ISSUE 12

SECOND SCENE

JOSIE COTTON DJ GEORGY GIRL RODNEY BINGENHEIMER PAMELA DES BARRES

ISSUE 12

TESS PARKS

FRANCIS MACDONALD (TEENAGE FANCLUB) MORNINGFACE PRINCESS NOSTALGIA PURPLE HEART PARADE TONY FLETCHER PAT TODD & THE RANKOUTSIDERS THE UKRAINIANS SILVER OWLS SOME DIE NAMELESS TONY VALENTINO LONDON PLANE WEIMAR REVOLUTION ABOVE DISORDER BOLT DREG DONOVAN’S BRAIN JEANNE ADKINS PETER DE DEUGD

FLOWERS OF HELL MOTOKO TACHIKAWA LIMOUSINE BEACH THE CHEMISTRY SET

SECOND SCENE Thank you: Bob McCutcheon, The Vault, Dave Pursh, Glenn Sebastian. Print Tech, Anthony ‘Rocky’ Lamonde, Rick Radvansky, Judy Rosenfeld, Eric Wisiewski, The Electric Crush, Bolt Dreg, Shauna McLarnon, Shameless Promotions PR, Gregg & Barbara Kostelich, Get Hip, Jordan Diggle, Happy Daze, Steven Boone, Nether Street Radio, Trish Culbertson and Cynthia Bradbury Writers. Dug Moore, Cindy Smith, Tom Sobilo, Dave Franklin, Mike Rogers and Pytr Baum.

Editor-in-Chief: Tim Thomas secondscenemagazine@gmail.com

Front cover: Brittany Lucas

THE CHEMISTRY SET

Photo: Chris Coulter

The Chemistry Set returns! Second Scene talks with Dave Maclean about the new album Pink Felt Trip.

It’s been about a year since the Second Scene spoke with you, Dave, about The Chemistry Set. How have you been? What have you been up to, whether with The Chemistry Set or otherwise?

Well, we were preparing for some festivals, but they got canceled, so it was time to knuckle down and work on a new album (see below).

You have a new album set for release. What can we expect from the latest album, Pink Felt Trip?

It’s funny, I played a track to a good friend of mine, and once he finished listening, I asked him what he could hear, what influences, etc., and he said, “it sounds like the chemistry set.” Which is probably the nicest thing anyone could say. So yes, it sounds like the chemistry set, but you know that the chemistry set’s musical world encompasses many different genres and styles.

For example, you have the title track “Pink Felt Trip,” that is a deranged amalgamation of “safe as milk” era Captain Beefheart, “Freak Out” era Frank Zappa and The Red Krayola. The song is interesting musically as the guitars are all tuned down to the lowest possible modal setting, and that gives you a fuller, fatter sound.

Paul played elastic band bass like Jerry Handley out of Captain Beefheart, and we both took turns to do lysergic John Lee Hooker licks You have “Psychotronic Man ‘’ that is a tribute to a late friend of ours, Steve Lines, who was a musician and artist. The song is full of modal 12 string acoustics, dulcimers, and ethereal vocals but then goes into full form freak out and then back to the gentleness but with a surprise at the end. Also, we got a chance to do some “ham” acting as many of Steve’s artworks were for comics a la “weird tales” with monsters and professors We also have a trilogy (Self-expression trinity) that closes the album. The first part is “Cesar Manrique” and is a tribute to the Spanish surrealist artist and sculptor, who single-handedly saved the island of Lanzarote from the mass concrete tourism of the other canary islands. He did this by getting the people on his side, and eventually, the government not only backed him but implemented laws that are still in place today to protect the beautiful island. This is an instrumental and very heavy on mellotrons and symphonic instruments. Think Moody Blues 67/68.

The second part is “Once Upon A Time,” which is about the current trend for not allowing self-expression. The final part, “Liberation,” is about releasing the shackles, following your dreams, expressing yourself, and enjoying life. The second and third parts musically are classic Chemistry Set ( a la melody/harmony/riffs etc.

The artwork is amazing and was done by a Swedish designer called Robin Gnista. He has designed artwork for The Black Angels, Television, and Levitation Festival. We spoke about our love of Victor Moscoso (1960’s Psychedelic concert poster artist) for the front cover (full neon colours), and we wanted the back cover in black and white. He has delivered the best art we have ever had.

Tell us about the writing process and how you approached the recording of Pink Felt Trip?

Well, we were in the middle of the lockdown, so we couldn’t go into practice studios, so I went to Paul’s house every weekend for about three months. It was cathartic and was the remedy for the lockdown. Even though we normally write songs separately, we always contribute lots of ideas and changes to each other’s songs, but this time it went even further. We co-wrote the title track and the trilogy. By the end of 3 months, we knew every note and harmony, so we were ready when we went to the recording studio How do you compare Pink Felt Trip to previous releases?

It’s our top of the pops, our best album to date. We think it dovetails nicely with “The Endless More and More.” It takes off where “The Endless More and More” ended but goes further (copyright Ken Kesey) Will there be live dates to follow?

Well, this year is our 35th anniversary, and Pink Felt Trip will be our 61st release, so we will try and do a special concert. Talking about something special, we are doing gum, postcards of various cover art, autographed artwork, and posters of the artwork.

Thank you, Dave, for talking with the Second Scene. It’s always a pleasure—all the best to you and The Chemistry Set. Thank you for inviting us again to this fine publication. Good Vibrations to everyone.

Meet WEIMAR: Frontman Aidan Cross reveals all about the Manchester indie rockers The Girls of L.A. is already one of my favorite singles of the year, as a teaser for the album to come, what can we expect...more of the same or lots of surprises?

Thanks, I’m happy you enjoyed the single. The album will be very different from the single, which is why we kept the single separate from the album.

It would not have worked in the context of the album. The album is much more baroque in feel, but there’s a wide diversity of styles on there. It should surprise a lot of listeners - it takes the listener on an unpredictable journey through the world of Weimar.

Art-rock, post-punk, angular indie, accessible garage rock. How would you describe your sound?

came on board after answering an online ad for a drummer. Together, we spent the best part of a year practicing together and forming our sound before venturing onto the live circuit. Stephen, our second guitarist, and I go back some years as he previously played bass in The Bacillus, my first band. He came on board with Weimar when we needed a second guitarist on our album.

The ability to share stages with both Inspiral Carpets’ Tom Hingley and goth legends Skeletal Family says a lot about the band. Do you think it means that you can fit in anywhere or that you are too eclectic to belong to a scene?

Likewise, German Shepherd Records have been a tremendous source of support since we started out, they have backed us and believed in us with their love for avant-garde music, and we’re very thankful for all they’ve done in supporting us and pushing our music out there.

How important do you think it is that bands have something to say, or is it good enough just to entertain?

I think it means both. We definitely don’t aspire to be part of any ‘scene.’ Our influences are from all over the place, so our sound is eclectic enough that we could fit well alongside a pretty diverse range of artists.

Is your tribute to the “girls” one that comes from first-hand experience?

All of the above factor into our sound in some way. We usually describe ourselves as Art Rock as it works as a kind of umbrella term to encompass the diversity of our sound, but there’s a lot in there, bits of avant-garde jazz, bits of cabaret, bits of prog rock, Gothic Rock, you name it. There’s no single category that neatly sums up our sound. It’s just the sound of Weimar.

Partly, on my last visit to LA, I got chatting to a few ladies who worked bottle-service shifts in the bars.

Sometime later, I read an article about the secret lives of the bottle-service girls and how they work to use the tips from punters to finance their wider career aspirations, so “The Girls Of LA” was written as an ode to them and a celebration of their business prestige.

Can you tell me a bit about how the band came together and the various musical paths the members took to get here?

Especially given the absence of a live scene for the duration of the lockdown waves, many bands have found it challenging to promote themselves and their music, but I see you’ve got a team to support you at this time. How is everything going in the lead-up to your album release?

The seeds of Weimar were sown in an experimental project I was part of called The Bus Pass, a psychedelic improvisational trio with Johann Kloos (Weimar’s original guitarist) and local drum legend Brian Benson. The Bus Pass played a few live shows around 2013-14, after the dissolution of my previous band, The Bacillus.

We were a fully improvisational act that played spontaneous jams. After a while, we felt we wanted to form some more concrete songs from the jams, so Johann and I began developing new songs together. In the meantime, I had met John, our bassist, at a Manchester Music Industry Networking Event where he was representing his band, The Speed of Sound. We immediately got on well, and he offered his services on bass, so he came on board, and the songs that would become fixtures in Weimar’s repertoire slowly began to take shape. Then Eddy, our drummer,

gives it her all and has put in so much extra time to get the music out there; we owe a great deal to her hard work.

It’s not an easy time for the live performance circuit in general, as the pandemic is far from over. We never have any idea what could be right around the corner, so live music events are risky right now. To be on the safe side, we’ve chosen to abstain from live performance for the time being. So it was very important to us that we got together a good P.R. team to support us with the releases of our new material and get it heard worldwide. Shauna from Shameless Promotion PR has been absolutely amazing to work with; she has incredible reach within the music industry. She

I’ve always liked songs to carry a deep meaning; the history of Rock and Pop Music is full of simple, catchy tunes that have surprisingly deep and thought-provoking lyrics when you really pay attention. That said, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with bands and artists who just want to entertain. As long as their music has a positive and enriching effect on their fans, that’s all that’s really necessary.

Where next for Weimar, both in support of the album and in the longer term?

As we won’t be playing live for the foreseeable future, we’ll be releasing a series of promo videos to accompany the album and treating it as a sort of Gesamkunstwerk, enabling people to enjoy it in visual form as well as audio. There could well be a few more surprises on that front as well. Once the main P.R. has been done for this album, we’ll be going back into the studio to lay the groundwork for a second album. I wrote a lot of new material during the Covid-19 lockdowns and have surprised even myself with the new directions a lot of it is going in. So it’ll be an exciting process to begin work on the second album.

WEIMAR

Interview: Dave Franklin Photo: Zac Gale

Revolution Above Disorder

I listened to it. Being the clever clogs that he is, Colm (AKA Noise Baby) first did a faithful mix of the track itself as an exercise into getting to the root of what it was that made the track tick. Having done this, he could come at the remix from a place of complete understanding. His remix is quite dark and druggy, and I feel it conveys the weight of the lyrical content in a more direct way than on the original. His remix very much feels like Berlin to me, which is where he is based. It feels like the sort of thing you’d hear somewhere in deepest darkest Berlin at 4 am just when you needed to kick things into another gear.

The Jagz Kooner remix surprised me insofar as I wasn’t expecting that dynamic arc from sunkissed psychedelia to vintage kosmische and then to big beat. When the beat dropped after the break, I actually could hardly believe that it was my vocal over top. Hearing my vocals and lyrics over top of those ferocious signature Jagz Kooner beats was a trippy and beautiful experience. It was quite overwhelming at first, actually.

Q6: You’ve been in bands. You’ve worked as a solo creator. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

Revolution Above Disorder: A Chat with Stephen Nicholas White Q1: It is fair to say that you have an impressive CV - The Orange Kyte, House of Dolls, Magic Shoppe, among others. What does this new venture hope to add to that list of achievements?

I see Revolution Above Disorder as the natural next step from all of the above, really. It’s like the culmination of all those experiences and all that I’ve learned along the way, with the network of connections and resources that I’ve gained from those projects integrated into something a little more focused and high-fidelity, with a well-defined aesthetic and with less inclination towards the lo-fi or compromise.

Also underpinning this project is a sense of unfinished business I feel about past projects. One, in particular, being a heavily electronic-based project that never achieved its potential as I was too young and chaotic to execute it with the discipline it required. Actually, a lot of the songs that will be released under the Revolution Above Disorder moniker were ideas for previous projects that went by the wayside due to focus and discipline issues. I think there’s a personal mission underlying all of this, with the objective being to right some wrongs.

Q2: As a Dubliner relocated to Vancouver, what do you see as the pros and cons of each city to a musician like yourself?

It’s been ten years since I’ve lived in Dublin, but it’s generally always been a pretty great place to be a musician. Dubliners are very proud and enthusiastic as musicians, audiences, and music consumers. I see Dublin as having a very above-ground and visible music scene generally, whereas the Vancouver scene revealed itself slowly to me over time. With Vancouver, it’s always felt like more of an underground thing. Vancouver is geographically placed so perfectly for just the kinds of people who really don’t care a whole lot about things like independent music scenes.

Its beaches, forests, and mountains make it very much ‘Prime Real Estate,’ so it feels like a constant war of attrition between the artists on one side and the developers and the rich hifalutin philistines on the other. As exhausting as it can be, that war does, however, yield some pretty great results, artistically speaking.

There is major similarity between the two insofar

as each of them are somewhat cut off from major touring markets. Dublin because it exists on an island, and Vancouver because of its somewhat isolated position on the west coast of Canada, coupled with the fact that to tour the US requires overcoming a ton of very expensive bureaucracy.

Q3: Annihilator was recorded at the height of Covid lockdowns and isolation. Were its themes - dissatisfaction, disillusion, nihilism, and selfdestruction - a direct result of that, or are you generally exploring the human condition in your music?

No - those lyrics were written a number of years back when I lived in Dublin as I was writing the song for the second House of Dolls record, which ultimately never materialized. The lyrics were more of an exploration into a certain element of the human condition, which was very relevant to me personally at the time. But while revisiting it during Covid and all the associated socio-political disarray that was going on in the world at the time, I felt like the lyrics became imbued with a fresh dose of relevance.

Q4: There is quite a blend of sounds in your music, from punk to trip-hop to krautrock to shoegaze.

How do you find your sound on each song, or does the sound find you?

The sound just emerges from song to song. I listen to a broad range of music constantly, and I write very unconsciously at first. Then once I realize there’s a song worth pursuing there, that’s when I’ll assess which realm it occupies. Sometimes for the sake of a writing exercise, I’ll document the song as it flowed naturally, only to then consciously revise it in a different style. Kind of like, ‘hey, this garage-psych track would sound cool slowed right down, with a sparser drum beat and the instrumentation dubbed out more,’ or something to that effect.

Q5: Annihilator comes with two cracking remixes, were you surprised where your guest remixers took your original song?

The remixes by Jagz Kooner and Noise Baby are absolutely dynamite, and I love the spectrum of sound that’s covered over the course of the 15 minutes of the overall release.

The Noise Baby remix was the first of the two remixes I got back, and it was like 7 am on a Saturday morning, and I’d just woken up when

With bands, it can be a ton of fun, as it’s inherently very social. It’s very rewarding to grow closer to your friends in your band as you go through the successes and failures of life in a band together.

And you get to make music and have something to show for your time hanging out and making each other laugh. It’s much more ‘fun’ than a solo project, but I’ve always found that I struggle with the compromise needed when working as a band. Finding the right combination of personalities with the same level of drive is like the holy grail, and it’s an amazing thing when you see a band that has just that winning formula. With the solo thing, it feels very personal and purposeful. It’s like something I’ve built that’s my own, a universe I get to occupy and nerd out on. It doesn’t require the slow decision-making process that comes with depending on 4-5 other humans. I do get to have the best of both worlds to a degree, though, as I get to put together the live band as needed from show to show. Also, as a bass player for Magic Shoppe, I get to experience the hired-gun touring life, and that’s always an absolute blast.

Q7: I see you’ve got a team to support your music.

What’s it like to be working with Jason Corbett at Jacknife Sound and Mark Gardener’s OX4 Sound studio now?

Yeah, it’s really cool to have people I trust around me as I navigate this project without bandmates to bounce things off constantly. It makes things easier to have that infrastructure around me, and things feel pretty streamlined and stress-free.

Also, I get held accountable for deadlines and all that good stuff. In fact, Shauna from Shameless Promotion PR encouraged me to put out ‘Scream Quietly’ as my second single, and for that, I’m very grateful. She helped me see its merit as a single and talked me out of my hesitations around releasing a cover song. At the time, I was recovering from pretty severe injuries after an accident. It looked like the whole project was on hold, but putting out Scream Quietly really bridged the gap, and I’m now very thankful that it’s out there.

Q8: Where next for Revolution Above Disorder?

Next up is the recording of a 5-track EP for release in the Fall, some local support shows, and then the first headline show, which I’m really excited about.

Fall will bring the EP release with a tour in support of it. All of this will be followed by the recording of the LP by end of the year. I’m also touring Europe in November with Magic Shoppe, with the Asteroid#4, so good times ahead!

Interview: Dave Franklin Photo: Annalisa Longhoria

Francis Macdonald Interview: Indie Cindy

Francis Macdonald is a classical composer nominated for a BAFTA-Scotland award and is best known as the drummer with Teenage Fanclub.

He has also worked with many great artists, from Edwyn Collins to Ian McCulloch to Alex Chilton, and currently manages the band Camera Obscura. Today, Second Scene discusses Francis’s influences, his diverse career, and his plans for the future.

Like Manchester and Liverpool, Glasgow is regarded as places where music has been strongly influenced by the industrial landscapes and socio-economics of the cities. Growing up in Glasgow, was it a place that personally influenced the style or content of your music?

Francis: I grew up in the Uddingston, a few miles outside Glasgow. I don’t really know how Glasgow influenced me because I have nothing to compare it to. I suppose being a big city, Glasgow was on the touring circuit, and my brother and elder sisters took me to gigs when I was pretty young: The Police, Stiff Little Fingers, Dexy’s Midnight Runners. And when I was older, big cities mean big music scenes, so I suppose there were different groups influencing each other.

When Teenage Fanclub released their debut album “A Catholic Education” in 1990, it was a time when the Madchester scene was in full swing, My Bloody Valentine was pioneering shoegaze, and American bands such as Pixies, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr, The Breeders, and Pavement were gaining popularity and collectively were helping define the indie scenes, paving the way for a new decade of alternative rock. In the midst of all the excitement, was there a particular music scene you felt part of, gravitated towards, or could relate to on a musical level?

Francis: I didn’t personally feel part of a music scene. I didn’t really understand ‘indie music.’ I was invited to play with BMX Bandits and The Boy Hairdressers by Joe McAlinden because he knew I played drums. (We both played in the Motherwell District Concert Band - a wind band for school-

Photo: Niall Webster

age kids.) I was a bit younger than everyone else and quite perplexed by all the musical references they shared. When I was in The Boy Hairdressers with Norman and Raymond, we released one single on 53rd & 3rd Records. When Norman and Raymond were preparing to record what turned out to be A Catholic Education, they asked me to drum. We rehearsed, and I really just spent one day in the studio. I didn’t do any gigs. Later they re-recorded and remixed some of the tracks including Everything Flows - with Brendan O’Hare drumming. I think I play on seven songs out of 11.

I didn’t have any profound thoughts about the album at the time. I thought it would be groovy to have CD that I played on. Although I didn’t stay with the group, there was no big falling out.

In 2000 Norman called me up and said, “How do you fancy coming to Japan?” I said, “yes,” and I have been saying “yes” ever since.

To me, A Catholic Education was an album that was ahead of its time as not only did it capture the murky depths of the emerging grunge, but it signaled a new wave of powerpop that leaned towards the paisley underground, that arguably shaped the sound of Britpop. Were you aware of the growing sounds around you, and did you realize at the time that the album would be a rudimentary hybrid of so many budding music scenes?

Francis: I didn’t really have a handle on what was going on. Like I say, I was a bit young. I suppose Dinosaur Jr. and Neil Young, among others, were musical influences at the time. I always thought of Everything Flows as being Norman’s Powderfinger.

Everything is influenced by everything else, and so it goes.

You have had such an interesting musical career, playing the drums in Teenage Fanclub and being an accomplished classical composer. I imagine composing your classical music triggers involuntary emotional reactions, which fuel your creativity and may involve a period of creative incubation. Is there a particular method you use when composing your classical music, and

how does it differ when creating your drumming Photo: Niall Webster arrangements?

Francis: When I write for classical musicians, I am trying to push myself to create something that some people might want to listen to. It’s quite liberating writing music for an instrument that you don’t play. When a great player brings that music to life for you – it’s a wonderful, magical experience. I don’t know whether it is classical music or not. I am not classically trained. But my composing is certainly influenced by tonal classical and neo-classical music. I suppose there is a broad parallel with drumming; I am expressing myself but hopefully in a way that is sympathetic to the song. And rhythm can be an important element in some of my compositions. “Playful,” the opening track of Music For String Quartet Piano And Celeste, is really propelled by the percussive, rhythmic piano part.

Do you have a particular period of classical music that has inspired you the most or one which you prefer as a listener?

Francis: Not really. I am a bit of a magpie. I listen to a jumble of things: John Tavener, Shostakovich, Chopin, Debussy, George Crumb, etc., etc. the more I discover, the less I know. Specific composers made me feel that maybe I could dip my own toes in the water: mainly Ludovico Einaudi, Philip Glass, and another self-taught Scottish composer who writes for film/TV: Malcolm Lindsay. I would say I am less musically influenced

by Malcolm, but I admired him in that he wasn’t inhibited by not being a classically trained composer. Sometimes I will describe myself as a classically untrained composer.

Who is your favorite classical composer, and do you have a favorite piece or score?

Francis: If push comes to shove, Morricone’s soundtrack to Cinema Paradiso.

Do you think classical music is more emotionally driven than any other genre, or do you think that

any skilled musician/composer from any genre can create music that taps into the memory centers of our brain, neuropathways to create music that ultimately creates a synesthetic experience? You have created many classical pieces/scores for TV programs, radio, and TV adverts, which really does showcase your exemplary talent as a musician. One of my particular favorites is “In June - Jamiel Laurence,” which is simultaneously melancholic and uplifting.

It’s those piano tinkles and orchestral sweeps that somehow create sonic stills that tell a story while offering a pensive portal. From children’s TV to serious documentaries to education programs, your work is so versatile. It evokes such a range of emotions mood-changing elements that conjure up imagery and really does capture the sentiments of the subject and motif.

You released your classical album “Music for String Quartet, Piano & Celeste,” featuring musicians from the renowned Scottish Ensemble in 2015, which received rave reviews and reaffirmed your success as a crossover musician. It’s an impressive album, with the track “September Weekend” being a favorite. It’s music that taps into those wistful moments in our lives, a place of reflection, solitude, and also dark romanticism. It’s like the missing link that levitates from the same lineage as Morricone and Danny Elfman while remaining original and captivating. As a lover of classical music, I can’t praise the album enough and its abstract poetry that provides a gateway into our souls. Was there a particular concept for the album, and stylistically how would you describe the album?

Francis: Very kind. I was definitely daring myself to record for classical musicians. I was trying to write broadly ‘filmic’ music. I settled on a palette that was manageable: I would play piano and a celeste hired from a local orchestra, and I would write for 4 x string players: more realistic than trying to hire a 60-piece orchestra. The Scottish Ensemble players were brilliant. They were respectful of the music, and I was delighted with how they realized it. Within that collection of sounds, I was trying to write music that fitted together somehow. I suppose that was the overall concept: tonal music for a specific group of instruments.

The Teenage Fanclub’s latest album, “Endless Arcade,” released in April 2021, is the first album not to include Gerry Love, who left the band in 2018. It’s an album that stays true to the lo-fi, alt-country/blues, garage, neo-psych roots of Teenage Fanclub while offering a new emotional perspective. Lyrically, the album is raw, melodic,

Francis: It’s really for other people to assess Teenage Fanclub. I think throughout the band’s history. The songwriters have tried to write good songs. Hardly an earth-shattering revelation, but that is the clearest way I can think of to describe their consistent ethos. I do think Norman’s lyrics, in particular, brought a lot of emotion to the surface on this album.

Teenage Fanclub are back on tour after a two-year covid hiatus, starting in the UK in April 2022 and then touring overseas to places such as Denmark and Germany. Have the recent restrictions impacted your creativity as a band, or did it give you a new perspective to be inspired by?

Francis: I think along with a lot of musicians, it made us keen to get back to playing. It certainly made me appreciate more than ever being part of the group and sharing the live experience.

