CLOSURE OF LEGENDARY LONDON RECORD


STORE In what will mark a depressing day for avid record collectors, on 1st May, Notting Hill’s finest purveyors of music, Minus Zero Records (run by Bill Forsyth) and Stand Out Records (run by Bill Allerton), are closing the doors of their joint store for the final time. The Bills started out selling records on the


Portobello Road Market before teaming up to open Plastic Passion Records in ’84, which they eventually split down the middle to form Stand Out/Minus Zero Records in the early ’90s. This unique “two stores in one” format has both intrigued and confused customers ever since and the shop quickly became a vinyl Mecca with domestic and foreign visitors making pilgrimages to West London just to find the albums and singles they couldn’t locate anywhere else. Everyone who visited the store seems to


have fond memories of hearing something breathtaking for the first time and the Bills were always happy to chat about music, dispensing pithy wisdom based on a lifetime of listening and trust in their own ears. For me personally I was introduced to some of my favourite artists through the shop –including Fraction, Dragonfly and The Flower Travellin’ Band – something for which I will be eternally grateful. We all at Shindig! wish the Bills well in their


future endeavours. Austin Matthews


Novel Visions From The Abyss Having lived through the ’60s and ’70s, reporter Bruce Paley experienced the freewheeling gulf of heroin addiction first hand. Now, with Giraffes In My Hair, a graphic novel taken from his personal accounts – brought to life by his partner Carol Swain’s extraordinary illustrations – we too can gain similar insight. From his flowing, naturalistic text to the subtle black and white pencil illustrations that never mystify the junky existence, this is truly exceptional storytelling from start to end. Liberally splattered with sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll, forget moral lessons, exploitation or glorification, Giraffes In My Hair is about living and surviving. www.fantagraphics.com


WE’RE ONLY HERE FOR THE BEER


On Saturday 20th March, the Shindig! editorial team (soft Southern division) braved howling storms, delayed trains and Derby County supporters to attend the Kelham Island Brewery beer festival at The Fat Cat pub in Sheffield. The reason? We like beer. The other reason? We wanted to sample Kelham’s much talked about Shindig! brew. “A straw coloured ale” boasted the pump clip and it wasn’t wrong. With notes of citrus and herbs and a sweet, malty aftertaste (somebody stop him! –ed). Let’s just say it was a fine pint, most befitting of our


patronage. Top Shindig! scribe


Jeanette Leech (gritty Northern division) was also in attendance, along with a ton of mellowed out groovy types enjoying the 80+ ales on offer. The beer has also made appearances in


London and Bath so ask for it in your local tavern and spread the word (hic!). www.kelhambrewery.co.uk Andy Morten


Baby Your Phasing Is Good The Fruits De Mer label has become a byword for contemporary psych, prog and acid-folk 7”s of late and June sees them finally unleash their debut long- player, A Phase We’re Going Through. Featuring the likes of The Chemistry Set, Cranium Pie, Permanent Green Light, Sidewalk Society, Geese, The Campbell Stokes Sunshine Recorder and The Marshmallow Staircase, all cover their favourite ’60s psych tunes (The Bee Gees, July, Jefferson Airplane, Clouds), buried under swathes of, you guessed it, phasing. It’s limited to 500 copies, is pressed on thick coloured vinyl and initial quantities come with a foldout poster. www.fruitsdemerrecords.com


Respect The Godfathers Renowned British rock ’n’ rollers The Godfathers, led by the suited and booted brothers Coyne (Peter and Chris), celebrate 25 years since their formation with a full UK tour and a special London show at The 100 Club on 17th June. The original line-up will play selected dates – their first full-length jaunt across the UK for over 15 years – to promote the reissue of their seminal debut album Hit By Hit.


www.godfathershq.com


THE PSYCHEDELIC PICTURE SHOW


Was it only the ’60s that provided us with the real halcyon days of concert poster art? NICK LEVY talks print with documentary filmmaker MERLE BECKER


We’ve all seen those classic, deeply psychedelic posters of Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and The Doors – they are no doubt distinctive relics of freer, more colourful times. Yet this month, a fascinating new documentary called American Artifact: The Rise Of American Rock Poster Art by filmmaker Merle Becker, is a film which suggests that great rock poster art shouldn’t just be consigned to the vaults of countercultural history. Currently experiencing a modern-day renaissance, her film will lead you to ask whether that wonderful world of true US poster art ever went away at all. “Back in the day, when you could only get


your music on vinyl, you got a nice big record album cover with some cool art. Then, when CDs came out, that art shrunk to a small five by five inch square. Now everyone downloads MP3s you don’t get artwork delivered to you with your music at all. I think people miss that, and rock posters in some way fill the gap.” As Merle goes on to explain, “People aren’t finding what they want being released on major labels; so they start their own labels, or support indies. In the same way, artists nowadays are making rock


posters in their homes with their own, cheap, silk-screening equipment. They are doing it because they aren’t satisfied with what popular culture is handing them.” Bolstered by a DVD release, a string of successful screenings and an official place in the permanent archival collection at The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, her documentary traces the detailed history of poster art from the early days of Jim Sherraden & The Hatch Show Print, to ’60s legends such as Stanley Mouse and Dennis Loren, all the way up to latter day greats such as Frank Kozic, Jim Pollock, and the best of what Becker describes as “the resurgence”. With work already underway on her second


rock documentary, of which we can’t divulge any information just yet, you can catch American Artifact: The Rise Of American Rock Poster Art at selected screenings across the US this May and June. And we recommend you do so post-haste.


For details on screening times or to purchase American Artifact: The Rise Of American Rock Poster Art on DVD, visit www.americanartifactmovie.com


9


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92