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Diary
Updates
June
21 2007
Had
an email today from Dave Parsons, guitarist with Sham 69, with the very
sad news that the photographer and sleeve designer Michael Beale had passed
away last tuesday.
Pretty much
every Hotrods photo on this site was taken by Mike, or "Beale Bert"
as he was affectionately known by the Rods. He was in effect a "fifth
member" of the Rods in the early days, travelling with us in the
van, vibing us up, a can of Long Life and fag always on the go. and he
was responsible for getting me ' n' Steve especially into the MC5, Stooges,
and many other bands that few outside of the US had heard at that time.
He was a good and kind friend to us, and we used his flat in Hammersmith
as a crash pad for a couple of years, getting hideously and happily out
of it for days on end.
He was one
of those guys that you alweays think of being invincible. RIP Michael.
July
8
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Addecott
and Gray Senior enjoying a Stella...
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...and
Gray and Addecott Junior enjoying a joke
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Hayley,
Jeff and my good self ventured into deepest Wiltshire to pay a visit to
my old friends Jo and Craig
Addecott , bass supremo with the premier Who tribute band
Who's Next. Craig is
one of my oldest chums - many adventures have been shared over the years,
some even involving music! - and after a fine lunch washed down with copious
amounts of fine wine we repaired to his study to check out his latest
bass aquisitions. Craig claims he now has 40 basses, the bastard - he
could just be saying that to wind me up tho' as a mere dozen were in evidence.
However it's a bassist's heaven, as among some ultra rare Precisions were
a couple of Alembics and assorted rareties as used by the late, great
John Entwistle. There was also, somewhat disconcertingly, a couple
of bits of wood that to all intents and purposes looked like basses, but
had FIVE strings!! Quel horreur!! One was even fretless, but after a few
beers I was prepared to overlook these minor discretions. Who's Next are
true kinghts of the rock 'n' roll highway, ie they play shedloads of gigs,
and having seen 'em myself can vouch for a truly entertaining night should
they deign to visit your manor. Check 'em out!
I have to give an honourable mention to their son William. Obviously sharing
his old man's passion for The Who, at 2 yrs and 7 months he does a truly
impressive rendition of Pete Townsend in his wilder days, arms flailing,
before his plastic guitar goes crashing to the ground, much to the delight
of Jeff, who I think has probably picked up a few ideas judging from the
squeels of kiddie laughter. God help my Thunderbird..
May 24 A very cool CD on
the front cover of this months MOJO - www.mojo4music.com - magazine
entitled "Trash - The Roots of Punk". The Hotrods version
of 96 Tears is on there, and we're in great company with the likes of
the New York Dolls, T Rex, Mott The Hoople, Hammersmith Gorillors
(hello Jesse!), Hawkwind, Can, The Count Bishops and many more.
An interesting and eclectic mix of tracks and a welcome change from the
usual "punk roots" stuff. There's also an extensive artivle
on both the Dolls and dear old Johnny Thunders - as good
a way to spend £3.95 as I can think of!
Also undergoing
a redesign and update of some of the pages- black, white and red are current
colours favoured!
September
23
Anyone into checking out the Welsh Guitar festival should pop along to
City Hall, Cardiff on Sunday 2 October, where yours truly will be present
on the Musicians Union stand, liberally chucking out free MU swag and
no doubt knocking back many strong coffees! Kind of of a small version
of Wembley I guess. A round trip to Wrexham and Bangor Colleges has just
been completed, with visits to Weymouth, Dorchester, Truro, Bristol, Swansea,
Bath, Aberystwyth and Neath upcoming. Apart from doing my talk at the
colleges it gives me a chance to check out the local music shops, reharesal
rooms and studios (and pubs, armed with my trusty Good Beer Guide!). It's
a tough job but someones got to do it...
I'm glad to say the amount of new bands calling me for info and advice
is increasing all the time - as someone who has been on the receiving
end of more than my fair share of dodgy deals it's great to be able to
advise people not just from my own experience but with the mighty weight
of the MU behind me too. And best of all, it works!
