The oft reliable Agony Shorthand blog has swerved from the path of rightiousnes today by declaring that "the Dictators are overrated", and not just that, but; "I’ll go that one further and recognize that any negative mojo thrown The Dictators’ way will really rub our compatriot, the estimable Jeroen at NEXT BIG THING, the wrong way – they’re pretty much his favorite band, which doesn’t reflect on the high quality of his (and Lindsay Hutton’s) excellent web site".
Nah, the only thing that rubs me is that Jay obviously never heard 'D.F.F.D.' or the Manitoba's Wild Kingdom LP (a 'tators disc in all but name) when he states "some very, very good gitah on those 3 Dictators albums. After that, what?".
'D.F.F.D.' has firmly established the Dics in the here and now and might even be their best yet. That, plus the ,to this day, always excellent live shows, is what...

Anyways, waving their flag has always been a rather solitary affair (just ask Lindsay), but I'd be nice if people actually listened to something before makin' claims.
Oh, and don't worry Jay, I'm way too old to hold any grudges over something as "trivial" as my favorite rock band. That is of course, until you start sayin' something similar about the Ramones ;-)

From 60sgaragebands.com:
According to an article of the American Statesmen by Michael Corcoran, it's a possibility that Jack Black could one day soon portray Roky Erickson on the silver screen. "Sumner Erickson asked his brother Roky what he wanted for his July 15 birthday and the answer was a simple 'movie deal.' The Rok must've blown out all 56 candles, because his wish has come true. As Roky's guardian, Sumner has optioned the rights to the life story of the one-time 13th Floor Elevators frontman to Los Angeles-based production company Flea Circus Films. And Mike King of Flea Circus says Black is very interested in not only portraying Mr. 'Two-Headed Dog,' but producing the film...'Jack called Roky on his birthday and said he wanted to play him,' King says. Roky approves. 'We were watching a rerun of Saturday Night Live with Jack Black as the host and I told Roky, `That's the guy who wants to play you,' says Sumner. 'And Roky just became glued to the set. Didn't say a word the whole show, but when it was over Roky said, `I want him, 100 percent.' Negotiations between Black, the Ericksons and Flea Circus have been under way for about a year." The same article also details information on a Roky documentary. "Los Angeles-based documentary filmmaker Keven McAlester, whose Rok-umentary, You're Gonna Miss Me, should be completed in time for the Oct. 3 Sundance submission deadline, says Hollywood's interest in the Erickson story can only help attract attention to his film. McAlester's camera followed Roky from July '99, when the psychedelic icon was in the depths of mental and financial despair, through June '02, when the singer made an astonishing rebound thanks to medication and the care of his brother. 'Any three years of Roky's life would make an interesting film,' says McAlester, 'but I feel that we were lucky to film him over the period that we did.' Indeed, McAlester got the ending that would be considered too corny, anywhere but Hollywood."

Wanda Jackson will have a new album out in September entitled 'Heart Trouble' which features contributions from Dave Alvin, the Cramps and Rosie Flores ao, on CMH while Sympathy is set to issue the vinyl version. GO!. ***** Out already is a new album by Girl Trouble (anybody remember their ace 'She No Rattle My Cage' 45 from way back when?); 'The Illusion Of Excitement' on their own Wig Out label.

Just last night I was diggin' the heck outta Sympathy's re-issue of the Oblivians' 'Live In Atlanta' disc. I mean, jeez, I have owned an original for ages, and fully signed at that, even have a picture somewhere of me proudly holdin' up the disc standin' next to Eric O, I only picked up the re-ish to keep the collection in shape.
So you get the idea I guess; I'm a "fan"...
Imagine my surprise when just now I noted that these guys are gonna do a reunion show in Memphis on halloween (wtf?). Damn, w/ so many copycats around, it 'd sure be nice to see the original band in action once again. Even if I've seen 'em several times in their prime.
Hey, did I ever tell you about that one time they played in town here on my b-day and instead of throwin' a party I bought a bunch o' tickets for the show, 'n handed 'em out to friends 'n family?. It was one of the most amazing shows I ever saw, w/ Greg totally freakin' out at the end. Some guy video taped it but ran out of tape before things got really exciting... Alice 'n me even went up all the way up north to Grunnen the next day (hotel 'n all, hungover like hell) hopin' for an equally hot show, but sadly it was not to be.
Hey Eric, if this thing works out, why not come over to Europe again?, I'll bet Robert 'll be happy to drive you around, and by the time you hit Utrecht I'll make sure the entire Vedder clan 'll be in the front row....

"It's the I-94 Bar's latest issue and our cover story is a heartfelt tribute to the late Tim Hemensley by Sydney punk rock scum nosebleed Ashley Thomson. You can leave your feedback too.
Live, we feature reviews with a country flavour, as John McPharlin checks out the Lowdorados, the Chucky Monroes, Richie &the Creeps, The Meek and The Re-Mains. Clark Paull and the missus dump the kids and catch Roxy Music in Detroit.
There's a free Meek MP3 in the Sound Lounge.
In our Disc Reviews, we cock an ear to the Lowdorados, the Riverboat Gamblers, Sheek the Shayk, the fab Antipodean Screams Aussie compile, the Dee Rangers, The Moodists, Get Lost!, The Drones , Timid Joe, The Travoltas, Trigger, Supersuckers, Hugh Cornwell, Jason Walker, The Bamboos and Maurice Frawley & the Working Class Ringos".

Don't know about you, but I love compilations, esp w/ radio dead 'n gone they are a vital source of entertainment 'round here. There are labels like Ace, Norton and Soul Jazz who put out amazing, and expertly documented, comps, but you also get on/offs where some fanatic lines up a batch of his fave 45s and has 'em pressed into a limited run footlong. Both kinds offer their own particular brand of gratification, but tryin' to make sense out of 'em can be a bit of a task. I mean, have you ever played a comp and heard a great tune by some long lost band and wondered "did these guys put out more records, and if so, where can I find 'em?". And if you've got a decent amount of discs, chances are you might even have more songs by that particular band. Trouble is, how you gonna find it....
The wonder that is the www has thrown up at least three on-line databases that can help you in your quest.
compHELLation (70s punk), Rockin' Country Style (Rockabilly) and the Garage Compilation Database (60s garage) all hold stacks o' information, cross-referenced 'n all. The rockabilly site is esp stunning in it's sheer overwhelming amount of details. I love these sites and have long lost count on how oft I refered to 'em tryin' to find some info and actually found it !.
If any of you is aware of similar sites on soul, reggae or blues, please drop us a line !.

