tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14050678585456548252024-03-05T18:57:36.349-08:00Nevada RoadkillThere's something happening somewhere...Chris Leekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00323875817869021207noreply@blogger.comBlogger174125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405067858545654825.post-42944462641927125462016-08-09T10:21:00.003-07:002016-08-09T10:21:52.747-07:00Last Post
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ll put
this here as most of the old links out there point people in this
direction.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As of November 2015 I
am no longer writing, reviewing, publishing or editing and as such I’m no longer affiliated
to Zelmer Pulp, Out of the Gutter or the Big Adios. </span></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If you read
any of my stuff then you have my thanks. If you enjoyed it then my
work here is truly done. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">One Love </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Chris</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Chris Leekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00323875817869021207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405067858545654825.post-24099239035763617602015-10-11T05:37:00.001-07:002015-10-11T08:07:39.884-07:00Some of us we have tattoos<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The other day
I was standing outside my local tattoo shop, having a smoke with Chris, my
artist. We were half way through a 7 hour sitting on my new piece. I had my shirt
sleeve rolled back and my arm cling-wrapped to protect the unfinished tattoo. We
were minding our own business, just shooting the shit when a woman came up to
me, pointing angrily at my arm. She then proceeded to launch into a sermon of bigotry
and berate me for ‘defacing my body’. Telling me how awful she thought tattoos
were in general and mine were in particular.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6gG2yEY57aGAONonu1zhOdKxLVStQe8rdLXoVO-ciSKoEWK8Y6IF2gHw4U_zKi3S1mtJVWB2a12SfyI8bsELrjZVTf2TMVco3J_GGWIy-kdPscyP8fDjXwtdQf4V8iP0jCTe51zQ6Hq4b/s1600/JR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6gG2yEY57aGAONonu1zhOdKxLVStQe8rdLXoVO-ciSKoEWK8Y6IF2gHw4U_zKi3S1mtJVWB2a12SfyI8bsELrjZVTf2TMVco3J_GGWIy-kdPscyP8fDjXwtdQf4V8iP0jCTe51zQ6Hq4b/s320/JR.jpg" width="185" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My finished piece.<br />
Red, swollen and awesome</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I let her
finish and then I politely told her not to worry about it as I didn’t get my
tattoos for her, I got them for myself. She stormed off muttering something I
didn’t catch. Chris just smiled and shook his head. I guess he has seen it all
before, but I was kind of taken a-back. I am not what I would describe as heavily
tattooed and this was the first time I had personally experienced open
hostility towards my own ink. I have however from time to time seen the disapproving glances
and even overheard the odd judgemental comment aimed at my niece and her beautiful tattoos. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I find this kind of behaviour incredibly rude and obnoxious. So here’s a
quick heads up for anyone still living in another century. You really do need to g<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">et over your outdated prejudices.</span></span> People with tattoos
are not all convicts or drug dealers or thugs. It is now estimated that one in
five people here in the UK have a tattoo. That number rises to one in three for
those under the age of 24, so perhaps you had better get used to the idea of seeing them around, or maybe you should just keep your dirty looks to yourself and try to understand that other people's art has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with you. </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Either way, accosting strangers in the street and voicing unsolicited opinions on their personal life choices is not acceptable. In fact, j</span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">udging people by the colour of their skin has never been acceptable. Most of the world stopped doing that shit a very long time ago.
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/L9cWFD6kIJQ" width="560"></iframe>
Chris Leekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00323875817869021207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405067858545654825.post-42641355487088205122015-09-23T11:57:00.000-07:002015-10-11T11:21:18.998-07:00Picture This?<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Last weekend
my buddy, Allan tagged me to post five black and white photographs over the
next five days. I rarely take up any of the challenges that do the rounds on
social media. Usually they involve having to posting snippets of a work in
progress. These unanchored passages of writing serve no purpose and make little
sense to anyone who reads them. This one was a little different and as such it intrigued
me. Lord knows I’m no photographer, I don’t even own a camera, which kind of
made me want to see what a rank amateur like me could achieve with nothing more than his phone. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here are the
results, only one of these was shot specifically for the challenge, the rest were
found languishing on my memory card. I didn't use any filters or Photoshop trickery, just
the software on the phone to convert color shots into black and white. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgaNBszuf7DoGowBl75H990ObU7I3tBDqBXST9wAkjGD4Xm6aBTPucRAtOr6mo8DdDbcmhXnC0vntstCVTeUqMFjDFx7epbPhXi758lxDsW28ScX7VBykLOirxL7HT10OsiogrBb28YX9j/s1600/Shelby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgaNBszuf7DoGowBl75H990ObU7I3tBDqBXST9wAkjGD4Xm6aBTPucRAtOr6mo8DdDbcmhXnC0vntstCVTeUqMFjDFx7epbPhXi758lxDsW28ScX7VBykLOirxL7HT10OsiogrBb28YX9j/s400/Shelby.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shelby Street Bridge, Nashville, TN</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0x4JxatG68LYBkX5YrVGKX5o6YzOOapA3clcSelrr-L98-hBe3lqWQfAhw-LXMU9I1hruzw_R4WNvx9pNBj77N_AfNYNyzKZthcv3UAJQCBzDDJ32c0UP1uAp-SXE2TtZIa-ck_cE-c2y/s1600/Two.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0x4JxatG68LYBkX5YrVGKX5o6YzOOapA3clcSelrr-L98-hBe3lqWQfAhw-LXMU9I1hruzw_R4WNvx9pNBj77N_AfNYNyzKZthcv3UAJQCBzDDJ32c0UP1uAp-SXE2TtZIa-ck_cE-c2y/s400/Two.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Day drinking on a Saturday afternoon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyAwr6ix6q1EZmVFYawHMBUQ4FqH9MGjSUvzX11QOIZo5ZJwO2OeTXYICvdUrdsrHgw-o5-geyZzrEMMtY-g9UDSxsXK2zxL-Hch5_mq91fwrUKL_VVXoHu5TJA6pbSW_XzaQ7pwPKoVlx/s1600/Three+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyAwr6ix6q1EZmVFYawHMBUQ4FqH9MGjSUvzX11QOIZo5ZJwO2OeTXYICvdUrdsrHgw-o5-geyZzrEMMtY-g9UDSxsXK2zxL-Hch5_mq91fwrUKL_VVXoHu5TJA6pbSW_XzaQ7pwPKoVlx/s400/Three+%25281%2529.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The OK Diner, Leominster, Wales</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1531XpK1U9v-TAVNUgY6lzSyJAt38Syvsy-gPErBTUX5gZrRM0MdIM44r1_G04jWOhQ5Jv828PV83WeJEi9JHlYdys0ZzOcfL20t2eghoK_diOt0nRTDIx9uqDgJOUYZz_t8kzhYWwBFU/s1600/Four.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1531XpK1U9v-TAVNUgY6lzSyJAt38Syvsy-gPErBTUX5gZrRM0MdIM44r1_G04jWOhQ5Jv828PV83WeJEi9JHlYdys0ZzOcfL20t2eghoK_diOt0nRTDIx9uqDgJOUYZz_t8kzhYWwBFU/s400/Four.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These people are my people, Alexandra Place, London</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD_H3Gpii7soC89tvQzimkT-kNDXAQxRAnBjPTLHNkCcOv8eZo4mbVLA1sPvnDJCcbJqhk-ibkLU1ffWn2iKoTITo2hip18mvdTHTB4_JwBWl0FWUqJS7xoAaH5QqdJTQV43xqfgW638H5/s1600/five.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD_H3Gpii7soC89tvQzimkT-kNDXAQxRAnBjPTLHNkCcOv8eZo4mbVLA1sPvnDJCcbJqhk-ibkLU1ffWn2iKoTITo2hip18mvdTHTB4_JwBWl0FWUqJS7xoAaH5QqdJTQV43xqfgW638H5/s400/five.jpg" width="337" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Midtown Manhattan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><o:p></o:p></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Those are
my efforts, but if you want to see some really awesome black and white photography
then check out the work of Jersey's finest, <a href="http://jerseystylephotography.zenfolio.com/f36588833" target="_blank">Mark Krajnak</a> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
Chris Leekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00323875817869021207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405067858545654825.post-87051221631422424752015-09-20T06:45:00.001-07:002015-09-20T10:33:38.094-07:00Nashville Skyline Rag<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitnLHqrFxmk3gEvOl5KDEWUh1aaDyAuxgO7j9Uon00Cql8jVZXVFxt0SW8kxLXJR_3VxWYLVhqSFKGsjiQwpHupoKrbJWTKMeymubr2mr9dhXy1DWLEaWNwLZP5vNibbbVkuWhvbGto0CX/s1600/IMG_1160.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitnLHqrFxmk3gEvOl5KDEWUh1aaDyAuxgO7j9Uon00Cql8jVZXVFxt0SW8kxLXJR_3VxWYLVhqSFKGsjiQwpHupoKrbJWTKMeymubr2mr9dhXy1DWLEaWNwLZP5vNibbbVkuWhvbGto0CX/s320/IMG_1160.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Back in July
I was smoking a cigarette out on the fire escape of our vacation rental in downtown
Nashville. It was late, or maybe early depending on what hours you keep. The
heat of the day was radiating back at me from the old brickwork, the
