[MusicRatty] tag: infamous

Backstreet Boys Fans Hit The Jackpot In Atlantic City

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:42:36 +0000

This past Friday I, along with several hundred other 20-somethings relived our childhood when seeing the Backstreet Boys’ show at the House of Blues in Atlantic City. Having been performing for the past 15 years, the majority of them now in their 30s, those Boys proved that they still have it goin’ on.

I should preface this review to explain just how hardcore some of my friends and I were dedicated to this band, hopefully not incriminating myself too much in the process. Back during the height of the BSB era two friends stood outside “TRL” with a “Beam Us Up, Carson” sign for hours, one making it on Channel 11’s “News at 11,” being interviewed by a reporter about the pandemonium outside the MTV offices with a record number of fans — think 10 times the extent of Jonas Brothers fans today. Another friend learned the entire “As Long as You Love Me” chair dance, and that’s no easy task — trust me, especially for the uncoordinated like myself. I can’t even do the “Everybody” dance, and I’ve tried many a time.

Sure, we got a lot of heat for liking them. Seventh and eighth grade definitely isn’t an easy period in any kid’s life, and I could never explain to people what “I Want It That Way” meant. Come on, could you? “Ain’t nothing but a heartache/ Ain’t nothing but a mistake/ Tell me why, I never wanna hear you say I want it that way.” The Backstreet Boys made life a little easier. I could escape from that awkwardness of middle-school life and be in my own world listening to their music. And I did. Granted, they weren’t the first “boy band” to walk the earth, and they definitely won’t be the last, but you cannot deny the presence they’ve had on my generation’s music influence.

The concert Friday night started out the same as every show of theirs I’ve been to — the continuous Backstreet Boys chant minutes before the venue goes dark. Soon thereafter, Brian, Howie, AJ and Nick were spotted onstage in wrestling attire as an announcer introduced each member to the crowd. Thunderous applause and the most exasperating high-pitched screaming I have ever encountered at any show followed. I think every woman unleashed her inner 13-year-old Friday night, myself included.

The Backstreet Boys’ set began with a high-intensity performance of “Larger Than Life,” then segued into a cover of Kanye West’s “Stronger” before the venue went dark once more. Seconds later the Boys appeared in leather jackets for “Everyone” off of 2000’s Black and Blue album and “Any Other Way” off of their latest album, Unbreakable, with nonstop energy and impeccable dance moves. Their stage interaction with each other and the fans in the crowd demonstrated their prowess for performing.

Whether it was Brian constantly making comical faces while waving to audience members or Howie winking and blowing kisses, their love for what they do was evident the entire night. Despite having lost one member — Kevin Richardson — and having not been on tour the past few years, the Boys proved to the crowd that they’re not going anywhere, with the promise of a solo album from both AJ and Howie in the near future as well as another album in the works.

“We want to thank you all for 15 unbelievable years,” Howie told the screaming crowd. “We want to thank you for keeping the Backstreet pride alive.” Their nearly two-hour set included 26 songs from their 15-year career. The entire venue was singing along to many of their old hits and fan favorites such as a medley of “As Long as You Love Me,” “I’ll Never Break Your Heart” and “All I Have to Give” complete with their infamous hat dance. Their newer material, such as faster-paced, edgier “Panic” and slower ballad “Unmistakable,” continues to showcase BSB’s solid harmonies, catchy choruses and impeccable intonation.

In addition, each Boy took the stage alone, singing a song off of their previously released solo album (in Nick and Brian’s case) or the debut of a song from their upcoming release (AJ and Howie). While Howie’s song had a Latin vibe to it, AJ’s was much more rock influenced and heavier than the Backstreet Boys’ material.

It was evident that the Boys held a special appreciation for their Jersey fans. “I love Jersey so much that I actually married a Jersey girl,” Howie told the crowd. AJ later added, “Just to set the record straight, my Mom’s from Jersey. Hackensack to be exact,” as the screams rose and echoed throughout the venue.

Screaming isn’t all the Boys got from fans Friday night. During a slower take of their hit “Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely,” each of the four members sat down at a makeshift card table. While mimicking playing a card game and talking with one another before beginning the song, two fans threw their bras at the Backstreet Boys, practically hitting a startled Brian and Howie in the face. Another fan could be spotted on the balcony flashing the guys continuously throughout their set.

The crowd favorite of the night seemed to be “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back),” as the Backstreet Boys had everyone jumping along throughout the song. The last song before their encore of “Shape of My Heart,” the guys got the crowd energized, and if they hadn’t come out for one more song, I think fans would have walked away content. Singing their famous line “Backstreet’s back all right,” the Boys have proven that they have lasted 15 years strong. I’m interested to see what the next 15 will be like.

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Beck - Modern Guilt (2008)

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 11:19:35 +0000

When I first heard Danger Mouse's now infamous mash-up The Grey Album I thought it was a novelty, a simple entertaining nugget of little importance but great manipulative vision. I had no idea that what he was actually giving us was a Rosetta stone to interpret his future works. For instance, the amalgamation of 70s funk and present day hip-hop produced the backbone for his and Cee-Lo's musical baby Gnarls Barkley. It's a formula echoed from The Grey Album which spliced together The Beatles' White Album and Jay-Z's Black Album, only with original composition. The blueprint (no pun intended) has now resulted in two Barkley albums, a refreshingly familiar style, and possibly the year's best album (The Odd Couple).

This winning blend of vintage instrumentation and modern lyricism has once again fabricated a magnificent creation in Beck's latest Modern Guilt. Sometimes Bowie, sometimes The Beatles, Danger Mouse has helped Beck return to an era where he can't possibly feel anything less than absolute comfort. Beck, himself one to play in the ancient ways of music's not too distant past, sounds effortless and free within the tie-dyed alternate future of Danger Mouse's vision.

That's not to say that Beck doesn't explore some rather dreary facets of his conscience, after all the name of the album is Modern Guilt. Everything from climate change to his own mortality and the possibility of a higher power is confessed in the candid fashion that Beck fans have grown accustomed to. It's not nearly as emotionally heavy as Sea Change but Modern Guilt definitely gives the listener a glance into what's been on Beck's mind lately. The natural and inventive way in which he and Danger Mouse have chosen to release these thoughts results in an extremely satisfying experience and solidifies Danger Mouse as the harbinger of music's near future.

(Interscope 2008)
Reviewed on 2008-07-23 19:02:51 by Aaron Shipp

Jerry Wexler: 1917-2008

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 11:00:00 +0000

This has been one hell of a year for deaths in the music industry, so it seems... Jerry Wexler, infamous music journalist and record producer, passed away on August 15 of heart failure in his Florida home. Notorious for signing and/or producing the likes of Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, Dusty Springfield, and Ray Charles (among many others), the NYC born and raised music magistrate also is given credit for coining the term "Rhythm and Blues."

Though Wexler retired from the music business in the 1990s, his influence continues to live on as his most cherished artists continue to be successful to this day. Wexler was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, further cementing his legacy.

