Suzy and BB Y los Quattro with the great BW in London last week...

Of all the Brian Wilson reviews that I've read over the past week, the following is the absolute best... Courtesy of Lane Steinberg

"I'm now on the phone listening to "Smile" live from London. At 3:30 my friend Lenny called and said, "Lane, you there? Listen. I'm at the Brian Wilson concert in London. He's about to start the Smile section. I'll put the cell phone on the floor."

It's un-fucking-believable. I can't believe what I'm listening to. "Cabinessence" better than the record. Wait, now Lenny's singing along with "Wonderful" and he's off key. STOP SINGING, LENNY! He just popped onto the phone to say Macca & Martin are in the audience. Now I'm hearing stuff I've never heard before. GREAT. Like Good Vibrations mixed into Wonderful. OH, THIS IS AMAZING!!!!! Now it's the coda of "Surf's Up" with other stuff I can't recognize into the beginning of "Surf's Up". Harmonies are dead on. This is like an acid trip. For me, this is phone sex...

(Smile Coda - 45 minutes later)

Listened to the entire hour 2nd set + encores on the cell phone. The capillaries in my brain are probably like fried onions. Amazing to think that in 2004, Brian is performing a letter perfect version of Smile. If Vegas was putting odds on such a possibility back in '77, when Brian looked like the side of a barn, the ratio would be off the charts. Even through the static of the phone, the power of this music struck me in a very unique way. It was much deeper and more serious than the Pet Sounds set I saw two years ago. There was not even a vaguely pathetic moment here. This was pure intellectual vision and POWER. There were no breaks throughout the whole set. It was done as an entire piece, like a symphony. How these guys were able to nail a piece as tough as "Our Prayer" live is beyond me. Brian sounds absolutely astounding. The encores of "Barbara Ann", "Do It Again", and "I Get Around" were admittedly anti-climatic & sounded much like the Pet Sounds tour versions. Lenny got on the phone during "I Get Around" to say that Macca was dancing in the aisles with everyone else and no one was paying him any mind. I enjoyed trying to envision that! Now, almost forty years past the Sgt. Pepper/Smile rivalry, Brian's played the unreleased Smile exactly the way it should have sounded to the guy he lost the battle to. Pretty dramatic stuff. And then, after what seemed like three minutes of solid trans-atlantic applause, Brian came out for a simple solo piano rendition of "Love & Mercy", a song which gains more majesty & resonance with each passing year. It was quite a moving finale. I'm sure Dennis & Carl were having quite an amusing "I told you so" moment out there in the Ozone...

I wonder how much Lenny's cell phone bill is gonna be... "

Ok, I'm on the slippery slope here. Careering back toward reality having survived a week which has included pestilence and a power cut. The snow hasn't hit here so no chance of any stuck in the hoose respite. That and the fact that I haven't got this ongoing e-mail thing resolved either so I send out messages with no real idea of whether they're reaching their destination or not. The lack of reply suggests the latter but who knows? I expect things to work, how chuffing naive is that?

Most of you will probably only know her as Miss Togar in 'Rock & Roll Highschool', but Mary Woronov has been in more great (cult) movies than you'd be able to mention. Dig around on her site for a while and be amazed at all the other things she's been involved with. And while I ain't no expert on the visual arts front, I can vouch for her novels bein' well worth your while...

Dutch readers should note that the VPRO Joey Ramone documentary from 2002 will be repeated on Sunday March 7 at 11 pm (net 3).

Now and again these days, I need some kinda affirmation that it's worth all the bashing of my head agin the proverbial brick wall in the name of what I consider to be be good music. There is only good and bad after all and the best transcends any genrefication. This dvd contains their patented American (electric folk) music and it will blow your mind. It underscores the bands importance once and for all. As performances go, this is blistering top form and if indeed it is the last ever performance of the real Blasters then they couldn't have gone out any better. Despite his not being there in physical form, I'm sure Lee Allen was in the house that night because it hops and bops as only a place lit with his kinda spirit could be. I wonder if this could be granted some kinda big screen release because it seems like we should be watchin' this in a cinema. Hearing that rhythm section and that piano pounding, those guitar licks and that voice in full sen-surround might be more than the faint hearted could be expected to take but I haven't seen performance footage like this since the MC5 movie. The little touches of interview spread liberally through are great too and all tolled this is an utter gift to anybody who ever saw the band and proof positive of how to "do it" for future generations. All this and plenty of audience shots of Phil Dennison too. Shout Factory have done a great job.

Dave Alvin and those Guilty Men of his acquaintance are heading for the Renfrew Ferry in Glasgow on May 5th. More info as it becomes available.

JERRY (LEE) LEWIS in Glesgae...

Ivan from NERVOUS SHAKES sez... "Check out our album 'Separate beds? I Don't Think So' (blessed by Rick Rivets, Cheetah Chr and Jeff Dahl) and spread the word!!!". Should be out in April on Nun Records. Sounds like it's been blessed by Fred Willard also...

