Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - Interview, photos, gig review, live recording!

Come one, come all to the Casiotone for the Painfully Alone MEGAPOST! I've got all bases covered here: an interview to read, photos to look at and a live recording to listen to, dare I say that this is the best CFTPA blog post in the history of geekery?

First up is an e-mail interview with the man himself, Mr. Owen Ashworth...

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THE PRETENTIOUS QUESTION
If I was going to compare your early albums to a film movement I would say they were kind of like Dogme 95, very much a small operation, constrained by a self imposed set of aesthetic guidelines. What film movement would you compare your more recent, wider sound to and why?

I cannot answer this question honestly and still feel okay about myself.

THE PITCHFORK QUESTION (THE TWOHEADEDBOY QUESTION)
Actually, I don't know enough big, silly words to create a question that requires a dictionary to decipher. If you had two heads, what kind of personality would your conjoined twin have?

I would hope that he would be a pretty cool guy who was interested in seeing the same films and wanted to sleep when I wanted to sleep.  Oh my God I completely assumed that my conjoined twin would be a dude. How chauvinistic.

THE PERSONAL QUESTION
There is a kind of sombre, almost moribund thing going on in a lot of your songs, although they aren't really depressing they have that feeling about them. Have you experienced depression and do you use your music as a way to get it out?

I have certainly experienced depression, although I wouldn't consider myself to be a depressed person. I'm not convinced that depression is a driving force behind my songwriting, though.  My mom listened to a lot of Willie Nelson and Otis Redding and stuff when I was growing up, and I think my tastes formed very early.  I have always just preferred sad songs.  Those were always the kinds of songs that I was interested in writing because those were always the kinds of songs that I was interested in listening to.

THE "WHO ARE YOUR INFLUENCES?" QUESTION
Your music doesn't really sound like anyone else's to me, are you influenced by other bands or by something else entirely?
(Sub-questions)
- Who are your all time favourite bands?
- Any new bands you really like?

I think the Stax Records house band, MGs, are maybe my favorite band ever.  Also, the band that backed up Neil Young on Harvest.  I think they were called the Stray Gators. I would love to own both of those bands like baseball franchises.

The Sly & The Family Stone albums There's a Riot Goin' On and Fresh, The Geto Boys' "Mind Playing Tricks On Me," The Magnetic Fields' early albums, Vince Guaraldi's music for the Peanuts Christmas Special, The Carter Family, Smog, Willie Nelson, Otis Redding, Young Marble Giants, Suicide, The Shangri-La's, and Bruce Springsteen have been huge inspirations at different times.

The Donkeys from San Diego are like the MGs and the Stray Gators of the 21st century. Like baby stray gator mg's.

THE BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN QUESTION
I love your cover of Philadelphia, in fact, I like it more than the original. I find The Boss is a good way to distinguish between true music lovers and people that are in it for the looks, you have passed the true music lover test with flying colours! What are your favourite Springsteen albums / songs and what would you say to get people to realise that he is the man?

I actually really like a lot of the new album, Magic.  I think "Girls In Their Summer Clothes" is particularly lovely.  The three classic Springsteen tapes that have been played and played and warped over time in my car stereo are Born In the USA, Nebraska, and a greatest hits collection that I bought used at an Anacortes book store for $2 five years ago.  It seems like Nebraska is always the record that converts the non-believers.  The low-tech production values are less jarring to jaded "punk" sensibilities.  I've heard a few people ask "Wait, are all of his songs this good?" after listening to Nebraska for the first time.

THE QUESTION OUT OF NOWHERE
What motivates you to maintain such a killer beard? Is it a psychologic mask against the modern world? Is it for the chicks? Is it just to keep your chin warm?

I find it much easier to have a beard than to not have a beard.  It actually requires work to not have a beard.  I'm following the path of least resistance.

THE TECH GEEK QUESTION
I'm a Mac geek, other people are guitar geeks, some, God forbid, are even mobile phone geeks. What is your favourite equipment? (computer, software, instruments, pens, paper)
(Sub question)
Can you play a bunch of instruments, or are you a keyboard and computer specialist?

I like my Korg EM-1 drum machine a lot.  It's great for writing and sketching out ideas.  All of the drum machine sounding sounds on Etiquette came from that machine.  I use a lot of Korg stuff, actually.  I have two different Korg samplers that I bounce sounds between.  Lately everything has been going through a Fender Twin Reverb amp.

