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Tour blog: London IndigO2 (the end)
I don’t know exactly how to start this last chapter, except maybe by writing that supporting Blondie for three weeks on a whirlwind tour ended with what can only be described as a ‘grand finale’. On the Monday we had played Wolverhampton, on the Tuesday it was Southend (a very successful show down by the sea side), and on the Wednesday, the day of our last show, we were to play not only the Indigo O2 London, but also to record a live session for XFM (a trendy and popular English radio station).
We arrived home from Southend at 2am. Originally we were going to leave straight after our show so as to be home earlier. We were all starting to get a little tired and the following day was going to be a blitzer. However, after a group vote, we decided to stay in Southsea to watch Blondie until the end of the night. It isn’t often that you get to tour with such a great band. It would be silly of us to not make the most of it. Funnily enough, before our show tonight, we get to speak to Debbie and do our final funny FISHTALK. I can’t stress enough how lovely Debbie has been with us and for a lady of her status to take part and indulge in our little game I think says a lot.
So we arrive at home in Oxford at 2am and we have to leave for London at 9am sharp. This doesn’t leave us much time to sleep or recover. I wake up at 7am. I know that I am no good, once awake, I can’t go back to sleep. Instead of waiting until 8am for the alarm to sound, I tip toe out of the house and drive to the pool. There, I do a dip into the pool and am happy to swim. The water is cool and it refreshes me nicely. The last few days have been hot.
The band meet at mine for 9am. Our TM Mitch and sound man Chris arrive at our house, both with a smile. All in the van we are off to London. First stop, Leicester Square, central London, to the radio station, XFM.
We park up on the pavement as there is nowhere else to park. London is like most big cities, cars, people, roads, traffic and chaos everywhere. The Fish Team is like a well oiled machine now. We unload the van like we have been doing for the last three weeks and take all the gear up to the radio’s live studio room. We meet Chris, the guy in charge of recording the sessions. We are chuffed that he has asked us to come in – he came to see us supporting Hole about a month ago and really likes us. He has recorded many bands over the years, from The Clash to …. He knows his shit.
We set up. We know we don’t have long. We have four tracks to record in very little time. Once everyone is set up and mic-ed up, we put our headphones on and start with the first take. After the first take, we each adjust the levels in our headphones and Chris tweaks his sound the other side of the window. The sound in my headphones is really great. I can hear the drums, the Hammond, my guitar and voice perfectly. I am happy as I know that this will help make my job easier. Having a good vocal sound and band sound in your ears makes it far more pleasurable to sing. You can focus on the singing rather than battling your way through.
In all honesty, we don’t need long. We pretty much hammer down the songs on our first take. I suppose all the shows we have done with Blondie mean that we are pretty fit and well rehearsed. After all these shows now, we are far more experienced and confident with what we are to play. Part of me wishes that I had been this confident and better a singer two years ago when we first laid down some of our album tracks. But I don’t live in regret. Regrets are just the things that we haven’t done yet. Instead, I focus my thoughts on the future and how I look forward to recording, one day, our second album. This time, I know that I will be ready.
We end the session in good time, pack up, load up and move onto the next. We are off to the IndigO2 where we are to play our final show with Blondie. I am excited and yet part of me is sad. I know that all good things must come to an end, but sometimes, I wished they didn’t. I know that after tonight, life will change again, that I will miss this tour, the people, the music, the band, the crew, everything. I haven’t got one bad thing to say about anyone or anything. This tour has simply been magical to me in many ways.
Anyhow, we turn up at the O2. Load in. Blondie have just finished sound checking and so we are straight on stage. We can’t sound check immediately as Rod is mixing a live album of the tour for Blondie. We can hear him as he does it and it just sounds amazing. It is a pleasure just to sit, listen and wait.
Soundcheck is tougher than expected. It seems that my in ear monitor system has kind of blown. This makes it really hard for me to sing as I can not hear myself. I am slightly disappointed but I know that it is no one’s fault and that these things happen, the show must go on.
We take to the stage at 8pm sharp. Funny how usually with London audiences, you don’t always feel warmth and support. London audiences are renowned for being quite tough, cool, reserved and quiet. Tonight however, things are different. Maybe it is because everybody knows that tonight is the last night? Maybe, just maybe, people are aware of us a little now, having been the support band for Blondie on this tour, we seem to have had some sort of welcoming. People seem happy to see us on stage tonight and there are many faces in the crowd that I recognise. People seem to recognise us too.
As we play through the songs, we have fun. We know that we have had a good time on tour and so we can celebrate it and feel good about ourselves. We appreciate the crowd and all the support that Blondie and their fans have given us. It doesn’t go unnoticed as when we thank everyone before our last song, there is a big round of applause. The applause is for everyone. Everyone here knows that the tour has been good.
Nez strikes his last beat, Ben his last note and me my last chord. It is the end for us. We wave and exit stage right. As I walk off Debbie is there in front of me. I hadn’t realised that she had been watching from the side of the stage. What an honour, I think to myself. She tells me that we did a great show and even sings back a little bit of one of our songs: “Hey hey hey! Why bring love into our hearts?”
I’m sweating. I wish I could shower but tonight we have no shower in our dressing room and I daren’t ask if I can use the band’s shower again today. I leave it and decide that tonight I will keep my dress on to the end of the night – rock n roll. I’ll be home soon enough (or so I thought).
As I watch Blondie from the side of the stage tonight, I can’t help but feel nostalgic. As I watch the crowd dance, sing and cheer, I see all the love and support the band have as well as the happiness that the music they play brings to people. It is magical. Music is magic in that way. I kind of feel all overwhelmed by the whole experience. I can’t believe that I have been honoured to be part of such a tour and involved with such great, talented people. I kind of want to cry as the emotion is all to much for me, but I don’t. I just sit and watch and keep the magic inside.
As Blondie play their last song, everyone knows that the tour is now pretty much over. Blondie have one more show to play at the weekend but on the whole, the tour, their UK and Irish leg is done. What an adventure it has been. What an adventure! From broken down vans to stepping up to the challenge of being the warm-up band for one of the most respected and successful bands of all time, Blondie. Debbie Harry is a legend. To have sung on her stage every night and to have been personally picked out by her to do so… I have no idea where this all might lead but I do know that I feel humbled and honoured and lucky. This tour has surpassed all my expectations. I have learned so much. Opportunities such as these are to me, magical. But as I said earlier, all good things must come to an end. The tour is now over. Everyone has to go home. We all have to move on to the next.
Before we leave, Debbie invites us all to her birthday celebration. We are excited. Tomorrow, we all get to go bowling with Debbie, the band and the crew. We have something fun to do together. What a great way to end a tour. I feel like I have a new family.
Nez, Ben and I take to the van. It is early. People are still partying but we know it is our time to leave. We have done our job. We have spent many nights with the band and tonight, it is their night, their London night. There are lots of people backstage all trying to get a peek into Debbie Harry’s life. She is quiet. Unlike everyone else who is outside milling, talking, drinking and chatting, she has locked herself away in her dressing room. Maybe alone? Maybe with just some precious friends that she wants to be with. With all these people after her, I can understand and appreciate that sometimes, maybe, she just wants her space. We all do.
