The new podcast is now on MixCloud. This is the March episode and the theme was “the movies”. In this episode I interviewed the great Baltimore band Expert Alterations. We had to leave Soundcloud because they have very odd copyright rules that they wouldn’t let me upload the Watoo Watoo song even though it was the band itself who chose and gave me the song. I know MixCloud is not as user friendly but we needed to find other options as we wanted to post right away the podcast as we were a bit late about it. Oh! And the clip has already being guessed, so you can dismiss that. Anyways, I really hope you like the songs I chose this month! Let me know what you thought!

This week I promised to go through the remaining bands that will play NYC Popfest. There are some news this week though that are important to notice. That is that the schedule has been announced as well as the DJs. When it comes to DJs we will have the NYC indie party, Mondo, on Friday and So Tough So Cute, the Malmö indie party, on Saturday. When it comes to Mondo I wish their set is much more indiepop than their usual fare (Maz always delivers, but the other teammates usually pick one or two indiepop songs in their hour-long sets) and from Daniel, the indie giant from Malmö, well, it’s been a long time since I attended to his party, but I tell you that by far he has been the best DJ I ever danced to in London Popfest years ago. At the Buffalo Bar that time he set the dancefloor on fire. If he does that again in NYC it will be more than memorable!

So now instead of going alphabetically, I’ll go through the days and venues and will review only the bands that I haven’t done yet. Sounds good?

Souvenir Stand:
The NYC (? I thought they were from Jersey) band will be opening Popfest. At 8:00pm at the Cake Shop they will show everyone their 60s tinged indiepop that has remained a bit of a secret. I haven’t been able to catch them live, even though in the past few months they’ve played some gigs, but I’ve liked their songs, even including one of them on the 8th Cloudberry fanzine. Seems though that I will miss them this time again as I usually work till 9pm. Which is a shame. I’m very curious. I’ve only seen Stephanie Cupo (the band’s leader and brain and a big Beach Boys fan it seems) perform as a saxophonist in the new My Favorite lineup. Never with her band. So I hope that they play some of the pre or post Popfest shows that will happen as I’d like to hear their new tunes.

Roman a Clef:
A round of applause to Maz for finding this NYC band. I had no idea of their existence. They are VERY good. Who are they? Where do they play? Do they play often? Why haven’t I head nothing about them? Do I live under a rock or do they live under a rock? I hope I can catch some of their set. As I said I leave around 9pm. Maybe I can escape a bit earlier. They are on at 8:45pm at the Cake Shop. I read some reviews saying they are the second coming of Prefab Sprout. Maybe they are right. This sounds very timeless, like it could become a classic. That song “PSBTV”, is just genius. The band was formed by Ryan Newmyer of A Sunny Day in Glasgow (who I was never a big fan, go figure) and Jen Goma. Kurt Feldman (the only Pains I was never keen of to be honest, go figure) produced them. This band is a winner. I suspect though that they will sign to a hipster record label and become a hipster band in the future. That scares me a bit, but I will enjoy them in the meantime. Terribly good this!

Young Romance:
I missed them some years ago at Indietracks. My friend Jennifer insisted that I was going to like them. I didn’t pay much attention!!! I don’t know why. I’m very bad when people recommend me bands, but I’m usually good when Jennifer does. She really likes them. Could have been the band’s name perhaps? Or the idea that the are just a duo who I believe are married or are a couple? I get an itch with bands like that with the exception of the beloved Tiny Fireflies. I feel bands get a bit too softy by working with someone who they love, like they can’t really get into strong arguments, like they will always agree on things. It’s just an idea. I’m getting carried away. Young Romance is quite nice. It’s not really my style of indiepop, but the girl definitely has very different vocals and there is a lot of strength in that. I can’t say if I like or not, though I’m close to the latter. I think I will wait until I see them live. From the two songs on their bandcamp, I like one, and the other one doesn’t tell me much. Guess which?

Papa Topo:
Friday at 10pm at Cameo the Barcelona band will play their first show in this continent. I’ve been terribly lucky and I’ve seen them twice. Once with the original lineup, with the very missed Paulita on vocals, at Indietracks, and later with the current lineup in Madrid Popfest. Papa Topo’s sound has changed during these years, becoming a bit more sophisticated and produced you could say. My heart is closer definitely to their early, rawer, sound, but I also really like what they do now. A lot! They still have the sense of humour that always have characterized them, and Adrià has his pop sensibility still intact when it comes to crafting perfect melodies. Papa Topo has already had their songs in Mexican soap operas, but can they conquer, like their city-mates Cola Jet Set, the English speaking indiepop fans of NYC? I really hope so! Can’t be missed this show! Papa Topo’s “Oso Panda” will be a crazy singalong I’m sure!

WORKING:
This one comes from Rhode Island. And it’s on Shelflife. I guess I haven’t heard of an indiepop band from Rhode Island since Small Factory. Which other ones come from that tiny state? I was in Providence two years ago I think. That was a nice road trip. It seems they write their name all in caps. So WORKING. What difference does that make? I don’t know. The cool thing about WORKING is that Catherine, the vocalist, used to be in the GREAT GREAT band The Best Wishes in the 90s. That makes me giddy and happy. Do you think they will have copies of their old 7″s at NYC Popfest? I would love that too. And will they have any physical releases for WORKING too? I’d be interested. I see on their bandcamp that some magazine recommends them to people that like Joanna Gruesome or Black Tambourine or Velocity Girl. I think none of those bands sound like WORKING. The tempo of WORKING is much slower, their songs are more introspective and perhaps at points have a rockier edge than a poppier edge. They remind me instead of some Aussie early 90s bands. I like this nonetheless, it works for them. What I also love is the drawing Jen Corace did for them as their cover artwork.  They’ll be on at 2:30pm at the free show, it’s lunch time. But I think I won’t be missing them.

Wallflower:
They appear in the last Cloudberry fanzine and they are one of my weaknesses. I know they are recording a new album as we speak and I hope and dream to be able to release a 7″ by them in the near future. It’s definitely one of my favourite Japanese contemporary bands by far. I’ve been lobbying for people to book them here in the West, Indietracks, Popfest, and I’m so happy someone has listened to me! Wallflower are definitely a band that no one should miss and they will be playing on Saturday at 8pm at the Knitting Factory! I’ll be there and in front row! Looking forward to meeting Masami-san!

Veronica Lake:
A true classic of American 90s indiepop. A couple of singles that are beautiful and haven’t aged at all. I tried to interview Tim for the blog some time ago, maybe two years ago but never received his answers. Shame, would have been nice to hear from him about his band. I would think at that time he didn’t expect that it will reform for a Popfest. Will Pam Berry join them for Threnody? Probably not, but you can dream too. I think this should be a very special gig especially for all the nostalgia fans that will attend the festival.

The Spook School:
I love them and they are playing for a second year straight NYC Popfest. I’m never keen with repeats as I like same opportunities for everyone but I understand that their following is growing and growing. On top of that they are ace people so even though I have my “rules” I can understand why they are booked again.

Sapphire Mansions:
They weren’t on the poster originally, so I guess they are a recent addition. I’ve seen them a couple of times opening for some bands here in NYC. They are definitely not my thing, the word that comes to mind when I hear them is “mess”. The keyboards give me a bit of a headache too. Oh dear, if this is indiepop then I don’t know what indiepop is.

Starry Eyed Cadet:
Perhaps the best new band to appear in the US. I played one of their songs on my podcast and I have already written about them on the blog. It was one of the first bands I passed on to Maz to check out and consider for Popfest. Glad that the band can make it. And happy that Maz booked them too! The California band, who I believe has ties with the delicious Marine Life, has a lot to offer and even though there are no physical releases as of yet, I’m sure will start making a buzz after Popfest. Lots of potential here! Loving the songs, great indiepop craftmanship!

Palms on Fire:
Definitely a great addition to Popfest is the first Russian band ever to play an indiepop festival! I would have never expected this, but it’s happening. I don’t know much about them, though last year they sent me their latest EP to check it out. And back in 2011 their first ever EP too. I was really surprised by it. Sadly I never heard from other Russian indiepop bands. Ok perhaps one or two, but it wasn’t like a true explosion of bands. Simple and cute tunes, not pretentious at all, they remind me of Red Sleeping Beauty and of course The Shermans. With Palms on Fire the keyboards do work beautifully.  Looking forward to their live set on Sunday at Littlefield at 6pm!

Seabirds:
Seabirds is a nice band from Nottingham that released one 7″ on Matinée Recordings in 2013. The band includes Ian from Horowitz and that makes me like them automatically (but I will admit I still prefer Horowitz fuzz pop much better). I saw half of their show once at Indietracks but that was some time ago too. A good refresher will come in handy.

#Poundsign#:
Who would have thought. There are many 90s indiepop bands playing this year. And perhaps my favourite of them all were #Poundsign#. If you remember I have already showcased them as an interview in the blog and Cloudberry released a 3″CD of Strega, a band with very close ties with #Poundsign#. On the last podcast the clip was a song by podcast which our friend Vidar already guessed. So it’s obvious, I like #Poundsign#, and I like them a lot. Could be one of the best gigs of Popfest, this one is really special and unmissable!

And with that, even though there are two to be announced bands in the lineup for the evening show of Saturday, I conclude my very personal review of the bands for Popfest. You don’t have to agree with me obviously, you might dislike and hate many of the bands I like, and vice versa, and that’s cool. In any case, in general, I think the lineup is really fantastic and if there are two or three bands I don’t like it’s good too, we need a little break to get fresh air, chit chat, or even grab a bite. So it works perfectly!

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It’s a Wednesday today, but I want to go over a band called Why Thursday?

There’s not much online about them and I believe that has to do that they came a bit too late. Their only release was in 1994! That’s tough, who was into jangly and catchy pop then, a bit Madchester and all? 1994 was more of a britpop time, right? And also, that their only release was a CD-single, well, that makes it a bit worse. If it only had been a 7″ perhaps collectors would go ga ga for it.

Self-released and three songs in it: “Strawberry Kisses”, “With You There”, and “From the Outside”.

I really like the cover artwork, a strawberry drawn with large strokes, vector friendly. It was designed by the band. All songs were written and performed by Why Thursday?

From the contact information it seems that the band was from Tunbridge Wells, in Kent.
Royal Tunbridge Wells (often shortened to Tunbridge Wells) is a large town in western Kent, England, about 40 miles (64 km) south-east of central London. The town has a population of around 56,500. The town came into being as a spa in the Restoration period and had its heyday as a tourist resort under Beau Nash when the Pantiles and its chalybeate spring attracted visitors who wished to take the waters. Though its popularity waned with the advent of sea bathing, the town remains popular and derives some 30% of its income from the tourist industry.

The only other information on the back is the lineup of the band. We know that the band was formed by:
Marc Axtell on drums
Stuart Bristow on bass
Alex Brown on lead vocals & acoustic rhythm guitar
Nick Carpenter on backing vocals & keyboards
Curtis Fray on lead & rhythm electric guitar

Aside from this I couldn’t find any other information about the band. The songs are all really good and would love to find a copy of the single too. Does anyone remember them? Did they have any other releases perhaps? Any other recordings? Anyone attended to any of their gigs? I would love to know more about them!

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Listen
Why Thursday? – Strawberry Kisses

Time to review the NYC Popfest bands. I think I’ll do half of them this week, and the other half the next. So let’s start with that!

