tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53507301641172217872024-10-04T20:47:51.351-07:00Blogs From The Mothershiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09624954652769538835noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350730164117221787.post-35560294546148347922010-09-16T06:13:00.000-07:002010-09-16T12:28:46.275-07:00<div><b>BLOGGER:</b> charles s bravo<br /><b>LOCATION:</b> scottish borders<br /><b>BAND WEBSITE:</b> <a href="http://www.spasmbaby.com" target="_blank">vacuum spasm babies</a><br /><b>BAND MYSPACE:</b> <a href="http://www.myspace.com/vacuumspasmbabies" target="_blank">vsb myspace</a><br /><b>BLOG:</b> <a href="http://spasmbaby.blogspot.com" target="_blank">vsb blog</a><br /><b>LABEL:</b> <a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com" target="_blank">shark batter records</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoI5YC2knDnLJ1cdC8cC4s1WLfziKsRRc5icoF9G6fGgIcfuPo9zX4gIRnkGXFlG6MmED-YhF0FsFDTuoyuW_DKtqIIbEKaGH3vKjAbpBe9tJ6d8UtG1JzGbEG488qXr2p5LBYcvLFwFo/s1600/Recording.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoI5YC2knDnLJ1cdC8cC4s1WLfziKsRRc5icoF9G6fGgIcfuPo9zX4gIRnkGXFlG6MmED-YhF0FsFDTuoyuW_DKtqIIbEKaGH3vKjAbpBe9tJ6d8UtG1JzGbEG488qXr2p5LBYcvLFwFo/s400/Recording.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517595380820845442" /></a><br /><br /><b>Hats off to Hans Moretti</b><br /><br />The summer is over and Vacuum Spasm Babies are back to work on what will at some time be a new record. Although dust sheets were thrown over the 'equipment', the plants watered, mail re-directed and VSB HQ decommissioned and locked up for the chaps annual summer sabbatical, it's not been just another long lazy summer of potentially fatal experimental cocktails. Charles S. Bravo curated a little music festival of sorts that saw Sharkbatter label mates The Stone Ghost Collective, Sarahjane Swan and The Stark Palace playing to packed venues, and Malcolm Spasm spend some time scratching his head and looking at stuff to do with computers, which eventually resulted in someone sending him another bit of paper to say how clever he is.<br /><br />There has been some VSB activity over the summer months. Andrew Morrison featured three exclusive tracks on his superb show on <a href="http://www.dandelionradio.com" target="_blank">Dandelion Radio</a>, the internet station inspired by John Peel. Live version of MHz and Whipping Clowns recorded at Henrys in Edinburgh were played out on his show along with a brand new track 'Song for Jack'. Also, unknown to the band, the live version of MHz also appeared on YouTube with the contributor (who we think lives in Spain) tagging the video as a "Live version of the soon-to-be-classic instrumental, with photos I took out of my kitchen window. On Monday morning."<br /><br />Other new songs that are in various stages of completion include a tribute to the German conjurer Hans Moretti, a sad tale about a boy called Joe who likes to rob banks dressed as a cowboy, and a re-recording of a very old song that the chaps used to play in their old band 'Hoopster' in the 1990s. <br /><br /></div>Blogs From The Mothershiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09624954652769538835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350730164117221787.post-52422989790614434532010-07-17T03:49:00.000-07:002010-07-17T03:50:44.126-07:00<div><b>BLOGGER: shark batter records</b> <br /><b>LOCATION: scottish borders &amp; brooklyn, new york</b> <br /><b>WEBSITE: <a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com/" target="_top">sharkbatter.com</a></b> <br /><b>MYSPACE: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/sharkbatterrecords" target="_blank">myspace.com/sharkbatterrecords</a></b> <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilJfqwAWE6WNRIR5cSr1xw7EWKLKpM1khL4kvs31BxkjTiopTnQQCRL6HK2zfBJ1F4uYOKrxCh9Dx_tw47WJlRd_t7gKQepo0sLzB_tZHjS_UhbJUHwOSSWm6pBW1X_R2wX4gjmb1imPA/s1600/LoveSkulls04b.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilJfqwAWE6WNRIR5cSr1xw7EWKLKpM1khL4kvs31BxkjTiopTnQQCRL6HK2zfBJ1F4uYOKrxCh9Dx_tw47WJlRd_t7gKQepo0sLzB_tZHjS_UhbJUHwOSSWm6pBW1X_R2wX4gjmb1imPA/s400/LoveSkulls04b.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493651583851570514" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">BAND:</span> The Bird And The Monkey (Sarahjane Swan & Roger Simian)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">LOCATION</span>: Scotland<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">SINGLE:</span> If Love's A Cure <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">RELEASE DATE:</span> mon 26th july<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">IF LOVE'S A CURE free MP3 download</span><br /><a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com/thebirdandthemonkey/MP3SJSIfLovesACure.mp3" target="_blank">http://www.sharkbatter.com/thebirdandthemonkey/MP3SJSIfLovesACure.mp3</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">WEBSITE</span><br /><a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com/thebirdandthemonkey" target="_blank">http://www.sharkbatter.com/thebirdandthemonkey</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">SLEEVE ART</span><br /><a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com/thebirdandthemonkey/images/LoveSkulls04.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.sharkbatter.com/thebirdandthemonkey/images/LoveSkulls04.jpg</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Sarahjane Swan:</span> vocals, bouzouki, melodica
<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Roger Simian:</span> detuned guitar (d/g/d/a/a/e), bass, juno-6 synth<br /><br />Sleeve art by Roger Simian and Sarahjane Swan. Skulls sculpted by Sarahjane.
Recorded, produced and mixed (with Mike Small) by The Bird And The Monkey on Garageband at Nockolaus Studios. Copyright Shark Batter Records, 2010.<br /><br />***<br /><br />Named by <b><a href="http://besttuna.blogspot.com/search?q=The+Bird+%26+The+Monkey" target="_blank">The Devil</a></b> himself, <span style="font-weight:bold;">The Bird And The Monkey</span> are Shark Batter label-mates, <span style="font-weight:bold;">Sarahjane Swa</span>n and <span style="font-weight:bold;">Roger Simian</span>. <br /><br />Dunbar's <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com/sarahjaneswan">Sarahjane Swan</a></span> graduated from Gray's School Of Art in Aberdeen as a sculptor before learning guitar and becoming a songwriter. Her songs have been aired on Radio 1 by Vic Galloway, BBC 6Music by Don Letts and on New York's East Village Radio.<br /><br />Edinburgh-raised <span style="font-weight:bold;">Roger Simian</span>, of <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://www.myspace.com/starkpalace" target="_blank">The Stark Palace</a></span>, writes occasional arts reviews for the Scottish edition of the homeless magazine, The Big Issue. He's been <span style="font-weight:bold;">Paul Vickers</span>' right-hand man in <span style="font-weight:bold;">Dawn Of The Replicants</span> since the start and was one of the founders of the '90s underground music mag, <span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Sun Zoom Spark</span></span>.<br /><br /><br /><b>IF LOVE'S A CURE</b> (Swan) - single<br /><br /><object width="400" height="3oo"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zNQOQ9A7OOE&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zNQOQ9A7OOE&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><b>STIRRING IT UP</b> (Swan) - from the forthcoming "Ossie Dean" LP<br /><br /><object width="400" height="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/OexsIkrR3wY&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/OexsIkrR3wY&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><b>DAISY JAMES ON THE PINCUSHION</b> (Swan/Simian) - from the forthcoming "Ossie Dean" LP<br /><br /><object width="400" height="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZekwDWD0F3I&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZekwDWD0F3I&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><b>CHALKMARK CINDY</b> (Swan/Simian) - from the forthcoming "Ossie Dean" LP<br /><br /><object width="400" height="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/t7RbohpwIcw&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/t7RbohpwIcw&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="300"></embed></object></div>Blogs From The Mothershiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09624954652769538835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350730164117221787.post-74200910711505448622010-07-03T04:07:00.000-07:002010-07-03T04:09:50.428-07:00<div><b>BLOGGER: shark batter records</b> <br /><b>LOCATION: scottish borders &amp; brooklyn, new york</b> <br /><b>WEBSITE: <a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com/" target="_top">sharkbatter.com</a></b> <br /><b>MYSPACE: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/sharkbatterrecords" target="_blank">myspace.com/sharkbatterrecords</a></b> <br /><br /><object width="400" height="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/cjZel-5mq7I&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/cjZel-5mq7I&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="300"></embed></object></div>Blogs From The Mothershiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09624954652769538835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350730164117221787.post-2672110093336139212010-05-14T15:28:00.000-07:002010-05-14T15:31:00.972-07:00<div><b>BLOGGER: shark batter records</b> <br /><b>LOCATION: scottish borders &amp; brooklyn, new york</b> <br /><b>WEBSITE: <a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com/" target="_top">sharkbatter.com</a></b> <br /><b>MYSPACE: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/sharkbatterrecords" target="_blank">myspace.com/sharkbatterrecords</a></b> <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ-J5a_lmdwz3B8AwF6Sto__lspv84Iym5eW6CNq8wIn_zHad43J417hFn9WBo6qrPgfxQNXCYZTNf7rx_yGsANuSJpEVrqOMcd008zjOiUGHgwde7PFt6HM82FsLJX8Sdx5XURc9fus0/s1600/sharkbatter-bordertelegraph-voodoo2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 280px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ-J5a_lmdwz3B8AwF6Sto__lspv84Iym5eW6CNq8wIn_zHad43J417hFn9WBo6qrPgfxQNXCYZTNf7rx_yGsANuSJpEVrqOMcd008zjOiUGHgwde7PFt6HM82FsLJX8Sdx5XURc9fus0/s400/sharkbatter-bordertelegraph-voodoo2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471256544960984594" /></a></div>Blogs From The Mothershiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09624954652769538835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350730164117221787.post-51598617089679489262010-04-26T05:58:00.001-07:002010-04-26T13:07:20.121-07:00<div><b>BLOGGER: shark batter records</b> <br /><b>LOCATION: scottish borders &amp; brooklyn, new york</b> <br /><b>WEBSITE: <a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com/" target="_top">sharkbatter.com</a></b> <br /><b>MYSPACE: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/sharkbatterrecords" target="_blank">myspace.com/sharkbatterrecords</a></b> <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Dyglpbb_MNmjNWS7O_hT0gnw9iA2inw9LXpjENYMgitJpaFcaqy747xiowpwt2saNXufnplugneydUbYTv3vQ4YKO0CGmpfE5MSwfvDJsusXFgwbVX9O6ngqDxt_t11K6Vu04ExqDuk/s1600/poster.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Dyglpbb_MNmjNWS7O_hT0gnw9iA2inw9LXpjENYMgitJpaFcaqy747xiowpwt2saNXufnplugneydUbYTv3vQ4YKO0CGmpfE5MSwfvDJsusXFgwbVX9O6ngqDxt_t11K6Vu04ExqDuk/s400/poster.