|
|
|||
| Past 'The Editor Speaks'
We'd like to wish all our readers a very happy Yule season and a fruitful New Year. Thanks for reading. We'll be back in New Year with a slightly different focus. Viper 12/12/2011 _____________ Editor Speaks 8/11/2011 Good day dear Lair reading folken. As you will have read in our last update the Lair is about to change focus and direction as a result of some possible legal changes at the international level. As a result we are undergoing some major re-structuring. We will not be taking on new members until after the changes are completed which we expect to be in time for New Year. We have no plans to publish new articles until after the New Year as there seems to be a shocking lack of anything interesting band or show wise locally. You never know though, ole Viper might decide to pack a bag and head off somewhere to see something, given half the chance or an invitation. We did over to see Stiff Little Fingers and you can read all about it and see the exclusive full colour pictures from the gig in the Live Lounge. You also have the opportunity to see for yourself what it was like down the front of the gig as Viper captured four songs from the set on three film clips which are available to watch in HD on the brand new Viper Channel. Between now and our New Year re-launch we’ll be adding a lot of material and play lists which we hope will prove a popular accompaniment to our main features and articles. We welcome any suggestions our readers may have. Playing Out: Viper has no current events lined up. We hear Planet-X will be holding a night some time between now and New Year, and if it comes off, we’ll be there. Though we were looking forwards to seeing the Respect La Diva Tour to kick off 31/1/2012 at the Liverpool Empire those plans appear to have been sunk as they have cancelled the tour. Viper is rather unimpressed having now held three sets of tickets for the same event which keeps being re-scheduled. Rumours are beginning to circulate to the effect that it may never actually make it on the road. Meanwhile Sheila Ferguson has gone into panto land playing the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella, Rietta Austin is appearing in ‘The Magic Of The West End’ on 14/11/2011, Katy Setterfield has returned to her own world wide solo tour schedule, Zoe Birkett and Denise Pearson seemed to have vanished without trace. Those interested in the tour can keep up to date with the latest details and gossip over at the Dusty Springfield Network forums. Best wishes to all our readers and members for the Yule season. We’ll see you all next year. Viper 8/11/2011 In The News ;- Best wishes to all those at the Occupy LSX at St Pauls. Your actions are having an effect. Keep up the pressure. Latest developments and eye witness accounts of unfolding events can be found at Chilled Times in their News section. _________________________________________ Greetings Lair reading folken, It is with bitter regret that we inform you about the American Governments move to quell freedom of speech. Please follow the link and read the article – link - . We are sure that you, our audience, are of an intelligent enough status to understand the implications of the proposed new law. Until such time as it does/does not come into effect and the legislation is examined by legal minds we feel that our Amsterdam Section, and certain tales from our Viper’s England section of the Members Area, should be archived in order to protect the innocent as well as the potentially guilty. Here at The Lair that leaves us feeling rather frustrated and not a little angry. Our tales and reviews from the cultural world of cannabis have become internationally known for their detailed descriptions of the experience of being there and the practice of participating in certain events. It has always been our aim through our writing that others could and should learn and know as much as we do. Our ambition was to combat ignorance of the subject matter and the many common misconceptions not only of cannabis, but also the wider culture, the industry which surrounds it, the history, traditional uses, and spiritual/religious connections which today shape political horizons. We hope in some measure we have been successful with our aims, and we trust you understand our reasoning for archiving these articles for the present. Where the new proposed legislation leaves us is in the legal and political minefield of no mans land. So, until such time as we know where we stand, we feel we have no option other than to archive pretty much all our cannabis culture material. Some of you may have noticed that we have also removed the Ital Bar Menu. Though only a bit of fictitious fun we feel at this time it’s better to be safe than sorry. A revised Menu will return shortly. The Psycho-Cat boffins had done a lot of work on re-designing the Viperdam and Viper’s England sections of the