Western edition to the printers

I just mailed RETROFUTURE 6 (Western edition) to the printers, so I can finally just relax and wait for them to do their bit. The magazine should be out in late September or early October. Took a snapshot of the moment, thinking about the blog. Another good excuse to dig up a Tornado Blaze shot from the archive as well! When I finally have this publication in my hands it will be 100 issues printed in 35 years – it has been a lot of fun.

I am proud of this one, it will add just a little more to the legacy.

(My images)

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Scott King´s Montana Blue

Here is another exclusive preview from the RETROFUTURE 6 (Western edition) issue – my western heroine Montana Blue in the eyes of artist Scott King. A wonderful guest appearance from an artist that was part of my operations between 2000 and 2004. I asked Scott last year if he wanted to be part of my 100th publication, and he was interested in having a go at my Montana Blue creation, giving it his own personal touch. As you can see, the result is breathtaking – Scott really is in a class of his own. This page will be published with the interview I present with Montana Blue model Nina in this issue, adding yet another twist to the project.

I originally contacted Scott King for my LUCY IN THE SKY magazine in 2000, after spotting his wonderful art online. He became a part of this publication and had  pages in the five issues that came out between 2000 and 2003, with an interview about his work in the final issue as well. As I moved into the SLICE operation in 2003 Scott continued to be part of this publication as well for the first couple of issues – SLICE 2003 and SLICE 2004. But not only with the Xena art, but with additional X-Files art to boot. It was a wonderful addition to what was a very exciting part of my publishing career.

The “Adventures of the Warrior Princess” and “A Message from the Bureau” pages are classics now, in my humble opinion. I would like to think that they are remembered fondly by the people that collected my magazines at the time. When I browse these publications now myself, I just love these pages – this really is some of the best stuff of its kind. The satire reminds me of classic MAD.

I am so happy that Scott King is part of the celebrations this year.

(Images courtesy of Scott King)

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Purple 1976 split – the German affair

I had reason to look at the old Deep Purple collection recently for a project and the war of words between Jon Lord and David Coverdale in German media in the fall of 1976 popped up. I have to admit that I haven´t read this stuff in years, and that it is quite interesting to revisit. Initially, when Deep Purple announced the split back in July 1976, the few interviews that were made at the time (David Coverdale and Ian Paice in New Musical Express was the main one) was fairly noncommittal. The main issues (the drug abuse of some members etc) were not mentioned. They tried to be graceful about it in order to not hurt anybody´s future career.

David lived in Germany at the time with his then wife Julia and it must have been quite a surprise for him to see the rather nasty interviews that suddenly popped up in German media with Jon Lord that fall. This resulted in David going on the offensive himself, gloves off. The resulting words were, at the time, the most honest that had come out of the recently defunct Purple camp. But it was a German media thing and, thankfully, it did not spread abroad. It never got to be a thing in the UK press or elsewhere.

Two years later, they worked together again, and Jon once told me that he did regret the German affair. Still, the end of Purple had been a little bit nastier in Germany than anywhere else.

This is all water under the bridge, but it was a horrible time for all of us back in the day. The split of Deep Purple in 1976 was a monumental thing for the fans. But for years, we knew very little of the real history, what it was that finally brought it to an end. The German affair was, for a long time, the only slip up from a very tight camp. Over the years, the facts have emerged, slowly, and I suppose most of it is fairly well established by now.

Still, some matters are still touchy. The upcoming documentary about the bands 1975 trip to Indonesia will touch on a very raw nerve in their history. It is going to be interesting to see the new material.

(My scans of said articles)

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Talking about the unknown

As mentioned yesterday on this blog, I would visit a Great Lake Monster meeting in Hara (a small village located by Lake Storsjön, The Great Lake) today and be part of yet another interesting evening listening to witnesses and talking about our world renowned mystery. 10 witnesses stood up and shared their personal experiences with the crowd and of these two or three were new – including a testimony from a gentleman that had kept his mouth shut since the end of WWII (he thought it happened in 1944 or 1945). The witnesses just told their story and left the rest up to the listener. That is the way it has to be, we just don´t know what this is all about as yet. Yes, we have a large unknown animal in this lake of some kind, but that is all we know at this point. There are theories based on key sightings but we just don´t know the answer.