rust streaked metal still warm under my bare feet as I stood out there nursing
my last can of Sam Adams and listening to the neon heartbeat of Lower Broad beating
two blocks over. I think that was when I realized I had kind of fallen in love
with the place. In an hour or so the sun would be up, the street cleaners hosing another rowdy night from the sidewalks outside the Honky-tonks and
I would be sleeping it off, but that thought would endure. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Music City
is just that. There must have been a dozen or more live bands playing within a
five minute walk of where I was standing that night. While the bars of Lower
Broadway and Second Avenue cater mainly for country-loving tourists, you can also
find Blues, Rock, Jazz and pretty much everything in between if you care to
look. There is a lot of history in Nashville, at least in musical terms. It might
have once been a city that lived on that past, but now increasingly it lives in
the moment. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKKbBOh3km6vxI1WKxJw73Bm7imuAmSwsm4jprmfpAyp0UOiSzISHlY6mjHjk1v9fvcbeUtV5LlgORI7SeJj2W79xqIgXmxVLN-rgUoqzRrseBs8OwyRo3G2ENnEJ_kv1EICxg3TXhIZPS/s1600/JAck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKKbBOh3km6vxI1WKxJw73Bm7imuAmSwsm4jprmfpAyp0UOiSzISHlY6mjHjk1v9fvcbeUtV5LlgORI7SeJj2W79xqIgXmxVLN-rgUoqzRrseBs8OwyRo3G2ENnEJ_kv1EICxg3TXhIZPS/s320/JAck.jpg" style="cursor: move;" unselectable="on" width="240" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
Many who make the trip to the home of country music are on some kind of pilgrimage. That wasn’t
why I came, I’m not really a fan of conventional country. I
didn’t want to visit the hall of fame or the Opry, and I certainly didn't want to take a road trip out to Dollywood. My own personal
hajji consisted of nothing more than maybe having a beer in the Tin Roof, the bar where
Johnny Cash got loaded before famously kicking out the lights at the Ryman Auditorium
(JR was many things and conventional wasn’t one of them.) Okay, so I guess the history played its part for me too, but it;s the kind of country present-day Nashville offers that interests me more. I was well aware of 'In the round' sessions at venues like The Listening Room and Bluebird Café. These have launched numerous careers and continue to showcase the wealth of local singer / songwriter talent, but what really surprised me was the quality of the acts playing the bars. These are accomplished and professional musicians in every sense except perhaps the most important one. Slots at the Honky-tonks mostly only pay in tips, or worse the bane of aspiring artists existence, exposure. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Tom
Petty once described modern country as bad rock music with a fiddle and once I might
have been inclined to agree. It was Nashville based artists like Jason Isbell and Travis Meadows that changed my mind. I</span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">'m told that the city
itself has changed too. Take a walk across the Shelby
Street Bridge to the Eastside coffee shops and art galleries or wander around
the artisan shops in the old Marathon Automobile factory and you can see this
new vibrant Nashville for yourself. The town has a gravity all its own, which seems to be a draw
for all kinds of creative people. Poets, artists, writers, and of course musicians now come from across the globe to work on their dreams by the banks of the Cumberland River. It might be
the easy going nature of the place, or the need to be
surrounded by like-minded people, who knows maybe it’s just the great BBQ. I’m
not really sure what attracts them, but I know that whatever it is I felt it too. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></o:p></span> </div>
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3746273312/size=large/bgcol=333333/linkcol=0f91ff/tracklist=false/artwork=small/track=1858794927/transparent=true/" style="border: 0px currentColor; height: 120px; width: 100%;">&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://localsummer.bandcamp.com/album/cheery-veneer"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Cheery Veneer by Local Summer&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;</iframe><br />Chris Leekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00323875817869021207noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405067858545654825.post-22358538685198192672015-09-13T03:10:00.000-07:002015-09-13T03:12:00.546-07:00Up and Down Colfax Avenue<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4NezDvhpXLfhjM1hAWxTuU9ImKlnGYVRl2vtacWHP57EX6cWrJd9GFEhVLL4FKS6iez7RMvj3LRYayavPTKiDig3TfYP7mnrFQUkdsemfiO0Mmx5S5U2DpGzRrtDGVq13F9mGe1zRBZOB/s1600/Cluny.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4NezDvhpXLfhjM1hAWxTuU9ImKlnGYVRl2vtacWHP57EX6cWrJd9GFEhVLL4FKS6iez7RMvj3LRYayavPTKiDig3TfYP7mnrFQUkdsemfiO0Mmx5S5U2DpGzRrtDGVq13F9mGe1zRBZOB/s1600/Cluny.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">They say you
should never meet your heroes, that you’ll only end up disappointed. They could
be right. For one thing I’m a little long in the tooth to have a hero in the first
place. I’m also too cynical to believe I could have my heart broken by a book,
but Willy Vlautin has done that at least twice. Last week I had the opportunity
to meet him after a Delines gig in Newcastle and I wasn’t about to pass that up
regardless of what ‘they’ might say.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If you have landed
here by chance rather than design and don’t know who I’m talking about then
allow me to enlighten you. Willy Vlautin is an author and a musician and one of
the world’s best kept secrets. His band Richmond Fontaine have flown comfortably
under the radar for years, and now his latest project, The Delines are rapidly
becoming the best Alternative Country outfit you have never heard of. The
combination of Willy’s story-telling lyrics coupled with the glorious
world-weary vocal of Amy Boone produced one of the best albums of 2014 in
Colfax. Given the fact that I’m unlikely ever to see Bruce Springsteen play a
set at the Stone Pony then hearing those songs performed in a small, intimate venue
like Newcastle’s Cluny 2 is about as close to perfection as live music is ever
likely to get for me. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinUuUE-TcZRoQLfjjLb_1VpeyK81_ac_OEVjGSx93KMn_2lRiqJ3_q4GVv91H-aykmm1pJWgghUQlbX3rQ5wPvbiDdJX50UUmNmukTA9jiiwFVxPP2plhCLYzm_C92JMcrWWK0H0RtKwr-/s1600/Motel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinUuUE-TcZRoQLfjjLb_1VpeyK81_ac_OEVjGSx93KMn_2lRiqJ3_q4GVv91H-aykmm1pJWgghUQlbX3rQ5wPvbiDdJX50UUmNmukTA9jiiwFVxPP2plhCLYzm_C92JMcrWWK0H0RtKwr-/s320/Motel.jpg" width="240" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But I
digress, as much as I enjoy Willy Vlautin’s music, it’s his words that I really
dig. I discovered his work by accident when looking for books set in my adopted
state of Nevada. His first novel, The Motel Life (recently made into a darn
good movie starring Emile Hirsch, Stephen Dorff & Dakota Fanning, which
again went largely unnoticed) had a pretty big influence on my own stuff. His second,
Northline is the novel I wish I could write. So when I noticed him hovering by
the mech table after the gig I had to go over and risk both making a dick of
myself and shattering my illusions of a guy I have admired for the best part of
10 years. I needn’t have worried, while I may have still been a dick, Willy was great.
You couldn’t wish to meet a nicer, more genuine guy. We talked books for a
while, discussed a mutual friend and to top things off I got a personally signed
copy of The Motel Life. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m not sure
this story has a moral, but if it does then perhaps it’s that you shouldn’t believe
everything ‘they’ tell you, or maybe just that it is still okay to have the odd hero,
either way you should really go check out <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=willy+vlautin" target="_blank">Willy Vlautin</a>. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span>Chris Leekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00323875817869021207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405067858545654825.post-17784992979545922842015-09-01T08:00:00.000-07:002015-09-01T08:00:06.827-07:00Help A Brother Out<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I don’t know
why it’s always the good people who seem to get dealt the worst hand, but they
do.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbakmpTNSds12Ub_AKFFYKzM-x1WwmAHp0005X2PU0dXEEfIQb1X54vEiiAHBouj1EuDIFjYERIeXuDNeD__97HH1qKIALsngsJbCjHYfplMU7psjyQHjCL902Jc3Rvbnod2sT1OMq2rey/s1600/McNeely.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbakmpTNSds12Ub_AKFFYKzM-x1WwmAHp0005X2PU0dXEEfIQb1X54vEiiAHBouj1EuDIFjYERIeXuDNeD__97HH1qKIALsngsJbCjHYfplMU7psjyQHjCL902Jc3Rvbnod2sT1OMq2rey/s320/McNeely.jpg" width="318" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Some of you
who read this may know Craig McNeely personally, others will know him only as
the man behind Double Life Press and of course most of you may not know him at
all. </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">No matter, you can take it from me that the McNeelys are good people. They
are having a real tough time of it right now and they could really use your
help. I’d like to ask you as a friend (because we are all friends here, right?)
