Mr Egg Issue 2

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'The views expressed within these pages are those of the reviewers and individual members of the general public and in no way re-

flect the opinions of Mr Egg or its advertisers.'

What’s inside Page 4 smash robots & Blumen Bullets 6 Sunday session 8 open mic 10 Paul Taylor’s Birthday Bash 12 drum n brass profile 14 JOHNNY MARVEL’s JAZZ COLUMN 16 The Story of the Evil Eyes 18 gig guide

Issue Punkzine Focuses on punk, hard-core and metal, mostly in the DIY scene. Comes out every two months, next one due out end

Oct/early Nov.

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Smash Robots and Blumen Bullets Review and photos by Wheels

Thanks to Loz and 100% Music, the Hammer and Tongs played host to two fantas-

tic bands on the evening of Friday 2 October 2009. Smash Robots from Reading

and The Blumen Bullets from Basingstoke. Having seen both of these bands on

previous occasions I knew I would be in for a good night and I was not disap-

pointed.

The night started with a song titled "Smash Robots" which introduced the first band also named "Smash Robots". This was a thoroughly enjoyable song and sounded like it could be a sound-track from a sci-ence fiction film. Each song had a different feel but on the whole they had a sound I would expect to hear in the charts to-day. All the songs were fun and catchy and the lead vocal-ist had very clear diction which along-side fantastic har-monies with the rest of the band really finished these guys off. "Glory Light" which is about get-ting up to no good, had to be one of my favourites. The crowd loved this band and they received applause and cheers after each num-ber. One audience member even requested a drum solo. To which the band played along with for two taps of the cow bell. Other entertainment included "We say Smash, you say Robots" and "We say Hammer, you say Tongs". With this band's charisma and audience interaction, they certainly went down a treat. I asked some people around me to describe this band and the response I got was "Hot, hot heat", "HULK SMAAAASH", "Very bright sound" and "Poppy" Find out more about Smash Robots - http://www.myspace.com/smashrobots

Gig Reviews

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Headlining the night were a duo from Basingstoke called "The Blumen Bullets" con-sisting of Jamie on guitar and vocals and Carl on drums. It was refreshing to hear such fabulous music from only two people. Each number was very tight

and technically performed to perfection albeit to the untrained ear. The lead singer held particularly deep vocals which worked well and I really do not think it could've been possible for the drum-mer to hit those drums any harder. I was mesmerised by his energy. One song which went down a storm with the audience seemed to have a rock-a-billy feel. This got people tapping their feet. I particularly enjoyed their number "Kill Bill".

Between the vocalist with his eyes constantly closed and the drummer in his sun-glasses I was almost starting to think that these guys are so comfortable in what they do they are able to do it in their sleep! The Blumen Bullets were joined on stage for a number by Nadeen White, who is very well known within the local music scene. Nadeen performed a cover of Portishead's "Glory Box" which suited her voice per-fectly. Whenever this lady appears on stage she cer-tainly knows how to treat the audience. Just after Nadeen's number, the drummer who is almost trade marked for taking his top off mid-set, did just that. It must've been because Nadeen was so HOT! http://www.myspace.com/theblumenbullets A great night with a fantastic vibe. Let’s just hope that the night did not cause too many noise complaints from local residents because losing yet another pub or bar that supports the music scene would be a real loss. THANK YOU HAMMER AND TONGS ;-)

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Sunday Sessions at the Irish Centre hosted by Ron Peploe with a prearranged line up consisting of Robyn Leate, Kokoro, THAT Nadeen White Experience and Green Embers. This was the first of what could possibly become a regular event. Starting off the evening with a wonderful acoustic performance was Robyn Leate. Robyn's first number was a cover of the Marvin Gaye classic, "Sexual Healing". Her soft and gentle voice along with a well controlled vocal range worked really well with this song. Another cover in-cluded "Old Fashioned Morphine" by Jolie Holland who I would see as being an influ-ence as she has a similar style. One of my favourite numbers was an original song titled "Hummingbird". The lyrics in this song were well put together, meaningful and personal. Robyn's talents do not stop with guitar, singing and songwriting as a number called "Thunderbolt" in-cluded a lovely accompaniment on the harmonica. Robyn ended her set with a song called "You Didn't Call" which I went away humming all night. It was clear from the atmosphere during Robyn's set that the audience were there to listen and were really appreciating what they were hearing. Next up were Kokoro, an unusual combination of electric guitar (Jaison Beeson) and classical guitar (Tony Bailey). These guys really know how to make it work and fuse it together very well. De-scribed as a multi cultured, experimen-tal guitar duo. They demonstrate ex-ceptional guitar playing with a mellow flamenco feel. Opening their set with variations on a theme of "Questa Notte" had the audience instantly transfixed. They had a look of concentration but also relish playing their music. They per-formed a new piece called "Malaguena" which is a well known flamenco form which ended with the audience trying to clap along to the ever changing beat. Tony then played a flamenco solo "Soleares". Such fast fingers, it was inspiring to see Jaison standing back and looking so suppor-tive and engaged in what was being played. It was a brilliant night, great performances, great atmosphere and great to see the other artists staying to support each other throughout the night. Let’s hope this

is not a one off.

