Wednesday 31 July 2013

THE GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY: Godsticks - Borderstomp Part 1 (Death to Tuesday)



CURRENTLY AVAILABLE ON GONZO
Spiral Vendetta
CD - £9.99

THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem

Rob Ayling writes: 

"Thom the World poet is an old mate of mine from way back in my history. Even pre-dating Voiceprint, when I was running "Otter Songs" and Tom's poetry tapes and guest appearances with Daevid Allen, Gilli Smyth, Mother Gong are well known and highly regarded. It just felt right to include a daily poem from Thom on our Gonzo blog and when I approached him to do so, he replied with in seconds!!! Thom is a great talent and just wants to spread poetry, light and positive energy across the globe. If we at Gonzo can help him do that - why not? why not indeed!!" (The wondrous poetpic is by Jack McCabe, who I hope forgives me for scribbling all over it with Photoshop)

CLAIM 2 FAME?CHANGE YOUR NAME! 

Every day i change my name-started as Anon until that became a Trademarked Corporation
Tried comic book aliases-you may remember these incarnations in your graphic novels
(soon to be seen in a major motion picture screening next summer-Punisher,Silver Surfer
Nick Fury,Invisible Woman,Captain America,Human Torch,Longshot,Doctor Strange,Rogue
Captain Britain,The Thing,Moon Knight,Cloak,Mister Fantastic,Glactus,Sub-Mariner,Bullseye
She-Hulk,Wolverine,Archangel,Quaser,Kingpin,Thor,Apocalypse,Black Panther,Phoenix,Nightcrawler
Loki,Professor Xavier,Hulk,Nightmare,Spider-Man,Iron Man,Shadowcat,Colossus,Marvel Girl,Lockheed
Cyclops,Elektra,Storm,hanos,Havok,Daredevil,Black Cat,Green Goblin,The Leader,Electro,High Evolutionary
Sandman,Mandarin,Lizard,Ultron,Mister Sinister,Baron Zemo,Blob,Doctor Octopus-remember me?
Days of black and white radioactive TV are now 3D IMAX widescreen super-personality battles
No matter who wins,some part of us loses.Myths make us smaller and them larger.Like gods,they bend us to their ways
Best to steal their names.Hathor,Isis,Brigid,Saint Francis...

Luke Haines honours Mick Farren with reading at Borderline show

Luke Haines honoured the late Mick Farren with a reading at his live show last night (July 30) at London's Borderline.

Journalist and author Farren died after collapsing following a set with his band The Deviants at the same venue on Saturday (July 27). He was 69.

Luke Haines at The Borderline
© Digital Spy
Luke Haines at The Borderline
Luke Haines with a Kendo Nagasaki lookalike at London's Borderline
© Digital Spy
A Kendo Nagasaki lookalike


> Luke Haines interview: 'I'm always looking for God'

Before playing 'Gene Vincent' from his current album Rock and Roll Animals, Haines read an excerpt about Vincent's latter years and death from Farren's 2002 memoir Give The Anarchist A Cigarette.

Read on...

‘You never knew what somebody was going to do’: Greg Lake on King Crimson’s improvisational start



King Crimson’s genre-creating 1969 debut In the Court of the Crimson King didn’t include a single song shorter than 6 minutes. The band’s 1970 follow up ended with an 11-minute song suite.
Founding member Greg Lake says Crimson’s proto-prog excursions would become even lengthier in concert back then. And if it sometimes sounded like utter and complete improvisation, well, that’s because they were. In fact, King Crimson made sure of it.
“On every concert we played, we would have one song that had no time signature and no key,” Lake says in this video Q&A. “It would just start, and somebody would play something — and you would play off of that. Everybody would just play however they felt, however it came. It was a kind of a free-jazz concept.”
Existing in such a turbulent, free-flowing environment, Lake says, forced King Crimson — which also initially featured drummer Michael Giles and multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald — to focus not so much on their individual parts, but on the larger musical whole.
“King Crimson was more about listening than it was playing,” Lake says. “All of were good players, and the thing we discovered was that the band played better when everybody listened. Rather than concentrate on what you’re doing, listen to what the other person is doing — so you could interact with it. That was the thing about King Crimson, we were always locked up in some way.”

