Last post for the week! Here are some great new finds!

Pale Lights: “You and I” is the newest song by the Brooklyn band and it sounds amazing! This song will be included in a 7″ that is part of the Slumberland 30 anniversary Singles Series. The other song that will be included is called “Say You’ll be the One”. This is sounding great. I wonder why there hasn’t been a Pale Lights 7″ on Cloudberry!

Odd Hope: another new song Slumberland has unveiled is “All the Things” by this Oakland, California, one-man band. This one will also be part of the singles series and on the flipside we’ll find “What’s Your Part of It?”. As with Pale Lights we can only listen to the A side for now.

The Leave Me Alones: another Oakland band to have in our radar! The band has a new EP out called “Race to the Bottom” which has 5 songs. It seems to be digital only for now though there looks to be art for a cassette. Who’d know! The songs are short and punchy, punky pop with girl vocals. Terrific!

The King in Mirrors: the great Swindon band, the best Swindon band, is back with a 10 song album called “Wasting Precious Time”, The album is available now digitally and if you like jangly indiepop songs, this is definitely for you. Now I hope there is a physical version of this album! Great to see them back!

Turks & Caicos: the Indonesian dreampop band are getting a CD release of their EP “Bad Situation” on Jigsaw Records and that’s good news. Bedroom electronic pop, moody. Chris from Jigsaw describes them as a Nixon covering The Radio Dept. That sounds about right!

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Back in 1995 a tape called “The Taming of the Stew” was released by Does This Work? (DTW 16). It wasn’t the first nor the last tape they put out. They had been putting indiepop compilations for not long though. According to Discogds “Death of an Anorak”, the 2nd tape the label released, also came out in 1995. The 20th one, “Nine Month Summer”, came out in 1995 too. They were on a roll!

Of course I haven’t listened to these tapes. It would be great to do so. I think there are many superb bands in there to discover. Maybe little by little that’ll happen. People will be sharing some of these songs. Thanks to my friend Heinz, I ended up discovering That Man There, who appeared on “The Taming of the Stew” tape. And the one song I heard, “Gorgeous You”, have made me want to listen to more of their songs.

That is not the only song they contributed to this cassette, they had “Smile My Way Again” on the A side. “Gorgeous You” appeared on the B side. And it was not the only Does This Work? compilation they graced with their songs.

On “The DTW? Summer Showcase!” (DTW 05) they had 5 songs on the B side! They were “I Don’t Care”, “Dreaming”, “How Would You Feel?”, “Outside” and “Purity”. On this tape they appear alongside top names like The Rileys, The Haywains or Velodrome 2000. Then, that same year, 1995, they had the song “The Bubble” on the Does This Work? compilation “Go Go Flower Arrangers” (DTW09).

Lastly, their song “The Velvet Room” was included in the Italian compilation tape “A Glittering Christmas” that was released by Shiny Sunset (Shiny Sunset 10). This label was run by Marco Pagano in Creazzo, Italy.

And that’s really all the info available about them. No information about the band members or proper releases. The band name, “That Man There” doesn’t help either. So hopefully someone remembers them and can put me in the right direction, it’d be great to find out (and listen) more!

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Listen
That Man There – Gorgeous You

Some new music!

The Umbrella Puzzles: two new recordings by our friend Ryan Marquez. The first one is an acoustic track called “Dusty Pages” while the second one is an alternate mix of “Leave the City” which appeared on the band’s debut EP that was released last year. Perfect pop.

The Reds, Pinks & Purples: and once again the San Francisco band graces the blog. They continue writing great pop songs, there’s no stopping them. Two new songs are up on their Bandcamp, “Don’t Ever Pray in the Church on my Street” and “I’d Rather Astral Project”, which I suggest checking them out, as they are pretty good!

The Crystal Furs: the Portland, Oregon, band is back with a digital single called “Too Kind to Be Cruel”. It comes in two versions, the standard stereo mix but also a mono mix of the song. The trio formed by Steph on guitar, Kara on keys and Rowan on bass, are in great form here! What a lovely song.

Bathe Alone: if the previous ones were familiar to me, this Atlanta project is totally new to me. Behind it there’s only one person, Bailey Crone, a talented multi-instrumentalist clearly! Her latest track is a luminous song called “Calm Down” that is catchy and dreamy at the same time!

Sissy Space Echo & the Invisible Collaborators / The Edible Eyes: this split 7″ released on Next Phase : Normal Records sounds terrific. Each band contribute one song, “Fill the Frame”a and “You’re Void” in that order. On top of that it seems that the first 100 copies will come with a bonus CD featuring both tracks from the single. Order now?

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1986 in the US. There was no C86 or anything similar. But there were some fine guitar pop bands. I just discovered one that I can call that, a fine guitar pop band. One from Booklyn, NY, actually, just the next borough to me. A few miles down south. And they were called The Few.

The band was formed by Jonathan Fogler, Clay Ketter, William Pescatore and JD Zeik. Not sure which instruments they each played, that is not listed on the back of the sleeve of their one and only release, a 12″ self-released record with catalog number FW 101. No label.

The record had two songs on each side. We find on the A side the tracks “Grownup” and “My Romance” while on the B side there’s “Where’s the Fire” and “Mrs. Charles”. The record was produced by the band and Robin Danar at the New Breed Studios in New York. The engineer was Robin Danar as well.

Other credits include horns on the song “Where’s the Fire” by The Urban Blight Horns and keyboards on “Grownup” by Dave Kumin and Jaime Carse. The design of the sleeve is credited to Marianne Geist while the photography on the back cover was taken by Wayne Geist. Their manager was Luciano Guerrero. Something to be aware too is that the record came with a lyric sheet.

I find some information about Clay Ketter. He seems to have moved to Sweden in the 80s. Good for him, I am jealous. He is these days a painter and photographer and has shown his work in many galleries. I believe he is originally from Brunswick, Maine, and is now based in Malmö. I found his website and it is cool to see that after The Few he kept playing music in Sweden with bands like Self Made Man, The Art Farmer and Gustafsson, Ketter and Lindsjö. He also lists a 2002 release on Criminal Records called “Will Fisher” by The Few. But I can’t find any info about it! What was on this? Was it some sort of retrospective of The Few songs?

JD Zeik. I find a screenwriter by that name, one who wrote the movies Ronin, Pistol Whipped and The Touch. Could it be the same as the one in The Few? I tend to think it might be, you see, he studied at SUNY, just like Clay Ketter. Maybe they met there. Maybe they started the band while they were there. Also age-wise it makes sense. It fits.

Well, some interesting background information there. I am mostly curious now about that “Will Fisher” release listed on Clay’s website. What was it? Anyone remembers them? Maybe some fellow New Yorkers?

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Listen
The Few – Grownup

Thanks once again to Des for the interview! Just a week ago I interviewed him about This Certain Kind, a superb jangly band from Dublin who had just released a retrospective album on Firestation. But he was also in another terrific Irish band, The Cherry Brogues, about whom I wrote on the blog on the past. Now finally I get to know the story of the band through one of their members!

++ Hi Des! Thanks so much for being up for another interview! How are you? Are there any up and coming music news with you?

