CLICK TO VISIT OUR SHOP LATEST NEWS DISCOGRAPHY MEMBERS CLUB BLOG CONTACT US HOME
blogs are so 'last year', but then again Fruits de Mer is so last century it's as close to cutting-edge as we're ever likely to get (unless the time machine I've ordered from eBay really does work)
...so this is the FdM blog and you're welcome to it.
It's all supposed to be related to music but sometimes I lose the plot and drift a bit, with typically uninspiring results
ANYONE FOR 90S AMBIENCE?
If FdM's Jake Stephenson tribute sets whet your appetite, then check out a new double LP 'Telepathic Fish' - a very nice introduction on the Fundamental Frequencies label to early 90s ambient/IDM artists, including a couple of tracks that were new to me
BRIGHTON PSYCH FEST
Enjoyed Brighton’s Psych Fest, although I’m not sure what ‘psych’ means these days or whether I heard much of it - lots of intense bands but none more euphoric than Gong, led by Kavus Torabi, who were the first act of the day and were my highlight
BEER OF THE MONTH
No chickens or heads of broccoli were harmed in the making of this beer, even though it's called 'Chicken & Broccoli'. It's brewed by the Other Half New York brewery, a 7.5% DDH IPA and dangerously moreish; not at all dank or grapefruity, it finds a really smooth middle ground and is very refreshing.
Stupidly expensive, of course, although I didn't pay for it - but I suspect I will if I see any around on my next craft beer crawl.
MOD WEEKENDER
Two cracking bands in Brighton - the always-excellent Small Fakers, led by the brilliant Kev Reeve, and Maximum Who (couldn't get a decent photo of the band - it was too crowded - so here's their drum kit!)
A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
Avoid the Liam Neeson remake of 'The Naked Gun' - I don't think the reviews I've read are referring to the film that I saw as it's painfully slow and unfunny - about the only good things I can say about it are there are a couple of good gags that aren't direct quotes from the original TV series/films and it only lasts for 85 minutes - but it feels much, much longer; Liam Neeson plays it dead-straight - he doesn't have the gormless innocence, comedic timing or sense of the absurd that Leslie Neilsen brought to the role.
I see Seth McFarlane was co-producer, so it should be much better than it is; save your money and watch the original films and TV series.
I SAW THE LIGHT
...on the other hand, I was hugely impressed with Tom Hiddleston's take on Hank Williams in the biopic from about 10 years ago, 'I Saw The Light'.
The film itself was pretty dull and uninspired, but I thought Hiddleston did a remarkable job impersonating Hank Williams, including singing all the songs in the movie; here's an example...
A TASTE OF SUMMER
On tap at our local watering hole...experts' reviews are lukewarm but - in the words of Les in 'Men Behaving Badly' - I found it "surprisingly refreshing"
BRIGHTON ROCKS
Two more visits coming up - Brighton's Psych Fest all-dayer at the end of the month, with 30 bands spread across countless venues, but before that a double-header with The Small Fakers and Maxium Who at Chalk - part of the city's Mod Weekender.
DECISIONS, DECISIONS...
A couple of days in Brighton later this week with mates and my kids - main excuse is Brighton races, but it would be churlish to leave without paying a visit to a gig - but which one - 70s rock night in Dalston's or three bands for three quid in the Greendoor Store?
My votes is both - but that's probably crazy talk.
Postscript: after a disastrous day at the races, too much sorrow-drowning* means we only got to the Greendoor Store gig - and only in time to see dbcooper - a rather fine shoegaze band
(* including the US brewery's tap takeover at The Hole In The Wall, with 'Rolling In Clouds' one of the best IPAs I've drunk in a long time - or at least I think it was - things were getting pretty blurry...blurry enough for us to be banned from the Prince Albert - hardly The Savoy so we must have been pretty far gone)
HOME SWEET HOME
For the next two months, I'm going no further than Brighton, so I can do all things at home I told myself (and Liz!) I was going to do during June and July (although a lot of the time I'll probably be catching up on Fruits de Mer to-dos)
WHEN IN ROME...PART 2
It was tough finding anything of a hoppy/malty nature that was out of the ordinary in Ibiza, but I did my best
(to be honest, there was nothing that I'd seek out again if Tescos had an Ibiza week in their beer aisle)
DON'T TELL HIM...
