Drugstore Film Club - we recommend:

* GOMORRA * by Matteo Garrone

Winner of the GrandPrix at Cannes 2008, this is a compelling, incredible film, that left me shaking and reeling.

Full synopsis + info on the wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gomorrah_%28film%29

Set in the harsh and moral-free world of a mafia controlled Naples' suburb - the film tracks down the slippery and crooked paths of different characters trapped in its underbelly.

Don't be put-off by its mafioso setting, this is a far cry from the Godfather's velvet clad glamorous set-pieces: it's as fast, brash and dry, as Sicily itself. It feels and looks very real indeed.

From the island that gave us both Bellini and Pirandello, director Mateo Garrone lays bare the putrid entrails of humanity at its lowest.

Essential viewing.

you can get it on Ebay: Gomorrah dvd

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Tinkle tinkle mini-mouse star - (yep..., another Ebay fuck-up)

I love Ebay, it's a treasure trove for the financially challenged bargain hunter.

An adventure that often starts with 'ink replacement+HPF380', but somehow ends with a 'commit to buy - vintage Snoopy bottle-opener'.

Soooo cute (ebay lingo), how can anyone resist?

There, all in favour of the impulsive, the superfluous and the ridiculous, rise and bid NOW.

Band just started getting a live set together and I was looking for some bits and bobs of percussion.

Find out what happened next...

(it looked alright on the picture - it did - it did!)

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el seller-bastardo never listed the true size of his balls. coward:

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A thing of beauty - hole in the heart

Vinyl arrived - for once this sub-Camille Paglia motormouth is speechless, literally. It's just perfectly pretty and all washed up in blues.

Been incredibly busy, people would be amazed at how many little things need to get done, even at our homemade level.

The St Giles gig is now sold-out, thanks to our word-of-mouth lovers, and already a little over-subscribed. It's gonna be craze, but hopefully a nite - (why have I started using 'nite'?, that's twitter for you, condensing thoughts into monosyllabic rants and raping the language) - anyway, as I woz (ay caramba...) saying, hoping St Giles will be a night when the heavy load of our labour will be lifted away into the church canopy, and together, communion-style, we'll lose our souls in music. Looking forward.

As it's now becoming a habit, just as we're gearing up for a live show, I'm shaking the line-up a little, looking for that elusive perfect fit.

People may think I'm crazy and argue that there is no such thing, that in life we need to learn to negotiate with the imperfect. But I would argue back that I cannot help but strive for what I once saw in a dream; and as the band moves forward, little by little, we're getting closer and closer to the non-vanishing point.

Release date is upon us, AUG 8th, won't flee the country, but hide in the cave and say a little secular drunken prayer to everyone who's been helping along the way.

The empty space in the core remains, but now greatly uplifted by a piece of vinyl with its tine hole in the middle and subtle grooves in translucent light, as pretty and pure as that incredible moment, when the heart of everyman beats for the first time and strikes forward filled with infinite possibility.

Oh, what joy.

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Pictorial report of CorkXsouthwest .

Snapshots of our 1st international jetsetting adventure:

Cork X Southwest photo-journal ----------------------------------------------------------------------

* ALBUM Launch GIG - ST Giles Church thu 18th Aug *

Drugstore are thrilled to announce the Anatomy album launch with a gig at the beautiful St Giles in the Fields church, on thu aug 18th.

We really wanted to do it somewhere special to match our excitement at having the new record out, and the opportunity for everyone to come together and praise our crazebabyjezus and share the joy!

We're planning an evening of joyous singing, storytelling and merriment all around.

Quite a challenge setting up a gig at the church - we're hiring everything: the PA, the lights, sound engineer - but I believe it will be worth it.

Having exchanged many a pleading email with the church warden, we will be allowed to have drinks at the churchyard (but defo a 'no-no' inside the church) - so what we're planning is this:

Tickets will include a complimentary glass of wine on miss monteiro.

The evening will kick off with wine drinking at the churchyard, at 6pm.

We're asking everyone, in the true spirit of the whole Anatomy project, to bring some extra wine along (if you wish, or some lemonade, or tequila if you prefer), and share with other fans.

