The Ebb and Flow - Hardcore Punk in Brighton, Living by the sea, plus other ramblings

Driving Lessons

2007-07-11T23:44:00.000+01:00

I'm now in the mood to post some stuff up (and it probably will be horseshit but then that's all I thought this would ever be) and thought I'd post about my experiences of learning to drive.

Bit of background: I've never needed to drive. My hometown is small enough to walk from end to end easily and is served by a decent train and bus network. Brighton is the same and there's more than enough here to keep me busy. So a car was never really needed but recently I've felt an urge to learn. Menna bought me a couple of hours lessons for Christmas a couple of years ago. The vouchers were going to run out at the end of June so I went it.

So a couple of weeks ago I was in the BSM centre in Brighton using their driving simulator. This is something akin to the old Out Run arcade game mixed with the flight simulator off the Krypton factor. It was OK. Taught me about clutches and such like.

The next week, I had a two hour lesson. Now THIS was something else. My instructor is a rather pleasant and jovial chap called Stuart Cooper. After a driving me up to Woodingdean, explaing various things on the way, he let me have a go. Basically, after that, I was driving for the rest of the lesson. Round Woodingdean, down to Rottingdean, along the coast to Peacehaven way, back to Rottingdean and Woodingdean, round the race course, down Elm Grove, into town and up to Queens Road. Fucking nuts! How the hell did I, having no previous experience of driving bar pulling away in a mates car in a pub car park near Alton Towers, manage to negotiate roundabouts, duel carriageways, all 4 gears and Brighton town centre at lunch time???

So today I had my second lesson. Trip to Shoreham beach was in order. Nice drive out there. Bit of traffic. Driving round shoreham and getting the hang of junctions and such like. And then the clincher. Reversing round corners. Fucking hell. I've only been driving for about 2 hours effectively.

I can't wait for next week (assuming that I have enough money - BSM ain't cheap).

Campy's Guide to Being a Crap Blogger

2007-07-11T23:41:00.001+01:00

1. Don't write posts regularly

2. Spend 45 minutes writing a post and then delete it before you publish it because you thought it was all bollocks.

3. Write and publish posts about your lack of blogging and how you tend to delete your posts before they hit the frontpage.

Voila!

Crap Blogger!

Update on Menna's Race for Life

2007-07-11T23:33:00.000+01:00

Just to let you know Menna did the 5km run in about 29 minutes and has so far raised £301. That's about a tenner a minute or 60 quid a mile.

My friend, Stet, who's a competitive runner did a similar distance the same weekend in about 18 minutes so for someone who's never done distance running before, Menna did pretty well.

Menna still has a couple of weeks to receive sponsorships. If you're feeling generous, please donate money at,

http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/MennaPritchard

YOu can give as little as £2.

Cheers for reading.

Race for Life - Brighton - Sunday 1st July 2007

2007-06-11T15:44:00.000+01:00

This is Menna,

She's an amazing person, an absolute nutter and a constant source of joy to me. Enough of my fawning though, I need to tell you about what she's doing for charity.

As a token of her love for her Dad, who's suffered and is recovering from the effects and treatment of cancer, Menna is going to be doing a 5km sponsored run down here in Brighton on Sunday 1st July this year, with the money raised going towards Cancer Research UK.

If you don't know them, Cancer Research UK are one of the world's leading independent cancer research organisations and work to research and develop ways to detect cancer early and improve on treatments available. A worthy cause, I'm sure you'll agree.

Menna has a page where you can send your donations. Go to,

http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/MennaPritchard

If you're reading this and you have £2 in your bank account you could spare and would like to donate to her cause, please do send the money. It takes about 3 minutes to do and it can all be done online.

I've posted this up from my MySpace but thought I'd post it here on the off chance someone reading this feels generous.

I'll leave it at that. Thanks for reading and a massive thank you if you do go on and sponsor Menna. I'm incredibly proud of her for participating in the run and any donations that come off of the back of these posts of mine will mean the world to me as I know it will to her.

Popmeter - Ultimate 60s Podcast

2007-05-26T20:01:00.000+01:00

It's the weekend (although you wouldn't know that from the time stamp - that's what I get for not hosting myself) and I like to chill before the Pizzaman arrives by timewarping myself back to the 60s to listen to some stomping soul and wayout garage.

