I’ve taken the plunge and rather than do anything useful I've been futzing around with myspace. Practically anytime that I go near it, the bugger crashes my system but hey, everybody’s doing it. What you say? Picking their nose and chewing it? No daftie, firing up a myspace presence. If you want to be my “friend” then please feel free to check in and do whatever it is you gotta do. I’ve no idea what that amounts to at this point but then again, I never was the sharpest tool in the box. Nor did I ever claim to be guv'nors and guv'nesses.

Mr Percival has been busy scanning cyberspace and flagged up the following...

Lenny Kaye on CBGB's, etc.

DKT/MC5 shows elsewhere in the UK around the time of their holiday camp shindig

Apologies for the ongoing erratic nature of posting. The road is a little bumpy right now. Normal service may well be resumed at some juncture but only time will tell. That old commodity known as time is in short supply at the minute. Radio Birdman in London tonight with those Groovin' Flame chaps. Nomads and Problem in Malmö this coming weekend. Boonaraaas in Essen, Germany also. Anybody attending any of these sermons is invited to trot out a report...

My buddy Duane has updated his 9/11 gallery. Thought you may care to take a look...

One of my very favourite combos on this earth has two shows coming in their native Pacific Northwest... GIRL TROUBLE.

Their myspace site keeps crashing my 'puter but maybe you'll have a little more luck in that department. Anyway, don't miss them if you're in the vicinity of Tacoma or Bellingham.

Look out for the king of night train...

THE LAST TOWN CHORUS' "Wire Waltz" is released here on October 2nd by Loose Music. LTC will be on tour later that month with the popular music group The Guillemots so that should introduce them to a whole new strata of potential appreciation. Show dates and info here...

I'm From Barcelona in the UK...

Thursday 14/9
Hoxton Bar and Grill, 2 Hoxton Square, London
Phone Bookings: 0044 870 243 4455£7 LiveNation.co.uk

Friday 15/9
The bush telegraph is buzzing with the info that IFB will appear at
Jamm, 261 Brixton Road London SW9 6LH as part of the How Does It Feel comp launch for "The Kids At The Club".

Saturday 16/9
Rough Trade Shop @ 2.00pm, 16 Neals Yard, Covent Garden, London. SE1 7AX Read more

Sunday 17/9
End of the Road Festival, Larmer Tree Gardens, Dorset/Wiltshire, England
Phone Bookings: 0044 871 230 2605 ticketmaster.co.uk£95 (for 3 days, includes camping)

"The first new issue of PUNK since 2000 will be available soon - possibly at this party!"

BE STIFF

Saw The Bottle Rockets last night in Glasgow. They're here punting their new Evangeline release, "Zoisia". Theirs is top notch Americana hootch and I'd swear that Brian Henneman was chanelling Lou Whitney at one point. They're in Newcastle tonight (Saturday) and have a few more shows including Amsterdam coming up before they head back stateside. It was somewhat reassuring that they seemed to draw a bit of a crowd also. Obviously the bush telegraph can work because I saw nada in the way of posters for the show. The Sundowns and Stewboss opened. The former locals are OK for two or three songs. Until the one with the James Blunt hair sings. Stewboss are agreeable if unremarkable purveyors of familiar sounding noises. Good, tight but ultimately kind of forgettable. The Rockets have it down and when they're motoring then you better get outt the way. If you want to see what you missed then check the clip for "I'll Be Comin' Around" available via their site.

As I was tapping away here, Mr McLean called with some rotten news. Our friend Gary Barrett passed away yesterday of a heart attack at 42 (!). Gary was a mainstay of Sandy's Avalanche oupost in Glasgow and I never knew him real well but he was a nice guy. And a rabid rock'n'roll fan. He really wanted to find a way to get The Scientists up here when they were over earlier. Alas it didn't happen. One imagines that his spirit will be rattling about the rafters of this week's Radio Birdman show in London though. Things like this create something of a perspective and i'm sure his family are in shellshock.

Photos courtesy of Dean J Barr (Gary's nephew)

Brother Patrick shook some action t'other evening and here's his report...

