Write Me Stories

Write Me Stories...

2011-09-16T01:01:00.001+01:00

Too many bands to list in the top header bit, so here they are listed alphabetically. Start from the bottom of the 'blog' and read upwards to read them all in chronological order if you wish. Actually, you may have to click the names of the individual stories from years gone back, as I'm not sure how to have them all shown/readable easily!
143 stories, 9 years, and (slowly) counting.. A Hawk And A Hacksaw, Adem, Amina /Amiina, Antarctica Takes It!,The Arcade Fire, Andrew Bird, Benni Hemm Hemm, Breathe Owl Breathe, Calexico, Bodies Of Water, Braids, Choir Of Young Believers, Adrian Crowley, Chris T-T, Clem Snide, Darren Hayman, Dear Reader, The Divine Comedy, Dresden Dolls, Eels, Efterklang, Eleanoora Rosenholm, Explosions In The Sky, The Flaming Lips, Fog, Fol Chen,Ben Folds, Fujiya & Miyagi, George Thomas And The Owls, Get Well Soon, Laura Gibson, Hjaltalín, Hope Of The States, Hymns From Nineveh, I'm From Bar cel ona, Denis Jones, Jens Lekman, Jack Lewis, Jeffrey Lewis, Little Scream, Loney Dear, The Magnetic Fields, Laura J Martin,Misty's Big Adventure, Anaïs Mitchell, The Moldy Peaches, Musée Mécanique, Neverest Songs, Ohbijou, Owen Pallett, T he Po ly ph on ic S p r e e, Ramona Cordova, The Real Tuesday Weld, Seabear, Shearwater, The Silent League, Sleep Party People, St. Thomas, St. Vincent, DM Stith, Sufjan Stevens, Suburban Kids With Biblical Names, Thinguma*jigsaw, Shugo Tokumaru, tUnE-yArDs, Tunng, Stuart Warwick, Why?, Windmill, The Young Republic.

2011-09-16T00:55:00.002+01:00

tUnE-yArDs - Merrill Garbus

Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, London, September 16th 2011

This lady is just so awesome live. Lovely relatively small gig for them too. She was also one of those strange people who weren't perturbed at a story request, and afterwards when she handed it to me she said 'That is a weird story', and then kindly asked my name! Simple pleasures for me.

2011-09-14T01:16:00.004+01:00

Sleep Party People - Brian Batz

Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, London, September 14th 2011

Interesting exciting tidbit - just before their gig tonight, Sleep Party People were in near heartbreak as they were about to go on stage, but they didn't have their bunny masks (and have never done a gig without them). The masks had been left at last night's venue, but a cab had been sent to hopefully retrieve them.
The bunny masks arrived with minutes to spare, as they were setting up their instruments on stage. It could almost be made into a movie!

Sleep Party People - Brian Batz

Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, London, September 14th 2011

This was a story collection of many parts! After having loved Sleep Party People for almost a year, they finally came over from Denmark to the UK. I saw them at the Lexington two nights before this gig, and asked for a story afterwards, but Brian was still selling cds after, and asked if I could wait - I said that I'd come back the next day as I would be at that gig too. So the next day/gig at Brixton Windmill came, but the story was misplaced, but written. But I finally collected the story at the third SPP gig tonight. Huzzah!

2011-09-14T01:04:00.005+01:00

Little Scream - Laurel Sprengelmeyer

Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, London, September 14th 2011

I am pretty sure I've seen Deliverance, although truth be told, I mostly only remember the piss-take of it in Father Ted...
Nice story!

Little Scream - Laurel Sprengelmeyer

Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, London, September 14th 2011

Little Scream are pretty cool! Lovely album, and really great live show, but more rocky (no piano/twinkly bits) than their album. I caught Laurel after their set, she asked my name, then set off on her story'ness!

2011-09-04T12:22:00.002+01:00

Laura J Martin

Union Chapel, London, September 3rd 2011

I'm pretty certain that Laura's the only person that has responded to my story request with the words/exclamation 'Holy Moses!'. It will probably remain that way.

Laura J Martin

Union Chapel, London, September 3rd 2011

Like Stuart, Laura did some cool music loopery on stage. Good ol' loops. Although she also did some cool flute tooting, with some awesome music backing it up.

2011-09-04T12:13:00.002+01:00

Stuart Warwick

Union Chapel, London, September 3rd 2011

After a couple of months break, some more stories! Today's free Daylight Music gig was a day of discovery for me - two new acts for me to discover and love, and one new act who I only realised shortly beforehand was a band that I already loved under a different name (Function, now called Outshine Family) - although unfortunately I didn't get to see him afterwards.
Anyway, Stuart Warwick was very impressive. & quite amusing too - announcing the next song, he said: "It would be inappropriate to dedicate this next song to God, so I won't. It's called 'Man With A Pussy'" & some more Goddery in his story too. I bought the album at the same time as getting a story, and am very much enjoying it!

2011-06-26T21:22:00.002+01:00

Breathe Owl Breathe - Trevor Hobbs

La Flèche d'or, Paris, June 25th 2011

& now this awesome story! It was Trevor's birthday on the day of the gig, and I gave him the card to write his story after their performance, and he came back with this detailed drawing not too long later.
I just need to add again how ace all three of the band were, and fingers crossed they'll make it over to the UK some day soon! Utterly amazing live band too.

2011-06-26T20:54:00.003+01:00

Breathe Owl Breathe - Micah Middaugh

La Flèche d'or, Paris, June 25th 2011

and here's the setlist! Mostly. They played Run Off as the second song (woo!), so I'm not sure what the original second song/drawing is meant to be though. I don't think they played Boat (which I assume the boat drawing is there for), but I do remember them playing Parrots In The Tropical Trees, but I was having too much fun to really remember.

Breathe Owl Breathe - Micah Middaugh

La Flèche d'or, Paris, June 25th 2011

More cool drawing'age! Micah popped over to see me again whilst the band before them were playing, and said that he was still writing the story and was also writing/drawing a setlist on the other side too. I then asked whether they would be playing (or could play) Run Off, as it was my first song of theirs that I loved, and perhaps a contender for my favourite song. He said that they hadn't played it in quite a while, and he would have to remember how it went - and then he popped off to go get Trevor and his guitar, and disappeared elsewhere, presumably to practise the song!

