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

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

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

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

End Of The Century trailer

Deleted scene -- Clem Burke as Elvis Ramone

Joey Ramone radio interview excerpts from FM 106.3

Marky Ramone drum technique

Johnny Ramone interview excerpts

Richie Ramone interview excerpts

Dee Dee Ramone interview excerpts

Joe Strummer interview excerpts

Tommy Ramone in Forest Hills interview excerpts

Debbie Harry and Chris Stein interview excerpts

Neighborhood friend Ritchie Adler interview excerpts

Who Wrote What On The First 3 Albums by Tommy Ramone

Also check out this from Scotland on Sunday...

Thanks to Martin P for the info.

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

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

THE WESTERN BEAT KRIS KRISTOFFERSON TRIBUTE

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

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

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

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

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

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



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

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

Also we have a new website

"Hey Folks

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

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

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

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

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

Mar 2 - 'Sure Trakings Trio' aftershow party

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

Apr 2 - Top secret blowout!

Apr 28 - The Buccaneer, Memphis, Tennessee

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

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

Much love

Joss & Joe xxx

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

Sonic Reducer- The Final Conflict

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

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

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

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

Sincerely,Michael

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

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

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

Music and plenty else for NIMRODS!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

THE DEXATEENS

THE GREASE MONKEYS

TAYLOR HOLLINGSWORTH

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

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

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

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

Prescribed by Dr. Andrea, Medicine Wummin.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Crawford Smith spotted this train info...

Mr Martin Percival passed this along...

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

JIMMY SMITH - RIP (info from El Rapido)

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

Some Southern Culture headed our way in May...

I can't access the website but dates are

Wednesday 11 • London • Borderline

Thursday 12 • Bristol • St Bonaventures Parish Club

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

Saturday 14 • Newcastle • The Cluny

Better get to brewin' that 'shine now!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



"Hey Folks

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Selah, Joss and Joe"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This month's releases from Ace Records.

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

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

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

Rejoice Children, rejoice !. February and March 15 will be the first important dates of 2005. Not only will Leg's McNeil's long promised book 'The Other Hollywood: The Uncensored Oral History of the Porn Film Industry' finally see the light of day next month on that very day, but March 15 is the official release date of the Ramones''End Of The Century' DVD as well. Yes, 15 is your lucky number...

An early start this morning. Drop the car off for a "service". Obviously a euphamism for "shakedown" in that it always COSTS. I hate driving but that's another entchilada altogether, maybe I'll go into it one day. So, I head north with my parents to a wee place called Birnam which is about 12 miles from Pitlochry or thereabouts. Close to Dunkeld. It's an idyllic part of the world to have an outlet which agents the manufacture of cd's and if there was any justice at all, I'd be retired there by now. My old man's album will be foisted upon the world, March 1st or thereabouts and he has a lot of angles. More than I have these days that's for sure... There goes my last day of annual leave but I feel like I achieved something today. New holiday semester starts in March - bring it on!!

This link comes c/o S.J. Bink; some amazing videos of the Dolls, Ramones, Dead Boys and Runaways.

P3 POPSTAD - THE NOMADS + THE TEENAGE IDOLS + JOHNOSSI at Debaser in Stockholm this coming Friday (4th February). Make that scene if you can.

"hey, just got back from the (Magic Christian) show... first off i was blown away to see people i work with at the show... "what are you doing here?" "we're here to see cyril jordan".
i didn't even know they were into him, and they said the same thing about me. before long cyril pops up to say hi and that blew their minds.

anyways... the guys did a great show. very relaxed. but in a good way. very very enjoyable. prairie prince was using one of the other bands drum kits (nice black diamond pearl set like ringo's)... and let me tell you i never heard him so good. for once i could hear the whole band. i now get why they like prairie so much. i don't know if he didn't feel comfortable on these drums or didn't want to break them or what. all i know is he was great. i told him so... (altho i think i may have offended him... "hey, i liked you on this drum set" - guess it was a backhanded compliment! i gotta be honest... the guy's a real nice cat but he deafens me sometimes. he can be overpowering. but tonight he was right there. i mean totally right on.

