Monday 30 October 2017

THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem

Rob Ayling, yer Gonzo Grande Fromage, writes:

"Thom the World poet is an old mate of mine from way back in my history. Even pre-dating Voiceprint, when I was running "Otter Songs" and Thom's poetry tapes and guest appearances with Daevid Allen, Gilli Smyth and Mother Gong are well known and highly regarded. It just felt right to include a daily poem from Thom on our Gonzo blog and when I approached him to do so, he replied within seconds!!! Thom is a great talent and just wants to spread poetry, light and positive energy across the globe. If we at Gonzo can help him do that - why not?

THERE ARE BETTER POES (i know!
THOSE WHO MEMORIZE&PERFORM HIS TEXTS
As if they were THE RAVEN  or ANNABEL LEE reincarnated
There are better impersonators/actors who can convey his dark journeys
through ROMANCE  and EULALIE and who know his SONNET TO SCIENCE
and other fave lines of stories like THE TELL-TALE HEART
Me?/I prefer the personal truth of ALONE,more than SPIRITS OF THE DEAD
I LOVE the joyous tintintabulation of THE BELLS even more than EL DORADO
You may know him by his 60 short stories/many made into Vincent Price Hammer Horror movies
It his embrace of darkness and the fey,makes him magic to this day
There are far better folk who can convey Poe in their own way
Some still pilgrim to his grave,where his bones may lay

It is the sharing of his stories brings Edgar Allen Poe back to dark life today...

Paul McCartney & John Lennon 1968 Full Interview



CURRENTLY AVAILABLE AT GONZO

The Beatles and WWII
2CD1DVD - £14.99

Rick Wakeman "Crimes of Passion" French-Canadian review translated

Rick WAKEMAN is a remarkable musician who, we know, creates many projects and adds his name to a few others as an active participant. What is less known, however, is his career as a composer of film music and also actor. We must go back to 1975, for the film "Lisztomania" where WAKEMAN embodied the role of Thor in the company of Roger DALTREY and Ringo STARR.

This recording is the soundtrack of Ken RUSSELL's 1984 film "Crimes of Passion", in French "The Days and Nights of China Blue" which starred Kathleen TURNER and Anthony PERKINS. Who has not seen "Crimes of Passion" at least once? The film explores themes of human relationships and mental illness through a mix of sex and suspense. In fact the film tells the story of a young family man, a detective who is hired to watch overly discreet fashion designer Joanna, whom his boss suspects of selling his models to the competition. But at night, Joanna becomes China Blue, prostitute in the slums of LA where she fascinates a defrocked psychopath priest among his clients ...

The soundtrack of the film was reissued this year in a limited edition CD / DVD. Let's also say, this is not the first time that we reissue the soundtrack, she had already suffered the same fate in 1993 with the bonus track "Dangerous Woman". For fans of details, you will be disappointed because the booklet contains nothing  but photos of the film with a comment by Rick WAKEMAN.

Regarding the music itself, there are interesting moments like the songs "It's a Lovely Life" and "Dangerous Woman" performed by Maggie BELL and her energetic voice. There is also the discreet presence of the Bimbo ACOCK saxophone are still notable as on the titles "Policeman's Ball" or "The Box". The master WAKEMAN takes a lot of space but it is with these compositions that he would become the legend that we know today. Still, you may find yourself humming a few notes and wondering why you have that melody in your head. It is rather rare that film music alone is unanimous, it must be associated with images to have the desired effect.

All the musicians present are very good and there are some tracks that are worth it, but the whole suffers from a lack of cohesion obvious.

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE AT GONZO


Richard Christopher 'Rick' Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboard player and songwriter best known for being the former keyboardist in the progressive rock band Yes. He is also known for hi..


On this extraordinary album, legendary keyboard player teams up with an Italian singer named Mario Fasciano. Stavros Moschopoulos  writes: 'Recorded on the Isle of Man, the CD contains 8 new..


With special guests  Various artists including: Ian Paice, Rick Parfitt, Steve Hackett, Andy Fairweather Low, John Entwistle etc..


Richard Christopher 'Rick' Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboard player and songwriter best known for being the former keyboardist in the progressive rock band Yes. He is also known f..


