I occasionally get drawn to the TV - shite TV. Yes I'll watch a film most nights I'm not out, but that's late on, usually after 11pm.
What I'm talking about is shite TV - I mean soap operas...
Coronation Street..! I was drawn to the wedding of the err... ahem... year between Sarah and Jason. It would be crap if they managed to get married without a hitch - what sort of soap opera would that be like...! Every single one has a dramatic wedding, be it Eastenders, Neighbours, Emmerdale, Eldorado, Holly Oaks etc etc...
Sarah has a deranged half-brother called David Platt (not the ex-footballer) played by the highly believable (for a soap star) Jack Shepherd.
The soon to be wedded couple are at the altar, but David has vowed [sic] to spoil their day and has gone missing, threatening suicide. Only Sarah and her mate know about this and tore up his 'suicide note.' Mother Gail Platt has informed the police that her son is merely missing and had taken his blue car.
As the ceremony takes place, David drives his car into the Manchester Ship Canal.
Now this is where the barely believable story becomes ridiculously unbelievable...
The police turn up at the wedding - insisting to speak to Gail Platt just as her daughter is about to take her vows. They tell her a blue car was seen only a few minutes earlier by a member of the public being driven into the canal...
Now hold on a minute... They hadn't seen the car themselves - the divers had yet to go in, and therefore the only news they had was from a witness. Find me a police force in the UK that would interrupt a wedding to tell the bride's mother that someone has reported (not found) a blue car being driven into a canal...? And also a police force would can act quick enough to discover that the family are at a wedding in a church and not at home.
What a load of bollocks, - at least Stacey shagging her new husband's Dad over on Eastenders was a little more believable, if not just as shite..!
Monday, November 05, 2007
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Nomadic Tendencies
I lost count about 5 moves ago, I used to keep a list of all the abodes I have lived in. It was something like 33 I think... In the thirties anyway.
The House of Crud, Crud Acres, Crud Towers and now Crud Cottage.. A nice little 5 bedroomed settlement in the village of Dyserth. A few paces up the road are two pubs, a little further is the spectacular waterfall we used in the Dimmock, Definately Dimmock sketch; the same setting we used to film The Alarm's single 'Raindown'. Across the road is the Alarm's rehearsal studios, where Martin Wilding busy's himself mixing and recording until I tempt him to the evils of the pub.
Crud Towers was a great flat - 3 huge bedrooms for the Crudlets to trash, but it was the location that let it down - bang in the centre of Rhyl. Fantastic for crawling home from a gig and a birds eye view of the Taxi Rank fights - but awful for parking, trying sleep at night and, well... its on the edge of the most socially deprived area in Europe - The West End of Rhyl...!
While I was on the move, so was North Wales gig promoter Blood & Lipstick; or Steve Rastin as he's known to his friends. He took the bold and brave decision to end a four year relationship with Bar Blu in Rhyl and take his operations to the newly vamped Billys on the prom.
I have always enjoyed a good relationship with Blu's Tony - I drink lots of his beer, provide him with alternative music for his sound system and review the bands who play there. So it was almost inevitable that he would ask me to promote bands when Steve pulled out. Under any other circumstances I would've been happy to help; not so much putting gigs on - life is stressful enough without adding to it..! Although I'm happy to continue as I have; reviewing, previewing etc.
The circumstances are thus...
'This town ain't big enough for the both of us...' Rhyl cannot sustain two regular band nights a week; let alone on the same night. Yes, Dave Cox and The Punk in Drublic contingent will continue with their own exclusive punk scene, spread across the coast, but two venues both putting on bands of the same ilk on the same Wednesday night...?
No, I Don't think so...
No, I know so...
The solution for Blu is to change their night, although Wednesday is the coolest night to go out these days, thanks to Blu and B&L - people go out for a purpose, most nobheads save their nobheadedness for the weekend and the scallies don't get their Dole money til Thursday, so Wednesday is not only cool, its pretty safe!
Billys Bar, like Blu is a trendy nightspot - and a bolt out of the err... blue when live nights were announced. There have been many who have courted Steve Rastin in attempts to lure his musical and promoting prowess away from Bar Blu, and someone finally came up with enough goods to make Adam eat the apple.
It had to taste good - the live nights were established; recognised on the UK's small band circuit and had a homemade crowd who were present for live music rather than a particular band.
So Billys Bar is like the next rung up, a proper live rig, lights, and big enough to attract bands up that next rung perhaps? The Cribs? Gossip? Wombats? Ting Tings? Holloways?
Add this to the dedicated Podcast that Green Dragon has done and you nearly have the complete package to attract more people and bigger bands. Me and The Dean will film a track next week and see if we can edit and process a YouTube video to boot...
The House of Crud, Crud Acres, Crud Towers and now Crud Cottage.. A nice little 5 bedroomed settlement in the village of Dyserth. A few paces up the road are two pubs, a little further is the spectacular waterfall we used in the Dimmock, Definately Dimmock sketch; the same setting we used to film The Alarm's single 'Raindown'. Across the road is the Alarm's rehearsal studios, where Martin Wilding busy's himself mixing and recording until I tempt him to the evils of the pub.
Crud Towers was a great flat - 3 huge bedrooms for the Crudlets to trash, but it was the location that let it down - bang in the centre of Rhyl. Fantastic for crawling home from a gig and a birds eye view of the Taxi Rank fights - but awful for parking, trying sleep at night and, well... its on the edge of the most socially deprived area in Europe - The West End of Rhyl...!
While I was on the move, so was North Wales gig promoter Blood & Lipstick; or Steve Rastin as he's known to his friends. He took the bold and brave decision to end a four year relationship with Bar Blu in Rhyl and take his operations to the newly vamped Billys on the prom.
I have always enjoyed a good relationship with Blu's Tony - I drink lots of his beer, provide him with alternative music for his sound system and review the bands who play there. So it was almost inevitable that he would ask me to promote bands when Steve pulled out. Under any other circumstances I would've been happy to help; not so much putting gigs on - life is stressful enough without adding to it..! Although I'm happy to continue as I have; reviewing, previewing etc.
The circumstances are thus...
'This town ain't big enough for the both of us...' Rhyl cannot sustain two regular band nights a week; let alone on the same night. Yes, Dave Cox and The Punk in Drublic contingent will continue with their own exclusive punk scene, spread across the coast, but two venues both putting on bands of the same ilk on the same Wednesday night...?
No, I Don't think so...
No, I know so...
The solution for Blu is to change their night, although Wednesday is the coolest night to go out these days, thanks to Blu and B&L - people go out for a purpose, most nobheads save their nobheadedness for the weekend and the scallies don't get their Dole money til Thursday, so Wednesday is not only cool, its pretty safe!
Billys Bar, like Blu is a trendy nightspot - and a bolt out of the err... blue when live nights were announced. There have been many who have courted Steve Rastin in attempts to lure his musical and promoting prowess away from Bar Blu, and someone finally came up with enough goods to make Adam eat the apple.
It had to taste good - the live nights were established; recognised on the UK's small band circuit and had a homemade crowd who were present for live music rather than a particular band.
So Billys Bar is like the next rung up, a proper live rig, lights, and big enough to attract bands up that next rung perhaps? The Cribs? Gossip? Wombats? Ting Tings? Holloways?
Add this to the dedicated Podcast that Green Dragon has done and you nearly have the complete package to attract more people and bigger bands. Me and The Dean will film a track next week and see if we can edit and process a YouTube video to boot...
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Poo Camp in Betws
“Dad, I need a poo.”
Not the most unusual sentence to hear from your seven-year-old — but when it comes just after midnight, in a tent, in a cold, dewy Welsh field, it hits differently.
I was only half-conscious, drifting in that foggy space between heavy sleep and stomach rumble. The quilt I’d brought as a mat had long been requisitioned for warmth, the tent was zipped tight on all sides, and the toilets were fifty metres away — across a stream, through knee-deep grass, and in absolute darkness. No lights. No moon. Just stars overhead and a near-dead rechargeable torch that had promised three hours but fizzled out after 35 minutes.
Then came the panicked follow-up:
“DAD!”
Cue emergency manoeuvres.
I wrestled with the sleeping bag zip. Then the tent zips — all three of them, stubborn and twisted like they had a personal vendetta. Meanwhile, Declan's voice was cracking with urgency, and I was scrambling for my trainers, now realising with cold clarity that I never untied the laces. Why? Why were they so tight?
The realisation hit me like a slap to the guts:
That instant barbecue earlier. The one that didn’t light properly, where the sausages and bacon had to cook on the one corner that managed a half-hearted glow. The hunger won out. We ate them anyway.
Instant Barbecue, my arse.
More like Instant Salmonella.
Declan was now shaking. I picked him up and sprinted through the wet grass, shoes half-on, torch barely flickering. The stream trickled ahead — though in the moment it sounded like a raging torrent. Where was the narrowest crossing point?
Too late.
SPLASH.
