The Paranoid Squirrel

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This week I start off by stressing about my teeth, or lack of, and ordering One Direction tickets potentially at the same time as I’m sitting in the Dentist’s chair. Musically Jake Starr and the Delicious Fullness get things going with another track from their “Tastes Good” album. Then I complain about Facebook’s “Real Name” Policy and to underline how stupid it is I play a duet by David Walls and Courtney Harrison. You know who I’m talking about. Swedish Street Punks Bombshell Rocks, who I thought had split up in 2001, have just released a brand new album called “Generation Tranquilized”. Naturally I play a track off it. Then as Radio Birdman have a fantastic, fan friendly six CD/1 DVD Boxset out I play something by them. Well you would, wouldn’t you? Staying Downunder; The Hard Ons treat us to something from “Peel Me Like An Egg” which I link to winning, but not winning a two foot tall R2D2 cake. The last Australian band I play this week came recommended from Bobby-Lou Hellacopter in the form of Uptown Ace and their free to download “1850” album. Top stuff. Just before I play some Hanoi Rocks I mention about being offered a weekly two hour DAB radio show and why I turned it down. No pun intended. The Prisoners Of Millbank are up next as their bassist told me to “Play my band.” The “Twisted Disco For Strange Men” quote on their Facebook page never seemed so apt. I finally got around to getting former Enuff Z’Nuff vocalist Donnie Vie’s new double White Album. Very good it is to, as you will hear. Mixing it up a bit I play an 1988 Demo of a Discharge tune by Broken Bones and then getting things right up to date I play a new track from their “Dead & Gone” ep. Gig wise this week saw me up at The Shacklewell Arms in East London to bear witness to the mega star, the legend that is Johnny Moped. I also after twenty odd years of being it’s Guardian delivered to Dave Berk the 2” Instrumental Master Tape of “Honey Bun”, “I Believed Her Lies” and “Hiawatha” featuring Dave, Slimey and the sadly deceased Fred. As a tribute to Fred I play the Radio 1 Session of “Darling Let’s Have Another Baby” by Kirsty MacColl and Billy Bragg. The show is rounded off by the B-52s and a song that should segue nicely, or strike the fear, into the show that follows this on The Wall Rock Radio……..

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This week’s hour long studio effort turns out to be an hour and twenty minutes instead. I start things off with an apology to St Evel who I played on last week’s show but failed to mention in my show notes. I also said on last week’s show that this week it was going to be all live with Bend Sinister and Big Elf at the helm. It’s not and they aren’t. The Sex Pistols and The Damned kick the music this week off with a shared song titled before Hardcore Superstar get all sticky. Whilst taking my daughter to see Olly Murs at HMV in Oxford Street I consoled myself with iPod and Psychopunch’s back catalogue, one of which I share with you. I’ve just Pledged for the Eureka Machines forth album “Brain Waves” and as soon as you do an 80’s 4 track covers ep becomes yours. As one of those tracks is currently up on YouTube so I give it an airing. The “Demons” have announced that they are returning to business and to celebrate a track from the bands last CD “Scarcity Rocks” gets played. Donnie Vie, formally of Enuff Z’Nuff, is releasing a brand new solo album called “The White Album” on Cargo Records. I play a demo track that didn’t make it onto the album due to a Hard Drive failure. A band that are brand new to me are Bitch Queens from Switzerland who have been at it since 2008. They sound like The Stooges and the Backyard Babies, whilst next door the Dead Boys are drinking beer with Turbonegro. Can’t wait to see them supporting The Hip Priests in February. Consequently the next three songs come from the Bitch Queens, The Hip Priests and Turbonegro. Up next it’s The Lovesores with the title track of their just released ep on HoundDawg Records. Hastings based band and Squirrel favourites Hornet are up next with the first fruits from their recent trip to the studio. AC/DC and then Status Quo’s latest offerings are played with Spike and a track from his “100% Pure Frankie Miller” finishing the hour at which point Wall Rock Radio listeners leave us but not before I thank everyone for my Birthday wishes and regale the beer spilling Boiler breaking incident. The last twenty minutes is taken up with The Vibrators, Vive Finto, who only ever officially released one track on a compilation CD. Fortunately I have the unreleased album and delve into it for your pleasure. The last two tracks come courtesy of Swedish NWoBM worshipping rockers Hypnos and Susan Boyle. Yes that Susan Boyle. Come on admit it, no other Radio Station would play Turbonegro and a Britain’s Got Talent contestant. And I wonder why I still have a day job….

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This week I’m still in the studio, even though my gig tally almost topped last weeks. Up first is some classic Suicidal Tendencies then we get into brand new music from: Mary’s Kids, Imperial State Electric, Lester Greenoski, The BrokenDolls, C.J. Ramone, Sonny Vincent, Faith No More, Johnny Thunders, Santa Cruz, Bend Sinister, Ming City Rockers, Zen Motel with The UK Subs bringing things to a close.