R.I.P. Mr. Wexler, this one's for you:

Happy Birthday Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker (born 19 August 1939, Lewisham, South London)

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:23:00 +0000

Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker (born 19 August 1939, Lewisham, South London) is an English drummer.

Baker gained fame as a member of the Graham Bond Organization (GBO) and Cream from 1966 until 1968. He later joined Cream bandmate Eric Clapton along with Ric Grech and Steve Winwood in the 1969 group Blind Faith. In the early 1970s, Baker toured and recorded with a fusion rock group, Ginger Baker's Air Force.

Baker's drumming attracted attention for its flamboyance, showmanship, and his pioneering use of two bass drums instead of the conventional single 'kick' drum. He is also noted for using a variety of other percussion instruments and for his application of African rhythms to much of his drumming. Evidence of this African influence can be appreciated in Ginger Baker's work in association with Fela Ransome-Kuti where he sat in for Fela's drummer Tony Allen in recording sessions published in 1971 by the Regal Zonophone / Pathe Marconi Label under the record title "Fela Ransome-Kuti and The Africa '70 with Ginger Baker Live!" While at times performing in a grandiloquent manner similar to that of Keith Moon of The Who, Baker was also capable of the more restrained playing he had heard with British jazz groups during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Baker also performed lengthy improvisational drum solos, his most famous of all being the thirteen-minute drum solo from "Toad", heard on Cream's double album Wheels of Fire.

Since 1986, Baker has released several albums of ethnic fusion and jazz percussion, and has toured with various jazz, classical music, and rock ensembles, including a reunited Cream. He has collaborated often with Bill Laswell. As well as bands carrying his own name, such as Ginger Baker's Air Force, Baker Gurvitz Army (1974–1976), Ginger Baker's Energy (1976), and the Ginger Baker Trio, which included jazz bassist Charlie Haden and Bill Frisell on guitar (recordings released in 1994 and 1996), Baker has also at various times been a member of Hawkwind (1980), Atomic Rooster (1980), Public Image Ltd (1986) and Masters of Reality (1990). In 1994 Baker joined BBM (Bruce-Baker-Moore), a short-lived power trio formed along with Jack Bruce and guitarist Gary Moore.

Ginger Baker was rock's first superstar drummer and the most influential percussionist of the 1960s. There were other drummers who were well-known to the public before him, including the Beatles' Ringo Starr and, in England at the end of the 1950s, the Shadows' Tony Meehan, but they were famous primarily for the groups in which they played and for attributes beyond their musicianship. Baker made his name entirely on his playing, initially as showcased in Cream, but far transcending even that trio's relatively brief existence. Though he only cut top-selling records for a period of about three years at the end of the 1960s, virtually every drummer of every heavy metal band that has followed since that time has sought to emulate some aspect of Baker's playing.

He was born Peter Edward Baker in Lewisham, London, in 1939. The nickname "Ginger" came along later, a result of his red hair. As a boy, Baker had a special interest in bicycle racing, but by his mid-teens, his interests had switched to music, especially percussion. A rebel even at that age, he became devoted to modern art and contemporary jazz, transforming himself into something of a beatnik during the mid- to late '50s. A natural musician, he talked himself into his first professional gig when he was 16 and was on the road that year, working full-time. Baker's idol during the late '50s was Phil Seaman, a jazz drummer who was probably the best percussion player in England; his own playing tended toward an aggressiveness and articulation that were unusual in juxtaposition with each other.

By the end of the 1950s, Baker had passed through several of what were known in England as trad jazz bands — "trad" was the English designation given to what Americans and the rest of the world know as Dixieland jazz. It was the dominant form of popular jazz in England from the mid-'50s onward and it provided employment. He'd been a member of Terry Lightfoot's and Acker Bilk's bands, but the fit was an awkward one, owing to the passion that Baker often displayed in his work and his own, personally outspoken nature. Instead, he turned toward the budding British blues scene coalescing around the work of Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies — less bound in tradition and built largely around younger players, this music was growing and being played in a much more open environment.

In 1962, on the recommendation of Charlie Watts, Baker was selected as the latter's replacement in Blues Incorporated, the band started by Korner and Davies. It was here that Baker first crossed paths with two musicians — saxman and organist Graham Bond and bassist Jack Bruce — that were to play a key role in his professional career. Their work with Blues Incorporated was successful enough, but it was while the two were playing with a side group, the Johnny Birch Octet, that they began jamming with saxophonist Dick Heckstall-Smith (another Blues Incorporated alumnus) and began getting a very positive response from the crowds. It was out of those jams that Baker, Bond, Bruce, and (joining a little later) Heckstall-Smith formed the Graham Bond Organization in 1963, the former three quitting Korner's group all at once. The Graham Bond Organisation was never as popular as such Blues Incorporated offshoots as the Rolling Stones or the Small Faces, being more jazz-oriented in their approach to R&B, and, thus, a little too complex to find a huge audience, but they were successful and respected on stage; Baker's reputation among blues aficionados and more scholarly British rock listeners can be traced to his work with the group. Their recordings, however — with the obvious exception of the Klooks Kleek concert album — were never as exciting as their live performances.

Its name aside, Ginger Baker was the de facto leader of the Graham Bond Organization. Bond himself was temperamentally unsuited to a leadership role, a condition made worse by the spells of substance abuse and addiction that blighted his life. The Bond group also hooked Baker up in the same rhythm section with Jack Bruce for an extended period of time, and few relationships between constant bandmates — with the exception of siblings Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey's efforts at working together in the early '30s — have been so tumultuous and productive. The two genuinely hated each other on a personal level, and stories of each wrecking (or trying to wreck) the other's instruments and attacking each other on stage abound. Still, the group's sound was extraordinary, a jazz-based R&B built around four powerful players, each displaying varying degrees of virtuosity and assertiveness that was quite daringly complex. And their manager, Robert Stigwood, saw them all as talents worth keeping an eye on in the future.

Baker eventually fired Bruce, who jumped to John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, which, fatefully, allowed him to cross paths with Eric Clapton for a short time, and then to Manfred Mann, as well as doing session work that even had him playing on records by the Hollies. By early 1966, the Graham Bond Organization had run its commercial course (though it was still sufficiently viable to turn up on a poster outside of the club that David Hemmings' character enters in Blow Up), and Baker was searching for a new gig.

He'd observed John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers in action and had known lead guitarist Eric Clapton for a couple of years, having jammed with him once in 1964 as part of the Graham Bond Organization, and approached him initially to write together and perhaps form a group. Baker had, in effect, been running the Graham Bond Organization while Clapton had emerged in Mayall's group so far into the spotlight that he'd eclipsed Mayall himself; they discovered that they were in exactly the same place. The great irony was that Clapton, impressed with Bruce's musicianship in both the Bluesbreakers and a short-lived group called Eric Clapton & the Powerhouse, insisted that the bassist come aboard as the third member of the trio. Baker agreed, somewhat reluctantly, acknowledging Bruce's daunting musical ability and willing to overlook their past animosities. The proposed trio, christened Cream, was signed up by Reaction Records, a record label founded by Robert Stigwood, who had been the manager of the Graham Bond Organization, knew of Baker's and Bruce's virtuosity intimately, and was equally impressed by Clapton and as eager as any executive in England to get the three together and see what would happen.

