Miscellaneous - October 2010

  by Admin

published: 15 / 10 / 2010

intro

Hello and welcome to the October edition of the Pennyblackmusic magazine. If there is a focus for this edition, it is that of comeback. We didn’t really set out to make it this way, in fact didn’t really realise that it was the case until we started piecing together, but four out of five of our mai

Hello and welcome to the October edition of the Pennyblackmusic magazine. If there is a focus for this edition, it is that of comeback. We didn’t really set out to make it this way, in fact didn’t really realise that it was the case until we started piecing together, but four out of five of our main interviews this month are with bands that have got back together after a long absence. Undoubtedly part of this comes from the fact that a lot, although by no means all, of our writers are older and in their 40s and 50s. It is inevitable, therefore, that there are going to be times when they end up interviewing bands they saw or that were fans of first time around. Part of this too comes from the bands themselves. In an industry which doesn’t sell many CDs anymore and in which so much of music has become available on-line for free, more and more bands are forced back together and out on the road again out of financial necessity. Sometimes, however, there are other reasons as well and it seems with each of our four main acts for this month there was also an additional factor. In the case of our lead interview this month with the Primitives, the pop/punk giants of the late 80s and early 90s, it was the sudden and tragic death last year of their first bassist, Steve Dullahan at the age of 45, that lead them to reform. They started touring again as a tribute to him and have a proposed new EP out next year. For Michael Gira it was anger in part at the failings of the record industry and the slow fading-out of his label Young God Records that prompted him to bring back from the dead after an absence of thirteen years his abrasive punk-pop outfit Swans. Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys from synth pop pioneers OMD have already been back together for four years and have both toured with their classic 1981 third album, ‘Architecture and Morality’, and also have done a ‘Greatest Hits' tour. Now they are about to tour again, but this time with their first album together in twenty four years, ‘History of Modern’. Supertramp are back after being away from live work for eight years and are bothy playing stadium dates to celebrate their fortieth anniversary together and the double CD reissue of their bestselling 1979 album, ‘Breakfast in America’. That theme of reformation and in some cases reconciliation continues further down the bill as well. The Quarrymen were the 1950s band of the young John Lennon. They first got back together in 1997 seventeen years after his assassination and thirty seven years after they first split up. They have been recently touring America to promote the ‘Nowhere Boy’ biographical film about the young Lennon and also to celebrate what would have been his seventieth birthday. In the third and final part of our interview with early 80’s new wave act the Lotus Eaters, they meanwhile talk about their reformation in the mid 1990s and what they have planned next. Our other main interview is with former Hefner front man Darren Hayman, who back for a sixth Pennyblackmusic interview, speaks to us about his just released new album, ‘Essex Arms’, which is the second in a proposed trilogy about his native Essex. We are also running interviews this month with Blue Oyster Cult and former Ozzy Osbourne bassist Rudy Sarzo; Canadian thrash act Cancer Bats; much acclaimed Chicago-based pop act the PondHawks, and, in what is his second interview with Pennyblackmusic, British-based singer-songwriter, visual artist and stand-up comedian Ashley Reaks who talks about his latest album, ‘Here’s to the Good Life’. There are interviews as well with seven-piece instrumental act the Monroe Transfer and South African-born and now London-based singer-songwriter and poet Adam Donen, both of whom will both be playing the Pennyblackmusic Bands Night at the Half Moon in Herne Hill. London on October 29th. Our final interview this month, which we are running in the ‘Profiles’ section is with former Fire Engines drummer Russell Burn and journalist Innes Reekie who speak about their new label Mayakovsky Produkts and Burn’s latest band Spectorbullets. Also in the ‘Profiles’ section there are features on Bristol-based label and recording studio Multiverse and Australian pop trio, Smudge, who have recently had their first two albums, 1994’s ‘Manilow’ and 1998’s ‘Real Mccoy, Wrong Sinatra’ both reissued. In our ‘Live Reviews’ section there are new reviews of shows by Villagers, Maximo Park, the Quarrymen, the Fun Lovin’Criminals, the Bangles, the Crookes and Seefeel. There also articles also there about the Ja Ja Ja Metal Night, a Scandinavian death metal night in London, and a three-piece feature on the shoegazing festival Reverence which is now in its third year. In our ‘Features’ section Jon Rogers in ‘Hitting the Right Note’ asks what has happened to dissent and controversy in rock music. Ben Howarth in ‘Condemned to Rock ‘n’ Roll’ examines music career suicide and what can happen to bands when the good ideas start to run out. Lisa Torem in ‘Rock Salt Row’ chats with Helen Tipping about the effect of landscape on musicians and song writing. It is also Lisa’s turn to do the ‘Soundtrack of Our Lives’ column and she writes of the reconciling effect that John Lennon's song writing has had at various difficult points in her life. Jeff Thiessen in ‘This Metal Sky’ meanwhile explains why he why he finds Linkin Park's latest album 'A Thousand Suns' to be completely lacking of any real meaning or focus. In our ‘Re:View’ section, in which we look back at albums from the past, there is an article on American singer-songwriter Jessie Galante's second solo album, 'Spitfire', which came out last year. Our Website of the Month is Obscure Sound which aims to “to provide music fans with the latest and greatest” in often little heard music There are also 32 album and single reviews. We ran another 32 reviews on our reviews only up-date at the beginning of October. Thank you to Peter Allison, Carl Bookstein, Malcolm Carter, Andrew Carver, Dan Cressey, Dixie Ernill, Tony Gaughan, Tommy Gunnarson, Ben Howarth, Adrian Huggins, Fiona Hutchings, Anthony Middleton, C Jon Rogers, Jamie Rowland, Mark Rowland, Marc Samuels, Maarten Schiethart, Dominic Simpson, Anthony Strutt, Jeff Thiessen. Helen Tipping, Lisa Torem and Paul Waller, all of whom contributed articles to this edition or to the reviews up-date in July. Special thanks to our webmaster Richard Banks at Pennyblackmusic HQ without whom none of this really would not be possible. Please don’t forget if you live in or near London the Pennyblackmusic Bands Night which will take place at the Half Moon in Herne Hill, London with the Willard Grant Conspiracy, the Monroe Transfer, Adam Donen and Altai Rockets. Tickets can be bought in advance for £7 from We Got Tickets at www.wegottickets.com/event/92212 or on the door for £8. It should be a great night of music. We will be back with a reviews up-date in late October and then in mid November with a full edition. We hope then to be running interviews with Jon Windle, Janis Ian, Carl Barat, Wilko Johnson, Phil Wilson, Bill Leverty, Darren Posyer, A Band Called Quinn and One Unique Signal and Alligator Records label boss Bruce Illgauerr. There will also be the usual range of profiles, features, live reviews, profiles and more album and single reviews. Thank you as always for reading John Clarkson Magazine Editor www.pennyblackmusic.co.uk