During the pandemic downtime, Marino has been writing a lot. As sort of a little songwriting challenge every once in a while he’d write some Ramonescore tunes. Considering that, it is almost a concept album. Most of the songs were written in 2020/2021. However, a couple are some of his first attempts at songwriting circa 2004.
Brad Marino was originally going to release this under an alias but decided to just make it a Brad Marino album on the advice of some of his closest people. It’s different than “Looking for Trouble” and “Extra Credit,” but it’s all rock and roll. Brad Marino did vocals and all instruments on the LP, except for drums, which were handled by Beau-Beau Basement.
Hell, not enough bands are worshiping at the altar of Da Bruthers and knocking out the rhythms. I know times change and music evolves but every now and again its wonderful to hear that at least someone still gets it. From the brattish riff-a-rama of those downstrokes to the Joey drawl and those insanely catchy melodies Dee Dee wrote in his sleep. ‘Communist Creep’ being one of the finest tunes Dee Dee never wrote.
Man, Brad must have been gutted that only he and the drummer were in on this bad boy. Twelve tracks of unadulterated joy from the player to the listener this is a wonderful tip of the hat. there are times I have to stop myself from wondering what Ramones album this or that was left off haha! running the whole gambit of Ramones styles Marino nails it song after song and for a lockdown project I’m yet to hear anything come close to this bad boy. Take a bow Mr. Marino you’ve done yourself proud and you’ve done the Ramones legacy a huge tip of the hat and ‘Baby Doll’ is just a killer. I don’t want to jinx another lockdown on anyone but who else could possibly get the tip of the hat treatment? Maybe every year you could do an EP at the very least, just a thought.
FEROCIOUS DOG unveils a brand-new video, Too Late 2022 And announce deluxe 2 CD reissue of their debut album, plus a unique live show in York with an orchestra
“I wrote this song many years ago for someone I was close to at the time. It was her childhood story” explains Dan Booth.
“It’s great that we could put a new twist on it. It’s far more relevant now to how we sound live and I love that the legendary Al Scott decided to mix and master the song.”
On 1st April 2023 Ferocious Dog release a deluxe remastered version of their self titled album on Graphite Records. Mixed and mastered by Al Scott the album will be available as a double CD; the second CD will include a number of live tracks from the bands O2 Academy Leeds show from 2022.
To coincide with the release Ferocious Dog will play a unique show with a full orchestra at the Barbican in York on Friday 1st April; the two hour set will include the band playing the entire debut album.
Thought provoking and politically charged lyrics, seamlessly combining with dynamic and eclectic music – Ferocious Dog seem to have the knack of evolving their sound enough to pique your interest, without losing any of the sound or attitude that made you fall in love with them in the first place.
Ahead of a run of UK live shows this December, Slyder Smith & The Oblivion Kids have released a heart pounding cover version of the iconic 80s hit, ‘The NeverEnding Story’.
The song is accompanied by a new music video, with band performance filmed by Wills Audio at the famous Buckley Tivoli theatre and transformed into a fun concept video with additional footage & editing by producer Darren Stockford paying homage to the bombastic 80’s era.
The band will be spreading their grit, glamour, emotion and possibly some glitter across venues across the UK throughout December:
03 Dec – SHEFFIELD – Winters Rocks Festival 04 Dec – NEWCASTLE – Trillians 16 Dec – BRIDGWATER – Cobblestones (w/ L.A. Maybe) 20 Dec – LONDON – The Water Rats // *CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR*
To celebrate the release of their new single ‘The NeverEnding Story’, Slyder and his band of merry men role into town with a cast of London Royalty. Tickets are on sale NOW: https://www.wegottickets.com/event/554172
Shelter – new single by Beyond The Lamplight and Frank Turner
Lead singers of Larry and his Flask, Ian Cook and Andrew Carew, continue the fun and songwriting alliance together in their new project Beyond The Lamplight. A new iteration of the time-tested sound that fans have grown to love. Soaring harmonies meld with deft lyricism and lightning-fast banjo-picking all against a double-time backbeat to form a quintessential electric barn burner.
