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Wednesday 6 June 2018

The stars look very different today. Rest easy Garry Alexander Borland.

Waking to the news that Garry Alexander Borland of Heavy Drapes is no longer with us has set a dark tone for the day for those who knew him.

The loss, the hurt, the confusion, and so many other conflicting emotions that his family and band mates will feel cannot be easily put into words.
When any of us lose someone that we are close to then the feelings are individually unique, but equally as traumatic.
The world stops making sense, the earth beneath our feet feels that little bit less stable, and the waves of grief ebb and flow without any real rhyme or reason.

One minute all is fine, and the next it is not.

Kelly and I have extended our condolences to both family and the band, and we were in two minds about saying anything further, but with some consideration we would like to take this opportunity to say a few words about our experience of working with Garry.

He was simply a diamond of a man. He lived life large fronting Heavy Drapes, but when you spoke to him away from the moments when he was promoting the band he shook off the ‘in your face rentagob’ persona that occasionally riled people who didn’t get the joke, and discovered a gentleman who had time for everyone.
Quick to smile, and quick to offer support, he gave the impression of a man who was standing exactly where he wanted to be in life. He was comfortable. He had his eye on the prize, but gave off the air of someone who knew that it was coming, and while we will never know if that was to be the case we would like to think that it was.

That he was a star is in no doubt. The rest of the world just had to catch up and agree with him.

In general conversation face to face, and online, we spoke of many things. Music was of course the main subject, but surrounding that there were times when he mentioned his family, fleeting comments, but always positive ones. That he loved and cared for then deeply was obvious. He never needed to shout it from the rooftops. It’s was just part of how he carried himself. He also spoke about his band mates in glowing terms.

He was what some people call the real deal, although we often can’t quantify what that is.

We worked with him on two occasions, with both being Heavy Drapes playing alongside Duncan Reid and the Big Heads.

The first time in Audio he pulled me to the side midway through Duncan Reid’s set and thanked me for the opportunity of playing. He didn’t have to. It was our privilege.
He commented that up until that point he hadn’t felt that they had played with bands that fitted with what they were doing, and then quickly added that this was not to be taken as a criticism of previous shows, but just an acknowledgement that it felt right.
I knew what he meant. Everything was clicking into place.

When I pushed some cash into his hand he asked what it was for.
At that moment in time they were considering gigs as paying their dues as they climbed a ladder and hadn’t expected to get paid, but I told him not to be silly and take it.
Here was a guy who had opened for Bowie, played with the New York Dolls, and he was thanking me for allowing him to play and refusing to take money for their performance.
I pressed it on him and he grudgingly accepted it.
The next morning I had a message from him saying the rest of the guys had given him it tight for taking it and he offered to return it.
Again I told him not to be silly. They had worked hard for it, but that’s the guy he was. He wasn’t out to take liberties and wanted to seek out good working relationships with like minded people.

The gig itself was indeed a match made in heaven and we are very proud that we were able to do it all again in NiceNSleazys when Duncan returned to Scotland.

At that one he was quick to thank us for providing a preferred mic stand for him. He was a little surprised as he had admitted that he had stopped asking promoters if they could provide one as it rarely transpired, and on this occasion here it was and he hadn’t even asked.
He didn’t miss these little things. He clocked them, logged it away, and made sure that you knew that he knew with a genuine thank you.

Both gigs have since been described as “you had to have been there” shows, and we would agree. You really did have to be there to fully understand just how good they both were. How everything flowed, how the energy built up to the point that people felt that shiver that sends a signal to the brain that tells you that you should pay attention as you are seeing something very special.

These are the shows that refuel the tank when we think about throwing in the towel. We remember the excitement and the enjoyment, and then we think about how we can aim to grab another piece of it.

We should thank Garry for that. Not just Garry, but everyone who delivers as he did.

What else can we say?

We admired him, we admired his dedication, his confidence, his faux arrogance. We wish we knew him better, that we could have built on the foundations of the relationship we had, but sadly that is not to be now.

We will leave you with a link to an interview that I did with Garry. His own words are always going to resonate more that ours could.


And in closing all that is left to say is goodnight Garry. You made it, you will forever be a star mate. At least in our eyes.

Mainy and Kelly

 

Monday 4 June 2018

Brian James- Brian James (Re-release, Easy Action) Joe Whyte



Apologies if this reads like a love-letter to Brian James, people.