May
16
Up in London on the MU stand at the Wembley Guitar Fair last week, the
racket of a zillion guitarists was made a little more bearable by the
copious amounts of free Italian beer on tap for us exhibitionists. Among
the many demo guests was a bloke called Jeff Berlin, who spent the weekend
merrily waffling away on the stand behind us. Now I'm not usually one
to go for wibbly bassists but this guy was pretty cool. A very unassuming
chap too - fellow bassist could do worse than check out the soundclips
on www.jeffberlinmusic.com, especially the "Intermezzo". Lovely.
Also purchased Brian Wilson's solo album "Smile", 36 years in
the making, which is on heavy rotation in the Gray household at present,
the CD of "Mass in F Minor" by the Electric Prunes, and - deep
breath - The Yes Album. Suspect lyrics and dodgy vocalising notwithstanding,
Chris Squire's bass playing sounds as exciting to me as when I first heard
this album in 1972, and reminded me that he was in hindsight indeed a
bigger influence on me than perhapsI realised.
April
21
Well, it's been a while since an update - a combianition of daddom, sheer
laziness and the nearest I'll ever get to a proper job! So Jeff is now
1 year old and I feel about 10 years older, which I guess is par for the
course! He can bash the piano keys with a healthy vigour and has just
broken the G string on my P bass, which presumably shows a strong right
hand technique developing, but the animal noises on the Roland still win
hands down...
The MU has now changed hugely - just check out www.musiciansunion.org.uk
to see what I mean. And with Future Music now publishing the magazine
we're getting loads of younger musicians and DJs joining which is great
news. As well as dealing with legal cases, music biz advice, dodgy deals,
band members trying to shaft each other, sorting out money owed, internet
stuff, contract advice and zillions of other members queries I've been
out and about in Wales and the west of England doing talks at colleges,
universities, youth music places and anywhere else that wants me. Needless
to say it's not yer typical music industry nonsense - I call it "IF
I KNEW THEN WHAT I KNOW NOW!", which basically says it all!
Liberal sprinklings of anecdotes and examples from my years with The Rods,
The Damned and UFO gives everyone an idea of what the real rock 'n' roll
world is like, from a band member, touring, recording, management, record
company, songwriting, publishing and just generally surviving all the
rip offs and bullshit perspective. I'm happy to say it goes down a treat!
Many old aquiantances - MU members one and all - have been in touch, from
Brinsley Shwartz's Ian Gomm to Alien Sex Fiend. And I'm dealing with members
from new bands like Kasabian which is triffic. Whatever they get into,
it will definitely be with their eyes open!
Also spoke to Bazza from the Hotrods a few weeks back, altho' he negelected
to mention that they were rather desperately flogging a very dodgy live
DVD from 1996 - the last tour with myself and Steve. Biimey, in my new
job I could sue 'em for unpaid royalties! But it's rubbish quality - don't
buy it. If it was any good, I'd have knocked it out myself years ago!
December
17
Up at the crack of dawn to train it up to London for my first MU meeting
in Clapham. A very friendly bunch and a nice informal start, after introductions
we adjourned en mass to a most excellent pub called the Fentiman Arms
for a few IPA's and a triffic xmas nosh up. Can't think of a better way
to get to know eveybody really! On the revamp side there is much happening
- new logo, new magazine, excellent new website, all upcoming in the next
few months.
October 25 See
the news about the Musicians Union post directly above!
April
22
Ladies and gennelmen, the age of
chivalry ain't dead yet.... A few weeks ago the postman deliverd a large
box to Gray Towers, filled to the brim with loads of fab kids stuff (including
some cool black gear which has yet to reach Wales, and probably never
will) form no other than Mr & Mrs Vanian, with a card signed by them
& the somewhat mysterious "Damned Family". So to all who
were invloved...ya'll too generous, and gawd bless ya.
April
22
Yep folks, Jeff Gray finally entered center stage at 4am tuesday morning,,
weighing in at a tad under 8lb. He can already clutch a Gibson heavy pick...give
him a few months and I'll try him with a bottle of stella, arf arf. To
show how bizarre things were last week here's some pictorial evidence...
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Wednesday,
8am, with Jeff aged 1 day...
...and
14 hours (and a few whiskeys) later with Captain, aged a little
bit more...
cheers
to Tom "the beers are on me" Kearney for the pic!
|
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Captain arrived in Cardiff the day before and we visited my local curry
house (Balti Empire, Albany Road, highly recommended, that'll be free
meals for me for a bit please) for few beers and a munch whilst guffawing
over previous escapades...many thanks to a Damned fan called Tom (i think?)
who was probably a bit suprised to see us when he arrive for his takeaway
and stood us us all large Cobras...your a gent sir!
