Jazz Butcher S/D

Destroy: any of the live albums. They're crap. Oddly enough, any live boot is superior.

Also seek out Max's two solo records.

TMFTML
http://intonation.blogspot.com

i didn't much like the few things i heard by him, but then i didn't much like the music the jazz insects made, so that figures....

Might I have seen you supporting Play Dead, Mark?

My Robyn Hitchcock phase has lasted fifteen years, Ned.

"Anyone know the name of the Jazz Buthcer song with that sound in it that resembles a submarine ping (that's the best I can describe it anyway)?"

Are you sure your not talking about Half Man Half Biscuit's "Time Flies By When You're The Driver Of A Train"?

That would be "Whaddya?"

"I would let the handrail go if I thought anyone would catch my fall"

Scandal In Bohemia is still my favorite through and through, especially "Girlfriend." For his late period work Condition Blue (and songs like "Girls Say Yes") tends to be underrated. Cult of the Basement is inconsistent but the highs (especially "She's On Drugs") more than justify the lows.

"cult of the basement" gets a bit wacky for me at times, but for "girl go" alone...

my love for jbc probably has plenty to do with teenage creation records obsession hangover, but i'd rather it be pat fish than pete astor, knowwhatimean?

(someday i'll start that revolving paint dream thread! for two people to post on...)

fantastic!

Big Planet Scarey Planet
A Scandal In Bohemia
Bloody Nonsense
The Gift of Music
Fishcotheque
Real Men
Waiting For the Love Bus
Condition Blue
Glorious and Idiotic
Distressed Gentlefolk

all great! G&I is a live album, a fine one, so I disgree with the assessment upthread that their live work is completely weak.

there's this song "southern mark smith" by the jazz butcher. does anyone know if is this a reference to mark e smith?

it's great but i'd like to know. it would make sense, the band seems, from what i've heard to be at best the midpoint between felt and the fall. which is a good place to be.

yes, it is a reference to Mark E... "you gotta put on you best friend's anorak and come on out if you wanna try it out for yourself"...

I never gave anything after Distressed Gentlefolk a chance, sounds like the later records are more worthwhile than I thought. The records on Glass are some of the finest tunes the 80's have to offer.

MES wrote a response - "Pat Trip Dispenser".

_Cult Of The Basement_ and _Big Planet Scary Planet_ are outstanding later albums.

"Disceau Inferneau"

wow, it's like the "who shot ya" / "hit 'em up", "ether" / "takeover" of indie.

I would still love to have Caroline Wheeler's Birthday Present explained to me. A truly singular song.

I mean, serious contendor for best lyrics ever, and I don't have a f'in clue what it's about.

Let's go, let's go... One, Two, Three, Four....
ESTER!
Burke and Hare!
ESTER, I'm coming for you, ESTER, ESTER.
SAUSAGES! SAUSAGES! ESTER! ESTER! SAUSAGES!
We're gonna tell you something really big (ESTER!)
Like the Alice Cooper Group.
ESTER! Alice Cooper, baby! Alice Cooper!
Uh-uhrrrmm... Like the Alice Cooper Group.
Do you wanna touch me? DEAD BABIES!
See, there's been some big, big things, and some are bigger than others,
And when one might get up and go out of the room, he gets replaced with another.
Now some of these are monsters, the kind that live in the lakes (WHEURRRR!)
And other kinds are like Metal Men, and other kinds are BIG SNAKES.
But they don't look like nothing, they don't look like nothing at all.
They don't look like nothing when you put them up against Caroline Wheeler's Birthday Present.
That's: CAROLINE WHEELER'S BIRTHDAY PRESENT.
Did ya get that, Joe? (CRAZY!) ESTER, I'M WAITING...
Ner! Ner! Ner!
SAUSAGES! Caroline Wheeler's Birthday Present was made entirely from the skins of dead Jim Morrisons (Scattered over dawn's bleeding highway, I suppose...): that's why it smelled so bad.
Caroline Wheeler checked into the lobby of the Bruce Grobelaar Leisure Centre
( Liverpool and Zimbabwe goalkeeper of the 1980's )
(they check in, but they don't check out) - she was looking for a room where she could sit down and get herself back in order (ORDER!)...
SHEESH!, thought Caroline, What the HELL was that? (Edgar Wallace!)
So she goes to the elevator, she thinks "Well, that'll be pretty straightforward" (Yes, STRAIGHT UP, Caroline...) You know what she finds?
The elevator breaks down with Caroline and the fish in it.
(Fish?) (Uh-oh...)
Do you know what happens if you leave a fish too long in an elevator?
You don't? (Uncontrollable Celtic whooping from Jones)
Well, here's a clue: fish is biodegradable. (THAT MEANS IT ROTS.)
Ner! Ner! Ner!

