Joe Matera – ”Face Off”

On May 2nd, former Geisha guitarist Joe Matera is releasing his new solo instrumental track named ”Face Off” which marks his return to his rock guitar roots after having released two acoustic tracks in 2010/2011.

“At the heart of my guitar playing lays a life long love affair with the electric guitar,” Joe Matera explains. ”After having delved into the world of acoustic guitar on my previous solo recordings, I felt the time was right to return to my primary first love; melodic rock guitar playing.”

”Face Off” is an energetic rocker featuring Matera’s signature melodic guitar playing. The track is written by Matera and as well as playing all the guitars, he also engineered and produced it. It is an exciting, melodic and breezy track where Matera’s guitar soloing follows in the tradition of guitarists such as Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen, Boston’s Tom Scholz and The Angel’s Rick Brewster. Rick Brewster actually makes a special guest appearance on one of the track’s guitar solos.

”Face Off” was mixed by Craig Pilkington (The Killjoys) at Audrey Studios, Melborn. Bass duties were handled by Tony ‘Demolition’ Dolan (Atomkraft, Venom), The track is released through Mercury Fire Music and will be available on iTunes from May 2nd. It is set to appear on Matera’s EP CD later this year, too.

For more information go to: http://www.joematera.com

Don Powell biography blog

I now have a blog where you can follow the progress of my work with Slade drummer Don Powell’s official biography. You’ll find it at: http://www.donpowellbio.blogspot.com .
    In 2006 Don Powell asked me to write his biography and back then I thought it would be a 2 year project like any other of my books. Today I’m wiser.
    I decided on a format for the bio pretty quickly and the sources were to be Don’s diaries, interviews with Don and with his family, friends and colleagues. I started out making the interviews with Don and over the course of 3 years I made 14 interviews with him, amounting to a whopping 36 hours. The diaries I didn’t get until 2008 and as they go all the way back to the 1970s it took me several months to read through them and pick out what should be included in the biography and what not. By then a 2 year timeframe for the bio was out of the question and we postponed a possible release date until 2010.
    The work with interviewing Don’s family, friends and colleagues kicked off in December 2006. What first seemed to be a fairly easy part of the process, turned out more complicated than expected and I had to wait up to 4 years for some of the interviews that I needed. By February 2010 I thought I had made my last interview, but new contributors to the bio kept being added to the list and at the moment I’m still awaiting the comments from another 2 or 3 of Don’s colleagues.
    Then in November 2010 Don found a number of diaries which he thought he had lost. I’m still waiting to get those and yes, you have guessed it. We’ve had to postpone a possible release date yet another time. With a little luck I’ll finish the biography by December 2011, but I won’t guarantee it, as something new seems to pop up all the time. Anyway, on the new blog you’ll be able to follow the progress of the bio. Keep your fingers crossed that it won’t be a never-ending story!

Books I read in 2010

So far we’ve had a cold and snowy January here in Denmark. The pavements are icy and the snow at times so deep that you can’t get out of the house, anyway. Indoor activities are called for and one of my favourites is reading.

 If you need a little inspiration as to what to read, here’s a list of (some) of the books, including manga, that I read (or re-read) in 2010:

Abraham. Yamila: “Yaoi Hentai 1”
Burgess, Anthony: “A Clockwork Orange”
Boedker, Cecil: “Hungerbarnet”
Carroll, Lewis: “The Complete Illustrated Works of Lewis Carroll”
Faulkner, William; “The Sound and The Fury”
Geneser, Kenneth: “Europadroem”
Hatori, Bisco: “Ouran High School Host Club, vol. 12”
Hatori, Bisco: “Ouran High School Host Club, vol. 13”
James, Henry: “The Turn of the Screw”
Jarry, Alfred: “Supermale”
Jarry, Alfred: “UBU”
Levin, Ira: “Rosemary’s Baby”
Lindsay, Joan: “Picnic at Hanging Rock”
Llewellyn, A.J.:”Rent Boy”
Mankell, Henning: “Hugget”
Murakami, Maki: “Gravitation vol. 3”
Murakami, Maki: “Gravitation vol. 7”
Murakami, Maki: “Gravitation vol. 8”
Murakami, Maki: “Gravitation vol. 9”
Murakami, Maki: “Gravitation vol. 10”
Nakamura, Shungiku: “Junjo Romantica vol. 12”
Poe, Edgar Allan: “Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe”
Rowling, J. K.: “The Tales of Beedle the Bard”
Sandemo, Margit: “Trollbunnen”
Thimm, Jack: “Swinger det ik’”
Thimm, Jack: “Undervejs”
Townsend, Sue: “Adrian Mole: The Wilderness Years”
Woodward; E. L.: “A History of England”
Zwigtman, Floortje: ”Ich, Adrian Mayfield”
Zwigtman, Floortje: ”Versuch einer Liebe”