Sunday Sessions at the Irish Centre

Review and photos by Wheels

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"THAT Nadeen White Experience" consists of Nigel Rivers on accordion, John McGarvey on Double Bass, Raz Razzle on the box and of course The Cap'n' - Nadeen White on gui-tar and lead vocals. This pirate themed band began with a song called "Kill Devil" which

is a rather apt song about rum. Many songs to follow had a similar theme with lyrics about rum and debauchery. They are hard to describe as they have a very individual sound. I would sug-gest pirate folk. Nadeen who also writes all their material is vocally outstanding and really does make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end when she belts out those power-ful notes. I have seen these pirates play on many occasions but this was the first time that I had noticed how well the accordion compliments the sound. It adds a stronger folky feel. This is particularly apparent in "Pale Pirate Of Stoke Barehills" which is a fun

song that had the audience clapping along, feet tapping and smiling. Last on was a newly formed Basingstoke band known as Green Embers. Matt Lodomez on guitar, Karl Sefton on guitar, Lee Russell on bass and George O'Brien on drums. Vocals are shared between Matt and Karl. A song titled "Learning Life" kicked off their set. This band had an indie feel and had a sound I would associ-ate with early Oasis. They performed origi-nal material and each song varied in style, from feminine and dreamy to rock and roll. These guys have a good connection, particularly with the two songwriters. This team spirit which can only make them stronger as time goes on and it will be good to watch them progress in future.

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Open Mic the Irish Centre 7

th October 2009.

By Mr. Egg

Hi readers, Egg here. I’d like to share with you my fond memories of the Irish Centre Open Mic on Wednesday 7th October. I have to say dear friends, that it had been a bad week for the Eggs what with shell-shock, botulism and being a bit runny. At one point

I had contemplated committing humpty-dumpty. Nevertheless, thinking only of my duty to my readers, I slipped into my shell-suit and rolled on down to the homely venue behind the Bounty pub in Council Road and was mighty pleased that I did. This fortnightly forum for local singers and musicians is run by that nice Mr. Peploe and his delightful fiancée Debs. Ron is a teacher, a martial arts instructor, an exhib-ited artist and songwriter/performer in his own right while Debs is fluent in thirty-eight languages and very good at sums. Traditionally, they break the ice by running through some songs of their own but Debs was not here tonight so Ron opened the show with his excellent ‘Learning To Be Sane’ followed by renditions of two songs by Bebop Deluxe; ‘Maid In Heaven’ and ‘Panic In The World’. Dennis has become a familiar figure at these events. He is, I suppose, the kind of guy they are aimed at. He’s been writing songs for years but has only recently found an outlet for his talent and, in the process has made friends and met people who really do want to listen to his work. As he says himself, he’s improved as a musician just in the time since he started going to open mic nights because he’s been able to try out new pieces and develop his microphone technique. Nobody is there to judge the per-formers and Ron makes every effort to see that time is allotted in a democratic way. Tonight Dennis gave us three of his original compositions; ‘Move On’, ‘Baby, Let’s Go Home’ and ‘Lost In Space’ preceded by an instrumental that he apparently first heard on the soundtrack of a pornographic film. Nadeen White gets herself written about and photographed all the time in her various guises and under various pseudonyms but you could never describe her as aloof or remote because she attends open mic gatherings whenever she can and she has listened to more local artists than anyone. Like Dennis, she likes to use these occasions to try out new songs or to express something personal to an audience of friends. This evening we had a new song ‘We’re All The Same’, a solo rendering of the wonderful ‘Getting Nearer’ and the less-familiar ‘Lullaby For A Storm’ before Deenie was joined on stage by Raz for a somewhat unusual version of ‘The Four Horsemen’ a prog-rock obscurity by Greek band Aphrodite’s Child from the days before their singer Demis Roussos had embarked upon a solo career as a singing tent.

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Basingstoke’s very own Mad Rob is another frequent visitor to the open mic stage but probably not one who would claim to have improved much as a result. The blues is Rob’s thing and tonight he is ‘helped out’ by Ron and Raz in slightly offbeat readings of ‘I Got A Woman’ and ‘I’d Rather Have Your Love Than Sing The Blues’. A new name on the roster tonight; Gray ‘Stickman’ Smith begins with ‘Slide Away’ which is either an Oasis song or one massively influenced by the Gallagher siblings. ‘This Day’ was possibly an original song while ‘**** Me Gently’ is, I’m told, lifted from the rep-ertoire of Tenacious D. John ‘Do you want ice with that’ O’Flaherty will happily tell you that Basingstoke’s music scene has transformed his life. He likes nothing more than to get on stage and

sing songs by his heroes and tonight’s offerings included numbers by John Prine, John Lennon, The Ozark Mountain Daredevils and Johnny Cash. Raz then returned to the stage for the first ever performance of his song ‘Disillusionment’ which he dedicated to his friend Garry Wase who had died that week. Raz also played ‘Man Of Steel’, a song written by his old friend and cohort Arthur As-cii who is well-known locally as a member of DrumnBrass, The Green Embers and Luci-fer Jazz & The Love Rats but is undervalued as a lyricist due to his supporting roles in each of these ventures. Paul Dennis came to Basingstoke from Swansea but has rapidly established himself as a performer of considerable versatility. His comedy and comic songs took a back seat tonight as he gave us three very personal, often angst-ridden compositions of his own. Paul is a brilliant pianist but also competent enough on the guitar to accompany himself in the absence of a keyboard. Nige Rivers is Basingstoke’s ‘face of folk’. A devotee to the genre, Nige plays at festi-vals and folk clubs country-wide and brings yet more variety to the open mic canon. His set this evening included a new arrangement of The Rain’s ‘Watercress Girl’. Bringing up the rear as it were, El Tel has been absent from local events for a while and is keen to get back in the swing. His preference is for flamenco guitar. He played a classical piece made popular by the band Sky and an original piece that he says is an ex-cerpt from his ‘Symphony’ which he believes will one day be performed at The Royal Al-bert Hall. Whether you are a performer or a fan of live music, Basingstoke open mics are rarely dull and Mr. Egg recommends that you check forthcoming events and get along to the next one!

