The Dustaphonics: "We mix styles to transmit the passion of the fifties and sixties with simple songs"

The interview with Dustaphonics discovered a group of musicians from different generations, with diverse backgrounds, with the aim of having fun with their music enough to please their fans, but they don't want at all to be pop stars. All of them are normal people with excellent taste and with very clear ideas about piracy, the record business, life, music and underground culture. Together they form a team that transmit passion and fun in abundance. Their lives are quite a party where the music with roots in the fifties and sixties is the main protagonist. The result of this mixture of styles, from surf to soul, rock and roll to R & B songs are "simple" but not easy, which reflect the original spirit to go beyond simple imitation.

Magic Pop: Bruce, you have a great background as a drummer, you' ve been drummer in lots of bands...

Bruce Brand: Yes, I've played in a lot of bands, I started playing drums in Thee Milkshakes in 1981, but before that, I played guitar, I've never aimed to be a drummer, I only wanted to be a drummer for Thee Milkshakes. I played drums for them, but  as I said, I never wanted to be a drummer, and after that, I've carried on with Thee Headchoats and  with Holly Golightly and The Masonics, about three or four bands led by Bald Diddley, Hipbone Slim And The Knee Tremblers which is a rock and roll trio, Thee Mighty Caesars, Link Wray, The Len Bright Combo, among other bands ... and now with The Dustaphonics .

Magic Pop: Did you train in a school, as a drummer or  you' re a self-taught one?

Bruce: No, I was formed as a drummer playing in Thee Milkshakes and  listening to sixties records, drums on these records sound good, but drums on contemporary records sound horrible, disco drums are horrible, heavy rock drums are horrible... so I listened to Johnny Kidd or Beatles. I listened to Sandy Nelson and stuff like that, this is good!

Magic Pop: But despite of all, are you happy playing drums?

Bruce: Yes, what else can I do? I wanted to be a spaceman when I was a boy,  or a traindriver, which is what a kid wants to be when he's growing up and I wanted to be an astronaut too, but I ended up playing drums  (laughs).

Magic Pop: The line up of Dustaphonics  at the moment is different from the initial one...

Bruce: Yes. All of us are doing different things, when someone can't play, someone else can, there's nothing personal behind that, it's usual that somebody can't come, for example, today Aina is touring somewhere, in a gig in Canadá.

Magic Pop: Yvan, you use to play with your guitar different styles, you start playing surf and after that you change the style to garage or soul, r&b... You're playing all the time different styles mixing them,  which are your backgrounds in music to cover so brilliantly all these styles?

Yvan: Well, I started playing guitar when I was about 14 years old, I was a collector of old records and tried to play like in the records that I used to listen, I tried to play by ear over these records and like Thee Milkshakes records and then, I moved to a bigger city (I'd never even played with a band before that) where my favorite band split and they came to see me one day and they asked me if I wanted to play in a new band with them. I  told them that I didn't know how to play guitar but I learnt a lot  as well with them, all the garage, sixties punk, soul...I was a fan of The Cramps and of Bruce Brand, you know (laughs).

Michael Bluesmith: He's an animal (laughs).

by: Carme Ripollés

Yvan Serrano: I'm also a professional DJ of music from the sixties , I like the old style and I try to make it similar somehow and it likes to black people, white people or red people, there is some connection in this music or I think so.

Magic Pop: Which is your favorite kind of music?

Yvan: My favourite kind of music? I like rockabilly, soul, R&B, boogaloo, latin boogaloo, afro-beat, ska, punk rock...

Michael: What don't you like?

Yvan: What I don't like? Thee Milkshakes (laughs) I'm joking... I don't know, I like all what I think it's good for me, I like the sixties and fifties music and also the seventies.

Magic Pop: Would you like to play with a brass basis in the studio?

Yvan: The way in which Dustaphonics was born was because I was signed by the famous english label called Freestyle Records for an album with my other music project called Healer Selecta. They asked me 30 songs soul, funk, reggae and jazz, so I went to the studio with some jazz musicians and then we recorded my songs for that project, an album called “Lets get it started”. After recorded nearly 30 songs, I called Bruce to see if he would like to come in the studio for some rockin stuff. Bruce Brand was available so we done few songs, some blues, surf, rockabilly or garage tracks so Bruce were on drums, Brian Iddenden on saxophon and Johnny Gibbs ( Wildbeests/Kaisers) on the double bass, and I was on guitar. When I gave these recordings with this line up to Freestyle Records, we realized that they were not suitable for this label, who is famous for funk soul, but they don't  do rock'n'roll stuff. This record has great songs and great recordings, the Healer Selecta album was supposed to be called "Dust-a-phonic", so I took the name back and the rocking songs and we agreed with Freestyle that I can do also a music project on the side of Healer Selecta called the Dustaphonics ( Healer Selecta Rockin Soul Band) then we gave the recording to the label Dirty Water, which said "yes, let's do it!" a single called Burlesque Queen, and that's how we started Dustaphonics.

by: Magic Pop

Magic Pop: We have the feeling that in uk the revival from the 50's is more succesful than the revival from the 60's, what do you think?

