Fish 2008 - Rainbows over Manhattan and other short stories

Dear FishHeads, Freaks, fans and the Company

Washington pre-gig. The support band is kicking in and I'm trapped in another dressing room. The last few days have been eventful and glorious. The only black spot is that Steve's fingers are not healing and he's in a lot of pain and suffering on stage. It's getting him down as you would expect. The two and a half hour set at NEARFest didn't help and he needs a couple of days off. A badly bruised shoulder isn't helping.
The end of tour is coming at us apace and I think he will be glad when his ordeal is over.
I am holding up well but the extra numbers in Bethlehem took their toll and I was worried on waking in Philadelphia that I had scorched my voice. I needn't have worried. The only thing scorched was my memory and eyeballs. The former when I walked on and did a "Spinal Tap" and said "Hello Cleveland!" for some subconscious reason and the latter from the barrage of flashes from cameras (more later).

But I jump forward in the time frames too quickly.

The New York day off was painlessly negotiated and the gig day had me rising for a 12 noon bus crawl to Times Square and BB Kings. We were turned away from the Lincoln Tunnel as the bus was deemed to be too high. Another tour bus had been pulled over by the "Tunnel police" for whatever reason and TBH I was glad we weren't facing a haul over and a search that would have had us parked up for ages.
Instead we had a huge U turn and a trip via the George Washington bridge, a spectacular piece of engineering, and into the crawling traffic on the island.
We didn't get to the venue until around 3 and missed the footy game as the tall buildings obliterated the Sat signal. The bus had to leave immediately after off-loading the gear.
The venue had a completely different vibe from others on the tour, perhaps because it was NYC and in the heart of the entertainment district. It didn't feel friendly when we arrived. There are some venues that consider themselves bigger than the band. It's difficult to explain. Nothing I can put my finger directly on, just a vibe. I didn't feel comfortable and the number of staff that were scuttling around the hall made me wonder how it all paid for itself.

First priority of the day was to find a launderette and looking around outside in the theatre district seemed a lost cause. The venue didn't have washing machines but the manager told one of his staff, a young black kid called Rodney, to walk me to a place a few zigzag blocks away. It must have looked quite comical, a big white guy frantically following a wee black guy darting through crowds with obvious intent.
He was a great little guy and, although conversation was stilted due to heavy accents and his acute shyness, the mission was accomplished and on return to the venue he was over the moon when I gave him a T-shirt.
Although he was due to hang up his hat at 4 after he'd moved all the tables and chairs out of the venue, he hung around to catch the soundcheck and I was smiling as I caught him grooving out of the edge of my eye as he hid behind a pillar in the gloom.
The check went on a while. It was another acoustically dead room thanks to a heavy curtained backdrop and a carpeted stage. The backline was also under a lower ceiling which added to hassle with the stage sound. We made it bearable and trusted Paul out front to deliver his end of the deal.
No sooner was soundcheck over when I had to head to the meet and greet at the Twins pub. Billy and I caught a taxi eventually and arrived later than planned to a packed bar. It was the best attended yet with over a 100 fans spread out between the two floors. It had caught everyone by surprise but especially me.
Everyone was really cool and polite and the entire hour or so passed easily. What was foremost in my mind was picking up my laundry. It had started to rain outside and that meant taxis were in high demand.
Billy and I stood outside the awning of the pub as the rain came down. It was 7.30. Thankfully a fan arrived in a trusty yellow cab and whisked us away. Jed (?) was great company and a solid trooper. We stopped off near the launderette; I picked up my bag and scooted to the venue with enough underpants and socks to see me through to the end of the tour. Mission accomplished!

On the way I was looking for signs and totems. Signals and auspices for the night. As the rain began to dwindle, we were passing close to the Empire State Building and the mellow sun was low over the Hudson River. I muttered something about watching out for rainbows and - lo and behold - when we broke into a space in the skyline as we travelled up the Westside, the sky was arraigned in front of us and a rainbow held the frame of one of the most famous NYC landmarks. It was so jaw-droppingly beautiful and perfect. The arc completely followed the structure in sublime symmetry. I expected to see a film crew directed by Woody Allen on the sidewalk. It was totally spectacular.
And I didn't have my camera.

I would have to let it burn in my vision and selfishly hold it to myself as much as any citizen could on such an overpopulated island. How many others savoured that moment, that image, that truly inspiring expression of Mother Nature. How many took the awe and inspiration of that captivating soul-searing, breath-catching, heart-stopping, eye-popping revelation and wondered. Truly shock and awe. I didn't care. It was mine for a fleeting moment before we disappeared into the shadowed canyons of the naked city.

I arrived at the gig convinced we had a blessing from the big F!

"3", the support band, was good. We had eaten our band meal at a table earlier in a corridor in the bowels of the gig. Cold chicken and mashed potatoes. The gig drew ever closer.
As if in direct contrast to everything else around us back stage, it turned out we had a personal masseuse. At a dollar a minute I took advantage and allowed my tired shoulders and neck to be dutifully coaxed into relaxation by the fingers of Phil. The ten minutes pre-gig set me up and I bounced on stage after limbering up to an enthusiastic audience who lapped up our show. Monitors be damned, it didn't matter as we ran out winners at a healthy 9.3/10. A great result for NYC which sees major bands coming at them every night.
An interview with Britsound after the show confirmed we had a result.

I partook of another massage from Phil soon after coming off stage and we talked about his wanderings through Kung Fu schools, narrowly missing the draft in the '70s, his interest in homeopathy and alternative medicines and the like. His muscled, strong, thin black fingers moved the stress and strains from my body and I floated away in the grey corridors of the bleak dusty air conditioned corridor to a place of stories and dreams. Characters. Always characters, introduced and delivered like jewels and trinkets, some to entertain, others to guide and all as living signposts on this never ending fantastic journey. All navigators in some sense or another. I can only read the maps and enjoy the trip.

We moved slowly from back stage as the venue rolled up the shutters. Many of the staff came up to congratulate us on the show. We had made a definite mark. It had been a good turnout and all the promoting staff were really happy with the result.

On the way out I passed the merchandise outlet. We hadn't been allowed to sell our own merch and, as you would expect, the single seller at the door wasn't particularly enthusiastic. She had been overrun and as the stall was immediately at the door it was awkward and crowded. I went up and asked for a shirt for me and Taz from the venue as a souvenir. They had just raped us for $500 in commission on merch sales and were now haggling over giving me two free shirts! The front of house manager started to give me grief over my attitude. I felt like decking him. He eventually acceded and I got the shirts, he was still complaining about my attitude. I smiled and left the venue. The commissions piss me off and the only smile I do have is that we are doing the business at the meet and greets and every penny or cent is supporting this tour and providing me with a living. Not going to the venue is an added bunce they don't deserve!

The bus was caught up in an accident on the George Washington Bridge. We were sitting on our suitcases with all the equipment awaiting pickup on 42nd Street. It was 2am. The neighbourhood bars were closed, the streets ablaze with the homeward bound detritus of the night's affairs and communions. We huddled around our baggage like Custer's last stand, sober, depressed and frustrated as the adrenalin wore off, the hunger kicked in and the glory of the night became inconsequential. I am embarrassed to admit I succumbed to a Micky Dees as I was so hungry. I sat on my beloved boulder of a Samsonite and bathed in the neon.

The bus finally arrived and we loaded the trailer and holds. Yatta and I set off for the hotel in a hailed taxi while the rest bundled onto the bus to Washington for a day off. Tomorrow was the radio awards. The suits were ready.
I fell asleep in my bed in the Hoboken hotel, Manhattan across the water was a dark affair.
I had clean laundry and another gig under my belt. I knew I was already a winner. :-)

lots of love

Onkel Fish xx

08:05 - 11 Comments - 19 Kudos - Add Comment

Fish 2008 - Launderette anonymity

Dear FishHeads, Freaks, fans and the Company,

It's pre show in Cleveland and the meet and greet went well. I got a new cowboy hat, the type I always wanted as a kid. Great seeing some old friends again in the Irish bar. I'd caught the Germany game earlier on.
We may have a visit from Andy Gray - the former Scotland player and ESPN broadcaster - in New Haven. I'd met with him in the queue at the US embassy in London when I was being interviewed for the visa.
He sent me an email yesterday so hopefully we can entertain the guy who's been entertaining us every morning on the bus TV.