I've played bass and drums in other bands, but I mostly stick to keyboards these days.  I don't really use computers to make music.  I prefer keyboards and modules and amps.

THE LAST QUESTION ABOUT UPCOMING RELEASES (HOPEFULLY CONTAINING SOME EXCLUSIVE, NEVER BEFORE READ INFO)
What are you working on at the mo? Can we expect a new album any time soon and if so, will you be expanding your use of analogue instrumentation even further? Any new song titles you'd like to tease us with?

I just finished working on the music for Laurel Nakadate's movie Stay The Same Never Change.  That kept me really busy for a long time.  I'll be away on tours for the next few months, but when I get home, I'll get back to work on the next album, which is about half done.  I consider it bad luck to discuss the specifics of creative projects before they are finished.  I generally don't even like playing new songs live before the records are finished.  I'm keeping all of the song titles to myself for now.  I can tell you that there will be some pianos and drums and organs as well as some electronics and samples.   So, far, this is my favorite sounding Casiotone record.

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Sooooooooo, after walking around in the rain for well over 30 mins I found the magical hidden venue that is Tommy's Bar in Cardiff, the place to be for dweebs, scruffs, indie kids, nerds, Lisa and her buds and me tonight (actually last night and a few hours ago). I'll get the boring stuff out of the way: there was always the chance that I'd miss the last train home and I did, a million thanks go out to Lisa for giving me an old style very comfy blanket and some "middle-class squash", a rare taste of the high life for me! There were some good support bands, especially The Voluntary Butler Scheme which is one guy who played guitar, uke, kazoo, keyboard, drum, cymbal, tambourine and bells all by himself, check him out...

Watching Owen at work was a real treat, I'd assumed that he made his music with a computer but he's all about the knobs, knobs and buttons and sliders, it was amazing. There are a bunch of live videos on youtube but it's really not the same, I know nothing about making music but one can't help but be knocked over by seeing a dude twiddling and pressing and sliding things resulting in all these incredible electronic noises that sound just like the albums, I tell you he doesn't keep still for a second, he was sweating like a pig (sorry Miss Piggy) by the middle of the set. He was joined on stage by Jenny Herbinson for a good few songs, Scattered Pearls wouldn't have been the same without her, that's fo sho. I won't ramble on about the songs cause you can listen to them and make your own mind up, lets just say that he played all the ones I wanted and even threw in Graceland at the end when someone asked for it, what a bloody thoroughly good chap!

I thought I'd taken some killer shots but they aren't all that really, deffo worth checking out though (click photo to go forward, hover over the bottom to see thumbnails)...




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The recording is pretty bloody good, the sound is great, the songs are great, everything is great, the setlist is great, great.

Cold White Christmas

Nashville Parthenon

White On White

Streets Of Philadelphia

Scattered Pearls

White Corolla

Ice Cream Truck

Old Panda Days

Love Connection

Casiotone For The Painfully Alone In A Green Cotton Sweater

Bobby Malone Moves Home

New Years Kiss

Young Shields

Calloused Fingers Won't Make You Strong, Edith Wong

Sunday Street

Graceland

Download using any of these fine links:

http://sharebee.com/975e9999
http://www.zshare.net/download/9048277b21fe80/
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=4CNM4LYD
http://www.badongo.com/file/8317208

I hope you have enjoyed this Casiotone for the Painfully Alone multimedia presentation, may the farce be with you...

P.S Loose are putting on loads of great gigs in Cardiff, check them out here

Buy CFTPA albums on Amazon, the Boxing Duck! gets a percentage of whatever you spend so get your hands in your pockets!

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Mark E. Smith - video interview

Interviews with Mark E. Smith from The Fall are nearly always really terrible, especially video ones but this weird geeky dude from the U S of A has actually managed to do a really great interview with MES. It's in 4 parts all of which are embedded below to save your lazy asses from going to vbs.tv and searching for them.

