Merry Christmas From The Ramones

A Parting Gift Before Hiatus

January is down-time at the I-94 Bar. A couple of things will be up before year's end but this blog will be on va-ca. So whatever you're planning, have a good one.

Dave Laing from Savage Beat Records sent this trailer for the forthcoming Runaways movie. Looks pretty promising.

Public Image Limited

First report of the initial PiL gig on John Lydon's post-Pistols band's reformation tour is positive. This YouTubeage supports the opinion. Was it 1985 when PiL came to Australia? I heard it was with a line-up made up of session hacks so I kept away.

New Gurus

They've disabled embedding of the video so you'll just have to go here to see the new single.

Finally, a small justice

Continuing our Stooges theme and the pilloring of the Rock and Roll Hall of Lame at every opportunity. Overnight it was announced that The World's Forgotten Boys have been announced as 2010 inductees. Finally! Along with ABBA and The Hollies!

It's the eighth time the Stooges had been nominated and the greatest tragedy is that they're going to cross the line without Ron Asheton on-board, at least in the physical sense.

I know the Hall of Lame is a joke, presided over by turds who don't know their arse from their elbow, but if the elevation/descent/enshrinement of a band as perfectly fucked up as the Stooges occurs then maybe, just maybe, people will sit up and take notice, and realise that they don't have to consume bland, soul-less music they're spoon-fed.

You got a better idea?

House band for hire

Some guy named James Williamson turned 60 recently and look who he played with in the party band. That's host Scott Thurston on the far left, who turned over his Culver City, California, home for the event. You may know him from Tom Petty's band these days but many years ago he was in a more notorious outfit.

Continuing along the line that's Mike Watt on bass, Scott "Rock Action" Asheton behind the traps, Steve Mackay with his sax and (far right) Strait James.

Ring any bells?

Weddings and parties a speciality. Robert Mattheu took the photo.

Pass some Stones

Here. No, I don't have the faintest idea either. Something to do with people who have lots of time on their hands.

Norwegian families spread Turbonegro love in Indonesia

Here's a gem I found on the Turbonegro site. It's from reality show Den Store Reisen (The Big Journey) on Norwegian TV station NRK, in which families are shipped off to the jungles of Indonesia to live with the Mentawai tribe.

The song is "I Got Erection". I'm told by Queensland writer Andrew Stafford, who recently took a trip to Norway, that Tubonegro are quite mainstream up that way.

On a more serious note, TBNGR are playing a few shows in Europe with Euroboy declaring he's cancer-free after his recent run of treatment.

All I want for Xmas...

...is an air ticket. That's not too much to ask, is it?

I would like the band (Iggy and the Stooges, that is) to refrain from playing Ig's solo stuff. As much as Strait James had a hand in "New Values" as producer and all, this is a Stooges show and they should perform Stooges songs. The insertion of "The Passenger" et al into their set in Brazil last month just didn't fit, after listening to a shoddy MP3 audio download of the gig.

Niagara speaks, you listen

Brett Callwood has profiled the Detroit diva of Destroy All Monsters and Dark Carnival fame in the Metro Times, with a focus on her relationships with the late Ron Asheton and present minder/beau Colonel Galaxy.

Now, I dunno about the Hitmen being "hired hands" - more like co-offenders to my way of thinking - but the rest of the piece is a really good read. And if you haven't caught up with the Niagara & The Hitmen live album "St Valentine's Day Massacre" (out on Savage Beat/Shock in Australia and Steel Cage in the rest of ther world), you ought to be shot with a ball of your own shit, to put it bluntly.

R n R Hall of Lame (2) closes

The Rock and Roll Hall of Lame people in Cleveland opened a New York City "annex" about a year ago. It closed earlier this week. This columnist in Cleveland says he knows why. I like the cut of his jib.

In The Raw debuts

"In The Raw" was a song by mid-'80s Sydney noise terrorists Lubricated Goat. They played it on national TV in 1988 and created outrage because they performed...In The Raw.





I well remember the sceeening on a Thursday night on the Andrew Denton-hosted "Blah Blah Blah" show. The tabloid reaction was predictably over-the-top and I presume the media were given advance copies of the footage just to make it all the more easy to froth. Yes, there was a bit of schlong dangling but these days you'd see more Big Swinging Dicks at Sydney financial district bars like The Establishment on a Friday night.


The event itself and its fall-out is the subject of a documentary that's been a long time coming. It'll finally see the light of day after six years at this weekend's Meredith Festival outside Melbourne, says maker Cousin Creep.

Cousin Creep has spent a fair chunk of time documenting the music around the anarchic scene that was the Black Eye label, itself a noisy spin-off from the Red Eye imprint. You can find his blog here.


Red Eye was eventually swallowed up by a major label and vestiges of its origins remain in the form of the Sydney shop of the same name. As for Lubricated Goat, they were one leprosy-ridden limb of the Black Eye label, which celebrated aural experimentation and dissembling of rock and roll.


As an aside, Stu Spasm from the Goat ended up being married to riot grrrrl ,over and shaker Kat Bjelland (Babes In Toyland) for a while.


