ASIWYFA: Clutch Tour Diary Final Part

Thursday 25th June started off a lot more peaceful and relaxed than previous mornings. The venue we played the night before in Hamburg had provided us with accommodation in the form of a small but comfortable apartment nearby. Having a proper bed, shower and the knowledge that we did not have the usual mammoth journey ahead of us meant everyone had a comfortable night and in the morning and we all felt at ease. We sat outside a nearby coffee shop for a while, watching the world pass by, chatting over the previous nights gig before we once again boarded the van and hit the road for the final date of the tour in Berlin.

After such an amazing tour it was a shame that the final date did not have the same impact. This was for no particular fault of anyone, rather just several small points (such as the band playing very early whilst most of the crowd were still outside) resulted in a good solid show but not a breathtaking one. If this had of happened at the beginning or middle of the tour then it would have been brushed over, but when it is the final night it is difficult not to dwell on it slightly.

Still, with job done we packed up and heading for a nearby hostel for a few hours sleep before we started another epic journey - driving from Berlin to Belfast without stopping.

This could have been another very arduous drive but we got lucky. The band we had been supporting (Clutch) left early in the morning to fly back to America, meaning their very swish double decker sleeper bus was empty for the journey back to England. We had made friends with the bus driver earlier on the tour and he very kindly offered us entry onto the bus for the journey back, where we could eat and drink whatever supplies Clutch had left behind.

We came up with the plan of taking it in turns to drive the van behind the bus, stopping every few hours to swap driver. Having the space to stretch out, drink a beer, watch a film, get some sleep or just stare out the window was quite literally heaven.

Sadly we left the bus behind at Calais and once again crammed into our van (which seemed even less glamorous after the past 10 hours on the moving hotel), went through the Channel Tunnel and then made the final journey through England and Wales, trip on the ferry and drive up Ireland to finally arrive home in Belfast. Happy, tired, battered, proud but mostly excited about the prospect of future European tours we headed home, another tour completed.

In 12 days we drove approximately 2500 miles, across 9 different countries, playing to and meeting many many new people along the way. Our eternal gratitude goes out to anyone who came to see us play and enjoyed the shows even half as much as we did. Thank you and we will see you again very soon!

Photos couresy Graham Smith

ASIWYFA: Clutch Tour Diary Part Six

The drive from Luxembourg to Cologne should have been quite an easy journey but alas our beloved van decided to throw a little temper tantrum and produce more problems, namely being for a while we could not travel faster than 30mph. Finally the problem appeared to fix itself (for now anyway) and we were back to full speed and arrived in beautiful sunny Cologne only a little later than planned. Another incredibly attentive audience and again the band were flooded with praise after the show. As with most places in the world, an appreciative audience usually means drinks being thrust into your hands from all directions. Luckily the venue had given us accomodation for the night and so we could indulge, some of us perhaps a little too much, in a few beers and mingling with the locals and I am certain we made quite a few new fans / friends.

After quite a restless night we hit the road again on our way to Hamberg. Despite getting decent sleep after the Luxembourg show, general tour fatigue had begun to kick in by now.

We love touring. It is a lot of fun and when things go right it can be massively fulfilling for everyone involved. But it can also be very hard work. Long hours, little sleep, the being away from family, friends and partners and various other factors can sometimes build up and leave people, even if only for a few hours, mentally and physically fatigued. A few more van problems, a navagation issue and several other small issues left us all a little irritable by the time we hit Hamburg. This was a dip in the tour. Their was no massive argument but everyone just got a little quiet and the fun and camaraderie disappeared for a few hours. But, for every dip, their must be a peak.

The peak was the show. The band played possibly the best performance of the tour, blasting through their set with more agression than ever before. This was exactly what was needed. After the gig everyone was back to hugging each other with smiles on our faces. Happiness had been restored and we headed out into the warm Hamburg night for a few beers to celebrate surviving another day on tour.

Images by the amazing Graham Smith

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ASIWYFA: Clutch Tour Diary Part Five

We all agree that Luxembourg is a beautiful country but I suppose it always helps when you arrive in blazing sunshine and get a friendly greeting at the venue. With a backstage area almost as caverous as the actual main hall, we were very well looked after with delicious hot food and all the snacks and drinks any band could ever want.

The first time in a new country is always a little weird for a band, as you never know how the crowd will react. From a performance point of view the band played great, but we were all unsure if the crowd actually enjoyed it as it was mostly polite applause between songs rather than the usual whoops and shouts. Our uncertainty was very much quashed after the gig when our merch table was besieged by new fans who piled praise upon the band and left laden heavy with CDs and shirts. Some incredible things were said to the band and I know they were very touched by the praise. Luxembourg we now officially love you and will make sure to come back again very soon, that is a promise.