My right foot plunged straight into the icy water. I didn’t stop. Couldn’t. I legged it to the toilet block, got him to a cubicle but it was too late. As I plonked him on the pan Mount Vesuvius erupted and sprayed the walls, floor and toilet. It was like a scene from Kill Bill - only the walls weren't covered in blood...
Oh dear...
Exhausted and freezing now, I quickly cleaned Declan up, closed the offending toilet door and carried him back on the return journey. Grass, stream, darkness.
SPLASH.
Left foot. Of course. Soggy symmetry.
We collapsed back into the tent, wrapped ourselves in the quilt, and, mercifully, the rest of the night passed without further incident.
The next morning, still bleary-eyed and damp-socked, we made our way back to the toilet block to freshen up. And there it was — Declan’s crime scene. His cubicle had been taped off with red-and-white barrier tape, a bold “OUT OF ORDER” sign slapped across the door like the aftermath of a gas leak.
Declan took one look, grinned, and declared proudly:
“I think my bottom exploded last night.”
📍 Location:
Wild campsite near Betws-y-Coed, Snowdonia
Conditions: Cold. Pitch black. Boggy.
Survivors: One soggy dad, one hollowed-out child.
Key lesson:
When an Instant Barbecue refuses to light — take the hint. Don't mess with the meat.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Wupting Back Ache
My fucking back is killing me! I have to work for a living - self employed tiler and I've been working like a frog looking for water. I was gonna put 'like a dog' but dogs don't really work do they? They just laze around, shit on pavements and sniff other dogs' arses. Unlike a frog looking for water, because when I lived / worked in Greece it was a particularly hot summer and the stream that normally reduces to a trickle in the hotter months, had actually dried up. I was working at a house with a swimming pool and an army of frogs came leaping up the mountain to the pool for water.
Anyway, I digress. I've really put my back [sic] into work this week and have suffered terribly. Someone told me most back sprains are caused when putting on your socks or underwear, this doesn't affect me as I never take mine off (heh heh heh!). Mine is caused by hard physical labour, and sitting here upright typing doesn't help either.
The only way I made it thru the day is with the trusted iPod - I've snared the computer speakers off the Crudlets' PC, plugged the iPod into them and voila! I can happily (happily? you are kidding...) tile away, free from wires. Today I listened to Green Dragon's Bite Size Bonus from last Tuesday. Gruff Rhys' excellent Candylion LP - the 14min song 'Skylon' is a masterpiece, and also listened back to my latest Crud Cast, which I recorded last night... Oh dear, it's a bit raucous innit?! Alcohol should be avoided when broadcasting - how many times did I say 'cunt' ? The music was ace though, Klaus Kinski are amazing! And in Captain Hotknives I think we've found ourselves regular entertainment....! Anyway, take a listen, you will regret it..!!
Alaska's WUPT have long been regular participants to my website and my show - and one sure way of getting airplay is to ply me with gifts - like a nice spanking new t-shirt...!!!!!
The teabags here at Crud Towers have run out, the fridge is void of milk, there's large spaces in the larder and I haven't had the time for shopping. The remainder of the bottle of whisky I nicked on the night of The Gathering (it's a long story) has to suffice as beverage - it's disgusting! How I long for a cup of tea.
Anyway, I digress. I've really put my back [sic] into work this week and have suffered terribly. Someone told me most back sprains are caused when putting on your socks or underwear, this doesn't affect me as I never take mine off (heh heh heh!). Mine is caused by hard physical labour, and sitting here upright typing doesn't help either.
The only way I made it thru the day is with the trusted iPod - I've snared the computer speakers off the Crudlets' PC, plugged the iPod into them and voila! I can happily (happily? you are kidding...) tile away, free from wires. Today I listened to Green Dragon's Bite Size Bonus from last Tuesday. Gruff Rhys' excellent Candylion LP - the 14min song 'Skylon' is a masterpiece, and also listened back to my latest Crud Cast, which I recorded last night... Oh dear, it's a bit raucous innit?! Alcohol should be avoided when broadcasting - how many times did I say 'cunt' ? The music was ace though, Klaus Kinski are amazing! And in Captain Hotknives I think we've found ourselves regular entertainment....! Anyway, take a listen, you will regret it..!!
Alaska's WUPT have long been regular participants to my website and my show - and one sure way of getting airplay is to ply me with gifts - like a nice spanking new t-shirt...!!!!!
The teabags here at Crud Towers have run out, the fridge is void of milk, there's large spaces in the larder and I haven't had the time for shopping. The remainder of the bottle of whisky I nicked on the night of The Gathering (it's a long story) has to suffice as beverage - it's disgusting! How I long for a cup of tea.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
The Food of Love
Music is the food of love - and very often gives me indigestion, but lately I've been gorging in the best restaurants who have served up treat after treat.
The menu has many courses...
For starters we have Head In The Shed from Swansea who brought us a stunning debut single 'Have We All Gone Insane' reminiscent of an electronic Killing Joke, and just as angry. They swiftly followed it up with another single 'Why?' which lends itself to the main riff from 'You Really Got Me' and I have just rec'd a new track they've been working on, an instrumental not too dissimilar to Portrait of A Lifetime called 'I've Got Blisters on My Brain' which has thumping beats and odd mis-beats and blips blistered all over it. (website)
Also from Swansea come the excellent, and I mean excellent White Noise Sound, good enough to be featured on Jerry Kranitz's Aural Innovations radio show in Ohio, they combine indie shoegaze with psychedelia smith like sweeping recipes topped with the loveliest delayed feedback you'll ever hear. (website)
The main course has gotta be the double CD compilation release from Northern Star Records. Entitled 'Psychedelica Volume Two' you get 35 tracks of the finest aural cuisine to feast on. Featuring the likes of The Quarter After, The Deaths, Dolly Rocker Movement, Dust, Lovetones, Hopewell, Soft Hearted Scientists and many more...!
It's hard to define psychedelic these days; to me it sounds like good music. In the old days of Sons of Selina the term meant an obscure b-side that contained random loops and could be played at 45 or 33rpm. Northern Star is run by exiled Rhylites Scott and Ollie, who are by their own admission, a bit like Laurel & Hardy but with razor blades.
Tuck in at this website
The sweet menu will be the bitterest you'll ever taste! With not a hint of sugar coating you find Klaus Kinski sending your taste buds recoiling! They have a split single with Ectogram due for imminent release, and their offering 'Ecce Homo' will have you smashing plates in the aisles. Sounding very much in the no wave-ish, noise-rocky, horror-punk dirtness of Wendykurk, this maggot ridden infestation from Llanfairfechan are the butterfly that's turned into the ugliest caterpillar you'll ever see.
Brilliant! (website)
On the cheese board (by no coincidence) comes Denbigh's Hogchild. I had a phone call from a familiar voice the other day in the shape of Steve Jones, who hasn't spoke to me since he ran out of Pocket Venus in Oct 2002, leaving me with a hefty bill from having to cancel a London showcase. But hey, that was almost 5 years ago. He shoved a CD through my letterbox and the 3 tracks cement the fact that he still is an outstanding guitarist. Backed ironically by Gotti members Steve Flavell and Mauve Brown, Hogchild could quite easily've called themselves Jimi Hendrix and you would've been none the wiser. The opening track 'Killing Floor' is my favoured cheese. (website)
Coffee and biscuits will be served up by the return of Der Bomber at Bar Blu, Rhyl tonight...
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Video Killed The Radio Star
That song by Buggles makes me feel sad, makes me want for the days when I was 11 or 12 - my age when it came out. It invokes memories of a carefree childhood, without the hassles that present day life throws at you. What bollocks eh! Childhood was hard, Denbigh was a bully's paradise and everyone and anyone was a target. We had no money, we wore 2nd hand clothes, and yet I hear that song and I yearn for those days - maybe its a mortality thing, because everytime you wake up it's the anniversary of being a day closer to your death...
I stumbled across The Buggles on YouTube, playing that song live in 2004 - and yes it induces vasodilation and releases endorphins, but I was also taken aback by the actual performance, which was pretty phenomenal, unless I'm watching it through the huge tinted spectacles the singer is wearing.
Anyway, judge for yourself - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laZw3Y3JCJ8
I've been hoisting myself back into editing videos, having being dealt a hefty blow last year, which quite literally turned my whole life upside down. Just finshed a Sons of Selina video that was recorded in 1998 - these are not high budget affairs (actually, they're no budget) and take a couple of hours to complete - The Alarm stuff I did last year would take anything up to a week a song sometimes! - But with these vids it offers a medium for bands to get their stuff seen, and I'm more than happy to get stuck into doing vids for bands - so please get in touch.
The Sons of Selina lyrics to 'Climb' perhaps befit the way I've felt perfectly.
Take a look and have a listen...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSEYJIi62wc
I stumbled across The Buggles on YouTube, playing that song live in 2004 - and yes it induces vasodilation and releases endorphins, but I was also taken aback by the actual performance, which was pretty phenomenal, unless I'm watching it through the huge tinted spectacles the singer is wearing.
