Indietracks Festival / all things C86 and indiepop!

[Staly]

The C86 reissue is reviewed on Pitchfork today - gets a 9.2:

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/19423-c86/

"The Buzzcocks don’t get mentioned often as an influence on the C86 school". Really?

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Tweet him - [MENTION=7807]john[/MENTION]mcnicholas. Then we'll get the story - if it's a yes, he can fill us in on his time in the old hometown. Copy me in on the tweet [MENTION=12196]tinycowboy[/MENTION]1970.

http://www.discogs.com/Honeyrider-All-Systems-Go/release/411763

"Recorded at Cabin Studios, Coventry"

http://damagedgoods.co.uk/bands/honeyrider

"Despite living 4500 miles away they decided to come over to the UK to work with producer Paul Sampson, who masterminded all the Primitives stuff way back in the late 80’s." Bizarre.

Gary Strickland is the main man [MENTION=12196]tinycowboy[/MENTION] Not sure if he does twitter -will do a bit of digging tonight. There is definitely a facebook/honeyriderofficial page though, but FB is blocked at work.

Cheers [MENTION=2040]Staly[/MENTION] - I've just been looking at the physical CDs on my desk, and I saw where they were recorded (both albums) - at Cabin studios, Coventry.

 

[tinycowboy]

http://damagedgoods.co.uk/bands/honeyrider

"Despite living 4500 miles away they decided to come over to the UK to work with producer Paul Sampson, who masterminded all the Primitives stuff way back in the late 80’s." Bizarre.

http://damagedgoods.co.uk/bands/honeyrider

"Despite living 4500 miles away they decided to come over to the UK to work with producer Paul Sampson, who masterminded all the Primitives stuff way back in the late 80’s." Bizarre.

I can't condemn a band for putting their art before the pursuit of monetary gain. I like what I hear, although it's maybe best in small doses. Maybe [MENTION=3566]hans kraay fan club[/MENTION] will do me a copy, once I give him the CD I said I'd do for him several months ago....

 

[tinycowboy]

Gary Strickland is the main man

Discogs.com is confusing me. I see he's described as "elusive". Come on HKFC: this could be your Sugarman moment......!

 

[Staly]

I can't condemn a band for putting their art before the pursuit of monetary gain. I like what I hear, although it's maybe best in small doses. Maybe [MENTION=3566]hans kraay fan club[/MENTION] will do me a copy, once I give him the CD I said I'd do for him several months ago....

It just seems like a strange imperative. "I will travel several thousand miles to possibly the crappest town in the UK to work with somebody who (over)produced the underwhelming first Primitives album."

Edit: Or alternatively, "I will travel several thousand miles from San Diego to the crappest and most inland town in the UK to make a surf album."

 

[tinycowboy]

It just seems like a strange imperative. "I will travel several thousand miles to possibly the crappest town in the UK to work with somebody who (over)produced the underwhelming first Primitives album."

I stayed in Coventry for a week once in the late 90s in the Leofric Hotel. It seemed that the city had once been a rather attractive place. Wasn't that great though, although the photocopier at Tarmac (where I was conducting an audit) was the fastest I've ever experienced - 100 pages of A4 done in about 12 seconds, albeit in a somewhat slipshod fashion, with edges of pages missing in various places. Any other indie fans out there with photocopying stories?

 

[hans kraay fan club]

I can't condemn a band for putting their art before the pursuit of monetary gain. I like what I hear, although it's maybe best in small doses. Maybe [MENTION=3566]hans kraay fan club[/MENTION] will do me a copy, once I give him the CD I said I'd do for him several months ago....

The two albums are burning onto a CD right NOW. I'll try to get it in tonight's post - if the girl who guards the STAMPS leaves her desk unattended...

Discogs.com is confusing me. I see he's described as "elusive". Come on HKFC: this could be your Sugarman moment......!

Mission ACCEPTED

It just seems like a strange imperative. "I will travel several thousand miles to possibly the crappest town in the UK to work with somebody who (over)produced the underwhelming first Primitives album."
Edit: Or alternatively, "I will travel several thousand miles from San Diego to the crappest and most inland town in the UK to make a surf album."

Now you put it like that, it does seem a trifle odd.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

I stayed in Coventry for a week once in the late 90s in the Leofric Hotel. It seemed that the city had once been a rather attractive place. Wasn't that great though, although the photocopier at Tarmac (where I was conducting an audit) was the fastest I've ever experienced - 100 pages of A4 done in about 12 seconds, albeit in a somewhat slipshod fashion, with edges of pages missing in various places. Any other indie fans out there with photocopying stories?

I also had the misfortune to spend the occasional week at the Leofric, around the very same era. It is (was?) above a concrete office block / shopping centre / car park? Not great.

No photocopying anecdotes for me though, sadly. I was there for various mind-numbingly tedious swimming championships, at the Coventry pool.

 

[Flex Your Head]

My Honeyrider CDs arrived at the weekend and I noticed the UK recording details whilst giving them a blast and looking through the inserts. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the band are a 'spoof' or whatever and have always been based over here. I thought this even more so when playing The Poohsticks "Who Loves You" and contemplating their early Fierce records days and antics. I had been drinking rather a lot of red wine though.

On a dull conference call, so apologies for any lapses of concentration.

 

[tinycowboy]

My Honeyrider CDs arrived at the weekend and I noticed the UK recording details whilst giving them a blast and looking through the inserts. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the band are a 'spoof' or whatever and have always been based over here. I thought this even more so when playing The Poohsticks "Who Loves You" and contemplating their early Fierce records days and antics. I had been drinking rather a lot of red wine though.

