Golf Funk

Mike Love & Other Doodles

2015-03-10T09:41:00.000-07:00

No #3 In The Rock Star Food Series. Mick Ronson With A Crinkle Cut Microwave Chip Arm

2014-01-24T09:14:00.001-08:00

No #3 In The "Rock Stars As Convenience Food" Commission Series of Mixed Media Portraits (ink & crayon) *SOLD

*click pic for full size

The Vinyl Resting Place #1 Bo Diddley - The Black Gladiator

2013-10-11T06:51:00.000-07:00

Released in 1970, four years after his last solo sojourn, 'The Originator', 'Black Gladiator' was in the same musical melting pot as Muddy Waters’ 'Electric Mud' & Howlin’ Wolf’s 'This Is Howlin’ Wolf’s New Album'. Both records are reactions by original electric bluesmen to the newer, heavier white blues sounds that were dominating the music scene in late 60s America. BB King also released a similar record, 'Live In London' in 1971 using British blues stars of the day.

Bo Diddley however drew on the newer black music of the day. The heavier, funkier sounds coming out of late 60s Motown & Atlantic, the grittier & more socially aware offerings from James Brown, Curtis Mayfield & George Clinton. Diddley sets the tone early with a musical palette of hard edged funk that hits you square in the guts. Black Gladiator could comfortably sit alongside any of the psych blues classics from Funkadelic & Parliament.

Opening track 'Elephant Man' is a killa psych funk floorstomper & probably my favourite Diddley track ever. 'Black Soul' is also a funk, freight Soul Train workout. Keyboard player Bobby Alexis is featured heavily on the album, always comping & pumping the songs forward, letting Diddley fire some thick funk lead riffs around the groove. Diddley does however revert to a more standard blues format on a few songs. 'Hot Buttered Blues' & 'Power House' are more traditional but they don't seem tired, cliched or album fillers as they are all dipped in late 60s goodness, killer guitar tones, & great backing vocals from Cookie Vee.

Album closer 'I Don't Like You' is crazy. I mean really out there. Opera meets the blues with Cookie and Diddley exchanging hip hop style smack talk. Apart from the 12 bar misogyny of 'Shut Up Woman' (weakest track in I'm A Man style) it's a great, overlooked record with some real classic cuts on it. Blues purists may have dismissed it when it was released, but check it out, frug your acid drenched heart out to gritty, sweaty, funk blues drenched in psychedelic rain. And not a Diddley shuffle beat in sight.

Errrm nice look Bo.

Dead Sea Skulls - Fortune Favours The Brave

2013-10-05T08:55:00.000-07:00

Remarkably, having only formed during the last few months in their hometown of Birmingham, this power rock trio have been incredibly assiduous in their already impressive output. Regular gigs, photo shoots, ep release, music video & more recently, a residency at Camden Town's Hawley Arms.

The line up is Ash Sheehan, centre (vox/drums) Brothers Jimi, left (bass) & Nick Crutchley (guitar)

The 'Fortune Favours The Brave' ep is an explosion of punk rock power pop, conjuring up lost melodies reminiscent of bands like The Replacements, The Exploding Hearts, Superchunk, The Lemonheads & more recently Incubus, Kings Of Leon, The Strokes, Foo Fighters & 30 Seconds To Mars.

Click here if you can't see the Absent Ones video

Opening track 'Absent Ones' comes in at a lean 2.30 seconds. All Nick Valensi style monster staccato riffage, woven together with an anthemic sing-along chorus. 'Nowhere I Belong' & 'Giving All I've Got' have a *dirt under the fingernail* Incubus Morning View era groove, crossed with the power and radio friendly choruses of 30 Seconds To Mars arena pleasers. 'Come Round Again' & personal live favourite 'Riding High' completes the rest of the impressive debut ep. All of the tracks have hallmarks of well crafted songwriting, earworm choruses, funky backline grooves & flat out switchblade vocals. Riding High's Scott Holiday riffage and Jay Buchananesque bluesy vocals in particular wouldn't be out of place on Rival Son's Head Down album.

Live this band are a visual powerhouse. They might hail from the West Midlands but they have the image and attitude that spilled out of CBGB's in late 70s New York. Ash, centre stage, playing the drums (standing up) with such venom, ferocity & precision, you wonder how he manages to deliver such quality vocals as he pounds the drums to within an inch of their life. Jimi's solid, melodic funk bass grooves lock tight with the backbeat while brother Nick's tight, inventive riff's float effortlessly around Ash's impressive vocals. You forget this gloriously layered sound comes from only three players.

You should be hearing a lot more about Dead Sea Skulls. As their hashtag on twitter ominously reads #DeadSeaIsComing

Dead Sea Skulls Live at Birmingham O2 Academy September 2013

Dead Sea Skulls Live at Hawley Arms London September 2013

Dead Sea Skulls Live at Fixxion warehouse Wolverhampton October 2013

Debut EP "Fortune Favours The Brave" was produced by Andy Hawkins (Kaiser Chiefs/The Damned/Ginger/Pigeon Detectives) and is available on Broken Banjo Records via iTunes, Amazon MP3 and Spotify.

>BUY DEBUT EP HERE<

Upcoming dates:

10th Oct - Fixxion Warehouse Wolverhampton

24th Oct - Hawley Arms Camden London

9th Nov - "Cherry Cola" @ Purple Turtle, Camden

>Facebook here<

>Follow Dead Sea Skulls On Twitter here<

Mary Epworth 'September' Review

2013-10-03T05:23:00.001-07:00

Mary Epworth's new single 'September' (out now on Hand Of Glory Records) is a glitterbeat glamstomper, heavily infused with synth bass, fat back beats and dirty, killa fuzz.

September shouldn't be a surprise in terms of direction, the radio-edited single 'Black Doe' from debut album 'Dream Life' hinted at a footstomping, fuzz filled future. If you follow Mary on twitter @maryepworth or have listened to various radio interview/live sessions with the band, you already know it's 60s sunshine pop, prog, psych & much, much more (not just f*lk) that excites this band. More recently a slight obsession with Bowie's foil Mick Ronson has been a major twitter topic between Mary and guitarist/vocalist Helene Bradley. So maybe some glitter-killa Ronson style riffs will be evident on the second album!

Mary - "This song in an earlier form nearly ended up on Dream Life, but once we decided it hadn’t made the cut, I realised it could be turned into a bit of a glitterbeat stomper. I’ve been in a bit of a glam rock frame of mind, and wanted to make something that people could move to. Producer Will and I went as far as dancing while we recorded the drum take, to make sure the beat was just right for a night out at the local working men’s club"

(credit for mary's quote 'http://thequietus.com')

Coming in at only 1.46 seconds, this is a fresh slice of perfect 70s pop. Imagine Joe Meek & Brian Eno (Here Come The Warm Jets era) co-producing Suzie Quatro while Marc Bolan gets jealous in the control room.

Buy September here

Mary's website

(photo http://www.harrymedia.com)

Iggy Pop As A Linda McCartney Sausage

2013-08-29T07:20:00.002-07:00

I Am The Lizard Falafel King...I'm Wizard With Hummus

2013-08-29T07:15:00.000-07:00

To All The Guitars I've Loved Before. "Phase One, In Which Doris Gets Her Oats"

2013-08-29T06:52:00.002-07:00

I was chatting to my good bud Steve (AKA Ken, Stan, Lionel), maybe a year ago about all the guitars I've had since I started playing. The list became quite expansive, so here is a blog post about phase 1 in guitar buying. Alas they no longer room with me.

1. Spanish/classical guitar

A part time loan from my ex's cousin. He showed me how 'not' to play the intro from Stairway To Heaven shortly after we endured early 90s comedy 'Green Card' with Gérard Depardieu. I dutifully popped along to my local library, to get various guitar instruction books out, along with 'The Monkees Greatest Hits'. I expected to be a total natural at music & thought Daydream Believer would be knocked out in less than an afternoon. It sounded worse than the infamous one armed busker who stood outside McDonalds in New St Station with a single string (bottom E) on his guitar. Busker 1 Pat 0.

2. Hohner Acoustic Steel String

Got my first real 6 string, bought it from Argos Superstore, played it till my fingers bled, it was the Summer of 94'

£49.99. Played like a pig this one. You could easily limbo a Walnut Whip under the strings on the 12th fret. I tried my hand at refinishing it to a cherry sunburst. Obviously using brown, red & black boot polish to achieve this. I ended up smashing it on a wall like a drunk Keith Moon. *actually drunk.