I can’t really say much more than this now. Little Fish have to move on and forward. The tour with Blondie is done. We have met new people, made new friends and great memories; our lives are built on these shared memories.
I might as well say then that at this point we, as a band, Little Fish, shared one more adventure that one day will be another great entertaining memory. In true tour style, we didn’t make it back home until 6am. Although we left in good time, our van broke down. Our van broke down three times on this tour, and on every day it was a travel day, a day when we had no shows. You might call it bad luck, me I call it lucky – If we had broken down at any other time, we would have had to miss a show with Blondie. That, didn’t happen. I’d say that someone was looking down on us. I’m gonna stick with lucky.
- 12am leave IndigO2
- 1am break down near Shepherd’s Bush, London
- 3am RAC recovery man tows us to Enfield, North London
- 4am van fixed
- 6am home sweet home
TOUR OVER.
Before I go-go, I just want to say a big thank you to my wonderful band Nez & Ben and tour team Mitch & Chris who made the tour fun and fun and lots more fun! Thanks also to Robert Rosenberg, best manager ever and to our label Custard & Island for making the tour possible to do in the first place. Love you guys X
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Tour blog: Wolverhampton (one more blog to go!)
I can’t begin to describe how tired I feel right now. Three weeks of touring, traveling in a van and going to bed late can become both mentally and physically tiring. I won’t lie to you. Being tired when you are doing something you love is however, nothing I would ever complain about. I’m just stating it as a fact. My enthusiasm for the tour and for gigging has not flagged in any way, and I am even excited about going to play Wolverhampton tonight. Wolverhampton is not so far from Oxford. The heat is pouring in at a pace. Oxford seems to have become some exotic holiday island over the last week. We’ve been lucky enough to be touring under the sun.
We arrived in Wolverhampton early and had to wait for about three hours before Blondie arrived. Their crew had already set up the band’s equipment and so when the band did eventually arrive, all they had to do was get on stage and play. I didn’t watch Blondie sound check today as I had to go and eat. I knew that I wouldn’t get the opportunity to eat after our sound check as we would be on stage shortly afterwards. As I said before, you have to take the opportunity to eat when you can as good food is pretty hard to come by whilst touring. Every hot meal is always fully appreciated.
After our sound check, we have only half an hour before stage. I am feeling faint and follow Nez into the dining area where I have a quick spoonful of the classic ‘bread n butter’ pudding. That will get me through the show.
Backstage tonight there is a little tussle between myself and the boys. I am intent on wearing my crazy tights with my big boots and white Blondie T Shirt. The boys however aren’t quite as keen for me to wear my tights. They like it when I wear my rock n roll, tight black, classic jeans. Tonight, I let them get their way, but I know that on another night, it will be my choice. I love to change my clothes and try crazy stuff out, and although I haven’t done so much (mostly because I rarely get any time to go shopping for clothes!), I know that when the opportunity comes, I will be in and out of all sorts of crazy tights!
The show goes really well. We compromised. I wore my shiny sparkling black shoes, jeans and white Blondie T shirt. The audience were really friendly and full of enthusiasm for us. I don’t know why, but I felt a really positive supportive energy coming from the crowd. It was a real pleasant surprise as playing outside to Kenwood house two night’s prior the audience was far more challenging.
Blondie took to the stage full blast. They are also aware that the tour is nearly over and are winding up the tour with power and energy. I love to watch Debbie Harry from the side of the stage. She is beautiful to watch. At one point, she comes close to my side of the stage, sees me and gives me a little wave. She then turns and mouths ‘its hot!’. Yes it has been a hot day for everyone. We are all sweating. We are all happy.
At the end of the night, Little Fish set up their makeshift market stall on the pavement. We are greeted by a tirade of new Fish Fans. It is so nice to get such direct response from people you have just played to. We sign our flyers and hand out free Little Fish stickers. Everyone is happy.
A sneaky stop at Mc.Donalds on the way home. A good read of a letter from a fish fan. And an unwrapping of a gift. Our first band presents. Sweet. How thoughtful. How kind.
I check my email and XFM have asked us to come in on Wednesday to record a live session. We also have the last show of the tour that day. Wednesday is going to be immense. I just hope that I can make it through.
En route to South End. London’s beach. Hasta luego. Juju. Little Fish X
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Tour blog: Kenwood House (the deck chairs)
I had been looking forward to going to Kenwood house for the last week. I half wanted to play a festival like Tetbury again as I wanted to capitalise on the experience I had had then. This, for me, was like my comeback. Not that Tetbury was bad in any way, it’s just that I had been shocked a little by the sheer size of the audience. For me, playing outside is also very different to playing inside. It’s another skill I suppose we need to learn and acquire.
We have been lucky with the weather all tour and today is no exception. The sun is beating it down, bleaching our vision with light. It is the perfect day for a festival. I am super excited.
We arrive at Kenwood house around 2pm. Kenwood house is a private prestigious house situated in Hampstead Heath. Hampstead Heath is one of the biggest and most beautiful parks in London. It has hills and trees, lakes and all sorts of wild animals run free. It’s one of the most affluent parks of London owned by the English Heritage. Playing this event is considered prestigious and for us, playing with Blondie, even more of an honour. The stage is only there for one week in the summer. People come two hours before the show actually starts, lounge around on the lawn and eat their picnics. Right at the front of the stage, there are hundreds of deck chairs all laid out for those who have bought a seated ticket.
When we arrive, Blondie haven’t yet sound checked. I feel relieved as I had hoped that we hadn’t arrived late. The band arrived shortly after us. Debbie is in good spirits and we have a brief conversation about vocal exercises. We are both slightly bored with our vocal routine and crave new ideas and exercises. We exchange a few tips. It is fun for me again to know that even the best are always seeking the new and wanting to improve.
As Blondie sound check, I walk to the sound desk to listen. They are sounding great and a crowd has started to gather just to listen. It is amusing for me to watch them sound check in the light of day in front of many people. Usually sound check is a private affair and last week at Tetbury festival, we had to do just that. I am reassured by the way that Debbie handles the onlookers. This gives me enough confidence to not feel intimidated when it is our turn.
Soon enough, it is our turn to sound check and after having taken a lesson in ‘comfortable sound checking in front of people’ from the best, I feel more relaxed to do the soundcheck than I had done the week before. We don’t have much time to sound check but we are used to that. We settle. It is time for get off stage. We have two hours before we open up the show. We go to Kenwood house where we are fed a good plate of meat and vegetables.
