Six Guns

Well it’s been a little while, but I’ve been busy, honest. Apart from the usual work and family stuff I’ve been working on the new issue of SD, and I even got out to see a gig.

I have reviewed most of the stuff I’ve mentioned in pervious entries here, ready for inclusion in the next issue, and there hasn’t really been much in since. Except, of course, the new Night Birds album. Alex at Grave Mistake was good enough to send a copy over and it is every bit as good as I’d hoped it would be. It has all those elements that make for a great album, and how can anyone not love a record that brings to mind bands like Dead Kennedys, Agent Orange and Adolescents? I’ve been playing it a lot.
www.gravemistakerecords.com

My buddy Stuart Armstrong sent me a couple of releases put out by Retro Records. I love all that late ‘70s stuff, and I’m a sucker for the more obscure bands, so to have stuff by The Crabs and The Bears is wonderful. I really like The Bears’ “Wot’s Up Mate?”, but I haven’t given The Crabs one a proper listen yet. however I’m excited to have it here ready to listen to. He also sent me an album he had but doesn’t really listen to, “Bops, Babes, Booze & Bovver” by The Nips / Nipple Erectors. I haven’t played this yet either, but I”m really happy to have it and very grateful that Stu was willing to be parted from it.

So, last Thursday I drove across to Brighton to see Punch. I went on my own, and I always find that a little disconcerting, but I knew Pete Zonked was going so at least there would be a friendly face there. As it was before Pete arrived that lovely fellow Tom Hussey from Attack! Vipers! turned up, and it is always great to see him. I also introduced myself to Punch singer Meghan, we had exchanged one or two emails recently, and had a brief chat.

I missed the first band, but caught another three, neither of which really did much for me, unfortunately, even Loma Prieta who share a couple of members with Punch.

I like Punch, as I think I mentioned last time and live they are a bit special; in fact they blew me away with their power and tight playing. It was a pretty short set, but I think with the style they play that works perfectly, even though I would have happily watched more. I picked up their second album and wanted a sweatshirt, but I couldn’t afford it.

What’s even better was that I was able to watch the whole gig, drop Pete home and still be back home before midnight. When you have a 60 mile drive after a gig, it’s nice to be able to do it when you’re not too tired.

NIght Birds are in the UK this week. My original idea was to see them in London, Leeds and Brighton. The Leeds trip bit the dust pretty early on, but London and Brighton were still in my plans. Now, however, finance and travel problems mean I’m going to have to miss London, but I will be driving back across to Brighton, as I’m not going to miss them altogether. 

Lastly; I probably should have mentioned this the last time (or even the one before), but I can’t let the sad passing of Chron Gen bass player Pete Dimmock go by without paying my own little tribute.

I don’t actually know any details, all I know is that Gaz sent me a text telling me he’d died, and even though I never knew him I still felt a little sad.

Chron Gen were a band that has a special place in my heart; they maybe weren’t the greatest, and there are plenty of bands that have had a more profound affect on me over the years, but the first Chron Gen EP is one of the best of the early ‘80s UK punk releases.

The memory of the day Gaz and me bought that first Chron Gen record is still fresh in my mind, even though it was 30 years ago. 

I’m not sure how we heard about the band, or why we were both so determined to get the record, but as I remember it on this day, the sole purpose of one of our regular trips into Southampton‘s record shops was to get this new record.

In those days Southampton actually had record shops, and not just the main chains either. Our well practised routine had me cycling to Gaz’s house, from where we’d walk to Totton train station for the short trip into town. Once there we’d walk up the hill to Subway Records, then to the old Virgin Records and the tiny (yes tiny) HMV before heading down through the parks to Henry’s and Underground. As far as I recall we bought the EP in Henry’s, then hurried back to Gaz’s house to play it. I could also convince myself that it was a hot day and we sweltered in our leather jackets and big boots, but we did that trip so often that it could well have been another time.

Anyway, I loved everything about the record; the front of the sleeve featured a “classic” punk rock picture of the band decked out in leather jackets, boots and studded belts stood against a wall. With the band’s logo across the top. Slipping off the clear plastic protective cover the sleeve opened out to feature a drawing of a coffin, a nuclear explosion and soldiers depicted as puppets with individual photos of the band members on the facing sheet. The back cover had the lyrics. I already liked the EP before we’d got off the train back in Totton.

