The Paranoid Squirrel

The Paranoid Squirrel ep 475

So onto the penultimate live Paranoid Squirrel Rock Show of 2015. Long-time listeners are aware that I am a Triple X L fan of The Damned, so having missed out on seeing them at The Roundhouse in the Summer as soon as I heard the band were playing in London just before Christmas a ticket was secured. Safe in the knowledge that as One Direction were now on a break I wouldn’t be required to escort my teenage Daughter to one of their gigs. I might moan about lack of new material or even songs from the last three Damned albums being conspectus by their absence from the set-list, but as soon as Captain surfs onto the Islington Academy stage saying “Hello, My name’s Captain Sensible, Merry Fucking Christmas. We’re The Damned and we sound something like this” and then launches into “Wait For The Blackout” nothing else matters. It’s a fan friendly set nothing post “Anything”. Obviously “Sanity Clause” and “The Turkey Song” with accompaniment on the latter from Charlie Harper and Gaye Advert are aired as it is the season. Captain has guitar issues throughout the set, changing his Gibson SG nearly after ever song and sometime during. The biggest light bulb moment of the gig was Captain implying “Neat, Neat, Neat” was more than just a nod to the style Eddie Cochran. “Smash It Up” finishes the set off with Captain trying to outstaying his welcome by giving us a vocal rendition of “Happy Talk”. The Damned don’t seem to have anything lined up until the Royal Albert Hall Concert in May, which obviously is something to really look forward to. I have heard that Graham Humphreys, the artist who did the Artwork for The Evil Dead, The Lords of The New Church and Brian James’ “Guitar That Dripped Blood” album, is involved in some way over the 40^th Anniversary and he was spotted at the gig......

The Paranoid Squirrel ep 474

Welcome to the third out of a potential five in a row live shows. On today’s Episode it is Cambridge’s The Treatment playing their first headlining London Show since Mitchel Emms, the 2013 quarter finalist in The Voice along with rhythm guitarist Tao Grey joined the band. I hate making predictions as it’s like a curse, I could put money on Christmas day being on Friday this year and end up losing it all, however I sincerely hope that The Treatment become this generations Thunder. Pure British Rock, played with heart and feeling with the band a couple of years down the line headlining and selling out Hammersmith Odeon with their sites firmly set on headlining Donington. Until then we’ll have to make do with this, a sold out Camden Barfly.    

The Paranoid Squirrel ep 473

Welcome to Episode 473 of The Paranoid Squirrel Rock Show. Blowing any cobwebs away you might have pre-Christmas on this week’s show are The WitchDoktors and The Phobics. Both bands were recorded live at The Hope & Anchor in Islington last Saturday as part of the “Rockaway Beach” Club hosted by Timmy and Debs DeRella.
Deep in the darkest vaults of South London, The WitchDoktors have been honing their SuperPunkRock sound and shows since the early 90s, (one of their roadies even sang for the band myself and friend of the show and Squirrel associate Arcwright were peddling in 1993), drawing on their 70s punk upbringing even throwing in a live cover of The Damned’s second single “Neat, Neat, Neat” and a snippet of The Clashes “Guns of Brixton” bolstering their pedigree. They also add a rather large dollop of trashy Rock'n' Roll with a dash of 60s Psyched-Out Garage put in a smidgen of cuntry (sic)finally mixing it all up with some God Damned loud geetars. After 4 albums, a fistful of singles plus hundreds of shows with like-minded souls the band are all set release album number 5 next year but are refusing to tell us what the title is. Whatever it may be called I will be buying it!
The Phobics formed in Deptford a few years back by some Punk survivors and misfits with a love of Raw Rock ‘n’ Roll who were bored with a smug and complacent music scene. You’ll find The Phobics occasionally sober (Tuesdays) but always ready to plug in and crank it up. Gig wise it’s always an event. Last Saturday’s was no exception as you’re about to hear.

The Paranoid Squirrel ep 472

It’s a “One, two, three, four” show this week with CJ Ramone recorded live at his debut solo London show at The Islington Academy on the 9^th October. Tracks from his “Reconquista” and “Last Chance To Dance” albums were aired along with, naturally, songs from the band that gave him his surname. I have to tell you the set flowed beautifully and by the end of his set I didn’t know whether to be happy that I’d just seen a Ramone play live or sad that I’ll never see The Ramones, or their like, ever again. Support came from Los Pepes who thanks to the insane amount of roadworks (no it doesn’t) in the Capital I only caught the bands last two songs and whilst running errands I almost completely missed CJ’s main UK tour support band The Yorkshire Rats. I enjoyed what I saw and will be playing something off their debut album on the next studio show. The special guests for this particular evening were Vice Squad who kept everyone on the boil before the Main Man, pun intended, strode onto the stage and asked us “Do You Wanna Dance?” An hour later we still were.      