I’m fine thanks and thank you, its great to be asked to do another interview. Recently I’ve been busy in the studio going through all The Cherry Brogues recordings, sorting them out and cleaning them up ( audio upholstery). We have also been working hard on the 2nd of the 3 unrecorded songs that This Certain Kind found when we were sifting through our catalogue of Demo and session tapes as well so there might be an EP to follow our release. We shall see !!

++ Last time we talked about This Certain Kind. What would you say were the differences and similarities between both them and The Cherry Brogues?

The two bands were a bit different in how they went about writing songs if I remember. This Certain Kind had a more laid-back approach while The Cherry Brogues was a bit more intense, Either way the same result was achieved don’t get me wrong just the process was a little different. The two bands had very similar musical influences though which was great and that always managed to filter through in the music.

++ What about the rest of The Cherry Brogues members, had they been in other bands? If so, how did all of these bands sound like? Are there any recordings?

No not really. The Cherry Brogues was the starting point. It was the first band that the lads were in. They formed in 1990 I’m told.

++ How was Clondalkin at the time of The Cherry Brogues? Had Dublin changed much from the time of The Cherry Brogues to This Certain Kind? Were there any bands that you liked at this time period? Or what about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?

The Cherry Brogues always had great homegrown support in Clondalkin with pubs like The Lock and Key. The Laurels and The Steering Wheel all very happy to have the band play there.

Unlike This Certain Kind the band didn’t really play in The Dublin Underground as much but did bring a loyal local fanbase with them any time they played the larger venues like The Rock Garden or Whelans which were harder to fill and could look bad for you if you didn’t, The Cranberries were playing in The Rock Garden around the same time we were so that was nice to have seen them back then.

Keltic Posse, The Brilliant Trees,The Power of Dreams these were other top bands that were filling the place at the time.

++ When and how did the band start? How did you all meet? How was the recruiting process?

The band started in 1990. The four members from Clondalkin all knew each other from school and the area and pretty much grew up together. I had met the lead vocalist Ray Gilligan as he was doing DJ duties for a girlfriend of mine he said he had a band and they had released a single but that they were in the throws of auditioning for a second guitarist but weren’t having much luck and that I should give it a go and that was how I joined them at the start of ’93.

++ How was the creative process for you? Where did you usually practice?

The creative process was a bit strange for me to begin with as this was the first time to be in a band in which I didn’t really know anybody. Ray Murray (lead guitar) was a joy to work with as he had no problem sharing whatever guitar parts either of us wanted to play. The ego’s were dissolved and we just got on with it. The band worked very well together and we used to rehearse in a place called Ormond Studios. It was an old disused print factory that had been converted into a rehearsal studio.

++ What’s the story behind the band’s name? 

I’m told it came about when one day some of the members of the band were standing around wearing ox-blood colour Dr Martin shoes and a friend of theirs from the area who was passing by commented ” Dig The Cherry Brogues Lads” He may have got the shoe description wrong but that’s how the band chose the name !

++ And I have to ask, did any of you had cherry brogues shoes?

Funny you should ask but yes I did own a pair once with Dr Martin soles but that was years before I ever joined the band though !!

++ Who would you say were influences in the sound of the band?

There were a good few: The Housemartins, The Jam, Squeeze, The Smiths, The Blades, Joe Jackson, The Buzzcocks. The band was described as having a New wave – Indie Rock sound with a bit of Jangle in there too !!

++ I remember The Cherry Brogues from the Myspace days and I remember there were many songs uploaded there that wasn’t included in the record you released. Where do these came from? Demo tapes?

Yes the songs you would have seen on there would have come from different studio recordings that were done over the four year life span of the band. Mainly Demos but we do have a few nice quality live recordings as well.

++ How many recording sessions did you do? Being in The Cherry Brogues, was it the first time you went to a recording studio ever? Or had you had experience before in the past?

I recorded on around (8 – 10) Cherry Brogues Studio Tracks. I think there is one or two in there that were re recordings of previous songs though that were fine anyway ..so maybe 8 is closer the mark!!
I had recorded a couple of times with This Certain Kind before that so I was at home in the studio it was cool.

++ What do you remember from the recording session for the single? Who produced the songs?

The single ” She Makes Me Nervous” was recorded in Slane Studios and was produced by a guy called John Dee. I wasn’t a part of The Cherry Brogues at that time so i cant really comment but I will say that I had recorded before
in that same studio a few times so that was a bit of a coincidence.

++ Your one and only release came out on C.G.B.G. Records. Who were behind this label? Does the acronym mean anything? And how was your relationship with them?

Hmmm don’t quote me on this but I’m told that the C.B.G.B has some religious reference to it and I think the initials were chosen for good luck. I’m told there is also a club in New York with a similar acronym / motto above their door. The Cherry Brogues were behind the label as it was an independent release and it reached Number 28 in the Irish Charts which was very good for debut single.

++ Tell me about the photo that appears on the record cover. Where was it taken do you know?

The photo was taken in a very popular tourist spot in Dublin City called Temple Bar. Its the same street and just a few doors down from The Rock Garden where we used to play. The two people on the cover are Tina Rodgers (the drummers sister) and Brian Murray (the guitarists brother).

++ And how come during your time didn’t you release any more records? Was there interest from labels to put your music out?

The answer to that would have to be money. It was so expensive to put your own record out at that time without any backing from any source. The band members were only first or second year apprentices so the wages were low and musical equipment was pricey too. Most of the labels were still out looking for the next U2 so that was never going to be us.

++ Aside from this release you had a song on a compilation called “Break Records Present…. 100% Irish ’93”. This was released by Break Records obviously. How did you end up on that CD?

We got asked to put a song on that album by way of IMRO which is the Irish Music Rights Organisation. We had worked along side them doing many showcase gigs and they were quite familiar with us. The album was made
in conjunction with them so I guess that’s how that happened. It got us some more airplay on the radio so that was great !!

++ There was a Fanning Session you recorded in 1992. Did you meet with Dave Fanning? How was that experience? And what were the songs that were recorded for this session?

The Cherry Brogues had won a battle of the bands in Dublin a few months before the Fanning Session and Dave was a Judge on that panel so he met the band and he was asked if he could help them get a recording session for his popular Radio show. So I guess he must have put in a good word or two with the producers 🙂

I joined the band a few months after so I cant comment on the experience of the day but I can tell you that an extra live secret track was also recorded called ” Hot for You”. Its a cover by a great Dublin band called The
Blades. The producer and sound engineer Ian Wilson asked the band if they would do it as it was in our set. Dave Fanning wasn’t in studio during the recording of the four songs which were – Just Like Saturday, Not Unlike Michigan and Options 1 2 3.

++ And are there more recordings by the band? Unreleased tracks?

There were lots of recordings done over the four years so at present I am trying to catalogue them and filter out the weaker quality ones .. of the tracks that were unreleased we have about 16 high quality so far that I
can see but there are still a few more to process..

++ Have you ever thought of putting them together in a retrospective release?

It would definitely be nice to do that .. but for now though its still a work in progress as they say!!

++ I think my favourite song of yours might as well be “Numbers in Your Heart”, wondering if you could tell me what inspired this song? What’s the story behind it?