The
seminar thing went great i think, thru the haze of sleeplessness and odd
large JD that kept finding its way in my hand...Big George did a sterling
job, Captain was brill, as were Feargal and Marcus... stories were told
and i think the assembled hordes were left in no doubt that its all about
doing as much as possible for yourself...straight back to the hospital
then down to The Damned gig, knackered big time but a fab night meeting
all the punters (hello Damned Fairy!) followed by a stage visit for Neat
Neat Neat, Do Anything You Wanna Do (with Captain on vocals) and Smash
It Up. And I didn't even fall over...
The
last time I picked bass up was at thier Pontypridd gig last year, blimey...as
Cap sidled up and said to me onstage "this playing lark is a peice
of piss innit!" and compared to what I'm doing now the answer has
to be a definite yes, you old sod. Gawd bless em all, and long may the
carry on...and the new bassist was well good too!
So the infamous 24 hour club has finally become the Damned Dads Club...
Finally
, of course, a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Captain for Saturday...I trust many
Bishops Fingers will be quaffed!
March
31
I'm putting on "Never Mind The
Bollox, Here's The PUNK! DiY Guide to the Music Biz" - a seminar
of sorts, for Complete Control Music - at Clwb Ifor Bach in Cardiff on
April 21 to tie in with The Damned gig in the evening at The Point. I
wanted to do something a bit, er, livelier than the usual seminars which
can get a bit boring. Its hopefully gonna be well lively and probably
a bit controversial! So who have I got? Well here goes:
Big George - he writes the music for countless TV progs like One
Foot in the Grave, and has a great maverick take on the muisc biz. He's
the ringmaster.
Captain Sensible - no introduction needed!
Feargal
Sharkey - voice of The Undertones, ex Polydor A&R, and
now spokesman for the Live Music Forum
Angus
Baskerville - 13 Artists Agency (Radiohead)
Nick Hart - lawyer for Bray & Krais (Blur, Chemical Brothers)
Martin Bowen - ffvinyl and Probation Records and Coalface Distribution
Marcus Lawrey - Poisoned Whisky Records
Aled Richards - Catatonia
Jeff and Ginge - Nottin Pill Studios, former Dubwar and Skindred
members
Yours truly and Danny Hagan from Complete Control
plus independent pluggers, PR people and probably more, we'll just have
to see!
February
13
Well,
with the patter of tiny bass players on the way - never say never - things
have been busy in the Gray household. The company converting my attic
into did'nt warn me that an exciting bonus would be the old lathe and
plaster ceilings collapsing into the floor below, thereby doing more damage
to my guitars and studio gear than I managed to do in decades. Hey ho.
Also busy with my new job developing bands at Complete Control Music.
Upcoming singles for rock / pop band Nikolai and a sensational acoustic
singer / songwriter called Jack Harries forthcoming. Also promoting My
Red Cell for 7 Welsh dates. Watch this space for more.
Sept
24
Three
more fab tracks completed in the studio courtesy af myself and Rob Reed
with the Noisecandy chaps and bloody fine they are too! I daresay clips
will soon be uploaded to their website, and check the gigs page too as
I've just finished booking a bunch more shows around the UK for the next
few months in London, Wales, Liverpool, Bath, Birmingham and Dunstable.
August
30
Just
got back from Luxor in Egypt . Bloody hot. Bloody amazing.
July
26
Just been sent an email from Mark Orbit to say Eddie & the Hot
Rods are on TOTP2 this tuesday 29 July at 6.20pm!
Heres the link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/totp2/lineup/show1artist6.shtml
If my memory serves me right it was our first ever Top of the Pops
appearance, playing "Get Out of Denver", altho' I expect
some smart bugger will email me to tell me it was in fact our second appearance
or something.
Anyway, it's well worth catching, I was about 16 at the time - I have
it on video somewhere and its amazing to think it was 27 years ago. Bloody
'ell!
Also,
an interview I did for the good folks on the Damned message board has
just gone up - here's the link for that:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/stevenrobert.griffiths/PaulgraysQuestions2
Oh,
and today got a message od here from Moose to say hello after reading
the above interview. Take a look at his website
- some very funny stuff on there, and some more telling tales from
his period with The Damned!