MORE ON THE ERIC BURDON ISRAELI CONCERT



We have received a number of communications about this story, but we were amazed at the amount of traffic that this story has generated in the world press. We are posting links to the first eight stories that appeared on the Google News Alert list with no further comment.

No evidence of “threats” that prompted The Animals' Eric Burdon to ...
Burdon's press agent couldn't provide The Electronic Intifada with any details and other inquiries have gone unanswered.
electronicintifada.net/.../no-evidence-threats-prompted-animals...

Animals' Eric Burdon flies in for on again Israel show
The Times of Israel
In a statement at the time, T-Slam said, “To appear with Eric Burdon, one of the founding fathers of rock & roll, was an almost dream come true. We're sorry that despite his personal assurance to us, that he bowed to pressure and cancelled his concert.”.
See all stories on this topic »
The Animals' Eric Burdon Israel show back on
Connecticut Jewish Ledger
(JNS.org) Legendary 1960s band The Animals' musician Eric Burdon will perform in Israel after initially canceling the performance due to threatening anti-Israel emails, his manager said. The former lead singer of the band will perform alongside the ...
See all stories on this topic »
Animals Lead Singer to Perform in Israel After All
Arutz Sheva
A week after Eric Burdon, the former lead singer in the British band The Animals, cancelled his performance in Israel because of political pressure, he had a change of heart. The Israel Hayom daily newspaper reported on Tuesday that Burdon landed in ...
See all stories on this topic »
Eric Burdon from Band The Animals To Play in Israel – Forward.com
Eric Burdon, lead singer of the popular '60s band The Animals, said he will perform in Israel days after canceling a concert due to threatening emails.
forward.com/.../eric-burdon-from-band-the-animals-to-play-in...
The Jewish Press » » Another BDS Fail – Eric Burdon Will Appear in ...
Another day, another BDS fail. Despite intense pressure amous rocker EricBurdon will appear with Israel legendary band T-Slam on August 1 in Israel.
www.jewishpress.com/news/another-bds-fail-eric.../30/
Israeli rocker and occupation critic, Izhar Ashdot: Eric Burdon will ...
Israeli musician Izhar Ashdot confirms that Eric Burdon will be performing in Israel despite reports that he had cancelled his scheduled appearance.
mondoweiss.net/.../israeli-rocker-and-occupation-critic-izhar-a...
Eric Burdon in Israel for gig - UPI.com
Eric Burdon, the former lead singer of the British rock band The Animals arrived in Israel Tuesday, despite initially canceling the gig due to threats.
www.upi.com/Entertainment.../UPI-98301375180161/

The Bargee's Wife opera at Gloucester Cathedral

Barbara Dickson will take to the stage at Gloucester Cathedral in the world premiere of John O’Hara’s new opera, The Bargee’s Wife, forming part of the Three Choirs Festival 2013. 

Barbara Dickson is set to shine in The BargeeOn Sunday 4 August 2013, music and theatre lovers alike will be heading to Gloucester Cathedral for a musically motivated, off-beat take on the topics of aging, dementia and growing old gracefully, when The Bargee’s Wife opera makes its world premiere at the Three Choirs Festival.

Starring internationally renowned singer Barbara Dickson, supported by a cast of 160 amateur singers and featuring music performed by members of The Philharmonia Orchestra, The Bargee’s Wife is certainly something to sing about.

Using the words and memories of those suffering from dementia, it portrays the way in which time alters with the syndrome, as well as the way their grasp of the present fades whilst the past remains.

Read on...

