BAIL-BOND: Ricky Adam photography

A few initial shots from the BAIL-BOND and SSS 'secret' show this past weekend. I feel privileged to have Ricky Adam come over and shoot for us. We have known Ricky since the very late 80's when Jailcell Recipes (previous incarnation of Bail-Bond) travelled to Ireland to play gigs organised by The Belfast Music Collective. It's a nice feeling to be surrounded by people who have a shared history with the band.
Ricky is an outstanding photographer, completely in tune with the subject matter. He's made a name for himself shooting BMX and has an art book DESTROYING EVERYTHING that has just about sold out it's first edition. If you fancy a copy.....happy hunting....he's also thinking about printing a second run.

BAIL-BOND basement gig

Next weekend we are putting our new (old) UK Hardcore band into action. With various members residing at opposite ends of the country, it's both costly and difficult to get together on a regular basis...any get-together needs to be exploited to the hilt!
We organised a weekend of activity:
Saturday afternoon/evening... rehearsing and band photoshoot.
Sunday afternoon...a low-key basement gig with a small 'invite-only' crowd at a secret location.
We plan to videotape this performance and use the footage to help promote the band.
Date is Sunday 8th July from 2pm-5.30pm. ALL AGES
If  you dig Hardcore and you fancy attending, get in touch and I will forward the info you will need. Super limited capacity (30 peeps max)
Band is comprised  of former members of JAILCELL RECIPES, SLEEP, KNOW NOTHING, BURN ALL FLAGS, LIE CYCLE and MASS OF BASTARDS.

UPDATE: Just confirmed..... S.S.S. added to the bill

POLY STYRENE PASSES AWAY ....."OH CANCER UP YOURS!!"

Another idol of mine claimed by cancer at the age of 53. With her band X-RAY SPEX she really was a unque artist. I played the early singles to death IDENTITY, OH BONDAGE and DAY THE WORLD TURNED DAYGLO.

I met her backstage once in London in 1989 on a Youth of Today/Jailcell Recipes tour . She had Krishna beliefs and was friends with Y.O.T. vocalist Ray Cappo, a new Krishna convert. She came down to see what the current punk scene was like. I remember her being very positive about the gig...very sweet and soft spoken and not looking any older than she did in 1977!

SEVENTY-SIXTIES

Had a pretty crappy day today. I came home and cheered up when I found this cool set of pics I took in 1999 when US BOMBS came to stay with us for a couple of days.I gave the prints to Duane the next time I saw him at the Blackpool punk weekender in 2000 and the shots finally see the light of day on his official website http://duanepeters.net/
There is shots of our kitchen (hasn't changed at all) my chopper, the backyard ramp, my Evel Knievel BMX and even my little Honda CM200 flat tracker being built in the workshop!!

UPDATE:
I actually did a more indepth post about the time The U.S. Bombs came to stay when I first started this blog, Almost a year to the day!
Read it HERE

BLACK FLAG DEMOS 1982

Scorching demo versions of songs, recorded in 1982 that ended up on the MY WAR and SLIP IT IN albums.
Stuck with record contract hassles, BLACK FLAG secretly recorded a bunch of new songs.
 In my opinion, these demos are superior to the official releases.
Rollins had just joined Greg Ginn, Dez Cadena and Chuck Dukowski plus amazing drummer Chuck Biscuits(RIP) a formidable line up and these songs showcase the direction the band was going to go in.......

Duane Peters "benefit" wheels

Great example of folks looking out for each other. OJ wheels are producing a wheel with all proceeds going towards helping to pay Duanes crippling medical bills following a serious staph infection in his left leg (which he almost lost). For the full story see here
If you skate, do the right thing and hunt these wheels down  and run 'em on yer board....if ya don't skate but dig what DP is about then buy a set and put 'em on the mantlepiece, use 'em as a paperweight, give 'em to the dog to chew etc.
All being well, Duane will be on a Euro tour which includes 2 UK dates 24th Nov. London Underworld and 25th Derby, The Old Bell........

UPDATE:
I've been corresponding with Big Woody and he can confirm that he is able to supply these wheels here in the UK when they become available....He thinks the cost will be £36 per set (in line with all OJ wheels prices) If you want a set, then get in touch at www.bigwoodys.co.uk/

R.I.P. PEK....THE KING OF PUNK

SAD BUT TRUE.......The death of Pek...punkest guy in Liverpool. Dead at only 44 years old, I don't know any details other than he suffered a stroke a few weeks back but was reported to be making good progress. Pek was one of the guys behind UNDER SIEGE promoters booking all the Punk/HC/Crust gigs in Liverpool, mostly staged at PLANET X in its various incarnations. He put on some amazing gigs for touring US and European punk bands and also local bands too...my own band included. Before taking up running the gigs and almost single-handedly creating a "Scene" Pek was also vocalist for DISATTACK  precurser to CARCASS..here is a youtube clip