RIP: The great Chicago blues saxophone player A.C. Reed and Estelle Axton (co-owner of Stax Records).

Woah, I see that a copy of that CRAMPS book of old cuttings and whatev entitled ANCIENT KNOWLEDGE went for £107 on Ebay on February 20th! Same day (if my memory serves me correctly as Ivy's birthday. Don't even 'ave one meself... a copy of the book, not a birthday that is.

Loose Lips Sink Ships is the new mag from Steve Gullick and the folks that brought you Careless Talk Costs Lives. It's a cracking looking beast indeed and while, like it's predecessor, I can't say that I dig anything like all of the subject matter, this really ups the ante in terms of both presentation and content. The writing is the absolute polar opposite of the advertorial crap that we're fed day to day and that in itself is a most worthy endeavour. It's a bit pricey at £4 maybe but I know the cost involved in assembling such an artefact and I'm telling you that nobody is coining it in at that. Also there's no free cdful of crap because we have way too many mug coasters already, right? Everett True is involved here and is looking to launch a mag by the name of Plan B in the not too distant future.

Copped from today's e-mole, a message from Ken Fox... Here are some confirmed FLESHTONES dates. Please announce, promote and post on all appropriate web sites. This being one of those, here's da info...

Fri 4/16/04 Arlington VA Iota Cafe
Sat 4/17/04 Baltimore MD Mojo Room & Lounge

Thu 4/29/04 Buffalo NY Mohawk Place
Fri 4/30/04 Hamilton ONT Corktown Tavern
Sat 5/1/04 Toronto ONT Horseshoe Tavern

The one and only David Scott Esq. provides this snapshot of Brain Wilson's opening show at The Festival Hall in London on Friday past.

the good guys won or pop is art and vice versa

Late 1965. Imagine Brian Wilson's "California Girls" - now spin forward a couple of months to the sonic spangle of "Pet Sounds". Take a breather, proceed another few months on to "Good Vibrations" then enter the uncharted waters of, officially, "the most famous unreleased album of all time", "SMILE".
It's mid 1967. Is it any wonder that Brian Wilson crashed and burned at such speed? Being surrounded by morons didn¹t help either.
2004. Brian Wilson is currently surrounded by 18 musicians giving life to the most audacious pop experiment of it's day or our day, a kaleidescoped music collage which leaves you breathless in it's spin.
Tom Mix, Laurel And Hardy, Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, Existential Vaudeville, a mesmerising portrait of America in tiny shattered fragments. It's a music you've never heard before. It¹s beautiful and hilarious.
Polaroid, Royal Festival Hall 21 Jan 2004. Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks hands joined and raised in victory. the good guys won.

Adele Hartley heps y'all to...

Cult Weekend at Filmhouse (Edinburgh),Friday 5th to Sunday 7th March 2004

"Cult! invites you to a weekend of genuinely exhilarating, alternative cinema. A short, sharp antidote to all that has become so banal about recent cinema. Largely genre based, these are movies which experiment heavily with generic conventions and finally emerge as utterly unique works. Here, then, are a handful of titles which aggressively push the envelope of filmmaking, embracing the irrational and the extreme, taking us to the outer limits of cinematic experience.

In all these films resides the tangible sense of an irrepressible energy and passion - a determination that each movie had to be made (even though it now seems incredible that some of them do exist). This is visceral cinema. It is also progressive, highly individual and accomplished cinema - full of intelligence, wit, style and intensity. Cult! offers you an extremely rare opportunity to see these handpicked gems on the big screen. Some of these films have not been screened in Britain for at least a decade. Nobuo Nakagawa's Jigoku, a jaw dropping classic of Japanese horror cinema, has never before been screened in the UK.

The film packages includes: Possession, Punishment Park, Whipped and Abused: A Secret History of American Exploitation Cinema, Liquid Sky, Thundercrack!, La Rupture, Short Night of Glass Dolls Malastrana and Jigoku.

Filmhouse is delighted that film archivist, Jack Stevenson, will be appearing in person to present Whipped & Abused, an introduction to the history of American exploitation cinema told via an outrageous mix of trailers, clips, out-takes, shorts, pseudo-documentary newsreels and home movie erotica."

And while yer at it, check out DEAD BY DAWN.

So, The Stooges are headed for Glasgow as part of that mess? I doubt if the party faithful with have the stomach to put up with that but anyways, let's hope they have the sense to make another sweep.

Bjorn Nording drew my attention to this. Look out for The Long Ryders hitting up Europe during July. Meanwhile... "Sid spent a large part of 2003 working on a documentary about Gram Parsons. This is now finished and will be premiered in the UK on BBC4 TV on 5th March 2004 at 10pm (GMT). The film will possibly be scheduled for a BBC Two showing sometime in April or May with showing on a North American cable channel to be arranged ASAP. A co-production between the German Film Commission and the BBC, Gram Parsons: Fallen Angel, will be released as a DVD in late spring/early summer with extra footage. " FURTHER DETAILS.

