SA ROCK DIGEST ISSUE #197 http://www.sarockdigest.com 7th April 2003 Established 27th January 1999 -------------- IN THIS ISSUE -------------- The South African Music Awards ceremony was held on Saturday night... Mothermix clinches Musica deal... Barleycorn Festival coming soon... Kurt says it's time to suck... Kurt reviews Sons Of Trout... Carina saw Kobus! at the Bassline... John saw Fetish in London... and all the gig info is at http://www.SAgigs.com ---------------------------------- SOUTH AFRICAN ROCK DIGEST ONLINE ---------------------------------- For a colorful and clickable HTML version of the SA Rock Digest with images, please visit http://rock.co.za where the online version of the SA Rock Digest can be found. Updated every Tuesday. --------------------------------------- SOUTH AFRICAN ROCK DIGEST ON THE RADIO --------------------------------------- Digest co-editor Stephen Segerman presents his SA music slot on the Bruce Millar Show on SAfm (103-106fm) on Monday evenings between 9 and 9.30pm. ------------------------------------- THE SOUTH AFRICAN ROCK ENCYCLOPEDIA ------------------------------------- From Abstract Truth to Karen Zoid, from 'Astra' to 'Zen Boulders', from 'Ag Pleez Deddy' to 'ZX Dan'... visit the South African Rock Encyclopedia at http://www.ROCK.co.za ----------- SAmp3.com ----------- Recent new releases on http://www.SAmp3.com include: 'Sweet Narcotics' - AK Massive 'Kamakastig Land' (live) - Albert Frost 'Jy Is Opium' - Valiant Swart 'Come On' - The LED 'Marionette' - Fetish 'Jy Gee Geboorte Aan Jou Asem/ Blomme Vir Boeddha' - Breyten Breytenbach 'Sick Boogie' - Martin Rocka 'Tired' - Scarlet Host 'Die Gipsy In Jou Oë' - Anna Davel 'I'd Rather Be Sad Than Happily Married' (live) - Blues Broers 'Op Soek Na Jou' - Gas! 'Let's Become The Silence' - Sunways 'Suck Sampler' - Suck 'Race Past The Sun' - Dolly Rockers ------------ SAGIGS.com ------------ The SA Rock Digest list of recommended gigs can be found at: http://www.SAgigs.com. If you cannot access SAgigs.com please e-mail mailto:gigs@sarockdigest.com?subject=gigguide and we will e-mail the gig guide to you each week. ------------- SAKLANK.com ------------- Sluit aan by http://www.SAKlank.com deur e-pos te stuur aan mailto:intekenaar@saklank.com?subject=SAKlank Alle rasionele idees, gedagtes, bydraes, briewe en konsert-/CD-resensies is altyd welkom! ----------- ONE WORLD ----------- Selling South African Music to the World http://www.oneworld.co.za/index.cfm?bec=4321 ----------- CONTENTS ----------- 1.NEWS: SAMA Awards, Mothermix, Ketamine, Barleycorn, Frames of Reference 2.CHARTS: Top 30 mp3s & albums 3.NEW RELEASES: mp3s & CDs: Valiant Swart, Wonderboom, One World 4.USA FOR AFRICA: Suck 5.A NAARTJIE IN THE UK: Sons Of Trout 6.HISTORY & TRIVIA: Springbok radio charts, birthdays, Vinyl Junkies 7.SOUND SOLUTIONS: A Readers Forum 8.LIVE MUSIC: Kobus!, Fetish 9.INFO: Subscriptions & contributions _____________________________________________ 1.NEWS -------- THE SAMA AWARDS 2003 SA music had its big party at Sun City on Saturday night, and 35 SA Music Awards (SAMA's) were presented to artists from across our diverse musical spectrum. The ceremony was pretty much the same as every year, there is not much one can do with the standard format except change the drapes and zip it along. But these things have their own momentum and there's no use writhing about it, either "let it wash all over you" or switch channels. We watched, most of it, and did so to be able to give you a quick precis of who won what, and who performed, but no comments on the fashion, sorry. The first hour was a little tedious apart from the opening live performance by Mafikizolo, who deservedly took home two awards ('Best African Pop Album' and 'Best Duo or Group') for the modern-marabi funk on their smash album, 'Sibongile'. First, we met our mostly uninspiring sole female presenter, a welcome change from the usual bantering duo however, then watched resident vinyl squiggler Ready D for a bit, and then shifted around as all the sponsors (Standard Bank, SABC 1, and the SAMA gang) were given an early and extended slice of ceremony time via some waffley pre-recorded speeches. Then to lift the mood we had a group of grey-suited gents who sang an awful a capella dirge really badly, followed by three consecutive Gospel awards. Groan. But it picked up after that and we saw Hugh Masekela take the 'Best Producer' award for his heavily nominated 'Time' album. Then Linda Kekana won the 'Best Jazz Vocal Album' for 'I Am An African', McCoy Mrubata's 'Face The Music' won the 'Best Traditional Jazz Album', and the Sheer All Stars took the 'Best Contemporary Jazz Album' award for 'Dance With Me' An early surprise was the draw in the 'Best Boeremusiek' category (what were the odds?), but space and memory don't allow us to list both those winners' names. In the 'Best Adult Contemporary Album' section, Ernie Smith ('Lovely Things') took the "English" award (but a pat on the back for the unlucky Ian Henderson), Coenie de Villiers won the "Afrikaans" award for 'Zen', and Jonas Gwangwa's 'Sounds From Exile' was a popular choice for the "African" award. The lovely KB won 'Best R&B' for her 'Beautiful Vibrations' album, and the Skwatta Kamp crew exuberantly celebrated their 'Best Rap' award for 'Khut en Joyn'. Three Lifetime Achievement awards were presented during the evening, the first to Moses Khumalo, the legendary Soul Brothers producer. The second went to John Lindemann, the founder of Downtown Studios in Johannesburg, and the man behind early recordings of acts like Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Mahlathini, Miriam Makeba, Peanut Butter Conspiracy, Jody Wayne, and many more since then. The final Lifetime Achievement Award of the evening went to Enoch Sontonga, the composer of 'Nkosi Sikelel' I Afrika', our national anthem which we now share with Tanzania and Zambia. Sontonga died aged 32 in 1905, but was represented at the ceremony by his granddaughter. This proud relative then got to wave at the crowd from her seat in the audience, while both the Minister and Deputy Minister of Arts, Culture, etc accepted the award on behalf of the late Mr Sontonga up on the stage, a very strange decision...? But sanity prevailed when BOO! won the 'Best Pop Album' award for 'Shooting Star!', unexpectedly beating both the big favourites, Heinz Winckler and 101 (the' Pop Idols' and 'Popstars' winners, um, respectively). Long-dormant memories of 'Pop Idols' and 'Big Brother' were rekindled by losing 'Idols' finalists, Mel and Ezra, who performed 'Cabin Fever', their hit theme from BB which also picked up the 'Best Pop Single', later in the evening. Moses Khumalo won the 'Best Newcomer' award for his 'Mntungwa' album, adding to the Sheer Label's impressive pile of trophies. Peter Pearlson won 'Best Engineer' for his work on the Sheer All Stars' 'Dance With Me' album. Sibongile Khumalo ('Quest') and Hugh Masekela ('Time') were then named 'Best Female Artist' and 'Best Male Artist', and