Bit hectic around here at the minute but that news about The Sonics has really set the heather on fire. Of course, I'll have to sit it out but I'm hoping that Mr Lenny Helsing will report back on what goes down as both his combos, The Thanes and The Wildebeests are in on the action. As are the mighty Fleshtones!

Can't believe that we're grazing September already and there's a lot to consider. Trying to update this thing everyday unravels sometimes. However, between this, that and trying to maintain an existence then this is the hand I've been dealt. It could be way worse or it could be be a tad or two smoother. Anyway, there's some haggis to fry and supplies to be got in. Or is it the other way aboot? Either way, I'm outta here...

THE WAIT IS OVER... AND HERE'S THE WORD!

THE LINEUP (and ticket info) FOR CAVESTOMP! 2007 --

"The GARAGE Rock Festacular!" They said it couldn't be done (hell, WE said it couldn't be done)but... BASEBALL BAT BOMBASTIC-LIKE DRUM ROLL, PUH-LEEZ!

.... STRAIGHT FROM THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST IT'S THE ONE AND ONLY... SONICS!!!!!

First time in 35 years! And these TWO nights are their ONLY shows!Featuring original members: Gerry Roslie!!! on throat/keyboards,Larry Parypa!!! on guitar, and Rob Lind!!! on tenor sax! With DaveRowland (of The Wailers) on drums!! And Don Wilhelm (of The Daily Flash) on bass!!

THE NEW COLONY SIX!!! Doing all their hits! "I Confess!!!" "At theRiver's Edge!!!" "Dawn Is Breaking!!!

"THE STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK!!! Performing their first LP "Incense and Peppermints!" in its entirety! (Complete with surface noise!) Withoriginal members George Bunnell, Lee Freeman, Randy Seoul, Mark Weitz, Gene Gunnels, andSteve Bartek! And now -- the complete lineups!

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2
THE SONICS!!!!!!
THE THANES!!!
THE SATELLITERS!!!
THE OUTTA PLACE!!!
THE STAGGERS!!!

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3
THE STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK!!!
THE NEW COLONY SIX!!!
THE ALARM CLOCKS!!!
THE URGES!!!THE HIGHER STATE!!!

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 4
THE SONICS!!!!!!
THE FLESHTONES!!!
(support band to be confirmed)
THE WILDEBEESTS!!!
THE HALL MONITORS!!!

The venue: WARSAW! 261 Driggs Ave., Brooklyn NY! We can't prove it,but this is probably the first time you can get THE SONICS and kielbasa inthe same place since 1964!!! And don't forget Polish beer by the barrel! (Smaller quantities available as well!)

Tickets are $35 in advance, $40 day of show, and THANK YOU JE-ZUS!!$90 for a three day pass!!!! Tickets are available NOW!! NOW!! NOW!! thru TICKETWEB at this direct link:

http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/event/EventListings?orgId=20324

If you're in the neighborhood, pick your tix up at Ear Wax Records (218Bedford Ave. in Williamsburg, Brooklyn) or Warsaw
(261 Driggs Ave.Greenpoint, Brooklyn -- call (718) 387-0505) starting Wednesday, Sept. 5.

Watch this space for more info!

Hey de ho, kidlets!

The Stripchords return to Londinium next Saturday, to
Mr Eric Ulcer's venerable Corn Rocket Club, to supply some summertime knockers and guitar raunch action, powered by an amazing 65 watts of sound and our new, digital projection system! Support comes from Immortal Lee County Killers fella Sweet Velvet C, and there's also hep weax action from yer very own BigKegShandy and Gluey Louie, plus mein hosts, Eric 'le chemise de bateau' Ulcer and Victor 'silk' Torpedo. AND IT'S FREE! Shenanigans start at 6pm, don't be late... See you at the bar... Selah! The Stripchords

The Stripchords & Sweet Velvet C
The Corn Rocket Club @ The Birdcage
Saturday September 8th
58 Stamford Hill, London N16
BR: Stoke Newington 6pm, FREE

Blue Lagoon Cocktail Lounge

Thee Parkside

Kitty and the Kowalskis are headed for Santa Cruz and SF in September!

