Assemble Head’s new record When Sweet Sleep Returned is their third effort, and what a good effort it is. 8 Songs of atmospheric, experimental, space rock played in the vein of Pink Floyd and Crazy Horse. Combining catchy riffs with whimsical synthesisers and vocal harmonies.
Tee Pee Records definitely like their spaced out bands and Assemble Head don’t differ from these. The songs aren’t as balls out as other things on Tee Pee; nonetheless the label’s resume is building into quite a respectful one.
When Sweet Sleep Returned is a very sweet record indeed, it has a certain sincerity about it that hasn’t been heard for quite a while. It seems like music created for the sake of music, not to get big and famous, just some friends who like to jam. It’s a relaxing sound that comes straight out of Woodstock; the air of peace and serenity is always there.
Such strange sound effects as air raid sirens are frequently used, which really reminds me of the Floyd. Using these ethereal sound effects to create an eerie feel to the record. There is also a hint of garage rock hidden away in there, the track Drunken Leaves could be gritty punk song if it were played with rawness and more distortion.
Assemble Head are a band anyone could get into, they’re as eclectic as they are intriguing, and I’m sure seeing them live would be a mind blowing experience. Once you’ve wrapped your head around the beauty that can be found in not cranking your guitar up to 11 and letting the instruments do the talking, you can truly understand this album.
If you want to listen to a record that is actually nice to listen too, When Sweet Sleep Returns should be top of your list. It is calming, soporific, but definitely great music. This is the kind of album that works its way into your head and lingers there for a very long time.
Here’s a disc that might well appeal to you skaters and punks. LOTBM number the legendary skater/tattooist twins Art and Steve Godoy in their ranks (on drums and guitar) as well as Radio Birdman lead guitarist Deniz Tek. Joined by bassist Troy Zak and vocalist Danny Creadon these grizzled rockers kick up some mighty fine jams on this 10 track album.
Clocking in at a shade over 30minutes, these snappy numbers pack plenty of punk rock punch which rocks in a hard edged UK ’77 meets SoCal ’82 vein. Art ‘n Steve have previously collaborated with Deniz in The Golden Breed, as well as performing live with him in a rejuvenated Visitors, but their best known outfit was The Exploding Fuck Dolls, who were fronted for a period by The Master of Disaster himself – Duane Peters. And there is a reprise of EFD’s ’93 single, the lurching “City Action” … “give me a box of matches, give me a load of pills”… guess they can hit up Dr Tek for that prescription!
“Day to Ride” from Deniz’s solo album “Outside” is given a welcome dusting down, as is a killer work out of ‘Birdman’s anthemic “Hit ’em Again” which is ramped up by some scorching fret work. Fantastico! There’s plenty of meat on the bones of the original material too, notably surf-punker “1959″, “Bottle Rocket” with snotty snarling vocals and slashing riffage. “Full Pipe” is a raucous celebration to vert ramps, front side airs, falling on your face, black eyes, and riding all night… can you dig it??!!
I’ve been spinning this disc repeatedly since it dropped thru my letter box. If the likes of US Bombs/Hunns, Birdman, Vibrators, Heartbreakers, UK Subs, Humpers, Agent Orange and Shattered Faith rock your planet, I can definitely recommend further investigation of Last of The Bad Men. Let’s Ride!
Evan Dando is in town to promote his newest venture, a covers album called ‘Varshons’, a wonderful mix of tracks from GG Allin, Christina Aguilera, Gram Parsons and Leonard Cohen to name but a few.
The Macbeth provides an unusually intimate venue for tonight’s show – given that on his previous trips to London Dando has sold out The Empire, Forum and Somerset House. Tonight’s venue is heaving by the time Dando bounds onto the tiny stage over half an hour late. It’s just him and his guitar standing alone in front of a few hundred ardent fans (some a little too ardent, but more of that later..). He drifts into ‘Outdoor Type’ and from there the pace rarely slackens, as he slips from track to track, his notebook open on the stage with a hastily scrawled set list and lyrics to some of the newer tracks.