Anyway, judge for yourself - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laZw3Y3JCJ8
I've been hoisting myself back into editing videos, having being dealt a hefty blow last year, which quite literally turned my whole life upside down. Just finshed a Sons of Selina video that was recorded in 1998 - these are not high budget affairs (actually, they're no budget) and take a couple of hours to complete - The Alarm stuff I did last year would take anything up to a week a song sometimes! - But with these vids it offers a medium for bands to get their stuff seen, and I'm more than happy to get stuck into doing vids for bands - so please get in touch.
The Sons of Selina lyrics to 'Climb' perhaps befit the way I've felt perfectly.
Take a look and have a listen...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSEYJIi62wc
Friday, January 26, 2007
Swimming On Chief Brody's Day Off
The majority of those who read this will be well aware that I run a website - a database of Welsh and Scouse alternative bands, past, present and future, with now almost 4000 individual entries (looks just like an encyclopedia).
It doesn't matter if the band is the Super Furry Animals from Bethesda who enjoy international stardom or Chwys Troed, also from Bethesda who split up after one rehearsal when the guitarist jumped up and smashed his mum's coffee table! Both bands have a place and deserve equal recognition on the site.
One person who I'm sure has achieved the award for being in more failed bands than anyone else (in North Wales) has to be Gav Lawton. He averages four, sometimes five bands a year - forming, building a website, changing the name, building a new website, losing the drummer and guitarist, changing the name, building another new website, splitting up, forming another band and so on ad infinitum...!
I do feel like sending him a bill for the time it takes to add and change the information, and for the bandwidth..!
Ok - Gav Lawton's previous bands.... Scramble Joe, Seattle Joe, Carbonari, Carl Hogan, Dekay, Dred, Longstay, Lucid, Up In Arms, Utopia, Pain Filtered Farm, Jinxed, Torn Asunder, Crumble.
Phew! And they're the ones I can remember! I'm sure there's more, and probably, no, there's definitely more bands listed there than they've collectively played gigs. But who cares? (Apart from my typing fingers!), that's what link2wales is all about; documenting the undocumentable!
Gavin's latest venture is called Swimming On Chief Brody's Day Off - check 'em out www.myspace.com/swimmingonchiefbrodysdayoff
Hope to see them live before they split up etc etc...
It doesn't matter if the band is the Super Furry Animals from Bethesda who enjoy international stardom or Chwys Troed, also from Bethesda who split up after one rehearsal when the guitarist jumped up and smashed his mum's coffee table! Both bands have a place and deserve equal recognition on the site.
One person who I'm sure has achieved the award for being in more failed bands than anyone else (in North Wales) has to be Gav Lawton. He averages four, sometimes five bands a year - forming, building a website, changing the name, building a new website, losing the drummer and guitarist, changing the name, building another new website, splitting up, forming another band and so on ad infinitum...!
I do feel like sending him a bill for the time it takes to add and change the information, and for the bandwidth..!
Ok - Gav Lawton's previous bands.... Scramble Joe, Seattle Joe, Carbonari, Carl Hogan, Dekay, Dred, Longstay, Lucid, Up In Arms, Utopia, Pain Filtered Farm, Jinxed, Torn Asunder, Crumble.
Phew! And they're the ones I can remember! I'm sure there's more, and probably, no, there's definitely more bands listed there than they've collectively played gigs. But who cares? (Apart from my typing fingers!), that's what link2wales is all about; documenting the undocumentable!
Gavin's latest venture is called Swimming On Chief Brody's Day Off - check 'em out www.myspace.com/swimmingonchiefbrodysdayoff
Hope to see them live before they split up etc etc...
Monday, January 01, 2007
Teenage Angst
Still being a teenager having just turned 40 the inevitable day had to come. My car became Dad’s Taxi as I ferried my 13-year-old daughter through the wind and the rain to MASE in Old Colwyn. She wore stripy tights, mini-skirt, some kind of pirate t-shirt and black eye-liner running into a cross above her left cheekbone.
’I’d say I’m more Emo than Goth.’
She stated, and I thanked my lucky stars that she’s not into all that R’n’B rubbish and sugar coated mindless garbage that the mainstream want you to listen to.
The Music And Sound Experience (to give MASE its full title) began at the turn of the century, run by a few dedicated individuals intent on nurturing musical talent within the youngsters of the area.
Registered as a charity rather than a business, it has affordable recording facilities, a venue and a sound system most bands would die for.
In its embryonic days at the Conference Centre in Llandudno I used to attend and review the conveyer belt of bands that plied their wares to a thronging mass of youths, baying for an idol.
My reviews were honest; honest enough to receive angry emails from annoyed parents, ‘How dare you say my son can’t sing,’ etc.
If you tell someone they’re good when they’re not, the only favour you’re giving them is a boost of their ego. Tell them how it really is and they’ll hate you for it, but they’ll be more determined to do something about it next time.
Six years on from those early reviews, those band members will all now be in their early twenties, in further education, in better bands or flipping burgers. There’s a new breed now and I popped my head into the MASE venue in Old Colwyn the other night, looking for my daughter (the taxi meter was left running!). It was hard to find her amongst the throes of a hundred identical individuals, but I was taken aback by the superb sound coming from the stage. I think the band was Anglesey’s Entity, and having seen thousands of bands (usually 3 or 4 a week) it does take a lot for me to sit up and listen. I sat up and I listened. Excellent stuff, and I take my hat off to both the band, and to MASE for providing a great sound and an outstanding set up.Support it - http://www.myspace.com/masestudios
Neil Crud runs the www.link2wales.co.uk website
’I’d say I’m more Emo than Goth.’
She stated, and I thanked my lucky stars that she’s not into all that R’n’B rubbish and sugar coated mindless garbage that the mainstream want you to listen to.
The Music And Sound Experience (to give MASE its full title) began at the turn of the century, run by a few dedicated individuals intent on nurturing musical talent within the youngsters of the area.
Registered as a charity rather than a business, it has affordable recording facilities, a venue and a sound system most bands would die for.
In its embryonic days at the Conference Centre in Llandudno I used to attend and review the conveyer belt of bands that plied their wares to a thronging mass of youths, baying for an idol.
My reviews were honest; honest enough to receive angry emails from annoyed parents, ‘How dare you say my son can’t sing,’ etc.
If you tell someone they’re good when they’re not, the only favour you’re giving them is a boost of their ego. Tell them how it really is and they’ll hate you for it, but they’ll be more determined to do something about it next time.
Six years on from those early reviews, those band members will all now be in their early twenties, in further education, in better bands or flipping burgers. There’s a new breed now and I popped my head into the MASE venue in Old Colwyn the other night, looking for my daughter (the taxi meter was left running!). It was hard to find her amongst the throes of a hundred identical individuals, but I was taken aback by the superb sound coming from the stage. I think the band was Anglesey’s Entity, and having seen thousands of bands (usually 3 or 4 a week) it does take a lot for me to sit up and listen. I sat up and I listened. Excellent stuff, and I take my hat off to both the band, and to MASE for providing a great sound and an outstanding set up.Support it - http://www.myspace.com/masestudios
Neil Crud runs the www.link2wales.co.uk website
Sunday, June 11, 2006
86 Degrees Fahrenheit
How hot is it??!!! - Thankfully, coming back from Las Vegas, a paltry 86deg F is 20 less than in Sin City...
The Alarm are playing Manchester Academy at the end of this month and Mike Peters approached us about doing a live webcast - but the expense including logistics may prove to be a little too much, but we’re going to film it anyway and do fast edits of some of the songs for web broadcasts – maybe a different song each day.
The ‘live’ version of the ‘Raindown’ video will also be up on the net soon – the single version of the song is far more powerful than the LP version – short and to the point.
Homespun's new DVD Badman has been delivered (it looks excellent). Complete Control's showcase DVD has also been delivered (it too looks excellent). And we're concentrating on getting the vids up onto our website as a showcase - cos we need more work!!
Sonic Boom Six have approached us about doing a vid for their forthcoming single - it's a dirty punk song, and although they come from Manchester they want to use Rhyl for the backdrop because of its scummy qualities - damn right!
The Racketears are also in the pipeline to do a video – look forward to that one.
Made my first on stage appearance in SEVEN years last night, guesting on vocals with PSST’s Paul Scouse and Dean Obscene for their version and reworking of the old Sons of Selina song ‘Creatures of The Night’. Everyone knows the song in Bar Blu thanks to ex-DJ Andy Baker playing it to death at the venue. Felt quite good to be up there, albeit for 6mins. I did initially fear it be a bit of a parody, particularly with PSST doing their ‘Now Is The Time’ World Cup song first, but backed by scouse band Sleeps With Fishes they performed admirably.
Ironically it was 14 years to the day that Paul Scouse knocked on my flat door in Butterton Rd, Rhyl to tell me he’d sacked me from the original PSST. The rest, they say is history!
Done another radio show; there’s some great music around and long may it continue. The MySpace revolution has had a lot to do with this incredible explosion. Excellent.
The Alarm are playing Manchester Academy at the end of this month and Mike Peters approached us about doing a live webcast - but the expense including logistics may prove to be a little too much, but we’re going to film it anyway and do fast edits of some of the songs for web broadcasts – maybe a different song each day.
