Paramore Live in Glasgow

Been looking out for videos from the Glasgow show last night by Paramore and so far the sound quality is not that brilliant. This one below is the best so far (though the picture is a bit shakey at times.

Decode - Paramore @ SECC Glasgow 10th December 2009

Mandi Perkins New Video: Why Pretend

Paramore Live in Denmark 1st Dec. 2009

Intro & Ignorance

That's What You Get


CrushCrushCrush


The Only Exception


Pressure


Misery Business

Mama Cass Elliot

Was listening to some old Cass Elliot albums today and then found this little biog on You Tube. Thought I'd share it.

Flyleaf

It's been a long wait for the follow up to Flyleaf's superb debut album. 'Momento Mori' hits the stores on 10th November 2009. The first single from the album is called 'Again' and here's the official video released recently by the band.

Creed

They're back in business again. After an 8 year lay off Creed are back rocking the place up. The new album 'Full Circle' is not really much of a departure from the old stuff and no doubt those who hated them first time around will be up and at them again. But for those who were loyal to the band it is indeed a welcome return. In their absence it's bands like Nickelback who have taken their mantel, but Stapp and Co. are back to reclaim it!

Overcome (Official Video)

Paramore: MTV Unplugged

Paramore have been getting lots of good press of late. With their latest release 'Brand New Eyes' knocking Madonna off of the number one spot here in the UK, to a successful tour supporting No Doubt, various cover shots of the important music magazines and an already sold out UK Tour coming up in December, they are the "in band" at the moment.

On October 28th in the USA they took part in an MTV Unplugged show and pretty good it was.

Ignorance/That's What You Get/Interview

 

Misery Business


Interview/Decode

Mike Peters: 21 Songs, Wrexham 1st Nov. 2009

Here's the set list that Mike played on Sunday evening:

1. The Toilets: Alarm Alarm
2. Seventeen: 68 Guns
3. Eponymous: The Stand
4. Declaration: Tell Me
5. Strength: Walk Forever By My Side
6. Eye of the Hurricane: Rain in the Summertime
7. Electric Folklore: Rescue Me
8. Change: No Frontiers
9. Raw: Rockin in the Free World
10. Standards: Spirit of 76
11. Breathe: Breathe
12. Feel Free: Feel Free
13. Rise: Rise
14. Flesh and Blood: If I Ruled the World
15. Couloursound: I'm Alive
16. Poppy Fields: 45 RPM
17. Under Attack: Without a Fight
18. Counter Attack: Love Hope Strength
19. Guerilla Tactics: Alarm Calling
20: 21: The Rock and Roll
21. Alarm 2010- : Economic Pressure!

In between songs Mike shared tales of his musical journey through Punk Rock with The Toilets, Mod with Seventeen, The Alarm, his solo career and back to The Alarm again.



The three hour show was being filmed and recorded and it was a packed venue with standing room only at the Unviversity in Wrexham.

Check out some more videos from the show by clicking here!

Paramore Live St. Lous 3/11/09

Here's a few videos from last night's show at The Pageant, St. Louis.

Ignorance


That's What You Get


Misery Business


Decode

21 Days: All Seeing - The Alarm

I have taken the step of completely re-recording 'All Seeing' for '21'.

The persistence of certain fans have kept this song in my mind for a long time. It has always been a requested song whenever I have thrown open the opportunity for someone to change the course of my live set. Originally cut for the 'In The Poppy Fields Bond', I wrote this song in Wales and the first person to hear it was Craig Adams, who came up with a very melodic bass guitar part to my original tune (in the kitchen of his home), which I felt warranted his credit as co-writer. In this brand new version, Craig's bass part has now become the guitar line! I think this version captures the song at it's best.

I think it's time for the '21' album because we have been touring / recording as The Alarm in the modern / 21st century era for just about 10 years now, and with 'Guerilla Tactics' currently sitting as the third best selling 'Alarm' album of all time on iTunes (Declaration / Strength are number 1 and 2 but have been on iTunes since 2000), I felt it was time to bring all our new / reconverted fans up to date with a collection of the best songs from the modern era.

I also wanted this collection of songs to sound like an 'album' and not a compilation. Therefore, I took the step of re-recording / remixing / re-working every single song so that the recordings sound like they were cut yesterday and not over a period of years. I wanted the record to have the consistency of 'Guerilla Tactics' and felt that songs such as 'All Seeing' could have a big part to play in the running order. '21' has the best versions of everything that has been played ever since the 'new' Alarm sounded again on the Big Country tour of 1999/2000.

Mike Peters

The first video from the '21' project by The Alarm has been unveiled and it is 'All Seeing'. The album is due for release on 2nd November 2009.

