Hello again everybody I wanted to make sure this post out in time especially for those who are many hours ahead of me sitting here in the desert of Arizona. It’s already tomorrow breakfast time in Sydney Australia and Sydney is where you want to be this Saturday night if you are a Clash fan. My sincere appreciation to Evan who has kept me informed about the event taking place on Saturday evening at 8 PM at the Annandale Hotel in Sydney. Not sure if tickets are still available but last year’s event did sell out so make sure to get there early or better still book those tickets online.

“Revolution Rock – a Joe Strummer Tribute” is being sponsored by Bombshellzine.com, Drum Media and Renegades Empire. The event in supported and in tandem with Strummerville. Bands paying homage for 2010 are: The Domnicks (WA) featuring Nick Sheppard from The Clash, The Rumjacks, The City Lights, Madonna (VIC) and The Tearaways (VIC)

This marks the fourth annual occurrence of the Joe Strummer tribute night which has grown in popularity year-over-year and has become Australia’s premier opportunity to recognize the work of Joe Strummer. Better still the expansion of the project now includes a second city in Australia with a special night being held in Melbourne which will cover on the blog also. I believe Evan will be forwarding photographs and video from the night in Sydney to expect those early next week, by which time I hope I’ll have finished covering each of the Joe Strummer events that took place last weekend. Naturally enough there will be some interest with Nick Sheppard appearing on Saturday as a result of his time spent with The Clash during their last years.

Evan and Baz were interviewed about the event by Renegades Empire which is an independent Australian punk music magazine. Evan has kindly allowed me to reproduce the interview below but do check out the Renegades Empire website (as a thank you for sharing this).

1. What brought about the decision to put on Revolution Rock originally?

Basil: As a massive fan of both The Clash and Joe Strummer it made perfect sense to do such an event…I guess the catalyst was a few years after his death I was seeing lots of tribute nights and simply couldn’t believe no-one in Sydney had done one for Joe.

Evan: Baz had mentioned the idea of doing something in Sydney. A lot of people world wide were affected by Joe and his music. So when he passed away people felt compelled to do something. At a rather enthusiastic Bronx concert we started getting serious about the idea. The next day we started putting it together and the rest is history.

2. Are you both fans of Strummer? How has his life and legacy impacted your life?

Evan: Joe Strummer was always making new music as he went on. He never lost his passion or faded away and if anything got better with age. Also, there was also a very human side to Joe in which you saw the highs and low and you could see a real person behind the performer. I always liked his honesty and rather a musician who can be honest and somewhat real than one merely writing a polished bio about how honest and real they are.

Basil: Sure are! The way the guy lived his life everybody should aspire too, he would talk to anybody about anything anytime. He stuck up for the little guy, he had a heart of gold and made amazing music to boot! It is truly amazing to see his legacy live on all over the world and it truly is a testament to what he did when he was alive to impact people’s lives.

Evan: Also in terms his influence in doing these events, I think his DIY approach helped push a couple of guys who were a bit new to putting on shows to pull their resources together and give it a go.

Also his world music sensibilities helped make us look at different styles of bands for these shows. It was important to make it inclusive to all people and musics and not just be about mohawks and three chords.

3. How has previous Revolution Rock’s gone, and what have been some of the highlights for you over the years?

Basil: Every year we are amazed and every year is a highlight…in 2009 we took a gamble and put a completely unknown band on to headline the event (King Cannons) and the gig sold out within half an hour of doors opening! Which goes to show, it is not just the substance of the bands but the idea of the night that brings the punters in.

Evan: Whilst the bands and the music are always amazing, it’s a highlight to meet people from different places, ages and walks of life and see how passionate they are for Joe Strummer. Meeting a guy who’s twice your age who can tell you about seeing the Clash and how it affected him, hits home. I think over time these events have become about the people at the shows and the thing that binds them and that has formed a community in itself.

4. What is the selection process for the bands you choose to play Revolution Rock? Who is playing this year and any insights into what Strummer tributes they will be playing?

Basil: We just want bands that “get” Joe Strummer and The Clash. Not bands that want to be there for fame or money (after all it is a charity event), but bands that genuinely love to play music and genuinely want to pay their own tribute to the great Joe Strummer.

