ELECTRONIC’EXPERIMENTAL
TWISTED NERVE NIGHT FEATURING MUM & DAD, HASSLEI'IOUND AND ANDY VOTEL
13th Note Club, Glasgow, Thu 1 Mar.
Mum & Dad aren’t the easiest band to pin down; one minute they sound like a louche drunken lounge act sparring with Add N to X, the next they’re in full-on rock-out mode. ‘We do tend to throw everything in there,’ admits frontwoman Clair Pearson, ‘The first record was Donnington, and you can probably guess what that sounds like - it’s not exactly folk. Then there’s Lady Porno which was a tribute to the flexis you used to get with porn magazines in the 705. It’s just a random page out of my diary - sex, bondage, murder, that sort of thing. We were well pleased with that because it has the words ‘bell-end’ in it. Castle Heights is our nice record. And I think the album might have a few surprises on it - we’ve gone a bit techno.’
The unconventional three-piece — lan Rainford and Joe Robinson share production duties with Pearson - have found a home at Twisted Nerve, the haphazard Manchester label run by Andy Votel who are set to present their first club night outside their hometown at Multifunktion. ‘I suppose there was a little scene that built up,’ explains Pearson, ‘just people knocking around in the same places, like these things normally
sort of knew Damon Gough and Andy Votel, and we got to know them better at that time and they just said, “D’you want to put something out on our label?”, and it just sort of happened, we just found ourselves with a single out.
Music
Our Mum & Dad are speed freak gastronomes
hours, about our big passions for krautrock and Scott Walker and 605 psych stuff. We just had one of them “Hey, we should do something!" things . . .’ Multifunktion is a rare chance to catch the group live, to say the least: ‘We don’t play that
‘The first record was called Donnington, and you can probably guess what that sounds like’
happen, and around the time that we were getting together, Twisted Nerve was just kicking off. We
SOUL
LEE FIELDS
La Belle Angele, Edinburgh, Fri 2 Mar.
In the beginning. there was sex. And the sound of sex was funk music. That 's a truth that Lee Fields knows only too well. The man dubbed 'The Little JB' learned the lesson by grinding out super heavy. super sweaty funk with suggestive song titles like ‘The Funky Screw“ and ‘The Bull Is Coming” through the 70s. Raw, raunchy and reeking of you-know-what, Fields had his own rough SOund — but James Brown was always the role model.
And even today. With the one- time Godfather of Soul attracting more attention for his drug habit and Criminal charge sheet than his music. it's an influence that Fields is quick to ‘fess up to. ‘James Brown is the innovator of modern music. He's the exemplar of the high-energy performance style.‘ says Fields on the line from New York. ‘I yield to James. You have to because a lot of the music that is given to the public today just doesn‘t meaSure up. As I see it. the sceptre was never really passed down from him. You have to pay your dues to get the sceptre.
So when Fields takes to the stage at La Belle Angele. rest assured that he is the real deal. The Bull will be coming. Even if Fields. sex machine persona is strictly limited to his on stage time. Sorry girls. ‘The ladies at the shows do find themselves going through a lot of changes.‘ he hints. 'lt's a high energy show and a good time. But I don't let myself get ego-ed out by it. I'm just a regular guy and this is Just a living. Lee Fields is available for interview and for performances. but it's a persona that gets left on the stage.‘
This is a rare UK appearance from a performer who currently plays an average of three gigs a week on the road in the US of A. It's a relatively relaxed schedule that gives the father-of-three plenty of time to indulge one of his other passions — the works of William Shakespeare. 'l'm looking at the Unabridged Works right now.’ he says. ‘Shakespeare was just the toughest. He was treacherous as far as his writing was concerned
but smooth enough to get a wide audience for his message. He saw the truth — that being treacherous is the natural state of all animals. And in the end. we are all JUSl animals'
(Ben Athertonl
Some animal magic from ‘The Little JB’
‘That sort of thing just happens to us,’ explains Pearson. ‘We got together in the first place because I’d just started doing a bit of singing after we’d had a karaoke party at my house and some bloke told me I was good.
Then me and Ian met when we were out one night on loads of speed, just talked shit at each other for
often, the last time was in June. It’s because we do a new film for every set we do, little clips for each song, and we think it’s better to do a live thing every so often and make a real effort. I’d quite like to go on a tour, but it’d have to be with proper catering, none of that slippy ham.’
(Jack Mottram)
JAZZ COLIN STEELE TRIO Henry’s Jazz Bar, Edinburgh, Thu 1 Mar, Wed 14 Mar.
Three’s a crowd for Colin Steele
Good things come to those who wait — an analogy Colin Steele can definitely associate with. After playing an intergral part of the Scottish Jazz scene fOr well over a decade. Steele has only JLlSl recorded his debut album as a leader. The trumpeter took a quintet into the studio last September. with Julian Arguelles on saxes. David Milligan on piano, Brian Shiels on bass. and John Rae on drums.
‘Yeah it has taken a while to get arOLind to it.' says Steel. ‘I guess waiting all this time to do my first album did add to the presSure to produce something worthwhile. The material on the disc is all my own stuff. I'm really happy with the playing on it, and I've been taking a lot of time over the editing and mixing. I've been working toward this for SIX Or seven years. so I'm not about to rush it now. I hope it wrll be out in the summer. but I'm still negotiating on its final release.’
He desci-ibes it as ‘Jazz with a bit of folk. and maybe a slight claSSical feel as well'. an eclectic mixture that will come as no Surprise to anyone who has followed his diverse muSical directions. taking in jazz. the steamy funk grOOves of Midnight Blue and his Current Melting Pot. and pop and rock prejects.
Melting Pot are late-night regulars at Henry's Jazz Cellar in Edinburgh. and Colin wrll also play there twice in the next fortnight wrth his acoustic trio. The group is an unusual combination of trumpet. guitar and bass. and he picked up on the idea from Chet Baker following a Successful Baker preject With Cathie Rae.
‘Chet did some trio things that worked really well. and l have tried it out a few times in pub gigs. but this time I wanted to prepare the material a bit more. I'm usmg DaVid Milligan's brother. Ross. and Kenny Ellis on bass. HaVing the right people is very imponant — with no drummer. yOu need players who are really confident With that kind of exposure' lKenny Mathiesonl
1—1:") Mar 2001 THE LIST 45