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St Michael’s Hospice/Paul Taylor’s Birthday Bash Review By Mart & Mark

photos by Wheels

At the Cricket Club on 17th October for Paul Taylor’s birthday in aid of St Mi-

chael’s Hospice. The place was heaving and the spirits were high.

First act for the night were THAT Nadeen White Experience, who once again gave us a flawless performance. With pi-rate outfits, parrots, dubloons and rum, this band really put eve-rything into their act. The band’s new song ‘Gone’ was a particular highlight for me, as was ‘Sick Dog’ my TNWE favourite. The extremely well written and well thought out songs immediately grabbed the audiences’ attention, with more and more people gathering around the stage area listening intently, tapping their feet and nodding their heads. Next up were Kalimoto, with Mark Steele on drums and backing vocals, Dan Clark on

bass, Al French on guitar and back-ing vocals and Joe French on vo-cals, guitar and tambourine. Be-tween their high energy songs, front man Joe jumping around and belting out the vocals, and with a few more drinks in them the audi-ence soon got in the dancing mood. A very tight and talented band, proven with-out doubt with the last number, a med-ley of their own song ‘Truth’, The

Beatles ‘Norwegian Wood’ and ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ seamlessly and effortlessly blending from one song to the other and back again. As any musician will tell you this is no easy feat. The medley ended in a long instrumental climax and a big cheer from the crowd.

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Paul Taylor took to the drums next for the first of his two sets. joining him were Dan Leese on keyboard (who would also be joining him for the next set), James Jimmy-son on bass, Richard Horner (Paul’s long time friend from The Evil Eyes) on guitar and

Becky Chambers on vocals who make up The Ruby Slippers Band. A sultry and sophisticated blues band character-ised by some superb fretless bass with an effortless ring, vocals sweet and sensuous and, at times, soulful and growl-ing, accomplished guitar, keyboard and drums and some fantastic so-los. Opening their set with Freddie King’s ‘Hide’, they played classy blues with confidence and experi-ence and put some great twists on some old classics. It was obvious that we were watching some very talented musicians at work.

After a short break Paul and Dan returned to the stage, this time accompanied by John McGarvey on bass and Jason Gregory on guitar and vocals to form The Marvels. Playing originals, they opened with ‘Time To Go Stupid’, an appropriate song as most of the crowd by this point had had several jars, particularly a few very energetic and individual dancers at the front, who shall remain nameless to protect their dignity. With the very unique and impressive voice of Jason and the strength and fantastic rhythm of the band they proceeded to entertain the crowd with some fantastic songs influenced by several areas of music. I have seen The Marvels several times and this was by far the best performance.

As the night was drawing to a close there was time for one more song and what better way to go out than to get all the musicians of the night up on stage for The Beatles’ classic ‘Hey Jude’, with all the singers taking their turn on the mic and everyone including the crowd joining in on the chorus and the “nah nah na’s”. This was a fantastic end to a fantastic night. Well done to all and Happy Birthday Paul!!!

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JUNKYARD SCIENTISTS

THE RHU BAR 27th SEPTEMBER 2009

Review and photos By SERENDIPITY

I saw the Junkyard Scientists the first time they played in Basingstoke at The Light Lounge back in March 2008 with the lovely Jen-i, as guest vocalist, and have seen them many times since including their appearances in the 100% Tent at Basingstoke Live 2008 and 2009. Jen-i has gone off on her adventures in the sandy lands of U.A.E., while Gav

who played Saxophone and Congas has moved on to pas-tures new. To have them back at The Rhu Bar was an exciting prospect but tinged with disappoint-ment. The curse of the ‘Stoke reared it’s ugly head again for the Junkyard crew. Last year it was Gav’s hospi-talisation in B.D.H. with a kid-ney infection, then it was train cancellations (making it impossible for a round trip from that distant Berkshire town of Reading!) and tonight

I arrived to find that Ed “Chewey” Hoyland (Vocals/Keyboard) had been struck down by the evil ‘flu and would not be performing. James “Jimbo” Breen’s fear of electronic drum kits (due to an unfortunate experience) compounded the band’s trepidation and their remoteness from their comfort zone, but they needn’t have worried, they rose up to the occasion and produced a blinding set.