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464430465014364210" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">SHARK BATTER RECORDS presents...</span><br />VOODOO ROOMS, SPEAKEASY, EDINBURGH,<br />WED 19th MAY</span><br /><br />For one shiny pound of your stirling, <span style="font-weight:bold;">Shark Batter Records</span> presents a night of rampant frivolity, mild confusion and ebullient joy courtesy of <span style="font-weight:bold;">The Stark Palace</span>, <span style="font-weight:bold;">Sarahjane Swan</span>, <span style="font-weight:bold;">Vacuum Spasm Babies</span> DJ set, <span style="font-weight:bold;">Sorensen Small & Brendan McAndrew</span> + standup from Dawn Of The Replicants frontman <span style="font-weight:bold;">Paul Vickers</span> + the <span style="font-weight:bold;">premier of the Shark Batter Videos compilation</span>. It all kicks off at 7pm and like we said, <span style="font-weight:bold;">ADMISSION PRICE ONLY £1!</span>. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">[7 - 8pm] <br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/rogerreplicant" target="_blank"><b>PREMIER OF SHARK BATTER<br />VIDEOS COMPILATION</b></a></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4_gSlLCPv_-djD2q0e932AFcEpLoTHYYIfG_QJ-2uL8kK1OlYNMB4j6abLezXJgKjNPeQhdCXoJFb8wDwlF5UPOq_qw33vdx50rEOmFM8ePFCpJBz_rWBzYogSup_lf8xAKdP1JtgyZg/s1600/sjs-blue012b.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 294px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4_gSlLCPv_-djD2q0e932AFcEpLoTHYYIfG_QJ-2uL8kK1OlYNMB4j6abLezXJgKjNPeQhdCXoJFb8wDwlF5UPOq_qw33vdx50rEOmFM8ePFCpJBz_rWBzYogSup_lf8xAKdP1JtgyZg/s400/sjs-blue012b.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464480494564924322" /></a><br /><br />Featuring videos from Kono Michi, Sarahjane Swan, The Stark Palace, Sorensen Small & Brendan McAndrew (Stone Ghost Collective) and Vacuum Spasm Babies.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/rogerreplicant" target="_blank">shark batter videos</a><br /><br /><b>+++</b><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">[8 - 8.45] <br /><br /><a href="http://www.spasmbaby.com" target="_blank">VACUUM SPASM BABIES</a> DJ SET</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguyaPVPev0K6YBtcNNagMADeRPu5Dfx961cpx4krISWRnkjUcBgSMmUMQOjhu_fcBWLvyqoefY7Af6U7YSh_cJ8fnnIQPRgG5dzAkHTEjOTB1XyGaQVHj8mQ7gyspAPxn8hkTdWumk2MQ/s1600/VSB-ep3-corridor.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguyaPVPev0K6YBtcNNagMADeRPu5Dfx961cpx4krISWRnkjUcBgSMmUMQOjhu_fcBWLvyqoefY7Af6U7YSh_cJ8fnnIQPRgG5dzAkHTEjOTB1XyGaQVHj8mQ7gyspAPxn8hkTdWumk2MQ/s400/VSB-ep3-corridor.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464499155805648626" /></a><br /><br />Vacuum Spasm Babies are a couple of like-minded blood-relatives with a love of guerilla recording, shouting and recorders. Malcolm Spasm (notoriously unemployable) fiddles with computer innards in his plush apartment on the edges of a rough Edinburgh housing scheme, where he hopes that one day his experiments will lead to the perfect wrong sound. Charles S. Bravo lives in a hammock in the Scottish Borders. He likes to watch the grass grow until the gin haze becomes too thick, then he writes songs.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.spasmbaby.com" target="_blank">vacuum spasm babies website</a><br /><br /><br /><b>+++</b><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">[9 - 9.30] <br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/broomfool" target="_blank">PAUL VICKERS STANDUP</a></span><br /><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/21z1j81D5Ho&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/21z1j81D5Ho&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br />Heartwarming Dadaesque standup comedy from the Dawn Of The Replicants frontman in advance of his Edinburgh Fringe show.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/broomfool" target="_blank">paul vickers youtube</a><br /><br /><br /><b>+++</b><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">[9.30 - 11] <br /><br /><b>* <i><u>Shark Batter Unplugged Sets</u></i> *</b></span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.myspace.com/starkpalace" target="_blank"><b>THE STARK PALACE</b></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcVnPrbYSYkquPAmnQsgYO1we092uAui5rI0Lcvz344CTz4eheTCQdRaOjTF5-L-4lkPXD0bTvw6lNDE-RoRagttaSd9N9HjZtwR7mQc6N23-uoMtJALH-SdsGhVGSA62yOIdgLts0f-E/s1600/starkpalace-056.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcVnPrbYSYkquPAmnQsgYO1we092uAui5rI0Lcvz344CTz4eheTCQdRaOjTF5-L-4lkPXD0bTvw6lNDE-RoRagttaSd9N9HjZtwR7mQc6N23-uoMtJALH-SdsGhVGSA62yOIdgLts0f-E/s400/starkpalace-056.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464501151322747650" /></a><br /><br />The self-titled debut album by <span style="font-weight:bold;">The Stark Palace</span> featured ex-psychiatric nurse, Roger Simian (Dawn Of The Replicants), and grave-digging paint-splasher, Cameron Jack, in cordial sonorous collaboration with various feel-good type alien individuals. The LP has already received great reviews, including 4/5 stars in The List, The Skinny & The Scotsman. Simian & Jack live in the Scottish Borders and greedily consume the produce of New York Punk, decadent Glam, Prog-era outsider Kevin Ayers, nasty-Funk screamer Betty Davis, dirty French hipster Serge Gainsbourg, plus a sackload of whackjob experimentalists including Beefheart, Eno, Wire and TV On The Radio. The pair have been joined for recent gigs by Dawn Of The Replicants veterans: drummer-turned 12-string strummer, Grant Pringle, and double bassist, Davy Coyle. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.myspace.com/starkpalace" target="_blank">the stark palace myspace</a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com/sarahjaneswan" target="_blank"><b>SARAHJANE SWAN</b></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbC5lRPfnvMGTMZCt5ksTXJsUjOJFAVZXxclbIO42eaeR62zH8cABhJmzcLSFgSKOo8auj-bpgkClX7P3hMVkP-y9W8vnYA58_yjoQFv9SNjpJ4LFtmFYUjtxL_El-UV0pX8ybe5Vmo2Y/s1600/sjs-pianohat-index.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbC5lRPfnvMGTMZCt5ksTXJsUjOJFAVZXxclbIO42eaeR62zH8cABhJmzcLSFgSKOo8auj-bpgkClX7P3hMVkP-y9W8vnYA58_yjoQFv9SNjpJ4LFtmFYUjtxL_El-UV0pX8ybe5Vmo2Y/s400/sjs-pianohat-index.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464432001250057826" /></a><br /><br />Dunbar's <b>Sarahjane Swan</b> graduated from Gray's School Of Art in Aberdeen as a sculptor before learning guitar and becoming a songwriter. She has released two singles on Scottish indie label, Shark Batter Records, and has a forthcoming EP collaboration with Roger Simian (The Stark Palace, Dawn Of The Replicants). Her songs have been aired on Radio 1 by Vic Galloway, BBC 6Music by Don Letts and on New York's East Village Radio.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com/sarahjaneswan" target="_blank">sarahjane swan website</a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.myspace.com/stoneghosts" target="_blank"><b>SORENSEN SMALL & BRENDAN MCANDREW</b></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWYZWr4MtvuxzZgyyK1gPUZJgAHgwwMrIlLFzVS3apQVWJb3_V2N49GfJAWv1L9FNyqrkXQW3CC8VtzWXvHcR2F6_tlgnR8XfPCIBvep_8x8ReT_WtOWzMl88VmNJd-afhBAeGSZvwrZA/s1600/SmallMcAndrew-Logo.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 136px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWYZWr4MtvuxzZgyyK1gPUZJgAHgwwMrIlLFzVS3apQVWJb3_V2N49GfJAWv1L9FNyqrkXQW3CC8VtzWXvHcR2F6_tlgnR8XfPCIBvep_8x8ReT_WtOWzMl88VmNJd-afhBAeGSZvwrZA/s400/SmallMcAndrew-Logo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464532569380499314" /></a><br /><br />A fine set by songwriters <span style="font-weight:bold;">Mike Sorensen Small</span> (Dawn Of The Replicants) and <span style="font-weight:bold;">Brendan McAndrew</span> who have been collaborating for many years on dark yet melodic love, death and metaphysics ballads as <span style="font-weight:bold;">The Stone Ghost Collective</span>. Their songs have been played on Radio 1 (Vic Galloway), Radio 3 (Lopa Kothari) and BBC 6 Music (Tom Robinson).<br /><br /><a href="http://www.myspace.com/stoneghosts" target="_blank">stone ghost collective myspace</a><br /><br /><br /><b>+++</b><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">[11-12] <br /><br /><a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com" target="_blank"><b>SHARK BATTER RECORDS DJ SET</b></a></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEgsLlQIIHojE6FYr6roT1xaTMLDPtvAjR7YNuIDG94KNw9TLUy59d2QTfLnwekyTFeu4i60HRG56nmw-5dyUyEqCZqkdiz06zcOsC3tdwvIPn8fiu7os2Pt83LSB-3Ev5UtvsNE8sZ-8/s1600/logo-sharkbatter-boxed-med.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 340px; height: 340px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEgsLlQIIHojE6FYr6roT1xaTMLDPtvAjR7YNuIDG94KNw9TLUy59d2QTfLnwekyTFeu4i60HRG56nmw-5dyUyEqCZqkdiz06zcOsC3tdwvIPn8fiu7os2Pt83LSB-3Ev5UtvsNE8sZ-8/s400/logo-sharkbatter-boxed-med.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464483106500451586" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com" target="_blank"><b>www.sharkbatter.com</b></a><br /></div>Blogs From The Mothershiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09624954652769538835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350730164117221787.post-67811778222760108782010-04-23T01:00:00.000-07:002010-04-23T01:07:21.080-07:00<div><b>BLOGGER: shark batter records</b> <br /><b>LOCATION: scottish borders &amp; brooklyn, new york</b> <br /><b>WEBSITE: <a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com/" target="_top">sharkbatter.com</a></b> <br /><b>MYSPACE: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/sharkbatterrecords" target="_blank">myspace.com/sharkbatterrecords</a></b> <br /><br /><object width="400" height="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZekwDWD0F3I&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZekwDWD0F3I&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><br /></div>Blogs From The Mothershiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09624954652769538835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350730164117221787.post-66000520036476624602010-04-14T03:30:00.000-07:002010-04-23T01:06:18.955-07:00<div><b>BLOGGER: shark batter records</b> <br /><b>LOCATION: scottish borders &amp; brooklyn, new york</b> <br /><b>WEBSITE: <a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com/" target="_top">sharkbatter.com</a></b> <br /><b>MYSPACE: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/sharkbatterrecords" target="_blank">myspace.com/sharkbatterrecords</a></b> <br /><br /><object width="400" height="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/iz08ANzLnLI&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/iz08ANzLnLI&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><br /></div>Blogs From The Mothershiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09624954652769538835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350730164117221787.post-30490864086132756892010-03-27T04:48:00.000-07:002010-04-23T01:05:51.472-07:00<div><b>BLOGGER: shark batter records</b> <br /><b>LOCATION: scottish borders &amp; brooklyn, new york</b> <br /><b>WEBSITE: <a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com/" target="_top">sharkbatter.com</a></b> <br /><b>MYSPACE: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/sharkbatterrecords" target="_blank">myspace.com/sharkbatterrecords</a></b> <br /><br /><object width="400" height="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/T28OVDLkU58&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/T28OVDLkU58&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><br /></div>Blogs From The Mothershiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09624954652769538835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350730164117221787.post-89315167280503564372010-03-15T13:45:00.000-07:002010-03-15T14:30:34.301-07:00<div><b>BLOGGER:</b> charles s bravo<br /><b>LOCATION:</b> scottish borders<br /><b>BAND WEBSITE:</b> <a href="http://www.spasmbaby.com" target="_blank">vacuum spasm babies</a><br /><b>BAND MYSPACE:</b> <a href="http://www.myspace.com/vacuumspasmbabies" target="_blank">vsb myspace</a><br /><b>BLOG:</b> <a href="http://spasmbaby.blogspot.com" target="_blank">vsb blog</a><br /><b>LABEL:</b> <a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com" target="_blank">shark batter records</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjBxs7KDDsK2vIpZF-of-vzfPXstvbDxJBYq0MJNrLjsqPbJgotqzTLJJzz_fp6rfzE7pCbg8bG-GDBKoije5PDkMkmKRHq_2nWkc-1qDmDkIjvMt_KIlXR3Cj71x2WoYEHgExDMUkTVY/s1600-h/shark017-VSB-ScienceLab.