Well, it has been, to say the least, a manic day or two since I posted the previous blog entry about the video plans. After much manic typing, confusing myself about what time of day I was talking about, remembering the need to eat, trying to remember where Bromley is, making a killer spreadsheet, and desperately trying not to think too hard about the reality of what we’re going to do, I think the plan is in place. 24 stops in 24 hours. Totally, utterly insane. But potentially awesome. In the meantime we’ve had myspace.com advertising it on the frontpage, NME.com thinking I’m in Gallows, and a flood of journos offering to come with.

The party slots are all now filled, but the open shows that you should aim for if you can are the breakfast show in Kingston (Banquet Records, 8am Friday) and then finale in Camden (The Flowerpot, 8pm Friday). Both shows are free. I’m also going to be using twitter to update the world on my progress (because I’m all about this internet lark). Good times.

More stuff! Shopping! First of all, the wonderful Xtra Mile Webstore, as well as stocking all my stuff and running pre-orders for the Million Dead Re-Release, now has a limited 50 signed copies of the split I did with Austin Lucas on sale. Check it out. Also, there’s a new T-shirt design for sale either at shows over the summer or on my online shop. I think it’s quite fetching, personally.

Germany at the weekend was a lot of fun – I was totally blown away by the number of people who came over to the tent to watch my set at both Hurricane and Southside. Roll on December – European dates to be confirmed and announced very soon. I’m also happy to announce that the wonderful Gunner Records will be releasing The First Three Years on CD and Vinyl in Germany / Austria / Switzerland on August 14th. Check it out. It’s really great to be finally getting my teeth into Europe properly. Huzzah.

Right, I feel like my brain is full. Time for a break.

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=5205309&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1

Frank Turner @ The Flowerpot from Gregorynolan.com on Vimeo.

So, as you can see, that was quite a show. Which brings me to my next idea. We’re shooting a video for the new single this week, for a song called “The Road“. The idea for the video is, I’m going to try and play as many house parties in 24 hours as possible, around London. This is where we need your help. We’re starting at 8pm on Thursday and finishing at 8pm on Friday this week – i.e. the 25th-26th. Here’s the deal. If you live in London and are cool with me coming round to play a few songs at some point, please email video@frank-turner.com and I’ll send you more details.

Obviously, from 8ish to probably 3ish is going to be comparatively easy to organize. It’s the middle of the night, and the daytime on Friday, that’s going to be more challenging. Also, we’re looking for people who have interesting locations – if you or anyone who you can blackmail have a roof terrace, a garden, or a pool, let me know. Finally it’d be good if we can have at least a handful of people at each location. Like I say, email me and let me know.

We’re going to finish the run with a grand finale at the Flowerpot in Kentish Town – a free show at 8pm on Friday. I won’t be playing for all that long (I’ll be knackered) but it should, hopefully, have something of the atmosphere of the show above. All are welcome.

So there it is: please do get in touch, and hopefully we can make a kick arse video.

There’s two cool new shows confirmed and posted up for the summer. The first will be in Kingston on August 27th, as part of the New Slang night at McClusky’s. Tickets can be found here. The best part is that my good friends from Florida Fake Problems will be supporting. Cool.

The second show is part of the Edge Festival in Edinburgh. On August 28th I’ll be playing at Cabaret Voltaire. Tickets for that show can be found here. This is in part a make-up for me not being able to play at T In The Park this year.

Typing this out, I’ve noticed all over again that Kingston and Edinburgh are fucking miles away from each other, and that puts me in mind of a whimsical observation I’ve made of late (hey, this is a blog, after all). I’m in that weird post-recording, pre-release limbo that musicians habitually inhabit once every couple of years. That generally means that we’re making plans like they’re going out of fashion, but not necessarily doing masses at this exact moment in time. It’s slightly disorientating, looking through schedules with reams of dates, acres of promo work to do and so on, in a number of different continents and over several arduous months-to-be, whilst sat in the office or at home. One of the things about signing up with Epitaph is that my schedule is going to get one whole lot heavier in the next few years, as I attempt to spread the love throughout America and Europe in the same way that I do in the UK. Press days in Cologne? Whatever next. I veer between being piss-excited and pant-wettingly daunted by it all. Never fear, dear readers, I’ll have me some fun on the way.