Go to www.popmeter.com and download the podcasts available. If you dig soul and garage, you'll love it.

Have a good weekend.

Films - The New Rambo Trailer, Zodiac and Die Hard 4.0

2007-05-25T10:09:00.000+01:00

Check this out if you haven't seen it. A trailer for the new Rambo film titled John Rambo. This trailer was released for the Cannes film festival and is currently doing the rounds on the internet.

It blows my mind how much screen violence they packed into this trailer. This is blatantly going to be the best film of next year (it's not actually released until May 2008).

Before you watch and while we're on the subject of films, I'll tell you about Zodiac which I went to see last night. That had me engrossed from start to finish. If you don't know about it, it's a factual based film about the Zodiac killer who terrorised San Francisco in around 1969. They manage to pack so much into the film. It's not for people with short attention spans. The cast rules too - Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jnr, MArk Ruffalo and a guy called John Carroll Lynch who plays the main suspect in the case and is as creepy as the Toothfairy in Manhunter.

Also, before Zodiac, I was presented with the trailer for Die Hard 4.0. This looks like a total turd. To give you an idea - there's one bit where McClane walks on the back of a jet fighter!?!?. It looks like someone totally missed the point and decided to overblow the whole franchise. If it was a bond movie, fair enough, but everyone knows McClane's just a flatfoot copper who gets involved with European terrorists and generally isn't too lythe a character to be prancing around on the back of a fighter plane.

The plot sounds equally out of sorts with the other Die Hard movies. The world wouldn't lambast the producers of the movie for putting McClane in a position where international terrorists are trying to blow up a shopping centre that McClane just happens to be browsing round. But no, Hollywood, wanting to make out that it's keeping up with what's up in the world, has McClane foiling a hacker who wants to switch off the internet............oh kay.

Enough of shit films though. Here's the new Rambo trailer. Enjoy,

P.S. I would have got this Rambo trailer up sooner but YouTube said it would do it for me then flaked on the offer and didn't even have the balls to email me to tell me so.

Justin Timberlake = The new Chet Baker

2007-05-18T15:58:00.000+01:00

Note: This isn't a slant at either Chet Baker (my personal hero) or Justin Timberlake. Both rule at what they did/do and this is more aimed at the people behind them. Also, some who know me may be surprised Mr.Damnation-AD-Fanboy can come out with this but then you obviously have no real clue about me.

The music industry, prodominently white as it is, has a history of wanting to take things that are cool and hip and strip away any cultural obstacles that might impede full market saturation.

Elvis Presley and rhythm and blues is a prime example.

Another is Chet Baker - poster boy for the cool jazz scene of the 1950s. Chet was perfect for the music industry at the time. A pretty, white, Oklahoma boy who could actually blow a bit* and had a voice to back it up. He was the perfect vehicle for the music industry of the time to sell jazz music, a quintessentially black culture, to the wasp-ish listening public of pre-civil rights America.

Spin on a few years and while segregation is gone and rascism isn't tolerated anywhere near as much as it was in the 1950s, there still exists a notion within certain big business industries, that it's better to sell something to someone in a cultural uniform they can recognise and feel comfortable absorbing into their lives.

Obviously, for myself and most people I know, this is absolute tosh and experiencing new culture is outlet for growth and better understanding. Unfortunately though, there still exists a sizeable proportion of people who are loathe to take in that which they find unfamiliar or which they refuse to accept for what it is for fear that it might lead to an reduction of their culture. These people are an easy target for the marketing people of big businesses such as the music industry and with cynicism firmly tucked away in their back pocket, they produce an angle on a product so as to best procure finance from this particular demographic.

Step forward the Trousersnake - a pretty, white, tennessee guy who, while not playing an instrument(unless we assume hisfeet are his trumpet), has broken into the charts fronting songs that might otherwise have ended up in the hands of another, maybe black, r'n'b star. To boot, the androgenous energy that was one of Chet Baker's greatest strengths, is fully present in Justin Timberlake and he has the voice as well.

How history repeats itself or rather, how the music industry continue to use the same old tired marketing schemes, will never cease to amaze me.

Now, go listen to Chet Baker Sings and FutureSex/LoveSounds.

Next week - Were Aqua an attempt to re-hash the 2Unlimited template?

* - That said, Miles Davis was once quoted on Chet's best efforts as saying it was "worse than me when I was on heroin".

