STRUMMERVILLE’S FIRST U.S OUTING
What do Billy Bragg, The Foo Fighters, The British Music Embassy, the Strummerville family and legendary British filmmaker Don Letts have in common? All of these tastemakers in film and music will be celebrating Strummerville’s debut at this year’s SXSW Music and Film Festival.
Strummerville is a proactive charity, set up by family and friends in the wake of Joe Strummer’s death in 2002. Since then it has built a strong community network - offering otherwise unfunded bands and solo performers the chance to record, rehearse and play live. A regular feature at Festivals in the British Summer season, Strummerville’s work goes on all year internationally. Offering mentoring services, a magic bus on loan for gigs and tours, partnering with projects from Belfast to Bogota and a range of charities including The Amber Trust (helping blind and partially sited children enjoy music) and Jail Guitar Doors (helping prisoners gain access to guitars) Strummerville insures the spirit of the man who inspired its creation lives on in the most practical manner.
March 2010 marks Strummervilles’ debut at the internationally renowned SXSW Music and Film festival:
On the evening of Monday 15th March Strummerville will takeover the British Music Embassy. Hosted by Chris Shiflett of the Foo Fighters the night will feature performances from the infamous ‘National Treasure’ Billy Bragg in addition to some of Strummerville’s finest bands: Get Cape Wear Cape Fly, Smokey Angle Shades, Beans on Toast, Nat Jenkins, The Good The Bad, and The Supernovas.
STRUMMERVILLE SXSW 2010 BRITISH MUSIC EMBASSY SHOWCASE RSVP CLICK HERE
Get Cape Wear Cape Fly aka the introspective Sam Duckworth received critical acclaim for his debut album ‘Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager’. A cross cultural line-up of Northern Irish, German, English and Italian members The Smokey Angle Shades take their name from a flying moth and create a world where the bar room rave ups of The Faces meet joyful country capers, spiced with psychedelic whimsy. Beans On Toast, a topical Troubadour, in the style of his East London (The) Clash inspired forbearer Billy Bragg, is a regular MC at Strummerville events with songs that are a jostling blend of humourous aside and a hardnosed invective. Nat Jenkins - Intense Richie Havens flare ups, finely plucked emotional landscapes; rock swagger and pop nous indicate a singer songwriter for all seasons. The Supernovas, a young band from Holloway North London with a sound influenced by the political attitudes of Castro and Chavez, combined with the wry irony of Morrissey, and the cutting observational skills of Lennon. And The Good The Bad bringing the finest New School Surf and Flamenco to the masses. On Wednesday 17th March Strummerville will kick off proceedings on the official opening night of the SXSW Music Festival by holding a second showcase at the renowned Prague. Wayne Kramer, singer, songwriter, producer and esteemed guitarist, will join the line-up for this special occasion.
On Friday 19th March ‘Strummerville – a film by Don Letts’ will premier at the Paramount. The film, directed by the London born, Grammy award winning filmmaker and artist Don Letts, captures the very essence of Strummerville. The film journeys through the past six months of the diverse Strummerville calendar, including interviews with the bourgeoning talents and the friends and family of Joe who work hard to keep the charity going. The documentary also includes unseen footage of Joe Strummer taken from Don’s personal archive. On the film Don says, “In a cultural climate that feels like punk never happened Strummerville (the film) serves as a timely reminder of a way forward. It worked back then and it can work again – and man it needs to!”
Don Letts was the first in-house DJ at London nightclub Roxy, playing a mix of punk rock, dub and reggae. Letts’ music choice influenced Joe Strummer and The Clash; he is credited as the DJ that single-handedly turned a whole generation of punks onto reggae. He became a close friend of Joe’s and is pictured on the cover sleeve of the 1980 release, ‘Black Market Clash’. His first film The Punk Rock Movie (1978) catalogued the Punk movement in the UK. He has directed many documentaries and music videos since and in 2003 his film Westway to the World featuring The Clash won a Grammy for ‘Best Long-form Music Video’
For more information please contact:
Kate Head: kate@stokedpr.com
Zoe Stafford: zoe@stokedpr.com 020 7841 4875
From the 1976 jukebox at The Clash’s Rehearsal Rehearsals HQ, through his own music to his turn-of-the-century radio show, Joe Strummer never stopped loving reggae music and its culture. As Chris Salewicz’s sleevenotes state on this heart-felt project organised by Canada’s Prince Blanco, “Strummer lived on the dub side of life.” In other words, with Joe, anything was possible. He would have revelled in these new versions of Clash classics by a cast of contributors hailing from both Canada and the UK.