Members area, and they were looking pretty slick. Unfortunately, these sections are unlikely to be seen in the form they were intended in any near future. This leaves us with a bit of a gap content wise, but still leaves us with our live band reviews and exclusive performance photographs. It also leaves Viper free to resurrect Skanks and maybe, with a little encouragement from you good folken, he may start writing some new Skankster stories. Economic hardship brought Viper’s excursions to a halt last month. As a result we failed to get to The Go-Go cage because we couldn’t justify a £40-00 outlay on taxi’s, before even a single cider got bought. Maybe next month guys. We also missed out on Pop Will Eat Itself and have no idea if the intended Planet-X after party happened or not. As there has been no word from the Planet-X FB page we assume not. On the health front old Viper’s back is bad again, and he’s back on the pain killers. MIR scans reveal two damaged discs and he is advised hedonistic pogoing at gigs is a seriously unwise choice for the foreseeable future. Not one to be kept down for long Viper is plotting and scheming a new site makeover and a slight turn in direction and emphasis. Like we’ve said before, you can’t kill the undead. We just keep getting up and coming back to finish what we started. Time spent resting in the crypt before rising to return is only a relative factor. We’ll be back to bring you a review of Stiff Little Fingers, and we will be working up our Live Lounge section between now and new year. What comes after that is anyone’s guess, but you can be sure Viper will find a way forwards. Stay tuned yee faithful, time and The Lair Of Viper move on, constantly evolving. Viper 18/10/2011 Playing Out:- The Go-Go Cage: Cabin Club Liverpool ?/11/2011 _____________________________________________ Greetings all Lair reading folken, new and old. It’s been busy ole time at The Lair. Viper’s been out and about all over the place.
Kicking things off on Sept 1st with Jimmy Cliff at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. A very good night indeed. The review is up in our new Public Live Lounge section. Special mentions and hello to Steve Wood, an aspiring alternative DJ looking for a break (aren’t we all) who Viper met having a pint after the show. Just two days later Viper was playing out at The Go-Go Cage, hosted in The Cabin Club. Doreen Allen (Planet-X/Eric’s) was in attendance. There will be a Planet-X After Gig Party for Pop Will Eat Itself 11/10/2011 at the O2 Academy. Viper had a very pleasant evening chatting with a variety of folken some of whom were playing in the bands that night. The guys from Boston, Muck & The Spires, put on a good show but Viper can't help wondering if, as tales go around the bar, what they thought of playing to less than a hundred when they are suposedly used to playing to 20,000. Barely catching his breath Viper packed a bag and set off down to London to catch the Respect La Diva Preview. Posters and advertising for the show was still being sorted out and had not been completed Preview night. Viper had a pleasant two night stay getting himself propositioned walking through Soho, which was nice, but unfortunately Viper had already spent his cash over at The Crazy Pig and The Great Frog. They have some really lovely jewellery over there. You can read a full review of the show (Viper’s was the first review of the show published. Something we’re quite proud of. Other reviews from mainstream outlets did not appear until four days later.) plus a track by track in depth commentary on the show in the new Live Lounge. Since the show began their FB page has come alive with mostly positive feedback though some are still giving it ‘Sheila’s the star she should be singing this song’. Fair enough, but don’t forget the other three stars and the fabulous backing singers The Divines. Check out their Wogan appearance (23mins in). With all the coverage the show is getting Viper feels his bet (riding since the end of June until Halloween) with RTL that the show would be a hit is secure. Work on changes to The Lair continue. Don’t panic, we’re altering things slowly. We hope you like what we’re doing. Playing Out: The Go-Go Cage: Cabin Club Liverpool 1/10/2011 Viper 19/9/2011 ____________________________________________________
