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Most of this journal is friends only. Keeps me out of trouble, y'know ;)
Comment to be added and all that.
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Well, it's not an easy post to make, this. But I'm afraid the rumour mill is right for once.
An old friend of mine, Brian 'IAmNotAUserName' Shields, known on here as ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) spasmaton took his own life some time on Sunday morning. I don't have any further details, and here's not the place for them anyway. To the best of my knowledge the important people, his family and girlfriend have been informed.
I knew Brian for the last eight or nine years, originally as part of the old Rock City, and later Sell-Out forum crew. Brian was a clubbing stalwart, first in and last out, and longest on the dancefloor. He had a habit of turning up in the most unusual places as well. Obscure gig in the back end of beyond? Yeah, there was Brian, down the front. Brian shared some good festival times with us, wandering off to find people awake when all around him were turning in. And there were some crazy clubbing missions, including the infamous 'Three All Nighters, Three Cities' some five years back. Six on a February Sunday morning, on a cold metal bench in Manchester Picadilly? There he was again. Walking into a lamp post after Nightmare? Yeah that was a good one. Throwing up in a stranger's alleyway after a night in Leicester? Well why not. Convincing the editor of Mixmag to do a feature on us entitled 'rock vs. rave', well, see for yourself...
Brian also deserves thanks for being the man to send me the first Atmosphere tracks I ever heard, 'The Bass & The Movement', 'Cats Van Bags' and of course 'Trying to Find a Balance'. It was through that I started listening to hip hop. Brother Ali, El-P, Sage Francis, Aesop Rock, P.O.S. all came from that. Also my love of the Twin Cities music scene, Lifter Puller, Brokerdealer, the Replacements, Dillinger Four and The Hold Steady, they all came, one way or another, from those first tracks. In fact the last time I saw Brian was when he came to see Atmosphere and crashed over at ours after, drinking whiskey until the small hours.
And outside the club is where we spill our drinks in memory of
all those guys that didn't make it till the dawn"
RIP, Brian.
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A rare Sunday update? What warrants such frivolity? Remember last week when I said there was some big news? Well the big proper announcement is on Tuesday, but seeing as we don't have to keep our mouths shut any more...
( Here's the news )
I love it when a plan comes together.
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A huge thank you to all of you who've messaged me today, you're all lovely :)
A few people have asked if I'm doing anything, and to be honest I wasn't going to. It's Monday today, which doesn't make for the best night out. Still, if anyone wants to come help me celebrate getting older in the time honoured fashion of pouring alcohol down my neck until I think I'm charming, I shall be touring Nottingham's hostelries this coming Friday (18th). Details? When I think of them. Probably start in the Speak Easy and spend most of the evening in the Salutation. I know it's not exciting or different, but with my advancing years I get scared by the prospect of anything new. Leicester people, I will be celebrating again at Redeemer on Saturday the 19th :)
Oh, and to avoid a repeat of previous years, I'm not having more than three types of booze in a glass at one time. And nothing with Baileys in ;)
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A rare public, weekend entry to remind y'all that despite it being a bank holiday, and there being a million different things going on, all the cool kids will be at:
Redeemer in Leicester.
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So very fucking TIRED. Still, sleep is the enemy!
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In case any of you have been completely ignoring me for the last month or so...
THE HOLD STEADY
are playing TONIGHT at the Rescue Rooms. I will be there. So will you if you want to see what the fuss is about.
we mix our own mythologies. we push them out through pa systems.
we dictate our doxologies and try to get sleeping kids to sit up and listen.
i'm not saying we could save you. but we could put you in a place where you could save yourself.
if you don't get born again at least you'll get high as hell.
we gather our gospels from gossip and bar talk then declare them the truth.
we salvage our sermons from message boards and scene reports. we come on to the youth.
we try out new testements on the guys sitting next to us in the bars with the bars in their windows.
even if you don't get converted tonite you must admit that the band's pretty tight.
I may shut up about this after the weekend ;)
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Yes, I know the peak was last night, but I was shattered. Anyone fancy the Perseids tonight? denatone, you were on about going out?
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Weekend update tomorrow, for now...
I'll be DJing the Pitty Patt club tomorrow night. Rock n' roll with half naked ladies, Win!
