The Swan of Meander

Friends,

As you know I’ve just finished up work on my second album, the follow up to 2010’s ‘The Devil And I’ (Bella Union) and I would like to share a song from it with you.

The song is entitled The Swan Of Meander and can be streamed by following the links below:

 
SOUNDCLOUD - http://soundcloud.com/lw-tl/lone-wolf-the-swan-of-meander

YOUTUBE - http://youtu.be/Wfl3OjHt6Sk

The Swan Of Meander is taken from my upcoming second album entitled ‘The Lovers’, which is due for release in the autumn of 2012.  It was recorded by James Kenosha, and Produced by Jon Foulger of Duels.  It features Blue Roses on backing vocals.

If you were a fan of ‘The Devil And I’ or even if you weren’t, The Swan of Meander certainly showcases a different sound for this record.

Enjoy, share, retweet, dance, laugh, cry, shout, don't whisper...

xxPaul Mxx

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Lone Wolf's top 10 Albums of 2011

Hi everyone. Long time no speak. I have been very busy writing, and recording the new album over the past few months which as i said in a tweet recently is 'frustratingly' close to being completed. I don't really want to reveal too much about that right now as i'd rather save that for 2012.

But as well as doing that i have been listening to a LOT of music, and i think this year has been a grand year for albums. It has been very tough to whittle down to 10 records just how much good stuff i have heard this year, but here is my top 10 albums of 2011.

If you haven't heard anything in the list, please take the time to go and buy it/at least give it a whirl on spotify. I intend to write a bit more detail on each record when i get the time.

SO! HERE WE GO!!!!!

10. tUnE-yArDs - Whokill

My lord, what a woman.  I heard 'Gangsta' on 6Music at the start of the year and it blew my mind.  I'm consistently fascinated by her use of crazy contemporary rhythms and crazy tribal sounding vocals.  She is an amazing talent and this is a fantastic album.  Not a duff track to be found.

Favourite track:  Gangsta

9. Cat's Eyes - Cat's Eyes











This is a record that caught me off guard.  I wasn't convinced at first, but the songs slowly burrowed their way into my head.  It's like a strange mix of songs that never quite made it into 1960s Bond movies.  A wonderful Scott Walker feel mixed with a theatrical melancholy.  I love the way a simple lyric like "I can see that she's better than me" can evoke such an emotional response from an old dawg like me.

Favourite track:  I'm Not Stupid

8.  Metronomy - The English Riviera

If there is a record that sums up the summer of 2011 for me then this is it.  The bass lines get my blood pumping, and are an awesome backdrop to this sun kissed intelligent pop album. Superb singles 'The Look' and 'She Wants' are effortlessly backed up by album tracks that pretty much all sound like singles.

Favourite track:  Corinne

7.  Wild Beasts - Smother

It's no secret that I class these guys as my brothers.  We have toured the UK and USA together, and Tom and I have had many a drunken argument after a bottle of wine or two.  But personal brotherly love aside, Wild Beasts are the only band I have ever toured with where i have watched the whole set every single night.  They just seem to deliver again and again.  This album is no exception.

It's silky smooth and confident in it's delivery.  Beautifully produced.  The vocals are up front and dry.  It's just lovely.

The climax of the record is simply epic too.  Glorious in fact.

Favourite track: End Come Too Soon

6.  The Horrors - Skying

Another album that came as a surprise, and possibly the first i have heard to kiss the early 90s indie scene (the good bit) as well as sounding like a Simple Minds album that was never released.

I love the energy on this record, and the way the bass and drums smack hard behind the synths to create driving track after driving track.  'Still Life' is possibly the greatest song of the year in my opinion.

 

Favourite track:  Still Life

5.  Ghostpoet - Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam

I grew up in London, well Essex (which seems to be a dirty word) and theres something about this album that conjures up an image of where i used to live.  I can't put my finger on it.  It makes me think of a tube ride into central London from Newbury Park in the rain, seeing the graffiti tags along the way.  Rather specific i know, but I get like this sometimes when i listen to music.  I hear images and those images become the music.
Ghostpoet isn't trying to show you how great he is.  He just tells you how he feels, and i like listening to him telling me.

Favourite track:  Liiines

4.  PJ Harvey - Let England Shake

I don't really know if i can say much about this album that hasn't already been said elsewhere.  It certainly appears to be a 'Marmite' album, but i have little idea why that could be.  I think it is mind-numbingly excellent.  The production is perfect, and i love the crazy things that other people seem to hate such as the bugle on 'Our Glorious Land' and the crazy tribal vocals in the background on 'England'.
This is a spectacular example of opinionated melancholy.  It never goes 'too far' in it's message.  The musicianship and backing vocals of her band are out of this world.  the production is second to none.
This album sat at the top spot on this list for quite some time until i realised just how much more i had been listening to the next three albums on this list.  An absolute masterpiece.

Favourite track:  Our Glorious Land

3.  The Soft Moon - Total Decay EP

It's MY list and i'll put an EP on it if i wish!  Do i make myself clear?

I'm afraid i am going to have to use a profanity here and say that this is simply fucking excellent!!!  I am a big Krautrock fan and the repetition on this EP is so masterfully done that i think that if the tracks were 10 times their length i would never get bored.  I myself am shocked and awed by the way that they basically manage to pull of a 4 minute track that is practically entirely percussion.  I am literally gagging for a new album.

If you are a fan of Can, Suicide or even Throbbing Gristle etc.  Just don't waste any more of your life and go and listen to this immediately!

Favourite track:  Alive

2.  John Maus - We Must Become The Pitiless Censors of Ourselves

Jesus, i love this album so, so much.  Basically if you play me some serious 80s synths, i'm anybodies.  It's almost like Rohypnol to me.  Now you know how to get your way with me if you see me outside a gig.  Just bring your Juno.

This album is like a reverb/delay drenched, chaos filled ride along a BASF C90 cassette.  It's sometimes manic in the way it pushes pop melodies into your face.  You would never guess that this sort of music would come out of Hawaii!  It sounds like an odd Little London in Los Angeles kind of vibe.  Some of the tracks ('Cop Killer' for example) wouldn't sound out of place if they were retrospectively added to the soundtrack of Robocop for example!

I feel an amazing sense of euphoria when i listen to this record, and hopefully you will too.

HELL YES.

Favourite track:  Believer

And the winner is....................................................

DRUMROLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

1. Peaking Lights - 936

Some of you may remember that towards the beginning of this year I was asking people if they could recommend me something to buy.  This was one of the suggestions and i was hooked immediately.

Repetition, repetition, repetition yet somehow never getting boring.  This record isn't Krautrock, it isn't Dub, it isn't Synth pop, it isn't indie,  but somehow it is all of these things, and then some. 