After the gig we went camping. Yes, camping. In tents. Sex, drugs and rock'n'roll was swapped for a nice hot cup of tea and snuggling into sleeping bags on a sedate campsite. This was a very wise decision and we awoke refreshed and fully rested (or as rested as you can ever be on tour - approx 5 hours sleep) and were back in the van on our way to Cologne in Germany!

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ASIWYFA: Clutch Tour Diary Part Four

Austria, we apologse and thank you in equal measures. We arrived at the Nova Rock festival site on the Saturday morning. We were not playing until the Sunday. Their was free drink backstage. A LOT of free drink. Can you guess what happened next?

Well, we made an impression, that is for certain. They will not forget us in a hurry, that is a definite. I would write about what actually happened (involving Chris Cornell, Kaiser Cheifs, Fred Durst etc), but I will leave it to your imagination.

Luckily, it appears the Austrians are lovely people and we were forgiven for our (many many) sins and treated so kindly all weekend. The actual gig on the Sunday was well atteneded and although it was marred by some slight technical hitches it seemed to go well.

Next stop Luxembourg!

(Images by Graham Smith)
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ASIWYFA: Clutch Tour Diary Part Three

On Thursday we piled back into the van and drove up North to Leeds for the next date of the tour. Playing to a crowd of about 400 people it seemed like the ideal time to say something from the stage...some of you may have read about the racial attacks back in our home of Northern Ireland. This is something which disgusted us all (and 99.9% of people who live in Northern Ireland) and effected us quite a bit as we had several people ask us about it throughout the day. During the set Tony made a short but passionate statement about these events which was very well received, before launching into a particulrily verocious version of "Clench Fists, Grit Teeth....GO!".

For a few days prior to this gig we were debating what to do about the following few days. Thursday was Leeds in England and the next gig was on Sunday on the far east side of Austria, on the border with Hungary. We could either drive a few hours a day and get accomodation each night or attempt something very silly - driving straight from Leeds to Austria without stopping. We chose the second option.

26 hours. 26 hours in the van. We got out 3 times. For 5 minutes at a time. For fuel and toilets. Apart from that it was 26 hours. 26 hours in the van. 26 hours. That is quite a lot of hours to be in a van. 26 hours. Does it sound like much? It is. 26 hours is a lot. I (Graham Smith, crew) have discovered one thing - ASIWYFA make some of my favorite music of the past few years but they listen to UTTER SHIT music 99% of the time. 26 hours. That is a lot of shit music.

We also discovered that our otherwise perfect van has developed a small but quite annoying problem. It likes to be pushed before it starts up. In heavy rain, somewhere in West Germany when you have not slept for a long time this small problem can be quite irritating.

After a lot of driving and a lot of bad music we finally made it to Nova Rock festival in Austria at about 11pm on the Friday night. Unfortunately, as this was the time Metallica were taking to the stage (and we were not due to play until the Sunday) we were finding it difficult to get our passes and so the decision was taken to park up in a nearby car park and deal with it in the morning. And so we bedded down for a cosy night in the van, earplugs firmly in place for the non-snorers amongst us.

The following morning we came across a slight problem - apparently in Austria they do not like 6 smelly Northern Irish boys sleeping in a van together and the police decided to fine us quite a hefty amount which was made all the more troublesome as they did not speak a word of our language and vice-versa. An hour later it was all sorted and we headed for the festival, this time to be given passes and more importantly Access All Areas which basically means free drink whilst mingling with famous people....a recipe for disaster? Only time will tell.

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ASIWYFA: Clutch Tour Diary Part Two

Phew, what a busy few days. On Tuesday afternoon we hit the road to Portsmouth, a city we very much fell in love with and one which seems to take us to heart judging by the reception from the crowd - thanks so much guys, it was very much appreciated. Plenty of albums were sold at the merch table, be sure to let us know what you think of them.

We celebrated the first show with a few cold drinks at a friends house which ended in playing a game of "hide the last beer" on Rory which kept me amused as he stumbled around like Columbo looking for clues and drawing up a lit of possible suspects.

On Wednesday morning we dragged ourselves, a little bleary eyed and sleepy, to a local greasy spoon for an incredibly unhealthy fried breakfast and some incredibly strong cheap coffee which took care of the hangovers and then it was time to hit the road again!

Next stop was Newport in Wales at a legendary venue called TJs. After soundchecks etc were taken care off we went exploring and found a "Everything is £1" shop were Rory exploded with excitement at all the possible purchases...

