Notting Hill Diary

Krysten surveys a suspicious damp patch on the ceiling

Somewhat off-topic, but with a tenuous link, On the evening of the same day that Rotten Hill Gang play Carnival, Monday August 31, the première of the movie “The Descent Part 2″ takes place in Leicester Square,

What’s the tenuous link? Well one of our two singers, Krysten Cummings, is in that movie and as a consequence will have to dash off straight after our set to get changed somewhere and go to the première.

I don’t know too much about the movie first hand, aside from he fact that she was unavailable to sing for us for several weeks a few months back (our other singer Alexia Collen filled the spaces admirably, taking the lead on Krysten’s songs as well as her own), so I’ll just be lazy and quote from the press bumpf:

“The Descent - Part 2″ continues the story of Sarah, who as the only survivor of an all-female caving expedition gone horrifically wrong, suffers severe psychological trauma. Unable to speak, she accompanies a rescue team back to the cave she has just emerged from, but events once again take a sinister turn.”

So now you know.

That lovely Gaz Mayall has once again asked Rotten Hill Gang to play on his Gaz’s Rockin’ Blues stage on Talbot Road at Carnival

Quite why I’m not sure, because his theme this year is Cuba, while we remain resolutely Dickensian, but no matter, I’m certainly not complaining. Last year was great fun and I’m sure this year will be, plus our drummer Arran will actually get to play this time.

We’ll be on at 2pm. Mick will be playing with us. Not to ruin the surprise, but I just have an inkling that we’ll be playing Should I Say or Should I Go at the end.

Here’s a nice picture of the band. By the way I still don’t really know whether we’re “Rotten Hill Gang” or “The Rotten Hill Gang”. I’m going without the definite article for now. Any thoughts anyone?

A nice picture of Rotten Hill Gang. Left to right: Mick Jones (Guitar - not really in the band ), Arran Ness (Drums), Jimmy Raygun (Rap), Redskin (Rap), Krysten Cummings (Vocals), Alexia Collen (Vocals), Andre Shapps (Guitar), Gary Stonadge (Bass) - photo by the wonderful John Gladdy

After a few wonderful weeks, Mick’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Public Library is finally closing tomorrow.

Nick Reynolds and Viv Albertine thinking meaningful things at each other in the R ‘n’ R Library’s studio

We’ve had some great times there and made some new friends. Rotten Hill Gang played there last night (and thanks to Strummerville for having us) and various members of the band have been involved in a couple of the many recording sessions they had up there in the impromptu studio. One for Ronnie Biggs tune written my Gaz Mayall and Mick¹ and another this week with the Slits’ guitarist Viv Albertine, who I’d never met before, but was thoroughly lovely.

The amiable Ade Sabini, who has been looking after the place, has made a film about it, somewhat in celebration and somewhat commiseration, that I failed to see this afternoon because I was off teaching our new recruit, Gus Robertson, some Rotten Hill Guitar parts².

So all the stuff will now go back to the bunker. There are vague plans and discussions taking place about what to do with it next. One suggestion is for a shop/gallery and that was really Mick’s original idea that he’s been nursing for years.

There’ll never be another library like this and there probably shouldn’t be, because to try to do it again in exactly that way it would be like trying to recreate a great holiday. It can’t be done. Actually I hope it can …

¹It obviously worked because 2 days later he was freed, although where that leaves Gaz’s pile of “Free Ronnie Biggs” t-shirts in unclear.
²Actually teaching is a grossly unfair term. Gus is an excellent guitarist who can figure everything out for himself. We just needed to work out who’s going to play what.

Rotten Hill Gang are happy to host the Rotten Hill Review at (I guess) our spiritual home, Inn on the Green, Friday’s from May 15 onwards. So far we May 15 and May 22 organised (I use the term loosely).

The line ups are as follows:
May 15:
Rotten Hill Gang
JC001
Adam Masterson
Taurus Trakker
Savage Nomands

May 22
The Trojans
Rotten Hill Gang
The Langley Sisters
JC001

Plus DJs and generally convivial atmosphere.

Don’t forget the moustache wax.

We’re playing our last gig of this year tonight, fittingly enough at Inn on the Green, where we played our first gig back in January, courtesy of Mick Jones and Tony James, hosts of those fantastic Carbon Casino nights. Still trying to find out what time we’re on.

It’s been a great year for us with some real highlights, but the important thing is that we’ve stuck to our basic principle, laziness. Old fashioned sloth. If it gets too hard, move on to something else. We’re in it to make music that we like and to enjoy it. It took Gary months to coax me back into the studio, but I’m really glad he did. Enough of that!

Thanks to Trish, Pockets and everyone else at Strummerville for putting us on last night. It was a bit chaotic as always, but it’s probably how it should be. The “surprise” guest was Huey Morgan, who came on to sing Can’t Take My Eyes Off You (better, though incorrectly known as Too Good To Be True) with us. We all joined in on the chorus. Frankie Valli is reported to feel unthreatened.

Portobello Winterfest

Thanks to everyone who came to see us freeze our nuts off at the Portobello Winter Fest last night and thanks to the festival organisers themselves.

I arrived a couple of hours early because I wanted to catch Ebony Bones and I’m very glad I did. I first became aware of her a couple of years back when Rat Scabies (who was managing her … or something like that) asked me to try out on guitar for her. This despite the fact that I didn’t have a guitar¹, hadn’t played guitar since I was a teenager (and never on stage) and that Rat had never seen me play any instrument whatsoever.

