The Twilight Sad have finalized a 29 date North American tour with Japanese post-rockers Mono that should kick off in LA on May 7th. Sadly the volcanic ash cloud has forced Frightened Rabbit to cancel part of their 26 date headline tour with the band still stuck in London. Details on both tours below:
The Twilight Sad will return to the US for the first time since last year’s massively successful FatCat Scotland tour with Frightened Rabbit and We Were Promised Jetpacks. Providing the volcanic ash cloud clears, their tour will start in LA and head clockwise through Canada, the Midwest, New York and down to Texas. Full tour information and ticket links are below.
‘Hare band’ Frightened Rabbit were scheduled to play at the Coachella Festival in California on Saturday afternoon. Tomorrow they should have been in Texas but frustratingly the band are waiting it out in a Heathrow travelodge evoking visions of Alan Partridge. At the moment the band are hopeful that they will make it out to the States for this weekend’s gig at The Masquerade in Atlanta. We will keep you updated in the comments section below or you can follow the band’s tweets at twitter.com/fRabbits
If Frightened Rabbit do make it across the Atlantic, a look at their tour schedule at Scotland on Tour shows that their path should cross with The Twilight Sad somewhere near Salt Lake City on the 13/14th of May.
In August 2008, James from The Twilight Sad and Scott from Frightened Rabbit had a chat with Billy Hamilton about singing in the Scottish accent, Limmy and Scottish success overseas:
Well, we’re in Edinburgh and it’s the Fringe Festival. Have you had any chance to see shows?
James Graham (JG): Nah, I’ve no money at all.
Scott Hutchison (SH): I went to see Limmy last week.…
Who?
SH: You don’t know Limmy?? Aw man, where’ve you been? If we’re talking about Scottish stuff he’s the funniest guy about at the moment. He’s got a website and he does all these podcasts and videos. It’s just wee characters that you’d definitely know if you lived in Glasgow or anywhere in Scotland really. He’s got this one character whose an ex-junkie called Jacqueline McCafferty.
JG: [shouting in coarse Glaswegian accent] Jacqueline, Jacqueline McCafferty.
SH: And he’s got another character called John Paul the Ned who’s brilliant. You should definitely go check him out.
JG: I can’t afford to.
SH: I’ll take you as a wee treat then.
JG: Aww… thanks.…
The Limmy Show
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-f1gmiGt30
…
With the brogue being ‘in vogue’, so to speak, I take it you see it as a good thing that folk here are singing in their own accents rather than using that faux-American drawl bands used to put on?
SH: I don’t sing in the same strength of accent as [James] does but I find that when I’m singing one of their songs I start [puts on his finest Weegie accent] strengthen’ it up a wee bit, eh. But I think there’s no other way of singing [The Twilight Sad] songs than like that.
JG: I do roll my r’s a wee bit but I never really think about it.
SH: You know there’s these American bloggers out there who call him Groundskeeper Willie?
JG: Aye, Groundskeeper Willie – fucking brilliant eh? But I’ve never really thought about singing in an accent.
SH: I don’t know why I sing with an accent either – I’d never heard his band before I started Frightened Rabbit and I’d never hear Popup either.
JG: Nah, I’d never heard Popup either, in fact I don’t think I’ve heard them to this day. Or have I? I think we’ve played with them…[ponders this for a minute].
SH: Anyway, moving on…If I’m singing about things that are happening in my own life then there’s no way I could be honest about it if I’m singing in another accent. If I put on an American accent then it wouldn’t work at all and people wouldn’t believe it.
JG: Aye, these songs are about us and there’s nae point in trying to do it any other way.…
It’s well known that The ‘Twilights’ rose to prominences in the States before being picked up here, whereas I remember seeing Frightened Rabbit a multitude of times in various venues over the past few years. Considering your pathways, is it strange you’re now both on an equal par now in the States?
JG: Aye we had an American release out before we’d put anything out and then we toured there for a bit and then we came here. I quite glad we did that in many ways.
SH: It’s kind of unique to Fat Cat to be honest. So many labels think you have to work on the UK before you have a chance of making it in the States and that’s why you have the stupid pressure of cracking America or whatever. If you just go there and work like you do over here it’s probably going to happen – they fucking love Scottish music, in fact they love Scottish ‘things’. [James laughs] They do man, they love everything about Scotland.
JG: The thing is; if there’s a buzz about a British band in Britain the American’s don’t really give a fuck. But if there’s a buzz about a British band in America then it all filters back.Full interview at The Line of Best Fit, September 2008. Article by Billy Hamilton.
Buy The Twilight Sad at iTunes
Buy Frightened Rabbit at iTunes
www.myspace.com/thetwilightsad
www.myspace.com/frightenedrabbit
The Twilight Sad – The Room
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWKMv-nHKbw
Frightened Rabbit -The Wrestle
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMx4ldoQksw
Photo Credit: Tim Griffin