The ‘live’ version of the ‘Raindown’ video will also be up on the net soon – the single version of the song is far more powerful than the LP version – short and to the point.
Homespun's new DVD Badman has been delivered (it looks excellent). Complete Control's showcase DVD has also been delivered (it too looks excellent). And we're concentrating on getting the vids up onto our website as a showcase - cos we need more work!!
Sonic Boom Six have approached us about doing a vid for their forthcoming single - it's a dirty punk song, and although they come from Manchester they want to use Rhyl for the backdrop because of its scummy qualities - damn right!
The Racketears are also in the pipeline to do a video – look forward to that one.
Made my first on stage appearance in SEVEN years last night, guesting on vocals with PSST’s Paul Scouse and Dean Obscene for their version and reworking of the old Sons of Selina song ‘Creatures of The Night’. Everyone knows the song in Bar Blu thanks to ex-DJ Andy Baker playing it to death at the venue. Felt quite good to be up there, albeit for 6mins. I did initially fear it be a bit of a parody, particularly with PSST doing their ‘Now Is The Time’ World Cup song first, but backed by scouse band Sleeps With Fishes they performed admirably.
Ironically it was 14 years to the day that Paul Scouse knocked on my flat door in Butterton Rd, Rhyl to tell me he’d sacked me from the original PSST. The rest, they say is history!
Done another radio show; there’s some great music around and long may it continue. The MySpace revolution has had a lot to do with this incredible explosion. Excellent.
Monday, June 05, 2006
The Curry Continues...
Right that’s it! Enough is enough… No more midnight curries! I can handle the beer the next day but it’s the curry that’s the killer! It’s not like I get any of the traditional joke shop ‘shit through the eye of a needle’ the next day, it’s the awful I’ve been kicked in the head and torso feeling I get! I love my curries HOT and Sunday night’s Garlic Chilli Chicken was no exception. The pity is that it was exceptional, and I wolfed it down while drunkenly emailing sweet nothings to Bethan Elfyn as she was standing in for Adam Walton’s BBC Radio Wales Show.
I was up at 5.45am the next morning and necked nearly a litre of raspberry & cranberry juice and stumbled back into bed with heartburn. Getting up 45mins later, I made my vow - No more midnight curries!
Will I keep my promise…?
Saw 2 good bands at Blu last Wednesday (see reviews on my www.link2wales.co.uk website); both very young, Anubis and Jacobi filled the void left by the absent Three Minute Warning and did so admirably. And on Thursday I re-acquainted myself with old drinking buddy Dewi Gwyn (Anhrefn’s ex-guitarist) in Bangor and we saw Toadstool play in The Harp. I think I put Dewi in a bin the first time I met him; of course we’re more civilised now.
Rhys of Sibrydion had invited me to Ruthin on Friday to check out his band with a view to doing a live DVD. I changed my mind when he told me they were on at 11.30pm and it was the Eisteddfod. My memory of these events is hundreds of kids drinking, smoking, fighting and shagging. I’m all for the first and last factors, it’s the two in the middle that put me off.
I also missed The Dirty Weekend at The Dudley, Dave Cox always seems to manage to put it on to coincide when I have The Crudlets, and even though my 7 year old endlessly plays Sons of Selina and The Alarm, maybe an introduction to vomiting punks would prove to be a little too soon. So instead we sampled the delights of Bodelwyddan Castle where my 13-year-old daughter challenged me to game of chess on the huge outdoor board they have there and it took me hour to beat her.
Anyway, back to last night. I fancied a quiet couple of pints with Steve Sync, nothing serious, home for 10pm. So I picked him up at 7.45pm and he was pissed! He’d been out all afternoon. So we strolled into Wetherspoons in Rhyl and, although pretty quiet it was like a who’s who of Rhyl music! Sync (The Affliction), John Morris (Carpet), Andy Treadear and Ollie (Scott Bakers), Remo (Der Bomber) and myself (Pink Floyd). Once lubricated we headed to The North Wales and stumbled in to the Sunday night quiz; a very boisterous affair that we lost. Then back to Wethers ‘til 11.30pm then for that dreaded curry.
I was up at 5.45am the next morning and necked nearly a litre of raspberry & cranberry juice and stumbled back into bed with heartburn. Getting up 45mins later, I made my vow - No more midnight curries!
Will I keep my promise…?
Saw 2 good bands at Blu last Wednesday (see reviews on my www.link2wales.co.uk website); both very young, Anubis and Jacobi filled the void left by the absent Three Minute Warning and did so admirably. And on Thursday I re-acquainted myself with old drinking buddy Dewi Gwyn (Anhrefn’s ex-guitarist) in Bangor and we saw Toadstool play in The Harp. I think I put Dewi in a bin the first time I met him; of course we’re more civilised now.
Rhys of Sibrydion had invited me to Ruthin on Friday to check out his band with a view to doing a live DVD. I changed my mind when he told me they were on at 11.30pm and it was the Eisteddfod. My memory of these events is hundreds of kids drinking, smoking, fighting and shagging. I’m all for the first and last factors, it’s the two in the middle that put me off.
I also missed The Dirty Weekend at The Dudley, Dave Cox always seems to manage to put it on to coincide when I have The Crudlets, and even though my 7 year old endlessly plays Sons of Selina and The Alarm, maybe an introduction to vomiting punks would prove to be a little too soon. So instead we sampled the delights of Bodelwyddan Castle where my 13-year-old daughter challenged me to game of chess on the huge outdoor board they have there and it took me hour to beat her.
Anyway, back to last night. I fancied a quiet couple of pints with Steve Sync, nothing serious, home for 10pm. So I picked him up at 7.45pm and he was pissed! He’d been out all afternoon. So we strolled into Wetherspoons in Rhyl and, although pretty quiet it was like a who’s who of Rhyl music! Sync (The Affliction), John Morris (Carpet), Andy Treadear and Ollie (Scott Bakers), Remo (Der Bomber) and myself (Pink Floyd). Once lubricated we headed to The North Wales and stumbled in to the Sunday night quiz; a very boisterous affair that we lost. Then back to Wethers ‘til 11.30pm then for that dreaded curry.
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Viva Las Vague Arse
‘I’d rather go hungry than eat that shit.’
Came an American drawl as he walked passed Burger King in Las Vegas International Airport. Maybe some attitudes are changing in the US of A but that lone voice doesn’t speak for the 209 million people whose diet makes them walking miracles.
Having spent a week in the excess capitol of the world I’ve managed to put back on the stone I had lost, and that was with walking about 20 miles a day! Salad? What’s a salad? It’s actually that blood soaked green stuff you have on the side of your steak that the waitress wipes into the bin after your meal.
It took a good couple of days to adjust to the time difference, although having not slept properly for over a month I thought the 8 hours behind would not have mattered; but it did. More so to Steve Sync who not only suffered from jet lag, but also jet arse (sorry, ass!) and his daily quest to have a proper dump bore little fruit and the three huge meals a day piled up and up within him. It was Thursday’s intake of 911 Hot Wings at Hooters that did the laxing trick for him and he never looked back after that. The 911 wings (named so after the emergency services number in the States) is probably the hottest thing you’ll find to eat in Las Vegas (after the Hooters girls) as the Americans don’t seem to have spice on their menu. A visit to a mexican restaurant confirmed this when I requested my chicken fatijas nice ‘n’spicy,
‘No, you don’t want that sir.’
‘I do!’
I didn’t get it though. No, the Americans, or the Las Vegans at least like it with meat, rich and sweet (and weak lager), and that’s how it is. The steak is superb because the cows are well fed, but you can’t have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner unless you’re a body builder. Pancakes with maple syrup are a priority and even the world’s worst hangover couldn’t stop you drenching that syrup over the plate.
Myself and Sync needed a holiday, we’ve both been through the mill this year, due to one thing or another, we’ve worked hard, we’ve always played hard, so now was the time play a little harder. There was the option of a week in Spain, but we thought we’d look like two gays on the beach, then we thought of Amsterdam, but we’re filming Gong there for three days in November, then Sync came up with Las Vegas.
‘Las Vegas, what! All in for £512!? – Let’s go!’
If you’re 6’3” (as we are), you should have your legs surgically removed at the knees to accommodate a comfortable 10 hour plane journey. The makers of MyFlight aeroplanes must be blind lesbian dwarfs, MySpace, MyFlight, MyArse! A quick type of ‘Deep Veined Thrombosis’ into Google brings you directly to the flight operator’s website!
Las Vegas – the city that never sleeps, a fortune won and lost on every deal, The Strip, a four mile long High Street paved with gold and lined with the plushest hotels in the world. So how come we end up in a shack! America’s Best Value Inn – mould on the ceiling, crickets on the floor, tiles hanging off the walls. But who cares, we’re in Vegas!