In both the front cover photo, and the inner individual shot, Pete Dimmock looks cool; the blond spiked hair, the leather jacked and the boots; bass players are supposed to look like that, well they were in the early ‘80s anyway. On the front he stands slightly apart from the others, as though they aren’t quite cool enough for him.

On the cover of the follow up 7”, “Reality”, Pete Dimmock is staring into the distance, too cool to acknowledge the camera, and on the first album there’s a little smirk from him; he still know’s he’s the coolest.

Eventually he left and joined Chelsea and I bough the stuff of theirs he played on even though I was never a huge fan of that band. The Chron Gen connection was enough. 

We were firm Chron Gen fans right from the off, and went on to buy everything they released (even the post Dimmock stuff), and even if they maybe never quite fulfilled their promise they did put out some great songs, and we could always forgive them a couple of dud ones here and there. Even now we both still play Chron Gen records and would probably both put them in any list of our all time favourite bands.

RIP Pete, and thanks for the memories.


www.suspectdevicehq.co.uk

Five Corporations

There was a French woman staying at the same hotel as us who looked exactly like Joey Ramone. It was uncanny, spooky even as she seemed to arrive the day I wore a Ramones t-shirt. From that day on she was always there; I’d turn a corner and she’d be there, or I’d look up from the breakfast table and she be walking past. It got a bit freaky, and I swear that on our last day when I happened to be wearing a CBGB’s t-shirt I saw a little twinkle in her eye.

Anyway, by Friday 2nd September I was ready to come home from Mallorca. I realised this at breakfast as I sat at a table and watched another idiot create a fire in the toaster by stuffing a croissant in it, despite the sign, in four languages warning that this really wasn’t a good idea. I wanted more toast, but I didn’t want to have to join a queue behind that numbnuts, or walk round the corner to another toaster and another queue. I wanted to have breakfast in my own house, where we know that putting anything other than bread in our toaster is a bad idea. I wanted a quiet breakfast and a decent cup of tea.

Just over 5 hours later I was sat, alone, on a coach watching the Mallorcan countryside zip by as we headed to the airport. There were 7 of us on this holiday; Sarah and Becca sat together at the front, and the other four paired off, so I walked halfway down the coach, found a seat, plugged in my head phones and let Paint It Black, OFF!, John Henry Holiday and No For An Answer drown everything else out.

There was some new music waiting for me on our return home. My friend Izumi had sent me two records released by Goodwill Records in Italy, both 7”s, one a split between Signs Of Hope and Carry The Torch, the other an EP by The Headliners. I haven’t yet had a chance to play them, but I’m looking forward to giving them a listen and reviewing them for the new SD.

I also received the new Doggy Style CD. I have given this a quick listen, although not all the way through. It sounds ok, I think, but I’m not sure about some of the lyrics. Again, I’ll review for the zine, so will give it a proper listen soon.

In another package, I got four CDs; Margate and Super Happy Fun Club play radio friendly punk(ish) stuff with rock leanings that just leaves me cold and Huron play metal. I only made it through one Huron track before pressing STOP and deciding to find someone else to review it. As soon as I heard the fourth CD I thought of Si, so I’ve already sent it to him to review.

While I was away, Alex at Grave Mistake Records emailed to say he was sending a copy of the new Night Birds album for review. I am so excited, I’d have bought it anyway, but to get sent it is really cool and I’m very grateful. I can’t wait for it to arrive, and I’ve booked time off work to go and see them when they hit the UK later this month.

I’m currently listening to Punch, and I’m liking it. I don’t usually like screeched vocals, but there is something about this band that hooks me in. Maybe it’s because at times they throw some hook laden bits into their songs that cuts through the ear splitting thrash; or maybe it’s because of their lyrics? I don’t know but listening to them makes me feel good about who I am and the life choices I’ve made; that sounds weird, even to me, but it’s true. Something about Punch makes being into and writing about punk rock at the age of 45 seem like exactly the sort of thing I should be doing. I don’t know why they appeal to me the way they do, I don’t think it’s the X’s on their hands, I may not drink or all that stuff, but I’ve never really thought of my self as “straight edge”, so maybe it’s a vegan thing? Anyway, hopefully my buddy Andy Nelson can pick up a copy of their new 7” for me, that would make me happy.

