In Leicester chez Public Relations Exercise, preparing for the trip to Manchester today. I don’t know what it’s like where any of you lot are, but the hot weather just majorly broke here and it’s raining, lightning, thundering like crazy. Awesome. I feel like I’m in a Lordi video or something. Anyways, tour is going well, great shows in Salisbury, Bracknell, York (and NOT Leeds, sorry) and Nottingham (to name a few) recently. Many more to come, and let’s not forget the filming shenanigans that will be going on from Monday to Friday next week (Birmingham, Glasgow, Huddersfield and Exeter).

Two more quick things. Firstly… Underground music scenes survive through cooperation and communication. The whole principle of punk / hardcore was that we can’t and shouldn’t rely on other people to do things for us. But it is important to share information about venues, promoters, bands, labels and so on. If people do a good job then word should be shared, and if they suck then likewise, so that people can build reliable networks. So, for example, the guys who run Salisbury’s Dirty Boots night are great, they do things for the right reasons and are to be highly recommended. Conversely, the show in Nottingham last night went well despite the efforts of the promoter. He totally fucked the show around (because he was on holiday?!), and I’m reliably informed that this isn’t his first misdemeanour. So here’s me doing what I consider is right by “tha scene” and advising bands against working with Striking West in Nottingham.

Finally, after months of me giving him shit and badly covering his songs, my friend Jay, a.k.a. Beans On Toast, a.k.a. the finest songwriter in London, has finally got a myspace page. Listen and weep.