2007-08 new york/martha's vineyard

2003 new york

2002-03 glasgow

2001 hartford

2002-03

tcs record fourth album, weightlifting

tcs are recording their fourth studio album in glasgow, scotland. the band plans to record from sunday-friday for approximately 5-6 weeks, and should be wrapped up by early april. tcs have been rehearsing over the last couple of weeks as well as working out strings arrangements for as many as 6 of the songs expected to be recorded. the band is the same as the lineup that recorded i've seen everything and a happy pocket, except that grant wilson, who played bass on the snow ep and the band's 1999-2000 tours in japan and america, is expected to split duties with davy hughes, who had rejoined the band earlier in 2001.

the band expects to record around 10-12 songs, likely to include the following:
1. usually 4. the country air 7. it's a miracle we got anywhere at all 10. prisons
2. got carried away 5. what women do to men 8. leave me alone 11. i got soul
3. free time 6. welcome back 9. trouble sleeping 12. weightlifting

initial studio timeline
march 2 brought gear into the studio
march 3 set up in the studio, recorded 2 backing tracks (drums and bass), including 'usually'
march 4 begin recording guitars for usually

update - march 12, 2002

hi,

as some of you are aware, the band have started recording an album and i just wanted to let you all know how it is coming along.

we have a loose schedule to adhere to if we want to get everything done in the time we have, and despite the odd frustrating hour or two, we've managed on the whole to keep the thing on track. generally speaking, we are recording basic backing tracks over the first ten days (drums/bass/rhythm guitar), and tarting songs up whenever the fancy takes us. davie hughes and grant wilson are sharing the bass playing burden, and as both have other lives, we sometimes have found it more convenient to work on the backing tracks already recorded until such times as d or g can come in to start on a new song. this is mostly because stephen douglas prefers to record his drums along with the bass, and we all want stephen happy, don't we? stephen is learning to speak french, incidentally.

so, we've managed to record the basics (and more) to 7 songs so far: 'usually' ,'got carried away', 'country air', 'trouble sleeping', 'it's a miracle', 'welcome back', and 'obscurity knocks' - only kidding - and 'i got soul'. today is tuesday and that can only mean the return of davie hughes to the studio and a bash at recording the backing track to 'freetime'. so far, paul and john have played some cracking guitar - for me, especially on 'got carried away' and 'welcome back', but on the rest too, they're "pickin' good" - just what willie nelson told them to do.

meanwhile, a string quartet from scottish opera is busy on arrangements for three songs, and we hope to have them down in the studio sometime next week to see what they've come up with. we met before the recording commenced, and they have a good idea of what we want, so i hope everything turns out really pretty likes in the end.

a word about the studio and its staff. it's called riverside, and it's in a place called busby, in south glasgow. the place is run by two brothers - johnny cameron runs one studio whilst duncan is recording ourselves in another part of the building. each brother has a grown-up son working with them, so there's a familial atmosphere about the joint. they are all a really friendly, chatty bunch; duncan is an excellent engineer and calming presence, and i just found out today that he and his brother are married to two sisters.

so i'm not very good at this diary stuff. i'll pass the job over to paul or john next week, and speak to you all again soon after that. thanks for all the good luck and cheer - it won't be long before we play live again, i hope, and see some of you again.

lots of love,

frankie

update - march 25, 2002

the band has recorded parts of 11 songs at this point, and has around 9 days left in the studio. they're finishing the recording of the organ and percussion and then will begin adding vocal tracks the rest of this week. they'll then be away from the studio, returning the second week in april to record strings and wrap up any other loose ends. below is an update from paul lvingston:

mysteries are being solved during this week of recording. first, frank saw a flying saucer split the sky like a sheet, proving the existence of life on other planets (or inside ours), then, "the best footage for years" of the loch ness monster was shown on the news, halving the odds at the bookies for finding the dinosaur. it is not a seal!