Plus
- busy day here at Gray Towers - a marvy new pic added to the Damned
page from some dodgy 80's mag!
July
18
All
it took was 3 stellas and a little gentle prodding from Captain and
Pinch. And I'm suffering from it today - I blame the last post-gig
glug from the Jack Daniels bottle...
I
figured 6 years was long enough to let the dust settle so ventured up
to the Muni in Pontypridd last night for The Damned. And I'm glad
I did too. Within minutes of seeing Captain we were lounging within
the depths of the tour bus, quaffing beer and swapping sories about Barrie
Masters and Lemmy...anyway, I ended up onstage for the last
2 songs, Curtain Call and Neat Neat Neat. Old habits die
hard however, and barely a minute into the set i'd skidded across the
stage and hit the decks, only to be joined by the grinning face of Mr
Sensible. Then the bloody bass amp went tits up...mr V must have been
thanking the day Patricia joined the band...anyway, a good old time was
had by all, everyone was very friendly, the punters gave me a good old
cheer and it was certainly the most relaxed atmosphere I can remember
around the band. Great crowd too. Its a strange feeling to suddenly play
songs in front of a packed audience you haven't played since 1997! And
a big up to Mr & Mrs Vanian for not being precious and letting
me jump up. Now, who was it who said "never again"?...
June
4
Caught a couple of cool bands down at the Cardiff Barfly last night
- blimey, sounds like I live down there! - the wonderfully trashy Sludgefeast
who have no songs over a minute in length, have a brilliant stage rap
and MC5 riffola a gogo, and Ten Benson
who remind me of AC/DC meets Zodiac Mindwarp, make a wonderful racket
and have a great stage image. Met their guitarist Paul up at The Amersham
Arms in South London last week DJ'ing under the excellent moniker of "Unemployable
Welsh Scum"! Even played a Johnny Thunders track in my honour, bless
him. They're both out on tour right now and well worth catching.
April
6
To the Cardiff Barfly last night to see The
Star Spangles, a pure NY Dolls / Ramones inspired bunch
of rockers from New York City. And they were damn good too - check
out "Which one of the 2 of us is gonna burn this house down",
a terrific 3 minute energy blast with a great chorus. But best of all
was the chance to link up with their manager - Howard Thompson,
the former A&R whizzkidd who signed the Hot Rods to Island
way back in 1976. Instantly recognised each other too despite the fact
that the last time we met was 25 years ago!! Signed to Parlophone here
and Capitol in the UK, he's managing both sides of the pond and taking
care of everything himself. With an upcoming US tour with The Datsuns
they're gonna do well - "I'm 50 this year and they make me feel
18 again" he said, and I kinda know how he feels - I get a similar
buzz from working with Noisecandy. He still did the famous"
Howard Dance", a curios left-leg-pump and head jerk movement that
used to be such a familiar sight at Hot Rods gigs. The band were
a great bunch of guys too - Howard had told them I was gonna be there
and we had a great old chinwag over several beers after the gig, making
me promise that next time they were in Cardiff I'd jump up and play bass
on a Rods song with them! Support band were cool too, another bunch of
yanks called The Go. Could this be the start of the New New Wave...?
Blimey
Small World Ain't It Guv'nor Corner: Also met up with veteran producer
John Anthony - Queen, Roxy Music and The Tubes count
among his many stellar productions - who just happens to be one of Howard's
oldest friends, also along to check out the show. He'd had a copy of the
Noisecandy demos and is coming to see them when they play the Barfly on
May 3. A true rock 'n' roll character, dressed in black from head to toe
with a shock of white hair..."lets make hit records!"
quoth he, before disappearing into the night...
January 23
Yours truly in the very wonderful Briarbank Studios, Penarth, last December,
bailing out another Noisecandy track with my immaculate 12 string guitar
playing (only joking lads...!)
January
14
Anyone around in Bath, Oxford, Cheltenham or London over the next
few weeks go to the Noisecandy site to your left right now! I may well
be at some or all of these jigs and not only will you have the pleasure
of seeing a truly great new band but will have the opportunity of buying
me a foaming pint of local ale too! What could be a better way of spending
and evening eh?