people told me they found paul's singing much better too. not forced. this is the point... the band was not at all forced. very together. i think this is what was missing prior to this show. cyril played great. i still wish he'd go back to using a pick, but he pulled off his solos really nicely, and with no delay from coming off
the rhythm.(not easy). they opened with "made my bed" and went on to others they've been doing... "right back where i started", the stones' "gotta get away". spoonful's "my gal"...bunch of beatles... "any time at all", "things we said today", and a killer version of "don't bother me" with a great rave up ending. they did "angel" for the first time. cool song. "she's so good" rocked better than ever.
cyril wore his wonder woman t-shirt and played his dan armstrong thru the pod and into the twin reverb. alec had his ric bass this time... paul shook maracas now and then. girls were dancing up front. not a huge crowd but they were totally rocking. looks like the guys are headed for europe soon. i think they're playing with wayne kramer. in the meantime they're in the studio working on the next album."

- don in frisco

Happy birthday to both H.D. Manitoba; King Of Man, and H.B. Vedder; King Of Man version 2.0.

CHINABOISE THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD (Gulcher 426)

Back at the dawn of No Future, before mid-70s boredom turned into late-70s hate, Rich Stim and Dave Mahoney were two young guys living in a trailer park. This trailer park was located in the midwest college town of Bloomington, Indiana. Rich was a newspaper writer by profession(ombudsman, obituaries, and music reviews), but longed to be a musician. He could play sax, bass, guitar, and other assorted instruments. Dave was a drummer, who even did gigs with a local country band. They both sang. In 1975, they began working up a batch of songs composed by Rich. They called their project Chinaboise.

In the very same trailer park lived Rich Fish, who soon moved into a house where he built a tiny studio in an empty bedroom (the teenage Gizmos would record there in '76 and '77). Rich Stim and Dave Mahoney joined their former neighbor at Home Grown Studios, where Chinaboise recorded a handful of tracks over a few months in '75.

Stim asked guitarist Bruce Anderson to join them in the studio for a few songs. Bruce was invited because he was the driving force behind MX-80 Sound, the high-energy avant combo which Stim considered local gods. It turned out Bruce had been thinking about moving MX-80 Sound closer to rock music, and the Chinaboise duo would soon join MX-80 to record the classic BIG HITS EP in 1976.

But back in '75, things were still kinda like the early 70s, and that's nowhere more evident than on this new Gulcher CD of Chinaboise music. If MX-80 '76 is like a pissed-off art punk finally lashing out, Chinaboise '75 is the punk's older boho brother smirking cynically and blowin' his horn.

"The Greatest Story Ever Told" was released on the BLOOMINGTON 1 comp LP (BRBQ Records '75), but none of the other Chinaboise material ever came out officially. Well, Rich says they "handed out cassettes to some people in town." "The Greatest Story Ever Told" is a great track. Stim's deadpan vocal and lyric combine with Bruce's jagged avant-metal guitar and Dave's drumming to sound not unlike the "new" MX-80 Sound of '76. Except this also has female vocals by Carolyn Boner and Kim Torgerson (who took photos of MX-80 over the years).

Bruce Anderson also appears on the ever-timely oil crisis ditty "Living On Oil," the angular MX-80-like "Take Two," and "Self-Conscious Pisser" (vocal by Steve Hoy), which became an MX-80 instrumental, abbreviated "SCP." There's also an early version of MX-80's "Myonga Von Bontee," done here as a sax-and-drums duet by Rich and Dave. "Partners In A Crime" was also re-arranged as an MX-80 song; the Chinaboise precursor features vocals by Stim, Dave, and Rich Fish, with only piano accompaniment.

There are a few tunes dominated by a sort of (pseudo-)beatnik campfire vibe--just Rich and Dave interacting like the doob's been passed for awhile. "Girl You Got It (So Go Get It)" and "Demons In The Lone Star State" both feature Rich on recorder! "Sodium Nitrate" is filled with back-and-forth hepster dialogue plus bebop sax. "Caught Between Dreams" moves the action to a jazzy little tavern just down the street.