Well, there's some big, big things and they travel in big, big cars:
Cars like a Mercedes with a big tow-bar (WHERE'S ESTER?)
But there ain't no vehicle big enough,
They just ain't built the vehicle big enough yet to hold the thing that men call Caroline Wheeler's Birthday Present (caroline wheeler's birthday present)
That's: CAROLINE WHEELER'S BIRTHDAY PRESENT.
(Heck! Here comes the hell drivers!)
(Vroom!)
(OUCH!)

that song rules SO MUCH

and actually after the Jim Morrison line the background vox say "indians scattered over dawn's highway bleeding I SUPPOSE".

MES wrote a response - "Pat Trip Dispenser".

_Cult Of The Basement_ and _Big Planet Scary Planet_ are outstanding later albums.

-- Mr. Odd, Friday, 24 August 2007 15:30 (1 week ago) Bookmark Link


Not the case it would seem.

The Butcher Says...

All right, here's the thing. The phrase came up some time in conversation and was duly seized upon. I think that it may well have been some kind of reference to Gerard Langley. We'd been to see the Aeroplanes quite early on in their career on account of a review in the NME written by our pal Campbell Stevenson, which went under the headline: "Exploding! Plastic! In Bristol???" But, you know, Mark E. Smith is so steroptypically northern that the very phrase "southern Mark Smith" comes across to me like "lush Sahara"or "wise and noble Bush". So there's that too.
The tune got "written" into a tape recorder during the BBC evening news broadcast on Easter Sunday 1983. References to Lady Di had already been excised by the time we recorded the single version, which was at the beginning of September 1983. Ah well."

Good. There's that one wrapped up in a tidy little package. Now if someone cares to explain "I Need Meat"...

A little later...

I saw a bit of correspondence on the site about this "Southern Mark Smith" business. Our dear friend Mister Berman appears to have had a fair stab at explaining what may or may not have been on my mind at the time (it is, frankly, not much use asking me at this advanced stage of the game...), but then another fellow (Hank, is it?) steps in with some rather more speculative stuff about one "McGinty".

Our pal is referring to "Pat, Trip Dispenser", which was the b-side to the Fall's single "C.R.E.E.P." Towards the end of the tune, things go quiet and Mister Smith is heard intoning (and I write from memory) "McGinty thought he could fool the Fall with his imitation speed!" (My memory is about 100% on this one, though.)

Now, "C.R.E.E.P." came out not long after we had recorded "Southern Mark Smith". Somebody at JBC Central (Mitch?) brought home a copy. We heard the b-side and were struck down with fear, for we ourselves were not sure whether somebody was having a pop at our gang (with Lolo Mcginty) or not. The man on the website clearly felt the same way, for he writes authoratitively for anyone who is paying attention that the McGinty hereinabove referred to was indeed the talented wee monkey boy who played bass for us.

You can see what is going on here - there is a "Pat" in the title, a "McGinty" in the lyric and it came out about the same time as our "Smith" record. You can see the way that Hank's mind is working here, can't you, Mister Holmes?

Trouble is...it's not right. "Pat, Trip Dispenser" was already in the can before the Fall even heard our record. It is therefore definitely NOT an "answer record" to "Southern Mark Smith". And, as ever, the clue is in the title. Those who know the history of the Fall well will tell you that the song is in fact a blast at infamous Manchester dealer, Pat McGinty. (Oh yeah - Pat, Trip Dispenser!) There had been a bit of customer dissatisfaction on the band's part, and this was their way of getting back at the naughty pharmacist (no, don't start...)

So there you have it. Not the JBC, but some dodgy Mancunian c***. Hope that clears things up.

Mon Feb 24 08:45:31 PST 2003

There you go, using facts to ruin a perfectly good theory...

Can I just say that the Jazz Butcher just came to my art opening, or would that be namedropping?

He tried to buy a painting but I'd already sold it.

I bought him a drink (again) because, you know, you just have to...

It's so strange seeing him in London, I always thought he didn't exist outside London. (But he has bloody great stories about Spacemen 3 and Loop, he does.)

Didnt exist outside NORTHAMPTON.

Please exucse me, I have had about 15 rum and cokes at this point.

Jazz Butcher line up for the LA shows is Pat Fish, Max Eider, Steve Valentine, Kevin Haskins.

In addition to the PTP show, they're playing The Echo on October 13 and the Blue Palms Brewhouse on October 17.

Curse you lucky LA people.

I just want to know if he's going to release anything new. "Rotten Soul" unfortunately lived up to it's title.

that lineup makes me hope Mr. Fish and Mr. Eider record/write together again, preferably before I die. the more I listen to the post-Eider stuff the more I am convinced Max was an essential part of the lineup (even more so than the L&R guys). his 1987 solo LP is further evidence in support of this.

