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THE LOUNGS HIT THE STUDIO

By Chris Amery

The eagerly anticipated debut album from St.Helens band The Loungs is being busily recorded at the Catalyst studio in the town centre.

Having caught the eye of record bosses at venues across the U, these six local lads were determined to come back to their roots to record their debut LP.

Keyboardist Martin Wills explained: "We had a choice of a number of recording studios in Manchester but chose Catalyst because it is the best we've seen."

"Hopefully, the album will be out by the end of the year."

Guitarist Dan CAstrogiovanni added: "And hopefully people will think it's good!"

If the rave reviews they received for their debut single 'I'm Gonna Take Your Girl' are anything to go by, then the album is well worth waiting for.

Signed to underground Manchester label, Akoustik Anarkhy, The Loungs boast four lead singersand have been shortlisted for the Road to V competition - to be aired on Channel 4 next month.

Now The Loungs - pronounced 'lungs' - are hoping to breathe some life into the local music scene with their catchy pop harmonies.

Brought together two and a half years ago by a 'love of the Super Furry Animals', The Loungs will hold a launch party for their debut LP at the Zoo Bar on Westfield Street.

And they have a refreshing outlook on life in a band too - rating the importance of a good tune above the need to stick to the latest fashions. Martin joked: "We're not skinny enough to pull off the tight jeans look so we'll just stick to Burton's best instead!"

The band were assisted by Greg from The Axe Factor in town, who lent them some guitars during recording.

The Loungs will next be in action at the Citadel on Friday June 16. To find out more about The Loungs you can visit their website www.theloungs.co.uk

Recording Diary - Day Nine

THURSDAY 25th MAY 2006

I'm pushed for time. Here's a list of things.

1. DTL and JTL put down lots of guitars today and NTL did half of his basslines.

2. I have received a complaint from Ted that he has infact given us loads of possible album titles. I'm thinking they were either offensive or just forgettable.

3. We still don't have an album title.

4. The official line today is that we are two thirds done. This is a guesstimate. (?)

5. There's a bizarre man/woman combination haranguing bus drivers in St.Helens daily.

6. It seems like an age since we last did a gig.

7. It is hard to recreate sounds that you recorded a year earlier. Pissed. Possibly.

8. We take a good photo on occasion. (See this weeks St.Helens Star for details)

9. Recording albums is fun.

10. Size is'nt everything.

Recording Diary - Day Eight

WEDNESDAY 24th MAY 2006

I woke up at 3am having had a nightmare that Purcell, Clint and the dvd lady had overdubbed backing vocals over all the tracks we have recorded so far. The unnerving part of it being that they sounded far better than any that we have recorded so far.

The main part of the day was taking up by something that we refer to as 'messing about'. This is were we randomly try bits out for songs that we have'nt tried before, usually involving the most ridiculous noises that we can find. Sometimes it works out brilliantly and sometimes not. Today we came up with something we found so good that we simply entitled it 'BRILLIANT'. This is a little premature because as of this moment each Loung has not heard the part to which I refer. I hope it gets thumbs up because I think it is my favourite thing ever.

Messing about days are always my favourites and today was no different. The songs flesh out more into a little adventure for the ears but there is a fine line between an adventure for the ears and a terrible mess. I think we are teetering on the edge but as long as we reign each other in a bit we stay on the right side of awful. Hopefully.

There's still loads to do and we only have 2 'official' days left in Catalyst at which point we will have to reconvene at a later date after having pored over what still needs to be done and what should really be left by the wayside. At the moment it is anyones guess as to how much we have of both. I'm back at work tomorrow so I am gutted at not being able to be there for almost 2 full days recordings but I will get out of work in time to tell DTL which bits he needs to do again at the end of the day. Album titles are still very thin on the ground and despite crying out for suggestions we have had none of yet apart from Andy's steadfast belief that it should simply be entitled (adopts deep Northern working class voice) 'TH'ALBUM'.