Milwaukee turned out to be a great gig. Fellini was walking with us that day. A rain storm hit town just as we were rehearsing Sugar Mice and a meandering walk back from the day room at the hotel brought me face to face with a statue of Robert Burns in the nearby park which I had never seen on previous visits. Steve was still suffering from his finger wounds and is struggling through the sets with painkillers and ice dips after shows. He had a close one the other night in Chicago when a cover from one of the lighting units fell from the overhead truss and missed him by a couple of feet. He had just moved his position when it landed directly on the spot where he had been standing. Apart from that, everyone is healthy and smiling and, for the first time I can remember, the air conditioning that I loathe is not bothering me so much. Only Vince the backline tech has been hit by respiratory problems and luckily I had a course of antibiotics at hand to sort him out.

It was great getting Chris back in the band. He had a nightmare getting over here - 26 hours in total. It turned out that when he arrived at Manchester for the flight out that he had the same name and birthday as someone on an International "wanted list". Interviewed at Manchester, his name then came up in Amsterdam and then Minneapolis and every time he was taken to a room for questioning. Six interviews in all! He was hauled out of the queue on photo ID at Customs in the States. By that time his luggage was missing and didn't arrive until 10 o'clock on Milwaukee show day. Dishevelled, tired and minging, he hit the stage like a trooper.

Highlight at Shank's Hall was undoubtedly "Sugar Mice" which was pulled in before "Last Straw". I admit to being very emotional as it was just as Fathers Day was coming up in the UK and the lyrics struck home.
The crowd were fantastic and, although it was another acoustically dry room, our stage sound was fantastic. The monitor engineers we are picking up at venues have all been of a really high standard and personally I haven't had any gripes all tour so far.

Another bonus at Milwaukee was the Maharajah restaurant just down from the venue where Yatta and I discovered the best curry we had ever had in the States. Normally they are pretty bland as the cooking takes into account the tastes over here which don't generally take on board really hot spicy food. Our requests for "medium plus to hot" left a sweat on the brow!

The meet and greet had also been a success and thanks goes to Linda and her husband for buying us the Vindaloo! Yatta and I rolled back to the gig like pale Buddhas.
We had over 300 in and the club were over the moon at the attendance and the overall vibe. Everything clicked and we walked out with a 9.3/10 and zappy smiles. I was in my bunk an hour or so after the show, and drifted off quickly to awake outside the Park West in Chicago around 2pm. My back was killing me from the tumbling bunk and with my space on the third tier it's a climb getting up at night and a bone-jarring fall in the morning. A quick shower and then an interview on video camera. Where is the make up artist when you need one?

Laundry was starting to become an issue and it was hopeless trying to even attempt to find a launderette in Chicago on a Sunday. It was Father's Day. All the Dads in the band and crew were getting SMS and calls with Steve's kid Calvin even having hidden a present in his Dad's suitcase. I had a depressing afternoon. I phoned my Dad and got the all the news from the home front. Apart from that it was silence.
The meet and greet was a buzz and took my mind off other issues. It was an early door at the Park West, so Billy couldn't get away from the venue to Sedgwick's to deal with the pre-show. I picked up a Chicago Fire Department baseball cap from one of the fans and headed for something to eat. I found a great Sushi bar run by a South Korean chef called Andy. I got a real protein buzz from a Sashimi dinner and arranged to pick some Sushi up for after the show. Andy was a real card and tested me out with his own specials including some red snapper Sashimi which he presented in the shape of a starfish vis-a-vis 13th Star.
I left the restaurant feeling a lot happier.

The venue had set up tables and chairs in front of stage. Not my preferred gig environment but I knew we hadn't done great numbers and, if there was standing only, it would have appeared pretty empty as it's a big room. The seated audience were spread through the main area and in the end it worked out well. A solid 9.3 again and aftershow everyone was happy apart from Steve who was still nursing battered fingers. No showers in the venue and I couldn't be bothered humping up to the hotel. I climbed on the bus and was in my bunk minutes after. The shows are demanding and, even though it was an early gig, I played a tired Cinderella and was in bed by midnight despite Doug Hackett's wine cellar clinking away in the bays.
BTW, his company is Dogwood Cellars and you can find him at http://www.dogwoodcellars.com

I copped the Zs in the morning and rappelled from my bunk around 1. The Irish bar for the meet and greet was just on the next block so I headed up to catch the German v Austria game over coffee.
I met up with George and some other guys and caught the breeze before the main event. Thankfully Big George gave me a Braves shirt which covered me for the day. No laundry in the venue or in the neighbourhood. The venue was great and the staff, as always, really helpful and friendly. The stage looked out straight onto a balcony which surrounded the venue above a great standing area. I knew it was going to be a good night. There was a gushing shower as well in the dressing room so I slipped in before soundcheck for a steam and clean. My voice has been holding up well on this tour. Normally air conditioning really dries me up and especially on the bus where there are no overhead vents. Luckily, we have real windows in the rear smoking lounge and I tend to hang out there and take the air.
I always ask for the AC to be turned off at the gigs when we go on stage as, despite all the water you can take on board, your throat never seems to moisturise and I find myself dry coughing. The recovery sleep on the bus is a lot better than on the European buses as the bunks are longer and wider and generally more comfortable. For the tail end of a 3-in-a-row I was in pretty good shape.
Soundcheck and then a quick burger before heading to the meet and greet at Flannery's. It was packed, and it took me a while to get through the autographs and photo requests. Again everyone was really friendly and patient and I got through everything in just about an hour before I was due to head to stage at 8. No support again. Paul Kennedy, our sound guy, had mixed the Gazza Ladra theme with the Lisa Simpson intro as it was taking too long to set up the gig. It did the trick and I strode on wearing my new acquisition, the black ten gallon cowboy hat, to a huge roar from the 400 or so FishHeads.
A great gig that registered as 9.6 thanks to a vibey crowd and a great band performance. I was getting my banter together and was a lot smoother overall. The stories are slicker and are finding their balance with the daily pickups you get from locals or events on the road. The set is also well balanced although I would like to have had another couple of numbers to play with. Steve's injuries mean we have to be careful as he is in a lot of pain and doesn't need the extra pressure. The band is on top form and there are a lot of smiles onstage which is the best sign that we have a cooking unit.
Frank has been playing his heart out on "Cliche" and Gavin is getting better by the day as he gets used to the time differences.
"Incommunicado" was a hoot as the cowboy hat returned together with the Braves shirt :-)
A wonderful night overall.

Another welcome shower and, after some conversation with a couple of Frank's friends, I headed to the bus with my belly full of chicken wings that I wolfed down with a bottle of Doug's wine. Day off in NYC!

And now I stare out of the hotel window at the river and Manhattan beyond as the ferries dart over the blue waters. It's my first real bed since San Francisco over a week ago.
I hadn't slept well and woke up at 4am to join the night owl merchandiser Billy in the back lounge. The journey hadn't been without incident as somewhere around 2am Lee, our driver, had braked heavily to avoid a deer on the freeway. It happened just as Steve got up from the couch in the front lounge to head for his bunk. The action sent him flying through the dividing curtain and into the front window of the bus, leaving him battered and bruised in the stairwell. He was lucky he didn't break his neck. Lee said he couldn't manoeuvre as he had a truck coming up on him and a car on the inside. Steve reckons it was deliberate as they had been warned about playing music too loud. I reckon Bambi survived to live another day :-)

Being up that early gave me the chance to talk to Elspeth for the first time in over a week. It was great to hear that everything was OK at home, that all in the garden was growing and the cats, despite the lack of company, were fine.

I spent the next hour sitting up front with Lee and discovered that, like a lot of drivers in the Rock and Roll movement business, he had served in Vietnam. It turned out he had been an MP stationed at Danang in '71 and had finished his tour in Saigon. We got talking about the country and the conflict and our mutual experiences. We had both been at a number of locations including Marble Mountain which I'd mentioned in my blogs. A really interesting and genuine guy. As the sun came up over Pennsylvania and with New York over the horizon, I finally succumbed to the sleep crawling in my head and climbed up the cliff to my bunk.