Beverly:
Didn’t know about this NYC band. Strange as I live in NYC. Or maybe not strange as there are usually not many indiepop bands in NYC. Well, in this case it’s kind of like this. I wouldn’t consider this band indiepop exactly. It’s nice rocky/noisy/pop. Nothing more, nothing less. It’s enjoyable, but I don’t go crazy for them. I’m sure hipsters like it so I won’t do much googling about them, I’m just listening to their songs. If I see them will depend if I need to get dinner or not at the time when they are playing. Not my cup of tea really.

Brideshead:
Okay, this a band I can’t stop thanking NYC Popfest for bringing to New York!!!! Wow! I never thought I would see them. Since the first time I heard them, by downloading a video of “Shortsightedness” from Chris Jigsaw on soulseek, on the pre-Youtube days. When I heard the jingle jangly guitars and I bought their records on Apricot and Shelfife I always LOVED this band from Wiesbaden. It’s really exciting this, how many times a German indiepop band gets booked in the US? This doesn’t happen. And after missing Busch in Berlin last year, I think this is definitely a treat for me. Not to be missed by anyone.

The Catenary Wires:
This is happiness. I never saw Talulah Gosh or Heavenly or Marine Research. I was lucky to see Tender Trap some three times or so. Once in NYC Popfest. For those of who don’t understand why I am mentioning these bands that’s because The Catenary Wires are a duo, a duo formed by Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey. Two indiepop legends. I’m very happy that they were announced for Popfest. They were already announced for Indietracks and they were traveling to Japan to tour these past weeks. I was a bit jealous of course. I want to hear Amelia singing. And I want their upcoming album too that supposedly will be out in June. Will they have copies for Popfest? I hope so!

The Chandler Estate:
I had no idea about them until a few minutes after the band lineup announcement. It was the only band that I googled that day. I think this was because I happened to like the name of the band. To my surprise this band consists of three ex-members of My Favorite! Oh dear. And I was the one who released the My Favorite reissue last year. How could that be? Well, for once they haven’t played live yet, Popfest will be their debut. They haven’t released anything yet either though an EP is scheduled for late spring. I’ve only heard the one song, “El Camino Real” and it’s top stuff! I would have included it in the new podcast if I knew about it earlier. I have big expectations for this band!

Club 8:
Finally. How did Maz convinced them to play a Popfest will be a mystery. I know every year every Popfest and every Indietracks try to book them. Either them or any of the band Johan is in. It never happens. But then you seem them go play far far away to Indonesia. And you think, oh damn, at least it’s kind of fair they don’t get that many bands but I can’t stop feeling a bit jealous. I’ve always liked Club 8, being perhaps my favourite of all those bands say Legends, Poprace, Acid House Kings. Though I like them all, Club 8 has a special place in my heart. I think that has to do with Karolina vocals. They are beautiful really. Some people were a bit critical of their last album, that it wasn’t the same, etc., etc. I thought it was brilliant. Another band that I won’t be able to miss. Already it seems that it will be a difficult year to chit-chat with friends!

The Darling Buds:
I never expected to see them. I knew they had reformed some years ago, many years ago actually, in 2010. Why no Popfest would book them was a question I asked myself constantly. Why Indietracks didn’t baffled me. I mean, they are from Wales, how hard can it be? I saw The Darling Buds playing other festivals, non-indiepop festivals. And the years passed and passed. And nothing changed. Why would I imagine someone was going to book them? I don’t know. I know that in the 80s people were either into The Primitives or The Darling Buds. I wasn’t there. I like them both. I’ve seen the first, but never the second. Now it’s time. For the fan in me, I hope to get a photo with Andrea Lewis of course. I did last year with The Popguns haha. Sometimes I’m just a child. Can’t miss them.

Expert Alterations:
Definitely one of the best bands to appear in the US in the past few years. In the new podcast I interview them and talk a bit about the band and Popfest. Great guys too. They are Television Personalities flavoured. They seem to have taken the right influences from the O Level to the McTells. Crash-pop from Baltimore. I’ve seen them once before at the Cake Shop and they are really good. Soon they’ll be releasing new material and re-releasing old. Seems like this will be their year. If you haven’t listened to them, well now it’s time to.

Eternal Summers:
Didn’t they play Popfest some years ago? I can’t remember. This is another one of the few bands I’m not keen to checking out. Not really the sound I like to be honest. I don’t like bands with guys with beards much either. They must have to be really good like Royal Landscaping Society to sport a beard. Sorry. High standards. It’s not bad this, just not true indiepop for me, not my thing.

Jessica & The Fletchers:
Fantastic indiepop from Barcelona. True lovers of indiepop. These youngsters love Amelia Fletcher and they named after her last name. I actually can’t wait for them meeting Amelia haha. That could be fun! Noisy, poppy, they sound as if they were from one of those 80s tape compilations that I love digging obscure bands. And hey, their first release was on tape. Today actually I was listening to a new song of theirs aptly titled “Air Ballon Road” (!!!). It has everything to be a hit! It’s no secret then that I have big hopes for this band, I feel they have a superb future in indiepopworld. On top of that I can call many of their members friends of mine which makes me so happy that they are crossing the Atlantic to hang out!

The Just Joans:
I’ve tried and tried many times to like them. My friends have insisted that they are brilliant and I have to like them. I just can’t. I’ve tried. I swear I’ve tried.

The Loft:
Well, who doesn’t want to see a classic indiepop band from the good old days. One of the bands everyone will agree is very important to what happened after. I want to see them. “Up the Hill and Down the Slope” is a classic of classics. A remarkable single. Pete Astor is a fantastic vocalist too! But am I crazy to say that I’m more into the bands that came after, like Weather Prophets or my favourite The Caretaker Race? I feel I’m alone in this thought! Anyhow, seeing The Loft is a true treat and I am terribly happy that NYC Popfest has pulled this one. I saw once Pete Astor at The Lexington in the UK, him playing solo with his guitar. It was lovely really, he has that charm a frontman has to have. And I loved the little stories between songs. I think this will be a very special gig even though I’m not the #1 fan of The Loft, I think I’m going to love this gig.

Lunchbox:
They reformed not so long ago. Jigsaw must have had a lot to it. Lunchbox was a staple of American indiepop of the late nineties, early 2000s. They released mostly on Magic Marker. Two albums and a 7″ with them. Before that one 7″ on Love Train. Now they are back releasing an album on Jigsaw and soon a 7″. Fuzzed guitars, 60s catchy hooks, and nice arrangements of horns are their trademark as well as their boy/girl vocals. The indiepop from the nineties is back!

Pale Lights:
One of the bands that repeats NYC Popfest. They played some years ago at the free show of a Saturday afternoon. So it makes sense for them to repeat because not many people attend that free show. Now I’m sure (and I hope) they will play at night. Pale Lights are one of the few indiepop bands in NYC and they are a true favourite of mine. All of their release have been top-notch by the way if you haven’t gotten them yet. The band of course counts with Phil who used to be in The Soft City (who Cloudberry fans will remember), Comet Gain, Velocette and Cinema Red & Blue among others. Even though he has been known better for drumming, he sings, and he does it very well. He plays guitar too and the sounds he comes up with, the melodies too, reminds me of Felt, but with a poppier, catchier edge. I’ve seen them often when they play here in the city and I can’t stop recommending them to those who don’t know them. On top of that it’s one of the few contemporary bands that have gotten interviewed by this blog. That must mean something!

Alright, that should cover half of the bands or almost half of them. Next week a preview for the remaining ones!

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Some weeks ago I covered The Man Upstairs here. Today I will cover Commotion Upstairs. But no, no relationship between the bands. Well, as far as I know!

What do I know about this very obscure band that only released one 7″? Well, barely anything.

The 7″ has some clues. Of course there are four songs on it, two on each side. On the A side we have “Lift Me Up” and “Not Like That”. On the B side we have “Too Bad” and “Fake”. The songs are all credited to Adams while A1 and B2 also have credits to Manning. Alright so we have some last names.

On the back sleeve we have some first names. We get:
Ben – vocals, guitar
Reiner – guitars
Lee – bass guitar
Ian – drums, vocals

To which of them do the last names belong?

Let’s move onto what it says on the back sleeve. First off there’s a small description of the band. This would mean to me that the 7″ was mostly a sampler than a proper release. Perhaps trying to bait a big label to sign them. It says:
“With a mixture of jangling guitars, upbeat rhythms, infectious lyrics, and hard work, Commotion Upstairs bring you their debut EP sampler listen… watch it happen… then decide”.

The record was recorded in one day during February 1989 at Backtrack Studios in London. Engineered by Ollie and produced by the band. There’s an address in London if you wanted information of the band. The address is in Brockley, next to Hilly Fields Park, in the south of London. I remember staying in the area many many years ago but never got to see this park even though I was very close to it.

The record was released by Suacy Records (catalog TT 17). Who were Saucy Records? Can’t find much though by the catalog number 17 you’d think there would have been previous releases.

On Youtube there are two songs to listen. On one of them the designer of the artwork has commented. Doesn’t say much aside that his youth has flashed before him by listening the song “Fake”. This one is perhaps my favourite song of mine from the four.

The other song online is “Too Bad”. This one is really nice too. The cool thing on this one is that there are some more comments. A Colin Francies says he was in the original lineup of the band and he mentions Ben, Ian, Ken, Dave and Colin as the original members. Of course not all of them appear on the back of the sleeve. Colin says there was a demo recorded also at Backtracks:
“I. think there was 4-5 tracks we did over a short period of time.The only songs i can remember right now are ‘Sorry and The Barriers’ ,it was a long time ago.They are only on tape cassettes as far as i know,i and a few others left the group soon after that.Good times,good music.”

Last but not least the fantastic blog From a Northern Place shares another song, “Not Like That”. And it’d beautiful too. All so jangly!!!

Now I try to mix and match the last names with the first names. But no luck. Couldn’t find them.

It seems they played many shows in the late 80s in London at least. But I can’t find anything else online about them. Can anyone help out to find what happened to this brilliant sounding indiepop band?!

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Listen
Commotion Upstairs – Fake

Thanks so much to Arlo and Felix for this great interview! Back in October I wrote a small piece about Feral on the blog, and through Facebook Arlo got in touch with me. Happily he was keen to tell the story of this great band from England that only released one 7″, but what a great 7″ it is!

++ Hi guys! Thanks so much for being up for this interview. Tell me, are you still based in Crawcrook or Newcastle? And how was Crawcrook back in the days of Feral? Has it changed much?

Arlo: Hiya Roque. Happy New Year! No problem at all for doing the interview. It’s not often we get a chance to talk about Feral these days, so we’re happy to be given the chance. Crawcrook was (as you’d mentioned in your piece about our single) a small coal-mining town from about 1850 up to about 1960. It’s on the banks of the River Tyne, which runs through Newcastle 5 miles further downstream. The pits had all closed before we were born, so it was pretty much a rural ‘commuter town’ for Newcastle. A pretty good place to grow up. Close enough to the city to be able to stay attached to civilisation, but with a touch of the weird pagan shit that still goes on in abundance further inland, in the hills of Northumberland. There are little villages not far from us, with names like Twice Brewed and Scroggwood, where they spend their Saturday nights dancing round swords and singing accordian tunes to the moon. We all moved into Newcastle in our late teens and twenties and got more involved in the music scene. We ran Newcastle’s top ‘indie’ night, The Palace, through the 1990s at the legendary Riverside venue (now no more). It was a good mix of music. Classic indie, Manchester stuff, Britpop, dance, 60s psych and northern soul and a bit of hip-hop thrown in. It was run mainly as a club for us and our friends, with the guest-list running to over a hundred people most weeks. It was class! 500 or so people getting together in a great venue every Friday. Good live bands, good music and a great atmosphere. Me and Steve have moved back out to Crawcrook and neighbouring Ryton now, and still see each regularly. Felix landed a class job designing toy cars for Hot Wheels, and has ended up in LA. He was (until just a few weeks ago) Vice President of Hot Wheels, and has been spending the last few years project managing mad, life-sized loop-the-loops for suped-up cars in the deserts of America. We still keep in close touch, swapping music files we’re working on. I was over there visiting him about 6 weeks ago. Stu Lowey, our guitarist, died aged 28 in 2001. He developed Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (the human form of Mad-Cow disease) in his mid 20s, probably caused by bovine growth hormones he’d been given as a child.