Musician, producer and former Yes member Billy Sherwood has put together what he’s dubbed “the biggest super group of progressive rock players ever assembled,” to form ..


26 tracks in all, of which 10 are previously unreleased (these including an epic version of Matthew the Man - live in Tokyo 2001 and Beijing - widescreen remix from Iona, and other unreleased tra..

LEONARD COHEN IN THE NEWS

Tower of Song: A Memorial Tribute to Leonard Cohen will take place at the Bell Centre and mark the first anniversary of Leonard Cohen's death.
Next month, a number of artists and fans will gather in Montreal to celebrate the life and work of the late Leonard Cohen at a tribute concert dubbed ...
In a couple weeks on 11/6, the Leonard Cohen tribute concern Tower Of Song: A Memorial Tribute To Leonard Cohen will take place at the Bell ...

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO

THE GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY: Mary Hopkin - Goodbye (live) (HQ)



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Spirit
CD - £9.99

Now and Then
CD - £9.99

Recollections
CD - £9.99

Valentine
CD - £9.99

Live at the Royal Albert Hall 1972
CD - £9.99

Sunday 29 October 2017

PLAYLIST: Strange Harvest - Show 27 – 20 Aug 2017

Strange Fruit is a unique two-hour radio show exploring the world of underground, strange and generally neglected music. All shows are themed and all shows set out to give the most hardened of sound-hounds some new delight to sample.

The show is also unique in providing homework for undergraduate students on North West Kent College’s Foundation Degree in Professional Writing (who dig up many of the odd facts featured in the links between tracks).

Neil Nixon, the founder and presenter of the show has released a book about rare albums for Gonzo Multimedia.

The show is broadcast on Miskin Radio every Sunday from 10-00-midnight.

 Strange Harvest - Show 27 – 20 Aug 2017

Realm Surfing Psionic Nomads:  Questing Visions
The Electric Prunes:  I Had too Much to Dream Last Night (mono)
Melvins:   Sober-delic
Camille Claudel:  Follow the White Rabbit
Waxahatchee:  Bonfire
Neil Young:  The Last Trip to Tulsa
Mothership:  Speed Dealer
Venus in Fuzz:  Deslizes
Male Gaze:  Pale Gaze
Quellsy:  Rudra


THE GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY: Lebanese Sacred Music

Being Sunday I always post sacred music. The name of the deity may change, or even the deity Him/Herself but the spirit remains the same.

THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem

Rob Ayling, yer Gonzo Grande Fromage, writes:

"Thom the World poet is an old mate of mine from way back in my history. Even pre-dating Voiceprint, when I was running "Otter Songs" and Thom's poetry tapes and guest appearances with Daevid Allen, Gilli Smyth and Mother Gong are well known and highly regarded. It just felt right to include a daily poem from Thom on our Gonzo blog and when I approached him to do so, he replied within seconds!!! Thom is a great talent and just wants to spread poetry, light and positive energy across the globe. If we at Gonzo can help him do that - why not?

THIN NATURE
DARK CLOUDS
Moon cycles,pensive
Slow.Stop.Drop (like leaves
Defining colors as age
strips trees seasonally.
Entrance?Exit,peacefully.
Grass receives us,whispering

Verities.Samhain.

Image result for DARK CLOUDS

LEONARD COHEN IN THE NEWS



Tower of Song: A Memorial Tribute to Leonard Cohen will take place at the Bell Centre and mark the first anniversary of Leonard Cohen's death.


Next month, a number of artists and fans will gather in Montreal to celebrate the life and work of the late Leonard Cohen at a tribute concert dubbed ...

