According to the New York Times, Johnny had been working on his memoirs for much of the last year with Steve Miller, a reporter for The Washington Times. And according to Miller the interviews were completed shortly before his death.

From Mr Martin Percival... "I suggest THIS gets a mention on the blog. Johnny would be pleased that his favourite drink remembered him at his passing!

Yeah, yesterday was a strange sort of day in the end. My buddy Duane from Brooklyn reminded me that Tommy is still alive so they’re actually not all gone. He didn’t go through the mill like the others it would seem but he was the one that took the blueprint and made it what it was, is and will continue to be for all time. They might not have sold a zillion records in their lifetime but they changed things forever.

I was on Radio Scotland’s Arts Show talking about it all briefly last night and anybody who is interested can reach that HERE. Look under ARTS SHOW and use the LISTEN AGAIN facility for Thursday, fast forward to the final 10 minutes and I’ll be in thereabouts... It’ll be up there for a week.

Also, my e-mail shenanigans continue. Don’t know if they’ll be resolved in the near future or not.

There is little I can add to what has already been written all over the web or Lindsay's on the ball post below. Suffice to say that I'd never imagined that the story of "our Beatles" would end so soon.
Johnny was the only Ramone I've never met in person, but at almost every of the two dozen or so shows I've seen 'm do over the years I always made sure I stood in front of his side of the stage just to get an extra earfull of the near static blur that emitted from his Marshall stacks. He was indeed, as Lindsay once called him, the eye of the hurricane.
In my teens I sat up night-after-night trying to play along to the It's Alive album (downstroke only!), like literally thousands of kids must have done, and often had to give up halfway 'cause my wrist started to hurt. He was the perfect rolemodel for a budding stringwrecker like me, and it was bizarre to learn later on that what must be the most influential guitarist of his generation hardly ever played on his own records.
If Johnny B Goode could play his guitar like ringing a bell, Johnny Ramone could do it so much faster 'n louder, to the point that the ringing in your ears wouldn't stop for days on end...

Rest in peace John.

Although expected, the news about John is a shock. Bruce said that he can't believe they're all gone and therein lies the whole entchilada.

You can see almost all of the bands in some shape or form that The Ramones immortalised. The Stooges, The MC5, The Dolls but not the combo that really put 'em all into some kinda perspective. My last encounter with John in person was an unfortunate one. I referred to Acid Eaters as Odor Eaters and incurred his wrath in the dressing room at The Glasgow Barrowlands. He couldn't get his head round the fact that I might be entitled to my opinion. That was in essence was the Johnny Ramone way, his or the highway. A few years earlier, I was standing in the queue in the Chelsea Post Office in NY and he came up to me and said "What are you doing here?" in his trademark brogue. I was thrilled that a Ramone had recognised me on his home turf.

In the end, where has all this rancour gotten anybody? One of the most important bands of all time is completely gone. Mark and various members of the UK Subs will never a Ramones covers combo make. I know that none of you will ever forget Joey but today, just today, blast your copy of The Eastern Dark's Johnny and Dee Dee at some considerable volume. John might have been a piece of work, but he gave until it hurt. They all did.

Just arrived to find a message from Brother Bruce Milne that JOHNNY checked out yesterday afternoon (Wednesday). He would have been 56 on October 7th (I think...)

I'm thinking back to the days before all this e-mail and cyberbollocks, what did we do with all that free time? The good old days never seemed so good let me tell ya. In a bid to rectify all the crap that has gone along with these things they call firewalls and anti-virus software, I have a guy who can handle these situations out to sort it all out once and for all gamely working his magic on the condition. One longs for the time when you could just apply a cream upon an area to clear up any irritation but these times are long behind we. Unfortunately, So - I'll be checking messages remotely - on and off - for as long as the "fix" takes. I was never sure what was going out and in anyway but after all this maybe I will. Thanks for your patience and indulgence.

Last week's interview with Tony Slug on VPRO is now available on-line here (It's in Dutch, so you foreigners might wanna skip this one).

A new John Waters movie is generally something to be celebrated and A DIRTY SHAME hits up US Cinemas on September 24th. It’s true, Cecil B. Demented was a clunker but he appears to be back on track with this one and the soundtrack would seem to suggest this also. The best thing about all this is the fact that he’ll no doubt be making appearances to promote it so if you get the chance to see him in person then take it. There are few more sussed, if any, on this planet.

It's not like HQ's turntable is doin' overtime these days, way too much at hand and when it's finally time for some relaxation I oft prefer to do some reading and enjoy some ever scarcer silence. So whenever I get these requests to post another "playlist" these days I generally pass the opportunity 'cause there's also little to no new stuff demanding my attention at the moment. Last year at least saw the release of a trio of fantastic rockin' discs by the Ghetto Ways, Dirtbombs and Reigning Sound, but 2004 has still to throw up something of similar quality.
Not that I'm without stuff to listen tho, heck, there's over a century of recorded music out there, and right now there's probably more of it available than ever, so I'm pickin' up my listening pleasures from all kindsa eras. Too bad most people 'll never know all the great sounds from the past beyond the flogged to death Mojo icons. I don't even wanna suggest that my taste in music is better than theirs, just that there's a world out there to discover if they'll only look...
So what does do the rounds on HQ's hi-fi these days?.
For starters, may I suggest The Droogs. Is there anybody out there who still remembers these guys?. Their 'Kingdom Day' LP from '87 is an underrated classic if ever there was one, even with the slightly dated production it holds up really well. Potential arena rock for sure, but one spin will confirm why this still generates excitement and Poison doesn't. Secundo plato has got to be something from the West Texas axis; Buddy Holly, Bobby Fuller or the Crickets, it's kinda frightening how much this kinda pop stuff has gone outta fashion, whatever happened to the Sprague Brothers anyways?. Why has the world forsaken the beauty of good tunes and cool harmonies in favor of the outta tune whine of trust fund collegists?.
Main course this go round are Otis Rush's Cobra recordings. Get these in whatever format available 'cause these are about as blue as the blues can get. The meaning of life encapsulated in just over two dozen songs, it just don't get better than this...
As for desert, let's go for the happy ending. BGP's Super Funk vol.4 is just about the wildest party disc in recent memory. Just don a loincloth and let the music guide ya. I'm sure your gal will understand...

