h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Salut à toi, Superdog
Just a few words to get things started.
It's not everyday that you bump into people mentioning Husker Du in the part of the world I live in. Ramones: Wonderful, unique! MC5: Pioneers. Sonic Youth: Other era, other pioneers. And all the rest of them... C'est magnifique!
Even though I play a very different kind of music myself (french dark ballads accompanied by classical musicians), all the names listed on your page are right up my street when it comes to what I listen to or where I come from.
Just seen New Bomb Turks live a couple of weeks ago. Great band. Nothing new or original, just bloody good energetic classic punk rock in the purest 77 tradition with a generous touch of 60's garage. I enjoyed that.
Alongside with beautifully disorganised sounds another aspect of the punk movement that is still dear to my heart is deep-rooted nihilistic anarchism (my way!).
Been on the computer all day. Time for a break.
Talk to you soon.
Chan-Mick

Hi, wish I could talk longer but work has just suddenly got manic!

Have not heard The New Bomb Turks yet but have got both the Gories albums. Primitive but enjoyable.

I'm afraid that I still try to play punk stuff but am on vacation for a bit due to the sprog.

I only post from work, so will discuss further on Monday.

Don't know much french so here goes ... fete, citron, manifigeec!

Sorry

Hi!
Thanks for your answer and don't worry about not having too much time. I know the feeling as the computer I'm using now is also the one I use for work (I'm a translator).
I'm very glad to hear that you still play punk stuff. It's not because I've chosen otherwise for myself that I don't think that some people have to keep the flame burning! And you probably know as well as I do (probably better actually) that playing punk rock in 2002 doesn't necessarily mean being stuck in the past.
That was one of the greatest strengths of the early days of punk: It opened the way in an incredible number of directions.
Yeah, I remember the Gories too (do they still exist?). New Bomb Turks definitely belong to the same musical family but when I saw them in the local venue, there have been many times when I couldn't help thinking of the Saints (their faster stuff, I mean).
Talk to you on Monday.

Hi Chan-Mick,
I think the Gories became The Dirtbombs and then The New Bomb Turks!

Even though I play punky stuff, I have a side line of solo stuff!

My last two projects were a jazz/dub mess with big guitars
and an album of 60's garage band cover numbers done in (of course) punk style.
Oh yeah, I also did a 50 minute soundtrack for a 1920's lon chaney film ... not for general release but for a mate!

Your stuff sounds kind of Barry Adamson/Tom Waits?

The days of preparing songs to send out for demo's is over ... it's just for myself and mates!!!

Just the process of playing and recording for myself is satisfying but I do plan to gig towards the end of 2003.

Good point about not having to be stuck in '70's just because you sound punk. There have been so many interesting things done since the first Clash album, you would be foolish to ignore!

Funny about NBT, didn't know that...

Terri&Yoda tells me that (your) Mrs said you guys were based somewhere in London or Greater London. Whereabout?
I'm very curious about it because I was still living in SW Greater London about a year and a half ago and I must say I sometimes miss the English capital.

Are you on line at the moment?

I am (as you may have guessed) and even though I should be working, I think I'll still be around for a little while.

Yep I'm on line at the moment but have to be sneaky about it!!
At work as well.
Based in the Wimbledon area (ish)

I'm luckier than you! Work from home, manage my own time. Dangerous for deadlines, though...

We were almost neighbours! Ish...

I was (for the last 3 or 4 years) in a place called Whitton. Some kind of Old England type village stuck between respectable (but ok) Twickenham and less respectable (but ok too) Hounslow.

Not much happening there on the punk rock scene but quite a few things taking place in the Irish fiddley diddley circle (which I'm quite into as well).

The nearest part of town to yours that I used to visit regularly (for shopping, drinking and lonely riverside walks) was Kingston. Not brilliant.

And, of course, a nice little range of decent pubs.

I know Twickenham and Hounslow well.

You may not be aware but Whitton played a notorious part in the punk scene for a couple of years by producing an ultra violent following of the Damned and Penetration, going by the lovely moniker "The Whitton Skins"!

