COMING SOON

monks: the transatlantic feedback

documentary film | USA, Germany, Spain | 2005 | color & b/w
96 min | DVCAM, Digibeta

SYNOPSIS

The monks were 5 American GI’s in cold war Germany who billed themselves as the anti-Beatles; they were heavy on feedback, nihilism and electrical banjo. They had strange haircuts, dressed in black, mocked the military and rocked harder than any of their mid-sixties counterparts while managing to basically invent industrial, punk and techno music.

The genre-overlapping documentary film not only illustrates the pop music phenomenon in its political, social and cultural historic contexts, but also reveals the monks project as the first marriage between art and popular music and this months before Andy Warhol and the Velvet Underground.

The five protagonists of the film came to cold war Germany in 1961 as soldiers and left the country in 1967 as avant-garde monks. For more than thirty years they were not able to talk about their strange experience. In the film they recount for the first time their adventure.

So I guess Sunday is playlist day, time to hip you to what's happenin'on HQ's hi-fi, with no other intention than to "share" my current digs with alla you NBT readers. Here goes: Any of you remember Geordie for anything else besides providing AC/DC with a new singer after Bon Scott died?. Well, you should. These guys offered some solid mid 70s glam stomp. Equal parts Slade, T. Rex and Led Zep, I've been really diggin' their Hope You Like It LP lately. All Because Of You is as good as anything by Slade in their prime, and I can't stop spinnin' Don't Do That, a Hooker-ish boogie that's just waitin' to be tackled by a band like the Dirtbombs or anyone else on In The Red. Thanks to both the Boonaraaas and the recent Rousers CD (see below) I've also re-acquainted myself with the Roulettes' Bad Time. Penned by Chris Andrews this is the kinda merseybeat song I was hoping to hear as a youngster when buying Gerry & the Pacemakers 45s. Easily as good as anything the Beatles ever came up with!. It's just great when current bands turn you on to tunes like that. I mean, I love Suzi Quatro and have done so since way back when, but I'm friggin' thankful to the Sirens who recently hipped me to Glycerine Queen of her first album, a song that always took a backseat to hits like 48 Crash and Can The Can, but turns out to be equally worthwhile.
Just yesterday I was readin' some magazine and, almost absentmindedly, threw on a Box-Tops comp and became completely mesmerized by I Pray For Rain, a song so perfect it could have been part of the Left Bank songbook. Sonny Boy Williamson's KIng Biscuit Time (an old Arhoolie LP comp) has been makin' an equal impact on my long fried brains, makin' me wonder why people bother with the Queens Of The Stonage (Sabbath fans so lame/ordinary they wouldn't even merit their own real-life soap) and their ilk. As I'm reading Legs McNeil & Jennifer Osborne's The Other Hollywood at the moment, I've also been spinnin' plenty o' lushly orchestrated disco/soul discs from the 70s as they serve as the perfect soundtrack to this book. Favorites include; The O'Jays Back Stabbers, Three Degrees' Dirty Old Man, Love Unlimited's Walking In The Rain, Isaac Hayes' Ike's Mood and Walk On By.

The Primevals will open for The Saints this coming Thursday (March 3rd) at King Tut's in Glasgow. Look out for a release date for their Last Call imprint retrospective. Coming soon...

Check out THE FLASH EXPRESS... our crew in GROMKA - METELKOVA, ljubljana / SLO can get a taste of what they're capable of tomorrow night. They're blazing a trail throughout Europe but not the UK. On the other hand why would they? This country wouldn't know a good band supposing it fell on top of it. Other combos headed for twhat seems like an Eastern European utopia for live music include Nine Pound Hammer and the now Mr Nancy-less Fabulous Disaster.

It's coming on dvd already and the extras are:

End Of The Century trailer

Deleted scene -- Clem Burke as Elvis Ramone

Joey Ramone radio interview excerpts from FM 106.3

Marky Ramone drum technique

Johnny Ramone interview excerpts

Richie Ramone interview excerpts

Dee Dee Ramone interview excerpts

Joe Strummer interview excerpts

Tommy Ramone in Forest Hills interview excerpts

Debbie Harry and Chris Stein interview excerpts

Neighborhood friend Ritchie Adler interview excerpts

Who Wrote What On The First 3 Albums by Tommy Ramone

Also check out this from Scotland on Sunday...