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjBxs7KDDsK2vIpZF-of-vzfPXstvbDxJBYq0MJNrLjsqPbJgotqzTLJJzz_fp6rfzE7pCbg8bG-GDBKoije5PDkMkmKRHq_2nWkc-1qDmDkIjvMt_KIlXR3Cj71x2WoYEHgExDMUkTVY/s400/shark017-VSB-ScienceLab.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448966906600871202" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Science EP and formation of the Science Division</span> <br /> <br />The next record has been recorded, you could argue that for a four track E.P it's taken far too long, and you'd probably be right. People keep making us do stuff to do with work, there's the dishes to be done, and then there are the other hobbies we collectively engage in, mainly hurting computers, fondue cooking, international travel, phrenology, collecting tiny models of Scottish band The Stark Palace, chasing Norwegians through the park, listening to Radio Luxembourg, phoning Sultan Kosen for pointless arguments, watching La Cabina on DVD and learning the magic of Hans Moretti. But the record is made, the press release has been written, the artwork is back from the printers, the CD faces are in the process of being stamped, address labels are being written and our buddies at Sharkbatter Records have uploaded the songs on the free download section of their website. You'll be needing headphones, 15 minutes free time, and a friendly face to help pull yourself together at the end of it. Before having a listen, a few words about the Science Division. <br /><br />Travelling home from Henry's Cellar Bar in the back of a mucky old van, winter 2009.....<br /><br />Charles S. Bravo: "The Music that we have committed to tape and played tonight comes as a result of a rare musical gene present in both of us that means we really can't help ourselves." <br /> <br />Malcolm Spasm: "Yes brother, and now is the time to develop that wrongness, it's time for Phase 2 and the formation of the Science Division." <br /> <br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com/vacuumspasm-mp3s/01ScienceDivision.mp3" target="_blank">Science Division</a></span> - "Rubber tubing wrong methodology, pull the curtain, big mistake. Simple children, dogs are burning, simmer beaker, clamps are turning."  Science Division is the club that everybody wants to be a member of.<br /> <br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com/vacuumspasm-mp3s/02KHz.mp3" target="_blank">Khz</a></span> - "Cleanse the pallet against misinterpretation and ambiguous translation. Subtle adjustments of dials and switches, inner workings primed for reception of transmission." We are not quite sure.<br /> <br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com/vacuumspasm-mp3s/03ChemicalBurns.mp3" target="_blank">Chemical Burns</a></span> - "Put on your new lab coat, you've got to watch for chemical burns, acid stolen from the lab, takes the skin clean from your hands." If you plan to dispose of body parts in your bath, be sure to wear appropriate protective clothing. <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com/vacuumspasm-mp3s/04MHz2010.mp3" target="_blank">Mhz</a></span> - This live studio version features original Dawn of the Replicants drummer Grant Pringle, with additional guitaring and bass from labelmates The Stark Palace's Cameron Jack and Roger Simian.<br /></div>Blogs From The Mothershiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09624954652769538835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350730164117221787.post-33274541524661775102010-02-17T07:02:00.001-08:002010-02-17T07:04:40.934-08:00<div><b>BLOGGER: shark batter records</b> <br /><b>LOCATION: scottish borders &amp; brooklyn, new york</b> <br /><b>WEBSITE: <a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com/" target="_top">sharkbatter.com</a></b> <br /><b>MYSPACE: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/sharkbatterrecords" target="_blank">myspace.com/sharkbatterrecords</a></b> <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmOFQC0XEmvEUyqU8HmxXlhwZrsK46aSTRDuxmXZSdmv-kiF53yqOeHJbRz06e5pfwm5iEkQkvY4owsuB2op1ifpRtrtiRzhPTE8OtaFH2u5TFcUopUXeUWeKjCsMOlRi-jU6sRQ1Vk9c/s1600-h/starkpalaceLP-front.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmOFQC0XEmvEUyqU8HmxXlhwZrsK46aSTRDuxmXZSdmv-kiF53yqOeHJbRz06e5pfwm5iEkQkvY4owsuB2op1ifpRtrtiRzhPTE8OtaFH2u5TFcUopUXeUWeKjCsMOlRi-jU6sRQ1Vk9c/s400/starkpalaceLP-front.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436969416934341394" /></a><br /><br /><b>The Stark Palace</b>'s debut album, <b><i>The Stark Palace</i></b>, featuring some creepy cover art by Cameron Jack, has been getting rather rave reviews verging on the rabid of late. Read a few of these below. <br /><br />Here are four songs from the album free to download right here...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com/starkpalace-mp3s/ep3-WerewolfSong.mp3" target="_blank">THE WEREWOLF SONG</a> <i>(simian)</i><br />A cheerful song about the compulsion to maim and kill whenever the moon rises and the Hombre Lobo curse kicks in. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com/starkpalace-mp3s/ep3-AttentionSpan.mp3" target="_blank">ATTENTION SPAN</a> <i>(jack)</i><br />Some relationships are just trouble from the start.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com/starkpalace-mp3s/ep3-HungarianMinor.mp3" target="_blank">HUNGARIAN MINOR</a> <i>(simian)</i><br />Named after the scale the tune's written in, rather than underage Eastern Europeans.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com/starkpalace-mp3s/ep3-BrakelightCabernet.mp3" target="_blank">BRAKELIGHT CABERNET</a> <i>(words: jack music: simian)</i><br />An eventful trip Cameron once took to Avignon with friends. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtmDmMSz889Iub1HLgIKkTIjEkVdiLctfg_isPzIt1QbDTxsVFSeciWaFRmAP1bwei_bzw7mBRkfCDU_Lzws9qJt7K3H6OCBTjn11tc2Pr3GzBgMWSAkTw_9eaPXvrfIWPeQc9fdo1-Og/s1600-h/starkpalace-001.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtmDmMSz889Iub1HLgIKkTIjEkVdiLctfg_isPzIt1QbDTxsVFSeciWaFRmAP1bwei_bzw7mBRkfCDU_Lzws9qJt7K3H6OCBTjn11tc2Pr3GzBgMWSAkTw_9eaPXvrfIWPeQc9fdo1-Og/s400/starkpalace-001.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436971844086207250" /></a><br /><br /><b>THE SUNDAY HERALD</b> (13/12/09)<br /><br />What's the best Scottish album of the past 10 years? It's a question I was asked recently and it stumped me straight away: not just because it sometimes feels like 1999 was the day before yesterday, but also because, in this cold but hopeful dawn of the download revolution, it's more difficult than ever to visualise bands as being from anywhere other than a swirling digital vortex. Scottish? Belgian? Beamed on to your hard drive from somewhere to the left of Jupiter?<br /><br />Actually, two of those would go a reasonable way towards describing The Stark Palace, a duo based in the Borders but sounding like ... well, what? From the scribbled notes I made on a first listen to this debut album - which brings together songs released in the past couple of years on three EPs - that would include Captain Beefheart, the Beta Band, 10cc, the Fall, an altered-state Dick Dale and (this last bit with several exclamation marks) Pop Will Eat Itself. In Jamaica.<br /><br />You might have clocked "three EPs" and "Beta Band" there, and that's not a bad point from which to take our bearings: just as those east-coast oddities alchemised eclecticism into near-perfection, so The Stark Palace have a consuming passion for sound. There's a real wit at work here; an inventiveness that rewards you with constant surprises. Take Girl On Ghost: while the aforementioned PWEI-do-reggae thing would make it enough of a joy, it also has performance artist Hypnotique giving it an enchanting vocal about Egyptian curses and cunnilingus. And no sooner have you put your head (sorry) round that than we're into the sublime Your Face, which recalls The Fall with its cardboard-box beats and rudimentary fuzz for a bassline, yet boasts a melody that would make even Mark E Smith weep with joy.<br /><br />Roger Simian - who, with Cameron Jack, makes up this beautiful little band - is also the guitarist with Dawn Of The Replicants, and a lot of that outfit's unabashed oddness is at play here. Yet what sets this apart is just how heartfelt - how poetic - it is. The exquisite Cybersonnet, which arrives half-way through, is the perfect example: unsure yet fascinated by the lyric, I Googled my way to Simian's blog, where the pieces fell into place and I realised that there's more art, heart and soul going into this stuff than ... well, far too many of the so-called classic Scottish albums of the past 10 years, put it that way.<br /><br />My own choice of the decade, incidentally, is Aereogramme's Sleep And Release. But - with less than a month to go - The Stark Palace is already right up there. Simply outstanding.<br /><br />by Simon Stuart<br /><br />***<br /><br /><b>THE SKINNY</b> (2/12/09)<br /><b><i>4/5 stars</i></b><br /><br />Thank God there are still people making albums like this. Straddling the divide between avant-garde lunacy and controlled madness in a way that would make Captain Beefheart proud, Roger Simian and Cameron Jack have produced a work of near-genius. Eschewing the received wisdom that a unifying theme is a good thing, the Borders-based duo veer stylistically from palette to palette to daub their way to a kaleidoscopic musical work of art. Influences are many and varied. The shadow of the aforementioned Captain looms large over opener CroMagnon Man with Simian doing a fine impression of his Delta growl as shrieking guitars and crunching beats bring up the rear. You can hear the influences of Can on the spacey jam Las Mujeres Perdidas while the vicious wit of Frank Zappa is detectable in the barbed couplets of Napoleon Does Dallas. While not every idea that is thrown at the wall sticks, the philosophy of gleeful abandon is only to be encouraged. <br /><br />by Duncan Forgan<br /><br />***<br /><br /><b>THE SCOTSMAN</b> (28/12/09)<br /><b><i>4/5 stars</i></b><br /><br />If only 3Oh!3 had spent some time at college hanging out with the weird kids, they might have accessed the trippy pop hinterlands on which the Stark Palace is built. Roger Simian, Borders-based psychiatric nurse-turned-fanzine writer and independent record company mogul, has more or less dedicated his DIY musical career to the barking memory of Captain Beefheart. He is joined in this latest venture by professional grave-digger Cameron Jack. Their debut album collects 13 tracks from their three EPs to date, some little more than tantalising sketches, which exhibit an almost throwaway talent for off-kilter pop – and dramatic Romany instrumentals.