It’s been nice to be back in England for a few days, despite the godawful weather. The little things – reading a proper newspaper, eating a fry-up in a greasy spoon cafe, drinking in a real pub – almost overwhelm me on my return when I’ve been away for a while. After a weekend consisting almost entirely of eating and sleeping, the week has dawned, ready for the start of the UK tour.

And then there’s the snow. We have, to be honest with you, been slightly umming and ahhing about the weather in Aberdeenshire. After much debate I’m pleased to say that, as of time of writing, I’m about to start heading north, and the show tomorrow is still going to go ahead as planned. Fuck the snow!

For those of you further south (who are, apparently, about to suffer the brunt of the freezing apocalypse next), if you live in central London and have Christmas lights that need switching on, then you might be able to get me and Dave Berry of XFM to come round to your house to do just that next week. Details of the competition are to be found here.

Finally, part 2 of the US tour diary!

I’m sat in Detroit airport on a layover on our way home. Last night was, despite the sad news about Social D, an awesome way to end the tour. And what a tour it’s been. It feels like forever ago we were arriving in Austin for ACL. We’ve covered a lot of ground, played some great shows and made some new friends. So, many thanks to Social D and their crew, team Lucero (especially Justin and Mary), Casey and Craig, and everyone who came to the shows. Now for the UK tour. Oh, and here’s part 1 of the tour diary, enjoy:

News just in about tonight’s show in Tempe AZ. Due to family circumstances, Social Distortion have had to regretfully cancel their appearance tonight. Nevertheless, Lucero and us will soldier on as we did in Baltimore and Asbury Park. The show at the Marquee Theater will go ahead but will be a free show, with doors at 7pm. We’ll play a full set, as will Lucero. Social D will reschedule at a later date. So, get your arses down here, spread the word, and let’s have an awesome time for the last night of the tour!

For he umpteenth time in my life, we’ve just driven through the deserts of West Texas, this time heading west. The tour is entering its final stages now, only a few more shows to go. Everyone has got that extra bit of energy you get when the finish line is in sight, the shows in Texas were solidly awesome, and it’s kind of sad to think that this little line-up of travellers will soon be parting ways. Such is life on the move. The buddy tattoo sessions have begun in earnest, everyone has more facebook friends.

Today we’re in El Paso, stopping off with old friend Jim Ward. We’re actually going to hit his studio here and demo some new songs that we’ve been working on. We’ll be in the studio proper in January, so all minds are now starting to focus on the new material. I’m quietly confident, we have 16 songs in the bag that I think are going to make for a great album. It’s going to be a lot of work getting it just right, but I think we have it in us.

Before then though there’s the UK tour, which I am very much looking forward to now. After a long stretch of opening up at shows, it’s always delightfully satisfying to come home to headline. Southampton and Oxford are both pretty much sold out now. See you all soon.

Hello all. So we finally got this sorted out. For people outside the UK, we have sorted out an easy way to order both the Jon Snodgrass / Frank Turner album (“Buddies“) and the new EP, Rock & Roll. All you need to do is head over to www.frankturnerstore.com and make your order. Shipping rates should be back to normal. Pre-order now for the quickest possible delivery come release date!

In other news, the Social D tour is rolling on, but nearing its end now, which is always bittersweet. Everything is in place for the UK tour to be absolutely off the wall crazy, most of the shows are either sold out or verging on it now, and right now we’re a well-oiled rocking machine. See you soon.

I’ve never been to Asheville, NC, before, and like many of the places I go on tour, I doubt I’ll get to give the place a fair viewing, not this time round anyways. But from the little stretch I’ve seen, it seems like a nice place. I love the south of this country a lot, and it always lifts my mood to return here. It’s also good to know that Mike and the Social D boys are back on form again. The shows in Asbury and Baltimore were a great time, but now we’re all back on schedule again. A special mention also for Richmond VA last night, and in particular the excellent Long Arms, who also played. Good times.

A quick note on the Val D’Isere show, as lots of people have been asking. The show will be a free show at a venue TBC in the town, the competition being run through XFM is to win flights and accommodation to come to the show. So if you’re going to be out there anyways, you can just come on down to the gig. Easy.

