Both sides now…

I should have ever announced that my blog was to be written up on Sundays.  This has instantly made me not want to write them on Sundays.  Instead I start thinking about it, reach for another glass of wine, and congratulate myself on being completely useless and relentlessly obstinate about getting things done ‘the right way’. 

So, it’s Tuesday, but it’s Sundays thoughts.  Ok? 

I had the pleasure of Andy McLeods cajon efforts this weekend and we successfully thrashed out my new song ‘Sweet Melody’.  It goes without saying now that I don’t write in ordinairy time signatures.  Or, ok, I do but then I throw in a few randomly, essential, additional bars of half time like 5/4 or 6.5/8 just to ensure the song doesn’t get too boring.  Or normal.  Or whatever…

 These wierdly wonderful time signitures liven things up a bit and, I find, can be a very effective way of getting the band to concentrate.  Well, maybe it doesn’t always work…but hey, I try my best.   

This week I have mostly been sorting out the upcoming gigs and I can’t wait for the Captains Rest gig on the 5th!   We’re still waiting for the full line up…but will keep you posted.  I have also begun preparing for my Onesongig filming debut on Saturday which will be performed from a very secret location in Edinburgh!…It’s going to be a good way for me to upload one of the newer tracks for  people to hear. 

Speaking of filming/films etc I was feeling a little blue this weekend and in dire need of a pick me up (and a large dose of Solpadine…) so I stumbled over this on youtube and it made me smile.

My Rave: Stanley Odd.  They have just released their newest EP on itunes.  They are super wonderful to hear play live, full of energy, and their songs are packed with clever and joyously witty lyrics.  A force to be reckoned with!  Go check them them out.  And if you see Dave Hook any time soon?  Can you tell him that he simply MUST work with me.  Thanks.

 My Rant: Drunken injuries.  So far this week I’ve already had to ice my knee after suffering, yet another, ridiculous drunken fall.  I also scraped my chin and now look like I have a beard.  Seriously…my advice?  Play it safe folks!  Don’t run before you can walk, never EVER talk to strangers with weird facial hair, and always eat your crusts.

Yours faithfully, (and in minor agony…)

K H.

A slight delay…

…I’m two days late with my attempt at a ‘weekly’ blog.  A great start!  In my defence, I didn’t have time to write anything up after the long day at The Depot on Sunday.  Graeme wouldn’t even let me eat.  Not for an entire 8 hours.  I was barely allowed any breaks…  In fact, I only had one cup of (poorly made) tea.  Yes, I know, It’s tough at the top.

I manged to sneak a picture of Golden Ears himself (at his best) with a cold pint, some rugby, and of course, his beloved crutches… 

Golden Ears Steel

Then Garry took a snapshot of me mid song.  You can see how professional, focussed, and hard working I am…(a sight some might say was rarer than 3 moons in the same sky!) 

Kat working hard...

And, I proved to everyone, that I’ve clearly still got it!  Demonstrating my ability to handstand against the wall.  Thankfully no one walked in whilst I did this… 

All in all?  I’d say we managed a very successful day recording.  We now have some great harmonies and BVs for the first 8 album tracks.  I even managed some “Ooooo’s and AAaaaah’s” and given that I started the day stating (indignantly),  “No!  I do not want to do any Aaahhhs…”  this was a miraculous achievement for Graeme.  Well done him. 

I’m now looking forward to the next stage of demoing for the final tracks.  The songs are waiting, coiled like a fleet of young springbok, and will be unleashed next month…

So, onto this weeks Rant and a Rave:

Rave: The additional 2 minutes of daylight we are now getting each and every day!  My spirit feels INSTANTLY lifted.  I love this time of year when I can finally give the finger to the dreary northern climate which has, undoubtedly, caused me to suffer from SAD (I am always seasonally affected with some kind of disorder).  So bring on the Vitamin D and a big boost to the flailing immune system!  Because, this year?  It has certainly taken a solid BATTERING throughout the harsh winter.

 Rant: The persistent and extremely VILE arctic frost that keeps coming back to piss us all off…

 Til next time!

 KH.

And now…

We’re BACK.  Well sort of.  One of us ditched the cold weather and buggered off to Australia for a few months… Now, we have, thankfully, managed to replace him with the rather wonderful (and equally handsome…) Rune Lelledal Hansen who some of you may recognize as the guitarist from uber cool Edinburgh band Stanley Odd.  We have also had the pleasure of performing with the (annoyingly) talented Michael MacLennan.  So, with these newest additions, you can well imagine, I am feeling puffed up like a proud pigeon as the Kat Healy sound continues to grow and flourish!

Thanks to everyone who has already purchased a copy of the single ‘Broken Bones’, I have had some really lovely emails and messages of support from lots of new faces as well as old friends and, as ever, it is hugely appreciated and we are fully grateful for all your encouragement. 

The dreary old month of January was rounded up with a great gig supporting Walter Shreifels who was visiting with his band from NYC.  They were seriously good…well worth checking out and, if you can, catch him play a live set (he is also back touring with Rival Schools this year). 

Our next gig will be the  5^th of March at The Captains Rest (full band) in Glasgow, and there will be more details to follow on this soon!  Please come along to say hi (and join in the merriment) because The Captains Rest is a great little venue to play.

This month I will be focussing mainly on the studio work with Graeme.  We will be mixing the first batch of songs for the album and applying the finishing touches to make them sound rather smashing.  I will make sure to take photos and will endeavour to tweet all the gossip from behind the scenes…I may even attempt VIDEO clips  (gasp!!) as I have promised to make more of an ‘interactive’ effort in 2011.  Like all the other cool kids…

This brings me smoothly to the next piece of nail biting Healy news…from this weekend onwards I shall be writing the blog weekly (on Sundays, the day of holiness and my preferred drink, ‘Bloody Mary’…).  I will be working very hard on the tracks from now on and would like update everyone as much as possible.  This way you can help spread the joy and SHARE the link(s) to all your chums/mums/grans/uncle Bobs and, the occasional, pet piranha. 

I will also be posting (each week) a little section called “A Rant and A Rave” (highly original, I know) and have even lined up some guest ‘Ravers’ to chime in with their views on the world, as it turns, each and every week. 

I bet you absolutely cannot wait…

So, until Sunday, adieu!

 K H

P.S  See the new video from Abbey Road!