Realizing what was lost while hoping it was not lost forever. Gigs aside, touring is a great way to see some new places. In recent years I have tried to visit art galleries, looking for inspirational raw material for writing new music.

I imagine it’s quite difficult juggling both your classical music, drumming with Teenage Fanclub, and managing Camera Obscura. What are you working on at the moment, and do you have any other musical projects in the pipeline?

Francis: Recently, I have been writing music for a quiz show pilot and also a powerful documentary to do with Afghanistan. I am stockpiling musical ideas for another album of my own music - and looking forward to Teenage Fanclub’s next shows. I have also started buying pencils and sketchbooks and had a go at drawing. I find it relaxing and fun. Sometimes I’m glad to create something, even if it’s just for my own amusement.

I love the fact that you are now sketching and drawing! Igor Stravinsky composed The Rite of Spring, using the artistic expression and rhythmic structure of Cubism. Would you ever consider creating art that uses the same rhythmic structure as your music?

Francis: That’s something to think about. In my experience, different art forms can affect and influence each other. If you go to The Lowry gallery in Salford, most weekdays, they pipe in a short piece of orchestral music that I wrote in response to Lowry and his art. It’s not a ‘tone poem’ - it’s not a musical description of the artist or his art. I don’t think anyone could hear it void of context, and guess what inspired it. But the

Photo: David Boni

Francis: I think instrumental music leaves room for imagination in a different way from songs. That piece was written for piano and string quartet, and it’s called “20 Sep”. I was probably just looking for a placeholder name, and that was the date.

So – fairly abstract. But the choreographer Jamiel Laurence was able to take it and tell a story with it in a way that was a revelation to me.

and bittersweet without being overly saturated in sorrow. It is typically melancholic but is lifted by the happy-go-lucky jangly riffs and powerpop harmonies that created a brotherhood of solidarity. Do you think that the low-key, modest, cool reserve and steadfast approach to making music has been the secret of Teenage Fanclub’s appeal and longevity as a band?

music was written in response to his art. That music wouldn’t exist but for Lowry. So I am interested in how other kinds of art can inform a piece of music that I may write.

You have worked with many artists that include Kevin Ayers, Ian Mac Culloch, Edwyn Collins, Kim Fowley, Robert Forster, Dan Penn, Alex Chilton, John Herald, Chip Taylor, Ben Vaughn, Laura Cantrell, Kate Rusby, Belle & Sebastian, Looper, Future Pilot A.K.A., The Hermit Crabs, The Pastels, Radio Sweethearts, Dan Penn, Max Richter, Michael Shelley, Cheeky Monkey, Frank Blake, Speeder, Astro Chimp, BMX Bandits, Attic Lights, and Harry Pye. Are there any artists or bands out there that you would love to collaborate with in the future?

Francis: If Bob Dylan wants to jam, I could be persuaded.

Coincidentally, the orchestral production, “The Times They Are A-Changin’. The Words and Music of Bob Dylan”, composed by Steve Hackman and accompanied by a Symphony Chorus and Orchestra, has received rave reviews in the US. Would you ever consider a similar music path, venturing into musical theatre and reworking, or remixing rock songs with classical compositions?

Francis: I’m not sure that’s for me. I could see myself ending up with something that falls between two stalls and no one likes.

LONDON PLANE Just as a bit of background, can you tell me how the band came together, and is it true that both the late Lou Reed and The Psychedelic Furs had a part to play? Can you tell us about your back story?

Yes, I guess in a peripheral way, and with the smallest of “p’s,” Lou Reed played a part. About the time that he died - nearly ten years ago now, I think - I had begun writing songs with the idea that someone other than myself would sing them. They were pop songs, a bit more saccharin-ey and less theatrical than what I usually write. I had it in my mind that the songs should sound a bit like The Ronettes had they been formed in 2015 instead of 1965. After Lou Reed died, my friend Joe McGinty who played keys in Psychedelic Furs, asked me to sing a song for a tribute show that he was putting together, and that’s where I met Jessica, who was also singing. I had heard her sing a couple of times before, and I thought her voice was a bit Ronnieesque. So I strung together a few songs informed by the entries of a diary I found laying amongst some trash on a Lower East Side sidewalk. It was leather-bound, and it caught my eye just enough that I stopped to investigate. It was a young woman’s diary from the early 80s, full of drama and angst, and it informed a lot of the material on that album. I put a band together intending to do a one-off, and the result was 2018’s New York Howl.

London Plane wasn’t meant to be much more than a project serving that group of songs, but then we started writing as a group, I started singing again, and everything changed. We went from a pop band with a few good hooks and a good back-story to something far more determined and, I think, meaningful.

Q2: Having recently reviewed Watch That Madman Go, it is clear that you are a band with something to say. What themes and messages are you trying to discuss through your music?

It’s more of a cathartic thing than a predetermined mandate that certain songs have to deal with the experience of living and falling in love and dying in these troubled times. I find myself rejecting songwriters who are writing inward-looking, self-involved, self-aggrandizing, and otherwise shallow material. While villains are continuing their ascension politically and culturally, and totalitarianism is sweeping across the planet, maybe it’s not the best time to write ten more songs about breaking up with your fucking boyfriend. Or do, I don’t care, but there’s a lot more to say about the human condition, and that’s where my pen goes when I put lyrics to music.

I can hear some wonderfully British bands running through your sound - The Banshees, Bauhaus, and the glorious Shriekback, to name a few. What influences would you say inform your music?

Given the themes that we’re approaching lyrically, we naturally gravitated toward a darker, more rhythm-oriented sound. The songs needed to sound dangerous and spirited if we were to get across some of the more complicated and ultimately barbed and politically-tinged messages.

But we don’t set out to sound like any one band or fit into any genre in particular. And I don’t think we do – the bass guitar is awfully funky and disco-ey sometimes, isn’t it? Not very goth, that.

All that said, my first concert was Peter Murphy, in fact, so I’m sure that seeing him in his prime informed everything that was to come for me as a songwriter. And funny enough, I only discovered Shriekback after we had finished writing the

Interview: Dave Franklin

album. But I can definitely see how we might be considered disciples of sorts. Bowie, of course, is unavoidable and runs through everything, subconsciously or not. Reggae artists like Linton Kwesi Johnson and Culture really set me off in a mood to write. There’s no lying in that music.

Above all of that, Scott Walker is probably the patron saint of London Plane.

And your band name is interesting. Is there a story behind it, or is it just a case of trying to find a cool name, which it definitely is?

Thanks for saying so. London Plane trees are known as New York City’s street trees. You can find them all over town, but especially on dense, hightrafficked, dirty urban streets where they might take a beating. That is their specialty, in fact, taking a beating. And they don’t exist in nature as they’re actually a hybrid between two kinds of sycamores. So they act as these semi-synthetic, durable lungs-of-the-city in an otherwise choking environment. And they’re tall, pale, and ghostly.

In a rather tongue-in-cheek way, I thought that the band shared a lot of these qualities, thus the name.

Especially given the absence of a live scene for the duration of the lockdown waves, many bands have found it challenging to promote themselves and their music, but I see you’ve got a team to support you at this time. What’s it like to be working with Declared Goods and Shameless Promotion PR for this new album?

It’s a group effort for sure. How to cut through the dross? I don’t think anyone really has the code.

But Greg Vegas of Declared Goods and I set out to find some synergy, and I think we have. And Shauna from Shameless PR really gets the music, so hopefully, we can break through, expand the

Photos: Allice Teeple

audience, and find the discerning listeners.

What can listeners expect from the new album, Bright Black?

When we were writing the songs, if from the very top they didn’t challenge us - if they didn’t feel essential - we put them in the bin. Listeners can expect a group of songs that sound like the last that a good band at its peak will ever write.

Which they might be. They’re spirited and full of razor-sharp hooks. Bright Black is a haunted house dance party. There’s no acting, no posturing in these songs. There’s too much at stake, to not be precise.

My older sister commented to me recently of the apple tree in her backyard in Oregon that despite its dying of some blight, the apples are getting sweeter, more intense with every harvest as the tree knows it might be it’s last. That sounds about right.

Am I right in thinking that the new album could be described as a lockdown album and if so, how much of a challenge was it recording in such isolated and detached times?

No, actually. We had finished recording most of the album prior to March 2020. The pandemic only allowed me to go back in and perfect parts that I thought needed attention to the extent that I could. But isolation and the New York City mini-diaspora did halt the band’s momentum. We were spread all over the country by Summer 2020, and more than one of us hasn’t yet returned to New York City.

And following on from the last question, how much did those difficult times impact the sound and lyrical content of the album itself?

Because the songs were informed by the rise of villains and current events, which still hold the world hostage, as well as the demise of heroes we hold dear and certain loved ones close to the band, the songs didn’t rot at all. They’re as spirited and barbed and rumbling as the day we wrote them. And I’m still as emotionally tethered to the message as the day the songs were formed. That all tends to come out on stage, so the shows this summer shouldn’t be boring.

Finally, what does the future hold in store for you all, both as a band and as individuals too?

I honestly don’t know. Being in London Plane is pretty demanding. The timing in the lives of everyone in the band was right for “Bright Black.”

We were like an army; assembled, trusting in each other, focused, had our wits about us, sharing in a mission. It’s difficult to say if circumstances will allow it again. I’m just pleased that once upon a time, we came together to make something significant.

Links www.londonplanemusic.com https://londonplane.bandcamp.com/music https://www.facebook.com/londonplanenyc http://www.instagram.com/londonplanenyc

PAMELA DES BARRES

Interview by Mike Rogers Pamela Des Barres is a writer, musician, and actress. She is also best known for her bestselling 1987 memoir, “I’m with the Band,” which details her experiences in the Los Angeles rock music scene of the 1960s and 1970s. She is the queen of the groupies, and she wears that name proudly. I interviewed her on Jan. 20. 2022.

SS: So, Miss Pamela, thanks for doing this interview.

I’d like to introduce you to the readers because your book came out 30-some years ago. Best Seller on NY Times. That wasn’t the start of your story, of course, but maybe the start of the second half.

PD: Well, it was actually 34 years ago, that book came out, and I’ve written four more. And I keep getting reviews for “I’m With the Band.” I just got two really big reviews recently. Every generation kind of rediscovers it.

It’s very interesting and very far out and unexpected because when you write a book, especially your first book, you have no idea if anyone is going to care or read it, especially back then, there were “nobody’s” in quotes writing books about their lives. I feel like I helped open the door for others. Back in those days, there was no one to help get books out.

SS: That’s really cool. I remember Rodney Bingenheimer. He called me. He said, “Go pick up Ms. Pamela at the airport.” And I said, “Okay.” So

I didn’t know who you were. I went to pick you up, and you’re riding in the back of my car, and you were talking to me. I was just listening, and I told you I didn’t know that “Debar” was spelled D-E-SB-A-R-R-E-S. I knew I had heard your name. So I looked at my rearview mirror, and I looked at you, and I said, “You’re really famous. I read about you in National Lampoon magazine!”

And you said something like, “Oh, I hate that.”

But I was like, “No, that’s the pinnacle of success.

When they spoof you, that means everybody knows who you are.”

PD: Yes. I really came to love that spoof. I thought they’re making fun of me, which they were. But it’s funny.

SS: Those were good days. Then you went on many meetings with the publishers, and I took care of your son, Nick, and babysitter him at game centers in Tokyo.

people viewed her as being loose or whatever. I think you broke a lot of boundaries and actually opened up a lot of things. You made things fine for bands, even like the Go Go’s.

PD: Yes. He was so happy. He got into that industry and was very successful for a while. His gamer name was Nick Rox.

PD: Yeah. Well, I played in the GTOs, and we were way before the Go Gos. But the GTOs was a Frank Zappa concoction. GTOs were a dance troupe.

Women did not think, “Oh, I can be a rock star,” at that time. I mean, there was Janice, and a few different bands had girls singers, but they weren’t the whole band. There were no all-girl bands. I mean, we were just wild characters. And Frank Zappa wanted to preserve it.

SS: You’ve been very famous for a long time since I can remember.

PD: No. I have been infamous for a long time.

SS: Infamous? Why do you say that?

PD: Well, because it’s controversial. The reason I’m “famous” in quotes it’s infamous because I still get shit from people for being a loose woman. And “How dare you write about your sexual antics.”

And, you know, that was really just part of the book. It was more about coming of age in the most a very important time in history, musically especially. But socially, feminist views were starting to become really important, and people were paying attention to it. And at that time, I was seen as submissive by the feminists and the anti-feminists. So that was part of the controversy, which of course, wasn’t true because it boils down to a woman doing what a woman wants to do to be.

SS: That’s was really important, because back in those days, if a rock star, like some guitar player, after every show he meets some groupie and then goes to bed with them. No one bats an eye.

PD: But, there’s way more to it than that.

SS: Yeah, but the other way around, if you look at somebody like Janice Joplin, she would have concerts, and she would always complain that she never could go home with anyone because

The GTOs continue to have interest. And I think it’s obviously the Zappa connection because Ahmed Zappa is about to re-release our record with a whole bunch of new stuff and booklet and all kinds of things.

SS: Well, I actually think the GTOs were the forefront of the big girl bands, like Runaways, Go Go’s. You guys were really wild. And you guys had your own thing.

PD: Yeah, we were not copying anyone. We were definitely innovative in that way. But Frank just thought our lives were so interesting, and we got up to should be preserved. And he was a master puppeteer. I’ve often said that he would pull things out of you that you didn’t even know were in there, and then you became more of who you were of yourself. He was a real magician in that way.

SS: So one thing that you have done and I think this is really fabulous. You have survived in the music industry, and you’ve kept going. And so what are you doing now? Tell us about your other books. Tell us about your teaching other people how to be a writer. Just tell us about that.

PD: Yeah, well, I do a lot of things. I had to reinvent myself as a writer and then take that brief what I thought was going to be brief Fame and turn it into a way to make a living. So I wrote a sequel to “I’m With the Band.”

I wrote, “Take Another Little Piece of My Heart, a Group of Grows Up.” Yeah, that was a good book.

I think that’s my favorite. And then I wrote. “Rock Bottom,” which is the hardest book I ever wrote.

That’s the only one that’s not in paper print, so I buy them whenever I see them. It’s 25 stories of rock and roll tragedies.

I really deeply researched that. And I got very involved in Eddie Cochran’s family. And I became very good friends with Jan of Jane and Dean Tragic Stories. And then I did “Let’s Spend the Night Together,” about 25 other groupies. And my most recent one is “Let It Bleed,” how to Write a Rock Memoir.

Moon Zappa, who I’m still very close with, sent me to a writing workshop because in between each book, I wanted to keep fresh. I go to workshops, and halfway through, I said, “Oh, my God, I should be teaching this.” It took me a while to get the courage to. I guess at that time, it was My Space, and I posted on there. I have women students mostly.

I have to say thanks to these ladies. I was actually surprisingly shy about public speaking, and it scared the shit out of me. I had to speak at a couple of colleges, NYU. But teaching gave me the ability. Now I can talk anywhere at any time for as long as you want me to.

I started these classes, and they’ve been going on for almost 23 years now and consistently. And it’s really the best thing I do. These women come to class now. I do a lot of it on Zoom and my website.

They can find all that information there. Before

SS: That’s got to be groundbreaking, too. I’ve never heard of a female Minister doing weddings.

PD: Well, here I am. I also do rock and roll tours.

I do rock and roll tours all over Hollywood and tell stories from “I’m With the Band.” It’s, of course, about me and what I’ve been through. And most people who come have read “I’m With the Band” or they’re curious about it. I also sell photos on the tours. And now I have T-shirts. I’ve made a living being me.

And that was my dream for years to myself and the universe. I just want to make a living being myself.

And now that’s what’s happening, and it’s been happening for quite a while now.

Covid, I was traveling all over the world doing it. But I will resume my travels, and the women come, and they tell their stories. And I had one last night. They cry, and they’re all there for each other. It’s more like I allow these things to happen as opposed to teaching. I encourage them to tell their stories because I think that’s so important.

It’s incredibly cathartic and revelatory to write your story out, and that’s what I’ve been doing.

People can get more information at: https://www. pameladesbarresofficial.com/ SS: So you used to act too?

PD: Yeah, I tried that. I always knew, even as a child in the 50s, that I was creative. And in those days, that was not encouraged. You were supposed to either marry somebody or be a Secretary or something like that.

And I did all of it. I had every job you could possibly imagine. But at the same time, I kept my diaries, which is how I was able to write my first couple of books. And at twelve, I saw Patty Duke win the Oscar, and I said, that’s what I want to do.

I did some soap operas and commercials, and I was right in the middle of a soap opera, and I was engaged to Michael De Barres. And then the show canceled me.

But I still acted for a while. I did a lot of plays. I really tried. But when I got to about 35, I realized it wasn’t going to happen for me. And I started writing, which is something I always figured I would do. I would fall back on it because I was an English major, and I always loved writing.

I also perform weddings. I’m a Minister. I can perform rock and roll weddings. Yeah, I’ve been an ordained minister for 30 years.

Anyway, I take people to Frank Zappa’s old house.

And I tell all the GTO stories there and at the Jim Morrison house. And I tell all the things that happened to me in these places. And the people absolutely eat it up because it’s become mythology. Those stories, all those issues are gone.

And Mick Jagger is 80, but he was 25 at one time. And that’s the way people like to remember him. And that’s when I knew him. And so, these people are mythologized. And I sort of bring them back to life for people and reality because there are very few people left like myself to tell these stories or who will tell them.

SS: Well, can I ask a question? I can’t remember what magazine it was in, but I read some articles, and it was about the top ten groupies. Of course, you were there, but I kind of thought the other groupies were jealous of you.

PD: Yeah. I recently wrote a little piece about how proud I am to have a Groupie’s heart and what a groupie really is. And I get 95% positive.

But there’s always that 5% who just say, how could you be proud of this? And then they try to lump me in with all the underage girls.

It’s impossible for people millennials and younger to realize how different it was back then. And there’s no way to put it into words. But it was just a different time frame.

It’s an era that will never come again. I mean, you can go back in history and Roman times, all kinds of shit was going on, and then people will come along and poopoo it all. It’s just the way the world works. So I had to barrel through a lot of those things. When I was first interviewed on TV, I got really some scary live TV and stuff. People were saying, how dare you talk about your sex life? And with rock stars. I was some sort of devil. And that was really unexpected.

Everyone wanted to be near that kind of star energy, that creative energy. If I were in Mozart’s time, I would have followed him around. I probably was Mary Magdalene in another life. I would want to be near the creative energy or Van Gogh. I would have saved his life if I lived back

then because it’s the inspiration that connects you to it. It opens your heart somehow, and you want to be near it. And in those days, as we talked about, there were no girl-bands.

So the word “groupie” almost didn’t apply at that point because it had become such a negative word. But I own that word, and part of my life’s work is to redeem it.

I just wanted to be in love with a musician and wound up marrying one, of course. And that was with Michael DesBarres of Silverhead.

SS: Do you have any last words or messages?

PD: Yeah. I don’t really have advice for girl musicians because it’s a whole different reality than when I did that. And Frank Zappa was our mentor and created us, but we tried to take it from there after some of the girls got arrested for drugs.

So he kind of broke the band up. He did put the record out, though, but he wouldn’t tour us or anything. And we really tried to get on a tour. We were supposed to tour with Todd Rungren. And it’s a long story, but it didn’t work out. But we tried, we tried to keep it going. So you just have to keep on, keep on keeping on and believe in it. Even though we didn’t make that happen, it was also because there were no girl-bands. There was no precedent set.

SS: Lastly, what do you have to say to people who have a dream and want to live a life in Show Business?

PD: Okay. Well, I kind of have to, but I would probably be doing it anyway. I keep coming up with new ways to pay the bills and get the kind of food I like to eat and stuff. And a lot of it has to do with taking care of yourself physically, taking care of yourself, mentally and spiritually, taking care of yourself because you can’t mess with your vehicle and expect it to take care of you. So that’s part of it I’m very strict about. I haven’t had red meat in 50 years, for instance.

I also have a podcast called Pamela De Barres Pajama Party, where I interview musicians. People were coming over and wearing pajamas with me on the couch. And we’re talking. And I have everyone, so many great people from Rufus, Wayne Ride, John Doe, Dave Alvin, Alice Cooper.

I’ve got so many cool people I talked to for an hour, an hour and a half or so.

And I exercise and do all that, but I think it’s deeper than that. If you’re creative, you just have to do it. You just have to enhance your life with beauty somehow. Now, a lot more people are working from home, and a lot of them are not going back to their job because they realize what I mean. But now I’m doing it, and since Covid, I had to do it on Zoom. So that kept me afloat, kept me going, kept my writers in touch with me and stuff. So I’m very grateful for that. But I will continue to do Zoom whether I travel or not.

Whatever you love, you’ve got to be surrounded by it. And I will have to probably work my whole life. I am writing another book with someone I can’t talk about yet. And then I’m doing my third memoir, which is a spiritual memoir because I’ve had that alongside. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here today. If I hadn’t had a spiritual life, I wouldn’t be here today. It’s been such a wild ride.

SS: It was great to see you, and thank you, the legendary Miss Pamela Desbarres.

Photos courtesy of Pamela Des Barres

THE CAUGHTERY A Chat with David Gayler of Austin Powerhouse Rock Duo The Caughtery Can you tell me a bit about how the band came together and the musical paths that got you to where you are today?

I reached out to Lisa in early 2020. Probably not the best timing, considering the craziness that was starting in the world. I had heard Lisa Tingle for years in both her band Black Pearl as well as with others and really loved her voice. I had a song, now called 99mph, framed up musically. What I didn’t have was a top-line writer. I gave Lisa a cold call. You know old school via the phone.

Since then, we have just kept making music.

As far as musical paths, we both are the same age and grew up on the same love for music.

Lisa’s influences are deep and long. You can hear them in her singing. David is a guitarist, songwriter, producer, and studio owner. We both love great music, no matter the genre.

Listening to ‘Fragile,’ there is a wonderful blend of traditional singer-songwriter, classic rock, and modern musical moves. What or who would you cite as your musical influences and perhaps nonmusical influences?

That is a very interesting observation. As for David, everything he has ever heard has influenced him.

There are the typical bands that probably make sense, like The Who, Led Zeppelin, Heart, and Van Halen, but also a healthy dose of other English bands like Squeeze, The Fixx, and The Sundays.

‘Fragile’ seems to have something to say about human experiences over the difficulties of the last few years. What is the message that you are sending here?

So often, both personally and professionally, people have underestimated my strength and abilities, usually based on my honesty, flexibility, and eagerness to learn. I think it’s common for others to mistake those particular attributes as weakness or frailty. I can “play ball” and attempt to compromise with others for longer than most… but when those same people continue to degrade and undermine who I am, I will eventually explode. However, it’s not an angry, violent explosion. It’s more of a “phoenix from the ashes,” a Sisyphus that actually makes it to the top of that mountain. So, in the end, the joke’s on them. Never never never underestimate the spirit of another human being.

Beyond this first single, can you tell us about your full debut EP? Should we expect more of

the same, or should listeners anticipate a more eclectic mix?

The full EP is five songs written over 1.5 years, and we would say more eclectic than the same as ‘Fragile.’ Honestly, Lisa and I just write whatever feels good. We have some other Rock songs with ‘The Uninvited’ and ‘99MPH’ but also have a ballad about a dear friend and ex-bandmate of Lisa’s that sadly passed away a few years back called ‘Lockey Came to Play.’ We also have a straight-up folky all-acoustic song called ‘Dog.’ Basically all over the place!

Tim Palmer is one of the biggest names in music production. How was it working with him, and what did you learn from the experience?

Tim is brilliant and wonderful to work with. His creativity is deep. The first song we sent to Tim to mix was ‘99MPH’. Tim and I discussed some arrangement changes. It made the song build better. The final song arrangement is very cool. On top of that, Tim is a tasty guitarchitect. He adds little tidbits here and there that really complement what I am doing and the song in general. I love that creativity. Probably the biggest takeaway for me working with Tim is arrangement. He is an amazingly creative guy.