More dates: The Fleshtones are out 'n about on September 18 (18.00 hrs, 36th St, Hampden, Baltimore, MD. More info at: hampdenfest.com) and October 29 (20.00 hrs, Irving Plaza, NYC. with the Smithereens, Dick Dale + guests).

The Nomads have a couple of Norwegian dates lined up for November: 11-11 Tromsö - Blå Rock, 11-12 Oslo - Mono, 11-13 Bergen - Garage. Then it's off to Demark: 11-20 Copenhagen - The Rock. And don't forget the previously mentioned October 23 show in Paris. Plus there's more good news from Nomads HQ: "Björne Fröberg and Chips K. are writing and making demos of new songs as we speak…no idea when enough material for an album can be ready, hopefully next year! In the mean time Bonnier Amigo will re-release the ’85 album “Outburst” on CD sometime this autumn/winter".

Only days after the first rough outline of a proposed Real Kids Euro tour (scheduled for early 2005) came to light, it now looks like the entire thing is canceled after the hospitalization of guitarist Billy Cole due to complications with his liver/hepatitis. No official statement on this yet, but word on the street is that his situation looks rather grim. So fingers crossed that he'll make it out OK. (Thanks to SJ Bink for the info).

Just in from Mr Martin Percival...

Today is the Ramones 30th Birthday celebration in LA. They'll be repeating this on Oct 7th in New York City at a 1,200 capacity club called "Spirit" on W.27th St. Blondie and the Strokes are confirmed to play. There'll be a mini "Ramones Museum" that Arturo is doing with lots of his and Johnny's memorabilia on display. Tickets go on sale next week.

Saw Adrienne Young last night at the Fallen Angels Club in Glasgow. Saddled with the albatross of supposedly being tipped to become "the next Gillian Welch", she ambled through a decent enough set with her group, Little Sadie. Fine players all. What concerned me about it was that it bears little resemblance to what GW is doing. These people play mountain music soaked in bluegrass to the point of folkie. There's no dust bowl chic involved as far as I can see. These kinda overblown expressions can really hurt an artist. They need to build and looking at their website they seem to be well organised, although there's a worrying link to the Phish site. Everything is expected to happen overnight now. This is ultimately the undoing of all "next big things". They did a live session on Radio Scotland's Brand New Opry just prior to the gig so I'll reserve any further judgement until I clock that.

The Rev. Dan P has come up with this little list for you folks in and around "The London"....

Saturday September 11th
The Pleiadians
The Second Coming at the 291 Gallery
291 Hackney Road, London E2 8NA – appearing late til 2am. 020 7613 5676 http://www.291gallery.com

Wednesday September 15th
Wreckless Eric
Madam Jo Jo’s
Brewer Street, London W1
(+ Thursday September 22nd at the Amersham Arms, New Cross)

Wednesday September 22nd
The Scoundrelles
+ unknown others TBC
at On The Rocks
25 Kingsland Road, London E2 – near Old Street tube. £ TBC

Friday 1st October 7pm
End of the Century + Arthur 'Killer' Kane
UGC Shaftsbury Avenue, London W1
Info: Raindance Film Festival http://www.raindance.co.uk/ 020 7287 3833
Booking http://www.ugccinemas.co.uk/ 0871 200 2000 Tickets on sale this Monday or Tuesday
Documentary about the Ramones (unlikely to be released officially due to copyright problems), plus excerpts featuring the late Arthur Kane from work in progress doc on the New York Dolls.

Plus next day Oct 2nd at 5pm Marky Ramone’s home movies and archive footage!

It doesn't happen often these days when you hear something on the radio that is actually good but imagine my surprise when Tom Morton played THE CONCRETES single. "You Can't Hurry Love" (not the Supremes song). 1 minute 55 seconds of sheer pop greatness and at this point in the day maybe even the future of something...? Naturally they're from Sweden, where bands tend not to suck.

Oh yeah and have a look at this, this it's pretty darn funny...

An intimation from the Boss Man c/o Staysick Group...

REAL BOSS HOSSpresents:

The return of...
The Legendary Stardust Cowboy!!
(First LA show in 8 years!!)

Also on the bill:

Big-haired, original '50s rocker extraordinaire, Jimmy Angel
- First LA show in 4+ years! (allegedly to be backed up by Ex Cramp/Hollywood Hillbilly, Fur.

Farfisa-driven garage punk slop from Arizona's The Okmoniks!

The return of those loveable weirdos, The South Bay Surfers!

Rockin' R&B Trash from Rockin' Ryan and the Real Goners!

WHEN? Friday, September 17th

WHERE? 1160 Bar & Lounge in The Ramada Inn
1160 N. Vermont Ave., Hollywood (323) 315-1835

Hosted by world famous comedian & impressionist James Andrew Beck!!

Every day (‘cept weekends) I drive though a little place called Throsk. I guess it was a mining village at one point and at one stage, not so long ago, it consisted of the one drag straight through. Since then though, local authorities – underwritten by insurance firms – have taken to building these things called Industrial Estates. These are places where they hope to build businesses that will replace the lifeblood that the mines and maybe farming once provided. Anyways, I digress… on the way home at night it means that I pass the sign for Bandeath Industrial Estate that has been doctored to read “death trial state” and it never fails to make my mind tick over. Maybe there’s a little metal combo called Throsk holed up in one of these “units” called DTS and this sign will be the cover of its debut release. It never hurt Hatfield and the North and they didn’t need to do no doctorin’. Maybe one of these days I’ll stop and take a picture… then again...

Bruce Milne informed us that Donald Leslie has left the theatre.

"Handsome Dick Manitoba has been promoted from his Left of Center gig to now be a regular DJ in The Underground Garage, Channel 25, on Sirius Satellite Radio every Saturday at 7pm-11pm and Sunday at 11pm-3am. (All times Eastern)". More info on the Dictators Website.

Please join us for *the* event of the season:



The Shooting Gallery & Tiki News presents
"Tiki Art NOW! A Volcanic Eruption of Art"

Don't miss this group show featuring over 60 artists from around the world paying homage to Tiki! This stunning display of neo-primitive images in captured in a 90 page full color catalog available opening night (or later from Shooting Gallery).