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Che Faro
DVD - £12.99

B4 74 - The Folkclub Tapes
2CD - £11.99

Nothings Gonna Change My World
CD - £9.99

Full Circle
CD - £9.99

Into The Light
DVD - £12.99

Time And Tide 
CD - £9.99

Tuesday 30 July 2013

STEVE HILLAGE REVIEW


steve-hillage_live-in-englandHe was never as progressive as Steve Howe or as pretty as Peter Frampton, but Steve Hillage is an interesting British guitar player who has never gotten the attention or due he deserves. Associated most frequently with England’s “Canterbury Scene,” a group of musicians somewhat on the periphery of what the scores of other British musicians, from Yes to Humble Pie, were doing, Hillage was his own man and never enjoyed the success, especially on American radio, that so many of his contemporaries got. He did gain some acclaim as a member of Gong, but it was short-lived.
On the new CD/DVD set Live In England 1979, fans of progressive and British rock who had been unaware of Hillage can now check him out after a relatively long period of obscurity. With a band that owed as much to what was happening in American rock as much as to the British prog rock scene, Hillage performed material in this live show at the University of Kent that was written largely by him and longtime companion/keyboardist Miquette Giraudy, though he wasn’t afraid to cover fellow countrymen like George Harrison (“It’s All Too Much”) and Donovan (“Hurdy Gurdy Man”).
Hillage also is known as a producer for such acts as Simple Minds and Robyn Hitchcock, but he’s really a guitar player at heart and it shows on this set. For those who are looking for a new (albeit old) talent to be introduced to, or get a kick out of good musicians stuck with bad video footage on the DVD, Live In England 1979 is a good bet.

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO


EXCLUSIVE PICTURES FROM JUDY DYBLE'S SET ON SATURDAY






CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO
Flow and Change
CD - £9.99

Talking With Strangers
CD - £9.99

ERIC BURDON ISRAEL CONCERT BACK ON


Eric Burdon (photo credit: MitchD50/Wikipedia)After caving to threats and canceling a gig in Israel, aging rocker Eric Burdon will play here after all, Hebrew media reported Monday.
Burdon, the former lead singer of ’60s British band The Animals, last week canceled an August 1 concert in Binyamina because he had been receiving daily threatening emails, his manager said.
However, on Monday the concert was back up on Burdon’s website and was again listed among the concerts at the Zappa Shuni Amphitheater in Binyamina. No reason was given for the cancellation of the cancellation.
Burdon, whose band’s decades-spanning career including hits such as “The House of the Rising Sun,” “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place,” “It’s My Life,” and “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” is once again scheduled to perform alongside Israeli legendary band T-Slam, as per the original plan.
Earlier this month, Burdon met up with members of T-Slam in Vienna and told them he was under pressure from anti-Israel activists to cancel the show. At that time, though, he seemed set on going ahead with the concert, telling the Israeli musicians, “Everyone needs music and there’s no connection to current politics. Everyone has the right to be entertained.”
CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO

Folk legend Mike Heron gets his big break

DON'T tell folk legend Mike Heron to break a leg before he goes onstage at Oran Mor – because he's already broken an arm

Mike Heron, back centre, with  Trembling Bells
Mike Heron, back centre, with Trembling Bells

The former Incredible String Band member is back in Glasgow to play with local folk rockers Trembling Bells, having debuted their latest collaboration, The Circle Is Unbroken, at Celtic Connections earlier this year. But after the first gig of their current tour Mike crocked himself.

"It was one of those cracks in the pavement, and I just caught it and fell," he explains. "I went to hospital, where they re-set my arm so I can get a couple of gigs done, and now they've wired a couple of the bones together. All it's got to do is heal now."

Yet the 70-year-old, whose music has influenced many acts, reckons the break has delivered an unexpected benefit to the band. "There were a few teething problems when we started [in January] but we're slicker now," he explains. "What's happened is that with the broken arm I can concentrate on my singing over the guitar playing, and I don't think they really need me playing.

Read on...

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO
The Lost Broadcasts
DVD - $7.99

THE GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY: The Passenger - Iggy Pop and The Stooges 70's



CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO
Lust For Life
DVD - £9.99

'MY DAD IS DAEVID ALLEN FROM GONG'

Interesting contribution to a website called "My Dad was in a Band"....

'MY DAD IS DAEVID ALLEN FROM GONG'

Since he still currently plays I guess he’s not really applicable to the ‘was’, but because he has been around since before Jimi Hendrix was cool and he’s like mid 70′s now....

Growing up with him is probably the reason why I don’t find anything weird in life. Dad has all these crazy drawings he’d done on commission plastered on the walls, he loves all weird things and has the craziest costumes and he’d dress up in them and dance around the living room. It’s been a running joke in my family that he’s 70 going on 17.

THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem

Rob Ayling writes: 

"Thom the World poet is an old mate of mine from way back in my history. Even pre-dating Voiceprint, when I was running "Otter Songs" and Tom's poetry tapes and guest appearances with Daevid Allen, Gilli Smyth, Mother Gong are well known and highly regarded. It just felt right to include a daily poem from Thom on our Gonzo blog and when I approached him to do so, he replied with in seconds!!! Thom is a great talent and just wants to spread poetry, light and positive energy across the globe. If we at Gonzo can help him do that - why not? why not indeed!!" (The wondrous poetpic is by Jack McCabe, who I hope forgives me for scribbling all over it with Photoshop)

The PC16: Identifying China's Successors 

Low wages,high growth-production of goods which find markets
This was China.It was also England in the Industrial Revolution
and Japan and China post World War 2(with American assistance)
Conventional wisdom post reparations World War One intuited
that prosperity (advancing a middle class),meant evolutionary democracy.
China as a metaphor means many things-most contradictory.Size is one!
Expansion of Japan created a context for the Pacific in World War Two
China is expanding her presence in the South China Sea and Indian Ocean
China is also investing in infrastructure of developing and emergent nations in Africa, Asia ,South America etc
Her market size means when she coughs,we get colds.We are all interconnected.
Growth is neither constant nor assured.PC sales are down,one can only buy enough smart phones
And low wage industries like garments and footwear can be outsourced to cheaper countries
So China needs create markets in her own country,as well as expand overseas.
Before we count her time as past,remember that dragons still exist
They just change shape ,as markets and strategies do..as we will..as China does,we watch..and follow

Monday 29 July 2013

THE (WHITE) PANTHER SLEEPS TONIGHT

People always say that they they know where they were when they heard the news that Elvis had died, or when they heard of John Lennon's assassination. I will always remember where I was when I heard that Mick Farren had died - I was in Brighton, on my way to see him. I had telephoned both his home and mobile numbers, and when I got no reply I telephoned Graham, my oppo back in North Devon, to see if there was an email from Mick changing our appointment. He told me that he had received two or three unconfirmed reports that Mick had collapsed on stage last night. I asked him to try and find out some more details for me to see if there was anything I could do.

Half an hour later he telephoned me saying that Helga Colquhoun had emailed me confirming that Mick had died without regaining consciousness. It goes without saying that we are all completely devastated.

Because Gonzo recently became The Deviants record label, we received a considerable number of inquiries asking for news. As some of the initial reports implied that Mick was alive in hospital, I asked Graham to find out as much information as possible for me, which he did tactfully and kindly. I would like to thank him publically for all he did in regard to this difficult situation in my absence.

Bob Dylan once said about Johnny Cash "You could set your compass by [him], no matter where you were, he was always heading in the same direction, steady and true..." I would like to say the same thing about Mick Farren

I am not going to claim that Mick Farren and I were friends. I only met him once, and had about three enjoyable telephone conversations as well, but I like to think that he and I would soon have become friends. Because Mick was everything that I aspire to be. A massively principled man with the heart of a revolutionary, a childlike and wicked sense of humour, an immense talent and a social conscience second to none. His version of that much maligned term anarchism, and mine, were and are almost identical. Above all he was a kind, ethical and gentle man, whom - one would suspect much to his amusement - my late father would have described as very much a gentleman. I had great love and respect for him, and I hope that in the weeks, months and years to come, as part of Gonzo Multimedia we shall help bring his invaluable work, and inspirational legacy to new generations.

Rest in Peace Mick.



When I Am Dead, My Dearest
When I am dead, my dearest,
Sing no sad songs for me;
Plant thou no roses at my head,
Nor shady cypress tree:
Be the green grass above me
With showers and dewdrops wet;
And if thou wilt, remember,
And if thou wilt, forget.
I shall not see the shadows,
I shall not feel the rain;
I shall not hear the nightingale
Sing on, as if in pain:
And dreaming through the twilight
That doth not rise nor set,
Haply I may remember,
And haply may forget.
                                           ~Christina Rossetti

JON MEETS MICK FARREN

THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem

Rob Ayling writes: 