RIP: Hilly Kristal.

RIP - Hilly Kristal

Jeez, where would we all be without what this guy did?

Just got the news from Phast Phreddie and Mr Percival.

THE GO-GO. Saturday 1st September,

upstairs at Studio 24, Calton Road, Edinburgh.
60's garage,pop, mod, beat, soul, ska, sleazy-listening, groovy soundtracks, psychedelia, girl groups, French pop, and punk. With DJ's Tall Paul Robinson and Angus.
11pm til 3am (possibly 4 or 5am).

Admission £5 - which also includes entry to Retribution.

£4 for students and artists.
£3 before midnight (with a flyer).

Oh, it's finally decided to let me in... ? Too bad I don't have time to futz around however, it's Sit and Die time again...

Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. gets back on schedule at Otto's Shrunken Head this week, friend! A rigorous touring schedule (well, rigorous for us, at least) had us missing our last-Thursday-of-every-month show there in July, but we're back on track with a whale of a show this Thursday, August 30th -- featuring a double bill of surf and turf with our pals, Mr. Action & The Boss Guitars! They'll play the surf and we'll play 'em dirty. The scoop...
-----------------------------------------------------
THURSDAY, AUGUST 30th / OTTO'S SHRUNKEN HEAD TIKI BAR & LOUNGE /
538 East 14th Street (just west of Avenue B) in ol' Manhattan / Two B-I-G shows, from 8:00 sharp 'til 10:00 -- followed by Mr. Action & The Boss Guitars / With DJ Scratchy ("He's square...He's yellow...He's solid state!"), salty snacks and your barkeep Pam / No cover! / http://www.ottosshrunkenhead.com /
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And, coming up in September...
-----------------------------------------------------
FRIDAY, SEPT. 7th -- 8th Annual Hotrod Hoedown (Philadelphia, PA)

SATURDAY, SEPT. 8th -- Brooklyn Country Music Festival (NYC)

SATURDAY, SEPT. 15th -- Rodeo Bar & Grill (NYC)

THURSDAY, SEPT. 27th -- Otto's Shrunken Head (NYC) /
-----------------------------------------------------
Details galore at... http://www.SITandDieCo.com/
http://www.myspace.com/sitanddieco/
-----------------------------------------------------
Yours truly, Michael
Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co.
"Ballads, Boogies & Blues"
-----------------------------------------------------

So that’s it. The game’s a bogey. It’s all over and I even made it back to the bunker while it was still light today. But let’s back up a little, to yesterday (Saturday). "Trader’s Dreams" is a documentary about people who trade on Ebay and it’s fairly depressing. The footage of those Ebay Live events is downright scary with their belief bordering nay bleeding into religious fervour. I imagine there are chapters of Ebayers Anonymous sprouting up here and there. And if there isn’t there will be. It’s a strange world, as anybody who takes part in it will know. I’m not sure what I expected this to be. A portal into something a little more positive maybe but what I actually got was visual proof that it’s a morass. The aspect of China and the setting up of a company there to choke the growth of Ebay there was decidedly the stuff of war strategy. The wee guy who looked like Feargal Sharkey at alibaba.com means business and they’ve got a big market right there at home to snare as well as harbouring ambitions to roll over the US business model. Also, elsewhere some Mexican people are putting together their own direct selling tool via Ebay to cut out the guy who currently does a roaring trade in their wares. It all comes down to the mighty buck in the end.

Time to kill and en route to the chippy, Abi Titmuss (I think it was her) walked past and never even said hello. Bisom.