Hello Lair reading folken, Peace and tranquillity reigns over The Lair since the ejection of The Boy Jones. Left with a television, abed (still with dirty stinking bedding) and a room that hadn’t seen a Hoover in how long who knew Viper set to clearing up the remaining contamination and had a nice bonfire in the back of The Lair's Garden Of Decadence. Fumes emitted during the combustion of The Boy Jones bedding were purely toxic causing blood sucking insects to drop from the sky and shrivelling a nearby bush. Four frogs went bug eye intoxicated, formed a Hells Angels gang hog tying and buggering next doors cat before getting ‘Toad Hunter’ tattoo’s and hopping into the piranha tank down at the pet shop to ‘kick some gills’. No one is quite sure of the result. Only that the French guy who works the place bought a new frying pan the next day. Speaking of toxicology reports, Amy Winehouse’s proves she was clear of drugs. As yet no cause of death has been attributed. We can only assume that the Inquest coming will answer many questions. Whatever it reveals, it won’t bring her back, and she will be greatly missed. Changes to The Lair are in progress. You’ll find things just a little bit different. We’ve decided to expand our Public Articles and Reviews. There is now a new Viperslair.co.uk Live Lounge previewing selected reviews along with exclusive black and white graphics taken at the shows. Members still have access to the Members Live Lounge and will continue to do so, but things will be changing in that section too soon. Articles of passing interest can still be seen in the Ital Bar and in time we will be expanding them and releasing some articles from the Members Area. The Jukebox Playlist has been updated and we have a review of the Blondie gig from Liverpool’s O2 Academy 1/8/2011 with lots of nice pictures. Members will find exclusive full colour photos from the gig in the members Live Lounge. Behind the scenes the Psycho-Cat technicians continue working very hard. Viper has finally finished writing his Amsterdam story. It’s called ‘Curtain Call’. Make of it what you will. Respect La Diva news; The FaceBook page has finally started showing some life signs, and the Empire rang to tell us that we’d have to come change our tickets again as the show won’t hit Liverpool until the end of January. Sheila Ferguson was on Breakfast TV today plugging the show. With just a week to go until opening night I bet nerves are on edge all round. Here at The Lair we wish the stars and the crew all the very best of luck. Viper looks forwards to the show. Playing Out:-.
Viper31/1/2011 _____________________________________ Greetings Lair reading folken, Here at The Lair we’ve been slowly adjusting to the stability of a quiet untroubled atmosphere since the rapid and unscheduled departure of the thief and liar The Boy Jones. After tackling the bacterial and biological contaminants left behind along with his bed, bedding, and some other bits Viper had himself a nice bonfire out in the back of the Garden Of Decadence. The Boy Jones father who had given Viper his word on a matter of money still owing, broke his word and agreement, and attempted to threaten and intimidate Viper on his own doorstep. Such pitiful attempts failed, and have caused much laughter over the intervening period. Since the ejection of the shit factory known as The Boy Jones life at The Lair has settled to a quiet pace of reason. Even RTL has been caught smiling and cracking little jokes. The unspecified stink has gone. The stains on kitchen towels, utensils, work surfaces, and floor have gone. The malevolent atmosphere of impending confrontation like the thick clouds of smoke from cheap cigarettes which polluted the dining room lounge, gone. The noise from television, banging up and down stairs, erratic phone calls, and doors being slammed, gone. The constant poncing of money, fags, food, anything and everything, gone. The inconvenience and noise associated with The Boy Jones chicken chaser, gone. The mountain of shite that backs itself out the wheelie bin, gone. In fact come bin day the wheelie bin was half empty. Simply put we’re glad to be rid of him. There is still no word from the toxicology report on Amy Winehouse. So far her cause of death remains a mystery though many have presumed it was a result of her ‘lifestyle’. Here at The Lair we are adjusting to accepting we’ll never get to see her on stage ever again. We will miss Amy’s voice and the music she made. Work on changes to The Lair continue behind the scenes with the Psycho-Cat technicians working very hard. The Jukebox Playlist has been updated and we have a review of the Blondie gig from Liverpool’s O2 Academy 1/8/2011 with lots of nice pictures. Members will find exclusive full colour photos from the gig in the members Live Lounge. Due to circumstances at The Lair, Viper hasn’t managed to finish the story of his latest Amsterdam adventures. Viper’s plans to attend the Go-Go Cage: Liverpool Cabin Club 6/8/2011 also went to the wall. We understand a good time was had by all and all being well we will be there for the next one 3/9/2011. Respect La Diva news; There is still no word about the rescheduling of the U.K. Tour or validation of tickets already sold for rescheduled performances. Viper got kicked off the official FaceBook page for slagging off Beyonce Etta James style. We also notice the wildly swinging results of the vote page on the Respect La Diva web site leading us to surmise some back scene jiggery pokery.