3. Westone Thunder IIa with pre amp

My first electric guitar. A petrol blue beast forged from the white hot cauldron of rock. Japan. Purchased from Musical Exchanges, Birmingham for £110.00 A beast in metal/rock terms, a pig in actual tone terms. It weighed a ton and gave access to fret numbers where no man had ever or gone before. Flick that 'preamp' switch for instant shreddanoodle & a humbucking tonal palette equivalent to liquid metal diarrhea. But it served me reasonably well, & I managed to learn many, many terrible songs on it whilst giving my Uncle (next door neighbour) a temporary bi polar disorder. Ended up hocking it in towards my next electric. They go for upwards of $500+ on Fleabay!

First Guitar Amp

Marshall Reverb 12 Practise Amp. Quite small, but very loud, and very red. (They had sold out of black ones) I ended up playing everything through this 1 x 10 speaker, bass, harmonica, vocals, keyboards. It ended up in Cash Convertors with the arse totally thraped off it.

4. Antoria 'Rockstar' 80s 335 Copy

Acquired from my pal Glen for £35.00. It needed new tuners & a bit of electrical work. I had all the hardware/pickup covers changed to chrome, put witches hat control knobs & a black scratchplate on it. It had awesome Kent Armstrong humbuckers in it, and I remember it sounded/looked great. Still kinda regret selling this one, but it would probably sound sh*t without those rose tinted glasses on. Actually thinking about it, I played a charity gig with it as John Lennon & it was a ba*tard to keep in tune. Went on fleabay eventually & I got around £150-80.

5. Vantage electro acoustic

Purchased from M.I.R in Halesowen for £179.00. Great (first) acoustic, really nice sounding pickup. Next to a premium guitar, yes, a bit thin sounding & cheap. I had this one for a few years, eventually selling it to my mate for £90.00. Who then sold it to his bass player for a profit! (sucker) It now bizarrely hangs on the wall of my new wingman, Dave, who has just joined my current covers band on bass. (I spotted it in his house after 12+ years) It looked really sh*t. My guitar was a bit darker than this stock shot below. More caramel cack.

6. Epiphone Les Paul Standard

Amazing, amazing guitar, played just beautifully. Every now and then you play an Epiphone that sings. This was one of them. I had Seymour Duncan Vintage 59' pickups retro fitted shortly after purchase. Amazing tonal capabilities. I always loved Les Paul guitars, mainly because of my hero Peter Green. If I still had this guitar I would defo get my tech guy to try and get that 'out of phase' sound Peter had. I traded this guitar with a work colleague who wanted to learn electric guitar (a £250 trade for some work he did for me), on the understanding that if he wanted to get rid of it I would buy it back for £250.00. Long story short, the guy was unwell and had pretty bad OCD. He swapped it for a really, really sh*t, I mean dogsh*t Yamaha electro acoustic. Bear in mind the Les Paul had a hard case & with the various upgrades was worth £500+. Did I mention how sh*t the ridiculous Yamaha was that he traded it in for? I don't think about it after all these years. Honest. I don't. Really.

Marshall JTM30 1x12 Combo

Purchased at the same time as the Epi Les Paul, 1994 ish. A storming amp with 2 channels. Gain channel sucked badger arse. (There was also a 2 x 12 60 watt version) The clean sound was amazing, often envied by muso bud's who played through it. Marshall only ran them for a few years because of manufacturing faults. This one used to overheat, a common problem that needed an experienced techy dude to sort out. The amount of times it broke down in it's later years was annoying. I got it fixed and flogged it earlier this year. It was still in great shape even with drunken cuban heeled boots kicking it around the stage a few times to kickstart it back to life.

7. Fender Squier Stratocaster

Cash Convertors, £60.00. Mexican. Worst guitar ever. Played like a Quality Street tin with elastic bands stretched over it. May even have belonged to someone I know with terrible, terrible musical capabilities. Even *HE* didn't hang on to this cursed block of plywood for very long. I can't remember if I gave it way, traded it or executed it.

8. Fender Telecaster MIJ

Acquired off my bud 'Stonemason Trev' back in the mid 90s. Never really took to it as a regular guitar. It looked like a honey & was chock full of twangy goodness, but I wasn't ready for a Telecaster. Yet. Sold to my then drummer for £200.00. He sold it a few years later for about £400. There's a pattern emerging here. *Side note, Trev showed me the Bm chord when I started to learn guitar.

9. Burns Marquee Club Series

I loved this guitar. The colour, the scroll headstock, the pick ups. It sounded different/better than the Strat's I was hearing/playing at the time. Had the push/pull tone pot selector for more 60s goodness. My mate Ken hated it. I slightly regretted selling it on fleabay for around £190. It was/is essentially a £200ish guitar. Makes me want to buy an original 60s one.

10. Vintage Dobro Resonator

Being heavily into blues music for a long time, I always wanted one of these bad boys. I kept it for a long time, without really using it much. The pick up was amazing, but it sounded like a standard acoustic through a P.A. Unplugged it had it's own southern charm, a nice country blues sound. It weighed a ton and was a bitch to keep it from tarnishing. Another one to the fleabay gods. (sighs)

11. Epiphone 12 String Acoustic Early 70s

Purchased from Crap Converters for £99.00. Really nice sounding guitar that did the BBQ circuit for two boozy Summers. I always intended on getting it set up properly, have that pick up fitted so I could go on a Bowie trip with it. But it's another one of those 'getroundtoit' jobs that never, ever happens. Sold on Fleabay for £200.

12. 50th Anniversary Fender Stratocaster MIJ

Lovely looking guitar bought off my pal James. He has loads of music equipment that he has *never*, ever used. A Fender Japan guitar with aged parts. (I later swapped them to another guitar) The pick ups in this sounded great, very dark for a Strat. I don't know what is is with Fender, they never really seemed speak to me in design/sound terms. I guess I just love big ole' hollow body jazzers.

13. Hutchins Vox Tear Drop Brian Jones Ltd Edition

Being a Brian Jones fan, I always wanted a Vox Tear Drop guitar, & with this one being endorsed by The Brian Jones Fanclub & a limited run of 250 it should be great, right? Wrong. Hutchins cut corners on build quality & finish. The pick ups were thin & reedy, the fretboard felt horrible and the spray job was done with a paintball gun from 100 yards away. Brian would defo not endorse this box of basswood boll*x.

14. Fender Squier 51

The Squier 51 is the only original design by Squier. It has a split coil humbucker in the bridge, and a standard single pup on the neck. It's a hybrid of a Strat, P Bass & a Tele (headstock) I only really got it because of the Pat Butcher scratchplate and the split coil pup. (and to leave in the workshop to tinkle on) Still not sure why I sold it. (oh yeah, I'm a guitar tackle tart) Fender now do a run of these in their Custom Shop dept for £800+.

15. Teisco Hollowbody MIJ

I had a spell of watching 60s Jap guitars on Ebay when this came up. Not having much experience with them I bought it. It wasn't all bad in fairness and had some 60s goodness in the pick ups. Light as a feather and as fragile as a child's tear. I lusted after the Spectrum 5. Not a balsawood tennis racket.

16. Hagstrom Viking Deluxe

Straight out the case this guitar was amazing. Thin, straight, fast neck, good finish & build, with great pickups. The Deluxe just had different finishes available & more binding. Classic 60s looks. This was my main stage guitar for a year. Loved it. Sold it. I recommend one of these to anyone who wants a 335 copy with a slight twist. It's good to be different. Another reason to have it was Jack from Wolf People plays a 60s single coil version.

17. Burns Marquee

Errrmmm. I told you I liked them. Sold. With the cellophane still on it.

18. Zenith Archtop 1959

Bought for £90 to hang on the chimney breast of my then new house. This guitar got played, drunkenly, a lot. For a guitar of it's age, it sounded amazing. When I got it I wasn't aware of the Paul McCartney connection with the Zenith archtop, (his first guitar) so when it got replaced by a Brian Jones painting on the wall, I kinda forgot I had it. Sold on Ebay to a Japanese collector for £590.00. Score.

Fender Twin Reverb early 70s

Acquired off my amp tech. Loved it from the start, the glassy highs and deep lush reverb. Like a marriage made in heaven. Then it turned sour, she moaned a lot, broke down, hissed, farted, refused to do things I wanted to do. I felt like she was putting weight on, it started to hurt up and down the stairs, in the car, out the car. I'd had enough. It cost me £180 to get out of this loveless marriage. She ended up with a Manc guy who had an aversion to shoegazing.

Marshall 50w Lead & Bass Plexi Head 1973

Lovely, lovely guitar tone. Power, fatness, overdriven creaminess, ice pick crunch. Why did I sell this again? Oh yeah, lugging a 4 x 12 stack to a pub gig on the outskirts of Wolverhampton to play to 6 people is just daft.

19. 1961 Fenton Weill 'Hohner' Amazon

Built by furniture makers. Played by guys with horn rimmed glasses and brylcreemed hair. Probably. Mahogany body. Atomic pup's! Loud, fat creamy goodness. Played it a lot, recorded great. Bought off Alien Pat, sold to Fenton Will who is even taller than me, so this tiny bodied guitar must look mental on him.

