Category Archives: Rock music

Rivets For The Eiffel Tower: interview with Robert Carter of folk/rock/blues band Parkbridge

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Coming together through a shared love of classic rock, folk rock and blues – bands like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Fairport Convention and Free – Parkbridge is a four-piece from Greater Manchester. The band’s debut album Rivets For The Eiffel Tower comes out in the Autumn. I catch up with lead singer, lyricist and guitarist, Robert Carter.

Firstly, what got you into performing?

It was really my cousin, Steve. He was in bands from being a teenager. He’s five years older than me and I used to go round to his house and he’d be playing the piano and he’d try and teach me how to play ‘Chopsticks’. His fingers would just go up and down the keys and I was just so impressed. And then as he got older he started being in bands. And then when I started writing songs, he was the first person that I contacted to see if he was interested in playing around with them. In the early ‘80s we got together once a week for about a year and wrote songs together. In those days it was usually his music and my lyrics. But then we both had young kids and we kind of let it drift. He’s in Whitby now but we still get together at least once a year. And we just get the guitars out and start playing. It’s great fun.

What prompted you to start writing? You said you started off writing songs with your cousin.

It was probably about 1980 when I was 20 years old. Believe it or not there was a Paul Gambaccini series about various bands and he did one on the Doors. He was talking about how Jim Morrisson had written a load of poetry and he took them to Ray Manzarek, who was obviously an accomplished musician, and Ray Manzarek said something along the lines of, “These are the greatest lyrics I’ve ever seen. Let’s form a band and make a million dollars.” And I thought it was going to be that easy. So just find a really great musician – my cousin – and we’ll make a million dollars. But it didn’t quite work like that!

So you’re still waiting for the million dollars?

Yes, although that doesn’t go quite as far these days, does it? But it did 40 years ago!

And now you’re the singer and guitarist with Parkbridge. Tell us how this project first came about.

There’s an area of Ashton-under-Lyne called Park Bridge – two words. And it’s a famous old area that I’ll come back to in a minute. But it’s got an institute which is basically like a co-operative pub and about three years ago they had what they called an acoustic night. So I trundled up with my guitar and played a few songs and our bass player, Ian Turford, was in another band at the time. Their band played a few songs and Ian then said to me, “Let’s get together and do something.” But Ian works full time and he’s playing in bands almost every night of the week. And he’s married and he’s got grand-kids and kids and all that stuff. So fitting it in was difficult. And then a couple of years later, I was introduced to Sean Dyer by one of the members who said, “You play guitar. You play guitar. Talk to each other!” So, we started chatting and even though he’s considerably younger than me, he has very similar music tastes. We talked about Paul Kossoff and Free. We talked about Peter Green and David Gilmour and Led Zeppelin. And then we started talking about folk and Fairport and Cropredy Convention and he said, ‘Oh, I’ve just got into Fairport.” And he likes a bit of Bert Jansch and Richard Thompson and the more we talked, the more we kind of clicked. I just invited him round. I said, “I’ll play you some of the songs I’ve written and see what you think.”

So we did and it worked out quite well. He started noodling – that’s a technical term for playing arpeggios and licks! – around the songs I was singing to him. So I said, “We’ve got to do this again.” So we met again the next week, did the same songs and played around with them and I said, “Do you know Ian?” – who also lived in Park Bridge at the time and he said, “Yes, of course I do – great bass player.” And I said, “Well, he and I have been talking about doing something and we’ve just never got around to it.” So, I phoned him up and the next week when we got together, Ian came, too, just with his acoustic bass. And we sat in my kitchen and started just formulating arrangements for the songs that I’d written. Ian then got us a gig supporting another band he was in and it went really well. But his band had a drummer. And Sean and I were watching this second band and we said, “Oh, we need a drummer don’t we?” Anyway, a couple of months later a drummer that Ian had played with, Dave Johnson, had his drums set up at the back of the hall in a rehearsal room. So we went and met Dave and it all started to click together. We said let’s work on some original songs, let’s play around with some covers just to get the feel and get tight as a band and that’s kind of it. So by about May last year, we’d become the four-piece that we are today.

As a band you’re upfront about bringing that mix of rock, blues and folk influences into your music. Was that a conscious decision or did that just evolve from those first few jam sessions together?

I think it’s evolved. When Sean and I first got together we were talking about folk and folk rock – in an acoustic environment. And then there was one particular song called ‘Hired To Kill’ which is on the first album, and I said, “This isn’t working.” When I wrote the song, I wrote it as a rock song and it needed a riff. So Sean started playing around with an electric riff and we bounced it around and it evolved into a rock song. As did another one called ‘Alright Jack’ which is the opening track on the album. And, again, once we put an electric riff to it, it just took on a whole new dimension. But we’ve not done that with everything. The album is a mix of rock, acoustic rock, folk rock and blues. A couple of songs I wrote were definitely written as blues songs in the twelve-bar format. So it’s evolved really. It started out as a folk rock duo and has now become either a folky blues-rock band or a bluesy folk-rock band.

What are your favourite artists and who has been a big influence on you?

After I graduated from the pop-rock bands of the early ‘70s like Slade and Sweet, I was at a neighbours. They were all a few years older than me. And one day one of the guys put on Led Zeppelin 2 and it changed my life! I heard Led Zeppelin as an 11 or 12-year-old and I just thought wow! So then I started to discover new things and started listening to the Alan Freeman show was on the radio on a Saturday afternoon. So the bands that I really got into: Led Zeppelin I’ve mentioned, of course. I love Free, Family, Pink Floyd. The heavier stuff, like Black Sabbath. I got into Uriah Heep as well. It was all of those kind of bands. A friend had Wishbone Ash’s Argus which is a sublime album. So it was really what we now call classic rock that influenced me. But, I always had a soft spot for Fairport Convention. And I got into Fairport, as many people did, because of Sandy Denny doing the duet with Robert Plant on ‘The Battle of Evermore’. And I thought, “I’ve got to hear more of her.” So I went and discovered Fairport and I’ve been a Fairport fan ever since. I go to their Cropredy festival every year – as you do! I’m also a big Neil Young fan. And the Byrds. And I just love Bob Dylan, as a song-writer, and against popular perception, I do also actually like Bob Dylan’s singing voice, too. I think he pus his songs across really, really well.