++ Arlo was telling me that he likes the photo on the cover of the 7″ because you looked all covered in coal dust after a hard days shift down the pit. Is that so? Did you work in a coal mine?

Arlo: It was taken after a hard day’s photo-shoot with Yozzer Hughes, a deranged Scouse maverick who also produced Change You Even. Bit of a Fagin type character. He took pride in taunting all the other Newcastle bands that Feral were the only ones who were gonna get anywhere ‘cos they’re fookin seventeen’! He had us dug into a fox-hole, covered in bracken and fallen branches. We’d been hunched in there for about three hours by the time he actually got the shot he wanted.

Felix: Real lateral thought displayed there by Yozza…..”I know,….. they’re called feral so I’ll drive them out to the woods and stick them in a ditch”. From memory he spent quite a bit of time telling us how long it had taken him to scout for the location….in hindsight we should have asked him what he was doing wandering around in the woods looking for a ditch to put seventeen year old boys in…

++ Tell me then how did you all meet? And have you been in bands before Feral?

Arlo: We all met at school and lived within about a mile of each other as kids. Me, Felix and Steve met aged 4 in primary school, and met Stu at Ryton Comprehensive school aged 11. We hung around together for years before we started playing music. We’d been a pretty tight gang through our teenage years, skateboarding, graffiti art-ing, listening to music and generally hanging around street corners. Feral took a little while to properly coalesce from various mates going round each other’s garages and bedrooms and making a racket.

Felix: From memory the idea of a band started forming when we were about fifteen. Me and Stu used to dream about it and eventually figured if we were going to be in a band we’d better get somebody in it who could actually play an instrument….so we subtly courted Arlo. I picked up the bass because I figured four strings would be easier to learn than six. Steve had had drum lessons when we were seven so we pretty much told him he was the drummer.

++ What are your first musical memories? And what inspired you to make music?

Arlo: I’ve been indoctrinated from birth. My Grandad was a miner in County Durham who had a massive record collection dating back to the invention of the gramaphone. They had nothing else of value in the house, but he had full rooms which were literally floor to ceiling with records! He used to play old novelty records for me as a kid, along with the classical and opera stuff he was into, and bought me my first 7” singles when I was 3, On The Trail of the Lonesome Pine by Laurel and Hardy and Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. (I used to think the first line was ‘Is this the real life or is this just Plasticine?’ Much better lyrics, in my opinion.) My Mam and Dad were both well into their music too. Massive fans of The Beatles, Dylan, Paul Simon, The Incredible String Band etc. I can remember days at home with my Mam, pre-school (so aged 4 or less), sitting using her washing basket as a boat and listening to Cripple Creek Ferry by Neil Young and The Hedgehog Song by The Incredibles. I took a shine to Jimi Hendrix when I was about 8 after seeing a documentary on the BBC that my Dad had recorded. My folks weren’t particularly into Hendrix. They’d seen him at the Isle of White Festival in 1970 (where they also saw Arlo Guthrie, hence my name). But I was smitten. I badgered them for a guitar for Christmas, and got a real cheap nylon – stringed acoustic. One of my Dad’s mates gave me a couple of lessons and persuaded my Dad that I needed a better guitar, so I got a Hondo Les Paul copy the next Christmas. Much easier to play behind my head. Me, Felix, Steve and Stu went through our early teens sharing tapes of New Order, Bomb The Bass, Run DMC, Public Enemy, Eric B and Rakim and skate videos with tunes by The Descendents, Firehose, Sonic Youth etc. But it was really the first time we heard The Stone Roses that the idea of being a band crystalised. Me and Steve had been to RPM records in Newcastle the day She Bangs The Drums came out. I bought the album, and Steve bought the 12”, along with a batch of other bands’ records. We both went home and had a listen through the day’s new purchases, and were both just floored when we put the Roses on. Straight on the phone to each other, raving about them. And they were immediately put onto tape for that evening, racing round the country lanes of Northumberland in Felix’s VW Passat with Waterfall and Resurrection blasting at top volume. I don’t know about the rest of the band, but for me that was the day it all changed. We’d been playing around with guitars and writing a few songs together before The Roses, but that was when I decided we could be a ‘proper band’.

++ And where does the name of the band come from? Is there a story behind it?

Arlo: Feral was a character in a story in 2000AD (Strontium Dogs, I think). Steve had picked up on it as a cool word/band-name. It was like every band, hunting around for a name. It was just the least ridiculous one we came up with!

Felix: I think we settled on it in the car on our way to our first Deckham music collective gig.

++ What would you say were your influences at the time of Feral? What were you listening to?

Arlo: We were coming back round to guitars after having been into hip-hop for a few years. The skate videos I mentioned played a big part in that to begin with. We were into stuff by Dinosaur Jr, Ultra Vivid Scene, Sonic Youth etc. The Manchester scene was starting to kick off, led by the Roses, Mondays and Carpets and that was when we started going out to gigs. Most of the venues in Newcastle were ‘over 18’. We’d been reluctant to travel into town just to get turned away from gigs at the door for being under-age. So we missed out on the Roses at Newcastle Riverside. We went down a few weeks after for The Charlatans’ first Newcastle gig, and got in no-bother. Then realised that half the kids in there were younger than us! After that, we were out every week to see bands at The Riverside and Newcastle’s grottiest little indie venue, The Broken Doll. Stephen Joyce used to put The Whoosh Club on at The Broken Doll. Usually three bands, two of them local, for £1.50. We went to see Ride’s first Newcastle gig at a Whoosh night. They’d been signed to Creation Records and started attracting a lot of attention between Stephen booking them and the actual gig. There must have been over 300 people crammed into a room that was a bit of a squeeze for 100! Whoosh nights got us into Creation Records stuff, particularly My Bloody Valentine, which influenced how we used the guitars, noise and distortion to create textures. And introduced us to a load of new guitar music, Five Thirty, Boo Radleys, Swervedriver etc etc.

Felix: As the band progressed we started going to Raves, what started out as a very jingle jangle band progressed into something quite rich with looped patterns later on.

++ There were plenty of guitar bands in the late 80s, early 90s, the now so called C86 sound. So I wonder if you felt part of a scene then?

Arlo: Nah, not really. We were into the Manchester bands, but didn’t come from Manchester, so were exempt from that. We were into the shoegazey bands I’ve mentioned above, but not really part of any ‘scene’ with them either. There was a good scene in Newcastle at the time. We did a load of gigs with The Lavender Faction, The Sunflowers, Crane, Goose, Deep, The Acrylic Tones, Razorblade Smile, Unexplained Laughter. And a lot of those bands made up the crowd who used to get along to the Palace club over the next few years.

++ Did you play many gigs? Any favourites? Any not so favourite?

Arlo: We did loads of gigs. Mostly in the North East of England, but we did a few round the country. We got some offers to go to mainland Europe but just never got it sorted. We were pretty hapless on the organisation side! Scotland gigs were always good fun. Better licensing laws meant the bands didn’t start til later in the night, by which time the drink was usually flowing and the crowds were always up for a laugh. Probably my best memory of a gig was the second one we played, at the school we all went. We persuaded them to let us have the main hall for the night, filled it with a couple of hundred school mates and just had a proper celebratory party. It was where we and our friends all There was a good one where we were supporting another local band, Razorblade Smile. I think there’d been some wrangling about who was going to headline. We went on before them and played covers of their entire set. We hadn’t told them beforehand, so they were a bit put out that they had nothing left rehearsed to play that we hadn’t just done. We did loads of shite little gigs at the start, especially when we were in that Deckham Collective. Each band had half a dozen people there to see them, and none of the bands liked each other’s music. They were pretty soul-destroying, but they were a means to an end, securing us the use of cheap practice rooms.

Felix: One thing I remember about the shite little gigs was how loud we were compared to the other bands. We were this little four piece band made up of scraggly teenagers pushing AMPS on stage that were bigger than us. A favourite early gig of mine was a Lust records Christmas party where we had ten people on stage with us doing Kylie Minogue’s ‘better the devil you Know’. I think Steve finished that set by throwing his high hats through the window….upstairs at the Broken Doll.

++ You released just the one 7″ on Lust Recordings. How did this relationship came to be?

Arlo: We sent Stephen Joyce a tape of some demos after we’d been to one of the Whoosh nights he put on. We were just looking for gigs really. He put us on at the Whoosh a few times and we went down well. He’d already released a few singles on the Whoosh label, but was starting up again under the name Lust Recordings. I think the first Lust Record was a Lavender Faction 12”, and we were the second. We were planning more, but Stephen was busy working as Kevin Shields’ (MBV) guitar technician. When Loveless came out, and during the tour that followed it, he was away. We were refusing to even answer the calls we were getting from other record labels, cos we were happy on Lust Recordings. By the time we realised that Stephen wasn’t going to be around to manage us or sort out getting the next single recorded, we’d lost all momentum.

++ So the A side has the name of the song wrong. What was the song’s original name? What happened?

Arlo: That was Stephen Joyce’s bad hearing. Too many MBV gigs! It was called Change You Even (from the chorus lyrics: I’d never change you even though I’ll never want you as you are). He just misheard me, and we’d purposely put the vocal low in the mix. We only realised the day the records came back from the pressing plant, by which point it was too late to put right.

++ And in a sentence or two, could you tell me the story behind each song on the single?

Arlo: Change You Even was us messing about with a guitar tuning I came up with. DADAAD for anyone who’s interested. Loads of drone! We got three new songs in a week just out of that tuning. It turned out to be about 8 minutes long, which we didn’t notice til we started recording it. The lyrics are just teenage, heart-on-sleeve, here’s what I’m thinking about today sort of stuff. Bridge is a song to a mate of ours, Rob Quick, who committed suicide that year. His was one of the garages we used to go round to and make a noise. I came up with the song while I was at the Tin Bridge over the River Tyne at Wylam. It was a disused, derelict railway bridge we used to hang around at, and where I’d had a pretty in-depth discussion with Rob not long before he died. Away came out of us getting our hands on a 4-track cassette portastudio for the first time. It was originally layers of swirling guitar noise over a lullaby-strum. Then flipping the cassette over to record layers of backwards guitar. The version on the single was an attempt to make a ‘releasable song’ out of that idea. I prefer the rough-as-fuck original sketch to the version we put out on the single.

++ What do you remember of the recording sessions at Hi Level in Newcastle? Any fun anecdotes to share?