back in the corporeal world, the recording of our new album gathers momentum. grant came on saturday and made like john entwistle on a new song known to us as " the j, geils band". we only know one of their songs ("centrefold" of course) but we think ours has the same late seventies good time rock 'n' roll feel about it.

davy hughes is here today recording the bass for "country air", "leave me alone", "trouble sleeping" and "freetime". it is always good to see the hughes.

all that's left to do is singing, bass, strings and some percussion, and i can confidently say that it's the best stuff we've ever done. i can't wait for you to hear it.

that's enough from me. the next entry will be from john.

lots of love,

paul

update - april 23, 2002

as the band closes in on wrapping up the recording, the studio time is getting a little broken up - a day here and there. but everything should be done soon. below is an update from john douglas:

We are getting some sunshine these days...spring is kicking in...saw some stars the other day...Norman and Gerry from the Teenage Fanclub popped in at the studio...on our shopping trip we spotted Carol Smillie (TV personality, Rear of the Year 2001)...Glamorous Glasgow indeed...Other News...Frank won £40 on the Grand National....for a £2 bet..nice...we're getting pretty good at the daily crosswords (Herald, Scotsman,Times)...favourite clue so far... Eh? (3,4,2,3,5)..answer to follow. We rehearsed with the string players in a Glasgow flat...4 floors up..sun streaming in the big bay window...music floating out...a magical day.

One week later....we got the string players in the studio yesterday..4 of them..all very enthusiastic..loved the songs... Greg, the arranger and 1st violin, buzzing like a little kid...totally into it. First song, Country Air..." a discreet arrangement for a discreet song " Greg tells us with his Geordie lilt......A huge ,collective, internal sigh of relief from us as the idea of having strings on these songs turns from an expensive gamble to a joy...next song..Its a Miracle..the string arrangement takes this tune to a surprising, yet familiar place...a 70's Birmingham Discotheque...perfect. Third song ..Usually...a big orchestral job is done on this one...it takes us into the early hours..sounded wonderful...and then they were gone..such a good day, yesterday...still feel elated today..apparently the planets were aligned last night...hmmm....more of the strange and wonderful world of the Trash Cans to follow...Stephen will be in touch...

Love

John

update - may 8, 2002

tcs are nearly done with the recording but have been out of the studio for the past week and a half due to scheduling conflicts. they head back on monday the 13th for four days, which is hopefully enough time to complete everything. below are some pictures of the band rehearsing with the string players on april 4, mentioned in john's update above.

paul, stephen and frank before rehearsal

frank keeps a watchful eye over paul rehearsing with the string players

the rehearsal continues...

update - may 20, 2002

hello again. stephen is away in spain, so you get me instead. sorry girls.

in a way, it's inappropriate for me to be reviewing the last week, inasmuch as it was mostly spent recording lead vocals, and I don't seem to hear these vocals the way the others in the band do or the way all you out there hear them, so I could be wrong in thinking my voice transported all who heard it, and that the performances were truly beautiful - magical, even. now that i think about it, it is a bit weird that stephen chose to go on holiday this week of all weeks.

most of the songs are ready to be mixed in the middle of june, though there are three songs still to be sung (lyric difficulties) and a few backing vocal niceties to drape over the whole thing before we can tuck away the microphones for good. on the whole, the vocals were pretty easy to do - thanks go to the robust backing track for that - and the only real difficulty we came up against was my tendency to stamp my feet whilst singing, creating a subliminal thump that would have driven the audiophiles insane. since i refused to calm down or to take off my shoes, duncan had to make technical allowances. it was either that or new, deep shag carpetting.

norman blake from the teenage fanclub (www.teenagefanclub.com) came in on friday to sing harmonies on one of the songs. without getting too gossipy, he drives a honda civic (best car in the world) badly, sings in the dark, has a great rock'n'roll voice, was born the day before me, and chews chewing gum a lot. we thought him a real friendly charm, and his voice sounds just beautiful.

car trouble: on thursday, paul was going to receive a driving lesson around the studio car park but he turned the key with too much enthusiasm and broke the starting motor. the next day i skidded off the road at 10 m.p.h. and into some trees. paul is suspected of foul play - he wants me out and norman in.