____________________________________________________________ Greetings Lair reading folken, it is a sad Editor Speaks this time around owing to the death of one of Viper’s favourite singers. As you will know Amy Winehouse died last Saturday 23/7/2011 aged just twenty seven. Born 14/9/1983 Amy was a talented singer and song writer. Her sense of timing on stage was incredible. Viper got to see her perform at Liverpool Summer Pops in July 2007 just before the melt down. During that gig Amy sang beautifully, her vocal delivery was immaculate, and she had the crowd in the palm of her hand. It has been a truly harrowing experience to see the girl fall to pieces after the tragic union of her marriage to a man who is not worthy to have his name printed here. Many likened the match to the infamous Sid and Nancy, but in reverse roles. There is little doubt in the minds of many that the man she married was directly responsible for Amy’s acceleration into hard drug use. Drink and cannabis smoking had been her staple intake until then and whilst we are all aware of the dangers of over indulgence in alcohol it must be remembered that ‘smoking weed’ has never caused a fatality in recorded history. Many of the media no doubt will revive the lie that cannabis is a ‘gateway’ drug on the back of this awful tragedy. Shame on them. It has been widely reported that Amy’s drinking was way out of control since she supposedly weaned herself off hard drugs. Seemingly this was something she had not just lately acknowledged but had also taken steps to tackle. It has been reported that Amy had been due to re-enter rehab specifically to tackle her drinking and had in fact been making some real efforts to stop her own intake instructing management of places she frequented not to serve her with alcohol. Unfortunately the root cause of Amy’s desire to seek oblivion was never dealt with. For whatever reason it would appear that Amy suffered from a melancholia like that of Edgar Allen Poe who famously said, “my enemies attributed the insanity to the drink, rather than the drink to the insanity.”. Like Poe Amy was unlucky in love. Indeed her broken relationships provided her with the material for the songs she would became famous for singing. The emotions associated with loneliness are reflected not just in her sometimes dissociated and detached lyrics but also the musical genres she chose to use as expressive medium. Her girl group siren singer influences of bands like The Shirelles, The Ronettes, The Chiffons, The Crystals, and most particularly The Shangri-La’s, are plainly visible in both her image and musical style. Amy Winehouse was a unique talent. The music she made, and the music she might have made will be sadly missed. It is to be hoped that she will be remembered for her iconic looks and modern twist on old musical genres that she pioneered the way for artistes like Adele and Imelda May to follow rather than her capacity for intoxicants. Lamentably for Amy, love did not conquer all. Here at The Lair we’ve had far from smooth times. Over the past few months tensions have risen to snapping point and a dark and brooding atmosphere has been permeating over The Lair like a storm cloud gathering menace. The Boy Jones slovenly behaviour, his inability to lift his end of the household chore log, his consistent poncing, inability to tell the truth, long story telling and inconsiderate actions have been driving Viper and RTL to the point of desperation. All pleas, talks, and modifications to lifestyle choices fell upon determinedly deaf ears. RTL exploded last Monday night after Viper began to show signs of stress related illness due to conditions in the home environment. The resulting large scale pow-wow to clear the air and set a straight course Monday night proved a wasted effort and by Thursday night The Boy Jone’s lack of thought proved the last straw. Viper ejected him from The Lair Friday morning. Just fifteen minutes later Viper had his dad at the door begging to take him back. No deal. On Friday evening Viper and RTL discovered that the ‘penny jar’ had been raided and some £60.00 minimum was missing. Blood pressure at The Lair was running high all weekend, but Viper is feeling somewhat better now order is restoring itself. Due to circumstances at The Lair, Viper hasn’t managed to finish the story of his latest Amsterdam adventures. Work, though slow, continues. The boffins at Psycho-Cat Graphics are working their fingers to the bone marrow on some site changes coming soon. Yes, we know we haven’t updated The Lair’s Jukebox Play List in a while. Don’t worry, it’s on the ‘to do’ list. Respect La Diva news; It seems that the intended U.K. tour to follow up the three