Wednesday 22nd Sept.

A week ago this very noo, I was headin’ for Glasgow Airport and ultimately Kassel in Germany. It’s been a woolly old week alright and I think a damn fine time (with one exception) was had by all. However my campaign agin the Buzzcocks garnered a whole mess of new members so it’s an ill wind chillun. But anyway, It was a long day and Michael, my designated driver, made the white knuckle ride from Frankfurt to Kassel look like a doddle. Hard driving rain and big F-off articulated lorries don’t phase that guy and we made it to the K-town limits in one piece. So many trucks, so much stuff. What could anybody do with so much stuff?? I have a theory that they’re empty. These things just cruise the autobahn looking to intimidate other driver. Happily they’d met their match this time. So it was late, spent a long time getting there so what’s the obvious thing to do? Go to the opening shindig of course. Having said that, I wasn’t there long and turned in to conserve the ol’ energies for the following days. Unfortunately, I missed Sedlmeir, the one-man rockin’ ensemble that serenaded the opening party. I heard his cd a couple days later and it sounded damn good, wish I hadn’t been such a wuss but, at my age you gotta make these kinda calls and sometimes they’ll be wrong.

Thursday 23rd Sept.

Up early and straight into the first of a few days of fine breakfasting. Weather sucked but when daylight hit Kassel it came up looking like a pretty nice place. I believe unemployment is high there but the vibe I got was of a fairly quiet town. Didn’t see roaming gangs strung out on alcopops, even at night. Hooked up my old buddy Kalle and his wife Ulli and took the tram down to the vicinity of the venue. It was pissing rain again but I’d already been out for a reccy so had some kinda beat as to the layout. The opening item was a screening of some Super 8 movies which wasn’t too exciting but I met a guy who was as daft about The Sopranos as I am and who was also a Larry David fan. That's what y' call bonding First of the talks was on Slovenian Punk by Igor BIGor Basin. As a complete newcomer, it was a real blast to learn about what had been going on out there. The GDR punk discussion which followed indicted that when I use the expression “suffering from my art”, I have no fucking idea. These people risked their all for this “art”. For expression. One of the panellists (Henryk Gericke) would, the next day, trump what was possibly the “bill-topper” for the event but we’ll get to that in due course. To round off the discussions, the Teenage Kicks panel may not have included any “actual” teenagers but the people on board were a damn sight more spirited than most youngsters I come across these days. It included Mark Perry, Marlene Marner, Dick Hebdige, Andy Shernoff, Marty Thau and Cheetah (effing) Chrome and it was good knockabout stuff with an informative subtext. These kind of talking shops are sometimes like pulling teeth but this wasn’t. The Caricatura venue was very conducive to the event. The “entertainment” that night was top notch pretty much but not all of the way. The Lolita Bar is a great Cavern-like venue with pretty decent sightlines to a fair way back. DJ action was taken care of by Kalle and Stefan (one of the organisers) and they kept the whole thing rolling. This was perhaps the first time I ever heard The Twinkeyz “Aliens In Our Midst” outside of my house. Slovenian combo CZD were like The Hellacopers jammin’ with The Monks. A cattle prod and a half and quite unlike anything I’m aware of that’s doing the rounds, this is world music as far as I’m concerned. If they could get to Glastonbury or onto Jools Holland or something they’d cause quite the stir. I’m gonna be watching this phenomenon closely and lighting the fuse any way I can. Like wise THE BOONARAAAS, I’m not sure how anybody could have followed CZD but these Dusseldorf lassies did and in no uncertain fashion. Visually, musically and aesthetically deserving to go the whole road. My new favourite band!!… The worst came last. S.Y.P.H. might be “influential” but that doesn’t necessarily translate as good. Flashes of bearable cinematic mood music were drowned in senses numbing doldrums rawk. The last straw was them breaking into a cod-funk number ala Level 42. Some well intentione soul mentioned The Average White Band but that was merely wishful thinking. Time then to hit the Action Strasses’ of Kassel night with my old mucker and onetime deid laddie, Cheetah F’n Chrome waxing about how great Alex Harvey was and remains to be.