Another reason to consider moving to Spain; the Azkena Rock Festival. Just take a peek at the line-up; Cramps, Dictators, Ben Vaughn, Hellacopters, Hunches, Iggy & the Stooges, Ray Davies and more....
(w/ thanks to Martin Percial)

Next to Chiswick and Step Forward, Raw Records was one of my fave UK p-rock labels way back when. There's a, uh, raw DIY feel to most of their releases that keeps 'em soundin' fresh to this day. From the deadly guitar attack of the Users to the more sophisticated wail of the (early) Soft Boys, most of the labels releases were miles apart from the more glossy produced bands on labels like Virgin etc. And let's not forget that they were also thoughtful enough to put out re-issues by such pre-punk luminaries like the Creation and Hammersmith Gorillas and release new material by the Downliners Sect. And altho' I certainly wasn't aware of it at the time, these days I marvel at the ongoing links between the UK's six-o Beat/R&B boom, the Hawkwind/Deviants/Pink Faries-axis and 70s DIY labels like Chiswick, Stiff and, yep; Raw. To me this is the only real r'n'r heritage the UK ever came up with. Hey, I'm not suggestin' that all o' what's happenin' in the UK these days is worthless, but what w/ Lemmy livin' in LA, we could send out a rescue boat for Billy Childish, and then pull the plug on the entire island and let it drift off to Antarctica....
Anyways, what I'm trying to get at, is that UK label Damaged Goods has two comps out featurin' all of Raw's finest material and some of the last great music created in jolly ol' Britain, and these are well worth your time 'n hard earned pay.
Music made w/ passion, and w/ out the slightest hint of cynicism, how's about that for a change...

Psychotic Revelation - The Ultimate Count Five (Big Beat WIKCD230)

Chances are that if you are a regular reader of this blog you will have at least six copies of Psychotic Reaction . And that, I guess, is a conservative estimate even by Jeroen's standards. "So why should I shell out my hard-earned cash for yet another copy?" I hear you ask. Simple, what we have here is the most exhaustive and twisterific Count Five compilation to ever grace a record store.

Step this way for the unedited version of Psychotic Reaction complete with original ending that just kinda fizzles out and away. A finer example of a successful collaboration between some young punks and a record label on-the-make you could not find. Simply stated, while Count Five supplied the correct musical vibe those pesky producer types edited their damn catchy tune down to something altogether more potent and chart bound. The improvement made to original recording is more than impressive, it's mind altering.

Interestingly, quite a few of the tunes differ to the versions we already love and cherish, a fact that is not always indicated in the accompanying blurb. For example, My Generation is longer to the one on the original album and includes suitable pop-art noises (e.g. guitar string scrapping). While the take of Mailman contains vocal lines not to be heard on the version of the tune on the Dynamite Incidents mini-album from the early 80s. What a great song it is too! Dig its metamorphosis from the ho-hum People Hear What I Say (previously unreleased ) into a certified floor filler. Why did this 45rpm stiff?

So what other “rarities” do you get for your money? Well, listen out for a brainstorming demo recording of Contrast that hints at the live power of Count Five. Impressed? Then cock an ear to those wah-wah trippy guitar lines on Enchanted Flowers and prepare to move into the 5th Dimension. Like, move over Stephen Stills, unplug your guitar from John Byrne's amp (see liner-notes for details of Count Five's run-in with the Buffalo Springfield) and take a listen a tune that rivals some of your old band’s finest moments.

Now add to the deal a thick info-packed booklet that will take you about the same amount of time to read as it will to listen to the contents of the CD. Damn it, anything to banish the memory of the self-indulgent essay about Count Five by Lester Bangs in the early 70s and which even found itself quoted for the liner notes of a Count Five disc on Repertoire. Say, wasn't punk, proto or otherwise, supposed to be an antidote to such unfocused dog-doo? Phew, glad I finally got the chance get that one off the chest.

Anyway, bravo to Big Beat for a job well done and please could we have a similar styled release devoted to the Syndicate of Sound?

LINK: Cool interview with Tony Slug on IPunkRock.com. It is in Spanish, but run it thru' this handy dandy translation device and you'll get the general idea...

Norton is set to release the first 2 of 15 split Rolling Stones cover singles recorded by today's coolest hit makers and packaged in their own company sleeve.
Knaughty Knights/Wildebeests
"Memphis' Naughty Knights fronted by Jack Yarber (Oblivians/Cool Jerks) sonically rip through 'Connection' while the Wildebeests pound out the psycho Diddley 'Please Go Home'".
Reigning Sound/Hentchmen
"Another Memphis topside! Reigning Sound, featuring Greg Cartwright (Oblivians/Compulsive Gamblers), offer a stunning take on 'I'd Much Rather Be With The Boys' duking it out with the Hentchmen, who serve up 'Surprise, Surprise' (produced by Freddy Fortune) with a nod to their Motor City Idols The Underdogs".

"'It's Everything and Then It's Gone' a documentary featuring the brief era when a group of bands took over an old rubber workers' hangout and created a mix of punk rock and art rock that would be coined 'The Akron Sound' will be aired on PBS 45 & 49 at 8 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 5.
Produced by Phil Hoffman, UA adjunct professor of communications, the hour-long program chronicles the early 1970s, when rubber was still king in Akron, and how, just a few years later, Akron's most important export was music.
Writer/director Hoffman says the documentary takes you back to a time when the music really did mean everything. And, for these musicians "most of them children of rubber workers" music was a way out of the factory.
The program features music from Devo, the Rubber City Rebels, The Bizarros, Tin Huey and The Waitresses, and interviews with members of Devo, Akron writer David Giffels, legendary rock critic Jane Scott and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame chief curator Jim Henke. "
(Anybody out there able to land me a video copy of this?.)

"The August updates to 60sgaragebands.com are now online. Featured is Ted Liebler's excellent interview with Notre Dames' The Shaggs, who recorded the classic "Wink" LP!. Also included are interviews with R.T. Salazar of The Tears ("Weatherman") and Rick Levy of The Limits. And, as always, all the current NEWS & NUGGETS, and a handful of additions to our comprehensive garage band filmography".

Remember the Angry Samoans' 'They Saved Hitler's Cock' ?, well again truth is stranger than fiction. GO!.

Thundertrain reunion tour: "Hot off a rave review in Rolling Stone of their TEENAGE SUICIDE reissue on Gulcher, Thundertrain will reunite for the first time ever, playing six cities in six nights! The Boston-area dates kick off August 19 in Worcester, roll on through Attleboro, Somerville, and Jamaica Plain to a Saturday night climax in Cambridge with Cheetah Chrome and Unnatural Axe, and wrap up with a Sunday afternoon finale and weenie roast in lead singer Mach Bell's hometown of Holliston. For complete details, click here: Thundertrain Tour Hotline".

Dunno how many of you remember Gene Sculatti's 'Catalog Of Cool' book and it's follow up 'Too Cool', but it was great to note that most of those books contents are now available on-line. And yeah, some of this stuff is a bit too corny/cheezy for my particular taste, but you also get contributions by such fine folk like Tim Warren, Nick Toshes, Lux Interior, John Waters and Joey Ramone, all of 'em cool to the point of bein' frosty. GO!.

thedictators.com is updated with news and upcomin' tour dates (includin' a couple o' shows in Italy).