Iggy & the Stooges to play Glasgow's Download Festival in June (the rest of the line-up is truly horrendous).

Three LAURA CANTRELLshows for our Swedish and Italian readers to put in their diaries. Hit the sidebar link for further information.

March 31, 2004 Foajebaren @ Mondo Stockholm, Sweden
April 1, 2004 City Sound Festival Gothenburg, Sweden
April 3, 2004 Auditorium Renzo Piano Il Parco della Musica Rome, Italy

US visitors to this Thing should note that The Star Spangles are pleased to announce their Spring Tour Oh Four throughout which they will be showcasing material earmarked for their soon to be recorded second album.

Mon, March 29th Boston, TT Bears
Tues, March 30th Rochester, Steel Music Hall
Wed, March 31st Buffalo, Xtreme Wheelz
Thur, April 1st Detroit, Lager House
Fri, April 2nd Chicago, Lyon's Den
Sat, April 3rd Milwaukee, Cactus Club
Sun, April 4th Cleveland, Grog Shop
Mon, April 5th, Pittsburg, Club Café
Tue, April 6th, Baltimore, Fletcher's
Wed, April 7th, tba..check website
Thur, April 8th, Washington DC, Velvet Lounge
Fri, April 9th, Philadelphia, Pontiac Grill
Sat, April 10th, NYC, CBGB's

John Fogerty recording new album.
"John Fogerty has been in the studio over the past few months recording his new album for Dreamworks Records. The recording has been going well and is coming down the homestretch. Look for a late spring/early summer release with a US and European tour to follow".

J's post there was a shock although recent sightings of the man kinda suggested that he wasn't in good fettle. BBC News Report here!

Mud rocked and the girly lookin' guitar player (Rob Davies?) went on to co-write "I Can't Get You Out Of My Head" with Cathy Dennis for Kylie. They were a lot more punk rock than much of the bandwagonning shysters that climbed on board that bus circa '77.

RIP: Les Gray. Former singer of post-glam band Mud, who brightened up the mid 70s with fine foot stompin' tunes like 'Dynamite', Tigerfeet' and 'The Cat Crept In'.

For whatever reason I sometimes forget to mention the Lazy Cowgirls when it comes to answerin' questions RE: my favorite bands. Maybe it's because they've been around for such a long time and I've started takin' 'm for granted, who knows. But while spinnin' their latest 45 on Gearhead tonight I was once again reminded what an amazin' band this is. The ultimate band for agein'' punk rockers. Think your favorite country/honky tonk/blues lyrics set to a brain poundin' cross twixt early Saints and Exile era Stones. They are that good...

The Rodney Bingenheimer bio-pic Mayor of Sunset Strip is doin' the rounds at various festivals at the moment, but you can also watch the first 8 minutes on the IFILM site.

Las Vegas Rockaround 2004: Tom Ingram & No Hit Records Present a weekend of desperate rock 'n roll, sixties beats and other cool sounds! Stomp, shout and work it out with an international cavalcade of the wildest bands and DJs around. With the Downliners Sect; Monks, Sky Saxon, Hasil Adkins; Chesterfield Kings, Swinging Neckbreakers; Greenhornes; Deadbolt; Bobbyteens; Barrence Whitfield; and Muck and the Mires. Dates: September 24, 25 & 26, 2004.

The one and only Ira Robbins TROUSER PRESS has a nifty new set-up going. Why not hit it up and see if your fave act is on there?

So yeah, I finally escaped and have a week off. This always happens, I keep my vacation to do something and usually end up having to use them (I ain't going to chuffing lose them!) before February is up. Anyway, time to catch up on stuff that oughtta have been done eons ago. I'm not sure that my e-troubles are over for a start so I need to make inroads into that. I have no patience it's true. I expect things to work and that might make me naive but is it really too much to expect a service? We're tied to this for a bloody year and as far as I'm concerned it ain't really up to scratch. Anyway, let's see how it pans out...

Last night, I spotted not one but two clips of Jennifer Aniston in her (levis) MC5 t-shirt during the intro credits to the new (and allegedly final) series of Friends. Moxie in Auf Wedersehen Pet was sporting one in the most recent, Havana-based, episodes of that show. Wonder if either of them is eagerly awaiting the release on DVD of A True Testimonial like I am? Hopefully we'll be able to bestow the news about that (and all the fab extras) comin' out soon!

Meanwhile, THE BLASTERS - GOING HOME live DVD is now available from Amazon, It's NTSC but you need it and I'd say the price is right at $13.99 especially for us when the exchange rate is so good. The live regular cd ($14.99) of the show features several different cuts too so you really need both. Anybody who saw 'em last summer shouldn't need any prompting.
Here in the UK, that's a little under 20 quid for the set. The tasteless masses can't get into a disco and scarf a couple of drinks for that. Going Home promises to be a full tilt testament to one of the greatest combos that ever took to a stage with plenty of guest stars to boot. Read about it on the BLASTERSITE and expect a full review when the package arrives.