December
23
Blimey, Joe too. He really was a diamond geezer, and he always really
cared. I don't think he ever really changed. We used to do a lot of gigs
together back in '76 when he had the 101ers, mostly at the good old Nashville
Rooms. He always used to turn up with a dog on a rope and a plentiful
supply of cannibles raisins if I remember correctly, and he always played
a blinder.
Better make my will sharpish...God Bless ya Joe.
December
22
Had
an email from the lovely Batttttty and thought I'd share it with you...
A scientific expedition disembarks from its plane at the final outpost
of civilization in the deepest Amazon rain forest. They immediately notice
the ceaseless thrumming of native drums. As they venture further into
the bush, the drums never stop, day or night, for weeks.
The lead scientist asks one of the natives about this, and the native's
only reply is
"Drums good. Drums never stop. Very bad if drums stop."
The
drumming continues, night and day, until one night, six weeks into the
trip, when the jungle is suddenly silent. Immediately the natives run
screaming from their huts, covering their ears.
The scientists grab one boy and demand "What is it? The drums have
stopped!"
The
terror-stricken youth replies "Yes! Drums stop! Very bad!"
The
scientists ask "Why? Why? What will happen?"
Wide-eyed,
the boy responds, " . . . BASS SOLO!!!"
December
17
Sorry for no recent updates due to close family bereavement. Just
don't ever get sick in Southend Hospital. However,
if anybody would like to buy me a drink I'll be in Bath Moles club this
thursday for Noisecandy and at the Winter Wonderland Festival outside
Cardiff City Hall the next night where Noisecandy are doing a lengthy
live set for BBC Radio. See ya there!
November
13
Marvellous marvellous marvellous....just finished writing and recording
two ace new tracks - the best yet! - with Noisecandy
at Danny Chang's excellent studio in sunny Penarth. Rob Reed at the
mixing desk as usual and tinkling the old ivories, he's a great guy to
work with- hey, we both love classic pop songs! The band also recorded
a video for HTV's "Shotgun Slideshow" a few days back for the
track "Made for the Weekend" - the crew complained they couldn't
get the song out of their heads! Noisecandy managed to persuade the very
lovely Miss Wales to be in the vid too...spent all day in the freezing
weather with her, lucky buggers...
October
17
Sorry for anyone attempting
to access mischief-music.com. Firstly, since going broadband I have had
numerous problems with wonderful NTL - not content with losing my email
account for 10 days I was then unable to update this site. Now i can't
acces the Mischief site. Bear with me cos I'm well busy at the mo too...
October 12
Due to the wonderfuly inept NTL manageing to loose both my email and webspace
since going broadband no updates have been possible for a while. However
its now all sorted...meantime I've been busy studio wise with Noisecandy,
formerly Free Preace Sweet. A couple of cracking new songs completed,
again with Rob Reed in Da Studios, Penarth. Since then I floated the idea
of a small UK tour - hey, they have to learn what its like sometime! -
and have linked up with my mate Martin at
ffvinyl to book some dates with The
Scooters. I've also been in touch with another old mate Paul Durant,
who worked on the Mischief album with me and is now producer for Tetra
Splendour and runs the marvellous Monnow
Valley Studios, where once upon a time, in a different incarnation,
I used to, ahem, rehearse with The Damned. We're gonna be booked
in for 3 days in November to crack another couple of tracks.
August
26
Got emailed a cool Us mag review for the MISCHIEF album today. Might convince
a few more of you buggers to go out and buy it!
"...Smartly
fashioned rockers like "Something So Simple" and the opener,
"Horse-whipped", prove that rock 'n' roll continues to flow
through each member's veins. Each track leverages the band's heriences
and love for the music that has dominated their lives for the past 30
years. "Burning Soul" references everything from classic '77-flavored
pefty
past playing expunk to bits of The
Who and T. Rex, creating a retro-fitted romp with a decisively
contemporary sound. "I Hear You Moan" settles the score with
ragged guitar riffs and an accompanying blazing solo that'll charm the
staunchest critic. Shaw may be singing about sex, or he may be con- fessing
to his latest killing spree, but he leaves you to decide the true meaning
of his lyrics, as he peppers his words with double entendres.