Mike Peters & The Alarm - 21 Days

Hello Everybody,

21 Days with Mike Peters begins tomorrow exclusively at www.thealarm.com

21 Days with Mike Peters is an interactive internet based event whereby I intend to use www.thealarm.com as a virtual stage over the course of the next 21 Days.

As well as posting videos and new information, I will be taking questions throughout, and hope that some interesting subjects arise.

21 Days with Mike Peters will utilise all of the current internet technologies to keep the lines of communication flowing. I hope the interactive nature of this event will create a mass of content that will focus attention on and about The Gathering, the upcoming UK tour and all the new Mike Peters / Alarm releases for 2009. As the event develops, a new www.thealarm.com will be unveiled by webmaster Steve Fulton.

You will be able to post questions at www.thealarm.com or send via email to alarmcalling@mac.com (Marked : 21 Days).

I am very excited about the prospect of meeting you all online and presenting to you the story behind all of the new releases scheduled for November 2nd.

There is so much to more say about Kilimanjaro, the upcoming tour and a ton of other subjects but I will leave it all until tomorrow and the commencement of 21 Days...........

Love, hope and strength,

Mike Peters

All very exciting stuff. I sent a question off to Mike this morning and he's on the ball already. Here's his answer:

Mike Congrats to you, Jules and the team for Kilimanjaro. Always an inspiration! On the subject of the 21 Days project I was wondering how you determined what songs would appear on this album? Apart from 'Love Hope Strength', what song gave you the greatest joy in including it in this project and why? See you in Glasgow in November Doug Watson

Hi Doug, The determining factor behind the song choice on '21' was pretty much based on the songs that made it through to the 'live' concert. In fact there are more than '21' songs on the album 22 in fact because I couldn't leave one of them out...... The DVD has even more tracks and includes all of the video performances for tracks like 'New Home New Life' and a version of 'True Life' that was the original demo (and probably the best version of the song).....watch out for the video over the next few days.... it was shot at the time of the original poppy fields photo session in Wales that was the source of all the cover shots at the time..... I'm very proud of this album as I think it brings every song to life and is a vast improvement especially on the mixes / performances that were on the In The Poppy Fields album released in 2004 (check out 'Coming Home' and 'Trafficking' if you don't believe me), and although I still like the mix of 'Under Attack', the mixes of 'My Town' and 'Without A Fight' are more representative of the power of the songs as they developed on stage...... I'll be posting previews throughout the next three weeks so stay tuned.....Cheers Mike

Elvis Costello & Bruce Springsteen

Costello and the Imposters opened the show with a cover of "Point Blank," setting the tone early for what was to be a night of many non-traditional Springsteen tunes. At Costello's request, Bruce opened with "Wild Billy's Circus Story," for which he was joined onstage by an acoustic Nils Lofgren (who had performed "Like Rain" earlier with The Imposters backing him) and Roy Bittan on accordion. Costello coaxed some early memories from Springsteen regarding the traveling circus in Freehold and the sense of wonder and fear it inspired in him as a child. This was not Storytellers Part II, though. There was no line-by-line deconstruction of songs. Costello seemed primarily interested in the emotional effects of the music, both on Springsteen and his audience, and a major portion of their talk was devoted to the thematic shift that occurred following Born to Run. As Springsteen explained it to Costello, he became more invested in writing songs he felt he would still be able to relate to at the ripe old age of 40 (this of course drew a laugh).
The show was very explicitly a television taping and not a "concert," though, which meant a lot of stopping and starting to rearrange the stage and to get things just right. A solo acoustic version of "American Skin (41 Shots)" came off after a false start, and Springsteen initially forgot that "Galveston Bay" was in Drop D tuning. When the conversation wandered to Roy Orbison, Costello joined Springsteen in an impromptu cover of "Pretty Woman" that ended abruptly halfway through. They redeemed themselves shortly after with a show-stopping rendition of Sam and Dave's "I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down," Bruce taking Sam's part and Elvis taking Dave's.
Following a quick break, the two reconvened with talk of family life. Costello praised Patti's role as musician, wife, and mother, and performed an acoustic version of her "Black Ladder." Springsteen discussed the pleasure he felt standing outside of his son's room one evening and hearing him listen to "Chimes of Freedom." "What do you think of it?" he asked. "Epic," his son replied, "it's epic, dad." And who could argue with that?
More than three hours into his own epic discussion, Springsteen expressed fear that the audience would keel over soon and indicated that it was time for the finale. He strapped on an electric guitar and delivered a gut-wrenching version of "The Rising" backed by the Imposters, Bittan, Lofgren, and Costello (who stepped up for the dream of lifes). There was a fiery quality to the performance that was only intensified moments later when the band ripped into "Seeds." Springsteen wailed on the guitar and bellowed like he was half his age or younger, and the crowd was on its feet. The night concluded with a "Radio" medley, connecting Springsteen's "Radio Nowhere" with Costello's "Radio Radio." While the two might not have been the perfect musical pairing to mash together, it was a thematically appropriate and satisfyingly creative ending to a truly unforgettable night.
- Anthony D'Amato reporting - photograph by Frank Stefanko

