Mustafa Barghouthi, Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative writes at 'The Washington Note' here.
Journeys In Sound - Simon Raymonde
1 hour ago
Friday 2 January 2009
'Free Jazz' Primer
Albert AylerOver at Dennis Coopers's blog today there is a wonderful guide to 'Free Jazz' by Chill Jay Chill from 'Destination OUT'
Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore on his top ten here.
(If you go here you can download many of Thurston's choices.)
Thursday 1 January 2009
It's official
THE DEAD ANNOUNCE 2009 ARENA TOUR DATES - KICKING OFF APRIL 12
MARKS THEIR FIRST CONCERT TOUR IN FIVE YEARS
Happy New Year from the DEAD.
After months of fan speculation bolstered by an October 2008 performance at the “Change Rocks” concert/rally for Barack Obama in State College, PA and three recent viral internet videos with band interviews and performance footage, the DEAD today (1/1/09) officially announced tour dates for 2009.
Th is marks their first trek since 2004’s “Wave at Flag” tour.
Kicking off April 12 in Greensboro, NC and wrapping May 10 near San Francisco, the tour will encompass 19 shows--all to be performed as “An Evening With”--in 16 cities. Details for pre-sale and on-sale tickets will be announced in the near future. Go to WWW.Dead.net for ticket and tour information. All the concerts are set for indoor arenas except for the final show at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA.
Original Dead members Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart will be joined by keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and Allman Brothers Band/Gov’t Mule guitarist Warren Haynes, both of whom played with the band at the “Change Rocks” concert.
Th e group first formed with lead guitarist Jerry Garcia as the Grateful Dead in 1965 and are legendary for their live performances. The Grammy-winning Rock & Roll Hall of Fame group always toured relentlessly, allowing their “Dead Head” fans to tape and trade their exploratory, free-flowing concerts.
“We’ve got some unfinished business,” says guitarist/singer Bob Weir. “Everybody has a whole new bag of tricks; we have the body of material we worked up over the years and we have a mind meld going on here and it would be a sin to let that just wither and die.” Drummer Mickey Hart adds, “A mind meld is a terrible thing to waste.” Bassist Phil Lesh says, “For me, it’s the question mark that’s really pulling me in…what’s gonna happen? When you walk
out on the stage the possibilities are infinite every time. Th e musical possibilities are infinite: there is no end to it, there’s no back wall and there’s no ceiling, there’s no floor. It’s infinite and therefore you can still explore it till the day that you die.” Drummer Bill Kreutzmann says, “I get goose bumps just thinking about the possibilities.”
Seeds of the idea of touring again were first planted in February of this year when Hart, Lesh and Weir played a “Dead Heads For Obama” show at the Warfield in their native San Francisco, and last year Weir, Kreutzmann and Hart performed at a post-inauguration for Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
Always sonic and technological adventurers, the Grateful Dead formed in San Francisco’s electric Haight-Ashbury neighborhood in the mid-‘60s, combining their love of bluegrass, country, electric rock and jazz to create one of the most iconic repertoires in rock music. By touring continuously and never relying on radio hits or latest trends, the Dead and Dead Heads created an unparalleled bond. Fans were turned on to the group by live bootlegs and word of mouth, with many following the band on the road for whole tours.
For more information, go to www.dead.net or www.Dead.Net/Dead09
Date: City: Venue:
Sun 4/12 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum
Tue 4/14 Washington, DC Verizon Center
Wed 4/15 Charlottesville, VA John Paul Jones Arena
Fri 4/17 Albany, NY Times Union Center
Sat 4/18 Worcester, MA DCU Center
Sun 4/19 Worcester, MA DCU Center
Tue 4/21 Buffalo, NY HSBC Arena
Wed 4/22 Wilkes-Barre, PA Wachovia Arena @ Casey Plaza
Fri 4/24 Uniondale, NY Nassau Coliseum
Sat 4/25 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
Sun 4/26 Hartford, CT XL Center
Tue 4/28 E. Rutherford, NJ IZOD Center
Wed 4/29 E. Rutherford, NJ IZOD Center
Fri 5/1 Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Spectrum
Sat 5/2 Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Spectrum
Tue 5/5 Chicago, IL All State Arena
u 5/7 Denver, CO Pepsi Center
Sat 5/9 Los Angeles, CA e Forum
Sun 5/10 Mountain View, CA Shoreline Amphitheater
MARKS THEIR FIRST CONCERT TOUR IN FIVE YEARS
Happy New Year from the DEAD.
