As far as our activities this week go the gig at Tommy Flynns was a nice opportunity to get back on stage after we’ve taken a few weeks out to rehearse sum new material. The gig and night was strange, havin spent a good cpl hours over the road watchin Arsenal get whipped by Man City I strolled back over to Flynns to see sum dude headbuttin the window of the venue. At first I just thought he was a sexually frustrated Arsenal fan (most of em are) but it turned out him and some other metal head tool had a bee in their bonnett that they weren’t allowed behind the bar to help themselves to a drink. I’ve always been suspicious of people that like metal and this has further proved my attitude.

Stepping onstage gone eleven was a big ask on a night when the pissing rain left puddles at the door and going onstage without a soundcheck just aint cricket these days. We’ve been there, done that and left it behind a long time time ago…this isn’t meant in any arrogant way but whether you’re playing at Wembley or Tommy Flynns on a rain soaked Thursday night with dick-head metallers headbuttin the window, every band deserves to go onstage knowing that the songs they write and spend alot of time and money getting right can be heard in a way that at least attempts to serve them justice. This just was not the case and although I always do my best not to diss anyone in this way the soundman just didn’t seem to understand the concept of balancing the noise, we were literally louder than bombs or quiet as a silent disco! I do nonetheless enjoy the Tommy Flynns nites and the ppl there are great, I’ll just be makin sure Ellis is manning the desk next time we play!

It’s the practice room where things have really been heating up in contrast to outside temperatures this week though. We’ve transferred to a new room where we rehearse in Croydon, alot bigger than the shoebox we normally rent downstairs…money (or lack of) ensures we cant always indulge in this type of decadence yet last night was a grand way to spend a Friday eve. Going through the Marshalls with the new chorus pedals in tow we had our good friend Gavin Batchelor come down on photo duty. He also brought the video camera along and filmed a large part of the rehearsal, which is not only great in the sense we get to look at ourselves alot more and see whose got the better dance moves, but it allows us a greater grasp of how the tunes are soundin live.

We have seen through the aid of a very small digital camera screen that when we are granted the correct sound levels the tunes are bloomin marvellous to listen back to. And so in the words of the great philosopher Jesse of The Fast Show fame, “This week we have mostly been…Discovering once and for all that metal is shit and a soundcheck is gospel.”

Love, James xxx

As myself and my 3 Inwitians go things have been rosy as a tulip last cpl weeks, had a nice meet wiv the Berry Gordy of 360 Degree Music Stuart last week, our website is now official and runnin smooth on the labels site. Check it out here and sign up for your free download of My Mirror http://inwits.360degreemusic.com/.

The My Mirror samples been hangin on the myspace page for a good cpl of months now so frankly we’re bloody well chuffed ppl can finally hear it! The gigs have also been developing into a nice little run as the page will testify, big shows before xmas particuarly the Stroll On night in Hoxton which will frankly be a lot more interesting than the day of Christs birth (Christmas). I accepted my role as Scrooge a long time ago in the nativity play.

We’ve been out and about a fair bit lately checkin groups from all over gracing the capital. Highlights have been Crocodiles from the US who played long running clubnight Dirty Bingo and Gringo Star who James from Stroll On got over from across the pond to grace The Social. I have to say this lad is really pulling it out of the bag at the moment, each show he puts on gets better and better where you can really tell he cares about the artists he’s got playin.

The rehearsal room has been a place of experimentation for us of late summit I feel I should briefly tell of, not in the sense that we’ve been droppin acid and become prog-rock practitioners. Let me apologise now for using the term prog-rock. We have however invested in a bit of new equipment that has really helped get the songs we’ve been writing to sound how we talk about wanting them to. Its exciting for us coz it shows a progression in the group that has coninually been the case in the year we’ve been together. We’re really at the stage now where we feel the tunes we have in the bank stand their ground on all levels, but this means nowt unless you’re out there singin em. And so on that note, as December rapidly approaches and we have a nice little batch of stages to stand on, the new decade will be the time when the story really unfolds along with our many talented counterparts on the 360 label.

See ya soon, keep swigging and swappin saliva!
James xxx  http://www.myspace.com/THEINWITS