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?"

I WAS ROBBED ONCE, TWICE, THRICE

it was by the very same youth

who had been invited to my house party

when he laughed at my naivety

i determined to end the movie

before it became a franchise

He did  not believe it when i called the police

had him charged with theft of belongings

(restitution was impossible-everything was gone)

So he wrote to me from prison asking forgiveness

I wrote back saying forgiveness comes with change of heart

and neither his heart nor mine had changed.

He did not return to rob.I have been robbed before

and will be again.And the point has always been-

it is not what you choose to steal.It is your opinion of me

that is the real theft.

THE DURRELL WILDLIFE RAINFOREST BALL

PINK FAIRIES US REVIEW

CD Review: Pink Fairies Return After 30 Years To Bring Us "Naked Radio"

English rockers the Pink Fairies return with their first album of new material in 30 years. The new album titled "Naked Radio" was inspired by the band reforming back in 2013 for two years worth of festival gigs. The Pink Fairies deliver their new album with the same line-up that released "Kill'em And Eat'em" back in 1987.

Their new 14-song release continues to deliver their message of psychedelic rock as the music will transport you back to the sixties. The new album begins with "Golden Bud," a raw rocker that instantly proves that this 45 year old band still has the energy to electrify your speakers. They pick the tempo up with "The Hills Are Burning," then delivery the loud, pounding rhythm of "Runnin' Outa Road." The Pink Fairies deliver the punk-like energy of "I Walk Away," before developing the blues of "Stopped At The Border." The album finishes with the guitar driving tones of "Down To The Wire," the six-minute psychedelic flashback of "Naked Radio" and the sixties, Chuck Berry-inspired "Deal Deal."

Included with this new release is a bonus DVD that features the Pink Fairies live at the 100 Club in London on May 17, 2014. The video shows the band performing five songs from their set that night. Also included on the DVD are the band's rehearsals and interviews in Brighton in August 2015 and new promotional videos for the songs "Naked Radio" and "Golden Bud." To find out more about the Pink Fairies and their latest release "Naked Radio," please visit pinkfairies.net.

Posted by JP's Music Blog 

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO

Naked Radio CD - £9.99

Mandies and Mescaline round at Uncle Harry's  CD - £9.99

Chinese Cowboys Live 1987 CD - £7.99

1960'S IRISH POP SINGER JACKIE LEE AKA “JACKY” RELEASES NEW COMPILATIION FEAT. HIT SINGLE “WHITE HORSES”

​1960's Irish pop singer Jackie Lee aka “Jacky”, best known for her hit song “White Horses”, has released new compilation of the same name on Gonzo MultiMedia UK.

“I never dreamt in my wildest dreams that when I was asked by Ben Nisbett and Michael Carr if I would like to sing a little song they had written for hopefully a new TV series about White Horses that it would become so popular. I of course said I would be delighted to do so. I then went to Ben's office in Tin Pan Ally (Denmark Street, London) as it was known and heard the song and saw the lyrics for the first time. I must say I fell in love with it. We then set the key for the arranger and a week or so later I was in the rather small studio to put my voice to the arrangement that had already been recorded. It was then I decided to make something of this sweet little song. As there were about two tracks left, I used them to double track my voice and put in the harmonies which I knew would work well for the song. Lucky for all of us it was accepted for the TV series and voila, a little gem was born.

“I am quite astounded that my recording of the White Horses theme song is still remembered so fondly and played on the radio so regularly. So many people have written to me personally to recall all the happy memories they remember as children about the series and my recording. After so many enquiries I am delighted that this album has been released with the White Horses recording and tracks from my White Horses LP along with some other favourites of mine.

“It includes one track that has never been released before which was part of an album that I created with Christopher Gunning called Calendar which was very dear to my heart. The Busker was about April showers, the album was never released and to date and The Busker is the only track known to have survived.

“I have also chosen several recordings I made as part of the Raindrops, a vocal quartet with my ex Husband Len Beadle, Vince Hill and Johnny Worth. They all went on to make their own individual contributions to popular music.” - Jackie Lee

Read on...