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It's been an interesting few days, with revelations, debate, delusion and argument going on in the wider social circles. I've been in quite a nice position, being able to sit back and watch the developments rather than get actively involved. I may post in more greater depth later. In the meanwhile:
Aside from the usual quality mix of rock, metal and punk, this year, for ONE NIGHT ONLY, I will be appearing as
SANTA
Yes, I will be playing the role of the Season's favourite fat bearded man (no costume assistance needed there, then). Come witness me get drunk, bounce girls on my knee muttering 'ho ho ho' under my breath, and make more 'bulging sack' references than is appropriate.
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apocalypsegirls.co.uk
is live.
And now, well now we party.
So much Heaven I know I'm going to Hell
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Last night I crashed properly. Got home, cooked food, watched an episode of the Simpsons and woke up at my desk about one in the morning. Whoops.
The observant amoungst you may have noticed that several of my recent entries have been locked, flying in the face of my usual 'I don't care who reads this page' policy. Previously I've only locked entries containing work-related stuff. I'm of the opinion that if I'm happy enough for my friends list to see something, it's not something I don't want to talk about. However, last week I was on the phone to The Sister, arranging when we were going to see the parents over Christmas, and she asked me what my website was, because she wanted to read this journal. Now, this unnerved me a little. Sure she says she's just interested in what i'm doing, but do I want her to know? I told her that entries were locked, and she asked if she could see those ones as well. Now I probably wouldn't mind so much if she wasn't the Born Again Christian type, but she is. And while I keep tales of sex, drugs and rock n roll off here, she can be the type likely to disapprove of whatever I get up to. Disapprove and gossip with The Parents.
So, friends, do your siblings/parents/relatives read your journal (my parents at least aren't net-savvy enough to find LJ)? Do you care if they do? Do you take steps to prevent them? As for my sister, I think my unease stems partly from her not having her own LJ. So Miriam, if you read this, get your own bloody journal ;) (I should also say a brief hello to my other journal ghosts, both the ones who know I know about them, and the ones who don't know I know ;) )
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Busy. Busy. Fucking. Busy.
So busy in fact I'm actually looking forward to going back to Norfolk for a couple of days. I may rescind this comment when i'm actually there, though.
Back to last Wednesday then. Met folk in the pub, gig at Ice Arena. The Living End were ok, probably better in a smaller venue. Dropkick Murphys were fucking great, and even played 'The Dirty Glass' with some cute blonde lass duetting. Less Than Jake were ok, but played everything 2/3 of album speed, rather than the frantic rush we're used to, maybe they're getting old. They could do with forgetting the last album as well. Popped over to Tristan's pad for a chat and a beer afterwards.
Thursday evening, Dry Kill Logic in Birmingham with Tom. A couple of swift drinks in Scruffys beforehand with Danni, Chris and Twist, and trying hard to not make too many tasteless jokes about Eddies burning down (singing the intro to 'Fire Water Burn' possibly not the best of ideas). Support band were shite, DKL were pretty sweet, with 'Lost' and 'Rot' being the standouts. Gig finished stupidly early (Academy fucking with gig times? Never!), so easily made the train home this time.
Friday, Santa Fe for anoxiana's birthday drinks, followed by Bar Arriba then on to Magenta. My friends being the lovely creatures they are, got me quite drunk. A pleasure to finally have a chat with jasper_the_cat, and to catch up with Mia and Martin. Mike's asked me to DJ Magenta at some point as well :)
Saturday, AG shoot went very well indeed. Kelly and Skully are both very easy to work with, friendly, and most importantly, hot as Hell itself. Amusing asides included sharing stories about mutual acquaintances and much schadenfreude. Draping the girls over PA gear borrowed from Sound Control and texting Rev Jonn pictures was entertaining as well. Saturday night was the Baby Bird gig. Laugh all you like, Stephen Jones is a fucking genius, and having only seen them play twice in a decade you'll forgive me my happiness. Not much old stuff (to be expected I suppose), but 'Back Together' and yes, 'You're Gorgeous' (the proper version, not the single version). Then to the Sal to meet the RockSoc and learn that soldatengrab's Tempest night had gone well and truly arse-over-tit. With that option removed, I risked the Wake for the first time. Being completely indifferent to the music, spent until about one having a bit of a laugh with people. Left as soon as I realised I was at risk of being branded a goth.
Sunday, another AG shoot, this time with anoxiana and strawberryearth, aided by troubled_strife. I drank enough coffee to keep Nescafé in business for a decade, there were imaginary squirrels, Josh took over as teaboy. I turned down an offer of Flaming Dragon to retire home and chill out for a bit. Watched some 'Carry On' film snippets, and tried to develop a Sid James esque laugh.
