Joe Strummer 1952 - 2002

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the death of Joe Strummer. A previously unknown heart defect took Joe from us on 22nd December 2002. He was an inspiration to many and his legacy lives on.
Rest easy Woody.

Strummerville.

Free music player & tools

Ok, so you've downloaded a few free albums from the links in previous posts and probably have a decent collection of stuff from iTunes and your own CD's ripped to your hard drive. This week I will point you in the direction of a superb alternative to Windows Media Player for your music along with a couple of handy tools to optimise and organise your mp3's and some other audio formats - all for free.

WINAMP

Winamp has been around for a long time and is still my player of choice. Easy and intuitive to use, Winamp can handle all popular music formats and many video types as well. Import music into the library, create and save playlists, edit tags, listen to online radio and download podcasts.

There are thousands of skins, plug-ins and visualisations available to let you get the most from Winamp and modify it to your needs. I find the cross-fade and normalise plug-ins really handy when DJ'ing parties, often using a visualisation for some eye candy. Other plug-ins include lyrics, karaoke, alarms, equalisers, enhancers and more.

All this is in the free version, if you need more you can always upgrade to pro but I have never needed to. Get either version here Winamp

  Mp3Tag

Correct tagging of your Mp3's is probably the best form of housekeeping you can do with regard to your music files. Properly tagged files are a great help when it comes to searching for tracks and organising libraries and playlists. 
A tag will give information such as artist, title, album, year, genre along with embedding a cover or artists image. Mp3Tag will do all this and is the ideal tool for the job. Customisable features include  filename to tag or vice versa, auto numbering, case conversion and batch conversion with which you can tag an entire album in seconds. 
Supports many other audio formats. Download from Mp3Tag

BonkEnc

BonkEnc is a simple yet versatile ripper and converter with a basic interface. There are options to rip to MP3, AAC, MP4, FLAC, AIF, VOC, OggVorbis, AU, WAV and convert between formats with various bitrate/quality options and CDDB support. Download here BonkEnc
A newer version, now renamed fre:ac free audio converter is avalable from here  fre:ac

Dan Baird and Homemade Sin @ O2 Academy, Sheffield

Having been a big fan of the Georgia Satellites in years past this gig was gonna be unmissable as far as I was concerned. Dan Baird's current band Homemade Sin comprises of Dan (of course) on guitar and lead vocals with former Satellites Mauro Magellan on drums and Keith Christopher on bass along with legendary Warner E. Hodges (Jason & the Scorchers) on lead guitar.

Dan's style is predominantly highly fuelled country/blues, in parts even what some would describe as cowpunk or alternate country. No matter what you wanna call it, this bands performance really hits the spot. 

It was a great experience to see a band of this pedigree so up close in a small local venue and it was obvious that the band enjoyed playing just as much as we enjoyed listening.

More info, CD, DVD, tour dates at Dan Baird and Homemade Sin.

I couldn't blog about this gig without mentioning the two excellent support bands that helped make this a particularly good night.

I got to the show early as a really wanted to see local band Roaming Son. These guys had been recommended to me a few weeks ago so I was pretty chuffed to find they were playing support. 

Roaming Son are very rockabilly influenced but with more accent on the rock rather than the billy, if you get my drift. I very much enjoyed what I heard and hope to see them play a full set of their own sometime soon. Watch this space.

Although they seemed a little low key for some of the rock audience I really took to main support Charlie Lankester and The Mojo Killers. Charlie has a history of working with many well known and influential musicians and this comes across very well with the guys he's now playing with. 

This fine blues band provided an excellent counterpoint to the more upbeat bands before and after and had me rooted to the spot for their entire set. Their first album "Song in a Minor Key" was released in September and it's on my Xmas list.

 

Free Download - The Zipheads

A triple treat this time round. The Zipheads are a damn fine trio from St. Albans UK, playing rockabilly/ska/punk influenced tunes. They have an infectious upbeat sound that's impossible to ignore. 

For what I suspect may be a limited time they have two E.P.'s and a single available for free here http://thezipheads.bandcamp.com/

Enjoy!

The Slingshots - Delaney's Music Bar

A couple of weeks ago my mate Martin 'phoned me to ask if I fancied seeing the Slingshots at Delaney's in Sheffield. 'Hell yes!' Now there's a band I saw back in the 80's and never realised were still around. I guess that shows how out of touch with with the rock 'n' roll scene I've let myself become.

Anyhow we got ourselves to the gig and loved it. A very talented bunch of guys giving an excellent performance consisting mostly of their own songs with a few very well done covers. By the end of the night they left a packed bar still wanting more.

 

Duly impressed I bought a copy of both Slingshots CD's and they were good enough to sign the latest one for me.

The Slingshots are playing Delaney's again on December 22nd. If you're in the area then get yourself along to a crackin' night out.