Public nudity for free beer and so-bad-they're-good cover songs played a big part in live shows by Black Eye bands. Personally, I thought a lot of the scene reeked of smack and unmusicality for the sake of it, but I can't deny the confrontational power and fuck-you attitude that it had. Key scenesters grew up to be merchant bankers, lawyers and creative directors - so you know it had to be one fucked up circle.

"It's Christmas Time Again"

That's a tune Chris Klondike Masuak committed to vinyl as his contribution to a charity LP called "Rockin' Bethlehem" back in the days when schooners of cheer were around two bucks. You can download a copy of the song to hang on your Myspace by clicking on that link or the title of this post.

DFFD has a blog

The Dictators have a blog happening. Thanks to LIndsay Hutton for the tip.

You can track them on Twitter, too, if that's your thing. Follow here.

While there's not much occurring on the live front, 'Tators members have all sorts of projects on the boil. Top of the heap is JP Patterson's new album "The LP{ Is Dead" which we'll be reviewing at the Bar very soon.

ZuelWatch: Sexy, jugs and just a hint of rock 'n' roll

An unremarkable couple of days on the Bernard Zuel front since we kicked off ZuelWatch. The Sydney Moaning Herald's chief music writer has penned a piece on AOR classical artist Katherine Jenkins headed "Sexy, drugs and just a hint of rock 'n' roll".

Bernie doesn't compose the headlines so we'll cut him some slack there, but why you'd actually write about someone who walks in the shadow of La Queen of Bland, Celine Dion, soul-sucking apparition Michael Buble (Bubblehead) and the Evil Dutch King himself, Andre Rear (pun intended), I'd not know.

Then again, Katherine Jenkins is headlining the annual Sydney Yuletide family fest Carols in the Domain. And she does have a nice rack. Caddy, pass me the five irony, please.

Weekend at Bernie's

As far as mainstream music writers go, Bernard Zuel of the the Sydney Morning Herald writes stuff that's neither here nor there on the I-94 Bar radar screen. Much of the time it's the latest British indie pop thing, and he has a leaning to innocuous country music. What really stands out, however, is Bernie's predilection for reviewing good looking female recording artists he'd like to, er, put on high-rotation.

The latest is "rootsy" (term used under advisement) American singer-songwriter Jess Klein (who doesn't even have an album out in Australia.) Bernie's weekend review wasn't available for online perusal, but you can see some of his finest work regarding Perth blues-rocker Abbe May here. Slip it in, indeed!

Now, Abbe's record doesn't fluff around when it talks about sex - in fact that's all it talks about - but you can see there's a long-term fixation on Bernie's part. You can't help but that think if Abbe ever wants a room, Bernie's going to be reaching for his credit card. Zuel rhymes with...?

There's nothing wrong with linking music to sex. Rock and Roll is essentially all about sex and death, but some of Bernie's more florid writings read more like a personal ad on a bad online dating site, or billboard copy for the clinics selling erectile dysfunction cures. Here's a modest sample:

When May sings, she pins you back and holds you up like some giant dangling a floppy doll: helpless and happy to be so. When she curls around a hard-nosed lyric she sends a charge through you like that first powerful crush you had on an impossible target: bring the pain, please.


Enough pain already, Bernie! And we know this line could be directed in our general direction (if Bernie cared)...

All those boys, and boy critics, in thrall to blokey "hard" bands repeating on history and themselves like some all-in burping competition would do well to shut up and see the truth. Abbe May has those bands for breakfast.


Lest you dismiss this post as a cheap shot, be aware that we're not the first people to notice. A couple of labels around town have noted that it's a waste of time sending most promotional material to BZ unless the act in question is good looking and female. Further afield, there's at least one PhD paper in the offing that references Bernard Zuel's drool.

So in honour ofT Great Man, I'm kicking off ZuelWatch, an occasional and fun space for referencing any Bernie-isms and making sure he gets a date. Even if he is married. Post comments in the usual place or email scans of past indiscretions or goss to barman@i94bar.com

London Calls Again

There's yet another legacy edition of "London Calling" coming, if it's not here already. Online magazine Quietus says something very perceptive about it:

However, the problem with London Calling is in its inconsistencies and incoherence. For what is seen as a "brave" album in the context of its time, there is little that links each track to the other in form and fluidity. The shuffling rigmarole of Vince Taylor's 'Brand New Cadillac', and the crapulous slur and turgid bass-walk of 'Jimmy Jazz', are only to be saved by the Bo Didley-like 'Hateful' at the start. It's the aural equivalent of a trifle: somewhat confused as to what it is, ingredients and influences have been thrown into a bowl with a lack of care and clarity, but a whole lot of enthusiasm that tries to cater for every taste.

"London Calling" is a sweeping, sometimes dated and occasionally ham-fisted attempt to say something to everyone. That's a strength and a flaw. I wonder if the Clash would have been given enough rope (sorry) to make an album like it in this era. They tried again with "Sandanista" and that time were found wanting.

There was something very exciting about hearing it at the time and even cultural rent boy Molly Meldrum's gibbering endorsement on Countdown (admit it - you watched it) couldn't spoil it entirely.

More of that review here.

Robert Quine's Tube Screamer (Revisited)

Sold on eBay for 41 US bucks. Just in case you were dying wondering.