I stayed under the covers until 2 because the hotel, as always over here, is never ready until mid afternoon. I arrived in reception to find Gavin still waiting on his room and asleep in a chair.
The mention of laundry got me excited until I discovered pick up was at 10am and they didn't do overnights. I was pointed at a mall over the road and rushed to my room to pack the bag. The disappointment on discovering it was a dry cleaner was such a come down. On the road it's a constant battle not only with stage clothes but for everyday wear as the inconsistent showering arrangements, spilled wine from deer avoidance incidents and general muck around gigs and back stage empties a suitcase pretty quickly. You can always tell when last night's blagged shirts are on backs next day.
I carry 2 bags; one the big grey Samsonite that holds back ups and specials like suits and decent stuff and which stays parked in the hold, with the other a softie I use for gigs and everyday use. When the softie is crammed with dirty laundry it's time to haul the Sammy out and reorganise. Hitting the hotel room and opening the Sammy I found I was down to my last 2 pairs of underpants with my swimming trunks the last resort! :-D I just pray BB Kings has an in-house washing machine. Oh, the endless glamour! :-D

The other big disappointment today was the realisation that the Radio Awards that I thought were tonight are actually on Thursday, the other day off after NYC, and when we are scheduled to be in Washington. Yatta is now trying to reschedule as he is coming to the Awards with me. I hope it's a lucky night if we do make it!
Otherwise we have both been hauling suits all the way across the US for nothing!

So tonight rather than a glitzy affair is a hum drum night in the Hotel in Hoboken. Steely Dan are in town as are Iron Maiden, Dr John and Stevie Wonder but I can't be arsed going to a show tonight.
It's 7pm and all I want is a decent meal, a bottle of wine, a very large cognac and a good movie before I rest my head on a big fluffy pillow on a bed that isn't travelling at 60 miles an hour, and dream of clean laundry.

It's been great so far and I can't remember a tour being this much fun for ages. As Steve said the other night "I could do this for months!"
Coming from a man with bleeding stumps for fingers, a heavily bruised back and a near death incident under the truss in Chicago, that says something! :-D

lots of love

Onkel Fish xx

04:34 - 6 Comments - 16 Kudos - Add Comment

Fish 2008 - Return of the Sugar Mice

Dear FishHeads, Freaks, fans and the Company,

We pulled into Milwaukee this morning to arrive outside the Shank Hall and discover that there is a demonstration outside the abortion clinic next door to the venue and directly outside the bus where we are watching the Russia v Greece Euro 2008 match with token Greek Steve Vantsis (his granddad's side) on the edge of his seat.
Yesterday's day off was in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was hot and the entourage assembled round the hotel pool and copped some rays. We only get day rooms to shower and hang around in until Lee catches up on his hours and we set off into the gloom shortly after midnight. Nothing much else to do apart from eat at a restaurant up the highway which involved a 30 minute walk which always draws strange enquiring glances from passing motorists who don't quite understand why people are walking somewhere!
The romantic notion of parking up outside desolate hotels in the wilderness and enveloping yourself in nature was replaced by soulless parking lots in sterile building complexes with rare fast food joints that sell tacos or burgers that never resemble the photographs on the adverts above the serving areas. It's cheap and fills a space.
By mid afternoon a kid's baseball team had taken over the pool and we were forced into a corner round the fermenting Jacuzzi. It could have been worse. We could have had tornados on the horizon.
We have been missing all the bad weather so far and even Gavin is going slightly off white under his ginger locks!

Boulder had been another good gig. The set was slightly cut short as Steve is in a lot of pain with blisters on his fingers from playing. He had to shift to a pick that night. In San Fran he left the stage with blood splattered all over his bass. He has 4 blisters on top of each other on one finger and yesterday he entertained us as the "human water pistol" filling one of the major bubbles with water from the hot tub and squirting us from his finger top! Oh the joys of the road! :-D

Numbers were disappointing in Boulder with only around 200 or so fans in. I was told today by the Shank Hall staff that everyone is hurting and that they have headline acts that normally sell out pulling only 30 people these days. There is no doubt that America is feeling the pain just now but we are holding our own and still on track. We have done about 300 in advance for tonight so it should be jumping.

As was pointed out we used the "old" Lisa Simpson intro in LA. The original CD given to us in '98 had gone missing but I was given another copy pre show. One of the fans, Dave Hussey, is a friend of Yeardley Smith who "does" Lisa's voice and as she is also a fan of our music she offered to record an intro for the show. It was great to get hold of it again! We have been using the Lisa intro together with La Gazza Ladra to introduce the shows.

The Boulder audience were definitely more "progressive" in their tastes and it was hard to get things rocking in an acoustically dead room. Energy levels were a bit down as we were performing a mile above sea level and oxygen was scarce. I really felt it when I woke up on the bus in the morning. Don't get me wrong it wasn't a bad show and I think we were tighter than on previous nights. It was just hard to get inspired and we ran out with an 8.5/10 compared to a 9.5 in San Fran and an 8.8 in LA.

Chris is back with us tonight, although I don't think he will be in a great mood. He was pulled by immigration in Chicago and spent 3 hours in an interview cell. Missing his connection to Milwaukee, the injury was accentuated when his luggage went missing and at the moment they are still tracing it.
Steve's fingers are better for the day off healing in the sun and everyone else in the company is on song and happy campers.

Looking forward to the show tonight and the upcoming run of three consecutive gigs,

lots of love

Onkel Fish xx

03:58 - 4 Comments - 12 Kudos - Add Comment

Fish 2008 - Rocky Mountain Way

Dear FishHeads, Freaks, fans and the Company,

Somewhere in Utah on a bus outside a Hampton Inn. It's sunny and breezy and the only place of interest to visit to while away an hour is a Home Depot store snuggled in the valley between snow-topped ranges of mountains. Food options are at "Wingers", a chicken shop where I talked a waitress into delivering a take away to the bus while we watched the Switzerland v Turkey Euro 2008 match live on the TV via our on-board satellite station. It's America and every day starts and ends with a smile. We're on our way to Boulder. It's a day off.

Last night we bounced LA. Second night of the tour. It wasn't as good as the San Francisco gig and I had a bit of a mare. I couldn't get my rhythm together and stuttered through the between song banter and had a complete brain storm during "Dark Star". I usually keep lyric sheets handy as a safety line but this time they were in the wrong order and I couldn't find it on the stand. I'd missed the intro and was trying to find the right place to enter but couldn't find the "in". As it is tied to a loop sequence we couldn't just jam and find a space. I had to go in with the right lyric at the right place and could I find it? Could I hell. It was one of those "dig a hole" moments, floundering on stage and trying not to freak out. The gears finally meshed and I reached the end with a sigh of relief and a "that didn't really happen did it?" look to the others.
We could have done with more numbers as, unlike the Great American Music Hall the night before, it was a venue that had little in-built atmosphere to help you out.

San Francisco was special and was always going to be hard to follow. The band and crew had got in late the night before with flights delayed, Frank's and Foss's flight into Chicago having to drop into Indianapolis to refuel. Everyone was fighting to stay awake as we were now 8 hours behind UK time. We would be going on stage at 9pm - 5am back home and on our body clocks. I wasn't too bad as I'd been over for a few days already.

Gavin had the hardest job and was struggling with the first few numbers trying to combat the tiredness. Foss had the additional stress of finding his Roland Jd800 lead keyboard had died and having to patch a replacement in at short notice after a sound check which was gruelling as we tried to sort out what needed to be covered by Chris Johnson's delayed presence due to the visa hassles.
The boys did great and although we knew where the holes were and what was missing I don't think the audience really noticed. It was strange not having him around and we all felt a bit short when it came to assembling for stage. I know Chris was hugely frustrated and disappointed at missing the West coast shows but there was nothing we could have done.

The gig was a great start to the tour. After soundcheck I headed for the meet and greet at the Edinburgh Castle a few blocks away. It was dark and in a colourful neighbourhood. To discover a Hibs pennant behind the bar I took as a fine sign. Everyone there was friendly and smiling. No pushiness or too much "in your face" routines. We were a bit caught out on the first day of set up so Billy, our new merch guy, was held in the venue sorting out the newly arrived stock and couldn't make the pub.

Tara decided with only weeks to go that she didn't want to go on the tour. I was extremely disappointed with flights already booked and paid for. I am sure it's something she will come to regret in the future as she is missing out on an epic and memorable tour. If I had known in advance I would have brought someone else in to cover the merch and the filming but as it is I have had to find alternatives.

So we were two short on the original company. Musically as I said it didn't unnerve us and the band filled in brilliantly. The San Fran gig was excellent all round and the after show was glowing.
One of the fans, Jeff Mockus, stepped up to the plate and as a sound engineer and audio engineer happened to have the same keyboard as Foss was using. It's a model now deleted so the chances of finding someone who had one and who could spare it for the tour was terrific and we were hugely grateful. He would deliver the keyboard next day in LA and get his hero badge!

