The Paranoid Squirrel

The Paranoid Squirrel ep 479

My battle with Man-flu is the underlining theme on today’s show. On the musical front though DENIMGOAT, who sport Danne McKenzie, Nicke Borg, Richie Puzz, Max Diesel and Ida Evileye in their ranks have just released a cover of Phil Lynott’s “Nineteen” which obviously I play. Can you believe it’s been 30 years since he died? Even more worrying is that later on this year it’ll be Cliff Burton’s. Hey! Hello! have a track aired from their second album, “Hey! Hello! Too!” which has me more than excited. As the latest Classic Rock Magazine reviews Dirtbag Republic’s debut album for the second time I feel the need to play something off it. Up next are the LLUNATIKS who hail from Villalonga, Spain and a track from their “Ultra Rock” album. Then as I’m seeing the UK Subs tonight at the 100 Club as part of the Resolution Festival I hold my own mini one by playing classic tracks from the Anti-Nowhere League, GBH, Discharge, Chelsea and the UK Subs. Missing from the Festival were the Damned and or associated former or current members, so I redress the situation by playing the last recording that Captain, Rat and Paul Gray did together. It’s a riot. There’s a clue for you. As the World and her husband are talking about Guns ‘n’ Roses I join in with my two pennies worth playing one of their tracks in the process. The Cruel Intensions, who feature former Vains of Jenna vocalist Lizzy DeVine, make their second appearance on The Paranoid Squirrel Rock Show with their new single. I finish this week’s show off with The Heavy Eyes who last fm describe as “psychedelic bluesy rock from the delta that sounds similar to a skeleton driving a speed boat on a flaming Mississippi River headed back to 1969.” Sold to the man with the snotty nose and cough!  

The Paranoid Squirrel ep 478

I don’t think that any of us thought that at the start of 2016 we would be mourning the loss Lemmy, but we are. Motörhead are now just one step away from being just like The Ramones; no one from the bands first recording experience can tell us, firsthand, what was like. Let’s hope that last step is a great number of years away. To celebrate the Birth and Demise of one of my three bands that I can’t live without, I start this week’s show off the very first song from the very first Motörhead gig recorded at the Roundhouse on July 1975 with Lucas Fox on drums and Larry Wallis on guitar before going into the very last song from the very last Motörhead concert in Berlin on the 11^th December 2015. Yes I do play other bands apart from Motörhead; up next is a new track from Anthrax’s new album “For All Kings” then as I cocked their name up on last week’s show, or did I? Helldivers from Sweden are once again brought to the fore. As promised on Episode 477 two Johnny Thunders tracks, one each from the Remarquable Records 10”’s are aired. One features Paul Gray and Steve Nicol and the other Phil Lynott. Then Liverbox from Finland make their welcome debut onto The Paranoid Squirrel who are then swiftly followed by Joy Division. A band I’ve gone all happy dance over are Beach Slang from Philadelphia. They remind me of The Goo Goo Doll circa “Superstar Carwash” and “Hold Me Up” in other words before the Dolls went shit. Two of the bands albums were very quickly purchased with a track from “Broken Thrills” making it onto the show. The last track of the first Paranoid Squirrel Rock Show of 2016 goes to Snowy Dunes (Or do I sneak a bonus Lemmy track in right at the end?) who Combined 60's Garagey Psychadelia with 70's riff-rock and a hint of love for the early 90's stoner scene.

