Every week, we’ll be posting a new illustration by David Lester. The Mecca Normal guitarist is visually documenting people, places and events from his band’s 36-year run, with text by vocalist Jean Smith.
Recording “Cyclone” in Germany in the ’90s was one of the more chaotic situations Mecca Normal has ever ended up in. And when I say ended up in, I suppose it was my fault. After Peter Jefferies and I met at a festival in Holland, he made his way to southern Germany by train to play piano in our spontaneously booked (me again) recording session. I wanted our tour manager Dirk Hugsam to play acoustic guitar and, as basically a non-guitar player, he somewhat reluctantly obliged. Then I had to dream up some lyrics. Whether it all works is debatable, but it is a document of an exciting time for all of us. Touring and recording in Europe in the ’90s. Der Spiegel and Rolling Stone running in-depth pieces on our doings.
A different kind of cyclone struck in January as my paintings sales increased unexpectedly. Details here!
“Cyclone” from Sitting On Snaps (Matador, 1995) (download):