Thanks to Martin P for the info.

So, this box has gone through some kinda electronic transfusion and is working again. I'm utterly sickened at the fact that I seem to be so dependent on it but wodjagonnado? Here is some news for LA readers about Fur Dixon revisiting her Hollywood Hillbilly roots... info courtesy of Trashy Ashell from the Staysick board.

From this week's LA Weekly. One time Cramp, Fur is doing a show next week!

THE WESTERN BEAT KRIS KRISTOFFERSON TRIBUTE

Very few modern country songwriters have made as great an impact as Kris Kristofferson, the onetime Columbia recording studio janitor who set Music City afire with a lyrical style that mixed graphic realism and forlorn atmospherics. In the Nashville of the early 1970s, "Sunday Morning Coming Down"’s key lyric ". . . wishing Lord that I was stoned . . ." was equivalent to getting jabbed by a cattle prod. His blunt poetics also kicked open a door through which renegades Billy Joe Shaver and David Allan Coe happily passed and, despite his subsequent descent into a swamp of mediocre movie roles, the Kristofferson impact cannot be denied. Tonight's homage, with the capable likes of Mike Stinson, the hardscrabble charms of folk insurrectionaries - Steve Werner and Fur Dixon, and much more, should provide fitting honor.

Highland Grounds, 742 N. Highland Ave.; Thurs., March 3. (323) 466-1507.

THE ROUSERS - A TREAT OF NEW BEAT (AGM CD).
Now here's a band that loomed large in my life way back in the early 80's, I must have seen 'm at least a dozen times at the time, and it's great to see their long lost debut finally appear on CD. The Rousers' tool of trade was a solid mix of punk energy and six-o tunes (call it powerpop if you like) that holds up surprisingly well. Lyrically they might be part of the long standing Dutch tradition of teenage exuberance, cheesy accents and misunderstood slang, but there's no denying the strength of the actual tunes. No less than 11 bonus cuts round up the picture with only a version of She Loves You inducing a shrug of the shoulders, but the previously unreleased take on the Roulettes' Bad Time (recently also tackled by the Boonaraas) is a nice surprise. 8 out of 10, even after all these years.

Visitors with a penchant for Scottish Pop will be sorry to hear about Edwyn Collins. Hopefully he'll pull through...

OK, so the short of it is this... home contraption still goosed, no' able to post and communicate as normal. Hope to have this situation under control soon but who knows... other than that, much as I hate driving, I'm looking forward to the drive home this avo (that's afternoon to those who maybe ain't familiar with that particular lingo). A half day on a Friday ain't nothing to be sniffed at and adds afew minutes to the lull before the storm that is the Monday dread. As opposed to Mikey Dread.

Gearclub at Debaser, Stockhom - Friday March 4, 20.00 - 03.00 - 80SvKr



Grande Ballroom:
THE HIJACKERS 22.00
THE GILJOTEENS 23.00
DJ's Mike Barbwire & Baby Diamondback

Lounge:
One String King 21.30
Gearclub Quiz 20.45 (win a free set of drinks)
DJ Reverend Billy Hill (100% Hillbilly & Roots music)
REAL TIKI Drinks 20.00 - 22.00

Also we have a new website

"Hey Folks

We're impossibly sad to announce that this Saturday's edition of Sonic Reducer (Feb 26) will be the last at The Boogaloo, due to circumstances (waaay) beyond our control.

However, it's gonna be one helluva wild-assed, day-after-the-DKT-MC5/Sun Ra-gig kinda blowout, replete with all of the serious garage, soul, punk, R&B, blues, soundtracks, reggae, reefer jazz, Nederbiet, and gen-u-wine skronk 7"s that you've come to know and lurve over the past year or so ... Joining us from the pulsating heart of Bristol's clubland will be dear friend and beat cosmonaut supreme, Steptoe, who'll be dishing only the finest deep funk and beat groovers ...

We'd like to take this opportunity to wholeheartedly thank y'all for being such a lovely crowd, and it's been a real honour to spin 45s for ya! To those who tapped a foot, or were in danger of knocking over the decks while dancing like a mad fule, we salute ya!