Wambali won the 'Best African Artist' award for 'Zani Muwone'. Cutting Jade represented live SA Rock at the ceremony with a classy version of '10 Seconds', but their excellent 'Between Two Lives' album missed out on the 'Best Rock Album' award. In this very tight category - that included Perez's 'Picture Perfect', Battery 9's 'Sondebok' and Van der Want and Letcher's 'Bignity' - Not My Dog took the award for 'Braai Vibes', described by one of the band in his acceptance speech as: "A lekker, f*kken rock album". So the SAMA's were quite fun and sometimes funny - but not intentionally as there was not a comedian in sight - especially when SABC1 screened a promo ad for the "upcoming" SAMA Awards, with about 10 minutes of the ceremony left to run. But they are our own music awards, and we join all the speakers in "recognising the depth of talent in SA", "congratulating the winners", "condoling the losers", and remembering that "without you artists, there would be no awards ceremony". Quite! About half of the 35 SAMA's were handed out prior to the televised portion of the ceremony, and were flashed on the screen around the breaks, so we missed a few. But a full list should be available soon at www.risa.org.za (SS) ---------------------------- MOTHERMIX CLINCHES DEAL WITH MUSICA Only two weeks after KGB's debut album, 'The First Born', hit the shelves at Pick 'n Pay Hypermarkets, Mothermix Distribution has clinched a deal with Musica which will see this CD - nominated for "Best Hip Hop Album of the Year" - in all 136 Musica stores nationwide. The CD will again be selling for a price of under R50, making the album cheaper than any single. KGB's album is currently playlisted on GHFM, YFM, Metro FM, Kaya FM, East Coast Radio and a number of community radio stations. Alexander Gregori, CEO of The Mothermix Group said: "It really feels great that our ideas fall on such fertile ground. CD's are hopelessly overpriced in South Africa and we thank retailers for supporting our quest to bring music to the people at a price they can afford. In the slipstream of KGB's phenomenal success we are awaiting the debut album of our next act and will also release an album by at least one international act this year - all for under R50. This will prove that attractive pricing does not only work for South African music". Listen to KGB at http://www.SAmp3.com/artists_e_k.html ------------------------------- KETAMINE SHOWCASE NEW LINE-UP AT SPLASHY FEN 2003 Durban rock band, Ketamine, is set to take the Splashy Fen Marquee stage on Friday night, 25th April with their new line-up. Original members, vocalist and keyboardist Shannon Mackenzie, guitarist Jason Every and bassist Dirk Slabbert, are joined by two formidable and experienced musicians, guitarist Barry Corden, and drummer Mike Goddard. Ketamine first entered the spotlight in 2001 when chosen to play at Act IV - A Tribute to the Smashing Pumpkins Concert in Chicago. In 2002 they headlined the Chicago show, plus played Splashy Fen, Rock Concert 2, Woodstock IV and Flux Festival. Their version of The Smashing Pumpkins' 'Disarm' appeared on the 'Ghost Children' tribute CD, their song 'Stay' was released on 'Wicked Rock - Let us be heard' in December 2002, and crowd favourite 'Reflect in You' will be included in Universal Music's "C-Weed 3" compilation soon to hit the shelves. Listen to Ketamine at http://www.SAmp3.com/wickedrock.html ---------------------------- ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF THE BARLEYCORN MUSIC CLUB On Saturday 12th April, the Barleycorn Music Club will hold its Annual Festival at the Maynardville Open Air Theatre in Wynberg. Every year but one since 1980, they have celebrated the richness of local home-grown musical talent with a party in this beautiful venue This year, the line-up includes names like Roger Lucey, Bill Knight, Robin Auld, Heather Mac and Mark Harris, Dave Goldblum and many other bright lights on the Cape music scene. See 'Events' below, and www.SAgigs.com for full details ---------------------------- FRAMES OF REFERENCE Dave Goldblum and Tim Hopwood will present a slide show titled 'Frames Of Reference', accompanied by music, at the f-Stop Cafe' in Gardens, Cape Town, on the 15th and 16th of April at 9.00pm. The music was composed by Dave Goldblum, and Tim Hopwood compiled the images from a selection of Eastern Cape photographers' work. Both artists are well known in their fields, and are continuing their collaboration after launching the show in PE. Dave is playing at the Maynardville Festival on the 12th of April, the River Club (Barleycorn) on the 14th, and with Steve Newman at the VegiTable in Kalk Bay on the 17th. __________________________________________ 2.CHARTS ----------- TOP 30 SOUTH AFRICAN MP3s OF THE WEEK http://www.SAmp3.com 1. [3] (1) LekkerByDieSee - Diff Olie ('Die Borrelbad Insident'/Boereplaas) 2. [4] (2) Spook - Spinnekop ('Soet September EP'/Afrimusik) 3. [5] (3) Wish Your Were Here - Liela (SAmp3.com/Indie) 4. [8] (4) Stand By Me - Tait (Fresh) 5. [6] (5) Vampyre Girl - The Awakening ('Sacrificial Etchings'/Intervention Arts) 6. [13] (6) Fishes Of Men - Metalmorphosis ('Blistered'/Silva Moon) 7. [1] (1) Beach Girl - Natalia ('The Street Level Sessions'/Indie) 8. [2] (2) Room2Breathe Sampler - Semisane ('Room2Breathe'/BMG) 9. [10] (9) The Warrior Sampler - Ipi 'NTombi featuring Margaret Singana ('The Warrior'/Gallo) 10. [14] (10) Say Goodbye - Scarlet Host (Demo/Indie) 11. [9] (1) Stoute Boude - Anton Goosen en Beeskraal (''n Vis Innie Bos'/Gallo) 12. [12] (2) Siamese Sampler - Siamese ('Three Piece project'/BMG) 13. [7] (7) Diep In Gauteng - Stefan Lombard ('Alleen'/Afrimusik) 14. [18] (14) Powerzone Roadshow Sampler - Various (SAmp3.com/Sovereign) 15. [21] (15) Open Your Eyes - KGB ('The First Born'/Mothermix) 16. [11] (8) Broken Innocence - Alexis ('Overload'/Pt. Music) 17. [20] (17) Charlie - Lorraine Shannon ('Lorraine Shannon'/Gallo) 18. [19] (18) Crowd Invasion - Bedrock ('So Where's The Party?'