<br /><br />by Michael Church<br /><br />***<br /><br /><b>THE LIST</b> (9/12/09)<br /><b><i>4/5 stars</i></b><br /><br />It’s been a long time since we heard from Scottish Borders outfit, Dawn Of the Replicants. Former psychiatric nurse turned zine-scriber, Roger Simian (and co), seemed to have just fallen off the musical map. But here with gravedigger, Cameron Jack (and a few other ‘Replicants’ in tow), The Stark Palace arrive.<br /><br />Experimenting clone-like via numerous avant/glam-rock idols (think Eno for ‘The Void Replied’, Beefheart for ‘Saw What Your Momma Did’, Ayers for ‘Cybersonnet’, Roxy for ‘The Werewolf Song’, Wire for ‘Brakelight Cabernet’, etc.), their schizoid sentiment for everything 70s and beyond is more than commendable.<br /><br />by Martin C Strong<br /><br />***<br /><br /><b>UNCUT</b> (march 2010)<br /><b><i>3/5 stars</i></b><br /><br />Iain Banks-endorsed Scottish oddballs<br /><br />The lo-fi, DIY likes of the young Beck, Jeffrey Lewis and Baby Bird have a lot to answer for. Skewed, beats-driven pop, punky surrealism and fractured psychedelia are often seen as an easy route to cultish acclaim, but it takes talent to make real eccentricity shine. Former Dawn Of The Replicants player Roger Simian is no stranger to weirdness, and this entertaining debut sees him team up with fellow freak Cameron Jack. The pair are clearly fans of Beefheart and The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, but they try Bolan's glam funk on for size with the half-speed "Cybersonnet".<br /><br />by Sharon O'Connell<br /><br />***<br /><br /><b>CLASH</b> (16/12/09)<br /><b><i>6/10 stars</i></b><br /><br />The Stark Palace consists of Roger Simian (Dawn Of The Replicants) and Scottish underground musician Cameron Jack, who fondly embrace experimental noise with abstract poems, blended with spacerock synths and distorted guitars.<br /><br />So, it’s fair to say if you are looking for an easy ride of an album, this isn’t for you with its offbeat tunes, clashing guitars, and dada lyrics Simian could well have scribbled during his stint as a psychotic nurse. But in a world of The X Factor, music needs The Stark Palace to challenge and inspire, and boy can these boys play. You will keep coming back to this, if only to decipher Simian’s cryptic lyrics.<br /><br />by Stephen Maughan<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/6musicintroducing"><img src="http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/tom_robinsons_introducing/media/6music_badge_introducing_02.png " border="0" alt="BBC Introducing with Tom Robinson on 6music" /></a></center></div>Blogs From The Mothershiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09624954652769538835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350730164117221787.post-26153090546056743312009-10-07T15:48:00.000-07:002009-10-07T16:26:54.369-07:00<div><b>BLOGGER: shark batter records</b> <br /><b>LOCATION: scottish borders &amp; brooklyn, new york</b> <br /><b>WEBSITE: <a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com/" target="_top">sharkbatter.com</a></b> <br /><b>MYSPACE: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/sharkbatterrecords" target="_blank">myspace.com/sharkbatterrecords</a></b> <br /><br />There's quite a bit of <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com" target="_blank">SHARK BATTER RECORDS</a></span> action in London this month.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-uR1sDaMQPq3tif_T3mJOOwPno5ZcQ40dybBze2cbmh5Onl27HnwUa4XfqigT9dZnGDuOPAhyphenhyphenUPXDHkGln5RV8MvxRd_57Q__tHEZrF0vtVrx9pSAaQ9e-AUhtAMscRdavLxQnkG11_Y/s1600-h/starkpalace-003.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 313px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-uR1sDaMQPq3tif_T3mJOOwPno5ZcQ40dybBze2cbmh5Onl27HnwUa4XfqigT9dZnGDuOPAhyphenhyphenUPXDHkGln5RV8MvxRd_57Q__tHEZrF0vtVrx9pSAaQ9e-AUhtAMscRdavLxQnkG11_Y/s400/starkpalace-003.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390003552792004050" /></a><br /><br />In preparation for their debut album release (14th december) Roger Simian and Cameron Jack of <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://www.myspace.com/starkpalace" target="_blank">THE STARK PALACE</a></span> have been rehearsing with drummer Grant Pringle and bassist Davey Coyle (both from DAWN OF THE REPLICANTS). <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidc3PgqhA1DBDS3LHMGJQoxDV6hiU9DgYF6C6vImMDcaqu3akkOOfecalssL1dHOHO6r68qjMfXvGPKVrYV4HtqEMoi63QRC4I7P6r09ipKicfAe2Xjavmm0cXt5CBMN5RDhUj3Mrvmsw/s1600-h/09.10.28.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 282px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidc3PgqhA1DBDS3LHMGJQoxDV6hiU9DgYF6C6vImMDcaqu3akkOOfecalssL1dHOHO6r68qjMfXvGPKVrYV4HtqEMoi63QRC4I7P6r09ipKicfAe2Xjavmm0cXt5CBMN5RDhUj3Mrvmsw/s400/09.10.28.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389994259519407634" /></a><br /><br />The full line-up supports <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://www.myspace.com/thedullfudds" target="_blank">KATIE & THE DULL FUDDS</a></span> at their album launch at <span style="font-weight:bold;">The Corn Exchange in Melrose on Saturday 17th of October</span>. <br /><br />A three piece version supports <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://www.myspace.com/weareanimalkingdom" target="_blank">ANIMAL KINGDOM</a></span> and others at <span style="font-weight:bold;">The Cross Kings in Kings Cross, London, on wed 28th October</span>. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzxtng85MduAwrQBzmEuP9W-HaOIWzrIVkHfS9nf18d_iOfUIbWma-kMGWq2G3xXPvNvlbWEusIYEc8DFu2COQUjy8GwnbzHQJ_1MWMq0kp-UcoeyBSJid0kVLm24vuRJt7qsDydXa_zY/s1600-h/KonoMichiSmall-BWMirror.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 301px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzxtng85MduAwrQBzmEuP9W-HaOIWzrIVkHfS9nf18d_iOfUIbWma-kMGWq2G3xXPvNvlbWEusIYEc8DFu2COQUjy8GwnbzHQJ_1MWMq0kp-UcoeyBSJid0kVLm24vuRJt7qsDydXa_zY/s400/KonoMichiSmall-BWMirror.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390000414439204338" /></a><br /><br />Our very own <span style="font-weight:bold;">MICHI WIANCKO</span> (aka <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://www.myspace.com/konomichi" target="_blank">KONO MICHI</a></span>) is playing violin with the world-renowned <span style="font-weight:bold;">MARK MORRIS DANCE GROUP</span> at Sadler's Wells between <a href="http://www.sadlerswells.com/show/Mark-Morris-Dance-Group" target="_blank">tue 27th and sat 31st October</a>. She should also be performing her own KONO MICHI material at <span style="font-weight:bold;">The Albert & Pearl on sun 1st nov</span> and <span style="font-weight:bold;">The Ice Bar/Below Zero, tue 3rd nov</span>. Her album "9 Death Haiku" is released on CD on Monday 2nd November.</div>Blogs From The Mothershiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09624954652769538835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350730164117221787.post-45690914856518153792009-09-18T08:21:00.000-07:002009-09-18T08:26:53.666-07:00<div><b>BLOGGER:</b> charles s bravo<br /><b>LOCATION:</b> scottish borders<br /><b>BAND WEBSITE:</b> <a href="http://www.spasmbaby.com" target="_blank">vacuum spasm babies</a><br /><b>BAND MYSPACE:</b> <a href="http://www.myspace.com/vacuumspasmbabies" target="_blank">vsb myspace</a><br /><b>BLOG:</b> <a href="http://spasmbaby.blogspot.com" target="_blank">vsb blog</a><br /><b>LABEL:</b> <a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com" target="_blank">shark batter records</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYXXmd27HNJ2w0zFB1WgkGaQCZtthC7fWIft2UUClJrk2pXLPurWKS4W0mhj2p4coTyAVInFtp3P5e9ukZ2fV2hKu4NEQDKZCWWAkS3lQi0-jCIH-EB-ZvverE8wqrOvYyFcBt78uQroo/s1600-h/l_601dd989192a46cf9f44687e8baf73fb.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 270px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYXXmd27HNJ2w0zFB1WgkGaQCZtthC7fWIft2UUClJrk2pXLPurWKS4W0mhj2p4coTyAVInFtp3P5e9ukZ2fV2hKu4NEQDKZCWWAkS3lQi0-jCIH-EB-ZvverE8wqrOvYyFcBt78uQroo/s400/l_601dd989192a46cf9f44687e8baf73fb.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382828679622081026" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Henry's Cellar Bar in Edinburgh and why we like playing there, plus other news.</span><br /><br />Over the past few weeks we've been doing exactly what we planned to be doing in August and September, mainly playing more gigs, pushing the album and recording for the next e.p. We have been lucky with gigs in Edinburgh, in that we're slowly convincing people to come and see us, and managing to hold it all together when we play. One of the highlights was a gig at Henry's in Edinburgh, a cool little venue near the centre of town, and one of the places we have always wanted to play. The gigs are run by a non-profit collective called The Raft, which includes Nora who does the sound at Henry's (and who had previously made us sound brilliant at a recent gig at The Ark) and Claire who books the bands and runs the door. It's a great place to play because it's tiny and the sound is really tight, it doesn't take a lot of people to make it look busy, you get beer tokens when you play, and it's run by quite cool people who are really into what they are doing. We had a riot, saw some mates that we hadn't seen for a while, and got talking to a few people including DJ Johnny Creamsoda who asked us to play at the launch of his new club Noriega’s Disco where on top of a few live acts he'll be playing 40 years of underground music - post-punk, DIY, C86, garage, punk, outsider and no-wave.... </div>Blogs From The Mothershiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09624954652769538835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350730164117221787.post-71871780740527417512009-09-06T18:47:00.000-07:002009-09-06T18:56:45.255-07:00<div><b>BLOGGER: shark batter records</b> <br /><b>LOCATION: scottish borders &amp; brooklyn, new york</b> <br /><b>WEBSITE: <a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com/" target="_top">sharkbatter.com</a></b> <br /><b>MYSPACE: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/sharkbatterrecords" target="_blank">myspace.com/sharkbatterrecords</a></b> <br /><br />Performance of 5 songs from KONO MICHI's "9 Death Haiku" album (Shark Batter Records) at Merkin Concert Hall, New York City. Michi Wiancko: violin & vocals. Annaliesa Place: violin. Jessica Troy: viola. Eric Stephenson: cello. Peter Seymour: bass. Satoshi Takeishi: percussion. Concert Artists Guild (C.A.G.). <br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/M7W1VfcrDxQ&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/M7W1VfcrDxQ&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />If you'd like to rate or leave a comment <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7W1VfcrDxQ" target="_blank">GO HERE</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002A6GMJK?ie=UTF8&tag=sharbattreco-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=B002A6GMJK" target="_blank">BUY CD OR DOWNLOAD FROM AMAZON.CO.UK</a><br /><br /><br /></div>Blogs From The Mothershiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09624954652769538835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350730164117221787.post-57087918913508427322009-08-13T11:29:00.000-07:002009-08-13T15:03:03.627-07:00<div><b>BLOGGER:</b> veronica spencer-brown<br /><b>LOCATION:</b> scottish borders<br /><b>BAND WEBSITE:</b> <a href="http://www.spasmbaby.com" target="_blank">vacuum spasm babies</a><br /><b>BAND MYSPACE:</b> <a href="http://www.myspace.com/vacuumspasmbabies" target="_blank">vsb myspace</a><br /><b>BLOG:</b> <a href="http://spasmbaby.blogspot.com" target="_blank">vsb blog</a><br /><b>LABEL:</b> <a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com" target="_blank">shark batter records</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXLrgLuWjgGrRIRji3TtsmwbO0Q52cdQUOUu0of_2m1GGuVrnJTUjqBYQhkb1PmBo6oB75QUxTkJBoT5VZP8pm-Hx6a0WOk_hKdcs3I7f2jkvhXCjAIFvHOc-dd2ukAS3fgEa42OA23O8/s1600-h/another+charles.