Another week, another clutch of niggles. Not least of which is the ongoing glasses predicament. My peepers feel like burnholes in a blanket. Or pissholes in the snow. Whichever you prefer. Maybe a little of both. Add to that, a little ongoing brush with technology and that’s enough to raise the hackles more than a tad. Still it could be much worse and I’m at the crossroads of not being able to rule that out. Guess I’m still a little mellow after Spain. Maybe.

Talking of which, the Fleshtones are starting their Spanish Stroll in Valencia on Wednesday. Incidentally, it's 26 years tomorrow since they played in the home of haggis. Or at least Glasgow. And having trashed Espana, The Yum Yums are landing in Italy right about now. Readers there are urged to check out the show dates and get along to indulge in some pre-Festive season festivities. Believe me, these two ensembles are far more worthy of celebration than the Baby Jesus or whatever. Pretty flippant huh?

And that's your lot for tonight, I've got to go out and see to something that I could see far enough. Still, it could be worse. When I come back, I ain't switching this thing on again until Tuesday AM. He typed confidently.

Managed to haul my arse out to see "Cat People". 12 people in the cinema not including staff. More than I expected given the weather. Puh-retty serious flooding 'tween here and there so I'm happy to have made it back to the bunker. From whence I ain't moving tonight.

I imagine that the roads between here and the stalag might be troublesome in the AM. Still, that is some way off at this point. The Coal Porters are at Brel in Glasgow this evening if anyone is that locale. Seeing as my throat is better, I'd like to rewind to my location last Sunday night and maybe I'd order something different from the menu even. Sigh.

So there goes October... the slide into the festering season is well and truly on. The weather out there is "frightful". Hell it'll be 2010 afore we know it.

last month was by far the busiest month ever in terms of visitor numbers. Pretty incredible really. Lots of people looking for those dodgy talent night perhaps? Who knows. Anyway the stats don't lie. Or do they. Marketeers can make such info reflect what they want it to. You know me, I'm sceptical about everything.

In addition to that, maybe the lurghi is finally upon me. And these temporary specs are driving me uo the fecking wall so I'm not entirely sure how long I want to spend in front of this blighter today. Time will surely tell but my time management skills areespecially woolly at the minute.

There several "event nights" going on around the world that take our name in vain. However, I'm more than happy to share our moniker with my old pal Gary Pig's ensemble. Just got this note...

"Attention !! THE NEXT BIG THING (that's Shane Faubert, Jeremy Lee and Gary Pig Gold) along with Many Many other good musical friends (that's Jana Peri, Cracked Latin, Sonic Blue Sound Revue featuring Michael Mazzarella, Dreaming In Stereo, The Grip Weeds, and Dave Rave) shall be appearing as part of The 2009 New York INTERNATIONAL POP OVERTHROW Festival Friday NOVEMBER 6 at KENNY'S CASTAWAYS (that's at 157 Bleecker in NYC) starting at 8 PM. We'll be celebrating the release of our grand new NBT-4-CNP CD... and It's DOREEN'S BIRTHDAY too, so act accordingly."

Ladies and gentlemen of NYC... A treat... Every Monday in November - at the fabled Lakeside Lounge... Mr Adny Shernoff!!

(thanks Adam)

Here's The Hall Monitors clip that I forgot to post earlier. Divot.

So I've been catching up on reading bulletins and whathaveyou. Time I'll never get back I know but I seem to be hell bent on consuming this stuff y'know... my funeral and all that. There's all this stuff about Boner and his crew and how they (allegedly) have musicians under the stage to fatten out their sound. Far as it goes, anybody who buys into that shit deserves to be taken. At this point, let me state that I know people with perfectly reasonable taste (usually) that like this guff. I don't understand it and I won't judge. Stop sniggering.

