…in the world of hard drives, so I am going to have to re-record it, which is a shame*. It was sounding really good. Anyway, I got so angry I just felt like I needed to blame someone so I went over to America to find someone to blame. My first port of call was New York, but everyone there was too busy to take the blame so I went to Los Angeles and met Michael Jackson and blamed him and he was so upset he had a heart attack. Feel a bit bad about it but he had a good run and had also spent too much time tampering with children, then paid them off with a cool US$8m, so maybe I shouldn’t feel that bad after all. The thing is, it hasn’t brought my single back, so I am off to do it again. If I wasn’t so unsuccessful then I’d have loads of money to pay other people to do it for me, but as it is, it’s me and my computer and a pile of instruments.

There are some cool pics of Rockness here: http://www.safeconcerts.com/photos/rockness/2009/alex-cornish.asp

Blog big later, got a single to fix.

Alex

* just to be clear, I am still not over it, ’shame’ is significant understatement

Here are some pics. I have a few days off so will blog about it next week. This weekend was a great atmosphere. Thanks to everyone that came and watched the set. Really enjoyed it.

Alex

Tomorrow I finish mixing the next thing to be released. It’s nearly done. If you mix for too long you get deaf to it. Tomorrow it’ll be ready though, then sent off for mastering whilst we get cracking on artwork and sending it to journalists and people at radio who we hope will write things about it and play it on their radio programmes. Then, on Saturday evening we head over to the Kelburn Garden Party, we are playing on Sunday afternoon. We’ve had a festival every weekend for the last four weeks so we have a couple of weeks off festivals after this one. For those of you that have asked about tour dates coming up, watch this space. Soon to be announced…

Anyway, Kelburn Castle is an interesting place because they have deliberately defaced the castle. The idea was to take vibrant Brazillian graffiti out of its predominantly urban context and apply it to the ancient and permanent walls of an historic Scottish Castle. There were four of the world’s top graffiti artists who painted the castle. The project involved the artists and organisers living together in the castle for approximately one month exploring ideas resulting in a one-off, giant piece of collaborative art. Now then - here’s a note to the idiots that put graffit all over my van. THIS IS ART. Look, they have drawn some nice pictures rather than writing illegible scribbles like you lot. If you are going to decorate my van again, do it properly. Watch this video and note the care and attention that went into it:

So, aside from the music, I’m looking forward to having a look at the project. Festivals like this are the way to go, more like a party than a festival. Really interesting music in an artistically inspring place.

See you there.
Alex

Just missed the opportunity to call into a 5 Live chat on file sharing. So I sent them an email instead (below). Comments enabled despite spam dangers…

Hi,

I have just missed the call in time for the chat on file sharing. I am an independent artist. I have been playlisted on Radio 2 and done sessions for Radio 2 and Radio 1. There’s no doubt that file sharing and the internet gives artists like me the opportunity to get our music out there without the need for major label backing. There’s no way I’d be where I am now without the internet and my music being readily acessible. There is also no doubt that the majority of those that download music files without paying for it are those that also spend the most amount of money on CDs, MP3s and in going to concerts.

However, there are also those (in the minority) that believe that they have the right to have access to music without paying for it and without giving any form of compensation to the artist. It is here that I get hit hard in the pocket. My profile is relatively high at the moment yet I still have to work in an office part-time to pay the bills. When I’m not doing that I tour relentlessly to make ends meet. If people that downloaded my music for free just paid a little bit for it or came to a gig then it would redress the imbalance. There needs to be an element of respect for the artist and an ackowledgement that artists do actually need to make some (not much) money. So long as that respect exists then there will be a fair balance between artist and music fan.

Alex Cornish
Edinburgh

Busy few days, culminating in far too many sambuccas at The Village with Andy Tucker and Kim Edgar, but the memory of a raucous sing-along to Sweet Child of Mine made the hangover slightly easier to bear. Will blog properly later on. In the meantime, below is a slideshow from the weekend and also you can listen again to the BBC session from the very small campervan backstage at Rockness here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00dstc6

Alex

If you haven’t got tickets for this yet, get them now. Because this is going to be a superb festival. I am playing on the Sunday to ease your hangovers.

Meantime, see you all tomorrow at GoNorth and the rest of you at Rockness and the balance at The Village on Saturday.

Onwards,

Alex

ps this is my favourite picture from Wychwood. When I used to read books on bands I used to love pictures from backstage looking out. Shame I’m in this one, but you get the idea…

Hello,

Well, we are photoless from Sellindge festival because tour photographer Pete and tour photographer Bevis were both absent, and the rest of us were disorganised. We do, however, have some video footage, which we’ll get up next week sometime. Me and Gav (sound and stand-in piano player at the festival) set-off from Edinburgh about 2pm south. The drive wasn’t so bad. We got into London around 9.30pm and stayed at Simon’s place where he had curry waiting. Ate, watched a bit of tele then to bed. Off to Kent Saturday early doors via a shop to get some wellies as rain due, but in fact weather was fine, quite warm. Even the ravers had their tops off at the dance tent, already 10 pills in by all accounts, glow sticks waving and eyes rolling, mouths gurning even though it was only 10am. Safe to say they didn’t make it to the acoustic stage later on…(well, one did, during Scotland the Brave, beauty abound).

