With izdihar currently stuck in a holding pattern whilst I work on some stuff behind the scenes (should be good, I promise), I thought I'd give you something good to look and listen to whilst I'm getting things sorted. It's something that came on the iPod whilst out in the car this morning. I'd not really listened closely to the lyrics before, but a couple of lines caught my attention. If this is what infatuation sounds like, it's perhaps not such a bad thing...

Depeche Mode: In Your Room

It's quiet here in Bahrain at the moment. AM is asleep on the bed - the consequence of an Imigran tablet a little earlier today. The light has subsided outside and what traffic there is on the corniche has slowed to a crawl. Not exactly fertile material to blog about. What then to offer you today?

How about if I give you some music to go take a listen to. I'll do five albums that I think are worth a place in anyone's collection:

1. Pearl Jam - Ten: As debut albums go, this one is hard to follow. I'd go as far as to say this was their finest hour and something they've yet to match. For your consideration, I give you "Jeremy", a fine song regardless of the rather dark subject matter.
2. Rush - Signals: Rush are a band whose early material I found a bit of a tough listen, primarily due to Geddy Lee's vocal style. It wasn't until I shared a room with a Rush fanatic, when in the RAF and I heard "Exit... Stage Left" that I caught onto their undoubtable musicianship, from where on in all else was history. I had the pleasure of seeing them live 3 times on their 30th Anniversary tour and would love the opportunity to see them again, should it arise. The song presented here tells of the pain of loss through the ageing process. It's not something they've ever performed live due to the need for Ben Mink's violin part - "Losing It".
3. A Perfect Circle - Mer De Noms: When Maynard James Keenan decided to step outside the confines of Tool, he couldn't have done so in better company than with Billy Howerdel. The result was A Perfect Circle. APC are far from your standard rock act and should be required listening on anyone's' play list. Here is a track called "Breña". Enjoy!
4. Smashing Pumpkins - Machina/The Machines of God: Smashing Pumpkins had their coming of age with Siamese Dream and a hard to beat high point with Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness, but here I've gone for one of their less well known albums with Machina, a piece of work that I suspect is badly underrated. This is my favourite track from it "Stand Inside Your Love", which always reminds me of AM.
5. Biffy Clyro* - Puzzle: I know next to nothing about Biffy Clyro, except that they're from Ayeshire (there are worse places). Here I've picked "Folding Stars" for you to listen to, a truly beautiful love song that can easily bring a tear to the eye. Not sure who Eleanor is, but it sounds like she's worth writing songs about.

Perhaps nothing there that's too far from the mainstream, stuff you may well have heard of in all likelihood, but did you buy them (does anyone still do that? You should)? Give the links above a try and see what you think.

Postscript: Just been to the excellent Margarita Mexican at The Gulf hotel. It's a new undertaking for them, but on the strength of this evenings meal, they should be kept busy for some time to come. If you get there, the chocolate pudding is a must - chilli infused chocolate mousse, with a raspberry coulis and a little whipped cream to top it off; absolutely to die for.

* Talking over the subject of todays' post in the restaurant, AM enquired as to who "Billy Clitoris" was - kind of hard to explain that one really. You had to be there...

We are now in Bahrain, have been since 12:00 or so to be more accurate. Smooth passage across highway and causeway, can't complain really.

The day has been spent, as ever, browsing round the bookshop in Seef Mall, buying books, buying magazines, drinking coffee at Caribou, buying undies and skirts (latter not for me I should add). Heavy stuff, I think you'll agree. Aside from the traffic along the corniche, the day has been one of relaxation and idleness personified. The lounge has served us with a bevy of fines wines for an hour or two, after which it was on to the Fiddler's.

I have mentioned The Boxtones a couple of times (1, 2 & 3) now and they were on again tonight. Just for a change I was more than happy to see the band.

It's an odd thing you know, the difference between how the Boxtones come across on stage, and how we were beginning to look. Gary & co look absolutely effortless, whilst we were struggling to put single songs together in any sort of coherent manner. It really is a joy to see a band put heart and soul into something and all the while make it look effortless, like they've barely fallen out of bed and thought "I know, that's what we'll do today - for a bit of a crack and maybe some beer money", but it's what they seem to do. They've been out here, doing sets most nights, and still look fresh as a daisy and not a care in the world. Not too sure how it's done to be honest.

Tonight's set included, a Beatles medley, Jason Mraz (again), Lynryd Skynrd's "Sweet Home Alabama", Green Day's 'Basket Case', GNR's "Sweet Child of Mine", a Foo Fighters track the name of which escapes me right now, and others. What slightly threw me though was seeing them with an audience demanding an encore, something they duly obliged with a Rage Against the Machine track from their first album. Now it wasn't a piece of music I knew, but the sheer gusto that it was performed with and the reaction of their audience had me laughing, not from amusement, but with out and out enjoyment. To see both band and audience enjoying themselves so much was wonderful.

Talking with Gary afterwards, I gather they have now has their contract extended until next August they like them so much. I'm quite delighted at this news and hope to see them on more than one occasion between now and then. The only downside of this is that they are not allowed to have guests on the stage, much to my chagrin. You will not be seeing me on stage at the Diplomat any time soon - I will get my day though.

Listen & View Large On Black

It's an unlikely combination I grant you, but with the third of the bands' rehearsals now under my belt, these two are coming closer together. It's fair to say that the former are winning out in the track count so far as we gradually construct our set. I'll not list out the actual tracks here, so as not to spoil the surprise for any who might turn up for the first of our many-times rearranged gigs. As it's on VH1 at the moment though, I can confirm that we will not be attempting Tina Turner's 'Nutbush City Limits' - good thing too...

Despite having had guitars in my possession for the best part of 30 years, this is the first time I've ever been even remotely close to being in an actual act. The first time was absolutely terrifying, but I did just about get away with it. I did though rapidly discover that playing along with other flesh and blood musicians is not the same as playing to the original artists CD. The subtle shifts in tone and arrangement of a familiar tune are rarely there when trying to make yourself heard against the massive reverb of an empty rehearsal space, and the lack of balance between the instruments that come out of this.

I'd also not appreciated how difficult it is to pick up the language of a practice session. For some of the others, who have been doing this for perhaps 20-30 years in some form, it's second nature, whilst I must look utterly bemused by is all. I know what the words mean (mostly), but I haven't a clue how they relate to an actual track, which I don't de-construct as I'm listening to them in terms of verses, choruses, bridges and so on. An instruction telling me we're going to pick up two bars before the 2nd chorus is most likely to leave me thinking "Oh fuck! I've been found out!". The may as well drop me off in Gorky Park and ask me to find the Kremlin - no doubt I'll get there in the end, but it ain't going to be quick, or by the most direct route - don't speak the lingo you see.

All said an done though, it's beginning to come together, though I've not really settled myself into a regular structured practice routine away from the band rehearsals. Better an hour a day than 7 hours cramming over a day at the weekend. What is going to be nice though will to be get some of the guitars I have out of their pristine home in my bedroom studio and out in front of an audience, an audience that wishes to be entertained and will probably be more than forthcoming on what they think of us. I'm sure it be fun when it happens and I'm hoping that someone will capture some photographic evidence of it all. It would be nice to be thought of as someone who plays guitar and not just owns a few, after all, any old idiot with some ready cash can do that can't they.