So, Let’s Recap…
By Ginger | August 28, 2009
Jebus H Corblimey what just happened?
Only two weeks ago my family and I were sitting at Heathrow airport waiting for our flight to Sweden to meet and perform with Maria McKee, then to Finland to write with Michael Monroe.
Next I’m saying goodbye to my family at Heathrow where I’ll board a flight to LA. Luckily I can upgrade my seat to premium using my airmiles, so far so good.
After some spattered LA sleep peppered with jet lag we make our way to rehearsals where we write the first song for our new project, Mystery Number, which we will fine tune tomorrow. When tomorrow comes, however, things will begin to take on a momentum of their own based on the tangible life force of simple positive thinking. And nowhere is the power of positivity evident than within the characters of this band. Scott Lipps, the president of the biggest modelling agency in USA and one of the best loved guys in the business world, Billy Morrison, the heart and soul behind Camp Freddy, the biggest all start covers band in the world, and Michael Butler, a rock n roll historian, DJ, host and generally universally loved human being.
So the morning of the greatest day of the year begins with the mighty Mike Clink (Guns n Roses, UFO etc. etc.) coming to the studio to discuss the possibility of working with us. While were talking Michael Lee Smith, the magical voice behind Starz, turns up to rehearse. Suddenly I have to call Lemmy at home to ask if he’s coming to the show. Spinning in blissful confusion we make our way to the happiest place in LA, the home of our friend Mike, who furnished us with fine wine and conversation about the Secret , Dr Wayne Dyer and the power of positive thinking, my absolute favourite topics.
When I wake I have a funny feeling ‘the greatest day of the year’ is going to be beat. And sure enough at sound check on gig day Steve Stevens shows up to play Rebel Yell and shred his way through My baby Is A Headfuck. After a quick dinner with the Buckcherry guys, and successfully persuading Tre Cool to come to the show, we head back to the venue where I will be greeted by a flotilla of names and faces, Mickey P, Paul Cook, Casey Chaos, Duff McKagan, Donnie Vie, before climbing the stage at Viper Room to perform with a live stream, set up by the ubiquitous Billy Morrison and engineered by Beans and Butler, that will pipe the show out live to USA, UK, Japan, Brazil, Australia and Europe as well as to those gathered here in person to watch Michael Lee Smith sing Loveshit, Steve Stevens destroy Rebel Yell and own Headfuck, while we gallantly plough through an eclectic set. The greatest day of the year has officially been replaced.
In the morning I wake with the feeling that the greatest day (‘officially replaced’) may, somehow, be usurped by an outside horse named ‘the greatest day of the year, period’, only to be ushered into the truck of the lovely Chelsea Schwartz and taken to the Gibson offices where I’m face to face with Ace Frehley for a 30 minute interview. The greatest guitar player that ever lived is in great spirits and excellent humour as I ask him some very pressing questions about drugs, sexuality and his opinions on Ramones. The thrill that carries me from the interview takes me to the house of Matt Sorum, where we are recording our new song with Mike Clink (oh yes, it all went gloriously to plan), only to be told that Ace has mentioned me on twitter, saying I’m a nice guy.
This crazy trip has started with Maria McKee saying she likes my songs and bookended with Ace Frehley calling me a nice guy. Will someone wake me the fuck up?
Tomorrow I will head out to Vegas where I will perform with Ozzy Osbourne, Dave Navarro, John 5, Steve Jones and the entire Camp Freddy circus, in an attempt to override ‘the greatest day of the year, period’.
I think this is likely.
I’ll let you know how it went.
What’s that you say? I dropped a name or two?
You’re damned right I did!
Gx
Ginger LA gig live-stream
By Kris | August 26, 2009
Ginger will be streaming the show in LA tonight at www.ustream.tv/channel/sunset-and-vine
Ginger is on at 10.15 LA time (6:15 am on Thurs UK time)
CJ’s Portobello Mushroom Pizza
By CJ | August 25, 2009
First off, I make this pizza all the time at home and I refine the sauce recipe every time I make it. For me a good pizza must have a great sauce because, let’s face it, you can get great toppings and cheese just about anywhere. I use Jamie Oliver’s pizza dough recipe as it’s very good and makes plenty of dough which you can freeze.