Who else was involved in the performance and recording of this EP? Outside of Lisa and myself, we have Ricky Phillips on bass guitar (Styx, The Babys, Coverdale-Page) and Tom Brechtlein on drums (Kenny Loggins, Eric Johnson, Robben Ford) and additional guitars on some songs like 99MPH and Fragile by Tim Palmer.

On the song Fragile, we have background vocals served up by Brian Andrew Lee. On the song ‘Dog,’ we have a good friend Brian Lippman on fretless bass. All of the music was recorded at my personal studio ‘Studio71West’ right outside of Austin, Texas. Lee Jackson was the recording engineer for several songs. I was also a recording engineer for a few of the songs. Tim Palmer mixed all the songs and co-produced several of the songs.

What’s next for The Caughtery? And what about David and Lisa separately?

We would like to continue to create great music that people dig. Pretty simple, actually. Lisa and I have discussed having our music in Film and TV. That would be really cool. Lisa has had that experience with her music in ‘Spy Kids,’ Melrose Place, and 90210. Lisa has her music and live performances here in Austin. David continues to produce other musical artists at Studio71West.

Interview: Dave Franklin Photo: Dave Chudnov

World Famous DJ Georgy Girl

By Mike Rogers SS: Please introduce yourself.

DJ Georgy Girl: Okay, well, I am DJ Georgy Girl, the blue-haired hippie. And I weave musical worlds on Sheena’s Jungle Room.

I’ve got two shows a week. I do “High Waisted Modernists,” which is spoken word and primarily library music. Occasionally there’s some soundtracks thrown in, and sometimes it will be a meditation.

Sometimes I’ll read a chapter of a book or a short story, but it’s that kind of vibe. And the other show I do is The Flange and Frigate, which is set in a fictional pub. And I play the “best of” British invasion music from the 60s and 70s. And it gets very rowdy in the chat, which is fantastic.

SS: Okay, tell me about “High Waisted Modernist.” Actually, the first time I heard that show, I was so blown away because here’s a DJ playing this really cool music and talking about cooking recipes?

DJGG: I love library music. It’s perfect music to read over. And I love to read. Since a small child at school, I used to read books to my friends. I’ll read something, or I’ll do a guided meditation, and it will be this lovely relaxing area. And sometimes it’s funny like I did Joan Crawford. She did an audiobook, so I had her over library music that was very kind of 50s kitschy. But it was her saying about her how to have a perfect dinner party. And she sounds like a complete psycho. Absolutely hilarious. So sometimes it’s funny, and sometimes it’s gentle, and it’s so much fun to do.

People write to me and say, “I fell asleep.”

That’s what I want. I just want somewhere that people can just lay back, put their headphones on, and just zone out. So there’s not a lot of chat, which is fine because I know that people are listening avidly and just having that little zone that’s just perfect to me.

SS: Yeah. Your show, I find myself I’m really paying attention to everything. The music, the talk, so how did you get into radio, and how did you start?

DJGG: Ah? I was riding in the car, and my dad had the radio on, and the music was phenomenal. But it was the DJ that hooked me. I have this very clear memory of this man having the best time of his life. In the nineties, when DJing became this big thing, that’s when I started doing it, and it was very DIY. I would record on real player, real audio through a little headset thing with Win amp and then upload it to the Internet,

and I would make these little radio shows. And through that, I then got into hospital radio in the UK. SS: What is hospital radio?

DJGG: So every hospital in the UK has a radio station.

So patients can listen to the radio, and people read books, they play music, and it’s a way just to keep patients happy and relaxed. Funny side note, we had to do every hour, we had to to say, “Make sure you sanitize your hands when you’re in the hospital.”

SS: How did you get on WFMU? DJGG: In the 90s, I was on a famous mailing list called the Exotica Mailing List. And we also had the Exotica Ring, where we would put together CDs and mail them around the world to all the members. I knew another DJ named Otis Fodder. And one day, Otis messaged me, “Right, WFMU, they’re doing a new Web channel. Mr. Fab is running it.

I’ve told him you need to be on it. He loves your show.”

And I typed, “Yes!” and then burst into tears.

I ran around my living room, going, “Oh, my God!” And that’s how it started.

So I was the first voice that anybody heard on Sheena. And I was fucking terrified.

SS: Wow. Yeah, that’s amazing. I also read your bio, and it said, So when you say you’re the first female voice on WFMU, but you’re just like the first voice - male or female!

DJGG: Yeah, I’m completely honored.

People were very excited about Sheena, and now they’re so loyal and so passionate; all of them, they’re just such a great bunch of listeners. It’s just mind-blowing.

SS: So tell us about your background. Who do you know? And where has this trip led you?

DJGG: Well, I was a journalist in the 80s, and I always wanted to be a music journalist, so I was a journalist with local newspapers, and I started a music page on the paper, and then it evolved into this little music magazine. So I would interview local bands, and I would review records and that kind of thing. I wrote a letter to Rolling Stone and said, “Hello, I’m a journalist, and I would love to work for Rolling Stone.” They sent me back a lovely letter which said, “We don’t recruit from outside of the US, but if you ever relocate to New York, please give us a call.”

SS: Wow, that’s cool. Let’s say I’m a young person. I want to get into radio, but I just don’t know where to start or what should I do?

DJGG: What music do you love? First and foremost, make a radio show for yourself.

Because if you are happy and passionate and engaged, when you do end up on a radio station that’s going to come across, listeners don’t want to hear somebody going, “Yeah, Hi, here’s a record. I’ve had a really shit day.” They want somebody to keep them company. They want somebody because they’ve probably had a shit day.

They want somebody who’s going to lift them out of it. Pick ten records that you love to pieces and play them. And in between those records say, “Oh, my God, this record is just the best thing I’ve ever heard in my life!” Be passionate about it. If you love

yourself thing.

People will write about music, or they’ll write about feminist issues, or it’s very DIY, but it’s a tangible thing. Young people do this. And young artists are still bringing out albums.

country music, make a country music show. Pick your favorite country music. Talk about the time you went to Nashville and watched the grand old opry, but you have to be engaged, and you have to love this.

Like kids really into like analog stuff and the past.

I think that no matter how young you are, there’s always that feeling of, well, stuff in the past is really cool. I saw this thing, and it said that every time a new piece of technology comes out, which is bright and shiny and clean and efficient, people find ways to make it sound dirty and weird and broken.

When I do my shows, they’re for me. And that comes across because the listeners go, “Oh, she really loves this music.” They listen to it, and then they’ll say, “Wow, this is really awesome.” or, “I’m going to go and find out more about this artist.” And that’s how it kind of snowballs. So, make a show for yourself first.

And I think people like the authenticity of reading a blog. And I think that’s why people like WFMU because we’re ordinary people. We’re doing it because we love it.

Whereas mainstream media is literally some very rich person with an agenda is feeding this information. And I think a lot of people are getting wise to that now.

SS: But how do I get anyone to listen to it?

SS: At WFMU, they have a very hardcore listenership. It’s like a secret handshake amongst true lovers of cool music!

DJGG: Go on to social media. Find a group.

Say, hey, I’ve done a show. I’d love it if you’d listen, tell me what you think about it. Reach out to people. That’s where you put the work in and find DJs you like and ask them. And it builds up.

You do have people who look up hashtags.

So put in a hashtag, for example, “Lounge music.” And somebody will click on lounge music, and your show comes up. But, tell as many people as possible, be proud of what you do, and shout about it.

SS: What do you think about the state of Mass Media?

DJGG: There are still lots of people who are used to traditional media. They like it. They like magazines. They like newspapers. They like to put their television on and get their morning news. And I think that as we move into the next generations, I think that it will probably get to the point where everything is either on a phone or a tablet. Having said that, though. I mean, I live in Brighton, and there are still Zine fairs. So it’s like a do-it-

DJGG: I make it a point that every time somebody comments, I will reply, which is why I love doing a prerecorded show.

SS: What big projects do you have going on now? Are you’re going to write a book or make a movie?

DJGG: I don’t want to write a book. I used to write for a living. I hated it. Much rather talk for a living. I love this music, and I want as many people as possible to listen to it because it’s so good. But I also want to try and expand WFMU Sheena as well. I run the Sheena Instagram account, and the reason why I started the DJ promo every Sunday is because I want people to get to know us.

SS: Okay. Let’s say I’m a band, and I just desperately would love for WFMU to play us.

Besides sending envelopes of money? What should I do?

DJGG: Well, I had somebody DM me on the Sheena Instagram account and say, “Hi, this is my band, this is our record.” And I said, “Okay, which shows do you think would be a good fit for your music?” So they got back to me, and they said the shows. I said this is the guy. Here’s his Spotify link. Go for it.

So if you are a band, DM me on the Sheena’s Instagram, and I will hook you up with the right DJ. It’s that simple. Unless you’re shit, and even if you’re shit, they’ll probably play it because that’s who we are.

If you want your music played on, Sheena, make sure you bloody listen to Sheena.

Don’t come into me and say, I don’t know anything about your station. I mean, I’ve had hip hop people contact me and say, “Hi, would you play my record on the Flange and Frigate.” I wonder if they have actually listened to it?

SS: Do you have any last words or advice or anything that you’d like to pass on to people who read this interview?

DJGG: Be kind, be kind, be kind. It doesn’t cost you anything, and it makes the world a better place. Just be kind.

SS: Thank you, DJ Georgy Girl!

Instagram is @dj_georgygirl/ Sheena’s Instagram is @wfmu_sheenas_ jungle_room Hi-Waisted Modernists is every Wednesday from 3 pm to 4 pm EST: https://www.wfmu. org/playlists/HW The Flange & Frigate is every Friday from 4 pm to 6 pm EST: https://www.wfmu.org/ playlists/FD

Princess Nostalgia

With a new EP, No Guru, on the way, Princess Nostalgia talks with the Second Scene about her songwriting, independence, and the future.

What has been the most significant influence on your music?

I was born in Rome and moved to Pittsburgh when I was eight. The transition was sudden and unexpected. My father stayed in Italy, so I returned annually to visit him throughout my childhood. Every time I return, the timelessness of the ancient city highlights my own changes. Rome is a constant against which I measure my growth and decay as a mortal being.For a long time, I was wary of adopting a stage name for fear of appearing pretentious, but the name Princess Nostalgia—though intended to be silly as well—rang true enough that it didn’t feel phony. It’s a balance between the playful humor and confidence of a princess and the bittersweet pang of nostalgia that plays a role in the development of my sound as a musician.

Was there a defining moment in your life that made you want to create and pursue songwriting?

When I was eight picked up the double bass and played in a classical orchestra for ten years. For five of those years, I also played electric bass in a jazz band. Because the bass often plays the role of counterbalancing the melody, it is usually assigned the less intuitive—but arguably the most satisfying—part of an arrangement. This is why it is infinitely harder to play bass and sing at the same time than it is to play guitar and sing at the same time. Ultimately, I owe my ability to visualize the various parts of a musical arrangement to the fact that I spent so many years playing an instrument that supports and carries the melody.

Since the age of 10, I’d been messing around on Garageband, making original soundtracks to supplement the ridiculous short films I made with my friends. As my interest in songwriting developed, the limitations of Garageband became increasingly evident, and I switched to Logic, and things started to get interesting. Human beings have control over very few things in life, so the realm of Logic serves as a refuge of sorts. Having the power to create and shape an arrangement without having to answer to anyone was fulfilling. I’ve been sharpening my songwriting and music production skills ever since.

How would you describe your music?

Despite the fact that I think there’s good and bad music within every genre, the genres that most prominently factor into my work are funk, r&b, electronic, and pop. Specifically, D’Angelo, Kraftwerk, Missy Elliot, Dr. Dre,

James Blake, Chic, Hiatus Kaiyote and Quincy Jones... the list could go on, but I’ll leave it at that. Lyrically, I prefer not to be too literal. Ideas worth sharing are those that transcend individual experience and ring true regardless of scale. I prefer to write about concepts that everyone can relate to rather than specific personal experiences—though the line between the two does blur.

Take us through your creative and songwriting process.

All of my compositions begin with what I call “seeds,” which are little loops that contain the information from which a song eventually blooms. The seeds are generated when a particular sound—whether it be a set of syllables that I can’t stop humming or a funky bass line—comes to me, and I have no choice but to lay it down. The most exciting part of songwriting is this initial seed phase.

The process of massaging it until an arrangement falls into place is much more painstaking. Some arrangements find themselves in a matter of hours, while others take months or even years.

Tell us about the goals you have set for your career.

When I’m on a stage with only a mic and a laptop, it’s easy for people to interpret my role as that of a singer. I’ve learned that if I don’t hammer my production skills into people’s heads, they will often assume that someone else did it for me. Thesame goes for my music videos and album art. I direct, edit, and design everything myself. My primary goal is to create art on my own terms. To do this, I need a team of people I can trust to help me articulate my vision without relinquishing my multidisciplinary directorial role.

What can we expect from you in the coming months?

I am working with legendary producer Dave Hillis on an EP that will be released through The Vault Records. I’ve always felt that my songs deserve the full treatment that someone with Dave’s level of experience can provide. Still, at thesame time, after years of being underestimated as a woman producer, I have naturally been very prideful and protective of my work. I was extremely lucky to come into contact with someone as knowledgeable yet humble as Dave. Unlike many men with far less experience than him, he has never talked down to me or assumed I don’t understand things. Instead, he has been like a mentor, speaking to me as an equal and empowering me to reach my full potential. It has been an honor to revisit my old work with him. The EP will feature a blend of old songs that have been reproduced to be bigger and bolder, as well as some new tracks that I’m itching to release.

Photos: Marina Chavez

THE REDLINES

Second Scene talks with Brian Seese about The Redlines latest EP, Kick Out Today and finally hitting the stage again for live performances.

Tell us about your latest release, Kick Out Today.

It’s a four-song EP recorded at The Oxide Shed in Athens, Ohio, by Eddie Ashworth, who is best known for working with Sublime, Pennywise, Great White, and Izzy Stradlin, amongst many others. It was mastered by the legendary Gene “The Machine” Grimaldi at Oasis Mastering.

It’s a collection of tunes that allowed us to explore the more garage rock influences we each carry with us. In the past, we recorded songs that we had been playing live for a while, but this time we chose to focus on a specific style and write new songs specifically for a cohesive collection. Garage rock was a style that we had previously only hinted at. These songs are not garage rock songs but influenced by the many styles of garage rock to create songs that are distinctly ours. For example, the first single, “Runnin’ With the Pack,” nods its head to 70s glam, while “Back to Square One” has more of a soul foundation based on The Impressions.

This was exciting for us because it’s our first release on hometown label “Psychodaisy Records.” It was also co-released digitally through Swade Records, which has released all of our previous albums. Having that extralabel support from Tim at Psychodaisy was instrumental in propelling our name beyond the Pittsburgh region.

Take us through the songwriting process.

We take a very open and collaborative approach to writing. Brian and Jay are the ones that bring new songs to the table, whether it’s just a riff or a more fleshed-out song (music, lyrics, or both). Regardless of how complete their ideas are, they bring them to the whole band at practice so each person can figure out their own parts. We’re all pretty open to suggestions, so if anyone has ideas, we’ll give anything a try...at least once.

How does it feel to be back on stage playing to a live audience again?

We were extremely fortunate to have weathered the COVID storm with very little downtime, so we’ve actually been playing live, almost consistently, since Sept of 2020.

At the time of the initial lockdown, we were all lucky enough to have full-time jobs that were easily transitioned to work-from-home. We quickly realized that since we were all isolating apart, we could then still have practice if we were careful. We eventually turned a few practices into a few streaming interviews and concerts. By the end of the summer, venues like Mr. Smalls in Pittsburgh and other places further out in the suburbs started back up with outdoor shows, which we felt safe doing, so we ended up playing some of the first live shows in the area after the lockdown was lifted.

Gigs did slow down during that winter, and we got a new drummer in the spring, so there were a few weeks or months without shows as we got all that sorted. However, by June 2021, we were back to our normal show schedule (1-2 shows/mo) with our new drummer and haven’t looked back since.

Brian, you do a good bit of solo shows. How do you approach these shows compared to a Redlines show as a group?

I just basically do whatever the hell I want to. If I want to play The Lemonheads, I play the Lemonheads. If I want to play Prince, I play Prince.

If I want to play The Carpenters, I play the Carpenters. Throw in some Misfits, Johnny Cash, Velvet Underground, Ryan Adams, Tom Petty, and of course some Redlines, and you have a pretty eclectic set of tunes. We consider The Redlines to be an original band that occasionally plays covers, so you won’t hear as many covers at one of our shows as I would play solo.

What do The Redlines have planned next?

We wrapped up recording the follow-up EP to “Kick Out Today” entitled “Kick Out Tomorrow.” It was recorded again at The Oxide Shed with Eddie Ashworth as Engineer/Producer. This time around, we did five songs, four brand new, never before played live, songs along with one cover. It is to be released in Spring 2023 as a double EP record along with “Kick Out Today.”

In addition to local shows in and around the Pittsburgh area, we’ll be focusing on doing 2-3 day out-of-town weekenders where we can get out of state more and expand our reach.

Photo: Mia C. Photography

TONY FLETCHER At thirteen, Tony Fletcher published the first issue of his Jamming! Fanzine. Over six years and 36 issues, which went from a zine printed at his middle school and became a monthly magazine featuring some of the biggest names on the indie charts. Oh, I might mention he interviewed Paul McCartney and Pete Townshend. After Jamming!

Tony Fletcher went on to write books about Keith Moon, Echo &The Bunnymen, and The Smiths, to name a few.

Here’s what he had to say about his days with Jamming!

What were the highlights for you while publishing Jamming!?

It’s not necessarily related to a particular story or interview. It would be more like the buzz of it.

I think some of the highlights were when it was really a great home-produced fanzine—going down to the mail, to the front door, and seeing what has arrived, letters from all around the world.

That is actually something that I miss in general.

I’m thinking about how much mail I used to get and how exciting that was. There were certainly highs in terms of doing interviews. The most famous people I interviewed are obviously going to be certain highlights because I never started out doing the fanzine and thinking I’d get to sit down with Paul McCartney. Nor was that an aspiration whatsoever. It never crossed my mind until I met him. There were great moments. There are hilarious interviews. There were quite a few confrontational interviews. Sometimes they were the same ones.

But I think a lot of it was the sense of the buzz of doing it. The buzz of feeling that yeah, this is this worth getting up in the morning and staying up late at night.

There must have been quite a lot of pressure and expectations? Also, balancing work, school, and being a teenager.

Yeah, there was. Definitely, there was pressure, and a self-imposed pressure, and external pressure. That pressure started really, really

All photos courtesy of Tony Fletcher

quickly. The first four were done at school, and most people hadn’t seen them until I published this book. I didn’t mind showing them because you can see the progression. Once I upped it, and we started printing properly, It suddenly involved staying up all night to get it off to a printer. Staying up all night is hard to do even when you’re at your best, but when you’re 14 and 15, it’s pretty ridiculous. The pressure of trying to stay up and doing homework, things definitely suffered. My school work suffered. That was a really bad year. So I kind of just didn’t go to school a lot. I just went around town doing the fanzine.

Because I was welcomed by the bands, and by the record shops, and the music scene, but I wasn’t welcomed at school. So there was a lot of pressure there.

Was Jamming! a monthly magazine?

Only at the end. In the last two years, it was monthly, and yet the more fun period would have been when it came out erratically.

I put myself on a deadline several times. I just kept promising people that it would be more frequent than I was capable of doing it. There was pressure from our distributors. We were bi-monthly, and we were just about making that work. It was a really good full color. It was a magazine. It was now on the newsstands. It was selling a lot of copies. And they said, look, bi-monthlies are just

really tough in the business. They’re harder than quarterlies. Nobody knows when it’s coming out.

The newsagents don’t know. We really need you to go monthly, and I allowed them to talk us into it.

And we weren’t making money. We were selling copies but not making money, and that was just a crazy move. Because I was too young, there wasn’t backing for it. There was a period where it could come out every two or three months. There were a couple of times, both to do with school exams and then running an independent record label, that it became almost more like an annual.

That was not my intent at all. But it’s just the way it happened because there was just no time to do the fanzine at that point.

Tell us about the low points of running Jamming! and when did you decide that Jamming had run its course and was time to bring it to an end?

There is no long downhill period. It was at the very, very end when I had handed over the day-today editorship. I found myself with two things right at the end. One was that the editor sort of froze me out of my own magazine and froze a lot of the contributors who had come up with the magazine they helped build, which was not really a great use of a promotion. That person had been nurtured and then promoted to this role. The other aspect of it was that the result was that it looked very much like an average music magazine.

Yeah, maybe I had a little bit of bias when doing the book. Those last few issues I’m talking about, I couldn’t find indispensable stories that had to be in this compendium. Elsewhere, I felt that there are pieces in Jamming that deserve to be in the book, and those last few issues were all well written, professional, and just didn’t sparkle. They didn’t justify themselves. And the combination was such that it just didn’t seem worth continuing. We did have backers at that point. I sat down with them and said as much, and they agreed, and we folded it. But that’s at the end. Yeah, there’s a lot of love and happy times before we get there.

What was your approach when writing for Jamming!?

It’s about enthusiasm, and the music papers have a reputation for building acts up and knocking them down. It just seemed that with doing the fanzine, you were better off writing about what you loved rather than reviewing records that you didn’t like, just because they arrived in the mail.

I think it was more justified when a fanzine did take somebody to task. If the majority of a copy of Jamming! was enthusiasm, which is what a lot of people say they got out of it, they got energy and enthusiasm and a sort of youthful naivety that we’re all part of together. If we felt let down by an act or that they made a bad record, we said so. I think that carried all the more resonance.

I wasn’t interested in interviewing mediocre bands or people who have nothing to say. But at the same time, when I look back on those early issues and interviews, I’m somewhat amazed at how bold I could be in terms of just coming out with hard questions. These days, I would actually be more polite. Yes, as a snotty-nosed teenager, you can just say things like, “So you said this six months ago, and now you’re doing this. Does this mean you’ve sold out?” That might be your opening question. [Laughs] You said you had an independent record label.

The record label was called Jamming as well, and it was running for about 18 months in 1981 and 1982. I ran it with Paul Weller. And it was quite successful in its own right. We put out six singles.

All six of them were indie hits. One of those bands was my own band. This meant I was now juggling three things as well as a girlfriend. So you know, I had a record label, a band, and a fanzine.

It was a great experience in many, many ways, especially being involved with The Jam and being around them when they were sort of at their biggest in the last 18 months of their career.

Also, It was potentially a distraction from the fanzine, which is the thing that lasted. You should

always just look back on life as constant learning experiences. And I certainly jumped at the opportunity.

Do you ever see yourself doing another fanzine magazine in the future?

It’s funny… I’d have dreams over the years. I’ve had what falls somewhere between dreams and nightmares of doing a new issue, 25 years later, where people would be waiting 25 years for this, and I still hadn’t got it to the printers. [Laughs] No, I mean, the market is totally different. I look back with great fondness on the fact that I was in an incredible scene and at the heart of it. I could put out a fanzine, especially in the period that it was being published and printed by Better Badges on the Portobello Road. I could pick up copies that were still smelling of ink and walk literally around the corner. I’m talking about like maybe 200 to 300 yards to Rough Trade. You know, the Evening Standard in London couldn’t get put on the newsstand quicker than Jamming could get copies to some of those shops. The days of being able to fill up your sports bag and get on a bus with a school bus pass and go all around London and drop copies off. Those days are kind of gone for all of us in a way. I don’t think that localized kind of fanzine and culture exists anymore.

Every now and then, I’ve dabbled with the idea of having my own imprint of books or small publications, but I haven’t acted on it yet.