I remember listening to this in the van on my way to Belgium this summer and everything about this record making sense.  It just rolls, and rolls and rolls.

It's lo-fi, and somehow when you listen to this on vinyl (i was one of the lucky ones to get one of the 300 copies when it was first released) it only enhances the experience.  I'd say it leans towards something that you would be better off immersing yourself in on a warm summers day rather than the cold dark depths of winter.

I think i am actually in love with this record.  I genuinely do not know how to describe it properly, so do yourself a favour and give this album a proper listen.  A glass of wine and some headphones in front of a roaring fire at this time of year would probably be the best way.  So what exactly is stopping you?  Don't let me keep you.

Favourite track:  Marshmellow Yellow

So there you have it!  Do you agree with my choices?

I hope you have enjoyed reading my ramblings.  Tell me about your favourites too.  Either here or on Twitter/Facebook.

If you don't hear from me again this year, have a very, very, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

xxPaul Mxx

A few T-Shirts remain!

Hi guys.

I know i'm quiet at the moment but i thought i'd remind you that there are still a few of first ever batch of Lone Wolf t-shirts left. They were designed by the wonderful Fran Rodgers a.k.a. Lazy Dane (www.lazydane.co.uk) and they look like this:

They are really good quality 'Gildan Soft Style' t-shirts (think American Apparel style) and are silver ink on either Black or Navy Blue.

This is a LIMITED RUN of 100! So be quick and get one while you can.

They are £15 each + P&P and are available in the following sizes:

Mens:

S - (34-36 inch chest)
M - (38-40)
L - (42-44)
XL - NOW SOLD OUT IN BOTH COLOURS!

Women's Skinny:

S - (8-10 inch chest) NAVY SOLD OUT! - STILL A FEW BLACK REMAINING
M - (12-14) NAVY SOLD OUT! ONLY 1 BLACK REMAINING!


If you would like to order one, just select your gender, colour and size below to pay via paypal and i'll ensure one is sent out a.s.a.p.

To order a MEN'S TEE: Colour/Size Black - S Navy - S Black - M Navy - M Black - L Navy - L

And to order a WOMEN'S SKINNY TEE: Colour/Size Black - S (Skinny Fit) Black - M (Skinny Fit)

And that's about it! Enjoy.

Please can people leave a comment before ordering from overseas so i can make sure the correct P&P is applied to your order and also i am at the mercy of Paypal, so should you have any problems please let me know asap!

Cheers folks! I'm off to shoot a music video. more about that soon.

xxPaul Mxx

Final shows for a while...All horses gallop to Kingston.

Hi all.

As you know I/we don't come out too often. Right now I am demoing like mad in my little den in Leeds as the new album is slowly taking shape. I think it's a good thing to not play for a while and put my attention fully into this.

But, before i close the door for a while i have decided to play a small headline show for one of my old pals Del Noble who originally put me on when i still went under my own name a while back.

The show (a full band one) is going to take place at The Cricketers in Kingston on Good Friday (April 22nd). Tickets are priced at a tiny £4 each and only a few are going to be released for pre-sale.
Otherwise it is going to be £5 on the door so get down nice and early.
It is only a small room (150 cap) and so we thought this would be a nice intimate setting for this show.

Tickets are not on sale yet, so stay tuned as i'll be posting up the links as they become available. Supports TBC.

London folk, it's only a short train ride from waterloo and the last train back is at about midnight.

So basically, my/our last 3 shows before I descend into writing/recordingville are:

22nd April - The Cricketers, Kingston (Supports TBC)
23rd April - La Fleche D'Or, Paris FR (w/ The Strange Death Of Liberal England)
24th April - Pacrock Festival, Pont A Celles, BE

Lote of love.

xxPaul Mxx

Wikipedia

Check me out and my lack of disambiguation!

Thanks Miss Fletcher

Wikipedia

An new house made of web coming soon...

Hi all.

I am sick to death of myspace.

I will continue to ramble on Facebook and Twitter. Music already released will be available on last.fm and Bandcamp etc, but I am currently in the process, with the help of my best friend Rob Wills, of building a new website.

This blog will be integrated into it and it will still be under the same address. But when it is complete it will be here and only here that you will find the most up to date news, dates, sounds, photos etc.

I think Myspace, Facebook etc have actually taken away the importance, and personal nature of a band's website. I want to be able to welcome you to my own part of the web in which you will find treats that i personally have chosen to give you.
Of course i always reply to you on twitter and facebook, but on my website you will always see/hear/read what i have chosen to give you and you can't get much more personal than that.

Coming soon!

xxPaul Mxx

Tonight's Paris show *CANCELLED* (To be rescheduled), an apology...

Hello everyone.

I am deeply heartbroken to announce that tonight's show at La Fleche D'or in Paris is having to be rescheduled due to the fact that our splitter van broke down in the middle of the night on our way to the euro tunnel and could not be repaired. This is basically what happened:

We set off from Leeds at 6pm yesterday with the intention of getting to London for 10pm. Van was packed and beers were cold. We broke down literally 10 mins after we set off due to the 'EDC' (Electronic Diesel Control) light coming on and the engine actually cutting out while we were driving own the motorway which was pretty scary. Our driver/sound guy Pete managed to coast onto the hard shoulder where we waited for the AA to arrive for about 90mins whilst the van was leaking Diesel all over the motorway, trying to figure out where at 8pm we would be able to hire an alternative vehicle (there was 7 of us and a LOT of equipment). The Euro Sonic festival is currently happening in Holland and so nearly every person/company we could think of simply did not have a vehicle to hire us even if they were open, so it was going to have to be this van or nothing!
After being towed safely from the motorway into a car park (where we actually witnessed dogging - true) the gentleman from AA combined with a helpful man on the phone from a 24hr garage managed to diagnose the problem and got it fixed. We were all very excited and as i tweeted, we were back on the road and Paris was back on, despite the fact that this was now about 11pm (we should have already been in London) and so we knew we wouldn't exactly be sleeping on this journey, but who cares?? Paris was the mot important thing to us.

2 hours later, just as our spirits had reached thier peak, the van jolted, the warning lights came back on and the engine cut out again, and we were forced back onto the hard shoulder to wait for another AA representative and hope that he might be able to at least fix it so maybe we could get to London. After waiting for this AA person for another 90mins (now getting on for 2am), he seemed positive at first as he towed us a few miles down the motorway to Watford Gap services, where the van stood once again leaking diesel like a running tap.

Then possibly the worst quote ever came out of his mouth, "I'm afraid you won't be going to Paris in this vehicle". Basically the van needed urgent attention at a garage and a fuel pipe replacement was the only thing that could get it on the road. You have to bear in mind that it was now approaching 3am and we were in the middle of nowhere. There were no garages that we could guarantee would have the part in stock to get us back on the road, no place we could hire another van from in time to get us to the Euro Tunnel, and it seemed like the only feasible option was to get towed all the way back to where we started, Leeds.

