Monday 22 November 2010

Blog gone wrong

I've been fairly busy the last couple of weeks or so. Last weekend I went back to Liverpool to play with 28 Costumes at Toria Buzza's birthday party. It was boss to go back and I managed to cram alot into the visit. Drinks with mates, footy on Saturday morning like the good old days of 7 months ago, an acoustic set in a hairdressing salon, the party and the afterparty. I think I pretty much managed to see everyone who I would have liked to have seen in the space of 2 days, which was great. When I left though I realised I'd left my phone in Paul Jones' house which is a massive pain in the dick - it's still not arrived yet and it's been a week since he sent it. This is crap for loads of reasons - Edda left to go to Köln for 4 weeks so without it I'm totally unable to get in touch with her, I can't work without it as the company I work for call me when I'm needed. Also, I was meeting Jules, who came to Berlin for a few days just now, at the airport on the Sunday so I was totally freaking out although I didn't really need to about that. Been really good having Jules over though, we managed to sort a few things out regarding Liquidation Berlin, which is defo going to happen soon, plus have a whole lot of fun too.

I've just decided to not continue writing this blog entry. It's not funny or interesting, although funny and interesting things definitely happened but my head isn't working properly today and it hasn't really been working properly for the last few days. I don't know whether it's because I'm really worried about money (as per usual), or I'm really missing Edda\hate being on my own in the flat or just in general worrying too much about what is I'm supposed to be doing here or in Liverpool or anywhere - just generally. Obviously 28 Costumes and Hallo...I Love You! aren't doing much right now what with me being in another country a thousand miles away and Silent Sleep, my new thing I've just started here is going well but slow and there's not much banter and laughs when it's just you practising. I haven't got a job so to speak, well I have some work occasionally but it's not enough to call a job and the club night, which I'm excited about, has just taken loads longer than I thought. It's difficult to try and always write funny and interesting blogs to let people know what you're up to when it's not always DEAD GOOD and GOING GREAT like most people want their friends to think. I mean, alot of the time it is but obviously there are going to be shit days and today is defo pretty pooey. I miss my family and I miss Edda and I miss how easy it was when I lived in Liverpool but I know this will pass and tomorrow I may feel tonnes better so I'm going to sign off until tomorrow and write something ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS then.

However, I will write this before I go: I spent this morning chasing a Brazilian dancer around Berlin in the pissing down rain! In't life MAD!

Monday 8 November 2010

Good Week

I just had probably one of the best weeks ever in the history of me. Starting in Trier and playing that gig I was on about in the last blog, then coming home to Berlin and playing again on Saturday night at what was defo the busiest gig for me yet. It's not saying that much really...I normally attract a crowd of approximately 25-30 people but on Saturday night, at Laika, there was probably about FIFTY! YEAH! I'm doing it!! I'm DOING it! I enjoyed the gig so much, although my decision to knock a couple of songs out on the piano was almost certainly not my best ever decision but it was still fun and I enjoyed making loads of mistakes and ruining my own music. It was terrific amounts of fun and I hope to play more like that.

Yesterday, a little bit fuzzy in the head from over celebrating after the show, I went to the Blarney in Kreuzberg to watch Liverpool F.C. demolish Chelsea. I'm proper gay for Torres - sometimes, if you see his face on a flag and you see the flag from behind, it's easy to mistake him for a fit girl so it's not that weird.

On the way home I stopped off at a Vietnamese takeaway place and brought home some tucker for me and Edda and it was just boss! Looked a bit iffy from the outside but I still took a chance and the rewards were delicious.

Just a mega weekend.

I'm cracking on today with recording the first Silent Sleep E.P. which will just be a series of demoes of new songs that I'll record in my flat.

I'm going to Liverpool on Thursday to play a gig for Toria Buzza's birthday party which will be amazing mostly just because I'll be seeing all my best friends all at once in the same place having fun times.

I'm almost halfway through reading 'The Complete Works of Reginald Perrin' which my friend Claire Heaslip gave me as a leaving present and I think, after the Adrian Mole books, it's my favourite ever thing. I've just finished reading 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being' which is also excellent but made me feel really uncomfortable and a bit awkward the whole way through and I was relieved when I finished it.

That's it.

Wednesday 3 November 2010

a little hiya aus Trier Exhaus

I'm in Trier right now at an internet cafe next door to the Exhaus, which I've just realised, after 6 years of coming here to play, that it's actually called the 'Excellenzhaus'! I'm no german but I reckon that means 'House of Excellence' in English. I got to Trier last night after a delayed flight from Berlin and I realised that since the last Ryanair flight I took, which nearly freakin' crashed upon landing, that I'm now terrified of landing. This one was fine but the last 30 seconds before we hit the ground I was gripped with fear.

My head stinks. I've had my big dear stalker hat on for hours now because I refuse to take it off in public once it's gone on. The hat smells a bit wrong now because of this mad rule I've bestowed upon myself.

I just soundchecked and I think it sounds really good...I'm using Alex's lovely telecaster instead of the usual acoustic and it sounds dead sparkly and crisp and different. Infact it sounds exactly like Billy Bragg's guitar does which is gonna be weird when I cover St. Swithen's day later - I'll have to try and sing it differently. An octave higher maybe? Like a young girl. Or me when I was 7 singing 'We're walking in the air' or whatever it was called off The Snowman. I used to have a brown Fisher-Price tape recorder, probably like most kids my age then, and I captured many a glorious moment on it. From that song, which I remember recording, walking around the house in Hartsbourne Avenue, to a recording of The Clash's 'Should I Stay or Should I Go' which I was obssessed by even at that age due to the fact it was on that Levi's commercial at the time. It consisted of one of the preset drum beats and one finger on the dirtiest sound the keyboard had (probably something like harpsichord) doing the chord bits. Oh yeah and me singing like a posh girl over the top of it. I even hit the '16ths' drum pattern in the should i stay or should i go now bits. I brought it into school on the Monday too and showed everyone.

Marius and Hanso have been cooking up some delicious vegetarian tucker nextdoor so I'm going to go and eat that now and then play the show. I'm really nervous - this is the first gig I've ever done where I haven't got anyone else with me, no band, no girlfriend etc. I'm 29 years old so I know that's totally stupid, but I am all the same.