Gallery opening Friday, September 17th, 7-11pm
Shooting Gallery
839 Larkin St.
San Francisco, CA 94109
www.shootinggallerysf.com Tel: 415-931-8035

Image by Isabel Samaras
"Marcia Tamahine" Oil on wood (16 x 12 inches)

Super Rock fans in Europe are reminded that Arte, the French/German TV channel dedicated to the arts, will broadcast a seven minute feature about the Fleshtones on Thursday 23rd September. The slot was produced during the French tour back in May and forms part of a programme called Tracks. Be on the look out for an interview with the band, rare footage from Soul City directed by M. Henry Jones, and a live sequence filmed at the recent gig in Paris. Arte will broadcast Tracks at 11.30pm CET.

"Hey lads & lasses,

Well, the last Sonic Reducer was a real blast, what with Michael Davis picking discs, n'all - from The Yardbirds to the Heartbreakers, every cut the MC5 bassist chose was an out'n'out winner! The 250 peeps who were jam-packed into The Boogaloo felt so, too!
So what have we got on this month, I hear you (not) asking ...
Tonite's a Sonic Reducer Tag Team outing to see The Soundtrack Of Our Lives at 93 Feet East in Londinum, for a blast o'that Swedish high energy action, and we'll be trying to save ourselves for tomorrow nite (September 8th), when we'll be spinning discs for The Detroit Cobras and The Beatings (now The Beat Up) at ULU, here in town ...
Friday September 10th sees Robert 'Percy' Plant's fave turntablist, The KatManDude, join TeenSlain for the Sonic Reducer nite at The Boogaloo, and then we're back at full strength on the 24th, when Mr Tim Rogers of Aussie beat kings You Am I will be joining us as special guest DJ!

Enuff to be going on with? Damn straight ...

See you at the bar!

Selah!

Joss & Joe"

Amy Allison has returned to NY then with thirteen songs that will make up her forthcoming album probably to be entitled "EVERYTHING AND NOTHING TOO". I think we'll be looking at an early 2005 release for this puppy...

Check out the PERFECT SOUND FOREVER piece...

The Nitwitz' Tony Slug will be guest on VPRO radio this Tuesday between 1 and 2 pm, playing some of his favorite songs and offering his unpopular, but laudable opinions. Tune in, turn on and don't drop out...

The Cramps - How To Make A Monster (Vengeance 2CD).
There's really no need to explain the beauty of the Cramps' early work here, I figure alla you NBT readers consider it fact and/or truth rather than something that needs to be explained over and over again, and anybody without the band's first two albums in close range of their hi-fi really has no place being here anyways...
That out of the way, let's all rejoice in the arrival of what will hopefully be the first part of a trip thru' the band's private vaults, 'cause HTMAM really only scratches the surface of what must be locked in there.
Being the first trawl, this set is both enlightening and frustrating at both what is and isn't here. I mean, it's great to finally hear the '82 Terry Graham demos in decent fidelity, but why not include the entire session?. On the other hand there's completely new to me 1976 rehearsals that not only let us hear wonderfully primitive versions of long-time favorite songs, but they also prove that the band had their basic gameplan set from the git-go. Later rehearsals offer similar delights; from '82 there's four attempts at something called Rumble Blues and a apocalyptic Lonesome Town, while material from the Stay Sick era has aged much better than the released versions 'cause they lack the dated production.
The second disc offers two live sets of which the '77 Max's show is probably only of "historical interest", but the CBGBs set from a year later offers the band in full flight delivering deadly versions of Human Fly, Teenage Werewolf and Sunglasses After Dark. So yeah, by all means dig into this (heck, even with 45 tracks in 143 minutes there's some cool hidden extras as well...), and let's us pray for future volumes containing the Ohio demos, the Richard Robinson and Chris Spedding demos, the 1980 Utrecht show, the, well, you get the picture...

It's the perceived popularity of this stuff that gets me (See J's post just before this incase you wonder...). It may sell for a short space of time and the all-encompassing media that goes with it makes it seem more palatable than it actually is. The Libertines single is like a Cure b-side. Vis-a-vis that familiarity warms the cockles of Robert Smith's crew and you've got an instant nostalgia buzz. What about The Killers, how goddamn below par are they? The "post-punk" Strokes anyone?? And, now there's a kinda "boy-band" 70's rock thing comin' atcha called ROOSTER. They were on Top of the Pops last week and reminded me of the horror of REEF. The lifestyle choice of not caring about what people put in their ears anymore is damaging our collective musical health. Sonically super-sized.

Can somebody please explain to me the delights of this postpunk revival crap-ola?. I know this shit has been going on for a while, but in a week that saw new releases by the Libertines, Radio 4 and Interpol I've entered a deep, deep depression on this return of everything that was so hideously nauseous about the early 80s. If at the time people would have told me that 20 years down the line a comeback of the sounds from Shriekback, Echo & the Bunnyman, the Associates and their ilk would be applauded and taken seriously instead of laughed at and lined up for quick elimination, I might have jumped off the bridge right there and then. Thank God I've aged somewhat and learned that this rubbish will disappear just like every other shortlived fad (nu-metal or emo anyone?). But as always it is the injustice to the stuff with a longer lasting flavor that is so offensive. You name your favorites, and watch them struggle to make a living while these dorks rake in the moolah.

This month's releases from Ace Records.

Carl Wayne. RIP.

From The Dictators website: "Handsome Dick Manitoba will be a featured DJ (along with Kim Fowley, Andrew Loog Oldham, Kid Leo and more) on Sirius Satellite Radio's Underground Garage Festival Replay Weekend on Sept. 5. The festival itself will be rebroadcast twice, Saturday and Monday. More info here".

More info on THE CRAMPS "HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER" at Mike McEchron's site, info courtesy of Andrew Lahman...

Cool (unofficial) WEBSITE complete with US tour dates, etc.

Couple of things you might like to check out... the brand new REZILLOS newsletter is out and feature info on the upcoming BBC session release on Damaged Goods amongst a bunch else. Click and sign up to get your inbox duly zillo'd.

My good friend Duane in Brooklyn, NY has seen fit to upload some of his photo action on this cyberlarky and you can grab some of this culture by clicking here.

I guess this William Shatner/Joe Jackson "Common People" thing has been doing the rounds but it's bloody good so maybe you didn't know about it either.
And Ben Folds produced too... who'da thunk it possible?

