Jackroadkill

Marilyn Manson's version of Tainted Love was just an embarrassment. I think that might have been the point that ol' Brian tipped over into being a sad, fat parody of everything he'd set out to destroy.

It's all very well you saying that, but which van is best for metal?

Played our third gig with DJ5 last night. It was a charity gig in a village hall, complete with a "PA" that last saw action when the desk was run by a brontosaurus, but we played pretty decently and went down well with a roomful of punters. The sound was awful, as it tends to be at these things - hollow stage, tiny FOH, poor monitoring etc, and the lighting was four par-cans that were literally in my left ear, but we all had fun and it was great to get out and play again. The band's coming together well now, and we're all finding our roles in it. We debuted three new songs (If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next, Breaking The Law and Kick Out The Jams) as well as playing a one-off of a version of We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, featuring the vocalist's 13 year old girl (my god-daughter) on vocals. Sorry for the crappy picture quality; although many photos were taken, none of them seem to be of any use! After our set we were asked if we wanted to headline two nights at a big biker rally in Cardiff next year, so we must have done a halfway tidy job of things!

I like it as is is; distortion's very easy to over-use on vocals, and what you've got there sounds like plenty to me.

I like to think that was my musical pinnacle. I've not managed to top it yet.

Yeah, in hindsight it was funny, although at the time I felt like I'd been royally had.

We do. Here's the singer wearing a t-shirt with the singer's face on it.

Way back in my youth I left a band by climbing out of the toilet window and running away. I know it sounds odd, pathetic or both, but that's what happened. I'd formed the band with a guitarist "friend" and we recruited a drummer and bass player / singer (well, he was a guitarist but everyone knows that if you can play guitar you can play bass, right?) and got some songs together, played some gigs, recorded some material etc etc. It was all good fun and I really enjoyed it. Then the "friend" began touting us to labels and one or two of them showed some interest, albeit in a very initial sense. That was it - the flavour of the band changed and the "friend" and the bass player started demanding that we wrote more commercial songs and that each song we wrote had to be a potential single etc etc. It went from a fun band playing some cool alternative rock to a job playing horrid, anodyne, radio-friendly dreck, and despite my protests they were firm that this is what we were doing, and that was that. So, I ran away after climbing through the bog window, and when I left I took all my gear (not only my guitars, but the bass and amp that the singer used, the PA etc etc) and that was the end of my time in that band. They continued for about another year with a few line-up changes but didn't get anywhere. The real kicker for me was that we'd recorded an EP of four songs, three of which I'd written, and when it was released, post-bog window, the only credit I got on it was "additional studio guitars", and they'd turned my guitar parts down anyway, the buggers. The "friend" ended up buggering off back to Canada after having stolen, embezzled, defrauded and unpaid a small fortune.

Excellent stuff - looks like a good venue and the band seems to be having a lot of fun.

Well, it looks white but you can't deny that it sounds orange.

Superb! That's a real gig!

Quote of the day.

That, sir, is prose of the highest order!

Another vote for this. It's pretty harsh.

Surely would - as does Merthyr MFI chipboard, right?!

Looking very cool indeed, sir. it seems that half of 1990's Slimelight are in the audience!

The one on the left looks like something Elon Musk would charge hipsters £24,357.47 for.

Because I love G'n'R so much, I'm trying to avoid hearing this song.

Admit it - you are Andrew Eldritch.

I had tenosynovitis in both wrists (stop laughing at the back...) years ago and it hurt like hell. I went to the doctors and was diagnosed. I had to have both strapped up and I took ibuprofen; I also stopped putting any strain on hands, wrists and forearms at all. It took a while for things to return to normal (as in a couple of months) but it did happen. I hope yours clears up quickly.

I think that was a bit before my time in Wycombe; the Nag's Head was The Pride at that time. I remember The Mafia playing at the Belle Vue, the Iron Duke and... somewhere else. John had a mk2 Wal, as I remember.

Well done, sir! It looks as if a great time was had by all, and now you're back in it. I've just done the same and I'm stoked to be onstage again, too. Here's to many more for your band.

Blimey, I used to go there back in my student days (1997-200) and be the only goth watching the Mafia, who were a great blues/r&b band. Your photo takes me back!

I've just remembered some very subtle yet superb beyond-the-grave trolling that was done to the mourners at my friend Barry's funeral; Barry was a keyboard player of some local repute, and he always wanted Layla to be played at the end his funeral, so when he died (very suddenly; he sat down in his armchair one night and died immediately) his widow carried out that request. As the service finished, Layla was played. The full version. We all stood there like lemons, waiting for ages as that bloody piano part played for what seemed like aeons, and those of us who knew Barry well had a chuckle on his behalf.

Arrival - Seasons In The Abyss, by Slayer Reflection - Lucretia, My Reflection by the Sisters of Mercy File-out - The Evil Powers of Rock 'n' Roll by Supersuckers. This may have all changed by tomorrow, but these are today's choices.