weeks at London’s Garrick is to be postponed until next year. At this time it is unclear as to whether tickets sold for these now doubtful events will remain valid for the rescheduled shows or will be recalled with new tickets issued. Organisation for the show seems poorly co-ordinated in our opinion with differing stories coming from different places about tour and ticket details. Viper was told last Tuesday that tickets for the Garrick hadn’t been printed yet and would be sent nearer the time, but yesterday Viper received tickets via the postman !?? Playing Out: - Blondie; Liverpool O2 Academy 1/8/2011 In The News ;- Do we really want to read more depressing things about how this bastard government is destroying the moral, civil, economic, and community spirit of the country ? I think we all know where we stand when it comes to a question of ‘regime change’. The best that can be hoped for is that Joe Public does to the persons making up this bastard government what they are doing to the country at every possible opportunity. Till next time folken, Viper 26/7/2011 _____________________________________________________________________
Greetings Lair reading folken, Life at The Lair drags past. Some days it’s like the world of the living is something we only read about. RTL continues to linger prone in his chamber with occasional forays to the kitchen occasioning little more than bad tempered commentary about how everything in the world is “shit”. The Boy Jones breezes through the place from his various works leaving thick clouds of cigarette smoke and a general fall out trail of every manner of particles from whatever he touches. Viper presides over the lingering dark atmosphere worrying himself about the state of his general health, his tennis elbow, and how he’s going to tackle the ever more out of control state of The Lair’s Garden Of Decadence this season. Help from RTL and The Boy Jones remains but an unreached dream. Maniacs from all quarters descended on Viper as we last went to press. The first, an old collaborator of The Lair, missing in action for nearly two years rang as uploads were being done. It seems he’s got himself involved in some political actions across Europe and finally got himself arrested upholding the ideals of ‘truth and justice’. An hour was spent listening to various conspiracy theories about the ‘new world order’, and yes, aliens came into the conversation. Erm, ho hum … ‘Carry On Crazy’. Maniac number two arrived suitably after dark behind Viper’s shoulder as he took a late pint Friday night. It was The Lair’s frequent drunken late night after the pub closes Window Tapper armed with a skip load of ‘my father is shitting on the carpets’ blues who’d come looking for Viper just to share them with. Back at The Lair Friday night continued when maniac number three descended the stairs to join us at The Lair’s Round Table in the shape of RTL who went on to roundly berate life over a crate of beer Viper ended up being driven to join in demolishing until sometime after 9:30am the following morning. Maniac number two went home to his beshitted father some time around 3:00am. Consequently Viper’s usual Saturday shop, read of the paper in the pub over lunch and catch up on local news, went out the window. Just four hours later maniac number four came to The Lair’s Round Table with his latest theory about how everyone in the world is conspiring against him. Viper spent another couple of hours attempting to keep feet on the ground and show some understanding of the circumstances that lead to present perspectives, and hoped it helped, before returning to his bed chamber to get enough sleep to get him through that evenings Go-Go Cage event (July 2nd) over at The Cabin Club, in Liverpool. Rising like the undead thing he is at 7:00pm Viper duly took a shower, a shave, and something to eat before pulling himself together and making a break for freedom from The Lair’s chaotic environment of variously pervading madness mixed with idiocy to the sanity of Rock ‘N’ Roll debauchery. Calling his driver Viper reached the venue at 11:00pm. The dimly lit club with its various nooks and crannies and interestingly dispersed seating arrangements, below ground location, and steeped history of Liverpool music was something Viper took too immediately. They also had some very acceptable cider behind the bar. Unfortunately there was no burlesque act that evening but the two bands that played weren’t bad at what they did. Outside Viper got chatting to a number of folken, many of whom said, “I like your leather”. At one point Viper was engaged in hiring it out to a girl who wanted to wear it in August to sing a Cher number at her friends birthday