They started off with “Domino” - An old favourite which was tight and funky with great guitar effects and a cool drum break from Jimbo. Next up was “Mistress”- An-other familiar tune with a stunning bass solo by Simon Lovelock. Then we had the first of two original instrumentals – “Rebel With A Big Pause” (first heard at The White Hart back in March), which I was delighted to hear again. With mas-terful guitar work by Jonny Owens and Jonny Beale, it makes me think of Spaghetti Westerns and some of the guitar reminded me of Peter Green era Fleetwood Mac with a flurry of rock!! This was followed by “The E Jam”, so called because it’s in the key of E!! It is a mesmerising tune that you get lost in with deep bass lines, top guitar work, understated trumpet with a solid back beat building into a funky crescendo. This was the first tune the Junkyard’s have written together and has not been a part of their set before. It should be a staple as far I am concerned. Loved it and so did the crowd.

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Next up was “Mystical” - Another old favourite. Due to the audience participation you could almost hear Ed’s vocals in the room. Asking for an audience member to sing lead can be a scary moment (as you never know who will be up for it!!), this is what the band did for their cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition”. But have no fear, Lil’ John McGarvey stepped in and did a fine job. He excelled himself especially as he had never sung this song before and included all the nuances. The next offering was “Delgetti” (named after a character in the film Bullitt) and fea-tured another local performer, Mr. Robbie Fraser on trumpet. He played with his usual confidence and had to have the last “parp”! Robbie stayed on stage for “Dirty

Earth” – another tight num-ber with a rousing Robbie solo. Then Phillip Ashwood took to the mic on Isaac Hayes’ “Simultaneous” and acquitted himself with hon-ours. We then had a special treat, two Herbie Hancock numbers. “Chameleon” featuring a trumpet duel between Phil-lip and Robbie, accompanied with funky keyboards from

Johnny Beale. There was proper “jazz clapping” in appreciation of solos. The improvi-sation was brought back together with ease and precision. PHAT CHOON! This with “Canteloupe Island” highlighted the talent of all players.

From their E.P. “Live from the Yard”, next we had “Silly”. Robbie played again on this track which they interspersed with bits of Rappers Delight by Sugar Hill Gang and Le Freak To end the evening they had another guest vocalist, whose name I didn’t catch on Mi-chael Jackson’s “Beat It”. I think he was cajoled into it but the audience soon joined in and we ended the evening buzzing. Thanks guys – Basingstoke looks forward to seeing you again soon www.myspace.com/junkyardscientists

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Drum n bRass Profile By Mr. egg

Drum n bRass is an unconventional project spearheaded by one of Basingstoke’s best-known characters and innovators, Paul Midgley. Paul’s involvement in the local scene

goes back to the seventies when he was the drummer in The Mutant Ba-bies; punk agitators and provo-cateurs of the Sex Pistols genera-tion. It is doubtful that any of the members of that seminal local combo (The Babies, not The Pistols) would today espouse the same anti-social message of that era and Paul would indeed seem to have turned it on its head in his current venture which encourages community in-volvement and accommodates the ideas of those involved in it. In short, Drum n bRass is not like a rock band with a fixed membership

and the only demands put on the players are their own. It also differs in that its performances are not confined to a stage. They can play ‘on the march’ or set up pretty much anywhere with any number of people taking part. Drum n bRass evolved from Paul’s previous project; The Drum Runners which thrived on the therapeutic qualities of banging a drum but where there was less emphasis on team-building, oh, and no brass. What became of The Drum Runners? “We met these brass players..!” Thus, what began as an experiment has (at least in terms of its own ambitions) become a successful concern. Drum n bRass get together on Wednesday evenings at The Bang Bar. Curtis plays saxophone and has only been doing so since the beginning of the year but relishes the chance to test what he has learned in the company of other self-confessed ama-teurs. Arthur ASCII is an established guitar and bass player but he took up the trombone very recently and he finds the Drum n bRass format conducive to the pace at which he improves on the new instrument. Sue Clegg is Paul’s longest-serving group member having attended Drum Runners sessions throughout the past decade and as a founder-member of the new troupe. Other players vary widely in terms of their musical abilities, their artistic objectives and the reasons for their involve-ment. The overarching imperative is that they enjoy what they do. Drum n bRass has a sort of open door policy but has sufficient regulars to carry its musical product from one event to the next. Participants can number between fif-teen and twenty-five and their age-range is unlimited. Paul boasts twenty events since May at which his loose ensemble has been seen and heard by an estimated 35,000 people. Whilst his ‘get out there and do it’ approach might put enthusiasm above technical skill, the public easily warms to the up-tempo beats and the simplicity of Drum n bRass. Is it really as simple as that? Are there really no disagreements

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within the ranks? “Oh yes!” says Paul with a grin, “the drummers say the brass is too loud and vice versa! Adjusting our ears is an on-going process. We have this thing we call a Mexican Moan; a bit like a Mexican wave but where we form a circle and take it in turns to complain about things!” Visitors or new members are never discouraged from attending weekly rehearsals and you can see Drum n bRass at Wokingham Winter Carnival in November and performing with local bands Coox’n’Hoox and Kalimoto at QMC’s Central Studio on December 12th.

