Day 9 North America Tour - 19th July 2007
14:45
We have just driven over the George Washington Bridge into New York City. It really was like the wacky races getting through it. It’s my turn for the front seat today but I had to shield my eyes on many occasions thinking that we were going to crash into the many lorries pushing there way into our lane. I’m not exaggerating when I say we were terrified!
I’m actually celebrating a wee bargain. We had to call in at Sam Ash Music store to get Tippi a new amp since she just blew up the Mesa boogie amp she was borrowing. While the girls were salivating over the many amps and guitars on display, I nipped into the drum room. The kits they have on display in America are far better than the what you see in music shops at home. I spotted a hardware bag for $84 which I badly needed since the stands we have for the kit are all loose and it takes forever to carry them into venues (if you don’t jam your fingers in them in the process). I turned on the Scottish charm and talked him down to $50, so £25......result.
We’re travelling towards our hotel at the moment to get checked in. It’s very difficult to type since they don’t know how to fix potholes here and we’re bouncing all over the place. Thank goodness no hangovers today. We’re staying in the Soho Suites which are a far cry from the UN Millennium Hotel we stayed in last time. It was so posh it didn’t even have a kettle in the room.
The Soho Suites are cool though. It’s the NY equivalent to The Columbia in London in that most bands stay there. They have a hall of fame in reception with all the famous bands that have broken in the mattresses. It’s more of an apartment really , so there’s a cooker and a fridge and the girls are looking forward to me making a batch of my famous coconut curry Thai noodle soup....and no, it’s not out a tin.
We’ve just been invited along to watch the David Letterman show being filmed at 4:30pm so we’re quite excited about that and wondering who the guests will be! Guesses have varied between The Fratellis (who were playing in town last night) and Joan Rivers. If it is Joan, I must tell her I was just talking about her the other day. I was saying to the girls that whenever I put soap near my face it gets so tight that I feel like Joan Rivers! Ha ha! I’m sure she’d appreciate that.
Anyway, best be off since we’re nearly at the hotel and I only have about 2minutes to scrub up so we can pimp the Hedrons name about the TV Station and try and get us a slot. It’s not soliciting. It’s networking.
We watched the David Letterman show from the control room It was very cool indeed. Sadly no musicians were on. Instead there was some Spanish celebrity chef and a comedian that I can’t remember the name of. He was very funny though. Thanks to our mate Harvey (the sound guy) for organising it all for us. Top bloke.
When the show finished we had to run straight over to the gig to load in, sound check and do an interview. Hectic as usual. We didn’t get time to eat all day. Hard to believe but we didn’t get anything until 9:30pm and we were starving. We only had time to grab a slice of pizza. Not exactly nutritious but it did the job! We ended up meeting a singer in the Pizza place from a band called the Noisettes from England who were doing exactly the same as us and playing catch up. Cool lassies and good chat.
We weren’t on stage until 11:20pm so we had time to mingle with the other bands playing. It was a Club NME night so there were a lot of industry people and the like there so it was a good networking opportunity. Scissors for Lefty were on before us and they are playing a few shows with us on this tour so we got a chance to get to know them and share a few beers. The show was itself was brilliant. It was mobbed and everybody there seemed to get into it so mission accomplished.
NME were there of course taking lots of pictures so look out for them in the magazine and the website! I seem to remember many shots being taken at the aftershow party when my memory becomes quite hazy. I hope they are not too incriminating.
Once the party was over and we were thrown out the club, loads of us went onto another club down the road. Rosie and Tippi had bailed out by this point so it was down to Gill and myself to fly the flag! Many gins and beers were consumed. I have a vague recollection of getting back to the hotel at around 4:30am. Oh dear. We had to get up at 9am to travel to Boston so it probably wasn’t wise to stay out so late.
When my alarm went off at the ungodly hour of 9am I realised that I was only lying on top of my bed wearing the same clothes I had on all night and still had my trainers on all laced up. I walked past Rosie in the living room and she thought I had been up and showered! Ha-ha! My hair resembled Young Einstein’s so I have no idea why she thought that. I was still birlin’ and talking rubbish by the time we set off. Ach well, it was a good night and worth the pain. The day ahead was not going to be pretty. I think Frank’s crabbit.
Soup x
