MUMM-RA IN "NOT DEAD" SHOCK HORROR!!

It's true. Contrary to popular belief, I can confirm that Mumm-Ra are not, in fact, dead. No no, quite the opposite. The lads have been beavering away in deepest, darkest Sussex for the last 2 months, writing, creating and playing the occassional hand of poker. As for me, well I've also had a rather productive 8 weeks. Not only have I taken up cooking and golf, I've also found time to enter a marathon, get a haircut, see Ricky Gervais live, sell most of my worldly possessions on eBay and listen to an obscene amount of Talking Heads. Oh, and I've also created this blog for you guys, my loyal readers and Mumm-Ra devotees. The blog reads hit 15,000 the other day - many, many thanks. Anyway, enough drivel. Here we go...

So did you spot it? "Spot what?" I hear you cry. The lie! The vile and odious lie that I spouted in the last blog, all 2 months ago. If I remember rightly it went something along the lines of...

"Mumm-Ra's Summer Part 3, featuring our trip to Barcelona last month and possibly our French festivals as well, will be with you within the next few weeks."

I can't help but feel partly responsible. So, as way of an apology, I am giving you - the Mumm-Ra massive - the biggest blog to date. There are seven, count them, SEVEN videos of our summer adventures in Spain, France and Japan. I've also chucked in a shed-load of photos for good measure, some with partial nudity, so if you are offended by images of Noo in his pants then I suggest you view with caution.

BARCELONA - BREAD AND BUTTER, 4th-5th July 2007

For those of you in the UK, I am sure none of you can forget the summer we had this year. Or, indeed, the lack of one. Which is why it was such an absolute joy to jet off to Barcelona for a couple of days and soak up some much needed sunshine, and play a gig in the process. We were staying the Espanya Placa, might not sound familiar but you will probably recognise it when you see it (see photo's/video). Got there early afternoon-ish, hit the pool, then headed over to the event to soundcheck. Bread and Butter is best descibed as some kind of fashion trade-fair, I guess. We were playing an outside stage in an area they had dumped a load of sand in and created a sort of makeshift beach. So with soundcheck done by 6pm and not being onstage until the next night, it was off into Barcelona for tapas and sangria.

The next day was spent at Bread and Butter in the Playboy clothing section. Now, before you say anything there was a genuine reason for this. The Rock had designed to Tshirt for Playboy that was to be sold for charity, I think The Flaming Lips did one as well. It features the Mumm-Ra drummer boy and everything. The fact that we were provided with as much free champagne as we wanted and were surrounded by Playboy bunnies had nothing to do with us hanging around there, look at the photos below - we look really uncomfortable. So with that done, it was off for a huge paella then we headed back for the evening festivities. Free beer all night? That's a Mumm-Ra thumbs up. The gig was a bit weird, playing to all these pissed-up fashion types, but we had a laugh doing it. When the clock struck midnight, our soundman and all round top bloke, Christian "Smooth B" Bayley, turned 42 (i think??) although he doesn't look a day over 25, ladies. As a celebration, the organisers took us into town in 3 mini's, it was just like The Italian Job, and got us into this club by saying we were the Arctic Monkeys. From then on it's hazy, but I do remember coming out of the club and falling straight on my arse. Alex Turner would never do that.



Outside Barca hotel


Rock's Tshirt in all its glory


They've all had a sangria...


Bucky feeling right at home


Noo in a really really really expensive dressing gown


Smooth looking smooth


Oli doing his best Hef impression


Ra and bunnies


Smooth being smooth


Paella time


So.Much.Free.Beer.


Sometimes things get stuck in Tate's hair for weeks on end


A rather large Mumm-Ra banner


You haven't lived until you've seen Keith dance



FRANCE - MUSILAC, AIX LES BAINS - 13th July 2007

Flying can be a bit hairy at times. Let's face it, a huge lump of metal weighing hundreds of tonnes is not meant to be in the air. Gravity says no. So, taking a flight on Friday 13th of July? Good thing I'm not superstitious. After two cracking tours there in 2006 and earlier this year, Mumm-Ra returned to France to headline the Musilac Festival in Aix Les Bains. Well, when I say headline, I mean unofficially. Obviously, we wouldn't be headlining above Muse. That would mean playing after them, and that would be just plain silly.......

Aix Les Bains is easily the most scenic festival I've ever been to. At least it was until we hit Fuji Rock a few weeks later, I would now say they are both pretty much on a par. It consists of two main stages opposite each other, and when one band finishes another one starts up. All of which is going on next to a lake and beneath mountains in 30 degree heat. It really is quite something. Not going onstage until 1 in the morning meant we had the whole day to chill out, have a few drinks, have a swim and generally just enjoy ourselves. We did manage to miss a signing session at 9.30pm because most of the band were in the lake at the time, something which would result in disastrous consequences - it's all there for you in the video. As for our "headlining" set? Well, broken strings aside it could have been a lot worse. For reasons known only to the promoters, we were put on after Muse. Think of all the feats of mankind - the internal combustion engine, the wheel, landing on the moon (supposedly), stonehenge, splitting the atom - following Muse has got to be up there, hasn't it?

