Late Developer....................

a new camera .....Tokyo day 1

2007-08-15T00:26:00.000-07:00

so,
i've got a new camera.
i picked up a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS2 while in tokyo for summersonic.
it takes amazing pictures and it feels good to have a camera on tour again.

we had one half day off in tokyo so i met up with most of the crew and headed out early.
unfortunatley, nothing really opens in tokyo until 11 a.m
i did manage to get the new camera in the electrical town part of tokyo which i cant spell off hand.
2 hours of electrical flea markets later 2 of us had new cameras and the others had a vast array of cables etc.
we then took the Ginza Line to Shibuya to do a bit of shopping.

we were all pretty hungry,so i took the guys to one of these curry spots that seem to have poped up all over japan in the last few years.it's a bit of a life saver for the veggie in japan. as usual with interpol we had no interpreter and no one from the label taking us out for dinner.hence curry in japan for ally!

the food hit the spot and made me laugh my legs off when i saw this add in the scottish eateree next door.

the other white Mc meat?

with full tummies and cash in our pockets we headed to a place that has been the downfall of us many times before.........

Ah, where else in the world can you find shopping bags styled in and acid flashback/teletubbies style like these?

or a travel alarm clock made to look like a bomb?

a place where you can see the locals perspective on different cultures.....

and again.........

a magical place where adults can freely buy models like this in one aisle......

and pick up naked baby toys in the next.

Tokyu Hands is expertly mental!

we had a lobby call at 4.pm to go out to the festival site for our production meeting.
every other band did this in the hotel the day they arrived.
the festival site was about an hour away from our hotel.
there was no transportaition to the site so we had to take 3 taxis costing well over a $100 each!
this is interpol, so we had to do things the hard way.....
here's some of the crew arriving at the venue

Oh Aye(eye)!

as per usual, everyone at the meeting was great and we had no problems.
i took this photo after we were done.
3 minutes after it started.
i kid you not.

we got to see that the stage was still being set up.
it was 23 hours before we were due to play

an amazing waste of time and money......well done

me and lucas then headed back into Shibuya after we got back from the meeting.
a good friend was in town for the festival with a great band.
they were doing a club show at quattero.

here is a token shot of Shibuya at night

seeing the Jr. in a tiny club was amazing.
i can't believe i almost didn't go because i was jet-lagged........
thanks Lucas.
this was the loudest show i'd seen in ages.
J had 3 full stacks behind him and a twin right in his ear.
i watched out front and my eyeballs were moving due to the volume.
here are some shots of the show.

here is a shot of my man D.S clearly visable onstage taking a photo of lew barlows balls.....

after the show i got a chance to hang with D.S
it's funny when you spend more time with a friend who lives in the same town as you, when you are in different countries than you do when you are at home.
in our deffence we are never really in town at the same time.

D.S is a champ.!

after chatting for a while it was time to get the train back to our hotel....amazingly near nothing.....and get some broken sleep

and so ended day 1 in tokyo

what the hellllllll.........

2007-07-15T17:24:00.000-07:00

dudes,
transformers is shit
worst movie of the year by a country mile.
how can you make something that was so cool into a pile of crap.
and whats with all hollywood movies being 2 hours or longer right now?.
i want the time back please.
rubbish robots
rubbish acting
no plot.
booooooooooooooooooo

2007-07-14T09:02:00.000-07:00

nothing happens in the new harry potter film.
at all.
it's not bad, the sets look great, but, come on......
2 and a bit hours with no excitement......booooooo

i hope transformers is better, but i'm not holding my breath.
robots are better than wizards going through puberty however.........

the specky dude needs to get laid!

2007-07-12T16:03:00.000-07:00

is there anything better than not doing anything after three and a half weeks of planes and rank busses?.
i really, really don't think so.
i've done a little work for the forthcoming tour but nothing at all like real work.
i also listened to l.p's all day.
yyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeessssssssss.
the new aphex twin record rules!
it's under the name "the tuss" and came out last week on warp.
mental and brilliant.
i got the new beastie boys record along with the new patton oswald album on i tunes.....

both are really good.

i sound like my brother.

i'm just glad to be in my own house and driving around my badass town in my own car.
it's blue skies, in the 70's and sunny.
i heard a surf report in the news at 7.30 a.m this morning and i smiled like i was on acid an 16 again.
.....and i'm not in a field of mud in the middle of nowhere, germany

out.

2007-07-12T06:30:00.000-07:00

home again:
for one week only
but, i'm finally back.
i can safely say that was the brownest european tour i've done this year.

heres why:

the bus was older than i was.
it was bannana/lemon yellow.
it had the toilet from trainspotting in it.
delayed luggage and the H not getting his at all.
tripple drivers to make the drives.
rain and mud at every festival we went to this year.
everyone getting the flu due to the extreme heat of the bus to exteme damp and wet/cold festivals.
19 hour days for no reason........
repeatedly flying through london heathrow while on terror alert "masonic".
.........on B.A.
landing in new york at 3.30pm on moday to find all your cargo gear has not made it into the country and your are doing letterman then next day( album release date).
scramble scramble scramble
hire guitars and buy pedals kind of like the ones they use but nothing like them at the same time and make it happen only to be delayed on my flight home due to fog at jfk....in july

ah well...

i got home and thats the main thing....
my pal jason at goldenvoice got me into flight of the conchords at the el rey last night, so i can say that my luck is now changing for the better now i'm home....

need to get milk now so i can have a cup of tea.........

2007-06-18T20:01:00.000-07:00

Oh Aye!
my camera broke yesterday.
thats shite.

2007-06-18T19:57:00.000-07:00

i have got the worst sunburn i've ever had.
i went the beach for 2 hours today.
it was 70 degees!
both my legs are burnt to hell.
good job i don 't have 2 international flights tomorrow.....
ooooooppppss

the can't wait for the 12 hour flight to london tomorrow...
followed by flight to the fatherland....
cap.t lucian sancez
brown angel.

2007-06-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

A Romantic Evening With T.S!

i met up with T.S on thursday night.
we had a few beers at the good microbrew a few blocks downhill from my house.
it was a wonderfully warm and bright day, so we decided to sit indoors and get drunk!
halfway through the night our friend Tim and his pal Roger arrived and we kept going.....
lily arrived in time for a drink or two, but she kept telling me off for being too loud.
ouch

here is some photos of our delicious evening.
the menu:
side one.....

side two....it's all double dutch to me....

T.S decides to go for a draft HEMP ale to start.....what a surprise....

while i go for the very english old speckled hen.........

followed Quickley by and Alba........oh aye!

we both then went for the canadian maudite beer because the bottle looks like roger dean designed it.
it's got a laughing devil and a flying viking longboat on it...how could it not taste good.

we were starting to wonder why the staff were laughing at us....
then we saw how strong the beer was
8%!!!

i then found the next level in booze......

never mix T.S with belzebuth!

how strong?

it tastes like a corona with vodka in it....

about this time i began seeing devils everywhere...

so a finnished the night off with a few of these.
please note the daylight in all the pics.

BLAH!

