Hello and welcome! I am happy to be able to report on the “surprise” appearances that occurred over the weekend once again in the wonderful surroundings of Transnistria. Nothing was announced on the blog in advance, mainly because we didn’t know it was going to happen. Plus, you know how I hate to use the blog to “advertise” – other than to say when an album is finished, although I like to think that this is just an addition or the end of the story of an album’s development, which I do write about on the blog. So to me that’s not exactly adverstising – and I’m rambling, so I must get back on track!
My visit to the PMR was great fun and the joy of hooking up with the friends I made last time was simply wonderful. I did a couple of live appearances Friday and Saturday, and then topped off the weekend Sunday night by DJ-ing at the Vestral club in the coolly-named city of Bender. Yes, I have told them about the robot in Futurama, and this time left some DVDs with them so that they can enjoy the cartoon Bender as much as I do. Futurama is so cool! And, without wanting to upset Simpsons devotees, I feel personally that Futurama knocks spots off The Simpsons – it’s mainly that space/distopian future comedy is more to my taste. Plus I think both Leela and Amy are animated-hot, man.
What can I say? Well, I’m extremely tired, if that’s any indicator. It will take me all week to get over the weekend! We arrived Friday afternoon, and managed to get through the rush hour traffic to the hotel. As ever, we experienced impeccable service, and rooms that were clinically, surgically, marvellously clean and invitingly hospitable. With barely any time to shower and then indulge in my hotel sport of amateur level bed-bouncing, it was off to Nutsnboltz for the gig. I ran through most of the favourites, and I think the crowd enjoyed me. Far too many people bought far too many drinks for me, but I managed to get back to the hotel by 2am. The bed, only barely bounced earlier on, was lovely and I slept like a large piece of fallen tree.
Saturday afternoon was spent knocking around the city and doin’ the touristy stuff. There is a castle in the city that totally entranced me, and if I ever made any money, I would like to live up there. I could make as much noise as I wanted without upsetting my wife – or the neighbours. Yeah. Transnistria is a lovely country, and I must spend more time there. The river is of course the main draw, and I wish we had had time for a trip along the great snake, but maybe next time.
My second night in Nutsnboltz was even better than the previous. The crowd was larger, and the atmosphere was electric. You could feel the heavy humidity caused by the presence of so many bodies – it seemed that if you were to grab a handful, you could wring water out of it! Tonight I focussed mainly on tunes from mv_5, Liquidators, and that perennial favourite: “Porn for the Ears”. Everybody seems to love “Porn for the Ears” – the more “dirty” a track is, the more people appear to get into it. Sometimes I blush at the samples, yet I look down and the crowd is lip-synching so accurately it takes the breath away. I wondered to myself – Is it because they speak a different language and don’t know what they’re singing? Then I remember that audiences do it wherever I am, and so it can’t be that. Very often I drift away and memories of the recording of the tracks come to mind. For example, when I play anything from “Holy Shit” (the first album), I remember the red hot summer of 2001, and the little room I used as my “study”. This was a generic term that refers to, in no particular order, computer room, office, recording studio, library and a hundred other uses – which caught the sun and made doing anything in the afternoon a fun exercise in human bodily endurance. I mainly worked from the evening until the pre-midday hours (effectively, the hours that a person didn’t feel like they may spontaneously combust any second!) utilising recording equipment and conditions that would be considered extremely spartan and crude by today’s standards. A great deal of the work was done on tape, as the PC I used at the time was incapable of running too many tasks at once. To a degree, this comes across in some of the tracks of that era, but not embarrassingly so. Or not too embarrassing anyway!
“Porn for the Ears” was recorded over one weekend, when Mrs. mad_vicar was away on a short weekend break in Cornwall. Taking advantage of the situation, I commandeered loads of gear from other rooms, such as the video recorder from the living room, and a tape deck that normally was part of the audio system also located usually in the living room. I worked from Friday to Sunday, as the track was the last of the “Holy Shit” album to be recorded, it’s completion meant the completion of the album.
I remember well burning a completed album on CD, with cover, insert and back cover, which I numbered 001. When I went to pick up Mrs. mad_vicar, I presented this copy to my wife – a tradition I have sort of kept up ever since.
Gosh do I ramble! So I’ll just quickly wrap this up so I can post it.
Love and best wishes to all mvpeople around the world, and I promise there will be more news on mv7 soon!
This is your correspondent mad_vicar, reporting live from my bed, where I intend to stay until I recharge my batteries!! xxx
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment