How those boots have walked...

Following on from an earlier post here from Rich regarding cover versions, today in 1966 Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made For Walking" hit the Number 1 spot on the US charts.

The song was penned by singer, songwriter and producer Lee Hazlewood, who collaborated a number of times with Nancy.

As is so often the case with hits from that era, this song has been covered by numerous artists (there are well over 50 recorded versions), but it is the diversity of genres is quite extraordinary.  Among the many artists who have covered it are;  The Supremes, Boy George, Siouxsie, Bad Manners, Nick Cave, Megadeth and even The Swedish Chef from The Muppets!!

Below are three versions that I (Mick) personally like...

First, the original by Nancy Sinatra:

Next comes a less well-known version by The Artwoods, taken from their excellent Art Gallery album:

And finally the classic Stomping version by Symarip:

How those boots have walked.

Band of the Month: March 2013

That's right folks, each month one of the presenters of Fusion gets to highlight a band for their lovely listeners. This time it's my turn (Nikki of Everything and the Kitchen Sink). Now I am clearly not awesome when it comes to blogging and stuff. But if you have ever listened to the show you know that's it's an eclectic mayhem of music! So coming from The Great White North (also known as Canada) I tend to put Canadian bands in the show.
 
                        Fusion's Band of the Month feature is the musician Cactus Vella.

 The greatest thing about this is that I get to talk about not only Cactus Vella's solo project but he is the guitarist in some of my favourite Toronto punk bands. Cactus Vella has been around in the Toronto Punk scene since the early 90's,and continues to play in Sinkin' Ships, Class Assassins and The Whiskey Hearts Collective.
One of my favourtie things about any musician is when they push the boundaries of their own music. Cactus Vella plays in some amazing hardcore punk rock bands, but who is to say that you can't go and record a gritty acoustic punk rock album?  And he did just that. So here's a couple of clips of his acoustic stylings.

                                                      
                                                                  Cactus Vella

   This is the music video for his single called Touch The Ground off his acoustic album  Sailin' On. If you like it, why not check out his bandcamp page right here >http://cactusvellamusic.bandcamp.com/

 

And because I am a sucker for my punk rock as you all know here's a video of  The Sinkin' Ships! This is off their album Mayday recorded in 2004. But really, it's an album that remains current in 2013.In fact, I play a fair amount of Sinkin' Ships on EatKS. The Sinkin' Ships have been kicking some punk rock ass since the early 90's and will be putting out some new material this year. So keep your eyes peeled folks. And yes they have a bandcamp as well. So check it out! Right here >http://sinkinships.bandcamp.com/

The Sinkin' Ships 

 

 Last but not least the Toronto punk rock band The Class Assassins! The Class Assassins have been around since 2001. But folks don't let that fool you. The members of this band, come from a long pedigree of Toronto punk rock band awesomeness. Bands members are from Bitter Grin, Hockey Teeth, Direct Action, Sinkin' Ships just to name a few. And if you know your Toronto punk rock you know that this is pretty damn awesome. I heard through the grape vine that The Class Assassins are also working on a new single. But you can check out their bandcamp right here >http://theclassassassins.bandcamp.com/

The Class Assassins

Cactus Vella and some Sinkin' Ships were played on the last Everything and the Kitchen Sink.. and wait for it... yes another damn link for you folks! http://soundcloud.com/rudegrrrl1/everything-and-the-kitchen-3

Covered with glory?

Having finalised my playlist for my show tonight I settled down with the headphones on to listen to Mick belt out an hour of the finest 60's Mod and Soul scorchers. Now given that Mick plays Mod and Soul and I play Reggae (and Stuff) you would have thought the chances of us having the same song in our playlist - on the same evening too - would be pretty remote. Not so, it seems! 

Happily bouncing away to Mick's cracking tunes I heard the unmistakeable sound of The Temptations with this absolute corker:

A song which by sheer fluke also happened to be in my playlist! As it is (probably) very bad radio-form to have the same song in consecutive shows I would normally have made a hasty alteration and slotted in another tune. But tonight I didn't do that: partly because I'm lazy and stubborn but also because the version I was playing was this one:

I'm an absolute sucker for a good cover version and this version is, I think, sufficiently different from the original for me to get away with playing it within an hour of Mick playing it. It's also an absolute belter of a track too, which helps! 

My Reggae (and Stuff) show next weekend will be a Cover Versions Special - an hour (or more!) of familiar tunes given a reggae / ska makeover. Should be fun, hope you can join us.

Rich

Scratching around for new music

Our resident reggae (and badger) obsessive Rich went to see the legendary force-of-super-nature that is Lee Scratch Perry last night. 