What I'm getting to though is the illusion of perception. It's about making an audience believe and if a band can mime and dupe an audience into having a damn fine time then wtf. There's a little Milli Vanilli in all of us when it comes to the business of show. If you go to one of these stadium fiascos then chances are that what you're getting has to be doctored to fit such terrain. The good lord knows that sound doesn't have to be perfect but please, leave the enormodomes to those that deserve them. Support and cherish venues like Stereo and Sleazy's in Glasgow, Debaser (both) in Stockholm, El Sol and The Wurlitzer Ballroom (Madrid), Sidecar (Barcelona) and scores more. You know where they are and what you mean.

The corporations don't need any more money (well actually they do but fuck 'em - they just squander it) so support the smaller, more-deserving, unique aspects of great music. Whenever and wherever you can. Because if we don't then we're really gonna miss it when it's gone.

I had never heard this before but thanks to the turbo-charged Yum Yums version on "Sweetest Candy", I have now... and I figured that, if you didn't hear it then you'd certainly want to. Or wait, maybe you prefer it like this...



You can't deny the potency of the song...

The Nomads and Dundertåget in Uddevalla tonight! Ungawa!!

Celebrate 30 Years of the wonderful Pet Sounds Record Store in Stockholm. (I just typed Scotland, wishful thinking I guess). God only knows what we'd have done without it. This book by our departed brother, Lennart was launched the other night in that great city with a shindig attended by local dignitaries. Thanks to the very Rev. Nick V for the info.

Saturday 24th – Monday 26th… the finale...

The relatively early conclusion to the previous evening meant that a leisurely build into the day could take place. I still never grabbed one of those big custard donutty type things from Casa Mira downstairs. Still, probably for the best. So I managed to locate the second part of the Eros exhibit which was better than the first to my mind. Took a wander through another part of the city on the other side of Gran Via and happened on a couple of small streets where the “cho-cho” trade was in full flow. My original intention was to catch “Whatever Works” at the Capitol Cinema but luckily Mr Birrell tipped me off to the fact that it would have been dubbed there.

So I just wandered around taking in the sights until the YFF squad made it back to the city limits. I caught the movie at Cine Ideal in the early evening. This provided a nice segue to the main event. Not bad but I’m not sure that the mix of Allen and David works on the whole.

Couple of Mahou’s at Chez Munster in the run up to heading out for the Young Fresh Fellows return to Madrid and a rammed El Sol. Unfortunately just getting into the venue as The Hall Monitors were finishing. You can see from this clip that they would have been worth catching. Singer Kathleen Wilson possesses real star quality charisma and a voice that embodies Rachael Nagy and Winehouse with elements of Chrissie Hynde.

And the Young Fresh Fellows, one of the quintessential combos in any language or currency, a tightly loose supernova with a dynamic that swings in and out of new and old songs plus standards like “Sometimes Good Guys Don’t Wear White”. I can’t say I’ve ever seen a better drummer to watch than Tad Hutchison. That cymbal apparatus of his was a trip and I’m told that it’s being held in a secret location until the band returns to Spain sometime in the future. And while we’re on the subject of custom designed, “art of the state” materials, I give you the most sought after piece of iconography since the fragment of the Vambo wall… No – immense is not too strong a word. And piss off Saatchi because you’re not getting it.


Grand to see Scott again. A guy who keeps himself busy propping up acts that sell gazillions of albums when it should be this troupe that are scoring the swimming pools and big mansions. An honour too to meet Jim Sangster and Kurt Bloch, two individuals responsible for services to rock’n’roll beyond the call forever. If I was Ralph Kramden, I would call them a regular riot.

The clips will give you a taste of the show. Sometimes words aren’t enough. “Would you let your sister? Go with a Rolling Stone??” just doesn’t have the same meter on paper.



Thanks to Joanne Hendricks for the link.

From there to El Tempo Del Gato and surely the shindig that Andrew WK had in mind when he wrote “Party Hard”. If there ever was an off the richter explosion of unabated fun then this was it. Hey, I even banjo’d my glasses, always the sign of a successful night. Special shout out for Juan Perez-Fajardo, the man who kept the smash hits comin’ one after another into the wee hours.

