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Bring Your Own Vinyl Night #19

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Bring Your Own Vinyl Night

The Queen’s Head, Mold

Saturday 22nd April 2023

What could be better: playing vinyl records in good company, with some beers in a great local pub? Sounds pretty good to me. Yes, Bring Your Own Vinyl Night was back again, in the traditional home of The Queen’s Head in Mold, North Wales.

Following both Record Store Day, and a record fair – both of which VOD Music in Mold were involved with, it has been a wax packed day anyway. So it was good to finish the day’s events off with a chance to spin some records.

So what exactly is involved with Bring Your Own Vinyl Night? It’s simple: everyone gets 15 minutes to play whatever songs they like, on quality record decks with a mixer. But it can only be vinyl format.

Here’s my playlist:

Jimmy McGriff and Groove Holmes – The Squirrel

You know those funky jazz instrumentals that the Beastie Boys did on “Check Your Head” and “Ill Communication”? I was immediately infatuated with those songs (see also their compilation “The In Sounds From Way Out!”). Research revealed that the main influences on those songs were Jimmy McGriff and Richard “Groove” Holmes, two soul jazz organ players and band leaders. I tracked down some records of each, and they are amazing. This track is from their joint album, “Giants of the Organ Come Together”. “The Squirrel” is a groovy number indeed, but you should check out the full album (and their individual recordings). Nice!

Queens of the Stone Age – Make It Wit Chu

A slinky, sexy number from the “Era Vulgaris” album by Queens of the Stone Age. This track quickly became one of my favourite QOTSA songs, though it’s from what’s probably my least favourite of their albums. Originally appearing on “Desert Sessions Volumes 9 & 10”, where it featured backing vocals by the wonderful PJ Harvey, “Make It Wit Chu” is pure class.

Clutch – The Regulator

More Clutch, ‘cos I just can’t get enough. This song, “The Regulator”, starts with a folky, bluegrass feel before it erupts into a pounding blues rocker. You can find it on the album “Blast Tyrant” and I suggest you go and track it down right now.

Devo – Gut Feeling

Ah, Devo. What can I say about Devo? We go way back, I heard their first album when I was a kid and it baffled me at first. Took a while to get it, but it was worth it. “Gut Feeling” is of course from the “Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!” classic debut. It’s a sunny, dreamy song with a surf rock feel.

And that wraps it up for my set. Four great songs which I enjoyed playing, I hope others liked them too. Either way, it was a great evening catching up and talking music with a few beers.

Thanks to Halcyon Dreams and VOD for organising a superb event.

And thanks to The Queens Head – a great pub, I really enjoyed my food too!

The Halcyon Dreams blogspot is here.

The Halcyon Dreams mixcloud page is here.

The Halcyon Dreams Facebook page is here.

The VOD music website is here.

Bring Your Own Vinyl Night #18

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Bring Your Own Vinyl Night

The Queen’s Head, Mold

Friday 26th August 2022

Three years. It’s been nearly three years since the last Bring Your Own Vinyl Night at the Queen’s Head in Mold, north Wales. The pandemic put this event on hold for quite a while, but finally it was time for a triumphant return to the decks.

Let’s recap the concept: each participant gets a 15 minute slot to play whatever vinyl they like. That’s it. Very simple. And good fun. Have a few beers, chat about music, discover something new to listen to.

Here’s my ;playlist from the night:

Sweet Apple – Wish You Could Stay (A Little Longer)

I wanted to start my set up with this gorgeous, uplifting track by Sweet Apple. J Mascis (of Dinosaur Jr) is in the band, and Mark Lanegan guests on co-vocals. A sublime piece of melodic, alt rock pop. First song on their album “The Golden Age of Glitter”.

The Four Horsemen – Nobody Said It Was Easy

And then on to some early 90’s southern rock, courtesy of the Four Horsemen. This band were signed to Def American and produced by Rick Rubin. If you dig AC/DC tinged Skynyrd and ZZ Top, their wax is worth investing in. I have the album, but this was the 7 inch single version of this song.