Visitors could pick up my publication “Storsjöodjuret” (“The Great Lake Monster”) from last year, as well as RETROFUTURE 6 (Purple edition). I enjoyed the evening and the company of these good people. Honest and down to earth all of them. I took some snapshots for my archive and you can see some of them here. These evenings are filmed and archived by the organisers. This is important work, but it is very low key at the moment. No media present as usual. Strange.

I was also told that there will be a second meeting this year, on October 7 in a small town called Krokom. These meetings circle around the lake, allowing new witnesses to pop up every single time. It really is a job well done by the organisers (Föreningen Storsjöodjuret, roughly translates to Great Lake Monster Association). The archives are growing, the mystery is ongoing and it has got nothing to do with the tourist industry. They love to spin it, but they are not present on evenings like this.

Still, the truth is out there.

(My images)

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Making waves

I have been quite busy with work lately, but this upcoming week will be a little bit more focused on other things. Tomorrow I will participate in the annual meeting held by Föreningen Storsjöodjuret (translates roughly to The Great Lake Monster Association), which is open to the general public. This annual event takes place in different towns and villages around Lake Storsjön (The Great Lake) every year, and tomorrow we will be in a location called Hara. So I will be back with a report on this blog tomorrow night.

Seen above is one of the classic local publications about The Great Lake Monster, written by Ulla Oscarsson and published several times in different editions – including one that was printed in English way back – by the local museum (called Jamtli), since 1986. This has been a good inspiration for decades for people that want to take a look at this mystery. Jamtli has a collection of hundreds of witness reports and news clippings in their archives. The front shows part of a 1935 painting by Harald Millgård.

Glad to be part of this in my own way, it is a very interesting subject.

(My scan of Ulla Oscarsson´s book)

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Black Sabbath Interview (1983)

I realised the other day as I browsed through my Facebook page that it was Ian Gillan´s 68th birthday and this kind of stuck in my head, so tonight I decided to view his 2007 documentary “Highway Star – A Journey In Rock” again and I came away with a feeling of awe. This man´s music has been part of my life since 1971, when I discovered Deep Purple at age 10, and I have seen countless concerts right up to present day Deep Purple (with another planned for February 2014). I have also met him a few times because of my Purple clubs and my time as a freelance journalist, and it dawned on me that I did interview him on his birthday once, when he visited Stockholm, Sweden, with Sabbath on August 19 1983. The interview took place at Hotel Sheraton and my friend Michael Johansson snapped some pictures that day. As you can see, I shared this interview with another journalist (I didn´t have a Purple club at that time), but these questions were mine. At the end of the gig that night, two topless gals surprised him on stage with bottles of Champagne. He picked one up on his shoulder and carried her across the stage – quite a sight with the Stonehenge backdrop, I assure you! If you know your history, you will know when he is 100% honest and when he gets a little protective. My God, it´s been 30 years… Well, enjoy it, glad to share it with you here on Trinkelbonker.

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You didn´t hesitate to join Black Sabbath when they asked you?

– Yes, at first I didn´t want to know. I never really liked their image at all and I may have looked upon the people in the band in a negative way as well. My manager thought that I could at least meet them (Geezer Butler and Tony Iommi) and discuss it, so we met at this pub and I was really taken with how nice they were. We had the same humour and we shared a lot of views in general. Geezer went under the table first that night and I felt that maybe this was something to think about after all. So we discussed it and went through the details and then we started to rehearse. That went on for about six weeks. I knew by then that it was right so we booked time in a studio and in another six weeks we did the “Born Again” album.

Did you feel that you had to adapt your way of writing to suit Black Sabbath?