After months of fan speculation bolstered by an October 2008 performance at the “Change Rocks” concert/rally for Barack Obama in State College, PA and three recent viral internet videos with band interviews and performance footage, the DEAD today (1/1/09) officially announced tour dates for 2009.
Th is marks their first trek since 2004’s “Wave at Flag” tour.
Kicking off April 12 in Greensboro, NC and wrapping May 10 near San Francisco, the tour will encompass 19 shows--all to be performed as “An Evening With”--in 16 cities. Details for pre-sale and on-sale tickets will be announced in the near future. Go to WWW.Dead.net
Th e group first formed with lead
Happy New Year
buon anno
šťastný nový rok
godt nytår
godt nytår
gelukkig nieuwjaar
manigong bagong taon
hyvää uuttavuotta
bonne année
Frohes neues Jahr
ευτυχισμένο το νέο έτος
שנה טובה
नया साल मुबारक हो
selamat tahun baru
happy new year
laimīgu Jauno gadu
laimingų Naujųjų metų
godt nytt år
szczęśliwego nowego roku
с новым годом
feliz año nuevo
gott nytt år
chúc mừng năm mới
كل عام وأنتم بخير
manigong bagong taon
hyvää uuttavuotta
bonne année
Frohes neues Jahr
ευτυχισμένο το νέο έτος
שנה טובה
नया साल मुबारक हो
selamat tahun baru
happy new year
laimīgu Jauno gadu
laimingų Naujųjų metų
godt nytt år
szczęśliwego nowego roku
с новым годом
feliz año nuevo
gott nytt år
chúc mừng năm mới
كل عام وأنتم بخير
Wednesday 31 December 2008
www.gush-shalom.org
THE WAR BELONGS TO OLMERT-THE VICTIMS BELONG TO US.'A Congress of Peace Seekers'
by Uri Avnery
(Uri Avnery is an Israeli peace activist and a former member of the Knesset.)
PLEASE TAKE A COUPLE OF MINUTES AND READ THIS ARTICLE.
Cryptic message # 2
There is a man (RT) that has solved the riddle of 2008!
Now my riddle for 2009:(why are Canton and Potsdam not in China and The Netherlands?)
Girl With A Gun # 1 (Revisited)
Go here & here.
Hazel - I don't think you have to change much really you know but I do think that you have to embrace the 'sisterhood of spit', (HAH!) but hey what would I know?
(Cryptic message that even I don't understand!)
Hazel - I don't think you have to change much really you know but I do think that you have to embrace the 'sisterhood of spit', (HAH!) but hey what would I know?
(Cryptic message that even I don't understand!)
What do you actually think of this blog? Good? Bad? Indifferent? I WOULD like to know...obviously Melanie & Kat you can tell me in person
I know that people are finding this blog.
What do you think?
Any feedback is welcome.
Comments.
Suggestions.
Let me know: monastreet(at)gmail(dot)com
If you like what you find spread the word!
Hoots mon it's Hogmanay! Who is that masked man?
"COMPRESSION"
The proudly-Scottish singer and songwriter, renowned for his fondness for traditional battle-dress, discusses his 1995 ISDN "Compression" album with Wendy E. Ball, recorded during his time of collaboration with Adrian Sherwood:
"How the idea started was that, coming from the Borders [***Ed.: ...of Scotland, specifically St. Boswells...***] and then going away and living abroad in the States for many years, I always wanted to come back, have a family and live here again. But I was concerned that there wasn’t a music industry in Scotland and I was hoping, twelve years ago, that there was at least the start. So I thought I'd come back having timed it right. Just shows you how wrong I was!
