Wednesday 27 March 2019

Thirtieth Century Man - Scott Walker Has Left


Scott Walker died yesterday, a true artist. I've written about him on my main blog here, but really need to just post something to remember him by.

The documentary Thirtieth Century Man gives a great insight into him , and when he finally appears you are expecting someone awkward, reclusive and difficult but he was engaging and articulate. The film is available in the UK on Youtube here

He was always driven from his early teens, as Scott Engel, but most people will know him as a member of The Walker Brothers, none of them called Walker and they weren't brothers.

After The Walker Brothers ended he became more withdrawn and released albums sporadically and they became more and more challenging for the listener. You are talking as far out as some Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart, The Fall and Aphex Twin but nowhere near these artists.

When you listen to solo sixties performances  including covers of Jacques Brel you maybe had an inkling that this was not your standard entertainer and with "Climate of the Hunter" with several songs or pieces referred to as their number he had departed the mainstream.

The albums "The Drift" , "Tilt"and "Bish Bosh" took you further out somewhere where we had never been and when I heard "Brando" the opener from "Soused", his collaboration with Sunn O))) , I thought what the hell is this but was mesmerised by it.

Scott Walker was hardly prolific, and once he had completed an album he listened to it ince to make sure it was what he wanted, then he never revisited it. So I will leave you with "Brando" and "Jackie" both wonderful and essential.

Scott Walker a true artist.


Sunday 24 March 2019

Nightmares and Kings

The first Trash Shack of the 2019 resurrection featured two excellent bands, The Shakin' Nightmares and The Kings of Hong Kong. .

The Trash Shack Universe has it's own music and images. Surf, Link Wray, ReVerb , all the Billies from Rocka to Psycho , some Western Swing, Mariachi , Rock and Roll and Punk Energy an a very impressive Garage. It has a current home at The Doll at The Black Bull but can be found further afield at The Cluny and maybe Scotland, London and further west .

I must make a mention of the amazing Art Installation outside The Doll At The Black Bull featuring various punk icons which you can see here. I spoke to the artists who , apart from being very talented were engagingly pleasant.

Immaculate quiffs, Gibson Guitars, Masks and Tattoos are always not very far from what might be be seen as the Trash Shack core.

So here we go:

The Shaking Nightmares



Starting their set with the brooding instrumentation of "(I've Got) The Shakin' Nightmares" (effectively their signature song) before the vocals appeared , then following up immediately with "Unbelievin'" (you can see my Youtube take here). The sound improved as they went along they looked the part introducing many different styles.

Their penultimate song was a stunning version of Little Richard's "Keep A Knockin'" which I caught a minute of on my phone and you can see here.

If the night had finished there it would have been worth it but there was more to come......

The Kings of Hong Kong



The first full masked band I've seen since The Coyotemen (who are prime Trash Shack beef) ,  and the Kings of Hong Kong carry a huge stage presence,  and a double bass , tattoos , masks and a sound channeling Link Wray, Robert Gordon with mohicans, hats, menace and style. I caught a song called "Empire of Love" here but have been impressed by a lot of the videos on their Youtube Channel.

Soall in all an excellent Trash Shack night.