Adventures of Salvador fans you can now pre-order digital, CD or Vinyl versions of the new album “Welcome To Our Village” on Bandcamp.
Vinyl and CDs ship on June 24th. If you order today you get two advance tracks from the album as downloads.
Bury, Lancashire’s finest proponents of Urban Surf Punk Rock, Adventures of Salvador, are back with their second full length “Welcome To Our Village” which releases on June 21st in digital, cassette, CD and Vinyl formats.
German Shepherd will be hosting the digital release via Bandcamp and world wide distribution via AWAL to over 40 platforms including Spotify, Apple, Amazon, I Tunes, You Tube, Instagram and many more.
The band will launch the album on June 28th at the Castle Hotel, Oldham Street, Manchester with special guests, and fellow German Shepherd artists Electric Cheese and Umbrella Assassins. Ticket presales are already available via the German Shepherd Merch page. The ticket package includes full digital download and a CD copy of the album collectable at the gig.
With eight strong tracks the new album shows the band at their very best with gig favourites “King Kong”, “Uncle Walt” and “Prettier Than You” leaping out the speakers to grab you by the ears with Northern Punkabilly venom. The album centre piece and closer is the memorable “Welcome To My Village”, a song with echoes of Royston Vaysey and The Wicker Man, it is the tale of a hedonistic village elder who has his own population drive in full effect. Highly regarded single “Retroman” is also part of the set.
Adventures of Salvador are the bastard offspring of The Cramps, Jeffrey Lee Pierce and Johnny Rotten with a theremin. Their live sets are legendary with a post punk fervour emasculating prog rock elements to create a truly unique sound. With lyrics that echo Grand Guignol and Brecht with a smattering of early Nick Cave they are the must see band of the moment.
Produced and recorded at Big City Jacks Recording Studio in Bury, Greater Manchester by Tony Long the band have hit a new creative peak with their intense and hypnotic sounds. This is enhanced with stunning artwork from Jack Jerz.
Adventures of Salvador are
Nigel Beck – booming bass/vox
Mark Berry – Genie of the Gretsch
Dave aka Loop-aznavour – vox/keyboard/theremin
Mike “Complicated” Smith – DRUMS!
FORTHCOMING GIGS
COMMENTS ABOUT THE BAND
“An outrageously confident slice of modern Rock & Roll. The best thing I have heard in a very long time” – Stephen Doyle, Salford City Radio
“Are you sure this isn’t some long-lost collaboration when Mark E Smith jammed with the Cramps and the B-52’s??? It sounds ace – Grim Up North Sea Surf Punk!” Ged Babey, Louder Than War
“The Salvadors reach new heights with an audacious blues soaked rumble through the urban hills above the Manchester Conurbation” – Aural Delights Blog
“Think of the B-movie, rumbling sexploitation sass of the legendary Cramps in a no holds barred street fight with the blunt yet beloved snark of The Fall or PIL and you get a hint of what’s going on here. Loud, brash and unapologetic….” Mark Buckley, Analogue Trash.
FACEBOOK – @adventuresofsalvador
WEBSITE – http://www.adventuresofsalvador.com
March 15th sees the first dual effort by Moff Skellington and Auster Boys. Titled “Greetings from Abstercot UK” the two track release brings together the pyschogeography of Auster Boys and the other worldly genre known as Eddodi. Auster North produced two funky electro backing tracks and Moff added a good portion of Abstercot magic to create something new entirely, here is a sneak preview…… we hesitate to add the usual RIYL thing as this is nothing like anything you have heard before, unless you live in Abstercot!
For the main release the single will feature the two tracks, for German Shepherd subscribers the release will include the two Auster Boys base tracks as an added bonus
The cover art shows the centres of Leeds, Northampton and Eccles – all Abstercot in their own way!
We are pleased to announce the pre-release of the new album from The Screaming Love Collective with immediate access to stream/download the track “Hard Light”.
The album will be released on March 1st
22nd February sees the release of a brand new single from Crab Dance G.I.s called “Dayglo Dave”.
Crab Dance G.I.s is Danny Cusick (KIT B, The Hidden Gem) and Craig Bodell (The Hidden Gem).
Released via German Shepherd Records Bandcamp page and to over 40 digital outlets via AWAL distribution, the single focuses on those music fans who focus on just one genre to the exclusion of others – in this case “Dayglo Dave” who only listens to “new wave”. Steeped in Manchester pop smarts with a garage rock vibe this is the sound of Manchester 2019.
Another single “Back in the Day” will follow on 22nd March.