This was when we knew it was all over:

I personally got back through my front door at 5am, whilst Pete and Kenosha had to stay with the van as the vehicle giving us a lift home was not big enough to fit us all in. They got home at something like 8am this morning (remember we were supposed to be in Folkstone catching the euro tunnel at 9am).

Myself, the band, Pete and Elizabeth (Paris promoter) have all been banging our heads together to try and come up with another solution to get us all to Paris today, and we have all agreed that in the interest of the sheer quality of the show, due to the fact that none of us have really slept and by the time we would get there the place would be closing, it is better for everyone if we reschedule the show for a later date this year and do it properly.

We rely on vehicles everyday to get us from place to place, and i suppose that sometimes we have to accept that this kind of incident is 100% out of our hands and it really does just 'happen' sometimes and no amount of forward planning can really foresee what happened to us last night/this morning.

Paris, you know i adored playing for you when i toured with Philip Selway in September so to have to reshedule this really breaks my heart. I can only hope you can find it in your hearts to accept my deepest, deepest apologies, try to understand our situation and rest in the knowledge that we WILL be coming back. And i really mean that!

For people who already have tickets, i have heard that 'A Gauche De La Lune' are sorting out a great band to replace us this evening so do head down to La Fleche D'or regardless and then continue to watch this space for future announcements.

Ladies and Gentlemen, my apologies once again and i/we really hope to see you again very, very soon.

Yours regretfully,

Paul M

Lone Wolf T-Shirts! NOW ON SALE!

Ladies and Gentlemen the time has come!

This is the first ever batch of Lone Wolf t-shirts designed by the wonderful Fran Rodgers a.k.a. Lazy Dane (www.lazydane.co.uk) and they look like this:

They are really good quality 'Gildan Soft Style' t-shirts (think American Apparel style) and are silver ink on either Black or Navy Blue.

This is a LIMITED RUN of 100! So be quick and get one while you can.

They are £15 each + P&P and are available in the following sizes:

Mens:

S - (34-36 inch chest)
M - (38-40)
L - (42-44)
XL - NOW SOLD OUT IN BOTH COLOURS!

Women's Skinny:

S - (8-10 inch chest) ONLY 2 NAVY REMAINING!
M - (12-14) NAVY SOLD OUT! ONLY 2 BLACK REMAINING!

I must state again that this is a limited run of 100 and so some sizes such as Men's Large and XL are extremely limited.

If you would like to order one, just select your gender, colour and size below to pay via paypal and i'll ensure one is sent out a.s.a.p. Any remaining stock i have will be sold at the merch counter at my upcoming shows.

To order a MEN'S TEE: Colour/Size Black - S Navy - S Black - M Navy - M Black - L Navy - L

And to order a WOMEN'S SKINNY TEE: Colour/Size Black - S (Skinny Fit) Navy - S (Skinny Fit) Black - M (Skinny Fit)

And that's about it! Enjoy.

Please can people leave a comment before ordering from overseas so i can make sure the correct P&P is applied to your order and also i am at the mercy of Paypal, so should you have any problems please let me know asap!

Take care folks and see you next week in Leeds and Paris! Got your tickets yet? Word on the street is that they are going fast!

xxPaul Mxx

Lone Wolf's Top 10 of 2010

Hey folks!

It's that time of year where i am laying in bed with the Flu, contemplating my favourite 10 albums of the year. I've changed it about 10 times as i felt i had to be honest as to which i really did enjoy the most and not just putting in which i think 'should' be there. Thats why i have added the honourable mentions at the end, but i suggest if you haven't, you should check out these albums:


10.Wild Nothing - Gemini

This was a nice surprise. I bought this on recommendation and i kind of dismissed it at first, but it was actually my friend Josh (boyfriend of Laura Groves) who simply would not let me pull the plug on it. And you know what, he was right. It's a great collection of songs which has clear influence from bands like The Cure for example with is chorus drenched guitars and reverb covered vocals. A great album.

Favourite Track: Live In Dreams


9. Napoleon IIIrd - Christiania

You may think i'm biased as it is no secret that Nappy plays in my band. But you must remember that the people i choose to participate in Lone Wolf, i choose because they are ace! In Napoleon IIIrd's case, that was based on his first record and his last EP.
This album sees him finding a much larger, digital sound with nods to the likes of Animal Collective. The choruses are of such power that i'm sure that if i concentrated hard enough i coulad actually hear them being chanted from Christiania itself! A wonderful record. Let's all go to Christiania.

Favourite Track: This Town


8. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Well this was a shock i can tell you that! I didn't think i'd even want to like a record by someone who barges on stage and ruins someone's award moment. But that's the beauty of being able to separate one's personal issues from the music emanating from the speakers. We've all heard rappers describing how great they are and how much money they have, but on this record Kanye genuinely sounds pissed off with the world and he conveys it in a very believable manner over well chosen samples from the likes of King Crimson and collaborations with many folks including Bon Iver! Definitely worth checking out even if you have never really been into what he has done in the past.

Favourite Track: Gorgeous


7. Edwyn Collins - Losing Sleep

For a man that has been through a living hell that not many of us will ever even begin to understand, to make a record this good on your return is simply astonishing. Although saying that, it would have been great regardless of any back story. The collaborations between Collins and Ryan Jarman, The Drums, Franz Ferdinand and Johnny Marr are all excellent. It is on my favourite track "I Still Believe In You" when you hear Collins really sound deep and defiant.

Favourite Track: I Still Believe In You


6. Menomena - Mines

This is a really intriguing record that i discovered quite late this year. It's kind of like a blend between TV on the Radio and Why?. The songs are often heavily layers with fuzzy bass and nice synths. The production is outstandingly well put together. This is the record that i'm struggling to write about in a short paragraph because it's just so varied.
It's just ace!!

Favourite Track: Tithe


5. John Grant - Queen Of Denmark

This is a record that took it's time with me. But Jesus (JC) am i glad i persevered. I had the privilege of playing along side John this summer and it really brought alive what this record is all about. This man has had a tough life and whilst some of us (myself included) choose to look back and feel down about things and maybe record music that sounds as down as the emotions you are feeling, he has managed to make a wonderful, tongue in cheek account of his experiences full of black humour and sarcasm. His voice is stunning and he just has a truly magnificent musical persona.

Favourite Track: Chicken Bones


4. Beach House - Teen Dream

Beach House come back proving that the 'difficult' third album is really just a myth. Saying that, i don't know how difficult it was for them to put together, but to this listener it certainly sounds effortless and magnificent. This record just has an air of confidence about it that the previous two didn't lack as such, but maybe didn't display in as vast quantity as this one. I love the way that Victoria Legrand can just take the simplest of lyrics and make them sound heart wrenching. An example would be on the album closer where over and over she simply sings "I'll take care of you, if you ask me to". It brings tears to my eyes and i believe her. A potential future wedding song for me and my missus i think.