Pikes in Ibiza is on our list for a visit later this month - we've booked in for their Sunday lunch, only to find that on their list of DJs for the day they have Steve Cobby; if you were ever into trip-hop in the 90s, Steve and his 'Pork' label were unbeatable, so I'm hoping to be able to grovel at his feet after a Sunday roast.
David Holmes is DJ'ing too - can't be bad!
Postscript...Steve Cobby didn't turn up, and after 7 hours David Holmes hadn't got as far as a record-deck, so we made our excuses and fell asleep..I mean, left - but Pikes is well-worth a visit, a very friendly, chilled vibe - a long way from Pasha/Space!
NEXT/LAST YEAR'S THINGS?
Not many pic discs being released these days, the trend towards heavyweight vinyl seems to have passed, and there aren't as many gatefold sleeves around as there were a couple of years ago - I wonder what the next big thing/last year's thing will be...
MR HYDE PARK...
........Neil Young, Cat Stevens, Van Morrison, a bunch of support acts I've got to admit I'd never heard of - and 32 degrees in the shade - it felt like it was going to be a long, long day when Van Morrison played a pretty laid-back set that felt a lot longer than the 60 minutes he was allocated.
Cat Stevens was in fine voice, and had a backing band that pushed things along very well - all very impressive, although it was his early solo songs that the crowd really wanted to hear.
As for Neil - 79 years old, he powered through a tremendous 2 hour set as if he was half that age - and left everyone wanting much more (except whoever operated the 10:30pm curfew and cut off the band's encore with 10 seconds to go)
STICK WITH ME, KID...
Liz wasn't entirely convinced I was taking her to the psychedelic festival of her dreams when I showed he the way to the Green Door Store in Brighton (it's housed in old stables, which is an odd place to find in the arches of the railway station)
PSYCHEDELIC SUNDAE
...but once inside, thanks to a fantastic light show, the Green Door Store turns into the perfect venue (even down to the puddles on the ground - impressive for an indoor venue), with The Decadent Dayze playing a stand-out set.
FOOD OF THE GODS
for some reason, Liz wasn't tempted by this delicacy, conveniently available from a takeaway opposite our luxury hotel in Brighton...
HOW THE MIGHTY HAVE FALLEN
I probably take a photo of this building every time I'm in Eastbourne
BRIGHTON PSYCH SUNDAE
This Sunday we'll be soaking up the sun in the tiny Green Door Store in Brighton and their Psychedelic Summer Sundae, including a set by The Decadent Dayze who just happen to have a track on our new members club double CD 'The Shape Of Things To Come'
LINDOS 2025 ROCKED
We didn't get to see as many bands this year - family was over for a few days and near 40c temeratures were pretty vicious, but a great atmosphere when the festival escaped from a hotel venue and found its way into the bars hidden away in Lindos town
WHEN IN ROME...
A 9% triple IPA from the brewery Three Friends was the highlight of our (ok, my) tour of bars in Lindos
ANNUAL PILGRIMAGE
We'll be heading off soon for our yearly fix of sun and greek salads in Lindos, which just happens to coincide with another pilgrimage to the village - from UK hard rock cover bands and fans; not my usual musical diet but good fun while the sun is making a mark on your bald patch and you have a bottle of Mythos in-hand.
Update: this year's festival is now over - we didn't attend as much as usual as we had family with us, but the atmosphere was as good as ever
OZZY OZZY OZZY
He will be sorely missed - fortunately he hasn't gone yet!
GURNEY SLAYED
The Strange World Of Gurney Slade - it's been getting a run on Rewind TV;
ahead of its time when released in 1960, I'm sure, but not a lot of fun watching it now - not for me anyway.
I'm currently fighting my way through episode 4, in which Anthony Newley is tried by a jury on a charge of being unfunny - he was asking for trouble, if you ask me, an open and shut case.
Did you know the series was written by Sid and Dick, who wrote countless shows for Morecambe & Wise?
MIDSUMMER DREAMING
A first purchase of the month and an intriguing one...
A triple CD on Cherry Red's Grapefruit label, containing all the obvious Flowerpot Men tracks but also two unreleased complete albums - from 1969 and 1970 - that should be worth investigating
MIDSUMMER DREAMING 2
I blame an overdose of cheese, but I recently found myself helping Mick Jagger design a poster for a new Stones album (I employed some kind of spinning technique to apply the paint - sorry, I can divulge more - copyright/patent pending etc); I congratulated Mick on Charlie's driving beat on a smaple track he played me (Remember, this WAS a cheese dream) and Mick invited me to joing the band on their forthcoming series of gigs in Germany...and Derby.