I’m told its about someone looking into another persons heart and instead of seeing emotion all they see is numbers in other words someone who is calculated and cold hearted.

++ If you were to choose your favorite Storsegel song, which one would that be and why?

My personal favourite is a track called “Hangover “. I like it because it has a rich flowing chord structure that really catches your ear and lyrics that are simple and very descriptive. This one was totally made for my Rickenbacker lol 🙂 It was written by the bass player and guitarist.

++ What about gigs? Did you play many? 

We did lots of gigs. One of the things that stood out for me was how hard we worked. Between rehearsals / gigs and recording sessions, I don’t know how many we did but looking back it felt like we had a gig to do nearly
every other week. We had two managers Danny and Paul who’s job it was to set them up for us !!

++ And what were the best gigs you remember? Any anecdotes you can share?

This is an easy one for me really as I remember we did two gigs in one day but on either side of Ireland, one in Limerick City and then back to Dublin to do the 2nd one that night. It was tough going but it gave us a taste of what life on the road was like. The 2nd gig was the biggest we did. It was in The
Tivoli Theatre to over 1000 people. It was an IMRO best of the best showcase night and we were the headline act. I will always remember that one.
Thanks too to the roadie from the Keltic Posse who drove us there and back that day as we nearly didnt make it!!

++ And were there any bad ones?

I had one bad one when the head got smashed off my guitar in the Rock Garden… but look that’s rock and roll for ya ..! ))

++ When and why did The Cherry Brogues stop making music? Were you involved in any other bands afterwards?

The band stopped in late 1994 as our guitarist had to leave to pursue his career over in England. The band tried to carry on but the vibe just wasn’t the same so we eventually called it a day. I went back and regrouped
with a new line up from my previous band This Certain Kind and I hit the ground running again so to speak.

++ What about the rest of the band, had they been in other bands afterwards?

Ray Gilligan (lead vocals) went on to form The Joseoph’s. Phil Healy (bass) and Joe Rodgers (drums) together went on to form a band called Polyteen with my brother Steve. Joe also played in a few more bands after that, Puppy Love Bomb and The Ground will Shake being the more recent.

++ Has there been any The Cherry Brogues reunion? There was one in 2011, right?

We dusted ourselves off and we did a weekend of reunion gigs in the summer of 2011. We played in the Grand Social in Dublin City and then we played outdoors in The Laurels in Clondalkin. It was packed outside to see us again after all that time and the loyal Clondalkin crowd turning up to see us yet again. It was great !!

++ And prior to that in 2009 you all went to the recording studio in 2009. Did you make new songs? What happened then?

Yes that’s right we went back in the studio to record an alternative version of one of the songs called “Two Ten” it should be up on you tube somewhere or maybe on our Facebook page !!

++ Did you get much attention from the radio? TV?

Recently one of our songs was used during the closing credits on a TV music documentary that went out on national television. It was called “My Tribe” and our song “weekend Teen” is played at the end of episode ( 2 ) so
that was pretty cool.

++ What about the press? Did they give you any attention?

I think the press wrote a small piece or two about the band when the single went into the Irish charts.

++ What about from fanzines?

No not really but we did feature quite regularly in the pages of gig guides and some music magazines if that’s the same I’m not sure.

++ Looking back in retrospective, what would you say was the biggest highlight for the band?

I would say for me it would have to be playing to that packed audience of around 1000 people that night in the Tivoli Theatre. It made me think how nice it would be to play to that kind of a crowd every night !

++ Anything else you’d like to add?

I’d Just like to say thanks to you and to your readers its been a joy doing these interconnected interviews about The Cherry Brogues and This Certain Kind. Cheers and many Thanks

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Listen
The Cherry Brogues – Numbers in Your Heart

Another week starts. This past weekend I put some of the final touches to the fanzine and also worked on the tracklist for the MacGuffins compilation. That is exciting. Right? So I am hoping to announce new releases soon!

I know you came for new music, so I’ll share some good finds of course!

Katya & Volki: this has to be the first band from the city of Taganrog, Russia, that I have heard. And it is quite a surprise. In their debut EP released digitally by Zooeycat Records we find a cool mix of dreamy and shiny indiepop. The EP is called “В прошлом” and has 4 tracks!

Typical Girls Volume 5: this is the new compilation on the very fine Emotional Response! It is available on white vinyl and also on black vinyl! There are 16 tracks, a mix of punkish stuff that I am not crazy about but then there are amazing songs by the likes of Latitude, Linda Guilala or Patsys Rats and more.

The Oilies: I think a week ago I was recommending a new song by Carly Putnam’s band. Well she has a new one that she recorded “in a bedroom near a boardwalk in Santa Cruz, California”. The song is called “The Part Where demo” and it is a very fine slice of lo-fi pop!

Spectres: we can preview two tracks of the upcoming album “Nostalgia” by this amazing Vancouver band and I am honestly hooked! The album will have 9 tracks and we can check out now “The Head and the Heart” and “Years of Lead”. Both are great, but the latter is a hit I think!The album will be released in vinyl and CD on March 13.

The Day: it has been a while since I found a cool sounding band from the Netherlands. But this time around I see this Utrecht duo covering the song “Tenderfoot” by The Lemonheads/Smudge. And it sounds really really good. Friends in Cologne, they will be playing in your city on March 6th.

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James King had been in a few bands before being in Fun Patrol. He had been in Fun 4 with Steven Daly who went to play with Orange Juice, in James King and the Lonewolves and also releasing a solo 7″. I am sure if I look for information about those bands I may find many more details. But today I wanted to check Fun Patrol, a band that he was in in the late 80s.

With Fun Patrol only one record was released, a 3 song 12″. It came out in 1987 on Thrush Records (THRUSH 5), the same label that had released The McCluskey Brothers album “Aware of All”.

Fun Patrol’s 12″ catches one’s attention immediately, with that photo of a pink car that blends into another pink car (what sort of model of car is it?). It is a still from the 1967 movie “NY, NY” by Francis Thompson. The back of the sleeve has another photo, two guys and a car, this one taken by Paul Schutter. The sleeve was designed by Allan Campbell.

The A side had the track “The Right to be Wrong”, written by James King and Joe Sullivan. The same two people would write the B1, “No Concern of Mine”, while the 2nd track on the B side, “Meant to Fall” is only credited to King.

The band on the record was formed by James King on vocals and guitar, Mick Slaven on bass, Joe Sullivan on lead guitar, Ian Reid on guitar and harmonica and Steven Gray on drums. The producer on this record was the band and Ali MacKenzie (ex-Apes in Control!, Subs, The Alleged and The Cuban Heels). Kenny McDonald was the engineer. The songs were recorded at Park Lane Studios in Glasgow, the city the band was from.

James King wasn’t the only to have been in important bands. Michael Slaven had been in amazing bands like Bourgie Bourgie, Cowboy Mouth, Del Amitri, Jazzateers, Paul Quinn and the Independent Group and The Leopards, among others.

The band also appeared on a classic indiepop compilation of the 1980s. On the LP comp “On the Dotted Line… (There)” (EE 3531) released by EMI in 1987, the band appeared with the song “Same Old Game” alongside favourite bands of mine like North of Cornwallis, he Brilliant Corners or Episode Four! James King is credited for this song.