/Criminal Records) 19. [15] (5) Toeka Sampler - Steve Hofmeyr ('Toeka'/EMI) 20. [16] (1) Dinosaur - Forest Moon ('Forest Moon'/Forest Moon) 21. [24] (21) South Africa - Eden Brent ('Something Cool'/Rhythm) 22. [27] (22) Ingoma - Khumbula ('Kheta'/African Cream) 23. [28] (23) Tweak Sampler - Tweak ('Dirty Sanchez and the Misfit Kidz'/BMG) 24. [17] (1) Daytripper - Joe Public ('The Terrible Two's'/Indie) 25. [-] (25) James Brown (I Ain't) - Martin Rocka & The Sick Shop ('Product Of Bad Breeding'/Indie) 26. [29] (26) Push-up Bra - Uzo Blaker ('Volk Jou Ook'/Wildebeest) 27. [-] (27) Pre-Seether Sampler - Saron Gas ('Fragile'/Musketeer) 28. [30] (28) Ek en Jy en die Highway - Valiant Swart ('Deur Die Donker Vallei'/Rhythm) 29. [22] (1) Vreemdeling - Dertien (SAmp3.com/Indie) 30. [-] (30) Onder In My Whiskeyglas (Live) - Koos Kombuis ('Tassenberg All*Stars'/Trippy Grape/Rhythm) -------------- TOP 30 SOUTH AFRICAN ALBUMS OF THE WEEK http://www.sarockdigest.com/charts This week [last week] (highest position) Title - Artist (Label) 1. [2] (1) Luxury - Robin Auld (Free Lunch) 2. [3] (2) Into The Night We Slide - Radio Rats (RetroFresh) 3. [6] (3) The Awakening - Happy420 (Indie) 4. [5] (4) Sacrificial Etchings - The Awakening (Intervention Arts) 5. [10] (5) Ligdag - Laurinda Hofmeyr (Rhythm) 6. [1] (1) Room2Breathe - Semisane (BMG) 7. [4] (4) Romance And Finance - Citizen Jones (Flying Kitty) 8. [11] (8) Khetha - Khumbula (African Cream) 9. [7] (2) Killing Time - Anika (Outbox/Rhythm) 10. [10] (14) Motive For Breathing - PetFlyz (Intervention Arts) 11. [8] (1) The Listening Room - Neo Muyanga (BMG) 12. [12] (1) Three Piece Project - Siamese (Muskateer) 13. [13] (1) Tap Into The System - Dorp (Contains Nuts) 14. [21] (14) Elephant - Tim Wells (Indie) 15. [9] (1) Catfish - Albert Frost (Indie) 16. [19] (16) Koning Van Die Hawaiise Ghitaar - Jerry Shanahan (Gallo) 17. [20] (17) Lorraine Shannon - Lorraine Shannon (Gallo) 18. [17] (12) What's In A Box? - Serving Suggestion (Indie) 19. [15] (1) Forest Moon - Forest Moon (Forest Moon) 20. [16] (2) The Terrible Two's - Joe Public (Indie) 21. [28] (21) Something Cool - Eden Brent (Rhythm) 22. [22] (2) Never Before - Dayspring (Indie) 23. [18] (4) Getting Stronger - SteveVan (Silvertree) 24. [23] (1) Gommora - Gommora (Gallo) 25. [-] (25) Dirty Sanchez And The Misfit Kidz - Tweak (BMG) 26. [24] (2) The First Born - KGB (Mothermix) 27. [25] (2) Live At Jamesons - Cherry Faced Lurchers (RetroFresh) 28. [-] (28) In Different Voices - KJ Stone (Sonic Orange) 29. [26] (4) Afrikaans Met Attitude - Vari-ous (Hoezit) 30. [29] (1) Disclaimer - Seether (Musketeer/BMG) READ http://rock.co.za/legends/2000plus LISTEN http://www.SAmp3.com BUY http://www.oneworld.co.za/index.cfm?bec=4321 _____________________________________________ 3. NEW, RECENT AND UPCOMING RELEASES ----------------------------------------- ------ MP3s ------ New mp3s at SAmp3.com: 'Sweet Narcotics' - AK Massive Let this slow, trippy song from AK Massive wash over you. Dolly Rocker fans will probably enjoy this one. Love that organ drone. Taken off the 'Wicked Rock: Let Us Be Heard' CD. http://www.SAmp3.com/wickedrock.html 'Kamakastig Land' (live) - Albert Frost A cover of the Frosted Orange song by none other than Albert Frost(ed) himself. Taken from the limited edition live 'Catfish' CD. Fans of Jimi Hendrix, Kula Shaker's 'GoKula' and Lenny Kravitz's 'Are You Going My Way' will love this. 'Jy Is Opium' - Valiant Swart Taken from the latest Valiant Swart CD, 'Song Vir Katryn', the new TV series soundtrack. (see "New CDs" section below). 'Come On' - The LED Skye Stevenson's voice twists and turns on this song taken from their 1998 EP '2am'. Though the LED is not in any way a reference to Led Zeppelin, the shades of light and dark that this band explore throughout this song (and all their music) are echoes of those masters of rock. 'Marionette' - Fetish A previously unreleased demo recording from Fetish. Let Michelle Breeze's voice blow you away. Taken off the 'Wicked Rock: Let Us Be Heard' CD. http://www.SAmp3.com/wickedrock.html 'Jy Gee Geboorte Aan Jou Asem/ Blomme Vir Boeddha' - Breyten Breytenbach Words written and spoken by Breyten Breytenbach, music composed and performed by Jean Marais (now part of 12Hz with Rikku Latti). This track opens the incredible 'Mondmusiek' CD which was a combined project by Human & Rousseau (the publishers) and Rhythm Records in 2001. So much more than just a South African answer to 'An American Prayer'. 'Sick Boogie' - Martin Rocka "Sick" in skatepark speak means "awesome, brilliant" and this boogie by Martin Rocka is just that. The vocals sound like the late, great sensational Alex Harvey and this songs reminds me of one of those live jams that Led Zep used to do during the long extended versions of 'Whole Lotta Love.' Ok, let this boy boogie. 'Tired' - Scarlet Host A gently picked guitar opens this new song from Scarlet Host, before the bass rumble starts, followed by pounding drums and driving guitars... classic! 'Die Gipsy In Jou Oë' - Anna Davel A brave and very different reworking of the Koos Kombuis/Piet Botha song which first appeared on Piet Botha's 'Suitcase Vol Winter' album with vocals by Koos Kombuis. In this new version the song sounds like it was recorded around a gypsy campfire with all the images that that comment conjures up. The bouzouki is played by Greg Georgiades. 'I'd Rather Be Sad Than Happily Married' (Live) - Blues Broers A strange sentiment from the brilliant Blues Broers, taken from their classic live album 'The Cellar Tapes'. An original Albert Frost and Simon Orange composition with a nod of the head to Bo Diddley. 'Op Soek Na Jou' - Gas! Gas! are André Fourie and Stefan vd Vyfer and 'Op Soek Na Jou' is the first single release off their debut CD 'Ets Die Oomblik' on Sting Music. This album of serious (but not dull) Afrikaans music was recorded in Cape Town, engineered by Linda Roberts and produced by Tony Ridgway. 'Let's Become The Silence' - Sunways Last year's SAMA winners (for 'The Moon Is The Spoon') Sunways released their new CD 'Three' a few months ago and this track is taken from it. This Ziggy Stardust-influenced uptempo rocker also appears on the 'Wicked Rock: Let Us Be Heard' CD. http://www.SAmp3.com/wickedrock.html 'Suck Sampler' - Suck A sampler (a taster if you will) of the classic album of prog and metal covers (and one original track) from 1970. Read review under "USA For Africa" section below. 'Race Past The Sun' - Dolly Rockers An almost cheerful and upbeat song from Greg Donnelly and the Dolly Rockers. Taken from the excellent, slow-burner of an album 'Glory Glory'. All these full-length mp3s are available for free download at http://www.SAmp3.com by kind permission of the artists and/or their record companies. Buy South African CDs at http://www.oneworld.co.za/index.cfm?bec=4321 ----- CDs ----- VALIANT SWART - 'SONG VIR KATRYN' (Rhythm Records) The soundtrack to a new TV series starting this week on Kyknet starring Valiant Swart and Mel Botes. Full review (in Afrikaans) on Issue #3 of SAKlank.com also out today. Listen to 'Jy's My Opium' at http://www.SAmp3.com -------------------------- WONDERBOOM - 'TELL SOMEONE WHO CARES' Wonderboom (Cito, Danny, Wade and Martin) spent a large part of 2002 touring, promoting their very successful 'Rewind' covers album (four Top Ten hits including a #1), and steadily increasing their SA following. The band will now spend a large part of 2003 (a six-month national tour!) doing likewise with their brand new fourth album (if you count their first two EP's) called 'Tell Someone Who Cares'. The album features "12 brand new original, radio-friendly, modern anthems delivered in a cutting edge rock style". A band release explains that "in keeping with their warped take on life, a lot of the songs display Wonderboom's usual playful irreverence but, although the lads would probably deny it, it appears the band might be starting to mature - shock! horror! - there are three or four "ballads" on 'Tell Someone Who