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    • March 1, 2011 5:22 PM CST
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    • Hiya, whereabouts is the Edinburgh gig (not Bannerman's again, please....)? How are you off for (a)floorspace and (b) support bands? (optimist...)

      Cheers,

      Derek.

    • February 22, 2011 4:43 PM CST
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    • The UK, France, Germany, Netherlands and Italy are about to get destroyed by the one and only ZOMBINA AND THE SKELETONES.

       

      We're also on the lookout for any shows for those days off. Any ideas? If you're a promoter or just a friendly person with with a couch or two we can sleep on near these towns, get in touch with me!!!

    • March 1, 2011 11:00 AM CST
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    • Hopefully see you 1th and 12th.  At least one of em :-)

    • March 1, 2011 5:36 AM CST
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    • Drummer wanted for garage-punk band from April.
      Edinburgh area.
      Over 18.
      Must have own equipment and transport.
      Must have previous live experience.
      Must have the strength and stamina to blast through one of our sets.
      Must be available to gig all year round - sometimes at short notice.
      Must be a quick learner as we'll expect you to be gig-ready after a couple of rehearsals.
      No egos, no timewasters.
      No right-wingers, racists, haters, flag-wavers, bigots, happy-clappers etc... You get the picture.
      Listen to some tunes here... http://www.reverbnation.com/acidfascists
      Check out video of a live session here... http://vimeo.com/16596387
      Please include links to recent sound or (preferably) video examples of you drumming.

    • February 28, 2011 10:43 PM CST
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    • MARCH 24-FREDERICIA,DK  OR  HAMBURG,DE @TBA

      25-ARHUS,DK@MUSIKCAFEEN

      26-AALBORG,DK@100FRYD

      27-OSLO,NO@MONO

      28-MOSS,NO@KRAKEREIRET

      29- HELP!

      30-HELP!

      31-HELSINGOR,DK@ELVAERKET

      APRIL 1-BERLIN,DE@WHITE TRASH

      2 COPENHAGEN,DK@STENGADE

       

      OK, IF YOU CAN HELP SECURE SHOWS JUST CONTACT, IF NOT COME TO THE SHOW AND GIVE US A BLOW!

    • February 27, 2011 12:00 PM CST
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    • The Branded are back after a spell in 're-hab' and have a bunch of new songs and a new LP coming out on Soundflat records summer 2011, with new bass player Harri Kolari the sound is more rockin' and primitive, so if you live in northern Italy come check it out. If not then the band will be touring Germany, Holland, Norway and Spain this year, if you cant get there then buy the new LP out in August/September.

       

      Italian tour dates:

       

      02/03 WED - Sidro - Savignano sul Rubicone (FC)
      03/03 THU - Kontro Karma - Montecarlo (LU)
      04/03 FRI - Shake Club - La Spezia
      05/03 SAT - Taun - Fidenza (PR)
      06/03 SUN - Titty Twister - Villadossola (VB)
      07/03 MON - Ligeria - MIlano

    • February 24, 2011 10:15 AM CST
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    • Zorch Productions in Sweden, matey! And, yes, it'll be a neat little list...

       

      www.zorchproductions.com

       

      Cheers / Tobba

    • February 24, 2011 3:31 AM CST
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    • Hello there, everyone!

      I'm from Russia, Novgorod, and i'm playing guitar in garagepunk duo called The Zombiecops (http://www.myspace.com/thezombiecops). We finally finished our records session and looking for a label to put on our stuff behind the border. 7inch would be superb, but even cd seems nice.

       

      So, guys and girls, please help me, list the labels of any sizes, which take care of trashy garagepunk (like us, like Persuaders, Reatards, and so on, so on, so on...)

       

      By the way, it should be a great list to explore new stuff, as it seems to me ,)

    • February 21, 2011 2:53 PM CST
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    • Hey, I'm going to be in Murcia this weekend... do any lovely Spanish people know of any cool places to go while I'm there? x

    • February 21, 2011 6:48 AM CST
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    • Hey,

      I'm looking for a new place to open my Clinic, some guest djs, or people who are motivated for a new garage soul low fi... night!