CHRIS WILSON & his Groovin’ Flames, Paris-Paris,

Paris, September 6th, 2006

Paris-Paris is the name of the club and Paris is ... Paris.

Chris Wilson & his Groovin’ Flames were in town for two private shows and was told by a member of the group that PP was the better place, so I asked Marijo, Chris’ ex wife, to put my name on the guest list. She kindly put “Patrick + 1”.

The Flamin’ Groovies are family favourites at home. My wife and I had the chance to see them in 1976 and 1978, but my son Jonathan didn’t – so he was the “+ 1”. I also saw a group called “Flamin’ Groovies” in 1990 : Cyril Jordan and George Alexander were great but their FM rock singer didn’t fit.

Joe Presedo, Tony Thewlis, Rob Coyne, Yan Quellien (ex-Scientists, Barracudas, Silver Chapter), accompanying only one ex Groovie – our man Chris Wilson - is the closest to the Flamin’ Groovies mark 2 you could figure and Mr Bassman really helped.

Cool venue, reminded me of the Magnetic Field in New York : good music before the show, giant screen playing an old movie ... The audience was composed mainly of rock critics and members of groups – probably including (for the older ones) the whole bunch of people who bought the 50 copies of “the Groovies’ Still shakin’”sold in France at the time (at the time the album was reported to have been bought by rock critics only : all the reviews were positive but the public didn’t buy it).

With your eyes closed or only focused on the still groovin’, enthusiastic and mesmerising Chris Wilson, you could imagine yourself back in the 70’s – not that “it was better before” kinda crap, just that it recalled the emotion of magic moments stuck in your mind (like when I saw the Stooges 2 years ago, I know that Mr. Martin Percival exactly knows what I mean). The set was composed of some highlights of the Sire 1976-79 trilogy “Shake Some Action / Now / Jumpin’ In The Night” and some older favourites : “Slow Death”, “Let Me Rock”, “Teenage Head” and “When I Heard Your Name”. Nothing more to say...

The Groovin’ Flames are currently touring France and will be back in Paris on October 6. They’re also scheduled to perform on Friday, September 22 at the Popxiriapop Festival in Carballo, Spain and Roy Loney & the Longshots will also be performing the day after on Saturday, September 23, 2006 at the festival. Could a special event be in the works??

Some Groovin' video on YouTube... Chris’ myspace page

"All hail kits'n'kittens
And, lo, it came to pass that a great plague of fake-assed rock'n'roll covered the city of Londinium, and all of the little iPod-hugging kidlets did tremble with anticipation in their overpriced Ramones tees, at the thought that all they would have to listen to for the rest of their lives was Coldhay, Pete Dickherty and Stink records, while being fed piffle-rags such as the eNeMEy, Moho, and Kerplunk! Righteous vinyl spinners BigKegShandy and TeenSlain, having had more fun than most, did consider the situation (at the bar), and decide that it be time to call last orders at the venerable institution known to all and sundry as Sonic Reducer. In addition, it be true that BigKegShandy and the lovely Mizz Nadia be relocating to Bath at the end of September, to avoid Londinium's bumper crop of art-rocking nincompoops, cokehead yuppies, drinkers of overpriced (and rotten) coffee, fizzy lager afficionados, Primal Scream fans, and other modern ills. To this end, BigKegShandy and TeenSlain would like to invite you & yours to the final Sonic Reducer club night, at the Spitz on Saturday September 16th. They're set to be joined, on the decks, by all-round good egg Ben Olins (Stag-O-Lee/The Hideout), for one last bop'n'stroll (inna Chuck Willis stylee). But fear not, those of strong hearts and clear(ish) minds, for the Sonic Reducer Tag Team will liveth on, populating only the finest rock'n'roll events that Londinium has to offer, including DJing at forthcoming 'gigs' by:

* Radio Birdman / Chris Wilson & His Famous Groovin' Flames

(September 13 @ The Dirty Water Club, upstairs at The Dome)
* You Am I

(October 14 @ Islington Academy / October 15 @ Village, Dublin)
* The New York Dolls

(October 22 @ The Forum)
* The Stripchords / The Creepy Morons / Honkeyfinger

(November 4 @ Gutterball, Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes)

Sonic Reducer would like to thank all of their wonderful patrons, guest DJs and hosts over the years, apart from Gerry O'Boyle (ask him why). See you at the bar, for one last time!