20. 2009 Gibson Epiphone Flying V 58 Korean Unsung Plant

Purchased on a whim after a Facebook chat with my mate on the merits of Keef looking the nuts at Hyde Park in 1969. I have played it live a few times, BUT, it's 2013, I'm not Keith Richards, I'm not 25, I'm not a cock rocker & I play in tune, most of the time. It's set up great, kinda looks cool, the balance is not as bad as you think, it sounds and feels great.....unplugged. Amped up however you are very aware what you have in your hands. A fairly daft guitar with a pretty bland, nondescript factory fitted sonic pallette. Retro fit some decent pickups & you might just have a honey of a guitar in your hands, but I couldn't see me ever playing it again.

Wolf People Fain Album Review

2013-05-18T06:54:00.001-07:00

I like to think this album was recorded live, deep in a Yorkshire Dale, the band moodily standing in a vast clearing, incense burning, instruments set up in homage to Pink Floyd’s Live In Pompeii. Fender amps their monoliths, an electric Stonehenge to worship at the altar of all who have dared open 'Reader's Digest Folklore Myths and Legends of Britain'. Foxes, hares & hip badgers gather from the forest to testify to these four electric warriors. The band knowingly nod, exchanging switch-blade glances as harmonized riffs, spidery folk arpeggios get fuzzed, drums gets Bonham'd to within an inch of their life as the deep bass groove bores down to the very marrow of your bones. This musical alchemy twists Jack Sharp’s folklore lyrics into a sonic journey from 1971 to the Middle Ages & back to 2013. If you listen closely to the run out groove you can even hear one badger heckling ‘Do you know any Tull?’

Many reviews I have seen of the band reference Fairport, Mighty Baby, Jethro Tull etc, but while that may be true, there is also Sabbath, Traffic, Cream, Hendrix, Jeff Beck, and just about any other massive guitar band or folkie in rock's melting pot. (just check the bands website & FB pages for their mixtape links, & massive musical influences) Live, I hear the twin guitars of Fleetwood Mac 1969-71, from the guitar fury of The Boston Tea Party double live album, to the restrained playing of the seminal Then Play On album. Even Jack Sharp's delicate, clear folk voice occasionally has tonal fragments of Danny Kirwan's distinctive vocal. Seeing the band live is where the songs really open up and breathe. I urge you go and see them as soon as you can.

Track Listing

Empty Vessels

I imagine this to be the opening credits to a 70s sci-fi detective series starring a young Ian McShane & Hammer Horror hero David Warner. Probably cancelled after the first series.

All Returns

Funky slithery bass, intertwined Scottish folk melodies, infused with massive octo Fuzz face pedals.

When The Fire Is Dead In The Grate

Beautifully recorded, amazing backing vocals, great interplay between Jack Sharpe and guitarist Joe Hollick. Epic track.

Athol

A heavy, medieval sounding track, superb drumming from Tom Watt and fat bass from Dan Davies on this one.

Hesperus

Solid funky unswerving bass, a creeping prog journey that simmers then cuts your head off with tonebending riffs.

Answer

Sits nicely next to Hesperus, a spidery opening riff, atmospheric backing vocals, Peter Green reverb, an early 70s Pink Island Label monster.

Thief

A haunting, reasonably clean guitar toned tale of a highwayman/thief who is caught, shackled & (I assume) on his way to be tried & hanged. Excellent backing vocals really sets this song apart from the rest of the album, and give a lost nugget acid folk vibe to the track.

NRR

Wolf People kick Sabbath's teeth in & headbutt Hendrix who falls into a bearded, cloaked Peter Green.

Golf Funk rating - 9.74 wizards hats out of 10 witchfinder hats

Other links

Jack Sharp Interview

Joe Hollick Interview

Buy Fain Vinyl obviously.

Ryan Adams Royal Albert Hall Teenage Cancer Trust Gig 19/3/2013

2013-03-26T05:40:00.000-07:00

On trots Beth Orton, I’m looking forward to this. I especially liked the first couple of albums, Trailer Park & Central Reservation. I eventually got hold of Daybreaker mainly because of the Adams collaboration, ‘Concrete Sky’. Most of the Albert Hall had probably hoped to hear that tonight, but maybe with their romantic history & Beth’s husband guesting in her band, it was never was going to happen. Orton has a mixed bag of songs in her back catalogue, some folk rock, some mixed with loops, some barely audible & others that soar, liberally sprinkled with vibrato and sandpaper. Tonight, her voice occasionally sounded strained & threatened to crack, but it was a good solid support set. I quite enjoyed that. Time for a vodka.

Curator this year of the Teenage Cancer Trust Gigs, is Noel Gallagher. He introduces the band as “A Supergroup, except for the drummer, he’s a nobody”. We find out shortly that it’s Noel’s tub-thumper, Jeremy Stacy from his High Flying Birds. The rest of the stellar band is made up of, (wait for it) Benmont Tench, (Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers) on keyboards, Don Was (Was Not Was), who is without doubt the coolest bass player I have ever seen (apart from Rick Danko of course). On the double eight, Cindy Cashdollar & finally virtuoso musician, & go-to Americana producer, Ethan Johns on guitar.

I have seen Adams play live in various line up’s since Heartbreaker was released, so I’ll get this out the way now. The set was absolutely crying out for harmonies. I could hear Neal Casal's sweet harmony lines in my head, & the lady sat to my immediate right, heard mine in her left ear for longer than she probably wanted to. Ethan Johns had a vocal mike in front of him and never used it. Shame, that.

I got the feeling from the band they had obviously rehearsed for tonight, but the lack of wringing the songs out beforehand in the practice room gave them space & room to breathe. Arrangements sat back in a groove and it enabled the sheer quality of musicianship to shine through. The lack of flashiness added to the overall feel for the set, in fact I think I only remember a couple of guitar solos, and one lead line from Cindy.

The set is a live return to form with a more relaxed Adams bantering with various shout outs from the crowd. At one point he improv’s an entire song out from a misheard heckle about baked goods, Loaf Of Bread. The two new songs had a bluesier feel to them, almost like a mid 60s Dylan album cut. It will be interesting to hear the record he is currently working on with the legendary Glyn Johns (Ethan’s father.)

The band takes a break and Ryan plays a short solo set with his marvellous Buck Owens acoustic. Sweet Carolina’s whispered, controlled vocal is amazing in this setting and the solo segment gets the thunderous applause it deserves.

Towards the end of the gig, with everyone locked together like they had been touring this set for 18 months, Ryan looked at his band, & beamed “I have never heard these songs sound so good”

He just may have been right.

Set list:-

Dirty Rain

Ashes & Fire

My Winding Wheel

Fix It

Where I Meet You In My Mind

Loaf Of Bread

Please Do Not Let Me Go

Why Do They Leave?

Invisible Riverside

Let It Ride

Nobody Girl

In The Shadows

Oh My Sweet Carolina

English Girls Approximately

Do I Wait

I Love You But I Don't Know What To Say

Encore:

Dear John

Come Pick Me Up

Click Here To Find Out How To Donate To The Teenage Cancer Trust

West Coast Daze, L.A Nights. 10 Iconic West Coast Bands From The 60's

2012-05-29T07:19:00.002-07:00

With the 112^th Us Open Championship being contested at The Olympic Club, San Francisco, California this year, top sports tipster & tweeter (Betting Zone & Sky Sports) @DaveTindallgolf asked me to compile a list of West Coast bands from the golden age of rock, the 60’s. I thought this was a great idea, and so below, is a compilation of 10 iconic West Coast bands. (In no particular order & yes I know, you may have other artists/tracks in mind!) & a further list of a few more obscure bands & Californian heavyweights, just in case you wanted to dig a little deeper into those heady daze of Laurel Canyon & Haight-Ashbury.

The Byrds - Eight Miles High

The Byrds started out playing standard folk rock, graduating to the big league with Dylan’s Mr Tambourine Man in 1965. Just weeks after recording another folk song “He Was A Friend Of Mine” in 1966, the Byrds started to find their feet & made their mark in the burgeoning flower power scene with the acid tinged 'Eight Miles High'. It was one of the earliest known sonic attempts to recreate an LSD trip. Gene Clark’s lyrics coupled with McGuinn’s free form jazz style improvisations gave the listener a metaphor for an LSD trip into outer-space.

The Beach Boys – Good Vibrations

Recorded over a six month period, the final version of Good Vibrations highlights Brian Wilson’s genius in the production booth. Wilson’s micro symphony begins simply with a lone vocal and organ motif, but then transforms into a full blown theremin psych-out. It topped the charts in December 1966, & for a while John & Paul looked over their shoulders as Brian & The Beach Boys raised the bar even higher. For further listening, check out the Lp's Pet Sounds, Smile, Sunflower & Surf's Up.

