is also the keyboard player in Belle & Sebastian. Chris had access to a small studio in Glasgow and was up for helping us to record.
The logistics of making the album were not simple, but somehow, slowly, we managed to get it done. We released LCCS in December 2009. Shortly after the release a record label called MPLS in Minneapolis contacted me to ask if they could do a vinyl pressing of the record – great news for us. We played some lovely shows and received some good reviews.
2010 saw change / progress and difficulty. Steve and I went our separate ways. Dougie became consumed by his role as a music promoter and had no time for the band. Derek Urquhart became the drummer for a short time, followed by Greg Barry who would be the drummer on the next release - Apple Cherub Dove. We were given a Scottish Arts Council grant to enable us to record a second album and the Highland Creative Fund were sending us to Los Angeles in 2011 to attend music networking and showcasing event Musexpo. Things were topsy turvie and exciting and it was time to gather momentum and work on the next release.
Unfortunately in my personal life a deeper darker twist of fate had also come to pass – my Auntie had been diagnosed with an aggressive
strain of Acute Myeloid Leukaemia and was starting treatment. The prognosis was not good and after several weeks of chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant via my mum, my Auntie passed away. It was an absolute tragedy and is still difficult to comprehend. Two weeks after her funeral we were in the studio recording Apple Cherub Dove. When I look back on that week in the studio I wonder how it must have seemed to everyone else. There were some tears but my grief manifested itself in the strangest ways. It was as if every other emotion was amplified, I was feeling everything tenfold and my tolerance with myself and everyone else was low. Despite all this the recording turned out surprisingly well and Apple Cherub Dove was born, co- produced by Chris Geddes and Tony Doogan.
Christian at MPLS decided to do a vinyl pressing of this record. Gordon Robin Brown our regular artist designed a lovely cover using a photo of a cave called Mcfarquhar Bed located near Cromarty. Christian reworked the Gordon’s image slightly and made it into a picture disk, very unique and beautiful.
We arrived in Los Angeles in April 2011. It was hot. We rented an apartment on Franklin Avenue in the heart of Hollywood. Musexpo is a music industry networking and
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116