I keep looking and find a gig listing on the Edinburgh Archive. Here I find out that the band played on July 29th, 1987, at The Venue. Then another listing where it mentions the band played Town and Country Club alongside The Proclaimers and The La’s on November 1st of 1987. Another hit, The List, on its June 26, 1987, issue reviews the single and says: “The latest project at the legendary James King, alleged hard man at the Glasgow music scene, The Right To Be Wrong is good, hard, old-iasloned rock ’n’ roll with shades oi CGW. Fun Patrol could be Scottish Flamin’ Groovies, but the chorus has a rapturous hint oi The Undertones at their most disarming. Recommended”. An earlier List issue, this one dating from May 30, 1986, mentions Fun Patrol playing live in Glasgow Thursday, June 5 of that year.

Not much more on the web about them. Maybe they were short-lived. Who’d know? And were there more songs? Why weren’t there more releases?

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Listen
Fun Patrol – The Right to Be Wrong

Time for weekend! This was a busy week with posts every single day! Hope you enjoyed them. Here is some cool music to enjoy over the weekend!

Draag: what a sound from this Los Angeles shoegaze band! Their latest track is called “Alternative Privilege” and seems to be a digital single. They have posted the lyrics and we know the band is presenting themselves at The Echo, that great club, on February 24th.

Future Echoes: this one-man band is back with a three song EP titled “Cyan”.  The songs included are “Kaleidoscope”, “Silhoutte” and “Coalescence” and they are packed with great melodies and jangly guitars. This is the sort of band I used to release back in the day in 3″ CDs, pretty pretty!

The Sundries: this South East London band just released their first ever EP of catchy indiepop! The EP is called, believe it or not, “Magic Johnson”, and has 4 terrific tracks that remind me so much of the wonderful Pocketbooks!! I can see them playing Indietracks this year. They must.

Lisasinson: the Spanish band who surprised me last year with the superb “Barakaldo” are back with a new single with the songs “Atasco” and “Casamiento”. They have made a video for the opening track, “Atasco”, which I tell you not to miss! Sadly this is a digital single, no proper records by them as of yet.

Reamer: the last recommendation is this three-piece from Halifax, Canada, formed by Daniel Trainor-McKinnon, Danger McBarley and Connor Macleod. They put out a digital self-titled EP last October with three shoegazy fuzzy tracks!

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This is quite a discovery on the WokingSoundscene Soundcloud, a band that was clearly influenced by The Primitives and The Darling Buds! Poppy, punky, with female vocals, and catchy melodies, it does look like I need to know more about the Bubble-Eyed Dog Boys!

First question. Where does their name come from? Strange name isn’t it?

I do know the band hailed from the Epsom/Sutton in England and were managed by Mark Allison. They were around between 1990 and 1991 and were formed by:
Bev Abbot – vocals
Tony Ware – guitar
Anne Turner – bass
Ian Abbott – drums

Second question. Were Bev and Ian siblings? Yes they were. They actually had been together in a band previously, The Gotham City Wreckers. Before that Bev had been involved in Lost Cherrees, an anarcho-punk band. How did The Gotham City Wreckers sound like? Were they pop?

The band released a cassette EP called “Understand Nothing” which included three songs, “Understand Nothing”, “99 (Is Not Enough)” and “Turnaround”. These three songs were recorded at Greenhouse Studios in London, in May 1990, and were produced by Mike Jones and engineered by Paul Gadd.

They, as it is usual with all these bands that I have discovered through this great resource, the band appeared on the first volume of the Farnborough Groove tape series, “The Farnborough Groove Vol. 1” compilation with the track “Turnaround”.

Aside from that the band appeared on the tape that came accompanying the 3rd volume of the fanzine Big Muff. They contributed the song “99 (Is Not Enough.” They were interviewed on this fanzine, would be nice to see a scan of that!

They supported Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine along with the band Frantic at the West End Centre in Aldershot on June 9th 1990. They also supported Voice of the Beehive at the Marquee Club. Later on in 1991 we’d see the band supporting Thrilled Skinny with The Keatons at the Rumble Club in Tunbridge Wells. Another gig was the one they played on March 11th 1991 at the legendary Bull & Gate. They may also have played at the Farnborough Labour Club along The Senseless Things sometime in 1989. And they also supported The Popguns at the West End Centre on Friday August 2nd of 1991 alongside Phobia and Blue Velvet.

But that’s not all, I stumble upon a flyer of the band, of what seems a tour they did. I can’t tell which year it was, but maybe I can get some help here from you all. I am pretty sure it was 1991 though. It shows that the band played in all these places: Kent University in Canterbury, Pop Club in Kentish Town, After Dark in Reading, Technical College in Farnborough, Rumble Club in Tunbridge Wells, The Square in Harlow, Joiners Arms in Southampton, A Field and Anotehr Field in Shetlands, Drummonds in Aberdeen, University in Dundee, College in Galashiels, King Tuts in Glasgow and The Reaction in Wendover.

Then I end up learning some sad news, Mark Allison, their manager, passed away from pancreatic cancer back in 2016. The Daily Record dedicates an article to him.

What happened to the rest of the band members? Where are they now? Did they continue making music? I lost their track quite easily. And was it really just one tape? That’s all they released? Only 3 songs recorded? There must be more? Or not?

Any information will be appreciated!

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Listen
Bubble-Eyed Dog Boys – Turn Around

Thanks so much again to Jon for the interview! After The Word’s (who I interviewed last week) demise his next band was the great Poppy Factory who released four singles in the early 90s! If you have never heard them before, please make sure to discover them now!

++ Hi Jon! Thanks so much again for another interview! How are you doing? Are there any cool music plans coming up?

Hello Roque, good to hear from you again. This is becoming a habit!
I’m fine thanks and currently working on some new icecream4freaks tracks… I figure we have enough already for a first LP but no means of putting it out (other than band-camp, Soundcloud etc) so if anyone out there is interested…
Oh and look out for a new track “Oh What a Lovely War” going onto band-camp soon.

++ Last time we talked about The Word and today we’ll talk about Poppy Factory. Let’s get the chronology right then. When did Poppy Factory start, was it immediately after The Word? Was there any other projects in between or at the same time perhaps?

++ Compared to the time you were in The Word, had Bradford changed much? Were there any good bands that you were friends and liked to play with while in Poppy Factory?

We were quite insular at the time, almost working in secret…we didn’t mix much with other bands… I guess we wanted to have something to offer first.

++ How was the creative process for you? Where did you usually practice?

++ What’s the story behind the band’s name? 

I had read a book about the First World War, called The Poppy Factory, and I liked the two words together… sort of “pop” and “industrial”…It seemed to work.

++ And who would you say were influences in the sound of the band?

++ Most of your records came out on Chrysalis Records, a sort of biggish label. How did you catch their attention? How was the experience working with them compared to working with an indie label?

++ I guess working with a bigger label meant that your releases came out in all sort of formats, CD, 12″, 7″, cassette. Just out of curiosity what would be your favourite format to release music and why?

Vinyl. It sounds better…

++ You were managed by Far North Music and personally managed by Gordon Roscoe. What did they bring to the table? How important were they to the story of Poppy Factory?