Buffalo Springfield – For What It’s Worth

A band that had in its ranks, not only Neil Young but also Stephen Stills. With it’s instantly recognisable opening riff, this track has been a stalwart in every Vietnam war film and just about every documentary on the late 60's ever since. Often mistaken for an anti-war song, it was actually about the "Sunset Strip riots" of the mid 60's which inspired Stephen Stills to write "For What It's Worth". Wrongly interpreted as a protest song, it's actually a reflection on the futility of the protest era. Not just flying the freak flag for protesters, Stills is encouraging everyone to "Stop, look around" to see what’s really going on, a whispered cry for some self examination & rationale.

"There's battle lines being drawn; Nobody's right if everybody's wrong"

White Rabbit – Jefferson Airplane

Lewis Carroll set to a dark Latino beat. Grace Slick transferred this over from her previous band The Great Society, to the more psychedelic Jefferson Airplane in 1967. “When logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead, And the white knight is talking backwards, And the red queen is off with her head, Remember what the dormouse said, Feed your head!, Feed your head!” Blatant drug propaganda lyrics misses all the censors to get in the Billboard top 10.

Love 7 And & 7 Is

L.A’s underground Sun Gods before The Doors popped up in late 66’ and signed to the same record label (Elektra) on Arthur Lee’s recommendation. Acid fuelled angst, proto punk garage. Love’s only top 40 hit smashes you in the teeth and leaves a splinter of blues under your fingernail. Their seminal record ‘Forever Changes’ was released a year later.

Janis Joplin – Ball & Chain (Monterey Pop Festival)

The first two albums by Janis’s band ‘Big Brother & The Holding Company’ were mostly demo’s and a major label botch job. The live cut of this track from The Monterey Pop Festival (studio version is on Cheap Thrills) captures the band at their peak & made them superstars overnight. Janis was the Queen of San Francisco right until her death in 1970 aged 27. Check out her final record ‘Pearl’ or posthumous live recordings to get a sense of where Janis was really coming from. She also famously smashed a quart bottle of Jack Daniels over Jim Morrison’s head.

The Seeds – Pushin’ Too Hard

L.A’s hippest garage band for one heady summer in 1966. The Seeds had the perfect blend of the West Coast punk/psych/garage sound until late 67, when they recorded their acid fuelled 3^rd lp, ‘Future’. Sky Saxon (great name) wrote hit "Pushin' Too Hard" in under 15 minutes sitting alone in a car, while he was waiting for his girlfriend to finish the weekly food shop. The lyrics can be interpreted about his girlfriend wanting to control him, or as a rant against 'The Establishment'.

The Grateful Dead – That’s It For The Other One

You can’t have an iconic West Coast list without Jerry Garcia’s band in there. The Dead were always the furthest ones out there , but you never heard how far until 68’s Anthem Of The Sun. Recorded over a 6 month period, with Bob Weir even asking producers to record the illusion of ‘thick air’. This track shows the development of their live sound recorded onto a studio record and is a barometer for future live adventures. Dark Star pts 1 and 2 off Live Dead from 69’ were the two tracks that got me into buying their records. But the seminal duo of records from 1970, ‘Workingmans Dead & ‘American Beauty’ are by far my favourite Dead albums.

The Doors – When The Music’s Over

Another shoe-in for the LA icons list. The Door’s first two albums each had one lengthy track on them. (The End on ‘The Doors’ début) These extended song structures were formed by playing & jamming them out live during late 65 & early 1966 at The London Fog & The Whiskey-A-Go-Go on La's strip. This particular track didn't actually appear until a year later on the Strange Days Lp. Jim Morrison was the Golden God or ‘Lizard King’ in L.A from the Summer of 67' (after the smash #1 Light My Fire) until the Spring of 69’ when he decided to throw off his Lizard King/Electric Shaman shackles, & get his John Thomas out in Miami in order to be taken more seriously as a poet. After being barred from almost every live concert hall & arena in the US, Jim morphed into my favourite Morrison period ‘The Bearded Drunk Blues Singer’. Subsequent albums, Morrison Hotel & L.A Woman were a refreshing turn of events after the plasticity of The Soft Parade, & the cobbled together nature of the Waiting For The Sun album.

Crosby, Stills Nash & Young – You Don’t Have To Cry

A trio that formed after David Crosby had been kicked out The Byrds, & the disintegration of Buffalo Springfield had left Stephen Stills unemployed. Crosby, Stills & Nash got together at a party in Mama Cass’s house after they realised they had a unique vocal harmony sound. Crosby was the ‘Lord of the Laurel Canyon’ community, as Nash put it, “He always had the best girls, the best drugs, the best parties, of course I was gonna join them” Their first Lp was an immediate hit with 2 smash singles. But with Stills being the prominent musician in the trio, they needed more personnel to undertake a tour. Neil Young joined in mid 69’ to make it a super-super-group. CSN&Y’s blend of harmonies & country melodies unwittingly paved the way for the next phase of Californian music, AOR Soft Country, with The Eagles picking up the L.A reigns.

Movers & shakers from the West Coast to click on & check out. Includes one or two more heavyweights and some classic garage/psych bands. Enjoy & explore.

The Charlatans

Country Joe & The Fish

Captain Beefheart

13^th Floor Elevators

The Count Five

The Vejtables

The Misunderstood

The Mystery Trend

Moby Grape

Tim Buckley

Chocolate Watchband

Strawberry Alarm Clock

Quicksilver Messenger Service

Iron Butterfly

Mama’s & The Papa’s

The Flying Burrito Brothers

Santana

Blue Cheer

It’s A Beautiful Day

Joni Mitchell

The Zombies Live At The Robin 2 Bilston May 2012

2012-05-19T07:54:00.002-07:00

I discovered The Zombies by accident in the Summer of 1990, lurking somewhere on the B side of a 1970’s ‘Best Of The Sixties’ compilation, sandwiched awkwardly between Engelbert Humperdinck & The Tremeloes. The track was ‘Time Of The Season’. It sounded like nothing else on that trashy compilation & even today, in a blues club in the West Midlands, it still sounds fresh.

Time Of The Season

The Zombies formed 1961 in St Albans, the two main protagonists being Rod Argent (piano, organ, and vocals) and Colin Blunstone (vocals). The group surprisingly had minimal chart success in the 60’s, but had a few more hits over in the USA on the back of the British Invasion, even reaching the Billboard number 3 spot in 1968 with Time Of The Season. Their first UK LP, Begin Here (1965), was the typical mix of original songs & R&B covers as was the norm at the time, and it showed great promise for future original compositions. The band continued to record throughout 1965-66 trying to achieve chart success, but the hits didn't come. Even though Argent & White amassed enough material for a follow-up album, the lack of chart success kept most of those tracks from ever being issued.

In 1967, The Zombies signed to CBS Records, for whom they recorded the album Odessey and Oracle. (The word odyssey was misspelled by cover designers.) By the time Odessey and Oracle got released in April 1968, the group had disbanded. The LP had twelve songs which showcased the group's two main songwriters, Argent and Chris White, with tracks such as 'Care Of Cell 44', 'A Rose For Emily' & 'Beechwood Park'. The album ranked Number 80 on Rolling Stone magazine's '500 Greatest Albums of All Time', and regularly gets into 'essential' list's top 25.

Tonight however, The Zombies freight train pulls into The Robin 2, Bilston, West Midlands. It's a good sized venue for bands, both past & present, always booking good credible artists. (Terry Reid for instance, in 10 days time) The last group I came to see here was The Pretty Things, who totally tore it up with hard R&B from their early years. Unfortunately no material post 67’ from them that night, I would have loved to hear some tracks off their 1970 record, Parachute. Phil May nearly dropped his maracas when I requested some.

There are quite a few bands from yesteryear on the touring treadmill who basically, are in it for the money, and fill a gap in the market that a lot of fans (me included) crave for. I can’t blame them, a lot of great groups got ripped off during the 60’s & throughout the 70’s with many other people getting rich off their talent and the songwriters not seeing a single penny. I hasten to add, The Zombies are ‘not’ going through the treadmill of a cabaret/tribute show. They rock it out, & look like they are loving every second of their decade long reformation. The positive media reaction has given The Zombies the respect they deserve, starting with the successful 40th anniversary tour of the Odessey album, and bookending it with great reviews for the new album and recent live shows.

Although only 2 of the original members are on stage, the bass player, Jim Rodford (who looks a bit like David Jason circa ‘A Touch Of Frost’) was actually a founding member of Argent & also took Rod to his first Zombies audition in the early 60’s. Jim’s son Steve is on drums, and he is a great player in his own right, recording with many artists all over the world. The guitarist Tom Toomey (great name) is a very talented guy who according to Rod got the gig by being an amazing acoustic as well as electric player. He didn’t, I fancy, get the gig by having more than a passing resemblance to Harry Enfield’s character DJ Mike Smash, right down to the leather trousers. I like to think he keeps a faux silk Bachman Turner Overdrive tour jacket hanging up in the dressing room.