Our first priority was food and we lunched in what would become a regular breakfast stop – Coco’s American Diner, which is EXACTLY like that ‘Any of you pricks move…’ diner on Pulp Fiction – EXACTLY. Uncannily in my back pocket is my wallet with ‘Bad Ass Mother Fucker’ stamped on it! Thankfully the diner wasn’t held up or robbed, although there was a sign in front of the till saying nothing higher than a $20 bill would be accepted during the graveyard shift.
Apparently pure oxygen is pumped through the floorboards of these countless casinos, to keep the gambler awake. There are no clocks – the city doesn’t sleep, although people do drift off at about 4am and things don’t get going until mid morning, but if you want to play roulette at 6am you can. We had a strategy; we were only going to play the tables on our last night, that way we wouldn’t end up skint half way through the week. So Saturday night we played Black Jack, minimum $10 bet. The pre-deal was that anything we won we would split 50/50. I bought $80 of chips and put $40 down on the first table and a couple of hours later walked away with $200. It was definitely beginner’s luck – 5 Black Jacks in one game! That was in the Mandalay Bay Hotel, also home to The House of Blues restaurant and venue, another regular haunt for ourselves. It was a cool bar decorated with bottle tops glued to the red walls in crucifix shapes and skulls painted everywhere. Downstairs was the venue, like a mini-Liverpool Royal Court hosting regular touring bands – this week its was POD, The Spazmastics, Jamie Callum and Ministry, the latter of whom we saw (see review). We also saw Arsenal limp out of the Champions League final at noon on Wednesday at the House of Blues; one of the few places to show soccer. The Americans don’t understand real sport! What’s all this American Football, Baseball and Basketball rubbish!? Every bar in town had one of them on. These hotels are not just hotels, they’re a community, a town, a leisure centre (sorry center) in their own right, and you can spend an entire day out of the blistering 104deg sun outside within the sanitised domains that this city has to offer. You can eat, gamble, drink, shop, swim, visit the zoo, go clubbing, see concerts, go the theatre all under one roof! Incredible!
More when it surfaces….
Came an American drawl as he walked passed Burger King in Las Vegas International Airport. Maybe some attitudes are changing in the US of A but that lone voice doesn’t speak for the 209 million people whose diet makes them walking miracles.
Having spent a week in the excess capitol of the world I’ve managed to put back on the stone I had lost, and that was with walking about 20 miles a day! Salad? What’s a salad? It’s actually that blood soaked green stuff you have on the side of your steak that the waitress wipes into the bin after your meal.
It took a good couple of days to adjust to the time difference, although having not slept properly for over a month I thought the 8 hours behind would not have mattered; but it did. More so to Steve Sync who not only suffered from jet lag, but also jet arse (sorry, ass!) and his daily quest to have a proper dump bore little fruit and the three huge meals a day piled up and up within him. It was Thursday’s intake of 911 Hot Wings at Hooters that did the laxing trick for him and he never looked back after that. The 911 wings (named so after the emergency services number in the States) is probably the hottest thing you’ll find to eat in Las Vegas (after the Hooters girls) as the Americans don’t seem to have spice on their menu. A visit to a mexican restaurant confirmed this when I requested my chicken fatijas nice ‘n’spicy,
‘No, you don’t want that sir.’
‘I do!’
I didn’t get it though. No, the Americans, or the Las Vegans at least like it with meat, rich and sweet (and weak lager), and that’s how it is. The steak is superb because the cows are well fed, but you can’t have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner unless you’re a body builder. Pancakes with maple syrup are a priority and even the world’s worst hangover couldn’t stop you drenching that syrup over the plate.
Myself and Sync needed a holiday, we’ve both been through the mill this year, due to one thing or another, we’ve worked hard, we’ve always played hard, so now was the time play a little harder. There was the option of a week in Spain, but we thought we’d look like two gays on the beach, then we thought of Amsterdam, but we’re filming Gong there for three days in November, then Sync came up with Las Vegas.
‘Las Vegas, what! All in for £512!? – Let’s go!’
If you’re 6’3” (as we are), you should have your legs surgically removed at the knees to accommodate a comfortable 10 hour plane journey. The makers of MyFlight aeroplanes must be blind lesbian dwarfs, MySpace, MyFlight, MyArse! A quick type of ‘Deep Veined Thrombosis’ into Google brings you directly to the flight operator’s website!
Las Vegas – the city that never sleeps, a fortune won and lost on every deal, The Strip, a four mile long High Street paved with gold and lined with the plushest hotels in the world. So how come we end up in a shack! America’s Best Value Inn – mould on the ceiling, crickets on the floor, tiles hanging off the walls. But who cares, we’re in Vegas!
Our first priority was food and we lunched in what would become a regular breakfast stop – Coco’s American Diner, which is EXACTLY like that ‘Any of you pricks move…’ diner on Pulp Fiction – EXACTLY. Uncannily in my back pocket is my wallet with ‘Bad Ass Mother Fucker’ stamped on it! Thankfully the diner wasn’t held up or robbed, although there was a sign in front of the till saying nothing higher than a $20 bill would be accepted during the graveyard shift.
Apparently pure oxygen is pumped through the floorboards of these countless casinos, to keep the gambler awake. There are no clocks – the city doesn’t sleep, although people do drift off at about 4am and things don’t get going until mid morning, but if you want to play roulette at 6am you can. We had a strategy; we were only going to play the tables on our last night, that way we wouldn’t end up skint half way through the week. So Saturday night we played Black Jack, minimum $10 bet. The pre-deal was that anything we won we would split 50/50. I bought $80 of chips and put $40 down on the first table and a couple of hours later walked away with $200. It was definitely beginner’s luck – 5 Black Jacks in one game! That was in the Mandalay Bay Hotel, also home to The House of Blues restaurant and venue, another regular haunt for ourselves. It was a cool bar decorated with bottle tops glued to the red walls in crucifix shapes and skulls painted everywhere. Downstairs was the venue, like a mini-Liverpool Royal Court hosting regular touring bands – this week its was POD, The Spazmastics, Jamie Callum and Ministry, the latter of whom we saw (see review). We also saw Arsenal limp out of the Champions League final at noon on Wednesday at the House of Blues; one of the few places to show soccer. The Americans don’t understand real sport! What’s all this American Football, Baseball and Basketball rubbish!? Every bar in town had one of them on. These hotels are not just hotels, they’re a community, a town, a leisure centre (sorry center) in their own right, and you can spend an entire day out of the blistering 104deg sun outside within the sanitised domains that this city has to offer. You can eat, gamble, drink, shop, swim, visit the zoo, go clubbing, see concerts, go the theatre all under one roof! Incredible!
More when it surfaces….
Friday, May 12, 2006
Spinning Home
Did a video shoot for Homespun to promote their new single Badman. The initial idea was to have the frontman Terry abducted in a sack during a gig, some nice enclosed shots of him singing in the sack, the band in the back of a van playing and then the ‘body’ being dumped outside a police station.
Of course, the storyboard goes clean out of the window on the day! We had the band dressed with vicar collars playing in the back of this big van with 3 cameras on them and torches for lighting – the van was then driven over speed bumps and round corners, so the band were thrown around everywhere! Dunno what that’ll turn out like as most of the torches became unhinged!
The song is called Badman, so we introduced a bad man to the proceedings; a menacing character in white biohazard overalls and a rabbit face mask sprayed black. Bad man lurked, stalked and haranged the band throughout the rest of the day and the Gods were definitely looking down upon us at the Nova car park in Prestatyn as the fog came rolling in off the sea. We had originally planned to film the band outdoors at The Ffrith’s disused car park, but the barriers prevented us getting the van in (they’ve had Traveller problems there for years), so the fog set the perfect backdrop. More than perfect – fucking fantastic! A quick change for Terry, Damien and Tony into white shirts, ties and pants and they set up on the prom with this superb misty grey background. I had recorded 3 versions of the song – normal, twice as fast, half as slow (speed change in videos are all the rage) and the bad man should look pretty good doing weird things at different speeds to the band. We then used the sack abduction idea and one by one the band were picked off while playing. The fog on the beach was too good an opportunity to leave out, so the bad man and the band were filmed walking in and out of it. Homespun’s manager Steve also made an appearance dressed, bizarrely as a nun and, looked very disturbing in a Robbie Coltrane kind of way. For the finale we had the whole band being forced into the sack on the beach and bad man and nun tried despairingly to drag them of into the fog. Unfortunately the bastards were far too heavy, so Terry was left in there and dragged off instead.
The autograph hunters got their momentos and we headed home.
Crew for the day: Terry Foster (Homespun / voc,gtr), Tony Tuna (Homespun / drms), Damien (Homespun / bass), Steve Semichilled (Homespun / manager, nun). 1000 Words - Paul Sutherland, Neil Crud, Gordon Hardman, Rob Mediapod, Sparky. And, of course Bad Man.
Great day – it’ll be an even better video!
The day after headed to The Vic in Menai Bridge for a BBC Radio Wales live broadcast featuring Akira The Don and Brave Captain (review). Met Sync off the train station (as I was already in Bangor) and had a pint and chat with Alan Holmes (of Ectogram) and Huw Prestatyn (from Rhuddlan!). Then bombed it back to Rhyl for 11.20pm to Bar Blu, to catch Jives Room (review) in robust form.
