28/05/05 Marseille, Rock and roll’s capital

Yes, Yes, I don’t exaggerate ! Last nite, the Ratakans’s 5th B-Day party at home, « la machine à coudre », was a real demonstration; not only because there were 8 punk rock bands who played in 2h30 more loud it’s possible (5 euros the entrance) but because the audience was ready to have more fun it’s possible too ! The temperature was 30°C at the bar and 45°/50°C in the concert room : wet, wet, hot; half naked men, smiling girls…:)

     
 
 
 

On stage that night only bands from Marseille : Hatepinks, Aggravation, Elektrolux, Take Shit Back, Sweet Children, Neurotic Swingers, Lazy Bones, Cowboys from outer space…and the nicest surprise…The Gasolheads reformed for two songs…always alive !

Info : you can download from now the Radio France International file and listen to Meltingpod’s introduction in the Medias du Monde : « Annie’s rockers friends… from Marseille »? Not only ! In the next podcast we will travel with « Annie’s friends » in the wild world of Rock and Roll without frontier !

22/05/05 Conversation on the Moon

Today, Pascal Ferrari and his friends, twenty years experience of rock and roll in Marseille, with an interview in my « home studio » and some good songs of his ex-bands : Marquis Moon, Oops and E-Monstre !

  

Stephane Abbadie (pic from »Bebe Clandestine »‘s album), singer-guitarist from Oops and E-Monstre, Pascal and Sophie playing with the Squaws, posing with Marquis Moon with Jearc and Christophe (pic from Marquis Moon’s demo).

You could listen the interview I gave about the podcasting to Radio France International with Raphael Krafft Saturday May 28th; more infos to listen to the show on their website RFI-Medias du Monde.

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14/05/05 Friends around the world

I have at least a new little mic, the same as before but it’s mine now !
The show about Europe Day comes late but we don’t care. In this new podcast, you will listen to the three bands who came to sing for Europe Day May 9th 2000 in Marseille; it was a little festival produced and managed by Eurocircle which was called : Europe Off !
I invite you for a long travel around the world : from Marseille to Melbourne (Australia), Berlin to San Francisco via Bahia (Brazil) with Silvio Ricarti, Sah’ra (Algeria-Kabylie) with Hakim Hammadouche and Montreal (Quebec) with the Magic reality of Balthazar. We don’t need passports !

  

Hakim, Silvio and Riad playing music at home, Mike playing guitar for me on the internet from his Rock and Roll Geek show studio in San Francisco, and a very nice big studio mic lent by my new sponsor the rock singer guitarist Bea Paradis from Sub Rosa.

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9/05/05 Europe Day

May 9th is « le Jour de la Fête de l’Europe, Europa Tag, Europe Day » : it’s time to have fun together before the results of the French referendum on the European Constitution : suspense for exactly 20 more days !
I have no mic more to record a podcast; thanks to the band Kill the thrill who was my sponsor and lent me a good mic for two months; they needed to take it again to work with a band in their recording studio. I need money to buy another one. I hope to find a quick solution.
Meanwhile I give you my last pictures on my second favorite beach near Marseille : poverty is not so hard with the sea and the sun !

 

The effect « Marseille » : Are they Italians, Germans, English or French men ?
What are they speaking about : the European Constitution, Gazoline price or Women ?

 

1/05/05 In May Do what you like !

First picture from Markus : Walpurgis Night yesterday in Berlin !

The Saints are still on the road and seem to have fun touring in Europe.
A few days ago they wrote on their website :
« The band are in Spain & it is FAB! more INFO would be available except we are having such a good time no one wants to come to the computer…more details will be available soon come ! »
They are right : It’s summer for a week in South Europe and I decided to abandon my computer too and go to my favorite beach (first feet bath)

 
 

and then prepare a podcast to promote rock bands I like a lot but who don’t exist anymore as band; they split a few years ago: it’s a perfect act to celebrate the month of May ! Let the pleasure drives your life !
I’m happy to introduce to you now : Marquis Moon (I’m planning an interview with them to speak about their work now) and Gasolheads from Marseille (Gasolheads=Neurotic Swingers+The Hatepinks+Take Shit Back) and Stevie Stiletto from Jacksonville-Florida with a call-interview of the ex-bassist : Michael Butler who lives in San Francisco (Mike plays with American Heartbreak now). Stevie Stiletto was re-formed later by the singer with new musicians.

