P 12-14: The Curse of the Monkey’s Paw. A true story.

The Mighty Vin..Sitting with Vinny Peculiar in a back office of Salford

City Radio- tHE zEEN had a thoroughly amiable chat withone of Salford’s favourite adopted sons: the singer-songwriter-poet-raconteur; Vinny Peculiar.

tHE zEEN: Hiya Vinny- can youtell us about your new album?

VP: Yeah- this new album waswritten over 5 or 6 weeks whenI had some free time- and Itried to base it around somestrong childhood memories ofa time when music was mostexciting to me, around the mid70s- just before punk- as glam-rock was just starting to kickin. A real defining moment forme was seeing Bowie perform“Starman” on Top of the Popswhen he has the blue guitarand the orange hair and heactually does look like aMartian.

I don’t think anyone at schoolhad ever seen anything likeit and I’m sure I’m not the onlymusician to think like that-I know Ian McCullough thinkspretty much the same thing asme- and I tried to base thesound of the new album aroundthat period. I especiallywanted to capture the soundof the Bowie albums Hunky Doryand Ziggy Stardust.

Contd..........

I’m sure lots of artists have had similar big ideas about the sound ofan upcoming album though I suspect they just end up sounding like ‘justanother of your albums’. But at least if you’ve got the background onthat then you get a sense of where we were coming from. Myself and theproducer Rob Ferrier, a couple of lads from Liverpool on bass and drums,John Thirwell and Neil Carter and a top cello player- and we recordedit onto 2” tape in exactly the same way you would’ve done in the 70s.There’s a tremendous retro studio in Mossley called Analogue Cat- so itwas all about performances- there was no cutting and pasting, no digitaltrickery and with the warmth you get from an analogue recording-there’s a certain feel to the record. And even though it’s being releasedon CD it will come out on vinyl later in the year. I’m currently takingpre-orders for vinyl through my website at the moment- I’ve got a few,but I could do with a few more.

tHE zEEN: regarding the musical theme of the record- is the subjectmatter linked to that? Is it other-worldly or is it about how you feltat that particular time in your life?

VP: There’s some retrospective poetry type stuff in there- plus a collageof key experiences I had at the time- like seeing Alice Cooper on TOTP,kissing on a park bench, early loves and losses and longings.

It was a less knowing age- everything was a bit more mysterious- y’know- when Led Zeppelin brought out Led Zeppelin 4 everyone was thinking“My God, What does that mean?” and there was no internet to check itout- and you didn’t even know what they looked like- occasionally therewould be a picture in the NME or Melody Maker or Sounds which weremassively read at the time- so we were definitely in an age when somebands could take on a more mystical aura somehow. And of course I havemade an album that deliberately emulates those sounds but back then…it just happened.

tHE zEEN: I have heard songs by you before that are about teenagersin bedrooms and a wistful look-back at the past- is this a recurringtheme for you?

VP: Well, “Other People Like Me” is not an album about the future,that’s for sure- it’s my attempt at making sense of the past. My songsdefinitely focus upon key pivotal moments from my life. There’s asong on the new album about a day when I had a kind of vision whenI was sat at a bus-stop- and I got double vision and everythingstarted to go kind of shmoozy-woozy, I couldn’t see properly, and

eventually this old lady had to help me out- but it was quitepleasurable- and I’m still not sure what it was- I don’t think it wasdrug related- so one of the songs is about when that happened andhow great it felt- and it was over in no time and back to normal.

tHE zEEN: You used to write some unashamedly “novelty songs” – havethey faded from your song-writing repertoire now?

VP: Yeah, kind of- I suppose I’m on the cusp of where novelty meetsdeadpan seriousness- and I certainly don’t mind getting a laugh ata gig- like my song “confessions of a sperm donor” which usually makespeople laugh but is actually quite a serious song- basically aboutdonating sperm for cash when you were a student and then twentyyears later thinking “Hmm, wonder what might’ve happened to that?”and mulling on the possibility of being a father without knowingabout it.

tHE zEEN: So what are you doing promotion-wise with the album? Anybig plans?