just to take a moment out of your day and read about Craig’s campaign and then consider
making a donation. </span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.gofundme.com/McNeelyFamily" target="_blank">McNeely Family Campaign</a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If nothing
else it will help to put your own troubles into some kind of perspective, at
least it did for me. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thank you,
friends. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span>Chris Leekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00323875817869021207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405067858545654825.post-71977984123359309742015-08-31T03:31:00.000-07:002015-08-31T04:51:28.260-07:00There's A Light That Never Goes Out<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt6F7uMZO1KmYpVvylE8oN6TszaOjNl0V9biaF_0MyxLxO11hxsWoeb-obrk1RsSAOQGC1EcVc2syAshCwOy3L_H3MBHT76CJElHx3DgYFa_Mx2q011mNFzJplzJqlStpv0a5LRFK2pv_v/s1600/gla.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt6F7uMZO1KmYpVvylE8oN6TszaOjNl0V9biaF_0MyxLxO11hxsWoeb-obrk1RsSAOQGC1EcVc2syAshCwOy3L_H3MBHT76CJElHx3DgYFa_Mx2q011mNFzJplzJqlStpv0a5LRFK2pv_v/s400/gla.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Gaslight
Anthem, 02 Shepherds Bush, 29th August 2015.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The title of
this post is the second Smith’s reference I’ve made of late, which should
probably tell you something, but as Brian Fallon and the boys pull the plug for the foreseeable future on the best live band of the past decade I feel a certain amount
of melancholy is justified. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A capacity
crowd jammed into what is arguably London’s’ best and worst concert venue
(depending on which level you end up on) to see the final headline gig of New Jersey’s
finest export since some guy called Bruce Springsteen turned up at the Hammersmith
Odeon in ’75. I arrived fashionably late and on my own, rocking up halfway
through the set of the night’s only support act, Against Me. Neither my lateness nor my lack of company had
me in the best frame of mind to enjoy the evening, but 20 minutes or
so chain sawing riffs and reverb turned out to be just what I needed. To be honest Against Me are not really my thing. Their brand of punk is too hard
and heavy for me to enjoy in the comfort of my own home, but playing live they are a
glorious crowd surfing mess of feedback-ridden angst and while they didn’t
quite manage to convert me there is no denying the fact that they rock. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Next came a
protracted interval while the crew set up the stage for the main event. For me
this time was spent nursing an overpriced beer and joining the majority of the
other patrons in a period of phone staring. Having recently returned from America,
and Tennessee in particular I was struck once again by how insular and aloof we
Brits tend to be when shoved into a room with strangers. Had this gig been in
Nashville I don’t doubt that I would have known the entire life story of
the guy next to me and he mine by the time the house lights dimmed again. But
eventually they did dim and Gaslight Anthem took to the stage, kicking off with ‘Handwritten’,
which was quickly followed by two more crowd pleasers ‘Rollin & Tumblin’
and the superb ‘Old White Lincoln’. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The band were
undeniably tight, the sound superb and Brian’s vocals right on point as they
mined their back catalogue, uncovering gems like ‘She Loves You’ and ‘Diamonds
of The Church Street Choir’. Even so I couldn’t help thinking something was missing,
(not least my usual companion as that last track is her favorite) and even
a surprise appearance by Frank Turner on the slowed down version of ‘Great
Expectations’ that is preferred live these days couldn’t shake the feeling that
I was indeed witnessing the end of something. If the rest of the crowd sensed
it too they did their best not to show it as the set built inexorably towards its
climax with back-to-back classics in the shape of ‘American Slang’ and ‘45’
before the house was well and truly brought down by ’The '59 sound’.</span></span></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/q6NbvHwGx7w" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">There was
nothing you could describe as an encore, Gaslight Anthem don’t really go in for
that and before the raucous cheering had even begun to die down
they launched headlong into their final song of the night. The usual closer ‘Backseats’ was
replaced by ‘Diner,’ a standard at live shows for nearly 10
years now and a fitting way to end things. The audience joining in and their
chants perhaps sending a message, both to each other and the band themselves as they head
off on their uncertain hiatus.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It’s alright man, I’m only bleeding man,
stay hungry, stay free and do the best you can.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I very
nearly didn’t go to this gig, but if this is to be the end of the road for The
Gaslight Anthem then I’m glad I was there to see them go out on a high. If nothing else at
least I can now answer the question posed by the lyrics of ’59 sound’ and say that, yes
I did get to hear my favorite song one last time. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Chris Leekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00323875817869021207noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405067858545654825.post-86532508239208182272015-08-26T09:20:00.001-07:002015-09-13T03:15:17.599-07:00The ramblings of an unquiet mind<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">"I smoke because I'm hoping for an early death, and I need to cling to something. "</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">That was Morrissey's take on it anyway, and once I might have been inclined to agree with him, but now I'm not so sure. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmoI9Dt3dclsTLUmDN_j27Qq1J9rUGQrSeKl8zC49MbhOJbXCNzhal4Fp7Uuu-7iyiIkRW5tlgEiha8wwufmTTurDDz4arhuHvOV3ErXfetyomxJeT8qLmfH57BKOJbiGEjGr_iHiwCCK8/s1600/midlife-crisis-funny-license-plate-porsche.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmoI9Dt3dclsTLUmDN_j27Qq1J9rUGQrSeKl8zC49MbhOJbXCNzhal4Fp7Uuu-7iyiIkRW5tlgEiha8wwufmTTurDDz4arhuHvOV3ErXfetyomxJeT8qLmfH57BKOJbiGEjGr_iHiwCCK8/s320/midlife-crisis-funny-license-plate-porsche.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As I sit
here in my budget hotel room ruminating on the universe and my small
part in it, I realize that I am now officially closer to fifty than I am to forty. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I guess this
means I may now be forced to accept the idea that if it’s not here already then
middle age will very soon be upon me. This shit is not something
I ever expected to happen to me, in truth I’m still kind of surprised I survived my twenties. However, having made it this far I find the prospect of
getting older isn’t actually all that bad, and it’s certainly better than the
alternative. </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">For example I’ll soon be able to shake my fist and yell, “Get off
my lawn” at small children (note to self: you need a lawn, find out how to get one. I think it may
involve doing something with seeds.) I will also be freed from the burden of dress
sense and finally able pull my pants up really high and who knows maybe even wear
socks with sandals in public without being ridiculed. Okay, so maybe not that last one. But I do have a mid-life
crisis to look forward to, which should net me a convertible or at the very
least a new hipster hairstyle and a pair of skinny jeans. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So while
being away from home and other regrets mean that I won’t be doing much in the
way of celebrating this time, in fact I suspect the half-hour I spent getting a
tooth filled the other day will turn out to be the highlight of my week, I am
still grateful the devil has seen fit not to call in my marker just yet. I have a sneaky suspicion this is only because he’s having way too
much fun watching me fuck up in this life, but you know what, screw him. It ain't like I was ever going to get out of this alive in any case.</span></span>Chris Leekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00323875817869021207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405067858545654825.post-26432746117286538012015-07-19T05:25:00.002-07:002015-07-19T05:25:43.686-07:00Snake Farming<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW8khyphenhyphenaY6irhZDcDnCcXBFbiNHD-twPF5ncSdM4dZh74ar_AqPbzmipTnzjSNZlc45hwWG2hGy7xKhaS6OVOhPAValAvH7bOiU5plavr9RU1wmNrsQofOsrCIKMyT3FNUNZriakelJmvYn/s1600/Snake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW8khyphenhyphenaY6irhZDcDnCcXBFbiNHD-twPF5ncSdM4dZh74ar_AqPbzmipTnzjSNZlc45hwWG2hGy7xKhaS6OVOhPAValAvH7bOiU5plavr9RU1wmNrsQofOsrCIKMyT3FNUNZriakelJmvYn/s1600/Snake.jpg" style="cursor: move;" unselectable="on" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When I heard
that my ZP brother, Gareth Spark was having a launch party for his new short
story collection, SNAKE FARM I immediately typed the words ‘up north’ into my car’s
satnav and hit the road. Some five hours later I arrived in Gareth’s hometown of
Whitby on the north east coast of the UK. What followed was an evening of Brit
Grit fiction, poetry and Scrumpy Jack Cider, with a little blues guitar thrown
in for good measure. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPRiMMzaHHVMNoy0HkBrGci6bdrdxhvOARsgcpmQ-ok5vGIPvikjQEiy6hsmXi-u3_dmTvrJw5bBN5Eo5ja_XNB3AVUJZ8vJZpcDsN7-h9Hp0t-8F4omo7KurpeVbMd3GMdlvf-iUDChsv/s1600/IMG_1010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPRiMMzaHHVMNoy0HkBrGci6bdrdxhvOARsgcpmQ-ok5vGIPvikjQEiy6hsmXi-u3_dmTvrJw5bBN5Eo5ja_XNB3AVUJZ8vJZpcDsN7-h9Hp0t-8F4omo7KurpeVbMd3GMdlvf-iUDChsv/s200/IMG_1010.JPG" width="150" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Chris Firth,
