KIDS IN GLASS HOUSES vocalist Aled has checked in once more from the studio in El Paso where the band are recording their follow-up to 2008’s Smart Casual.

Don’t forget the guys are streaming their antics in the studio live each night from 8pm UK time. You can tune in HERE. Anyway, over to Aled…

Yesterday was shaping up to be a fairly standard day of tracking drums. After an 8 hour din of dum, dum, tsh, kaa, dum, dun, kah, tshtshtshtshtsh kah, I was feeling pretty brain numb. Alas, we were paid a visit by Tony Rancich, man of the hour and owner of sonic ranch, re: our request for ‘liquor’ – which to you and me, means dirty spirits. After 4 days on the coors light to little or no relief, we decided to take it up a notch. Tony then turned up with a bottle of Grey Goose vodka, a bottle of Crown Royal (Pantera approved) whiskey and some ultra limited Jose Cuervo Tequila which came in it’s own wooden box with some hand numbering and a signature. It probably has its own zip code and mortgage too. As well as this basket of treats he brought along some cookies and a box of 50 caliber bullets. So it’s just another day in the… Woah now. Yes. 50 caliber bullets. American dream shit. So tomorrow we’re going to go into the desert and have a standoff. This could well be my last post from El Paso. I may well be dead by noon. If this is the case, know that I love you all very much and that I keep my cash in a turtles bum bag under my bed.

Needless to say, shit’s about to get a little bit real.

Spent a bit of my time chilling with a raccoon yesterday. Joel took some sweet pictures of this glowing eyed babe, which I will sling up soon. There’ve been no more snake sightings, but we are making tasty breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper and early hours snack for mosquitos around here. Joel’s taken the brunt, but we’re all taking a fair battering. They just made my list of things to shoot today.

We’ve got a bit of spare time this morning so we’re going to head up to tinseltown – some plastic looking mall off the interstate. Hopefully this will aid me in spending money on anything other than crunchy cheetos, which leave some corrosive and seemingly permanent orange residue on my fingers, but taste so damn good. I think I need me some rootin’ tootin’ boots.

We’re about half way through the drum tracking. We’ve done 6 songs and they sound smuge. Phil’s been slaying it daily. We should be done with drums by friday night, when we’re heading out to see Sparta play. Jim ward popped by our studio today to say hello. He has an affinity with Welsh people and used to have a Welsh flag sticker on his guitar while he was in at the drive-in. He invited us along to check out his town and show us around. Every person here is ridiculously nice and interesting and are making sure we get the most out of our time here, which we’re amazingly grateful for. Left to our own devices, we’d probably never leave the pool or see any of the real El Paso or tornillo so it’s pretty sweet to get to do so many unique things in this incredible place. There was a bit of a sandstorm yesterday. Things you just never see in the Welsh valleys. We’d never in our wildest dreams EVER expected to be somewhere like this and its such an extraordinary experience.

I’m getting excited for the NFG and reading/leeds shows now. I had a dream last night that we did reading and everything that possibly could have gone wrong, went wrong. Phil left stage after the first chorus of dance all night and when i asked him why, he said he didn’t realise he had. Spin out. Maybe i have a tropical fever or malaria is driving me to insanity.

Anyway, I’m going to shower and count my dollars before splurging them like some sadsack tourist bastard on useless crap that take up precious space and weight in my suitcase.

America. Fuck. Yeah.

Aled xxx

Miss update 1? CLICK HERE.