What happened initially was "Wrapping Paper," a pop-style single released in late 1966 that didn't impress too many people — although even there, one could hear a swing element to the group's sound, reminiscent of '40s jazz, that showed off one (albeit minor) component of what went into their sound. Baker was barely audible in the mix, though what one could hear of the drumming did have a signature of sorts, a loose, jazzy element that was unusual. Within the next year, the band would become a chart-topping act and then a cultural phenomenon, however, and at its core was Baker. He and Bruce continued to argue without let-up while Clapton mediated and refereed, and on their records everyone got to shine, but Baker's playing was special even in that context — on "Rollin' & Tumblin'," a Muddy Waters blues standard that the trio took into the stratosphere from the first note, Baker's playing sounded like it was on another planet, matching Clapton's rapid-fire quoting of the main riff and Bruce's frenzied singing and quietly overpowering the listener; his playing on "I'm So Glad," by contrast, had a lyrical, almost melodic quality, like a veiled orchestral accompaniment to the bass and guitar — he kept a beat, but his drumming also played the kind of role that a harpsichord continuo played in Baroque music. And then there was "Toad," in its original studio version, an offshoot of several pieces dating back to the Graham Bond days that featured Baker in a solo; here, as on "Oh Baby" from the first Graham Bond album, Baker made his drum kit sing.

In concert, the piece would become the basis for a ten-minute drum solo that was no less impressive. The trio's live sound was, alas, limited somewhat by the technology of the day, especially when they become too popular to play small clubs (which was very early), but Baker set a new standard for playing on record, and at those shows, that every drummer with more than an ounce of ambition sought to emulate. A lot of critics in later years also felt that Baker also had a lot to answer for — that the 15-minute live version of "Toad," 13 minutes of which was Baker solo, opened the way to gargantuan drum solos by the metal bands that came up after Cream, culminating with the infamous (and extremely funny) drum solo interlude in the movie This Is Spinal Tap. Baker can hardly be faulted, however, for the excesses of those who followed after him — his studio work with Cream, and at least the live material that was authorized for release, never showed him playing lengthy solos for their own sake but rather depicted a drummer coaxing beautiful voices out of his instrument. The mere fact that he could do it for ten minutes or more at a stretch was impressive, to say the least.

Cream made (and still generates) a huge amount of money, but couldn't last long with the egos involved — in just over two years, they were history. It turned Baker into a permanent superstar, however. Such was his influence that he was able to turn young admirers of his playing onto older drummers such as Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich, whose careers dated to the 1930s and 1940s, respectively. For a time at the end of the 1960s, teenagers who hadn't even been born when Krupa retired the last of his big bands were seeking out the drummer's work, all based on Baker's professed admiration for him.

What followed next for Baker was Blind Faith, one of the most celebrated still-born bands in history — many millions of records sold, and millions of dollars earned, despite their having only about an eight-song repertory of their own. Initially planned as a linkup between Clapton and singer/guitarist/keyboard player Steve Winwood, Baker came along and cashed in Clapton's promise to include him in his next project and the resulting business and publicity frenzy pushed the band too far, too quickly. In seven months they were gone, but out of the ashes of Blind Faith rose the group eventually known as Ginger Baker's Air Force. Ironically, Air Force's history was an exact reversal of that of Blind Faith — initially put together for two live gigs in England, the group suddenly found its life extended to a tour and a second album; in contrast to Blind Faith, however, whose hype had merely reflected an expectant audience eager to see a band made up of two superstars (Clapton and Baker) and one star (Winwood), Air Force's hype was the product of promoters desperately hoping that it would be another Blind Faith.

The group, which included Baker's mentor Phil Seaman and his old bandmate Graham Bond, was much too eclectic ever to have achieved the kind of popularity that Cream or Blind Faith had enjoyed, embracing jazz, traditional African music, blues, folk, and rock. The ten-piece band lasted less than a year before breaking up, leaving behind a genuinely fascinating and exciting live album and an interesting studio LP (both combined on the Ginger Baker double-CD set Do What You Like. In 1971, Baker decided to indulge his longtime fascination with African music first-hand and moved to Nigeria, where he built the first modern recording studio in western Africa. Over the next three years, he worked with a huge range of acts, including Fela and Paul McCartney's Wings, as well as recording the solo album Stratavarious — he ultimately lost the studio and most of his money (and has claimed that McCartney stiffed him for the use of the studio in the recording of Band on the Run).

During 1974, Baker formed the Baker-Gurvitz Army Band with guitarist Adrian Gurvitz and bassist Paul Gurvitz, which made an initial splash in America before fading out commercially over the next three years. He finally re-emerged in 1986, with bassist/guitarist Bill Laswell on the album Horses & Trees. By that time, a new generation of star drummers had emerged, most notably Carl Palmer of Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Bill Bruford of Yes and King Crimson, but Baker's reputation, thanks to the continued catalog sales of Cream's work, continued to resonate with fans and casual listeners. Over the next few years, Baker reappeared through various projects, including Ginger Baker's African Force and Middle Passage, that freely mixed African and Western musical influences. And in 1991, Baker surprised all onlookers with the release of Unseen Rain, a free-form instrumental album done almost entirely on acoustic instruments. Finally, in 1994, he returned to Atlantic Records — which had been the U.S. outlet for Cream's recordings — and to what he realized were his jazz roots with the triumphant Going Back Home, which featured the Ginger Baker Trio. Baker has hooked up with jazz trumpeter Ron Miles on Coward of the County, a hugely successful showcase for his jazz side and also includes a tribute to the late Cyril Davies, the British blues enthusiast who co-founded Blues Incorporated in the early '60s.

Ginger Baker, like his ex-bandmates, has seen fit since the 1970s to keep the legacy of Cream at arm's length or further — the trio's induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame reportedly did little to change his feelings, and he is also said to be astonished at the emergence of Eric Clapton to mega-stardom during the 1990s. Despite some of the financial and other troubles that have dogged him since the 1960s, he has been content to go his own way musically for the benefit of any who care to hear.

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Baker's kit is DW, but used to be Ludwig in the 1960s and 1970s. All of his cymbals are Zildjian. The rivet Ride cymbal and the hi-hats were used on the last Cream shows in '68.

Drums- 1960s- 20"x 11" Bass (right foot), 22"x 11" Bass (left foot), 12x8" & 13x9" top toms, 14x14" & 16x14" floor toms. 1940s 6.5" x 14" black finished Leedy Broadway wood Snare. Snare tuned high, toms and bass low. In 1968, Baker got a new drum kit with 20"x14" & 22"x14" bass drums for the farewell tour.

Drums- today 10"x 8" 12" x 8" 13" x 10" 14" x 12" Toms (all on stands) 20"x 14" & 22" x 14" Bass Drums 13" Craviotto DW Snare 14" Leedy Snare (Spare) DW 5000 Bass Drum Pedals 4 DW cymbal stands 1 DW HiHat Stand 1 DW Snare Stand Zildjian Ginger Baker 7a sticks

Cymbals 1960s: Zildjian 16" crash, left lower - 13" crash, 14" hi-hats; right front top - 14" ride, front lower - 20" ride, back top - 22" rivetted crash/ride, back lower - 18" crash and in the middle a "Joke effect" splash (size unknown).

