Fans Interview the Petrols – #1

Some of you may remember that the fans put together a list of questions to submit to the band last year after the first set of reformation gigs. Well, it has only been a year, and we’re finally getting around to it. The idea is to answer one of these every few days. Think of it as a sort of TPE Advent calendar, if you will.

As the list grows, I’ll put them all on a special page, but for now they’ll just be on the blog. So! Without further ado, let’s get this started:

5) – It’s general agreed that those gigs were incredibly tight considering the band hadn’t performed together for 14 years, do you think you’re better musicians now than in the TPE days of yore ?

Ciaran: While its not really for us to say ….I absolutely agree. Steve’s voice sounds stronger and the band don’t push quite as hard as we used to – i.e. we are still v. tight but there’s a kind of looseness happening which lets the songs breathe and groove a bit more. Probably due to a) getting a bit older; b)not playing all the time and therefore making a routine of it; c)listening to a wider variety of music over the years when we’ve been having a break. Every show since we reformed have been winners.

Steve: Aw shucks. It’s not just me – I think we’re grooving better as a band now than we ever did back in the day. Without wishing to sound too cliched, there is a certain power to maturity, knowing that less is more, that showing restraint can be far more powerful than losing control. Speaking of losing control,  there were a lot more stimulants involved back then, legal or otherwise. And finally, after having spent a decade and a half _not_ playing together, I think we’ve all come to realize the unique combination we are. The sum is much greater than the parts, and I think we’re all much better able to understand that now, and cherish it accordingly. By letting go and surrendering to the whole.

TPE in NYC

Yes, that’s right.

Bring your ice skates, get ready to catch a live filming of The Daily Show or 30 Rock, but most of all get ready to rock in NYC.

It’s an awesome venue, and is guaranteed to be a freakin’ great time. We’ve been putting this together for quite some time, and it’s finally come together. Come spend the holidays with us in beautiful New York! Or, actually I should say Brooklyn, as we’re playing the Bell House in beautiful Park Slope:

Buy Tickets or just look at this cool venue.

This will be the first time we’ve played stateside in… oh wait. We played SxSW this year. No matter. If you forget about that, then it has been… twenty years !!! (I think) So save up your pennies, find that companion airline ticket, or cash out those air miles. We’re on our way.

A tip of the hat from the London Gig

Okay –

So the new iPhone doesn’t shoot the greatest video indoors. And the audio quality, is, well, dreadful. But the sentiment is here. This video is a thank you to Espen, the man responsible for our number one fan site:

[flashvideo filename=wp-content/uploads/2009/07/london_espen_flv8_700.flv height=360 width=480 /]

You may not be able to decipher the audio, so here’s a transcript:

Steve: Hello there, pop fans!
Audience: Hi, Espen!

(recreating a moment from Seen and Unseen…)

UPDATE: Kate also caught this from the front of house:

[flashvideo filename=wp-content/uploads/2009/07/HiEspen_FOH.flv height=360 width=480 /]

Mid tour wind up

Okay, one of us is getting a lot of stick from the rest – because of these trainers. In the spirit of sharing, we’d like you to help us decide if we’re being mean or not. So here’s a picture, and a poll below that you can vote on. Remember, someone may cry based on the results.

Fluffy Trainers

The wearer of these trainers is... ?

View Results

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Journos part II

We’re just about to get in the van and head up north to see our Brum brethren.

This rolls in, courtesy of Google Alerts. This time it’s the Guardian. No lyrical references, but we’re certainly on everyone’s mind this Wimbledon. What was it that happened at 2:20PM on this day to pop us into everyone’s head at the same time?

Hey, Venus Williams! You need a theme song. We’ve got just the ticket.

Click to see us name dropped in the Guardian sport pages.

Journos Still Coppin’ Our Licks

Nothing new here – obviously we had a knack for a turn of phrase. ;^)

But this is what, the millionth time this one has been copped? Super Furries using it as an album title, now they’re getting all Wimbledon on us. This one is so obvious, my question is how come it took so long?

Wimbledon… Venus Williams… you know where this one is going.

Check it out on the official Wimbledon site, at 14:21, another TPE lyric reference.

Let’s Get This Party Started

Reporting to you, live, from sunny London.

We had our first group rehearsal tonight and it was stonkin’, to use an old TPE phrase.

I’m jet lagged as hell and just found out that for some reason people care if Michael Jackson is alive or dead. Maybe it’s the jet lag, but I find this puzzling.

Anyhow, let me get a good night’s rest and then we’ve got a ton of news to post. Television, radio… all sorts of good stuff, and mostly because of YOU, our fans.

<yawn> Sorry – I really have to sleep now.

Time to get excited.

Remember when I got the Daves mixed up awhile back? I never did post Dave Walsh’s photos from the Electric Picnic. Well, In some ways that’s kind of good, because looking at these I’m getting really excited again. See you all very soon.


That Petrol Emotion Live at Electric Picnic – Images by Dave Walsh

By the way, that little button in the lower right corner makes this play back full screen, for maximum TPE visualization!

JULY TPE tour dates announced for UK /IRELAND !

01/07/2009 Birmingham – Academy 2
02/07/2009 Portsmouth – Wedgewood Rooms
03/07/2009 London – Bloomsbury Ballroom
05/07/2009 Kent – Hop Farm Festival
06/07/2009 Nottingham – Rescue Rooms
07/07/2009 Manchester – Academy 3
09/07/2009 Leeds – Cockpit
10/07/2009 Newcastle – Academy 2
11/07/2009 Kinross, Scotland – T In The Park
12/07/2009 Dublin – Oxegen Festival

2009 – Here we come!

Okay, I’ve been slacking off. Well, actually I haven’t, since I’m back in school and I have a million and one things to do. But I have been neglecting this site, and that’s not good. Time to get active again!

We’re working out the details for our trip to Austin in six weeks. Six weeks! Holy moly that’s not far away. Is anyone out there planning on coming to SxSW? We’ll let you know when we’re playing, which we should find out in the next week. We’re also trying to see if we can play anywhere else while we’re there, like a party or a radio station or record store – whatever.

If anyone out there has any ideas or offers, we’re all ears! Hook us up!