"Crypt Records is clearing out the Garage!. So much stuff got piled up we need to get rid of a LOT!. Records, t-shirts, posters, test pressings, silly stuff and all kinds of junk... So make sure you check out our other options too, now and later!". GO!.

This month's releases from Ace includes hipsters like the Sonics, Prisoners, B.B. King plus Laurie and Combo label anthologies. Out soon will be a couple of rockabilly 45s taken from the label's recent Meteor collection.

Looks like Norton is set to release vinyl re-issues of the 4 original Gene Vincent LPs in September...

It's been a while since I've last been in contact w/ former MRR scribe Mark Murmann, but noticed that he's been setting up his own weblog 'Blitz My Brain' over the past few days. Obviously still tryin' to get the hang of it, but he should be on a roll in no time soon. And don't let the MRR tag scare ya, Mark's taste in music probably runs pretty much along the same lines as that of most NBT readers. And credit where it's due; Mark mentions a new Lester Bangs anthology to be published on August 12, that I haven't seen mentioned anywhere else yet...

Great wee Blasters and B-related site constructed by bass fella John Bazz. GO!.

RIP: Sam Phillips. GO!.

Aye... hopefully somebody will have the presence of mind to sink the bastard with all of 'em on it. I guess there's no end to the humiliation. I was certainly cheated the night I had to watch them vomit out their lumpy paen to rawk. Can somebody make sure the Kings of Leon are on the boat too?

NEWS FLASHES: "Rhino Records is giving its legendary compilation power to the punk movement. 'Ever Get the Feeling You've Been Cheated?', which ironically doesn't include a single Sex Pistols track to back up its name, is due for Oct. 28. The four-disc set spans bands that came out from 1973 to 1980, and is intended to show the links between classic punk rock and proto-punk, new wave, post-punk and no wave" (tracklisting)..*****Lindsay will be overjoyed that the new Turbonegro video is available here, and the band has a "secret" gig comming up according to this this article.

Finally took some time to dig into the Star Spangles debut full-length disc 'Bazooka', and I gotta tip my hat to our chief o' staff Lindsay for knowin' a contender when he sees one, 'cause this here disc is a rip roarin' p-rock blast, w/ the p standin' for "pop" !. And save for one weak Hoodoo Gurus cover (you can't beat perfection) it's all top shelf stuff. Just take note of those involved (Sleeve pic taken by former Heartbreakers manager Leee Black Childers, produced by Ramones regular Daniel Rey and their official bio is written by Richard Meltzer !) couple that with looks resemblin' Sire era Flamin' Groovies crossed w/ the NY Dolls and you'll get a pretty good idea of what to expect.

On Friday night I caught the Buff Medways at the Dirty Water Club. The first 45 minutes were dependable if nothing earth shattering from Sir William et al. That's the way it goes, sometimes a band will spark and on other night's the timing will be a smidgen out. However, as we rounded the bend at midnight Billy starting playing around with Punk Rock Is Nicht Tot and turned it into a rap about bogus celebrities and phoney people. It worked as treat as did the segue from Jack The Ripper into John The Revelator. To cap it all off, Johnny Johnson (ex-Headcoats) jumped ontstage to play guitar for an encore of Baby What Do You Want Me To Do and You Don't Love Me. With that done and dusted, Billy turned to the audience and said: "Now go home and form a rock'n'roll band." Who would refuse?

The Barracudas and Lazy Cowgirls now have Yahoo! Groups dedicated to their past, present and future activities. Both have the support and the participation of band members so here's your chance to ask for the story behind some of your favourite tunes. Thankfully, no one appears to be too mentally damaged by their ordeals at the RnR coalface.

Way "backintheday" there was a band by the name of New Math. Then they became The Jet Black Berries and made a few more albums then folded. They were really something.
Now Gary Trainer, Roy Stein and Chris Yockel of the NM/JBB axis have got a new combo together with April Laragy pictured here and Scott Ostrowski called The Atomic Swindlers. They trade in a grandiose swinging glam long considered lost to the world and add a little punk rock undertow as one might expect. www.atomicswindlers.com

Blasters weekend is upon us and I'm very much looking forward to seeing the gang when they arrive in Glasgow tomorrow. Meanwhile check out their Euroexploits thus far at www.blastersnewsletter.com.

Been fortunate to receive an advance copy of a documentary that's been made about Jandek entitled Jandek on Corwood. For anybody who may not be familiar with Jandek, he's a guy who has been putting out albums on his own Corwood Industries imprint for the best part of a quarter century. His material for the most part is atonal, minimal, mostly acoustic and damn atmospheric to the point of cinematic. I used to have a bunch of the records and now I've seen this, I'll be revisiting his work. His identity is a mystery and remains so. Several sitings are relayed in the film but nobody really has a beat on who this guy is. The doc features Byron Coley, Phil Milstein and Gary Gold as well as many others talking about their take on The J phenomenon and as a piece it's excellent. Hopefully it'll be making an appearance at a Film Festival near you so you can check it out for yourself. It's not rock'n'roll by any means but its more than worthy of your investigation. Meanwhile check out the following for further insight. www.jandekoncorwood.com

Norton Records has announced a series of '60's Fort Worth Teen Scene releases for the Fall. According to their press release, "You will dig unseen photos, rare and unissued recordings plus legendary sides presented for the first time from master tapes!".

As some of you might know I'm somewhat of a Reggae fanatic besides the usual NBT fare. And I wouldn't even mention this if it wasn't for the fact that the Soul Jazz label is set to release a 19 track comp of Joe Gibbs productions. Gibbs bein' reponsible for some of my all-time fave Jamaican recordings. Most of you will remember Althea & Donna's UK #1 'Uptown Top Ranking' from 1978, but he, together with his engineer Eroll Thompson, was also behind the majestic 'Two Sevens Clash' LP by Culture, the 'Visions Of Dennis Brown' disc plus the genius 'African Dub' series. After the excellent 'No Bones For The Dogs' dub set on Pressure Sounds, this new one looks like it's gonna be an even better addition to the Gibbs discography. GO!.

Rip Off recording artists The Marked Men will be touring Euroland in August; 14 Vera, Groningen (NL) w/The Stilettos & Shakin' Nasties, 15 Pit's, Kortrijk (BEL), 16 tba, 17 Swaf, Hoorn (NL), 20 Tower, Bremen (D) w/Moorat Fingers, 21 Rotterdam (NL) tbc, 22 Ekko, Utrecht (NL) w/The Stilettos, 23 Cobra (outside), Solingen (D).

UPDATED: The I-94 Bar: Rock with the Dragons, the Cynics, X , Sheek the Shayk and Nanker Phelge. GO!.

Exploding Hearts lose three members in crash. GO!.

What with the upcomin' Hydromatics' Euro tour 'n all it seems like a good time to hip you lot out there to the excellent Scott Morgan site 'n dito Yahoo Group.

LINK: A long, but interesting review of the Ramones documentary 'End Of The Century' in Creem. GO!.

