The whole thing started for me on Jan 2nd when I travelled down to Bath. I've been here ever since, only managing one trip home in mid-Jan. We have a house here that we rent and live and work in and it's fabulous...very isolated but also within easy reach of the city and of course the ubiquitous local pub where we've eaten our way around the menu and have become mates with the landlord and lady...they seem to like the collection of reprobates who drop in from time to time and who get animated in the corner about the music they're writing...
Bath is a great place to drink and eat...some of the old pubs that only the locals know are superb and hark back to simpler times where you just sit and strike up a conversation in a real bar with whoever happens to be there, without crap music or annoying children with names like Cassius and Amelia running around...and of course our beloved Tuckers Grave is only few miles away too...I even went to the rugby too...not my thing but a great day out...oh man... The view of the city from the top of the hill where we are is breathtaking and the local wildlife make their presence felt with owls,foxes and deer paying visits from time to time...I even heard a Nightjar the other night..(anyone know what one of them is?)
It's a lovely place and very conducive to work, which is just as well because we have masses to do... We're currently writing for a new album which will be released next year...we're also rehearsing for the Black and Blue tour in March...and next week our old mate Neil Sparkes from The Temple of Sound is coming to stay with us for a week to rehearse for some acoustic dates we have in Holland and Belgium in April...busy times...
The original stuff we're coming up with is,in our opinion,some of the best ever and there's a chance some of it will be aired live in March...it's an oft forgotten process of playing new songs before they're recorded,and we're keen to develop some of the stuff in the good old fashioned way if we can...by road testing it...keeps you on your toes too...As always things can change so don't quote me on it,but if we feel like it we'll do it...
The set for the March tour is proving to be a total joy and we'll hopefully moisten a few eyes (and maybe other things too...)with our choice of songs...we've had a blast rehearsing it all and as ever expect the unexpected...saying no more about it except I'm really looking forward to meeting Wilko and just being on the road again...see you all very soon...
Baz/9th February '11