This release follows on from the bands debut single (Listen to the) Dole Drums/Compassion Fatigue
We are pleased to announce the release of new recordings from Sam Smith – Live in Manchester.
Marking the end of a relatively fallow year spent mainly in the studio, this recording documents the final live date of 2018 for German Shepherd Records recording artist, Sam Smith. Recorded at the Castle Hotel, Manchester at the end of a mini-tour, this release captures the depths of Smith’s full live show across 12 tracks for the first time ever.
However this is a very special release split across 2 versions. Firstly a 7 track EP released across all major streaming platforms. Secondly the full LP with all 12 tracks released exclusively to German Shepherd Records subscribers.
Smith delivers his songs unaccompanied alternating between piano and guitar in a venue he has always wanted to play but where bad luck and circumstances had conspired against previous attempts to perform there . Containing songs old and new alongside some select covers from some of Sam’s all time favourite artists in The Clash, Bruce Springsteen and Slipknot, this show was captured brilliantly by engineer Martin Hurley in a truly beautiful sounding room at well regarded music venue The Castle Hotel on Oldham Street in Manchester’s Northern Quarter.
Tracks ‘Circles of Purgatory Pt. 1’ and ‘Demonic · Histrionic · Catatonic’ are taken from Sam’s upcoming album (due Q2 2019) and these songs remain exclusive to the subscribers of German Shepherd Records via the LP release. Highlights from the general EP release are; a version of Slipknot’s 2004 hit Duality from behind the piano and a familiarly searing lament to the town of Stockport courtesy of old Sam Smith & Company live favourite ‘Some Facts’ in addition to songs from the ‘Bandini days’ and beyond.
LP: GERMAN SHEPHERD RECORDS EXCLUSIVE VERSION
1. Nashville, Kid
2. Circles of Purgatory (Pt. 1)
3. Janie Jones*
4. The Whiskey, Guns & Bridges Blues
5. The Ghost of Tom Joad*
6. Duality*
7. Bad Water
8. Under the Waves off Kanagawa
9. Demonic · Histrionic · Catatonic
10. Ask the Dust
11. Some Facts
12. Running & Falling Free
This version is only available to Subscribers to German Shepherd Records. For £40 subscribers receive everything German Shepherd Records release digitally over 12 months plus over 40 former releases from the labels back catalogue as well as unique subscriber specials like this.
EP: GENERAL RELEASE
1. Nashville, Kid
2. The Whiskey, Guns & Bridges Blues
3. The Ghost of Tom Joad
4. Duality
5. Bad Water
6. Some Facts
7. Running & Falling Free
All songs written by Samuel Frankie James Smith except where noted (Track 3 written by Joe Strummer & Mick Jones, Track 5 written by Bruce Springsteen, Track 6 written by Shawn Crahan, Chris Fehn, Paul Gray, Craig Jones, Joey Jordison, Jim Root, Corey Taylor ,Mick Thomson & Sid Wilson).
This release is distributed by Sam via AWAL to all major digital download portals on 25th January.
Sam Smith is a prolific singer, songwriter, musician and educator from Manchester. He has lead the bands Sam Smith & Company, and The Parish Church Fire as well as performing solo as Franco Bandini and under his own name. Steeped in rock and punk Sam is a charismatic and emotional performer. Currently reconstructing The Parish Church Fire and working on his debut solo album Sam will next be performing live with the band at Strummercamp 2019 at Oldham Rugby Club with further selected gigs to follow.
Franco Bandini – 2014 was a bad year (2015)
Franco Bandini – Sonic Diary Session 24-02-16 (2016)
Franco Bandini – Locamente (2016)
Sam Smith – Bad Water (2017)
Sam Smith – Under the waves off Kanagwa (2018)
Cambridge based band Lizard Brain join German Shepherd Records for their third album “Stray” . Released digitally on 18th January, 2019 the 12 track collection finds the band delivering a heady cocktail of beautifully crafted and diverse songs
Lizard Brain are:
Richard Jones: songs, keys, bass, vox, arrangements, production
Mark Fleet: songs, keys, arrangements, production
David Carter: songs, guitars, vox, bass, flute, sax, arrangements, production
Tony Jenkins: songs, vox, guitars, arrangements
“Stray” was recorded in the purpose-built Lizard Lounge studio in Lode, Cambridge from late 2016 to late 2018. Album production was led by Richard and supported by Mark and David. Following on from their earlier self-released albums Hold The Mind (2012) and That Has A Nice Ring To It (2016), the songs on the new collection emerged from a series of writing sessions using different combinations of band members whose wide musical influences resulted an album rich with variety.