It is 6pm. We are supposed to be interviewed but the lady is late. I decide to take the opportunity to borrow a sharpie and knock on Debbie’s cabin. My brother’s friend has an old Parallel Lines record and is a big Blondie fan. I knock on the door. Debbie is already preparing for the show, getting changed and doing make up. I ask her if it would be ok for me to disturb her. She, as ever, is welcoming and invites me into her cabin. I explain to her about my brother’s friend and ask her whether she would mind signing it. She doesn’t mind at all. Even so, she goes out of her way, to her ‘special box’ and comes back with a photo of the band which she also signs. She is enthused to make the signing for my brother’s friend special. I also ask her to sign my writing book. I always ask the famous people that I meet if they can do that. I don’t know why I do it. For me, I suppose it’s partly like a diary. If one day I can look back on everything, I have some art documented. Funny how we like autographs of famous people, I am not sure what it means.
Debbie is lovely. I can’t say it enough. She makes a space for me on her couch and we start to talk. We talk about life. We talk about songwriting. We talk about the internet. It is funny how bands from a different generation have had such a different experience with dealing with technology and the internet. Bands such as Blondie have never had to get involved with Facebook and Twitter like we have. We can’t afford not to communicate with the outside world, with our fans. We haven’t had that same backing. Life is just different. I tell Debbie about Twitter and how her fans would probably go mental if she posted up a picture or said something directly to them. She thinks about it. She likes to leave room in her head for creativity but does consider using the internet to talk about the environment. The problems that we face with the environment are of grave concern to her – hence this is the ‘Endangered Species Tour’.
For some reason, we start to talk girl stuff. We talk dresses and jewelry. We talk about how usually we don’t really care what we wear. A pair of jeans and a T-shirt usually does the trick. I suggest to her that we follow the example set by men in rock n roll. This tour however, Debbie has felt the urge to dress up more. She has been wearing dresses and making more of an effort. She is happy to do that and, I hasten to add, I think she looks absolutely great. Debbie then sweeps out a bracelet of hers. It is black and covered in black shiny sequins. She offers it to me. I am shocked. I wasn’t expecting it. I accept it with immense gratitude. To be wearing one of Debbie Harry’s bracelets, to me, is a blessing. There is a knock at the door and unfortunately I have to leave. I have to go and do an interview.
The show goes well although playing rock music to people sitting in deck chairs and sitting on the floor eating their picnic is hardly rock n roll. It is hard but it is not impossible. For me, it is all part of the journey. You live, you learn and the more you experience, the better you get at your job. I am willing to learn. I am willing to overcome playing to people sitting down in deck chairs.
Coming off stage, we meet the band and they all ask us what it was like. Debbie is on top form and says that playing to people in deck chairs makes no difference to her. She doesn’t care. She’s still going to get out there and do her thing. Now that is the attitude one has to have to be a proper rock star. Let nothing phase you. Nothing phases her. I look at my fingers and I take off my ring, a silver ring with the words ‘good luck’ written on it. I always wear it for luck. Tonight, I want to give it to Debbie. Not because she might need luck, but because I know she likes my rings and because I want to thank her for everything she has given and brought to us. All these opportunities to play great shows, meet great people and have the experience of a lifetime. Debbie is really pleased and places the ring on her finger immediately.
I walk out to the front. I mix with the crowd and watch Blondie perform in front of thousands of people. Tonight there are 8,000 people, who have all come to see Blondie, standing, watching, dancing, singing, all listening to Blondie because they love the music. Their music has reached and touched and become part of so many people’s lives. It is incredible to see and be part of such a happy event. It is funny for me because I forget when I am talking to them how big and famous Blondie actually are. I think to myself, there is me, back stage trying to convince Debbie Harry to post up a picture on her internet site, or tweet something about the environment and awareness to her fans, talking about song writing, talking dresses and jewellery, when then she is on stage, in front of thousands of people … I forget that. And it isn’t that I forget out of disrespect, but maybe it is because behind those stage doors, behind all that wonderful music, there is a great band made up of great people. Debbie Harry is by far one of the most lovely, kindest, most generous people I have ever met.
The night ends with a glass of wine and a game of ‘What time is it Mister Fox?’ This might seem like an odd thing for me to say, but there are some lovely kids on tour with Blondie and every day we play games. Tonight, they can’t get their head around ‘What’s the time Mister Wolf?’ Mister Fox will do.
Three more shows to go. Wolverhampton is next. Juju. Little Fish X
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Tour blog: Cork (a gigantic marquee)
Spending the night in Belfast was very pleasant. For the first time on tour, instead of having to stay in a suburban, characterless travel lodge, our hotel was actually located on a city road within a hub of city activity. Seeing shops, cafés and restaurants for the first time in a while reminded me of real life and made me feel human. I wanted to do something normal(ish), so I went to a Japanese restaurant and ordered myself a take out. In the hotel, I ate my miso soup and sushi sitting on the bed, watching the television. It felt great.
The next morning I woke early. I wanted to go for a swim in the local pool before we set out on our long drive to Cork. The drive from Belfast to Cork was going to be long, about six hours. After the last two shows and all the traveling, I knew a swim would help my body unwind, relax and feel good for the day ahead.
The swimming pool is only a five minute walk away. It is a lovely walk up the road, past cafés, and through the botanic gardens. The swimming pool is located in a big sports centre. Although the entry is expensive, the centre is great and caters for lots of different sporting activities. The pool is great and there is a big climbing wall that makes me wish I had more time. Something to do for the next time I come to Belfast. It’s good to know.
After my swim, I walk back to the hotel. It is 9am and we are to leave shortly. I buy myself some tea and a pot of porridge. The day has started well.
The drive to Cork is long. For most of the journey I rest and read. I have just started to read a book by Elizabeth Gilbert called Love, Pray, Eat. I am enjoying her words and wit. I am intrigued as to where the story will lead me as I follow her journey through Italy, Indonesia and India.
We arrive in Cork six hours later. When we arrive, Blondie have already sound checked. As we get out of the van, Chris, Debbie and Matt stand outside with us and we have a little chatter. Chris is super excited as he has taken pictures of famous people’s signature from Belfast’s venue guest book. It has many autographs including Queens and Kings of all kinds, but he is especially pleased to have a photo of the Beatles’ signature. As we tell them about our unhealthy van, Debbie and Chris both tell us about their traveling tales. Every successful band must have at one time traveled in some questionably roadworthy vehicles. It is nice to know that all best go through van breakdowns and broken windows.
Soon chit-chat is over and it is time for us to unload our gear and prepare for soundcheck. The venue this time is a mini arena that is set up under a gigantic marquee. The Marquee stays there for one month in the summer where it hosts a number of huge acts every night. This summer acts such as Snoop Dogg, Paul Weller, The Cranberries, Westlife, Tony Bennett and Madness will be stopping by and playing there. The venue is so big that it takes at least thirty seconds to walk to the stage from the backstage door. Once close, you have to walk up a little ramp, and finally you find yourself at the side of the stage.
This stage is by far the biggest stage I have ever walked on. It’s about twenty metres long and ten metres deep. When standing centre stage, I imagine how Mick Jagger must feel when he walks and struts around on huge stages such as these. I am excited. In all honesty, when we were asked to go on tour with Blondie I never anticipated that we would be playing such big stages and shows. How could I have when I had never experienced this size of stage and audience before?