A few chills are spilled when the set kicks off with Dubmatix, joined by former Big Audio Dynamite members Don Letts and Dan Donovan, bringing London’s Calling into the 21st Century on a rolling dubscape, with bleakly majestic spirit intact. Each track’s a riot of its own, delivered with a mixture of celebration and suitable recklessness, other highlights including Creation Rockers’ sinuous Complete Control, Infantry Rockers’ haunting Rebel Waltz and John Brown’s Body’s feisty Bankrobber. The fact that proceeds go to the Strummerville charity is just another reason why no one who’s ever been touched by Joe or The Clash should be without this marvellous tribute. For more info, visit www.shatterthehotel.com.
Synopsis
Joe Strummer’s untimely death in December 2002 sent shockwaves around the world of music and beyond. Yet friends and family were determined that his spirit would live on.
In this documentary, Grammy award-winning filmmaker Don Letts shows how Joe’s unique contribution to the music world is manifesting itself through a charity set up in his memory - Strummerville.
The film features performance footage and interviews with exciting Strummerville artists such as Riff Raff and Smokey Angle Shades. There are also contributions from supporters and founders of the charity, including Billy Bragg and Damien Hirst, plus wonderful footage of Strummer himself.
Director Bio
An award-winning filmmaker and music-maverick, Don is a cult figure in the world of arts. In 1978 he made The Punk Rock Movie and went on to direct over 300 music videos for the likes of Bob Marley, The Clash and Elvis Costello. Don’s films include the acclaimed Dancehall Queen, PUNK: Attitude and The Clash: Westway to the World, for which he won a Grammy in 2003.
We are proud to announce our take over of The British Music Embassy on Monday 15th March 2010.
It will be taking place @ Latitude 30, 512 San Jacinto, Austin TX as part of the SXSW music convention and will be hosted by Chris Shiflett (Foo Fighters).
Music will be brought to you by:
* Billy Bragg with special guests The Good The Bad
* Get Cape Wear Cape Fly
* Smokey Angle Shades
* Beans On Toast
* Nat Jenkins
* The Supernovas
Doors 7.30pm
A play looking at The Clash, punk and ’selling out’ is coming to Suffolk.
Meeting Joe Strummer, at Ipswich’s New Wolsey Theatre, looks at two fans’ relationship with the band they adore.
As they grow older they try and stay true to their youthful ideals in the face of getting jobs and holding down relationships.
“The value The Clash gave to me was about trusting your own instincts and doing it yourself,” said playwright Paul Hodson.
The Future Is Unwritten production is touring the UK and should find some takers, maybe from some who attended The Clash’s gigs in Bury St Edmunds and Ipswich - more of which later.
The play centres on characters Nick and Steve and their friendship over 25 years - after meeting at the legendary Rock Against Racism gig in London’s Victoria Park in 1978.
Nick went to a public school and rejects his middle class career path - as did Joe Strummer who was a diplomat’s son. Steve is from a more working class background and is also searching for his place in the grand scheme of things.
[read full feature by Andrew Woodger]
To celebrate the UK release a launch event will take place on 5th February 2010 in the heart of Clash-land at Inn on the Green, tucked under the Westway between Portobello Road and Ladbroke Grove. Scheduled to appear on the night are: Dubmatix, DubCats, Wrongtom, Citizen Sound, Chomsky Allstars and Don Letts along with special guests.
In the spirit of Joe Strummer’s connection with Reggae and Dub, Shatter The Hotel explores what he once described as the “rasta - punk interface”. The energy of punk fused with the rebellious sound of dub and reggae.
This collection of songs brings together some of (his) Joe’s friends, and collaborators as well as artists and producers that have been touched and inspired by his music and message. Tracks selected from the Joe Strummer and Mick Jones catalogue have been re-interpreted by artists that come from the UK, Jamaica, Canada and the USA.