We had met with a few old friends and made some new ones. We met up with a guy called Doug Hackett who turned out to be a famous wine maker and our new "best friend! :-)(more later)
Next day he delivered 15 cases of red and white wines from his vineyard directly onto the bus at the House of Blues. Armed and dangerous!
The thing was everyone was smiling around us and it was proving very catching. I can't remember a tour that has been so relaxed and friendly.
Lee, our bus driver, is a real find. The bus is a Godsend and I wish I could bring it back over to the UK.
I can walk upright in it!!! The bunks are all over 6.5ft and the lounges spacious and with HD TVs that are linked to the roving satellite dish on the bus which means we can tune in to HBO and the ESPN Euro coverage on the move. There are also wireless networks for the PCs and more than ample room for us all to move around. However I still can't get rid of old habits and memories of painful head knocks in Europe on the Trathens submarine and catch myself moving around in a crouch position even though I have ample headroom above me!

I passed out after the San Fran show and was in my bunk minutes after getting on the bus.
Like most of us I was up at around ten for the footy and a walk across to the Saddle Ranch for a traditional humongous breakfast. A cup of porridge which could have fed all three bears and then a landing craft full of corn beef hash with three eggs the size of islands. It's going to be tough keeping the weight down on this tour as all the servings are platoon size!
The day went quickly and the meet and greet in Red Rocks took me by surprise as so may fans turned up. A plethora of personalities and characters. It was nice to catch up with Jeremy Lawson who now works for "Live Nation" in LA. He was part of the old Dick Bros set up in the '90s.
The gig went well as I said before but it wasn't as good as the SF show. Both high end performances overall but the glitches in LA and the out of tune spiritually singer made the difference.
Another interesting piece of "Fellini" was that the stairway down from the dressing room to the stage at "House of Blues" had murals painted on the walls including panels of hand painted star symbols identical to the 13th star cover and the Egyptian tombs. I had a wry smile!
I knew we would take another result that night!

This ends backstage in Boulder. A dark dressing room as always and an afternoon spent positively. A haircut in the "Silver and Blue" barber shop, my Raybans and long distance specs repaired and a fine meal in "Fatcats" Asian speciality restaurant run by Steve from Glasgow. The meet and greet in The Sink went down well and everyone is up for the show tonight including myself.

I miss home, the cats and the garden and especially Tara and Katie but such is the Life I chose. It makes it a lot easier when you are on a tour where there are so many smiles surrounding you and so much goodwill to wrap yourself up in. I am having a ball out here.

Looking forward to seeing Chris J in a couple of days. It'll feel whole again!

thanks for all the support out here from afar and up close,

on the trail of torn out twisters tomorrow!

lots of love
Onkel Fish xx

05:45 - 4 Comments - 16 Kudos - Add Comment

Fish 2008 - 13 Stars and Stripes

Dear FishHeads, Freaks, fans and the Company,

I am writing this from a Holiday Inn near the airport which seems to have certain Fellini value considering we are playing the Clutching material in the set on the US tour and this was the original inspiration for that album. As you already know, the lead up to this tour has been way up in the stress mountain peaks and we were still waiting on visas and passports for most of the band on Friday night. The process for application was started in late March and takes longer than it would take to reach the Americas in a kayak. We all had to attend the US embassy in London and the interviews were the last stage of the process. These were granted by the embassy who are not exactly flexible on timings. Yatta and I were seen on the Wednesday the week before we were due to fly and the passports and visas arrived on the Friday with myself Mexico bound on Tuesday at 5am. The rest of the band were not interviewed until Wednesday of last week with them scheduled to fly on Sunday. Despite all our pleas and polite requests for earlier interviews via our professional experienced company who deal with the entire process, we were kept on hold. I had to fly and train the entire band to London for the interviews and put them up in a hotel the night before to make sure they made the 8am meetings. All were approved and duly arrived on Friday after much wringing of hands. They fly tomorrow, Sunday, and arrive at 10pm.
The only problem has been with Chris Johnson who due to various commitments had to have a separate interview date arranged. For some reason, he was given an interview on Monday and therefore will miss the first 3 shows and join us after Boulder. We are extremely frustrated and annoyed by this but there is nothing we can do. This means that Frank will be filling in for Chris's parts on these shows. It isn't a disaster and could have been far worse (a certain singer scheduled to perform an American tour including a Madison Square Gardens date is now dealing with a similar problem as his entire rehearsed band missed their interviews in time!)

The venue move in San Francisco probably made a few bottoms wobble but we expected it as the original venue was an optimistic call with a capacity of over 1100. It's also an expensive hire and with just over 350 tickets sold as of last weekend the promoter decided to cut his losses early. The new venue is, as you probably know, only a few blocks away and in the end will probably make for a far better atmosphere on the night rather than playing to a half empty hall. I think we all have to have a reality check as it's my first tour over here for over ten years and not the return of Led Zep! :-D
All the other promoters are quite happy and with press starting to roll in I am not worried. This tour was put together based on guarantees not on percentages. Everything is in place. The equipment is over here, the bus is rolling to us from Tennessee and the singer is rested and in the right time frame after three successful days meeting the new distribution company, Koch, at their annual get together in Mexico. I presented the new album and my ideas for the "American invasion" and they are well up for it. There is already talk of a coast to coast Canadian tour next year, as that part of the company are extremely excited about having me on board. The Canadians are already working on press and radio for this tour with Lori and I expect my profile to grow steadily as I approach the end of this month.

When Yatta arrived on Friday night, the fog rolled into the Bay area and the flight was held in the air for a while. It cleared quickly.
I woke up this morning to blue skies and my worry of having to practise a two hour stand up gig was left in Cancun (there was a slight perversion, in that I was in a small place in my head looking forward to the challenge and the potential of a new career :-D)

This tour isn't going to be easy, of that I have no doubts or misconceptions. We need your support to make it happen. With Koch now positively behind me this is a reintroduction to the States on which I can build and move forward. The album is continuing to get great reviews and there is definitely a buzz out there. I have just got to increase the volume. I am up for the challenge.


The tour - despite rumours to the contrary - is very much on.


I am now off to the city to take in the sights which I have never seen before due to interview schedules and other commitments on previous visits in the past. Lunch at Fisherman's Wharf, a boat to Alcatraz and a search for Uncle Jack K's haunts. I feel a book coming on! ;-)

The Fish has landed!

lots of love
Onkel (sunny side up ;-) xx

03:22 - 23 Comments - 44 Kudos - Add Comment

NA pre-gig meets

Hi all,

Mo here, Fish's web site and profile editor.
We're trying to arrange pre-gig meetings for all of the USA/Canada gigs. These will be very informal and Fish will be signing autographs and perhaps conducting a small interview on the day if there is a PA system. There will also be a limited amount of merchandise on sale, and the prices will be lower than at the gigs as there will be no commission taken. In general, the meetings are between 6pm and 8pm, and Fish will try to be there at the start but sound check is crucial and could overrun. Every attempt will be made to keep to these times.
Please note that there won't be live music at these meets, they are just autograph/photo opportunities.

Pre-gig meetings will only appear on MySpace as they are confirmed, we're still working on the last few. Maps of the meets/venues can be found on Fish's site - http://www.the-company.com/gigs.htm

There's also a flyer for the NA dates which American and Canadian fans can download, print at home (it's double-sided and basically greyscale) and then distribute in the area of the gigs. Any promotion you can provide for this tour would be very welcome!
http://www.the-company.com/images/pr/NA-Fish-Flyer.pdf

Thanks all!
Mo

03:01 - 4 Comments - 6 Kudos - Add Comment

Fish 2008 - North American Stars

Dear FishHeads, Freaks, fans and the Company,

We are moving ever closer to June and my first trans Atlantic adventure for too long a time.
It's been one of the most stressful and demanding set ups either Yatta or I can remember and has consumed so much time and energy as we broke down one wall after another to make it happen.
Just last fortnight McKinty pulled out after his "main act" Katie Melua added another clutch of dates to her tour. Vince O'Malley came in as back line tech but the visa section wouldn't allow us to change the name on the application and so we had to reregister. As it was late in the day we had to use the "express" application procedure which all in all came to £2000 and brought the tour into the pink part of the balance sheet.
We still have the expense of getting everyone to London for a day to be interviewed for their work visas.
I don't foresee a problem as nearly everyone has had work visas for the States before but we have to go through all the hoops.

It's a major undertaking and we will be sailing quite close to the wind and totally dependent on merchandising income to provide life belts.