You must be excited to have the band’s debut album coming out – Rivets For The Eiffel Tower. Firstly, tell us where that title comes from.

I mentioned Park Bridge earlier. Park Bridge was formed as a village during the industrial revolution. There was a big iron foundry in Park Bridge and a mill. If you ever go to Paris, in the museum at the Eiffel Tower there is an inscription that says “Rivets made by the Park Bridge Iron Foundry, Ashton-under-Lyne.” And so Rivets For The Eiffel Tower became the obvious name for our first album. They also, we believe, made the rivets for the Sydney Harbour Bridge, too – so there might be a second album title there. And as third album’s often sink – ours won’t of course – they also made the rivets for the Titanic but we don’t talk about that one too much!

So what can people can expect from the album?

They’re all original songs. There are eight songs on the album. There’s a couple of what you would call folk rock. There’s a couple that are classic rock in style. There’s a couple that could be classed as indie rock and there’s a couple of blues songs. And they are all words written by me and music and arrangements by the band. And if you’re into the kind of bands that we’ve been talking about, maybe you’ll like what you hear. I have to say that I’m working with three fantastic musicians. Sean’s two big influences are David Gilmour and Peter Green and I think that comes out in the album. Ian, the bass-player, loves a bit of Black Sabbath and you can hear a bit of Geezer Butler’s influence in there. He plays a melodic bass quite regularly, not just a thump-thump bass, and Ian’s style kind of captures that. And Dave is quite eclectic. He loves a bit of John Bonham but he loves quite a few modern drummers as well. And they’re all great musicians and it’s a privilege for me to work with them. We’re probably a little different to most of the newish rock bands you hear these days. We try and be melodic. We try and tell a story in the lyrics. We try and offer something different. So if you’re into that classic rock sound with style, have a listen and tell us what you think!

You also present your own music show on Real Rock Radio. Can you also say a bit about that?

It started last year at the Tameside Beer Festival. Immediately after Parkbridge played, Tony Charles, the managing director of Real Rock Radio did a set of classic rock songs and we got chatting and he said, “I could really do with someone on the station who could do country rock.” And I said, “What about folk rock and acoustic rock, with a little bit of country rock thrown in?” He said, “I love it!” So I now present every Friday at 7 O’clock ‘The Acoustic & Folk Rock Show’ on Real Rock Radio. It’s repeated on Tuesdays at 2pm for those people who have better things to do on a Friday. And it’s great fun. It’s a lot more work than I expected but it’s introduced me to a lot of bands that I wasn’t aware of. And on this week’s show I’ve actually sneaked in ‘Why Do You?’ from our album but don’t tell anyone!

Rivets For The Eiffel Tower by Parkbridge goes on general release on 6th October with a limited-edition CD available from 18th August 2023.

Website: www.parkbridgemusic.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/parkbridgemusic

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Parkbridgemusic

‘Burn The World’ a compelling slice of eco-themed prog from Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate

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Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate are a UK-based progressive rock outfit featuring Malcolm Galloway (vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and producer), Mark Gatland (bass, Chapman stick, backing vocals, additional guitar, keyboards and co-producer), and sometimes accompanied by Kathryn Thomas (flute, backing vocals).

Their forthcoming album, the band’s seventh, is The Light Of Ancient Mistakes which is set for release on 9th September. A first single from the album is the excellent ‘Burn The World’ with it’s compelling climate-themed message. All proceeds from sales of the single (at least until the end of 2024) will be donated to the Prog The Forest fundraising initiative (which donate funds to the World Land Trust, to support their work buying threatened habitat to put into protective trusts in collaboration with local communities).

Malcolm Galloway tells Darren’s Music Blog: “Of all the balls of rock in the sky, ours is the only one we know for certain harbours life. We seem so reckless in how we act. We know that increasing CO2 in the atmosphere warms the planet, and warmer air leads to more extreme weather events. Every forest is part of our life-support system. Saving rainforests from being burned down for short term financial gain helps in the fight against climate change and against the mass extinction of other species.“

Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate are co-organisers of Prog The Forest, the annual progressive music environmental charity fundraising festival that has raises money to protect over 40 acres of threatened habitat.

“We work with Chris Parkins of London Prog Gigs to organise an annual fundraising progressive music festival in London. The festival donates all profits to the World Land Trust, which acquires threatened rainforests and other valuable habitats to place them in protective trust in collaboration with local communities. We will be donating all the earnings from the Burn The World single release until at least the end of 2024 to this fundraising. So far, Prog The Forest has raised enough to save over 41 acres of threatened habitat.”

Tickets: https://www.ents24.com/festival/prog-the-forest-23/6793332

The Light Of Ancient Mistakes album is available to pre-order on Bandcamp, and will be on general release on 9 September 2023. The centrepiece of the album is ‘Walking To Aldebaran’, inspired by the science fiction novella of the same name by Adrian Tchaikovsky. The tracks ‘Avrana Kern Is Made Of Ants’, ‘The Requisitioner and the Wonder’ and ‘Gothi and Gethli’ are references to a character, two spaceships and a pair of crow-like creatures which insistently deny they are sentient in Adrian Tchaikovsky’s ‘Children of Time’ series.