Cares'". Tracklisting: 'Dead Right', 'Wild Sunshine', 'Son of a Gun', 'Trippin'', 'Night Falls Like a Grand Piano', 'Slow', 'Soul Doubt', 'White Lines', 'Rise and Walk', 'The Dear Hunter', 'That Girl', 'House of Cards'. READ http://rock.co.za/legends/90s/wonderboom.html BUY http://www.oneworld.co.za/index.cfm?bec=4321&searchfor=wonderboom --------------------------- ONE WORLD - MARCH RELEASES --------------------------- POP & ROCK Various Artists - 'Wicked Rock - Let Us Be Heard' (2CD) A blinding compilation that has 38 tracks of the best rock that SA has to offer, a truly definitive album showcasing the talent on the current SA scene! Features Sunways, Karen Zoid, Henry Ate, Kelvin Declined and many more. http://www.SAmp3.com/wickedrock.html Mean Mr Mustard - 'Secret Places' 3rd album from this very popular SA pop/rock act! Pet Flyz - 'Motive For Breathing' One of the big names in SA's Punk Rock scene - alongside names like Fuzigish and Leek, these boys hold their own! http://www.SAmp3.com/intarts.html Various Artists - 'Namib Party Pack Vol 1' A collection of all the party hits Namibia has to offer! http://www.oneworld.co.za/index.cfm?bec=4321&id=tns002c Tree63 - 'Overflow/Treemix' (2CD) A combined re-release of the 'Overflow' album, with the' Treemix' EP included on the second disc. Mike De Jager - 'Blue Room' London-based Mike De Jager's second release is more straight up rock music! Jerome Arthur - 'Confessions In Dub' This great album, from one of Forest Moon's members, is a real treat, full of dubby electronica! The Narrow - 'Selfconscious' Hard rock sounds from Hanu and E-Mail De Jong of Not My Dog fame! Canaan's Banana - 'Bob's Your Uncle' (CDS) A satirical song about a certain political leader! http://www.SAmp3.com/songs.html JAZZ Zim Ngqawana - 'Vadzimu' Continuing from where he left off with the 'Zimphonic Suites', bra Zim's unmistakable sound and undeniable talent makes him a SA jazz living legend! Sasha Sonnbichler - 'Ndaa/Greetings' Selaelo Selota produced this album by the guitarist who has featured with many SA bands, including Little Sister and Lesley Rae Dowling! A sassy jazz album and one of this year's highlights so far. Various Artists - 'African Connection IV' A collection of awesome jazz tracks from artists as diverse as Tony Cox and Prince Kupi! Voice - 'Quintet Legacy Vol 2 - Songs For Our Grandchildren' Marcus Wyatt and Andile Yenana are two of the better known artists who are part of this fine Jazz quintet! A worthy follow-up to the debut album. TOWNSHIP POP Khumbula - 'Khetha' Zulu music with a sparkling urban touch, a strong release that made it onto Kaya FM's drive time CD of the week, a great achievement. Dalom Kids - 'Potjie' The other half of Splash continue with some Eighties bubble-gum sound. Brilliant! KWAITO Palesa - 'Promise' The album was produced by Don Laka and is sure to set these three girls from Mamelodi well on their way to fame. AFRIKAANS Various Artists - 'Afrikaanse Treffers Van Gister En Vandag' A massive collection of Afrikaans hits! Laurinda Hofmeyr - 'Ligdag' A beautifully packaged CD, with a hard cover booklet, to go with this stunning vocal and musical offering! Recommended. http://www.SAmp3.com/artists_e_k.html GOSPEL Rebecca - 'Hlala Nami' By now we know, Easter would not be the same without a new album from the queen of SA gospel! Various Artists - 'Gospel Grooves Vol. 2' 18 stomping gospel hits that continue where the fist compilation left off, sure to do just as well! IPCC 2003 - 'Mamelang' There seems to be no stopping this great group of Choristers! No Limits - 'Whisper Of Love' A gospel album with a totally different approach, a mixture of English and Zulu covers done in a cappella, and delivered beautifully! Raymond Cilliers - '3 Albums' Afrikaans and English gospel songs on 3 albums, not new releases, but new on the One World site. Koos Van Zyl - 'Stay With Me' Another independent artist, this time with some English gospel songs! http://www.oneworld.co.za/index.cfm?bec=4321&id=tns001k --------------- MORE REVIEWS --------------- More reviews can be found at: Open Record http://www.openrecord.co.za Amuzine http://rock.co.za/reviews.htm ______________________________________ 4.USA FOR AFRICA ------------------ Texas-based Kurt Shoemaker gives his unique views on SA music SUCK - 'TIME TO SUCK' (RetroFresh) There may be bands blasting fiercer walls of electronic energy, but in classic rock, 'Time to Suck' is unrelentingly hard and raw. Suck would have been controversial anywhere, they just happened to be controversial in South Africa in 1970. This RetroFresh release of Suck's 1970 album issues forth the spirit and sound of my early youth (I'm a mature youth at this point), and it satisfies -- there's not a wimpy song in all the nine tracks. A direct lead guitar, slamming drums, insistent bass, and strong and clear singing -- sounds like rock to me. To judge by the their concert set decor items, Suck wanted to offend everyone. Instead of "Peace": "Kill" and "War"; instead of love, a violated female mannequin. But the era of peace and love was a bloody and destructive era, no? No wonder the powers that were thought these guys dangerous. Though 'The Whip' is the only original tune on 'Time to Suck', Suck isn't a cover band that plays the hits for dancing couples. Suck's influences were the groups who wrote the songs they play: Free, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, King Crimson, and Colosseum. Their sound is reminiscent of Frijid Pink (who had a monster fuzz guitar hit with 'House of the Rising Sun'), Vanilla Fudge, Grand Funk Railroad, and other hard 'n' heavy bands only infrequently bombastic. Too bad the energy it took to be Suck, and the money it takes to eat daily and to pay for shattered pianos, broke them up after less than a year together. As it is, this is a fine hard rock album full of wired energy. Kurt Shoemaker, Blanco, Texas mailto:kurt@sarockdigest.com READ http://www.rock.co.za/files/timetosuck.html LISTEN http://www.SAmp3.com/retrofresh.html BUY http://www.oneworld.co.za/index.cfm?bec=4321&id=freshcd118 _________________________________ 5.A NAARTJIE IN THE UK ------------------------ London-based John Samson gives his own twist on SA music TICKS ON GEORGE - SONS OF TROUT Who is George? According to the cartoon in the sleeve notes, George is a cool, shades wearing dog that also goes under the name Commander Trout. He gathers the sextet of musos together and informs them that 'you shall be my sons, The Sons of Trout'. So why does he have ticks? My guess is that the Sons told the teacher that the dog ate their homework. Not to be outdone, the teacher proceeded to mark the dog in the homework's absence. Judging from the fact that there is no reference to crosses on George, it seems the teacher gave the Sons full marks. Listening to the album, one is also inclined to give it full marks. It's smart and polished, drawing on a number of styles, blending and kneading them into a finely crafted album. Opening with some excited slobbering