14. ΑΝΟΙΞΗ
Spring comes soon enough. A Jackal's Wedding is out next week.
It’s 7 o clock in the morning here in Milan. Claudia left on work early, and given I am able to wake up quickly and she is not, I got up to make coffee. Here in Milan, people will not communicate verbally until they have had coffee. I’m not sleeping much, which is a problem because I know this feeling of too much float, and the shows in Europe will come quickly after this week of recording. It was a good time in the US, thank you to anyone who came and spoke with me after a concert. It’s sometimes difficult in all of this noise to remember that the music is living quietly, separately to myself and with other people now.
The record will come out soon, I believe that Spring will precede it by a few days. Spring is a song which I wrote while the day was rearing its head through the rocky mountains. I remember there were patches of snow in clumps at the beginning, and as we moved down into gentler humps of rolling hills, there were a few stark and seemingly unrelated wind turbines. It was a circular guitar instrumental which I had as a voicenote. Listening to it while watching the propellers and the undulations of the hills, the story presented itself to me very quickly and whole. I remember Joe laughing at me as I wrote it with my eyes closed, apparently my face contorts into odd shapes while writing. I wouldn’t know, the best part of writing things is getting outside of yourself and being unaware of eccentricities like that.
When we got to the Old Carpet Factory on Hydra, there was a Steinway upright which had been brought up from the port by 6 men at a cost apparently greater than the cost of the piano itself. There are no cars on Hydra, and mules and pianos are not good bedfellows. I loved to play that piano, I would stay late and go early before we started work proper on the record, just to play it. One morning, absentmindedly, I transported Spring into a new space due to my inability to play the piano with any degree of real acumen. I enjoyed the version on guitar, but in this new form the song sung differently, cleaner. That is the version we kept for A Jackal’s Wedding, as a balm, like having a mint between cigarettes. You will hear both versions eventually, I wonder which one you like more.
Listening Events
Reminder that the advanced listening events for A Jackal’s Wedding in select cities are next week. The album will be played in its entirety ahead of its release. Free with RSVP. For those of you who can’t make it in person, we’ll be doing a Bandcamp listening event on Monday, Nov. 7th, where I’ll be in the chat answering any questions you may have - RSVP here.
Nov. 4 - Dublin, IE - Fidelity Bar @ 7pm - RSVP (+ Q&A with me) *
Nov. 5 - Brooklyn, NY - Mr. Melo @ 7pm - RSVP
Nov. 5 - Los Angeles, CA - In Sheep’s Clothing @ 7pm - RSVP
Nov. 6 - Milan, IT - Onda Music @ 7pm - RSVP
Nov. 6 - London, UK - Spiritland @ 6pm - RSVP
Upcoming Tour Dates - TICKETS HERE
11/08 - Manchester, UK - O2 Ritz *
11/09 - Glasgow, UK - St. Luke’s *
11/11 - Cardiff, UK - Tramshed *
11/12 - London, UK - Roundhouse *
11/14 - Paris, FR - Elysee Montmartre *
11/15 - Amsterdam, NL - Melkweg *
11/16 - Nijmegen, NL - Doornroosje *
11/18 - Cologne, DE - Gloria *
11/19 - Hamburg, DE - Uebel & Gefaehrlich *
11/21 - Berlin, DE - Columbiahalle *
11/22 - Munich, DE - Technikum *
02/15 - Dublin, IE - Opium $
02/18 - London, UK - Village Underground $
02/19 - Manchester, UK - Halle St Peters $
02/20 - Bristol, UK - Bristol Beacon $
02/22 - Brussels, BE - Botanique - Rotonde $
02/23 - Paris, FR - La Maroquinerie $
02/24 - Amsterdam, NL - Tolhuistuin $
02/27 - Prague, CZ - MeetFactory $
03/16 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl %
03/17 - Raleigh, NC - Kings %
03/19 - Washington, DC - The Atlantis %
03/20 - Philadelphia, PA - The Foundry %
03/21 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg %
03/23 - Boston, MA - Sinclair %
03/24 - Montreal, QC - Fairmount Theatre %
03/25 - Toronto, ON - Great Hall %
03/27 - Chicago, IL - Sleeping Village %
03/28 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street %
03/30 - Denver, CO - Ophelia’s %
04/01 - Salt Lake City, UT - State Room %
04/03 - Los Angeles, CA - Sid The Cat Auditorium %
04/04 - San Francisco, CA - Rickshaw Stop %
04/06 - Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios %
04/07 - Vancouver, BC - The Pearl %
04/08 - Seattle, WA - Madame Lou’s %
* supporting Nation of Language
$ - w/ Laura Groves
% - w/ Otto Benson
I’m excited, almost relieved or the full album to release. It’s good timing, as winter approaches - I’ll need something to get me through the short, dark and rainy days ahead. Safe travels out there.