"Working Girl" has Stim's typical workaday lyrics turned inside out, from the woman's point of view, with a lovely vocal by Holly Thomison. "Dear Tears" has a similar feel, with Kim Torgerson singing. These two tracks remind me of Stim's work in the 80s with Angel Corpus Christi (Mrs Stim).

The most surprising sounds here are two tracks of spoken-word humor done in the Firesign Theatre style. "Breakfast At The Gables" has Rich Stim, Rich Fish, and Carolyn Boner doing a mock morning radio show, complete with sound effects and fake commercials. On "In The Sahara" Stim is a bad stand-up comedian, Carolyn and Kim are drunk audience members, Fish an announcer and a drunk, and drummer Brad Fox
provides rimshots for Stim's jokes.

Yep, this is a weird one, Gulcher mulchers--lots of DIY fun, interesting musical approaches, and underground history in the making. The CD package includes cool early pix of the MX-80 boys and the rest of the crew, and an interview with Rich Stim. (Eddie Flowers, Slippy Town)

Talk about cross collateralising cultures.... I'm sitting here filling out the MCPS forms for my old man's soon to be released album of pipe tunes. It's turned into quite a project but it's all nearing completion. Check out the kiltie photo above. While I painstakingly list this obscure fare, which is not altogether straightforward, I'm listening to the great Radio Student (Hey BIGor and Ms Viva!!), broadcasting from Slovenia and hoping that something gives that'll mean we can head out that way this year. They just played a Beavis and Butthead trailer for the station... we really are not sodding worthy! You can tune into this sensation also by selecting the listing on yonder sidebar.

Hope to be able to give you the skinny on the tour dates for their Croatian neighbours, THE BAMBI MOLESTERS very soon... I'm on a sorta long weekend so I'm relatively chilled in that I don't have to think about going back to the rat race until maybe Monday evening.

OK, I just felt like a break from the compilation of publishing details for bagpipe tunes. It's a strange and complicated world and doesn't it all sound the same to you? That's what my parents used to say about The Ramones...

You wanna know "wha' 'appen(ing)? Well check out NERVOUS SHAKES "SEPARATE BEDS? I DON'T THINK SO" available now on the NUN label. Their Fred Willard-esque take on album titles contains the kind of no-frills, superior rock action that can sneak under the radar so easily these days.Straight outta Brussels and harbouring a prediliction for buzzsaw rock and roll. I thought track 5 was titled "Swedish Love Gym" until I adjusted my glasses. Turned out it was "Gun". Ah well, you can't have everything. So yeah, a considerable octane then. Visit their bijou website and sample their wares.

The South may well rise again! 'bama's DEXATEENS will be landing to serve up substantial lashings of their punk rock Skynyrd-lickin' marinade at the following venues during February...

FRIDAY 11TH - GLASGOW - 13TH NOTE CAFE w/
Raising Kain, the Grease Monkeys, Taylor Hollingsworth

SATURDAY 12TH - ABERDEEN - THE TUNNELS
w/ the Grease Monkeys, the Down Roads, Taylor Hollingsworth

SUNDAY 13TH - NEWCASTLE - THE CLUNY
w/ the Grease Monkeys, the Illegal Movers, Taylor Hollingsworth

TUESDAY 15TH - LONDON - ARTROCKER at the BUFFALO BAR

WEDNESDAY 16TH - LONDON - BRIXTON WINDMILL
w/ Taylor Hollingsworth, & 2 others

SATURDAY 19TH (afternoon) - GLASGOW - STEREO
w/ the Grease Monkeys, Taylor Hollingsworth

SATURDAY 19TH - EDINBURGH - MERCAT
w/ the Grease Monkeys, Denghis, Taylor Hollingsworth



Their just released second album, RED DUST RISING is on the prowl now via Mr Crider's ESTRUS imprint and it's sure to put the wind up them January cobwebs. You heard ol' Neil sing about it and you heard ol' Neil put it down but this should be a wake up call to the old duffer that them there Southern men still don't need him around anyhow.

RIP - Philip Johnson.