Science fiction author Iain M Banks’ novel ‘Look To Windward’ is the inspiration of the title track. The track ‘The Man Who Japed’ is named after the Philip K Dick novel. The childhood experiences of David Cornwell, who wrote as John le Carré are the inspiration behind ‘Sixteen Hugless Years’. ‘The Glamour Boys’ was inspired by Labour MP Chris Byrant’s book of the same name about the experiences of a group of mostly homosexual or bisexual Conservative MPs who argued against appeasement, despite the threats from Chamberlain’s government to expose their secrets. Many went on to risk, and in some cases lose their lives in the Second World War.

The album also features ‘Sold The Peace’, which explores how after spending and risking so much to fight the Cold War, some of our leaders seem willing to risk our democracy for relatively small sums. ‘The Anxiety Machine’, is a three part instrumental is interspersed within the album. ‘Goodbye Cassini’, isa flute led tribute to the space probe, and ‘imtiredandeverythinghurts’ s about Malcolm’s experiences with invisible disability due to Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, and the difficulty knowing how to respond to the well-intentioned question ‘how are you’? The album ends with the climate change inspired ‘Burn The World’.

The Light Of Ancient Mistakes is released on 9th September 2023 and is available to pre-order on Bandcamp: 

https://hatsoffgentlemen.bandcamp.com/album/the-light-of-ancient-mistakes

www.hatsoffgentlemen.com

Live review: Iggy Pop, Blondie, Generation Sex, Stiff Little Fingers & Buzzcocks at Crystal Palace Park 1/7/23

Live reviews, Rock music, , , , , , , , , , ,

One thing I like about the music scene these days is how much less tribal it all is compared to when I was a teenager. The intense rivalry between punks and metalheads has certainly dissipated since I was at school in the late 70s and early 80s. The passage of time, for many of us, has led to a much broader appreciation of rock and roll in all its many guises. As a teen, I was firmly in the hard rock/metal camp rather than the punk/new wave camp but looking around at those attending what has been billed Dog Day Afternoon today, there doesn’t look to be much difference in appearance between all the crop-haired, ageing punk fans clad in regulation khaki shorts and black T-shirts and all the crop-haired, ageing metal fans clad in regulation khaki shorts and black T-shirts.

Buzzcocks

Excepting Buzzcocks (and a couple of artists I’d seen perform in other permutations) this will be my first time seeing virtually all of the bands on stage today. But it will be the first time seeing Buzzcocks without Pete Shelley, since his passing in 2018. Steve Diggle has now switched to lead vocals, got in a new lead guitarist in place of Shelley and carried on pretty much where they left off. Pete Shelley was a unique talent with a unique vocal delivery and it’s not everyone who can perfect that blend of northern camp -meets- punk attitude so I was therefore wondering how Steve Diggle would shape up in trying to fill his shoes. But he pulls it off pretty magnificently. Fast, raucous, irreverent – Buzzcocks were sheer joy to watch. And in spite of being only the second band of the day (unfortunately, I missed the Lambrini Girls due to having to check into my hotel beforehand) there was a decent crowd to sing along as they blasted out timeless punk anthems like ‘What Do I Get?’, ‘Orgasm Addict’ and ‘Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve)’.

Setlist:

What Do I Get?

Senses Out of Control

Fast Cars

People Are Strange Machines

I Don’t Mind

Sick City Sometimes

Why Can’t I Touch It?

Orgasm Addict

Promises

Manchester Rain

Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve)

Harmony in My Head

Stiff Little Fingers

Comprising Jake Burns and Ali McMordie (who were both with the band when it started in 1977) and Ian McCallum and Steve Grantley (who have each been around since the mid-1990s) this is a stable line-up and a well-oiled machine who deliver another impressive set. Jakes Burns also gets a well-earned round of applause (by way of introduction to the song ‘My Dark Places’ from the 2014 album No Going Back) when he opens up about his own struggles with depression and urged men in the audience not just to bottle things up like he did, but to talk to someone. We hear you, Jake.

Setlist:

Tin Soldiers

Nobody’s Hero

Roots, Radics, Rockers, Reggae

Just Fade Away

Doesn’t Make It Alright

My Dark Places

Barbed Wire Love

At the Edge

Wasted Life

Gotta Gettaway

Suspect Device

Alternative Ulster

Generation Sex

Composed of 50% Sex Pistols (in the form of Steve Jones on guitar and Paul Cook on drums) and 50% Generation X (in the form of Billy Idol on vocals and Tony James on bass) Generation Sex is a modern-day celebration of both bands, with a setlist that is drawn entirely from the music of each. Some may regard bolting together incomplete bits of classic bands in this way as somewhat sacrilegious. Imagine if Paul and Ringo and Mick and Keith formed a hybrid of the Beatles and the Stones in this way. But the punk generation appears to have fewer qualms about it – not least because it’s absolutely brilliant. The band power through a crowd-pleasing mix of Pistols and Generation X songs with energy and vitality. Plus, it has to be said, Idol is a much better vocalist than John Lydon could ever be. There’s still enough of a sneer and a snarl in his delivery, however, that the essential essence of the Pistols is very much in evidence in all of the Sex Pistols numbers performed today. Given the way the material from both bands is rapturously received by the crowd, no-one would appear to be feeling at all short-changed by this hybrid melding of bona fide punk icons.

Setlist:

Pretty Vacant

Ready Steady Go

Wild Youth

Bodies

Black Leather

Kiss Me Deadly

Dancing With Myself

Silly Thing

King Rocker

God Save the Queen

Your Generation

My Way

Blondie

Blondie absolutely knocked me out. The whole day was a very strong line-up anyway but in terms of sheer class and charisma, in terms of wave after wave of iconic era-defining classics blasting from the PA and in terms of the immense power emanating from the band on stage, this very much felt like a headline performance in every possible way. A playful Debbie Harry, celebrating her 78th birthday today, is in fine voice as she belts out song after song, accompanied by the unmistakeable signature drumming from the ever-brilliant Clem Burke and with none other than another ex-Pistol, Glen Matlock, now putting his own signature stamp on the bass. Sadly, there is no Chris Stein on this current tour. He has taken leave due to ongoing health issues but his shoes are ably filled by Andee Blacksugar, with Matt Katz-Bohen (keyboards) and Tommy Kessler (guitar) completing the line-up. It’s an unforgettable performance.