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JOHNNY MARVEL’S HIGHLY IRREGULAR JAZZ COLUMN

Welcome hep cats and hep kittens to the very first of my sleazy kerb crawls through Amazin’ Stoke’s jazzz scene. From the ear piercing high notes to the bowel loosening bum notes...starting with ‘A Funny Valentine’ at The Hay-market on the 8th October. Not an amusing rom-com set in the middle of February, but a show all about the life (and rather unfortunate death) of Chet Baker, the West Coast (L.A. not W.S.M.) trumpet stylist supreme and all round good guy...O.K., actually a drug addicted scumbag and general ne’er do well, but up there with Miles,

Dizzy and, of course, Herb Alpert in the bugle playing stakes. He’s also one of my fave vocalists, an aspect which didn’t feature a whole lot here. An aspect which did was his addiction to heroin, indeed the narrator, Mike Maran, was playing his skag habit ‘personified’ and regaled us with anecdotes and stories about him and his influences whilst trumpeter Colin Steele and pianist Dave Milligan wove the music associated with him beautifully around this narrative. The trumpet playing was stylistically right on the money and I, probably, could have done with more music and less word, but then hey, if I wanted to just listen to his music I could have stayed in and done that!

Friday 16th found me at The Red Lion for its monthly jazz session featuring acoustic swing band ‘Easy Street’, a four piece ensemble lead by Dave Cox on reeds and the tal-ents of two amazing guitar players with double bass underpinning the whole thing. From that line up you’d probably guess the sound was Gypsy Jazz and indeed the spirit of Django was ever present. If this was evident in the style it didn’t limit the repertoire, while including some tunes associated with ‘The Hot Club De Paris’. They played a whole range of mainstream standards, even a version of Santana’s ‘Moon Flower’. The band really swung with both guitarists impressing and Dave’s clarinet playing was particularly outstanding. Also worth mentioning was the guest spot by excellent young trumpeter Ade Hunt who sat in for much of the second set. Showing a good understanding of melody – one to watch!

The next session on 19th November and, if I can, I will be there. This month ‘The Jazz

Dudes’ play fortnightly at The Hampshire, Crondall (11th and 25th November) and PG’s

Stompers trad jazz session at The Raven, Hook (8th November). That’s all y’all!

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Sam Carter At The Forge (The Anvil) Wednesday 23rd September

by Nige Rivers

It was a rare opportunity to see this budding talent in the appropriate and intimate surroundings of the Forge. Already a guitar virtuoso, this unassuming artist blends ancient and modern folk genres together in harmonious unison. His musical virtuosity however is kept well in check and secondary to the delivery of the song. The Forge was one date in a month long tour extending from Dorset to Aberdeen to promote the new album ‘Keepsakes’ self released (recorded in nice warm analogue) and then distributed by Proper Distribution.

Perhaps unusually for a review I’m not going to deliver an un-necessary critique, or discuss the individual songs played at this concert, there is no need, they were all equally well ac-complished, equally well penned, and equally well delivered by a faultless performer. Let me simply direct you to the following web site to judge for yourselves - www.myspace.com/samjohncarter He lists among his influences - Nic Jones, Martin Simpson, John Martyn, Pierre Bensusan, Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Chris Wood, Rich-ard Thompson, Nick Drake & Neil Young. – and he is a match for many of them already. Jon Boden, one of the driving forces behind the exemplary force-

ful folk big band Bellowhead, and a great artist in his own right, has described Sam as ‘The finest English style finger picking guitarist of his generation’ and I have to agree wholeheartedly. Those of you familiar with Martin Simpson will warm to this young mans’ ability and the heartfelt honest delivery of his songs of life and loss A consummate musician, he has avoided the pitfall of the record company and is all the better for it. The last artist with this much potential that I saw in Basingstoke, on their way up, was a very young Kate Rusby. She is now at the forefront of the English folk scene and one of it’s most successful artists, on her own label, with her own studio and playing to sell out concerts wherever she goes, and I’m sure the same lies in store for this new torch bearer of the folk tradition. Very few people will have heard the name Sam Carter; though his album is available through HMV, Amazon, iTunes etc.; but if your thing is acoustic singer / songwriters, believe me, you will hear of him sooner or later. A local artist he isn’t, but a local performance it was. If there’s a next time, be there.

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Mirth Control Central Studio 23rd October

Review By His Darkness the Menace MC = Mathew Baylis Turns = Paddy Lennox, Nick Hodder, Ava Vidal, Helen Huscroft, Paul Foot You will find The Central Studio on the campus of Queen Mary’s College in Basingstoke for those of you who may not know a very warm and intimate environment that can cater for all kinds of entertainment, a fully licensed bar adds to the cheers of an evening out. On this particular evening Matt our MC for the night welcomed us, as he very “warmly handled his entrance” our first gag of the night, and we were off, Matt has a very homely style, is very engaging with his audience, although outwardly from Matt’s appearance. you would think that “butter wouldn’t melt” believe me he is more than capable of delivering some hilariously funny filth, much appreciated by all as the evening chuckled on. Our first act was Paddy Lennox, remarkably, something of a David Cameron look alike, and there the similarity ends, originally from County Antrim in Northern Ireland Paddy has been through drama school, taken his one man show to the Edinburgh festival, and as he says, if you look carefully you may catch a glimpse of him in the likes of Holby etc. Paddy is a comfortable and confident performer and is conversationally funny, his expose through questioning that, out of the selection of the community present, more women in Bas-ingstoke have been to Tupperware parties rather than Anne Summers events was an interest-ing statistic, however when it was revealed that a lady in the theatre had only been to Tup-perware events, when Paddy mentioned and described a Rampant Rabbit I thought we may need to summon a physician to revive her. Paddy Lennox very funny and a nice guy keep an eye out for him. Next to the stage Basingstoke’s own Nick Hodder, a very interactive entrance, and brave be-yond to mention in fact almost invite heckling, fairly new to the comedy boards Nick had a ten minute slot and did well, I got the feeling that somewhere on the journey something might have spooked him a little, but he soldiered on, believe me being funny at the bar, or round the dinning table is one thing, you go hang your arse out to be kicked and stand up behind a micro-phone in front of a room full of strangers, and you’ll get the idea pretty quickly, of what it’s all about, I look forward to seeing Nick again as he develops his own style and material, good luck for the future. Ava Vidal was next on and many of you will have seen her on Michael McIntyre’s road show and channel 4’s best of the fest from the Brighton comedy festival, clearly a seasoned per-former and very comfortable in her skin as the phrase goes, of course to a room full of ex-clusively white home counties types from the depths of the Hampshire market towns belt, I was initially concerned that Ava’s play on her ethnicity might be a little too much for a minor-ity gathering of country bumpkins.