 
Point Blank (Audio only) (Costello and The Imposters)
Like Rain (Lofgren and The Imposters)
She's the One (Costello and The Imposters)
Wild Billy's Circus Story (Springsteen, Lofgren, Bittan)/American Skin (41 Shots) (Springsteen)
Galveston Bay (Springsteen, Bittan)
Pretty Woman [Aborted] (Springsteen, Costello)
I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down (Springsteen, Costello, The Imposters)
Black Ladder (Costello, Springsteen, Lofgren)
Brilliant Disguise (Costello, Springsteen)
The Rising (Springsteen, Costello, Lofgren, Bittan, The Imposters)
Seeds (Springsteen, Costello, Lofgren, Bittan, The Imposters)
Radio Silence/Radio Nowhere/Radio Radio (Springsteen, Costello, Lofgren, Bittan, The Imposters)

©1998-2009 The Backstreets Publishing Empire

Fearless Music Show featuring The Alarm

Fearless Music show featuring The States, The Prigs, Hot Spur, Black Taxi, Hypernova, The Alarm.

Typical Girls - The Slits

Zoe Street Howe's biography of legendary Punky Reggae outfit The Slits is truly wonderful and a book that needed to be written. Over time people have assumed a lot of things about The Slits and most of them are untrue. Zoe sets the record straight, or rather she allows the band themselves and those closely associated with the band to set the record straight.

I had the pleasure of seeing The Slits a number of times (supporting The Clash, The Buzzcocks, Siouxsie & the Banshees and as headliners) and each time I saw them live they got better and better. The first time it was totally chaotic and whilst not so gifted as musicians the energy was outstanding. Ari Up, Viv, Tessa and Palmolive were a true force to be reckoned with. It would be a couple of years after their formation before they actually put something down in the recording studio and so we lived with their John Peel Sessions for a good age. Actually Peel regarded their first session as one of his favourites of all time.

Love & Romance (Peel Session)

When they finally signed to Island Records Palmolive was gone and Budgie was brought in on the drums. The result of working with Dennis Bovell as the producer was 'Cut'. What an incredibly glorious sounding album it was. No longer was there chaotic sounds of early punk rock but a refined Reggae rawness that brought their songs to life.

The cover of course was very provocative and I'm certain if Island had had their way they would have had a very different image in mind for the band. But whilst The Slits maybe never really got their due when it came to radio or even the press, the music on 'Cut' is a testament to their willingness to grow. Some of these songs had been around for a few years but when you compare them to say the Peel Sessions they are actually miles apart.

'Typical Girls' was of course their first single. Island had wanted 'I Heard it Through the Grapevine' as the A-side. The band stuck to their guns not wanting to be judged as a band that relied on cover versions to get them the success they had worked hard and long to achieve. Due to their contract with Island it was the band who had creative control and so on September 21st 1979 'Typical Girls' was released backed by 'Grapevine'.

Typical Girls Promo Video

If you get the chance to read one music biography this year I would encourage you to make it this one, 'Typical Girls: The Story of The Slits' by Zoe Street Howe (published by Omnibus).

The Beatles Remastered

So, I have a confession to make. I have never really been a fan of The Beatles and since I'm seeking to be honest I've never really sat down with purpose and listened to a whole album of theirs, until recently that is. In pretty much all the music magazines the spotlight has been shining recently on The Beatles and the release of their Remastered Catalogue that is due out in two days time. I have read with a lot of interest many of those articles and I thought I'd sit down and take some time out to listen to these albums and see what all the fuss was about.

The question most people would probably ask me is how on earth can you, a lover of fine music miss out listening to the band that defined pop music? My answer would be that I always found that The Who and The Kinks, and to a small degree The Rolling Stones (the 1960's version) much more interesting. It's the same issue I have with Elvis. I always thought that Buddy Holly, Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry were far more important when it came to classic Rock and Roll.

So, as I said I took some time to sit and listen to these albums by The Beatles. The first thing that surprised me was the fact that I actually knew an awful lot of these songs without ever really listening to them. Let's whizz through them album by album and I'll let you know what tracks I thought were decent.

01. Please Please Me (March 1963)
A pretty decent debut album if I may say (I'm a big fan of debuts and rarely I think does a band top its debut - though I think with a band like The Beatles that is not the case). Whilst the standout tracks in most people's minds would be the title track and maybe 'Love Me Do', I have to say that I actually like 'Chains' and 'Do You Want to Know a Secret'.

