Jericho Hill (Bellfield Tavern - Kilmarnock - 24/03/18)

JerichoHill neatly side step the usual criticisms that are aimed at the majority of tribute bands by not playing strictly by the rule book. Their punk attitude approach to the music of Johnny Cash has seen them grace the stages of the world famous Rebellion festival in Blackpool to that of Belladrum near Inverness. And regardless of the stage they are playing the accolades just keep coming in. Punk crowds, indie rock crowds. They get it.

Not easily pigeon-holed you get the impression that they like it that way, and in fact prefer to live up to the Chaos for Cash play on McLaren's words.

It's certainly the case when they playfully run through a cover of Atomic by Blondie as a well deserved encore to their set in the Bellfield Tavern, but you never really know what you will get from them and therein lies the appeal.

Missing their first set I arrived in time to enjoy all of the second which started with Delias Gone, and then rattled through other Cash highlights such as Cry Cry Cry, Ring of Fire, a rousing rendition of Jackson and more.

My late appearance was unavoidable, but given the slightest window of opportunity I would have been there from the start because sometimes you have to be good to yourself, and giving yourself a night with Jericho Hill is always thoroughly recommended.

To quote Johnny himself "the beast in me is caged by frail and fragile bars" and that sums up a Jericho Hill performance far better than I could.

Crooked Little Sons - Fick (Video)

How is this for a bangin’ tune?

The always excellent Crooked Little Sons are back, and they’re not messing.
It’s a Sunday morning and the cobwebs have been well and truly blown away.

Watch out for tour dates and an interview appearing soon.

Last Great Dreamers - 13th Floor Renegades

Imagine if Hanoi Rocks took their cue from The Small Faces and The Who rather than from The New York Dolls, The Rolling Stones, and other such rockers.

Well imagine no more because Last Great Dreamers are writing the music you can hear in your head.

There's something quintessentially English about them. Like Gary Holton with The Heavy Metal Kids they have that cheeky chappy a nods as good as a wink shtick sorted out, but there's far more going on than a punk rock Oliver Twist story.

It's as if someone has thrown a handful of the mod revival bands into the Hydron Collider and seen what happens when you smash them into the UK's trashy glam rock acts that spawned from punk.

And the fusion ultimately works too.

It's rock and roll dark matter created that will suck us all in and turn us inside out.

Now how good does that sound?

Well now consider that these words just aren't covering it. They don't come close. It's actually better than that.

The terrace stomp of the seventies, the summer of love, the sunset strip, Camden Market and a soupçon of Soho. It's all there. From the sixties through to now, and even a taste of Britpop to flavour it further.

It's a heady mix of a trip of an album, and you can even dance to the fucker.

I bladdy love it.

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Revisiting the ones that matter #1 with Jimbo MacKellar of everywhere

Some, make that most, probably aren’t aware that there is a Facebook group connected to the blog. Or it would be more accurate to say that there is a group connected to the Facebook page that is connected to this blog.

But this post isn’t about promoting that. It’s about some of the content. Recently some regular posters, and myself, indulged in the nominating each other, to post their “ten favourite albums”, but instead of having them left bereft of comments we wanted something said to accompany them.

It could be anything.

The reason it was a favourite album, a memory associated with it. Literally anything that felt comfortable could be added.

Then from that it was decided that we would share them on here.

First up to feature is Jimbo MacKellar. Ex guitar hero of bands such as Fire Exit and Media Whores, the latter who were nominated for a Mercury Music Award, and who is currently fronting everywhere.

So now that the an explanation and a short introduction has been made, here are the albums that he revisits frequently, and some notes to go with them.

Enjoy

#1. Devo- Duty Now For The Future.

Jimbo - Devo's second album, produced by Ken Scott (The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust). Featuring their trademark polyrhythms, industrial guitars, and synth, this is a slightly more polished set of compositions than their debut.

Res Droogs - More polished as said, and more radio friendly too, but it is unmistakably Devo. There are few like them, and that's a positive. They broke the mould with Devo for sure.
Have New Traditionalists on us to listen to too

#2. David Bowie- Aladdin Sane.

Jimbo - Written during an American tour, this is a tour de force by a road hardened band using a unique palette of rock guitar, jazz piano and avant-garde sax and synth.

Res Droogs - The boss man in our opinion. There's not a month that passes without some Bowie being played in Res Droogs towers, but we didn't go for Aladdin Sane.

Not that we couldn't have. It was there as a contender, but after much deliberation and hand wringing we finally settled on another of his albums.