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All of that was swept aside, when from a large handbag carried over her shoulder Ava pro-duced a “Golliwog” yes you cant believe your eyes, well neither could I, if it wasn’t for the fact that I was trying to avoid fully wetting my trousers, I might have been of some assis-tance to the older gentleman in front of me who had swallowed his false teeth, spectacles and the hearing aid of the lady in front of him. As Ava said somebody heckled once and said “you’d be **** without all the Black S**t” and her reply was “I’m Black this my life I’m talking about, get over it” I thought she was very funny, you couldn’t help but feel some of the tension, and I still can’t decide with this area of humor whether with an audience that literally lacks colour, there isn’t the tendency, to be seen as holding a Pistol of Political Correctness to heads of the assembled audience shouting “laugh I dare you” All said Ava Vidal came to make us laugh, and laugh we did, clearly she has a great future ahead. Helen Huscroft was our next delight a teacher by day of very small kiddies, and hailing from Dorset, with a very convincing accent, although this may have been part of the show as she did mention getting lost having driven from Maidenhead, kept a good pace and anecdotal evidence of west country life and teaching kids hit our collective “laugh out loud button” having had a few breaks and visits to the bar by now, Helen recounted a tale involving one of those Pork pie’s with the egg in the middle, we always called them Pig and Egg pies not exactly a creative title but very descriptive, from here on I was fixated on said pie and famished. It would be good to see Helen again in the future and watch her progress. All through the evening Matt had been back and forth the stage doing the introductions, fill-ers and handovers in a very accomplished manner, not an easy job to do or indeed to put to-gether, the next show will be on November the 27th, remember to get a loyalty card and get it stamped at the box office, two visits, and the third is free, headlining will be Dan Atkinson, a mix of comics from near and far, and if this show is a guide then go along and get a smile and a laugh your life may otherwise have missed. Paul Foot our headline entertainer of the evening was animated and energetic from the moment he appeared, dressed in a brown cardigan with orange piping, white shirt set off with a tur-quoise blue silk bow tie, and a hair cut that I last saw Dave Hill, Slade’s lead guitarist, wearing on top of the pops in the seventies, the label appeared to say crazy, zany, off beat comedy served her, and we were not disappointed. Reminiscent of a creation that had been bred from a healthy dollop of Gene Wilder’s perform-ance as Willy Wonka and the essence and facial mannerisms of the greatly missed Dudley Moore picture it, and you might get close to what we had the pleasure of laughing along to on the evening, these comparisons to two giants of comedy are wholly intended as praise and nothing else for Paul Foot. We all laughed and exceeding heartily at that, there were a number of occasions where, I thought I might have to present Mr. Egg with my laundry bill; such was the pressure of hys-teria on my “kranackrapanc” which my mother has always maintained can burst if you over in-dulge in laughter. I recommend that you do, so go along on Friday the 27th of November to Central Studio and be prepared to laugh.

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The Story of the Evil Eyes by Dan Leese

To many the 1960s in Basingstoke will always be associated with redevelopment and concrete. However to five young and aspiring musicians who called themselves The Evil Eyes it was the setting for the start of a musical journey that saw brushes with the greats and took them to the verges of rock fame and fortune.

Nowadays you visit the Willis Museum at the old town hall if you want to look at Ro-man coins and the like. In the 60s the building could be found playing host to the regular Galaxy Club and a long list of musical leg-ends who would play there. From regulars John Mayall and Eric Clapton, delta blues legend Sonny Boy Williamson, The Tridents (with Jeff Beck), Them (Van Morrison) and a very young Rod Stewart as part of Long John Baldry and the Hoochie Coochie Men. An even younger Stevie Wonder also played at the now demolished St Joseph's church hall in South Ham when the Motown Revue tour of 1965 rolled into town.