Arlo: It was produced by John ‘Yozzer’ Hughes, veteran record shop owner in Newcastle, and all-round knob. He’s the bloke who had us hiding in muddy holes for the cover photo. He had worked with The Dickies, and reckoned he used to hang out with Robert Calvert from Hawkwind. He claimed to have Calvert’s one-stringed Ukrainian fiddle (not a euphemism!) mounted on his wall at home.

Felix: Ironically I spent a large chunk of my childhood travelling round various pagan sites with my crazy hippie aunt in a battered Bedford van listening to Hawkwind and Zappa so I thought the eukranian fiddle and his tales of Brock and Calvert were quite impressive

Arlo: He was trying to force-feed us some terrible 70s prog, groups like Tractor and stuff no-one has ever heard of. Trying to influence the sound in a new direction which none of us bought into in any way. He dismantled the studio’s monitoring system and wired in some knackered car-speakers. Mixed the single through them, claiming that if it sounds good through them, it’ll sound good through anything. It just ended up sounding shit through anything! We did some good stuff there though. It was on the top floor of an old 5 storey building. We used the bare brick stairwell as an echo chamber, with about 100 ft of guitar lead draped down the stairs, an amp at the bottom, and mics set up on each landing. It gave a massive sound to some of the layered guitars at the end of Change You Even. It was an all-night session, cos we got the place cheap through the night, and I can remember going out onto the roof-top overlooking Newcastle city centre as the sun was coming up and the final tweaks were being made to Yozzer’s mix through his crappy speakers.

++ And how come the B side wasn’t recorded there but instead in a home portostudio?

Arlo: That was just a lie! It was recorded at a ‘community studio’ in a place called Consett in the middle of nowhere. The place was set up to record primary-school music workshops, local radio advert voice-overs and that sort of carry-on. The engineer nearly shat himself when we switched our amps on. He had no idea what we were after, and the results weren’t much better than what we’d managed ourselves on the portastudio. So we just said that’s how they were recorded so it didn’t seem like we’d wasted good money on shit mixes.

++ Did you participate perhaps in some compilations?

Arlo: We were members of the Deckham Music Collective in Gateshead for a few months. You’ve never met a more unlikely ‘collective’ in your life. None of the bands had anything in common. The attraction to us was that they had practice rooms and a studio. We recorded some stuff in their studio, literally ran away with the tapes and have still never paid them to this day. The guy chased after us for a couple of years but I think we’ve got away with it now. I think they might have put one of the tunes we recorded that day on a compilation album of seminal Deckham artists such as the mighty ‘Nell Mangle vs The Robinsons’, one of the most hard-hitting satirical double acts to come out of Britain in the 1980s. Check them out if you get a chance.

++ Are there any more Feral recordings? Perhaps on tapes and such?

Arlo: Yeah, I’ll send you them. There was a four song follow up single / EP recorded and ready to go. Unfortunately we only kept masters on cassette (not sure where the DATs went) so the sound quality is a bit ropey. I’ve got some of the multitrack reel-to-reels, but I’m having trouble finding anywhere which has still got their analogue tape machines to go and run off some decent mixes.

++ Then what happened? When did you call it a day? And why?

Arlo: I’ve not called it a day! I still play music and mess around with sound. Feral just dissolved / evolved. Me, Felix and Steve have stayed close friends and collaborators to this day.

++ Were you involved with other bands after Feral? Tell me a bit about each if you can!

Arlo: Not long after the Feral single we became a 3 piece briefly. We then recruited Ian Nagel from The Acrylic Tones on guitar. He was a real 60s aficionado and Feral took on a more psych / jangly sound for a year or so. We then disbanded for a few weeks, Ian continued with the Acrylic Tones, and we recruited Paul Schofield from The Sunflowers on vocals and renamed the band Camp Freddie. Camp Freddie was a good little band. We holed-up in a barn in Felix’s auntie’s house near Morpeth in Northumberland. Hired a sixteen track tape machine and borrowed a mixing desk and some mics and set about writing a new batch of songs. I’ll send you what I can of those home-made recordings. We only did a handful of gigs, but they were good ones. We took a coach load of us down to Sunderland to play at their Saturday night indie club (The Independent, I think), and had a great night. Good gig, loads of friends on an away-day, everyone mashed and a good night’s dancing afterwards! I can’t really remember why we stopped doing Camp Freddie. After a year or two of just running the club-night, and learning how to use a sampler and Cubase on an Atari ST, I got together with a Sunderland lad who’d been on the scene for years, Kristian Atkinson. Me and him cooked up the idea for the next band, The Kustom Built. We were going to work without a drummer, using samples and drum machines, with live guitars and keyboards. The Kustom Built ethos was to take bits and pieces of music from anywhere and bolt them all together into a suped-up mash of punk, funk and psychedelia. F-Punk! Felix was lured back to Newcastle from his job with Mattel to play bass. Stu Craig was poached from Stax Connection on guitar and we had Cam (an old Sunderland mate of Kristian’s) on vocals. Kustom Built put out three EPs on Atomic Records, toured with Clint Boon, played Reading and Leeds festivals and did the first Radio One live session of the millennium. We never really split up, just sort of fizzled out and went our separate ways around 2002.

++ What about today? Do you still play?

Arlo: The Kustom Built been invited to play a festival in Minehead later this year with The Happy Mondays and The Inspiral Carpets and a load others. It’s been a while since we all played together. Felix is coming back from L.A. and Stu from London to do it. Me and Kristian are working on a few new tunes to put out some time soon.

++ And do you have any other hobbies aside from music?

Arlo: I do Judo, playing and coaching. Felix is as into cars as he’s ever been, and is currently working on some cool stuff with stunt drivers The Bandito Brothers. Steve runs a sound system and does a bit of DJing.

++ One last question, looking back to those days, what would you say was Feral’s biggest highlight as a band?

Arlo: Spending the night at Colm (My Bloody Valentine’s drummer)’s house on a London trip. It was the day they’d finished the mixing of Loveless. We spent the night absolutely off our faces listening to the album the whole indie world was dying to hear. We were in an absolute mess the next morning, trying to do an interview with the NME. We got a panning off the journalist for not having much to say, but we were all on a come-down and had just had our efforts put firmly into perspective after hearing one of the greatest records ever made.

++ Thanks again so much! Anything else you’d like to add?

Arlo: Thank you! Sorry it’s taken a few weeks to get back to you. Thanks for showing an interest in our obscure little outfit from the coal-field backwaters of England!

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Listen
Feral – Bridge

Thanks so much to Matthew Berry for the interview! I wrote a small piece about the obscure Hang David some time ago. Matt was kind enough to get in touch and also was up to tell the story about his band from the 80s. These days Matthew still makes music under the name of Melatone. You can listen to one of his new tracks, “If I Fall” here. But today we talk about his old band Hang David who made some lovely jangly songs that Melody Maker once said: “PRETTY, pretty, gently cruising and crooning towards a soft apex on each of four songs, Hang David have an attractive lustre to their guitar dominance as they sparkle, mingle and tingle like early Hurrah! with their mouth full of crisps”.

++ Hi Matt! Thanks a lot for being up for this interview! How are you? Where are you based these days? And where was Hang David based back in the day?

My pleasure! It’s great to know that someone is still interested in the band. I’m good thanks. I live in North London. Hang David were based in London as well – most of us were around West London

++ Was Hang David your first band?

It was my first serious band – I was in a band at school with Bob (the Keyboard player from Hang David). We were called Lost Cause ….which was asking for trouble!

++ I noticed that you are now in a band called Melatone and before that in a band called Duma. Care telling me a bit about these two bands and how different or similar they are to Hang David?

Duma was my first band after Hang David & the first band where I was the singer. We were quite different to Hang David – a 3 piece for one thing, and a bit darker & heavier. Melatone is maybe a blend of the two – some guitar pop and some stuff that is closer to post rock, with vocals (if that makes sense!). We do full band gigs, but I also do a lot of live looping gigs, which are a lot of fun.

++ When did Hang David start as a band? Who were the members and how was the recruiting process?

Hang David started in 87 or 88…not exactly sure. Myself, Bob Cook & Ben Durling (another school friend) got together and then found a drummer (Dave Frisby) and singer in the pub I think. I don’t remember any auditioning at all, I think we just started rehearsing. The original singer was actually a guy called Dom Joly who is now quite a famous comedian in England. That didn’t work out, so we advertised and got Nick Leese. We had a few different bass players.

++ Where does the name Hang David come from?

Hmmm, I should make up something interesting here – I think it was something to do with the drummer Dave messing something up at a rehearsal.…my recollection is a little vague!

++ Your first release, the “Another Day” 12″ came out in 1989. What were you listening at that time? Were you into other jangly guitar bands then?

It was actually a 12” 4 track ep. I had always been a big fan of The Cure, Joy Division etc, but also always loved The Beatles (especially the Revolver album). We were all big fans of Aussie band The Church (who were almost completely unknown in UK). They seemed to combine The Cure kind of thing with a more sixties Beatles sound. You can hear that on the single –there’s lots of nice 12 string and Rickenbacker on there. I think we were also listening to The Stones Roses, maybe REM.

++ It was released on the Vacant label. Who were they?

That was our own label – Ben and me set it up.

++ What do you remember from the recording session for the 7″? Where was it recorded? Were the songs included the easy choices for the record?

We recorded the A side at a studio in Hackney, London. The other 3 tracks we recorded in various places. Another Day was always going to be the A side, I can’t remember whether there were other tracks in contention, but I remember really liking another track called “Halfways”. I can’t remember why we didn’t record that, but maybe we were thinking of that as a second single. I have a nice demo of that somewhere. There was also a track of Ben’s called “Unwind”, but that came later.

++ If it’s not much to ask, what’s the story behind the songs on this 7”

I’ll do my best…

In terms of lyrics I wrote “Another Day” & “Here” & Nick wrote lyrics for “Ride” & “Where You Are”. I wrote the music for the 4 songs, although there was generally quite a lot of band input. “Another Day” & “Here” were both songs about a breakup (aren’t they all?!). Ben had a little 8 track set up and I remember demoing “Another Day” there with Dave McDonald (who produced the 12” and had been bass player in the band briefly). I might even have sung the demo – Dave helped quite a bit with the arrangement and I think he wrote the great lead guitar line (it definitely wasn’t me). I can’t remember much about the writing of the other songs, although I remember the “Here” demo being more electric and layered and us making it gentler and simpler. I really liked “Where You Are”, which was me & Nick (and nice guitar riff from Ben). “Ride” was a bit of a Beatles pastiche.

++ And what about the sleeve? It seems like a child’s drawing. Is it?

I did the sleeve – obviously to look like a child’s drawing (although my hand writing is nearly that bad). We tried some other moodier/artier designs but wanted something simple and slightly naïve and also something that looked good in black and white, as that was all we had the money for!

++ You were telling me there are a lot of demos from this period. How many unreleased songs you think Hang David left behind?

There was probably 5 or 6 other good songs from this period & maybe 9 or 10 from later on (and a load of really iffy songs!). They are in my shed somewhere on cassette.

++ After this 7″ you released the Head 12″. On this record the band changed a bit their sound. Why was that?

Nick & Ben left the band. I think they just wanted to do their own thing – it was all very amicable and we stayed friends and I think we played some gigs with them. Anyway, we got a new singer (Jon Braman) who also played bass and a new guitarist (Dave Turner). As a result we changed quite a bit naturally with the new line up.

++ I read that during this time you also played in the US? Is that so?