Soundcheck runs smoothly although it is the first night on tour where the house crew are not the most helpful. It is hard to attract their attention and although it is their job to help us set up, they seem very reluctant. We really struggle to set up and only manage to set up properly because we insist on things being done. Understandably we are not the main act and so it is harder for us to get everything we need. Most times, as a support act you have to make do with what you are given and that is fine. There is nothing more demoralising than having people there who are supposed to be helping you, who don’t. In these situations, it is important to speak up, stand your ground so to speak. If you don’t speak up, nothing will get done to make you settle in and your stage performance will suffer. It is important not to get intimidated by the unhelpfulness of stage guys. As a band, we have learned this. We speak up. We talk to them even if they don’t want to talk to us. You have to.
I’d like to stress this even more for female singers when dealing with unhelpful monitor engineers. Know that onstage monitor sound is nearly always set up for male voices. Male voices are different to female voices and so female voices need different frequencies to cut through so as to be heard. Because of this that you might find that you have to do more work on your monitor sound. It can be hard to speak up in such a male dominated environment, but do not be scared or frightened to speak up. Although it might feel and sound right for the man doing monitors, it doesn’t mean that it will be right for you. Be strong, stand your ground and work your vocal until it feels right. It is about you and your comfort and not someone else’s. YOU are the one who has to sing and perform and not the monitor man.
Backstage is fun tonight. Over the last two weeks we have become closer to both crew and band, Chris Stein (Blondie’s guitarist and songwriter) in particular. It is funny. Never judge a book by its cover. Chris was not the first of the band to come and say hello to us, but over the last shows, he has gradually crept into our Little Fish World. The other day, he came backstage to our dressing room and offered us advice on recording songs. Today, he is talking about songwriting and just about life in general. He has a great internet site (check it out), a great sense of humour and is a huge William Burroughs fan. His favourite book is ‘Junkie’ (funnily enough I have just finished reading it so I can relate to the book when he talks about it to me). When Chris mentions that he has seen our FISHTALK videos we quickly invite him to do one with us. Little Fish being Little Fish, we whiz him to the backstage celebrity hangout and talk FISH TALK.
Again, Blondie and ourselves have a fabulous night. Despite having a bad in-ear sound, I work through the show the best that I can. I know that I will not have to work with the monitor guy again, so I just do my job the best I can and do not let him affect me or Little Fish. The crowd is very welcoming toward us and rapturous for Blondie. I watch Blondie from the side of the stage. When I am watching, I once again think and remind myself how lucky Little Fish are to have been invited to support Blondie. It has been the opportunity of a lifetime for us. When I met Debbie Harry in NYC, never, not for one moment, did I think that the following month we would be on tour with her band. The tour is the biggest Little Fish have ever done and, dare I say it, probably the most special. The band have been more welcoming and friendly than ever and the shows have given us the opportunity to introduce many more music lovers to Little Fish.
5am. Call. We leave for the UK. Four hours sleep. It’s now twenty past seven, we are in the UK but we aren’t yet home. We are all sitting in a mechanic’s car park somewhere outside of Swansea waiting for our van’s exhaust to be repaired. Our exhaust fell off while driving down the motorway. Travel days for us seem to mean ‘break down’ days. None of us are downbeat, life is what it is and we are a great team. We enjoy hanging out so nothing is a problem.
Next stop, Kenwood House, London (presuming we make it home!). Juju. Little Fish X
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Tour blog: Belfast (a good friend)
Belfast. I had never been to Belfast before. As we set off driving towards the city, looking out of the van window, someone who had been special to me in my life came into my head. I didn’t know anyone in Belfast to invite to the show tonight, but I did know someone who used to live in Belfast. His name was Cecil. Cecil was a tall thin man with spiked up hair who always wore jeans and cherry red doctor Martin shoes. He looked a little bit like a robin to me and in a way, he was bird-like with his thin face and small round glasses perched discreetly on his nose. He bopped around, always walking on the tips of his feet, smiling.
I met Cecil when I was at University in Birmingham. At the end of the road where I lived, there was a pub and every Wednesday, people would gather there with their acoustic guitars. In the back room of the pub everyone would sing. I started going there because I didn’t really have anywhere else to go to play my songs. I never met anyone at University who was interested in art and music. Sad really, but true. Instead, I found myself in the local pub, every Wednesday, in the ‘folk’ club.
I would take my guitar and go play some of my newly written songs. The night was so much fun. We would all sit in a circle and each of us would take it in turns to sing a song. The guitar would be passed around and everyone would listen; drinks on the table and cigarette in hand. Cecil ran the night. He was the man, the force behind it all. The man who made the night happen. The leader. He would host the night, always playing the first song, and usually the last, although by the end of the night the songs would turn into a huge jamming session, everyone with a guitar strumming, people singing all sorts of harmonies and feet stamping and spoon rattling. He introduced people to others and welcomed everyone, the good and the bad. It didn’t matter. Everyone was welcome.
It was Cecil who encouraged me to play songs, to write songs and sing. Although at that time, I wasn’t much use. I had only just started the guitar and consequently only just started to write songs. I wasn’t musically accomplished but I had gusto and instinct and the need for expression. I have always written everything by simply following my feelings and emotions. While I was at university, it was Cecil who kind of took me under his wing. He helped me make a CD. I think I recorded a couple of acoustic songs and from there, he tried to get me a few gigs in pubs in the local area. Cecil was great to me. He was always happy and enthusiastic. He gave me a little something to believe in.
One day, walking past the local pub, I saw my name was in the window “Little Fish” playing tonight. It was my first big acoustic show and by what I mean big, I don’t mean in front of thousands of people. I just mean that it was my first proper show, standing on a stage at the back of a pub, playing some acoustic songs. When I saw the name “Little Fish”, I wasn’t expecting that to be the name advertised. I just shrugged to myself and thought “Right. Well. That’s my name then. Little Fish. In time Little Fish will be the name of my band.”
I am sad now to say that unfortunately Cecil passed away. I couldn’t even tell you how now. I don’t really know what happened. We lost touch for a while as life does that sometimes. All I can say is that I got a phone call from his wife a few years back. She found me on Myspace and wrote to tell me about Cecil as she thought that I should know. I was extremely sad to hear this news and even writing about it now, thinking about Cecil and his cherry DMs makes me sad. I miss him. I just think to myself, if anyone was to be proud of me, now on tour with a band, supporting Blondie, it would be him. So tonight, I am sharing and learning something about Cecil. I am in his home town. The city that made a good man and a good friend. I can’t invite him to the show, but I am happy to be there and in a way, feel his presence.
We arrive in Belfast. It’s hard to tell what the city is actually like as the venue is located out in the sticks. In the distance we can see mountains. Nez tells me that he feels like he is in France. The venue has been purpose built for big shows. There are two show areas: one is a huge rock arena and the other, slightly smaller (but still massive), is a airplane hanger-like venue.
After Debbie Harry and her band finish soundcheck, Debbie points to me with a big smile and says “Your go! And good luck!” I come closer and ask her why she says this to me. Basically, due to the nature of the building, when you play, the sound bounces around everywhere. I tell her that it will be ok when people are in. She shakes her head to the side and says “No it won’t!” At this point, I do have to take the words of someone so experienced such as Debbie Harry to be true. I am not too sure what she means but I will find out soon.