Looking back, it seems amazing that we've had such guest DJs as Michael Davis (MC5), Ben (Cornershop), Tim Rogers (You Am I), Andy Perry (The Telegraph / Intensive Care) and CherryStones (Twisted Nerve), and the capper has gotta be Ray Davies' regular visits ... Who could wish for more?

Of course, we'll continue to dish beats aplenty, and next from the Sonic Reducer Tag Team DJs is:

Mar 2 - 'Sure Trakings Trio' aftershow party

Mar 11 - Bassholes & Monsieur Jeffrey Evans @ The Dirty Water Club

Apr 2 - Top secret blowout!

Apr 28 - The Buccaneer, Memphis, Tennessee

For further details of where we'll turn up next, send an email to joss.hutton@talk21.com ...

But for now, it's sayonara, tattie-bye ... just remember to be good to your peoples, and have a drink for good old HST!

Much love

Joss & Joe xxx

"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
Dr Hunter S Thompson (1937-2005)

Sonic Reducer- The Final Conflict

The Boogaloo, Arway Road, London N6
Highgate Tube
7.30pm-1.30am
free before 10pm, £5 after"

Yowza, yowza! Step right up, ladies and gentlemen, and join Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. for an evening of the naughty and the bawdy at the "Wasabassco Cabaret Burlesque" (www.wasabassco.com) on Wednesday, February 23rd, at the space-aged Sputnik lounge. The SIT & Die boys will kick off the racy revue at 10:30, followed by a scintillating stream of the city's best burlesque beauties -- saucy sirens guaranteed to quicken the pulse and liven the libido -- and with free frankfurters for all! All for a mere $5.00 admission. Sputnik (www.barsputnik.com) is located at 262 Taaffe Place in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn.

For the more puritanically minded, please remember that the following night, like every Thursday night, SIT & Die Co. preaches the gospel of their patented "Ballads, Boogies & Blues" from 8:00 until 10:00 in the morally upright confines of Otto's Shrunken Head, located at 538 East 14th Street in the Eastern Village of Manhattan.

For all the explicit details, kindly visit www.SITandDieCo.com, won't you?

Sincerely,Michael

P.S. Just so that there are no secrets between us, please know that SIT & Die Co. takes to the Rodeo Bar stage on Wednesday, March 2nd. Thank you, that feels much better.

Fear or loathing? Pioneer of "gonzo journalism", Hunter S. Thompson shoots himself.

OK, OK, time for a short update from NBT's Dutch HQ. 05 got off to a very bad start so far. First I got stuck with not one, but two variations of the flu myself in January, and just last week my one year old son Bastiaan suffered from a severe bout of pneumonia. Bad as that is, there's the day-to-day stuff that seems to be taking up more time every week. I'll stop right here, and spare you the wall-to-wall moanin' 'n groanin', and instead focus on some kinda playlist of stuff that kept my spirits up (as far as possible) in recent weeks.
First off, Bob Marley's work with Lee Perry from the early 70s has hardly left the hi-fi here at HQ. Sparse, soulful, uplifting, this is just about as good as it gets. Forget all the blah-blah that's all over the music mags currently and dive straight into the heart of the matter. Trojan has the perfect introduction available right here. If reggae seems hardly the usual standard NBT fare, I have no idea what you will make of 40's big band sounds, but Lucky Millinder's Apollo Jump LP (Affinity) is another recent mainstay on my hi-fi. This disc features the earliest recorded work of the great Wynonie Harris, plus reknown gospel vocalist Sister Rosetta Tharpe singin' 'I Want A Tall Skinny Pappa'. Some songs: Pere Ubu - Final Solution, Dr Feelgood - Back In The Night, Duke Ellington - Take The A Train, Skeletons - Very Last Day, Bobby Womack - Woman's Got To Have It, Big Star - 13. And no matter what happens, I always listen to Creedence, Miles' Kind Of Blue and the Groovies. So there you have it...

Music and plenty else for NIMRODS!

Nice piece on Arthur Kane by David Johansen on the DOLLS site.

Check out this great little label based in Switzerland... Feathered Apple.

