Fishin' For Compliments

Ah, 2006 – and Balustrade are back! The Batch at Batheaston was the venue for the first Balustrade practice session of the new year, and the lads had their own critical audience this evening as they prepared for the up-coming recording sessions for the debut album. Two belligerent fish (named Joe and … I forget… they’re not my fish…) were witnesses to this momentous occasion.

In the annals of music history, it has been well documented that fish have played a massive role in shaping modern music – indeed, who can forget the notorious story about Elvis Presley’s first version of In The Ghetto, which was a seventeen-part opera sung entirely in Flemish until The Colonels faithful fishy Fred told Elvis exactly what kind of Christmas the poor kids would be getting if he released that pile of rancid guff… the rest, as they say, is history!

Anyway, the two fish who were witnesses to Balustrade this evening are most certainly discerning types who’ve got the blues in their blood. “Foolin”m “In The West Country” and “West Country Blues” all went down very well indeed, and found the watery twosome chasing each other round their tank and generally having a whale of a time. Indeed, when I flopped out my organ (mouth organ, that is) they positively tried to leap out of the tank and howl at the moon. Which is a good thing!

However, during the embryonic future b-side “Song For A Sixth Form Poet”, both fish hid behind their bridge. Fair enough. Neither did they like the folksy/whimsical “Love Songs For Travelers” or Idlewild cover “Goodbye”. Oh well, you can’t have everything.

Suffice to say that it’s good to be back, and we promise to keep our blog a little bit more up to date from not on…. Chack back regularly and make sure you read our separate “Albums Of The Year” colums which we posted over Christmas… honest…

Carts Gonzales.