“Shelter” is a song about loving another who has created a guarded existence from the outside world. A story about coaxing someone out of their shell that they hide inside of. Sharing your own strength with that person in hopes to bring them out of their shelter; their shield against the anxieties and stresses of life. Trying to show them the beauty of not only the world but also the beauty in themselves. British punk singer/songwriter Frank Turner was happy to sing guests parts in both the hook and the bridge of the first single of the new album:
“Frank’s a longtime friend. We got really close with him and the Sleeping Souls over the course of several tours throughout the years with Larry and his Flask. When I sat down and wrote Shelter it just kind of all came flowing out in one big stream. When I finished and listened back to it, I could just hear him singing it so clearly in my head. The melody just lent itself to his voice and style. So I got a hold of him and asked if he’d be into being a part of it and he was super stoked to lend his voice to the song. He banged it out in a day or so at his studio and that’s what’s on the record. It really elevated the song from a listener perspective. Having the back and forth from me to him. Playing off of each other. Total magic.” – Ian Cook, Lead Singer of Beyond the Lamplight
Having worked with Xtra Mile Records & Silver Sprocket Records with Larry And His Flask, Beyond the Lamplight quickly found a home with Flail Records. The album “Don’t forget to leave it all behind” will be out in the first half of 2023!
Sometimes I drift off to this place in my mind where it’s the summer of 1973 and I’m not six years old, but sixteen, and alongside a few hundred other lucky people I’m crammed in to a venue watching three of my favourite UK cult bands from that same era; Hollywood Brats, Heavy Metal Kids and Silverhead.
That gig of course is the stuff of dreams, pretty much like this soon to be released 6 CD box set from my dream gig headliners Silverhead felt like back in the days when a CD copy of the band’s much sought after ‘Show Me Everything’ album (which is included here) would have cost you more than this box set does right now on pre-order. See dreams do come true after all!
Silverhead, for those of you who might not be aware, were a glam tinged hard rock band from the UK fronted by actor turned singer Michael Des Barres, and featuring soon to be Blondie bassist Nigel Harrison along with soon to be Robin Trower drummer Pete Thompson and soon to be Robert Plant guitarist Robbie Blunt, the latter joining the band for their seminal second album ’16 And Savaged’, a song from which, this box set takes its name. The rest of band being made up of guitarist Rod ‘Rook’ Davies (who had played with The Riot Squad alongside David Bowie prior to Silverhead) and for the band’s self-titled debut album guitarist Stevie Forest.
Signing to Purple Records in the early 1970s to release said debut album they toured with the likes of their label bosses, Kiss, Nazareth, Uriah Heep and perhaps somewhat bizarrely highlifers Osibisa along the way to what they hoped would be the road to stardom.
On paper at least, whilst their touring partners may seem to have been akin to some random lottery pairing, when you get to hear the band and in particular their (Martin Birch produced) self-titled debut record from 1972 it all makes much more sense. So, whilst the likes of album opener ‘Long Legged Lisa’ and ‘Sold Me Down A River’ both doff a top hat to Marc Bolan it’s the more bluesy based boogie rock of their second single ‘Rolling With My Baby’ that the band seemed to become more renowned for producing.
The five guys most certainly looked like New York Dolls (I mean just look at the video I’ve linked here) but the semi-balladic ‘Johnny’ and ‘In Your Eyes’ sounded more like my imaginary gig partners Heavy Metal Kids during their more reflective times. In saying this their debut single ‘Ace Supreme’ is a knockout blast of Bowie-esque glam that everyone should have in their collection, and it’s included here along with its b (that’s b for boogie) side ‘Oh No No No’ and the 7” version of ‘Rolling With My Baby’, which sheds 1 minute off the album version.
It’s the band’s self/co-produced second album ’16 And Savaged’ (recorded with help from engineer Alan Harris and keyboard tech Stuart Wicks) that, for yours truly, is the absolute jewel in the band’s crown. Here, they slightly up the glam influence of their debut on the likes of opener ‘Hello New York’, whilst also embracing a new Zeppelin-esque vibe on the album’s title track (a direction Des Barres would most certainly follow with his next band Detective).
Elsewhere, during the fantastic ‘Cartoon Princess’ there’s a Southern rock feel to the band’s boogie rock via some of slide guitar playing, whilst on the album’s sole ballad ‘Only You’ Des Barres still sings with all of the grit of an in his prime Gary Holton but the song itself is much more in The Faces camp rather than the Heavy Metal Kids this time of asking.
