STANLEY ROAD

I first became aware of Mod/Powerpop band Stanley Road through my friend over at the Retroman blog and instantly upon hearing them was taken back to around 1978 and the mod revival period, a time when bands weren't swallowed up by TV shows like X-Factor and suchlike and regurgitated out to the masses, a time when bands made their own way down the road of rock 'n' roll and that is what we have here in Stanley Road, an honest hardworking  band doing what they want to do........and it is good!

Last month I flew back to the UK to catch a performance of Len Price 3 at the Half Moon in Putney, what I didn't know when I booked my return flight was that the wonderful Spanish Mod/Powerpop band, Stanley Road, would be playing close by the following night, around about the same time as I would be flying back to my adopted home here in Sweden.  However, unbeknown to me, also in the crowd that night, jumping about and having a great time, were Sabino, Pablo and Chusin from Stanley Road and I had a chance to chat with them over a beer or two.  But before that, take a listen to "Nothings

Gonna Come" from their new E:P.

Stanley Road are:  Sabino López: Guitar, Lead Voice

                        Chus Foxton: Bass Guitar, Voice

                        Pablo Álvarez: Drums, Voice

From: Asturies Metropolitan Area, Spain.

Q. How did the three of you meet and when did you form the band?

A.    The band was formed in 2003. After three years Sabino got a job in Madrid, he stayed three years so the band just couldn’t carry on playing. Fortunately in 2010 we decided to come back together and play again. We have been good friends since we were kids.

Q. Who are your greatest musical influences?

A. The Jam, The Circles, Secret Affair, Small Faces, Housemartins, Green Day, Los Flechazos, Brighton 64, Northern Soul…

Q. You have recently played the UK in Cambridge, where else have you played and which is your favourite venue?

A.  We played all around Spain: Madrid, Zaragoza, Santander, Oviedo, Gijón, Cáceres, Logroño, San Sebastian and much more…we played in festivals and mod rallies like October in Rain, Pop Art Weekend, Purple Weekend, Go Lleida…  Our favourite venue was in Logroño and San Sebastian where we really connected to our fans.

Q. What is the funniest thing that has happened to you when playing gigs or recording?

A. Last gig in our home city, cops arrested Chuce for public disorder. Sabino tried to help him and he got arrested too…at that time Pablo was in a Pub playing darts. The fine was payed with Stanley’s money!

Q.  You have recently recorded and released a 4 track vinyl E.P, why did you release this on vinyl and what is your preferred format when listening to music?

A.  We prefer vinyl because its sounds better. It’s the way to listen Rock & Roll.

Q.  What bands are you currently listening to?

A. We love The Movement(Denmark), Innocenti(Malaysia), Cooper, The Bite(Spain), Len Price 3, Universal(England),The Go Signals(Philippines), Rioji & The Last Chords(Japan)... We think that we are in a boom of new mod bands in all around the world.

Q. What is your favourite record of all time?

A.   CHUCE: The Jam – All Mod Cons,  PABLO: Marvin Gaye: What’s going on,  SABINO: The Jam – Setting Sons

Q.  The Mod/Powerpop scene in Spain seems to be very popular right now, why do you think this is?

A.  Because there are a lot of bands and festivals, so people get to know them, and really like power pop and mod bands, but anyway we think that promoters are just interested in old bands so the new ones have no chance to get known…that could be a problem for the scene.

Q. If when watching a band, one of the band members was abducted by aliens and you had to replace them, who would you be?

A. C: John Entwistle P: Keith Moon S: Howlin’ Wolf or Paul Weller.

Q. What are your hopes and aspirations for Stanley Road?

A. We hope to become the mods and music lovers favourite band all around the world. We’re thinking about recording our first LP this spring.

Q. Finally, the most important question of all, what is your favourite ice cream?

A. C: I don´t like ice creams. I prefer meat and chips. P: Milk rice cream, S: Philadelphia cheese with strawberry.

Many thanks to Sabino, Pablo and Chusin for taking the time to talk to me, we, at Ice Cream Man, wish them all the best for the future with the band and the recording of the LP which we look forward to hearing sometime next year.

