May 2010 by Jon
Hi... here's a brief opportunity to catch up with you...
We emerged from our rehearsal space / studio aka Big Mushroom on Thursday the 13th after intense rehearsal sessions to master the Some Friendly album.. Afternoons locked away in the near darkness of our cramped space littered with all manner of recording equipment and vintage instruments drums,amps and pianos etc etc.. For fifteen days we played and replayed the whole album, only broken as we went outside for tea breaks and to answer email questions about the forth coming shows and all of the design and set list questions which have to be made available prior to the gig even happening....
The result was magical and the first two concerts where a moving experience. The sell out gigs gave us a great feeling travelling back twenty years..
I hope that everyone who purchased the live cd is as please with it as I am. We look forward to the Primavera and Roundhouse gigs and hope to see you later in the year when we will be touring with our new studio album...
Thanks for coming out and being so supportive.
JB
Message from Jon, April 2010
Hello...
The Some Friendly gigs are now set in stone and we are really pleased to see so many people attempting to buy tickets that we thought a few more special gigs around the UK would be in order...
The record itself is an eclectic affair and did point to a trend which has continued to this day with all our records. We are looking forward to revisiting these tunes and adding a touch here and there to the arrangements.
We've also been looking back at archive material that has been filmed and stored by Kim Peters who was responsible for directing our first few videos.
We've unearthed more rare archive interviews and concert footage spanning the early years right up until the present day. It includes footage from The Royal Albert Hall and rare band interviews. Initially last year we thought we had uncovered most of our filming but at the start of this year several new containers were found. All of the content will be processed before the end of the spring and going towards some kind of documentary/history of ourselves.
The new album is currently being mixed in New York by Cameron Jenkins and with the amount of songs (20) to mix prior to release we have no news of the release date yet but we will be playing some of the tunes in the summer... check out the studio pics on the right.
New Year blog…. January 2010 by Jon
Please let me be the last to wish you happy a New Year!!
I’d like to give a brief summery of our 2009 year, as usual one that is always busy, sometimes cataclysmic and usually unpredictable. As we approached the twentieth anniversary I can honestly say that as a band we were not initially planning anything special to mark this amount of time passing.... although Martin suggested a two minutes silence…no change there then!!
We’ve been touring and promoting YCMP for nearly two years now and have enjoyed the great responses we have received from audiences in many different countries, gigging this unique sounding record. The whole experience and pre release build up have been quite a trip. Sometimes leaving people by the wayside along the route is the unavoidable nature and by- product of being focused and committed to finishing an artistic endeavour/vision…. YCMP actually stared out as a musical statement, and has always remained an inspiration to us…
So the only way we could think of to celebrate surviving and thriving the last two years was not to spend time in reflection, but to record another album! And release it this year. We’ve had the good fortune to be recently involved with one of music’s true champions, Big life management, it is this new relationship that has resulted in us being half way through recording our new album at Britannia row studios, south London (which was once Pink Floyds old haunt).
We are being produced by Youth, along with Tim Bran, Clive Goddard and assistant Davide Venco. The song writing sessions have been done with some band members working alone and on other occasions together, this has given us a diverse mixture of songs and possible directions…It would be an injustice to the songwriters for me to give any indication of the direction at this early stage, but I can tell you that we’ve had the rare pleasure of recording late night jam sessions at Britannia row, this has given us renewed creativity and insight into our collective musical outlooks, these transcendent outpourings have provided us with another doorway to explore, to go beyond the normal musical agenda… We will be returning to this in depth next time we reconvene in the studio after the holiday season…We also invited a special guest poet down to the studio to take part in the spontaneity of the late evening musical explorations, and along with the production team it’s had a big impact on creative output, and added new colour and more depth to the narrative which drives the band forward. Along with our audio adventures we are in the process of filming as much as we can including gigs, studio footage and interviews and never before seem archive material to put together a short film about, what and who we are…
We are hopeful for a new release in early summer time and this could hopefully coincide with some festival dates and touring. As of yet we can’t confirm any dates but we would love to be out there this summer and beyond. We plan to give Some Friendly the record that started our journey an airing in some select venues/festivals this year. It will be deconstructed and reassembled in Big Mushroom over the next few months and hopefully reborn to an audience in May…
I’d like to last say a big thanks to everyone that has took to time to get in touch with us via the website and help keep the site up to date your information and data is greatly appreciated, thanks for checking out our new online shop too.
Also a heartfelt thanks for all who attended the recent gigs…As we finished the last day of recording (at 2.00am) we took the train up to Middlesbrough that morning at 9.00am to be met by freezing and blizzard conditions. The reception was fantastic and we left feeling artic proof, on our departure back that early evening.
Unfortunately we had the 6 hour drive through the blizzard to take us back to the hotel in Manchester with one of the vehicles getting stuck in the snow for a while after encountering a jack knifed truck…I have to point out heroic drives by both Derek and our longsuffering tour manager Warren, both put in the drives of their life’s across hill and dale!
