JON'S POSTBAG

Oh dear, I hear you thinking. Not just another picture of Jon making a stupid face whilst clutching the contents of today's postbag.

Well, no. Not quite. Yes, Jon is indeed making a stupid face whilst clutching the contents of today's postbag, but there is a difference today.

Today he is clutching a copy of Helen McCookerybook's book about women in punk, and the REAL difference is that for once he paid for it. YUP you heard it right. He is not crowing in the fact that he got another freebie.

He was so impressed by his conversation with her the other day that he paid good money for a copy. His OWN money. Wonders will never cease.

MICHAEL DES BARRES: The 'Carnaby Street' Interview

HERE COMES RHYMING LIZ

As regular readers will probably know, for some reason not entirely understood by me (although it was me who started it) when I send out the blog notifications each sunday, I do them in rhyme.

Yesterday's included:

Its now become traditional,
in fact its uncondional
to have a sunday story about Liz,
one of my favourites in the music biz,
about Liz who? I hear you ask
soundly taking me to task,
I reply, "Her from Auburn" mate,
and by the way, her album's great...

And Lis, once again replied:

Jonathan, you’ve done me proud
With your support, so clear and loud
Thanks for all your rhyming praise
Once again, you’ve made my day :)
xxxxxxxxx

MIMI PAGE: Lightning in a Bottle Festival 2012 w/ Bassnectar - Silverado, CA

MICHAEL DES BARRES: Get a sneak preview of the title track of 'Carnaby Street'

http://mdbimmedia.com/

It's only Rock and Roll, but bloody hell I like it...

INTRODUCING GAIL SKELLY

Unsigned talent spot.

Gail Skelly, of Salford is queen of the unsigned talent spot for today. She is so worried about being signed - she said Gonzo supremo, Rob Ayling "I wouldn't be able to play the folk clubs".

So that dear readers is where you will find her !!! But remember where you read about her first.

EXCLUSIVE: Roy Webber (Jackson Webber, Wally) interview (Part Two)

Yesterday we posted Part One of an interview with Roy Webber frontman of the legendary Wally, and also of a new collaboration - Jackson Webber.

We continue with the story of how the band refored after three decades:

ROY: So I started chasing everybody up and the strange thing was that while I was chasing the co-founder of the band, a guy called Paul Garrett, I was trying to locate him and I rang his ex-wife and she said, ‘Oh have you not heard? He died two days ago.’

JON: Oh wow

ROY: In Thailand. So all of a sudden, we had to do the gig for him. So we had a proper reason, and of course everybody ... we found the drummer who hadn’t actually touched a drum kit for 16 years, and we had a meeting and the drummer said ‘Look I can’t do this, I’ve not played for so long’, and we all said, look we’ll do it together, or we don’t do it. And we persuaded him to do it and we had a week and a half’s rehearsal before the first gig, and the first gig sold out at the Royal Hall, Harrogate and it was a mega success, so everybody wanted us to do another one the next year, so we did and in the meantime we made the new album, which was Montpelier, which was quite interesting because getting together to make that album made us realise why we all split up . But I am sure that that is a familiar story.

JON: Yeah, I was actually going to ask you about that. I’ll come back to that in a moment.

ROY: So we made the album Montpelier and then we did the next gig which we recorded, which is the Live double album, but I have to say that the response worldwide is quite something. People from... I mean we’re not talking hundreds of thousands here by any means, but there are a lot of fans that have appeared out of the woodwork that really appreciated the band, and love the band, and love the music. We tried to make Montpelier true to the original sound of the band, but also move it forward slightly to have a bit more of what is going on now, and I think we’ve achieved that, and I think it’s had some very good reviews.

JON: The songs on Montepelier. Were they new ones that you had written?

ROY: A couple were taken – Sailor and Sister Moon – were written right back in those days. We’ve changed them slightly, but they were conceived back in the days of the original band. And all the rest is new material, but played – I mean we’re all just stuck in that zone really and the only person that’s actually working new music is Will Jackson who produced the album. He’s working with bands like the Kaiser Chiefs, Pigeon Detectives, Embrace...so he’s working with bands that are sort of happening now, and he tried to inject a few of those flavours and sounds but that’s where the conflict was, the drummer in particular wasn’t happy.

Overall, it’s like any album. You never want to stop because, you know, you record something you take it away and listen then you can always think of things you would like to change, but at some point you’ve got to stop. Otherwise you’d carry on forever. And we had to stop, you know we didn’t have a huge budget to make the album and we kept going back and changing things.

For me, I like to think that when you ... there was only two songs on the album that we were all in the same room at the same time recording it, the rest were done and sent over to Germany for the fiddle player to add his bit, then sent over to America for Nick to do his bit and then it would all come back, you know. So it’s not very organic. It’s a bit mechanical. There’s a song on the album called Giving, which is my favourite track, where we were all in the room playing at the same time, and it was basically one take – we got that in one take and there are just a couple of overdubs on that, so for me that’s very pure and I love it.