Where to start? Nearly February already and the nights are fair drawin’ out already. It’s practically light when we’re driving home so that seems like a turn up for the books. Then I read Chris Stigliano’s bit on his Blog to Comm about Johnny Carson which was great. On top of that there’s a cd-rom from my Unca Duane with snippets from the recent Suicide show in NY. This serves to remind me that we didn’t even see all of Amy Rigby’s dvd yet, did have to dive straight into her “Dancing with Joey Ramone” opus though and somebody needs to be getting her to perform it at his Birthday party this May 19th. The big guy would have loved this song I’m sure and it’s so heartfelt. Gie’syer shivers an’ that. So yeah, I haven’t dropped off the face of the earth and am somewhat ready to do battle with the demons that make me wish I could. Shootin’ the craw isn’t an option though I guess, at least not for now. On my desk calendar thing the other day it said “Plan out your Future (but do it in pencil)”. Aye, stick it intae me again whydontcha!!? But hey, we went over the 100,000 hits today. How 'bout them (silver)apples??

Fredriks Videos & Burgers is a cool video archive featuring (ao) three songs from the recent Lyres show in Stockholm.

A big Rabbie Burn's day shout out to all you timrous beasties "oot there". Be there not panic "in your breesties", eat your haggis, neeps and tatties - it's good for what ails ya... Still bogged down in admin traffic, think massive snowfall hampering your movements - that's the shape I'm in. New STEREO TOTAL out in the US today, a report will follow shortly...

My compilation, DOUGHNUT NOT MERINGUE has become TOM MORTON's Album Of The Week on his afternoon BBC Radio Scotland. Who'da thunk it? My thanks to the man for this utterly unexpected turn of events. Getting Suzy Y Los Quattro on to our airwaves has to be a worthy occurance methinks...

There goes Johnny... Mr. Carson has left the theatre!

Aye... not had much time for the old reporting this week because essentially other, more pressing matters have come to the fore. I won't bore you or whine incoherently, let's just say that my bahookie has been well and truly felt (not intending to be cryptic or owt) and that the matter(s) are being attended to. One of these is the need for extensive roof repairs which will leave one someone not too far away from here somewhat economically challenged for the next wee whiley. I know there are plenty out there who don't have a roof to stick it to them but unfortunately that doesn't make the broadside too muckle easier to stomach. I'm not exactly complaining, just telling yer why my e-mailing and posting ain't up to speed.

On a more entertaining footing, I just heard this programme on Radio Scotland about HAGGIS which you might get a kick outta on the run up to Burns Day on Tuesday. Click the link and select GRASSROOTS from the listing for all you'll ever need to know about our "national dish". This is your "Chieftain o' the Pudden race" signing aff. As opposed to off.

Up next from Norton:
Chimney Sweeps - Devil Girl LP "UNKNOWN GARAGE MONSTERS UNLEASHED! A DOZEN BASHERS UP FROM DOWN UNDER! INCLUDES PRE-SWEEPS COBWEBS! TWELVE FULL INCHES OF INSANITY! TOO RAW N RAMPANT FOR TENDER EARS! 38 YEARS AHEAD OF THEIR TIME! ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL! For the first time on wax, here's a dozen crude, unissued 1966-67 garage recordings by Australia's answer to the Alarm Clocks, the truly remarkable Chimney Sweeps. These guys never boasted a release during their short "career" (they played maybe 15 gigs tops) and were totally unknown even amongst top Australian collectors until recently. The twelve sides include wild originals like Lies, Lies and the demented Cold Fish ("she ain't no gold fish!") plus three cool covers - their dragged-through-a-ditch take on the Rolling Stones' Grown Up Wrong must be heard to be believed! The big crunch is capped by a '66 stab at the title song by the Sweeps' earlier incarnation, the Cobwebs. Features a full band bio, whacked out group photo (the only one!) and a buzzin' dozen garage killers!"
Arch Hall Jr & the Archers - Wild Guitar CD. "Gargantuan set heralds the mega-cool output of our hero Arch Hall, Jr. and his band, covering his recording career from 1959-1963. Includes massive illustrated bio-booklet packed with info, interviews and flat out eye openers! Combines his singles with unknown studio recordings, movie music from the master tapes plus never released 1962 live Pensacola drive-in theatre show! Wild Guitar, Konga Joe, Monkey In My Hat Band, Twist Fever, Stake Theme, Growing Taller Every Day, Sneakin' Around, If A Man Answers, Archers Theme, Susie Q more!".