I AIN'T THICK...IT'S JUST A TRICK

I first read about CRASS in a fanzine in 1978 and went out and bought THE FEEDING OF THE 5000 album at the first opportunity.That introduction to Crass and their ideals as a 14 year old has shaped the way I think and conduct myself today. The "D.I.Y." ethic, questioning authority, vegetarianism and endeavoring to "not fit in" and be proud of it, all come directly from Crass. Here was a band that actually practised what they preached, they lived together in a punk open-house in the country and took the ideas they sang about of anarchism, peace and liberty and really did put them into action.
The band really did achieve what it set out to do and even had the politicians talking about them in the house of commons along with the KGB!
I was lucky enough to see Crass live a couple of times along with other like-minded bands FLUX OF PINK INDIANS, D.I.R.T., OMEGA TRIBE, THE SYSTEM, THE SUBHUMANS, ANNIE ANXIETY, THE ALTERNATIVE.

 Here is a  really great 1 hour long documentary from 2006.

DRUMMER MAN

Spoke to my mate Ian Barwick tonight on the phone. He lives in France and I don't see him and his partner, Erica very often.

 I have known Ian since 1977. We were both skateboarders in a small town and inevitably became friends. Ian was a punk rocker before I was. I remember him going down to the NUPRO, the local under 18's school disco sporting an old school blazer with safety pins, drain pipe jeans and the winkliest of winkle-picker shoes that he bought at Callens, the army and navy shop in Wigan. Strangely, he didn't cut his hair though, opting for a Ramones/page boy bowl cut instead.

Ian moved to chester in 1980 and totally missed out on the hayday of BMX, which, if he had stayed here in Wigan....I'm sure he would of been a part of.

I hooked up with him again in 1984, when we both got back into skating again in a big way. We were both driving at this point and it was easy to stay in touch.

We travelled somewhere most weekends to skate a new ramp or go to a contest or a gig.

Ian learned to play the drums and in 1986 was the drummer for our Hardcore band Jailcell Recipes, for the majority of the bands life span. He left the band in 1991 to go travelling, eventually settling in rural France.

In recent years,Ian and Erica came back to work on a couple of big skatepark build-projects that my company was contracted for.

I saw Ian last November when we put together our new band BAIL-BOND.

We recorded the new record and played a coupla shows whilst he was home.

We plan go over to France this summer to play a few shows and spend a bit of time with them....which I am looking forward to.

BAIL-BOND

My new (old) hardcore band BAIL-BOND, just finished the recording of our new album "Spooked at the gate".
BAIL-BOND is basically 3/4's of JAILCELL RECIPES with Neurotic Myke up front on vocals.
We are now working on negotiations for the "Spooked...."  forthcoming release, a possible short tour in Japan and already getting set to put together songs for a follow up vinyl 7-inch.

Here is the opening track "The Price"

JOHNNY MOPED

Just downloaded a file converter so now I can post any audio formats that happen to be on my computer..

Here is Johnny Moped "Panic Button" from the Cycledelic album April 1978 on Chiswick Records....

This never gets old!

THE WEIRDOS

Late 70'S L.A. punk rock at it's very best..

Listen to SOLITARY CONFINEMENT

BLACK FLAG LINE-UP.......HAIRSTYLES 76-86

"Imitation is the greatest form of flattery....?"

CRUCIAL SECTION are a Japanese Hardcore band heavily influenced by the 80's UK/ Euro HC scene.

Bands such as Larm, BGK, Heresy, Ripcord and my old Band JAILCELL RECIPES to name a few.

Above is the sleeve of our POULTON RD. ep released in 1989(I think) and also a 7-inch from C.S. I picked up on a trip to Japan a few years back. I wouldn't be going too far to say that the latter is definitely inspired by the former!

I began corresponding with Hiro, the vocalist in C.S. via Myspace a coupla years back and actually booked some UK dates for them in November 2009.

I picked 'em up from the airport and me and Sean drove 'em around for a few days finally dropping them off at Dover to take the ferry to Europe to continue the tour.

Our new (old) band BAIL-BOND...3/4's of JAILCELL RECIPES, also played the UK dates, and as an encore, Hiro even did a few old songs with us.....which was great fun but it killed Ian the drummer...we stopped playing those superfast songs back in 1990!

Crucial Section have returned the offer and have asked Bail-Bond to do a few dates in Japan in 2011...