RIP: Doris Troy.

ILLEGAL MOVER Flyin Brian says "Dont wanna be a pain in the arse but if possible can you plug wir german shows or mention 'em in full? The whole things gone really messed up but we've said we're prepared to lose our flight cash 'n' soldier on..for r'nr! so any help in gettin' folks in would be great!dates are February 24th the pitts belgium:w/ the riots, 25th subway to peter chemnitz:with sons of cyrus, 26th groove station dresden:with sons of cyrus(who've saved our arse by lettin' us use their backline 'n' been all around good eggs), 27th the underground koln:with the riots, 28th wild at heart berlin, 29th epplehause tubingen:early show 6pm for a peoples kitchen!!!!" MORE INFO!

Any mention of the eighties might fill you with dread as a period that begat some awful, awful music but don't confuse those syn-drummed times with this THE 80's.
Originally self-released on CD in 1990, THE 80'S collects ten tracks recorded from 1984 to 1989 by accordion-pop anti-diva Angel Corpus Christi. This Gulcher reissue comes in a brand new package with hot Angel pix of 80's vintage. Four of the selections from THE 80'S originally appeared on I LOVE NEW YORK, a 12-inch released in 1985: Bernard Herrmann's theme for Martin Scorsese's TAXI DRIVER, complete with Travis Bickel's inner thoughts spoken by Angel; Richard Hell's "Blank Generation," featuring a rippin' solo from MX-80 guitarist Bruce Anderson; a groovy cover of Suicide's "Dream Baby Dream," with Alan Vega sharing the vocals; and Lou Reed's "The Day John Kennedy Died." Songwriter Don Ciccone's "Never Too Late For Linda" was originally released on Angel's 1986 WAKE UP AND CRY 12-inch. From the same period is another of his compositions, "King Of Los Alamos." Ciccone plays guitar on both as well as "Way Out West," a moody pop/rock ballad written by Angel and hubby/MX-80 singer Rich Stim. "John Cassavetes" is Angel's loving tribute to a deceased hero, a real gem that should've been a big indie-rock hit 14 years ago. Rich Stim's "Hell" sounds like it could've been an MX-80 song, with all the deadpan humor of their best "funny" stuff. And Angel adds her accordion-rock vision to a cover of the Alice Cooper anthem "18." MX-80 drummer Dave Mahoney plays on three of the tracks, and Rich Stim appears throughout playing guitar, bass, horn, etc. Besides accordion, Angel plays bass and keyboards. Plus contributions from Dean Leto and Dave Wellhausen. (Eddie Flowers/Slippy Town)

"Maybe the most brilliant female pop/rock artist in America, just because she has the guts and brains to break free so simply and completely." (Sounds/UK)

"THE 80'S is easy-on-the-ear, low-tech art rock that's a cross
between Nico and Jonathan Richman. This gal manages to melt your heart." (New Musical Express/UK)

"One of the most finely realized records heard all year." (Melody Maker/UK)

"One of the most powerfully alienated tracks." (Spin Magazine on "Theme From Taxi Driver")

Get your copy from CD BABY!

'You don't know him, but you will..."
Here's HBV - King of Men Version 2.0 proudly showin' off his spankin' brand new shirt that came in the mail today c/o the ever wonderful Karen Winter...

While the UK based Sonic Dirt site still lists the Reigning Sound's split as it's latest news, the truth is that the band is due to release their third LP 'Too Much Guitar' on In The Red on April 26th, plus there seems to be a full scale American and European tour in the pipeline.
And on a related note: There will ba a IN THE RED showcase at SXSW Saturday March 20th at Beerland in Austin, TX. Featuring: Reigning Sound, Lost Sounds, The Hunches, The Ponys, The FUSE!, The Mystery Girls. The later also have a new LP out soon on the label.

This looks like it'd be worth a swatch also... I'd never heard of BRUCE HAACK until I discovered the SF Indie Film Festival screening.

The Bettie Page biopic, BETTIE PAGE - DARK ANGEL just premiered at the San Francisco Indie Film Festival.

Irving Klaw is played by Dukey Flyswatter, wasn't he in Haunted Garage?

Please excuse another bout of self-indulgence here, but I'm damn proud of the congratulations note on the Dictators site. Screenshots have been made and will be treasured in years to come (muchos gracias Karen).

'Drunkard in the Think Tank' is the title of a new Roy Loney CD out next month on Career Records, who also have a Deniz Tek/Scott Morgan disc in the pipeline.

So yeah, where are we? Valentine's Day. That would explain the queue for bloody flowers in Tesco this morning. Personally, I think that the flowers should be left in the ground to be viewed alive but today they enjoy the fate of turkeys on Thanksgiving or Christmas depending on where yr at.