Cymbals Now: Zildjian 16" K Crash 14" Hi Hats 8" Splash 8" EFX #1 Splash 10" EFX #1 Splash 8" Splash 13" Hat 23" Rivet Ride 18" China 18" Medium Crash

2 Cowbells now DW heads were used for the Albert shows, but now Ginger will be using Remo heads. 1960s-1970s Remo/Ludwig drum heads on all drums. [Biography by Bruce Eder + Wikipedia]

Blues Incorporated:
R&B from the Marquee (1962)
At The Cavern (1964)
Red Hot From Alex (1964)
Sky High (1965)

Blind Faith Discography:
Blind Faith (1969)

Cream Discography:
Fresh Cream (1966)
Disraeli Gears (1967)
Wheels of Fire (1968)
Goodbye (1969)
Live Cream (1970)
Live Cream Volume II (1972)
Royal Albert Hall London May 2-3-5-6 2005 (2005)

Solo Discography:
Ginger Baker's Air Force (1970)
Ginger Baker's Air Force II (1970)
Stratavarious (1972)
Eleven Sides of Baker (1977)
From Humble Oranges (1983)
Horses & Trees (1986)
No Material (1987)
Middle Passage (1990)
Going Back Home (1994)
Ginger Baker's Energy (1995)
Do What You Like (1998) – compilation
Coward of the County (1999)
African Force (2001)

Other:
Live ! (with Ginger Baker) by Fela Kuti (1971)
Band on the Run by Paul McCartney and Wings (1973)
Levitation by Hawkwind (1980)
Zones by Hawkwind (1983)
This Is Hawkwind, Do Not Panic by Hawkwind (1984)
Album by Public Image Limited (1986)
Unseen Rain with Jens Johansson and Jonas Hellborg (1992)
Sunrise on the Sufferbus by Masters of Reality (1992)
Around the Next Dream by BBM (1994)

BOB WALLIS, GINGER BAKER w/ THE STORYVILLE JAZZMEN and THE HUGH RAINEY ALL STARS (1957)
TERRY LIGHTFOOT'S JAZZMEN - TRADITION IN COLOUR (1958)
GRAHAM BOND ORGANIZATION - THE SOUND OF '65 (1965)
GRAHAM BOND ORGANization - THERE'S A BOND BETWEEN US (1965)
ALEXIS KORNER with GINGER BAKER a. o.- BOOTLEG HIM ! (2-LP Compilation) (1972)
GRAHAM BOND [ QUARTET ] - SOLID BOND (1963-67)
FELA RANSOME - KUTI and THE AFRICA '70 with GINGER BAKER LIVE ! (LP) (1971)
FELA RANSOME-KUTI and THE AFRICA '70 with GINGER BAKER - WHY BLACK MAN DEY SUFFER (LP) (1971)
GINGER BAKER - STRATAVARIOUS (LP) (1972)
GRAEME EDGE BAND - KICK OFF YOUR MUDDY BOOT (1974
BAKER GURVITZ ARMY - BAKER GURVITZ ARMY (1974)
BAKER GURVITZ ARMY - ELYSIAN ENCOUNTER (1975)
BAKER GURVITZ ARMY - HEARTS ON FIRE (1976)
BAKER GURVITZ ARMY - ROCK HEAVIES (1977)
GINGER BAKER & FRIENDS - ELEVEN SIDES OF BAKER (1976)
GINGER BAKER and HAWKWIND - LEVITATION (1980)
GINGER BAKER and HAWKWIND - ZONES (1983)
GINGER BAKER and HAWKWIND - DO NOT PANIC (1984)
GINGER BAKER and HAWKWIND - UTOPIA 1984 (1985)
GINGER BAKER'S NUTTERS - GINGER BAKER LIVE (1981)
GINGER BAKER'S NUTTERS - IN CONCERT (1987)
and much more...

Surprise Album
1. http://sharebee.com/efd2e9e1
or
2. http://sharebee.com/80dd95e1

The Ginger Baker Site:
http://www.ginger-baker.com/

Notification: Global Gathering lineup announced!

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 22:11:08 +0000

Touring Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth
November 22 - 30, 2008

Future Entertainment, Ministry of Sound Australia
and The UKs Angel Music Group deliver a knock out first line up Global Gathering announcement!

Hot off the heels of the most successful Global Gathering in the UK to date, Future
Entertainment, the Angel Music Group and Ministry Of Sound Australia announce the
most dynamic and ground-breaking joint venture the Australian music industry has
seen in a very long time; the launch of the Global Gathering Festivals across the
country this coming November.
Check out these heavyweights!

Mark Ronson

There is a lot to say about Mark Ronson, Ex-Pat NYC based British
musical auteur. Internationally renowned as one of the worlds
finest DJs, favoured by the decadent fashion cognoscenti, the hiphop
elite and anyone in general that likes to party, add to that list;
uber-producer du jour, solo artist, band leader and label boss.
Using his own unique re-interpretive style, Mark has demonstrated
pop voyeurism and experimentalism are not alien forms in his
latest album Version. Having reached Gold with sales of over
200,000 in less than a month, the album sees him joined by an
array of singers; including the irrepressible musical talents of Dirt
McGirt aka ODB (R.I.P), Robbie Williams nailing The Charlatans
seminal Only One I Know as if it was his own, and his friend Lily
Allen on a phenomenal interpolation of The Kaiser Chiefs Oh My
God. Few producers could boast as prolific a schedule over the past 12 months as Ronson,
having produced tracks on forthcoming new albums by Christina Aguilera, Robbie Williams,
Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse, his Allido protégés Rhymefest & Daniel Merriweather amongst
others, his previous production credits include scoring the soundtrack to Jay-Zs Fade To
Black film, the final ODB studio recordings, high profile remixes of Air and Jiggamans 99
Problems, plus work with Outkast, De La Soul, & M.O.P to name but a handful. After
headlining dates across the UK with his 10 piece band, he performed at Global Gathering UK
to rave reviews and will be bringing the entire live show to Australia, so come and see what
all the fuss is about!

