Archive for August 2010

West Coast Revival - My Mind Is At Ease

Tuesday, 31 August 2010 Comments Off

Pure Joy.

Not to be confused with the Christian Rock group of the same name.

Not to be confused with an ill-advised Sixties surf music revival.

Not be confused with the 1930's trad jazz movement of the same name.

This particular West Coast Revival features three musicians from Compton, California:

Luther James, Dean Robinson & Patrick Taylor.

They released this track on a self-titled LP thro' LA International Records back in '77.

It's an incredibly rare and sought after LP among soul & funk collectors.

Jerry Goldstein wrote Wars' Lowrider - another Compton band.

He once managed Sly and the Family Stone.

He also produced the original West Coast Revival album.

This may go some way to explain its unique sound.

This track was featured on Trippin', a Ubiquity Records compilation about ten years ago.

Even a decade ago information on this song was limited.

Many reviewers thought it was a long lost blue-eyed soul track.

The bands' name only adding to the...confusion.




Major props to the gentleman who posted this epic song on You Tube.



A Longmeadow Morning. Penfield - Fall/Winter 2010

Saturday, 28 August 2010 Comments Off 


It's a mood thing. 
It's an atmosphere thing. 
It's an emotion thing.
It's a reminder of the brands roots, 
the cultural references, 
the romance we 
- at least on this side of the Atlantic - 
invest in the product every time we see 
the name Penfield.
It's a book. It's free. 
A5 in size. 24 pages in length. 
Find the love, spread the love.


https://www.penfieldusa.com/store_us/lookbook

NKU Danny Deluxe

Thursday, 26 August 2010 Comments Off

...the man behind Frith Street Tattoos and Deluxe Tattoo Supplies.


(double click on image)


Red Rose Music Pops Up at Shoreditch House

Sunday, 22 August 2010 Comments Off

Pandemonium on the top floor of course.

The Sunday pool-side revellers having made their way from West London and other remote regions in order to jostle, people-watch and pose at their leisure within the exclusive confines of the Shoreditch House roof terrace.

The floor below however was a different story all together.

Chatty, sociable staff, acres of armchair space and a wealth of untouched Sunday papers greeted Dr Mandi Martin and myself as we entered the lounge for some coffee this morning.



On the way out we noticed in one of the smaller rooms a man playing records - and, just ahead of him, rows of vinyl.


.
We haven't played any vinyl in such a long time, mused Dr Martin.

This is our first outing, so to speak, the guy behind the turntable said.


It's a shame we can't have normal, I mean non-members come in, but when they said we could have the space for a day, we couldn't refuse...

...This is our Sixties Summer set, he said nodding to the boxs of vinyl.


The selection included Tim Hardin, Woody Guthrie, Joni Mitchell, The Beach Boys, Graham Nash, Van Morrison, Joan Baez...impeccable taste.

We plan to do more pop-ups in different locations before the end of the year, he explained...

Just then Dr Martin walked up with another copy of 'The Best Of Tim Hardin'.


I say another copy because it falls into the same category as Marvin's' 'What's Going On', the Beach Boys 'Pet Sounds' and Miles' 'Kind of Blue'...

It's one of those records we seem to loan out to people - enthusiastically, repeatedly...and
indefinitely.

Cool. I thought to myself. All we have to do now is remember where our record player is.




..In the meantime, here's (some) of the best of Tim Hardin;















Bob Davis Disses P Funk ...

Saturday, 21 August 2010 Comments Off

...and Shock G from Digital Underground, a true Son Of the P, comes to it's defence.

Dr MM clocked this piece at Davey D's Hip Hop Corner:

Posted today, it's compelling reading for anyone into P Funk or soul music in general.



Hey, wussup wit the luv, Bob?

This is P Funk

Friday, 20 August 2010 Comments Off


...Say Brother - Tv Show, WGBH, Boston, October 7 1969.





N.E.R.D. Back To Zero

Thursday, 19 August 2010 Comments Off


Dr Mandi Martin, myself and about 150 other people attended a listening party for the forthcoming N*E*R*D album, Nothing, this evening.

It was hosted by Eddie and the guys from Present, in the store.

It was a hot ticket of course, made even hotter by the fact that the band members would be there to introduce some of the new tracks.


First impressions?

N*E*R*D are a tough act to follow - even if you're N*E*R*D.

Their swagger and eclecticism means that every time they come out with something new, we as an audience expect something not only different, but better than their previous release.

It was the first album which set the bar in terms of excellence, and the subsequent albums which satisfied our need for sonic variety.
With this, their fourth lp, you get the sense that they were a little overwhelmed by the prospect of having to improve upon their previous outings, and so decided not to.

As a result N*E*R*D have created what to my thinking is their best lp since In Search Of....

Like that very first lp you get the feeling that they've made this record for themselves...zero audience, zero expectation, zero game plan.

There's the harmonic sweep of The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds.

There's the warped funk of Parliafunkadelicment and War.

There's some Doors and even some Michael Jackson in there too. And of course The Beatles.

But none of this matters.

This sensual, political, conceptual lp is way more than an assemblage of parts.

What holds it together is a kind of honesty, a vulnerability which very few lps have the grace to possess these days.

As The Neptunes, they're unshakably adept at producing hit records.

With Nothing, N*E*R*D have refused to opt for a dead-cert approach and taken huge creative risks.

As a result, if last nights listening session is any indication, N*E*R*D have delivered a great record.

Announcing the return of Walk-Over Shoes. A Giant Awakes

Saturday, 7 August 2010 Comments Off

Over the past few years, while loads of shoe companies have mined their own (and other peoples) archives in order to come up with interpretations of authentic America footwear, Walk-Over have been akin to a sleeping giant.


With more heritage-value than most, it's obvious that this is one shoe brand which doesn't have to dig very deep to come up with the goods. And maybe that's why this new collection seems so effortless and yet on-point.


This is one of those great pioneering American companies.


In the early 1900's they produced their own magazine Walk-Over Shoe Prints, looking at social issues as well as those affecting the shoe industry as a whole.

They established a new manufacturer/ retailer business model and even today they still have a unique construction technique which is both future-facing and rooted in the companies two century-plus history.



Looking at this brand new collection by Walk-Over, you'll encounter an abundance great design: here they've allowed heritage to mean more than just a tag line or a date to put beneath the logo.



They've respected the archives, but not been limited by them.



They've also remembered that the goal of any serious shoe-wearer is to have a well made item which outlives any current fashion or trend.


Looking back at the history of the brand, this seems to be one of the principles on which the whole company was built.


Geo E Keith Company was the founding family business behind the Walk-Over empire.


This is what then owner Harold C Keith said on July 19th 1921:

Right now there seems to be no standard of shoe values. One can see in store windows all sorts of shoes at any price. Many manufacturers have greatly cheapened their product to meet the present price demand.

As you know, the policy of the Geo E Keith Company has been the reverse. We are making our shoes better.



With this new launch collection what the team at Walk-Over have done is take their bucks, red brick and saddle shoe classics and instilled in the design a sense of direction and now-ness without loosing any of the Ivy League or Americana qualities we originally found so compelling.



To this date the first and only London store I ever saw selling Walk-Over shoes was of course the legendary (and greatly missed) J Simons shop in Covent Garden; I suspect we’ll be seeing them in a lot more stores in the near future…


the above images are just some of the forthcoming Walk-Over Spring/Summer 2011 collection. There's more to come...!

Bobby Hebb: July 26th 1938 to Aug 3rd 2010

Thursday, 5 August 2010 Comments Off



Major song. Major artist. Major loss.

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