"Thom the World poet is an old mate of mine from way back in my history. Even pre-dating Voiceprint, when I was running "Otter Songs" and Tom's poetry tapes and guest appearances with Daevid Allen, Gilli Smyth, Mother Gong are well known and highly regarded. It just felt right to include a daily poem from Thom on our Gonzo blog and when I approached him to do so, he replied with in seconds!!! Thom is a great talent and just wants to spread poetry, light and positive energy across the globe. If we at Gonzo can help him do that - why not? why not indeed!!" (The wondrous poetpic is by Jack McCabe, who I hope forgives me for scribbling all over it with Photoshop)

GIVE THE ANARCHIST A CIGARETTE

I met Mick in print when i bought International Times.
I knew him from a distance with THE DEVIANTS and his journalism for New Music Express
Poet,author,songwriter,journalist,Phun City Festival organizer,musician-one man punk Renaissance
So many books-such diversity!From THE CIA FILES to BLACK LEATHER JACKET-
he sowed the seeds of insight into new music collaborations with Kramer and many others-so
LET'S LOOT THE SUPERMARKET AGAIN,DNA COWBOYS!
VAMPIRES STOLE MY LUNCH MONEY!./THE TITANIC SAILS@DAWN.
WHO's WATCHING YOU?One singular man,who actually died on stage
@The Roundhouse-and may not be revived again-apart from those who play his Muse
read his 29 books,trusted his journalism and joined him in SAVING THE WORLD!
(One Record @a Time!..NEVER Rest In Peace!,Mick Farren.-SHINE!

THE GONZO TRACKS OF THE DAY






REMEMBERING MICK FARREN

We are all reeling from the news here, and by the way that the news has proliferated across the internet, so are a lot of other people. However, sadly, much of the information given in these stories is just untrue. It wasn't a 'new' lineup of the band (I suppose Andy is a 'new boy' only having been in the band since the mid 1970s) and it wasn't a rare public performance. Journalists huh?


Mick Farren Dies After Collapsing On Stage In London
Ultimate Classic Rock
Mick Farren, lead singer for the Deviants, collapsed on stage last night (July 27) in London. He passed away shortly thereafter. According to his Facebook page, Farren was making a rare live appearance with a new lineup of the Deviants for the Atomic ...

See all stories on this topic »
Passings: Mick Farren of the Deviants (1943 - 2013)
VVN Music
Mick Farren, founder of early punk band the Deviants and prolific writer, collapsed on stage during the band's set at the Atomic Sunshine Festival in London and has died. He was 69. Word first broke in a thread on Farren's Facebook page when David ...
See all stories on this topic »
Mick Farren 1943 - 2013
Uncut.co.uk
According to reports, he collapsed on stage at London's Borderline last night [July 27] while playing with his band The Deviants. Farren was a man of many disciplines. A key writer (and, briefly, editor) of the International Times, he also wrote for ...
See all stories on this topic »VVN Music: Passings: Mick Farren of the Deviants (1943 - 2013)
Mick Farren, founder of early punk band the Deviants and prolific writer, collapsed on stage during the band's set at the Atomic Sunshine Festival in London and ...
www.vintagevinylnews.com/.../passings-mick-farren-of-devia...RIP: Mick Farren - SF Signal

Author, journalist and singer Mick Farren collapsed on stage during a performance last night and died shortly thereafter. Farren was known to science fiction fans ...
www.sfsignal.com/archives/2013/07/rip-mick-farren/Mick Farren 1943 - 2013 - Uncut.co.uk

Mick Farren
, author, counterculture radical and singer, has died aged 69. According to reports, he collapsed on stage at London's Borderline last night [ July 27] ...
www.uncut.co.uk/mick-farren-1943-2013-newsMICK FARREN HAS DIED | Ian Bone

MICK FARREN
 HAS DIED. Sad news that Mick Farren has died after collapsing on stage at the Borderline on July 27th. via Sonja Kristina. About these ads ...
ianbone.wordpress.com/2013/07/28/mick-farren-has-died/SF Site News » Obituary: Mick Farren - The SF Site

Author and musician Mick Farren (b.1943) collapsed onstage during a performance on July 27 and later died. Farren performed with The Deviants in the 1960s ...
www.sfsite.com/news/2013/07/28/obituary-mick-farren/

Sunday 28 July 2013

MICK FARREN HAS LEFT THE BUILDING...

