DIRTY LITTLE WORD SCHOOLS TOUR
Natascha has been driving all over the South, the Midlands and the West Country in the last 10 days for her Schools Tour to help promote her single 'FADE' and her upcoming album 'DIRTY LITTLE WORD'. What a ride it has been... She has played acoustic versions of songs from the album and hung out and chatted with a whole bunch of eager young musicians, and hundreds of kids who wanted to hear her music! Not a bad way to spend 10 days!

Starting off in Birmingham on Wednesday 17th March with Si Jones on guitar and Chris Nugent on cajon, she played a show at Small Heath Upper School to a very appreciative audience (requests for phone numbers and all sorts and even a guest on stage!) and then on to South Birmingham College who had a great sound rig and auditorium!! It would be a great one to go back to with the whole band! These were a great couple of schools to kick off the tour - even though it was such an early start (she was up at 5.00 a.m.!), but she had to get used to that!!

Monday 22nd March saw her trekking into London from 6.00 a.m. in full rush hour to visit St. Paul’s Academy, a gig that was almost missed because while on the M25, they decided to close it for an hour and a half!! There's not much to do in stationary traffic so Natascha and the guys were close to doing a roadside gig right there... Fate intervened and the road re-opened, so she made it to the school by the skin of her teeth and the gig went ahead to the couple of hundred excited listeners - they'd JUST been told it wasn’t happening!! Then it was back on the road to John Madejski Academy in Reading to play for another couple of hundred students... bit of an eventful day!

Tuesday 23rd was Coventry, where she had an amazing welcome from the kids and staff at the Blue Coat School and was there for a few hours to play for most of the school at lunch time and then to play for 2 classes too!! There were a lot of excitement backstage (in the music block!) and gig was full of energy - they all rushed the stage and moshed and started a singback! Natascha was slightly worried there'd be some bruises as they mobbed her afterwards and she signed autographs for everyone, but it was all good! It took a while, but we think everyone got one! Sedate school lesson it was NOT !

Wednesday 24th was a mega-long day... up at 5.00 a.m. to get to Bristol with guitarist Emma Stevens for an early slot at Bristol Metropolitan College and followed it up with a visit to a small group of music students at Chew Valley School for a performance, and then chatting to the kids about songwriting. She even ended up doing a workshop to teach them her song 'NAKED'!! Natascha and Em stuck around in Bristol for the evening to judge a Battle of the Bands at Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital and were also asked to play a short set before all the bands kicked off.

Having left Bristol at 10.30 p.m. to try to get home, the girls ended up sitting in torrential rain on the M4 waiting for the AA for a couple of hours....... apparently you need windscreen wipers that WORK to drive in a flood!! Having not made it home till after 3 a.m., this meant that getting up for the next gig at 6 a.m. was not really going to happen.... anyone ever tried to sing on 3 hours sleep? Doesn’t sound too pretty!! So, unfortunately, after a 22-hour day and because of a dodgy car and with virtually no sleep Westwood School were asked to re-schedule, but Natascha will do her best to go back and play for them another day.

So, the next day (25th) by 10 a.m. Natascha, Si and Chris were on the road to Rugby for a date with Ashlawn School! Shaun Humphries did an amazing job at promoting the gig in this school... the guys did a 'meet and greet' before they played to a packed hall of pretty rowdy kids with singbacks, moshing and a lot of stamping and clapping.... they nearly took the roof down! There were a lot of questions too and a signing afterwards... glasses, wallets and all sorts! A really warm welcome for Natascha and the boys.

Friday was another 5.30 start to get to Swindon in Wiltshire, where she had 2 great shows (Mexican Wave anyone?) at Greendown Community School and an intimate session to a group of songwriting students, followed by an afternoon session at Swindon Academy in a huge hall! There was a bit of confusion at the Academy as the guy doing all the organising was off sick, but after a lot of running around and a soundcheck in front of a room full of people (sitting very quietly - scary!!) the day was saved and the gig was fun - there was a singback and they nearly took down the seating but hey, it was a good way to end the day!..

Just in time for the weekend.... sleeeeep!

Monday morning (29th) Natascha and the boys were back on the road at 6.30 a.m. to get to Blenheim High School in Epsom for their assembly - this is without doubt the earliest gig they've played - the clock in the hall said 7.45 in soundcheck - they forgot to put their clock forward!! Natascha was asked to play for a group of music students to and answer some questions, so that was 2 gigs before 10.00 o'clock that morning – not bad!!

The last school of the tour was the Magna Carta School in Staines for another 2 shows. This was a great place to end up as Natascha had another noisy, moshing, Mexican-Waving group of kids to finish things off... thank you! For the guys who didn’t get anything signed, a bunch of signed flyers were left with your teachers!!

Thanks to all the schools and teachers who helped make the tour so successful. Huge thanks to the kids for being crazy!! Thanks also Si, Chris and Emma, and to Shazz, who arranged it all!!

Don’t forget to grab your free download of 'BODY BEAUTIFUL' from the website and please download the single 'FADE' from iTunes - available right now, but do it before 11.59 p.m. on 4th April!! http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/fade-single/id361365279

'DIRTY LITTLE WORD' the album is out on 12th April 2010!

Schools out!!!