Some Suzy Y Los Quattro news from BB his'self, urging you to catch some fun in the (warm?) Barcelona sun...



Photos from MADRID

"Our next gig is with TV SMITH on Saturday, February 12th in Barcelona, at the Deja Vu club. Make sure you post it on your site, remind those brits ultra-cheap flights can still be found for those days! I'd be willing to try and arrange accomodation for anyone who drops me a line at pbarbudas@gmail.com, but they should act quick!"

Unfortunately I can't swing that but maybe YOU can?

IT CAME FROM DETROIT - LATEST!

"Excitement is in the air, or should I say "on the air"? On Saturday, our friends Chris Handyside and Greg Siemasz invited us on to their show, Radio Fever on 97.1 FM. We played some tunes, ate some donuts, and promoted our film and upcoming rock show. If you haven't heard already, four awesomely awesome bands are throwing us a benefit show. Rock on! The Gore Gore Girls, Fortune & Maltese, the Cyril Lords, and the Detroit City Council are going to rock their asses off to raise money for our film. It can't get any better than this folks, so don't miss the show: Saturday, January 22 at the Magic Stick. 18+ , $10. Get ready for your close ups because this is your chance to be in the movie! We need your support to finish, so come on down and bring a friend. This is an event not to be missed!!"

‘Le Beat Bespoke’ – A Weekend of Sin? @ The Rocket, London. Easter 2005



Weblink for full programme www.newuntouchables.com

After the huge success of ‘Modstock 2’ in 2004 (also at The Rocket Complex) which drew visitors from all corners of the globe, there was much positive feedback and many calls for a potentially similar but hopefully more regular London-based event. This would, by its very nature, take on board the same quality and diverse demands of the Modernist and wider Sixties Scene. In addition it should be enhanced with more imaginative ingredients drawn from various similar areas and scenes to ensure a top quality ‘Weekend of Sin’, with vintage culture, music, fun and mucho partying over three days and nights in the music capital of the UK!

We have worked hard to bring you an amazing three-day programme of events, details
of which you will discover as you read on. Firstly, being a ‘live music’ led event, we have brought together some legendary names, mixed with some international ‘must see’ newer acts, some Scene mainstays, some all-out blisssssstering outfits, and also some young cutting edge bands that are setting alight the UK ‘live’ scene and music critics as we speak!

LOVE (WITH ARTHUR LEE) INC FIRST UK SHOW WITH ORIGINAL GUITARIST JOHNNY ECHOLS
CHOCOLATE WATCHBAND (First UK SHOW), YARDBIRDS, NINE BELOW ZERO, FUZZTONES,
FRANK POPP ENSEMBLE, BILLY CHILDISH BUFF MEDWAYS, THE LOONS (WITH MIKE STAX),
NEILS CHILDREN, MASTICA, LONG TALL SHORTY, THEE EXCITERS & GAS MACH 5

A truly eclectic and super line-up of DJ talent from all over the world with three, and at times four, rooms of quality rare music covering all major aspects of the
Modernist/ Sixties/Psych/Beat/Garage/Soul Funk/RnB/RnR spectrum with a refreshing perspective. This will give you a chance to check out sounds from around the globe from many people who you have never have heard play before! These DJs are prepared to wear out the soles of your dancing shoes from sunset to sunrise so be sure to bring along a spare pair!

As ever there will be a dedicated ‘Le R&B Room’ and ‘Le Beat Bespoke Room (Garage/Beat/Psych/Classics) for all three nights. NUTs DJs: Dr Robert, Speed, Pid, Chris Dale, Scott Copeland, Bertie & Steve + Micky (Velvet Illusion), Mark Raison (Shake), Roger Banks, PJ (Dirty Water Club), Liam Watson (Toerag) + Global Guests: Tony ’Le Tyger’ Sanchez + Mike Stax (USA) Eneida + Lolo (Spain), Frantz (Italy), Stephan Golowka + Frank Popp (Ger).

