IDEAS

Here in Manchester this week there’s a turf war going on. Police Sgts are being paid off, there’s money to be made, all hells broke loose cause the first ones free offer is null and void. Loser. The big squabble is between Manchester Now and Manchester Then. Why now? 2 reasons – 2010 newie band list included like 6 out of 10 Manchester musicians who duly got compared to (yawn) Manchester bands off the past. And reason 2 the launch of Peter Hook’s new club Fac 251 with all the rehab rehash of those Factory Record day. Go check Fuc51 and Guardian for some bedtime reading.

It is at these moments that I think where do I stand? Well I stand in Manchester not Marple firstly (meow). But if you’re not going to get compared you need to be better. Is NYC stalling in 1988? No cause the new bands are better or at least shoulder to shoulder with the CBGB forefathers (yes I hope the new Strokes album is great). I stand by the best two Manchester gigs I’ve seen was the Ting Tings at Sankeys and Nine Black Alps at Korumba pre- busy with bullsh$t buzz. And if you really want to get on one about cool then cool is Mark Gonzales. Case closed.

And now for some Mark Gonzales…

“What?”
“Fancy some pills mate”
“Nah you’re alright”

It is Saturday night, it is a stormy November Manchester evening and I have just walked into the Warehouse Project. I haven’t even got from the entrance to the bar yet. In a fantasy realm somewhere aligned with a Freddy Mercury aftershow party or an outtake from the Motley Crew biog I would be talking to a Playboy bunny with a silver chrome dish of appetisers. Alas I am not. I’ve just turned down Bez’s ugly brother (note I say ugly).

What happens in Mordor when there’s no Hobbits to kill? …they breed. My first response is “I wouldn’t buy nuclear sealed tic tacs off yer you Middleton funk wit”. But I go with “Nah you’re alright”.

Why I am here…Friendly Fires. Who do stuff like this

Friendly Fires rule. Probably my band for 2009. Yes my band for 2009. Craftmanship musicianship and songs – bang bang bang the full house. They roll on at 2:30am. The guitarist and drummer look like they’ve just been woken up 40 seconds before walking on. They then plug in. They then tear the place apart. With ease.

Friendly Fires

During the set around the time I am realising Friendly Fires fill enough detail into their songs and enough layers of intricacy only equalled by Dangermouse, and Kanye West I get accosted by a pro-pickpocket. All smiles and dynasty hair and dress. Odd? It is the eastern European accent, the “Is this Friendly Fires?” dumb approach, the scary blatant over enthusiasm for Piran that alerts me something is amidst. It is also that both hands are bound for my wallet and phone. Probably marked as an easy target waving my camera about, I nullify  any advance whilst keeping a firm hand over my wallet. Till the cosy façade turns to harsh iceberg and she turns to her accomplish “Let’s move on”. “Bye bye.

Friendly Fires played formidably and I’m looking forward to album number 2, hopefully album 2 will be bigger heavier and erm song-ier.

Friendly Fires Jack Savidge

Here they are covering Baby It’s You. I like to think all great bands have the Beatles Live at the BBC in their collection. Don’t correct me.

After an ace week back in Cornwall at the folks I have fallen back into my lazy trap that happens everytime I return to Manchester when talking with northerners.

Northerner: Do your folks live in Newquay
Piran: Erm Yeah

Northerner: Did you go surfing
Piran: Yeah kinda

Due to my lack of love for un-needed detail, what I should say is “No they live 20mins down from Newquay on the A39″ and “No I go bodyboarding”. It has dawned on me that I’m doing a disservice to my bodyboarding brothers. Caught up in the generation that gravitated to the ocean from the world of skateboarding at Mount Hawk skatepark it was the technical spins, airs, drop knees  and progression that made us opt for bodyboarding. Still not really in the mainstream, bodyboarding is where snowboarding was say 10 years ago, kinda.

Here’s the trailer from Brushed Aside BodyBoard DVD that was shot in Cornwall. My fave local is Damian Prisk as he still holds my record for the biggest air I’ve seen busted out at Porthtowan.

My fave move is the ARS, which stands for Air – Roll – Spin, Which goes alittle like this

Outside Cornwall in the big wide world bodyboardings equivalent of Tony Hawk is Mike Stewart and the current world champ is Uri Valadao (Brazil). Anyways here’s the big guns going for it in the Launch DVD …

Check http://www.kernowbodyboarding.co.uk if you’re into it.

