Hey, laugh at this guy all you want, but at least he was out there plugging vinyl at the height of the CD revolution. Video link swiped from Boing Boing.
It’s Dutch nieuwe haring season, raw fillets of herring from the first catches of the season. I guess you’re supposed to drag it through the raw onions and then dip it into your mouth holding it by the tail, but I preferred it the way I got it at various shacks around Amsterdam: on bread and butter with the raw onions on top. It’s meltingly delicious, and does not shy away from being raw fish. This is not sushi. It’s very robust. Fantastic with beer, probably even better with vodka or champagne. For those of you in New York, Russ & Daughters still has it, flown in fresh from Holland. Get it now – it won’t last long.
It would be an exaggeration to claim most of my non-Matador related posts for the Matablog are culled from that awesome treasure trove of metallic press releases, Blabbermouth.net. Just as it would be the height of hyperbole to say I visit said site 5, 6, maybe 7 times a day. Even so, the ‘Mouth provides a daily glimpse into an alternate musical universal where somewhere on this planet (quite possibly in Eastern Europe), news of Rudy Sarzo’s advances in digital animation are eagerly absorbed.
Today, Blabbermouth informs us that L.A. Guns vocalist* Phil Lewis has the lead role in “Witchmaster General”, a motion picture hopefully described as a “supernatural thriller”.
Lewis plays Dr. Gorgon, a charming but sinister witchdoctor who uses his evil powers — as well as his close personal relationship with Satan — to run a sort of “murder-for-hire” business. A tough-as-nails cop (Martino) and the county coroner (Bud Stafford of “Grave Danger”) are hot on his trail, but are no match for the power he possesses or the evil he unleashes upon them.
“The film is a nice mix of great old-fashioned haunted house horror and all the sex, violence, and dark humor we’ve come to expect these days,” says filmmaker Jim Haggerty of his fourth feature film. “It’s kind of like an old Vincent Price movie on acid.”
As a longtime fan of L.A. GUNS, Haggerty is extremely delighted to have the opportunity to work with one of his musical heroes. “I have always been such a fan of Phil in L.A. GUNS,” he says. “He was — and really still is — such an exciting performer with such great charisma and talent on top of an amazing voice. He really was the right man for the job and it was an honor and a pleasure to work with him on this — I’m already writing the sequel!”
(* – I should stress that neither I nor Matador Records is taking sides in the dispute over the ownership of the L.A. Guns name. Los Angeles has the greatest copyright / entertainment attorneys in the world and we fully believe in letting them do what they do best).
On March 10, Matador will be releasing the 7″ of “No Epiphany,” featuring No Age remixing the track on the B-side. It’s a rather astounding collaboration, and we recommend you buy it.
When Chris comes to London, he stays at the Chelsea Arts Club, for some ridiculous rate like £36 a night. He does get a tiny garret room with the bathroom down the hall, but it comes with original Patrick Hughes works hanging next to the bed, and an incredible bar with a massive snooker table, and full of eccentric English types getting totally hammered.
The club was founded by James McNeil Whistler in 1891 as a reaction to the stodgy Arts Club in Mayfair, and cultivates a generally raffish, no dress-up personality. It is crammed to the gills with amazing artwork. Members include Peter Blake (who designed Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band), Glen Baxter, Gerald Scarfe, and others. It’s in a low, unpretentious white stucco building on a side street in Chelsea, with a small and inconspicuous door.
I’m sorry about the above headline but it scanned better (barely) than “Don’t Call Her Countess Grishnackh”. From 3news.co.nz (thanks to Mark Ohe for the link) :
Italian news reports say the singer of a heavy metal band and her brother stabbed the band’s guitarist dozens of times, apparently because he wasn’t playing well.
The Genoa-based newspaper Il Secolo XIX is reporting that the 19-year-old Soul Cry singer, Cristina Balzano, and her 16-year-old brother have been arrested on charges of attempted murder.
The newspaper is quoting the victim, identified only as A.D., as saying from hospital that he was attacked late Saturday after a rehearsal with the band “Soul Cry.” He said band members had been criticizing his playing but that he never expected to be physically hurt.
Not to make light of what sounds like a near-tragedy, but how many past or present bandmates of C.C. DeVille read the above item and nodded their heads in empathy?