JON: Will there be another one?

ROY: Yes, I think so.

JON: Have you got more songs written?

ROY: Yes. Well I have another project. I write with a guy called Will Jackson.

JON: Oh I love that album, I think it’s smashing

ROY: Well, we’re working on a new album and it’s going so well. So I am working on that with Will, but the whole Wally thing, we’d all come together again to make it happen

JON: The sound of the two projects is very different. Do you find yourself, when you’re writing songs, do you find yourself thinking, ‘Right I’m going to sit down and write a Jackson Webber song’ rather than ‘I’m going to sit down and write a Wally song?’

ROY: Nope, I write the song, and I write the melody line, and I write the chord sequences, and if I sit down with Will it can become an acoustic track, if I sit down with the other guys it can become a monster

That’s just the way it goes. Sister Moon, which is a track on Montpelier, is – would you believe it – an acoustic song. And now when Wally get hold of it, they turn it into this great big epic, but that’s what Wally is all about, you know, it’s a massive sound. But the new Jackson Webber album is going to be very acoustic, very simple because a very, very good friend of mine, Bob Harris, you know the Whispering Bob, he’s very involved in everything I do, and he gives me advice ‘cos he’s involved in the whole Americana movement that goes on in America and his show, and he likes things very pure and very clean. So we’ll try and keep in clear and clean.

And so we reach the end of Part Two. We will be back tomorrow with the third and final part..

THE BIGFOOT GUITAR: Finally mixing my day job and my Gonzotime

MEMO TO GONZO SUPREMO ROB AYLING: Is there any concievable excuse we can think of which would get me to buy one of these and charge it as expenses? I sooooo want one!

http://totalrojoguitars.blogspot.fr/2012/06/bigfoot-has-been-found.html


Well, folks, here's 'Bigfoot', and it ain't Sasquatch . . . it's a real honest-to-gawd hand carved six string solid body guitar complete with all the necessary hardware and design to make it playable. And, it's fulfilled every expectation I had in the design and execution process.

Read on...

CHRIS THOMPSON: Polish review

http://www.mlwz.ceti.pl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8555&Itemid=26

Another rather charming foreign review which I am reposting just as I got it..



Author: Arthur Chachlowski
13/06/2012.

Chris Thompson? Who is he? The less oriented to say that for sure you have heard his voice many times, even listening to the radio and zaśpiewanego his timeless hit "Blinded By The Light" Manfred Mann's group Earthband. Not only does this hit has made ​​it his "two cents". "Spirits In The Night", "Mighty Quinn", "You Angel You", "Do not Kill It Carol" and "Davy's On The Road" - this is only the first bank of the examples provided by the Mannfreda Mann and a team of great hits. Chris has worked with this audience as from released in 1976, the famous album "Roaring Silence", and then, already in the 80s, he headed his own group, Night. It should also know that our hero took to the famous album Jeff Wayne's "War Of The Worlds", where he sang a song (a big hit on the lists in the UK in 1978) Pt. "Thunder Child".

Now, Chris Thompson recalls a concert release titled "Berlin Live & Live At The Colos-Saal." It's bloated tomiszcze, which consists of two CDs and a DVD disc, is a fantastic concert review of his work and still przeogromnych possible stage. The main part of the material contained on this album is Thompson's performance, accompanied by a team in the Berlin Radio 88.8FM June 4, 2011 year. The two silver discs CD is a complete record of the two-hour concert presented reportedly on a scale of 1:1, with no overtime and additions. Listen to this great. Repertoire, performance, live audience's reaction - it all adds up to a really great musical feast, which we can experience hearing these great songs performed. 12-minute version of "Blinded By The Light" simply crushes. Games played as an encore, "For You" and "Questions" are harming. But earlier, before them, we have a real festival of the best songs from the rich repertoire of Thompson and Mann's Earthband Mannfred.
Complementing this radio show is a visual record of the concert pieces in January 2011 in the Colos-Saal in Aschaffenburg.Unfortunately, technical problems prevented the documentation of this performance as a whole. On the DVD so we get only 7 songs "rescued" by technicians treatments (such as "Do not Kill It Carol", "Martha's Madman" and "Whole Lot To Give"), plus a few recordings registered by the fans, plus interviews with Thompson and members of his team, which was provided just before the show in Aschaffenburg.

What else can I say about this release? Just because I recommend it with all my heart - that's for sure. And properly so, because the rest is music. Thompson's music and voice speak for themselves. Speak for themselves. Arms without any error. Probably because we are dealing with the professionalism of the highest quality. Let us at the end of the names of the musicians who accompanied this great singer's concert in the implementation of the project. The Mads Eriksen plays guitars, keyboards Gunnar Bjelland, Frank Hovland on bass, and drums Zsolt Meszaros (in the Berlin radio) and Steinar Krokstad (in Aschaffenburg).











