the story so far

bored in a hotel room.

2009-10-26T17:27:00.000-07:00

I think since all of this promo and shite has been finished with I've managed to come out of my shell a bit. I'm more confident with my playing abilities and my songs have received positive feedback so.. I don't even know why I'm talking about all that because, I'm sure you lot are getting sick of listening to everything about the band. So, instead of rambling off about how I'm so grateful for all of my fans ( which you guys should know by now, I hope. :( You all are the loves of my life and I do adore you.. and I AM quite grateful ) and how shows have been going. Instead.. I'm going to let you indulge in a bit of my life.. We should title this.. the grand adventures of Kayla McCarthy! They're adventures but, I dunno about grand.. Ah well, let's continue on our journey.

First thing's first..

Visiting McG:
We've talked about this whole situation since everything happened between us and I'm pleased to admit that it's ACTUALLY possible to remain friends with someone that you've split up with! It wasn't too bad. He was just getting over being sick and I stayed till the film wrapped. Then we headed off to Canada and I went off and did my own thing.. which consisted of me participating in ridiculous shenanigans and crashing at a hotel.

I had a little set-up going here but, I'm already bored with it. I got to visit with a couple more friends in Canada. I saw snow for the first time in ages! So, that was fun!

Now I think that in the next few days I'm going to head down to the States again to visit New York and see End of Summer Flowers.

That consists of my boring life lately. So much for a grand adventure, eh? I got bored right quick. I think I'm going to go order naughty films just to see the look of the bloke's face when I go checkout tomorrow!

Cheers! x Kay

2009-10-14T12:16:00.000-07:00

Good god am I tired.

I know, what a lovely way to start up a blog entry but, really.. I'm absolutely knackered. It's been a roller coaster of a couple of months and I'm finally starting to wrap my head around everything. It's been promotion promotion promotion.. Radio interview after radio interview and then we've got it all wrapped up with meet and greets and now I'm just about to embark on a UK tour which should be brilliant. I'm excited to just reach out and be with the fans. I'm thinking that this is a good way to distract myself, you know?

As I'm sure you've read in Joshua's latest blog post, we've decided to call it quits right now. A long distance relationship is a difficult sort of thing to manage when you're both doing so much for your careers and we're still friends so, that's good, yeah? I'm going to have to work on this going it alone thing but, I'm sure I'll be able to pull through decently.. at least for the time being. I dunno if it's actually had the time to set in but, I'm not too big on actually talking about personal things in here that aren't band related.

So, I hope that I see a bunch of you lot out there and I'm definitely one of those people who like to hang out afterward. I like to talk and make new friends so that'll be awesome and if you don't have me added on twitter you should get 'round to doing that because, even though my life is kind of boring I have fun with it. Love you lot!!

xxxx Kay

2009-09-16T19:59:00.000-07:00

I've been so busy since I've been back home. I'm nearly positive that I mentioned having been in California in my last blog and to be fair, I'm too knackered to go back and actually look at it. Truth be told, I've been too knackered to do much of anything lately! Loads has been up and loads will be happening in the near future. I've done a few meet and greets since I've been back over the past month and I'm so grateful for all the fans that have come out to show their love! :) You lot are the reason that I've made it as far as I have, seriously.

Absolutely gutted that I missed the VMA's. Seriously! That Michael Jackson tribute was absolutely brilliant and Kanye West is pretty much one of the rudest people I've ever seen before in my life. I've heard that he's on suicide watch now.. Seriously? I mean, just because he's a wanker.. I dunno, I think it's a load of rubbish myself and.. I've gone way off topic.

Right, so I've done a few meet and greets.. and apart from that I played a few small gigs that I was so happy to have done. It's been an amazing month and even though I'm feeling a bit ill right now I'm sure that the time to come up shortly is going to be pretty awesome too. I think that I'm due for another interview on what's going on tour-wise that you all should look out for and I think I might be doing a show on BBC2 in the following month! It'll be good fun! Also.. I may've got a dog to go along with my amazing kitten. They get allong really well and I absolutely adore him. His name's George and I love him loads.

This is George! He's so ugly. But, that's the endearing thing about pugs is that they're so ugly so you just think that they're cute. I love him loads but, he doesn't come close to the place in my heart that Freddie has took up.

Yeah, I named him Cinnamon at first but, I decided that that name didn't fit him too well so, before he got too used to it I changed his name to Freddie and now the mischievous little boy that he is.. it fits. Like Drop Dead Fred!