Four Deadly Venoms

Believe it or not I'm currently sunning myself in Mallorca, which isn't really the sort of place I feel totally comfortable, but I wasn't paying, and it is nice to spend time with the family. The weather is hot and sunny, the sea is warm and choppy and it's also good to be away from work for a little while, internet access is slow and limited though.

This place is full of British numbnuts; way too many fat, loud families in football shirts, union flag beach towels and England t-shirts. Does another nation have so many people who like to show just how "proud" they are of the piece of land they just happened to be born on? On the evidence of the non-Brits here, no. One German kid is wearing a Leverkusen shirt, and that's it; no French, German or Spanish beach towels, no Polish swim shorts, no Italian t-shirts. In fact the only other non-British football shirts I've seen are Barcelona ones worn by British kids.

There are some terrible tattoos on show too.

Maybe I'm just grumpy, and the fact that I have a really painful bad back isn't making my mood very forgiving. I'm currently stuffing my face with as many pain relief remedies as I can get me hands on and just trying to find somewhere comfortable, which so far seems to be the sea, as long as I don't actually swim. Unfortunately the most uncomfortable place is my bed, so I'm not sleeping either.

I've been disappointed not to have spotted any lizards yet, but the bats give a good display around dusk, and there are plenty of fish in the sea, one of which had a little nibble at my ankle.

Right now I've just had an hour or so of hydro therapy, by that I mean I've been bobbing around in the sea, and showered, cleaning out the sand which seemed to have accumulated in every orifice.

Anyway, music. I started the week listening to OFF! and The Stupids, but after seeing someone wearing a Bad Brains shirt yesterday I'm currently listing to tracks from "Rock For Light" and the self titled CD. I love these songs, but I can't stand their later homophobic and sexist lyrics. Such a shame that such a great, ground breaking band proved to be so narrow minded and bigoted.

Speaking of t-shirts; apart from that Bad Brains one, I've only seen one other interesting shirt, an older guy wearing a Ramones shirt; older as in he was about my age, so there's a chance he has actually heard them. Oh, and Becca did end up wearing my Stupids shirt yesterday.

Elsewhere, most of the shops round here seen to be playing The Cure for some reason, with a couple of exceptions; one playing The Police and the other REM.

I have another week out here, we did hope to take in a footer match, but none of us fancy a two hour bus ride in this heat, with the possibility of not being able to get back, and no one has their driving license to hire a car; we also don't know if the Spanish games are going on this weekend. So with that out of the question it looks like we'll just have to keep avoiding idiots and I'll keep quaffing the pain killers, in the hope that I'll get some sleep at some point.

Crucial Three

It’s been quite a week. It started well enough when a UK Subs boxiest unexpectedly arrived from Captain Oi. This is basically a UK Subs singles collection, featuring just the A-Sides; there are only probably two or three of the tracks I don't already have, but the boxset looks great, the songs are spread over two CDs and I was genuinely excited when it arrived.

Next my buddy in Finland Jallu sent me the second 1981 EP; I’d been looking forward to this ever since he said he’d send it, as I’d heard good reports of it from my friends in Brighton. Of course that’s not surprising as the first EP was great as was their split with Surrender. I wasn’t disappointed, it’s another great 7”.

To carry on the good musical week, the new HDQ CD that Boss Tuneage have just released, featuring “You Suck” and the “Hung Drawn & Quartered” 12”, dropped on to the doormat; I’d ordered it from the Boss T site and got the bonus DVD too. I have loved HDQ since I first heard “You Suck” way back in 1987, the fast, yet melodic music and the posi style lyrics really hit a chord for me. “You Suck” was my introduction to them and I bought everything after that, but never went back to their first, self titled 12”, which had a different line-up, Dickie Hammond aside. So I was excited by this release, even though I already have “You Suck” on vinyl and CD. The first 12” tracks are better than I was expecting too, so I have been playing this a lot.

