Leonard Smalls

Talking of Steve Vai and bass player producers, Bill Laswell is one of the greatest! He even got Vai (and Ginger Baker and Bernie Worrell and Nicky Skopelitis) to play on this...

I produced a punkrock classic yesterday (it's a proper earworm, despite my "singing") in 40 minutes flat... However, I may have to reject it for this month's challenge as there's so much swearing all you'd hear would be bleeps (some would say that'd make it better 😁), and leaving all the ranty rudeness in would no doubt offend, especially those who are a little on the right of the political spectrum 😀 Even the title's offensive! Perhaps a nice bit of blues instead?

And listening to a bit of Jeff - probably almost the opposite of the Buttholes!

Love 'em! Saw them a few times - most memorable was at the Mean Fiddler in 1988ish... Gabby was covered in blood after being hit by a glass, then he set himself on fire (as you do) as the band played on. And meanwhile, there was a riot outside due to the amount of folks trying to get in without tickets. Worrying and still excellent!

Featuring some great bass by Etienne Mbappe... https://ranjitbarot.bandcamp.com/album/bombay-makossa?fbclid=IwAR2a22URS2PcqO_tG2WzJKh_KcCeNEPdvpkQrkiR3EUusA-_CqwmkTLmEB8

I always take two pairs of pants, just in case...

Enjoying these guys - played with them last Saturday in Birmingham...

I once did a gig wearing 9 different hats... At the same time!

Choked played the Dark Horse in Moseley, Birmingham last night... Not many folks turned up (30 or so) which was a shame as all 3 bands (including us!) were on fire... Not literally, of course as that would have been a bit too exciting. It was also the 1st gig we used the Tourbus (Vivaro van) which meant I could have a whole 3 pints of Real Ale and enjoy the other bands. After we'd played our guitarist had rather too many, plus rum'n'cokes, and chucked up outside (the shame!). Still, highly recommend Ünhang from Brighton; loads of energy, tight as and musically interesting as well as being rockin'. Here's us though, more importantly:

A bit of Rolling Stones 😁

This little lot... We're on first so can actually watch the other bands with a pint as it's our first trip out in The Tourbus (i.e. Vauxhall Vivaro)

Trying to convince the band to do a punkyfunky version of this:

Jonas Hellborg in not playing too many notes shock!

My mum was a piano teacher, so I grew up listening to mainly classical music, from Bach and Telemann right through to Mahler, but rarely anything more modern. I was dragged to recitals and various operas - can't stand opera to this day! However, I still have a love for Baroque music and have also developed a taste for big'n'heavy orchestral stuff like Shostakovich and occasionally Mahler... But my mother can't cope with any popular music at all - especially anything beyond 50s rock and roll - so she was a bit appalled when I discovered punk and new wave at about the same time she splashed out on a B&O music centre... I'd play my records and listen to John Peel - she somehow thought that "horrible noise" would pollute it! And my dad was a bit of a skiffle and trad jazz fan; in his understated northern way he'd extol the virtues of Chris Barber ("he's not too bad") and The Vipers Skiffle Group ("they're ok") - I still like a bit of that stuff now, daddy-o!

I only do it cos I know how fond you are of tuneless noodling in no discernible key! Still, this month's ditty is a touch more conventional...

"Yes my Darling Daughter" by Edie Gorme...

I usually do that!

When I was a kid in a small village in Cheshire AI meant a chap with a rubber glove impregnating livestock... And if we're talking about gettin' jiggy with the Artificial Insemination Man there's only one choice, Funk!

Early and funky Japan...

One man's rubbish is another's gold... A mate of mine once found a pair of fully working Quad 405 power amps and matching pre in a skip just off Hammersmith Grove! And while we may agree on Magma, I'd be quite happy to bung any incarnation of the Jeffersons in the skip, unless it's in the original reggae 😁

Name or place don't ring a bell... I met the bloke through Nic of Trilogy Audio fame. Can't remember what he was called but I think his amps were Ongaku!

I know someone who was so into his valve driven SET hifi he made concrete horns that went 20m into his garden... It went surprisingly low for about 8w/channel!

I'll come! 😀 And when we move to the environs of Marciac/Pau or thereabouts I'll set up my own troupe consisting of 14 one string basses and an angle grinder. We'll be called "Effondrement de Nouveaux Bâtiments".

His earlier stuff with Derek Bailey was probably a lot more weird - his nonette and tennette (😁) is possibly more film-y, but evocative all the same. Though I think I was more freaked out when I first heard The Residents or even Cabaret Voltaire back in the day.

As I said in my other post, being musically shocking is quite difficult. My 2 examples were lightly shocking simply by being different. Back in 1976 many folks were shocked by the Sex Pistols - simply because, for most people who hadn't heard of the New York Dolls et al they'd never heard such a racket or seen such an attitude. Similarly, when Elvis, Bill Haley etc rocked up older folks thought it was the end of civilisation. And Ornette Coleman appalled the "jazz establishment" with his "Shape of Jazz to come". Never mind what aficionados of classical music thought when Schoenberg ditched melody and key with his twelve tone system!