Gigs gone, and gigs approaching

Thursday 13th May 12:26am

I am aware that we haven't had anything insightful or witty to say for at least 6 days, and the legions that follow this blog must be missing the regular Barlight updates.

Alternatively, we've never had anything insightful or witty to say, and the last 6ish days have been a blessed relief.

EITHER WAY.... We've been busy.

On Saturday, as previously discussed here, all four Barlights descended upon the lovely Norwich Arts Centre to watch what turned out to be a bloody excellent gig. All four bands were enjoyed to a reasonable extent, and the Brownies headlining were something else entirely.

After the gig is where things got odd. Deep breath.... A man I don't know but whom some of my friends did suggested that we buy a crate or two of beer from the NAC bar and head to an "allnight Rollerdisco" and then promptly led us Pied-Piper like through the streets of the city to a location I am not willing to divulge...

Personally, I haven't rollerskated for 15 odd years, and it's apparently not like riding a bike. Although considering I was half cut, I did alright. Various Brownies and Arts Centre staff looked like they'd all been rollerskating for their country, or at least county. Example: On the right of this paragraph is a friend of ours named Ryan who was like a man who was BORN ON WHEELS. Don't be fooled by the stance, he was pro.

Then it was to a house where over £100 worth of Domino's pizza was ordered. And we drank more. And someone put a dead fish in a kettle. The latter does not seem like a normal thing to do. Thankfully for the collective sanity of the party, most people certainly did not find this normal. The culprit I think has been reprimanded.

But, all in all, an hilarious night.

SO! Coming up next week is the first Barlights gig since January which has involved all four members, as Chase's arm is mended(ish) and Nick broke is rib back in late January....so....we're excited. It's at Unit 5, off Edwards Road, near Magdalen Street and is going to be epic because our friends Fever Fever are playing, and also Olympians, who sounded pretty good when I heard a couple of songs.

There is a link to the Facebook page hereeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Hopefully see you there.

tBl's

For a change: Relevance

Friday 7th May: 2:00pm

This is our 4th and last day in Leeders Farm studio and I thought that, as this blog was started as a way of killing time during recording, and that when I get back to my normal job these posts are going to have to become less frequent (although I still hope to continue!), it might be relevant to talk a little about the album that we are currently making.

"You Cannot Choose The Roads That Take You Home"

Our 2nd album, titled as above, should be available for insertion into your ears in September. Over the last 4 days all drum tracks have been done and Chase is currently doing as much bass as possible. Ade's parts, my parts, and whatever Chase doesn't get done today will all be done in our living room over the next month or so.

For a sneak preview which may well get me in trouble with NROne (our label), I have placed the likely front cover on the right hand side.

We are rather excited about this one. Personally, something that is a common theme running through many of the albums that I love is certain poetry, quality and relevance to the lyrics. At the risk of sticking my head up to get shot down, as a lyricist I'm getting closer to where I want to be than ever.

Also each of us now seem to know what we need to do to make a song work. Erm. I'm aware I'm just rambling now. But it's probably good for anyone who might be in a band who may be reading to know that we don't really know what we're doing.... But we seem to have learned how to fill the gaps left my each others' inadequacies. The fact that we know that we're never going to be the greatest musicians in the world means that we have to make sure that our songs are actually any bloody good. Lyrics, melody and structure...that's all we really care about. Like much of this blog, the preceding sentences probably don't make too much sense even to the other members of the band, but this is just how I see things.

Then again, a large percentage of one's understanding of the world is how we perceive the things we encounter in life and how we ("we" being a massive collective noun for the human race) deal with the challenges they present. Coincidentally, this is kind of what most Barlights songs are about.

In any case, we are very happy to be cracking on considering that in the first 3 months of the year we managed to have a drummer crack a rib and a bassist carve his arm open with a circular saw. In fact Chase's arm has become a bit of a viral hit. We've met people who've seen pictures of it prior to actually knowing who Chase is.

We don't have that photo of the arm close up but we have managed to get hold of this exclusive never-before-seen-picture of Chase immediately after the accident:

It might be prudent at this point to thank people who've helped us out this year. Michael Sheils who played drums during Nick's rib absence and Simon Holden (who's band, The Vegas Fame Index are rather good - check them out here) and Stevie Gedge. Both Mike and Stevie are part of the excellent Brownies, who I plugged yesterday.

Anyway, these posts will continue I hope. This is the last whilst we're in the studio, as I now actually have to do some piano takes. Yes. Visit here once or twice a week, and hopefully other Barlights will write down some stuff too.

