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The autumn run, nine pubs in ten nights
Where we played, what went wrong in the van and the one night nobody wants to talk about.
How we build a set list for a room we have never played
Start loud, put the slow one fourth and keep the song everyone knows for twenty minutes before the end.
Writing the chorus first: where Carpark Lights began
One line in a notebook on a motorway, and how it grew into the title song of our second record.
The year Sorcha left and Tam joined
Who was in the band in which year, why the bass player changed and what we kept the same.
Setting up a pedalboard so it survives a van
Where the cables go, what gets taped down and the one pedal I always carry a spare for.
Eleven songs we always play and why
The core of the set, in the order that works, with a line on what each one does for the room.
Our first record, made in a week in a borrowed room
Nine songs, one microphone too few and a drummer who recorded in his socks.
Soundcheck in an empty pub at four o'clock
What we check, what we leave alone and how to be quick when the landlord wants the room back.
Singing over a loud room without shouting
Where I stand, how I use the mic and when I step back and let the crowd have the chorus.
How the band started: a covers night and three chords
The first rehearsal, the first bad gig and how a quiz night band became a band that writes.
Last Orders
A letter every Sunday from the van: where we played, what we played and what went wrong.