Kraftwerk

During the mid-'70s, Germany's Kraftwerk established the sonic
blueprint followed by an extraordinary number of artists in the
decades to come. From the British new romantic movement to
hip-hop to techno, the group's self-described "robot pop";
hypnotically minimal, obliquely rhythmic music performed solely
via electronic means; resonates in virtually every new
development to impact the contemporary pop scene of the late
20th century, and as pioneers of the electronic music form, their
enduring influence cannot be overstated. Kraftwerk emerged
from the same German experimental music community of the late
'60s, which also spawned Can and Tangerine Dream; primary
members Florian Schneider and Ralf Hütter first met as classical music students at the
Dusseldorf Conservatory. Schneider and Hütter soon disbanded Organisation, re-christening
themselves Kraftwerk, beginning work on their own studio and immersing their music in the
fledgling world of minimalist electronics; their 1971 debut, titled simply Kraftwerk 1,
offered a hint of their unique aesthetic in its earliest form. A series of line up shifts followed,
and at one point Hütter even left the group; however, by the release of 1972's Kraftwerk 2,
he and Schneider were again working in tandem. Recorded without a live drummer, the
album's rhythms relied solely on a drum machine, creating a distinctly robotic feel without
precedent; the concept at the time was utterly alien to most musicians and listeners. A
series of well-received live performances followed before Kraftwerk began work on their
breakthrough third LP, 1973's Ralf and Florian; honing their many ambitions down to a few
simple yet extraordinarily innovative concepts. Kraftwerk's first album to be issued in the
U.S., 1974's Autobahn was an international smash and crystallized the distinctive Kraftwerk
sound, establishing a permanent foothold for electronic music within the mainstream. They
resurfaced in 1975 with Radio-Activity, a concept album exploring the theme of radio
communication; then in 1977's released Trans-Europe Express, which marked an increased
movement towards seeming musical mechanization. The line became even further blurred
with the follow-up, 1978's aptly titled The Man Machine, a work almost completely bereft of
human touches. By this time, the members of Kraftwerk even publicly portrayed themselves
as automatons, an image solidified by tracks like We Are the Robots. Having reached the
peak of their influence the group disappeared from view and did not return until 1981's
Computer World, a meditation on the new global dominance of technology. Despite the
1991 best-of collection titled The Mix, Kraftwerk remained silent during most of the 90s
but surprised fans by announcing tour dates. Celebrating the centennial anniversary of the
Tour de France with a new version of their 1983 single Tour de France, and followed with a
full album Tour de France Soundtracks in August 2003. The live record Minimum-
Maximum followed in 2005 and their recent live performance at Coachella 08 was a festival
highlight receiving critical acclaim.

Fischerspooner

Fischerspooner is an art and performance project created and helmed
by Warren Fischer and Casey Spooner that makes music, dance,
fashion, film and photography. The project is renowned for outsider
pop shows bursting with stage effects presented in both art galleries
and traditional concert venues. They have released two full-length
albums of music: 1 a punked-up digital party record trussed with
conceptual lyrics; and Odyssey, a rich emotional fantasia with a
deep, expansive sound. Between 1998 and 2000 the duo wrote a
spate of cool electronic tracks to accompany an ambitious new
performance idea. The music was perfectly pitched for the turn of the
millennium: and the show was a smash-up of pop extravagance
undercut by experimental theatrics. With the help of an ever-expanding network of dancers,
singers, designers, and artists, the performances grew into large-scale arena-style pop
spectacles staged in galleries and nightclubs. In 2001 they followed up with a super sized
version of the show in Los Angeles, and rocked New York in 2002. Fischerspooner amassed a
dedicated International following during the heady first flowering of the digital music era.
White labels and an underground vinyl release with DJ Hells International Deejay Gigolo
Records positioned them as a figurehead of the burgeoning electro movement. In 2005, the
band embarked on a summer-long residency at Ibizas Man-U-Mission, the largest nightclub
in the world. Performing every Monday night to tens of thousands, they spent the rest of the
week headlining clubs and festivals from Oslo to Istanbul. Their hyper-stylish performances
at festivals and venues across the globe have left audiences awestruck.

Sasha

Ever since he rode in on a tidal wave of adoration from the North
of England's explosive early 90s club scene, Sasha, aka Alexander
Coe, has been one of the most famous and most revered DJs on
the planet. Sasha's first big break came when he was offered a
residency at Stokes legendary club Shelly's. When all the other
DJ's were playing US House, Sasha's style was much more
uplifting, and he encapsulated clubbers with his mixture of piano
led Italian House whilst playing acapella tracks over the top. This
combination alongside a wide variety of anthems kept dancefloors
full and elevated Sasha to hero status. However, it was at
Renaissance where Sasha created his niche and helped forge a
new style in UK house music. Here he mixed the first ever UK DJ mix album and he met
John Digweed, which cemented the partnership known as 'Northern Exposure'. Sasha and
Digweed have played together on five continents and mixed 3 'Northern Exposure' albums
selling over 1 million copies worldwide. Sashas long-awaited, debut long player
Airdrawndagger', took his nose for the dancefloor's g-spot and combined it with the the
knowledge that a smile inducing hook and dirty great bassline can create a 69 minute
symphony that sounds as wistfully enchanting doing the hoovering at home as it does
reaching for the lasers on Saturday night. After a summer of dates across the globe,
including sets at Homelands, Creamfields, Dance Valley, and hosting a stage in the forest of
the Mount Fuji Festival, Sasha has been in the studio again, working on new plans and
ideas, and most recently remixing the forthcoming UNKLE single. Sasha has always been
noted for his ability to read people, to tap into that human experience and take people on a
journey. It is this universal appeal that has established his strong fan base around the globe
and protected his iconic status.

Above & Beyond

Acclaimed as one of the finest UK dance outfits of the past few
years, Above & Beyonds meteoric rise to the top of the global
dance music scene continues unabated. As artists theyre
constantly pushing at the boundaries of uplifting electronic music
and reaping the rewards (and awards) in equal measure. Their
debut artist album Tri-State was acclaimed as a standout
electronic album of recent times. As DJs, Above & Beyond, aka
Tony, Jono, and Paavo, have scooped Radio 1s Essential Mix Of
The Year Award and are ranked No.6 in DJ Magazines latest Top
100 DJs poll. Above & Beyond have enjoyed two top 20 hits in
the UK; including Satellite under their Oceanlab alias, and have
remixed the likes of Madonna and Dido, prompting Radio 1's Pete Tong to describe them as
the UKs new dance superstars. Above & Beyond's radio show has built a fanatical global
following on the internet and via its worldwide syndication on FM stations and XM Satellite
Radio in the US. 2008 promises to be another groundbreaking year for Above & Beyond as
they continue work on the eagerly awaited Oceanlab album, and mix the next Anjunabeats
compilation to celebrate the labels 100th release. [- Anjunabeats.com: MP3 Trance Downloads, Vinyl, Info & More -]
[- Anjunabeats.com: MP3 Trance Downloads, Vinyl, Info & More -]

Felix Da Housecat

Its been six years since Felix glammed up dance floors with
Kittenz And Thee Glitz, 20 years since he first stepped into a
studio, now Felix Da Housecat is about to embark on the next
phase of his remarkable career. His new album, Virgo Blaktro &
The Movie Disco, eclipses all previous work. A dab hand at
producing killer singles, Felix has made a classic album. His
2001 runaway success of Kittenz And Thee Glitz unwittingly
sparked off the electroclash wave and propelled Felix into the
mainstream. Like Kittenz, Virgo Blaktro & The Movie Disco is
a pleasure-rush from start to finish, but this time the highs are
natural and the tone is cooler, more reflective. A master class in
sugar-frosted vocal pop, soulful synth-funk and pulsing electronic disco, it's comfortably the
most satisfying record he's produced. For the first time, Felix has written songs rather than
tracks, and sings his own lyrics too. This record has a black, soulful groove, it's more like
Sly & The Family StoneThis stuff is all black-influenced." As an indication of how far Felix
has come, it's worth mentioning that in the '90s he was recognized as one of the second
wave of Chicago house producers. As a young man he used many aliases, including
Aphrohead, Thee Maddkatt Courtship, Electrikboy and Rocketmann. If you went raving
anywhere during that decade you would at some point have seen him DJ or heard his wildpitch
house tracks. What's also notable is that Felix is still only 35 years old. Twenty years
ago, this teenage Prince freak was taken under the wing of acid house pioneer DJ Pierre in
Chicago, resulting in the release of 1987's 'Phantasy Girl', a hefty underground hit, and, with
college out of the way, Felix's star-bound course was set. Ten years on, under his latest
alias, Virgo Blaktro, Felix is in the finest form of his life with his appearances across the
globe cementing him as a heavy weight DJ.