There was also an opportunity for local bands to play and support the visiting bands. The Evil Eyes were formed by school friends Richard Horner (lead guitar), Chris Cheal (vocals), John Blackham (rhythm guitar), John Milyard (drums) and Martin 'Giles' Rigler (homemade bass). They began by picking out Shadows numbers on the gui-tar before graduating to Chuck Berry, Buddy Guy and Howlin Wolf tunes. In the mid 60s they were a regular support act in Basingstoke and impressed Don Craine of the Downliners Sect enough for him to offer to produce a demo record. Regent Sound Studio in Denmark Street was booked and in one afternoon in 1964 a four track demo was made. This studio was where the Rolling Stones made their first re-cord and the Beatles would later use it to record parts of the Sgt Pepper album when Abbey Road was unavailable. In those days it had a state-of-the-art four track machine that was operated by technicians wearing white coats and the Evil Eyes re-corded 'Barbeque Blues', 'Moving Around', 'I Gotta Know' and 'Louise' pretty much as live takes. In 1966 Cheal and Blackham travelled to Europe and ended up in Sweden. On the strength of the demo tapes, which they took with them, they managed to secure a recording contract with Decca in Stockholm for a one-off single. This was not a bad accomplishment considering the band itself was spluttering to a halt due to exams and members going off to college. As a result drummer Paul Taylor and bassist Phil Mudge were recruited from local band The Reedmen to complete the line up with Cheal, Horner and Blackham. Then in the style of Dick Whittington and sometime later Atom Gang, the Evil Eyes moved to London to rehearse as they waited for their visas to Sweden.

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Scenes of screaming fans and policemen holding back the crowds did not greet them as they arrived in Stockholm in March 1967 and made their way to the house of the man who had agreed to become their manager. Unfortunately the reality was that no tour had been organised and The Evil Eyes had to make out an existence on semi-regular gigs with local bands. They did get to record their single with Decca and the double A side of 'Mister Mysti-fied / Moving Around' made a dent on the Swedish charts in May and June 1967. It even-tually rose to number 23 and at one point was outselling 'Strawberry Fields / Penny Lane' by some four piece from Liverpool called The Beatles - I wonder what happened to them? Also in Sweden with the Evil Eyes and acting as their roadie was fellow Basingstoker Bob Young, who played in local band, The Crack. Young would later play harmonica and pen several hits for Status Quo. The band eventually returned to the

UK after pawning microphones in Ham-burg to raise some money, but not after appearing on the same bill as Jimi Hendrix in Scansen. They were later reliably told that as they were playing Hendrix was seen at the back of the hall watching part of their set. Back in England Phil left and the rest of the Evil Eyes carried on for a bit before going their seperate ways. Chris Cheal sadly passed away in 1983. John Blackham started a successful computer career. Rich-

ard Horner worked in the music business for several years and Paul Taylor continued drumming and can still be heard at the age of 60 playing in The Marvels. Recently and after a 40 year hiatus, Taylor and Horner joined forces musically again in Dorset based The Ruby Slippers Band. So what did the Evil Eyes sound like? Their recordings can still be heard if you look hard enough. Clearly typical of the time, their set was largely blues and R&B covers with a few originals thrown in. There was talk from Decca to record a live album, which was where the band felt most at home, but it came to nothing. Listening to the tapes I am struck that these were all recorded when the members of the band were still of school age. Maybe they were too young to take the opportunities that came along at the time but I will leave the last word to Richard Horner. 'We were riding a wave of music and were very young. Maybe if we would have been a bit older we could have made it, but I was more interested in playing good music rather than pop. All in all we had a great time.' And who can argue with that.

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Grandpa Egg’s Super Music Quiz

1. What do the letters O.M.D. Stand for as in the name of the 1980s pop group who had hit singles including "Joan Of Arc" and "Locomotion"? 2. Who played bass guitar in the Beatles? 3. What song does the main character wake up to every morning in the movie "Groundhog Day "? 4. Alex Turner is the lead singer with which band? 5. Which song begins with the line "The taxman's taken all my dough"? 6. Which band has released albums titled Word Gets Around, Just

Enough Education To Perform and Pull The Pin? 7. How many quavers are there in a minim? 2, 4 or 8? 8. Which female vocalist sang on Eminem's hit song "Stan"? 9. What former "X-Factor" contestant had a top ten hit album called "Picture Of You" in 2007? 10. By what name was singer Charles Weedon Westover better known, who committed suicide in 1990 by shooting himself?

1. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

2. Paul McCartney 3. I got you Babe (Sonny & Cher) 4. Arctic Monkeys 5. "Sunny Afternoon" (by The Kinks) 6. Stereophonics 7. 4 8. Dido 9. Ben Mills 10. Del Shannon

Did you know? U2 was originally known as Feedback. To date, U2

have sold more than 70 million records

In 1952, John Cage composed and presented ' 4'33" ', a composition consisting of 4 minutes and 33

seconds of silence

The only guy without a beard in ZZTOP surname is

Beard.

The harmonica is the world's best-selling music

instrument.

Bob Dylan's first professional performance was as opening act for John Lee Hooker at Gerde's Folk

City in New York, 1961

Duran Duran took their name from a mad scien-

tists in the movie Barbarella

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Sunday 1st

Acoustic Folk…Country…Blues with Bob, Phil & John – The Irish Centre – 8.30pm

Sunday Social - Ska and Reggae at The Bang Bar 3 til 9 - Free?

Monday 2nd

Acoustic night, featuring Robyn Leate, Dennis Ward, The Lovelees, Paul Dennis - King of Wessex pub – 8pm

Quiz night @ The Bakers Arms – 8pm - £1 per player, 4 per team max

Tuesday 3rd

Jokers Itch, comedy open mic - Bakers Arms - 9pm – Free

The Stage (Acoustic Evening) – Rhu Bar – 9.30pm - Free

Thursday 5th

Scrutney - DnB plus – Bang Bar Free entry

Friday 6th

Acoustic Open Mic Session – Central Studio - 7.30pm - Free.