      So if you are in London(UK) or somewhere around, give me a shout.

      Your devoted Dr.Kruger

    • February 19, 2011 6:01 PM CST
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    •  

      This is a recent interview with Dom Mariani of The Stems, DM3, The Someloves and other various projects. Many thanks to Dom for the time he spent answering these questions for Distorsioni.

       

      By Ricardo Martillos (English Translation by Myriam Bardino)

       

       

       

      1) What about the guitar lessons at Richard Lane in 1983, is this story true? 
      Is it following these guitar jam sessions that you came up with the idea of forming a band?

      This is true, and more or less how the band started. I was introduced to Richard by a mutual friend Gary Constantine. They would both come to see me play in another band at The Wizbah (an inner city Perth venue). He like my band and asked me for guitar lessons. I was teaching a little at the time, but I wouldn’t call myself a proper guitar teacher. From a few lesson I noticed that Richard could play well and found out that he could also play keyboards, harmonica and enjoyed singing. We talked about music a lot,.. he liked The Sunnyboys and The Saints and I introduced to some 60’s music that he hadn’t heard of . This gave me the idea of asking him about being in a new band I was planning. This band became The Stems. 

      2) How important was the 60’ USA Garage punk such as: Electric Prunes, Standells, The Chocolate Watch Band, in the decision process of forming your band? And what about the Australian garage punk like The Masters Apprentices & The Missing Links?

      The Electric Prunes are a big influence. I first discovered them on Nuggets and soon after found a copy of their Underground in a discount record store. This was like finding gold. It’s still one of my all time favorite albums,… The Standells, Chocolate Watch band,…Music Machine all had some influence on The Stems,…as did the Australian bands like The Masters and The Easybeats. The Masters are incredible,,,The Missing Links I discovered later.

      3 ) Following your first two great 7”, quite sixties orientated, it’s quite clear that in your first ep “love will grow” you guys decided to smoothen your sound into more melodic lines ? Did you want to enlarge your fan base or was this only a pure sound evolution?

      The songwriting took a natural progression, but going into a bigger and more sophisticated studio (Trafalgar) with Rob Younger and Alan Thorne’s production team, these were also factors in the way that record eventually sounded. Tears Me in Two and Can’t Resist were recorded during the same session.

      4) How come that the great Citadel Record of John Needham missed the chance of publishing your first record? Do you sincerely think that your record would have sounded different, maybe a little bit grittier? And talking about Citadel, strangely enough your first 2 studio albums were not released on this label, but on the other hand they published 3 of yours anthologies. Is there any explanation?

      It was more a case of opportunity really. John couldn’t afford to pay for the recording of those albums, so we had to go with someone that could. John also personally managed Died Pretty, they were his main focus at the time. I’ve always maintained a good relationship with John and wherever possible give him the opportunity to release music. 

      5) Is it difficult for you that The Stems is considered the band of Dom Mariani?
      I have noticed that Richard Lane sings some of the songs like: Tears Me In Two, Under Your Mushroom, Rosebud , and a lot of more. What is his contribution?

      It depends on how you see the band. Even tough I am considered the main song writer in The Stems Richard did contribute songs in the earlier part, but the tunes that Richard sung were mostly written by Julian Matthews (bass) who usually doesn’t get much credit for it. 

      6) Radio Birdman and The Saints have been two of the most influential bands of the 70’s. What do these bands mean for an “aussie” musician? What is your relationship with other great bands like : Bands di Perth, The Triffids e The Scientists?

      There’s no doubt both Radio Birdman and The Saints helped pave the way for the scene in the 80’s. The Saints were more of an influence on me than Radio Birdman. It wasn’t until we moved to Sydney in ’85 that I came to appreciate Birdman more and realize the impact they’d made on the inner city scene there.
      I was never much of a Triffids fan,..but the Scientists were a great band! I saw them play many times and would consider them the best band to come from Perth. Some of those shows in the early 80’s were amazing and inspired me to start a band like The Stems.

      7) Why and how did you decide to break “The Stems” up in October 1987? Everyone was puzzled by this decision because it was a period where your band was quite popular and you records were always in the Australian alternative charts. 