The Book of Days, Strange Maps and Ron Little's Blog

2007-05-17T15:23:00.000+01:00

In th last couple of days, I've been pointed towards some of the most refreshing sites of recent times. Not consisting of new material, but actually information I'd actually like to read.

THe first is The Book of Days. This is an online reproduction of the contents of a 19th century miscellany. I could spend hours wading through the material on the site. All brilliant reading.

The second is Strange Maps which is a blog that pulls together some of the most peculiar maps of the world giving a whole different perspective on how some people and organisations viewed the layout of their planet's land masses.

Lastly, there's Ron Little's blog, Barebones Hardcore. For those who don't know him, Ronnie Little was the vocalist of the now defunct hardcore band, Rain on the Parade. The band ruled and so does this blog. It's just a shame that Ronnie stopped writing last year. Still, what is on there makes for great reading. Especially the post about hardcore benefit shows.

Happy reading, readers.

Masterfoods, Animal Rennet and a whole lot of eBeef

2007-05-16T10:51:00.000+01:00

Plastered all over MySpace and various forums that I read recently, has been the news that Masterfoods - the people behind Mars bars, Twix, Bounty, Snickers and a whole load more - have decided to start using animal rennet their chocolate bars meaning they won't be suitable for vegetarians.

For those unaware, animal rennet is a product sourced from the stomachs of calves that aids the production of chocolate. Previously, Masterfoods had used a vegetarian rennet in it's choccy bars but decided to switch it's source of rennet from the 1st May this year.

Just so you know the chocolate bars that MIGHT be affected are,

Products which may contain whey Derived from animal rennet:

Bounty Dark / Milk
Celebrations
Flyte
Galaxy Ripple
Galaxy Minstrels
Galaxy Block/Caramel/Fruit & Hazelnut/ Hazelnut
Galaxy Promises Cocoa Crisp/ Caramel Crunch/ Roast Hazelnut/Rich Coffee
Maltesers Original / White
Mars Original
Mars Delight
Mars Planets
Milky Way / Crispy rolls / Magic Stars
Revels
Snickers
Topic
Tracker Chocolate Chip / Forest Fruit / Lemon / Roasted Nut
Twix

Ice Cream:
Bounty Ice Cream
Galaxy Caramel Swirl Ice Cream / Vanilla / Triple Choc
Maltesers Ice Cream
Mars Ice Cream / Xtra Ice Cream
Snickers Ice Cream / Xtra Ice Cream

I think this is an issue that might affect quite a few vegetarians and make them decide which side of the fence they're actually on. Give up popular chocolate or stop calling myself a vegetarian. I know there's a few people who won't give a toss.

I do wonder how many vegetarians will ignore the contents of a mars bar for their afternoon sugar fix. Personally, I quite like to partake of a king size Twix on the odd occasion but as with Wine Gums, I'll take the hit.

More importantly though, the fact that Masterfoods have decided to replace a perfectly good vegetarian product with a meat one is something any decent vegetarian should be concerned with. The fact that we won't be able to have a Snickers after work is piffle compared to this.

I find it pretty messed up that a company can do something like that. I'm sure it was financially driven decision and it saddens me quite a bit. If you care about this, do support any groups putting pressure on Masterfoods. here's a link to an online petition against Masterfoods and here's the Vegetarian Society's opinion on thing if you're interested.

FIP Radio

2007-05-14T20:31:00.000+01:00

A couple of years ago, when I was living in an absolute hole called 44a Southover St in Brighton, I used to be softly woken by my alarm clock playing the most bizarre and yet introguing radio station I've ever heard.

It was a French language station - despite the fact that there was little to no DJ interaction, I only knew this because of the on-the-hour news reports - the music was a mix of country, jazz, funk, rock and hip-hop and on asking around, I seemed to be the only person who knew about it.

Many was the time that I would be late for work because I couldn't pull myself out of bed for want of listening to this station in my semi-slumber.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago and I remember waking up one morning to what seemed like people having a conversation in my bedroom. As I gained conciousness, I realised that this conversation was emanating from my alarm clock. Focusing in on the conversation, it sounded like a couple of idiots were, rather amateurishly, trying to get a broadcast on the air, - at one point I swear I heard one of the people say "is it on?". To add to it, their musical taste seemed beyond bad. The sort of chill-out garbage that pervades the cd shelves of many of the hippy, bo-ho types that plague Brighton.