I have approved the two new US tour designs and they will be posted on the web site later today.
The Ts arrive sometime tomorrow and will be on sale this weekend at 13.99 plus VAT and post and packaging.

Anyone buying these is directly helping the tour and your support is greatly appreciated.

I am waiting the imminent arrival of the double vinyl gatefold album of "13th Star". The discs are high quality 180 gram vinyl and the track listing is as the album with "Circle Line", "Square Go", "Miles de Besos" and "Zoe 25" side 1, "Arc of the Curve", "Manchmal" and "Openwater" side 2, "Dark Star", "Where in the World" and "13th Star". Side 4 is made up of live material from the tour. "Circle Line" from the Rome show last year with "Dark Star" and "13th Star" from Amsterdam Paradiso this March, all mastered by Calum Malcolm.

It's a limited edition of 2500 and will be on sale next week in advance for 14.99 plus VAT and postage and packaging. We have specific packaging to deal with the vinyl shipments to ensure safe delivery.
Anyone purchasing one of these albums in May will be sent a signed copy.
Again this release is directly helping fund the North American tour.

I will not be carrying these albums on the tour as we have weight and customs issues.
I will however have digipak versions of the entire solo catalogue and NTSC DVD's to sell at the venues.

I cannot stress how important the merchandise is on this tour and on that subject I'd like to go into some ideas.
Nearly all the venues are taking 25% from our merchandise sales. There is no way round it. Thankfully their take on CDs is only 10%.
I mentioned this before but what I would like to do is organise to sell merch before the gig at the meetings. This means that the prices outside the gig will be lower as I don't have to accommodate for commission.

I know from the forum that there are already pre gig meets in place. We just have to fill in the gaps.
What Mo has proposed is that we set up a diary on the web site or Forum where the nominated venues can be put up and where we can announce times of when I will be there.

For those venues already nominated I think someone from the area should be found who can contact the owners to make sure it is OK to sell there.
I don't plan a huge display and we will probably be selling from a suitcase! :-) It should be pointed out that we won't take up much room in the venue and that it will be very informal. I will be signing autographs and perhaps conduct a small interview on the day if the place has a PA.
The permissions are very necessary and as I would prefer not having to pay commission to the bar or restaurant we set up in any discussion should include the understanding that we bring in the customers and get the right to sell in return.
Perhaps it could be an idea to work with the venue and get some response from local press. Everyone benefits.
Should some institutions not want to let us do that then we should look for an alternative. Obviously the closer to the venue the better as times for meets will be around late afternoon/early evening. I think the offer of a horde of drinking customers and potential free press is a good incentive!

I have taken on a US press officer who will be dealing with coordinating press and radio during the tour. I am waiting on hearing from her on some proposals I have made but obviously it would be possible to explore the possibilities of publicising these meet and greets.

By Mo creating the diary it will be easy to organise times and post details for the entire tour and I will know how to plan my schedules around the meet and greets.

Mark Wilkinson is putting together flyers for download on Monday which will have tour dates and a small amount of information. These will be added to the media section of the web site and directions will be provided.
If fans could print these off and perhaps distribute them in places where potentially interested people hang out then it all helps spread the net to catch the audiences we need to make it all work.

I will post a small biog for printing and sending to anyone in the media who is interested in giving us coverage.

If anyone knows or has direct contact to radio stations please let me know and we can follow it up either directly from here or through my US press agency. Same applies for local media. Anything that can be done to broadcast this tour is more than appreciated.

I will be filming the Nearfest show and possibly recording another live radio performance on the tour which will go with the "behind the scenes" tour diary and blogs to make up a future DVD release. Tara will be our camera woman!

I appreciate all the offers to dinner and BBQs. They are really touching and say a lot about you all :-). As I don't have a clear view of my travel plans and overall itinerary I can't really commit to anything at present. I will be on line on the bus and will be posting regularly to the site. It will become easier to sort things out once we are on the ground and know more about the thread of our 5000 mile road trip.

I admit it's daunting and there are nerves about as this is a big undertaking for everyone concerned.
It was always going to be a big call and we have made it. Now we need your support on this.
Thanks for being out there,

all the best

Onkel Fish

PS. Mo says: Read the NA threads of the forum at http://fishthecompany1.proboards55.com/index.cgi?board=na

05:38 - 6 Comments - 13 Kudos - Add Comment

Fish 2008 - The end of the Roaring Forties

Dear FishHeads, Freaks, fans and the Company,

Back from another jaunt to London and some highly successful meetings.
The ideas for Zoe 25 were progressed and release date is scheduled for 14th July. I am still waiting for the Paradiso recordings to decide which tracks will be on the download package and with a video production conference in the next week I should be well armed by the end of May.
Everyone is excited about the "Broadcaster of the Year" nomination and Jenny my wonderful press lady together with Jeff my champion at radio will be working overtime to crank things up in the media.
It's not just me that's picking up the column inches. It was great to see Frank Usher and his wife Sue getting accolades in the Edinburgh Evening News last night for raising a substantial amount for the Heart Foundation with their gig in January.
It's been pretty quiet Fish wise for the guys just now but all are filling the time with other projects. Frank is whittling away at guitar repairs and building, Chris has his teaching work and his solo album, Foss and Steve are sessioning and Gavin has the "Panic Room" shows and his other local sessions.
I heard the "Panic Room" album last week and it's pretty good. An eclectic mix of styles with Anne Marie Helder shining as always. Gavin does a great job and it is amazing how much he has grown as a drummer in recent years.

I also had an exciting meeting with EMI Publishing a few days ago and we are putting together a new deal which brings them on board as a more pro active publisher who will market my songs to TV and film as well as develop the catalogue profile in a broader sense. In this day and age of illegal downloads and pirating which has seen CD sales slump across the board by around 25% artists and their publishers need to look at other areas to generate income. This new licensing deal will provide a new platform to work from.
As if on cue I have meetings in May with an executive film producer to discuss not only providing music for a future movie project but also to discuss a script idea I have had kicking around for a few years and which has been brought to his attention by a mutual friend. It may come to nothing but I am getting the feeling that a few more doors are opening that weren't there before.
The most exciting news is that I have a book deal on the table for the Vietnam "autobiography". With my energies still tied to the "13th Star" project until late this year and slightly beyond it is difficult to concentrate on other writing but at least I know what I will be doing this winter when the nights draw back in.

The entire weekend was spent bouncing between meetings and catching up with some old friends interspersed with "cultural" activities and some romantic time with my girlfriend.
Thursday we went to see "Lord of the Rings" at the Drury Lane theatre. Mark Wilkinson's son Sean is working with the stage management and got us last minute tickets. Katie and I got the back stage tour before the show and I was dumb struck at the production and organisation behind the scenes. It was truly another world! The wardrobe area was a hanger of hangers the size of an M and S store with the show prep already in full swing an hour before performance. It put my four costume swap on the early solo tours to shame :-D
It was fascinating wandering round the prop shop and wielding an orc blade or two. A six million pound production in all it's glory and one that comes down in the Summer. I was told the load out was going to take weeks. (Yatta would have done it in a couple of hours! :-D )
But for me the highlight was just standing centre stage at the Drury Lane for a couple of minutes and breathing the atmosphere. A heady experience staring out into the gloom of an empty theatre that was riddled with so much history. Unforgettable.