Then, just when I thought it couldn't get any better Aston sent me another three Boss Tuneage releases to review. I was most excited by the new Violent Arrest  album, which is as angry and pissed off as you'd expect from these veterans. The new Crocodile God album is probably the best thing I've heard from them, it's speedy, melodic and has real snotty vocals. I wasn’t really won over by the first Geoffry Oi!cott album, but this new one is a lot better, and the sleeve art is great. http://www.bosstuneage.com

If all that recorded music wasn't enough I've roused myself to two gigs, in a week, something that is a rarity these days, but was probably made easier because my daughter was off at camp for the week. Although the house was a lot tidier, it was very strange not having her around, and not having to be somewhere to either drop her somewhere or pick her up.

First I went to Portsmouth to see OFF! And it turned out to be a great evening. Ed Wood weren't really my sort of thing, but I surprised myself by really enjoying Attack! Vipers! In the past I've always been impressed by they way they do what they do, and of course they are friends, but on the night I was really, genuinely impressed; they are the best band of their type I've ever heard, and they are still one of us, still our band.

OFF! blew me away. I like them a lot and was expecting them to be good, but jeepers they were awesome, so powerful, so tight and just gob smackingly great.

What made the evening even better is the amount of friends there were there - the Brighton contingent of Pete Zonked, Ralf Opiate and Darren Tadpole, Joe and Tom from Attack! Vipers!, Luke, Nath, Alan, Jack and Kev, among others. Definitely one of those special nights, and I even bought a vinyl copy of the Violent Arrest album off Darren.

That meant I spent at least the next three days constantly playing OFF! 

http://tadpolerecords.blogspot.com/

After raving about Culture Shock last time, this week the Subhumans rolled into town. It had been a bad day at work, and as 6 o'clock rolled round another problem reared its head so I didn't get away until 7 pm. I dashed home, grabbed something to eat, then went back to work to check things were ok, well, not so much "ok" as "not getting any worse". From there I went on to the gig, even though I felt completely shattered. I missed the first band, but got there in time to see local anarch heroes Haywire, then Liberty. I've seen Haywire hundreds of times over the years, but I'd never seen Liberty, who now feature local boy (and compared to the rest of the band he is but a boy) Luke. They were good too, very good in fact, but my tiredness probably stopped me enjoying them as much as I probably would have done otherwise. 

At some point between the bands I went and picked up the Subhumans’ “Time Flies / Rats” CD; I have the vinyl of both, but felt the need to pick up the digital version too. I can’t help it, I’m an addict.

The Subhumans are always good, they are energetic, funny, tight and the songs are all great. At one point in the set, after they'd played "Peroxide", "I Don't Wanna Die", "Work.Rest.Play.Die" and "Til The PIgs Come Round", all songs from the early ‘80s, someone behind me shouted "Play something us oldies will recognise! Why won't they play what people want to hear?" When the next song, "Mickey Mouse Is Dead" (From their  first album, released in 1982), had finished, he shouted "Play something old!" He was being serious too.

At 11.40 pm after almost an hour of Subhumans I was flagging badly, so I left after hearing Dick say that it was their last song (I think that's what he said anyway), and struggled to keep my eyes open on the drive home. I was so tired that I even turned down Sarah's offer of a cup of tea when I got in and went straight to bed.

I have now started work on the next “proper” issue of Suspect Device, so I will put reviews of most of the music mentioned here in that. So far I have interviews with Martin Sorrundeguy (Los Crudos, Limp Wrist, N/N, Needles etc) and, thanks to our buddy Stuart Armstrong, Crocodile God, but others are planned. I also have some great new zines to review - Zonked!, Gadgie, and Artcore.

After enjoying all that noisy punk stuff, I’ve spent this evening listening to some old UK indie stuff - Shop Assistants, Darling Buds, Primitives, Soup Dragons, Wedding Present etc.

http://www.suspectdevicehq.co.uk

Second Time Around...

I'm beginning to think that a weekly blog may have been a little optimistic, maybe I shouldn’t have given myself a deadline, I’ve never been any good with those. But we'll see how it goes. 

I am pretty unhappy at work at the moment, probably more unhappy than I've been for ten years or so. Sadly I can't see a way out, I like my life outside of work, but that life needs a certain income, and I'm not sure I'd get that anywhere else. I don't get paid a huge amount, certainly not as much as Sarah, but it's enough to help enable us to live a pretty decent life. I guess I'll just have to grin and bear it and let punk rock help take the pain away....

