Cottage Industry.

Another crazy week of getting things ready and trying to meet deadlines, in three hours on Monday afternoon I wrote and recorded my lyrics for a new b-side with Gra. By Tuesday night we were running a little behind so had an 8pm artwork meeting at the del Rio's. We we have to have the new single and the album promo artwork ready to pass on to the Shifty Disco tomorrow. We were struggling for ideas and I was keen to get home to my little family so I asked Jess for some paper and paint (the others laughed)..this is what happened, I wasn't sure but they seem to like it so it may well stick. I then went back home and left them to it. 'My work here is done'. Highly amusing.

I was thinking this week that we exist very much as a cottage industry with us each having numerous roles within the band/partnership. As well as our musical jobs, between us we seem to cover;

bus driver
recording engineer/mixer/producer
tailor
baker
graphic designer
communications executive
first aider (!)
comedian
tough guy
athlete
merchandiser
drummer
dog walker
caterer
masseuse..

I guess the tricky/easy part is trying to work out who does/is what.

Tomorrow thankfully we shall get back to our favourite way of passing time with a gig at the brand new Windsor Arts Centre (old firestation) its with our old friends Sennen who are on a national tour, we'll both be playing an extended set so it should be pretty good, doors are 7.30pm and we shall be on at 8.30pm, early night..yeah.

lots of things..

We are crazy busy trying to get eveything ready in order to promote the first single in October and the new album release in January. In times like these we tend to split the work out a little, Gra has been recording and mixing the b-sides for the single, James is sorting out artwork with our boy Tom, I'm desperately trying to write lyrics and push through my fuzzy head/new baby mode, Jess has been working on t-shirts/videos and Andy has invested in a new cymbal and has done lots of recording with it?. Last night we played Greenbelt Festival which was good..it was Maisie's first festival and probably the most baby friendly festival you could ever go to, saw a bit of iain archer and an american lady with a ukeleli (?) she was good. Moorwood went down beautifully which for me is always the sign of a good gig, the quiet songs are always the hardest to pull off.

I'm supposed to be writing out all the lyrics to the album but I really can't be bothered, I keep putting it off as I am so slow at typing. We found out this week that IMHIW will also be getting a release in Japan on Korofune records which we are delighted about..bring on the tour!! We're also going to be making our way over to Italy in November to support the release of Be Your Alibi over there and to eat some nice food/play gigs and to meet our italian team, gigs over here are starting to come in nicely. We're basically planning on working our butts off between now and January to give this album the push it deserves and to give it a good enough platform for loads of new people to hear it.

All the new dates get put up on our myspace page, so check it daily as they are coming in fast. If you don't own Be Your Alibi you can buy it from www.oxfordmusic.net for £4.99..supermarket prices!! and it means that more profits get hrough to us than through the usual bigger places. Stakes are doing so well. I keep hearing terrible stories about bands being dropped all over the place and industry people losing their jobs and that directly affecting the bands who they are responsible for-- its really harsh. We count ourselves lucky to be on such a solid record label and with an awesome well thought out way of making it all work financially where we know that our music will actually get released! My friend Tim introduced me to seth lakeman yesterday, he spoke alot of sense and thought the Stake idea was very clever indeed. I should have offered him one come to think of it.. (details are on www.inmyheaditworks.com )

I had better go, I can hear crying. Tomorrow begins with a cooked breakfast at james and jess' house. yum.

*NEW VIDEO*

Paternity leave is over. I'm back. Yesterday we shot the video for the next single; I get It Wrong.

We were working with a new director Mr Rob Evans who is probably one of the most enthusiastic people we have ever had the pleasure of spending a day with. We were kindly allowed the use of Reading cattle market for the day and a wonderful group of volunteers basically made it all happen. I still can't believe that people would give up a whole day to help us out like they did yesterday, the least i can do is thank them here..( I hope I got everybody's name)

Dan Appleby, SFL,

Lou Evans, Nicola,

Kelly Lambert, Mr Fogg, Rachie,

Dave Newton, Catalina, John,

Estie, Gabrielle, Rob,

Beth ,Mr Capoeira (sorry), Nathan,

Rufus ,Hettie and all the cattle market people..

You guys were unbelievable on a cold, wet, precious Saturday. We can't wait to see the results, feel free to try and figure out what we did and how we did it from the pictures, we're back rehearsing hard this week and finishing off the two b-sides for the single which should be out in October. Thanks for all the messages of congratulation, fatherhood is good, I learn so much every day. Today has involved several bouts of projectile vomit. dan

Further on and Further in

There's a buzz about the race camp this week as the 1st race baby has arrived - Maisie Faith Buchanan arrived safely on sunday evening, weighing in at 5 lb 6 oz. Everyone doing wonderfully, Maisie is beautiful.

Dan's got a couple of weeks of on paternity, so its up to me to keep the blog fires burning... The rest of us are as busy as beavers, recording B-sides (instrumental only....!) - a new song called either Mower (grae's influence) or 'Ones and pieces', which is something big G said by accident, but i thought was cute. And then possibly stabber, which we really should've renamed by now, which is a wicked song with a beautiful french horn outro... (any out there play the french horn?)

We're also planning what is turning out to be our most ambitious video to date. It'll either be an amazing Gondry-esque piece of art, or we'll have to start over. I have to make a whole world out of cardboard, love it. We're working with a director chappy called Rob Evans, and this is his passion. He's got some great ideas, and I'm very excited.

Looking forward to another hometown show on the 16th, in our favourite little sweat box, the rising sun arts centre. Its gonna be awesome. The Oakford gig was wonderful, complete with singalongers to the new songs, which is always very nice.

Catch you later bill and ted

Jess xx

#PAINT!#

Photographer Chris Harris came to take some photos of us on Monday. This one was taken in St Laurence Church in Reading whilst the church bells were being rung by the local bell ringers/peelsters(?). After an hour long session they came down to find five half naked racers wandering around covered in paint, they didn't really know what to say to that.

We shall be back playing in Reading tomorrow night for the first time in ten months, Oakford Social Club..onstage at 11pm (free entry) it shall be very special indeed.

last night.

Thanks to everyone who came down to camden last night, it felt so good to be on stage just playing again and not doing all the other stuff that comes with being a band..a big release. We now feel rehearsed up and ready to go-the new songs seem to work and we're looking forward to introducing some more next weekend in Reading. This coming week shall involve photo's/planning a video/discussions with potential new management/rehearsals and perhaps even squeezing out a precious baby (depending on who you are). It could well be life changing.

~Stake Eating and Drinking~

We had a jolly old time in Notting Hill yesterday evening with our team and some of the stakeholders, the Uxbridge Arms very kindly gave us half the pub which was decorated very tastefully with some bunting and we ate a selection of jessie made cakes to mark the occasion. It was all very fitting and civilised. There are plans to do similar perhaps in Reading as it was just so good to meet up and for everyone to feel connected in what we are trying to achieve together. It always helps with the bigger picture. We keep hearing lots of crazy stories as to where these pass it ons are popping up. Please leave us a message on the website so we keep tabs on them. These stake holder get-togethers are going to be a whole lot of fun..driving home last night I started dreaming of social committee's/jumble sales and even stake-holder weddings!! deary-me. Its all game on now for the purple turtle in camden next thursday. It can't come soon enough. 'Bring on those changes, open up those doors'.

PS//We are well over half way to our stake holder target of £25000 after just three weeks, there are still stakes available through www.inmyheaditworks.com so get involved- you shall be in very good company.

Have a nice weekend. Most of us shall be at Club Velocity in Reading tonight.