I hope you've checked out Max's next two solo albums.

will do ASAP

OK The Echo web site says this:

Tuesday 10.13.09: Distressed Gentlefolk night with PAT FISH (acoustic) / MAX EIDER (acoustic) / DOWNY MILDEW / CLAY IDOLS / BLACK WATCH @ echo

but the Jazz Butcher web site says this:

Solo set from Pat Fish and Max Eider; Pat & Max duo set; Band set with Steve and Kevin.

can anyone from LA sort this out for me, we are considering going if it's the latter!

OK, that was like the bestest, most awesomest birthday present ever. Plus bonus interjection/interdiction from David J.!

Pretty cool -- a photo I took last night is the new main photo on the official site:

http://jazzbutcher.com/images/20091011/nk8.jpg

Ha! I just downloaded that today!

http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/thejazzbutcher?utm_campaign=project4954

To mark the 30th anniversary of the Jazz Butcher Conspiracy, Max Eider and Pat Fish are planning to record a new album with producer Richard Formby. After years of wandering, confused, through the digital wreckage of the record business, we have alighted upon this brilliant model for getting our music to those who want it most. So here we are, appealing to you to help us front up the necessary for the recording and manufacturing of that album.

The record will draw on the best of Pat’s compositions since the recording of Rotten Soul back in 2000. Unlike that album, it will be made in a proper studio with the best producer we know.

By pledging here you secure your copy of the album. Think of it as a kind of long-term pre-ordering system. We also have some interesting exclusives to offer, from a signed lyric sheet to Pat’s Fender El Rio guitar. Check out what’s on offer in the sidebar.

If we’re lucky enough to attract more than our target amount, we shall be making a donation to the Citizens’ Advice Bureau. Anything else will go towards the setting up of a celebratory thirtieth anniversary tour.

If we fail to reach our target, everybody gets their money back and we’ll go back to playing cribbage and dribbling into our beer as we struggle to recall our exact whereabouts. But let’s not think about that, eh?

Please give generously.

took under 7 hours to get funded

Go Butchie go! I sure hope it's better than "Rotten Soul" which was, er, rotten, the only real dud in his catalog.

That list of extras is amazing, would totally buy a house concert if I was in the UK. Excited for this!

so playing in duo form in NYC next month, i guess i should go

http://www.jazzbutcher.com/htdb/gigs

Max Eider has a new album, or perhaps a mini-album, "Duck Dance": http://maxeider.com/albums/79

Oh, and the reunion album was quite disappointing. :-(

Bummer news that Mr Fish has been poorly, as they say. This isn’t for health care costs but for general expenses in the meantime:

https://www.gofundme.com/pat-fish-has-been-unwell?member=2250978

aw jeez

(the jazz insects, active oxford area 1981-83, microfact fans) (discography = one undistributable single, 'elephants', on our "own label" = haha a big pile of like 987 unsold singles in satch's loft)

https://www.discogs.com/Jazz-Insects-Elephants-Ghost-Train/release/8589969

1 For Sale from $253.16

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6T6kpcXHDd0&feature=share

(Max Eider's new quarantined version of "Drink")

And here's a treat, following on from the overall album boxes the last couple of years:

https://usa.firerecords.com/products/the-jazz-butcher-dr-cholmondley-repents-a-sides-b-sides-and-seasides

Sorry, should have also linked the Bandcamp page:

https://thejazzbutcher.bandcamp.com/album/dr-cholmondley-repents-a-sides-b-sides-and-seasides

didn't wanna whine on his FB page but there are at least four crucial tracks missing from that set, which is really a bummer ("Temptation Inside Your Heart", "Chinese Envoy", "Christmas With The Pygmies", and the original version of "Caroline Wheeler's Birthday Present" that was the B-side of the "Marine" 7")

that being said, this is the most essential JB material IMHO

Does this set cover the entirety of "Gift Of Music", "Big Questions" and "Bloody Nonsense"?

Definitely the best stuff. "Hard" is such a jam.

yes it does!

aw FUCK

Very sad to announce that my old friend Pat Fish died suddenly but peacefully on Tuesday evening. Pat rocked my world in every way and his death leaves a big hole in my life and in my memory, much of which was only stored in his outsized brain. Goodbye mate and thanks for everything. I’m going to miss you. Max x

big sigh. the best kind of eccentric person and a hell of a songwriter. rest well.

Truly a shame and a loss. Would have been lovely if he'd seen the rarity set fully out.

Still so glad I saw him with Eider and the Haskins bros years back in LA.

gutted

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-ZyWxTIsrk

Found the key photo I took that night -- this was in 2009.