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXLrgLuWjgGrRIRji3TtsmwbO0Q52cdQUOUu0of_2m1GGuVrnJTUjqBYQhkb1PmBo6oB75QUxTkJBoT5VZP8pm-Hx6a0WOk_hKdcs3I7f2jkvhXCjAIFvHOc-dd2ukAS3fgEa42OA23O8/s400/another+charles.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369571797303241906" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Vacuum Spasm Babies' Charles S. Bravo</span></span><br /><br />Hello everyone, and welcome along to the first newsletter all about Vacuum Spasm Babies. We hope that this first newsletter is fun, informative, easy to read, but most of all brings you right up to date with what's being going on with your favourite band, Vacuum Spasm Babies.!!!!<br /><br />Later in the issue, Charles S. Bravo will be telling us about the night he took laxatives and sleeping tablets with hilarious results, and Malcolm Spasm finally let the cat out of the bag. Poor Cat. No, honestly, we'll finally find out why the band can never ever play in Dundee, Slough, Penrith or Gateshead ever ever again, really, ever. We'll also ask the 'boys' about their favourite things in life, did you know for example that Malcolm's hobbies include treason, potholing, and pinning Pepperoni onto the lapels of topographers, and that Charles used to play truth or dare for Scotland.!!!!<br /><br />Before all that lets get right up to speed with developments with the band.<br /><br />Charles has written and recorded two new demonstration tracks this week, we're very excited, but he's remaining characteristically coy about how the new songs sound. One is for the live set, is easy to play he says, and lots and lots of fun. It looks at a typical day when Mr Bravo, on his way to work, and feeling pretty down on his luck and not one hundred percent happy with his lot in life, decides to just ask kind looking members of the public to please run over his legs, and send him for six weeks of hospital food, just to relieve the monotony of the daily grind and avoid going into the office. <br /><br />How many times have we found ourselves faced with the problem of how to get rid of the body of another dead woman dumped in the bath tub, without the right protective clothing. The other new song, 'Chemical Burns' looks at this jolly theme, and sees the band tilt a nod of appreciation to some 80's synth pop. It will send the fans wild when the song appears on a forthcoming Extended Player along with Mhz, Khz, and Science Division from Sharkbatter Records.<br /><br />Girls, if you are very clever, you'll be able to find out with no more than a quick hello, when the band will be popping into their local studio to record a new version of Science Division. Watch this space, and later there will be a prize if you can tell us in what month and year Charles S. Bravo founded the Science Division.<br /><br />Finally for today, our old chums at The Ark have been back on the blower, to see when they can have the pleasure of getting Vacuum Spasm Babies back onto the stage, having said that they can't remember the last time they saw such a reaction to a new band. Keep an eye out for the date, and remember folks, the 'gig' will probably be during the Edinburgh Festival, and this will be one 'hot' ticket. I imagine the boys will want to get in a couple of practices before playing live and getting back into the studio for more fun and musical games. <br /><br />Read on for our quick and fun quiz to see what Vacuum Spasm Baby you'd most like to take home to mother, and some more fabulous photographs from the band's recent appearance on Lookaround. If you look closely at the top photo, you'll be able to see quite clearly exactly why it's unlikely that the band will be back on ITV Border any time soon. <br /><br />Best Wishes,<br /><br />Veronica Spencer-Brown<br /><br />President, VSB FanClub.</div>Blogs From The Mothershiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09624954652769538835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350730164117221787.post-13445028836885157252009-08-02T17:46:00.000-07:002009-08-10T08:25:04.439-07:00<div><b>BLOGGER: shark batter records</b> <br /><b>LOCATION: scottish borders &amp; brooklyn, new york</b> <br /><b>WEBSITE: <a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com/" target="_top">sharkbatter.com</a></b> <br /><b>MYSPACE: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/sharkbatterrecords" target="_blank">myspace.com/sharkbatterrecords</a></b> <br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/6musicintroducing"><img src="http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/tom_robinsons_introducing/media/6music_badge_introducing_02.png " border="0" alt="BBC Introducing with Tom Robinson on 6music" /></a></center><br /><br /><b>The Stark Palace</b> - Roger Simian (Dawn Of The Replicants, dumb/SULK trigg-er zine) & Cameron Jack - have been played on various radio stations including Radio 1, BBC 6 Music and East Village Radio in New York. Fans include Scottish novelist, Iain Banks, and also Tom Robinson (<i>2-4-6-8 Motorway</i> etc) who invited the lads in to record a session for his 6 Music programme in 2008 and often uses their <b><i>CroMagnon Man</i></b> as a bed on his <i>Introducing...</i> show.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg60l_01XXbzoUj4JDNcZGGxy4qEGrs3-X8PaASjcABrofdIfxreuD8FUsz0cPgW3ovPDRXeFNChS_HVYF4x8AgpVzIIhkakQn4wIXQxO7GnqMgCHGwCRy48VbXdz_pcaV0O6FpxfOj_LE/s1600-h/starkpalace-056.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg60l_01XXbzoUj4JDNcZGGxy4qEGrs3-X8PaASjcABrofdIfxreuD8FUsz0cPgW3ovPDRXeFNChS_HVYF4x8AgpVzIIhkakQn4wIXQxO7GnqMgCHGwCRy48VbXdz_pcaV0O6FpxfOj_LE/s400/starkpalace-056.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365538096405888674" /></a><br /><br /><b><i>Brakelight Cabernet</i></b> The Stark Palace's 3rd E.P. is free to download right here...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com/starkpalace-mp3s/ep3-WerewolfSong.mp3" target="_blank">THE WEREWOLF SONG</a> <i>(simian)</i><br />A cheerful song about the compulsion to maim and kill whenever the moon rises and the Hombre Lobo curse kicks in. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com/starkpalace-mp3s/ep3-AttentionSpan.mp3" target="_blank">ATTENTION SPAN</a> <i>(jack)</i><br />Some relationships are just trouble from the start.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com/starkpalace-mp3s/ep3-HungarianMinor.mp3" target="_blank">HUNGARIAN MINOR</a> <i>(simian)</i><br />Named after the scale the tune's written in, rather than underage Eastern Europeans.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com/starkpalace-mp3s/ep3-BrakelightCabernet.mp3" target="_blank">BRAKELIGHT CABERNET</a> <i>(words: jack music: simian)</i><br />An eventful trip Cameron once took to Avignon with friends.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHt6-5P8uHLoMa06h08jJgj1ZXYhaJUm65DJMsQDpjDKJeYLs1uaH5e3qnW6aWpzYIwrkB7D68NZXaWvaIAsKQ26arXtxzIl5aIyCbeOiJ1sYmQrvJ-f1MYkibR_P3YmIz5EI6zptYejE/s1600-h/starkpalace-052b.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHt6-5P8uHLoMa06h08jJgj1ZXYhaJUm65DJMsQDpjDKJeYLs1uaH5e3qnW6aWpzYIwrkB7D68NZXaWvaIAsKQ26arXtxzIl5aIyCbeOiJ1sYmQrvJ-f1MYkibR_P3YmIz5EI6zptYejE/s400/starkpalace-052b.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365538379353348018" /></a><br /><br />Roger Simian has also been busily editing the most recent video, <b><i>Ghost</i></b>, for fellow Shark Batter act, <b>Sarahjane Swan</b>. Filmed at Darnick Town Hall, Scotland, it's an ode to SJS's amorous resident poltergeist and in the vid she sports a fine ensemble of personae: from Demon Bride to Glam-Rock Guitar Chica, even at points conjuring her inner Nancy Sinatra...<br /><br /><object width="427" height="253"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ooM4-xuvQJw&hl=en&fs=1&hd=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ooM4-xuvQJw&hl=en&fs=1&hd=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="427" height="253"></embed></object><br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooM4-xuvQJw" target="_blank">YOU CAN GO LEAVE A COMMENT HERE</a></div>Blogs From The Mothershiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09624954652769538835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350730164117221787.post-69479871345883442272009-08-02T17:35:00.001-07:002009-08-02T17:41:59.719-07:00<div><b>BLOGGER:</b> paul vickers<br /><b>LOCATION:</b> edinburgh<br /><b>PAUL'S BANDS:</b> <a href="http://www.myspace.com/paulvickersandtheleg" target="_blank">paul vickers and the leg</a>, <a href="http://www.myspace.com/oddparty" target="_blank">dawn of the replicants</a> <br /><b>LABEL:</b> <a href="http://www.myspace.com/slrecords" target="_blank">sl records</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ctowleNY40L1b_W1r_ww7OsW8GINKKpp9UGENdzGxM7A_iTF_er9GA15sjPBP-okB3dMFlOEyUJ0uhvfvyGHusqUNAynvA5kXikJaDPr0GYCe2c2Kh2FgihRQrBSJwjR95_66pxafN4/s1600-h/flagwoman+cork+rods.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 284px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ctowleNY40L1b_W1r_ww7OsW8GINKKpp9UGENdzGxM7A_iTF_er9GA15sjPBP-okB3dMFlOEyUJ0uhvfvyGHusqUNAynvA5kXikJaDPr0GYCe2c2Kh2FgihRQrBSJwjR95_66pxafN4/s400/flagwoman+cork+rods.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365530976889658114" /></a></div>Blogs From The Mothershiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09624954652769538835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350730164117221787.post-19489748197415351782009-07-06T04:19:00.000-07:002009-07-06T04:39:21.152-07:00<div><b>BLOGGER: shark batter records</b> <br /><b>LOCATION: scottish borders &amp; brooklyn, new york</b> <br /><b>WEBSITE: <a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com/" target="_top">sharkbatter.com</a></b> <br /><b>MYSPACE: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/sharkbatterrecords" target="_blank">myspace.com/sharkbatterrecords</a></b> <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkLc7VWlcH2kGdgP612kfrnOVbCiGOcYbndxuvs6kSxXKRWTo4dvDXRBCpK5kTsMvk82SIUTRtj3M5BfmFsdl5tEFDqtInVUKMbNZ1sdDZnbtTas7S8buI6l0PsqPWdx04Ifw3VtCggcQ/s1600-h/SJS-bigpics02b.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 274px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkLc7VWlcH2kGdgP612kfrnOVbCiGOcYbndxuvs6kSxXKRWTo4dvDXRBCpK5kTsMvk82SIUTRtj3M5BfmFsdl5tEFDqtInVUKMbNZ1sdDZnbtTas7S8buI6l0PsqPWdx04Ifw3VtCggcQ/s400/SJS-bigpics02b.