Thanks so much to Kevin for the interview! Very happy to finally publish this interview that I think we started back in 2009! The Raw Herbs is a favourite band of mine of course, they released top records, on classic labels, in the 80s. I still believe a retrospective compilation by them is due. I hope it happens soon, it would be great for popkids to rediscover their music! In the meantime check this interview and visit their website!

Why do you think the Raw Herbs never got the popularity it deserved? It’s hard to believe, honestly. I’ve listened again all your tracks, and I can’t  believe how underrated you’ve been.

I think it’s down to a matter of luck and we weren’t lucky. At the time we always seemed to be on the periphery of things. We knew the Creation folk, Stephen (Bass Guitarist) and I used to hang out with Andy and Bill from The Loft, but we were never one of the cool bands that garnered all the attention. Janice Long, the BBC Radio 1 DJ, was good to us but we couldn’t seem to get noticed.

How did the band come together?

Stephen and I grew up together and had been in bands since we were 15. We’d gone down to London to the Polytechnic of Central London and had formed a group called the Trees. Joe Foster from Creation produced a demo for us but it didn’t interest anyone and we called it a day. Our next move was to put an ad in Melody Maker for band members. Derek replied but, it seems odd now, he wasn’t our first choice. Thankfully the dude we initially picked buggered off, so we asked Derek to join. It’s so long ago I can’t remember why we didn’t pick him first. I love his voice so that part of our history is a mystery to me now. We knew the June Brides and asked for the number of Brian their old drummer. Initially they warned us off him as he’d had a run in with one of them, I don’t know how anyone could get on the wrong side of Brian as he was such a mild mannered bloke.

Were any of you involved in bands before forming The Raw Herbs?

Like I said Stephen and I had been playing together since school and Brian had been in a few London Bands. I can’t remember whether Derek had played with anyone else.

There wasn’t many guitar pop bands at the time that combined country music with indiepop. What made you choose that road? What were the main influences for you?

I loved the Byrds and from them Gram Parsons. I had a soft spot for bands who would throw in the odd Country tune, like The Only Ones song “Fools” or “Rockville” by REM. Derek was also into Country and I think had grown up with more traditional stuff playing in his house like Jerry Lee Lewis. He had a great Don Everly Lp called Sunset Towers with a song I still love on it called “Did it Rain”.  I guess it just came out in the music.

What do you think was the biggest highlight for the band? was it reaching the 19th spot on the UK Indie Chart?

Were we number 19? Getting the BBC Radio session and hearing the band being played on John Peel were great moments as was Robert Foster from the Go-Betweens coming to see us in Islington. I really liked rehearsing and hanging out, being in a transit Van going to gigs was always fun. Stephen and I lived in a condemned house in the east end of London, the front room had been badly converted into a rehearsal room (we put up a few egg boxes). The neighbour was an artist from up north who thought it was cool to have a band next door which was pretty luck for us. Up the road were The Jack Rubies and Kill Devil Hills and a few streets away The Loft

Your first release was the Old Joe flexi and came out on the Medium Cool label. How did you end up in Andy Wake’s label? Were you Cool Trout Basement casuals? Who was this Old Joe?

I can’t remember how Andy heard about us but he got in contact. He was full of energy with an attitude that was unassailable, he was hard to resist so we threw in our lot with Medium Cool. I have a feeling that David Payne, who had a fanzine called Trout Fishing in Leytonstone, may have been involved. He lived down the road from us and we all hung out together. Myself, Arch and David got The Cool Trout Basement club going on Portland Street in Central London which we obviously played.

The Old Joe lyric is Derek’s, On most of the songs I wrote the music and Derek the words. Sometimes a working tiltle would stick like Don’t Bury me yet which I picked up from a line in an old western.

Thanks to your second release, the “She’s a Nurse” 7″, Janice Long invited you to record a session for her. That must have been thrilling! But tell me how did it happen? There was no emails back then!

We’d booked The Pale Fountains to play The Cool Trout Basement with The Herbs supporting. They pulled out on the night and we ended up headlining,  Janice pitched up to see them but saw us instead. The session offer followed that.

How did the session go? how was she? how many songs did you play for her? did she talk or interview you

The session took place over a day. We were very lucky to have Peter Watts producing it (he produced all our other stuff after that). He was very good at keeping things very relaxed. We did 4 songs: Bless This Day, Syd’s Late Night (a version of Syd Barrett’s Late night that we extended with bits we wrote – the nerve!),  Holland and Don’t Bury Me Yet. We didn’t get interviewed, All are dealings with Janice were great, she’s a really nice person. Same for John Peel who took Stephen and me out for a beer, I got so drunk I lost my coat.

The third release is my favourite, I admit. Is it for you too? Don’t Bury Me Yet is a classic, an indiepop classic. It’s hard to believe that in the CD86 they chose another song, but well… maybe they are more right than me? Anyways, how did this song happen? What was the inspiration behind it?

I’m very proud of the song. I had the chords and riff written and saw an old Western (I think it was Johnny Guitar with Joan Crawford) where the phrase was used. Derek wrote the lyrics around that. Stephen had a work colleague who played banjo which really sets the track apart from the stuff that was around at the time.

On the front cover sleeve, your guitar appears. A Burns Black Bison guitar. It must have been really important for you, right? was there any reason to choose this particular guitar?

The Burns was beautiful, a real work of art but a bit of a pig to get a good sound out of. How could we not use it as the cover? I sold it shortly afterwards and bought a Dakota Red Jazzmaster, almost as pretty but a 1000 times more usable.

You also recorded a video for this song! Really enjoyable, especially for Derek’s haircut! Is there any good anecdotes about it? Why there’s photos of Stuart Sutcliffe, the original Beatle, all over the walls?

The venue for the video was The Cool Trout Basement club which we used one Sunday afternoon. The Stuart posters were part of a Medium Cool promotion so we stuck them up. Andy Wake had more than a passing resemblance to him, the prettiest man I knew. We made a rotating platform that we stood on which was rotated by the person lying at your feet – that explains the laughter during the rotating head scenes.

After that you released two songs on the Edge of the Road compilation. After that there was an album scheduled, what happened?

We pulled all of our tracks together and had plates made for an American label which promptly disappeared (I have one of 2 test pressings). We then got a little too up ourselves and left Medium Cool because we wanted more spent on our covers and more attention from Andy. A very bad move.

Your song “Hopelessly” appeared on the Everlasting tape. I don’t know much about this compilation, do you remember anything about it? Were you part of any other compilations?

The Everlasting tape was a surprise, we weren’t asked for our permission  but at least it’s out there. The rights to the songs we recorded for Medium Cool were sold to Cherry Red even though we owned them. Andy says a friend of his scammed him when he was touring with another of his bands. We’ve reached an accommodation with Cherry Red as I’d rather that the music was heard. They’ve put tracks on a couple of compilations.

How involved were you guys with the fanzine culture of the time?

Not at all apart from knowing David.

“The Second Time” was your last single and you released it in your own label, Rooster Records. How was the experience of doing label-stuff during that time? Was it easy to distribute / promote the record? How did that go? You even did a video for it! 