The album kicks off with the Moroder drenched alt-disco groove of “Lost In Sound”, switches to the impassioned rock of “Gannets” and then swerves into Jamaican grooves with “Am I Just A Name Now”. In these three opening tracks the group evidence their skill and competence in delivering lyrically strong, well produced, quality material. What follows is a varied menu of twangy psych pop, driving rock, Northern Soul, elegiac balladry, and an epic anthemic closer “Freedom”. Throughout there are strong melodies and hooks that will leave you going back for repeated listens.
Here as a taster is an early pre-release version of the albums’s opening track “Lost In Sound”
Lost In Sound achieved the maximum possible 20 weeks in East Anglia’s New Music Generator listener chart in 2018, against stiff opposition from the best bands in the Eastern region. It became the second Lizard Brain track in the NMG Hall Of Fame, alongside Sweet Blessed Miracle. This was a real tribute to the depth of Lizard Brain’s support as people voted consistently for both tracks over all 20 weeks.
The album will be available in digital format on Bandcamp, Spotify, I Tunes, Amazon, Google, Apple Music and loads more download sites.
ABOUT LIZARD BRAIN
Mark and Richard started working together as Lizard Brain in 2008. Richard had already been in various successful musical projects, including as founder member of Transoceanic, regularly topping charts and for some years the most successful UK-based artist on MP3.COM, at the time the most important global music web platform. You can find three Transoceanic albums on all major current music platforms – ambient electronica at its very best.
Mark was a fan of Transoceanic before realising Richard was the founder member. Mark hadn’t been in any bands before, but he was a passionate and knowledgeable consumer of a wide variety of musical styles, and quickly mastered powerful DAW and synth software and began to create highly original soundscapes. They began to consider releasing an album, later to be called Hold The Mind, in 2010. Tony joined midway through this period as a vocalist, guitarist and songwriter, and helped bring the first album to completion during 2012.
David, a talented multi-instrumentalist who spans classical and most pop styles, and teaches guitar, joined midway through the second album, That Has A Nice Ring To It. Richard and Dave had written and performed a live theatre soundtrack of alt-rock songs several years previously.
It was only on releasing this second album in 2016 that Lizard Brain began actively to promote their music, reaching out initially to Dave Hammond at Cambridge 105FM, who introduced them to other DJs and became an active supporter and champion of the band. The hugely positive reaction Lizard Brain received from that point on, led to their investment in the Lizard Lounge studio late in 2016.
OF THE NEW ALBUM THE BAND SAY……
Richard: “Several times we thought that we were ready to master the album, but ‘Good Enough’ doesn’t cut it round here. So, nuances were changed, possibilities tried out and reference tracks compared to our mixes. It’s been so painstakingly mixed and mastered that we could give you a dozen different mixes of all the songs. But now I can really hear the difference. There’s nothing that I hear and think: “Ah – we missed that detail”. It’s as close to perfect as we could make it, and I love that. Worth every moment spent in the studio. It’s a very exciting achievement for us, no doubt about it.”
David: “Yeah, well the album really hangs together in a way I kind of expected, but was still surprised by, if that makes any sense. Four different writers, but all coming back to that central theme. What are we doing here? How are we supposed to be? With each other? With ourselves? Songs of hope, failure, reflection… escape even. Should I stay or should I go? How can I be happy? And what does it mean to be a human being? How do I work this thing? How did I get here? What do I do now? I had a joke, you know, that it was only musical differences keeping us together. You can pretty much hear that on the album, there’s a whole range of different styles. But it turns out deep down we are all pretty much the same. Who would have thought it? “
Mark: “Stray is what happens when you take a rocker, a hippy, an ambient geek and a mod, and you shake – vigorously.”
Respected Cambridge 105 DJ Dave Hammond who has featured the band from the outset on his Smelly Flowerpot show had this to say about the new album:
Sometimes when you listen to an album, you can’t help but come up with reference points, whether they are bands, genres or a general feel. But what happens when you reach sensory overload on the references? You can only come to the conclusion that said album is its own beast, better than the sum of its parts and a perfect summary in 40 odd minutes of all that has been great in pop music the last 50 or so years.