VP: Just a few local gigs and then I’m going on tour with some friendsof mine called “The Smiths Indeed” which is quite weird because I’vehad some of the originalSmiths in the band for awhile (Andy Rourke, MickJoyce and Craig Gannon)so I’m really lookingforward to it. And I’mdoing that with a girl Imet- she’s a great singerand she plays piano- shegoes under the name of“The English Crumpet”.We’re modelling our look on“Abigail’s Party”.

All details of the tourand more details aboutthe album “Other PeopleLike Me” can be found onVinny’s website:

www.vinnypeculiar.co.uk

The Anorak’s Corner.Our intrepid techie sleuth, Colin Powellinvestigates how the bands from our city makethe noises they make....

Suzuki/Method use a wide range of equipment to achieve their fullsound.Guitarist Ben Hounslow uses a combination of PRS guitars and line 6amps and effect pedals for more versatility in sound than just clean anddistorted guitar tones.In addition to this, bassist Mike Matthews uses a line 6 keyboard basssynthesizer and midi controller along with a Fender precision Bass.Key elements of the Suzuki/Method sounds come from keyboard playerGlen Leishman’s combination of Korg and Alesis synthesisers alongwith drummer David Boyd’s stripped down drum kit equipped with RolandTD trigger pads.Finally, the set up of Frontman and guitarist Adam Leishman comprisesclassically of a Marshall combo amp, Boss effects units, along with theuse of a Gordan Smith custom guitar made in Partington, Manchester.

The Sandbox Sound:

Our usual live set up can be summed up in two words: raw, and loud.

Lennie plays her blonde Fender Telecaster straight into her Laney VC30-112 togive a clean, but really chunky rhythm sound with loads of bite.

Paul plays his metallic blue Fender Stratocaster through his Laney VC30-212,normally only with a Marshall Jackhammer overdrive/distortion box. It's a veryversatile little number, with a great range of tones. That's it as far as effects areconcerned, though sometimes he uses a little wah courtesy of a Jim Dunlop CryBaby, as and when required. You're highly unlikely to see him with a multi-effectsprocessor, but he may add a couple of extra stomp boxes from time to time.

Will then anchors the whole thing down with his sunburst Fender Precision bassand Ampeg stack, which is a powerful beast of an amp, certainly capable ofcutting through a bad PA mix!

When we play acoustically, as we have been quite a lot lately, we use my YamahaAPX-5A acoustic guitar, while Will uses a combination of his Nord Lead 2synthesizer and Roland stage piano. Lennie and Andy then use a mixture ofshakers, rock salt(!), wood block and glockenspiel between them.

Around the scene.Bob Osborne brings us up to date with a round-up of the goings on of music in Salford.

Well, what a busy old time we have had since the last issueof tHE zEEN. I suppose the biggest events of the summer havebeen the release of Humanizer's "This Tiny Universe" EP onHacienda Records, and Vinny Peculiar's latest album "OtherPeople Like Me".Ste Kelly's synth laden adventures in indie rock have finallybeen set free upon the world with four great tracks actingas a great shop window for a band which demonstrated it candeliver live as well as on record via a stunning set ofIslington Mill as part of the latest "Helmets for Men" gignight.Vinny's latest waxing is exceptional with classic tracks.great playing, and the observational lyrical majesty that MrPeculiar is renowned for.Talking of releases Trojan Horse, John Herring, and Death tothe Strange have been busy in the recording studio, and westill await, with some excitement, the long overdue Sandboxalbum. The Inflictors have also been hard at work writingand recording new tunes and have secured some great supportslots on The Fall autumn Tour. And talking of The Fall - Ding has been hard at work co- producing the latest studio album by Prestwich's finest, with Mark E. Smith, and advises that it is rather good indeed. A number of newer bands have emerged including "Cougar Manouveur" and "Everyday Goldfish" demonstrating that the scene is still very healthy. And we are still somewhat perplexed regarding the identity of "Toby Jughead" who delivered the stand out track of the last few months in "Media City Ditty" Gig-wise - Broughton's masters of Kraut-Punk "The Sandells" have been shining in several stand-out sets - they are certainly building a reputation as a must see band.Humanizer

At the Crescent Ting N Ting continue to deliver excellentband nights: the recent highlight of which was a fun packednight featuring "Baby Strange", "The Blimp" and the lastever performance of the legendary "Hamsters". The venue isdeveloping a great reputation as a place to see Salfordtalent but also bands from the wider scene.