True enough. On stage sound is mental. As Nez kicks his drum not only can I hear it in my ears, but at the same time, I can feel the delay reverberate under my feet sending crazy vibrations through my body and on top of that, I can hear the echo of the beat that’s bounced off the back walls reaching my ears a second later. The delay is insane. This kind of sound makes it really difficult for anyone to hear exactly what is going on on stage. I feel like I am playing music underwater and it is horrible. I wonder how we are going to get through the show without messing up. I now realise what Debbie was talking to me about.
To be sure, stage time comes and we are on. To my joy and relief, the crowd has soaked up a lot of the sound and so things are seemingly far clearer. I smile. I sing. Nez hits and Ben plays. The show goes great. The crowd are the most friendly on the tour so far. Nez thinks that we have just played the show of our lives. Wonderful. We certainly do a good job of warming up the crowd for Blondie. Again, for the second night running, there is a sense of magic in the air. Once again, the night is going to be a good night.
Once off stage, I watch some of Blondie’s show from the side of the stage. Tonight is the only night that we can’t stay to watch all the show. We are not allowed to sell any merchandise afterwards and as well as having a six hour drive to Cork tomorrow we are all tired. We haven’t been to bed and had a good night’s sleep in over two weeks. We take the opportunity to get back to the hotel earlier than usual. This early night is welcomed. Before I leave, I watch the first five songs of Blondie. The night is going great for them, the audience are happy and singing along. I see that Debbie is really enjoying herself on stage as she is smiling a lot more than usual. As I turn and walk towards our tour van, I think to myself ‘she must have taken my smiling advice’. (Cheeky sod! Haha).
Thanks Cecil, RIP. Off to Cork. All the best. Juju. Little Fish X
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Tour blog: Dublin (party time)
Is it true what they say? That things get a lot worse before they get worse? I’m not sure what the worst part of our ‘day off’ was. For a start our short five-hour drive to Holyhead turned out to be a ten-hour nightmare and that our easy trip over to Dublin was delayed because we missed the ferry. Better still, we couldn’t find any good food anywhere in all this time, and lived on a diet of steak flavoured crisps and alcoholic ginger ale for thirty-two hours (not healthy btw).
Unlucky for us, our beloved van’s exhaust broke which gave us no choice but to turn off the motorway at Stoke and stop the van in the closest lay-by. The van could hardly chug at 30mph. We called all the local garages and mechanics, tweeted and facebooked our squids for solutions, but nothing. All the garages were closed (7pm) and all the mechanics were quoting extortionate prices. The sun was starting to set and we were running out of options. It was then that we finally opted for the McGiver approach. We got a can of Gillette aftershave, cut the two ends off, put the two pipes inside and then held the make-shift pipe together with some wire, tied tightly around the pipes. The plan was to think positive and go for it.
We drove off, the van sounding like “there was a drummer underneath the bonnet playing on the old pipes” (to quote Nez). The van really didn’t sound healthy and after twenty minutes of driving back on the motorway, we started to doubt whether or not we would make it to Holyhead. We decided to stop at the service station and get some food as we might be in for a long night. Luckily, or should I say miraculously, parked next to us in the parking lot was an RAC van. We kindly asked the guy in the van if he would take a look under our bonnet. Within ten minutes, the RAC man had fixed our pipe (enough for us to get around Ireland and back to Oxford) and in return we gave him a Fish CD and ten bob.
Did I say things got worse before they get better? Well, we made it to Holyhead fine. Late. But in one piece. What counted was that we made it. The next morning however, we arrived too late to catch the ferry. The barriers were closed and the ferry that was meant to get us over to Dublin was preparing to leave the bay. After a broken exhaust and endless enthusiasm, we weren’t prepared to give up there, in Holyhead. We don’t give up. Two hours later than anticipated, we were on the speedy ship crossing from Holyhead to Dublin. We weren’t going to be late for sound check. We were even going to be early!
I thought that Vicar Street was the name of the street that the venue we were to play at was on. It took me the entire night to realise that the name of the venue was in fact ‘Vicar Street’ and that we were not actually on Vicar Street. Ok. Now the confusion is over. We are in Dublin. It is the first time that Little Fish have ever played in Dublin. I am a little nervous as I am unsure about the Irish’s temperament. I am slightly worried that they will not appreciate us from the outset because we are from England. I get nervous around the Irish that my accent stands out as ‘arch enemy’. I am worried. Little by little however, as the night goes on, my nervousness and feeling of ‘being the outcast’ wears off. We take the stage, and right from the start, I see many smiling faces and we have rapturous cheering responses. The day off has given my voice a welcome break and nothing seems to stop LF from performing a great set. I am delighted that we haven’t been bottled or heckled off stage. Quite the contrary, everyone seems happy. Our stage show has been exciting, communicative, full of passion and purpose. The audience seems excited. Everyone knows that we are in for a good night. There is some sort of magic happy potion in the air. Everyone is ready for Blondie.
After our show, I go backstage to our band dressing room. It is the first time that we are placed directly next to Debbie Harry’s. As I am preparing for my quick shower (I have sweated like a beast tonight on stage), I hear someone singing some lovely gentle warm up tones. The tones are soft and delicate. I am intrigued as I myself do exactly the same before I go on stage. What I do is plug in my headphones and repeat some gentle tones and vocal exercises.
In my curious state, I follow the voice. I move out of my dressing room and into the hallway. I then peer round the door and see Debbie Harry singing. I smile. I smile to her. She looks up and as she turns to me I say “Wow. You are doing vocal tones. I do them too”. She smiles back at me and softly says “I know you do. I heard you doing them earlier”. Brilliant. It is the first time that I have ever heard another singer go and warm up their voice before a show. Especially someone so famous. It was great for me to hear that even the best have to work on keeping their voices fit, strong and healthy. “Right. Well. Have a great show. The audience is lovely. You are going to have a great night.” She asks, “Are they?” “They sure are,” I reply jokingly. “Just smile and they’ll smile back and if someone doesn’t smile back, try smiling at someone else instead.” She laughs and gives me a brilliantly big smile. I then leave her in peace. Vocal warm ups are essential. They help the singer both physically and psychologically. Knowing that you have done your preparation properly means that you will be able to give the best of yourself on stage.
Tonight, I don’t get to see Blondie go on stage as I am showering. But I don’t take long in the shower, as from my dressing room I hear roaring and thunderous clapping coming from the auditorium. Blondie are on fire tonight. The stage is slightly smaller than usual - maybe it has brought them closer together? There is a real band vibe. I rush down to the side of the stage. I have a perfect view. I can see everyone and hear everything. Tonight I am closest to Leigh, the bass player. He is not only a lovely guy but a diamond fox on bass. He slides up and down the bass guitar with ease and always hits the beat, bounces off beats and helps swing the band from song to song with ease and delicate class. He is a pleasure to watch.