02. With The Beatles (November 1963)
This one I really enjoyed apart from 'Please Mister Postman'. 'I Wanna Be Your Man' and 'Roll Over Beethoven' are just great songs.

03. A Hard Day's Night (July 1964)
The first of their soundtracks. 'Things We Said Today' is great as is the title track.

04. Beatles For Sale (December 1964)
Their cover of Buddy Holly's 'Words of Love' is probably my favourite (though 'Eight Days A Week' is pretty close).

05. Help (August 1965)
Surprising thing about this album is the amount of good songs are on it. Soundtracks usually only ever have two or three decent songs but this one has a handful that are worth listening to again and again. 'Help', 'Ticket to Ride', and 'Dizzy Miss Lizzy' stand out.

06. Rubber Soul (December 1965)
Hard to imagine a band these days releasing two albums within the space of a few months and this one is maybe a little bit different to what has gone before. Not as many 'commercial' sounding tunes. 'In My Life' I really like and of course 'Drive My Car' is just classic pop.

07. Revolver (August 1966)
Out of all the albums it is this one that I probably rate as one of their best. Lots of superb tracks with 'She Said She Said' being one that I like a lot. 'Yellow Submarine' seems out of place and is probably the one song of theirs that I have no time for at all!

08. Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (June 1967)
I know that this album more than any of their others is seen as the ultimate Beatles album but I have to confess I just don't get it. There are a few songs ('With a Little Help From My Friends', 'She's Leaving Home' and 'A Day in the Life') that I liked but it really didn't move me at all.

09. The Beatles (White Album) (November 1968)
A bit like the 'Pepper' album apart from a few songs here and there it just didn't excite me. Probably 'Dear Prudence', 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps', 'Helter Skelter' and 'Revolution' are the only tracks that really made an impression on me.

10. Yellow Submarine (January 1969)
'All You Need is Love' was really the only track that I thought was any good.

11. Abbey Road (September 1969)
Opening two songs, 'Come Together' and 'Something' were the songs that caught my attention here. As for the rest of it, well I had my finger on the skip button!

12. Let It Be (May 1970)
The end indeed. Only three songs stood out for me, 'Let It Be', 'The Long and Winding Road' and 'Get Back'.

On top of this the Remasters includes 'The Magical Mystery Tour' which was originally released in the UK as two EP's in 1967. Seeing that this is now considered an 'official' album I would say that this is probably my second favourite of theirs.

Also included are two volumes of the 'Past Masters' which are made up of non-album tracks and b-sides, and a DVD

The cost of the package is according to Amazon is £169.98 and you can even get the Mono version for £199.98!

I don't hate The Beatles so don't think I do just because I haven't bowed down and spoke so highly of every release. They just never registered on my radar!.

New York Kitty!

Whenever I think of New York the first thought that always comes to mind is Punk Rock. After all, this was the city that gave us The Ramones, Television, The Heartbreakers, Blondie, Richard Hell and the Void Oids and no doubt a host of other fine bands that were there at the start of the birth of the American Punk Movement. The clubs like CBGB's and Max's Kansas City were instrumental in unleashing bands that would define the musical landscape and eventually find their way "across the pond" here in the UK.

The Ramones came first in 1976 and from 1977 a steady stream of American Punk bands were found to be playing up and down the UK. The impact of course was that Punk Rock exploded here in the UK and bands up and down the land were using these New Yorkers as their point of reference.

Thirty odd years on from those heady days Punk Rock has never really gone away even in a city like New York that became famous for Disco and also many other forms of Rock Music. Punk remained often hidden in the underground. Many of the "players" would be quite unknown unless of course you moved in such circles or listened to a show like "Last Exit for the Lost" which went out if Ithaca, NY.

One lady who has been around the New York music scene for many years is Vamps (Michele Jaffe). Currently she is the driving force and front woman of Loki the Grump. She agreed to do a long distance interview and share a little of the story of herself and her band, and although many people reading this will not have heard of Loki the Grump on starting this article, by the end you will be dashing over to You Tube to check out some of the live video footage that has been captured of the band in action over the years.


Doug: How long have you been involved in music for?

Vamps: "Since I was in the womb. Apparently my mom would play guitar and I would kick a beat for her. Since outside the womb… we learned the recorder in school when I was 6 and that’s when I first learned to read music. I’ve really never stopped since then. I’ll leave it to you to guess how long that is."

Doug: When did you first get the idea for Loki the Grump?

