More John Sinclair + More Up

This Thirsty Media blog runs some choice rock and roll stuff. Latest is an interview with john Sinclair that manages to say something about the rogueish old rabble rouser that we hadn't heard.


And while we're in the neighbourhood, another fine Michigan product will have another day in the sun. UK label Easy Action is issuing a collection of music by former Grande Ballroom house band The Up. Details here.

Stooges 1971 is in sight

The long-awaited Easy Action box set featuring the killer Asheton-Williamson guitar line-up ships next week. Here's the announcement from da man Carlton:

We are relieved and happy to eventually give you the information that the Stooges *You Want My Action * deluxe set will start to ship end of next week (week starting 24th August 2009). Its taken bloody ages to complete but here we have it .

We also want to thank all of you for your incredible patience and understanding and support as we went through hell trying to put this together with Companies going bust on us, proofs being rejected not once but twice as they simply werent good enough. Each time knowing that us rejecting it would cost us another week . what were we going to do ? say yeah that'll do, we're under lots of pressure to deliver, just shlock it out ...like fuck !!

I am happy to say that we have infuriated you beyond reasonability because we wanted to get it right , we could have shipped something five weeks ago but it wouldnt have been as good as what you will get next week.

Again your support through all of this has been fuckin impressive , in the past we have dealt with other fan bases that would have been moaning and griping and taking our name through the mud by now . so a huge thank you to the Stooges fans for being real !! And we want to hear from you all when you get this ok?

We are already plotting the next one :)

Go grab it here.

Stooges '71

Ever hear the short-lived Stooges line-up with Ron Asheton AND James Williamson on guitars? Little survives except a St Louis show, booted on an obscure label from a tape that was traded among colectors for years. UK legacy label Easy Action have been on the case, however, and have come up with a box set dating from that 1971 US tour.

There's a considerable back story to this which I might relate at a later time. Meanwhile, you can watch as more details go up, hear sound samples and pre-order here.

Stooges treasure ahead?

Rumours abound of a soundboard quality "Funhouse"-era Stooges show in someone's pipeline for commercial release. Could this snippet on UK label Easy Action's website be related? It's not soemthing we've chased down but either way it's good news:

The Stooges have now finished stooging around the world so we at easy action HQ await news from the band regarding possible work on newly acquired stooges tapes...mindblowing stuff i assure you !! Also Sir Pop 's second box set will be with us at the end of October we think you're gonna like it !...alot!

"Where the Faces Shine" Vol 2

Not all Iggy is good Iggy. The guy's solo career is littered with ill-considered chapters. But when the Pop fails, at least he's interesting, and the latest installment in UK label Easy Action's archival series "Where The Faces Shine" looks to contain more ups than downs.

We're looking at six CDs, a DVD and (if you get in quick) another live CD drawn from a gig on the 1988 Australian tour. The first two CDs are from the "Zombie Birdhouse" period. Not Ig's greatest album, granted, but the shows had an air of desperation about them which is often a plus.

Next up, there's a disc of demo's and other odds and sods (the "Repo Man" song among them) from the Steve Jones collaborations. Some of these demo's have been out there for a while but it's another collection that completists will love.

A 1986 "Blah Blah Blah" tour show spans two discs. Here's where Iggy picked himself up off the floor. The live material I've heard from the time has a lot more fire in the belly than the clean, Bowie-fied album.

The final CD is the Whisky-a-Go-Go "Instinct" tour warm-up/showcase. If it's in decent sound quality, it's going to be well worth hearing. This show was documeted in bass player Alvin's Gibbs' excellent tour diary book, "Neighborhood Threat".

The DVD is culled from TV appearances of the same vintage. My memory of the tour is of a professional but sometimes compelling band. The bonus Adelaide CD is said to be aurally rough and ready but also worth hearing.

I haven't laid ears on the full box set yet but a review will appear at the I-94 Bar.
Orders are being taken here where you can also view the full track lists.

Two albums from 1977-78 will be the best thing you'll hear in 2008

Just posted a review at the Bar of the new Sonic's Rendezvous Band 1977 live double CD "The Second Chance". In part it says:

If you lived outside of earshot of the molten aural glow of their amps in the late-'70s, or simply hadn't stumbled across a copy of their double A-sided, monstrously great mindfuck of a single, "City Slang", (until the bootleggers got into the act and actually did us a favour), chances are you'd read more about than you'd heard of this well-credentialled quartet. Which just added to the mystery, even if the sound of illegal documents like the "Strikes Like Lightning" LP sucked a large furball.

It's on Easy Action and it's a vital, fiery 2CD set, a leftover from the box set. It follows on the heels of "Live, Masonic Temple", another live show from 1978 issued by Robert Matheu on his Rock-a-Rama label. Both of these - and almost anything else issued under the band's name, save a couple of shoddy bootlegs - is essential listening. Read full reviews here, follow the links therein to buy. You won't regret it.

More SRB to educate the masses

Another gem featuring Sonic's Rendezvous Band in their live element is now available, this time from UK label Easy Action. This is a double CD set left off the box set because it wouldn't fit. Reviews will appear at the I-94 Bar very soon. Grab a copy here.

Halfway Round The World

Been a long time between posts but don't take it personally. The Barmaid and I have been holidaying overseas, paying a visit to London, France and Kruger Park in South Africa just to mix things up.

In London, I was lucky enough to hook up with an ex-flkatmate Captain Philpott, my Birdman-obsessed Pom mate Jelly and Carlton Sandercock of Easy Action Records. Pints of beer were consumed.

In Paris, we were scheduled to meet up with Eric and Vinz of Holy Curse only to spot them in the unfamiliar vicinity of the Picasso Musueum, running an errand for Radio Birdman, believe it or not. We went to a dinner party hosted by Vinz and his wife Sophie and populated by heaps of mutual friends, and I caught Vinz playing with Dimi Dero Inc the night after. Dimi Dero Inc supported The Drones on European and Australian tours in 2007 and will be back in Australia in March '08.

A side trip to expat Aussie Greg Bowen's Funhouse Pub in Morlaix, on the Brittany coast, was a diverting cultural experience (piss up.)

As for the African leg of the trip, visit the blog of noted Australian author and our hostsAfrica Man and his wife Africa Woman for details. Suffice for me to say that you've not lived until two lionesses have sprung up out of the grass 30m away from you while you're on foot and all wine, beer and spirits should always be a third of the price it is back home.

Closer to home, the Klondike's North 40 CD "The Straight Path" was launched via gigs in Sydney and Melbourne while I was overseas. Thanks to all concerned. The album is available in the I-94 Bar Shop and all good retail stores.

Further afield, lovers of Detroit music will doubtless be interested in The Metro Times' lkist of the Top 100 Detroit Songs here. These lists are always academic but this one does give a measure of the quality of the music that's come out of the Motor City down the years.

And in a similar vein, the next album from trans-Atlantic (that'd be Michigan-via-Sweden) soul big band The Solution is out on December 27. This is the band led by Hellacopters guitarist Nick Royale (behind the traps) with Scott Morgan on vocals. I've been lucky enough to hear an unmastered version and it smokes.