Once again I recommend. Album-cudeńko.





















Check out his Gonzo Artist Page:










http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/artists/6434/Chris%20Thompson

HAWKWIND: New album review

After a series of largely mediocre albums, decades old psychedelic rock band Hawkwind released another grand ode to space, drugs, and hard rock. The album takes on a largely more electronic sound than the classic ‘70s material, and through the wonders of modern production, the hard rock sound is easily more pronounced. The album is still wholly Hawkwind however, with distorted vocals, hazy, hard rocking riffs, and that smooth, mysterious feel that radiates from Hawkwind’s music, that entrances the listener and creates a strong desire to listen to the great music.

Read on..

RICK WAKEMAN: Musical Instrument Retail Conference & Expo (MIRC).

Prog-rock legend, virtuoso keyboard player, composer and raconteur Rick Wakeman will be addressing more than 200 musical instrument retailers at this year’s Musical Instrument Retail Conference & Expo (MIRC).

The event takes place at The Brewery, Chiswell Street London – where the Music Week Awards were held earlier this year – on Thursday June 28th. It’s free for retailers to attend and they will all go home with a VIP retail gift bag.

The day will comprise conference sessions in the morning, followed by a free lunch. The expo will open in the afternoon, while an after-show drinks reception, sponsored by Roland UK, will be held at the Chiswell Street Dining Rooms, situated opposite The Brewery.

Wakeman will be topping off the conference with his keynote speech – A Grumpy Old Keyboard Player’s View of the Music Industry – in which he will relate, in his own inimitable way, his recollections as both performer and customer.

Read on...

And check out his Gonzo artist page:
http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/artists/5982/Rick%20Wakeman

EXCLUSIVE: Roy Webber (Jackson Webber, Wally) interview (Part One)

Wally were the first Gonzo Multimedia artistes that I heard back in March when Sir Robin of Aylingshire first asked me whether I would do the blog which metamorphosed into the Gonzo Daily.

I was captivated both by the band and their music; the subtle blending of prog with what Gram Parsons called 'Cosmic American music' was irresistible.

I started trying to set up an interview with the band in late March, but every time that I was just about to speak to their head honcho Roy Webber, something would happen (either to him or to me) and it actually took three months before I (with a mug of tea by my side, and the orange cat on my lap) sat down to talk to him:

JON: What a palaver we have had trying to contact each other

ROY: Not your fault mine. We are launching our new business in Brazil on 3rd July and it’s just absolute chaos here.

JON: What is it you do?

ROY: We are a creative agency. We brand major sporting events – we’ve branded the whole of the World Cup in Brazil for 2014 and I’ve travelled over there about 15 times in the last 15 months. We’ve identified masses of business so I’ve got Brazilian investment and we open Works Brazil on July 3rd so obviously we are creating everything here and it has to go over there and get translated to Portuguese then come back here to be ...it’s a nightmare. We are running behind so I am actually all over the place at the moment, but I’m here now.

JON: It sounds absolutely horrific.

ROY: Well this is why I need my music It’s a great leveller. It is, it’s one of those things that keeps your sane I think.

JON: I have to admit that until I had started working for Gonzo a few months ago I had only vaguely heard of Wally and then you guys made such an amazing comeback – I think that’s really good.

ROY: To be honest, we came from nowhere because we hadn’t done our apprenticeship. Wally was formed by myself and one other guy in the basement of my house in Harrogate and over a period of six months we ... the way it all came together was like it was always meant to be.

We met the pedal steel player, we met the fiddler player, and when we gelled all the sounds of the instruments, I mean going back to those days when everything was experimental and very hippie like, and everything lasted half an hour, we created the most fantastic sound – then totally unique – and even now is fairly unique.

And so when it actually happened we didn’t actually travel up and down the country playing gigs to earn our stars as it were, we just went from doing one gig in London, being seen by Rick Wakeman, supporting him at Crystal Palace Open Air Bowl, being signed to Atlantic Records and going on tour. So we didn’t really have the grounding that most bands have so we didn’t actually appreciate what was happening to us.

Without sounding really blasé, that is what happened. So when we signed with Atlantic Records, we signed a two album deal and we made the first album, which was catastrophic because we’d never been in recording studios before, Bob Harris had never produced an album before. Rick Wakeman was the only guy who knew what he was doing, but he had a heart attack half way through it so we released the first album, and then went off on tour, which was very successful. Then we had a meeting with Atlantic Records and they said, well how is the second album coming along? And we didn’t realise until then that we should have been half way through the second album.

That’s how naive we were. Really, to be honest.

JON: Then you had a break of 30-odd years before the third album...

ROY: Well yes. The breakdown came quite naturally because we actually signed to Atlantic Records with the Average White Band, and the Average White Band had done everything properly. They had earned their stripes by touring up and down for years and becoming known, and had a good following, so we when we signed to Atlantic they signed three bands. There was Wally, a band called the Heavy Metal Kids – I don’t know if you remember them, a guy called Gary Holton...