Here’s the link: Jamie Oliver’s Pizza Dough
I must stress that you should add semolina flour and try and find a good Italian Tipo ’00’ flour, although strong white bread flour will do and you can use normal caster sugar, it does not have to be golden. Make sure you follow Jamie’s recipe to the T and you will have perfect pizza dough.
Right the sauce… OK, some of you out there will know I’m not Italian and I do not follow recipes when it comes to making most of my dishes. My sauce recipe has been worked on for a long time now and I will show you how to make a basic sauce – but I add different ingredients all the time. Try adding different spices and tweak it until it tastes right for you. I love chilli on everything so I add this to the sauce to make it extra spicy… experiment; you’ll be surprised at what you can come up with.
CJ’s Basic Pizza Sauce (enough sauce for two medium/large pizzas)
1 Tin chopped tomatoes – 400g
3 Cloves garlic
1 Medium red onion
1 Vegetable stock cube
2 Bay leaves
1 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning
1 tablespoon butter
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
A good pinch of sea salt
Garlic salt to taste (be careful, it’s very strong)
1/2 teaspoon black cracked pepper
A dash of balsamic vinegar
Cooking instructions
1. Roughly chop the onion and garlic, and blend in a food processor to a paste.
2. Put 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan and heat gently. Add the garlic and onion paste and fry gently for a couple of minutes – stir occasionally and make sure it doesn’t burn. Make sure the garlic and onion paste is almost cooked before adding other ingredients.
3. Add a large knob of butter and the vegetable stock cube to the pan and stir well.
4. Blitz half the can of tomatoes in a food processor and add this, plus the rest of the can, to the pan and heat gently (save the empty can for the next steps).
5. Add the bay leaves, pepper, salt, garlic salt and Italian herb seasoning to the pan.
6. Using the empty tomato can – fill with water, and add to the pan. Add a dash of balsamic vinegar at this point too. **you may also want to add red chilli or BBQ spice**
7. Taste the sauce, but remember you will need to simmer it for 10 to 15 minutes – until the sauce is of a thick consistency and the flavours are intensified. Add extra seasoning if required.
8. Remember the sauce must be of a thick consistency and must have a strong flavor, you want your pizza to taste good, and as I said before it’s all about the sauce.
9. Remove bay leaves and leave sauce to cool to room temperature.
OK… So you have your dough and you have your sauce …now the fun bit.
Pizza Toppings (for one medium/large pizza)
2 Portobello mushrooms
One ball of mozzarella – approx 125grams
Mature cheddar – as much as you want, but don’t overdo it!
Parmesan
Italian herbs or oregano
Cracked Black pepper, or chilli flakes
Right, there are many ways to cook pizza and I’m cooking mine in a normal home oven. Pizza joints have ovens that heat up to a much higher temperature than your standard domestic oven but that doesn’t mean you can’t cook great pizza at home. I cook my pizza on a rectangle oven chip tray with holes. You can get these at any supermarket for around a fiver. You must cook the pizza on this type of tray with holes or you’ll end up with raw dough in the middle of your pizza. You could use a pizza stone but they are expensive I always end up with perfect pizza using my chip tray.
Turn your oven on full and heat up your tray (or trays if you are cooking more than one pizza) on the top shelf of your oven. I heat my oven for about 30 minutes – do not be alarmed if you tray buckles a bit, remember you have to get maximum heat from your oven.
I don’t make my pizzas round; I flatten out my dough by hand and then finish off with a rolling pin. Make sure you dust whatever surface you are rolling your dough on with plenty of semolina flour. Every pizza I make has a different shape and they look very rustic, which I think adds to the flavor as the first bite is always with the eye. You do not want to have the base too thick, so keep it thin and even, and make sure that it will fit in your tray. Coat the pizza dough with semolina flour to add a little crunch.