Friday 24th September

A quiet start to proceedings today with a talk by Sezgin Boynik about Situationist hijinks with regard to this punk thing. It was somewhat above my napper but fairly enlightening. This kind of angle isn’t something that I’ve given much thought to over the years because I always saw McLaren as a kind of Monty Python character. I generally subscribe to the bad situationist ethos, because I’m quite often in those. However, compared to what some of our Eastern European friends have been through then I have exactly feck all to whine about. Dick Hebdige followed with an excellent presentation that started out with Hank Williams and ploughed on from there. Hebdige is a great performer and a total music fan. He’s also a swell bloke to have a pint with. Then came McLaren, he made it after numerous will he, won’t he type stories on the bush telegraph. His schtick is like sit down comedy. His talk of “failure” is a well-oiled schlepp punctuated with visuals and by the time he gets to his mash ups then it was all getting a little ho-hum. The highpoint was just before he went up to the mic though. Henryk played Andy Cameron’s “Ah Want tae be a Punk Rocker (But my Mammy willnae let me)”. Strangely fitting and a better prank than the man was capable of pulling himself. T’was then time for some record shopping though, prior to eating and taking in the show for that night. I had high hopes for Boy From Brazil but it was soon dashed. He was bloody woeful and he looked like a pranny to boot. Imagine Paul Gray from Eddie and the Hot Rods done up like something from The Matrix. A good look, NOT! Alan Vega, Cramps and even Fleshtone tomb raider without a hint of irony. I actually wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen and heard it myself. The blurb in the programme read like this should be completely my kind of thing but there were some porkies going down there. Liked his reworking of the J.Geils “Centrefold” video in the background though. Tokyo Sex Destruction are from Spain and are kinda like Zen Guerilla via The Hives. Their well intentioned racket strained to come across in the large room but they were great compared to the fella who came from Brazil but actually hailed from Berlin and dressed up like a Dr Who villain rather than some wild and crazy rock bloke. The Kids, I found out from Stewart Home who was dying to see them, were Belgium’s premier Punk combo in their day. They sounded like Status Quo and reminded me a wee bit of Sator without having an ounce of those Swedish fellas chops but they weren’t bad. I left when the Buzzcocks came on because I hate them. Always have and always will. I reckon a few converts joined that cause tonight, that’s all I’m gonna say… I hope they make enough money to just piss off and never be seen again.

Saturday 25th September

The rain finally went off and I went out early and visited the Glitterhouse place just around from the hotel. Found a couple of things including a Primevals split 45 I’d never seen before. Anyway, this was my panel day. “So you Wanna Be A Rock’n’Roll Critic”. Not sure what I know about that but as anybody will know I can be up for a bit of slavering if the need arises. Especially if it means joining the man who started me off in all this, the one and only Andy Shernoff with Joachim Hiller from Ox Magazine moderating. I hope that it was at least entertaining for the people who attended, it was certainly fun to do. After that it was Kalle’s “From The Trashcan to The Electric Circus” talk. This guy knows where it was, is and is going – despite his protestations about not knowing about the new stuff. He instinctively knows what’s right and wrong and I’d trust his say-so 110%. Directly after that was the screening of The Ramones “End Of The Century” doc which I sat out because it was packed and having seen it then the other attendees were far more deserving of a chance to clock it than me. Hanging with Ralf and (B)igor in the bar downstairs was a fine alternative. When the Ramones movie came out, I made a couple more new Slovenian friends and we retired to a local Chinese restaurant and shot the proverbial for a while. Bloody nice people. From there it was down to the final event, we thankfully missed Dean Dirg and Viva L’American Death Ray Music didn’t live up to their blurb. They weren’t bad but that kinda stylised Kings of Leon type hokum doesn’t float my boat at all. Next up was a revelation, ATV kicked some rollocking ass and really raised the bar. I wasn’t expecting this at all and duly got my backside kicked. They were tight in an utterly organic, sinewy way that I never considered their music before. Mark P is a great frontman and utterly charismatic up there just like he was on the panels and this band is as good as it gets. The perfect warm up for headliners, ROCKET FROM THE TOMBS. RFTT were immense in every way. When their unreleased recordings and eventual redux became available it was obvious that if they’d released an album “back in the day” then things may be very different now. The sun most definitely rose from there. This is as good as it ever gets and I hope that Europe might get another chance to see them at some point. And then it was over. A total success for the organisers and one in the eye for any detractors. These kids pulled it off over immeasurable odds. Hats require to be doffed.