Yes, we played at CBGBs and somewhere at New York University I think (Syracuse?) in 88, before “Another Day” came out. I played again solo a few years later at CBs Gallery & The Bitter End in NY. I loved it – especially CBGBS of course. We scrawled Hang David on the stage wall, as was the tradition!

++ And in general, when it comes to gigs, what were the best gigs you played? Any anecdotes you could share? Any favourite bands to play with?

CBGBs with Hang David was a highlight and Clem Burke was playing on the same night (not with Blondie), which was great. Later Duma played a festival in Germany which was fun. I can’t remember any particular bands that stood out.

The anecdotes were mostly things that seemed like disasters at the time, but are funny now – driving all the way to Germany for a gig that hadn’t been booked (the very nice local band who were actually booked let us play anyway), powercuts, drummers breaking bones just before a big gig.

I actually had a solo melatone gig where as I stepped on stage to start, the fire alarm went off and didn’t stop all night. The venue cancelled the gig and refunded me all the cash that people had paid for their tickets (not just the usual band cut), which meant that the most I ever got paid for a gig, was for one I never did. I just took the audience to a nearby pub and used it to buy beer for everyone anyway!

We even did a Hang David reunion gig a couple of years ago (our first gig for 18 years) and Dave the drummer broke his finger 2 days before the gig, and we had to postpone.

++ For the song “Head” you filmed a promo video. How was that experience? What was the idea behind it and were you happy with the end result?

I don’t remember much about the planning – I think I pretty much turned up and did what I was told. Jon the singer also worked as a video editor and was pretty much in charge of it. He got some mates together and we filmed it in the front room of a flat in Highgate, North London (very glamorous!) When they got the film back it was really dark and we were worried it was unusable, but I think it looks great in a moody kind of way. We actually shot a video for Another Day as well, but it never got finished.  I guess there’s footage somewhere.

++ With the strength of these two releases, was there any interest from other labels to release you?

We never quite got enough momentum going – we did Another Day then changed singer, we did Head, then split up. We had interest from a couple of places, but nothing concrete – I remember getting lots of crazy, incomprehensible faxes from a company in Japan wanting to release us, but we couldn’t understand what they were saying.

++ What about press, did you get any attention by the likes of the NME or Melody Maker perhaps? And what about radio?

Yes, we got a great review from Melody Maker for “Another Day” & the “Head” video was on MTV a few times which was great. Both singles got some radio play around the country.

++ Then what happened with Hang David? When and why did you call it a day?

We called it a day after Head, I think it was in 92 or 93. I think we kind of put all our effort into that and then didn’t have the energy to follow it up properly. Everyone was at different stages – I just wanted to do music, but Jon’s video editing was going really well, Bob was at University I think, so we just couldn’t all commit.

++ What did the members of Hang David do afterwards?

I learned how to sing and formed Duma, and then melatone and I work at a music company in London. Jon carried on video editing, but also plays bass in melatone sometimes. Dave the drummer is also a video editor, Bob works in market research doing something clever, Dave Turner works in music and film industry. Ben works in A&R. Not sure what happened to Nick the Another Day singer, although I bumped into him at a gig a few years ago. And the “Head“ line up did a reunion gig a couple of years ago, which was a lot of fun. We played Another Day of course.

++ What about today, do you still make music? What other hobbies do you enjoy doing?

Yes, I still play gigs and have a studio set up. Melatone had an album (100 Different Ways To Change Your Life) out a couple of years ago & a new album (It’s The Hope That Kills You) is coming out this year. I have a couple of videos on you tube & vimeo & the album is on iTunes etc. I still love music, so I guess I will always find some way to do it.

++ Looking back in time, what would you say was the highlight of the band?

It was the obvious, simple things – actually seeing our first record and playing it, hearing it on the radio for the first time, seeing the Head video on MTV etc.

++ Thanks again Matt! It’s been great to know a bit more about your band. Anything else you’d like to add?

Thanks for the interest. To be honest I had no idea that anyone apart from a few friends would even remember the band. It makes it that bit more worthwhile and it’s nice to know that the music is still being enjoyed.

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Listen
Hang David – Another Day

Thanks to Simon Rapsey for the interview! After writing the post about his band and asking for some more info about them some weeks ago Simon was kind enough to get in touch through Facebook and was up to answering all my questions about his band. The Kites released a flexi and a 7″ and sadly are quite obscure. But if you are wise enough you’ll have a read and listen to their songs! They are so good!

++ Hi Simon! Thanks so much for being up for this interview! It’ll be great to know a bit more about The Kites. So perhaps let’s start by the band members? Who were they? And how did you all meet?

The Band first started in Plymouth by Ashley Chaplin (Guitar and Vocals)who started looking for likeminded souls to form a band. Dave Sarney (Bass) answered an ad posted on the Student Union Notice Board. A few guitarists were tried out at rehearsal sessions but eventually Dev Cross joined on lead guitar.  The band originally called themselves Stone Soup and had a couple of drummers before me. I joined later when the band were looking for a drummer for a recording session they booked – I originally went along to just provide drums for that session – but ended up staying.

++ Where you all studying the same degree at the university of Plymouth?

No – Ashley did Environmental Science, Dave and Dev both did Biology.

++ You mentioned to me that you had been previously in other bands like The Reddlemen and This Splendid! How did these bands sound like? Any similarities with The Kites? Did you release anything with them?

The Reddlemen formed much earlier whilst Dave and I were still at school.  They were less jangly than The Kites, slightly rawer. Nothing was ever released although we played a few gigs which were generally well attended.  A bootleg of  the Reddlemen live at Forest Hall was in circulation at one time. This Splendid! were more on the scene in the Reading area in terms of gigging and were more groove based – influenced by the sounds that were beginning to emerge from Manchester at that time. We released a couple of Eps – Caper and Slide Through

++ Were the other members involved in other bands as well?

Dave played bass in the Reddlemen

++ Why the name The Kites?

We realised a name change was needed as Stone Soup was a fairly terrible name and people wrongly assumed that the name was a contrived fusion of the Stone Roses and The Soup Dragons.  The name Kites came from one of our songs –  “Kites”

++ Did you gig a lot? What were your best gigs and why?

The band gigged a lot in the Plymouth area.. Gigs outside of the campus area could be quite hairy and often laced with the threat of impending violence both to us and those who’d come to see us.  Gigs in the further outer suburbs of Plymouth often ended with a hurried dismantling of equipment and a dash to the transit. Sets would begin with a cover of the Buzzcocks ESP and end with a crowd favourite – “Your Face”. The lyric “I worshipped you” was initially confused as being “I wore shit shoes”  and was forever more sung along as such by the crowd.  Our best gigs were generally the ones supporting bigger named bands who ventured into Plymouth. There would generally be a good turn-out and we had to up our game a bit. Another gig that stands out a for me was we did a festival at Reading University. No-one really knew who we were so we started off playing to an empty tent but by the end we’d filled it.

++ Were there any bands that you really like playing with? Did you feel at the time, in the late 80s-early 90s, that there were like-minded bands? Or maybe you felt part of a scene?

Sadly no not really, we really ploughed our own furrow musically in Plymouth and later when we’d all finished university, because we were not all living in the same town, there was no scene as such to latch on to. Britpop was on the rise and we didn’t see ourselves as really fitting in with some of those types of bands.

++ So you released two records on your on label Happy Accident, is that right? How was the setup for the label? How did you raise the money?.

Yes that’s right. The money was raised through gigging, selling demos and putting in our hard earned cash. Suffice to say we never made a profit !

++ The first was a flexi, is that correct? It says on the back cover “This is a version of the original flex-disc released in the August 93 issue of Waste Management Today”. What was that all about?

That was a joke really – it’s correct that it was released as a flexi which you can tell by the wobbly uploading on youtube.  The cover of the flexi said “This is a copy of the original flexi released in the August Issue of Waste Management Today”.  This was a (prob not that funny) in joke referring to the fact that Ashley was at the time working in Waste Management for the local council  – a job he took very seriously – composting was (and still is) the way forward.

++ In the flexi there are two songs, “Larry’s Back” and “Rachel Head”. Are these real people? What’s the story behind these songs?

Rachel was, I think, based on a girl Ashley admired from a far. As I remember she was going out with his flat mate at the time – and so was unobtainable (a common theme for Ashley back then). Larry never existed. The idea was simply that the saying goes – “Happy as Larry”

++ Afterwards you released the single with “Faster”. What other songs were in it? Did the record receive any press?

The B side was a song called Country Boy – which wasn’t a serious song really – It was just something we used to mess about with and one time we actually played it live and it got a really good response. So it snuck into the setlist and became a live favourite.  We didn’t really receive any press, but to be honest we didn’t really go about promoting ourselves – apart from the occasional write up of a gig in the local press . A copy of the single must have surfaced in Bristol because we were contacted by Rodney Allen of the Blue Aeroplanes who said he liked Country Boy . I remember Ashley being particularly chuffed about this as he had long been a fan of the Blue Aeroplanes.

++ What do you remember from the recording session of the single?

I remember it to be a pretty fun and relaxed  – the studio was particularly unglamourous being in an industrial unit in Portsmouth. When we recorded time was always tight due to lack of finances but both songs were recorded in a couple of takes.  Faster being our most popular and well played song at that time so it was really easy to record.

++ As you know I know the three songs thanks to Youtube, no clue who that user that uploaded the tracks might be? I thought it was a mate of yours!

I think I know who it is – but no-one will step forward and admit it so technically it remains a mystery.
++ Are there more unreleased songs by The Kites? How come there were no more releases?

There is an earlier EP – Dreaming about Diving which was released on cassette and sold out quite quickly. When all the Larry’s Back flexi discs had sold we put them on to a cassette with two to other songs, Waiting For Me and Why Today – which worked out cheaper than getting more flexis made up.  Also there are a few later recordings non of which were released – basically because we didn’t have the finances to do so. One song in particular Polly Propylene we were initially keen to release but by this time we all had grown up jobs and families and didn’t have the time to invest in trying to get it heard.

++ Was there any interest from other labels to release your songs?

No not really – but then we didn’t send demos or releases to any labels, we really were poor at promoting ourselves. Then by the mid 90’s Britpop and ladrock was on the rise and we were viewed as being basically too much of a throwback to the mid to late 80s.

++ And then when and why did you stopped making music as The Kites?

Essentially we just moved on in our lives – got married, had children etc. By this time we were all living in separate parts of the country, Ashley was living in Portsmouth. Dave had moved to Northampton and Dev had gone back to Wales so it wasn’t that easy to organise times to get together.  We didn’t really completely stop and very occasionally still meet up  – book a rehearsal space – just for the fun of doing so.

++ But you still make music with Ashley, right? Are these songs online?

Yes we still see each other more regularly and share tunes – both our own and other bands we like. It was Ash’s songwriting which drew me to the band in the first place. I think he’s has never really lost it as a songwriter and has a real knack with melody. He’s always been quite self des precating about the stuff he writes. Non are online – maybe we should get round to uploading a few songs.++ Looking back, what would you say wathe best moment of The Kites?

Funnily enough my fondest memories of the Kites were just getting together for weekends in a drafty old village hall in Wiltshire, writing songs and having a good laugh. In terms of best moments it’s difficult to pick one standout because they were all good times. I’m quite proud of  Faster and Polly Propylene.  Also the Reading University gig – that one was a bit of a triumph.

++ And aside from music, what other hobbies do you enjoy doing?

Aside from studying the finer details of Solid and Putrescible Waste Management, Ashley is into photography. Me I’m still a music nut , still collecting records and constantly searching for that next great song.

