distraction
Bill’s column is
still on the drawing board due to a slight problem with the alleged
Zippo he bought in San Francisco. Well, it turned out not to be a
Zippo after all, but a Taiwanese replica, and that has led to a revision
of the image used in his world-famous Zippo clip accompanying the
Zippo diity he’s written in honour of the esteemed product.
This columnist’s
contribution is pending – no excuse!
A
voice from the past
16.4.04 – You could have knocked me over with a blackfeather
the other week, when who should be on the other end of the phone but
former Ariel drummer, Iain (Sparrow) McLennan! (Iain was with one of
the latter incarnations of Ariel in the ’70s and parted company with
us a second time after a short sojourn on the skins with the revamped
Mike and Bill Show in the mid-’90s).
The new Iain, now living in Mosman, seems to be a reformed and rejuvenated
character, and while Bill and I have been pottering around producing
fuck-nothing for absolutely years, he’s finally produced the CD he’s
been threatening for so long! There are a couple of guest artists featured
on it, including another former Ariel and Heaters’ member, the reclusive
Tony Slavich. Not only that, Iain’s allegedly writing a book about his
life with the working title of ‘Don’t Forget – You’re Only The Drummer’.
Damn right – but it’ll be an interesting read anyway…
Now, if you’re interested in having a listen to his CD, you should contact
Iain by e-mail
and order yourself a copy. Keep a box of Kleenex handy..
–
a little dab’ll do ya!
A note from the editor
17.4.04
– OK, so we’re behind schedule. But, the good news is that
the new CD is going pretty much to plan. We were to be doing the launch
at the Corner Hotel on Sunday July 11th, but I don’t feel comfortable
at the Corner, so we’re investigating other potential venues at the
moment. You’ll be the first to know, of course.
Gigs are still pretty thin on the ground at the moment, but we expect
things to become slightly more hectic when the CD is out there. We’re
even thinking of going interstate (!), which we haven’t done for a
good while. (Those of you who are reading this in some foreign clime,
feel free to write in your suggestions – I’m happy to report the Contact
Us facility is working again and you are free to e-mail us your suggestions
about where you’d like to see Spectrum play near you..)
If you haven’t seen the website for a while, you’ll notice some cosmetic
changes, all aimed at making the experience easier and more fun. I
enjoy hearing from you, so keep those cards and letters etc.
Mike.
Foffle
Magazine features Top 200 Oz albums
16.4.04
– The
latest edition of the gloriously indulgent Foffle magazine, fanzine-style
love-child of the seriously affected Ian Marks, features a fairly
idiosynchratic list of the top 200 Aussie albums of all time, amongst
which a couple of Spectrum and Ariel’s albums nestle quite comfortably.
There’s also a review of The Jellabad Mutant CD by Paul Culnane,
which may well be a first review it’s scored, (I’ve not seen another
anywhere), and which I’ll eventually add to the short list of Volcano
and Rare Vision CD reviews on the website.
If you’ve not come across Foffle before, it’s worth a read – you’re
bound to get a giggle or two. It claims to be directed at the ‘discerning
layabout’, but you don’t have to be either of those to enjoy it. This
is Issue #19, so there are plenty of back issues to catch up on. If
you’re interested, check
it out.
It’s good to see our old friend Mike Brady getting a mention too –
in fact, if it wasn’t for Mike’s timely intervention, this comparatively
lavish edition of
Foffle might have struggled to make the streets (read about it on
page 5 under the ‘Foffle Goes Corporate’ header).
Speaking of Mike,(and we all still think of him as ‘Mike’ despite
his persisting with the ‘Michael’ Brady persona), not everybody
knows that Bill and I have him to thank for getting us back onto the
music scene where we belong. Get up there Mike Brady!
–
read all about it!
Issue # 7