2007-06-12T16:56:00.000-07:00

i'm lazy sorry.
it's been a while.
work has been crazy!

here is a brief look at what i've been upto since i last posted.

i went to see the team i play soccer for play in the final game of the season.
check out easy eric morgan!

i'm still trying to eat this bar of 100% cocoa dark chacolate i bought in amsterdam weeks ago...
it's massive and one nibble will keep you up for longer than a week....

i met this dude on the phone in this picture
T.S
a real brown angel!

i played a show at the gorge in washinton state.
it's a great place to play when the weather looks like this

while at the gorge, i finally saw the bad brains.
unfortunately, they are going through the motions.
still a great band though...

ehat a view eh?

anyways...

my friend Jim in Chicago made me this big muff style distortion pedal.
it will blow amps ....
i have been warned.
it is the best distortion i've ever owned
all 100% hand made by the man himself
wow!

i was contacted by the mentallist chris rage
i'm glad i've got his new phone no.
it's been too long since i've seen him.

lily and i took lucas to sushi downtown
look at what he did...
you can't take that guy anywhere....

as usual,i've been skating with the other half of the sexual warriors skate team
here's the main man getting a soda at griffith park after a particularly "rad sesh"....

arty?

i spent 10 days on a shitty bus too.

and finally, today i went from this:

to this:

thats a baldy!

2007-05-13T02:58:00.000-07:00

It'S A Sad Day.

My good friends Aereogramme have announced they are splitting up.
i had the pleasure of touring with them in 2003.
i was pulling double duties in the states with the delgados and the gramme were opening.
i then worked for them on their own on a tour of germany and a few u.k dates, followed by a few summer festivals.
the boys were always up for fun and i never saw them put on a guff show either.
there were special moments.....
walking through some of the guys first magic mushroom experiments in amsterdam!
space cake in gronnigen?
24 hours on a ferry back to newcastle......?
there was never a dul moment.

how can you not love a band who toured accross the states in van and would not use the one spare bunk in the delgados bus because it would be unfair to the other 3 guys in the band. even if they rotated it!

i love those guys.

you should too

check them out here and say a fond farewell!

http://www.myspace.com/aereogrammeofficia

2007-05-08T10:27:00.000-07:00

Sunday 6th/monday 7th May 2007
interpol flights 5 and 6

these were not good days........

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the only saving grace about coming to london:
VIZ!

2007-05-08T10:26:00.000-07:00

london:

2007-05-08T10:09:00.000-07:00

6 days off......

After vegas, i drove back to california with Lily.
She met me on her way back from New Orleans.
We spent sunday night at nurturing nest in dessert hot springs.
we met up with the usual crew who always rent out the whole place for coachella.
even though we didn't go to the festival with them, it was good to hang out like a normal person.
i think i slept for 12 hours after swimming in both the hot and cold waters.....
super relaxing and it was a full moon too.

we then headed back to l.a bright and early to go to lilys parents to get this.

My god i misssed her.

Cy and i soon got back to our routine of skating round the lake each morning
we were slightly less fit than we were before my travels....
i love having a dog!

you would think i would not want to do much on my time off, but i had agreed to make pedal boards for manu chao.
i basically met the band on tuesday, and spent the rest of the week putting in orders at tour supply and calzone case co.
i will put everything togather the day after i get home from this trip.
i'm a sucker......i know

i also spent alot of time on ebay and craigslist looking for guitar pedals that are not manufactured any more.
i had a little success, but i felt like this most of the time.

i also got to see patti smith at the roxy in hollywood.
it was amazing....enen the crazy covers she does.
i had never seen her live and was truley impessed
i wish i had taken my camera.

more to come........

2007-05-08T10:05:00.000-07:00

Some beds i've slept in recently.

2007-05-08T09:55:00.000-07:00

This is what happens to your front garden when your landlord does not care.
This is what happens when you are away from home for 2 months.
This is what happens when the people next door do not care either.

This is what happens when you get up off your arse and make a phone call
This is what happens when you spend $80

2007-04-19T13:24:00.000-07:00

i'm sitting here!

today we arrived in winnipeg,manitoba.
it seems like an interesting city.
lots of cool buildings that remind me of chicago.
we're now three shows into the tour for intrpols as yet un-named third album. things are going well. i had a nightmare of a show in kitchner ontario (show 2). during the last song pauls guitar droped down in volume by about 60% and daniels guitar stopped working altogether. it was a stress fest.
both guitar rigs have so many pedals now that trouble shooting takes a wee bit longer than before.
the problems were solved and the band continued, after a short break.
i got a big cheer from the crowd, but it was a long 2 minutes i tell you....
thats the point of doing these small warm ups though, to iron out the kinks and eliminte any gremlins.....

the band have a 50 minute set at coachella next weekend so we're doing the same set every night in preperation.
they throw in 3 more songs as an encore.
i understand that some people are feeling a bit let down by the length of the show, but we're going to be on tour for a while, so you'll have a chance to see a "proper" show soon.....

it's been great to be with the crew guys on a bus again.....
i'm sure i'll be singing a different tune this time next year though.
we're trying to make the show as good as poss. under some interesting conditions.
but it really is good to be on a crew where everyone is pulling in the same direction, you would be amazed at how rare that is.....

Canada is a wonderfull place.
don't let anyone tell you any different.
people are friendly and helpfull, it's just a pain in the ass to get in the country sometimes.
there were some spectacular views on the 1300 mile drive from london,ontario to winnipeg yesterday...
we hugged lake superior for a long time and saw icebergs.........
while we stopped for the drivers to catch a couple hours sleep, we all went out bowling.
it turned quickly into a drunken mess of random shoutings and sprained wrists.....
i won the first game and then bob lewis came out of nowhere to win the second.....
i've honestly not laughed so hard in a long time.

days off now have a new bench mark.

today i walked round the city with lucas and got some comics.
i'm not really a comic type of guy, but i'm a massive fan of zombie films.
there seems to be a whole bunch of zombie themed comics around right now, so i've jumping into this new world head first.
here are some of my purchases;

there is a wide range of quality in both the artwork and the storylines....
some mind blowing...
some are just pish.
you live and learn.....

finally a "seperated at birth/death?" for you....
lucas and lucas.........

i'm off to go skate and take some pics.....

2007-04-04T13:52:00.000-07:00

God, it's wet today!

i've moved 2 blocks to a new hotel, done my laundry and seen a live mouse in my new hotel room in the last 36 hours.
i also went to see blades of glory at the movies....
i laughed out loud, but i'm in no rush to see it again.
know what i mean.

i've been heading into rehearsals every day and chipping away at things, but the band are not back in until tomorrow.
i think i now have most of the info i need for our new carnet.
exciting

i took some shots yesterday of our mess.

the new keyboard rig, with kore unit....

chad miller a.k.a mad chiller
at his uncased playback world.....

what the....

sams drum trigger world.....pray for bobby.

sams u.s kit

part of guitar world......

same old same old in bass world

new and improved banks rig...

i hope to meet up with john from mogwai and jamie landry tonight .......but we'll see how that pans out in this weather

keep it blowdried!