I’ve spent a lot of time since the last entry here putting together a PDF to add to the new Shorts songs, collecting the lyrics, info and some photos. I also added a front and back cover in case anyone wanted to put the songs on a CDR, they could then print out that page and have a cover. We would have liked to have give this “EP” more of a proper release, but we just don’t have the money; Suspect Device is no longer in a position to release stuff, and I can’t see anyone else wanting to put our stuff out. So a download seemed like the best way to make them available. You can download “Skinned Alive” from the SD websit, or visit http://theshortsuk.blospot.com and get it from there.

New music has been a bit thin on the ground since I last wrote, at this time of the month I don't have the spare money to go buying all the music I want, so I was very grateful when Gaz Suspect bought me the Culture Shock CD boxest that Bluurg and Active have put together. http://www.subhumans.co.uk/ - http://www.activedistribution.org/ 

It really is a thing of beauty, and certainly got the heart racing as soon as I picked up the package from the door mat and saw the Active stamp on the back of the envelope; I instantly knew what it was.

I remember Culture Shock well. As much as I'd loved the Subhumans the first Culture Shock mini-album came like a breath of fresh air, the songs seemed bright and Dick's lyrics were as great as ever. It was ska-punk before ska-punk had been corrupted by hoards of bands playing what I came to think of as pseudo ska, hundreds of horn driven songs with nothing to say except "pick it up, pick it up."

Culture Shock got by with the usual guitar, bass, drums, voice combo and what they played was certainly a departure from what the Subhumans and A-Heads had been doing, but not such a leap that it alienated people, like me, who'd been into those bands. Having Dick's familiar voice and lyrical style helped, but the songs stood up on their own.

We interviewed them in Suspect Device. Instead of Dick sending his answers back written out on paper, he answered via cassette. LIke the Culture Shock songs, Dick's enthusiasm shone through. 

Listening to these songs again certainly brought fond memories flooding back. I saw them live several times, including a particularly memorable gig at the Labour Club in Southampton where I remember watching them though a haze of strange smelling smoke! I met Dick for the first time that night, he remembered doing the interview and was as friendly as I've always found him to be, the few times I've met him since.

Anyway, this package is really neat; three CDs, the first with "Go Wild” and "All The Time", the second "Onwards & Upwards" and the third with their two demos. Tracks from compilations are included too, as well as a booklet featuring lyrics and a band history told using answers to zine interviews.

I don’t remember if I had the demos, I’m pretty sure Gaz did, so there’s a good chance if I didn’t have them (and I will be digging out the two boxes of demos I have at the bottom of a cupboard to look) I at least heard them, and we did feature them on “Life On Earth”, one of our compilation tapes, with tracks from the “Reality Stop No.44” demo.

I have found myself playing this most of the time, but I have found the odd moment to play a few other things...

Adam & The Ants. I have everything the band released, yes even “Ant Rap”! But it’s the early, pre-pirate, stuff that I really like, and of that early stuff it’s the songs they recorded before the “Dirk Wears White Sox” album that really excite me. I never owned the bootleg LPs of their demo stuff, but I have hunted them down and I love the early versions of songs that went on to get the two drummer treatment. Good as those songs became I like the stripped down versions better. There are also songs that didn’t make it further than demo stage, and I’m a sucker for all that stuff.

Also, a friend in the U.S. has sent me new recordings he’s made with a band he was originally in twenty-odd years ago. I can’t say too much more about it, but the band sound as good as they always did, despite the passing years. 

I’ve just ordered Boss Tuneage’s re-release of the first two HDQ releases, so I hope they will arrive soon and I can talk about them next time.

I really need to get some reviewing done soon, and think about putting together another “proper” issue of Suspect Device.

http://suspectdevicehq.co.uk

Here we go now...

So I thought I should start a weekly(ish) blog where I waffle on a bit about the music I’ve been listening to, not necessarily new stuff, and anything else interesting that’s happened to me. My life is pretty run of the mill so I guess this will mainly be about music, which is just as well really.

