Good Morning from a wet and gloomy Phoenix, funny after living in London that you can grow to love mornings like this but it’s quite lovely and almost (51f) brisk outside. I’ve got the coffees in and I have some time before Arsenal play Chelsea, I can only hope that unlike last weekend we actually remember how to defend as I can’t stomach another defeat today. I was also putting together the list for 2nd round of The Clash Cup, if I get that finished I hope to have the second round started tonight.

I’d written about this once last year but was reminded how great his work was and he’s since added more items. Japanese artist Nob Suzuki came

Strummer T-shirt by Nob Suzuki

to my attention with the Clash figures he made but has added more since to his collection. He sells items privately via ETSY and unlike so much artwork it is actually pretty affordable. In addition to the figurines there’s wall art, t-shirts and more – if you are ever struggling for a unique gift for a Clash fan in your life I suggest you visit his page (and I hope those that love me are reading…).  If nothing else it makes a nice change from some of the less than stellar sweatshop crap you see elsewhere on line, the very fact that Clash shirts are mass produced by people being paid insulting wages is wrong on multiple levels, not that I’m limiting that statement to Clash shirts of course.

I’m always on the lookout for artists who were inspired by The Clash and Ebony Bones isn’t shy about her influences in this recent article in the Chicago Tribune. Ebony Bones (Thomas) first got noticed via her MySpace page and first toured supporting The Slits. The subsequent two years have seen her getting bigger gigs and appeared at SXSW last year. Her look and sound are both memorable – there is a crossover of that old Burundi Beat sound from Adam and The Ants and a bit of rap with punk, she’s been championed by Damon Albarn, Rat Scabies and many others. The best thing about the music is that you can’t file it one place – and she looks marvelous just a sense of ‘why not’. South London punk for the new decade. Anyway she knows her roots and it’s interesting to hear her background (she was born in’85 I think) and influences in the interview.

“When I was growing up in the ’80s, my dad had a small market selling punk music to West Indians, Punk and reggae were mixing in London, and bands like the Clash galvanized that.

Take a few minutes to listen to some of her stuff – and get past the Bow Wow Wow comparisons, as there is more under the surface in the lyrics. To get an idea about her fashion and visual style that’s caused a stir check this video.

On a related note – here’s a great article about fashion, Central St Martin’s College and being at the heart of it all in Soho in the late 70′s. I remember people just name dropping St Martins when I was a teenager was like ‘oh wow, who do you know?’ seems not much has changed.

In addition to London, Sheffield and Manchester I think Liverpool has been the most important scene for punk and post punk over the last 35

Bernard Sumner at Pickwicks - Image courtesy Francesco Mellina

years. For what is a relatively small city the number of bands that I’ve been fixated with that come from near the Mersey has been remarkable. From The Bunnymen, Teardrop Explodes and Wah! the blueprint was there for so many that followed. I just stumbled upon an article about a photographer who has captured so much of what was happening in clubs and gigs during those formative years (including snaps of The Clash) Francesco Mellina. Many of his classic B/W photos have been made into T-Shirts under the ‘Icons’ range including this one of Joe Strummer. However its the photographs I really wanted to draw attention to – just remarkable images from a time that seemed to be lost to history. His exhibition hopefully will get a future run elsewhere – for now please have a look at the pages for that site and also I recommend his facebook page. For an appetiser just look at the photo of Bernard Sumner up above. This site has some fantastic photos and an interview.

Have a good one.