Once the oven is hot enough take out your pre-heated tray and be careful not to burn yourself. Put the rolled out dough onto the hot tray. Spread on a thick coating of pizza sauce, don’t be shy here, lots of sauce means lots of flavor, and work quickly as you do not want the tray to get too cool. Break up the mozzarella and place on top of the sauce making sure it’s an even covering. Then add sliced portobella mushrooms, be generous and then grate mature cheddar over the whole pizza and finish off with a good sprinkling of Italian spice or oregano, and cracked black pepper.
Place pizza on to the top shelf of the oven and cook for about 10 minutes. If you are cooking more than one pizza swap them around after 5 minutes. The pizza should not need longer than 10 minutes. The cheese should be melted and have some colour – be careful not to burn the cheese. Gently slide the pizza onto a chopping board. Grate a little or a lot of parmesan and add black cracked pepper or chilli flakes to taste. And that’s it! Enjoy either on your own or with friends and family.
Please let me know how your pizza comes out… All the best and good luck, CJ.
Up, Up And Away
By Ginger | August 24, 2009
Just touched down in LAX, and after a visit to the wonderful Chelsea at the Viper Room we head off to our digs where we are confronted by some awesome Toadies fans who saw my show with them a few weeks ago.
Strangers truly are friends you haven’t met yet, especially in Korea Town, CA.
The wonderful Guillian makes our arrival as sweet as that of a waiting mother with warm bread, and the awesome Elizabeth provides us with bedding and the best hug in LA. Chugged down a drink or two with Scott Lipps at a place so posh that the seat even asked if I’m really sitting at the right place.
Rehearsing and writing today and tomorrow, then playing Viper Room on Wednesday, with a guest list that is starting to look like the Kerrang! awards roll call. Then me, Billy, Michael and Scott (my LA compatriots) go into a studio with Mike Clink (Guns ‘n Roses’ Appetite For Destruction) to record the fruits of our labour. Still don’t have a band name for the project yet, and my ideas for a moniker are just getting worse.
Once recording is done I interview Ace Frehley for Michael’s radio show (an event I’m relatively thrilled to be involved with, to say the very least) then we’re off to Vegas where I will perform with an all star cast at a Camp Freddy show. Then we have a day off in Vegas before leaving for the UK.
“A day off in Vegas” you say? “Is that wise” you ask? And with Guillian, Chelsea, our friend Mike (with the amazing wine collection) and the assorted crazies present you’d be wise in assuming that this will end up like The Hangover movie, complete with tigers and stray babies. I will report from the frontlines and let you know just how bizarre this all gets.
But suffice it to say this will be no ordinary week.
Gx
Chutzpah! Reviews And Interviews Round-Up
By Kris | August 23, 2009
With the release of new album Chutzpah! just over a week away now, more reviews are rolling in. Kerrang! magazine have awarded the album 5K’s concluding that ‘After all these years, The Wildhearts are still making music with wings, music that you can’t help but be swept up and away with.’ Click on the review to the right to see the full review.
Classic Rock rated the album 8/10 concluding “Never a dull day in Wildhearts Land, so job well and truly done here. And as the title implies, here’s a band with balls.
In the rest of the round-up, there is:
- an interview with Ginger following the RabaRock festival in Estonia with Free! magazine
- review in All Access Magazine
- review in Subba-Cultcha
Check out this post for some of the earlier reviews.
T-Shirt Design Competition – Final Weekend!
By Ean | August 21, 2009
A reminder for all you arty types.
The tour shirt design competition ends this weekend. Please see the original post for full details.
Good Luck!
Japan Dates – October 2009
By Kris | August 21, 2009
The Wildhearts have confirmed 3 shows in Japan this October:
6th October – Tokyo Liquid-room
7th October – Nagoya Club Quattro
8th October – Osaka Big Cat
At all shows, doors open 18:30 with a 19:30 start.
See Smash-Jpn for full ticket details.