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355307562651123714" /></a><br />(pic by martin millar)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">Creepy and entrancing, Sarahjane Swan's new single Ghost features her abrasive, blustery vocals over gothic guitars and industrial synths and percussion. Her peculiar blend of gothic music with pop is not easy to describe--perhaps try to imagine an early 90s Siouxsie Sioux/Trent Reznor collaboration. - <a href="http://www.silence-killer.com/2009/06/sarahjane-swan-ghost.html" target="_blank">Silence-Killer.com</a></span></span><br /><br />Released today on Shark Batter Records, <span style="font-style:italic;">Ghost</span> is the second single from the Scottish sculptress, occasional alternative model and creator of left-field electronic Gothic-Pop ditties, Sarahjane Swan . And there's a spooky story behind the song.<br /><br />It was the Fates who brought Sarahjane Swan and Shark Batter Records together. Throughout most of the 1990s, the two brothers in charge of the label's day to day dealings - Mike Sorensen Small and rogerSIMIAN (not his real name, you'll be shocked to discover) - lived with their parents in a converted church hall in the Scottish Borders. That's the house where they and some friends started the underground magazine, <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com/sparks/szs-index.html" target="_top">Sun Zoom Spark</a></span> , featuring interviews with everyone from punk rock old-timers (The Ramones, Jonathan Richman) to Brit Pop whippersnappers (Blur, Radiohead, Pulp, Elastica, Supergrass, Manics, Echobelly, Oasis, Sleeper), noisier American acts (Beck, Sonic Youth, Pavement, Mercury Rev), pop stars (Coolio, Erasure, Garbage, Rolf Harris) and many riot grrrl influenced female-fronted acts. It's where Roger, Mike and two pals - Grant Pringle and Donald Kyle - formed cult Scottish band, <a href="http://www.dawnofthereplicants.com" target="_blank">Dawn Of The Replicants</a>, with their lodger Paul Vickers.<br /><br />It's also where Sarahjane now lives with her boyfriend, their son and the resident poltergeist.<br /><br />A year or so ago, when SJS began looking for a guitar teacher she found her way to Mike Small, and the pair were startled to discover they had that old church house in common.<br /><br />"Have you met the ghostie yet?" Mike asked. "He was pretty quiet when we all lived there. We probably made too much noise. Scared him away."<br /><br />"He visits almost every day," Sarahjane replied. "He's a nice ghost I think but he's a bit fussy. He moves little trinkets about the bathroom and turns stuff upside down."<br /><br />Within only a few months of starting her guitar lessons, Sarahjane Swan was still having to look at the fretboard when changing chords but had written almost an album's worth of songs.<br /><br />Mike loved those songs. "Oh, we should put those out on our wee record label," he said.<br /><br />"You have a record label?" Sarahjane asked. "Cool."<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO20PQAG7yuO9pBME-RR0CRty1rzSCr3XD8zxvH2ynYobh35Vvg7j8juOqfrqEes3hSUkC8BkTVujLiNli3-Klj4VeuBbjB_QLBtwdm8r6p1YmFRlFxukbTeFH6UyOyffmVt4ZGoz2_10/s1600-h/SJS-Ghost.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO20PQAG7yuO9pBME-RR0CRty1rzSCr3XD8zxvH2ynYobh35Vvg7j8juOqfrqEes3hSUkC8BkTVujLiNli3-Klj4VeuBbjB_QLBtwdm8r6p1YmFRlFxukbTeFH6UyOyffmVt4ZGoz2_10/s400/SJS-Ghost.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355306733025319810" /></a><br /><br />SJS's ode to her spectral lodger, <span style="font-style:italic;">Ghost</span>, is the most recently written of her songs, composed without guitar: just voice, a beatbox and plenty of spooky reverb. The Shark Batter posse loved the demo so much they thought <span style="font-style:italic;">Ghost</span> should be the next single. And so here it is.<br /><br />This new version features musical shenanigans from rogerSIMIAN and Mike Sorensen Small, the drumming of Grant Pringle (Dawn Of The Replicants) and a bit of additional vocal derring do from Brendan McAndrew (Mike's co-conspirator in the Stone Ghost Collective). <br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002BSUE1Y?ie=UTF8&tag=sharbattreco-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=B002BSUE1Y" target="_blank">Download from<br />Amazon.co.uk</a></center></div>Blogs From The Mothershiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09624954652769538835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350730164117221787.post-30685058643601743862009-07-05T07:20:00.001-07:002009-07-05T07:24:29.066-07:00<div><b>BLOGGER: fren attic</b> <br /><b>WEBSITE: <a href="http://wanderingoaf.blogspot.com" target="_blank">wanderingoaf.blogspot.com</a></b> <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">OBSERVATIONS ON 21ST CENTURY LIFE FROM THE RELATIVE SAFETY OF A GARDEN SHED. <br />OAF(N): CHANGELING, USUALLY DEFORMED, LEFT BY THE FAIRIES; A DOLT; A LOUT; AN AWKWARD FELLOW</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgdPMTNK7Fwr0Fz4dfpMvrxpALo6VejpLkj2VH-wvmUqcn2MgXvdJdaiisrxOuaSz9_LQCAMMgG3rQvZfqo4bcq2UdhdBARRQBQXJrdTVK__7vRonsE9P9XvH_Eqe7HKGAAZODMhwO6XE/s1600-h/2star_trek_csg_031.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgdPMTNK7Fwr0Fz4dfpMvrxpALo6VejpLkj2VH-wvmUqcn2MgXvdJdaiisrxOuaSz9_LQCAMMgG3rQvZfqo4bcq2UdhdBARRQBQXJrdTVK__7vRonsE9P9XvH_Eqe7HKGAAZODMhwO6XE/s400/2star_trek_csg_031.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354981353912406258" /></a><br /><br />It is not often that I drag my sorry carcass to the cinema. I prefer lost films myself. Celluloid masterpieces such as Edward D. Wood Jr.'s 1972 classic, The Undergraduate are my forte. Films that exist in rare prints, films that are only extant in a damaged or incomplete form and some that never existed in the first place are my usual fare. À tort et à travers, I lurched into the local picture house recently to satisfy a childhood craving.<br /><br />The year was 1977 and my recently redundant father entered our sitting room with a brand new COLOUR TV. When I say redundant I mean relieved of his employment rather than his position as titular head of household. My dysfunctional siblings and I were already assembled around the space where the cathode shrine would take pride of place. Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis and all that. Up until then, and rather late in the day might I add, we had satisfied ourselves with monochrome domestic entertainment. We even listened to the radio in black and white, although this was only a problem when they broadcast snooker.<br /><br />Anyway, the prospect of one show more than any other made our ocular facilities salivate or should I say lacrimate - Star Trek. We were a family of proto-Trekkies who weren’t sad enough to become actual Trekkies. We even had favourites. Mine was that irrepressible Russian Starfleet officer, Pavel Andreievich Chekov. I chose him because I was the youngest and all the others had been taken.<br /><br />The television came replete with a sliding, wood effect door. This enabled you to hide the fact that you dared to watch the goggle box from your disapproving neighbours - if they ever popped around for tea. Middle-class families in our neck of the woods were obviously expected to have a good old sing song round the piano of an evening. Television was for common people and Roman Catholics. We were both. Property prices took a nose dive I can assure you.<br /><br />Having switched it on, in eager anticipation, we were forced to wait while it ‘warmed up’. The picture seemed to wobble on to the screen like a sort of green tornado, something I’ve never witnessed on any other piece of televisual equipment. But, and this is the crux of my tale, the image that burned itself on to our retinas was the bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Captain James T. Kirk sat in his throne, looking habitually pensive. Spock stood to his right, typically emotionless and calculating. Scotty stood to his left, a look of familiar defeat crowning his features. Only this time they were devoid of their dull, grey uniforms. Kirk was yellow, Spock blue, Scotty a shocking red. We had never witnessed anything like this. It was like walking in to a Jackson Pollock painting. That image lives with me to this day, in sparkling Technicolor.<br /><br />So, having been blown away once by Gene Roddenberry’s baby I couldn’t help but notice that Star Trek was being reinvented for the big screen, again. I thought nothing of the original movies, still less of the cloying, saccharine, vomit fest that was The Next Generation. Those other abortionate incarnations will remain unnamed for aesthetic reasons. The difference here was the prospect of the original characters once again being introduced. I always loved Kirk’s logs which appeared to be full of faux ‘philosophispeak’ and Shakespearian buffoonery: “My soul searches for meaning on this deserted planet. Spock and the others seem distant. What is the lot of man, are we meant to suffer? The others may return to the ship but will they be the same men and women who left it”? In truth if an unknown character went on a mission they were invariably struck down by a child-like Apollo or laid low by a prosthetic disease. We called them ‘the expendable ones’. I do wonder how the Enterprise functioned with Kirk’s inane ramblings. Couldn’t he have inter-spliced them with some practical announcements like “The Holodeck needs a wipe” or “The canteen will be serving Vulcan selhat soup, followed by shepherd’s pie”?<br /><br />I was not disappointed by the aural and visual delights that faced me as I drank in the latest incarnation. The story was a little far-fetched. A convenient meeting between the spanking new 'buff' Captain Kirk and a decrepit Leonard Nimoy stretched credulity, but with plenty of stunning, ear-splitting effects and a little humour, popcorn spilled on to my velveteen chair, the tangy taste of caffeinated coke fizzed around the roof of my mouth and I was entertained. Oh, and Simon Pegg really is a star, after all. </div>Blogs From The Mothershiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09624954652769538835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350730164117221787.post-66592599636746700452009-07-05T07:16:00.000-07:002009-07-05T07:18:53.352-07:00<div><b>BLOGGER:</b> charles s bravo<br /><b>LOCATION:</b> scottish borders<br /><b>BAND WEBSITE:</b> <a href="http://www.spasmbaby.com" target="_blank">vacuum spasm babies</a><br /><b>BAND MYSPACE:</b> <a href="http://www.myspace.com/vacuumspasmbabies" target="_blank">vsb myspace</a><br /><b>BLOG:</b> <a href="http://spasmbaby.blogspot.com" target="_blank">vsb blog</a><br /><b>LABEL:</b> <a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com" target="_blank">shark batter records</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Being a Spasm Baby and getting played on the BBC.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6mUP4SUXvwI3YLkTSIG-JcXPP669VQkbFjsZVLAazzQAyIj9WZcNzUukNxw9aQ-Sd3_Zio8-76Sy4Zx5CxSbgmzZW3B5K4KatJUN7rQG4FEqyAIZKeyw5vynLPNM1uhURfNb-ikZfqXM/s1600-h/vsb-whippingclowns.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6mUP4SUXvwI3YLkTSIG-JcXPP669VQkbFjsZVLAazzQAyIj9WZcNzUukNxw9aQ-Sd3_Zio8-76Sy4Zx5CxSbgmzZW3B5K4KatJUN7rQG4FEqyAIZKeyw5vynLPNM1uhURfNb-ikZfqXM/s400/vsb-whippingclowns.