karaoke. Numbers were exchanged, but Viper didn’t hold his breath. Just as well really as Viper got Dear John’d by text next morning. At another point Viper briefly found himself with a girl on each arm, until he realised they were both young enough to have been his daughters. Oh dear. Returning to chat with the guy on the door over a Mahari’s Sweet Viper enjoyed hearing how George Harrison had been inspired to write his first song sitting at one of the tables inside after being dragged into an argument over someone else’s girlfriend. Viper reached his bed again somewhere around 5:00am. By 1:30pm he was listening to the latest variation on the same conspiracy theory he’d heard a thousand times before from maniac number four all over again over his Sunday roast and a pint. Some hours later Viper returned to The Lair somewhat ragged. Mentally and physically shattered and near the point of flat out exhaustion Viper found he couldn’t sleep. His mind was scrambled from a quintet dose of other peoples problems. Logging onto one of the forums he’s recently been visiting Viper was in no mood for what he at the time saw as someone trying to be a smart arse. Maybe he was a little too tired and over emotional, but he finds it tiresome in the extreme to be picked up on by minor points of spelling on the ‘internetz’. Viper goes out with good intentions, trying to be helpful and informative hoping folken do likewise, and what does he get ? Some smart arse who wants to pick the nuts out Viper’s shit by the look of it. Viper doesn’t use a dictionary or spell checker to communicate on the ‘internetz’. There just isn’t enough time for such literary indulgence. Just be thankful he hates text speak. Folken love pointing out when Viper gets the small shit wrong but how about telling him when he gets something right. He’s far more appreciative and is well aware of many of his own failings already thank you so much. Why don’t you volunteer your help or contribute instead of moaning ? Then again, maybe Viper is always wrong. Drop us a line and let us know. Are we wasting our time ? Since breaking the Exclusive news of the Respect La Diva show here on 29/6/2011 we note there seems to have been a change of U.K. tour dates, and a change to their official web site and FaceBook page. Information and some limited publicity can now be found on some web sites related. What was odd though was that a posted link for the show, dated over a week ago, on one of the shows star performers FB pages got deleted. We wonder why official publicity would want to keep things quiet. It makes us curious. You’d think they’d want to fill the seats wouldn’t you ? Viper’s investigating journalistic instinct is quivering. Just once it would be nice to be first with a story and maybe actually make a quid. One way or another the hike in fuel prices coming has to be paid for. Actually, come to think of it, Viper would be quite happy to be paid not to write anything. Anything to make folken happy and pay the bills. Site changes will be happening over the next couple of weeks. There will be a new public Live Lounge although our Archive and exclusive full colour photos will remain for Members only. Some older articles will be archived, and there will be changes to the layouts of our Members sections. The Psycho-Cat boffins are at steady work in their cellar laboratory. Viper continues working on his latest Amsterdam tale but is finding this tale a rather difficult one to word correctly. Times and Viper have changed, a lot. We’ll bring it to you once it’s complete. Viper 11/7/2011 ______________________________________ Greetings all, It’s been a quiet couple of weeks at The Lair with nothing but the sound of Viper marveling over his new rockin' pants, new fleece blankets from Spiral, and venting his frustrations over who empties the kitchen bin. Viper solved the problem by removing it altogether forcing RTL and The Boy Jones to bag everything they now throw straight into the wheelie bin outside in the gloom and reach of things that roam within The Lair’s Garden Of Decadence. We bring you a Viperslair.co.uk Exclusive, breaking news of a still unpublicised brand new Musical from the people behind the West End hit ‘Thriller’ comes ‘Respect La Diva’. The show promises to be “a powerful, entertaining and uplifting musical revue paying tribute to some of the greatest female singers of all-time.” The two hour show, with intermission, “stars a cast of major UK acts, west end singers, dancers and a live band whom pay homage to the legendary talents of Diana Ross, Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Etta James, Shirley Bassey, Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, Dusty Springfield and