Clutch – D.C. Sound Attack!

A stand out track from the “Earth Rocker” album by Clutch, a band I am somewhat obsessed with. I love this song, it’s energetic rock’n’roll with a funky riff – the instrumental is so good I could actually groove to it. D.C. Sound Attack!!!

Social Distortion – Dear Lover

What a band. The opening track from Social D’s “White Light White Heat White Trash” album, this is full of Mike Ness’s heartfelt angst in a pounding, mid paced punk rock’n’roller.

The Beatnix – Stairway to Heaven

The Beatnix are a Beatles cover band. Here, they’ve covered Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” in an early 60’s Beatles style. It’s actually really good and sounds authentic. I think this song raised a few eyebrows, starting off resembling an old Fab Four track but including the unmistakable lyrics. On the other side, there’s an Elvis impersonator called Neil Pepper, covering the same song – a great single, you need a copy.

I had a really enjoyable evening for Vinyl Night, in fact I’m sure everyone did! Thanks to Halcyon Dreams and VOD Music in Mold for hosting and organising everything. Hope to see you all again soon!

The Halcyon Dreams blogspot is here.

The Halcyon Dreams mixcloud page is here.

The Halcyon Dreams Facebook page is here.

The VOD music website is here.

Bring Your Own Vinyl Night #17

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Bring Your Own Vinyl Night

The Queen’s Head, Mold

Friday 29th November 2019

Finally, months later, I made it to another Bring Your Own Vinyl Night.  It’s been far too long, but it was great to be back.  A few beers, some great food, and awesome music always makes for an entertaining evening.

Hosted by Halcyon Dreams in the Queen’s Head pub in Mold, North Wales, Bring Your Own Vinyl Night is an opportunity to be a DJ for a night.  Each person has a 15 minute slot to play whatever they like, vinyl only.

It’s never an easy task, narrowing down my collection to just a handful of songs to play.  I didn’t go for a theme this time, just a few tracks that I thought worthy of sharing.

Here’s what I unleashed:

Betty Davis – If I’m in Luck I Might Get Picked Up

I decided to start the set with this funk-rock hybrid from cult soul singer and one time Mrs Miles Davis: the amazing Betty Davis.  I’d heard about Betty’s work on the grapevine; after checking this album out online I knew I had to track a vinyl copy down.  “If I’m in Luck…” is a raunchy number powered by hard rock guitar riffs and a phenomenally funky beat.  Highly recommended!

Iggy and the Stooges – Gimme Danger

My favourite track on the third Stooges record, “Gimme Danger” is a timeless classic.  The “Raw Power” album that housed it apparently fared badly on initial release, but blossomed with a cult following in later years.  Every home should have a copy of this fantastic record.  “Gimme Danger” lures the listener into a false sense of security with an unusually melodic guitar part, yet still weaves a web of debauchery and chaos.

The Cult – Lucifer

The Cult have been one of my favourite bands over the years, going right back to my teens with the “Love” and “Electric” albums.  They’re still delivering quality music, with the album “Choice of Weapon” (from which “Lucifer” is taken) being a highlight.  There’s a huge, epic riff driving this song – one of those tracks that I usually have to have on repeat, ‘cos just one play ain’t enough.

The Donnas – Who Invited You

In 2002, The Donnas released one of the best rock’n’nroll albums in years with “Spend the Night”, an energetic blend of AC/DC style hard rock and Ramones punk.  Sadly it was released in the CD age, so I don’t own a vinyl copy.  But I did hunt down the 7″ single of “Who Invited You” so that I can enjoy at least one magnificent song from the album on vinyl.  Re-issue, somebody, please!

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was that – for me at least.  There were plenty of other great songs played throughout the evening which you can check out via the Halcyon Dreams links below.

In all, a thoroughly enjoyable evening – sharing the wonder of music and vinyl in a great pub.  I mustn’t leave it so long till my next Vinyl Night visit.

With thanks to Halcyon Dreams and VOD Music – well done guys!

The Halcyon Dreams blogspot is here.

The Halcyon Dreams mixcloud page is here.

