So does CBGB’s heading for Vegas signal the apocalypse (or A-rock-alypse as Lordi call it)? Or is it just a logical outcome for the “brand”? Between hard rockisation and a hard place, I really don’t know. The increasing fragmentation of what the “music business” is morphing into makes it difficult to comprehend any bigger picture. I mean a Ramones “musical”? Who coulda seen that coming? Not me from “doon the front” at the July 4th 1976 Roundhouse show that’s for sure. There are so many distractions, so many angles that subtract from the enjoyment of the actual commodity. Ignorance is, most, definitley bliss. But, whatever happens to CB’s down the line, nobody can takeaway what it was or indeed still is at the original location. Urinals notwithstanding.

So what do you, er, "kids", um, think about this then?

RIP - Paul Nelson (link courtesy of MT). Interview at rockcritics.com

also RIP - Tom Weir

and finally... RIP - Kathy Wood (Widow of Ed)- link courtesy of Ben Gart via Staysick.

SWEDESPLEASE Scandanavian mp3's of all shapes, sizes and persuasions.

Regular stoppers-by will have noticed that my posts of late have been a bit spotty. This is because of stuff beyond my control labeled "real life" or what passes for it.

Anyway, some things that I've meant to run by you folks in the Glasgow locale...

Volcanic Tongue have a store at 1129 Argyle Street, G3 8ND. Tel: 0141 204 3322...
OPEN TUES-SAT 11AM-6PM

Picked up a free tabloid thing calle THE SKINNY which provides a comprehensive "Whats' On" guide sorta like The Village Voice for Central Scotland and beyond. In there I discovered some info on the upcoming Evie Sands/BMX Bandits show at the ABC2 on July 16th. Evie's band will include Norman Blake and Davie Scott. You can pick this up almost anywhere so check availability if you're jetting in from wherever.

On the subject of the Scottish Music Scene, folks are invited to check out Martin Kielty's BIG NOISE and pitch in should you see fit.

Was just talking to Sir David of Arnoff who caught the Gun Club movie in LA. There's no bloody music in it. Just talk. Interesting as that could be, what the heck is up with not including the whole point of such a beast in the first place? Wasted opportunity or rough cut awaiting finishing touches? Lets hope for the latter. Wonder what's coming up music-wise in the EIFF programme due July 12th. The Monks? Luna? The Upper Crust? Probably none of those but a guy can dream, right? And coming in September...

The Stripchords @
Sonic Reducer, London, Saturday July 15th - FREE!

All hail, sweaty kits'n'glowing kittens! Well, the summer is well and trooly upon us, and with temperatures hitting the early 30s in Londinium, what better way to make yer weekend special than with a Saturday night at Sonic Reducer? Saturday July 15th will see instro twang sleazemeisters The Stripchords play the 'Reducer, soundtracking their acclaimed selection of vintage 8mm burlesque flicks, with the addition of live go-go dancers! As one patron of the 100 Club put it: "That's not jazz!" And who are we to argue?

The Stripchords will take to the stage at 10.30pm.

Videos, and downloadable tuneage is always available via www.myspace.com/thestripchords ... As per, BigKegShandy and Teenslain will be spinning platters that may or may not matter, and if the first 'Reducer at The Spitz is anything to go by, the place will be jumping madly by the witching hour ... So expect the seasonal mix of soul, funk, garage punk, beat, R&B, ska, mento, calypso, reefer jazz, and any other kool trash we can gets our greezy pawses upon! Plus the new Jack Oblivian 45, of course ... See ya the bar!

Selah, BigKegShandy & TeenSlain
-------------------------------------------
Sonic Reducer @ The Spitz (gallery space)
July15th, Spitalfields Market, The London E1
8.30pm-1am, FREE ENTRY Tube: Liverpool Street

Belgium in November anyone? More info on this when their site goes live...

A guid Dave Alvin day to our friends out there in the US of A. I meant to put type to screen this morning but a series of mishaps which has pretty much been ongoing during the day put paid to it. More later (perhaps)...

RIP: Robbie Watts (Cosmic Psychos).

NORTON NEWS NOW • EXTRA • EXTRA • READ ALL ABOUT IT

• NEW RELEASES!