The Crewe gig had a real homecoming vibe to it and a real festive spirit was in the air we left the club happy with one last engagement to fulfil before we all said good-bye till next time.
The recently refurbished Alhambra in Dunfermline was the perfect marry of theatre and rock venue. As a treat we went for a band Christmas meal at a near by haunted restaurant in Culross, and were met by some strange ghostly activity in the air as we ate our last supper of 2009…The gig was a perfect end to the aforementioned two years of activity. And a Christmas message was recorded in the dressing room that night which can be seen here on our site.
I’d like to once more thank everyone for sticking around, and hope to see you all out there somewhere soon.
JB
New photoshoot…. June 2009
Check out the new shots in the photos & videos section.
That was the year that was 24th December 2008 by
Martin
So as 2008 draws to a close here’s just a short message to you all to say a mighty thank you for making the past 12 months a very special and exciting time. The shows as always felt like an event and there was a touch of sadness when the last chords rang out in Nagoya Japan knowing that was it for now. Australia and New Zealand was a revelation in finally getting there! Thanks to Qantas airlines for being so accommodating when Tony and Jon missed their flights (no change there) to Tokyo and got them to the venue a couple of hours before hand.
Europe felt inspiring with a fantastic response to the new album, from Berlin to Barcelona and all points in-between these places shall not be neglected again! Back in the UK it was nice to sneak off into the towns and cities before the shows and pick up the vibe meeting familiar faces and some new ones (cheers for the hospitality Paisley, Edinburgh and Leeds).
So there you have it, You Cross My Path came initially with the success as a free download in March and a physical copy in May to give people a choice and for this album that was our choice because we could at this moment in time, is this the future template? I doubt very much so.
Once again thanks to all in these uncertain economic times that attended the gigs, downloaded/purchased the album and who posted their opinions (music is about opinions) on the site. From me, I hope that the New Year brings all that you want from it. Until then, take care, stay tuned and keep listening.
Martin Blunt
Post renaissance/revolution
blog…. 3rd August 2008 by
Jon
Hello! Welcome to
mid summer and the mid way point of the bloodless velvet revolution.
An almost dictator less uprising with its cast of Machiavellian
characters that plot and try to shape the course of what was
a trickle but now is a flood of change in the music/direction
of not only The Charlatans but all bands/groups/supergroups/megagroups….
As some of music’s biggest names release confused and contradictory
statements in vain attempts to pacify corporate music executives/accountants
in fear of the axe, but at the same time nodding their heads
to a band of sedition hungry mutineers.
The share of music ownership has swung back to
us the public, we now have more free access to music and the
option of purchase is more valued, freeing us to make our own
decisions based on research rather than how much marketing money
has been spent. Maybe this can account for the growing number
of independent festivals that brighten up the UK without too
much mainstream media interest, and with little need for the
continued disproportionate negative news/press coverage of violence
or street crime which seems to have attached itself to an oblivious
generation. These regional smaller festivals are the only place
in the country that a small gathering can escape the snide intrusive
spying that CCTV has forced us to live with (although I did notice
a balloon mounted camera at T in the park).
Sky’s free download coverage with Tim grinning under his
new Burgess bowl was very funny. The broadsheets have had to
play a bit part in the story that has happened under their noses
and have paired us up with our counter part revolutionise Radiohead,
who admirably have also dragged greener issues into their manifesto.
We have been playing constantly all over
the UK and have been out to Europe several times and in front
of massive crowds at festivals all summer. The live set is
a tear up of the new album with a slight change of direction
regarding some of our older tunes…The Charlatans are a band without equal on stage
right now and we enjoy and play every gig like its our last…that
is the only way we can keep up this level of intensity we’re
caught up in. With acknowledgement to Dianne Barton whose skill
as our sound engineer is responsible for the db’s being
pushed to maximum effect, as she turns festival pa’s into
V12 sonic super systems.
We have engaged every aspect of TV coverage
(thanks to Vicky Grafton) and as the story began to capture
(and still captures) people’s imaginations the clamour
for a few words grew and grew. Reaching the Zenith of all TV
appearances, the cooking show!!! The magic moment of watching
fellow band members who I’ve had the privilege and sometimes
pain of so many shared experiences, making a pastie!… I’ve
yet to try out the recipe but I’m sure Cornwall still
holds a fair slice of the market.
Highlights so far include a trip to Moscow,
T in the park…(as
concerts go it was as good as it gets)… going back to
Europe to tour, being in the tent at this years V with the Chemical
Brothers and finally the chance to go to Australia and New Zealand… a
trip which will have taken us nearly two decades, I will be back
to give my version of events…
Thanks To:
Cat for the care and construction of the site
Kelly for taking over our merchandise
Warren for taking control of the touring
Alan and co for guidance
James for watching our backs
Wishing James F all the best for the future.
Thanks for reading this….JB
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