– No, I write in my own style and I didn´t want to sing a lot of drivel just because others have done it before me in the band. The lyrics are just day to day observations, just like in Gillan were a lot of the songs were quite dark and serious by nature.

Your band Gillan broke up last year when you got problems with your voice, what really happened?

– Well, we had just finished one of the longest tours ever and then we did another album called “Magic” very quickly and resumed touring. I then noticed that I had a problem with my throat but I didn´t have a cold. I went to a doctor and he confirmed my worst expectations and told me that I would lose my voice if I didn´t take a break. In spite of that, I did the English tour and after the final show at Wembley on December 17 I told the press that Gillan had to take a break. At that point I didn´t know what was going to happen but then I realised that the band was falling apart. Without going into details, I can say that John McCoy would not have been part of the band anymore if I had put it together again.

There were rumours of a Deep Purple reunion this spring…

– Well, I actually went over to America this January to meet with Ritchie Blackmore and Roger Glover for talks about Deep Purple. Jon Lord and Ian Paice were ready to do it. But somebody changed their mind so it fell through. I thought it could happen for a little while. As the situation is today it really can´t happen for the obvious reasons, but you never know.

You don´t get royalties anymore from the back catalouge?

– No, but I really don´t want to talk about that. One gets a little pissed off thinking about the fact that there are people who were not even members of Deep Purple who are making money from those records. I haven´t seen any money, except from a life insurance thing, from that part of my life in ages and I really don´t know what is going on with releases. Sometimes I open up a magazine and there´s an ad for some new Deep Purple LP…

You are touring with Black Sabbath now, are you afraid that the problem with your throat is going to reemerge?

– No. In my own band we did upwards 200 shows per year for six years, so to me Black Sabbath is like a holiday. Sabbath has a system that guarantees a day off regularly.

Some people see bands like AC/DC and Black Sabbath to be today´s answer to what the blues artists of old was to people back then. Any thoughts on that?

– Umm, I don´t know. I suppose it is what you want it to be. Maybe…

Why are British bands so down to earth compared to American acts?

– Because we are completely nuts. We can´t begin to grasp that there is big money, lots of dollars, to be had if you just smooth things out a little (laughs). To be honest, you can only make it really big in the States today if you make music that the radio can pick up. It has to be hit oriented, radio friendly. Not too much energy, you can´t get played if you´re too aggressive. In fact, I saw Journey in San Francisco a few weeks ago. They were nice to watch and little computors helped them from making a single mistake. The audience loved it but they missed out on the experience that provides goosebumps all over your body, that raw energy. To me, that is real power. In America it´s more about the show.

Bill Ward is reportedly back after a few years absence in Black Sabbath, but why then is Bev Bevan here with you tonight?

– Bill Ward is back in Sabbath, yes, but he had a cold recently and Bev will be with us until we can bring Bill back in safely.

What is the plan at the moment?

– Well, we begin here in Scandinavia and then we do Reading and Dublin, the festivals there, and then we move over to America and Canada for 20 concerts. We hope to record a new LP by Christmas and then we hope to play in England in January.

Is your solo career over or can we expect more albums from you in the future?

– If I get the time to do it I will. I have asked a few people, Jeff Beck, Simon Phillips, even Ritchie Blackmore.

Would you produce bands if you got the chance to do so?

– I already have, I did this band from Finland but it didn´t turn out so good. We did produce the new Black Sabbath album by ourselves though.

You work hard most of your time but what do you listen to when you have time off?

– Well, I like to listen to the radio, to see what´s going on.

How does it feel to know that one is an influental figure to hundreds of people who want to follow in your tradition with their lives?

– It´s nice to know that people appreciate what you have done in the past but there is one thing that they often lack that we had 15 years ago and that is the variation. The new bands have only listened to hard rock bands, so they don´t have a natural feel for blues and rock music.

You don´t find endless tours tedious?