Anyway, glad to see the fans, like I said and for those of you who don't follow me on twitter you should! http://twitter.com/kaylajanem

Kayla x

los angeles, again..

2009-08-30T18:27:00.000-07:00

ugh, updating from the mobile because finding wifi around a film set ( while it should be potentially easy ) has proved slightly problematic. then again it could have everything to do with my shoddy laptop. either way, just as well - as it's getting done! for those of you who don't know I've ditched the home stretch in search of myself, or so I could spend a bit of time with the boyfriend on the set of a proper hollywood film! brilliant, if I do say so myself. its quite amazing what a bit of makeup can do. there've been a few times I've wandered around and bumped into someone in costume and nearly burst their eardrums with a scream. I think that when it's all said and done it'll be pretty good, if not amazing. though I'm more or less obligated to say that since the boyfriend is, in fact, playing a major role.

my time here is coming to an end though. I've stayed a bit longer than planned and am more than excited to get back to jolly ol' england to play a few low key gigs and get back in the swing of things. I hope that things start picking up a bit as I'm not too keen to be bored whilst I'm back. oh! I'm thinking on moving to canada! it'd be less costly than flying back and forth like I've been doing but, at the same time I'm a bit worried that I won't do as well career wise while I'm there. its more of a thought than an actual plan and I'm still mulling over options. right then, it seems that it's lunch time! I'll make sure to get better with this, you lot!

cheers!

Warped, Wizards and Wasabi?

2009-07-20T20:21:00.000-07:00

Warped Tour. Absolutely brilliant. Good fun.. Don't think that I could actually handle something like that but, who knows - maybe in the future? There's one thing that i've always admired about people who do shows like that and it's the incredible amount of stamina that one has to posess to stand out there in the boiling heat and play their hearts out to those absolutely wonderful fans. I would say that I'm quite jealous of Barclay and General Knowledge but, honestly, that'd be unfair. They're wonderfully talented people and if you haven't had a chance to see either of the bands play I would quickly run out and snag a ticket to one of the shows if you can because it's wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. Now that I've gone and gushed about the boyfriend's (that's right, it's not just rumored - Joshua and I are together.. which I think I may've mentioned previous blog entry ) band and the wonderful time that I've spent on Warped thus far. Moving onto more important, more English ( dare I say it .. ) it things like.. Oh, I dunno.. a wonderful wizard that may, or may not, go by the name of Harry Potter?

and that's just because I can. :) We were stuck in traffic on the way to Potter. :(

The film was wonderful. Though, it ( much like the previous Potter films ) didn't show the book much justice. There were loads of inconsistencies that my nitpicking mind could surely pick out but, as a film? I thought it was wonderful. Very funny, which surprised me and I think that in the film series there was clear amounts of thought put into it. I enjoyed it and I've seen it twice since it's been out. So, I won't ruin it for you - if you haven't gone to see it yet, I think that you should. And if you had? I'd love to hear your opinions on it!

Now for the final topic in my title line - Wasabi. Can I just say; Never again. I've never been a huge fan of the idea of sushi. Raw fish makes me cringe to think about but, Joshua insisted that we go to this lovely little sushi place and I agreed to go because that's what you do when you care about someone so.. Go, I did. I went and whilst eating some of the stuff tha tI could actually choke down he insisted I try a bit of wasabi. I felt like I would die. My mouth was on fire and I couldn't drink enough water to get it to go away. I will never, ever, eat it again. Sure, it was a bit of a laugh as I tried to choke back my flaming tonsils but, oi - I don't think I should've even had to deal with it that once.

All of this is a bit rushed and a bit haphazardly put together, I hope you lot can forgive me for that. I was just in the mood to let you know that I haven't forgotten you and that I am still alive, despite any rumors that may or may not have circulated. I'm alive and well and I'm thoroughly enjoying my summer, I hope you've been doing the same!

xx Kay

2009-07-05T19:33:00.000-07:00

Hello, internet! Followers.. All of that. It's Kayla writing you from Los Angeles, California!

That sounded terribly cheesy but, I hope I'm forgiven! There's this thing called sleepiness and I've been rather sleepy for days now. I'm happy, though - which I guess is a good thing. I know the lot of you were under the impression that I was returning to the homeland and I did, just not for as long as expected.

After meeting with the label, I was thrown into the studio for a few days to work on the song and they talked about the re-release and decided it better just to release the song as something you lot can download on iTunes. I thought this was a brilliant idea. I didn't want fans thinking that I was trying to pull money out of them for the same record, only with a newer track added to it, so - instead of doing that all you've got to do is pay about 99 cents on iTunes and it's yours.