They got us signed after only a handful of gigs. I’m not sure they really understood the band dynamic though.

++ Your first release was the fantastic EP “Fabulous Beast”. I noticed you worked with two different producers for the tracks on it like John Williams and David Creffield. Did the label pick them for you? How were those recording sessions?

++ And in general, how were recording sessions for Poppy Factory different to the ones with The Word?

One big difference was the arrival of computers… everything had been analogue previously, now we had DAW. Technology opened up our horizons a lot, and we liked to experiment. Dave played a big part in that… also we didn’t have to worry about money as much.

++ All of your releases came out in 1991. You must have been terribly busy that year. So “7×7” single also came out then and this time around it included 2 mixes. I always wonder about mixes, like in my experience a lot of bands don’t like them but because of the times they had to go on with them as labels wanted to reach new audiences with them. What is your take on these remixes?

++ The song “7×7”, which is wonderful by the way, main refrain is “Call me Charlie Bubbles”. I am guessing it is a nod to the movie of the same name. Was this a favourite movie for you at the time? Did any other movies inspired you?

++ Then came the “Stars” single! It is yet another rush of pure pop. But what is a mystery to me is that on the back of the sleeve it says that the songs are taken from a forthcoming album called “Good Time”. As far as I know this album was never released! What happened? Did you record it? How many songs were on it? Will it ever see the light of day?

We recorded the LP and Chrysalis pulled it. They were being bought out/taken over by EMI at the time and all was chaos… we were downright unlucky… also they thought the sales of the singles were not good enough.
If they had promoted them a bit more, that would’ve helped.

++ Then there was a self-released 12″ with two different mixes for “Drug House” right? What happened with Chrysalis? Why did you decide to self-release? And how did that work out for you?

Those were released by Chrysalis but made to look like white labels for club DJs… they didn’t set the world alight ha ha.

++ When it comes to compilation I notice you were featured a couple of times on compilations given away by magazines like Lime Lizard or Vox. Did you read any of them? Or what was your music magazine of choice?

Lime Lizard interviewed us I recall, but we were too busy to worry about how we came across… our label and the management worried about that ha ha.

++ The compilation that caught my eye was one called “The Best of the Mark Goodier Radio 1 Sessions”. From what I understand the version of “Stars” that is included was recorded live at the BBC Radio 1 Studios. Was this the only song recorded at that time? Was it a proper BBC session?

++ Are there more songs that remain unreleased?

“Mosquito”and “Submarine” are the two songs missing (I really like them)… there are other tracks that weren’t going to be included and some demos.
I wanted “Mosquito” for the follow up to “7×7”, but I was out-voted.
By everyone including the janitor’s dog. I should put them online I guess.

++ I think my favourite song of yours might as well be “Fabulous Beast”, wondering if you could tell me what inspired this song? What’s the story behind it?

It’s Jock’s lyric about one of his heroes… Twiggy!

++ If you were to choose your favorite Poppy Factory song, which one would that be and why?

++ What about gigs? Did you play many? 

We did two British tours… the first doing some support slots for the likes of Cud, then headlining, I can’t remember too many details. Touring rots your brain. 

++ And what were the best gigs you remember? Any anecdotes you can share?

I do remember two underage girls coming to a gig in Wales. They spent all their money getting there and on merchandise.When we found out we gave them a lift home. Their parents would’ve been worried.

++ And were there any bad ones?

Yeah… one or two, but you tend to blank them out.

++ When and why did Poppy Factory stop making music?

I think we lost the plot. Jock and me had stopped speaking to each other. I nearly walked from the second tour… it was pretty grim. I was asked to leave eventually… I would have left anyway…

++ What about the rest of the band, had they been in other bands afterwards?

Mick played with Cud and Embrace.

++ Has there been any Poppy Factory reunion?

No. I don’t think I would care to get into that!

++ Did you get much attention from the radio? TV?

We did some TV and a lot of radio.

++ What about the press? Did they give you any attention?

A fair amount. “7×7” got single of the week in The NME and Melody Maker. 

++ Looking back in retrospective, what would you say was the biggest highlight for the band?

++ Anything else you’d like to add?

Ok, well again, thanks for the interest.
There are videos for “7×7” and “Stars” on Youtube posted by various people I’ve never heard of…I’m the good-looking one with the keyboards!
If you liked Poppy Factory you may like icecream4freaks…
Regarding Poppy Factory… Thanks to all who bought the records and supported us.

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Listen
Poppy Factory – 7×7

I can say that the fanzine is almost done. Just missing answers from one of the bands to be interviewed and two songs for the CD. I am hoping I get this sometime this week and I can finish laying out the pages this weekend. Then I just need to set up the pre-press and it should all be good to go! Very very exciting!

In the meantime here are some great new finds for everyone to enjoy!

Baseball Gregg: this superb sounding band from Stockton, California, is releasing an album called “Calendar” on February 28th! The album will be released on vinyl and cassette by the Slovakian label Z Tapes. There is also a companion book that you can get for $15 which is a good deal. Right now we can only preview the song “Young” out of the 12 that will be in the album and I must say it is very very good! Can’t wait to listen to the rest!

Don’t: Another new album that coming out soon is “Lightning Slow” from this Detroit band I just discovered. Again we can only preview one of the tracks, “I Don’t Care”, out of 8, but it is sufficient to get an idea of how good this could be. Female vocals, upbeat melodies and catchy choruses. That’s what the Fort Worth label Dreamy Life Records will be putting out on CD, cassette on March 6!

Operations: continuing in the US, now we head to Milwaukee. Operations does let us listen to the whole album they’ve released digitally called “Fog Museum”. It was released just a few days ago, on Valentine’s Day, and it has 11 songs of dreamy pop. The band is formed by Charles Markowiak, Alisa Rodriguez, Sam Gargulak and John Schoneman!

Shiny Times: remember the great Tape Waves from Charleston? Kim, one half of the duo, has been releasing music on her own as Shiny Times. I have featured her music in the past, but I feel it’s been a while! Happily she just released a new song called “Too Young” that is gorgeous slice of bedroom pop!

Chemical Club: it seems today I only featured bands from the US! This last one comes from New Mexico. They are a bit of a poppy post punk band, kind of like the Marionettes. They have released a 5 song EP on Valentine’s Day called “Mutual Psychosis”. And well, it sounds great! Hope it gets released properly!

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Just found out about this German band on my friend Heinz’s Youtube channel. I had never heard about them before and I was quite surprised by the song Heinz had uploaded, “Time to Get Away”, which turns out to be the 2nd song out of a 3 song CD!

The other two songs were “La Guardia” and “Behind the Fence”. I wonder what is the “La Guardia” song about. Is it about New York’s airport of the same name? Or something else? Maybe it just means the guard, as that what la guardia means in Spanish. Would be interesting to find out.

All three songs had been recorded at the CELLAR Studios in Gütersloh in Germany. Where is that? It is in the North Rhine-Westphalia region in Germany, and it seems the closest big city is Bielefeld. Maybe the band hailed from there? Or Paderborn?

This CD was released in 1991 and it was self-released by the band. But that’s not all, there is at least one compilation appearance on a German CD called “72 Minutes” that the label Pigs Can’t Fly released in 1993. There the band contributed the song “Time To…”. On this comp I recognize just another band I had featured in the past, the wonderful Die Wurzelsepps.

