It’s our day off and I’m walking down Beale Street in Memphis. A thriving tourist hub, rich in music history. I’m being bombarded with live blues and soul music, it booms proudly out of every single bar. I take a seat in an open-air club and am blown away by an incredible covers band. They’re taking requests so I decide on Higher And Higher by Jackie Wilson and Across 110 Street by Bobbie Womack. Both classics I discovered amongst my dad’s extensive soul collection as a kid. After a maximum of one minute of conferring, the band have apparently worked out the riffs and they bust out the tracks perfectly, the singer simply remembering all the lyrics with no aid (Christ, I barely remember our own lyrics half the time). Now yes, I could have really tested ‘em by requesting There’s A Price On Your Head by Enter Shikari… but still, I was blown away by their musicianship and talent.

Onward to Nashville. Another city, of course, with a rich musical heritage.

It’s back to work, though, and in soundcheck we talk about slipping No Sssweat (a track from our first album) back into the set. Chris has some issues remembering his bass lines, so we decide to park the idea for a few days time so we can polish it. We’ll never have the speed of a covers band in Memphis!