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO

White Horses
CD - £9.99

THE GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY: Al Stewart - Shah of Shahs

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO

Live at Musikladen 1979 (Deluxe Edition) DVD/CD - £10.99

Al Stewart - Turning It Into Water

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO

Live at Musikladen 1979 (Deluxe Edition) DVD/CD - £10.99

Pink Fairies - Naked Radio US review

Pink Fairies Naked Radio Review by G. W. Hill These guys were a part of the same London scene that saw the rise of Hawkwind. In fact, at times there was a hybrid of the two groups going under the name "Pinkwind." Here we get a new album from Pink Fairies. The music these days has a lot of punk in the mix. It's probably closer to something like DOA than it is to Hawkwind. There is still plenty of psychedelia in the mix, too. This set includes both the new CD and a DVD that has a live concert along with interviews and other goodies. Track by Track Review

Golden Bud Hard rocking and very cool, this is a great way to start the set in style. As you might guess, this song is all about a certain smokeable substance.

The Hills Are Burnin' As this comes in it makes me think of The Grateful Dead a bit. This has a definite jam band kind of groove. There is also a healthy dosage of psychedelic rock here.

Runnin' Outa Road This makes me think of DOA just a bit. It's a hard edged, slightly punky rocker that's classic in tone.

When the Movie's All Thru There is more psychedelia here, but this one also has that DOA kind of vibe to some degree. I like the cool rocking riff driving this piece.

I Walk Away Speaking of punk and DOA, this piece really makes me think of that band and that musical style. It's hard edged and energized. It's also catchy.

You Lied to Me This is a bit weird, but pretty cool. It has paired male and female vocals. There is a bit of psychedelia here along with some odd punky sound. It's an intriguing cut, even if a bit hard to classify. I dig the jam at the end.

Midnite Crisis There is a punky edge to this little rocker. Again we get some cool jamming at the end of the piece.

Stopped at the Border I love the cool retro sound on this tune. This is a fun kind of echoey rocker. It's full of psychedelic rock.

Spellbound Here's another with a definite punk edge.

Down to the Wire Although not a big change, this has some solid hooks and cool riffs.

Skeleton Army This rocker gets a parental advisory. It has some of the coolest guitar soloing of the set. It's also one of the strongest tunes, really.

Mick Punk, pop rock and psychedelia all merge on this number. It's a cool tune, but not really a standout. That said, the guitar soloing later does stand out.

Naked Radio There aren't any huge changes here. This is just another hard rocker with some weird psychedelia in the mix.

Deal Deal Here we get a cut that's part punk rock and part old school rock and roll. This is okay, but not one of my favorites here. It is a bit of a change, though. CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO Naked Radio CD - £9.99 Mandies and Mescaline round at Uncle Harry's  CD - £9.99 Chinese Cowboys Live 1987 CD - £7.99

Don Falcone US interview online

Spirits Burning Interviewed by G. W. Hill

Interview with Don Falcone of Spirits Burning from 2016

MSJ: Can you catch the readers up on the history of your involvement in music – both individually and as a band?

In the 90’s, I was in a number of ambient projects on the Silent Records label: Thessalonians, Spice Barons, the original Astralfish - primarily as a synth player. I was also a founding member of Melting Euphoria and was on their first album, prior to them getting signed to Cleopatra Records. For that band, I played keys and handled poetry and vocals. A few years later, I had a solo project named "Spaceship Eyes," and signed with Cleopatra’s Hypnotic imprint. This was an experimental drum ‘n’ bass project. Live, I brought in other musicians and it was more of an ethno-ambient space rock band. Deeper into the nineties, I relaunched Spirits Burning as a space rock collective, working with musicians in the San Francisco area, including visiting musicians like Daevid Allen, Graham Clarke, and, years later, Cyrille Verdeaux. I also started connecting with musicians from around the world, like Steven Wilson, and eventually members of Hawkwind and other space rock bands. Over the last decade and a half, there have been 13 Spirits Burning studio albums, with over 230 musicians involved. Plus, I’ve continued doing other projects, like the second Astralfish (an instrumental project with Bridget Wishart, which showcases her EWI playing) and Grindlestone (a darker ambient project).

