Wednesday, February 11, 2015

20 Explosive POWER POP gems! VOLUME ONE



Power Pop.

If you are absolutely clueless on what those two words mean, that's OK.  You can begin your journey here. There are Power Pop experts that may steer you in a different direction, but if you are here right now and reading this, you may as well stick around and hear what it is all about... unless one of those Power Pop experts threatens your life, of course.  Always listen to the experts, especially if they are wielding some sort of weapon...

Power Pop. 

If those two words make your heart skip a beat, then you are more than likely aware that everyone has their own opinion about what defines Power Pop. The fact is, they are all right. The pure, raw essence of Power Pop is in every band that anyone bothers to fit under this genre, whether other people agree or not.

In all things Power Pop, you're going to get a 3 minute song - give or take 30 seconds - with a cracking tune, killer harmonies, joyful guitars, maybe some keyboards, energy and a chorus that you'll be humming mere seconds after the song has ended.  More than likely, that song will be stuck in your head for the next 24 to 48 hours.  Power Pop bands don't just write smashing melodies, they create universal ear worms that naturally fit anyone willing to listen.

You can search all over the internet for Power Pop lists from respected experts. I agree with nearly everything I see on those lists. As I said before, the experts know what they are talking about. 

However, I am not an expert.  I'm just a guy who loves Power Pop. So, instead of posting a list of bands/songs that I believe define the genre, I thought I'd share 20 tracks that I believe are essential for anyone wanting to explore the outer -and obscure - regions of Power Pop. Everything here was originally released during my favorite era of Power Pop - the late '70s and early '80s. And as you can tell by the subject of this blog post, this is only VOLUME ONE. There is much more to come...

Some of these bands are not generally labelled Power Pop, while other might be some of the genre's most respected artists but I've chosen songs that don't always end up on the experts' 'best of' lists. And some may just be no-brainers but I chose to include them anyway.

P.S. Yes, there are many bands and songs I've left out for now... gotta save some great ones for future posts!

Enjoy!

Your BFF,
SPAZ




GRUPPO SPORTIVO/Happily Unemployed


THE LAUGHING DOGS/Reason For Love


THE KILLERMETERS/Twisted Wheel


SQUIRE/I Know A Girl


THE SCOOTERS/Someone Tonight


THE PLIMSOULS/Now


YACHTS/Semaphore Love


THE KNACK/I Want Ya


THE INNOCENTS/Sooner Or Later


SHOES/Okay (Single Version)


4 OUT OF 5 DOCTORS/Heart On A Chain


THE RECORDS/Hearts Will Be Broken


THE MONROES/What Do All The People Know


PHIL SEYMOUR/Baby It's You


THE JAGS/Back Of My Hand


THE LAMBRETTAS/Da-a-ance


20/20/The Night I Heard A Scream


THE LAST/This Kind Of Feeling


THE PINKEES/I'll Be There


THE KEYS/I Don't Wanna Cry


Tuesday, February 25, 2014

SONGS THAT KROQ FORGOT #2


SONGS THAT KROQ FORGOT #2



(This is the same intro as my previous KROQ blog post. If you read the intro to Part 1, then  feel free to scroll down to the videos...)

Back in the late '70s and early '80s, if you were a fan of New Wave, Post-Punk, Power Pop, and Synthpop and you lived in Southern California, your radio station of choice was probably KROQ (106.7 FM). Back in the day, KROQ didn't follow trends like they do now - they set them!  KROQ would play singles, album cuts, b-sides and anything else that suited their fancy.  And they didn't just play stuff that was released in the U.S.!  They would also play import singles and album cuts and were responsible for many bands gaining attention from the American labels in the first place.

When KROQ would jump on a song, they'd play it in medium to heavy rotation for a certain amount of time and then it would disappear from their playlists entirely.  As the '80s became the '90s (and when KROQ went from great to ghastly), there were hundreds and thousands of songs that KROQ once supported heavily that seemingly evaporated into thin air and would never make an appearance on their 'flashback' playlists. The once-great radio station had moved on like many of us do...

But what about those lost songs?  The ones yo used to love so much... What about the memories they conjure up when you hear them again after decades of being hidden away in the darkened recesses of your mind?  

Do they remind you of stolen kisses with a long-lost sweetheart?  

