Gonks Go Beat

I was introduced to this track - Harmonica by the Graham Bond Organisation - via the medium of Johnny Alpha's Killer Diller Radio show, but I had no idea it was featured in the film Gonks Go Beat. In fact, I'd never heard of the film - one of the many given the dubious title of 'The worst movie ever'. It looks brilliant.

I saw this clip in the documentary, Beware of Mr Baker, about the English drummer Ginger Baker. I didn't know a lot about Baker, but I've heard plenty of songs he's played on. He features in this clip. He comes across as an arsehole in the documentary, but as I had no previous fondness for him, it made no difference to my enjoyment of it. Not the best rockumentary I've seen (and I love them), but worth it for introducing me to this clip.

The Graham Bond Organisation. Graham Bond, the keyboard player, was at the forefront of the British jazz scene, before moving into rhythm and blues. He was a heavy drug user (as was Baker), later an occultist - who, it's reported, believed he was the son of Aleister Crowley. Bond died in 1974, at the age of 36, under the wheels of a London Underground train. G

Other 'rockumentaries' I love (please recommend ones I've might have missed)

Dig! (Brian Jonestown Massacre/Dandy Warhols)
Some Kind of Monster (Metallica and their shrink)
Anvil

Play loud, drink rum

A be-fezed Sir Johnny Alpha has been in his basement of beat once again to bring us the latest Killer Diller Radio Show. A young beatster asked Sir Johnny if there was any theme to this edition of the 90-minute aural orgasm. 'No theme man,' came the reply, 'just a load of random great records.' Eclectic brilliance from the likes of The Kneejerk Reactions, Nobody's Children, Arthur Crudup, Soul Inc., The Phantoms... Listen to the stream, or download as an mp3. Either way, have a quart of Mount Gay to hand. MP

New Killer Diller

Sir Johnny has raised himself from his velvet chaise longue, brushed aside adoring concubines and cracked a bottle of Yellow Tail Shiraz in order to bring us a new edition of the legendary Killer Diller radio experience. Ninety two minutes of essential listening. Track listing includes Les Jaguars, Jimmy Ricks & the Ravens, LaVern Baker and Tula Babies. Listen here or download for keeps. MP

The Go-Go Cage!

You all know Sir Johnny Alpha, Sideburn's resident DJ and fez-bedecked vinyl hipster, but maybe you've never made it to one of the legendary Go-Go Cage nights at Liverpool's Cabin Club. Well roll back the rug and get ready to frug* because the Go-Go Cage is coming
to you.

In a fit of utterly characteristic largesse, Sir Johnny, Carl Combover and Andy Hoodoo have uploaded a killer mix of 30 hip-shakers, mastered from original 45s, many as rare as a chopped Brough, ripped from the commemorative CD that was available for one night only at the recent Eighth Birthday Freakout. Ultra-treble twang, howling keyboards, filthy bass, seedy soul and more... from the likes of Takeshi Terauchi and The Bunnies, The Dave Clark Five, Nick Waterhouse, Andre Williams, John Lee Hooker, Era Of Sound, Jacques Dutronc, Ray Baretto...
Listen to the stream, or download direct. MP
*Sideburn magazine and The Go-Go Cage cannot be held responsible for hip dislocations, broken furniture or burnt toast.

Killer Diller x The Stags x Cherry Wainer x Don Storr

So, perhaps you have a party and no soundtrack. Perhaps you have no party. Perhaps you're washing dishes in the back of a restaurant this holiday season, working in a petrol station, guarding a warehouse, nightwatch in an old folks home or you're a Sikh (or one of the many other religions that don't celebrate Christmas). Perhaps you are just a music fan with similar tastes to me. Whatever you may be, animal, vegetable or mineral, your life will be enriched, by following the link below to listen to the latest instalment of Sideburn's official DJ, Mr Johnny Alpha's radio show - the Killer Diller Christmas Special. He has, as his guest, the partially-drunken Stags.

There are a few familiar (to me) tracks on the mix, but I was turned on to a new name - Cherry Rainer. I googled her and found this amazing film from a German TV show from the 1960s Beat! Beat! Beat! Cherry has a Sassoon bob so sharp it could cut 10mm MDF and her drummer, Don Storr, looks like a prison amateur dramatics society's casting of Richard Nixon. I have imagined whole back stories for Cherry and Don, but I know nothing of their real lives.