We hit the nearby Loch Fyne restaurant for some pre show oysters. I love the creatures as some of you know from the previous UK tour. I'd demolished 18 pre the Dublin show and tonight I was going for an even dozen. Katie opted for six. Only the previous weekend when she had been up at the Studio we had hit Clarks, one of my favourite fish shops down by Musselburgh harbour and picked up 18 at 50 pence each. They were three times that much down in this bar and nowhere the same size or quality. I'd shucked the Musselburgh ones myself and the flesh was disproportional to the price at the Loch Fyne establishment. I had to cut the muscle from the shell with my Leatherman knife whereas the London ones I scraped with my thumbnail. They were pale and watery. Fellini was notified when Katie admitted to having had food poisoning twice in recent years at different restaurants in the Loch Fyne chain. I wolfed mine down confidently having been one of only two people to survive "Bus bum" both in Poland and on the last tour and having my ribbons from Vietnam.
Ironically the barman serving us was Polish as were the two assistants. The shells were clocked up and I burnt the plastic and headed slightly late into the theatre.
Lots of tutting from the ushers and we were loaded into the rear of the stalls rather than our seats in the circle. I knew it was a long performance and had been drastically cut down to a three hour show from the original length which allegedly required taking days off work :-D
It was still ass numbing and I found myself clocking my watch after about twenty minutes. The production was superb but the script had been edited with an axe and clunked. The acting was nowhere near convincing and Gandalf in particular had as much presence as a bass player with Hawkwind (no disrespect intended to either bass players or Hawkwind :-D). The visuals were great though and there were a few moments where I was captured, the "Prancing Pony" scene in particular was a rare gem. The problem was I'd seen and loved the movies and this came across as a pale imitation, much like our oysters. The Balrog in the film was scary, the one in the theatre production was a made out of crepe paper and was as frightening as a crisp bag in a light breeze. The interval couldn't come soon enough.
We'd agreed to meet Katie's sister and husband in the pub at half time and after a few pints with them found ourselves drifting away from the idea of another 90 minutes of Middle Earth, gay Orcs and wobbly hobbits. We both shared the same opinion and opted for a restaurant and to catch Sean again after the performance.
Katie wasn't feeling too great and as we sat down to starters she excused herself and disappeared to the ladies room. We both knew full well what it was and sure enough she returned with the news of a rogue oyster. In my previous experience with girlfriends and dodgy shellfish that would normally have signalled the end of the night (my ex wife had to have a doctor called to the hotel and was close to hospital admission on the night of a London gig and 24 hours before we flew to Kenya on holiday!). Katie was of different stock and I was full of admiration as she sat down without a moan and ordered her main course with a smile. My kind of lady! :-D
We met up with Sean later in the pub and apologised for our no show in the second half. He understood our reluctance to return. We quaffed a few pints and shared a bundle of laughs before disappearing into the London night. It was great to see him and I must admit to feeling my age a bit as I'd known him since he was hobbit sized and was now a 23 year old and quickly becoming a veteran of the London theatre scene. I also felt a wee tinge of pride as his early visits to gigs had definitely lit up a dream and to see him realising it and making it happen was wonderful :-)
His sister Hannah had also followed the artistic footsteps of her parents and has become an accomplished photographer who recently did the photo session for my "13th Star" press shots. Mark and Julie can be rightly proud of their offspring :-)

After my meetings on Friday Katie and I went to the Electric Cinema in Portobello Road. A unique movie theatre with sumptuous leather seats and plenty of leg space. It also has a bar! Tickets were steep at 16 quid each and the vodka and cranberry a heady 7 quid. I don't know how people can afford to live in that city as every time you go out it's "kerching!" It must be one of the most expensive cities in Europe.
I got rammed with a Bloody Mary in a hotel recently for 12 notes!!! =-O

The Electric is a fascinating place with a colourful history. Check it out at http://www.electriccinema.co.uk/
Katie had booked the tickets on the "blind" and it was only when we arrived we found out it was Mike Leigh's "Happy Go Lucky".
I am not a huge fan of his bleak views of UK life and this one was a toughie as Poppy the lead played by Sally Hawkins is one of the most irritating characters I have endured for a long time. I think it was because she reminded me of an ex who drove me close to madness through being so annoyingly "up" all the time and never really embracing the reality around her. Eddie Marsan who plays her driving instructor is truly brilliant. It was slow and with no discernable story line hard to embrace and run with.
I found it slightly depressing and not an ideal movie for a Friday night out! I'm all for throwing a light on a down trodden reality (as you well know :-D) but this was a bit too close to home in some scenes and it was hard to deal with Poppy's effervescence in the face of some obvious hard hitting truths. Great acting all round as you would expect but for me it straggled too much. Favourite scene was the Flamenco teacher cracking up in front of her night class and that I took away as the funniest moment in a movie otherwise plagued for me by too many shadows.
I was glad I'd seen it but we both ambled up the Portobello Road feeling disappointed.

Saturday was a trip to Henley to meet some of Katie's friends and Sunday we called in on some old friends of mine. I hesitate to use their names as I was rolling about on the floor in stitches when I was told by my friend's partner that he had been barred from his local Blockbusters video store. He had gone down the previous weekend to rent a couple of DVDs and as his son was a member and my mate didn't have his card he tried to bluff it. At the counter he gave his son's name, his address, apologised for not having ID but offered the titles of the last two DVDs he'd hired as proof that there was a valid account. The guy behind the counter said that he could have hacked into the shops computer to get that information to which my mate called him a "jobsworth" and not to be "fkin ridiculous". He was promptly barred and then the Lord of Blockbuster offered to open an account for his lady but only after my mate had vacated the premises!
As the story was being told my mate was outraged yet again and the rest of us just creased up! :-D
He turned 50 last year and his partner is convinced that since then he has turned into Victor Meldrew! I'm worried :-D

It was a fun time and I'd achieved a lot in a few days and although I was glad to get on the plane and relieve the burning sensation in my pocket from overused credit cards I was sorry to leave behind my lady who is also desperate to get out of the city. Great to visit, still ultra necessary to do business in, but I would never opt to live there.

Back home this week I've been following up ideas and building on the cunning plans. I'd hoped to be in the garden this week but so far I've been trapped in front of a PC or hanging on the phone. The onions are still not in and the Dutch bulbs are still in their bags.
The Rome gig fell through for a number of reasons and the recent change in government in Italy hasn't helped.

May 1st will now be the Edinburgh show where I'll be performing a couple of numbers with Jethro Tull at the Queens Hall. The gig is already sold out and I'm sorry to disappoint those who would have liked to have come along. Ian Anderson, who I have obviously known for quite a few years, got in contact with me when I was in Vietnam and asked if I'd like to special guest on a few shows on their 40th Anniversary tour and sing a couple of numbers with them. With Italian shows in the reckoning at that point I was unable to commit to as many as Ian and the band wanted to and it's only in the last month that my diary became clear. With the potential gig in Rome only just being pulled from the diary even the one show in Edinburgh was under question but I am really honoured to get the chance to sing with the band especially on this commemorative tour after having worked with them on bills throughout my career from the Theakstons festival in '82 when Marillion opened the day to the Milton Keynes festival in '86 and most recently Loreley last year amongst others.

And this is where the story takes a huge Felliniesque curve! (now take a breath! :-D)

Some of the other shows I was supposed to be doing are being guested by none other than Brian Josh and my ex fiance Heather Findlay as a stripped down Mostly Autumn line up. Although I had known Ian for quite some time I had never met his son James until introduced to him by HF who had been a friend of his for a few years. We took a shine to each other on first meeting and after the split James and I became good friends and met up a couple of times for "aperitifs" in London. Back at the end of February I'd arranged to go out for a drink with a photographer friend, Ami, who'd shot the session for Classic Rock. We met up with James in a pub in South London and he arrived with three other girls one of whom was his flat mate. By the end of the night James's flat mate and I were locked in conversation and we agreed to try and hook up at the O2 gig. We did and have been seeing each other regularly since then :-)
Obviously it wasn't going to take long for news to reach York and 3 weeks ago on the weekend I went down to London for Will Smith's wedding, to which I was taking Katie, I received an sms message from my ex fiance, the first contact since the debacle of last year. On the short message I was told to "urgently check my e mail"  which I duly did and was informed that she was three and a half months pregnant and engaged to the guy she met shortly after leaving Scotland. To be honest I wasn't particularly surprised about anything apart from the timing.
The news has since been made "official" as obviously with their touring activities it's pretty difficult to disguise the fact that your singer is (now) 4 months pregnant.
It's ironic that in 2007 we both came out of the year with most of what we wanted. I got a great album and she got the fiance and the family. Fair result really! :-)
I wish her all the luck as it's going to be difficult balancing a pregnancy and a birth in the middle of all the intended MA touring plans this year as well as dealing with motherhood while maintaining a career as a gigging musician.
No hard feelings. I left them in Vietnam. I'm just glad to be where I am in my own life :-)
So Fellini!! :-D


On May 2nd I head off to Bergen in Norway to play a couple of gigs with Chris Thomson's Norwegian band, Mads Eriksen. The gigs are at the Madam Felle, Bryggen, Bergen on the night of the 2nd and on the 3rd.
http://madamfelle.com/mf/chris_mads_leo.html
It's an SAS type arrangement and I'll be singing about 4 numbers as special guest.

The SAS gig is on the 5th July but we also have a warm up at the Brook in Southampton on the 3rd July before heading to Lulea - Pitea for show day at the Pite Havsbad Festival on the beach!! Showtime 22.30 - 00.15. It could be a fun weekend apart from the flights which are horrendous.