+ SPECIALIST GUEST CLUB NIGHTS FRIDAY: ’Le Rockaround Room’ - Hot Rock n Roll from DJ’s Mouse & Cosmic Keith

SATURDAY: ’Where Le Action Is’ - with Gary Crowley & Jim Lahat (BBC Radio London)
+ Paolo Hewitt & Sir Bax (Mono Media).

SUNDAY: Four rooms of clubbing with ’Le Acid Jazz Party’ DJ’s Eddie Piller & Dean Rudland + Guests
*PLUS Manchester’s ‘NEW CENTURY NORTHERN SOUL ALLNIGHTER’ upstairs in Le Main Ballroom, offering the ‘Cream of Northern Soul’ sounds.

Other weekend highlights include BBC Radio London ‘Live Broadcast’, Pip! Pip! lightshow, Go-Go dancers, market stalls, movies, expos, ‘Le Beat Bespoke’ Kult Film premier, record dealers and more.

The Rocket is the perfect venue for this event. With a capacity of 1000+, four rooms entertainment + a courtyard and excellent travel links to all areas of the City. The Rocket is on the A1 road with excellent links to the rest of the UK including airports. Cheap accommodation is available through the International Students House opposite Regents Park as well as numerous Bed & Breakfast and small hotels offering good deals in the King’s Cross, Finsbury Park and Russell Square areas plus the Ibis Hotel in nearby Euston. Try
www.lastminutehotels.com
www.cheaphotels.com
International Student House, 229 Great Portland St, London. W1
(Opp Regents Park) From £12-£33 per person accom@ish.org Tel 0207 631 8310

So come along and join in the fun. We look forward to seeing you all there!

Rob Bailey & Bazden (Pip! Pip!), New Untouchables 2005

Wolfed down wir tea and ventured out into the blizzards tonight to catch the Ray Charles bio-pic, RAY. It's not bad in a "What's Love Got To Do With It?" kinda way. It's a funny old time, Elvis at No. 1 and Brother Ray at the Mongoplex... what exactly is the world coming to? At 2 and a half hours it's a tad overlong but there's no doubting Jamie Foxx's uncanny morph into the man himself. Decent Sunday afternoon viewing then as opposed to the ol' attention span deficit of a "school night". I kept thinking that I'd like to hear The Del-Lords "Saint Jake" for most of the movie...

Up next from Crypt Records: The Ikon Records Story. 180 gram 2LP set in full-color inside & out GATEFOLD sleeve! INSANE package: 29 tracks (22 originals and 7 cover versions) of never reissued 1964-1966 garage punk, surf instros, frat stomp and folk-punk from 20 teenage bands recorded at Sacramento's IKON STUDIO. These 28 cuts, culled from the to-be-simultaneously-released 60-song double CD on the FRANTIC RECORDS label, are the result of FRANTIC RECORDS Joey D and ACE RECORDS Alec Palao having spent the last 6 years tracking down every band, almost every master tape, and (often without luck!) the impossible-to-find 7" singles released on Ikon. This vinyl version is housed in a deluxe full-color inside-and-out gatefold jacket crammed with color and b&w photos, label shots, and extensive liner notes. After 27 years of extensive reissues of 60s garage punk rarities, ONLY ONE Ikon track has even made it to a reissue - WHY? Because almost NOBODY even owns any of the original Ikon 45s.

Our cub reporter, Brother Duane of Sherwood files the following info from NYC...

Stop Presses... Suicide docu-biography released... Book signing & live show held...

Jan 15, 2005

Release of "SUICIDE - No Compromise" was marked by a book signing the Deitch Projects gallery, under the glow of 2 wall mounted light sculptures by Alan Vega.

The festivities continued at the Knitting Factory where SUICIDE played to a packed room, unveiling several new songs and some reworked versions of classics.

The highlight of the show was the unexpected encore of Frankie Teardrop. Not a dry eye in the house.

2 photos filed.

It all adds up...