head honcho of Electraglade Press kicked things off. He was followed by and
local up and coming poet Sam Brewster who read superbly in spite of this being
her first time in the spotlight. Then it was time for the main event. Gareth
started off with some crime tales, including two of my favourite Spark shorts, ‘American
Tan’ and ‘Regal Kingsize’ before mixing it up a little with a western first
published on the now sadly defunct Big Adios site and rounding out with a gritty
horror. It’s fair to say he nailed all of them. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hearing
Gareth read reminded me why I love short fiction. Distilling a whole story into
a couple of thousand words is a real skill. If it’s done well it can to blow
you away. Gareth Spark does it very well indeed. Go buy a copy of <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Snake-Farm-Gareth-Spark-ebook/dp/B00WYUI2Z4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1437294846&sr=8-1&keywords=snake+farm" target="_blank">SNAKE FARM</a>
and check that out for yourself. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
Chris Leekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00323875817869021207noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405067858545654825.post-69634223783284058692015-06-27T00:53:00.000-07:002015-06-27T00:53:52.059-07:00Roadkill Review: The Maid's Version by Daniel Woodrell<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQngewDcAGuRRSDMz0iCZmb1NOMGZRUtxilVwyX7Btd6hQ_nODee0NyGMkZJ15cXevXquXjC83X4ZdbOcIBcfyMR72eUv_emUw6VEbSCDhwM5XBIN5tFgZW8pp4NA3WH9LFUwYklEsNcel/s1600/17333270.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQngewDcAGuRRSDMz0iCZmb1NOMGZRUtxilVwyX7Btd6hQ_nODee0NyGMkZJ15cXevXquXjC83X4ZdbOcIBcfyMR72eUv_emUw6VEbSCDhwM5XBIN5tFgZW8pp4NA3WH9LFUwYklEsNcel/s1600/17333270.jpg" width="209" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is a
curious novel. Short, but not at all to the point. As you would expect from
Daniel Woodrell the writing is largely superb. His prose is more lyrical
here than in previous outings, and while generally suited to the tone of the
book there were places where it was in danger of overshadowing the story. </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">That
in itself is a minor grumble, a bigger issue for me is the wandering narrative,
which often dead-ends in vignettes of bit-part players and robs the book of any
real momentum. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Maid’s Version is not a bad book. It’s just not my kind of
book. I am not really one for musings and metaphors. </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is as close as Woodrell has come to writing an out-and-out
literary novel. I have a horrible suspicion that may prove to be his ultimate objective. If
that is the case then I wish him well, but I
don't think we can remain friends.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Chris Leekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00323875817869021207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405067858545654825.post-74485695998994574712015-06-13T14:33:00.000-07:002015-06-14T03:21:01.654-07:00Pulling Hard on the Sorrow and Smoke<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQnha6W9jKzrtbRSMtdGwOolxmMkoOU6lQu9YcmDPB6bd_dU-kEvAx_E9MFugxudklapiAknJbJBQpjZgit24e7hcKLzRas9TWu8f5XAjf_qTGTbW53FoUpuy3qD1GvDPBN_FBdrpRamA5/s1600/Slaid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQnha6W9jKzrtbRSMtdGwOolxmMkoOU6lQu9YcmDPB6bd_dU-kEvAx_E9MFugxudklapiAknJbJBQpjZgit24e7hcKLzRas9TWu8f5XAjf_qTGTbW53FoUpuy3qD1GvDPBN_FBdrpRamA5/s320/Slaid.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The UK has
always been reluctant to embrace American culture. It’s not that we
dislike all things USA, they're just not really, you know...our cup of tea. Here a minor celebrity TV dance-off will guarantee prime time ratings while outstanding shows like <em>Breaking Bad</em><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> run unnoticed in late night slots, </span>often disappearing from the screen all
together after just one or two series. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The same is
largely true of American music. The UK charts have their fair share of US pop acts, but
real American music barely gets any airplay. Country artists who sell millions of records across the pond (if you are under
the age of 30 a record is a hard copy of a download) are routinely ignored here.
In fact country music is often the subject of ridicule. For many it conjures up visions of sad old men dressed like John Wayne,
yee-hawing at Kenny Rogers tribute acts in the working men's clubs of small provincial towns. </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In an
attempt to avoid this widely held stereotype country is sometimes re-branded as folk music in the UK, which doesn't really help as that suggests bearded men in cable knit sweaters singing about
sheep dogs. Sometimes you just can’t win. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I might be getting old (at least I am according to Katie who insists I am fast approaching
the age of socks and sandals), but I don’t dress in western attire or cable
knit sweaters for that matter, and I have rarely, if ever been known to yee-haw. However I do have a deep abiding love of that much maligned brand of American music.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7LX2a1S52qes_wf-a_A2Agf2Wlzm9WJop3V2E-VG6jjo8GzBK9ZqcJy5hC-AMODe5C0-4-k8nYEbB_gwfk7xHawLvzIXcA6rIPjitTHP64XK9axd91HD0rNrxIf0wP6d0JbhUtPa31Irc/s1600/Slaid+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7LX2a1S52qes_wf-a_A2Agf2Wlzm9WJop3V2E-VG6jjo8GzBK9ZqcJy5hC-AMODe5C0-4-k8nYEbB_gwfk7xHawLvzIXcA6rIPjitTHP64XK9axd91HD0rNrxIf0wP6d0JbhUtPa31Irc/s320/Slaid+2.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Last Sunday
evening I drove the 70 odd miles back to my own provincial home town and met up with my two oldest friends, who had reluctantly agreed to come with me to see one of the best singer / songwriters they (and probably you) have never heard of, Slaid Cleaves. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Over a drink or two in the bar of the Sun Hotel
we got caught up and generally congratulated each other on still being alive
and kicking after all these years, before heading upstairs for the musical entertainment. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Our reminiscing in the bar had lead to us rocking up a little after the advertised start time, which was apparently a felony offence judging by the withering look we got from the guy on the door. I have been
to a lot of gigs in my time, most were in cramped dark clubs with sticky
floors. The pastel pink walls of The Sun Hotel's function room and the hundred or so dinning chairs, arranged around the postage stamp stage made me think we had mistakenly walked in on a wedding reception. I could see by the dubious looks my two friend's exchanged that this wasn't what they had been expecting either. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We hurriedly made our way to the only reaming seats, which were way over in back. I had never actually been to a concert where the audience was required to sit before. Sure, sometimes I had, but only on the floor and only when I was too wasted to stand. At least there were no cowboy hats on the heads in front of us to block our view.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Any doubts
about the venue were quickly forgotten as Slaid launched into the
stone cold classic, <em>Horseshoe Lounge</em>. His soft, effortless vocal soaring
above the crisp melodies of Scrappy Newcomb's guitar. My
friends nodded their approval. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The next
song was another old favourite, <em>My Drinking Days Are Over</em>, which was followed
by the brand new, <em>Take Home Pay</em> both of which received generous
applause from a knowledgeable audience (please note the absence of any yee-hawing.) I could see
by the foot tapping action going on alongside me that my friends were digging it and by the time
Slaid had worked through a few songs from his latest album, <em>Still Fighting The
War</em> including the damn near perfect blue-collar heartbreak of <em>Welding Burns</em>
they were hooked. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlbvoZbqVTHsRR09EsUQ3TF_Csq2DAg7xaqWTbRZwYiGyrnnCcy9iwBjQPLfIfSH4GsQY8N0ymUK7hScPNQ19G6ejTCiRPDb7GBXW4bKQip3eIwr5H5NnHPuZrkszYI-mMoHJd53xerEbH/s1600/Slaid+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlbvoZbqVTHsRR09EsUQ3TF_Csq2DAg7xaqWTbRZwYiGyrnnCcy9iwBjQPLfIfSH4GsQY8N0ymUK7hScPNQ19G6ejTCiRPDb7GBXW4bKQip3eIwr5H5NnHPuZrkszYI-mMoHJd53xerEbH/s1600/Slaid+3.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slaid & Me (My buddy is no photographer)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It goes
without saying that Slaid Cleaves is a an accomplished musician, but more than
that he is a damn fine storyteller too. His
lyrics speak of hard times, working men and smoky bars. Call it County or Folk or whatever the hell you like, I really don't give a shit, for me good music
is the same as good literature, it’s all about the story. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Time flies
when you're having a blast and all too soon we had reached the wistful longing of Slaid's traditional closer, <em>One Good Year</em>. When the applause had died down </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I shook hands with my friends, and they both left for home clutching newly purchased copies of <em>Still fighting the War. </em>For my part, I left feeling very grateful that Slaid Cleaves still bothered to tour a country that had the nerve to relegate his exceptional talent to the
upstairs room of a small town hotel. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br />