Last weekend Mary Lee's Corvette took a spin up to these parts and did a great show at The Tron in Glasgow. It'll probably be the last show of it's type at that venue because the greedy bastards charge upwards of £200 for the privilege of hiring it. But I digress, ML delivered a choice selection of her fine line in AOP. Adult Oriented Pop. Finely crafted and sung and an altogether commercial proposition indeed. Check out her website via the sidebar here. Prior to that we saw School Of Rock. It's good but possibly not the tour de force the hype claims. However, hearing The Ramones "Bonzo" at super volume in a cinema full of impressionable kids and (some) parents is something in itself. I just wish the guy who deserved to see this kinda thing was still around.

Other than that it's been a bastard of a week but last night I went to see The Waifs. They're an Australian folky pop thing that caused quite a stir at the Cambridge Folk Festival last year. The one song that I knew "London Still" reminds me of Iris DeMent's "Our Town". They're good at what they do but it comes over as too well oiled. Apparently they don't relish the fact that they're supported so strongly by their countrymen at UK shows but what the chuff is that about? An audience is a bloody audience and at least a third of last nights, judging by the accents in the bar, was from Oz. I think that in this day and age of lazy bastards that won't go out and furthermore won't buy tickets. They're doing pretty well. I left though wishing that Amy's Allison and Rigby could command such support. They each deserve it more because they have tons of songs that the great unwashed would like if only we could program them to. Walking around town I see Marc (ky Ramone) Bell is booked to play a multi-media show with two guys from the UK Subs in April. Another hapless cash-in. Yes he was there but only just. You'd think for Joe's memory they'd just exercise some caution.

I'm pretty excited about the prospect of hearing Suzy Y Los Quattro based on the extracts on the SCREAMING APPLE site. Go to the catalogue section and scroll down to the Suzy section. More about this outfit when I do.



Photo from www.underground-cologne.de. Spotted by Illegal Mover Flyin' Brian who will be bringing his combo's buzzpunkpowerpoprockactiondeluxe to that very establishment on February 27th of this annum.

Some quick news updates for you all: The Lazy Cowgirls celebrate their first 20 years in showbiz with the release of a new 45 on Gearhead: 'You'/'When It Comes To You I've Got No Dreams To Lose'. ***** Munster Records in Spain is set to release a double 10" version of the Prisoners' 'Wisermiserdemelza' LP that rounds up the original album plus all the stray tunes the band recorded for Big Beat at the time. ***** Tony Slug informs us that both the Nitwitz and Hydromatics appear on the new 'Death Rattle & Roll' compilation on Wondertaker. And while on the subject; there's an entire new Nitwitz disc in the can, and from the few tunes I've heard so far it's obvious that it's another monster. Too bad the Slugster is apparently unable to find a label willing to release the darn thing !. What's up with that?. ***** The mighty Leg Hounds finally see their third album 'Ready To Go' (taken from the same sessions that gave us their first two footlongs!) released on vinyl c/o the fine folks at Alien Snatch.

This is SUZY Y LOS QUATTRO. The best band name I've heard in a long time.

OK, some stuff you might care to be aware of up and coming...

First, two ALEX CHILTON solo shows in Paris - Friday and Saturday 20 and 21st February at Le Sous Sol.

Chris of The Surfing Lungs would like to pass on this message... "We're playing a couple of gigs in Spain next month, at the Magic in Barcelona on March 19th and the GranujaRock Festival in Castellseras,Teruel on the 20th. Both gigs are also with TV Smith and Suzi y Los Quattro. We're doing a warm-up UK gig at The Prince Albert in Brighton on March 6th but that's some sort of "party" as the place hasn't got an official license or something." Suzi y Los Quattro has to be the best name I've heard in a while.

And you wanna know what's up with Cyril Jordan? (Thanks Bjorn)

Steve, if those Fleshtones aren't shown the requisite respect in them history books then the books will have got it way wrong. They have nothing to fear but cloth-eared hacks!

The Fleshtones in Stockholm - Friday 6th February

The Debaser Club in Stockholm, a concrete bunker underneath the main road that runs north-south through the city, was bursting with the original spirit of rock’n’roll last Friday night.

The Maggots were the first to testify and illustrated why they are the perfect support band for a Super Rock tour of the “Frozen North”. Think, a no-nonsense attitude to the job in hand, well chosen covers such as “Circle Sky, and clanging originals. Tough guys with a tough sound. Hopefully the ‘tones will loan their Farfisa to them for the remainder of the tour so that their keyboard player can ditch the tinkling ivories though. A large crowd then assembled for a rare home-town show by the Nomads. Their performance was tight, confident and Nix Nomads voice, for my money at least, sounded even better than it does on disc. With the Nomads set list emphasising recent material such as “Don’t Pull My String” and “Ain't Yet Dead”, it was a pity that both audience and band remained rooted to the spot throughout the set. For a moment I thought I was back in London surrounded by a bunch of “Impress me!” geeks? But what the hey, for the gig was sufficiently primed for the return of Super Rock to the Swedish capital.