We signed a deal with Revolver in Bristol to have our own label, Rough Trade were also interested but the deal wasn’t so good. We were awful at running the label, had no budget control, couldn’t do publicity and had a couple of managers who we shouldn’t have. Revolver handled the distribution. The video was fun to do as we did it in the crypt of a Church by Waterloo Station (I was coordinating a Counselling project from the belfry and borrowed the keys). Unfortunately our manager went on holiday when the record was released and didn’t send out the videos or do much publicity – the curse of The Herbs strikes again!

Why did you decide to call it a day? What happened to the band members after that?

The scene was passing us by, gigs were getting worse and no one was interested in the band. I met someone in Bath and moved from London and Derek and Stephen packed it in shortly after. I’m happy with what we did together and suspect that anything else would not have been as good as we were drifting apart musically.

We all  carried on playing but with no commercial success but like the Burns we left something special behind and almost as pretty.

Anything else you’d like to say to the guitar pop fans that are reading this?

If you like the Herbs, thanks. You are part of a very secret but special club. Keep strumming!

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Listen
The Raw Herbs – Don’t Bury Me Yet

Okay! Dayflower is slated to be released on October 10th but most probably all pre-orders will start shipping before that date. Records have already shipped from the pressing plant to me and so as soon as I can put all the inserts inside the 7″ jacket they will be heading your way. Exciting times!

In the meantime here are a bunch of good new finds from around the web!

Starmine: “IMOK” sounds fantastic. It has been so long since I’ve heard bands sounding like this. Maybe since the early 2000s? Electropop that sounds fun like this I haven’t listened since Supercute maybe? Mogul? Elefant Records used to champion this sort of sound. Maybe Starmine should find a home there? Just for nostalgia sake. The two songs on this new digital single by this Tokyo duo, “IMOK” and “IMNOTOK”, are superb. Give them a listen.

The Rallies: from Seattle comes this classic sounding guitar pop band. Sweet jangly guitars are what you’ll find all over the new album “Upside Down”, all over the 10 songs in it. The album is available now on limited quantities on CD, and happily you can preview all songs on Bandcamp.

Tiny Magnetic Pets: the Dublin band are back with an EP of 4 songs! Titled “Girl in a White Dress” the EP comes with the title song and three more songs: “Kicked off in Ikea”, “All the Mad Things” and “Above & Overture”. The record will be out on CD and vinyl 12″ on November 1st on the London based Happy Robots Records! Exciting!

Ta To Boy: the Greek band has became a favourite on the blog since they released their album on the very fine label Make Me Happy Records. Now the band has made a video of one of the songs on the record, “This Town”! So definitely watch and listen this one. Because it is good!

Río Arga: well the self-titled album by the Pamplona band is out now. And I need it, and I want it, and I think it is marvelous. 8 songs of joyous and bright pop songs. The record is available on 12″ vinyl and tape now. It is a co-release by Caballito Records and Mondo Canapé, two fine labels. So yes. This is a must.

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Bed bugs are a type of insect that feed on human blood, usually at night. Their bites can result in a number of health effects including skin rashes, psychological effects and allergic symptoms. Bed bug bites may lead to skin changes ranging from invisible to prominent blisters. Symptoms may take between minutes to days to appear. Itchiness is common, while some may feel tired or have a fever. Typically, uncovered areas of the body are affected and three bites occur in a row. Bed bugs bites are not known to transmit any infectious disease.

Strange name for a pop band, right?

From Purley in Surrey came The Bedbugs. I think they are as obscure as it gets. But hey, I should try to find information about them, maybe even I will find a copy of their one and only 7″. That’s what I would call a success!

Purley is a town in South London within the London Borough of Croydon. It is located south of Croydon, and is situated 18.8 km south of Charing Cross. It has a population of about 14,000

As mentioned the band released just the one 7″ in 1990. It came out on the Snake Rattle label (BUG 001) which I guess was the label’s own. My guess has to do with it being the only release by this label and also the catalog number, as it nods to bugs (?).

It was a double A sided record. A side had “Haywire” and the AA side had “No Safe Heaven”. It was recorded on 8 track at Seventh Wave studio between July 14 and 15th of 1990. The engineer is just credited as Nigel.

When it comes to band members we also only get first names. Mark on vocals, acoustic and electric guitar, Paul on bass, Dave on acoustic and electric guitar and Warren on drums. The design and layout of the record is credited to John Ford while the photos are credited to Simon Clarke. Why do the art people got their second names printed and not the band! It would be easier to track them down I think.

And that’s it really. Nothing more. So I will need your help to track them and find out whatever happened to The Bedbugs!

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Listen
The Bedbugs – Haywire

 

Thanks so much to Gerry Cooke for the interview! Some time ago I wrote about The Beautiful Strangers, trying to find info about this London band that only released one 7″ back in the 80s. Happily Gerry came to the rescue and able to answer my questions! Enjoy!

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

I was brought up in a care, but being in care gave me the opportunity of having a record player and access to records.  I remember listening to the Beatles, ‘She loves you’ on repeat play for hours. My first instrument was a recorder, which I learned by ear.  I started playing bass in 1977; again I learned to play bass by ear.

++ Had you been in other bands before The Beautiful Strangers? What about the rest of the members? If so, how did all of these bands sound like? Are there any recordings?

Yes, I was in a few bands before the BS, the notable ones were ‘The Ya Yas’. We were an R&B band, more mod than boogie (as reported in Time-out magazine, a London based Mag). With this band we made recordings with some of the members of Madness.  The two founders of the band Phil Payne and Phil Saxby went on to form the band ‘Arnold’. Mark Saxby also played with X-ray Specs in later years.

The other band was ‘Hearts Agas’, a bit of a glam rock type band. We made lots of recordings and did loads of gigs around West London in the early to middle 80s.  The guitarist from that band, Jo Almida, went on to play with the band ‘Dogs d’Amour’.

++ Where were you from originally?

I am from South East London, born in Chelsea.

++ How was your town at the time of The Beautiful Strangers? Were there any bands that you liked? Were there any good record stores? Or what about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?

South East London during that time was great.  There were great bands everywhere and record stores on every street corner.  As for the pubs and venues there were loads. I played at many of them.

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

The band had already formed when I joined it.  I was asked to play in the band by the ex-drummer, of  ‘The Ya Yas’. He told the other members of the band that he knew a great bass player; I auditioned and was asked to join them.

++ Were there any lineup changes?

Yes, in 1985, I left because my first child was about to be born.  They took on another bass player; he lasted just 6 month and then left.  I re-joined the band and not long after we went on to record ‘Elizabeth’.

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

I was given free range to play and create the bass lines. I was given the chords and went on from there.  As for practising, If my memory serves me right, it was in a studio near London Bridge, Borough Market.

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

I don’t know, you’ll have to ask Keith Sparrow, he can be found on FB.

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

The main influence behind the band were ‘The Smiths’.  My own influences were Paul Gray from ‘The Hot-rods’ and Bruce Foxton from ‘The Jam’.

++ As far as I know you only released one 7″ back in 1986. This was a self-release, right? How did that work for you, doing the label part? Did you enjoy it? How many copies were pressed?

