There ain't no cure for the summertime blues. Hey, kids, it's Summer, welcome to the Phile. I'm gonna raise a fuss, I'm gonna raise a holler. LOL. That's just a great song. So, how are you? It's Summer, but it doesn't look like it outside. There's a storm a'comin'. Congratulations to Kanye West, who is a new father. Kim Kardashian gave birth to a baby girl. Kim was in labor for six hours, thus marking the first time the words Kardashian and labor have ever been used together in the same sentence. The doctor said when he slapped Kim's baby, he regretted that he couldn't slap the entire family. Kim says she wants to keep the baby out of the public eye. In fact, the E! network is developing a new show called, "Keeping the Baby Out of the Public Eye With the Kardashians." Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are parents of a baby girl. Does it have any chance at a normal life? Here's what they should do. They should put her in a rocket and launch her to another planet, and hope she's discovered by Ma and Pa Kent. Have you seen the new Superman movie, Man of Steel? It's a different look at Superman. It's about Superman's struggles as a guy. I guess we all knew this, but I didn't realize how tough it was... he's kryptonite intolerant. Do you remember the evil dictator of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? They had elections and he's out. And you thought Ahmadinejad was in a bad mah-mood before. He's really in a bad mah-mood now. People are still talking about Edward Snowden. If you don't know who he is, he is the guy who leaked all of the NSA secrets. He had a 98-minute press conference this week and yet they can't find the guy. This is the biggest manhunt since Martha Stewart started online dating. Scientists say that by the year 2045 we can all be immortal. It involves putting your brain into a robot. But why do we need to figure out how we will live forever? Can't we just ask Larry King? This immortality technology sounds like a contemporary search for the Fountain of Youth. Ponce de Léon, the Spanish explorer, searched for the Fountain of Youth in the 16th century. Nobody knows if he ever found it, but he died in 1521. So I'm guessing no. Scientists say the key to preserving immortality is the brain. Just my luck. The one part of my body I need to preserve is the one I spent my youth actively destroying. During an interview, a UFC fighter referred to LeBron James as a dork. When he heard that, LeBron said, “Would a dork wear a headband, a shirt tucked into his shorts, and knee-high socks?” So, did you hear about the whole Paula Deen being racist story? Paula Deen said, "I'm no racist. I don't care who gets diabetes from my cooking." I can't decide... do I hate her racist words more than I loooove her racist macaroni? She since apologized, then has released this poster...
Oh, man. I wonder how many complaints I'm gonna receive about that? Moving on... Summer is here and Ben & Jerry have released a new flavor of ice cream.
That joke might of been funnier 20 years ago. When did Forrest Gump come out? I mentioned the new Superman movie just now, and people are still raving about the special effects. I didn't think they were that great. Check out this screen shot and decide for yourself...
Why the hell is Supes carrying a large roll of toilet paper? I mentioned this in the last few entries of the Phile, June 3rd was Bad Wolf Day and I asked and some other websites asked their readers to send in pictures of Bad Wolf written in odd ways in public. Check this one out I received...
Phile reader Matt Giarrizzo, who was on the Phile's Sixth Anniversary entry sent me this pic of his childhood puppet who was a bad wolf...
That's not exactly what I had in mind, but it'll do. Good job, Matt. I have been also talking about this, recently Disney, the greatest company in the world to work for, is releasing some of their classics movies with the original titles. I am sure this bit is getting old, but here's another...
Now, it being Summer, one thing I like to do is swim. I have been in a lot of cool swimming pools, but there's some others I would love to go in. So, for the next few weeks I will be showing you some phascinating pools. If you like doing laps in the swimming pool, you might want to stock up on the energy drinks before diving in to this one.
It is more than 1,000 yards long, covers 20 acres, has a 115 foot deep end and holds 66 million gallons of water. The Guinness Book of Records named the vast pool beside the sea in Chile as the biggest in the world. This pool took five years to build, cost nearly £1 billion and the annual maintenance bill will be £2 million. Its turquoise waters are so crystal clear that you can see the bottom even in the deep end. It dwarfs the world's second biggest pool, the Orthlieb, nicknamed the Big Splash, in Morocco, which is a mere 150 yards long and 100 yards wide. An Olympic size pool measures some 50 yards by 25 yards. Wow. Shit, it is really storming outside. lets take a look and see how this summer day looks...
You can't tell, but it is storming pretty bad. Oh, well. Let's see who started pushing up daisies this week.
James Gandolfini
Sept 18, 1961 - June 19, 2013
Probably more like a baritone now.
Slim Whitman
Jan 20, 1924 - June 19, 2013
Now yodelling in that Great Infomercial In The Sky.
If you see the mindphuck email me at thepeverettphile@gmail.com. Man, it's still thundering and lightning like crazy. Stay home and read the Phile, be safe. Okay, now from the home office in Port Jefferson, New York, here is this week's...
Top Phive Things Overheard In Kim Kardashian's Delivery Room
5. "Forces... clamp... scissor jack... spackle..."
4. Aww! She got her mommy's blank stare!"
3. "Khloe, please! Finish your sloppy joe before holding the baby!"
2. "No, Scott... this is NOT 'just like the Chilean miners' rescue!'"
And the number one thing heard in Kim's delivery room was...
1. "Hey, I found Robert Kraft's Super Bowl ring!"
The 27th book to be pheatured in the Peverett Phile Book Club is...
Alexis Asbe will be a guest on the Phile next Sunday.
Today's pheatured guest is the bass player for the English band Stone Foundation whose latest album "The Three Shades Of ..." is available now on iTunes. Please welcome to the Phile... Neil Sheasby.
Me: Hello, Neil, welcome to the Phile. How are you?
Neil: Very well thank you.
Me: Before we start talking about your band Stone Foundation and everything, you are a member of the group unHOF, which helps the Phile with The Peverett Phile Rock and Roll Hall of Phame. Explain to the readers what unHOF is about.
Neil: I'm not sure I even knew I was a member.
Me: Oh... okay. I'm an idiot. So, the next question was gonna be what do you think about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
Neil: I think it can be a worthwhile acknowledgment of an artists achievements.
Me: You're from England I know, but which part? I was born in London but lived in Oxford.
Neil: We come from the Midlands, we are based almost in the centre of England in a place called Atherstone in Warwickshire.
Me: You are the bass player in Stone Foundation, right? How long have you been playing bass?
Neil: Since I was 14.
Me: I am sure Stone Foundation is not the first band you were in. What other bands have you played in?
Neil: I was in a band called Dance Stance that were very popular on the live circuit of colleges and universities back in the 80s, then a Rare Groove kind of thing called Rare Future followed by a short lived band called Mandrake Root before forming Stone Foundation. Our drummer Phil Ford was also in all of these line up's with me too.
Me: How long has Stone Foundation been together, and where did the name come from, Neil?
Neil: Me and singer Neil Jones have been writing songs together for over 10 years, putting the line up that we wanted took a little time, our current incarnation has been going about 7 years. The name came from a headline in Grand Royale, the Beastie Boys magazine, it was an article about Andy Newmark, who I believe was the first white drummer to play for Sly & The Family Stone.
Me: Tell the readers who is in the band with you. There's like seven of you in the band I think.
Neil: Neil Jones (vocals/guitar), Phil Ford (drums), Ian Arnold (keyboards), Gary Rollins (sax), Lynn Thompson (trumpet), Spencer Hague (trombone).
Me: Don't you have an ex-member of Dexys Midnight Runners in the band?
Neil: No, you must be thinking of Paul Speare ex Dexy's Sax player, a good friend of mine and he has contributed to every album we've released thus far.
Me: I see. Do people ever think you are a Stones tribute band?
Neil: I've never heard that said before, no.
Me: I guess I am the only one then. Just kidding. Who are your influences, music wise, Neil?
Neil: So many, but we are particularly fond of soul music (all aspects of it) as well as British groups like Graham Parker & the Rumour, Dexys, etc. More recently we've been enjoying that Matthew E White record "Big Inner".
Me: Stone Foundation just did a tour with The Specials, a great band. How was that experience? Pretty cool I'm guessing.