Arriving on stage as if they were about to play their first encore of the evening, the Fleshtones tore through “House of Rock” and one could not have wished for a more appropriate mission statement. Suddenly, we were in the cool and solid marble mausoleum that the ‘tones have built alone. Mixing old material alongside the new while running, jumping and blowing whistles, more than one observer must have wondered how long these “old geezers” where gonna last. Suffice to say that they did and the show flew by in a rapid ninety minutes. Random memories include that look of absolute concentration on Bill’s face. Peter, Ken and Keith building a human pyramid mid-song near the end of the show. The sight of a man wearing a shirt emblazoned with pink elephants, and well into his 5th decade, surfing the crowd on more than one occasion. Ken and Keith playing each other’s guitars during the introduction to “Roman Gods”. Keith standing on a chair and leaning over the microphone during “Way Down South” and “Communication Breakdown”. Peter, Ken and Keith hooking arms and forming a defiant “Powerstance” minutes into the set. And Bill Milhizer, standing tall behind the drum kit and knocking out that colossal beat for what seemed like most of the night.

For not only are these guys fun to watch they are damn professional too. It’s debatable how kind the musical history books will be to the Fleshtones, but those who attended the show at Debaser will hopefully smile at the memory and remember that the Fleshtones gave it their best.

John Holmstrom interviewed in Detroit's Metro Times.

OK, some misinformation on that BLACK TO COMM post from January 25th or thereabouts. Chris Stigliano's e-mail address is black2com@aol.com. Only one m.
I presume my faux pas is why he hasn't been deluged with orders...

BBC RADIO 2 SEE THE LIGHT DESPITE THE GOVERNMENT KERFUFFLE!

The Punk Rock USA documentary made by the one and only Brother Crunch with the likewise Craig Leon will be repeated on Saturdays March 8th and 15th at 9pm. Part Two was never broadcast because the Queen Maw decided to leave the theatre that day. It's a real treat complete with Stooges, Suicide, Dictators, MC5 and plenty more. The doc will be a tad reduxed too, important material long believed lost to the world has been discovered and shall be cleverly inserted where you can't hear the joins. I'll post the link details nearer the date, just make sure you check it out.

Excellent UK pop-combo the Mighty Stars recently hooked up w/ Kim Fowley. Read the entire saga here.

Damn, I completely forgot to mention this big Ronnie Dawson tribute that took place in Dallas over the weekend (sorry Tjarko). Like previous nights in NYC and even here in Holland, the event was organized to raise money for Ronnie's wife who not only lost her husband, but was also left with a small mountain of medical bills to pay. So as to kinda make up for my absentmindedness, here's a link that enables you to send some money here way. You know it makes sense...

A couple o' quick news updates: Swedish band the Sewergooves have just released a fine acoustic EP on Richie Records, featurin' solid versions of the Nomads' 'Where The Wolfbane Blooms' and Roky's 'I've Never Known This 'til Now'. ***** The Lazy Cowgirls have "just finished recording an all acoustic cd, with a couple electric guitars here and there, a little drums, a mandolin, an accordian and piano. We're looking for it to be released in late summer on Sympathy for the Record Industry".

From the man himself...

Eric Ambel to release catalog and a new CD on Lakeside Lounge Records.

With the release of Knucklehead on his own Lakeside Lounge Records Eric "Roscoe" Ambel clears the slate on 14 years of tracks that have been clogging his iPod. The record features 15 songs with various bands including various Roscoe's Gang configurations, the all Roscoe "Gringoman", the Bottle Rockets, Martins Folly, some pre-Yayhoos and the Yayhoos recording of the Del-Lords "Judas Kiss" with Steve Earle providing harmony. The record features some new Ambel compostions (Stepside, Garbagehead), some covers by Chip Robinson, Tom Waits, Neil Young and a new Steve Earle tune (the Usual Time).

Lakeside Lounge Records will also re-issue Ambel's 2 previous solo records. Rolling Stone Magazine called Ambel's 1988 debut Roscoe's Gang "the record Keith Richard should have made". The core band is Springfield MO's Morells with Syd Straw and Peter Holsapple as guests. Loud & Lonesome is Ambel's '94 release featuring songs written with Kevin Salem, Dan Zanes, Dan Baird and Terry Anderson with a very raw 3 pc muscle car band ripping through the tunes. Roscoe's Gang gets a re-mastering job and all 3 titles are in the digi-pack format with extensive notes and photos.

Look for all 3 titles to be available mid March '04.

From Dan Penniman at NEGATIVE RECORDS HQ

Hey everybody, A great night in store this Saturday as VENUS RAY join Vic Godard and Subway Sect under the wings of PennyBlack Music. With the irreplaceable Barney Oliver on an extended walkabout in the Australian outback, the show will mark the Venus Ray debuts of newcomers Jake Tassell on toy organ, sartorials and electronics and Gavin Mulcahy on the bass guitar. Venus Ray will be unveiling songs from their forthcoming 3rd album, due out in August.