Yes, just one record, and yes it was a self-release.   You’ll have to ask Keith about the artistic side, he did all that. 1000 copies were made.

++ You named your label Two Zeros Above. I was curious about the name, what does it mean?

Again Keith and Sheila (the guitarist).

++ Were the songs on the 7″ your first proper recordings? Or had you had any experience in recording studios prior to them?

No, they weren’t.  I recorded with Polygram before.  I also recorded in Pathway Studios, with ‘The Ya Yas’ and some of the members of ‘Madness’.

++ The songs on the 7″ were recorded at Elephant Studios with John Hurst and Nick Robbins. How was that experience? Any anecdotes that you remember?

Jon Hurst…  I remember that I didn’t have a lot of money during that period; I had 2 kids by that time and no spare money to buy new strings so I had to record using old strings.  It was also during the time of the printers strike so every time we finished recording we had to battle through the protests of the Wapping printer’s strike.

++ On the back of the sleeve there are photos of all of you and I was wondering where were they taken? And also why does your name appear as Jerry instead of Gerry?

They were all taken in Keith and Sheila’s back-garden.  My name was spelt with a J and not a G because in those days I just thought it was cooler with a J!

++  Why weren’t more releases by the band? Was there any interest by labels to release you? Maybe big labels?

We did record a second single, ‘Family’ in 1986 at London Bridge Studios and it was produced by Mark Dearnley.  Who went on to produce an Album by ‘ACDC’. Some labels were interested but nobody seemed to know what to do with us unfortunately.

++ Are there more recordings by the band? Unreleased songs?

Yes as above and lots of demos.  Again ask Keith.

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

Keith wrote the song so you’ll have to ask him.

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

‘Heavens’, which is the B side of ‘Elizabeth’.  Because it was a complex bass line and when we played it live, it sounded as good as the recorded version.

++ What about gigs? Did you play many?

We played loads, all around London and Brighton.

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

We played at the Herne Hill Tavern, we supported a big band, it was either ‘The Bigger Splash’ or ‘The Mystery Girls’. I can’t remember.  What I remember was the entire place was rammed and the crowd adored us. It was a great gig.

++ And were there any bad ones?

Yes a couple, Camberwell, we had an audience of 2 people!

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

We broke-up at the beginning of 1987, because we didn’t seem to be going anywhere.  Keith and Sheila went on to other bands, John disappeared. As for myself I have been involved in many since.

++ Did you get much attention from the radio?

For a few week ‘Elizabeth’ was played on Radio one.    We were on ‘Singled Out’ – hosted by Janice Long. The song was reviewed by Kirsty Maccoll and Peter Powell.   And Capital Radio played it too.

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

We had good reviews about the single.

++ What about from fanzines?

Keith was a cartoonist and he created his own fanzine.  Keith had a database of followers and he used to create the fanzine is and send it on to people.

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

It was the first time we heard ‘Elizabeth’ on the radio.

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

I have been involved in motor racing during my life.  I raced in a French championship on my 50th birthday. I worked a racing circuit for 11 years here in France.

++ Anything else you’d like to add?

I am still playing bass.  I am currently involved in 2 bands here in France.  A recording band called ‘Nephast’. You can find our album ‘You Have To Know’ on Deezer, Amazon and most of the download websites. Some of the local radio stations have played a few of our songs.

I am also involved in a band called Black Jack V.  We are a covers band, 60,70,80,90 pop-rock. We play most weekends in pubs and bars here in South West France.

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Listen
The Beautiful Strangers – Elizabeth

Not much news on my front. Just waiting for records to arrive. On the other hand, there are some very good finds on the web that I want to share with you all.

Pting: Elsie, Yura, Rhys and Ben are a pop band from Melbourne, Australia. We haven’t heard from them since last December when they put up “Beep Beep” on Bandcamp. It has been a while. Now they are back with a single song called “New House” that sounds really nice and poppy. Why are they not putting out more songs? I’d love to hear more by them, all the time.

No Vacation: another band that is back is the San Francisco five-piece with an  EP called “Phasing”. It will be available on October 18th on all sort of formats, from vinyl to CD. The record will have 5 songs and we can preview the opening track called “Estrangers” . It is terrific. So yes, we need to hear the rest as soon as possible.

Ducks Unlimited: now a Toronto band that are releasing a 7″ called “Get Bleak EP” on November 29. They say and seem to be influenced by the Flying Nun poppier bands and that makes me happy. The record will be out on the label Bobo Integral and will include four songs. You can preview the opening song “Get Bleak” now! Very very good. I am fan of this!

Dead Horse One: now a shoegaze French band who are also releasing an album which we can preview just one song. Is that becoming a norm now on Bandcamp? I wonder. Before you could check out all songs. I always wonder about these trends. In any case the song we can preview “Echo Street” is gorgeous. The album will be called “The West is the Best” and will be out on CD and vinyl LP on the Requiem Pour Un Twister label.

The Springfields: Slumberland surprised everyone a few days ago when they said they were releasing a compilation of Ric Menck and Paul Chastain’s legendary band called “Singles 1986-1991”. This is a must have for everyone of course.There will be 12 songs here, taken from singles on Sarah, Picture Book, Summershine and Seminal Twang, plus an extra song. This is one not to be missed!!

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In 1986 the label Cottage Industry Records released a 7″ by Scared of the Dark. I don’t know if it made much of a buzz, if it got reviewed by the NME or Melody Maker. I don’t know much really. As you know I use the blog as a vehicle to finding more about bands, songs, records, labels. I use it to document indiepop as most of the stories are still untold. I am hoping then, pardon the pun, to get them out of the dark.

“Give Me That Feeling”/”Summer Soul” (CIR 003) was released in 86. The year 0 for many when it comes to indiepop. Previously this label had released a 7″ by Paul Weton who I don’t really know. What was CIR 001? Was Scared of the Dark the last release by this label?

Two songs, each on a side. The sleeve printed in black and yellow. There is a girl in the cover but I can’t tell who she is. Maybe an actress? On the back there is a band photo. It looks like they were 6 people in the band! I see some credits for the sleeve, Dave Roberts on cover concept, Pete Reed for graphics and Flair Photographic for the band photo.

The band was formed by Kerry Rees on vocals, Ian Bailey on bass, Tim Hitchings on guitars, Beeke la Trek on saxophone, Mike Evans on drums and Chris Jones on keyboards. Their manager was Dave Roberts.

We also know that the A side was recorded at Loco Studio in Gwent! That is a county in Wales, right? The song was engineered by Nick Smith and produced by P.V.C. The song was written by Rees and Bailey.

“Summer Soul”, on the B side, was written by Rees and Hitchings and was recorded at 123 Studios in Cardiff and was engineered by Dafydd Pearce. I start to suspect that the band hailed from Wales.

No compilations are listed. No other bands are listed for the band members. Odd.

But I do find a video on Youtube, it is a small interview with the band talking about the release of their “Give Me That Feeling” 7″.

And that’s all really. I look for more information about the band members or the band. And looking for scared of the dark is not easy. I wonder what happened to them?

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Listen
Scared of the Dark – Give Me That Feeling

A short and sweet post today.