Look out for two combos’- The Manly Men and Powernap. Coming to a hostelry near you soon hopefully. A big shout out to Mr Eggs who jumped in at the deep end with all this punk stuff and established a unique angle. And to Mr Craig Bell - how-wisthonextracoupladays-chief? It was a pleasure to raise a glass with all of 'em. It was a subdued vehicle that made its way to Frankfurt airport on Sunday morning. That one last breakfast put us over the edge. But what a breakfast!

Thanks then to Stefan, Ricarda and Matthias for a great event. Something that I'm pretty sure, couldn't happen in the UK. Investigate the names, etc via the KONGRESS website which provides links to artist websites, etc. It’s your one stop portal to a whole 'nother vista.

A Message from SITco HQ...

Friends,

Let's all fight global outsourcing and keep our country's precious rockabilly manufacturing jobs here in the good old U.S. of A.

What can one person do, you ask? Make those fat cats in Washington sit up and take notice by joining us at Otto's Shrunken Head, 538 East 14th St. just a step west of Avenue B, between the hours of 8 and 10 this Thursday night for a rollicking dose of American roots music served fresh before your wondering eyes by the Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co.

Last we checked ballads, boogies and blues have not been outlawed by the Patriot Act.

Not YET.

Hope to see you soon,

the boys at SIT & Die Co.

YOUR MUSIC NEEDS YOU!!!

The Italian Get Back label is set to release The Ramones Live In Bremen 1978 LP on october 21st.

The Nitwitz - Nibble The Giblet (Pitshark 10").
In a bizarre turn of events the Nitwitz have become quite prolific over here. After years of neglect the Slugster was recently interviewed for VPRO radio, gets namechecked and interviewed in various publications and best of all there's a steady flow of new releases. This is good news of course. I've been waving the Nitwitz flag for longer then I care to remember, and this new disc once again proves my point that they are one of the few bands that actually matters here in Euroland.
This new set rounds up a bunch of tracks recorded at various points in the past seven years, oldest of which are the Epitaph funded demos produced by Jack Endino in 1997 (this was before the label pulled out because the suggested album title, Dark Side Of The Spoon, was too close to reality for their label owner!). Of more recent vintage are the great Rohypnol Lovedoll, a solid take on the Nervous Eaters' Just Head and best of all the amazing Rock Pusher; one of their best songs yet.
This kind o'powerhouse punk-rock action has become real scarce in recent years, and it's high time these guys get some credit where it's due. Sure, there are contenders out there, but I don't care who you bring on daddy-o, they're all going under the thunder of the Nitwitz. Make your donations now or live the rest of your life in abject shame...

Reverend Charlie Jackson - God's Got It (LP)
Dr. Spec's Optical Illusion - Tryin' To Mess With Me (7"). Both Crypt.
After Tim Warren's umpteenth move and having put a Dutch schoolteacher in charge of rebuilding his new abode, it's easy to see why the Crypt operation has been on the backburner for so long. But after the great Little Killers disc, these two (relatively) new releases hopefully mark the beginning of a new era for the label, 'cause both discs burn with that specific kind o' intensity only Crypt seems to be able to distill into slabs of black vinyl.
You want testimonials?, the Reverend Jackson's disc delivers nothing but... Wild, wild gospel scree of the Rev. poundin' it out on the six strings, ocasionally accompanied by the handclaps or cheers of agreement from his congregation. Makes every gruntin' death metal singer sound like the bad joke he is. Dr. Spec's discus is a fine-as-wine re-issue of a six-o punk mega obscurity outta New Orleans that absolutely wails!. Coupled with the great attention to detail in both sound, liners and visuals makes this another "must have" as well.
Again; hopefully these discs mark the return of Crypt as a "goin' concern", the world sure could use it right now...