You will just have to wait and see what one it was.

#3- The Cardigans- Super Extra Gravity. 

Jimbo - An unusual choice, but it's an album that has a great overall production and no weak tracks.

Res Droogs - While being a sort of casual fan of the Cardigans it has to be said that we are not that familiar over all with their back catalogue. 

So, like you readers, this is our introduction to Super Extra Gravity too.

#4. Alice Cooper- School's Out.

Jimbo - This was the first album that I had bought that received adult respect.

I was at school camp and I put this on. My music teacher at the time was very impressed by the homage to Dave Brubeck that is Blue Turk. He told me later that he bought the album subsequently.

This is another album with a unique sound.

Res Droogs - A classic. No matter how you want to frame it. Like it, or loathe it, you can't ignore it. 

#5. Funkadelic- One Nation Under A Groove.

Jimbo - This album always brought a smile to my face. I used to love it when my pals rolled their eyes and said "I don't like disco music"...

Res Droogs - It's always funny when the years roll past and an album that you were belittled for having a connection with becomes one of those that features on "must have" lists in pretty much every magazine, and then gets cited as being a huge influence on so many artists.

Warms the cockles of the heart to be right.

#6. Eno- Here Come The Warm Jets.

Jimbo - A very important one for me. It introduced me to another galaxy where music wasn't polished, or tidy or self-reverential.

It's also a hell of a lot of fun.

Res Droogs - And again no complaints here. We know that for a certain age group Eno is someone that we are all well aware of , but for some of the younger whippersnappers who haven't delved far enough back to cover this then we recommend that you do.

#7. John Lennon- Plastic Ono Band.

Jimbo - Lennon's first conventional post Beatle album is fascinating as he applies his melodic genius to rock music. With the help of Ringo and Klaus Voorman he knocks Spector's wall of sound down and replaces it with something a little more exposed. Lyrically he exorcises a few demons from his childhood and career.

Res Droogs - If it only featured Mother it would be enough, but Working Class hero, God. We are spoiled for choice here.

#8. T-Rex- Electric Warrior.

Jimbo - The album that kicked off Glam Rock is actually a sassy, funky concoction of runic lyrics and hip cultural references. This is a great production job by Tony Visconti that uses his trademark pallette of backwards sounds and unusual instrumentation.

Res Droogs - We will not hear a band word about Marc Bolan around these here parts. Love love love a bit of Bolan Boogie.

Wrap yer ears around this.

#9. Sparks- Indiscreet.

Jimbo - A truly unique band, Sparks were simultaneously unmistakable in their core style, yet totally chameleonic in their genre hopping ability.

This collaboration with Tony Visconti crosses styles, decades, takes you from the 20s to the future in a series of witty short stories with tight arrangements and zero fucks given. 

There is no single track that sums up this LP, you just have to listen to it all. 

Res Droogs - We've been on a bit of a Sparks kick just recently. Mainly in prep for going to see them for the first time. We can't wait.

#10. XTC- Skylarking.

Jimbo - Ending this list on a high note. Andy Partridge's vision for "lost 60s classic", realised in the Dukes Of Stratosphear project, bore fruit for XTC in this sumptuous album.
The whole band rises to the challenge here, bringing subtlety and power by turns to Todd Rundgren's authentic production. This is a rare gem, and one to keep in rotation.


Res Droogs - One to revisit and re-acquaint ourselves with.

New video from Eureka Machines - Misery

First single from "Victories" the fifth album from Eureka Machines.
Four down and no weak links on show, no cracks. Just killing it release after release.
Wrap your ears around their back catalogue on Spotify and then head over to their website and buy the physical copies.
That's not a suggestion. It's an order. Everyone need the Eureka Machines in their life.

Ryan Hamilton & The Traitors - The Main Grains (Stereo - Glasgow 18/03/18)

Last year it was The Main Grains with the Drama Club Rejects that rolled into town. Between them they tattooed an indelible memory in my head.

And now on this outing they are back to open for another band that similarly impressed when I seen them on the Edinburgh date of their Heavy Heart tour in 2017. They would be the mighty Ryan Hamilton and his Traitors.

It was a cold day in Glasgow, but these two acts could easily heat up a cold day in hell on a solo jaunt, so we gleefully went in with high expectations for the show they were doing together, and we were not disappointed.

The Main Grains.