Yvan: I think that rockabilly is really more latin music, near of Mexican and Spanish style of music, so probably the rythm of rockabilly is what  Spanish people enjoy more specially compared to the german people, for example, because it's really linked to the Mexican or Spanish people, whatever, it's because of the beat, in the  last Rockabilly Festival in Las Vegas there were maybe about 99% of people who were mexican, but in London is different, the fashion is close to the 50's but 60's is always there anyway. It's very good the 50's and 60's revival.

Michael: I don't really agree with him, (laughs). I guess that the old sounds have more division because, for example, mods and rockers... they're always suspecting each other,  they're always faced up to each other, (laughs)... they had their own idea about the old music (laughs). If they don't appreciate it, it doesn't matter what you do...I know what I mean...

Yvan: I think that nowadays is different, for example, because of the iPhone you can have so many different styles of music in your iPhone, you can go from rockabilly to soul or whatever so easily, you only have to change the song so it's different the perspective of the people, before this, if you're a mod, you must listen this, if you're a rocker, you must listen that, but nowadays it's not like that, if I'm not a rocker or a mod but I like this or that and I can listen whatever I like, you can mix  up the music whatever you like.

Magic Pop: Out of sheer curiosity and talking about new technologies, what do you think about the them, are they positive for your work, what do you think about piracy...?

(They laugh a lot)...

Yvan: Well, it's different for us, I think it's good, honestly (laughs) ... it's about to protect the "big fish" but we're a "small fish", I think that it's very good for the people to know about the band through Internet and the social networks, and to know and to come to the new gigs, but I don't like the "big fish" because they want to get everything. It's great, but of course, you can't control it, but even in the 60's or even 70's, people were doing bootlegs, and now there are  bootlegs on Internet, but we can develop a new chance now, because if people visit to our web page, we can find more people who come to our gigs, and  now a gig are forty or fifty pounds, maybe?. The price of gigs are enough high and it compensates anyway the money that we loose in the trading of  music, there is a profit in the gigs.

Michael: Internet sites are very good because when people visit them, people can see what you like, what you're doing and they can see  easily if our music like them or not.

Yvan: You can't really control piracy.

Kay Elizabeth: Somehow Internet empowers this world and makes the music more succesful because people can meet an artist, and then the big labels are not so important. People can listen to our music without having to spend fifteen pounds and without going to the store to buy the cd, they can find what you do and they have access to your music in a different and more personal way, that empowers the access to the music more than the cds sale, or whatever.  I think that Internet empowers, it's about performing, it's about reaching people, in a person to person kind of way, it's like coming back to the real deal what music is about, it's  about changing this world, it's about a close relationship with the audience, that's really the most important  thing as well...

Yvan: Yes, that's what you're saying. We know that people like Dustaphonics, we've changed members in fact, some members who wanted to be pop stars, but we ignore all that, we only want to play our own good music, to be happy. If you wanna be a pop star is not with us, of course, it will be with someone else. I think that as long as you need somebody to pay your productions that's the main problem, you have to pay to go to the studio, to pay to do the marketing... that's it, but there must be passion on it! most of the people see the Chelsea every Sunday and they pay for seeing them playing football, they enjoy it, but there are some people that prefer to go to the studio to do a record (laughs), but it's about passion and about sharing it with other people, it's about meeting people, you know, we like what we do, everybody here,  that's the best thing for us ..

Kay Elizabeth: Yes, it's about the way in which we develope our music, in subcultures, in the underground, it's where I'm from in San Francisco, it's not necessary to be in big labels, people follow us anyway, the independent musicians have their own followers and they continue doing their great own music, because their fans are gonna be there, subculture and underground music seem to be developed by people who follow and believe in what we do and feel it with us.

Magic Pop: Which is your relationship between you both and with the band, your point of view of the band, as singers?

Dana: We have the rehearsals with the band, we practise together the songs, we've our own preparation, every single of us in the band (I don't know Kay very long actually), we didn't know each other before, but we get very well along, we feel like sisters and in the rehearsals we get the necessary elements to  get the songs good, we have a lot of fun and really enjoy us and  we feel excited about  our music...

Yvan: We understand each other, when we're playing together we listen to each other and we enjoy to each other, you know, we like doing music together and we're happy doing it.

Dana: Because we love our music, there is nobody here that thinks different, when we're playing we think "wow, this is  great and fun" (they laugh a lot). When we are on stage we're together, and everyone of us know what have to do and we all appreciate this, we live all that, there  is a lot of people that appreciate our work.