"So I had to figure away and was thinking, "How do I still hook up with my friends who were thousands of miles away?" I’d heard a story from a friend of mine, who was an engineer in New York, that Capitol Records in LA were doing a recording with Frank Sinatra in his house and he was having guest artists coming in through the telephone line. So I thought I’d find out more about it. I was really desperate to make this album with my friends before they all dispersed all over the place.
"I hadn’t the money to go back out and live there for six months to do it and I couldn’t get a record company to pay for it so I contacted BT [***Ed.: ...a big phone company in the UK...***] and I found a really good bloke called Ray Pritchard who was into my music and stuff. He said that they were trying to launch ISDN in 1992-3. I said to him "Look, I’ll make you a deal. You install the ISDN lines here and I’ll give you my music to promote so that you can show off what it’s capable of doing." That’s really how it came about."
So when did this, this come out?
"1995. It took about a year. The whole ISDN system was just up and running and so, for instance, we did the first [link] through to Africa and rhino and all sorts of things would run over the lines and they'd be out! So there were things that were kind of difficult to get back on line quickly. You know, until some, some wee lad goes out there with a pair of wire clippers and puts it back together again, you know? So, eventually I managed to install ISDN lines in a studio which I’d used in America called ‘House of Music’ in Orange, New Jersey. That’s the home of the P-Funk - the funkadelic lot of the top black musicians that inspired Prince and all that other stuff. They were my pals there and so it was easy for them to come in and do some stuff."
Would it not need a lot of logistical organisation, you know, when it’s sort of midnight in New York?
"I had a huge phone bill to begin with. Now ISDN is a penny a minute or something and it’s really cheap, you know. At the time it was quite expensive. It was like, a pound a minute and we were on-line for eight hours sometimes! They [BT] paid for that just 'til we got to the stage where we'd got the recordings done. After that, then I had to try and finance the thing myself.
"It was interesting to say the least that, you know, I could sing Umhlaba Jikelele with someone in Africa and they were singing with me. I also organised this live television shoot with ISDN as well, so that I had a TV monitor here and I had a cameraman running out with the long cable that went about fifty metres back to the studio. They had a PA out in the streets, and I was speaking in real time, telling him the shots I wanted and telling the girls to sing, when to come in on the beat and stuff. This was amazing. There was a real friendliness about the thing and that’s what really pleased me - because then I realised the potential of that and especially sound quality ... you could hear everything so clearly."
Has it been repeated, the experience?
"There was this group Future Sound Of London. They got a lot of glory for it but we were actually first because I put the ISDN lines into On-U Sound. On-U Sound with Adrian Sherwood was doing the big dub. They did a lot of reggae and they were a purist kind of dub funk lot that had a lot of respect in the industry but weren’t, like, the big commercial end of things. Future Sound Of London after we had done it brought out a record that they had done through ISDN but not to the extent we had."
You were talking about the track Braveheart?
"Yeh, Braveheart. I did a live ISDN show in Glasgow. I really don’t think people knew what the hell I was doing to be quite honest. But I had the video screen up, we had the video, we had Doug Wimbish from Living Colour, Skip McDonald from Tackhead and the heavy duty lads playing live in London."
What about the relationship between the audience and the performer? Is that not lacking a bit?
"Well, you see, what I did was to compensate for that. I stuck a mike up in the room and I stuck a mike up in Glasgow so the, the audience could shout along and, shout things to the bass player or the drummer and they could respond to it, which is really the whole point of communication doing a live gig. If the audience were just sitting and watching a screen and listening to incoming sound, and they weren’t actually able to participate, but if they whistled and they clapped and they shouted something for Keith LeBlanc, he'd lifted his drumstick and he waved it at them and he played something.