And with that I retire to the garden with my trowel. Only a couple of days till I hit my fifties. It's a strange feeling knowing I have racked up this amount of years (much to the surprise of some :-D) and chalked up this amount of world experience without too many scars.
I am so glad my parents are going to be with me on Friday and am looking forward to a wee gathering of friends and family.
It'll be a hoot! :-D

until next time, take care and stay alive

love

Onkel Fish xx

09:27 - 13 Comments - 33 Kudos - Add Comment

Fish 2008 - Planet Fish

Dear FishHeads, fans, Freaks and The Company,

Sorry I've been a bit quiet lately but the arrangements for the US tour have been taking precedent and creating a lot of stress.
The tour was close to going down in the last two weeks as we couldn't find a petitioner.
The petitioner has to be a company involved with the tour and basically guarantees that I pay any taxes and stands as a kind of bail bond should anything go wrong. Without a petitioner we couldn't get work visas. As you are probably aware, the US has a great deal of "ambulance chasing" lawyers and to put it in perspective when the tragedy occurred in Rhode Island with a band foolishly letting off pyros inside a low ceiling, sold out club which had all the exit doors chained and resulted in close to a hundred people dying, even the radio station who advertised the show were successfully sued. It's a wee bit scary. Everyone was walking away.
My US agent couldn't sign as petitioner, the label distributing my catalogue over there wouldn't and EMI publishing was in a quandary. Luckily at the last moment the Nearfest promoters stepped up to the plate and signed off which means we can now go for the visas. Believe me Yatta and I were on the edge of cancelling the shows as we were fast approaching the deadline for visa applications.
The bureaucracy of setting up this tour is a nightmare but bit by bit the Yattmeister has whittled away at the mountain and we are moving apace.

Mark Wilkinson is putting together merchandise ideas for the tour based around the American flag with the 13 stars and other similar ideas.
These shirts and other items will be made available in May and, as most shirts will have the tour dates on, hopefully they will help advertise the tour in advance through fans wearing them. It also helps our books as well as, at the moment, the tour is just breaking even on ticket income and with all the attendant legal and tax issues the merchandise side is my only safety net.

I am well aware that venues in North America take huge commissions on sales and so I am examining the possibility of arranging "meet and greets" in pubs close to the venue where we can sell merchandise directly and more cheaply to fans in return for bringing in a large amount of beer drinking clientele!
I have to discuss this with my agent as some of the venues may be sympathetic but I am not expecting a great deal of understanding.
I have to be a bit radical in my approach to make this tour work.
Once I get a better idea of where this is at I will let you know and we can open up ideas on the forum and if possible nominate individuals to contact the respective drinking establishments! 8-)
I'd be interested to know what you think.

I have since changed my distributors in the US and will be now going through Koch who will be releasing "Return to Childhood" on both CD and DVD and "Bouillabaisse" in the first week of July as well as "Communion" and of course "13th Star". They are powerful players and will give me a good chance of making a bit more impact in the stores than I have had in the past.

Although it's been a quiet month with the disappointment of the cancellation of the 'Classics in Rock' show at the Ahoy, behind the scenes it's been frantic with the US organisation and the forwarding plans for the album.
"Zoe 25" will be the next single and Calum Malcolm has made another immaculate edit to bring it in at 3.56 minutes and maintain the soul and integrity of the song. I have meetings in London this weekend to discuss the promotion and the video which we plan to shoot at the end of May for a release when I come back from the US in July. If all goes to plan the video will be shot by Mike Cockayne who filmed the "Return to Childhood" DVD and will hopefully feature Zoe herself.
This will obviously be of huge interest to the Sun newspaper and if all works according to plan we hope to enlist their support and more on the release.
I was obviously highly disappointed with the lack of success with "Arc of the Curve" but we discovered that we had been "weighted" and nearly all of the downloads from my site were omitted. It appears that only one download per post code is allowed and International orders were ignored. We will be making sure that on the release of "Zoe 25" we won't fall foul to these restrictions and will be spreading the availability of download sites accordingly.
It is frustrating when you can't benefit from downloads from your own web site even though the information on buyers is relatively transparent.
The next single will probably have the video and live material from Amsterdam and with a bit more profile generated up front radio might prove to be more accessible this time and with that retail may get on our side especially if The Sun gets behind it!

I am also working on the vinyl double gatefold album which I hope to have out in late May. Obviously, time restrictions on the vinyl version mean that three sides will be "13th Star" and the fourth side will be made up of live material from the Rome and Amsterdam shows.
There is a resurgence of interest in vinyl and, after talking with Rob Ayling, I have decided to look at releasing the back catalogue in double gatefold format in the coming months.
"13th Star" will be a 2500 limited edition and the others will be 2000. The pressings will be on 180 gram vinyl!

The live album and the DVD from "13th Star" will be recorded in the latter part of the year at a designated venue on the European tour. We are still booking dates right through until December and have a number of destinations we will be hitting for the first ever time.
Should the North America tour go well and if we develop significant interest there is a possibility we may return for another leg. I just wish we had managed to fill May with a series of shows as it is frustrating being here at the Farm waiting on the bus with an album buzzing out there! :-)

At least I can get out in the garden and a recent visit last weekend to Amsterdam involved a trip to the flower market and the purchase of around 12 kilos of bulbs. Due to the cancelled gig I had the weekend free and as my girlfriend had already bought her flight tickets to come to the show I decided to fly over and make a break of it as well as meet my Dutch promoter and record company. I got tickets for the Black Crows who were playing the Heineken Music Hall on Friday night where we met and discussed future plans.
The gig was really good but not great in my opinion. It was like stepping back into the '70s as the band reminded me of so many other greats such as The Band, Lynrd Skynyrd, The Stones and Little Feat in places. The venue was fantastic and a sold out crowd of around 7000 had gathered, thirsty for beer and rock and roll. It was tough for my girlfriend as she struggled to see over the heads of the tallest audience I had ever been in. That and the endless parade of Heineken swillers jostling their way through the crowd made it a bit of a trial and as we got in late we ended up close to the bar at the side. Beer monsters abounded and I thought that the gig was going to be a lot more rowdy than it was. The Crows didn't engage the crowd and to me they didn't have a killing edge which wasn't helped by a straggly set that failed to ignite after so much promise.
If I'd played that set to that reaction I would have been highly disappointed and I was wishing I was up there as the place wanted to catch fire. I genuinely like the band but seeing them for the first time was a let down. They seemed to play for themselves and not the crowd.
Outside the gig I bumped into Knut from Radio 24 in Oslo and we shared our reviews. He had seen them the previous night in Brixton Academy and told me it was even less energetic there.

We taxied into the centre and spent a few beers at the Rock Cafe close to Dam Square chewing the fat and exchanging "war stories".
Later back at the Hotel American, one of my favourite places in the world, we bumped into Alan Parsons in the bar. I hadn't seen him for years. The rest of the evening was spent reminiscing and gossiping about old days at EMI and other musos we had both met on our trails.
The barmen were the same that had held court there for well over 20 years and obviously knew us both well. :-)
We still have our pictures hanging in the bar from previous dawn patrols. It's a privilege to be framed alongside the greats like Springsteen, Willie Nelson, Paul Weller, Bryan Adams, ZZ Top and the like, all of whom graced a bar stool at one point in time. If any of you ever go to Amdam don't miss out on one of the most famous rock and roll bars in the world. It's straight out of "Clutching at Straws" and, in retrospect, we should have shot the cover there! :-)

Saturday I met up with Maurice and Wim from the Company Holland. It's always difficult meeting people backstage and so the opportunity to have a decent talk and plan future moves was welcome. Lunch at the American and then down to the flower market where my girlfriend, who happens to be a flower expert, took control. Tuberose (I couldn't turn that down ;-)), Amaryllis, black feathered tulips, Belladonna and Cyclamen were dutifully bought and the 4 of us struggled back towards the hotel weighed down with carrier bags of bulbs. Purchase of the day had to be the floating hippo head that is now in the fish pond frightening the next door neighbour's kids and scaring off the herons!

Before the hotel we stopped for a refreshment break at Leidsplein in the square. Sitting outside, no one had taken heed of the pigeons in the trees above us until one of them decided to grace Maurice and Wim with an almighty exploding dump and a half! We were on the floor at the sight of the two Dutch boys covered in pigeon crap when suddenly another major shit explosion occurred on the seat next to my girlfriend and in the bulb bags while yet another smashed into the table top. Above us was an Alfred Hitchcock movie. Not in any other tree mind you, just the one above our table. We were today's target practice! First instinct of the Dutch guys was to cover their beer glasses! :-D
We understandably retired inside, stinking of pigeon shit!