MSJ: If you weren't involved in music what do you think you'd be doing?

In terms of something artistic: Maybe poetry. Maybe fiction. Probably both.

MSJ: Who would you see as your musical influences?

As a keyboardist, I’d start with Jon Lord, Vangelis, and Tangerine Dream.  As a vocalist, Robert Calvert, Peter Gabriel, and… Kate Bush (although I can’t sing like her on any level). As a songwriter, it gets complicated, as there are different styles at different times. Kate Bush, Michael Oldfield, a bit of The Stranglers, lots of hard rock roots, Ennio Morricone, so many others…

MSJ: What's ahead for you?

Spirits Burning and Michael Moorcock An Alien Heat. This is a musical adaptation of Mike’s first Dancers at the End of Time books, with a collection of songs started by Albert Bouchard, my Grindlestone cohort Doug Erickson, or me. The plan is to do three albums to cover the entire Dancers... trilogy. So far, An Alien Heat includes Al, Doug, and me, bassists Adrian Shaw, Steve York, and Lux Vibratus, guitarists Andy Dalby, Richie Castellano, and Gregg McKella, keyboardists Cyrille Verdeaux and Harvey Bainbridge, violinists Jonathan Segel and Craig Fry, drummers Ken Pustelnik and Jack Gold-Molina, along with the Damned’s Monty Oxymoron on percussion. Jason Atoms does vocals on the opening tracks. Al sings one song and brought in Don Fleming for another. I really hope that I haven’t forgotten anyone. Otherwise, there are more invites in place, and I’m planning on doing a session with Mike early next year. I’m also working on multiple instrumental Spirits Burning albums.

MSJ: I know many artists hate to have their music pigeonholed or labeled, but how would you describe your music?

A musical adventure with mystery. If we’re talking about Spirits Burning, I tend to alternate between instrumental and vocal albums. All the albums have a bit of space rock, prog, tinges of jazz and folk, new wave, and ambient. I’d like to think that there are still experimental elements within this pluralistic construct. Plus, a surprise or two along the way, whether it’s an unexpected grouping of musicians, or styles. I guess one surprise the last few years is that I’ve started to add a bit of groove, or sense of 60s soundtracks. I am also involved in a number of ambient and instrumental projects. These include Astralfish, Grindlestone, and Spice Barons.

MSJ: Are there musicians with whom you would like to play with in the future?

Plenty. To name a few for Spirits Burning, I’ve always wanted to work with Arthur Brown on vocals, David Jackson on sax, Guy Evans on drums, and Paul Rudolph on guitar or bass. Sometimes there are musicians that I don’t think about until a song expresses a need. This happened with The Roadmap in Your Head album, where I knew I needed a sax on the “Coffee for Coltrane” piece, and then Cyrille suggested adding more wind and reed players on other songs. That led me down a path to reach out and connect with Theo Travis for “Coffee,” and then Gong’s Ian East, Paul Booth (who Ian recommended), and David Newhouse (who played with Paul Sears in the Muffins, and was an old friend of my cousins).

MSJ: Do you think that illegal downloading or streaming of music is a help or hindrance to the careers of musicians?

It’s a convoluted package. I’m in the process, or planning stages, of re-releasing the first decade of Spirits Burning albums on Noh Poetry Records as downloads, and streaming is something that I need to consider. Do I create a non-presence on places like YouTube, or do I make sure I’m there and can be noticed? Free streaming of music (and if you stretch it, illegal downloads), can be a marketing tool if and when it leads to actual sales. Streaming does pay, albeit miniscule amounts. Help? Hindrance? I would say it’s a reality, and makes being a musician additionally challenging. Read on... CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO Spirits Burning Spirits Burning is one of the most unique entities in the space rock galaxy. The group consists of one main member, Don Falcone, and many other participants from various  bands and projects... Read More Spirits Burning and Clearlight Healthy Music In Large Doses is the latest offering from the Spirits Burning space rock collective, this time featuring keyboardist Cyrille 'Clearlight' Verdeaux. Clearlight is a project of French son.. Read More