Trying to gather my wits here listening to THE BOONARAAAS. These German girls kicked some almighty bahookie at the Lolita Bar in Kassel on Thursday there. The combo that preceded them, CZD were equally electric but I'll get back to that later. Listening to the B's album just brought back how altogether how goddamn sensational they were. They even knocked out a version of The Romantics "What I Like About You" that reduced anybody with sense to rubble. Their album Go Get Goo Goo is on Thunderbaby Records, that fine Dusseldorf gal product label that put out the Voladoras EP and many other top recorded works. They're only youngsters but they've got the chops to go the whole damn road. Even deaf (not the hearing condition, I'm referring to sorry saps that wouldn't know a great band if it whapped 'em in the knackers) people will be able to get this. The Hives might endeavour to be your favourite band but I'm voting BOONARAAAS because they'll drive you just that. Now if only they could get together to tour with Suzy y Los Quattro. The world, in pure punked-out teenpunk rock'n'roll action terms, wouldn't stand a chance.

Ok troops. Been hanging out in Kassel, Germany for the past few days and got back to a wheen of messages and stuff so please bear with me until I figure out the best way to deal with it. At this point launching the computer outta the window would seem like the obvious route but y'ken... Some groovy stuff to report coming along after this... It was quite a shindig and a hellva deposit in the organisers' collective karma bank. Like I said more when I organise my thoughts and the laundry.

While tryin' to research some things about the early day of punk-rock in Holland I came across some amazing stuff. Most of it in Dutch, but even if you don't speak the lingo, worth it for the pictures and free MP3s...
These are all bands from the 77/78 era: Inside Nipples, Filth, and the Helmettes...

The Dirtbombs @ The Dirty Water Club on Friday 24 September

Though sniffing and scratching away like mad, the Mutts struggled to connect with a near-capacity crowd at the DWC last Friday. Somebody should tell these guys that the lack of a catchy riff will never compensate for any amount of Pop/Tyner schtick. Thank God the Little Killers brought along hooks-a-plenty lots and wrapped them in a punk rock'n'rolling style not disimilar to the Real Kids. A reliable if not exactly virtuoso rhythm section provided the right foundation for the guitarist/vocalist to let it rip. How refreshing to see a band that can take Nuggets like "Come On Up" (Rascals) or "No Reason To Complain" (Alarm Clocks) and then put their own on stamp on 'em. The second appearance by the Dirtbombs at the DWC was somewhat affected by Mick Collins' worn voice and at times slightly out of tune guitar. Perhaps this was why he was buried so deeply in the mix? Nevertheless, "Kung Fu" and "If You See Stevie Wonder" were well executed and went down fine with the punters. The great thing about the Dirtbombs, apart from Mick's 100% committment, is just how tight the two drummers and two bass players mesh together. Anything less and the sound would descend into aural mush. The Dirtbombs - like hearing the Glitter Band play the blues.

The Girls - The Girls (Dirtnap LP).
While any r'n'r credibility the UK once had has obviously long gone out the window, the place now seems to be headed for new, as yet uncharted, depts. Christ, there's bands like the Killers and Interpole who's sole intent seems to be wanting to become the new Bunnyman or Comsat Angels and gettin' praise for it while they should be tarred 'n feathered and ran outta town asap.
But if you really do insist on a new wave of new wave, let me please recommend The Girls; this Seattle band bein' able to distill all the right ingredients outta the whole post-punk ensalada and come up soundin' fresh and inspired. Think 70s Ohio or Void-oids if you need some points of reference. These guys (yes) deliver the goods with a solid, USA patented, rockin' style that easily lays waste to every Shriekback tribute band the UK currently has on offer...
(with thanks to Rockstar Barry for the tip-off).