I'm pretty sure this computer is taking the piss outta me. Now that might sound like paranoia and even a little obsessive, compulsive but I can't shake the consideration that this bloody box in the corner across from the other one is extracting the ol' urine. Anyway, on a somewhat related note, my favourite TV show at the minute is MONK. It's on BBC2 here on a Saturday afternoon so while everybody else is at the mall, or getting on with their lives. We watch MONK. He's obsessive compulsive to a point beyond the call. It also takes place in San Francisco and there are great locations that just make you wanna be there. It's quite a gentle piece with an inherent sick cool that just doesn't make it to our screens too often these days. You should check it out if it appears on your schedules.

So we're entering our second month of belt tightening around here and I have it on pretty good authority that the Ethernet card in this pc is about to hit the wall. Lotsa connection problems this past week and difficulties with general e-mail too. It's a pain in the ass. Is it too much to expect things just to work? Evidently it is, so bear with the lapses in communication. Yeah, the coffers are at some kinda boracic level. (That's boracic lint = skint) Home maintenance doesn't come cheap and nothing much else does either, hence the kinda self-imposed exile. A little discipline probably ain't a bad thing and this shouldn't be interpreted as complaining. Merely an observation that stings a tad. Posting to the blog has caused a bit of head-scratching this past week also. It seems to hang mid-post but somehow makes it on there. He who hath no patience finds this a tad disconcerting. All of this admin is impeding the dissemination of info but stay tuned.

Mr Spence has a message for you folks in and around Glasgow!

Howdy Folks! Boy have we gotta treat for you....

SATURDAY 19TH FEBRUARY - STEREO, KELVINHAUGH ST., GLASGOW

£4 on the door; doors: 3pm ...YES, IT'S A MATINEE SHOW!!! (0141 576 5018)

THE DEXATEENS

THE GREASE MONKEYS

TAYLOR HOLLINGSWORTH

Aaah, record label discographies. Hours of joy!. They Could Have Been Bigger Than EMI.

The world has gone nuts... The Ramones are reincarnated as teddy bears (albeit toxic ones), Ms Amy Allison was telling me just the other night that FEZ was closing and now it seems that NY city may not "have it all" for too much longer... thanks to Martin Percival for the LINK.

Check out Hans Kesteloo's radio-stream - BEYOND THE BEAT GENERATION. Quite an archive of sound and vision.

And while you're at it, Scottish Beat Afficianados should keep the evening of March 24th to "talk about girls" n' stuff when THE CHOCOLATE WATCHBAND appear at King Tuts along with "wir ain" Lenny Helsing and his THANES!

Prescribed by Dr. Andrea, Medicine Wummin.

If you go down to the woods today... you'll see them goin' through a tight wynd!

Info from Prof. R. Stim, SF, CA.

"Dearest Friend,
Let's spend the night together, shall we? Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. hopes you'll say "Yes, I'd like that very much, thank you" and come to Otto's Shrunken Head, located at 538 East 14th Street in Manhattan, on Thursday, February 17th. It is then, from 8:00 until 10:00 sharp, that we shall present two most intimate shows that will express our deepest feelings for you. Both love and admission will be free and without obligation.

Yours most truly, Michael, Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co.

It came from Memphis... to the BARBICAN in London.

Thundercut Alters Downtown WALK Signs in NYC.
"On the WALK/DON’T WALK sign outside CBGB on the Bowery, the orange DON’T WALK hand has had its middle two fingers and thumb obliterated with black tape, turning it into a devil’s horns—the universal hand signal for “Rock!” The white walking man is now wearing sideburns, a skull-and-bones T-shirt, blue jeans, and a pair of Converse."

Atomic Affair is a new company specializing in vintage clothing. And if you are inclined to such matters, these gals deserve your support.

Crawford Smith spotted this train info...

Mr Martin Percival passed this along...