From
the start of Mischief, the guitar grabs center stage and refuses to let
go, sandwiching you between amp-induced distortion and the gruff-yet-catchy
choruses that are an absolute requirement for a good rock 'n' roll album..."--
Andrew Magilow, Splendid Magazine, USA
Mmmm...nice
August 19
With Free Peace Sweet winning the BBC
Big Buzz "Band of the Year" competition and supporting Hear'say
in Cardiff, and having given the idea much thought whilst in Zanzibar,
I have now taken on a greater role with the band.
We've just finished mixing the first 2 tracks, "Last Summer"
and "Up On Time", and they sound bloody marvellous. I
really believe this band this band have huge potential. The band have
also asked Lynne Bartlett, who has worked for EMI, Capitol and
Island amongst others, to take care of the media and record label
liason side of things when ready. The band will also be undergoing a name
change shortly together with a new website launch. More news to follow.
July 25
Excellent tracks laid down with Free Peace Sweet last week with my co
- producer Rob Reed. Mixing to be done when I get back from holiday -
Hayley and I are off on the big silver bird tonight to Zanzibar, aka Spice
Island for a few weeks. Expect some interesting music related news upon
my return!
July
14
Had
a long, happy ,rambling message from Paul Chapman on my ansaphone today
- I suspect he had been at the old sauce over in Florida - informing me
to take a look at his website as
it was officially Paul Gray month! Theres a rather fetching photo of us
all outside the Airport at Athens, prior to our return back to blighty.
Also check out Strangers
In the Night, a bizzare UFO site run by the aptly named Batttttty,
who sent me reams of questions collected from the UFO newsgroup to answer.
They take up 2 whole pages and there's some really interesting ones there
so take a look! Plus its worth seeing her "Uggerly
Wall", and it'll get her hits up , bless her.
July
3
Well
what a gig last night at The Riverside in Newport. The new revamped
Free Peace Sweet played
an absolute blinder - it they ain't stars in the making I'll eat my hat
if I had one. New singer Ash is a find in a million. It's not often you
see so many grinning faces and an empty bar area cos everyone was too
into watching the band - yep folks, they were that good! Reminded me of
the Hot Rods vibe when we started playing pubs in '76!
WATCH THIS SPACE!!!
Plus
a "Single of the Month" review today too for the Mombomb
/ Comic Book Heroes split single I helped organise - two excellent
grunge / punk bands. I have to admit to an extra interest here as I produced
the CBH trax. They're up in Londinium to guest on Malcome Dome's TotalRock
radio prog on monday 8 June at 9pm - take a listen and check out their
website - eets crazee!!
June
30
After
using a '73 Precision bass on my last lot of home demos for The
Damned that I foolishly sold, I've been on the lookout for a replacement,
and I've just found one. My mate Craig (who also gets a namecheck
below) and who knows everything there is to know about basses has found
me a slab body '79 P bass. Origionally Olympic white, its now faded
to what I can only describe as a lovely nicotine stain yellow! Rosewood
neck as well - never really gone for maple. Most importantly its got that
lovely growl that certain old P basses have. And now its mine!
Talking of demos, I have some tracks recorded on my portastudio from 1993
- 1997 that have never seen the light of day. Most were recorded with
The Damned in mind, but obviously never got round to being used.
I may try to upload one as an mp3 or something in the future...you lucky
people you...
June
30
Pino
Palladino stepping into The Ox's shoes for the US tour eh? Sheesh...to
me that ain't The Who...this from alt.binaries.who newsnet sums it up
for me:
Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend were in a minor
car accident
today in Las Vegas. Both suffered very minor injuries yet will not be
able
to tour. But
an announcement
from the Who Spokesman at Trinifold Ltd. said the Who tour would go on
as
scheduled without them.
Also Rosemary Clooneys' tour is going on as planned.
June
28
Well, what can I possibly say apart from that I'm absolutely shocked...my
bassmeister mate Craig Addeccott called me early this morning to
impart the news about John Entwistle's
death - the greatest bass player in the world, ever, period. If it wasn't
for John, you wouldn't be reading this website, and I wouldn't have had
the career I've had. Go and get "Live at Leeds" play
it loud, and marvel. You ain't never gonna hear the likes of those basslines
ever again.
God bless.
April 19
A few Hoegarden's at Le Pub in Newport last night to see new
drum 'n' bass matal band TRIP. I'm mentoring bassist Jason in the
wonderful workings of the music industry. They were just great and if
there's any justice in the world they'll be on the front cover of Kerrang!
this time next year. Check out their own label website www.tripwirerecords.co.uk
for some fab mp3 downloads!
