I’ve been home from tour for just about over a week. I was ill for a few days coupled with exhaustion. I’ve had no time to relax. I was straight back to work. The weekend wasn’t even available to recharge my batteries. I was in the recording studio with Vince Cayo. We we’re recording some demos for his solo album. The kid was full of energy and inspiration after the tour. We had to capture it with a live recording session. Whilst in the studio I was arranging with Grant Henderson the plan for the next Yallas album. We start rehearsals for the album in the next couple of weeks. I would like the album to be released in the summer. I guess we need to start the sessions in the new year. Whilst on tour I was talking to Will about the track listing. We’ve already been playing some of the new songs live. County Court, Medusa, Kaassouffle, Kraken. We’ve also had stabs at Co-Exist, I Want to be Loved, and Stockholm Syndrome. Dempsey likes one of my demos called Kick Down the Walls. I also have songs called Slave, Mental, Money, and Mantra that I’d particularly like to work on. All in all there is about thirty songs written for this next album. There’s still time to write some more. I’m thinking about how we record this album. I want to record it in a similar manner to our first album. Play it live in the studio and overdub. I think it will suit the songs more. I also want to play guitar again on this album. I played it on the first album and very little on the second. It will also be our first album with Joel. It will be nice to get him on an album.
The album won’t be the only thing that we release next year. I’ve been editing some footage of our recent tour. I’m hoping to make some little documentary type film. I’m not sure what will happen with it yet. Do we simply stream it on YouTube, give the exclusive to a local film festival, Download from our website or do a DVD release or put it out with the new album. The Yalla Yallas don’t have PR or Management, we don’t have industry analysts advising us on trends and spreadsheets about the best tactical approach. We usually just release stuff as and when we see fit or when we can afford it. Our only aim on anything we do is that we don’t lose money. We’ve no desire to earn money from the band. We just like to keep afloat. The recent tour we broke even. We are delighted with that. Driving around two amazing countries. Performing. Drinking. Eating beautiful food. Meeting wonderful people. A safe place to stay every night. What more could anyone ask for? I could live that life for months at a time. I felt nothing but love. I feel lost now I’m home. I just want to go and do it all again. I’m already planning it.
Next year is looking like it will be our busiest yet. Recording and playing shows will take up most of our weekends for the first half of next year. We all have day jobs. I’m already turning down shows for next year. Which is sad but it’s also kind of a good position to be in. Personally I’ve had an extremely busy 2016. I’d like some downtime soon. Every week of my annual leave over the last two years I’ve used to either tour or to perform at music festivals. I could do with a holiday. I need some time to figure out the lyrics for the next album. The first album I tidied up much of the lyrics in Las Vegas and London. The second album I finished in Finland. My solo album I finished up in Barcelona. This time I’m going to try steal a weekend in Berlin. I need to get Xmas out of the way first. I’m asking Santa for some William Blake, Bukowski, and Patti Smith. I wish to explore the world of poetry more. I don’t actually like the character Bukowski. I do love his writing style though. It’s very easy to read. I like to read it in a Tom Waits voice. I also love to read Hunter S Thompson. I’m interested in reading some William Blake or William Burroughs. Patti Smith takes her inspiration from those guys. I want to try and see what she sees in their work and see if I can spot it in any of her work. I’m always looking at ways to improve my writing. This blog is also part of that challenge. I figure that the more I write then the words will come. I also hope that it will help me remember things. The other thing I take from this is that it forces me one or two evenings a week to reflect on the life I live. To stop. To absorb. To think and to get to know myself. It’s easy just to smash through all this brilliant stuff. I think about the things I have done in this last twelve months. Finishing my solo album. Releasing a vinyl record. Performing at Glastonbury. Making music videos. Touring in Europe twice. It’s everything I ever dreamed of as a kid. Listening to Guns n Roses in my bedroom. Imagining I was Axl Rose and I fronted a great Rock n Roll band. It’s mental when you think about it.
There is a compromise though. That is that I don’t get to do a lot of the normal stuff. Like visiting the Xmas market in my home city. Or going to other bands gigs. Having a normal relationship with a girlfriend. Watching shite TV and understanding what a Honey G is. I miss going to watch Leeds United at Elland Road. I could take three-six months out of music. I probably need to. I dare not. The only thing that I have to work on is momentum. I live in a mindset that I always need to strike when the iron is hot. Creativity, Art, Performance is all about being in the moment. I don’t feel like I’m ever allowed to be complacent. I always feel like it could be taken away at any moment. I always feel like it’s the last album, the last tour, the last gig, you never know when it will end. I treat it as such. That’s why I give it everything I’ve got. Because it’s all I’ve got.