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO

Friday 27 October 2017

Gonzo Weekly #258

Gonzo Weekly #258
THE ALL HALLOWS ISSUE
In a sort of Samhain issue we talk to Neil Nixon and unlock the secrets of The Devil’s Jukebox, and Biffo launches the Trojan Arse Project. Alan investigates John and Yoko’s conceptual country of Nutopia, and waxes lyrical about Phaselock whereas Jon is reading Ransom Riggs and the immortal Robert Anton Wilson and expanding his own reality tunnels.
Wooooot!
And there are radio shows from Mack Maloney, Strange Harvest and Friday Night Progressive. We also have columns from all sorts of folk including Roy Weard, C J Stone, Mr Biffo, Neil Nixon and the irrepressible Corinna. There is also a collection of more news, reviews, views, interviews and long nosed potoroos who have done lots of poos (OK, nothing to do with small marsupials who have been at the laxatives, but I got carried away with things that rhymed with OOOOS) than you can shake a stick at. And the best part is IT's ABSOLUTELY FREE!!!
This issue features:
Robert Anton Wilson, Timothy Leary, The Beatles, Paul McCartney, Marillion, Genesis P-orridge, Morrissey, Jonny Greenwood, Ian Gillan, Strange Fruit, Friday Night Progressive, Mack Maloney's Mystery Hour, Larry Ray (Larry Ray Piekutowski), Alberto Nelson Sanchez, Scott Mitchell Putesky, Martin Eric Ain (Martin Stricker), Boris Karl Lennart Lindqvist, Eamonn Campbell, Philip Paul Miller, Antoine "Fats" Domino Jr., Mary Hopkins, Man, Arthur Brown, Tony Ashton and Jon Lord, Martin Springett, Third Ear Band, Benjamin Britten, Neil Nixon, Owen Wilson, Alan Dearling, Nutopia, Kev Rowland, Monster Magnet, Quiet Riot, Ric Sanders, Rafaelsenra, Quantum Fantay, Carol Albert, Jonathan McGowan, Mr Biffo, Roy Weard,  Bob Hedger and Pascal Vaucel, Hawkwind, Xtul, Martin Springett, Ransom Riggs, Bob Dylan, Grateful Dead, Status Quo, Lionel Richie, David Bowie, Roky Erickson and the Aliens
Issue 257 (Judge Smith)
Issue 255/6 (John Lennon)
Issue 254 (Mr Biffo)
Issue 253 (Dana Gillespie)
Issue 252 (Cropredy)
Issue 251 (Scott Walker)
Issue 250 (Jamms)
Issue 249 (Bill Bruford)
Issue 248 (The Selecter)
Issue 247 (Don Airey)
Issue 246 (Steve Hackett)
Issue 244-5 (Summer Special)
Issue 243 (Galahad)
Issue 242 (Steve Miller Band)
Issue 241 (Carol Hodge and Steve Ignorant)
Issue 240 (Midsummer Madness)
Issue 239 (Miss Peach)
Issue 238 (Hawkwind)
Issue 237 (Hawkwind)
Issue 236 (Manchester)
Issue 235 (Jon Anderson)
Issue 234 (Al Atkins)
Issue 233 (Richard Strange)
Issue 232 (Roy Weard)
Issue 231 (Allan Holdsworth)
Issue 230 (Curtis Womack)
Issue 229 (Larry Wallis)
Issue 228 (Space Pharoahs)
All issues from #70 can be downloaded at www.gonzoweekly.com if you prefer. If you have problems downloading, just email me and I will add you to the Gonzo Weekly dropbox. The first 69 issues are archived there as well. Information is power chaps, we have to share it!
You can download the magazine in pdf form HERE:

SPECIAL NOTICE: If you, too, want to unleash the power of your inner rock journalist, and want to join a rapidly growing band of likewise minded weirdos please email me at jon@eclipse.co.uk The more the merrier really.

COMING THIS WEEKEND


DAVE BROCK IN THE NEWS


The bonus track features a guest appearence by Hawkwind founder and guitarist Dave Brock. Phil Campbell commented: “I am really excited for the ...

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO
Space Ritual Live - Special Edition
2DVD/2CD - £29.99

Space Ritual Live 
2CD1DVD - £19.99

RICK SPRINGFIELD IN THE NEWS



RICK SPRINGFIELD IN THE NEWS
Live And Kickin
DVD - £10.99

THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem

Rob Ayling, yer Gonzo Grande Fromage, writes:

"Thom the World poet is an old mate of mine from way back in my history. Even pre-dating Voiceprint, when I was running "Otter Songs" and Thom's poetry tapes and guest appearances with Daevid Allen, Gilli Smyth and Mother Gong are well known and highly regarded. It just felt right to include a daily poem from Thom on our Gonzo blog and when I approached him to do so, he replied within seconds!!! Thom is a great talent and just wants to spread poetry, light and positive energy across the globe. If we at Gonzo can help him do that - why not?

