Kings & Queens

Bit of a restless bus sleep; burning smells causing stops, rain, waking up with the laptop on top of me, more stops etc… Its good to get to a hotel by 11am.

Back in San Antonio after 13 years. I left this place in a bit of a mess last time. Its a great little town though; especially for architecture. Lots of sun bleached turn of the century and deco stuff here. Our hotel the Emily Morgan is a beautiful example sitting next door to the Alamo. Haunted too so i hear. My eighth floor room is rather fancy and features a cricket under the pillow. Its a beautiful room though. I wander the Alamo and River walk briefly with Mars, get too hot and spend the rest of the day in the room trying to catch up with everything else in life. The TV is excited about Hurricane Alex. Paul and I brave the incredibly rain-loaded cloud formations to visit this vegetarian health restaurant named Greens in a vaguely dodgy part of town. Good food and company.

Getting all melancholy about the end of tour. Last week i was desperate to get home now I’m unsure i want this all to stop. Spent the rest of the night writing my first new song in a year and catching up with the internet… Garageband is a little miracle sometimes.

Sleeep then wake up sleeeeeep then wake up then sleeeeepppp forever.

Oh god. Too early for all this… but i’m here. We’re losing. But we’re looking good and I’m sure that was a goal we scored. Mars and Richard are here. The coffee machine is flooding and there’s bright Arizona desert outside…

Update: no surprises there then. England continues its career of uselessness at any kind of international competition. The only exception, as was discussed backstage yesterday, is popular music. We’re sort of untouchable when it comes to that. Consoling myself here.

I can’t stand just flying through Arizona and New Mexico. Two of my favourite states ablur out the window. Georgia OKeefe comes and goes. Paul’s on This American Life, i’m working, Mars is watching the next game, sleepers elsewhere.

We got our first proper night off in a while today. Got to hotel in ElPaso around 3.30 and had the rest of the day here til midnight. Swim, shower, mexican food (not that great unfortunately) and the world’s largest Margarita meant i was at the bus by 12.05am… Off to San Antonio. Harry Potter is on. Watching a bit in the bunk.

Our bus driver Buddy passed away last night in his hotel room. We were waiting for him to drive us after last night’s gig and he never showed up. Our tour manager, Tom, went over to the hotel after various calls to them and met the police who gave him the news. We’re all a bit stunned. So a surreal night and day followed where we sat on the street in Toronto through the night, trying to sleep but not really getting to it, followed by the owner of the bus company driving up from the US to drive us back across the border to Detroit. Turned up around 5pm. Exhausted and somewhat disoriented. I’m trying to look at design work and its just not working… think i need this night off to let things sink in.

None of us knew Buddy particularly well; we’d only been on the road with him for barely two weeks but he seemed a sweet man who was settled in his life and work, always happy to hang out and shoot the breeze. He probably thought half the people he had to work with, including us, were a bunch of preening weirdos but he got along with all of us easily. I met his daughters last week in Baltimore while they stopped in to see him where we were staying; seemed like a very happy family – my sympathies go to them and his wife. I saw him around 3ish yesterday – he was just hanging outside the bus enjoying the Toronto weather…

Awoke in Canada after a restless bus night. Za didn’t make it in and Buddy had to get his passport so we switched drivers (hi Steve) for a night. A day of recuperation in a hotel in Toronto… tea, Emergenci, TV, Internet, practicing India etc… Quick trip to the mall across the street for a lunch with Mars at Moxie’s. A bite to eat with RB in the evening… good food and the English football at the Holiday Inn – who knew? I will say that this is the first tme i’ve seen separated recycling bins in a hotel room – GO CANADA! Touring seems on the wasteful side at times… Recycle recycle.

stupid, originally uploaded by Rich in Orderly Manor.

A day off in the city… wore our feet out wandering the village; Organic Grill (incredible breakfast for vegetarians), tried on hats, shoes, tshirts, didn’t buy anything… got overwhelmed, looked in record stores, ran out of steam, sat and had a drink and watched it all go by. Met up with David and went to pizza for a zillion dollars. 3/4 of Kings & Queens renuinte – it was so intense that my glasses broke in half without warning.

Baltimore, originally uploaded by Rich in Orderly Manor.

A day off yields the worlds longest-arriving breakfast at Shirley’s (it is memorial day), a dip in the pool, a viewing of Harry Brown (excellent, brutal) at the local cinema with Mars and Tim, and the arrival of Andi (minus luggage) at the airport. All in all – not too shabby.

I like this new project called Broken Bells. It happens to feature Mr Jonathan Hischke who used to hang bass with us and Dan Elkan who co-produced our latest record – and who I’m constantly trying to get in a band with. Go see these guys…

Jo does her incredible thing…

Some recent time down at my home from home yielded this mini-video. Lo-fi movie making is my style, baby.

Halloween , originally uploaded by nillakitty.

I was Bolan. I mysteriously forgot a ton of words at the last second but the vibe was right. I’m thinking of just going with this look for the Furs from now on. The shoes were obviously still in effect.

Casual Fog and the Voices from the Grave:

Becky = Dusty Springfield (Son of a Preacher Man)
Cobra = Johnny Cash (Ring of Fire)
Jason = Michael Hutchence (I Need You Tonight)
Me = Marc Bolan (Get it On)
Ehren = Hendrix (Manic Depression)
Dana = Jacko (Thriller)

Special props to the grave singers/dancers – Andi, Becky, Alison, Kristen and Marni. Awesome work. And how about that Tuscan Sunday?

Special mention #2 for Bud’s band Remily who ripped an incredible War Pigs from the rafters. Amazing tones lads.