The Paranoid Squirrel ep 471

Turbonegro get things going this week with a Demolition 23 sounding Def Leppard following in their wake. Then my own mix of “AntiPope” by The Damned takes the world by storm. We then get back onto new music from Psychopunch, which almost didn’t happen, and The Carburetors, two bands that seem to be going hand in hand at the moment. A band that I had to miss off Episode 469 due to time constraints was The Dogbeats from Benidorm. Obviously they are included on this week’s show to make amends. More new music with the b-side to Hard Action’s “Hands Dripping Red” 7” which is due out on Bootleg Booze Records at the end of February. The Hip Priest/Billy Hopeless split 7” has finally landed on Doormats around the World but as I’ve already played both tracks in question I play The Hip Priests new track “For Life Till Deth” instead. In a Wildhearts Six Degrees of Separation I play new tracks from The Main Grains, that features Danny McCormack and The Drama Club Rejects that features Stidi. Both cracking songs! Scumbag Millionaire from Gothenburg are up next with some “Enraged and fast moving, cooking with gas and grooving Punk Rock” with the return of Royal Republic to The Paranoid Squirrel Rock Show following on. Sham 69 have just released a brand new album called “It’ll End In Tears”. This is the Ian Whitewood line up. Deadbeat London, who feature Rich Rags on guitar from The Role Models, debut single gets an airing. I love finding new bands and new music with The Whipshades from Fredrikstad, Norway, being the latest band to fall into that category. It goes without saying I play track by them which comes from their latest release “Fast, Loud and Primitive”. This week’s show is wrapped up with part of an interview with Richard Strange that I attended on the 27^th that was hosted by Peter Cook from The Academy of Rock. Richard “Kid” Strange was in The Doctors of Madness that for a few gigs in 1978 featured Dave Vanian from The Damned. You also get to hear the question I posed, with the one and only studio track that Dave Vanian recorded with The Doctors of Madness that was co-written by TV Smith from The Adverts closing proceedings.

The Paranoid Squirrel ep 470

Welcome to Episode 470 of The Paranoid Squirrel Rock Show, my 50^th Birthday Special. So on Wednesday, the day before the actual day, The Backyard Babies finished off the first part of their comeback “Four By Four” tour by playing The Islington Academy. Along with a career retrospective that had me doing a happy dance for their entire set I was completely blown away with the band energy and enthusiasm. I almost felt like they’d cheated me out of a good time over the five years since they’ve been away. If the recording sounds a bit unsteady that would be due to the Jameson, Ice and Lemonades that various friends and acquaintances were purchasing on my behalf for my consumption. Not to mention the Bottle of Prosecco that came with my Birthday Pizza.

The Paranoid Squirrel ep 469

Welcome to another hours worth of music that you should hear on the radio but don’t with Marty Robbins kicking things off. Up next it’s two split singles courtesy of Ghost Highway Recordings. Firstly Robert Pehrsson’s Humbucker do battle with Driving Rain then Jake Starr & the Delicious Fullness get it on with Dollhouse. As a tribute to Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor I play a track from one of his lesser known bands The Muggers. The band also featured his Motörhead cohort Fast Eddie Clarke along with Speedy Keen on guitar and vocals who had had a huge number 1 hit with the Thunderclap Newman Band in 1969 with “Something in the Air” and on bass from The Heartbreakers and Iggy Pop was Billy Rath. Onto new music which includes Girlschool and a track off their new album “Guilty As Sin” and The Dictators NYC with their first new material in 15 years. Compare and Contrast is back, thanks Andy, with the Blues Magoos prosecuting The Dead Kennedys. Back to new music and The Local Band who comprise of Alexi Laiho (Children of Bodom), Jussi69 (The 69 Eyes), Olli Herman (Reckless Love) and Archie Kuosmanen (Santa Cruz) have a tracked played from their upcoming ep of covers, then it’s off to Seattle for some Ramones inspired music from The Piniellas. Dom Daley of Glunk Records and Uber Rock’s review of Jukebox Zeros got me all excited and hopefully the track of theirs that I play will also do it for you. The Idol Dead have just released their version of the Dogs D’Amour “I Don’t Want You To Go” in aid of the Winston's Wish charity and the memory of Drugdealer Cheerleader drummer Ringo. The Eagles of Death Metal finish this week’s show off but not with the cover you might have been expecting, but then again......     