 You can contact the band by e mail at: stanleyroadband@gmail.com to buy a t-shirt or the record and you can listen to the great tunes at stanleyroadoriginal@myspace.com you can also find them on facebook.

The band are playing live on the 19th of November at 22:00 with Squire at the Wurlitzer Ballroom in Madrid  http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=145401772227045

L-R:  Sabino, Rick.N.Baker, Chusin, Legendary rock photographer Paul Slattery and Pablo.

Photo: Steve Worrall

Grant Lindberg - Revolution FREE ALBUM DOWNLOAD

GRANT LINDBERG - REVOLUTION

Get it HERE

Having trawled the internet, I have been unable to find out any more about this artist than this:

Grant Lindberg is a solo artist out of Minneapolis, MN. He has been called “a poor man’s Matthew Sweet in a box.” He has been several bands including Avenue, The Methods and Alceon.

I am not sure that I personally would call him a poor mans Matthew Sweet in a box, whatever that means?  Grants music is full of vibe and energy, depth and richness and for those of you that like some crunching guitars in your mix of power pop, you will love this.

You can find three of Grants albums, including this one and an E.P over on his bandcamp page, all really worth taking time out to listen to, in the meantime, if I manage to find anything else out about the man and the music, I shall post it here as soon as!!!

The Prisoners - The Last Fourfathers

The Prisoners were a mod revival/1960s garage band formed in 1982 in Chatham, Kent, England. They were a regular live fixture on the London "psychedelic revival" mini-scene of the early 1980s, and often toured with sparring partners The Milkshakes who included Billy Childish on guitar. The Prisoners' sound combined catchy, retro flavoured melodies, punky guitar riffs, a Steve Marriott-esque vocal style and a lead instrument of the then-unfashionable Hammond organ. The Prisoners never met with much commercial success during their original lifespan but have latterly been likened to Paul Weller and The Charlatans. Indeed Tim Burgess of the Charlatans has cited the Prisoners as a major influence.
The band's lineup was: Graham Day (vocals and guitar), Jamie/James Taylor (hammond organ), Allan Crockford (bass) and Johnny Symons (drums).

Get it here: The Prisoners - The Last Fourfathers

Rare Mod Volume 3. Various Artists

Some of the finest underground mod, rhythm and blues and beat bands of the sixties.

Mod, you can't live with it, you can't live without it!

Link: HERE

The Martial Arts - Your Sinclair (2006) FREE DOWNLOAD

"THE MARTIAL ARTS ARE THE BEST GLASGOW BAND THAT YOU PROBABLY HAVEN'T HEARD."

Probably one of the greatest power pop albums you will ever get for free!  I love this album and still can't understand why the band gave it away for free, it really is a classic from start to finish. If you don't have it, get it, you'll love it!

Free Download here

What others have said about the record:

"The Martial Arts are in a blissful time warp that traps bands between the 60s and the present day. Equally excellent, check out both "Summer Tweed" and "Finale" to get your daily dose of radiant, sunshiny indiepop." -LOOSE RECORD

“As fortune would have it this album landed with me a matter of days after I narrowly missed seeing them live. A shame really as this is a thoroughbred collection of quality guitar driven pop. The production coupled with a generous use of keys - from theremin to synths - keeps the sound fresh making the influences harder to pin down. 'Contemptuous Disdain' is good example that mixes everything up well and even features a hint of ska. Upbeat opener 'Murry & Audree' is reminiscent of 60s beat but could just as easily be pulling from mid seventies Flamin' Groovies. Not that it matters, it’s three and a half minutes of timeless pop. Don’t Want to Talk continues in the same vain. Four songs in and 'Frost' changes tack a bit - a not quite ballad anchored by piano. Straight away 'Mod Val' kicks in and accelerates away as the guitars are reasserted in something of a punk out. 'Summer Tweed' is another stand out bit of tunesmithery from Paul Kelly - California style pop conceived in Northern Europe. Talking of which, this would have probably been my album for the summer months if it was not already pissing October.” - IS THIS MUSIC?