Here are some great MES moments from the interview:
- on the Manchester bombing "I wrote a song about that...a year before it happened"
- on why he doesn't like football anymore "it's a bit like a Red Hot Chilli Peppers show"
- on the interview "I can't believe this fucking rubbish"
- on Bob Dylan "The Emperor of Grease"
- on Hitler "balls"
- on Talking Heads "they're the enemy"
- on Jack Black "what a fucking twat he is"
- on his nieces and nephews "when I walk in the room they hide behind the couch"
- on Pop Idol "I'm sorry"
- on Courtney Love "no wonder Kurt shot himself"
- on the interviewer "you should clean your teeth"
- on English musicians "they just want to play golf"

Jeremy S. Gluck interview

Words and photos by Tyron Francis

A few years ago I got talking to a couple of girls outside a club through some dude I sort of knew, we all ended up at the same house party. There was this guy there who I'd seen playing wacky acoustic guitar once and I said to one of the girls that he was like the Rowland S. Howard of Swansea. She was all "my dad made an album with him!" Obviously I was a bit unsure of whether to believe such a statement, I ended up back at her place and she and her friend played me some songs on piano by Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave, The Velvet Underground and a bunch of other greats. I decided to believe her claim. Jeremy Gluck was the lead singer of The Barracudas, the legendary surf punk band from the early 80's; they enjoyed some commercial success including a memorable appearance on Top of the Pops before breaking up in 1984. Jeremy went on to record a solo album that has been credited with inventing alt-country 10 years before the term was even created. He recently answered some questions for me about his early influences, what he's up to these days and some of his high points in the music industry.



THB: What kind of bands were you into growing up in Canada?

JSG: The decisive moment for me came when, at twelve' my older brother gave me his needle-worn copies of the Velvet's 'White Light White Heat', The Stooges' 'Funhouse' and The Who's 'Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy'. At that time, I already had good taste, naturally, but this killer trio of classics pretty much dictated the course of my musical taste thereafter, especially The Who, who became idols of mine (and still are, I am not ashamed to confess!). Add to the core trio The Beach Boys, and you have my cornerstones. In addition, there was alot of fabulous Canadian pop and rock little known beyond the border, artists like Michel Pagliaro and Murray McLauchlan, whose singles I adored. I got into a lot of good music courtesy of my friends the Jones brothers: The Kinks, the Flamin' Groovies and many more. We lived for British imports. I saw some awesome shows, too, including early Bruce, loons like KISS (Simmons' hair caught fire during the fire-breathing stunt and a roadie had toi extinguish it!) and many more like Roxy Music, Alice Cooper, prime Bowie...it goes on and on.

THB: How old where you when you realized that you wanted to make music as well as listen to it?

JSG: About twelve is when I left behind my childhood concerns and embarked upon an obsession with music that in a few years made me certain I was not likely to become an accoutant.

THB: Tell me about the journey from then until forming The Barracudas.

JSG: "Journey" is a rather exulted term, "stumble" or "stagger" might be more apt. In my later teens, I formed a few bands. They were basically punk bands, and we even had a few decent songs, including one entitled 'I Got Nothing' which name I later found out also graced a Stooges number! Probably the pinnacle of my teen moments was performing an imprompru 'Dirt' at lunchtime to a bewildered audience of my high school peers. I continued to scheme, and when I lived in Toronto I tried to form a band, too; we got as far as rehearsing Link Wray's 'Rumble', which to me still seems a classy achievement.

THB: You had some commercial success with The Barracudas, tell me everything there is to know about your time in the band.

JSG: No. A substantial amount happened, really. I hate to be a pain but a very good source of info on this is at http://www.nkvdrecords.com/barracud.htm. As far as commercial success goes, um, well, after a summer of hyping it our debut EMI single did get to thirty-seven for a few weeks, but in those days that meant like 50,000 sales! Then a lot of things fucked up (e.g. pressing plant strike etc.) and our next EMI singles did poorly. I did, however, during a TV session, emerge from the studio to see the cast of Coronation Street walk past. And then, mystically, not long after there was a scene in the pub on the show and...there was a Barracudas poster on the wall! How can I top that???

THB: You were writing for some music magazines at the time as well weren't you, did that help at all?

JSG: Yes and no. Most music journos are suspicious of musician-journos...after all, they have done it. We did get a little sympathetic coverage. I mean, we were on the cover of SOUNDS prematurely because I knew Tony D. (of Ripped and Torn fanzine fame) who at the time knew Sandy Robertson who was big at the paper then. But we got better press abroad regardless. The French for a time rejoiced in calling us the new Groovies, which experience was for a long while better than sex.



THB: How did you come to work with Rowland S. Howard on I Knew Buffalo Bill?