2011-06-26T20:39:00.003+01:00

Breathe Owl Breathe - Andréa Moreno-Beals

La Flèche d'or, Paris, June 25th 2011

I spoke to the band before they played, and asked for stories, and Andréa and Micah both took a card each, to come back with me later. This picture/story is just stunning!

Breathe Owl Breathe - Andréa Moreno-Beals

La Flèche d'or, Paris, June 25th 2011

Breathe Owl Breathe announced a few random dates in Ireland and Europe a few weeks ago, but none in the UK. Seeing as I never thought they'd come over this way at all, I decided to travel from London to Paris just to see them (via coach - which was nice and cheap, but so so long!). It was definitely worth it, and they were super lovely folk!

2011-05-27T09:24:00.004+01:00

Eleanoora Rosenholm - Noora Tommila

The Lexington, London, May 26th 2011

The Lexington continues its story-haul! My 300th gig (according to Songkick anyhow), and the 1st London gig for the Finnish band Eleanoora Rosenholm. Noora is a cool looking pixie-esque character, and looked at me in a confused 'are you sure?' type manner after I asked for a story (more people should do this!), and then asked if it should be in English, but I said she could write it in Finnish if she preferred. She then gave me one funny final perculiar look before writing the story, and voila!

2011-05-24T23:42:00.002+01:00

Braids - Raphaelle Standell-Preston

The Lexington, London, May 24th 2011

Fact fans: Only the second story to be written on two different pieces of card (instead of the reverse side of the same card). Fascinating... In other fascinating news, I'm quite happily looking forward to seeing them live again the next time they come back!

Braids - Raphaelle Standell-Preston

The Lexington, London, May 24th 2011

Managed to ask Raphaelle for a story after their gig finished, and so she sat down on the stage and wrote away! She seemed very lovely in person and in voice!

2011-04-29T14:14:00.003+01:00

Hymns From Nineveh - Jonas H. Petersen

The Lexington, London, April 28th 2011

Hymns From Nineveh were very good (they're from Denmark, which is always a good start!), and whilst on stage you could tell that the main chap, Jonas, seemed utterly pleased that they were playing in London - lovely to watch!

Hymns From Nineveh - Jonas H. Petersen

The Lexington, London, April 28th 2011

Wow, I'm a story ahead of my story-a-month-challenge now!
Was a strange/fun start to this gig, on account of me winning a wedding cake in a competition for it, and then posing for various photos. But all very good, thank you Ja Ja Ja folk!

2011-04-09T07:28:00.002+01:00

Shugo Tokumaru

Cafe Oto, London, April 6th 2011

My lightning pace of a story a month continues!
It was a great gig by Shugo and his band, and I eventually managed to catch him after the gig, although sort of expecting him to not really understand my request in English, but he seemed quite fine with it! I also said that he could write it in Japanese if he preferred. He took the card, and started writing a story, using the piano as a table. But then other pesky fans came along and interrupted him from his important story writing. This went on for a while, and he seemed to forget about the story and started packing up his stuff, so I slunk over the piano and picked up the story card, which had a line of Japanese characters written on it. I expected that I would leave it at that, but decided to go over to him again when he was alone later, and asked if the story was finished or if it just said something like 'Once Upon A Time', to which he laughed and said it did say 'Once Upon A Time' (is this truee??), and then he scribbled his name and the date down too. He was a super lovely chap!

2011-03-20T15:22:00.007Z

Darren Hayman

Nettleford Hall, London, March 19th 2011

I managed to catch Darren downstairs after his set at the Read And Shout save libraries gig day, and asked him for a story. He said sure, but he was about to go on stage to sing a song with A Little Orchestra, and so he took the card and said that he'd try to write it later. Previous experience of such story promises from other folk didn't leave me too hopeful, but later on I went back downstairs to get some drinks and as luck would have it Darren came walking the other direction and spotted me and said 'Was it you?', I said yes, he then pulled out the story from an inside pocket and handed it to me and carried on walking on his way without missing a beat! I was quite pleased to say the least.
and whilst I'm here, here's a Darren song/video written and recorded in January - I'm the dancing pig (although my favourite is the little kid at 3 minutes 14): http://vimeo.com/18602649

2011-02-22T23:51:00.003Z

Owen Pallett

Muziekgebouw, Eindhoven, February 18th 2011

I travelled over to The Netherlands by train to see three of the Cross-Linx festivals. The line-up of The National, Efterklang, and Owen Pallett was too hard to resist. Owen was stunning, and definitely someone I could watch for nights on end without getting bored. I caught him after all the bands had finished, told him how much I loved his set, and then asked for a story, to which he agreed without batting an eyelid. Hope he comes back to London again soon.

2011-01-23T21:14:00.005Z

Anaïs Mitchell

The Slaughtered Lamb, London, January 23rd 2011

This wasn't a proper gig as such, but a Q&A event where folk asked Anais about Hadestown, plus she then sung some songs in between as well. The full band version of Hadestown will be at Union Chapel in two days time, which I am eagerly awaiting.
Anyhow, I waited for all the other folk to get their signatures out of the way, so as to not hold anyone up, then went asked for my story. She asked me my name, and then started writing. At one point she paused and looked up and at smiled at me, so I then quickly looked away so that she could continue her undressing me with her eyes (probably). Although she was obviously just undressing my soul.

Anaïs Mitchell

The Slaughtered Lamb, London, January 23rd 2011

Continuing my frequent story collection, here is my first one in a fair few months. But a better way of looking at it is that I've got a story every single month of this year so far...

2010-07-25T15:58:00.008+01:00

Antarctica Takes It!- Maria Schoettler

The Luminaire, London, July 21st 2010

Tis a nice story! Maria is surely almost at the ancient age of 25 now, if lucky. Ancient!

Antarctica Takes It!- Maria Schoettler

The Luminaire, London, July 21st 2010

Maria also came along whilst Dylan was writing, and so I pounced on her too.

Antarctica Takes It!- Tyler Martin

The Luminaire, London, July 21st 2010

It's always good not getting killed. Especially if you can get to bop about on stage very happily and have longer hair than me.

