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'VIEWS FROM THE HEDGE': MAJOR LIFE CHANGES - CROSSROADS

One of my regular shows on community radio was 'Views From The Edge', so named because I aimed to include my take on things from my home base in the south east of Scotland near the North Sea coast and border with England (the 'edge'). The wonderful Hastings band Fabulous Red Diesel were kind enough to spend some time recording a number of IDs for me, one of which they adapted as 'Views From The Hedge' complete with sheep sounds! I will always be incredibly grateful to them for their support, sadly I find that I am currently unable to locate that specific ID as I believe that it was stored on an external hard drive which became damaged when it fell off my desk! Nevertheless I felt that it was a suitable title for this post, as I seek to establish just what I should be doing with the part of my life that had previously been devoted to music and community radio since my retirement from Scottish education. Recently I feel as if I have been fenced (or hedged) in and am now looking out to identify a destination. Queue a series of 'ramblings'!

AND THE SURVEY SAYS - “WE LOVE THE OLD FAVOURITES”

As I've previously noted in a couple of recent posts, a few months ago a major change in my family circumstances led me to decide to step back from radio and review activities as I could no longer spare sufficient time to undertake these activities to a level that I would be happy with. Although completely unrelated to my decision to withdraw from my live community radio shows, the station that was hosting my live shows then published the results of a listener survey around the same time. The survey results were predominantly positive and very encouraging for the station with respondents voicing their love for all the shows that featured old familiar favourites – the one clear point of dissatisfaction was my focus on featuring new and unsigned artists. At the same time some listeners had also posted comments on the station's Facebook page expressing their dislike of the new music that I had been playing. Thankfully my initial sense of failure was tempered as I had been regularly receiving messages of support from a range of people around the world, in particular from Mexico! I have to say that I was further heartened to see others add comments in support of my selections – in general, as well as supporting my choices, they pointed out that all the familiar favourites would at one time in the past have also been 'new', untested and unfamiliar – they went on to ask what the outcome have been had nobody back then been prepared to go out on a limb and give people the opportunity to hear new songs? Whilst I had always intended to help bring new music to my audience's ears rather than simply just play the safe and popular hits, the negativity nevertheless did sting a little. Luckily I am rather stubborn and didn't feel that I could let such apparently blinkered negativity change my underpinning philosophy.

'BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY'

I do not claim to be right at all times with my selections and preferences, not everybody likes such a wide range of styles and sometimes I clearly make wrong calls. I vividly recall the day when working in Bruce's Record Shop in Edinburgh's Rose Street and we received our first delivery of Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' single. Back in these days it was virtually unheard of to hear any single prior to its release so that Monday morning was the first opportunity that any of us in the shop had had to hear it. After a couple of spins the general opinion, mine included, was bemusement = “who on earth is going to want to listen to that weird song about somebody having a bad trip?!” This was before we ever had the opportunity to see the classic video! Nowadays I imagine any tweet comment might also include #WTF – well time has certainly proved us wrong on that initial call as 'Bohemian Rhapsody' has subsequently become embedded in the fabric of rock history as an absolute classic! Over the years some brave souls have even taken a chance on recording a cover!!

IS COMMUNITY RADIO WORTH THE EFFORT?

I do strongly believe that there are so many solo artists and bands out there now who are producing exciting, innovative and inspirational music and who really do deserve to be given a fair hearing. It is them that I wished to give exposure to in my radio shows, and seek to support by posting my reviews. Given the amount of money and resources that are required to keep a community radio on air, surely it should not just be a medium to allow people to listen to a constant stream of familiar and popular hits – if that were the case listeners could just as easily tune in to a streaming service where they can specify preferred playlists? That would eliminate so many of the administrative headaches that come with trying to keep a community radio station on air: no need to find the finances to pay for all the necessary hardware, premises, licences and utilities.