Do they remind you of driving to McDonalds during lunch hour in your senior year?  

Do they remind you of driving up PCH along the beach and playing these songs as loud as possible?

Do they remind you of life-long friendships?  Long lost loved ones?

Well, they should because they are the soundtrack of your life.


I am here to remind you of those songs you loved (or loathed) back then... the songs that ushered in a music revolution that was already becoming a little stale by the time MTV became popular.  These songs once made a difference in our lives.  Like Johnny Mann, they made us 'stand up and cheer'.  The truth of the matter is, they STILL mean something.  They are the heartbeat of a generation that is now closer to retirement age than they are their high school heyday.  These songs made it a lot easier to get through the day and that is all that matters.  Let them take you back to a time when your heart was still full love and your youth was still...er.. young!

P.S.  Some of the bands are still remembered while others are unjustly forgotten... but these gems from the late '70s and early '80s are still as wonderful as ever.  They are the SONGS THAT KROQ FORGOT!



PART TWO:


MAURICE & THE CLICHES/"Soft Core"



THE SWINGERS/"Counting The Beat"




MACHINATIONS/'Pressure Sway"




BURNING SENSATIONS/"Belly Of The Whale"





THE PLIMSOULS/"Now"





20/20/"Nuclear Boy"





INDUSTRY/"State Of The Nation"





SPLIT ENZ/"Hard Act To Follow"




NOVO COMBO/"City Bound (E Train)"






POSITIVE NOISE/"Positive Negative"

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Songs That KROQ Forgot #1


SONGS THAT KROQ FORGOT:

Back in the late '70s and early '80s, if you were a fan of New Wave, Post-Punk, Power Pop, and Synthpop and you lived in Southern California, your radio station of choice was probably KROQ (106.7 FM). Back in the day, KROQ didn't follow trends like they do now - they set them!  KROQ would play singles, album cuts, b-sides and anything else that suited their fancy.  And they didn't just play stuff that was released in the U.S.!  They would also play import singles and album cuts and were responsible for many bands gaining attention from the American labels in the first place.

When KROQ would jump on a song, they'd play it in medium to heavy rotation for a certain amount of time and then it would disappear from their playlists entirely.  As the '80s became the '90s (and when KROQ went from great to ghastly), there were hundreds and thousands of songs that KROQ once supported heavily that seemingly evaporated into thin air and would never make an appearance on their 'flashback' playlists. The once-great radio station had moved on like many of us do...

But what about those lost songs?  The ones yo used to love so much... What about the memories they conjure up when you hear them again after decades of being hidden away in the darkened recesses of your mind?  

Do they remind you of stolen kisses with a long-lost sweetheart?  

Do they remind you of driving to McDonalds during lunch hour in your senior year?  

Do they remind you of driving up PCH along the beach and playing these songs as loud as possible?

Do they remind you of life-long friendships?  Long lost loved ones?

Well, they should because they are the soundtrack of your life.


I am here to remind you of those songs you loved (or loathed) back then... the songs that ushered in a music revolution that was already becoming a little stale by the time MTV became popular.  These songs once made a difference in our lives.  Like Johnny Mann, they made us 'stand up and cheer'.  The truth of the matter is, they STILL mean something.  They are the heartbeat of a generation that is now closer to retirement age than they are their high school heyday.  These songs made it a lot easier to get through the day and that is all that matters.  Let them take you back to a time when your heart was still full love and your youth was still...er.. young!

P.S.  Some of the bands are still remembered while others are unjustly forgotten... but these gems from the late '70s and early '80s are still as wonderful as ever.  They are the SONGS THAT KROQ FORGOT!



PART ONE:


BRIAN BRIGGS/"See You On The Other Side"
 (some used to call this "Goodbye Frankie")







ICEHOUSE/"We Can Get Together"







PAT WILSON/"Bop Girl"
(yes, that is a 15 year old Nicole Kidman co-starring in this video!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDNupK1RkdY






THE DICKIES/"(I'm Stuck In A Pagoda With) Tricia Toyota"







DEPECHE MODE/"Get The Balance Right"







MENTAL AS ANYTHING/"If You Leave Me..."