We at Gonzo are sad to say the earlier unconfirmed reports about Mick Farren are correct - and that he has died after collapsing on stage last night.

Andy Colquhoun (member of the Deviants) and wife Helga have now confirmed the news.

On Facebook, Andy said this afternoon:

The Deviants and friends all over the world are deeply shocked and saddened after Mick collapsed on stage last night and never regained consciousness, despite heroic efforts by the ambulance crew. Goodbye old friend.

MICK FARREN taken ill, say unconfirmed reports

Unconfirmed reports today are saying that Mick Farren was taken ill on stage last night. There is currently (Sunday lunchtime) no official comfirmation of this available.

The Deviants played last night at London's Borderline, at an event called "Atomic Sunshine Festival" together with Vibravoid, Edgar Broughton and Here & Now.

Reports suggest that, a couple of songs in to the Deviants' set, Mick Farren - ex-journalist, songwriter, and counterculture icon - collapsed on stage. Paramedics attended and CPR was carried out.



UPDATE at 3pm UK time:

On Facebook, Andy Colquhoun (member of the Deviants) said an hour ago:

The Deviants and friends all over the world are deeply shocked and saddened after Mick collapsed on stage last night and never regained consciousness, despite heroic efforts by the ambulance crew. Goodbye old friend.


US singer-songwriter JJ Cale dies, aged 74

US singer-songwriter JJ Cale has died of a heart attack at the age of 74.

An announcement on his personal website said he had passed away at a hospital in La Jolla, California, on Friday.

"Donations are not needed but he was a great lover of animals so, if you like,you can remember him with a donation to your favorite local animal shelter," the website statement says.

Born in Oklahoma, Cale helped create the Tulsa Sound, which combined blues, rockabilly, and country. He became famous in 1970, when Eric Clapton covered his song After Midnight.

Read on...

JUDY DYBLE AT MUSOSCRIBE


Judy Dyble – Talking With Strangers
Fans of classic-, folk- and/or progressive rock might recognize the name Judy Dyble. She was a founding member of Fairport Convention, and she sang on the demo version of the embryonicKing Crimson‘s “I Talk to the Wind.” But she’s been largely out of the limelight since that release (the album’s press one-sheet claims that Dyble “promptly retired to the English countryside to raise a family.”). Talking With Strangers bears some sonic similarities to Fairport Convention; Dyble’s English folk roots inform her songwriting and arrangement. He gentle voice is less forceful than that of Annie Haslam, but the songs on the album are (unsurprisingly) reminiscent of Renaissance. It helps that Dyble’s list of heavy friends includes Robert FrippIan MacDonald, Tim Bowness (No-man) and Pat Mastelotto. While her original songs are strong, her reading of the Greg Lake/Pete Sinfield classic “C’est la Vie” is the highlight here.


CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO
Flow and Change
CD - £9.99

Talking With Strangers
CD - £9.99

LINK: Accrington legend Jon Anderson to perform Manchester show

The WHAT'S ON IN LANCASHIRE news site does a 'local boy made good' story:


Accrington prog rock legend Jon Anderson to perform Manchester show

Jon Anderson, former lead singer of Yes, will be taking time out from his holiday to play a special show in the intimate surroundings of Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre – one of just two dates in the UK.
“I’ll be on holiday in Europe and the chance for the show came along which I thought would be good,” said Jon. “But I’ll still have the chance to get up to Accrington and see how things are there.”
(more)