So, spin on a couple weeks and I'm walking to work and pass a venue in town called The Hope. In the window was a poster for night called "Vive Le FIP - a celebration of eclectic French radio".

I had one of those moments where the name is put to a face you've seen many times before and become accustomed to as if they were an old friend.

I looked up FIP radio on Google and voila! A wikipedia article about FIP radio appeared. All of a sudden, this radio station that had soothed my passage from sleep to waking was not a secret kept between me and my long serving alrm clock, but actually a long running broadcast of a French station from somewhere in the "Bohemian" area of Hanover.

It turns out that the station was taken off the air by Ofcom, the regulatory body for broadcasters and such like, because someone complained about it being a pirate broadcast. I reckon what I heard in it's place was probably a typically Brightonian attempt at "community" radio.

Thankfully, I've just read an news article from the Argus website that states that the station might be making a comeback due to listener support and people like those responsible for the Vive la FIP night at The Hope.

Come back FIP and release me from the torture of mainstream radio (although listening to classical on radio 3 isn't exactly terrible...well, except for Simon Bates).

Flyers, Flyers everywhere!

2007-05-12T17:45:00.000+01:00

I've uploaded a bunch of Inspiration Point gig flyers.

While sorting them out and putting the page together, I realised there were a number of gaps in my "promotional cv" - my Summer BBQ anyone? or the Modern Life Is War gig?. I have flyers for these but only in paper format. The originals were destroyed when my last laptop conked out. I shall endeavour to scan these hard copy only flyers and post them up for your perusal.

Be patient but be assured.

New "free" Venue in Brighton???

2007-05-12T14:11:00.000+01:00

Word reaches me that a pub called The Greenhouse Effect on Church Rd in Brighton has recently been taken over by the guy that runs The Prince Albert on Trafalgar St (the one down the hill from Brighton Station if you don't know it) and that they have a basement room that's kitted out for live gigs and are iring it out for free.

Tim who used to play bass in From Plan to Progress does the sound there according to my source (one of Los Mendozas - I trust him, he's a pro-wrestler).

Sounds good. Holds approximately 80 to 100 bodies. Not sure if they're cool with under 18s getting in.

This town needs more venues and cool ones at that. I'l report on this more when I get hold of the owners.

By the way - re: the photo at the top of the blog

2007-05-12T14:00:00.000+01:00

I should put out a mention to Sheep for taking the totally bodacious picture of Andy and the boys at the Abandon Ship 7" release show last year.

Hopefully, he won't get his solicitors onto me for using the image.

Check out Sheep's portfolio and trailer for his book at www.xsheepx.com.

DEATH IS NOT GLAMOROUS - Brighton - Sat 16 June 2007

2007-05-12T13:08:00.000+01:00

The guys from Dead and Gone Records asked me to put on Norway's Death is not glamourous in June. I booked the Wagner Hall in Brighton for this one. For those who were there, The Wagner Hall is the place I put on Down To Nothing last time they played Brighton.

The supports are Lost Cause from Liverpool way, From Plan to Progress from round here, Honour Among Thieves from London, Cheat to Win from Kent and All Washed Up from Cardiff. Check them out if you haven't heard any of them. All good at what they do.

One thing that bugged me (and a few other people at that DTN gig) was the sound. The Wagner Hall...oh, wait. I haven't told you where it is.

The Wagner Hall is on Lewes Road in Brighton inbetween St Martins church and a HSS Tool Hire shop. Have a look a map of the Wagner Hall's location.

Anyhows, as I was saying, the sound can be a bit nightmarish, probably because it's a big hall, so I'm going to look into that. The drummer at least, needs a drum monitor and if there's any way to put the backline through the PA, I'll do it.

So the music starts at 6.30pm sharp and it's £5 to get in. This is an all ages gig so feel free to bring your little brothers an sisters.

I'll post the flyer in a bit when I get it done.

Let's Start Today

2007-05-12T00:46:00.000+01:00

Ah, that's better. This is way nicer and blatantly friendly than my previous blog. This has taken me about 5 hours to sort out and it's 3am now so I'm just going to leave it at that and go to bed.

I have plans to fill this blog up with stuff that's been going on in Brighton and stuff that's coming up.

Stay tuned.

Rob