Norton turns 25! Vintage Billy Miller Interview (What Wave #19 - 199?)

Everybody's got a favorite label, right? Well, more than one actually but everyone's got some small record industry to support with a passion similar to his fave football/basketball/whatever anyway team! Of the "modern" labels White Trash Soul's darling is Norton! I know you know it but i need sometimes (OK, most times) to repeat myself. And Norton just marked 25! That's right, A quarter of century full of rock & roll. And rhythm & blues. And soul. And gospel. And surf... I have picked last week my latest copy of Ugly Things fanzine. Actually a magazine now (or a pocket tome). I'm sure you all know Mike Stax's brainchild but as i said, i have to repeat myself. Ugly Thing's the last great fanzine til some other (hopefully) of the currents, start to characterize his self just like KICKS did, or Bomp! or Ugly Things... And i tell you guys & gals, it's a winner for one more time! And it has a 21 page tribute to the mighty Norton/Kicks empire! And i read this piece three times in a row before go further. So, i guess you all understand what should do next huh?
Anyway, i found a Norton tribute/interview on a cool zine of the late 80s/early 90s scene. What Wave hailed from Canada (Miriam's homeland) and it was a very cool read. On issue 19 (came out probably in 1990 - but i didn't found anywhere a date to confirm this), Billy Miller gave an interview to the guys and i thought to scan those pages, as a good coincidence to celebrate the label that had/has in its arms "A six and a half foot Cyclops drag queen, a pair of singing Siamese twins, an Indian with a lung, at least three murderers, the nation's number one art thief, the world's first wheelchair confined bad guy wrestling manager, a hillbilly who sings about the joys of chicken, cheese and decapitation, at least three pimps, an elephant thief, a convicted pornographer, about a dozen guys that wears turbans for no apparent reason, one guy who claims to be from Saturn and another who claims to be from Mars, and we even gotten to Kim Fowley"!
Happy Birthday and thanks a lot for changin' my life (in a way)!

-Click pics to enlarge-

Kent Morrill of The Fabulous Wailers (R.I.P. 1941-2011)

I just found out that the organist/vocalist of the NW legends and proto-punk masters, the (Fabulous) Wailers, died a few days ago after some years battle with the fuckin' disease... His wife said that the night before sang in his sleep "Louie Louie", a song the Wailers had an equal share in fame as the song's own writer the mighty Richard Berry! You can actually read more on this on the Louie Report... If you don't own already the Wailers material, you should start immediately. White Trash Soul sends his boundless respect to Kent Morrill for what he achieved in life. The Wailers, The Sonics and the Louie! Its' all about THREE CHORDS, a CATCHY TUNE and a bunch of UNDECIPHERABLE WORDS! R.I.P.

The Sweet Divines - The New Ikettes?

Wooooh weee! I really lost my mind fellas! These ladies are the real thing! The absolute funkified all gal soul combo of our era! I crashed them accidentally and as it happens usually with things like this, you can only do just one move... To get down on your knees and beg for more! As i searched, found that they 're part of the cool society that encloses, Eli 'Paperboy' Reed, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, Dig Deeper soul crew and last but not least, Mighty Hannibal (!). Fuck, how many times in this life should i curse my fate for not be a new yorker? If you're one and you didn't catch 'em live already, you SHOULD be ashamed! I can't wait for a vinyl copy of their "Heckuva Man" EP (sorry, no i-tunes for things that got SOUL!). Sexy, smooth and dirty... My cup o' tea! I wish all gals looked and sound like the Sweet Divines! If you're a fan of sweet southern soul music, if you 're still wearing Stax t-shirts and slam your luck frequently for not having a chance to catch at their heights Etta James, Dusty Springfield, Ike & Tina's Revue jamming with Eddie Bo or Allen Toussaint, you maybe got lucky this time... Their reincarnation in four hot Divas bodies got one name...The Sweet Divines! I need before long a vinyl slice of these gals work! Anyone out there obtain these signals?

http://www.thesweetdivines.com

http://www.myspace.com/thesweetdivines

http://www.facebook.com/thesweetdivines

"Ah-ha-ha-ha! Ever get the feeling you've been cheated? Good night!"

The above phrase belongs to Johnny Rotten on his last night on earth as Rotten. Then became Lydon....
Well, I don’t have much time lately to deal in general and this blog’s not an exception. To tell you the truth I’m not in the mood either.
Of course I didn’t get bored of this, and communicating with other people through music is something very revitalizing but… Just yesterday I discover that most upload links from this space are by now dead. It’s obvious now. The takedown notifications stopped but they targeted White Trash Soul as a “criminal”, “pirate” whatever anyway site. And it’s worthless to spend all this time from my spare with no cause.
I’m waiting for my second son's birth in a few days and my firstborn demon demands everyday more attention. And that’s fair. And I’m proud of him for every new thing thinks up to with a new day’s coming! I really like when he points with his tiny fingers on my records first and then at our home sound system. He REALLY seems to like what daddy puts on.
I’ve bought so many books and records during the last period that when I’m think of it I realise that I didn’t gave them a proper listen (or read) or a listen (or read again) at all. So I guess it’s time for slowing things down a little bit, for all the above reasons and re-arrange some things. Recharge my batteries and give some space to you guys and gals to miss me and to miss you. As I said many times before, White Trash Soul made me a better person (by sharing things and thoughts), and even if I wanted to I would never be able to dump it. And if I must be a down to earth kind of guy (I never was actually) I must face the blessed truth that with two little fellas ‘round the house, there’s not much time really to post with the previous rhythms. And there are many things to share and exchange here and hoping this time not to be chased. Be a follower of this blog to not miss a thing.
I’ve got some emails and comments by friends of the page for a new White Trash Soul compilation. Yeh, that’s a good idea. I'd rather do something more creative by picking an amount of tracks beneath thousands than just to pick a record and then shoot some words. And that’s a damn hard work to do! You have people in the one hand who want the classics, the well known tracks and on the other there are those who want the obscures. I never made separations like this one, but I can’t blame anyone for his tastes. Cool tracks are just cool tracks. Well known or not.  The only thing I always try to notice to avoid is the position of ‘em. I was guarded on this even when I was a little kid and made home tapes for my friends or the chicks (no one ever liked them anyway…). Just like if you’re playing music in a club. Which one goes first and which one should follow? This time I asked for help on the artwork piece cause sorry Bo, many times in life you can judge a book by looking at the cover. And Jean Philippe helped on this one too and with outstanding results! We are working on it still and hopefully in a few days you'll be able to dance to it... If they let it (of course) exist somewhere in the net...
We will not going to talk to each-other that often, but when it's time - we must have lots to say.
Take care all of you and thanks for supporting me.
I'll be back...

Mihaleez