Good afternoon to you wherever you may be and thanks for once again dropping in at the Clash Blog, or indeed thanks for your first visit and please leave your shoes at the door. Before reading today’s post it will be beneficial if you catch up on the previous two, or if you’re somebody who just ignores instructions when you buy furniture from IKEA just read on.

One little bit of housekeeping first, I just found a new application that allows me to record audio and screenshots for you so I may start using it on occasion to summarise what’s been going on at the blog or what is forthcoming. Please please take a look and listen to my first hurried effort via this link, I’ll try and work out the umms and errs before I try that again, you know..prepare or something, there’s a concept! Still it will allow me to add quick updates via the twitter account or Facebook if you happen to follow the blog via those channels as well, which I hope you do. Maybe a podcast dummy run..and see if you like it?

Now then back to the events of Monday/Tuesday which have cast a shadow over the rest of the week I must say, even now on Friday afternoon I still haven’t fully come down from the adrenaline rush from earlier in the week. I could probably cut out coffee entirely if I had a night like that once a week or so but then let’s be realistic shall we? It turns out I’ve got more to say than I expected so off we go again (I know…big shock) So the last post was not only the title of a Carbon/Silicon album but also refers to where we left things off previously, with myself & barcuicci about to head off into the Phoenix night to try and track down some Gorillaz. With only an hour before I left and no news filtering in from the twitter feeds I started to scramble, who would I know that might have a clue where to start our little quest? Suddenly I remembered that Keith (see two posts back) was as near as Phoenix gets to a legitimate old school punk (though from Detroit) but still oh so modern with networking skills that rival Vodafone. The desperate Facebook message I posted on his wall “oi, need to find Paul Simonon tonight…any ideas” was a bit of straw clutching of the finest kind, but within five minutes the reply came back “Tim, call me”.

I obliged of course and learned that Keith indeed had his finger on the pulse or at least in the vicinity, he knew that the crew and equipment had left Denver by bus and lorry but the more revered members of the tour were actually flying into Phoenix that afternoon and were in theory already in our midst. He even knew which  primary hotel was being used although it was uncertain if everyone would be booked there. His contacts included the Phoenix rep for the booking company for the concert and backstage manager at the venue, from small acorns I thought. We just had enough time to chat about Strummerville and associated topics when it was time to drive into the city and pick up barcuicci. Keith also gave me some concerning news that Mick Jones had gone on to Los Angeles and wouldn’t be performing in Phoenix for some reason. We speculated that it could be the funeral of Ari Up and debated whether she had passed in London or Los Angeles, he felt it was L.A. but would make some calls to find out. I’m thinking how unfair that would be, but if it was correct then certainly a legitimate reason to miss a concert. I convinced myself it wasn’t so and how would Graham Coxon get into Phoenix in time to fill Mick’s shoes anyway. Arrangements were made to pick him up at 730 and off I went, he strolled out and immediately asked if we had a plan to which I replied ‘sort of’.

We headed to the hotel that Keith had mentioned and although small it has a reputation of being boutiquey enough to perhaps house some mid-level celebrities or indeed my guitar hero. It was a Monday night and things were as you’d expect as we pulled up, my questionable logic suggested a chance of seeing tour buses or at least some airport transportation pulling up outside the lobby just as we did. No such luck in the place looked a bit sleepy. I was aware that they had two bars, one roof top pool version and a downstairs sister alongside the restaurant. Before heading in we gaze into the restaurant which looks like it may have been closed by health and safety, no sign of life nor even cutlery on its tables. Walking back around the front I decided to go in and see if the front desk had any info, my co-stalker who was beside me as I approached the doors suddenly wasn’t there as I approached the front desk girl. Not knowing what I would say she looked up as if pleased to actually see someone and offered

Hotel: Can I help you?

