Apr
16
Touchy feely playground
April 16, 2008 | Leave a Comment
A school in the US bans tag, dodgeball and touch footy. I first encountered the weird concept of ‘touch’ sports on my first trip to Australia — the last place on earth I would expect any sport not involving pummelling to gain any sort of traction. Still, times change and if touch football skills up the […]
Apr
15
Drive Thru New Zealand
April 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Surf fans rejoice . . . the latest Drive Thru is out on 18th April 2008. As soon as I get it it will be added to my Drive Thru page right here.
Apr
11
Hamfatter, Metro, Sat 5th
April 11, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Thanks to a shut M11 Hamfatter arrived at the dingy Metro with about 30 minutes to spare — just enough time to watch the previous act stick the mike down their throat and bellow out a good dose of power rock. It’s tough turning up late with no time for even a rudimentary soundcheck, I […]
Mar
19
Andrew Olmsted
March 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Killed in Iraq, this US soldier has his pals post his final blog from beyond the grave . . . very touching and quite funny. Click here.
Mar
18
Mishka Adams, Soho Pizza Express, 15th March
March 18, 2008 | Leave a Comment
The following review appears in the latest edition of London’s premier music ‘zine, London Tour Dates You can tell when Mishka Adams likes a song. A dire cover of Air’s ‘All I Need’ was smilelessly sung through clenched teeth while Pat Metheny’s ‘The Moon is a Harsh Mistress ‘ was a real joy, sung with […]
Mar
14
10 Guitar Solos
March 14, 2008 | 2 Comments
10 awesome standout guitar solos picked by someone who wasted a great deal of his teenage years in a tiny bedroom in Portsmouth with a Washburn Les Paul copy trying and failing to learn most of ’em. This is not a definitive list of the 10 best in the world and I’m aware it’s only […]
Mar
8
The Storys, Soho Revue Bar, 6th March
March 8, 2008 | Leave a Comment
The following review appears in the latest edition of London’s premier music ‘zine, London Tour Dates Retuning instruments between songs is a pet hate of mine but in the name of chordal harmony I am oft prepared to swallow this unreasonable prejudice. Tweaking your strings during a song however, is surely beyond the pale. Seriously, […]
Feb
23
The World Today
February 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Editor Thomas Dahlhaus explains the ethos of The World Today on the BBC World Service. Asking the not very taxing questions is yours truly, camerawork by Russell Newlove, lighting (including that amazing “slash” background”) by me after a lot of faffing around and general trial, error and exasperation . . .