The Swift Villains Funky House – The New Inn – 8pm

Gary Cee’s Request Fest – The White Hart – 8pm – Free

The 51/50's, The Stanley Blacks, Rob Hayes – Hammer and Tongs – 8.30 - Free

Technosis – Bang Bar - 9pm

Saturday 7th

Saturday Live! The Mystery of Memory Lane – Central Studio - 11am - Tickets: £6.85 adults; £4.40 children.

A Christmas Carol. – Central Studio - 7.30pm - Tickets: £10 full; £8 concessions; £6 children.

Holding Court Hip Hop Night – The White Hart - 8pm – Tickets available from The White Hart

Who Are You (The Who tribute band) – The New Inn – 9pm

Platinum:beats presents BonFYRE night special 'Dubplates, Treason & plot. – Bang Bar.

Ronnie & Johnny meet Tommy & Johnnie – Basingstoke Blues Club (Moose Hall)

Sunday 8th

Rockbitch! – Bang Bar - 5pm - 10.30pm

Sunday Sessions featuring Dennis Ward, The Lovelees and The Dandy Dead – The Irish Centre - 8pm - Free

Grimaldi – The Rhu Bar – 9pm – Free

Monday 9th

Quiz night @ The Bakers Arms – 8pm - £1 per player, 4 per team max

Tuesday 10th


Wednesday 11th

Open Mic - The Irish Centre – 8pm

Thursday 12th


Gary Myles – Rhu Bar – 10pm – Free

Friday 13th

Gary Cee’s Alternative Karaoke - White Hart – 8pm - Free

Charity Fund Raiser for the Shaw Trust - NOW THAT'S WHAT WE CALL A POG PARTY II with Lucifer Jazz and the Love Rats

+ DJ’s - The Bang Bar – 9pm – Free (with collection buckets)

Saturday 14th

SIKMIX PRODUCTION COMPANY bring to you a night of full on Drum n bass for the masses. Starring some of the souths finest

dj's and mc's - Platforms – 8pm - Free

60 Hertz – DnB - The Bang Bar

Time Bomb – The New Inn – 9pm

Sunday 15th

Junkyard Scientists - The Rhu Bar – 9pm - Free


Local Gig Listings

November

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Monday 16th

Quiz night - The Bakers Arms – 8pm - £1 per player, 4 per team max

Tuesday 17th


Wednesday 18th

Jack the Ripper - Central Studio, Queen Mary’s Hall - 7.30pm.- Tickets: £4.90 full; £3.90 concessions

Thursday 19th

Jack the Ripper - Central Studio, Queen Mary’s Hall - 7.30pm.- Tickets: £4.90 full; £3.90 concessions

Scrutney - DnB plus – Bang Bar - Free

Jazz Session – The Red Lion

Friday 20th

The Flying Kites – The New Inn - 9pm

Gary Cee’s Alternative Karaoke - White Hart – 8pm - Free

Saturday 21st

Saturday Live! Binky and the Hairy Fairy – Central Studio - 11am - Tickets: £6.85 adults; £4.40 children.

We Will Rock You (Queen Tribute band) – The New Inn – 9pm

Submission - Dubstep, Techo & Jungle - The Bang Bar - 9pm

Skittles evening with buffet – Basingstoke Blues Club (Moose Hall) - £8, low priced bar

CC Miracle, A Night Of Punx – The White Hart

Acoustic Afternoon - Hammer and Tongs - 2pm til 8pm - Free

Sunday 22nd

Basingstoke Concert Club presents The Brodowski Quartet – Central Studio - 3pm - Tickets from 01256 328589 - £5 full; children

free.


Checking Pulse + more TBC – Bang Bar

Cats and Criminals - The Rhu Bar – 9pm - Free

Monday 23rd


Tuesday 24th


Wednesday 25th

Open Mic - The Irish Centre – 8pm

Thursday 26th


Unplgd - The Haymarket - 7pm – Free

Gary Myles – Rhu Bar – 10pm - Free

Friday 27th

Central Comedy featuring Dan Antopolski and Hils Barker with resident compere Matthew Baylis – Central Studio - 7.30pm - Tick-

ets: £10 full; £8 concessions.

Live Lounge Open Mic - The Royal Navy Club – 8pm

The Swift Villains Funky House – The New Inn – 8pm

Shakermaker - Indie / Alternative Night – The Bang Bar - 9 - £3 before 10.30 / £4 before Midnight / £5 after

Three Session B'stoke Beer Festival – Basingstoke Blues Club (Moose Hall)

Saturday 28th St Michaels Hospice Charity Gig – featuring Harry Harwood, Kokoro, Green Embers and THAT Nadeen White Experience - The

Irish Centre – 7.30pm – Suggested entrance fee £3

The Daniel Smith Blues Band – Central Studio – 8pm - Tickets: £12 full; £10 concessions.

Stealer – The New Inn – 9pm

Slammed with Gary Cee – The Bang Bar

Three Session B'stoke Beer Festival – Basingstoke Blues Club 9Moose Hall)

Monday 30th


*All events are subject to change

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Documents

Mr Egg Issue 2