      It just happened that way. Constant touring, poor management and tensions inside the group all played their part. Recording the At Fist Sight album wasn’t a smooth process and things started to deteriorate from there. 
      The band had become quite popular, and with a major label commitment it meant a lot more touring and being available for all the things that go with publicising a band on the way up. The band sort professional management which ultimately didn’t have the group’s real interests at heart. I started to question this and in the end decided to walk away from it.


      8) The 2003 reunion and the following European tour was an inner nurtured idea or was it a consequence of the pressure of your fans, that were satisfied from The Someloves and DM3 but nostalgic of The Stems songs? And what about the European welcoming, how was it? 

      Our first reunion was in ’97 (10 years after we’d broken up) and then a year later (’98) we played the Mudslinger festival, but these shows were only in Perth. It wasn’t until 2003 that the idea of a full reunion tour was a serious proposition. It came from a promoter who suggested we do an Australian tour and things just happened from there. We were all a bit surprised by the response,….old fans and new. This eventually lead to the band staying together for another 7 years which included recording another album and touring Europe, Japan and the US. It was a lot of fun…

      9) What about the 2007 tour with Hoodoo Gurus and Radio Birdman?
      Could you tell us any stories about Rob Younger and Deniz Tek, two of the main characters of the Rock Aussie scene? Would you like to play in a band with them, or do you think that they are a little bit too egocentrics? 

      That was a cool tour. It came the right time for us. Heads Up had been out a couple of weeks. We had something to promote – our first album in 20 years. Both Rob and Deniz are super nice guys. I know Rob a little better having worked with him on the early Stems recordings and most recently The DomNicks mini album.
      I’d work with either of them no problem. They are real music people who are passionate about their art. 

      10) Which of the 2 albums you recorded, better identifies the Stems sound?
      I feel closer to the first two 7inches but I am positively surprised about the ability you had to combine such beautiful melodies with love lyrics like in Love Will Grow and At First Sight, one of your most popular song. 

      I think the last album Heads Up is close to what the band sounded like at this time. The melody above all is the most distinctive part of the Stems sound, while at the same time to keep it rocking. I prefer the sound of Love Will Grow recording to At First Sight album. There are some good songs on the At First Sight album, but I’m not that fond of the production.

      11) In 2010, the Italian label Misty Lane, published the excellent anthology “From the Vault”. What are the differences between the Italian/European and the Australian public?

      Not really sure…I guess the fans might be a little more passionate.

      12) As vinyl collector I am positively surprised that your releases are available on vinyl, is it your own choice or is it casual?

      Casual…Misty Lane approached us to do it. It’s great to have it out there on vinyl again. I’d love to have Heads Up available on vinyl.

      13) This 2010 Farewell Tour is definitely The Stems last chapter? Or are you ready to surprise us and would you consider re-thinking about it? I read in a 2009 interview that you said the following “"This is our first farewell. We did break up once but we weren't in good enough shape to say goodbye. This time we'll end it off on a good note. The band's going really well but you just know when it's time to go". Could you please explain us how we need to understand this message? 

      It was the last shows. We often joke about the farewell and reunion thing, ‘cause I we’ve done it twice,…and the second time it lasted longer than the first. At this point I can’t see us ever doing it again as the original line-up. The door is not closed, but it would be a different line-up if The Stems were to play again.

      14) In conclusion I would like to ask you a question that I had in mind from a long time. Your surname, Mariani sounds very latin: have you got any Italian ancestors or family?

      My origins are Italian. My parents come from the Abruzzo region. 
      They immigrated to Australia in the fifties. I still have relatives there in Vasto, Uncles, Aunts and cousins.
      I have visited many times and once toured with DM3 in 2001 at the invitation of Gene Gnochi who had the TV show Perepepe. 






    • February 19, 2011 12:27 PM CST
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    • MOSES RECORDS also is pretty great, they got some good GARAGE and Trash things + some ROCKNROLL records too with good prices. www.moses-records.at/

    • February 19, 2011 8:20 AM CST
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    • Will pop in while we're there.

    • February 19, 2011 7:41 AM CST
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    • I will be in this dire position as One Fathom Down are playing Voodoo Hop at Cabaret Fledermaus (Vienna) on the 10th of March.