These are busy and weird times. To put the tin lid on a rather putrid week, I blew my stereo amp yesterday and I'm operating on a less than meaty system at the moment. managed to salvage a workable intermediate stage but i won't be able to raise the roof until I get my mitts on another bit of gear. I know, all the apples fell on me or whit?
Lets see, check out The Illegal Movers - Buzzpunkpowerpoprockactiondeluxe on the Middle Class Pig imprint. Whilst alleged Garage Combo's come and bore, these Newcastle Upon Tyne dwellars provide a nifty twist on a style that is the bread and butter of NBT-ites. A more Wild Kingdomesque slant on The Coyotemen should paint a postive picture of what to expect. Divnae believe me? Go to www.middleclasspig.com and check 'em out for yourself with some download action.
Now to Sweden, home of the hits and the land which seems to have primo punk flouride in it's water supply. Mando Diao are a new name to me but it seems like they've been snapped up by Mute Records. Of course, The Hives are mentioned in their blurb but so are The Creeps. This is because there's an element of soul in their sound. It's also a tad more open ended in terms of sounding almost contemporary. Its a mixed bag with the more unusual tracks like "Mr Moon" possessing something that might appeal to radio programmers with an ear for laying something new on their listenership. "The Band" on the other hand cuts and shuts Dexy's Midnight Runners with The Count V (that's five incase there's anybody reading this that doesn't know. These guys could really appeal to an Idlewild audience and while I don't think the schtick stretches over the whole album, there's a couple of things here that could see 'em to the next level. www.mando-diao.com
Much more direct, also from Sweden are Parker. A great punk rock, attitude streaming from every pore, pogo machine.They woulda been on stiff Records if such a beastie still existed. Eva Parker has a voice like Angel CC channelling Lene Lovich. Mighty lungs indeed. Their second album "Le Petomane", is just out and I urgeth you to check 'em out. www.parkerpop.com
Outright best thing I've heard in a long time is a band called The Debs which existed in Springfied, Missouri around 1978. The first song on their unreleased demo is gagging to be covered. Which combo will have the sheer taste to get in there first? More info about these lassies when I get it.

Rhino is set to re-issue the original Television albums with bonus tracks plus a live album. GO!

LINK: Cool Dutch beat site (with MP3s). GO!

Got a couple o' msgs recently from people tellin' me they're missin' the semi-frequent playlists I used to include in the ON/CL days. So here's some o' the stuff that's doin' the round's on the hi-fi; Lotsa ol' Rocksteady (esp the ' Treasure Isle Showtime' LP on Heartbeat, the sleeve sez it all; 'It's like popcorn; hot baby, hot!)", the Blues (as always, w/ Elmore James and Otis Rush gettin' the most spins these days), comps from the Soul Jazz 'n Preasure Sounds labels (two great re-issue labels in their field), the 'Lookin' Good' comp on BGP (cool R&B/Soul mod-grooves), the Leg Hounds (prime Devil Dogs-type punk-R'n'R), Creedence Clearwater Revival, early Stones (two perennial faves) and finally the Nitwitz - Rock & Roll Conquistadores. in MP3 format (If that new album is gonna be anywhere as good as this, it's gonna be damn near lethal!).
So there you have it, I haven't seen the future of rock'n'roll over the past few weeks, but this here stuff is pretty much what has floated my boat recently.

LINK: Wang Dang Dula! is a great site dedicated to the wildest sounds from the 50s and early 60s. Dig around a bit and be amazed at the amount of info available (beware of pop-ups tho'). Esp recommended to all you Kicksters out there. GO!.

Been fast-forwarding through the T in the park TV coverage and actually saw this Kings Of Leon crew. Dearie dearie me, if that's what passes for rock thrills theses days then we're in big trouble.

Fleshtones tourdates confirmed for Texas and California

Thu 4 Sept - Houston, TX at Rudyards
Fri 5 Sept - Austin, TX at Emo’s Inside stage with Sons of Hercules
Sat 6 Sept - San Antonio, TX at Taco Land with Sons of Hercules
Thu 2 Oct - San Diego, CA at Casbah wih Holly Golightly
Fri 3 Oct - Los Angeles, CA at Spaceland with Holly Golightly
Sat 4 Oct - San Francisco, CA at Parside lounge for Budget Rock Garage Festival
Sun 5 Oct - San Francisco, CA at Parside lounge for Budget Rock Garage Festival

For those of you in the NYC area:

Friday July 25 - Joint celebration with Crypt Records and 20 years of Back from the Grave comps

THE SPITS (Seattle, Slovenly Records)
THE LITTLE KILLERS (NYC, Crypt)
THE BLACK LIPS (Atlanta, Bomp)
ANDY G AND THE ROLLER KINGS (NYC, Sympathy)
SOME ACTION (NYC)

Plus DJ Tim Warren from Crypt Records and special guests!

Saturday July 26

NIKKI CORVETTE (Bomp - 1st NYC appearance since 1982!)
LYRES (Boston, Matador, Norton)
HIGH BEAMS (Seattle, Dead Beat)
BASEBALL FURIES (Chicago, Big Neck)
SPITTOONS (NYC)

Plus DJs Alberto from Wowsville and Bazooka Joe

$12 per night
doors 8pm each night
at Sin-e' (150 Attorney St. betw Houston and Stanton)

You can purchase tickets online at www.sin-e.org through ticket web or at Wowsville on 2nd Ave just below St. Marks...tickets should be a Wowsville starting Saturday July 12.

It seems that a new issue of the always amazing Ugly Things magazine is on it's way to the printers. This upcommin' isssue (# 21) wil include the second part of the massive Misunderstood article plus stuff on The Quests, The Paupers, Skip Spence, Meic Stevens and Armageddon. Also an article on legendary Spanish music journalist José Luis Alvarez and Spain's main 60's mag Fonorama. Street date; "by the end of the summer".

This morning, I saw a 2cd set in Tesco entitled "The Best Prog Rock Album in the World Ever" complete with Roger Dean artwork. A further sign that the threadbare arse has fallen out of the music biz. Would you let your corn flakes, carrots or sprouts share a basket with such a beast? It's been a pretty crappy week in all, the programme for the Edinburgh International Film Festival came out and there are slim pickin's to be had there. It'll be hailed as a great success I'm sure, but it puts the tin lid on my beliefs about the artistic directors ability. Just as well we'll be tied up with the return of Amy Allison who'l be promoting the release of her No Frills Friend album on Spit & Polish. Diesel Only in the US.
I keep reading about Kings of Leon and how great they are. Imagine the big dissy then when I hear 'em and they sound like Blur trying to be Rocket From The Crypt.
On the subject of print, there's a magazine out here called Careless Talk Costs Lives and although you might not agree with everything in there, it's firing a veritable ball of phlegm across the bows of what tries to pass as the established press these days. It looks damn good to and it's packed, and I been to the rafters, with info. No cover mounted cd by the chosen dozen or so - just the facts so you can go check stuff out for yrselves. Remember how that goes? It'll keep you goin' until Joss and Joe get Sonic Reducer out on a regular basis. www.carelesstalkcostslives.com
People keep asking me what I think about The Cramps album and all I'm prepared to say is I don't care for it. Why should anybody give a hoot what I think about it anyway? I'm sure you can come up with your own reservations. Good luck to them though, as always I hope they get what they deserve. And to answer another question... No, I won't be going to see them either.

