Just four weeks to go to P-Day! This morning I got a parcel through the post. I tore open the jiffy bag, and there it was: the finished book in its dust cover, all ready for the shelves. It really was the strangest  moment. I guess those 308 pages represent a large chunk of the past four years of my life. Yes, it really is that long ago – March 2006 – when James and I first discussed my idea for Different Country, Same State. Now it’s finally lying on my kitchen table!

James performs Slade cover 'Coz I Luv You'

I caught up briefly with Johnny (bass guitar) and Karl (drums) at a West London recording studio this week and they seem as excited as I am about the book. By coincidence, while I was chatting to them a messenger delivered another parcel: the full Some Kind of Trouble album. It’s not had its final mix yet – I think James is doing that right now in California – but for the band it was the first time they’d heard it in its (almost) final form. What do I think? It’s a big departure from Bedlam and All The Lost Souls, but for me it’s the best album of all three. There’s a couple of tracks in particular that a) send shivers down my spine and b) I can’t get out of my head. One in particular that features strongly in the final pages of my book is his most haunting song to date. Yes, that includes You’re Beautiful and GML!

Bassist Johnny Garrison poses with a James Blunt fan

Over a beer, I asked Johnny and Karl if they are excited about the prospect of a new world tour, which they think will start in the New Year. Here’s what they said:

Karl lives in his native Birmingham, but Johnny’s much more difficult to run to ground because he’s moved to Copenhagen. He commutes from here to London and to the United States.  He told me what he’s been up to since the tour ended last year:

But releasing his own album is not the only important thing that’s happened to Johnny in recent months – he’s become a daddy!

There seems to have been a lot of breeding going on… Ben (lead guitar) and his wife Sam had a boy just after the end of the last world tour. Now Karl tells me he’s also got in on the act…

What have they been feeding these boys? Will James become a daddy, too (leave a comment and let us know what you think)? At this rate they’re going to need two tour buses – one for the band, and one for the crèche following on behind!

They’ve both read Different Country, Same State and I ended by asking them what they think of it:

Who else is looking forward to publication day?