Robert Quine's Tube Screamer

Someone is selling it on eBay here if it's not gone by the time you read this. Who wouldn't want to own a pedal owned by the guitarist responsible for some of the most beautifully noxious sounds committed to tape? Gracias to Steve Gregory for the head-up.

Xmas comes early...and it's Hard To Beat

In the shape of Santa suit-wearing Stooges cover band The Scrooges:

So great an idea they should bottle it. Oh, wait...

The idea of cross promoting wines through association with famous bands is a clever one that US company Wines That Rock have launched. No word on whether the beverage inside the bottle matches the bullshit but we can anticipate that with a retail price of about $20 in Aussie money, the stuff would be passable.

Pink Floyd and their mainstream multi-million dollar earner "Dark Side Of The Moon" has been chosen as the first band to be matched with a wine, in this case a 2006 Cab Sav. There are more varietals coming, including Rolling Stones and Woodstock dedications.

There are some endless possibilities here and it shouldn't end with a piss up over a glass or three of Pink Floyd plonk. How about a line of Iggy-branded Passion Pop? Surely Shane MacGowan deserves a range of not-too-delicate-on-the-palate gut rot that you could brush your teeth in? The magnificent Jet could have their own varietal that tastes like cheap versions of everything else, but is ultimately low-alcohol and thoroughly unsatisfying.

Revival a night no-one with half a brain should miss

Just 10 bucks to see this line-up? You'd have to be mad to pass it up if in the area. Online tix have just gone on sale here.

Klondike cuts loose

Nick Cave, Wolfmother and young bands who pose but can't play get the treatment from Aussie music Hall of Famer Chris Klondike Masuak (Hitmen, Radio Birdman, KN40, the New Christs, the Screaming Tribesmen et al) at music website Mess & Noise here. Nice one Blockster!

It's not too late

But it might be soon. The Hitmen shows at the Sando (with all new band room) this weekend are looking like sell-outs. You can score tix online here.

Main support both nights are Decline Of The Reptiles who have a new album in the can. The fantastic Snoozefests open Friday and vets Young Docteurs do the honours on Saturday.

Do you call this a Velvet Underground reunion?

Probably not but the NY Public Library's description is as vague as all get-out in regards to what they're doing. David Fricke from Rolling Stone is on the bill so it's probably a Q & A session. Reed, Yule and Tucker doesn't have the same ring to it as the Velvet Underground.

Sterling Morrison has an excuse but where's John Cale? Something tells me he may not have been invited - or wouldn't have turned up, given the presence of one other party.

Props to Stupefation for the heads-up.

Wanda is Jack's Fujiyama Grandmama

Rockabilly queen and ex-Elvis squeeze Wanda Jackson teaming with producer Jack White? There have been stranger combos. Initially, it's for a digital single, so both are probably giving things a try before they buy. More about this here.

There are still people kicking around "what if" regarding White's failure to get the Stooges production job for what was "The Weirdness". Speculation of course, but who's going to help the reformed-again band cut an album this time out? James and Ig seem keen to do something.

(There! I knew I could turn a rockabilly post into a Stooges one.)

Syl Sylvain, David Jo back on solo trail

They haven't abandoned the NY Dolls who are about to tour the UK, but both principal members will be doing their own thing as well. For Johanasen that means a one-off show in the US and for Sylvain it's work in his home studio. There's an expansive interview with Syl here.

Mike Watt correction

I mis-labelled Watt's bass in a recent post about him honouring fallen Stooge Ron Asheton by applying the guitarist's photo to his instrument (aka the Thud Stick.) Herewith a message from the Man:

barman,

you are very kind, thank you.

I have to tell you though that bass in the picture is a gibson! sorry.
I use a 1965 gibson eb-0 w/the stooges. I removed the original pickup
and added two rio grande pit bull pickups to replace it.

big respect to ron asheton.

thank you again.

on bass, watt

Rarities from the vault: Sonic's Rendezvous Band and Scott Morgan Band

The audio is from a Sonic's Rendezvous Band show from 1978, recently unearthed by Michigan multimedia producer Ed Primeau and left with him for safekeeping. The montage was done by one of Ed's employees.

And here's a Scott Morgan Band/Scots Pirates promotional clip Ed dug up:



That second one would be rarer than a piss-up around a TV set in an Amish elder's lounge room, I'd reckon.

Mike Watt remembers

The Stooges bassist honours fallen brother Ron Asheton every time he takes his Gibson bass on stage. You can hear him interview bandmate James Williamson here.

Something Wild - Scott Morgan Band (1983)

That's Scott Morgan singing, his fellow former Sonic's Rendezvous Band member Gary Rasmussen on bass and then ex-Stooge Scott Asheton behind the kit. Video posted yesterday by producer/engineer Ed Primeau. Blues guy Mike Katon is the talented guitarist.

Free King Khan (and BBQ)!!!

Canadian trash garage-soul genius King Khan is due in Australia next month to play the Falls Festival and a handful of dates but the news that he and partner-in-grime BBQ have been arrested on tour in the US and charged with drug possession is one bit of info right out the box. Thanks to Kopper from Garagepunk.com for the heads-up and guess you won't be seeing the pair Waddlin' Around in St Louis this weekend.