How my heart used to sink when the chant of "WWWWWhhittooon" would echo around a small club!

No, I certainly didn't know this about Whitton. It definitely has changed, it's not so bad (I quite liked it actually) but it's now more like some kind of Grannyland than anything else.

All I knew about Whitton and late 70's/early 80's rock is that it's where Elvis Costello grew up and I think he still has relatives around there.

Talking about the Damned, now, here's a GREAT punk group ! Really good stuff.
With one of my old bands, we once recorded in a studio that they (the Damned) also had used in the past. Needless to say that I was a bit glad about that! (Too bad it's also the place where Eurythmics recorded their Sweet Dreams thing). Oh, and by the way, this studio was almost next door to the legendary Monarch pub in Camden.

Who is this Barry Something you mentioned earlier? I've heard the Tom Waits comparison a couple of times about my music and it's partly appropriate but singing in French and my medium/high pitched vocal range make a hell of a difference. This said, I can't think of a better reference to give you an idea of my stuff. I'll try and send you something one of these days.

Barry Adamson used to play Bass with Magazine and then did a couple of albums with Nick cave before going solo.
The reason i thought of you was that his music was described as a soundtrack for a french film noir that had never been filmed!

I've never recorded at a place with famous past bands.

I have played at the Marquee club though, so have imagined previous performers trading the same dirty, dingy stage as me!

Did you ever get The Damned's new album last year. Heard it was supposed to be very good but have never got around to buying it?

Ah, being a player, you might find my entry A884090 of some amusement!

Ah, I've just seen your user space - Yes, green fuzz is fantastic.
I was gonna cover it on my '60's garage rock album but decided i could not make it sound any more primitive than it was!

had to settle for 2 sonics tracks instead!

I already visited your Guitar Hero guide entry a couple of days ago. Great fun, obviously based on personal observation of real life (if such an adjective as "real" can apply to the existence of a rock band)!

I'll try and see if I can find a Barry Adamson site on the net.

Recording in a studio where famous ones had been before me didn't make my music any better (didn't do any good to the band's budget either!) but it's a nice feeling and looks great in the press book. That's another good tip for wannabe stars!

Didn't even know about the Damned's album. I must be getting old. I am, definitely.

On the London punk scene, did you ever bump into a wild French/Moroccan female guitarist called Ghislaine (pron. [Reezlen])? Just an old friend I've lost track of...

Hi again,

About that friend, by the way, I seem to remember she was involved with a band called the Paralytics. Heard of them?

Thanks for keeping me posted.
Talk Later

Hi, I think I've actually seen them!
Can't recall anything about them but the name does rings a bell.

I've seen a hell of a lot of gigs + played a lot of supports so a band seen once and never again does tend to fade after a while.
When was the last time you were in London?

Thanks for answering so quickly.
I was in London from August 1996 to August 2001 but lost track of my friend early 98.
If you ever happen to remember anything more precise about the paralytics or bump into someone who knows, please let me know but don't worry too much.
This girl was also a (groupie turned) friend of Motorhead but I doubt this is going to be any help in tracking her down.
Is there a link on h2 for people to meet when they want to speak about punk rock? If not, how about getting one started one of these days?
And what's your job by the way? (optional)

There are loads of threads about it but no way of linking. What I will do is to bookmark them, they will appear at the top of my conversation list and you can read and then jump in!

Or go to "ask h2g2" and start one off!

If you want me to sort out the best ones let me know - I'll be around for a couple of hours!

I think I'll try and organize something in the near future, some kind of "punk rock lovers federation" (we'll have to find a more clever name I'm afraid!). But that probably won't be straight away as I'm getting seriously behind with the book I'm paid to translate and have to do something about it.

Talk on Monday, I suppose.

ill......
sick..........
post later?

No future?

Looking at your user space - I always look at amazement at the Comic Convention your village has every year. In the comic world it has worldwide coverage!
In the true spirit of christmas I am currently playing my Black Flag collection.