The Halcyon Dreams Facebook page is here.

The VOD music website is here.

Bring Your Own Vinyl Night #16

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Bring Your Own Vinyl Night

The Queen’s Head, Mold

Friday 25th January 2019

January is a bloody miserable month, so it was nice to have an event to look forward to.  The event in question was Bring Your Own Vinyl Night – the first one I’d been able to attend (for various reasons) for quite some time.

There was a loose Scottish theme for those who chose to indulge, with it being Burns Night.  Personally I didn’t bother as I had other plans for my setlist.

As it’s been a while, here’s a recap on what Vinyl Night is all about:

Organised by the awesome chaps from Halcyon Dreams and VOD Music, Bring Your Own Vinyl Night is held in The Queen’s Head, a dependable boozer in Mold.  Aspiring DJs can play a fifteen minute set of any songs they choose, but the format must be vinyl.

Here’s the selection I made:

1968 – Devilswine

This is the opening track from the superb debut album by 1968, “Ballads of the Godless”.  That behemoth of a record was one of my favourites of 2018 – a stoner rock classic in the making.  The song is a heavy, riff fuelled monster with a groove that will make your head nod.  Psychedelic biker rock, retro metal, fuzzed up grunge; call it what you will – these Chester lads know how to rock.

Jim Jones & The Righteous Mind – Dream

I’ve long been a fan of Jim Jones’ previous bands like Thee Hypnotics and Jim Jones Revue, so I swiped a copy of this latest musical venture as soon as I could.  The album “Supernatural” is amazing, full of swampy, bluesy rock’n’roll that’s part Stooges, part Screamin’ Jay Hawkins.  “Dream” is also the opening track, and it’s lethal.  HIghly recommended.

1968
Jim Jones

The Incredible Bongo Band – Bongo Rock

This is a 7″ single that I was lucky to pick up for a few pence in a charity shop.  I really need the album too.  This is early seventies funky soul-pop and extremely groovy.  It will make you want to wear a polo neck jumper and huge flares whilst sporting a gaucho moustache, Beastie Boys style.  The Incredible Bongo Band are an integral part of the story of how Cliff Richard invented hip-hop.  If you don’t believe me, Google it.

RL Burnside – Goin’ Down South

My final track was another opener, this time from RL Burnside’s amazing “A Ass Pocket of Whiskey” LP.  When I first heard this heavy blues stomper on a CD compilation, I knew it had to be mine one day.  An infectious collaboration with The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, this was recorded in the nineties but sounds timeless.

Bongo
RLB

In retrospect, it seems that my set inadvertently did have a theme after all – though I swear that the suggestive images of ladies on record covers was purely incidental.

With thanks to Halcyon Dreams and VOD Music, hope to see you all again soon.

The Halcyon Dreams blogspot is here.

The Halcyon Dreams mixcloud page is here.

The Halcyon Dreams Facebook page is here.

The VOD music website is here.

Bring Your Own Vinyl Night #14

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Bring Your Own Vinyl Night

The Queen’s Head, Mold

Friday 13th April 2018

It’s been a while since I last attended Bring Your Own Vinyl Night, and boy did I miss it.  It was great to be back in the Queen’s Head pub in Mold with the chaps from Halcyon Dreams and VOD Music to spin some records.

If you’ve missed previous episodes (where HAVE you been?), it works like this:  Each person gets a fifteen minute set to play whatever songs they like, but only on vinyl.  Simple as that.  Throw in some beer and some music based chat and you’re in for a great time.

As it was getting close to Record Store Day, Tom from Halcyon Dreams pitched a challenge for us would-be DJs: our set had to be comprised of artists who would be releasing music on the day.

No problem, I thought.  Here’s how my set went:

Killing Joke – The Wait

To begin, a thunderously loud track from the first Killing Joke album.  A riff so mighty that Metallica covered it for their $5.98 EP, this tune also has an incessant tribal beat under the choppy punk guitar.  A great song from an essential album, in my opinion.  I’ve been a fan of KJ for a long time and they’re still turning out screaming punk/metal/industrial noise to this day.