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354980264332235618" /></a><br /><br />It's been a tough couple of months trying to keep up momentum and push the album to anyone who might listen or purchase. One way has been radio. We've been quite lucky with radio play, generally, and for 'Whipping Clowns' with plays on the BBC, and a list of internet stations. Vic Galloway who does a show on BBC Radio One, and another on BBC Radio Scotland has always been really good to us, and recently we've been getting played on BBC Radio Bristol Introducing, presented by Richard Pitt and Gary Smith. They played 'Song for Katie' and read out a bit of the press release, which was a great introduction to the band. The bad press reviews makes us laugh, especially reviews written by people who don't seem to like anything. One Edinburgh magazine reviewed the album without saying much either way, but after asking a few folk about that particular publication, I was told that in actual fact it's put together by idiots. Our favourite review was from Maarten Schiethart writing in Pennyblack Music who said "Forget about your Maximo Ferdinand Monkeys, Vacuum Spasm Babies are the band for the future". That made us smile, a lot. <br /><br />Playing a few live gigs also made us smile. We've had a riot playing the tracks live a various places in Edinburgh, and getting to hear other new bands. We especially liked Rodent Emporium, who i think like us like to make a lot of noise, and have a bit of humour in what they do. We have some very odd people coming to see us live, and based on the way the album turned out, we wouldn't have expected anything else.</div>Blogs From The Mothershiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09624954652769538835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350730164117221787.post-84611849735166537232009-07-05T07:06:00.001-07:002009-07-05T07:15:49.200-07:00<div><b>BLOGGER:</b> paul vickers<br /><b>LOCATION:</b> edinburgh<br /><b>PAUL'S BANDS:</b> <a href="http://www.myspace.com/paulvickersandtheleg" target="_blank">paul vickers and the leg</a>, <a href="http://www.myspace.com/oddparty" target="_blank">dawn of the replicants</a> <br /><b>LABEL:</b> <a href="http://www.myspace.com/slrecords" target="_blank">sl records</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFX3nkYgFF7fLeMfuyztgOzAWEbaquTV-CM0N1Kdvg4uwHPHlCwR8w1APX-QLMVzdphQM05ySif3LP9J5Z7RxOxXqEcnEWpi5u-pEB_i_0OPZZ6QK2gqHsK2ZMaFDpB9lt6nSTmKR57yo/s1600-h/flagwoman+the+flick+hammer.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 290px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFX3nkYgFF7fLeMfuyztgOzAWEbaquTV-CM0N1Kdvg4uwHPHlCwR8w1APX-QLMVzdphQM05ySif3LP9J5Z7RxOxXqEcnEWpi5u-pEB_i_0OPZZ6QK2gqHsK2ZMaFDpB9lt6nSTmKR57yo/s400/flagwoman+the+flick+hammer.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354978828789847490" /></a><br /></div>Blogs From The Mothershiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09624954652769538835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350730164117221787.post-27718578644113140922009-06-20T15:05:00.000-07:002009-06-20T15:08:15.675-07:00<div><b>BLOGGER: fren attic</b> <br /><b>WEBSITE: <a href="http://wanderingoaf.blogspot.com" target="_blank">wanderingoaf.blogspot.com</a></b> <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">OBSERVATIONS ON 21ST CENTURY LIFE FROM THE RELATIVE SAFETY OF A GARDEN SHED. <br />OAF(N): CHANGELING, USUALLY DEFORMED, LEFT BY THE FAIRIES; A DOLT; A LOUT; AN AWKWARD FELLOW</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_3z1DUzR2yEhGzy_RN9Pd6yHzaqI_G5lfFDY4Z73sZOqKjS6VtgmyxD1GFeiu5ipHRIsyfuVf3Ldw25QDyTSfNUynVgtv96CLNDsdC5YnZr5ITCXer-4vSGsiGeKXTPFH6OITo6Mtqxw/s1600-h/pinot_grigio.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 99px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_3z1DUzR2yEhGzy_RN9Pd6yHzaqI_G5lfFDY4Z73sZOqKjS6VtgmyxD1GFeiu5ipHRIsyfuVf3Ldw25QDyTSfNUynVgtv96CLNDsdC5YnZr5ITCXer-4vSGsiGeKXTPFH6OITo6Mtqxw/s400/pinot_grigio.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349534868807149170" /></a><br /><br />Thus far I have avoided infection from the beasts of the air and the beasts of the field and I feel a minor celebration is in order. I rest my worn quill (my prodigious digits) and crack open a bottle of Pinot Grigio, pouring it down my gullet like a starved cormorant - no Sideways reference intended. <br /><br />Having no wish to carnify my apportionment of wit and wisdom, however slight that may be, I have begun to exercise not my sickly corpus but something all together more important - my judgement. It is my intention to regale the weary surfer with delectable titbits on myriad subjects, including politics, culture, sex, drugs and sofas. I hope no one gets injured in the process. <br /><br />I shall do my best to be succinct for, as my granny was fond of saying, non multa, sed multum – not quantity but quality. She was a Latin scholar who occasionally lapsed into drunkenness. I, on the other hand, am a scholar of drink who occasionally lapses into Latin. Nota bene.</div>Blogs From The Mothershiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09624954652769538835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350730164117221787.post-5233207497544324072009-06-08T15:28:00.000-07:002009-06-10T05:13:52.422-07:00<div><b>BLOGGER: shark batter records</b> <br /><b>LOCATION: scottish borders &amp; brooklyn, new york</b> <br /><b>WEBSITE: <a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com/" target="_top">sharkbatter.com</a></b> <br /><b>MYSPACE: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/sharkbatterrecords" target="_blank">myspace.com/sharkbatterrecords</a></b> <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Paul Vickers</span> performs live in Edinburgh with help from Twinkie, Bruntsfield Lottie and Joyce Bananas. Includes the famous story of the elephant chimney sweep. Dancing Jim, and Barbara Bananas's death-trip train ride.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/21z1j81D5Ho&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/21z1j81D5Ho&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/IbQCk4VfbDo&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/IbQCk4VfbDo&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Sarahjane Swan</span> singing a rendition of her next single, <span style="font-style:italic;">Ghost</span>, with rogerSIMIAN (The Stark Palace) playing fairly bad piano.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zKiG6E74ejE&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zKiG6E74ejE&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Kono Michi <span style="font-style:italic;">9 Death Haiku</span> review in The Strad, June 2009:</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsZ3HudsX9oDKQ7AgeAo7V-0aAHgA10R3EflrQ4o9yntNhPv-Ja05QTLBeD0JRA7iRN3bIyGVOIypC_mxcHiEK_J2Fb7zCHGXSW2G6w6Tgu2tyYQirO2YQDrP79b6CxlE1Fxuy2zn58f4/s1600-h/strad.gif"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 180px; height: 247px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsZ3HudsX9oDKQ7AgeAo7V-0aAHgA10R3EflrQ4o9yntNhPv-Ja05QTLBeD0JRA7iRN3bIyGVOIypC_mxcHiEK_J2Fb7zCHGXSW2G6w6Tgu2tyYQirO2YQDrP79b6CxlE1Fxuy2zn58f4/s400/strad.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345088466863086306" /></a><br /><br />Kono Michi is a New York-based concert violinist and erstwhile Silk Road Ensemble collaborator, and has come up with this intriguing and exquisitely beautiful setting of Japanese deathbed haikus. <br /><br />If you listen to this wanting to hear violin music, you might be disappointed. True, Michi's pedigree on the instrument is manifest, with a dexterity and refined expression, whether in the crystalline melody and pulsing accompaniment of Vanish or the gossamer-light pizzicato of Cherry Blossoms. But these songs are about the whole package. The spare, open-ended lyrics, peaceful and occasionally darkly tinged, demand subtlety, and Michi delivers.<br /><br />Her voice is gently honeyed, with a Bjork-like quirkiness that tempers the languid, summertime ambience of the sound. And around the succinct text, she crafts precise, imaginative textures, with layered violin lines and delicate percussion, expanded by touches of reverb that do not tarnish the solo violin on top. Michi draws on Gershwin, Weill, impressionism and Japanese traditional music within a popular format - a bold venture that occasionally jars as so many styles rub up against each other, threatening to overpower the words. Then again, the variety of moods and range of musical allusions explore the acres of unspoken meaning that each haiku offers from a number of angles. And overall, the album coheres into a distinctive sound that reflects Michi's personal blend of cultural influences (she was born to Japanese and Polish-American parents). This is a great advert for music that breaks through the pop-classical barrier.</div>Blogs From The Mothershiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09624954652769538835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350730164117221787.post-18143918180471970042009-06-08T15:10:00.000-07:002009-06-08T15:15:22.692-07:00<div><b>BLOGGER: shark batter records</b> <br /><b>LOCATION: scottish borders &amp; brooklyn, new york</b> <br /><b>WEBSITE: <a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com/" target="_top">sharkbatter.com</a></b> <br /><b>MYSPACE: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/sharkbatterrecords" target="_blank">myspace.com/sharkbatterrecords</a></b> <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVjUxrQCS7MZiDeZuYOvGx7SUZeR6sVwqodjo4sx23itR3tJQrPy3CMrO0B7SC94BrNzUgIDKmPXbwCxHSJck-2DjSDUzvKLTvHHFBzJko4N52X3zJszkRPgIYDh6P_mD09yt6vdB83_0/s1600-h/reviews-SharkBatterKonoMichi3.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 204px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVjUxrQCS7MZiDeZuYOvGx7SUZeR6sVwqodjo4sx23itR3tJQrPy3CMrO0B7SC94BrNzUgIDKmPXbwCxHSJck-2DjSDUzvKLTvHHFBzJko4N52X3zJszkRPgIYDh6P_mD09yt6vdB83_0/s400/reviews-SharkBatterKonoMichi3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345083074016879106" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Sound of the underground</span><br />The big-time music industry may be suffering as the internet and economy bite, but in Scotland the grassroots scene is thriving. A new generation of web-savvy talent is emerging from unlikely places, ignoring all the rules … and taking on the world. Edd McCracken meets the bands, venues and labels creating a vibrant community of new music...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">THE LABELS</span><br /><br />News of the demise of major music labels is nothing new. They reacted to the internet as swiftly as an oil tanker doing a three-point turn in a shipping lane. And so, where once talks of international record deals were the preserve of musical ivory towers in London, LA and New York, today the scene shifts to a day-glo cafe in an Asda in Galashiels.<br /><br />Two brothers sit at their usual table by the window, enjoying cheap coffee, discussing what to do with their signing from New York. Roger Simian and Mike Small played in a mildly successful Britpop band, Dawn Of The Replicants, but have swapped sweaty live venues for running their own record label, Shark Batter. Begun in 2006 and named after a defence technique for dealing with Jaws (rather than a Borders delicacy), it is part of a resurgence in Scottish indie labels, a musical sub-genre that gave the world Postcard Records in the 1980s and the booming Fence Collective. They are rising in bedrooms, kitchens and supermarket coffee shops, nimbly filling in the gaps left behind by crumbling majors.<br /><br />"Indies are coming back, although it's different to what it was before" says Roger. "It is easier to set a label up now, thanks to the internet, but there are new difficulties, too."