Selah!
Roger Spong
-------------------------------------------
Sonic Reducer @ The Spitz (gallery space), September 16th, Spitalfields Market, Londinium E1
8.30pm-1am, FREE ENTRY. Tube: Liverpool Street Info: http://www.spitz.co.uk/"

All showing at the FILMHOUSE in Edinburgh during the next week. Check the website for times... also, a rare screening of HYPE! which, as far as I recall, features GIRL TROUBLE and Dave (Estrus) Crider amongst many others on September 14th at 9pm.

RIP: Joseph Hill

Only just got word of the passing of Joseph Hill, lead singer in reggae trio Culture.
Two Sevens Clash, the band's debut album, is one of my all time favorite records. The well worn copy that I've had for nearly three decades is a perennial stand-by.
The tunes, the lyrics and the vocal inter-play coupled with Joe Gibbs' amazing production job makes this one of the most spiritually uplifting records ever. Even with it's message of impending doom. I've seen the band live several times, and even tho' they were always deliverin' the goods, a 1986 (or thereabouts) show here in Utrecht really stands out in my memory, with the band performing a stellar set of goose bumps inducing proportions.
Culture have released many records over the years, and all have at least some merit, but nothing tops Hill's vision on Two Sevens Clash, and it's sad to learn that we will never be able to hear him sing those songs in person again.

Obit in the Guardian and some Youtube links (1) (2) (3)

RIP - Steve Irwin

It’s been a weekend of documentaries for me. Apart from 2 minutes of that X Factor shit which confirmed all my worst fears for the 2006 (in)human condition. First was a film entitled "Dreaming In America" about a Memphis band called Lucero. I hadn’t heard of them either until Mr Hagred flagged it up (Thanks Per). Anyway it’s about their struggle to exist in the shifting, all engulfing quicksand of the music industry. Can’t say that the music is too special to these ears (Sorta like DBT/Wilco americana/rock) but the logistics of the piece are way more interesting that that “Dig!” shite that people rave about. Made by Aaron Goldman, it reflects the band members persistence to make a living doing what they love to do.

Today, I went to see “An Inconvenient Truth”, which essentially conveys that if we don’t start rowing in the opposite direction to the way we're headed then, to use an expression Al Gore's missus won't like, we're fucked. It’s quite a powerful considering that it’s based on a lecture and powerpoint presentation. Al (Mr Tipper) is the man who wants us all to sit up and take stock. Don’t let his wife’s PMRC shenanigans make you lose sight of this. He comes over as sincere and driven to try and save the planet. Both this and the Lucero film are about taking a message to people a piece at a time. Town by town, person by person if need be. It’s not clear from AUT how people attend these lectures, do they BUY tickets like going to a concert? Is it in an academic context? But anyway, “Truth” is out here on September 15th. Try and catch it at an independent cinema rather than a multiplex. As an ardent recycler and hater of waste in any shape or form, I don’t have a lot of faith in much of my fellow denizens but they should feel free to do whatever it takes to prove me wrong.

The redux version of the Naudet Brothers 9/11 footage that aired on Channel 4 last night was an incredible piece and rightly disturbing. It hardly seems like five years since all that and it still doesn’t seem real when you see it. That line in the sand, the erosion of rights right, left and straight down the central reservation. Probably just as well we can’t see where it’s all headed but you just know it ain’t anywhere upbeat.