Johnny Cash – Folsom Prison Blues

Well you can’t go wrong with a bit of Johnny Cash, although I was surprised that this track really seemed to go down well with the pub crowd.  Regular readers will know how big a fan of Johnny Cash I am, he’s just unbeatable.  This classic song was taken from an old compilation I picked up at a record fair, crammed full of great tunes.  I’m glad to say this song seemed very popular!

L7 – Everglade

Another crushing riff, this time from the “Bricks Are Heavy” album from all-girl punk rock grungers L7.  My favourite song from that album, and one of my favourite bands from that era.  I saw the band live a couple of years ago at Download fest, they were amazing.  Don’t ever let anyone tell you that girls can’t rock – L7 were the best band of the day.

The Members – Sound of the Suburbs

And finally, an old punk rock classic on 45rpm courtesy of the Members.  This track also seemed popular!  I only have the 7 inch single of this song, so I could do with tracking down some more records by them.  Great fun.

So that wraps up another Bring Your Own Vinyl Night, and what a great night it was! My mixing skills need some sharpening up, but I really enjoyed myself.  Well done Tom and Colin, looking forward to another bash soon.  I know those guys are very busy, but the Vinyl Nights are always a treat.  See you soon!

The Halcyon Dreams blogspot is here.

The Halcyon Dreams mixcloud page is here.

The Halcyon Dreams Facebook page is here.

The VOD music website is here.

PS – Great food in the Queen’s Head too.  £6 for a massive mixed grill!

Bring Your Own Vinyl Night #13

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Bring Your Own Vinyl Night

The Queen’s Head, Mold

Friday 29th September 2017

It’s Vinyl Night!  Once again, Halcyon Dreams hosted the Bring Your Own Vinyl Night at the Queen’s Head in Mold, North Wales.  An evening of beer, good company and – of course – spinning tunes!

You know the drill by now, so I’ll fast forward straight to my set.

There was a theme this time, which I stumbled on whilst playing these records over the previous months.  I decided to play songs that weren’t performed in the English language, which produced a few interesting ideas.  Here are the ones that made the cut:

Anhrefn – Molly Melys/Rhedeg I Paris

As I was in Mold, how could I not kick things off with something Welsh?  Anhrefn were a superb Welsh language punk band that I saw several times back in the early 90s.  I had a cassette of their album “Dragon’s Revenge” from those days, and successfully tracked down a vinyl copy not long ago.  This is actually two tracks – sorry, a bit sneaky: “Molly Melys” is a traditional folk song evoking Celtic tradition.  It’s a short, mellow introduction before it suddenly erupts into “Rhedeg I Paris”, a fast paced, energetic, melodic rocker in the vein of the Clash.  Fantastic!

Cypress Hill – Loco En El Coco

This is, of course, the Cypress Hill track “Insane in the Brain” but performed with Spanish lyrics.  Taken from “Los Grandes Exitos en Espanol” – their Greatest Hits in Spanish – and for some reason these versions just sound even funkier in Spanish.  I love the whole album for that reason.  Check it out, I recommend it.

Anhrefn
Cypress Hill

Faith No More – Evidence (Italian Version)

This isn’t the “funk metal” Faith No More you may know.  Rather, this is a kind of smooth jazz-funk hybrid from the album “King for a Day… Fool for a Lifetime”, here performed in Italian.  Apparently singer Mike Patton is multi lingual and there are versions of this track in several other languages too.  It’s a great song, showing FNM stretching out and writing something across musical boundaries: and it really works. 

Plastic Bertrand – Ca Plane Pour Moi

And finally, I went with this French language pop punk/faux punk/new wave confection.  It’s a fun little treat that bounces along with a life of it’s own.  Loads of fun to end the set.

That was it, set over.  All songs in different languages.  I could have chosen a few others (I have a record by Kvelertak in Norwegian) but I figured that would do.

A great night again – thanks all!  Who knows if there’ll be a theme next time.  I’m just looking forward to another Vinyl Night!

