shows // The Awkward Sons of Patrick Stewart

s03 e10: a skull full of maggots

The Awkward Sons of Patrick Stewart // 21.01.13 // S03 E10: A Skull Full of Maggots

Well, that's it - The Awkward Sons is dead!

It's been a fucking blast cramming your head holes full of sub-underground minge abuse for the past few years, but there comes a time in every man's life when he has to try and start a record shop in a country where he can't speak the language.

For the final Awkward hurrah, it's going to be nothing but the most brutal, goat-groping, priest-burning underground metal out there. I started out doing an extreme metal show on Subcity back in 2003 (Grind Your Mind), so it's the only way to bring it all to an end.

If you're into it, here's the previous metal special we put together back in 2011. Weirdly, it's our most popular episode by far. Fuck knows why. Must be an untapped Ride For Revenge market out there somewhere, eh?

http://www.subcity.org/shows/patrickstewart/d91ae/

This week's show has a slightly more old-school feel to it, so if Seven Churches is your go-to good time of choice, this one's definitely for you.

And even if it's not, it will be in an hour's time.

Anyway, cheers to every cunt that's listened to a show or come to one of our nights over the years.

And if it's all getting a bit too much for you, keep checking our Mixcloud page for new mixes - there's a ton up there already.

http://www.mixcloud.com/chris-storey/

Even though there won't be a show, our natural audio arrogance has to have an outlet somewhere.

Fuck yourselves!

Posted at 19:50, 21st January 2013

s03 e09: cunt on the checkout

The Awkward Sons of Patrick Stewart // 07.01.13 // S03 E09: Cunt on the Checkout

One half of The Awkward Sons is opening a record store this year.

Over the holidays, this obviously came up in conversation A LOT! The most common question, though, was, "Are you going to stock any CDs?" Reasonable enough, given the state of the CD market in the last few years.

I still think there's value in the things, especially when an album doesn't get a vinyl or tape pressing. Or when the packaging gets inventive (early Solefald, those nice Discordance Axis dvd cases). And everyone loves a big cd box set (that Ayler box - pure sex).

It's a weak format, obviously, but it's what's on it that counts.

So, in praise of the humble CD, tonight's show will be wall-to-wall polycarbonate plastic.

I'm still picking tracks as I write this, so it'll be a shock for us all come 10.00pm.

Strap the fuck in, sugar tits.

Posted at 17:37, 7th January 2013

s03 e08: the best of 2012 (part 2)

The Awkward Sons of Patrick Stewart // 10.12.12 // S03 E08: The Best of 2012 (Part 2)

The second part of our Best of 2012 feature.

There's been so much great music this year, and everyone's doing the obligatory end of year rundown.

It's all a bit bleakly familiar, though.

No matter the magazine/shop/blog/Facebook update, it seems that Scott Walker, Swans, Actress, Can, Godspeed... etc hold pride of place in pretty much every record collection out there.

Obviously, most of these are decent albums (Godspeed aside), and it's hilarious that Michael Gira and his double album/three hour live show can slip into Time Magazine almost unnoticed.

But hunting for records isn't what it was 10+ years ago. There's so much easily available info and so many 'lost' recordings out there now that the idea of an established canon is pretty much redundant.

So, why the same-old end of year entries? Why the endless lionising of the old guard, just because they've come around again? Obviously, not everyone is stuck in this routine, but it feels like some sort of mass critical gridlock.

I guess it's easy to fall back on the big names when you're faced with a seemingly endless flood of new ones, especially when the time to take them all in just isn't there. And a bunch of familiar faces helps the money flow, too.

With all that in mind, The Awkward Sons will be leaving the big hitters off this week's show in favour of some great records that probably won't show up on a lot of these lists. Not out of some kind of misguided snobbery - simply because tesco.com probably has samples of the new Scott Walker up online and the new Laurel Halo is actually just arse.

So, strap your arses in for the essential sub-underground bangers that aren't getting the love they deserve.

It's going to be a fucking rinse out.

Posted at 11:14, 10th December 2012

s03 e07: the best of 2012 (part 1)

The Awkward Sons of Patrick Stewart // 27.11.12 // S03 E07: The Best of 2012 (Part 1)

2012 has been an incredible year for new releases. Every other week seemed to bring along another total arse-splitter!

But there's been so much great new stuff that our planned 'Best Of 2012' show is a total impossibility. 60 minutes wouldn't even touch the sides.

So instead, between now and the end of the year, The Awkward Sons are going to be pumping you full of the best new shit on the shelves.

We'll keep a few classics around for some light relief, though. An Awkward hour without a wall of '80s tape hiss wouldn't seem right at all. So, anything marked with a star could have been released any old time.

Anyway, crank the balls off this one for a start. It'll mostly be shit from the more downtempo, psychedelic side of things this week, so get it lit!

Posted at 14:48, 27th November 2012

s03 e06: the burgled urn

The Awkward Sons of Patrick Stewart // 12.11.12 // S03 E06: The Burgled Urn

So, we’ve got a fucking embarrassment of riches for you tonight. But what’s new, eh?

Get in about this lot…

A cut from Horace’s stunning, recently rescued 1971 demo, described by Byron Coley as, “One of the best rural psych records from the UK ever. No shit.”

Dariush Dolat-Shahi throwing a modular synth in amongst Iranian folk music. In 1985. Good work.

Loren Connors and Christina Carter turning on the waterworks for John Fahey.

Alva Noto and Byetone going 4/4 as fuck as Diamond Version.

Lee Gamble building psychedelic drones form old jungle records.

And an alcoholic saxophonist and a drummer without a kit making a record in the woods.

Heady days.

Posted at 19:53, 12th November 2012