Everywhere there's lots of piggies

Living piggy lives

You can see them out for dinner

With their piggy wives

Clutching forks and knives to eat their bacon.

- George Harrison

Been rushing around a bit too much.

Got flu.

Don’t know if it piggy or not?

Apart from that so many good things are happening.

I am pleased.

Happy but not smug.

This week I fly to Aarhus to play a really great festival with Howe and Giant Sand.

Should be a hoot.

No, I know it’ll be one.

Been holding off laughing till I see Howe.

It’s too exhausting otherwise – all that laughing.

Anders and Marie are pretty funny too.

And Peter can moon walk (but he’ll kill me for writing that!)

I love Denmark.

It’s like Scotland but probably better…

And everyone is very good looking.

And it looks like I might be there for much of the remainder of the year…in an apartment with no furniture apparently.

Oh reluctant dweller of the north.

There their long evenings will be drawing to a end.

Then the darkness begins.

Whilst I’m away from the desert.
I xx

Willy Mason made my day.

He sang one of the tunes I am working on right now and sounds like an angel.

Beautiful.

Dave P. said it was spine tingling (the less said about that the better though…although William did say he would take whatever compliments he can get…)

Dave P. getting the shivers is usually a good indication to me that our song is HOT!!!

I remember he got them when we were recording Come On Over (Turn Me On) too.

And maybe on our Ramblin’Man cover.

I dunno though…it’s pretty cold in Glasgow right now so maybe he’s just coming down with something?

I think he says he likes Come On Over (Turn Me On) cause it’s smoky.

Or makes him want to smoke. Or drink whisky.

He likes smoky songs. And is always describing my songs that way. But then of course he is the B&H king. Especially now the filterless camel king is no more. Mark has been off the fags maybe even a year now.

Anyway…yes…Willy Mason is sounding great. My friend Matthew (Matthew Cullen, a friend and engineer that I often work with) recorded it over in Martha’s Vineyard. It was a sweet surprise. Thank you!

I x

I sometimes think I might as well just be a brain and a big pair of ears on legs, stuck in front of a mixing desk.

But when I took that break from The Sensual World I really got into gardening. I mean, it's literally a very down-to-earth thing, isn't it? Real air.. Away from the artificial light. Totally therapeutic.

   Kate Bush, Q Magazine 1989

Oh I so love Kate Bush. Completely know what she means too. Studio life can be peculiar. Isolated.

Sometimes.

Like working down a coalmine – and a glorified one at that.

When the band go home it’s just you and the engineer – so you’d better get on!

Studio is the quiet introspective cocoon bubble wrapped part with too much sitting - a time away from character analysis or assassination by the public or media.

Who do you think you are?

Time away from the praise too. Both to me are unfathomable.

Ah the studio…

A bubble of sorts.

A bubble, keeping me out of trouble.

Not much daylight either…

I think that’s why I got seriously into swimming when I was in Arizona. I feel at peace in the outdoors and don’t seem to get enough time out there.

But, I have been in the studio.

Bigtime.

And it is good, even if I do feel like a pair of ears on legs.

Denmark was amazing.

I loved the studio there.

And I liked Kent the engineer. Fast Kent.

Hope to go back. To do a little more work with Big Dave McGowan and the Danes there.

Have started learning a little of the language too. It’s HARD!!!

Dave and I really enjoyed ourselves.

It was great to see Peter (Dombernowsky).

He’s the drummer with Giant Sand and for the past two years has been my drummer of choice. Numero uno.

A great guy.

Him and McGowan have a rhythm section thing going on…

It was sweet to see Howe and Anders and Marie and their families. It’s great to know musicians with whom I can see eye to eye. Handy too.

We worked hard.

Was fun…a buzz.

Hardly slept the whole week.

I was still jet-lagged so the old body clock was playing tricks on me. Was weird. Still, I got through somehow. Until I got back to Glasgow Airport and stopped paying attention and lost a shopping bag with some cute new dresses that had my wallet, cash and all my cards in it! Was a total drag. Slightly gutting. Though I’m pretty guilty of losing stuff when I’m tired.

One time in Seattle I even forgot to collect my suitcase off the carousel. I just kind of lose it when I get over tired (had been up since 5am that day) and become a bit batty….oh well.

It was sad nobody at Glasgow airport found my bag and handed it in to lost property or the police. I think maybe that bummed me out more than anything. Someone must’ve had a good night out on me. But ok, fair enough…I was dopey and paid the price!

Am missing the flip-floppery of toasty town terribly. Losing stuff made being back sting all the more. Need to get workin on that visa.

The last few days Dave P and I have been transferring songs to tape. Tedious work but worth it to get a nice warm sound.

Also submitted demos to my record label. To find out whether they want to get behind my next record or not. Started worrying myself into a blinding stupor but then I sat up and realized….

Something will turn up.

It always does and always will.

Even if it appears in an unrecognizable form.

Times are hard, so we’ll see.

Who knows?

I’ll shift with whatever changes come my way.

And hopefully won’t be stalled for long.

Everything’s sounding too good to give up.

