Saturday, November 25, 2006

A message from B. F. Mowat...

"Before "Indie-rock", "alternative", "new wave" or "punk" was.. SimplySaucer IS.. I really didn't think this was ever going to happen butit's true...After a 27-year absence, Simply Saucer returns to the live stage on December 28th for a full-length concert presentation at the Casbah, corner of King & Queen Street in downtown Hamilton.

Quite simply, the Saucer was and is, the original "new music" "proto-punk" - orwhatever equally stoopid term you can think of - rock combo that wastaking their musical queues from "Kraut"-rock (e.g. Can, Faust, Neu, etc,), The Stooges and The Velvet Underground before any of that stuff wascommon currency. The only groups we can think of who were even remotelyin the same head space were the early NYC bands (Television, etc) or the early Cleveland groups (Rocket From The Tombs, Mirrors).

Starting in 1973,the group careened through six years of musical mayhem before finally imploding in 1979. Over the years, the group's reputationspread, first with the ltd (920 copies) 1989 vinyl LP release of Cyborgs Revisited, and subsequently, withy the CD reissues of same in 1991 and-most recently - on Sonic Unyon in 2003. These recordings have earnedcritical kudos world wide from such redoubtable publications as Spin, New Music Express, Mojo, Uncut and The Sunday London Times.

After a completely unplanned, out-of-the blue reunion gig on September 17th at the once-legendary Corktown Tavern (with '78-79 guitarist -and former member of Teenage Head Steve "Sparky" Park), left everyone concerned feelin' groovy about playing Saucer songs, it was felt a revamped, no-nostalgia version of the group could be assembled. (Sparky couldn't commit to this version, but he has given his blessing to the "Mach V" version of Saucer).

Original singer, guitarist , and chief songwriter Edgar Breau along with original bassist The Legendary Kevin Christoff, will take the stage with their former manager (for one, brief disastrous 1979 gig In Guelph..ask him about it!) and drummer for the Forgotten Rebels, Joe Csontos. And we are extremely stoked about our newest generation of Saucer members - watch for further bulletins for more info (e.g. gear used, previous experience, favourite colours, what constitutes a great date, that kind of thing..).

We like to think that this edition of the Saucer will integrate both the Ping Romany eraelectronics AND the dual guitar attack of the Sparky era There are tentative plans to record the new Saucer line-up , either the live shows, or some "unfinished business" (like, about 50-60 songs worth).

They also plan to perform in all of the "Original Six" NHL hockey cities (Toronto, Montreal, Detroit, Chicago, Boston and New York) in 2007. Edgar, by the way, will continue to pursue his solo career - he's putting the finishing touches to Patches Of Blue, his second solo CD even as I write this - but all rock/band format will be forwarded to the Saucer desk, while all solo/singer-songwriter material will be forwarded to the solo tray.

To give you an example: "Simcoe County Country Girl" an acoustic country-blues number that dates from Cyborgs era Saucer(1975) is appearing on Patches Of Blue, while "Nice Noise", an unreleased stomper from 1977 is clearly marked for the band tray.
Also featured on the bill is the one-man electro-rock (pardon my PUN...)sensation of Electroluminescent Tickets are $15 in advance and can be purchased RIGHT NOW at at these stores:-
DR.DISC - 22 Wilson. 905.523.1010 (ALL shows)-
SONIC UNYON - 26 Wilson 905.777.1223. (ALL shows)-
CASBAH LOUNGE - 306 King St W @ Queen 905.521.4441
(ALL shows less Sellout Enterprises shows)
PLUS :: Hamilton East-Enders Take Note,
-- CRASH LANDING PUNK CLOTHING -297 Ottawa St N -- 905-548-0039
ATTENTION OUT OF TOWNERS...we know a lot of you Cyborg-kids will want to attend this, so we're selling ticks ON-LINE via TIXIT.CA orUNDERGROUNDROCKS. CA Tickets go on sale TODAY @ 5 p.m. For more info, view Ed's websites
PRESS TYPES: talk to Sean Palmerston @ Sonic Unyon
sean@sonicunyon.com or phone 905 777-1223 Or me, if you haveaccess to my personal e-mail/phone #"

What’s in a name? I have to tell you, that on first impressions - Lucky Soul strikes me as something that might appear on something like (sharp intake of breath here) X Factor. The e-mail that introduced me to them could so easily have been spam but it wasn’t. There was a charm about it and that particular commodity doesn’t come that particular processed meat product in any manifestation. So anyway, Lucky Soul, as it turns out is a very groovy London combo which could almost be Swedish. Such is it’s predilection for knocking out a great pop tune. They’re just about to put out their third release on Ruffa Lane. On December 11th to be exact. And it’ll be available as a 7” EP as well as a three track cd. “Ain’t Never Been Cool” will undoubtedly further cement the reputation they seem to have been building up over the course of the past year or so. With the popularity of acts like The Pipettes, then maybe the UK hit factory isn’t dead after all. Ali Howard’s vocals evoke all the great girl group singers you ever heard without actually sounding like any of them. If you ever had a soft spot for those fantastic Tracey Ullman singles on Stiff then this is for you.

The band have a tight rein on providing just the right jetstream for those to float on. Like The Maisonettes vs The Wilsations via the Rezillos, this stuff'll have you singing into your hairbrush or digging out that tennis racket from the back of the cupboard. Air guitar is not a symptom of this kind of timeless beat. LS should be enlisted to represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest because then they’d have the platform to reach the people who will lap this stuff up. The “gots the magic” alright. If you look up “effervescent” in the dictionary in coming years, it might well have a photo of these folks. As ever, if you think that I’m twisting that melon of yours or whatever then the proof of this sumptious pudding is merely a click away. They’re also playing the fabulous Debaser club in Stockholm in December, see dates below…

28 Nov - The Fly
05 Dec - Bardens Boudoir
15 Dec - Debaser, Stockholm, Sweden
31 Dec - New Year’s at the Hope & Anchor
Pester your local non-chainstore, although HMV has copies of the vinyl on all three releases at keen prices. (Thanks to Seb for the info and for taking the time to alert me to their existence. Sometimes operating in one's own time/space continuum can be limiting.)
PS - The Lucky Soul shop is now open...