On a dull conference call, so apologies for any lapses of concentration.

Well, COULD be a spoof? Silversun sounded sunny, shiny (hence the name?) and American, but they certainly weren't....

 

[Flex Your Head]

The world's bestest festival just got even better. The Chills, Dorotea, The Flatmates, Proper Ornaments, *ahem* Come Again DJs Very bloody excited by this year's line-up.

http://www.indietracks.co.uk/the-chills-and-the-proper-ornaments-join-indietracks-2014/

Surely this can tempt a few of you along?

 

[CorgiRegisteredFriend]

Five days left if you want to pledge some money. The C86 reissue is reviewed on Pitchfork today - gets a 9.2:

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/19423-c86/

That's a pretty positive review but indeed what are the Happy Mondays doing there? Had to go to Amazon to get a full track listing and at £20 its a reasonable price. Anyone go to the lauch event or is that still to come? I know it was this month.

 

[Flex Your Head]

Right. They're from San Diego, these fellas. Their songs are all about California, and surfing, and sunshine and stuff. Yet listening to this in the car today, a few more of the lyrics caught my ear. Can you chaps have a listen, around 50 seconds, and tell me what you think the missing word is;

Well, summer in the UK's great
But I miss summer USA
xxxxxxxxx's loads of fun
But you can't always get the sun



Does he say what I think he does!?

Having finally had a chance to listen, I would stake my Topical Times football annual signed by Peter Grummit on it.

 

[tinycowboy]

That's a pretty positive review but indeed what are the Happy Mondays doing there? Had to go to Amazon to get a full track listing and at £20 its a reasonable price. Anyone go to the lauch event or is that still to come? I know it was this month.

Saturday: Wedding Present, Membranes, Yeah Yeah Noh. My contribution to the book doesn't get me in, unfortunately.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

I had some Travoltas on today, and (as well as ploughing a fairly similar path to Honeyrider (they have an album called 'Endless Summer')) they really have that summer sound down to a tee. Well, to my old ears anyway.

They're Dutch but would so obviously love to be from California.

My Honeyrider CDs arrived at the weekend and I noticed the UK recording details whilst giving them a blast and looking through the inserts. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the band are a 'spoof' or whatever and have always been based over here. I thought this even more so when playing The Poohsticks "Who Loves You" and contemplating their early Fierce records days and antics. I had been drinking rather a lot of red wine though.

On a dull conference call, so apologies for any lapses of concentration.

Well, COULD be a spoof? Silversun sounded sunny, shiny (hence the name?) and American, but they certainly weren't....

Having finally had a chance to listen, I would stake my Topical Times football annual signed by Peter Grummit on it.

Glad you agree. I'm now CERTAIN he does sing "Brighton's loads of fun".

Anyhow, I've started my detective work as instructed, and Gary Strickland has a Facebook page (/honeyriderofficial). It doesn't look like it's very active, but he did post something in March, to reply to a fan question. So, I've asked him what the line is. Once he replies to that, in the affirmative we can ask him for the story!

This is the bio on there:

Honeyrider — the name an appropriation of Ursula Andress' bikini-clad beachcombing character from the 1962 James Bond motion picture Dr No — is essentially the power pop alias of multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and songwriter Gary Strickland. In 1996, Strickland recorded a one-off single under the name for a Candy Floss single, "Drugstore Shoot-Out," which featured a guest appearance by Lisah from San Diego-based indie/emo rockers Red Dye #5 on vocals. Strickland continued to use the name, recording several Honeyrider singles for the legendary Damaged Goods label. Some of these were collected, along with new material, and released as All Systems Go!, the group's first full-length, in 1998. That same year, Strickland left the San Diego area for a job at a record distribution company in Germany. He took time off to record songs in England and ended up staying there, moving to the northern part of the country. Strickland eventually returned to the U.S. (returning to England periodically to record new songs) and began splitting his time between California and the Tampa Bay area.

One more aside [MENTION=19864]Flex Your Head[/MENTION]. One of the last music links Gary posted, was the Travoltas, so your comparison above was perceptive!

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Boom. That was quick...

Honeyrider: Hi Simon, next line is "Brighton's loads of fun, but California's got the sun." This is not grammatically proper, but it works. Another part of the song that might be hard to make out is the word 'Windansea' which is a beach close to where I lived at the time. "Down in Baja or at Windansea." Thanks for listening!

Your Topical Times football annual is SAFE Murray

 

[tinycowboy]

Good work HKFC. Am very intrigued by Miracle Legion. Anyone know them well? How come I'd never heard them/of them before? Have an album downloaded now to listen to tomorrow...

 

[Staly]

Me And Mr Ray's the album to hear.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Boooo. I asked Gary Strickland about Brighton...

Honeyrider: I've been to several seaside towns in England; however, Brighton is not one of them. Around that time there was a roving indie night called "Brighton Beach." They sort of merged indie, britpop, and mod. I attended once which I think was in Leicester. Brighton is such an iconic place, so I used it in the song. The word alone brings so much imagery.

What a LET DOWN.

 

[tinycowboy]

Boooo. I asked Gary Strickland about Brighton...

What a LET DOWN.

Indie challenge number two: I will ask Dave Pajo about the songs "Arundel" and "I am not alone with cricket" from the first Papa M album. Specifically, was the first one written after a visit to the picturesque West Sussex hilltop town (the song certainly has a majestic vibe redolent of that imposing view), and, if so, is his song about cricket related to this visit? I enjoy US indie types alluding to the game of cricket in songs - notably Pavement's Carrot Rope "the wicketkeeper's down", accompanied in the video by the mime of a straightish on drive by Stephen Malkmus.