S*T*U*F*F* Reloaded

I’m on the train from Edinburgh to Glasgow Queen Street. I can barely guess how many times I’ve made this journey in my life - way back in student days, a long time ago, it seems. I went to meet my mate Ian Hartley, from both those days and these, for some very fine sushi and a few Japanese beers and chat.

Its been a mad day in the ABC, Glasgow, getting ready for our first show tomorrow night. I say “our” - not sure I should… the old hangover that I am just a sideman that could be disposed of at any given moment remains something of a ghost, yet I know that’s not really the case. What I’m doing for Air is not something they will find easy to replace. I don’t even think they know what it is, and perhaps not even I know what it is. It is best summarised by the last moments of soundcheck today, when they realised something was amiss with “Sexy Boy” - I stepped up to the mark and said I would sort the vocoder for the beginning and then something heavy on the SH101 (mono-synth) for the rest of the song, and spent about half an hour sorting out my software and hardware to let me do what was required… the reason I mention this is because they originally said they wanted a guitarist, yet that has been the last thing needed in most situations. I have enjoyed the programming aspect, the ability to step in and create sounds they need. A flexibility to bring sounds and ideas in from many different places is as close as I can describe the “thing” I think they were looking for without knowing it.

I had a quickfire dim-sum lunch today with Vincent (pronounced Van-saw) the other guy they hired to play keyboards… he’s a nice guy, pretty vibey, doesn’t speak great English, but he and I made a pact to help each other with French and English repsectively. I feel that he is my closest ally in the band so far - I think mostly because we are the “new guys” - Earl, the drummer, has toured with Air before, and exudes a vibe I can’t quite gel with… not that we won’t get on with each other - he’s a nice bloke, and a good player (perfect for this gig) - but there’s something in the difference of the point at which our souls resonate that means we will not be spending a huge amount of time together on this tour. Some days I just miss Liam Bradley, my great ally of tours gone by. Anyway - it has been nice to spend a bit of time with Vincent, and I’m sure that in time it will pay off on the stage too… key to any band’s performance is how they all feel about each other, and in that respect sometimes I worry a bit about Air - will it ever really become magical? Only time will tell.