XTC/"Helicopter"








KID CREOLE & THE COCONUTS/"Stool Pigeon"






SQUEEZE/"In Quintessence"









WIDE BOY AWAKE/"Chicken Outlaw"

Friday, September 27, 2013

SPAZ Reviews DOG TRUMPET's Medicated Spirits!



DOG TRUMPET

MEDICATED SPIRITS




For a quick rundown on Dog Trumpet, please see my earlier post about them HERE.


         For over 35 years, Reg Mombassa and Peter O'Doherty have been creating some of the most distinctive music in Australian history.  While they were two-fifths of Australian legends Mental As Anything from 1976 to 2000, they were crucial to that band's success. Martin Plaza (guitar and vocals) and Greedy Smith (keyboards and vocals) may have been in the spotlight a bit more, but Reg's slide guitar and Peter's inventive bass playing helped to create and fuel the Mental's unique sound.  The fact that Reg and Peter wrote plenty of songs for the band only solidified their standing as two of Australia's premiere talents.  When The Mentals went on hiatus at the end of the '80s, Reg and Peter formed Dog Trumpet. Their debut album, Two Heads One Brain (1991), continued in the Mentals tradition of expertly produced Roots Rook/Pop.  The Mentals got back on track in the mid '90s but that didn't stop Dog Trumpet from releasing their next album, Suitcase, in 1996.  Reg and Pete left Mental As Anything in 2000 in order to focus on Dog Trumpet and their art projects.  The duo released three more albums from 2002 to 2010 (Dog Trumpet, Antisocial Tendencies and River Of Flowers), all of which were gloriously unique and inspiring. 

Now, three years on from River Of Flowers, Reg and Peter have released their masterpiece - Medicated Spirits.

While it's not entirely different from their last few albums, the duo have come up with their finest batch of songs to date and released in as a double album... on two CDs! It doesn't get much better than this, to be honest.  19 songs and every one of them a gem. Reg and Peter don't just write Pop songs - they paint aural pictures that they fill in with different shades, colors and genres. But with that being said, the tracks are still very earthy and warm. The charm in Dog Trumpet's music is that there is such beauty in their simplicity.  Dog Trumpet sound like no one else and that is a rarity in this day and age. The album is awash with acoustic instruments and delicious harmonies that offer up an almost magical feel to each track. This isn't music created to shift units - it is music that connects with the listener on many different levels.  Shifting units is just a plus. Fans of Alt-Country, Pop, Rock 'n' Roll, Blues and Folk would do themselves a favor by clicking on one of the links above and buying Medicated Spirits immediately

Highlights: 

     The album's opener, the instrumental "Elizabethan", is similar in spirit and style to some of Paul McCartney's early '70s instrumental pieces on the McCartney album. Yes, it's that good.  

     "Speed Of Light" kicks things up a notch with it's heavy fuzz bass and Psychedelic Folk groove. Peter's affinity for Psych-influenced melodies is immediately apparent here.  

     Reg's "Made In The World" is a catchy Blues/Folk ditty with a keen Pop sense to it  You will find yourself singing this track to yourself and your friends for weeks afterwards (and MY friends can verify because that's just what I've been doing since I first played the album!)

      "Bored Wife" has been one of my favorite Dog Trumpet songs since it appeared on an EP two decades ago.  They've re-recorded it for this project and it has lost none of it's emotive power in this new updated version.  It is touching and melancholic, although a bit more raw and loose.  

     "Ray Davies And The Kinks" sounds nothing like Ray Davies and The Kinks although the lyrics paint a glorious picture of a road trip listening to Ray and the boys, and that is just as fun.  More Muswell Hillbillies than Kinda Kinks, its a track that will earn repeated listenings on your next road trip.  Who needs Ray when you have Reg?

     "Methylated Spirit" has a wonderful hook that is accented by some fantastic harmony vocals that sound almost other-worldly. 

     "What Falls Away" is a splendid Pop song from top to bottom.  Again, the backing vocals really help make the song the perfectly constructed recording that it is. 

     "Camel Rock" features fantastic lead vocals by band member Bernie Hayes, a performance that now has me trying to track down his two solo albums. Hayes gave a stellar vocal performance on "Bloomsbury Birds" from their album Antisocial Tendencies as well.  

     "Broke In Many Parts", "Tell Me" and "Moon And Star" have some of the prettiest melodies that Peter has written.