We'll provide the stylish plastic glasses.

The church does not allow the sale of any alcohol/so no bar, but they're happy for us to drink whatever we bring along - (bless'em).

Church doors will open at 19:30 and our hand-picked support band, SWEET SWEET LIES will do their beautiful thing.

(this is the band we stumbled upon at SecretGardenParty Fest and were quite taken by their calexico-esque/tindersticks-esque lovely melodies - we think you guys r gonna like'em too.)

Once they finish their set, there will be an INTERVAL of 1/2 hour - to allow everyone to get back out in the churchyard and refuel on vino and have a smoke.

We'll then play our set, with the usual improvised selection of old favourites and a good bunch of new songs from Anatomy.

Then, we'll all head for club/bar across the road - for post-gig drinking/flirting shenanigans.

If by 3am I'm asking the bartender to marry me(or worse...) someone kindly put me inside a cab w/ directions to Kew Gardens, thanks.

We just can't wait and really hope you can all join us.

It's gonna be an evening to remember.

Tickets available from wegottickets: .

ps1- we advise getting tix sooner rather than later, as church does not allow the cramming of bodies too closely together, so limited number of tix.

ps2- St Giles church is 5 mins walk away from Tottenham Court Rd tube station.

ps3- bring cushion/jumper to sit on, church seats warm on feeling/hard on bum.

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day 547- Anatomy Album Blog

Starting the album Blog today.

Last Rehearsals this week - on weds 19th we hit the studio.

Got shootloads to organise, but have album pretty much sketched out in my head.

Wish I had a little more time off, but feel we're ready to do 'it'.

In retrospect, I think we could/should have run the Pledge a few months earlier, coz it really felt like too many things were spiralling down the little funnel all at the same time, and at one point I was tempted to get the cash out of the band account and do a crazy runner.

But, we got everything done (did I say 'we'?! - wait a second, be fair miss m, the lonesome ranchers did all the posting, and during xmas week!), and it was totally worth the effort.

Shame things didn't work out w/ Mike, of course, goes without saying, intentions were good on both sides, and we all hoped for the best.

But, onwards and forwards we move, towards that sacred moment when that little red button that says: REC is gonna be pressed.

can't wait.

The Anatomy Album Blog is here:

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day 516- Pledge - Last Day Party

This month has been craze-busy, due to the unprecedented success of our PLEDGE Project - 3 weeks= nearly 300% - amazing.

Today, the last day, I'm still a little overwhelmed by the positive response, the money raised and the many emails and cool messages, (and a few weird, but wonderful offers too!) received.

You guys did not disappoint, that's for sure, and we're totally grateful for the help, we needed it.

The cave is in a complete shambolic mess. The central heating is down, I haven't had time to check my post-box in days. There are boxes everywhere, paper, bags, drugstore goodies scattered around the place.

But, I can't remember a time when I felt so mind-numblingly happy. Getting up super early to get the stuff done, like a kid eager to greet Santa on Xmas day.

It's been really wonderful and I'm a little proud of having pulled off the project, the packaging, the mailing out, everything beautifully done.

Just like it's supposed to be: a special thing, made with love.

Next 2/3 weeks are strictly portastudio time, as I will try to demo all the songs, or as many as possible, that I'm hoping to get recorded at the studio.

The list of stuff I need to get done is still looming, but now, the world, british gas bill and everything else can wait:

it's all about the music, nothing else matters.

I'll leave now to celebrate our joint Pledge effort with a little whiskey I still have left, and a homemade lo-fi xmas vid.

Power to the People!

x

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day 492- Pledge Phase I goes LIVE:

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http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/drugstoreanatomy

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day 491- Pledge Preview

The RocketGirl rec deal was a much needed diesel injection. The label will be paying for the studio (25 days), and release of the album. How brilliant is that?

But we still need to raise a little extra cash to cover some of our expenses, so I'll be setting up a Pledge fund, as a fun way for fans to get involved in the project and be part of the adventure.

