Retrosonic Podcast Lockdown Lowdown Episode 9 with Ian Greensmith (A.K.A. Vic Templar) from The Dentists & Armitage Shanks (and much more...!)

Photo: Jokin Misterklin

For Episode 9 of our special Lockdown Lowdown series we welcome Ian Greensmith into the virtual Retrosonic Podcast studio. Ian, a.k.a. Vic Templar, Herbie Greensmith, Vic Flange or just Ian Smith is not only a man of many names he's also a man of many talents as drummer with Medway Indie legends The Dentists, Armitage Shanks, Ye Ascoyne D'Ascoynes, The Dirty Contacts, Sine Waves, Rubberman 12 and The Nuevo Ramon 5. He's also a DJ, one of the promoters of The Fratcave club night and Beatwave Weekenders, author of the hilarious semi-autobiographical "Taking Candy From a Dog", keen gardener, badger watcher and retired cricketer. So yes, you can guess that this episode is packed full of many fascinating musical memories, inspirations, tales and adventures and, of course, some bloody great music! Ian takes us on a musical journey from his very first memory of hearing Aretha Franklin in the canteen at Butlins in Bognor Regis (he was wearing a red cardigan with white piping at the time fact fans) to the first record he bought with his own pocket money, his first gig and first time behind the drumkit. We learn about the early shows with The Milkshakes and The Prisoners, discovering the MIC Club and some legendary Medway Delta names such as Billy Childish, Graham Day, Russ Wilkins, Sexton Ming and more. There's the stories behind his own bands including The Dentists, Ye Ascoyne D'Ascoynes, Armitage Shanks and Nuevo Ramon 5 along with a pick of the best of their music. Then there's a stash of great tunes from his DJ bag, the gig he would travel back in time for, his perfect LP and 45rpm single and some of his favourite bands that he has put on at his own Club nights and Weekenders. There are brushes (excuse the pun) with Buddy Rich, Mark E Smith, The Monochrome Set and Johnny Echols and the story behind his superb semi-autobiographical book "Taking Candy From A Dog". Includes music from The Dentists, Armitage Shanks, Ye Ascoyne D'Ascoynes, The Milkshakes, The Prisoners, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello & The Attractions, Sammy Davis Jr & Buddy Rich, The Fall, The Byrds, Love, Buzzcocks, The Kingsmen, Gary McFarland, The Monochrome Set, The Wildebeests, The Fallen Leaves, Ye Nuns, Ramon 5, Little Richard and The Allisons. So sit back, turn up the volume and enjoy!

Retrosonic Podcast · Lockdown Lowdown Episode 9 with Ian Greensmith (A.K.A. Vic Templar) of The Dentist

Tracklisting (please click on highlighted links below to investigate further)

Aretha Franklin "I Say a Little Prayer"

Elvis Costello & The Attractions "(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea"

The Milkshakes "Shimmy Shimmy" & "After Midnight"

The Prisoners "Better In Black"

The Kingsmen "Haunted Castle" 

The Dentists "I Had An Excellent Dream" & "She Dazzled Me With Basil"

Ye Ascoyne D'Ascoynes "Favourite Stuff"

Ramon 5 "Amor Perdido"

The Fallen Leaves "Did You See Her"

Ye Nuns "Cuckoo"

The Wildebeests "Lucinda"

The Allisons "Surfer Street"

Love "The Daily Planet"

Little Richard "The Girl Can't Help It"

Gary McFarland "Fried Bananas"

Armitage Shanks "Look Out Here Comes Uncle John"

Sammy Davis Jr & Buddy Rich "Come Back To Me"

The Monochrome Set "Apocalypso"

The Fall "I'm a Mummy"

The Byrds "Eight Miles High"

Buzzcocks "Time's Up"

Louis Jordan "Bullitt"

You can buy "Taking Candy From A Dog" by Vic Templar from Blackheath Books here. Please check out the Facebook page for The Fratcave to keep updated on this and Beatwave as soon as things return to normal. Please do visit the excellent Spinout Nuggets Records for releases by Ye Ascoyne D'Ascoyne, Armitage Shanks, Treasures of Mexico and lots more Medway related bands.