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Listen
The Kites – Larry’s Back

This week indiepop is happy. Indiepop has something exciting to look forward to. I’m saying that because the lineup for NYC Popfest 2015 has been unveiled.

About Popfest I’ve written so many times. We all know how great it is and how we hope to last forever. The bands, the friends, the atmosphere, the passion, everything comes together for a weekend. This year the weekend on Thursday  May the 28th possibly at 8pm and will run until midnight of the 31st. 4 days packed with great music.

The venues are the same as last year sans Spike Hill. Instead of the Bedford Avenue venue we will be heading to Baby’s Alright for the afternoon free show of Saturday. Then the usual Cake Shop on Thursday, Cameo on Friday, Knitting Factory (including the dance party) on Saturday, and Littlefield on Sunday.

Ticket are available already as 4-day passes. They are $70.

The lineup for this year includes:
Beverly (NYC)
Brideshead (GERMANY)
The Catenary Wires (UK)
The Chandler Estate (NYC)
Club 8 (SWEDEN)
The Darling Buds (UK)
Expert Alterations (MD)
Eternal Summers (VA)
Jessica & The Fletchers (SPAIN)
The Just Joans acoustic (UK)
The Loft (UK)
Lunchbox (CA)
Pale Lights (NYC)
Palms on Fire (RUSSIA)
Papa Topo (SPAIN)
#Poundsign# (CA)
Roman a Clef (NYC)
Seabirds (UK)
Souvenir Stand (NYC)
THE SPOOK SCHOOL (UK)
STARRY EYED CADET (CA)
Univers (SPAIN)
Veronica Lake (MI)
Wallflower (JAPAN)
Wildhoney (MD)
Working (Rhode Island)
Young Romance (UK)

DJs haven’t been announced yet, but a safe bet is that Maz and Mondo will be DJing after the gigs at Cameo. Who’ll DJ on Saturday seems to be a mystery but I feel that, by looking at the attendees on Facebook to the event, it’s pretty obvious who’ll be DJing that day!

Next week I’ll go through the bands that will be playing and recommend the ones that I like the most. There are some I don’t know much about, especially the local ones (!), that I need to do a little research first. But all in all, especially if you see the state of indiepop at the moment, this is a pretty strong lineup that brings so many exciting bands to town that I never thought I would ever see live!

In the meantime I would love to know who else is coming to NYC for this? Which are your favourite bands playing this year? Which bands are missing? Or any other ideas/suggestions about Popfest? How can it be better? Etc, etc. Let’s discuss that next week when I tell you what you can’t miss!

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cumbersome: large or heavy and therefore difficult to carry or use; unwieldy.

Back in the day I interviewed Philip Suggars from the band Candie Maids (sadly the photos are gone, this post was done before the blog was hacked for the first time). Maybe some of you remember that. I later interviewed him about his other band CC Baxter and actually included one of their brilliant songs on a CD accompanying the fanzine that I was releasing then. He also put me in touch with Hayley from the The Doris Days. Great guy indeed! Well, if you remember the Candie Maids only released a split-flexi. Their song was called Threadbare. Today I want to go over the other band on that flexi: Cumbersome.

When I asked Philip about Cumbersome he told me:
Cumbersome were friends of ours and we sort of morphed into a collective for a bit where we shared members and even played joint gigs, I think. In Cumbersome Waz and I played as bassist and guitarist though we didn’t write their material. More than anything though Paul Griffin, the lovely man who fronted the money for the pressing, liked both bands and wanted us to be on the same flexi. The Cumbersome track on the EP did get played on John Peel.

Indeed, Cumbersome also hailed from Brighton. The flexi was aptly named “Sexy Flexi” and it didn’t include a catalog number. The song that was included in the Sexy flexi was “Billie”. This song was recorded on September 15th of 1987 at “Backlash” recording studios in their city. This flexi was available free with the “Especially Yellow” fanzine that was released in December of that same year.

We know from the sleeve that Cumbersome were:
Veronica on vocals/lyrics
Greavsie on drum programmes
Bobby on guitars, bass guitar and keyboards

Bobby was also involved in the artwork of the flexi alongside some Candie Maids.

Sadly aside from this information there seems to be nothing written about them online. Sure it’s hard when a band only leaves 1 song recorded. But it’s such a nice song that you wonder about their other recordings, because there has to be more of them, right? I’m sure there are. If anyone remembers them, knows what are they doing now, or anything at all, please use the comments section! I would love to know what happened to them!

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Listen
Cumbersome – Billie

Last week of February. This year is going fast!

I’ve been trying to work on the new podcast this week but I haven’t had the time. Seems it will be out sometime in mid-March now. So far we’ve got 955 plays in total. I’m pretty sure we’ll reach the 1000 mark when we publish the next episode, so I’m very excited about this. I honestly didn’t expect it. I thought at best by now we’d be having 100 plays! Now if only there were 1000 sales of records in 3 months, then we could be a very prolific label releasing all the bands you dream of haha.

I’ve been promised to get the last song that I’m missing for the CD that comes with the new fanzine this week. If this happens, as I really hope it does, the long delayed fanzine will start shipping next week. I hope the wait is worth for all of you that have started pre-ordering since two weeks ago. I think it will be. Even though it’s taken forever to print this zine, I’m very proud of it, the interviews came out pretty good.

Aside from that I’ve started working on more releases that I’ll be telling you about in the months to come. You’ll get to know about them first on the blog and the podcast, so please keep an eye on us.

Next week NYC Popfest should be announcing their lineup. I’m really thrilled about it. I know already some bands that are playing and seems it’s going to be a good one once again.

But the big news this week was the announcement, the first announcement, of some of the bands playing at Indietracks this year. I was very critical last year and because of that I said I wasn’t going to be going this year. It’s pretty expensive to travel in the summer to the UK these days and well, if you do, you want an ace lineup. This year, it seems, the lineup is already looking better than the previous edition. Definitely Cinerama is a great headliner for me, as a big Wedding Present fan, I haven’t had the chance to see David’s other band play live. So that would have been really cool. Then Desperate Journalist are a favourite band of mine for a long time now. I requested them last year, though I was told they didn’t want to play. Now it’s good that they are playing, more indiepopkids should know about them.

Then of course I’d LOVE to see The Catenary Wires. I saw that they were just touring Japan alongside the Primitives. How lucky are the Japanese to get to see Amelia and Rob playing their new songs! I cross my fingers that they will also come to NYC.

Though they are repeating, The School and The Fireworks, are two indiepop powerhouses. They have been releasing top quality records for some years now. I will be sad not to see them, especially my dear friend Matthew who didn’t go last year to Indietracks but who I was lucky to see at The Chills gig (and also for some very strange veggie Indian buffet!). Both bands I’ve been lucky to see before so I don’t feel much pain of missing them.

Buried among all these fancy names in the announcement are Los Bonsáis from Spain. This band is top class. You better catch them if you go. I saw them once at Madrid Popfest and they were super good. On top of that, their releases are delicious, starting from the great artwork that Helena comes up with, to the beautiful melodies Nel and her craft with pop wizardry. I still recall their Spanish version of the Vaselines “Son of a Gun”, it was a true highlight of that Madrid Popfest!

Then The Tuts and Fire Island Pines are definitely worth checking out. I have followed both bands on and off and I would be very curious to check out their live set. Of course seeing Bunnygrunt on the bill makes me giggle, but then I remember that I love their early indiepop period, their rockier and garage-ier sound from these days is not really up my street. Still one can always hope that they play so many of their amazing songs like “Inanimate Objects” or  “I Am a Curious Partridge”.

More bands will be announced and, even though I’ll be absent as I said, I’ll try to point to you which ones you should check. And if there’s something or someone that I’ve missed let me know!

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Today I want to go through a band that has always been of interest to the indiepop collectors: The Man Upstairs.

I’ve been looking for their records for a long time with no luck. So I’ll start there, with their records.

1982. Their first release ever comes out on Clock House Records. The songs included in this 7″ were “Summa” and “Gospel According to Mark”. The producer for this record was Cliff Bradbury. The cover by Graham Sharpe. This record is both listed on Discogs and Rateyourmusic. Strangely enough these songs are not mentioned in The Man Upstairs website.

1985. A new 7″. Discogs has it listed as Jazz, Rock / Soul-Jazz. There’s a lot of jazz in this one definitely. I’m much more familiar with this record. The A side has “Sad in My Heart” and the B side has “Country Boy” Most indiepop collectors are crazy about the second song. Me too.
This record was released by Sideline Records. Catalog SIDE 1.
On the back sleeve of this record we learn about the lineup:
Nigel Sewell – lead vocals
Carolyn Bennett – vocals
Rupert Knowlden – percussion/vocals
Tim Simpson – bass/vocals
Alan Smyth – guitar/vocals

The photography and design for this record was courtesy of David Travis and Best Boy. I really like the design for this one, the blue/white/black combo works for me (very Cloudberry too!). The record was produced by the band.

1986. “Consumer EP” Their last release. This one also on Side Line Records, but now the catalog is WIDE 1. There’s a 12″ and a 7″ version. Discogs doesn’t have listed the 7″ one. On the 12″ we have the songs: “Consumer Song (American Club Mix)”, “Shouldn’t Try”, “Country Boy”, “Sad in My Heart (Russian Club Mix)”, “I Bet They’re Really Missing Me Downstairs”. The 7″ has “Consumer Song” and “Shouldn’t Try”. On this record only three members are listed as part of the band: Carolyn, Rupert and newcomer Chris (guitars, bass, vocals). Production was in charge of Bruce Hart, Alice Marsh and the band.
There are some other credits, David Travis and Best Boy again on photo and design. Boy in Bath is Gerry Colvin and Special thanks to Alice Marsh for also playing bass and vocals on “Shouldn’t Try”.

That Gerry Colvin that’s mentioned in the “Consumer EP”, is Gerry from Terry and Gerry fame. Terry and Gerry was a British pop band, formed in the early 1980s by Terry Lilley and Gerry Colvin in Birmingham, UK. Unusually for the time the band was based on a skiffle sound making use of a washboard for percussion instead of a drum kit. Terry Lilley played double bass. Gerry Colvin sang lead vocals and played acoustic guitar.

Last stop on this search for more information about this really obscure band. Their website. Yes, they have a website. That’s pretty strange isn’t it? Though to be honest the website seems to be unfinished. I don’t know when they started building it but it seems that halfway through they stopped adding information. There’s no contact page even though there’s a contact button. Also there are 4 “home” buttons. But going through we can find a full fledged Music section were you can listen so many songs like:
Early days 1982-83
– He’s Got the Lot
– Summer
– Sorry Mate I Only Work Here
– No Idols (rehearsal)
– Into the Red (rehearsal)
– Hanoi (rehearsal)
– Consumer Song (demo)
– They Wanna Be Like You (demo)
– Cars (demo)

Demos 1984-87
– Cry Cry Baby (demo)
– One Kiss at Sunset (demo)
– Jack (demo)
– Ba Ba Ba Ba (demo)
– One Lump or Two? (demo)
– Country Boy (demo)
– When Jealousy Starts Again (demo)
– Ballroom Dancing (demo)
– Harlem Nocturne (demo)
– Housewife’s Choice (demo)
– Sad in My Heart (demo)
– Consumer Song (demo)

Mini album 1985
– My Way
– Sad in My Heart
– Country Boy
– Barratt Homes
– Consumer Song
– Person in Front
– Cry Cry Baby
– I Bet They’re Missing Me Downstairs

Album 1988
– No Smokes
– Cry Cry Baby
– I Can’t Be Anything
– Desperate Dan
– Raging Fool
– Sad in My Heart
– Lipstick Shuffle
– Consumer Song
– Sixties Song
– Big Fish
– Country Boy
– Gerald Pulls it Off
– Shouldn’t Try

So, a bunch of new songs to listen. Also would this mean that they had the intention to release these? And in these formats? And notice that the songs from that 1982 7″ are not listed. Maybe they were from another band? Can anyone shed some light about it?

