Ahead of JT Soar Fest #3 at The Old Cold Store on Saturday 31 October - Sunday 1 November, for this month’s Pick Six we turned to Phil Booth of DIY music venue and recording studio JT Soar.
TV Show
Time Trumpet - Armando Iannucci’s finest hour. An absolute stellar cast - Stuart Lee, Richard Ayoade, Adam Buxton, Matt Holness, Tim Key etc… It’s kinda dated, it’s so referential of the early to mid 2000s that unless you’re aware of what was kicking off around then it probably won’t hit as hard. It has me in stitches. Only six episodes, as is the way with a lot of his bits unfortunately, e.g. The Armando Iannucci Show, which is a very close 2nd on my list
Book
Don’t Sell At Any Price by Amanda Petrusich. It makes me think about a lot more than what the book is actually about, the transience of life, the perils of possession, the constant flux of history. It’s about collectors of 78s, and their obsessive, secretive society and the great lengths/sums of money they put into their search. A lot of tangents are fully realised, cue Amanda learning how to scuba dive to search a riverbed for 78s skimmed in there by disgruntled ex-employees. A lot of the best (and rarest) stuff mentioned are incredibly early blues records, real slice of life stuff.
Album
The First After Epiphany. This is a taster comp from the best record label the East Midlands ever birthed, Ron Johnson records. Stump, The Ex, Big Flame, Mackenzies, oh gee ripper after ripper of post punk/no wave/art punk whatever you wanna call it. No record embodies what I like about music better. Know that C86 Comp everyone blathers on about? RJ had more bands on that than any other label, and tbh are the standouts vs the softer/janglier/more centre ground stuff.
Personal Hero
Mike Watt. Minutemen, Firehose, Big Walnuts Yonder etc… Anything this adorable human plops his bass or dulcet sprechgesang on is just gold. I’ve seen him a fair few times, the Hyphenated-man tour is definitely a highlight. Even got to engineer for him once, such a lovely chap. He’s had a tough life and kept bouncing back, loss of D Boon, various bass playing inhibiting injuries etc. His road to recovery featured a turn in The Stooges, no big deal. Because of him I will always jam econo.
Notts Spot
Rob’s Records. I’ve been buying records since I was maybe sixteen or so, Rob’s has been a constant in this sonic adventure. So much incredible misc and priced to encourage a punt or two. Cool record cover? Just buy it, you might find your new favourite band. Yes it’s cluttered, but he’s got it mentally indexed, so if you fire him a question, he’ll sort you out. After 23 years of patronage, I’ve earnt the title of Sir (he probably calls everyone sir) and he knows what bags or racks to direct me to.
Notts Nosh
The Avenues (FKA Tasty Bites). For as long as I’ve been at JT, Caroline and co have been servicing hangovers with their wholesome and extensive fare. Very reasonably priced, all manor of dietary requirements catered for, it’s a proper breakfast spot. They’ve been very supportive of us over the years, lent us tables for our record fairs and chairs for film screenings. Although not physically neighbours, they’ve got the associated good vibes to warrant that title.
Find JT Soar at 2 Aberdeen St, Nottingham NG3 1JB. JT Soar Fest takes place on Sat 31 Oct - Sun 1 Nov at the Old Cold Store.
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