Thank you, Tony I’m happy to talk to you and answer anything else, and you can certainly come back to me. But I also just love the fact that people are still doing it. It’s just the effort that it takes to put together any kind of magazine is wonderful.

Good luck.

Photo: Debbie Ellis

PURPLE HEART PARADE

Manchester, England’s Purple Heart Parade, talks with the Second Scene about the group’s history, influences, and songwriting.

Give us a brief history of the Purple Heart Parade.

(Ste) I think one of the things with the band is that we’re one of the longestrunning in the area. We’ve never taken a break or walked away when it might’ve been easier to call it a day. We’ve always found a way. We’ve probably lost friends and fans over the years doing it, but we’ve made new friends and fans as a result. We don’t do this to please others. We do this because it’s what we do. Who comes along for the ride? Well, that’s up to them. It’s this that makes Purple Heart Parade a fucking brilliant band. We’ve always done what’s right by us.

(Pete) How long do you have? Lol. Last year, we were described on a local Manchester Radio Show as being a modern version of The Fall due to our lineup changes over the years.

Myself, Ste & Sam are all original members. Chris used to be in a band with me and Ste many moons ago. I’d always wanted to have him in the band, so it was dreamlike when he became available, and our old drummer had left.

Taous joined us shortly after the release of the Lonestar EP as Ryan sadly left.

Taous and Sam had previously played together in another band and was good mates with us. So she was an obvious and perfect fit for the band. She’s brought her own feel to the sound, which has been great.

What have been the most significant influences on the group?

(Ste) The other thing is we’ve all got our own influences, and these inevitably seep into the fabric of the band. Those influences are all pretty varied – we kinda all have overlaps of bands we all like, but we also all have our own little niches that we’re into that we bring to the table, and it’s those differences that help us create great songs – rather than us being heavily influenced by one or two bands.

(Pete) I think our environment is a big influence on the band. We’re so lucky to be surrounded by so much musical/cultural and historical heritage. It’s untrue!

The place has a special energy. It’s impossible not to absorb it. Especially if you’ve lived here all your life. The Rolling grey clouds, the constant rain, and the moody post-industrial skyline make a very special canvas for our bleak but beautiful heartfelt music.

Take us through the songwriting process. Is it a group effort or an individual?

(Ste) Although it’s a group thing, we all pretty much bring our own parts to it.

We will obviously suggest different things within that, but I think we’re lucky to have a group of people who can take responsibility for their own part and not have to be told what to do. That’s pretty rare that – and it means we all feel we contribute.

(Pete) We write as a unit, and someone may have a bit of an idea and bring it to the table. We’ll then work around that. All of this is usually done under the magic of blue fairy lights.

We do spend a lot of time on our writing and are very picky with what we play live/record /release. We just have really high standards and want our music to be appreciated for years to come.

How would you describe your sound to those unfamiliar with Purple Heart Parade?

(Ste) Genuinely hard to say as there’s hardly two songs like another. I think we’re really good at helping you drift off to wherever you want to go with a song and then doing something that brings you right back into the here and now with a slap across the face. Both parts are equally mesmerizing.

I’ve actually had songs of ours come on in a huge playlist in the car, and I’ve thought this is a great tune and only realized it’s us about halfway through.

(Pete) if LS Lowry did Dreampop What does Purple Heart Parade have planned for the coming months?

(Ste) We’re writing an album at the minute. We’re quite slow writers, tbh, but I think it comes from being picky – and personally, I’d rather be like that than putting any old shit out. There’s a saying about painters that they never actually finish a piece of work. They just get bored trying to improve it. We’re a bit like that. We’ll have a song pretty much nailed, and then in the final time round it, someone will say something like, “what if we had a big orchestral bit here.” Still, we’re getting through it, and the songs we’ve got are some of the best we’ve done, I’d say, as a result. We’ve got about 8 or 9 songs ready to record for it – we probably need about another 4 or 5, and then we’ll come up with the best ones for the album – probably 9 or 10. Once we’ve done them and got them out on vinyl, we’ll start looking at the live side of things.

We want to be playing the places these songs will deserve, and we’ll get planning that side of it soon.

BOLT DREG

TRANS-ATLANTIC SPACE ROCK SYMPHONICNESS

FLOWERS OF HELL Second Scene talks with Greg Jarvis about the new vinyl reissue of their debut album and upcoming projects.

Tell us about the new vinyl record we’ve heard about.

For the LP reissue of our debut, we went full deluxe; special mastering, gatefold sleeve, 180gm translucent green, bonus 7 inch, etc. There’s an old Spacemen interview where Pete ‘Sonic Boom’ Kember says, “If this is our art, then shouldn’t we be packaging it as such?” which I took to heart with designing this reissue (perhaps as Sonic’s on it!), labouring over each little element right down to the suede sheen of the embossed download card.

What is currently in the works with Flowers Of Hell?

We’ll soon be releasing tracks from Portal, a live album capturing us selling out an old church in London two weeks before the pandemic. One of its priests a century and a half back believed there to be a portal to hell in its graveyard of miscreants, though we didn’t manage to open it - even with Spacemen 3’s Rosco joining us for our encore.

With 2022 more than half over, what can we expect from FOH in the new year? Possibly a tour?

We’re hoping to play a couple of European dates in the fall and do a short US tour in May 2023 - we’ll see, though. There’s some writing I want to prioritize first. I am getting on with doing a book about my living in ‘90s Prague & working in the music business there as the country transformed from a communist state into an endless party.

piece in Moscow just before the pandemic, the Russians wanted a score to do it with a full orchestra - which is quite a dream!

Writing Symphony No. 1’s score must have been quite a challenge?

What is your background in composing a symphony?

I haven’t sight-read music since spending teenage summers living in barracks on military bases playing in cadet marching bands.

So when it came to working backward this year and creating the score for the Flowers’ 2016 ‘Symphony No.1’ LP, I brought in a transcriber, Felipe Tellez. I thought he’d do it all - but soon, there I was, painstakingly going over each bar of each instrument to perfect things.

The score was to premiere at the Moscow Conservatory, but due to the invasion of Ukraine, the performance has been put on hold.

Any thoughts of performing elsewhere?

The conservatory is a hallowed place where the Russian masters taught (Tchaikovsky) and studied (Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Rimsky, & others). We believe our kind of art should transcend politics, so we’ll wait for the honor of a world premiere in Moscow - as Glenn Gould did during the last Cold War!

Also, we’ll be releasing Keshakhtaran - a 42-minute immersive piece of harp, sitar, tremolos, chimes, horns, & floaty soprano vox I created during the pandemic to help me zone out; it’s a sonic world to journey to & thru.

Tell us about the latest from Flowers Of Hell. Symphony No.1. A written score. Is there a recorded version as well?

I spent chunks of 2010-2016 developing an audio-only symphony, working with my bandmates and digital orchestras I’d custom programmed, building things up layer by layer - melding together influences like Morricone, Wagner, Eno, & Spacemen 3. It was only ever meant to be a recording, but after we played bits as an eight-

Playing a nuclear bunker, Bratislava, Slovakia, June 2006 Photo:Abi Fry, Greg Jarvis, Guri Hummelsund, Barry Newman, Steve Head, Owen James, Tom Hodges, Ruth Barlow.

japhoto.org

JEANNE ADKINS

Peter de Deugd

Rodney Bingenheimer Interview and photos by Mike Rogers

I

got to interview Rodney Bingenheimer the other day. It was the first time I had spoken to Rodney (OK, well, second time) since he came to Japan in 2016!Many years ago, as a college student, I was an unpaid Go-Fer for the WorldFamous KROQ’s Rodney on the Roq (Rodney Bingenheimer) for about 22 months between mid-1980 - and 1981. One day I had the idea that I wanted to break into Hollywood and I thought, “How do I do that?” Well, the old-fashioned way: Find a famous person and ask them and volunteer to be an assistant for no pay! I was so happy (and surprised) when Rodney said, “Yes!”I would clean up and organize albums that were scattered about in some rooms and also carry records for Rodney to and from his car. The best part of the job was answering the door for Rodney and greeting guests who came to be on his show. Through that, I got to meet Clem Burke of Blondie, the Ramones (got high with Dee Dee Ramone too many times) meet the Germs and a bunch of other super famous punk stars whose names escape me at the moment. The first time I got to meet Phil Spector was Christmas of 1980, and when he arrived at the door, he didn’t look like a Punk, so I was rude to him (like an idiot!) I didn’t find out until much later who he was!... Doh! I used to go with Rodney to that allnight diner he likes (Canter’s Deli) too after every show. There I met lots of people who were famous or to become extremely famous later...So I became an unpaid Go-Fer for the World-Famous KROQ’s Rodney on the Roq for about 22 months between mid-1980 - 1981. I would clean up and organize albums that were scattered about in some rooms and also carry records for Rodney to and from his car. The best part of the job was answering the door for Rodney and greeting guests who came to be on his show.

Through that, I got to meet Clem Burke of Blondie, the Ramones, and a bunch of other super famous punk stars whose names escape me at the moment. The first time I met Phil Spector was Christmas of 1980, and when he arrived at the door, he didn’t look like a Punk, so I was rude to him (like an idiot!) I didn’t find out until much later who he was!... Doh! I used to go with Rodney to that all-night diner he likes (Canter’s Deli) after every show. There I met lots of people who were famous or to become extremely famous later...

Rodney is now a DJ on Sirius XM radio on “Little

Steven’s Garage,” and he is about to release “The Best of Rodney on the Rock“ compilation album. I asked him about the new record and what he is doing now.

SS: Hey, Rodney! How are you?

RB: Hey, what’s up?

SS: Very late. Congratulations on getting that job at Sirius XM! I haven’t spoken to you in 6 years!

RB: Has it been six years? It seems like going to Japan was about two weeks ago. That was so much fun! And thank you for your good cheer for Sirius. I love working there! You know I am on Little Stevens Garage (channel 21), and it is run by Little Steven Van Zandt. Steven is a member of both the New Jersey Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And he was a founding member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band. He is a very nice guy, and I love working at Sirius XM! The staff, everyone is so nice.

SS: So, how long have you been working at Sirius XM now?

RB: I started at Sirius XM on July 16, 2017. I had just been suddenly fired by my former station, and that was a shock. Our mutual good friend, John Ferriter, got me the job at Sirius XM. SS: So I can hear you on Little Steven’s Underground Garage every week on Sundays from 6 pm to 10 pm PST? RB: Yeah, Make sure you check out my show!

SS: So tell us about your new record that came out.

What is it called?

RB: The album is called Rodney Bingenheimer Presents Rodney On the Rock! (Volume 4). It’s out on Geza X’s label, and it rocks! There are so many great songs!It has Beck Black, Tony Valentino, Vicky & the Vengents, Dog & Diamonds, Josie Cotton, Beebe Gallini, the Sorels. It also has Carnie Wilson, who is the niece of Brian Wilson singing my new theme song, and the Velvet Starlings, of course, Geza X, and so many more I can’t name them all. Order it now. It’s on Geza X records.

SS: Wow! That sounds so cool. This is your 4th “Rodney on the Rock compilation” album! So what else do you have going on now?

RB: I just did a photoshoot with Suzanna Hoffs for Los Angeles Magazine. As you know, Suzanna Hoffs was a co-founder of the Bangles! We did the

photoshoot at a record store called “The Record Parlor.” It should be out in June 2022! That was so much fun.

SS: We love you! Everyone loves you, Rodney!

RB: Hey! Do you have any photos of my Japan trip?

SS: Yes! I have posted them on the internet! I sent them to you. Didn’t you get them? I’ll send you them by snail mail, OK? RB: That would be great! Thanks so much!

SS: Oh, finally, let’s say I have a band and want to send you our music. How should I do that?

RB: Just send it to my webpage and send just a photo and a very short bio. My Facebook is: facebook.com/ROTRLOSANGELES SS: Thanks!

RB: Oh, and last thing, I’d like to tell everyone to be more kind to other people.

There’s too much fighting going on. That’s all, just be kind.

Well, then we hung up the phone. Rodney seems not to have changed at all. He is healthy and still rock n rolling after all these years.

MORNINGFACE

From Portland, Maine, Morningface talks with the Second Scene about the latest release, Outta Space.

Tell us about Morningface. How did it all come together?

I have been playing guitar since a teenager and have had some other bands/projects. I recorded my first Morningface album on a four-track 2003.

About eight years ago, I got into home recording again, but this time with a DAW, which has really revolutionized music-making. Now anyone can do it and also access the public quickly via streaming/ Bandcamp etc., cuts the parasitic middle-person right out, which is a good thing!

What has influenced your songwriting?

These days with my loop pedal, I just record loops, usually two chords, and let them play for a long time while I listen to them and eventually hear melodies in them arising from the harmonics/auditory masking that is created when I add keyboards drones or tanpura, or even when my Vox ac 15 kicks in.

That amp basically plays itself, you just have to turn it on and lean a guitar somewhere, and it will start playing its own tanpura drone. I spend days and weeks listening to one drone/loop, and then the song arises out of what I hear from it. I just go on that and cobble together songs in my DAW. What went into creating your latest release, Outta Space?

Four years of beautiful madness, figuring out that I had to learn to produce my own record in order to achieve the sound I wanted and then uncovering unknown to me recording techniques, listening to a lot of Lee Perry and realizing he was using delay and that reversed delay and reverb was

prominent on the records I find most inspirational, those being Verve and first two Spiritualized records. Basically teaching myself the DAWs, mastering fx, and also consulting with people who gave me a bastardized musical education/ contributed parts and cobbling all that together. A lot of listening, playing back songs and composing that way, hearing things in the music that wasn’t necessarily there yet, and then putting new things in. I must have listened to It’s Always Sunday a hundred times. It still amazes me to hear that album. I have no idea how I pulled it off or what I did, except for the techniques I used; that time you spend in it, you’re not conscious of what you are doing. You are in the moment creating. It’s not something that I think sounds like was done in our little home recording studios—also, lucking out and finding Mark Refoy, who I could trust enough to produce one of my tunes. He blew my mind. Each one of those songs was a little miracle. I feel like I’m really just channeling.

What do you have planned next?

I am working on an album with Anthony Evans(Black Sand) under the name HOLY SEA. Black Sand is my favorite musician out today, and I am blessed to get to work with him. He has 14 albums on Bandcamp, all killer: blacksand1. bandcamp.com. I’m also currently recording the next Morningface album, which is really the sister album to OUTTA SPACE. Trying to survive as the capitalists kill off the poor and working-class, I’d love to play shows, especially in UK & EU, but I am waiting to see what happens with Covid. I play every day as a meditative practice, so to me, I’ve already won. Being able to achieve that state in daily life is a blessing and makes it all worthwhile. https://morningface.bandcamp.com Photo: Anita Berger

REMEMBERING RIC PARNELL I wasn’t terribly surprised when Ric Parnell fell into our world. It’s the way things seem to happen with Donovan’s Brain. In the summer of 2010, a mutual friend contacted me and said there was someone I needed to meet. Nancy Walton had worked at the same radio station Ric had done a show. They had both been forced by that time due to a format change. I talked to Ric and invited him to come over and sit in on my radio show and tell some rock and roll stories. He did and, of course, had plenty of things to talk about.

When we got done, I asked Ric if he was interested in playing drums with Donovan’s Brain. At that point, the band was just Bobby Sutliff and me. The others had scattered or been dismissed. He seemed happy to give it a try. As it turned out, playing drums was the thing Ric lived to do. There was no other occupation he was suited for.

Bobby and I had been writing songs, so there was enough work for a session. I had no doubt Ric was good. I didn’t know if he’d fit in with what we do. One of the songs I offered was a long and complex piece called Sleepy Song, released as Falling Off The Edge. He listened and said ok. One take. That wasn’t the end of his skills. He said, leave in the reverb you have on the drum loop. He was a producer too. I reported back to Bobby and Deniz Tek. Den was skeptical as he’s seen the parade of old English rockers passed through the Brain. When in Australia, Mark Taylor from the Lipstick Killers asked Den who was currently in Donovan’s Brain. “Ric Parnell,” Den said. Mark and his friend literally fell on the floor. Den came back and asked if Ric would play on his records too. Of course. Ric loved it. After years of playing in crappy bar bands, he was being asked to make challenging records.

This was the program for the next twelve years. Ric was a very intelligent and a gentle man. He just lacked the skills to maintain a stable and comfortable life. Part of that was the lack of work and some serious rock and roll lifestyles.

Coming to Bozeman to record was the closest thing he had to a secure situation in the time I knew him. He was bouncing around from one place to another, even a homeless shelter, for a while. When he was visiting, I’d ask him what he wanted for meals. He always insisted on Mexican food, which I could easily accommodate him. After two or three days, it was always an emotional departure. I honestly worried he might not want to leave.

Over those twelve years, I reckon he recorded about 130 songs with Donovan’s Brain, Deniz Tek, and a few solo songs for the other Brain members. Every performance was full-on and unique. He never phoned it in. His creativity was mind-boggling. There were so many times I just sat there stunned, listening to what he did for our songs. Two of his close friend told me he always raved about the songs we offered him. I needed some work for the new album at the beginning of the year. Sadly the weather wouldn’t allow him to drive the 210 miles from Missoula. A friend of his was happy to do the session in his studio. A few weeks later, Ric sent me a desperate message saying he needed rent money. I asked the band to send over songs so we’d have something to offer. Again, I scrambled to finish a song the night before the planned session in Missoula. It was enough to help him keep his modest room at the Thunderbird. Ric was disappointed that he couldn’t come down, but a blizzard was a good reason for him to stay home. I promised him another session in Bozeman as soon as the weather cleared.

On April 21st, I got word Ric had been rushed to the hospital. The report made it clear that this was the end of the road. A few days later, he was moved back to his room for home hospice care. Deniz tried to call, but Ric wasn’t going to answer. He passed away quietly early on the morning of May 1st. All who knew Ric Parnell had their lives made just a little better.

Words by Ron Sanchez

You’re currently in London. You signed to Fuzz Club/Hand Drawn Dracula. Very exciting. Tell us about the new album and what went into writing and recording ‘And Those Who Were Seen Dancing,’ along with your previous work.

Well, so basically, the album is getting announced in two days. We recorded it in August 2019. Yeah, so we recorded all these songs, most of them in Rian [O’Grady’s] family home and in Ruari [Meehan’s] family home, with Francesco Perini (Pearz) and Mike Sutton, and some of the band said they were demos, but I was like, no, we’ve recorded an album. It’s awesome. We had just come off a tour. And I was really excited about all of these songs, and we wrote a lot of them altogether, so in my mind, there was a great shared energy and spirit there.

But they were like, no, these are glorified fancy demos. We need to go into a studio and record it properly. And I’m of the mindset where you’re capturing a moment, and that’s it. You somehow just get it the first time, and it’s all magical and perfect. But everyone’s perception of literally everything in the world is different, even if you’re sharing the same experience.

I like some of the demos for this album better, and I’ll release them eventually. The spirit of the initial recording of anything, in my opinion, can be just as great. I am also cripplingly sentimental. When I recorded with Anton [Newcombe], we didn’t demo anything. He didn’t want to listen to any of my demos we just recorded.

And with my first album [Blood Hot], I had lots and lots of demos. Like 500 songs and covers of different songs I love. I was already performing some of the songs that ended up on ‘Blood Hot’ with the band that I had formed when I moved back to Toronto briefly in 2012, so they already knew the songs pretty well when we recorded that first album. But I’ve never demoed with a band and then been like, let’s record this all over again.

There’s a misconception about the songs I did with Anton because the bulk of those songs are songs that I wrote, like ‘Cocaine Cat,’ when I was 17. The bones of the songs, the chords, and the lyrics. The only full song Anton wrote for any of our projects was ‘Talking About The Weather.’ Both music and lyrics. He wrote the music for ‘Dead and Gone’ and ‘Bindle,’ but everything else was a song I had brought to him that I had initially had music and lyrics and a melody for. And then he instrumented it and made it a symphony that I couldn’t have possibly done by myself.

But so, this album is a lot more collaborative, but circumstantially it became clear that we wouldn’t all be able to finish the album all together the way we had envisioned.

There was nothing that could be done about it. I couldn’t physically come to England. It’s been a real journey to get to the completion of this album, and it’s not at all what it could have been. This album

has been done for me for nearly three years, so I’m just excited that it has finally been released, and I feel a great sense of freedom from finally finishing that whole chapter of life. And the new stuff I have been working on and collaborating on is the most excited I have been about music in a very long time.

I am so grateful to Jack Palfrey and Casper at Fuzz Club and James Meija at Hand Drawn Dracula. Both labels are longtime friends and had asked if I had new music.

It had been a while, and I had gone pretty quiet, I guess. And so, everything’s always happened in a really natural way. And if it wasn’t meant to happen this way, then it wouldn’t have happened, and the album wouldn’t be out in the world. All it takes is one kind person - a big bonus if it’s more than one – to say that they believe in you. It can change everything.

Inspiration My family is my greatest inspiration. I write and think about my sisters and my parents constantly. They are the reason I do anything. I don’t really feel like I have anything else. I’ve been researching generational trauma. We are the DNA, all the past DNA of our ancestors. I want to help heal all of it. And if nothing else, for me to create anything is my ode to just being alive and grateful to my parents and my ancestors and leaving something behind that makes people feel understood and seen, makes people feel something good. I want to choose to live in constant celebration if I can help it. But there’s so much suffering also. How do you find the balance of enjoying life while also understanding how much suffering is happening to the whole earth and all of the families. The world feels really different now. I was talking to my mom about this when I was at home last week—it’s the most intense thing in the world looking into my mom’s eyes because it’s like looking into God. Moving to England meeting Alan McGee. When I was 19, I was living in London and at university. Well, I had just dropped out of university. I worked for 12 Bar and got fired after three weeks, which is fine because I kept in touch with the booking agent there, Andy Lowe. Alan McGee was filming a movie called Svengali there. I got a call because, at this point, I was not really playing shows anymore in London, I was heartbroken, I was really depressed and lost, and I was going to move back to Toronto, and just as I was thinking about moving back to Toronto, I got this call from Andy Lowe saying, “Alan McGee is going to be here shooting a movie tonight, you’ve got to come in and play. You know, maybe he’ll stay and watch you once they’re done filming.” I got myself together and ended up as an extra in the movie. So, you can see the back of my head going up the stairs.

In between takes, I went up to Alan, which

I didn’t realize at the time was pretty unprofessional. I brought these handmade CDs with me. I used to put my photographs as the cover and burn each one individually from iTunes and hand write the track listing. I recorded these little demos with GarageBand. Well, I went up to him and said, “You signed my favorite band [Oasis].

I love you. Please listen to this”; he hadn’t been doing music for five years. He had been out living in Wales. A few months later, I got a message from Alan on Facebook and he said, “Your music is really good, and I was like, “Wow, what...? He listened to it...!?” I moved back to Toronto in August 2012. Eventually, in April 2013, I got a call from him. “I’m going to start a label [359 Music]. Do you want to be on it?” Obviously, I was just in instant tears. Yes. Oh, my God, wow, God exists? This is amazing. I can’t believe it... He thought I already had an album done. So, I had two weeks to finish an album essentially with my friends River Tiber (Thomas Paxton- Beasley), Andrew McGill, Thom Huhtala, and Anthony Nemet.

Returning to live performances.

Now more than ever, I’ve been really struggling with the idea of getting back on stage and the kind of ego that is associated with that. I have stopped drinking for a while now. I think that’s going to be interesting because drinking alcohol made me feel way more confident on stage. I’m ready to be more vulnerable and share this much more authentic version of myself. I hope it seems obvious and translates on stage how different I am now.

It’s been since August 2019 that the band and I have been on stage together. Our last show was Manchester Psych Fest, and I’m so happy to be finally returning there in September this year, too. But if that had been our last gig ever, I would have been happy. I got really comfortable with the fact that I might never do this again, but I am really, really glad that we get to again. And I feel optimistic about the future.