The show also includes The Stags playing Rollergürl, a 7in that was released by Sideburn. We have a few left... Follow the link to get your own ltd. edition Stags single. G

UPDATE: The Stags are playing Camden, London on December 28th, and the Hipsville Christmas Party. They're on first, so don't be late. More details here.

Hipster Halloween

Just 50p will get you 14 tracks of twisted twang, ghoulish guitar, screaming sax and... yeah, you get it. It's another of Jonny Trunk's bargain offers and worth the piddling price just for The Graveyard by The Phantom Five. Lovers of Sideburn's resident DJ Sir Johnny Alpha will recognise some Killer Diller faves. Available in .wav or .mp3 and it's all stuff released between 1958 and 1966. Grab it while it's still warm direct from Trunk Records. MP

Johnny keep a-rollin'

'What you got on that train, boy?'
'I got Bo Diddley, I got Jerry Lee, I got Plommons, I got R&B, punk, freakbeat. Man, I got...'
'Yes, yes, thank you Mr Alpha, I think we get the picture. Mind how you go now, there's a badger on the line at Tamworth and a temporary 40mph limit just this side of Wigan North Western.'

All aboard the Killer Diller Locomotive Special, curated by Sideburn favourite, Sir Johnny Alpha. An hour and 24 minutes of pure aural pleasure. No buffet car. Toilets out of order. MP

UPDATE: WFMU

IMPORTANT: I should've added you've got to listen to the Ichiban Rock n Soul feed.

This is the greatest 'radio' station in the world, as far as I'm concerned. WFMU is internet radio, I listen through iTunes on my laptop when it's connected to the internet, but there might be other ways of listening. When I tune in there is rarely ever a DJ, just a continuous flow of amazing records.
If you like Killer Diller and its mix of garage punk, weird country, jungle exotica, northern soul, southern soul, vegas stomp, surf instrumentals and rockabilly, you will love WFMU.
To quote their website 'Our music doesn't fall through the cracks, it IS the cracks.' G

Sideburn's Windows user, Mick P, adds: I use VLC Media Player, which is free, multi-platform and can cope with almost anything it encounters. I never bother with Windows Media Fiasco. Here's the link for Ichiban Rock n Soul. Right click and  'Copy Link Address'. Open VLC, go to Media/Open Network Stream (or just hit Ctrl+N) and paste in the link. Now frug, shag, or do the mashed potato as appropriate. Other dances are available.

Killer Diller is Back

Broadcast from a bunker in Wigan, Sir Johnny Alpha's radio show is back!
For the uninitiated, the show is 90-minutes of soul, garage punk, popcorn, spy themes, jungle exotica, blues and wild titty shakers. It is presided over by Sideburn's official DJ, Sir Johnny Alpha, a DJ and record collector of impeccable taste.
Killer Diller has been off the air, because the underground bunker became an underwater bunker due to a catastrophic flood.
The now-monthly Killer Diller is the perfect soundtrack to your working day or sophisticated evening. Listen to it here...

Johnny Alpha's Killer Diller

Photo: Paul Bryant Photography

Too Kind

All the time people ask me, Are you still making that magazine? They mean Sideburn. I say yes. Then they ask how it's going. This is a tougher question. As Ben and I didn't have a business plan and my expectations were lower and hopes different to Ben's, it's actually doing better than I expected. About 10 issues better than expected. But it's a constant distraction from a day job I liked anyway. I could be earning more if I just concentrated on that.  But this was never about money (fortunately). We turn up at events and meet people we've 'met' through the internet. Like at Wheels and Waves and even the 65th anniversary of the Lambretta yesterday in Lincoln. I bumped into Rusty Li150 (who made our rings) in his Sideburn sweatshirt, Gareth who raced his Vespa at Dirt Quake, and, for the first time, met David from the Enjoy the Ride blog/Team S Equipe and Darrell, a Sideburn reader who'd had his helmet painted by Ornamental Conifer.

The side effects of Sideburn that are harder to explain on the spur of the moment are the occasional little presents and letters that turn up. Like a group of CDs from Kirk in California. He had listened to my appearances on the Killer Diller internet radio show and thought I'd like copies of some of his most bizarre records. He was dead right. He sent Bolivian and Chinese Go-Go; Folk and Pop Instrumentals from Pakistan (1966-76) and Indian Simla Beat (70-71). I love the music, but the best thing about the package are the hand drawn covers and tracklists had done by Jill Jordan.
Thanks Kirk and Jill. I love them.