"Brothers & Sisters,Bow yr heads & pray to yr respective gods for the sadly departed soul of Dave Goodman, legendary Sex Pistols producer & regular all round good guy. Dave passed away following a heart attack at his Malta home this week. Our thoughts go out to his family & friends. RIP, Jean Encoule, trakMARX.com"

JIMMY SMITH - RIP (info from El Rapido)

I heard a funny expression for what’s happening to all of us. “Silvering” would appear to be a new tag for getting older. In this process, time seems to accelerate but only in your free time. When you’re going about the day to day guff then ol’ person time seems to travel painfully slowly. This can manifest itself in all manner of ways. He measure of time itself now is something I’m very aware of. As is thinking about using this precious commodity wisely. In reality though I’m prone to wasting big, hairy chunks of it. Nobody’s fault but mine I know but how does one actually get with addressing and more importantly actioning this condition? It occurs to me that I haven’t got a scoob. With age comes wisdom they say… so how come that wisdom stuff is in such short supply around these parts? Could be the “silvering” I guess…

Some Southern Culture headed our way in May...

I can't access the website but dates are

Wednesday 11 • London • Borderline

Thursday 12 • Bristol • St Bonaventures Parish Club

Friday 13 • Glasgow • Oran Mor (Part of Big Big Country Festival)

Saturday 14 • Newcastle • The Cluny

Better get to brewin' that 'shine now!

Up next from Norton: "RON HAYDOCK & THE BOPPERS - 99 CHICKS. Norton kingpins wild CD now on vinyl! Chicago's answer to Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps! Insane 1950's rockers and Ray Dennis Steckler soundtrack numbers plus rare demos, all culled from original master tapes! A MUST FOR EVERY ROCK N' ROLL FAN!. VARIOUS - SHAKE IT UP AND MOVE. 20 Primitive rockabilly demos by Elroy Dietzel, Jimmy Johnson, Johnny Fallin and others! This is the vinyl version of Ace Records phenomenal GENE VINCENT CUT OUR SONGS CD - sensational stuff!. VARIOUS - WILDCAT JAMBOREE. Live late 50s broadcasts from Corinth, Mississippis DIXIELAND Jamboree radio program! LLOYD ARNOLD, CURTIS HOBOCK, BILLY WAYNE, LEON BASS, BOBBY WOOD, WAYNE and BOBBY PRATT and more! Includes liner notes by Jamboree bandleader Hayden Thompson, interview with Jamboree boss Charles Bolton, additional commentary by the legendary Eddie Bond and many rare photos."

Two hours of Billy Miller and Lenny Kaye spinnin' old Fortune 45s on WMFU's Fool's Paradise. Essential listening !. (link c/o Jan Kooi).

Also on In-fidelity, you’ll find these Aussie outfits might hit some kinda spot with that craving for real rockin’ thrills you've been rasslin' with. That country has a fine pedigree of producing acts that can show 95% of UK grown bollocks how it’s done and well, here’s further proof of that claim.

THE SPECIMENS, that’s plural and not to be confused with the Batcave crowd, are a post-Hellacopters Detroit rock swillin’, potty mouthed ensemble that kick up quite a racket on their album, “The Quick And The Deaf”. It’s pretty def at any volume.

I thought that THE CANTS were from Detroit too being that their album was produced by Jim Diamond (not the Scottish JD). They knock out a nice Hoodoo Gurus-esque line in melodic punk which also owes a nod to 60’s garage but not in that authenticity over substance kinda way. Taking the Aussie accent into consideration when you say their name, you might arrive at a Pete’n’Dud appropriation of a very rude word indeed. Those scamps…

And what kinda name is THE ROYS? Especially when they’re not all called Roy? Well, it’s the moniker of a group with a sound that harks back to the cream of 70’s rock. Their EP contains 6 songs, the most immediate of these being “Till Next Time” which sounds like a collision between The Dictators and Big Star. In the gatefold of the cd booklet, they can be seen performing in front of a kid, a dog and an elephant. Now that’s crossover.

I guess I'd clocked THE COME ONS name but hadn't done anything about it. This, of course, was a slip up and of course, why would Sympathy have put out two records if they weren't at least worth checking out? Anyways, THE GHETTO YEARS is a collection of tracks assembled by In-Fidelity Records out yonder in Australia and it makes me wonder why their star hasn't ascended further by now. A sticker on the case suggests the contents sound "like Darlene Love quaffing Spanish brandy from a high-heeled sneaker" and tasty as that goes it's not entirely accurate. This punked-in, souled-out torch pop is way more fluid than that. Their sometimes tranquil fragility sits comfortably beside such monster grooves as "Complicated" (see the video on their website). This is sophisticated and savvy and it doesn't sound like anybody except themselves. Singer, Deanne Iovan, is also involved with fellow fine Motor City combo, THE SIRENS.