‘And Those Who Were Seen Dancing’ is now out on streaming platforms, Vinyl, CD, and cassette tape via Fuzz Club worldwide and Hand Drawn Dracula in Canada. Tickets to live performances and festivals in Europe and the UK are available online now.

TESS PARKS Toronto-born, London-based artist Tess Parks talks with the Second Scene about her new album ‘And Those Who Were Seen Dancing’ and returning to the stage.

Photo: Brittany Lucas

GREAT is the work of multi-instrumentalist Chandler Fredrick.

A Santa Barbara, California native, currently living in NYC. He is also the frontman for DaisychainNYC, an upbeat indie guitar band that has just finished mastering its debut, produced

by Brooklyn hotshot Ben Greenberg.

The debut single ‘it was yr birthday.’

Produced by Scott Campbell (Acetone, Stevie Nicks, the black watch), added guitar, Bernard Yin (ex-Medicine, Fuzztones) With no social media profile.

He leerily describes his interest in the record industry as “marginal, minimal.”

“I make music,” he says, “for fun--with my friends.”

Bandcamp: great3.bandcamp.com

PRETTY LIGHTNING is a German psychduo from the small town of Saarbrücken, released their latest album Dust Moves on Fuzz Club Records. This 14-track instrumental album is best described by the group as “a cinematic journey through meandering desert blues, strung-out psych-rock, and widescreen, hypnotic drones.” Available through Bandcamp. prettylightning.bandcamp. com/album/dust-moves.

DONOVAN’S BRAIN Ron Sanchez gives his thoughts on the latest album by his group Donovan’s Brain.

“This one is a slight diversion. I had the chance to collect some film music.

Knives, and I Would Not/Story In A Story were pulled together at the beginning of the year for this record. A lot of it was done and had been filed together.

The last track, Des Formes, was something I did five years ago. That is a musical interpretation of a weird experience/vision I had. Distance and I Don’t Dream were also recorded early in the Sandbox sessions in 2017. I wasn’t sure about them, so they got put aside. Once I finished Sandbox, I returned to them to see what could be done. Distance got a serious makeover. Three minutes were edited out. I Don’t Dream was just about done. I’m not sure why I had doubts about that one. There were several more that had never got finished that I reviewed. I cataloged them all. A couple of others have been reworked. The strays will probably get finished for the third album in this next run of albums.

The others on the new album are from the writing work that started while I was finishing Sandbox in 2021. Unexpected could have been a Sandbox song.

Lyrically, it fits the Sandbox Dispatches story.

This album came together quickly. It was commissioned in December. Scott came up with Hated, so we got a few others together and did two drum sessions with Ric in January and March. Those were the last things he did.

The other four songs will be on the next album. That was what we’ve been working on. Doing the film music was a good break and bought me some time to get the new one done at an easier pace. I’ve made a lot of music for films. You can hear most of that on the box set. I enjoy doing those synth tracks. I record a lot of Krautrock stuff. It doesn’t usually show up on our albums. The Brain records are song-driven. My experimental stuff has just been collecting.

So it was fun to do an album that was a bit of both. The songs and the instrumental pieces fit together for this. The band got into it and did a lot of work very quickly. That isn’t always the case. Last year Scott sent me Holding My Own. I told him it reminded me of Pink Floyd’s Obscured By Clouds album, a soundtrack they did in the middle of Dark Side Sessions. He liked that idea.

When a friend in Viet Nam asked if we had music for a movie, we were right on it. It’s all pretty vague. I don’t know what the status of the film is. I think the director figured they could get funding if they had some music from an American band. I’ve not seen any footage. All our communications are through a friend of my friend. I’m not too fussed. We got a good album out of the deal.

I wasn’t sure what the reaction would be. There are no jangly pop songs.

No up-tempo songs at all. Reviews seem to be good. It gives me some confidence to keep expanding what we do. Not to shy away from our prog/ experimental influences. I don’t want to keep making the same record. I can hear some of the sounds and textures surfacing on the next album’s materials—mostly more synths up front, not just drones in the background.

Kris, Bobby, and Scott stepped up on Chiem Bao. They will also play a very important part on the next album. Bobby and I have written two together.

Scott has a very good one. Kris and Joe Hughes are working on two songs as we speak. I handed one of mine over to Kris; with instructions, she can add whatever she wants. That might mean a new set of lyrics. She’s brilliant that way. Great songwriter. She did, I Would Not in just a couple of days.

Putting out two albums eight months apart was a little risky. In the end, it’s done what I hoped. It keeps Donovan’s Brain in the press and people’s vision.

A side benefit has been a lot of interest in our catalog. Seeing people buying several old albums in one order is pretty exciting. Things have been moving so fast since 1998. I sometimes lose track of what all we’ve done. Now to get the next album done and released early next year.”

MEMORY FRONT Memory Front is a post-punk/electro-rock two-piece (guitar, synths, electronic drums, vocals) from Pittsburgh, PA, and they just released their latest single, Dead Europe. Here’s what they had to say.

What was the inspiration behind the song Dead Europe?

In light of the political instability in the US, I was trying to widen my perspective of how democratic systems can degrade into autocracies. The parallels between collapsing power structures in America and those in Europe during the 1920s were impossible to ignore, and this served as the inspiration for Dead Europe.

I imagined the people of Europe as passengers trapped in a plane.

Descending into authoritarianism and war reminded me of being stuck in a plane falling to the ground. This inspired the imagery of radio mayday calls, flak through wings, and fuselages breaking apart. This story, vis-a-vis the idea of a “Dead Europe,” seemed like a warning about what happens when democracies dissolve.

The song was actually written in 2021 and had been in our live repertoire, but when Ukraine was invaded, we decided that we had to release the song. It was just impossible to have this song about political instability and open warfare in Europe when that exact situation was happening and not release the single as an artistic comment on the events.

Tell us about Memory Front and how you came to be.

Memory Front has had a strange trajectory. We began as a guitarcentric rock band with traditional bass and acoustic drums. We formed in 2019 and spent some time getting on our feet. We had lined up shows throughout the spring and summer of 2020, and the wave of cancellations, of course, began in March. That version of the band essentially went unheard, and we went on hiatus until vaccines were available and it was safe to work together again.

During that period, we downsized to a duo, and we transitioned to a guitar and electronic instruments format. There was something appealing about the interplay between the warmth of the guitar and the coldness of the synthesizer and electronic drums. It’s strange to think how we could have ended up with such a different sound and approach. Memory Front is very much focused on the fragility of our lives against the political instability and injustices that we’re living through. There is a subtle, violent edge to the lyrics, which frequently reference resistance against these forces.

What can we look forward to from Memory Front in the coming months?

Right now, we are recording our full-length debut. We’ll be releasing singles off that record in the coming months.

Photo: Chris Rowe

Motoko Tachikawa

Born in Tokyo, she has been active as a professional artist in Paris since 1992.

From her drawings, photography, and installations to her artist’s books, she leads us into a universe that mixes plant and mineral elements in search of places to live or travel.

Working with plant forms has been one of the main subjects of her plastic research for a long time.

Drawing is essential to her work: it requires concentration, forces one to make choices, and supports self-forgetting.

Even if the technique itself is not new, the aim is to use this to express an entirely original view.

In parallel to her pictorial research, she produces artist’s books as an art form.

Encounters with authors, her life in France and Japan, nature, and her reflections on accumulated time... each project leads to a new presentation in a circumscribed space and new technical trials.

She presents her works in solo and group exhibitions, and they are in numerous private and public collections in France and abroad : The Centre Pompidou (Paris), National Library of France, Victoria & Albert Museum and Wellcome Collection in London, National Library of Luxembourg and Monaco and about thirty media libraries in France.

She realized music videos from photos and films she took in everyday life.

She started creating videos with the concept of Leporello books ( accordion books) which can continuously express scenes and stories.

Her photos represent what she was feeling at the time rather than what was there.

When her images match the music, she realizes music videos.

She has made five music videos for one year (including four videos with Philip Parfitt’s songs)... they are currently on Photo: K.Borjas YouTube.

Word by Gabriela Anco & Christophe Comentale.

Motoko Tachikawa

I got a chance to interview the one and only Josie Cotton!

Josie is a bonafide Rock n Roll Goddess! Wikipedia briefly states: “Josie Cotton is an American singer and songwriter, best known for “Johnny Are You Queer?” and “He Could Be the One” from 1982. “Johnny Are You Queer?” was used on the soundtracks to Jackass Number Two and Valley Girl. “He Could Be the One” was also used in Valley Girl.”

That brief synopsis doesn’t do justice to how important and influential Josie is to today’s cool music scene. When I first heard “Johnny Are You Queer,” I fell in love with Josie Cotton! It is one of my dreams in life to be able to interview her.

SS: Can you give us a short rundown on who you are and why you are (super) famous amongst the kids who know what music is cool?

JC: I’m no one special. I came to Los Angeles to pursue a music career, mostly as a songwriter, but as fate would have it, a friend’s demo tape I sang on got signed to a label, and it ended up causing a huge controversy around the world. A lot of people were mad at me, and others embraced me. It was very confusing.

SS: A massive hit you had in the 80s was “Johnny Are You Queer?” I loved that song. I think any press is good, but you took a lot of heat for that song. Tell us about it.

JC: It was a wild ride. The kids got it, but it was a little shocking to hear the word “queer” used in a pop song for everyone else. Really it was just a girl asking a simple question, but it was also very funny because she was so clueless just how gay her friend was. How could she not know? It was the adults from all sides of the issue who went crazy and banned it, even in Amsterdam, which still astounds me.

And yes, the press was especially unfriendly, along with certain religious organizations that shall go unnamed who thought I was actually a man with his voice sped up, promoting homosexuality. It was insanity.

SS: Now, you work with the Gay Community in Los Angeles nearly every year. Well done. Tell us about that.

JC: The beautiful thing about that song was that it became an anthem for young gay men especially, who told me that song gave them permission to come out to their parents, even to themselves.

I’ve gotten so many letters thanking me for singing that song that it changed their lives. People sometimes call it a joke song, and they are so wrong. It was a transformative window in time. It had to come out right at that moment. Now would be too late.

SS: You are a rock goddess and an entrepreneur. You have started a (few?) Record labels. Tell us about that!

JC: The record is called Day of the Gun. It’s like nothing I’ve done, so I’m a little nervous. But Clem Burke plays drums on a couple of songs. Also performing is Lee Rocker. As you know, I’ve had tour plans for Japan for the last two years, but I will get there. I’m playing different 80’s festivals all over the country during the summer and touring the West Coast in the fall, then off to Europe SS: In your label, you are handling new female artists. On my show, I play about 90% female artists (female artists are the best). Tell us about

JC: We currently have four female artists on our label we’re very excited about, all different styles of music, all very talented singer/songwriters.

Hayley and the Crushers is a young pop/ punk band, and Hayley’s also on the new GoGo’s tribute album with me coming out on April 9th. Inger Lorre (from the Nymphs) has a very dark Americana sound.

Crow Jane is very Goth and experimental, and she makes the most incredible videos like little horror movies. Kira (Roessler) is considered punk royalty and was the original bass player in Black Flag. She’s an amazing talent.

SS: If I were an artist, how would I get in contact with you and send you my music? And how would I have you give us a listen and think about signing us?

JC: Send your music to Kitten Robot Records, PO Box 29297, LA CA 90029, US SS: So you are still so young looking, Josie. My friend says you must be a vampire! What’s your secret for looking so young and vibrant?

JC: My Mother and Grandmother looked quite young till the very end, so I would guess I have good genes. But it’s very much about the mind. If you think you’re old, you act old, and if you act old, you become old. You have to break the barriers every day, especially as females.

SS: Do you have any last comments for the readers. Any thoughts on living a fulfilling life?

JC: What a beautiful question. Noone’s ever asked me that before.

In Buddhism, they teach the importance of quieting the mind because that’s where you find the warrior’s courage and ability to love. It’s where all the magic is. We just have to stop struggling so much. I think it’s very important to keep an open and curious mind.

It’s how we learn.

SS: Thank you so much, Josie Cotton…. The Rock n Roll Goddess!

josie cotton

JC: You are too kind, my friend. I’ve started three different record companies with various people, but it’s only now, with Kitten Robot, that Paul Roessler and I formed.

I feel like we have the right team of people.

They’re all excellent at what they do, but we’re like a family, and that’s very important to me. To have that trust.

SS: You have a new record coming out. Tell us about that and any tour plans you have!

the artists that you handle.

JC: I did not realize that about you! I love that!

Interview: Mike Rogers

Photo: Rio Warner

LIMOUSINE BEACH Photo: Nic Lockerman Second Scene talks with Dave Wheeler about the latest Limousine Beach album, influences, and the future.

Tell us about your influences and how it all started for you.

I was kind of late to the game, figuring out my musical path and were decent shows were happening.

Yeah. Eventually, you’re able to be more objective about it when you get some distance from it. You realize the opinions you had about a band were shaped more by the people who were into it or not. Yeah. Really. Take an objective look at their music.

As I said, I was pretty late to discovering anything DIY because growing up in Sewekly. During the time that I was there, there were a couple of kids that had bands, but I wouldn’t say that any of them were punk bands that were putting on their own shows. I was aware of some music that was kind of left of center, but I didn’t really get the whole DIY thing. I knew about 70s punk, the Dead Kennedys, and stuff like that. And then King Crimson, prog rock. Well, the things that you might not necessarily know if somebody didn’t show you when you’re that age. In terms of going to shows and stuff. I didn’t have that till I got to Pitt [University of Pittsburgh]. And even then, it took a while for me to really find it.

You know, being the age that I was when Nirvana came out, Nevermind came out in 91. I was 13, and that album just dropped like a bomb on our generation because we lived through the 80s, and seeing that was my first exposure to something that felt accessible and empowering.

The album starts with a late 60s Beach Boys feel.

The album follows with well-arraigned short songs.

Very different from your previous groups.

I would never smack anyone for making that comparison. [laughs] Now. I’m glad you noticed that, Because to me, it seems obvious when you listen to the album, and all the songs are that short. Not all the reviews mentioned it, but to me, it’s one of the most obvious things about the album.

And it was on purpose. And the reason for it was so when my old band Carousel, we did a lot of touring, our fair amount, we did a full US tour, we did two European tours and East Coast stuff. We did a decent amount of touring. And the scene at that time, and still, I’ll say retro rock, music that was drawing heavily from 60s and 70s influences, dominated by heavy psych bands and like Doom stoner rock bands. The songs were a couple of riffs for 10 minutes or whatever. Not very songoriented. The one thing I like grew to appreciate about a lot of those bands is that what they did really well was create a mood, and that’s what attracts a lot of people to those bands. But I kind of felt, I mean, Carousel really was just a rock band. But it was the kind of music that if you were into Psych and stone rock when you listen to rock and roll, that was probably the kind of rock and roll you listened to. Eventually, I felt I wanted to make a more focused, concentrated point. So alright, we’re this rock band. What’s going to make us stand out even more against these other bands that are in our scene? To me, it was, let’s make the songs short enough that like people will notice that about them that they’re short, they’re not long, they’re not even medium length. Let’s layer a lot of harmonies production-wise.

Let’s layer a lot of guitar parts. But let’s start with really solid, strong ideas for songs, melodic ideas, and hooks. So the idea was intentionally made to be a contrast to the type of bands that we were sharing stages with a lot. Because we felt there are already bands that do that well. What can you do? It just seems that style of music, it’s been pretty well worn, and we weren’t going to add anything to it. So let’s go in the complete opposite direction, focus on the songwriting, focus on cutting out anything unnecessary.

That was the other thing. I think limitations kind of make you… they stimulate your creativity. If you have a limited number of colors in your palette, you have to be creative. So Right. If you’re working on making every song under two and a half minutes, you have to eliminate. You have to cut out things that don’t need to be in there.

There isn’t anything on that album that hasn’t been considered or scrutinized, and if it’s in there, it’s in there because we think it needs to be in there. And that was on purpose.

When did you record the album?

We did, I think, all but two songs in like 2019.

Yeah, it was a roundabout. It was a circuitous route to get to where we were because we wanted to record it. We didn’t know what we were going to do with it. We wanted to put an LP out. Then I shopped it around a little bit. I had already had the relationship with TP [Tee Pee Records] because of Carousel. And at first, they agreed to do a digital press distribution deal which included a PR run. We were like, okay, so then our next idea was alright, we’ll do three, and this is when COVID happened. We’re like, let’s do three, three-song like digital EPs. And then, at the end, we’ll compile all the songs plus the ones we haven’t released and put out a physical LP. We submitted the first three songs, which were Stealing Wine, Here You Callin’, and Tiny Hunter.

They put out the digital EP, and we did a little PR run, and then it came time to submit the second three, and Dave Sweetapple at TP was like, Do you just want to put out an LP? Yes, that’s what we want to do. It was nine months ago. They sent it off to get pressed. We knew it would take a long time, but we went in and recorded two new songs.

We recorded Moving On and the Outro Song to add to the album. Because this thing is under 27 minutes or something, let’s add a couple more.

What’s planned for the future? More recording, etc?

We don’t. Yeah, we don’t have any recording plans right now. But hopefully, when we get enough material, we’ve thought about a couple of ideas for what we want to do next and the direction we want to go. We don’t want it to be the same thing necessarily that we’re doing right now—just more of the same. So we have some ideas, but it’s also a little too early to say anything definitive about that.

SILVER OWLS T oday, Second Scene talks to Ireland’s John Haggis (Emperor of Ice-cream, Speckled Doves, Band of Clouds, and Gammy Origami) and Eddy Butt from (Emperor of Ice-cream, Arctic Lights) about their new band “Silver Owls,” the current music scene, and how their musical influences shaped the formation of their band, Emperor of Ice-cream.

Signed to FIFA Records, Silver Owls released their debut EP, Serpentine, consisting of two lead tracks, Serpentine and Sleeping Giant, and three remixes

by John Haggis, on May 6, 2022. The EP received rave reviews and whose videos, also produced

by John Haggis, have helped gain the band a reputation as a creative force of nature and a growing fanbase across the UK and the globe.

You have known each other since you were teenagers, growing up in Cork. Did you share the same musical influences when forming Emperor of Ice-cream, and did your influences change as your music progressed?

[John] I liked Big Country and Echo & the Bunnymen when I was thirteen or fourteen, but, for some reason, the first records I began to collect were albums by The Beatles. When I met Eddie B for the first time, he was into Goth and Punk music, but we both shared a love for the flanged melodies of The Cure, and a gang of us went to see them in 1989. Albums from the likes of Afghan Whigs, Pavement, Teenage Fanclub, Primal Scream, Fugazi, and Bongwater were always on the stereo. There were some fantastic Irish Bands like Whipping Boy and Rollerskate Skinny on the scene at the time. There really was so much amazing music in the late 80s and early 90s. So many of those bands came to play in Cork that it was hard not to appreciate, or sometimes, to be influenced by it all.

[Eddy] Yes, we all had a similar taste in music growing up, which makes it easier creating your own music because everyone is on the same

wavelength. Some of those bands would have been The Cure, The Smiths, Joy Division, and later Ride, Stone Roses, and many others. Obviously, we all had other preferences as well. For instance, I was also a big Bauhaus and Sisters of Mercy fan. I would say even though we might have had the same records at home, there would also be differences in each other’s collections.

The industrial bleakness of Manchester arguably shaped the soundscape for native bands such as Joy Division, The Smiths, and The Fall. Did environmental and cultural factors growing up in Cork shape your music?

[John] There were some fantastic bands and musicians in Cork, but the thing I really liked about Cork was all the bands were so different, and most people didn’t take themselves too seriously, for fear of being slagged - which is a national pastime in The Peoples Republic of Cork. And that came across in the names of the bands; A Cow in the Water, Sultans of Ping, The Frank & Walters, Five go Down to the Sea, and Emperor of Ice cream.

[Eddy] Maybe, hard to tell, but even though sometimes the times were bleak, there was always a healthy punk / alternative scene in Cork where each generation brought something new to the table. Every band in Cork at that time were unique and very individual, which is hard to come by these days. I think you are most likely to be influenced by your favorite bands, but when you are young and energetic, you just want to make some noise.

Emperor of Ice-cream formed in 1992, split up in 1995 and then reformed in 2020. Your album “No Sound Ever Dies” really captures the zeitgeist spirit of the early 90s, yet it still sounds fresh today. Looking back, do you think the 90s is an underrated decade in terms of innovation, style, and genre-bending?

Interview: Indie Cindy

[John] The rise of indie music in the late ‘80s and early 90s still echoes through the music we listen to today. Sonic Youth, The Pixies, Nirvana, My Bloody Valentine, and New Order were pushing the boundaries in sound and songwriting, but every generation takes the sound of their peers and finds a new way to bend and sculpt it into something new and fresh.

[Eddy] I wouldn’t say the 90s is underrated at all because there wasn’t any social media or hardly even internet back then, so you had to work off your own ideas rather than copy someone else’s.

These days I find a lot of music is very similar and gets very repetitive. Any other good bands out there today are hard to find because the market is so saturated, so unless you have a marketing budget, it’s hard to get the exposure. The world needs a good alternative music show on mainstream TV. I get the impression that Cork and Waterford have a real sense of community that encourages musicians to collaborate, support one another, and share creative space. If you had the resources in place, what facilities or initiatives would you introduce to support musicians trying to get their music out there?

[John] Every city and town needs more affordable spaces for artists, writers, creators, musicians, and more venues where bands can perform original music. Support from promoters, local press, arts councils, and businesses are the other ingredients to creating a vibrant art scene.

[Eddy] For any artist, making music is the easy part, but promoting it can be a soul-destroying process.

It can get very expensive if you decide to hire a PR company etc. Back in the day, it was easy, you would try and get a record deal and leave all that stuff up to the label, but now most bands and artists have to do a lot of it themselves either through social media, radio, or playing gigs. In

the 90s, I worked for two years in Cork Music CoOp, where we helped young bands, which was supported by government grants. This no longer exists, which is sad. Having a Co-Op in every region where they could put on showcase gigs, give marketing advice, or even training courses in music production would be a very valuable asset to society as a whole, as, without music, the world would be a very boring place. We need to encourage our young people to create as a means of supporting mental health.

John, you have worked in the music business for 30 years, from performing, producing, setting up record labels, and directing music festivals and exhibitions. Do you think that the way we now interact with music has reduced the impact that music makes? Perhaps music now is in need of a new movement like Punk, Madchester, Grunge, or Brit-pop that speaks out to a generation?

[John] There is an avalanche of talented Hip Hop and R&B producers and artists in Ireland at the moment. There is a deluge of spoken word post-punk coming out of the UK. And fantastic shoegaze coming out of Siberia and Skibbereen.

Some of these genres and terms may be familiar to us, but the kids these days will make their own sounds and their own scenes, most of which will be gone before anyone notices. Young people today are more accepting of people who are different, so in some ways, there is less of a need for a scene or a fashion-conscious tribe who might only accept you because you have the right hair and shoulder pads.

Eddy, as well as making music, you work as a graphic designer. In an age of technology, instant gratification, and streaming/downloading music, do you think the whole experience of anticipation, appreciation of the art within album sleeves, and the cultural connection has been lost in transit?

[Eddy] No, not really. There is an abundance of creative outlets these days for graphic designers in music as there are more tools to create static artworks, animations, music visual shows, videos, t-shirts, artworks, etc. The comeback of vinyl, CDs, and cassettes also rejuvenates the old-school pleasure of purchasing music where the artwork can shine. Instant gratification is a problem not just in music but in life in general due to apps like Tic Tok that feed 30-second content at a fierce rate. I call them the swipe generation. We just have to accept as we are getting older, we are turning into our parents, and different crazes will appeal to each generation that comes along.

Each generation needs their own thing that older people shouldn’t be able to understand, like my mam and dad telling me to turn off that noise when I was blasting My Bloody Valentine on my stereo when I was younger.