‘Drug Buddy’, ‘Rudderless‘ and crowd pleaser ‘It’s a Shame About Ray‘ are all hollered back at the stage word perfect – there are a couple of girls at the front whose voices actually overtake Dando’s at some point. He keeps the chatter to a minimum, and seems a little shy of the attention, his hair falling over his face, shoulders hunched around his guitar. ‘Down About it‘ and ‘Into Your Arms‘ get just a few verses and a chorus each, as Dando flits about the set list, picking and choosing – and even taking requests from the crowd.
A cover of GG Allin’s tongue in cheek ‘Layin’ Up With Linda‘ is a glimpse at the new album, as it the sublime version of Gram Parson ‘ I Just Can’t Take it Anymore‘ – Dando’s wonderfully smooth country lilt is enough to give you goose bumps, Parsons would be proud.
A blonde hops onto the stage to provide backing vocals and dances around – which at first is ok with Dando, he even offers for her to sing a verse – but when she declines to leave the stage at the end of the song he gets visibly annoyed, and goes to leave, only returning to get his guitar, before the evening is saved by another audience member who hauls the girl and her friend off the stage. Well done that man.
Dando seems a little rattled by this, but returns to sing a few more tracks, including a half hearted version of ‘My Name is Luca‘ and then stunning renditions of ‘ Bit Part‘ and ‘Different Drum‘. There’s another upset when one of his lyrics sheets goes walking, and by the end of the evening his scrawl filled notebooks has gone walkabout too. Whilst it’s one thing to request a set list at the end of the night, stealing personal items is a step too far.
Tonight the Evan Dando we see is bashful, shy and humble in front of a packed room. He is -as ever- very understated, leaving the songs to do the talking. With 20 years of music under his belt, Dando has nothing to prove. Tonight’s show is simple but stunning, and goes to show that you don’t need the light shows, backdrops and pyrotechnics when you’ve got real talent.
Dee Massey
Varshons is released on 15th June 2009. Look out for an interview with Evan Dando on this site soon.
Brighton in Sussex has always had some of the best history in the UK as far as youth culture goes, whether it be Mods and Rockers kicking the crap out of each other on the beaches, the vibrant music scene, gay & lesbian rallies or indeed the wonderful world of skateboarding.
The centre piece for skaters that held it all this energy together over the years is called The Level and its fame has been derived from the mish mash of bullish attitudes, amazing skateboarders and general seaside town mental cases.
This month the Brighton skate scene celebrated the release of the follow up to Cheese on Tape, called Brighten, a local scene video filmed and edited by the work horse that is James ‘Slim Jim’ Cheetham. Knowing that Brighton is just down the road from here, we decided to knock on his door to find out why he decided to do it all over again.
Brighton has always been a tough place to skate over the years, generally the attitude down there used to be pretty gnarly. How different would you say it is now compared to the golden days of Pig City?
I’ve heard a lot of the stories about how back in the Pig City days there was an attitude, I guess if you weren’t ripping the vert then you weren’t aloud on it haha!! Now it is a nice place to be, the scene is proper tight, everyone is sound but it’s the usual thing, any newcomers seem to have to prove themselves if they’re skating The Level.
Many of southern skaters have always believed that The Level should be a world class park, where are people at down there these days to regenerate the area for skateboarders?
The park seems long overdue but I think the project is moving along. I’m not to sure who is in charge of it all but Jack Forester is always working towards something, I think he has a lot to do with it. Kevin Eason has done some designs and stuff, Darren Dartnell and the people up at Brighton youth club are always trying to raise funds and push things foward. Not sure when it will get going but hopefully in time for this generation. If not there are still a bunch of little ones who are already killing it.
With the sun, sea and tight units on offer in Brighton you would imagine that an annual jam down there would work well for visitors, what’s the score with bringing the local scene together and who is responsible?
The last Level Jam was amazing, massive turnout. Pasty on the mic, Horceface killah on the drums! I think doing it every summer would be a good idea, It manages to get everyone down and skate together, always brings the older Levelarmy generation back down for the day to. The man behind the last one was Jack Forester, hopefully he has something in the pipeline for this summer too.
What is the funniest story from the level that did the rounds over the last few years?
Theres way way to many to pinpoint one! Recently a skaghead walked through the level to jack up in the toilets and some one went in and set his hair on fire! See a lot of crazy people pass through there. If you want to see what its like to spend everyday there then just wait for Ed Hubert’s new video ‘LA*’ He has endless amounts of footage of all the crazy things that go down there.