Today. Work. Hectic. Lots of things to do. Outside work, also lots of things to do. Polishing the content for the site, writing a couple of reviews and giving Dan @ Devious Creations some website pointers. On a final note i'd like to thank spazhammer for the e-books, and the Hold Steady album, I owe you. On with the show!
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The observant amoungst you will have noted my recent obsession with The Hold Steady. Those of you who respect my excellent taste (that's, erm, none of you) will have even run off to get your hands on 'Boys & Girls In America' and marvelled at it's wonders. Firstly this post is to encourage you to also get hold of 'Separation Sunday', secondly to offer beer/sexual favours to whoever can find 'The Hold Steady Almost Killed Me'. Thirdly, using my usual trick of working backwards through artists discographies I've found myself listening to LIFTER PULLER (yes, the one that Slug references all the freakin' time in Atmosphere songs). LP are Craig Finn's old band, less narrative than The Hold Steady, more indie rock (proper indie rock, not fucking Coldplay). Go and listen now, augustus_hill, you'd probably like 'em.
yeah yeah, proper update later.
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It's been one of those weeks. You know, the ones where I'm not able to update until it's almost the weekend. Let's try a quick rundown.
Friday: Halloween Assault was wildly succesful and great fun, probably the best we've ever done. Followed by a party at the Pink Fox.
Saturday: Tempest, which was devoid of life, so switched to Rock City where much fun was had, and amusement was provided by the presence of an ex and her boyfriend. I'm sure the argument had nothing to do with her making eyes at me all night :D
Sunday: Dined at Scruffys, then brief quizzage at the Speak Easy, which I wasn't really in the mood for.
Monday: Helped vampiric_monkey move to the downstairs flat, and processed the most recent batch of AG photos.
Tuesday: DJed Pitty Patt Club @ The Social. Stressful start, then I found the free beer. Deville Dolls performances were as before, although the Puppini Sisters were excellent. Good company, got paid, and no one noticed I played half the 'From Dusk Till Dawn' soundtrack.
Wednesday: RockSoc meeting and associated fripperies. Asda shopping and decent foodstuffs.
Thursday: Scored free ticket to Danko Jones gig in Birmingham. However the curse of the Academy struck, they switched the bands and we missed Danko and saw Bedouin Soundclash instead, who were shit. Stayed to watch Gogol Bordello, a band I've been meaning to catch for a while and I'm glad I did. Imagine a cross between Borat and Super Mario, Whistler from the 'Blade' Trilogy, A guy from a 1920s Paris street corner, a guy from 1980's Harlem who looked like he was selling crack and dancers who were a cross between burlesque and poster girls for the Red Army. The music was good too.
Then the fun started, we were quoted the wrong return train time and missed the last train by 40 seconds. Fortunately Twist and Danni were on hand to rescue us and put us up for the night. Cue me and jonthebloody getting up at 0550 this morning to bus back to Birmingham and get the earliest train home. A failed trip? Nah, just another adventure. Twist's text this morning "I love your lifestyle" made my day.
In other news, the ECF meetings at work haven't been going well, and the rumour mill has been in overdrive. I think it's reasonable to still assume we'll get a wedge of cash at the end of it all, and the CEO is feeling a bit red faced.
As seen in a previous post, I HAVE MY NEW CAMERA! Sure I'm skint for the month, but it's soooo pretty. Apocalypse Girls shoots this weekend, and hopefully throughout the month.
Music wise, I'm working my way through The Hold Steady's back catalogue, and have also obsessively listening to Voice of the Beehive. Does this make me gay? Heatmeiser and Built To Spill are still on the playlist as well.
Film wise, I'm looking forward to the new Bond, and I'm trying to fill the gaps of the ones I haven't seen recently with eMule. I've been getting Carry On films as well. While this isn't gay, it's quite possibly very, very sad.
Game wise, I finished Halo 2 (again) and I've gone back to the retro stuff, with Super Pang on the SNES emulator, Gradius on VNES at work, and hopefully DAY OF THE TENTACLE and SIMON THE SORCEROR if the ScummVM engine works properly *crosses fingers*. Got Duke Nukem 3D lined up as well. Tonight might be a very rare Friday night in.
Finally, does anyone know where I can buy a poppy? I haven't had a chance to go to town yet and Beeston seems to be poppy free.
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happy
sad
calm
tired
bouncy
busy
curious