A public address system (PA system) is an electronic sound amplification and distribution system with a microphone, amplifier and loudspeakers, used to allow a person to address a large public, for example for announcements of movements at large and noisy air and rail terminals.

So this is definitely not a public address. No sound here. But here we I am, ranting, wondering, and discovering new sounds. The usual. What’s been going on since last week? Of course, I need to give everyone an update. That’s how I proselytize here. Trying to convert everyone into indiepop militants against the hate of the Shoreditch hipsters. Kidding. Anyhow…

On the Cloudberry page I’ve added a pre-order button for The Rileys retrospective. I’m hoping to send to press the record by early November, so it’s out by Christmas time. That’s the plan. There’s also a new 7″ that will be released pretty soon by Spanish band Lost Tapes. On Tuesday check the website as well as the Cloudberry facebook page as there will be announcements there. There will be a video for the A side “War in the Netherlands”, as well as a downloadable MP3, and the beautiful artwork made by Marta Llumbart Jambert.

Last weekend I got to see The History of Apple Pie on Friday at The Living Room in Manhattan and Joanna Gruesome at Baby’s All Right on Saturday in Brooklyn. I got to chat with both bands, and I was happy to see them giddy about playing in New York. Both bands told me that the crowds here had been very good and very into them. I’m always skeptical about this of course, because usually indiepop shows in New York only gather 10 or 15 fans at the most, but I guess, because they were part of the CMJ thingie, and the lineups were quite mixed in musical styles, they got some new listeners and fans.I was especially surprised by Joanna Gruesome’s crowd. I saw people pogo. Dance. And some even knew the songs. That’s surprising as their album is pretty recent. When was it released? A month ago? Also I was thrilled by their new vocalist. I had seen them before at Indietracks, and I remember someone different. I had read too that Lan had been part of Evans the Death but when I saw them, she wasn’t there either. So that was all new. And she was a great front woman I have to say. Great addition to the band, she brought a lot of energy, excitement, and attitude. The terrible part of the gig was that we had to wait for like 40 minutes because they were missing an amp. Gladly Mr. Fortuna Pop was around, being a fantastic roadie, and fixed the whole situation. It was really heartwarming to see Sean -Fortuna Pop- taking care of the band like a true manager, taking care of every detail.

About The History of Apple Pie I was really surprised they never saw the girl behind Cool in a Crisis, that defunct label that put out their first tape, a split with Sweater Girls, a bunch of years ago. She lives in NYC. I guess, I was quite right that it was just a fad. There were a bunch of hipsters that jumped into the indiepop bandwagon around 2008-2010. Of course, I was told that I was mean and hateful and all those things. But hey, you know, time proved me right. The band has a new 7″, that I’ve really enjoyed, and they sound much better than the first time I saw them, at the London Popfest of 2011 I believe. I still have their setlist of that gig somewhere. I still think “Mallory”, their first single, has to become an indiepop classic in the near future.

And that’s how my indiepop week ended. I took some “groupie photos” with the bands and that was it. Now I don’t see any exciting gigs coming up. I guess it will be pretty quiet until NYC Popfest. Saving energy until then.

Talking about saving energy, next weekend I’m going to the Catskills, to a wooden cabin in the middle of nowhere just to relax and drink with a bunch of friends. It looks pretty exciting. The owner of the cabin told us to beware of leaving food out as bears can show up. I doubt I’ll be hiking, though my friends seem to be keen on that idea. For me the plan will be to disconnect. Barely be online. Get to play some board games, or card games. Drink. Maybe visit Woodstock. Something like that. A relaxing weekend. Okay, this is more like replenishing energy. But it works, right?

Oh! and before I forget, on Plastilina we have a new release coming up, a co-release with Fortuna Pop. It’s Cocoanut Groove’s new album “How To Build a Maze”. You can pre-order the CD from the Plastilina website already. It will start shipping not later than November 15th!

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Lately I’ve been in touch with a great Portuguese indiepop fan, Joel. He has sent me and introduced me to a thousand new bands. All of them obscure, exciting, jangly, the kind that I like. Some of these bands he had shown me I knew by name, others I’ve heard one song, and others were totally new. I’m very grateful to him for it. Today I’ll try to solve the mystery of one of these bands, a band I had heard one song “James Dean” on Youtube ages ago, and that thanks to Joel I heard the B side, and eventually made me curious enough to track some more songs of them online.

So, let’s start this way. Head to ReverbNation. Here you’ll find 7 songs by Public Address. These are “James Dean”, “Why Does My Heart Ache” , “Goodbye From Her (demo)”, “Can You Hear Me Now? (demo)”, “She Don’t Remember (live)”, “Katherine’s Kite (live)” and  “Rescue (live)”. The first two were part of the one and only 7″ they released.

Of course, this is not the first James Dean song by an indiepop band. From the top of my head I can think of the one by James Dean Driving Experience, “Dean’s Eleventh Dream”, and My Favorite’s “James Dean (Awaiting Ambulance)”. But this one is truly great too! Could have been a classic if more people knew about it. Great jangly guitars, great melody, great lyrics, great vocals, great everything! Just the kind of pop I love here in Cloudberry!

According to the ReverbNation page we know that the band was around 1985 and 1987. The only other piece of information is that they came from Worksop. Strange, as usually bands fill in their band members, and some bio, on these sort of pages. But hey, I took this job as a detective, so let’s keep digging.

Worksop is the largest town in the Bassetlaw district of Nottinghamshire, England, on the River Ryton at the northern edge of Sherwood Forest. It is about 15 miles (24 km) east-south-east of the City of Sheffield and its population is estimated (mid-2004) to be 39,800. Worksop is included in the Sheffield City Region of England. It is also twinned with the German town Garbsen.  Worksop is known as the “Gateway to the Dukeries”, so called for the number of ducal residences in the area.Sherwood Forest. I’ve always wanted to go there. I always liked Robin Hood you know. I’ve been close. In Nottingham, but never for more than a couple of hours. The longest was that time with Nana and Andreas when we were given a tour of the city council. What a fun day that was.

The record doesn’t seem to be listed on Discogs. But I found it on 45cat. There are scans for the sleeve and the labels. And so we learn that the band was formed by:
Derron Rafter – Drums
Stuart Smith – Lead Guitar
Glenn Day – Bass
John O’Sullivan – Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
Mick Ellison – Keyboards

The two songs on the 7″ were recorded and mixed at Input Studios, on December 1986. It was produced and arranged by Public Address. Engineered and mixed by Nick Wild.

The label that put it out was called The Fabled Stable Records. It was released in 1987 and the catalog number is SLS 101. I assume this was the first and last release by this label. Most probably a self-release.The credits for the songs are quite simple. “James Dean” was written by John O’Sullivan, while “Heartache” was written by Public Address. And this is were I hit a wall. I keep googling but nothing else shows up.So this is the time when I ask you people out there. Do you know anything else about this band? If you ever saw them live? If you happen to have any spare copies of this record? I’ve never seen it on eBay, and only seems to be listed once on Popsike.Please, help solve the mystery. This is a Public Address.