The Halcyon Dreams blogspot is here.

The Halcyon Dreams mixcloud page is here.

The Halcyon Dreams Facebook page is here.

The VOD music website is here.

Bring Your Own Vinyl Night #12

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Bring Your Own Vinyl Night

The Queen’s Head, Mold

Friday 30th June 2017

A warm welcome back to Bring Your Own Vinyl Night, at the Queens Head pub in Mold, North Wales.  It’s been a while since the last event, so I had plenty of ideas for what to play.  Events would alter those plans somewhat, however…

To recap, Bring Your Own Vinyl Night is exactly what it says on the tin: you bring along some records, and get a fifteen minutes slot to play whatever you like.

I’d originally planned an entirely different set list, but following the tragic news of Chris Cornell’s passing, I developed a tribute set instead.  As one of my favourite ever musicians, it wouldn’t have been right not to.

My set went as follows:

Temple of the Dog – Hunger Strike

Mother Love Bone were primed to be next big thing in rock; sadly the death of their singer Andrew Wood from a heroin overdose put an end to that.  The Temple of the Dog album came about as a tribute to Wood, from his band mates Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament, and his friend Chris Cornell.  Joining them were Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron and guitarist Mike McCready.  The music showcased a different aspect of Cornell’s writing, and provided a heartfelt tribute.  On this song, vocalist Eddie Vedder makes his debut, sharing the vocal spot with Cornell on a superb performance.  Of course, many of those names would go on to form Pearl Jam.  This album has tons of memories for me and features some amazing music, Hunger Strike being a highlight.

Soundgarden – The Day I Tried To Live

I was a huge Soundgarden fan; trying to select just a couple of songs was immensely difficult.  I chose this song as it showcases Chris’ amazing voice to great effect, plus the composition is superb: the song builds brilliantly to the massive chorus.  The effect is a song that sounds exactly like carpe diem gone wrong, thwarted by a frustration that is captured brilliantly in the vocal.  Taken from the completely essential “Superunknown” album, which is crammed full of absolute gold.  A record I played non-stop in my younger days, and still return to regularly.

Temple of the Dog
Superunknown

Soundgarden – Burden In My Hand

“Down on the Upside” was the follow up to “Superunknown”, though to me it never reached the heights of it’s predecessor.  This song was one of the best on that set, written by Cornell and again featuring that incredible voice.  A fairly jaunty number to, so I wasn’t ending on too much of a downer.  I’ve re-visited “Down on the Upside” recently and it’s far better than I remembered it.  However making this selection was very difficult, as it meant nothing from the wonderful “Badmotorfinger” record would get a look in. 

So there you have it, my tribute set to the late, great Chris Cornell.  A fantastic musician, singer and song writer – and someone who has written music that has been a massive part of my life, through the ups and the downs.

A great night with some awesome sets, including from my buddies Adam and Graham.  Not to mention Kev playing a lethal track by Electric Wizard, which I didn’t expect!  Here’s hoping there will be another Bring Your Own Vinyl Night soon.

The Halcyon Dreams blogspot is here.

The Halcyon Dreams mixcloud page is here.

The Halcyon Dreams Facebook page is here.

The VOD music website is here.

Bring Your Own Vinyl Night #11

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Bring Your Own Vinyl Night

The Queen’s Head, Mold

Friday 24th February 2017

It’s the first Bring Your Own Vinyl Night of the year!  It was great to be back in the Queen’s Head in Mold for another Vinyl Night, and nice to see all the familiar faces after the Christmas break.

Most of all, it was great to have a few pints and hear some great music, old and new.

To recap how this works (though I’m sure you know by now): everyone gets 15 minutes to play whatever music they like, so long as it’s on vinyl.