Closed that place and Christophe and I made a pitstop at the very wonderful Wurlitzer to cap off the evening. When we got there, some of the “Gatosquad” were already there and continuing the revelry. You’ve heard the one about the city that never sleeps right, meet the world champeen location! But hey, everything was alright – the clocks were going back so that meant that we called time on this one at 5.30am. My compadre from Belgium was catching a flight at 11am. Hardcore.

Still high on adrenalin but slightly the worse for wear, I dragged myself out of my lair to head for the Rastro Flea Market. Desperately trying to keep out of the sunlight with varying degrees of success. It was a little too overwhelming in terms of crowds and well, junk, but there’s one place down there you need to visit - Satanasa. Callejon del Mellizo 6 is the address.

So I slid back to the Hostal. To grab some rest that might make me feel human again later. To be honest I should have felt much worse but my throat was shredded from the screaming and the smoke. Events were presenting themselves to me in flashback form and there must be photographic evidence I’m sure. It was safe to go out again as the sun was going down so a final wander was in order. Capped the whole thing off with a quiet, low key dinner. This was ideal because I quite literally could not talk by that time. I felt like I’d been gargling glass.

And that was it. The game was a bogey. Next morning I stopped by the Munster offices to bid farewell to the crew and then headed to the airport with Lisa who was flying back to the US a little earlier. Barajas isn’t a great place to burn time but it was better to be there ready. No point in trying to postpone the inevitable. By the time I landed in Edinburgh it was damp and driech. The total opposite of the past few days.

I still haven’t fully recovered and actually the swollen gland on my neck probably needs some assistance. That wasn’t really the kind of keepsake I had in mind when I left.

My thanks to Iñigo, the best host a guy could ever imagine. And to Francisco for making it all possible though the gentle art of persuasion. Ha ha. And also to Ruth, a real sweetheart.

And let’s not forget the multinational rock’n’roll crew that kept the flame burning and will see to it that it always does. Gracias folks. Hope to see each and every one of you down the road apiece.

If you're heading out that way and need a perfectly located place to stay? Check out Hostal Aguilar...

So that's about it troops, for some reason - the right side of my neck has become a tad swollen. I look like one of those talking trees on HR Pufnstuf. Just so long as it lasts over hallowe'en. Talking of which, I hope you all get what you deserve. One way or another.

You need to tune into these guys...

78RPM action from another dimension!

Further information + tracklists!

THE TRIPWIRES HOUSE TO HOUSE
ALBUM LAUNCH!

"This Friday October 30th at The Sunset in the Ballard Region of the fine city of Seattle... help celebrate the release of The Tripwires "House To House" on Spark and Shine records.

There'll be CD's for sale and plenty of fine rock music on display, as we'll be joined by local titans The Small Change and (the much anticipated return of) Llama!"

This wearing me old glasses lark is a strain. There could be even more typos than ever as a result but beggars cannae be choosers. I do have a pair of prescription shades that I’d try but sunglasses after dark is one thing but not in front of a screen. Can they be any more confounding than this? Well and truly crashed and burned today. Woke up with a swollen gland on the right side of my neck and will just have to tholl the discomfort. Struck out on the doctors appointment because it’s a system a little like trying to get through to fucking tickettwonk. Verging on impossible. So we’ll see, it’ll either pass or I’ll peg out. By the time I got through, all the places were taken. I could camp out at the surgery at 8am in the morning. That might work. There was no mention of the word “would”. Part two of the Madrid story coming right up...

Friday October 23rd continues into the smallish hours of Saturday 24th…

My closing song at the Wurlitzer had been "(I’m) Out of It" by The Nomads. This was apt in a number of ways. Up again to bid adios to the kids who were headed for Bilbao to raise some havoc there. There was some traffic chaos going on that postponed the blast off time and we ended up walking to another part of town so they could get the van. After that, I zig-zagged back through previously unexplored territory to my room to grab a little more rest.

