touring is fun!

Hello friends!

After all the talk about the wall of cuddles getting dropped from our set, Cardiff proved a point about the ownership of ideas...
And just went ahead and did it themselves!
So thank you people of Cardiff, please take the idea and run with it!

wall of cuddles (r.i.p) in texas

Dananananaykroyd SXSW Scottish Showcase Austin from NMK on Vimeo.

B-)

A PICTURE OF MYSELF AND COLIN ROBERTS (MANNY MANAGER) ENJOYING SOME INTERNET ACCESS IN THE T'S TOURS VAN AND IN THE BACKGROUND ALMOST IS THE ROADS OF THE BRITISH INDUSTRY-BUILT FOUNDATIONS OF OKAY.,

Hull last night, innit. THERE WAS BLOOD? I dunno. My throat is killing me today, so LET'S ROLL into COVENTRY via a Marks And Spencers for some serious EGGER MAYON sandwiches.
Calories are ON TOUR WITH US and they are fine gentlementle. Y'KNOW THEIR DRUMMER (I'm bad with names) HAS BEEN TO BERLIN?!?!? AND LIVED IN MALAYSIA?!?!?!?

ANYWAY, peace on. Live the life. Point the candle. TOWER DEFENCE

THINGS

We're back from SXSW! It was great. We tried to rock as hard as we could and it certainly was tough playing our first shows outside of Europe, as nobody really knew who we were and, to be fair, it wasn't quite the right environment for a show of our type, but we gave it a good shot and had a quite marvellous time throughout! Here's hoping something good will come of it business/music-wise; we all feel there was certainly a lot gained personally! Sun, dogs, food, free stuff, interviews, photos, insane amounts of incredible music and drinking fun tims with all of our friends. WICKED!

So yeah, we're back. I'm dead tired. But there's no rest for us goons as we embark on possibly the most important tour of our lives tomorrow: THE GREAT DEBUT ALBUM LAUNCH TOUR. Not only that, but we're touring with some of our favourite bands and, all our personal guff aside, we get to rock out to some awesome music every night for two weeks!

I hope everyone that comes to see us on this tour will have a burning urge to race to their nearest record shop or to a computer and purchase our album as soon as it drops on the 6th of April.

I've just written the chorus to a new song that has got me very excited. Our 2nd album has to be great and, so far, i'm pretty excited with what i've got splatting out of my guitar right now!

See you on tour!!! COME ON! LETS ROCK OUT!!! AND DANCE!! OH YEAH, DONT FORGET THE DANCING!!! ROCK DANCE!!!

JET LAG PET BAG YET RAG

SXSW was a brillzo funtime for all concerned. Texas is a neato hot place full of GOOD and OH MAN we saw some awesome bands. Like Dinosaur Jr and Women and Vivian Girls and Past Lives and SKY FUCKIN' LARKIN and AIDS Wolf and Mika Miko and Devo and The Mae Shi!!!!!!! AND MORE!!!!!!!!!!! YAAAAY

We've resolved to go back next year, no matter what. Otherwise, how are we supposed to buy HUGE SPICY CHEETOS?

Why is the UK so cold? I'm tired. When's dinner? Oh wait, I'm not hungry. LOL BEDTIME! Oh wait, it's not. URRRRRRRRRRGH

SXSW BBQ AU TX WTF!?

HORSEY CRAZE

LOOOLLL

Y'ALL

Hi gang,

So we are in Austin, Texas after a looonnnngggg flight. Our new Tourmum, Kim, is radical. She took us for root beer and burgers, like, right away and stuff.

We are staying in a lovely house belonging to a great couple called Phillip and Mindy which is just out of town. It has a pool (A POOL) which Duncan just divebombed into. Amazing.

Best of all, there are FOUR DOGGIES.

John is their master. Observe his Dr Doolittle schtick:

RIGHT

THATS US. WE'RE ALL PACKED AND WE'RE AWAY TO GET ON A PLANE NOW TO GO FLY TO AUSTIN TO SMOOSH IT TO IT'S KNEES. WE'RE GOING TO TEAR THAT MOTHER DOWN. THEN, WHEN WE'RE DONE DOING THAT, WE'RE GOING TO GO WATCH SOME BANDS AND DRINK LOTS AND LAUGH TONS AMIDST THE WRECKAGE. GOODBYE!

YOU ESSAY

So, just hours ahead of our 2nd ever visit to the US of States, here are some "images" from our 1st ever visit. Because I only just got them developed.

MUSIC HAS RISEN FROM THE DEAD

TEXAS CAN BEE-GINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!

I'm excited, and I've borrowed a bigger backpack off my dad to fit my array of "LIGHT CLOTHING" in. It's 23 degreez celsiuz over there!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TWENTY THREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think when we get back there'll be a ton of stories and videos and pictures. WORD.
It's exciting.

HISSTOREY LEZZON 1

You young punks could do a lot worse than to learn about some old bands, like Scars for example.

Love from THE PAST xxx

ITS FRIDAY THIRTENNS???

