2008 in Review

I was looking back just now through old blog posts, reading what I was saying in Decembers past, and it's gone and got me all pensive. The year is done for me now, no more shows till January. Tomorrow I get on a plane for Colorado for Christmas. So, I guess now is the appropriate time to consider the last 12 months.

What a year. Many, many things have changed, and mostly for the better. Looking back through the list of gigs this year (nearly 200), I can get a better overview, but it still seems like a lifetime ago that I was playing at the XFM awards, or living in Los Angeles for the month, or returning to Latvia with Ben, or releasing the second album... The April tour was when things really started to feel exciting, then the Holloways tour, countless festivals (my first Glasto and Cambridge Folk), a short French tour. By time you get to the Revival tour in the USA, the October tour here, Europe with Chris and The Levellers, not to mention radio and so on, things have changed almost beyond recognition from where they were in December 2007. I'm feeling kinda worn out right now, to tell the truth, but it's all in the service of something worthwhile. I'm really lucky to be doing what I'm doing right now, and I'm grateful to everyone who has helped me on my way.

And so to next year. Who knows what I'll be writing in December 2009. Maybe this is the top of the mountain. Maybe things are going to get crazier still. It'll be interesting to see. The next album is really coming together in my head. And the road beckons as ever. See you all at a show sometime soon. Thanks.

Heartbreaking

Nambucca burned last night. The basement and the pub have been destroyed. Some of the stuff in the homes above might be salvageable. Many people have been made homeless. An awesome space has ceased to exist.

My gigs list says I played there 9 times, but that's a pathetic under-representation of what it means (meant) to me. The very day Million Dead decided to break up I went there for a drink, and Dave gave me advice on what to do. I met Adam (Tailors) on the roof and he taught me about Gram Parsons. I've spent countless nights there, sleeping or not, living the good life. I'm heartbroken.

Most importantly, though thankfully no one was hurt, a lot of people have lost their homes and their stuff. My thoughts go to them.

MTV2 Voting

A quick one today: the new video (below) is now up for voting on the MTV2 Myspace Chart. If you fancied, you know, getting on over there and voting the fuck out of it, that'd be, you know, cool.

New Video!

Hello you. A couple o'tings. Firstly, we have a new video for 'Reasons Not To Be An Idiot'. It was conceived and directed by Jamie Lenman, lately of Reuben. It goes like this:



Secondly, my old comrades over at roomthirteen.com have a retrospective thing of all the interviews they've done with me in the last three years, to, y'know, co-incide with the release of The First Three Years. Actually a very interesting read, I thought. Enjoy.

Ah Oxford

Hello from backstage at the Engine Shed, Lincoln. It seems my lifelong oath to never see Lincoln by daylight is holding firm, we only just got here and I'm on shortly. It's a rarity to come to a town I've never been to before these days in the UK, so it's a shame that we won't get to see any of it. Ah well.

January 18th will see me and my band at the Oxford Zodiac for a headline show. Huzzah. I've been waiting to announce this for some time. See you all there.

Touring with the Levellers is a rewarding experience, particularly for the 14-year-old in me. But damn, the new album is top notch as well. Consider me akin to a pig in shit.

Nottingham / The Levellers

I'm pleased to report that a few days of going to bed before 9pm leaves me much rested. I've also been getting up late, and spending my few remaining waking hours arguing with HMRC about VAT. If you consider that the VAT system essentially forces businesses to work, unpaid, as tax collectors for the state, the least they could do is make the system vaguely functional, or at least comprehensible. As it is, I feel like their "help" page is almost actionable under Advertising Standards legislation.

How deeply un-rock'n'roll of me - complaining about tax admin on my blog. Actually I've been snorting crack off hookers all day, honest. Seriously though, being self-employed can be a fucking pain in the arse sometimes - although at the end of the day, I am my own boss and am (nearly) fearless in the face of Kafka-esque obfuscation. PAYE is for pussies.

Right, what was I talking about? Uhm. Ah yes. Nottingham. As we all know, Halloween saw me retching into a bucket backstage at the Rescue Rooms rather than finishing the show, something that goes against my principles, but couldn't biologically be helped. Anyways, we've been looking into a replacement show, initially in January. A problem, however, has arisen, in the dirty backstreet politics (JOKE) of the industry. The wonderful guys in The Gaslight Anthem are taking me on tour, and we're sharing a stage together at Rock City on 3rd March. Their people requested that I don't do another show in Notts before that show. So things have been put back. This has then been added to by the fact that, as far as Rescue Rooms are concerned, the fact that we did 11 out of 14 songs at the October show means no refunds.

SO. What to do. On the one hand, basically, anyone holding onto tickets should probably consign them to their shoebox archives (or ebay or whatever). They won't be valid for the Gaslight show I'm afraid. This leaves me feeling a little uncomfortable about promises unfulfilled, so the solution seems to be this: I'm going to look at scheduling a Notts-only show in early April (ish) which will probably be free entry, or something like that. Hopefully that will make sure everyone is happy. Crappy situation.

(Although I might point out in my defence that a few days before my abortive show in Notts, another famous indie band who shall remain nameless cut off a show after 4 songs in the big room at Rock City on the grounds they were... too pissed to bother finishing. No apologies or re-schedules. Wankers)

The other thing worth mentioning here and now is about The Levellers shows which start tomorrow. I'm going to be on early, so if you're coming to see yours truly, get down there for the start. See you there.

Pitstop

My feet are brushing the ground in London town, before I head out in a few days for the UK Levellers shows (about which I am, as many know, piss-excited; when I was growing up, my mum used to drive me and my older sister past the Newbury Bypass protests pretty regularly, and despite her best efforts we became fixated with the record on the sound-systems all day, namely "Levelling The Land"). Europe was excellent fun, very tiring and eye-opening; as ever, Chris is a more dilligent blogger and recordist than I, and his blog is where to go for the gory details.

In other news, The First Three Years is out today! I'm at the Xtra Mile office and we've mailed out hundreds already. They look ace. But if you haven't got yours yet, you should be heading over to the Xtra Mile website to make a purchase. Mhm.