LA Riots

LA Riots are (metaphorically speaking) burning L.A. down!
LA Riots is a recent formation of two well-striped
DJ/producers. One is Daniel LeDisko, who is known for his
years of residencies at Hollywoods 82, Moscow, and Le
Disko. The other is JoB, who formerly DJd many-a jungle
parties and raves under the name Orion and concurrently
produces, the indie pop group Edison Gem.
With LA Riots, the sound is made for electro dance parties.
Their stuttering vocal edits and four on the floor basslines
are done with finesse and we all notice. Some of the right
people certainly noticed the early unofficial remix of Justice with Uffie and recently have
been busy doing commissioned remix work for EDM artists Ocelot, Hatiras, indie rock artists
Scanners and Mystery Jets, dn'b heavyweight Photek, pop superstars The Cure, and funky
favorites Chromeo.

.
The Orb

Founded in 1988 by Alex Paterson and KLF member Jimmy
Cauty, The Orb began as ambient and dub DJs in London. Their
early performances were inspired by ambient and electronic
artists of the 1970s and 1980s, most notably Brian Eno and
Kraftwerk. The Orb virtually invented the electronic genre known
as ambient house, resurrecting slower, more soulful rhythms and
providing a soundtrack for early-morning ravers once the clubs
closed their doors. The Orb's critical and commercial success
peaked in the early 1990s with their albums The Orb's
Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld and U.F.Orb, which reached
#1 on the UK Albums Chart in 1992. This success led to their infamous appearance on Top
of the Pops, where they showcased their quirky style by playing chess, while the group's
single "Blue Room" ran in the background. The Orb's mid-1990s albums were met with
mixed reactions from UK critics; however, their work received praise from American
publications such as Rolling Stone. Shortly after the Orb shifted to the minimalist techno
style spearheaded by member Thomas Fehlmann, releasing their new material on the record
label Kompakt. Despite band members joining and leaving and changes in their performance
method, The Orb have maintained their colourful light shows and psychedelic imagery in
concert. These visually intensive performances have prompted many critics to compare The
Orb to Pink Floyd.

Larry Tee

Larry Tee hails from Atlanta, Georgia where he was friends with
REM and his first group, the Fans, produced the B-52s' first
independent single Rock Lobster/52 Girls. He moved to NYC
with fellow Atlantans RuPaul and Lady Bunny and quickly took
over the NYC club scene with his epic party Love Machine. He
started and named the infamous DISCO 2000 of Party Monster
movie fame, DJ'ed the ROXY weekly, and co-wrote the Billboard
Top 40 song Rupaul's Supermodel (You Better Work). In 1997
Larry Tee decided to get clean from drugs and alcohol and
decided to re-examine his life and career. He turned to music
for inspiration and championed a new sound and movement,
which became the Electroclash phenomena. He created the term Electroclash for his
festivals in 2001/2002 which helped launch the careers of Scissor Sisters, Felix Da Housecat,
2 Many DJs/Soulwax, Peaches and many more. In 2007, Larry launched an international
music festival in NYC called the Dance Music Invasion 2007. This festival brought together
everyone from Loco Dice to Lil' Louie Vega to Kele from the Bloc Party to Princess Superstar
and was the beginning of a yearly event devoted to bringing more awareness to electronic
music in the US and continued Tee's tradition of supporting up-and-coming artists. Fast
forward to 2008 and we see Larry Tee travelling all over the world bringing his unique sound
and exclusive tracks to festivals and cool nightclubs worldwide.
Tickets on sale nationally September 1st

CUNNINLYNGUISTS' DJ KNO PUTS DOWN MF DOOM'S NO-SHOWS

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 13:29:00 +0000

Touring in hip-hop is one of the few things still remaining in the business that holds an utmost amount of integrity and wholeness. Albums and songs are being illegally downloaded at ridiculous rates while record labels are progressively fueling the industry with their deceitful marketing tactics and procedures. During concerts and shows, none of those corrupted changes stand in the way between the fans and the artist. Rappers need tours just as much as their fans do. For both parties, it's a perfect escape from the struggles of reality in this difficult time.

But what happens when the artist doesn't take touring so seriously? What happens when the magic and memories at a concert disappear to nothing but the detrimental money methods that are ruining the industry today? Ask MF Doom. For the past year, the infamous rapper has been hiring replacements to "perform" at his shows in place of himself. Call them imitators, impersonators, impostors, or whatever you like. One thing's for certain: they are not MF Doom.

The most recent of these impostor sitings occurred a couple weeks ago during the Rock the Bells stop in San Bernardino, California. A fake Doom took the stage with a few hype men and began lip-syncing through the set, awkwardly pacing from left to right, staring at his shoes with no crowd interaction. Fans began to realize that this isn't what they paid their hard-earned cash for as they started to boo and throw objects on stage. Video footage of the incident can be seen here. In the past, there have been reported circumstances when the MF Doom impostor actually stole the venue's ticket sales after running off the stage and immediately out the door in the middle of the set, ensuring that the crowd will not be able to get a refund. Talk about bizarre.

DJ Kno, one-third of the critically acclaimed underground hip-hop group Cunninlynguists, found out about the MF Doom scandal in San Bernardino and had a few words to say about it. On his record label's website, Kno conducted "An Open Letter to Mf Doom" where he bashes the MCs no-shows, calling them "completely foul" among other things.

See, people don’t buy much music anymore. Touring is what allows artists who aren’t supervillainous children of Latverian gypsies bent on world domination to meet our fans, fuel our art and put money into our projects and pockets. As part of an “indie” act that operates in the same ever-narrowing circles as you, I can definitely say the ability to book proper gigs with reputable promoters and venue operators is becoming more and more scarce by the month, especially with the poor reputation live hip-hop has for professionalism and punctuality as well as the economic woes of many venues and agencies. The recession is a sumbitch.

So, if any artist pisses off these promoters, fans or venue owners then ultimately they are fucking with my money.

I'm not here to judge a way a dude makes his dough, but unfortunately, this ain't about money. It's about artist integrity. As much as I am a fan of MF Doom's work, who does he think he is? He needs to stop hiding behind his protective mask and rethink the pleasure he gets from scamming his loyal fans and the venues. Without his fans, MF Doom will be no one to this day. Marketing technique or not, this entire impostor scandal is not what concerts are about, and it's definitely not what hip-hop's about. It's too bad some artists just don't care.