I say this in the nicest possible way. You have been around the block a few times in your career, touring with The Manic Street Preachers, Ride, and working with Motorhead’s Eddie Clark on your album, “No Sound Ever Dies,” etc. You must have experienced some bonafide rock n roll moments that define youth, liberation, and good old-fashioned hedonism. So this begs the question.

Do you have any rock n roll stories or dark secrets that you would share with us? (I promise I won’t tell anyone) [John] When you’re out touring, you spend most of your time in a van, hotel room, or at soundchecks.

The rest of the time, you’d find us in the van listening to Tom Waits Closing Time. That’s how exciting it got. Oh! I did meet James Brown, Christy Moore, and Miki Berenyi from Lush in the bathroom of a motorway petrol station once, but it’s better if I let Miki tell you that story.

[Eddy] We did have a ball when we lived in London for sure, as any young band in their 20s would have done, and there were probably moments that shouldn’t end up in print. If we

made a movie from those years, no one would believe it was true.

Bands such as Wet Leg, Dry Cleaning, Yard Act, and Do Nothing have recently emerged, injecting new life into a new wave of idiosyncratic, post-punk bands. I think they are great, whose intermix of deadpan vocals and angular riffs define a new generation of music that is simultaneously polished and raw. I think Wet Leg, in particular, has done well to cross over with some commercial success. Do you think it’s harder for bands to succeed as people are too caught up in nostalgia, and the market is saturated? There is a lack of music programs that showcase talent ? Or do you think social media and how we now interact with music have given bands an advantage in getting their music out there and recognized?

[John] We had MTV and No Disco once a week on RTE, which was fantastic. Then they took MTV away and gave us the country music channel …

Cork never recovered from that. There is a lack of good music shows on the telly, and I can’t believe Bandcamp or Myspace didn’t add video channels and shows to their content. The internet, and the ability to make, produce and release your own music, has given arthritis so much artistic freedom to people, but it can be so hard to cover all the ground that is needed to get the music to the masses.

[Eddy] Social Media is great for getting your music out there. The only thing is, there are 60,000 songs uploaded to Spotify every day, which makes it hard to stand out. I miss programs like Top of the Pops. Even though you would most likely hate most of the bands, it gave a good snapshot of what’s going on. I love the Jools Holland Show, and it’s a pity there aren’t more shows like his. If you are a musician craving commercial success, you are in the wrong job. We make music for the love of it, and anything else is a bonus.

Your new band, “Silver Owls,” consists of just yourselves, singing and playing all the instruments.

The music has been described as “Shoegaze, ethereal rock, neo-psych, Indie pop, darkwave, symphonic-rock, noise-rock, and dream pop, which thematically touches current affairs.” Your debut EP, “The Serpentine,” released on May 6, 2022, via FIFA records, received rave reviews, with the title track “The Serpentine” taking a cinematic and political route, with both mixes featured in two epic videos made by Haggis. I am amazed by your creativity and skill at translating emotions into art. Do you both have a particular method of creating music, or is it a process delivered in various stages and incubation periods?

[John] I work most days in a studio, so I’m constantly humming and singing away as people are creating music - I got that from my mum.

She was always singing and seemed to know the words to everything that came on the radio. When

Eddie asked if I might write some words and sing over some music he had written, I only had to hear it and like it, to string together some melodies, but finding the words is a longer process. With the lead single, I wanted to write about the time when we met, as teenagers, in Spiders nightclub, and the music and the people that would blow our minds every Sunday night. Sleeping Giant, the second song on the EP, came from a different place. War had broken out in Ukraine the day I went to write that song, and I couldn’t help but be directed to go down that road with the lyrics.

[Eddy] What happens to me when I create music is I start with an electronic drum track and just jam with myself. I don’t force it. I just put the headphones on and just play with whatever mood I’m in, and whatever comes out comes out. I don’t take it too seriously. Because I gave up music for years as I was bored of listening to myself play, it’s all a bit new to me again, so I get a good buzz from it. Once the idea goes around, it all becomes about teamwork, and you have to prepare to let it develop into something else. You can’t get too precious. Writing music now is different to the 90s when we were all in a band room getting a lift from each other’s playing. It is hard to do that now but doing it remotely. I think the overall song benefits as there are no hiding places when you record, and you can take as long as you want to let the song develop.

What are your musical plans for “Silver Owls,” and are there any artists, bands, or producers you would love to work with in the future?

[John] The last two years were strange because a lot of music was being created remotely, but I got my bus pass soon enough, so I’ll be able to travel more freely.

[Eddy] The plan is, there is no plan if that makes sense. I would have loved to have worked with Butch Vig, Rick Rubin, Alan Moulder, Flood, and Trent Reznor, but these days I think there is something very real producing your own music, it’s more organic, and you have complete control, which should be every artist’s dream. Don’t ever expect someone else to do the work for you unless you are four good-looking teenagers with no musical talent.

Photo courtesy of FIFA Records

Tony Valentino Tony Valentino of The Standells

by Mike Rogers Who is Tony Valentino? He was the creator and original member of the Standells. The Standells have been called the Godfathers of Punk and Garage Rock. Best known for their iconic hit of the ‘60s, “Dirty Water,” they also scored with “Sometimes Good Guys Don’t Wear White,” “Why Pick On Me,” and “Riot On Sunset Strip.” They appeared in many television shows and movies. Their songs have been covered by everyone from Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith, and U2 to countless other bands. From day one, Tony Valentino was there as the guitarist and co-founding member of the band. “Dirty Water” is listed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s “500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.”

SS: I’m here with Tony Valentino, Rock Legend! Tony!

TV: I was an original member of the band the Standells. At that time, I was in the United States for a couple of years, and I couldn’t speak English well. My uncle took me to this bakery, and he got me a job there. And I met this fellow named Jody Ridge. And he says, I play bass, and I said, I play guitar! And we started a band! It was called The Layla Action.

One night we saw a football game, and they were clapping hands. So on the way out, I said, to Jody, “Why don’t we change the song title from “Delay” to “Let’s Go?” Everyone loved the idea.

punk bands in L.A. were booming, where were you?

TV: I was devastated at that time. I had no job, you know. It was like just after the glory, you know, the rigors of battling with the Rolling Stones and all this stuff. I ended up with no job, actually, after 1969. So, I reformed the Standells.

And I went to play in Santa Barbara and then I went to Canada.

In 77, 78, I came back to town, and I had no job. But, actually, I couldn’t believe it. I started reading about the Sex Pistols and the Ramones.

SS: Back in those days, everybody loved the Standells. I mean, you’re a rock legend. So tell us what you’re doing now.

TV: I’m all over the place. I just did a song with the Glen Burke. I’m doing an album in Kansas City and Eric Campbell from Joan Jett in New York. And I just released my own album. It’s called “A Suitcase Full of Dreams.” It’s on CD, Baby, right now. As a matter of fact, I just got an article that came out from Paris, France. The first single is going crazy.

I’ve also re-recorded all the Dirty Water album songs, and we’re going to do it in vinyl. The album won’t come out until probably the end of this year. Be on the lookout for “Dirty Water” through Big City Records pretty soon.

SS: So if I were an artist. Okay? Imagine I’m a young artist. How would I get in contact with Tony Valentino?

Our manager said, “Why don’t you guys change your name?” So time went by, and we picked “The Standells.” The next thing I know is, we all get to go to Hawaii! So a one-month stay performing in Hawaii turned into three months, then six months. After that, it is all history.

TV: People can get a hold of me on my Facebook page. Tony Valentino.

They also can get hold of me through Dennis Chuning or even contact Big Steer Records.

SS: I read magazines now, and they’re definitely attributing the Standell’s influence on the Sex Pistols and the Ramones. What do you think about that?

SS: So what’s your secret? I mean, you seem really healthy and happy, and you are doing so many things.

TV: That is unbelievable. I had no idea when I started on the guitar, you know, I mean, when I recorded Dirty Water, it was like a three-chord change blues song.

So we started recording. There was the Dirty Water Riff, which I used on Dirty Water a year later.

TV: We have to always feel and stay young. I have a daughter, you know?

She’s just turned 27. I want to say hello to Briana, my daughter. And I always do music.

SS: That’s your secret? Rock and roll?

So a couple of days later, when we started recording again, I said, Let’s use this riff.” And everyone said, “Yeah!”

And then we went to Seattle, and then we got a phone call that “Dirty Water” was getting airplay all over the country, and then it started breaking everywhere like crazy.

SS: So let’s say in 1977, 78, when the Sex Pistols, the Ramones, and all those

TV: I mean, do you have rock and roll? Absolutely. Do you eat healthy and stay active?

SS: Do you have any last comments for your readers? Any thoughts on living a fulfilling life or anything? Do you have any words like that?

TV: I would say always believe in yourself from the start. Don’t get hung up on your girlfriend if you really want to play guitar or drums or bass or whatever you want to do. Devotion to your dreams!

SOME DIE NAMELESS Pittsburgh area independent promoters Derick Reid and Jared Carns talk to the Second Scene about Some Die Nameless.

When did you put together Some Die Nameless and start promoting shows?

Why? Derick: Jared and I have been putting on shows together under the name for almost eight years now. But Some Die Nameless has been used as a name for my own comedic/artistic endeavors since 2000. In 2014, Jared had booked a few shows, and when I started booking shows as well, we just adopted the name for our joint efforts. Our initial goal was to put on one show a month at the Fallout Shelter in Aliquippa, PA. Within the first year, we had booked over 20 shows at multiple venues. I personally started booking shows because I love live music and want to help our locals any way I can.

Jared: 1. SDN started off as Derick making flyers for fake shows and a fake band... which graduated to real shows eventually. I tagged along because we were at local shows often. It seemed like something fun and worthwhile to get involved with.

Tell us about your experiences promoting shows. The pros/cons Jared: It’s been a great experience overall! It can be frustrating/ disheartening when you put together what you believe to be a great lineup of bands and promote it heavily, only for the turnout to be underwhelming.

But the positives far outweigh the negatives. I love the local music scene, and it’s very much where most of my friends are. The atmosphere and community aspect of it all mean a lot to me. It’s a beautiful thing when a show really comes together well.

Derick: The pros -All the great music and friends. Expanding and booking bands that I’ve been listening to for more than half my life is wild to me. When a rad lineup comes together, and the scene shows up to support. No better feeling for me than bringing a bunch of folks together and seeing everyone involved having a great time.

The cons: Being in the red. It’s often a thankless job. Reaching a new

audience can be difficult. Apathetic bands and crowds. Competing with larger shows or oversaturation within the local scene.

What have been the most memorable shows?

Derick: Booking Steel City Ska Fest 2019 with Mephiskapheles and the Independents. I’ve been listening to those bands for over 25 years. I never dreamed I’d be booking them, let alone successfully. Every show we book with the Jasons or the Renfields is memorable for me because they are super fun and normally well attended. The Half Covered shows (April and October) are highlights each year as well. Well attended and super fun.

Jared: Personally, I really enjoy the shows where we feature bands of multiple genres that normally wouldn’t play together. Not many are open to putting on shows like that around here, but we are. Outsider Music Festival and Half Covered Halloween are also personal favorites of mine!

What genres of music do you promote?

Jared: Punk Rock and Ska primarily, but we do the occasional Metal show & dabble in other genres.

Derick: Jared and I tag-team the punk, alternative, and mixed-genre shows. I normally take the lead on the ska shows, while he takes the lead on the metal shows. We will book any genre as long as we enjoy the music.

What do you have planned for the summer and fall?

Jared: On August 13, we have Steel City Ska Fest! That is the labor of love of the one and only Derick Reid. It’s awesome seeing his enthusiasm for those lineups and his creativity in the artwork for the flyers. The man has a vision, and I’m just glad to help in whatever ways I can.

Derick: Our busiest time in booking and promoting is the end of April through Halloween. Not including other events we will be attending as fans or to network and street team, our event schedule through the summer and fall looks like this: April 29 - Halfway To Half Covered Halloween Part 3 with King Catfish as Nirvana, The Skratchtrax as Rancid, Kid Durango as Stone Temple Pilots, Murder for Girls as Hole at 222 Ormsby May 6 - The Jasons / Latecomer / JERK! / Bottle Rat at Cattivo May 7 - Creature Feature - SUBMACHINE / Cümplete Bastürds / the Scratch n’ Sniffs / Bottle Rat / Rocky Dennis Face / Navin and the Jerks / Princess Nostalgia at Level 20 May 21 - Hosting the stages at Mr. Smalls Theatre as part of the Millvale Music Festival.

June 23 - Outsider Music Fest - Downtown Brown / the Filthy Lowdown / the Slobberknockers / the Molecule Party at Cattivo.

October - Half Covered Halloween TBD

July 23 - Six Speed Kill / Iron Brigade / It Lives / Plaguewielder at Black Forge Coffee House II - McKees Rocks

Jared will be busy singing in his band, Iron Brigade, throughout the year as well.

August 13 - SDN and Pittsburgh Ska present Steel City Ska Fest 2022 with The Toasters NYC SKA, Pilfers, The Irritating Stick, Joystick, The Burnrides, Soulios at Spirit - sponsored by PGH Print Ship

What advice do you have for younger or newer groups looking to get involved in the scene?

Derick: First and foremost, write good songs. Network as much as possible. Go to local shows. Talk to local bands. Talk to the sound tech. Talk to the person at the door. Record your music. Promote yourself—support other bands in the scene. Hit us up. We are always open to new bands. We try our best to connect folks that we know in the scene. If you need to record, we know a studio. You need artwork. We have artist friends. You need a venue, here’s a list. You wanna do a tour, here’s a list of contacts in different cities. If we can’t book you on a certain date, we will connect you with another independent promoter that can. Being proactive goes a long way.

Jared: Play often and play in areas where others don’t. Don’t be afraid to play with bands that aren’t in your same musical neighborhood. Sometimes you’ll find band bros and fans in areas where you’d least expect it. Have as much fun as possible. Enthusiasm is contagious.

 Photo: Marcus Crawford (Crawfo Productions)

Pat Todd & The Rankoutsiders Interview and photo by Dug Moore - at the Redwood in Los Angeles

Reading Between the Liner Notes: Living, Dying and Staying Optimistic Second Scene Your prescription of rock’ n roll is infused with punk and spiked with Americana. I hope I am not prying too much into your mind by saying this, but I’ve noticed “an optimistic kind of pessimism” in your songwriting. You are a productive songwriter if there ever was one.

Pat Todd That’s a pretty good way of putting it. That’s perceptive.

Second Scene. The lyrics often talk a lot

about time. The past, or the future, and not enough of it left. Maybe I’m projecting a bit. The optimism is that you’re making the most of it, even if you didn’t like how things panned out.

Pat Todd Life is living and dying. That is what it is. It’s that simple. It’s up to you to decide what life means. Everyone has their take on this. I’m doing what comes out of me, what’s natural to me. I finally figured out years ago that all the artists I loved were 75

years of rock and roll, punk, blues, country, and folk all smashed together, and I am too. Hardly any of the artists I listened to were alike. They didn’t imitate other people.

They found out whoever the hell they were and whatever voice they had, however little or big it was. There’s something to learn in that. We all live in the same world. We all see, hear and check out the same things.

So when you see someone who’s perceived things differently, you start thinking. What do I see? What’s inside me, and what do I want

people ask me about songs and lyrics, that’s the biggest compliment I can get. I’d be lying to say it isn’t.

Second Scene. Is good songwriting often making us think about how we see things and different points of view?

Pat Todd I think it is. Probably all good art, humanity, conversations, funny jokes, it all does this if it’s good. I think it’s all tied together. In my music, I mean what I say, I put it out there, and people respond to that.

You’re out there doing art, then you’ll make friends with, or you’ll have relationships with various people. Hopefully, you attract good things or the things you need and want, and it should be as natural as possible. There are a million approaches to reality. There are a million ways to deal with reality, from funny to super serious. Hopefully, we have all of that in each song. Or at least between the lines of the song.

Second Scene. I feel like we are on a tangent.

Pat Todd Life is nothing but a tangent (laughs)! I remember we were playing at the world-famous (but now defunct) Cafe Nela in Los Angeles, now Permanent Records Roadhouse. After a show, I met one guy from Canada who had driven all the way to Los Angeles to see our show.

He said his best friend’s favorite song was our song, Somewhere Down the Line. Of course, I was flattered. His friend had said that when he died, he wanted to be carried out the of the funeral with that song playing.

As it goes, three months before our show, he had died, and they carried out his wish.

I wasn’t expecting to hear that! It’s a great story. I can’t ask for more than that.

Second Scene. You’ve got these liner notes on your CDs and albums that are super detailed. It reminds me of the old days, and it is a bit of a lost art that I seldom see anymore. When I was a kid, I would buy a record, and we would devour all of the liner notes. I am not saying one format is better than the other, but streaming is a different listening experience that doesn’t allow this. to express? I think that’s what anybody who’s good did creatively, from the simplest to the most complicated. It’s nice to try to find out what’s in you and put it into your music.

Second Scene. I know people have come to you and said, “I felt like that song was about me. What did you write that song about?” It’s happened to you more than a few times.

Pat Todd Yeah, it’s happening quite a bit, which I’m very thankful for. As cliche as it is to say this, it’s flattering and humbling because you’re just part of this giant chain of human beings who have got something to say and who have lived. We’re all part of one big life; even if you don’t want to be, you are. When

Pat Todd I’ll say one’s better than the other! It’s much better to listen to albums and CDs with the packaging and listen to songs in order (laughs). Streaming songs randomly is like reading chapter seven over and over in a book; I see no point. That’s my perspective. I just like listening to bands; going through the years with them. You get to see where they’re at in a time period.

Usually, their albums are a little story to take you from the first song to the last, and I think that is an art. Our CDs and albums come jammed full of stuff because I’m a rock and roll music fan. I still buy CDs, albums, books, and magazines. And I love it when you get a really nice package with liner notes and photos, all the ephemera that goes with the music. It adds so many more dimensions to what you are listening to. And also, usually the people I like, we will call them artists, for lack of better words, created this in

a certain way for a reason. But the word “artist” is not a highfalutin idea (laughs).

Second Scene. You specifically write the liner notes with a lot of character and voice.

It’s not just typed out information about the copyright and publishing. You’re telling us a bit about where you’re at with this album, a lifetime of feelings and ideas, in a limited number of words.

Pat Todd Thanks, I try to make those liner notes to go along with the songs. They don’t always tell you what the song is about.

You get the song, and you get the notes about the song. So you’ve got two things, all together. And those words in those liner notes, and the words in the songs: that’s me. It’s not a press agent doing it. If you don’t like it, it’s no big deal. But if you do, it’s nice to have someone give you everything they got.

Second Scene. You’ve been working like crazy. You got a bunch of songs and a bunch of albums, and they seem to be coming out at different places, on various labels.

Pat Todd Yeah, we have recorded over 50 new songs. We’re gonna have albums out all over the place. Singles out all over the place. There will be a six-song 12-inch EP on Ghost Highway Records in Spain before we go to Europe this June and July. That album is called Blues, Soul & Rock and Roll.

It’s something that I’ve been wanting to do for 30 years. We’ll also be touring Texas and things like that before the European tour.

Second Scene. Some people have told me they don’t like doing an EP. Some people say they prefer to do an EP. Do you have a preference for the format?

Pat Todd We do albums, CDs, EPs, singles, whatever. We do whatever makes sense to do at the time with whomever we’re doing a project with. We just had a single not long ago in Warsaw, Poland, on a label called Heavy Medication. We also have a single called Tell Us All a Story from a Detroit label called I-94 Recordings that will be out way before this goes to print. The single release party will be at the Redwood in downtown LA. It’s sort of a Detroit-themed show. We will play with the Dogs, Ricky Ratt, and Mogg.

Second Scene. The Redwood, is great. If you people reading this ever visit downtown LA, you have to go check it out.

Pat Todd We have one more album coming out after the European tour. It will be released in the Scandinavian countries on a label called Sweet Mental Revenge. That label is run by an A&R rep from Bear Family, a famous German reissue label. If you know anything about records and boxsets and great music, you’ll know all about this. If you don’t know about it, look up Bear Family, and it’ll blow your mind.

were talking. The idea came up of doing a record together exclusively for Australia.

Ryan Meyers of Sioux City Records and Jim Rinn from I-94 Recordings in Detroit did the same thing. All these people were fans, loved the band and songs, and got in touch with us.

Second Scene. Good grief, that is a lot of music.

Pat Todd We’ve been very busy and did a lot of work in a short period of time. We’re here to do this. We’re not here to talk about it (laughs).

Second Scene. I noticed that you did a couple of cover songs in the past. You’re not a big cover band kind of guy.

Pat Todd I never wanted to do obvious covers; I always like to do something that you can make your own. It’s usually songs off the beaten path that people don’t even know about.

Second Scene. Do you write all the songs yourself? How does that work with your band?

Pat Todd We’re as democratic as we can be, so long as I am the big boss! Everybody kicks in, and everybody has ideas. If you’re not completely ego-driven, then you listen to anyone who has great ideas. Of course, I’m ego-driven, but not completely (laughs).

I bring in a song, and we work on them on the spot. I’ll share the basic arrangement and the key, and we figure out some background vocals. We start playing it and kicking around ideas immediately. It all shakes down pretty quickly.

Photo by Dug Moore - at the Redwood in Los Angeles Second Scene. And there is another full LP as well, out of Australia if I recall correctly.

Pat Todd Yes, it’s on Grown-up Wrong Records with a friend of ours named Dave Laing. We also have a joint release of a single on Heavy Medication out of Poland and a French label called Dangerhouse. It is not the Dangerhouse from Los Angeles.

We’re going to do a single with a label out of Iowa called Sioux Records. We’re also doing a split with Scott Drake from the Humpers with his new band, the Guerrilla Teens. It’s gonna be on Ghost Highway Recordings out of Spain, two songs from his band, and two songs from us. And we’ve got other projects that have been thrown our way, but we haven’t committed to them yet.

Second Scene. How did that working with Heavy Medication Records come about? I love the name.

Pat Todd Derrick Ogrodny runs the label, and he is an American but lives in Poland.

He’s always liked my songs. His girlfriend

reached out on his birthday and asked me to say something as the last part of a surprise birthday video. So how can I turn that down? I was very flattered that anybody even cares about my songs. So I wished him a happy birthday, and I tried to say something real. He sent me a message saying it really meant a lot to him. And then he said, “I’ve got a label. in Warsaw, Poland”, and he offered to do a single.

Ghost Highway Recordings in Spain was the same, Marco Padin reached out and said, “Hey, I would love to do a record with you.

I’m a big fan.” So we said yes. So we’ve had a long relationship with him. Hound Gawd Records, out of Germany (operated by Oliver Hausmann ) whom we’ve done a lot of records with, happened the same way.

He was a fan that reached out and asked about us. The last album, There’s Pretty Things on Palookaville didn’t come out very long ago, either. Same with working with the label Sweet Mental Revenge. It’s run by L-p Anderson, an A&R guy for Bear Family that I got to be friends with, and he’s a big fan. Again with Dave Laing out in Australia from Grown Up Wrong Records. I’ve had a long relationship with him as friends, and we

Second Scene. I hear you saying you got a lot of good “idea men” in the band. The current lineup has been consistent for some time.

Pat Todd Oh yeah, it’s solid. Everybodys involved. Nick Alexander plays electric guitar and acoustic guitar and sings. Kevin Keller plays electric guitar, acoustic guitar, lap steel and sings. Steven Vigh is the bass player and sings, and Walter Phelan does drums and percussion.

Second Scene. I noticed that when I’ve been around the band, it seems like everyone is on the same page. Everybody wants to be there.

Pat Todd Completely! It’s rare. I’m very lucky to be part of something like that. It’s a very intensively creative group of people that work hard at getting things done, whatever rewards come from the work we all put in together.

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THE UKRAINIANS Second Scene interview with The Ukrainians Q1: As an avid Wedding Present fan from back in the day, I’m aware of the history of The Ukrainians, but for those who are not, could you run through a brief history?