Dvd lady turned up at lunchtime which was at approximately 2.00pm today. I had a sausage and a barm cake off one gentleman and half a hot pot/meat and potato pie off another. It was quite a a smorgasbord. I felt a bit uneasy having dreamt about her last night but soon cheered up when I spied a copy of 'Lee Evans - Live In Blackpool'. We all agreed he is BRRRRIIILLLIANT and funny to the max.

JTL turned up after worked and ripped through a couple of lovely lead breaks before we came unstuck a little on the b-side of our next single. Somethings missing but I've not figured out what yet. Maybe it's more of DTL's feedback in the middle bit. JTL laughed as we had yesterday at the trombone parts which he had not yet heard and seemed more than pleased with the way the songs are shaping up.

Alas there was no Zoo Bar this evening and no studio for PTL who is ill.

Recording Diary - Day Seven

TUESDAY 23rd MAY 2006

Now I'm sure that nobody could argue the fact that metal-tooth EastEnder Goldie is the be all and end all of Drum And Bass in this country. That's what I thought too but always felt that I may be able to add a little extra to his ample cooking pot, therefore creating a much headier brew. This is how I have felt with much of the D'n'B sections of the album. A few of the others tried to tell me that heavy scattershot beats don't belong on songs such as 'I'm Gonna Take Your Girl' but I think they will be the ones looking back in a few years time, looking me straight in the eye and saying 'You were right'. So as you could imagine I was feeling rightfully proud and excited at the thought of one of the heads of Akoustik Anarkhy Recordings making the journey from Manchester to see how we are progressing with the album. All of my anxieties fell away as he was quite rightly left speechless at this new direction. I kind of wish he had stayed to listen to the other songs but he left in a hurry after only 5 minutes saying "I'm going to have to speak to the others about this..." Obviously he can't wait to tell them what a little gem they have in their hands.

DTL is struggling with one of his guitar lines so we remove 5 strings from the guitar so as not to confuse him and he finally nails the three note solo on the final remaining string in under an hour.

It is just DTL and I for the first part of the day as we await the arrival of NTL and Paul Brennan our Trombone player. I hear the intercom buzz. As I turn I see Paul Brennan stood waiting to be let into the building but my eyes are drawn to the limo that has just dropped him off. More specifically they are drawn to the driver. Purcell. GTL arrives and is immediately sent on a chippy run. We fit his helmet and send him on his way with a list as we set up for Mr.Brennan's takes. The first two songs leave us all giggling like schoolgirls with excitement in the control room. Paul has'nt taken to covering an entire song with unwanted parps and blasts and instead has chosen a few lines that when laid over the final tracks add an entirely new side to the song, one that ultimately makes you want to bob up and down a bit with a vaguely stupid looking grin on your face. We are contemplating calling the album 'PAUL BRENNAN featuring THE LOUNGS'. After some jazz (you'll have to wait and see) Paul leaves us all a little bit happier than we were before and JTL arrives eager to fit some more recording into the end of his working day.

It is worth pointing out that while all this has been happening PTL has been blasting out tender love songs on his acoustic guitar in the recreation area as practice for his live solo show at the Theatre Royal tonight. The reviews garnered by 'PAUL NICHOLSON - 90% SOLO' have been magnificent so far but have caused yet more tension in the ranks of The Loungs. We understand that he needs the money but some of us draw the line at some of the stage costumes he wears throughout the show in particular the Nazi uniform he performs along with 'goosestepping dance' to his one man version of 'Jimmy Two Shoes'. Nobody wants to approach him about it as it can be hard to talk to PTL at the moment without booking an appointment via his manager but I am sure we will resolve this in the usual messy fashion somewhere further down the line.

Another 12 hour day comes to an end as two Loungs and Mr.Andy Bowes set of in the direction of the Zoo Bar. I manage one pint of lager and £1.25 in the Tetris bandit before I am left skint and so I leave at about 10pm. As I leave I notice that the singer of the synth duo playing at the back of the bar bears an uncanny resemblence to PTL. Odd.