We got a bit of a shock when The Black Knights said theywould be ceasing operation but were soon relieved to findthe dynamic duo were carrying on with a new name and anew look - and their "debut" ep "Whoa Whoa Hey Hey" is astrong indicator of the potential of "The Calimocho Club".Talking of name changes "The Souls" have decided to re-brand themselves as "Stalagmites".

"Positronik" go from strength to strength - having got afull page spread in the Manchester Evening News - a coupleof radio slots and two high profile gigs in Manchester.They self released their first songs on Bandcamp and havesecured a gig at the forthcoming Salford Music Festival.

And Mag and Don of "Twinkle &Co" have continued tostrengthen the Irlam musicscene legacy with somefantastic songs, blending6Os sounds with modernSalford styles.

On the "rock" end of thescene both "Whipcord" and"Kranius" havecontinued to dominatea busy scene with theformer deliveringtwo excellent newtracks. Mr Heartare stillsearching for abass player(preferably afemale one) and theever busy anddecidedlyun-femaleDing stoodin at arecent gigsupporting"Whipcord".All in all then abusy old time and it isgoing to get busier with amassive Salford Music Festival coming at the end of September.

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Bring on those Hazy crazySways-ey days of Summer.... Salford’s only record label, “SWAYS” bring you anupdate from their nerve centre, somewhere just offBroughton Lane...

First off, this happened ...The Electrification of Salford. A newmusical experience that definitely happened Saturday 2 July 2Oll atKings Arms in Salford. An all-sensory pro-visuo/audio victory withGhost Outfit, Monster Island & Womb. We have the 2ndElectrification night planned for Saturday 22 October 2Oll, withPost-War Glamour Girls and much more!

Not content with being awarded ‘the only label in Salford’ we decided to branch out. We areproud to announce that we will be opening SWAYS Beijing in the coming months. A dearfriend was sent East to discover Taiwanese shoegaze and Chinese lo-fi pop, together wehave compiled a glorious mixtape, one that is full of surprises. Can’t wait til you hear it. Willbe available on limited edition cassette tape v. soon.

Not satisfied with just releasing noisy shoegaze pop, we decided tobranch out. We have been busy recording the (sometimes) l5-pieceall-female experimental noise band named WOMB. They remind us ofElectrelane and The Fall and Glenn Branca and No Wave stuff. Theaudible results will be available on limited edition l2” in the coming months.Each l2” with also come with hand-made WOMB art. This is special.

As if this wasn’t enough we have the debut 7” single from Ghost Outfit, who have been causinga right stir, not just locally but in The Guardian (New Band of the Day- No 1 078!). If youhaven’t been following their Young Ghost Video Project you should rectify that now: 11 videosfor 13 songs. Details on the mighty two-piece’s 7” are coming soon. We are very excited, canyou tell?

Beyond this we have the ‘even-lusher-than-last-time’ second single fromThe Louche FC, mixing is near finished, you won’t be disappointed. Gosee ‘em live at The Castle Hotel, Oldham St, Mcr playing with the equally -as-lush Fear of Men (from Brighton). Trust us.

Signed, Benny. Regional Director of Operations (North West). SWAYS Records. www.swaysrecords.com

It’s safe to say that the period of mourning for The BlackKnights has been relatively short. The decision to changeimage and name for Gary and Tom was probably timely giventhe fast moving pace of the music scene round the “GreaterSalford” area and to produce a five track EP within literallyweeks of the demise of the old moniker is a testament to thework ethic of the dynamic duo.

So what it is like?