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23/04/05 Public Kingdom for teenagers

Colors from Berlin…

   
 
 
  

Sounds from Berlin with PK14, a special Meltingpod band directly imported from Pekin China and an interview backstage with them at Wild at Heart !

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13 to 22/04/05 From Marseille to Berlin

I’ m in Germany until April 22 th, on the way to Berlin via Köln and Braunschweig near Hannover visiting friends and family.
I’m trying to post some colors and sounds from Berlin next week.

18/04/05 : I’M IN BERLIN !!!!! AT LEAST !!! Der Himmel ist blau, the sun shines, green is arriving on the trees !!! Spring, Frühling im Berlin, the best season !
I’m connected again with my computer directly on the internet…thanks Markus !!! Kiss from Berlin to everyone !
I run outside now….

20/04/05 : I moved from Wedding to Kreuzberg, my favorite place in Berlin but I lost my « private internet café » at Markus’ home.
During these last days I collected a lot of pictures and a few ID with a little recorder (not very good but it’s better than nothing) in a new punk rock bar (for me) : « Trinkteufel » (drinkdevil) a very cool place; tonight it’s planning the ritual visit at Wild at Heart and I hope to have something good to record for my next podcast. I’m working on it quietly back home in Marseille next week-end. It’s too complicated for me here.

22/04/05 : I am back home again with my suitcase full of strange colors and sounds from Berlin and my second interview with a real Meltingpod drummer…I ‘m preparing a nice page for the web blog and a new podcast for you in the next hours…

9/04/05 Eating earth and drinking fire !

Some pictures where Chris Bailey from the Saints was joking on stage under my digital eyes’ shoots in the back of his guitarist who played a solo !!

       

In the new podcast, you will find some songs of the Saints’ last album and a short « interview » at the bar with Chris in a funny ambiance of laughs and noise of glasses’ wash up. Hope you will like it !
Some words from the unrecorded interview :
Christopher Bailey born 11/29/56 in Africa (Kenya), family’s origins from Northern Ireland, lived in Australia, England, Sweden, Amsterdam now, formed the Saints in 1973 :
« I can’t imagine the world without France : The people talk a lot here, give their opinion about everything, they fight to obtain the respect of their differences… they cut the kings’ head.
In Marseille people smiled to me : I felt me good here tonite on stage !
I’m not a rock star, I never want to be a pop star…I played with the Saints in little clubs and on very big stages, I was high and down…I continue because I love what I do, just playing music and meeting people.
I feel me guilty to speak with you during the other guys are carrying the gear…sorry I must help a few minutes !
Yes, I didn’t drink water on stage, I drank white wine ; I love French wines : I have friends of mine who give me sometimes their house’s keys in Bourgogne, and I take my bicycle on the little roads to go drink a little Chablis… »

More about Chris Bailey : this interview from Foster Child fanzine.
More pictures : the review of my dude photographer Pirlouiiiit from liveinmarseille/concertandco-marseille : we often are beside each other at rock concerts and do like a funny shoot’s competition to capture the best light of rockers’ attitudes; that night I chose to shoot him taking pictures and he shot me smiling to the music (cf my interview) !!

         

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7/04/05 Burning Bush Tour !

To be precise, it’s the name of the European tour 2005 of The Saints ! They burned and seduced Marseille last night…ROCK AND ROLL in CAPITAL !!!
The club was absolutely packed and to take pictures I was crushed against the stage : though it was a good place to live the concert loud and near the source of the energy; from the first seconds the band and the audience were connected…shared pleasure !