JON: Yes...he was the guy who was in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet..

ROY: They signed his band, Wally and the Average White Band, and we all had a choice. We could wait three months and then sign to Atlantic America or we could sign immediately to Atlantic UK, and the deal with Atlantic UK was they would pick us up in a limousine, they’d drive us to the same office in London where The Beatles signed their contract – they made it glamorous. So, of course, being very naive, we went for the quick easy option and signed to Atlantic UK, whereas the Average White Band were much shrewder and they waited and signed to Atlantic America.

So, of course, when things went wrong for Atlantic Records, they closed down their UK operation. That meant that the Heavy Metal Kids and Wally were dropped by Atlantic Records, and of course the Average White Band who were signed to Atlantic America continued. So we continued for a while after we dropped by Atlantic, and we were supported actually by the Average White Band and the money that was invested in them. In the end it all faded away, and it was hard work. So we ended up calling it a day.

And then a very strange thing happened. Nick Glennie-Smith, who is the keyboard player in the band – he’s become a very successful writer for movie scores – was taken under the wing of Hans Zimmer – he’s the most prolific writer of music scores - and Nick was taken under his wing, and then within a couple of years was writing movie scores for the most amazing movies. You would have heard of them all. So Nick became very, very successful and he was over in London about three or four years ago and he just called on us. I hadn’t seen him for years. We went out for dinner and he said why don’t we get together again. And I said well that’s easy Nick, you live in Los Angeles so if you give me three days, I’ll put it all together but if you commit to it. And he said no I will, I would just love to do it.

And this seems like an appropriate place to break off for today. We will be back tomorrow with part two. However in the meantime check out their Gonzo artist page:

http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/artists/6764/Wally

JEFFERSON STARSHIP: Look what I got hold of

I am the spy in the house of love, the mole in the heart of Gonzo, and I am so impressed by this forthcoming live 4 CD package of Jefferson Starship live at the Roswell UFO Festival, I will bring you whatever unconsidered trifles I can get hold of as I get hold of them...

Check this out - the liner notes for the really rather lavish CD booklet...

ROGER HODGSON VIDEO: Magnificently uplifting

This is Roger Hodgson, once of Supertramp. I have had these pictures of him on stage, with Gonzo grande fromage Rob Ayling, and Rob's irrepressable son Hunter (who is another one of the ever growing tribe to whom I am Uncle Jon). Nice pictures. But why am I posting them? Well it's not JUST because I can!

I received this yesterday:

Have you seen the new Coca Cola ad with the Roger new version of “Give a Little Bit”? This is a great message that is going out to show the positive side of humanity. And it’s a great opportunity to remind people about Roger Hodgson. Almost 4.8 million views and climbing!



Please take a moment to Tweet it, “Like” it, Share it, and remind people of what you love about Roger Hodgson as a songwriter and his concerts.

"Well, Roger is a jolly good songwriter, and Diet Coke tastes jolly good when diluted with Lidl's budget bourbon, so it was a request to which I was happy to accede." Thats's what I was going to write. Roger is a friend of Rob's and a jolly nnice bloke by all accounts, and I am happy to blog about him.

Then I saw the video, and I was blown away. It is the sort of positive, groovy message that an old anarcho-hippy like me is happy endorse. It is strange that such an uplifting little film comes from the heart of the corporate world. Such a thing gives me great hope on a sunday morning.

AUBURN: A review so spot on, I could have written it myself

http://www.therocktologist.com/auburn---indian-summer.html

Auburn – Indian Summer Review by: Donald Strachan Year: 2012 Produced by: Auburn Label: Independent

A CD arrived in the post recently with a request that I write a review; although I have previously received a variety of on-line queries, to actually be sent a physical copy was a first for me. I had absolutely no prior knowledge of the artist and consequently had no preconceptions; amongst the first things that I noticed on receipt of this CD:

a very striking portrait painting on the cover by Teresa Witz;

Eliza Carthy’s name amongst the contributing musicians;

the very memorable “Wow! What a Ride!” quote from Hunter S Thompson;

a ‘Gonzo’ production.

Although interesting, the combination of these things did little to help me; I sensed something slightly gothic about the painting and other graphics, I primarily associate Eliza Carthy with excellent folk music, and my main recollections of Hunter S Thompson are the two books ‘Hells’ Angels’ and ‘Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas’, and ‘gonzo’ journalism. No further forward there regarding what to expect, so I loaded the CD into the player and waited to hear what came out of the speakers.

Having listened to it a number of times now I still find it hard to categorise, and in my mind that is a very good thing indeed! I definitely liked what I heard and in many ways felt that I had been transported back to my youth as I found many of the tracks to be reminiscent of some of the music that I had enjoyed so much back in the mid 1970s. Yet this is no 70s ‘tribute act’, Auburn have succeeded in producing an album that deserves to be appreciated as an idiosyncratic delivery of a range of pleasing songs with thoughtful lyrics accompanied by sympathetic instrumentals.

