It’s been almost a week since tour ended. I slept in my own bed the night before the Cardiff show and I felt like I’d sneaked into someone else’s house, so since then I’ve been crashing at my girlfriend’s place. I’m about to go back and face the carnage that is my room, and maybe even try to spring clean a tiny little bit. Also, for the first time in about a month, I don’t think I’ll be drinking today! My organs will thank me.

It’s probably about time to get back into pushing Tear The Signs Down again. We’ll be releasing a new single soon, and possibly making the album available worldwide, which is exciting!

Bye bye.

We’re over half way through this tour now. The list of remaining dates seems to be shrinking very quickly, which worries me. I don’t want this to end! I won’t know what to do with myself.

In this whole month of tour we’ve only got 5 days off, we’ve been carrying our ton of equipment in and out of every venue ourselves, setting up ourselves, designing our own t-shirts, contacting press ourselves, and I’ve never enjoyed it more or felt better two-thirds of the way through a tour. This is the way it should be. Admittedly, without a bus, I’d probably have lost my mind by now.

Straight Lines supported us for the first half of the month, and shared the bus with us. They’re a great band and great guys, and the bus is too quiet without them. Still, they have just flown to play at SXSW, so I’m also very jealous. Bastards! I miss America.

There’s not any point talking about the gigs. They’ve all been amazing and they’re always the highlight of my day, but if you weren’t there I can’t really describe it to you. Here’s a random list of some stuff that’s happened instead:

In Hull, we did a photo-shoot in a toilet.

In Liverpool, I saw a punch-up in a Nando’s.

In Glasgow, I walked in on a photo-shoot in a laundrette.

In Newcastle, the crowd were jumping around so hard that the floor was bending.

In Sheffield, I got paid £10 and given free man-fragrance to do market research.

That is all.

We’re on day four of our epic UK tour. Because we drove to Swindon on Tuesday then went back to Cardiff for a day off on Wednesday, it only really feels like day two!

We got on a tourbus for the first time in over a year yesterday, then played the Cavern in Exeter. It was great fun, but it’s hell getting a ton of equipment in and out of that place. Narrow stairs, heavy boxes. I’m going to look like the hulk by the end of this tour with all the heavy lifting!

Straight Lines, who are supporting us for the first half of the tour are living on the bus with us and helping to carry things, so it could be worse! We’re like one big happy tour family.

We’re playing at the Princess Pavilion in Falmouth this evening. It’s lovely here, like wandering through a postcard! I’ve never seen so many Cornish Pasty shops in my life, though! I might hit the beach later..

We’re playing in Swansea’s Brangwyn Hall this evening as part of St. David’s Week. Daffodils, male-voice choirs, The Automatic. What could be more Welsh?

I’m really looking forward to being able to come home in less than four hours this evening. I’ve spent almost twenty-four hours on the M4 already this year! Tour starts soon, then I can really start to log the motorway hours..

Rob

We don’t control our own page yet. I’m writing this blog to try and prove to them that I am who I say I am.

I just de-spammed all my blog posts.

“Your article was one of the most informative I have ever read on this subject, where do you get your information?”

..was a response to me talking about frozen peas. Hmm.Almost had me

I want to play a drinking game where someone is nominated to read a short story by HP Lovecraft, a horror writer from the first half of the last century. Whenever a horror is “indescribable”, “too terrible for words” or Lovecraft in any way cops out of an explaination or description, everybody drinks. Everyone would be hammered at the end of a 20-page story. He was a pretty solid gothic horror/fantasy writer, but he knew well that your own brain can scare you much better than he could. It is anybody’s guess whether he really was leaving it to our imaginations to fill in the blanks or if he was just very lazy.

I’ve eaten my bodyweight again! My waistline is looking little too festive now, and I feel like I’m at immediate risk of a heart attack. It’s hard to believe that only two months ago I was fit enough to run a half marathon!

I hope everybody in Automaticland has had a very merry Christmas. Rage Against The Machine are number one and snow has crippled the infrastructure of Britain, so put your feet up and chill out.

Bye bye!

In no particular order, albums that have for some reason or other mattered to me from the last ten years: -

At The Drive-In – Relationship of Command

Radiohead – In Rainbows

Million Dead – Song To Ruin

Why? – Alopecia

Future Of The Left – Curses!

Busdriver – Roadkill Overcoat

Muse – Origin Of Symmetry

Glassjaw – Worship And Tribute

Peeping Tom – Peeping Tom

Elbow – The Seldom Seen Kid

Have a listen to some samples from those albums here . Hopefully, you’ll find something you like!

..so, in the interest of internationalism, here’s my last post again, but in Esperanto: -

Mi estis malŝutonta la lumo por dormiĝi, kiam subite mi sentis min pli veke kaj vigle ol dum tuta hodiaǔ. Ŝajnas ke, ju pli mi lacas, des pli tio okazas. Mi intecas bone uzi ĉi-tiun krevon da energio, per skribado.
“Interstate’ havebliĝis ĉi-Lunde. Nia unua havebligo el nia brila, tut-nova rekord-haveblig-organizo, kiu nomiĝas Armoured Records. Ĝi estas sole elŝutebla, se oni ajn scivolis kie inferene ĝi estas! Ĝi iom ludiĝis ĉe Radio 1, kaj la filmeto aldoniĝis al la ludlisto ĉe MTV, sed vere, tio nur estas paŝeto – ĉi tiu rekord-haveblig-organizo afero ankoraǔ novas al ni! Ekscitas min, senti ke io okazas post jaro de skribado kaj planado!
Ni ludis (iom) senelektre trankvilatan “okcidentan marbordon”-stilan version de “Interstate” ĉe Live From Studio 5 ĉi-vespere. Estis tiom nereal-ŝajne, ludi kiam malantaǔ mi Ian Wright kaj Melinda Messenger dancas kaj kantas, sed tamen bonege. Eĉ miaj sonĝoj ne tiom strangas! Mi kredas ke ĝi fartis bone, sed mi iom formensiĝas kiam mi ludas, lastatempe. Mi vere ne konas tiel, kiel mi ludis. Mi pli malpli certas ke mi oreloj fermitis. Laǔŝajne, niaj koramikinoj multe preferas la senelektran version de “Interstate” anstataǔ la “ĝusta” versio. Mi ne certas kion pensi pri tio! Mia koramikino Ellen diris ke ĝi estas pli taǔga kaj pli komprenebla tiel, priskribinte ĝi  kiel nia “am-mesaĝo al Usono”. Tio estas tiom pli vort-lerta priskribo ol mi jam kreis, do mi ja ŝtelos tion! Koramikecoj estas tute pri partoprenado!
Ankaǔe, aliatage ni ludis “Lupino”, de Shakira (Ŝakira?). Aǔskultu ĉi-tie , je cirkaǔ 1:10:50 en la programon. Kaj estas kelkaj da niaj propraj kantoj tie, ankaǔ.
Ĝis!