Misty Lane #18 is now available. Included in the all-English publication are interviews with Sky Saxon of The Seeds, Barry Tashain of The Remains, Jim Pons of The Leaves, Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds, and interviews stories on The Mods, Gaunga Dyns, Bachs, Lemon Drops, Bold, Tonto & The Renegades, Bojax, Shadows Four, Terry Rae, Bark of Paper Mulberry, Guilloteens, Cold Sun, Castells and more! Included with each issue is a CD containging tracks by many of the above artists, as well as Sweet Wine, North Shores, Palace Guard, Blue Cheer and more. It's available at http://crea.html.it/sito/NOWSOUND/

Out soon; a Ramones live disc recorded in 1978. GO!.

LINK: "It's the I-94 Bar's Deep Reduction issue. We take you to the Australian shows by this Austro-American band, featuring Radio Birdman's Rob Younger and Deniz Tek.
In other live wrap-ups, guest reviewer Geoff Ginsberg runs the rule over shows by, The Greenhornes, The Supersuckers, The Cramps, Sickidz, The Dictators, Lou Reed, The Fleshtones, Easy Action, Garland Jeffreys, Rocket From the Tombs, X, and Sylvain Sylvain.
In news, Penny Ikinger makes a Career move and we bring you more Radio Birdman Euro dates.
Plus tons of record reviews".
The I-94 Bar: Sydney Rock Action via The Bowery and Motor City. GO!

Some time ago Steve and myself put up a virtual shrine for long lost pubrockers The Count Bishops. A true labor of love that obviously doesn't generate too much traffic but every now and then throws up a response from some far flung corner of the globe, showing that we're not alone in our flag waving for these guys. I wouldn't dare claim our little site to be the final word on the subject, but I figured it was pretty comprehensive. Not so; this week I was contacted by Herve Colombet from France, who put up his own Count Bishops site that really holds an insane amount of information about the band providing hours of fun for people like me in search of a life. Please go 'n take a peek and say "Hi!" to Herve when you get there. GO!.

LINK: I Despise You And I Hate Your Taste In Music
"Once music was a simple thing. People played a jolly tune into a recording device, people played it and danced about a bit. Now we need professional psychiatric care for an audience assaulted by the likes of 'Weekend' on a regular basis. People have accused my reviews of being generated by a computer. Well, of course they are. You think anyone in their right mind would listen to The Dictators all day? I'm all digital baby. "

This month's releases from Ace. GO!.

The ever bizarre Dutch TV show 'Jiskefet' will host a reunion of legendary Dutch punk band The Helmettes on Sunday July 27 (22:10 NED3).

Tony Slug tells us The Hydromatics are off 'n rollin' again in September, not only that but there's a new live album on the way on Suburban, a 45 on Sweet Nothing (yep, 2 versions of the song 'Sweet Nothing'), and another 7" on the French Pitshark label. The lack of any new studio material is down to the fact that their previous label screwed 'em out of a lot of money and the band is thus unable to afford the luxury of a studio. Anyways, the dates are as follows; Sept 3 Vigo Spain, Sept 4 La Coruna Spain, Sept 5 Gruta 77, Madrid Spain (with Stiff Little Fingers), Sept 10 Forum Bielefeld Germany (with Radio Birdman), plus some date in Finland of which the details are still a bit sketchy.

I dunno about you but I'm sick of all these alleged punk rock groups that are doing the rounds but there's one exception. Ever hear of The Star Spangles? Maybe you've read the little potshots that compare 'em to The S*****S or whoever the publicists are prostrating themselves before this nanosecond, but the clotheared mofo's that are bleating that obviously wouldn't know primo buzzsaw action supposing it bit their schnozzes off.
The Star Spangles are a bunch of young 'uns that can rattle it out like any one of your "back in the day" NY punkers. Sometimes the rush of adrenalin is like a whole posse of your faves kicking you at once. Their new single
"I Live For Speed" is out now and the album "Bazooka!" is out next week. If this and any other Nation's youth were to embrace The Spangles then this world would be a better place but then again why should they have the sense to take anything worthy to their shit-riddled tastebuds. Another charge levelled at the Spangles seems to be down to them being signed to Parlophone. A major label. As opposed to a boutique label for a major... So they want to sell some records, imagine that. Who the bloody eff do they think they are??? So listen, any NBTster worth their salt will love, love, love this band. They're unscathed by the brickbats and I guess that's what knocking out Cheap Trick meets Ramones with some Heartbreakers/Dead Boys and Dictators riffage on the side will do that to a group. Check 'em out on www.the starspangles.com and be smitten.Live the bamalama is even better and they'll be everywhere this fall proving their critics to be the lily-livered tossers they undoubtably work hard at being.
If Turbonegroid rocked a fifth as much as wir Spangles then they'd be getting somewhere but don't mix these NY kids with those lumpy Norwegien oiks. Don't you ever do that.

I have no idea if this is working or not. Perhaps International Hacking Day or whatever it is that's tomorrow has already knobbled Blogger?

Just added as support to The Blasters, for the Glasgow show only, is the great Chris Gaffney. Bodyswerve the London show and get yr bahookie up here for this July 28th Shindig.
Another specially curated opening event will be Amy Allison opening for Laura Cantrell at Glasgow's Grand Ole Opry on August 7th. Amy will be here for shows to coincide with the release of her new No Frills Friend album on Spit & Polish. Us Release is on Diesel Only.

It ain't too shabby when a plan comes together and the great Chris Gaffney has been secured to provide the opening salvo for The Blasters in Glasgow on July 28th. It should be noted that this is for the Scottish show only so bodyswerve London and get your bahookie up here instead. Laura Cantrell's show at Glesgae's Grand Ole Opry is similarly unmissable as she will be joined by "wir ain" Amy Allison to open the proceedings. That one's on Thursday August 7th. The Opry is situated on the South Side of Glasgow and is perhaps The city's finest venue. It's location puts off the idiots that can't see past their own midden-heid but that's those fair weather tossers loss. The liquid refreshments are very reasonably priced and you can even get some nosh at "The Chuck Wagon". A surreal and welcome glimpse of yer actual good auld days.