“DEFINITELY NOT MAINSTREAM”

I do confess that my listening preferences could never really have been classified as mainstream. The first album that I ever bought had to be specially ordered for me by the record department in Stirling's Graham & Morton Department Store (O.K. I admit the photo in the link was a bit before my time!): it was released on John Peel's Dandelion label by the English performance art collective made up of about 14 musicians, poets, dancers, and sound and lighting technicians. They were Principal Edwards Magic Theatre and the album was 'Soundtrack', which I still regularly revisit. John Peel's wondrous radio shows were also a regular listen, where, from my earliest encounters, I was enchanted by unique audio gems such as Captain Beefheart's 'Trout Mask Replica', 'An Evening With “Wild Man Fischer” ', the GTOs and Ravi Shankar (I can vividly recall listening on my transistor radio whilst walking home one day in Bridge of Allan. Such great memories, and no doubt an inspiration for my community radio work.

GOOD OL' ROCK 'N' ROLL

I was intrigued recently by an item in a BBC Radio 4 'You & Yours' programme on Friday 5th January 2015. It considered the thriving industry around the popularity of rock 'n' roll and how it's gaining new fans. One contributor, Karinna Nobbs stated that “in the current economic climate people look backwards and are much more nostalgic about simpler times and the birth of rock 'n' roll told you something about what was going on – it was the birth of the teenager – there was a lot of hope and a lot of excitement for the future.”

Whilst I listened intently I found myself thinking about soma: the fictional hallucinogenic drug to keep society peaceful and happy in Aldous Huxley's novels 'Brave New World' and 'Island', and that perhaps this nostalgic 'comfort blanket' description would also help to explain the popularity of the range of 'tribute' and 'heritage' acts that appear to draw more crowds than fresh new talent in many local venues. Certainly in the Scottish Borders such acts appear to outnumber the less mainstream alternative options.

“CLASSIC ROCK ETC.”

I have already mentioned the first album that I purchased; I do have earlier memories but not really from the very earliest days of rock 'n' roll – although I have a few memories from the early 1960s, the late 1960s and early 1970s would probably provide the basis for my most enduring memories and I am forever grateful that I was around then to be able to hear so many eventual classics when they were taking their first steps (sadly NOT as a member of the audience at the actual live performances!): Jefferson Airplane, The Doors, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Cream, Eagles, Steely Dan, John Martyn and Jimi Hendrix to name a very few. I feel that I have to add that the more enduring bands generally tended to lose their immediate appeal for me after their first handful of albums. I suspect that was partly due to the overexposure that I experienced during my years working in the record shop, but possibly also as a result of a certain amount of predictability setting in.

“I JUST MISSED THE PUNK REVOLUTION!”

Writing now, I firmly believe that the music that has had the most enduring impact of me is what came to classified as punk – although at the time I was never aware of it being referred to as such. Bands/albums that I became more and more drawn towards in my youth include:

The Velvet Underground & Nico 1967; Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band 'Trout Mask Replica' 1969 / 'Clear Spot' 1972; MC5 'Kick Out The Jams' 1969; The Stooges 'Fun House' 1970 / 'Raw Power' 1973; New York Dolls 1973; Dr Feelgood 'Down At The Jetty' 1975; The Ramones 1976; The Tubes 'Young & Rich' 1976 ('White Punks On Dope'); Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers 'L.A.M.F.' 1977.

Cue 'real life' getting in the way! In the autumn of 1976 my life changed significantly in a number of ways; I transitioned from being a student to starting my teaching career and also met and settled down with my wife as we welcomed two wonderful children into our world. I wouldn't change any of that but the various demands placed on me at that time did mean that my previous focus on music, as a single entity, had to take a back seat. I do occasionally wonder how things might have turned out had I been born a couple of years later and to have spent my teenage years in the punk era as opposed to the more hippie oriented one that I seemed to get caught up in.

