Flight delayed by an hr or so. Just as we approach the runway for take-off The pilot informs us that “there is something in the hold that shouldn’t be there”, so we have to go back to our spot and let the bag dudes take off whatever it is in the hold, that shouldn’t be there. i had a terrible night out, last night. i haven't slept yet - all of this isn't helping.
In the air. It goes like this:
Red wine
Love guru
Red wine
Boots cold and flu tablets
Redwine
Mightly boosh
Red wine
Spaced
Red wine
Boots cold and flu tablets
Orange juice
Turbulence – the worst I ever experienced. Wine everywhere. Total lockdown – lights off, tv's off, people praying (seriously). If I wasn’t drunk I’d be terrified, but it actually turns out to be the best, most fun rollercoaster ride I’ve ever been on.
Red wine
Fall asleep to the audio of ‘get in the van’. Rollins voice is very calming – even when he’s talking about punching people.
Once we land we call our buddy in Chicago and arrange to go to his friends house to dump our gear. We go get burritos and cheap beer. We hang at his then walk up a couple of blocks to a warehouse party.
It’s the usual affair – bands, people drinking and a couple breaking up VERY publicly - the girls is crying uncontrollably. poor thing...
the people at the warehouse ask if we want to play as well, and we say ‘ I guess so’.
An hr later we've finished our set and are on route to a karaoke bar. It’s late – 4am or something – we’ve been up for a long time. Everywhere is closed so we just go back to drink and hang
- then we finally go to sleep.
Saturday
Full of a big cold, but feeling good. We get up and go for a diner breakfast,
then get picked up by these guys who are driving us to east Moline to play their record shop.
East Moline is a serious mid-west total fuck-up town. The kids that pick us up recall stories of insane clown posse related murders in taco bell parking lots. It seems that every story ends we ‘and they died…’ The people here are super nice. When we get to the record store this 13 year old kid comes and tells us how much he loves us.
He also plays in the support band called one big nut, which turn out to be a bunch of kids and a ambulance driver on keyboards, who is actually high on heroin all night. He keeps doing that heroin nodding off thing. It’s pretty grim. Another dude comes to speak to us before our set. He looks pretty odd, and is called ‘crazy larry’. Go figure. He keeps saying that he likes ‘pussy in his punk’. During our set he stands by kev filming us play with this massive 80’s vhs video camera and repeatively asks kev when akiko is going to take her clothes off. Kev gets sick of this pretty quickly and stops us mid-song to inform us that this dude wants kev to get naked. Crazy larry starts shouting, "no – not you, the girl. I want to see the girl naked!" Kev gets in his face – “you want to see me naked huh??” crazy larry goes – “not you, the girl..” this goes on for a bit. I get involved – “you wanna see kev naked huh? Weirdo” after a while crazy larry starts getting a little uncomfortable. Kev takes his cap off and throws it onto the floor. I grab his camera, turn it on him and poke it right in his face. He’s getting uncomfortable – we are getting a bit nasty when it dawns on me that it’s probably not a good idea to fight with some guy in a small town like this. Especially someone called crazy larry....
After the show I hear him bitching about how we’re not punk. The guy he’s moaning to says to crazy larry, “well they’re pissing off the old guy – that’s seems pretty punk to me”.
Sunday
Today there is a halloween parade through east Moline. It’s amazing. Lots of dogs dressed up as super heroes. The Labrador dressed as superman is my favorite. The parade showers the people watching with candy. It’s a special insight into a part of America that most people probably don’t get to see, and I don’t have my camera on me. After this we have a quick thrift,
then luke drives us back to Chicago.
Monday
We don’t start recording till Wednesday, and we haven’t got a show until Tuesday, so we go shopping.
in the rain.
A lot....
and play pool.
then shop some more.
I buy 3 pairs of jeans in one day - a new record.
Monday night
we go for a few drinks in a bar, then try to go crazy.
We end up in a bar till everyone falls asleep. For some reason everyone is really jet-lagged this trip…
Tuesday
Don’t really do much during the day - kev goes to see his auntie, and we sleep and go to buy boring and expensive musical stuff.
We play the empty bottle in the evening. This is our second time in Chicago – the first time wasn’t too good. This time is really good.
We even do an encore, which I usually don’t tolerate, but im having fun tonite
After the show we hang out and take photos in the venues old black and white photo booth, with luke – he’s the kid that drove us to east moline.
He’s amazing. has a lot of interesting things to say. We get on really well. I’m kinda obsessed with him. Everyone goes back to where we are staying. I want to drown my sorrows, which will take a lot of drowning, so I go solo and get a lift back to a some college kids flat and carve pumpkins
wednesday
The next morning I wake up dazed, confused and I have no phone or any idea where I’m. All I know is that we start recording today and I have to be at the studio for 8am. Someone kindly calls me a cab and I head across Chicago to electrical audio. I offend the taxi driver by not tipping enough. I haven’t got enough money on me He really unloads on me. I’m really hungover and tender this morning, and take the drivers strong words to heart. The journey was quite a long one, and as we drove through the morning rush hr the driver listen to a Christian radio station. He’s not being very Christian to me at the moment. He’s almost being a bit racist. money talks this morning...