Recording Diary - Day Six

MONDAY 22nd MAY 2006

I recorded all my keyboard parts today. The album is now officially 97% better. Purcell still did'nt show.

Recording Diary - Day Five

FRIDAY 19th MAY 2006

Luckily we had the foresight to leave all the instruments at the studio yesterday as we ended up walking to the studio this morning. No Purcell (obviously) no Clint and no limos. Have the Akoustik Anarkhy coffers run dry already? I suppose we'll have to wait until Monday to find out but in the meantime it was kind of nice to get a bit of fresh air as I reflected on the week gone by during my early morning stroll. As I got near the town centre something strange happened. I heard a commotion emerging from an alleyway ahead of me and as I got closer saw two teenagers scrambling over a wall and running away down the entry, knocking over wheely bins and laughing. The back gate of the house that they had came from opened and out came a very irate middle aged man shouting "TELL PURCELL THAT'S ENOUGH! TELL HIM I'VE HAD ENOUGH!!! YOU TELL HIM!!!" The two lads ignored him and carried on their way.

On arrival at the studio I was greeted by NTL, PTL and GTL who were on their way back across the car park to the "...errr.....shop...." They seemed extremely cagey about what they were up to but I did'nt think anything of it really.

Once inside the rest of us sat around, had our morning brews and watched the extras from the This Is Spinal Tap dvd and did a bit of laughing. Yesterday I brought a flask full of whisky in preperation for our first vocal takes but today I had'nt done so and my throat felt terrible as we again began the days recording. Vocals first then!

JTL has a specific way of singing sometimes that makes him sound a little bit 'unstable' if you will. DTL and I like it when JTL sings like this but find it hard to get him to do it on demand. The first song of the day needed this style and after an hour or so of trying and failing to get a good take tempers began to get a bit frayed in the control room. Two men arrived to fix some flapping material in the studio window so that called a halt to proceeding for 20 minutes or so. We used the time to go back to Spinal Tap and calm ourselves down, remerging with the plan to move on to a different song and crack on.

The song we chose to move on to was 'Get Along'. 'Get Along has been a source of much argument over the past few months of organisation and planning for the album. It is almost always the first song to be dropped from a set when we have limited time and we have never gotten the feeling that we have quite nailed it properly live. The quiet sections have never been quiet enough and the timing can be suspect on many an occasion. Because of these reasons some members of the band called into question it's inclusion on the album. DTL and I had argued the opposite and thought that it could be great if recorded correctly. Two incidents have made me feel better about arguing for rather than against. The first incident was Paul Brennan's visit to our practice rooms last week with his ideas for the album. One of the ideas was a trombone line for the verses of 'Get Along' that fit beautifully and brought a completely new feeling for that section of the song. The second incident was JTL's vocal recording yesterday. After the initial raucous start to the day he calmed right down and began to sing. Frankly it was ace. I recorded my vocal parts over the top and the song seems to have changed to something else completely whilst still being only partially recorded. I can't wait for the rest of it.

There had still been no sign of NTL, PTL and GTL and none of them answered their phones when we tried to contact them so we moved on.

Another worry for the album was to get a superior re-recording of 'I'm Gonna Take Your Girl'. JTL's newfound crooning status meant that he recorded the new vocal in almost one take. We all agreed that it is a much, much better vocal than the single version and again I can't wait to hear the song together as a whole.

The dvd lady appeared at the front door of the studio and after much arguing I went to answer it. DTL said that he needed the toilet but I'm fairly sure it was blind fear that made him go into hiding until. He asked us to pick up a copy of Sex And The City Series 4 if she had one which was a dead giveaway that he knew he would'nt be back until she had left. All the time she was there I could see her glancing over my shoulder as if she was looking for something....or somebody. Unfortunately she was all out of Series 4 but JTL and I put what little money we had in our pockets together to buy a copy of Grease 2 as a present for DTL. He bloody loved it.