Well you will not be surprised to hear that it is incrediblybluesy, full of light and shade, extremely dynamic and verygood indeed. I’ve lauded the previous incarnation of thesetwo chaps on more than one occasion and i’m going to have todo it again.

The opening “She Told Me” perhaps is the biggest indicatorof the change in direction - a huge chunk of blue-eyed soulmixed with a four to the floor blues pump, and incandescentriffing; immediately infectious with its ice cool chords andveering inexorably towards a funky hip swinging danceability.

Good Knight and thankyou.The Black Knights have fallen on their swordsand come back as......

Bob Osborne wastes no time in getting stuck in totheir debut EP- the wonderfully entitled “Woah

Woah Hey Hey”

“War Machine” has a number of echoes of the previous TBKsound but subtly altered into again into a soulful blues witha great guitar sound and the trademark TP3 swagger mixedwith a brutal “in your face” riff.The title of the EP forms the chorus. ”Baby’s got a switchblade”continues the theme with a modernistic take on the result ofthe melding of the musical genetic material of Hendrix,Gallagher, Trower and Erikson.What’s fascinating is the shortness of the tracks on the EP- perfect little vignettes, and although you might feel youshould be wanting more, in reality the length is just rightin this context.“Smoking Area Blues” tells the tale of unrequited love on thesteps of the workplace/pub over a cigarette and is so riddledwith the blues it should contain a warning from the Directorof Public Health. The closing “Roll the Dice” is a magnificentbeast of a thing - sleazy blues of the highest order - withnods to any number of the old masters of the twelve bar - thedynamic control here is spot on and it leaves you waiting forthe next release, like all good closing tunes should.

Absolutely marvellous and well worth three of your pounds.

www.thecalimochoclub.co.uk for more details. Ta.

Methodology.Suzuki Method, one of tHEzEEN’s favourite bands... ever!have been beavering away in the back-ground. But what have they been up to?We wanna know.

The last we heard, they were inthe studio, possibly recording anew album.“Yeah,” confirms singer AdamLeishman, “it will be finishedsoon and will be coming out onTownsend Records (after months ofdiscussions) - they have Beady Eyeand Glasvegas on the books- we’reminnows in the Townsend pond.”

“We’re also starting our own club night- we’re sick of the wholeclub/promoter thing- so we’re creating this as a sounding boardfor us and other groups that we like. We’re calling it New/Build.We have a team: Danny Keehan covers the dark side of town(Chorlton etc) and will be doing a sister night at Saki bar. Aguy from The Guardian that is into the band covering media, andI've asked Tony (Thornborough) to get involved with us on theSalford side of things. We'll be doing it at Islington Mill andthe first one is in September.”

“People need a reason to come toSalford and see bands. If we do thisright it could be something amazing.Chapel street is a bomb site at theminute.Its time for the NEW/BUILD!”

More info at:www.suzuki-method.co.uk

Suzuki M

ethod rehearsing. That’s what this picture is.

In the last issue of tHE zEEN, EllaGainsborough brought us news of poetry inSalford- this time, it’s film-making in Salford- as she investigates...

The Curse of theMonkey’s Paw.

Now in the final stages of editing, cast and crew areanxiously waiting to see if the dreaded curse of ZBFilm'sfirst short, The Monkey's Paw, will strike again.

The Monkey's Paw is a short horror story written by W.W.Jacobs and is a tale of a talisman which grants threewishes to its owner, however each wish comes with a hugeprice for interfering with fate. This modern dayadaptation, written by director Denis Crampton, finds asmall gang of youths stumbling across a stranger intheir hang-out and the consequences which follow.

The short film is the brain child of 44 year old editorand producer Mike Craig, who after an accident, foundthat he had some spare time on his hands. He started toimprove his editing skills on the programme, Final CutPro and ask his friend Denis Crampton for any ideas.Neither had any idea what was in store for them.

The first strike of the curse was when the camera manpulled out a week before the short started, taking hiscamera with him. Luckily Creative Industries in Salfordstepped in and gave a generous loan of a camera and Igot a promotion from camera assistant to Director ofPhotography.