I’m the first one at the studio. I don’t want to go in on my own, so I take a walk up to a diner to get a coffee. I’ve got to stop saying “take away” and start saying “to go” – it will make ordering a lot easier.
By the time I get back to the studio the rest of pre pull up in a taxi.
We go in and get the guided tour.
Steve albini is still in bed (he lives in the studio too), so we settle into our bedrooms
he’s just got back from wales, where he has been recording the next manic street preachers album. we make coffee and I take a much-needed shower.
While steve is sleeping we try out all the amps, drums and guitars until we are happy with our set ups. The studio is amazing. really homely and comfortable. The living area has a huge billiards table and a massive tv with hundreds of videos. Then we have a little meeting with steve.
At around 2 we start recording, and by 10pm we have finished for the day. We recorded 15 songs live – mostly within one or 2 takes.
Everyone totally nailed it. So proud of pre right now. We play billiards, and watch baseball with steve until sleepy time.
Thursday
The next day is vocals / mixing day.
We start around midday, and then finish around 7pm, with about half of the album left to mix.
We play billiards, and watch baseball with steve until sleepy time.
Friday
day 3 we finish mixing and are all done by 10pm. We play billiards, and watch baseball with steve until sleepy time. At around midnight we all go off to sleep as our flight leaves super early. I shake steve’s hand and thank him for everything, and he just kinda laughs in an embassarashed manner. What a guy, and he was all ours for 3 whole days…
Don’t really know what to say about the whole recording experience. It was a total dream come true for me – and it was probably one of the best experiences of my life. Arrrhhhhhh. how Cute…
Saturday
So we wake up at 4am to get a cab to o’hare, to catch our internal flight to new york. I HATE getting up this early. Wish I had just stayed up.
Cmj – 2 years in a row! 3 shows in one day…. Uggg.
The internal flight is horrible. Worst flight ever. We are only in the air for 2 hrs or something, but it’s really ruff. This guy is being sick near me, and it starts to turn my stomach. Then kev’s head nearly explodes. It’s not nice seeing him in so much pain.
So glad to finally land. So, we jump straight into a taxi to go to jake and Michelle’s new loft apartment where we are greeted by aids wolf, the mae shi, and all our other nyc friends,.
love marrrrrrmite.
It’s kinda like a little party! Sparkling wine, vegan breakfast, vodka, and it’s not even midday yet!
After an hr or so it’s off to our first show in Brooklyn with radio 4 and sky larkin to name but a few. It’s ok. These day shows / label showcase things are always tuff – but we are getting paid a lot, so we smile and are polite. Sky larkin peeps are very nice. Radio 4 are dreadful.
Can’t believe they are still going!
Next show, manhattan. This is actually the worst show of my life. I know I’ve said this before, but its terrible. Woeful… not us, just the venue, people, situation.
We make it almost fun. It’s raining SO hard outside too. We do get to go to wholefoods though, where I spend nearly $30 on the salad bar, and rekindle my love for kombucha .
As soon as we have finished this show, we jump in a taxi back to Brooklyn to play the todd p anti-cmj show at the market hotel.
The venue is basically a rundown, derelict old hotel. It’s totally rammed, and amazing. loads of bands playing – the mae shi are really great. Chris ex aids wolf (love him) gets in a fight during their set and knocks some guy out. Chris was bootlegging the show (see picture)
and this guy knocked chris’ mp3 thing out of his hand. Chris kinda smiled at him, then the guy starts raging at chris and telling him to try and enjoy himself. Chris punches him in the face.
Our set was crazy. Kids right up close. One of the pa speakers catches fire, and I later findd out that I've tore all the muscles and ligaments down one side of my ankle, which really, really hurt. I thought I had dislocated it. Played half of the set on the sat on the floor doubled over.
check kev out wrestling for space!
We party hard, and all return back to Michelle’s to carry on the party (has anyone ever seen jeff mae shi without a kappa tracksuit top on? - in all our time together, i never, ever have...)
I start a spoon train, which turns into a love train. The next day everyone is super hungover. Kev has a teenage hangover. Pale, shaky, thinks he’s gonna puke - he can't keep still.
Today we have to shoot a video for one of the new songs in manhattan. We go for breakfast and then have to go and buy stuff for the video. All we know at this point is that it has a wrestling theme.
I’m nervous about this one. I don’t mind making a tit out of myself, but I find it hard to do it on command. Chris ex aids wolf comes along to hang out. The shoot is totally professional and a little scary.
They have actors in to play roles
and all we really get told is to dress up like wrestlers and pound around slapping each other.
After lots of slapping and laughing we are allowed to leave. Its getting pretty late. Me, kev and chris decide to go and watch the bush tetras play at the cake shop in manhattan. We make a quick call and manage to get on the list. By the time we get to the show people are on there way out of the venue. We’ve just missed it, so we go to a bunch of bars. Peaches geldof is in the last one we visit. She totally gives kev the eye.
Then it’s back to Brooklyn to meet the others in a local bar, (where rick is SUPER drunk and playing pool with strangers)
and then finally back to michelle’s for 1 hrs sleep (honestly), and up into a taxi to catch our flight home. The taxi driver is listening to alice in chains. Down in a hole….
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