– No. I hate to record music though. And the rehearsing is even more boring. I love to stand in front of an audience and that is the only reason that I go through the process of making new records. I know I need new songs to keep everything alive.

I talked with Mark Nauseef (original drummer in the Ian Gillan Band) recently and he said that the record company wanted the band to perform a few Deep Purple classics for the “Live At The Budokan” shows. How do you react to that?

– Mark Nauseef is a musical snob and he thinks that he is above people that play hard rock, so I knew that he would be disappointed when I wanted to do “Smoke On The Water”. The record company wanted some Purple stuff for the sake of increased sales so we ended up playing “Woman From Tokyo” and “Child In Time” as well. But the guys didn´t want to perform them like the original versions so we ended up doing them in this horrible way. But I don´t want to say anything bad about the Ian Gillan Band, I learnt more in that band than I can ever use. But I was so bored by the time we did “Scarabus” and that´s when I decided to end that and start what became Gillan instead.

Will there be Gillan “Best Of” releases in the future?

– If the record company thinks that there is any money in it, sure. I have left it all behind me and I am quite content in the new situation, which is, for once, stress free. I used to have all these problems to deal with at all times since all the responsibilities were on my shoulders in Gillan. With Black Sabbath I can finally relax a little and just be a singer. But I spent a lot of sleepless nights, I can tell you that. I used to like the smaller, independent, labels. They seemed to be more honest and direct compared with the big companies.

So you don´t feel inclined to struggle for power in Black Sabbath then?

– No. Naturally, I keep an eye on what is going on. Just before I came in Tony and Geezer threw the old management out the door and it took them a little while to set up a new organisation. Everything is back on track again now and I feel very good. No sleepless nights, no problems, no money… (laughs).

Michael Eriksson (1983) / Top image by Michael Johansson (used with permission)

(No part of this interview may be copied without permission)

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Western edition – last touches

We had a second sitting for RETROFUTURE 6 (Western edition) today, and we are getting very close to a final version – in fact, we missed it by that much… My friend Staffan Eriksson will now put the last touches on the project at his place over the weekend and then we will have a CD to be shipped to the printers. Next week, most likely.

This 60 page magazine completes the 100th issue (you all know about the 44 page Purple edition), and a full year of hard work. Plenty of great stuff – Audrey Hepburn (biggest story ever in Swedish media), The Great Lake Monster (loads of interesting things, which is likely to go down well in these parts), Tornado Blaze (second and final part of the novel), more local history and interesting nostalgia. Montana Blue model Nina is interviewed etc etc.

I have said it before and I say it again – nobody has ever produced a magazine like RETROFUTURE, and nobody ever will. That is a legacy that I will be proud to have accieved once all this is done.

However, I still have to end this, and the journey is not quite over yet.

(My images)

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Scouting Lake Näkten

Lake Näkten is located not too far from Lake Storsjön (The Great Lake), and today I scouted it for good locations. For good places to take pictures and for little villages that might be of interest some day if I buy a house. I also handed out 100 magazines along the way, to locals in the area. My friend Seth and I made a good trip out of it, and it is always interesting to see new places.

I only took a few snapshots today, but I did film this trip.

(My image)

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Working on Western edition

Roughly two thirds of RETROFUTURE 6 (Western edition) has been completed and we only need to spend another hour on the project to have the magazine ready on a CD to be shipped to the printers. This page goes with the second part of the Tornado Blaze novel, and I did preview this image (the original) on this blog not long ago.

To be continued…

(My image)

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Trinkelbonker anniversary

I just realised that Trinkelbonker has been around for a year as of today, August 14. So to celebrate this I decided to mention it here and to add yet another image from the Western Archive (pretty good excuse!)  – Nina posing as Montana Blue (back in June 2010). In fact, this was one of the very first shots I took that day, the real posing started within seconds after this very moment captured here.

Trinkelbonker has posted stuff nearly on a daily basis ever since the beginning.

(My image)

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