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10 &4her Press April 30, 1996

 

 

 

 

Sex Pistols
Punk Reborn
by Earle Gale
When Johnny Rotten was a mouldy-toothed

They Shouldn’t Make You

predecessor and the bands best songwriter, left

Christmas?
mine wasn t so—”

Promise That

Lois Simmie
Douglas & McIntyre

This is a good book to read when you’re feeling
a bit depressed about life in general. It’s a quiet
little novel about a housewife who spends most of
her time dwelling on her sadness. But she finds the
humour in her depression, reminding you that you
can still laugh when you’re miserable:

“How are you tonight?” I say. “Bored? Oh,
that’s too bad, I'd take you to.a movie but I dont

think we could reserve a whole row. You're what?

Tired of wearing that yellow flowered paper?
Well, I suppose we could get you some new paper,
sort of a belated Christmas present. No, not stripes,
not with your figure. You what? Had a rotten
Gosh, I’m sorry to hear that but

“Elenor!”

Hugh is staring at me. Philip and Kate, too. I
have their undivided attention.

“What was that in aid of?” Hugh says, biting
off each word as if he is giving a lesson in diction.
“I was talking to the wall,” I say, and reach
across the table for the entertainment section of
the newspaper.

Dostevsky could have used such reminders when
he was writing Crime and Punishment.

Simmie is a good, but not great, user of language.
Her talent lies in her ability to understand which

LOTS

 

by the narrator’s quirky outlook—doesn’t come
across as stale. The problems Elenor deals with are
readily identifiable in many peoples’ experiences.
The sense of dissatisfaction and the loneliness that

young punk, he used to say “never trust a hippie.”
The hippies were the over-thirties. The enemy.
And the band Rotten fronted in the mid-to-

_late 70s, The Sex Pistols, set out to rebel against
_ everything that came before them, especially the

over-thirties. .

The Sex Pistols invented punk rock, under the
tutelage of their manager, Malcolm McLaren,
and clothes designer, Vivien Westwood. Kids
copied their spiky, green hair and torn, safety-
pinned clothes, and parents feared Rotten’s every
outburst. The band gave new definition to the
tired cliché of the angry teenager. They were so
angry, they looked ready to burst.

Almost two decades after the day in 1978
when he stormed off the stage in San Francisco
and out of the ground-breaking band, a pudgy,
40-year-old Rotten returned to one of his favorite
old haunts, the 100 Club in London’s Oxford
Street. It was the scene of many a Sex Pistols
gig.

With him again in 1996 was bassist, Glen
Matlock; guitarist, Steve Jones; and drummer,
Paul Cook. And they had some news for the
world. They had reformed the band.

The press in attendance were incredulous.

Sure, they were middle-aged, said Rotten
(now using his birth-name, Lydon), but he was
unapologetic. We simply want to make some
money, he said, and get some respect.

But what about Sid Vicious? (The one-time
bass player died of a heroin overdose in 1978
while on trial for murdering girlfriend, Nancy
Spungen.)

in 1976 to join Iggy Pop.

But now Matlock is back, and Lydon is billing
the reformed band as the real Sex Pistols.

And with that, a legend is reborn. Perhaps even
sending a shiver down the spine of one or two of
today’s parents.

Because punk is fashionable again.

Bands like Green Day and Rancid are raking
in the sort of big bucks that always eluded the
Sex Pistols. The Pistols only made one album,
Never Mind the Bollocks. They failed to cash-in
on the publicity they created, but now they want
their share of the booty.

The Pistols are simply the latest, if least
expected, in a long list of bands from yesteryear
who are looking for some easy money.

They start their world tour in Finland on June
21st, and will zig-zag over most of Europe before
heading for North America in the autumn.
Although no North American dates have been
fixed yet, they are expected to be in Vancouver
sometime in November, personality clashes
permitting.

While it’s easy to scoff at The Sex Pistols and
accuse them of “selling out,” it might just be
worth taking a look at this band if you get a
chance. They are responsible for creating the one
of the most distinctive sounds since the sixties,
and spawned a world-wide movement that lasted
well into the 80s, fostering the scores of imitators
around today.

