Friday, August 15, 2008

Don't Dump! - Freecycle!

From pianos to old printers people are turning away from dumping and giving away their “almost rubbish” to people living near by.

It’s called Freecycling and these are the groups of people currently doing it in the south’s main towns – there are many others

Winchester - 3305 active members
Southampton - 9419 active members
Portsmouth - 3685 active members
Isle of Wight - 1904 active members
Bournemouth - 6472 active members


The above are main centres we've picked out but there are many other groups who could be much closer to you for example:

New Forest East - 1634 active members
Fareham - 1449 active members
Wimborne Minster - 754 active members

http://www.freecycle.org/group/UK

As they say…
“Freecycle groups match people who have things they want to get rid of with people who can use them.

Everything posted must be free, legal and appropriate for all ages. When you want to OFFER something - whether it's a chair, fax machine, piano or an old door, simply send an email to your group.

Maybe you're looking to acquire something yourself? Post a WANTED message and a group member may just have what you're looking for. Alert the group with a follow-up RECEIVED email.”

Saturday, August 09, 2008

The Best Couplet In A Song

A great set of U2 lyrics can be found in 'The Fly' by U2, the first single from U2’s mold breaking album Achtung Baby (1991)

There is one couplet from that song which will always stick with me:

Every artist is a cannibal, every poet is a thief
All kill their inspiration and sing about their grief


I wonder if Bono gave himself a large pat on the back upon completing those words because in my opinion it’s one of the best observations put into song.

The full set of lyrics can be read on a web site dedicated to U2 - u2wanderer - it is a joy to use this web site for the layout, content and no pop-ups.

Friday, August 08, 2008

Please Let The Pictures Do The Talking

What a brilliant opening ceremony the Chinese have presented for the 2008 Olympics.

I wasn’t able to see it all but the moments I witnessed gave one hope for the future of mankind. The colour, the precision, the costumes and what a finale! It honestly brought a tear to my eye.

But what really irritated me was the commentators on the BBC broadcast. They couldn’t stop talking. They couldn’t let the action speak for itself. All sorts of scraps trivia were delivered.

It was like being at the cinema and having a couple chatting about production techniques during the whole film.

The moment I cracked was during the pianist Lang Lang’s performance and the presenters continued wittering away about banal and inane things.

I telephoned the BBC to complain but the line was busy so maybe others felt the same. I’ll let you know if my e-mail gets a response.

However should anyone ask you to commentate on such a spectacular event in the future, this handy quote from Confucius should be kept for future reference:

“Silence is the true friend that never betrays.”

The Joy of Compilations

The first single from Birdpen’s debut album On/Off/Safety/Danger is released on Friday 15th August.

It’s called Breaking Precedent and is available to download from iTunes and Napster.



Birdpen first came to the original Showcase’s attention when we received the compilation “The Coming of The Railways” – the best of the south coast’s bands [search on ebay]

Collections like that are an ideal resource and, as the artists are from the same area, give a great musical snap shot of the local scene.

In that 19 band collection I had my first experience of Subgiant, Scarlet Soho, Plastic Toys and Sine Star Project all of which are Showcase regulars.

Last week another fine compilation landed on our desk and not only does it originate from the Isle of Wight but also serves another purpose.

Complied by John Cattle, chairman of the Save Ventnor Skatepark Group the CD “Transitions” is a major part in their fund raising process.

They’ve enlisted the help of Paul Butler and Aaron Fletcher from The Bees and on this first volume you’ll hear some old favourites of the Showcase: acts like Jet Harris, Jackson Analogue, The Chancers and Shanklin Freak Show.

But I have also been introduced to the Wight Light Orchestra, The Shutes and The Peas.

This Sunday we’ll be playing three more songs from the album which, for £10, you get 22 bands of varying styles but definitely a high standard. Visit
www.wight-trash.co.uk to buy your copy.

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

NY Arts - The Vision of the Resurrection

British painter Donald Pass has recently featured in NY Arts NY Arts - The Vision of the Resurrection

If you want to study his work further the video below gives you more images and excerts from an interview I conducted with him a couple of years back.



or visit www.donaldpass.com

Something big about Subgiant

Every time I meet a band for a Showcase session I am always uplifted and inspired by their art and craft.

With Southampton based Subgiant I was also really surprised at the quality of the sound they produced and also the energy that exuded from their performance.


We squeezed them and their equipment into studio 2 and no matter how many technical gizmos you have; to stand out you need the tunes and Subgiant have them in bucket loads.

They played two songs in the session “Filthy” from the album Global Control and “Stunt Driver” which is a new download.

And if you are a collector of CD’s then get Global Control as Subgiant will only be releasing single pieces of music for a while.

This is “a response to what’s happening in the industry.” Bass and keyboard player, Olly Maw, told us. “It means we can talk to the fans more regularly rather than one big build up.”

This makes a lot of sense. Hours of time and effort are put into making and promoting an album and once released momentum is hard to maintain.

So for bands on Subgiant’s level a track once in a while keeps interest ticking over and continues building the fan base they are picking up from all the festivals they play.

This Sunday they are in session on the original Showcase after 6pm and live at Endorse it in Dorset, main stage, 15:00, Saturday 9th August.