You know what’s easier than following around your fave pop stars, day in, day out, to see what they’re up to right that minute? Asking them. This month, GEORGE SULLIVAN from TALK SHOW lets us in on what he's up to.
6.30 → Wake up. I've got a new phone and alarm, so I am relieved to hear it going off as expected. Apple has upped their alarm tone game, too; I'm impressed with the soft piano of Unfold. Well done, Apple - you have won over another consumer, and the sun's not even up yet.
6.32 → Tune into Chris Hawkins on Radio 6 just in time to hear him premiere our new single, 'Red/White'. It's the third single from our upcoming album, and it's always a huge buzz to hear our tracks making it onto the radio; you can hear it in a different way than before. Today's 'names in songs' is also very strong.
7.00 → Showered and dressed, cup of tea, porridge (peanut butter and banana) and listening to Jim Legxacy to start the day while I run through emails and social media for the day. That'll do it.
8.07 → Arrive at the train station as my train is pulling in, sprint up the stairs, over the bridge and squeeze into a spot where I can almost comfortably watch Netflix on my phone. I'm finishing The Fall of The House Of Usher at the moment, as I was a huge fan of Haunting of Hill House. Watching it on the train makes it less scary for me. In fact - I can't hack it and end up watching most of it on mute with subtitles. Try to suppress a few screams and find myself with a lot more personal space on the train. Works every time.
9.00 → Arrive at school. I teach music in various schools and youth centres around Newham. I feel very fortunate to be working with young people through music, and I can tell you the future's bright. As a country, we should be putting way more money into community music and youth work. I'd love to talk about this more, but this morning, I am cutting it fine. So, it's time to see what Year 4 violins are saying today.
11.00 → After 2 hours, 30 violins, 60 young violinists and lots of enthusiasm, I retreat to the staff room to remind myself that I feel very fortunate to be working with young people. Coffee.
11.30 → Hop on the underground heading into Central. No Netflix this time. Listening to this week's new releases. There's a new Walt Disco track out; it slaps. Other highlights include Bruiser Wolf and Folly Group, who both released albums this week.
12.00 → Get to Joe Goddard and Al Doyle's studio; I've come to hang out and help while trying to learn some of their secrets for making bangers. It's always great to see them. We set up and test some drum mics; Al shows me some EQ magic on the desk before we take a break for some lunch.
13:00 → Ambitiously order mussels off a pub menu, wonder if I'll regret it.
13:15 → Mussels arrive… Completely fried… I knew I should've gone with the halloumi. Delete 'Be more adventurous' off my lacklustre New Year's Resolution list and punch 'Trust your gut' into the keyboard.
14:00 → Back in the studio. After helping move some furniture and a fridge downstairs, we listen to some of the tracks they've been producing recently. Blown away, to be honest, there's some seriously exciting stuff coming out of that studio this year. Not sure if I can share, but you know who you are!
17:00 → Talk Show video call. Check-in with updates and strategy planning for the week. HQ is currently on Google Meets before we go back to rehearsals next week. Harrison's tuning in from his beautiful new flat, which we're all excited to see. On the agenda tonight is the UK tour in March. We're debating setlists and the best meals to batch-cook for us to live off of in the van for 10 days. Tom's suggesting his classic Caesar salad - no chicken, no anchovies, of course, and Chloe's stuck between a vegetable tagine or cookies. Happy with our decisions on a banging set list and nutritious meal plans to match, we sign off.
18:30 → Get home for the evening. It's spaghetti night, so cook and eat that as quickly as possible. Listening to Drexyia to help.
19:30 → Quickly edit some demo tracks I have been working on my laptop, comparing with some new references I have heard throughout the day. Starting to form some ideas for the new year. Reply to outstanding emails and messages from the day.
20:30 → Tea time. I'm a big fan of herbal teas. I won't bore you, but - Ginger Chamomile and Thyme from MUJI is 10/10. Phone also goes away - I try to keep away from it in the evenings. Vegetate on the sofa for a little while, then laugh and cry through an episode of The Bear; damn it's good.
21:30 → Independent reading time. I'm currently reading Diary Of A Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty. It's a beautifully written book about the author's experiences with nature, and he's only 17. Really mad and would recommend.
22:30 → Lights out, goodnight and thanks for joining me today, Dork.
Taken from the March 2024 issue of Dork. Talk Show's album 'Effigy' is out 16th February.