Favourite Track: Norway


3. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

What an amazing record this is. Arcade Fire have pulled themselves back from the opinion dividing 'Neon Bible' (I actually really liked it) with a record of extreme magnitude. As soon as opener 'The Suburbs' starts you know that Arcade Fire have maybe gone through some kind of revision. A little less Springsteen and a bit more Neil Young maybe? Either way, it works and just demonstrates the versatility of the song writing. On this record you hear more in the way of synths, processed beats here and there and in general just rather ambitious in places, notably 'Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)' which nods more towards 'The Knife' in it's influence. Genius. The top 3 for me this year has been hard to place.

Favourite Track: Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)


2. The National - High Violet

When i first heard 'Terrible Love' i thought, 'right, thats The National again alright'. A little dismissal as maybe I just thought it was them doing the same thing again. How wrong i was. I liked the album, i listened again, I really liked the album, I listened again, I loved the album, i listened again i really loved the album etc.
The songs on this record are heart achingly beautiful. They have a way of just getting better with every listen, to the point where you actually wonder if this band are capable of writing a bad song! The lyrics are poetic as ever, "What makes you think i'm enjoying being lead to the flood?" (Runaway), and the melodies just build using such beautiful subtle means. A triumph and a close fight for the top spot.

Favourite Track: Runaway



1. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today

What can i say about this wonderful, intriguing, masterful record! I first heard Ariel Pink in a record shop (it was his Scared Famous album) in Greenwich and it was one of those situations where i had to ask the guy behind the counter "ere mate! Who's this you're playing??". That was when he was still using (what sounds like) paper to record on. Extremely lo-fi, distorted recordings, but underneath i just knew this guy had 'something'. This album is living proof. There is not a single track on this album that i dislike. The whole thing sounds wonderful and just makes you think of summer in Los Angeles in a strange 1970's style 2010. I could write a whole blog on this record so i'll just leave it there and say please, please just listen to and love this record. It's an absolute gem.

Favourite Track(s): Fright Night, Round & Round

Honourable mentions which are basically albums that were on the list, then off, then on then off in a sea of indescision:

Pulled Apart By Horses - Self Titled
Gayngs - Relayted
Perfume Genius - Learning
Sufjan Stevens - The Age Of Adz
Badly Drawn Boy - This Is What I'm Thinking Pt1: Photographing Snowflakes
Benoit Piolard - Lasted
Field Music - Measure

And many more!

But there you go! Thats my 2010 faves. What about yours? Comment and let me know! What have i missed?

Take care all and Merry, Merry Christmas! See you all in 2011.

xxPaul Mxx

Update/2011 Shows...

Hi everyone.

So just to let you know what is going on in the Marshall world.

Right now i am already knee deep into writing the new album. Yes, i know The Devil And I was actually released little more than 6 months ago (do you have your copy yet?), but i have refused to slip into laziness and i have pounced upon this bizarre train of creativity i seem to have hopped on.

I'm obviously not going to reveal too much about it just yet, but i can safely say it's a step on from the last record and not so dark this time. Don't worry, i find it very hard to write anything other than sad songs, but let's just say that murder hasn't popped up as a topic...yet. ;)

So anyway, I/we do not plan to tour as such at this stage, but however the full band are going to do a few special one off headline appearances in early 2011. I'd love to see you at one of these below:

JAN 12th 2011 @ BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB - LEEDS
w/ BLUE ROSES + MI MYE
£5



Tickets:

WEGOTTICKETS: http://www.wegottickets.com/event/99848

SEETICKETS: http://www.setickets.com/S.asp?A=Lone+Wolf%2B+Blue+Roses&P=5938

TICKETWEB: http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/user/region=gb_northeast&query=detail&event=419285&interface

CRASH - http://crashrecords.co.uk/online/product.php?xProd=9934&xSec=209


JAN 14TH 2011 @ LA FLECHE D'OR - PARIS, FRANCE
w/ 1973
More info TBC


WEEKEND OF JAN 28th 2011 @ TANNED TIN FESTIVAL - CASTELLION, SPAIN
w/ FAUST, XIU XIU, THURSTON MOORE + LOADS MORE

Tickets onsale soon! Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/tannedtin?v=wall

FEB 5th 2011 @ THE KAZIMIER - LIVERPOOL
w/ STEALING SHEEP + OWLS*
£8



Tickets: http://tiny.cc/soundwilderness - http://tiny.cc/seelone

If you are interested in booking a show, please contact my booking agent Mark here: mark@elasticartists.net

Take care everyone!

xxPaul Mxx

Duels - The Barbarians Move In - The finest album to come out of the UK in the past 10 years?

A bold statement.

Not too long ago i was reading over Leeds Music Forum on which there was a thread giving Phoenix a bit of a slagging because they had said something along the lines of the fact that there hadn't been a single GREAT (this is a word you'll have to get used to in this post) album to come out of the UK since My Bloody Valentine's Loveless. This sparked off quite a stink as you can imagine, but although not being the worlds biggest Phoenix fan i wouldn't usually take their opinion with much more than the proverbial grain of salt. However, other than maybe OK Computer, 13 and Screamadelica, there weren't THAT many suggestions that people could really fit into the category of 'greatness'.

Obviously what one classes as 'great' can be argued, however there are certain albums in history that even if it is not personally liked by yourself, you can't deny the impact of i.e. Sgt Pepper, Dark Side Of The Moon (which i do not personally care for too much).

But if we bring the time scale forward a little to involve only the past decade, i think a whole new picture has been painted. In the age of the internet you no longer need a record deal in order to release your record (not that you ever did but that's besides the point), and what that means is that the sheer volume of records out there that go 'unheard' is astronomical, and so one cannot be blamed for missing something that has slipped under the radar.

I could spend all day contemplating what has been 'great' in the past 10 years. If i opened this up to a worldwide scale you'd have albums like Scott Walker's 'The Drift' to contend with, however i am talking solely about the UK.

So after much deliberation, and spending the hours in which i cannot sleep contemplating, i truthfully feel i should tell you all about an album by Duels called The Barbarians Move In. Originally signed to Virgin ('let go' after their first album) and promised the world, for the bands second record (TBMI) was released on a smaller indie label 'This Is Fake DIY Records' in 2008.

So now comes the difficult task of describing what makes this record so, well, great! I'll try and keep it as brief as possible by picking some choice moments. It's not an easy task because if i could describe every note on this record to you, i would.

Press play... after a small synth swell BANG, we are straight in. It feels like even on the first guitar riff of 'The Furies' along with the thumping kick drum, you just know this album is gonna be 'serious'. This feeling is exaggerated with the sound of what could be banshees yelping in the distance. Jon Foulger's voice is unsettling, yet beautiful as he delivers the line "we will find you, and we will show no mercy".