Oh, look here’s a picture someone took of me playing the encore proper acoustic. Thanks to everyone coming down, really appreciated it.

After the gig was Ben’s Brother, Jamie and co. First time I’d met him and he is a top bloke. Listened to his set from backstage, which sounded really very beautiful. Apologise sounded so much better live than on record, love it when that’s the case. Live music is where it should always sound best.

A pal of mine was doing artist liason and asked me if I wanted to come and play footie with the Holloways (apparently they are rubbish at football…), but I had to get some albums from the van because Chris (bass) had the genius idea of asking the sound engineers to play my album through every PA on every stage inbetween acts. And true enough in between every act on the main stage, the BBC Introducing Tent and the Acoustic Tent was Until the Traffic Stops. Love it. Even immediately before Supergrass came on, there was Same Ride Same Way. Perfect.

Then back to tent for after gig refreshments. Simon’s brother was there with his wife with all the goodies. Late to bed, then early up, 6am to be precise, torrential rain, soggy tent, soggy band, leaking van, all the way, 11 hours of it, back to Edinburgh.

Big shout out to Gav who stood in on piano and hammond for this gig. He nailed it so no-one will have noticed. Nice one Gav. If anyone needs a sound guy too, he is the best. Email me for contact details.

Anyway, Thursday we head to GoNorth then to Rockness. Here’s the timings:

GoNorth is at the Ramada at 11pm, then Rockness at 7.15pm in GoNorth Tent. After the Rockness show hoping to a session for BBC Radio Scotland then back to Edinburgh for a gig at the Village with Kim Edgar and Andy Tucker. Kicks off around 7pm at The Village.

Onwards,

Alex

Hello,

Tomorrow we head down to Sellindge in Kent for the Sellindge Festival. The line-up is really very good. Young Knives, Allessi’s Ark, Ben’s Brother, Supergrass, The Holloways, Red Light Company, Emmy the Great, Oh Atoms plus a load of comedy, and me of course. I know there are tickets still available so if you’re not up to much head down to Kent and say hello. I am in the acoustic tent on Saturday night at 18.45, just before Ben’s Brother. Then afterwards, will be off for a few beers and if you want us to play some acoustic tunes at your tent later on pick up a flyer and send a text.

It’s going to be strange going back to Kent. Scotland is my home even though I was born in London and brought up in Folkestone, just down the road from Sellindge. I haven’t been back to Folkestone for years. I think it was probably about 5 or 6 years ago I went down for New Year and got drunk, took some things and passed out in someone’s toilet. The place hadn’t changed a bit as far as I remember, although I wasn’t in the best state to judge. It was in Folkestone where I played my first ever proper gig, that wasn’t a friend’s party. It was a venue called The Harp Club (pictured above - Google search reveals it is now closed). I was about 15 years’ old and we arrived at the front door, the venue was down a dark back street. There were no windows, just a door. I tried to open the door and couldn’t. I tried again and it wouldn’t budge. I grabbed the handle to try again and suddenly the door was kicked open, very aggressively by a massive biker with a steel bar through his nose and covered in tattoos. He stared at me, I think he was snarling a bit, and said “Can’t you even open a fcking door? Little twat”. Inside they were playing Megadeath with the volume, obviously, set at ‘11′. Oh God. The bar was full of bikers, beards and beer and tatoos. I was a 15 year old spotty kid with an Epiphone SG ready to play some indie classics. I can’t remeber the gig much but we were playing a mixture of our own tunes and covers. We opened with Hard to Handle, along the lines of the Black Crowes version. We then played a few of our tunes and I will never forget the feeling when we went into a really heavy break (E string tuned down to D for low power chord riffing) and the bikers at the bar started head banging. I wonder what they’d make of me now. They’d probably beat the crap our of me if I picked up my acoustic guitar and started warbling the way I do. Best steer clear.

So, once again, I’ll be tweeting away all weekend. Really looking forward to it. Rosie the van still works, so hopefully she’ll get us down to Kent easily enough, although this is a fair drive. It’ll be gingsters sausage rolls, dry ham sandwiches and instant coffee from petrol stations the whole way. If anyone knows how to eat healthily when you’re on the road let me know…

Good weekends,

Onwards,

Alex

What a weekend. Thanks to everyone that came to the Big Top to see us play, much appreciated. Here are some pictures. Aside from the playing, the busking, the drinking, as a festival it doesn’t get much friendlier than this one. It was so chilled out we had a great weekend. Highlights were a catch up with the great Tom Robinson who bestowed some more inspirational advice, watching Supergrass from backstage on Saturday night, watching my band members get completely hammered, special mention to Lucky (cello) on Friday night and to Simon (drums) on Saturday night. It was great to meet a lot of you at the songlines tent afterwards too for a chat. Thanks for buying the CD and hope to see you when we’re on tour in October.

Onwards,
Alex

Wychwood blog and pics to follow. It was a very joyous weekend. Catch us again at Sellindge Festival this coming weekend. On just before Ben’s Brother on the Acoustic Stage, 7pm Saturday night…