RIP Raven (Killing Joke)

When I first started listening to guitar based music back at the tender age of 14 one band I discovered on my own was Killing Joke due to the single 'Love Like Blood'. This band's music is incredible and should be appreciated by all fans of alternative music. I don't know how exactly to classify their music. Some would say they were one of the first industrial bands yet others might consider them a punk or goth band. However classification isn't important although I do remember their records being shoved into alternative bins in local record shops. During the nineties they became known as the band that filed a lawsuit against Nirvana due to riffs from 'Come As You Are' resembling Killing Joke's song 'Eighties'. However the suit was dropped when Cobain shot himself. Killing Joke said something like the problem has gone after the suicide of Kurt Cobain. It seemed odd, given the past incident, that later Dave Grohl drummed on the band's excellent second self-titled album.

The death of Paul Raven comes as something of a shock as Killing Joke always seemed to one of those bands who would never die.

I found this report on the Punknews site.

Paul Raven, bassist behind influential post-punk/industrial outfit Killing Joke has died of an apparent heart attack.

Paul Raven began his career in The Neon Hearts, a 1977 punk band.

He was in Killing Joke, but this announcement is wrong that he was with them until 1991 -- he was with them on their 2003 2nd s/t LP and on Killing Joke's 2006 LP, Hosannas from the Basements of Hell. Paul Raven was also on Killing Joke's XXV Gathering DVD from 2005 showing a reunion appearance.

People are usually eager to say Killing Joke are some old band that broke up a long time ago; but they have put out two LPs in the last 4 years and Raven was on both those, two.

In other words, Paul raven's been involved with punk from at least 1977 til now.

The 46 year-old was the second bassist in Killing Joke and remained with the band until their first break up in 1991. After that, he performed with both Prong and Godflesh and later collaborated with Ministry for their 2006 full length, Rio Grande Blood.

Killing Joke keyboardist Rez Udhin told one media outlet:

Paul was a very amazing man who I loved and trusted very much. He always had great ideas, ventures and always looked out for me as if I were a little brother to him.

"I was very fortunate to be in contact with him several times in his last week and I had great conversations with him, we laughed and joked, which was an integral part of his personality. "Paul will be greatly missed by music fans, friends and mostly his family; his bands will miss him terribly. He was a great man and a unique bass player who has died at such a tragically early age.

Ministry's Al Jourgenson also commented:

I am in total shock. The world of music is a sadder, emptier place. Not only was Raven an extraordinary talent, but one of my closest dearest friends. Our condolences and prayers go to his immediate family. He will be truly missed by artists, musicians and his fans the world over.

Our condolences to his friends and family.


Here is an '82 video of the Killing Joke song Wardance with Raven on bass.

Kristen Hersh - Wellington October 15.2007

As I said in a previous post I was looking forward to seeing Kristen Hersh even though I'm unfamiliar with her solo material and have only heard two Throwing Muses albums (Limbo and University) The duo before she played were a folky guitar/cello vocals combo called Black Bells who kept saying they were missing a member because she was getting her nails done. They weren't really my thing but I could imagine a lot of people's parents enjoying them.



Above Black Bells pic by me.

I recorded some of the show. Here is Kristen Hersh performing the Throwing Muses song Freeloader.



A review of this show by Simon Sweetman appeared in the Dominion today and didn't even mention the support act. I'm going to copy the whole thing due to my lack of familiarity of Kristen Hersh's solo material.

Kristen Hersh has been making music since she was a pre-teen. She formed the Throwing Muses with her stepsister Tanya Donnelly. The Muses fit into - and influenced - the lineage of female alt-rockers in the mid-1990s: the likes of The Breeders, Belly, Liz Phair and Donelly's solo career all either come from or owe a debt of influence.

Since 1994, Hersh has released solo albums, reunited the Muses for a 2003 album and has released one album and one six-track EP as the leader of the heavier trio than the Muses, 50 Foot Wave. That band project had the bad luck to release its material around the time of the Boxing Day tsunami, so it was back to solo material for Hersh who released Learn to Sing Like A Star

Hersh's stark solo arrangements - simple chiming guitar patterns allowing her voice to lure the listener in with its haunted lullaby whisper, only to move into a grazed scream allow the singer/songwriter to present her work in an emotionally honest, uncluttered and adorned way.