Brian James is a guy who’s probably enlivened my life more than most. I absolutely adored “Damned Damned Damned” from the minute I first heard it and still do. In particular, James’s searing guitar playing which sounded to me, as a youth, like the end of the world, the beginning of a new world and was to my teenage ears, a real statement of intent.
I spent weeks in the late 70’s trying to learn how to play some of those songs (some of the parts still evade me!) and although there are rumours that the album was vari-speeded up during post production, I somehow doubt that.
The guitar playing on “See Her Tonight” is one of the most breakneck, seat-of-the-pants things ever committed to vinyl and the blood-dripping main riff on “Fan Club” is utterly spellbinding. The album is chock-full of these moments.

Of course, James had been around before The Damned; some of the songs on “DDD” have their roots in his earlier “biker rock” band Bastard whom he’d toured Europe with and he was slightly older than his erstwhile band-mates although punks Year Zero saw quite a few people dropping a year or two as well as their “aitches” and their Genesis albums.
James was also, and I have no qualms about saying this, the coolest motherfucker alive at that point; his jet black mop-top, his lanky stick insect demeanour and his angular guitar hero poses, all jutting limbs and curled lip insouciance, were simply jaw-dropping.
I doubt that anyone in the nascent punk scene wore a leather jacket quite as well as Brian James, either. He had that whole Parisian proto-punk look going on and he looked more like Patti Smith than she did at times. And lets not forget that guitar playing; cherry red Gibson SG straight into a cranked up Hi Watt stack- no pedals, no gimmicks, just sheer volume and his hands peeling off those licks and fiery chords.

That first Damned record gets spoken about now as “the first punk album blah blah blah” and any article on the group invariably mentions how they were first to do this or do that.
What is always missing, however, is the recognition that “DDD” is a classic rock record played REALLY REALLY fast. The songs aren’t “punk” as it became; they’re indebted to 60’s girl groups and The Stooges and The Dolls and show the depth of James’s song-writing in full effect. Bar “Stab Yor Back” which is a Scabies write, the full album is James’s and it shows.

The follow-up, the critically mauled (but actually not that bad) “Music For Pleasure” saw James pulling away from the amphetamine buzzbomb of the debut and crafting a more textured, almost psychedelic-type album in places. “Problem Child”, “Stretcher Case” and others retained the blitzkrieg of old, however.
Produced by Nick Mason of Pink Floyd (they’d originally wanted the reclusive Syd Barrett), the album basically signed the death warrant on the original line up of the Damned.
James’s next venture was the short-lived Tanz Der Youth, who released a couple of cracking psych-pop singles then disappeared. There were another few collaborations and bands but the game seemed to be up as the rejuvenated Damned headed off to mainstream chart acclaim with “Machine Gun Etiquette”.

The next move was quite a surprise, however. Teaming up with Dead Boy Stiv Bators, Sham’s Dave Treganna and The Barracudas drumming powerhouse Nicky Turner as punk super-group Lords of the New Church was, on paper, destined to be a disaster. As it turned out, it was anything but.
The Lords shook off the novelty tag almost immediately. Supergroups are usually anything but; massive egos and fans desperate for their favourite members back catalogue usually mean their life span is pretty brief. The Lords quashed that notion and then some.
To be fair, they were a way better band live than they ever were on record; the albums are good but they don’t come close to capturing the raw tsunami of the band live. 
James and Bators were an astonishing double act and it just seemed so right to witness them together.
Obviously both were heavily indebted to Iggy and The Dolls in their previous bands but the two sparked off of each other and created sheer bottled lightning on stage. That rhythm section weren’t  too bad, either, with Turner’s energy (he literally would bounce up and down on the drum stool) and Treganna anchoring it in the low register.
Several albums and a few near-chart-hits later, it was all over acrimoniously but I’ll always treasure those times I saw The Lords live. They were, at times, truly unbeatable.

Following this, James released this self-titled album with help from some musicians he’d played with in the past. It’s a mature record- the frenetic soloing of DDD and The Lords is replaced by a more mannered, blues-y style but the songs retain the spark of old. Originally released in 1990, this is a re-mastered and limited edition vinyl version of the album.
He’s a better guitarist than he is vocalist but don’t let that put you off; his languid voice on “The Twist” or “Cut Throat” sits well with the slithering, serpentine licks and the late-night feel of the rhythm section. “Ain’t That A Shame” makes a reappearance- it was originally a single with Stewart Copeland on drums- and a cover of R&R standard “Cut Across Shorty” slots in well with the rest of the album.
There’s a depth to the songs that repeated listening unearths; on the face of it, they are fairly standard garage rock fare but several times around, there is clearly more to them than meets the ear.