Not planning on any ridiculous expenditure, and here are some of the things we'd be using the fund for:

• extra rehearsals.
• sesh players: mariachi on 1 track + strings on 1 track (only!).
• zones 1-6 travelcard for all - (studio is miles away from central London and quite expensive to get to)+mike's flight from LA.
• a few days off work we might need to take during the rec session.
• food and drinks: there are no shoppes on the island, but would be great to strike some deal w/ a couple of take-away places in nearby Hampton, so we can get a pizza or something delivered to the nearest bridge each night - (surreal, or as Yuuki said: poetic).

So, as you can see, no Prada boots on the list, just a few things to make sure everyone's reasonably well-looked after, we can all relax, have a good time and make a pretty record.

And here's a preview of some of the things you'll be able to get hold of on our Pledge fund:

(gonna be fun...)

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Phone Agony Aunt Monteiro

Heartbroken? Wanna find out if your dirty little partner has been cheating on you? Is your sex life as exciting as daytime telly? Miss M, our residnt agony-aunt will dish out made-up advice over the phone and sort out your luv-life in no time at all. Call me!.

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Phone-a-philosophical question

Just don't know what to do with yourself? Troubled by life's tricky moral dilemas? Our resident philosopher, Mike Chylinski, will take your call and tell you exactly what to do. Easy-peasy.

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Play with me! Signed Kazoo

All you can possibly want for xmas. A signed Kazoo. You'll be able to play along to all your fave Drugstore tunes. Almost as good as joining the band, if not better!

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- U-can-ring-my-Bell

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Wanna impress your work colleagues? Make the girlfriend red-jealous? Get Monteiro to call you and sing your favourite song over the phone. Ring-myBell!.

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to the secret Black-blog

The stories that were too craze to tell, the angry diatribes, the putrid gossip, straight from the foaming mouth of Miss M. Limited to only 20 vip subscribers, and not even band will have access.

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Set of 6 pics from the studio

Taken by the band themselves, hopefully when sober, 1 pic a week, over 6 weeks, sent straight to your inbox with a personal messg from everyone.

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ICA tee . Get hold of this classy and supercool tee, designed by miss m for the ICA gig last may. Not many left.

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Anatomy Demos - homemade 6-song cd

Signed, limited CD (15 only) featuring 6 of the best Anatomy demos. Homemade artwork and straight out of the cave's mini-pressing plant.

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Set of 6 postcards from the studio

Cool, one-off postcards capturing the mood of the sessions, what we've been up to and the latest gossip. 1 postcard per week, over period of 6 weeks.

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Handmade Aquamarine dolls

A labour of love, limited edition (15 only) of the little siren who likes to live alone by the sea. Sequined fishtail, fake hair, but magic powers of pretty persuassion dead real.

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. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Monteiro album Diary

Booklet-diary with thoughts, pics, crazy-moods, found stuff, junkets from the studio. Only two will be made and each one will have its own dirty little secret.

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A day at the studio for 2

You and a best mate can spend a day at the recording studio, take pics, hang out and inspect the chaotic, wine stenched world of Drugstore at close quarters.

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- An afternoon at the Cave

Visit Monteiro's Cave. Play songs, inspect the pathetic shoe cupboard, tea and cakes in Kew Gardens. Go home with a bag of unique Drugstore goodies + a free hug.

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Choose the album Ghost-track That's right, YOU can choose a song, any song, we will record a cover and the little gem will appear as the album secret ghost-track. Priceless.

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Drugstore Hang the DJ set

Classic retro grooves, while band loses dignity on the dancefloor. yeah, baby.

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Acoustic gig at the Cave for 3

You and a couple of friends can come to the cave in Kew Gardens, have a few drinks and enjoy an intimate and smoky, candle-lit acoustic set of Drugstore faves.

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Acoustic gig in YOUR PAD

1 hour acoustic set of your fave Drugstore songs in your kitchen, bathtub or cellar.

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Details of how to get involved and access our Pledge fund will be published next week. x

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day 489- Return of the MaC

Had drummin' epiphany while watching that 'Anvil' documentary the other day.

