There's a moment in the movie Unbreakable where Samuel L Jackson asks John McClane whether he has a constant internal sadness every moment he's alive and not doing the thing he's been put on earth for (in his case being a superhero). It's the only way I can explain what it's like being a musician, or an artist of any kind for that matter. Whatever you're doing, be it watching TV; aimlessly out drinking with your mates watching football or (especially) when you're working the day job you hate - you have that slight feeling of sadness that you're not playing music (or painting, writing etc). It's nothing personal against the people you spend the other times with, just the way things are if you’re a jumped-up, pretentious nobody like me.
Unfortunately for a band like us that's never sold a record or ever made a penny from shows, time is at a bit of a premium. We (nearly) all have full time jobs because that's how we live day in day out, after which we often just want to kick back and relax in our spare time. And we also have girlfriends, mums, dads and brothers (and Nacho in my case), Playstations and X-boxes and comic book stories that also want to see us on occasion which all make it harder for us to dedicate the hours to music.
It’s been a long time since our debut long-player (2005 or 2006 I believe). And I was always amazed by the amount of time that bands took to write and record an album when we could write one a week. But we're really not pulling a Stone Roses work ethic here, ie we're not sitting round smoking weed and saying "I can't be fooking arsed...", it's just that we (me especially) find it really hard to find the time to fit the music in.
Another thing that's been getting in the way in recent times is our choice of recording studio. We recorded WhiteTrashParty at Oilville Studios in Holloway in North London with Tom Aitkenhead twiddling the knobs. For recording a band that likes to play live in the studio the place was ideal, being situated under the high ceiling of a railway arch in Ashburton Grove. However it was too close for comfort to the corporation that is Emirates Stadium, certainly spiritually for a band that contains two Spurs fans and one Spurs sympathiser. The story of Oilville studio being uprooted from its North London home and being moved to Limehouse in East London is a long one and perhaps one best left to Tom. Suffice it to say that there are still "discussions" to follow with Highbury and Islington Council (who have a massive department that deal with nothing but Arsenal FC planning permission and cases) and no end of bad feeling....As a result, Tom now works out of a brand new studio in the aforementioned Limehouse, the studio is great, very modern, very spacious….maybe lacking a little bit of the soul of Oilville. Maybe it’s just the change….I dunno.
We worked there for a day in July adding vocals and a couple of extra guitar twiddles to Without Warning Without Reason and Swirl. Unfortunately due to all his troubles (and partly that these days he sometimes - perhaps reluctantly - twiddles knobs for Pete Doherty, the Kooks and The Cribs) Tom has has had to raise the cost per day from £180 to over £300. Unfortunately for us working class brothers that is just too much, so we've been looking for a new studio.
Also Gav had been spending some time writing and playing drums in his other band Thumb. Gav and Jay Ramji (our sometime bassist) booked into Ruff Rockers studio in sunny Uxbridge (where we also rehearse) a couple of months ago for a couple of sessions and came out with 9 songs. So we may soon be rehearsing, writing and recording all in the same place…stay tuned kids.
So what of the sadness huh? What about a second album? We walked back into the rehearsal studio on the evening of Thursday 25th September2008 a mere two weeks before a scheduled gig on the 10th October. In two hours we proved to ourselves that no matter how long you take out, if you're meant to make music it's in you somewhere and you never forget how. After a few rusty minutes (for Matt and Greg anyway….Gav had been playing all year) we were belting out the songs, then hit Baroosh for a couple of beers, to chat, hang out and just feel like a band again. The gig couldn't come soon enough.
So to Friday the 10th. The Good Ship Kilburn, uprooting 4 bands from our Middlesex hometown (well mine and Gav's anyhow) and dropping them into NW-something. It all seemed a bit surreal...personally seeing guys I used to see drinking down the Vine in Hillingdon that I never realised were in a band tearing up the joint. It was a brilliant night, I was very impressed with Frowser, loved Edison as always. The sound was great on stage, and from some of you that were there we heard that it was our best ever gig bar none. No not even headlining the Dublin Castle way back when.
It was only the second gig we've played as a conventional three piece, as me and Greg now swap over bass duties halfway through the show after seeing Nine Black Alps pull off the same stunt live.
For those that care the setlist was: Won't Forget; (Born Slippy) Away; Sick & Tired; My Enemy (Afghan Whigs cover); Ever; Sleepwalking; Stick This On; Thesearenotmypeople; Lovesong for Jenny K; Will to Fail; Love Me.
So all is well in the WTP camp going into 2009? Bandwise yes, working in marketing for the Woolworths Group meant that I was made redundant just before Christmas. A little bit of a blessing in disguise to be honest (although it was a very big, ugly, mother f*&%^cking disguise) as it meant that over Christmas instead of being in the office I was able to put in some hours on the second album (including the artwork). The fact was that we had easily enough material from Oilville for a second album so at the moment the 3 of us are locking ourselves in my house at weekends finishing of the bits and pieces we need to. So yes, the (as yet only tentatively working-titled) 2nd album is very, very close. The tracklisting can be found over the Discography Page for those that care….who knows, there may even be room for ventolin on there somewhere…just rest assured it’s another winter album.
So that’s that….no update, no blog for centuries and then this massive one arrives from nowhere. Just expect an album in the next 3 or 4 weeks followed by some gigs….and yeah….we’re already writing new material with a view to start recording in the spring…still reading? Wow then it must be you Shankly, hope all is well.
For now, on behalf of WTP – Matthew x