I guess that King Khan will be out of stir and a semi free man by the time the Aussie shows roll around but since he is dark-complexioned, is fond of women's wigs and was in a lock-up in a place called Christian County, Kentucky, we can't be 100 percent sure. A frequently updated blog on the subject is here.

The Original Rock Chick? I think so

It's amazing to think that Ronnie Spector's formidable album "Last of The Rock Stars" is finally getting a US release after 12 years. Laughing Outlaw released it in Australia earlier this decade and it's also been available in Europe. It made the Barman's Top Ten in 2006 and you can read the review here.

Joey Ramone, Keith Richards and members of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the Ravonettes guested and although there's been some obvious radio sheen applied, it's one great record.

Ronnie has been dubbed "the original rock chick" by more than one writer and here.

Happy Birthday Neil

He's 64-years-Young today.

Neil's latest in the series of archival albums is called "Dreamin' Man Live '92" and is out on December 8. It's a live take on the "Harvest Moon" album in intimate mode, just before the album's release.

This shapes as Pleasant But Not Compelling, in my view. Where's the Ditch Trilogy outtakes, the stuff that was too edgy for "Tonight's The Night", for example? The "Time Fades Away" that was too Tequila-fucked to consider unleashing? C'mon Neil. Get THAT stuff out there and stop teasing.

Patti, Lou and Andy make NYC list but where are the Ramones?

The Museum of the City of New York has named Patti Smith, Lou Reed and Andy Warhol on a list of the Big Apple's Top 400 Most Important People but not one Ramone made the cut.

Great musical figures like Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, John Coltrane made it, as well as Sean "Diddy" Coombs. Hang on a second...

It just goes to show that lists really do suck.

Road To Russia on two wheels

The Ramones become a bike. The branding link is dubious to say the least.

Hall of Blame

Time to shut the R 'n' R Hall of Lame? So says the LA Times.

I'd rather see Rolling Stone publisher Jan Wenner shut down if the insider's claim is true that the publisher of that heap of fashion-obsessed tripe has the sort of influence on the voting process that extended to Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five getting the nod over the admittedly harmless Dave Clark Five.

Yeah, shut the fucker. I'm not planning on going there soon.

Pretty good summation, I'd say

Former Sounds writer and NY Dolls biographer Kris Needs on "The Stooges" LP.

Pixies for nixies

Nirvana were the global break-out act of the early '90s but The Pixies (frontman Frank Black pictured) were the soundtrack of any inner-city or suburban hipster party in the closely-preceeding late '80s. Certainly that was the case in Sydney.

Personally, I wasn't fussed about or fascinated with them, either way. I owned "Dolittle", which was flogged to death on the (then listenable) 2JJJ, the youth-orientated Aussie broadcaster whose reach hadn't yet extended nationally and thus wasn't as homogenised as it is today. The Pixies were an OK listen, mainly because their guitars bristled. They were way preferable to A Flock Of Sausages, Pseudo (as in "Fraud") Echo and all those crappy Euro-synth bands, but I had my head in another musical space.

The point is that the reformed Pixies have a world tour happening, as well as a nearly sold-out run through Australia, and that'll take all those once-upon-a-time hispter kids back to their yewf and have everyone asking whether they really had a haircut like that back in the '80s. You'll also get to download each gig, or walk away from a show with a copy on a USB stick.

More immediately, there's a free download of a Paris concert here and everyone likes shit that is free, don't they? Tell me if it's any good.

The Mummies seek mummification after Japanese sojourn

Garage garbage gods The Mummies played a one-off show in Japan recently. Expat American and champion of US West Coast-via-Michigan band The Dogs and American expat, Detroit Jack, explains their plans which include going to Cairo to buy coffins here.

Ironic or what?

This is great. Brittany Spears is slammed by the Australian media for lip-synching on her Oz tour (tickets for which are as pricey as $1500) - and she replies through a mouthpiece. Have a giggle here.

Stooges Go Nuts in Brazil

Here's the set list for the return of the Raw Power Stooges at the Terra Festival in Brazil:

Raw Power
Kill City
Search & Destroy
Gimme Danger
Loose
Fun House
Skull Ring
Johanna
I Got A Right
I Wanna Be Your Dog
Five Foot One
The Passenger
Death Trip
Lust For Life

James Williamson was, of course, back on guitar and Steve Mackay remains in the line-up. From the lo-fi bit I'm hearing, "The Passenger" was a sax-enhanced re-working.

Thanks to Cathy Benson-Burke, first with the news, as usual.

STOP PRESS: Here's some YouTube taken from the broadcast. Sounds great and I can't wait to watch the whole thing but a second guitar would make James' job a lot easier:

Rock and Roll's Turin Shroud

You know what it is and who originally wore it. Long John Gone owns it these days. Read all about it here.

The "Raw Power" Stooges are about to play a festival in Brazil as i type. More on that event as news comes to hand.

I-94 Bar Top Tens

It's that time of the year again. The Top Tens are starting to roll in. Klondike Masuak is first cab off the rank here.

The War Against The Jive

Props to Peter Ross.