Setlist:

One Way or Another

Hanging on the Telephone

Sunday Girl

Call Me

Will Anything Happen?

Atomic

Rapture

The Tide Is High

Long Time

Detroit 442

Maria

Heart of Glass

X Offender

Dreaming

Iggy Pop

Old schoolboy loyalties meant I was slower in coming to British punk than many of my fellow middle-aged festival attendees here today. But I was certainly not slow in coming to Iggy, the Godfather of Punk himself. I’d picked up second-hand copies of the Lust for Life album and The Idiot while I was still a young teenager in the early 80s and I bought the Blah Blah Blah album as soon as it came out back in 1986. But, curiously, until today I never actually got around to seeing him live. He has been on my bucket-list of artists to see for some time though and he certainly doesn’t disappoint. Shirtless, tanned and with that familiar torso now covered in wrinkles and bulging veins, Iggy Pop is a manic, mesmerising presence on stage.

His newly-refreshed backing band are exceptional, too. With echoes of saxophonist, Steve Mackay’s contributions in the Fun House era of The Stooges, the band now includes a full brass section. I’m not sure my brain quite adjusted to hearing layers of brass on songs like ‘The Passenger’ and ‘Lust for Life’ but the entire set felt like a real privilege to witness – and there was a nice mix between old Stooges material, his classic late 70s solo era and songs from his most recent album, Every Loser. I had finally got to see the great Iggy Pop in action. A brilliant ending to a pretty amazing day.

Setlist:

Rune

Five Foot One

T.V. Eye

Modern Day Rip Off

Raw Power

Gimme Danger

The Passenger

Lust for Life

The Endless Sea

Death Trip

I’m Sick of You

I Wanna Be Your Dog

Search and Destroy

Mass Production

Nightclubbing

Down on the Street

Loose

Frenzy

Related posts:

Lust for Life 2024: Clem Burke, Glen Matlock and Katie Puckrik reunite for second UK tour

Notes from the Lust For Life Tour – Feb/Mar 2023

Live review: Glen Matlock headlines Hastings Fat Tuesday 5/3/19

Live review: Ocean Alley at De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill 22/6/23

Hastings music scene, Live reviews, Rock music, , , , , ,

Formed in 2011 in Northern Beaches on the outskirts of Sydney and now on to their fourth album, Aussie rockers, Ocean Alley, have built up a decent following in the UK in recent years and are currently mid-way through a European tour promoting their latest release, Low Altitude Living. While the backdrop may have been the English Channel rather than the Pacific, Ocean Alley seemed a perfect fit for a balmy summer evening at Bexhill’s De La Warr Pavilion this week.

First up were the even more appropriately-named Seaside, another Australian band who kicked things off with a lively forty-minute set and a chance to hear their newly-released single ‘Housewife’.

Ocean Alley tend to be labelled alternative rock but their music embraces a variety of influences, from psychedelia to hard rock to reggae. And they eschew the more po-faced, uber-cool aesthetic beloved of some indie rockers, and bring with them enough rock and roll swagger to ensure a much broader appeal. Lead singer, Baden Donegal, has a nicely lived-in feel to his voice and there’s some fine bluesy licks coming from lead guitarist, Angus Goodwin. Even more importantly, there’s an irresistible anthemic quality to so many of their songs which means that even if you’re not too familiar with their entire back catalogue you can’t help but be swept away by the waves of enthusiasm emanating from both band and audience.

Unsurprisingly, a sizeable chunk of the set-list tonight comprises songs from Low Altitude Living, which came out last Autumn. But there’s also room for some older crowd-pleasers, including ‘Lemonworld’ which kicked things off, the rousing ‘Tombstone’ and the ever-popular ‘Confidence’ which drew big roars of approval from the Bexhill crowd.

If tonight’s show is anything to go by this latest tour will have certainly helped to  cement Ocean Alley’s reputation among UK audiences and won them over some new fans.

https://oceanalley.com.au/

A day celebrating Slade at the Trumpet, Bilston – Book Launch & Pouk Hill Prophetz 17/6/23

Glam rock, Music culture & history, Rock music, , , , , , , ,

To mark the publication of my latest book ‘Slade In The 1970s’ I was delighted to be at The Trumpet in Bilston, Wolverhampton, recently – along with Martin Brooks and Nigel Hart of the Pouk Hill Prophetz and a sizeable gathering of Slade fans.

Given the heatwave we’d been having all week I started wondering if we’d actually get many people along and thinking that they may well prefer to spend the day in the garden with a BBQ rather than be stuck inside a pub. I needn’t have worried. As soon as I turned up on Bilston High Street laden with a heavy rucksack full of books, I began spotting fans in Slade T-shirts waiting for The Trumpet to open. Phew!

The Trumpet was a regular stomping ground for the four members of Slade back in the day and is still a much-loved and highly-respected jazz venue. One of the musicians who played there regularly was Black Country pianist, Tommy Burton, who appears on Slade’s Old, New, Borrowed & Blue album. There is a blue plaque for him at the pub.

Once inside, Martin and Nigel of the Pouk Hill Prophetz were already busy sound-checking and I got to work setting up a display of my books on what would be the signing table, in front of the stage and handily right next to the bar. By the time things kicked off the pub had filled up nicely.

After an introduction from Nigel, I took to the mic-stand to say a little about my book, explain the concept behind Sonicbond’s Decades series (of which ‘Slade in the 1970s’ is part) and share with everyone how my long-standing love affair with the band came about. Then it was time for questions: What was my first Slade gig? How did I go about researching the book? What made me switch from being a politician to writing about music?