<o:p> </o:p> </span>Chris Leekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00323875817869021207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405067858545654825.post-35239714875886912372015-04-13T07:51:00.001-07:002015-04-13T07:51:53.245-07:00Roadkill Review: Joyland by Stephen King<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9OgmzvXHrxE8qxqjaXk_l7PFdZSTE2t-t_tY8hn-dqyHzQFQUQ5VhJ2QYw6pJDa246loENdujK9cFOuj3C9xHA19ZgExcnjEzOXziYiSG3ZMGvWc8WqxX5qQpI1Qfsd3MbsyZ13wkzPYa/s1600/dark_ride.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9OgmzvXHrxE8qxqjaXk_l7PFdZSTE2t-t_tY8hn-dqyHzQFQUQ5VhJ2QYw6pJDa246loENdujK9cFOuj3C9xHA19ZgExcnjEzOXziYiSG3ZMGvWc8WqxX5qQpI1Qfsd3MbsyZ13wkzPYa/s1600/dark_ride.png" height="169" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Part mystery, part horror and part bittersweet coming of age drama. Joyland
tries to be a lot of things at once and while overall it largely succeeds as a
novel, it fails to do most of those individual elements any real justice. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Mystery
aficionados may feel this Carny whodunit has a faint whiff of the Scooby Doo
about it (I would have gotten away with it too if it wasn’t for you medalling
kids!) While traditional King fans will no doubt be disappointed with the under-developed
Shinning-esque sub plot. It’s the nostalgic, last summer of innocence feel to
the narrative that works best out of the three, and in spite of a lot of
foreshadowing it had me invested and even left me feeling a little wistful
toward the end. It might not be Stand by Me, but it ain’t too shabby
either. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQcMNmBqaT8sjM9_ZtmNqAgB4beOl0tvZCAmMuMjQ9pYSdokhKxqATfSm50Yr4Pht1ZVrnhGKc7rrCWDXmpLAbXEm9efpnkia52cIoRYIgxpAFoZkjvpOesymFc9SqnoC_u-X3z6bVVDNE/s1600/Joy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQcMNmBqaT8sjM9_ZtmNqAgB4beOl0tvZCAmMuMjQ9pYSdokhKxqATfSm50Yr4Pht1ZVrnhGKc7rrCWDXmpLAbXEm9efpnkia52cIoRYIgxpAFoZkjvpOesymFc9SqnoC_u-X3z6bVVDNE/s1600/Joy.jpg" height="200" width="125" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p><em>“When it comes to the past everybody writes fiction.”</em></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">While lines
like that may give you reason to pause and consider your own
rose colored glasses you can argue that others such as, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It was the best and the worst autumn of my life</i>,” do nothing for
you and I’d have to agree. If anyone other than King had written that one I would
have probably ditched the book on principal right there and then. But over the past 30 years Steve and
me have reached an understanding. I overlook these odd literary indulgences
and he usually repays me with a pretty good story, and although flawed Joyland really
is just that. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span id="goog_501967328"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_501967329"></span>Chris Leekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00323875817869021207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405067858545654825.post-63361928351965665082015-04-04T01:01:00.000-07:002015-09-24T01:15:52.875-07:00Roadkill Review: Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyq3vCZqCtOJiMPd5wVro5OJ_-MsBD5GSs3WK-2fkas5eBeLrkzPSgzBujKeDIKjNwh1XJLVT08JuXCnL4vcY3Tcc6pUcRIV2zY_mKmOebIFvJoG2NJrNM22X8xSZ11rCXEjDpH60TsB1O/s1600/310.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyq3vCZqCtOJiMPd5wVro5OJ_-MsBD5GSs3WK-2fkas5eBeLrkzPSgzBujKeDIKjNwh1XJLVT08JuXCnL4vcY3Tcc6pUcRIV2zY_mKmOebIFvJoG2NJrNM22X8xSZ11rCXEjDpH60TsB1O/s1600/310.jpg" style="cursor: move;" unselectable="on" width="208" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I must be
one of the few people over the age of forty who had never read this book. At this distance it would be easy to dismiss
Fear & Loathing as nothing more than a drug addled romp through the desert--</span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">a coked-out fuck up of a book throwing up on its own shoes in some dingy back
alley--and maybe it is. But it's also a lot of fun and it says much about the time in which it was
written. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In 1971 America
was at war, not only in Vietnam but also with itself. The sixties were over. Peace
and love had been replaced by something else. The American dream was still out
there, somewhere, but the idea of exactly what it should be was now up for
debate. As Thompson puts it, <em>“Consciousness expansion went out with
LBJ, and it’s worth noting historically that downers came in with Nixon.”<o:p></o:p></em></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The times were indeed a-changing. Dylan might have gone electric in 65, but it took a little longer for
the world at large to realize the age of innocence was over and plug in. From then on it was every man for himself and to hell with the rest; to hell with consequences too. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thompson's tale of manic excess encapsulates that brave new dawn and then proceeds to burn it up with mescaline and a wry smile. But hidden in the dope haze, behind the bloodshot eyes of a four day bender lurks an unrequited longing for a simpler time when Scott McKenzie advocated no trip to San Francisco would be complete without flowers in your hair and John Lennon claimed that love was all you needed.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If Kerouac was the voice of the post war beat generation,
then Hunter S. Thompson speaks for all those who came down from the summer of love and
spent the rest of their lives wondering just where the hell it all went wrong. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Does any of that make Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas great literature? Probably not. But it does make it worth your time. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />Chris Leekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00323875817869021207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405067858545654825.post-47244515415130829082015-03-29T04:26:00.001-07:002015-03-29T04:31:14.914-07:00Is This Thing Still On?<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">*Taps microphone* Okay good, so let’s
get on with this, I’ve got to be back in Marrakesh by midnight. Actually I don’t,
but having to go wash the car and do all those other Sunday chores doesn’t sound
nearly as exciting so I’m going to stick with the Marrakesh thing. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The first three months of this year have seen me—or rather
they haven’t seen me—taking a step back from the virtual world of blogs and social
media. Delmore Schwartz once said, “Time is a fire in which we burn”, and that’s
certainly part of it. But maybe Charles Bukowski put it more succinctly when he
said, “I don’t hate people, I just feel better when they aren’t around.” Either
way, I have been using the extra 10 or 12 hours a week I gained when I stopped
scrolling through the cat pictures on Facebook to write a novel, and in between
the usual moments of anxiety and crippling self doubt it’s been going pretty
good. I have also managed to pen a short story for the next <a href="http://www.zelmerpulp.com/" target="_blank">Zemler Pulp</a>
issue, but more on that nearer the time. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In other news I have got the rights back to my long awaited (at
least by me) crime novella, Nevada Thunder. In the end things just didn’t work
out with the publisher. No harm, no foul, just one of those things. I am
currently talking with a new publisher and I’m pretty excited about what might
result from this. </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7szjfnf15zDHtPpFFSTVuvbWJXhSr5-vtr2FKCq0DX_uML7IuI_AUl_P0nhSM97fOb-4UxezZW1hmsqBuzdy0UHVaC_g4RWkSjbX2Skp4tHnoAUf08YLEGsvk3mPfwnlzgRxwK77eW3d-/s1600/Diner.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7szjfnf15zDHtPpFFSTVuvbWJXhSr5-vtr2FKCq0DX_uML7IuI_AUl_P0nhSM97fOb-4UxezZW1hmsqBuzdy0UHVaC_g4RWkSjbX2Skp4tHnoAUf08YLEGsvk3mPfwnlzgRxwK77eW3d-/s1600/Diner.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7szjfnf15zDHtPpFFSTVuvbWJXhSr5-vtr2FKCq0DX_uML7IuI_AUl_P0nhSM97fOb-4UxezZW1hmsqBuzdy0UHVaC_g4RWkSjbX2Skp4tHnoAUf08YLEGsvk3mPfwnlzgRxwK77eW3d-/s1600/Diner.png" height="200" width="133" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I don’t plan on putting out many short stories this year and
I have turned down a fair number of offers to contribute to anthologies etc. so
that I might concentrate on the work in progress, having said that I do have a few
pieces out right now. As I previously mentioned I’m in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Diner-Stories-Menu-Daniel-McTaggart/dp/0941092712/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427627704&sr=8-1&keywords=diner+stories" target="_blank">DINER STORIES: OFF THE MENU</a> recently released by Mountain State Press, with a new piece entitled Mary’s
Place. This story is one of my personal favorites and is my own little love
letter to all those great mom & pop diners that are sadly no more. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhocvAnWpoUhVOWuoMWYkQLnxBeU56MlQUsxIXN8Y4ptbs9nSPtUJk-akzFNOJhgc59xGE48nD15FdtOmW7gQDA7shE77fK6orx3TFjg27uqaF1I3v07l18KgNWw3jb8xylnLtiJkhhjRN3/s1600/Face+blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhocvAnWpoUhVOWuoMWYkQLnxBeU56MlQUsxIXN8Y4ptbs9nSPtUJk-akzFNOJhgc59xGE48nD15FdtOmW7gQDA7shE77fK6orx3TFjg27uqaF1I3v07l18KgNWw3jb8xylnLtiJkhhjRN3/s1600/Face+blog.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Next up is ‘Last Exit’, which has just gone live at David Cranmer’s
excellent <a href="http://www.beattoapulp.com/wz20150328-cl-lastexit.html" target="_blank">BEAT TO A PULP</a> webzine. This is my take on old school Noir, a story
of rain swept streets and lost love out for revenge. Last Exit first appeared
in Zelmer Pulp's, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Maybe-Should-Just-Shoot-Face-ebook/dp/B00OC4CTYA/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8" target="_blank">MAYBE I SHOULD JUST SHOOT YOU IN THE FACE</a>, which has