There are clear signs of an embryonic punk rock development in the late 1960s but the first wave of punk rock really took hold a bit later. It was aggressively modern, and distanced itself from the bombast and sentimentality of early 1970s rock. According to Ramones drummer Tommy Ramone, "In its initial form, a lot of '1960s' stuff was innovative and exciting. Unfortunately, what happened was that people who could not hold a candle to the likes of Hendrix started noodling away. Soon you had endless solos that went nowhere. By 1973, I knew that what was needed was some pure, stripped down, no bullshit rock 'n' roll." John Holmstrom, founding editor of Punk magazine, recalls feeling "punk rock had to come along because the rock scene had become so tame that acts like Billy Joel and Simon and Garfunkel were being called rock and roll, when to me and other fans, rock and roll meant this wild and rebellious music." In critic Robert Christgau's description, "It was also a subculture that scornfully rejected the political idealism and Californian flower-power silliness of hippie myth."

“D.I.Y.”

Technical accessibility and a 'Do it Yourself' (DIY) spirit are prized in punk rock and I truly believe that it is this which continues to draw me towards the numerous exciting and inspirational acts that I tend to wish to follow now (really TOO MANY to mention, but I will continue to seek to give them some well deserved publicity); technological developments have made it easier for artists to retain greater control over their creative output. One extremely important 'tool' is the advent of crowdfunding which enables artists and bands to generate a funding source to enable them to complete a specific project; record an album, shoot a video, fund a tour etc. by making it possible for interested supporters to provide financial support whilst also being kept informed about progress and receiving specified benefits. I feel privileged to have been able to have assisted a number of projects to move forward. A 'D.I.Y.' attitude is also a crucial aspect for the success of voluntary community radio too.

GIGGING IN THE 21st CENTURY

UK pub rock from 1972-1975 contributed to the emergence of punk rock by developing a network of small venues, such as pubs, where non-mainstream bands could play, and this is the area that most interests me now although I can only physically get to a fraction of the gigs that are being organised. Thankfully social media makes it easy for acts and promoters to share live videos to help share the experience. I'll take this opportunity to share one very special video from a great gig in Glasgow = Healthy Junkies first performance in Scotland and an excellent example of the marvellous mutually supportive community that they represent! Going back to my youth it was clearly the case that musicians made money from unit recording sales, generally touring at a loss in order to promote their latest release. Things seem to have reversed now and the recordings for most generate a minimal income and it is the touring and merchandise sales that provide the opportunity to get some form of financial return. This makes it all the more essential that I, and others, can encourage people to get people up from their seats and out to support the numerous live performance opportunities that surround them. I encourage people to be adventurous and give the unknowns a fair hearing, their performances will generally not be unaffordable, generally equivalent to a couple of pints in city centre venue. Another thing; in my experience, these musicians are generally self-funding their tours so please do not seek to rip them off by trying to 'guilt trip' them into adding you to their guest lists! A different story perhaps if the ticket price is over say £60.

I believe that I have listened intently to so many different styles of music over the decades that little now strikes me as being entirely new and innovative; I routinely find echoes being sparked in my head that get me thinking bank to when I previously heard a particular phrase, riff or sound – whilst this often encourages me to revisit the sources of these evocations, I certainly don't seek to suggest that the new purveyors of these sounds are simply 'rip-off' artists and that the earlier versions must be venerated as the best. Instead, I celebrate the fact that yet more musicians have been able to experience the magic of producing output that blends, recycles and re-invigorates such timeless audio gems.

Yes – I will continue to re-visit older items in my extensive music collection, but I firmly believe that it will be the exciting new young acts that will continue to attract my full attention. Whatever my eventual decision regarding radio & review activities, I am determined that it will have a strong focus on new and emerging unsigned talent from around the world with out any particular genre restrictions.

CONCLUSION

As I sought to conclude this piece I continued to remain unsure about just how to move forwards; a number of things took precedence over and prevented me finishing it promptly. Consequently I will delay any return to radio and stick to written reviews for the short term. Many thanks to those who have submitted material recently, this has been a great impetus to encourage me. Finally, if you have read as far as this, many thanks. Whilst pieces like this are possibly more an exercise in self-assessment to help me make decisions I truly appreciate all who do take time out from their lives to consider my musings.

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