What key is it even in?

Hearty lolz on exhuming an old classic:

 lemonz prax by HOT HEAD SHOW

Bodie and The Word

Hot Headquarters having just this week found itself in a position to offer the discerning young composer both the technical wherewithal and the motivational gumption to record bits and often silly pieces right here in the cozy confines of a room above a betting shop in E9, Jordan and Vaughn have settled comfortably into a shift scheme whereby each will fire up the Recording Device during the other's hours of work for the Man.  And so two songs have emerged, one of which might one day find itself being performed by Hot Head Show, whilst the other will almost certainly languish on some virtual shelf in an impossibly dustless digital database for a very long time indeed.

 Bodie Doesn't Take It Sitting Down by HOT HEAD SHOW

 the Word is God by HOT HEAD SHOW 

Red Ball, Brown Curtain

Built with You in Mind

So Vaughn Stokes is back and settling in nicely to his former routine of sofa-slumbering till 3pm followed by alternate hours of bass-practicing and spotify-jockeying.   Since we left him in New York three months ago, the only obvious differences are a slight thickening of his ambitiously groomed facial hair and a new appreciation for Chick Corea.

In other news, Jordan has been moonlighting on recordings helmed principally by Jonah "The Truth" Brody of Super Best Friends Club.  His (Jordan's) Mbira chops only really come out to play on these rare session gigs, on this occasion committed to binary in the brand new recording facility deep in the guts of Homerton Psychiatric Hospital, after the Chilean sound engineer's ultimately job-costing decision to leave the band alone in the building whilst he (the sound Chilean engineer) went to pick up his girlfriend (an accomplished klezmer cellist) from the night bus stop:

The Return

This week Vaughn Stokes will be once more in our midst.  He's flying Victoria to London via like Belgrade, and will arrive probably Thursday.  I'm sure he'll be giving y'all a thorough report once he himself is back in the Smoke - we here at the Show know very little of his movements since the end of the US tour.  We know he stopped off briefly to visit the love of his life in Montreal, and that he then continued west in search of further coital opportunities.  We heard a rumor he was living with a midget on the beach north of Seattle - some say he's strung out on some esoterically morbid mysticism, but we find that hard to believe.  He was apparently sighted early last Sunday outside a burlesque club in Vancouver, in a compromising position with a beautiful double-amputee and a suspected racist.  That story would seem to jive with this photograph, which reached us a few days ago:

Al Green

The Lemon EP

After many happy downloads from the Soundcloud player, we've now moved the Lemon EP over to Bandcamp, which we're told is what all the hepcats are doing.  You can still download it for free, you just need to join our mailing list, which is really a win-win from your point of view.
Soundcloud.com/hot-head-show is still the place to go for live tracks, rehearsal jams and other obscurities, which will still be downloadable for nothing.

HEAD HOT ROAD SHOW #2

BEHOLD:

Niagara

Look what Barry done dug up from the bottom of his suitcase...

The American Opinion

Thought you might enjoy some highlights of the various bits and pieces we were accused of whilst in the states:

FrantikMag.com     02.06.10

"It takes a lot to surprise people in London.  Nonetheless, Hot Head Show are apparently turning heads with songs that Time Out London could only describe as "genuinely fresh" and "appealingly bizarre".  Les Claypool, the muso demi-god responsible for plunging his mighty fingers into the confused bubble & squeak of London's burgeoning avant-rock scene and plucking forth this odd trio, describes them as "stupid, unclean, helpless geniuses".  Having spent the first part of the year parading Hot Head Show around Europe, Claypool brings them now to the US for their first stateside tour."

Pittsburgh City Paper     03.06.10

"Opening for Claypool at Greensburg's Palace Theatre tonight is a new act worth special notice: Hot Head Show, a London-based trio whose erratic grooves and twisted lyrics combine elements of Captain Beefheart, deranged ska, The Birthday Party and Tom Waits. To quote singer Jordan Bennett's monologic lyrics, "Run for the early train that gets you there before the rush / 'Cause then the entrance fee won't sting so much."

Tiny Rager blog     08.06.10

"It is a wonder that Les Claypool doesn't understand the crowd's reaction to his music when he invites groups like this to open for his show.  Personally, this was just a loud 30 minute mess used to get us rowdy.  There was a pretty bass solo at one point but other wise the music was a headache.  An utter headache.  After reading about them, their reviews are actually positive... UGH!  I am sorry but I really hate being screamed at by a band on stage."