Then Danny Clark in Texas sent me his fanzine Dang! It's a photocopied, bizarre, cut and paste art project with a Comstar on the cover. It's not for sale. It's of very limited appeal. It doesn't contain articles or even sentences. It's one person's time and effort put into something they really wanted to do, then posted out at their own expense, for no other reason than to share it. Wonderful. Thanks Danny.

So, yeah, we're not making much money, but Sideburn's going pretty well. thanks for asking. G

Dave Skooter Farm on Killer Diller

These are all images of one of my favourite humans in the world, Dave Skooter Farm, aka Mr Murdo, aka Murdo Gloves, aka Dave Arnold. Making Sideburn or doing any of the things related to the magazine like the events, show stands, road trips or racing, wouldn't be half as fun without him.

He's in two bands The Stags and The Shook-Ups, who are both playing on the same bill in Camden, London on March 10. More details when we get them.

He was also on Johnny Alpha's Killer Diller radio show last week and played a bunch of punk from the last 40 or so years. Here are the bands from the show...

Instrumentals; Centuries; Rip offs; Flakes; Mummies; Brood; Sidekicks; Diaboliks; Spaceshits; Johnny & the self-abusers; Models; Adverts; Stranglers; Bobby Darrin; Little Richard; Larry Williams; Roy Orbison; Easybeats; Saints; US Bombs; 5, 6, 7, 8's; Headcoats; Rings; Downliners Sect; Davie Allen & the Arrows; Phantom Surfers & Dick Dale; J.F.A.; Slaughter & the Dogs; Buzzcocks; Freshies; Devo, New Colony Six...

Listen to it here
Or download it for free (no sign up) here.

Coincidentally, I wrote a piece on DJ Johnny Alpha for the latest Men's File. Sideburn collaborator Paul Bryant took the photos.

GI on Killer Diller again

I travelled up to Wigan on Tuesday for another guest slot on Sir Johnny Alpha's Killer Diller radio show. I went with my good friend Paul Bryant (who shot Project FT for Sideburn 6's cover) and he took some great photos.

We played a mixture of garage punk, surf, rock and roll, R&B, footstomping instrumentals and mariachi from: Shu Swanson & The Savoyards, The Ramrocks, The Untouchables, Bobby Williams & his Nightligfters, The Ideals, The Tornados, The Charles Blackwell Orchestra, The Eyes, The Chocolate Watchband, The Revellions, The Chesterfield Kings, Black Belles, The Trashwomen, Jonna Gault, Reverend Horton Heat, The Cramps, The Monomen, Jimmy Seldar, Ike Turner, The Robins, Dusty Wilson, Thee Cormans, The Vicious Cycles, The Stags, Les Terribles, Esquirita, Elvis Presley, Maddox Brothers & Rose, Nick Jaguar, Calexico, Ennio Morricone

We also gave the first airing to a 7in single The Stags have recorded especially for Rollerburn that will be released on Sideburn Records. It'll be on sale on the day and online soon.

Johnny Alpha is DJing at both the pre-party and Rollerburn. Click the flyers at the side for details.

Johnny Alpha's Myspace
Download the show here.

Click the Killer Diller label below for more shows if you like this one. G

Killer Diller x GI V.3

I was working up in Manchester last week, so I dropped in at Sir Johnny Alpha's bunker to play some of my record collection on his internet radio show - Killer Diller. I took a mixture of South American freakbeat, Japanese punk, French yeh-yeh and 60s garage, plus some Medway spy soundtracks and a dash of Georgia flower punk. Basically a bunch of weird stuff to tap your bongos along to.
Download it here and peruse the track list here. G

Sado Maso

Links links links. The other day, a mate emailed me to say he was listening to FIP, a French radio station that you can tune into online. So I did. There was some OK stuff, but then a stand-out track made me go hunting to see if I could find it on YouTube, and here it is in all its whip-kitsch glory. So, I sent the link to GI and he immediately recognised it from an edition of Sideburn resident DJ Sir Johnny Alpha's Killer Diller show. Download that show in its 90-minute entirety right here. You really should. Meanwhile, I'm late for my appointment for enslavement by agreeable Gallic vixens. MP