"2 Days In Paris" is the actual title of the movie despite what it sez on the ticket. Julie Delpy introduced the screening and boy can she light up a room. She directed and starred in it with here real parents, who were also at the event. The only review I’d read prior was on Little Fugitive. It’s a great little film with plenty of heart that you should see, preferably on the big screen to get the benefit of Paris, but it’d play out fine on dvd too I guess. Not one of those pirated suckers though mind. The song that plays out over the end credits by Ms Delpy and Nouvelle Vague is really something. In any right thinking dimension it’d be a smash hit of CSS proportions.

The downside of being in Edinburgh yesterday was having to travel home in a train full of pissed up rugby fans. But you have to suffer for your art sometimes…

"What Would Jesus Buy?" is a Louis Theroux type piece about a guy called Reverend Billy and The Church of Stop Shopping. He’s something of a cross between Peter Zaremba and Jay Leno with a little Robert Tilton thrown into the mix. It’s pretty funny and should be played on heavy rotation from October. Maybe it’d kick some sense into the conned-sumer fraternity. The attention to detail and the obvious drive beneath the message has my unequivocal support. Right down to the Disney font they use. I read a couple of reviews to the tune that this falls short but I disagree and wish I’d made it to the screening where Reverend Billy and his crew were in attendance. That must have been a hoot.

Only one to go then… swung by the book festival area and made my way back up Lothian Road. Just sitting on a bollard watching the big screen thing, I looked across toward The Sheraton Grand Hotel and there, coming directly toward me was Julie Delpy, her mother and father. Being a bit flummoxed, I felt however that I should acknowledge the fact that I’d seen her film and she smiled and thanked me. Her mother nodded in agreement and they walked on. Presumably headed for the In Person session at bloody Cineworld while I was going to my final movie of the semester “In Search of A Midnight Kiss” just up the road.

I hit up this one on a tip from Mr Kirk Elder Esq., he’d caught it and had been suitably charmed. It’s a real find and somewhat seasonal too. WWJB? dealt with the run-up to Christmas and this covered the dilemma of he onset of New Years. All that was missing was Amy Allison’s “New Years Eve” in the soundtrack. Shot is exquisite monochrome, the stock makes the LA location look very East Coast. It is a real find that’ll hopefully find it’s way into theatres across the world soon. So there you have it, all done and dusted. I’ll do a quick resume with links, etc., maybe tomorrow or something. There’s two weeks of other stuff and a backlog of music to get stuck into. Eventually.

From Mr Spence, I know it's last minute but hey...

"Hey Folks!

THE GREASE MONKEYS are back thru Embra this Saturday playing with the capital's finest... so come on out. Here's the lowdown -

SATURDAY 25TH AUGUST at THE ARK, Wellington Place, Edinburgh; 9 -til- 3; £4

first band on at 10.30pm... THE GIN GOBLINS, THE GREASE MONKEYS,
THE ROHYPSTERS and DICK DANGEROUS & THE LOVE BASTARDS

...it's been billed as a "Turbonegro Aftershow Party", but actually theirs is the warm-up show for this! Word is that it's gonna be packed, so best be there by 10 to avoid disappointment. Anyways, hope to see y'all there.Rock On! ..............Jim"

We're on the home straight now, 4 movies to go... note to self - check what sodding cinema the screening is at. Actually, I just did that for today and I would have been wrong again. Eejit! Anyway, the documentary "LYNCH" is something fans will dig muchly. It contains the stream of conciousness wit and wisdom and the customary handwaving. Filmed during the making of "Inland Empire", it underlines the special qualities of the man. Non-devotees would perhaps wonder what the heck it was all about but you never know. It's a nice little piece. Strange that this screening wasn't sold out which makes me wonder why the Sunday am screening is in such a large room? I imagine that it's all under control. Seeing it's the Sabbath though, I'm headed for "What Would Jesus Buy".