Wall Street Journal .com     04.06.10

"Hot Head Show was the ideal opening act for Claypool and Co. The trio makes funky, zig-zaggy rock, though it tosses blues and ska into the blender as well, with lyrics from the Zappa/Claypool school of sophomoric humor. If you didn't make it to Montclair, the double-bill plays the House of Blues in Atlantic City on Sunday and the Brooklyn Bowl on Tuesday."

The Sonic Abyss blog     07.06.10

"Every once in a while a band comes along with a sound so insane (yet so undeniably well done and totally pro) that one's head just spins in wonderment until you realize you can do nothing but laugh, enjoy, and go with the flow... I’ve never heard anything quite like this before and I really can’t compare it directly with any one band. Absolutely one of the most fun bands I’ve ever heard in my life.  As esoteric as any Frank Zappa album ever was (albeit with simple guitar/bass/drums instrumentation)... slips from garage to ska to twisted rock to avantgarde effortlessly, with one of the most fun and playful bass guitars I’ve ever heard and sharp British wit.  No kidding…this is a fiercely original sound that has to be experienced.   Guaranteed to make you smile, confuse and confound you.  And the musicianship is just ludicrously top notch.  I’m amazed at how addicting this sound is."

Pittsburgh Music Report     11.06.10

"The opening band Hot Head Show did not impress.  The vocals were near indecipherable, they constantly started / stopped, and changed pace throughout the song.  I had a hard time getting in to the groove."

AssociatedContent.com  04.06.10

"If the generic, bland sounds of American Idol are getting you down about the state of the modern music scene, then check out the wildly innovative music of Hot Head Show. This unique trio from London, England is never going to end up on any Top 40 playlist, and that's only one of the things that makes them so great. Hot Head Show plays music that defies any easy description, taking cues and influences from diverse sources such as the blues, ska, alternative rock, funk and psychedelia. Thrown together in a crazy musical stew and seasoned with witty lyrics and terrific vocals, their music will get your feet moving at the same time your brain is trying to process just what exactly you're hearing... at a time when mediocrity and blandness seem to dominate the music scene, it's wonderful to hear a band that just goes out there and plays their own kind of music."

Yo here's what America looked like yo:

So the state of play

currently is this:  Betamax and Jordan are now back in London, but Vaughn decided to go from New York to Toronto in order to make love to the young lady he's been pining for since he arrived.  Once he's done that a few times, he'll go back to Vancouver Island to rekindle his relationship with a large glass bong apparently superior to anything that has ever existed in Europe.  Then, hopefully, he's going to book himself a flight back to London.

In the mean time, Betamax is living in his van and spending a lot of time on his fairly banging side-project Soccer 96, whilst Jordan finally has some time to figure out whether a brass slide might be better than a traditional glass bottleneck.  When Vaughn returns, he will go from the airport directly to meet us in the recording studio to lay down Fingers and Bethany, so that we can push some new product to the people before the summer's out.

.

He Used to Make My Big Toe Shoot Up In My Boot

New York City

INCOMING

Going to New York tomorrow.  Three dudes and a makeshift manager versus the mighty US of A.  That's assuming they let us in - both Betamax and Vaughn Stokes are currently sporting the wrong sort of beard, and Jordan is bound to cause offense one way or another.

But assuming we do make it to the 3000 heads unknowingly awaiting us at Show #1 in Buffalo, we'll be banging out a couple of new ones, one of which is pretty odd, and then we'll probably do something like this too:

Should you see us wondering the streets of Manhattan, Buffalo, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Covington, Brooklyn, Manchester Tennessee, New Hope Pennsylvania, Philadelphia again, or Toronto, do please come say hi.  We'll probably give you a lighter that says Hot Head Show on it.

.

London Rumble

So the show tonight is at an underground wrestling event in Hackney Wick - 92 Whitepost Lane E9 5EN - look for handwritten signs guiding you in off the street.

It cost a tenner and the only rule is that if you come in, you have to fight. We'll be playing an extended set with a heavy jam feel in keeping with the action as it happens. Should be a banger.

.

The Lemon EP

   

Here at last the Lemon EP is made fully available for listening, downloading, embedding, inbedding, inthekitchening, or wherever.  The first track is the whole EP as intended - one seventeen minute strip of ballsout bangbang.  But for those who'd rather have the tracks individually, the record can now be downloaded as such from this same player.  It's all free, but should land right there in iTunes next to the music you paid good money for.  The HARD COPY of this EP, costing about a tenner, will contain three extra tracks - Ritalin, Some Money, and Circumspangle #1, and probably a lovely sticker too.  It will also be housed in appropriately nifty packaging, which is being scored and die-cut as we speak:

couple more live ones

   HOTEL ROOM - Live in Berlin by HOT HEAD SHOW
   

    PAYLOAD - Live in Milan by HOT HEAD SHOW

Back

Now back in London with a cup of Normal Tea in an honest block of flats.  Europe was overwhelmingly good to us.  Those European people laughed at all our jokes and enthused mercilessly.  They gave us more beer than we could drink, more ham and cheese slices than we could fold into little baps, and they bought more CDs than we had to sell.  We had to get another 500 made in Berlin, pressed by a nice girl who apparently sounded hot on the phone.

