Bloggity Bloggity Blog Blog

I don’t know how Alex does it – the constant blogging (often more than once a day) – admittedly, he has six years of practice backing him up, but even so I can’t understand where he gets the time or the energy to live his life in such a fashion that blogging nearly every day is a viable option.

Guess I’m just boring.

So here’s what’s been happening at Tom Milsom HQ recently:

-We’ve been working on the website, doing some things that make it easier to use, some to make it harder*

- We’ve been making a brand new Hexachordal video ready for uploadin’ tomorrow

- We’ve been decorating the Milsom house with trees and sparkle

- We’ve been searching for a cure to Leukemia**

- OH YEAH WE WENT TO AMERICA

On December 10, I set off to New York with Alex Day. Charlie McDonnell and the magnificent Eddplant to meet the one they call Mickeleh in Manhattan***. After two days of professional dicking about, we settled down to play a gig at Gizzi’s Coffee on W 8th Street, and my God what an event. Ed opened superbly. Alex played a blinding set (even if I did forget the words to No Sacrifice again, which I still feel terrible about), and Annie Dinerman, who was the poor lady trapped between us in the set-listing, held her own and kept the audience attentive, no mean feat for someone who wasn’t British, male or cute, when that was what the audience had gathered for.

Still, there was more than enough of that to go around after Annie played. I started my set, and about halfway through, due to overwhelming demand, I let Charlie get up and play a few songs. I am so glad  I did.

Never before have I experienced anything quite as similar to what Beatlemania must’ve been like. I may never again. The audience would not stop screaming. It was hilarious and terrifying in equal measure. It made my trip. I think it made Charlie’s too, after he’d had a while to calm down.

The crowd was ravenous for merch. Did I mention the size? 125 people where 30 were expected. We completely sold out of every single thing we’d brought to sell. We made what the folks in the biz call ‘a killing’.

We dicked around for two more days, met meekakitty, mimsiesky, colormekristen and Liane (as in the Awesome Girl), spent lots of lovely time with Mike and Michael (Aranda – a charming and beautiful fellow who I strongly recommend. Five stars) then went home again. It was great.

We plan to do another bout of US shows in the summer, just before Vidcon. Hope to see you there!

Tom

*only one of these directions is intentional – hindsight is a wonderful thing. Foresight moreso, but it’s a lot scarcer around these parts.

**And it isn’t more cowbell. We’ve tried.

***Mickeleh in Manhattan, as it happens, is the title of my low-budget remake of Sleepless in Seattle