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 ~

Good Morning!! I actually had more than 4 hours sleep last night which resulted in me missing some of the Germany game but also resulted in me feeling a bit more refreshed. So…onto the weekend. One of the very best things about the blog is your participation with photos, news, opinions and reports. I’m really excited to have a few special features lined up for the next few days and I sincerely appreciate the time given to write for the blog.

A few weeks ago NXNE took over Toronto for a week and the film festival threw up a really nice double bill for Clash fans. The Strummerville film was followed by the Don Letts documentary so a great opportunity to have an evening of Clash related large screen entertainment. Luckily a good friend of the blog Steve is in Toronto and he was able to get down to the event. Steve is a I’m a writer/editor/designer but when it comes to music simply relishes it and likes to have fun by going to concerts, films, etc. Thanks again Steve for putting this together – over to you:

I got a chance to see the Strummerville documentary at NXNE on Saturday (I was helping out a club all week, but managed to get away to see it). A must for Clash and Strummer fans, but casual observers might wonder what all the fuss is about.
Like most Don Letts’ films, this was a labour of love and lucky for us that he spent so much time documenting the Clash and other bands back in the day. As such there is some great footage of Strummer and of course Letts has access to anyone that has ever been associated with the Clash. The documentary focuses mostly on some of the bands that have benefited from Strummerville through sponsored rehearsal space and/or recording time. The bands, not surprisingly, are quite good (and for the most part are available for free downloads from the Strummerville website). It also looks at other agencies assisted by Strummerville such as Jail Guitar Doors. Lucinda is featured prominently throughout the 50 minute film, yet not once does it mention that she was Joe’s wife.

Strummerville also goes to great length to point out what a wonderful guy Joe was and how much he loved people. Having met Joe a couple of times I would have to say that is true, especially in his post-Clash days. But I always got the sense through many of his interviews that he was a man of many regrets and that a lot of his good deeds stem from his wanting to right some of his own wrongs. Nothing wrong with that, though.

The message ultimately is that Joe’s spirit lives through the works of Strummerville and by that it means that talented performers will not go unheard just because they have no money and just because they don’t know who Joe is. This film mostly likely won’t be coming to a theatre near anyone unless your town has an independent theatre house or some sort of film festival. Most likely you will find it on public television or on DVD.

Strummerville was coupled with a documentary on Letts himself called Supersonic Sounds: Rebel Dread. Sometimes its easy to forget what Don Letts has left us with. He had the vision or foresight to get so many musical events — punk or otherwise — onto film. I just hope other filmmakers around the globe are doing the same now. One thing that Letts mentions in the film that I never knew before is that he is the young man standing down the line of police in Notting Hill as picture on Black Market Clash.  (clashblog note: we’ve mentioned that!!)

Letts says that even though the photo makes him out to be some kind of valiant rebel taking a stand, he was actually just moving sideways trying to get out of the way. As well, even though he appears to be confronting 500 coppers, the photo doesn’t show the 1,000 protesters standing behind him. Another myth shattered? I don’t think so. I sense that we is soft selling it a bit and I get the feeling that he never backed away from a good fight. I also talked to the Toronto representative of Strummerville after the film and offered my assistance. They are just getting off the ground and hope to have a presence in 2011.

Back to me ~ and my sincere thanks again to Steve. I’ll be back later today, don’t forget to vote in The Clash Cup. If you have piece to contribute please send it in…it takes some burden off of my fingers and increasingly exhausted mind.

Learn more about the Strummerville film here

Learn more about Supersonic Sounds: Rebel Dread here

Learn more about NXNE here

Good Morning, welcome back (or thanks for your first ever visit), I’m armed with coffee and a touch of melancholy today. Some sour things (there’s a trio of deaths lingering around us this week….these things really do happen in threes) are offset by the fact that the sun is out the breeze is lovely and Arsenal just won another critical game (staying alive one game at a time) and if Wolves can win in the next hour a pint of lager will be in order later on.

I’ve only got one real bit of news this morning but I’m quite excited about it. Since the earliest days of the blog I’ve always felt it natural to lend our support to Strummerville as much as possible. As most of you know Strummerville was established shortly after the death of Joe by Lucinda Strummer who oversaw the original ideas behind the trust, she remains a trustee. I don’t think it would be wrong of me to say that for many of those who love Joe and The Clash that Strummerville has become a living, breathing idea keeping alive the spirit of Strummer. If not the embodiment of what Joe was all about then certainly as near as we can ask for. If someone had to keep the ideals going, far better that it was the people who work hard each day for Strummerville than CBS/Sony, the rock and roll hall of fame, or some other option. Elvis has Graceland and Strummer has Strummerville, having experienced both I know which side our bread is buttered on. What’s remarkable about the trust is the growing diversity of projects that they support, you may be surprised at the breadth of work that they now do. The assistance they provide in developing new music is about the most fitting tribute to Joe Strummer that I can imagine.

Joe was someone who never gave up his desire to make a difference via music and relished sharing his love of new artists from all avenues. From his boyhood days in boarding school being obsessed with listening to pirate radio under the covers, to his final touring when nothing made him happier than digging through a record shop to see what he could uncover and add to his carrier bag. His passion for music never waned. For some of us the importance of music in our life remains as critical in our 30’s, 40’s, 50’s as it did when we waited for the next single by our favourite band when we were thirteen. It seems though that for so many getting an education, a good job, having a family, new hobbies gradually relegate music until it becomes little more than a soft soundtrack to life in general and the passion for new music flickers out and then dies. I can’t relate to that. I’ve been asked ‘why do you still care so much about music?’ and ‘why didn’t you grow out of being excited about new bands’ – I’ve been just as confused by their stance when reality TV, a bigger car, or new golf clubs take the place in their heart and desire that used to be occupied by music. I’ve never found a substitute for music and I hope I never do – I feel lucky to be in the same place that Joe Strummer always seemed to be – that the next record you hear might be one of the best you’ve ever heard. Accidentally (as usual) I’ve gone way off topic.

I write about Strummerville today as I’m thrilled and honoured to announce an exclusive interview with Trish Whelan the Charity Director at Strummerville. Trish is just getting all the loose ends together for the trip to the SXSW festival in Austin which is having a huge slice of Strummer related events (see yesterday’s post). As much as I lament living in a world without Strummer (I constantly read ‘we really need Joe Strummer in days like these’) I think we should be thankful that we have a world with Strummerville and the work that they do.

I’ll ask Trish as many questions as I can think of but hoped you might be able to help me out with other ideas? If there is a specific question you have for Trish about Strummerville I’d love to include it when we speak. Email me via the blog – or contact me via the facebook page or twitter – I’ll do all I can to get all questions answered. I know Strummerville are proud and excited at the growth of these last six years and a growing profile in North America can be anticipated. Get in touch – this will be fun.

Cheers – Tim