from George in 'George's Welcome' it quickly melts into the funky shimmering 'Siren'. There is a huge hat tipping to the late John Lennon in the Sgt Pepper era Beatlesque 'Silver Beatle' (for those who don't know, The Beatles were called the Silver Beatles at one point, for those who do know, please don't read this bit in brackets.) The African gospel of 'Kom Psalm' sounds a bit like the Soweto String Quartet with voices, due to some awesome Violin playing from Mike Rennie and with it's chorus of 'Rise Up, Rise Up, Rise Up, Stand Tall' it's a really uplifting tune. Never scared to try something different, the dub laden reggae vibes of 'Roots' takes this fascinating album into yet another direction. The sweet falsetto voice on this track is at odds with the subject matter of the song which deals with township life. Nestling between their debut 'Take Me To Your Fishmonger' and last year's critically acclaimed 'Odd Times', 'Ticks on George' cannot be compared to 'Fishmonger' (mainly because this reviewer has never heard their debut) but is equally as good as 'Odd Times' although probably more diverse in sound. The album even closes with the early jazz sounding 'Luscious Lipstick Lady' which comes complete with a few vinyl-ly snaps, crackles and pops every now and then for a touch of authenticity. The most uncanny (or should that be uncanniney) thing about 'Ticks on George' though is that I found my copy at a Flea Market in London. John Samson, London mailto:john@sarockdigest.com READ http://rock.co.za/legends/90s/sonsoftrout.html LISTEN http://www.SAmp3.com/artists_l_s.html BUY http://www.oneworld.co.za/index.cfm?bec=4321&searchfor=trout _________________________________________ 6.HISTORY & TRIVIA ------------------- SPRINGBOK RADIO CHARTS http://rock.co.za/charts This week [Last week] Title - Artist 30 YEARS AGO (6 April 1973) 1 [1] We Believe In Tomorrow - Freddy Breck 2 [3] The Love In Your Eyes - Vicky Leandros 3 [4] Woman (Beautiful Woman) - Don Gibson 4 [2] I Don't Wanna Play House - Barbara Ray 5 [6] I'm On Fire - Maria 25 YEARS AGO (7 April 1978) 1 [1] Mull Of Kintyre - Wings 2 [7] How Deep Is Your Love - Bee Gees 3 [2] Subsitute - Clout 4 [4] Desiree - Neil Diamond 5 [3] It's A Heartache - Bonnie Tyler 20 YEARS AGO (8 April 1983) 1 [1] Talk Talk - Talk Talk 2 [2] Mad World - Tears For Fears 3 [3] Vyfster - Lloyd Ross 4 [5] Up Where We Belong - Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes 5 [4] Maneater - Daryl Hall & John Oates 15 YEARS AGO (26 February 1988) 1 [1] Heaven Is A Place On Earth - Belinda Carlise 2 [2] I Think We're Alone Now - Tiffany 3 [3] Always On My Mind - Pet Shop Boys 4 [4] (I've Had) The Time Of My Life - Jennifer Warnes & Bill Medley 5 [6] Pump Up The Volume - Mas 1973 saw Freddy Breck enjoying his second week at the top of the charts while the previous number 1 by Barbara Ray slipped down a couple of places. However another local act knocked Carly Simon off the top 5 as Maria enjoyed her first top 5 hit with 'I'm on Fire'. Despite a few previous singles, she had failed to chart until now. The Bee Gee's were shooting up the charts on 2 fronts. 'How Deep is Your Love' climbed 5 places to number 2 while 'Stayin' Alive' was a new entry at number 10 this week in 1978. This was all hot on the heels of the phenomenal success of the movie 'Saturday Night Fever' from which the songs came. 1983 saw very little change in the top 5 with only positions 4 and 5 swapping slots. Lurking just outside the top 5 was the interesting paring of Steve Kekana with Hotline. Hotline was one of the country's leading rock bands while Steve Kekana was SA's Stevie Wonder. Kekana had tasted some international success with some of his earlier work charting in most of the Scandinavian countries. The stranglehold of UK and US number 1's on the 1988 top 5 was broken when local band Mas' hit 'Pump Up The Volume' moved up to number 5. Ironically they did it with a song that had been a number 1 in the UK for M/A/R/R/S. An Interesting fact about Bruce Miller's 'I Won't Give Up' which was at number 1 this week in 1976 (see below), was that this was the only time that a South African act took over the number 1 spot from another South African act. Flood's 'Let Me Into Your Life' had been number 1 the previous week. South African's at number 1 this week: Love Is A Beautiful Song - Dave Mills (1970) I Won't Give Up - Bruce Miller (1976) South African New Entries this week: 07-Apr-67 Spicks And Specks - Staccatos 08-Apr-83 Was Ek Maar 'n Digter - Kupido 09-Apr-76 It's A Burning Thing - Bobby Angel 09-Apr-76 One Day At A Time - Marie Gibson 10-Apr-70 Tchaikovsky 1 - Omega Limited 10-Apr-70 Spider Spider - Tidal Wave --------------- VINYL JUNKIES --------------- This section (named after the much-missed shop from Fishhoek) is for collectors of vinyl, both South African and International. MABU VINYL 34 Kloof Street, Gardens, Cape Town Dollar Brand - 'The Children Of Africa' (LP) Sakhile - 'Phambili' (LP) Ratau Mike Makhalemele - 'Thabang' (LP) Jack Hammer - 'The Judas Chapter' (LP) Hugh Tracy - 'More African Stories' (LP) Just In! Assorted mid-70's Township Jive 7" singles off labels like Star, Jet, Murabaraba, Bump, CTC Star, HVN, and Sondela, among others. Cash paid for records in saleable condition. Jacques Vosloo (+27 21) 423 7635 mailto:vinyl@sarockdigest.com ------------ BIRTHDAYS ------------ April 7 - Mike McCully (1947), McCully Workshop April 7 - Janis Ian (born Janis Eddy Fink, 1951) April 8 - Ken E Henson (1947), Freedoms Children; Abstract Truth; Finch & Henson April 8 - Steve Howe (1947), Yes; GTR; Asia April 8 - Julian Lennon (1963) April 9 - Carl Perkins (1932, died 19 January 1998) April 12 - Neville Whitmill (1942, died 1998), The Settlers; The Square Set April 14 - Ritchie Blackmore (1945), Deep Purple; Rainbow; Blackmore's Night April 21 - Iggy Pop (aka Iggy Stooge, born James Jewel Osterburg in 1947) April 22 - Peter Frampton (1950) April 23 - Roy Orbison (1936, died 7 December 1988) April 29 - Una Valli (1950) ______________________________________________ 7.SOUND SOLUTIONS A Readers Forum ----------------------------------- YOU CAN HAVE MINE! I am a Pakistani. I want to listen to and buy the CD of the title song of the Cricket World Cup 2003. Please help me and guide me. Thankful to You Waleed Ashraf mailto:waleedashraf319@hotmail.com {Ed: You can get that official song, called 'Welcome', as a single CD, or you can order a double CD called 'The Ultimate Cricket Party' which has two versions of that song, as well as lots of other good, recent pop songs. 'The Ultimate Cricket Party' is on the Gallo label and is CDRPM 1796. Email mailto:info@oneworld.co.za and they may be able to order it for you and help you with the transaction and delivery.