The Paranoid Squirrel ep 477

Welcome to Episode 477 of The Paranoid Squirrel Rock Show which is also the last of 2015. Kicking off this “Back To The Studio” affair is a seasonal Ulysses, who also crop up later in the hour in a non-seasonal way.  But before we get to that The Backyard Babies who are swiftly followed by early Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers really get things going. Then it’s a Radio 1 in session track from The Damned still featuring Algy Ward but showcasing a tune that will appear on their Paul Gray forth album. The first new song of this week’s show comes courtesy of The Class of 76 who feature Barrie Masters, Steve Nicol from Eddie & The Hot Rods, Members and Vibrators guitarist Nigel Bennett and bassist Russ Strutter formerly of Wilko Johnson. Helldivers from Sweden sent me an mp3 of their latest single which I obviously air as it’s rather good in a Detroit Garage kind of way, as is the King Mastino track, who hail from Italy, that follows it.  On episode 472, which was the CJ Ramone gig, I apologised for not recording the Yorkshire Rats who were on just after openers Los Pepes and just before Vice Squad, saying that I would be playing something off their “Sea Of Souls” CD to make amends. Well making good on my promise I do exactly that. Scott Sorry, he of The Wildhearts and Sorry and The Sinatras has just released his first solo album via Pledge Music called “When We Were Kings” and quite frankly it could be a contender for album of the year, if I was to do one, which I don’t, so it won’t. If I was it would’ve probably been The Sick Livers or Michael Monroe anyway. However that’s all immaterial so crack it up from Scott Sorry and a track from the aforementioned album.  Sticking with The Wildhearts interconnectedness; CJ Wildheart has just shared a second track from his forthcoming pledge album “Robot”. To coincide with the release of the album in February he is playing in London which unfortunately clashes with The Vibrators 40^th Anniversary gig at the Islington Academy. So I’m in a bit of a quandary which gig should I go to. Please e-mail me with your thoughts so I can then apportion blame elsewhere. “They made me do it!” To celebrate the release of the new Star Wars film I play The Dollyrots’ acoustic and electric versions “Be My Leia” at the same time because I stupidly thought that they would’ve used the same mastertape therefore they’d be the same length. Oh how I laughed. Plastic Tears get us back on an even keel with a cover taken from the Christmas edition of their “Rhythm Rider” ep and in six degrees of separation Smash Fashion have their brand new single played. As we hurtle towards the end of the show and year The Black Bullets help me pick up speed with a track from their new ep “Bombshell” but it’s The Hip Priests with a brand new track that takes us over the edge and out of 2015.

The Paranoid Squirrel ep 476

Welcome to Episode 476 of The Paranoid Squirrel Rock show and the final live gig from me this year. The band who hold this position are Ghost recorded at The Camden Palace (KOKO) on the last date of their 2015 European Tour. Unfortunately the sound quality isn’t up to my normal standards, I did think about shelving this episode until an alternative recording became available but then you wouldn’t hear me rant about the three extremely young industry types who were standing behind us who chatted throughout the whole gig hence the quality issue. Apart from that Ghost were bloody brilliant, they have really brought a breath of fresh air into the Rawk scene. For those of you who are going “Ghost who?” here’s a brief synopsis courtesy of Wikipedia so it’s bound to be inaccurate: “Five of the group's six members wear virtually identical, face-concealing costumes. The most distinguishable member is the vocalist, who sports skull face paint, appearing as what can be described as a "demonic anti-Pope". Each album cycle has brought about a change in the band's appearance. The vocalist is always portrayed as the same archetype character, but has slight appearance changes and even personality traits are altered from former versions. The band members' true identities are kept anonymous, as their actual names have not been publicly disclosed. The vocalist calls himself Papa Emeritus and according to band folklore there have been three different characters taking the name Papa Emeritus, each younger than the last. The first welcomed the second Papa Emeritus on December 12, 2012 in Linkoping. On June 3, 2015, the second Papa Emeritus welcomed his younger brother as the new Papa Emeritus after being "fired" due to not performing his duty in overthrowing governments and churches. Papa Emeritus II and Papa Emeritus III were stated to only have a 3-month difference in age. It is believed that all versions of Papa Emeritus are actually portrayed by the same guy.” No really?! “The musicians are referred to only as Nameless Ghouls each with a different symbol; Fire - lead guitar, Water - Bass, Air - Keyboards, Earth - drummer and Aether - rhythm guitar.”

So there you go.

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.