"It allowed that contact element that maybe might not have been there unless I’d done that. But I was aware of that and I thought, "Well, they’re just going to think they’re watching a tape. How are they going to know it’s live?", I mean one bloke was heckling away there and he was adamant about it, you know. And Doug just turned round and said, "What the hell’s wrong with you man. Sit doon!" You know. Well, he’s American but he said it in those terms and the guy was just sort of dumbfounded that he could see them in the club in Glasgow and was telling them to sit down!
So no, the potential of it is amazing and I’m glad I’ve done it."
(Re-edited extracts from an interview originally transcribed in the Scottish Borders Memory Bank)
The proudly-Scottish singer and songwriter, renowned for his fondness for traditional battle-dress, discusses his 1995 ISDN "Compression" album with Wendy E. Ball, recorded during his time of collaboration with Adrian Sherwood:
"How the idea started was that, coming from the Borders [***Ed.: ...of Scotland, specifically St. Boswells...***] and then going away and living abroad in the States for many years, I always wanted to come back, have a family and live here again. But I was concerned that there wasn’t a music industry in Scotland and I was hoping, twelve years ago, that there was at least the start. So I thought I'd come back having timed it right. Just shows you how wrong I was!
"So I had to figure away and was thinking, "How do I still hook up with my friends who were thousands of miles away?" I’d heard a story from a friend of mine, who was an engineer in New York, that Capitol Records in LA were doing a recording with Frank Sinatra in his house and he was having guest artists coming in through the telephone line. So I thought I’d find out more about it. I was really desperate to make this album with my friends before they all dispersed all over the place.
"I hadn’t the money to go back out and live there for six months to do it and I couldn’t get a record company to pay for it so I contacted BT [***Ed.: ...a big phone company in the UK...***] and I found a really good bloke called Ray Pritchard who was into my music and stuff. He said that they were trying to launch ISDN in 1992-3. I said to him "Look, I’ll make you a deal. You install the ISDN lines here and I’ll give you my music to promote so that you can show off what it’s capable of doing." That’s really how it came about."
So when did this, this come out?
"1995. It took about a year. The whole ISDN system was just up and running and so, for instance, we did the first [link] through to Africa and rhino and all sorts of things would run over the lines and they'd be out! So there were things that were kind of difficult to get back on line quickly. You know, until some, some wee lad goes out there with a pair of wire clippers and puts it back together again, you know? So, eventually I managed to install ISDN lines in a studio which I’d used in America called ‘House of Music’ in Orange, New Jersey. That’s the home of the P-Funk - the funkadelic lot of the top black musicians that inspired Prince and all that other stuff. They were my pals there and so it was easy for them to come in and do some stuff."
Would it not need a lot of logistical organisation, you know, when it’s sort of midnight in New York?
"I had a huge phone bill to begin with. Now ISDN is a penny a minute or something and it’s really cheap, you know. At the time it was quite expensive. It was like, a pound a minute and we were on-line for eight hours sometimes! They [BT] paid for that just 'til we got to the stage where we'd got the recordings done. After that, then I had to try and finance the thing myself.
"It was interesting to say the least that, you know, I could sing Umhlaba Jikelele with someone in Africa and they were singing with me. I also organised this live television shoot with ISDN as well, so that I had a TV monitor here and I had a cameraman running out with the long cable that went about fifty metres back to the studio. They had a PA out in the streets, and I was speaking in real time, telling him the shots I wanted and telling the girls to sing, when to come in on the beat and stuff. This was amazing. There was a real friendliness about the thing and that’s what really pleased me - because then I realised the potential of that and especially sound quality ... you could hear everything so clearly."
Has it been repeated, the experience?
"There was this group Future Sound Of London. They got a lot of glory for it but we were actually first because I put the ISDN lines into On-U Sound. On-U Sound with Adrian Sherwood was doing the big dub. They did a lot of reggae and they were a purist kind of dub funk lot that had a lot of respect in the industry but weren’t, like, the big commercial end of things. Future Sound Of London after we had done it brought out a record that they had done through ISDN but not to the extent we had."