• SHOW TIME - HEP SUMMERTIME BASHES

ARTHUR LEE - STAY AWAY/YOU I'LL BE FOLLOWING (Norton 7N7) Norton announces the release of never-issued 1965 pre-Love demos Stay Away by the American Four b/w You I’ll Be Following by the Grass Roots, two pre-Love combos that included Arthur Lee and on guitar, the great Johnny Echols. Johnny contributed boss interview notes to our 45 which boasts an insanely cool unknown photo of the American Four (sportin’ Beatle wigs). This limited first pressing is on wild marble colored wax- no two records the same- THEY COME IN COLORS that run a swirly rainbow gamut! These colored wax singles are available only at the tribute show or at the benefit website, with all proceeds going directly to Arthur.

NEW FROM NORTON: RELEASE DATE JULY 25:
THEE MIDNITERS - IN THEE MIDNITE HOUR!!! (Norton 315) Pounding 1964-67 East LA rock n ‘roll! First time ever collection of the original Whittier stompers n’ slammers- killer after killer of loud, tense, massively attitudinal teenage howlers! Dig the unstoppable assault of this legendary West Coast combo-- guaranteed to sprain yo’ brain! Instant party never had it so good! Whittier Blvd./Everybody Needs Somebody To Love/Jump, Jive And Harmonize/Gloria/Love Special Delivery/Thee Midnite Feeling/I Found A Peanut/Never Knew I Had It So Bad/Down Whittier Blvd.*/Empty Heart/Looking Out A Window/Do You Love Me*/Dragon-Fly*/Hey Little Girl (previously unissued)/Money/Welcome Home Darling/Devil With A Blue Dress/Good Golly Miss Molly*/Land Of A Thousand Dances (extended live version)/Down Whittier Blvd. (Godfrey vocal) *=CD only CD $12/LP $9
THE KING KHAN & BBQ SHOW FLIGHT 505/THE FLAKES STUPID GIRL (Norton 45-9653) Yes, the label with the able stable has finally landed the in-demand duo for our Rolling Stones trib series, in which we try to alert the inert public about the essential excellence of this relatively unknown English combo by having the hottest names in entertainment today interpret their bucolic chart bubblers. THE KING KHAN & BBQ SHOW's version of Flight 505 is flip-sided by the fabulous FLAKES rendition of the introspective Stupid Girl on this AFTERMATH twin spin ripper! $4 (Coming soon in the Rolling Stones 9600 Tribute Series: The Alarm Clocks/tba plus Black Lips/tba!)
THE U-TURNS - THE DEATH OF GARAGE ROCK (Norton EP-131) Celebrate the death of Garage Rock with the only band that matters! This four song unissued (you'll hear why!) tape of 1966 teenage hi jinx includes a truly demented 1:10 version of 7 And 7 Is, Dedicated Follower Of Fashion, Get Off My Cloud and a stunning take of the Beatles' I'm Down. Makes Green Fuz sound like Green Day! $4
___
SUMMERTIME AND THE LIVING IS GREASY!
MIND THE MAYHEM:
• July 27 -29 DOT DASH FESTIVAL Tom Dash’s annual weekender runs three big days at Brooklyn’s fab Southpaw nitery (125 5th Avenue, Park Slope Brooklyn). Norton icons (Midwest division) THE ALARM CLOCKS (Cleveland) and THE HENTCHMEN (Detroit) sock the Friday lineup, while old Ohio pals ROCKET FROM THE TOMBS and local geniuses THE LITTLE KILLERS topple the Saturday nite blasteroo!
• July 30 NORTON PRESENTS REIGNING SOUND AND THE A-BONES! Cap things off Sunday with a pre-dog day Union Pool dunker starring the Reigning Sound (only Northeast show!) and the A-Bones with boss deejays DAVE THE SPAZZ (WFMU) and ANDY THE MAZZ (LITTLE KILLERS) spinnin’ sevens all nite long! http://www.nortonrecords.com
• AUG 19 A-BONES/LITTLE KILLERS Saturday nite double-barrel blasteroo at Brooklyn’s most happenin’ hide-a-way MAGNETIC FIELD sets the block afire with a pair of Brooklyn combos headin’ up one heckuva maulin’ ball!
• OCT 14 NORTON ALL-STAR REVUE ATTACKS ESPANA! Help! Murder! Police! One night only…and only in Spain! Star-studded all night Valencia romp n’ stomp boasts Norton legends Andre Williams, the A-Bones and the Great Gaylord! This is a soopah exclusive and extremely greasy engagement-- one mad, mad night in Europa and then jet propelled back to Stateside hubs in Joliet, Brooklyn, and Jersey City, USA before they knew what clobbered ‘em! Whatta way to say OLE! Pre-show ravin’ rev-up bash on Friday the 13th celebrates the Norton label’s big 20th Anniversary with a record hop blasteroo to end all record hop blasteroos with Miriam and Billy blastin’ spinnables all nite long at the usual maximum voloom at 45 RPM! Book ya tix! This is the A-Bones stomp to Spain-- dig the Norton site for a foto of the A-Bones working hard during their last Valencia junket! Dig all the details at: http://www.funtasticdraculacarnival.com