Because of the unexplained absence of half of The Loungs the chippy run did'nt happen today. Instead DTL was sent on an errand to the pie shop which he did'nt like one bit as he is used to giving the orders not being on the receiving end of them. I'll give him his due, he got the order right so is'nt as stupid as he can sometimes look.

Vocals filled the rest of the day as we completed all the main ones with the intention of getting Mr.McCartney's microphone back to him before the end of the day. What I was'nt expecting was that he would come and pick it up himself. He seemed an amiable chap and it was very nice no meet him despite DTL going and hiding in the toilets again for completely different reasons this time. Macca kept eyeing up NTL's bass and eventually offered to play on a track. We really could'nt resist seeing what it would sound like and were so impressed that we eventually ended up re-recording all of NTL's bass tracks with Macca but drew the line at vocals despite him being very keen. We thanked him for the microphone, made plans to meet up for a little drink and bid him farewell. Nobody mentioned Heather.

PTL's guitars needed tidying up a little and after re-recording a few of GTL's drum sections (completely changing some and giving them a nice 'world music' feel with the hope of getting on Jools Holland) that was it for the day. Despite there only being half the band there we progressed quite a bit today and got plenty done. Maybe they will show on Monday. Who knows?

Recording Diary - Day Four

THURSDAY 18th MAY 2006

I tried to tell him that driving with his right arm in plaster was an extremely bad idea but he would'nt listen. Purcell was back today and looked in a right old state. He seemed really happy though. Even after the 50 minutes that the two policemen questioned him for before taking him away in the back of the police car for wreckless driving he was smiling and in generally good spirits. The same could'nt be said for JTL, GTL, PTL and myself who were left to walk the rest of the journey. It would'nt have been that bad if it was'nt for the drum kit, congas, gongs, harp, wind chimes, kettle drum, cello and miniature classical guitar that we had to carry. We were late.

PTL finished up his acoustic parts first thing and GTL did some more drum tinkering. I also got to do a bit of recording today which was good. Still not the dreaded keyboard tracks but nice to have a dabble anyways. As one Loung was hard at work the others would congregate in the 'recreation area' where we were treated to some top notch rock documentaries to get us in the mood. First up was The Flaming Lips - The Fearless Freaks which seemed to go down well with everybody warming to the Lips boys. The same could'nt be said for the next documentary DiG! especially when it emerged that it's main protagonists, The Brian Jonestown Massacre were playing down the road in Liverpool. It looked for a moment that we may have to physically stop NTL and GTL driving there with the intent of telling their lead singer exactly what they thought of him.

Part way through the morning the fire alarm went off and the whole building was evacuated. Luckily enough the weather was nice and JTL had the foresight to grab his acoustic guitar on the way out. By 2.30pm we had gathered quite a crowd and raised over £70 which payed for today's chippy dinner quite nicely.

Once back inside the building we were greeted by a photographer and journalist from the mighty St.Helens Star. Bizarrely they both arrived at exactly the same time, one at the front door of the studio and one at the back door. After some photos which involved three Loungs scrambling across the floor to get to the other side of the huge mixing desk, DTL and I did a short interview with a nice young chap who wrote everything down in shorthand which fascinated me for a moment because I had forgot that it existed. We bid our farewells. Stay tuned to next week's local papers for the full story.

It had been an odd day so far with all the interruptions and just as we were about to make a start on the vocals we were stopped again by the dvd lady. She only had two copies of 'Harlem Nights' left which I thought was quite impressive but she also had a home video of DTL as a child which we found a bit weird and politely asked her to leave. She smiled, bid us farewell and said she would see us tomorrow. I'm not answering the door this time.