Which brings me neatly to the fact that it’s really not so long now until I hit the USA (again) to tour with The Offspring. I’ll be traveling by car with my good buddy John Berna, and we’ll be keeping a tour diary, possibly even with video bits in it too. Oh the technology of it all, I’m starting to sound like Herbert Morrison. I’ll shut up then.

The Kerrang Awards Voting Season is upon us, folks, at it’d be great if you could take time out of your busy schedules to vote me up on this one. Previous internet vote drives have seen me achieving some ridiculous stuff in life, and my recent victory over all mainstream pop on Sara Cox (or something) wasn’t even solicited. So if we all pull together, who knows? You can vote here: awards.kerrang.com. I’d focus on Best British Band and Best Live Act. And while you’re there, a word for the Xcerts as Best British Newcomers wouldn’t go amiss either. Thanks everyone.

In other news, would the UAF please, please fuck off? As “fascist” as those they oppose, clearly. They seem to be utterly incapable of grasping the basics of what freedom means. Morons.

I’m pleased to say that the traditional end-of-tour “I fucking love you man” type platitudes between me and The Gaslight Anthem were more than just padding: we’re heading out on the road again in September, this time in the USA and Canada. I’m very happy about this. The dates are on my myspace / the gigs page. Check them out, come down, have fun.

The album is done now, which is a relief. I feel a massive weight off my shoulders knowing I don’t have to stay awake all night wondering if there’s anything to be done about a million tiny things, or whether I should just leave it. It’s coming out in the UK, Europe and the USA on September 7th this year, with a single / radio play preceding it. Can’t wait, personally. Playing at Middlesbrough Music Live yesterday was both a lot of fun and a reminder that playing out with my band is basically the heart of what I do. Getting back on the road is a priority!

I had some thoughts about politics in the last few days; it seems like we’re living through interesting times right now, in the UK at least. Much has been made of the BNP gaining a couple of seats. Obviously, that’s a bit shit (although given the total irrelevance of the EU parliament, and the fact it’s a mere 2 seats, not perhaps terrifying). The thing that’s been slightly bothering me though is the reaction from some quarters, particularly on the left. Talk of trying to block the BNP’s passage to Brussels, rallying against them, talk of how this represents a “failure of democracy” etc., seems a little petulant to me. They won the votes. That’s the system, that’s the nature of democracy. I’m deeply opposed to their policies, but more to the point I’m pro a liberal democracy. Saying democracy is defunct (or unrepresentative) just because you don’t like the results is like punching the ref at a football game because the other team scored against you. Personally, I’m pro the ref. The people who would out and out attack the BNP are just the flipside of that coin, in terms of their regard for democracy. The pointless battles between the Anti-Nazi’s and the NF in the 80′s (which basically kept the NF alive) are a case in point. The reason the BNP are shit is because they implicitly threaten a tolerant system. Stooping to their level isn’t a sensible reaction. Fuck the BNP, but do it through open, democratic channels. That’s my two pence, anyway.

I’m in the lounge at Alex’s studio in Brooklyn. Tonight is our last night here, and we’re mixing the last song (of 13) for the album. I’m pretty knackered right now, and I’m sure that Alex is feeling a lot more drained, given that the work has been mostly his for the last week or so, since we finished recording vocals. It’s shaping up to be a long night, but it’ll be a relief to get everything finished. From here I fly back to London tomorrow, and we hit the mastering suite next week to finish the album completely. It now looks like it’ll be released internationally on September 7th (although that’s not 100% just yet).

It’s almost impossible to look objectively at a large body of work for which you are largely or wholly responsible, even with the benefit of a few years’ hindsight (first Million Dead album being a case in point – I’ve been listening recently given the imminent re-release and still can’t make my mind up). Given that this record isn’t even technically finished yet, it’s massively hubristic of me to start pontificating about it right now. I’m way too close. But here goes nothing, fuck it. I had a moment the other day of wondering whether I’ve headed in the right direction after “Love Ire & Song”, of thinking that I should have been more radical, or maybe less, or whatever. Sometimes the new stuff doesn’t sound good enough to me, but then I remember I’ve been listening to it non-stop for 2 months now, in various stages of completion. And then every now and again I’m blessed with a moment of distance, a moment of being able to hear things afresh, and then I feel pretty good. You can only ever try your best, at the end of the day, and this record like all the others is just that – the best I can do right now.