BOO

IM ALSO EXCITED ABOUT MUSIC

I've been buying some music recently. In fact, it's all i've done this week.
My favourite albums for right now, which will no doubt carry on into next week and soundtrack my trip as we head out to Texas through the skies:

FS Blumm - Zweite Meer - sort of lovely Sea & Cake type guitar loveliness. Great!
F'd Up - The Chemistry Of Common Life - arrived late to this party. This is incredibly rocking!
Sky Larkin - The Golden Spike - just dead good indie rock. Sounds like Buffalo Tom to me haha!
Sholi - Sholi - This one is astonishing, i can't get my head around it!
Hermit Thrushes - Benaki - Kinda weird. And therefore good!
Little Wings - Light Green Leaves - Lo-fi folk guitar pump. Amazing!
Sinebag - Près De La Lisière - Very minimal bird noise and guitar plops! Nice!
Land of Talk - Some Are Lakes - More great female-fronted indie rock!
Danielson - Fetch The Compass Kids - Eccentric indie pop yaaaas!
Dutch Uncles - Dutch Uncles - Guitar pop wizardry of the highest order!
Copy Haho - Bred For Skills & Magic - Ditto, but noisier!
Favours For Sailors - Furious Sons - Ditto, but scruffier!

Seriously really chuffed that so much lovely music exists for my giant ears to eat up this week. And especially so many great UK releases too! (Well, we could do with loads more great records coming out of Scotland, or at least ones i know about, but that's a different story.) I'm on holiday and i've done nothing but listen to music, eat Asda Orange Cables and do email interviews or pieces for magazines. Exactly. It's magic! So yeah, anyone found out about any nice little amazing bands recently that they would like to share? Post a comment if there's something i should check out. I might actually go to a gig soon too! Australian band Crayon Fields are playing in Glasgow soon. I love them! They sound like The Zombies and are dead good.

Check out the new blog idea we started as well: http://awesome-pals.blogspot.com
It's a great idea. Hopefully it will grow with goodness and all you guys, as well as all the fans of the other bands collaborating, will have a great central location to find loads of informative and funny stuff.

THIS UK TOUR IS GOING TO BE SO GOOD

seriously, i'm listening to favour for sailors E.P, its completely outrageous! and i listened to the dutch uncles album to the point of shame, i know every fucking word i do!

i'm soo excited!

go to their respective myspaces
www.myspace.com/dutchuncles
www.myspace.com/favours4sailors

do it and get excited with me!

also, i dunno how well advertised this is. but at the glasgow album launch, we'll be playing the entire album from start to finish. it'll be the only time this ever happens. it's going to be relentless!

xx xx xx

THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT

Ashton Kutcher's twitter is an illuminating read. It made me cry manly tears.
http://twitter.com/aplusk

I'M EXCITED ABOUT MUSIC!

MUSIC IS EXCITING, ISN'T IT?

Being on tour for a while makes you forget how fantastic music is. Going to your own shows becomes a strange ritual where you are flung head-first into a vat of Groundhog Day familiarity, emerging a few hours later with a glaze of confusable goo lining the inside of your clothing.
So, last week I went to some 'live gigs' and listened to some records, and rediscovered musical bliss in it's purest form. It was awesome, and I'd like to publicly announce that Sky Larkin's album 'The Golden Spike' is fucking amazing and everyone should get out of the internet and buy it, then listen to it.
Also (finally!) got to see Fucked Up - twice! The bruises are still planted firmly on my hips, arms and legs.

In other news, my Dad's ringtone is our song 'The Greater Than Symbol And The Hash'. I'm thinking of creating a furry CGI character to accompany it and putting it "on the telly" for a few quick buck$. Bye now!

I DID A RADIO...

...and I'm pretty darn proud of it.

Listen again here

Also, here's a picture of some really crazy guys having a radical time.

YAY I DID IT

Here's a tour thing from the tour thing that I did for the first time!
Featuring: Val from Bear Hands' onstage toppling drink fiasco and needlessly super-long Scott Simpson shaving special montage!
Cameos from Mike Diver and Colin Roberts (aka Crablin/MC Crabby Crab)!

JBJ & TM/Druman Scott in Dublin

HEY, WEBSTERS! CHECK THIS!

We want YOUR HELP!

OK-ay kids, you saw that video down there didn't you? The shiny one with the glitter song? Well, you can elevate our fame to a level equal to your love for us using your COMPUTER SKILLS!

You can vote for the video to be included on the Myspace Chart thing on MTV2!!
It can be done via this website page: http://uk.myspace.com/mtvtwo

Scroll down a wee bit to the voting thing and click on "Full Vote List" then you can vote (as many times as you want, by the way?!?) for us to be on telly.

Make it happy, websters!
LOVE

Black Wax

Hey everyone! Here's the video for our new single Black Wax. GOOD DOGGY.

(I maintain that it's not as good as my 'Middle Eastern Stills' version.)


Black Wax from Best Before Records on Vimeo.