      Psychosurf in Austria!

    • February 19, 2011 7:33 AM CST
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    • Hey Gals and Guys!

      I'm trying to put together a shortlist of where to find things, should YOU ever find yourself in the dire position to end up in AUSTRIA, ...yes that's in Europe. Sometimes at least, when it's not in the cromagnon state of mind.

       

      All stupidity aside, there are quite some bands acting up, some venues and clubs that do stuff, some artists crawling around... in short: A bit of things going on and this discussion should be a helpful spot collecting all of the above for people/bands/labels/fans to pick up on and check stuff out.

       

      I'll be putting things here in a second, but feel free to drop in yourself with info and links.

       

      NOTE: Let's keep it tight and on the info please, so it won't take forever to search thru this for the interested, OK? THANKS!

    • February 16, 2011 2:17 AM CST
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    • Oh cool.

    • February 15, 2011 12:39 PM CST
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    • From the Guardian

      The 100 Club has been saved, not by punks, politicians or Paul McCartney, but by a company that makes trainers. The legendary London music venue has signed a sponsorship deal with Converse, teaming up to "introduce it to a new generation".

      "With Converse we have literally found the perfect partner," 100 Club owner Jeff Horton told Xfm. "I don't think I could have cherry-picked [a] better [company]." Although Horton declined to reveal details of the Converse deal, he said that under the agreement the venue's "mid-term future is certainly saved" – and he is "90% confident" in the 100 Club's long-term prospects. More importantly, he insisted, the club will remain independent. "They're not interested in ownership, they're not interested in shareholding ... They just want to stand alongside us as our partners, to make sure that our club coexists with them and through them."

      It is still not clear what this means. The venue will not be changing its name to the Converse 100 Club, according to Xfm, but the shoe company will want some kind of return for their investment. "[Converse] wanted to give us a hand," Horton said. "They were the first people to come and see me and ask if they could do anything to help ... The fact that the club will remain independent [is what] appeals to them so much."

      Horton certainly needed help. Amid rising costs, higher rent and lower revenues, the venue that helped launch acts such as the Sex Pistols was on the verge of closure. Though support poured in from pop stars, and more than 19,000 people on Facebook, the club's future was in doubt. "I found myself in a position of absolutely needing someone to step up to the plate," Horton said, "but I also needed to find somebody who would suit everybody who campaigned so hard to keep the club open."

      With Converse, Horton hopes, he has found that benevolent benefactor. "It's a very cool brand," he said. "I think it dovetails into what the club is about perfectly ... The club's going to be here for another 68 years, hopefully."

       

      Just wondering what people's reactions to this are. I mean it hasn't totaly disappeared like CBGBs but it will be interesting to see what role the Converse sponsorship plays in line-ups and stuff.

    • February 10, 2011 10:17 PM CST
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    • YEP, THE SPIDER BABIES NEED HELP WITH A SHOW IN WESTERN DENMARK ON MARCH 24, AND SOUTHERN SWEDEN ON MARCH 30!!! ANY HELP WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED!!

      HERES WHERE WE WILL BE REGARDLESS!!:

      MARCH 25 AARHUS,DK, 26 AALBORG, DK, 27 OSLO,N, 28 MOSS,N, 29 GOTEGORG SW, 31, HELSINGOR, DK APRIL 1, BERLIN, DE, 2 COPENHAGEN,DK

       

    • February 10, 2011 4:08 PM CST
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    • First Distortion Club of 2011 on 26 February. Garage/ska/punk/new wave/mod tunes from 9.30-3.30am at the Grosvenor, 17 Sidney Road, Stockwell, London. FREE entry.

      http://www.facebook.com/distortionclub

       

    • February 8, 2011 5:52 PM CST
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    • DISTORSIONI is an Italian web magazine that covers music and all-round sounds, books and movies. The magazine includes different sections, each dedicated to a specific kind of music, among which are garage, punk, rock'n'roll, sixties, psych, lo-fi, etc., where you can find reviews, insights, title selections, articles, all completed with links to websites and videos related to the topics covered.