The magic is in the confessional lyrics the supple melodies and that voice. She kicks off with Your Dirty Answer from 2001's Sunny Border Blue, pulling out a range of material that included Freeloader from the 1996 Muses album Limbo, Gazebo Tree from 1998's Strange Angels and Sno Cat from 2003's The Grotto.

To look at Hersh on stage, a tiny woman pedal-pushing her acoustic guitar into distorted overdrive, rocking out on post-modern folk songs, you can see the music actually bubbling up from within. She doesn't just sing. If that were the case it would be impossible to marry the sound of her voice to the image of her on stage.

At times the guttural grunting and bruised rasping seemed to boil up and out of the throat like the 12-year old in The Exorcist.

Here Hersh pushes her own demons in to place exorcising them through naked songs. Her solo debut album Hips and Makers was represented by Your Ghost and Me and My Charms while her 1998 selection of Appalachian folk covers Murder, Misery and Then Goodnight got the nod with I will Never Will Mary and there was also material from Sky Motel and this year's Learn to Sing Like A Star.

But all in attendance will keep fingers crossed that Hersh stays singing like herself. As this gig showed, for this type of sound and material, there's no one better.

Fur Patrol and The have at Happy Bar in Wellington Oct 2007

I was told by a few people the show of the night was around the corner from this bar where The Mint Chicks were playing. However I'd never heard them and the admission price was off-putting. I have since heard them but there were better bands around doing the same thing in the seventies and eighties. Fur Patrol have been on my list of bands to see for quite some time.

Anyway I went to see Wanganui band, The Have due to enjoying a friend's CD as bourbon drinking music at his birthday party. The band play pretty much bluesy rock which is more enjoyable if you've had a lot to drink. They were OK but they were a support band and that's fine. Apart from the keyboard and bass player who rarely smiled or moved much, it appeared the band had a good time.



Above: The Have

Fur Patrol were the band I really wanted to see as I've had their album Pet almost since it was first released in 2000 but haven't really followed their newer material due to living in Asia. It was the first time I'd ever seen this band and I came out feeling like they were the best band I've ever seen which hasn't happened in a while.
In luck, a lot of bands I've seen in recent times they don't rely on playing really fast or loud, jumping around lots and are gimmick-free. Singer/guitar player, Julia Deans does look a little like Shirley Manson due to her red hair, blue jeans and high boots however Fur patrol sound like a cross between The Pretenders and the Throwing Muses. Both comparisons can be made due to Julia Deans' voice sounding similar to Chrissie Hinds(Pretenders) and Kirsten Hersh ex-Throwing Muses (who I'll be seeing live soon. The band played their hit song Lydia which is probably their best known but not their best. Rather than describe how they sounded I'll post a couple of live videos I made of the band's show though I think the bottom song sounds a lot like The Throwing Muses which is great by me.

Fur Patrol - Hidden Agenda



Fur patrol - ????? ( a new song)



Edit: I found this live concert on New Zealand's national radio. It's about 21 mins long and what I think are the better songs start at 7:35.

Thee Michelle Gun Elephant

For some reason, I'd never heard of these Japanese guys before I moved to Taiwan in 2000. I discovered this band via an American punk internet messageboard. Wikipedia states they're a famous and influential band yet in New Zealand, they're unknowns compared to The Boredoms, The 5-6-7-8's (who suck live), Guitar Wolf or Shonen Knife. I'd rather see these guys live than any of the previously mentioned Japanese bands. I only own an Asian singles compilation CD and a live and video DVD (which I picked up in Taiwan for 50 NT (appr0x $2.50 NZ). The band's name comes from combining a mispronunciation of a Damned and Headcoats album. Thee Michelle Gun Elephant released nine albums from 1996 - 2003. The band were influenced by The Stooges, Iggy, Clash, The Damned and The Addicts. This band were huge in Japan. Witness the size of the crowd in the youtube clip. The main feature of this band are their loud guitar sound and gruff yet melodic vocals. The 'Smokin' Billy' song below is a good example and if you like this and see one of their albums up for sale snap it up straight away.



The lyrical combination of English and Japanese is common in a number of TMGE's songs.

