Snow Patrol are currently at work on their fifth album in Ireland with Jacknife Lee, but they've run into a problem: bats, or a "a jet-black spasm of vibrating madness," according to front-man Gary Lightbody.
In a posting on the band's blog, Lightbody gave fans a rundown of every new record he's been listening to (Death Cab, Crystal Castles, Bon Iver, Ladytron, if you care), just how hilarious he thinks 30 Rock is, and, yes, the band have been plagued with bat problems in their studio while recording the follow-up to 2006's trillion-selling Eyes Open.
The posting reads:
We are in the depths of Ireland living in a little house by a lake making guitar shaped noise by day and making guitar shaped pasta by night. As the sun goes down the bats come out. They swoop just outside the bay windows of the living room and we watch and ohh and ahh. Two nights ago tom closed the window after I joked about the potential chaos that would ensue if one flew through it. A Keystone Cops style flapping of wings and arms and shouting and bumping into each other no doubt. Well still with that ringing in my ears I when to my room turned on the light to find what?.... Yes, a bat. Although, at first, to the naked eye it was no more than a jet-black spasm of vibrating madness. My brain filled in the gaps pretty quickly though. I guess it goes through the list of things pretty fast. Crow? Too small. Small evil spirit? Well put that in the maybes. Bat? Oh yeah. There are three human reactions to a frenzied scene like that: panic or calm or violence. Now, Im many things but Im not violent. Only towards flies and wasps, they can fuck off. So that leaves calm or panic. Hmmm, well I tend to teeter on the side of panic at all times and this was no different.
Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh, bat! I proclaimed with manliness aplenty. The calm was introduced by our good friend, drum tech and general legend Graemo Hunter who, after getting the video camera, turned the lights off and let the wee fella chill right down. Chill he did and we next found him clinging to the towel hanging from my door shivering scared poor thing. A few slow movements and an open window later and he was out among his bat pals again chasing bastarding flies and what not. We have it on video. Well put it up on the site soon enough or save it for something else but you will see it and more besides. During our stay in that house by the lough in Co. Galway there were five bats flapping up the place. Ok, it might have been the same bat, he may well have lived in the house and it was him trying to get us to fuck but out he went each time. Graemo worked out an ingenious lights off, door open, door closed, lights on system that seemed to do the trick. If it werent for our Graeme wed be covered in bats still. Clothed in them. Like the batsuit but made of live bats and no superhero within.
Weve now moved away from the bats and frogs (oh there were frogs too, a stagnant swimming pool saw to that, frogs are marvellous, we made them ramps to get in and out of the receding water in the filthy pool) to right bang in the geographical centre of the island of Ireland to start the album. The first week is behind us and things are going great. Some loveliness is happening and its very exciting to hear songs Ive been demoing over the last year or more spring to noise covered life.
Snow Patrol vs. Grey's Anatomy
In a posting on the band's blog, Lightbody gave fans a rundown of every new record he's been listening to (Death Cab, Crystal Castles, Bon Iver, Ladytron, if you care), just how hilarious he thinks 30 Rock is, and, yes, the band have been plagued with bat problems in their studio while recording the follow-up to 2006's trillion-selling Eyes Open.
The posting reads:
We are in the depths of Ireland living in a little house by a lake making guitar shaped noise by day and making guitar shaped pasta by night. As the sun goes down the bats come out. They swoop just outside the bay windows of the living room and we watch and ohh and ahh. Two nights ago tom closed the window after I joked about the potential chaos that would ensue if one flew through it. A Keystone Cops style flapping of wings and arms and shouting and bumping into each other no doubt. Well still with that ringing in my ears I when to my room turned on the light to find what?.... Yes, a bat. Although, at first, to the naked eye it was no more than a jet-black spasm of vibrating madness. My brain filled in the gaps pretty quickly though. I guess it goes through the list of things pretty fast. Crow? Too small. Small evil spirit? Well put that in the maybes. Bat? Oh yeah. There are three human reactions to a frenzied scene like that: panic or calm or violence. Now, Im many things but Im not violent. Only towards flies and wasps, they can fuck off. So that leaves calm or panic. Hmmm, well I tend to teeter on the side of panic at all times and this was no different.
Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh, bat! I proclaimed with manliness aplenty. The calm was introduced by our good friend, drum tech and general legend Graemo Hunter who, after getting the video camera, turned the lights off and let the wee fella chill right down. Chill he did and we next found him clinging to the towel hanging from my door shivering scared poor thing. A few slow movements and an open window later and he was out among his bat pals again chasing bastarding flies and what not. We have it on video. Well put it up on the site soon enough or save it for something else but you will see it and more besides. During our stay in that house by the lough in Co. Galway there were five bats flapping up the place. Ok, it might have been the same bat, he may well have lived in the house and it was him trying to get us to fuck but out he went each time. Graemo worked out an ingenious lights off, door open, door closed, lights on system that seemed to do the trick. If it werent for our Graeme wed be covered in bats still. Clothed in them. Like the batsuit but made of live bats and no superhero within.
Weve now moved away from the bats and frogs (oh there were frogs too, a stagnant swimming pool saw to that, frogs are marvellous, we made them ramps to get in and out of the receding water in the filthy pool) to right bang in the geographical centre of the island of Ireland to start the album. The first week is behind us and things are going great. Some loveliness is happening and its very exciting to hear songs Ive been demoing over the last year or more spring to noise covered life.
Snow Patrol vs. Grey's Anatomy
