Photos

This blog has been hijacked by Gorillaz!

Due to some incredible string of events, the regularly scheduled events and features of this blog have been put on hold for several days, thanks to Gorillaz landing on the shores of America. I’ve been part of a whirlwind weekend of Gorillaz activity and events starting with the unexpected and very welcomed luck of my sister winning us tickets to the taping of their performance for a webcast via the David Letterman show this past Thursday. If that was not lucky enough in itself, we also managed to score two of the best seats in the house, front row and center stage. I’m still out and about on the road having returned from New York City and Gorillaz Madison Square Garden show last night, with another show on the immediate horizon, but I have much to share about this experience. As it relates to the Clash and the inclusion of Mick Jones and Paul Simonon as permanent members of the band for this tour I will be preparing something for Tim over at the Clash blog early this coming week. As it relates to the grand scale of collaboration and the immense package of creative energy that is Damon Albarn, Jamie Hewlett and the rest of Gorillaz, I’ll be posting more here also later this week.

For now here is an image taken by me from our vantage point for most of the show (eventually it would be from the stage itself as Damon issued an impromptu invitation for a hootenanny during “Clint Eastwood” at the end of the show). Figuring out how to return to normal life after that one. I’ll be back to share as much of the experience as I can in words (wondering if that’s possible?) and images very soon. The only words that come to mind at this moment: “Man, all I want to do is . . . dance!!!”

If you missed it when it streamed live, here is the link to the (mind boggling) performance: Gorillaz Live on Letterman.

Help The Yalla Yalla’s release their second album, Diamond In Dirt!

Want to turn $12.41* into something much, much better? For exactly that, you can help The Yalla Yallas finish production and release their second album Diamond In Dirt.

(*£8/$12.41 US/$12.70 CN, courtesy of your friendly blog currency converter!)

At that price, you’ll also in essence be pre-ordering a downloadable copy of the album when it’s ready. Add a few more dimes and you’ll be in line for a hard copy of the cd.

After hearing the demos when the album was first being written (a review of the demo tape from earlier this year can be found here), and now after listening to a reviewer’s copy of the album in it’s almost-finished state, I can assure you, you would much rather be listening to The Yalla Yallas than holding those twelve dollars and some change in your hands.

Through PledgeMusic, your contribution at any level (with many other perks to go along with your contribution, including an option for £20/$31.14 for your name in the cd credits) will help make this second album a reality. As of this writing, only 13 days are left to reach their goal so they can proceed with production.

As of this writing they are at 27%, so I implore you to one or more of the following to get to know The Yalla Yallas:

Give them a listen; you can stream music from their first album on the Yalla Yallas website
Head to their MySpace page for a listen to “Under Attack” which will be included on Diamond in Dirt
Watch the in studio clip of an acoustic version of “Death Shoes” (one of my favorite tracks) at the end of this post
Friend them on Facebook to keep up with the latest information
Check out the interview with Rob Galloway I did this past February to learn more about them

As for the album itself, it’s been an amazing process to witness the writing, recording and evolution of the songs. A quick review will have me telling you that from demo to current state, the tracks from Diamond In Dirt are now fully caffeinated. The energy level has risen to Full Steam Ahead, and is punctuated by Rob Galloway’s wonderfully growling voice. The beauty of the songs lie in the fact that they can easily lend themselves to being played fully plugged in, on stage full guns, and yet I can also picture them stripped down, acoustic around a campfire. The bones of the songs are lovely indeed, but with tough skin around them. I’ve never been so closely involved as a witness in the composing and releasing of an album, so this has a special place in my heart, and I’m really hoping to see them make their goal. If you’re interested in helping out with a worthy creative project and have a few bucks to spare, please visit The Yalla Yallas’ Diamond In Dirt project profile on PledgeMusic, it will be most appreciated!

The Yalla Yallas will also be included within today’s Trash City Radio Show transmission, so if you can try to catch the show live, and if that’s not possible you can find it later on in the archives right here on the blog.

(Photos courtesy of Sara Brooks)

The photography of Wheelz Wheeler, and the power of social media

One of the intents of this blog when I first started it was to provide a place to share not only my own creative output, but that of my friends, from people I have known for ages to the people I have had the pleasure of meeting along the way, both near and afar. With the rise of the intertubes comes the wonderful opportunity to meet those that normally one would not have had otherwise. Back in the day when I started my very first music ‘zine at the tender age of 12, I discovered how powerful it is to connect with others who are like minded, though the tools were rough then. I remember taking an ad out in a teeny bop magazine for a few bucks, and ending up with over 200 subscribers, mostly girls of roughly the same age with the same interests. We formed our own little community and I was thrilled to have that many new pen pals to boot.

Mick Jones' Rock n Roll Public Library at Chelsea Space (Photo: Wheelz Wheeler)

Now here we are in the age of the computer, and I find myself doing the exact same thing, except now on a larger scope. Via a graphic design forum, and also through other social media outlets, I have over the past few years made acquaintances with people all over the world, some who have evolved into what I can say in all sincerity great friends. Many of them have sprung from the group I mentioned here before that I started on Facebook in support of Mick Jones’ Rock ‘n Roll Public Library. With that group of friends I share in common an intense love for the Clash and all related projects that translates into a very distinct world view and philosophy, and it is a very generous, sharing community, one I’m glad to have become a part of. The ability to network via social media can be an amazing and powerful thing indeed.

So, back to the idea of sharing the creative endeavors of others, one such person that I have met via the Mick Jones’ group is an amazingly talented photographer named Haydn “Wheelz” Wheeler, and I want to share some of his work here because I really feel it deserves to be seen by more people. So continuing with what I like to call my Friends of Tulip Tree series, I introduce to you the work of Wheelz Wheeler.

A little about him, Haydn is a long time Clash loving soul, a bass player from Bournemouth. He is a gardener in Poole, England as profession, but his real passion is street photography. He also frequently attends live concerts and photographs them. In the DIY spirit he photographs as an independent and in an incredibly generous spirit then shares the spoils of his craft via his Flickr page for all to enjoy. Speaking of social media, as of late he has been photo-documenting and attending the NOBonus4RBS campaign rallies conducted by Billy Bragg (more on that in a future post, but for now you can follow the link to learn more), a group that has a very large presence and following on Facebook, with over 33,000 members as of this writing.

So, without further adieu, here are a few images I have selected to share here, the rest resides on his Flickr Gallery, which holds a staggering number of gallery sets including The Good The Bad and The Queen (that’s the name of the album, the band has no name as Paul Simonon will tell you), The Sex Pistols, Los Mondo Bongos, Tinariwen, The Heavy, Thomas Dolby, Martha Wainwright, several sets of the Mick Jones’ Library, Billy Bragg and Jail Guitar Doors to name a tiny fraction of what is there. Enjoy and respect, and if you take a saunter into his gallery, please leave a comment or two to thank him!