many more”. The show will be “hosted by X-Factor finalist Andy Abrahams, you’ll see each iconic Diva inducted into our Hall of Fame via a glitzy multi-media spectacular concert featuring Sheila Ferguson (Three Degrees), Denise Pearson (Five Star), Katy Setterfield (winner of BBC’s ‘The One & Only’), Zoe Birkett (Pop Idol), a live band, children’s choir and an energetic dance troupe”. The show also comes, “with a social message that aims to raise awareness of women and children who are abused”, supporting the Refuge organisation. Viper bought a ticket for the show, Directed by Adrian Grant, and Choreographed/Assoc Director Racky Plews, which Rehearses 22nd August and opens in London’s West End on 6th of September and tours the U.K. until mid November, at Liverpool Empire last Thursday 23/6/2011 just eight days after the auditions were completed. We understand that the dancers were among the last to be finalised. Over a coffee and a smoke the same night Viper discovered there was as yet no publicity for the show. Internet searches turned up a blank for the shows web site, there was no FaceBook page, no mention on Sheila Ferguson’s site which appears untouched since last year or on her FB page, no mention on Katy Setterfield’s site, nothing but an old MySpace page untouched since circa 2007/8 on Denise Pearson, and nothing more informative about Zoe Birkett but a couple of U-Tube tracks from the TV show she won. On Monday 27/6/2011 the Respect La Diva web site index page appeared closely followed by a FaceBook page. Wasting no time Viper questioned an inconsistency between variously published tour dates and ticket outlets. Viper’s ticket had the date 20/11/2011, but the show at the Empire is on 19/6/2011. A couple of calls were made and the Empire got in touch with Viper to sort things out. How this likely well backed show will be publicised still remains a mystery, but Viper predicts an appearance on the Paul O’Grady show, or something very similar. Expect some James Brown and Stevie Wonder thrown into the Diva mix too. If you visit their site you can vote for you favourite female singer who will receive a prize on opening night. Any accusations that Viper is using his voodoo to influence the vote in favour of Dusty Springfield, who has secured 35% of present votes cast as of this writing since the Respect La Diva site went live on Tuesday, is entirely valid. We ask Lair readers and our Members, their friends, and their families to Vote DUSTY . One question remains to be answered though, how did Viper know about the show and that it was coming to Liverpool all the way back last Wednesday evening ? Viper’s answer; “It’s just my little voodoo thing working baby. I knew, because I’m supposed to know.” One last thing we’d like to mention; we’d like it very much if Adrian Grant is reading that he see’s to it that ‘Dusty’ gets a large port brandy during the show intermissions. Let there be no more Wimbourne’s. Get the best out of your artistes, take care of them. The Psycho-Cat techno boffin’s down in the cellar laboratory of The Lair will be making some site changes soon which will mean a lot of our old articles will be archived. Lair Members will still be able to access them but there may be some rearrangements for new sections. We will make you aware of the changes as we go. As our motto goes we are, ‘Constantly Evolving’. Viper is still working on his latest Amsterdam story. Life as they say, is a constant interruption. Planet-X are planning an event for August. Stay tuned well’ll keep you posted of details. Viper will be Playing Out : July 2nd at The Go-Go Cage, The Cabin Club, Liverpool. Respect La Diva; Liverpool Empire 19/10/2011. Viper 29/6/2011 ____________________________________ Long time no update huh ? Simply put old Viper has been busy. Since the Icicle Works 30th Anniversary Bash at the Liverpool O2 Academy 30/4/2011 it seems to be non stop. Fresh from the gig Saturday night (pictures and review coming soon), which was damned good, Viper packed his case and was sitting in the Stones Café on Warmoesstraat, Amsterdam, sipping cider and waiting for his breakfast with RTL before 10:00am Monday morning. You can read all about it once Viper has finished writing it. It should be finished and up by now but life has a habit of getting in the way. During the write up Viper got hit with a dose of Landlord Blues and decided to make a break for freedom whilst sanity still prevailed. For the shear hell of getting away for a couple of days Viper took a ride down to Wimborne to see a ‘Dusty Springfield And Friends’. For all the frustration of return travel the break did him more good than going to Amsterdam, which frankly has lost all it’s appeal.