2007-04-03T08:23:00.000-07:00

work work work.

it's all going.
not going well or going badly....simply going.
we've done 4 rehearsals with band now and it has been quite impressive to see a band go from not being able to remember thier own songs...to ...playing the hell out of them again.
i heard 3 or 4 tracks from the new record being played live......
there are some belters so far.
we've not heard the record, which is fair nough in this day and age of albums being available on limewire etc. months before the release date.
harley i'm sure will get a copy this week.
it's important for him to hear exactly how the band want to be represented.
i can wait until june like everyone else.
i'll try to get some pictures today of the practice space....we have a whole new level of stuff now.

chad the midi tech has been working on the keyboard rig with farmer dave( the new live keyboard player) and if it all comes off, chad will once again be running a system like no one else.
this guy is amazing!
got some of the final flight cases ordered yesterday.....hopefully it will all come together........it has to!

i'm working on a few different things this time, and i'm really proud of pauls guitar sound right now....
i'll tell you how i feel about it in 6 months!
today i'm toubleshooting daniels rig, and doing some custom work on pauls guiatrs....

you will all see my good work on these pages or on these other blogs
pedal zombie
the brown angels

check yourself before you wreck yourself!

2007-03-29T05:52:00.000-07:00

i need a to sleep longer!

a couple of days into rehearsals, which means other than sam, no one has come in yet....
today,however, is the first day of full band rehearsals.
i hope it goes well.
i've got a bunch of new pedals etc etc for daniel and i'm not sure what he's actually going to use......
so i'll find out today at least...
got the good news Lucas is coming back to do lights after his rough ole' time with the arcade fire(d)....
and so it seems our new crew is complete.

Interpol Mad Squad 2007!

Bobby-Drum Tech
Harley- F.O.H
Bob-Monitors
Chad-Midi/Keys Tech
Quake-Production Manager
Lucas-Lights
Me-Guitars And Bass.

everyone is cool except that last guy......who can be a bit of a dick.

out.

2007-03-26T06:39:00.000-07:00

It's.On!

i'm in New York.......my Interpol tour is finally started.
3 weeks rehearsing in N.Y.C...not too shabby right?.
i flew in yesterday from New Orleans, where i've been working hard on Lilys house.
Truth be told, the last week was spent mostly on my computer sorting out endorsement issues and all the fun things that happen before you actually get to the rehearsal space......people have new gear, others want new gear.....guitars are being re fretted in brooklyn, flight cases are being made....blah blah blah....
in reallity, i worked my ass off on the house only on friday, saturday and sunday.....
i was helping make a wooden fence in the back yard, and clearing the back yard of rubble and dirt....
manual labour basically.
i've got sore bits on my sore bits!
today me and bobby, Interpols drum tech, are going to electric ladyland studios in manhatten to pick up the bands gear and put it in a big truck for rehearsals tomorrow....
tha band will not be actually in the house until thursday....
this gives us a chance to make all the looms and mark up stuff before they arrive, and maybe get a head start on any surprises that are in store.....
there are a bunch of new crew guys who i'll meet over the next few days....
i did get a bit of good news on the lighting front....heres hoping it all works out!
peace

2007-03-22T12:09:00.000-07:00

iiiiiiiiiiii'mmmmmmmm backkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk.

i finally got a new computer....
pretty expensive things, them new computers......
damn!

here, as promised months ago are the pictures of my leg with the staff infections.......
the first bunch are of the cut i had in my leg before i got the infection.
unsurprisingly i got some dirt in a wound this big.....

after about 2 weeks my leg started to heal ..... and skab up properly
to look like this..

thats when i noticed 3 spots that were really red and HOT....

first this

turning into this......

after 2 more days my leg looked like this.

thats when i went to the free clinic to get anti-biotics....
they softened up the boil like infected areas........

until they were fit to burst!

this is what came out 1 of the 4 infections (3 on my leg 1 on my left ass cheek!)

this about one third of what came out!

this is a real hole in my leg!

and this is three days after the explosion!

sorry about all that...it had to be seen to be believed!

out!

2007-02-19T17:13:00.000-08:00

Hey,
I'm alive......
it will be a few weeks before I get a new computer so bear with me....
been to the old u.k for a week
it was 91 degrees when I left l.a....cut to....-3 in London when I got there....
California weather is wild.........
lily got me a skateboard for valentines day....old school..
10 inches wide with no nose....circa '81 I believe...
I've been skating everyday since....
I'm forming a crew with Jim Putnam from the radar bros.
2 choices so far.....

1. Sexual
2. Skate Nazis

let me know what you think......

I'll try harder to stay on it...

2007-01-30T09:07:00.000-08:00

hey.
it's just after nine in the morning here and star wars episode 1 is on HBO.
how bad is this movie.
it's not even laugh out loud bad, like episode 3.....
i want to watch the public hanging of this kid!
it's like watching a movie of a computer game.
after i got back from my last tour with mogwai, HBO was showing a marathon of the first three episodes......
it lasted something like 8 hours.
i'm not proud of myself.
the 2'nd movie is the worst by far.......i don't think i need to explain.
as i'm watching/typing this, i remember Harley and i, going to see alien vs predator the day it came out on a day off on the curiosa tour in 2004.
we honestly thought it was was going to be good.
we left less than impressed,after spending 90 min in a room where we were the only 2 people who had had sex in their life!
i don't know what i'm doing anymore......
sci fi really let me down.

2007-01-29T18:08:00.000-08:00

mega-sh!izahhhhhhhhh!

today the last of the 4 infected spots burst open.
it was something like that scene in alien.
i kid you not.
i ended up with blood all over my face, paniking that i'd got puss in my eye.
it flew about 2 feet into my face!
mental!
the actual infection is not yellow or creamy like normal puss but bright green like a booger in the middle of having the worst flu of your life.....
oh yeah, it kind of pushes it's way out the skin, but it's solid so you have to pull the remaining part out yourself.
it feels unlike anthing else i've ever had to do.
my left ass cheek has a hole in it about the size of a 20p piece and one of the infections on my leg left a hole about an inch deep.
you could put a biro in the hole right now.....
i feel queesey.
out.............

2007-01-27T12:38:00.000-08:00

SUCCESS!

whatever septra ds is....... It works!
puss is coming out most of the infected areas and the pain is slowly but surely going away....
I think I'll be cool by Wednesday
cool!

2007-01-25T15:08:00.000-08:00

ouch!

i've just come back from the doctors....
4 staff(staph) infections on my left leg.
seems like i got some dirt in the open wound on my knee after soccer on sunday morning.
3 of the infections are right at my scab on my knee.
the other pretty much takes over my left butt cheek.
the doctor says this happened because of taking on and off boxer shorts......
i don't know how it got there.
all i know is that the one one my ass stops me from being able to sit down.
it also is keeping me awake at night.
i'm now on a 10 day coarse of antibiotics.....
i have great pictures of the whole journey from initial cut to losing the scab at the next match to infection.
i'll save these for when i'm all better.
aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh

2007-01-22T19:18:00.000-08:00

After almost 4 years of abuse, my laptop has finally gone to that big repair shop in the sky.
i've got some good pictures to share and some better stories too.
just no computer!
we'll see when i can drop the money to get a new one......
it's tuff! going mega net free, cold turkey.
keep it real.........

2007-01-02T16:51:00.000-08:00

H-BOMB MADE IT!!!!!

I saw Harley just before new years, as he was in town to do sound for the killers.
they were playing at the Paramount studio lot new years eve bash....
Hosted by Carmen Electra!!! big woooooo right?

as you can imagine this is not my idea of a good night out.