H-Sallows/Sputnik Sweetheart: the Blue-very label from Japan keeps surprising us with wonderful releases. This is a split tape by two Japanese bands. Each of them contribute 3 songs of pure pop joy. Something that caught my attention is that the wonderful Miki Hirose plays most of the instruments and sings on H-Shallows. Then Sputnik Sweetheart covers the Would-Be-Goods. It is quite a release!

The Late Innings: this is the solo project of Vincent Sinex from Fullerton, California. His latest song is called “Last Resort” and it is a fine slice of new-wave influenced pop, a bit like My Favorite. First time I am listening to him and there are more releases on his Bandcamp so I will keep myself busy.

The Reds, Pinks & Purples: it never stops. All the time there are new songs by Glenn Donaldson jangly pop project. By now he should have released like three albums, or more! His latest are three songs, “The Biggest Fan”, “Last Summer in a Rented Room” and “Keep Your Secrets Close”. All very good!

Say Sue Me: the Busan band will be releasing a 7″ on October 4th with two songs, “Your Book” and “Good People”. So far we can only preview the first one and that’s fine as we know the band produces quality pop. And this song is not the exception. Looking forward to this one!

Jetstream Pony: lastly the Brighton band is back with a cover of “Don’t Fear the Reaper” by the Blue Oyster Cult. But that’s not all, they also have a new demo song called “Mitte” that sounds superb. Is the band preparing a new release? I don’t know, but I hope so!

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Suntime Glorious is a band I would love to get in touch. The two songs I’ve heard by them, “I’m Too Good” and “Sexual Health” are, pardon the pun, glorious. The female vocals, the melodies, the lyrics, everything combines perfectly. It is so hard to grasp why they weren’t more popular in their day. But as I know very little about them, I’m hoping that with this post I’ll be able to learn more details about them.

I don’t own the record (yet) but Discogs has it listed which helps. It is not fun that the record didn’t have a sleeve. It seems it just came on simple white paper disco sleeve. That is not what they deserved. It came as a 12″ vinyl on Infidelity Records with the catalog INF 142. I do see other records listed on this label but they have other catalog format. It must be just a coincidence the label’s name? I wonder.

I am not very hopeful at this point of finding any leads. But one has to try.

The record had 4 songs, “I’m Too Good For You” and “Sexual Health” on the A side and “Never Belong” and “Night Or Day” on the B side. The songs are credited to R. Taylor and the band. There are no compilation appearances listed.

I don’t even know in what country this was released. Most probably the UK, but I can’t confirm it in any way. I see the band being mentioned on a few Japanese sites, but they have no information. I see also that their name is being used to describe some bands in eBay, but I don’t see how they compare. Suntime Glorious sound is quite different to the bands they are being compared.

I try to find too who R. Taylor might be. But my luck is nonexistent. I really hope I can find out who were behind the band and ask many many questions. Maybe some of you came across them back in the early nineties? Who remembers them?

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Listen
Suntime Glorious – I’m Too Good

Thanks so much to Jay Wiseman for the interview! I wrote about the San Diego band The Sleazy Beats many years ago after listening them on the “Pure Spun Sugar”. They had a great song on it and I was very curious! Luckily a few weeks ago Jay got in touch and was happy to answer all my questions! Here is what he told me:

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

Yes, very well, thanks for asking!

Yes, I am still making music. I play in a garage-punk-power-pop band called Thee Wylde Oscars based out of Melbourne, Australia since about 2009. My wife and I are also currently working on a project with her as the front.

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

My first instrument was trumpet. I played in the early 70’s era; a grade-school area-wide orchestra, then eventually the concert and marching band of my Mar Vista Junior High School near Imperial Beach, CA. I took lessons.

I was pretty mediocre at the trumpet (I actually hated how I played the instrument and never practiced) and quit once I got to High School. Because I had the ability to play pieces on the piano by ear my parents got me a piano instructor. I played for about 5 years until my piano teacher had to quit because he was a drunk. My next teacher was too strict for my liking and so I stopped.

I then picked up the harmonica at 15, because it was cheap and I loved the blues and British R&B like the Yardbirds. I learned by listening to records, and playing along and working it out. I became good enough to join some friends as a harp player in my first real band, The Trebels.

At home my Dad listened to nothing but old school Country. He was originally from Oklahoma, and played the fiddle when he was a kid. Old-timey music, Bluegrass, Honky Tonk, etc. and gospel hymns. I hated the music but as I got older grew to appreciate and love the stuff.

++ Had you been in other bands before The Sleazy Beats? What about the rest of the members? If so, how did all of these bands sound like? Are there any recordings?

All of these bands were from San Diego. My bands were:

– The Trebels (1981-1990), we released a single. A mixture of 60’s Chicano Rock, early Rock and Roll and British Invasion influences.

– The Hoods (1990-1993) released a 12″ record, five 7″ singles, a 5 song EP and various compilations. American and British R&B influences.

– Evil Eyes (1993-1994) released one single. 60’s and 70’s punk influenced.

– Mach Five Overdrive (1994-1998) released two singles. 60’s and 70’s punk influenced.

XAVIER ANAYA was in all my bands except for Evil Eyes.

JOHN CHILSON was in all my bands except for Mach Five Overdrive. He had joined The Loons (1994 to present) at that time. They are primarily psychadelic rock.

HECTOR PENALOSA: The Zeros (1977-present), essential 70’s SF punk; albums and singles.

MIRELLA BELSITO: Diabolik, 1994-1996, 70’s style punk

RACHAEL GORDON:  First recording

SANDRA CASTILLO: First recording

++ Where were you from originally?

I am originally from Imperial Beach, CA, the most southwesterly city in the US, in San Diego County next to Tijuana, Mexico  – on the beach.

++ How was San Diego at the time of The Sleazy Beats? Were there any bands that you liked? Were there any good record stores? Or what about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?

San Diego at the time had a vibrant Alt rock scene and a 70’s punk resurgence was happening. We dug that vibe and the ’77 punk era for the most part. The Zeros had just reformed and for the most part were our favourite local band.

There was always the Casbah for great live music and a venues opened up and closed fairly quickly. It really wasn’t a great place for and up and coming band to play with any regularity.  Most of us were part of the Mod, Garage Punk & Punk that came out of the area in the late 70’s – early 80’s  – that was OUR real scene.

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

The whole thing started when Sandra Castillo asked me help her write a song for Phil Spector at a party at my house. She was pen pals with him and wanted to send him a birthday gift; a song. I thought it would be fun to write for somebody other than my band. Rachael, Mirella and Hector were also at the party and wanted in as well.

It was really meant to be throw-away pop, a one-off.

She put together some lyrics in a couple of weeks and came over and I did the music to fit it. It all really took a few hours. I always had bits of musical ideas I didn’t know what to do with and I used some of those.

We got some old and current band mates to fill in the rest of the lineup.

++ Were there any lineup changes?

There were essentially two bands: The recording band and the live act that came out of the recording.

The recording band I mentioned earlier.

The live band was: Mirella, Rachael, Candy Johnson, Anders Stone, Joel Kmak and Gordo.