Check out what's on here Delaney's

 The Slingshots emerged onto the rockabilly scene from Sheffield in 1984. It didn't take long for them to earn a good reputation for playing live both locally and at larger events. The first Slingshots album " Feels So Right" was released in 1999 and of the fifteen tracks ten were original material. 

Fast forward to 2012 and the release of a new album with a new line up that still includes original members Steve 'Big Cleveland' Russell and J.D. England along with Dave Invicta and John Boulton. 

The album "Misfits" is loaded with well written original songs that you would find hard to distinguish from stateside classics of the 50's. Get your copy at the next gig or from the website here The Slingshots

Like them on facebook at  http://www.facebook.com/TheSlingshots

Free Download - The Maggoty Brats

The Maggoty Brats hail from Quebec and play a blend of celtic folk, punk, rockabilly they define as 'folkabilly'.
Their 2006 debut album "Rodeo" is available as a free download from Bandcamp. An excellent first album and well worth a listen, especially since it's gonna cost you nowt.
Download here http://themaggotybrats1.bandcamp.com/album/rodeo

Shinedown - O2 Academy, Sheffield

The Academy is one of my favourite venues. Reasonable ticket prices, not too big, three bars downstairs and two upstairs, good atmosphere and some fantastic bands. If they didn't take the piss with the beer prices it would be perfect.
I'd fancied seeing Shinedown ever since hearing the Sound of Madness album and thought £16 was a very reasonable asking price for a ticket. This proved to be even better value than I thought as support bands Exit Ten and Redlight King both turned out to be excellent.
After the supports doing a fine job of warming the crowd up Shinedown hit the stage rocking with the title song from the Sound of Madness and went on the keep the crowd in the palm of their hands with a selection of songs covering their four albums to date.
Considering how good these guys are I'm amazed they're still only playing small/medium venues and haven't got a bigger audience yet here in the UK. If you get a chance to see them do it now because I don't think it's gonna stay that way for long. Next time round you could be paying inflated prices to watch 'em from the back of a packed arena.

 http://www.shinedown.com/

Get Stoned with the Sword

My favourite small rally of the year is undoubtedly the 'Get Stoned with the Sword' rally at the Square & Compass at Darley Bridge. Hosted by Excalibur MCC it's good people, good times and a good weekends partying guaranteed.

Despite a sunny Friday it soon became colder than a pimps heart as evening drew in. Seeking warmth in the two nearby pubs followed by a jig about to the bands soon took the chill off. Three bands kept the beer tent rocking but most worthy of note was Friday's solo artist Ben Miles. I took the opportunity to buy a CD off his Mum (bless her) as she proudly sat with a bunch of bikers partying around her as Ben played a cracking blues set. Check out his FB page here http://www.facebook.com/VeryLoudRecords?ref=ts&fref=ts

As always thanks to Excalibur MCC for a great weekend. See ya next time round.

Free Download - Snakebit Drifters

We return to Bandcamp this week with four freebies in one from the Snakebit Drifters. This trio from Costa Mesa, California are currently turning out some fine rockabilly/country/punk influenced rock 'n' roll.

I'm really hoping these guys will be releasing an album but in the meantime four E.P.'s are available for free download here http://snakebitdrifters.bandcamp.com/

If you like what you hear you can get more info and show your support at Reverbnation and Facebook.

Well done Gaynor

CBT passed and two wheels on the road. Welcome to our world G.
As soon as you get rid of those L's we'll nod back to ya too.

A break in the Lakes

To celebrate our silver anniversary Lynne and I rented a cabin near Windermere and spent a few days on the bike in some of the most stunning scenery this country has to offer.

Luckily the weather was on it's best behavior as we took on the Hardknott Pass, what a fantastic ride.

Radiobilly FM

The brainchild of Barry Monster, Radiobilly FM started life as Psychobilly Deluxe before evolving into the Subculture Collective - a small group of dedicated people producing their own shows to share great music and host a range of podcasts for lovers of underground/alternative rock 'n' roll.
Barry decided that Radiobilly FM would be a more suitable moniker, hence the current name.
Shows here include generous helpings of rockabilly, psychobilly and punk along with a dash of classic rock 'n' roll, rock and country.
If you're looking for a real alternative to mainstream radio and all the garbage that the music industry tries to ram down your throat, Radiobilly FM is a great place to start.
For a sample of what's available try out the Radiobilly FM player on the right of this blog page or even better get yourself over to http://radiobillyfm.com to find out more, check out the huge archive of past shows and set up your regular downloads via iTunes and more.

Free Download - Bang Bang Boogaloo

 

I downloaded this excellent compilation about a year ago and I'm pleased to see it's still available.

This album features track from 11 unsigned New York bands with a rock 'n' roll/garage sound. 

Get it here http://www.bangbangboogaloo.com/?page_id=213

Beautiful Days

Beautiful Days is a yearly festival conceived and organised by the Levellers and takes place every August at Ottery Saint Mary in Devon. This year was my third time and as an added bonus Lynne was able to get the time off to go with me.