And with this next record I want to tour the legs off it. And bum, arms and eyes. Want to sicken myself of touring by January 2011.  Want to be begging to get off the road. Need a manager that’ll roll with me. Then off I’ll trot all happy and contented, in a very knackered sense, to the retirement home for indie rock singers.

I x

Midnight means it’s a hundred and one

So much never gets said or done

Where rain is only a rumour

Over before it’s begun

- Howe Gelb

It’s ten thirty in Phoenix, Arizona.

We were supposed to fly out seven twenty.

It’s going to be a long night.

I’m talking to the man next to me.

He’s a university lecturer, seems nice.

I don’t even know if all my bags will fit in the car when I get back to Glasgow.

I’ve really excelled myself this time.

Mucho baggage.

Shouldn’t have bought those high tops and fur capes the other day.

Was interesting trying them on when it’s a hundred and five outside.

Kind of made me delirious.

I wrote my first ever Christmas hit in toasty town too.

Howe calls it toasty town.

He has a way with words that I enjoy.

It was over a hundred degrees when I penned it. I was homesick for the U.K. for a couple of weeks.

Couldn’t stop listening to Billy Bragg, Kirsty MacColl and The Pogues for a entire fortnight.

Contrary Mary.

The grass is always greener.

Now I’m not sure if I want to come home at all.

I’m coming back for my family.

I miss them.

And my band.

And Claire Campbell and Ella.

(I’m due a trip up North and down south to the seaside soon.)

And my engineer, Dave P.

It’ll be good to see all of them!

Though the last three months have been great.

I’ve fallen in love.

The desert has stolen my heart.

And sort of healed me too.

Kinda.

And I am sunburnt and my hair is straw.

A vision of loveliness.

It’s way too dry out here and hot beyond any kind of decency but I just love it and that’s that.

Tucson is nice and slow and it suits me.

The Mexican food does not suit my waistline. It’s too delicious.

In Sabino Canyon, it is sleepy.

I am slow and sleepy.

It’s a good marriage.

Me and the mountains.

I’ve met so many lovely people here too.

And I need to see them again.

And those mountains!

Those beautiful, beautiful mountains.

And the electrical storms.

The hikes.

And those ugly Colorado river toads.

Cindy and I saw one that had been flattened in the street the other day. Double ugly.

Think I might go try and live there for a while. Maybe during or after I get this record out of me…

I hope so.

I think I’ll see if I can get my three year visa renewed and off I’ll go.

And I think I’ll get a lot of British visitors in the Winter months.

The Scottish snow birds.

And if my Dad finds out about the golf he’ll go nuts!

Yes Sir, it’ll be nice.

I go to Denmark on Monday. With big Dave. To record with Howe and the Danes. I got some good ‘uns for them.

Not been in Aarhus since I first met Howe in July 06 and now Marie has a wee baby…can’t wait to see everyone…life is grand…

I never thought it would happen

With me and the girl from Clapham

Out on a windy common

That night I aint forgotten

When she dealt out the rations

With some or other passions

I said you are a lady

Perhaps she said I may be…

- Squeeze (difford/tilbrook)

Trying to get my shit together.

Trying my best.

Sometimes it’s hard to know which way to turn.

And/or what point of view to take along the way.

Philosophical?

Ugly-mad?

That’s not a good look.

Am knocking on lot of doors.

Split with another manager last month.

Seems nigh on impossible to get the right fit.

Should it be this hard?

Probably not.

Have been assured that I’m not asking for too much and that I am not a total diva.

I really hope not.

We’re trying to reschedule the postponed U.S. shows till September.

I’ve not played there since 2006.

And we’ve been offered a longer run this time. I’d love to do it.

I’d LOVE to play at least one show in 2009.

Not sure if Mark will be available though. Think he might be playing with someone else.

Might be Up The Junction on that one.

There’s always a catch.

It’s bit like Groundhog Day without Bill Murray and no laughs.

Kind of boring.

It’s a drag.

And we’ve already confirmed Bumpershoot in Seattle.

Might have to look at talking another vocalist on the road with me?

I’d rather not, but I might have to.

Mark and I have never played one single show in the U.S together.

Not ever.

Maybe it’s not meant to be?

And if it’s not then I don’t believe I should be going against the flow. Going against the flow is too tough.

I’ve tried.

It’s exhausting.

Since 2004 I’ve pushed as hard as I can. I’m all out of push.

I’ve spent a bit of time in the U.S this year. And most of the folk I’ve been meeting out here are total music heads.

Reading between the lines a lot of people here are aware of Ballad Of The Broken Seas but not Sunday At Devil Dirt. And these are people that work in the music business and at radio stations and such. So if they don’t know about our second record what chance do the punters have?

It’s crazy.

Doesn’t make sense. It went so well in Europe.

Then again I remember thinking at the time of U.S release last year that I didn’t really do any U.S press for Sunday At Devil Dirt.

Only two telephone interviews.

When Ballad was released I didn’t have time to make a cup of tea or feed myself or anything.

It was a buzz in a kind of exhausting way.

Feast or famine.

So why not a feast?