Antarctica Takes It!- Tyler Martin

The Luminaire, London, July 21st 2010

Tyler came over as Dylan was writing, and when asked for a story he asked if he could write about a traffic accident he was in. & so!

Antarctica Takes It!- Dylan McKeever

The Luminaire, London, July 21st 2010

ATI! are sort of my only vague impression on the music industry type world - a few years ago I requested Ian to play a song of theirs at his How Does It Feel night. He really liked, and then signed them and released their album in the UK! So it meant that I could finally get and own their first album, after having just played 4 songs of theirs repeatedly that I had downloaded from the interweb.
Dylan, the main chap of Antarctica, was another one of those strange oddities who was willing to write something straight away without any explanation.

2010-07-11T15:19:00.003+01:00

Neverest Songs- Luke Twyman

Union Chapel, London, July 10th 2010

My first story in 2010. Maybe it's time for me to retire soon!
Was looking forward to this gig as I've been enjoying his album very much for the past few months, and a daytime gig in Union Chapel is always good (and surprisingly cool inside, despite the immense heat outside). Lovely gig and nice story too.

2009-12-03T20:47:00.004Z

Musée Mécanique- Sean Ogilvie

The Luminaire, London, November 26th 2009

Sean was very nice and approachable/willing in doing a story. But I think it must easily rank as the story that took the longest to write (other than maybe St Thomas, who disappeared for a while upstairs at The Spitz to compile his)- plus the care it took to write it how he remembered it/routinely going back and amending/crossing out what had been written ten minutes ago. It was truly fascinating!
Ooh, and whilst Sean was writing my story, Laura Gibson spied me (and the story-writing) and recognised me and said hello and gave me a hug! Which was quite nice! The LG and MM combo were great!

Musée Mécanique- Sean Ogilvie

The Luminaire, London, November 26th 2009

First heard these chappies earlier this year, and was very pleased to see they'd be touring as support and backing band for Laura Gibson. As enjoyable live as they are on record. The same couldn't be said about my pen, which died before it could do two lines.

2009-09-19T22:53:00.003+01:00

Laura Gibson

End Of The Road Festival, Dorset/Wiltshire, September 12th 2009

Another lovely singer! She was at a bit of a loss of what to write, and had someone trying to drag her off after her set (presumably to go see Alela Diane play I think) who I'm sure roller her eyes in despair that I was asking for a story! My new Danish chum came by also, and invited me to visit him in Denmark, and posed for a photo with me. He seemed to pop up when I collect stories, but I didn't get any more that weekend to test the theory. Two stories/instances probably isn't enough to base a correlation on though.

2009-09-19T22:48:00.003+01:00

Ohbijou- Casey Mecija

End Of The Road Festival, Dorset/Wiltshire, September 12th 2009

Such a lovely voice! I didn't get a chance to get a story after their gig with The Acorn and Fanfarlo on the Tuesday, or after their EOTR set on Friday, but whilst sat down watching Darren Hayman on the Saturday she walked by, and I pounced! Although just as she finished her story, a Danish guy came by and started asking me about my Slaraffenland t-shirt and if I knew what the name meant in Danish. I would see him again later.

2009-09-19T22:27:00.004+01:00

Fol Chen- Melissa Thorne

Brixton Windmill, London, 6th September 2009

I had only first heard Fol Chen just under a month before the gig, but was glad I went, as they were pretty cool. It felt a shame that there was only about 20-30 people watching them, but obviously better than the previous night's gig which seemed to be at some random venue/club night thingum. The 'Part one:' bit is a reference to the album of the part-same name, and not in reference to a follow-up story- the lead-singer chap said escaped from writing one, hohumm! Will hopefully see them live again the next time they're here.

2009-07-24T20:51:00.004+01:00

Dear Reader- Cheri MacNeil

229, London, 23rd July 2009

Was another great gig from this lovely little band, whom I think have made my favourite album of the year so far. But there was this stupid moron drunk fan there, which was a bit of a shame, as he clearly liked them and knew the words and names of the band members and such, but stupid moron drunk fan best describes him- shouting out 'Amazing', 'Beautiful', 'Awwweessome' between every song, or during a song, or whenever really; despite Cheri's hints of saying that he was going to lose his voice/get bored, and my favourite: that he was an embarrassment to her and South African people! And his singing, oh gosh his singing...
The best bit was that whilst Cheri was writing the story after the gig, mr moron came along pestering her, whilst she just told him bluntly to just wait, whilst continuing to write the story about him, oh ho!!

2009-05-26T15:55:00.002+01:00

DM Stith

Crawdaddy, Dublin, 23rd May 2009

Oh dear, it's my first story I've collected in 2009, tut!
D(avid)M Stith was a nice chap, quite willing to write a story if taken aback! Superb live set from him and his band. I was a bit disappointed that a two week holiday in Ireland would've meant missing his/their London gig, but was very pleased that I could tie the Dublin gig in. Must see again.

2008-10-12T20:42:00.002+01:00

Get Well Soon- Konstantin Gropper

Forum, London, 11th October 2008

A great line-up for a gig. We managed to get to the front to see Bodies Of Water and then Get Well Soon, and then slunk in to the background for Calexico (who are also great). I lurked off to the side, by the door that leads to the backstage area (learnt from my Polyphonic Spree stage 'invading' days), and during Calexico's second song Konstantin came out, and so I pounced. I got my story, and then slunk off again to let him enjoy Calexico. Makes up for the last two times I saw Get Well Soon (Bush Hall and the Luminaire), and wasn't able to get a story.

2008-10-03T21:53:00.004+01:00

Bodies Of Water- Meredith Metcalf

Hoxton Bar and Grill, London, October 2nd 2008

My first, and I fear only, story from a lady in a leotard.

Bodies Of Water- Meredith Metcalf

Hoxton Bar and Grill, London, October 2nd 2008

Ooh, they were fun. Their first gig out of North America apparently, which was cool.
After their performance, I asked Meredith if she could write me a story, she said she didn't know any stories, but her hands quickly went to the paper/pen whilst her mouth proclaimed a possible no. The hands knew better!