If that all wasn’t enough, there’s four curios added here as additional tracks, with both ‘James Dean’ and ‘Marilyn’ showcasing a Silverhead fired up post the Purple Records deal turning sour, and by direct contrast we also get to hear ‘Leon’, the middle of the road post Silverhead 7” single released by Des Barres, complete with its b side ‘New Moon Tonight’, which has a country rock influence running through it.
The other four CDs included in this mighty box set are given over to 4 previously released live albums (one and a half of which, I’d never heard before) which given the nature of the band’s brief post Purple Records existence all come with a health warning regarding the quality of some of the source material.
It’s the ‘Live At The Rainbow’ that gets me closest to feeling what it must have been like to have actually seen Silverhead live. Recorded in November 1973 when the band supported Nazareth, the original eight track LP (originally released via EMI in Japan in 1975) is expanded to thirteen tracks here (adding in tracks from a BBC In Concert show from 1973 recorded at London’s Paris Theatre), and they sound absolutely astounding. Des Barres spitting out his gravelly vocal lines over a band that sounds like they are playing as though their lives depended on it. Well for the Rainbow set at least. That’s because for the additional BBC tracks the band sound much more like they are merely playing through tracks from their then current album, but such is the nature of those kind of radio shows, I guess. They still sound ace mind, just not so fired up as during the Rainbow set.
The ‘Show Me Everything’ CD I mentioned at the top of this review is up next, and this echoey semi-bootleg quality recording of the band’s seven track set at Alexandra Palace in 1973 complete with a further six tracks from a much better sounding Japanese show, recorded on January 19th, 1974 (more of which in second), is a decent enough live document of the band, albeit the king’s ransom it once used to command on a certain online auction site is most certainly put into context here.
The fifth disc here is the 2019 released ‘Berlin Blackout’ soundboard quality recording, which captures Silverhead’s eight track live set from a February 1973 show at the Sportpalast, Berlin. This is a head and shoulders above the quality of Alexandra Palace show on the proceeding disc, and having never heard this show previously whilst it doesn’t quite match the intensity of the Rainbow 1974 show its still the sound of Silverhead firing on all cylinders in the live setting.
Originally released in Japan back in 2021 as part of a double CD set going under the curious title of ‘Hitting Japan, Beating Japan’, the sixth CD in this box set captures an eleven song Silverhead live set from January 19th, 1974. Which, those more eagle eyed amongst you might have already spotted was the source for the bonus cuts on the ‘Show Me Everything’ disc. Yup it appears that is indeed the case and ‘Live In Japan’ is in fact the expanded version of those songs, complete with Deb Barres’ between song patter restored instead of the between song fade outs that are on the ‘Show Me Everything’ extras. I find this more than a little disappointing as the other disc in the Japanese only release was from Tokyo Koseinenkin Hall on January 10th, 1974, so if I want to hear that one, I need to look for it outside of this “Complete Recordings” box set.
That very small quibble aside, this is still a top notch purchase for anyone looking to discover the music of Silverhead and the excellent Malcolm Dome penned sleeve notes reprinted from the 2016 Purple Records CD reissues of the first three albums presented here as a 24 page booklet make for a very interesting history lesson indeed.
PROPHETS OF ADDICTION’s fourth album sees Sanders and company (guitarists G.G Sleaze, Tchad Drats, Terry Bratsch and drummer Wayne “The Stoke” Stokley going back towards the glam, punk and roots the band is most closely associated with. “I’ve always wanted to do a dark powerful acoustic record with a message and I think we achieved that with our last record. Now with a very strong lineup that is ready to move forward it’s time to get back to rocking,” remarks Sanders. The new release is expected to hit stores in the second quarter of 2023.
Los Angeles based label Cleopatra Records sign POA to a seven year deal. When searching for a home for the new release Leslie Sanders wanted a place that “gets it” and felt Brian and his label Cleopatra Records was the best place. He has always kept it “real” and is a fan of music and the scene.
The band enlisted the services of Lonny Paul Johnson to create the animated piece. “We felt an animated video captured the whole theme of the song and something I always wanted to do and this was the perfect fit,” states POA main man Lesli Sanders.