The set list tonight comprised of material from both of their careers post Zombies, (Argent, Alan Parsons & other assorted solo works) with a large chunk (5-6 songs) dedicated to their new album ‘Breathe Out, Breathe In’. The latest songs surprised me on two levels, the first mainly being that I didn’t realise that they were new, and secondly how easily they fitted into the eclectic nature of tonight's set. Only one new song that I heard had a poor chorus lyric & was pretty throwaway, compared with how the other new tracks sat with ease in the back catalogue.

Rod’s mike falls off midway & guitarist Tom Toomey steps in to perform a great, impromptu version of Classical Gas to show us that Rod was right, he is indeed a great acoustic player. Another highlight was a section from the band’s seminal ‘Odyssey and Oracle’ album, with Time Of The Season an instant crowd pleaser from the first 2 bars.

Colin Blunstone’s voice is a force of nature. A man of his age and profession just shouldn't be able to still sing like that. From breathy lows to soaring highs, he still has them all, and hits them without breaking sweat. Unbelievable. I mean, just unbelievable.

Colin Blunstone

At the end of the set, Argent’s ‘Hold Your Head Up’, all 8.30secs of it, is a floorstomping crowd pleaser with Blunstone stepping up, & easily delivering the lead vocal. The set closer, 1964’s She’s Not There is a classic slice of Zombies history that almost everyone knows, even reaching the giddy heights of number 2 in the

USA

. Santana also had a hit with it in the late 70's, taking it into the realms of Black Magic Woman territory. You can hear it on their 1977 Moonflower album.

The band stay on stage for the encore and go straight into Argent’s ‘God Gave Rock Gave Rock And Roll To You’. Rod encourages the crowd to join in for the breakdown acapella refrain, and surprisingly the crowd is quiet & subdued apart from one man with a massive gob, belting the chorus out above everyone. (Sorry about that) The night surprisingly climaxes with ‘Just Out of Reach’, a formulaic R&B single from 65’ which had minor chart success. On the evidence of tonight's tight, crafted set, if you have the chance, go and see The Zombies.

The merchandise stand was also awesome. Yes, the usual cd’s, singles, dvds, posters and so on were on sale. But mainly because there was also vinyl. Not new 180gm vinyl but original vinyl. (Goes giddy) In all fairness they did look they had come out of the sellers own collection, but I like to think of Colin & Rod scouring rare record shops buying up their own Lp's to sell at gigs. I purchased two solo albums, Blunstone’s Ennismore (1972) & Journey (1974).

One minor criticism of a near flawless evening is that Rod Argent likes to talk. A lot. I like the brief snatches of ‘where & how the band evolved' etc, but he tends to go on a just bit too much. “The new album reviews have really knocked us out, we had four star reviews in this, in that…”and so on. It especially drags when telling the crowd about newer bands & artists who are fans, ”Dave Grohl this, The Vaselines that, Paul Weller…..etc”.

Rod & Colin don’t need to justify themselves still being here, playing & making new music, or try to make themselves seem relevant in today's market. They are after all, The Zombies.

Belfry Days, Bel Air Nites.

2012-03-09T06:03:00.013-08:00

The Belfry Hotel & Golf Complex. Stag golf. First up was the The Derby course, the chunkier, sweatier, less attractive sibling of the Brabazon & PGA National courses. The kind you see nervously fidgeting on the edge of a late 80's nightclub dance floor, fingers secretly crossed, praying for a slow dance to Luther Vandross's latest generic chart hit.

If you have never played it, you actually have. Every mid range municipal in your area ticks all the boxes the Derby has to offer. A series of bland holes, a good hole thrown in here and there, average fairways & greens marked like a Ray Liotta skin condition. Don't get me wrong, it's not awful for this time of year, but if you have one of those £99 overnight Winter deals and you play the PGA course next day, the difference in quality is huge. (there are less electricity pylons for a start). Some of my group could have played off the more satisfying PGA turf if their second shot wasn't already deemed out of bounds. The PGA preened itself every hour or so, lifting it's head over the boundary hedges, taunting us with it's winding fairways, deep bunkers & superior emerald green fairways. Almost wanting to sound-track itself, this time by a heavy set man in a buggy shouting to his group, "IT IS MY F**KIN BALL DAVE, I F**KIN TOLD YA". Then much softer, to himself, as he disappeared back below the tree line, "I f**kin told him it was my ball"

I played pretty good, even though the Stag's consigliere had put various bottles of spirits on at least 4 tee boxes. I scored 42pts. Which is amazing considering I have played this course at least 4 times, and played poorly on every outing. I put it down to a hot putter and a quart of Jack Daniels washed down with some kind of powerful rum.

A warning to golfers, "Don't drink & drive.....don't even putt"

The on site Bel Air night club is basically an ill judged time capsule. It's like someone has eaten the 80's and then thrown up on themselves. Me to DJ. "Can you play some Stones, Beatles or...anything like that?" DJ "Yeah no probs mate" as he ignored all requests & looped 'Now That's What I Call Music Vol's 1-8'. My friend the stag, got asked "to leave" around 12.30 ish, I'm still unsure why. Was it because he was last seen crawling around on the floor looking for a lost camera battery, or was it because he was wearing my massive collared shirt and a fur waistcoat?

I missed the next days golf on the PGA. A work commitment probably did me a huge favour from a golfing point of view. Half of the group apparently didn't last the next day on The PGA National, it beat them up and then spat them out. A reminder to all stag/golfers, that dancing at 2.30am to 'Alexander O' Neal's Criticize' is not the best way to prepare for one of the toughest tests an amateur golfer will have to face.

'The Mechanic' Miguel Angel Jimenez Warms Up On The Range with commentary from Peter Alliss

2012-02-07T04:48:00.000-08:00

Miguel Ángel Jiménez is easily in my top five favourite golfers of all time. This just may have put him into the top three.

Kicking Back At Celtic Manor 2010. Job Done.

Last Of The Mohicans 'An Evening With Alliss'

2012-02-03T06:41:00.000-08:00

Peter Alliss once held the record of being the heaviest baby in Europe, weighing in at 14lbs & 11 ounces. His father, Percy, head pro at a German golf club, gave a few Nazi's some lessons, purposely leaving them with a 'wicked incurable slice'. Between 1954 & 1969 Peter won 21 tournaments, including three British PGA championships - and was twice winner of the Vardon Trophy. He has a 43% Ryder Cup winning record. On occasion he still wears his 2004 Oakland Hills Ryder Cup bomber jacket.

‘An Evening With Alliss’ is pretty much what you would expect (and want) from a man who has earned his living for over 50 years playing & talking about his life passion. The above paragraph is pretty much a condensed version of the first 15 minutes of the show, apart from the bomber jacket bit. That one’s mine. (I bumped into Peter at Woburn Abbey a couple of years ago, just as he walked into the bar rocking that jacket like an octogenarian P Diddy)

Like Dave Allen, all he has onstage is a stool, a jug of water and unfortunately a pretty crap quality microphone. The timbre of his dulcet tones are reduced to a shadow of its BBC HD audio counterpart. That aside, Alliss is a great raconteur, expanding on stories that he may have told a thousand times, but I fancy he recounts them with a wicked freshness to every new audience. (Tonight's is the 41st on this tour) He has clearly enjoyed his life in golf, and maintains that golfers from yesteryear were the best technical players to have ever played the game, (& when he explains why, it’s hard to disagree with him). He does however hold some of the modern players in high regard. Seve, for instance is dearly loved by Alliss, & when someone in the Q+A section of the evening asks about Tiger’s shenanigans, he simply replies “Tiger was like a celibate monk compared to Seve”

As my friend Tom & I were racking our brains to try and think of good, provoking questions to ask, Tom pondered “Is it possible to be a truly great player & a gentleman?” Peter was already kind of answering that one, as he was currently waxing lyrical about the great Jack Nicklaus. I wanted to ask him, “Who in the current crop of commentators or pundits, from either the BBC or Sky, did he think could fill his off the cuff, meandering, tan moccasins when he finally retires?”

After tonight’s show, I didn't need to ask. No-one can. Who else could come out with one of my favourite ‘Allissisms’ from last years Open Championship at Royal St Georges;

“Oooh, what a wonderful old clubhouse, I could just imagine looking through the windows and watching the Colonel bash one off”

Thanks Peter.

If you would like to support any of Peters charities, please click here thank you.

O' Brothers Where Art Thou? In Primark, Briefly.