     While they don't sound like old Mentals recordings, songs like "Telegraph Pole" and "Arriving At The End" wouldn't sound out of place on their albums Get Wet and Espresso Bongo


     I could go on and talk about every single track on the album, but my goal here is to inspire you to run out and buy Medicated Spirits, not to bore you with my personal love affair with this double disc delight.  Dog Trumpet have recorded the best album of their career thus far as well as one of the best albums of the year.  Not bad for a couple of fellas who've been doing this for nearly 40 years... not bad at all!

Peace, love and puppies,
Stephen SPAZ Schnee










Ten Reasons Why THE CLASH Were The ONLY Band That Mattered!


Ten Reasons Why 
THE CLASH 
Were The Only Band That Mattered


1. JOE F***ING STRUMMER

2. MICK F***ING JONES

3. PAUL F***ING SIMONON

4. TOPPER F***ING HEADON

5. LONDON F***ING CALLING


6. "Train In Vain"


7. "Safe European Home"

8. "The Magnificent Seven"

9. "Janie Jones"


10. And just about every other f***ing song 
THE CLASH recorded!



Here are three ways to (re)discover THE CLASH:



SOUND SYSTEM Box Set
Stunning 12 disc boxset containing 11 CDs + DVD. All newly remastered by The Clash with award-winning engineer Tim Young! Three CDs featuring rare tracks, demos, non-album singles and B-sides. DVD including unseen Julian Temple footage, early Super 8 film shot by Don Letts, all the band's promo videos and previously unseen live footage. Owner's Manual booklet. Folder containing reprints of 'Armagideon Times 1 & 2 and Armagideon Times 3 (new edition of fanzine compiled and designed by Paul Simonon). Merchandise; dog tags, badges, stickers and a Future Is Unwritten note book designed by Harland Miller. An exclusive photo poster. Oh, and their first five albums spread over eight discs!

Five Studio Albums (8CD Box)
2013 eight CD box set containing digitally remastered editions of the first five albums from the British Punk quartet, often referred to as 'the only band that matters'. Each album comes in vinyl replica packaging. Contains the original UK version of the self-titled first album, Give 'Em Enough Rope, London Calling (on two CDs), Sandinista! (on three CDs) and Combat Rock. All CDs come housed in a box designed by the band.



THE CLASH HITS BACK
2013 two CD set containing digitally remastered versions of 33 of the band's iconic tracks. The tracklisting is sequenced from the band's legendary Brixton Fairdeal show in 1982 and contains the best studio recordings of the full set, plus eight additional iconic tracks. It comes with the original setlist, handwritten by Joe Strummer which he would tape to the back of his Telecaster before each gig. "Every show was different. Joe would spend a lot of time composing the running order, considering dynamics, emotional impact and the key the songs were in. This record is based on Joe's setlist from The Casbah Club UK Tour, Brixton Fairdeal, 10th July 1982". -Mick, Paul and Topper.

SPAZ Interviews KNOX of THE VIBRATORS!

BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ:

An EXCLUSIVE Interview with 
KNOX from British Punk icons
 THE VIBRATORS

By Stephen SPAZ Schnee
(An edited version of this interview ran in Discussions Magazine)  


     In 1955, Rock ‘n’ Roll emerged from the American underground and changed the course of musical history. From Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley in the ‘50s to The Beatles and The Rolling Stones in the ‘60s, Rock evolved from its somewhat innocent roots and had become a money-making behemoth by the mid ‘70s, at which time Prog Rock and sensitive singer/songwriters fought for equal – or better - placement on the charts. In 1976, the year Rock turned 21, Punk emerged from the UK and turned it all upside down.  Clearing away the excesses of corporate Rock like weeds being ripped from a garden, Punk tore the slightly-aged genre right back down to its roots.  For the first time since its inception, Rock was raw, sweaty, wild, and filled with youthful abandon again.  Bands such as Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Jam, The Stranglers, Buzzcocks and The Damned were scoring actual chart hits in the UK while creating a stir in the U.S. as well. 
     Fighting the good fight right alongside these higher profile bands was The Vibrators, one of the few original UK Punk bands who continues to tour and record nearly 40 years after their formation.  Led by original members Ian KNOX Cornochan (vocals/guitar/songwriting) and John EDDIE Edwards (drums), The Vibrators have gone through numerous line-up changes throughout the years, but have remained determined, focused and eager to share new music with their fans.  From their early days signed to Epic/CBS and the hits “Baby, Baby”, “Automatic Lover”, and “Judy Says (Knock You In The Head” to their 2013 album On The Guest List, The Vibrators are unafraid to embrace their past as they continue to creatively move forward. 
    While Eddie tirelessly tours with The Vibrators, Knox recently retired from the road but has still been active with songwriting and providing creative energy and support.  With the band on the road constantly through 2013, their legacy is being celebrated with Greatest Punk Hits, a collection that contains recent studio versions of many of their finest tracks. It allowed Knox and the boys to approach the songs with a seasoned yet refreshing attitude, keeping the arrangements pretty darn close to the originals without sounding like their trying to duplicate themselves. 
     Stephen SPAZ Schnee caught up with Knox, who kindly shared his thoughts on Punk and The Vibrators long and influential career…