We see that our buddy Stevie Thompson has a new shop there, has that brought more people together?
Yeh, Stevie recently opened up ‘Another Skateboard Shop‘. It’s what Brighton has been needing for a while now. You know it’s a true skateboard shop when you can go chill on the sofa and have a brew. ‘Another skateboard shop’ is sponsoring Isaac Miller and Ollie Smith at the moment and Stevie has some big plans for go skateboarding day, Sure a lot of good things are yet to come. You can find his shop downstairs from Cool Hand Luke, 29 Gloucester Road. Brighton.
So, in a sentence for people who don’t know, tell us what Brighten is all about…
Not sure if I can fit it all in a sentence. I love everything about Brighton, you can’t beat an ice cold beer down the beach in the sunshine!
So when did you start putting this footage together for Brighten?
It pretty much started straight after my previous video ‘Cheese on Tape‘ was finished. I kind of new that I was making another video but it took a while to work out who is in it and stuff. I’m stoked that it managed to differ from the line up in Cheese on Tape. Tried to get as many people as possible in the video this time. As the video progressed it started to make a bit more sense and was a lot clearer who was getting full parts and stuff.
How long did it take from start to finish?
Think it took between 2 and 3 years over all. I was working 9-5 for a year which made it quite difficult to film during the week.
Who was involved in the filming process?
I got a lot of contributions from other filmers. Really thankful for all the donations from Ryan Gray, Ben Powell, Andy Evans, Ed Hubert, Liam Teague and many more. I really couldn’t of done it without their help!
How long is the DVD and who is in it?
The DVD is about an hour long and features everyone from Brighton and a lot of uk heads too. Full parts from Louis Cooper, Stevie Thompson, Tom Felix, Joss Heierli, Niall Birnie, James Kilpatrick, Amir Williams, Wojtek Smith and Tom Grantham. Also a fair bit of footage from Sam Blewett, Mike Niccolls, Matt Ransom, Joe Lewis-Collins and many, many more!
Whose part was hardest to film?
Probably Tom felix simply because he hurt his knee and had to have an operation so it kind of cut it short. Just about managed to scrape enough though for a full part. A lot of people pushed it so hard though! Louis Cooper was on point from start to finish which is why he has ended up with an 8 minute killer part. Joss Heierli made the mission from worthing to Brighton every weekend without fail, He put a hell of a lot of effort in and sure it won’t go un noticed. Niall Birnie would wake me up every morning and force me out of bed to come and film him haha, He’s already on the case filming for a new part in Ed Hubert’s video. Basically every part had its difficulties but it is clear who pushed it when you watch the video.
How many times did you get busted filming it?
Non stop, most the spots in town are a complete bust. We would end up just walking all day not being able to settle down and skate anywhere!
What DVD was on the TV screen to inspire you to finish it?
I’m not actually to sure, I think it was a variety of videos. Static videos are amazing and have that unique style to them which seemed to fit in with Brighton a lot. Fully Flared steps up the production of any skate video and that is obviously a big influence as it just makes you realise how far skate videos can be pushed production wise. Also Mindfield is incredible, I have only seen it once but I am a fan of all Alien’s older stuff.
Was it a relief to finally get to the video premiere?!
Such a relief! I finished the video at about 5am the day of the premier. The theatre didn’t know it was actually a skate video until about 3 days before, I just told them it’s a film. So i was quite worried they were going to cancel it, the woman’s face when she saw the mob outside the theatre was priceless! Don’t think they knew what they were letting themselves in for. Was such a good feeling watching back on the last 3 years of Brighton skateboarding, never seen so many skateboarders from Brighton together! Really stoked on the turnout, You can peep Ed Hubert’s coverage of the premier here.
Who was most shameful that night after the consumption of too much juice?
Haha, everyone was pretty shameful! That night got extremely messy a limousine tried to run someone over outside the theatre and got a board through the windscreen, then we moved onto a rave at the Level where the predictable bitch-fight kicked off and some girl ended up getting a bottle to the face. I think everyone has there own stories to tell from that night, some people got lost by themselves. I think James Kilpatrick managed to end up with a broken nose or something. Quite an eventful night haha!!
