Day 9. Thursday July 3rd<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />....
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Rock the boat, don..t rock the boat baby.....
Rock the boat, don..t tip the boat over.....
Rock the boat, don't rock the boat baby.....
Rock the bo oh oh oh, oh oh oh oht.....
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Had to get up at 11 this morning due to this song having wormed it..s way into my brain. It's me and the missus theme tune' and once it..s there, it's stuck.....
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So, I got up today and found out it was me day.....
Adam had done some Jedi hard drive mastery on the sessions we got from Chapel studios, involving tin foil and car keys, and saved an almost doomed disc.....
Hoorah for tech nerds.....
They will rule the planet sooner than we think.....
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I can also proudly declare that the new shower was installed, and I christened it, proudly exiting with all skin and hair intact and not burnt off.....
This meant I could re-do the drums to some unfinished tracks, namely Diamonds, a stamping classic, and instant candidate for a single, Perfect Sunday,which a lot of you are quite intimate with ( hum) and one of Monty's crazy concoctions tentatively called "Time".....
I got all the candles and scents flowing nicely in the room, and nailed all 3 in about 3 hours, much to mine and Adam's satisfaction.....
3 more in the bag, only xx to go.....
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Meanwhile, the best event of the day rolled up in a white Astra van, all the way from <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />....Peterborough.........
It was our old mate Pete Goddard, who used to work for Oakham Ales, and was delivering for us, our very own barrel of Oakham Ales finest ( in our opinion) The Jeffrey Hudson Bitter.....
A marvelously hoppy citrus tangy beer with an OG of 3.8, meaning you can slurp all day and night without the fear of hangover or blackout.....
Captain was especially pleased, and wanted to tap it there and then.....
We actually built a makeshift cellar for it and packed it with ice, preparing it for when it has settled.....
Cap has a countdown timer running, and informs me it will be ready at 9.15am in the morning.....
He had better not wake me to tap the thing.....
There will be trouble.....
We already have a repeat order for another JHB and their latest finest creation, Inferno, which runs at 4%. Perfect.
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This left the rest of the evening session for Monty to lay another marvelously melancholy mood enhancer which involved toy pianos, wood blocks, and a vibraphone. ....
All very beautiful sounds for a very beautiful song.....
This one is going to have some drums and other things on it, but we could detect Adam,s head starting to fizzle, and ordered him home.....
The day came to a very mellow end, with Cap serving everybody crumpets with lashings of marmite.....
All very civilized.....
Early night.....
Day 10 Friday July 4th<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />....
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.. ..Fuckin technology has forced me to post this a day late and a dollar short.
Not much worse than a shitty connection huh.
So for today, read yesterday. Doh!
There is something about today that should be celebrated.....
I know there is something, I just can't think what.....
Hmmmmmmmm.....
It's something about the date.....
Hmmmmmmmm.....
Start of the school holidays?....
Nah.....
End of war in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />....Iraq....?....
Don't make me laugh.....
Discovery of massive oilfield in ....Lincolnshire....?....
Nope.....
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Hang on a minute, I know!!!!!!!....
It's one month and one week since I gave up the fags!!!!!!!....
Yesssss. I beat you, you nic-o-teen craving bastard!....
Cold turkey is a tough bird to cook, but it proves that it's all just mind over matter.....
I used to love to smoke, but hated the feeling of inevitability that re-surfaced every morning, feeling like there was a mini festival of leprechauns dug in on my chest, with their damn miniature steam engines wheezing away.....
It only took me 27 years to realize that the pain in my chest would stop if I stopped pissing it off by snorting fireworks. Duh!!!!....
Anyway, just wanted to get that off my chest ( groan).....
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I had a fantastic lie in today, and things were rolling along quite nicely without me when I finally surfaced at 2pm.....
Don't hate please.....
I've been going hard at it for 9 days straight, and that is coming right off a 2 week euro bus tour in Rock'n'Roll coaches. ( see BUS CUNT blog) and I was a little pooped, so sleeping for 11 hours is ok.....
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Almost as soon as I stepped into the kitchen, still only clad in my boxers, I was accosted by a desperate old man begging me for a drink.....
Didn't realize they allowed bums round these parts, but I looked again, and it was only Captain, pestering me to tap the keg!!!!!.....