2008-09-30T21:54:00.002+01:00

Choir Of Young Believers- Jannis Noya Makrigiannis

Hoxton Bar and Grill, London, September 29th 2008

I caught Jannis before their first gig in London, although I think he wasn't sure about writing a story in English, so I said that Danish was fine. He then asked my name, I said Paul, he said 'Do I know you from.. myspace?' I said yeah (had previously messaged about gigs/their album) and he then said 'the viking!' (which is my photo there) which was kinda surreal, but cool. I then left him to write his story, and went in to the gig. He brought it over to me and then introduced me to Christian, the Tigerspring label guy, who last year had been super kind and posted me the Choir... ep for free, so that was cool. & then i was finally able to buy the album that's seemed to take ages to come round (but probably didn't really).
As for the story, I am guessing that it is a story of him leaving Denmark that morning, and something about something that probably isn't muesli, meeting Christian, and then me asking for a story? Something like that maybe! It's another story to add to my list of ones to translate.

2008-09-19T21:12:00.003+01:00

Shearwater- Jonathan Meiburg

Rough Trade East, September 18th 2008

Anyhow, the instore performance was great, as they played the whole of Rook in order, which suited us to the ground as it is their only album that we have. & it made up for us not managing to watch all of their set at End Of The Road.

Shearwater- Jonathan Meiburg

Rough Trade East, September 18th 2008

Jonathan was another strange willing story writer- saying yes straight away, and just checking if he had to write about anything in particular. & then he goes and writes quickly and continuously on two sides this story about an Argenine airplane. I also have to say that he seemed like a very nice chap!

2008-09-15T09:50:00.003+01:00

Seabear- Sindri Mar Sigfusson

End Of The Road Festival, Dorset/Wiltshire, September 13th 2008

These guys were a great surprise. Their album is good/okay, and they all came on to the stage looking pretty glum, but the singer had a great sense of humour, and the band were just so great live- which gives me hope for their next album. Plus, the singer chap wrote me a story straight away/ didn't blink an eyelid.

2008-09-15T09:41:00.007+01:00

Thinguma*jigsaw- Seth Horatio Buncombe

End Of The Road Festival, Dorset/Wiltshire, September 13th 2008

They didn't like all the electronic amplifier stuffs, and so decided to play without them instead, starting off with a Daniel Johnston cover. We were lucky to be at the front though, as his voice was very quiet.

I had stupidly forgotten my story cards, so after buying a cd I quickly ran back through all the mud to get my cards from my tent and returned, and asked Seth and the sawing lady if they would write me a story. I said I'd be sat at the front waiting (/watching Seabear, who were on next), and so off they toddled with their gear. The girl never came back with her story, but he did, and what a genius story it is!

2008-09-15T09:27:00.005+01:00

Adrian Crowley

End Of The Road Festival, Dorset/Wiltshire, September 12th 2008

'Hi, can you write me a story?', holds pen and card out, 'Sure, what's the deadline?', 'uhhhh...', 'Ah, only joking! Sure I can!', writes story.

Something along those lines anyhow. Funny chap. He then apologised after writing it in case it sounded pretentious!

Was just him playing solo at the eotr set, but was great- such a lovely voice.

2008-06-30T09:46:00.004+01:00

Why?- Josiah Wolf

Madame JoJo's, London, June 29th 2008

I then caught Josiah at the merch stall and asked if he could add anything to the story, and so he wrote the above on the back of the card, completing the Why? story.

Why?- Yoni Wolf and Doug McDiarmid

Madame JoJo's, London, June 29th 2008

Having never seen Why? before, I wasn't positive what they looked like, but recognised Yoni's brother Josiah from his hair, and then guessed that Yoni was the one with less hair, and was luckily correct. He was initially unsure about writing a story, but then asked if he could draw something instead. Which he did, and then wrote the bit at the top corner. Doug was sat next to him, and I asked if he'd like to write a story too, and he asked if it was okay if he wrote a comment on Yoni's story, which he did, in the bottom corner.

2008-06-11T18:16:00.002+01:00

Hjaltalín - Högni Egilsson

Hoxton Bar and Grill, London, June 10th 2008

Somehow these Icelandic chaps and chapesses were able to come and play a couple of gigs in the UK, and it was just great. Plus I finally got a chance to buy their album.

The above is (another!) story in Icelandic- Högni had asked if it was okay to write in Icelandic, and I said that was fine, and that I already had a story written in Icelandic from Benni Hemm Hemm (it's surely not often that I can ever be able to 'namedrop' BHH!), with Högni saying it must be a good collection then. He was a very friendly chap also.

Really must one day get an Icelandic-English dictionary..

2008-01-19T11:00:00.000Z

Eels- E / Mark Oliver Everett

St James' Church, London, January 17th 2008

Not much of a story I know, but a kinda story behind it. The solo gig was to promote E's/Mark's book released that day, and the first 200 folk were able to have their books signed after the (very lovely) gig. & so, in the queue, I kept debating whether to get him to write a story, due to the giant queue behind me. In the end, after he finished signing my book, I gave it a go, and he said that he couldn't now, but that he could do this- and scribbled his E on the card, closed the book with it inside, and said 'There you go- a bookmark!' with a happy smile on his face. So, despite it just being one letter, I'm happy with it, and using it as a bookmark (for this one book at least). Page 62 so far.

2007-12-12T09:20:00.000Z

Jens Lekman

The Luminaire, London, December 11th 2007

Yours truly,
Jens Lekman

Jens Lekman

The Luminaire, London, December 11th 2007

I first tried to get a story from Jens Lekman when he played in Bush Hall (a year or two ago?), but was unsuccessful as he seemed a bit busy after the gig. I managed to get him again, and it almost seemed like he would escape again, saying that he'd just need to think about a story, could I try later? Fearful of him then being mobbed by the masses of folk after the gig, I tried desparate measures of the girlfriend who was sitting waiting and very tired. The (true) heartstring-pulling tale was enough for him to write this cool story!

2007-11-24T09:46:00.000Z

Denis Jones

Bush Hall, London, November 23rd 2007

'Interesting' fact of the day. This is the only story to be written on two separate cards- the two cards must've stuck like glue when he turned the card over to write on the reverse.

