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We went to Manchester last weekend, to play at In the City. It was our first time playing in the UK, and our first gig since July. Which seems like eons ago, and we were pretty sure we couldn't remember any of the chords or the words, or in Mike's case when to hit the shiny disks that quiet the voices in his head. In the last five or six weeks, we've all taken our holidays (except poor Stevie, who kept an eye on things back home), been working for money and food and (surprise surprise) recording and mixing. Also, some more songs were written, but I think they'll be used for albums three, four and as extras on the special dvd edition of "The Alphastates Collection". Last week we rehearsed for the first time since June, it was nice to play together again, but the sandwiches from the nearest cafe still taste like congealed fat and there was too much butter and ketchup. Also, too much coffee and I crashed the car on the way home. We've been making changes to older songs, changing arrangements etc. After two years together (with Mike) we all felt a need to freshen things up lest we slowly die inside. We played well on the night, got some cheers from possibly the most stand-offish (it being an A&R fest) audience of all time and enjoyed the all too brief stay in Manchester. Nice city, though. Excellent shopping. We've booked our first day in the studio, to record drums and bass for five or six songs. We'll be taking the recordings away and mixing them ourselves, since we've found that we've been happier with our own mixes up to now we'll continue to work this way. Also, we charge ouselves mates rates since we get on really well. We realised it will be the first time Mike has ever recorded in a studio with us, we've been using a horrible midi kit when we record at home. There's no comparison to real drums, but Mike is an expert at getting the most out of it (known as "turd polishing") and the results have been pretty good up to now. We have three songs in mind to finish next, one is a personal favourite called "Superman". It's (partially) about a kid who lived down the road from Catherine when she was growing up who ran through a plate glass window in his superman costume. Very different from anything we've recorded before, and I think one of the best things we've done. Mike's the star of the show on that one, but we told him he was sh*t to keep him on his toes. There's also a fast pop one, (provisionally) called You Talked I Can Tell, we played it live once in Limerick but decided it wasn't ready. Maybe now it is. Although it shouldn't be, we haven't changed anything. Better get down to work on it this week then. The other is a loud, fast one into which Catherine has somehow managed to fit a kind of a Kate Bush type melody over the chorus. Very unexpected, and very good. All it needs is a name. We have two other songs we'll do drums and bass for while we're there, one called "Taste" and another called "Mercury". Taste is another one of my favourites, although the concensus is that it needs another part to make it complete. Mercury is another departure, has a touch of the Stevie Wonders about it in the verse, but that might lead you in the wrong direction. It's really good, but again seems unfinished. Stevie outdoes himself, his best bit o' playing so far. I seem to remember saying that alot over the last six months. Not to his face, though. We are playing at the end of October in Waterford, can't remember the date but it's worthy of a news update so I'll put it up soon. Also, there's an Amnesty International gig in December which we're looking forward to. That's in Dublin, somewhere on Wexford Street. We don't have the date yet. We might fit some more in, Mike's going to be busy with Dave Couse, he's got lots of gigs with him over the next while. Will let you know how we get on in the studio, and the dates of those gigs. Oh yeah, and we have a yoke up on myspace.com now, check out www.myspace.com/alphastates |