For weeks and months we've been building up the DKT/MC5 thing and the bus rolled into Glasgow. Obviously being in THE GARAGE, this gave cause for concern from the git-go but the doors opened at 6.30pm and there were 3 supports. No idea what the first one was. Second was WE DO BAD MUSIC or something. Third was The Icarus Line and they should all be lined up against that very thing (whatever it is) and shot. All of which meant that the curfew, after which the place turns into a karaoke bar or whatever, was looming fast. The DKT/MC5 came on at 9.05 - 9.10 and might have just nudged an hour in total and they completely shredded. Highlights were "The Human Being Lawnmower" and "Sister Anne". The latter featuring the greatest faux brass band close ever witnessed. But there was no time for "Starship", or "Looking At You", or "The American Ruse" so I'm feeling a tad shortchanged here. Not by the band but by the organisation that runs this fucking venue. I would strongly advise anybody against ever attending a show there. It's a disco that fleeces the rock punters with overpriced drinks and dumbass security. It's a jobsworth's paradise alright and I'll not be dawning it's door again no matter who plays there. The band were burning so goddamn bright and then it was all over. With a sizeable bang rather than a whimper but imagine the glow from the radiation that a whole show would have mustered. Our London cousins certainly got the jump on us this time and that ol' chestnut of "ever get the feeling you've been cheated" is ringing in my ears. I hope Nottingham fares better tonight. Wodjagonnado... indeed...

Read Brother Joss's report on the London show HERE!

The Forty Fives @ The Borderline, London on 30th August

Playing frantic RnB with a nod to UK influences - the set included covers of "Midnight to Six", "Daddy Rolling Stone" and "Shake" via the Pretty Things, Who and Small Faces - the Forty-Fives had a modest crowd jumping at the Borderline on Monday night. It's always a good sign when members of a band give so much that fifteen minutes into a set their shirts are drenched in sweat and which made this show yet another example of why Americans make so many UK bands seem so lifeless. Warning: These guys play loud and fast, obviously enjoy what they are doing, and are not afraid to give any girls in the audience the come-on. Which all sounds like a healthy way of approaching RnR to me and one that harks back to the original template as developed by Elvis, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis et al. Playing a selection of tunes from their three discs, other characteristics of the Forty-Fives approach included Keith Moon / Kenny Jones style drumming, a Rickenbacker guitar played like an electric guitar and not a "Mod banjo", and keyboards that went from Remains-like electric piano tinkling to cheesy Farfisa. Together with killer hooks and a positive attitude to getting up on a stage it all added up to one hell of an evening. The Borderline appears to be booking Yep Roc acts of late, SCOTS played last month, with said acts making shorting tours of the UK and Holland. Far be it for me to suggest that this arrangement might be of interest to the Fleshtones should they wish to stop moaning that everyone still hates them in England.

I can upload from here but not from home... bloody typical...

It was "old home week" yesterday as END OF THE CENTURY hit the Edinburgh Film Festival for the second screening in two days. The first was at the UGC Megaplex on Friday night but this one was at The Cameo, a much more suitable venue by far. It was good to see so many familiar faces there and it'd have been even better if they'd sprung to bring the guys that made the film but that's another can of worms entirely.

Both screenings were sold out and the reaction to the digi-beta version of the doc was very favourable. The sound was a little gubbed in places and some of the images were a tad pixelated but those things didn't detract from the overall experience. Overhauled to include more Joe, I think that they could add at least another hour. The early stuff is exhaustive but the later years are covered in less detail. There are some people who I'd have liked to have seen in the film - Andy Shernoff, Handsome Dick, Kevin Patrick, Sam Elwitt etc. that didn't seem to be involved at all but Monte Melnick is on hand as is Arturo Vega and the absolute best bit for me is when an old neighbourhood friend of Joe's, Mark Rafin (Ralin?) does an impromptu impersonation of our departed friend. Utter magic.

All of the stuff that's being made about John looking like a real bastard is somewhat overblown. In contrast, I think he's being very candid and real, just being himself. I don't think anybody can prosecute him for that. The conflict between he and Joey made the band dynamic. Add Dee Dee to that stew and who was pounding the tubs becomes totally irrelevant. Tommy's contribution illustrates that he has and had a lot of sense, he didn't get caught up in the maelstrom. Not really. This and RAMONES RAW should provide enough for anybody who went nuts over the brudders and then some. There can never be their like again and maybe that's not an altogether bad thing.

EOTC is mandatory viewing then, Mike Gramaglia and Jim Fields did a great job in the face of untold adversity. They've made a heckuva deposit in the karma bank and if they gave out medals for service in the punk rock wars then these guys would be in the running for more than 3 purple hearts.

News just in from Cap'n Eugene himsel' - REZILLOS playing at London Astoria, December 4th.

In a Lindsay-like turn of events I lost all mail send to me on Friday 27th. Whatever you said, say it again...

Whatever people find attractive about picture-discs is beyond me, but this one really should win prizes for being ugly to the point that it actually hurts to look at. Yes dear readers, the new Nitwitz 10" EP is out and ready to scare away prospective buyers. Too bad, 'cause the sounds included are up to the band's usual high standards. If, like me, you've long lost track of the several dozen line-up changes within' the Nitwitz, rest assured that the Slugman's signature is easily recognisable in all four tunes, 'cause no matter who else is involved it remains his band. Riff heavy as always, all songs are winners, but for me 'Nuke Rock City' (co-written with Turbonegro's Happy Tom) tops the lot, pounding to the point of bein' almost glamrock-ish, this should help 'm sell at least another dozen copies. 'Cause if this thing gets the same kinda distribution as previous Nitwitz wax, all I can say is "happy hunting".
(BTW: Anybody out there able to land me a copy of the N's split 10" w/ Holy Sheep?).

Laura Cantrell's Edinburgh show t'other night was a big success and featured a wad of new material that will grace the third album (to appear sometime in 2005). The audience was attentive and the sound, first class. It was a rare treat not to have to listen to chattering gimps who seem to attend shows these days to have a chin wag. Among the fresh produce showcased was L's breeze through Emily Spray's "14th Street", destined to become a classic. A number entitled "Khaki and Corduroy" didn't slouch none either. The event was recorded for broadcast by the BBC so I'll keep you posted on when to expect that. The night ended on a highpoint with Amy Allison joining them onstage for "The Whiskey Makes You Sweeter" during the encores. Not a dry seat left in the house mateys...