Rachael really wanted to be a part of a band. Mirella had been in a band called Diabolik that had just broken up and wanted to do something else. Mirella had a friend, Candy Johnson, that like the idea of a 3-front girl group thing as did Anders (jingle writer and ex-Diabolik guitarist, Joel (ex-Hit Makers, Penetrators and current Beat Farmers drummer) and Gordo (who was playing in a few 77-style punk rock groups such as the Spent Idols, in the area) as bassist.

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

I tend to carry around with a hand-held memo recorder to catch stuff that I like coming out of my head (some going back years). If I don’t do this, the songs tend to bounce around my head like a unwanted guest. I’ll listen back from time to time. Sometimes I stumble onto something that is interesting. This was one of those instances. The ascending-descending chorus came out of those memo recordings.

Practice was usually held at my garage with liberal amounts of alcohol, pot and speed.

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

We were all fans of the Easybeats and thought it was a stupid funny pun.

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

Definitely girl groups for the vocals, like the Shangri-las and even Bananarama. The music of the recording came from a love of Phil Spector’s “Wall of Sound” era. It’s a combination of Brill Building, The Beach Boys, Spaghetti Western and John Barry (especially with the solo guitar tweedle-thing).

The live act was more of a punk Shangri-las.

++ I know you through a compilation called “Pure Spun Sugar” that was co-released in 1998 by American Pop Project and Candy Floss. I was wondering how did you end up contributing a song to it? And who picked which song to include?

That was all Gary Strickland. Mirella and I were at a show at Spirit Club in San Diego and we saw Gary (who we knew from the Loons and around town) and thought he would get a kick out of this thing we had just recorded. I played him the cassette and gave him a copy. He immediately said it would be something a friend would be interested in. He told us he played it over the phone to the guy from Candy Floss and he wanted it his comp. That’s it. We received some CDs of the comp in the mail and that’s the last we heard.

++ As far as I know this was the only time a song of yours got properly released, am I right? Or are there any other releases by the band?

This was the only proper release I knew of. I’ve heard there was another release from a San Diego label, but it was a surprise to me.

++ What about other recordings? Were there perhaps demo tapes?

Maybe. Anders had a recording studio at his house (for the jingle writing) and Mirella and I seem to remember him doing some recording of the band. He’s kind of hard to get ahold of these days.

++ Was there interest by labels to put your stuff out?

Interest was zero.

++ I really like the song on the comp, “Phil Spector’s Birthday Song”, wondering if you could tell me what inspired this song? What’s the story behind it?

Inspired by all things Phil Spector, Brill Building Pop, the Beach Boys and John Barry.

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

The Birthday Song is the one I remember the most, so that. Another song that I brought forward, was rejected. I ended up recording that about 5 years later with Mirella and my band, The Devil Dolls, called “Still Life (Slow Down)” on an EP.

++ What about gigs? Did you play many?

I never played live with the band. The band carried on without me for about another year and a half. They ended up playing about 7 gigs until their demise.

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

Oh dear. They played the Garage in Los Angeles. LA is pretty jaded, and at this time a girl group was contrary everything that existed at the time. An audience member shouted to the three girls in front, “Can’t you play any instruments?”. Rachael gave the girl the finger and with a glare told the woman to, “shut up, you ugly cow!”.

++ And were there any bad ones?

The worst was the show that never happened. Somehow Rodney Bingenheimer of KROQ in LA heard the song and wanted to band to headline a show of up-and-coming bands he dug. A date was set and on the very day of the show, the bassist Gordo decided he would rather do another gig with another band he was in. A call was made to Rodney and he yelled, “This is the last time I’ll ever have you!” Gordo was kicked out and Rachael’s then husband joined as a bass player. It could have been the start of something, but in the end, it was for naught.

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

After many false start and the Bingeheimer fiasco, the band broke apart and went other ways.

Not long after Mirella and I moved to Melbourne; Stoney and Candy moved to Sweden; and the band members did their own thing.

Mirella and I started the Devil Dolls in Melbourne, and I was involved in other projects including my current band, Thee Wylde Oscars.

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

Rachael started her solo career, did a record and toured and ended up being married to Ace Frehely of KISS. She just is about to release another album; Stoney and Candy started a band Sin Sin 77 eventually moved to Sweden, where he is now a well-respected fine artist. They don’t seem to be playing music lately.

Hector is currently playing in several original bands in San Diego, including the Baja Buggs, a Beatles cover band. He’s always got something going.

Xavier is in a couple of bands in San Diego; The Phantoms and as a guitarist in Andy Rassmussen’s (another SD local, ex-Bomboras bassist) solo project.

John Chilson moved to Portland and plays drums from time-to-time.

Joel Kmak currently plays in San Diego with The Beat Farmers, or their alter ego, The Farmers SD.

Gordo is MIA. I really don’t even know his last name LOL.

++ Did you get much attention from the radio?

None whatsoever.

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

None whatsoever.

++ What about from fanzines?

None whatsoever.

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

My highlight was writing the song and recording it. It was fun to do…and actually have someone notice it after all these years.

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

Physics, model rocketry, Vespa motor scooters.

++ Anything else you’d like to add?

I’m glad someone took pleasure in something I had a hand in. That’s the reason I still do it. I think for most of the members, Rock and Roll was always more of a religion than a business. It’s was about getting the word out. Thanks for the interest once again!

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Listen
The Sleazy Beats – Phil Spector’s Birthday Song

This week has been a  bit harder to find new indiepop on the web. Hopefully these are good enough for your demanding taste!

Herlights: this Russian band have been featured on the blog in the past. Last year. Indeed, it has been about a year since they had released new songs. Their latest is a 4-song EP titled “Sometimes” that brings back their trademark post-punk jangly sound!

Olivia’s World: so happy to hear that Lica from Go Violets and Tempura Nights keeps making top popsongs. Now it is a cassette EP called “Olivia’s World EP” on the fine Lost Sound Tapes from Seattle. The EP comes with four songs, two of them (“Blotter” and “Cereal Boxes”) we can preview on Bandcamp. And yes, we can play them again and again.

Bathe: there is just one song on this Bandcamp set up by Atlanta multi-instrumentalist Baily Crone. It is called “The Silence” and it is really pretty. It is a lush song, dreamy. This song will be released next year on the debut album “Last Looks”. So for now we wait.

The Claim: the mighty classic band is back too with a new EP called “Just Too Far”. This is a short EP, 3 songs. Included are the title song, “Hercules (Bleak Industrialists c. 1987 remix)” and “Mrs Jones (Ono dub)”. I must say that I love the opening track, but not very sure with the remixes. But it is ok, “Just Too Far” is just too good to care if the other songs are not too good?

Typsy Panthre: from Mnneapolis comes this new project by Allison LaBonne and John Crozier. If you know who I am talking about, well, Allison was in the lovely The Owls and John in the legendary The Hang Ups. So there’s quality here. The band is releasing an album called “Hell” on November 11 on CD. The album will include 11 tracks, two of them available to preview now, “The Strange Thing” and “Summers End”. Very very recommendable.