Kno's full blog post can be read here.

Franklin De Costa DJ Set @ Bar25 - Berlin (21.06.2008)

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 04:28:42 +0000

Keywords: Tech House, Progressive House, Funky House
Via: www.nightclubber.com.ar
HP: greenempire.hypnotix.de
MySpace: www.myspace.com/franklindecosta

‘,,another cool set yeah i love De Costa,,’ [dg]

Franklin’s early musical roots began with a Taiwan Drumset and a Hohner Organ. After some training years under the influence of metal, jazz, 70s prog/rock and live perfomances as a versatile drummer his transition to electronic music began with an Amiga 500 computer.

The Trackermusic of this machine lead him to the early techno music of the 90s and early production experiments in his Father’s home studio. First releases followed in 1995 to 96 on the label Fusion Records (w/ 303 Nation Member, Patrick Vauillaume). Later he released as Tichy on various Frankfurt techno labels until at the end of the 90s his search for inspiration brought him to a very experimental production phase without the „4 to the floor“ presetting. From this he developed his distinctive trademark sound with straight grooves and frisky sound design.

With the concentration on DJing and party organising Franklin began the extroverted phase of the studio nerd. In 2003 he started working with Yapacc and founded the Studiogemeinschaft project. Along with the infamous Frankfurt DJs Bo Irion and Miriam Schulte they started “The Green Empire” events and internet community.

Meanwhile Franklin was gaining more international recognition with releases on well-known labels such as Trapez ltd, Karmarouge Noir, Einmaleins Musik and Treibstoff. His singles entered the charts of the german groove magazine, german dance charts and the charts of djs worldwide.

In 2007 he released with Yapacc together the first Green Empire Release. Expect for 2008 some new music on Leena, Resopal Red, Below and Curle.

No Playlist

Download (right click, save as) (153MB, 128kBit/s)

MP3

franklin-de-costa-comfort-sessions-proton-radio-240308

Raphael Saadiq "The Way I See It" Album Cover/Tracklisting

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 16:11:00 +0000

Check out the new album cover from producer/singer/songwrinter Raphael Saadiq. The former frontman of Tony Toni Tone has produced hits for TLC, Joss Stone, and Kelis just to name a few. The album is preceded by first single, "Love That Girl". The album will be in stores September 16. Check out the tracklisting below!

1. Sure Hope You Mean It

2. 100 Yard Dash
3. Keep Marchin'
4. Big Easy - (featuring The Infamous Young Spodie/Rebirth Brass Band)
5. Just One Kiss - (featuring Joss Stone)
6. Love That Girl
7. Calling
8. Staying In Love
9. Oh Girl
10. Let's Take A Walk
11. Never Give You Up - (featuring Stevie Wonder/CJ)
12. Sometimes
13. Oh Girl [Remix] - (remix, featuring Jay-Z)

PAYNE'S GRAY - Kadath Decoded (1995)

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 10:19:13 +0000

Payne´s Gray sole album Kadeth Decoded were released in 1995. I remember reading reviews of this album back then in metal magazines. The album was highly praised by most reviewers in 1995. If I had to review it in 1995 I would probably have given it more credit than I will in this review because back then this was a pretty groundbreaking release because of the two lead singers in the band. Much water has run under the bridge since then though and this is one of those albums that has suffered a bit of old age in the meantime.

I actually caught Payne´s Gray live in 1996 supporting Psychotic Waltz on the Bleeding tour. They were a very good live band and it was in the live environment you really understood that they were a unique band. The two singers complimented each other and the stage presence of two singers just seemed very powerful ( Of course Psychotic Waltz blew them away, but that´s another story).

Well the music on Kadeth Decoded is very keyboard and synth driven. The term metal should only be used loosely here as there are lots of songs on Kadeth Decoded without guitar and when guitars appear it´s mostly acoustic. There are some heavy guitar parts here and there though. The lyrics are based on H.P. Lovecraft´s infamous horror stories which is great for a Lovecraft fan like me. The music is pretty impressive technically and the compositions are very challenging. If you´re a keyboard freak you should definitely check out this album as keyboardist Tomek Turek is pretty fantastic and innovative. My problem here is unfortunately with the two lead singers who might have comlimented each other well in a live environment but falls flat on their face on this studio recording. There´s nothing wrong with their voices even though there is a slight german accent. They are high pitched metal singers so in that respect they don´t stand out from most progressive metal bands. It´s the melody lines and the way the harmony vocals are arranged that annoys me. It´s probably an aquired taste but it ruins much of my listening pleasure that´s for sure.

The musicianship is really good on the album and again I´ll mention Tomek Turek as the most shining light on this album. Classically trained I pressume.

The production is a bit weak and allthough it doesn´t ruin the music it´s sometimes an unnesseccary distraction.

Kadeth Decoded is a pretty unique album and had the singing been to my liking I would have rated it 4 stars. As it is I´ll only rate it 3 stars though. If you want to hear something unique and challenging and you´re not annoyed by the vocals like I am this will probably be a treat.

by UMUR

PAYNE'S GRAY Music Online:
recommended progarchives.com worldwide prog rock stores

GEMM, Vinyl Records & CDs Rare Albums (Out of Print and Imports)
AMAZON, find cheap, used and new stuff with the marketplace
eBay, used or new | bid or buy now

Progarchives.com Recommended Links

Download Prog Rock MP3 — Mp3Search.ru | AmazonMP3
Download Live Prog Concert Performances — Wolfgang's Vault
Prog Rock MP3 Ringtones — Funtonia.com | Thumbplay
The World's Largest Poster and Print Store — AllPosters.com
Sheet Music and Guitar Tab Downloads — Sheet Music Plus
Buy, Rent or Watch Movies Online — amazon.co.uk | zip.ca | amazon.com
Buy Computer & Video Games — amazon.co.uk | amazon.com
Norton Anti-spyware, Antivirus and Internet security — Symantec

More about PAYNE'S GRAY at Progarchives.com

EQ Interviews Red Blooded Women: "Darren Hayes Actually Made Me A Cup Of Tea!"

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 20:00:00 +0000

Red Blooded Women are on the rise. I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical about them when I heard their track "Colour Me Dirty" as it highlights a heavy Yazoo sample and I thought, "oh no - another band trying to steal a trademark sound for a new generation of kids". But as the Red Blooded Women slowly released songs for preview and their catalogue of future hits grew, I quickly adjusted and re-checked my attitude towards them.

Let's just get this straight, I'm not a huge fan of pop girlbands. I'll admit to liking a few Girls Aloud tracks and I worshipped the Sugababes up until the point Mutya left. But in general, there aren't many pop girlbands that float my boat - except for Electric Dolls and Electrovamp...because they are actually quite good. The quintessential pop girlbands of all time will always be Bananarama, The Bangles and The Go-Gos in my books. And how refreshing that Red Blooded Women conjur up elements of all these legendary girlbands and mix it up with a huge serving of fresh electronica. They're not trying to be the next high street wannabees. They're not trying score the next huge commercial hit (although it wouldn't surprise me if they did crossover). They are however staying true to electronica music and for that, they are THE ONES to watch out for.