Killer Kane doesn't write a thriller

I've been hanging off grabbing Arthur Kane's posthumously-published autobiography. Maybe this confirms I was right not to take the plunge. Musicians often make lousy writers (Nick Cave - are you there?) and I'm not sure there was time to get a ghost writer ion board, given that Killer passed away weeks after there-born Dolls became a big deal.

That's the way the cookie doesn't crumble

Ex-D.O.A. drummer Chuck Biscuits is alive and his mates are angry. Read the comments here. You never heard friends of Paul complain about this, back in the pre-Internet days. Here's a sample quote form the drama:

“The only reason I put any stock in the Internet rumours was because [James Greene, Jr.] used Chucks wife’s name [in private e-mails],” Bob wrote after his visit to Chuck’s house. “Otherwise, I would have filed it under the African ruler looking for money to enlarge his penis file. I am really curious as to who’s been sending [him] this info.”

It's all too Spinal Tap for me.

Another groupie book

An ex-employee/groupie spills the beans on the Beatles and says they used to take drugs. Wow, there's some news. Does the book come in mono and stereo versions?

"Was L.A. cooler back then?" Surely a rhetorical blog post

This LA Times writer poses the question. If it's not a self-evident answer, I don't know what is, even if I haven't been there for six years or so. He got his hands on the Rhino Records box set "Where The Action Is". So should you and me.

You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory (but you can swipe his room number)

The St Peter's Guest House in New Orleans has a steady stream of Johnny Thunders fans beating a path to its door, eager to see the room where Mr Genzales shuffled off this mortal coil in 1991. Curiously, the owner has to buy extra supplies of number three and seven nameplates to replace the ones on the door denoting it as Room 37. Talk about anything that isn't bolted down (although in this case the numbers probably are.)

Here's the late Willie Deville talking about the discovery of Johnny's body. Willie was a neighbour (briefly):

Going out this weekend?

Maybe you need some dancing lessons from James Brown?

Still Hyman plays Hull

Seventy-two-year-old retired Stone Bill Wyman and his all-star band are playing Hull. OK, it's not Wembley Stadium but he's keeping good company and working. Albert Lee and Georgie Fame are on board for a 32-gig tour and old Bill is not ruling out a one-off show with his old band, should they play Glastonbury.

Of course the old pants man is doing much better than Mick Taylor.

Zep for Glastonbury? You probably care a lot more than me

Led Zeppelin (the real deal - as far as they can be with their drummer extinct) are rumoured to be reforming for Glastonbury 2010. Read the vague rumour here. People always ask what I think of Led Zep, and even if they don't I tell them that I like the idea of the band a lot more than their music.

God knows I've heard enough of the band. I used to flat with a huge Led Zep fan who played them incessantly. Which means A Lot.

I loved the Yardbirds in their various configurations and acknowledge the debt heavy metal, as a genre, owes Page and Co. Just think, no Iron Maiden without these guys. Sheesh.

But I can't stand listening to Robert Fucking Plant and his air raid siren voice. This is coming from a fan of excess - not INXS, stupid - in many of its shapes and forms. Plant's voice is like nails on a chalkboard and overblown to the point of me wanting to say: 'Shut the fuck up, you drama queen'. He's a ham and Led Zep would have been great without him. I wish a groupie had stuck a mudshark down his throat.

Don't get me started on Freddie Mercury or Jimmy Barnes.

I could have my arm twisted, I suppose

This should not pass without mention

Last Tram Home goes live

TJ Honeysuckle's I-94 Bar-affliated blog Last Tram Home is presenting shows in Melbourne. TJ is DJ'ing:

Sightlines? No problem!

Downtown Calling

It's a new film on the New York art and music scene of the '70s, narrated by Debbie Harry. Here's the synopsis:

In the late 1970s, the “greatest city in the world” was teetering on the edge of total chaos. A failed economy, crime and en mass housing corruption gave way to a city in crisis. Yet out of the economic and social strife that held the “Big Apple” hostage, a family of homegrown cultures that would forever change the world began to emerge. Downtown Calling not only documents, in detail, the evolution of New York City’s fertile music and art subculture during this period, but how its collective output continues to play a prominent, driving role in the international fashion, art and music industries today.

There's a preview here which isn't an embeddable clip. Mark the film makers down for that error in the Age of Web 2.0.

I'm not sniffing much underground music content here except for James Chance. It's probably very hip hop focused. I wonder why someone doesn't go the whole hog and document the No Wave movement. Surely there's enough in the way of amateur footage and survivors?

Iggy signs up to The Lamest Marketing Idea. Ever

Holy shit! This is the story:

The "edgy" marketing promotion for a New Zealand broadband provider seeks Kiwi "musicians" via Idol-style auditions at a bar. Their prize will be to go into a studio to re-record "The Passenger" (after a fashion) with Iggy Pop - who'll phone his vocal in via broadband.

First insurance, now broadband. He's entitled to earn a crust but is there no end to what the man will shuck? Remotely, of course, in this instance.

The promoters are putting up a bar tab of - wait for it - 500 bucks to fuel the audition process. That should go a long way - if the contest is held in a phone box.

And the brand positioning of a tightwad broadband ISP aligning with the World's Forgotten Boy is what exactly...? At least Ig won't be duetting with Jet this time out.

Bad '80s metal band goes viral

You know the headline's going to make you click this.