Ian at The Marquee with The Dentists

You can also check out our other Medway related special Podcasts with Billy Childish, Graham Day, Allan Crockford and Wolf Howard at the Retrosonic Podcast archive here. Retrosonic Podcast is also available to subscribe for free at Spotify, iTunes, Apple Podcast & Mixcloud. With thanks to Ian.

 

Taking Candy From a Dog - An Evocative & Heartwarming Autobiographical Novel by Vic Templar

Vic Templar, the author of "Taking Candy From A Dog" might be better known to music fans as Ian Greensmith. Ian is a Writer, Drummer, Vibraphonist, Gardener and retired Cricketer whose favourite writers include Alan Silitoe, Graham Greene and Keith Waterhouse. This is his sixth book since the first was published in 1987 and Billy Childish’s Hangman Books have published three of them. Ian was a mainstay of the Medway 'scene', drumming with The Dentists and then Armitage Shanks and Ye Ascoyne D’Ascoynes along with Bob Collins. More recently he has played with The Sine Waves and the superb Nuevo Ramon 5 (the story of which is well worth checking out) and has just released a debut single with The Dirty Contacts on State Records. He now lives near Hastings where he runs the regular Fratcave club events and the yearly Beatwave Weekenders with Justin Ellis. 

The book opens in the present day with our hero rummaging around in his Dad’s loft searching in vain for Luke, a long-lost monkey sock puppet. The search evokes memories of a contented childhood and we are spirited away back in time to Chatham, Kent in the late 60's and placed right in the heart of the Smith family. Is this an autobiography, a novel or a metaphorical tale of a man searching for those idyllic days of childhood? I guess it is a bit of each. What I do know is that "Taking Candy From A Dog" is a heart-warming portrait of a ‘normal’ family from the late 60's to the mid-70’s. I put normal in inverted commas there as I can really relate to this book and I always considered myself fairly normal! There are no great dramas or hardships in the young Ian Smith's life but the beauty in the writing is to keep us entertained by the evocative vignettes and lovingly described characters that surround him. So, where does Luke the monkey come in? Luke is a well travelled woollen sock puppet with a nice line in sardonic humour. Each chapter is interrupted by his sarcastic take on events as seen through his (button) eyes and this adds a nice touch of world-weary cynicism to Ian's cheerful reminiscing. Luke explains about his creation and early life in San Francisco and how he ended up in a family home in the Medway. Along the way he drops in some withering put-downs and observations on his new English owners. These owners are Ian and his younger sister Kes. Ian's world revolves around Football, particularly Chatham, Gillingham and George Best. He loves Sure Shot Hockey, Subbuteo, Airfix Models and I-Spy books. 

The writing style perfectly encapsulates the era and many familiar brand names from my own youth spring from the pages. The Six Million Dollar Man on TV, drinking Tizer and R. White’s Lemonade and reading Sweeney annuals. There’s celery and Primula and paste sandwiches for tea. Ian observes all the adults around him, his family and their various friends. The men wear beige slacks and tan shoes and drink beer. “Lager is seen as Continental and treated with suspicion”. They have tattoos of “hearts, anchors, snakes or the bust of a raven-haired woman” and their cars “smell of leather and cigars”. The women wear Crimplene and nylon and discuss whether Pontins in Bognor Regis is better than Butlins. Throughout the book there are amusing Billy Liar style fantasy sequences in which Ian sets off on a road trip to Manchester for tea with George Best and later appears on the Michael Parkinson chat show. We move on to 1977, it’s the Queen’s Jubilee and the seismic rumblings of Punk Rock start to make waves in Ian's world. Suddenly, his older cousin Lee cuts his hair short and gets hold of a copy of the Sex Pistols “God Save The Queen”. Ian is desperate to hear what all the fuss is about but Lee makes him wait until one day when the whole family are sitting around together having their tea. Lee puts the black shiny plastic disc on the Ferguson record player, places the needle down and unleashes all that venomous sound and fury. Finally, the wait is over for Ian. “This is it. The record begins. The guitars and drums and then Johnny Rotten starts screaming. My life changes. It sounds like the Charge of The Light Brigade. It sounds like World War I. It sounds like Krakatoa. It sounds wonderful. Grandad says “Bloody Hellfire”, Nan says “What’s he singing?” and Mum says “What a load of bollocks!” Jack and Kes start singing “No fuchsias, no fuchsias, no fuchsias for you”. Life will never be the same again. 