In this interview with Red Blooded Women, we chat about their recent gig at the rock-venue Water Rats, their upcoming EP and we find out exactly what they think about The Saturdays. Enjoy EQs!

EQ: Hello to you lovely lovely ladies - go on and introduce yourselves!

Hey, I’m Candy…

I’m the lovely Liz…

And I’m Carly, the baby of the band (laughs)

Fab - I have to say I really enjoyed your gig at Water Rats. Did you enjoy that gig?
Liz - It was so much fun! The Water Rats is known mainly for indie and rock music, so to be asked to do that venue was such a compliment. We were so nervous that the crowd would hate us so we just gave it all we had and thankfully the reception was awesome. The place was packed - our egos are slowly growing (winks).

And no one threw any bottles at you...you were a teeny bit worried about that weren't you...
Candy - (Laughs) We were a little worried because we were breaking the mold a little when we performed there. As Liz said, it’s a typical acoustic, manly environment where they are more used to live guitars, heavy drums and rock & roll. So for us three young girls to do our thing there – well, we were a little scared at how we would go down! Everyone loved it though and it was a great way to introduce pop music to a venue that’s never embraced it before.

You kept referring to "Mr. Blue" throughout your set - Who is the mysterious Mr. Blue?
Carly - Mr Blue is one of our top fans, he comes to nearly every gig - you can’t miss him in his long black leather coat! He takes awesome pictures, so we like him very much!

Liz - It’s sooo special to us because it's one thing for family and friends to enjoy your music - but to have such amazing fans at this stage is unbelievable. RBW love Mr Blue (winks)!

So your EP for "You Made Your Bed" is coming out soon, are you excited that your tracks are finally getting out there?
Candy - No question! Of course! It’s so scary putting yourself out there to be judged, but it’s an amazing feeling too. So much hard work has gone into this. But we knew that the material was too good not to be picked up so we kept on writing, recording, rehearsing, gigging and now it’s starting to pay off. It’s just a taster EP though - it isn’t supposed to be a massive explosion of RBW in your face (laughs)! We still wanna keep it credible, low key and underground to begin with. Really generate a bit of intrigue!

How proud are you of your debut track? Go on, boast - it's rather brilliant so it's allowed...
Carly – We love it (laughs)! It's one of our favourite tracks, and it’s quite different - we wanted to debut something that wasn’t quite as "obvious" as "Colour Me Dirty" or "Synthesizer". The production is almost kind of 90’s euphoric rave in places, with a really dark, 80’s influenced topline, so we just thought it was an interesting choice. Some of the remixes are amazing as well.

Totally - "4 2Nite" is also on your EP too - tell us about this one...
Candy - I adore this track. It’s about how we put our men on pedestals, but finally realise that, being strong Red Blooded Women, we have the upper hand all along (laughs)! It’s about how we embrace our sexuality and femininity...I'd love to do a video for this one! We really wanted to give the fans something more than just a one track single. This way, you get two of our songs and a variety of remixes too.

Let's talk about some of your other tracks - "Colour Me Dirty" is tre cool. Whose idea was it to sample the infamous Yazoo you sneaky devils?
Liz - I really can’t remember! We’re all trying to take credit for it! It was just something that was thrown in the pot when we were writing. We’re so eighties influenced, so it made sense that we should sample something from that period. We’re big fans of tracks like "Freak Like Me" and "Beware Of The Dog" as well and thought we’d try our hand at doing something similar and just completely change the feel of the original track. We love the original and I just hope we've done it justice... and Yazoo fans don't eternally hate us!

Everyone's also talking about The Saturdays now too - do you feel any competition there...(pssst you're better I think)...
Liz - It’s quite flattering more than anything – they have a major label behind them with loads of cash and we literally have the spare change in our back pockets and we're doing just fine (laughs). We are quite different I think, in terms of our music and our style, but hopefully there’s room for both of us.

Candy - I think we should start a girlband revolution together! We love The Saturdays – In fact we love all girl groups – you shouldn’t be in a girl group if you don’t love girl groups! "If This Is Love" is a great song - I always start dancing when I hear it and I have been known to throw my hair from side to side, like a woman possessed!

So in part of being locked away in recording studios putting together your sound, we see you've worked with Trademark...what's it like working with them?
Candy - They are so damn talented! The three of them are like scientists working on an experiment or something! They are so thorough and precise and from day one have made us feel like part of the family. They are also three of the nicest blokes I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with.

Now - it would be foolish not talk about Bananarama with you here. Obviously you girls are fans and even emulate them somewhat. Fair statement?
Candy - Thank you very much! Bananarama are amazing – from the way that they would sing together in unison and sound so perfect, right down to their fashion sense - big crimped hair, leggings and high shoes with bright makeup! I’m chuffed that we have had so many people say we remind them of them! We have taken elements of their sound and style I guess but given it our own RBW spin. It’s such a compliment!

Favourite Bananarama song?
Liz – Either "I Want You Back" or "Cruel Summer"...equally amazing and yet different.
Carly – I love a bit of "Venus".
Candy – It’s so hard to pick one! "I Want You Back" reminds me of a holiday my entire family went on when I was a tiny whipper snapper! You’ve gotta love "Cruel Summer" and the cheesy top lines of "Love In The First Degree"! I had all these on my NOW 11 album! Brilliant!

Is it true you took your name from the Kylie song of the same name?
Candy - Yep, cheers Kylie – we owe you one gorgeous!

Liz - Yep we full on stole it. We loved the song and the name just jumped out at us. It’s a bit of a mouthful, but it sums up what we’re all about - we're independent and headstrong and not afraid to work our asses off – we’re strong, powerful, confident sexy women!

And when do you think the album will be out there?
Carly - We can’t wait to get an album out there. We’re hoping for the beginning of next year, just after Christmas. We’ve written and recorded about twenty five tracks for it, but we’re going back in the studio in a couple of weeks to work on some new stuff – we want this album to be fierce! Fingers crossed, 2009 is going to be our year!

Who’s the most famous person you met now that you're on your road to pop stardom?
Liz – Darren Hayes! We were rehearsing in the same studios as him and he actually made me a cup of tea! I was so star struck cos we’re huge fans, but he was so lovely!

That's it ladies - you've been wonderful. Any parting words for our EQ readers?
Candy - RBW love you all, thank you for your support and we’ll keep on rocking as long as I dye my hair blonde! And that will be forever!

Carly – We love Electroqueer and all its readers!

Liz - We will love you eternally if you download our EP (blows air kisses).

Make sure to pick up your copy of the "You Made Your Bed" EP when it drops 24th August and check out some of the other fab electronic tunes by the lovely ladies over on their MySpace - you can even download a megamix for now to tide you over until then!

If you want to read more about their flawless gig at Water Rats, visit the August 8th entry on Electronically Yours. It's the best summary of the night that was written. And check out their video to "You Made Your Bed" in YouTubage below.