(Julia) Thoughts on the Bedford gig this week, and gigs in general

My first ever gig (age 18) was at the Kashmir Klub in Marylebone. The venue no longer exists in that incarnation which is a terrible shame, as it brought together music and silence and appreciation and drama and atmosphere in a unique way, and is much missed. It was a series of dimly lit caves and a small open space with tables and Italian food and a good deal of cigarette smoke which wrapped itself around you. My memories are predominantly of an enveloping dark which allowed the music to kind of glow inside it. I have the recording of my first ever performance (a Thursday night, solo, only one song, in C sharp minor, some maudlin girlie elegy or other); I was shaking so mcuh when I played that my voice is barely audible on the cd. I fell in love with the Kashmir Klub and for a long time could always be found there, sometimes playing, other times not.

Tony Moore ran the nights there with this incredible passion and dedication, and when he moved to the Bedford of course we (as Second Person) played there. He and his fantastic team were nice enough to let us film our live DVD there two years ago, and it was an omission on our part not to have played there since, because when we returned on Tuesday we realised it's pretty much second to none in terms of ambiance and sound. My mind always goes a bit blank after gigs for some reason, but that same enveloping dark, and peace, and small lights flickering on tables, and the way the audience really listens - all the things I remember from the Kashmir - they are all there at the Bedford. We will certainly not leave it another two years before playing there again. Massive thanks are due to Tony and to Dale Hanson who engineers the sound so exquisitely.

(Mark) Thoughts on MTV playing "Wood"

There are a few things that you dream about as a young musician, one of those is hearing your song on the radio for the first time and another is being played on MTV. The channel in those days was way of life, something you watched as a lifestyle choice and, more importantly, a massive stamp of approval "this band is big news!". It had the power to make and break bands and the stadium bands of the early 90s have a lot to thank MTV for. Things have changed a lot since then, more and more music channels have sprung up and websites like YouTube have delivered people more choice than ever. MTV itself no longer plays music videos - it's become an entertainment channel, but it does operate a number of MTV branded channels that do still play videos. To be played on any one of these channels feels like an amazing achievement...I would say something to tell the grandchildren about, but I fear an explanation of what MTV (and indeed TV) was would be required before getting a response from them at all.

Since we are described as "Post Trip-Hop" MTV have decided to put us where Trip-Hop is traditionally played - The Club Chillout sections on MTV Dance. We'd never considered our music "dance" but actually this is great, it's a testament the cross-over nature of what we're doing. The next step is to actually cross-over on to MTV2, VH1, and the other music channels...easier, apparently, than moving the other way. What is even more amazing about this is they chose a video we wrote and directed ourselves.

"Bands should stick to making music and leave the other stuff to the people who are actually good at it." This is something I was told only a few months ago, there is some truth in this but we'd be very happy to be the exception. Let's see how things go over the next few months.