The Paranoid Squirrel ep 468

The word “Electric” runs though this week’s show in the form of live recordings from The Electric Boys and then Imperial State Electric. The Electric Boys were touring to celebrating the 25^th Anniversary of the release of “Funk-O-Metal Carpet Ride” supporting The Dan Reed Network with former Hanoi Rocks drummer Jolle Atlagic joining his forming Hanoi band members of Conny Bloom and Andy Christell, who had joined the band as it wasn’t financially practical for regular sticksman Niklas Sigevall to fly in from his LA home. Imperial State Electric were celebrating the return of Nicke Andersson at the Electric Ballroom after he suffered hearing lose sidelining him from his own band for a few days and a few gigs. In a perverse kind of way I was looking forward to seeing Imperial State Electric as a Power Trio or hoping that Robert Pehrsson had been flown in to stand in for Nicke. Fortunately or not depending on your point of view he was gig ready. So along with Dolf, Tobias and Tomas many Jams were kicked out and best viewed and heard as a four piece.

The Paranoid Squirrel ep 467

Welcome to Episode 467 of The Paranoid Squirrel Rock Show, where, even though the news about The Hellacopters one off Sweden Rocks gig is over a week old, I go off on a complete tangent, not playing was I was planning to but Bands and Records that have shaped, if not changed the course of my life. Therefore for the first part of this week’s show I play; The Hellacopters, The Ramones, Motӧrhead, The Damned, The Beatles, Ginger Wildheart, The Hydromatics and Cinderella. Fortunately I do leave myself enough room for new music that you should hear on the Radio but don’t in the form of Brian James and a track from his latest album “The Guitar That Dripped Blood”, The Dirty Strangers and something from their just released “Crime And A Women” album. If you think that the Rolling Stones haven’t released an album of decent tunes this century The Dirty Strangers will restore your faith. Scott Sorry, he of Sorry and The Sinatra and sometimes Wildhearts Bassist, has the first fruits from his Pledge Music solo album aired and I finally manage to play a track from the Black Bombers 7” that their Bassist and Walter Lure’s, Darren Birch sent me a couple of months ago. Well worth the wait. As we plunge head long toward the end of this week’s hour the Zodiac Panthers, all two of them, give us some Primal Garage Punk with The Beladeans blending some modern/vintage Pacific Northwest Garage Rock to actually bring proceedings to a close.

The Paranoid Squirrel ep 466

Welcome to another week of music that you should hear on the radio but don’t here on The Paranoid Squirrel Rock Show. As its Halloween I might as well get my token All Hallows’ Eve track out of the way courtesy of The Misfits. Then as I’m seeing Bernie Tormé tonight up at The Borderline I play a track from his latest album “Blackheart” to get me, and hopefully you, all fired up. Up next and new to the show are Thirsty who feature two ex-Quireboys Guy Bailey and Chris Johnson. At the end of last week the members of the UK Subs jointly released a statement saying on the 24^thOctober a major announcement regarding the band would be forthcoming. For the bands 26^th and FINAL album “Ziezo” fans would be able to get fully involved in the whole process via Pledge Music which goes live tomorrow (1^st Nov). Naturally I play two UK Subs track, the first was originally released as a fan club only one-sided 7” with the second taken from the bands last album “Yellow Leader”. Keeping in the classic Punk Rock mood I play a track from Chelsea’s last album “Saturday Night, Sunday Morning” which goes straight into the Dahlmanns, who hail from Norway, latest 7” single. The Last Great Dreamers have just released a new single to coincide with their up and coming support slot to Cherie Currie, obviously it gets an airing as does a track from D-Generations 2015 Record Store day 10”. A sad note I play a track from late 80’s Glam Rockers Belladonna’s debut 12” as their original and former Bad English (SA) drummer Vince Höare passed away at his home in South Africa last weekend.  Following on is Husker Du and then Anthrax with the first new song from the band’s upcoming 2016 album. Onto the home straight and it’s the Eureka Machines and the Sick Livers. The Eureka Machines track is taken from their soon to be released “Rarities” CD with the Sick Livers song taken from “Mid Liver Crisis” which has just had a video released to accompany it.