Diary: Charlie Fink

Charlie Fink the Noah & the Whale frontman on late night tête-à-têtes and a very smelly tour bus
Charlie Fink
5 April 2012

Last month we observed an auspicious trinity of celebrations: St Patrick’s Day in Dublin, the location for our first show of 2012, and also the birthday of our enigmatic Australian drummer Michael.

Generously, I considered this justification to extend our night-time curfew by a full 15 minutes. Pocket money was distributed and after a brief safety announcement, the band was unleashed upon the city. Details of the events that followed are hazy but I understand that The Hangover director Todd Phillips is already trying to negotiate the rights to the screenplay.

Speaking of which, I was recently witness to the latest offering from Mr Phillips, ‘Project X’. The film makes the most implausible use of the most implausible gimmick: the found-footage genre, a fad popularised by The Blair Witch Project that stands shoulder to shoulder with 3D technology and David Cameron in a crackdown on original, engaging cinema.

For me, touring and the cinema are inseparable. I think drummer Charlie Watts summarised perfectly the life of a travelling musician when asked about his tenure with The Rolling Stones: ‘It’s been five years playing and 20 years waiting around.’ I invest this free time in movies. However, this leaves me at the mercy of the local cineplex schedule, often with debilitating consequences. I recall in particular a Seattle matinée screening of Couples Retreat during the autumn of 2009, a film that delivered an exhausting, misanthropic lull so severe that it’s a miracle our show that night ever went ahead. It is therefore my ambition to coincide all future touring with the release of the year’s most eagerly anticipated releases. I have heard rumour that Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master is expected at some point towards the end of 2012, so expect to see Noah and the Whale in a town (and cinema) near you then.

Although it’s actually more likely we’ll be in the studio. Once our current tour concludes at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire later this month, the band’s focus shifts to the next record. We’re starting the writing process on a small island in the Blackwater Estuary. Due to the tides, it’s only accessible by road twice a day. Should either be the perfect level of seclusion or the perfect setting for a horror film...

Tomorrow is a very significant day, too: we will be reunited with our long-serving tour bus. After so much time aboard this fine vessel last year, you would be forgiven for thinking that each and every bunk allocation was enshrined irrevocably in stone. This is not the case, but fortunately I have perfected the art of bunk selection. Step one is to identify the stinkers and the snorers. You must distance yourself from these dormitory outcasts at all costs. Both parties’ symptoms are exacerbated by the touring lifestyle. The snorer will often become more vocal with the consumption of alcohol and the stinker’s odour notoriously matures at an alarming rate when separated from loved ones and easy access to a shower or washing machine. Equally important is to distance yourself from the back lounge or you will regularly be treated to a rousing cacophony of profanities at around 2am when the rivalries on the computer console become increasingly heated or the contrivances of a film’s plotline are eagerly debated.

Proximity to the front lounge is also a no-go. It’s home to less technology, but after a liberal distribution of whisky tends to be the sight of heated academic and political discussion. With an unpredictable balance of humour and aggression it is not uncommon for these woozy tête-à-têtes to see in the sunrise. The sentiment of this forum can be most succinctly summarised as ‘things were better in the old days’.

This idolisation of the past is obviously not restricted to the front lounge of our tour bus and in fact this week marked the return of its most stirring export, Mad Men. Previous seasons have been loyal companions on the road and it’s a thrilling prospect to have Don, Peggy and the gang back with us. However, it seems a shame that so much current broadcasting has such emphasis on nostalgia: Downton Abbey, Boardwalk Empire, The Hour to name but a few. All great, but while the retrospective setting allows for impressive sartorial elegance and striking production design, I think it’s a much more satisfying challenge to achieve this in contemporary surroundings. Just one of the reasons why I enjoyed Sherlock so much.

At this point I feel honour-bound to refrain from any further touring exposés. Some mythical glamour must be preserved. My WikiLeaks dysentery dries up here; I have no plans to be the indie-folk Julian Assange. Better I leave you with the sentiments of the right honourable Willie Nelson when he said, ‘Just can’t wait to get on the road again, the life I love is making music with my friends.’

Noah and the Whale are at the Royal Albert Hall on 16 April and the Shepherd’s Bush Empire on 17 April 17th (noahandthewhale.com)

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in