So it's that time of year again. The time when we act as a mini-Scottish tourist board and schlepp our cronies from all over the globe around some alternative sights. Of course this includes record stores and over the past couple of days we've been in the best and worst. The best is of course Monorail in Glasgow. A civilised home away from home which is a zillion miles away from the chain malaise. Monorail is situated within Mono, a fine bar and eaterie and anybody who visits Glasgow will have to make a pitstop there. It's mandatory. On the other side of the tracks there's Backbeat Records in Edinburgh. What a chuffing overpriced dump. I saw the Phast Phreddie and thee Precisions album in there for £25(!) and a Blasters Spin Radio Promo for a penny under 60 quid. They are cruel to vinyl too with dirty big plastic bins perched atop one another. You wouldn't do that to animals and you shouldn't do it to discs either. There oughtta be a law, or maybe even 5.

On a positive tip, some info on a real combo that deserves to sell records. Nomads fans should check out "Skolssangen" by Dom Galna Hundara (The Mad Dogs), a rip stonkin' humdinger of an anthem with Stockholm's finest providing the crunch. A fine tune which appears to be available only as a single song cd. No filler on this rascal. www.honkytonkform.com

Re Cap'n J's Turgidneger posting, just too bad they all weren't lifted. Why are so many people gulled by these boring shysters? I know the pickin's out there can be thin' but c'mon...

Turbonegro get landed in chokey for arms smuggling. GO!.

It's too bloody hot. I can't function in these conditions and (my old buddy, Miettinen will get a chortle outta this) my hayfever is giving me gyp. Even people who never suffer the bloody condition are sneezing and snorting all over the shop, but I digress... Top girl combo Voladoras blew through Glasgow again last night on another ill-fitting bill.
They deserve a few breaks these lassies. As straight ahead undulating garage rock action goes, they batter it out with a gusto that most of those NME-hyped nonentities will ever sniff. Check their site www.voladoras.com and buy their records. It's an excellent cause. Hopefully their next circuit will be with The Gore Gore Girls in October. An altogether better fit.

New on the web: the mighty Telstar label;

"Telstar Records hit the ground running in 1985. Head honcho Todd Abramson caught the Ben Vaughn Combo playing around N.Y.C. and thought they were so damn great that somebody should put a record out on them. So he took matters into his own hands and put out their debut release, “My First Band” in January of that year.

The Ben Vaughn Combo boasted the criteria that has become Telstar’s stock in trade. Bands like The Mummies, Swingin’ Neckbreakers, Greenhornes and Woggles embrace the elements of garage, r’n’b, soul, surf, punk and more that once made music so enjoyable, and put their own unique individual stamps on it to come up with something new and exciting. You can’t lose with the stuff we use! We’re happy to do all the work of tracking these bands down. All you have to do is buy their records and cd’s. This is a good deal for everyone involved".

Munster records from Spain has some cool stuff lined up for release:
Black Lips - Ain't Coming Back 7", Legendary Tiger Man (featuring Mick Collins and Jim Diamond) - Big Black Rusty Pussyboat 7", v/a - Freakbeat from Down Under (South American 60s comp), Gun Club - Fire Of Love (Heavyweight vinyl re-issue of this all-time classic, w/ liner notes by a certain Mr L. Hutton), Arthur Lee & Love - Five String Serenade (Re-issue of 1993 LP), Real Kids - The New Rose Years (220gm Vinyl 2LP, this includes their second album 'Outtaplace', and their most sought after record, the French only 'Hit you hard'. This has not been reissued since 1983. On top of this you get 8 tracks from their 1983 "All kinda jerks live"). Rubber City Rebels - Pierce My Brain (Euro/vinyl edition of their recent disc). And finally a vinyl edition of the recent Link Wray tribute disc featurin' the Fleshtones (ao).

A couple o' new books that are doin' the rounds here in Holland that I'd figured would be worth mentioning even if you don't speak the lingo. First off is 'De Naald Erin!', a collection of short stories by John Schoorl all revolving 'round a particular LP, that is really too lame for words. And I wouldn't even mention this snore fest if it wasn't for the fact that one of the discs involved is the Nomads' 'Temptation Pays Double' in which even a certain Mr Vahlberg makes a cameo appearance (!), this is the book's sole redeemin' value. Of much more interest is Nothing Going On In The City a book documenting 40 years of pop/rock history in Groningen (or Grunnen as the locals call it). Not a story as such, but a chronological overview detailin' certain eras, bands or scenes thru' short descriptions and a massive amount of illustrations (Pictures, posters, flyers, newspapercuttings etc) that should make this one easily digestible for you foreigners as well. Immaculately layed-out, this one's well worth checkin' out. Same goes for Het Beste Uit Hitweek '65-'69, an overview of Hollands main 60s music mag Hitweek, as essential a part of the Dutch six-o scene as the Outsiders or Cuby. No lookin' back or hindsight, just page after (original-) page of tales about long hairs vs straights, provos, beat groups (even tho' one can already spot the roots of Holland's longtime fascination w/ Zappa and country rock in here), and browsin' thru' this really brings the era back to life. Essential !.

Radio Birdman dates:

AUGUST
Sat 30th: Jerez - Serie Z Festival  (Espanol)
Sun 31st: Nottingham - Rescue Room (UK)
SEPTEMBER
Wed 3rd: Nancy - Le Terminal Export (Fr)
Sat 6th: Perugia - Medicine Show Festival (It)
Sun 7th: Bologna - Independent Days Festival (It)
Wed 10th: Bielefeld - Forum (Deutschland) w/ Hydromatics
Fri 12th: Oslo - Cosmopolite (Norway)
Sat 13th: London - Mean Fiddler (UK)

Three more dates to come and they'll probably be announced in the first week
of July.

The (new) official band site:
radio-birdman.com

The Maggots, The Dirty Water Club, London (20th June) - You can invariably tell a great band by the onstage preparations they make. Excitement builds while cables are checked, guitars tuned, and kick-drum peddles adjusted as their eagerness to play spreads around venue like a contagion. Such was the appearance by the Maggots at The Dirty Water Club last Friday night. The Swedish power trio proceeded to deliver a set full of all-killer-no-filler originals such as “Cannibal Woman” and “Do The Maggot!” while dipping into their record collection for “Let’s Go ‘69” (Pebbles #?) and “Circle Sky” (the Monkees). A forty-five minute blasterama where the drums pounded and the guitar screamed as the bass nailed the songs to a suffering PA system. Wail baby, wail! So many back-to-basics bands are currently grabbing the “Kick out the jams, motherfuckers!” pseudo-gospel shtick without the suss or nerve to deliver that all important ingredient: Showmanship. The MC5 were not ashamed to put on a show while delivering their almighty racket and nor are the Maggots. The end result, the kind of rockin’ perfection of which Rob Tyner, bless his maraca shaking soul, would be proud.

Third time lucky... been trying to update this thing to yeah hup you to the fact that Radio Birdman also have a show at The Rescue Rooms in Nottingham on August 31st in addition to the one at The Mean Fiddler in September.

The Bunker offers a great collection of rare videos for downloading, incl; The Buzzcocks, Cramps, Damned, Jam, Kraftwerk, Only Ones, Saints and T Rex.