} ---------------------- JODY, NOT THE SON OF JOHN! I am interested in buying the book 'History of Contemporary Music of SA' and would like to know if I will find artist biographies and photos of the following persons in the book: Jody Wayne Glenys Lynne Steve Hofmeyr Clive Bruce I would also like to know the birth date/month of birth, of Jody Wayne. Thanks Elize mailto:ElizeT@denel.co.za {Ed: Yes, that book has info on all the artists you mentioned, though it is very out-of-date now, having been published in 1994. It does not give Jody's birthdate though it does tell us that he was born in India of Canadian parents. Buy this book written by Garth Chilvers and Tom Jasiukowicz at http://www.oneworld.co.za/index.cfm?bec=4321&id=brian%201 for R140 plus postage.} ----------------------- REMEMBER THAT OAK? Is the album 'Matinees On Saturdays' by John Oakley Smith available on CD... if so where? If not where could I find a vinyl copy. mailto:gary@protonprepack.co.za {Ed: I don't know of any CD release of 'Matinees On Saturdays'. We get many requests for that album, but it is only available on hard-to-find SA pressings.} ---------------------- WHAT IS ZEF??? The real reason I'm contacting you is that I am trying to locate one of the original masters of zef, Jonathan Handley, for a story I'm doing. The story is about the East Rand massiv; The Rats, James Philips embracing zef in all its glory. I'm currently working in the UK but are also one of the founding members of www.watkykjy.co.za a site inspired by the people of South Africa. I know Jonathan has moved to Cape Town from Klerksdorp but since I'm not in SA I've lost touch with him. I did the music video for him on Geraas a while ago and met him through that. Donald Swanepoel mailto:donald@superdeluxe2000.fsnet.co.uk ----------------------- BOBFAN ALERT!!! In SA Rock Digest Issue #196 I've read about Karma's new version of Bob Dylan's 'Masters Of War'. How do I get this live recording? I've 2 other questions: I'm looking for the CD (or LP?) "Music Of Our Time", CBS Moot 1, 1971 (with the Bob Dylan cover "If Not For You". I'm also looking for the Electric Petals CD "Polynation" with the Bob Dylan song "Rainy Day Women #36 (#12 & 35)" If there's somebody in South Africa who can help me to find those 2 albums, please let me know. Bert Bohnen from Gouda, The Netherlands mailto:bbohnen@worldonline.nl {Ed: 'Music Of Our Time' was a sampler album released by CBS in 1971 and featured a variety of artists on their label at the time including South Africa's Music Corporation. This album sold for the princely sum of R1.00 (cheap even at that time!). 'If Not For You' is not a cover but is the original Bob Dylan version. This album has never been released on CD, despite repeated requests to SonyMusic, the label for CBS in South Africa now, but can be found in second-hand vinyl stores, see Mabu Vinyl ad below. Cover scan and track listing is here http://rock.co.za/legends/jazzrock/index.html Info on the Electric Petals (except where to buy it!) is at http://rock.co.za/legends/90s/petals_polynation.htm } ------------------------ ZAZONE zaZone.com allows bands/artists/venues and record labels to incorporate dynamic content into their website and enables them to update their site without having to call in the services of a web designer and without having to modify and upload pages themselves. A simple login at zaZone.com allows bands to capture, modify gigs and news and to have this information reflected on their own site, in their own colors/layout etc immediately - from any internet-linked computer. zaZone.com displays the gigs and has a searchable database of bands and gigs. Tony De Buys mailto:Tdebuys@mcm.wcape.gov.za http://www.zazone.com - Promoting SA Music... -------------------------- AMARYONI? I wish to purchase Amaryoni's Traditional Zula Acapella CD. How may I do that, lost in Montana (USA)? thanks for helping me! Nathalie Caulliez mailto:caulliezn@hotmail.com {Ed - Buy it at http://www.oneworld.co.za/index.cfm?bec=4321&id=dca0003 The vocal group is set to release a second album in the next few months, watch out for that!.} ------------------------ DENNY LOREN ANYONE? I was a very very good friend of Denny Loren who used to sing in Johannesburg at Ciros (more often than not!!). I decided tonight to punch her name in the computer and see what I could find and where she ended up. It came up with her on the front cover of the Sounds of Brass!!! http://rock.co.za/legends/jazzrock/index.html Denny met a man from the States, married him and went to live in Redondo Beach, California. I have often wondered about her and where she ended up. I have a photo of her and I somewhere where we travelled with Brian and the boys. I know it's a long shot, but do you or have you heard what happened to her? I would love to know if you do ... Regards Colleen Chard (known as April now) mailto:unicorn47@ntlworld.com PS: I live in Bristol in the South West of England now ..... ---------------------- FORBIDDEN FRUIT Hi there, I am desperately looking for the CD 'Forbidden fruit' by Hot RS. Do you perhaps know how to get hold of it? Thanks Kind regards Peter Spaanderman mailto:peter@mikros.co.za READ http://www.rock.co.za/files/hotrs_index.html --------------------- IT'S MABU 4U Hi, I would like to source old Asylum Kids, Flash Harry, Dog Detachment vinyl recordings. I know about fresh, and buy regularly, but can't seem to source original recordings. Please help if you can. Many thanx, Ian van Niekerk (CT) mailto:ian@ianvanniekerk.co.za {Ed: I recommend you go visit Jacques at Mabu Vinyl or contact him re these titles. Contact info in 'Vinyl Junkies' section above.} -------------------------- GOT A QUESTION? Please email any musical questions to mailto:soundsolutions@sarockdigest.com This section is sponsored by: SOUND SOLUTIONS Sound Solutions is a private music library in Cape Town that offers music searches, and the sourcing and recommending of songs and music soundtracks for television, film, and radio productions and commercials. Contact: Stephen Segerman - (021) 461-9541 mailto:sugar@rock.co.za ______________________________________________ 8.LIVE MUSIC --------------- -------- EVENTS -------- THE RETURN OF SCARLET HOST It seems there were some rumours floating about that Scarlet Host, Cape Town's most exciting progressive rock and metal outfit, had broken up. They were wrong as the band joined their long-time peers and rock and roll partners, Cruel April (and a recommended outfit called Caroline Coon), at the Whammy Bar in Tableview last Saturday. For The Hosts, it was a low-key affair, and a warm-up for the band's official comeback date - The Cause Rock and Punk Music Festival on April 18. Hear the new Scarlet Host mp3 'Tired' at http://www.SAmp3.com ------------------------- ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF THE BARLEYCORN MUSIC CLUB On Saturday 12th April, - Maynardville Open Air Theatre in Wynberg. The line-up, in no particular playing order): Jade - superb Latin American and Iberian solo acoustic guitar. Sound Flowers - Wayne Pauli & Craig and their unique self-penned material. Ama-Ambush - very tight marimba and percussion quartet. Population - excellent band of youngsters studying music at school. Adamu - diminutive master of Brazilian and Angolan folk tunes. Boulevard Blues Band - world-class purveyors of electric blues. Bill Knight - finest Skollie Rocker, Kaapse poet and storyteller. Robin Auld - surely no introduction needed? solo, he's brilliant. Heather Mac & Mark Harris - power vocals and acoustic guitar. Blythe - cello, accordion, 2 acoustic guitars & vocals doing trad folk. Roger Lucey - astute social commentary served in a sharp musical sauce. The Jam Tarts - Lee Jones plus some of Madame Freak, female supergroup. Dave Goldblum - one of the finest singer-songwriters in SA today. Starkravingsane - didgeridoo driven indefinable intelligent music. 