Towards the end of 1987, Leeds-based British indie band The Wedding Present was offered their fourth radio session on DJ John Peel’s program on BBC Radio 1. They had no new songs to play, so their guitarist Pete Solowka, whose father was Ukrainian, suggested the idea of doing a few traditional Ukrainian folk songs instead. The band liked the idea and asked me to join them. I was part of the Leeds scene, and Pete knew I had been a Slavonic languages student at Uni and played a bit of violin. So, I had two weeks to dust off my fiddle, get my head round the Ukrainian language, and get fully rehearsed up with the band. That session and the subsequent one the following year were hugely successful and got released as a 10-inch vinyl LP that got into the Top 25 albums chart. After that, The Wedding Present wanted to concentrate on their English language indie stuff, so Peter and myself left and formed The Ukrainians. That was in 1991, the year Ukraine gained its independence from the Soviet Union.

Q2: The Ukrainian National Anthem In Dub is the perfect crossover in the musical Venn Diagram between The Ukrainians and Jah Wobble, not to mention the involvement of Jon Klein of Siouxsie and The Banshees. Can you tell us how the project came about?

Just in case anyone doesn’t know how Jah Wobble got his name, it was way back in time when Sid Vicious of The Sex Pistols drunkenly garbled his real name ‘John Wardle’ into ‘Jah Wobble,’ and the name stuck. Anyway, John’s bass tech, Mark Hubbard, knew of The Ukrainians from years back when we used to rehearse at his Old Chapel Studios in the Holbeck area of Leeds.

When Putin’s invasion of Ukraine began, Mark told John about us and suggested we meet up, which we did at London’s Chelsea Arts Club after one of their gigs. We hatched a plan there and then to record the Ukrainian national anthem together to raise money for the refugees. John wanted to bring in Jon Klein as well because they work together on a brilliant community music project called ‘Tuned in’ that they set up in Wimbledon to combat loneliness.

Q3: I realize you have a special connection with Ukraine. Can you tell us about that?

Well, Pete and our accordion player Steff have the Ukrainian genetics, but I’ve always had an interest in all things Eastern European since I was at primary school. A few of the kids had Polish parents, and I’d go along to their Saturday school sometimes and was amazed by all the singing and dancing and costumes. The thing that really drew me in, though, was the language. I loved seeing their newspapers and magazines with words featuring strange clusters of consonants. It was so exotic and exciting! It was a gateway to another culture, and that really fascinated me.

Fast forward to a recent ‘significant’ birthday, and my other half, Rebecca, bought me a DNA test. She’d always been convinced I must have some genetic material from that part of the world.

Anyhow, to cut a long story short, it turns out my male line comes from Bosnia-Herzegovina, a small trek southwest of Ukraine but Slavic nevertheless.

Q4. So glad to see Dimple Discs rose to the task of releasing this song, which is not your typical single, of course. Could you speak a little about why you felt that this collaboration/project was an important thing to do at this time and which charities will benefit from the funds raised?

Well, we were confronted on our media with images of millions of desperate, frightened Ukrainians fleeing their country as a result of incredible aggression against them. So we did what we do best, make music. It’s the most

effective way we know of to try and spread awareness and raise the necessary funds for essentials like food, medicines, and clothing. All monies raised from the single are going to the DEC (Disasters Emergency Committee) Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal https://www.dec.org.uk/appeal/ukrainehumanitarian-appeal Q5: Do you think that music artists have a duty to be socially aware and instigate important conversations in the modern age?

I think music artists are very often thinking, socially aware people, but I don’t think they have a duty to be that way. As a musician, you either feel part of the big wide world, or you don’t. Some musicians make music for themselves in their bedrooms and may not feel that connected to the outside world. Personally, I like to be part of the whole global thing. For me, it’s crucial that important conversations take place about where humanity is going right and where it’s going wrong. And that’s whether we’re talking about politics, the environment, whatever. This is going to sound like a massive blanket statement, but I think there’s a big element of truth in it. Business people and politicians don’t often have the ‘public good’ at the heart of their motivations: too much Narcissism, self-serving, and chasing of the dollar. True artists and musicians are more likely to be sensitive, socially aware, empathetic beings and to take a critical, long-term view of the way the world is going.

Q6: Are you surprised that more artists aren’t responding in a similar fashion, given the obvious platform that the modern music maker has and the reach of the internet?

Hmm. I’m afraid I tend to hark back to the 1960s and ‘70s, when popular music reflected the cares and concerns of the day much more than it does now. Sure, there are many artists who are engaged politically, but I think the big cheese music biz controllers like to keep messages out of music and make sure big names produce bland, safe, formulaic stuff. Same with TV and film. Dripfeed nonsense to people to keep them ignorant and quiet.

Q7: Just thinking about the band in general, having just passed the 30-year mark, how different is making music in the modern age compared with the early days of the band?

To be honest, there’s not a lot of difference, especially for a band with acoustic instruments like a fiddle, accordion, and mandolin.

Technology can speed things up in the studio, but there’s not a lot of need for artificial ‘enhancement’ with a band like ours. As for the environment, we’re making music thirty years on.

An increasingly large proportion of the population is turned on to world, folk, and roots stuff, so that’s a big plus. People are more open-minded to music that isn’t in English and to bands that offer more than just guitars, bass, and drums. I really think world music is the new rock’ n’ roll.

Q8: And where next for The Ukrainians, both specifically with this latest release and in a more general sense?

Aha! That would be telling! As for ‘in a more general sense,’ I think that will be influenced quite a lot by the fallout from the war. That said, there are plans for some further collaborations, a new live album, a Christmas album, a radio sessions album, a career retrospective album, more benefit gigs, and tours in North America! There’s no end to what we WANT to do!

Interview: Dave Franklin Photo: Jon Klein

CLASSIC ALBUM REVISITED Its subtle mix of many genres, “A Catholic Education,” hibernates in the hills of blues, dreams from the celestial heights of shoegaze, that dips its toes in the murky waters of noise-rock. It’s an album that stands in unison and harmonies from the platform of power-house pop. It’s quietly groovy, wearing its flowery shirts in private while shutting out the world. It’s an album where the songs align with youth and where the band members feel like your friends who have invited you round to jam, staying up late until the early hours of the morning.

It’s an album that immediately transports you back, remembering the good old times and what it felt like to be young, awkward, and sometimes foolish.

It’s very much an album weighted in intellect, angst-artistry, and whose raw and rough around the edges textures are part of its boyish charm.

With the opening, vocal-free track of Heavy Metal, Teenage Fanclub showcases their experimental, free-styling finesse, whose slow build-up is a testament to the band’s skill at creating music that alternates artfully with the fuzzy realms of alternative rock. Through the extended interludes, “Heavy metal” streams into a “guitar-jazz” that overlaps with subtle undertones of 60s garage psych.

As for Everything Flows, Teenage Fanclub, without realizing it created an Indie classic that whirls and swirls in a sublime breeze of the lo-fi garage while surfing the scrappy waves of shoegaze. It’s a signature track that highlights the band’s skillful songwriting, pensive preening that jangles in murky waters of melancholy.

Along with the track “Catholic Education,” Teenage Fanclub staggers and races in an inebriated state, full of the spiked strums of garage rock. It’s a track whose thunderous beats, choppy and scrappy riffs could have quite easily inspired the likes of Dinosaur Jr, Smashing Pumpkins, Pavement, and Sonic Youth, and scatters a few seeds for a British explosion along the way.

TEENAGE FANCLUB A CATHOLIC EDUCATION As a debut album, “A Catholic Education” is an understated masterpiece.

It’s an album that, in some ways, was ahead of its time and captured the zeitgeist spirit of the lo-fi garage, grunge sound before it became popular, blending elements of the paisley underground with subtle hints of Britpop before it was even born. It’s an album that offers a neutral alliance between America and the UK’s underground sounds, which planted the seeds for a grunge and Britpop explosion. Whenever I listen to “A Catholic Education,” it takes me back to a time when the world appeared to be a more peaceful place, a time before the internet where music was less synthetic, less polished, and contained a raw and real edge that created that bona fide college band, making music in a friend’s garage.

It was a time when the Madchester scene was in full swing that put Manchester on the map, raving from the rooftops and reveling in all its own glory. Yet when Teenage Fanclub was formed in Glasgow in1989, they seemed a world away from the city lights of anything baggy, in vogue, or revolutionized by the new wave of electro-trends. They were, and still are, a law to themselves who seemed to be unfazed by what was happening around them and, without realizing it, gave us a glimpse of what guitar-laden music was around the corner and how it would soon make a colossal impact in the world of music. When they emerged in 1990 with their debut album “A Catholic Education,” they appeared to be a more low-key, shy, bookish breed of young men that didn’t conform to the razzmatazz of rock n roll but instead took a more laid-back and steadfast approach to make music.

They weren’t ego-centric or didn’t come across as your typical loutish rock n rollers. Yet, they were making music that seemed to cherry-pick the best bits of guitar-laden music and intrinsically link and fuse together, creating a meticulous package of homegrown music.

It’s an album born with an old soul yet still feeling the growing pains of youth.

Through the stoner-sludge vocals and raw delivery, “A Catholic Education” is an album that snapshots the awkward, clumsy side of youth and time capsules the rudimentary yet accomplished sound of the band. Through the lo-fi modesty and multi-textured riffs, “A Catholic Education” is an album that opens up a prowess of pathways of guitar-laden music tightly woven while holding its melancholic cards close to its indie chest. An album whose lyrics are poetic and earthy in equal measures, raw yet romantic, “A Catholic Education” sings from the heart while retaining a high caliber of reserve-cool.

Again with “Too Involved,” Teenage Fanclub reminds us of their diversity, subtle shifts, and skill at blending various genres. From blues and honkey tonk to noise-rock, “Too Involved” bridges the gap between the old and new, the classic and the contemporary, while creating an original sound.

With the track “Don’t Need A Drum,” Teenage Fanclub revives the rawness from their previous incarnation from The Boy Hairdressers and adds a neopsychedelic and laid backspin while soaking its feet in the farista foam.

Again with the track “Critical Mass,” Teenage Fanclub captures the uplifting melancholy of the band, which doesn’t wallow in self-pity and instead forms a duality of vocals, a collective set of riffs that strums in solidarity, and revives from the garage getaway of lo-fi and tinny riffs.

With “Heavy Metal II, “Teenage Fanclub gives the opening track of the album a more blues-infused make-over and jangles from the remnants of the new wave. It’s a track that again creates a vocal-free arrangement and highlights the versatility and subtle changes of the album.

With the track “Catholic Education 2 “, Teenage Fanclub races, rumbles, and preens like a hybrid of American and British music. Like a happy–go–lucky, sanitized grunge track, Catholic Education 2 is cut from the same cosmic cloth of early Sonic Youth while wearing its angst with an understated cool.

The track “Eternal Light “beams from the lo-fi lineage of powerpop and plods in the youthful sludge of garage rock. It’s a track that curves, jangles, and preens in a Paisley Underground of swirly riffs aside from the loose vocals and robust beats. Like a prophetic Prowse of pre-Brit-pop, Eternal Light arguably shines a torch on a sound that bands such as Oasis would be influenced by and play an influential role in the formation of their signature sound.

“Every Picture I Paint” strums in an upbeat, fast-moving, murky wave of garage rock. It’s a raw catharsis whose vocals are delivered with a youthful charm that keeps it real and stays true to the ethos of DIY punk.

“Everybody’s Fool” is rock n roll personified, whose unhinged lyrics crystallize youth and speak out to its angst-ridden generation. It’s a lo-fi, garage, noise-rock marvel that strums in a Stoney state of soul surrender. Through the textured tones, strong riffs, and collective vocals, Everybody’s Fool is a raucous riot of post-punk pandemonium whose unpolished take makes it a perfect piece. It’s a track that feels like it’s the end of the night, and you are in a hedonistic huddle, feeling happy but slightly pissed off while waiting for your taxi in an inebriated state.

INDIE CINDY

HD and the DSB

STAND UP! Matt King & The Dukes Of St. Clair drummer David Halloran releases his first solo album.

You’ve been working on a solo project outside of the Dukes.

What can you tell us about it and why you started writing on your own?

I started really trying to learn about recording once I was able to set up my home studio around 2018; really expecting at that time to record my respective bands. Once Covid hit, I had a choice: stop making music or try to do things on my own. So that is when I started working on the Brian Eno cover album I recently put out, and I began toying with a few originals. I really enjoyed doing all of that, so I have just kept going and plan to continue.

Is this entirely on your own, or do you collaborate with anyone else?

This newest ep is all my own: the writing, recording, playing, mastering, everything was all done by me. On the Eno album I did, I had some guest guitar players. I am hoping to work with them again in the future, hopefully soon.

What has influenced your writing on your latest release?

I am not sure where this one came from exactly. The ep ended up as a bit of a concept album of sorts about a relationship breaking up. Not sure why, as I am not going through that right now or anything. I guess I was thinking about previous experiences.

I listen to a lot of different music all the time, so I am never sure what or why things come out exactly. I have been getting a lot of Joy Division comparisons from people I have played this one for, and I have been listening to them lately, so maybe that is coming out.

That was not really a conscious decision or intended, though. I did get a cool copy of “Closer” for my birthday. I am not sure? I just kind of let this music happen. There were no plans or intentions.

Do you plan to continue to pursue your solo work? If so, what can we expect in the future?

I definitely plan to continue to make music and put it out solo. I have really been enjoying it and find it fulfilling working by myself.

I will always love drumming, playing in bands, and performing live, especially, but there is something nice about having complete control and doing your own thing on your own timeline.

I already have some more tracks in the works. The next stuff I do will be a little bit more guitar-based and have a different overall tone and feel compared to this one. A little less depressing, a little grittier/ angrier, maybe. But really, I’m just going to keep working and let the music that comes out happen.

Enemy Of The People

has returned with a new EP, ‘Fear Of Life.’ And about time!!! This six-song release kicks off hard, and they never let up. Songs at breakneck speed, surf instrumentals, twists of psychedelia, and experimentation. SURFEDELIA! What more can you ask for? Classic Enemy Of The People. Download load this album. NOW!!!

“Fear of Life is our first post-Covid record and our first release since the Murder Beach/Black Light 7” record in December 2019. It was recorded at Addlestead Studios in Kent and consists of the title track, two instrumentals, and a selection of bizarre remixes by our friends HotGothic, the Dead Zoo, and our very own bassist Jonathon CampbellRatcliffe.

The title track reflects how I felt at times when I was younger and burdened with a debilitating fear of change.

Now I’m older. I can see how ridiculous that is, as change and renewal are essential for keeping things fresh and exciting. I’m not the only one who has felt like that at times, but the world isn’t going to stop spinning, so you have to let it drag you along with all the insanity.

The drums on this song are killer, so we have to follow it with a slow one whenever we play it live.

Dancing with the Bokor started as a homage to Man with a Harmonica and fits in musically with what we were doing on Murder Beach and Black Light. It has an eerie openness to it and occasional moments of dissonance. It’s also a lot of fun and is pretty over the top - especially when we play it live.

Sometimes you pick up a guitar and a song will come out of nowhere that is almost fully formed. This was the case with Tugela. Tugela is an instrumental that wrote itself.

My great-grandmother was named Tugela after her father saw the Tugela River in South Africa in the 1800s. According to my family, he thought it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. This is my favorite song on the E.P.” Charlie Sundown

BEAUTY IN CHAOS

Interview: Dave Franklin Photo: Michael Ciravolo of the biggest names in the rock world. Were there any who you thought were wishful thinking but who you got to work with anyway? If you have one or more favorite collaborations from the many you’ve realized now, which ones would you name?

LA’s Beauty In Chaos talks evolution and new ‘Behind The Veil’ LP Can you explain what Beauty In Chaos is? I realize that it surrounds you [Michael Ciravolo], but how does your project work, and how it came about?

I see a core number of artists return to contribute from release to release, which indicates a tight personal and musical bond and synchronicity between you. What do you think?

The idea of doing my own record came about while recording my guitars for Human Drama’s ‘Broken Songs For Broken People’ album. My idea of what I hoped the album would sound like was a bit different than the direction Johnny was going in, and Michael Rozon, who was recording my guitar parts, sensed my frustration. He made the suggestion of doing my ‘own’ album. Thankfully, the concept of Beauty In Chaos quickly morphed into the evolving/revolving entity as opposed to a guitarist’s ‘solo’ album … which I find quite boring and self-serving. Michael Rozon is certainly my partner-in-crime in BIC, and I couldn’t and wouldn’t do BIC without him. BIC is a family … or more like the mafia! Once you are in, you are in!!

Seriously though, Dirk Doucette has played drums on most songs, and we have been blessed with some amazing artists that continue to give their time and talents. Wayne and Cinthya Hussey, Ashton Nyte, Johnny Indovina, Betsy Martin, and my lovely wife, Tish, have appeared on multiple songs. Truly, I view BIC as a family and take great pride in not only what we do but also introducing new artists that may be less popular (but certainly no less talented) than the bigger names. Indeed, this does work both ways … as The Mission, The Awakening, and Kirlian Camera’s large fan bases have welcomed BIC with open arms!

You have been lucky enough to work with some

I am truly blessed to have a number of amazing artists that I can honestly call friends. And many of them make up a huge part of my record collection. I never take any artist’s contribution to BIC for granted.

‘Famous’ or not, everyone involved in BIC puts their heart and soul into their contribution.

And to be fully transparent, no one is making any money from this…. And that has never or will ever be why we do this. There have certainly been many ‘surreal’ moments that I do have to step back and take in. Sitting on the couch in our little studio having Cheap Trick’s Robin Zander listing to the playback of “Drifting Away,” asking ME what I thought of his vocal take… while my mind went back to being a teenager and listening to “Surrender.” Having Simon Gallup, who I think is one of the best bassists in the world, message me as he’s working on his bass part for “Man Of Faith” and telling me he has a line similar to “Love Song” while asking if that is okay? Yeah, that would be okay!! Watching Marc Bolan on a late-night TV show as a kid… and fast forward many years later, getting to record a T. Rex classic with Marc’s son, Rolan! This is NOT name-dropping, just talking from the heart. Any favorites? Every single one of them!

Your albums always contain a fantastic roster of guests – usually a mix of male and female. What made you decide to use Behind The Veil as a platform for female vocalists?

Three of my favorite songs from our debut release, ‘Finding Beauty In Chaos,’ featured female artists.

When we were recording ‘The Storm Before The Calm,’ we set out to do a darker, starker album in a more cohesive way. We wrote the song “Stranger” with Holy Wars’s Kat Leon. A really beautiful song, but a struggled a bit with including it on this album since it strayed from the album’s other songs. In the end, I opted to include it as opposed to saving it for the next release, and this song proved to be the inspiration for ‘Behind The Veil’ featuring all female singers.

As always, the album comes with an accompanying remix album. Are you constantly surprised at where your remix artists take the songs? Who is involved this time around?

I love handing over the keys to the BIC’ car’ and seeing what another artist hears in the song. I have always been a fan of remixes, especially ones that are radically different. I am blessed to have some amazingly talented friends that lend their talent to these re-envisions. You can hear the time, heart, and soul they put into it. No one phones it in by just adding a ‘dance groove’ to the track.

I may be a bit biased, but I feel the BIC remixes are way more than just ‘fillers’. On this record and the limited edition ‘Further Behind The Veil,’ we had a lot of BIC alumni again … Tim Palmer, MGT, John Fryer, Statik, and Bentley Jones, to name a few. But a few new names joined the family. Julian Shah-Tayler, Tommy Hatz, and Ministry’s Sin Quirin all added stellar versions.

And talking of remixes, so many listeners and perhaps even artists see a song as a fixed and final thing, but do you think a song is ever finished or just part of an ever-flowing story? Can you cite an example among the works you’ve been involved in?

The original song, to me, is THE song. But that doesn’t invalidate the remixes, which are really reinterpretations. Most of these remixes have additional parts and melodies added to it. Some are built up from the vocal track only. I can’t really name favorites since that always changes, but I really love the versions that have essentially been re-recorded. Ashton Nyte did two stunning acoustic versions, “Storm” and “The Outside,” as did Johnny Indovina with “Memory Of Love.” Two other stand-out re-recorded versions are “The Long Goodbye” (Au Revoir) with Wayne Hussey and Tim Palmer’s “The Delicate Balance Of All Things,” which features Cinthya Hussey!

With live music becoming a thing again after so many lockdowns, I suppose many folks are wondering - is Beauty In Chaos purely a studio project, and can it even be taken on the road in a way that would do it justice?

I get this question a lot. I definitely started Beauty In Chaos with the idea of only being a studio/ recording entity and then with our many videos being the ‘face’ of BIC. That said, I would be lying if I said the idea of performing Beauty In Chaos onstage has not entered my mind, especially over the past year. One thing I would never do is perform any BIC song with any other singer that is not the original singer on the albums. As our BIC family grows, there are more singers, which increases the opportunity to have enough singers available IF there was a live show. In all honesty, I would love to perform BIC in Berlin, London, Paris, and Rome, along with several US cities, but sadly, this would be impossible due to financial and logistic constraints. That being said, there is the possibility of a 2-night Los Angeles show being filmed for a worldwide release.

And where next for Beauty In Chaos and even for Michael Ciravolo as an individual?

We do have another video in the early planning stages. We are hoping to complete a video with Cinthya Hussey and her beautiful “Open Wound Heart.” This will be a bit of a challenge, as she lives in Brazil, but we managed to pull together what I feel is a fantastic video for “The Kiss Of The World” with Kirlian Camera’s Elena Alice Fossi who filmed all her scenes in Italy. Industrialism films did a magnificent job in bringing this two-continent shot to life.

We also are in the editing stages of a behind-thescenes documentary entitled ‘Unveiled,’ which we hope to have released by the end of this summer.

The great people at Jammerzine are producing.

It will feature all six ladies from ‘Behind The Veil,’ along with some of the remixers, all giving a bit of insight to this release.

Les Manteez From Agde to Paris with love. Les Manteez talks about their latest release.

Isa Pill, and Eric Dim Album Magical Seeds 2022 MAY I Records

Parabola West

From The Shire to your mind, Parabola West’s music projects a whole new world

Parabola West is your performance name, and I wonder how you got here from simpy being Amy West Tucker. I admit I have read many descriptions of your music, from the sublime to the fantastical.

How would you describe your sound?

“Modern music for your ancient soul” seems to describe my music aptly. I like to create soundscapes with modern production and old-world sounds. You might hear a Celtic flute floating over a dark synth bass, for example, or an old harp under an electronic drum kit. The more dramatic and cinematic, the better!

Each track on the latest album revolves around an individual character. Are these in any way aspects of yourself or a device for getting outside your personality?

The characters came after the songs were written (with the exception of ‘Hannah’), so I was very mindful to honor the intention of the song as the characters came to exist. The Winged Warrior, for example, goes with the song ‘The Edge,’ and she represents the inner warrior that comes out to fight off self-doubt or the urge to give up on your dreams. She’s a badass with a sword. The Steampunk Sorceress goes with ‘World of Ours,’ and she uses her power to heal and protect nature. There are threads of my own values in each character, but really it was an excuse to play extreme dress-up and become something much cooler. The process of physically transforming into each one for the Deluxe Album Book was an absolutely wild experience. It really allowed me to let go of myself and fully embody the fantasy. I highly recommend spending the day as a dryad, alien-hybrid, mermaid, or moon witch if you need a break from your reality.

Where would you say your influences come from, musical and otherwise?

Musically, I think that Lorrena McKennitt, Depeche Mode, New Order, Kate Bush, Tori Amos, and a bit of Enya probably all influenced my style.

Lately, I find myself very inspired by nature and the magical mysteries of the universe. Those two themes appear a lot throughout this album.

And is being based in New Zealand, away from the heart of the global music industry, making things easier or harder for you?