<br /><br />The withering of the independent label's trusted distribution method is one such difficulty. The number of small, dedicated record shops has dwindled. As has the music press: only the NME remains as a weekly diet, while monthly magazines are in thrall to stadium acts or slavishly cater to the baby boomers' record collections.<br /><br />While Shark Batter still burn promotional CDs, packed in home-made cases, they will be sent as readily to mp3 bloggers and online fanzines as to Q magazine. In an age when such a DIY ethos reigns, their tagline has an agreeable Del Boy chutzpah to it: "DIY Indie Label from Scottish Borders & Brooklyn, New York".<br /><br />"It's somewhere between tongue in cheek and our ambition," says Roger. "One of the things now is that instead of indie labels being identified with one label and one country, thanks to the internet you can reach out and find an audience in America, Europe or Mexico, as well as your own country. There is a fascination with other cultures. Connections will be made, like twinning cities." He stops, as if contemplating whether to put his tongue back in his cheek for the next remark. "We'd like Galashiels to be twinned with Brooklyn."<br /><br />The link with New York's hippest borough is not speculative. It comes from Shark Batter signing Kono Michi, right, a classically trained concert violinist and singer who manages to embody the sound of both John Cale and Nico in her slight frame. Mike bonded with Michi via MySpace over a love of The Cocteau Twins. She recorded violin for his band, The Stone Ghost Collective, before agreeing to be signed to their label.<br /><br />Reflecting the "Think Global, Act Local" approach to running a label, Shark Batter's signings are highly personalised: Sarahjane Swan lives in their old house and Mike was her guitar teacher; the lead singer in the wonderfully titled Vacuum Spasm Babies worked on the same music fanzine as Roger; and The Stark Palace is Roger's own band.<br /><br />As a career, they "get by" running Shark Batter. "We're not making any major profit out of it," says Mike. "We're always looking for new angles. We're full of ideas. One of us keeps the other on the ground. But we'll always be based in Galashiels. You don't always have to be based in big cities and follow the traditional routes. Besides, we get free coffee refills in Asda."<br /><br />Kono Michi's 9 Death Haiku and Vacuum Spasm Babies' Whipping Clowns are out now on Shark Batter Records; www.sharkbatter.com <br /><br /></div>Blogs From The Mothershiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09624954652769538835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350730164117221787.post-90163623392152030082009-05-17T04:20:00.001-07:002009-05-17T04:52:05.170-07:00<div><b>BLOGGER: shark batter records</b> <br /><b>LOCATION: scottish borders &amp; brooklyn, new york</b> <br /><b>WEBSITE: <a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com/" target="_top">sharkbatter.com</a></b> <br /><b>MYSPACE: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/sharkbatterrecords" target="_blank">myspace.com/sharkbatterrecords</a></b> <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyKtFuvaOZ7Gytq2wjMkBNdFkD45Ao18whzyP04e27J-i-NhGvKyew8Oy2NQas41iSjrYHuK0R7oEETpbZwAuGioS2QWrqaYPV16FfO-6fBjOn7bXN3CD9zhUSzscrDNM2a7wAOBv1O6Q/s1600-h/KonoMichi9DHGigFlier.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyKtFuvaOZ7Gytq2wjMkBNdFkD45Ao18whzyP04e27J-i-NhGvKyew8Oy2NQas41iSjrYHuK0R7oEETpbZwAuGioS2QWrqaYPV16FfO-6fBjOn7bXN3CD9zhUSzscrDNM2a7wAOBv1O6Q/s400/KonoMichi9DHGigFlier.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336751439557045762" /></a><br /><br />The world premiere of <span style="font-weight:bold;">Kono Michi's</span> <span style="font-style:italic;">9 Death Haiku</span> album is at the <span style="font-weight:bold;">Thalia Theatre at Symphony Space</span>, New York, on <span style="font-weight:bold;">Thursday May 21st</span>. $20 discount tickets on sale at <a href="http://www.concertartists.org" target="_blank">concertartists.org</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Line-up:</span></span><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Kono Michi:</span> vocals & violin<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Annaliesa Place:</span> violin<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jessica Troy:</span> viola<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Eric Stephenson:</span> cello<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Peter Seymour:</span> upright bass<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Satoshi Takeishi:</span> percussion<br /><br />The album is on sale now at the major online stores. The CD will be fully released later in the year but a limited number of copies will be available at the concert.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGLAdo6OLQlUlr_cc6fl6I33kn5f7rAx3yhLsiJyqIkykiNsIIya59bVEMoWwEQBBT0z68-3qkL-TJbNRF01hdDEigB_mhSerPdKX4EQgrhVkoWWm0-fZCQOmB4JtcN0M_Jw7L1SOCWLk/s1600-h/KM9DHFrontCover2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGLAdo6OLQlUlr_cc6fl6I33kn5f7rAx3yhLsiJyqIkykiNsIIya59bVEMoWwEQBBT0z68-3qkL-TJbNRF01hdDEigB_mhSerPdKX4EQgrhVkoWWm0-fZCQOmB4JtcN0M_Jw7L1SOCWLk/s400/KM9DHFrontCover2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336758205442724274" /></a><br /><br /><b><u>rogerSIMIAN's Review of the Album</u></b><br />Now, I'm a somewhat scruffy and gruff-voiced Scotsman of a certain age but I'm not ashamed to admit that I cried when I first listened to Kono Michi's 9 Death Haiku LP. I don't think it was much to do with the fact this is an album about mortality. It was more related to that range of almost unbearable emotion which you can never quite utter in words, but which certain composers occasionally capture in their music. Throughout this record Michi's voice and instrumentation produce wonderful tones, melodies, harmonies, discordances which are frequently allowed to soar up into the ozone like flapping, dragon-red kites, but always remain tethered to the earth by the inventive noises and rhythms of percussionist Satoshi Takeishi. <br /><br />I think my shameless shedding of tears also had something to do with the fact I couldn't imagine anybody else but Kono Michi being able to both write and perform anything quite like these nine songs. This is not so much to do with her family history. Yes, she is the daughter of a Polish-American documentary maker and a Japanese amateur musician. And of course her parents' influence is explicitly there in the music - from the use of the traditional Japanese melody, Sakura , to the field-recording style mash-up of European folk and other popular styles, including fragments of Gershwin and Kurt Weill-like decadent waltzes. But it is Michi's own diversity of musical background which has resulted in this work being so finely balanced between full-on classical excellence of playing and an uncompromising alternative pop /indie sensibility.<br /><br />Kono Michi began learning to play the violin as a three year old growing up in Orange County, California, and later went on to study in Cleveland and at New York's Juilliard conservatory. She has since travelled the World as a concert violinist, playing with the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics, The Silk Road Ensemble, Los Angeles Piano Quartet and ECCO (East Coast Chamber Orchestra), as well as recording with David Sylvian and on various Hollywood film soundtracks.<br /><br />But all the while Michi was discovering for herself the raw excitement of rock and popular musics. Dancing around to Joan Jett's I Love Rock 'n' Roll as a toddler seemed as vital and important as her more formal studies. And so it was easy to appreciate the punk or goth her older sister introduced her to in her teens, or to happily freak out to mixed tapes jammed full of Captain Beefheart, Cocteau Twins, Dolly Parton, Screamin' Jay Hawkins and Camper Van Beethoven. I don't think I'm wrong in imagining that all of these influences are gumboed up together in the 9 Death Haiku LP.<br /><br />But the only real, steady reference point I can think of for this album is that it mines similar terrain to the Velvet Underground or, more specifically, Nico's Frozen Warnings . I don't mean that there's any great sonic similarity as such. But there was a particular electricity produced when John Cale's experimental classical training was bumping and grinding up against his new friends' more earthy, down at heel, love of Western popular forms. And I can feel that same electricity crackling through Kono Michi's debut album.<br /><br />By the time of the trippy final track, with its John Adams influenced minimalist orchestral layers and Zen refrain "My one wish is to live in the Capital of Non-Action" I can't help feeling, as a listener, that I've tasted a most delicious vintage of Death Song, and I want to experience it all again immediately.<br /><br />rS </div>Blogs From The Mothershiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09624954652769538835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5350730164117221787.post-10432220107213860892009-05-10T15:52:00.000-07:002009-05-10T16:13:54.781-07:00<div><b>BLOGGER: shark batter records</b> <br /><b>LOCATION: scottish borders &amp; brooklyn, new york</b> <br /><b>WEBSITE: <a href="http://www.sharkbatter.com/" target="_top">sharkbatter.com</a></b> <br /><b>MYSPACE: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/sharkbatterrecords" target="_blank">myspace.com/sharkbatterrecords</a></b> <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-t-5LFY1LEzz2wGIJFmK4Qe5zmWKVHbmOHJ-d5SmmF-q3CxEm4tqLMvyTr9S2v1JZ5frh0z0P2SECsMzAzo05DhW0yu0NVaFp5tbOeJlkWJWxU9crDeg_X3z5bjsmikhiX-Gh8mqK0io/s1600-h/vsb-LPcover-02low.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-t-5LFY1LEzz2wGIJFmK4Qe5zmWKVHbmOHJ-d5SmmF-q3CxEm4tqLMvyTr9S2v1JZ5frh0z0P2SECsMzAzo05DhW0yu0NVaFp5tbOeJlkWJWxU9crDeg_X3z5bjsmikhiX-Gh8mqK0io/s400/vsb-LPcover-02low.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334333442621027298" /></a><br /><br />The debut album, "Whipping Clowns", by Scottish oddballs, <a href="http://www.spasmbaby.com" target="_blank"><b>Vacuum Spasm Babies</b></a> is released today on <b>Shark Batter Records</b>, and a gloriously wonky and inventive album it is too. You can buy it as a download through iTunes, Amazon etc and it's also available to buy in various music stores in Edinburgh and the Scottish Borders, including <b>Avalanche</b>. <br /><br /><b>Charles S. Bravo</b> and <b>Malcolm Spasm</b> have put together a live incarnation of The VSB, featuring <b>Cameron Jack</b> and <b>rogerSIMIAN</b> from <b>The Stark Palace</b> on guitar and bass, and original <b>Dawn Of The Replicants</b> drummer, <b>Grant Pringle</b>. If you're in Edinburgh this month you can catch 'em at <span style="font-weight:bold;">Bannerman's </span>this wednesday (11th May) and <span style="font-weight:bold;">The Ark</span> on wednesday 27th May.<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9CeBetP4d2s&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9CeBetP4d2s&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br />We've also just uploaded the High Definition version of <a href="http://www.spasmbaby.com" target="_blank"><b>Vacuum Spasm Babies</b></a>'s "MHz" video - an experiment in mixing Machinima (Second Life created characters) with old public domain footage from the Edison company. To see the full quality version click on the "HD" button above.<br /></div>Blogs From The Mothershiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09624954652769538835noreply@blogger.com0