Decided to do the Tears of Eros exhibit that I found out later was in two parts. It did seem like the initial circuit was a bit sparse, even taking into account the enormity of some of the individuals whose work was being displayed. Loved the Lugosi image by Warhol and am generally suspicious of video installations within the context of a gallery exhibit. That was just a tiny part though. I’d figure out the route to the place that the other section was being displayed later because the life force was once again beginning to flag. A wee siesta was in order, prior to heading along to Chez Munster for some top nourishment.

The original plan was to go catch the one and only Gene Taylor who was in town for a week long residency with Red House at Café Central. It was swamped but it sounded great from the sidewalk outside. Unfortunately it wasn’t possible to catch another set but it was very cool to meet the great man in the street albeit for a matter of minutes.

Inigo and I met up with Simon and headed for La Pequeňa Bety where Los Platillos Volantes and Els Trons were playing. Nice spot and the bands were OK but at this point in my existence, I never have to hear another version of “7 and 7 is” during what fate might have in mind for my lifetime. Heartening to see a Thanes poster on the wall in there though. I think we all felt like something a little more sedate by that time and headed for a place that seemed to be kind of exclusive where you have to ring a bell or something to gain entrance. Anyway, it was a very classy, upscale – old school joint. Lot of cool old wood panels and a distinct sense of history.

According to the knapkins the place was called “Bar Cock”. Cue hails of mirth from the UK contingent along the lines of seeing “ausfahrt” in Germany. Not really but you can just imagine it though – right? The only thing wrong was the music. Like a techno dripping water torture, albeit at low level. It reminded me of the place I saw Amy and Eric in Newcastle and wished they were there playing instead of this insidious din.

From there to "Circulo de Bellas Artes" (Thanks Simon) and a final libation for the evening. Like a giant version of the Café Royal in Edinburgh maybe. As we left there, I heard Joey Ramone whisper through the ether, “Whaa? You leavin’ already?” as only he could. Not far to fall from there to the Hostal Christina as I’d christened it and that was a very good thing because the next 24 hours would be jam packed with the highest jinks imaginable.

Part three coming up when I can confirm that it actually happened - to some degree.

Still with Madrid, the amount of shows there this past few weeks is incredible. And I just found out that Annika Norlin and Andrea Kellerman will be at the Fikasound’s Voces Femininas festival tour in Fotomatón Bar on November 18th. And of course, The Fleshtones at Sala El Sol on November 20th.

Mr Zaremba enters the blogosphere. Welcome him now...

Wednesday 21st into Thursday 22nd…

Getting into Madrid from the airport is a skoosh now with the advent of the new train. Once you actually get to Metro from the terminal. Apparently it’s only a couple of months old but what a pleasure to be in a place that actually has a workable transit method. When I emerged from the station, there was some drizzle in the air. It was too late for any kind of hook up so getting my bearings in relation to the Hostal, I plumped for a quiet start to the visit. All sorted for a bright and early start.

But let’s just back up here a little and provide some background. Francisco Munster was campaigning for the troops to get together for the return to the ring of those Young Fresh Fellows. As much as I would have loved to have made the entire trip, the long green wouldn’t stretch that far and then there was the thought of doing Madrid only. This gained momentum when I discovered that The Quattros would be playing there with The Yum Yums two days before. All of a sudden it was done and dusted and I was there.

Great to meet all those fabulous Munsters, who didn’t seem to mind me putting them off their work as I waited to surprise Lisa. Another main feature of this was to see Ms Fancher prior to her heading off for more YFF action. It was great to see Inigo again too, it had been too long. Afterwards that gave me a couple or three hours to stake out the locale prior to my rendez with BB on the "Plaza del Cho Cho" sometime after 6pm.

Madrid is a helluva city as I’ve reported before and having the chance to explore was a treat. Big diff compared to being there a little over a year ago for a mere matter of hours. So I duly met Captain Quattro and we headed in the direction of a very agreeable little café where I would encounter The Yum Yums. Always dug their music but now I love ‘em even more knowing that they’re as solid a bunch of twisted citizens as I’ve ever been fortunate to meet. With them was Paul Collins who would join ‘em on stage later for a couple of uberpop classics he penned way back that have since become staples. So after a small libation, it was back to my temporary HQ (just along from the Museum of Ham) to prepare for what would be a long, groovy night.