Lily and i took H out for sushi on Saturday night then retired to his hotel for a chin wag....

always good times....

anyways, H turned me on to Dave Rat's Blog

it's a great read for touring folk and regular humans too.....

H finally got to meet the man himself at that killers new years show and today......he made it onto Daves blog too.

well done that man.

2007-01-02T14:33:00.000-08:00

THE GREATEST?

here are the records I've enjoyed the most this year.
In no particular order...
check it!

dengue fever
Escape From Dragon House.

Acid Casuals
Omni

Jesu
Silver

Melvins
A Senile Animal

The Bronx
Bronx 2

Captain Beefheart
Shiny Beast-remastered version....

Mogwai
Mr Beast

Yo La Tengo
I Am Not Afraid Of You .......

Various-Eccentric Soul-The Deep City Label

Lusine

Emerald e.p

Joe Preston
Joe preston

not a bad selection eh?

here's my brothers best of.....

1. Dan Sartain "Join Dan Sartain"
2. Scritti Politti "White Bread Black Beer"
3. Sleepy Jackson "Personality"
4. Young Knives "Voices of animals and men"
5. Eagles of Death Metal "Death by Sexy"
6. The Bronx "The Bronx"
7. TV on the Radio "Return to Cookie Mountain"
8. Peeping Tom "Peeping Tom"
9. Deftones "Saturday Night Wrist"
10. Mogwai "Mr Beast"

reissue : Jellyfish "Best"/Tears For Fears "Songs..(deluxe edition)".

dvd: Look Around You/Garth Marenghi/Mighty Boosh

film: Borat

I'm going to post what I'm looking forward too most in 2007.... in the next few days....
cheers and happy new year

2006-12-28T16:48:00.000-08:00

NOT MUCH HAPPENING......

Ah, nothing quite like a picture of the Christmas amp to make you begin the count down till Santa comes again............
Well, o.k not really.

I'm still in the post x-mas daze, a kind of limbo of sorts, before the new years eve fun begins again.

Like most people who work on tour, this is the time of year where you would love to confirm what is happening next year.....hello interpol.....
After thanksgiving, if your not still on the road, you're pretty much done till February.
Personally i'm loving my time off, but i'd like to know how long i'm budgeting for.
I don't need to tell you Christmas wipes out your bank account.
Even if you're having a "Small" Christmas this year...it all adds up!

I'm almost done with my top records/re-issues/dvd's of the year
feel free to send me yours and i'll add them here

You should all check out my friend Henrys website for a guide on how to do a REAL top 10

Until then, i'll leave you with a few more pics

Be safe on new years eve.....
Remember it's Amatuer night....
Ally

2006-12-21T09:42:00.000-08:00

That's that dude right?

What a week, what a week.
more x-mas shopping was done and i had a real game of soccer for the first time in 5 weeks.

yeah, just when you think you've finished with all your x-mas presents.....got one for all the right people.......you realize that your better half is counting on you to chip in with her families stuff too.
ah, joy of joys.....
i've got my cousin davie coming to the zuleta family christmas eve shin-dig, and his family will be in california from the 27th till the early new year.
that means i saved some money on shipping more presents....
it' also means i've not got their presents yet....doh!

after hurting my hip a few weeks back, i had been taking it easy....it was more of a fright than anything.....but last monday decided to get back into some kind of condition to play soccer again.
training is friday nights, and i wanted to see if i was up to it rather than drive for 45 minutes to hurt myself in the warm up like last time.
so i went running with the dog.
sounds simple and as it turns out it actually is after you let the large pit-bull you are with drag you round the first 400 metres or so.
my dog is a big muscle.

anyway, cut a long story short, no problems with my hip and training went well on friday.
we played a game on sunday about 5 minutes from my house and won.
nice.
it was good to get the full 90 minutes under my belt again.
our winter season starts on 21 january, so i'm trying to watch myself over the holiday season.....so far i've watched myself drink every night and eat out at all hours!
the good /bad thing about los angeles is that very few people who live here are born and raised here....so the city empties out from aroud the 21st onward.
this city doesn't do new year very well either, so we're looking to get out for that this year....
last years hogmanay in glasgow will take some beating for many many reasons.

last friday we found a dog outside the brite spot on the corner of sunset and park.
i had to run onto the road as she was walking into on coming traffic.
we took here to the pound and luckily she was chipped, however the owners had not updated there info and had an old address/phone number....
why get your dog chipped if you don't keep on top of the info?
here is a picture of her.

on a different tangent, i went to a show at the silverlake lounge on tuesday night with easy eric.
we went to see a friend of his new band.
the bands name was lion......blah blah blah....i've clearly forgotten.
anyways they were pretty poor,but it was there first gig
the girl is a print model, actress and graduate of USC film school
apparently she has lots of connections.
we're sitting at the bar before they go on, an who walks in?
easy eric is a member of the producers guild and he says...
thats that dude right?
i look and it's david lynch.
seeing him squeeze the ass of his 30 year old girlfriend really does beat seeing him on the street corner in l.a with a cow!
i sooooo wanted to put a mic to his head as he was squeezing....
i'll put money on it sounding like the soundtrack to Dune................

out

2006-12-11T14:19:00.000-08:00

it's christmas time and i'm gonna kill your momma

so a wise man once said.
i just shipped my package back to scotland with my christmas presents for my family and friends at home.
it cost me $225.00 for the christmas post......
wow!
anyways, i saw my good friends Alex Grant, Chris Conner and SUPER Dave Waldock last night at spaceland.
they are all on tour with the band JET.
it was great seeing the guys, and was unfortunate they were busy working and had to split straight after the show.
it was some radio show.....
i lasted about 2 songs before heading outside with Alex
Jet is not my cup of tea.....to say the least.
even when they have guests like Slash and Steve Jones playing with them.....
like i said.... good to see the guys.....

now, 2 pictures i've been sent recently ....
enjoy.
life explained.........

Tony and Matt's version of the last supper...in New Orleans.....FEMA trailers and all

cheers

2006-12-08T15:56:00.000-08:00

was it only 2 years ago today?

I was a/am a metalhead at heart.
There, i said it!
Growing up in Glasgow, it was never cool to be one.
i did have some of the funnest times of my life going to metal gigs and meeting some pretty cool people.
since the late 80's Glasgow has been a dance music town.not trance/hippy/ fire juggle nonsense, but dark moody hard techno.
part of the beauty of the city is the fact that back then i would go see megadeth on a saturday night,i'd listen to l.f.o and orbital on the way home.nowadays you see all the bands from glasgow in the sub club or the arches smiling like it's 1888 again.
if you have ever been, you'll also know it can be a pretty dangerous place to be on a weekend.
part of the adventure of shows was walking east down argyle street to the barowland. or walking west to the old cathouse.
throw in the fact that i started going to shows with my brother when i was 13, and all the shows back then were over 18, and you've got some pretty exciting times yo!

many gigs stand out from those formative years of going to shows...
faith no more's 4 nights at barrowland on the angel dust tour.
anthrax with john bush
seeing metallica at barrowland
kyuss at the cathouse

blah blah blah.

today one gig stands out more than any other.
it was October 1992 and i had just turned 14.i went with my brother to see megadeth.
i liked them a bit,but was excited just to go to any gig at that point.
i thought the gig would be brilliant.
i didn't expect to see the most violent performances i think i ever saw by any band then or now.
PANTERA kicked my face off.
i remember the singer came on with a folding chair? and smashed it up before he got the his first vocal line.
he looked like a skinhead boxer with some crazy tattoos
the gig is a blur now, but i clearly remember being so fucked after their show i had to watch megadeth from the side....
that and the fact an opening band could be miles better than the headliner.
it's a show that turned into a " i was there moment" between rival metalheads in Glasgow.
did that guitarist have a pink beard?

fucking hostile live 94

needless to say i've had a soft spot for them ever since...

they played the same venues they had just done with megadeth 4 months later on there own.
here is some footage of the 2'nd time i saw them.

live at barrowland 93

Today is the 2'nd anniversary of Dimebag Darrells murder.
I'd like to think of all the fun and laughter i had at his gigs or watching the stupid home movies he did, rhather than the stupidity of his death.
His riffs still make me think about the crowd at that gig in 92, and how i thought i might die that night.
thanks............

by the way, it was a pink beard!