Vamps: "Hmmm.. it’s actually kind of complicated. Technically Loki the Grump was sort of a derivative combo of the first band I was in called Flowers Inside, and a later band that never got off the ground called Seek Treatment. In 2003 my fellow band members in Seek Treatment – Helena and Phil, which happened to be 2 of the original members from Flowers Inside (singer and guitarist respectively) and I decided to have a reunion gig. That was to be the first time I was on the drums in 5 years!! It was crazy but fun. Our original bass player was nowhere to be found at the time so I asked my friend Dawn who plays every instrument under the sun if she would be interested in filling in. She said “sure” so we rehearsed for about 8 weeks and then had our reunion gig, which was a total blast! We decided to play one Seek Treatment song, which would require Dawn and I to switch instruments. Well, needless to say my first real taste of performing up front on the stage instead of hiding behind a kit was yummy! I loved it!

Now to fully explain LTG I have to jump back in time to a year or so before the reunion: I was pursuing songwriting as a career for a few years, writing pop songs for pitching to other artists, etc., when I found myself starting to write “artist” songs – songs that weren’t really pitchable to the artists that use other people’s songs. The artists that might like the songs I was now once again writing (I was one of the main songwriters in my previous bands) were typically the types of bands that write their own material. One of those songs was a fun pop punk song called “Brand New Me”. So, I figured it was time to take some vocal lessons and see what happens. In this songwriting mode, I was collaborating with a lot of different people, one such person being Howie - a guitarist who had been looking for a lyricist.

Jumping back to the reunion – it was so much fun it really re-sparked my desire for performing. So I asked Howie if he would be interested in playing guitar in a punk band. He said “sure”. I asked Dawn if she wanted to play drums in a punk band. She said “sure”. And I asked Phil, who is a doctor in a hospital and therefore VERY time constrained, if he would be interested in playing bass for a new band until we could find a permanent bass player. He said “sure”.

And that is how Loki the Grump got started."

Live @ The GoGirls NY Fest 2007

Doug: Do you recall when and where your debut show was and what the reaction to the band was?

Vamps: "Our first gig was pretty crazy. We were invited by my friend Gail who was, and still is in a band called G-spot to play an event she put together at a club called Siberia in Hell’s Kitchen in NYC. The event was June 25, 2004. So we decided to make that our debut gig and started promoting it. Sort of close to the show Dawn (drummer) decided she couldn’t play the show (I can’t remember why) so we had to scramble and get another drummer to play. There was a bit of drama around this, but one of my and Phil’s mottos since the era of Flowers Inside was you do NOT cancel a gig unless there’s a dire emergency. So we got this guy Rich to play, and it wasn’t exactly a match but it worked out okay. Although Rich almost got us all banned from the club by having an altercation with the bouncer! And Phil got a ticket for walking outside with an empty beer bottle and the bouncer wouldn’t let him back in because of the Rich altercation (I think). Something like that.

Anyway, we were all very nervous but wound up having a HUGE turnout (including Dawn!). I taught everyone that night how to sing Shockingly Happy with me, and there’s a picture from that with everyone’s mouths open looking like pacman. :)-

I was definitely a newbee in the upfront performance area and the difference in my style and relaxation on stage between then and now is like night and day. It was a great start, though! And people just loved it! We had a lot of people coming up to us afterwards and saying, “I don’t remember when I’ve had so much fun at a show!” Success!"

Doug: You seem to have received some fine praise for the band over the years, did that spur you on to always try to be better?

Vamps: "That definitely helped us want to improve. I feed off the people’s energy (that’s why I’m called Vamp – ha ha) at a show and the better we are, they better they like it, and so the better we are, and so on."

Doug: "known for their punchy hooks, driving pulse and a strong female vocalist who brings it all together. Kind of like the lovechild of Black Flag and Poly Styrene,” - that's a cool quote. Did you purposely set out to trying and bring together the old school punk sound of say X-Ray Spex and that brutal hardcore edge of Black Flag or are they just being nice to you? In other words, what were the bands that influenced you into forming LTG?

Vamps: "Let me start off by saying I have never met a reviewer who was “just being nice”. ha ha!
That is probably one of my favorite quotes. I’ve heard the X-Ray Spex comparison more than a few times – just without the saxophone. (We did use saxophone for one of our Alarm covers on the Dave Sharp tribute CD. You’ll have to go listen to figure out which one!)

I would not say I set out to do that. I just write what I love, and the influence of my collaborators always twists and turns the songs into something interesting, at least for me. I am somewhat non-genre specific in my taste of music, although I tend to lean towards old school punk, post-punk, nyhc, ska, goth-rock, darkwave, etc. But really I mostly love a good song structure with a catchy tune and great lyrics! If I can dance to it – whether it’s skanking or looking-for-quarters – all the better. I don’t think any of my songs sound like any of my other songs – they kind of bounce around the “punk-inspired rock” genre. That’s why we called our genre “Grumpy”. I mean, even the covers we’ve done: Joe Jackson; Henry Rollins mixed with Led Zeppelin; Henry Rollins mixed with Black Sabbath; The Alarm; The Cure. All part of the alt world I suppose, but none the same."