On Tuesday (8th February), BBC Radio Scotland will start a new series called Indie-Pendant Scotland about "the rise of independant labels" here in the auld country. Presented by Vic Galloway, it goes out at 11.30am but will be available on the station's "on-demand" facility.It will also be repeated on a Sunday Evening.

I need to clear something up. I have no contact with The Cramps. I've had no contact with them since they shut down the LOTC in August 1983 because the "tail was trying to wag the dog" or however it was put. Ergo, I can't put anybody in touch. I'm sorry if that's disappointing but that's the way it is. I still believe in them to an extent, especially now that Bill Bateman is involved but - I reiterate - I can't put anybody in contact with them. I believe that you can contact their agent/label/whatever via their website so I suggest you try those channels. I've just replied to the most recent request to be connected but won't address this matter again. Not outta rudeness, just because I'm tired of it.

I hold great store in loyalty and tend to be true to my school wherever possible. I've burned boats and done some daft, inane things in my time. Things way beyond having allegedly "wagged the dog" but sometimes mistakes are made in good faith via good old fashioned stupidity or because events dictate it. That said, life has to go on, y'ken... so please... hear this plea. It's the last one i'll make on the subject.

I just heard Janice Forsyth say that MARTYN BENNETT died last week and sure enough...

The great Alex Harvey would have been 70 today. That reminds me about the Neil Wilson Publishing published book, SAHB STORIES by Martin Kielty. Select music from the drop down menu at the top, the link doesn't seem to want to take you direct to the page for some reason. There was also a special edition available but those could well be gone.

Those Sonic Reducer fellas are outta hibernation and they mean (show) business...



"Hey Folks

We're ecstatic to report that the last Sonic Reducer bash raised £380 towards the tsunami appeal, which is deffo more than chump change ... This month, we're kicking off holding SR on Saturday nights, allowing yer good selves a full day's run up, and another 24 hours or so to recover! Ain't we just the kindest? Waaaaal ...

On Saturday January 12th, our guest DJ is none other than beat-hunter par excellence Cherrystones, who's just returned from helping David Holmes open up his new Belfast club ... From blistering funk to psych rock gems, the tracks this hairy fella has racked out on such mind-bending compilation albums as Rocks, Hidden Charms and B-Music proves that what he don't know about a myriad of musical styles could be written on the back of a postage stamp, and used to cover Pete Doherty's sense of propriety ...

Sadly, it looks as if the uber-special DJ we were wishin' & hopin' could make it to the decks on Saturday February 26th, namely Dictators frontman and DKT-MC5 guest vocalist Handsome Dick Manitoba, will be en route to play in Italy - for shame! But the big beat is for everyone, rite? And them Italians are mad for that ramalama racket ... Happily, veteran beatmeister Steptoe is travelling up from Bristol, to dish a whole box full of moves'n'grooves that have been wowing the hipsters at that fair city's Jubjub and Shake clubs ...

Natchully, we're still almost soiling ourselves at the thought of another go-round with the DKT-MC5 monster, this time avec the Sun Ra Arkestra, at Londinium's esteemed Royal Festival Hall on February 25th ... Do your ears, brains and souls a favour, will ya?!?!?!

The Soundtrack Of Our Lives are back in the UK this month, too ... Visit www.tsool.com for the lowdown, and be sure to watch the hilarious vid for their latest single, Heading For A Breakdown, which makes Aphex Twin's Windowlicker look like an episode of Ballykissangel ...

Also be sure to pick up a copy of the marvy Beat-Up album, Black Rays Defence, produced by the one and only Kevin Shields, which confirms their status as the finest rock'n'roll band in all the land ...

As if we didn't need to tell ya, Easter Weekend ain't for praising da lord - noooooooooooo! You should spend it genuflecting at the feet of The Chocolate Watch Band AAAND Love with Arthur Lee & (original guitarist) Johnny Echols, at Rob Bailey and co.'s Le Beat Bespoke weekender ... Visit www.newuntouchables.com for details ...