Did I tell you about the dreams in which I mistook a Tina Turner impersonator for Tina herself, or introduced a trio led by Man's Martin Ace, backed by a drummer who'd played with Zappa and a third musician whose name I can't remember but seemed to be playing bass while Martin played lead?
Cheese has a lot to answer for.
WELCOME TO HALF MOON COUNTRY
Any excuse to make a return visit to the Bricklayers pub in Putney but I may drag a couple of mates onto the Half Moon for an afternoon of songs about cheating wives, lost dogs and courier companies that don't turn up as promised; or at least we might have a pint or two in the beer garden.
WHERE HAVE THEY BEEN ALL MY LIFE?
I only discovered the band Space Debris very recently, but they've been going for ages and play the kind of krautrock that works for me, as I know I've already mentioned in my blog.
Anyway, I'm rather chuffed that they've now agreed to let me include a 20+ minute track on the next FdM members club double CD 'The Shape Of Things To Come'.
NAXATRAS V
Far be it for me to recommend an album that's not released by Fruits de Mer, but Naxatras from Greece release consistently excellent modern progressive rock albums and 'V' is no exception.
CRYSTAL JACQUELINE ACOUSTIC BAND
..and while I'm here, check out the Crystal Jacqueline Acoustic Band live at St James', Bondleigh...a lovely double set of CD and DVD for your listening and watching pleasure. Available direct from Jacqui at crystaljacqueline@outlook.com - Jacqui kindly sent me a copy and it arrived just after I'd given the set a plug on the FdM 'BANDS' page.
IS THERE SUCH A THING AS A RELIABLE COURIER COMPANY?
I ask because this week Yodel are doing a fine job of not delivering parcels sent from Scotland to Surrey, last week Evri took forever to deliver parcels sent from Bristol and I've given up on the Royal Mail sending international parcels to Europe.
The one exception at the moment - and I hestitate to say this as I'll no doubt put a curse on them - but UPS seem to have the knack of getting parcels through Dutch Customs.
(Latest Yodel trick has been to give me a 12 hour delivery slot - and then not turn up)
A CHOICE BEER
All credit to Hobsons Brewery on their draft mild, to the Bricklayers pub in Putney for looking after it so well, and for serving it in a proper pint mug; as enjoyed by Dave from The Chemistry Set and myself on a sunny Sunday afternoon (once I'd broken the news to him about The Chemistry Set double CD being delayed).
IMAGINE MY SURPRISE
I took Liz to see 'Tina - The Musical' in the West End and I have to admit I was expecting to see a very expensive tribute act...so imagine my surpise when it turned out to be a decent re-telling of her life story, ending with a short 'show'; but the real surprise was Karis Anderson, who played Tina - she was very, very impressive (I read that she previously played PP Arnold in a Small Faces musical - wish I'd seen that)
TALKING OF THE SMALL FACES
Two new Japanese vinyl releases, which I thought were 'fresh' but turn out to be reissues, although I'd not seen them before; avalable via Juno, they are, of course, horribly expensive - but at least they're a little bit different to run-of-the-mill SF reissues.
AMT IN A BREWERY
Acid Mothers Temple next Bank Holiday Monday - in a brewery in Bristol - with two pisshead mates...what could possibly go wrong?
Update: a good time was had by all, although I have to admit AMT are just a bit too loud for me these days, and their set felt a bit too close to set they played in Brighton last time I saw them.
BAD DAY OUT OF THE OFFICE
With Villa on a bit of a 'downturn', I turned to a day at Sandown races to turn things round...how could a 50-1 shot called Klarc Kent fail in the big race? Well, it didn't help that he didn't finish.
BRIDPORT MUSIC CENTRE
at least I think that's what it was called - didn't seem to be a name on the front, but worth a look in if you're passing, plenty of second hand LPs; (I was hoping to report back on Chunes in Weymouth too, but the shop was closed without any explanation)
THE ROCKY ROAD TO DUBLIN 2
I survived...Jamieson Distillery, Guinness Brewery, a series of traditional Irish pubs, the world's biggest Weatherspoons and a couple of record shops that didn't part me from by bank account.
Visiting Dublin with two pissheads was always going to be a high risk strategy, but when we bump into a mate of Kev's who claims to have drunk 15 pints before we met him at 5pm I knew for sure I was way out of my league.