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Maybe not exactly indiepop, but as I have them on a list of bands that were intended to be part of The Leamington Spa series, I thought why not check them out. I know very little and the song, even though it is sort of a jazzy twee thing it is very enjoyable.

The song I’m talking about is the one I’ve been able to listen so far. It is the A side of the sole 7″ they put out in 1981. The song is called “Let the Girl Dance”. The B side is “Arrested”.

The 7″ was originally released in 1981, on Silhouette Records (KUS 100). Discogs has this label based in Cleveland, Ohio. But that’s wrong. It must a label with the same name. Something that caught my attention was the KUS in the catalog number, just like our Augsburg friends, Kleine Untergrund Schallplatten. The record also seems to have been released with no sleeve. That is a shame. We do see though some information on the label. We see that “Let the Girl Dance” was written by R. Helman and K. Yallop. That the engineer was L. Burrage and both Helman and Yallop produced thet rack. The executive producer was Douglas Kean.

The 7″ was re-released the year after on Red Bus Records (RBUS 71). I wonder why. The songs are the same on this version of the 7″.

No other releases by the band though they did appear with the song “Let the Girl Dance” on a 12″ compilation “Heart & Stars” that was released in Portugal by the label Red Bus Records (RBLP 1011). Was Red Bus Records based in Portugal? Or was this a release they did exclusively for this Iberian country? Other bands on this comp are Private Line, English Boys or Imagination… I don’t know them!

I do see that a blog called My Life’s a Jigsaw that covers mostly mod and powerpop dedicated a blog post to The Kustom back in 2012. The author is pretty sure the band hailed from London. To confirm this an anonymous person commented that he shared a house with Keith Yallop (the bassist) in South Ealing, London.

Thanks to this info I found a Soundcloud for a Keith Yallop, but I am not 100% sure that it is the same person. There is nothing in there to confirm it is.

Now what is the first name of R. Helman? Maybe I could have a chance to track them down that way. But I can’t seem to find any other information about The Kustom. Maybe someone remembers them? What happened to them after The Kustom split?!

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Listen
The Kustom – Let the Girl Dance

Thanks so much to Tomohiro for the interview! For you who don’t know him, he was part of a fantastic Japanese indiepop unit called All Twin’s Birthday that released a superb 7″ on the Behavior Saviour label that our friend Masahiro (from Love Mushrooms and Tricycle Popstar – both interviewed in the blog) used to ran in the early 90s. Aside from that 7″ they appeared on some classic Japanese compilations but we always wondered what happened to them! Luckily now we’ll get to learn more about them! Join me!

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

Hi, Roque! I’m good. I’m still making music.

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

First music memories? That’s a tough question.
When I was an elementary school student, I listened to 60s / 70s US & UK rock, junior high school student, I began to listen to the standard of jazz, and high school student, finally I began to listen to guitar pop and neo-acoustic.
I became crazy about 50s / 60s modern jazz before listening to new wave and twee pop. It may be a slightly strange music career.
My first instrument is guitar. How did I learn? My own way.
I played  and played my guitar. I slept every night with holding my guitar.
At home while growing up, I mostly listened to the good old music, not hit song of the time.

++ Had you been in other bands before All Twin’s Birthday? What about the rest of the members? If so, how did all of these bands sound like? Are there any recordings?

Before All Twin’s Birthday, there are not any recording.
I played only cover songs. When I joined All Twin’s Birthday, I wrote original song for the first time.

++ Where were you from originally, Tokyo?

From Chiba-city (famous for novels of the cyberpunk).

++ How was your Tokyo at the time of All Twin’s Birthday? Were there any bands that you liked? What were the good record stores? Or what about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?

I was able to check out gigs of many 90s bands.There were good record stores in Nishi Shinjuku: Vinyl Japan, ROUGH TRADE SHOP etc.
As for legendary venue, Shinjuku JAM was very good (closed December 31, 2017). We played many times there.

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

We were students of the same university. We talked about music.
The taste of our favorite music was similar very much, so we formed a band.
Yuka Banno (great bassist) and Bo Suzuki (great drummer), they have a great talent. I was fascinated by them. And I can sing and play the guitar. So it did not need the recruitment of members.

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

I played guitar in my room to write songs. I usually practiced in my room as private studio.

++ Something I find very interesting is the amount of great Japanese indiepop bands that started appearing in the 90s! I was wondering if you have like a top 5 Japanese indiepop bands? And also if you would recommend some that are not very well known?

Probably you have a detailed knowlodge of Japanese band than me. So I am not suitable for choosing top 5 Japanese indiepop bands. But I try. All 5 bands were splendid, so this list in random order.

・SPEED WAY STAR was splendid anorak band. Their performance was always great. But they released neither album nor single. They contributed only one song to compilation CD “What Do You Want A Japanese To Do? -The first Vinyl Japan Sampler.

・HARMONY IN YOUR BATHROOM was based in Osaka. OEAMOM was released by CONPACT FAST RECORD in 1998. It is difficult to easily categorize their music. Keigo Matsumura (leader of this band) has a great talent of composition. He is active now in a band called BLINDDATE.

・Love Mushrooms, well you know Masahiro Kodama’s another unit.

・Bridge, well you know most important Japanese indiepop bands!

・Chicago Bass. After Bridge stop making music, Mami Otomo joined this band. Chicago Bass is great Japanese alternative band.
This band’s bassist Kayoko Yamauchi has a great talent.
She, Yuka Banno and I joined band named Milk Film afterwards.

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

Josef K, The pastels, Television Personalities, Haircut 100, Brilliant Corners and Primal Scream… the list of examples is endless…

++Your first release was a 7″ on the label Behavior Saviour. I was wondering how did you end up working with Masahiro and his label? How was your relationship with them? How did you meet?

There were three key persons and our demo tape.

First key person is Sin Makino. He was organizer of live show named LOST PIECES. We played some gigs at his live show, he offered to play gig in Osaka. We went to Osaka (by Shinkansen?) and performed.

Second key person is Takako Kasa. She was organizer of live show in Osaka. The night we performed in Osaka, we met her. I presented our demo tape. she was a friend of Masahiro. She gave Masahiro our demo tape to listen. This demo tape (titled “live in a B/W movie) was not live recording, that was studio recording, include “Everytime We Say Good-Bye” plus 4 songs. Not for sale, for promotional use only. I like to watch the old b/w movies, so I would expect to add meaning to our demo tape “Lifetime in a B/W Movie” just like daydream.

Third key person is Kazushige Kanazawa. He was a shop assistant of the record shop (ROUGH TRADE SHOP), organizer of live show named “LOVE SO FINE”, too. And he offered to play All Twin’s Birthday & Masahiro (Tricycle Popstar). We met at the gig, and we liked each other’s performance. A few days later, Masahiro sent a letter to me, “Do you release 7inch from my label?”.

++ And you did work with Masahiro at least on one song, “Everytime We Say Good-Bye”. Was there ever an intention of forming a band together?

There was not ever an intention of forming a band together.
Masahiro was producer of All Twin’s Birthday in a sense.

++ This 7″ had two songs, “I Second That Love” and “Rudy Van Gelder’s Secret Note”. Where these your first proper studio recordings? Had there been demo tapes before it?