Denis Jones

Bush Hall, London, November 23rd 2007

A pleasant surprise supporting Efterklang- with a big impressive beard.
Something about a frog and a well!

2007-11-24T09:42:00.000Z

Efterklang- Casper Clausen

Bush Hall, London, November 23rd 2007

The singer chap from Efterklang- such a happy friendly chirpy chap with a moustache.

2007-09-24T20:36:00.000+01:00

George Thomas And The Owls

End Of The Road Festival, Dorset/Wiltshire, September 14th 2007

I saw Mr Owl chap earlier this summer, playing at the Spitz, doing his unique performance. Then saw him as part of Viking Moses at the festival, and so took the chance to get a story from him. It is sweet.

2007-07-16T20:31:00.000+01:00

The Silent League- Justin Russo

The Borderline, London, July 12th 2007

There weren't too many people at this gig (with the excellent Loney, Dear as support), which was a shame, but great show. He reminds me of Wayne Coyne in his look/mannerisms. Was very friendly also.

2007-06-30T11:58:00.000+01:00

Fujiya & Miyagi- David Best

The Luminaire, London, June 29th

I forgot my story cards when I went this gig, and so popped next door to a local newsagent, and bought a book of post cards instead. Fujiya singer chap seemed a bit confused but quite content to write a story straight away, which was cool. Too tired to stay around and wait for the other two though.

2007-06-28T20:47:00.000+01:00

The Young Republic- Bob Merkl

Rough Trade shop, London, June 28th 2007

& the second part. He went up and sat outside the store to compose and finish his masterpiece, making me fear that the story pressure was too much- but no, I really like this story also.

The Young Republic- Bob Merkl

Rough Trade shop, London, June 28th 2007

I made a flusterred job of asking for stories from tyr, with them all a bit confused, but Bob insisted he wasn't good at writing stories. Clearly a fibber.

The Young Republic- Chris Miller

Rough Trade shop, London, June 28th 2007

Much prefer his cool bass-playing than the band Saves The Day- at least, from that weird kid/singer at the front of that emo'ish song/video I remember from a few years back.

2007-06-28T20:17:00.000+01:00

The Young Republic- MJ Kim

Rough Trade shop, London, June 28th 2007

No jokes here, some scribbles about a cold heart on the back, but it may stay as a mystery.

The Young Republic- Kristin Weber

Rough Trade shop, London, June 28th 2007

Lovely fiddling and singing from she!

The Young Republic- Julian Saporiti

Rough Trade shop, London, June 28th 2007

Cool singer chap, with an equally great story. It was the last instore at Rough Trade's Covent Garden store, before the shop moves out somewhere bigger and out in East-land.

2007-05-24T10:17:00.000+01:00

Windmill- Matthew Thomas Dillon

Water Rats, London, 23rd May 2007

Great gig from the greatly peculiarly sounding Windmill. He was more than willing to write a story which was nice. My first story all year, I should pick up the pace, hmmm..

2006-11-27T21:44:00.000Z

Benni Hemm Hemm- Benedikt H. Hermannsson

The Luminaire, London, November 26th 2006

Benni Hemm Hemm were awesome live, and Mr Benni was a great frontman and very nice too. He asked if it was okay to write his story in Icelandic, which is more than fine, and can be added to my Amina/Amiina Icelandic'ness for me to one day decipher.

2006-11-06T21:35:00.000Z

Calexico- John Convertino

Roundhouse, London, November 5th 2006

I didn't think I'd manage to get a story from Calexico singer chap, due to over-zealous getouttahere security folk after the gig, with John almost just giving a signature. But thankfully he then doodled this strange code.

2006-10-05T17:20:00.000+01:00

Loney, Dear- Emil Svanängen

Dingwalls, London, September 25th 2006

I found Loney, Dear due to him singing on an I'm From Barcelona song and had ordered and loved his albums since then. But was still surprised at how good he/ his band were when they played live. Brilliant. Plus he was a super nice chap too.

2006-09-19T13:11:00.000+01:00

Chris T-T

End Of The Road Festival, Dorset/Wiltshire, September 17th 2006

I first saw Chris T-T way back almost 4 years ago, supporting The Divine Comedy and Ben Folds, but never got his story then when I got Neil's and Ben's- so it's great to finally get one from him, especially as it's a very cool story about a collection of short stories...

I'm From Barcelona- Johan Aineland

Rough Trade shop, London, September 16th 2006

and finally, the last story I managed to collect from IFB, number 16. Another nice chap from this super-cool band.

2006-09-19T12:44:00.000+01:00

I'm From Barcelona- Tobias Granstrand

Rough Trade shop, London, September 16th 2006

from the hot hot fire, comes the cold collapsing ice of Tobias' cave.

I'm From Barcelona- Jacob Sollenberg

Rough Trade shop, London, September 16th 2006

Friendly Mr Jacob and his fire-setting church-destroying attempt. Pretty cool!

I'm From Barcelona- Jonas Tjäder

Rough Trade shop, London, September 16th 2006

Jonas seems to have a great tag team of crazy with Marcus. As the story mentions, it's in Danish, so I'll have to hunt down some online translation thingumm (and for the Icelandic Amina stories while I'm at it...).

I'm From Barcelona- Erik Ottosson

Rough Trade shop, London, September 16th 2006

The acoustic set was indeed brilliant, and then the Rec & Play/Like A Prayer song outside the shop was perfect too. Great tuba playing!

2006-09-19T12:19:00.000+01:00

I'm From Barcelona- Henrik 'Honken' Olofsson

Rough Trade shop, London, September 16th 2006

Mister forest man's story of the band and forests.

I'm From Barcelona- Johan Mårtensson

Jamm, London, September 15th 2006

Johan is my kazoo/singing buddy for Chicken Pox- having danced/sang/kazoo'ed with him on stage twice. "You can't have it once you've had it..."

I'm From Barcelona- Marcus Carlholt

Jamm, London, September 15th 2006

Super friendly animated dancing machine. Friend of lampposts.

I'm From Barcelona- Frida Öhnell

Hoxton Bar and Grill, London, September 14th 2006

and the end of Frida's lovely story.