You were talking about the track Braveheart?
"Yeh, Braveheart. I did a live ISDN show in Glasgow. I really don’t think people knew what the hell I was doing to be quite honest. But I had the video screen up, we had the video, we had Doug Wimbish from Living Colour, Skip McDonald from Tackhead and the heavy duty lads playing live in London."
What about the relationship between the audience and the performer? Is that not lacking a bit?
"Well, you see, what I did was to compensate for that. I stuck a mike up in the room and I stuck a mike up in Glasgow so the, the audience could shout along and, shout things to the bass player or the drummer and they could respond to it, which is really the whole point of communication doing a live gig. If the audience were just sitting and watching a screen and listening to incoming sound, and they weren’t actually able to participate, but if they whistled and they clapped and they shouted something for Keith LeBlanc, he'd lifted his drumstick and he waved it at them and he played something.
"It allowed that contact element that maybe might not have been there unless I’d done that. But I was aware of that and I thought, "Well, they’re just going to think they’re watching a tape. How are they going to know it’s live?", I mean one bloke was heckling away there and he was adamant about it, you know. And Doug just turned round and said, "What the hell’s wrong with you man. Sit doon!" You know. Well, he’s American but he said it in those terms and the guy was just sort of dumbfounded that he could see them in the club in Glasgow and was telling them to sit down!
So no, the potential of it is amazing and I’m glad I’ve done it."
(Re-edited extracts from an interview originally transcribed in the Scottish Borders Memory Bank)
Tuesday 30 December 2008
Plans for Chris Carter's 'Gristleizer'
The other day 'BoingBoing' posted this.TG becoming hip? (Again?)
Whatever next? Genesis as Christine Aguilera?
Back to the source my friends.
There is the Gristleizer.
Here is a synth.
Whatever you could possibly want to fuck up sound.
Just click whatever you fancy in the left hand column and get the instructions of how to build it.
More here in case you missed it.
More noisetoize here (as used by Nels Cline from Wilco.)
Monday 29 December 2008
Occupation 101
A thought-provoking and powerful documentary film on the current and historical root causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Unlike any other film ever produced on the conflict -- 'Occupation 101' presents a comprehensive analysis of the facts and hidden truths surrounding the never ending controversy and dispels many of its long-perceived myths and misconceptions.
The film also details life under Israeli military rule, the role of the United States in the conflict, and the major obstacles that stand in the way of a lasting and viable peace. The roots of the conflict are explained through first-hand on-the-ground experiences from leading Middle East scholars, peace activists, journalists, religious leaders and humanitarian workers whose voices have too often been suppressed in American media outlets.
The film covers a wide range of topics -- which include -- the first wave of Jewish immigration from Europe in the 1880's, the 1920 tensions, the 1948 war, the 1967 war, the first Intifada of 1987, the Oslo Peace Process, Settlement expansion, the role of the United States Government, the second Intifada of 2000, the separation barrier and the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, as well as many heart wrenching testimonials from victims of this tragedy.
The film also details life under Israeli military rule, the role of the United States in the conflict, and the major obstacles that stand in the way of a lasting and viable peace. The roots of the conflict are explained through first-hand on-the-ground experiences from leading Middle East scholars, peace activists, journalists, religious leaders and humanitarian workers whose voices have too often been suppressed in American media outlets.
The film covers a wide range of topics -- which include -- the first wave of Jewish immigration from Europe in the 1880's, the 1920 tensions, the 1948 war, the 1967 war, the first Intifada of 1987, the Oslo Peace Process, Settlement expansion, the role of the United States Government, the second Intifada of 2000, the separation barrier and the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, as well as many heart wrenching testimonials from victims of this tragedy.