Why do I get suckered into these things? Why do I end up in some godforsaken place listening to music I don't like every other year or so?
The set-up is like this: first, I forgot how bad it was last time. Second, "hey, free tickets. And you know, I really should keep up with what's happenin' more often and the line-up ain't too bad...".
But only a few minutes after arrivin' it's obvious once again: drinkin' beer in a field of mud just ain't my thing. Especially not with three stages close enough together so there's no way one can listen to just one band.
We're talkin' a local festival here with no signs of crusty and/or metal acts, nope just you're average well-meaning, late 20s/early 30s crowd, slightly arty, you know the type, nothing wrong with that. So what made grandad grumpy once again?
Well, for starters, If you didn't want to stand in line for an hour or longer, the only food option was fries 'n burgers of the worst pre-processed kind. Then, of course, there was the pretentious prog-rock, sorry, "indie" band from Belgium.
But what really did it for me was walkin' into this tent where two guys had set up their laptops on stage and switched on some generic beat, which is bad enough in itself, but when a girl jumps on stage yelling something along the line of "Hi there party people! Do you wanna dance?" I'm off... Fuck that shit! I ain't no party people! And I certainly don't wanna be addressed that way. Plus, any audience that willingly pays money to see some dork switch on his computer and does little else than stand around and look funny for over an hour, is beyond salvation. Did I mention the marketstalls with their overpriced artcraft and massage offers?
Heck, I think I need to lie down for a while before this vision of "Woodstock+Camdenmarket=the future" takes hold of my brain. Please say it ain't so...

Chances are that you may have heard of the Swedish combo Problem but you may not have actually heard them. If you have then you’ll be in awe of their fried pop thrills but if you haven’t had that pleasure then check out Central Stimulering = Problem. A 2cd 40 song retrospective of this fine Malmö ensemble on the National imprint. You can get it from Bengans or Cd On (see sidebar). And later this month, the band will be appearing at KB with the mighty Nomads (Saturday, September 16th). Having had the honour of catching them (both) in full flight at Gearfest, this return match is not to be missed. Problem were a huge influence on our friends from Solna and this collection goes some way to showing just why. Their organ-driven, sometimes 60’s kissed psych-pop sounds as fresh today as it did all those moons ago. If anything, it’s stood the test of time far better than most of that 70’s punk racket. I’ve no idea why Sweden isn’t globally fetéd in the way that the UK is for music. There are more great bands per cubic centimetre than there ever has been here but anyways, there go those scrambled eggs again. The Rubinoos-like “Ja Vill Inte Ha” is a tune of NRBQ’s “I Want You Bad” proportions. Miss any chance to gorge yourself on these guys ouvré at your peril.

Well, this new Legend Killers cd (on What Wave? Hello Dave and Rena!) looks unassuming but don’t be mistaking that for any shortcomings in the sonic department because this baby flies. This Ontarian (is that a word?) combo deliver hard and heavy but never lumpy. Imagine Rob Younger fronting The Dictators maybe and you can just tell from this that they be digging all the great stuff. Hell, there’s even a wee burst of Spinal Tap riffage in “Hittin’ The Road”. There’s a Wild Kingdom song and also two Groovies covers. Sounds like they had a ball thrashing it out as you will consuming "We're Workin' On It" at home with the volume set on stun.

The Knuckleheads are a high octane Croation garage-soul amalgam with a rough-arsed charm that just doesn’t quit. Not unlike The Fleshtones rassling with the J.Geils Band. Listen to their "Soul Flame" and "Yes To All" recordings and you’d swear they were from the Motor City. Check them out for yourself if you reckon I’m joshing.

Hey everyone, We have some great news to share. The first every public screening of It Came From Detroit will be shown at the Detroit Film Theater at the Detroit Institute of Arts on Friday, October 27th at 8pm! The Dirtbombs will start out the evening playing in the Rivera Court at the DIA (free with admission to the museum). Our film starts at 8pm and is $10. Directly after the show, The Witches and Outrageous Cherry will be rocking it on stage in the theater. We’re very excited to have the opportunity to show our film at such a great venue, and to share what we’ve been working on for the last four and half years. We sincerely hope you all can make it. It’s going to be a great night! Purchase Tickets at this link: http://www.dia.org/dft/item.asp?webitemid=843
Thanks! - James and Sarah