Sadly I can’t seem to find any other information. Discogs lists the band as a goth rock band. Maybe they other songs are more goth-influenced. The one I listen, “Time to Get Away”, sounds great to me!

Anyone know anything else about them? Maybe they could be included in a second volume of the German Leamington Spa series?

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Listen
Gloom of the Grave – Time to Get Away

Thanks so much to Des for the interview! Des contacted me not too long ago as I had written about another band he had been in, The Cherry Brogues! The cool thing is that This Certain Kind, his later band, had just released a retrospective album on Firestation Records called “Inspire” on vinyl LP. It is a favourite record of mine already and I really hope you discover them now as there are only a few copies left of their record!

++ Hi Des! Thanks so much for being up for this interview! How are you? Still making music?

Im really good thanks .. yes im still making music I took the decision a few years ago to set up my own home recording studio called Parkwood Studios and that keeps me busy and still very much involved.

++ Let’s go back in time. What are your first music memories? Do you remember what was your first instrument? How did you learn to play it? What sort of music did you listen at home while growing up?

My first music memory that I can recall that would have prompted me to want to play music was probably me standing on the couch playing air guitar on my old tennis racket to the song  “Love is like Oxygen” by The Sweet when it came on Top of the Pops I must have only been 9 or 10. First Instrument: an old Spanish guitar that a kind neighbour gave us.

Music at home: we all sat around the television every Thurdsay evening to watch Top of The Pops like so many families did back then and tape the songs from the telly to play them during the week.

++ I know you’d been in The Cherry Brogues and I hope we can do an interview about the band. But had you been in other bands before This Certain Kind? What about the rest of the members? If so, how did all of these bands sound like? Are there any recordings?

I was playing bass in a band called Par Excellence at the same time This Certain Kind had started around 1987 both bands had a healthy rivalry and worked alongside each other. Our guitarist Gary Dillon was selected from the crowd at a U2 concert in Dublin and he played on stage with them it was the Joshua Tree tour and that got us a write up in the national newspapers the next gig we did. I never got to record anything with them but they were a great band I think there is a song or two and a video of us on youtube if I’m not mistaken. Most of the bands at that time had a distinct Indie vibe going on ..plenty of guitar riffs!!

++ Where were you from originally?

I was born in Ilford, Essex, London. My parents both Irish, moved to Tallaght, Dublin when I was 7 and I’ve lived here ever since. Its a good place to live.

++ How was Dublin at the time of This Certain Kind? Were there any bands that you liked? Were there any good record stores? Or what about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?

Dublin was in a recession at that time so being in a band gave you a sense of hope and belief.

I suppose there were some really good bands that I liked: A-House, Hey Paulette, Stars of Heaven and Guernica. We all played in an Indie Pub called The Dublin Underground that was where you made your name then onto The Rock Garden which was bigger. We had good record shops in the city: Golden Discs, Freebird Records Abbey Discs and The Basement for the hard to finds and rarities.

++ When and how did the band start? How did you all meet? How was the recruiting process?

We all knew one another from either school or the area or because the pool of musicians at that time was so small f you were involved in music then most people had heard about you. I had written two songs with Anthony our vocalist even though I was with Par Excellence, that may have been the start of my recruiting process.

++ How was the creative process for you? Where did you usually practice?

My Mother had allowed me and my younger brother Steve to convert our garage into a rehearsal room. We did this and sound proofed it with large full length cork panels which gave the room a real pro studio feel to it. We rehearsed and wrote lots of songs there then we moved into the larger rehearsal rooms in the Dublin like Temple Lane and Apple Studios.

++ What’s the story behind the band’s name? 

I think some of the original members of the band thought it up after a few pints in  The Dublin Underground. Im not 100% on that one but I think that’s what I heard !!

++ And who would you say were influences in the sound of the band?

If I had to narrow it down I would have to say  5 bands: The Stone Roses, The Jam, The Cure, The Smiths, and New Order.

++ What about Irish bands? Are there any great Irish bands that for some reason or another remain in obscurity but you loved at the time?

Hummmm, Guernica were great and The Fat Lady Sings. They released a few records but never made it big unfortunately.

++ From what I see in Discogs you recorded your first demo the “Inspire” tape in 1989. Where was it recorded? Was it easy to pick the three songs that were going to be in it?

It was recorded in Sun Studios, Dublin. There was another song from that demo which didn’t make it onto that session and that was called” Better Than None”  but they it made it onto the album instead so that’s alright I guess !!

++ Who is on the photo on the cover of this tape?

My Brother Steve did the design work on that cassette cover. The image he used was from a Clip-art book that anyone was free to use. It has a kind of Smiths album cover feel to it really but it looks well. Or should have I just said I don’t know !!

++ And aside from this tape, are there any other demos that were released? How many?

We tried to go into the recording studio as much as we could afford as it was expensive at that tim.e I think through the years we recorded 5 or 6 times each time we would record 3 tracks per session. Nearly all of those recordings were cleaned up and remastered and are on the album.

++ Were these demo cassettes mostly for promo? To send to labels or radio stations? Or were these sold at gigs as well?

They were primarily for promotional purposes. We sent them into local radio stations and into Hot Press and various other music magazines to be reviewed in the hope that we would get some air play.

++ And many years later, Firestation finds you and includes you in the “The Sound of Leamington Spa Vol. 9”. How did they find you?

Our Bass player Mark had put some of our songs up on YouTube a few years ago. Then out of the blue. Uwe from Firestation left a message on the comment section asking about us and I guess one thing led to another. We ended up putting two tracks onto that album: “Unfortunate” and then another secret hidden track at the end of side 4 a swell.

++ After being included Firestation Records notices that your songs are amazing and offers to release a compilation of all your previously recordings, right? Are there more still unreleased?

The songs and recordings are all our own no question. But as we were sifting through our old session and Demo tapes we did discover 3 songs that we had never recorded. We have since recorded one of them songs which was written in 1990 called ” Here Comes a Love Song and its due out for release this summer.

++ This new album is called just like the first demo tape, “Inspire”. Why?

We thought it was a good omen as it would have been 30yrs ago it was made when Firestation would release our album of the same name in 2019. We had given up on it ever being made to be honest so I guess that’s why 🙂

++ For people that have never heard your songs before what would you say they can expect?

They can expect to hear a lot of catchy riffs and interwoven bass lines which cover an array of Indie styles together with solid melodic vocal lines and meaningful lyrics which I hope leave the listener humming at least one of our tunes !!

++ One thing I noticed in the credits is that someone with your last name arranged “Better than None”. Is it family? Tell me a bit more!

Yes thats my younger Brother Steve who did that arrangement .. its different to all the other tracks as he went a bit electro on it it still has guitars and drums and stuff but with Bass synth and Keyboards it took on a real dance vibe which works well on it. Steve and two of the other members of The Cherry Brogues would then later go on to form Polyteen.

++ And do tell me too about the photos on the sleeve. Where were they taken?

That photo was taken from the upstairs balcony in Whelans which is a great gig venue in Dublin and still draws in a good crowd. It was taken by our drummers father Mick Shortt ..cheers Mick we owe you big time for that one !!!!