2006-12-06T18:39:00.000-08:00

fun

2006-12-06T15:53:00.000-08:00

Ok-Go(Homo)

I mean no offense to my gay friends,i do however mean offense to the singer from the lame "band" O.k-Go.

I've had a busy last few days with friends coming in to town etc etc.

my old friend john is in town with Lily Allen......a gig is a gig.

but the focus of my piece is seeing the main man....

PUKE

i traveled to Irvine about 45 minutes away with D.S
we drove down in his sweet 1988 white Volvo station wagon.

met up with the Pukester at the bren events center....
here he is in the Melvins shirt i got him the other day.

it was still Soundcheck for the band he's on tour with. but he had set the pair of us up with some sweet chairs.

here is D.S on a chair...he really enjoyed spinning.....

after he was done fine tuning his light show we walked over the road to in-n out burger......
puke told us about a situation involving the band O.k-Go who were opening up for Death Cab, when on the first night of their brief run of shows together O.k-Go over ran by 10 minutes. not cool. puke mentioned this in his blog which he posted the next day.....while calling the band O.k-No. no biggie right?
wrong!.
within 10 minutes of posting his blog the O.k-Go tour manager was in the production office saying someone in the death cab crew was talking shit about his band and they were upset......
turns out the singer spends all his free time google-ing the bands name to see what people are saying about them/him

this is a real picture of this douche.

after seeing this picture, dude, everyone is thinging you, personally are a wank, and your band is a joke that even a "wacky" video couldn't help sell a few records.
if i met you in a bar, i'd break your fingers.

end of blog.
the rest is just to get his attention.....................

O.k-Go
O.k-Go
O.k-Go
O.k-Go
O.k-Go
O.k-Go
O.k-Go
O.k-Go
O.k-Go
O.k-Go
O.k-Go
O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go O.k-Go
are shite.

2006-12-04T08:28:00.000-08:00

MORE.........

delgados
great vieo, great song, great band.

mogwaihttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
my fav mogwai song,live in singapore.....boast boast

mogwai 2
i believe seeing mogwai can be bad for the ears....

aberdeen fans locked in at celtic last saturday
this is footage of the aberdeen fans, after a 1-0 defeat being kept in the stand while the celtic fans get out first...so there is no crowd trouble. the massive guy the camera keeps returning to is actually an injured player....they are trying to get him to sing aberdeen songs.....nice

lets go fucking mental
while i was looking for more aberdeen fan madness, i found this. it's aberdeen fans right after england got put out of the world cup.
these are people you don't want to bump into on a saturday night

what a shite y home support
the aberdeen fans lock in at rangers......classic

2006-12-03T22:46:00.000-08:00

STUFF TO WATCH.

i found some great stuff out there on the evil you tube.
enjoy.

faith no more 1

faith no more 2

tomohawk

melvins

bye

2006-12-03T14:51:00.000-08:00

WHAT?

i did something bad to my hip.
i went to football practice on friday night and while i was warming up, hit a divvit? in the grass while passing the ball.
it felt like my hip was dislocated.
i doubt it is, but it's 2 days later,and it's still giving me big problems.
when i took cy for a walk yesterday,i was barley able to make it round the whole lake.
i thought could be a groin strain, as i had a real bad one once before when i was still playing football seriously to a petty high level.
my groin, safe to say, is fine.
could it be my back or something?
i'm going to rest up till thursday and if it's still this bad, go get it looked at.
i'm sorry to todd at sea level for not making the party friday night.
i had a tear in my eye while getting up the steps to my house after training....i was not going to risk going back down.
sorry too to David, i missed the party in echo park saturday for the same reason....
i was hurting.
i'll let youse all know how it goes

p.s......my balls are fine thanks!

2006-12-01T14:58:00.000-08:00

A contender for gig of the year?

I know it's getting near to that best of.... time, but last night i swear i saw a contender for gig of the year.
in all honesty there will have to be something pretty special to beat my top gig this year but anyways................
last nights melvins show was amazing!
i tried to take some good shots but they all look poor.
heres the stage set up.

Yes that is a massive gong behind one of the drum kits.
Yes the 2 drum kits are bang front and centre
yes yes yes yes.
altamont played a short opening set ....it seems they are short a drummer. the guy from big business filled in and was pretty horrible
check out this record though,one of the records of 2005

next up were PORN
this is a band featuring Dale from altamont and the melvins and that dude you always see at melvins shows and fantomas show too called Tim. i guess he's a tour manager, but the first time i ever saw him was in norway and he was waring a viking helmet. i thought this was because he was in norway but no, i saw him 3 more time that year alone and he always had on the helmet.
Tim was dressed as santa and Dale was Vegas era Elvis...some other chap with a look that can only be described as "a business man with no trousers" played bass.
they were super heavy and had extended periods of jazz interludes before returning to the RIFF
a great surprise!

Big Business took it up a notch again.
a drummer and a bass player that combined sounded like sabbath and kyuss in there prime.
that dude with the afro has the nastiest bass sound i've heard in years.
this is what you have to play through to sound that good.

to my eyes, thats a suun bass rig, an orange guitar cab powered by a g.k bass head and a keyboard amp strapped together!

they played a few songs before Dale joined them on guitar for 2 more.
they then did another on their own, and then it was time for the king(best rhythm guitarist ever?) and Dale( greatest drummer still alive?) to join them and become some mega transformer called MELVINS.

what can i say?...............
un-be-lievable!!!!!!!!
i took my pal Amy and she had no idea what to expect, having never heard them before.
after the first song she turned round to me and said
"how can bands like metallica exist?"
i'm just glad bands like them are still around.

i bought 2 t shirts(1 for lucas) and this........

all for $30!
they had every c.d they ever put out for $10 each and loads of screen printed posters of that nights show(signed) for $20

this is unheard of in todays fleece the kids touring world.

i met the Bakersfield Turbojugend at the show.
i was sporting the colours...........Glasgow style, they were pretty large, drunk bikers and i was glad they just wanted to say hello and not rumble.

Finally:
on another tangent altogether, my good friend Dr Kiko keeps sending me pictures like these.
the first was with a note saying, "this is what she does when i listen to morrissy"
look for yourself.

the other two?
who knows what he was thinking......
i just hope he didn't do these himself!
bye for now....

2006-11-29T17:13:00.000-08:00

a new addition?

this thanksgiving while some of you were doing this...