Here’s my playlist for the evening:

Professor Elemental – I’m British

For my first song of the set, I craved something a little different. So I decided on a track from Professor Elemental, a gentleman of some repute who is known to fashion extraordinary “chap hop” tunes.  That is, steam punk hip-hop (sort of).  I’ve seen the good Professor live a couple of times (at Sci-Fi Weekender) and was astonished at this marvellous mash-up from the get go.  A few months back I tracked down some vinyl via the Prof’s Bandcamp page; lo and behold it was a sonic delight.  Lively beats and unusual samples – more brass band than James Brown – meld with humorous, uniquely British rap topics to create a wonderful new hybrid.  This track was the perfect primer for the uninitiated, but it’s all good.  Get over to the Professor’s Bandcamp now, you won’t regret it.  And catch him live if you can!

B-52s – Planet Claire

Next up in my musical feast was a fine little song from those lovable, quirky scamps the B-52s.  “Planet Claire” is a perfect slice of sci-fi flavoured rock’n’roll, straight out of a B-movie and into your brain like Invasion of the Body Snatchers.  I love it.  This version is from the B side of the “Rock Lobster” 12″ single, which I was lucky enough to pick up at a record fair not long ago.

Professor Elemental
B-52s

Thee Hypnotics – Come Down Heavy

In the late 80’s/early 90’s, just before Nirvana changed the world with “Nevermind”, I had discovered the Stooges via punk rock bands like the Damned and the Sex Pistols.  At the same time, there were bands coming out of the USA – such as Mudhoney – that utilised a very Stooges-like sound: fuzzed up guitars, wah wah pedals and so on.  Thee Hypnotics were a British garage band that followed a similar blueprint.  Though largely forgotten about now, they’re a fantastic historical anomaly and pre-cursor to the alt rock explosion of the early 90’s.  “Come Down Heavy” is from the album of the same name.  It seemed very popular on the night – highly recommended.

Iggy Pop – Cold Metal

I bought the Thee Hypnotics album from a Connah’s Quay record fair around 1990.  I also picked up Iggy Pop’s “Instinct” album at the same fair, as I’d heard the track “Cold Metal” on a Sounds sampler EP that a friend gave me.  I love – and still love – the amazing guitar riff.  I was instantly smitten; not just the riff but the incredible gritty yet finely produced guitar tone – courtesy of the one and only Steve Jones.  “Instinct” is a superb album – Iggy’s explored lots of sounds, but I do like it when he rocks out unashamedly.  A highlight of a varied and inspirational career.

Thee Hypnotics
Iggy

And that was the end of the set – hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did!  Looking forward to the next Bring Your Own Vinyl Night – it can never come too soon.

The Halcyon Dreams blogspot is here.

The Halcyon Dreams mixcloud page is here.

The Halcyon Dreams Facebook page is here.

The VOD music website is here.

Bring Your Own Vinyl Night #10

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Bring Your Own Vinyl Night

Queen’s Head, Mold

Friday 2nd December 2016

“Another Vinyl Night, Daddy?” my six year old daughter asked.  Yes, sweetie, another!  After a bit of a quiet stretch, there seems to have been a little more vinyl action recently.  Well I ain’t complaining!

Back to the Queen’s Head in Mold for another Bring Your Own Vinyl Night, arranged/organised by Halcyon Dreams and VOD music.  You know the routine by now: play a 15 minute set of whatever tunes you like, vinyl only.

I travelled up with my good pal Brother Adam.  We got to the pub nice and early and had some food before the music started.  Happy to report that the food was very good indeed – I ordered BBQ pulled pork tacos, and they were mighty fine!

Next up, it was my turn on the decks.  This time I played the following:

Revolting Cocks – Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?

I was in the mood for slaying with some off the wall crazy tunes.  Revolting Cocks (or RevCo, if you’re in polite company) are an offshoot of Industrial giants Ministry, so this take on the old Rod Stewart cheese fest was sure gonna rock the house.  Imagine the seventies original put in a blender with sleazy guitars and a big, head throbbing beat and you’re most of the way there.  Ideal for any strip club.  This song can be found on the “Linger Ficken’ Good” album, though my version was from a clear vinyl 12″ that came in a liquid filled plastic sleeve.  The liquid looks very dodgy.