3pm until 11pm; R30 adults, R15 students with cards; kids under 12 free. Superb easily affordable catering, Mitchells Brewery serving the foaming beverages, easy parking and security provided. ------------------------ WHY GO TO SPLASHY FEN 2003? If you've never been to Splashy Fen, or if you've been before but are still not sure whether to make the trip again, read on and you'll be packing your long-weekend bag before you know it. Splashy Fen is celebrating its 14th year in the exquisite Underberg area in KZN, and this year a brand new management team has been hard at work to ensure a five-day music festival of note. The music line-up this year is the result of six months of listening to hundreds of demo's submitted to the music co-ordination team, and will keep the audience enthralled throughout the festival. A stellar group of artists will provide musical moments, which will be remembered long after Splashy Fen 2003 is over. Splashy Fen 2003 will also provide a new-and-improved craft market to please everyone from the tie-dye enthusiast, to the professional craft market trawler. Bigger and better than in the past, the craft arena at Splashy 2003 will offer dozens of stalls for the browsing pleasure of all festival goers. If you are interested in taking a stall you had better hurry. See you there from the 24th to the 28th April 2003! For full details of the bands appearing and all other Splashy Fen details, go to the website www.splashyfen.co.za, or contact the General Manager, Pedro Carlo on 082 892 6176. -------------------------- MORE ON THE RUSTLERS EASTER UNITY PARTY 18 to 21 April On the 4th January 2003, a guide was published in the London Guardian newspaper listing the ten best parties in the world and one of these was Rustlers. To quote, "So many festivals are taken over by corporate branding that the general rule is the smaller the better. Rustlers Valley still feels and operates like a true celebration and revellers have a good idea of how to go about getting down to fine music in a stunning location". Over the past eleven years Rustlers festivals were designed with Glastonbury as a role model, crowded and hectic with a lot of overlapping sound and confused, excited people. By the end of the nineties this format was well worn and, in response to the comments of festival goers, Rustlers began to evolve into what it is now, a small intimate party in a dream venue with a relaxed, friendly atmosphere complemented by the new Saucery Restaurant completed last year. The real attraction of the valley had become evident - good company, clean air, clean water, organically grown food and the sheer beauty of the rock amphitheatre. From 18 to 21 April the first Rustlers Easter Unity Party will be celebrated. Four days camping with a non stop party at the World Stage. The focus is on dance with one day of World music, one day of House, one day of Trance and chilled on Monday. A few live acts such as up-and-coming local bands The Hands, Small Axes, Choice Masters, Dax Butler and friends will play in the afternoons and on Saturday night there will be a live performance by Nicholas Kotei Djanie, master drummer from Ghana. A stunning DJ line-up includes G-Force - House Africa, Dogstar, Mr Ed, Indaskys, Craig Massiv, Kid Fonque, Ethnobot, Manello, Shakti, Tale Moon Rising (UK), Liquid Djems (UK), Lava Lamp Experience (UK) and Jeremy- Swallow Sounds (UK). For drumming enthusiasts, Marimba House will again be running a four-day West African Drum Workshop with Nicholas Kotei Djanie from Ghana. Entrance is R200 at the gate and R150 prebooked on Rustlers website www.rustlers.co.za which also posts updated party and event info. ------------------------ 'THE WORLD IN A GUITAR' 'The World In A Guitar' is a show that brings together the stunning fret-board wizardry of our country's finest guitarists in a collaboration of solos, duos, trios, quartets and a slam bang at the end with everybody on stage! It is a celebration of this unique and endlessly fascinating instrument. The essential idea behind the show is an outward musical extrapolation from the members that make up the mind-bending Aquarian Quartet (Steve Newman, Tony Cox, Greg Georgiades and Syd Kitchen) to many of the fine guitarists and other musicians that these guys have worked with over the years. Award-winning steel-string guitarist Tony Cox has worked with the renowned Errol Dyers and master drummer/percussionist Barry van Zyl. Not to mention his now legendary duo partnership with Steve Newman (this duo recorded their famous classic '101 Ways To Use An Acoustic Guitar' on this same stage 20 years ago!). In turn, guitar ace supremo Newman has worked with the brilliant Robbie Jansen on sax and flute and has invited violinist Terrence Scarr who did fine work for Newman's super-group Tananas. Greg Georgiades will be working with tabla player Ashish Joshi and the music of Syd Kitchen and maskanda king Madala Kunene will haunt your mind for weeks after hearing them together. Saudiq Kahn is a flamenco powerhouse, his strength and dexterity on the Spanish guitar has earned him a growing reputation throughout South Africa. He will perform as a soloist but will also be doing some rip-em-up stuff with the other players. There could be other surprise guests depending on availability. The guitar in the hands of a master is a force to be reckoned with in whatever genre of music. The genres on this series of four nights, with this outstanding collection of musicians will be, as the title of the show suggests, pan-global. Expect the music to be vibrant, exciting, lively, haunting, moving, funny, wide-ranging and ultimately, brilliant. Fri/Sat 10/11/12 Apr - Baxter Concert Hall - Cape Town Starting times: Thu/Fri 20h15 - Sat. 18h00 & 21h00 021 685 7880 or Computicket --------- REVIEWS --------- KOBUS! Carina Laubsher caught the dynamic duo at the Bassline in Melville The dark, mischievous and succulently handsome dudes that exist as Kobus! are incredibly addictive. Francois Blom as the noxious Nosferatu with the long black mane, and Theo Crous, the dude that grew a guitar from his ribs instead of an arm. Ten o'clock Francois Blom yanks his mike stand and bellows: "Nou't ek alweer een van daardie bizarre mike stands gekry!" He thrashes it into submission, looks at Theo and they start with "Dink Jy Nou." Depressing, slow, dark, delicious. Francois