Found the photos I took from the show, with Max Eider and Mr. Fish here -- this photo ended up on the front of his website for a bit. A gentle honor to have taken it. RIP to Pat Fish of the Jazz Butcher, forever a hero. pic.twitter.com/qYFsurtu2K

— Ned Raggett (@NedRaggett) October 6, 2021

Damn, that was unexpected news. I was a big Jazz Butcher fan in the mid-80s and still hold Sex and Travel as a personal fave. Had the pleasure of enjoying a beer and conversation with Pat prior to The JB playing in Gatineau PQ in... 1986? Hats off to him. His music made many of my later teenage days much more bearable.

Had heard he was dealing with cancer but didn't think it was terminal. :-(

He's one of the only artists I saw in Boston, New York and London. A tremendous experience every time.

I love his jokey stuff as much as the next Butchie fan but his serious side (eg "Racheland") doesn't get enough respect. "Condition Blue" is a deeply affecting album.

"Vienna Song" prob my fave straight tearjerker, but yeah agreed

so sad. he was one of my absolute favorites.

R.I.P. This was always my fave.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foCfMec9-9w

Sad news. Haven't listened to him for a long long time, but back in the 80s, one of his gigs was broadcast live on bavarian TV and I taped it and watched it a ton of times. Trying to remember what the set list was - southern Mark Smith for sure (my favourite too), human jungle, grooving in the bus lane, death dentist, girlfriend, Bigfoot motel... Pretty weird it was shown at all really, and even though I didn't really have any frame of reference to contextualise it, 15yo me loved the mix of ramshackle goofiness and genuinely lovely tunes. RIP JB

yeah, more songwriters should listen to the Butcher and take notes on how to be both hilarious and heartfelt in the same song. only saw him once--US shows were few and far between this century--but he and his band that night were excellent.

I saw him once in the mid nineties in Seattle - I think “Shirley Maclean” was on the set list

This is the first one to really hurt since northern Mark Smith. Saw the band with him and Max at a tiny Iowa City club with only a handful of people in 99 - terrible turnout. Max became unnerved because he'd strum the keynote opening chord for Pat to tune to before each song, and I'd shout out the name of the song in utter joy as they were seeming all 80s Max-era tunes like Girls Who Keep Goldfish and Who Loves You Now (this was right after Max rejoined the band and also reissued Best Kisser in the World, an absolutely essential listen for any fan of the band, so I think I got lucky in that respect as Pat deferred to the oldies for Max's benefit).

We should poll Bloody Nonsense/Gift of Music (I wonder if a full artist poll wouldn't get enough votes, but I'd be willing to host it)

please do a poll of those, I'd love that

yeah this one really hurts for me as well

and yes that Max Eider "Best Kisser" solo LP is excellent throughout

one of his gigs was broadcast live on bavarian TV and I taped it and watched it a ton of times

weirdly this is not on Youtube but I got it from Dimeadozen - live at the Alabama-Halle, Munich. Nov 11 1985? is that the one?

As I said on the obit thread, I saw him playing, like, 6 weeks ago?

yeah my wife and I have really been enjoying his live concerts on Facebook for the past year or so :(

weirdly this is not on Youtube but I got it from Dimeadozen - live at the Alabama-Halle, Munich. Nov 11 1985? is that the one?

That's exactly it! There was a whole series of gigs that got shown from that venue in a prime time evening slot on the main regional TV station. Prefab sprout, the Cult, jazz butcher, the icicle works...

Please throw a vote this a way Polling in the Buslane: Jazz Butcher Gift of Music/Bloody Nonsense poll (RIP Pat Fish 1957-2021)

Rolo McGinty of the Woodentops with many memories.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10159510360516136&id=545041135&_rdr#!/story.php

If that didn’t work — but this might not either!

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10159510360516136&id=545041135&_rdr#!/story.php?story_fbid=10159789014109540&id=691739539&m_entstream_source=permalink

Thanks Ned, that was good to read

It's not often that an artist gets to do a Bowie by consciously carving their personal epitaph into the grooves of their final LP. The Highest In The Land is that rarity of an album, and it could not have been made by a more brilliantly poetic and fearlessly sarcastic writer than Pat Fish, also known as The Jazz Butcher.

http://jazzbutcher.com/albums/highest_in_the_land.html
https://jazzbutcher.bandcamp.com/album/the-highest-in-the-land

so ready for this

RIP Pat

This album is much better than "Last of the Gentleman Adventurers", it feels looser and lyrically stronger. Some very close-to-the-bone songs like "Time", "Running On Fumes" and "Never Give Up". Or maybe I'm just sad that he's gone and this gets the benefit of the doubt.