Makes me so sad. I gave it my all.

Certainly I would take it on the chin if the record buying public (is there even such a thing these days?) had heard the record and simply didn’t care for it.

I would think they had zero taste in music and would be pretty insulted but I would find acceptance along the way too.

The fact that most people don’t even know the record is out over here tells me this is not the case…

It smacks of wasted opportunity…at every turn.

At the very least I would like to meet the record company who have licensed and released my record in the U.S.

For me, even that would be something.

Feel like the boogeyman got my firstborn.

Frustrating and kind of annoying…

And then some.

Oh well. Up The Junction.

I know there is a big picture.  Really I do. And am not some power crazed narcissistic attention seeking fool. And I know that music isn’t the be all and end all. It helps though. I believe in music. It is definitely at the top of my list of things in life that make me happier.

All I want is to work and I have a hankering for things to run a little smoother. That is all.

Jim always say’s I’ll get there eventually in spite of everything. I hope so.

Better news is that I’ve been in the studio again. Peter flew over from Denmark which made things extra special. We have some great new songs.  Really great. Cut twenty songs in a weekend. We were buzzing. Jim and I have written some beauties.

We’re all set for a new album. Just need to cross the t’s and dot the I’s.

If I can’t get a touring partner though, think I’ll need to shake things up a bit. I’m getting too antsy too hang around anymore.

I know this great guy in Louisiana who has a pretty great voice and some other names have been put out there too.

We’ll see…

I x

When the rain is blowing in your face.... 

And the whole world is on your case....

I could offer you a warm embrace....

To make you feel my love....

When evening shadows and the stars appear....

And there is no one there to dry your tears....

I could hold you for a million years....

To make you feel my love.... 

- Bob Dylan....

I can’t stop pouring over the lexicon of this man. So much of his poetry is the most beautiful

combination of words my eyes have ever seen. Or heard. I could go blind

I’m hooked and have the faint hope that if keep looking and looking and hearing and hearing and

overly acquaint myself with everything (yes EVERYTHING, even Man Gave Names To All The

Animals and the bad synth years with Dire Straits guitars and all) then maybe some of the magic

song dust will rub off on me?

Maybe

One time?

I hope so

Only need one song

It would keep me and my people in Italian shoes for a very long time

On the other hand it could be OCD?

I dunno

To me song writing is mysterious

And sometimes I have to hang around a long while, pull up a chair, listen and wait. Wait and listen.

Sit it out.

Stick it out. Stalk it.

Then wait some more.

It is one of my favourite things

Not to be sniffed at

Words stutter, shift, shape and form. They’re bubbling under, brewing up, getting ready to

reveal themselves. I grapple in the dark intuitively and wonder, “What the hell am I writing about?”

On napkins, notebooks, power books, cell phones, household objects and beer mats

And if the music comes first or last – no mind, any way is a good way.

Last night I was working on a song I’d had up my sleeve for quite some time, I think a year

 at least. I liked the first two lines so much there didn’t seem like anywhere better else to go. So I

stayed where I was.

Have been going round in circles for months now but the code is starting to crack

Juicy.....
This one kind of appears to be like a nursery rhyme, which should be so alarmingly simple

 heaven only knows why it’s taking so long!

Yes, the universe is a trickster

It has some bum steers and rogue moves that is for certain

And there are a lot more pressing subjects than song writing. Sometimes I feel so useless

Trouble abounds.....
People starve, are violated and put upon, succumb to disease, lose their homes, loved ones, walk

the streets. They are sent to fight unholy wars and there is unnecessary bloodshed

Life can take its toll.....

The world is cruel, tormented and unjust. ....
Hearts get broken, dreams don’t come true and prayers remain unanswered though every once in a

while a little bit of light slips through the cracks and there is a tiny slither of hope to which we cling.

The world is joyful.

The sky is blue.....
True happiness is a rare and precious bird.

Find it then hang on for dear life. It does not grow on trees. Or happen every day. Cherish it.

Whatever it may be.
The blander times are the frequent less passionate, in-between bulk of the time when we snooze off and it’s easy to
get by simply by zoning out or treading water.....
I remember years ago when I was pretty distressed and tearful one time and Stuart said to me “You’re lucky you know,
at least you know what it feels like to be alive.”
Weird but now I sort of know what he meant
I like the story of the pilot that landed the New York airplane safely on the Hudson River a few

weeks ago. Sadly the victims of the Buffalo plane crash last week and the wild fires in Victoria
this week were much less fortunate.

There but for the grace of god go I.

The sun rises and the sun sets. We are fragile.
Though for some irrational reason I do not think we should be afraid.

And then very much further on up the road at the very close of play there is always the bigger

picture. And so often it is murky.

As in a game of cards, I resolve to bring my best face to the table though in reality, as it turns out,

I don’t have much of a face for poker

My mind is a babbling brook

Go to the ends of the earth for you, to make you feel my love.....

The universe will show us something if we let it

I will be patient

It is sad and beautiful. And will let you in on a few secrets, if you so desire

It is nonsensical, magical, wild, wonderful and insane.

I tip my hat

Ix