“Jaw on floor, dancing boots in turbo, absolutely marvellous, marvellous stuff. Expect great things - if not, you’ve only your damn selves to blame.” - THE SKINNY

“I’ve had this album on repeat since I got it!” – Lennart Wrigholm, Musiklandet.se

“An enchanting pop explosion” – Lisa Olaison, Sundsvalls Tidning

“Buy This Record!” – Dalademokraten

“The Martial Arts are the creators of this years indie summer” – Arbetarbladet

“Amazing melodies....the sky is the limit for The Martial Arts” – Groove Magazine

“Almost perfect” - Falu Kuriren, Borlänge Tidning

"An extremely recommendable disc for all" -blondie.cl

"The first words on this great album, are also my last - “Listen up to good advice” - listen to The Martial Arts." -Will Campbell, sohostrut.co.uk

An Indie Pop Compilation - FREE DOWNLOAD

Free Download HERE

Now the leaves are falling and the days are cooling, it is nice to have something that warms the heart and ears a little!

This Feels Like Summer is the 7th installment of Popscene MNL's mp3 compilation series. The title of the current collection is also the title of the most recent track by Carnival Park.

Time flies by so fast when you're having fun. After two years and eight compilations, we've made new friends and reacquainted ourselves with old ones. Hard to believe, but this is our story so far.

Sleeve design by Manny Gallo of Sodajerk/ Sunday Picnic Love Affair.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

credits

Ben Sherman and his shirts!

I realised today that I have been wearing Ben Sherman shirts for 32 years, I had my first one at the age of 12, a black and white paisley patterned shirt, brilliant for a 12 year old Mod, I now have a wardrobe filled with various plain and patterned designs, so I thought it was time I paid homage to the man and his shirts and a staple part of fashion since 1963.

Mr Ben Sherman

Arthur Benajmain Sugarman was a born in Brighton, East Sussex in 1925, at the age of 20 he emigrated to America and attained American citizenship, he changed his name to Ben as this is what his family called him and  changed his surname to Sherman as he deemed this to be a good strong American name.

Ben married the daughter of a Californian clothes producer and raised a family in San Fernando Valley and started working for his father in law.

When Ben's mother fell ill, he relocated his family back to Brighton in England to care for her.  Having no work when he returned he decided to start up a clothing company with the experience he had gained in the states, he started this in a rented factory in Bedford Square and started work producing the shirts we know and love so well.

Brighton and Hove buses name their buses after famous residents from the town, here is Mr Shermans bus tribute.

The Mods who had a sharp eye for italian designs and styles soon embraced the design and wore the shirts with their tailor made suits and skinny ties.  Orders soon overtook Ben Shermans production capacity, it is famously quoted that in 1970 he ordered a million yards of Oxford fabric, a quater of a million yards of gingham fabric and a quarter of a million yards of striped material from an American fabric mill.


Sherman’s shirts with their button down collars and a button on the rear of the collar were an instant success. Soon he opened a showroom in Carnaby Street, London, and a shop in Duke Street, Brighton. Another two London shops followed. Sherman’s success was too much for the Brighton factory and production was moved to  Northern Ireland in 1969.

Ben Sherman had some great adverts in the 70's.  There is another one with a vicar that is rather amusing  but not embedded, so here is the link; BEN SHERMAN VICAR ADVERT there are several more on youtube to watch too.

Ben sold the company in the early Seventies and moved to Australia to start new ventures. He died aged 62 in 1987 after a heart bypass operation. But the business lives on and is particularly associated with Mods. The stylish and popular shirts are unique in design and high in quality.

The company was sold to Oxford industries in 2004 and it is heartening to see that they have kept some of the humour in their advertising as this advert shows.

Now having existed for nearly 50 years the Ben Sherman shirt and brand have been adopted by almost every youth culture or style movement of the last 5 decades, from the mods, to Two tone and ska, to brit pop and is today still worn by the current bands and style leaders of the current decade, this is surely testament that Ben Sherman gave us one of the most iconic pieces of clothing in modern times and now I have to go and do some ironing!

Cheers Ben!