Maybe see you out and about this weekend, if you're from this fine city.

tBl's.

X

A Quick Note On Cricket and Crisps

Thursday 6th May - 5:45pm

CRICKET

The World Twenty20 Cricket Championships are happening right now and I'm not going to bore you with my opinions on the different formats on the game. I am a cricket fan, and could talk for hours. The one thing that I did notice upon watching the Ireland-England game two nights ago is how the ICC regulations allow cricketers to behave in such a fickle matter to their country.

England were batting. Eoin Morgan was in bat. Eoin Morgan was born in Dublin and represented Ireland at the same tournament two years ago. Bowling at him for the Ireland team was the Johannesburg-born Andre Botha. As an England fan, I am not really complaining because Morgan is a very good one day batsman. BUT. This baffles me. Not because the players do it, because money talks. It's the fact that the ICC allow it. It just interested me. Sorry to waste your time.

Pic A: Eoin Morgan in 2008

CRISPS

At the risk of making this post too sports-related and therefore alienating those who can't bloody stand it, I will mention here that there is a football World Cup approaching fast (I KNOW! They kept that quiet...) and that Walker's have decided to commemorate this by doing "new" flavours that are related to such famous footballing nations such as the USA and Japan. OK, and Brazil, Spain, England, and the rest of the usual suspects.

I have to confess that The Barlights have spent most of this week trying some of these knowing full well that this is a marketing gimmick designed to sell more crisps that are, despite subtle differences, essentially just processed potato with a handful of "flavouring" chucked at them.

Well, guess what? It worked. It bloody worked. "Look! Shiny new packets! OOh, exotic flavours! Gary Buggering Linekar!!"

So we have now tried 9 of the 15 flavours. Yes, we are this sad. Special mention needs to go to Dutch Edam Cheese (somehow it manages not just to be cheese, but has a hint of a babybell....a poor man's edam) and the ingenious American Cheeseburger flavour which manages to taste almost exactly the same as a McDonald's cheeseburger. I'm aware that anything that tastes like a McDonald's cheeseburger is not a particularly good thing, but full marks for trying.

One more note on the cricket: England are currently close to beating Pakistan. South African born Kevin Pieterson is currently on 64 not out.

However, to really test his allegiances, maybe we should get him to choose between South African Sweet Chutney Flavour and English Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding crisps...

tBl's. X

Looocal Happenings.

Thursday 7th May 11:30am

Day 2 of The Barlights blog, and we're still not bored of it.

In this city, the city we live in (to paraphrase the Chilli Peppers), there is quite a lot going on nowadays. I actually had this conversation with Chase last night:

Me: There's quite a lot going on in Norwich nowadays.

Chase: Yes.

That's kinda how the conversation went.

EVIDENCE: Most times when we have a gig, there is usually another one going on the same day and often it will also be within the city walls. A gig on a Friday or Saturday night in the city centre was unheard of when we were 17 or 18, with the odd exception. The fact that this is changing can only be a good thing, and underneath the usual layer of covers bands and heavy metal there is a severely good group of musicians going about doing their thing for no other reason than the fact that they're fucking good at it.

MORE EVIDENCE: This Saturday, our labelmates and friends The Brownies are headlining the Norwich Arts Centre. For those who aren't from the city, or are but somehow live deep underground, The Brownies are a locally formed band who are pretty bloody good (and this was reflected in some kind reviews in some of the nationals for their debut album).

As per the poster on the left here there on the left of the page there, they will be joined by death of death of Discotheque, Claw of Panther and Hunt in Packs. I've never really seen ....Discotheque play, as I've usually been on straight after them. I will be rectifying that Saturday. Claw of Panther front man Adam King used to play on his own as "Cross Country Driver" and he was like a slurring Julian Casablancas playing folk music through electric equipment. I think we can all agree that sounds wonderful, and it was. So I'm looking forward to seeing them. And then we have Hunt in Packs who are kind of Norwich scene royalty, with members of them having been in the splendid Uh-Oh's, and the Pistolas. Lee and Paul are both pretty bloody good at what they do and, this being their first gig, I would recommend you check them out.

These bands are all, as far as I can tell from my limited contact with them, playing this gig (like the many other gigs they all will play) because they want to. They...want to play music to people and although I expect, like with many of us, there are alternative motives as well, I believe for the most part that a lot of bands involved in what we could laughingly refer to as "The Norwich Scene" do what they do because they actually believe that they are making good music.