It seems NTL has formed a strange addiction to daytime tv phone-in quiz shows. Yesterday he sat shouting "COOKIE DOUGH!!!" at the tv for over two hours whilst frantically dialling his phone. Today it was "SLUGS OR SNAILS!!!". I'm worried about him.

And so to the vocals. Andy had erected a kind of tent in the vocal booth in which we were to stand to record. A nice seductive lighting was also chosen to set the mood and JTL was first in.....and back out again. PTL began to throw a wobbly (much to GTL's annoyance) jumping up and down and shouting "ME FIRST!!! ME FIRST!!!". We've seen him get like this before and it can take an age to shut him up so we let him in to go through the songs in his own inimitable style. GTL took some calming down as his mutterings on the other side of the glass grew louder but all in all it went well. I was up next and was so good I did'nt have to even sing. I just exuded vocals so that was that sorted. NTL went after me and ran through a few songs and all in all Macca's microphone held up pretty darn well. Unlike his wife. Around this time we started to realise that we had almost done a 12 hour day and had all began to tire. Big Brother had appeared on the studio tv and one by one we began to drift in and out of the room in order to see what cheeky monkeys were on offer this year. After a quick tidy up we called it a day and all left together in the Loungbus apart from PTL who had stormed out of the studio the moment he finished his final vocal earlier on whilst shouting something about 'the chinese' and '90%'. I did notice he only had one spam fritter for lunch today so it was probably right that he would be a little tetchy.

Nobody made the Zoo Bar tonight due to excessive skintness and a long session in the studio today but as we drove home I found myself feeling a bit sad that tomorrow would be the last time we would all be in the studio together for a while as we are working around awkward hours next week. I hope it's a good un.

Recording Diary - Day Three

WEDNESDAY 17th MAY 2006

The day starts with me making JTL a bacon butty and a brew which he tries to eat whilst ignoring the fact that I am coughing up a l(o)ung in the bathroom at great volume. Ain't good for you this recording lark as we are all beginning to find out.

Purcell did'nt pick us up this morning. Instead a friendly American named Clint arrived. Clint lived up to his name by brandishing a stetson, I don't think I've ever seen a stetson on the streets of St.Helens before. I hope it is'nt the last time I do. Purcell sent his apologies but there was no reason given for his no show. I hope he's ok. Akoustik Anarkhy had sent 4 bottles of champagne with the limo and when DTL and NTL's limo arrived they too had 4 bottles. They had however already drunken two en route.

Maybe it was a little silly of us but we polished off another 3 bottles between us before lunch time resulting in a fully realised recording of ABBA's 'Dancing Queen'. We are currently deliberating over it's inclusion on the album.

It was a bit of a slow start today. Everyone was really tired but it did'nt take long to get into the swing of things and before too long GTL had finished up his drumming duties. I have'nt been able to record any of my parts yet and I'm more than a bit nervous of doing so. Everything sounds acers so far and I hope I don't sound like a one-handed fool when it comes to my turn...despite being a one-handed fool. We've still got a hell of a long way to go before I step up anyways so hopefully I'll dispell some of my butterflies in the coming few days.

One thing that I have'nt mentioned up to now but feel I should is the growing tension between GTL and PTL. What at first seemed like friendly banter today spilled over into something a lot more worrying and vicious. PTL began to record his acoustic parts after GTL's lunchtime chippy run but had been extremely vocal in chastising GTL for getting his order wrong. I'm not entirely sure that he could eat eight whole spam fritters anyway but he insisted that GTL was provoking him by only bringing back six. Whilst PTL concentrated on a particularly tricky guitar part GTL paraded up and down the control room pointing at him through the soundproof glass, laughing loudly and beating his chest. PTL ignored him at first but when GTL entered the recording booth and began to detune PTL's guitar whilst he was playing things became heated. Maybe it was the champagne but finally we calmed them both down enough that PTL could finish the take. I think we're keeping it.