In case you don’t know, the title of this blog is from the Elastica song “Waking Up”; not my favourite Elastica song, but my favourite Elastica line. Not a day goes by where I don’t drink tea and listen to music, even if I don’t always “put a record on”, I’ll be listening to music in the car or at work, or while I ride my bike. I’ve probably listened to music every day for over 30 years, most of it falling under the punk rock umbrella somewhere. It’s my addiction; I often get the feeling of needing to buy new music RIGHT NOW! And I must have spent thousands of pounds on my habit over the years, but unlike someone addicted to drink or drugs I can take two steps from where I’m sitting right now and put my hand on a record I spent money on 25 years ago; my money has gone on things I still have and can still enjoy.

This week has been a pretty standard week; up early, work, hate work, home, run Becca to  places - dancing and rounders this week - plus a family meal at our favourite Chinese restaurant in town to celebrate my nephew’s 21st birthday. But after a couple of days of work my gloomy mood was remedied by finding an LP sized package on my doorstep. 

First Ellis, the bass player in Shitty Limits and all round good egg sent me a couple of records; I’d bought the Smart Cops LP from him, and in the package he’d sent me a Deaf Mutations 7” to review. Both great records, with the 7” being pretty damn great. 

I also ordered the new Phoenix Foundation LP and 1981 / Surrender split 7” from Stonehenge Records in France. Haven’t had a chance to play the 7” yet, but the Phoenix Foundation LP is probably their best release yet, really great melodic punk rock.

http://www.stonehengerecords.com 

A 7” from Finland also arrived by Lebakko. These were a new band to me, and they’re from Turku, the same town (City?) as The Phoenix Foundation and 1981, and I think there is some crossover of members between those bands. I had a search around the internet for them and I saw the term “pop punk” applied to them, but the 7” doesn’t sound like that to me, just great punk rock. I like the early Adam & The Ants style sleeve art, too.

http://lebakko.bandcamp.com 

Boss Tuneage Records have put out a Wanton Thought CD, a compilation of EP, comp and demo tracks. It has been years since I listened to this band, and as soon as payday came around I sent off some money to Aston and the CD arrived pretty damn quick. It was great to hear this stuff again, and be transported back 20 years or so.

http://www.bosstuneage.com

I have also purchased a few things from iTunes, which is a rarity for me. My buddy Stuart Armstrong sent me an iTunes voucher ages ago, and like vouchers I get for HMV I can never find anything to spend it on. I realise I’m difficult to buy for, mainstream music outlets aren’t likely to have anything by Limp Wrist or Endless Grinning Skulls, so I do appreciate it when people give me these things, but it takes me ages to use them.

Anyway, while laying out Gaz Suspect’s interview with Shane Baldwin for the SD website I happened to notice that the X-Certs’ “Rated XXX” LP on Bristol Archives was available on iTunes. It was one of those all too regular moments where I had to have the record NOW! But having spent quite a lot on records already I decided to use the voucher that had been propped up in front of me for a few months. It was pretty cheap so I had some money left over and a brief search threw up The Hoax “...And So It Went 1979-1981”, and as I’m a sucker for those more obscure punk/new wave bands from the late ‘70s I got that too. There was still a bit of money left over, and I was on a roll, so I went and got myself “Secondary Modern 1976-1979” by The Users.

Getting those three albums set me off on a frenzy of playing old stuff by bands like Fast Cars, Accident On The East Lancs, Acme Sewage Co. And the wonderful “Bored Teenagers” compilations.

There are a couple more things I’ve been sent to review recently; the new Zounds album, “The Redemption Of Zounds” reached me thanks to the networking of Pete Zonked, and I was very grateful because it’s a great album that manages to sound like Zounds without sounding dated. It’s released by the always interesting Overground Records.

Also, Endless Grinning Skulls sent me their new LP, and it’s a monstrous beast of an album, definitely one to check out.

http://www.overgroundrecords.co.uk/

http://endlessgrinningskulls.blogspot.com/

Back in the early days of Suspect Device zine we became friends with Vince who did 20th Century Saints fanzine. I hadn’t heard from him for 20 years or more, but he emailed me out of the blue, and offered to send me a comp CD he’d put out on his label Released Emotions. It’s a tribute to The CLash, Sex Pistols and The Damned; I haven’t had a proper listen yet, but I’m not a huge fan of tribute albums, and the songs covered here are classics that should probably be left alone. We shall see.

Most of the things I’ve talked about here are (or will be soon) reviewed on the Suspect Device website.

http://www.suspectdevicehq.co.uk

Right, time to make a cup of tea.

Tony Suspect