Now that the business bit is out of the way - the reasoning behind my sudden departure from England; Joshua McGregor. The two of us are actually together now. After the whole tour and after a bit of a dramatic endeavor, we've finally decided to make things official and.. I'm quite happy about it. It's nice to have someone there for you and I guessI wasn't ready to give up the closeness so I decided to fly to LA to be with him for his dates on Warped tour. Don't worry, UKers, I'll be back in action this coming fall. I'll be supporting a tour come September so keep an eye out for that! When I know more details ( like who I'm touring with and all that ), I'll be sure to let you know! As for now, Cinnomon and I have a cuddle date with a blonde haired boy. :)

Cheers!
xxxx Kayla

new song in the works.

2009-06-16T13:23:00.000-07:00

Things have been more than slightly stressful for me as of lately. With loads of promotion on the agenda and then writing, I've been tired. Jet lag can be such a pain. Though, through all of it I've still tried to make some time for myself. I've managed to get to the cinema to see Up and I've got to say that if you haven't seen it yet, I think you should try to get out and see it as soon as possible.

Josh came to visit for a bit before he had to go back to Canada and be with his family. I'm hoping to pop in over there for a bit so I can visit and get away from home. As much as I love it here, touring opened me up to so many new places and while this will always be home, I'm kind of addicted to exploration.

I'll try and get the new song up as soon as I possibly can. I've talked to my producer and he's said that he wants to get in recording it as a new single or something. It's not on the album but, he's talking about a re-release for whatever reason ( I'm still a bit wary about it ) to add a couple of new ones. I'm wondering if we could re-do a few songs I've already done and then the new one and release it as an B-Side or something. Either way, you lot will get to hear it soon enough! AS for right now, it's going on 9:30 and I've got to get ready for bed.

x Kayla

I like bein' out on the open road!

2009-06-10T19:38:00.000-07:00

Don't get me wrong, that's not far from the truth.. Tour was absolutely fantastic. Joshua's band did phenomenally and 'The Story So Far's first tour was amazing. With the album release right before tour started up, it was a great way to get my music out there. I've talked to management a bit and apparently I'll be getting a few more gigs out of the way while I'm in London and after that, who knows what the road may bring. Probably some more promotion.. radio 1 called Steve up to get me in for a radio interview to promote the new single. Just because it's off tour doesn't mean it's off work! It's going to be tiring, dead tiring but, I can't be bothered to be upset about it. I'm so excited to get out there and meet you all! The feedback I've got while on tour was amazing and to all of those I met while I was out there, you all were so lovely!

Now, bed is calling me.. Bed and this dimpled boy that seems to keep popping up wherever I turn. :( One of the main reasons I miss tour right there. I'll be keeping up with this more now that I'm home.

xx Kayla

I'll be glad to be rid of microwaves..

2009-02-10T12:16:00.000-08:00

I MISS MY STOVE! Now, don't get me wrong - practically living in a studio's absolutely brilliant but, it'll be such a relief to get this thing done! Today and tomorrow we're putting the finishing touches on the album which you guys can look for.. sometime soon. We didn't actually discuss a release date but, I'm sure it'll happen.

Anyway, now that the album's nearly finished, I get to leave this smelly old cave and get out into the world. We're setting up for promotion in a bit but, before that I think I'm off to Canada with Josh for a little while. I've never been out of the UK so this is going to be a huge step for me and I'm kind of so excited I could pee myself. ( Either that or I've had WAY too much cranberry juice and water for any small person today )

Right, I've got a few more things to go through before I'm off for the day.

Ta!

The first of many, I'm sure.

2009-02-05T21:31:00.000-08:00

Greetings from the studio! Ugh, let me tell you that I never, ever, EVER thought that I'd be saying something like that. It's raining here ( then again, in London, when is it NOT raining? ) and it's kind of calming. I've been working on this album like crazy and the guys I've got in here working with me have been absolutely brilliant. I've had Josh in here every now and again and he's got me pumped for the tour in a few months. Got to get moving on this record if I'm going to get out on tour. Mum's a little worried, she thinks that all of this is happening too fast and too soon. I just think she's scared to see her little girl grow up. I've assured her time and time again that things will be fine. It's in a mum's genes to worry. Anyway, my chinese is getting cold and Patrick ( my producer ) is hoping to get this song finished by tonight. I've gone a bit mental with sleep deprivation so, I'm praying that'll help me push forward. Let's just hope I don't fall asleep at the piano again.

Cheers!
x Kayla