The Spitz is a great venue with restaurant and art gallery, 5 mins from Liverpool St and Brick Lane’s finest eateries. Should be fine just turning up on the door, but it seems you can reserve tickets by calling Spitz Box Office (020 7392 9032) and pay for them when you pick em up on the night. More details below.

On Monday 16th February THE SCOUNDRELLES debut album ‘Organic Molecules In Action!’ is released. It’s already attracting raves in the press – look out for the 4 star review in the next Mojo. Available in all good record shops and on-line direct from Negative or Amazon.

And to celebrate the release The Scoundrelles headline London’s greatest garage rock night, the Dirty Water Club on Friday 20th February, with support from Norwegian all-girl beat combo THE LAUNDERETTES.

DIRTY WATER CLUB at the Boston Arms, 178 Junction Road, London N19 5QQ opposite Tufnell Park tube. Bands til midnight, DJs til 3am. http://www.dirtywaterclub.com More details nearer the time.

I got that Timothy Carey pic from a site called WHAT A CHARACTER.
A veritable mine of great stuff.

NORTON NEWS! February, 2004



WHAT: THE WORLDS GREATEST SINNER (1962)

WHERE: LINCOLN CENTER NYC (WALTER READE THEATRE, 165 W 65 STREET,
PLAZA LEVEL)

WHAT : FEBRUARY 14, 5 PM

Valentines Day is one week away, friends, so don't forget to blast some T.
VALENTINE (Norton LP/CD 280 and 45-094)! ... and if you're local to our sector
here in NYC, do not delay in getting tix for you and ya lovebug to the NYC
public premier of THE WORLD'S GREATEST SINNER, Timothy Carey's magnum opus circa 1962, the greatest rock n roll flick ever made... it makes CITIZEN KANE look
like THE SINISTER URGE, people! This mammoth and majestic film needs no
introduction to the tried and true who've either managed to get a glimpse of a ratty
vid somewhere along the way or who've yearned for the day that now approaches,
but for the uninitiated, may we direct you to Kicks #7 and PSYCHOTRONIC #6
(psychotronic.com -- editor Michael Weldon can be reached at pvzine@intercom.net) , plus there's great stuff including a feature in FILM COMMENT at filmliinc.com, Lincoln Center's website-- plus you can buy tix right there online for $10 (plus $1.25 for credit card processing). Handy dandy indeed!

Timothy Carey was a genius and one of the coolest cats ever to roam the planet.
When's the last time we directed you all to fine film fare-- just do it!
You'll see our revered Ray Dennis Steckler in the film credits and get your breath
baited for this unheralded brand of film fabulosity that now gets the royal
treatment on the big screen in the big town! Frank Zappa stole his beatnik
beardo "look" when he was writing the fantastic music for Sinner- without a doubt
his best song ever -- covered by the A-Bones on their Giant Claw 45 with none
other than Tim Carey spouting his own brand of boney sinner spew in the
intro-- the Aussie 45 is outta print but look for it on the A-Bones non-LP tracks
compilation due out in September! See youse at Sinner!


MORE NORTON NEWS...
Check in at nortonrecords.com for our boss current releases
including DON'T KNOCK THE ROK!, never ished Roky Erickson and The Alien's hot sock outtakes that rival only King Uszniewicz in the wildass late night oldies on
the rampage department. Roky's instore appearance in support of the album at
Waterloo Records in Austin last month brought out hundreds of adoring fans who
dug the meet-n-greet and slurped on Roky Rocky Road ice cream courtesy of Amy's
of Austin! The groundhog went back into hiding until the new crew of Nortons
arrive, some of our biggest releases to date.... stay tuned and don't forget to
CRANK IT UP!... big giant thanks to all the stars and friends and stompers
who made our December 27 Soul Spectacular a memorable night indeed! Hats off to
Andre Williams, Rudy Ray Moore, the Mighty Hannibal, Lonnie Youngblood, King
Coleman, Nathaniel Mayer, the Shanks, Barrence Whitfield, Betty Lavette, the
Soul Shakers, deejay Mr. Fine Wine and the whole gang who made it all a wild
birthday blast for Billy Norton (as Hannibal has dubbed our Mr. Miller) and a
crazed holiday/new years shindig for the whole pack! Birthdays greets go out to
Nathaniel Mayer, who celebrates his big 6-0 in style with the Shanks back in
Detroit this Saturday, Feb. 7 and the Attic (11667 Joseph Campau, doors at 8,
show at 10. Cover charge $10). Locals check out Lonnie Youngblood at Frank's
Lounge in Brooklyn Thursdays through February (frankslounge.com). Anybody heading down to the Sunshine State next weekend? Check out King Coleman at his own Florida stomping, or shall we say swamping grounds, on Valentines Day in Fort Lauderdale, tag teaming with X-rated legend Blowfly! WFMU's Dave The Spazz (wfmu.org) has the scoop and will be covering said event in person.
Andre Williams headlines Scotland and Norway in April, Hannibal is auditioning for
a TV show (true!)... and rumor has it that Arch Hall, Jr. may be performing
this year, live with his Wild Guitar! Stay tuned for more late breaking news
and check us out via the link opposite.

