The BedRock Newsletter Archives

B E D R O C K
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(The Band In The Sand)
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- Disturbing The Peace Since 1994! -
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www.bedrockband.com
mailto:Bassman8655@hotmail.com
PO Box 1225 Oranjemund Namibia
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No 1 /2002 01 January 2002

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A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL - MAY 2002 BRING YOU ALL THAT YOU WISH FOR YOURSELVES!
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CONTENTS
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1. Editorial
2. Stop Press
3. Some Useless Facts About Bedrock
4. This Edition's Recommended "Read"
5. On The Turntable
6. Our Website Tip
7. Voicebox

1. EDITORIAL
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Isn't it strange how a New Year brings with it new ideas? Well, actually, this Newsletter concept isn't such a new idea but we've had to wait to get our own "dot.com" before we could effectively manage it. Having got this far, we're not too sure how often you'll be receiving one of these so, for the moment, it will be on an "as required" basis. A couple of other points are that we will be keeping this as a text based document to avoid lengthy graphic downloads, it will be a FREE circulation (Gee, Wow!), it is intended to be a light, entertaining and informative read and, last but not least, we hope that you will share your opinions, views and thoughts with us.

On the other hand, if you feel that this is a load of old codswallop (and it may well be!), please simply UNSUBSCRIBE rather than abusing your PC every time one of these newsletters is delivered. No hard feelings. The bad news is that there is no virus package available yet to eliminate Bedrock Newsletters. In fact, most hackers or otherwise would probably be put off the moment they encountered our photographs or listened to any of our music!

2. STOP PRESS
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Eddie's Back - And So Is His Spine!

I am delighted to advise that Eddie's back operation at the Vincent Palotti hospital in Cape Town has all the makings of a success story. Eddie has been back at home for a while now (isn't modern medicine a marvel?) and is adhering strictly to Doctor's Orders in terms of exercise and resting. It is going to be sometime - possibly five months - before he will be fit enough to play "live" gigs, however, for periods of up to 30 minutes he may be active. This is good news on the recording front as that is precisely what we're planning for the early part of 2002.

Mike's "Vision" Becomes Reality As He & Georgia Tie The Knot

Well, it looks like those of you who are, either, in the band or close to it, are witnessing the unfolding of a fairytale. You see, Oranjemund has just lost its most highly sought-after bachelor in Mike Millad. I suppose the story should start that, "Once upon a time - actually not all that long ago - Mike met a young lady who totally captivated him. Her name began to be whispered at band practices and, certainly, when overseas trips were hinted at. Sure enough, it wasn't long before the lovely Georgia was presented to the band and, whenever she was around at a gig, Mike's performance - musically! - aspired to levels previously unseen". The pace really picked up when Mike produced his masterpiece, "Vision", as his contribution to our RECOVERY CD. All the old, jaundiced married men constantly ragged Mike about the wisdom of dedicating a song to a specific young lady. "What happens when you dump Georgia for Barbara…or Nancy...or Jane…or Tart?", was typical of the questions posed. But the unflappable Mr Millad buried his face into the next submarine roll and Liquifruit (Passion Fruit flavour usually) and let it all run off him as he pulled his Teflon raincoat tighter. He always knew what he wanted so that leaves three red faces in the band, I guess!

ANYWAY, A HEARTY COLLECTIVE CHORUS OF "CONGRATULATIONS" FROM THE WHOLE BAND, GUYS. WELL DONE. AND TO THE HUGE BEVY OF SINGLE GIRLS IN TOWN - CRY YOUR HEARTS OUT, GIRLS!

Any bets on Mike's next song featuring the names of his kids?

New URL
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And now a specific word of thanks to Kenny Ramage for all the spadework he did in finding us a new website provider. As you know, we had been with Spree for a umber of years through their free website service. Problem was that they decided to terminate this facility which, although inconvenient, was also not a total "train smash". One thing that had always worked against us was the lengthy URL we were using: http://members.spree.com/sip/bedrock. I'm sure you'll see why this was a drag because nobody could ever remember it - not even us! As usual, the rates quoted by local (South African & Namibian) service providers were, by international standards, excessive so off Kenny went on a search of the world-wide providers. Before long he had found us a Canadian provider who, for a quarter of the local price (even in dollars!), was prepared to host us and so we acquired our very own dot.com address. In case you don't know our new address is: www.bedrockband.com or www.bedrockband.net

Cheers (Honourable Groupie) Colleen
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The band lost one of its most loyal local groupies at the end of December when Colleen Parkins departed for Johannesburg's warmer climes. Colleen has been a regular at BEDROCK gigs over the past four years or so and has often shed her very conservative image once the band have started rocking! She is also the holder of a highly coveted Bedrock 'PARTY ANIMAL OF THE DAY AWARD' award. We're gonna miss you Colleen - but spread the word up there in Gauteng for us!