Just yesterday, after my pal Jos 'n me spend half the day at one of those big fleamarket type of events, I was spinning some Joan Jett 45s I picked up there, 'n was kinda amazed at how well they were produced; powerful and commercial, plus we're talkin' 80s here, so this is no mean feat. "Kenny Laguna" is what I told Alice after she shared my opinion on the production end (tho' she's sadly hardly ever impressed by my knowledge of names 'n facts in these cases). Anyways, I gave the guy's name a spin at Google, and boy, was I ever impressed with the results. Not only was he responsible for those great Joan Jett discs, but his credits also included the Barracudas' Summer Fun and Susan's Day by Dutch powerpop legends the Rousers. And Check the "bands played in" section: Tommy James and the Shondels, Music Explosion, 1910 Fruitgum Co., Ohio Express, Archies, Derek, Shadows of Knight, Kazenetz-Katz Orchestral Circus, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Darlene Love and The Blossoms. How's about that for a cool CV?. Read all about it (and more) here.

Ace Dutch punk combo the Sack-o'-Woes will be headin' over to the UK next week for a short tour, and your attendance is required. Dates are as follows:

Th 20-1: London (Stoke Newington), Ryan's Bar (with the Ulcers)
Fr 21-1: Leeds, Fenton Pub.
Sa 22-1: Liverpool, Heaven & Hell.
Su 23-1: Southhampton, Eagle Pub.

Please check local listings for exact times etc.

THE SAINTS are at King Tuts in Glasgow on March 3rd. They're also gonna be all over Europe so check their site for your nearest pummelling...

RESIST THE THINGS YOU CAN FIND EVERYWHERE... That's The OPTIMO motto and methinks it's a code to follow. While you're at it, check out this KILL THE DJ mix-thing!



I have to tell you folks that I haven't actually been there. It's on too late for Gran'paw here but these guys have been fighting for the right to educate the masses to a broad base of music forever now. I just found out (2 months late) that I missed Kid Congo and Khan again so have signed up to their newsletter. I suggest anybody who is headed for Glasgow at any point should do that too.

It might look like like a no frills slab of rockabilly but underneath that simple exterior beats a heart of pure, slap you about the kisser, hilbilly pride! I guess that's where the title comes from. Featuring such fine numbers as "You're Black, I'm Blue" and "Don't make Me Kick Your Ass This Christmas", Mack Stevens and The Red Light Boys have made themselves a modern day classic. If there can be such a beastie. There's a wee Willie Nelson-esque warble to this guys holler and the subject matter isn't for the faint of heart or spirit. Not for fearties or bleeding hearts then. Available for now on On The Hill Records of Japan but ripe for a release in France, contact the man himself for availability.

From The Dictators website...

HDM TO TOUR EUROPE WITH DKT/MC5

Handsome Dick Manitoba will join the DKT/MC5 tour of Europe from Feb. 18 through March 5. Also appearing with the group will be guitarist Gilby Clarke (ex-Guns N' Roses) and singer Lisa Kekaula (BellRays). Following are the dates of the tour so far (subject to change :

February 2005

18 Lisbon, Portugal
19 Barcelona, Spain ..... Razzmatazz 3
20 Madrid, Spain ..... Sala Arena
21 Bordeaux, France ..... 4 Sans
22 Brest, France ..... Vauban
23 Lille, France ..... Aeronef
24 Brussels, Belgium ..... Ancienne Belgique
25 London, U.K. ..... Royal Festival Hall
27 Turin, Italy ..... Hiroshima
28 Treviso, Italy ..... New Age

March 2005

01 Zagreb, Croatia
02 Belgrade, Serbia
04 Athens, Greece ..... Gargarin 205
05 Salonica, Greece ..... Mylos

Onetime Raunch Hand and erstwhile Devil Dog (not to mention his brief tenure as an A-Bone), Mike Mariconda is back with THE STEPBROTHERS. Take equal parts anglo-verging on pub rock, a quasi-glam streak and a whole quart of soul and you're getting a beat on what "Baby It's Over" entails. The opener ("Very Last Time") recalls Status Quo's "Caroline" and folks outside of the UK may well wonder why that would matter. Well that group is something of an institution here and that might cloud the issue in some would-be hipsters books. I saw the Quo in their heyday many times and am not ashamed to admit a softspot for their daft boogie antics. Supreme drinking music, The 'brothers shimmy in no uncertain fashion with a "Faces"-type abandon. I can't recall exactly, but I think it's "Baby It's Over" that sounds like Stevie Winwood dishing up J'taime in a Booker T stylee. (I don't have the record to hand as I type...) Rod Stewart should make a record with these guys instead of trotting out those lame "standards". It'd make ol' John Peel smile, I'm sure. They've dragged that 60's beat frenzy bang into the 21st century, losing zip in the ramshackle translation.

