9:50 pm - Mon, Jul 30, 2012

Past Adventures

Well, the album’s out in a few days and I’m a little bit anxious about releasing something that we’ve spent so long working on.  A few years ago, before the days of Twitter, Tumblr etc., I posted the following blog (dated 24th August 2009) on good ol’ Myspace after our second session at the studio.  I thought the timing of re-visiting this blog entry was very interesting.

I should mention that, while we were ‘7 tracks’ into the album at the time, two of those didn’t make it onto the final version and became two of the bonus tracks which we recently released on our website:

‘Hello folks,

I just thought I’d post out a wee update regarding the progress of our record.

We’re 7 tracks into the actual recording process and we have 3 more songs to lay down.  This process will take us a while as its completely self-funded so we can only hit the studio a few days at a time.  However, the good thing about this is that every second spent will mean something and we’re taking great care to make sure that its sounding as good as possible.

I can’t tell you how excited I am to show these songs to you but it’s going to have to wait until we’ve got the final mixes.  I’m unsure about a date (or outlet) of release but you’ll have to be patient for now.

I can tell you that the album’s going to be concise and sound great.  We spent this past weekend doing some overdubs and rough mixes on 3 songs and had the pleasure of recording raps (yes, raps!!!!) courtesy of the great Kuda!  Trust me, you will want to hear what we’ve been doing.  Its pretty spacey, precise and rocking.  Lots of heavy guitars and Moog lines.

In the immortal words of our dear friend, Pablo: “It’s great!”.’

Original blog can be found here: http://www.myspace.com/belikepablo/blog

Although it’s taken longer than expected, I’m really pleased with the album.  I hope you are too!

Ewen. 

2:40 pm - Tue, Jun 5, 2012

Ewen Watson’s 6 Step Guide to Surviving Music Festivals

This is the third summer that I’ve had the fantastic opportunity to play at music festivals across the UK.  Seeing as Rockness is taking place this weekend, I thought that I’d share the knowledge I’ve gained over the past two year to anyone else who may be a bit unsure about how to cope in these unpredictable situations.  With that in mind, I present to you: Ewen Watson’s 6 Step Guide to Surviving Music Festivals.

1) Don’t leave your tent
Just like the real world, festivals can be scary places.  Treat your tent (or base) like your house and try not to leave it unless 100% necessary.  The best company is always your own so try to avoid as much social interaction as possible as this usually leads to a mixture of confusion, anxiety and danger.  If you do need to leave your base, make sure you have studied local films and television programmes beforehand so you are aware of your society’s norms and understand how to lightly converse with others who may be within close proximity.

2) Pack as much as possible
Here’s an important tip: tents are not furnished.  So make sure you take lots of pillows for a good night’s sleep.  It can get quite loud at night so be sure to take some earplugs or ear defenders to block out the crude sounds that might keep you awake.  You also need to consider the temperature so pack both a light blanket and a nice warm duvet just in case.  If necessary, you can also buy an electric blanket to warm you up.  You won’t have access to cooking appliances (and probably can’t cook anyway) so just do what you do when your parents go on holiday and live off of sandwiches and crisps.  In the event that you run out of room for food, fill your coat pockets with sweets and liquidise the rest.

3) Be prepared
There are no computers at festivals and, unless you have wasted all of your money on the latest mobile telephone, you won’t be able to check the internet from your base.  Remember, you won’t have access to your console either so make sure you are at a suitable check point in your game before you leave.  That way, as soon as you get home, you can fire up the console and you won’t be confused or have to repeat parts of the game that you’ve already done. 

4) Look after those pennies
My mum always tells me that I shouldn’t go anywhere without money.  While I strongly disagree with this rule, I will stress that, if you do need to carry money on your person, please make sure you keep it in a money belt (or bum bag).

5) Check in with your family
It’s hard to be away from home for a few days and your parents are probably worried about you.  Call home as often as you can (I would suggest a minimum of five times a day) to let them know that you’re okay and that you are surviving the festival.  They will probably ask you what bands you have seen so be sure to know who is playing before you lie to them.

6) Nobody knows how to party
Other festival goers like to party a lot.  But they won’t be interested in your traditional view of party games.  This means that you should probably leave behind your travel (and full) versions of Scrabble, Connect Four and Mouse Trap.  Instead, take your handheld console (and lots of batteries) as its going to be a long weekend.

Have fun! 

9:32 pm - Thu, Mar 15, 2012