So what I'm trying to say, and the point I'm trying to make is.....: As consumers of music, whether you're in a band or not in a band, we should all support these things because Norwich (or Nottingham, or Leicester, or Plymouth, or Newcastle...wherever you're from) would be a lot less diverse and interesting without it's bands and arts projects.

SO. I would implore you: Go to watch local gigs. If you don't like the first band, wait for the second. If you don't like a band initially, keep watching for at least 3 songs. Not everything is to everyone's tastes, but that's what the point is. If you're a music lover with a massive CD collection, but your only live music fix is forking out £50 quid a year to see one stadium gig, ask yourself whether you ever wished that you had got in on the ground floor and you might realise that this would lend the experience an intimacy which you scarcely feel....

Go down the Arts Centre on Saturday and you might do.

Pic b: The view at a stadium gig, yesterday.

Speak soon,

Love tBl's. X

Confessions of a Dangerous Find

Wednesday 5th May - 2:30pm

The studio we're in is called Leeder's Farm. It's in Spooner Row, Norfolk, and is lovely. There's a pond, and a boat. As a visual aid, here is a picture of Chase and I in the boat during the sessions for our debut album (titled "If It Wasn't For The Light, The Dark Would Have Killed Us) a year or so back.

A boat! On a pond! I told you mate. Do you get me.

The Barlights are currently listening to: This is a new section about current listening habits. We are very much anticipating the new National and Band of Horses albums, oh and the new LCD Soundsystem album which are all out within the next 2 weeks...

A friend has just introduced us to Local Natives, which is what I have been listening to for the last day and a half (when I need a break from Nick's tribal drumming). Also, this is where you can find three...THREE new songs by Band of Horses, who we're incidentally going to see in Cambridge at the beginning of June. NB. This is going to be like all kinds of love being injected into our ear-canals.

Whilst these feasts are entering into our ears, my eyes are distracted by Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which we found here in the studio yesterday..... A note on Grand Theft Auto. I can not, and neither can anyone that I know, be described as a violent man. In fact, I'm quite the opposite. So WHY do I feel it necessary, the second I turn on the game, to start beating on, shooting at, and stealing the vehicles of, innocent passers-by (picture on the right: A mentalist, yesterday).

YES I know this is the point of the game, but I feel myself turning into a maniac with every passing second. I'm not one of these people who say that people shouldn't play violent video games. I just think that possibly I shouldn't. It only brings out the worst in me. Three of the four Barlights have at some point been obsessed with the game - Ade, Nick and myself - and only Nick can be said to be a "gamer". I can only confess to doing it to pass the time, which is why I get alarmed when a game gets under my skin and you see it when you close your eyes... That is when I stop. I do not need to see an elvis impersonater being beaten with a spade when I go to sleep at night.

That is all. Nick's done 5 of the drum tracks now.

Over and out.

tBl's. X

New Toys!

Wednesday 5th May - 12:15pm





A quick intro for the uniniated: We are the Barlights. We are on our 2nd day in the studio to record our 2nd album. There are 4 of us. Nick, drummer, who is currently drumming. Chase, bassist, who is currently playing bass. Ade, guitarist, who is (haha) at work, and myself, Graham...who has made this blog out of sheer boredom.




So on Davo AKA Nick's fancy laptop we have got an interesting photo-taking device (camera is the usual term I believe). Not amazing in itself, I'll grant you. On the left is an example of our artistic undertakings using it.





Now this is not going to have any top level photographers quaking in their ridiculously fashionable boots. Although personally I think the fact that Chase has put his glasses over his hair is a commentary on the possibility of a hung parliament tomorrow. Or he's a very odd man. You work it out.





Anyway our next discovery was the fact that there was various effects that we could use. The favourite was......thermal imaging!




Now I'm no scientist. But this seems to conclusively proove that Nick (on the right) and myself (on the left) are officially hotter than Chase (the faded non-hot mess in the middle).
This shit is scientific.
Ade cannot be measured for hotness as he's at work but, if we're honest, he wouldn't be in the running anyway.

Anyway, there will undoubtedly be more updates throughout today, tomorrow, and Friday (and beyond if we enjoy this blogging game). Don't worry, it won't always be pure nonsense like the above. We might even talk about some things that we enjoy, or things we don't enjoy. Or how the studio sessions are going (Nick would like it to be known that yesterday was "a productive day").
For now, bye!
tBl's.X