john's portrait-in-progress of tcs at work in the studio continues to cause great controversy. paul says his legs are too short for his body, i look like an elf in the corner, stephen is unhappy at resembling davie and vice versa, and duncan wants more hair. we all agree, however, that john has captured the studio equipment perfectly, and that he shows great technical promise - like hitler.

i moved into a new flat in the southside of glasgow last wednesday. at the very moment i was signing the lease and collecting my keys, a fifth of the world’s population tuned in to see an aerial shot of my new neighbourhood on their television sets. the european champion’s league final between real madrid and bayer leverkusen was the occasion everyone was tuning into, but it could be construed as a sign of forthcoming global significance for the trash cans. i thought the germans would win the game, but they were beaten badly by franco’s fascists. after the game was over, i left the pub to go wave in the rain at a line of volkswagon cars draped with droopy loser flags, but got little response to my sonsie, scots cheer. maybe it was a mistake to sign a year’s lease to a flat at the notoriously unlucky end of Hampden Park.

well, until the next time, keep up the postings. and if there's anything you want us to do for you, let us know and we'll get stephen to do it as a penance for enjoying himself.

lots of love,

frankie
x

update -june 14, 2002

tcs have finished recording 12 songs, the vocals were completed today. there is one additional song for the strings players to finish. album mixing starts tomorrow and is expected to take 10-12 days, which puts the final completion around the first week of july.

update - june 23, 2002

Hello everyone, this is Stephen Douglas (finally) at your service, out in the ether – at ease! at ease!

I was in Andalucia recently for some R&R so I’ve been unavailable for comment on TCS manouvres. While gone, I saw Spanish churches with fonts made from huge shells and, on the horizon, my first glimpse of our cradle – the motherland, etc. etc. – Africa. "So much perspective"!

I’m going back to my roots next month by wearing a kilt in the ‘modern Douglas’ tartan. I’m an usher at my pal’s wedding and he’s got me playing drums in one of the hymns. Very surreal! What he doesn’t know is I’m planning a drum roll when the minister asks ‘Will you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife….?’ Oh well, I’ve always got ‘Songs of Praise’ to fall back on.

Back in the studio, the recordings are nearing the home strait. Lots of harmonies making us dizzy in between World Cup matches. Some strange goings on around the studio have even got us thinking that the recordings have an unknown power. A freak fire, rains of biblical proportions and a frog at the door at midnight – it can only mean one thing; we’re good.

Paul has mastered spinning drumsticks between his fingers, so he’s on drums for our Van Halen album – I’m only coming in if we do ‘Jump’.

Back soon, no flipping!

Stephen.

update - july 4, 2002

dear all,

album mixing continues apace. so far, 6 songs are at the completed (read:completed-for-now) stage, and they are:

"weightlifting" - a new son of the god somnus (aka hypnos), that insists - as all songs seem to do these days - that everything will be "alright". we'll see, though.

"usually" - a sunny saturday morning spent charity shopping left john with a sick attraction for old ladies. in this song, he asks for forgiveness, so help him his god. (in reality, a song about mourning)

"welcome back" - no-one knows more than the tcs that it's harder to fail in music than it looks. this stubborn song reminds some that blowing one's own brains out takes a better marksman than they.

"freetime" - you try mixing a glockenspeil so that it doesn't sound twee and see how long you're in the studio. this tune and its lyrics go hill-climbing in arran with now-absent friends harmony and sense.

"got carried away" - short film in which paul gets sent a get well soon card from frank. with norman blake as the postman he loved.