Then, on the first day of filming, Mike was woken to thenews that the leading actress had pulled out for a payingjob in London. Luckily in one of the pre-shoot meetings,Denis had given a speech on nepotism in the media industry,cue Mike's daughter Simone. After the morning's mis-hapthe first day of shooting went well, with the cast andcrew bonding well together. However, the curse struckagain on the second days filming when Simone called insick. Short of putting the security guard in a wig anda dress, all seemed to be lost, until Denis came to therescue again, enlisting the help of the make up artist,who had a similar build to Simone.

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The Crescent will be oneof the venues for thisyear’s ‘Sounds from theOther City’ festival onMay lst- and one of thevenues for the ‘SalfordMusic Festival’ later inthe year, probably.

Going of the basis that bad things come in three's thecast and crew assumed that they had had all their badluck for their month, let alone their day until...

EXT. ON SET. DAY.Cast and crew huddle together in the mist of torrentialdownpour.

And it was torrential. Mike had thought ahead and hadbrought along 2 gazebos, one of which ended up destroyedby the sheer force of the storm. Of course, as soon asDenise decided to call time and break for lunch, thestorm passed over giving way to (almost blissful)sunshine.

Despite the curse, the production went really well, onthe third day of filming there were no noticeableproblems, (apart from a giggly bunch of actresses!) Thecast and crew, mainly made up of students all performedexceptionally and the days were never short of laughter.

'We've got a great young cast and crew, who've all cometogether and have done really well, even though someare learning on the job. It's amazing, I'm really pleased'- Denis.

The Monkey's Paw was made on literally Zero Budget(ZBFilms) so props and equipment were made by Mike,including an impressive dolly (a piece of filmingequipment designed to create a smooth camera movement)and an even more impressive monkey's paw.

Although it hasn't always been an easy journey, theshoot ended in high spirits, with hopes to show theshort at festivals in Manchester and Salford. Re-shootswill commence after the first edit is complete and thefilm will be online at some point. Hopefully, now thecurse has run its course.

For more information, photos, clips and to keep trackof progress visit www.zbfilms.co.uk

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Shine on Harvieu.tHE zEEN was supposed to be bringing you an interviewwith Salford songstress Ren Harvieu in this issue-but unfortunately Ren is ill at the mo. So instead,we will publish a review of one of Ren’s live showsthat tHE zEEN attended a month or two ago.

I'm not a big fan of this venue; it's soul-less.Any ounce of character that the buildingmight have has been completelycovered up inside and the two concertrooms are sterile affairs with badacoustics and bizarre seatingarrangements that make getting tothe bar a barging contest. Anyhow,moaning over- here comes theturn.

There is no doubt that RenHarvieu is remarkable- she hasa voice that defies explanation- it isfull of character, mystique and enchantment. She looks like the twisted heroineof a gothic horror movie- haunted, beguiling and slightly dangerous. Yet it is quiteobvious that she is excruciatingly shy- she does not introduce herself when onstage(the only way you would know her name is because it is printed on the front skinof the bass drum)- she doesn't introduce any of the songs or interact with thecrowd (or the rest of the band) at all. In fact, the only two words she utters are"last tune", just before, er, the last tune.

This normally wouldn't be a problem I suppose, but this band faff around a lotbetween songs: swapping instruments, tweaking bits of kit, trooping on and offstage as and when required- which leaves lots of slightly eggy slabs of awkward

It's Friday night and tHE zEEN is off out to Chorlton Irish Centre to watch RenHarvieu."Who is she?" I hear you cry. Well, to be honest, I don't really know. I knowthat she's a Salfordian, I know that she's about twenty years old and I know thatshe's been signed up by Island Records (though there's no mention of her ontheir website, confusingly). I suspect that the current lack of Ren Harvieu songsavailable online is Island Records' way of keeping us keen and hungry for more.I've heard a couple of her songs and I've seen a few photographs of her- and itall looks very promising so I set off for the wrong side of town, buy myself ashandy and wait for Ms Harvieu to appear on stage.