Following a short break where I signed copies of my books and chatted to Slade fans, it was then time for the first set of the day from the magnificent Pouk Hill Prophetz. Coming together through their shared love of Slade, Pouk Hill Prophetz have been together almost a decade now, celebrating the music of Slade and, occasionally, other glam-era icons.

The first set of the day was an entirely acoustic set where Martin and Nigel gave us their own interpretations of a number of Slade classics. From the big hits like ‘Cum On Feel The Noize’ and ‘Coz I Luv You’, to obscure early album tracks like ‘Dapple Rose’, to anthemic B-sides like ‘She Did It To Me’. It was all rather spectacular, but it wasn’t over yet. The duo would be back for two more sets in the evening, including a full electric set towards the end, with a guest drummer and a special outing for a replica version of Dave Hill’s famous Superyob guitar.

Michael Vanoverstraeten adds: “After the afternoon session, my wife and I went back home to fetch the John Birch Super Yob Guitar for Martin to play it in the evening. Martin surely blew the cobwebs of my John Birch Super Yob Guitar blasting out “Born to Be Wild” at the end of the evening.”

Michael Vanoverstraeten with Mick Marsden – a member of the N’ Betweens prior to the Holder/Hill/Lea/Powell line-up that would eventually become Slade

I’d like to thank Diane at The Trumpet for hosting us that day and giving us such a warm and friendly Black Country welcome, I’d like to thank Martin and Nigel of Pouk Hill Prophetz for giving us such wonderful music and I’d like to thank everyone who came along – all brought together through a shared love of Slade. A memorable day indeed.

Photos: Darren Johnson and Martin Brooks

Related Posts:

Darren’s books

Live review: Pouk Hill Prophetz – charity gig for Dementia UK, London 2019

Slade Convention 2016

Pouk Hill Prophetz raise thousands for brain tumour research

Live review: The Sensational 60s Experience at White Rock Theatre, Hastings 11/6/23

Hastings music scene, Live reviews, Rock music, , , , , , , , , ,

Regular readers of Darren’s Music Blog will not be surprised that my interest in glam rock has taken me to quite a few ‘70s-themed package shows over the years. However, although I’ve seen many such tours advertised I’d never actually been to one of the ‘60s-themed ones before now. I’ve always had it in mind to catch one while there’s still, at least, a chance of seeing one or two of the original performers from the era still touring. Walking along Hastings seafront a few days ago, I noticed the poster for the Sensational 60s Experience appearing at Hastings White Rock Theatre later in the week. I checked on my phone to see they still had tickets and booked then and there.

First up tonight are The Fortunes. Lead vocalist and founding member, Rod Allen, had kept the group going from its inception in 1963 through until his death in 2008. Guitarist, Michael Smitham, the longest serving member of  the current line-up has been around since 1983, however, with the others joining in more recent decades. Clearly, we weren’t going to see any of the original Fortunes tonight but they rattle through a few hits, songs like ‘Here It Comes Again’ and ‘You’ve Got Your Troubles’ from the 60s and (straying into the early 70s when The Fortunes enjoyed a bit of a revival in their own fortunes) ‘Freedom Come, Freedom Go’ and ‘Storm In A Teacup’.

Vanity Fare were formed in 1966, had three Top Twenty UK hits in the late 60s and even though their last original member, Trevor Brice, left them in 1979, they can still boast Guitarist/vocalist, Eddie Wheeler, who has been with them since 1970. Moreover, bass-player, Bernie Hagley, has been around since 1974 so they can claim a reasonable pedigree. I’m not too familiar with their material but they are good musicians – and as well as their own hits they throw in a couple of entertaining cover, too, including a lively version of ‘Spirit In The Sky’.

After performing several songs under their own steam, Mike d’Abo is then invited on stage to join them – a genuine, bonafide 60s hitmaker if ever there was one. Vanity Fare do an excellent job substituting for d’Abo’s former band as he powers through a selection of Manfred Mann hits: ‘Just Like a Woman’, ‘Semi-Detached Suburban Mr James’ and ‘Ha! Ha! Said the Clown’; as well as couple of d’Abo’s own songs that others enjoyed success with: ‘Build Me Up Buttercup’ and the unforgettable ‘Handbags and Gladrags’. d’Abo is in strong voice tonight, exudes charisma on stage and is the stand-out act of the evening in my view. He leaves us with a spirited rendition of the pre-d’Abo, breakthrough hit for the Paul Jones-fronted version of the band. ‘Da Wah Diddy Diddy’ gets us all singing along before we hit the interval, and a chance to meet the man himself.

Mike d’Abo came out to sign CDs and meet fans during the interval

An appropriately double-denim-clad Swinging Blue Jeans then kick things off in the second half. Again, it’s another group on stage tonight without any members who played on their original hits. However, vocalist/lead guitarist, Alan Lovell, has been with the band since 1999 and did play alongside original members, Ray Ennis and Les Braid, for a number of years. The other musicians in the band can also boast some impressive rock and roll credentials between them, playing with the likes of Joe Brown, Cliff Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry among others. While the line-up might be the real thing, it’s probably the most authentically rock and roll performance of the evening, sticking to the basic template established by the first generation of US rockers back in the 1950s. As well as The Swinging Blue Jeans’ own biggest hit ‘The Hippy, Hippy Shake’ (which was originally written and recorded by US rock and roller, Chan Romero, in 1959), we get the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis’s ‘High School Confidential’ and Little Richard’s ‘Good Golly Miss Molly’.

Next up are Tremeloes tribute, The Trems. Unlike the others on the bill tonight they don’t claim to be the actual band (a version of which is still going, containing two sixties-era members). Rather, The Trems are billed as “former members of the Tremeloes”. Joe Gillingham (on keyboards) has been playing with the Tremeloes/Trems since the late 80s while Jeff Brown (on bass and vocals) has been with them since 2005. Brown, who also did a long stint with Andy Scott’s Sweet throughout the 90s and early 2000s needs no introduction to me as I’d seen him numerous times before, albeit in 70s glam persona rather than swinging 60s! It’s the closest thing tonight to a straightforward tribute act but Brown is an entertaining frontman and he and his bandmates get a deservedly enthusiastic response from the audience.

Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Titch wouldn’t have been my obvious choice as headliner for a 60s tour but proved to be the real surprise of the evening. Former frontman, Dave Dee, sadly passed away in 2009 and the original Dozy also passed away in 2015 and we have a replacement Mick (drummer, John Hatchman who’s been playing with them since the early 80s), a new Titch (lead guitarist Jolyon Dixon, who’s been around since 2014) and a new Dozy (Nigel Dixon on bass, who joined in 2015). But it’s still the original Beaky and rhythm guitarist, John Dymond, carries the air of surprised, bemused delight that he’s still doing this 58 years after releasing their first single. It’s all rather glorious as they amp up the sound and blast out the old hits like ‘Bend it’, ‘Zabadak’, ‘Legend of Xanadu’ and ‘Hold Tight’ with a raucous rock and roll swagger. Full of energy, spectacularly bonkers and hugely entertaining, it was a great end to the evening.

The original Beaky (centre) with Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Titch

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New album/DVD: 38 Special ‘Live at Rockpalast 1981’ released 30th June 2023

Music news, Rock music, , , , , ,

Fans of Southern rock are in for a treat this month as a celebrated live performance by 38 Special is released on CD and DVD for the first time.

As part of the band’s 1981 world tour following the release of their Wild-Eyed Southern Boys studio album at the start of that year, 38 Special performed at the Freilichtbühne Loreley amphitheatre in St. Goarshausen, Germany on 29th August 1981. The concert was recorded by the popular Rockpalast German music television show. While it has lain in the archives for the past four decades, the concert will finally get an official release when 38 Special – Live at Rockpalast 1981 comes out on 30th June this year. 

The 11-song collection will be available as a CD/DVD set and on digital streaming services. Tracks on the album include live versions of band classics like ‘Turn It On’, ‘Hold On Loosely,’ ‘Wild-Eyed Southern Boys’ and ‘Rockin’ Into The Night’ as well as covers of Chuck Berry’s ‘Around and Around’ and Creedence Clearwater Revival’s ‘Fortunate Son’, the latter serving as the band’s encore.

Founding member, Don Barnes, who co-founded 38 Special with Donnie Van Zant in 1974 and still performs around 100 gigs a year with the band, commented:

“We are very proud and happy to see this historic live concert finally getting released. We had such a rockin time! It was a memorable experience for 38 Special and our first time in Germany.”

“Every song, every solo, all the energy was balled up in an explosive presentation. It felt like we had strapped ourselves in and the crowd took us up higher and higher. It was an exhilarating experience! After our full set and before the encore, I remember being soaked and toweling off before we went back out and took them for that last ride.”

Photo credits: Manfred Becker

“On behalf of Donnie Van Zant, myself and the band, we send our thanks and best wishes to all involved with the presentation of this show from so many years ago. We’re still out there bringing the heat and hope to be for many more years!”

In addition to Barnes and Van Zant, the 38 Special line-up at the time included Jeff Carlisi on guitar, Jack Grondin on drums, Larry “LJ” Junstrom on bass, and Carol Bristow and Lu Moss on background vocals. Fans of the band with a keen eye may notice, that Don Barnes plays the same Gibson electric guitar today as he did at Rockpalast.

Rockpalast (Rock Palace) launched as a live music television show in 1974. Almost 50 years later, the show continues to highlight rock, heavy metal, folk and jazz airing on German television station Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) and throughout Europe on Eurovision.

38 Special – Live at Rockpalast 1981 released: 30 June 2023 by MIG in partnership with  MVD (US distribution) and Believe (worldwide distribution)

https://38special.com/

‘Gotta Believe’: guitarist / singer-songwriter Jake Aaron rocks out with jazz fusion giant, John Etheridge

Folk music, Music news, Rock music, , , , , , , ,

Single release date: 16th June 2023

“Simply calling Aaron a guitarist and songwriter is a little like calling Warhol a painter. It misses the mark by miles.” Tim Carroll – FolkWords

“This album really is a proper immersive experience, way beyond good songwriting and performance.” Paul Jackson – Fatea

‘Gotta Believe’ is the latest single from guitarist and singer songwriter, Jake Aaron. Featuring a guest appearance from renowned jazz fusion guitarist, John Etheridge (of Soft Machine, Hawkwind, solo acclaim and many collaborations), it’s one of the harder rocking tracks from Jake Aaron’s newly-released album, Always Seeking . The album was released on digital formats on 17th May 2023 and is also available on CD from 7th June.

Talking about ‘Gotta Believe’ single Jake says: “I’m partial to some heavy rock now and again, so I enjoyed writing this track. In the studio, John Etheridge put aside his boutique Jazz amp which he’d used for a jazzier track on the album, and plugged his guitar into the studio’s Marshall. The solo sounds like molten lava dripping off the fretboard, lovely stuff.  Kate Kurdyak, who also sings “Lupe’s Theme” on the album, is singing backing vocals. Before we recorded it I mentioned to the musicians, who are all very fine Jazz players, that they didn’t have to play this one if they didn’t want. The drummer Marc Parnell replied “jazz players are fine playing rock, it’s rock players who won’t play jazz!”

The album itself, Always Seeking, is a collection of fourteen tracks – a mix of acoustic, rock, blues, saloon piano and a Western cinematic theme. There are some characters along the way – Parnell (‘Parnell’s Last Stand’), a young wolf Lupe (‘Lupe’s Theme’) and an old dog who’s lost his way (‘Leave the Light On’).