Part1
Part2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
part 8
part 9
Part 10
Part 11
Part2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
part 8
part 9
Part 10
Part 11
ENOUGH ALREADY!
The 'Exile' book of the year award goes to...
This novel by Willy Vlautin also initially contained the soundtrack of the year too and features illustrations by the very wonderful Nate Beaty.A good little TV segment from Ireland about his first novel 'The Motel Life' here and just read that 'Northline' has been optioned for a film.
Alt country style & design
New issue of this wonderful online magazine is now availablehere.
102 pages includes an interview with the very wonderful Richmond Fontaine.
(Read the Richmond Fontaine article here.)
Flying Lotus - Parisian Goldfish
Video directed by Tim and Eric.
Warning video contains flashing lights & sex scenes!
Please do not watch if you are an epileptic prude!
Warning video contains flashing lights & sex scenes!
Please do not watch if you are an epileptic prude!
Sunday 28 December 2008
Exile's Album Of The Year (By A Country Mile)!
So the album of this year is the sister album to probably my favourite album of last year, Okkervil River's 'The Stage Names'. As for my other 10 albums well Bon Iver's was the newcomer of the year to my ears showing that three months spent alone in a cabin in Wisconsin can be very productive (though it is probably my idea of hell.) Mark Stewart's first album in 12 years never quite scaled the heights and originality of his previous work, but maybe the world is just finally catching up with him. The Felice Brothers do Dylan and the Band very well, shut your eyes and pretend you are in the Big Pink in 1967. One of three new Lee Perry albums released in 2008 'The Mighty Upsetter' finds him teaming up with Adrian Sherwood again for the first time since 1990.Portishead never really moved me until this album and I think it was down to the sound being more 'dirty' than on previous releases and 'Machine Gun' could well be my track of the year. Christian Fennesz continues to make astonishing records that I get the feeling that only a small amount of people are hearing, why don't cafes play this sort of music in the background instead of the crap that gets served with my coffee?
Dig!!! Lazurus Dig!!! is hilarious. In fact Nick Cave has been hilarious since the beginning. As for Spiritualized, well they never let me down. Too hip to admit liking CSN & Y well just namedrop Fleet Foxes instead and Bonnie 'Prince' Billy is someone else who just doesn't do a thing wrong as far as I am concerned, but it is to the wonderful Okkervil River that I keep returning to.
EP of the year award goes to Four Tet's 'Ringers' and my gigs of the year were Low at the East Brunswick Club, Sonic Youth doing 'Daydream Nation' and Wilco at The Palace.
Packaging of the year goes to the Grateful Dead's 'Rocking The Cradle' and my rediscovery of the year was the electric era of Miles Davis between 1969 and 1974. I last listened to 'Bitches Brew' 33 years ago and HATED it. (Maybe I just matured - hah!)
A couple of albums that only just missed out on the best list were 'Stainless Style' from Neon Neon and 'Los Angeles' by Flying Lotus.
Biggest disappointment was Primal Scream's 'Beautiful Future'.
Finally 'the band that everyone seems to get apart from me' award goes to The Hold Steady.
Exile's Albums Of 2008 (Runners Up)
Bon Iver - For Emma Forever Ago
Mark Stewart - Edit
The Felice Brothers
Lee 'Scratch' Perry - The Mighty Upsetter
Portishead - Third
Fennesz - Black Sea
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Dig!!!Lazurus Dig!!!
Spiritualized - Songs In A & E
Fleet Foxes
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Lie Down In The LightSaturday 27 December 2008
(Cyber) Space Is The Place where there WAS a 'Pathway To Unknown Worlds'!
(Dedicated to Herr B.)
Read the comment below and weep!
It doesn't take much time or effort to say "thank you" you know and it makes all of us bloggers feel appreciated (and loved)!
It doesn't take much time or effort to say "thank you" you know and it makes all of us bloggers feel appreciated (and loved)!