Tonight is the first night that the audience is properly roaring. They can’t get enough of Blondie and I am sure that if Blondie would play all night long that nobody here would leave. They are magical. The night is magical. I don’t even have to say (but I will) that once again, Debbie puts in all her true rock star moves, sings brilliantly and leads the band to being the true heroes that we know and love them to be.
I am not sure why, but tonight everyone seems to be in party mode. After the show we are, for the first time, invited to join Blondie and entourage for drinks. There is a real sense of community tonight. Clem is raging about going out to a night club while the rest of the band sip drinks and talk quietly to their friends and people around. Debbie tells us stories about crazy fans. Very entertaining. While talking we are swept aside as the boys from The Beach Boys come backstage. They are equally hyper. They loved the show. They are here in Ireland touring too. Excitedly for us, they have seen us play and are raving about our performance. How humbling. What’s more, Vicki Peterson of The Bangles is also here among us. She is charming and has also loved our performance. She and her husband John are wildcats, full of fun and giggles. We talk guitar, music and song, but most importantly of all, we talk paper. Vicki, like us, is madly into paper. It is then that Vicki Peterson of The Bangles gives us her address and joins the Little Fish Paper Club. Awesome. See you tomorrow night all.
Next stop Belfast. Juju. Little Fish X
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Tour blog: Westonbirt Arboretum (Don’t get paranoid)
We arrive late, maybe two in the morning, our brains dead but our hearts happy and in full swing. There is no time to rest. This tour is like bouncing from one end of the country to another. There are many shows to be done in a short amount of time, and tomorrow Little Fish have two festivals to play in one day. I suppose that wouldn’t sound so bad if the festivals were close together. But our first is situated in Croyde (North Devon, a four hour drive from Oxford) and the second in Tetbury (a three hour drive from Croyde).
We wake early. It’s seven and we have only had five hours to sleep. For some reason, I don’t feel as tired as I thought I would or should be. In fact, I feel quite the opposite. I know why that is. It is because when I wire my brain up correctly, my body follows. I have prepped the longitude of the day ahead, visualised the lunacy. I feel that I can approach it in a calm manner and why not, when things could not be any better?
I am lucky. I am spend my days surrounded by four great guys. First up is Nez, my loyal and long standing friend who has played the drums now with me and Little Fish for the last five years. Then there is Ben, our friendly ghost Hammond player who has only just joined with Little Fish recently, but who has quickly integrated and become part of the family. He is calm and thoughtful, fun and hard working. He has a good band attitude and is prepared to dig in and join in the crazy fish affair. Then we have Mitch and Chris. Mitch and Chris are the two young lads who have taken on this tour and made it happen for us. Between them, they drive the van, do our front of house sound (that’s Chris), fix up my guitars (that’s Mitch), organise our journeys and generally help us out a lot and always with a smile. The best thing about all of these men is that they are kind, caring and lots of fun to work with. I have a wonderful team that makes life in the Fish-touring world fun and possible. If it weren’t for these guys all giving something, from time to love, there would be no tour. Blessed.
So, as I said before, its 7am. We set out to Devon. I have heard of Devon, but I haven’t really been there. Devon is situated on the south west coast of England. We are headed to Croyde. The van, once again, chugs its way through beautiful English countryside. When we arrive in Devon, I see the sea for the first time in a long time. I feel ashamed that I have forgotten what the sea looks like. What a summer looks like. There are hundreds of people walking the small winding roads that lead us to the beach. The beaches are sandy yellow and lined with holidaymakers, all wearing shorts and dressed for the sun. I am reminded that it is the summer. That people are on holiday. I had forgotten. Holidays haven’t existed in my world for a long while. Seeing this makes me happy. I am really happy to see people enjoying themselves and living for the time it takes to sit on a beach and watch a crab, lick an ice cream, talk, play in the water, come to a festival. Live life. I am excited to feel part of this moment.
OceanFest is the name of the festival in Croyde that we are to play. From the stage, I can see the sea. It is amazing and I wish that we didn’t have to leave in such a hurry; a day hanging out at the seaside with loads of relaxed people would have been right up my street. Why do people live in cramped up concrete cities when nature is so beautiful and offers so much? The problem with people like me, is that we forget. Anyhow, I don’t want to get into that. All I know is that when I have a couple of days free, I will take my lover by the hand and drive him to the sea.
The festival is fun. The laziness of the spectators is lifted as they clap and cheer. We feel appreciated but cannot stay. Now we know what the festival is, and who the people are (the festival organiser and the people there were all lovely and welcoming), we know that we will be back. On stage at two, off stage by two-thirty and on our way to Tetbury to play with Blondie by ten-to-three. Not bad going.
We don’t have much time to get to Westonbirt Arboretum, in Tetbury. Our tour manager, Mitch, has already alerted the festival organisers that we will be running late and that we will not have the time to sound check. Instead, we will be doing a simple line check. That means, instead of checking the entire sound of the band before show time we will only have the time to set up our equipment and check that everything is working. Our front of house man, Chris, will have to mix everything on the fly, as he goes. Rock n roll.
Although we arrive later than expected (due to an accident on the motorway, lane closures, diversions…) we make it to Tetbury. As we drive through the back entrance, I don’t really realise the exactly how big the festival that we are about to play actually is. It is only when I get on stage, carrying my guitars, wearing my little shorts and summer T-shirt that I realise that I am in fact standing in front of 6,000 people, all having bought tickets, all waiting for Blondie to come on stage and that we, Little Fish, are about to be the opening act.
To be honest with you, I am a little taken aback. I can feel my throat choking and my heartbeat magnifies. My heart is beating hard. My hands are trembling. I realise that I had never prepared myself for standing in front of so many people and that I had no idea today would be so big. There is a sea of people all standing in a field in front of me that I can see right out to the horizon. I can see heads but no faces. I can’t see colour, just a haze. Freak. Me. Out.
We are used to setting up our gear and so we do so with good speed and haste. There is something quite embarrassing about setting up in front of so many people, it kind of takes away the surprise of musicians magically appearing on stage, but you know what? We had no choice. By the time we have set up, we have a good forty-five minutes to prepare ourselves before going on stage.
My hands are shaking but I am ready. We give ourselves a group hug and then head for stage. We have performed many shows now, and so we know what we are doing. We can take all that we have learned up until now with us. All this work, all of our past shows, gives us the experience and strength to perform as we always do. Although we are now standing in front of a sea of people, we play hard and perform as well as we know how.
The set goes well from start to finish. In all honesty, I was properly nervous for the first time of my life. I have never performed in front of so many people. Being on such a big stage, in front of so many people, is not the time to become paranoid. It is hard enough opening up for one of the most loved pop bands in England as it is, but this was in a different league. This show truly made me feel like we were Blondie’s children. It was like them saying ‘Welcome to the successful world of rock n roll’. This show was different to anything I have ever done before.