Don Letts is credited as the DJ that single-handedly turned a whole generation of punks onto reggae. A friend of Joe’s, he is pictured on the cover sleeve of the 1980 release, ‘Black Market Clash’. He opens and closes this compilation alongside Dubmatix and former Big Audio Dynamite band-mate Dan Donovan with their take on London Calling, the track that propelled The Clash’s influence across the pond to the USA. Dubmatix (aka Jesse King) has toured North America and Europe extensively, collaborating with legendary reggae heavyweights such as Sugar Minott, Michael Rose, and Alton Ellis. Shatter The Hotel’s associate producer names London Calling as one of his favourite albums of all-time so reinterpreting the title track with Dan and Don( )was in his words ‘a labour of love’.
Dubmatix - London Calling (Album Version) [feat. Don Letts & Dan Donovan]
The compilation ranges from straight-up roots dub to contemporary reggae sounds to dubbed out punk and dub-house styles including Lost In the Supermarket by South London producer, Wrongtom (Hard-Fi’s tour DJ and remixer), Creation Rockers’ interpretation of Four Horseman and Rock the Casbah by Nate Wize from Toronto who has DJ’d or performed alongside the likes of MIA, Blondie and Roots Manuva. His version features Jamaican vocalist Ammoye.
Joe Strummer’s friend and biographer Chris Salewicz has provided the sleeve-notes for Shatter the Hotel along with renowned photographer, Adrian Boot who has provided the images of Joe.
Proceeds from the sale of this release will benefit Strummerville: The Joe Strummer Foundation for New Music, a registered charity set up by the friends and family of Joe Strummer the year after his death that seeks to reflect Joe’s unique contribution to the music world by offering support, resources and performance opportunities to artists who would not normally have access to them.
For more information please contact:
Mark Matthews (aka Prince Blanco)
Email: shatterthehotel@gmail.com
Web: www.shatterthehotel.com
In memory and honour of Joe Strummer we’re delighted to release our Winter Sessions Showcase 2009 album today on his anniversary.
This is a compilation album of recordings by bands who performed at the Strummerville Yard in the rain under the stars.
All tracks are available for free download here
Thank you everyone for your continued support and love this year.
Wishing you all peace and love for Christmas and 2010.
Strummerville x
ps. if you’d like the CD please send self addressed envelope to:
Winter Sessions Showcase 2009
Strummerville
22A Stable Way
London
W10 6QX
On Sunday 20th Dec Don Letts presented a Joe Strummer related show filled with an hour of tunes from Joe Strummer plus songs from The Clash, Stiff Little Fingers and Dubmatix ft. Don Letts and Dan Donovan with their version of London Calling…
“Ever since I saw ‘Play Misty For Me’, I dreamed of being a radio DJ. But how to get around the damn playlists and corporate interference? Then I got a call. In 2007, BBC 6 Music asked if I’d like to join the team and I jumped at the chance. Contrary to popular opinion, I’m not at home cranking dub reggae 24/7. That’s just in my DNA. With ‘Culture Clash Radio’ I hope to make some new friends and broaden people’s perception of me, by playing tunes I can certify.
For the moment it’s just 60 minutes of all killer, no filler sounds, that cross time, space and genres. For the most part I’m gonna let the music do the talking. So, in the mean time and in between time I’ll gladly take your e-mailed thoughts and suggestions. Enjoy the ride…” Don Letts
A passionate punk comedy about attitude, friendship and celebrity and a celebration of the man who set the agenda for a generation.
Nick and Steve’s lives were transformed by Joe Strummer and The Clash’s potent mix of politics, soulful rock’n’roll and iconic imagery.
1978. The lads see The Clash for the first time, headlining the Anti-Nazi League carnival in Victoria Park. It’s as if they take an oath to stay true to the values embodied in that day…
2002. Strummer’s tragic and unexpected early death forces Nick and Steve to re-evaluate their lives.
Winner of a Fringe First award, this heartfelt, comic play charts Nick and Steve’s attempts to maintain their ‘oath’ to Strummer while living through Thatcherism, paying the bills and maintaining relationships - how the lads grew up in the real world in the shadow of their hero.
‘theatre’s High Fidelity’ Lyn Gardner, The Guardian
‘Paul Hodson’s marvellous play… it’s required viewing, not just for Strummer’s many admirers, but also for anyone who enjoys funny, perceptive and passionately sincere new writing’ Manchester Evening News
Full info and tour dates visit: www.the-future-is-unwritten.co.uk
On 30th November 2009 underground hero Beans On Toast will release his debut album - Standing On A Chair – a 50 track double album incorporating all his songs to date.
