The Locker Room Cowboys

Here's a band you need to look out for. I first heard The Locker Room Cowboys on Fruits de Mer's excellent recent compilation 'The Three Seasons' an interpretation of mid sixties classic psyche (see post), The Locker Room Cowboys did a wonderfully original interpretation of the Stones 'We love you', the stand out track in my opinion. It has an eerily weird music box sounding introduction, leading to a deep and laid back rhythm, at times it sounds as if it's slowing down and stretching out, like it's been dipped in psychedelic treacle or is running out of juice, whatever, it makes for a nice trippy feel and sound to it, throughout everything’s just right, guitar, keyboards, vocals, everything, and the addition of some sumptuous female harmonies was inspired, just topping it of beautifully. Smashing track. I remember listening to it, then immediately lifting the tone arm and listening again, on checking out who they were, it transpired The Locker Room Cowboys were an ensemble of leading lights in contemporary psychedelia, Andy Budge, Gregory Curvey, Crystal Jacqueline, Icarus Peel and Victoria Reyes (I shan’t list all the bands they're all associated with, as they're legion). That track alone is reason enough to keep your eye on The Locker Room Cowboys, and got me wondering what else they might have up their musical sleeves. Well, over the last couple of days they've dropped some tantalizing demo’s and, man, they're excellent! I know they're only demo's, raw, unpolished and unfinished, but they suggest some really good things to come from the The Locker Room Cowboys. The Amen Revolution is a fat funky psychedelic dance number, with some fruity bass, you can only imagine how flippin brilliant the finished track is going to sound! Troublefunk #1 too is damn funky, but in an entirely different way, bloody lovely. Finally, there's Saturday Morning Fuzz, something quite different, more rock orientated though none the less ace. Fantastic stuff! Give them a listen, and I'm sure you'll join me in being excited and eagerly awaiting their album and live dates?

Cranborne Chase and Winkelbury

The wrinkled landscape of Cranborne Chase is never boring, so wide ranging and varied as it is. It's a country landscape, of fields and hedgerows, scrubby woodland and coppice sheltering in its combes, rising above them exposed chalk grasslands reach for the skies, little changed in centuries, I'd imagine. Today was a good day for a walk in the chase, clear skies, an unseasonally warm feel, walking with an old friend who I don't see enough off (in fact the last time I saw him was last year, when we wandered the Chase). Our route was an undulating one, up through Garston Wood, with it's well managed Hazel coppice, down through Mistleberry Wood, up into Chase Woods following the Shire Rack, past Cuttice Lodge and up on to the Ox Drove, with it's fantastic views over four counties and on a good day as far the Isle of Wight. Man, it's always amazing to be up here, but on a clear day like today, it's something else.  We took a slight detour to wander about Winklebury, an Iron Age Hillfort positioned on a promontory overlooking the Berwick St John at the head of the Ebble Valley. It was excavated by Pitt-Rivers at the end of the 19th century who found evidence of Iron Age occupation, though I question whether it was a finished hillfort, it's defensive ramparts and ditches lack uniformity in nature and appear incomplete. The most striking features are the two linear outer ramparts and ditch defences some way from the main enclosure, which cut off the promontory.  The Chase is jam packed with archaeological features, it's always been a popular landscape. We made our way back down through Chase Wood, this time following the ups and downs of Chase Avenue, a neglected veteran Beech avenue, back through Mistleberry Wood with another Iron Age 'fort' which appears either incomplete or simply not a fort (I do wonder about some of the old Ministry of Works definitions of archaeological sites, several in the area appear suspect), before finally returning to Garston. Fantastic walk, longest I've done in a while too (12 miles of walking and talking), I've been slacking of late, must try harder. 

Burley Old

Messing around with photos again. This time one of Burly Old today, an old enclosure which feels full of mystery whichever season you enter it, and lends itself to arty imaginings. 

Mark Ash fall

The colour's quickly fading from the trees as more and more leaves turn and fall. Soon the fall will be complete and natures quiet winter slumber will begin. It's still stunning out here, mind, every season in the forest has something to share and offers opportunities to experience and learn.

Trojan Records

Today's charity shop find, three Trojan Record albums, Greatest Hits Vols.1 & 2 and Reggae Chart Busters Vol. 3. What a smashing find, although they're all quite dirty, they all play well, even before cleaning, and each album is packed with cracking tracks. Very happy, man.