Part 1


Part 2


Scenic is the word


Calm yourselves, ladies


Throwing rocks at a buoy (that's pronounced "boy", Rock)


Dom from Muse, complete with own personal bodyguard



FRANCE - GARDEN NEF PARTY, ANGOULEME - 20th July 2007

A week later we returned to France, specifically the rather pleasant town of Angouleme, but not before a classic Mumm-Ra travel nightmare. RyanAir - who from now on shall be known as Brian McClair airways - decided it would be great if they got everyone on the plane and not take off for three hours. Let me put this in perspective. The journey should only have taken one hour, yet it was quadrupled by the most incopetent airline around. They blamed the weather, although every other plane in the airport was taking off just fine. Being 6ft4, I don’t really fit in airplanes at the best of times so you can imagine how I was feeling at the situation. We weren't even offered a cup of tea by way of an apology, and there was no way I was going to spend £1.90 on some molten-hot PG Tips. Idiots.

4 hours later than planned, we eventually arrived. The fest was a lot smaller than seven days ago, and this time normal service was resumed as there was just the one stage, headlined by Muse with Mumm-Ra opening up the proceedings. We arrived onsite around 5ish, cracked open a few 8% Guiness and spent the next 20 minutes in awe of all the Muse equipment. You've seriously never seen anything like it in your life. They have what looks like a small army working for them, and God help you if go anywhere within 30 feet of the drumkit. Bucky and I did manage that at one point however, we tell you what we saw in the video.

Our show went a lot smoother than Musilac, but Noo still managed to break his sunglasses as he did at almost every summer festival this year. The rest of the evening was spent sitting on the hill watching the bands, making paper planes and handing out Mumm-Ra flags to all and sundry. During the Muse set, Oli and I wangled our way to the side of the stage for the last half an hour or so, right next to the bass amps. The sounds we were subjected to in that time were just out of this world, indescribable really. Easily one of the best live bands you're ever likely to see. And with that, we packed up the van and made our merry way home.

Part 1


Part2


Two of the most distinguished gentlemen you could ever meet. In front of them, Oli and Rock


It turned in to one of those nights


Muse


Who needs eleven bass guitars? Honestly



JAPAN - TOKYO/FUJI ROCK - 25th-28th July 2007

It's not every day you travel half-way round the planet to play a gig, but then again it's not every day you get the chance to play Fuji Rock. It's up there with Glastonbury for me, just one of those special places. The rest of the lads had played it last year and wasted no time in telling me I was in for the time of my life.

12 hours on a plane later (which, using the equation from the last French trip, would take Brian McClair Airways 48 hours, or two days, to do. Thank god they don't fly to Japan is all I can say) and 1 hour in a van and we had arrived in Tokyo. Think it was mid-afternoon but it was obviously the early-hours of the morning in our heads. A quick kip in the hotel and we went out exploring. We were staying in the Shibuya region of Tokyo, where that famous massive crossroads is an' all that. For those of you who have never been, Japan is just mad, in a good way. I thought that Banzai show on Channel 4 a few years back was a joke. Walking around is a total attack on the senses. You could walk all day and you wouldn't be bored, it really is like another world. Culture shock over, the evening was spent having dinner in the same restaurant as Britpop heroes Ash and drinking in a bar where you have to take your shoes off and sit on the floor. Just another normal night in Tokyo. They had just the one toilet in this place and it looked like Klaxons had been in to decorate it - photographic evidence down the page. It was a top night and a great way to kick-off the trip.

One of the benefits of being the session guy is that you don't often get involved in the press side of things - interviews, photo's etc. So, while the rest of the guys had to get up at 8am for a whole day of press, band manager Keith, sound man Smooth B and I headed out into the Tokyo heat for a spot of sightseeing. We ducked in and out of a few shops, seeing Smooth trying to haggle down the cost of a pair of Levis with a shop assistant who didn't speak any English was highly entertaining. After a few hours of wanderage (I just made that word up, I quite like it), we struck gold. In desperate need of some liquid refreshment we happened upon the coolest bar you could ever see. It was up this rickety spiral staircase on the outisde of a knackered old house, which led to a door that I only just fitted through. The bar was about the size of my bedroom and had hundreds of jazz records on the walls. Smooth B describes it all for you in the video, but if you ever visit Tokyo make sure you go to 6-29-6, Jingu-mae, Shibuya-ku. Come the evening we met up with the rest at SonyHQ, went for a fantastic meal, then jumped in the van for the drive up to Fuji Rock.