Having rushed out the review of the Wimborne gig Viper went to see Adam Ant the following Saturday. You can laugh, and Viper certainly had reservations, but it is one of the best gigs Viper has been too recently. Adam Ant is back. His support band, Dressing For Pleasure, are pretty good too. I wondered how this unknown, unsigned, three piece managed to land this support tour gig but I later found out Naomi and her twin sister are Adam’s niece’s. The Bride Of Planet-X event 29/5/2011 went extremely well. Viper got talking to a lot of old faces and met, or reencountered, some new ones. Since then Viper’s been suffering periodic bouts of M.E. and is up and down somewhat like the lousy British summer. Would you believe the Summer Solstice is nearly upon us ? Likely it’ll be an eerie night with the full moon tomorrow in its last waning quarter for mid summers eve. Walking through town last month Viper happened to bump into Jayne Casey and got talking about Eric’s and how it is due to be reopened later this year. Unfortunately it looks set to become another musical mausoleum of the past like The Cavern instead of a becoming a refreshed shining beacon of innovation for fresh talent cutting their teeth. Time, and Viper, will tell. The Psycho-Cat techno boffin’s down in the cellar laboratory of The Lair have fiddled and tinkered mercilessly with their equipment and among the heated blue tinted language rattling the trap door, the unscheduled pyrotechnical display, and the savaged carcasses of unfortunate hardware, Vipernet seems to actually be running smoother than it has is some considerable time. Expect some big changes at The Lair in the near future. Professor Boy Jones continues to dazzle us with his inscrutable logic which dictates that taking three days off work on the chance of some part time work on those days paying better, but not emerging, is better than going to work on those days for a guaranteed days pay for a days work. His chicken chaser is on its last legs too. Calls by RTL and Viper for him to call the scrap man or find a skip are met with stoned silence and looks of deep and pure irritation, “Where’s your wheels then Viper ?” “I pick up the phone when I need ‘em. Like all the best folken, I’m driven.” RTL is having some problems with his two seat corrugated albino limousine too. The damned thing has been leaking oil all over The Lair's driveway for weeks now. It’s resting with the satanic mechanic for a week of intensive cursing. RTL slumbers in his chamber like a werewolf restlessly awaiting the blessed beams of the full moon. Gods help us tomorrow night ! Viper 14/6/2011 _____________________________________________
Hello dear folken, First off we apologise for the delay in our irregular service. We have, and are, still having technical problems with our web hosting site and as a consequence things may be a little slow appearing. We are in negotiations with said hosting site and have had our bills suspended until such time as we get sorted out or Viper gets pissed off and decides to just pull the fucking plug on the whole thing. Patience not being something he’s renowned for. Viper got himself interviewed outside the Big Audio Dynamite gig last month by someone from an outfit called Winkball.com. At the time he was full of Voodoo Soup and had just downed at least four pints of draught cider in the preceding hour so was not entirely what you might call straight. More what might be described as primed and ready for a fun evening. Though rambling slightly Viper still managed to come across reasonably sensible and plug The Lair at the beginning and end of the interview. The gig itself was most enjoyable and you can read all about it and see the exclusive full colour pictures in the Live Lounge. Black and white photos can be seen on www.facebook.com/vipertheundead , some of which we have given Tim from The Clash Blog permission to use in his article. Viper’s V.A.T. diet seems to be going well. Not only is Viper back into his 36’ waist rockin’ pants, he’s beginning to find them a little loose. In fact Viper’s getting to be slimmer than he’s been in close to two decades. Now he has to go searching the length and breath of the world for a decent pair of new rockin’ pants. Whatever did happen to stretch jeans ? Do any of you lot know how to wash leather pants ? We don’t, and we’d appreciate a few pointers. Viper woke up two Sundays ago with a broken rib. Now he realises it was Grand National Race Day, and he had been out with R.T.L. for a few jars that evening, but he doesn’t remember falling, fighting, or taking a knock of any description – yet next morning Viper awoke to a pain in the chest later confirmed by his doctor as a broken rib. According to El Quacko ribs can break with a sneeze, heavy cough, or after being weakened in an open chest surgery operation, and can pop anytime they feel like it. As you may imagine, Viper is just thrilled. He’s spent the last fortnight in a haze of painkillers and is left feeling flat, uninspired, and rather deflated. Viper has also been seen to make a tentative return to www.ChilledTimes.com . Why you may wonder after how things ended two years ago ? Well, put simply things have changed some over at that forum for the better. Also some folken have expressed a desire for Viper’s contributions and the former atmosphere of malicious bickering seems to have dissipated with the departure of certain personalities. Will Viper make a full return ? Well, that all depends upon how well things go over the next couple of weeks. R.I.P. to Polly Styrene of pioneering ‘punk’ band X-Ray Spex who died of breast cancer 25/4/2011. Planet-X will be holding another night at Le Bateau on May 29th. There is a possibility that there may be some kind of Planet-X gathering following the adam Ant gig on 28th May. Plans for an alternative ‘Fuck The Royal Wedding’ Planet-X party with artwork to have been done by Jamie Reid has unfortunately fallen through as a venue can not be found in time. Viper will be at the Icicle Works 30th Anniversary Bash at the Liverpool O2 Academy this Saturday 30/4/2011. Viper 27/4/2011 _____________________________________
________________
|
|||
| Home / Editors Office / The Ital Bar Smoking Lounge & Library (Public Bar) / Members Bar
|
