A brief reminder, should any be necessary, that we have two album launch gigs coming up in London and Medway this weekend.  If you’re in London, get yourself down/up to The Flowerpot (halfway between Kentish Town and Camden tubes) for 9pm on Friday.  This is a free gig and there are no support acts, so be there early to avoid missing out.

On Saturday night we head back down to The Medway Towns for a Crooked Family evening of Fight Folk at the Beacon Court Tavern in Gillingham.  More details in a previous blog post here.  We immodestly think it’s a fantastic line-up and hope you agree… don’t miss the support acts!  The album (and other merch) will be available on both nights.

In other news, we’re receiving positive feedback about the album, which is great to see.  Box sets were dispatched yesterday and we’re up-to-date on all other online orders.  Tour dates for November and December are filling out nicely (check the sidebar).  We’re also working on the next single release, Dorothy Deserves, due early December.

No rest for the Crooked, but we’re enjoying every minute.  See you soON?  x

PS – thanks to everyone who’s supported Jenny.  Keep those votes coming!

As we began the promotional campaign for the album a couple of months ago, I asked Mr Crook to explain its title, themes and artwork.  I included the results in the press release that we issued.  With the album’s release date almost on top of us, I thought it’d be good to put these words in front of a wider audience…

“Like everything in this life, to get the full picture one cannot rely on a single viewpoint or perspective; multiple layers can and should be explored for consideration.  There are Pros and Cons to everything in life.  Nothing is straightforward… nothing of interest, anyhow.  “Eating out” is living outside of your safety zone, being the explorer, the peasant jester, the adventurer.  As a writer, my job has always been to report back my findings.  Along the way I have met many people, some crooked, some straight, some cruel, more often kind.  What I have discovered is that every single person, if the right circumstances present themselves, will happily give themselves up to that animal instinct that burns beneath us, dormant inside of everyone.

“This can, should and probably will at some inappropriate moment come to the surface.  I say take control; learn about these instincts, because that is where the truth of oneself lies.  So too lies the reality of having to return to ‘this world’, the world with its restraints, its etiquette, its anti-instinct.  The safe and constrained environment that we have allowed to form is stupefying us, frightening us into believing that ‘this’ or ‘that’ is wrong or dangerous, when in fact these things are often  natural; more often than not, extremely instinctual.

“Some might look at the artwork that forms the front cover of this album and see something offensive: a depiction of an orgy – the type of thing that happens behind closed doors, dirty, unclean, demonic and sinful.  It is an orgy, true enough, but aside from the fact it looks like damn fine fun to me, it stands for what I am interested in: it is a celebration of not only sex but also the electric energies that can and do exist between people and which reveal what lies beyond the surface, the real feelings that possess us.  On this album, I have revealed myself.  These are my findings, my feelings and interpretations of experiences I’ve had.  This image quite simply encourages the ethos of truth.  That truth can be simultaneously invigorating, uncomfortable and mischievous… that’s no bad thing.”

Part 2, exploring connections, contradictions and anti-authoritarianism, can be found here.  x

A few weeks ago we asked you to give your support to Jenny’s work in regards to the NME Photography Competition. Thanks to your response, she has secured a place in the Finals! I’m pleased to say that of the 2 photographs that have made it into the final stages of this competition, one is the tarred and feathered picture of us, taken earlier this year (see right thumbnail below).

Once again, we’re asking for a moment of your time, so if could spare a moment and place your VOTE for Jenny in this final stage of the Competition, that would be bloody marvelous.

As most of you will know, she has been a avid supporter of our work for over 5 years now, providing documentation both on and off the stage, as well as her always enthusiastic response to the prospect of shooting something a little bit weirder, so its great to return that support – and thats where you come in! Voting ends on the 12th October, so please spread the word far and wide!

PS – if you didn’t work it out above, click on here – VOTE FOR JENNY hARDCORE.

Many many thanks, Mr CroOK.