prances like a B-Grade horror movie monster, Theo's swaying over the Fender. And just as you feel you're slipping into a bottomless pit of molten tar, they do "Wie is Kobus!?". Hiiiii-haaaahh. Names like Brixton Moord en Roof are added, in between the likes of Heino, Ivan Rebroff, Die Ou Menere, and other archaic dudes. Then it's "Aardskok". I stare and stare. As the chorus comes up, Francois freezes in a menacing crouch, his arms shoot out like black snakes towards Theo - and "tssshaaaiiiiinggg-tshe-tshuuuiingggg" the Fender starts wailing a voracious bloomin' solo. Screams of undiluted appreciation and awe all around us. Theo's long guitar nails trail a thorny caress on the Fender's gleaming brown midriff. Barely recovered from that hectic stint, Francois murmurs into the mike about Sunday braais. He asks who likes braai. A nervous titter from somewhere in the back. Then he roars in that thick old voice: "Aaahahahaha-haha-haaaaaa! Kom! Ek wil julle hoor! Braai! BRAAI! BRAAI!!!!!!!" Bassline starts to hum and vibrate. Screams and yells ensue: "Braai! Braai! Braai!" In my mind I see cannibals chanting around a large fire, bones through their noses. "Braai! Braai!" So they do "Sondagmiddag". There's this smile in Francois' voice, but you can't shake that oily feeling of apprehension on your skin. Especially when they sing "ons kerf die vleis" and "smul aan die heerlike spys" - as if the carving host keeps his cold meats under the floorboards. Eeek. They proceed with the nutty "Gee Raat", while Francois clutches at his groin and pulls his hair, Theo rolls his eyes and blurts out this demented falsetto, shaking his head at the barmy bunch in front of him. We can't stop laughing. Stuff like "goggas en luise op jou pubis" and "die kriewelende hipothalamus in my brein, gee raat vir my vrou se bek" sound different each time you hear it. While you laugh till your spleen starts to bulge. Theo surprises us with a neat acoustic session on his Taylor, while Francois groans: "O Boereplaas, jou het ek lief bo alles." Then it's "Jou Oë", with both gents cranking up those decibels, doing guttural things from way beyond the coccyx, while we wait to see Francois' tonsils landing on the stage with a wet little in that final "jjoouuuu oouuaarrgghhhh!!!!" Of course we wait in vain. It's time for "Hoenderman". Francois is a deboned thing curling around the mike. "Ek skrik wakker in die nag en gewaar 'n vreemde vent, doodstil in die maanlig aan my bed se voetenent, met vere om sy kiewe en 'n rooi kuif oor sy kop, sy mond 'n skewe snawel, sy geel oë hou my dop, hou my dop&" Moshing and wild hair all around, there's cackling, there's screaming, and at the back nobody sits. Nobody would dare. Theo tries to disembowel the Fender, we're all going nuts, besides ourselves with glee, and Francois goes: "DIT WAS DIE HOENDERMAN!!!" Totally bonkers gig. You'd require a lobotomy to forget. (New CD on its way - they're hoping for August. Catch them at the KKNK if you're there. And they're back in Jozi in May. Cackle on!) READ http://rock.co.za/legends/2000plus/kobus.html LISTEN http://www.SAmp3.com/artists_e_k.html BUY http://www.oneworld.co.za/index.cfm?bec=4321&id=cdent001 ---------------------------- NEVER CALL TIME ON FETISH Fetish @ 93 Feet East, London, 2 April 2003 There are two things I found strange about 93 Feet East. Firstly there were more than 93 Feet in the joint. How do I know? Well I counted the toes and divided by 10. Secondly, although I didn't have my GPS with me, I could have sworn I was still on the western side of the nearby Greenwich meridian. Despite these anomalies about the venue, I was in no doubt (not the group) about the band on stage. These accomplished musicians moved from the ethereal and esoteric to hard hitting hardcore rock and back again with ease. However, it's lead singer Michelle Breeze who steals the limelight. Her vocals flit from breathy and seductive to hard edged and angry to girly and gay. Her short bob of dark hair dances wildly wrapping itself around her face as she headbangs to the heavier tracks. At other times, she stands staring into space above the audience as though she can see angels flying above our heads, then breaks the trance to grab the mike and belt out some further lyrics. One thing I found interesting about the gig was that there was no singing along by the audience, and no shouting out for favourites, which tended to suggest to me that Fetish are not about individual songs but rather about an atmosphere and feelings. Something they are good at as they do indeed create intense mood pieces. The licensing laws in the UK meant that the gig should have finished at 11:00pm, however it was just past that dreaded hour when Fetish launched into the second song of their encore. This prompted frantic gesturing from the sound engineer who shouted to the band that they had exceeded their time. This prompted Michelle to change the lyrics of the song to a stream of screamed lyrics masterfully done in time to the music. After a verse and chorus of this, she threw the mike down and stormed off, leaving a slightly bemused band and audience. The impression though was not of a tantrum throwing diva, but of rock people doing rock things. Possibly a more memorable ending than a polite bow and a mumbled thanks. (John Samson) Read http://rock.co.za/legends/90s/fetish_index.html Listen http://www.SAmp3.com Buy http://www.oneworld.co.za/index.cfm?bec=4321&searchfor=fetish ---------- GIG GUIDE ---------- The SA Rock Digest list of recommended gigs can be found at: http://www.SAgigs.com. If you cannot access SAgigs.com then please e-mail mailto:gigs@sarockdigest.com?subject=gigguide and we will e-mail the gig guide to you each week. Please send all gig info to mailto:sugar@sagigs.com in a plain text e-mail. ___________________________________________ 9.INFO -------- ------ LINKS ------ Links to artists, gig guides, resources, record labels, recording studios, music trivia and more at: http://www.sarockdigest.com/links --------------- SUBSCRIPTIONS --------------- To subscribe - please send an e-mail to: mailto:subscribe@sarockdigest.com?Subject=NewSubscriber Address changes - please send an e-mail to: mailto:subscribe@sarockdigest.com?Subject=AddressChange To unsubscribe - please send a blank e-mail to: mailto:unsubscribe@sarockdigest.com?Subject=Unsubscribe BACK ISSUES http://www.sarockdigest.com/archives Online and keyword searchable PRESS RELEASES & CONTRIBUTIONS Please submit all press releases, contributions, reviews, gig & festival dates, requests, searches and comments to mailto:sugar@sarockdigest.com EDITORS Brian Currin Stephen Segerman mailto:editors@sarockdigest.com CONTRIBUTORS Don Bryce Carina Laubscher Tertius Louw Daniel Neville Shiloh Noone John Samson Kurt Shoemaker Proofed by Ronx SA Rock Digest Computer Systems maintained by Karl Hansen. Karl is highly recommended for home and office PC repairs in Cape Town. mailto:karma@iafrica.com <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>