Neil: Very cool, it was an honour and a real privelage to play alongside a band that were so inspirational and important to us growing up, they soundtracked our young lives so to get the opportunity to tour with them years later was an experience that we will all remember forever. The crowds were immense too, 10,000 plus some nights. It was fairly surreal.
Me: My dad was a big Specials fan, and I got into them a little as well, but liked Madness better. Anyway, you guys played on a Specials tribute album, right? What song did you do?
Neil: We covered "Sock It To Em' JB", a cover of a cover...
Me: What was the biggest and your personal best favorite gig you played?
Neil: Two spring to mind immediately, the Ricoh Stadium gig supporting the Specials was a very emotional event and our last gig in London where we sold out Ronnie Scotts and had crowds queing to gain entrance all round soho, that was very heartening.
Me: I downloaded your latest album "Three Shades Of..." from iTunes. What are the three shades?
Neil: Peace, Love and Happiness.
Me: Who does most of the songwriting for the band, Neil?
Neil: Me and Neil Jones although I must hasten to add that this new album that were currently recording has been a much more collaborative affair and the rest of the band have made considerable contributions to the writing and it's creation.
Me: On the album you play with a singer named Nolan Porter. He's American I believe. When did you first meet Nolan?
Neil: A promoter hooked us up first of all to do some dates together over here then Neil Jones visited him and his wife Patrice Zappa (Frank's sister) whilst he was holiday-ing in the States and our friendship and musical collaboration has just developed and blossomed ever since. We recently released a live album with Nolan from a gig we did last July at the 100 Club in London.
Me: When Nolan sings, what does Neil Jones, the band's singer do?
Neil: Neil still sings and obviously plays guitar too.
Me: Do you think Nolan would wanna be interviewed on the Phile, Neil?
Neil: I'm sure he would be fine with that.
Me: I have to ask you about The Record Shack... that's your record store, am I right?
Neil: I'm a record dealer by trade, it's my company, yes.
Me: How long have you had the store?
Neil: About 8 years.
Me: And most importantly where is it located?
Neil: Here in the UK, I work from home and do record fairs at the weekends when time permits.
Me: Here in Central Florida, in the Orlando area, there's only two record shops... Rock and Roll Heaven and Retro Records. Oh, there's also Park Avenue, but they only have a handful of albums. Are they a lot in your area and across England?
Neil: Sadly, a lot of the real good ones have long closed there doors but a few remain and we are starting to see a resurgence in vinyl in this country.
Me: I just recently just started to get back into vinyl, Neil. Have you always been into vinyl?
Neil: I have, over the years I have amounted quite a sizable collection, I've always worked in record shops though, it's the only real job I have ever had since leaving school and now obviously I run my own company doing just that. I feel like a modern antiques dealer!
Me: Do you collect CD's or download music? I download to much music myself.
Neil: I don't really do the download thing, I like a physical product so mainly vinyl and CD.
Me: So, what's next for Stone Foundation? You guys working on new music you said?
Neil: We are working on a new album at this moment, which I hope will be released around September or October. It's the best stuff to date without question, I'm very proud of it.
Me: Can't wait. Before I let you go, and have you plug your store's website and band's site, on the Phile I ask random questions, so here is yours. If you could have another name what would you choose?
Neil: I'm not sure about another name, thankfully it's not something I have to think about, it's taken quite long enough to get the name Stone Foundation established.
Me: Good point. Alright, what are your websites?
Neil: Stonefoundation.co.uk and the bands music can be purchased via therecordshack.co.uk.
Me: Thanks for being here, I hope it was fun, and I hope you'll come back real soon. All the best.
Neil: Thanks for your time and support. Best Wishes.
Me: "The Three Shades Of..." available on iTunes now, kids.
That's about it. Thanks to Neil for a great interview. I hope he didn't mind my stupid questions, and I hope he'll come back when the next Stone Foundation release comes out. The Phile will be back tomorrow with the guys from the fantastic band Ten Foot Polecats and then on Monday with Phile Alum Joy Ike. Spread the word, not the turd. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye, love you, bye. Strawberry Blondes Forever!
No comments:
Post a Comment