When things go well for you, it’s easy to lose some perspective – whether it’s deciding that you’re great because you have songs on the radio, or deciding that you suck for the exact same reasons. All that said, I’m feeling pretty confident, as I sit hot and sweating in a windowless room, going a little stir crazy, exhausted and still a little jetlagged, and hungry (mm, I should get some food after this), and I think I can say it’s a good album, and I hope I can say it’s my best yet – because that, after all, is my aim here. The countdown starts here for the day when everyone can hear it and judge for themselves. Fingers crossed.

In other news: I am officially hotter than Alisha Dixon, The Saturdays and NDubz now, apparently. I’m sorry to say I’m not 100% sure who they are (is NDubz the guy with the woolly hat?), but hey, I still win. HA!

Two developments to share with y’all, both of which are awesome and mental in equal measure. First of all, I can finally announce that I shall indeed be playing at this year’s Reading & Leeds Festivals. I’m on the Radio One / NME Stage, Saturday in Leeds and Sunday in Reading. I’m super happy about this fact, it’s my favourite festival and the shows there the last two years have been nothing short of amazing, so I have high hopes for this year too.

Secondly, the Manchester Academy show in October (16th) is now totally sold out. That slightly blows my mind – we haven’t even finished the new album yet, let alone started promoting it properly. This is the most tickets I’ve ever sold in Manchester, haha… I remember getting 60 people in for the Night & Day show a few years back and feeling like we’d done well. How times change. A bunch of the other shows on the tour are also, insanely, not far off.

The new album is sounding killer, incidentally. About half mixed now.

I write from the back of the control room in Alex’s studio in Brooklyn. We just finished recording the album. The last song was “Dan’s Song”, a guitar and vocals number, which we hammered out pretty fast (first takes all the way!), and which features my first ever harmonica solo. I’m feeling relieved as hell to have everything down at last. Next week is mixing, we still have a way to go before the record is done, but essentially, if I got hit by a bus tomorrow, the album would still come out.

In other news, the good folks at Xtra Mile Recordings are, as some people already know, re-releasing the first Million Dead album, “A Song To Ruin”, as a deluxe edition with some bonus tracks and a DVD. The reason we all decided to do this is that you can’t currently get hold of it for love or money, and despite all the water under the bridge, we’re all still damn proud of what we achieved with that band and that album in particular. There’s more details on the Xtra Mile website – safe to say, that for now you can pre-order a copy, which will come with a super-limited edition MD tour poster from 2004 as well. Get shopping.

Now, for my first beer in fucking weeks. To the bar!

So, I made it to New York. I’ve been here a bunch of times before, but never really had that much time to investigate the place. I won’t this week either – it’s going to be pretty full on recording mode for the next 5 days or so – but next week is mixing week, which will basically involve Alex being a wizz-kid behind the desk and me nodding approvingly at the imperceptible shit he’s doing with the hi-hat (or something). So I’m looking forward to exploring. Speaking of such things, anyone reading this who lives in NYC or the surrounding environs, please email me (frank@frank-turner.com) with the subject line “NYC”. We have much to discuss.

Casting an eye back to the old UK, this morning I’ve discovered something slightly flabbergasting. The sales for the October UK tour are doing, um, very well. The Manchester show (October 16th @ The Academy) has less than 150 tickets left. Some of the others are close too. So I guess what I’m saying is, if you’re planning on coming down, I’d recommend buying a ticket sooner rather than later.

That was a fun paragraph to write, for sure. Ha! In other news, I’m listening pretty much exclusively to Crazy Arm right now. Check them out.

I’ll keep this one brief, because it’s 3 am. We’ve finished phase one of the recording process. The days here started long and got longer as we realized the scale of what we were trying to achieve in such a short space of time. The last few days have been burn-out territory, but we just nailed the last guitar part and now we’re off to get some kip. Tomorrow I fly to NYC with Alex. For those asking, the reason we’re doing this in two studios is that, surprisingly, this is the cheapest way to do it; now that the band stuff is all down on tape, Alex and I are retiring to his studio in Brooklyn to finish off my vocals and guitar parts. I’m hoping we’re going to get some sleep on the plane. I feel good though, everything is as it should be. My aim has always been to make the best record I can at any given time, and on top of that to try and beat my previous efforts. I’m pretty damn sure I’m succeeding on both counts right now. Good night.

PS I beat Tarrant at table football, just once. Ha!