FIRST, THREE DEDICATIONS TO MY POETIC PEERS/ELDERS/ANCESTORS-
Dr.Marvin Kimbrough,Kaye Abikhalid,Barbara Carr-
whose positive poetic presences @Poetry on the Patio
had enlivened many a lunchtime HT student/staff reading
But Charmaine's father had just died ,and the postponement meant
it was just her and i reading for an hour to each other.
One by one,poet students came,and added their flare to the fire
Soon,we were six,with poetry and discussion,song and questions
involving every part of all of us.Treats were devoured,drinks drunk,
poems shared and improvised impassioned addresses emitted like sparks
This will happen again in April 2018(National Poetry Month)
and the quality of applied consciousness that enlivened today
may set on fire the imaginations of all HT students and staff.
What they had-they shared.Making their lives-into Art!


THE GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY: KATE WESTBROOK GOODBYE, PETER LORRE IF BRECHT COULD SEE ME NOW



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Cuff Clout 
CD - £7.99

Thursday 26 October 2017

RICK WAKEMAN NEWS


Rick's solo dates come after a successful tour of America with former Yes bandmates Jon Anderson and Trevor Rabin. “A full band tour is knackering ...

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO


Richard Christopher 'Rick' Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboard player and songwriter best known for being the former keyboardist in the progressive rock band Yes. He is also known for hi..


On this extraordinary album, legendary keyboard player teams up with an Italian singer named Mario Fasciano. Stavros Moschopoulos  writes: 'Recorded on the Isle of Man, the CD contains 8 new..


With special guests  Various artists including: Ian Paice, Rick Parfitt, Steve Hackett, Andy Fairweather Low, John Entwistle etc..


Richard Christopher 'Rick' Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboard player and songwriter best known for being the former keyboardist in the progressive rock band Yes. He is also known f..


Musician, producer and former Yes member Billy Sherwood has put together what he’s dubbed “the biggest super group of progressive rock players ever assembled,” to form ..


26 tracks in all, of which 10 are previously unreleased (these including an epic version of Matthew the Man - live in Tokyo 2001 and Beijing - widescreen remix from Iona, and other unreleased tra..

FRANK ZAPPA IN THE NEWS

So asked Frank Zappa of a New York crowd gathered 40 years ago at the long since demolished Palladium, just before launching into a bit of ...
He quotes musician Frank Zappa's negative statement about musical journalists and applies it to all journalists. Then he says musicians, actors, ...
I know we're not the only ones looking at this,” he said, pointing to recent reports of Frank Zappa and, indeed, Abba returning to the stage in ...
2017 marks the 50th Anniversary of the release of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention's iconic, off-the-beaten-path album TOTALLY FREE.

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Frank Zappa is considered to be one of the most influential rock musicians of the late twentieth century. Between the start of his career in the late fifties and his death in 1993 he recorded and rele..


In 1965, Ray Collins asked Zappa to take over as guitarist in local R&B band the Soul Giants, following a fight between Collins and the group's original guitarist. Zappa accepted, and soon assumed..


On September 19, 1985, Frank Zappa testified before the United States Senate Commerce, Technology, and Transportation committee, attacking the Parents Music Resource Center or PMRC, a music organizati..

GONZO: Hunter Thompson news


Hunter S. Thompson spent much of his career whacked-out on a medley of drugs – including cocaine, rum, tobacco, cannabis, mescaline, whiskey, ...

THE GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY: Dmitri Shostakovich - Waltz No. 2



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Testimony
CD - £7.99

THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem

Rob Ayling, yer Gonzo Grande Fromage, writes:

"Thom the World poet is an old mate of mine from way back in my history. Even pre-dating Voiceprint, when I was running "Otter Songs" and Thom's poetry tapes and guest appearances with Daevid Allen, Gilli Smyth and Mother Gong are well known and highly regarded. It just felt right to include a daily poem from Thom on our Gonzo blog and when I approached him to do so, he replied within seconds!!! Thom is a great talent and just wants to spread poetry, light and positive energy across the globe. If we at Gonzo can help him do that - why not?