I think we showed these guys a good time but with a major language barrier....its hard to tell....they do look pretty happy in these pictures though. (The Jailcell banner is 23 years old)

Wada: guitar

Hiro: vocals

Dr. OT Madd: drums

Sniper: bass guitar

THE BOMB UK tour kick-off

Great band, great show! Met some friends I ain't seen for a while!!

Check out these UK dates for THE BOMB

Thursday 8th April - Cavern Club, Exeter

Friday 9th April - Scruffy Murphys, Birmingham

Saturday 10th April - Le Pub, Newport

Sunday 11th April - The Windmill, Brixton

Monday 12th April - The Croft, Bristol

Tuesday 13th April - Nation of Shopkeepers, Leeds

Wednesday 14th April - The 13th Note, Glasgow

Thursday 15th April - Bannermans, Edinburgh

Friday 16th April - The Casbah, Sheffield

Saturday 17th April - Fighting Cocks, Kingston

Sunday 18th April - Club Revolution, Peterborough

THE BOMB .......Chigago

THE BOMB from Chicago (where else?) play chugga-chugga power punk with authority and so they should, the singer, Jeff Pezzati, was the frontman of NAKED RAYGUN and original bassist in BIG BLACK.
Crusty Myke brought this band to my attention and also the fact they play in Manchester tomorrow night.
Picking up were PEGBOY and RAYGUN left off ....I bet they kick yours and my ass live!!!
Check out their Myspace here turn it up loud and check out if they are playing anywhere near you!!

Here is a review for the new record SPEED IS EVERYTHING that I found online:

"Naked Raygun was a huge inspiration for me. Along with Fugazi and Leatherface, they helped create the bedrock that defines the "Gainesville sound". As much as I discredit the root idea that such a sound even exists or is quantifiable to such a finite point, I will at least concede that there are certain key influences for many a young (at heart) local miscreant. I digress. The fact that twenty-one years after NR played a legion hall in Gainesville, we are putting out a record that not only stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the best NR album, but perhaps surpasses, well, this blows me away. I have a hard time finding words that express how much Pezzati's voice shakes me to the core. So I'll abandon words entirely and quote the man himself "Whoa Hey Ho". Yes. This record means that much. Crafting the music and bringing the workhorse/powerhouse ethic are Jeff Dean, Mike Soucy, and Pete Mittler, who have truly risen to the occasion. They have been in countless Chicago bands, and continue to split their time with several noteworthy, exceptional bands, including The Methadones and Four Star Alarm. Energy. Focus. Intensity. As if it could get any better, the album was recorded by J. Robbins, who also makes appearances on various songs. He really brought out the best in the band and songs, amplifying and directing, especially in the vocal harmonies and melodies. Pezzati turned in vocals on the last Paint It Black album, and Dan Yemin returns the favor here. Bob Nanna also lends his inimitable pipes to the mix." - -Var

LIVERPOOL DEATHMATCH

Great clip of the last ever "NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD"  Halloween skateboard all-nighter.
If you don't know about this event, It was the brainchild of Foxy (vocalist for S.S.S.) and was held at a skatepark I built, RAMPWORX in Liverpool. It had a bunch of bands play in the early part of the evening and then at the stroke of midnight, a 10 minute bare-knuckle brawl/ skate session took place. The baying crowd were actively encouraged to throw stuff into the bowl during the Deathmatch. Over the years I saw beercans, pumpkins, fireworks, male and female streakers and a lambs heart.
Foxy is the "Don King" of promotion in UK skate circles and NOTLD was extremely well attended.... maybe 1000 or so people at the last one and things really did get out of hand but it was a real lot of fun.
 Foxy even managed to get Tony Trujillo, John Cardiel and the rest of the ANTI-HERO team to attend one of them...so that was an eye opener for all involved parties!!

DEAD GENERATION?

Three top-drawer early 80's punk singles that I really love......this is the only way I can post music until I can figure out how to do a linked podcast.

Jailcell Recipes 'Arm-Twister'

Here is another JAILCELL RECIPES clip from youtube.
This song is taken from the POULTON RD EP on First Strike Records in 1989.
The ep had 4 tracks: ARM-TWISTER, FORCED, THOSE LONG DAYS AND DEAD SERIOUS.Dead serious was an ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT cover.
For any who might care about such things this was the best recording the band made. It was recorded at Whitehouse Studios in Weston super Mare, same place as RIPCORD and HERESY. There was 2 pressings first pressing of 1000 black vinyl with a red logo sticker on the cover, second pressing of 2000 grey marble vinyl with no sticker.

North Atlantic Noise Attack

Just found this on Youtube. Its the 3 tracks UK hardcore band JAILCELL RECIPES recorded in late 1988 for an international compilation. I was the bass player in this band. We had trouble recording the 3rd track, it took a zillion takes and if you listen all the way to the end, you can hear us cheer when we get to the end of the song.