Evan: It’s usually the bands who have that genuine love and excitement for Joe always make the best bands. The bands who are watching the first band till last or who will talk about how stoked they are to play the show are the ones who always give the music the proper respect and connect with the crowd.

Basil: This year we have playing The Domnicks from WA which features Nick Sheppard who at one point in his life was actually a member of The Clash! We also have The Rumjacks, The City Lights, Madonna and The Tearaways, couldn’t hope for a better line-up! I hear one band is doing White Riot this year, which is a first for Revolution Rock, believe it or not!

5. Tell us about Strummerville and why should people support the charity? How can people support it if they can’t get to the gig?

Basil: Strummerville is an amazing charity which was set up by Joe’s family and friends following his passing in 2002. It provides facilities and resources to young bands that perhaps otherwise wouldn’t have access to these facilities. It also provides mentoring for the bands, and who knows maybe one day the next big thing could come straight out of Strummerville!

Evan: I think people who are into Joe’s music are also into new music’s and diverse forms of creativity. So getting behind Strummerville is essentially helping support the very music and ideas we all care about. Back in the 70’s Joe Strummer had Tymon Dogg to help him learn his chops and get his start and now in 2010 kids now haves Strummerville to help them out.

Also Strummerville have always backed this event 100% and have given it great support.

Basil + Evan: If people cant get to the show on Saturday at the Annandale or the Birmy on the 4th of September in Melbourne they can donate online or buy some merch at www.strummerville.com You can also do things like organize a benefit and spread the word and let people know of their work.

6. The night has only been held in Sydney the last couple of year, what influenced your choice to take it to Melbourne as well this year?

Basil: Every year we get bigger and bigger and we always wanted to expand to other states as there is a lot of interest from bands and fans in those states. One guy and his wife flew over last year to Sydney from Adelaide just for our Sydney show! So we really want to take this to the other states and spread the love so-to-speak. Next year – Perth!

7. What can we expect for this weekend’s Revolution Rock in Sydney?

Basil: You can expect 5 of the best bands in this country all playing dedications to Joe Strummer and The Clash in their own way and style…it really is something for all ages (over 18 of course!) as we have young punks every year and then old rockers, and people that attend the events love getting together with like-minded fans and dancing their arses off!

Evan: Five great bands, a lot of good vibes and Baz’s long awaited return to the stage (the sleeping giant has awoken)

8. What’s next for you guys?

Basil + Evan: After the post show nap, we’re launching a small music label called Paperbag Music which will be a host to bands, shows and a distro for a variety of great bands and hope to continue helping up and coming bands get out there for all the world to see. Also bunch of new shows on the boil and the sad realization that we’ve gotta wait till 2011 to do another Strummer show.

9. Last words?

We just wanted to give a quick thanks to everyone who has made the pilgrimage from near and far every year to this event. Also to all the bands who give their time and do great performances each year. Finally everyone who’s supported us over the years by posting something online, telling a friend about the show or just letting us know how much they enjoyed the gig.

The show just isn’t about bands or hearing Clash songs but a community of people coming together and sharing their enthusiasm and love for music and for Joe. They’re the heart of this event.

I do have something else about the event planned for you tomorrow evening so check back then, and if you happen to be in or around Sydney really hope you make it along on the night. I’ll be back more with some more new stuff – Tim.

Hello once again and thanks for dropping back in to the Clash Blog. What’s new around here you might ask, it’s been an up-and-down day. Up due to the very late and highly anticipated arrival of my Clash license plate for the car (more on that tomorrow) and rather down due to the official Clash blog cat “George” having to be returned to the emergency vet this evening. She’s in for observation so we will know a bit more tomorrow, I don’t think she’s used more than three or four of her nine lives yet so hopefully the news will be good. I tend to like cats more than most people so it’s fair to say I’m worried sick and more than a little sad.