SPAZ:  There’s a new collection on the market, Greatest Punk Hits, which features the band revisiting some of their finest songs.  How are you feeling about this release as well as the band’s most recent studio album On The Guest List?
KNOX: It’s always great to have more music coming out. It makes you feel that what you are doing, and what you did, is still relevant today and hopefully people will like it. The Vibrators have been continually making new studio albums, we’ve made something like seventeen. This keeps the band active, as opposed to a touring museum piece, whereby the band becoming its own tribute band. So it’s great to have both a new studio album (On The Guest List on Cleopatra Records), and a greatest hits album (Greatest Punk Hits on O-Rama). The Greatest Punk Hits album has different versions of the original tracks and should be very interesting for a lot of people.

SPAZ:  While your songs have always been perfectly suited for the Punk movement, they really seem to be rooted in classic Rock ‘n’ Roll tradition.  What types of bands were you playing in before Punk came along?
KNOX: I was in bands at school in the early ‘60s which primarily only played covers, then at art school I was in several kinds of R&B bands, then a Psychedelic band called The Dream Machine. Years later when I began writing songs I was very influenced by the Velvet Underground, plus I suppose all the cover songs I’d been doing. So the later bands I was in started doing my songs.  Despair was doing basically only my songs, whereas a later band Lipstick did a mixture of my songs and covers. They were both three-piece bands, and I liked Metal guitar solos and Jimi Hendrix so that got incorporated into the music as well. Also it’s fair to say a lot of it was technologically driven, you know things like fuzzboxes, phasing pedals, wah-wah pedals, that sort of thing. I don’t think I’d be doing music if people hadn’t discovered electricity and invented the electric guitar and amplification!

SPAZ: I’ve always wondered: where did the name Knox come from?
KNOX: It’s a shortened version of my surname Carnochan. I was at an all boys’ school and everyone called each other by their surnames, I don’t know if this still happens. Anyway my surname was too difficult, it got shortened to Carnocks and then just to Knox.

SPAZ: When did you first become aware of the initial Punk movement in the UK? 
KNOX: I think it was Pat Collier, our bass player and also a songwriter in The Vibrators, who noticed it. It was sort of ‘over there’ as it were and suddenly, as we were playing fast aggressive songs, we were included in it. Subsequently we had a small part of helping shape Punk because we were in at the beginning.

SPAZ: Do you feel that the movement’s hype became more important than the music?
KNOX: Possibly. It was a gift for the press: the look, the aggressive music, trouble at gigs, the political thing, so of course the press had a field day dressing it up and exaggerated it to sell papers, plus half-orchestrating things. If you stick a camera on someone something will happen. I don’t think the bands minded - after all it was great publicity. Nowadays it’s a kind of trade-off. People like using the term and the clothes and the attitude, but hopefully some of it rebounds back to shine a light on the music. Also I think it’s both funny and also a shame that sometimes people wearing a Punk T-shirt with a band name on it probably know nothing about the band or the music. Plus what it was like in 1976-7.

SPAZ: During the early days of Punk, were you friends or competitors with a lot of your contemporaries like The Clash, The Jam, 999, The Stranglers, et al?
KNOX: I think it must have been a mixture. You wanted the attention but then again initially it was a small movement and felt very much like an ‘us against the world’ kind of thing. So for that reason you were very friendly towards the other bands.

