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Reggae - A daily blog

Reggae - October 2006

Skorcher band preview: The Booby Traps

October 31st 2006 07:43
Leading up to the Skorcher, a ska, reggae, mod and skinhead weekender, I am going to preview some of the bands playing at the event. The Skorcher is to be held in Sydney from December 1st - 3rd. Full details can be found at: http://www.dizzybeatnetwork.com/skorcher


The Booby Traps
Myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/theboobytraps

The Booby Traps are a female fronted sixties garage punk rock explosion who have graced many Sydney stages, building their own legion of fans and supporting other big name acts including The Hoodoo Gurus, The Stems, The Johnnys, The Detroit Cobras, Billy Childish & The Buff Medways, The Persian Rugs, 5,6,7,8s and The Strange Tenants. Those who have been to previous Skorch events will know what an intense set of rock and roll the boobs play and were widely regarded as the hit of the 2005 Sydney Mods Mayday.

They recently released their full length album on Off the Hip Records to add to their debut four track EP.

Members include:

Carrie - Lead Vocals, percussion
Brigitte - Rhythm guitar, back- ups
Brett- Lead guitar, fuzz
Kendall - Bass Guitar
Alex- Drums
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Dynamite Review

October 30th 2006 04:07
Went to Dynamite @ the Brighton Up Bar on Oxford St on Saturday night and there were generally mixed feelings from my friends and myself about the quality of the night.

The first thing I have to say is the night was advertised as playing a mix of music rather than previous night who focused on reggae. This was a bit disappointing in itself, but we also got there to find a lot of the music was pretty ordinary funk. The odd reggae track was played, but not enough for my personal tastes.

Whether this decision was made to increase the crowd - there were a lot of people, or whether this was a once off decision I don't know. It seemed to me a lot of the crowd were just walk-ins from Surry Hills out for pre-Halloween and that the broader music choice wouldn't have mattered.


We had a bit of a problem with the crowd when a couple of guys inappropriately grabbed a female friend, resulting in a bit of a scuffle between us and them. They were told to piss off and we continued on, but it put a dampener on the night. I will say that the organizers were apologetic (though it wasn't their fault) and are actually really good guys.

I can only compare it to past nights though and the night just wasn't as good as past events. I can understand wanting to maximise numbers, but there isn't a broad reggae night in this town and Dynamite had filled that void. It annoys me that they felt they needed to move away from that towards a mix you can find in pubs across the city and I hope they return to the reggae quickly, which I am told will happen.
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Pama International Tour Dates

October 27th 2006 11:03
Pama International are one of my favourite bands right now. Below are some upcoming dates, taken from the Trojan Records website, to whom Pama are signed. London unfortunately, but who knows what could happen.

October:
15 London Dingwalls (POSTPONED UNTIL NOV 26TH - ALL ORIGINAL TICKETS VALID)
with Rico Rodriguez, DJ Andy Smith with MC Brother Culture
plus support from Rough Edge Quartet and more tba
Tickets on sale now from ticketweb

19 Southampton Nexus
plus support from Orange Street, Zero Consent and O1Now1
Tickets from seetickets, Bar Coda 02380238024, Brick Shirt House (Bargate Centre ) and Southampton Guildhall.

20 Bristol Clockwork
(brand new venue opening next to Blue Mountain, Stokes Croft)
plus support from LaidBlak
Tickets on sale now from Bristol Ticket Shop 0870 4444400 or bristolticketshop

21 Nottingham Maze
plus Dub Masters, Moonbuggy and Sound System tba

22 Brighton Audio
plus Clash Hi-Fi- Augui & Flex DJs

November:
19 Newcastle, University of Northumbria - Boss Sounds Festival

Day 2 of Boss Sounds Festivals sees one of the best reggae shows ever!!! PI feel massivley honoured to be sharing the bill with three absolute legends. The line-up runs like this... Pama Intl, Lee Perry, Prince Buster and Jimmy Cliff!!! Unbelievable and unbeatable!!!

Day 1 features Dennis Bovell, Janet Kaye, LKJ and Horace Andy.
DJ for the weekend is Don Letts.
Get your tickets from seetickets.
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Dancehall Queen

October 26th 2006 09:07
I have had this DVD in my collection for quite some time, not bothering to watch it. Not necessarily because I am not interested, but rather I just haven't gotten around to it. Anyway, I started watching it today as I was sitting here on the computer. Needless to say, as it featured Jamaican patois, I couldn't follow it as I surfed the web. I can't then do a full review as yet.

I can give some background though. The well known reggae icon Don Letts is the Director and features appearences by Beenie Man, Lady Saw, Anthony B and Chevelle Franklyn. It came out in 1997 and from what I saw, it seems a step up from The Harder They Come, although the soundtrack of the Jimmy Cliff movie is more favoured by myself.