The gravel-voiced singer/songwriter from Braintree has been busy penning songs on his child-sized guitar for the past couple of years. His Bragg-esque odes take in themes of sex (‘Junkfood Sex’), drugs (‘M.D.M.Amazing’), sex whilst on drugs (‘Eggs Benadict’) and wry social, political commentary that is both poignant and funny (‘Fuck The Smoking Ban’, ‘London At War’). Occasionally he has made them available online. Occasionally he has stood on a chair and sung them out in pubs and clubs up and down the country. Finally, now, he’s collected them all together and presented them in an old-skool double disc album.
‘Standing On A Chair’ is the perfect antidote to the glossy, cheesy, manufactured Christmas dross that is currently clogging up the charts. An anti-Christmas, Christmas album best enjoyed post-pub with good friends, cheap booze and in high spirits.
Having just played to around 16,000 people whilst supporting friend Frank Turner on his huge UK sold out tour, he will be heading out, with his guitar and wooden chair to play his own shows in January 2010. Further details to come.
We love Beans On Toast and are grateful for all his amazing support and general good vibes around all our work here at Strummerville.
Click Here to buy Standing on a Chair
Beans on Toast MySpace
Continuing their series of cultural tours of the capital, Guardian music editor Tim Jonze meets Trish at the Strummerville yard, Don Letts, & Jon Savage. Who’d have thought Notting Hill’s well-heeled streets gave birth to some of punk’s defining moments? Tim tracks down the people and places where the legacy lives on…
Thanks ever so much to the people at Pirates Press Records and Cock Sparrer for holding a silent auction for a set of autographed Cock Sparrer test pressings! One test pressing for Shock Troops, Runnin’ Riot ‘84, True Grit Outtakes, Two Monkeys, Guilty As Charged, Live n Loud, Back Home and Here We Stand.
As well as a test pressing of the England Belongs To Me picture disc single and The Spirit of ‘76 etched single will be included in the package (as well as a few goodies from Strummerville).
This will all be packaged in a casebound 12″ boxset and autographed by all members of Cock Sparrer.
This is truly a one-of a kind collectors item.
Pirates Press and Strummerville thank you in advance for your offers and contributions, and more so your undying overall support of all our endeavours. We wish you all the best of luck!
The auction begins on Pirates Press Records’ anniversary party on Friday 13th November, and will available on their website (http://www.piratespressrecords.com) starting the following Monday 16th November for those people unable to attend. The auction will end on Thanksgiving Day 26th November at high noon at which point the winner will be announced.
Award-winning filmmaker Don Letts and his production company Brassneck TV are making a documentary about Strummerville. The film will feature performance footage and interviews with artists, supporters and founders.
He’s looking for footage shot at past Strummerville events, so if you think you can help please get in touch!
Don Letts is credited as the man who through his DJing at clubs like The Roxy brought together punk and reggae music.
Follow Brassneck TV on Twitter
Come underground with the band as they record tracks in the Subway Gallery ~ FRIDAY 30 OCTOBER 2009 |
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| The band THE MUSICAL DIFFERENCES, with the support of Strummerville, will be recording as part of the ILLUSION exhibition at he Subway Gallery. For a single day they’ll be turning this pedestrian subway/art gallery into a recording studio to write and record a track or two. Come down and sing, see the art, enjoy the exhibition, meet some like-minded people and even do some busking in the subway. The gallery is open from 11 and the recording will probably start around 4pm.
ILLUSION FEATURES WORK FROM 11 CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS:
TOM BEARD, CRISPIN CHETWYND, EMMA CHITTY, LIBITA CLAYTON, LAURIE MACPHERSON, GEORGINA MASCOLO, R.G. McHARG III, NINA ROYLE, SHORVON &HUNTER, BEN WEBB. Download THE MUSICAL DIFFERENCES cover of Peter Tosh’s ‘I am that I am’ from the band’s Strummerville profile: |
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| SUBWAY GALLERY open monday to saturday 11am - 7pm Kiosk 1 Pedestrian Subway Edgware Rd / Harrow Rd London W2 1DX 07811 286503 ~~ info@subwaygallery.com ~~ http://www.subwaygallery.com Zone 1 Edgware Road tube buses 6.7.15.16.18.23.25.27.36.98.205.414.436 |
Here is a recent interview by Glasgow PodcART
Strummerville is not only one of the more inspiring things to happen in music, ultimately its is essential. The friends and family members of Joe Strummer set up Strummerville after his passing. A registered charity aims to reflect Joe Strummers magnificent and standout contribution to music. They offer support, resources and performance opportunities to artists who would not usually have access. This project has been a phenomenal success thus far and is going from strength to strength.