Right at that moment the two old friends are standing together in the middle of Tokyo, in wonderment, happy to be alive after all the years of shared struggles, joys and heartaches.

Took a long breath, a very deep shot of brandy and decided to call Mike Chylinski, in LA.

I don't think there is a drummer left in London that we haven't auditioned and then politely sent away, and I just about had enough of wrong shirts and deadbeats. For as really nice and efficient all of them were, none could quite replace the very long and unmistakable shadow left behind by El Gran Gorilla, Mike.

And how could they? The man's got a degree in philosophy, for chrissakes, impeccable taste in everything, the intellect of a giant, and a heart as soft and big as his own shadow. And that's even before he even hit a drum. And when he does, it's always right, perfectly drugstore.

We just gotta hope that miss M and the Titan Americano will avoid clashing cymbals, and make the most of the beautiful album path that lies ahead.

Mike's coming back, and another great mini chapter is about to begin.

All hail.

ps1 - it really is m.a.c - mike alexander chylinski, how cool is that?

ps2 - i'm setting up a Pledge £ fan-fund, we're gonna need it...

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day 482- Finding a studio and the battle of Analogue x Digital

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A decade ago if you'd asked me what makes a 'good studio', I'd probably have said: a Neve desk.

Then, no cool band worth their indiesalt would have considered making an album on anything less but the old Neve Master, and recording on a digital SSL would have been akin to supersonic suicide.

How things have changed. These days the snobby distinction between digital and analogue has blurred, and I confess, I no longer have any retro hang-ups.

The record company would argue that a good studio is one that delivers the album on time and on budget. Fair do's.

But from experience, having had the opportunity to record at a variety of different places, and under very different budgets, the best studios are the ones where the band feels at home, has a decent live room and good vibe, and above all, a sympathetic engineer who understands what you're trying to achieve.

As studio time draws nearer, a few fans have contacted me, expressing their concern that we might end up over-producing ourselves, that the album needs to capture the same 'intimate, warm feeling' of my homemade demos - and so forth. I agree.

But let's kill the debate between digital and analogue once and for all: those 'warm, fuzzy, intimate demos' have all been recorded d.i.g.i.t.a.l.l.y:

from my Roland Vs-16 digital station, via dodgy-sellotaped lead into the PC, into a pirated copy of FruityLoops, edited on freebie Audacity, then, finally compressed and converted into an MP3 on a torrented copy of Media-Converter-Pro - ufff... some journey.

The reason why it still manages to sound warm and intimate, it's to do with the performance, the way it was delivered, with feeling.

For me, that's where it's at, and whether or not it was recorded on a retrodesk it's totally irrelevant, really.

I've spent the last month researching studios, and the thing I was dreading the most was to end up at a place, in the middle of trendy Hoxton square, where they churn out indie bands all day long, with a grumpy engineer, who can't wait for your session to end, so they can get down and mix their own music.

I desperately wanted to find somewhere a bit special, which is quite a challenge when you're restricted by a small budget.

But, seek and you shall find - and out of pure chance, I came across this great little studio, set on an island on the Thames - right at the edge of west London, where the boundary between city and countryside fades, and all our daily worries can be safely left behind.

It's a non-commercial studio, run by a very cool guy, who's engineered, produced and worked with some very big names (he joked that he only works with 'tall people'...), like Paul McCartney/The Cure/Depeche etc - and it has a decent mix of both digital and analogue gear.

I love the fact that it's totally out of the way, there's absolutely nothing on the island, except for a few beautifully derelict boathouses, and getting there every day is gonna be a mini-adventure in itself.

We're gonna have to make the effort - I believe it will be worth it.

The studio is booked.

x

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day 481- Anvil, the documentary

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As requested by some drugsters, I've uploaded the mini-masterpiece, that is: 'The story of Anvil' ----------------------------------------------------------------------

day 480- England nil x 10 Brazil

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A short entry to celebrate the victory of Dilma Rousseff, candidate for the Workers Party (PT), now elected: 1st President and guerreira do Brasil.

Lula, the ex-factory worker, union leader, mistrusted and snubbed by the elite, has proved that it is possible to combine economic growth with a social agenda: during his 2 presidential terms, through a number of programs, over 20 million people has been lifted out of poverty.