Eveything Everything www.myspace.com/everythingeverythinguk

Everything Everything

Egyptian Hip Hop http://www.myspace.com/egyptianhiphop

Egyptian Hip Hop

May 68 www.myspace.com/may68uk

May 68 (by India Hobson)

Delphic www.myspace.com/delphic

Delphic

I’m a little frazzled. Anyhows I got down the front for the Drums show at Manchester’s Night and Day on Tuesday. I also caught abit of the soundcheck earlier both RAD. Heres a picture I took

The Drums, Night & Day Manchester Oct 09

I helped out for the first time last year in the Midland Hotel and am doing the same this year. I am Alexander Suite Panel Co-ordinator. I do this out of the goodness of my heart because I’m here to help. I do this so I can sidestep paying the £350 delegate entrée and get meself a free pure fix of music. For bands this year my plan is to have no plan. I know the people who know their sh*t I’ll ask them. Easy. Music makers are my favourite people (ever) and I’m looking forward to stealing robbing shoplifting ideas with a blink of the eye/ear. I think the word is “influenced”.

The pre-weekend buzz band is the Drums I don’t mean 9/10 NME review buzz I mean when girls say “The Drums The Drums” they say it twice, they do a slight variation on restrained jazz hands and their eyes roll back like a shark when it bites your leg. That’s a f*ckin’ buzz band. For me I hope The Drums rule I also hope they do actually surf.

Story telling stuff I’m looking forward to Gerard Mankowitz talking rock n roll photography with Jill Furmanovsky. Gerard Mankowitz photos of Jimi Hendrix adorned my guitar book for “Are you Experienced?” We spent a lot of time together (me and The Hendrix book not me and Mankowitz) especially Wind Cries Mary..C Bb F. Jill Furmanovsky did that shot of the Ramones at the Rainbow, did all the Oasis early tour stuff and is a bit of a honey.

The Ramones by Jill Furmanovsky

Last year was good. I learnt if you’re a musician and not making music you’re not a musician you’re a music enthusiast there is a difference. Don’t stop making music. For no one. What else … at the heart of the big timers there was this passion for music and protectiveness of the music world. Seymour Stein (worked with Madonna/Ramones/Blondie) had a foaming at the mouth music addiction. After an hour of mindnumbing spillage on building fanbases, file sharing, how to print a tshirt by somebody Geoff (Rough Trade)Travis said “it’s about helping the musician create”. Geoff Travis helped the Strokes. Well it’s better than helping  <insert corporate car advert syncing band name>.

Geoff Travis

Last year Band wise I liked Tubelord, The Racehorses and the bassist out of the Jesse Rose Trip.

Tubelord

This year who knows…

I’ll take me camera and upload them when I can.

One more thing when I mentioned what I was doing last year a group of friends bundled in that Tony Wilson was a business idiot and loss money. I didn’t say anything. I should have. They missed the point.

C/o Losingtoday.com

Here’s a bit of gem that had us knocked off our listening perch and frankly left scrambling desperately for reference markers, ‘do or die’ is we’re assuming the debut release or at the very least the inaugural outing of Manchester’s Piran and beyond that the information trail runs cold. That said it should by rights be causing all amount of fuss among the undergrounds more clued up cognoscenti not withstanding the fact that it sounds remarkably unlike anything else currently patrolling planet pop. In its own way a kind of fading shy eyed call to arms on one hand and yet a strictly sparse and minimalist pop sweetie on the other. Currently unsigned though I shouldn’t wonder that there’ll be plenty of offers beating a hasty path to their door once this gets a little more exposure and if not there’ll be much incredulous nods of disapproval in our gaff I can tell you. One of those kind of tracks where your left wondering whether or not the melodic accompaniment was actually added as an afterthought such is its feint detailing and application. Strangely bracing and quietly euphoric in a kind of threadbare bitter sweet way, ’do or die’ – alas not the Human League cut of the same name from the every home owning ’Dare’ platter of yesteryear – is braided by a delightfully attractive perky motif that’s indelibly cast amid a strangely becoming proto funk groove that finds itself hollowed and dispatched with a decidedly austere electro post punk vibe which unless our ears do deceive had us pretty much recalling elements of the Passage albeit as though rounded, smoothed and shocked with a tugging pop drill by a gathering of White and Torch and Dalek I Love You sorts, certainly sounds as though its fallen from a C-81 era Peel play list, though on repeat listens we’re picking up vague nods to the early career work of the New Fast Automatic Daffodils though ultimately viewed from whatever angle you care to take you can help but feel that their nearest musical kin are A Certain Ratio which young folk is mighty fine by us. Certainly worth the keeping of the odd eye out for.