NAMLOOK
I'm trying to draw the line at buying straight reissues but this CD box-set of some of Pete Namlook's finest moments was too good to refuse.
HE MAY BE ROYAL BUT...
Prince William is clearly a serious Villa supporter and it's good to see a touch of real life in the Royal Family
A CLASSIC BUT...
'The Making Of Five Leaves Left' 4LP box-set - out soon, and certainly interesting, but a whopping £96.
I thought I'd wait and see if a more reasonable CD version emerged - it sort of did, if you count £90 for a 5CD set as reasonable; I can't help but think it's all getting a bit out-of-hand.
THE ROCKY ROAD TO DUBLIN
I'm going into training for a couple of days in Dublin mid-month with my Dr. Sardonicus oppos, Kev and Steve - celebrating Kev's retirement (although his employers won't notice the difference).
Guinness and Jamesons visits already booked, it all seemed a good idea at the time...whether it will do after the event is another matter - I'm just hoping they'll drink each other under the table, while I watch.
CRYSTAL TEARDROP
Debut LP out from a very interesting new UK psychedelic band (so interesting I tried to interest them in FdM!) on Rise Above Records.
Definitely one to check out, although I was a bit put off by the cost direct from the label - £30 inc over £7 P&P - must be tracked and traced, I guess - so I'll wait until it appears on Amazon/Norman/Juno.
LET'S START A NEW MONTH WITH BRIGHTON
My favourite town for a night or two away from home, but this trip was with Liz rather than the kids so it meant less IPAs, DIPAs, bands I've never heard of and more food and wine (although we DID stumble across two tap rooms)
GOODBYE MARCH
As months go, this one doesn't rank in the top 800 I've lived through, so I'll be glad to see the back of it. Roll on April...
GREEN DOOR STORE
Three bands for three quid in a new venue for me in Brighton; the place was packed, everybody was really up for it - and who can blame them for three quid. Nagasaki Dog + Slut + The Wrong Trousers, if you're interested.
Definitely a place to revisit.
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE - DAVID BAILEY?
Bit of an arty photo from me one my new phone - three quarters of The Wrong Trousers setting up before their gig at The Green Door Store (the lead singer was missing)
THE FIRST £18 PINT
...or at least, MY first £18 pint - Verdant Brewery Unconventional Tactics - an 8% DIPA on tap in our local craft bar; crazy price, of course, but it was rather good (and I AM in training for a day's drinking this weekend with one of my kids in Brighton)
FROM ONE EXTREME TO ANOTHER
Apparently my (very expensive) birthday present this year is to take Liz to see two of her heroes - Neil Young and Cat Stevens - at Hyde Park in July, supported by Mr Cheerful himself.
The acts are 79,76 and 79 years old respectively,so I wonder what the odds are that one of them (or one of us) pegs out before the gig?
On the other hand, I'm off to Brighton next weekend with one of my kids to see three bands I've never heard of at the Green Door, all for 3 quid.
I wonder which event I'll enjoy most?
TOUGH DECISIONS
A couple of spare days and I decided to bite the bullet on a couple of things:
- thinning down the stock of years-old FdM promo CDs I've accumulated - to make space for new ones - they'll go to good homes
- doing the same with some of the DVD box-sets that are gathering dust; if they don't pass one of two tests -will I ever play them again or will the kids want them when I peg out - they're going to a mate who's young enough not to have to ask himself the same questions for a good few years yet.
I-PHONE HELL
Oh the joys of getting a new phone...losing/forgetting passwords, getting kicked out of hotmail and having to find my way back in, trying to avoid Siri, CoPilot and other 'essentials'.
Add to that, Microsoft has announced it's ceasing to support Publisher in a year or so, which means I'll have to find another idiot-friendly design tool for putting together ads, covers, etc (please don't suggest Adobe - I'm too old a dog to learn that many new tricks)
FIDO PRINT
I've found a t-shirt printer who will produce colour t-shirts alot cheaper than I'm sued to - not quite the £5 FdM shirt, but not far off if you order 50+ - and they will do as few as one shirt! Direct-to-garment printing, not screenprinting, so worth getting a sample printed before committing to a long run, but well worth checking out - www.fidoprint.com
WOKING CLASS?
First record fair I've come across in Woking is on Feb 23rd - actually in Ripley, which is even nearer to FdM Towers, so no excuse not to check it out.
Update - an excuse WAS found - our heating system packed up and I was on duty waiting for the repair company to turn up and fix it - which they very impressively did, turning up on Sunday afternoon..