Me: Yeah Hi, I’m supposed to be meeting somebody here a bit later and wasn’t sure if you have one bar or two (I lied so quickly it surprised myself)

Hotel: oh right, well in the winter it’s just the downstairs bar and restaurant (she smiled and paused far too long then added) however I’m afraid it’s been closed since 4 PM today as we’re having an employee recognition event tonight

Me: oh really…really….okay well there must’ve been some confusion then, but thank you

Hotel: have a good night

As I walked out before explaining it to barcuicci I knew his reaction would be just as suspicious as mine. An employee recognition event, couldn’t they concoct something more original we both thought. With suspicions aroused we have another look at the restaurant but the lack of activity made even the front desk clerk’s story seem a bit of a stretch. We pondered about the timing and what late hours rock stars must keep just to keep in sync for the touring lifestyle, with me pretending to be far more of an expert on the topic than I am. As we headed back to the car we were just about to debate what to do next when I hear someone call “hey Tim”. A Mustang convertible just pulled up and the driver wearing a beret seems to know me before I recognised him. To be fair to me it was dark and I’ve never seen with a hat on before, my partner in crime is more observant though and says it’s Keith.

Keith asks any news, although the answer is probably obvious as we’re about to get back in the car. He’s been on the phone since we spoke and tells me they couldn’t get everybody into the first hotel and had booked a block of suites at the Hilton, no I shouldn’t give the name but it rhymes with Bilton if that helps. He found that they arrived at the airport round about 2pm and had checked into the hotel before three and his contact at the hotel said there had been no sign of them since. He said he was going to head down there and so we followed in the same direction. Barcuicci offered that the car was a rental due to the California plates, an excellent sleuth in the making thought I. That may come in handy..

Part three will be later tonight or early tomorrow. Cheers ~

Morning all, how is it then? Ahhh yes Saturday – that’s welcome news although there’s enough to be done around here that it won’t feel very weekendesque. First things first then, those video clips yesterday of The Clash in Tokyo from 1982 I’m told made the transfer to DVD a few years back which is the good news, the bad news is that its a PAL DVD region 2 so will no use to you unless you are in the UK or have the right sort of player. PAL discs do seem to invariably work on computers although its a bit hit and miss depending on the player installed in your PC/Laptop. Either way here is the link to get it in the UK and its very affordable (thanks Hutsville) or in the US/Canada where incidentally its six times more expensive! I think at the price in sterling its a good shout.

Image Courtesy Strummerville Foundation

More good news if you are in the UK next week (bah…it’s warm and sunny here at least) as there is some recommended late night television coming up for you courtesy of Don Letts and Stummerville. Full details are over at the Strummerville site but essentially on Monday just after midnight and then again on Wed Nov 3 and Wed Nov 10 a three part documentary will be airing for the first time on Channel 4 in the UK. The documentary takes a look at the charity and the roster of bands associated with it with features from throughout what has been a great year for Strummerville. Presented by Jaime Winstone it will feature footage from the campfire at Glastonbury, The Notting Hill Carnival Party and the recently completed Westway round the UK tour. Wish I could see it, so if you do let us know what you think. I’m sure some of you managed to amble along to the Westway tour so perhaps you can see yourself on telly too! Incidentally there are a series of great photos from that tour on the Strummerville Facebook page so have a look at that too. As ever if you want to help I recommend the Strummerville shop as a good place to do good and get something nice.

Two tiny things – thanks for all your support over on our facebook page (you can hook up via the right hand margin on this page) we just reached the 1,500 mark in our little gang. Also, if you get time and click on wikio at the foot of this or any post it will help our ranking a little in our quest to become a top 20 music blog. But…we won’t appear on Top of The Pops.

Right then, loads more later including a video I don’t think many will have seen and news about an intriguing podcast. Talk soon – Tim

Well looks like its time again to type some thoughts and welcome you back to the Clash Blog. First time here? We don’t bite and welcome comments and suggestions to help make the site essentially an ongoing fanzine-like resource for all things Clash related. If you are a returning visitor thanks for your time and spending it with me. I still don’t have my Clash license plate…but I did visit the Motor Vehicle place today and they eventually told me not to worry as the computers and thus a cop will know I’m legal. I thought that a brave pronouncement but I guess I’ll need to trust them against my better judgement. Telling a Phoenix cop that a little old lady with a New England accent told me not to worry about my expired (non-Clash!) plate might not wash however, especially as I can’t fool anyone with my bad American accent. Whenever I do it I sound like a radio DJ about to tell you about the weather and introduce some Pearl Jam (yes…that is how all American men sound to my ears).