I told you he had a countdown timer on it.....
I barely had time to gulp down my meager breakfast before he reminded me again.....
Then again.....
He was on a mission to get vibed up for a day full of guitar tracking and wanted the JHB buzz to help him along, but Cap being Cap, would never think to tap the keg himself.....
Not while there are other human beings on the planet.....
He was definitely one of those guys that made the worst cup of tea you could ever drink on his first day at work , so he would never have to make another one.....
Smart guy that Captain.....
We had built a makeshift rustic cellar for the keg, and iced it down all night, and it turned out unbelievably good. Stu and Monty were not far behind as soon as they saw our frothing heads, fnaar.....
Perfect temp, totally clear, real good beer.....
Monty went into town today and paid 3 and a half quid for a pint of tepid bitter. ( he stole the glass and the chair he was sitting on to offset the cost obviously)....
Ours works out at less than 50p a pint.....
At least one of us must have been a boy scout.....
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Anyway, back to the music.....
Cap was ripping his way through Aim to Please when I surfaced, and a handsome job he was making of it too.....
Adam is great at getting guitar tones, and with all the toys these two have got at their disposal, I am not surprised that they are grinning like naughty schoolboys every time I pop my head round the door.....
It's always a sight to see when Cap gets grooving on the plank.....
He really is a bit of a whiz at plucking strings and making strange noises come out, and this song had plenty on.....
I can't believe he restrained himself from playing in the 1st verse at all.....
I think he was just a little tired and forgot.....
I know I'm going to hear that song in a couple of weeks and it's going to have a double neck guitar solo over each verse....
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Speaking of which.....
I slipped my head around the door after listening to a wailing call and response solo slap bang in the middle of the verse on Under the Wheels.....
"Are you soloing in the verse?" says I....
"Yes, I am" replied Cap.....
Fair enough.....
I asked.....
He answered.....
I'm sure it's all part of a greater plan that I don't understand, being a drummer and all.
I'm happy as long as Pinchy go bang bang.....
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Other highlights of the day included Monty and his massive Organ getting an outing on several clean up parts to previously recorded songs.....
Some really top class ....Hammond.... playing sprang forth from his magic digits I can tell ya. The Hammond in the corner has such a wonderful tone, Cap got quite emotional about it this afternoon ( helped along no doubt by the freely flowing JHB ) and we had to push the stop button, or you may be hearing Happy Cap and his Hammond chums on an alt mix of this record.....
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Cap also did all the guitar parts for ( working title) "Going Down" , dedicated to ..Watford.. apparently.....
Earlier in the day, Stu had finished this one as well, tracking some seriously solid bass, sprinkled with tasty little touches.....
Along with Monty's ....Hammond.... madness, this song is really solid, and maybe another single candidate.....
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The day ended with Cap laying down some thwangy goodness to Under the Wheels, which is really becoming it's own beast with every layer added.....
A pretty unique sounding mix I think.....
Cap really shines on this one.....
By this time, Adam needed beer.....
Unfortunately, he has to drive home, so went sent him on his way with the last bottle of Sierra Nevada, top 10 of beers, easily.....
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I guess tomorrow, we will play some instruments, someone will push buttons and JHB will be drunk. Not particularly in that order.....
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Oh, and happy 4th of July to all our American friends.....
Days 11,12,13 sat,sun,mon 5th ,6th 7th July<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />....
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This intermittent internet bullshit is really driving me crazy at the moment.....
It's right up there with the mosquitoes as the most annoying thing at the studio.....
Which is hardly reason for any toys to be thrown out of prams, but you know us Brits like a good whinge.....
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Saturday was a fairly strange day for me.....
It was like there was a full moon or something.....
I always feel mighty strange when the moon is full. There is an air of slight anxiety and I get the feeling anything can happen ( but seldom does), and all day Saturday felt like this.....
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I decide to take a back seat, and let the others do some fleshing out of tracks.....
Various knobs were twiddled,buttons pushed, strings twanged, you know, all that stuff that those musos do.....
I took a bike ride into redhill to buy a dartboard for our ever expanding backyard boozer, which we have christened "The Knackered Back" in honour of the amount of walking wounded we have round this place.....
It's pretty funny when someone says they did their back in picking up the soap in the shower. Anything to get out of loading the van huh?....