I'm From Barcelona- Frida Öhnell

Hoxton Bar and Grill, London, September 14th 2006

"I don't want to wear glasses..."
A story about glasses, which is quite appropriate seeing as hers are humungous!

2006-09-19T11:54:00.000+01:00

I'm From Barcelona- Philip Erikson

Hoxton Bar and Grill, London, September 14th 2006

The Story! The IFB website is not lying- his smile did seem to always be intact, super happy chap.

I'm From Barcelona- Mattias Johansson

Hoxton Bar and Grill, London, September 14th 2006

Cool story from the crazy exciteable friendly Mattias.

I'm From Barcelona- Daniel Lindlöf

Hoxton Bar and Grill, London, September 14th 2006

Strange hobbity feet story.

I'm From Barcelona- Martin Alfredsson

Hoxton Bar and Grill, London, September 14th 2006

& the second side of Martin's really sweet story.

I'm From Barcelona- Martin Alfredsson

Hoxton Bar and Grill, London, September 14th 2006

Mr Martin keyboardy melodica nice chap's big small story.

2006-09-19T11:30:00.000+01:00

I'm From Barcelona- Anna Fröderberg

Hoxton Bar and Grill, London, September 14th 2006

Tiny smiley secret agent Anna, hooray for her.

I'm From Barcelona- Emanuel Lundgren

Hoxton Bar and Grill, London, September 14th 2006

Mister singer chap writing about his collection of stamps. Maybe he'll do a zebra song for Emma sometime. He's a genius wacky main singer guy!

I'm From Barcelona- Emma Öhnell

Hoxton Bar and Grill, London, September 14th 2006

and here is the second half of her story- love her zebras too!

I'm From Barcelona- Emma Öhnell

Hoxton Bar and Grill, London, September 14th 2006

Hooray, IFB finally came to the UK, and here is the first story of many from the band, from the lovely Emma.

2006-08-14T21:45:00.000+01:00

Tunng- Mike Lindsay, Ashley Bates, Becky Jacobs, Martin Smith, Sam Gender, Phil Winter

Summer Sundae Weekender, Leicester, August 12th 2006

Poor chap was left with ending the story, so used his get-out-of-jail-free card escape!

Tunng- Mike Lindsay, Ashley Bates, Becky Jacobs, Martin Smith, Sam Gender, Phil Winter

Summer Sundae Weekender, Leicester, August 12th 2006

Hopefully that's the right names in the right order, but I could be wrong! I waited til the queue at the signing tent was all but finished, then came along with my cheeky story request, which they each wrote a part of.

2006-08-14T20:58:00.000+01:00

A Hawk And A Hacksaw- Heather Trost & Jeremy Barnes

Summer Sundae Weekender, Leicester, August 11th 2006

Heather was the writer of this joint story, but Jeremy proof-read it to make it a team effort. I've removed Mr Steve's number so that you random internet folk can't bombarde him with snail story requests.

A Hawk And A Hacksaw- Heather Trost & Jeremy Barnes

Summer Sundae Weekender, Leicester, August 11th 2006

Took over an hour to finally get this, what with them being hungry and whatnot, but they were super kind friendly folk and created this brilliant story.

2006-05-29T20:08:00.000+01:00

Ramona Cordova- Ramón Vicente Alarcón

Epicurean Lounge, London, 28th May 2006

& the second part of Giver's story, flying away. Hooray for the friendly Ramón on his European adventure.

Ramona Cordova- Ramón Vicente Alarcón

Epicurean Lounge, London, 28th May 2006

Finally got to see Ramón perform at a small free gig, and it was as great as expected, performing his songs about the lil' Giver chap.

2006-03-31T12:02:00.000+01:00

Misty's Big Adventure- Grandmaster Gareth

Brixton Windmill, London, 30th March 2006

Singer chap of the Misty's, and another nice guy.

Misty's Big Adventure- Matt Jones

Brixton Windmill, London, 30th March 2006

Aahh, my first story of the New Year, tut tut. But it's a good one, and Mr Vinyl was a nice friendly chap too.

2006-02-19T20:50:00.000Z

Sufjan Stevens

King's College, London, 31st October 2005

...the second half of the story of cool crazyness. Sufjantastic! Sorry.

Sufjan Stevens

King's College, London, 31st October 2005

Managed to catch Sufjan outside before his gig and he took a card and said he'd give it to me later, and lo and behold he brought it with him and put it down on the floor when he came on stage. I waited until the end and then quickly snatched it up before some other rascal did.

2006-02-19T20:33:00.000Z

Jack Lewis

Brixton Windmill, London, 26th August 2005

Brother of Jeffrey (way back in story #3). I had no cards on me, so utilised one of the many postcards advertising whatever thingy it is.

The Polyphonic Spree (St. Vincent)- Annie Clark

KOKO, London, 15th August 2005

The excitable new lady is not wrong. Great Spree addition.

The Polyphonic Spree- Matt Bricker

KOKO, London, 15th August 2005

A story about me, hooray!

Amina- María Huld Markan

Conway Hall, London, 22nd May 2005

Einu Sinni I received four Icelandic stories to one day translate.

Amina- Sólrún Sumarliðadóttir

Conway Hall, London, 22nd May 2005

Another Icelandic story from the beautiful Amina.

2006-02-19T20:00:00.000Z

Amina- Edda Rún Ólafsdóttir

Conway Hall, London, 22nd May 2005

Iceland, Iceland, we all love Iceland.

Amina- Hildur Ársælsdóttir (2)

Conway Hall, London, 22nd May 2005

Yes. Good story.

Amina- Hildur Ársælsdóttir (1)

Conway Hall, London, 22nd May 2005

Really lovely dinky little girl is she, talking for a while with us at Adem's Homefires festival. Oh, and her story, and the rest of the bands', is in Icelandic. Still need to get an Icelandic-English dictionary.

Suburban Kids With Biblical Names- Peter Gunnarson (2)

Metro Club, London, 15th March 2005

A happy chap with his band, awww.

Suburban Kids With Biblical Names- Peter Gunnarson (1)

Metro Club, London, 15th March 2005

Lovely lovely Peter. Took him ages to write this, putting great thought into it.