been our most popular issue to date and is still available for the princely sum
of 99c (hint, hint). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Finally, I’m delighted to have ‘Long Time Gone’, a brand new crime
story about a father trying to do right by his daughter in the latest edition
of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Corners-Vol-Issue-Osborne-ebook/dp/B00V78KDVU/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1427627664&sr=1-1&keywords=dark+corners+vol+1+issue+3" target="_blank">DARK CORNERS</a>. Editor-in-chief, Craig McNeely has once again proved beyond
any doubt that we are living in a new golden era of pulp fiction. He has put together
another fantastic issue with a wide variety of stories in different genres. The
one common theme being they are all from outstanding writers, including one by my
brother-from-another-mother, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yD7NC2Urdw" target="_blank">Ryan Sayles</a>. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd7mXAXC-MGNOJj8lyO4kkXxPfTH-qO68gifw98FYyRUlWQehAAU010IlWKCTRWHCl9QiXsjEdfHBG2Fa__Maa_fD6oKVFCi6d6AdbffEoMolRTyd1aKahDzEJTObcy4hcQ4uDKLABtSZ5/s1600/CA9grXtUsAAG9kJ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd7mXAXC-MGNOJj8lyO4kkXxPfTH-qO68gifw98FYyRUlWQehAAU010IlWKCTRWHCl9QiXsjEdfHBG2Fa__Maa_fD6oKVFCi6d6AdbffEoMolRTyd1aKahDzEJTObcy4hcQ4uDKLABtSZ5/s1600/CA9grXtUsAAG9kJ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd7mXAXC-MGNOJj8lyO4kkXxPfTH-qO68gifw98FYyRUlWQehAAU010IlWKCTRWHCl9QiXsjEdfHBG2Fa__Maa_fD6oKVFCi6d6AdbffEoMolRTyd1aKahDzEJTObcy4hcQ4uDKLABtSZ5/s1600/CA9grXtUsAAG9kJ.jpg" height="233" width="320" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So there you have it. That’s my 2015 so far in a nutshell;
well the writerly part of it anyway. I’d love to stick around and shoot the
shit some more, but you know how it is, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7XIL67QSME" target="_blank">Marrakesh awaits</a>. Stay classy people,
I’ll see you further on up the road. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Chris Leekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00323875817869021207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405067858545654825.post-49613188042861509102015-02-14T03:00:00.001-08:002015-02-14T03:22:20.445-08:00Diner Stories: Off the Menu<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4R9MSOMu8-yB5kb4vAyG-Qk_CS1EavrS9HpIOljIA7cGhVBMn6InHCgBqAtJas9pEfT60orpLmzKR2wyDzZqjtFy1f6b1n_Lt1lNZAecrICM_znnHPfJGoFL5qXJD_meWiocKP2P_7oFX/s1600/diner.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4R9MSOMu8-yB5kb4vAyG-Qk_CS1EavrS9HpIOljIA7cGhVBMn6InHCgBqAtJas9pEfT60orpLmzKR2wyDzZqjtFy1f6b1n_Lt1lNZAecrICM_znnHPfJGoFL5qXJD_meWiocKP2P_7oFX/s1600/diner.png" height="320" width="210" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A good old
American diner may just be my favorite place in this world. It’s certainly right
up there, along with dark and cozy British pub and my end of the couch. There really
is nothing quite like it. The smell of fresh brewed coffee mixed with the sizzle
of beef searing on the grill and the low murmur of half-heard conversations punctuated
by the chink of cutlery on china. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Daniel McTaggart
is the author of a collection called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Diner-Poems-Daniel-S-McTaggart/dp/0578045877/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423912884&sr=8-1&keywords=Diner+Poems" target="_blank">Diner Poems</a>. It’s an evocative work that
really struck a chord with me. It’s also the only book of poetry I have ever
owned (I don’t consider that to be a failing, so bite me) and when I heard that
Dan was putting together a collection of short fiction based in and around
diners I knew I wanted in. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">More than a
year in the making, Diner Stories: Off The Menu is out now in paperback from <a href="http://www.mountainstatepress.org/" target="_blank">Mountain State Press</a>. I’m damn proud to be the only Englishmen to have a story included
and to be alongside some very fine writers, such as <a href="http://www.jasonjackmiller.com/" target="_blank">Jason Jack Miller</a> and <a href="http://www.franklarnerd.com/" target="_blank">Frank Larnerd</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">You can
check it out here: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Diner-Stories-Menu-Daniel-McTaggart/dp/0941092712/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423911404&sr=8-1&keywords=Diner+Stories" target="_blank">AMAZOD<o:p></o:p></a></span></span><br />
<br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
Chris Leekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00323875817869021207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405067858545654825.post-66002799042105726872015-01-08T11:00:00.002-08:002015-01-08T11:12:37.765-08:00Show Me The Love<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTnmzFlZo9lbxCHgQd7Zy_LBL4lI2z2V7n99jnRmfVw2eleexYi19KZBXUHRQT4S8HrQI9iJcty_ykuw8JU5WR85uR5k06QLzLF4g7ZFDpLvXb9jllOuV62PXoMxsrnkpy0PNEof4a2jT1/s1600/Golden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTnmzFlZo9lbxCHgQd7Zy_LBL4lI2z2V7n99jnRmfVw2eleexYi19KZBXUHRQT4S8HrQI9iJcty_ykuw8JU5WR85uR5k06QLzLF4g7ZFDpLvXb9jllOuV62PXoMxsrnkpy0PNEof4a2jT1/s1600/Golden.jpg" height="272" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I</span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">’m delighted
to say that <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gospel-Bullet-One-Press-Singles-ebook/dp/B00NAM81S8/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top" target="_blank">Gospel of the Bullet</a> has snagged the Dark Corners Magazine Golden
Goodis award for best western novella of 2014. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Editor,
Craig McNeely had this to say of my western magnum opus: “<em>Leek has written a
thought-provoking action-packed western novella that will remind you why you
like these sort of tales. Someone needs to grab the movie rights to this one
ASAP.”</em> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Gospel
also made the ‘Notable Reads of 2014’ list over at the prestigious review site <a href="http://www.deadendfollies.com/2014/12/dead-end-follies-notable-reads-of-2014.html#!/2014/12/dead-end-follies-notable-reads-of-2014.html" target="_blank">Dead End Follies</a>. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“<em>A
novella that dares to stand above the confines of very niche and impenetrable
genre, therefore shining positive light on a century old writing tradition</em>.” </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’d
like to say a big thank you to both of these fine pulp institutions. If you
want to see what all of the fuss is about, you can just click the linkey thing on the
right. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Okay, I know, I said I was done looking back at 2014, but I'm kind of proud of this stuff, so you'll have to let me have this one. </span></span></span></div>
Chris Leekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00323875817869021207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405067858545654825.post-66985194643436796452014-12-31T02:38:00.001-08:002015-02-14T03:35:05.185-08:00Let It Go<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiByLfx1shtTlsC6EWcAO__JTczndfvZvYUhu7krx741if9-1WYTiqzhiC17fpbHF1ZFLIqjK-9BSo-MmijsJNtggl-3XY6q6vESrmWkbRgJWvaoyFjQQEUTzvUyScQ-MPgBEBdt3VZe7ZV/s1600/20015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiByLfx1shtTlsC6EWcAO__JTczndfvZvYUhu7krx741if9-1WYTiqzhiC17fpbHF1ZFLIqjK-9BSo-MmijsJNtggl-3XY6q6vESrmWkbRgJWvaoyFjQQEUTzvUyScQ-MPgBEBdt3VZe7ZV/s1600/20015.jpg" height="151" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I seem
to have spent a lot of time looking back recently, maybe that’s just a natural thing
to do at this time of year or perhaps it’s my age. Life has a nasty way of creeping
up on you when you’re too busy with it to notice. You’re thinking about the report
you have due on Friday and the leaky tap in the downstairs bath that needs
fixing and that expensive sounding noise coming from the oily bits of your
Explorer, and all the while the clock is running. I have undoubtedly passed the
point where I have more behind me than I have out in front. Either way,
2014 is just about done and I can’t help thinking that’s a good thing. </span></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">There
will be no ‘best of’ lists or ‘shelfies’ on the blog this time around. I have
read very little this year and written even less. While there have been one or
two high points, like <a href="http://www.oneeyepress.com/" target="_blank">ONE EYE PRESS</a> publishing my western novella GOSPEL OF THE
BULLET and our Katie turning 21, 2014 has for the most part been an exercise in
frustration and futility that I would rather just forget. But so what? This
year will soon be last year and I for one am done bitching about it. As of
right now I’m also done looking back. Onwards to 2015!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Whatever
your wish for yourself during the coming year I hope it comes true. Stay
hungry, stay free, and I’ll see you on the other side. </span></span></div>
Chris Leekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00323875817869021207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405067858545654825.post-17255510155161168132014-12-21T04:28:00.003-08:002014-12-21T04:28:44.289-08:00Five is Alive<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix8u6R1JN3gAR1vGD9Dfclso-fGmadL8LGX0sVgrnpOpFWw6TStkHJbwlFsffQNKZ3AdiWJ-0NSkKCNxdzrJP_0nTUfQUYwjcocspKFv33y_RAZAQLZ6feTUkKXPKVk3MCPLC37ea9-3EG/s1600/DV5-KINDLE-COVER-CROSS-2014-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix8u6R1JN3gAR1vGD9Dfclso-fGmadL8LGX0sVgrnpOpFWw6TStkHJbwlFsffQNKZ3AdiWJ-0NSkKCNxdzrJP_0nTUfQUYwjcocspKFv33y_RAZAQLZ6feTUkKXPKVk3MCPLC37ea9-3EG/s1600/DV5-KINDLE-COVER-CROSS-2014-3.jpg" height="320" width="200" /></a>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">‘Tis