Tonight though I wanted to continue our look back at the Joe Strummer birthday events from the weekend just past. Last night we had a look at Austin Texas and tonight we go to the West Coast for the annual Joe Strummer night that is held in San Francisco. If I’m not mistaken the Bay Area also celebrates Joe in December though I may be wrong, perhaps a whole year has passed and covering last year’s event, this was the seventh year that San Francisco has hosted a Stummer event. First of all though a quick look at the venue itself: the club is called “Bottom of the Hill” I’m assuming because it’s located near the bottom of the hill (which indeed it is). Located just south of the heart of San Francisco in a neighborhood that could be best described as semi-industrial the club looks like a pretty standard San Francisco home from the outside, check the image to the left to see what I mean. Inside however it’s been refurbished into a pretty cool night club which Rolling Stone magazine has called ‘the best place to see live music in San Francisco’. You MUST watch the InterChords on the right video sidebar…stunning!

Come to think of it I’m pretty sure it was a year ago when Billy Bragg appeared at the Joe Strummer event in tandem with each the Jail Guitar Doors project. This years event went off without a hitch by all accounts and with tickets at just $10 a Joe Strummer/The Clash evening was in the capable hands of half a dozen bands including the Armagideons, The Hooks, Monkey, Sistas in the Pit, Stigma 13 and Interchords. Once again San Francisco did a great job supporting another Strummerville event when the date rolled around. I’d like to ensure a huge thanks is offered to Gil for providing and filming the video clips (and recommending clips) of the evening and also huge thumbs up to The Call Up for the summary reproduced below via his MySpace page.

Great show, thanks to all!
Not fully rested yet, but another great tribute this year. We seem to manage to pull in a bit more each year for Strummerville. This year we are able to send $968.50 (USD) to Strummerville!

There were even a couple more last minute backline donations and raffle items. Marlon from the Interchords contributed to both

Sistas In The Pit - Joe Strummer night SF 21/8/10

causes and gave up an autographed copy of London Calling, signed by Paul Simonon. How amazing is he?! The acoustic set he played with his brother takes the tribute where no band has gone before and they pulled it off amazingly. Hopefully the video comes out okay. To pull off acoustic Mag 7 into Ivan meets Gi Joe? Come on!

The Hooks donated an autographed limited edition copy of their recent release in vinyl, Everything is Golden! Marble disc beauty it is! And the music…well, its The Hooks! Its great. They played a fantastic set as they always do, full of energy and Joe’s spirit.

New bands to the tribute this year all played great. Stigma 13 just nailed it blew some doors away at the front of the club! Thanks to Commander Cookie Wolf for the suggestion of Stigma 13! Sistas in the Pit paid a soul groove funky tribute to Joe and the crowd loved it. Monkey, the first reggae/ska band at a San Francisco tribute (I believe) kept the crowd moving and played great.

That leaves Cliff Truesdell and his Armagideons. For those who don’t know, Cliff is a veteran of Strummer tributes, having played with The Black Furies. When it looked like a tribute wasn’t going to happen in ’06, Cliff, along with Eric McFadden, saved the tribute and introduced me to Strummerville! The Armagideons line-up may change over the years, but the delivery of the music is fantastic every year. I still cannot get Pressure Drop out of my head. They ended the night with a damn furious White Riot and just like that, the show was done. Time to pack the gear, close up shop and head home.

A hearty thanks again to all the bands for playing so well, to the great audience and raffle ticket buyers, Justin the always emcee, Gil on point for pics and vids, Neil on some pics this year, all the donors to the backline on the wall of thanks, to Bottom of the Hill, to Jock at Clashical Threads for all the support with flyer, schwag and moral boost, to Trish and all at Strummerville for their support and trust with Raffle items, to Henry Rollins for the autographs on last year’s flyer, to my family who gives me time and space to pull this off, to anyone else I’ve forgotten and to all fans, family and friends of Joe.

Excellent 4 tracks from The Hooks

Sincere thanks to everybody who attended and played in San Francisco, I watched even more of the video clips and you truly ought to do the same, loads of excellent cover versions – I really wish I was there – hopefully next Summer. You could do many worse things with your time than heading over to Gil’s youtube page where most of the evening was captured. Please read more about the participating bands via the links provided. That’s all for this evening more tomorrow I’m sure.