Doug: You've played around New York City in places like The Knitting Factory, what were your favorite places to play? Did you ever go on tour and play outside of New York?

Vamps: "Ooh – favorite places to play in the NYC area… yes I have a few. It’s weird, not a single venue that Flowers Inside played is still in existence. And only a few from my second band Vampness. It’s very sad. Of the now departed clubs, my favorite venues were definitely the Spiral and CBGB’s. I was really blessed to have been able to play the CBGB’s main stage as both a drummer (with Vampness) and a singer (with Loki the Grump). We also played CB’s Downstairs Lounge, which was fun, too. Currently my favorite clubs are Ace of Clubs (formerly Acme Underground) and Maxwell’s in Hoboken, NJ. Knitting Factory is a great place to play as well, of course! One of our absolute favorite stages is a club called The Haunt, which is upstate in Ithaca, NY - about 5 hours away from NYC.

We have played many clubs outside of NYC and we went on two mini-tours, both with Girls Rock and Girls Rule. So we’ve explored a bit. Met some great people in great cities!"

Doug: Explain a little what the whole Girls Rock Girls Rule group is. How did you get involved with that and is it something you would like to be involved with once LTG is laid to rest?

Vamps: "My friend and fellow musician Gail from a band called G-spot started GRGR. It was created because there were not enough outlets for female rockers out there. Tons of stuff for singer/songwriters but really very little for those of us in harder-than-folk genres. It started out as one event per year and then just grew into something amazing! In 2006 a few of us offered to help Gail in her mission, forming the “core” of GRGR. We have now completed a few tours along the East Coast grabbing female rockers from all over the place. The feedback has been tremendous and bands seek us out now. We have great sponsors and the publicity just keeps getting bigger and better. It’s been an amazing thing to be a part of and help expand.

And yes, I plan on being a part of GRGR past LTG. Loki the Grump is/was a great band for me but I feel like I have taken it as far as it’s going to go at this point. I’ve already started writing some stuff with new people so I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before I have a new project. And it isn’t the band that’s a core member of GRGR, it’s me. It’s separate."

Strength (For Love Hope Strength)

Doug: What music have you put out (ie. your own CD's, projects that you have appeared on)?

Vamps: "Flowers Inside – a 4 song demo cassette (ack!); Vampness – a 3 song demo cassette (double ack!); some of my pop co-writes have appeared on an album by Michelle Gold, and a self-released CD by this artist Jessica something-or-other (blanking at the moment) who actually never informed me that two of my songs were on her album so that she didn’t have to pay me. Nice, right? But it ain’t over yet… Moving on… ; DuskMusik – a 3 song CD; Loki the Grump – 5 song EP CD; Loki the Grump – live & rarities CD; Loki the Grump – 12 song DIY CD; Loki the Grump appeared on the Dave Sharp Tribute CD with 3 Alarm covers that we recorded. I know there’s more I just can’t think of anything else at the moment…"


Doug: How did it make you feel the first time you released your music? Were you exceptionally proud to have released some music and what were you hoping might happen as people heard you? (Did you ever get played on the radio?)

Vamps: "Every time has been amazing. But the first time, which was the Flowers Inside demo, was an incredible feeling. Drugs couldn’t compare to the high of that for me. Music IS my drug! We did things a little backwards in F.I. We worked on the music and released the demo before we ever played out live. So the first show we ever played, people already knew the music and we had an obvious hit song called “Death By Diet” which everyone was shouting for throughout the gig. We couldn’t believe it – it was totally surreal. And we were pretty awful that first show. LOL

The one band I had that I really thought would get somewhere was Vampness. The songs were really well written, the music was tight, the players were talented, we had a good image, we had a bunch of fans, etc. We were even finalists in Musician Magazine’s Best Unsigned Band competition. Unfortunately internal band drama made us implode within a year.

As for radio play; yes I have definitely had radio play in all my different personalities. My pop stuff has gotten radio play; my dark stuff (DuskMusik) has gotten a nice amount of radio and club play; Vampness got radio play; and Loki the Grump has had the most radio play – including commercial radio, which was EXTREMELY cool. That happened on my birthday a few years back. So exciting. But college and underground radio has been really good to us. The one show I adore is called “Last Exit for the Lost” in Ithaca, NY. They have played my music for over a decade and have been extremely supportive. Loki the Grump has played acoustically on the air there and some showcases they’ve put together, etc. You can hear them on the Internet too (thelastexit.org). Great people!"