Lastly (but by no means least), our good, good friend Stewie Kirkham has just compiled a marvy selection of psych-rock obscurities, entitled Scorched Earth, for the "Eeee-Emmm-IIIII" label, and he'll be spinning cuts from it at SR during March ... Which will be nice ...

So that's all the news that's fit to sing for this month, seez ya at the bar ...

Selah, Joss and Joe"

News of some rock action in Edinburgh next weekend... chicken lickin¹ fun! Live at the subway - Cowgate, Saturday 12 february 8pm - alcohol with id -over 14s-£5
plus 4 support acts!!!! Bad Girls and Good ol¹ Boys Only!

OK kids, don't say you weren't given due warning -

"....hold onta ya assflaps LOS FABULOUS COYOTE MEN are back on the au go go! 'n' this time the mighty bruiser is chantin' 'n' dancin! yep... 1st confirmed date is sat may 14th with southern culture on the skids at the cluny, newcastle(part of a 2 day garage blow out) with other "warm ups" in spain 'n' london the week afore....it's been 6 years since the last REAL coyotes show (destroyin' mooney suzuki in nyc)'n' the son of h.d. is revved 'n' ready baby!"

Folks are continually asking me about back issues but i don't got none. However, heres a copy of Issue 21 looking for a home on Ebay. Maybe you'd care to liberate it?

Coupla things I’ve been thinking about that I’m gonna throw open to the floor…

First was the projected WHO WILL SAVE ROCK’N’ROLL exercise that I mentioned some time ago. While I appreciate those who were interested, it really wasn’t many and the state the ol’ finances are in of late - I can’t really afford to take a gamble. So the idea has kinda mutated into thinking that I might resurrect NBT as a newsletter to be mailed out in a physical form. Then I can send these binders out to those who “subscribe” as something of a receptacle for said newsletter which would build up into an archive (or wad of paper) depending on how you look at it. Does anyone indeed care? Or am I wasting my time even thinking about something like this? I have an urge to create something tactile. I want it to be of a DIY spirit that doesn’t look like it fell off the back end of a computer. As far as I know there’s no medication that exists to counter this. I have to consider the indifference though I guess.

The other question is – does an artist need to be affiliated to a label or should they just, jolly well release their own material? After all if you’re on a label and sell sod all then you’ve got someone to blame right? Sometimes that blame can be legitimate and sometimes… well… But if you release your own material then ostensibly you need to sell less to see some kinda return. Am I missing something here?

These two “questions” are somewhat intertwined and intersect at the point where I don’t think that anybody gives much of a fuck anymore. About anything. maybe they simply don't have the time? Maybe they do, but they’re just too worn down or drowning in crap that they can’t muster the energy? Maybe they’ve just grown out of giving a hoot? Give me a hand here, I’m trying to reason all of this out.

I know that the people who read this thing are not scenesters. Not fly by nights who flit from honey pot to Joe knows where. My experience is that you’re in it for the long haul and like me, couldn’t quit your habit supposing your ass depended on it. At least that’s what it says on “my telly”.

As we’ve hit February like a brick wall, I’m coming to terms with the fact that – no matter how I try to justify it – I can’t afford to hit up the DKT/MC5 show in London toward the end of the month. Life goes on however... and I wish this flu type thing that seems to be descending on me will either show itself or piss off back to whence it slid.

The latest edition of Lowcut magazine offers an interview with the always opinionated Tony Slug.

This month's releases from Ace Records.

Brother Bjorn sent me this link to the label that will present the new BARRACUDAS album to the world. Send 'em an encouraging word...

Seems to be a slow time for news and I don’t have much time for the old “listening process” right now. Too much of the day to day grind to be dealt with.

I did watch Fahrenheit 9/11 that I taped off the telly the other night though. What a load of mashed up, MTV generation cobblers that is. I used to rate Michael Moore but really hated Bowling For Columbine. This is perhaps even more cynical and loaded than that crock was. I’m pretty sure F9/11 won Dubya yon big compy that went down Stateside in November. I’d still like to see his movie, The Big One though, but only because The World Famous Blue Jays did the music.