This 'darkness' is a theme throughout the entire album and so many of you reading this will probably assume that it appeals to me for this reason, but the quality of song writing, lyrics, performances simply cannot be denied.

""Awww, why you always sleepy?" Do your black wings beat like the black eyed crow?"

'Regeneration' is one of the most exciting pieces of composition i have heard in more than the 10 years in question. And it is just that... It's exciting. When hearing James Kenosha's almost tribal drums you'd be forgiven for referencing Marilyn Manson's 'The Beautiful People', but only for the rhythm i assure you, what follows is an onslaught of musical brilliance. The banshees are back again, backed by jagged, distorted guitars, building up to the epic chorus of "Save what you can (We're regenerating)". Katherine Botterill's backing vocal sends shivers up my spine with the back drop of crashing guitars. But it's when the song dips in volume, as Jon makes us squirm in our seats with the lyric "soon enough i told you, soon enough i said" that we are about to be granted with a final farewell. This comes in the form of a sheer barrage of crunch covered guitars as the chorus ascends one last time. It really is an exhilarating experience, and one that is hard to put into words.

"So tell me everything, what caved you in? When did Barbarians quietly move in?"

Besides the simply astounding musical performances on this record, the lyrical content is extremely poetic, and ranges from complexity to down right simplicity. It is very hard to find a balance between these two ends of the scale, but Jon Foulger manages to pull this off at a high level. One of my favourite examples of this is on 'The Perimeter Fence'. After the sparse drum intro and acoustic guitar, you can almost feel the desperation as Foulger simply says, "Nothing ever changed did it?". What follows is the opposite end of the scale, "your mother got her teeth fixed, but still she says the same things". But there is something about that opening line and the way it is delivered. The fact that he is both telling us, and asking us such a simple question to which we all know the answer. For such a simple lyric to have such a dramatic effect on me is very rare.

"The birds sing to the tune 'I told you so'"

The piano chord sequence on The Healing makes me marvel. Part of it's brilliance is that when it's trucking along with the kick drum and tambourine in the background, you think you've got the measure of it. The backing vocals have a 'Sympathy for the Devil' feel to them. But the chorus of this song is a perfect example of what makes this record such a gem. Foulger sings "All i need now is the healing" over this wonderful unexpected ascension of chords, that are almost uplifting behind the upsetting lyric.
When the strings are finally introduced along with Maher's fuzzy bass line, it really is the icing on the cake, building up to an ending with the same pace as where we started.

"I have had my piece of the frauds and the sluts"

My favourite track on the album is called "The First Time/The Last Time". The echoes of a suicidal person maybe, or just a cry of desperation, "I want to hear the church bells ringing out for the last time". With this song we really are entering an emotional territory that i find difficult to put into words. The vocal delivery is flawless, it almost has a Bowie like quality to it. Just a single acoustic guitar over a backdrop of ambient noise which builds and builds, a kick drum, and those lyrics... those lyrics. "We all stood there living proof that all things must come to pass". This song genuinely brings tears to my eyes. Every single time i hear it.

"Silent prayers on a tossing sea, Is there any hope for me?


The album closer, title track "The Barbarians Move In" is the perfect example of how to close an album of this calibre. Beautifully and dramatically. As the strings sweep and swell, there is almost an air of Portishead. With a chorus that relies on nothing other than the strong string arrangement and a collection of vocals all chanting the same line together. Simply song writing at it's best.

"I could chew through the walls and meet you on the outside, I could dash out your brains under moonlit skies or I could show you some forgiveness for all the time"

As i said above, i could sit here an describe every song, note,lyric, string arrangement, vocal and everything else on this record, but i feel i would be simply repeating myself over and over as i try to convey my love for this record. I know i haven't mentioned Wolvesland, This Year's Man etc but i feel like i've given you enough evidence that you would be a fool to not at least hear this album.
So all i can do is give you this link (provided by the band, and totally legal) where you can download the album for free: http://www.duelsmusic.co.uk/mp3/duels_tbmi_090599.zip

I just feel i should say a little something to clear up any peoples opinions that may think i am biased, as is it no secret that Jon Foulger and James Kenosha play in my live band. I had listened to this album a long time before I ever met Jon. I kind of knew James (ish), but it was only when my close friend Fran Rodgers started a relationship with Jon that i got to know him. So, as you can imagine, feeling the way i do about this record, it can only be described as an honour that when i asked them to be a part of my band, they said yes.

So, there you have it. Duels - The Barbarians Move In. The greatest album to come out of the UK in the past 10 years? I think so. And remember, it's just my opinion.

xxPaul Mxx

Philip Selway + Europe + Jaques

Hello everyone.

Just like the start of the last blog i've been a bit busy demoing it up right now and so i've neglected this here blog for awhile.

So let me tell you a bit about my jaunt with Philip Selway around Europe.

Well, actually it started with a sold out headline show for us at La Peniche in Lille. Myself, Laura Groves (aka Blue Roses) and Laura's man Josh hit the road in the 'dad mobile' at a silly early time in order to make the drive from Leeds to Lille which is a pretty long one i can tell you.
It was my first Eurotunnel experience. What a cold, dark place! But it gets us to france in like half an hour so who's complaining right?

The venue in Lille was on a boat next to a funfair, and it was the first of our 3 experiences of working with a wonderfully helpful crew. I feel like i've been on a roll with that of late.
It was lovely to see so many people come down. There was no support and so to fill this place up for what was technically the first ever Lone Wolf head liner was pretty nice. It was also nice to meet a couple of my long term fans. One of which (Claudia) travelled all the way from Amsterdam to be there and Audrey travelled up from Paris. We did a 60 min set which saw me doing an encore of Greenfly which i don't think i have played live since SXSW 2009.

When you travel and play gigs with a small group of people, you tend to go a bit nuts. Even if it's just for one night. So i got this daft mirror application on my iphone and took a photo of my face. The image in this picture was pretty startling and after many beers he became an entity of his own. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Jaques:



We like to think that Jaques floats up and down the corridors of the hotels we stay in warding off burglars and other criminals. He has no limbs, but he can just 'make things happen'. He also (though not often) talks out of his tear ducts...
Yes. all three of us are mad. Did you never realise?

So the next day we headed off to Brussels:



We met up with Mr Selway and his crew who were as welcoming as ever. The AB Club in Brussels is a pretty special venue indeed.
I wish i could say the same about our hotel...