What a record.

You could mention the party-politics, the odd corruption scandal, which, let's face it, no political party in Latin America, or anywhere else in the world for that matter, is ever immune from, but no discord can overshadow the indisputable fact that the standard of living for the majority of its people has increased dramatically.

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At the same time, while we read heart-warming tales of social and economic development in Brazil, it is very disheartening to see the British Conservative government doing precisely the opposite, as they, under the guise of 'deficit busters', shamelessly dismantle its social welfare program and drag Britain back into darkness.

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This nomad budget champagne socialist is very proud that, alas, it is not the 1st World who is setting the standard and example, but south of the Tropics, a vast and chaotic nation of scantily-clad amazons and barefooted kids kicking ball on the sand, are showing the rest of the world how to do it.

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day 469- * Drugstore signs recording contract *

here I am baby, signed, sealed, delivered, I'm yours

(wooofuckinhooo)

I'm delighted to announce Drugstore have just signed a recording contract with cool indie label Rocketgirl, who will help and ensure this store will once again thread all over the spinning decks.

When I started this process, about a year or so ago, I genuinely had no idea what surprises were lined ahead, and was just pleased to have rediscovered my own voice, and a great community of fans, still willing to listen to our bundled up homemade stories and songs.

A lot of fans got in touch and suggested we set up a 'fan-fund', and raise cash to get the band back into the studio. It's a neat and interesting idea; But, from experience, I know that it's always better to have a few people around you, doing all those things that artists are not terribly good at: working out distribution, manufacturing, putting a team together, schedules etc.

But I also realised that given the current climate, the changes in the music industry, our band's own history and the point we're at in our career: having disappeared for over 7 years, that it was gonna take nothing short of a mini-miracle to get a label to commit to the project.

Well, a great mini-miracle has just happened, and as often with some of the best things in life, there's a pretty silver thread binding this story together.

This is the story of Drugstore and Rocketgirl:

Back in 94, as we played our very 1st gigs in the Camden circuit, two people approached us straight away, hoping to get a release.

The first, was the lovely indiekid guru, Neil Boyd, of superhip indie zine, 'Big Muff'; we gave him a flexi-disc of our single 'Alive'.

The next person was Vinita, who then worked at Che records. But before we could say 'yes' to Vinita, we were scooped by GoDiscs, as the generous chequebook of its flamboyant boss, Andy MacDonald, was just too tempting.

The years went by, and Vinita remained a faithful fan, turning up at gigs with homemade gifts - (remember that fluffy ciggie-lighter holder?) and always enthusiastic about our work.

Eventually, in 97, she set-up her own label, RocketGirl, but also gained bags of industry know-how by working both at Rough Trade and Bella Union.

By 2001, Drugstore were once again fishing for a label to release 'Songs for the Jetset'. I did not know this, and only found out about it recently, that Vinita once again tried to sign the band, but was outbid, this time by label GlobalWarming.

And that brings us back to the present - to the recent ICA gig last May - and guess who turns up, and as friendly as ever: the original rocketgirl, Miss Vinita.

A few weeks later she was at the cave, sitting on my sofa, bright smile brimming and as determined as ever:

'I want your next release, album, single, whatever - we gonna take the band to a studio, you're gonna do it and we're gonna release it.'

And so it is, that after all those beautiful years, the paths of Drugstore and Rocketgirl, that were always a mere 7inch apart, have finally come together.

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I also want to mention Paul Bonham, who has been instrumental in helping bring the deal together, and the best possible source of good advice, good will and genuine enthusiasm.

A very special thanks goes out to our own El Pedro for sticking together like glue, and to all the fans, who have been supporting us, even when the lights were out:

we're in this together!

(and for the 1st time this week, this sentence rings lovely and true).

x

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further good news: Drugstore have been invited to become Patrons of that great charity that champions the rights of music lovers and musicians w/ disability: 'Attitude is Everything'.

It's an honour and I hope we can be of help.

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live snippet of new song CantstopmeNow - ICA - 2010

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