And hurrah!! – Finished The Alarm’s ‘Raindown’ video – Paul Suths came round and with a little tweaking he gave the nod!! Yes at last! He’s taken the tapes for the remainder of the Gathering electric to edit, as it’ll give the final version a touch more variety. I’ve still got the acoustic night ones and my G5 is off to my Nain’s for the week I’m in Vegas (for safe keeping).
Of course, the storyboard goes clean out of the window on the day! We had the band dressed with vicar collars playing in the back of this big van with 3 cameras on them and torches for lighting – the van was then driven over speed bumps and round corners, so the band were thrown around everywhere! Dunno what that’ll turn out like as most of the torches became unhinged!
The song is called Badman, so we introduced a bad man to the proceedings; a menacing character in white biohazard overalls and a rabbit face mask sprayed black. Bad man lurked, stalked and haranged the band throughout the rest of the day and the Gods were definitely looking down upon us at the Nova car park in Prestatyn as the fog came rolling in off the sea. We had originally planned to film the band outdoors at The Ffrith’s disused car park, but the barriers prevented us getting the van in (they’ve had Traveller problems there for years), so the fog set the perfect backdrop. More than perfect – fucking fantastic! A quick change for Terry, Damien and Tony into white shirts, ties and pants and they set up on the prom with this superb misty grey background. I had recorded 3 versions of the song – normal, twice as fast, half as slow (speed change in videos are all the rage) and the bad man should look pretty good doing weird things at different speeds to the band. We then used the sack abduction idea and one by one the band were picked off while playing. The fog on the beach was too good an opportunity to leave out, so the bad man and the band were filmed walking in and out of it. Homespun’s manager Steve also made an appearance dressed, bizarrely as a nun and, looked very disturbing in a Robbie Coltrane kind of way. For the finale we had the whole band being forced into the sack on the beach and bad man and nun tried despairingly to drag them of into the fog. Unfortunately the bastards were far too heavy, so Terry was left in there and dragged off instead.
The autograph hunters got their momentos and we headed home.
Crew for the day: Terry Foster (Homespun / voc,gtr), Tony Tuna (Homespun / drms), Damien (Homespun / bass), Steve Semichilled (Homespun / manager, nun). 1000 Words - Paul Sutherland, Neil Crud, Gordon Hardman, Rob Mediapod, Sparky. And, of course Bad Man.
Great day – it’ll be an even better video!
The day after headed to The Vic in Menai Bridge for a BBC Radio Wales live broadcast featuring Akira The Don and Brave Captain (review). Met Sync off the train station (as I was already in Bangor) and had a pint and chat with Alan Holmes (of Ectogram) and Huw Prestatyn (from Rhuddlan!). Then bombed it back to Rhyl for 11.20pm to Bar Blu, to catch Jives Room (review) in robust form.
And hurrah!! – Finished The Alarm’s ‘Raindown’ video – Paul Suths came round and with a little tweaking he gave the nod!! Yes at last! He’s taken the tapes for the remainder of the Gathering electric to edit, as it’ll give the final version a touch more variety. I’ve still got the acoustic night ones and my G5 is off to my Nain’s for the week I’m in Vegas (for safe keeping).
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Curried
Paul brought the ‘missing’ tapes round and we pieced together The Racketears song ‘So Many Faces.’ What a great band, can’t put my finger on what it is about them, but its just very very good stuff! Superb laid back persona. The video looks excellent and really portrays what they’re about; or what I think they’re about at least!
Also showed Paul Raindown, but he’s still not happy with it, Paul’s looking for less lip-synch and more broad concert shots. Mike Peters phoned me asking about it as well – so I nipped round to his rehearsal rooms and we watched it with tour manager Liam and a loitering Kirk Brandon. They were basically of the same thinking; more ‘great’ shots and less lip-synch. The single comes out in the States next month and they’re going to use the video off the Under Attack DVD as the main promo and use this ‘live’ one for the website.
Mike is off to New York week after next, while I’ll be in Las Vegas, so we’re going to get together in the next few days and do a preliminary for the Gathering video – basically to see how we piece the songs together – it’d be nice if we could do something a bit different rather than your average live video. Yes, the editing I’ve done so far is very different to your standard concert vids (and far better, even if I say so myself), there’s more feeling gone into them – passion, because that’s how I feel about music, that’s how Paul Suths feels as well; so it’ll always be 1000% from 1000 Words! (Marketing campaign being drawn up right now!).
Kirk Brandon is off on a European tour with Spear of Destiny so I gave Liam a copy of PSST’s video ‘Now Is The Time For England’ on the premise that its played on the big screen before the gigs!
Paul and Rob will be finalising the Complete Control Music (CCM) DVD – building a menu, EQ-ing the sound and matting the videos – hopefully on Friday.
Headed to Bar Blu for a Wednesday night of loud music – saw Glyn Bailey open up, even though watching acoustic sets is against my religion, he was ok – me and Ste Sync even clapped after 2 of the songs. Holyhead’s Hansons, DeMask played next – and had the sparse (by comparison with the last 2 weeks) crowd, leaping around. Amy’s voice is getting stronger (she is only 16 and about 2’4” !!) and you can’t fault their playing abilty – its technically spot on – the covers are getting less and their own material is far better live than on MP3. Unfortunately too many late nights and hardly any sleep got the better of me, so it was a garlic chicken madras hot at midnight, tucked up and fast asleep with half an hour.
Also showed Paul Raindown, but he’s still not happy with it, Paul’s looking for less lip-synch and more broad concert shots. Mike Peters phoned me asking about it as well – so I nipped round to his rehearsal rooms and we watched it with tour manager Liam and a loitering Kirk Brandon. They were basically of the same thinking; more ‘great’ shots and less lip-synch. The single comes out in the States next month and they’re going to use the video off the Under Attack DVD as the main promo and use this ‘live’ one for the website.
Mike is off to New York week after next, while I’ll be in Las Vegas, so we’re going to get together in the next few days and do a preliminary for the Gathering video – basically to see how we piece the songs together – it’d be nice if we could do something a bit different rather than your average live video. Yes, the editing I’ve done so far is very different to your standard concert vids (and far better, even if I say so myself), there’s more feeling gone into them – passion, because that’s how I feel about music, that’s how Paul Suths feels as well; so it’ll always be 1000% from 1000 Words! (Marketing campaign being drawn up right now!).
Kirk Brandon is off on a European tour with Spear of Destiny so I gave Liam a copy of PSST’s video ‘Now Is The Time For England’ on the premise that its played on the big screen before the gigs!
Paul and Rob will be finalising the Complete Control Music (CCM) DVD – building a menu, EQ-ing the sound and matting the videos – hopefully on Friday.
Headed to Bar Blu for a Wednesday night of loud music – saw Glyn Bailey open up, even though watching acoustic sets is against my religion, he was ok – me and Ste Sync even clapped after 2 of the songs. Holyhead’s Hansons, DeMask played next – and had the sparse (by comparison with the last 2 weeks) crowd, leaping around. Amy’s voice is getting stronger (she is only 16 and about 2’4” !!) and you can’t fault their playing abilty – its technically spot on – the covers are getting less and their own material is far better live than on MP3. Unfortunately too many late nights and hardly any sleep got the better of me, so it was a garlic chicken madras hot at midnight, tucked up and fast asleep with half an hour.
Monday, May 01, 2006
Hank Bolliday
Got Broadband up and running at Crud Towers so did a 6am radio show! Only cos I woke up at 5.25am with an asthma attack - 1st one this year...
Enjoyed the stuff I played - love that Physicists 'Brad Pitt' song, superb. Love The Racketears, oh just love it all... summer of love coming up, or is it summer of mud? Nah, not for me - well, not at V this year cos I ain't going.
I am however off to Las Vegas in a couple of weeks with Steve Sync - strictly business, not pleasure - we're on a mission to see how much money we can lose.
I made a welcome return to BBC Radio Wales last night - with a new half hour stint on Adam Walton's Show - this time playing new stuff, rather than the retro I was previously doing. New music really excites me! (in a loin-cloth kinda way) - played BLACK BOX THEME, OYSTERBOY, DALE DAVIES and DELTA NINE with at least 2 (maybe 3) of them getting their 1st airplay - and deservedly so.
Felt really good to be back on the radio and Walton and I sounded almost professional (almost).
Did The Alarm single 'Raindown' for the second time after Paul Suths said the first one wasn't up to our high standards. Can take criticism 2 ways - you can sulk, or you can take heed and do better. I took heed and did better - at least I hope so - looks much better now.
Awaiting RACKETEARS tapes to finish the Complete Control showcase - all looking good so far.
Had a final meeting with Homespun over their forthcoming video - we start filming on May 9th.
Also looks like we're filming a 3 day GONG festival in Amsterdam in November... Cosmic...