Michael: All of us have our individual projects but when we're together, this is a natural kind of respect  from  the one to the another.

Yvan: There are four or five different generations and maybe five nationalities as well, that brings something special in this band, we have different backgrounds, personalities, nationalities, whatever, and we don't see that, everybody is respecting each other and  everybody likes each other and anyway, I think there is not competition between us, we're not rivals and it's always a good time and I don't think  that we could do this music if  we were different.

Magic Pop: How do you feel on the stage about Dustaphonics without you?

Dana: So Kay and me are part of Dustaphonics, we're like a family but all of the musicians here have separated projects outside of Dustaphonics, but when we're together there's an "outstage", where we feel like a "family", we have a good relationship but "onstage", we're personally feeling like Dustaphonics, we're feeling like a unit, all what we do is bring it to a team, and if one is gone, it doesn't matter who, we feel that something's missing.

Yvan: Three years ago, I had an accident and I stopped about two years with the music, but when we had the single with Dirty Water, our Spanish agent phoned me and told me to play in Spain and we didn't even have the band, and we were offered to come to Spain, we had only the single. We went to Spain with some jazz musicians  and I knew that the background of these people is more pure and more suitable for the Dustaphonics music, we do R&B, Rockabilly, 50's and 60's R&R,  is just a mix.

Dana: Yes, it's just a mix.

by: Magic Pop

Kay Elizabeth: Yes, I think that it's about that Dustaphonics will continue getting better, and growing more,   the singers, Aina as well, all of us are together, and we're going to continue to grow, all of us are involved in this and we believe in our passion to do it.

Magic Pop: so, according to that,  we think that you really want to be famous and rich... (we are joking)

Michael: I'm interested in that about being rich (laughs)

Dana: When we bring people together they don't come to the Dustaphonics gigs because everything we do is for the music contribution, it would be so cruel and no one would come! (laughs). You can't feel it in that way because you really like the music, so it's very simple, we like the band,  we like our music, we like each other, we like the crowd, we like meeting our fans ... and if people come is only because they like our music and they enjoy with us and what we're doing, we like  music and music like us, people come to see us so we can't stop. We can't stop because we're feeling really well.

Yvan: That's what happens, I'm a DJ and in London I started to mix a lot of styles, and people enjoy when I play a rockabilly song and then, I change to a soul song, or a reggae song, then I receive a horny phone call telling me if that was great or not, but you can notice that people is sleeping when the sound is not popular, there are different people from different generations and different tastes in music. When I decide to do another band, I think I'll bring my DJ experience by using this music, 'cause I know that  there must be a kind of music that people dance and feel good, it works. I love very simple music. I think that it's not a question of being  great and genious, it's  about doing simple music but we play with the spirit of the original sound without trying to be the copycat of  50's or 60's.

Dana: We play what we need to, we need R&R, soul... it brings people together. It's the music itself, it's not simply or complicated, it's about the way in which it affects you...

Yvan:  But doing  simple music is really very difficult...

Magic Pop: What did you think about the spanish crowd and what do you expect about the spanish tour?

Yvan: We did a tour last year in Spain with The Dustaphonics and we realized that the Spanish crowd is probably one of the best in Europe with their response. Tonight was a bit different, I think because it was the first day of the Festival, but we'll see what happens tomorrow,  what people thinks (laugh). The first time we played  here was because our Spanish agent booked our band in the Festival in Noia, (La Coruña), Sidonie and many other spanish bands were performing in it, but nobody there knew Dustaphonics, but we jumped on the stage, we played and everybody got excited, and our agent were amazed because nobody knew us but everybody sang the songs, that's for I think that there is a kind of connection with the spanish people, because they like 60's and british and american music so I like the  spanish people.

Dana: I love Spain

Yvan: It's a really mixed nationalities in people who live in London so they come to enjoy our music... We played in Madrid last year, (in Wurlitzer Ballroom) and we played typical dirty R&R, there were in the local about 25 people who didn't know about the gig, we could even ask their names (laughs),  but when we came back, I received a phone call of the Iggy Pop Spanish agent to tell  me that it was a great performance, he said "I wanna work with you because I like very much your work", but even in a big city and under the circumstances, those 20 people enjoyed it a lot and had a great party with us because the job of a band is to make people enjoying, of course you can't please everybody, and you don't have to please everybody,  when you're on the stage, it's about your work, it's not about "look at me", is like "ok, that's what we're doing, come on" , if you don't like it, it's good anyway and I can't see the difference.