The Rocksound Readers Poll is now open for voting, as is the Kerrang poll, so if you guys have some spare time on your computers, do head over and send some votes my way. Also, I recently played a little cameo in the new Dive Dive video – check it out here:

So I woke up this morning to some mixed news. Social D have, alas, had to cancel their appearance at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ, tonight. That’s the bad news. The good news is that Lucero and I are still going to play. It’s going to be a free show, doors at 7pm, and we’ll both be playing full sets! So, get your arses down to Asbury Park and we’ll have a great time!

I write from a coffee shop in New Haven, CT, basically in the heart of Yale (at least I’m certainly leeching their wifi). Seems very nice around here, very Ivy League, although a quick trip to the other side of town to do a radio show revealed the other side of this town to be not quite so genteel. Interesting contrasts. The last few days have just been beyond insane for me, much of it being stuff behind the scenes, and most of it being good news, but it certainly tires me out some. I’ve got a lot to get through today, so I’ll stop rambling and start, uh, blogging?

First up, shows. Two new ones to talk about. For those of you in Florida, I have news! On the 14th of November, before playing the House Of Blues in Orlando, I’ll be playing a free instore show at Park Avenue CDs, at 3pm. Come join the fun!

Next up, I’m going to be finishing off my year before Christmas with a show in Val D’Isere, on December 17th, as part of the XFM Rocks The Mountains events. You can apply to win tickets to get flown out for this by reading about it here. It’s a pretty snazzy way for me to be wrapping up 2010, so apply for tickets and we can share some drinks in the snow.

Finally, on the subject of shows, for the UK tour Aberdeen, Sheffield, Exeter and Liverpool are all sold out, and London, Oxford and Southampton will most likely go in the next week or so. So if you’re wanting to come down to one of the shows, I’d get on with getting your tickets ASAP!

And to wrap up for today, a Radio update for UK people. Thanks to everyone for their support in texting, emailing and tweeting radio people about “I Still Believe“, every little helps. Fearne Cotton gave me a daytime play the other day and we’re hoping for more, so do keep hounding that one. Also, the song is up for voting on 6Music’s Rebel Playlist – check it out here and cast a vote!

Right, back to the grindstone, those T-shirts aren’t going to count themselves. And just before I go, I have to say this tour is a blast. As well as the joy of hanging with the good people in Social D and Lucero and their crews, the crowds on this tour have been a joy to play to, and I’ve made a lot of new friends. So, thanks, welcome aboard, onwards and upwards!

So I got up this morning, in Philadelphia, and set out to find somewhere to get online and do some work, and happened across the main landmark I wanted to see anyway – the grave of my political hero, Benjamin Franklin. Any man who can invent a stove in between launching magazines, fighting a revolutionary war, helping draft the constitution and being a funny bastard is alright with me. I threw a penny and took a photo.

The reaction to the new single and video has been fantastic, I’m very pleased with how people are taking to it. Some thoughts, notes, and answers to questions. The crowd on the recording is from both Reading and Leeds festivals this summer. The girl playing harmonica is my cousin. The tattoo at the end of the video is indeed real (and hurt – you try lipsynching when someone’s inking you! haha). And for the record, we didn’t use autotune on the song. So there. Also, I will be releasing a solo version of the track as well at some point, never fear.

On the subject of the single, thanks to everyone who let Radio 1, XFM and 6Music know they appreciated the plays so far. We need to keep up the heat, so any time you feel like emailing or texting any DJs (Zane, Huw Stephens, Fearne Cotton etc.) requesting the track, go for it. Incidentally, I don’t have a street team (because I think it’s bogus) but the genuine contributions of people who read this blog go a long way to helping out, so, thanks for that, I really appreciate it.

Another little thing you can do – the Kerrang Magazine poll is now open. You can go vote. I’ll leave your choices up to you, haha.

Next up. Chris Bourke, the man who did the (totally awesome) artwork for Poetry Of The Deed, is currently selling prints of the artwork for the album, as well as some other amazing pieces, on his website. You should get over there and pick one up.

Finally, here’s an interview I did recently. Enjoy.

The storm has finally broken, the good folks at Radio 1 have started playing “I Still Believe”, and the reaction seems great so far. It’s kind of a relief to have it out in the public domain now. You can buy it from iTunes worldwide right now. The video is also around, as you can see above. Please do take the time to hassle radio shows you listen to about playing the tune, or thank them for doing so if they have already. Every little helps.