  
     
     
    (click to enlarge the last picture)

Then I made my very first live interview for my podcast…with Chris Bailey !! It was not scheduled but Chris accepted to play the interview after the concert even if he was very tired, even if I had a ridiculous record player without extern microphone which refused to restart when we moved from the bar to another quieter place to speak. But it was not really a problem for him, we continued the conversation without recording until we were the two last persons in the concert room and until the owner of the club shouted from the street he wanted to close !!
I will give you in my next podcast (soon) the 5 minutes saved from the punky trashy funny interview at the bar and I will try to write here on the blog some sentences I remember from the conversation after the record player’s crash.

8/04/05 : I just got an e-mail from Chris (still in tour during two weeks more) who gives me the agreement to play the songs of the last album : « Nothing is straight in my house« ; I forgot this famous night to ask his agreement for my podcast and for those who could not run to the next concert of the Saints in Europe. It’s OK now, we could burn our Bush together on podcast too !

3-04-05 Family stories

Today it’s a great day, you will find in my new show :
the version 2005 of « Marseille » by the Angels from Australia !!!, a song of Balthazar‘s last album from Montreal (at least) featuring Hakim Hammadouche from Algeria (Kabylie), one of the first song (1989) of Kill the thrill from Marseille, a short appearance of the Rock and Roll geek from San Francisco and we will stay almost like in family for this Sunday : teetime or Kaffee-Kuchen !

   
Balthazar : Jean (drums) Manon (bass) Balthazar (vocals-guitar) and Hakim !

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1er Avril…2005


(The Angels in Paris 1981-pics J.Y.Legras; http://www.theangels.free.fr)

Today the Angels inspire me a lot of « Poissons d’avril » (April Scherz and April joke ?). I don’t know if this tradition runs around the world or if it’s typically European but the joke during the whole day is to tell somebody the most enormous thing it’s possible with the art to made this thing credible.
I want to play a little game with you : some things I wrote are true, other things are « Poisson d’Avril »:
1 – I got an e-mail this morning from the Angels with the following declaration : We, the Angels band, Buzz, John, Rick and Chris, promise on their honour to their French fans, they will play their famous song « Marseille » in Marseille maybe this year 2005, anyway before the end of the summer 2006.
2 – Doc Neeson their ex-vocalist sang this song during enough years with such a pleasure that he promises to come too.
3 – Buzz the drummer wrote to me he will come this week-end to Marseille to plan the concert.
4 – Their manager sent me the last version of Marseille to take my blues away because I learned Buzz can’t come now.
5 – John sings better the song « Marseille » than Doc because he wrote the lyrics and lives himself the story.
6 – The Angels always are a great band after thirty years.
7 – I have the blues because the Angels don’t play this week-end in Marseille and I must wait and I hate to wait.
You can vote : T for true, P for « Poisson d’avril » ! (The Angels themselves can play too). I will give the answers in the next podcast !

29/03/05 The Angels in Marseille ?

Will the Angels come and sing to Marseille for the first time their famous song « Marseille » written in 1978…maybe this year ?
For those of you who don’t know about the Angels, they are an Australian band, formed in 1975 who toured with some famous people like AC/DC and David Bowie; they had a lot of success around the 80’s; after classic rock band adventure they reformed their « family » and toured again for around two years.

John Brewster told me yesterday how he wrote the lyrics « Marseille » :
Hi Annie,
Regarding the lyric of Marseille, I studied French at school, our teacher often visited France in his vacations and would show us photos of the places he had visited there, including Marseille. He helped bring the language to life by making us aware of the customs and culture – he truly loved France and the people.
One day I was driving my purple Renault down by the docks where some ships were tied up to the wharves, the band was in hard times (we hadn’t achieved success at this point) and I just felt in a mood to escape it all. For some reason my French lessons came back to my mind and I thought of Marseille.
The band played in Nice but so far I have never been to Marseille.
Best regards,
John

Nice story ! Be sure I will do my best to bring them to you ! They seem so cool people ! Exciting project, no ? Buzz, let down London and come better here to plan the next concert !
If you want to know more about the Angels, you can go the Rock and Roll geek show of my friend Michael Butler tonight (or tomorrow for France); he will post the interview he got with Rick, the guitarist and John’s brother.

First French Woman in Podcasting – Meltingpod : the Queen of Rock and Roll Podcasters will rock your world Live from Marseille