Ladies and gentlemen this is a plea... If you ever go to Brussels and you are taken in by the cheap prices of 'Hotel Barry' just look away and find something else! It was one of the scariest experiences ever!
We picked up our key (and TV remote control... WTF??) at the front desk and were directed though a fast food restaurant to a door on the other side. When we walked through the door we literally had to climb over a pile of bin bags to get up the stairs to which we were greeted by some snails on the ceiling. Our room was this dingy, stinky little place that had FIVE beds jammed into it. There was a phone on the wall that had been melted by someone, filthy carpets, the drawer on the desk was stained with what genuinely looked like blood, the shower was falling to pieces. We sat and contemplated if we should just sack it off and go to stay somewhere else, but money wasn't permitting so we dealt with it. Granted, i pushed a bed up against the door when we slept... Even Jaques didn't make it to this hotel. He slept in the car.

Josh and the melted phone:




But anyway, the show was a delight. I got to meet a bunch more dedicated fans before heading out to a bar and fully utilising the fact that i was in Belgium. It's not often that you can just get a Maredsous 8 or a Westmalle Tripel on draft so i thought id drink myself to death before braving Hotel Barry! Myself and my moustache cause quite a stir in the gay bar we were drinking in and i had to turn the barman down which was much to Laura and Josh's amusement.

We survived the night in Hotel Barry and just like something from a comedy film, i happened to just take a glance out of the window to see Phil's tour bus pulling away and driving past our hotel. It was one of those "DON'T LEAVE US HERE!!! TAKE US WITH YOU!!!!" moments. We checked out, paid (begrudgingly) and set off for Paris.

How i adore Paris. I think i've been there like 4 times now and never have i been disappointed. The city just bleeds a certain charm that you very rarely find elsewhere.
Tonight the crowd were (sorry UK) by far the best i have ever had. Despite the fact that both my guitars decided to break during the set, i have never had such a loud rection. I felt like i was a head liner to be honest! So thank you Paris. Audrey showed up again to get her second Lone Wolf dose for the week.

After the show Laura, Josh and I finally got to spend a little time with Philip and his band/crew/management and we all went out for cocktails. A wonderful end to a short, but lovely trip to Europe. I can safely say that Mr Selway is among the most wonderfully lovely people i have ever met in my entire life. I also managed not to get too gushy about Radiohead!







Anyway, it's 13:15, im still in my pyjamas and i have songs to write, plus im going to go down and say hi to Anna (Our Broken Garden) who is shooting her new video in Leeds with Ashley Dean right now.

Take care all and speak to you all again soon.

Much love!

xxPaul Mxx

USA Tour Part 4 - Los Angeles

Hey dudes! Sorry!

Believe it or not i actually have spent the majority of the week a) being really ill and b) being extremely creative with about 4 new songs demoed (with no vocals due to the illness) and i'm about to record something else. This really is a rare phenomenon. The Paul Marshall species of man generally writes about 1 song every 1-2 months so fuck knows whats happened. Maybe i smashed it in so hard at Leeds Festival i managed to awaken a dormant part of my brain!

So that is the reason that this blog is arriving on your digital doormat so late!

Anyway the city of Angels.....

This blog starts of with a rather amusing tale about the plane ride there. I had a sad time leaving New York as i felt like i wasn't done there yet but i had to remind myself i wasn't on holiday and there's gigs to be played!
I sat on the plane in the aisle seat next to a rather large man who resembled a viking. He really did! But the worst thing was that this man really did reek. It wasn't B.O. in fact it was more like a combination of out of date milk mixed with really sweet strawberry yoghurt. Now bearing in mind that the flight was 6 hours, i wasn't too impressed but y'know, what can you do.
So i'm sitting there and just as we taxi to the runway the guy starts shifting around and looking pretty uncomfortable. Out of nowhere he suddenly at max volume lets out and almighty "BBBBLLLLEEUUUURRRGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!" as he wretches about to vomit all over me! Naturally i jump out of my skin (and my chair) and i'm like, "Dude are you ok?". He replied saying he'd eaten some horrid airport food and that he "should be able to keep it down". Hmmmm. I wasn't satisfied with that! ha ha. I only had one pair of jeans with me and i was going on stage that evening so the last thing i wanted was to be covered in viking vomit! I kindly offered him the aisle seat so he could run to the toilet if need be.
So i was sitting in the middle seat now gripping the arms of the seats in anticipation of the take off wondering if he was going to make it or not! He did...just! As the plane got to an altitude high enough to take your selt belt off, he literally flew down the aisle and into the loo to be sick. Poor bugger. But at that point myself and the pretty lady next to me had realised that we hadn't acknowledged eachothers existence. We looked at eachother and the moment our eyes met we both just burst out into roaring uncontrollable laughter! Horrible i know but that first 30 mins was a tense time, and that release of the laughter set me up for one of the most fun flights i've ever had. The lady in question turned out to be a fashion designer from New York called Mina Stone (http://minastone.com) and we got on like a house on fire. We had a glass of wine or two and chatted for pretty much the whole flight. I'm now pleased to say i've found a new pal in New York and we are still in touch on facebook etc.

After landing at LAX i met my good pals Jen And Chris (who actually cameo in the KYEOTR video) who had flown over from Denver just to come and see me which was a lovely touch. They gave me a lift back to my hotel to which i was greeted by the strangest headboards you have ever seen. Welcome to LA. I got the breasts and Tom F got the legs:



The venue for the gig was quite literally stunning! A huge ballroom type place with large chandeliers hanging from the celing.
I think the LA crowd were the most receptive of the entire trip. One thing i found about playing in America is that if you mention how much you love the towns tyou are playing in, you seem to win them over! ha ha. All i had to do here was mumble a sound that happened to resemble 'LA' into the mic and they went NUTS! I really enjoyed this show and i was really glad that it was the one my publishers in the US came to see. I also met a guy called Paul Bryan who i'll talk about more later.

So the next day the time came to say my final farewell to the beasts. I stayed an extra 3 days in LA and they were going off to play a festival in San Francisco. I was really gutted i couldn't go with them. I had seen some cities in the USA that i never thought i would get the chance to, and having made it over as far as the west coast, but not seeing San Fran was a kick in the balls, plus being in LA all on my own seemed pretty daunting with no car. Luckily Jen and Chris were around for one more day!
But anyway i went to a little place called 'The Den of Hollywood' where i enjoyed some 'red velvet pancakes'! My missus Sofi will tell you that i'm not the biggest fan of pancakes for breakfast, but i thought when in Rome and im really glad i did! These were amazing:



So i went to Santa Monica/Venice Beach with my pals and we took a drive up the pacific coast highway. We went out for mexican food which was awesome and basically just hung out as long as we could because we knew that it would probably be a long time before we saw eachother again. Venice really was a place full of crazy people, but the coast was beautiful.