the season to be jolly, so why not give the gift of fear this Christmas? You
could dress up in a red suit and set out on a spree of eggnog fueled home
invasions or alternatively you could just stay home and pick up a copy of
Demonic Visions Book #5. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This
latest installment in this series contains another fifty tales of the macabre that
will have you checking the closet for monsters and sleeping with the light on. I’m
back for my fifth go-around too with a dark story of guilt and regret found
within the eye of a perfect storm. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">There
is no need to wait for Halloween to roll around again; you can snag a copy of
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Demonic-Visions-Horror-Tales-Book-ebook/dp/B00QZT84P8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419164742&sr=8-1&keywords=Demonic+Visions+Book+5" target="_blank">DEMONIC VISIONS #5</a> right now for your kindle or nook. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Happy
Horror-days!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Chris Leekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00323875817869021207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405067858545654825.post-75086350563290547062014-12-08T11:23:00.001-08:002014-12-08T11:24:53.386-08:00OEP Sale<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9lPGM3GiZIKbapX5m7mRo1xfgyccVHlSezagQ1xhRlxpRuIQWC6-G-bKqZTXOREyCvIJuh5GmBZI8CQVwBNP1J3p_CaOAnEmTk4TBZfYKcLCH20lr-JjOPxe7BXg_DnmQTv63NS5_X3yo/s1600/OEP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9lPGM3GiZIKbapX5m7mRo1xfgyccVHlSezagQ1xhRlxpRuIQWC6-G-bKqZTXOREyCvIJuh5GmBZI8CQVwBNP1J3p_CaOAnEmTk4TBZfYKcLCH20lr-JjOPxe7BXg_DnmQTv63NS5_X3yo/s1600/OEP.jpg" height="146" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Those good people over at <a href="http://oneeyepress.com/blog/announcements/holiday-99%c2%a2-sale.html" target="_blank">One Eye Press</a> want to help you fill your virtual
stockings. In<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> the spirit of the season a</span></span>ll their Kindle editions are on sale for just 99¢ each throughout
the month of December, including my western magnum opus, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gospel-Bullet-One-Press-Singles-ebook/dp/B00NAM81S8/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418059219&sr=1-2&keywords=One+Eye+Press" target="_blank">Gospel Of the Bullet</a>. </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If you prefer your holiday reading old school then purchase the
paperback and OEP will throw in the e-book for free. You can't say fairer than that. </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Click
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=One+Eye+Press#/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=One+Eye+Press&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3AOne+Eye+Press" target="_blank">HERE</a> to be magically transported to an Amazon winter wonderland. </span></div>
Chris Leekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00323875817869021207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405067858545654825.post-28081209962625124762014-12-03T09:33:00.001-08:002014-12-03T09:33:50.388-08:00Last Rites<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGmpuKEgeSiJvMW1Riq8AaZctFkACIuHxKm73ef769XUfFMSlanG75NwUKs_wicbQjEyY8pPo-nsMAnX-G6Cc-OnP6l9QiCYe8N1Htp4vjXgIOJQ4ZmJIDgi-XFhK7aLiuVFXwh9gpWoSp/s1600/0_78b20_5f29f85e_L.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGmpuKEgeSiJvMW1Riq8AaZctFkACIuHxKm73ef769XUfFMSlanG75NwUKs_wicbQjEyY8pPo-nsMAnX-G6Cc-OnP6l9QiCYe8N1Htp4vjXgIOJQ4ZmJIDgi-XFhK7aLiuVFXwh9gpWoSp/s1600/0_78b20_5f29f85e_L.gif" height="246" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Duck you suckers! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hey, wait a minute, isn’t
that one-eyed Frigga again? </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ain’t that always the way? You wait ages for one
Shotgun Honey story and then two come along at the same time. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Well, this isn’t
your usual ride and this time it’s only partly my fault. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m delighted to say that my brother, life
coach and partner in crime, <a href="https://vitriolandbarbies.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">RYAN SAYLES</a> and I are equally to blame for the very
first collaborative story ever to be published at Shotgun Honey. </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I know, cool
right? Right.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The idea of
writing colab stories is something we’ve kicked around the Zelmer Pulp locker
room a few times, but for one reason or another we never really got around to doing
it. So back in the summer Ryan and I decided to give it a shot. <a href="http://shotgunhoney.net/fiction/last-rites-by-chris-leek-and-ryan-sayles.html" target="_blank">LAST RITES</a> is
the result. It's kind of a love story or maybe a love gone bad story would be a better description. We actually wrote the second half of it first. That was on
me. I took the girl’s part, because Ryan told me I was in touch with my feminine
side (yeah, whatever, bro). When I had the ending down, I sent it over to Ryan
who set the whole thing up beautifully from the guy’s point of view and seamlessly
linked the two halves together. I kind of hate that he did it better than I could
have, but I’ll get over myself. Telling a whole story in just 700 words can be
tough, as I’ve said on here before. Telling half of one in 350 was an absolute
blast. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m kind of
proud of the fact that we have broken some new ground with this one. Maybe one
day we’ll try a longer piece, but for now why not hop on over to <a href="http://shotgunhoney.net/fiction/last-rites-by-chris-leek-and-ryan-sayles.html" target="_blank">SHOTGUN HONEY</a>
and give us a little sugar, sugar. </span></span></div>
Chris Leekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00323875817869021207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405067858545654825.post-4344883513814650522014-11-28T04:50:00.005-08:002015-02-20T12:01:04.868-08:00Lights Out Tonight<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In
June of last year I had a flash story published at <a href="http://www.shotgunhoney.net/" target="_blank">SHOTGUN HONEY</a>. I took the
title and my inspiration for it from the Springsteen track of the same name. Eighteen
months down the road and that piece is now about to be published again, this time
it’s alongside stories from guys such as Dennis Lehane and James Grady. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaivnhPmJyZMbuSkhvjGVKMp9A45jzLC38KCn1Lh-ATPIfvJRNHQZJ8PlhRyb1F2thuW6AXAEgsQzqs4VQLYQUOmgOJaJOcj8NfdQNWhZx0tu6JTxlRU8JryOVMaCvzgrVa_ds95OuVbQN/s1600/TITH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaivnhPmJyZMbuSkhvjGVKMp9A45jzLC38KCn1Lh-ATPIfvJRNHQZJ8PlhRyb1F2thuW6AXAEgsQzqs4VQLYQUOmgOJaJOcj8NfdQNWhZx0tu6JTxlRU8JryOVMaCvzgrVa_ds95OuVbQN/s1600/TITH.jpg" height="255" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If
you are wondering just how in the hell shooting the shit on Facebook with my
sometime editor <a href="http://www.joeclifford.com/" target="_blank">JOE CLIFFORD</a> turned into the most anticipated book of
2014, you can read about it <a href="http://nevadaroadkill.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/springsteen-and-i-aka-trouble-in.html" target="_blank">HERE</a> and <a href="http://www.joeclifford.com/blog/2013/06/17/springsteen-anthology/" target="_blank">HERE</a>. I know a lot of people have been
waiting a long time for this. If it’s any consolation I guess I’ve been waiting
all my life. <a href="http://www.troubleintheheartland.net/" target="_blank">TROUBLE IN THE HEARTLAND</a> hits the shelves on December 1st.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can pre-order it right now from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Trouble-Heartland-Crime-Fiction-Springsteen/dp/1939751020" target="_blank">Amazon</a>. There
are way better stories in there than mine, but like the boss says, “<a href="http://youtu.be/129kuDCQtHs" target="_blank">You can’t start a fire without a spark</a>.”<o:p></o:p></span></span>Chris Leekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00323875817869021207noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405067858545654825.post-71630810685108242892014-11-22T08:33:00.000-08:002014-11-22T08:43:23.483-08:00Roadkill Review: Wake Up Time To Die by Chris Rhatigan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggwt_24W9Fwerjbf0CnmY3uzFjf4Ual6YH1CghJSAuCP8sAK4YhHuvVlElV6nYzXm7K1DTHit8g7ym7Rpz9bUB-EZ3BsVMPHrfAl7AN4TkuhMtJfFRH4aXIO_jmqgMJr5oZHlOoCpZ6-5-/s1600/WUTTD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggwt_24W9Fwerjbf0CnmY3uzFjf4Ual6YH1CghJSAuCP8sAK4YhHuvVlElV6nYzXm7K1DTHit8g7ym7Rpz9bUB-EZ3BsVMPHrfAl7AN4TkuhMtJfFRH4aXIO_jmqgMJr5oZHlOoCpZ6-5-/s1600/WUTTD.jpg" style="cursor: move;" unselectable="on" /></a>
</div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://youtu.be/WeDWaXyHO8Y?t=48s" target="_blank">WAKEUP TIME TO DIE</a> is a stunning collection of shorts from author and <a href="http://all-due-respect.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">All Due Respect</a> front-man Chris Rhatigan. I had the privilege of reading this long before its
summer release date, but being a lazy SOB it has taken me this long to getting
around to reviewing it. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">WUTTD
is a hard book to slap a label on so I’m not going to try. The stories in this
collection run the gambit from crime to horror to something else entirely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chris Rhatigan has the wonderful knack of
