GARAGE NIGHT THE GO-GO Ego, Edinburgh, Fri 16 Mar.
arage music? To the
knowledgeable (and the
tedious) the genre name derives from New York’s seminal nightclub the Paradise Garage where between the years 1977 to 1987 disco evolved into more soulful, gospel-inspired productions. Over a decade of over use and general appropriation, ‘garage' has been taken to refer to vocal house and now for British audiences it’s synonymous with two-step and artists like the Artful Dodger and M.J. Cole. But before the dawn of dance music and its associated hi-tech gadgetry, ‘garage’ implied a very different style of sound.
If you qualify the term by placing the prefix ‘605’ in front of ‘garage’, images are thrown up of moptop American punks battering drum kits, feeding back their Vox guitars
and howling like primal beasts into a shared microphone in the garages of their parents’ suburban
Go-getters Angus McPeake and Tall Paul Robinson
concessions to more commercial 60$ bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones and also dabble freely
homes. The sonic gems that emerged from these amateur sessions - characterised by an overwhelming rawness of sound quality and a heavy onus on rock
‘Everybody knows The Beatles, The Stones and The Kinks but what we play goes far beyond that.’
standards like ‘Louie Louie’ and ‘You’re Gonna Miss Me’ and popularised by American compilation series like Nuggets and Pebbles - have since garnered a dedicated following that borders on the fanatical. Much like the A-Team, these crack commandos of 605 garage are hard to find but if you’ve got a raw, sonic itch and no one else can help, maybe you should try the Go-Go.
in the associated genres of surf guitar, psyche and soul.
As Paul Robinson explains: ‘The Go-Go has commercialised it a wee bit but only to make it popular and appealing to people who wouldn’t necessarily be into the tunes in the first place. Everybody knows The Beatles, The Stones and The Kinks but what we play goes far beyond that and that’s the stuff that we’re really into.’
Confident that there are ‘enough cats in Edinburgh to justify this kind of night’, Robinson and his cohorts are hoping to build their monthly 60s showcase to include live bands, thus replicating the swinging atmosphere of the legendary music show Ready, Steady, Go. With the majority of the crowd being dedicated 605 fans and dressing as such, the throwback ambience is already well under way and as Robinson rightly observes ‘with
And if this all sounds fairly specialist, don’t worry because your talented hosts Tall Paul Robinson, Angus A-Go-Go and Kaiser George make generous
RELAUNCH
I'll-KARATE
Substitute Venue (Planet Peach), Glasgow, Thu 29 Mar.
For more than three years. until its recent hiatus. Hi Karate was a weekly fixture on the nightclubbing calendar. Thankfully, the Karate is set to return. in different venues and with a change of format. 'We had great nights at the Art School.‘ says promoter and resident DJ Neil lvlclvlillan. 'but the venue has its limitations. and it was starting to get us down. so we felt we should make a break for it.'
To mark their return to the tray. McMillan and fellow DJ Andy Divine have booked Andy Smith. a firm fav0urite With the Hi Karate crowd. and his production partner Scott Hendy. both devotees of hip hop and the rougher Side of 70s funk. Smith. of course. is best known as sample- Supplier and tour DJ for Portishead. which isn't perhaps the best clue to his average set.
'That can be a bit of a problem.“ Smith admits. 'because people expect me to play Portishead records and dreary old trip hop all night. which iust isn't where I'm coming from at all.
enough drinks inside you, you really could be back in the 605, in a sweaty Soho basement shaking your tail feather for all its worth’. (Catherine Bromley)
Dynamic duo Scott Hendy and Andy Smith take Hi-Karate by storm
I do want to break out from that. hence the new EP as Dynamo Productions on Illicit. which is myself and Scott Hendy working together to do something different: the kind of thing that we‘d both play in our club sets.‘
As for these sets. Smith and Hendy both gel neatly with Hi Karate's eclectic break-based ethos. 'I iust like heavy records.‘ says Smith. 'If it's new stuff. I'm really into the kind of hip hop
that's heavy. and when it comes to funk, it has to be rough-sounding and heavy. I JLlSl get really excrted when I find a shop full of dusty old records. and that's why I love hip hop so much. because it relies on samples from old records.‘
Hi Karate. then, is back. and. in a small venue With a Superb SOund system at the Sub Club. this could be the best run of the club yet.
IJack Mottrami
The latest club news . . . YOU MIGHT H,»\\’E_ wast: (fit‘
and 'Li"‘i“.It I‘ the tuist rev. \‘it‘t’KS .1l‘t‘LiT.i[\‘Ilt\I"HO-t1 plans to set up rl'K‘t‘ " Gltlb‘tlflfi. and me 3.2.” " t‘ait'iin‘. it‘a’. t7'.i...ie \. 'l‘K‘tlilt‘J‘ IE1 80’. to 81.13? I‘ ‘1 ’ ew.’ UK vesitiencx .it I've Sui Citlt‘ Il‘i ltlth “10 DNA. Recordings boss will be pla‘. VKI a full few new set even moi‘tri. With occaSional guests diami €XC|LISI\'€|\ from Young's 't‘iit w of friends. \~.Ii:t‘li th‘SlH‘idl‘i‘. means the cream of the Hulk .t scene. The night even has on of those touchy -ieely Aiiieiittari names »~ True People > to complete that Detroit -h\ the Clyde feel.
HARD HOUSE DJs and promoters looking to get a recording contract could be in with a chance. Why? Because Clubscene Music Group are keen to sign new artists as soon as possible, so send your demos to: Marc MacGillivray, Unit 26, Coatbank Way, Coatbridge, ML5 SAG.
LDI‘I—IIAN AND BORDERS police are planning regular raids on city centre clubs as part of Operation l oil 7 a campaign to rid Edinburgh of the owl diiig scourge. lhey raided SuliIiiiie (ll Wilkie House last weekend, arresting several punters in llI': process so caution is lliOfoUI',‘ adVised in coming weeks. DISPUTE STILL SURROUNDS Leith venue Club Java’s application for an extension to their current licence. The club venue is currently running under a Public House Licence with an extension until 2am but efforts to have this extended to 3am under an Entertainment Licence were thwarted by the Planning Department last week. Venue manager Gillian McArthur has now lodged an appeal against this decision. The List will keep you posted as to the success of this appeal.
15 2‘: Mar 90*)1 THE LIST 69