The (frankly brilliant) Hooks

InterChords

Sistas In The Pit

Monkey

Stigma 13

Good evening everyone and if the timer works this post will be visible late tonight in the US and early tomorrow in Europe. I’m still waiting on a few extras for the Saturday Strummer Birthday events in San Francisco, London and Orlando so I thought I’d wet your collective whistles with a guest post kindly written by a good friend of the blog who resides in Texas. I’ll confess that writing the blog has done more for my previously frosty perception of Texans than either of my earlier disastrous visits to the Lone Star State. Proving some points that I always preach such as

1. I should not speak in general terms (unless it concerns The Stranglers)

2. There is no such thing as an unpleasant Clash fan – it seems to bring out the cool in people

At this rate I’m going to book some time away for SXSW in Austin next Spring to give Texas a third try and hopefully complete my change of heart. Needless to say the blog gets good support from Texas and the fact that they had a Joe Strummer night in Austin says much about the city when other larger cities did no such thing.

The Joe Strummer Tribute in Austin, TX 21/8/10

With that said – I’ll hand you over to our guest contributor Kara and her summary of events:

Joe’ birthday celebration was center stage at Red 7 in Austin, TX last Saturday night, with a Clash tribute band, Clampdown, headlining the evening.  I know I was looking forward to being in the same room with so many Clash fans, and Austin did not disappoint.  Numerous bands took to the stage before Clampdown for a thin crowd, who eventually erupted when Scott Reynolds and the Steaming Beast ended their set with a rendition of ‘Julie’s Been Working for the Drug Squad’  Then Clampdown opened their show with ‘Complete Control,’ which of course sent the audience into a celebratory frenzy.  I would say their performance of ‘White Man (in Hammersmith Palais)’ would be the other most notable moment at which the crowd seemed to really get into the spirit of the evening.  It was an energetic performance, however the best part about the night was the presence of about two hundred people that love Joe and The Clash, celebrating a great man’s life together by singing (ok, screaming) and dancing (more like jumping) along to some of our favorite songs, performed by Clampdown.  The crowd was as diverse as they come (this is Austin, you know…), but there was great unity in our enthusiasm for celebrating Joe’s day.  Glasses were raised, and beer was spilled (on my head), in remembrance of Joe.  I think we are all looking forward to next year’s gathering!

Thanks a lot for taking the time to scribe that review Kara (although it’s centre & favourite) and also for the photographs you took (above and below) which feature photos from the night with a prerequisite Strummer themed backdrop which I have such a weakness for. I’d also be remiss if I failed to tell you more about Clampdown – A Joe Strummer Tribute so please visit their myspace page and certainly look out for them playing the pubs and clubs of Texas and beyond, perhaps I can get them to ride the wagon train to Phoenix for the December Strummer event? Their official blurb is beneath

Clampdown was conceived in 2009 with the sole intent of paying tribute to the legendary Joe Strummer and his band, The Clash. Strummer’s untimely death on December 22, 2002 was the catalyst that got the wheels of Clampdown turning. Members of Clampdown include Paul Lopez on vocals, Mark Martinez on guitar and vocals, J.G. on bass, Shawn Terry on lead guitar and Ruben Todd on drums along with Dan Carney on guitar. These men have been paying their dues in the San Antonio and Austin music scenes for nearly twenty years. Collectively, they have participated in bands such as De Los Muertos and The Bent Gents, Stretford, The Dispicables, Molotov Cocks, The Mechanical Walking Robot Boy, Rings of Saturn, and War Rocket Ajax just to name a few. The short ten year career of The Clash laid the foundation for every punk rock band ever since and the mere existence of a band like Clampdown today, twenty three years after The Clash ceased to be, is proof of this fact. Clampdown knows this only too well. Each member has been greatly influenced by this incendiary musical force and each jumped at the chance to pay tribute to Strummer and “The Only Band That Matters.” Clampdown’s tribute is honest and straightforward with no frills. It’s pure… it’s powerful… it’s Clampdown.

Clampdown playing live at the Joe Strummer Tribute in Austin, TX 21/8/10

As you can see we’re talking about some gents with serious musical pedigrees turning their attention to The Clash – that can only be a good thing! I’ve got more over the next few days from the other cities I mentioned and we’ll also march on with the other matters at hand. Thanks for dropping in and please share the blog with your Clash friendly acquaintances.