I had not made the connection before but when GTL came back from the chippy run he was sporting an angry looking red mark across his forehead. He told us that he had walked into a road sign but I could'nt help but notice that at the same time GTL was out, PTL was nowhere to be seen.

The dvd lady had only 18 copies of 'Harlem Nights' today so we passed. She promised a better selection for tomorrow's visit.

We have a juggling act of sorts to contend with over the next few days as Paul McCartney has been on the phone about his microphone. You'd think he had bigger fish to fry at the moment, I don't know, maybe it's his way of dealing with things. This means that we must start some of the vocals tomorrow. JTL and I had decided that alcohol may have to play a part in this. I thought whisky as it clears the throat and makes it easier to sing. JTL said lager but I'm not sure of the advantages of that for the singing voice, unless it's warm I suppose. Time is also against us as it's back to work next week so we have to fit our recording sessions around that which makes everything a lot more difficult. Next Tuesday is also taken up by our smashing trombone player Paul Brennan who will be coming in to play on a few tracks. We met Paul the last time we visited Catalyst Studios to book a mastering session for our last single 'I'm Gonna Take Your Girl'. We asked him to spruce up the song and that he did so we're having him back. We also have a string quartet coming from Bolton but goodness knows when or how we are going to fit them in. Having said that, if anybody knows a good trumpet player who is willing to come to St.Helens and hang out with a bunch of losers for a day or two we would be very grateful as we are having huge trouble trying to track one down at the moment.

The songs are taking shape slowly now and I got really excited listening to them today after being a bit worried about things yesterday. I don't think anyone told him but NTL's bass playing in the original run throughs was brilliant. We are always telling each other how good his bass lines are but I think we only do this because when we tell him he does'nt believe us. Unless he is legless on Strongbow in which case he is the one telling us how good he is. I think the songs will definitely take another huge leap forward when we hear them with all his final takes and I can't wait.

DTL finally used his £10 to pay the bill that he needed to pay and I was down to my last pound coin so I did'nt go the Zoo Bar and left with JTL. On the way home it occured to me that Andy's flatulence was virtually non existent today although I'm sure I saw him take his camera to the toilet again.....

Look! Studio Pictures!

Loungs action/studio based photographs are still in the making but in the meantime here are some pics of our wonderful home for the next few weeks. In colour.


This is the lovely Catalyst studio in the heart of sunny St.Helens were we are currently ensconced recording our debut album which has no title at the moment but could do with one if anybody has any ideas. It looks a bit like a church dunnit? It is'nt.






This is the lovely control room of said studio. At any one time it can be filled with 5/6 Loungs and our master of ceremonies Mr.Andy Bowes. Drinks are not allowed in here but we can poke fun at each other through the ample windows if need be.






This is the 'recreation area'. We can be found here in a morning, at lunchtime and at various points throughout the day. Recreations can include eating some chips, putting on new guitar strings, beverages, poker, The Simpsons, TV quiz shows, Police Squad, David Bowie, bifters, penny toss and waiting for a Loung to get their bit right.






This is the room where Jamie sits with his guitar. He does'nt sit on that chair but sometimes we visit him.

Recording Diary - Day Two

TUESDAY 16th MAY 2006

Purcell was late this morning by 20 minutes. I was going to say something but did'nt for two reasons, one being that he did not look in the least bit happy when he arrived to pick me up, barely even bidding me good morning. The second reason is a bit stranger. His door was open in the front as I climbed into the back of the limo. I caught a glance inside and the glovebox was open. I can't be sure but I thought I saw something strange in there........hmmmm......I dunno. I did'nt say anything to PTL and GTL when we picked them up. I thought it best not to.

DTL was first in the studio this morning and, despite his protests to the contrary, he left the front door of the building open. This meant that about halfway through the day we were interrupted by an elderly couple who wanted to know if this was 'a recording studio'. We told them that it was and then to naff off. Times money loves.