SPAZ: What do you remember about those first few years of the Punk movement?
KNOX: I suppose it was the fact that when I grew up I might have dreamt of being in a slightly famous band, and then somehow I was. When I was at the grammar school it was never even a remote career option, being in a band was something that only seemed to happen to chosen people and was going on somewhere else. I know that’s all changed now. Everyone today knows people in bands. When we started The Vibrators we were just a very small band, lugging our gear around to pubs to play, often to people who probably weren’t terribly interested. Then a year or so later we had roadies, trucks, and were on the TV, it was astonishing. We were often the first Punk band in some towns and there’d be people there who’d read about Punk and violence and you’d get your fair share of stuff thrown at you and spat on. Sometimes it was funny and sometimes quite frightening, but you wanted to play so you carried on, and in the end, we won the day.

 (Photo credit: Fishbones)

SPAZ: The Vibrators didn’t adhere to any Punk formula when it came to their records.  Whose brilliant idea was it to feature a sax solo on “Judy Says”?
KNOX: That would have been Don Snow’s idea. He was in that particular line-up of the band and played keyboards and sax. He was a very talented musician and added a lot of bits, for instance the ending of that song, that very obvious up and down bit, etc., and the extra bits on the end of one line in the chorus, I think they were all his ideas. Also I think people now think of Punk music as this… what I call ‘identikit’ Punk - you know the one look and the one sound. When Punk started, it was really varied - although maybe it was also partly New Wave as well.

SPAZ: The band has been releasing music on a semi-regular basis for over 30 years.  Are you frustrated by the band’s ‘cult’ or ‘underground’ status over the years?  Or is this where you prefer to be, success wise?
KNOX: I’d have liked the band to have been more successful, but I think it’s entirely our fault we weren’t. The name kept us off the radio and TV, enough to make a difference and we never got a manager after the first few years and I think without that you will have trouble getting noticed, you know, getting on the right tours, the radio, interviews, etc. Without it you’re condemned to being a cult band. It has its advantages, I mean I don’t have to fight my way though a load of photographers to go down to the shops. And I don’t have to talk to accountants and gardeners. But sometimes I wish I had a bit more money, but that’s life.

SPAZ:  My favorite period of the Vibrators’ recording career was actually the ‘80s and ‘90s because it seemed the band concentrated more on songcraft than being a Punk band.  What do you remember about this time during the band’s career? Great albums like Fifth Amendment, ‘Buzzin’, Hunting For You, Guilty and so many others…
KNOX: Yes, one time when we were on Revolver Records the guy there Paul Birch suggested we record more rock kind of material, Punk was not a big deal at the time. But although we made some great records I felt we were in danger of going down a hole between rock and Punk rock. Neither-one-or-the-other so the fans would be disappointed and confused. I think it freed up the choice of material we recorded so we did some good stuff, but I don’t think it was properly reflected in our record sales.

SPAZ:  Punk’s resurgence in the ‘90s has actually lasted a good 20 years longer than the original movement’s lifespan.  Do you listen to many of the new bands these days? Do you try to stay on top of current music, no matter the genre?
KNOX: I try and listen to lots of music, though unfortunately I don’t seem to manage it most of the time. Recently I have been listening to Dubstep as someone at my publishing company suggested trying to do a Dubstep version of “Baby Baby”. (I’ve probably lost all my fans now!) I can’t get away from my own style but I did a Country album a couple of years ago (KNOX and the Trailer Trash Orchestra) which I really enjoyed. You only get one life and I like messing about with other genres. I write quite a wide spectrum of songs so it’s generally OK with me. I surprised myself with On The Guest List as I was still able to write the same sorts of aggressive songs I was doing when I was considerably younger, though of course many of the songs were written a while before.

SPAZ:  Just like the old days, it seemed that the style and hype of Punk became more important than the music again. Did you see it as history repeating itself?
KNOX: I never worry about it. It’s something going on out there in the world over which I have no control. It’s just the way things go. I think Punk was such a strong style that it’s influence could  go on for a very long time.