Rory : "Is this a pound?"
Us : "Yes Rory, everything is a pound"
Rory : "WOW! What about this?!"
Us : "Yes. One pound"
Rory : "NO WAY! What about this? Surely this could not be a pound?!"
Us : "Yes Rory, everything is a pound. Everything in this shop costs one pound"
Rory : "Even THIS?! This could not be a pound?!"

This continued for a while before we all left the shop laden with goods (which really did cost a pound) including rather fetching shades for Rory and Johnny and a travel pillow for Tony which he insisted on wearing stuck to his neck for much of the evening.

And so back to the venue for the gig where around 300 people had gathered by the time the guys were due to play. The only problem was the size of the stage which was small to begin with but tiny once you got three bands worth of equipment on it. Tony also had a "charming" 6'4 bouncer standing beside him for the whole set. I am still wondering if he worked for the venue or if Tony hired him. Maybe he is slowing building his own rap style entourage.

Despite these small issues the guys played a great set with Chris looking liking he was going to destroy his drumkit on several occasions from how hard he was hitting.

After bidding the lovely people of Wales goodbye we were back on the road, driving through the night back to our friends house in Leicester where I write to you now, sharing a room with Tony and Brian (Tour Manager), listening to what appears to be a snoring competition. For anyone interested Brian was winning most of the night but Tony is definitely coming back strong now with some full-body-shakin snoring.

Next stop Leeds!

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ASIWYFA: Clutch Tour Diary Part One

Hello and welcome to our tour blog. My name is Graham Smith, I work as a photographer and a few other things in the big bad music industry and have been doing stuff with ASIWYFA for a year or so. I will be on the road with the band for the next week and a half whilst we tour with Clutch and do a festival date in Austria and will be blogging as much as possible. Expect photos and video clips to come soon.

We all met up early yesterday afternoon in Belfast for the usual task of squeezing as much gear, merch and sleeping bags into our rather lovely van before heading down to Dublin for a quick meeting and then a ferry across to Holyhead in Wales. Arriving at about midnight we set off on a 4 hour drive to Leicester, with spirits high and the excitement building about the tour - and then Rory got a phonecall and things took a turn for the worse.

It turned out that our soundman for the tour Andy, who we were supposed to meet at Leicester, had went to a party and got a little too exuberant and decided to jump off the roof of the house (as you do at 3am at any party) which ended in him in a bloody messy heap on the ground. Details are sketchy but it looks like broken ribs, stitches in the head and most worrying of all three broken vertebrae.

So, as you can imagine, Andy will not be joining us for the tour which is a huge disappointment to everyone. Andy, if you are reading this, we wish you a very speedy recovery and we will hopefully be on the road together soon. Take care and maybe leave the stunts to Jackass next time ;)

We were supposed to be staying with Andy last night but because of what happened we ended up parking up at the side of a quiet street and all 6 of us (myself, the band and Brian the tour manager) sleeping in a rather hot cramped van. Pure and utter glamour all the way. I feel sorry for the neighbours in the morning when they were greeted with the sight of us tumbling out of various corners of the van.

We are currently sat in a bar in Leicester where they have lovingly given us free tea and showers whilst we collect our thoughts before hitting the road to Portsmouth for the first date of the tour!

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Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About And So I Watch You From Afar But Were Afraid To Ask

The latest from ASIWYFA HQ...

Well, here we are at the end of an epic months touring, we've had more people at the shows this time round than we've ever had before, we've had 7 sold out nights, we've sold almost all our merch and we haven't killed each other. these all add up to make this a very positive time in camp ASIWYFA. Check out Tony's tour diaries for full reports.

Anyway then, no time to be hanging around, here's whats coming up in our ever busier diary -

Clutch Tour - June (UK & EU)

First off.... AWESOME!!! WE'RE GOING ON TOUR WITH CLUTCH!!!!! These guys know how to rock, and we're honored to be joining them on their UK and European leg of this tour. If you're near by please come down and give us hand wrecking the joint. If you're in Europe and are coming down to the show please come and say hello on the night, we've had so much amazing response from mainland Europe to our music and we'd love to meet you all and thank you for the kind words and support.

AU Mag Tour - July (IRE)

Once we're back from Europe we have 3 days off then back to business, AU Mag Irish tour with the mighty Adebisi Shank, both bands have been threatening to tour together for a while now, and a lot of people have been asking if it would ever happen, so here it is. Big shout out to AU mag who are really stepping up to the plate on this one, boarder shmoarder, this tour will melt faces, full stop.

ASIWYFA Headline Tour - Sept/Oct (UK)

We will be heading out for another long one in the UK in Sept and Oct, we're still to announce details on this, so watch this space. Needless to say we'll be playing as many places as we can, bring your hard hat.