Let’s get those references out of the way- Giorgio Moroder, Kraftwerk, Python Lee Jackson, Moody Blues, The Police, Gary Numan, Talking Heads, Duane Eddy, Nile Rodgers, Gil Scott Heron, 10cc, Dexys Midnight Runners, Led Zeppelin, Leonard Cohen etc- and celebrate the third album by Lizard Brain. Similarly to the great Teenage Fanclub, these four Cambridgeshire based guys share song writing and singing duties which may partially explain the dizzying array of styles, not to mention instrumentation (Japanese flute, crows crowing anyone?), on show.
Aside from the music there’s plenty to intrigue lyrically, from the unsettling to the upbeat with many stops in between, and plenty open to interpretation. It’s a rare delight in today’s polished, soundbite world to hear words and music unafraid to run the gamut from hedonistic, toe tapping delight to gut wrenching emotion. The album, which is meticulously and beautifully self-produced, has undoubtedly been worth its lengthy gestation period.
I’ve just recently sorted and broadcast my top 20 albums for 2018 , but I already have a contender for 2019 following a private preview listen to Stray
Other comments about the band…..
“I heard it for the first time this morning. Catchy and well produced. You guys never fail to impress.” Neil Whiteside, Cambridge 105 DJ of lead track “Lost In Sound”
“I’m reminded of 10cc at their best, a truly impressive collection of songs” Aural Delights Blog
“Great songs.” Phil Crowder, The End of the Week Show Sheppey FM
Stray is available on Spotify, iTunes, Bandcamp and all major global outlets.
CONTACT LINKS
Last Friday in Manchester…..
Revellers stuff their faces with overpriced sausages.nuts and alcohol outside Wooden Huts in City Centre Manchester where mere yards away homeless people shiver in shop doorways in damp sleeping bags.
This is so very wrong in a so called first world country.
It struck us that the homeless might use the Wooden Huts as some form of temporary shelter, and our more anarchistic inner monologues even suggested knocking down the Huts and using them for firewood to keep the rough sleepers warm. These ideas are covered in Moet’s lyrics.
However temporary solutions, a bit like the Huts themselves, aren’t the answer, so we would like to give you the chance to donate to a homeless charity by buying our musical offering. All the money raised from this release will be sent to Crisis after we have paid our admin fees to Bandcamp and Paypal.
A donation of £28.18 to Crisis will give someone this Christmas
-A warm welcome and good company
-Three nutritious, hot meals daily, including a delicious Christmas dinner
-A bed for the night, if needed
-A chance to shower, freshen up and get clean clothes
-A health check and treatment from a doctor, optician and dentist
-Expert help with mental health and addiction problems
-Advice on housing, employment and benefits
-A way out of homelessness for good through Crisis’ year-round training, education and support.
We have 800 followers on Facebook – if each of them donated £1 we could help over 20 people.
This new release was the last song Sam wrote and recorded in his old studio of nearly 10 years, where he composed over 200 songs.
He recorded it in 2017, all as one take, with a couple of overdubs added recently for this release.
The song is explicitly about victim shaming and what it feels to be on the thick end of that.
It is a deeply personal song that had to be shared
“…… a fabulous, quite moving piece…. deserves to be heard far and wide.” Dave Hammond, Cambridge 105
“…after too long a wait Sam Smith is back with a stunning new single which is a marker for his first full length album in early 2019. Building on his success to date in capturing the raw heart of rock and roll Sam has delivered a breathtaking new tune, an epic song wracked with emotion which will leave the listener gripped until the very last note.” AURAL DELIGHTS BLOG
Hello and welcome to our weekly newsletter….in this edition
The Screaming Love Collective return with their infectious “Psychedelic Punk Rock Groove Sensation” with the album “Imola” which comprises 13 tracks of dance orientated hypnotic grooves. Including former single “Laika/Cosmonaut No 1.” the album takes found sound/clips and mingles them with electronic explorations to create 42 minutes of prime aural entertainment. Led by the ever busy Bryn Thorburn the Collectives’ latest release is due on 7th September via Bandcamp, Spotify, I Tunes, Apple, Amazon and a wide selection of other digital download options. Lovers of dance oriented electronica will enjoy the wide open sound on this excellent collection.
Poet of the surreal, musician extraordinaire, and exceptional artist Moff Skellington returns to Manchester on Thursday October 11th for a mixed media show. Dubbed “An Evening with Moff Skellington” the show features one or two songs and a lantern show based upon Moff’s celebrated art pictures. The show will be held at The Peer Hat on Faraday Street, Northern Quarter, Manchester and commences at 7:30pm. The show is £3.50 and there will be no ticketing so pay on the door. We hope to see you there for what will be a fascinating evening.