Enjoyed the stuff I played - love that Physicists 'Brad Pitt' song, superb. Love The Racketears, oh just love it all... summer of love coming up, or is it summer of mud? Nah, not for me - well, not at V this year cos I ain't going.
I am however off to Las Vegas in a couple of weeks with Steve Sync - strictly business, not pleasure - we're on a mission to see how much money we can lose.
I made a welcome return to BBC Radio Wales last night - with a new half hour stint on Adam Walton's Show - this time playing new stuff, rather than the retro I was previously doing. New music really excites me! (in a loin-cloth kinda way) - played BLACK BOX THEME, OYSTERBOY, DALE DAVIES and DELTA NINE with at least 2 (maybe 3) of them getting their 1st airplay - and deservedly so.
Felt really good to be back on the radio and Walton and I sounded almost professional (almost).
Did The Alarm single 'Raindown' for the second time after Paul Suths said the first one wasn't up to our high standards. Can take criticism 2 ways - you can sulk, or you can take heed and do better. I took heed and did better - at least I hope so - looks much better now.
Awaiting RACKETEARS tapes to finish the Complete Control showcase - all looking good so far.
Had a final meeting with Homespun over their forthcoming video - we start filming on May 9th.
Also looks like we're filming a 3 day GONG festival in Amsterdam in November... Cosmic...
Sunday, April 23, 2006
The Week That Was
Had a totally shit week - moved to a two floored apartment (posh word for flat) in Rhyl for not very good reasons so my head has been further up my arse than usual!
Met with Homespun, we're going to be doing a video for their song 'Badman' - filming in 2 weeks.
Mike Peters dropped off a copy of the single mix for 'Raindown' - it's shorter and more to the point than the LP version. I think its going to be a download only single, and The Alarm want a Gathering video of the song and a montage of the forthcoming Gathering DVD.
Nearly finshed 'Rescue Me', but like I said, it's been a hard week.
Started on Portrait of A Lifetime - using them as a tester for the ninja caveman footage we caprtured last year - looks good. Me and Paul also finished editing Tonnica's track for Complete Control Music - didn't use Rob's footage after all - looks great, and really like their approach.
Saw The Affliction at Bar Blu last Wednesday, great set - they've come on well these last few months - the blending of Moo's Kinks outlook on life with Steve and Cumi's Sons of Selina influence has worked well.
Ephesus were ok and Tom's Huge Elevation from France were pretty decent, like a garagey Jesus & Mary Chain - only with 2 female guitarists. Birds are great!
Watched Liverpool do Chelski in the FA Cup semi-final, well, from the comforts of The Swan in Rhyl - I did have a ticket but sold it yesterday morning.
The drinking started at 5pm and we stayed out, heading for The Dudley to see Sonic Boom Six, Juz, Random Hand and Scott Bakers - don't remember much cos I was very very drunk at the time...
Met with Homespun, we're going to be doing a video for their song 'Badman' - filming in 2 weeks.
Mike Peters dropped off a copy of the single mix for 'Raindown' - it's shorter and more to the point than the LP version. I think its going to be a download only single, and The Alarm want a Gathering video of the song and a montage of the forthcoming Gathering DVD.
Nearly finshed 'Rescue Me', but like I said, it's been a hard week.
Started on Portrait of A Lifetime - using them as a tester for the ninja caveman footage we caprtured last year - looks good. Me and Paul also finished editing Tonnica's track for Complete Control Music - didn't use Rob's footage after all - looks great, and really like their approach.
Saw The Affliction at Bar Blu last Wednesday, great set - they've come on well these last few months - the blending of Moo's Kinks outlook on life with Steve and Cumi's Sons of Selina influence has worked well.
Ephesus were ok and Tom's Huge Elevation from France were pretty decent, like a garagey Jesus & Mary Chain - only with 2 female guitarists. Birds are great!
Watched Liverpool do Chelski in the FA Cup semi-final, well, from the comforts of The Swan in Rhyl - I did have a ticket but sold it yesterday morning.
The drinking started at 5pm and we stayed out, heading for The Dudley to see Sonic Boom Six, Juz, Random Hand and Scott Bakers - don't remember much cos I was very very drunk at the time...
Friday, April 14, 2006
Whatso Good About Friday?
Finished Killionaire - did it in black and white - looks good - unusual song 'Gerroff You Monster!' - also finished Iris with their song Breathe - really good stuff - did it in saturated colour to compensate for the lack of any decent lighting at the Conwy gig. Need to do Racketears next, which I'm looking forward to and then grab the High Def stuff off Rob's camera to do Tonnica.
Going to have a Gathering meeting as I'm on song 16 (out of about 40) and think the others should do some as well - it'll make it a bit more interesting also.
Did another radio show - quite enjoyed it. Also had a call off Adam Walton - I start a new slot on his Sunday night show in a couple of weeks - seeking out new talent from the North Wales coast.
Right - need to go now and think about the bassist from the Bitchpups for a short while...
Going to have a Gathering meeting as I'm on song 16 (out of about 40) and think the others should do some as well - it'll make it a bit more interesting also.
Did another radio show - quite enjoyed it. Also had a call off Adam Walton - I start a new slot on his Sunday night show in a couple of weeks - seeking out new talent from the North Wales coast.
Right - need to go now and think about the bassist from the Bitchpups for a short while...
Friday, April 07, 2006
1000 Jobs
Got stuck into the Complete Control Music footage we recorded a coupla weeks ago. Captured the opening song by Tonnica - enjoyed their set when we filmed it, they were like way beyond their years and sounded like the mad bits that Gintis do (the tuneless noisy bits) with a smattering of heroin thrown in for good/bad taste. I would've got stuck into editing it tonight, but Rob accidentally filmed the song in HD (High Definition) and my capturing camera said 'what the fuck is this!' - so I'll have to wait and get Rob's camera round to capture his footage. I did start a title sequence as Rhys (he of Sibrydion) at Complete Control wants the emphasis on NORTH WALES for the showreel DVD. Should have Iris, Killionaire and The Racketears all captured tomorrow.
I've left the PSST editing to Paul Sutherland and Rob, it should be done by the early hours - see! I'm not that stupid! While they're busily chopping away, I'm relaxing with a bottle of wine in one hand and Green Wing on the telly! - Well, that and the fact that the Crudlets aren't very well today, oh, and I've had the 'flu.
The PSST video is looking excellent, the hardest thing is finding footage of Paul Scouse where he doesn't look like a football hooligan! Dean surprisingly looks just plain silly rather than intimidating, and Bob (of Carbon Atom) looks cool. But its the kids that make the video - they look great. Yes there are some ethics involved, when a Scouse connected band are in the last 32 of The Scum's Football Anthems competition, but I suppose it's their money (The Scum's) that PSST would be taking if they won. I hope they do...
Sent a demo edit of Sonic Boom Six to their manager this evening, it was pretty hard to cut down (as will the Complete Control stuff at the same gig) as the venue wasn't really blessed with lights or people! So it'll be a pull out all the stops effort to get that best clip! The demo looks pretty good tho' nice and choppy for that punk/ska Senser type feel the band portray.
Bumped into Tom Scriven (ex Carbonari / Black Swans) at Bar Blu last Wednesday, he was wearing a hat and it wasn't for a good few minutes of chatting away to him that I realised I wasn't talking to Leigh Cox!!!! Alcohol is ace innit....
I've left the PSST editing to Paul Sutherland and Rob, it should be done by the early hours - see! I'm not that stupid! While they're busily chopping away, I'm relaxing with a bottle of wine in one hand and Green Wing on the telly! - Well, that and the fact that the Crudlets aren't very well today, oh, and I've had the 'flu.
The PSST video is looking excellent, the hardest thing is finding footage of Paul Scouse where he doesn't look like a football hooligan! Dean surprisingly looks just plain silly rather than intimidating, and Bob (of Carbon Atom) looks cool. But its the kids that make the video - they look great. Yes there are some ethics involved, when a Scouse connected band are in the last 32 of The Scum's Football Anthems competition, but I suppose it's their money (The Scum's) that PSST would be taking if they won. I hope they do...
Sent a demo edit of Sonic Boom Six to their manager this evening, it was pretty hard to cut down (as will the Complete Control stuff at the same gig) as the venue wasn't really blessed with lights or people! So it'll be a pull out all the stops effort to get that best clip! The demo looks pretty good tho' nice and choppy for that punk/ska Senser type feel the band portray.
Bumped into Tom Scriven (ex Carbonari / Black Swans) at Bar Blu last Wednesday, he was wearing a hat and it wasn't for a good few minutes of chatting away to him that I realised I wasn't talking to Leigh Cox!!!! Alcohol is ace innit....
Sunday, April 02, 2006
Final Cut Slow
Been having problems with video editing this weekend - the program I use (Final Cut Pro) has been running slow and dropping frames on song #14 of The Alarm's Gathering 2006 project I'm working on.
I've tried cleaning out my systems - although not a complete expert on Apple Macs (I use the G5 solely for video editing - the PC is for EVERYTHING else) - it didn't work.