Not proper studio recordings. We brought small 4 track cassette MTR into rehearsal studio to recorded basic track (bass, drums and rhythm guitar) of two songs. This material transferred my 8 track cassette MTR and overdubbed vocal & chorus part etc…
8 track MTR is very big and heavy, so hard to carry. However Masahiro & I had same type 8 track cassette MTR. I went to Masahiro’s room with mastertape only, and was able to do a continuance of the recording work. For example, “I Second That Love”s organ part was recorded Masahiro’s room. I am a lucky man.

++ And I have to ask, are you big fans of Rudy Van Gelder?

Very nice question! The answer is yes! He is a great recording engineer. I respect him so much.

++ Why were there no more releases by the band after this record?

I hoped to work with Masahiro, but he emigrated abroad after “I Second That Love” was released. We exchanged air mail about All Twin’s Birthday’s full album. In all honesty I wanted to record same way of “I Second That Love”. But we could not meet, there was not yet email. And there was American label’s offer of the release, too. But did not come true. If now time, it might come true.

++ Aside from the 7″ you did appear on two compilations. Both times you contributed the song “Everytime We Say Good-Bye”. Was there a reason to choose that song twice?

If I remember correctly, label side chose the song, not me.
But arrangement of the tracks for each compilations were different, so I agreed to their plan.

++ One of this compilations was called “Let’s Muc Out on Sound” that was releasde by Loose Sound in Japan on tape. I don’t know nothing about this tape, so I was wondering if you remember who was behind it? if it came with a fanzine? or any details at all!

Loose Sound was a cassette tape label organaized by Takako Kasa. “Let’s Muc Out on Sound” included “Everytime We Say Good-bye” (“Live in a B/W Movie” version). She released our 1st official 5 songs cassette tape titled “live in a B/W movie Vol. 2”
(limited 100 copies) And she published a great fanzine entitled “RED RUBBER BALL”. And she was organizer of a party named “red LOVER ball”, too. She’s still so cool!  I’m grateful to her.

++ The second compilation was on Behavior Saviour and was the great “Behave Yourself!”, and so I wonder if there are more compilation appearances?

“Everytime We Say Good-Bye” of “Behave Yourself!” version was added new arrangement by Masahiro. He added organ part to basic track of “Live in a B/W Movie” version. I thank for what he did. There are anecdote about “Behave Yourself!”. Masahiro wrote a song. He intended to record the song in “Behave Yourself!”. Thereafter he noticed the song’s climax resembles “Everytime We Say Good-Bye” ‘s climax. So he entitled the song “Last Time I Say Good-Bye”. It’s a joke for him. On the other hand, “Everytime We Say Good-Bye” I quoted from a title of the standard of Jazz. Lou Reed quoted from a title of the standard of Jazz, too. “Beginning To See The Light”, “After Hours”, etc… I was influenced by him. SOMEONE INFLUENCES SOMEONE LIKE THAT. We contributed songs to some compilation.

++ What about unreleased tracks?

There were not a few tracks.
And there were many unrecorded songs, played only gigs. I hope to record those songs someday.

++ It is hard to pick one, but I think my favorite All Twin’s Birthday track is “Everytime We Say Good-bye”, was wondering if you could tell me the story behind this song?

In a sense it was the song I wrote for the first time in my room.
Before I wrote the song, I made the music from parts of jam session at rehearsal studio. And the song I wrote lyrics in English for the first time in my life.

++ If you were to choose your favorite All Twin’s Birthday song, which one would that be and why?

“Nothing Like Our Way”. I wrote this song immediately after writing “Everytime We Say Good-bye”, And we recorded for
“live in a B/W movie Vol. 2”. However I think I could not record it well. We played the song at live show many times. The song often played ending of gigs. And we recorded the song again. However I am not satisfied that recording. I hope to challenge recording satisfactory version someday.

++ What about gigs? Did you play many? All over Japan?

We played many gigs, usually performed in Tokyo, played once in Osaka.

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

“LOVE SO FINE” organized by Kazushige Kanazawa. Cause, I was able to meet Masahiro. There was a large audience. Many people danced to our music, and seemed happy.

++ And were there any bad ones?

That’s a tough question.
“LOVE SO FINE”. Cause we was not able to rehearse that night.
The gig held in the middle of the night. Before “LOVE SO FINE” began, different live show was carried out, but it was not over on time. So we did not have time to prepare enough. It was bad to my heart to go on the stage without sound check. A good thing and a bad thing often happen at the same time.

++ When and why did All Twin’s Birthday stop making music? Were you involved in any other bands afterwards?

Probably it was about 1997. I think that we wanted to try something new. I joined some units. After that, I joined 3 piece band again. The name of this band is Milk Film. Yuka Banno (all twin’s birthday’s bassist) and  Kayoko Yamauchi (Chicago Bass’s bassist) sang and played the guitars. And we recorded and released CDs.

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

Bo Suzuki is active as a instrumental band’s leader of Noahlewis’ Mahlon Taits.

++ Has there ever been a reunion? Or talks of playing again together?

Reunion? God only knows…

++ Did you get much attention from the radio?

I think probably our song did not play on the radio.
On the other hand, many DJs played our 7inch at club, and still play.

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

Fanzines gave us some attention than the press.

++ What about from fanzines?

For example, our long interview (14 pages) was published on STEREO CASTANETS CHANNEL (just 7inch size fanzines) with an article on (or interview of) Kahimi Karie.

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

We played as opening act before Television Personalities of their Japan tour! I brought their 1st album on that day, and I was going to say to Dan Treacy,  “Can I have your autograph?”. But I was not able to do. I have been impressed just to watch him. Their performance on that night was great and moved me so much.

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

I like reading novels, essays and poetry by American writers and poets. The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon, In Watermelon Sugar by Richard Brautigan, The dogs bark by Truman Capote
and great poetry of William Carlos Williams.

++ Never been to Tokyo or Japan. So I will ask for some recommendations. If a popkid was to visit your city what shouldn’t they miss? What are your favourite sights? And any particular food or drinks that you think one shouldn’t miss?

I think Shimokitazawa is splendid place for popkids. Personally, Ochanomizu and Kandajinbouchou are my favorite towns. There are so many musical instrument stores, new and old bookshops,
record shops and coffee shops (I especially like Sabouru, very nice coffee shop!).

++ Anything else you’d like to add?

Thanks Roque! Your questions inspired me! I thank all friends who cooperated to answer this question. And I thank popkids of the world.

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Listen
All Twin’s Birthday – Everytime We Say Good-Bye

Here are some good finds from the past weekend. Hope you like some of them!

Pia Fraus: Here is a wonderful digital single for “Sweet Sunday Snow”. It comes with three remixes on Bandcamp, “Picnic Remix”, “Ligthships Remix” and “Astrobal Remix”. The Tallin, Estonia, band sounds gorgeous in this recording. Just makes me wish that I’ll see them live one day.

Blue Tomorrows: this Portland band has graced the blog in the past. Sarah Nienaber’s project sounds ace. And her latest is a 9 song album called “Without Color” that is available in limited quantities on tape. Definitely check the track “Crescent Moon Blues” which is great.

