Mad March

After a couple of months of relative peace, things have suddenly picked up pace this month! Only a few gigs, but things have been hectic behind the scenes.

The month kicked off with a Wart Biter show at Jamboree, supporting Charles Hayward's Trio. The night was a great success, with an excellent audience in the cosy surroundings of Jamboree. The Wart Biter set harnessed elements of improv, electro, noise.. etc.. and crammed them into a breathless 25 minute set. I didn't manage to get a good recording of the set this time, however the band has been in the studio recording some improvisations that I'm hoping to mix, edit, and unleash on the world soon.

I've also been busy in the studio with Chik Budo, preparing new material. Some of the new material is starting to see the light of day which is excellent. We've also recently aquired a new keyboardist - Curtis Stansfield, who not only possesses the pre-requisite big-hair and amazing synth skills, but also a keytar! Writing and rehearsals still dominate the Budo schedule with a few gigs to look forward to in the near future as well.

The Spasm Band has also had a hectic month behind the scenes following the departure of the percussion section, and the consequent hiring of a new drummer and percussionist. The new line-up played our first show this weekend in Nice. With minimal rehearsals, and some kit parts still to be finalised tension was high before the gig - but The (new look) Spasm Band was successful.

This weekend I had an all day recording session at the excellent Shiftworks recording studio in North London. This was the first recording session of my trio with Mark Holub and Toby McLaren. We recorded a series of trio improvisations with tenor sax, drums, Fender Rhodes, and Juno synth, as well as some duos. It was possibly one of the hardest recording sessions I've ever done, and was truly exhausting. I'm waiting to get back some of the rough mixes and looking forward to hearing the results.

l-r: Mark Holub, Me, Toby McLaren @ Shiftworks Studio

Charles Hayward Trio + Wart Biter

I'm putting on this show at the Jamboree in March with Charles Hayward's Trio and my own Wart Biter:

Charles Hayward is a legendary drummer, known for his work with This Heat, Massacre, and Camberwell Now. He's joined by saxophonist Tomas Challenger (Ma, Red Snapper, Loop Collective, and bassist Nick Doyne-Ditmas. Their music can be described as ultra-telepathic shape bending acoustic improv, veering from the rootsy, to the abstract, to genuinely euphoric highs.

Wart Biter is Colin Webster on saxophone, Toby McLaren from Led Bib on synthesiser, and the double-headed beast of a rhythm section that is Gum Take's Tooth's Tom Fugelsang on drums - which trigger Jussi Brightmore's rig of synths and effects. Wart Biter combine expansive abstract sonorities, with abrasive improv and primal slabs of noise.

There Is No Time: Anthony Joseph and The Spasm Band

Check out this feature length film of life on the road with The Spasm Band. With international concert performances and backstage footage, it's truly something special that documents the first four years of The Spasm band since the first recording sessions in 2006.

There is no time : Anthony Joseph & The Spasm Band from anthony joseph on Vimeo.

Review of the year - 2009

2009 for me was dominated by the release of the 'Bird Head Son' album by Anthony Joseph and The Spasm Band. Endless touring all over Europe seeing lots of cities and festivals, especially France, playing almost all major towns and cities plus some obscure rural locations. Feeling nervous before playing live on French TV - 'Ce Soir Ou Jamais'. 3 days in La Reunion - swimming in the Indian Ocean. Dot to Dot Festival and Insomniacs Ball with Chik Budo. Late nights, motorways and fiddling with synths. Terrordactyl's first and only gig at Cafe Oto. Exciting new projects beginning to see the light of day - Wart Biter and Holub/McLaren/Webster. Seeing Sun Ra Arkestra, Seun Kuti, Egypt 80, and Archie Shepp live at in one amazing night at Jazz a Vienne. Sunny Murray at Vortex. Parliament/Funkadelic in Paris. New discoveries all the time...

Looking forward to a creative 2010. Less time spent on EasyJet, and more in the studio!

Wart Biter @ The George

Live recording of Wart Biter at The George courtesy of Illi Adato.

Wart Biter - Live Encore

This is the last track of the set.

Recorded 6th December 2009
Colin Webster: Tenor Sax
Toby McLaren: Synth
Tom Fugelsang: Drums
Illi Adato: Electronics

Bird Head Son Tour 2009 Complete!

The Spasm Band tour of 2009 has just finished. Our last trip - predictably - was probably the most disasterous of the year. We played in Marne Le Vallee near Paris, in a great arts complex that was a converted farm. Plenty of snow on the ground, but still people made the effort to come and see us and it was a good gig. When we got back to Paris to get the train home we found out that the Eurostar wasn't running because of the weather, and we'd have to spend an extra night in Paris. Later that night we found out that not only was the Eurostar not running, but all planes were grounded, and Calais was closed to ferries.
It still wasn't clear the next day if or when the Eurostar would re-open. We couldn't get any news and no one seemed to know what was going on. Flights back to London were getting completely booked-up, and the prices were getting crazy. One report suggested that 24,000 people we're stuck, unable to cross the Channel.
We then decided the only option was to try and get a coach. Luckily there were spaces on one of the last ones that night. We caught it at 11pm, drove to Calais through the snow, caught a 4.30am ferry, and were back in London just in time for rush-hour the next morning.

Our autumn/winter tour also included a great two night stint in Montpellier, with fantastic gigs at Victoire 2, and Le Jam. In retrospect that would probably have been a great place to end what's been a brilliant, exhaustive, and inspiring tour!

Chik Budo on Lobster Quadrille Mix-Tape

'Lost Our Way' by Chik Budo features on this cassette compilation from Lobster Quadrille Tapes.




For tracklisting and to order a copy go to: www.myspace.com/lqcassettes.