I work well in isolation, so I think it suits me to be so far away from the bustle of the industry most of the time. When it comes to touring, however, there are definitely more opportunities overseas that I’d like to explore.

Similarly, what are the pros and cons of being a truly independent artist with no label support (or interference)? But I do see you’re working with Scott and Andrew Newth. They have solid production experience working with The Datsuns, among others. How is that going, and what has the response to your new music been like so far?

Creative freedom is probably the most rewarding benefit of being an independent artist. I value the responsibility of managing my brand and making all the creative decisions without having to compromise or seek permission. The flipside is that it’s a lot of work for one person, and if you don’t know how to ask for help, then it would be easy to burn out.

Luckily, this journey has forced me to become very comfortable asking for help!

From fan-funding campaigns to hiring a professional (Shameless Promotion PR) to help with PR, I’ve had to learn to reach out when I can’t do something to the required standard on my own.

That’s why I love working with Scott Newth and Andrew Newth so much on the production side – they can hear my demo and listen to my vision for a song and then apply their collective wizardry to make it happen.

The response that the new music has received so far has been fantastic. I’m very proud of ‘Stars Will Light the Way’ as a debut album, and it seems to be landing on its feet and getting great reviews.

It’s all very exciting!

Your music is rich in the lore and legend of northern Europe. What draws you to such tales as a subject for your songs?

I’m a big fan of the fantasy genre, so the idea of lore and legend in a faraway land resonates with me. I also find myself drawn towards Celtic and Norse mythology, and I can see that reflected in my sound and style. A few years ago, I did a DNA test, and it turns out that the strong affinity I feel for the Norse and Celtic traditions is very much in my blood.

Writing process. Eric finds riffs playing guitar, sometimes playing bass, exceptionally playing the piano. We don’t talk about it.

I hear him while doing something else and get the sensation of what he plays. He starts recording guitars and all instruments, making arrangements. I write lyrics and find the melody from the music and the song’s structure. We still don’t talk about it!

Eric discovers the lyrics when I feel ready to record vocals. I adjust the lyrics. Then Eric may mute some music tracks/parts to get a refined form. He does a mix. Then we start to talk about it! Finally, Eric suggests a title for the song from the lyrics. All songs were recorded between 2015 et 2020, step by step. Each song is a short story.

The album.

I like to say that the songs have a jetlag mood in a way. The album is a flew over Les Manteez’s nest. The order of the song on the vinyl is different from the CD. Something that ties the songs together, memories of sensations, road movies, big cities, making the best of ups and downs, love, forward.

First Album.

Gérald Guignot, our producer, first discovered us on Facebook live events during the pandemic and wanted to know more about us. We sent him a bunch of songs. Interested in releasing an album on his label MAY I Records, he picked up 11 songs. When he told us that Dominique Blanc-Francard, the renowned sound engineer, was also excited by the album project, the only word we could pronounce was, wow! Looking at each other and repeated, wow! Dominique Blanc-Francard worked on the mix from the original separate tracks of the songs recorded in our home studio. He did three master versions, one for the vinyl release, one for the CD, and one for the digital release.

What does the future look like for Parabola West, both with this latest release and in the longer term?

I’m planning a summer tour here in NZ (Dec 2022- Feb 2023), and then plans for a Northern Hemisphere summer tour in 2023 are in the works!

After I’ve toured the album, I’ll probably be ready for a bit of a break before getting back into the studio for the next project.

Interview: Dave Franklin Photo; Trinitynavar

Photo: Phil No

Matmosphere is a man of musical wealth and taste.

The Birmingham native, formerly known as Jeremy Thirlby has been on the musical map since the Seventies and collaborated with many artists familiar to the Second Scene reader.

Musically talented and used to recording Psychedelic masterpieces all by himself in his home studio in the tradition of DIY geniuses such as the Cleaners from Venus/ Martin Newell, he is currently based in Bielefeld, where we catch up with him.

By Tom Sobilo

TS: Where did you grow up?

I was born in 1961 and grew up in a little village south of Birmingham called Wythall. Nick Rhodes (future Duran Duran) and I went to the same school in Hollywood. John Taylor (who was Nigel then) and Dave Twist lived there. Nick Drake used to live nearby, too. My father was an electrician,and my mom was a district nurse. My grandfather on my mother’s side was a church organist.

TS: How did you get into music?

I had two elder brothers, and the eldest was quite interested and played in a brass band. My mother put me into piano lessons at the age of 5 until I was eight, but I did not like classical music.

I got into Pop music via my brother, who had a Dansette record player, and he liked Elvis, Cliff Richard, the Shadows, Folk music, Canned Heat (Let’s work together), Beatles, and the Rolling Stones not so much. He got the “Honky Tonk Women“ 45 in 1969, which I did not like. Too turgid, too slow! Lyrics were good, though, “She blew my nose, then she blew my mind” (laughs). I was a melancholy type of teenager and found solace in music.

TS: What was it like in the 70s in the UK? We were middle class. There was a lot of violence, football violence, and heaviness in those days.

Lots of alcohol! Go to the pub, get drunk. Fish and chips, football on Saturdays, black and white TV. In 1973 Color TV came, which meant three channels instead of two channels. Radiowise there was only Radio 1 BBC.

TS: How about music?

Buying LPs was expensive. I relied on what my brother or father brought in. Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass. I listened to the red and blue Beatles compilations to death. The Beach Boys’ Greatest Hits. The Tommy film soundtrack, I got totally engrossed in. I could relate to the deaf/dumb/ blind kid. In school, they told us, “You’ll be useless/ unemployed!” I left school in June 1977 and got a 5-yearelectrician apprenticeship. I thought I was very lucky, but I hated it! Halfway through, Thatcher came to power, and more people got unemployed, so my apprenticeship got cut short.

TS: Did Punk affect you?

Absolutely. Anybody can do this! The whole Punk ethos was you just did it. Not learn to play properly. I got an acoustic guitar from a catalog when I was 16 and bumped into Dave Kusworth, who was already married and had a kid. I was good friends with Nick Rhodes (Duran Duran) and went to gigs at Barbarella’s with him, where I saw the Clash, Blondie, Generation X, and the Pretenders.Nick thought this was the way to go.

He had bought a yellow-blue Warp synthesizer.

He had all the records. That’s how I got into Punk.

Very enthusiastic guy, a massive David Bowie fan who had seen the Ziggy Stardust gig. We listened to Sex Pistols’ “God save the queen” 45. He also had the A&M copy of “Anarchy in the UK.” Iggy & the Stooges, the Ramones. He was younger than me but older for his age. I hung out with him, John (who was Nigel then), Taylor (Duran Duran), and Dave Twist. Then Nick founded Duran Duran with

Matmosphere: Psychedelic Brumbeat Piper

Photos: L-R - Susanne Bastel, Erica Hatton, unknown

Stephen Duffy in 1978.For their second gig, they needed some stage lights, so I got fluorescent lamps with flickering lights, which I stole. They found it very arty. (laughs). About ten people showed up, and Dave Kusworth was among them.

He was strumming guitar backstage and played Chuck Berry riffs. He knew his stuff.

TS: Did he already have the “Keith Richards look”?

Oh yes, wearing a blue jacket with white Winklepicker boots looking like Mick Jones from the Clash. I was big into the Stones in 1978. Dave had only two jobs in his life and got sacked after one week. Money was always a problem for us.

I formed a band with a guy from school, Nigel Priest: The Astral Plane. Duran Duran were off and running but didn’t play often. Roger, Nick, John, and various singers/guitarists came and went. In 1980 Dave Kusworth had to move to bass guitar with the Subterranean Hawks with Stephen Duffy on lead vocals after a bust-up over girlfriends. The Hawks split in 1981. Stephen Duffy went solo as he was ex - Duran Duran and had a hit (“Kiss Me”) in 1985. He wrote good songs (later for Robbie Williams).

Bob Lamb of the Steve Gibbons Band had a studio in his living room in Birmingham where he recorded the first UB40 album. Can you imagine ten people in a living room? He was very patient with us and the Eureka moment was the creative process. John Taylor was there, too. He wanted to play drums. It turned out really well!

Meanwhile, Nick Rhodes was a DJ at the Rum Runner Club playing Roxy Music, Bowie, and Talking Heads. N ew Romantic was starting. We rehearsed there, too, and were told, “You’re next!”. Apart from us, there rehearsing, there were Dexys Midnight Runners and the Beat. Other local bands were The Pinkies, Aupairs, Fashion, and the Nervous Kind.

Andy Wickett was in a band with Dave Kusworth in the 70s called TV Eye. He was an Iggy Pop kind of character. Simon Walter was into 60s Westcoast Psychedelia (13th Floor Elevators, Jefferson\ Airplane). I hung out and played with Dave Kusworth and Dave Twist, so it was a creative outlet for him to play guitar instead of bass. We rehearsed at Dave’s place and called ourselves The Bible Belt. We got really good. I sang, and we performed at the Starclub in Birmingham, supporting the Nightingales. I liked the Hawks, who were great live but not on record. Duran Duran exploded into superstardom, and I did not see it coming. That affected everybody in Birmingham.

TS: Their videos fitted in perfectly with the 80s.

Nick fell out with me after they got famous. We were left floundering. Then Nikki Sudden came on the scene and hung out with Dave to form the Jacobites, who got a deal with Glass Records/ Rough Trade. I asked him, “Why are you going with Nikki?”They did not tour much, and I played drums on their first gig as I had not much to do.

Nikki was five years older, born in 1956, and had met Marc Bolan. Swell Maps had played Peel sessions. Nikki got this reputation hanging around in London. He loved the Hawks, and the first Jacobites album came out, and they got popular in West Germany. Then Dave joined Dogs D’Amour for a tour of Finland, and he came back as another person – a Rock star. Dave founded the Rag Dolls when I joined the Glamgoth band, the Scarecrows, after auditioning. Dave Twist’s girlfriend Mandy Darlington was our charismatic singer, and we put out two 12” records via Swordfish. Did BBC radio sessions, supported Balaam & the Angel. Then Dave Twist had the idea to dress us up as 50s Rockers. Mandy got ill, there were arguments about money, and we split.

Dave teamed up with Creation Records and manager Joe Foster to form his own band, the Bounty Hunters. He was getting better as a performer. He was more into Bob Dylan than the Stones. He liked ballads. They got offered deals from Arista and Geffen Records, too but turned them down for some reason!

From 1986 until 1989, I had my own band, the Mustangs, with Bob of the Scarecrows to play Glamrock. It was getting desperate for me. The music scene had changed. Raves/Acid House came.

Less live music hampered things. “Jesus Loves The Acid” by the Ecstasy Club was released in 1988 on Swordfish was my biggest commercial success. It was me and Carl Phillips, sampling a speech of the Pope became an instant classic. Carl made a lot of money, me less so.Dave and Glenn Tranter were left in the Bounty Hunters, so I joined them for their 1991 album “All the heartbreak stories” on Creation Records as producer/guitarist and toured Germany and Switzerland with Carl Bevin on drums. Dave got banned from Austria for some fights. I stayed with them for four years. Glenn and Dave had a falling out after they had an EMI publisher session which turned out more rocking with Chuck Prophet (Green on Red) on guitar.

Glenn did not like it; he was more into acoustic guitar-sounding music than Heavy Rock. Then Nikki came back again and reformed the Jacobites in 1994 with Mark Williams, a good drummer, and Carl Eugene Picot on bass. But he and Dave did not get along too well. Personally, I do not like

“Howling Good Times” as it is too polished for me.

Not really the Jacobites. I was asked to help out on their European tour playing support. This got me a lot of attention, and the Matmosphere thing started when Emilio Winschetti (Mythen in Tüten, The Perc meets the Hidden Gentleman) of Hidden, Records offered me a deal. I released my debut album, “Jeremy’s Sunset” in 1996. Moreover, I got involved with Swamproom Records from Hannover who had Mandra Gora Lightshow Society on their roster, I toured with them, backing up Damo Suzuki (Can). I contributed my version of “Yer Blues” to a Beatles cover album “Without the Beatles” on Jarmusic. Pink Lemon Records released an EP (Ghost train). I had met a girl on tour, and we had a long-distance relationship. I lived in Berlin in 1995, but that did not work out. I got a full-time job with the British Army in the 2000s and moved to Bielefeld. So, I could buy some recording equipment, and it was a productive time. Glenn Tranter plays with his Mod band (The Circles) and lives in Brooklyn, where I visited him eight years ago. Dave and Glenn were very close, even closer than me. He was Dave’s musical guide in terms of quality control.Music had become not a value as it was. I recorded all the time and have eight unreleased albums in the can.

TS: What are your influences?

Syd Barrett, early Pink Floyd, Brian Eno, still Beatles and the Stones. I do not want to sound commercial. Melancholic. The name Matmos stems from the film “Barbarella,” the dark side. You don’t compromise with my music. It is all me with the occasional backing vocals by my partner Susanne.

TS: Do you still play live?

I play guitar in a local band Thursday at 7. I am proud of the stuff I have contributed. After Epic Soundtracks had died. Nikki got emotional, looking for somebody to blame. Australian people always liked Nikki. When he wrote his memoirs, he asked me to proofread it. I told him, “Your writing is better than your music!”.Before Dave Kusworth died, he wanted me to come to Birmingham to do a session, but I could not come due to lockdown, and his girlfriend was based in Düsseldorf.

I went over to Dave’s funeral, where I met Leslie (Dave’s ex-wife) and his son. Dave Twist did a touching speech, so everything comes around again.

T S: Thank you, Jeremy.

Further information: https://m.facebook.com/JTMatmos/

Matmosphere’s Top 10 albums 1) T. Rex – Electric Warrior 2) Beatles – Abbey Road 3) Prince – Parade 4) Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers 5) The Who – Who’s Next 6) Bob Dylan – Blood On The Tracks 7) Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon 8) Love – Forever Changes 9) Tom Waits – Rain Dogs 10) David Bowie – Hunky Dory

DAVE FRANKLIN - DANCING ABOUT ARCHITECTURE REVIEWS Ava Vox – Immortalised (album) When is a song finished?

When the artist in question decides it is.

Aren’t recordings just fleeting moments in time anyway? Just one stop on a longer musical odyssey. The idea of an artist re-visiting, re-imagining, and re-recording songs from the past, giving them new meaning, relevance, and new life in the modern age, seems the most logical thing an artist can do.This is precisely what Ava Vox does on her latest album, Immortalised, allowing a selection of songs written collectively by her and her previous band to have another day in the sun. Well, perhaps not the sun as such as the hallmark of the music found here is a dark and delicious, gothic infused sound, evocative of more shaded places and shadowed lands.There are joyously upbeat numbers, the pulsing bassline drive of “Crash” and Vox’s seductive vocals placing it somewhere between Skeletal Family’s dark alt-rock and The Banshee’s experimental goth-punk. Then there are moments of understatement, “One Sweet Goodbye,” feeling like Kate Bush had taken a much darker path, the music both beautiful and heart-aching.

Perhaps the artists she chooses to cover help define the scope and scale of the music she creates. By covering “Tainted Love,” she builds a bridge between the cold, clinical Soft Cell take and the warmer climes of the original. The Cure’s “Love Song” is reduced down to its very essence, and by taking Bowie’s “Life On Mars” and reworking it into a brooding classical piece, she shows how far she is willing to push the boundaries of the most established classics. It’s a gorgeous collection of music, from its sky-searing highs to its gentle lilting lows, from its energy and euphoria to its elegance and musical eloquence.

Friendmaker – Weird (single) It’s great when songs neatly capture feelings or experiences that are hard to put into simple words. That is exactly what is happening on the new single from Friendmaker. Following on from their gorgeous debut, “You, Me and Everything Else,” this time, the band put their foot down on the musical accelerator and head into more dramatic, indie-pop territory.The song lyrically describes that feeling when you are waking from a half-remembered dream and seem to have half of your consciousness in the real world and a half left in that strange dream state.

For a few seconds, you have trouble working out which world is real.And musically, too, it’s wonderful switching between lulling melodics and full-on and forceful swathes of guitars from gruff riffing to spiraling, shimmering sheens, again reinforcing the idea of confusion and conflict.

Then there is the video, too, a monochrome take on the creations of the De Stijl movement, it’s shifting, half-seen windows on the visual narrative piling on the frustration through not being able to see the who picture.It’s a song/video package that is designed to cause confusion, thwart expectation, leave the listener wanting more and draw the watcher into its obscure and deliberately obscured world.

It is an approach to making music that immediately makes you want to know more about them and the strange conflicting world that they chose to build around their music.

Black Rose Burning – The Wheel (album) If you want to know what goth is up to these days, you need to look no further than this latest, second album from Black Rose Burning. Back in the day, and I know because I was there, the promising goth scene that had looked so promising in the opening years of the eighties had by the end of that decade taken some odd turns. Either you were a spikey, darkwave band, wedded to the newly emerging keyboard technologies, or you had gone the low-slung guitar route with the added addition of heightened, amateur dramatic level theatrics.

Had Black Rose Burning been around then, they would have cleaned up as The Wheel is the perfect marriage of the two styles and more.

Taking a healthy dose of darkwave electronics to act as a platform for the songs but careful to avoid the cold clinical chill that many in their genreembrace, they coat this with the sort of riff and deft sonic ornamentation of the early Cult, the angular beauty of The Cure, perhaps even Ultravox’s new wave leanings and drive it along with solid and satisfying beats. And these two opposites are what make the real attraction.“Black Sun Saturday” is both bleak and accessible in the way that only goth music .... or post-punk or alt-rock or whatever you prefer to call this... can be, and “Every Single Time” is the best alt-dance groover never to make the mainstream charts, unfortunately. There is room for more reserved and considered tracks such as “Lightspeed,” chugging, growlers such as “Antonia,” and even a wonderfully reworked version of The Buzzcocks’ “Ever Fallen In Love?”

If you are one of those who wander around saying that music is not as good as it used tobe, particularly if you do so dressed in black and favoring Nu-rocks and eye-line, cider and black,and the works of the Romantic Poets, then this is for you. And if you don’t care about the past and are just looking for some cool and wellcrafted new music to get into. Again, this is for you. In fact, it doesn’t matter who you are, buy the damn album, and you can thank me later.

VONAMOR – VONAMOR (album) Over recent single releases such as “Take Your Heart” and “You the People,” Vonamor has displayed some impressive talents for being able to mix early eighties dance sounds with some darkwave deliciousness and post-punk power. But when given a full eight tracks to fill and fascinate with, and many other sonic delights can be discerned in their beguiling music.“Empire + 2049”, which kicks things off, for example, might head off down some pulsing, alternativeelectronica pathways, but as it travels, it cocoons itself in classical grandeur and cinematic grace, too, creating a wonderful dichotomy of poignancy and power, between analog soundscaping and digital creation.

Similarly, “Never Betray Us” throws a different type of curveball, one shaped like a conventional, dark but soulful pop ballad, but with the Vonamor touch which transforms it into an eerie and elegant piece, almost unnerving in its visceral beauty. “Mother Night” is similarly unconventional, hypnotic, and beguiling, layering the voices into instruments in their own right, firstly allowing their hunting presence to take center stage and then having them slowly consumed under shards of rising electronic washes before

everything drifts out on sonic winds.And the album ends in the darkest and most delicious place of all, with “Wilderness” building from gently brooding ebbs and flows and whispered vocals into a maelstrom of musical shards and cavernous sounds are then contrasting shimmering delicacy.It is fair to say that Vonomor has got it all. If the recent releases showed off their power and immediacy, this full, eponymous release paints a complete picture. From ranging crescendoes to brooding lulls, from sky-searing thunder to contemplative near-silence, never has an album traveled through so many dynamic changes and stylistic reinventions and still It sounded like the most cohesive piece of work.

PSYCHODAISY

psychodaisyrecords.com

DAVE FRANKLIN - DANCING ABOUT ARCHITECTURE REVIEWS

Rodney Cromwell Opus Three

Rodney Cromwell is perfectly capable of making sophisticated music. The evidence runs all through his back catalog.

But just because you can do something doesn’t mean that you should. So his latest single, “Opus Three,” cuts an unadorned and less complex figure as it takes a spin across the clubland dancefloor.So, in many ways, a musically simple number, but perhaps simple is not the right word, maybe more direct, more understated, all about the 120bpm rhythms, the shimmering synth lines, the skittering percussion, scintillating textures, and squelchy stylophoneesque tones. Underplayed, effective, and just so damned good.

But, like all of his work, things are never as straightforward as that, and coupled with this musically honest groove is a deeper lyrical discussion. Inspired by Anna Kavan’s surreal novel Ice, it paints a picture of two lovers on the brink of the apocalypse, separated by distance and lost in time, trying to find positivity in a world where there is little.The parallels are obvious, and this search for empathy and optimism in a world falling apart is powerful, poignant, and timely! Seductive and straightforward, deep and meaningful, forward-thinking yet timeless in its story. And you thought this was just another dance track?

Panjoma Sun and Moon

“Sun and Moon” marks a return to releasing music following an eight-year hiatus. Panjoma, an avant-garde, darkwave electro femme-pop outfit, say that they draw much of their influence from “love, philosophy, and psychedelics,” a heady mix indeed and sonically, it is easy to see them as traveling companions of Daft Punk, Goldfrapp, and perhaps even Bjork. “Sun and Moon” is a strange and surreal sound clash, taking beguiling futuristic electronica and alien, clubland sounds, strident, metronomic grooves, and affected vocals and turning them into a sort of robotic dance track, wonderfully icy and slightly clinical but in a cool and confident way rather than sounding aloof or inaccessible.

It is a long piece, but that adds to its seductive and hypnotic nature. It is the relentless repetitions and the slow-burning creative growth arc that evolves along that adds to the intrigue. The track steps up in wonderful increments by slowly cocooning itself in additional musical weight and wrapping itself in smart layers of tone and texture. Something that only works so well because of the time it allows itself to go through this process of slow reinvention. Gorgeously hypnotic, hypnotically gorgeous, and everything in between.

Circuit 3 Future Radio

There is a wonderful mix of wide-eyed, childlike wonder and the hopes and ambitions of cutting-edge science running through Circuit 3’s latest single. It is a song clearly in love with the potential of space travel, but rather than fill the lyrics with the sort of clever

wordplay and technical details that the more proggy or rock fraternity would weigh it down with, instead there is a mixture of B-movie simplicity and young innocence to the song. And driving it is a wonderfully future-retro sound, both tipping its hat to the early pioneers of synth-pop past and joining their hopes for what the future might bring.

The two together make for a wonderfully clean, brilliantly spacious, and epically groovesome effect. Synths bubble buoyantly, shimmer and shine, zip past and belt out brooding bass lines, the dance and drive, dip and dive, and add meaningful motifs and beguiling sounds. Who says that synthesizer music is one-dimensional. On the basis of “Future Radio” works in at least three dimensions, perhaps seven, maybe even twelve. It’s all very quantum!

The Caulbearers Twisted Cord

“Twisted Cord” moves with a confident stride.

Wonderful drifting sounds and gossamer textures draped over a more funky, riff-driven, and groovesome beast.

The track wanders some unusual cultural pathways, with Ruth Blake contributing on vocals.

Clearly the sound of a modern experimental band, this of-the-moment musicality is tempered with some much more traditional sounds; cool Indian Raga grooves, deft and delicate Flamenco motifs and Olivia Moore’s beguiling, arabesque violin, and the result is a wonderful take on a world music sound and perhaps a reminder of what an odd term “world music” even is. All music is world music. In a way, it’s all music of this world. But what “Twisted Cord” shows us is that world music has a new function. Instead of representing different cultural traditions, perhaps it now reflects the truly cosmopolitan and culturally connected world we find ourselves in today. Perhaps world music should be built on cultural clashes and connectivity and musical collaborations and collisions, and the end result should be as diverse and different as the world that it represents. If that is the role of world music in the modern age, then “Twisted Cord” is a user’s manual and how-to guide for achieving such perfect blends that bring those glorious traditions and musical tribes together. A very cool song indeed.