You can order it over the Internet for less than 20 bucks from Amazon and although it probably isn't the best film you'll see, it is good to have in your collection. Full review soon.
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Reggae News UK

October 25th 2006 03:16
I frequently trawl the web to see what is going on around the world as well as what is going on in Australia just through interest and a little bit of jealousy. I must have been living under a rock however because I missed the website: http://www.reggaenews.co.uk. It gets a recommendation from the BBC site, which I must say has moved away from reggae more than I would like.

In a country such as the UK, there is a lot going on reggae-wise, so it would be a big job to keep a site up to date. My main criticism of the site woukd be that it just doesn't get updated frequently enough, at least in the news/events section


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Soul Jazz release - Studio One Rude Boy

October 24th 2006 08:11
I was in a record shop today and saw a new Soul Jazz release titled Rude Boy, which is a compilation from the Studio One stable. Studio One needs little introduction, but was this just another average comp of rude boy songs?

Songs like Johnny Too Bad are on heaps of various artist CDs, but looking at the rest of the tracks and they have a bit more to offer in terms of how often they appear or more to the point, don't appear. Songs such as Bob Andy's Crime Don't Pay and John Holt doing Hooligan is another (but then I love Holt). All in all it is quite an original collection of songs, although I'm sure many collectors won't be especially impressed all in all


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A Dynamite Halloween this Saturday

October 23rd 2006 06:55
Regular club night Dynamite is going in a ghoulish direction this Saturday, and whether or not you are into celebrating such as occasion, you know the music will be top notch, so get along.

After 3 hugely successful months of Dynamite, we'll be decking the Bright ‘N Up Bar with all the creepy shit we found in a Crypt


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The Strange Tenants in Newcastle

October 21st 2006 06:50
I backed up seeing The Strange Tenants on Thursday night by heading to Newcastle to see them again. Five of us packed into a car for the longest trip to Newcastle one could imagine. Three and a half hours and we were finally there. We'd entertained ourselves well enough with a few bevvies and a band called The Levellers.

We were there early enough though, catching the awful Rubix Cuba playing to a entirely empty room. A cover of "You're the One That I Want" from Greece should say enough. Backy Skank were up next and there were a few more people in the room. Our designated driver was playing keys for Backy Skank that night and did a sterling job filling in


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Strange Tenants Review

October 20th 2006 03:03
The Strange Tenants played at the Gaelic Club in Sydney last night with The Signals and Backy Skank and what a top night it was. The crowd wasn't huge, although for a Thursday night it was decent and by the time the Tenants came on it was a good showing.

The Strange Tenants were in Sydney to celebrate their 25th Birthday and to launch a a 4 CD set of new and live material. A top CD it is, with a good historical collection to have


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The Beefeaters - Melbourne Ska

October 18th 2006 09:34
I really wish there was a young Sydney ska band doing 2-tone and trad ska. I don't care how raw, I think there is a place for such a band in Sydney. Get on it you teenagers.

There is a band like this in Melbourne town. They are called The Beefeaters and recently played with The Strange Tenants. They've also racked up a whole bunch of gigs and from all reports have a developed a decent following


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A plug: Strange Tenants this Thursday in Sydney

October 17th 2006 12:33
I am currently creating a 15 lesson unit of work for a year eleven English class, so I am not going to spend too much writing on here tonight. That said, I am going to plug a gig I am involved with. The band I am in, The Signals will be opening for Melbourne Ska greats The Strange Tenants this Thursday night, Oct 19th @ the Gaelic Club. This band has a string of great songs and I am very much looking forward to the night. We will be on at 8-20 pm, followed by Backy Skank and then the main act The Strange Tenants. If you like ska and reggae, come out mid-week, you'll have a good time. Tickets will be about 18 bucks on the door.

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Pics from The Block Party in Redfern

October 16th 2006 04:08
It wasn't the best weather yesterday, but we headed down to the Block in Redfern to see some reggae music. I was interested to see what sort of reception there was going to be, having not gone to the first one. I was pleasantly surprised with a large amount of people attending. It was a diverse crowd, people were pretty happy and for the most part the rain held off. I don't like The Resurrectors, they are a little bit slow for me, but they got a lot of people dancing. A couple of locals got up to rap with the band, which I quite enjoyed and all in we went home quite happy.We only saw The Basslines crew and The Resurrectors, missing the Firehouse Crew and others, but not to worry. Here are some photos from the day.