So, I head up the road for my yearly "Lynch" compared fix. I fall for it every time. Hoping that something will actually live up to that tag. Well, this was 87 minutes long and it felt like 187. Not that it didn't look good, it would make a cool backdrop for a band or something but as entertainment, I'd have to say cut it to 45 minutes and it might have a chance. Watching it is perhaps meant to portray the unfulfilment of the main character but by the end of it you'll be looking at your timepiece. I did make it to the bitter end unlike quite a few that shot the crow as it creaked on. And on some more. For much of the film though, I was preoccupied with wondering when it would all be over. If you ever see it then it's the cinema-going equivalent of the seemingly endless hump that's filling the screen. There are a couple of Lynch-like moments and the black and white finish adds an eerie mood but it doesn't get nasty or interesting or anything. It's like an art installation loop. Perhaps a homage to Douglas Gordon? Not really recommended unless you fancy a wee snooze in the dark.

Of course, you could follow this person's premise...

BOMP; THE BOOK!
Now here's something to look forward to...

It was a long day yesterday, conned-puter course all day then up to the Filmhouse to try and get a ticket for "Castells". Was too late though and ended up seeing "The Simpsons Movie" instead. It was OK, three times the length of a TV episode with about the same amount of really good stuff as you'd get in one. There were maybe 10 people in the audience. Anyways, following that I saw The Nukes at Henry's Cellar Bar. It's a pretty good venue but being below a Chinese Restaurant it honks a wee bit. And I'm not big on Chinese food. Anyway with surf-tinged blasters like "Last Tango In Pilrig", I think you folks would like them. They're doing an Instore at Elvis Shakespeare on Saturday afternoon in Edinburgh (2pm) to promote "Picnic In Peking". Anyway it was all capped off by a visit to "Born To Be Wide" where the great Captain Cruickshank was doing his DJ bit. And then it was off for the last train, jst prior to turning intae the proverbial pumpkin.

And on the subject of Cowabunga type antics, on the west coast - The Beat Poets will be shooting the curl at Blackfriars in Glasgow this coming Sunday, 26th August. They'll also be at the Merchant City Fest but I'll remind you 'bout that closer to the time.

More film festival today, back later tonight or first thing tomorrow. Unless I get a better offer, which is somewhat unlikely...

I think I'm losing it. Having spent the past few days in darkened theatres, any sense of time and space is mushed. I'm sure the Filmhouse members screening of was supposed to be Sunday but the girl on the counter in the conference centre sez no. A bit like the computer in the Little Britain sketch. Anyway, no matter, it gave me longer to catch up with my old mucker, Mr K. Elder. Another indication of mind meltdown came a little later with the screening of “... A Bude Hůř (It’s Gonna Get Worse)". For some reason, I thought that it was an old film reactivated but no, it was shot last year. Apparently blown up from 16mm black and white to 35mm same, the background is here and you can find a trailer of sorts here. Beware though, it is NOT WORKPLACE FRIENDLY! There's an element of bizarro world Bill Forsyth-ness to the otherwise bleak canvas of being set in 70's Czechoslovakia. The centre figure is almost Jesus-like and his mate Pig Pen (no Grateful Dead relation) looks like Roky channeling David Thomas. Soundtrack is groovy too and includes The Plastic People of The Universe.

A strangely optimistic optimistic piece in spite of the overall mood, every citizen is seemingly disenfranchised from the relentless oppression. Social deprivation? We don’t know the meaning of the word. The singing of “It’s A Long Way to Tipperary” during a funeral scene is definitely odd. Like somebody mistook it for “Auld Lang Syne”.

Had a night off on Monday but Tuesday’s burst of culture came in the shape of “Comrades In Dreams”. A look at cinemas in India, the US, Ouagadougou and North Korea and the people who run them. I think I would have liked it more if it had been edited into four specific sections, the jumping back and forth seemed to make it seem longer than it actually is. It would have made it easier to get a beat on the individuals for sure and would have made the North Korean section even more surreal. “Titanic” is dissected and is also the subject of the strangest homage I’ve seen in a long time. This would be good playing first on a double bill with "Cinemania".