Halina was lucky enough to catch up with Trish Whelan who runs Strummerville and has been a strong part of the music industry for a number of years.
Halina: How did Strummerville begin and what is it you aim to do for musicians?
Trish: We started after Joe passed away; people began to send money and wanted to keep his legacy alive so this was the best way. We help to create opportunities for musicians by helping with recording and advice. It is to help them get their music out there and giving them a chance.
H: Joe Strummer was known for his open minded and embracing attitude. Do you feel that Strummerville is carrying on his ethos on a bigger scale?
T: Absolutely! We do not judge anyone nor are we political. We just want to help everyone how we can and as much as we can.
H: You have set up rehearsal rooms in Belfast and London. Are there any plans for other cities and indeed other countries?
T: We opened out first official Strummerville resource at the newly refurbished Roundhouse in Chalk Farm in 2006, and we have actually just opened another one in London. We are looking to open a further recording/rehearsal space in Bridgwater, Somerset, a series of Strummerville Showcase nights giving unsigned musicians a chance to highlight their work, as well as a continuing presence at Glastonbury Festival. We have also set up by helping Africans namely in Malawi and set up a sister school.
H: Glasgow PodcART are particularly aimed at the unsigned like yourselves. Are there any bands that you would recommend to our audience and us?
T: There are absolutely loads of DIY bands! Dan Smith being one you can find him at www.myspace.com/dansmithuk he is amazing. Also another top act to check out is Beans On Toast (www.myspace.com/sexdrugspolitics) they are a top act!
H: We have felt a shift in music of late, people are becoming more independent and innovative when releasing and exposing their music. Do you feel that this has helped Strummerville relate to more people?
T: Yes, people are a lot more open now and the treasure chest of the music industry has unlocked. It has empowered people to get more out there and there is more of a punk ethos now. I am a great believer in the good getting through.
H: Would you ever consider corporate sponsorship or is Strummerville always going to be a charity?
T: I think we would have to take a view on who was offering what. Also, what they would want in return, if it were for a good cause you cannot rule out anything like that. You have to think about who is going to benefit and as long as it has the same purpose and is for the good of everyone.
H: Are there any plans to host an event of your own i.e. a concert or curate a festival or stage?
T: Oh my God, it’s non-stop! This years Glastonbury was the biggest open we have done yet! We are always showcasing and have masses of great things happening with the likes of Billy Bragg and other brilliant musicians who really care about what is happening.
H: For unsigned bands that feel as though they have nowhere to seek help or feel that they have hit a dead end do you have a message?
T: There is no such thing as a dead end or no help. The main thing in all of this is you have to keep playing and remain true to yourself. The good will always shine through.
Strummerville have been a huge inspiration to Glasgow PodcART and will continue to do so. It is the idea that the passionate will always prevail and that instead of creating barriers and having blinkers on you embrace everything and everyone. It is with music that we do this and it comes from our hearts, our souls and our very beings. Joe Strummer was a man that was all of this and Strummerville are not only keeping his dream alive but also are creating a beatific reality from it.
Halina Rifai
ABOUT GLASGOW PODCART
Weekly podcasts playing music from both signed and unsigned artists and lots, lots more. The main idea behind the podcast being that we don’t want to create some pretentious ‘Indie’ site and would rather expose as much Scottish talent as possible. No matter what style, what size or how established, we believe everyone deserves a platform to showcase their work. Please visit their website for more information: http://www.glasgowpodcart.com
The River Rat Pack Tour is a travelling circus of bands, artists, DJs, promoters, friends and anyone else that wants to join, who just want to play music to as many people as possible.
Embarking from the Flowerpot venue in Camden, a grassroots celebration of noise The River Rat Pack takes its sonic boatshow along the British Waterways, playing a series of free gigs from the roof’s of their barges along with shows in specially selected towns en route. Featuring SixNationState, Nat Jenkins, Beans on Toast, Wild Wolves and The Agitator (formerly Derek Meins), amongst its bill, it once again showcases some of the most incredible new music of any tour in the UK.