The Resurrectors and guests. Photo: Gen Murray
The Resurrectors and guests. Photo: Gen Murray

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Now Spanish Reggae wants you

October 14th 2006 01:22
"Other History Records" is looking for Ska Bands from all the world, with femenine voices for important Cd International Compilation. -Two Tone Rocksteady Jamaica Style-from Buenos Ayres Argentine.

if you know other bands that could be interested in the compilation please send contacts


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Bulgarian ska and reggae wants you

October 12th 2006 10:13
Had a request by Svetlio over in Bulgaria who runs Ruddybeat Records asking to put up some info in an attempt to get bands to send him some material for possible release. Here it is:

We looking for ska/rocksteady bands for our future releases


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Strange Tenants – Rude Celebration

October 11th 2006 12:22


The Strange Tenants are about to go on tour in celebration of 25 years together and have also released a four CD set to mark the occasion. When I received it I was pleasantly surprised – beforehand I was thinking 4 CDs was a bit of overkill. That thought was quickly dismissed however. It is a great gatefold package with 4 CDs packed full of quality listening. They aren’t 4 half hour CDs either – the least is 14 songs on the first, but the most hits high at 22 songs on the third CD


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Reggae Block Party

October 10th 2006 08:32
It is a pretty good time for ska/reggae in Sydney at the moment. Firehouse have frequently been at the fore and they are back with the return of quite an interesting project. For this weekend you have The Ressurectors and Firehouse DJs doing their thing at the Block in Redfern.

As the flyer says, It is in conjunction with Youth Rock the Block and proceeds go to the new children's dancing space at Tony Mundine's gym


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Review of The Beat in Sydney

October 9th 2006 10:59
It has been a bit quiet in Sydney in terms of ska shows so I was looking forward to seeing these guys play in Sydney. The lineup was only going to have two original members – Rankin’ Roger upfront and Everett Moreton on the drums. Dave Wakeling is doing his own show of Beat songs, while Saxa is retired, but there was Rankin’ Rogers’ son up there with him and together they put on a blinding show. You can’t have everything of all the time.

So the night came along and I was lucky enough to be in one of the supporting bands. We’d been informed there were 600 pre-sold tickets to the gig and we just hoped a good deal of them got down early enough to see us. Going on at 8-30 pm, we (The Signals) were pleased to have an excellent crowd watching us – it had been a while since we played to that many people. Our set was well received and then it was time for Sydney ska stalwarts Backy Skank. Entertaining as usual, they warmed up the crowd well for The Beat.
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Dance it up - 45 RPM Saturday night

October 6th 2006 02:19
This is the third in a series of blogs telling you what is on this weekend. A pretty big weekend it is!

After you have recovered from The Beat and then Dynamite on Friday night, you should consider heading down to the club night 45 RPM at Bar HQ. Bar HQ is at 138 Parramatta Camperdown, just on the city side of the Annandale Hotel. It's a nice big venue with a large dancefloor and beer on tap, which tends to be rare at club nights


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Soul Jazz Records Presents Dynamite

October 5th 2006 09:27
Following The Beat tomorrow night (see yesterday's blog) some of us are heading to a new club called Dynamite. It has had 2 nights and both were excellent, playing some top sounds and a good deal of people through the door. Check the spiel about the club they put out below. Come along and see The Beat tomorrow night, making sure you get there around 8 pm for the Signals and be prepared for a big night of ska and reggae. You will have a sore head the next day, but it will all be worth it.

Well the long weekend is unfortuntely over, but never fear cause after two hugely successful nights under our belts, this Friday, YES FRIDAY, October 6th, sees the return of DYNAMITE at the Bright ‘N Up Bar


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The Beat final reminder

October 4th 2006 13:11
The Beat are currently playing in Brisbane and will be in Newcastle tomorrow night and then they will be in Sydney Friday night.

Get your tickets asap. I was speaking to a fair few people today that are coming so it looks like it will be big. We're (The Signals) opening first and are selling CDs of 2 tracks for 2 bucks


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New Release - The Clash Jukebox on Trojan

October 3rd 2006 09:19
A top release came out yesterday on Trojan Records. It is The Clash Jukebox and consists of the originals of the songs The Clash covered. They either practiced, played live or released these songs. It shows the great influence of reggae on The Clash.

Here is the song listing. I'm keen to get a copy


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$15 for a reggae DJ night is a joke

October 2nd 2006 12:54
Saturday night we had every intention of heading to dancehall with Nasty Tek at Hermann's, otherwise known as Wentworth Bar, at Sydney Uni. I was tossing up how much I wanted to go. In the end what stopped us going was the price tag. A $15 cover charge is too much for a sound system night in my opinion. These guys have their own sound gear so after printing off a few posters the profit is close to 100%. It isn't like they have to pay bands. Most local gigs you go to are about a tenner. This often includes bands of 8 members meaning with 3 bands there is sometimes 25 band members you have to pay. To charge 15 bucks for guys spinning vinyl is ridiculous. So we didn't go, not the end of the world.

On the Sunday we thought we would head down to One Love at the Addison Rd centre in Marrickville. We had images of reggae on the grass and a wonderful day it would have been for it. To our surprise though it was inside and 15 bucks as well! Remembering that Addison Road Centre is a council owned site! My council as it happens! What a joke. These guys haven't even the rep of Nasty Tek and they think they can charge 15 bucks. The thing is, events held on council sites should have to allow for all council residents to enjoy it, meaning the thing should be free or merely help cover some costs


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