This Will Destroy You Tour - Oct (UK)

We're also over the moon to announce we'll be heading off on tour with Texas noise merchants This Will Destroy You in October. Have a nosey on our myspace dates to see where we're playing, and get your tickets now as we hear some of the shows have sold out already.

FESTIVALS

Oxegen: We'll be playing this year's Oxegen festival on the IMRO stage, we're on around 11pm, I think theres some band called Kings of ... something playing on another stage but we ain't heard of them so come see us....ok.

Pukklepop: We jet to Belgium on 21st August to join with the likes of The Jesus Lizard, Faith No More, Placebo, Squarepusher, My Bloody Valentine and a heap more at this years Pukklepop Festival. We get to share the same stage as The Jesus Lizard, nuff said, you know how we feel about this one.

Nova Rock: We do this bad boy during the Clutch tour next month, great slot on the big outdoor stage a few slots below Machine Head! If our teenage selves could see us now. Though we do get to drive from Leeds to Vienna for this one, 2000km, yey, but we get to play with Metalica, Slipknot and Mastadon so it kinda evens out. RAWK.

Truck: We're playing the Sunday at Truck this year, we can't wait, it's top to tail awesome bands, and we get to hang out with a lot of the good folks we've met on tour over the past year, awwww.

Aeon: We headline the Saturday night at this year's Aeon Festival in Devon, it's up for Best Small Festival, Best Grassroots Festival, Best Line Up and Best Loos in this year's UK festival awards. It's 100% independent, it's awesome and this years theme is Sci-Fi.... brilliant.

Glasgowbury: The greatest festival on earth, if you've never been, go. If you have you know what I'm talking about.

Forfey Farm: This will be our last NI appearance for a while, every year this festival is amazing, the vibe is unbeatable, the people are incredible, and it's cheap as chips. We're gonna be doing a day time slot this year, it's gonna be great.

EP and Single - SOLD OUT

We're both happy and sad to announce that we're all sold out of our debut EP "This is Our Machine and Nothing Can Stop it", we had 2,500 pressed up and they're all gone now. We've no plans to re-press this anytime soon, so if you have a copy hold on to it.... or get it up on ebay. We've also sold out of our debut vinyl pressing of double A side single "Set Guitars to Kill/A Little Solidarity Goes A Long Way".

Writing

We're taking a week off after this tour to head to a little house in Sligo, literally in the middle of no where, to get down to some of what we love most, writing some new music. It'll be our second time down there in the past few months and it's such a great place to relax and be away from any distractions. After our last jaunt we came back with 6 new tracks, one of which we've been playing on this tour called "S is for Salamander". We hope it will be a productive and relaxing time, tea cups and cigarettes at the ready boys.

Recording

We will be doing a bit of recording in July, we haven't decided exactly what form these songs will come out as but watch this space, we'll have new music for you very soon, and it's really good.

Album 2 - the plans

We will be recording the new album after the summer at some point, we will announce all the details of this soon, but we have a bunch of tracks we already think out-do anything on the last record, and we can't wait to get them out and to you guys.

JAPAN

We've just heard news from Japan that the record is doing really well over there, if this continues we hope to get out for a tour some time before Xmas, fingers and toes crossed.

THANKYOU

Before we go we just want to say a massive thank you to everybody who's making this possible, to all the people who are coming to our shows, to all the people who are buying our music, to anyone who is spreading the word about our band, to our label for be so supportive and believing in us, to our families and friends who never get to see us any more and still tirelessly support us, to all the promoters, writers, photographers etc who push this band, to the amazing people we meet everyday who give us beds, food and generally treat us with kindness, you are what makes all this possible and we're forever grateful.

ASIWYFA Support Clutch

And So I will be supporting veteran stoner rockers Clutch across the UK and Europe in June as they promote their upcoming new album, Strange Cousins From the West. Here's the dates...

Tue 16 Jun 2009 UK PORTSMOUTH WEDGEWOOD ROOMS
Wed 17 Jun 2009 UK NEWPORT TJ'S
Thu 18 Jun 2009 UK LEEDS COCKPIT
Fri 19 Jun 2009 SCOTLAND GLASGOW KING TUTS
Sun 21 Jun 2009 HOLLAND UTRECHT HELLING
Mon 22 Jun 2009 LUXEMBOURG KULTURFABRIK
Tue 23 Jun 2009 GERMANY COLOGNE UNDERGROUND
Wed 24 Jun 2009 GERMANY HAMBURG MOLOTOW
Thu 25 Jun 2009 GERMANY BERLIN KNAACK