I basically then spent my last couple of days wandering around Hollywood like a billy no mates, until the last night. Remeber that guy Paul Bryan who i mentioned earlier? He is a friend of my US manager and he did the whole "Hey Paul (B), my artist Lone Wolf is in LA go and take him out" thing. I had never properly met this guy before and so i was wondering what kind of an evening it was going to be, but i had a good feeling about it.
So Paul picks me up and takes me to the greatest seafood restaurant i have ever been to called "The Hungry Cat". I looked at the menu and some of these meals were hitting the $30/40 mark. I looked at him as if to say "shit man this is a pricey joint" to which he replied, "hey man you don't have to worry about that, i'm taking you out tonight!". I was obviously taken aback by this man's generosity and instantly trying to get him to let me pay for the drinks or ANYTHING but he wouldn't have it. It turns out that Paul is a sting arranger, producer and session musician for a lot of people. He is currently working with Aimee Mann and they are writing a musical together. He is also married and expecting a baby with Emily Procter who is an actress in 'CSI: Miami'.
The meal was simply great as was the company. He turned out to be such a great guy and full of inspiration to me. I think getting him to arrange some strings for the next record isn't out of the question!
This is what we started with:



You also need to look to the left of the picture to notice the awesome cocktail that Paul was drinking. It was a cucumber Martini. Hendricks gin, vodka(?) and purified cucumber. Hell yeah. I had a cocktail later called a 'Brother Jake' which was Rum, Tequila and pure squeezed Orange Juice. Stunning.
So i don't want to tell you what the meal came to price wise, but lets just say Paul, if you are reading this I owe you one big time! You are a diamond among men!

So that pretty much brings the USA tour to a close. I really did have a wonderful time and i met some great, great people who i am staying in touch with. I really cannot wait to go back! I hope you have enjoyed reading this mess. A massive, massive thanks to everyone at Bella Union/Yep Roc/Red Eye/ Blue Mountain.

USA... you have made it onto my list of things marked 'GOOD'. I salute you.

xxPaul Mxx

USA Tour Part 3 - New York, New York

So i took a break from writing this blog to go to Leeds Festival. I'm not even sure if anyone reads it and the painstaking minutes of my life that i while away here re-counting my trip across the globe may fall on 'deaf eyes' (im gonna use that as a lyric) but what the hell.

I arrived in New York and the first thing i saw literally was a teenager standing in the train station wearing a baseball shirt that just said 'WANG' on the back and so i found that hilarious.
I emerged from Penn station to see the Empire State Building and walked past Madison Square Garden on my way to my hotel. I was already in awe of this city. You have to bear in mind that it was my first visit to a city that gets nothing but praise from everyone i have ever known that has been there.
I met up with my new friend Mona Dehghan from Domino Records and she took me out for some food, then down to the lower east side where we basically got blind drunk. The Beasts turned up and were apparently just having a meal sat next to Lady Gaga in the restaurant next door who was donning nothing other than a barely nipple covering top and a pair of knickers. Thats hygiene for you!

So the next day i met up with my US manager Jake to head out and do some promo. On the way to the emusic office i passed the Flat Iron building which is easily up there with the coolest things i have ever seen:



Then i went on to play my first of what i didn't know were going to be some bizarre promo slots! I played at a pizza party in the emusic office. Now that was odd. Everyone there was lovely (as was the pizza) but it was about 12pm in the afternoon on a blazing hot day in the office with me sitting there playing my death songs to a bunch of dudes eating pizza! ha ha. I managed to flex my Swedish talking skills with a lady there called Pernilla before moving on to the next one. We took a cab over to the Highline Park which is basically a dis-used train line now converted into a park.
I played a version of '15 Letters' and 'Keep Your Eyes On The Road' for some cool folks called 'The Wild Honey Pie'. You can see the sessions here:

http://vimeo.com/14129277

http://vimeo.com/14125806

After that i enjoyed a Cucumber and Watermelon ice lolly (i refuse to say popsicle just because i was in the USA!) and proceeded to head to the venue. It was a gorgeous place, but it was a shame it was located right next to a meat supermarket called 'Western Beef' so in the choking humidity the whole street just stank of DEATH!
I got some nice footage of me and Tom Fleming singing Scott Walker's 'Farmer In The City' as a vocal warm up backstage then went out and played! It was one of those gigs where i thought i'd played shit, but it seemed like the NY crowd were really digging it. They made me feel ridiculously welcome in their city, and after reading a few blogs and reviews about it it seems that it didn't sound so bad from out front! :)

Tom and i went back to our hotel that night and continued drinking Jameson's till about 2am while once again, listening to more Scott Walker. Bearing in mind that he had to be up at 6am to catch a flight to LA and i could just lounge around in bed.

So, i got up and went to do more promo in NY which started wiha nice gig in the office for the lovely folks at Relix magazine, then i decided to throw my guitar back into my hotel and leg it to the Empire State Building. There was no way i was going to visit NY and not go up there!



I then had my final piece of promo which was possibly the weirdest of them all. I had to play at Limewire's 10th anniversary party in their office! Yes another bizarre Lone Wolf booking. There were balloons, streamers, party hats and just before i went on a really emotional speech from the chairman... Then steps up Lone Wolf with his death songs again... The life and soul of the fucking party! :) I played a couple of songs and though it best to leave quietly and let them all enjoy thier party.

Mona then took me to Brooklyn where i saw a giant Laundrette (once again i refuse to say Laundromat just because i was in the USA when i saw it! :)) which had a bar and and massive flat screen TV. It seemed like THE place to wash your clothes in Brooklyn.
We had a couple of beers and i decided to get an early one as i was flying to LA the next morning....

The final instalment tomorrow!

xxPaul Mxx

USA (well Canada in this case) Tour part 2 - Toronto

This entry is a little shorter as my time in Toronto was considerably less than the other cities i visited on this tour.

I took a flight over rather than travelling with the beasts so i could spend a bit of extra time with my Brother and my two nephews who live there which was lovely. Steve (my bro) left the UK when i was about 15 (im 29 now) and so it's always great to get the opportunity to hang out with him and the kids. Although i have to confess i do like to play xbox, and i do get to speak to my nephew Jared over the pleasantly violent setting of Modern Warfare 2 every now and then.

We spent the evening eating pizza and watching one of my favourite (crap) movies of all time. Commando. My god there is not a bone in my body that can express anything but love for that dire piece of trash. It is so dreadful it has some kind of space and time thing going on where it makes bad become good. I could actually spend the majority of this blog writing about that movie from start to finish but i'll save you that. Otherwise i'll start talking about Death Wish III too! :)

So i left my guitar in the WB van for ease of travel but sadly it meant that they had to meet me with it when they got to Toronto which was about 2am. Kelley (the Wild Beasts Tour Manager) basically wanted to break every bone in my body when i met them. They had been driving for hours and hours throughout the time i was enjoying Commando and were desperate to get to bed. I'll never forget when i went over to say hi and she didn't even look me in the eye, just said "Paul, just take your guitar and go". I felt DREADFUL. Naturally i went to bed that night with a heavy stomach.