3. SOME USELESS FACTS ABOUT BEDROCK
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· BEDROCK played their first gig at the Oranjemund Gun Club on the night of 31 March 1995. The occasion was a 50th birthday party.

· Since making their public debut, BEDROCK have played 75 gigs.

· A total of 6972 people have attended these gigs.

· The band's busiest year in terms of gigs was 1999 when 16 gigs were played. These were attended by 1833 people.

· The band's "quietest" gigging year was 1996 when they played a mere 5 times.

· BEDROCK's members pride themselves are being totally accessible to their audiences. Evidence of this fact is that no BEDROCK member has ever, ever, refused - despite the pressures of the occasion - the offer of a drink from friends…or strangers.

4. OUR RECOMMENDED READ
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ALL THE RAGE by Ian 'Mac' McLagan published by PAN BOOKS

Available from CD Wherehouse, V & A Waterfront, Cape Town.

The former Small Faces and The Faces keyboardist is really on form throughout this book and one wonders, frequently, how it is that he is able to remember so much when, by his own admission, he was stoned out of his mind for most of it. Nevertheless, in a totally unpretentious account, Ian takes the reader on a close - and humourous - trip through his world of music from the 60's to modern times. He pulls no punches on whom he likes and doesn't like and his observations on artists such as Bob Dylan are fascinating. His writing style is unsophisticated, conversational and easy to read with the result that you feel you are almost one of the his personal mates by the time the end of the book is reached. If I have one criticism of his writing style, it is his tendency on occasion to jump from era to era too quickly leaving the reader a bit confused about the sequence of events he is relating. This is a minor detail, however, and should not be a discouragement from picking up the book. From a local perspective, it is revealed that Mac's in-laws are from Zimbabwe and he spent a three week holiday there not so long ago. He also makes reference in his book to former Flames' members, Ricky Fataar and Blondie Chaplin, both of whom he has worked with.

5. ON THE TURNTABLE
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Local Sounds

· Late Final - Late Final (Trio Records TRCD7860)

Appearance-wise this CD has a very amateur look about it but, as the great expression goes, never judge a book by its cover. The fifteen tracks on the CD showcase the professional talents of Late Final, arguably Cape Town's best "live" covers band. With band leader and renowned sound engineer Jerry Barnard behind the production of this recording, the standard is as high as one would expect. The CD is available at the band's live gigs.

· The Other Side - Ichabod (Own label)

Although the band broke up some time ago with some members moving overseas to try their luck, and others remaining on the local scene, this CD remains one to listen to. Present availability unknown. If you have difficulty please contact us.

· Bits 'n Pieces - Bud Cockcroft (Own label)

This is a commendable effort by one of Zimbabwe's top one-man entertainers. In fact, few would argue against the statement that Bud is probably the countries best one-man outfit. Anyway, Bud is in the flying game and spends a considerable amount of time away from his home in Victoria Falls. In order to occupy himself whilst away on trips he carts his Tascam 8 portable recording unit along and recorded this CD on that unit. Once he had completed writing the songs for this album, he turned to a close friend and sound guru, Neil Thain, who added the production and finishing touches to Bud's musicianship. This recording will be particularly popular with people who are familiar with Zimbabwe or appreciate the sounds of Africa. Bud sings of his love of the country, his family and his hopes for the future in a collection of "easy to hum" songs. The album includes "Run Rhino Run" which took Bud's to No 2 on the Zimbabwean charts shortly after it's original release. Available from Final Music at www.mazoe.com

International

· In The Flesh - Roger Waters (Columbia)

With Waters' 2002 South African tour in the offing, what more can be said? Widely available.

· Love & Theft - Bob Dylan (Columbia)

Dylan's highly acclaimed latest release. Very good, yes, but still not in the class of "Blood On The Tracks". Widely available.

· There Are But Four Small Faces - The Small Faces (Immediate)

With this edition's references to 'Mac' McLagan, a Small Faces release could not possibly have been omitted. This recording was originally released in the USA only and was launched by an unscrupulous member of the band's management without their permission. Despite the band's ire at this having been done "behind their backs" for us, the listeners, it is a solid compilation of much of the band's best work. Examples include "Itchycoo Park", "Tin Soldier" and "Here Comes The Nice". Available at Avatar Music, Fountain Centre, Rondebosch, Cape Town.

6. OUR WEBSITE TIP
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Still with the Small Faces, pop into McLagan's site at:

www.macspages.com

7. VOICEBOX
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This is where you, the reader & subscriber, can share your news, views, opinions and experiences. This being the first edition we don't have any letters to include but please think about it. No topic related to music is scared - just be polite and, most of all, constructive.

And with that - Cheers 'til next time.

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