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Welcome to the first “All Studio” show for a long, long time. Musically we have three tracks from the only bands that matter; Ramones, Motörhead and The Damned. We then go old school, I mean really old school with some speed corrected Robert Johnson. New music comes from AC/DC who have been in the news over the last few weeks for the right and sometimes wrong reasons. Then I take you to Stockholm, Sweden for a track from The Curse’s brand new full length offering, “World Domination”. Guy Bailey formerly of The Quireboys and The Peckham Cowboys has a brand new project on the go in the form of Thirsty that once again reunites him with Chris Johstone. Obviously I ply a track from the bands self-titled debut CD. Ulysses, who I caught live supporting The Godfathers, make their first appearance on The Paranoid Squirrel with a track taken from their 2013 album “Kill You Again”. Into cover territory with firstly The BossHoss who I saw opening for Motӧrhead last Saturday and then The Flaming Lips featuring Miley Cyrus. I kid you not. Jake Starr and The Delicious Fullness get things back on track with a song off their just released album “Tastes Good”. Modtastic! A track from Los Pepes’, debut CD “Los Pepes for Everyone” which has been a permanent fixture in my car of late gets you Powerpopping. Compare and Contrast returns with Taylor Swift versus The Supersuckers. Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift on The Paranoid Squirrel……?! The show flows to an end courtesy of Pink Floyd.

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Arguably there are just three bands that matter; The Ramones, Motörhead and The Damned. All subsequent Rock Bands lineage can be traced back to these three. Strangely enough my favourite single, album and live gig are from none of the above bands. For only the second time in their history Motörhead and The Damned once again became touring partners. Motörhead were always the metal band punks liked and The Damned the punk band that appealed to metalheads, with Lemmy even joining a bassless Damned (Les Punks) for a one off gig at The Electric Ballroom. This lead to the aborted Motördamned project that saw The Sweets’ “Ballroom Blitz” and Motörhead’s “Over The Top” recorded. “Spend That Money” indeed. Normally the pre-Christmas Motörhead UK Tour takes in around half a dozen dates but this year, due to Lemmy’s health concerns, it’s down to just three; Manchester, Birmingham and Wembley Arena. I braved the £46 cost of the ticket but avoided forking out for the costly Car Park opting for London Transport seeing them at Wembley. I missed the beginning of opening act The BossHoss but was suitably impressed to go out and purchase their current CD “Flames Of Fame”. The Damned’s set being only 50 minutes meant it was a super condensed fan favourite best of. As per nothing post Eloise, with the band finishing up with the singular Smash It Up, no time for Part One on this particular occasion. The sound, for a change for The Damned was spot on, better than some of their own headlining shows I’ve seen. It’s been three years since I last saw Motörhead due to clashing gigs, a Hand-Fasting and Lemmy’s hematoma. Lemmy seemed very subdued, never moving from his mic stand and no machine gunning bass. The only thing that was animated was his hands and mouth. Sonically though Motörhead, as I hoped, ruled. The set-list, as we all know for a band that have been going for as long as they have is always going to be difficult, choosing what to put in and what to leave out. “No Iron Fist”, or “Bomber”, but then I have heard them a million times before. “Rock It” and “Suicide” on the other hand from “Another Perfect Day” and “Inferno” respectively were a nice addition. I’m really glad I went, three really good bands, just about money well spent.

 

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When two members of your band do the dirty on you and quit just before a couple of gigs there are two things that you can do; crawl off somewhere and feel sorry for yourself, saying poor old me or in the case of Pete and Christopher Coyne of The Godfathers get some shit hot replacements that make the former members look tired and redundant. They say success is the best form of revenge and never has that been more apt. After a couple of false starts on Halloween I finally managed to get to see The Godfathers live at their sold out gig at The Lexington in Islington. And boy was it worth the wait. Pete and Chris were joined by Mauro Venegas and Steve Crittall on guitar with Tim James on drums and to quote Pete they were “Red Hot”. All aspects of the band career were played with some tunes being dusted off after a long time away, obviously for me they were all the first time I’d heard them, but they most defiantly won’t be the last. Kicking the show off this week are The Kult 45s who like The Godfathers I’ve been trying and failing to see. Obviously for not as long as the aforementioned Godfathers as the said Kult 45s have only been blasting out their brand of Dirty, Filthy Punk ‘n’ Roll Blues since the beginning of the Summer, but with a reasonable stage time of 8:15 The 12 Bar beckoned. Talking about The 12 Bar; I also put in my two Denarius over the reshaping of Denmark Street and surrounding areas due to CrossRail.

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On this week’s show we have Bernie Tormé and The Broken Chords recorded live at The Borderline in London, although Bernie’s Brighton encore, recorded a week earlier, does actually finish things off. I will always sight two guitarists as being hugely influential. Captain Sensible being one, the other; Bernie Tormé. Bernie really does have a real unique sound and playing style, highly distinctive. When I first heard Zakk Wylde playing with Ozzy Osbourne I immediately thought he’d grown up listening to Gillan albums and the live Ozzy bootleg recordings of when Bernie was brought in to finish off Ozzy’s touring commitments in the States after Randy Rhodes’ tragic death.