++ I think my favourite song of yours might as well be “Make Your Heart Bleed”, wondering if you could tell me what inspired this song? What’s the story behind it?

I could be wrong but I think its about a female narcissist .. someone with a hidden agenda perhaps. The lyrics would definitely steer me in that direction to think so. Nonetheless its also a song about realisation and knowing when your being played !

++ If you were to choose your favorite This Certain Kind song, which one would that be and why?

This is  the toughest question of the lot but if I had to I would pick “I Like You There” as it was one of the first songs I wrote with This Certain Kind and Anthony’s lyrics speaking out about people who are self obsessed and their projected self image is probably more relevant in today’s world and especially among our young people.

++ What about gigs? Did you play many? 

Yes we played lots of them throughout our time, its hard to say how many though.

++ And what were the best gigs you remember? Any anecdotes you can share?

The nights we played in The Dublin Underground will always stand out. The stage was tiny but the atmosphere in the place was electric and welcoming and the crowd was definitely alternative, goths, mods, punks you name it. I think we have some pictures on our Facebook page of us playing in there if anyone wants to look.

++ And were there any bad ones?

Thankfully I have to say no. I can’t remember there being any catastrophes. We were lucky maybe I guess.

++ When and why did This Certain Kind stop making music? Were you involved in any other bands afterwards?

We stopped around 1997 or 1998. The reason we stopped was because we had been together for a good number of years and life was also making its own separate demands on us, work, mortgages, kids, etc.

I’ve always believed if something hasnt happened within four years then its unlikely that it will at all ..

++ What about the rest of the band, had they been in other bands afterwards?

No, not after we finished in 98. We did you a reunion gig a few years after that. But that was it then it was a wrap !

++ But recently you are playing again, right? Are there any future plans for the band?

The release of the album has certainly sparked a new found interest in the band but I guess we shall have to see how our single release goes later this year before we start to go tuning up again to quickly lol.

++ Did you get much attention from the radio? TV?

Dave Fanning did a radio interview with Anthony after the release of “The Sound of Leamington Spa volume 9” that interview went well and its up on our Youtube page its not to long but its funny !!

++ What about the press? Did they give you any attention?

The press have been very interested in our story. They covered it twice once when our songs were released on the compilation album in 2018 and then also last year with the release of our very own album as well so that was cool .

++ What about from fanzines?

Errr, not really I doubt if they would have us on their radar to be honest !!

++ Looking back in retrospective, what would you say was the biggest highlight for the band?

I think it would have to be the making of this album after all this time. Its such a nice feeling to have all your recordings in one collection and see it pressed into vinyl and to see it in the record shops. The past coming flying back to greet you again in such a good way is unreal .

++ Aside from music, what other hobbies do you have?

I’m big into the outdoors and switching off my phone and heading out with my German shepherd for a long walk is where I’m at. I do a bit of cycling too. Nothing too crazy tho !!

++ I was in Dublin two years ago and I really loved but I’ll take the opportunity to ask a local for any recommendations you’d have for a future visit! Like sights one shouldn’t miss? Food and drinks one should try?

Well the open top tour of Dublin is very good and a visit to the Guiness hop store is a must. Try Bruxxelles for a good pint and food you wont go wrong plus the music in there is always spot on !!

++ Anything else you’d like to add?

Just like to give a big shout out to Uwe from Firestation records Berlin for making this happen and also to you and your readers for taking the time to read this. Cheers folks !!

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Listen
This Certain Kind – Make Your Heart Bleed

This whole weekend I’ve been working on the fanzine! Today I will continue doing so. It is really shaping up nicely and I am hoping it will be ready by the end of next month as the latest!

And here is some great music from over the weekend!

SeafoodCake: the very good Guangzhou based label Qiii Snacks Records has just uploaded a new song called “Telephone Honey” by this new band from China. They are formed by Bee on vocals, Yongchao on guitar, Jiayu on guitar, Phil on drums and ACong on bass. The song sounds terrific, a sweet indiepop slice that leaves me looking for more music by them!

Un.Real: not a great name for a band but still this Puerto Rican band make some terrific shoegaze. Their latest offering is the track “Lovely One / Islands” and we know the band is formed by Bernice Cruz, Gardy Perez-Ruiz, Hector Caolo and Eden Cruz. Is there a cool up and coming scene in San Juan?

“Somewhere in England”: Sunday Records has just released on CD a tribute to the wonderful band They Go Boom!! It features 12 bands including Cloudberry favourites like the Royal Landscaping Society, Shoestrings, The Sunbathers, The Pristines and more. Definitely it is not a release one can miss. Essential.

Store Front: maybe my favourite new New York band formed by Amy Rose Spiegel, Brandon Louro, Bob Marshall, Peggy Wang and Chalky have just released their “Task EP”. It has 5 songs of superb indiepop. I still haven’t seen them play live. I see their next gig is next week but SO FAR away from me, at Elsewhere… I really hope I can catch up with them soon, and also hoping they put a proper record on vinyl or CD. These songs deserve that!

Massage: and if I was mentioning Peggy from the Pains of Being Pure at Heart in the previous band, now it is time to see what Alex is doing. He and his band Massage have just released a superb slice of jangle called “Michael is My Girlfriend”. Yes this also deserves to be released as a single though it seems this track will be part of their second LP later this year. Not to be missed clearly!

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Thomas Clayton Wolfe (October 3, 1900 – September 15, 1938) was an American novelist of the early twentieth century.[1]Wolfe wrote four lengthy novels as well as many short stories, dramatic works, and novellas. He is known for mixing highly original, poetic, rhapsodic, and impressionistic prose with autobiographical writing. His books, written and published from the 1920s to the 1940s, vividly reflect on American culture and the mores of that period, filtered through Wolfe’s sensitive, sophisticated, and hyper-analytical perspective.

I was introduced to The DaVincis through their song “Thomas Wolfe”. I wonder of course if the name of the song was after the American writer? Maybe? Perhaps? Who could confirm me that?

Before The DaVincis, there was The Dream Play. That was 1984 and they were formed by Paul McCormick (vocals, guitars), Martin Smith (guitars), Chris Stevens (bass) and Faith Moore (drums). I wonder if there are recordings for this band somewhere? Then in 1985 Smith would be replaced by Martin Ward and Moore by Iain Bickle and thus The DaVincis were born. They were part of the scene that worked at the Vulcan Studios. That included great bands like The Jactars or The Decemberists. It is worth mentioning that in 1987, Vulcan Studios put together a compilation LP called “Ways to Wear Coats – A Compilation From Vulcan Studios” (VULC 001) that included The DaVincis’ track “The Book”. This track was engineered by Noddy Knowler. On this compilation the band appears under the name Da Vincis. Yeah, I’ve seen their name written in different ways.

That same year, 1987, they contributed the song “Ava Gardner” to the  “Merseyside Musicians Bureau” demo compilation tape.  Another compilation appearance of theirs is on the tape “D.O.A. – Brochure Two”. They had two songs on this one, “Pull” and “on And On”. There were many fine bands on this one like Fallover 24 and The Dubious Brothers among others. The date for this release must have been sometime between 1987 and 1989. D.O.A. stood for Definite Option Agency, a music press based in Liverpool.