We arrived at Escot Park and managed to get the tent up before the rain set in and the wind picked up on Thursday and although the sun was out by Friday lunchtime the festival site was boggin' for the rest of the weekend.



Despite a wet start though, the 10th Beautiful Days festival was as good as ever with the usual great variety of bands and entertainment that makes this one of my favourite events of the year. A wide selection of ales and potent ciders also help keep the thirst at bay.




Highlights of the weekend for me were getting to see Toots and the Maytels for the first time and a fantastic performance by Alabama 3. Also well worthy of note were Hobo Jones and the Junkyard Dogs, Richard Thompson, Dub Pistols, Dreadzone, P.I.L., New Model Army, Reel Big Fish and of course The Levellers.

http://www.beautifuldays.org/

Frodsham Frenzy

A great weekend organised by Ste of the XJROC and hosted by Paul and Cath at the Cheshire Cheese in Frodsham.

For a change this year we had some sun and good weather which meant we got to do a fantastic rideout instead of the weekend becoming one long piss up around the local pubs. 

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Saturday's ride took us on a marathon eight hour tour of North Wales, taking in the Horseshoe Pass, Conwy, Abergele and some awsome roads returning from Betwys-Y-Coed.

A big thanks to all involved and cheers to Ste for making it all happen.

Free Download - DieMonsterDie

  I recently got into horror punk / metal band DieMonsterDie after hearing them get lots of plays on the Diablocast podcast. To my great pleasure I found their 2010 album "Fall To Your Knees" available to to download for free from Bandcamp.

Although only fifteen tracks appear on the page, the download actually had sixteen tracks, the extra one being a great cover of "Dead Flowers".

Influences include Black Sabbath, Type O Negative, Gwar, Ramones, Misfits, GG Allin, Slayer, Alice Cooper and more.

Head on over to http://diemonsterdieslc.bandcamp.com/album/fall-to-your-knees for the free download in a choice of digital audio formats. If you like what you hear you can buy more from the back catalogue of DieMonsterDie for as little as $5, that's something like a measly three and a half quid for us here in the UK.

Yorkshire Pudding

Just about recovered from this weekend's Yorkshire Pudding Rally.

As always an excellent weekend's partying with great company at Hesley Woods on the outskirts of Sheffield.

The threatened storms kept away to give us some good weather in which to chill out with a few beers during the day.

Plenty of entertainment with five bands over two nights and the ever popular comedy show on Saturday, although not quite all of us had come round enough from Friday night to go and see it.

A big thanks to the Motorcycle Action Group and the marshals for all the work involved to make this happen. For more info on M.A.G. and how to join go to http://www.mag-uk.org

Greetings From Outbackville

Earlier this year, Flo Ri from Bavarian rockers Out Of Luck was kind enough to send me a copy of their new album. To coincide with the release of the video for "Johnny Ultracool", here's a brief review...

Greetings From Outbackville is the latest album from Bavarian trio Out Of Luck. This, their third release, has seventeen rockin' tracks including five bonus live recordings.

Their style very much takes me back to my younger days when a new generation of rockabilly bands first adopted the punk attitude to add a harder edge and sow the seeds of the psychobilly genre.

Band members Karl 'Cloey' K (Bass/Vocals), Flopez' (Guitar/Backing vocals) and Beppo the Buccaneer (Drums) work together flawlessly to create a tight, driving sound that will appeal to all lovers of rockabilly and old school psychobilly.

Greetings From Outbackville is available in CD format from http://www.rockabillyshop.de/ and as a download from Finetunes, I-Tunes, Napster, Amazon, E-music!

For sample tracks and more info check out
http://www.facebook.com/OutOfLuckRnR?sk=app_2405167945
http://www.myspace.com/outofluckrnr
 

A brief word on podcasts

For those of you not yet in the know, a podcast is a media file (usually part of a regular series) that can be downloaded or streamed to your computer or mobile device.
My taste ranges from the musical to the mysterious (see the podcast page) but you can find a podcast for just about any subject that interests you.
Podcasts can be downloaded directly from the publishers site or by using a podcatcher which will enable you to search for podcasts and automatically download your selection. iTunes is a very popular choice for this purpose.
Podcasts are often free to download as they are usually produced by people who are enthusiastic about their subject and enjoy sharing it with the world. Sometimes there is a subscription fee, a charge for extra content or an optional donation.

More info from Wikipedia

Welcome

Welcome the new home for A Mile In My Boots here at Blogger.

After realising that I didn't really have the time to maintain a 'full on' website, blogging may be a more suitable way for me to share my lifestyle with like minded people.

I hope to still bring you comment and pics from rallies, parties & gigs etc along with a few new items including some of my favourite podcasts, free (legal) music downloads, biker resources and camping tips.

I'll be keeping the old web site live for a while at http://www.amileinmyboots.co.uk/ if you want to check out past comments, rants and picture galleries.