STEVE MILLER BAND TRIBUTE FEATURES MEMBERS OF YES, ASIA, DEEP PURPLE




Fly Like an Eagle
Cleopatra Records

Purple Pyramid’s ongoing series of tribute records has offered new re-recordings of hits by a growing list of artists that includes Genesis and Yes. The latest offering pays tribute to the Steve Miller Band.
The label’s Miller record, ‘Fly Like An Eagle – An All-Star Tribute to Steve Miller Band,’ was produced by former Yes member Billy Sherwood, who enthused in a press release, “Steve Miller has written so many great songs, working on this record gave me a chance to look deeper into the inner workings of the material and explore it all with so many amazing guest artists. It was an honor producing and playing on this project. I think the fans of the music will appreciate the contributions of all the artists involved.”
According to the ‘Fly Like an Eagle’ announcement, that list of artists includes Yes veterans Rick Wakeman and Tony Kaye, Asia‘s John Wetton, Colin Moulding of XTC, Gong’s Steve Hillage, Fee Waybill of the Tubes, Deep Purple‘s Steve Morse, Jordan Rudess of Dream Theater and guitarist Steve Stevens, among others. The songs also reportedly include “some final recordings by guitar legend Peter Banks.” The complete track listing for the album, which is available now, is included below.
‘Fly Like an Eagle – An All-Star Tribute to Steve Miller Band’ Track List
‘Take the Money and Run’
‘Jet Airliner’
‘Living in the USA’
‘Abracadabra’
‘Swingtown’
‘Winter Time’
‘The Joker’
‘Jungle Love’
‘Space Cowboy’
‘Rock’n Me’
‘Fly Like An Eagle’

THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem

Rob Ayling writes: 

"Thom the World poet is an old mate of mine from way back in my history. Even pre-dating Voiceprint, when I was running "Otter Songs" and Tom's poetry tapes and guest appearances with Daevid Allen, Gilli Smyth, Mother Gong are well known and highly regarded. It just felt right to include a daily poem from Thom on our Gonzo blog and when I approached him to do so, he replied with in seconds!!! Thom is a great talent and just wants to spread poetry, light and positive energy across the globe. If we at Gonzo can help him do that - why not? why not indeed!!" (The wondrous poetpic is by Jack McCabe, who I hope forgives me for scribbling all over it with Photoshop)


LIGHTING VIA LIGHTNING


Storm in a tempest teacup./drops in a coffee can
Drama black night with only splotches by morning light
All day the muggy tension stressed pressure skies
Night clouds gathered like demonstrators stopped ,compressed
Then white jagged lines knifed high to ground/split black
into digital time.Relief.Release.Purse strings of skies tight still.
Street lights tiny perspective in this throwback in time
Pre-us,cave age would stare at angry skies
try to club the stars into light fires.We geo-engineer/seed clouds
Still ask why what is above us has power to determine our moods
Awake now,seek Facebook ,blog,newspaper commentary or TV tube
to explain what our body experiences-our eyes witness-old /new..

GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY: Fish performing in Holland




Currently available:

Return To Childhood
DCD - £11.99

Return To Childhood
DVD - £12.99

Bouillabaisse
DCD - £11.99

Communion
DCD - £11.99

Saturday 27 July 2013

Jon Davison Interview from Yes: Out Of Order


An Interview with Jon Davison from Yes: Out Of Order

—by , July 24, 2013
Playing not one but three classic albums in their entirety, Yes guitarist Steve Howe, bassist Chris Squire, drummer Alan White, keyboardist Geoff Downes, and singer Jon Davison have been delighting fans on a nostalgic musical journey spanning albums released between 1971 and 1977. Hailed as icons of progressive rock, the band’s tour is a unique experience not to be missed by lifelong and new fans alike. As the latest addition to the band’s lineup, Davison spoke with me about the tour, starting out as a Yes fan, and how he got here from there.
I see you have a festival planned in Camden on Aug. 3, appropriately called Yestival. It sounds like a great time. How come something like that hasn’t happened before now?
During the last tour it came up that we were going to do this and I forgot to ask who the impetus was for getting that going. I suspect it was Chris because he’s been talking about doing something like that for quite some time. I’m sure, if all goes off well, it could very well be an annual thing.
It’s been said that a Yes show isn’t just a concert, but more of a musical journey. Do you feel that’s a true statement?
I definitely agree with that. I think the caliber of Yes’ music really lends itself to that experience because the music is so involved and there are movements that I think take the listener on a journey. I feel that way, too, when I’m singing the music. I feel like it’s a mutual experience, this unique experience between the audience and the band members.
Before joining the group you were in a Yes tribute band, and prior to that you were the bassist for Sky Cries Mary, which I was a fan of.
No way! You’re kidding! (Laughs) Well, how old are you now?
I’m 37.
Were you in Seattle at the time?
I wasn’t. Honestly, I don’t even know how the album made its way to me. It’s funny but I once said the same thing to Scott Mercado [Candlebox drummer and former Sky Cries Mary] and he had the same reaction.

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