Last year The River Rat Pack hosted a who’s who in the best of up and coming folk and British acoustic acts featuring the likes of Mumford & Sons, Golden Silvers, Luke Pritchard of The Kooks, Jay Jay Pistolet and Josh Weller in 2008, and looks to host an equally as forethought and exciting bill this year.
Being the definitive touring music show for new acoustic acts, the expeditions of the River Rat Pack are already well documented. From an impromptu show last summer that saw countless thousands gather around Camden Lock, to more intimate, secret gigs across London’s venues and canals this summer featuring the likes of Hoodlums and festival legend Beans on Toast, the shows were a free-for-all, not to mention free for all.
“A load of amazing bands, some of England’s most beautiful canals and towns, topped off with a load of gigs. What more could you ask for in September?” says SixNationState frontman Gerry, “We’re really chuffed to be part of the barge fest and looking forward to having some messy stories at the end of it. I fully intend on throwing somebody over board”.
Partly inspired by the Festival Express when amongst other great bands The Grateful Dead, The Band and Janis Joplin all toured Canada together on a train, the River Rat Pack creates an original and exciting way of bringing new music to new audiences - travelling on barges through the canals and rivers of England playing free shows from the boats and free shows in venue’s they stop of in along the way.
Like all of the best ideas the River Rat Pack was born through a conversation in a pub between three friends back in winter 2008. The pub in question was the now infamous Nambucca, and the friends were a promoter & DJ Ally Wolf with singer songwriters Beans On Toast and Nat Jenkins.
“We were all discussing what to do with our summer, and how we could do something different than just attend or put on festivals, when the idea of travelling from London to Oxford on barges was suggested”, promoter Ally Wolf recalls. “It just so happened that we had a good friend who owned a barge, and we all knew venue’s along the way and bands that could do it. So an idea, that to some may seem far fetched, turned into nine bands being taken on two barges from London to Oxford playing gigs everywhere we went in the first week of June 2008”.
Now entering their second year The River Rat Pack is ready to set sail again on the 30th of August 2009.
RIVER RAT PACK INFO
River Rat Pack Website
River Rat Pack FaceBook
River Rat Pack MySpace
RIVER RAT PACK TOUR DATES
Sunday 30th Aug @ The Flower Pot, London
Tuesday 1st Sep @ The Firestation, Windsor
Wednesday 2nd Sep @ The Bull, Henley
Thursday 3rd Sep @ The Oakford, Reading
Saturday 5th Sep Matinee Show @ Unicorn Theatre, Abingdon
Saturday 5th Sep Evening @ The Stocks, Abingdon
Sunday 6th Sep All Day River Rat Pack Festival @ The Isis Farmhouse, Oxford
THE BANDS
SixNationState
Smokey Angle Shades
Wild Wolves
Nat Jenkins
Ciara Haidar
Beans On Toast
Cheka
The Agitator
The Riff Raff
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For more information, contact:
Orbit PR / alex@orbitpr.net / 0207 033 4667
To commemorate the closing of The Mick Jones Rock & Roll Public Library, Strummerville are proud to present:
The Library Live
This Friday 21st August 2009
Under The West Way, Portobello Road
Featuring:
The Kooks
The Smokey Angle Shades
Beans on Toast
Nat Jenkins
The Supernovas
The Skylarkers
plus special guests
Tickets are £15 on the door which opens 6pm sharp. This is going to be a busy event and tickets are available on a first come first served basis.
Please arrive early to avoid disappointment.
Strummerville are so happy to be involved with this truly inspirational project. This is a total must see.
Over the course of the exhibition we will have some of our bands recording with Mick in the live studio room. More info on this as it comes.
OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE: THE ROCK & ROLL PUBLIC LIBRARY
2 ACKLAM ROAD,
Portobello Green,
London, W10 5TY
(02077929626.)
Ladbroke Grove Underground.
22nd July to 25th August 2009,
11am-7pm. Wednesday-Sunday (free.)
‘Rock & Roll’ and ‘Public Library’ shouldn’t mix, one phrase is brash, loud the other sedate and quiet. Yet these two cultures are about to collide. For the first time since the 1850 Library Act that much loved British institution the public library is about gain a loud, revolutionary 21st Century companion.