Bethann & Senon were unleashing this wee guy.
welcome.....,,,
Cypress Giacomo Williams,born Friday Nov.24, 2006 at 6:17am

see you this weekend wee man.

2006-11-28T18:00:00.000-08:00

MY GIRL

just got off the phone with Lily.
turns out there are 3 shows she wants to hit up on the same night....
MELVINS @ Troubadour
Joanna Newsom @ The El Rey
Lucinda Williams @ Royce Hall

basically, a female country singer songwriter, a female harpest and the besd rock band around.....

thats why i love her!

we're going to the MELVINS......check this out for 15 bucks
Altamont
Porn
Big Business
Melvins

i'll be getting there early and getting a good seat upstairs for the whole night
i will be taking some kind of pics....

i cannae wait.......
i've got a semi!

2006-11-28T10:27:00.000-08:00

Post holiday bloat

how where the holidays for you?
i had a good thanksgiving day at the Zuleta family home here in Los Angeles.
all the brothers and sisters where there and Lilys mum made a great spread for everyone.
being vegetarian at this time of year sucks!
the good thing about this family meal is that no one over does it on the food department.
i'd had a pretty horrific experience a few years ago that was more like a roman/pirate feast than a family meal.
i ate a lot of side dishes and left the in-laws tired and content.
we got home at about 10p.m and crashed.

up early the next day for the 320 mile drive up to Mammoth
i drove.
after missing the 14 while day dreaming on the 5 north, listening to this American life podcasts, we were soon out of greater Los Angeles and into the dessert.
it was my first time traveling this way and it was stunning to say the least.
the weather was great for driving and we made great time, arriving a little before 3.p.m
we met up with Gail and our other friends who were staying for the thanksgiving weekend
we were renting 2 condos (flats) between the 7 of us.
everyone was already hitting the booze, so it seemed rude not to join them.
that was the end of the day from that point on........
don't believe a drunken cook when they say that the stuffing is veggie......
i ate some turkey and a little sausage on accident and was up all night having a major whitey!.......not fun.
got up early but couldn't face any food(surprise, surprise)and sorted out renting snowboarding gear, and got some gloves and sunglasses.
me and Julie K were dropped off by Lil at the resort and signed up for a first timers lesson.
i believe Julie had been snowboarding before but had not been in about 4 years.
it's better to be safe than sorry......we had about 2 hours to kill before the lesson and kind of just went for it on our own.
Gail and Andrew pointed out the basics and left us to try it out ourselves
it all made sense from my skateboarding days...
it's strange to be running with sweat and know that it is cold and you are on snow nonetheless.
soaked and tired we headed off for our real 2 hour lesson.
Tom our teacher, was a friend of ours and had managed to make sure he got our group.
he's a lovely English gent(....did i just say that?) and he clocked that julie and i had a pretty decent grip on the basics and were confident enough to go up the lift and down the "discovery" slope.
everyone had warned us that getting off the lift would be the hardest thing about snowboarding.......Shite!
the worst thing about snowboarding for me is sitting on those old ski lifts!
anyways, we got off the lifts at the top of the run, and put our other foot in the bindings.
the off we went....
the first third of the run is a bit of a blur but i remember going way too fast and crossing through a group of first time skiers. they were all about 7 years old and i went between the teacher and the group following on behind.i managed to control my speed and come to a safe stop and dropped on my bum....
i thought i'd wait for Julie and Tom to Catch up.....
i got up and tried some other things Tom mentioned blah blah blah...

O.K i fell pretty bad.
i believe it's called eating shit.
my tailbone still hurts 3 days later and one of my ass cheeks is brused black!
i've got some nice whiplash too!

i did love snowboarding and i did really well for my first time.
i've just got to be realistic about what i can do at this early stage....

i've done enough for now.
i'll finish in a little bit
sorry for the lack of pictures this time.
i was too busy living the dream bro............

p.s melvins in 2 days..........

2006-11-23T11:59:00.000-08:00

A WEE LAUGH FOR THE HOLIDAYS.

2006-11-22T18:59:00.000-08:00

waste of money?

so, there seems to be no snow in my future (this weekend)
i guess i'll be hiking , not snowboarding in Mammoth.
have a great thanksgiving, and don't eat to much....
it's a marathon, not a sprint......

on another note.
i saw the pixies tour movie today.
some nice shots of the drum tech's hands in the early part of the movie.
also a really good looking guy behind the bass rig at the first gig.......
who was that guy?......

the movie is pretty poor.
as i was on the tour for a small part of it, i can say the 4 band members really do get along, and it was never like that when the cameras were not on them.

the saving grace of the whole dvd is the dude in the acoustic guitar store who has the conversation with kim.
it's in the bonus footage.
netflix it ....please don't buy it!

peace

2006-11-21T17:03:00.000-08:00

after the heat

from this...

to this.........

i've had a pretty full on time of it the last few days while Lily has been gone.
i'm surprised to find i can still actually fill my days and nights like like a real human being when she's not here.
on friday i got up and headed across town to santa monica to check out R.E.I and get myself some suitable trousers for snowboarding.
i'm going with a bunch of friends to Mammoth CA, my first time snowboarding ever, on friday for a spot of post thanksgiving fun. (hopefully no breakages too!)
i found what i was looking for pretty quick and had to get myself out of there before i spent all my money trying to look like a north face ad.
from there i hit the original vans store and found brown old school and slip ons for nothing.....
i also found the British store on the corner on santa monica and 2'nd.
all you need to know is they sell irn bru, so i'll be back .......

i went to the movies and saw for your consideration and was massively underwhelmed ......
i hope it gets better the more you see it.
i have been known to be wrong in the past....

i had football training at night and had what can only be called a shocker.....
a great turn out of guys with lots of new faces looking to join the team before next season gets under way.....(mid January)
good to get the exercise though.
i stopped off at my local 7/11 to by some beer for the house on the way home, and found myself hanging with 4 cops...
they looked at me like i was the town madman.
only when i got home did i realize my face and both hands were totally black from the pitch at training.
nice to see the local Rampart cops living up to their notoriously thorough standards....

can the police do you for talking shit online?......we'll see.

on saturday and sunday i spent my time in Carlsbad CA, visiting my cousin Davie.
he's only been in the states 5 weeks or so, and is working for a computer games manufacturer in the area.

we saw the new bond flick,which was better than any of the most recent ones(not saying much).....but really shouldn't have been a bond movie.
james bond does not have blonde hair and blue eyes.
as far as i can remember he also had a neck!
nazi bond anyone?

it would be a good plane film....which should be a genre in it's own right....but will not be getting shown as the inflight movie anywhere i believe, because of the over long preposterous terrorist sub plot in the middle of the film.
movie rating 5/10
plane movie rating 7/10

i also went to the san diego wild animal park, which was amazing.
we were only there for a few hours, but i would happily go back again tomorrow.
the lions were magic.
you can actually camp at the park during certain times in the year.
i think it would be brilliant.
i'll keep you posted.

seeing Davie reminded me of where i was about three years ago, when i first moved to los angeles.
i had friends here though and could ask favours and advise every day.
Davie is on his own in that respect, so i'm amazed he's doing so well!

i've got to go now and pick up my girl from the airport.
needless to say........
well done celtic.
i actually watched the game live on ESPN2...
you were lucky,but,
did taggert not like that goal..........

see youse.....