Longstanding German Shepherd watchers will know that for the last four years we have hosted visits from visiting Australian musicians – two visits by Dave Graney and Clare Moore (The Moodists, The Coral Snakes, MistLy), and one by Harry Howard and the NDE (Birthday Party, Crime and City Solution). This year it’s the turn of Charlie Marshall. Charlie is over for a short solo tour of the UK during September- here are the dates
15th The Cornerhouse, Cambridge with Scissors
21st The Peer Hat, Manchester with Four Candles and Poppycock
23rd Grayston Unity, Halifax
28th Betsy Trotwood, Clerkenwell, London with Doomed Bird of Paradise and Michael Plater
Charlie’s most recent album “Sublime” was rightly heralded a pop masterpiece with some exquisite melodies and thought provoking lyrics.
Charlie Marshall is an acclaimed singer-songwriter from Melbourne, Australia who has been an important part of the scene in that great music city since the 1980s. As a performer and songwriter, he comes from a similar place, and stands comparison, with better known Australian exports like Nick Cave, Ed Kuepper, Robert Forster, Dirty Three, Kim Salmon and Dave Graney.
Charlie has been the guitar-slinging backbone for many of Melbourne’s finest bands, starting with the legendary Harem Scarem who were a dynamite force in the key of punk blues, followed by the soulful intensity of The Body Electric whose stellar lineup included members of Dirty Three, Beasts of Bourbon and the Avalanches. Lately, he’s been backed by The Curious Minds featuring Clare Moore (Dave Graney ‘n the Coral Snakes), Bryan Colechin (Hugo Race True Spirit) and Tim Deane (Ron Peno & the Superstitions).
His songs are poetic, romantic meditations on life, love, philosophy and the universe, combining colourful chords with incisive lyrics and plenty of soul. In solo mode he’s a passionate, foot stomping, electric guitar slinging force, ranging from gentle, intimate moments to raging, beguiling intensity when in full flight. The latest album ‘Sublime’ is a unique blend of music, politics and science – try imagining Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys collaborating with the BBC’s rock star scientist Brian Cox. A new recording due out September 2018 promises lots of late 60s/early 70s soul-inspired grooves.
“My musical adventures have taken me on many paths since the 90’s but still some of my fondest musical memories are of playing with Charlie in The Body Electric and recording our first album, which I still regard as a great piece of work. A stone cold classic.” Warren Ellis, Paris, 2016
Ian Moss’s solo project “Mistletoe” returns with a new three track in EP. The September release will include collaborations with Loop-aznavour, The Boom Da Da Booms and Foghorn Leghorn. Watch this space for more details.
6th September – The Strays play Tap ‘N’ Tumbler, Nottingham
15th September – The Scissors and Charlie Marshall play The Cornerhouse, Cambridge
15th September – Mesmer Disciples play Music Lounge, Stockton on Tees
16th September – Mesmer Disciples play Museum Vaults Sunderland.
21st September – Four Candles, Poppycock and Charlie Marshall play The Peer Hat, Manchester
27th September – Inferior Complex play Ferndown RBL
27th September – Electric Cheese support Tom Hingley at Preston Guildhall
28th September – Inferior Complex play The Shooting Star, Southampton
5th October – The Scissors are at Oxford Wheatsheaf (Klub Kakofanney).
5th October – Shaun Maxwell of Taser Puppets plays a solo acoustic set at Chorley Live
6th October – Toska Wilde plays Saks Southend on Sea as part of Cult 13 Showcase
6th October – Inferior Complex play Liberties, Southampton
11th October – An Evening with Moff Skellington at The Peer Hat, Manchester
14th October – Taser Puppets play TNT Punk Fest at The Peer Hat, Manchester
17th October – The Strays play West Street Live, Sheffield
19th October – Taser Puppets play Old Courts, Wigan
2nd November – German Shepherd Records Fundraiser at The Peer Hat, Manchester – with Drink and Drive, Taser Puppets, The Strays and Flea
22nd November – Inferior Complex play The King Charles, Poole
29th November – Four Candles play “Free Rock & Roll” at Sound, Duke Street, Liverpool
1st December – Toska Wilde plays Saks Southend on Sea as part of Cult 13 Showcase
8th December – Boz Hayward and Ketrix play The Peer Hat, Manchester
8th December – Poppycock support Vic Godard at Yes (The Basement) on Charles Street, Manchester with ASBO Derek – it’s next to the Lass O’ Gowrie.
22nd December – Drink and Drive play Strummercamp Fundraiser and Oldham Rugby Club
