MAKING OF THE ALBUM

The Recording

FIRST DAY

I know the Beatles recorded their 1st album in 20 minutes but they never had the whole family to squeeze in. Also, we hadn't seen Kev properly in about 10 years so there was a whole lotta carry on to catch up on.

First morning me n Michael arrive first and get shown the greenroom off of Maggie who keeps the place looking good. Everybody probly knows the words greenroom but only from the Graham Norton show and stuff so hearing it being introduced to us was a stupid wee thrill already. Michael was so excited he got tore straight into the fruitbowl. Kenbo n Sammy bundled in next. They had stopped off at the Coop for some ugly meat n crispy rolls and got stuck in too. When Margaret came in to check if we were alright for everything she would have instantly clocked the crisps n crumbs exploded over half the carpet and figured out she wasn't working with Grace Jones this week. She asked Michael were they Grado's bananas he was eating? Grado is a professional glasgow wrestler that does some radio DJing in between bouts. Michael's eyes open all guilty and he stops mid-chomp like he can put it back. Just in the door is

LAST DAY

Last day in the studio and we’ve only got hunners to do. Luckily the songs you hear sound like the songs we heard after the first two days of setting up and playing them thru. The rest is mostly just shrubbery that stuck after we dragged them thru the garden a few times. A lot of the last two days were spent splattering things at them and realising that some thoughts are best left unheard – studio pressures being what they are and all.

Stock phrases we have learned to be alert for include …“it’s in the can so we can sort it in the mix”… from the engineer recording (which means “it sounds crap but if we roll it in fairy dust it might come out shiny”)… and …“it will sound totally different once the crowd arrives”… (more for live situations but still worth listening out for). A new one I am going to remember and wince at is… “ stick it all down and we’ll lose it if it doesn’t work”. Seems like a plan but problem is that once you hear that cowbell you never knew you needed 3 or 4 times it becomes like it’s always been there and leaving it thieves up that little squeak of ear space and the voice of the song that was gets that little bit quieter.

Luckily, Kev is a staunch disbeliever in any and all of the above. The first thing I asked on the first night me n kenbo met up with Kev to talk conceptual continuity was how to go about things. Kev said my favourite thing which was that he wanted to get the songs heard by any means necessary. Sammy’s voice would guide us and if any of our noise needs flung overboard to get to the other shore safe then that’s the way it’s got to be.

It was made pretty clear that we loved him and trusted him and wanted him to tell us what to do. Even before any buttons were pressed I knew I wanted it first take, if yer not in the room you’re not on the song, out of tune or time doesn’t matter as long as it feels like it ought to be. No cheating. Ken, on the otherhand, thought that it should sound good and pro. We figured we could believe only Kev would know which, why, when or how - we would follow Kev into a cupboard (or these new space age digs of his) for them radar ears and curly brain more than the gear he had to filter them through.

Kev doesn’t like it when we call him the producer so he can pick any from referee/cheerleader/coach/conductor/influencer/translator/ringleader he chooses. He did say once that he thinks his duties are closer to fly dentistry right enough.

Anyway, back at the recording and looks like it’s going to be a full house. Earlier on in the week it turned out that Wull was on wheelchair duty with his boy, Ethan, who had bust his toe in an ‘orrible below the belt boxing incident. He said he had definitely told Shona that he was going up to Glasgow to record that album Kenbo was talking about. He had put in for the week off ages ago and she might have been going thru a tunnel or mibbe he was mowing the lawn at the time but he’d definitely told her. It wasn’t like he was going to plank all his pedals in the hedge and record in his overalls. At all.

Upshot being wherever Wull was going that week he was wheeling Ethan along with him. Lucky for Ethan the studio had some playstation plugged into a screen so big that it was like you were there.

Sammy mentioned while having his tea with the family that Kenbo’s niece Maria was coming up the next day to do a bit of singing. Suddenly realising how long his daughter Alex and Maria had been pals prompted him to draft in another group member before the sentence even landed. Luckily never hurts to add one more angelic voice to the choir.

Don’t rightly know I ever knew the names of Big Eric’s son, Finlay’s, two pals else we could have credited them with handclaps. I think they were happier paid with the beers that were lying around in the kitchen as they were just visiting to see what a recording studio looked like before going to some show.

Young Sophia afforded us a bit of her sass and arrived in full glamour for the event. Probably not for this event and rather the doo she was headed straight to after her bit was done. The young chap who was tagging along with her squeezed onto the sofa just fine with the others and seemed more than happy with the half bottle of decent red n sammys meat sandwich whilst Sophia done her bit.

Last and the furthest possible from least was Arlene who came to sprinkle some garnish over the stew of Shitstorm. The middle eight section has Wull and Kenbo sing the Morricone mumblings over Sammy’s lament and me doing “that” banjo part* but it is Arlene’s part that makes the album worth having if you ask me.