No more movies until Friday, kicking off with the "LYNCH" documentary… lot of stuff to process through the old napper in the meantime though.

Another day, another movie but no time for reportage. Knackered due to over-extension and just plain running on empty. Need to conserve my energies and all going well will be able to bring you up to some kind of peep by this time tomorrow. Need to figure out what I'm going to see on Sunday so I can score the tickets on Wednesday. It's complicated. As, it seems, is everything...

Awrabest to the great Eric "Roscoe" Ambel who hits the big five-zero today. They'll be hoppin' and boppin' at that old Lakeside tonight alright. Have a good one chief!

My favourite part of the EIFF is the documentary section. It's the most likely place to find something that won't end up in the local multiplex within weeks. So Saturday meant I could feasibly squeeze in three screenings. Might even have pitched for $ if I'd known the weather was going to be so crap. Anyway The Monastery is a real find. About an 82 year old man who wants to turn his castle into such a refuge. Seven years in the making, it has all the hallmarks of something that's done for love and not money. The reward is in seeing it. It's out on dvd later on in the year but see it on a big screen if you can.

Billy The Kid has been getting great kudos at similar gatherings across the world. I was kind of hoping for an "American Movie" but it's kind of stranger than that. Finding out that it was shot in 8 days perhaps explains the seemingly contrived situations. There was a lot to get in. It's like a twisted, potted version of The Wonder Years. The subject, Billy Price, is a peculiar little guy who loves AC/DC and Kiss. His urges and demons are in constant turmoil beyond your average teenager angst. There's a bit of an "awwwww" factor that kicks off as pity and works the audience round to rooting for him. It's not staged but the story is actually better structured than most regular features.

Surgically removed from the "Grindhouse" package, Death Proof is good, old-fashioned recycled exploitation coupled with the feel of 70's US TV shows. There was no Mike Post music in evidence however. On the down side, it's too long but there's more than enough in there to keep readers of this thing occupied. On the upside, it has Rose McGowan. Kurt Russell is great as Stuntman Mike and the soundtrack is a shredder. The "second half" is particularly good, like an episode of The Dukes Of Hazzard directed by Russ Meyer and it's all capped off with April March's "Chick Habit" (both french and english versions) blasting over the end credits. Worth seeing a couple of three times probably. Maybe some enterprising local cinema will get together showing it as originally planned when the Rodriguez section comes out. Although getting the "trailers" might be a problem. Anyway, despite some reservations on my part, pastiche has never been so much fun. Forget "The Bourne Bollocks", taste some real high octane daftness.

I was never a Joy Division fan. The early stuff in particular was quite weedy to my mind and all wrapped in that gritty darkness the frankly seemed a bit overdone. In later years, Martin Hannett developed an inherent heartbeat to create an additional dimension and "Atmosphere" and "She's Lost Control" have never sounded better. But anyway, the fact that Ian Curtis was in a group is almost secondary here. It's a cracking looking film and Anton Corbijn says he has no trouble with composition. No shit Sherlock, that's some kind of understatement. This is like a classic English "kitchen sink" drama directed by Jim Jarmusch. Shot in black and white, the stock is so rich, I swear that I could see vivid colour in the monochrome. Beautiful and stark. I noticed ex-EIFF Artistic Director Lizzie Franke in the cinema and it seems she was involved in the production but anyhow. This actually lives up to the plaudits and pretty much captures the Curtis descent into the maelstrom. When it comes out, see it in the cinema. This is one film that doesn't look like it was created to play forever on TV. It was made to be watched in somewhere like the old Scala, The Cameo, Filmhouse or whatever your favourite "indie" is. Presuming you have one. This made me want to investigate the subject and surely there can be no better testament than that. Q&A was pretty good too, compared to the JW fiasco. Why didn't Hannah McGill "chair" that?