New photo of secret 1970 UK Stooges gig

While our 2007 posting of previously unseen 1971 Stooges photos caused a stir, we've unearthed another gem - courtesy of UK label Easy Action and Stooges Fan Club president Natalie Schlossman. Natalie found this stunning evidence of the Stooges playing a secret 1970 show at Wakefield Workingman's Club in the UK - two years PRIOR to their infamous London gig immortalised by photographer Mick Rock on the cover of "Raw Power." We now await Easy Action's CD from a tape of that Wakefield gig.

All The Old Dudes

Never been a massive fan but I can appreciate a lot of their music, so it would be bereft to mention the recent run of Mott The Hoople reunion shows in the UK, especially as I know a few Aussies who made the trek. There's a nice review here.

Why John Mayer is a bore, figuratively speaking

If soft cock rocker and alleged bluesman John Mayer uses the threat of sodomy as a media management tool, perhaps it's a clue to why he went out with someone called Jennifer Anuston.

Do you think the interview is real? Is he?

1971

We'll get to reviewing the "1971" Stooges disc set on Easy Action in a week or so but here's some blather from Blog To Comm.

The always erudite Houndblog proffers opinion here.

Aloha Steve and Danno at Summer Bay

The incorporation of icons like Radio Birdman into Australian mainstream life continues at a less than frantic pace. Words is - and I don't watch the show so it's hearsay - last week the band got a mention in a plotline between two characters on soap opera Home and Away.

Summertime Blues

And a belated goodbye to Blue Cheer bassist and singer Dickie Peterson who died last week.

Stooges will take Manhattan (or somewhere close by)

The Stooges dates start being thrown out there. ATP in NYC has them according to this.

Guess that's official then

Three shows only. Maybe next time will be with Niagara.

Remembering Lester Bangs

The Houndblog remembers Lester Bangs here. Click through to one of the greatest blogs on the Net, no shit.

Metro Times reveals Deniz Tek nearly became a Stooge

Probably the best and most comprehensive interview with Iggy and James Williamson you'll see this time around in the lifetime(s) of the Stooges has appeared in the Detroit Metro Times. Bill Holdship has conducted long interviews with both and has done a fantastic job.

Watch for the "Raw Power" original mix re-issue and ponder what might have been, post Ron, if Ig hadn't decided to put ex-Radio Birdman leader Deniz Tek on ice and pursue Strait James.

It's not too late on that front and reprising "Raw Power" songs surely needs a second guitar. Read it here.

God Only Knows

..where I got this but by god it's good.

Andy Williams: Tripper

If Stashdauber (aka Ken Shimamoto) hadn't pointed it out I wouldn't have believed it. Crooner Andy Williams dropped LSD. Next they'll say Elvis took drugs. You say what?

Another Sidsploitation DVD

Out on MVD Visual on November 17 in the US and everywhere else shortly after, I'd guess.

THe collector's edition comes with a 10-track CD, which I'd suppose would be a re-heated version of the woeful "Sid Sings!" from his run of Max's shows.

Hey, Ho, Don't Blow!

Let's hope the news that Fox Searchlight are in talks about a biopic about the Ramones bears fruit. And that the prickly question of musical rights is cleared quickly.

Of course the prospect of a movie being done well is another matter. The issue of a council clean-up and the need to turf out anything of no use here at Ramones Manor reminded me of that Stones/Brian Jones movie "Stoned" which was among the first things to be tossed out.Oliver Stone should hang his head in shame about some of the sillier aspects of "The Doors" and although I saw "Sid and Nancy" a couple of times while living in London in the '80s, it's not on my most-watched list these days.

Your suggestions for casting for the parts of Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee and Tommy are welcome in comments.

Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell

This is out on November 1, the Amazon listing says. Could there be anything left to say about this trio? Here's the promotional blurb:

"First-ever look at the intertwining, outrageous lives of three rock legends. When Lou Reed and Iggy Pop first met David Bowie in the fall of 1971, Bowie was just another English musician passing through New York City. Lou was still recovering from the collapse of the Velvet Underground, and Iggy had already been branded a loser... Yet within two years they completely changed the face of popular music with a decadent glamour and street-level vibe. With Bowie producing, Reed's Transformer album was a worldwide hit, spinning off the sleazy street anthem "Walk on the Wild Side." Iggy's Raw Power, mixed by Bowie, provided the mean-spirited, high-octane blueprint for Punk. Bowie boosted elements from both Iggy and Reed to create his gender-bending rock idol Ziggy Stardust. Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell is the story of this friendship and the incredible productivity and debauchery that emerged from it. Presented here for the very first time are their stories interwoven in a triple helix of sexuality, glam rock, and drugs - as seen through the eyes of the people who made it happen."

Drugs Are Wasted On The...

...Old and Stupid? Ozzy in full flight for Finnish TV:

Niagara & The Hitmen

Their live album "St Valentine's Day Massacre" is coming down the turnpike and is out on Savage beat/Shock in Australian retail on October 9 and on Steel Cage around the world about the same time. Steel Cage have started online sales from their website. Stay tuned for live Hitmen dates. Here's a preview of what to expect on the album:

These are some of Handsome Dick's favourite things

For those who only read Playboy online for the articles, here's the King of Men, Handsome Dick Manitoba, delivering what amounts to a string of endorsements for some of his favourite NYC places and things. Fine by me.