Paris festival (at a club called La Maroquinerie) that looks very promising:
Thursday Oct. 21: THE DOWNLINERS SECT (U.K.), THE BLUESKINS (U.K.) tbc, THE DEFECTORS (DK) tbc, THE JESSICA FLETCHERS (N) (tbc).
Friday Oct. 22: THE BARRACUDAS + special guest Chris Wilson (U.K.), NIC ARMSTRONG (U.K.), HUSH PUPPIES (F).
Saturday Oct. 23: THE CHESTERFIELD KINGS (USA), THE NOMADS (S), DENISE JAMES (USA).
(with thanks to Nick Vahlberg for the info)

Limited edition 10" of the Blasters Trouble Bound? Only 1000 copies, available from RAUCOUS.

I know there's people out there into Elvis Sightings, but we here at NBT keep an eye out for H.D. Manitoba, who is alive and well livin' in N.Y.C. and last seen at the opening of 'End Of The Century'.
On a related note: the film's directors, Michael Gramaglia and Jim Fields were interviewed by Dave The Spazz on WMFU alongside original Ramones manager Danny Fields. And there's yet another review of the film in the New York Press.

Announcer who coined the expression, "Elvis has left the building" leaves the building.

Last night’s schlep into Edinburgh for the Film Fest was actually worth the effort. While the event itself seems like something of a damp squib, the documentary “I LIKE KILLING FLIES” was an absolute gem. It’s about a restaurant in NY called SHOPSIN’S which was in the process of losing it’s lease and relocating at the time of filming. This is no ordinary joint though, with 900 items + on the menu and a full set of rules, Shopsin’s is the kind of neighbourhood place that could only really exist in New York. The owner, Kenny Shopsin looks like Michael Moore going to a Halloween Party as Jack Osborne. He rules the roost and cusses everything in his path like a culinary Lou Reed dishing out barrack room philosophies as he goes. The term “character” doesn’t exactly sum this guy up but somewhere deep inside he’s a top humanist. “…FLIES” is a fine piece of cine, it’ll hit the spot guaranteed and I defy anybody who sees it not to want to find a table there straight away. At one point in the movie, Kenny’s daughter Minda is wearing a Rezillos T-shirt. This place certainly rocks and do what you can to see this. Kudos then to the person who brought this one to the table. This is the person who should be running the festival. Check out this New Yorker article and finally the piece de nae resistance, the MENU!

The soundtrack for Victory Tischler-Blue's 'Edgeplay/A Film About The Runaways' is available now from Hip-O Records. According to the press blurb the movie itself has been on the festival circuit since June 29, but after diggin' around a bit I didn't notice more then a couple of screenings in California. What is obviously needed is more a full scale distribution or DVD release. Anybody out there in the know?. (A short review of sorts can be found here). with thanks to SJ Bink for the initial waypoint.

From The Dirty Water Club in London...

"A leading fashion magazine is putting together a music issue and have asked for some photos to illustrate an article on Dirty Water. What we need are photos of you people looking cool and groovy. All the pictures I have are taken digitally for the website and so the resolution isn't high enough. If you have anything scanned please send it to us at this address, 10cm wide at 300dpi, either colour or b&w. Let us know which, if any, name should be used as a credit. Thanks."

If you got 'em, contact info@dirtywaterclub.com

If you're not sick to the teeth of Randall's Island reviews by now, check out this one.

What do you reckon to this 3 band bill carry on then? Hardly anybody has just an opener and headliner anymore. Any more than 2 acts should constitute a "festival". The headliner should do the middle spot because attention spans are way on the slide before the last act comes on these days. Hanging about is pish. At my late stage in these life proceedings I don't want to be standing like i'm waiting for a bus. This is especially annoying when the band or act in question has entirely nothing in common with the main attraction. Whilst I applaud the fact that The Strokes took Stereototal on tour a while back, what could they think that their boneheided following would make of something so outright great. Their reception had to be hostile because they're like oil and water. I like the idea of 10 - 20 minute sets too. How many time have you seen something recently that just doesn't cut it over that? Too fucking often in my case mateys. So let's hear what you think, let's use this comments facility? Life is short and filled with stuff as the great bard Lux of Interior said. So let's cut to the chase. Always.

Caught the 5678's in Barfly, Glasgow last night. Between Tarantino and the Carling ad, the Tokoyo trio has attracted a jam packed to the point of stowed crowd. These shows were booked before the hysteria started and could quite easily have been moved but the deal was honoured. Had to catch a train back so we only caught half the set but their organic to the point of shambling take on this stuff we call rock and roll is pretty intoxicating when they get going. The momentum kind of slips with lengthy between song breaks but if they ever get it together to blast a Ramones type segued set then we're in trouble. I hope this audience will learn from their brush with this and that at least some of them will catch the sickness that the band's records are steeped in. As it is, leaving early on a "school night", did no chuffing good whatsoever as I didn't hear the alarm this morning. This music is evidently a bad influence and it made me skip work today, that - as much as anything, must mean that they're doing something right.

Show openers OBE were woeful. Imagine Franz Ferdinand fronted by one of the Farm to create some kind of baggy, angular take on The Music or that ilk of awful faux cacophonous twaddle. Next up were The Needles from Aberdeen who whilst I don't mind them, they weren't exactly appropriate for the occasion either. What was appropriate though was Neil MacInnes between song disc spinning. I need to find out when his club night is on and post some info on that. If you're in Glasgow to coincide then that'd deffo be worth catching.

A quick update for alla you Dutch readers:
Local heroes the Stilettos have a new LP out soon on Sounds Of Subterrania (CD version later from Stardumb).

Some dates:
Thu 26: Forty-Fives (Utrecht).
Sat 28: The Yum Yums and Ghetto Ways (Rotterdam).
Sat 28: Saints and Green Hornet (Amsterdam).
Mon 30: Ghetto Ways (Amsterdam).