A fine debut then, which lives up to the promise of their cut on Shakin' In My Boots (also on Licorice Tree). If you've seen 'em live, let me know if they're as smokin' as this suggests they be. Nice silk screened cover insert too fellas...

Well, I divnae ken much about art but I know what I like, and Ms Samaras delivers the goods every time... check this...



"You have clamored (well somebody must've clamored!), and Copro Nason Gallery has listened -- for the first time ever one of my paintings is available as a fine art print.

I just finished signing a short stack of gorgeous full color Giclee prints of "The Lily". The paper (Arches archival) size is 20 1/2 x 17 inches, image is 17 1/2 x 14 and they're only going to be $100 (plus S&H). The color reproduction and level of detail is *excellent* -- I'm pleased as punch with these things.

The edition is *very* small, only 30, so if you're interested I would suggest contacting Gary at Copro Nason as soon as possible.

Gary Pressman
Copro Nason Gallery
310-398-2643
bippo55@hotmail.com

Rock on with yer bad selves, Isabel"

Some entertaining clips here for ya, all kindsa musics... courtesy of PUNKCAST.

BOSTON ROCKERS HEAT UP LAS VEGAS JAN. 25 - 27 Cowboy Mach Bell

"Willie "Loco" Alexander, Steven Silva and Miss Lyn will be among the army of Boston rock'n'rollers blazing across the bigscreen as the documentary THUNDERTRAIN - I GOTTA ROCK is previewed non-stop at the fabulous Mandalay Bay Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip this week. The worldwide television industry attends their annual NATPE conference on January 25-27, 2005 under one roof at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Convention Center in Las Vegas.

The global television community (10,000 strong) will be the first to experience Thundertrain - I Gotta Rock. The documentary includes fierce 70's action shot at The Rat in Kenmore Square, recent band footage lensed in the deep south and reaches a roaring climax asThundertrain shakes New England once again in 2003. The Vegas crowd will see scads of Boston rock notables on screen. Drummer Matt Burns (Kenne Highland and his Vatican Sex Kittens), Miss Lyn and Paul "Blowfish" Lovell (Boston Groupie News), bassist Danny Hargrove (Joe Perry Project), indie record producer John Visnaskas, Pam Green (in a brief dancing cameo), teen terror Nathie (Slick Pig), and even big daddy Willie "Loco" Alexander will all be there."



Get all the latest Thundertrain - I Gotta Rock info **PLUS** Thundertrain MP3's, Rare Photos, Our exclusive forum, interviews and TT HotLine News.... Coming soon - MACH 5 onstage in Boston!....GET IT ALL @ THUNDERTRAIN WORLD HEADQUARTERS

The matter of “office-friendly” links came up as a result of J’s C14 post yesterday. Dealing in the type of hootch that we do then there is always the possibility that some of the images which might pop up could cause alarm to the uniniated.

That said, it’s all part of the adventure and I don’t think we post stuff that is particularly likely to land the viewer in the chokey. Sometimes, I get a dirty big Sonic Wall – Blocked and Reported to IT Department message on my work pc. In such a case, I’ll just wait until I get home before further investigation. There is the question of should people be reading up on this kinda stuff when they’re working anyway? Whilst I wholly applaud such behaviour then there’s always some twally out there in a position of “power” who is ready to rain on your parade.

Hopefully "anonymous" didn’t get made an example of for clicking on the C14 link. This is all good clean, very occasionally dirty, fun we’re hooking you up with here. Something for all the family even…

GEARCLUB at Debaser in Stockholm



Friday January 14

LYRES (Jeff Conolly and The Maggots)

AND

VOLADORAS

Mike Barbwire & Baby Diamondback Resident DJ's
Guest DJs: Dr. Frankenfuzz (N)[Singles Club] + Jonas Bjälesjö.

Read more