Unless there is an obvious 'theme' to Rich's shows - like last week's 'Ladies Night' - then the playlist tends to be whatever has surfaced on Rich's reggae-radar that week. It is fair to assume, therefore, that this week's show (time/day TBC) will feature a healthy dollop of Priceless Perry or Scintillating Scratch. [OK, that's enough alliteration. Ed]

Scratch duly delivered his trademark brand of shambolic genius and sent the Devonian reggae fans home happy but our intrepid DJ was not as happy as he had hoped he'd be. Having tucked an LP-sized bag into his pocket in anticipation, he was less than impressed to find Exeter Phoenix a vinyl-free-zone yesterday. 

All was not lost however; superb support act Laid Blak had some CD's on sale and Rich left with a copy of their Red & Blak album in his pocket. So, sharing the Lee-Perry-Love on Rich's Reggae (and Stuff) this week will be a tune from said CD. Laid Blak's live set is described as being "centred in urban reggae but touches on jazz, funk, soul and hip-hop." You'd be hard-pushed to find a better definition of Rich's idea of Fusion than that! Check out Laid Blak - you won't be disappointed.

The Radio Under The Pillow

If you know a music lover of  "a certain age", mention words like 'Radio Caroline' or 'Radio Luxembourg' and watch them sigh and go all misty-eyed.

Be prepared to hear them reminisce about laying in bed at night with a transistor radio hidden under the pillow so their parents wouldn't hear them listening while they should be sleeping.

It sounds corny, but it's true.  I fell asleep with the radio on under my pillow so many nights I probably spent more pocket-money on batteries than anything else.

But let's be honest here.  It was cheesy.  It was brash.  It was full of adverts.  It contained so much I now dislike in radio.  And that's if you were lucky enough to get an uninterrupted signal on the old Medium Wave band.

But now with the advent of modern technology, we have more radio stations to chose from than you can shake a stick at.

Whatever your taste in music, it's out there - and it's more than catered for.  There are stations broadcasting every conceivable music genre 24 hours a day in crystal clear digital sound.  This is often supported by DJ's whose specialist knowledge would undoubtedly earn them a place in the final of Mastermind.

Never before have we been so spoiled for choice.

And never before have I longed so much to enjoy again the simplicity, the excitement and the pure joy of the old radio stations.

Excuse me while I sigh and go all misty-eyed.  (Mick).

Sunday Night is Ladies' Night...

Rich's Reggae (and Stuff) this week is all about celebrating the Women of Reggae. Reggae is often seen as a male-oriented, male-dominated music genre; a bit like Heavy Metal, except the music isn't shit*. Rich is going to attempt to dispel that view this week with an hour of the sweetest reggae sung by the fairer sex. The only male voice you'll here is Rich's... and he's promised to keep his blather to a minimum and let the music do the talking. 

8pm UK time on Sunday evening, expect wonderful stuff like this... **

* I have been asked to point out that not everyone at Fusion thinks Heavy Metal is shit.
** But not those particular three - that would be giving away the playlist!

Launch Party At Fusion

Sunday February 3rd is the start of something new, something different. It's our answer to mainstream radio: Fusion On Air!  At 7 PM (UK Time) we start with Mick with some great 60's, Soul and Mod music.  At 8pm Rich is behind the wheels with an hour of sublime Reggae and Ska., the real stuff:  no Reggaeton or Dupstep.  The last show of our launch night is a surprise. Even to us! We do know it's gonna be loud and noisy at 9 PM.  Next week more new shows coming up. Follow us on twitter @FusionOnAir or check our blog for updates.

All shows are live and the DJ's will be in the chatbox during the show. In that chatbox you share your comments with the DJ and other listeners. Don't hesitate to ask questions or give us a shout-out! The chatbox aka shoutbox http://mixlr.com/fusion-on-air

Band Of The Month

We  would like to introduce you to our Band Of The Month. Every month the DJ’s of Fusion choose a new or unsigned band or artist and give them airplay and a special at our blog. Our first Band of the Month February is BOMBSKARE. It’s a 9-man ska band from Scotland. Their trademark is (in their own words) breakneck ska rhythms and lush, threepart harmonies together with choppy guitar sounds and an explosive horn section that truly blow the audience away. Who's ever seen this band knows what that mean. Party time! In 2011 Irie Up Magazine wrote: 'Imagine The Beat (that's the English Beat for US readers) with a Scottish accent and you begin to get some idea of just how good this band is.” It looks like 2013 is going to be a great year for Bombskare. They are invited to play the London International Ska Festival in March and they just released a new single this week. ‘Do All Dogs Go To Heaven?’ is the first track released from their forthcoming album ‘The Day The Earth Stood Stupid’. The new single will be played at our Launch Party this sunday and is available as a free download on their website http://www.bombskare.com. When they are in your town, check them out! You won’t be disappointed.

 

Bombskare 'Do All Dogs Go To Heaven?'

 

 

Bombskare 'Fistfull of Dynamite'

 

 

Skanking With Bombskare Live