Much later on, in 2018, the band would contribute tracks to two Cherry Red boxsets. Their track “Thomas Wolfe” was included in “C89” (CRCDBOX59) and “When You’re In” on “Revolutionary Spirit: The Sound of Liverpool 1976-1988″ (CRCDBOX39).

But most importantly the band left us two releases. A 12” maxi single and a mini-LP, both released in 1988 on Pink Moon Records.

I know this label because they released the wonderful Jactars and Barbel. But I also notice that in 1989 they released a record for Paul McCormick, the DaVincis’ vocalist, called “Another Day at Home”.

I guess that the 12″ single (PMT 12) came second and the mini-albm (PMM 1) came first. So let’s start with the mini-album.

It had six songs, three on each side. The A side had “When You’re In”, “Thoughtless” and “Charlotte” while the B side had “Thomas Wolfe”, “Safe Locked Alone” and “Chris Said”. The engineer was Keith Hartley and the art is credited to Malcolm’s House with Martin Smith’s photography. The songs were recorded in February 1988 at Amazon Studios. Something interesting too is that there were runout etchings on the record. The A side said “1234 Sun Ray Lamp!!” whilst the B side had “Strings for Breakfast”.

Now the 12″ single. The A side had “Pull” while the B side included “Something Missing” and “On and On”. The band is credited for producing the record while Keith Hartley was the engineer. The tracks were recorded on the 15 and 16 of October of 1988 at Amazon Studios. The photography on the sleeve was from Colin Heaney while the artwork is credited to Malcolm’s House. The executive producer was Andy Jones. Here we find etchings as well. The A side said “Townhouse Bye Bye” while the B side said “A Byrd song of the Mersey”. I believe that on this 12″ the band had replaced drummers, having Steve Ashton on drums.

It seems that in 1989 the band replaced Martin Ward with Mike James according to the blog “Music-isms“. With this new lineup the band toured Germany during November and December that year. Then they toured France and many lineup changes happened, even working as a three-piece for some time. Then in 1990 the band split. Their last gig was in March 1990.

But there is more about them. The band actually recorded two Peel Sessions! The first one was recorded January 18th 1987 and broadcast on February 2nd that year. The songs recorded for this session were “Something Missing”, “Ava Gardner”, “When You’re In” and “New Ways to Wear Coats”. This last song title parodying the compilation they had been in.

The second Peel Session was recorded in Septrember 27 of 1988 and broadcast on October 10 that same year. The songs for this second session were “This is What We Look Like”, “Eating Gifted Children”, “On and On” and “Second Home”.

About other music involvements I know that later on Chris Stevens would be involved in bands like Mugstar, Cicada Falls and Rattlebus. Martin Ward had been in Redo Zebri, Mugstar and Rattlebus as well. Iain Bickle had been in Fire.

Lastly I found a promo video the band did for the song “Pull“! Great find!

What else? Were there more songs by the band? Where are they now? Who remembers the Liverpool band The DaVincis?!

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Listen
The DaVincis – Thomas Wolfe

Let’s go! Here’s some new music for this week!

Ivory Past / Shino Kobayashi: Ivory Past is one of my favourite bands from the past few years. It features Hitoshi from the fantastic Sloppy Joe and it is no surprise that the 3 songs he is contributing to a split tape shared with Shino Kobayashi are wonderful. This tape is now available to preorder on the Blue-Very Label Bandcamp. It is not available to preview but I am very curious of his cover of The Hepburns’ “The World Is” and do check Shino Kobayashi who was unknown to me but sounds amazing!

Cigarettes for Breakfast: this Philadelphia band is releasing a self-titled EP on February 20th. It will have 5 songs and at this point we can only check out the fuzzy shoegazy track “Daylight”.

The Oilies: this California band formed by Carly Putnam has a new track out on Bandcamp called “Dead Tires demo”, and it is really good! It is a fine slice of bedroom pop. It is lo-fi and in a way mysterious. Sounds like it was taken from an indiepop cassette compilation from the 90s!

La Vida Padre: when I saw the name of the band I thought they would be Mexican. You see in Mexico you say “padre” for “cool”. So it may sense to me, for their name to be ‘the cool life’. But no, the band hails from Barcelona and last November they released a joyful jangly mini-album of 7 songs! The band is actually a one-man project by Xavi Escriche. And again, it sounds great!

Lawnchair: and the last new recommendation is the twee-east of all. This crash-pop band, all ramshackle beauty has a lo-fi EP called “Go-Karting” consisting of 4 tracks packed with boy/girl vocals and evoking the great 2000s Soulseek and CDR bands! .

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One more from the WokingSoundscene Soundcloud and Facebook group. And this one sounds pretty good!

So I just discovered the band Pretty Green thanks to the song “Call” that WokingSoundscene has shared in their Soundcloud. By this point I don’t think I need to tell you about it, I’ve written a few posts about this fine resource of bands from the 80s and 90s.

There is also another song they have uploaded, “Deception”. And I wonder are these the only two songs they recorded? Let’s find out.

It turns out that “Call” was included, as well as their song “Small Town Scene”, on the “Snakebite City” (BLU03) compilation that Bluefire Records released in 1992. Whereas “Deception” appeared on the second of the Farnborough Groove series comp, “Son of Farnborough Groove”, also in 1992. Interesting. Now we have 3 songs we know of.

I just found that there was a fourth. It was called “The Wrong Conclusion” and it appeared on the 1994 compilation “Snakebite City Two” (BLU05) also released by Bluefire Records. Something that I am curious about is that these compilations used to come with an insert with information about the bands on the record. Maybe there were interesting details there about them?

We also know the last names of the band members, Abnett, Beagley, Fowler, Gambrill and Pritchard. They were around from 1991 to 94. But that is not all, in 2016 Record Collector  included them on the vinyl compilation “Small Town Scenery” with their song “Small Town Scene” (RCLP018). This is interesting. I wrote about one of the bands that appear on it, Triple Blind, not so long ago. Small world. This compilation, which I don’t have sadly, also includes an insert with info about the bands on it. Again, is there anything worthy in it? On Discogs there is a scan, and I can read that the band was formed in Fleet and the guitar player was called Matthew Pritchard. He mentions that they played quite a lot at the back room of The Fox and Hounds pub. Then, at some point, the band split into two bands, The Hairy Things and Skipper.

We know too of some gigs they played. It is said that the band opened for Mega City Four on many gigs but we also know they played the wonderful Buzz Club in Aldershot on Saturday January 16th 1993 alongside Peach Razor, Pomery, Backlash, Phobia and Big Boy Tomato. It was the “Snakebite City” launch party. Another gig was at the same club, on February 1st of 1993 along Ha Ha Men, The Riverthieves and Peach Razor. Two months later, on April 3rd, again at Jo’s club, playing with The Flowers of Sacrifice, Backlash and Peach Razor. How did these bands sound like? I am curious.

I wonder if there were demo tapes. There must have been. There must have been more songs too. I’d love to find out.

Not much info on the web, but at least we know a bit more now. I wonder who remembers them? Who can fill in the blanks?

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Listen
Pretty Green – Call