Up next from Norton Records: Don Covay - Pretty Boy EP. "Four incredible 1958 Little Richard style screamers from future soul legend! Two cuts previously unissued! Ooh my soul!!! Tracklisting: 1. Switchen In The Kitchen 2. Rockin' The Mule 3.Mary 4. Ooh My Soul". Mogen David & The Grapes of Wrath - Little Girl/Don't Need Ya No More. "First time reissue of ultra rare 1966 Midwest twin blast garage masterpiece! Watch for more Grapes savagery on Strange Ways, a full collection of sixties snotball action from Chicagos legenday Cha Cha label including the End, Hatfields, Sonics and mo!". Herbie Duncan - Hot Lips Baby/Little Angel. "Atomic 1958 rockabilly madness from Hot Lips Herbie in a deluxe sleeve with the full lowdown from HD Fan Club prez Deke Dickerson!". Reigning Sound - If Christmas Won't Bring You Home/That's All I Want. "Norton's latest round of holiday cheer comes from those Southern sensations, the Reigning Sound, placing two brand new Greg Cartwright originals under your tree!". Sky Saxon & The Seeds/Lairds - Split 7" "13th of 15 split Rolling Stones cover singles recorded by today's coolest hit makers and packaged in their own company sleeve. The legendary Sky Saxon lures a Jagger-Richards classic into their unapproachable web of sound (The Singer Not The Song) while the mysterious Lairds cover the most uncoverable Stones song (Something Happened To Me Yesterday) ever!". v/a - Northwest Grease EP. "Early greasy R&B gems (two unissued!) from the Pacific Northwest - for fans of the crazed Wolf Call album! Featuring Mighty El Dukes (Frankenstein's Den/Walking Besides You), Lord Dent & His Invaders (The Greaser), Joe Boot& The Four Wings (Rock & Roll Radio)". Gene Vincent - Hound Dog/Be-Bop-A-Lula. "Gene Vincent rocks and the Blue Caps roll on this frantic 1956 whallop recorded live on the Alan Freed Show! A loud and lively companion set to the Johnny Burnette Trio's live Norton 45-106!". A-Bones - Daddy Wants A Cold Beer & Other Million Sellers 2CD. "The A-Bones celebrate their 20th Anniversary with a massive specially priced double CD set that culls 46 tracks from singles and other odd places including the A-Bones backing up legends like Johnny Powers, Rudy Tutti Grayzell, the Great Gaylord, Roy Loney and more, plus ten unissued tracks and a brand new bonus recording featuring the 5.6.7.8's! Giant photo booklet takes you back down memory lane and ... dumps you there! Monkey Man, Teenage Head, It's A Hard Life, Bamboo Rock And Roll, Shanty Tramp, The Worlds Greatest Sinner, Stop It Baby, Monkey Man, Take Up The Slack Daddy-O, Hep Cat and dozens more!".Hasil Adkins - The Wildman. "Finally on CD! Here's the full 1986 studio vinyl album completely remastered plus five bonus cuts in lavish booklet! Chicken Flop, Big Red Satellite, Wild Wild Friday Night, Midnight Moan, plus fifteen more Hasil howlers!". Arch Hall Jr & The Archers - Wild Guitar. "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!".

Disturbingly similar songs.

Capt'n Jan Kooi just send in the sad news that Russ Meyer has died at the age of 82 last Saturday at his home in Hollywood Hills. No links yet, but I'll post 'm when I get 'em.
Update: link to the IMDb news.

REZILLOS website update alert includes the first part of Ross and Martin's interview plus lyrics and a gigography. Check it oot!

I stopped by the old homestead in Larbert today. Did some overdue postal biz at my old post office haunt but stopped short of grabbing a chipsteak supper from Enrico's.
All the demolition guff is up around the walls and the place across the road has been levelled. When the chumps get to flattening the old factory, I hope those ol' ghosties won't make it easy for 'em. Auf Wiedersehen then ol' Foundry Loan...

From the Rev. David Scott, pop'n'roll missionary worker...

"by the way - and just to prove that sometimes in the end the good guys win - here's a tiny snapshot of life in darkest ayrshire.i'm talking to a bunch of primary 5 school kids about music and I say "everybody loves music don't they"? and they're going "yeeees"! and I'm going "what bands do you kids like"?

"BUSTED"!"BLUE"!"EMINEM"!

...and there's one kid with her arm up through all this and she eventually catches my attention: "Mr Scott, my Daddy loves The Ramones"!"

Should I Rip This?, a handy guide to the yes or nos regarding making MP3s.

Johnny's Last Stand by Charles M. Young.

I think that after this one we have to move on. John's departure is sad and all but life goes on and you could maybe use some light relief right about now. It is, after all, International Talk Like A Pirate Day, me hearties!

THE BARRACUDAS will be doing a show at The Borderline in London on Friday October 15th. One week prior to the big R&R weekender in Paris.