The Ginger Quiff - Musings on music and mental health

Carol Hodge - Photographer John Middleham

Carol Hodge – Selenite Songs Tour Preview Interview

October 27, 2024 By neilho27@sky.com

I recently interviewed The Courettes after their show in Glasgow, a duo often labelled as the hardest touring band on the circuit. Closer to home another artist who seems to be touring/playing live incessantly is friend (no relation…) to these pages, Carol Hodge, who must have mornings like “today its Yorkshire it must be Selenite Songs/Steve Ignorant/The Wildhearts/rare day off at home* (*delete as appropriate).

Within that busy touring schedule Carol managed to squeeze in some time for a chat about relentless touring, part two of the Selenite Songs tour with Julia Othmer, her new album EffortLess InSecurity and being an independent touring artist.

… Read the rest

Keeley – Beautiful Mysterious – Interview/Album Review

October 23, 2024 By neilho27@sky.com

All photographs courtesy of Chris Hogge (@chrishoggephotography) • Instagram photos and videos

There is no artist I’ve come across in recent years quite like Keeley, her dedication and persistence to her cause is both remarkable and unwavering. When I say her cause, I don’t just mean the creation of her perfect and complex dream-pop/shoegaze masterpieces, it must be said that Keeley is no ordinary recording artist. Her raison d’etre, and what makes her tick, is the pursuit of justice for German backpacker Inga Maria Hauser who was cruelly murdered on a backpacking trip as she made her way to Ireland from Scotland.… Read the rest

Bodega – Brand on the Run tour, Glasgow

October 22, 2024 By neilho27@sky.com

All photographs courtesy of Chris Hogge (@chrishoggephotography) • Instagram photos and videos

It feels that there has always been an affinity between Scotland, particularly Glasgow, and New York. It seems that the spirit of the cities live within each other. Perhaps it’s because we look alike, with Glasgow often substituting for the Big Apple in Hollywood blockbusters and then there is New York hosting a Tartan Week, perhaps it’s because both cities have a strong musical heritage spawning some of the worlds best bands and having some of the most iconic music venues, past and present. Or maybe it’s just because each cities people know how party and have a good time.… Read the rest

The Courettes – Live (& Interview) – Room 2, Glasgow – The Soul of The Courettes tour

October 15, 2024 By neilho27@sky.com

All photographs of The Courettes courtesy of Christopher Hogge Photography Chris Hogge (@chrishoggephotography) • Instagram photos and videos

The new album by The Courettes came out on my birthday, what a gift to receive. Fortunately I’d had access to the album in advance so by the time I received the vinyl, I was well versed in the songs contained within the grooves. After all these years, and there have been more than a few now, there is still nothing like playing a record for the first time, and a band like The Courettes really should be listened to on vinyl…

I had been looking forward in anticipation to a huge list of gigs in September, but unfortunately I never made the majority of them, and the one’s I did make it to, while the gigs were great, I wasn’t as locked in as I normally would be, my head and thoughts were often elsewhere and try as I might, I couldn’t lose myself in the music the way I usually do.… Read the rest

Stop Me If You Think That You’ve Heard This One Before…. Don’t Panic, Ask for Help

October 2, 2024 By neilho27@sky.com

It’s a well known fact, we all have mental health, just as we all have physical health. So it follows that we can all have periods of poor mental health in the same way as we can all experience poor physical health. Why is it then that when we start to feel ill or suffer from physical ailments naturally most of us will take affirmative action to prevent whatever is affecting us from getting worse. Maybe we go to the chemist and pick up some over the counter remedy, or seek advice from a pharmacist or doctor, and in more serious cases we are admitted to hospital’s to receive the correct care and attention.… Read the rest

The Soul of The Fabulous Courettes album cover

The Courettes – The Soul of The Courettes – album review

October 1, 2024 By neilho27@sky.com

Over the years, the husband and wife duo that make up The Courettes have deservedly built a formidable, and “fabulous” reputation for being one of the hardest working touring bands on the circuit, barely taking a break over the last few years to catch their breath as they tour relentlessly around the world. Somehow within this punishing schedule they have managed to fit in the recording of this glorious new record.

The globetrotting dynamic duo have never been backward about wearing their influences on their sleeves, quite literally, with their glamourous monochromatic sense of style matching the remarkable era of music that has played such an important part in influencing their sound and image.… Read the rest

Sister Madds, The Froobz, Lemon Drink & comfort girl – King Tuts Summer Nights Live

September 1, 2024 By neilho27@sky.com

My gig game has been weak recently. I’ve missed several fixtures that should have been easy home wins. For some reason I’ve gone down the route of weak football analogies here, I should point out that as an armchair Aberdeen fan, I may be giddy through their early season success, as I started to write this my team was sitting in the recent uncharted territory of the top of the league.

Personally, I’ve not been match fit recently so my first gig back for a while was an opportunity to test my fitness levels. Not my actual fitness levels, testing them would most definitely not have a positive outcome, but what I mean is my ability to seamlessly slip back into the pattern of play as if nothing had happened.… Read the rest

Punk & Disorderly – The Dead Thatchers, Trumpton Riot, The Fuck Ups, Smalltown Tigers, Black Bombers, Rancid, Hateful, Ex-, Litterbug, Year Zero.

August 20, 2024 By neilho27@sky.com

Punk comes in many shapes and forms, as the Don Letts 2005 documentary attested to, it was never really about a musical “style” per se but as the title of the documentary suggested, it was all about the Attitude.

There was no blueprint about what a punk band should look or sound like, and that message is still relevant today, the spirit being kept alive by those who got, and get, it, although there are those who don’t and never did get it and would have some of their own “heroes” turning in their graves when they demonstrate behaviours and attitudes that are a volte-face from what they stood for.… Read the rest

Singles Round Up 2024 – Part 7 – July

August 16, 2024 By neilho27@sky.com

I love new music. Simple. New music from new bands. New music from old bands. It never ceases to amaze me when I come across people who don’t like music (at all?!?) or are determined to tell me, all the great music has already been made (really?1?)… Suffice to say, EVERY month there are dozens of quality new sounds and bands that blow my mind…

Top 10

I keep digging a hole for myself by rating things. How hard it is to have a favourite! it’s like, do I prefer eating, drinking or breathing? Anyway… here goes…

Single of the Month

Keeley – Inga Hauser

One of the Ginger Quiff’s 24 for ’24, the peerless Keeley Moss and her band Keeley, continue to go from strength to strength, having wowed me from the off with the songs on their Brave Warrior EP, and literally everything that has followed since, culminating in my finally getting to see this musical tour de force live last year.… Read the rest

Govanhill Street Music Festival – Scottish Faultlines, Junk Pups & San Jose live

August 12, 2024 By neilho27@sky.com

After recent weeks events with the racist right wing rioters taking to the streets (of England & Northern Ireland) to claim “are country” back it was heartening to see UK-wide counter protests claim the streets back from these knuckle-draggers to prove that the fascist scum are in the minority.

To join in on these celebrations of togetherness, I ventured out to my first “gig” in about 3 weeks to the sun swathed Govanhill Street Music Festival, three stages in the area catering for every music taste.

Scottish Faultlines

Unfortunately I didn’t make it to the Reggae Stage at the Bees Knees Cafe with the Bass Warrior Soundsystem, my day kicking off in the early afternoon sunshine at the Belljar Stage being entertained by the inimitable Hugh Haggerty in his guise of Scottish Faultlines.… Read the rest