making the familiar seem strange and the strange appear down right odd. These 12 superbly
crafted tales are full of loners and losers that exist in the space between the
edges. Their world is a place where Furbies pack heat and nothing is how it
seems. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Rhatigan cuts his noir with Novocain, his prose is sharp as a junkie’s
needle and his premise as hazy as the morning after. WUTTD is by turns darkly
humorous, somewhat disturbing and always entertaining. Read this and I guarantee you’ll be
jonesing for another hit. The highlight for me was “The Things I Need To Be A
Hitman” which may just be the best short I have read this year. This is one habit you need</span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">. Go buy the book, you can thank me later.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Kneel
before <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Wake-Time-Die-Chris-Rhatigan-ebook/dp/B00NEB74RE" target="_blank">AMAZOD<o:p></o:p></a></span></span></div>
Chris Leekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00323875817869021207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405067858545654825.post-66468814164333716412014-11-15T04:29:00.003-08:002014-11-15T05:33:03.951-08:00The Blues, Mary The Blues<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmaUWHnIILLLPWgr0P7sFmegKi38FPs-gPx5W8iuCFioM-wr9_e7I4ZpI79QGS6Yueq0HO8ciikoKYO0X6N2x1Y6WDRlkFeMKg2UXH0N4haCNUw3VcGpgkfdYdyVWafFkPc4Gzz_Ee7EL1/s1600/sh_honey_logo.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmaUWHnIILLLPWgr0P7sFmegKi38FPs-gPx5W8iuCFioM-wr9_e7I4ZpI79QGS6Yueq0HO8ciikoKYO0X6N2x1Y6WDRlkFeMKg2UXH0N4haCNUw3VcGpgkfdYdyVWafFkPc4Gzz_Ee7EL1/s1600/sh_honey_logo.jpeg" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Is
there anybody alive out there?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If
there is then I expect you’ve been wondering much the same thing. Well, I’m
still here...sort of. I’ll admit I have been letting this place slide of late. Life
has developed this annoying habit of getting in the way of fiction. You know
how that goes, right?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Anyhow,
it’s high time I got back in the saddle and what better way to do so than with
a brand new piece of flash fiction over at <a href="http://shotgunhoney.net/fiction/delta-blues-by-chris-leek.html" target="_blank">SHOTGUN HONEY</a>. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I haven’t written anything this short for a
long time and I forgot just how liberating it can be. Just like the Boss, <a href="http://youtu.be/129kuDCQtHs?t=2m16s" target="_blank">“I’m sick of sitting around here trying to write this book.”</a> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But distilling
a whole story into just 700 words is also a real challenge. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">That word limit is
why I dig SHOTGUN HONEY way more than any of the other online zines. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have to bring your A game, every single word
has to count. </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://shotgunhoney.net/fiction/delta-blues-by-chris-leek.html" target="_blank">Delta Blues</a> is probably one of the tightest pieces I’ve ever written. It’s also one
of my favorites. If you’re in the mood for a good old fashioned love story then
head on over and check it out. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Chris Leekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00323875817869021207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405067858545654825.post-85793510278463129112014-10-26T04:02:00.001-07:002014-10-26T04:06:07.962-07:00Maybe I should Just Shoot You In The Face<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY-Vg0fJHQ1HrtEUzclGWDYgvOqZEBEx363ZIcWzefvcio51GF1gAgYkYCky_xPTqyCpu9vvdwJt1sn-3M7YQj0Yc1Se69ywBWulPFfUaEXiebt1jwuNMdoB3aFYRqWSJeXbgh5pFqO-bR/s1600/Face+blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY-Vg0fJHQ1HrtEUzclGWDYgvOqZEBEx363ZIcWzefvcio51GF1gAgYkYCky_xPTqyCpu9vvdwJt1sn-3M7YQj0Yc1Se69ywBWulPFfUaEXiebt1jwuNMdoB3aFYRqWSJeXbgh5pFqO-bR/s1600/Face+blog.jpg" height="320" width="210" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s
been a long dry spell for Zelmer Pulp, but after several trips to rehab and one
custodial sentence we’re back with new blood, fresh ideas and clean underwear. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Maybe-Should-Just-Shoot-Face-ebook/dp/B00OC4CTYA/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414320718&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=Maybe+I+shouls+Just+Shoot+You" target="_blank">MAYBE I SHOULD JUST SHOOT YOU IN THE FACE</a> is our first collective venture into the
dark, gritty world of noir. For the ZP team that meant they were going home and
it shows. This issue features stories from all the regular ZP offenders,
including new fish, Benoit LeLievre and Gareth Spark</span>. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In an attempt to make us more attractive to woman we
have added New Jersey Noir photographer <a href="http://jerseystylephotography.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Mark Krajnak</a> to the ZP roster. His
stunning photography appears throughout the book. We are also delighted to have
our old pal and father of Brit Grit <a href="http://pauldbrazill.com/" target="_blank">Paul D. Brazill</a> along for this ride. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The
Tesla version is available right now for your electronic trickery at the princely
sum of just 99 cents and a dead tree version will be arriving just as soon as
we have slashed and burned enough rainforest. Check out this doozy of a trailer
and then go buy the thing. You won’t regret it. Well, you might, but by then I’ll
be like 3 cent’s richer and probably living in some offshore tax haven. <a href="http://youtu.be/ZbMWxbIigLw" target="_blank">Hammer down!</a> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> <span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/5oQLqfKWi40" width="560"></iframe><br />Chris Leekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00323875817869021207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1405067858545654825.post-56721309416846735492014-10-05T06:17:00.001-07:002014-10-05T07:16:24.649-07:00The Good, The Bad And The Books<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">You’ll
have to excuse the tumbleweeds blowing around this place of late. It’s been a crazy
few weeks here in the Leek household. In between running around the country
with the day job, Georgie and I celebrated our 18<sup>th</sup> wedding anniversary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I ain’t nobody’s bargain and putting up with
me for that length of time is no mean achievement on her part. The following weekend our Katie turned 21. Both of these events
resulted in me getting slightly drunk and a little sentimental, but I figure I
was probably entitled. We also had a real scare when my niece, Marina had to undergo
emergency surgery. Thankfully she is fine now and recovering well. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">While
all of this was going on in the real world I have been burning the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejorQVy3m8E" target="_blank">midnight oil</a>
in an attempt not to blow a DEMONIC VISIONS deadline and trying to keep on top of
all the other stuff that goes along with having three books drop in the space of
a week. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Big-Adios-Western-Digest/dp/1501066978/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1YMWCKM369WK8GS51QXX" target="_blank">THE BIG ADIOS</a> western digest, which I edit with head honcho, Ron Phillips and deputy
dawg, Ryan Sayles made the leap from webzine to quarterly print and e-book. The
debut issue features killer stories from the likes of Tom Pitts, Jim Wilsky,
Aidan Thorn and ZP’s own Gareth Spark. <o:p></o:p></span></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hot
on the heels of TBA was another debut, this time in the form of Craig McNeely’s
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Corners-Vol-1-Issue-Magazine-Volume/dp/1501074296/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1ATQFW89JY32GFXCC7N9" target="_blank">DARK CORNERS</a>. Weighing in at nearly 300 pages this pulp spectacular has reviews,
interviews and some really great fiction. I have a western in this inaugural
issue, which lines up alongside crime, noir and sci-fi in a glorious smorgasbord
of pulp and genre fiction. ZP are well represented here too with both Chuck
Regan and Ryan Sayles in the mix. Craig and his team have produced a hell of a
magazine. Seriously, you should buy it. </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Finally,
this week saw the much anticipated (at least by me) release of my western
novella <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gospel-Bullet-One-Press-Singles/dp/0692278710/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1412499447&sr=1-1" target="_blank">GOSPEL OF THE BULLET</a>. I can’t tell you how much that means to me, but I
can tell you how grateful I am to Ron Phillips and <a href="http://www.oneeyepress.com/" target="_blank">ONE EYE PRESS</a> for publishing
it. A big shout also has to go out to my uber-talented ZP brother, <a href="http://www.maelstromgrafx.com/" target="_blank">Chuck Regan</a> for
creating the gorgeous cover. The initial reaction to GOSPEL has been universally
positive and also little overwhelming. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
you have dropped your dime on it already then thank you, I hope you dig it. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The
next few weeks </span>should see a return to calmer waters, as another Chris once said, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U4Pvodwm0U" target="_blank">it’s been emotional</a>. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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