I guess everybody is aware that Radio Birdman are playing the Serie Z festival in Spain this September, but I just noticed that they are also scheduled at the Mean Fiddler in London on Sept 13 (w/ tickets on sale already !). Not confirmed yet but 95% certain are two German dates (Dortmund; Sept 10 and Berlin; Sept 11. Both w/ the Hydromatics), while a Dutch show (Groningen?) is rumoured as well. Yeah Hup !.

Svengirly.com is a pretty hip site documenting the current activities of both Michael Davis and Dennis Thompson.

Just got back from Amsterdam where Alice 'n me went to see the Seeds. The Seeds?, better make that Sky Saxon plus backin' band as he was the sole original member to appear. After last year's triumphant European track by Arthur Lee's Love hopes were up for something of equal magnitude, but alas, it was not to be. A modest crowd (including original Outsider Ronnie Splinter) got to see a band that was capable enough at deliverin' a sound close to the original, but it was Sky himself who was the weakest link. Hiding behind his shades and dressed in a way that would have been deemed fashionable by former hippies circa 1981, his flat/low voice has lost all the anger/sneer that so typifies those old Seeds discs. His moves were stiff 'n lifeless as if dozin' off on Prozac, or maybe he spend the afternoon samplin' the wares in one of A'dam's coffee shops, who knows?. He mentioned something about pullin' energy from the air by hand, but whatever was in the air tonight, it was obvious he wasn't able to grab it.

"Our Saviour," Little Steven Van Zandt was guest DJ on BBC London last Friday night and played a rather good selection of discs - Young Rascals, Fleshtones, Count Five, New York Dolls et al - while blathering on about "garaaaaage rock" and his Underground Garage US radio show. Yup, I very nearly choked on my dinner when he spun "Hard Luvin' Man" from Do You Swing? Of course the link man (who thought the 'tones were ancient history) was wetting his underpants about hearing "real RnR" on the radio although he neglected to explain why he had no doubt been playing anaemic-UK-indie-pop for a career. Tis but one small step, my friends.

Turbotubbies !. GO!.

Updated: The ever cool I-94 Bar; "Sydney Rock Action via The Bowery and Motor City". GO!.

Future/Now Films is excited to announce that MC5 * A True Testimonial has
accepted an invitation to appear at the upcoming Internationale Filmfest
München in Munich, Germany.

The film will screen as part of the "American Independents" program
alongside other great new American movies such as Easy Riders, Raging Bulls
and Bill Siegel and Sam Green's Weather Underground.

The festival runs from June 28th to July 5th. Ticket info is at
http://www.filmfest-muenchen.de

MC5 * A True Testimonial will be shown at the MAXX 5 Theater at these times:

Sunday, June 29th 20:00 (8:00 pm)
Tuesday, July 1st 15:00 (3:00 pm)

Director David C. Thomas and producer Laurel Legler will be in Munich June
28th to July 3rd and are available for press interviews. Contact the
festival press office for details.

The conquest of Europe continues! The Future is Now! Rama Lama Fa Fa Fa!

(FW:)
Saturday 28 June
MOIRA presents @ EKKO [Bemuurde Weerd 3 Utrecht/Holland]
THE HARD FEELINGS
Support: LOS IDIOTAS
Doors: 20.00 hours
Damage: 6 euro

Once again MOIRA on location @ EKKO. This time bringing you the fantastic HARD FEELINGS from Austin Texas. John Schooley, former frontman of The Revelators, rocks hard with Hard Feelings, the Rootsiest Punk or the Rawest Roots Band from the USA. Sounds like Hound Dog Taylor meets The Stooges.
Support band LOS IDIOTAS, a two-piece from Spain, once again show that Spain is El Pais del Rock 'n Roll. Punkrock with a bite. Unos, Dos, Tres Vamos!

Caught Mary Lee's Corvette in Edinburgh when she blew through the other night. Her band consisted of a drummer and a bassplayer and they swung in a groovy Smithereens kinda fashion. She's a top songsmith with a mind to take it the whole road who's has been on tour throughout Europe with Joe Jackson who does nowt for me but there y'go. Look out for her new album, 700 miles - Available on the Southbound imprint, produced by the one and only Eric "Roscoe" Ambel.
Much ado has been made of their rendition of Dylan's "Blood On The Tracks" and rightly so. I think it's better than the original and I ain't saying that to be controversial. Check her out at www.maryleescorvette.com.

The Blasters are coming to Glasgow on July 28th for a show at The Renfrew Ferry, an old ferryboat moored on the River Clyde.
Ticket details are available at www.soundsfine.co.uk and if anybody needs the heads up on getting to the city for the show then gimme a holler. I'm gonna compile a list of accomodation and travel details for those who are making the trek. It's gonna be quite a night. This will be followed by two shows in London on 29th and 30th July. I think the two prior shows are at The Paradiso in Brother J's locale and at El Sol in Madrid. The original line-up of one of the greatest rockin' machines ever to grace a stage, I urge you to catch this because it's unlikely that said combo will be doing any European shows for a while after this.
Additional info on the tour is also available on www.blastersnewsletter.com.

This Month's releases from Ace. GO!

RIP: Dave Rowber (Animals). GO!.

(Brother) Wayne Kramer dropped into Edinburgh last night for a hastily arranged show at the last place on earth one would have expected. Said jams were well and truly kicked oot (as opposed to out) and he's packing one helluva combo. If it'd have been Glasgow it woulda been packed to the rafters I'm sure. Anyway, Mother Superior declined to come here and we got some proficient, angular, noisenik local pish to contend with which drove us outside for a while. By the time Wayne came on, everybody was in the market for some real rock action and that's what they bloomin' got. Starting with "Looking At You" he marked out the territory pretty good. The next couple hours was a rollercoaster of styles that trew up a real blend. Some of it veered close to being a Blue Oyster E-street Cult kinda deal and recalled our dear-departed friend David Roter so there's nowt wrong with that. One thing for sure, this guy has still got it and his axe-shredding will have you in raptures. Hopefully next time the fireworks will be on the ol' West Coast. That oughtta rule in some entertainment for the guys onstage too. But hey, he came and it's not often that Sunday night gets its butt kicked like this.

Nomads tour dates;
03-06-26 S/S Blidosund - Stockholm,
03-05-30 Umea - Umeafesten,
03-05-31 Karlskoga - Nobelfesten,
03-07-04 Halmstad - Stadsfesten,
03-07-05 Borlange - Peace & Love,
03-08-01 Ostersund - Storsjoyran,
03-08-11 Goteborg - Liseberg,
03-08-19 Malmo - Malmofestivalen.

sixtiesgaragemp3, now there's a concept I can get behind !.

God (Dog?) knows what these will amount to, but anyone in or near Holland next weekend is advised to check out the Sky Saxon & the Seeds shows either in The Hague (June 14) or Amsterdam (June 15). For all I know this could be a disaster, but just think; how often does a band like this play in your neck of the woods, and are you gonna miss 'em when they finally do?. I thought not...