We now have tables, chairs ( including a rocking chair) A big umbrella, a naked mannequin, a pub sign, and the dartboard. All we need is the fire, cardigans and more facial hair and we will be open to the public.....
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Today we had a visit from Postman Pat and his good friend from <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />....Morocco...., which put us in the perfect mood for laying down a Psychedelic classic called Dark Asteroid.....
The end of the song drifts off into a jam of epic proportions, and is meant to be a fade out, so Adam asked us how long to keep the tape rolling for the fade.....
Half an hour should do it says I.....
It was actually only 15 and a half minutes, but the results are spectacular, and we are trying to work out how to get the whole thing on the record. Cap and Monty played all the way to 11 and beyond, while me and Stu were testing how long we could play absolutely straight with no deviation at all.....
I think we got to about 10 minutes before the temptation was too much , and we too started mildly noodling.....
A great way to end the evening, as Miss Crunk had arrived and we played him the stuff we have laid down already.....
He listened intently, stroking his chin, and gave the verdict.....
" Reet good that Cocka"....
I think we passed his scrupulous test.....
Now, what time do we have to get up in the morning????....
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Sunday....
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The alarm goes off at 9.15am, and signals the usual round of coughs, belches, farts and groans about the insanely early hour, but we are professionals, and we have a festival to play.....
Right on cue, the heavens open as soon as I open the front door.....
Yes, The Damned are playing an outdoor festival, let there be doom.....
We get the van loaded in a timely manner and head off to ....Guilford...., fighting rain all the way, of course.....
I didn't even bring a jacket, and Miss Crunk has gone one better. Shorts and deck shoes hahahahahaha. He is going to suffer today.....
We arrive and get checked in just as the wonderful Miss Cerys Matthews is preparing to do a lush little acoustic set.....
The sound guys and stage crew are glad we arrived. They all complained that the bill had been too light all weekend, and needed a bit of fire up it, so to speak.....
I don't think we disappointed them.....
The sun actually came out for our set, which is exactly the opposite of what usually happens.....
Maybe 10 seconds in to the intro of New Rose, I got a full pint right in the face, and was within a gnats chuff of diving into the audience and dealing out some retribution. But, as I said earlier, we are professionals and I bit my tongue, threw a bottle of water back at the offending area, and gave the 2 finger salute to the donkey who was constantly crowing for Rat Scabies. Yawn.....
I was playing a great little hire kit, and stripped it down to just a 4 piece, which was a refreshing challenge, playing all the parts on just a snare, kick, rack and floor with a couple of cymbals.....
Easy in, easy out was the motto for the day, with even Cap using a completely alien setup, and almost not complaining ( almost). He admitted later that " I will never use rental gear ever again". Sounded alright to me, bloody perfectionist.....
So we stayed for a couple of hours more.....
I went and had a chat with the guys from From The Jam, who I had stage managed at House Of Blues a couple of months earlier, which was a great show.....
Today, also, they were on fire, with a great setlist and a very responsive audience.....
Good luck to them I say.....
We were all tucked up back at our residence shortly after, and all had a lovely early night.....
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Monday....
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Another day pretty much dedicated to keyboards, with Monty finishing off several tracks of Piano, harpsichord, and Glissando guitar, played with a knife, which I have never seen before, but sounded really eerie. A bit like a theremin I suppose, but really suited the song.....
In beer news, we took delivery of another 2 barrels of beer from Oakham ales.....
The astra van rolled up at lunch time, perfectly in sync with our beer drinking, as last night, we had to uncork the barrel to drain the last few remaining pints of JHB.....
Now, we have a fresh barrel of JHB, as well as the 4% Inferno, which comes highly recommended from brewers and drinkers alike.....
We also started fiddling about with a few preliminary mixes to try and get a feel for some of the treatments we are going to be giving the songs.....
It was so funny fiddling with Monty's song Time, as we were just telling Adam- More ……of everything, now turn it up……now make it distort………fuzz bass…….not nasty enough………guitar sounds too good etc etc.....
The song feels like it could have been recorded in the sixties, so we want it to sound that way. Real fun live sound. I think we are getting there.....
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Tomorrow is going to be a nother tracking day where we will attempt the fastest song of the session so far, as well as a really subtle one. Can't wait.....
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