an odd little show in Lille, France. It's a venue called Le Splendid, which was converted from an old cinema. All the back stage areas had wonky wooden stairs and the balcony still had the original seats.
The show was packed and it was a really hot evening. The crowd were rammed in, very very hot and there was no easy escape. Some girl fainted and was carried to the front and was quickly looked after by some first aiders. It was a frightening experience, Jamie was so concerned he started handing out all of our stage waters to the crowd, bless his cottons…
The next day we spent some time looking around Paris. Jamie and I spent some time sitting in the sun by the Eifle Tower and watching the world go by. The next night we played Le Cigale in Paris, the crowd were so loud and enthusiastic, they sounded like 18 thousands people, not 18 hundred!
A few days later we were in Berlin and played at the Columbia club. During the show, every-so-often, an M & M (milk chocolate candie) would randomly bounce off my drums and fly off somewhere. This kept happening until I realised Hans (PT guitar tech) was throwing them at me from the back of the stage. Right at the end of the set Jon's amp totally fried. We were half way through Twync/Willows when his amp cut out, Hans came rushing over, but shook his head and held his nose drawing attention to the strong electrical burning smell in the air. Meanwhile Chloe, Jamie and myself where battling through the song, Jamie having to play many of Jon's guitar lines.
After the show we all (PRR, PT and crew) went to the only bar open late. Which turned out to be a bizarre yet pleasant gay bar. It was bizarre because nailed to the walls around the entire bar were Barbie & Ken dolls dressed in weird and wonderful ways. I can't remember much; I think the drink was flowing a little too freely. I have a vague memory of arguing with Steve (Wilson) about whether 'Best Of's' should be allowed on my list of Dessert Island Discs.
We had 2 fantastic shows in Poland. Club Stodola Warsaw and Hala Wisla, Krakow. Poland has become one of our favourite places to play because of the warm welcome we always receive on and off stage.
One of my favourite venues of the tour was Parkbuhne, Lepizig. The venue was in a wood in the middle of a parkland area. It was a kind-of outdoor Ampi theatre with trees overhanging the walls into the theatre. And luckily for us it was a beautiful sunny day!
The city itself was also beautiful. Lots of old buildings, cobbled streets and quaint little courtyards with street performers around every corner. I recommend a visit.
We had a very entertaining couple of days in Copenhagen. By stoke of luck my dad was just passing through on business so Jon and myself met him for lunch. By that stage of the tour it felt like we'd been away for a long time so it was good to hear news from home, and of course it's always good to see my dad.
After a long afternoon of site seeing, shopping in retro clothing shops and coffee by the harbour, we all (PRR, PT and crew) met up in John Wesley's favourite bar to celebrate Hans' birthday. The Elephant and The Mouse, an odd little bar with short wooden stools, sawdust on a cobbled floor and wine bottles with candles in for light. And most intriguing of all, a beer pump that was a carved wooden elephants head that 'Elephant Beer' came out of (supposedly named because it could get an elephant drunk, obviously). The tradition of this bar was that you had to have a 'Mouse', a double shot of this Absinthe kind-of drink, followed swiftly by a pint of 'Elephant'. Needless to say the night was a rather messy one! We had so much fun there that they offered to keep the bar open late the next night so we could go there for after show drinks.
The Copenhagen show was yet another hot one, with more stage water being thrown at the crowd, and yes of course we did end up in The Elephant and The Mouse!
On the 2nd to last morning I awoke in my bunk on our tour bus after a long night drive. I'd had an unusually long and deep sleep and when I awoke I was really disorientated. There was no one else on the bus, and I didn't know which city I was in (when you go to a new city everyday for 3 weeks, it's hard to keep up). I stumbled out of my bunk and down the tour bus to look out of the passenger window. To my surprise we were parked in a small side street and the passenger window was looking directly into the side window of a shoe shop. Just as surprised as me was a young, absolutely stunning (typically blonde hair'd and blue eye'd) shop assistant who had just arrived at her window and was greeted by me, fresh-out-bed, just wearing a pair of tight boxer shorts! A priceless moment…
As it turned out we were in Oslo and playing at a fantastic venue called Rockefeller. An 1800 capacity sold out show. It had 4 tears of balcony so it felt like the whole audience was right on top of you! As the tour was drawing to a close it seemed like the perfect opportunity to invite Gavin (Harrison) out on stage for some double drumming! We had no time to rehearse in sound check so I just had to describe the structure to Gavin and he winged it like a true pro. Much fun!
The last night of the tour was Tradgarn, Gothenburg – This was a venue of much class, with its polished floors and high ceilings. The doors of the concert hall opened onto a large public botanical garden, it was a very peaceful place.
After PT came off stage we all gathered in the backstage area and ordered in the Champagne to raises some glasses to a very successful tour.
.
The rest of the year was a mix bag of live shows with different artists and recording with PRR for the next studio album. Some memorable events include….
…Playing on Janice Long's BBC Radio 2 show with Mr Fogg for a second time. She's so friendly it felt like we were going to visit 'Aunty Janice'. Although we had a great time in the studio, the event was dampened by the van breaking down on the way home so we had to spend the night on the hard shoulder of the M42!
…An unusual performance with Mr Fogg at The Secret Garden Party Festival was both fun and challenging. It was just a String Quartet, Mr Fogg and me on a very small drum kit. A big change from his usual synth-pop!
So there you have it, a year full of events that I'll always look back on with fond memories. 2008 already has some stories to tell; I wonder what the rest of the year has to offer!
Paul.
x
Wow, that's an ESSAY! I doubt even hyperborean could cram that many words into a single blog!
;DHaven't read it yet, mainly due to making this post, but stand by for my (and presumably your) reactions and discussion in this thread.
But I think the most important thing to pick out is that in Blog #1, we're hearing that the album is on the way to being finished even though there's still work to do. Here's hoping for that September release, it's looking promising at the moment - wahoo! ;D