ECONOMICS OF CONSENT
POWER CORRUPTS(&is addictive
This drug is wielded by a few
who have control over other people's lives
Power may be physical,economic or via attributed status
(Paedophile priests  shock more than pop stars)
Directors have more power than actors
Who writes the script for these encounters?
Who holds the keys and the cocaine?
When we are forced to fight for a scarce commodity
And the real price of involvement is our integrity
Values fluctuate according to pecking orders
When can we say to an abusive temporary President
YOU'RE FIRED!Just as previous Presidents have been impeached?
All the Little Presidents (employers,owners,controllers..
We are all in this hen house together.Some of the foxes wear chicken masks..


Wednesday 25 October 2017

THUNDERBIRDS AREN'T GO

The Thunderbird is a widespread figure in Native American mythology, particularly among Midwestern, Plains, and Northwest Coast tribes. Thunderbird is described as an enormous bird (according to many Northwestern tribes, large enough to carry a killer whale in its talons as an eagle carries a fish) who is responsible for the sound of thunder (and in some cases lightning as well.) Known as the Wakinyan by the Sioux, there are people within the cryptozoological community who believe that the legends are based on a real animal, and furthermore, one which still exists today.
 
Yesterday several people drew my attention to a news story which was spreading across the Internet like wildfire. It appears that TV coverage of The American Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, last Sunday a huge, bird-shaped shadow was cast over the race track.
 
 
Various people have claimed that it was a condor, but there are no condors in Texas.
 
Graham Inglis writes:
 
"It seems the phenomenon was observed on the original live coverage. Could it have been a 'green screen' overlay added by the tv coverage team, for reasons of a publicity stunt?
 
At a spectator event where an unexpected shadow passes, one would expect a few people to involuntarily look upwards. The argument that "they were all watching the racing" doesn't really hold water, as many people at a sporting event are just as likely to be using their phones, consuming a snack, talking to friends, or just looking around the sports arena for other participants.
 
Furthermore, in car racing, the track typically is under observation from a variety of angles and often by several cameras too. It seems odd that a condor or an aircraft of any description could glide low enough to cast a prominent shadow, yet not be directly observed by anyone. Until we're told what the source of illumination was, one can't infer object size by measuring the shadow. A Texas afternoon would normally receive a fair amount of sunlight even in October, but floodlighting is often used on racetracks even in daylight".
 

So, sadly for all the people who are claiming that this is conclusive proof of the existence of the Wakinyan.... Sadlyu, it is nothing of the kind. Not yet, at least.

THE GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY: Edith Piaf - Non, Je ne regrette rien



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Great Recordings/La Vie en Rose
2CD - £3.99

PINK FAIRIES: George Butler interview for 'Groove Grove Graphics'



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Naked Radio
CD - £9.99

Naked Radio
LP - £19.99

Daevid Allen poetry excerpt, Dane John Mound, Canterbury 2012



CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO


Australian beatnik Daevid Allen was a founder member of Britain's earliest psychedelic band, Soft Machine.He departed from the band after the release of their first classic single Love Makes Sweet Mus..


Australian poet and musician Daevid Allen, born in 1938, moved to Europe in 1960, inspired by the writings of the ‘Beat Generation.’ After a year or so in Paris he arrived in the UK in 196..


Whichever way you look at it, Daevid Allen is one of the most interesting and enigmatic characters in modern music. An Australian, he was working in a Melbourne book shop when he discovered the writin..

...BECAUSE SOME OF US THINK THAT THIS STUFF IS IMPORTANT
What happens when you mix what is - arguably - the world's most interesting record company, with an anarchist manic-depressive rock music historian polymath, and a method of dissemination which means that a daily rock-music magazine can be almost instantaneous?

Most of this blog is related in some way to the music, books and films produced by Gonzo Multimedia, but the editor has a grasshopper mind and so also writes about all sorts of cultural issues which interest him, and which he hopes will interest you as well.