Punk Is The New Rock Dinosaur
By Ginger | August 19, 2009
Please watch this.
I used to think that punk was a pretty radical movement.
Tired of the jumpers and ten minute keyboard solos of bloated rock it set out to streamline everything into sexy, modern chunks for the digestion of a bright new world reacting to a stuffy old guard. Watching this makes me feel that punk needs to be brought up to date. The DIY spirit must reinvent itself to stay relevant. Punks are crusty old fogies with bad back patches and too many studs on their bike jackets.
Like Joe Strummer said “I’ve got my motorcycle jacket but I’m walking all the time” (This Is England)
Don’t be a dinosaur punk, be a radical.
Amen, brother.
Gx
Tired? What I’m Feeling Makes Fatigue Look Like A Panic Attack…
By Ginger | August 18, 2009
Yeah, I’m tired. Breathtakingly tired.
Taylor doesn’t grasp the concept of touring just yet. Early mornings are his thing and sharing his exuberance is his way.
So after approximately 30 seconds of sleep I am awake and out the door to do a live radio show in Stockholm following the success of the acoustic show yesterday. They want a couple of songs played acoustic and an interview. On scanning the studio I see that I’m the least famous person to ever walk through these doors. There are signed photos and memorabilia by everyone from Angus, and Slash to Jimmy page and James Hetfield.
Er, hello, my name is Ginger I play in a band called…blah blah, “yeah, whatever, take a seat…”
Conny on the other hand is vastly more famous than I. He suggests I gain notoriety by playing Paramore acoustically (with its hook of “I’d like to fuck her too”). I instead opt for Inside out and This Is Only A Problem. It is then that I realise that neither SG5 or my solo albums have been released in Europe. I hope someone will rectify this situation at some point, and until then I will maintain my mainstream obscurity with diligence and aplomb, and, of course, fatigue.
Great evening in Stockholm last night although the crowd were substantially different than the Maria McKee crowd I played to only a few days ago. For a start, rock audiences don’t really grasp, fully, the concept of an acoustic show and use the reduction in volume to talk over the performance. Others, then, shout over the people simply talking over the performance until there are moments, often during the softer sections of the songs, where it feels like you’re whispering in the middle of Grand Central Station, Without the aid of the whispering wall
Still, I like a challenge and find everything about this ridiculous business we call music funny.
So now I’m sitting in the hotel room at midday, alone, overtired and unable to sleep, waiting until 3:30pm where we will take a boat ride to Turku, Finland, that will sail overnight and arrive at our destination at 7am, where I will meet with Michael Monroe to begin writing for three days before hitting Helsinki for a full days press followed by a performance at our managements party, after which I will be bundled into a plane and taken to Heathrow where I will catch an adjoining flight to LA where I will rehearse, play, rehearse, write, record, play (again) and fly home to begin rehearsals for The Wildhearts tour of UK, Japan, S America and Scandinavia.
One day I will take some time off. This will probably be precluded by death.
Tired?
Gx
Oh I Do Like To Be Beside…
By Ritch | August 16, 2009
Oh I do like to be beside the seaside, oh I do like to be beside the sea, oh I do…………… blah blah blah. Hi, Ritch Battersby reporting, you may remember me from bands such as Striper, Peters and Lee, and other great Norwegian classics.
Oh what a wonderful week it’s been. The English Riviera can be a beautiful place in the height of the English summertime. It was the combination of jam, butter, clotted cream, scone and tea that initially captured the imagination of my rumbling tummy, but oh dear what did we spot as we set foot onto the golden sands of the Cornish coastline. Not the quaint little tea room with the little old lady who gets mighty confused when you ask her if she sells them horror teeth. You know the Halloween ones with the fangs. No, not a tea room, but a pub! A bloody pub! On the beach! Well needless to say I didn’t get to sample a Cornish cream tea in Cornwall. Does it taste the same if consumed anywhere else on the planet? Answers on a postcard please to Doctor big love and his long brown finger……………. Beside the seaside, beside the sea.