Radio Days - Get Some Action

This is Pop - Yeah Yeah!

Italian Pop Punks Radio Days have regrouped, remodelled and refashioned themselves as something radically different to their original mid 2000's blueprint. The catchy appeal and trademark precision is still strongly evident, but they've blunted the edges of their Ramonesque short snappy pop, relaxed the razor-sharp edges and endings, and replaced it with a purposeful nod, if not march, to a early Merseybeat.

In an attempt for wider appeal to a bigger audience the band have almost wiped the slate clean of the shake 'em up of old and settled for an altogether sweeter and cosier approach - sure you can't blame them - obscurity doesn't pay the bills - but it takes some adjustment. Especially if you revel in their previous identity where they would mix excellent covers like The Beat's 'Rock and Roll Girl' with stellar originals like 'Brand New Life'.

Of course Beatle references have always peppered their work, but perhaps there's a bit more work-a-day Formost & Swinging Blue Jeans than there is Fab Four. Having said all that, there's no denying that their most serious bid for crossover appeal pulls no punches in its clear intentions. Title track and potential single 'Get Some Action' proudly proclaims in its refrain “Yeah yeah yeah yeah ye-ah, one direction, get some action, now” blatantly mixing its Fabs and its cheesy boy bands in one delicious sing-a-long chorus. Certainly the video promoting the same pulls out all the stops – it looks expensive yet not wasteful – it's cutely modern but with retro styling – so maybe it's time for some proper success?

Bandcamp | CD Baby | FaceBook | Twitter

Just Got Back – Examining The Booty

One of the first things we do when we get home from each IPO festival is unzip the suitcases and have a look at the booty. Well not the very first thing but after a cup of tea and a contemplate, the delay in coming down from the high of a week of solid good pop music is certainly eased and extended, and maybe relived a little by taking it all in...

 Please click this link to see bigger version of this picture

Out come the clothes, the toiletries and whathaveyous, we burrow down and retrieve every last item – a bevy of CDs which says you have been watching and listening to all this...

We spread out the booty and have a good ol' gaze at what a week of wall to wall music looks like. The CD's are a good gauge of our favourite artists this last week - representing those on the basis of how and what they performed - sufficiently motivating us to prompt parting with good money to further explore the artist and as a memento of the event.

Please click this link to see bigger version of this picture

It's not totally foolproof as there are some for whom no CD's are currently available or we've already purchased the same in advance, however we'll deal with that later. There are others of course who may put on an amazing show but you know that can't be captured on a record and truth be told you'd never listen to the record a second time if you did buy it, so unfortunately these artists lose out.

Anyway, on to our first batch in no particular order other than the way they came out the suitcase, these are the physical CD's we have:

First Row:

Charlestons - Out From The Blue EP

Amazing Kappa - Rodeo Lokomotive

My Buddy Moose - Shine Shine Shine

Dark Ocean Colours - Dark Ocean Colours (Mark Mikel)

Kaela - The Vultures Begin To Sing EP

Second Row:

The Seasongs - Out of The City

Peter Marchant - Peter Marchant EP

Ivan Mudd - Spaceminister

Ulysses - Kill You Again

Mothboxer - Frequency (2011) Mothboxer (2010) 3 (2012)

Third Row:

The Plastic Pals - Good Karma Cafe

Adam Marsland - The Owl & The Full Moon

The Temponauts - The Canticle of the Temponauts

Ben Jones – Retrospective and Echobox

Fourth Row:

Rogue Frequency - Foetal Upon Tiles Part 1

Rogue Frequency - Spat Out By Machines

Dave Rave And The Governors - Ash Tray Makeup

Robert Vincent* - Life In Easy Steps

The Carousels - Sweet Northern Light

Fifth Row:

Rogue Frequency** - Spat Out By Machines

Rogue Frequency** - Foetal Upon Tiles Part 1

The Plastic Pals - Turn The Tide

Boomin' - Original Junkie

Marty Graveyard - Summer Holiday

Mothboxer - Geen (2007)

Sixth Row:

Grip Like Vice - Demo

Thomas McConnell - Stop in the Shade

The Beat Movement - The Warning

Bruise - Little Victories

Fast Camels - Ken's Sad Vice (Single)

CD Notes: * Yes that's right two copies of Robert Vincent, one for a friend we'll be taking to the USA who we know will appreciate his dulcet tones. ** Yes and two copies of Rogue Frequency too, one set we bought and then later got freebies from the band who asked us as fans to pass on to approving friends – we have!

Our Second batch consists of albums we've downloaded since getting home because one of the following reasons 1) we couldn't buy the physical CD as the band hadn't supplied any 2) it was 'only' available as a download 3) it wasn't yet released or 4) demand had outstripped supply and the record 'sold out'.

Please click this link to see bigger version of this picture

Downloaded Albums

Delaplanes - Gypsy Blood

Soupaczar - Ordinary Quite Contrary

Magma Brain - Mystery EP

Typewriter - Indian Love Call

Dark Ocean Colours - Close Enough To See (Mark Mikel)

The Grande - Bleaker Street

Our third and final batch is not quite as comprehensive as we'd wish, because there's more but we wanted this to be a relatively short post so this batch consists of albums which were available to buy from the merchandise table but we already owned a copy and weren't about to buy any more.

Please click this link to see bigger version of this picture

Already Nailed (owned)

Fast Camels - The Magic Optician

The Junipers - Paint The Ground
Kontiki Suite – On Sunset Lake

Ulysses - Everybody's Strange

Dave Rave - Live With What You Know

Steed - A Curious Case of Countless Clues

Kelly's Heels - Playing Into Your Hands
Monkeeman – Jumping On The Monkey Train

Dark Ocean Colours - Patches & Patterns (Mark Mikel)

The International Pop Overthrow is largely a free festival where Promoter David Bash gives 130+ bands the chance to showcase their stuff in 30 minutes bites over a full 8 day week! Most play twice giving the audience two opportunities to see them strut their stuff. By buying the artists CD's we feel it is the least we can do to show our appreciation and to give a little back to the bands themselves. In most cases the CD's are around a fiver, though some are somewhat more, this rarely rises above a tenner. This money goes directly to the artists, no middle man, no extra record company or distributor costs – it feels good – it feels right!

The merchandising table is where it all happens, and central to the system which puts your money where your mouth might be. Manned by Jason it's an essential part of the IPO experience from IPO t-shirts in all sizes to the growth area this year: 'Vinyl'. Yeah lots of bands sporting good old fashion vinyl which is admirable. You can't blame young musicians for wanting to put out a proper record in 2013 can you?
_____________________________________________________

This has been a prequel or an introductory post in preparation for the report back from the event itself which will follow shortly.

_______________________________________

* Click Here to Sample These Albums

*  ...And These One's Too

Have a listen to some of the tracks that reflect a taster of the very best from a selection of the bands mentioned above. If any of the songs grab your attention make sure you search further for the musicians music and support them!!

If you want to investigate these artists further ,their wares are available from all the usual sources, including eMusic, CD Baby or by contacting the bands on their own web sites or respective Facebook pages.
____________________________________________________