2006-11-16T10:36:00.000-08:00

I'VE GOT AN EMPTY!

Lily is off to New Orleans for a week to sort out the work shes got going on, on her music street house.
I'm picking her ass up on Tuesday morning, and she's going straight from the airport to work.....I'm not saying anything.
Anyhoo, I've been doing a lot of bank and credit card related stuff since getting back from japan.
I got my Social Security No. right before i left, so I'm now trying to improve my credit.
Now i can also go sit my California driving test..........
I'm not too excited about that.

This is the first thing i did when i got back home on Monday morning......

There really is nothing like good Mexican food on a paper plate to sort you right out after tofu and rice for every meal in Japan

I went to a little joint down the street, and while i wouldn't say it was the best place in the world.....it sure did do a job with me.!

I met up with Senon and Beth Anne on Tuesday for lunch.
Beth Anne is sooo ready to drop her baby that we went to the valley for a special salad.
The legend goes that the salad makes you go into labor... blah blah blah
Lily took Stacey when she was due for her first child (IAN) and i'll be goddamned if 5 hours later, she goes into labor....
The place was pretty good and both me and Senon tried the salad......it was nice but a wee bit too busy for me.
I've not heard if the salad helped Beth Anne yet or not.....but I'm thinking i would have heard by now if it did.
I can confirm that the salad did give me Gas worse smelling than the Tokyo sewage system!

Today I'm waiting to get a package i missed yesterday from u.p.s( so a total waste of the day)
I've got to go into echo park appliances and replace our washer dryer which finally gave up on us over the last 2 weeks
I also owe Cy the dog a big arsed walk round the lake.

Tomorrow I've got football training, i can only guess as to how sore I'll be by Saturday morning.

Then I'm off for the weekend to see my cousin Davie, who moved to Carlsbad CA about 5 weeks ago.I'm looking forward to seeing him.

cheers for now

oh aye.
check out this.

http://www.garthmarenghi.com/

and these stupid photies

2006-11-14T15:44:00.000-08:00

....And back again.............

so nice to be back home again, even if I was only away for a week.
Japan was, however, tremendous.
all 4 shows were great and it was a great way to end the years touring for both mogwai and myself.

TOKYO:

the first show in Tokyo was at a place called Studio Coast..........
it held about 3,000 people.
the place was about 40 minutes away from the hotel by van and was near the river........
the backstage area looked like this:

it had a dart machine that didn't work............mmmmmmm..........

and for some reason to prove how far ahead the people of Tokyo are, it had the 2 items in there too. WARNING....THE PICS MAY BE TOO FUTURE-Y-

it really does say Singapole!!!

the show itself was the best of the trip in my opinion.the kind of show that these guys always manage to pull off when it's a big high pressure show. I had only 1 run of about 4/ 5 songs where I was changing guitars with dom, stuart and barry in some of the special tunings. So I was quite an easy show all in.
the stage looked a bit like this for the show......

a surprise return of the mogwai young team lighting right( for one night only.)

after the show there was time for a beer then back to the hotel, where I crashed out like a small child.

the next day I woke early and along with pete and mick went to the park up the hill from the hotel.
it's that one where bands set up and play on sunday......
it was sunday, but I think we were too early for all the rock.
we did see this cool punk band play though.....

we played at the new(ish) liquid rooms on sunday.
I'd only been to the old club, so was surprised at how much smaller the new club was.
I guess having odd things in the dressing room is the coolest thing to do in Tokyo, as in this one there was a ping pong table
we all had a wee shot at it, and I was clearly the best .........................Aye right!

The gig was cool but as with all end of tour shows,everyone is excited it'a all over but sad thet you're not going to be seeing your pals again in the near future.
such is the way of the road etc etc etc

after the show,
i went to the punk rock bar with dom and pete......the rest of the guys went to see the celtic game in the Tokyo supporters club.

see youse later.

2006-11-10T16:41:00.000-08:00

WHERE AM I?

As expected the Jetlag has kicked in.
I was caught by Dominic clapping and cheering as the band came on for an encore in Nagoya,with my eyes closed in another world.....Oh dear.

I've been on 2 bullet trains since I last posted.....
Osaka to Nagoya
Nagoya to Tokyo

the weather has been great so far, so we got a great view of Mt, Fuji yesterday as we drove past at 180 m.p.h
I just love the bullet train .......o.k?

the gig itself was great in Nagoya
we played at diamond Hall, which unusually for Japanese venues looked like an eastern European council flat.........Backstage anyway

RATATAT were great again. Mike surprised everybody by getting through the gig, even though he must have had the mother of all hangovers........That dude likes a drink!

no sketches with the mogwai show at all in Nagoya.......And a larger crowd than was expected saw a rockin show.

we had a day off yesterday, which was a bit weird.
some of us went to a curry spot we know and love and have a massive lunch..........Just what the doctor ordered.
then I did some shopping.Tokyu Hands was a big disappointment this time.

to accommodate all the Christmas decorations, they have moved and got rid of all the stuff I would have liked to see!
quite confusing....
I managed to get Lily a cool watch (well i think it's cool.......)
and saw a few I liked myself.........
the highlight of my afternoon was, however, the crazy photo machines........

I was out with Pete, and we dipped our feet in this crazy world......But we'll be back before the end of the trip, spending upwards of $100 each on the stuff......

more laters......

2006-11-08T14:52:00.000-08:00

Wake Up:

HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN!
while we all hoped it would happen, did anyone really think it would ?...........

See You Later You Utter Freak!
I'm sure you're not sweating.....In fact you're laughing all the way to the bank with all those kickbacks you've taken over the last 6 years.
And, I'm sure you didn't get a lump of coal when you got SACKED yesterday!

George, it's not been a good 2 years has it?
time to get back on the drugs and booze I think.......

NOW A WARNING TO THE GOOD GUYS:

Don't be too pleased with yourselves Democrats.
You guys managed to make progress in leaps and bounds with NO PLAN WHATSOEVER!
How are you going to sort out the mess in Iraq?
How are you going to stop the biggest recession in U.S history from happening?
How are you going to win the election in 2008?

I do think Mrs Clinton is a smart woman.
I would love to see a female u.s president.
BUT........................
check her voting record from the past 4 years...
she has pretty much voted along with every major republican motion(mistakes?)
she spent $29.5 million on publicity for reelection in probably the safest seat in the u.s!!!!!!
$6,585 on flowers for 1 day????
$80,000 at tavern in the green in N.Y.C...............

all got passed as legitimate expenses for this mid-term.
My god, the gulf coast is still not been cleaned up yet.
reading her spending made me puke in my mouth a little.....

please democrats.............
don't elect Damian(ette) in 2008

please please please please please NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

from your socialist friend.

2006-11-08T07:02:00.000-08:00

REMEMBER TO LOOK AT:
http://pedalzombie.blogspot.com/
the other white meat..............

2006-11-08T06:39:00.000-08:00

1'st show:

that's what I did today........
this is the best thing I saw today:

the gig went well, although I did have to swap out stuarts amp head half way through the set.
I threw out picks at the end of the show and it seemed to be the most excited the crowd got all night
verdict: Good show.