DTK/MC5 at the Paradiso, Amsterdam.
It was close call but I nearly missed this one. But as it is, I made it to the Paradiso in record time by bus, train and taxi. And was it ever worth the bother!.
I missed the first part and came in durin' 'Call Me Animal', havin' seen the 'A True Testimonial' film I didn't need to adjust to Five's current looks and only had to wonder if the hippy guy on stage was or wasn't Evan Dando (he wasn't). The sound was great from where I was standing, and there's obviously no complainin' as far as the songs go; 'Lookin' At You', 'Shakin' Street', you name it. The addition of Nicky Royale was a cool move, he really took songs like 'American Ruse' and 'Gotta Keep Movin'' to another level. Excuse the incoherence here, but the adrenaline is still flowin' as I'm writin' this. 'I Believe To My Soul', 'I'm The Man For You Baby', 'Highschool' and even 'Starship' were beyond believe. Kramer, Thompson and Davis deserve all the credits due to 'm and more.
At one point I realized I was standing next to Lisa Kekaula, who is to join the band for the next leg of the tour, she was groovin', almost casually, to the band, applauding', singin' along, and suddenly I got a hunch that you Brits might be in luck gettin' to see her on stage in the next few days (and this comin' from someone who can't stand the Bell-Rays!).
OK, I really gotta go get some sleep. Final note: got to see the Forty-Fives in the upstairs bar afterwards and they rocked!. They're tourin' Euroland right now, and you owe it to yourself to go 'n check 'm out.

Ok. Just spent a lengthy period trying to sort out my inability to upload pictures and wasn't successful. The attempts will continue...

Coming up this week... 5678's in Glasgow tonight, another movie tomorrow, Laura Cantrell and the crew in the 'hood on Tuesday/Wednesday and a couple of other things all in the run up to The Ramones movie and culminating in the DKT/MC5. Woah... and who knows? Maybe some rest.

It’s a good thing that there’s a lot of other stuff going on because The Edinburgh Film Festival schedule was pretty thin pickings this year. Thursday was the first movie of our schlepp and to be honest I wish we hadn’t have bothered. Calvaire (The Ordeal) was as shite a film as I think I’ve ever seen. Here’s how the blurb went… "Deliverance meets The League of Gentlemen in this chiller from the Low Countries" that's France - Belgium - Luxembourg, "a deranged narrative that manages to be simultaneously horrific, disgusting, genuinely frightening and weirdly funny all at the same time". Bollocks.

It was disturbing alright and so were the audience that was in full “we’ll laugh at an egg boiling” mode. People would seem to be very easily pleased these days and I'll be damned if the guy in the movie didn't deserve what came to him. If he's made that ultimate sacrafice in those opening minutes then the ol' karma wouldn't have caught up with him. Plain as that. Implied bestiality and butthumping notwithstanding this is a dull, dull film. The locations and cinematography were good though. Pity about the stereotypical inbred "locals" that blotted the genuinely bleak landscape. I keep reading positive reviews of this clunker... what the hell is wrong with these people? I know. It must be me. This isn't entertainment. It's premeditated exploitation of the lowest order. And not in a good way.

"The human side of the Ramones" in N.Y. Newsday.

Check out the line-up for the Azkena Rock Festival 2004: New York Dolls, DKT/MC5, Radio Birdman, Flamin' Groovies, Lindsay's faves Turbonegro and plenty more...

On Friday, Aug. 20, Andy Shernoff will perform in the Losers Lounge and the HOWL! Festival presentation THE LEGENDS OF THE LOWER EAST SIDE!!! Featuring music by the Dictators, Blondie, The Ramones, Television, Patti Smith, Talking Heads, Richard Hell & the Voidoids, etc. 2 shows, at 8 and 10pm -- at CBGB.

Computers. What a pain in the ass. I can't post photos because of a firewall glitsch and hope to have this rectified soon. The recurrent e-mail problems are also back so I'm not altogether down with who's receiving what, when or whenever. Normal service as they say, will resume at some juncture...

Elmer Bernstien has left the auditorium...

Over 300 pictures taken at Little Steven's Underground Garage Feastival can be found here.

Another review of the End Of The Century movie can be found in the Village Voice by Robert Christgau.

Apologies for the strange business of the vanishing link to the latest instalment of the Ramone circus. It's not for the faint hearted and it should be pointed out that the Vedder involved ain't Jeroen... TRY THIS!

From the makers of SONIC REDUCER...



Brothers, sistas, and hairdressers!

The DKT-MC5 juggernaut is nearly upon us, thankfully sans Dando, and instead adding The BellRays' Lisa K and the old grave-digger hisself, Dave Vanian! Unfortunately, the absolutely pants Mooney Suzuki have now been added to several UK dates, as has bed-wettingly awful LA scenester Roxy Saint! Weeeel, you gotta take the ruff with the smoove, rite? Anyhoo, us Sonic Reducer boys are gearing up for Wednesday 25th at London Astoria, with the lovely guys at Sub Pop in Seattle even sending us a gratis Radio Birdman vinyl set so we can add some "Yeah, hup!" to the proceedings, by spinning the Oz 45 versh of "New Race", alongside other suitably righteous sounds ... The '5 folks are real excited about taking an exclusive tour of The Small Faces' East End haunts (The J60 Music Bar, Itchycoo Park et al) that's set to be given by KatManDude (whose pop grew up with Stevie M) on the afternoon of Friday 27th, and then Michael D's spinning discs ("Bring lots of Beach Boys") as our special guest DJ at Sonic Reducer that very evening! Phew! What with The Soundtrack Of Our Lives at London 93 Feet East on September 7th, and The Detroit Cobras at London ULU the following night, plus a UK solo tour by You Am I mainman Tim Rogers coming up, it's shaping up to be a great Autumn! As our I-94 brethren would say, see you at the bar!

Selah

Joss & Joe

The Ramones in NY Daily News.

