Shit happens

Morning, folks,

Just got around to checking my virtual doormat for the furtive season.

> Apparently, Sumosonic had their live debut ("lots of girls on stage.
> that's what I want") on or about the New Year, in sunny Northampton.

It's true, we did. Three girls on stage ("The Brides of Sumo"). Five gentlemen. Six tunes (Hey, Star; Business and Work; God's Green Earth; Monks of Kung-Fu; Radio Saigon; Come, Friendly Spacemen). Mild success. Oh, and it was on New Year's Eve, and I know that whoever called N'pton "sunny" was being intentionally ironic, but you have no idea to what degree.

> My flatmate says 'I know that tune' and, after much scrabbling
> about in a bottom drawer, comes up with the song it supposedly
> REALLY is. Grant McLennan: When Word Gets Around.

I know that tune. Your flatmate is clinically inane. Nah, I have this rule - anyone can compare anything I'm ever involved in musically to anything at all, no matter how perplexing the comparison, as long as they like the stuff they're comparing it to.

> on my first or second listen it hit me what
> it reminded me of, Carter USM

Apart from Carter USM.

> transamerican truck corp

Cool.

> I was just wondering if anything came of the idea of distributing
> copies of the final JBC concert (aside from the one in Spain that
> came up). Or did I imagine the idea?

The only people who ever talked about distributing copies of the final JBC concert are people who haven't heard the tape of the last JBC concert. It really is beyond unlistenable. I can only pray we didn't actually sound like that on the night.  

> Anyhow, I'd love to have a live tape of a concert from after the
> release of Illuminate...

Oh, there are a couple of reasonable ones of them. . . there's one particularly excellent recording Pascal made in Normandy when we played in front of hordes of screaming French schoolchildren. I am currently hassling Dooj about getting me a copy of it (he has one, but is known to be unreliable in his promises of duplication), and it can be made available. If it isn't already (David?)

I think that "This Is Sumo" is now up for release some time in April. We've got some sort of tracklisting worked out, and just have to do a couple of minor remixing jobs. There may well be another single before then (God's Green Earth, I think, although there has been a bit of a groundswell towards Business and Work). There's also the distinct possibility of some live action in London over the next few months, but precisely when, where, and with whom, I dunno. The American Creation-era JBC compilation ("The Violent Years") is about due for release, too.

More as it comes up,

You know how Tom Lehrer has that thing about "National Brotherhood Week" - viz. "It's only for a week, so have no fear / Be grateful that it doesn't last all year." - well I think the same principle holds true for the season of good will. Hence we are now entering the season of extreme ill-will, and I, for one, plan to enjoy it.

Yours, introducing small defenceless creatures of the forest to Semtex,

Gabriel (N.R.C.U.V)
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
Did I mention that Pat got a tiger for his birthday? A real one. Received on Thu Jan 16 03:34:34 1997