The Rock & Roll Public Library is Mick Jones’s (The Clash, B.A.D, Carbon Silicon) direct artistic challenge to the likes of the corporate 02 British Music Experience. Rather than let his creative legacy atrophy Jones is reworking (with curator Robert Gordon McHarg III) his own archive collection as a unique ‘guerrilla-installation.’ Set under the Westway motorway in 3000 sq.ft of former office space, Jones’s four-week artistic and civic endeavour will also encourage visitors to enrol, freely interact with the exhibition (Jones began collecting well before he formed The Clash in 1976 to eventual international success, as such it forms an invaluable guide to the influences that informed Jones as a pop-artist). Also uniquely by request users will be able to scan (courtesy Genus, U.K distributor of the Book2net Kiosk) certain objects and via memory stick carry them away. Numerous young-bands will also be recording at the Library (courtesy of Strummerville). Note visitors to the world’s first, resolutely alternative, Rock n Roll Public Library shouldn’t expect peace and quiet.
##Notes to editors.
A press kit comprising background information and photography is available. Interviews on request.
PRESS ENQUIRIES:
Contact TIM BURKE.
Email: waywestpress@netscape.net
Tel: 020 7792 9626. 07949381819.
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We’re delighted to share our Summer Sessions Compilation album. The album features tracks from the 14 artists who performed at our Summer Sessions Showcase on 30 May 2009. To get your copy of this album please send a SAE to: Summer Sessions CD |
| Album Track Listing:
Good Times Good Times - Love Nat Jenkins - Message Dan Smith - Daniel In The Den Bill Coleman - Your Hands Were Made For Working Cheka - The Fool Wild Wolves - Honey Dekay - The Estates Illegitimate Sons of the King - I’ll Do It The Wutars - Oh La La La Paper Plane Pilots - Reign In Your Applause The Penny Black Remedy - 95 Charing Cross Road Handshake - Lockdown Jamie Lay - Goodbye Beans On Toast - I’m Not That Old Sunshine |
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New Strummerville merchandise out now. Click on any of the images below to be taken directly to our secure online store …
Pic: Andy Willsher
Bruce Springsteen closed the second night of Glastonbury festival tonight (June 27) by paying tribute to the late Clash frontman Joe Strummer.
The star’s headlining show on the Pyramid Stage, his first ever festival appearance in the UK, was one of the most eagerly-awaited sets of the weekend.
Springsteen, a huge Clash and Strummer fan, chose to open the set with a solo rendition of Strummer’s track ‘Coma Girl’.
Originally recorded with The Mescaleros, the song’s lyrics were inspired by the festival, with Strummer a regular visitor up until his death in 2002.
A visibly moved Springsteen told the packed crowd: “We’re so pleased to be here at the rain-free Glastonbury! I’ve heard about it. I’ve heard about it! And now I can see it. The E Street Band are here to honour the solemn vow to rock the house tonight!”
Strummerville Summer Sessions showcasing 14 of our bands, on 2 stages in a heatwave
Thank you to everyone who came and made it such a lovely day/eve. Special thank you to all our bands who played on the day - Beans On Toast, Handshake, The Penny Black Remedy, Illegitimate Sons of the King, Goodtimes Goodtimes, Beans On Toast, Nat Jenkins, Dan Smith, Bill Coleman, DeKay, Cheka, The Wutars, Paper Plane Pilots, Jamie Ley
Listen to and download for free the Strummerville Summer Sessions 2009
Loads of love,
Strummerville x
Clash man raffles mini
The raffle for Topper’s near-perfect mini costs just £10 to enter with all proceeds going to Strummerville. Tickets went on sale on May 30 and are available for six weeks.
To enter or check out more pics? Go to the Strummerville website.
To help Topper with his cause we’ve also written him a classified ad:
Should you stay or should you go? Go, we’d suggest - getting there will be much easier in this gem. Better than a Brand New Cadillac, reluctant sale for a good cause; one two-tone Mini Cooper, X thousand miles on the clock, perfect for parking outside the Casbah or dropping the kids off at Hammersmith Palais. Lost In The Supermarket? No worries, ample room in the boot for groceries. It’s surprisingly nippy - just watch you don’t end up in any scrapes with the law, they usually win, and of course park safely to avoid the Clampdown…