I really need to update this thing more often.

I was back in Sun Studios for the first time in seven years to record some tunes a few weeks ago. The band went there a few times back in the day to record some demos. The problem was that our drummer at the time improvised more than we liked, which made it very difficult to get good takes of the tunes we were putting down, so they always sucked. The only good thing to come out of the time we used was a video documentary we made that is probably too obscene and offensive for public consumption. I think the worst parts were already deleted, before anyone asks.

I was a bit unsure what to expect as I was walking to the studio; I had only been shown the music we were meant to record the night before in the space of an hour. The pressure faded away when I walked into the control room and found a Pro Tools setup waiting for me. I suppose I was still haunted by visions of trying to edit drum parts on tape with an Akai sampler. That idea didn't work. My friend Abel was playing drums on the recording, which made everything much easier. We've played a bit together and we were both in Newpark, so we were both coming from the same perspective on things. We recorded our parts together at the same time, which was nice. The engineer insisted on getting complete takes for all the tunes, giving them a certain looseness that suited the style. Hopefully the final product will come out well.

After that, there was a week of rehearsals for the Electric Penguins' album release gig. The weather was freezing at the time, which made the rehearsal room we were using very cold and uncomfortable. That made it hard to get motivated, which was a problem considering that we were planning on performing the entire album live for the first time. The sound in the room was also very difficult, especially considering how many synths were being used. An interview with Hot Press came out midway through the rehearsals, though, which brightened things up a bit. By the end of the week, we had managed to get the entire set together. The gig itself was in The Grand Social, just off the quays. We had a few technical problems from the start, especially with electrical noise coming from the laptop we use. A film crew had arrived to shoot the gig, and had set up an enormous camera on a frame just in front of the stage, blocking the view of the audience. When I got my gear set up, I realised that there wasn't enough monitor speakers for everyone, and I would have to go without. It was a little unnerving. We had a quick soundcheck, but to me everything sounded muddy and indistinct. Without a monitor, there was nothing to do but grin and bear it.

By the time we were due onstage, a good size crowd had gathered. The camera crew had moved the camera out of the way of the audience, and things seemed to be ticking over nicely. The gremlins came for me when the set started though, I could barely hear a thing. The bass had degenerated into a subby mess, the backing track was inaudible over the drums, and the keyboards might as well not have been switched on for all I could hear. I think it was probably the most stressful gig of my life so far. There were times where it felt like everyone was in a slightly different place in the tune, although that could have been down to the sound. It took all of my strength just to try and look calm at least. Still, as I remind everyone, nobody ever dies at these things. Although a few more shows like that and I might have a heart attack.

With the gig out of the way, there was only a week left to Christmas, and I still hadn't done any of my shopping. The family presents were as difficult as ever to get, especially for my brother Joe. Lately there have been a few retro game shops opening, and I tried to track down a SNES for him, like what we used to play on as kids. I don't know how many hours we spent playing Mario Kart when we should have been outside kicking a ball around. Either way, I wasn't having much luck finding one until Joe himself told me that a place on Grafton Street had one in stock... I couldn't tell if this was a subtle hint or not, but I went into town early the next morning to get the SNES regardless, and I managed to pick up a copy of Mario Kart and two controllers too. Some of my old games were still stored away in the attic, and I managed to dig them out - Shadowrun (with a sixteen year-old save file still on the cartridge!), Lemmings, and my old Japanese copy of Super Mario World. The only thing missing was my copy of Zelda. Those were some really great days for games. With that one present out of the way, the rest of the family were still left to shop for. Joe and I went splits on gifts for our mother and our granny, and I got twenty euro of pennies and a copy of The Master and Margarita for my dad. He likes that kinda stuff. I was pleased with my shopping.

On the 22nd of December, the band's album finally came out. It's only available on iTunes in Ireland for now, but at least it's out. I don't even care if it sells a single copy - the next time I'm in a metal bar and some guy asks me when the album is coming out, I can tell them to go onto iTunes and just buy the fucking thing. The proverbial albatross has been lifted from my neck. Incidentally, in case you missed the link above:

BUY THE ALBUM HERE