The complete line-up for Spain's Serie Z festival set for late August, now includes Radio Birdman, Hoodoo Gurus, Nine Pound Hammer, Hydromatics and the Hellacopters !.

A number o' folks have been axin' about the Cramps Euro dates recently. Martin Percival was kind enough to land us a link where to whole shebang is listed (ticketsale for the lone Dutch show has already started BTW). GO!.

Seems that ace comicbook publishers Fantagraphics (Peter Bagge, Los Bros Hernandez, Daniel Clowes etc.) are in serious financial trouble and in dire need of some extra patronage. So get out those credit cards and order BIG!. GO!

LINK: (via Dubbelmono) Vintage Detroit rock photos by Sue Rynski (Rob Tyner, Destroy All Monsters, Sonic's Rendezvous Band etc.). GO!

Hey. Care to pitch in on a wee idea? To mark 26+ years of NBT, I've got a mind to assemble something called "WHO WILL SAVE ROCK'N'ROLL?" and would like to include your good or bad self (Delete as applicable) havering on about anything, everything or nothing at all. The beastie itself will be a binder (bit of found object-ness goin' on here...). A totally DIY type deal in the spirit of how it all started and lets face it print is still the preferred medium to this guy. I'd like to donate at least $1 per copy (hopefully more) sold to The Lymphoma Charity in Joey's name. Being that so far we've never got the UK version of his Birthday Bash together just yet. So how about it? Feel free to pass the invitation to anybody who you'd like to see participate also. My e-dress book is a tad muddled and several crashes have consigned much e-contact to the cyber dumper. My overwhelming desire to ditch AOL will peak soon and then I'll shift my arse into gear with regard to switching ISP. Anyway let me know whatcha think. I'm obviously way older but none the bloody wiser so let's go to conventional print. The only way to go... Ungawa an' that!

Saw The Thanes launch their new album "Downbeat and Folked Up" on Friday past at the Cafe Royal in Edinburgh. Just out on Screaming Apple, it finds the band in typical devotion to their profession. "There are few other groups with a collective age of 145 that have the talent to arrange an album of this scope." sez the sleevenote. It's true. The Thanes are true to their school to the point of kamikaze. Lenny Helsing is indeed the Laird of the boss racket supreme and a damn fine geezer to boot. Way more worthy than yon gink Childish and his deerstalking posse. The Thanes are solid, bankable exponents who play music which is a religion to them. They're unfettered by the alleged "garage" upsurge and will be doing this long after it's the LBT. Until the idiots who think The White Stripes are the bee's knees recognise that The Fleshtones should be shifting twice the amount of "units" that they do they can just bloomin' well fook aff. Support The Thanes and all who sail in 'em then. The venue was pretty good too. Ideally situated and a good size and not a hovel. Let's hope that Angus McPake gets something going here on a regular basis. Edinburgh could sorely use it. The capital is lagging way behing it's West Coast rival on that score.

Was sorry to hear about the death of Mickie Most who lost his battle with cancer on Friday past also. His output on RAK was an incredible array of glitter pop/glam garage madness which is now gaining ground in collector circles. Look out for an album called "Velvet Tinmine" which celebrates the very pinnacle of this teen D-U-M-B greatness.

New Angel Corpus Christi disc out now on Gulcher:
From the press blurb; '"Divine Healer' is Angel's first full-length release since her sadly overlooked major-label disc in 1995, White Courtesy Phone' (on Herb Alpert's Almo label).  The core band of Angel (vocals, accordion, harmonica), Rich Stim (guitar, bass, piano), Dave Mahoney (drums), and George Earth (guitar, bass) is augmented by contributions from songwriter Don Ciccone, Dean Wareham (Galaxie 500 and Luna), bass player Nancy Kravitz, and behind the mixing board, Craig Leon (Ramones, Blondie, etc.), Mark Bingham (MX-80, Social Climbers, etc.), and Dave Nelson.
A couple Angel faves are resurrected for all the ears who missed 'em the first time: "Pull Girl" is a tasty piece of mutant bubblegum, like Veronica Lodge fronting Suicide, and "Candy" is even sweeter.  The Ross/Stim songwriting team also give us "You," "Rock & Roll Shoes," "Sadder," "Sleepwalker," and with help from Don Ciccone, "I'll Say Goodbye" and "She Said."

OK, some straight propaganda here, the Dictators are out 'n about again, just make sure you catch 'em.
Friday, May 30, Maxwell's, 1029 Washington Ave. Hoboken, NJ
Tuesday, June 10, The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd. San Diego, CA
Wednesday, June 11, Spaceland, 1717 Silverlake Blvd. Los Angeles, CA
Thursday, June 12, Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St. San Francisco, CA
Friday, June 13, Dante's 3rd and Burnside, Portland, OR
Saturday, June 14, Crocodile Cafe, 2200 2nd Ave. Seattle, WA
Saturday, June 21, Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey St. New York, NY

LINK: Amazing site that houses video-interviews (in quicktime) w/ a whole bunch o' NYC scenemakers; H.D. Manitoba, Leee Black Childers, David Johanson, Danny Fields, Martin Rev, John Holmstrom, et f'in' cetera. Like I said; amazin', but you might need a decent cable or DSL connection (some ungodly time in the middle o' the night usually also does the trick). GO!.

LINK: Here's a bunch o' pics taken at the opening of some exibition at Manitoba's, lots of old familiar (wrinkled) faces. GO!

Post-Eyerack. That what they're putting the UK's dismal zero in the way of points display in the Eurovision Song Carry On. Nowt to do with plumbing new depths in sub karaoke galumphing then? While all that was happening though, Avy and I were doing some Avant gardening at Le Weekend in Stirling. This is a yearly event curated by David Keenan of The Wire which brings outsider gear to Scotland. I'm not up to any speed whatsoever with this stuff but it's fun to gawp for at least a day. LW isn't yer average festival and The Tolbooth isn't yer average joint. It's a civilised place and being an auld guy I likes that.
After a wee spell in Europa Records ( a store withan amazing vinyl grooveyard oot the back) it was time to go hang aboot and take in sets by Damon and Naomi with Ghost. Not the ghost that inhabits The Tolbooth, the Japanese ensemble. Very atmospheric and if you were scoring a film this would be the way to go... quality haunted psychedelic folk.
Next up was Arthur Doyle. A strange cat says Thurston Moore and that turns out to be quite the understatement. As droolingly incoherent as much of his pieces were, Arthur was strangely entertaining. No question, he looks like an old homeless guy but his sax and piano attacks were equal parts captivating and un-nerving. Folks with weak stomachs were runnin' for the exits. Arthur Doyle is here, Arthur Doyle is Here he scatted, yes he is but he is also (way) out there. Caught up with my auld mucker, Edwin Pouncey who was utterly to blame for the period I spent writing for Sounds. A top guy who's lose none of his edge over the annums. Le Weekend is a weird scene but lang may it convene. It reaches parts other festivals could never reach let alone tweak.