Filed under: Related | Tags: I Hate Music, Music, Shabby Road, Trashcan Sinatras
…and maybe the band will reply.
In the days before the internet, band forums and the like, the only means of communication for a band and its followers would have been perhaps, a letter. Therefore early releases like ‘Obscurity Knocks’ invited you, me and the world to write to them through their ‘I Hate Music’ address in Kilmarnock.
Now I never wrote to the band myself. Why? I’m not really sure, but anyhow, I’m sure lots of you did and you may have been lucky enough to receive a reply on their rather nice Shabby Road headed paper – as long as you sent an SAE that is – but even that wouldn’t guarantee a response.
These letters would let us all know what the band were up to and if you get yourself a copy of Finn Hartley’s book ‘Who’s He?’, you’ll see that Mr Douglas was up to more than just making music.
The ‘I Hate Music’ address line was replaced around the time of ‘A Happy Pocket’ with ‘The Receivers’ – not that that made much of a difference in response time.
So here’s one of those letters, and a big thank you to John Hartley for sending me a copy.
Circa 1994/5
Filed under: Press | Tags: Album Reviews, Magazine, Martin C Strong, Music, Press, The List, Trashcan Sinatras
The List is an Edinburgh-based fortnightly entertainment event listings magazine first published in 1985. It contains listings, news and reviews of film, music, shopping, books, comedy, clubs, art, sports, food & drink in and around Scotland.
The reviewer, Martin C. Strong is a researcher and compiler of music discographies. He has written several books including The Great Scots Musicography, The Essential Rock Discography, The Great Metal Discography, The Great Psychedelic, The Great Alternative, Indie Discography, and Lights, Camera, Soundtracks. Some early editions have forewords by the late John Peel and they have sold in excess of 200,000 copies.
It is reputed that the ‘C’ stands for comprehensive.
Here’s his review of ‘In The Music’.
The List 10-24 September 2009 Issue 639
More famous for the adventures of Oor Wullie and The Broons, the Scottish Sunday Post is not renowned for its musical cleavage – so I was somewhat taken aback when I came across this article.
Kevin Bridges talks to the Trashcans about their recent US tour and the making of fifth album ‘In The Music’.
And before you ask as to why I was reading such a non-musical paper, it was my good old Mother who showed it to me – honest!
Here’s the article in full:
Trashcan Sinatras could easily qualify as one of Scotland’s best loved but unluckiest bands.
After a worldwide breakthrough in 1990 with their album Cake their career trajectory has had as many downs as ups — with bankruptcies and record company liquidations.
However after more than 20 years in the business they’ve finally produced their fifth album, In The Music, which comes out tomorrow. It’s one of their best and the band are excited and driven once again.
Creating the new material wasn’t that easy given that two of the band, including lead vocalist Frank Reader (Eddi’s brother), now live in Los Angeles.
Family affair
In fact the band is something of a family affair as vocalist and guitarist John Douglas is Eddi’s partner and lives with her in Glasgow.
“When we started work on the music everyone was over here and we’d just spend weekends jamming away but these days with email and mp3 it’s easy to put together the skeleton of a song even if they’re in LA,” John said.
The band have always had a fiercely loyal following in the US and they decided to record in New York, largely due to the generosity of producer Andy Chase.
“He’s based there, produced our last album and was really keen to work with us again. He actually let us stay in his apartment, which was a big help as we really didn’t know where the pennies were coming from at the time.
“There’s such a buzz about recording in New York, a real glamour to the place and it’s great for us to get away from our normal lives. There were seven of us and it was a bit of a reunion as well.
“We’re all real ‘music heads’ so when we were in the studio we were very focused but then when the sessions were over we’d be able to relax and catch up with each other.”
A measure of how respected the band is over there is that Carly Simon was happy to lend a hand on backing vocals on the track Should I Pray. However, the band’s bad luck meant they never actually met!
Honour
“We nearly met her,” John explained. “A mutual friend had suggested we ask her to sing on the album but I think the name Trashcan Sinatras put her off at first.
“So we sat down and wrote her a letter and when she heard the music she was blown away. In fact she said it was the best song she’s heard in 10 years, which was a real honour.
“When we went down to Martha’s Vineyard to add some tracks we thought she’d be there but she’d gone to New York to work on her own album so we never got to meet her. I know she’s really keen to say hello so I’m sure we’ll meet up at some point.”
The band have just finished an extensive tour of the US which was hampered by the fact it was meant to be in support of the album but record company delays mean the US release won’t be till February. But they played the dates anyway and did it the hard way.
“We travelled in a van with a trailer, sort of bottom of the range but at least it meant we saw some money at the end of the day. We’re bit more relaxed on the road than we were 20 years ago. We’re not so thirsty for the beers for a start but we’re a bit more nervous too.
“It was tough because we’re a big band and there are wages to pay and it’s not easy without a record company behind you but it was good to dip our toes in the water there again.”
Internet whipround
In fact such has been the devotion of their US fanbase over the years that when the band had some tough times there was an Internet-based whipround for them!
“There was some fundraising by fans but it didn’t feel like we were accepting charity. I know some artists raise money for their albums that way, but it’s not really a world we want to get into. We wouldn’t want to be beholden to people. We’ve had a crazy career — what with going bankrupt and losing our studio.”
Despite their ups and downs John senses they’re on the rise again and are inspired to aim high once again.
“America has always been very friendly to us and there are a few signs people who were fans when we first started are in positions to help us out with airplay. We really want to have a good go at it again and that’s largely due to the strength of the new record. We feel very ambitious for it.”
The band hope to hit the road in the UK in November and are also planning to return to the States. Their back catalogue should also be reissued soon with some extra tracks. “I’m not normally into reading reviews but it will be interesting to see how they are appraised now,” John said.
However, he has no plans to give up Scotland for LA, like two of his band mates. “I prefer the wind and rain of Glasgow,” he laughed.
There should be more sunny days ahead for Trashcan Sinatras anyway.
13 September 2009 Sunday Post
Filed under: Press | Tags: Album Reviews, Magazine, Music, Press, Sunday Mail, Trashcan Sinatras
The Scottish Sunday Mail’s Avril Cadden gives ‘In The Music’ the thumbs-up with her 4/5 review – a very brief review I may add.
13 September 2009 Scottish Sunday Mail
Filed under: Press | Tags: A to Z, Finn Hartley, Music, Music Book, Press, Trashcan Sinatras
Once upon a time – superfan John Hartley, a few list members and forum regulars – decided, just for fun, to write a book about legendary Scottish band, the Trashcan Sinatras.
And here it is – a sort of A to Z of everything Trashcanesque, written for fans by fans – thankfully rediscovered and reprinted in a small A5 size book.
The fact you’re reading this means you’ll know all there is to know about this great band, but if you’re new to the group, then I’d certainly recommend it as a good starting point if you want a quick band history lesson.
It should hopefully be available on the official TCS site sometime in the future.
‘Wait, wait, wait, wait’ is actually Paul saying, ‘Wet Wet Wet’ – a small outburst at the start of the song about his obvious dislike to all things Marti Pellow.
An early promotional postcard, which was ingeniously perforated, turning it into a jigsaw puzzle – so says the book.
2005 Finn Hartley
Five Hungry Joes - A pictorial archive of the Trashcan Sinatras. Legendary Scottish Band 