think globally, buy records locally

My all time favourite record store owned by one of my all time favourite people.

Please go and buy your CDs and Vinyl from Banquet Records, they offer one of the best online services I know of, and if you are ever in Kingston (South London, UK) I can not recommend the shop as your first point of call when arriving.

www.banquetrecords.com

my new ride

I bought a new bike last week, having not touched let alone ride my old bmx in about 11 months. I think its all in effort to try and get healthy. note not "fit". I dont ever expect to mr. healthy lifestyle but I dont want to be in a position in years to come with weight/health problems which I could have helped to prevent now. The joys of getting older i guess.

Cyling to work is one of them, even though it isnt far away its every little bit that counts. Will also save me some money now that I wont be donating as much to TFL

I havent been out to ride it yet due to not being able to find my tyre pump but I will go out and buy one tomorrow if it doesn't show up tonight. Hopefully get some pictures of it out on some adventures over the coming weeks.

Will also be trying to cut down on snackages. I think snackages are my favourite food. After Lasagne and a good burger of course. Having Peanut Butter M&Ms sitting in front of you on your desk all week doesnt help the cause. Though they do taste real good, just glad they dont sell them over here otherwise I would have a stash hidden away at all times.

Until i get some decent pictures of the bike here it is from a webstore picture.

I used to have one of them but i dont anymore

Usually for me its a case that someone asks if I have a particular item in the house they can use or borrow, and my reply is that I used to have one but not anymore. The Joys of living with others that then move on.

Today I found this website that is the opposite, Stuff Thats Left Behind. Its a look of peoples experiences of what (usually ex-bfs/gfs) people leave behind when moving out.

Having had 4 different flat-mates in the past 3 years i have a few of these stories also. Will try and post on there soon.

www.stuffthatsleftbehind.com

The Fad - Kill Punk Rock Stars

"Go to hell! You & the image that you sell"

I wish this band would tour the UK, totally awesome punk/ska/hardcore band and they do all three brilliantly. When I first heard the 'Kill Punk Rock Stars' album I knew it was going to be top or very high in my top albums of 2008.

I discovered this band totally by accident. I was on vacation in New York City last summer (07) and had the opportunity to see Bomb The Music Industry! play a yard show at Sealab in Brooklyn. This meant extending my stay in NYC by an extra night costing an arm and a leg. The girl I was with thought I was crazy for wanting to stay just to see a band play in someones back garden. I missed the whole UK tour that BTMI had done the previous December, I didn't want to walk away from this opportunity.

We rolled up to the show about 9pm, having walked about 15 minutes through a very darkened area of Brooklyn, we had missed 2 bands and told when entering that something had happened to one of the support bands and that BTMI were going on shortly. BTMI were everything I hoped for and the local crowd were going nuts, dancing in a way which i can only describe as a mix between slam dancing and hop scotching, aka the Brooklyn skank.

After the band finished there didn't seem to be any rush for the door which you usually get at venues in the UK, instead people just sort of hung out and chatted amongst themselves. At this point I picked up the, then, new BTMI album 'Get Warmer' and a poster celebrating its release.

Just as we were about to head off, there was a cheer and applause as a few guys came into the garden. Enter The Fad. The Fad were meant to be supporting BTMI, which they kind of did but i missed it. Apparently during the first song of The Fad's earlier set the singer, Jimmy, hit his head on something splitting his head open. Lots of blood and a trip to the hospital, Jimmy was back and ready to carry on, bandaged et al.

The band covered pretty much all my favourite genres from Ska to hardcore to punk rock. The kids went nuts and everyone left happy. Unfortunately they didn't have any merch with them. But their Myspace page kept me going for my Fad fix.

Earlier this year one of my friends mentioned he was going to see them play and he picked up a copy of the album for me. Not alot of time passes until that album is back playing on my iTunes or iPod. I seriously recommend checking it out, and if you have time ping them a message telling them to come to the UK!


The Fad - Vinyl Paradise MP3

The Fad - Myspace
Bomb The Music Industry - Myspace