The shows were occasionally shit but mostly hella.  Live EP and various bits & video pieces are now being masticated furiously, should be ready soon.  And then there's this next tour - Colonel Claypool has now formally requested that we open his shows in the US this summer.  Which begs the question - are the people of America ready for bang bang?  Whilst we scratch our chins over that, why don't you look at these:

Tour: Germany

Tour: Day 592

Its all in Italy. Init!

Hot Head Show! Capisce!

KOKO

Claypool Tour Day 1:

What Goes Round

Finished another tune today, soon to be on merch stands across Europe.  Thought I'd stick it up here first, just for those of you brave enough to have ventured beyond the myspace...

What Goes Round  by  HOT HEAD SHOW

In just over two weeks we'll be performing this song in this building in Koln, Deutschland:

Fuckin Hella.

.

Readying for the Road

Much to do round here.  Fresh bouquet of new tunes to prune, all manner of emails to people big and small, and which of these lighters is better....?

 . 

Tea Time

Autocare

The soiled remnants of a party above an auto shop, deep into a January night in Clapton.

That Betamax Sound

This week, my word - for the first time in the history of Hot Head Show, our drummer showed up at Headquarters proclaiming that a song had been written and that he himself had written it.  He tried to explain his concept for the tune, which made no sense at all.  But knowing the boy to be a better drummer than he is an explainer, the recording machine was wheeled into the room, and Betamax laid down first a guitar part, then the drums.
 
   Max's Rhythm  by  HOT HEAD SHOW

It needs a little work, but is going to be very banging indeed.  This is one of five new tunes now being whittled lovingly in a basement in Dalston, splurges of which are bound to end up on here over the next few weeks.  And I'm pretty sure I've got a new batch of live videos knocking around here somewhere.

It's Official

So yeah, we're going to open for Les Claypool across Europe in March.   The tour starts at Koko in Camden on the 8th March, from whence we'll proceed unto the Continent.  Ten cities in twelve days.

This all started a few weeks ago, when we managed to score Mr Claypool's email address, and took it upon ourselves to pitch him our shit.  As it happened he had a European tour coming up, and the need for a nifty little trio to warm up his crowds whilst they're checking their coats and getting a round in.  But between the Yes from Les and the final confirmation there has passed a tense two weeks of Probably Maybe, whilst the booking agent and promoters checked the myspace, weighed us up against their favorite local bands, and punched numbers into the calculators on their blackberries, all the while murmuring secretively.

But as of this afternoon, it's officially a thing.  Koko is already sold out, and the other dates are going fast - if you're an Italian Head or a German or Swiss Head, you best run straight down to the ticket shop.  For American and Canadian Heads, and our original UK Heads who bin there from day, there will inevitably be a steady stream of blog continuing to gush frantically at your face and dribble down your chin and onto your trendy little shoes.  There will also be MUSIC - our most pressing objective, before we start thinking about how we're going to feed ourselves on this tour, is to bang out some new SHOWTUNES.

Here's Jordan and Vaughn discussing concepts:
   

   

And Betamax is considering doing this in one of the new tunes:

So watch out for that.

      

It's Mungrul Music

THIS WEDNESDAY:

It's MUNGRUL MUSIC

It's MUNGRUL MUSIC.

HOT HEAD SHOW | MySpace Music Videos
HOT HEAD SHOW | MySpace Music Videos

House

Newsflash

It's looking increasingly likely that Hot Head Show will be touring Europe with Les Claypool in a few weeks' time.  Hoorah.  More soon.
 

Leeds

Played MOOSEWRENCH up in LEEDS.  Looked a lot like this:

[click them and they get bigger]

Brixton

Snow

The LEMON EP

That old link to the old EP now having reached its download quota, here's a new link to the old EP, with the new EP set to be released within the next couple of weeks. Listen right here, or download and open in iTunes or whatever.

The Lemon EP  by  HOT HEAD SHOW

One Opinion

Moose Factory Top 10 Live Acts of 2009 [Click Here]


.

wha wha wha whaaa

   Donkey BVs  by  HOT HEAD SHOW

Transit

Big Bear Mountain