Sun Ra - 'Space Is The Place' @ Bayview Opera House San Francisco November 2 1988
Friday 26 December 2008
Jalal - On The One
(On-Sound LP66)
Produced by Adrian Sherwood & features the usual suspects including Skip McDonald and Doug Wimbish.
Get it here.
(My contribution to the extensive Last Poets discography over at Blaxploitation Jive.)
Produced by Adrian Sherwood & features the usual suspects including Skip McDonald and Doug Wimbish.
Get it here.
(My contribution to the extensive Last Poets discography over at Blaxploitation Jive.)
Cosmonaut of Inner Space
Alex TrocchiA wonderful post from 'DevotionalHooligan' here (with lots more links).
STRANGE THINGS HAPPEN
In the late 70's/early 80's I was a fairly frequent visitor to Bernard Stone's 'Turret Bookshop' in Covent Garden and one day Jeff Nuttall was there and I started talking to him about his book 'Bomb Culture'. In the course of the conversation I mentioned Alex Trocchi and was told that he was still alive (I must admit I would have thought that he died ages before) and living in Kensington and could be found sometimes in a pub whose name I have now forgotten.
Now I had first read 'Cain's Book' while still in Glasgow and even went up to the Mitchell Library to see what I could find out about him and there was nothing there. Very strange as Trocchi was responsible through his magazine 'Merlin' (published in Paris between 1952 - 55) of publishing Samuel Beckett, Jean Genet and Eugene Ionesco amongst others in English for the first time.
At this time 'Cains Book' could be picked up pretty easily as could 'Young Adam' and you could visit his publisher John Calder's offices and pick up some of his other books. But as far as getting his Olympia Press 'pornography' well...I do remember Pat Kearney trying to sell me a copy of one of them for a very expensive price (though nothing like the price he sold his collection to Princeton University for here).
Anyway I remember heading up to Kensington one day and in the pub in question I met (The Rt. Hon.) George Rodney, definitely a 'shady' character but he pointed out that I was sitting under a cartoon of Trocchi on the pub's wall and that Trocchi himself would be in soon.
Anyway I had an idea to do an interview with him (I had vague plans of putting a magazine together) and to this end I had already spoken with Kathy Acker about Trocchi's influence on her work, but like many things at this time in my life it got put on the back burner.
Truth be told my life was just spinning out of control and I decided to piss off somewhere (anywhere!)
My last night (29th April 1984) in London and my good friend Mike came and told me that Trocchi had died a couple of weeks previously.
I ended up in Amsterdam knowing one person there and was immediately given a barge to live on (Trocchi readers will recognise the symbolism) and within a couple of weeks I had met Olaf Stoop and he gave me copies of everything that Trocchi had written including a 1954 Olympia Press 'Young Adam'. (I say 'gave' but he actually charged me 100 guilders which is practically the same thing.)
Within those first days in Amsterdam I also met Hansmartin Tromp who had just conducted an interview with Trocchi and he gave me a transcript as well as some 10X8 photos of him.
Other things in my collection are a signed copy of 'Helen & Desire' (inscribed for Richard Neville) and some of the original 'sigma' mimeographs.
Considering how few people knew of him way back then it is heartening to have seen the resurgence of interest in him particularly in the last few years.
(As an aside when I was working at a record shop in Kentish Town ('Honky Tonk') in about 1981 I put up in the window a photostat of an article on Trocchi from a very early edition of 'Time Out' and it was amazing how many people said that they didn't know the writer but that they were interested in him.)
Finally there is a really good BBC Scotland documentary on Alex Trocchi called 'A Life In Pieces' made by Tim Niel and Allan Campbell who were also responsible for the book of the same name. (Mention must also go to 'The Edinburgh Review' (who published a special Trocchi edition) and Andrew Murray Scott (who had worked for Trocchi towards the end of his life) who published a biography and a Trocchi 'reader' and this perhaps started the ball rolling which allowed the bankrolling of the film of 'Young Adam' which starred Tilda Swinton and Ewan McGregor.)
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