Patricia Sarrais & Alex Magic Pop

Interview in Spanish here

Mario (The Attention): "I love the music what I do but I don't understand the record business"

Mario David

Mario David is the lead singer and principal songwriter of The Attention. After the memorable concert given in the Sixties Festival Weekend 2011 in Castellon, we talked with him about the mod scene, the differences between Austria and Spain, the records made by the group's money, the importance of clothing and how much he likes their sixties roots music but he can't understand why it so difficult to find someone to edit and distribute their records. Mario is a great frontman on stage with an enormous vitality which came to the point of breaking the seam of the trousers of his impeccable suit made ​​in the same Austrian tailor who is frequented by the mods his country. His ability to inflame the public is memorable and is part of a well thought out show with an amazing soundtrack. Really, it's hard to believe that this is a group that pays their recordings with the money earned at their concerts.

Magic Pop: What did you think about the spanish audience tonight?

Mario: I think that is a perfect audience. Well, I have enjoyed with them a lot, actually to be honest, there is a lot of people listening to our music, not  only in Spain, but also in Germany, and of course, Austria, but  I’m not kidding you, the most concerts  and festivals that we have performed were in Spain because the 60’s scene here is  very important, people is very “freaky” here (he laughs), they’re really very outgoing,  there is something that I really appreciate here in Spain  because in other countries  you don’t get so much back, but in Spain it really fuckin’ rocks.

I think that we are the most appreciated mod band here in Spain (he laughs).

Magic Pop: When a concert is followed by an allnighter it seems that the public gives preference to the party, what do you feel about this and what happens in your country?

Mario: We actually have in Austria a very small 60s scene, not like in Spain, if we’re playing in Austria there’re are about one hundred, one hundred and fifty people coming,  but we have really great mod bands like The Jaybirds, The Staggers, who perform in Austria in Festivals in front of thousands of people , they are really big in Austria but  somehow we did manage to do that, I don’t know why, (laughs).

We have one great thing in Austria, we’ve a great Dj  with an important record  sort with thousands of singles,  so we have a small scene but with a lot of quality, not only the bands but also the DJs who give their best but it’s not like in Spain, there the scene is very, very small.

Magic Pop: As a musician, do you feel that the public gives value to your work? That they value the atmosphere that you create in your performances?

Mario: In Austria? To be honest with you, no… I don’t know (laughs), to be honest, there is a reason why we love playing in Spain because people freak out and yes, it’s difficult in Austria to do this kind of music because, even with the Staggers or Jaybirds,  all of them have their own jobs, is very difficult to create a mod scene there. The last time we were here in Spain we were in a tour, in ten concerts and we’ve been out of vacation, everybody of us has his own work apart from the music, all of us have our families and lives too.

Magic Pop: Your record has been very succesful here in spain, are you preparing a new record with the label screaming apple again?

Mario: Yes, we are already working on it and we have  seven or eight songs, we’re working to do more,  and we’re entering to the Studio at the end of the year.  We’ll do a new record but actually we don’t have a record label, maybe will be Screaming Apple again but I don’t know.

We even don’t have a record label which wants to put out our cd but we have a 7’’ single (Ace Face) and a Lp, (The Attention!)  but even in the single we had to put all our money to release it so, we have to do some concerts more and then we haven’t enough money and we can’t  put out our next record.

Magic Pop: About your versions, which is the version you’ re more identified with?

Mario: We’ll, of course we always enjoy playing the new songs which we’re doing for the first time, but actually I don’t have a favourite, I just love them all and there are so many great bands from the 50’s and 60’s that we enjoy performing like Ray Charles, there are so many great musicians that I can’t really pick one.

Magic Pop: We know that Hilton Valentine, the guitar of The Animals, have talked very well about the attention, have you any relation with him?

Mario: No, actually it was very funny because in Myspace he just came into us, but he wrote over Myspace that he loved our songs, that he thought that we are cool and that he loved what we’re doing but we don’t have any relation with him although is enough help that he writes things like that in our Myspace, because his words are a great kind of promotion, he’s the guy from The Animals and it was totally unexpected for us.

Magic Pop: Your appeareance is very well-groomed,  where do you get your smart suits?

Mario: When I was young I was a teddy boy and I’ve always thought that you must care what you do, if you play in a band it has to look like something, of course the band is the music but also there must be an image and the artwork, everything is important  so it has to be somehow together, the mod scene is music, is what you wear… our suits are made by an austrian old taylor and even The Staggers and other mods get their suits from this taylor.

For us both things are important, it’s like a package, actually I don’t like bands that sound good but look terrible, I just need the whole thing and I like the bands that  “get to the point”, you see them and you listen to them and you know that these guys are doing this or that, you know that those guys are in the scene, we’ve always aimed to have a band and to be in that point.

Magic Pop: About the guitars that you play, you play vintage guitars, even you hold them high like the old bands from the 60’s, have you studied that way of playing guitars, or it’s spontaneous,  details are so important for you…

Mario: Actually we just copy the old bands, we’re just doing what the other bands did, that’s what make us so special.

Magic Pop: How are you treated in austria for the mass media and the specialist press?.