The day begins with PTL (or 90 (per) Cent as he likes to be known) cracking an off colour joke about an orphan DTL being left in a basket on some stairs by David Bowie.

After yesterday's 'Googly Moogly' debacle we decided to have another couple of cracks at it whilst we were all nice and fresh this morning. I think we have it finally but it's really hard to tell when you are listening to just the drum track. One listen can sound fine, the next somebody will hear a mistake that they don't hear on the next listen but somebody else does and so on. As with yesterday we followed with a couple of other songs that we nailed in fairly quick succession in the hope of making up a bit of time and crossing another couple off the 'to do' list. The songs in question had been pushed back as probable problem children but did'nt turn out that badly in the end. The largest of these supposed problem children has been 'Electric Lights' which we have only ever referred to in hushed tones as 'Igor' up until this point. I like to think of it as our 'Bohemian Rhapsody' but it really is'nt. Clicks are created by GTL due to some bizarre DTL flight of fancy but strangely enough work very well and we crack through it with more ease than we ever anticipated. I reckon it's going to sound great me. I nervously show the others some of the 'phat beatz' that I had planned for 'All Your Love' and they seem to go down ok so we'll give them a try and see how it sounds.

I forgot to mention that Andy Bowes saw Cassandra from Only Fools And Horses walk past yesterday. We all missed her and if it was'nt for the fact that I know she is appearing in the Theatre Royal next door I would have called his sanity into question by now. His bottom was badly behaved today, the first sign of windypops rearing it's ugly head at approximately 11.30am.

Some things that happen in the following few hours:

1. PTL does a chippy run and returns with far to many chips that are all somehow finished off by NTL.
2. We all laugh at an ever so slightly mentally unstable singer/songwriter from Liverpool.
3. DTL calls me names for drawing song titles in my little book.
4. NTL drinks some Strongbow and gets a bit sleepy.
5. Andy takes a camera to the toilet.
6. DTL calls JTL names for looking a bit lost.
7. PTL and DTL partake in some 'lad's stuff' including cards and penny toss.
8. DTL calls me names for drawing a badly proportioned studio chair in my little book.
9. We buy some pop from Andy's tuck shop (he does'nt stock crisps).
10. The dvd lady arrives. JTL buys 'Give My Regards To Broad Street' and GTL buys a dog eared copy of 'The Bridges Of Madison County'. I pass but find myself sorely tempted by 'Gremlins 2:The New Batch'.

...oh aye and we record some more songs including one that now features a new lyric involving old men's genitalia.

By the end of the day we have got the basics down for 12 songs. GTL has a few bits to add in the morning and we have one more to record before we can begin to slowly flesh them out with guitars, whistles and bells. I will try and get some photos of us in classic 'band in studio' poses over the next few days to post on here with my ramblings but I'm not sure how I'll manage it because DTL has lost his charger.

The day ends with another trip to the mighty Zoo Bar. I borrow £10 off DTL and win nothing on 'T-E-T-R-I-S'. We have a pint-a-piece and go our seperate ways apart from GTL who stops on his own for another....weirdo. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow. I could get used to this.

Recording Diary - Day One

MONDAY 15th MAY 2006

So here we are. After almost 2 years together as a group we are finally taking the plunge and laying down the 'best' work of those 2 years to tape (or computer as it were) for prosperity and for public consumption. It's seemed like an awful long journey getting to this morning but we're glad it's finally here and are hoping we can do these cheeky little songs proud for their official unveiling later this year.

Last night (Sunday 14th May) we trekked down to the marvellous Catalyst Studios in St.Helens with our less than glamorous (ie. cheap) instruments and set up the drums in the hope of an early start this morning.