Let’s move now to the press section of the website. Here there are a bunch of cool clippings of the press. We know that the Birmingham band went through a major change in the line-up in mid 1983 which resulted in the band writing a completely new set of songs a selection of which could be heard on a tape they seem to have been sending to the different magazines and press outlets. They mention too that the band has played extensively all over the country both as headliners and opening for bands like The Smiths for example!

Then on another clipping  we notice that Nigel Sewell is the same Gerry Colvin from Gerry and Terry according to Music Week August 1985. Here it is mentioned that the mini-LP was to be released the same year as the “Sad in My Heart” 7″. On another clipping we learn that they supported The Chevalier Brothers in Bangor during Welcome Week. Also in this same section we find the designs for some of their demo tapes which are really cool, don’t miss them.

I like this description by Phil Preece from the NME:
There are five of them. They sing and play. They smile while they do it. You will too. This is the music of the post angst period. Their whole set is a mix of washing machines and rhumbas. Blender-menders and scat. They take us on a trip to the land where the vacuum cleaner is king. Oh yes, and they’re as trendy as hell. Book them.

That’s more or less all I could dig about them. Maybe you can fill in the blanks?

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Listen
Man Upstairs – Country Boy

Thanks so much to Seamus Allison for the interview! Me and Dean Martin was a fab jangly band from Nottingham from the late 80s who released two 7″s, both of them highly recommendable! So if by any chance you haven’t heard about them before now it’s time for you to discover them!

++ Hi Seamus! Thanks so much for this interview! How are you? Are you still based in Nottingham?

Still based in Nottingham and all is well.

++ Tell me a bit about the scene there in the 80s. When did you start going out to check bands? What were the venues you’d used to go to? And what were the first bands that made an impression on you?

There were some great bands in Nottingham in the late 80s and a number of venues that really supported the local indie scene. Venues included Jacey’s, The Old Angel, Russell’s, The Hippo, The Garage (sister club to the Hacienda in Manchester) both universities and a whole range of pubs. There was a great choice of indie bands to watch; Twelve Angry Men, Slaughter House 5, Hurt, Hepburn, The Legendary Dolphins, The Ash Felt Ribbons, Idi Eisenstein, Dr Egg, Huge Big Massive, Po!, The Waiting List plus there was a very active thrash metal scene thanks to Ear Ache Records and bands such as Lawnmower Deth.

++ Was Me and Dean Martin your first band?

It was our first gigging band. We’d had a number of line-ups in what were really bedroom bands and the core of these went on to form Me and Dean Martin.

++ How did the band start? How did you all know each other?

Marek and I shared a post-student house and realised we both had a love of the music of Bruce Springsteen and the Smiths. Marek had an acoustic guitar and a saxophone and I had an electric guitar so we started playing together and then writing some stuff. I came across Graham when I’d seen his drum kit in a rehearsal studio. We knew he was right for us as soon as we met him because he was wearing a cardigan (plus he is an excellent drummer). Nige answered an ad we’d placed in various venues; we knew he was right immediately because he had sideburns (plus he is a very melodic bass player). Prior to Nige a friend, Ken, played bass until such time as we could find a replacement but thankfully stayed longer than he’d planned and added a considerable amount to the band before moving to Australia.

++ Where does the name come from? I guess you were big Dean Martin fans?

We were regularly rehearing and writing and planned to record some demos. One night, following rehearsals, we were sitting in the pub and decided we needed a name. The Matt Helm movies had been playing on TV during the week and so we thought a name with Dean Martin in it would be spot on. We discussed this at some length over drinks and next day all we could remember of the debate was the phrase Me and Dean Martin so we took that as an omen. It helped that Marek and I were big fans of the Rat Pack.

++ Your first single came out in 1989, it was the Surfing Days EP. I guess it’s an obvious question, especially as there’s no ocean in Nottingham, was surfing something you were into at the time?

The song has nothing to do with surfing. We used the idea of surfing and summer nights and words like cool and out of sight as an association with Americana; the storyteller contrasts the ideal of the American dream, as presented in the popular media, with his real existence of life in a dull seaside town in Yorkshire. So the Scarborough love affair was not to be but the narrator could at least escape his reality by dreaming of Elvis. The song is an affectionate critique of the Americanisation of British youth culture.

++ On this 7″ I really love the B side, “Sweet Starts and Bitter Ends”. I think it should be an indiepop classic! If it’s not too much to ask, what’s the story behind this song?

This song fits in between “7 Compton Street” and “I Hope it Rains on Your Wedding Day”. It’s about a relationship that starts well but ends in bitterness. It’s got some lovely lines penned by Marek such as “flowers that I buy for you, they just had to die for you” and “it’s just myself on buses home.” Poetry.

++ This 7″ and the next one were released in the No Label. Who were they? And how did you end up releasing with them?

No Label was an indie label based in Nottingham. I’d helped one of the founders build a garage and we’d often spend more time in his little studio than on site. When he founded the label with one of his friends they seemed the natural people to approach to help us with our project.

++ This first 7″ also received a lot of plays on BBC Radio One and got the attention of the press. Was there any interest of other labels at the time? Perhaps big labels?

We were played by John Peel, John Walters and Simon Mayo (on the breakfast show – we tricked him into playing it, buts that’s another story!). John Peel segued Surfing Days with a Dean Martin song – pop perfection. EG Records picked up on the first single and came to see us play a few times in Nottingham and London. We met with them one night; they had their expense accounts and the wine flowed, for them, but we just drank tea and ate Bourbon biscuits, it wasn’t very rock and roll! As often happens, the person who was interested in us left the company to concentrate on managing bands and the interest waned. There was talk of a £10,000 advance to record enough tracks for an album but it never happened. The only other contact with big labels was when CBS banned us from using an image of Dean Martin – we used it anyway.

++ I read on the Leamington Spa liner notes that your second single was supposed to be “Hope and Optimism” but decided instead to release “Life and Death Issues in Three Minutes”. Why was that?

We recorded some rough demos to help us decide which songs to take into the studio for our next release. We couldn’t get Hope and Optimism right on that occasion so didn’t finish recording it. We sent the demo tracks minus Hope and Optimism to a few producers. Peter Hook offered to produce us and said he much preferred Life and Death Issues in Three Minutes so we figured that was a good one to go for. Here’s a 4 track demo of Hope and Optimism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g7aO6XbQOU

++ And speaking of “Hope and Optimism”, it also says that it was recorded for a network TV show. Is there footage of that TV appearance?

Thanks to Nige Nimoy the footage appears on YouTube. You can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwCBpkoCWqU

++ Back to “Life and Death Issues in Three Minutes”, why did you turn down Peter Hook for the production duties?

It would have been great to have worked with Peter but he wanted too much money and we were broke. We’d hoped the much talked about advance from EG Records would help but unfortunately that wasn’t to be so we produced it ourselves along with Joe King who had worked with Diesel Park West – I think he did a good job.

++ On the single, the last song is “7 Compton Street”. I checked on Google Maps, and I found that it’s in Sherwood. Why is this address important to you?

It’s in Carlisle in Cumbria and just seemed a great title for an indie song – it’s got a rhythm to it.

++ And another song on this 7″ is “This is Why I Hate the Sixties”. I don’t own the 7″ sadly, so I haven’t heard it, but is there any truth in the title of the song?

The sixties have seen some fantastic pop music and it is the decade in which we were born. The title refers to our critique of the naïve optimism of the hippy movement. They believed that with a few flowery shirts, drugs, free love and long hair they could affect radical long-term social change. It’s another affectionate critique. Again thanks to Nige, here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P12719qJKXc

++ On the Leamington Spa you contributed the song “Me and My Paisley Shirt”. This was supposed to be the third single. What happened? Why didn’t it come out?

We were really pleased with the recording which took place in the same session as Sixties, To Be Touched, If You Could See Me Now and Life and Death and was another Joe King engineered track. It was a live favourite. However, the response to Life and Death wasn’t what we’d hoped and we had the EG Records disappointment so it was decided to end the band. Here are the other tracks from the session which you may not be familiar with:
To Be Touched: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-uljykLi-A
If You Could See Me Now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouiNGlY12to

++ And speaking of paisley shirts. What was the style of Me and Dean Martin?

It’s true there were a few Paisley shirts but we weren’t really interested in style and fashion, apart from Marek’s hair and Nige’s sideburns.

++ I also read that you had produced around 100 songs. How many were recorded? Is there a lot of unreleased material?

We’d recorded perhaps up to 30, of various sound qualities. At almost every gig we’d introduce a new song or two. The real shame is some of the stuff we never got round to recording. Here are two examples from a rough live recording that turned up last year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VDDTLf_9k4
I can vaguely remember someone placing a portable cassette player at the side of the stage but for the recording to turn up 25 year later really is something. The first two tracks are I Hope it Rains on Your Wedding Day and Why Must I Always be the One to Say I’m Sorry When I’m Not Always the One Who’s in the Wrong? Catchy titles! Oh the tuning and timing, ouch!

++ You also gigged a lot during those four years of Me and Dean Martin. What were the best gigs? And the not so good ones?

We did gig a lot. Towards the end we did a fantastic gig at the University of Nottingham’s end of year ball. We collected hundreds of balloons from around the venue and put them all on stage so that we were playing in a sea of balloons up to our chests. My memory is of Marek slowing sinking into the balloons during Paisley Shirt and trying not to laugh. There was a not-so-good one in a venue in London. It turned out that we were supporting a glam metal band whose supporters were all ever-so-slightly right-wing. So there we were, a group of mop-topped fresh-faced indie popsters from the provinces. The crowd was quite hostile at first so we turned the amps up to eleven and gave it our all – we got a great reception in the end.

++ And then when and why did the band split?

The reception to the second single wasn’t what we’d hoped for and the EG link up didn’t happen so we got a bit down and decided we’d had a good innings.

++ What did you do after? I know you were involved in The Marteens as well (the two songs I know are just fabulous!), but perhaps that would make another interview for the blog!

We couldn’t stay away for long and reformed as the Marteens with two female singers Babs and Lola (not their real names) under the pretence that we were a brother and sister outfit. We wrote and recorded a dozen or so new songs and played a few Me and Dean Martin songs live. However, it fizzled out. I then got a call from the Deddingtons to help out live, we changed the name to Tuesdays Child, then Graham from Me and Dean Martin joined as drummer and the Days came about.

++ Are you all still in touch? What are you up to these days? Still making music?

We are still in touch. Graham is a cognitive behavioural therapist and an expert in brain injury rehabilitation, Marek is an internationally renowned university professor, Nige is busy uploading what exists of our back catalogue to YouTube and I work in academia. Marek is into obscure folk music at the minute and I strum my guitar in the dining room when no one is listening.

++ What about other hobbies that you like to do?