The album is a vehicle for the songs sung by Liz Lenten and written by her in conjunction with Max Gilkes. It opens with ‘Shame On You’, a fairly upbeat tribute to ‘girls’ nights out’ and I immediately anticipated that more pleasing content would follow, I wasn’t disappointed.

In true retro style I can picture some of the songs going down very well in smoky basement clubs, particularly ‘All Come Back To You’, definitely a thing of the past with the advent of widespread public smoking bans. There are no hard rocking numbers here that rely on lots of electric instrumentation, there is a definite bias towards acoustic based tracks. The title track, Indian Summer’, is absolutely sublime and incorporates Latin hints with soothing lyrics; although in many ways it is completely different, I found myself recalling ‘Midnight At The Oasis’ when it was playing. It just seemed to be so right as I listened to it as I drove about in the sun. ‘Day Dreamin”, is a wonderful reggae orientated song, and an alternative dub interpretation of it is also included in the release.

There is a very delicate country treatment to the ‘Too Far From Home’ features Eliza Carthy’s violin playing alongside Rob Lewis’ cello, expertly complemented by the other excellent musicians. Max Gilkes contributes on piano and keyboards, on bass there is Jevon Beaumont with percussion provided by Willy Molleson and Wan Hewitt. Horseman adds drums on the dub version of ‘Day Dreamin” and Maddy Leather, Joe Leather, Joanne Louise Parker and Laura Vane join Liz, Max and Eliza to provide backing vocals.

One of the pervading joys is Liz Lenten’s voice; at times ethereal and wispy, at other times emotive and powerful, but always a joy; it is just so perfect in ‘This Is The Life’, one of the most laid back, yet inspirational anthems that I have come across in a long time. This album came to me completely out of the blue, I have a strong feeling that I probably wouldn’t have been drawn to it otherwise, but I am so grateful to have been introduced to it. It provides a wonderful opportunity to step back from the hustle and bustle of daily life and spend some magical moments.

MICHAEL DES BARRES: Stolen from his Facebook Page

It's taken me a couple of years of blood,sweat and soul to make this album. As I look at them on the passenger seat of my car,tears rock and roll down my cheekbones.. I'm one lucky guy and that's a fact. Thank you to everyone who got me here. Now I want you to hear this record.. Years of experience and passion in 45 minutes of Rock and Roll music. Hallelujah!!! Lawd have mercy..! July 10th. World wide...!

www.mdbimmedia.com

TONY HAWKS CHARITY GALA (So Rob is in a suit)

Greetings sports fans...

Gonzo impresario Rob Ayling was out in central London in his suit the other night. Now that's either pretty scary (it was) or he was doing something important. Indeed it was just that. He attended the star studded (including some of his childhood heroes The Goodies, Tim Brooke Taylor and Dr Graham Garden) glitzy Leicester Square premier of Tony Hawks film "Playing the Moldovians at Tennis". Not only is it a great film, it also helps raise money for a specialist medical unit in Moldova:

http://www.tony-hawks.com/philanthropy.php




If you didn't make it to the premiere and want to do your bit for charity and buy a great dvd follow this link. . . .
http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/artists/6809/Tony%20Hawks

EXCLUSIVE: Final part of Helen McCookerybook interview

Today, sadly, we come to the final part of my long and rambling chat with the lovely and multi-talented Helen McCookerybook...

first part.
second part

It was supposed to be about the rather lovely CD she has made with Daintees frontman Martin Stephenson. It is called Cafe of Tiny Kindnesses and it is one of the most delicate and beautiful things that I have heard in yonks.

But the conversation didn't end up like that at all. We spent a long time discussing our shared background in the DIY Punk scene of the late 70s and early 80s.

HELEN: I think one of the things that happens with music is that a particular genre of music, people will latch onto it when they are about 17 or 18 and then they’ll just grow out of it when they are 24. People just change so much.

JON: I still listen to an awful lot of the stuff I did at 15.

HELEN: Yeah, but did you have a break from it?

JON: My tastes broadened, but no my music has always been important to me.

HELEN: I didn’t listen to any punk for years and years, and then I started again. I sort of went back to the music I listened to when I was 14 – lots and lots of Tamla Motown and stuff. Just because the melodies were really uplifting and I found that punk became quite – it was just too miserable to sustain it actually, you know.

JON: I do know what you mean, because when I was – I am 52 now and about , round about the time I met Corinna who I married 5 years ago, so about 7 years ago when we met, I suddenly started listening to the punk music I had listened to in the late 70s and early 80s again. I hadn’t listened to Crass or Killing Joke or any of those bands for years, so yes I do see what you mean.

HELEN: A lot of the gigs I went to they would play Toots and Maytalls, you know reggae and I listen to that and it takes me straight back to then in a way that some of the other stuff that I actually saw live doesn’t really. It was very interesting time to have been around and I feel really, really lucky to have experienced it.

