Premature Obituaries

In these fast moving digitally 'enlightened' times where people aren't sure of what's in, what's out and which haircut is cooler it's easy to get influenced (bullied even) by new media Snake Oil salesman. Now having had an interest in the early DIY nature of Punk my two particular bugbears are the musings from people who really should know better that a) 'Myspace is dead' and b) the demise of print media is imminent.So today i switch on my Twitter feed (you REALLY have to be on Twitter) and in the space of ten minutes get two links which restore my faith in the common man and the fact that life will always find a way.

This Piece by Kristian Carter (about Myspace) and This piece by the Unsigned Guide about 'Zine culture.

I really suggest you read them back to back.

(ps: oh, and there's also this piece by The Blackbeard Blog also about Myspace where i've left some of my thoughts in the comments))

Bemoof The Cromolls!!

Costermongers Last Stand.

Truth be known it's been a shadow of its former self for some years and long gone are the days when come Saturdays it was packed to the rafters but it's still sad to see the Costemongers pub finally closing it's door. If you know me at all you'll know my infamous diminutive stature pre empted me from underage drinking but it can't have been long into my (alleged) adulthood before i was introduced to the delights of this dingy basement rock saturated haven. This was before all day drinking (yes, there was such a time) so typically it'd be down Mr Bills Beerkeller* on Needless Alley on the afternoon and then onto to The Costers on the night for more sickly pints of Snakebite n' Black (a pre alchopop alchopop affectionately known as Diesel amongst the Motorcycle inclined).
Since then it's been through several refits, numerous wall coverings and outstayed it's many 'characters' but it never lost the dinge (you just cannot repel the dinge) which has cemented it in legend as one of Brum rock fraternities favorite long lost drinking holes.
So Saturday sees the end of an era to which i'm happy i had a passing acquaintance with leaving us with about two or three suitable backups which in a hygiene obsessed world will never achieve the same level of sleaze and piss flooded glory as the Costers, basement bars will just never seem the same again.

More disturbingly there's rumours that as part of the whole redevelopment of that block the Oasis is next for the chop, now there's another former shopping themed haven of dinge that surely deserves a Blue plaque preservation order!!.


PS On saturday as a last bash there's a bunch of bands so you can see the old warhorse off in a fitting style Click Here for details

*Both basement pubs and now both gone!!

Why Isn't Anyone Else Doing It ?

As you may or may not know (or in fact even care) i tend to slog my lonely ass around many of Birmingham's finer Punk/Rock venues (ie The Wagon and Horses, Scruffy Murphys, Costermongers, The Flapper and once upon a time The Market Tavern and The Royal George (opposite Selfridges)) to get a three chord fix of your louder type of entertainment. The always constant thing in this environment is the surviving DIY network of badly Xeroxed flyers being bandied about which typically end up, ink running in a puddle of Special Brew (or Frosty Jack) but still keep the scene and people connected. So then in a blinding flash of boredom vs. inspiration i thinks well why not start a Punk related Twitter listing account, twenty minutes later i have Twitter.com/BrumPunks* complete with hastily Inkscaped graphics and everything. It's quick, it's dirty, takes about ten minutes a day to run and two seconds to follow, perfect for the Slacker trying to get a handle on Social Media (which i'm STILL not convinced about) so why not?. Why?, because Business Studies 101 declares you should do your market research first, Punks can actually be a very conservative bunch in their tastes and it appears not many have strayed from Mypace and even fewer have stumbled onto other networks (indeed why should they, but that's for another post). I'm constantly searching Twitter with various combinations of punk/venue/band related words and have found Three likely candidates in Brum (hi if your reading) and not much else. So stage two it's off to Osbornes for some sticky paper,onto the printer and then Myspace Bulletins to try and drum up some trade lesson learnt that sometimes setting up stuff on the interwebs can be too bloody easy!.

* Even though i set it up i'll be the first to admit i'm not the best person to be running this site, i can think of several 'embedded' tech' savvy Punksters who could be doing the job better.