Our label Akoustik Anarkhy have promised transport to and from the studio for the 2 weeks we are booked in but much to our dismay only 2 limos were available. One for the 'working class' end and one the 'middle class'. Our limo driver's name was Purcell. I did'nt ask but at a guess I'd say he was approximately 50. He wears glasses and mounted the kerb outside WTL Towers when he arrived this morning. I've decided to give him the benefit of the doubt though as he seems like a nice enough chap and, more importantly, he was on time. More of a Dean Martin man himself, Purcell's daughter went to a 'rock' concert in 1996 and never returned. Still, he did'nt seem to hold it against us and wished myself, JTL, GTL and PTL well as he dropped us outside Catalyst again mounting the kerb. I can't be sure but I'm sure I heard him mutter something under his breath as I closed the door of the limo.

Andy Bowes is a wonderful chap whose only bugbear is the fact that his flatulence becomes more frequent as the day progresses, a fact that he seems to use as a guage of a songs recorded potential. He is our guide for the first section of our recordings. If there are to be any more sections remains to be seen and much rests on how well these 2 weeks progress. Last night I had told myself that I would be happy with 5 or 6 song 'skeletons' for our first days recording at the same time warning myself that we could come away with 3 and various song 'bones'.

After an hour or so of mic tweaking and amp positioning and 3 episodes of 'Police Squad' we begin with our instrumental opener 'Clancy's Stomp'. The idea behind the recorded version of 'Clancy's' is to mess it up royally and form a nice little calling card for the rest of the album. As with the other songs we plan to record, the finished version will probably differ massively from what we have in mind at the moment. It may not even be used, who knows, but we polish Clancy's bass and drums off in half an hour and this leaves us cocky for the rest of the songs of which we have 12 more to record.

We crack on through two more songs with almost no glitches and then the problems begin to kick in a little. This is'nt helped by the small lady who knocks on the door of the studio and is selling pirate copies of the latest dvds cheaply. We invite her in and look at what dvds are to offer but I am put off by the fact that her bag contains a copy of Harry Potter 6. NTL buys a copy of 'Happy Gilmore' on VHS and we set about our business.

Some songs require a click track, others don't but the clicks don't provide as much trouble as we originally though they might. I'm not going to tell you which ones we did use a click on . Maybe you can buy the album when it is out and have fun trying to guess. The guitars are sounding marvellous in these infant stages mainly due to us borrowing them from top St.Helens music emporium 'The Axe Factor' who don't tend to open exactly when they should but are well worth visiting. They are also helped by Andy's lovely amp. JTL's amps is ok but has some stickly stuff under it's handle that you forget about every time you pick it up.

A new(ish) song called 'Googly Moogly' causes the most rumpus towards the end of the day until a microphone is thrust in front of JTL and he sings along which helps things a little. By this time DTL has joined us in the control room because he has grown tired of playing the guitar. The recording process is not helped by the fact that he continually blows a small child's toy trumpet throughout the recording of 'Googly Moogly'. I ask him to stop but he just gets louder. Eventually he stops and puts the trumpet down. He eyes up a set of marraccas menacingly but seems to think better of them.

NTL's wrists have becaome a little sore but we don't talk about the reasons behind this. PTL sings a bit and I say "1-2-3-4" sometimes in the correct place. As JTL has been left in a studio of his own at the far end of the building we begin to worry that he may have trashed the room out of boredom but thankfully he keeps himself amused by playing 'licks' as they are known in the business. JTL will be selling a small piece of his guitar on Ebay in the coming weeks. Stay tuned.

We think we nailed 'Googly Moogly' in the end but won't be sure until the cold light of day tomorrow when we will begin to tackle the more taxing songs in our set. Oh God indeed. Andy has rented an extremely expensive vocal mic off The Beatles so I hope we have nailed today's songs as Macca wants it back by the end of the week.

And so to the Zoo Bar. I have two pints, borrow £10 off DTL and win £50 pound on the bandit which I then proceed to spend in the Bell And Barrell with PTL and GTL. Before we spend up we leave and buy some butties from Asda. Mmmmm.

I'm having an early night as I would'nt want to keep Purcell waiting in the morning.

Nightnight.

WTL x