Indeed, there are after-school fisticuffs, girls and parties and attempts at forming bands. There is a superb chapter on a quest of Holy Grail proportions trying to track down a copy of Buzzcocks “Spiral Scratch” on the day of release as advertised in the NME. Those were the days when buying records involved an actual physical journey and Ian traipses from record store to record store in vain. Hastings, Tunbridge Wells, Margate, Maidstone, no luck. Finally, it takes an elderly and unlikely shop assistant in Hythe to tell him that the release date had actually been delayed. Ian struggles with the various fashions and youth cults of the time and tries to cultivate his own ‘look’. Inspired somewhat by The Fall’s Mark E Smith he decides on ‘eccentric’ but ends up looking like Percy Thrower with Tweed jackets, bri-nylon shirts and woollen cardigans with leather buttons. There is a bittersweet tone to the last few chapters but I guess that just reflects the reality of getting older. Family bereavements, leaving school and having to deal with becoming an adult. Thatcher closing down the Dockyard. “400 years of Chatham history flushed down the pan overnight”. Jobs are either lost or people are relocated to start new careers. Close-knit communities drift apart. There is a big clear out for the move. It’s time to say goodbye to childhood trivialities as once loved toys are consigned to the local Cub Scout jumble sale. It is a poignant moment. His sister’s dolls and teddy bears are next and she picks up Luke and hesitates, looking at the black plastic bag destined for the sale and then back again at Luke… So what happened to Luke? Did the adult Ian ever find it up in his Dad’s loft or did the tatty sock puppet end up on a trestle table at the Cub Scout’s hut. Maybe it was picked up for a few pence and spirited away on another adventure. I am not telling. You will just have to buy the book to find out.

The Author (2nd left) with the Nuevo Ramon 5 - Photo Retro Man Blog

Taking Candy From a Dog by Vic Templar is published by Blackheath Books and available from their web-site. For more information on this year's Beatwave Weekender please check out their Facebook page. You can read a report on last year's Beatwave in the Blog archive here and a review of The Dirty Contacts at the Lexington here. Please click on the highlighted links throughout the feature for more info on the mentioned events and bands.

Jetstream Pony "Self Destruct Reality" EP launch at The Finsbury Friday 13th July by David Leach

Jetstream Pony "Self Destruct Reality" EP

Drama from the very start. I exit Manor House tube station and am greeted by a thunderstorm - the first rain in the city for weeks. I make a dash for it to The Finsbury pub where tonight’s gig is taking place, but am soon to discover that this is not the only electrically-charged moment of the evening as its pointed out that, during the sound check, the band had been experiencing a little more electricity through their microphones than they were comfortable with. The problems appeared to have been resolved before show time and, thankfully, a ‘self-destruct reality’ is averted! Jetstream Pony are the first band on tonight in what is a four act line up, I am guessing they are a late addition to the bill as having heard their music they strike me as a band who could  probably anticipate being higher up the pecking order .They appear to be on a bit of a roll at the moment as they have been played on BBC radio twice this week, and have gained a few admiring comments in the music media (plus an endorsement from a leading light in the world of indie music) and it is apparent as they take the stage there are a fair few more people than you would normally anticipate being at a show for the first band.