Special Friend: Hidden Bay Records has been releasing good music since they started. The latest is this French-American duo formed by Guillaume Siracusa on guitar and Erica Ashleson on drums. The release is a self-titled EP of 5 songs that will be available on vinyl on September 27.

Alice Hubble: I have known Alice for many years now, and I was a big fan of her older band Arthur & Martha and also of the wonderful Seven Inches from Leeds. Nowadays she’s gone solo and will be releasing the album “Polarlichter” sometime this month (some issues with the pressing plant). It will be available on 12″ vinyl as well as on CD. So that’s good news. Terrific synth-pop.

The Leaf Library: the London ensemble is releasing their new album “The World is a Bell” on October 25th! At the moment we can only preview one out of 10 tracks that will be on the record, “Hissing Waves”, and it leaves me wishing to listen to the rest of songs! The record will be out on vinyl and CD.

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Here is yet another record I am looking to find a copy for my collection. Maybe there will be luck in the next weeks, months, or years. It has happened to me that I’ve been lucky tracking some of these records I want after writing about them. Maybe it will happen again!

Kicking the Image is an obscure band of course. There is very little I know about them. I don’t think there are any blog posts about them on the web. This may be the first one. I will try to find any other mentions or any valuable information. I cross my fingers.

Big Bus Records released their record in 7″ and 12″ formats in 1990. The 12″ had a cool sleeve whereas the 7″ didn’t come with one. Both have the catalog number IMAGE 002. I don’t know what was IMAGE 001. Discogs doesn’t list any other records for this label. May as well have been a one off, a sole release by the label? Perhaps it was even the band’s own label?

The 7″ had two songs, “When the Loving Comes” on the A side and “The Truth” on the B side. The 12″ added another song to the A side, “So Long”.  “When the Loving Comes” and “The Truth” were recorded at Coach House Recording Studios in Bristol, England. They were engineered by Allan Keen. “So Long” on the other hand was recorded at Chariot 16 Track Studios in Cardiff, Wales. This song was engineered by Alex Silva. All songs were produced by Danny Chang.

We also know that additional vocals are credited to Samantha Howard and the band thanks Cranes Musical Instruments for loaning them the equipment for the recording. The photo of the sleeve was taken by Andrew ‘Syb’ Newman.

Most importantly we know the band members:
Steve Williams – vocals/guitar
Mike Thomas – bass/vocals
Dan Jones – guitar/vocals
Linus – drums/percussion

I also notice an address on the sleeve…. Penarth, in Glamorgan. So the band was Welsh? Or the label?

I notice that Steve Williams still performs. He does mostly covers it seems. Something interesting I find out is that Kicking the Image played the West Wales Blues festival, closing the festival in front of 9000 people. Then I find out that he was originally from Cardiff. Safe to assume now that Kicking the Image hailed from Wales’ most important city?

I can’t seem to find any other information about the rest of the band members. But at least I feel I’ve gone further than I expected. I am sure there are people reading me that know even more details. Why not share them with everyone on the comment section?

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Listen
Kicking the Image – When the Loving Comes

Friday again! So that’s exciting!

Dear Boy: this Los Angeles band sounds really good! My introduction to the band is their latest digital single, “Heaven Moves”, which sounds gorgeous, very much influenced by classic British guitar pop. What’s even cooler is that they are touring (sadly no New York), but my Mexican friends can catch them on November 16th in Mexico City. How cool is that!

A Certain Smile: the Portland, Oregon, band is back with a new EP called “Bae”. It will include 3 songs, “Cherry Bomb”, “Honey Do” and “Original Replacement” and it is going to be released on the fine Jigsaw Records. Very exciting indeed! And it will be on 7″ vinyl to boot! You can preview the opening track, “Cherry Bomb” on Bandcamp now.

Champion of Youth: another superb release on Jigsaw Records is the self-titled mini-album by this Manchester band! Champion of Youth is actually  a band formed by ex-members of the formidable Amida, so you can expect jangly and ramshackle guitars which is something I love!

New Wave of Hype: this the name of the latest compilation released by the great Jakarta label Dismantled Records! It includes 5 songs, all of them covers of songs by The Wake! So we find Turks & Caicos playing “Provincial Disco”, Ultraviolence plays “Solo Project”, Les Mains Immaculees “Carbrain” and Sharesprings “Talk About the Past”.

Puzzles y Dragones/Alborotador Gomasio: the two Madrid bands, two of my favourite Madrid bands, are releasing a split 7″ on Discos Garibaldi! Each one of them contribute one song, Puzzles y Dragones has “Formas de Mirar” while Alborotador has “Los Bosques”. This is a great sort of reunion, as members of each of the bands were once part of the Aplasta tus Gafas de Pasta DIY collective!

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Kelvin Davis on lead vocals and guitar, Tony Vessey on bass guitar and backing vocals, Steve Bessemer on drums and percussion and Doug McNair on keyboards and backing vocals were the mid-80s mod band The B-Team. They were to release just the one single, but what a great single that is!

The wonderful “All I Ever Wanted” on the A side, penned by Kelvin Davis, is a burst of joy. And then on the B side, a joint effort by all 4 members, we find “Bad Day”, another fine track! The songs were recorded at Empire Studio’s in Manor Park, in London. If you want to hear both of them, they are available on Soundcloud. This account is by Jon Vessey, maybe a brother of Tony?

The record was released in 1985 by Diamond Record Corporation (DIA 008), a small UK label that was active in the mid 80s. The art for the sleeve is credited to Artschool while the photography of the band to Deborah Laight and Jo Baker. There is a credit to Brenden Wilson for processing. Not sure what it means though. It also seems that the letter B is printed on both labels, as if there was no A side. The thing is that the matrices do show which one was the A side.

Many years later, in 1996, the band would see their two songs included in a 22-track compilation called “This is Mod Volume 3 – A Diamond Collection”. On this one they appear alongside many bands that were on their old label Diamond Record Corporation like The Moment or The Scene. This comp was released by Anagram Records (CDMGRAM 106).

Then in 2018 the Japanese label DDA Confidential would release “Ita Cemetry Gates Volume 3” (DDAMDC 016) and would include “All I Ever Wanted” on it. This is an interesting compilation as it includes bands like Dolly Mixture and then you see Big Star or Elvis Costello.

I check on Discogs if any of the members were involved in any other bands but it doesn’t look like it.

On a forum I see a mention of a live tape, probably from a gig at the Wood Green in London 1986. This same forum mentions that Tony Vessey left the band in the early days of 1986 to start his own band Amo Amas and was replaced by Paul Rosendale. It also mentions a second single with the song “And All Because” on ASM Records. Never heard about this! Then that they split up in 1987. At the time of the forum post, 2007, it says that Kelvin was playing in a band called Blow Up, Steve was playing in a Jam tribute band while Paul Rosendale was living in Spain and he did a solo rock n’ roll/mod/new wave show there.

I would really like to find out more about this 2nd record!

So at the end of my little research I am left with more doubts and questions than I had at the beginning. I hope someone can fill in the blanks, paint me a better picture of this superb mod-revival band and about that second single!

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The B-Team – All I Ever Wanted