2006-11-07T17:07:00.000-08:00

L.A To Osaka:

back on tour. I can't believe 4 weeks flew in that fast, especial as I really did nothing at home.
I got the car, registered it and got insurance etc etc, played football and swam.....

I have to admit that I've been looking forward to this part of the tour for ages though, as we're playing with my old friends ratatat. I'd not seen Evan and Mike for about three years until diner last night.........
what a great band!

thanks to common sense, I flew on my own from l.a to Osaka via san Francisco.....
it beats flying to the u.k to meet up with mogwai then on to Japan.....
I did cross the date line however, so I'll be jet lagged out of my mind in about 2 days time
my flight home leaves at 4.30 p.m and i get to L.A.X at 8.45 a.m the same day! Good times...

I flew united,which would never be my first choice.
apart from the usual long haul problems ( I'm 6.ft 2, and the seats seem to be made for Japanese teenage girls.) everything went fine.
I managed to get about 60 9.volt batteries through the scanners in both l.a.x and s.f.o in my hand luggage.....I'm not sure if I'm worried about that or not.
I also saw the abortion that is the fast and the furious: Tokyo drift..................
comedy gold for about 20 minutes, then soooooooooo depressing.

got pulled over at customs in Osaka for a second or too
really nice wee lady opened my bag and saw this in my suitcase

one of the guitar polish containers was broken, and my jeans were soaked....
she looked embarrassed and let me go......
result!

was met at the airport and took the 60 minute drive into Osaka.
I realized how lucky i was on the way in......
this is my 12th time in Japan, and i've always been paid to be here...........
sometimes,when your in a stinky euro bus, on the 4th week of a 6 week tour, playing your 8th gig in a row, you can honestly act like a spoilt child...
this really is the other side of the coin.

got to the hotel, which i'd stayed at with mogwai about 5 years ago....
this is the view from hotel room last night.

and here it is in the morning.....

meet up with everyone and ratatat at 8.pm in the hotel lobby and went out for a meal and beers.
being a veggie in Japan is pretty tough,but having our buddy Katsu from smash helping....Everything is usually fine.
I did eat fish by mistake, which usually means a 24 hour whitey, but it looks like I got away with it...

fun times were had by all, and I'm glad I stayed up and didn't crash out when I arrived.
I was asleep at 11.30 and slept till just after 8 in the morning......
another result.

I went for a walk to get my bearings..... But nothing opens until 11.am, which happens to be the lobby call for the crew today...

I took some photos though

got to go for that lobby call.
I hope to get the first pedalzombie pics tonight .....

already missing my girl....

2006-11-04T12:31:00.000-08:00

Saturday:

why do aberdeen have to play on a monday night 2 weeks in a row?
it can't be for T.V....can it?

found this online............

i've only got about 25 days till i see the best band in the world again..................

2 drummers, 1 bassist, 1 guitarist 3 vocalists..............SEND IT!

2006-11-02T16:46:00.000-08:00

FINALLY:

i'm done for the day.........
i'll leave you with some classics

that lighting rig from the royal albert hall

the mogwai turbonegro jacket

my warrior name?

best band from norway to tour with a miget?

2006-11-02T16:38:00.000-08:00

more pictures...............

my brused nipple

graffitti from a certain french gig that interpol will not be alowed back to,but mogwai did.

the closest i got to pharrell all summer

the roman outdoor theatre gig from september.........

esplanade theatre singapore from behind the gear

2006-11-02T16:33:00.000-08:00

STUART:

this guy really is all that and a bag of chips!
go girl!

woking the streets..........

in (rock)action.......

2006-11-02T16:25:00.000-08:00

DOM:

most morbid guy on earth/SEXPEST
it's up to you

gear>>>>>>>>

Back on the booze!!!!!!

2006-11-02T16:15:00.000-08:00

BARRY:

where do you start with this guy.
funniest guy on the planet hands down............

here's his stuff:

and now for the man himself:

2006-11-02T16:10:00.000-08:00

MARTIN:

the man, the myth, the leg end?

watch out ladies.............

sorry.........
a good influence on Mick?

2006-11-02T15:55:00.000-08:00

Meet The Guys............

here are some photos of the mogwai guys and the gear they use/abuse.
by the way, i'm still up for starting a website called pedalzombie....with photos of those skinny virgins who look at the bands pedal boards before and after shows.....then go on message boards to one up each other over delay pedals................AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!

JOHN:

YES they are all on:

and the man himself.......pedalzombie alert!

no stranger to a light ale

2006-11-02T15:45:00.000-08:00

BURN:

if you look back at those photos,i actually got my stuff on the stage in belgium.
that was a major victory.

i managed to get a brilliant burn on my hand when in milan.
i was trying to fix a buzz on one of johns guitars when THIS happened:

i dropped a soldering iron onto my hand................
i think you can tell by looking at the burn how sore it was for the first few days!

the injury coincided with the Black Spider (pete) our other backline guy having to go back to the u.k becuase of passport/U.s Visa problems............which were not his fault. i therefore ended up doing the whole lot on my own for 2 weeks of that euro tour........
i must say the burn was a great excuse for being rotten on the drums.

2006-11-02T15:14:00.000-08:00

LIFE?

i'm going to put up some more shots of my life this yaer on the road.
i head off to japan for a week this monday,where i hope to get some great photos.i've always come back from there with great memories and crap photos........go figure
no sake this time i promise!

here goes:

here is one of the 2 places in New Orleans we have.........
after the storm we went back and fixxed up those bad boys,and got some good help from my home boys:

Chris Rage in his element in all that choas: mardi gras 2006

Graham(Allys Brother) and Ross looking for more high life.

i had to fly back to europe on mardi gras day, to start a tour that would keep me on the road for almost 6 months.....i honestly had 1 night, not even day at home in that time.........
it was all my fault for saying yes to everything, and i had to pay off my good friend the u.k taxman.........nice!

mogwai are the real deal. i've been friends with them for ever,and had worked with them in the past from about 1997 until the end of summer 2001.
we had already done a trip to japan,a u.s mini tour, a date in moscow and 5 shows in london to launch the new record, so now we went out into euro land proper.......

we started in the u.k and took out a truck with full p.a and lights,my prefered method of touring........
the guys have so much stuff that i found myself setting up my guitar world in the strangest of places.......dressing rooms,behind amps etc etc
i started to document where i ended up each night.....here are a few good ones.

BERLIN..........

BRUSSELLS.............

CLERMONT(france)..........

KOLN..........

ROME...........

2006-10-29T09:22:00.000-08:00

so, i've woken up early, ready for the last game of the summer soccer season oout here in los angeles.
getting that extra hours sleep will be usefull.
went to jim and elas halloween party last night....some great costumes.
i let myself down, even though i had gotten a costume together.......
i didn't put it on........
i was going to be a scottish cholo.
it was too cold to wear those shorts........honest
lets see if i can get some pics of the last mogwai euro tour up for you all.........
i'm still learning.
......................
...........

2006-10-29T00:24:00.000-07:00

so........
everyone i know does this, so i guess i should too
i don't promise much,but when i have anything to share....i promise you will be the first to know.
as i work out what i can and can't do. you will get better stuff
i hope my mum wil not dis own me for the=is,yet i want my good friends to read it too
the blogs i read make my day, so i want to do the same for y"all
i be back soon............BUTTON MOON
ally