The Rainbow and 'Social Media' Revised

If you live in or around Digbeth (Birmingham) you'll probably be well aware of the threat to local venues such as The Spotted Dog and The Rainbow due to noise abatement orders being served. The whole issue is quite involved but whichever way you cut it up the damage this could do to the vibrancy of an on the rise Digbeth is not to be underestimated. So last night (19/06) saw the gathering of the outraged for an update on the whole debacle, an impassioned Kent took the stage and gave a rousing speech to the impressive turnout followed by an equally indignant John Tighe of The Spotted Dog (see below). It was fantastic to see the differing cultural sides of Digbeth (the 'old' and the 'new') uniting to stand their ground over what most right thinking people perceive as unfair bureaurocracy (i was just just a bit miffed Kent didn't take up his his boxing gloves and march us round 'there' to have it out in the streets but hey, what y' gonna do?). Double Kudos to the guy who raised his hand and admitted he worked for the planning department and then described the sorry state as "a joke", tbh though i doubt if he'd have got away with his nadgers intact if he had said anything elsewise such was the mood.
The whole issue is likely to be covered in more detail by the ever vigilant Nicky of Digbeth Is Good infamy and others but the point of this post is just to mention how the affair has slightly skewed my perception of Social Media tools. I think it's fair to say i'm pretty sceptical of such things as Blogging/Twitter and usually just see them as an interesting distraction. However last night to see the show of support that had been built from online 'activism' such as the FaceBook campaign made choke on my smugness a bit. I was just cursing my bad fortune that this type of technology wasn't around when pubs like The Fiddle and Bone were under a similar threat (yes, i know there's a bit more to that story) and i felt the best i could do was write an 'angry' letter to The Evening Mail (which got published btw).
So now the wait starts to see how the whole affair pans out, if the online campaigning and support really can make that difference i might just have to reevaluate my opinions of other gimmicky gadgets such as camera phones!.

Rainbow Meeting - Kent Davis from Pete Ashton.

Rainbow Meeting - John Tighe from Pete Ashton.

KEEP DIGBETH VIBRANT!

Democracy Whore

In light of the recent revelations levelled at the shower of bastards that deem themselves fit to run the country my vote for the upcoming European election is up for auction.donations here (don't forget to mention who you are!)...

(Note: offer closes Midnight, Wedsnesday 3rd June)

All Quiet On The Digbeth Front

Yeah, the update rate of this blog is really tailing off but truth is either not much is happening or other people are doing a better job of writing things up. I did manage the Eccentric Auction last night, more fun and games with Harry Palmer et al attracting exceptional bids on mundane bric a brac. No Zine's this time but did manage to grab some back issues of the Eccentric times (signed no less and with rare postcards and Audio CD). Workwise Urban Village has returned in yet another incarnation (it's Sixth) at the General Stores market,Custard Factory. Plenty of vintage stuff to be had, just spare a thought for the backroom boy who gets Raynauds in his fingers sorting through all that Nylon and Polyester. Downside is the future of the DVD shop is in doubt, news to follow [Edit: apparently it's reopening 1st June].
Blog wise i've kindly been given a log-in to Fizzpop (Birmingham hackerspace) to contribute some stuff concerning the Arduino microcontroller. Funny thing is i never considered myself a 'Hacker' until following up on Fizzpops inspirations but now realise i've been taking stuff apart to see 'how it works' and tweaking it since ought six (typically upping output power on CB' radios ~81). Unfortunately it just brings home a) what an idiot i was for pissing away my degree b) should have done Physics joint with something useful (ideally Electronics). Anyhoo enough already with the whining, now to try and scrounge enough cash together to make at least ONE festival this year. All the best Midge

Smoking Ban Real Estate Bollocks!

It slowly dawned on me today there's new smoking ban pub etiquette emerging. Once upon a time in a busy boozer if someone walked out of the door it was game over, all the real estate they sat on and occupied was up for grabs. Now it seems it's not so simple, a couple of times now i've parked myself on their seat only to have them come back 10 min's later with protestations of 'only going outside for a fag'. Markmiwordz the first tabloid 'stolen seat fag rage' incident is imminenet.