2006-02-19T19:34:00.000Z

Suburban Kids With Biblical Names- Tafra

Metro Club, London, 15th March 2005

A bonus chap who joined the Suburban Kids for their little set of gigs. The beheaded chap was in the news and everything, unsurprisingly. As far as I know, not caused by any of these three.

Suburban Kids With Biblical Names- Johan Hedberg

The Metro, London, 15th March 2005

Good ol' boppy Swedish band, all three of them putting imense thought into their stories.

The Arcade Fire- Win Butler

King's College, London, 8th March 2005

Took some perserverance to get Win to find time away from the clawing masses, but finally managed it.

The Arcade Fire- Jeremy Gara

King's College, London, 8th March 2005

Happy happy Jeremy.

The Arcade Fire- Tim Kingsbury

King's College, London, 8th March 2005

A profound story from Tim.

2006-02-19T18:59:00.000Z

The Arcade Fire- Régine Chassagne

King's College, London, 8th March 2005

Some crazy French-ness- those Canadians!

The Arcade Fire- Sarah Neufeld

King's College, London, 8th March 2005

Steve collected this one in an effort to catch them all after the gig. It is a freak hand.

The Arcade Fire- Ricky Reed Parry

King's College, London, 8th March 2005

Crash helmet wearing banging Rickman.

The Polyphonic Spree- Brian Teasley

Ambassador, Dublin, 8th November 2004

A crazy cool story from the crazy cool madman Teasley.

The Polyphonic Spree- Evan Jacobs

Ambassador, Dublin, 8th November 2004

Evan wanted to write another story in August 2005, but not allowed!!! Obviously.

2006-02-19T16:13:00.000Z

The Polyphonic Spree- Apotsala Wilson

Ambassador, Dublin, 8th November 2004

My only friend, 'potsy pots, as I call her. Now.

Fog- Mark Erickson

Scala, London, 21st October 2004

He was a very happy chap, as shown by his story with people laughing.

Fog- Martin Dosh

Scala, London, 21st October 2004

Was a strange story to receive, couldn't quite thank him lots for it...

Fog- Michael Lewis

Scala, London, 21st October 2004

Seemed like a nice chap did Michael, and yes the saxophone was great.

Fog- Andrew Broder

Scala, London, 21st October 2004

Fog singer referring to the Notwist. Was a great gig, but unfortunatlely no Notwist stories.

2006-02-19T13:51:00.000Z

Dresden Dolls- Brian Viglione

Madame JoJo's, London, 20th September 2004

These Dresden Dolls like their minamilism, eh?

Dresden Dolls- Amanda Palmer
Madame JoJo's, London, 20th September 2004

Amen.

The Real Tuesday Weld- Stephen Coates

Whitechapel Art Gallery, 12th August 2004

'Twas the first time that we saw and fell in love with TRTW, and have seen them live many a time since. Brilliant chap and band.

The Polyphonic Spree- Taylor Young (2)

Shepherd's Bush Empire, London, 5th July 2004

His was the 45th story you see, but maybe it's a lucky number as well.

The Polyphonic Spree- Taylor Young (1)

Shepherd's Bush Empire, London, 5th July 2004

Had to catch Taylor back stage for this one. He was only in the band for two UK dates which was a shame.

2006-02-19T13:35:00.000Z

The Polyphonic Spree- Jamey Welch

Barfly at the Monarch, London, 4th July 2004

Deep...

The Polyphonic Spree- Toby Halbrooks

Barfly at the Monarch, London, 4th July 2004

Finally got a story from Toby, the last of the old schoolers I hadn't yet grabbed.

The Polyphonic Spree- Louis Schwordon

Barfly at the Monarch, London, 4th July 2004

A man with lovely hips.

The Polyphonic Spree- Jennifer Jobe/Penn (2)

Barfly at the Monarch, London, 4th July 2004

& here is when we found out she was now a Penn. That day never would have been reached without a little help from the Jesus book.

The Polyphonic Spree- Jennifer Jobe/Penn (1)

Barfly at the Monarch, London, 4th July 2004

Finally got a story from Jennifer after the gig, hurrah.

2006-02-19T13:14:00.000Z

The Polyphonic Spree- Logan Keese (2)

Barfly at the Monarch, London, 4th July 2004

Just a signature on the rear side, nothing to see here.

The Polyphonic Spree- Logan Keese (1)
Barfly at the Monarch, London, 4th July 2004

A cool picture of a story. He couldn't give me a story in Northampton, but was more than happy this time.

The Polyphonic Spree- Michael Musick (2)

Barfly at the Monarch, London, 4th July 2004

Laugh at the gay bear.

The Polyphonic Spree- Michael Musick (1)
Barfly at the Monarch, London, 4th July 2004

Our first gig with Michael in, great chap and story.

The Magnetic Fields- Claudia Gonson

Lyric Theatre, London, 12th June 2004

Stephin Merritt has the honour of being the only musician to so far flat out refuse to write a story, living up to his grumpy sod nature perhaps. Claudia wrote one though, and offers of a cupcake and 5 pence weren't enough to make the Merritt write.

2006-02-19T12:56:00.000Z

Adem- Adem Ilhan

Electric Ballroom, London, 11th May 2003

Despite the fact that it takes Adem 4/5 months to realise the year has changed, he's a top chap and musician.

Explosions In The Sky- Chris Hrasky

Electric Ballroom, London, 11th May 2004

He was a nice chap and the dog was safe so all is good.

Clem Snide- Eef Barzelay

Rescue Rooms, Nottingham, 5th February 2004

A beautiful story, and informative as well.

Clem Snide- Jeff Lipstein

Rescue Rooms, Nottingham, 5th February 2004

A powerful story.

Clem Snide- Brendan Fitzpatrick

Rescue Rooms, Nottingham, 5th February 2004

I have no idea what one of them things are. Or the other thing.

2006-02-19T12:26:00.000Z

Andrew Bird

Rescue Rooms, Nottingham, 5th February 2004

I complimented him on his whistling skills (he's a darn good whistler let it be known) and then asked for a story. Not that I can read half of it though.

Clem Snide- Pete Fitzpatrick

Rescue Rooms, Nottingham, 5th February 2004

Also of the Pee Wee Fist. Awesome awesome story from the nutty chap. Sorry.