JON: It’s funny, I ‘phoned up to talk about your new record and we are talking about a load of stuff that happened 30 years ago. There are not that many people you can talk to about The Poison Girls, or The Pop Group or any of those bands.

HELEN: I’m back in touch – partly because of my book - with Gina Birch and Viv Albertine, who both started playing again recently like me really, and we have done some gigs together and it is really interesting being with them, because the three of us, we are all females in our 50s with guitars but the styles of music the three of us make are totally different.

The reason that we all picked up musical instruments in the first place is punk and it‘s very interesting talking to them because we’ve all got really strong opinions, and we all think differently – that’s the real spirit of punk – two reasons, one we are in our 50s and we’re doing it and two that we manage to be distinctly individual at the same time. It’s like I wouldn’t say any of the three of us has got any rules about how we play and what we sing about, anything like that and it’s all just really, really different from each other. Viv is quite... a lot of her lyrics are quite barbed really and she is very, very, you know she uses a Fender twin reverb and stuff and Gina uses a lot of loops and a lot of her songs are quite poignant in a sort of comical way. I think mine are much more kind of ... soft I suppose really. But it is quite interesting just watching them and thinking God we all started off at the same starting point, different parts of the country but it was the same button that pressed ‘go’ kind of thing.

JON: When you say you’ve done gigs together, on the same bill or on the same stage at the same time?

HELEN: On the same bill. Not collaborating

JON: I would love to hear you guys collaborate

HELEN: I think it would be difficult.

JON: I think it would be bloody impossible, but I would still like to see it.

HELEN: I’ve talked about doing stuff with Gina before but when we meet up we’ve usually got so much else to talk about, you know

JON: How did you start working with Martin?

HELEN: It must have been about 6 years ago. I was social networking on My Space and I saw a picture of him on somebody else’s My Space and I had this press cutting from The New Musical Express that I had kept for years and years which I think was probably about 1982 where ...you know when they interview somebody and they ask what is your favourite record and things? And he said 24 hours by The Chefs, which ...you know and I just sort of thought that he looked so nice and I cut it out and I just kept it for years and years.

So when I saw him on somebody else’s My Space I thought maybe I would get in touch, because we are both from Newcastle anyway, both from the northeast, so I thought I would get in touch and see if he remembered The Chefs and stuff and he invited me to do a support gig with him in East London and it was the first time we had ever met and we just kind of really hit it off and I was still married at the time. Then we didn’t see each other for quite a long time and then he asked me to come and sing some vocals on a CD that he had done which I did, and he asked me if I fancied supporting The Daintees at their Christmas Show. And I said yes, and I half expected him to forget, because people – you know, musicians always offer each other things and they let each other down all the time.

And it was amazing because he didn’t forget and he asked me to go up there and I really enjoyed. They were the biggest audiences I had played to for years and years and we just talked and had a curry and everything and we got to know each other as friends first and like I said the first musical collaboration was sort of singing vocals for an album that he did and then we sort of got together and we recorded the tracks for Hamilton Square in bits here and there, because Martin lives in Scotland and I live just outside London so we don’t see each other as much as we’d like to really, but we recorded Hamilton Square in bits – a bit here and a bit there and I can remember where I was when I recorded every one of those tracks.

Some of them Martin recorded in London and some of them I recorded up there in Scotland, and it just works really well as a kind of ... I mean I like singing with him, and I like playing music with him. Even if we weren’t a couple I think I would, well I know I would enjoy that because to me I think he is one of the best guitarists that I have ever seen and it’s not just to do with technical skills, it’s to do with the feel of how he plays, and every time I see him play I just watch that and I think how does he do that? I want to be able to do that.

And that is that. I am sure that I shall be talking to Helen again in the future, but in the meantime check out her Gonzo Artist pages, solo and with Martin S:
http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/artists/5932/Helen%20Mccookerybook

http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/artists/5933/Helen%20Mccookerybook%20and%20Martin%20Stephenson

MICHAEL DES BARRES ON SCOOP-IT

If you want to install the Michael Des Barres Scoop-it onto your blog or website, you can get the code HERE

And if you are wondering why it is hosted at www.weirdweekend.org the Weird Weekend is a rather groovy convention that I promote in rural Devon each summer, and it is sponsored (amongst other people) by those lovely chaps and chapesses at Gonzo Multimedia.

JEFFERSON STARSHIP: What a brilliant looking package, I am really looking forward to this one

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The Paul Kantner Science Fiction Rock & Roll Motion Picture Show!

