Radio Gaga

 

Just finished compiling my first Louder Than War radio show for 2022. It’ll be my fifth show for the station and the feedback has been very positive. Anyone who puts together a regular radio show will tell you how time-consuming and how much effort goes into doing so. Sure, I could rock up at 10pm on a Monday night and play two hours of random stuff off my hard drive, and probably get away with it. But that’s not really how it’s done…

No, I get sent loads of stuff – and it’s both a joy and an endurance test to trawl through it. I’m looking forward to airing forthcoming releases from Oorya and Tits Up on Monday, plus there are sessions to organise. I don’t have a studio where a band can broadcast live, so they have to be pre-recorded. Howl In The Typewriter recorded their recent session and sent it over, and Kieron Dyson has even invited me to his house to record his – which will air this Monday (3rd Jan). Looking further ahead, there should be sessions from Oorya, Rhys Trimble (Lolfa Binc) and Why Bother?

Why indeed bother… Because I loves it I do.

And speaking of love, music, and memories — my mind’s been wandering back to venues of the past, the ones that burned bright and then, sometimes quite literally, burned out. One in particular was The Dome in Caernarfon. Before it was a nightclub, it was a grand old super-cinema called The Majestic, opening in the early 20th century and seating more than a thousand people. In its day it was a plush palace of flickering light, but like so many single-screen cinemas, it couldn’t compete with changing habits. The Majestic closed in 1984, and after a short spell of limbo it was reborn as a nightclub.

In its final incarnation as The Dome, it became a familiar late-night haunt for a generation — a place of big nights out, questionable dance moves, and the sort of sweat-and-smoke atmosphere you just don’t get anymore. But its story ended suddenly. In 1994, a fire ripped through the building, leaving nothing but memories and rubble. It wasn’t just the loss of a club — it was the loss of a landmark, a piece of Caernarfon’s social and cultural DNA.

Places like The Dome stick in the mind because they’re tied up with youth, music, and the feeling that anything could happen after dark. They might be gone physically, but the stories keep them alive — in conversations, and in facebook posts, as Bangor's goth-industrialists Skinflick lay claim to burning it down after playing there, possibly the only time it was used as a venue?

See you Monday, 10pm, on Louder Than War Radio. Listen here.

GIG REVIEW – Spilt, The Lotts, Crawlers, Harks @ Arts Club Loft, Liverpool

It’s staggering to think that it’s been almost 18 months since we actually endured a live band. Not seeing live music had become the norm in an abnormal world. Tentatively we edged across the tentative Welsh border into Covid-free England, where the shackle-free natives run wild and maskless.

On Seel Street sits The Arts Club Loft, and times have changed – the doormen used to say ‘If your name’s not down you’re not coming in.’ Now the tact is, ‘If you can’t prove you’ve been double jabbed then you’re not coming in.’

This is a conundrum, as the majority of freaks who’d be here would be of late teen early twenties. They’ve probably had only one jab towards the Depopulation by Forced Vaccination programme our trusted government has rolled out. Despite the Infected being turned away, the venue was still brimming.

Harks are sliding into a maelstrom of blissfully sonic feedback as we enter the atmosphere. They were previously called Sallow Pillow, which is a rubbish name. Facebook says they’re aggy neo-psychedelia from Liverpool, and I won’t argue with that. Their gnarly sound with distortedly spaced out vocals typifies this burgeoning mutant garage scene that is springing up in the area. There’s no old-guard here, governed by their set-ways, just loads of kids armed with FX pedals, psychedelics, spunk and no rules.

Crawlers are offset to the rest of the bill with a more traditional approach and sound to their output. Also from Liverpool and fronted by Holly Minto, they exerted confidence and a performance that warrants the attention and waves they’re making on the circuit. I saw a trumpet being lifted and thought, ‘Here we go…’ but it actually worked really well. Check out the new single Breathe.

The Lotts are a Warrington ensemble I’ve seen and raved about before. Their whirlpool of louder than loud noise sucks you into a world of bright lights, happy daze and life affirmation. Make sure you seek and never destroy their output, check the new single I’ll Get Round To It. There’s nothing not to like about these people and I’d like to buy them and make them my house band.

Spilt are a law unto themselves. They exist in the wormhole of a crack-pipe where Bong Crosby dreams of a white line Christmas. They are not of this earth, they are acid babies. Borne unto a world of Lethal Drizzle grooming Suicide Girls, they are tattooed in a mirror universe where ginger people don’t smell of piss and Digestives. These Runcorn rehab rejects are on a mission to soil your soul with rock ‘n’ roll – their own brand of rock ‘n’ ruin. More butthole than surfer, Spilt thicken the plot then take over the asylum. throwing women and children aside to reach their destination… They don’t know where that is, or why they’re heading that way, but they’re gonna have one helluva ride getting there.

Join them on their journey….