June 2008

Recording drums up at The Barne Studios (didn't want my neighbours to get mad!). And what a pleasure it was. I wanted to do this album in a kind of sixties way where there aren't lots of tired takes, nope, just one take and a safety. Get the feel right!

And it felt great to do it that way. I was really enjoying the 'vibe', - see? I'm even talking like I'm in the sixties! Man!

I think it has paid off, with Stuart Kidd (who plays along like he's singing!) on Drums, Marco Rea (who plays along and he is singing) on Bass & Guitars, David Rogers (who plays along like he never wants to sing in his life) on Acoustic Guitars, Mandolin & Cittern and Greg Barnes (who just, plain-old, doesn't sing!) on Piano & Keyboards, I'm working with the youngest hippies in town!!!

Because I have the same recording programme as Marco, I was able to take the stuff home and do lots of the album in my own wee studio. And, when I was taking stuff back and forth I was just thinking how impossible that would have been in the sixties – I would have been trucking loads of 2-inch tape boxes around – and here I was with a wee 3 x 6-inch box thing, holding hours and hours and hours of recording, technology really is quite amazing! Even more so, now that I'd managed to get a handle on my new 24-inch iMac – Isaac, by the way! And now I know – as I'm sure do you after my ramble – size does in fact matter!

Amidst the recording, for mum's 70th birthday treat (?) I took her to see Liza Minelli!

Well, to be honest, I was going along to see a legend, and so went with a whole heap of scepticism; how could a legend live up to your expectations? When I got there, the atmosphere was electric...I think everyone else was expecting a legend too.

And, when the curtain opened onto a twelve-piece band, the legend just wandered on-stage, in a most un-legend-like fashion.

And it was the most legendary thing I've seen. I can't think of enough superlatives to tell you what I thought. All I know is that before she even sang a note, I was on my feet, clapping and crying (I'm getting shivers now just thinking about it).

She has the big powerful stuff and the small fragile stuff in her voice, both of which sound amazing; the middle has gone a wee bit. But, her presence was phenomenal.

The show was pretty much scripted throughout but occasionally, she would veer off the script and chuck in a couple wee funnies about being in Scotland (she hadn't been before). The script itself though, was really cracking. In a real un-American way, she had a whole heap of irony which was fantastic!

She finished her first set with Cabaret – now how was she going to finish her second set any better than that?

Well, she got better - she stopped the whole show with New York, New York! How can you follow that? (no real encore mind, just a wee step back on-stage for a showbiz-legend-type bow). Except, after the extravaganza that is New York, New York, she had the guts, gall, balls, to finish the whole night off with I'll Be Seeing You (Vera Lynn's torch song) TOTALLY UNACOMPANIED!

Breathtaking!

And, as ever, I've gone on for too long about it, but honestly, I still haven't managed to say how mind blowing it was!

A couple of wee funnies that night though – I didn't realise what a gay icon Liza was – but then, how daft was that as she is the daughter of THEEEE Dorothy! (as in friend of? You know, THAT Dorothy!) Anyway, there were a lot of gay men there, just loving it and the best laugh was that all the heterosexual men came in with their arms all around their heterosexual wives, hoping that all the gorgeous homosexual men wouldn't think that they – the heterosexuals – were homosexual.

Also, Alan Cumming (Actor) was there and Liza was 'so proud to be able to introduce' him. And so, Mr Cumming stood up in the first few rows of the stalls and was mortified! Quite cute really!

Anyway, Liza-fest over!

Another big event this month was Sex and the City. I managed to finally get a night with the girls – Orange Wednesday – where apparently you get two tickets for the price of one?! Well, this was a couple of weeks after the launch and we were going at 6 o'clock so it wouldn't be too busy – right?

Wrong!

We were all in the queue, waiting, and then came the announcement – tonight's SATC was sold out – bummer! We weren't the only ones though, because when the announcement came across the tannoy, the line we were in dwindled to less than half! It seemed that everyone was waiting to see it!

Ocht well, off to the Baby Grand for a coffee and a chat – just like Carrie and her girlfriends.

I'll get to see it eventually though, so no more telling me about 'this bit, because it wont make any difference to the story'!

Caitlin did say, however, that she wouldn't go and see it with her mum because, apparently, some of it is quite risqué! No qualms about going to see it with me though, since we did manage to sit through the full – extremely well endowed and naked – frontal of Angels in America!

Anyway, a couple of gigs in June and, even though I've been singing for the past two weeks recording, it was really lovely to sit with my guitar and rehearse for the gigs.

Gotta go...there's something happening with a peak on the vocals...or is it just the reverb?!?!!!???

Okay, back again. Almost done, except that I wanted to just quickly tell you about a couple of gigs at the end of June.

Well, anniversary for my house move, consisted of a bottle of lovely champagne in my back-garden – IN THE RAIN!

Then, an open-air gig at the Artsburst Festival in East Kilbride! IN THE RAIN!

I thought, open-air and acoustic, it's going to be hell! So I asked Marco if he would join David and I – thankfully, he said yes! No rehearsal mind, just straight into it with the bass guitar strapped on! And, as soon as we stepped on stage – THE RAIN CAME DOWN! I poured from the heavens and so, it felt right to start with 'Bring Down the Rain'! However, a funny thing happened. No one left! In fact, more people came along and just put their umbrellas up and sang along! It was great fun – but I want to know how come people manage to sing along to songs they've never heard before?!!

Carol Laula fans are quick learners!

Next night we were at another festival – Cumnock folk festival! This was great fun – no more so than when I got my mum up to sing along with me, it was great fun.

And so, I think that was June. I think we have chosen a great name for the album = given our obsessive, compulsive things, I think it's fitting to call it OCDC by OCDC...Eh,? Like what I did there???

Okay...maybe not!

Anyway, see at the end of next month when the album's 'in the bag'!!!

But, just before I go – I think I got the biggest compliment ever...when we were recording on of the tracks – You – Stuart Kidd said to me 'you know, you could dance to that song!'

Stuart, that's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me!!!

Peace and love...and see you at the end of July

Carol

Ps – only six-more Bush months to go!