Upon arrival at the biggest hotel I've ever seen in my life, which during festival time is purely filled with bands and crew, we set about finding our rooms. Not easy in a hotel that has several thousand of the buggers. We set off in what we thought was the right direction, when up ahead, sitting on a window sill just like a normal person would, was Jarvis Cocker. He's no normal person. He wrote Common People - without doubt one of the greatest tracks ever written by anyone in the history of the world ever. Feeling suitably star struck and pleased with ourselves we jumped in the lift, got out and decided we were in completely the wrong location. So back into the lift we went, back along the corridor past Mr Cocker, back to reception to ask for directions. Turns out we had been right the first time, and so for a third time had to try and look cool in the presence of an indie hero. This time however we clocked him and had a brief joke with him about being lost. You had to be there. With bags dumped in rooms, we made our way out of the hotel and into the festival. From then on it was a blur of camera phones and two-fingered salutes (the Japanese way, not the British way). Without getting into it too much, Mumm-Ra did, for obvious reasons, stand out a mile. It was like bees to honey. Japanese fans are the most polite bunch you could ever meet and their reaction to seeing Mumm-Ra in their country was fascinating to watch. I pointed out to one band member on our way back to the hotel that night that Mumm-Ra camped at Glastonbury for 3 days solid without being recognised once and after only playing two gigs in Japan before, it was mayhem as soon as we stepped foot on the Fuji Rock site. Interesting eh? That night we propped up the hotel bar until the early hours then it was off to bed, we had quite a day ahead of us.

And so to showday. We had some time to kill as we weren't needed until 1ish, so after brekkie Noo, Keith and I planned on hitting the 30-hole putting course the hotel had outside. Alas, it was closed so Noo and I had to make do with table tennis, or to give it its real name - ping-pong. You know what annoys me the most about ping-pong? Not the fact that your hands get really sweaty and you lose your grip on the bat. Not the fact that when you go for one of those smash shots the ball can go about 50 feet past the end of the table. Not even the fact that Noo is better than me and as such played one entire game hitting the ball between his legs. No, the most annoying thing about ping-pong is when Kings Of Leon walk past you and put you off your stroke. No respect for anyone those fellas. Anyway, that's what happened. Yet another surreal moment in a series of thousands that happened over the three days.

We went onstage at the Red Marquee at about 4pm I think. I've never seen a tent so rammed for Mumm-Ra, it was pretty incredible really. The highlight of the set for me was Now Or Never and the reaction it got from the crowd when Noo struck up the first chords - magic. So with the set declared a triumph, the rest of the lads went off to do a signing whilst I took full advantage of my AAA pass and went and stood side stage for Kings Of Leon. And who did I happen to be standing next to? Why, Jarvis of course. The Kings were just something else. My band of the year, no question. I plucked up the courage to go and say hello later in the evening as their dressing room was just down from ours, and I can confirm they are thoroughly nice chaps. I even got a setlist signed - well chuffed. Later on in the evening, the rest of Mumm-Ra achieved something of a personal goal. One of the first songs that Mumm-Ra ever played together was one by mid-nineties indie-popsters Ocean Colour Scene, and many of them have a special place for OCS in their hearts. I can't see it personally but that's neither here nor there! The point of the story is that Steve Cradock, OCS guitarist, was milling around and Mumm-Ra took it upon themselves to meet the man himself. What started out as a friendly chat turned into Steve coming into our dressing room and taking requests for Ocean Colour Scene classics. He also agreed to saying to camera "Hi I'm Steve Cradock, you're watching the Tommy B blog" combined with a lot of effing and blinding. Tragically, I have lost the said footage but you can still see highlights of his visit in the video - as well as Oli's utter joy after the encounter. Talking of lost footage, I also had Robert Smith from The Cure fiddling about on his MacBook and a whole load of other backstage shenanigans, as well as all the film I took from the Underage Festival in August. I wholeheartedly apologise to all who were there, blame technology. Anyway, we spent the rest of the night trekking round the site, resisting the temptation to go and see Muse for the 3rd time in as many weeks, and generally just taking in the whole Fuji Rock experience. Eventually the time came for us to depart so after picking up a few souvenir tshirts, we said our goodbyes and made our way back to Tokyo. Our time in Japan was something I know I'll never forget, and to make things better - we're going back next week! Depends on when you're reading this of course, we might have already been. Videos and photos from a quite brilliant few days...

(note; I went all arty-farty on the outro of Part 2 because, well, just cos I felt like it!)

Part 1


Part 2










There is something that really amuses me seeing Bucky stood next to a square watermelon


The most nu-rave toilet you are ever likely to see


Japan massive


Ancient Japanese hand massage or just plain painful?


That Harry gets everywhere


Tower Records, Tokyo


Tokyo backstreets


Keith can't get enough of his pickled octopuses


Red Marquee line-up, Fuji Rock


Our kind of restaurant


View from my hotel window


Literally thirty seconds before going onstage


Crowd for Kings Of Leon (Jarvis Cocker not pictured)


Kings Of Leon


You don't get this at V


This doesn't need a description


The moment Mumm-Ra's life became complete



And so ends another chapter in the ongoing saga that is Mumm-Ra. That also concludes the series of blogs known as Mumm-Ra's Summer. I hope that you have found them suitably to your taste, there will be more to come as the good-ship Mumm-Ra stirs from it's slumber and begins to motor once again.*

Until next time,

-B



















*what a finishing sentence!!