Mario: A few weeks ago I was thinking about that, the thing is that I think, or at least I think I know, how to play 50s or 60s music and I know how our scene partners are thinking.  I know what the rocker or mod really thinks, but it’s just not only bla bla, but it is just I like this, I like that.  I understand the scene because I love it, I’ve always been introduced into the subcultures and I understand how  the festivals organizers are thinking but I don’t understand how pop music and pop managers are working and how are they thinking, and I’m not going to try to understand them, if they like us or if they think we’re trendy or something like that, I will be pleased to play for millions of people and I’ll love to do it everyday, but we have in Austria a TV program, like a casting show, and I’m always watching it  and I never understand why are left three people and the Austrian audience choose as winner who I think is the worst, who is not Art, Music, or even is not a nice person, but this is my point of view.

I don’t know how people are thinking, the other two persons left in the show are in third place and they are really nice persons so I don’t have a clue what pop managers or people or even great record labels are thinking,  or how are they thinking and working, I don’t understand it …

But of course I mind a little bit because we’d like to do only MUSIC, that’s really our aim, and why not? I’d like to make millions of dollars, having a big house, being famous and and sell millions of records, why not? (laughs) because I’m just in it, but  I’m very happy with the life that I have and I’m happy with my day job and with the music we’re doing and we’re very proud of the people who follow us, who come to the concerts, and enjoy with us, I don’t mind if they’re mods, or poppies and if they don’t do that, I don’t know why (laughs)…

Patricia Sarrais & Alex Magic Pop

Interview in Spanish here

Jaybirds: "We bring individual styles together to move forward and not coming back to our starting point"

The Jaybirds, Patricia Sarrais & Alex Magic Pop

During last edition of the Sixties Rock Weekend Festival 2011 we could talk with the Jaybirds after his acclaimed performance in the Auditorium of Castellón, which review is published here. Four components: Bernhard, singer, Markus, bassist, Norb, guitarist, and Thomas, drummer, welcomed us in their dressing room where we raised some questions. Here is an extract from what was given in a friendly chat with some excellent musicians, attentive and courteous at all times. First of all, it is worth mentioning that the absence of another guitarist, Pat, was due to personal issues that prevented him from accompanying them in their only performance in Spain.

Magic Pop: How did you get to be so many years together in the band?

Bernhard: We’ve always had a very good relation between us because we know each other for twenty five years but you don’t have to forget that we had a break for five years between 2001 and 2006 because of personal problems.

Markus: Yes, we hated each other for five years and then, we felt in love again, and now, we’re together again (he laughs), since twenty five years. But we started playing instruments without having any idea about music, we decided anyway to form a group although we didn’t know anything about instruments. And now, we’re being playing together for twenty five years.

Bernhard: In this time from 2001 to 2006 everyone in the band, or most of us, had several projects in music with other bands, Pat and Thomas, Norb, Markus and me had different bands with different styles so, when we met again we thought “yes, we could start again with The Jaybirds”, and it was really great, we had some concerts and…

Markus: Yes, we decided to rejoin us because we made an appointment to play again and then, we realized that we could still play very well together, we’ve always understood each other.

Norb: After the breach, we discussed all the pending problems that we had so we solved them.

Magic Pop: This last album, Naked As The Jaybirds,  shows an evolution  in your style, do you think that the audience had understood this change or maybe they prefer The Jaybirds who you were before?

Bernhard: I don’t know…

Markus: We don’t know… Everybody says that the new record is good but still we don’t know it.

Magic Pop: Do you mind what people think about your work?

Bernhard: Of course we do, that’s why we’re doing this.

Markus: We could play alone in our kitchens, you know (laughs) but we had new songs and we decided to record them.

Yes, in the moment in which we made a new record, we didn’t really  mind what people were going to think because we only had to record the songs, but in the end, this last was the first record after the split up so we mind a lot what people think about our work.

These new songs have a different style but we tried to give the audience the same as we’ve ever had. I think that we’ve never left our style.

We’ve heard some critics about the new record, some of them are very good but not all are coming from our friends, we don’t agree those critics at all (he laughs), but we’ve sold a lot of records because people really like our work (because of the cava, maybe, I don’t know), (laughs).

Bernhard: As I told you before, in the splits we had different groups and all of us were doing other things, for example, Patrick was in a rock band, he plays more pop-rock, Norb is doing solo projects, so we had to bring all our different styles together to make it funnier for us, and also, it was about not coming back to our roots  and to the point where we started, but doing something different. We needed a little bit of progress.

Norb- I would like to add something to that: We started to play together again in 2006 and we already had nice gigs after people discovered that we were together again so we performed  in Europe everywhere with other mod bands, in festivals… but we thought to go on with The Jaybirds, we wanted to do a new record, and from time to time, we like very much to go on with the concerts so, we are already thinking about recording again.