“Superhero” is the first single and video from the forthcoming, as yet untitled, PROPHETS OF ADDICTION album. The band is currently in the midst of working on this new release with longtime producer Phil Soussan (bassist for Ozzy Osbourne, Beggars and Thieves, Billy Idol, Vince Neil, Rod Stewart and others) at Blue Cat Studios in Las Vegas, NV.
After announcing that this tour was going to be a trip back in time for both venues they’ve not played in a while (Crooked Timber Tour for Sin City) and playing songs from right back in the early days of Therapy? This was going to be a deep dive for the loyal hardcore and a wander through some tracks they’ve not visited for many a year. Excited? you should be.
Opening the set with 1990s debut self-financed single ‘Meat Abstract‘ was indeed taking this shit right back to birth. Therapy? live are a wall of sound and a bundle of energy. They play their fucked-up hybrid of alternative punk rock n metal with as much energy and drive as they’ve always had – theirs is an energy an enthusiasm for what they love and live they always have passion and play the classics with the same energy as new material and songs they’ve played a million times or more.
They’ve done the greatest hits tour and they’ve been out and played new material from new albums but this one seemed to fly by as the band smiled and smirked throughout the ninety plus minutes they were on stage for. ‘Wreck It Like Beckett‘ made way for ‘The Ten Year Plan‘ and an epic ‘Tides‘. The band could never be accused of going through the motions because ‘Safe‘ had two false starts mainly due to Andy having guitar problems. The banter was kept to a minimum but when there was interaction it was amusing and heartfelt. Therapy? have always been grounded and speak sense, and in tough times like now we need bands like Therapy? to offer hope and positivity when all around is turning to shit.
‘Crooked Timber‘ was brutal, and it was on their ‘Crooked Timber‘ tour they last played in this very venue. When Andy announced how humbled they were that so many people turned up on a Sunday night during a cost of living crisis and pre-Christmas post pandemic I get the feeling those words are heartfelt and well-intended and it’s fair to say that those in attendance loved what they’d just see and heard and ‘Stop It Your Killing Me‘ ended the main set to rapturous applause. Call it the fake encore or false encore, whatever it is you call it these days. Signing off with an epic, thumping bass rumbling ‘Teethgrinder‘ and crowd enthused ‘Potatoe Junkie‘ left big smiles all around on stage and off until Andy played the riff of the Manics ‘La Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh)’, a killing joke cover, ‘Breaking The Law‘ for Michael and a few bars of Rush for Birthday boy Neil. Therapy? were on fire.
Finishing the set with the triple threat of the quite brilliant ‘Knives‘, ‘Nowhere‘ and closer ‘Screamarger‘. It felt funny leaving so soon but over ninty minutes flew by – The came they saw, and they turned in another brilliant performance – Therapy? are on fire and if you get the chance to cross their path on this current run then do so – you won’t regret it.
Go back a couple of years – 2020 to be precise. The world was being locked-down. Kevin K was also having to deal with the passing of his father a future with no financial certainty and the very real prospect of homelessness.
The pandemic hit bands and artists who needed to be out on the road to make a living hardest its where they got by be it America or this side of the pond on mainland Europe.
Kevin did what many others did and sat at home writing and writing and doing a little more writing – waiting for the day they could venture out further than their local food store. Luckily for Kevin the songs found their way out and he was the conduit for what fell from the skies.
Pandemic eased and a chance to let the world have the songs that would be ‘Cadillac Man’. Enough tunes for two albums A huge body of work that pays homage to his idols like Johnny Thunders, the Stones and Ramones Hell he even pays tribute to Da Bruthers with the tune ‘No Ramones’. Kevin K chips in with an earthy organic album that’s pressed on CD and not vinyl Uses a drum machine and home recordings. Now I’m not at ease with the drum machine its quite the early Alesis drum machine sound rather than some of the new home recording like drum tracks but Kevin isn’t someone who sounds like he embraces modern tech and would go for the warm analogue sound anyway but don’t let it detract from the songs which is what Kevin K does well. Hes a musician and a songwriter first and foremost.
It’s power pop n Rock n Roll no tricks or smart arse studio saucery its all about the songs.