We got back to Edinburgh on Sunday night after an afternoon boating round the canals knowing that gardening was now high on the agenda. With May practically empty (compared to recent months) I can get out and get the green fingers working again. It's been far too long since I was out there and had practically ignored it since last August. I was inspired again. Summer promises to be a very colourful one ;-)

I got a message on Monday from Trevor White, my producer at Planet Rock, to tell me I had been put up for "Broadcaster of the year" in the Sony Radio Awards. At first it didn't sink in and then I phoned him and realised I had been put forward by the station and that Sony had put me on the short list of 5. It was a tremendous honour to be on a list of radio broadcasters all of whom have years of professional experience. Particularly Paul Gambacini who I have met a number of times throughout my career and whose knowledge of music across the board is second to none. I am a huge fan of his work and just to be up there in those ranks made me feel particularly proud.
The reality started to hit and I was blown away.
It all came completely out the blue and was extremely exciting. It more than made up for the lost opportunities to raise profile on the album with the lack of touring and it couldn't have come at a better time.
The only downer is that the only show I do have in May is on the same night as the awards at Grosvener house. I would have loved to have been there if only to meet up with old friends and just the chance that I might get lucky and pick the award out of severely left field.
The other great news is that Planet Rock is up with another for digital station of the year. It would be terrific if we picked up that especially as the station is still looking for an investor/buyer.
It's been a tough few months for all concerned but everyone is hopeful that we have a future.
The two nominations should provide healthy profile and show that the station is a valid, going concern that has a great audience and plays an important part in delivering rock music in the UK and beyond.
We can all but hope! Personally I am just honoured to be in the frame!

Since the tour (which I have still to write up :-!) I attended Will Smith's wedding in London which, as was to be expected, delivered the funniest speeches I have ever heard. Will was truly on form and I was in stitches. His wife Anne looked stunning and her father matched the stand ups for laughs. I recognised one of the other guests from movies but couldn't for the life of me place his face. The Victorian handlebar moustache and side burns confused me and it wasn't till later when Ollie, Will's brother, best man and wine connoisseur from the Saturday morning food and drink programme, introduced us that it clicked. It turned out that their second cousin from Australia was none other than Hugo Weaving of 'Lord of the Rings' and 'Matrix' fame. He was a highly interesting guy and we spent a few vinos nattering about movies and the film industry. It all ended far too soon. A great weekend.

Spring is definitely here. The soil is warming up and after two days my girlfriend and I have managed to clear the beds and prepare for seeding and planting out. This weekend is the London meetings and hopefully I'll be back up on Sunday with a nest of cunning plans.
Next week is more gardening interspersed with furious emailing as I set up a German radio promotion around "Arc" and get involved with more interviews for various countries as we move into the next phase.
My lady is back up North for the following weekend as I get to grips with my impending birthday.
I was going to make a parachute jump but it's been cancelled as my jump buddy is away on duties. It's still something I want to do this year! :-)

My star is still burning brightly and I feel my future is even brighter! :-)

lots of love
Onkel Fish xx

PS. I will be singing 3 or 4 songs with Chris Thomson's Norwegian backing band in Bergen, Norway on May 2nd and 3rd and playing a gig with the SAS band in Sweden on July 5th. I have no more details as yet but will let you know more in the next email.
May 1st is either a couple of songs as a guest artist with a band in Edinburgh or playing 3 songs with my outfit to 500,000 people in a square in Rome, live on national TV. I am hopefully going to hear which gig it's going to be this weekend.

03:05 - 5 Comments - 12 Kudos - Add Comment

Fish 2008 - Phoenix rising

Dear FishHeads, Freaks, fans and the Company,

Finally I arrived home after one of the most exhausting and demanding tours for quite a while. Nearly everyone in the troupe picked up a Purple Heart as we traversed the fog and somehow managed to keep everything on line. I’ll cover the journey in detail in blogs in the coming week and you will get an understanding of just how close we came to running off the road. From missing the storms in the Irish sea by a matter of hours to Paul - our Dutch monitor engineer - being rushed to hospital with a near severed and broken finger, the virus that hit practically the entire band (even the UK promoter went down!), the 20 hour drive from Denmark through snow blizzards with the bus fishtailing a number of times on the autobahn as we headed to the replacement gigs. We took the hits including yours truly visiting hospital as a safety precaution with a dodgy throat and being diagnosed with a potential thyroid problem (thankfully blood tests were clear but it was 4 days of extreme stress I didn’t need).
And all the time we were focused on those three shows at the end of the tour. The cursed dates were like a beacon throughout the entire tour and we all wanted to rack them up and get them behind us.

In the end the tour was a tremendous success with Amsterdam Paradiso being in the top ten of all time. I’ve never had as many UK gigs with such healthy numbers for a long time. Even with the overlaps in some cases such as Leeds Cockpit and the Holmfirth gig being so close together due to the rescheduling after the original tour was booked we were doing the numbers. And the reactions from audiences were so positive we couldn’t help but be driven onward.
Glyder were a wonderful support band and great company. Stone Sole River came in on the return dates to provide a stunning bill and with their new bass player were tighter than on the previous UK tour.
And the fans were superb. I am forever reminded that the music brings so many people from all walks of life together. It is humbling to be a part of something that is far bigger than I could ever perceive. To witness the relationships and friendships that have sprung up amongst the gig going fraternity always makes me feel privileged to be a catalyst for so many smiles.
It was a memorable tour.

It’s strange being home and back in the promo seat. Tara was in tears last night on the bus as we said our goodbyes to crew, band and two superb support acts who joined our family for a few weeks that we won’t forget.

But the road always extends and the future beckons.
April is a welcome rest. I have only the Classics in Rock in Holland for a few days and the rest of the time is devoted to interviews interspersed with prolific gardening and gym work. May has the Pinkpop show and then an empty month tour-wise until the US tour in June.
Behind the scenes there is a hell of a lot happening which will be related over the next few weeks. There are barrels of cunning plans.

As I said before its release I didn’t really expect a hit single from "Arc" but it did its job and reintroduced me to a great number of people.
I have decided to go ahead with "Zoe 25" as an edited single for radio in May accompanied by a video which I am working out story boards for this week. The Sun newspaper has expressed an interest in getting involved after the recent ’Page 3’ piece and with the Ken Bruce "Tracks of my Years" piece moving to April 28th and a Bob Harris Radio 2 session sometime in May, I can utilise this in support of the next single. The entire campaign around "13th Star" was always intended to be a long haul and a slow burn rather than fireworks and that is what is happening.
I was disappointed not to get the Italian shows in May but they will happen later in the year as promoters felt it was too early for open air and too late for indoor shows. As I said previously, I will use the time to promote the album in interviews and media trips and set up the gigs in the late Summer and Autumn.

South America is still in negotiation and is highly likely for October. European dates are in discussion for late August and September with December either a return to North America, dependant on the response to the June tour, or more European shows.
I have booked a UK tour in November and the dates are as follows-

Tuesday 11th - Runcorn, Brindley Theatre - support Stone Soul River
Wednesday 12th - South Shields, Custom House - support SSR
Friday 14th - Penzance, Acorn Studio - no support
Saturday 15th - Frome, Cheese and Grain - support The Reasoning
Sunday 16th - London, Shepherds Bush Empire - support The Reasoning
Tuesday 18th - Bolton, Albert Halls - support The Reasoning
Wednesday 19th - Pontadarwe, Arts Centre - support The Reasoning
Thursday 20th - Norwich, The Waterfront - support SSR
Saturday 22nd - Glasgow, Academy - support The Reasoning
Sunday 23rd - York, Opera House - support The Reasoning
Tuesday 25th - Telford, Oakengates Theatre - support SSR
Wednesday 26th - Buxton, Opera House - support SSR

More dates are likely to be added and details on booking etc. will be posted on the web site. With a 30 date UK tour already ticked off this is the biggest tour I have played in this country for a long time. It’s all highly positive and with another single release planned in late Summer hopefully profile will continue to build.

The reviews internationally on the album have generated a lot of interest and hits on the web site are indicating that there a lot of people rediscovering my back catalogue and career. It’s a fine feeling! :-)

Until next time when I’ll have more news and a report from our side of the tour.

Take care and stay alive
and thanks for being out there!

love
Onkle Fish xx

14:24 - 15 Comments - 28 Kudos - Add Comment