Thoughtful destruction

As I walked past a group of World War 2 bomb craters in Anderwood enclosure this morning, I thought about the men flying the bomber. I wondered if they gone out of their way to drop their load well away from habitation out here in the woods. It would have been far safer for them to lose their bombs as soon as possible. So they must have purposely waited to be beyond conurbation. Which is cool. And, why hadn't they dropped their load on target, were they purposely trying not to kill people. You read stories of soldiers who've gone through a war without killing anyone. Or....was there a target out here in the woods? I don't think so, not that there wasn't plenty of military activity in the forest during the war, but I think these represent a bomber dropping their load before turning for home rather than an attack. There are a few groups of craters in the forest (beyond those of the Ashley Ranges), and they're invariably in groups of two or four, and none appear to fit an attack.  I sometimes think I really do over think too much.

Stan Lee

We knew it was coming, he was 95, but still to hear of his passing, the passing of a comic world leviathan, was very sad. Stan Lee has gone. Stan along with Steve Ditko built the foundations the modern comic universe, their creations coming to define what a comics and comic characters could be. They made their characters superhuman, though so very human, full of emotional conflict and doubt, they made them just like us. I can't remember a time when comics weren't part of my life, it started with the funnies, though took a massive shift in direction when I found 2 bin liners full of American comics in the early 70's. I was only young, after all it was the early 70's, so I mainly followed the stories through the pictures, although that was enough to light a fire in my imagination which has never gone out. I love comics, all comics, I love everything about them, the writing, the art, but most of all I love the escapism and solace they offer. As I say, I love all comics, though Marvel has always been special, they've created a real comic universe, so many characters all existing and interacting with each other in the same space (for the most part), a universe more layered than an onion...and it's still expanding, evolving. I've loved all the characters Stan's created, and all the characters they spawned, some more than others, but all. Stan created my favourite comic characters of all time (in whatever incarnation)...The X-Men. I can't thank him enough for the joy his creations have given me, and continue to give me, or the respite and escape from the oppressions of modernity they've afforded me. Thank you Stan Lee. Excelsior!

Rainbow

When the low autumn sun broke through the heavy grey blanket that raced across the sky, there was a lovely light out in the forest today. It was a day that didn't know what camp to stand with, light rains fell as the sun shone, what my Mum used to call 'a fox's riddle and a monkey's dance'. I have no idea what it meant or where it came from (she was brought up in India), though I taught it to my kids too. Beautiful day of myriad rainbows.

The Cary Grace Band @ The King Arthur, Glastonbury 10.11.2018

So, we're back up in Glastonbury at the towns premier music venue The King Arthur, we'd just seen Yamma's amazing set, next up was The Cary Grace Band. I love a superlative, me, and may have a tendency towards verbosity, though I reckon after tonight they're going to have to create some new superlatives, as none existing could really do the Cary Grace Band's performances justice, and I'm near dumbstruck by it. We've seen the fabulous Cary Grace Band several times now, and every time has been a wonderfully unique experience, there's always a new dimension to the bands interpretations. Unique, is the bands stock-in-trade, and tonight was to be no different. There's a magical alchemy to the Cary Grace Band, of course Cary's a fantastic writer/performer and the core members are par excellence, though it's the fluidity of a line up regularly augmented by guest artists which ensures every performances uniqueness. Tonight’s line up were Cary Grace (Synths, everything electric and vocals), Andy Budge (Bass), Mike Howlett (Bass), Graham Clark (Violin/Guitar), Steve Everitt (Synth/Guitar) and Rob Everitt (Drums). Blimey, a who's who of musical pre-eminence, I'm sure you'd agree. Tonight’s set was to give us a nice mix of the past, current and future Cary Grace Band; favourites like War Child, single Without a trace and a first live play of a new track off the forthcoming album (something definitely to look forward to), to name a few, all in all we were spoilt with a nicely curated evening. Of course it goes without saying (though I'll say it anyway), every track was delivered beautifully, these are consummate musicians, one and all. Cary created the wonderfully textured swirling synth and voice soundscapes she's renowned for, through which the other psychedelic minstrels wound their merry way. Cary's mesmerizing voice is powerful and has a wide range, and she used it to full effect this evening, whether singing or as a constituent of the soundscape, it's always superb. Behind the soundscapes was the bands driving heart, the solid rhythm section of Rob and Andy. Rob Everitt may be younger than the others in the band, though that in no way impeded him, he easily held his own, a talented drummer with a great style. Rob also recently did a sterling job on Cary's contribution to recent Fruit de Mer release 'Three Seasons' a spectacular interpretation of Hendrix's '1983 a Merman I shall be'. A drummer to watch for sure, kudos, man. Rob's partner in rhythm is of course CGB core member Andy Budge, who delivered his trademark sumptuous bass lines with the style and panache we've come to expect. One of the best bassists out there, and one who's rightly always in demand, I've lost count of the bands he basses for. The pair worked well, spot on in fact. Initially, legendary bass player Mike Howlett wasn't on stage, more on that later. Now, Steve Everitt was an interesting addition, I thought Steve brought a whole new dimension to the bands sound, his guitar playing is so sharp with a certain clean rock edge to it, a fantastic guitar sound.  Steve was fabulous, unleashing some blistering guitar riffs which were bliss to the ears. Graham Clark's violin playing is always out of this world, and always grabs your attention, though tonight he had it turned up to 11 at times, man, can he make a violin sing, he's so understated too. A highlight was Mike Howlett joining Andy Budge on bass duties. Howlett is a bass legend making it look so natural that bass lines just flow from him, and Budge has built himself a similar reputation, cucumber cool and adamantium fingered. Together they delivered a storming bass riff, both have great presence and, man, they was just something else to see and hear...really! It was an evening of unique psychedelic aural adventures in music, brought to us by an extraordinary ensemble of visionary frequency explorers. I loved it, the entire audience love it, it was all over too soon though, the audience wanted more and band were willing, though venue legislation was not. Boo! Man, evenings like this are truly priceless, rarer than, and worth more than their weight in, gold pressed latinum, especially in these turbulent times. After the performance I availed myself of one of the quality posters on sale at the merch table and proceeded to bother the artists for their signatures (thanks to Andy B for the use of his Sharpie). On my rounds I remarked to Mike Howlett what a fantastic performance it was, and he replied he agreed and couldn't understand why Cary's wasn't better known, word, man...and Mike Howlett knows his musical onions!
 
