Miscellaneous - July 2010

  by Admin

published: 10 / 7 / 2010

intro

Hello and welcome to the July edition of the Pennyblackmusic magazine. If there is a loose theme to this edition, it is that of the role of the bass player in a group. Bassists are often seen as having a surplus role in

Hello and welcome to the July edition of the Pennyblackmusic magazine. If there is a loose theme to this edition, it is that of the role of the bass player in a group. Bassists are often seen as having a surplus role in bands, deemed as a recent BBC documentary series, ‘I’m in a Rock ‘n’ Roll Band,’ put it as “the other one”, and coming in a third or fourth position of seniority after the vocalist, guitarist and maybe the drummer. Yet to do this is not just dismissive of Paul McCartney, John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin, Thin Lizzy’s Phil Lynott, Paul Simonon from the Clash and Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but the achievements and efforts of thousands of bassists and halves of rhythm sections across the world. In our lead interview this month Anthony Strutt at a gig in London talks to two influential bassists, Peter Hook from Joy Division and New Order and Mani from the Stone Roses and Primal Scream about their bands and also their bass only project, Freebass. Elsewhere in what was more of a fortunate coincidence rather than any real planning on our behalf, our writer Adrian Huggins, who is the bassist in the Newcastle-based dance/rock group, Delta Sound, talks with Lisa Torem in her ‘Rock Salt Row’ series, which examines a different issue in rock every month, and argues the case for bassists everywhere. Our other main interviews this month are with the bestselling Los Lobos who are releasing a new album, ‘Tin Can Trust’, in August; Bauhaus frontman Peter Murphy, who has both a new solo album out, ‘Ninth’ and is also acting in ‘Eclipse’, the second in the ‘Twilight’ series; former Six By Seven frontman Chris Olley who has just released his debut CD, ‘A Streetcar Named Disaster', and one-time Fabulous Thunderbirds guitarist and blues musician Jimmie Vaughan, who has recently put out an album of covers, 'Jimmie Vaughan Plays Blues Ballads and Favorites'. There are interviews also with English-born and now Portland, Oregon-based singer-songwriter Scout Niblett; ; grunge rockers Puddle of Mudd about their fourth and latest studio album, 'Volume 4: Songs in the Key of Love and Hate' and French-born but Arizona-based singer-songwriter Marianne Dissard. There are interviews too with jug band musicians Jim Kweskin and Geoff Muldaur; Oklahama-based and political singer Otis Gibbs; Niger-based band, Etran Finatawa, who recently recorded their third album, ‘Tarkat Tajje/Let’s Go!’, at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios, and shoegazing band Exit Calm who have just put out their eponymous debut album. In our Profiles Section there are articles on Robert Wyatt; Peter Daltrey, the former front man with 60’s psychedelic band Kaleidoscope, who has recently seen two of his solo albums from the last decade reissued, and Typewriter, the experimental group of former Lucy Show songwriter and vocalist, Mark Bandola. Spencer Robertshaw also pays tribute to comedian and musician Frank Sidebottom, whose alter ego Chris Sievey died tragically last month, and there is areview as well on new Rush music documentary, ‘Rush – Beyond the Lighted Stage’. In our Live Reviews section there are reviews of gigs from Willie Nelson, Jethro Tull, Broken Social Scene, Eric Burdon and the Animals, Micah P Hinson, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, John Kay and Steppenwolf, the Action, Glissando and Anais Mitchell. There is also a report on a tribute night in Glasgow to the late Alex Chilton which saw performances from the Teenage Fanclub, the BMX Bandits, V-Twin who reformed especially for the occasion and Stevie Jackson from Belle and Sebastian. In our Regular Features section there is a new column. In ‘Gimme Indie Rock’ Jamie Rowland will be be focusing on the best in underground and alternative music by looking at a different act every month. He begins with Japanese band Satanicpornocultshop. There is a competition in which we have ten copies of a covers album of the songs of the Television Personalities, 'All Those Times We Spent Together', from Canadian label The Beautiful Music to give away. In a double edition of ‘Evidently Spencertown’, we have two new poems from our resident poet, Spencer Robertshaw. In ‘Safety Pins and Genius, Go Johnny Go’, with John Lydon about to tour again with Public Image Limited, Spencer reflects upon the legendary punk figure, while in ‘Use Your Mind! Don't Be Blind’ he looks at gangs and knife culture. In ‘Condemned to Rock ‘n’ Roll’, Ben Howarth examines the links between music and sport. There is also a ‘Photoscapes’ from Anna Gudaniec in which she photographs seminal emo group Sunny Day Real Estate, in what was their debut British gig, and also support act Biffo Clyro playing an acoustic set. In our Re: Views section in which we look at albums from the past, there are articles on Canadian singer-songwriter Jim Guthrie’s 2003 album, ‘Now, More Than Ever’, and Rickie Lee Jones’ album from last year, ‘Balm in Gilead’. Our Website of the Month is Help Musicians, the website of the Musicians' Benevolent Fund, a British charity organisation. There are also 32 album and single reviews. We ran a further 17 reviews in our reviews only up-date at the end of June. We have a new writer this month. Tara McEvoy is a student and music fan from Belfast. She has contributed the album and single reviews on the Kissing Party, Kah and Club Smith. Thank you to Tara. Thank you also to Carl Bookstein, Aaron Brown, Malcolm Carter, Andrew Carver, Anthony Dhanendran, Dixie Ernill, Tony Gaughan, Ben Howarth, Adrian Huggins, Fiona Hutchings, Sarah Johnson, Chris O’ Toole, r. fisher, Spencer Robertshaw, Jon Rogers, Jamie Rowland, Mark Rowland, Maarten Schiethart, Anthony Strutt, Lisa Torem, Paul Waller, Denzil Watson and Rachel Williams, all of whom contributed articles to this edition or to the reviews up-date in May. Thank you too to Anna Gudaniec for the Sunny Day Real Estate and Biffy Clyro photographs, and special guest photographer Jim Summaria who contributed both the Eric Burdon and the Animals and John Kay and Steppenwolf photographs. Special thanks to our webmaster Richard Banks at Pennyblackmusic HQ. We will be back with a reviews up-date in late July and then at the beginning of August with a full edition. We hope then to be running interviews with Mudhoney, Eric Burdon, the Silver Apples, Tender Trap, Fish, the Dillinger Escape Plan, Mary Gauthier, Stuart Moxham, Darren Polzer, the Lotus Eaters, the Monkey Power Trio, Mammoeth and music sleeve artist Will Carruthers. There will also be the usual range of features, live reviews, profiles and more album and single reviews. Thank you as always for reading John Clarkson Magazine Editor www.pennyblackmusic.co.uk