Norton News In A Nutshell…. The ALARM CLOCKS official website is up, kiddios! Take the last train to Clocksville for up-to-the-minute Yeah gang knock-downs and goings-on at http://www.alarmclocksyeah.com …the guys have recorded nineteen superb songs in Detroit with Michigan mastermind Freddy Fortune at the wheel for their new Norton album… composed largely of fabulous Mike Pierce originals including anthems like Don’t Get Left Behind, More Money and It’s Been Too Long… also recorded is a knockout version of The Last Time for Norton’s Rolling Stones split single series. New York City will welcome the Alarm Clocks for their first show here ever on July 28 at the Southpaw… excitement is building like crazy for the recording for the first solo album by original Shangri-Las lead singer MARY WEISS, backed by the REIGNING SOUND, which begins on July 24. If you haven't checked our interview with Mary yet, DO IT, right now and not later, baby… it’s on our website… famed Las Vegas/Hollywood filmmaker RAY DENNIS STECKLER of RAT PFINK A BOO-BOO fame… will be feted this fall in his hometown of Reading, Pennsylvania where his films will be screened, along with his brand new autobiographical roadtrip feature, with all music by the A-BONES… speaking of film meisters, RUDY RAY MOORE has been hospitalized with a diabetes-related illness. The bad, bad Dolemite asked that we relay a thank you to his many concerned fans, adding, "Don’t nobody try to steal my crown. I was through with it before the others knew what to do with it!"… hep director DAN ROSE announces the release of WAYNE COUNTY RAMBLIN’ with a massive bevy of stars including Nortonians NATHANIEL MAYER, JEFF CONOLLY (Lyres), BILL PEITSCH (Church Keys), MICK COLLINS (Dirtbombs), CUB KODA (Del-Tinos) and JAMES OSTERBERG (Iguanas)… big release party June 24… http://www.waynecountyramblin.com/ …just in! Get ready to rip it up with a newly unearthed set of live SONICS circa 1965 featuring roarin’ deliveries of Busy Body, Tough Walk and Ooh Poo Pah Doo… Goodbye and RIP to A-Bones’ pal Freddy "Stinky" Kreiss of the Mad Daddys… roll on…http://www.nortonrecords.com

'SIXTIES FRENCH POP DISCOTHEQUE'
BASTILLE DAY SPECIAL LIVE ON STAGE - Les BOF!
Scotland's only French language garage band

HENRY'S CELLAR BAR, MORRISON STREET, EDINBURGH - FRIDAY 14TH JULY, 11PM-3AM £5/4

Featuring D.J's Le Marquis De Jardin & Le Pape du Pop


gainsbourg - B.B. - jacques dutronc - claude francois - ronnie bird

'Beatsville' presents (after a 3 year absence) the return of the one and only French Sixties Pop Experience!

'Where else can you dance to the Ye-Ye hits of 'France Gall' and 'Johnny Halliday' of an evening?'

"Everybody I know has a big but..." sez PeeWee Herman in Pee Wee's Big Adventure. Saw that tonight for the first time in years. And he's right. But anyway, everybody has to make their way. They may also have "to pay and pay". Hustle(s) notwithstanding. I have a deep seated foreboding gnawing at my will to exist this past couple of days. In complete and utter contrast to the positive place that I found myself last Saturday night. Here's what I think could be one of the most disturbing album covers of all time. Courtesy of Captain Crunch who spied it in the Byres Road Oxfam shop and gifted it to me. When I worked in Orbit Records, here in the early to mid-70's we used to sell bings of this. The "Night Of The Hunter" vibe of the sleeve didn't click back then but it'd probably be banned outright now. I don't think it's been reproduced in any of these dodgy album cover books but it must be a candidate. Today has been a bust. Chores and general bollocks have decreed that any sort of attempt at blogging has been foiled. Had a few enquiries as to "reviewing stuff" and the criteria remains. I do get sent stuff and if I think our readers will dig it or whatever then I'll write about it. As I'm sure will the other guys. If I think something is guff then I won't. It's not difficult (I don't think) to get a beat on what we like around here and what we don't. This thing exists for information purposes. To direct people to stuff that might just make the schlepp that teeny bit more bearable. End of sermon.