For anyone who doesn't know who we're talking about, see below. Yes, the Dictators are still playing but sadly it appears only in Spain.

The Last Days of Jim Carroll

I'm in debt to Stashdauber Shimamoto for this link to an excellent NY Times piece.

Will the Stooges meet their Waterloo?

ABBA and the Stooges nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Lame. It won't affect the latter's place in the scheme of things but it would be nice if they were acknowledged by the people without a clue. ABBA has to be at shorter odds, recent Hall of Lame idiocy suggests.

Rhino nearly extinct?

I've been reading Last Shop Standing, an insider's account of the demise of the independent record shop in the UK, but the news (thanks Lindsay Hutton) that Warner's legacy label Rhino Records in the US has laid off most of its staff is a low blow to the future of music.

Major labels have seen re-packaging, re-formatting and line extensions as the salvation of the traditional music retail model, essentially because it means me and you parting with our money several times over. It also lends itself to the new download channel because even baby boomers hankering for the past have computers.

Dunno where this is all going but it doesn't seem likely to be a nice place.

Silly Allen

Haha. A minder probably wrote it anyway.

People Remember a Person Who Died

Nice tribute to Jim Carroll. Thanks to Frank McEwen for spotting it.

Who woulda thought...

Lemmy was a rodeo fan?

JW Week

If you hadn't heard it's James Williamson Week over at the I-94 Bar. Here's my interview with him. Nice fella.

Thought I'd add this as it seems to be a new addition to the YouTubeage of James' return to the stage with the Careless Hearts in San Jose earlier this month.

Suicide to play with Stooges

It seems the daring duo (half of which doesn't fly) is making the trip over the Atlantic to support the Stooges in London next May. Tix go on sale here.

Drunk & Disorderly Podcast Episode 24

It's here. Here's what's on it:

Guilty - Los Hories (Don't Bother Us EP/Off The Hip)
Goin' Ape - The Tex Reys (Cave Girl/self released)
Memories Remain - Penny Ikinger (Fragile EP/self released)
Left Alone - Mother And Father (Nothin'/Z-Man Records)
Nite Watchmen - Mimic Jester (Wilde Psych/unknown)
Away With Me - Labor Party (Hellhound Down/Steel Cage)
Civilized Man - Tex Napalm & Dimi Dero (Stinky Singers/Beast Records)
Of Hopes And Dreams And Tombstones - Purple Hearts (Benzedrine Beat/Half a Cow)
The Price Of Love - The DTs (Nice'n'Ruff - Hard Soul Hits Vol. 1/Estrus)
I Wanna Turn Off Your Smile - Sonic Assassin (State is Enemy Forever!/Freakshow Records)
Sister Soul - The Holy Curse (Feed The Dogs/Turborock)
Bad Queenie - The Intercontinental Playboys (Hymns Of The Flesh/I-94 Bar Records)
Take It Easy - The Cherry Valence (The Cherry Valence/Estrus)
Siam - The Kill Devil Hills (Man, You Should Explode/Torn & Frayed)
Midnight Moses - Angus Khan (Black Leather Soul/Nickel & Dime Records)
Good Soldier - Vegas Kings (You'll Never Work In This Town Again/Mere Noise Records)
Brother Grahame Says -Johnny Casino & The Secrets (Live On 3PBS/Off The Hip)

Hey Ho, Let's Go...to the cemetery

A Johnny Ramone tribute with a screening of a colourised, 3D print of Night of the Living Dead in a graveyard? Why the hell not?

This looks like The Shit

Richard Hell meets Russell Crowe on Australian TV

Jennifer Kyte is clueless. Sarah Bernhardt marginally less so. You don't actually see Hell meet Crowe so who knows if either rubbed off on the other.

More John Sinclair + More Up

This Thirsty Media blog runs some choice rock and roll stuff. Latest is an interview with john Sinclair that manages to say something about the rogueish old rabble rouser that we hadn't heard.


And while we're in the neighbourhood, another fine Michigan product will have another day in the sun. UK label Easy Action is issuing a collection of music by former Grande Ballroom house band The Up. Details here.

On Tour Now

R.I.P. Jim Carroll

Passed away after a heart attack, aged 60. The obvious response to the passing of the cultish New Yorker, whose career was once nurtured by the Stones, appears below.

Stone broke

Mick Taylor's departure and estrangement from the Stones is a sad story. You can read about it here.

He claims to have been cut off from his royalty stream and denied credit for writing some of the band's material. There's a hint of legal action in the tail of the story but you'd have to question the odds of that succeeding.

Dark Carnival at the Magic Bag in Detroit

Beatles, smeatles, I'd rather catch up with Dark Carnival, although Ron Asheton was a huge fan.

Who hates the Beatles?

Amongst all the hype around their albums being re-issued, did anyone notice this?

What they played

Courtesy of Kristy, here's the set list for James Williamson with The Careless Hearts at The Blank Club in San Jose:

Raw Power, Cock In My Pocket, Johanna, 1970, Funhouse, No Sense Of Crime, Gimme Danger, I Need Somebody, Penetration, Night Theme, I Got Nothin', Loose, TV Eye, Search and Destroy, I Gotta Right, I Wanna Be Your Dog, Louie Louie.

