I’m back in the USA again. This is good news, although I feel like a fucking alien at the moment, which is not helped by having spent last night drinking whisky with my friend Vanessa and reminiscing about the Revival tour. We’re on the coast mid-state; this is one of my favourite parts of the world, and I can see why Kerouac and pals settled here. The band are with me, which is also good news, and today we drive to San Francisco for a show, which is icing on the cake.

On Saturday we’ll be back down in Southern California (after a brief stop in Vancouver for me tomorrow..!) for Coachella Festival. And I’ve finally got my stage and time. So (drum roll please), we’re playing The Gobi Stage at 12 noon on Saturday. If you’re coming along, or know people who are, please spread the word, it’s an early slot and we want to get a crowd together.

Further on the subject of this great continent, I can happily confirm that this August I’ll be playing at the great Lollapalooza Festival in Chicago. It’ll be a full band show, and we’re looking at a run of shows beforehand from the East Coast on over. More details to follow shortly.

Turning back (happily) to the parochial old United Kingdom… My old friend Gareth, from Peterborough, is putting out a benefit compilation CD to raise money to help disadvantaged local kids get involved in music. I contributed a track (a live version of “Sons Of Liberty”) and the comp features a ton of awesome bands – Good Clean Fun, Red Lights Flash, Tim Vantol, Crazy Arm, and many more. I know Gareth from the days when he used to run Positive Outlook, a UKHC staple label back in the late 1990’s. So, all in all, pretty old school. You can pre-order the CD and find out more by following this link.

Moving westwards across the midlands, I can confirm that I am playing a (solo) show at Club Kerrang at the Birmingham Academy on May 27th. Tickets are available from seetickets.com. See you there?