Our esteemed Droog Brother Main put on a Scabies/James gig some years back- that’s where I met Mainy for the first time as I recall- and time had not blunted the attack.
James wielding, as always, his trusty Telecaster (he’d switched to a Tele when The Lords started) straight into a stack of amplifiers and it was loud.
VERY, VERY LOUD.

He doesn’t seem to be particularly bothered about the mainstream these days; he appears to be happy doing the odd collaboration or showcase gig and that’s a shame for us. He’s unlikely to ever rejoin The Damned and a Lords reunion is a non-starter since the death of Stiv Bators.

I guess we should be happy with what he have. He’s a national treasure (well, he is to me!) and that body of work is simply magnificent.

All hail Brain James, or as he used to have painted on his Lords amp;
“Brian Saves”.

Joe Whyte

Buy it here

We know what you want. Even if you don't


A day late, and the proverbial dollar short, but the planned recommendations update is here.

All the recommendations come from members of the Reservoir Droogs Facebook group.

Anything can get a shout out. The only rule is there are no rules.
Yeah, I know that doesn’t make sense. If you want shit to make sense then what are you doing here?  


Jimmy Devlin (Ex every punk band in Scotland, ex Wig Wam Bam, ex The Carpettes, currently on the run from debtors, and some angry fathers who will soon be grandfathers. Allegedly. His lawyer told us to say that bit.)

Green Room. Late to seeing this one, but for those who don’t know it is Patrick Stewart as the owner and top man of a dive bar. A skinhead/punk/metal club in the backwoods of the bad ol’ US of A.
Some right nasty stuff going on throughout, and far better than most of the supernatural horror movies released over the last couple of years. It’s everything that can go wrong does go wrong mixed with American History X.
Perfect date night movie if you want your partner jumping into your lap.



Klaatu has been getting some heavy plays around these here parts recently. Once considered to be the Beatles under a different name they also penned Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft that the Carpenters made famous.
Sort of lost in the mists of time, but worthy of a google in my humble opinion.




David (Munro) Orr (Vocalist Southern Approach/Outstandifold and the Wrttygrippers. Sex Badger and vodka and diet coke connoisseur)
Sex Pistols tour of London on YouTube. It proves that you can take the punk out of London, but not the London out of punk. Mainy (Res Droog will weigh in here about his beloved US bands)
And as if by magic here it is here for your consideration.



Glen Robertson (The Stumblers)
Outside suggestion, but The Hope County Choir with Let Your Water Wash away Your Sins is doing it for me, and the album that it comes from. It's part of the new Farcry game soundtrack, and to me it perfectly captures the gospel vibe with true country song writing.
And for all it sounds overly religious it’s written to be cult propaganda but someone else can draw the lines between religion and brainwashing.



Daniel Graham. The debut from Thunderpussy. Best name for a band since Split Beaver. Oooft.



And not so rock and roll, but Anthony Hopkins in King Lear is the daddy. 



Jeff King. Millie Manders & the Shut Up are currently on magnificent form, and been the talk of their recent festivals.



The Kut album is a belter too.



Pete Montador. Ghost in The Tanglewood from Ginger Wildheart has been getting bashed in the car, and the gig in Edinburgh was triumphant. (Link in Kels recommendations). Eureka Machines with Victories has been making an appearance too, but as of the Ginger gig it's Billy Liar that is getting a shout out from me. First time seeing him, but not the last.



Kel Droog (Right hand woman, the power behind the throne.)
Ginger Wildheart and his Ghost in the Tanglewood album has had me cheering and crying too. A very personal album, but made all the more powerful by the honesty that is on display.  


It was my birthday and Mainy (Res Droog) bought me some Alice Cooper Funko POP merch.

(Editor edit) What a nice guy he is.

A girl can’t have too much Coop merch. If you are into that side of thing then these are nice collectables.


Reservoir Droog A hand me down recommendation from me. Joe Whyte of Reaction and writer for Vive le Rock assured me that I would like New York Junk, and he was right. One EP purchased from Love Music in Glasgow and I’m deep in the groove. Bit of MC5, a whole lot of NY Dolls and a smidgeon of everything that made the seventies New York gutter scene so bloody attractive is thrown at the wall and what sticks is New York Junk.  
So from Joe to me to you. Here's New york Junk.

A review will follow. 



And just a reminder in closing to go with the recommendations. If you like what has been posted here then go and buy the album, see the band, watch the movie. Support the artists because if we don't then they can't entertain us.