Killer Diller is Two

Killer Diller is a weekly radio show hosted by Sideburn's official DJ, Sir Johnny Alpha, and this week it's two years old. Killer Diller is the soundtrack of my life. What is it? A 90-minute mix of freakbeat, French yeh-yeh, sleazy tittyshakers, popcorn, surf instrumentals, 60s soul and R&B, doo-wop, garage punk, 70s and 80s punk and countless other genres I'd never heard of previously. It's all strung together with Sir Johnny's dulcet Wigan tones. He really let's the music do the talking, not like some of garage punk internet DJs and they're crap reverb soaked schtick. I love Killer Diller.
Listen or download at Sir Johnny Alpha or listen live to wirelesfm.net on Tuesday nights. If you like them, there are, well, about 100 to catch up on. G

Carol Doda Photo: Leadpipe Posters

Going out music

Have you downloaded the latest Killer Diller radio show yet? It's a bloody belter. No special guests, just the most laconic DJ ever, Sir Johnny Alpha, playing insanely danceable rarities you've never heard (after an ultra bizarre intro). Download it and play it before going on a night out. Or play it and just stay in.

Download it here or visit Sir Johnny Alpha's MySpace. G

Sideburn's GI returns to Killer Diller

Sir Johnny Alpha's weekly internet radio show is the soundtrack to my life. I listen to the downloaded shows constantly, so it was great to be invited back on for this week's show. And I wasn't as drunk or nervous as last time.
The show's the usual mixture of garage punk, surf instrumentals, gunk punk, Moog freakout, Chatham blues, Nederbeat, hard soul, country-blues and sleaze guitar.
Here's are a list of artists that got played:
Dantes, Citations, Dirtbombs, Makers, Fall-Outs, Thanes, Offhooks, Masonics, Headcoats, Cecil Leuter, Lou Höffner Trio, Rezillos, New Bomb Turks, Devil Dogs, Fingers, King Size Taylor & the Dominoes, Mitch Ryder, Jimmy Stokely & the Exiles, Barry Gray, Huevos Rancheros, Jackie & the Cedrics, Phantom Surfers, Link Wray and his Raymen, Maria Dallas, Jimmy Gordon, Peels, Jay-Jays, AB&C, Vicious Cycles, Stags, Stellius

Download it here. See the tracklist here.

If you like this Killer Diller, you can listen to the previous one I was on here. GI

Sideburn's GI on Killer Diller

The Killer Diller radio show is the soundtrack playing in the background when I’m creating my half of Sideburn, working on my bikes, painting the house, running along the river, well pretty much all my life.
It’s a weekly, 90-minute internet radio show playing very obscure, but rocking records that fall in the categories of garage punk, surf, hard soul, punk, freakbeat, French yeah-yeah and psychedelia-tinged pop. If none of that sounds familiar, don’t worry it’s great stuff.
The show's host is Johnny Alpha, a good friend of Dave Skooter Farm. He’s been booked to play his immense and valuable record collection at festivals and clubs all over Europe and has been broadcasting a show a week for nearly a year. This week I was a guest and took some of my favourite records to mumble about.
Killer Diller runs on Czech beer and Sailor Jerry rum and Coke. It refuels with the best fry-up ever.
If you think Coldplay are the kipper's tits, then it’s probably not for you, but if you like a variety of different music genres you should dig it.
Let me know if you like what you hear. (keep yer trap shut if you don’t, I don’t want to hear it). GI

Download Killer Diller featuring Sideburn’s GI Or go to Johnny Alpha's Myspace to listen without downloading.
See the tracklist.

Dave Skooter Farm BACK on Killer Diller

Dave Skooter Farm, appearing as his alter-ego, Mr Murdo (pictured) was on the wireless the other night. He was a guest of Sideburn's unofficial DJ Sir Johnny Alpha. Download the latest Killer Diller radio show for 'fuzz-fueled 60s garage, moody surf, greasy instros, jaw droppin' R&B, kickin' rock 'n' roll, far out freakbeat, soul stompers, popcorn dancers and oddball nonsense'. Turn it up and wig out. That's what we're doing. GI

Killer Diller

Sir Johnny Alpha's Killer Diller