Thursday January 1st 1998
I did in fact manage to go to a party last night, at Club V, the queer indie disco night that takes place Upstairs at The Garage, a darkened cave where Fosca played their first gig last September. Charley was there, her hair now an even shorter crop, as were her friends in the band Linus, Andy and Mike from the band Mouthfull, as well as Becky Craig, a Manics obsessive that I hadn’t seen for ages. I generally had a good time in the end, giving up to the effects of the alcohol… the queerest as well as the cruelest drug, perhaps, as it tends to blur the genders and weaker people can suddenly find themselves in bed with those they’d otherwise not look twice at. I do my best to succumb to the enforced hedonism of the night, and am even on the receiving end of a few offers (for once) but manage to leave at 3am by myself, thank goodness. Mainly because my room’s such a state. Getting home isn’t at all a problem, though. Not only is public transport in London free on New Year’s Eve, but there seems to be plenty of nightbuses about. I catch one home within seconds of leaving the club, and manage to sit next to George from the band Jack, whose eyes betray a successful night’s drinking without him having to say a word.
Fosca played Blow Up last Saturday. The newest number we did, “Half-Life”, came together so well it seemed to be playing itself. And we milked “Girl Selfish” to new heights of dynamic noise terroism… I managed to fall on my arse at one point. Must remember to do that again.
No other gigs booked as yet. But we now have four songs recorded for release soon. It looks like most people like “Limbo” enough for it to be the main song on the EP. Sav thinks we should hang on to “Leopard of Lime Street” as a separate single. But this is not our priority… we have to wait for the word from Geoff Travis, the kind man who paid for the studio time. He’s got a few label MDs to play the tape to first. So in the meantime we’re seeking out management and future gigs…
Studio memories… my own brother Tom coming down on the train from Ipswich to add a few guitar parts… the warm vintage Telecaster sound bursting out on the choruses to “Limbo”… the out-of-control noises in “Girl Selfish”.. the garage punk of “Action!”… Sav’s impromptu Hammond organ solo on “Leopard of Lime Street”… I still prefer playing live than making records, but the EP is a pretty decent start.