Wellington Phoenix vs Perth Glory at Westpac Stadium Sep 30 2007

Got home a couple of hours ago from watching the Wellington Phoenix soccer team win their first home game ever against the Perth glory team. The Wellington Phoenix beat Perth Glory 4-1. Half time score Wellinton 2 Perth Glory 1.

Perth Glory had a player red carded and the Phoenix made the most of playing a ten man side. The Phoenix looked a lot more classy in the second half both up front and in defense.

The Glory are have not had a win yet six games into the season.

Wellington's win lifts them into fourth place on goal difference.

Westpac Stadium crowd attendance: 10,000 approx


The first home win may lift numbers of future attendances.

Chthonic

While I was living in Taiwan I caught black metal band Chthonic a couple of times. The band recently played the Ozzfest in the states and the lead singer Freddy Lin addressed the UN Below is his speech taken from Metalunderground:

This is the speech made by Freddy, Chthonic's vocalist in New York City and Washington, DC on the 12th and 13th September's press conferences.

Freddy Lim, Vocalist of ChthoniC
2007/09/12

"As a musician, I am here to make noise for my fans. As a Taiwanese citizen, I am here to make noise for my countrymen. I have sung across America for more than 2 months for my fans, and now I will take the opportunity here to speak for my fellow Taiwanese.

Taiwan's sparkling talents range from sculptor Ming Chu, to the internationally-acclaimed director Ang Lee, to the internationally renowned Cloud Gate dance troup, to the Sahara-crossing ultra-marathon runner Kevin Lin, to Major League Baseball players such as New York Yankees star Chien-ming Wang. Taiwan's creative gifts and energy can not be contained within borders or forced to abide by the restrictions of political deal-making. The 23 million people of Taiwan are living diligently and sensibly, with the wish to freely thrive in this world as equal partners on our shared planet. Like the people mentioned above, we are not politicians, and all we can do is to fight our best in our own career, to use the cultural power to fight against Chinese strong military threats, and -- through the artistic language -- to spread ideals that our countrymen believe about how the international society puts limitations on Taiwan.

During our two-month American tour, most fans and media have supported the message that we carry during this tour. At our concerts, the fans show their anger toward those politicians in United Nations by shouting and even cursing; back home, these fans even put their efforts of supporting Taiwan into their daily life, like a report I've just received from a fan who wrote about Taiwan for her Social Justice Action class project to spread the message to her classmates and friends. For these young people, it's very logical and natural to support Taiwan to join the international society and for Taiwanese to share the same international rights that they have, but the politicians in United Nations seem to think it's more logical and natural to sacrifice Taiwan in their political games."




Pic taken from Michael Turton's blog A View From Taiwan

Black Market, Rocket Jocks and The Offbeats at Valve September 21st

This one was a good one. Just the right number of bands for an old fart like me. Two bands I hadn't seen before and one I'd seen a number of times. The Offbeats were the first band up and they played ska and got a crowd dancing. I don't know much about Ska outside of Madness, The Specials and Operation Ivy so I can't compare to them to anybody as they didn't sound like any of these bands. In fact, I've forgotten what they did sound like because I walked out halfway through their set in order to buy batteries.

Came back and caught the rocket jocks - who I've seen a few times now and they always put on a good show with their Ramones inspired pop-punk. I finally got a half-decent recording of them playing "Invasion of The Giant Ants" which is a personal favourite.
See video below.



Next up and headlining this show were The Black Market. The band obviously, from their name, are very influenced by The Clash and maybe Rancid(who I've always consider a Clash knock-off band rather than a band with any true talent).

The Black Market started with their song Walls which is my fave from their Myspace site Walls is below.



Then they got thrashier with Toowomba riot



My complaint would be they compared VB to Lion Red saying they both tasted like piss. VB is great beer and used to be cheap to buy. Why is it so expensive these days? Lion red is not great beer but used to be cheap to buy. (I haven't drank Lion Red for years and maybe, just maybe, it is now a great beer. I doubt it, though).

I've added a couple of links. I haven't got it totally sorted as kiwiblog is a political blog and lastdaysofmanonearth is a new wave/punk mp3 blog and both are listed as music blogs(I'm no techie). I recommend checking both blogs out.

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