Magic Pop: We’re convinced that exists a “Jaybirds school” and that currently there are lots of bands that imitate you. You’re the “germ” of all those bands, what do you think about the actual bands?

Bernhard: In Spain?

Magic Pop: No, everywhere

Markus: Younger than us?...I think that this style sounds very  good and it’s not too complicated to get it, but it was very successful when we started  in the earlies 90’s and there was nothing like us , we were the only group in the universe (laughs)

Bernhard: In Austria (laughs).

Markus: In Austria, yes, of course, it was already 60’s scene but we didn’t know anyone, we started playing this style because we loved it and I know that we took a good choice because we’re doing good music and we enjoy playing it. It must be true that our sound has pupils. We have ever seen the reaction of the people and I don’t know if it’s true but one way or another it sounds very good.

About the new bands, it’s very grateful actually that they imitate our style, well, not a perfect copy at all, but it’s very grateful that they continue with this style.

Bernhard: I don’t know the reason for this because when we created The Jaybirds our intention was to do an original sound and to have an original look as much as possible, then in Viena there was nothing at all but ten years after, we got involved in a small scene and then, we got aware of all these new bands and the new people, we were in the “british wave”, then there were lots of similar groups, even when we came to Spain we checked this out, so we might do something that was good for other people.

Norb: There was always the feeling that there are some people  who like our music, from the beginning, when we started with The Jaybirds, in between years 90-95, I used to think “wow, people like The Jaybirds”, they come to see our concerts because they like us so, for me, this has never stopped and they still like what we do. We really love our music and I think that people can feel it.

Magic Pop: Do you intend to go back in the studio again, soon or you’ ll wait for some time, maybe later?

Bernhard: For the time being, we don’t have enough material to record a new album but we recorded some songs for a compilation, which will be come out on next month probably. When we started playing again we decided the songs that we had to perform, so it really takes two years to select which songs we wanted for the last record so we put everything what we had in it and we don’t have more tracks at the moment.

Of course we’ll go back to the Studio someday. One of our next projects is recording an EP including tracks from the LP but in Vienesse, the local dialect.

Norb: But it won’t be in the German language but in the dialect we speak in Viena, it will be a completely local language.

Bernhard: In the 60’s and 70’s there were lots of bands that played in the local dialect and they performed rock songs but in Vienesse so we want to do the same.

Markus: It sounds very good because, although it’s a little bit hard, I’ve listened to a sampler and I think it fits. Normally this dialect is more successful in another kind of music, as folk music, for example, but it sounds like drinking or getting drunk, maybe (he laughs), this dialect is very useful to people who like our music and never listened to us, so it’s a good idea doing it.

Bernhard: It seems like in Spain you have your local idols singing in your languages about things that  only Spanish people can understand, so we’re singing in Vienesse because we want to sing in the same language that people  speaks in the streets or in the bars.

Markus: It’s funny because in Germany people don’t understand this dialect anymore.

Bernhard: It’s amazing that The Jaybirds are really more famous in Spain than in Austria so we just wanted to do this EP in the Austrian dialect specially for people who never have heard of us and maybe next year they’ ll know us (he laughs).

Patricia Sarrais & Alex Magic Pop

Interview in Spanish here

Sixties comes to an end with the captivating Chico Boom, The Confidents and Jaybirds,"los putos amos"

The Confidents

Saturday March 5, 2011. Sixties Rock Weekend finished with “los putos amos” (into English, the "fucking masters"), the immense Jaybirds, the  devoted Confidents  and Chico Boom saying goodbye to their project to start another one named Supersweet. The “metal team”, with peaked cap and italian hat included, was represented by the Imperial State Electric as a major focus for fans of the Hellacopters leader, who were preceded as a snack during the first concert of the night, by their friends and protected, the Italian Small Jackets. But long time before, late in the  morning in the grounds of the Castellon Auditorium gathered together about twenty scooters and some Minis for the exhibition and a subsequent  tour in the city and surrounding areas. Making the  day more pleasant, the local band Neil Jung played some  versions. The rain of previous days was responsible for the small assistance but those who were there, told  us that they enjoyed it a lot.

The Confidents

In the evening concerts began in the first place with Italians Small Jackets who fulfiled the greatest characteristics that define the most important groups of "heavy metal" joining details of Led Zeppelin with the riffs of AC/DC. Those who like that kind of so overwhelming exhibitionism, had a fabulous time, but those who are indifferent to that style, had to wait for the next performance to steep themselves in less aggressive sounds again.

The Confidents, from Barcelona, appeared on stage at the Magic Box to go back, with an elegant and well structured and  creative lifestyle of women's groups, with soloist, chorus and band accompaniment, in the late fifties and early sixties. The R&B, Rock and Roll, Pop, Beat, Mersey or Surf  were combined with charming versions and original songs that got the first dance steps of an audience that was joining the festival. Confidents, in despite of being a group whose members are not just in an age rage  to start projects without caring results for long-term,  are a fresh band, who cares for their arrangements, the costumes of the singers and musicians, including the staging of the choreography own of that time with beautiful girls who didn’t stop dancing and smiling to the public.  Those characteristics make a gorgeous show up, very nice and great fun. Without doubt, one of the biggest attractions of the festival.