When we come off stage, I run off and stand next to the first person I see, which is Debbie Harry herself. She smiles at me and says “your voice sounded great tonight”. I look at her and my mind started to tick ‘two shows in one day, three shows in the last twenty-four hours. What was I thinking? That I was some sort of super-hero? Singing so much and so hard is challenging for sure. Singing hard and so much in front of thousands of people is a potential recipe for suicide. I must be crazy’. I look at Debbie and say to her “Truly? You thought so? Well, thank you.” It is then that I can’t help myself and say to her with a smile “Well, you really did throw us in at the deep end today didn’t you?!” She laughs at this and gives me a little knowing nod. She then heads for the stage herself. It is then that I realise that she and Blondie are all used to this. Playing in front of thousands, and I mean THOUSANDS of people every night. For them, this day is like many others and has simply become a stroll in the park.
Dare I say that today was the first time that Nez’s dad ever saw him play the drums. Feelings and emotions are running high. Time for some beer and time to enjoy another Blondie show. We watch, smiling. We are starting to know the set well, and the songs even better.
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Tour blog: Bournemouth (How Are Your Ears?)
We had a day off in between the Sheffield show and today Bournemouth. Blondie took the coaches down to Bournemouth and hung out by the sea most of the day. The weather here in England is scorching, very rare. We on the other hand, went back to our home town of Oxford. What with catching up on emails, blogs, video edits, washing and shopping for food, there wasn’t much time to relax. We did, however have time to watch the football (soccer). There is always time for the World Cup here. The nation is currently disappointed with England’s poor performance.
Bournemouth is an hour’s drive South of Oxford. Not far. Today we are playing The Opera House. We have played there twice before, supporting Placebo and The Eagles Of Death Metal. What is striking about the venue is not so much the size, of course it is big, but more its beauty. The balconies are ornate, painted gold. Everyone here likes the venue. Everyone has had a day to rest and everyone is feeling fresh and ready to go for the weekend shows and festival fun.
Tonight, I am using in-ear monitoring for the first time. With the conventional monitor system, speakers are placed at the feet of the singer, and through that, the sound of the band is fed back. Although you can choose what you want to hear back, it is not always easy as a singer to hear yourself with all the instruments on stage; with the loud volume and varying frequencies, the voice doesn’t always cut through. Not only does this make it hard to sing but it makes it dangerous for the singer, because to compensate for the lack in volume, you have to push your voice, shout even, and risk hurting it.
An in-ear monitoring system is exactly what the name suggests. All the top singers and performers use them. I suppose, you just have to be able to hear yourself on stage and in-ear monitoring has become the most favoured solution. I am a little nervous about using them but I am aware that being able to hear myself sing properly will prevent me from hurting my voice. If the best do it, then there must be a good reason. I am prepared to give it a go.
Ten minutes before stage time and I am out the back, putting in my in ears. Debbie walks past me. I say “hi”. She says “hi” back. Then I tell her that I am using in-ears for the first time tonight. She is excited for me. I ask her for tips. She tells me that she doesn’t like to hide her radio pack and quite likes having the device attached to her belt, “it’s like another gadget” she says. Just like her knife I think to myself. I jokingly tell her that I am onto her and that I am getting myself a sword that I will be drawing from its scabbard so as to out-do her. She laughs. Then we talk more about the monitors. She tells me not to be afraid to change the volume of it during the show. That if I want to sing softly, to turn it up and vice versa. She says that she couldn’t live without in-ears. I am encouraged. The boys call for me and I have to rush off. Time for us to hit the stage.
Little Fish take to the stage. It’s 8pm and the venue is full. I start the first song and from the first note, I hear my voice clearly in my ears, unlike ever before. As we all start to play, I hear my guitar, the hammond and drums kick in perfectly. I am happy. We rock our way through the set. The beauty of being able to hear yourself sing is that instead of competing and struggling with the voice and other instruments around, you can start to actually sing. I play with my voice. Add nuance. Sing loud. Sing soft. I feel that I have uncovered the start of something new. I am extremely happy. I exit stage right. My voice is fine. No strain. No loss. Perfect.
Blondie hit the stage, 9pm. I watch Blondie from the side of the stage. Perched on an amp, I am able to see everything. I am about two metres from Debbie Harry. I can see her every move. I watch her like a hawk. True enough, now that I am aware of her monitor adjustment trick, I see her touching her monitor numerous times. She subtly reaches to her belt and adjusts her in-ear receiver.
Their show goes well. Blondie are on a roll now. There isn’t anything that I could fault. Every night I get to hear their songs and each night I come to love them more and more. My favourite song is ‘One Way, Or Another’ as I have so many good memories of the song, dancing to it with friends at parties and night clubs. This is also the song I told Debbie I wish I had written, the very first night we met. Little did I know at the time, that I would be hearing her sing the song every night of the month of June 2010. When the band play it, every night, the audience goes mental. They sing the song back to her and there is this amazing personal interaction from artist to audience. It’s a real bonding song. I have also developed a sweet affection for “Call Me”, “Maria”, “The Tide Is High” and “Hanging On The Telephone”. Tonight was the first time that they played “Picture This”. They were learning it in sound check in Sheffield two night’s before so it was great to see it get into the set tonight. In the Little Fish camp, we are still waiting for them to play “Denis”.
Outside, at the end of the night, everyone is leaving. Debbie looks great as ever. She turns to me and asks me how my in-ears went? I turn to her and smile with glee as I say “It’s going to change my life. Incredible. I could actually hear myself sing!”. Debbie is pleased for me and just before we say goodbye, until tomorrow, she tells me that she is having a birthday party and will be cordially inviting Little Fish. Wowa! As I get in the van and drive home, I think back to how these last months have been amazing for Little Fish. Last month I was sitting in a cab in New York, telling Ben (our ghost Hammond player), how I wished I had written the song ‘One Way Or Another”. The following day, we are supporting Courtney Love at Terminal 4, when Debbie Harry actually comes to the show. We meet her afterwards and the next thing I know, we are touring with Blondie and being invited to Debbie Harry’s Birthday party. Praise that Lord!!
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Tour blog: Sheffield (Blondie has a knife)
Image copyright Big_Franko, from the Little Fish Flickr group
I am ashamed to say that I have never been to Sheffield and am unaware of exactly where it is. When leaving Manchester, I ask the boys in the van and they tell me that it is only a small hour’s drive away from Manchester. I accept this, but to make up for my lack of knowledge on the city, my curious mind starts to wonder and I decide to probe the boys for more. This starts off a band discussion about Sheffield that culminates with the deduction that Sheffield is a city built around 7 hills, that the River Sheaf runs through it, that the hit children’s TV series Byker Grove was filmed there (not actually true) and that The Artic Monkeys also came from Sheffield. Most importantly however, Sheffield is famous for being the innovators of stainless steel. Importantly because when I casually bump into Debbie Harry backstage, right after having opened up for Blondie, she pulls out the sharpest of knives, seemingly out of nowhere, and rather calmly starts to tell me about the history of stainless steel.