Jetstream Pony Photo by David Leach

The set opens with ‘Not The One’, a track from their new five song EP. Their sound is powerful, immediate and direct. It has something of a commercial, outward looking indie aspect, with not a shamble or a shoe-gaze in sight. I wouldn’t go quite as far as describing it as ‘Power Pop’ as such as, lyrically, there appear to be deeper, and sometimes darker, undercurrents that you wouldn’t associate with that genre. There is, however, certainly a punk bite in the thick bass lines and searing guitar and the tunes are without doubt proper melodic earworms. As the set progresses, they play another track from new EP called ‘Out Of Reach’. Kerry Boettcher’s elongated, jagged bass line intro launches the song; it’s met with Sara Boyle’s metronomic powerful drum beat, Shaun Charman’s chiming guitar joins in echoing the bass line, while Beth Arzy’s cool tuneful vocal gives the sound brightness. This song gets a real groove going and I feel that it’s at this point that the set really starts to take shape and, more importantly, the ‘first band on’ sound issues have dissipated. 

Jetstream Pony Photo by David Leach

‘Zipwire’ is another from the EP; it is the fastest in their set and one can imagine how the track got its title as it’s a pure ‘adrenaline rush’ song. Singer Beth said that the lyrics at the end of the song were influenced by some lyrics by The Dentists although she is reticent to say which one! As a fellow fan of the same band, I would suggest that if you peer behind the door where they keep their universe you will find the answer there. For me the highlight of the set is the lead track on the new EP, ‘Self-Destruct Reality’ - a classic, bitter sweet pop song with a dark side to the lyrics which suggest the public face hides inner feelings of a lack of control. This is wrapped up in a fabulous repeating-patterned guitar melody –which could just be the aural equivalent of the artwork on the band’s single - that weaves through the song, breaking into waves of riffs while the band power on around it. It sounds great on record but, live, it really sounds quite anthemic! Sadly, I have to leave The Finsbury at the end of the Jetstream Pony set and haven’t caught the other artists on the “Get into Her Ears” bill. I have been to The Finsbury before and note that it does have a particular focus on promoting female artists as my last visit was also for an all- girl ‘folk-inspired’ line up. Around that time, I remember seeing a picture of an imagined female-dominated festival bill that was created in response to overwhelmingly male festival line ups. Summing up tonight’s performance, it occurs to me that Jetstream Pony would be a fine band to add to this imaginary bill.

Jetstream Pony Photo by David Leach

You can order the "Self Destruct Reality" EP from the Jetstream Pony Bandcamp site here or check out more information on forthcoming gigs and news at the band's Facebook page here. With many thanks to David for the review and photos.

Jetstream Pony Photo by Alia Halstead, design by Kenji

The Galileo 7 & Bob Collins & The Full Nelson at The Betsey Trotwood London November 14th

Clerkenville East-West - an occasional excursion into the heart of acid rock, cosmic Americana, British psych, post-punk and art rock - presents "Out of The Unknown" at The Betsey Trotwood, 56 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3BL. A very Kentish affair featuring three exceptional purveyors of Psych and Power Pop goodness from the Medway (via Sidcup...). This special event will see the London debut of BOB COLLINS & THE FULL NELSON - led by the guitarist of cult '80s janglers The Dentists. Also appearing will be former Prisoners, Solar Flares and JTQ bassist Allan Crockford stepping centre stage with THE GALILEO 7's Sunshine Pop & Freakbeat. And then there is the always extraordinary Glam/Psychedelic pop collective PAPERNUT CAMBRIDGE - imagine Lou Reed and Marc Bolan hijacking the BBC Radiophonic Workshop...Running order on the three-way headliner will be decided on the night with the first band starting at 8.30pm SHARP in the basement. 

Advance tickets at just £5.00 from http://www.wegottickets.com/event/335415

For more information on the bands please check out their web-sites at the links below:
 
Bob Collins & The Full Nelson: 
https://bobcollinsandthefullnelson.wordpress.com/

The Galileo 7:
http://thegalileo7.fourfour.com/home

Papernut Cambridge:
https://papernutcambridge.bandcamp.com/