It was an honour to meet Marcela, the first lady of El Sol. Quite possibly the greatest gig venue on earth with audiences that can clearly rival Glasgow. I hadn’t realise it had been there for 30 years. Time sure flies when big fun is being had in the bayou. To have this place in such close proximity to the one and only Wurlitzer Ballroom is nothing short of amazing. Plus you can scope out the hookers on the way to and from. What’s not to be addicted to?

There are no crash barriers. The audience is free to interact with the band but there’s no menace or security vibe. These kids can police themselves and yes, the odd beer might go flying but that’s all part of the sense of occasion. It’s a privilege to be in a place where health and safety hasn’t sucked the life out of the room in the name of wrapping people in cotton wool. A positive example of just how things can go with the right attitude.

Showtime and it was an auspicious occasion for Suzy and Co because it was the first show with Marky, the guy who is replacing Joey. It was also the last time that Joey would join them onstage so it was a kind of passing of the baton. Here’s a combo that can segue. Don’t you hate going to see bands that lurch from one song into an extended footer about? Not these kids. Not even with breaking in a new guy. Just great.

The Yum Yums are effervescence supreme. It’s not entirely clear why they aren’t a brand name or even a corporation such is the gargantuan nature of their tuneage. Hit after smash hit sound being battered out of the park. They too were breaking in a new member, their drummer Ulf. This was his second show, his first in front of such a rabidly up for it audience maybe.

“Buenos Nachos” was Morten’s intro before he and André hit eighth gear with Egil’s bass propulsion providing the ballast. And woah - Vibeke - a secret weapon and a half if ever I saw and heard one. With more positive energy than I think I ever saw exude from anybody ever.
By the end of the set there were dozens of people on stage and no apoplectic bouncers trying to deal with it. I guess that’s the difference between Spain and this dump in essence. Right there.



If you add Caroline Andersen to the mix, ably assisted by Line and Stine then you have a pneumatic cheerleading squad to die for. These gals have all the moves and a few besides. Just incase. I'm sure Tura Satana is very proud.

From there to the Wurlitzer Ballroom whereupon I was manning the decks for a wee return bout in honour of the two world-beating ensembles that had just played around the corner. A grand time was had by all and Alvaro made us very welcome. I recall Line saying something to me about Vibeke’s “rhythm machine” and handing me her mobile phone. Played some more when BB split and the natives were beginning to get restless due to a lack of Led Zep or Joy Division on my playlist. I deserve a good hard kick up the rectum for the lack of Redd Kross and Slade though. That was unforgiveable.

Looking at my watch I figured that maybe that fact that it was 5.20am was causing some static. When I left there a little after 5.30am the joint was absolutely jumping. No doubt happy that Alvaro was back on the music. So I sauntered down and through Puerto El Sol to my temporary bunker and crashed out having had a thoroughly rocktastic night.

So let’s log this as end of part 1. Somewhere just prior to 6am on Friday 23rd October. Or. Er. Thereabouts. I'm going to have another crack at watching the Krautrock doc that I fell asleep during last night now

Photo by Gene Taylor.

So here's the story. I had too much fun for the past few days and need time to assimilate whether it actually happened or not. In addition, my gregs got gubbed so this spare pair isn't exactly doing it for the ability to stare at a screen for too long. Not sure if it'll be two or three parts plus I'm waiting on pix and need to collect a lot of links so this could take some time. So while this is all coming together, let me share the majesty of Baby Dynamite with you.

I heard them on Morten YumYum's i-POD on Gran Via while they were waiting for the van. Top gear, I think you'll agree.

On top of a seriously grand spell out of the country, this month will be our biggest in terms of "viewers" ever. By a long chalk. I've no idea how or why but that's not important just so long as we be undermining the relentless grind of reality for a moment or three.