2012-01-27T06:02:00.000-08:00

For one fleeting moment, probably only half a second, I shared a knowing nod with another late thirty something male. Under normal social circumstances, we would never acknowledge each other, & from experience, this guy would want to cave my feather cut head in. Probably just after the five Jägerbombs he had downed in 10 minutes at The Dog & Pond as a dare from his mates. This brief bond was fuelled by a gaunt hollow cheeked locking of eyes through the rails of dangerously combustible dresses in a generic shopping mall . The last time he saw lapels & trouser bottoms as wide as mine, was possibly on his Mum & Dad's 1973 wedding photo. The last time I saw trousers & espadrilles like his, was when Crockett slid across the bonnet of his Porsche in a 'rolled up sleeve' trouser suit. But we both knew outside the boundaries of the ladies section at Primark & New Look, back in the jungle they call The Slug & Lettuce, it was going to be every man for himself.

Tiger Woods. A fan's scary pencil drawing.

2011-10-20T06:43:00.000-07:00

Scary, somewhere between Jerry Seinfeld & the one off 'Friends' who dated Chandler.

Polara Ultimate Straight Golf Balls - On Test

2011-10-20T04:20:00.000-07:00

Polara Ultimate Straight golf balls. Okay, straight off the bat, these balls are illegal to use in any tournaments, and are designed for recreational golfers. I tested these balls over three 18 hole rounds.

Click picture to go to Polara Website for info

They do what they say on the tin, they are very, very straight off the tee, and handily have an alignment arrow that should be pointed at where you want the ball to go. This can create a few problems, especially if you have poor alignment in the first place! If you are aiming left, they go left, it's worth giving yourself a double check on the tee just to make sure it's pointing down the fairway. Also you have to lift the ball on the fairway to realign the arrow for your next shot, which is of course illegal, unless you are playing Winter rules. If you don't realign the arrow, they are supposed to behave more like a normal ball & react accordingly, they sort of did, but still had a massive run out when they landed. You can adjust your landing zone to accomodate the run. I initially found the ball to be quite hard and unresponsive, & the noticeable lack distance on slight mis-hits (but still straight) didn't instil me with confidence standing over it on the fairway. The Polara is also difficult to get airborne with a 10.5 degree driver (but it does run a mile when it lands), so I think a 12-14 degree loft would be a better option. Which again makes me think it is aimed at the high handicap player. I did find however, if you tee it slightly higher and hit it harder you could get it out there.

The Ultimate Straight golf balls are not designed for better players, this technology was mainly created for those who have an issue with the dreaded slice. The technology works on hookers as well, eliminating up to 75% of all wayward ball movement. (depending on how bad your swing is)

In conclusion they are ultimately for 20+ hcp players who maybe play with their pals a few times a year, and are not bothered by feel & spin, only by how many balls they lose. The feedback is almost non-existent and clunky around the greens, & they performed poorly off wedge and putter faces compared to say Titleist NXT, SOLO or a SRIXON soft feel. All of which are considerably cheaper than the £29.99 per dozen for the Polara's. Fun but not for regular golfers.

Click picture for Soft Feel info @ bargain price of £12.95 Free Shipping!

These are the balls I use as a staple throughout Summer & Winter. I have also tried the new Srixon tri-speed £22.99, which is a three piece ball designed for all types of golfers, but is of course a tenner per dozen more than the soft feel, and it doesn't seem a lot different to me.

Click picture for NXT Tour info @£22.99

I used the NXT Tour when I first started playing and it is a great ball for a mid handicap player, providing a cheaper alternative to the Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x. The NXT provided a great feel and a great explosion of the driver face. I just happened to get a job lot of Srixon soft feels and loved them!

Click picture for Taylormade Burner info TP @ £21.99

Being a long term Taylormade fan I tried various types of their balls and found these to be excellent value, very similar to their high end Penta balls and the NXT Tour.

Nerve Damage, Hole In One, Corduroy Flares & Hi-Fives

2011-09-24T08:47:00.000-07:00

My golf club membership ran out on the 30^th April 2011. For the first time since 2006 I was a golfing nomad with no base or knowing nods from other golfers as they looked at my membership bag tags. No clique, no place to sit comfortably & slag off recreational golfers in the bar who had no club membership, so therefore were not ‘proper’ golfers. Seeing as I had played the equivalent of 18 months worth of golf in 4, I needed a break anyway. And to ostracise myself even more my handicap for the year went (gasps) inactive. Which, it turns out, is not as life threatening as the obolo virus as I first thought, and can be easily reactivated.

I decided to play one more team comp at the end of May this year, and coming off the 18^th felt a numbness in my pinky & ring finger. I shrugged it off as the effects of my classic over the top, unbelievably steep, mid iron swing on the 16^th as I tried to crush a 5 iron 220yds. Days later it became worse and playing a quick 9 holes made my forearm feel totally numb. As a typical male I thought, "it will be better in a week or two" Long story short, after a doctor’s visit & various tests, the doc said it was ulnar neuropathy. Which is nerve compression around the elbow joint and is similar to an RSI injury. He informed me carpenters, painters and secretaries get it. “Well I don’t do a lot of sawing, errrm, could I get it from loads of golf, playing guitar in a band, and spending too much time on Facebook and Twitter?" ”Yes, that could do it too” Four months later it is a bit better, but after initial research it could take 18 months to 2 years to *possibly* clear up. So with that in mind I decided 5 rounds of golf in one week at the end of September was the proper way to convalesce.

Monday. A free round courtesy of Nike Golf at any De Vere course. With only days left to spare on the voucher I chose Staverton Park as it was the nearest one to me in the Midlands. Apart from playing in the coat tails of Hurricane Katia which caused a huge tree to be blown over on the 10^thfairway 90 minutes before our tee off, I really enjoyed playing this course. Staverton Park is a surprisingly mature course with great facilities and pleasant staff. facilities include a good driving range and a couple of practice greens. (unused by me) The best thing about the course, apart from the pretty surroundings, was the well kept greens, even with heavy traffic they held up great. Another refreshing change was the fact you could use all the clubs in your bag, even off the yellow tees. Definitely going back to play this one next Summer.

Thursday. Ombersley Gc. Tetley Food Corporate Golf Day. Thanks to the guys at Prima Foods for the invite. I have played in this a few times, scoring well, but never winning. (Banditos) I decided my pre-round routine this year would involve two pints of Kronenberg and Nobby's Chilli Nuts. It paid off as my first drive was crushed onto the front edge of the green 330 yds away (downwind). I had a superb front nine scoring one over gross for 26pts. It would have been one under if not for a penalty drop from a wayward drive into a hedge on the 3rd. My driving this week has in large part been my best ever, I would like to keep this consistency, but my Seve-esque escapes would become redundant, and nobody wants that. Highlights were my long game, driving 3 greens and unfortunately, going through the back of a par 5 in two. The back nine was a lot scrappier, apart from the 16^th hole which is a slight downhill dog leg right to left, with a hidden green 316yds away. I smashed mine first, “That’ll be close to the green” I said cockily as my two partners proceeded to hit their best drives of the day. Two monster draws better than mine. As we got to the green, which is 15 feet below the fairway, I could see two balls, one 10 feet away from the pin, the other 15 feet. “Where’s mine?” 22 handicapper Pete said as we looked in the rough beyond the green. Me..“Hang on a sec, I have a funny feeling……” Yep, hole in one on a 316yd blind par four from a 22 handicap golfer. Awesome. I looked it up today, it was a net ‘Condor’. My subsequent references of calling him 'Condorman' didn't land, am I only one of a handful of people who actually remembers Michael Crawford's 1981 superhero film? Anyway, I had a total of 48pts, a 76 gross. I lost of course, to 50pts……

Friday. Mapperly.Four miles outside of Nottingham. A very hilly course, but a pleasant enough track to start the weekend off. It has a good mix of holes, and the greens were in excellent condition. Golf clothing today was a vintage Arnold Palmer polo shirt with massive collars and brown hipster flared cords. (Apparently not everyone agrees Spiderman boxer shorts are cool, which they got to critique every time I got my ball out of the hole) So, I was first on the tee. Seven of my mates stood behind taking the p**s. Smash. Right down the middle. Not a lot to report golf wise but I played solid, driving and putting the ball really well, scoring 32 points coming in second place. I did buy a Ping Rapture 3 wood from the pro shop using it only once, after cutting it into trees. Researching the course, which is over a 100 years old, it seems the local council want to build 1,900 homes on the site of the course. There was a protest from members in the city with banners that read “HANDS OFF OUR COURSE…..me duck”

Saturday. The Nottinghamshire. Second time I have played here. See older blog about ‘The Hooters’ golf day. Straight away, car park banter from a complete stranger, “You have to be good mate, to play golf in those trousers” (pink tartan flares ) Me “Well, by that trouser logic, you must be shocking”. The (Open Course) has a good back nine, but the front nine is very bland, I would suggest they rename it 'The Katie Melua' At £40, this is vastly overpriced for what you get, £25 tops would be a much better valuation. It was nice of the parents at a wedding party somewhere in the hotel to let their children run all over the 9^th green and fairway, as it must have saved the greenstaff a lot of winter labour hours, letting young girls hollow tine the green with their heels.