Arlene brought up Uncle Huey’s old fiddle – the same one he used to play with my Uncle John and Davey** in the Gaels all those decades ago – and began to wrap it around Sammy’s confessional. The way it curls around and about, above and below make the whole proceedings instantly more real. I reckon anyway.

A lot of folk n frolic to fit into the one session but everyone threw what they could and went away happy at a job well done… except for Kev who had a few loose ends and a bit of tyding up to do… 12 months later …

*the banjo part Ken crawled in to the booth to watch my 78th attempt at trying to get it right for Kev’s ears. Got the whole thing filmed somewhere. Reckons you can see the exact point I have my mini nervous breakdown. One for the bloopers ken?

** you must’ve been a mere boy Davey

The Cover

The Ballad of Buffalo Bill

The britches were itchy, the food was greasey’n’grey, people pickin’ fights everywhere he went and that goes double for the womensfolks. Hell, even them buffalo are less plentiful than they used to be from when he first started whoppin’ em. Time to pack up the horses, round up some injuns and take the ol’ show on the road.

Chief Blue Horse was bundling dung overboard from two dozen skitterin’ critters – trapped n nervous in the hold of some creaky ol’ tub crashing it’s way across the atlantic. It sure seemed a long way from pedalling his kayak down the creek back home. For him the choice was this or rot in jail. The Midwest weren’t no place to do any more than survive for a native of America at that time. Another chance on another shore to have his story told but there’d be no statue for Chief Blue Horse.

See how they all got on from their arrival in Dumbarton, to pitching up tent in Glasgow’s east end, mingling with the locals, those who made it back and thems that never... Hear how they fared from those that were there by clicking on some of the links below…….

Buffalo Bill's Wild West: When the Wild West of America came to the East End of Glasgow (glasgowworld.com)

Points West Online: Seven Days in Glasgow with Buffalo Bill, 1904, Part 1 (centerofthewest.org) Buffalo Bill (dennistounconservationsociety.org.uk)

Some tribal loot acquiesced at the time is on display (and property of) Kelvingrove art gallery, Glasgow and William Frederick Cody has his statue

Entropy ain’t so bad. Having the one constant sight straight ahead marks everything else as just scenery. Even if the future is locked on target for the inevitable, the rate of decay gives an idea of distance travelled - from that where we are and how we got here. Which is why landmarks like the rug at Sam’s are important.

You can see it on the inner sleeve underneath the polaroids. It is important because it was there soaking up what went down in the middle of Rhythmic records (in the middle of Greenock town centre (in the middle of our teens (in the mid 80s))) and now it is in the middle of Sammy’s backshop where we now practise.

Rythmic records had records and the Rug Club had a rug* amongst other things. These other things included two H/H amps, a squib of a drumkit, a P.A. that either worked or didn’t , and a cafe that you could crowd around a mug of tea in. It allowed us to queue up or cram in and have a go at making near enough music. The cafe also had McD, Gedge, the Marshall, Chris Davidson and others wanting to make nights happen. And they did it. Other places had other things at other times but these were the first for us. They both had their rugs, they both had a sofa and they both had a kettle. And everything else was just scenery

So hats off to the barneys, the Kris Bradleys, the Migs, the Whiteout, the Homer, Stiv, Gedge, the Dumbarton lot, Chris, Shug, Marti et al for making this happen

*nothing to do with Sam’s rug

** if anyone wants a photo from the inner sleeve get in touch and we will try and get it to you. While stocks last and whatever one gets picked up first obvs

This was written by Andre Kristovam about the guitar leant to us for the back photo and a brief appearance at the start of “It’s Easy”. Andre is a bluesman who has played with many of the greats of both blues and tropicalia. Look him up then give him a listen. This guitar is another fine example of we can’t know where entropy will take us but we are definitely allowed a look round along the way…

“My father bought this small sized Del Vecchio for my mother in 1956. The Del Vecchio and my family were close, mostly thanks to my Uncle Lino Christovam, who was an ace violin player who could double on Bandolin. He ordered a black Dinamico model from them in 1948 and used it on most of his gigs until he retired sometime in the 70s and gave it to me. I do believe that Chico Del Vecchio picked up my mother's guitar. Through all the years of my friendship with their family, I never saw another one like this. Sometime in the 90s, I took over it to Brazilian Master Luthier Carlos Novaes in São Paulo, and he refreted and replaced the original tunners for some German made one that would keep it perfect tuned. It was his idea to place an L.R. Bsggs sadle pickup, so I could use it live. It was too precious to get abused on the road. I did use it in several sessions until I moved to the UK, and I decided not to take any calls anymore. It still has a lot of music inside! Enjoy it!”

P.S. no guitars were hurt or glued on in the process of this cover getting made