The rest of the set is a mixture of this type of slightly cocktail-jazzy type songsand numbers tinged with country and western- songs which need a few listens Ireckon before they can be judged properly.

The other stand-out moment is Ren's version of "Crying" by Roy Orbison- a bravechoice for anyone to cover. The rhythm section leave the stage- just leaving avibrato-laced acoustic guitar and some droned keyboards as accompaniment. Itis a moment to remember (though some ignoramuses in the crowd were chattingthroughout. Chorltonians! Tsk!) and even though I'm not even sure that I liked it- as a piece of theatre it was quite something to behold.

All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable forty minutes of my life and yet another reminder of the eclectic nature of music that is currently emanating from Salford. Don't be surprised if lots of people buy lots of her records very soon.

silence. Ren looks at the ground during these delays, hiding behind her voluminousfringe. Yet during the songs she is more relaxed, more engaging, her arms and handsare expressive, she does the 'dance round your handbag' type shuffle and fixes hergaze on a point somewhere at the back of the room.

So what of the music and thesongs? Well, let me just start bysaying that "Through the Night"could and should be a numberone single any week of the year.It is a piece of songwriting/performance mastery that is upthere with Bacharach in hispomp and Dusty in her prime.The verse is a bewitchingmelody, full of trepidation andanxiety followed by huge stringsand a soaring chorus that couldmelt the heart of even the most gnarled cynic. And Ren pulls it off with aplombtonight. The stand-out track without a doubt.

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All photos by thelovely Emma Davies.

Tony Thornborough relaxing outside hishome yesterday. Note servant inbackground walking Tony’s dog for him.

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Grab yer Helmets.“Helmets For Men” is Salford’s premiere livemusic night. So how did it all begin?

Helmets for Men is fast approachingits 2nd birthday. It is the brainchildof mild-mannered Salford City Radiodisc jockey Tony Thornborough. tHEzEEN was going to interview Tony forthis article but quickly thoughtbetter of it. But if we did interviewhim he would probably say somethinglike:“Well, I started the whole thing offbecause I was sick of trawling intoManchester every time I wanted to seesome decent music- and after a quickshuftie round I decided that we havesome great venues here in Salford soI thought I’d put my own live musicnights on. Our original home wasIslington Mill but we’ve also doneshows at The People’s History Museum,The Old Pint Pot, Salford Arts Theatre and The Kings Arms.Also- we didn’t want to do that old ‘pay to play’ bollocks andthought it would be a goodidea to actually pay thebands.”Thanks Tony.Helmets For Men hasfeatured loads of great bandsincluding some of Salford’sfinest- such as SuzukiMethod, The Black Knights,AAAK, Mr Heart,The Inflictors, Sandbox,Death to the Strange, TheArch Nazards, Pearl Divers,The Misfits, oh and loads ofothers that I’ve probablyforgotten to mention.Here’s to many more Helmetsnights.Search on Facebook for ‘HelmetsFor Men’ for all updates andupcoming shows.

Poets’ Corner.Wide Eyed Boy

I remembered to burn all reference to youAs I set out under skies blueAs cold, crisp air turns breath into smokeI sat with the boy amongst the strange folk

No regards to boundaries and no social classAre in account, when no-one knows your pastWith the clothes I stand in, and the things I lackI make up for time which I’ll never get back

Within my freedom comes a new found fameBut we still danced through all of our painWhat’s in a life time? What’s in a day?Which is the wrong path? And which is the way?

When a smile is the difference between life anddeathShouldn’t we watch time with baited breath?Precious moments so short of timeI’ll be yours and you’ll be mine

The cat bows to the bird, my wide eyed boySo let the world stop for us to enjoyIn the chaos of colour their songs shone brightAs we sang forever on that eternal night

The promise of the evening startled the airBut as I talked to the mirror there was no-onethereI’ll always remember that fateful dayWhen skies once blue turned dark shades of grey.

by Ella Gainsborough.