'"country air" - the string section, the sighing vocal, music's first pastoral wah-wah guitar. somerfield supermarket chain's next ad.

i hope everyone enjoyed the world cup. i won £12 because i bravely predicted ronaldo would finish top scorer. john did 'bet'ter: he predicted a germany-brazil final way back at the start. can you believe he only won £25 for such an audacious wager? now is his winner of discontent. hey john-boy, don't you know - you gotta bet big to win big. actually, he seems happy enough. real benson and hedges for a week!

we hope to have another update for everyone in a week's time. until then, cheerio.

love,

francis r.
x

note: tcs head back into the studio on saturday (july 7) to record strings for one final song and more album mixing.

update - august 10, 2002

since frank's update above, tcs went back into the studio on july 7-8, intending to record strings for "what women do to men" and finish mixing the remaining songs. as it turns out, the strings players were unable to record, and the band was able to mix 2 additional songs: "all the dark horses" and "it's a miracle we got anywhere at all". "i got soul" (i.e. "the j. geils band song") has also been recorded (twice) and mixed (twice), but the band thinks the song just doesn't quite work, so it has been moved aside for now. in addition, "prisons," a song which the band debuted in concert last october, was actually not recorded during these sessions.

what remains are the strings mentioned above, and the mixing of "what women do to men", "leave me alone" and "trouble sleeping", which will give tcs 11 songs for the record. it's possible there could be some addition re-recording or even recording of another song or two down the road, but for now tcs aim to complete these 11 songs before moving on.

tcs have time booked in the studio august 19-21 when they hope to finish up. look for more information and probably a band member update shortly afterwards.

update - september 26, 2002

to all readers,

hello again. it’s been another gloriously sunny wednesday in glasgow, and i’m sitting now in the house with a touch of autumnal sunstroke, listening to mix after mix from the now-complete recording sessions at riverside studios. the neighbours across the street are again watching my every move, and while it’s a poor substitute for the adoration of millions, it feels right to be looked at.

the first thing that strikes me listening to the songs (after “how do we pay this studio bill?") is that there are thirteen of them, and that maybe we should try and work out how many of them should be on the cd. “thirteen! or ten! or eight, or two! just release something” i hear you say. “let us hear them first and we’ll tell you which ones are crap!” i hear you say. “write some more songs and delay the album another year!” i hear you say. there is no doubt but that we wish we could accomodate you all and relieve all your impatiences. as it is, we have almost gotten to the point where such things as songs, mixes and even running order are decided, but some songs require further mixing. boo to you too. meanwhile, friends in the finer arts are working on sleeve ideas.

again, i’d like to say thanks to everyone who has contributed words of encouragement (and frustration) for all your support and continued anticipation. we are working with the means at our disposal to bring you this (we think) very pretty record as soon as possible. to while away your time meanwhile, why not write in your questions to band member paul. he has agreed to be the first trash can to be grilled about anything and everything you choose. admin will collect all the questions submitted by october 11th and pop ‘em to paul. or you could write to your elected representative declaring your abhorrence of any war against the bogey men of iraq. whatever you think most important.

lots of love,

francis r.

update - december 8, 2002

tcs return to riverside studios on december 27-28 to hopefully complete all recording and tape transfers. they expect to re-record 'it's a miracle we got anywhere at all' as well asome vocals and music for a few other songs. the tape transfers are to prepare for additional remixing.

update - january 18, 2003

tcs went back into the studio on december 27-28 to re-record the music for "it's a miracle we got anywhere at all" and the vocals for "weightlifting." they're going back for another half day on january 21 to re-record the vocals on "freetime." after that, the recordings of 11 new songs will be completed and the next step is to have the tracks remixed, which is expected to happen in the next couple of months.

during december and january they also spent time compiling the new demos cd zebra of the family, capped off by three days in dalrymple, ayrshire in early january working on the final mixing and sequencing.

update - april 27, 2003

during late march/early april, tcs were in london to convert the weightlifting master recordings to pro tools format for later remixing. the band hopes to remix the album this spring. there are actually 12 songs recorded for the album:
1. what women do to men 4. all the dark horses 7. it's a miracle we got anywhere 10. country air
2. free time 5. a coda 8. welcome back 11. leave me alone
3. got carried away 6. trouble sleeping 9. usually 12. weightlifting