Raw Power - James Williamson w/ the Careless Hearts, San Jose. September 5

...and Search & Destroy....



...along with Cock in My Pocket.

Stooges Reunite With “Raw Power” Guitarist, Prep ATP Gig and Tour : Rolling Stone : Rock and Roll Daily

Stooges Reunite With “Raw Power” Guitarist, Prep ATP Gig and Tour : Rolling Stone : Rock and Roll Daily

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Found Dead

Does this solve doubts about the death of Brian Jones or is it (another) Sunday paper beat-up?

Cock Rock

The Internet is alive with rocking dongs. This guy in Houston is writing about cocks in rock. Who would have credited Gordon Lightfoot with a song about his schlong? Meanwhile, back in the Motor City, Dennis Machine Gun Thompson has posted a funny account of his encounter with the infamous Cynthia Plaster Caster (who is apparently in the throes of writing a book.)

This Jet fails to take off

"By and large, 'Shaka Rock"'is an unmistakable and confident move toward respectability for Jet. But it does make you wonder why it's so rough for a band to be young, dumb and full of bad come-ons."

That's one review of the new Jet album. From the LA Times so they must have a good publicist on the payroll. I know nothing's new in rock and roll but perhaps the abject and too obvious lack of anything new to say in their past work has something to do with it.

Anyway, if you want a real laugh at Jet's expense, have a read of this.

Breaking On Through One More Time

I know the post-Jim Doors machine has been a runaway train business entity, seemingly aimed at squeezing every last cent out of the Lizard King's adoring fans, but maybe this premium-priced box set might be worth close to the asking price of US$90.

The last days of the Doors have a dark attraction to them - sort of like the truck-running-downhill-with-no-brakes finality. "LA Woman" had a damaged, world-weary blues feel that dwarves much of the band's mid-period output.

This one pre-dates The End, documenting NYC gigs that would appear, in part, on the sprawling/bloated "Absolutely Live" set and recorded around the time of "Morrison Hotel", but you can hear where they're heading.

Read more about the box set here.

James Williamson online

He has a website. A new I-94 Bar interview will appear in the fullness of time.

Before we were so rudely interrupted

If you've been thinking it was quiet around these parts lately, you were right. A terminal graphics card took the whole damned mother(fucker) board with it and $1100 bucks later we're b-a-a-a-a-a-c-k. Hope you missed us.

Lester Bangs speaks

Stooges 1971 is in sight

The long-awaited Easy Action box set featuring the killer Asheton-Williamson guitar line-up ships next week. Here's the announcement from da man Carlton:

We are relieved and happy to eventually give you the information that the Stooges *You Want My Action * deluxe set will start to ship end of next week (week starting 24th August 2009). Its taken bloody ages to complete but here we have it .

We also want to thank all of you for your incredible patience and understanding and support as we went through hell trying to put this together with Companies going bust on us, proofs being rejected not once but twice as they simply werent good enough. Each time knowing that us rejecting it would cost us another week . what were we going to do ? say yeah that'll do, we're under lots of pressure to deliver, just shlock it out ...like fuck !!

I am happy to say that we have infuriated you beyond reasonability because we wanted to get it right , we could have shipped something five weeks ago but it wouldnt have been as good as what you will get next week.

Again your support through all of this has been fuckin impressive , in the past we have dealt with other fan bases that would have been moaning and griping and taking our name through the mud by now . so a huge thank you to the Stooges fans for being real !! And we want to hear from you all when you get this ok?

We are already plotting the next one :)

Go grab it here.

Japanese Sonic's Rendezvous Band tribute act

They're called Sonic-KO's Rendezvous Band. What's more is they're

pretty good. I have no idea what he's singing so that makes it close to the original.

Intercontinental Playboys album launch this Saturday night

At the Ivory Lounge at 620 Harris Street, Ultimo. That's in Sydney.

The album will be here later today.

R.I.P. Les Paul

DEATH goes on the road

Unheard by most (until now), DEATH was an all-black Detroit proto-punk band who turned down major label Arista because Clive Davis wanted them to change their name to something more positive. Their '70s demos have been released by a Chicago label and DEATH (the members who are still alive) are touring.

More info here and our review of their record is here.

Talk about shallow

Jeez Jim, I would have thought you'd ask some more incisive questions than these given the fact you wrote an authorised bio of the band (and the jacket blurb for this book.)

Destiny Street repaired

The Richard Hell "repaired" mix of his final proper Voidoids studio album, "Destiny Street", is being previewed by his label. Hell complained that he was too drug-fucked at the time of its recording to do the songs justice.

Of course he's probably right, but a key element of the sessions was guitarist Robert Quine who's no longer on the planet. Hell's left Quine's scything rhythm work intact but has called in other players to play solos.

It's a bit of a "Raw Power" situation. There are good things about the repair job (the title track takes on a funkier, more vibrant life, for example) but it just doesn't feel right. Maybe that opinion will change over time. Sometimes you do have to wonder if it's sane to let rampant narcissists re-evaluate their own work.

Judge for yourself here.