Doug: How does it make you feel when you have paid your dues and yet have met with minimal success and then some band comes along that is "punk" and seems to get success handed to them on a silver plater? Does it infuriate you or do you see that as record labels trying to cash in and find their own "punk" project from which they can make bucket loads of cash?

Vamps: "Ya know, it’s hard sometimes to keep up the energy and keep slamming up against the wall only to have little cracks here and there. But I could never deny a band their success. Yes, I do think many labels try to cash in and find their own band in the “hot” genre, etc. But I refuse to live a life of envy so if a band makes it – more power to ‘em."

Doug: You mentioned that LTG is finishing up (Loki the Grump will play their final show in December 2009 and Michele is hoping to get the original line-up to play). What do you feel are the things about the band that you can look back on with great fondness? What about your future in music? Any plans?

Vamps: "The band really brought a lot of joy into my life and apparently a lot of people’s lives. It reminded me how to have fun with music again after my past music drama. I really learned a lot from it, and some great songs were birthed.

I have been writing music since I was little so I don’t see that stopping.. ever! I do take breaks every now and then, though. And as mentioned previously I’m already writing some new stuff for a future project of some sort. No idea what it is yet but time will tell. :)- I plan on learning guitar as well (I know a little bit but not enough to comfortably do anything at the moment) so that I can go out and play on my own whenever I feel like it.

And there’s a possibility that I might break out the kit and start banging on ‘em again… we shall see.

And, if enough people are interested perhaps I’ll get some UK musicians together and do a mini UK-style LTG tour over by you."

Brand New Me Live @ Ace of Clubs NY (7th Anniversary of GRGR) 

Doug: Music so wonderfully forms a Soundtrack to our lives, in light of that can you name five albums that have been a big influence upon you, your own writing style and the music of LTG?

Vamps: "Oh wow. Well, those would all be different, and it would change from day to day anyway for each of them. I don’t know how I’m going to narrow this down, though…
Influence on LTG, at least mine and at least what I feel like right now. Ask me tomorrow it’ll be different I’m sure. My band members would have totally different ones:
The Damned – Damned, Damned, Damned; Rollins Band – Lifetime; Joe Jackson – Beat Crazy; Concrete Blonde - Bloodletting; GBH – Oh No, It’s GBH again!

Influence on my writing in general: The The – Dusk; Bauhaus – Mask; The Cure – The Head on the Door; Barry Manilow – 2:00am Paradise Café; Henry Rollins – Hot Animal Machine

Influence on me: The Clash – Combat Rock; The Alarm – Strength; Pink Floyd – The Wall; Madness – Madness; Joan Jett – I Love Rock’n’Roll

Is any of the above true? Probably. Ask me again tomorrow."

Doug: What is your all time Saturday night song?
Vamps: "Stigmata - Ministry"

Doug: What is your all time Sunday morning song?
Vamps: "Phantom Walls – The The"

Doug: If you could pass on three important pieces of advice to those who are contemplating a life in music, what would they be?

Vamps:
1.Remember it’s a business – be professional at all times
2. Forget it’s a business – let your creativity flow as much as possible
3. Play what you love and love what you play.

Doug: When you look back over the life of Loki The Grump what will be the thing that you treasure the most?

Vamps: "The music created, the battles fought and won, the places we got to play, the confidence gained and most importantly, the friendships made.

Doug: What will be the one thing that you miss about the band as you launch into a new area of musical creativity?

Vamps: "I'll let you know."

Doug: Thanks for your time Michele, all the great memories you've shared and for the music of Loki The Grump.
Vamps: "Thanks, Doug! This was fun and a bit disturbing!!"

Photo Credits: 1) Michele Jaffe. 2) Dietmar Stork. 3) Doug Watson. 4) (c) 2003 Michele Jaffe. 5) Andrew VanValen

U2 360 Tour: Hampden Park 18th August 2009

(The Claw)

It's been more than a few days since the U2 show @ Hampden Park, Glasgow and I thought I should put down a few thoughts about the show.
The Set List for the show

1. Breathe
2. No Line On The Horizon
3. Get On Your Boots
4. Magnificent
5. Flower Of Scotland (snippet) / Beautiful Day / Here Comes The Sun (snippet)
6. Elevation / Up On The Catwalk (snippet)
7. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For / Movin' On Up (snippet)
8. Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of
9. Unknown Caller
10. The Unforgettable Fire / A Day Without Me (snippet)
11. City Of Blinding Lights
12. Vertigo
13. I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight / Two Tribes (snippet)
14. Sunday Bloody Sunday / Oliver's Army (snippet)
15. Pride (In The Name Of Love)
16. MLK
17. Walk On
18. Where The Streets Have No Name / All You Need Is Love (snippet)
19. One

encore(s):