A massive thanks to all the musicians for an outstanding performance, to Lux Looper for the lovely visuals, and of course to the Arthur, for continuing to put on such splendid evenings. Bravo! And I for one can't wait for the The Cary Grace Band's new album, check out her site in the meantime, there's plenty of musical gems there.

Yamma @ The King Arthur, Glastonbury 10.11.2018

We were again off to Glastonbury's hostelry/venue of high repute, The King Arthur, and this evenings aural delights...Yamma, and The Cary Grace Band. First up was Yamma, a new project between psychedelic songstress and analogue synth supremo Cary Grace and original Zorch member and pioneering synth wizard Basil Brooks. We've been looking forward to this since first hearing a Yamma set on Mixcloud, tonight as a bonus, they were to be joined by special guests legendary bass player Mike Howlett and equally legendary violinist and guitarist Graham Clark. Man, what's not to love about that? Sadly though, Basil was unable to participate in the evening, though his station was more than capably manned by another musical big hitter Steve Everitt (of Ozric/Eat Static, among other things). The band took to the stage with Cary attired in a 60's/70's sci-fi style outfit, think something along the line of classic pulp science fiction or Anderson's 'UFO' imagined in an anime stylee, an indication of this evenings musical direction, maybe? Indeed it was, as tonight’s performance was going to be out of this world. Yamma really showcases Cary's electronic skills, creating her beautifully deep and richly textured electronic sound-scapes, woven through with wonderful psychedelic threads. It's mesmerizing to watch Cary crafting those wonderfully spacey sounds, all those knobs, keys and twiddly things, no wonder she's so focused as she carefully tunes us into the frequencies of her world. This was a different Yamma to that which we'd heard, this was less ambient. The addition of Steve Everitt on synth had definitely added something, as had Howlett's bass, and Clark's guitar, they all contributed new elements to the mix. Each musician brought their distinctive musical DNA as they supplied interesting treads to the evolving musical tapestry, transformative layers, it was sonic alchemy in action. The ensemble crafted some very tasty ambient psychedelic space flavours, and our minds happily absorbed. That's the beautiful alchemy of accomplished musicians. Sadly, the set wasn't long enough, though it was long enough to give you a good indication of Yamma's potential. I know I wasn't alone in being blown away by the set, the entire audience loved it. I look forward to the next opportunity to be blown away. An aspect that I particularly love to some of these bands, is the fluidity of line up, the guest artists and the unique experiences that creates. I know next time we see Yamma it'll be different again, and that's Cary's genius (beyond the fact of her immense talent as an artist), she knows how to craft a unique musical evening and does so, so sublimely. Tonight really worked, man, the line up, the music, the colourful projections and Cary's sci-fi image, all gelled nicely in an ambient psychedelic space bonanza. What a fantastic performance. I couldn't tell you the name of any of the tracks, I don't know if we were told, and anyway, I was lost in my exquisite aural journey, transfixed as four premier artists plied their magic. A massive thanks to Cary, Mike, Graham and Steve, to Lux Looper for the lovely visuals and of course to the Arthur, for another stunning evening.Now for the Cary Grace Band.