This from Blair Buscareno:

Who: The Miscreants (8:30 PM) and The Anything People (7:30 PM)
What: Rock'n'roll of course! LIVE rock'n'roll!
Where: Magnetic Field, 97 Atlantic Avenue Brooklyn, NY
When: Saturday August 21st at 7:30
Why: You've got an obligation to be cool.
How: $3 at the door gets you 2 mighty fine sets of rock'n'roll.
And: At 10 PM, Dave the Spazz starts spinning!
Be there or be afraid. Listen - Look

Hey Lindsay,

You missed a good one. The long day started with Davie Allan and the Arrows, who were OK but marred a bit by poor early sound. The bands were on a huge revolving stage and for the first six or seven the stage turned as one band finished their couple of songs and the other band started. Of course the stage broke down as the Fondas were coming on and didn't work for the rest of the day causing small gaps between the songs whihc a selction of MCs tried to fill with tedious and embarassing banter - they would have been better leaving a silnce between bands. Celebrity MCs include Kim Fowley - mostly great, carried the show really - Edd Kookie Byrnes - painfully bad ,eemed a bit senile really and BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - FUCKIN' BROOOCE! Oh yeah and some guys from the Sopranos - I don't know what that is about. Highlights were the Richard and The Young Lions with the recently deceasd Richard Tepp's 15 year old son filling in for him, Nancy with Clem Burke on drums, The Dictators who lifted the day out of inteminable three chord garage rock recreations, New York Dolls seemed to be having a genuinely good time and of course the show closers - Iggy & The Stooges. 100 time rowdier than when I saw them in glasgow a couple of months ago, the Stooges were truly awesome. Anyway, I said hi to Handsome Dick for ya, he say take care a yasself. Hope Amy Allison was good too.

Cheers, Colin

NY Daily News Report HERE!.

I'm pleased to report that RAMONES RAW isn't just a padding out of Ramones Around The World. I have a tape of the TV broadcast that aired in the US recently and it's very entertaining both in a knockabout sense and in terms of showing what a gruelling schedule the band undertook. Pluses for me is that there's a fair amount of good Joey stuff and a short sequence with Mark, Joe and Al (Leo Schnauser/Grandpa Munster) Lewis. Footage from a Rome show (Castle of Saint Angelo 1980) is just about the best concert film I've seen of them ever, the sound is incredible and even if it might have been tampered with (I hear strange harmonics on the guitar in particular), it's bloody good. RAW also includes the CBS segment on the opening of Joey Ramone Place and a whole lot more. It paints a very positive spin on the band as a bunch of amiable freaks that should have taken over the world. I guess the evil spirits that were winding up the tensions in the wings and preventing their overground success were on vacation when this was put together. The link above is to Amazon UK who are offering it for just £9.74. Amazon US is $17+. Will have to check out Play.com... just did and it's not listed yet.

Some interesting stuff from this great Sex Pistols site:
"Johnny Ramone and Arturo Vega are celebrating the Ramones 30th anniversary with a gig at the Avalon Theatre in Hollywood, California on 12th September. Steve Jones will be one of the guests. Note, Johnny Ramone will not be performing at the show. For a more extensive list of guests, click on the Cook 'n' Jones link on the menu above.
The movie End Of The Century - The Story Of The Ramones starts Friday 20th August at Angelika Film Centre, NYC.".
Besides that, the site holds some amazingly rare pictures, including several from the Pistols' two visits to Holland.

Apparently Str*kes fans are planning to hit Randalls' Island at 7pm tonight to get a good spot. Blair Buscareno makes a good point that anybody with any semblance of taste will be queuing for the lavvies or something else at that point with a view to being ready for The Stooges. If a further example that this world is going to hell in a handbasket is required, The Ramones "Rock'n'Roll Radio" was used as background music in a fishing show called Trout'n'About on Scottish Television this week. You couldn't make that up, right? All going well, I'll be taking a look at this RAMONES RAW thing tonight and will let you know the score. I have fears that Marky boy has just padded out that Ramones Around The World travesty but we'll see. Looks like I'll be able to make the Saturday screening of END OF THE CENTURY on the 28th in Edinburgh after all. What's that thing about Ramones movies and buses?

"Eric Ambel CD "Knucklehead" from Lakeside Lounge Records. "Roscoe's Gang" and "Loud & Lonesome" deluxe reissues too.

With the release of Knucklehead on his own Lakeside Lounge Records, Eric "Roscoe" Ambel - guitarist for Steve Earle & The Dukes and the Yayhoos 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, Hole In My Head), some covers by the Backsliders Chip Robinson, Tom Waits, Neil Young and a previously unreleased Steve Earle tune (The Usual Time).

Lakeside Lounge has also re-issued 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 featuring Andy York ripping through the tunes. Roscoe's Gang gets a blistering re-mastering from the original analog masters. All 3 titles are in the deluxe digi-pack format with extensive notes and photos."

You can order all of these fine recordings HERE! There's a special deal if you score all 3 at once.

I would imagine that a whole bunch of you folks would own at lease some of these already but it's worth springing for the set because the packaging and annotation by Roscoe and The Hound is boss. It should be noted that the great RG album includes the second part of the Power Lounger theme that was missing from any copies I ever came across of the original US and UK releases. KNUCKLEHEAD is a great trawl through the backwoods of 'scoe's career and includes The Yayhoos swampoid version of "Judas Kiss". The version of "Shake Some Action" from the final Del-Lords session is spine tingling. The version of "Always On My Mind" recorded with Martin's Folly is utterly haunting and performed with more than it's fair share of soul. K'heid underpins the importance of Roscoes contribution to the canon of rock'n'roll from 1990 - the present.

Springsteen, T and Paulie - now I get the "biblical" bit... if anybody can stop the rain these these guys can... the full running order and timing is HERE!
How though, does a band that hasn't got 10 minutes worth of material end up playing for 50 minutes. Maybe it's an exercise to rumble them... can't wait for the reports to start comin' in...

"Oh dear..." perfectly sums up these BLACK METAL acts. Actually this whole RUTHLESS site is pretty chuffing entertaining, I've just been padding about it for the last half-hour when I should've been on my way to Tescos... Thanks to HT for the tip-off.

Some news updates: The Dictators' Manifest Destiny LP is due for a US re-release by Wounded Bird on CD any day now. Same goes for the long promised Gun Club re-issues on Sympathy, which will also be available on vinyl plus it looks like Death Party will include a bunch of extra cuts recorded live in Switzerland. Ramones Raw is the title of a DVD set for release on Sept 28, for the full scoop head for ramones.com. Fans in the U.K. will have the chance to see Ramones Raw on the big screen at this year's Raindance Film Festival in London--the U.K's largest independent film festival--from September 30 through October 10. And here's the tacklisting for the upcomin' MC5 box-set.