20. Ultra Violet (Light My Way)
21. With Or Without You
22. Moment of Surrender

The last time I saw U2 in a live setting was way back in 1987, 12th June to be precise on The Joshua Tree Tour @ Wembley Stadium. There were a few reasons why it took so long to see them again. Firstly, after the release of Joshua Tree I kind of lost interest in the music they were releasing. I had purchased the 'Rattle & Hum' album in 1988 and seen the movie but 'Achtung Baby', 'Zooropa' and 'Pop' just didn't move me the way previous albums did. It wasn't until the release of 'All hat You Can't Leave Behind' that I once again got back on the U2 train.

Secondly, the ticket prices for the shows had always been so expensive that I could never justify spending that amount of cash. So it was great to hear that on the 360 Tour that the band were making available a number of tickets priced around £30 and I jumped at the chance to see them again.
The first thing you see when entering the stadium is of course the mammoth stage known as The Claw. It's an incredible sight and you know that with a stage as special looking as that then a phenomenal show awaits. We arrived at the stadium as Glasvegas were winding up their set. We had missed The Hours who had gone on stage around 6pm. Glasvegas I have to admit were nothing too special. Live their material actually sounds quite samey.

'No Line on the Horizon'

When U2's intro music kicks in ('Space Oddity' by David Bowie) the crowd goes wild and as Larry gets the ball rolling the band enter the fray and they open with four tracks from their latest release 'No Line on the Horizon'. Having followed the tour on U2start.com it's not a huge surprise. The title track and 'Magnificent' stand out in the early going. 'Get On Your Boots' doesn't grip me at all.

'Magnificent'

Next up it's 'Beautiful Day' that includes a little snippet of 'Flower of Scotland' in the intro and also 'Here Comes the Sun'. 'Elevation' follows with a shout out to Simple Minds and the place is jumping like mad when they launch into 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For' and man you ain't heard anything until you have witnessed 60,000 fans singing that one in unison with the band!

'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For'

'Stuck in a Moment' is followed by the excellent 'Unknown Caller'

'Unforgettable Fire' was great to hear live and when they got to 'I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight' I switched off. Was never a fan of their dance stuff!
Seemed odd that right after that awful dance song they jumped right into 'Sunday Bloody Sunday', which I have to say still sounds so incredible after all these years.

'Sunday Bloody Sunday'

The home stretch of the show was classic - 'Pride', 'Walk On', 'Where the Streets Have No Name' and 'One'. 'Walk On' is quite possibly my favourite U2 song in years and I was so looking forward to hearing it but lo and behold does the PA not go crazy and we are left with silence apart from the muffled sound of the stage monitors! It was the only real blip of the whole evening so I guess I shouldn't complain to loudly! I loved the little visual with Desmond Tutu at the start of 'One'. Real quality stuff.
The encore was not bad (though 'Ultra Violet (Light My Way)' is not a song I like too much) and all finished up with one of the finest tracks from the new album: Moment of Surrender.

'Moment of Surrender'

All in all it was a fantastic show, a few low moments in my mind but overall it was pretty classy.

Goodbye Mr. MacKenzie

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Mike Peters @ Canal Room NY 31st July 2009

Copyright and Courtesy of Steven J. Messina

The setlist
Shout to the Devil
Elders and Folklore (afterward, Mike mentioned about finding some lost treasure during this show in some rarely played songs and he delivered)
Only the Thunder
Dawn Chorus
Father to Son (dedicated to Jim Tesorerio, who lost his father recently.)
Walk Forever By My Side
Rain In the Summertime
Thoughts of a Young Man, Part 1 (also the first song in the "Tribute to Barney," who was celebrating his birthday on Friday)
The Stand/When Everything was Perfect/The Stand
(The Stand included the line "Hey, Barney! Where ya goin' boy? Your eyes are feet apart..." Nice touch.)

HALFTIME

Strength
Feel Free
The Unexplained
The Day the Ravens Left the Tower
Presence of Love
True Life
The Rock (dedicated to Rue and Liz)
Spirit of 76
45 RPM
Rescue Me
Three Sevens Clash
Where Were You Hiding/What Kind of Hell?/Where Were You Hiding
68 Guns
Room at the Top (abbreviated version)
Absolute Reality
Blaze of Glory
Spirit of 76 (yes, Mike came back to it, as he never did finish it when he did it midway through the second half. This likely is the longest version of Spirit of 76 in Alarm history, with nine songs in between the start and finish, but research will be needed to verify that.
(Set list thanks to Tim from NYC on The Alarm Forum)