2014 has been a great year if you a Bernie Tormé fan. A fan funded double CD “Flowers and Dirt” which reached the 100% mark within 24 hours finally ending at 418% and a tour, a proper full on Bernie Tormé Tour! Two dates were penned in for myself, The Squirrel and squirrel associate Arkwright; Brighton on the 22^nd and London 29^th (Unfortunately Arkwright missed the London gig as he was rehearsing with his own band). Two great nights, with Bernie’s sons joining him on stage in Brighton for a run though of “Paranoid”. In London it was the turn of a guest pledger to join Berne, drummer Ian Harris and bassist Chris Heilmann for a cover of Hendrix’s “Fire”.

If you’re quick off the mark you can see Bernie at The Clundy, Newcastle tonight (1^st Nov) or if Scotland is where you reside he’s with you on the 13^th, 14^th and 15^th.

In other news I talk about clashing gigs; Johnny Moped versus Stonewall Noise Orchestra/Goat Leaf. Looks like the Mopeds will have my patronage as the doors don’t open until 9pm for S*N*O. The Squirrel doesn’t call me Armerella for nothing……

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As it seems to be the trend for October (and from what I can tell it’s going to continue into November, well into November) it’s another all live show. Nothing Scandinavian this time around though. First up it’s The Sensible Gray Cells, but “Hold on!” I hear you cry “Their tour has just been cancelled”. True, but to illustrate my frustration at the gigs being cancelled, all four of them, due to perceived low tickets sales, the added prices to the face value, that you don’t get back in the event of a cancellation I use one of their songs from “A Postcard From Britain” and thanks to modern technology make it sound how you would’ve heard it on the tour……The first real live band on this week’s show is Goat Leaf who unfortunately I only caught the last song from their Kory Clarke support slot. Admittedly it was a good last song. The band feature former Warrior Soul guitarist Johnny H and their brand of Stoner, Punk, and Desert Session Rock was right up my street. (I did contemplate seeing them at The Unicorn Thursday but due to an extremely late night the day before seeing Bernie Tormé down in Brighton I didn’t. Thanks M23 mega diversion for adding an extra 40 minutes to the journey.) Obviously Kory Clarke (Warrior Soul, Trouble, Mob Research, etc) is this week’s main attraction with the final date of his current UK Tour, well 4 Scottish dates and 2 English which makes a change. The gig in question was at The Islington in er…Islington to promote Kory’s new Cargo released CD “Payback’s A Bitch”. Kory looked tanned and relaxed but still giving the (Stiff) Middle Finger to those deemed to have crossed him. Old classics and soon to be new classics stood up well together with the band pretty much laying waste to all and sundry.

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More Scandinavian live action courtesy of Crucified Barbara and Supercharger recorded at The Boston Music Room Tufnell Park. This was the first time I’ve seen Danish Rockers Supercharger who describe themselves as “a mix of rich guitars, piano, Hammond organ, harmonica and heavy drums, stirred up with rough whiskey vocals”. No argument from me on that score. It’s been six years since I last saw Crucified Barbara when they rolled into town with The Backyard Babies. This time around they’re on a full on European Headlining Tour in support of their fourth album “In The Red”.
On this week’s show I also talk about a solution to my iPod running out of space, getting out of a Parking Ticket but picking up a cracked windscreen and watching a former work colleague getting into it with Gordon Ramsay on T.V.

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At the end of the 90’s you couldn’t help but fall over Swedish Garage Rock bands, The Hellacopters and The Hives being the front runners but in the background wallowing in Cult status were The Nomads and Sator. The Nomads have been with us for nigh on 33 years with Sator more or less forming around the same time in one guise or another. Officially I think the band are celebrating their Silver Jubilee this year. As for The Nomads; on their 20^th Anniversary Nick Royale, Handsome Dick Manitoba, Ross The Boss, Jello Biafra, Chris Bailey, Odd Ahlgren and Wayne Kramer joined the band on stage at the Hultsfred festival. That’s how important The Nomads are. The band first made it to London in November 1984 playing The Garage on the 23^rd with The Clarendon Hotel two days later. Sator’s debut London show, on the other hand, was a few days ago at The Pipeline with support coming from….You guessed it, knew it already The Nomads. Why it’s taken so long for Sator to reach our shores, I don’t know; but decent terms and condition I’m sure played a part. Amongst the Sator ranks sits one Chips Kiesbye whose production skills have graced the likes of The Hellacopters, Crucified Barbara, Bonafide and Millencolin. But Sator aren’t about just one man. The bands last album “Under The Radar” and sadly only merch on sale, came out 3 years ago so I really did feel honoured that they had graced us with their presence. There was also a heavy contingent of Swedes in the audience quite possibly outnumbering us Brits, coupled with the Pipeline being owned and run by a Swedish ex-pat we could, quite easily have been in Stockholm. Sator sight The Boys as an influence so it was great to see Boys guitarist Honest John Plain joining them for two songs. The Nomads seem to be making a yearly trip to London, let’s hope this trend rubs off on Sator.

But before you hear The Nomads and Sator live at The Pipeline I play you some Paul Di’Anno from his new live album which on first listen I really had a downer on, but second time around I warmed to. Slightly