Chico Boom/Supersweet

And from charm to surprises. To speak about the Chico Boom concert, we must first recognize that this group from San Sebastián was not, in principle,  priority for us in the festival, but after listening to them in the Sixties, I can assure you that they were one of the best bands that performed. Their live was absolutely captivating, as so rightly were summed up by our colleague Pat, after the last of the chords. Around ten years since this band were not on a stage in Castellón. The Chico Boom were a trio: singer armed with a sharp guitar, no bass, with keyboards which filled the unspeakable, and an omnipresent drummer that broke the kick pedal. We were given a discharge of rock and roll with touches of punk, garage, psychedelia that deserved, beyond expectatives, the screaming, cheering and jumping from a public that connected with them and which did not mind to take part in their game of bending to the indications of a rabid and dedicated singer.

The Jaybirds

After the Chico Boom and their farewell to their previous project, came one of the most solid, intelligent and creative proposals in the sixties music international scene, The  Jaybirds, for which we’d need all the thesaurus, dreams and compliments to summarize the impact that we lived while they were playing. They are, without any doubt, "the fucking masters”, (“los putos amos”) a term that used its bassist with successive expressions into Spanish adjectives like "very good" (“muy buenos”) or  we are the "cock" (“somos la polla”) provided by the singer. To try to define how these great Jaybirds sounded, we could dip into the imagination and think how could have sounded our myths of the sixties. Their  concert was coordinated, almost  millimetred in their instrumental and rhythmic inputs. The bass was great, virtuous, guitar didn’t stop  rounding the chords with sour frills, the drummer was firm and very sure to not to allow a single trip, and the singer put the icing on the cake with his powerful voice and an harmonica that was beyond the anecdotal.

The Jaybirds

The Jaybirds are much more that a "sixties" band, they are a group of songs, of tremendous and beautiful songs, which exceed the inescapable parameters of R&B to build their own  microcosm where the melody is the main source of expression, the rhythms are greased springs  for our feet and  the continuous "crescendos" get an extraordinary climax that shakes and stirs the senses. After the live show, we finally got a much-desired interview with the band, again with the help of the organization and its attentive press officer.

If they had succeeded in charming us with their music,  in the dressing room was also confirmed that these people are excellent, helpful, courteous and an exquisite treatment. As a sign of how special the moment was, we’d like to share with you just a couple of details as anecdote: During the concert, in the middle of the wild effervescence of R&B, the guitarist noticed that the VOX letters of the amp were crooked. Well, he didn’t hesitate to place them correctly without ceasing to play a few riffs that put our hairs like hooks. Undoubtedly, a detail that gives a sign of the ideal of perfection which is part of their artistic and personal career. The second story was excelent and it was produced during the interview, again directed and focused with our business partner interviewer, Pat Sarrais. At one point in the conversation, we asked them about their career, if after successive hits on the “sixties” scene they thought that they had already created a certain "Jaybirds School" that the groups with style "sixties" have Jaybirds as a point of referente. Faced with such questions, in some ways uncomfortable to the humble or perfect for the vain, the interviewee looked to us somehow perplexed and they answered, hesitating, with another question: Are you referring to the Spanish groups?. At that time, we thought: If only were the Spanish groups ... Undoubtedly, the "fucking masters", are kind and extremely generous.

The Jaybirds

In ecstasies with an interview that was so special and which we’ll reproduce in future deliveries, we missed the perform that closed the festival: the Imperial State Electric, during which they were a lot of dangling horns to the rhythm of a guitar ready to be generous with the energetic, eager and noisy fans,  this important part of an audience that had come to the festival only to see them and probably helped a bit better to reconcile the accounts of the organization. With their presence filled three-quarters of the room which,  one day, and we believe that this day will not be hard to get, will be filled with over a thousand people that could fit perfectly.

The Jaybirds, Pat & Alex Magic Pop

One last play with the DJ's Captain Groovy and Toni Valer-Oh, that served as soundtrack for saying good bye to the festival and to the last night but not before greeting new acquaintances as responsible for the blog “Yo ya te lo dije”, or friends who were already mentioned in previous reviews, and DJ's Ham'a'Cuckoos, or Robert Abella, author of the book Mod Revival, with whom we exchanged some views about the best and not so much of the event, among other things. We had even time to interview the singer of Sweet Leef with who we could talk at the last minute.