Speaking of accents I’m on the cusp of purchasing some software that might make my writing and therefore much of my life up to ’3 times more efficient’, no it’s not more coffee or amphetamines, but new and apparently vastly better voice recognition/dictation software that would allow me to blog just by speaking to my computer. It’s very tempting and under serious consideration as between this blog and others that I write for work I routinely bash out around 10,000 words a week and the thought of time saved is very tempting. I would like a demo of the software first as I’m concerned that my accent might not mesh well with the technology plus I’ll have to go back and fix the incorrect spelling of color, honor, tire every time I write for this blog. Another part of my decision is the fact that I intend to start another personal blog in the near future and the thought of getting free form out in a third of the time would help me no end.  Stay tuned, if you suddenly see posts 2 or 3 times a day you’ll know I’ve taken the plunge. I should also state I’m essentially an advanced hunt and peck typist so although this doesn’t take you long to read it takes me a while to type, if I could just have the page fill as quickly as I speak we’d be in for some real content on this site at last!!

I had sat down with the premise of writing briefly about Joe Strummer’s birthday later this month and also some updates worth checking upon at the Strummerville site. So why I don’t get on with that then? August 21st is the day in question and Joe would have turned 58 this year if he was still with us, which actually rubs some salt into the wound at the thought that he was but 50 when we lost him in 2000. Currently the two notable tribute events that I am aware of are in Sydney and San Francisco though I’m hoping as we get nearer the date we’ll learn of some more things that are going on. (Pete I got your email thank you and I’d love your help/ideas to chronicle the day in London). If you are associated with or aware of an event near wherever you may be please get in touch so that I can share the details with the community. Any city, any country – a celebration of Joe’s life is what is at stake. I’ll furnish more info on the aforementioned events as we get nearer to the date. On the facebook side I’ve invited (but need to remind everyone) of an event scheduled for the 21st where we ask everyone to change their facebook status for the entire day to a Joe quote or lyric of your preference. It would be nice that everyone of your facebook friends knows what you’re up to – so perhaps for example make your status:

“I’m the all night drug prowling wolf”   Joe Strummer’s Birthday Aug 21 , 1952

Please checkout the facebook page for the event via this link, your participation would be really nice. Yes I’ll remind you! Another goal I had for Joe’s Birthday was getting to 1,000 people in our facebook gang and then declaring our independence from the brutal democracies (or otherwise) that we live under. Looks like we’ll make the first goal with days to spare which is exciting to me and thanks everyone for spreading the word. I’m going to then type up some informal announcement about it and ask if the good people at Strummerville could get the information over to Joe’s widow Lucinda. Just an email or something to let her know we are collectively paying a nod to Joe/The Clash on a daily basis if she’d ever like to drop by.

Strummerville was the other point of my incessant rambling this evening as there are a lot of cool updates over on their website that I’d like to encourage you to visit. So in no special order here are some new things on tap:

The end of August always marks the Notting Hill Carnival in London and Strummerville are hosting a special party on Aug 29th at The Inn on The Green during Carnival weekend. For just 5 pounds a wristband lets you see 4 acts from 6pm on the night. Wristbands and full details via the link. The very new Strummerville documentary is set to make its television debut in the UK on Sunday Aug 22nd on SKY Arts. Full details via this link, and while we get far too many channels in the States we don’t get stuff like this in any sort of a timely fashion. Finally a second small plug for a Strummerville act ‘Rum Shebeen’ the video which we featured about a week ago. Both videos from a new double A side single are featured over on the site.

That will be me done for the evening, more tomorrow I’m sure and don’t forget to let me know if you plan something for Aug 21st. Thanks ~