The Fraud Band @ Chaplins Cellar Bar 8.11.2018

Great night at Chaplins Cellar Bar, tonight it was Palisades and The Fraud Band, two local bands. Palisades were first on stage, a three piece featuring singer-guitarist Ronnie Mayor formally of The Tours and Biz Internationale and bassist Mark Pickfield of Shy Boys. The Palisades delivered a nice set of catchy indie pop tunes, you could tell they were experienced musicians, their sound was clean and nicely delivered. Sadly, we didn't really get a chance to listen as we'd been joined by a particularly drunk chap who'd introduced himself as an Apache from Alaska, nice fellow, though very intense and distracting as he recounted bloody aspects of Apache history and 'our' part in it. Up next head-liners The Fraud Band, a tidy three piece beat combo of Bob Redman on guitar and vocals, Kevin Roberts on bass and Andy Hancock on drums. The Fraud do a lovely line in souther rock infused blues and the do it with gusto, Bob is an excellent guitarist, and the Kev and 'Hank' are no slackers themselves. Smashing evening of top notch music, one complaint....The Fraud Band don't play out and about enough, and that really needs rectifying.

Brinken Autumn

Brinken Autumn

Chlorophyllic break down

If you want to catch the autumnal magnificence of the New Forest's chlorophyllic break down, then now is the time. It's absolutely gorgeous. In 24 hours the colours of the forest have changed radically, as the trees shout their last hussar in the richest bronze and golden hues.  When this moment drops in the forest there's really only place to go...Mark Ash Wood. Mark Ash Wood is beautiful in any season, it's majestic Oak and Beech have been rooted here for centuries and seen many autumns. You can feel it as you wander the stands, feel the history. It's a beautiful part of the forest with a myriad of tracks and paths crossing it, there's absolutely stunning walking in all directions. I'd advise you don't hold off too long, any strong winds and rain will reek havoc on the show, once the fall sets in there's no stopping it. As I walked today with just a gentle breeze, the leaves fell continuously like gentle snow flurries.

Stag party

Although moving across open ground this stag with his harem were still well camouflaged amongst the bracken, heather and of Spy Holms, well, some of the lighter ones are easier to see, but if stationary you'd easily miss them. Rutting season must be winding down soon, I think it peaks around the end of October or the beginning of November.

Leafy den

Somebody has built a very tidy little 'leaf hut' or 'debris shelter' in Wilverley enclosure. A nice wedge shaped version of a standard a-frame shelter, solidly constructed with tightly woven sides, and about a 10 - 20 cm leaf litter covering. And, you know what...although the forest floor is wet, it is perfectly dry inside. It was clearly built before the recent wind and rain, as the area around the shelter where the leaf litter for the covering would have been gathered was deep in leaves again, accordingly the shelter looks very organic, as if poking up from the forest floor naturally. It just goes to show how effective a shelter you can construct from woodland debris, and how it blends with its surroundings, had it been a lower profile, it would have been easily overlooked at not too far a distance. Of course you can always improve, and you can never have too much covering on a shelter, the deeper the leaf litter the better.

Badbury

We made our way up towards the hilltop along a colourfully lined drove, all the colours of autumns palette were represented in the tight hedges that channelled us toward our destination. The multivated hilltop and former stronghold of the Durotriges of Badbury Rings is still this morning, not even the sheep huddling around the trees who now hold tenure of the defended hill were stirring. It was lovely.

Dry Spy

The woodland and woodland fringe fungal communities of Red Rise appear to have faired far better than their more exposed community neighbours on the open heathland and lawn of Spy Holms. It's by no means been a bumper mushroom season in the forest, though some woodland inhabitants like Chicken of the Woods, Beefsteak and Oysters have been well represented, the Boletes were respectable and there are plenty of Hedgehog mushrooms too (as have loads of other mushrooms/fungi).  It's a very different story on the adjacent exposed open lawn and heath. Usually covered in a really diverse community, this year...nought!  Or near nought. I've seen two Parasols, when commonly it would dozens, no Wax Caps, no Puffballs, no Liberty Caps, and very little beyond. Where normally you'd have to look where you're stepping, you can look but there's nothing to see, it's barren.  Drier autumns don't do mushrooms any service, I hope they don't become too frequent.