The next day i went to a radio station called CIUT in Toronto a bit early for my liking. My voice doesnt lend itself well to early mornings and so i did the best i could. I sang 4 songs in a chapel on a University campus which was fun and got talking to the Australian lady who ran the show about how i don't want to play in Australia due to my fear of spiders. Her stories didn't help!

I then went to a place called Explore Music which is in a fancy new building on the docks of Toronto for an interview and another session. I really, really enjoyed this interview with a dude called Alan Cross who i could tell had really analysed my album and we shared a love for a lot of the same things. You are able to see this interview by clicking here!

I then made my way over to the venue called 'The Mod Club'. It was a beautiful place actually. Pretty massive and it was nice to see the Kissaway Trail boys there ready to do thier sound check. I aslo saw Kelley again and was all apologetic about them having to bring my guitar so late etc.
So, no sound check for me that day due to time restraints and so i just had to go out there and do it. I was pretty nervous becasue i had never played in front of my Brother before and i wanted him to see what this kid of 15 he left in the UK was able to do these days. I think the result was the best performance (technically) i did on the whole tour and the crowd were incredibly well responsive.

So after the show i went out with my Bro and his/my mate Mike to some random bar downtown which to put it bluntly, wasn't for me that night. Those guys were doing the whole "hey man you're on tour let's get fucked up" vibe and all that was on my mind was the fact i had to catch a flight to New York early the next day so i let those guys enjoy themselves and took a cab home.

Sadly, I discovered that there are two Connaught Avenues in Toronto and so after being taken to one and then the other it took me about an hour and a half to get home and a taxi fare of what should have been $90! I managed to haggle the driver down to $50 by blaming him for taking me to the wrong place. Lets say he wasn't pleased. I got in to find my nephews Jared and Connor fast asleep which was really sad as i was hoping to see them one last time before i went to New York.

So yeah this leg of the trip was a little more family orientated, but NEW YORK IS COMING!!!! WOOOOP!

:)

Love you all

xxPaul Mxx

USA TOUR Part 1 - CHICAGO

So finally now i'm back in Leeds after the tour and Green Man festival being so close to one another. I now actually feel like i can take a deep breath and tell you a bit about what happened over in the grand ol' US of A.

CHICAGO



What a wonderful city.

I arrived and had a couple of days to myself before the gig. I visited to Goose Island brew pub which was certainly a highlight.
The first 'Lone Wolf' thing i had to do was drive to Rock Island for a daytrotter session. I'd never driven in the states before this so notably i was shitting my pants a bit, especially considering it wasn't exactly just 'down the road'. It's a drive equivalent to Leeds to London and back so a round trip of about 7-8 hours.

The daytrotter studio was littered with all manner of vintage gear style delights. I was expecting to just be going in there with my acoustic and bashing a couple of tunes out, but i got to do a weird version of 'This Is War' on a rather odd electric piano, then did 'Keep your Eyes On The Road' on a flat wound arch top whilst one of the daytrotter crew (his name escapes me at this time!! Sorry!) provided some kick drum accompaniment. I also did a purely acoustic version of both '15 Letters' and 'We Could Use Your Blood'. Im sure this will be online soon.

On my journey home i got to flip the middle finger at a truck driver on interstate 88, to which he replied with a double handed attempt. I had no more hands to reply with and so therefore felt beaten by a worthy opponent. Once safe in my hotel room after that incident, which to be fair, could have ended up like the movie 'Duel' i was happy to hear that Wild Beasts had finally arrived in town and so after 3 days of Chicago solitude i literally flew out of my hotel across town to meet up with them only to find a table full of what i can only describe as 'shells' of the people i know due to thier lenghty day of travel. Obviously i felt wonderful after my 7 hour drive but thats besides the point. So we had an early night.



The next day was all about the show in Chicago really. The Empty Bottle was quite a small place (250 cap i think) but by no means without it's charm. I spent most of the afternoon admiring the graffiti on the walls of the dressing room and seeing a sticker for a band called 'Turgid Member'.
The Kissaway Trail were the victims of a storm over Atlanta which meant that they were unable to make the gig. In fact i think they arrived just after they were supposed to go on which meant i was bumped up to main support and the 11pm slot.
The crowd were obviously half up for it and half not. It was the beginning of Lollapalooza weekend and so there were about 100 people watching and 100 not, but i still had a wonderful time. I felt very welcome and enjoyed being on stage. It was the first time since the tour with WB in March that i had played solo.
Although the highlight of the evening came in the unlikely form of a slagging off! I was standing outside after the show talking to a few people who were being really nice about the show when i overheard someone standing right next to me saying how upset he was that he had missed me play, and was really jealous of the fact i am touring with Phil Selway from Radiohead later in the year. So naturally i thought "aww that's nice" until i heard his friend say "Yeah well you didn't miss anything, he was SHIT!". I let the conversation continue for a while wondering whether i should say anything and was on the verge of letting it go until i heard how much the original guy was fighting my corner and refusing to believe that i could have been THAT bad.

Now i'm a kind of hard face to forget due to this rather awesome moustache i have, and it does help the recognition process in the USA when you not only see the moustache but hear a broad British accent. So i turned around and looked at the guy straight in the face and said "i'm sorry, who did you say was shit?" to which he quite freely replied "Lone Wolf man, he was shit dude". He clearly did not recognise me which kind of made me feel better anyway because it showed the lack of attention he must have paid in such a small venue to not notice the two size able recognisable features i mentioned earlier. So i asked him again and moved a bit closer "sorry who was shit?" to which he once again said "that guy Lone Wolf, he wasn't very good at all". I moved in for the final kill, and was practically close enough to kiss him before i said "you don't even know who you are talking to do you?" with a big smile on my face.

The most beautiful moment of the evening was watching him suddenly realise he had basically told me to my face i was shit and then practically collapse to the ground in a colossal void of guilt and apologies before hanging his head and walking away.
His friend immediately went and purchased my album! :)

I then spent the next day at Lollapalooza with the Beasts. I did a bit of promo in the afternoon in the form of a couple of interviews and a radio performance but mainly enjoyed getting sunburned and hanging out.



The highlight of this day you ask? When i was on my way back to the hotel, im hoping this was once again because of my moustache, and the fact that i was wearing a tight white vest, sun burnt shoulders, sunglasses and carrying a little tote bag as you can see in the image above, i was approached by a preacher who with a Cheshire cat grin told me, "Son, Heaven has no room for homosexuals". Needless to say i frowned at him and continued my journey home wondering how people like this still exist! And also considering the fact that if Heaven does exist, do i really want to go there if that guy is going to be there!?

Tomorrow: Toronto!

xxPaul Mxx