LFT's is the expression I use for those of us who couldn't make those shows for one reason and another. However, I didn't realise that Steve was goin' out there so at least he'll be able to clue us in. Ain't you eager to hear what you missed?

Also, you want the skinny on Zurich? visit Crawford Smith's GREEN RIVER

"we less fortunate types"?. Please rest assured that our very own Steve Coleman is out there havin' fun under the cold Stockholm moon...

Well those Scandanavians have the trump card this weekend Not more so than the Fleshtones/Nomads/Maggots triple bill that's hitting up Debaser in Stockholm tonight. Anybody out there up for filing a report? Helsinkians and Oslovians also, clue we less fortunate types into your brush with the thing they call Super Rock!

The German Alien Snatch label is steadily becomin' one of the prime sources for current none-lame p-rock. Take the Von Zippers, a Canadian band who's name spells third-rate-Estrus at best, but who deliver the goods in fine style on their latest 'The Crime Is Now' disc. I could call 'm a slightly more accessible New Bomb Turks, but that would be sellin' 'm short 'cause there's a singular mind at work here, but it gives you the general direction anyhoo. Poppier (mainly thanks to the addition of some great cheesy organ sounds), but no less hard edged are The Minds. Housed in a suitably tacky 1979 "new wave" sleeve, their 'Plastic Girls' LP borders on powerpop, and that ain't no bad thing per se, but the guitars are loud enough to keep you hard-liners satisfied. Best of the bunch tho' is the eagerly anticipated (by me anyway) debut full-length by Ghetto Ways, who put out an excellent, but impossible to find, 45 last year, that gets a solid follow-up with this; the first great LP of 2004. "Detroit" is the first thing that springs to mind listenin' to this, but forget about the Stooges for a while, think soul/punk ala the MC5 or Dirtbombs, but only as some kinda reference, 'cause these guys have a similar scope, one that's way beyond that of you're average garage combo, touchin' on several decades 'n styles for inspiration w/ out ever soundin' derative. A sound investment if ever there was one.

Dutch readers are advised to check out the Demons - Carrera show at dB's on thursday the 12th of februari right here in Utrecht.

This month's releases from Ace Records.

If it happened or is happening in the Tri-State Area then you'll most likely find it on NEATNESS

Jim Fields' END OF THE CENTURY documentary about THE RAMONES will be distributed in Europe by Metro-Tartan. Stay tuned for more info as it becomes available.

The culture just keeps coming... check out and support
THE SECRET CINEMA

Prepare to enter a whole 'nother world... Planet LUCHA VAVOOM

Good news for our American readers: The fantastic Master Plan album is out now on Total Energy.

That makes young Vedder, HBV - King of Men Version 2.0! Keeping up the Dictators theme, Agent Heiko found this piece that I'd never seen before. Comes from a webzine called LITTLE CRACKED EGG that I think you'll like to dig around in.

While scannin' the below news on the Dictators site I noticed that MY SON SHARES HIS BIRTHDAY WITH THE HANDSOME ONE !. Hows about that for bein' "born under a good sign"?...

From Dictators.com...

THE HANDSOME ONE'S FULL PLATE

He's celebratin' half a century on earth this week and is father of an active 1-year-old, but Handsome Dick Manitoba clearly scoffs at the idea of taking it ease. The Dictators' Not-So-Secret Weapon and keeper of your favorite bar (Manitoba's, 99 Ave. B, NYC) fills us in on his goings-on: "I am working on a book with former editor of High Times, and Heeb ... It will be anecdotal, with stories about growing up Jewish, Bronx stories, food stories, recipes, restaurant reviews, plenty of photos, and drawings ... the first chapter will be done soon ... tentative working title? ... MANITOBA EATS NEW YORK! ... also the official MANITOBA'S website will be up soon ... www.manitobas.com."

Oh yeah... Steve has rightly pointed out the daftness of posting huge files agin the fact that not everyone has a broadband connection. I know how much of a pisser it was to wait for pages to load on a dial-up modem and apologise for any pissed-offedness caused. Please visit again and often. It willnae happen again...

It's been a heckuva week out here. Ever get the feeling that the country you live in is screwed? Heading it all up is what happened to the BBC. The organisation is in the throes of having all of its teeth removed to be replaced by a set of falsers called TBTV. One head that actually made a difference rolled and the staff there actually rallied to shout it out but ultimately it won't stop the rot. This government can and is damaging our collective health. They "let" Scotland have its own council to help it along or maybe even speed up the process. And Osama's mob are taking the piss again. More flights from the UK to the US cancelled due to "threats". One way or another, it's all very depressing because if it gets any worse we're gonna be back to where we were before the wheel was invented. It's very difficult to be enthusiastic about anything in such a climate. Life is sucking the will to live outta me but wadjagonnado? I don't think that even Finntroll will be able to save us!