Anyway that didn’t come to anything because I didn’t have the time, but she put on an excellent show and we were really indebted to her for pumping up the crowd.

It was so cold when we went on that the ends of two of my fingers went numb during the second song and I made what can only be described as a right hash of it. During the next two songs the temperature change threw my guitar wildly out of tune, leading to some dark looks from Mick. Which was fair enough!

But it went really well and we made a good few new friends out of it if the comments we received afterwards and the hits on our myspace page this morning are anything to go by. We were honoured to be asked to play the first ever Portobello Winter Fest and wish them all the best. One of the organisers was saying that they were hoping to make it a 3 monthly affair.

Don’t forget, tonight is the Strummerville show at the Tabernacle on Powis Square. If you like it last night, you like it tonight, because it’ll be the same. Only in tune. Oh and we have the obligatory “surprise guest”. No not Mick, it’d be a surprise if he didn’t play with us these days.

¹Actually strictly speaking I still don’t have my own guitar. The one I use is Wifey’s. She acquired it in a “settlement” when she split from a musician boyfriend in a medium sized US band I’d never heard of called Sister Machine Gun. I think he just never came back to collect it after they split up.

Notting Hill Gang - Pick a Pocket

Occasionally I’m accused of writing about stuff that’s - well frankly not 100% Notting Hill related and more band related, but now I have a good excuse. Our first single, Pick a Pocket is now available in Rough Trade. Rough Trade is in Notting Hill.

The complete track listing is as follows:

Actually you can hear them and a few other tracks on our myspace page (our own website is in development).

Obviously like most bands we put the acappelas on as a not so subtle hint that we’re totally happy for you to go away and do your own remixes. As long as you send us a copy of course. If we get any good ones I’ll feature them here.

Oh - and I have 5 copies of the single sitting right here to give away free to anyone who can give me a good reason as to why they should have one.

Rough Trade
130 Talbot Road
London W11 1JA
020 7229 8541

Rotten Hill Gang have a flurry of gigs coming up in December - more of that later, but first up in a few weeks we’re playing at Carbon Casino 9.

For anyone who doesn’t know, Carbon Casinos 1..7 were a series of nights hosted by Carbon Silicon, which is Mick Jones’s actual band. Yes I know he plays, records and generally helps us out with RHG and we’re most grateful, but he’s not exactly in (or even out) of the band. Nope Mick has his own outfit with Tony James, but of course most of you know that.

Carbon Casinos 1 to 7 (at Inn on the Green) were a fantastic success and CCs 8 and 9 look to build on that at on December 15 and 16 at The Hammersmith Club. In fact I’ve heard that they’re both sold out already, but there ya go. We’ll be playing the one on Dec 19 and we heartily thank Mick & Tone for the opportunity because the original CCs are where we started out as a live band.

The Hammersmith Club
Rutland Grove
Hammersmith
London W6 9DJ

Rotten Hill Gang are playing … oh crap. The title says it all.

Don’t know what time yet, I’ll update when I do.

OK now I know what time - 10pm.

A lovely hat

I now love my wife more than ever before.

The price of unjustifiable baboonery
It was a source of great stress to me yesterday that I faced the prospect of having to join the rest of the guys at the 100 Club having to beg a guitar from another band, but wifey spent much time and energy on pursuing the best deal re someone to break into our car to rescue my own (strictly speaking her own, or rather her ex boyfriend’s¹) guitar, the effects unit and, most importantly, my hat. Plus we got a spare car key cut into the bargain. I’m not privy to its whereabouts, which, following my behaviour this week, is completely understandable. I am, however, £110 poorer.

There’s no such thing as a free drink
Well certaiinly not at the 100 Club at any rate, but the gig went great and it was good to be able to play on a stage where we weren’t all stumbling on each other’s feet. If you’ve never been there, for a club of its size, the 100 Club is really well laid out with plenty of room to move around both on and off stage.

I remember this place when you were knee high to a grasshopper
Thanks for mentioning it, but I was probably about 15 at the time. Mick noted that he hadn’t been there since - er - the last time he played there and rather charmingly there’s a photo on the wall just near the dressing room of that occasion. It was probably taking in year zero (AKA 1977). A couple of pictures to the right and down one is one of the Pistols from the same era (possibly the same gig for all I know) which shows some of the punters. The lovely thing about it is that it was obviously so early on in punk days (I know I know, late if you knew what was what) that the crowd plainly didn’t have a clue what was going on and resembled a Top of the Pops audience from around the same time; guys with devil-may-care wind-blown coiffeurs and flairs that suggested a post modern take on the Osmonds.

Next gig, it’s back to the venue we haunt for Halloween
So anyway, the next one is next Friday, October 31, at our spiritual home of Inn on the Green. It’s another of Mick P’s legendary nights and among 6 or 7 other bands, the fantastic Langley Sisters will be playing. You really owe it to yourselves to catch them. Or just come along to see us. Either way, if you want guest listing, just drop us a comment right here.

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¹The ex boyfriend in question is probably a really lovely guy. After all he must be for my wife to have been interested in him. He was (is?) in a band called Sister Machine Gun. I have no idea what they’re like, but I remember seeing their graffiti on the wall of some dressing room when we (BAD) were on tour in America at some time.