Loud, Proud & Purple

07/09/2013

I’d got some e-mails from Si of the ‘Violets saying my pledge items had been posted, but by 12.30 today I’d given up hope Royal Mail would deliver them this w/e…but the postie turned up late with a box of goodies…

Yup, I’d splashed out on the bigger options:

  • Double pack CD, with the extra remixes (more of which later)
  • t-shirts, well who could say no to a jaw dropping culty t-shirt* ?
  • poster, my picture and name amongst the other people who funded this adventure (stroke my ego)
  • booklet, lots of pictures and all the lyrics, why not ?
  • badges
  • signed note

A full list of the remixes is here. Any band that writes a Happy Birthday song for the son of one of their fans has to be respected – and yes it is in typical ‘Violets style. That’s not the only new track either, and several remixes have extra lyrics.

The booklet…well Si has obviously spent a lot of time on this one. We are treated to all the lyrics, a page for each of the band members (Si, Tom, Rosie and Jo) along with lots of photos and even a painting of Rosie in full on vamp mode (and I must say I like that…dribble). Rosie also fills her page with poetry, alluding to March Violets tracks. Tom has his guitar geek page, and Jo her cat page.

Oh, and best of all the text refers to a video of Billion 3. Looking forward to that.

The Remixes

Immerse yourself in a film sound track set in a strange punk/goth/disco/dance/rave you can only leave by taking exits from the labyrinth that lead to psychedelic hammer horror films/twilight zone of a dystopian world of environmental, financial and sexual collapse.

The album as originally mixed was not a gothic dirge, the remixes are, well, hatstand. Regardless of the style, its the ‘Violets.

The extra lyrics and vocals on several tracks are really fitting and make the tracks really good. Given the originals are pretty stonkingly good that’s a hard thing to achieve.

What did you want time running backwards ?

* And no the cats couldn’t…they spent much of the afternoon curled up hard asleep on the t-shirts even before I’d worn them.

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The Palace of Curiosities

10/07/2013

Rosie Garland, female vocalist of one of my favourite bands (The March Violets) has had her first novel published:

I bought the book, as given the lyrics of the ‘Violets it was probably a good bet, and also because Rosie has had several anthologies of poems and short stories published before.

It sat on an occasional table for a week looking reproachfully at me, until the hot weather arrived and I melted and could do nothing but read.

Its a good read, a Victorian kaleidoscope of the vaudevillian underbelly of the late nineteenth century, replete with grotesques and freaks.

Rosie Garland

However, they are portrayed with all their human desires and frailties which I liked.

Rosie has certainly used her erudite repartee formed as an onstage performer to help build the text of this book. Though the middle is a bit slow, it does build up the overall decay of the troupe towards the end of the book.

The paperbook is out in the Autumn.

Well worth reading if you like weird Victoriana.

Here’s the author on full on mode….

It’s educational….

For the over 18’s only please…

Wanking is forever

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