SPAZ:  In 1977, a lot of the press picked up on the violent overtones of the music and missed the point of the movement entirely.  Do you think that this may have killed the scene before it had a chance to grow up?
KNOX: Maybe. It’s difficult to say. My friend has a theory that the press used Punk to kill off Prog Rock, which might have some truth in it. So the press would have exaggerated Punk’s violent side which quite possibly alienated a lot of people who might otherwise have got involved and listened to it. After all there are masses of what I call ‘identikit’ bands and songs in Punk, but there are also a lot of clever song writers who wouldn’t initially have been recognized because the press liked to use this one-dimensional picture of a band and the music, you know Mohicans, leather jackets, Doc Martens, etc., so a lot of these people probably initially got glossed over. Also I sometimes think that Punk might have killed off some quite talented Prog Rock bands or other types of Pub Rock which might have actually been very good which was a shame. But I suppose that’s progress.


 SPAZ: What did Punk mean to Knox?
KNOX: It basically gave me the most exciting years of my life and I’m very grateful for accidentally being lucky enough to have been in it when it happened. Also I think you can use its philosophy in everyday life, you can recognize that things don’t have to be perfect to be OK.

SPAZ: In the end, The Vibrators are just a great Rock ‘n’ Roll band.  How do you want the band to be remembered?
KNOX: Well, as a good band doing good songs in an unpretentious manner. I quite often think we should have been more famous but who in a band doesn’t think that!

SPAZ:  Eddie has been the longest serving member of the band… from the very beginning even when you took a little time off in the late ‘70s/early ‘80s.  Does it sometimes amaze you how long you’ve worked together?
KNOX: I suppose we’re just very stubborn and carried on. Eddie’s really good at the day-to-day running of the band and I just write the songs. I always thought we should have a manager but I suppose it’s that Punk DIY ethos not to have one, so after the first one we never had another.

SPAZ: You’ve recently retired from touring with the band.  Can you explain the reasons behind this decision? Does this make you a current Vibrator, an ex- Vibrator or a part-time Vibrator?
KNOX: I wanted to somehow do a bigger band with a manager and get a business machine behind it as I have a lot of quite good rock songs which aren’t suitable for The Vibrators. I thought if I could get going and get on the radio I could maybe get into playing stadiums! (You’ve got to have a dream.) Unfortunately for me things took a bad turn and I got ill and that was that for the moment. I’m still dreaming though. I think I might concentrate more on songwriting for a bit as I sometimes now think I was actually a songwriter, but became a performer by default. As for The Vibrators I’ll see how it goes. I like doing the songs and singing so that might very well continue for a few years, it’s sort of down to them, they might want to stand on their own feet and not want me anymore. It’s their call. I don’t want to interfere. I suppose in that way I’m a part-time Vibrator. The band play very well without me. They got a great review when they recently played the big Punk festival here in the UK called Rebellion, so check them out when they come out there to the States.

SPAZ:  What are some of the Vibrators songs you’ve written that you are most proud of….
KNOX: I like “Baby Baby”, it feels like the sun’s come out when we play it, or like a holiday. Now funnily enough if you listen to Justin Bieber doing an acoustic version of his song “As Long As You Love Me” it starts off really like “Baby Baby”, and then he has this other song called “Baby” where he sings “Baby, baby, baby” so I’ve started wondering if say one of his parents was a big Vibrators’ fan and he heard the song a lot when he was little? Or maybe his guitar player did? REM did a version of “Baby Baby” for their fan club which might come out in a box set they were talking about doing. I really like my song “My Stalker” (on the On The Guest List album) which has Eddie Spaghetti from the Supersuckers singing; plus “Every Day I Die A Little” (on the Greatest Punk Hits album). And I also like “Sleeping”, and “Juice On”, the electric chair song, which I thought would be a great song if they ever made Deliverance 2.


SPAZ: Are there any Vibrators songs that you’d like to erase from the band’s catalog?
KNOX: Probably, but I think it’s OK that people can see that you’re just a fragile human being like everyone else and quite capable of messing up every now and again. You have to have a bit of a sense of humour about what you do. Though I have to say that as I’m not that much of a singer and don’t always write OK words, so of course there are things I’ve done which make me cringe, but that’s life...