Commenting on the album, Jake says: “I’d say it was alt-Americana rather than straight Americana. I grew up listening to bands like The Jam, Ian Dury and The Specials rather than American country – so there are other influences in there”

On the album, Jake is again joined by the excellent team of musicians from his first album, Fag Ash and Beer. These being: Steve Lodder on keyboards, Davide Mantovani on bass, Marc Parnell on drums and Steve Waterman on trumpet. “Some of the best players in the UK,” as the BBC’s Linley Hamilton noted. There are also guest appearances from the phenomenal John Etheridge on lead guitar (‘Gotta Believe’, ‘Four Coaches’ and ‘The Revenant’); and the wonderful Kate Kurdyak of Canadian noir-pop band Vox Rea (‘Lupe’s Theme’ and ‘Gotta Believe’).

The album will be available in a limited-run CD format from 7th June – with artwork by the fantastic Anthony MacBain (Grand Theft Auto).

ABOUT JAKE AARON:

A British guitarist and songwriter who has “moved among both folk and jazz circles” (‘Cosmic Jazz’ – Feb 2023) Jake’s first EP of acoustic pieces was released in 2015 to positive reviews from folk and indie reviewers. His 2018 single ‘Give Me Your Horse’ was a bigger, jazzier number which had airplay on both folk stations as well as jazz, including the BBC’s Jazz Nights. He released his first album in 2019 Fag Ash and Beer, a collection of songs, longer lyrical offerings and instrumentals which was nominated for Debut Album of The Year by Fatea Magazine. He has released a handful of mainly acoustic singles since then.

ALBUM RELEASE NOTES:

ARTIST: Jake Aaron

TITLE: Always Seeking

CATALOGUE NO: JA10

LABEL: Jake Aaron Records

RELEASE DATE: 17th May 2023 (Digital), 7th June 2023 (CD)

FORMAT Digital: / CD

FILE UNDER: Folk / Blues / Rock /  Jazz

AVAILABLE: Online / CD

DIRECT FROM: iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon, Google Play, Spotify, jakeaaron.com

Lupe – Always Seeking, Jake Aaron

Album streaming link: https://jakeaaron.com/always-seeking

Website: https://www.jakeaaron.com/home

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jakeaaronmusic/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jakeaaronmusic

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/jakeaaronmusic

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6wIrG2gCGDYJ0YImaroH1

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Always Seeking: interview with guitarist and singer songwriter – Jake Aaron

Interview: Darren talks Fag Ash and Beer with guitarist/singer-songwriter Jake Aaron


Live review: Francis Rossi – ‘Tunes & Chat’ at White Rock Theatre, Hastings 3/6/23

Hastings music scene, Live reviews, Music culture & history, Rock music, , , , ,

Always quite a Quo fan since being a young teenager, I’d originally booked to see Francis Rossi on his ‘I Talk Too Much Tour’ back in 2020. Covid came along and that got rescheduled and then cancelled altogether but Rossi finally makes it to Hastings’ White Rock Theatre on his follow-up tour, ‘Tunes and Chat’.

The previous tour adopted that well-established format for this type of evening: seasoned music journo chats to acclaimed rock star about their life and career, interspersed with some live songs. Sadly, (for the reasons given above) I didn’t get the chance to see Rossi do this with veteran rock writer, Mick Wall, when they went out on the road but Rossi clearly enjoyed himself because he’s back for more. However, this time he’s eschewed the standard format of on-stage bantering with an established music journo and it’s just Rossi and his guitar tech and accomplished co-musician, Andy Brook.

Brook famously doesn’t say a word during the show until right towards the end when he reads out some audience questions for Rossi to answer. So the “chat” part is very much Rossi in solo mode. It soon begins to remind me of one of those monologues that Ronnie Corbett used to do sitting on that massive big chair meandering away when he did his solo segment on The Two Ronnies. It’s very stream-of-consciousness with lots of ad-hoc, one-liners interspersed with recollections about growing up in an Italian family in south London, getting hooked on music and embarking on a potentially-lethal home experiment in trying to create his first ever electric guitar.

Along with the more generic chit-chat, there’s also some fascinating insights into how certain Quo songs came about. And, my, do we get the songs. Starting off with some of the early material like ‘In My Chair’ and ‘Down The Dustpipe’ before moving on to some of the songs recorded at the height of the band’s success in the 1970s and early 1980s, there is absolutely no shortage of Quo classics, including ‘What You’re Proposing’, ‘Paper Plane’ and ‘Rocking All Over The World’.

I’ve seen Status Quo perform acoustically in the past, of course, when they did their ‘Aquostic’ project some years back but this is a much more intimate affair and Rossi is in fine voice and clearly in his element. On stage, Rossi and Andy Brook spar extremely well together musically – even if not conversationally – and the evening ends with a wonderful, communal sing-along to ‘Caroline’.

Structured? Not really.

Insightful? Partly.

Entertaining? Absolutely!

https://www.francisrossi.com/

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Always Seeking: interview with guitarist and singer songwriter – Jake Aaron

americana, Folk music, Interviews, Rock music, , , , , , , ,

Always Seeking is the eagerly-anticipated second album from guitarist and singer songwriter, Jake Aaron. It follows his highly-acclaimed 2019 debut, Fag Ash and Beer, which drew many enthusiastic reviews. Always Seeking was released on digital formats on 17th May 2023 and is also available on CD from 7th June. Having interviewed Jake back in 2019 following the release of his debut album, I catch up with him again to find out more about the latest one.

It’s been four years since your debut album Fag Ash & Beer which attracted some extremely favourable reviews. When did you begin working on the follow-up?

Some of the music goes back a long time, a few years in some cases. I had chords without a melody, words without songs, songs without words, but an Americana album of some sort seemed to be taking shape for a while. The actual process of bringing it all together and finishing it off probably spanned two or three years.

Was this a different process to writing the previous album?

