At the end of our tour, we returned to the east coast, where we played New York, Philadelphia, Vermont and Boston. After that we flew south again, this time to spend a few days recording in Austin, TX.
In Philadelphia, at the World Cafe, we recorded a live radio session in the basement of the venue. The walls outside the studio were covered in the hand-written names of bands that had visited before us. My favourite was “Flight of the Conchords” in wonky futuristic computer writing. During the show, I wandered outside during the David Mayfield Parade set and watched them through the huge windows at the side of the stage; they looked cinematic under the stage-lights. After that show, we had a spooky drive through deserted roads into the misty countryside, where we finally found our hotel. The next day was Vermont, where the turnout was small but attentive, and we had good chats with some of the audience members after the show. While most of us chose to go back to our rooms and sleep that night, a few people drove back for the last few songs of the Pink Floyd tribute band that had played next door during our set-rock and roll!
We played at the Mercury Lounge again in New York and had a rollicking show that ended with most of the audience joining us on stage, at David’s behest. In Boston, we went out for a meal and sampled some of the famous local seafood and chowder, complete with creatively-worn lobster bibs. It was our final gig with the D.M.P. and that night we said our sorry goodbyes before they flew down to Orlando for an afternoon show the next day. We watched with sadness as they left for the airport in the van we had grown to love and we’ve missed their hilarity and warmth ever since.
After resting up for a couple of days we journeyed to Austin. Here we walked out of the airport and back into the warmth and humidity that we remembered from our week in SXSW earlier this year. We took a shuttle to our new temporary home, right next to the studio, and found that it was small but “vibey”. Unfortunately, we soon realised that the absent dog that lived there had left us a legacy of fleas, and they were hungry. From then on we were at their mercy, and I think I was their favourite flavour, judging by the hundreds of bites I counted after we left.
Aside from the domestic situation we were really excited to have the chance to record some new songs with Matt Oliver. We first met him through playing a Daytrotter session in SXSW in March, and really liked the finished tracks. This time, we had a limited number of days for recording but Matt didn’t let us feel anxious about that; the atmosphere was simultaneously relaxed and focused. Matt records to tape and there isn’t a computer in sight in his studio, which is really refreshing. We won’t hear the finished songs for a while but we’re pretty excited about them. Because Matt liked to start the tracks off with drums, banjo and guitar, Dave and I had a few hours of free time over a couple of days to explore Austin. We went up a mountain, out to a natural spring and we also blitzed the vintage shops on South Congress, an area across the “bat bridge” over the river that we discovered on our first visit.
While we were recording, we got used to popping out for a breakfast taco or a midnight burrito, or a pumpkin pie milkshake. Tommy even got to know the very friendly man who runs “Loveballs”, a fantastic Asian street-food stand just up the road. I got into the habit of a midmorning run by the river and up through the weird and wonderful one-story houses of east Austin, which all look like they’ve been built and customised by its occupier, in varying shapes, sizes and degrees of stability. One night we wandered into a gallery that was part of a walking tour of a whole constellation of East Austin art spaces. Another night we heard the evocative chords of a Green Day song in the distance, as the band had been recording in the city and decided to play a packed-out gig. On Saturday, the already animated streets really came to life with markets and events, and in the evening we danced to the regatton blasting out of the club across the street. It seems like there is always something going on in Austin and you don’t have to search very hard to find it.
As I’m writing this, we are on a night flight from Atlanta back to London. We are worn out and flea bitten but satisfied to have completed such an exhaustive tour and an EP, and there will be many memories to mull over and savour when we are back. For now, it’s time to say goodbye to the immensely diverse country of the U.S. and fall back into the sweet southern hospitality of Delta Airlines, who will carry us safely home.
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