On Wednesday 18 Aug the movie Surfers Are Back; The Barracudas 25th Anniversary will be shown at the Portobello Film Festival in London. The movie features a recent performance by The Barracudas with Chris Wilson and The Surfin Lungs.
"The movie is about 35 minutes long - with over 25 minutes being live footage from their gig at The Dirty Water Club in May. The other 7 or 8 minutes are interviews that sort of provide a chronology. Chris Wilson plays on about half the songs and sings on 'Slow Death.' The Surfin Lungs join in on a couple of tunes.
Its being shown as part of The Portobello Film Festival at Westbourne Studios next
Wednesday 18 August at 8.25pm. The evening is dedicated to music films and these run from 6.00pm onwards. Admission is free. Westbourne Studios is at 242 Acklam Road. London. W10 5YG".

The director of the Underground Garage Movie will be Chris Columbus. It's not clear when LITTLE STEVEN and THE GARAGE DISEASE will hit theatres but when we know then so will you. Look forward to receiving reports from the front line... (Thanks for the info Andy)

HT has just added that the event will apparently be shot in 3D also...

Interested in reading an hilarious if somewhat surreal interview with all four Fleshtones the other night? Chuckle at the sight of Ken Fox's stereo surrounded by plastic monsters and gasp at the tentative title for the band's next project.

The Early Bird catches the (Star) Spangles... a missive from our NY crew...

"hello folks - this is to let you know that The Star Spangles are the fourth band in the running order on Saturday. The show kicks off at 10.30am and we hit the stage at 11.10am SHARP!!! see you there."

Of course, people who live in Madrid are hep to the fabulous Louie Louie bar but just incase any of you globetrotters find yourselves in that fine city, this is the kinda scene in which they specialise...

Anybody got any extra info on the above festival?. Any clues on what line-up of the Saints will appear here?. Answers to the usual address. (thanks to Bink for the tip-off).

While I'm sure that everybody who reads this thing who can will be there, just incase. There's a sneaky wee, shite group in the mix by the name of The Str*kes at the end yonder but other than that it's the bargain of the century. Short, sharp sets will seperate the wheat from the chaff plus Scott is gonna back where he belongs with his bloodbrothers in The Dictators!

Looks like Sire Records is planning it's return as a "hip" label. As a start they're offering a compilation CD with past glories for $5.00.

You Have Bad Taste in Music: "Do not attend this concert, stop listening to bad music, turn off your radio and television!!".

Check out this rumour, culled from the most recent e-mole...

"They're negotiating with none other than Gene Simmons (yes, he of the big
tongue) to sub in on bass for the New York Dolls. I kid you not."

I hope they do something about their drummer wearing "sporty" attire also.

The great JON GRABOFF has activated his portal to y'all and that means you can pre-order his fine Christmas album in plenty time for the holidays.

This month's releases from Ace Records.

An Evening With Plan B: Talking About The White Stripes: Borders, Oxford St, London on Wednesday 18th August @ 6.30pm - Legendary music journalist Everett True (ex-NME, Melody Maker, VOX, author of Live Through This: American Underground Rock Music In The 90s) leads a panel of young enthusiasts and seasoned contributors from his new magazine Plan B through a discussion on the state of the music press. Featuring Dirtbombs drummer Ben Blackwell talking about all things White Stripes.

Sky Saxon at The Dirty Water Club, London, Friday 6th August - Apparently resident in London since the end of his recent UK tour in the spring, it was fantastic to see Sky stood at front of the stage and enjoying the Punkles set of Beatles covers. Though a great idea to tackle the Lennon/McCartney songbook in a 1-2-3-4 Ramones-style, the joke becomes stretched over 45 minutes. I still thought the Punkles were gabba-gabba-fab even if visually they reminded me of some unholy meeting between the Three Stooges and the Rutles. More "beer" than "gear" then. Fact fiends will be interested to learn that Sky's UK band comprise of the rhythm section from the re-actived Barracudas, a chap from the Scoundrelles/Scientists on guitar and two blokes from Spacemen 3 fiddling about on organ, theramin and assorted electronica. To begin with the garageniks kept the acid-niks (inc. Sky) pretty much on course as the band dug out such nuggets as "No Escape", "Evil Hoodoo", and "Can't Seem To Make You Mine". Sky looked and sounded great, although I had no idea what he was singing, as the boys in the band created a fair old noise worthy of the original Seeds. For thirty minutes we were cruising down the strip and digging the acid-punk vibe of Little Richie Marsh, that is until we invited us "Up In Her Room" and the songs became longer and unfocused. Not to worry though, the first thirty minutes were top-hole and one of the best live experiences of the year. Fact: Robin and Jeremy "Barracuda" are so lucky to have those young fellas on bass and drums. As for Sky, look out for a new album recorded over the last few days in London and should you get the opportunity, ask him about the real meaning of "Dirty Water" by the Standells. Clue: It’s about drugs.

RIP RICK JAMES

Before that horrible 80's thing called KING with yon hockey frilla'd freak with the doc martens, there was an altogether more punk-rockin' ensemble by the same name. Agent Heiko laid the details on we...

Christina Agui-bleedin'-lera vs The Velvets. Right here...

Some Barracudas action from Mr Robin Wills...

"It's time for some garagetastic psyched up tuned in and dropped out celluloid action. Yes folks London's own subway surfers The Barracudas premiere their documentary 'Surfers Are Back' as part of the Portobello Film festival later this month. Next year sees the 25th anniversary re release of The Barracudas perfect debut album Drop Out. Renewed interest in the band has prompted Geoff Mann - who released The Barracudas first single 'I Want My Woody back' and Award winning Film Director John Wheeler of Clean Break productions to make this film. 'Surfers Are Back'features a blistering live performance at the legendary Dirty Water Club, behind the scenes footage and interviews with the band. It provides a 100 mile an hour distilled trip around the cult that is The Barracudas. Throw in an appearance from Flamin'Groovie Chris Wilson and you've got an instant police presence. This is a one off screening and seats are limited ( 80 free seats)."

The Barracudas in 'Surfers Are Back' the 25th Anniversary
Wednesday 18th August 2004 @8:25 @ The Portobello Film Festival
Westbourne Studios, 242 Acklam Road, London W10