What is the future of Brighton’s skate scene?
I think it’s going to carry on kicking off, there seems to be a non stop supply of little sick kids that appear out of nowhere. Expect more videos to come in the future, hopefully Brighton will be able to get the coverage that it well deserves!
Well done to all involved. Pick up a copy of ‘Brighten’ from www.levelarmy.com
Thanks to photos by Chuck Espinoza for the photos.
Gran Ronde have a reputation as being THE opening band for huge LA shows – but luckily for them it’s not a case of always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Whilst Gran Ronde fans have swelled in number from opening slots for Razorlight, We Are Scientists and The Enemy to name but a few, they are a stand alone force to be reckoned with.
With their Mark Needham produced debut album due for release in the UK in June, a Great Escape appearance this weekend and a UK headline tour, Gran Ronde are taking their well earned place at the top of the bill.
Frontman Chris Pearson took some time out to introduce Dee Massey and the Crossfire readers to Gran Ronde…
Gran Ronde are pretty new to us over in the UK – so give us a little background… how did you meet? How long have you been plugging away with this band? What’s your background?
We are all from different parts of the states. Bryan came from New York, Fern came from Miami and I came from Oregon after a couple years living in Tokyo. I first came to LA in 2000 on a road trip, and just ended up staying. I wanted a place where I could see the best live music and have the best weather and lots of friends. In 2004, I started to get the idea in my head that it would be a really great idea to be in a band, so I started asking all my friends who wanted to play and ended up meeting Fern and Bryan that way …friends of friends.
In the early stages of the band, when we were just figuring stuff out, but there was so much buzz and the shows were crazy. We were offered a weekly residency in December of that year at The Silverlake Lounge by Scott Sterling, a local promoter. A little known band called Silversun Pickups opened up for us. Ha, now they are playing stadiums or something here!
How would you describe your sound to someone new to Gran Ronde?
That’s a hard one to answer. Reverb drenched, melodious guitar driven rock!? Ha, I do love the reverb and delay pedals. I do love a good melody, and am a sucker for a big sound.
What bands do you think you’re mostly influenced by?
I think it’s pretty easy to hear my love for Echo and the Bunnymen, early Cure, but when I was young I was a metal head, and I love it loud. In college I discovered The Jesus and Mary Chain, that completely changed my perspective on music. From there I got into so much music everything from the Flaming Lips to Yo La Tengo and Stereolab, Low, Guided by Voices. I still want to cover Motor Away. Great rock tune. But my voice is kinda weird and when I sing it kinda has it’s own sound. I just build the songs around that really.
For you what’s the best part of being in a band?
Playing live!
I’m going to stop asking that question…everyone says the same thing! You’ve opened for some great bands – Razorlight, We Are Scientists, The Enemy etc – how did those opening slots come about, and what was it like playing to those huge audiences?
We have been very fortunate to get onto some great bills. Mostly, we will just get an email from a promoter asking us if we wanna play a local show and it kinda goes from there. I have to say the WAS dudes are some the nicest guys around. Silly but nice. The highlight so far was playing NYC with Razorlight at the Irving Plaza on Friday evening. Great show, great crowd. You just wanna live in those moments for ever.
So let’s talk about the new album – Secret Rooms. I understand you ended up working with Mark Needham, who’s produced some amazing albums for The Killers, We Are Scientists etc – how did you end up working with him?
Mark is a great champion of music in LA. He had heard about us in the early stages of the band and took us under his wing and really helped us out. We worked on a bunch of music that ended up on Secret Rooms. He is a very talented guy, who really puts his heart into a project. When you work with him you really feel like you can make that sound you are trying to get.
Did you enjoy your time in the studio? Is the end result all you hoped it would be?
Yes. We did record half of the record on our own because Mark was so busy at the time. In the end Mark was kind enough to mix the whole thing.
The album is out on Filter in the US, and I heard you just got a distribution deal in the UK too? When can we expect to get our hands on the record over here?
You’re coming over to the UK this spring for a headline show, this isn’t your first time over here it is? What do you make of UK audiences? How do you handle English food?!