Other than Marek and his folk music I’m not sure what the others get up to. A few years ago I took up duathlon (triathlon without the swimming) and have now represented Ireland internationally in my age group a few times. Being with my family is what floats my boat.

++ I’ve been to Nottingham a couple of times, mostly touristy stuff. Me and a lot of friends pass by almost every year on our way to Alfreton for the Indietracks festival. I wonder if you could give some tips on what to see, where to eat, and where to drink in your town?

Nottingham is a great little city, far better than its press coverage would suggest. You’ve got to visit the Trip to Jerusalem pub, catch a band at Rock City (the best live venue in the country), have a curry in the Noor Jahan and visit the caves.

++ Thanks again, let’s start wrapping the interview. Looking back in time, what would you say was the best moment, the highlight, of Me and Dean Martin?

Our first single being played by John Peel – what a moment that was.

++ Anything else you’d like to add?

It’s really nice to think that some people out there still like the music and take time to share it and write about it. There was some lovely music made during that time and the indie scene was vibrant; it’s heartening and reassuring to think there are people prepared to make an effort to save that music for future generation. Thanks.

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Listen
Me and Dean Martin – 7 Compton Street

How is it going? I’m freezing today, it’s so damn cold in NYC. I’ve spent Sunday working on a 1000 piece jigsaw with no intention of going out at all. I hope you are enjoying it a bit better. I should have worked on the indiepop-list mixtape/CD swap, but I didn’t. It’s great that it is back. Funny thing was that the person who I’m trading with is a friend, someone I know, in the UK. So I feel I kind of know what kind of music he’s going to like. Still it’s always a challenge. Should be my homework for this week.

Aside from that all is up to date in Cloudberry HQ. The fanzines should be arriving from the printer this week. I’m very excited about this number. Have you pre-ordered yet? There’s a mix of old and new in the zine and the CD includes a bunch of exclusive songs that are really good. Also, you’ll get to know a bunch of release announcements if you read it.

I’ve been looking for new music too. And there’s some stuff to look forward. As I’ve been doing for the past few months, I’ll do a breakdown of what you should be paying attention and buying. And just in case, most of these bands I recommend are not my friends or people I know or by any way associated to the label. I didn’t even get a free copy. I just think as no one else is doing it anymore, someone has to keep an eye on indiepop news, right?

– The Would Be’s, a favourite Irish band of mine from the 80s, who made a comeback some years ago with a lovely album are releasing a new single this March on the FIFA label from Ireland as well. I don’t know much about this release, you can’t listen to it yet, but it should be great.  I only it will include the song “Bittersweet”. Also the Would Be’s will be releasing on 12″ for Record Store Day in April (oh, shame as I do hate this day, such a gimmick) their 1990 Peel Session. I definitely want to get it. But how? This day makes it impossible. Perhaps on eBay for three times the price? Who knows. But if you can get it, get it!

– Starry Eyed Cadet are a band from San Francisco, California, and they are really good. I discovered them some months ago as a friend asked me to give him ideas of American bands for a festival. Then they only had one song on their bandcamp. I remember showing them to Lisle from Fireflies and him liking them too a lot. Anyhow, now they have just released a digital EP with 5 songs. It’s brilliant. Hope this gets a physical release and that I get to see them live!

– As you know I’m no fan of tapes but the Leeds band Colour of Spring have just released a tape that includes “Honey” and “Skin” that you can stream from their bandcamp, the latter being my favourite. Much darker than their previous offering, the lovely and jangly “Next Year”, they are getting much more shoegazy, much more MBV. For 3 pounds you get the cassette and also a download that includes additional B-sides. Wonder why aren’t they on the tape? Decisions they call them. Worth checking out.

– Horsebeach released a top class album not so long ago. Now the Manchester band is back with a 7″ that includes “Disappear” and “Let You Down”. It’s clear that they are doing well as they have pressed 500 copies and only 31 (at the time of writing this post) are remaining. Wish Cloudberry could pull that! The record will be released in March and pre-orders are now available for 5 pounds plus crazy UK shipping (US shipping is crazy too, I’m not blaming anyone). I’m ordering my copy now. Great stuff!

– Mikael Carlsson is back with The Honeydrips. That is important news definitely for everyone that loves Swedish indiepop. On February 18 he is releasing with Luxury Records an album called “In the City”. I pre-ordered it some days ago from Bengans just to get an exclusive fanzine that comes with it. I have no clue what the fanzine is about, it didn’t say I don’t think, but it doesn’t matter. I trust the taste of Mikael. The voice of Dorotea can hardly do anything wrong, right? I found this link where you can preview the album. Seems it’s top-secret on the Luxury soundcloud but exclusive on this Wondering Sound site that probably is getting a good bunch of hits now (kidding). Thanks for the comeback Mikael!

Alright, now let’s let the musicians make more music and I’ll come back next month with some more recommendations 😉

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I google August Avenue. I find a card company in New Zealand, a kitchen and bath and towels company on Etsy, a Photography company in Chicago,  and of course none of them are what I’m looking for.

I stumbled by luck onto August Avenue. I reckon they must be pretty obscure. I can’t find absolutely nothing online aside from two “videos” on Youtube. There’s this user called “odash76” who “having been a long time supporter of the North East music scene, he decided to have a trawl through the vaults and see what gems he could unearth”.

I looked into all the stuff he has been digitising, and there’s a lot of different music styles. The common thread is the geographical location. The one band that caught my attention was August Avenue. But I’ll see if I cover some more from the bands he (or she) has made available.

I love hear these guitars I think as soon as I play for the first time August Avenue. There are 6 songs total on this demo tape called “Half Seven Already?”. They are classic jangly guitar pop from the late 80s. The uploader thinks this tape was released in 1987, possibly mostly sold at their gigs. I wonder who saw them live. Who did they support. Maybe some bigger indiepop names? I wouldn’t be surprised.

Of course the question is always why didn’t they release anything proper. It’s a shame with strong songs like these, on the A side “My Beautiful Wall”, “Thinking” and “Simon” and on the B side, “Get a Bag on Your Head (remix)”, “Failing Now” and “Shaun”.

I can’t recognize the guy on the cover photo. There’s a contact telephone number and a name. Michael. They thank Lee and Will. Who are they? August Avenue were Bill Angus on guitar/vocals, Michael Baines keyboard/guitar, Nigel Cope bass and Baz (Belsen) Davies drums. No more personal details about the band.

A Youtube user comments that he is pretty sure that they played at the Dovecot Arts Centre back in the day. He saw posters with their name but can’t recall if he saw them live. More mystery.

The user who uploaded the demo is truly a brilliant guy. He has also uploaded a full gig!! You can check it here. This is a live performance from 1987 recorded from the mixing desk at Rumpoles in Middlesbrough. There are a bunch of songs not included in the tape like “Fool’s Gold”, “Clear Blue Water”, “Kangaroo Law”, “Strength in Purpose”, “Don’t Be Sorry”, “Any Time Go”, “8.46” and “Who Am I?”.

Now I play again “Failing” with that nervous and fast guitar and heavy drumming. So good. And then I switch back to “Thinking”, my favourite and perhaps the most classic indiepop song of the demo! Though of course you don’t want to miss the opening song “My Beautiful Wall”!

Sadly that’s all there is about this very obscure band on Youtube (and the web). But maybe someone out there remembers them and can tell me more about them? Thanks, many thanks, in advance!

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Listen
August Avenue – Thinking

This time around the clip from the podcast was guessed almost immediately. It was an easy song indeed, The Fat Tulips’ “So Unbelievable”. So next time around I’ll make it a bit harder, though I don’t know if people will guess it as they couldn’t with My Favorite’s “Le Monster” from the January podcast.

Speaking of that song by The Fat Tulips I’ve always wondered how it ended up being played in the Nickelodeon show “The Adventures of Pete & Pete”. How did they end up in the ears of those responsible for choosing the songs? It’s true that they played other indiepop bands in the show like Racecar or some of the Stephen Merritt projects, but a UK band is a bit rare don’t you think? Though it’s true that Sheggi moved to America and all. Maybe someone knows? And perhaps if someone knows if there are any other series that have used indiepop songs in it? It’s an interesting topic I think.

You know, indiepop people are usually working in creative fields, so it would be normal for the music to appear more in commercials and TV. But it really doesn’t. Are we shy about what we listen? Or the world is not yet ready for our melodies? What do you think? Or perhaps I’m just idealizing popkids and it’s just a very few that actually work in creative fields?

I personally don’t know many people working in TV or the film industry. I do know many working in creative agencies though. I’m a bit clueless in this, maybe the people who chose the songs have very specific job position? Perhaps they studied something very specific as well? Something like “music chooser”? Or like “licensing expert”? How does that work? Who are these people that in the shadows are picking some songs, and why are they not picking more songs from the vast pool of indiepop?

And I ask it because this would also help the economy of indiepop, these licenses would definitely contribute bands and labels in a shrinking indie and diy industry. Perhaps it would have saved many labels that have been calling it a day during the past two years. Kids in the industry perhaps should try to get our songs out there? Would be a great way to keep our industry healthy.

This is just an idea of course, as I said I don’t know how the whole process works. It may be more difficult than just pitching the songs at a meeting. But I do think that considering that our licenses will definitely be cheaper than many of the famous artists and perhaps from other genres, it’s not a farfetched idea. Don’t you think?

I’m just throwing this idea, perhaps it’s something we should all look together, for different opportunities out there? What about someone representing a bunch of labels and artists from indiepop and pitching our songs and getting us new chances to get our songs out there? A model like that could work? Have this been explored before?

So many questions. What do you think about this? Could we make a splash in the media in a total different way?

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A kite is an aircraft consisting of one or more wings tethered to an anchor system.. Kites were invented in China, where materials ideal for kite building were readily available: silk fabric for sail material; fine, high-tensile-strength silk for flying line; and resilient bamboo for a strong, lightweight framework.

Today I got a message from Howard who runs the Facebook and Twitter page Indiepop Saved My Life. He asked me if I have ever heard or blogged about a band called The Kites. He attached a Youtube link for a song called “Larry’s Back“. I  have never heard this. Who are The Kites?

I have no clue at all. They are very jangly. Very classy. Elegant. Chiming. A lot early 90s indiepop. The first clue I find is on the description on “Larry’s Back”. This was the first song on the flexi included with the August ’94 issue of Waste Management Today. Waste Management Today?

Was it a fanzine? I googled it. No luck. A magazine? I would say the first option sounds more reasonable. Strange name though for a fanzine, but I guess I’ve seen stranger.

The band was around the early 90s. Sound-wise it makes a lot of sense. I look for information on this flexi and I can’t find any. I do know though that there was another song included and it’s “Rachel Head“. I can’t find any Rachel Head that they could have dedicated the song to. It’s a common name. But no famous person that I can think has that name. Perhaps it was a tribute to a friend of theirs? This song is also a cracker, brilliantly delivered.

The same user that uploaded these songs, a Mick Chuzzard, has uploaded a third song, “Faster“. This song is said to have been the single from a record released in 1994 on Happy Accident Records. I’m guessing there was a B side at least. But I can’t find anything about this record or the label. Would it be a safe bet to guess that Mick was part of the band? Could be, The Kites seem very obscure. At least he must be someone close to the band.

That’s all I could find. Definitely this is a mystery I’d love to be solved. Where can I find this single and the flexi? Are there more songs recorded? Actually, where are they from? the UK? the US? So many questions but three very solid guitar pop songs that everyone will enjoy a lot!

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Listen
The Kites – Larry’s Back