London, UK - “Roswell UFO Parade & Festival Hosts Jefferson Starship Sci-Fi Extravaganza” read the headlines for the annual July 3^rd event that took place in Roswell, New Mexico in 2009. Jefferson Airplane founder Paul Kantner and his legendary band Jefferson Starship and special guests, which included original Grateful Dead keyboardist Tom Constanten, performed a one-of-a-kind sci-fi concert at Pearson Auditorium in Roswell in honor of the town's famed annual parade. The group was also bestowed the honor of being the parade's 'Grand Martians' that year and rode atop a special float especially built for them. The entire concert was filmed and recorded, and in addition to such iconic hits as “White Rabbit”, “Somebody To Love”, “Volunteers”, “Wooden Ships” recorded by its forebear Jefferson Airplane (the last two penned by Kantner), a special programme of science fiction themed compositions and select recordings were performed, some for the first time ever! Now, much to the excitement of Jefferson Starship fans across the globe UK's Gonzo MultiMedia is releasing the the entire concert in an extravagant 4-CD box set.

In 1971 the band's first album (Paul Kantner's first solo album actually), 'Blows Against The Empire' was also the first rock music recording ever nominated for literary science fiction's prestigious Hugo Award. In addition to Kantner, 'Blows' featured a 'Who's Who' of Bay Area musicians including David Freiberg from Quicksilver Messenger Service. Freiberg and Kantner, later launched the ongoing Jefferson Starship, eventually writing the hit “Jane.” David rejoined the band full time in 2005.

In 1991 the late great rock impresario Bill Graham signed on to produce 'Blows' from a 'scripted stage play concept' co-written bu Paul Kantner and his (then) new manager Michael Gaiman, a lifelong fan. Sadly, Bill was killed in a helicopter crash and the idea was shelved until Sony Pictures pitched an 'option' for a 'Blows' motion picture in 1996. “That was a big year for sci-fi,” recalls Gaiman. Stemming from a shared interest in 1950s science fiction film and literature, Paul and Michael have worked together for nearly 25 years. In 2008 they co-produced (along with David Freiberg), 'Jefferson's Tree of Liberty,' Jefferson Starship's first studio recording in a decade. The album garnered stellar reviews worldwide. In 2009 Jefferson Starship headlined 'The Heroes of Woodstock', the authorized touring commemorative of the 1969 Woodstock Music & Arts Festival.

“On July 3^rd, 2009, thanks to the Roswell UFO Festival Committee and Cool 94.9 Radio, we got to scratch that itch and assuage a long time desire to stage a mosh of rock music and science fiction,” says Gaiman.

Along with Paul Kantner and David Frieberg, Jefferson Starship also features lead singer Cathy Richardson (who played Janis Joplin on Broadway in 'Love, Janis') and longtime band members Slick Aguilar, Chris Smith and Donny Baldwin. In addition to Grateful Dead's Tom Constanten, special guests include Pete Sears (the band's former bass & keyboard player on all their hits), Barry Sless (guitar & pedal steel with Phil Lesh & Friends), former lead vocalist Darby Gould and legendary folk artist Jack Taylor, one of Paul Kantner's early musical influences.

Renegade Productions, the band's frequent collaborator ('Jefferson's Tree of Liberty' was the first album ever recorded in their new studio at the time) staged the production and provided custom sound, lighting and image projection. Karl Anderson of Global Recording Artists filmed the event dubbed 'Tales From The Mothership,' a joint production of The Roswell UFO Festival Committee and Jefferson Starship. “It's not a documentary, not a 'rockumentary', not a 'mockumentary'...it's a 'Spockumentary,” Gaiman quips.

Along with the entire concert from July 3, 2009, the 4-CD set also includes rehearsals from 6/27/2009 and the band's soundcheck before the show.