HOPE & RUIN
A first visit of the year to Brighton's Hope & Ruin for a three-band evening (all for 7 quid, what's not to like!). The first band on - The Dead Red Lips - deserved a bigger audience than they got and whoever said Dunes were a mix of SF Sorrow-period Pretty Things and Captain Beefheart must have seen/heard a different band to me.
Still, all good fun (with the exception of the post-gig kebab)
SPACE DEBRIS
A band that had completely escaped my attention until a couple of weeks ago, Space Debris tick all the right instrumentals/krautrock/keyboard boxes for me - worth checking out if you're late to the party too.
UTV
What a brilliant banner, unfurled before Villa's Champions League game against Celtic, The club has made a couple of crass commercial decisions this season, pissing off some die-hard fans, but somebody in the marketing dept got this spot-on!
Sabbath's farewell performance, at the Villa ground, is another winner - although I'm not sure I can handle 10 hours of take-no-prisoners heavy metal.
ALL'S FAIR
First fair of the year this weekend in Guildford; to be honest, it's pretty small, the ones at G2 are on a different scale - but worth a quick look, before visiting Ben's Collectors Records of course.
AND ALL BECAUSE THE LADY LOVES THE DOORS
A slight exaggeration, Liz thinks they were OK - OK enough to allow me to drag her along to see The Doors Alive at the Half Moon next month as a Valentine's Day gift!
EVERYBODY WAS FUNG-FU BITING
Just watched ‘The Legend Of The 7 Golden Vampires’ - possibly the only Hammer horror shot in Hong Kong…Dracula meets Bruce Lee, anyone?
Despite a spirited Peter Cushing, it was pretty much unwatchable, including a duff Count Dracula; best moment for me was to see that Dracula’s coffin had a ‘D’ on it - presumably to avoid confusion for any other passing, part-time coffin dwellers.
A BIT OF AN ALAN PARTRIDGE MOMENT
...but I couldn't resist buying this psychedelic Beatles compilation on the ever-dubious Verne label - good fun though!
RELIC OF SPAIN
Picked up on holiday - pretty much a pristine copy of the first Floyd album I ever bought, and still quite possibly my favourite
HOUSE OF FOUR
A very nice Christmas surprise from my old mate Craig - a four-track 10" of Pretty Things covers
QUADROPHENIA
A pretty dull Christmas for TV is suddenly looking a lot brighter as I sit down to watch a re-run of one of the best rock films ever made...I've already seen Timothy Spall and Gary Holton making early acting appearances!
HO, HO, HO...
Stolen from X, Twitter or Bluesky...
NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL A BOX-SET
The Beatles' finest, in my book...and a fine, inevitably overblown, vinyl box-set; £165 from Amazon UK but less than half that from Amazon Germany and postage about the same as in the UK.
NOW that's what I call my Christmas present to myself.
RED ALERT
Codex Seraphini at the Hope & Ruin - a great set, very intense; we nearly got them to play at Dr. Sardonicus Festival a few years ago - maybe one day...
MERLIN TONTO
A new band for me, and they played down the pecking order at the Hope & Ruin's 'Cupboard House Party' all-dayer in Brighton, but I'd rate them as definitely worth checking out - krautrock meets electronica?
C'MON, FEEL T'NOIZE
Somewhere, in a galaxy far, far away...Noddy comes from Yorkshire and doesn't plug his guitar in; hang on, it was Lewes and Slade UK...
IT'S CHRISTMAS!!!
Maybe not yet, but this should be a good crack on Friday the 13th, and a nice warm up for...
IT'S CODEX SERAPHINI!!!
on...Saturday the 14th, the Hope & Ruin in Brighton are running the Cupboard Music House Party, an all-dayer with loads of bands I've never heard of - but Codex Seraphini are headlining, so it's bound to be good (that said, with my lad Chris and Kev & Steve from the FdM stall in Cardigan in-tow, things could get pretty blurry)
Here are some of our earlier ramblings....
PREVIOUS BLOGGINGS
MPRE PREVIOUS BLOGGINGS
...and some even earlier ones...
EVEN MORE PREVIOUS BLOGGINGS
All copyrights reserved 2023
www.fruitsdemerrecords.com
...hear the tracks.. ..buy the vinyl.. ..smell the fish...
www.fruitsdemerrecords.com
...hear the tracks.. ..buy the vinyl.. ..smell the fish...