I consider myself a pretty hardcore Syd Barrett fan, but I was astounded to find that high-quality demos of pre-Piper at the Gates of Dawn material exist — from 1965, no less. The above slideshow is more or less irrelevant but the song, “Lucy Leave,” is fantastic. It features fifth Floyd member Bob Klose, who is responsible for the twangy guitar bits. It’s no Dog Police, but it’s still worth your time.
This just in from the Monte RV depot in Linden, NJ:
Just leaving linden nj to pick up the hospitality vehicle el monte calls the “jamboree” – an appropriate name for the upcoming festivities we soon will encounter.
-Miwa
Look for this beast parked out front of the Rogan Store all day.
To celebrate the release of The Chemistry Of Common Life, in stores this coming Tuesday, Fucked Up will be playing live for twelve hours straight at a storefront in New York City THE FOLLOWING TUESDAY.
On Tuesday, October 14, from 2PM until 2 AM, the band will be playing a twelve-hour show at the Rogan store at the corner of Bowery and Bond. Admission is free. All ages are welcome to attend, though the free alcohol will be limited to those 21 and over. Additionally, a free limited-edition 7″ of “Royal Swan” will be given away to the first batch of attendees, with a second allotment given away at a later time in the show to be announced.
Special guests will be joining the band on stage to help them through this marathon, including the Vivian Girls, John Joseph, Matt Sweeney, Chain Gang, Mobb Deep, Ryan Sawyer from Tall Firs, Jeff Jensen, David Cross, John Cale, K-Taro, Chris Doherty, E.K., DJ Chris, DJ Anarki, Michael Gira, members of the Australian Scapa Flow, Jeanne Bovet, Gods & Queens, Akon, The Edge, Ben Blackwell, Russell Simins, the Boogie, and some megastars we can’t announce yet.
Seen below is the cover to the limited-edition 7″. Good luck.
The lyrics as well as a download of an alternate version of “Royal Swan” can be found here.
Steak is getting more and more expensive, but Ottomanelli is having a sale on all their aged beef at the moment… and the guy gave me an additional buck off on the scales for two strips (1 1/4″ thick). I had him leave a half-inch of the fat on all the way around.
Adam scattered salt on them and seared them in a cast-iron pan directly under the broiler for about 3 minutes on one side, 1 minute the other side. He cut them into slices and drizzled on the pan fat. They were absolutely delicious – bloody, musty, redolent of grass and corn.
We drank another Arbois red (actually from the sub-appellation of Arbois-Pupillin), a rustic poulsard. It handled the steak splendidly and was not troubled by the tomato salad.
The first MP3 from Fucked Up’s The Chemistry Of Common Life (Oct 7) is this immense multi-tracked assemblage, entitled “No Epiphany.” The 7″ depicted above will come out this fall and contain two versions of the song entirely different from the album version you’re about to hear. The word “monumental” was invented for music like this. Backing vocals by Cassie Ramone, Frankie Rose and Kickball Katy.
Fucked Up are currently on tour in Europe and will be hitting many festivals. The expanded EP version of their “Year Of The Pig” single comes out on July 22.
to reiterate those European dates:
Jul 8 – Benidorm ES – Abraxas
Jul 9 – Barcelona ES – Nitsa
Jul 10 – Getaria ES – Gaztetxe
Jul 11 – Madrid ES – Sal El Sol
Jul 12 – Balado, Kinross-shire, Scotland – T In The Park
Jul 13 – Birmingham UK – Supersonic Festival
Jul 14 – London UK – Water Rats, Kings Cross
Aug 17 – Lelystad NL – Lowlands Festival, Charlie Stage
Aug 20 – Belfast IE – Limelight
Aug 21 – Dublin IE – Whelans
Aug 22 – Ghent BE – Ieper Fest
Aug 23 – Reading UK – Reading Festival
Aug 24 – Leeds UK – Leeds Festival
Aug 25 – Bradford UK – 1 in 12 Club
You’ve probably already heard about Jay-Z’s mock tribute to Oasis’ “Wonderwall” at the Glastonbury Festival this past Saturday night. While rock blogs across the globe are showing the same YouTube clip from the BBC3’s footage of the event, I’m pleased to say the Matablog editorial staff have discovered secret video of the former Marcy Projects product leading his all-star band through an early morning rehearsal.
Here is a taster of how we are going to celebrate when the Earles and Jensen Soundscans accelerate, this is just the tip of the iceberg wait till they totally take off then our pecks will really be glistening