Sometimes Life Gets in the Way

I began this blog in late 2009 and have written a lot of text in that time. There are few things that give me more inner peace than when I'm sat in front of my laptop, lost in the flow of typing, either in the van out on tour or late at night in my kitchen whilst the rest of the household sleeps. But recently life has stood in the way and I haven't had the time or indeed, will to write.

I don't want to get into things too deeply but at the start of January my mum lost a two year battle with cancer. It's been a tumultuous couple of years, especially with me living in another country and not always being able to be there. Of course, I've had our daughter to concentrate on and she has given me great strength but it's been hard being away from home during the course of my mum's illness. We've always been a very close family and when the news of mum's diagnosis came, it turned my world upside down. We had just found out about Polly and were figuring out how to surprise my parents with the news that they'd be having their first grandchild when my dad called.

Anyway, my mum fought bravely for two years and stuck around long enough to meet not only one but two granddaughters, my sister falling pregnant five months after Jen had. In general she kept in good form and kept her spirits high, although I obviously didn't have to go through a lot of the darker days my dad endured, and she was an inspiration to us all. When she realised at the end of last year that her treatment was no longer working she made a pact with herself to at the very least make it through her first Christmas with her two granddaughters. She passed away peacefully and unafraid on January 4^th. We were all there with her.

I don't want to linger sombrely on the subject because this blog really isn't the place for it, I just wanted to inform you why, recently, I've not been spending so many late nights recounting old stories and typing up tour diaries. Of course, Polly has also decided that five thirty am is a far more reasonable hour to begin the day's activities than seven thirty am, and that leaves one feeling kind of fucked come ten pm, and if there is indeed any energy left by that time then it's just about enough to watch a game of footy on the box.

On top of everything else we took off on holiday to Mexico for a couple of weeks, right after mum's funeral, which was exactly what I needed and could not have come at a more suitable time. And then the day we come home from Mexico we moved apartment and being on paternity leave, I've since been spending any spare time whilst Polly sleeps, unpacking boxes.

Sometimes, life does indeed get in the way..

There are of course plenty of plans moving forward, both musically with Victims and Diagnosis? Bastard! as well as something else new that me and Jen are starting up, we figure we need some “we” time outside of chasing our laughing, screaming baby daughter about the house, and there are plans for a fanzine Lucas DB and I are starting up. It's all good.

Since last I wrote, DB played a show in Stockholm with Institution, Paranoid and Parasit. It was a great night with great bands, especially Institution and Paranoid. For some reason, Parasit found it fitting to play an almost hour long set and then even find time for an encore! For the life of me I fail to understand why they would want to play that long and the fact that there was a curfew and the mighty Institution were playing last makes it all the more baffling, but maybe that's just me.

It was a good night though and we had a fun time with some beers and some friends. Pungen, Institution’s legend of a drummer, hung out with us for the evening, having met Viktor earlier in the day and was absolutely steam boats before load in. He's such an amazing drummer though that you would never have known, and he did actually call his last beer a few hours before they played..He then went on stage and blew us all away. Another fun note was that UK hardcore legend Jim Whitby was in attendance. Don't know who he was with or why he was there but Andy Victims was chuffed as fuck!

In other news, we've just spent a very relaxed couple of days in Studio Knaster here in Stockholm, recording four songs for an upcoming DB/Hello Bastards split tape which will be released by the lovely Ljudkassett Records. It's been in the pipeline for over a year now so it's nice to finally have it done, and fittingly, the day we went into the studio our new seven inch came through the post. That will be coming out on D Takt och Råpunk in a few days time. But all that you can read about at DB's own page.

Victims is writing a new record, we're up to around nine songs and who knows, we might just record it this year. If we can all just get ourselves into the practice room at the same time..

So what now, well, it's snowing, it always comes back one last time, just when everyone starts to fool themselves into thinking spring has arrived, and I still have four months at home with Polly and Bonzo. When Polly goes to nursery in August it will be time for me to start something new. We'll see. But until then, I intend on enjoying our dad/daughter time together.

Anyway that's that. I'm sure I'll be back at the kitchen table again, sometime soon, tapping away on the keys. Whenever the rest of my life allows it.

Gx