It was pretty different, yes. With the first album, only three tracks were recorded live.  I started mainly with solo acoustic pieces and the players coloured some of them in with overdubs. With Always Seeking eight of the tracks were recorded live so it probably has more band energy.

How would you describe Always Seeking as an album?

I loosely imagined a noir Western, and something with a moving landscape, scenes and moods. As far as the theme goes, I suppose like a lot of people, I’m prone to follow mirages and over romanticise the future and the past.

Like its predecessor the album crosses a number of genres and takes in a range of influences. It’s obviously important to you not to be boxed in, musically?

I’ve absorbed a lot of music over the years and like lots of different music so it would be hard to stick with just one sound.  As I’m an independent artist too and not very commercial, I’m pretty free to record what interests me.  It’s not like a major label is locking me up till I’ve written my next hit.

Some genres probably aren’t that far removed from each other anyway especially folk, rock, and blues. John Renbourn and Davy Graham were often crossing over naturally to classical and jazzy sounds. Or, thinking of George Harrison and Robby Basho who played some sitar, into Indian Raga.  Maybe it’s partly due to the instrument –  guitarists can pick up a classical guitar, an electric guitar, sitar or banjo, or use different tunings and sound very different. I mean if I played the bagpipes I’d be a bit more stuck stylistically.

The album features a number of the musicians who played on your first album. Clearly, you enjoyed working with them, first time around?

Totally! Steve Lodder on keyboards again, Davide Mantovani on bass, Marc Parnell drums, Steve Waterman on trumpet and Kenny Jones engineering. They’re fantastic to work with. I think they’re a good choice too because some of my music is off-beat and, as jazzers, they’re completely unfazed.

The only track I was unsure about asking them to play, was the rockier track ‘Gotta Believe’ and they were free to opt out of that one if they wanted. Marc’s response was: “Jazz players are fine playing rock, it’s rock players who won’t play jazz!” It’s true, listen to them!

You’ve also got a couple of other guests on the album, John Etheridge on several tracks and Kate Kurdyak on a couple of tracks. How did they get involved?

The character in the album artwork and music turned out to be female so it seemed to call out for a female singer. It took a long time to find the right singer till I remembered a song I really liked in 2021 – ‘Dose Me Up’ by a Canadian band Vox Rea. Kate has a beautiful voice. I had to wait a while till she got back from touring but it was worth it and I’m really glad she got involved in the album.  Vox Rea recently made it onto BBC Radio 2 with their track “Julia”, so very possibly we’ll be hearing more of them.

Lupe – Always Seeking, Jake Aaron

I’ve known John a little for a few years ever since bumping into him on the tube and sharing a tube journey with him. I’d just seen him playing with John Williams at Ronnie Scott’s, and in Nottingham too, so had quite a bit to chat about the music and the shows. It so happens John also plays with Steve and were working together on some jazz versions of The Kinks which I heard when I was working on the album. It had some stunning lead guitar.  Three of the tracks on “Always Seeking” needed some lead guitar and I wasn’t about to follow Steve’s solo in The Revenant  – so one thing led to another and John seemed to like the pieces.  John’s two solos on The Revenant are just brilliant which is partly why the track is so long! I couldn’t find anywhere to fade it. It’s a very joyous listen, very melodic, very unrushed.

The artist Anthony Macbain produced a very striking image for the album cover, full of old-style western film imagery. Did you have a clear idea of what you wanted from the outset?

Anthony’s art is fantastic and adds a whole new dimension to the music. We had some shared musical interests too which probably helped including – you’ll be very pleased to know – Iron Maiden. I sent Anthony a rough, badly drawn sketch of a rider on a ridge looking over clouds, with a guitar and rifle. Anthony took the idea and transformed it. His first sketch was of a female rider looking at the viewer. It was so good I asked him to finish it though we felt the image of the rider in the distance worked better for the album cover. The original image is now in the CD as a fold-out poster and looks terrific. It was a real surprise when I received the first copy.

What next for Jake Aaron?

I’m looking into pressing some vinyl for Always Seeking, depending on the level of interest. The feedback about the artwork and line up is so good it would be good to see it on vinyl – it might be something someone picks up in a second hand shop one day and asks what the hell was that? I had that experience a lot when I used to trawl second hand record shops. I’ve emailed a record shop in London who haven’t got back yet, so if there are any vinyl shops reading give us a shout!

Vinyl seems to be making a huge resurgence. One of my tracks was picked up by a vinyl “mixtape” club in the US, Vinyl Moon, who produce really beautiful vinyl each month with original music and artwork that piqued my interest too.  Jared Sylvia designed the volume that my track’s on.

(Update: since the interview Jake has now achieved his ambition of releasing the album on vinyl – you can order it here!)

Musically I’ve got quite a lot of stuff simmering in the pot, some lyrics, chords, a few melodies, song titles. So I guess there could be a single or two, an EP and another album at some point. I’m more interested than I used to be in reworking earlier tracks these days. Sometimes you can only take a track so far at the time and then run out of time, skill or imagination and then a few years later pick it up again – you might have evolved a bit musically and can do more with it.

I did think the other day if I write more material I can do a Best Of some day which would be a great thing – it would immediately improve the overall standard of the album with a massive edit!

#jakeaaron #folkguitar #folkfusion #stevelodder #johnetheridge #stevewaterman #davidemantovani #marcparnell #katekurdyak  #vinylmoon #anthonymacbain #johnrenbourn #davygraham #robbybasho #georgeharrison #indianraga  #fusionguitar #ironmaiden

Album streaming link: https://jakeaaron.com/always-seeking

Website: https://www.jakeaaron.com/home

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jakeaaronmusic/

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/jakeaaronmusic

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6wIrG2gCGDYJ0YImaroH1g

Related post:

Interview: Darren talks Fag Ash and Beer with guitarist/singer-songwriter Jake Aaron