The one thing I would say is this album is more Stonesy than previous offerings and the Exile vibe shines through. I’m sure Kevin K would be familiar with Exile and all it stands for and has tried to capture the feel and vibe.
KEVIN K plays every instrument on every song which is cool and considering this is his thirty third album hes come up trumps on the songwriting front and fair play to him. Using open G like Keif Richards Kevin had to reinvent himself and learning how the five string open G works has been the guiding light for these songs.
There are songs about growing up (‘Pendleton’), NYC (‘Village Girl’, ‘1989’). There are songs about loss (‘I Miss You’, ‘Tear Drops Don’t Stop’, ‘You Let Me Down’), songs about lockdowns and the weird world we live in (‘No Respect’, ‘Dum Days’, ‘Zombie Heat’), and hopelessness (‘Start Me Down’).
Fans who’ve been with Kevin K forever or more recently over the past few decades are gonna love the songs on this record and there will be those who are discovering him recently and will have the daunting prospect of delving into his catalogue. One thing for sure is the twenty songs on offer are enough to keep you delving in or playing from top to bottom A post pandemic world where Kevin K is making albums is a good place to be and I do hope he continues to hold the traditions handed down to him from the good and greats and runs and passes on the baton. Keep on Rockin and Rollin Mr K you Rolls Royce. .
TRAMPOLENE release a new song, ‘Sort Me Out’, on November 25th, taken from their much anticipated fourth album, ‘Rules Of Love & War’, which will be released through the Strap Originals label on 17th March ’23,
TRAMPOLENE will be performing ‘Sort Me Out’ on Sky Sports’ fan favourite footie show, Soccer AM today.
‘Sort Me Out’ is the second track (along with ‘Thinking Again’ which featured in the BBC coverage of the World Cup) to be lifted from the forthcoming album ‘Rules Of Love & War’ which features 12 new TRAMPOLENE original songs and was produced by Mike Moore (Baxter Dury/Liam Gallagher), Richard Jackson (Super Furry Animals) & Jason Stafford (Albion Rooms).
Says singer and boss Tramp Jack Jones: “Sort Me Out started as this slow desperate love song I wrote when I was 15. I presented it to the boys recently, and they amped it up, sped it up, piled their life into it and it’s somehow turned into a bit of an indie anthem. Whenever we’ve played it live it seems to have brought the house down.”
Rules of Love & War will be available on CD, cassette, digital download and 12” black or red vinyl, as well as exclusive formats and signed items. Preorder the album here: https://lnk.fu.ga/trampolene_rulesoflovewar
When Grunge broke big in the 90s the UK joined the party with bands like Headswim who might not have gained as much media coverage as say Bush who also came from the UK but Headswim had a big part to play in the scene in the early to mid 90s. More than just a UK Grunge band they had a decent stab at topping the alt scene as well with huge selling bedfellows like ‘The Bends’ coming out. There was certainly an element of that in their sound as well maybe more so after ‘Flood’ was birthed in to the world.
The Band released two albums, ‘Flood’ and a few years later they followed it up with ‘Despite Yourself’. Trapped Animal Records have been given the honour of reissuing ‘Flood’, repackaged, with a bonus disc covering some additional pieces. With a dark and anthemic sound ‘Flood’ captured the hearts of the UK scene Sure they took their lead from the likes of Pearl Jam Headswim stood on their own two feet and if you need reminding of how good they were then this is the perfect reissue.
Maybe the bands problem was they were not Grunge enough nor were they heavy enough to head swim down an Alice In Chains route and they weren’t Britpop enough either and fallign between several stools can be tough but it does happen.
Maybe now with some distance from the mid 90s the time is right for a resurgence purely on the musical terms it would be only fair wouldn’t it?
Anyway, be it discovering a new band or revisiting an old lost favourite this has its draw with a bonus disc with some added features, including tracks from Radio 1 Rock Show sessions and some deep cuts, b-sides and added extras. To be fair this has gone the extra mile as far as reissues go from the coloured wax to the heavyweight feel of the gatefold sleeve it’s a thing of real quality those BBC Rock show bonus cuts it’s a real labour of love and well worth shelling out for. A really good album now made even better. Buy it!
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