I've tried to create an oldy-worldy effect on the opening this next song and it looks great but the G5 Mac just won't play it - I've reduced the frame rate, the compression - tried to get it to Print To Video - everything, but it won't play back. But a study of t'internet lead me to Larry Jordan's FCP website and it turns out that the program struggles if you're down to your last 15% of space on your hard drive, Mine's a 200GB and I'm down to 30% left - so I guess its time to give ex-GMX Stuns bassist, Steve Buckley some more of my cash and purchase another drive from his shoppe The Computer World in Colwyn Bay.
I've tried cleaning out my systems - although not a complete expert on Apple Macs (I use the G5 solely for video editing - the PC is for EVERYTHING else) - it didn't work.
I've tried to create an oldy-worldy effect on the opening this next song and it looks great but the G5 Mac just won't play it - I've reduced the frame rate, the compression - tried to get it to Print To Video - everything, but it won't play back. But a study of t'internet lead me to Larry Jordan's FCP website and it turns out that the program struggles if you're down to your last 15% of space on your hard drive, Mine's a 200GB and I'm down to 30% left - so I guess its time to give ex-GMX Stuns bassist, Steve Buckley some more of my cash and purchase another drive from his shoppe The Computer World in Colwyn Bay.
Friday, March 31, 2006
Dairy of a madman
Been far too busy to post blogs for nearly a year - it'll all be in my memoirs when I'm dead!
Updated the link2wales site immensly this week - having 'flu does have its advantages!
Did my radio show - started leaving it to every couple of weeks as I found doing it weekly was a chore rather than the fun it should be - so there's no pressure now - if I'm busy it can wait - if I'm not then I'll spring one on you... Not sure how many listeners I get - my figures of people listening in through my http://www.link2wales.co.uk website is about 500 a week - but it can also be heard thru http://www.greendragonradio.com and podcast - so it could be hundreds, thousands or just two more! - Who knows, who cares...
Hard working for 1000 Words Productions on video materials - I'm on The Alarm's Gathering, which we filmed last January - I'm up to song 15 on the Saturday night of the gig (Rescue Me) - all looking pretty good so far - been watching videos of other bands for inspiration, some are very mundane - so I try to add an extra edge to the edits without going over the top. So far so good - even if the G5 Mac is struggling with the latest song as I've piled loadsa filters onto it to try and make it look like an old film.
Paul and Rob have chopped one of Sonic Boom Six's live songs from the gig we filmed last Saturday in Conwy Civic Hall - unfortunately their manager Liam phoned to say they'd like us to do the song 'Your Daddy Was a Punk Rocker' - so we'll have to do that one instead.
The twosome have also made strides on PSST's video, which we filmed the week before SB6 - its their song for England's World Cup (err) dream - you can vote for it on The Sun website http://www.thesun.co.uk/anthems (DO IT NOW!).
Also got Tonnica, Iris, Killionaire and The Racketears to do videos for - its all filmed, just gotta get PSST and SB6 out of the way first - should be good fun.
Updated the link2wales site immensly this week - having 'flu does have its advantages!
Did my radio show - started leaving it to every couple of weeks as I found doing it weekly was a chore rather than the fun it should be - so there's no pressure now - if I'm busy it can wait - if I'm not then I'll spring one on you... Not sure how many listeners I get - my figures of people listening in through my http://www.link2wales.co.uk website is about 500 a week - but it can also be heard thru http://www.greendragonradio.com and podcast - so it could be hundreds, thousands or just two more! - Who knows, who cares...
Hard working for 1000 Words Productions on video materials - I'm on The Alarm's Gathering, which we filmed last January - I'm up to song 15 on the Saturday night of the gig (Rescue Me) - all looking pretty good so far - been watching videos of other bands for inspiration, some are very mundane - so I try to add an extra edge to the edits without going over the top. So far so good - even if the G5 Mac is struggling with the latest song as I've piled loadsa filters onto it to try and make it look like an old film.
Paul and Rob have chopped one of Sonic Boom Six's live songs from the gig we filmed last Saturday in Conwy Civic Hall - unfortunately their manager Liam phoned to say they'd like us to do the song 'Your Daddy Was a Punk Rocker' - so we'll have to do that one instead.
The twosome have also made strides on PSST's video, which we filmed the week before SB6 - its their song for England's World Cup (err) dream - you can vote for it on The Sun website http://www.thesun.co.uk/anthems (DO IT NOW!).
Also got Tonnica, Iris, Killionaire and The Racketears to do videos for - its all filmed, just gotta get PSST and SB6 out of the way first - should be good fun.
Sunday, August 21, 2005
V Festival 2005 – A Stag Weekend in a Field
“Sorry, but I’m absolutely cunted.”
So began V Festival 2005, with Andy Fatman accidentally phoning his mother instead of his wife-to-be and announcing his condition in the most Fatman way possible. She might not have known what the word meant, but she knew exactly what he was. And fair play – Fatman had every right to be ruined. Virgin’s Branson Regime had thoughtfully organised this year’s V as his stag do (or maybe it was to rake in £18 million in gate receipts). Either way, it worked.
We descended en masse: myself (Neil Crud), The Secretary, Steve Sync, Fairziff, Trevski, Jules, Stack, Pauline, Will, Pippa, Gaz, Jess, Richard, Joyce, Graham, Linda, Gareth, and a few more who melted into the blur. Arriving early Friday, Fatman upset the neighbours by claiming an oak tree as his own and shifting a few tents to establish “The Stag Tree Village.” Stack’s chemical toilet spared the ladies the horrors of festival latrines, while Fatman stocked up on his annual Imodium-and-bananas diet to avoid shitting until midweek.
Friday Night – Cans, Barriers, and Volvic Branding
Friday night is for drinking, not bands. By 3pm our 48-cans-each strategy was in full swing. The V rules forbid booze in the arena, but Andy Fatman was determined to cheat the system. His first attempt went spectacularly wrong: stumbling in his “cunted state,” he brought down an entire barrier and exposed his contraband to security, who pounced screaming, “He’s got cans!” No shame in that – but every other time he sauntered through, sometimes with ten Carlings stashed about his person. Legend.
Inside, we hit the corporate-branded Volvic Tent (remember when festivals weren’t full of bottled-water sponsorship?). A few years earlier it would’ve been all hoodies, whistles, and thumping house, but 2005 was the year guitars reclaimed the dancefloor. Instead of “bang bang bang,” we had 5,000 voices belting I Predict A Riot and Roll With It. Indie was king. House was dead.
Saturday – Bands, Booze, and Prodigy Firestarters
Stag weekend rules dictate: wake up hungover, crack open a can at 6am, repeat. By Carling No.4, Fatman was crafting a cardboard drumkit for Gaz while boasting he had “red wine, wet wipes, and Rohypnol in case he got lucky” (Abi Titmuss being his highly questionable target).
Musically, we swerved the main stage (“Rooster can suck my corporate cock,” declared Fatman) and made for the Channel 4 tent. No Hope For New Jersey claimed to be the saviours of rock ’n’ roll – perhaps a touch optimistic. El Presidente followed, and their Bryan Ferry–styled frontman and infectious glam-funk hooks had the tent bouncing. A surprise highlight.
The Frames provided a lull – my notes from then include gems like “Andy needs a wank on his own shit” and “Old women’s witch tits.” Blame the cider. The Ordinary Boys passed me out completely, though Fatman thought they were “fucking ace.”
The night belonged to The Prodigy. Tens of thousands packed in for Keith Flint’s return. Firestarter lit up with a flare in the crowd, and the whole field convulsed. Punk energy fully restored.
Sunday – From Goldie Looking Chain to Oasis (Yawn)
The Stands opened Sunday with a typical Scouse Zanzibar sound – all Beatles echoes and Zutons cameos. Then came Goldie Looking Chain, safe-as-fuck dole wallers from South Wales, shouting about “No Win No Fee” and batter-based sexcapades. Comedy genius.
Elsewhere, Good Charlotte tried their best – Sync thought they were “a breath of fresh air” before revising his opinion to “spleen-churningly average.” The Bravery split the camp (“Duran Duran from New York” vs. “total ROCK show”), while Kaiser Chiefs proved why I Predict A Riot was the anthem of the year.
By contrast, The Streets fell flat (“a poor man’s Goldie Looking Chain”), and when Oasis ambled onstage, even Cigarettes & Alcohol couldn’t hide the fact that the Gallaghers looked bored stiff. We bailed for The Chemical Brothers – impressive beats, but watching two blokes press play hardly screamed “live.”
True salvation came in the form of Robert Plant, striding through Gallows Pole like the legend he is. A brief, glorious moment of history amidst the corporate indie gloss.
Mud, Piss, and Stag-Do Glory
As the heavens opened, washing 60,000 gallons of accumulated piss across the site, even our mighty oak tree surrendered. Tents collapsed, cans floated, and we drowned in lager, mud, and laughter.
V Festival 2005 was bloated, oversold, and corporate as hell. But it was also a stag do, a reunion, a drunken circus of smuggled Carling and rock ’n’ roll chaos. Fatman wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)