THE VIDEO BEAT (link courtesy of Steve Hesske)

RIP - Johnny Jenkins (info from Phast Phreddie)

August 4th, 5th 6th 2006: Ace’s friends at Club Bang! Bang! www.bangbang-live.com kindly tipped us off about a new festival they’re involved in this summer featuring a stellar line-up including Ike Turner & His Kings Of Rhythm.

The Rhythm Festival is a new kind of music festival. In Club Bang! Bang! main man Jim Driver’s own words, “Not that we've got anything against the likes of Glastonbury, Cambridge Folk Festival or Guilfest (we love Cropredy) – we've been known to attend them ourselves! – it's just that we want to do things differently. Differently as in smaller, friendlier and even more geared towards the audience. For a start, we've picked the sunniest weekend of the year. And just in case the weather falls a teeny bit short of our expectations, we're organising plenty of indoor areas and entertainment, plus masses of marquees.”

With a self-imposed capacity of under 5,000 the aim of the event is to offer a family festival for people who like festivals but who don't like rip-off burgers, one-minute-wonder bands and indifferent booze. The event will also include a funfair, an alternative therapy field, literary events, a wine bar, real ales and ciders, cream teas and children's entertainment.

It’s all sounds good to us, for more details, see the festival website: www.rhythmfestival.net

The Rhythm Festival
August 4th, 5th 6th 2006
Tinwood Arena
Clapham, Near Bedford

Confirmed artists (in alphabetical order):

AMY RIGBY, ARLO GUTHRIE (USA), THE BLUES BAND, BLURT, CARA DILLON, CHAS & DAVE, CULTURE CLASH (SCO/ZIM), DON MESCALL, DONOVAN, THE DYLAN PROJECT, FASTLANE ROOGALATOR, GENO WASHINGTON & THE RAM JAM BAND, HUGH CORNWELL (BAND), IKE TURNER & HIS KINGS OF RHYTHM (USA), JAH WOBBLE & THE ENGLISH ROOTS BAND, JERRY LEE LEWIS & THE KILLER BAND (USA), JOHN COOPER CLARKE, LITTLE GEORGE SUEREF & THE BLUES STARS, JOHN OTWAY, NINE BELOW ZERO, PAMA INTERNATIONAL, PAUL THE GIRL, THE ROLLIN' STONED, ROLLO MARKEE & TAILSHAKERS, ROY HARPER performs Stormcock with FRIENDS, SETH LAKEMAN, SMASHING TIME, THE STORYS, THE TROJANS, WILKO JOHNSON, WRECKLESS ERIC

Doing radio is an odd thing. Particularly in a small cupboard sized studio at an hour when i've generally passed out in front of the TV. It's fun and I get a little nervous when I think about the gibbering. I do try to process some general form before it blurts out but am painfully aware that there's a lot of "y'know's" or whatever. My excuse is that I don't do it too often. So gracias to the folks that tuned in and said they dug it. It was a late finish so I headed over to Fortress Cruickshank where we shot the shit and played records into the wee small hours. A very welcome to the day to day bullshit and backstabbing. I could happily exist inside such a bubble from here on out. To have been on the show that was first to present Annika Norlin to the UK (and beyond) was something of an honour.

Boll and indeeed ocks. Amy Rigby and Wreckless Eric tomorrow at The Half Moon in Putney for those of you in London and then on Friday, Amy will be back in NY at the Seaport Music Festival with Robbie Fulks! You lucky blighters in the vicinity of either of those better cut along.

Well, it was back to earth with an almighty thud and a clip around the ear'ole for good measure today. I told Toto that we weren't in Stockholm anymore. Anyways, life is short and filled with stuff and tomorrow night (Wednesday) i'm going to be on the The Late Tom Morton between 11 and midnight or thereabouts. The show runs from 10.30pm to 12.30am. I hope those who tune in will find it entertaining. I think you can e-mail when we're on air and all that. Tom will be in Shetland, I'll be in Glasgow and it'll all be comin' atcha via Aberdeen. The music is guaranteed to include Hello Saferide (our collective new favourite "band") who hit the Swedish Pop Charts at #4 this week. You can see the video for "The Quiz" via that link. See that you do.

A pretty funny link regarding tattoos c/o Tony Slug. Not sure how many of you NBT readers are into shares, options and all that. But investing in companies developing ways to remove tattoos is the way to go IMHO... Just think how all that tribal or flamin' dice shit 'll look like 20 years from now...

RIP - Arif Mardin