We first came over a couple years ago for a week in London. We did a few shows at Club Fandango and opened for The Academy Is at Barfly Camden. It was great fun. We met very cool people, had some so-so food (we try to stick to Indian). The fans were very cool. UK audiences are much more receptive to music than what we were used to in LA. That kinda heightens the whole experience. We have been waiting to have an actual release before coming back.
You just played The Big Escape in Brighton this weekend – are you going to be playing anymore festivals in the UK?
We are doing the Dot to Dot. and we will be doing a full scale UK tour all over the place. Our dates are posted on our myspace page.
A few quickfire questions…
What’ll be on your rider when you’re big and important?
Motorcycles
What’s your poison?
Michilada
Best hangover cure?
Michilada
Most listened to album recently?
Lou Reed Transformer
Worst thing about living in a van on tour?
Living in a van with 4 dudes (sounds pretty self explanatory to me) – that van is my only vehicle too!
Can people follow the band on Twitter? Do you buy into all that social networking stuff?
No. Not really. I don’t have time for it. I’d rather live a life outside of my computer. Too much maintenance!
What was the first gig you ever went to?
David Lee Roth “Eat Em and Smile” Tour. I was a little rocker. Cinderella opened. Haha!
Finally – any words of wisdom for the Crossfire readers?
Good news for old school skaters this week and also collectors as skater owned shops will receive the first wave of reprints from the early Santa Cruz collections from the 80’s.
Expect to find the classic Tom Knox cop Beater, Roskopp face deck and the Corey O’Brian Reaper (in Black) lurking on walls awaiting your collection.
They are limited to only 30 each so grab them while you can.
The Fourstar clothing team are flying over from the the US for a demo on June 7th at Stoke on Trent’s Plaza from 2pm.
Expect the likes of Mike Carroll, Rick Howard, Guy Mariano, Lucas Puig, Max Schaff, Mark Gonzales, Anrew Brophy, Tyler Bledsoe and Brian Anderson to be taking part in this session. Spread the word.
For all you whores out there in Shoreditch, here’s the first line up for this Festival for Sunday 26th July at Shoreditch Park starting at 12pm-9pm. Entrance is £15. Includes entrance to all day festival and ten after parties
BANDS STAGE:
ADVERT // A GRAVE WITH NO NAME // AN EXPERIMENT ON A BIRD IN THE AIR PUMP // A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS // BANJO OR FREAKOUT // CC-SB // CHROME HOOF // FACTORY FLOOR // FLASHGUNS // HATCHAM SOCIAL // IPSO FACTO // KASMS // LION CLUB // O CHILDREN // POLLY SCATTERGOOD // PROJECT: KOMAKINO // RELICS // S.C.U.M // SILHOUETTE // SLOPPY SECONDS // SUNDERBANS // TELEVISED CRIMEWAVE // VEGAS WHORES // THE WARLOCKS // WILD PALMS // ULTERIOR // VIDEO NASTIES
ELECTRONIC STAGE:
**K // AUTOKRATZ // BOY CRISIS // DEATH TO THE KING // JOE & WILL ASK // KOOL KIDS KLUB // KRAZY BALDHEAD (ED BANGER) // LUNG ROTTER & SEVEN // MODEL FOR MEMORY // MICRON 63 // THE LOVELY JONJO
Assemble Head’s new record When Sweet Sleep Returned is their third effort, and what a good effort it is. 8 Songs of atmospheric, experimental, space rock played in the vein of Pink Floyd and Crazy Horse. Combining catchy riffs with whimsical synthesisers and vocal harmonies.
Here’s a disc that might well appeal to you skaters and punks. 
Brighton in Sussex has always had some of the best history in the UK as far as youth culture goes, whether it be Mods and Rockers kicking the crap out of each other on the beaches, the vibrant music scene, gay & lesbian rallies or indeed the wonderful world of skateboarding.
How many times did you get busted filming it?
Good news for old school skaters this week and also collectors as skater owned shops will receive the first wave of reprints from the early 
Wakefield’s amazing new concrete skate park has an official opening date now for locals.
Levi Brown’s pro model for Element is heading into your local skater owned shop this month.
The 
For all you whores out there in Shoreditch, here’s the first line up for this Festival for Sunday 26th July at Shoreditch Park starting at 12pm-9pm. Entrance is £15. Includes entrance to all day festival and ten after parties