SPAZ: When you went into the studio to re-record some of the band’s older songs for Greatest Punk Hits, were you able to reconnect with some of the memories of recording the original versions?
KNOX: Probably, though like a lot of bands, you have these very real time constraints in the studio so you push on with recording and there’s not really any time for reflection. If you stop and reflect there go the backing vocals or the tambourine. I’m always moved by my opening guitar sound on the original recording of “Baby Baby”, it’s very evocative. Also the original version of any song, even if it was rubbish, is always the best version. It has this other thing added to it, the time and place it was made. The recording sort of carries that with it.

SPAZ: Is there a lot of unreleased Vibrators studio material that we’ll be able to hear one day?
KNOX: There can’t be much as we’ve probably exhausted it all. I think somewhere on a cassette I have what we called “The White Show” which we did at the Roundhouse in London one time. That was where John Ellis suddenly announced he was leaving the band. Also sometime I might put out an album of some of my Vibrators’ demo’s as I used to make fairly reasonable demo’s with all the instruments on, almost like the finished tracks.

SPAZ: What’s next for Knox?
KNOX: I’m always hoping for a break in music, and trying to make one. So far all that broke was me - but I’m sort of back starting to do stuff again. I’ve got lots of quite good songs demo’d up that I feel I must record soon..... plus of course I’m still doing a bit of painting. I’ve got 200 paintings on my site (www.knox76.com), so check them out! And I was vaguely thinking of doing a Ska album of Vibrators’ songs, that sort of thing..... Plus Charlie (Harper) has been talking about making the next Urban Dogs’ album, at the moment this one is planned to be noisy! Also the same company putting out Greatest Punk Hits (O-Rama) are going to be putting out my early 80’s solo album Plutonium Express, that’s great! One ambition I have is I’d love to do a version of “Baby Baby” with Slash on guitar, and have a mix done by Jason Nevins who did Run DMC’s “It’s Like That”. I’m keeping my fingers crossed, you never know.

SPAZ: What are you currently spinning on your CD, DVD or record players?
KNOX: Like I said earlier I’ve been listening to some Dubstep. Also the last couple of days a little bit to Oasis and Beady Eye because Liam Gallagher’s currently in the news. He’s got a great voice, like when he sings the line “I’m a Rock ’n’ Roll Star”. He needs another song like that, but I don’t know if he can get another song like that, or still sing like he did. I never really listened to Oasis except by accident at gigs. Also sadly I never really know what other Punk bands are doing as I’m pretty much out of the loop, and also I’ve no idea about the Top 10 or anything. At the moment I sort of live in my own little world where I fiddle about with my songs and do a bit of painting. Oh, and take our dog Chippy (a hilarious rescued Jack Russell) out for a walk.

Thanks to Knox
Special thanks to Bob Ardrey



THE VIBRATORS

GREATEST PUNK HITS

Available NOW!


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Friday, September 6, 2013

ANY TROUBLE/The Complete Stiff Recordings 1981-1982: 3CD set available November 5th, 2013!



ANY TROUBLE

THE COMPLETE STIFF RECORDINGS
 1980-1981
(3CD Set)

BUY from DEEPDISCOUNT



·         Fronted by Mancunian singer-songwriter Clive Gregson, Crewe-based band Any Trouble were signed to Stiff Records in 1980 and touted by the music press as the next Elvis Costello & The Attractions.

·         Any Trouble’s debut album Where Are All The Nice Girls was critically acclaimed at the time. The band followed with a second studio album, Wheels In Motion (1981). Stiff also circulated a promotional in-concert album, Live At The Venue, which only enjoyed a commercial release in Germany. The band then signed with EMI America before disbanding at the end of 1984.

·         Compiled with help from Clive Gregson and boasting the involvement of all the band members, this definitive collection offers the band’s complete Stiff recordings, as a comprehensive ‘Early Years’ package of the band’s musical history across 1980 and 1981.

·         In addition to the three albums, the package also includes myriad non-album A-sides and B-sides, including their pre-Stiff debut single ‘Yesterday’s Love’. Many of these tracks are extremely hard-to-find on CD now and Live At The Venue makes its CD debut (apart from a German CD reissue on Line in 1988).

·         Clive Gregson later launched a productive collaboration with Christine Collister. In 2007, Any Trouble reunited with a brand new album and Clive continues to enjoy critical and creative success as a singer-songwriter to this day, releasing his thirteenth solo album This Is Now in May 2013.