So. Picture this. Sheffield Academy. Two thousand people front of house, all waiting for Blondie to come out and smack them dead with their killer tunes while me and Debbie Harry are standing backstage. I have just come off stage with Little Fish. It’s been another high-energy show and I’m sweating like a little mouse, with no ammunition except for a sweaty towel (which I kindly offer to Debbie, but she kindly giggles and declines). Debbie however, is dressed as wonder woman war fighter, head to toe in black, ninja shoes, power ballerina dark navy skirt and all sorts of chains and belts wrapped round her waist, holding a bloody sharp knife and kind of pointing it at me.
The first thing that crosses my mind is ‘What have I done? Is this for real?’ and then, when I realise that there is no threat or menace, ‘Is it normal for her to carry a weapon?’ Common sense makes me think for a brief moment that she might well have to carry a knife on her at all times, that this is indeed common, in case she ever needs it for some sort of rumble in the jungle with a crazy fan. You know, a self-defence kind of thing.
After my flashes of thoughts, my mind calms and I realise that Debbie is talking to me, not with anger or menace but more with a cheery smile. Her voice is calm, gentle and soothing. She has one of those American voices that I love. So composed. In and amongst my confusion and blurring of thoughts I realise that she is happy to have bought a real sharp blade from the city that innovated stainless steel. She smiles as she says that she actually bought it in Newcastle but Sheffield was where it was made. She likes it. We touch it. She tells me that she wears it around her belt as it reminds her of the woman on Blondie’s (soon to be released) new album. She says, “the most I could do with it is trim my wig and file my nails!” I laugh. She is funny. And although she has war paint around her eyes and a knife in her hand, I just want to hug her. She is the sweetest softest rock legend I have met so far in the world of music. Time has passed. Debbie needs to go on stage soon. She is sweet as she kindly says, “well I must go and warm up, see you later”. Blondie are on in twenty minutes and Debbie sneaks off back into her dressing room.
True to super-woman-tank-girl style, Blondie kicked ass once again in Sheffield. Maybe her knife gave them the edge? Every night, Blondie’s performances are improving. As I look on from the balcony, Debbie genuinely looks like she was enjoying the show. There seemed to be more smiles and energetic dance moves than usual. And just when I think that life couldn’t get any better, Debbie Harry decides, in between songs, to thank Little Fish for supporting Blondie. She tells the audience about how she met us in New York when we played with Courtney Love. I smile to myself and thank her in thoughts as the crowd applauds in appreciation. Blessed.
Next stop Bournemouth, and this time, I’m bringing my own knife!
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Tour blog: Manchester
We left Newcastle early. We had a three hour drive and we had to arrive in Manchester by midday to do an interview for Q Radio. We haven’t done many radio interviews and neither have we had much radio play, so we value the opportunity. The interview was fun. We had lots to talk about; from working with Linda Perry to touring with Courtney Love and now about Debbie Harry and Blondie.
Manchester is situated north of England. The people of Manchester are lively and friendly, but the weather isn’t usually quite as welcoming. Today, however, we are blessed with sunshine, so we sit outside and enjoy a hearty jacket potato. You never quite know when your next meal will be when you are on tour at this level, so you have to make the most of each opportunity to fill up. Most days, we settle with one meal a day and keep ourselves topped up with motorway knickknacks along the way.
When we arrive, Blondie’s crew have already set up the stage for tonight but Blondie don’t sound check until 4pm so there is some time to kill before we can watch them. I love to watch big bands sound check. I find it intriguing. I love watching other musicians work. I am eager to learn and to understand the workings. One thing that I have learned over the years is that whenever a successful band sound checks, they sound check wholeheartedly. They sing songs from start to finish and play with intent. The drummer plays to his best (I say “his” as I have, in all my time on the road, not seen one female drummer to date, truly), the guitarist rocks hard and the singer sings full throttle. True to form, Blondie are the same. Blondie are quick to sound check tonight. As the shows become smoother, sound check seems to get shorter. That leaves us, the support band, with more time. Lovely.
Tonight we need a longer soundcheck as the venue has had to hire in a front of house desk, wedges, microphone stands and cables because Apollos don’t have any in-house gear and Blondie travel with their own system. This means that we have to set all the hired gear up from scratch. This involves plugging everything in, connecting the dots so to speak. The monitors also have to be rung out which means that you have to get rid of the frequencies that feed back so that the singer can hear herself sing. This can take time. In venues where the PA system is already set up, this ‘ring-out’ has already been done. People specialize in doing this as it can take an entire day to do. Lucky for us, Blondie’s crew are incredibly helpful. Their years of experience really show.
So, when we arrive, we unload the gear. There is no dressing room set up for us (not unusual for the support band, the other night in Cambridge we got given a laundry room, still better than being stuck outside!). Clem insists on having his own dressing room separate to the rest of the band. Debbie of course has her own too. The headline band have to be catered for – they are treated like royalty by crew and management. Fair enough. We also cow out the way in respect, to give them space and be polite, whenever we cross paths. There are obviously some stars that are more friendly and forthcoming than others. On this tour, sure enough, Debbie Harry herself has been extra-ordinarily friendly and welcoming. Every day when she goes on stage to sound check, she always gives us a friendly wave, acknowledging us, saying hello.
Today, while I was sitting in the canteen area, Debbie sat down with a plate of food and we had a quick chat about vocal upkeep. We spoke of various teas that we like to drink. I noticed that on stage she has a mug of tea and I was curious to know what was in it. We both agree that ‘Throat Coat’ is a keeper, I tell her about ‘Breath Easy’ as I find it helps keep the lungs open and happy for oxygen-debt singing. Debbie tells me about her ‘Rosehip and honey’ trick. She advises me to keep changing and trying new teas all the time. I take the advice and thank her. At this point, I see a picture of Debbie Harry, framed and in full view for everyone who walks in the venue to see. I ask her how it feels to walk in and see a picture of her framed on the wall. She smiles, looks at me and says “I liked the pictures of me when I was really young and cute”. We smile. I feel like I don’t want to intrude anymore. I leave her in peace to eat her food. Damn, she is cool.
The shows for both bands run smoothly. The audience has a great night – and so they should. Blondie have a given another great show and hey! We weren’t that bad either!
The night ends with us not being allowed to sell any of our ridiculously cheap CDs at the merchandise store. We decide to go all Rodney n Del Boy. We stand out on the street like scruffians, sell and sign CDs and meet many people from the audience at the end of their show, on their way out. It is a lot of fun although I am a little embarrassed. I would rather be backstage, ‘being a rock star’ and keeping up the mysterious illusions of rock n roll life. Instead however, we in the Little Fish camp, all dig deep and grow some thick skin. We are well aware that touring with Blondie is giving us an opportunity to get our music out there. Heard by many. This is what all bands crave. Times are hard. Labels are not quite as generous as they once might have been. The bands now have a responsibility to sell and to get themselves out there, with or without a record label behind them. And to be honest, I find meeting people, talking and interacting with our audience one of the most pleasurable things about being in a band. Music makes people happy and its lovely to meet so many music lovers and happy people.
Driving to Sheffield now. Driving through some magical countryside. Looking forward to tonight’s show. Speak soon. Juju. Little Fish. X
