News

The Xcerts Bassist Fractures Wrist Days Before 2 Month Tour!

• 17th Sep 2009

The Xcerts bassist Jordan Smith has fractured his wrist whilst skateboarding only a few days before the band embark on a two month touring schedule. The timing couldn't be worse for the band who have shows lined up with childhood heroes Idlewild, musical stalwarts Funeral for a Friend and up and comers This City. However the band have made a decision to honor all the dates with Jordan spending a frantic few days learning new parts on different instruments.

Describing the incident Jordan says “I went rolling along a sunny Brighton seafront feeling lazy and secure. Skating is best on days like these, nothing intense, no stress, big bit of flatland looking across the English Channel . There were a few security rails on their sides, perfect for slightly apprehensive ollies (my forte after years of 'not really skating'). I cleared it a couple times, linked in a scrappy kickflip or two and generally felt like I was finding my feet again. On the last ollie before thinking about leaving, the board fires out and I land awkwardly enough to make my wrist look like a mangled slinky. It's always the most inadvertent thing that does the most damage.”

Jordan added “I feel completely crushed. It's not like I don't know skating is a massive risk when your hands are your job. I've spent the last few days learning bass lines on a keyboard and bass pedals. I owe it to my friends to make this work, and we'll find a way to make it special.”

Speaking of his fellow band mate singer Murray Macleod said “I was gutted when I heard about the accident. We've worked so hard to get to this position and we have been incredibly excited about the touring this autumn. Tom (The Xcerts drummer) and I talked briefly about finding a replacement bass player for the tours, but it was soon clear to us that THE XCERTS is about the noise the 3 of us make together, regardless of how many working limbs we have between us. Jordan and I have been best friends since we we're 13 and I'm not about to sell him out”.

You can expect some pretty unusual arrangements of Xcerts classics in the next 3 or 4 weeks and plenty of songs you may only hear on this tour. From then on it's all about the speed of recovery and a race for the Idlewild and Funeral for a Friend dates.

The Xcerts release new single 'Nightschool' on 5th October through Xtra Mile Recordings. Catch the band at the following gigs:

September
17th – Cavern, Exeter
18th – Inn On The Sqaure, Barnstaple
19th – Southsea Festival, Portsmouth
24th – The Tap House, Kidderminster with This City
25th – Unit, Southampton with This City
26th – Club Revolution, Peterborough with This City
27th – Fat Sam's, Dundee with This City
28th – Tunnels, Aberdeen with This City
29th – Oran Mor, Glasgow with This City
30th – Fibbers, York with This City
October
2nd – Rock City, Nottingham with This City
3rd – Academy 3, Birmingham with This City
4th – Bivouac@Scy, Lincoln with This City
5th – Audio, Brighton with This City
6th – Barfly, London with This City
7th – Roadhouse, Manchester with This City
9th – Mad Ferret, Preston with This City

SUPPORTING IDLEWILD
October
10th – Manchester University, Manchester
11th – Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
12th – Phoenix Centre, Exeter
13th – Arts Centre, Colchester
15th – Wedgewood Rooms, Southsea
16th – Electric Ballroom, London
18th – O2 Academy, Oxford
19th – Waterfront, Norwich

SUPPORTING FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND
20th – Empire, Middlesbrough
21st – Fat Sams, Dundee
22nd – Moshulu, Aberdeen
27th – Rock City, Nottingham
28th – Junction, Cambridge
29th – UEA, Norwich