March 4
To
The Point last night to see Mountain.
What a band, and one of the best gigs I've ever seen -
Felix Pappalardi (RIP) was a bassist of huge influence on me -
take a listen to "Dreams of Milk and Honey" from Flowers
Of Evil, guitar, drum and bass interactions don't come any better.
When I played the Knebworth Fayre with UFO in 1985 they
were on the same bill and were great then, but last night just knocked
me out. Corky Laing is probably the best rock drummer alive today,
and guitarist Leslie West was just awesome , as our friends across
the pond say. Thoroughly recommended, witrh the old tinnitus it takes
a lot to keep me at a gig for 3 hours I tell ya!
January
9
Mr Gray is about to become a DJ! Well I haven't quite decided yet but
last night, down at The Barfly in Cardiff to see Drivedog
I was asked if i wanted to do a DJ set of the records that influenced
me for a Punk Week type thing. After a few pints of Stella it sounded
like a great idea but when I woke up this morning I realised there was
probably more to it than bunging a record on the turntable. Watch this
space...
January
24
A razzy night down at the lovely Coal Exchange again to see
the Lost Prophets. Seriously good, and any band who had hordes
of screaming teenies moshing upfront has to get my vote. Guitarist
Lee Gaze, who I was mentoring last year, spotted me at the side of
the stage, grinned, and did some weird hand signal at me. I dunno, kids
today, when I were a lad it was the good old V sign and nowt else...supporting
was Jarcrew who are coming along something lovely...
January
5
Just got back from spending the New Year in Prague. Wonderful place.
Seeing Mozart's "Requiem" in the Baroque Smetana Hall was a
highlight. They've obviously never heard of heath & safety rules,
on New Years Eve the central square was jammed with 1000's of people chucking
bangers at each other and firing off rockets in their hand. The air was
raining down with debris, bloody mad the lot of 'em! Bloody freezing too,
and tried to keep warm by imbibing a steady stream of Gluwien from the
Xmas stalls. I can also thoroughly recommend the local beer called Gambrinus!
The Hotel Waldstein can be well recommended too - a 16th century
marvel nestling under the castle walls.
December
18
Spent
the day with tech wizard Rob Reed in his studio mastering the MISCHIEF
album. I've gotta say it sounds great - we've got the levels up by
20% so be prepared for some serious speaker pumping!!
December
7/8
Hangover
from the previous nights notwithstanding, up to Loco Studios near
Usk for two days helping out New Deal starters Free Peace Sweet.
They just won the Smirnoff - sponsored Battle of the Bands competition
over 75 others - can't be bad! A band to develop over the coming months,
and subsequently one to watch.
December 6/7 2001
Two nights of partying down at the first Welsh Music Awards
at the Coal Exchange in Cardiff Bay. First night was rock &
pop, and despite being a great idea that was very well supported guest
and industry wise, it was a shame more of the award winners didn't show
or even send a delegate on their behalf. So it was hats off to Tetra
Splendour and especially the Lost Prophets for both turning
up and playing absolutely blinding sets, and not forgetting those who
gave tham a hand on the way up.
On the Dance Music night every single winner except Paul Oakenfold
turned up, and even he managed to send a video thank-you to the voters.
It was a more united, friendly and less cliquey atmosphere than the bnand
night, with a real sense of occasion - a lesson to be learnt methinks
October
17 2001
Appeared
on a panel at a seminar for the Radio 2 Live in Cardiff thing,
called "Is there life for musicians over 30", with the very
nice Janice Long and Tommy Hingley from The Inspiral
Carpets. Time was when I thought over 20 was pushing it! We had a
good old waffle to the assembled, er, masses and decided as we'd all managed
to stay alive after 30 there very much was. "Its a bit like fish
fingers" quoth I. "Just because Findus has been making them
for donkeys years doesn't mean to say they've got to give up and let someone
else have a go!" which
went down very well. We all agreed, however, that if Phil Collins stepped
down the world would be a much better place, which went down even better.
Discussed selling CD's online thereby avoiding ludicrously low record
company royalties and it looks like I'll be putting the MISCHIEF cd out
this way very soon.
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