I played poorly from the tee today, carving out a cut/block for the entire round. I lost the pairs and the singles match on the 18^th hole. Maybe being the only one not in a buggy was a schoolboy error. I was too cream crackered from dancing away in Flares (now called Reveal) in Nottingham city centre until the early hours. I must have been good though, I got hi-fived by two burly pimps at least twice as I danced to Cliff Richards ‘Devil Woman’ on the smallest revolving dance floor I have ever seen.

Sunday. Whittington Heath.Lichfield. We played a Ryder Cup style event, arranged by my friend who bumped into these guys a few times during various am-am events last year. Whittington is an absolutely fantastic golf course, again another old course under pressure as the council want part of the land to run a hi-speed rail track through it. It was previously a nine hole layout inside a race track. (see club history) It was a delight to play, the texture of the fairways was superb, giving you a satisfying ‘thunk’ as your iron squeezed the ball off the turf. I hit a career shot on a long par four after duffing my tee shot 140 yds. The new Ping 3 wood came out the bag and worked well as I smashed the ball 240 yds into wind, watching it fade on cue to the centre of the green. I was amazed as the ball landed like a butterfly with blisters. That must be what it feels like to be a pro golfer, they do that, ALL.THE.TIME. I’ll keep that club in the bag for a while I think. Our playing partners, Tony and Rolf, were also great fun to play with, and their banter was a comedy constant all the way around, continuing into the clubhouse where we reminisced about my 11 up the par 5 first. To be fair I was still feeling delicate and looking very pale from the previous nights shenanigans, and an air shot can make even the sternest golfer crack a smile. We halved the match, which was the right result, even though I had a 10 footer to win our match, I'm glad it lipped out for the half. With hindsight I wish I had done a Ryder Cup style Jack Nicklaus concession, in the spirit of the great afternoon we had, but mainly because of the vintage Tony Jacklin polo shirt I was wearing.

Granicus

Lou Reed Wolverhampton Civic Hall 1st July 2011

2011-07-22T07:53:00.000-07:00

It didn't start well. As I walked through the entrance a friend who works at the Civic Hall told me, "He's not going on for another hour, he shuffled in earlier and overran the sound-check, also, the bar is shutting at 9" (5 mins!) Now I know he is pushing 70, and has legendary temper tantrums and mood swings, but it was not a good start if I was missing much needed imbibement. I had missed seeing the reformed Velvet Underground in 1994 at Glastonbury, so I was really looking forward to the gig, as the music press had said it would be the 'Greatest Hits' of Lou Reed.

The much delayed start prompted some deserved, if not poor, heckling. Some was aimed at me from the two couples behind who asked "Why have you got 4 pints?, it's bloody sloshing everywhere" I informed her of the imminent bar curfew & politely offered them one for a tenner (he did think about it for a few seconds, but declined looking deflated & thirsty) I plonked myself down splashing the lady & her daughter next to me.

A frail looking Mr Burns, I mean Reed walked on stage as the band chimed into ‘Who Loves The Sun’ A favourite of mine, off the 1970 Loaded album, sung by Doug Yule. To say the sound was a bit rough round the edges, is an understatement, Lou was immediately off key, out of time, and struggling with the lyrics. After a few songs it became clear that the band were using this gig as a warm up for the tour. They tried in vain to decipher Lou's arm waving to 'bring the groove down' but didn't really know he meant so carried on. The promise of greatest hits disappeared quickly with late 70's album tracks ‘Senselessly Cruel’ & ‘Temporary Thing’ given a dust off. Lou hasn't performed these songs in over 30 years and to be fair to the band they did start to come together after 4-5 songs. ‘Smalltown’ clearly had been rehearsed and was a tighter progression than the previous songs. It's dark, dynamic of loud/quiet Pixie's style arrangement worked really well. A cover of ‘Mother’ (John Lennon) was leftfield, and it was surprisingly good in places, with Lou giving the lyrics a real pounding, but again, it was over-long and you felt it should have finished 3-4 minutes sooner.

For me, the best part of the show was the Velvet Underground & Nico LP ‘unplugged’ section. ‘Venus In Furs’ was a faithful, powerful rendition, with great musicianship from the band. ‘Sunday Morning’ & ‘Femme Fatale’ were stripped down and delicately delivered, but when the lady next to you with the damp Stella Artois stained trousers says "Ohhh you have got a lovely voice" as I harmonised the backing to 'Femme Fatale' it confirmed Lou Reed was not giving one of his seminal performances.

The encore of 'Sweet Jane' & 'Charleys Girl' again were not received greatly, and you could sense even the die hard fans were forcing the 'whoo's' and 'Looooou' as Sweet Jane plodded on. Reed hardly played his guitar all through the set which was very disappointing, but maybe it was down to age or just wanting to drop in and out of the songs where he felt it was needed, he clearly felt the waving of his arms up & down throughout was more important. The last song was ‘The Bells’ which according to Reed, had "Sold 30 copies" he went on to say "it was one of his favourite songs" Not mine Lou.

Okay it started late and there were technical problems, the band was under rehearsed , it was only a warm up, but I paid £38 & I expected a more professional approach to the show from him. My friend went on Monday to the London show, and said "He played much better than you told me, but you never mentioned the gut!" Writing this blog, I viewed the London shows on You-Tube, he was wrong, but he also likes Ozric Tentacles.

Set List

1 Intro
2 Who Loves The Sun
3 Senselessly Cruel
4 Temporary Thing
5 Ecstacy
6 Smalltown
7 Mother (John Lennon cover)
8 Venus In Furs
9 Sunday Morning
10 Femme Fatale
11 Think It Over
12 Fly Into The Sun
13 All Through The Night
14 Encore 1
15 Charley's Girl
16 Sweet Jane
17 The Bells

RORY MCILROY US OPEN & BRITISH OPEN CHAMPION 2011?

2011-06-21T07:06:00.000-07:00

I went to a local PGA event (The Belfry, Quinn British Masters) in 2007. It was Rory Mcilroy's first event as a pro I believe. I was already aware of him as the No 1 amateur, and fully expected him, based on those performances, to easily make the smooth transition into the pro ranks. He did. As I followed this 17 year old around the Brabazon back nine, I was amazed by two things at this now defunct event (that's another blog, the lack of UK tournaments). Firstly, it was the 'sound' the ball and club made when Rory struck shots, and secondly, just how far this young kid was hitting it. I have played with scratch players and local pro's and yes, they were good, but they never sounded like that when they tee'd off. Mcilroy ultimately finished a disappointing T42 in his first pro event.

A smooth, solid, satisfying thwack, a bit like a VW car door closing shut. More importantly it just seemed so fluid and effortless.

Vorsprung Durch Technik

17 year old Rory at The Quinn Masters 2007

Can Rory go on and achieve multiple majors? Yes. Look at his record in the last few majors. Tied 3rd in 2010 at the USPGA and The Open. It seems his game is now prepared to peak around the big tournaments just like Tiger. He could possibly go on to topple Jacks record of 18 comfortably if he continues to progress and win at this rate. Rory has at least another 80 potential starts in majors! Is he our Tiger?, only time will tell. All golf fans need someone to root for coming down the back nine on a Sunday, now that Eldrick sadly seems to be too hampered by long term knee injuries and off course shenanigans. He is slowly turning into a star zoo curio, that can still do a good matinee turn, but clearly has been out in the sun for too long to do the evening show without needing forty winks.

Meltdown at Augusta

This years Masters, where Rory tried to protect his lead, plus the added pressure of winning his first major, probably became the factors for him not playing his natural game and attacking the course like he did the first 3 days. He went into the final round with a four-shot lead, but was ultimately devastated when he ended up finishing in joint 15th place. He took to hiding his crushed face in the crook of his arm when it all started to go wrong, or as my friends Dad put it "I knew he was in trouble when he started sniffing his armpit" That final round 80 could just prove to be the most influential round of golf mentally for Rory in the long run. I am also glossing over the fact I had a tenner at approx 30/1 on him to win. I did drown my sorrows with friends over a few beer's and a curry, washed down with white chocolate buttons. Wounder.

Anything you can do....

