Ya Ya ...mm...mm...indeed and yes! it has been a busy week and no mistake!
The final recordings for the second album are done my pretties, done! and finished!
I wended my way up to the north last Monday, to visit Mark ,his beautiful Mrs.. und das hund, OscarChops... it's always a social affair :-)
I alighted at York, i didn't really mind the gap ...it was 2 hours long ( broken track my dears!) because I found a beef roast awaiting me as i stepped over the yellow line... Mark was in full swing and we immediately settled in to a fine catch up and gossip whilst we waited for the yorkshire puds...they were very good. We discuss the many and varied machinations of bands we have worked with, weight watchers, friends and family, fags , t.v. and the word cunt....and The Ya Ya Recording Company. We listen to the radio..minster fm.. to here Mark Cottrell, singer songwriter, producer and artist, on his first of a week long slot of unsigned talent!! wehay! Cherry Bakewell Bet?......lets...OscarChops dribbles his want and need, bickets ,yea,yea, yeah :-)lol
it got to half eleven and Mark suggested retiring! What! are you George Bernard!...going to bed before midnight did not sit well with my illusion of the rock n roll lifestyle, so i had a cherry bakewell and a cup of cha and forced a gin down Mark's neck whilst we had a deep n meaningful about , past, present & future, where and how we have and shall be........we didn't go into why?.......that happens at 3.00 in the morning , involves, quantum physics, dark matter and Douglas Adams...and has to be done absolutely cheerfully :-> wasted !! :->
We had work to do anyhow....i sat bolt upright at 9 'olclock in the morning! better get a wriggle on!! i was unsure as to how much we had left to do...should eat...this is seriously a departure from our usual fare of the tea and fags diet of yesteryear.........we make our way to the studio area, some people might call it a spare bedroom but they would be wrong! The task in hand is Betty's Flagrant Excuse! A series of 14 ditties that were written between September 2007 and June 2010.......and are, like my swanky business cards say, lol.......Defiant ditties, passionate poems ad tragic tales, right before your very eyes, for your entertainment and delight!!! :-),
all set to a background of amazing musical talent and direction from Mr. Mark Cottrell... ably assisted in part by Richard Knutson and Les Clark
The opening track... "I'm an Idiot" is a collaboration with Mr. Diz Woz 'Ere ( a most talented writer )... and there after in some particular order i can't remember.." I have Lied", " A Well Fitting Bra", 'Pinking Shears" Did they Laugh at you baby", "Hold Me", " If you Stood Any Closer" , "Comfort", "Tom of Bedlam"( traditional), "Panic", 'Molasses", "Seen the Way you Look at Me"," Slap Happy Girl", "Perverted".....................
In my usual fashion, i stuttered and fell over the songs, making rasperry's and some new words ..swearing and corpseing...I am not a professional! lol...as Mark very patiently counted me in.........The Chacers were going to be coming round at three and we would be off to celebrate Jordan's 21st birthday later, were we going to have enough time!!!?
As i turned out , even with many fag brags and silly buggers and so many more bleepers , Mark got the songs out of me (written down on the back of a giant sudoku)...and we even had time to do an acoustic E.P. which Ya Ya will use for our grand promotion...aaand even hadderer we had time to do a quick video, i've never lip sunk ( is that the past tense)..sounds rude to me!........I have never lip sinked in my life! and you can tell..lol :-)
Ds hund , snuffles and woofs, bark, bark growl, snuffle............The Chacers are here! well almost, Les and Richard make a fetching entrance... and we all fall in to a rather excited and in depth debriefing.. i haven't seem Mr. Knutson for a year or more :-)...........Les and I discuss ArtClark and the designs it wants for the CD of Betty's Flagrant Excuse!...flock background...ooooh purple?.....hope so.......x
Then we are off out to meet Jordan, (Flannery, exceptional drummer with The Chacers).....21 today...we make our way to a backstreet boozer in the centre of York and spread around the beer garden! Eve Maule Cole is there! lovely to see her! and we have a little jam sesh. I meet Jordan's mum and girlfriend, lovely girls and we all sing "I'm a believer" amongst many others.....Richard had a go on the guitar and played some wicked slackfold blues,lol.. he then got involved in some free form flamenco stylee..nice.....but it was getting cold...and two slices of taost wasn;t enough... we repaired to the local chip shop, there are in fact no saveloys in Yorkshire, apparently it is a southern thing....but they did have calamari and curry sauce!........mmmmm
Jordans mum, or jenny two bottles, is having it large! and we are joined by many more friends and settle in to general gossip, when rather unexpectedly we are told we cannot play inside and a band arrives to peddle some rock classics and we leave to the strains of Jimi Hendrix covers...for The Evil Eye... a cocktail bar of some repute, we say good bye to Jordans mum, she is riding a bike home! :-)....and things start to get pleasantly messy.......Richard and I remain sober and begin a light hearted deep n meanigful about ... emotional blackmail and personailty disorders!...we had a right giggle...Mark appeared to be , quite, quite drunk and it was decided we should try and make it home to see his Mrs ....i hadn't seen her for as long as Richard...she is lovely.
Gin!?... more gin?......fags?.......well it'd be rude not too, many more deep n meaningfuls and then the beginnings of a drunken debate on fandom , liggers, hangers on, people who have got to big for their boots...Mark started to look a bit sad.......so we had one last fag, gin?...and made each other laugh! Oscar Chops got a few quick licks in...and we walked up the wooden hill to Bedfordshire!........slept like logs.....
The following morning, betwixt some draped and tired bumblings we got it together to make a very funny video together, Richard in his american gothic style :-)..and ....Les's air ukelele is unsurpassed brilliance!!:->
Cant wait to see the album up on Itunes and printed! ...
and i bloody love my mates , i do!.....
..............and then i saw her face!!! xxxx