Vince Taylor – Brand New Cadillac

Absolute classic old school rockabilly mayhem from Vince Taylor, this version is from a recent acquisition called “Rockabilly’s Gravest Hits”.  That record is well worth the money.  I originally heard The Clash’s cover version on their “London Calling” album; years later I wound up jamming this song in a band practice.  It’s highly addictive, full throttle rock and roll and I love it. dz

Dread Zeppelin – Heartbreaker (At the End of Lonely Street)

For anyone not in the know, Dread Zeppelin specialise in reggae styled covers of Led Zeppelin songs.  With an Elvis impersonator on vocals.  This song, from a 12″ single, is a mash-up of Zep’s “Heartbreaker”, with “Heartbreak Hotel” thrown in for good measure.  Great fun and surprisingly good – the novelty factor works well on this number.

So there you have it – another great Bring Your Own Vinyl Night.  As it was the Christmas special, there was a buffet to enjoy as well as the great music.  Thanks to everyone, it was a great night.  Looking forward to more in 2017!

The Halcyon Dreams blogspot is here.

The Halcyon Dreams mixcloud page is here.

The Halcyon Dreams Facebook page is here.

The VOD music website is here.

Bring Your Own Vinyl Night #9

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Bring Your Own Vinyl Night

Queen’s Head, Mold

Friday 4th November 2016

It was great to be back in Mold for another Bring Your Own Vinyl Night.  It’s been a long time since the last evening in the Queen’s Head, with summer holidays and whatnot getting in the way – so it was good to see the familiar faces and crank out some tunes.

The usual rules applied: each person got 15 minutes on the decks to play whatever they liked, genre free – vinyl only!

Adam went for it first, here’s an over view of his varied and very enjoyable set:

  • Voice of the Beehive – I Think I Love You
  • Grandmaster Flash – Whitelines
  • Queen – One Vision
  • Willie Nelson – On the Road Again

I am so jealous of that Willie Nelson single!

Halloween had just been and gone a few days earlier, so I was still in a spooky mood.  This time, my set went like this:

Monster Magnet – See You in Hell

One of the many stand out tracks from Monster Magnet’s classic “Powertrip” album, this is acid drenched stoner rock at its finest.  The retro sound is augmented by a churning organ that whirls around as the bass chugs.  Psychedelic wonderment from Monster Magnet that sounds like a forgotten late 60’s gem.  I’ve owned the “Powertrip” album for many years on CD, but recently acquired the new vinyl re-issue.  Money well spent.  A truly great, under appreciated band.

Donovan – Season of the Witch

This fantastic song was featured in the Tim Burton movie Dark Shadows, a film I’m a huge fan of (though it appears not many other people are).  Whilst the previous song sounds like something from the sixties, this one is.  It’s a mellow groover that manages to wander out of hippy territory and sound somewhat sinister… Love this track, I felt it was a suitable jam for a Halloween inspired set.

The Damned – Plan 9 Channel 7

Ah, the Damned!  Where would a Halloween themed set be, without a tune from these punk rock proto-Goths?  One of my favourite bands, one of my favourite songs – from the indispensable “Machine Gun Etiquette” album.  Every home should own this!  The song is, of course, written about a viewing of Ed Wood‘s infamous “worst film ever made” – Plan 9 From Outer Space – on American horror channel 9.  Vampira, James Dean, Hollywood after dark – it’s all here in a perfect slice of rampaging pop punk.

The Misfits – American Nightmare

Finally, more horror punk from the masters themselves – the one and only Misfits.  On this track, Danzig and pals abandon the usual Ramones inspired turbo punk and offer up a ridiculously catchy rockabilly number.  Complete with handclaps and Danzig crooning more like Elvis than ever, this track sounds like a lost piece of 50’s nostalgia.  Classic stuff.

There we have it ladies and gentlemen – another great night in Mold!  Thanks to the guys from Halcyon Dreams and VOD music – and Dylan who helped out with an extra turntable!  More soon…

The Halcyon Dreams blogspot is here.

The Halcyon Dreams mixcloud page is here.

The Halcyon Dreams Facebook page is here.

The VOD music website is here.