JSG: The genesis of my working with El Howard has some curious roots. Back-in-the-day when I was first living in London and launching The Barracudas, I'd often hang out at Rough Trade in Ken. High Street. We mursed hopes of the label adopting us, but weren't precious enough for them...lovely as they were. Anyhow, one band that did record from was the impenetrable Swell Maps, with whom we did a memorable show at The Nashville. One of the key maps was Nikki Sudden; we became quite good friends and by '83 were discussing recording together, as we shared a huge interest in vintage country music and early rock'n'roll. We did some demo's and then adjoured. Meanwhile the Maps and Barracudas split. Nikki and I kept in touch, hung out and wrote some songs. On a parallel timeline The Birthday Party had scorched London, imploded and spat forth Rowland S Howard, who Nikki got to know through is brother Epic, whose bands Crime and the City Solution and These Immortal Souls Rowland led. I had met Rowland a few times in my journalist role, but knew little of him otherwise, whereas he and Nikki had become big friends. In late 1986 Nikki and Rowland were ensconced in Fairport Conventioner Dave Pegg's studio Woodworm, knocking out junk for Creation, when I received a call from Nikki: Should he tag another week on the session and make an album with me? I was understandably excited at the prospect, having one of the greatest guitarists in human history dumped in my lap, plus in Epic a legendary drummer. We recorded and partly wrote the album in two sessions. Rowland played largely from instinct, we planned so little of any of the record. He did some remarkable things, though. I spoke to him last when Nikki died. Epic was already gone; I gather Rowland is now resurrected from a battle with Hep C and I hope he lives a long time...no way I want to be the last man standing.

THB: I Knew Buffalo Bill was recently re-released, did it make the top of the hit parade?

JSG: No, it didn't do that, but it enjoyed respectable sales and rave reviews. It's been re-released twice, in 1999 and 2006. The closest I got to the hit parade was co-writing the opening track on Ronan Keating's last. It wasn't - as planned - the first single (though the album did respectably by star standards) and then the final single it might have been ended up being something else and to top it all a digital downlaod which is ofttimes an artist's way of smothering their own child. The history of the song is quirky but so anal as to make its retelling here impossible.

THB: What are you up to these days? Are you still making music?

JSG: Is the Pope sitting atop the biggest porn stack on the planet? (Apparently down Vatican way they've been collecting since centrefolds were mere cave paintings!) Yes, I am. I never stopped. Hmmm. Well, I spent a good five years as "Datawhore" messing with electronic mania-mayhem; the first Datawhore album as such has just come out on iTunes, with artwork as it happens by a certain Tyron Francis. Three more will follow. Then will arrive my first solo album since 1987. Then a limited edition collection of rarities. Then another collection of rarities, though probably iTunes only there. Over the past few years I've contributed to compilations for Nikki Sudden and French band the Dogs, plus throwing oddments at other walls. I intend to record some more, perhaps electronic crud again. I also took some time out to write a book...but that's enough for now.

THB: Are your influences different now than they were when you first started out, what kind of stuff are you listening to these days?

JSG: As you young people are aware, who know me at all, I listen these days even more to what I used to listen to when I first started out. In a way, it reminds me of my father and his capacity for and love of re-reading great books: Not long ago I devoted literal weeks to listening to 'Who's Next'. At the moment I am Brian Wisloned again. I know next to nothing of modern bands. I hear them for seconds and get bored. I listened to those Monkeys people briefly, for example, understood their appeal and gifts, yawned and passed by on the other side. Eventually one is no longer "influenced", one has become what the influences wrought. Largely, I still seek to create the kind of music I did when I was twenty or thirty.



THB: What have been some of the highlights of your career in the music business?

JSG: 1. Hearing myself on the radio for the first time. A peak experience for any recording artist, needless to say, made more sweet for me in that J. Peel was the first DJ I knew to spin my disc (which he didn't like much!).

2. Writing songs with Chris Wilson, whose emigration from the Flamin' Groovies to my band was a tremendous thrill, and writing with the man who had already co-written some the greatest rock'n'roll songs ever rather excited me.

3. Meeting and interviewing Brian Wilson, whose Beach Boys I had loved all my life and whose songs are five miles higher than even The Beatles'. That McCartney's choice for ultimate song is 'God Only Knows'...McCartney is mighty, but BW is the only Mozart of pop music.

THB: Any words of wisdom for the people?

JSG: Be good to your mother, she's been good to you.

THB: Ta
~
Links
Jeremy can be contacted on jsgluck[at]gmail.com
Jeremy on Myspace
Datawhore on Myspace
Top of the Pops clip on YouTube

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