While the Sex Pistols are not in the same
league of songwriting and musicianship as many
current bands such as the Stone Roses and Oasis,

emotions go with which situations. This results in
refreshingly human reactions, and refreshingly
human characters. This book is as easy to read as a
letter from a friend.

The plot is rather predictable and has a certain
recycled flavour. In spite of this, the story—rescued

 

“Sid was nothing more than a coat hanger,”
Lydon said, “filling an empty space on stage.”

Cruel as it sounded, it was true. Vicious, who
often played smeared in blood, was long on
image and short on talent. The Pistols started to
go downhill after Glen Matlock, Sid’s

it’s a sure bet they wont leave the stage unless
the crowd throws something larger than a
Sherman tank their way.

So go and see the Grandfathers of punk if you
get a chance. But be warned, whatever you do—
don’t trust ‘em. 4

she wrestles with aren’t restricted to unhappy

Saskatchewan housewives; we’re all confronted

with them, at least at some point in our lives.
Like I said, it will cheer you up.

by Corene McKay

 

Music West ‘96

Regurgitated from
http\\www@musicwest.com

This is all about music. An annual event that
happens in Vancouver in May (May 2-5 this year).
This is the fifth year. A conference and music -

festival that is attended by industry h
professionals including managers, agents, gee @
publishers, A&R reps & club buyers from all over
the world. The conference is an excellent:
opportunity to network with them, and the
festival is an excellent opportunity to showcase
these talented musicians.

Images, too

Festival

(May 2-5) 200, count’em, two hundred
rockin’ indie bands incite wild, unrequited
partying all over Vancouver. Spend $34 for a
wristband—what a deal!—from TicketMaster
(280-4444)

Band Selection

“Each artist is listened to by 3 different
people. These people are industry types like

Conference (May 2-5)

Speaking of music...such industry giants as
Johnette Napolitano (former lead
singer of Concrete Blonde),
Professor Griff (Public Enemy’s),
Doug Rasheed (Grammy Award
winner), label presidents and
more.... An excellent opportunity to
network, and schmooze. Sound

 

managers, agents, indie record company staff, Advice, May 4; Student Day May Volunteering
studio managers, , Dige
: . a
engineers, producers, New this year, at the (Next year, when the Other Press World Wide Web Volunteer
promoters, media, Plaza, a lounge setup to

starts advertising for volunteers, run
down here and pick up an
application...)

The benefits to volunteering; you
can earn vouchers, as you work, to
get into certain aspects of the
conference and festival; t-shirt;
opportunity to display your
“message” on our special Internet’s

Message Board; a Certificate of
Appreciation, tons of prizes to win
from our Volunteer Incentive
Program, an invitation to the
Volunteer Wrap Up Party, exposure
and experience in working in the
music industry and networking
with other volunteers.

musicians and music
fans. They are graded
from 1-10. Those that
score the highest are
short listed and the final
selection is made by the
festival team. There are many factors involved,
not just whether or not we think a band is good.
We receive submissions from hundreds of

interact with stars. “Drinks and dancing
people, lava lamps....”

Slam City Jam (May 3-5)

National Skateboard Championship.
Plaza of
Nations. A cornicopia of
bands, broken bones,

a ae

 

 

96, SSM P

  

talented artists but the reality is there are only busted boards, beauty ' d
200 showcases available. A lot of deserving from be...above. Get the Scott Simmer
artists will not be selected but it is NOT Picture? All-ages, $10 at
because we didn’t think they were worthy.” the door for the Friday

20 clubs are used, housing over 200 hundred qualifier, $15 for
bands. The Saturday and Sunday
biggest venues ~..._. avvoices Street and Vert competitions. $30 for all three days. :
being The Plaza
of Nations, The * Slam City Jam Performers :
.. * si aan Bad Religion Treblecharger Ten Days Late a
Commodore Unwritten Law —_— Hip Hop Mecanix Minority

, Dancehall Crashers Spiderbait Rule 62
DDT Upper Hutt posse Seaweed Scott Simmer, an ex-OPer, now working at Music West...yeah, we all look like that...