Over a couple of whiskeys at DiS' 9th Birthday last year, we asked Scott from Frightened Rabbit to start a column for us, documenting the band's adventures on the campaign trail for their latest album. Time got the better of him but he suggested doing something about Coachella and their US tour...And lo! the volcano did scupper their flights and plans.
So, instead of some jealousy inducing diary-log from the polo fields of Palm Springs, here's a postcard from where Frightened Rabbit's Scott ended up this weekend....
I feel like the Travelodge equivalent of Lenny Henry, a man forced to make his home in Premier Inn outlets for reasons (perhaps) beyond his control. I’ve always injected Lenny’s fictional stays at the Inn with an imagined back-story of bad behaviour. Perhaps old Lenny recklessly ran over a pedestrian earlier in the day and just kept driving into the sunset and then, under the cover of darkness, to the Premier Inn to lay low in relative comfort. Maybe he’s bought loads of crisps and sweets and cola and he’s going to scoff the bloody lot, guilt free, whilst watching lots of cartoons. Perhaps he’s waiting for three hookers. Could be all of the above.
Unfortunately, none of the aforementioned scenarios apply to my own secondment in the Prince of roadside accommodations. I’m here in the Travelodge at Heathrow Airport due to the grounding of a flight to Los Angeles. The last time I was grounded it was because I made a sicky mess on the kitchen floor of my parents’ house. This time, it’s because an Icelandic volcano made a sicky mess in the sky. Even though the thought of missing out on all the fun of Coachella is incredibly depressing, in many ways, Eyjafjallajokull (the mountain what exploded) has actually given me the gift of time. I have absolutely nothing I need to do at this point and very few commitments aside from the odd interview about how terribly frustrating the whole situation is. However, I feel like I’m squandering the gift. Thus far, I’ve filled the past 5 days with a trip to the laundromat down the road, many trips to the Tesco Metro, one or two visits to London to get drunk, a number of episodes of Scrubs and a whole shitload of sitting around and looking at funny stuff on the internet. Not a lot of laffs, but it’s my own fault really. I ought to be using these long languid days to write new material, do some drawing, visit galleries in the city or view some films. Instead, I’m currently watching two women wrestle each other for a wedding dress in the name of light comedy. I think I’ve reached the breaking point. I might be more like fake Lenny Henry than I thought. Time to call in some hookers and take them out to an exhibition.
Frightened Rabbit's new single, 'Living in Colour' is released on June 14th on Fat Cat.
The band have rescheduled some of their US dates (check their Twitter @Frabbits for latest info) and play the following UK festivals:
12th June – Bellahouston Park, Glasgow (with Snow Patrol, Band Of Horses)
27th June – Glastonbury Festival (Other Stage)
10th July – T In The Park
15th Aug – Summer Sundae, Leicester (Drowned in Sound Stage)