Jack Nicklaus also believes Rory can do great things, "only if he keeps his head together" I can't see this being a problem, the way the game is structured today, thanks to the likes of Palmer, Nicklaus and Seve, who were the first superstars. Rory has been groomed to be a global superstar from a very early age, with a network of people behind him, including his family and charismatic manager Chubby Chandler to look after him. He also has Gmac, Poulter, Westwood and all the other Ryder Cup players to bring him back down to earth on Twitter, who would have guessed Westwood can be quite funny? Poulter, on the other hand, comes over exactly like you you thought he would.

Young Rory with his dad Gerry

Happy Fathers Day

I have been watching golf on Sky Sports for the last 6 or 7 years, and I am really struggling to think of a more precise 4 rounds of 'exhibition' golf that delivered such a crushing winning margin by any other player in that time, in any tournament, let alone a major. I unfortunately missed Tiger in his pomp during 2000, but have watched him close out tournaments week after week on tour and in majors with ease in that 2005-2008 period. Rory may not have that cloak of 'invincibility' yet or the 'Tiger Fear Factor'. But he surely is not far away from it.

Mines a Guinness as he climbs to 4th in the rankings

Sorry Rory, but I will be putting some dough on you to win at Royal St Georges in a few weeks.......

Rory Gallagher

Pete Yorn HMV Institute Birmingham

2011-05-31T07:01:00.000-07:00

I missed seeing Pete Yorn play around 8 years ago, because a friend & his then girlfriend, were on the rocks. I decided not to go to the gig with them to give them a chance to reconnect without my usual drunk ramblings getting in the way. I had to wait until May 2011 for Pete to tour the UK again. When he came on stage with his band, they looked like street fighter's from Scorsese's Gangs Of New York. The guitarist with his long, lank hair and switch-blade eyes played sparingly throughout the set adding only 'just enough' to the songs. The bass player resembles Mario out of the popular Nintendo game, but plumbing aside, he effortlessly sang perfect harmonies, even doing Scarlett Johansson's vocal part on the 2009 hit, Relator. Pete Yorn may just have *THE* best hair in modern rock. Tonight's particular barnet resembled Mario Kempes awesome 1978 World Cup winning thatch.

Yorn is a great showman, who really delivers a good, solid set, sometimes mercurial, especially with an acoustic guitar. He goes into a trance like state occasionally on-stage, completely lost in his music & almost seemingly reliving his lyrics. The opening cover of The Smiths 'Panic' was an easy song to segue into his well known originals such as, Life On A Chain, Strange Condition, All At Once & For Nancy, which is where Pete really sounds at his best. Yorn has released 5 full length records since Music For The Morning After, and hasn't really delivered on the early promise of his first two records. Nightcrawler (3rd lp) and Back & Forth (4th) had their moments, but for me, didn't contain the catchy power pop singles that his early albums had. The record with Johansson has some catchy tunes, but was probably a vehicle by the record company to get them both some exposure. His contemporary Jesse Malin has a similar vibe on his early records (The Fine Art Of Self Destruction & The Heat) but changed back to his earlier punk sound (D Generation) to refresh his output. Maybe Yorn needs to have a look at his own back catalogue. However, his live show is fantastic, with similarities to Springsteen and Big Star to keep the set pumping for 90 minutes. I hope Pete tours again in the Uk, preferably before 2019.

First 4 minutes, a typical lp filler....then Life On A Chain

The after show meet at the merch store did not go that well, as my drunk pal tried to sing harmonies with Pete. My friend "Nah...nah...you doing it wrong"......Pete "Well man, you are singin' my part.....I wrote it, I should know"

New Americana Band Tee It Up At Colonial

2011-05-20T04:46:00.000-07:00

With Goydos in this picture they just look like a piss poor Beach Boy's tribute act from the mid 80's.

Possibly not since the days of Old Tom Morris and his cronies, have we seen two players in the same group, one a major winner, one a multiple tournament winner, sporting beards. Proper beards at that. Lucas Glover and Hunter Mahan look they should be playing vintage bass & guitar's respectively in a new Americana band in the style of Drive By Truckers or The Felice Brothers. Especially with the 'My Name Is Earl' quality of their trailer park style baseball caps. Beards are a new golfing trend I hope catches on, as I would love to see the anti charismatic Casey/Donald/Rose, sour puss Monty, smoothie Couples or 'Rising Damp's Frances De La Tour' lookilike Rory McIIlroy with one. Paul Goydos, on the other hand, the other player in the three ball, sported a goatee in 1996 when he won Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Invitational, which in facial fuzz stakes is a no-no unless you also work part time in Carphone Warehouse. Arnold quite rightly told him as he came off the 18th "You need to shave that stuff off.......& in the long run should I switch from pay as you go? I don't send many texts"

Ryan Moore, getting in on the act.

Drive By Truckers

"He's in another category of woolly mammoth." Hunter Mahan on his scraggly beard, compared to that of Lucas Glover

'The ball doesn't know what I've got on my face,' Lucas Glover says about his bearded look.

"Today, Glover said to me, 'the golf ball doesn't know ugly.' I'm not sure who he was talking about, probably me."World No. 9 Paul Casey, who played alongside Glover and eventually missed the cut.

The Felice Brothers

Darren Clarke, Oddjob's & White Drivers

2011-05-18T06:09:00.000-07:00

It was a pleasant surprise for me to see Darren Clarke in the winner’s enclosure after 3 years, and back in the World's Top 100 again (85th). I have always enjoyed watching Clarke play; he is an amazing ball striker with a great touch for a big man. I followed him round The Belfry a few years ago at The Quinn Masters, and again at The Welsh Open in 2008. He was a joy to watch, laughing and joking with the crowd, but ultimately playing sublime golf. It's a shame he hasn't been in contention much, but obviously with his personal life regaining some normality after 5 years, it's not a surprise he is beginning to enjoy golf and regain some form.

Clarke trailed England's Chris Wood by four strokes going into the final round of the Iberdrola Open but he carded a 69, this helped him to record a three-shot victory as Wood ultimately shot 6 over. Clarke has not tasted victory since winning the 2008 KLM Open, this victory has convinced him that he can still compete at the highest level and he is playing plenty of tournaments to get back into the top 50.

"I feel there is a lot of golf left in me. I need to get the consistency back again”

"I would like to qualify for another Ryder Cup team and another win would take me back into the top 50. It was nice to win again but I want to be doing it more frequently."

The Northern Irishman has not played in the Ryder Cup since helping Europe to victory at The K Club in 2006 and surely is a definite shoe in as a future captain. "My swing is getting better and better. If I can get myself into contention to win, then great, and I can get up the world rankings again."

Darren paid tribute to golfing great Seve Ballesteros as the Dungannon man ended his three-year wait for a tournament victory in

Spain

. It was a poignant victory for Clarke - his first since the Dutch Open in 2008 - coming as it did in Ballesteros' homeland in the aftermath of the Spanish superstar's death last week. "We wouldn't be here without him, simple as that - the European Tour would not be in the position it is today without Seve"

A Ryder Cup comeback for 2012 maybe? I wouldn’t bet against it.

K J Choi holds his nerve to win The Players . Choi, the first Asian to win golf's unofficial fifth major, was understandably delighted to claim his eighth victory in the

, more than any other Asian player. "For some reason I felt so comfortable out there," said Choi. "The swing I have right now just doesn't break down under pressure situations. "I was able to be precise and aggressive and keep my rhythm together and that is what brought this performance."

I did however miss Alliss comparing him to OddJob, like he inappropriately does at every Masters.....

After reading loads of good reviews and a quick test of a friends club, I am seriously considering getting one of these bad boys. It did seem a bit dead off the face in terms of feedback, but boy, did it fly.

Van Morrison Into The Mystic

Funky....

A Victory For Beards

2011-05-09T07:13:00.000-07:00

Lucas "Brian Wilson" Glover sealed victory in an exciting play off against Jonathan Byrd on the first hole of a sudden death play-off. Glover also predicted exactly that Byrd would birdie the final hole in regulation to make the pair tee off again. This was some prediction seeing as the 18th was one of the hardest holes on a tough course. Quail Hollow, in my opinion is easily worthy of a place in the US Open roster. It seems to tick all the boxes required to make for an exciting event, so lets hope the organisers take heed of all the feedback.

Annoying South African Rory Sabbatini was also in the race, but fortunately fell short at -14. He did however shoot a flawless 65 on the final day, this doesn't help the fact he has a face that I defy anyone would not like to slap. I could easily see him playing with a chalk knob drawn on his back by a fellow pro, or a "I blow donkeys" sign, hastily masking taped on by a spectator. Rory doesn't seem to be liked that much amongst fellow pro's, pundits and fans alike. He is also a hot topic at the moment regarding slow play & etiquette issues, as he squared up nose to nose, to Sean O' Hair in the middle of the fairway for a dust up. I wish he had done that to other player in the group, Pat Perez, the feisty Perez would have knocked him square on his ample arse.

Rory Sabbatini

Repo Man Ray Lamontagne