Tracks: Disc One , Rehearsals 2009.06.27 , 01) Space Oddity (Written by David Bowie) , 02) All Fly Away (Written by Tom Pacheco) , 03) Your Mind Has Left Your Body (Written by Paul Kantner) , 04) Brain Damage > Eclipse (Written by Roger Waters) , 05) Your Mind Has Left Your Body (Reprise) (Written by Paul Kantner) , 06) Hyperdrive (Written by Grace Slick) , 07) Genesis Hall (Written by Richard Thompson) , 08) Genesis Hall (Written by Richard Thompson) , 09) White Rabbit (Written by Grace Slick) , 10) Somebody To Love (Written by Darby Slick) , 11) (Paul Kantner's) Science Fiction Movie (Written by Kantner, arr. Gaiman) , Rehearsals 2009.06.28 , 13) Galaxy of E 'Jam' (Written by Jefferson Starship) , , Disc Two , 2009.07.03 Set One , 01) Urban Space (Written by Neil Innes) , 02) The Eggplant That Ate Chicago (Written by Norman Greenbaum) , 03) Mountains of The Moon (Written by Garcia, Hunter) , 04) This Land Is Your Land (Written by Woody Guthrie) , 05) Me & My Uncle (Written by John Phillips) , 06) Billy The Kid (Written by Woody Guthrie) , 07) Crown of Creation (Written by Paul Kantner) , 08) Wasn't That A Time (Written by L. Hays, W. Lowenfels) , 09) Get Together (Written by Dino Valenti) , 10) Chimes Of Freedom (Written by Bob Dylan) , 11) Cowboy On The Run (Written by Dino Valenti) , 12) I Can't Forgive You (Written by Cathy Richardson) , 13) Genesis Hall (Written by Richard Thompson) , 14) Earth Mother (Written by Jack Traylor) , 15) Flowers Of The Night (Written by Jack Traylor) , 16) Lawman (Written by Grace Slick) , 17) Wooden Ships (Written by Crosby, Kantner, Stills) , , Disc Three , 2009.07.03 Set Two , 01) Sunrise (Written by Grace Slick) , 02) Have You Seen The Saucers? (Written by Paul Kantner) , 03) Have You Seen The Stars Tonight? (Written by Kantner, Crosby) , 04) Starship (Written by Paul Kantner) , 05) Follow The Drinking Gourd (Traditional) , 06) Dark Star (Written by Garcia, Hunter) , 07) Space Oddity (Written by David Bowie) , 08) Hyperdrive (Written by Grace Slick) , 09) (Paul Kantner's) Science Fiction Movie (Written by Kantner, arr. Gaiman) , 10) Your Mind Has Left Your Body (Written by Paul Kantner) , 11) Brain Damage > Eclipse (Written by Roger Waters) , 12) Your Mind Has Left Your Body (Reprise) (Written by Paul Kantner) , 13) Somebody To Love (Written by Darby Slick) , 14) White Rabbit (Written by Grace Slick) , 15) Volunteers (Written by Kantner, Balin) , , Disc Four , Soundcheck , 01) Space Oddity (Written by David Bowie) , 02) Space Oddity (Written by David Bowie) , 03) This Land Is Your Land (Written by Woody Guthrie) , 04) (Paul Kantner's) Science Fiction Movie (Written by Kantner, Gaiman) , 05) Me & My Uncle (Written by John Phillips) , 06) Cathy's soundcheck medley; , Woodstock (Written by Joni Mitchell) , Oh Darlin' (Written by Lennon, McCartney) , For What It's Worth (Written by Stephen Stills).

Preorder the album:

http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/product_details/15498

MY POSTBAG FROM LAST WEEK

I completely forgot to do this when we got home on sunday. Herewith a picture of me making silly faces whilst clutching a bundle of goodies including Dalai Lama DVDs and the new Wally live album whilst a rather tawdry looking book about Michael Jackson (which I have no idea why I was sent) nestles clumsily between my knees.

There is more stuff, but I didn't have enough hands, and Rob Ayling refuses to pay to have me cloned with some octopus DNA. Skinflint!

So I shall be back making more silly faces one day soon

Punk Britannia (Thanks Helen)

I am a great believer in acausal synchronicity, and like an old and dear friend of mine once said 'There is no such thing as a coincidence'. Actually he is an elderly Irish wizard, and he was in his cups at the time and said "There's no such fokkin thing as a coincidence you English bollox", and then cackled wildly, but you get the point.

My conversation with Helen McCookerybook the other day got me thinking about my punky past, and as I was doing that, a link to this turned up in my email inbox...



The whole series can be found here. Search and destroy!

LINK: Merrell Fankhauser interview (with lots of rare pictures)

Interview:

I would like to thank you for agreeing to do this interview, Merrell. You are a legendary figure of the American psychedelic movement and it's a real honor to talk with you about your music.

Firstly I would like to know what were some of your main influences as a young kid?

My father gave me an ukulele for my 11th birthday, he played guitar and banjo and taught me my first chords. He was a flight instructor and we lived in southern California. When I was around 14 years old we moved north to the Central California Coast. There I got a job picking strawberries with the migrant Mexican farm workers and saved enough money over the summer to buy my first electric guitar. I began practicing with a high school friend named Bill Dodd and we formed a little band, at first playing as a duo and we got a job playing at a theater during the intermission between the two movies. All of a sudden I became a local star with young girls screaming for me, this was around 1959. I liked a lot of styles of music both old and new and of course Elvis Presley influenced everyone during this period. I also listened to a lot of old blues and country music.

Read on...

LINK: The return of ‘glam rock icon’ Michael Des Barres

Des Barres: the greatest cheekbones in rock

Legendary frontman Michael Des Barres – he of Silverhead, Detective and Chequered Past fame – is set to return with a new album titled Carnaby Street.

Track: Michael Des Barres – You’re My Pain Killer

File under: Oscar Wilde in velvet jeans

Carnaby Street sees Des Barres revisiting his youth in swinging London.

“The music I am making now is inspired by my past in the mid 60s and early 70s,” he explains. “As a kid I would go watch all the skinny white blues rock’n'roll musicians in the clubs and it hit me like a hammer!

“I was so influenced by both the courage of these young white guys combined with the soulful rawness of the African American bluesmen, and the hybrid was so fascinating to me that it really stimulated my entire musical vocabulary.

Read on...

Pre-order the album now:

http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/product_details/15483