The Polyhphonic Spree- John Lamonica

Roadmender, Northampton, 10th July 2003

Subdued.

The Polyphonic Spree- Joe Butcher

Roadmender, Northampton, 10th July 2003

A special special man is the Butcher.

The Polyphonic Spree- Mike Melendi

Corn Exchange, Cambridge, 3rd July 2003

You can tell this guy was in The Polyphonic Spree, yeah?

2006-02-19T12:00:00.000Z

The Polyphonic Spree- Jessie Hester

Corn Exchange, Cambridge, 3rd July 2003

A motivational tale from the Jessie.

St Thomas- Thomas Hansen (2)

The Spitz, London, 17th June 2003

Unsurprisingly the gig wasn't very good for him.

St Thomas- Thomas Hansen (1)

The Spitz, London, 17th June 2003

Good ol' Sainty required some pleading with for this story as he seemed a bit unsure. & so, with 10/15 minutes upstairs he finally returned with this much loved/stained/smudged story.

Hope Of The States- Sam Herlihy

ICA, London, 9th June 2003

Penguins.

The Polyphonic Spree- Evan Hisey

Forum, London, 10th February 2003

A sweet lil' story from the Hisey.

2006-02-19T11:39:00.000Z

The Polyphonic Spree- Rick Nelson

Glasgow Barrowlands, 23rd January 2003

Our good ol' buddy Rick, from when we first met him and when he had his elf-like flowing hair.

The Polyphonic Spree- Julie Duncanville/Doyle/DeLaughter

Glasgow Barrowlands, 23rd January 2003

Mrs big-cheese if you will. Very nice story.

The Polyphonic Spree- Billy 'Bubba' Doyle

Glasgow Barrowlands, 23rd January 2003

Not in the band dancing on stage as such, but still a great part of the Spree for us. Referring to me and Emma following the Spree about, y'see.

The Polyphonic Spree- Tim DeLaughter

Glasgow Barrowlands, 26th January 2003

A story from the big-cheese himself. Top chap.

The Polyphonic Spree- Ricky Rasura

Glasgow Barrowlands, 26th January 2003

Not sure what else needs to be said with this one. Harp players havin' it large, maybe.

2006-02-19T11:01:00.000Z

The Polyphonic Spree- Bryan Wakeland

Glasgow Barrowlands, 26th January 2003

So good they named him twice.

The Polyphonic Spree- Roy Ivy

Glasgow Barrowlands, 26th January 2003

A productive Spree-catching evening this was. Mostly done whilst the God-Awful Datsuns were doing their stuff. My girlfriend informs me that Roy goes commando under his robe, make of that as you will.

Flaming Lips- Wayne Coyne

Glasgow Barrowlands, 15th January 2003

Required a long time of waiting in the cold afterwards, with Wayne almost trying to escape anyhow, but he was kind and did his required job.

The Polyphonic Spree- Jessica Jordon, Jennie Kelley, Mark Pirro

Queen's Hall, Edinburgh, 18th October 2002

The card was given to Jessica to ponder about a story, and so later at some point she returned it with two extra mini stories- a three in one bundle of joy, just like a Kinder Egg.

The Polyphonic Spree- Andrew Tinker

Queen's Hall, Edinburgh, 18th October 2002

Captured before their gig that evening (where I later collected the below stories from James) and it was my first big rambling story written before my eyes. Who is this Maynard and what happened to his circus?

2006-02-19T10:37:00.000Z

The Polyphonic Spree- Kelly Repka

On/off the plane somewhere, October 2002

Short and sweet and to the point.

The Polyphonic Spree- Michael Turner (2)

Maybe off that plane now, 16th October 2002

Look at this! The card has been turned vertical from horizontal! Here's a story writer who doesn't stick to conventions, so far never repeated.

The Polyphonic Spree- Michael Turner (1)

Maybe off that plane now, 16th October 2002

A good'un story from the Turner, with an awesome opening line.

The Polyphonic Spree- Audrey Easley & Ryan Fitzgerald (1)

A plane in the sky probably, October-some-time

I'm so happy for Dick.

The Polyphonic Spree- Audrey Easley & Ryan Fitzgerald (1)

A plane in the sky probably, October-some-time

A visual representation of the Rated R (or 18 as we say over here) story to follow.

2006-02-18T08:26:00.000Z

The Polyphonic Spree- Chris Penn (2)

The Plane or somewhere, 15th October 2002

Handy date, in a sun. At least the Spree-link and the yellowness make me think it's a sun, but maybe it's some freaky bug.

The Polyphonic Spree- Chris Penn (1)

The Plane or somewhere, 15th October 2002

Beautiful story from the great bearded spree organiser. Hurrah the Chris!

The Polyphonic Spree- James Reiner (2)

A plane in the sky, October-some-time

The second side, with a Scottish flag as that was where I'd be collecting the fantabulous things.

The Polyphonic Spree- James Reiner (1)

A plane in the sky, October-some-time

By the powers of the internet, James agreed to write and collect some stories from other Spree folk on the plane trip over (there's lots of them folk- I needed a head start!). Plus, groovy coloured cards.

The Divine Comedy- Neil Hannon

Glasgow Barrowlands, 1st October 2002

My first rhyming story! He's a nice wee small chap is that Hannon.

2006-02-17T19:21:00.000Z

The Divine Comedy- Rob Farrer

Glasgow Barrowlands, 1st October 2002

Music dinger-donger extraordinaire. Writing about me and my hat. To be fair, it was a silly (yet awesome) hat.

Ben Folds

Glasgow Barrowlands, 1st October 2002

Poor Ben started to write a story but I think it was too much for him, and so a crazy face and squiggles instead.

Jeffrey Lewis

Barfly at the Monarch, London, 1st August 2002

Jeff wasn't too sure what to draw, his chum Tara suggested a snurf, and, well, you can read.

The Moldy Peaches- Adam Green

King Tut's, Glasgow, 17th June 2002

A visual representation of the people around Adam as he 'wrote'. I think.

The Moldy Peaches- Kimya Dawson

King Tut's, Glasgow, 17th June 2002

The story that started it all