The Main Grains are heavily tapping into something that gets the primal blood pumping hot and fast through the veins.
It's difficult to put your finger on what it is though. When you break things down you might find yourself with all the parts, but in the process lose sight of why it all works so well.
The best bands, or the best in my opinion, all had this sum of its parts element. The Ramones, The Cramps, The Damned, AC/DC, The Rolling Stones, Motorhead, The Stooges etcetera.
You don't look too closely at it what's going on with them. Instead you simply stand back and let yourself be swept away with what they can do.
Thrashing drums, guitars chugging, or howling away, the bass underpinning it all. They are all creators of an aural drug that is highly addictive. And now so are The Main Grains.

Guitar rock and roll crack anybody?

What do we want to call it though? Good time rock and roll?
Is that enough?
I suppose it will have to do. It falls short, underplays the power, the passion, but what else fits?
They can certainly offer the soundtrack for a party. Not a cheese and wine gathering. The sort of party where casual nudity and vomiting in the bathtub will probably feature, or in short the best sort of parties that we all remember from misspent youth years.
It’s not a stretch to say that as a whole the band have positioned themselves to be ready to accept the baton from legends such as The Ramones, Stiff Little Fingers, and such and run with it.

Not a bad place to be really.
This is the third Main Grains show I've attended, and the best. They aren't content with getting incrementally better. They want to, need to, make the huge leaps, and they are doing just that with style.
My only concern is that with a tour of the UK and Australia coming up for Danny with The Wildhearts that it will possibly slow the momentum that the Main Grains are garnering, but apparently there are plans afoot to ensure that we don't forget about them.
I'm looking forward to these plans being revealed.

Ryan Hamilton & The Traitors.

Last year Ryan Hamilton rocketed to the top of my "new favourite artist" list, and then stayed there.
Late to the party I might have been, but damn I'm enjoying playing catch up.
From his solo releases, to that with The Traitors, to his recent country collaboration with Tony Wright of Terrorvision, I don't think there's been one misstep made.
In fact I'd go as far as to say that I've yet to hear one song from him that I would consider falls below a quality bar that he has set very high for himself.
How many artists could you say that about? Not one weak song!
Even his podcast "Lost the plotcast" is in my opinion essential listening.
You just have to get on board with everything he is doing.

On stage is where everything Ryan does makes complete sense though.
He, and his band, are born to perform. The live environment is where it's at.
There's something familial about the experience. We are all in it together from the first note to the last, and that's a good feeling to spread about.
It's the sort of foundation that great things can be built on. You could imagine him a few years down the line playing a larger venue and reminiscing about playing club venues in Glasgow, and pretty much everyone who was there in Stereo would be standing front and centre and reliving the memory with him.
Like the Marines, Ryan probably isn't going to leave anyone behind.
There's something special about that, but I guess you had to be there to understand what I’m trying to convey.

Thankfully the upside is that you can be the next time he is in town.

It's not an exclusive party. Everyone is invited. So if you like your rock with a country twang, like your power pop bands too, then Ryan has his pen in hand and will tick all those boxes for you.

Highlight of the set wasn’t actually one of his songs, but a cover of Tom Petty that ended the night on a high. Similar to what was said about the Main Grains being positioned to take ownership of a baton Ryan is equally standing there with his hand out and ready to run too.

If you want to get in early and be able to crow about seeing these guys in clubs before everyone else picks up on them then now is the time.

Previous interviews with The Main Grains and Ryan Hamilton & The Traitors.
Ryan Hamilton & The Traitors.
The Main Grains. 

Crimedesk - Louder…..Faster

What is it with the old guard relentlessly releasing albums that would shame the wannabe punk stars of today?

For a genre that lays so much stock in short sharp burst of teenage rebellion it seems to me that in the last year or two it is the veterans of the scene that are using their life experiences, and the influences they have garnered through the years, to create music that is far more passionate and relevant that anything that they have done that precedes it.

That’s not to say that previous endeavours were lacking in anything, but that they all seem to have reached a point of maturity where the musicianship, song writing and live performances, are peaking.

That’s certainly what it sounds like when you slip the latest from Crimedesk into the stereo.

Like many of their punk peers in Scotland they are growing old disgracefully on the surface, but underneath the nihilistic veneer are showing themselves to be able to write and release nuanced songs that don’t lack in any artistry.

Yeah okay. They do feature a song about a Manky Hoor, but it is very clearly tongue in cheek and designed to raise a chuckle rather than any offence.

It’s possibly time for another Scottish punk compilation to be released. Maybe over-time.

If someone does do one then Crimedesk must surely have earned a spot on it.  

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