Hugs and kisses of farewell were the last feelings of a festival that has been perfect in spite of not sharing or vibrate with all that was audible on stage. Thanks to the impeccable organization, which has already begun to work on the next edition, the creativity, vitality and friendliness of the bands has ensured that the third edition of this festival of Castellón, more and more international, is a compelling reason to demonstrate, even the most incredulous, that the sixties sounds are very much alive and we with them, which is not a small thing. Until next year, will be there to enjoy it and tell you with great detail.

Translated by Pat Sarrais

Note: If you want to read the chronicle of Friday 4 enter here, and Thursday 3, here.

For more information about the festival, you can visit the official website or read our interview with data from the groups that participated in this year.

Information in Spanish here

The R&B of The Attention impressed in the festival in Castellón between proposals for hard rock

Friday, March 4, 2011. In the second edition of Sixties Rock Weekend lots of guitars, hard rock, psychedelic shoots and a intense shock of rock and roll before and after were listened, in our humble opinion, the main stars of the night, The Attention. Stolen Jackets opened the evening, and despite not having a very extensive own repertoire, displayed a remarkable mostly instrumental mastery as regards their lead guitarist who delighted the audience playing guitar solos of seventies memorable beauty. The truth is that the band was very successful and offered all that was in his hand with a result to keep in mind to follow his steps beyond the appellants versions. Precisely in that chapter of topics outside, played from the deepest devotion, we could listen a strong Taxman, as well as other recreations, well focused, by the Kinks and Jimi Hendrix, among others.

The next band, Sweet Leef from Austria insisted on putting clocks back to the seventies informed and with irreproachable objectives. They got it through a show where no shortage of these pleasant but also disruptive hypnotic passages that culminated in a long and lysergic version of 'Dazed and Confused' by Led Zeppelin, perhaps too similar to the original and therefore runs the natural risk of not surpassing  the magic of its legendary creators as happened. In general, their performance was really good and ideal for lovers of intentionally hard riffs and the heaviness inherent in the style.

After their performance, appeared on stage at the Auditorium one of the best bands of R&B and Rock and Roll today, at least for us, as much their creativity, their mod attitude, as the  sixties style, and now, since I’ve seen and listened to them for the first time live on stage, with their energy and their  stage wisdom. We are referring, of course, to the also Austrians The Attention. The band was brimming with  art and strenght in abundance, so as to please his followers and to recruit even the most skeptical minds.

Each and every one of its musicians were great, especially its new frontman and main songwriter, Mario David, splendid, who charmed the audience with their successive barrages on the edge of the stage, even among the public, to get the complicity of boys and girls all admired to an excellent good-looking and impeccable presence. Anecdotally, it is noteworthy that his successive runs and push-ups, ended by tearing the trousers in the center seam of the crotch of a custom fitted suit. The incident did not cause any type of blush in Mario who  finally removed them shamelessly and stayed in underpants until his agent brought him another pair. While this story happened, still singing in the magic of  white R&B with those details of rock and roll of the fifties supported by skilled musicians, all of them also dressed with elegant costumes and vintage guitars. Together, they transported the audience to another time with ideas and projects with more than enough to secure  their own place even among their own myths of reference, who versioned, such as Ray Charles himself.

After the concert, and again thanks to the efforts of the organizers, and the essential support of our luxurious partner, Pat Sarrais, we interviewed Mario who told us where he gets his suits, what thinks his wife on their clothing, and which projects have his great band. That required interview, that we’ll publish later, forced us to miss much of the performance of Baby Woodrose. What we saw was their leader, an enormous Lorenzo, as in height as in their musical imagination. With his guitar and vocals, accompanied by a power trio a bit excessive at times, he delighted us with psychedelic passages that rose us from the ground;  guitar solos that went through our souls and sound developments which, we believe, more than one broke down in cosmic particles. Surely, there are other less vehement ways to explain it but we think that this is the most aproximate about the generic result.

After the live performances, DJ's of the festival as Chema Rey and Capitán Groovy, returned to select a good collection of sixties sounds for the enjoyment of the audience who could still absorb a few moments of frenzied dance. The day before played Dj 007 and Dj Galicia. It is also remarkable that in the room was projecting a visual show of Marcos Torres entitled “A todo color, a todo volumen” (translated "A full-color, full-volume") and near the scene of the Magic Box, Mari Carmen Blanch exhibited sixties themed paintings. Also, a panel reminded us photos of previous editions. Finally, we find one of the singers of The Confidents, Africa, and the singer of the Inéditos, Joan, both responsible for the Barcelona's Lullaby Vintage store where you can buy a number of sixties style objects that were also on sale in one of the stands of the festival.

It remains the third and last night where we hope to enjoy with eager, The Confidents and the following stars of a wonderful event to remember for many years. We also refer to the essentials Austrian, The Jaybirds but we will explain it in the next review.

Translated by Pat Sarrais

For more information about the festival, you can enter in the official website or read our interview with the data from the participating groups in this year.

Information in Spanish here