Some of the books I read in English, some in Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, German and French. That’s the great thing about knowing languages: you’re able to read a lot more books! I wish I did read Dutch a little better than I do, though, as the best book I read in 2010 was Floortje Zwigtman’s “Ich, Adrian Mayfield.” I had to read it in the German translation, as my Dutch isn’t good enough to read it in the original language. I hope it’ll be translated into English one day as it’s the most exciting, well-written thing I have read in decades!

I hope to be doing a lot of reading in 2011 as well, and thanks to my iPhone I now have Kindle, so it shouldn’t be a problem to always carry good literature with me. Happy reading, everyone!

Merry Christmas & a happy New Year

Christmas is here and 2011 is approaching so I guess it’s the time of year when you take a look at what has happened within the last 12 months. Well, when you are going through bad times, people tend to say, ”Count your blessings,” and believe me, I’m counting! I think I’ve never done so much counting before, because let’s face it: 2010 has been one of the worst years in my life.

Not only was I attacked by a mugger with injuries to my back, teeth and mental health as a result, my boyfriend through 2½ years and I broke up as well and I lost two friends to cancer. Two others are diagnosed with it as well. So it has truly been a year from Hell, but I’m counting.

For instance, I’ve read a lot of good books this year, the highlight being Floortje Zwigtman’s Adrian Mayfield series. Why these books haven’t been translated into English is beyond me. They are wonderful, wonderful books and Floortje Zwigtman is deservedly compared to Charles Dickens, but a female, modern one. The story of Adrian Mayfield’s life in late 19th /early 20th century London is captivating to anyone who loves good literature and I refuse to believe that the lack of interest from British publishers has anything to do with the fact that the main protagonist, Adrian, is gay. If so, it is about time that they realised we no longer live in a time where being gay is a crime. Anyone, gay or straight, male or female, young or old, will be able to find something wonderful in these books, but of course only if they are able to read Dutch or German!

For some odd reason I haven’t read much yaoi this year, but instead I’ve seen a lot of good films, among them “Alice In Wonderland”, “I Love You Phillip Morris” and “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”. The best one was without doubt “A Single Man”, though. Gay themed again, yes, I know, but it was a great film: elegant, impressive, hypnotic, moving, delicate, ironic and outright excellent. I loved it.

On the other hand I haven’t had the time to go to the theatre this year and hardly any art exhibitions either, but I went to a lot of concerts. Most were with Danish bands, but I happened to see Rage Against the Machine in June, Muse in July and Alter Bridge in October as well. I’m not really sure what I think of Alter Bridge live, but Muse are always good and the Rage Against the Machine concert at Download Festival in Derby, England was perfect. Even though there was a bit of turmoil amongst the audience.

I’ve travelled a bit in 2011. I’ve been to England five times and to Belgium once, each time to be with my (then) boyfriend, so it's a little painful to think about now. The summer holidays were spent in the Danish towns of Aarhus and Silkeborg, though, with my daughter Tea. We stayed in Aarhus mainly to visit their museums and amusement park and then we popped by Silkeborg to see Don Powell and his family. And yes, I’ve finished Don Powell’s biography, or so I thought. Last month Don found some diaries that he thought he had lost, so I have to rewrite the last three chapters. It’s a never ending story. Apart from that I haven’t done much, except write the script to a Danish radio show about The Monkees and interview a few celebs now and then at different events.

Oh, yes. Events. I’ve been to a few this year. Towel Day in June, OFF 10 (Odense International Film Festival) in August and the local Harry Potter Festival in October among others. In connection with the HP festival I even got to meet J. K. Rowling at the press conference during her stay here in Odense, where she received the Hans Christian Andersen Literature Award. Oh, and in November I got kissed by Oliver Phelps (George Weasley in the Harry Potter films) at the Danish premiere of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1” in Copenhagen. That has to count for something as well, I guess, especially when you have lost your boyfriend.

So yes, I’m counting my blessings, however small they are, hoping against hope that 2011 will be better. Wishing you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year. See you in 2011. xx

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part 1.

I saw the film on November 18th, 2010 at the first screening on the first day of its release here in Denmark. Although the cinema seated 900, only about 100 showed up, mostly people in their late teens or early twenties. They were not impressed and neither was I.

In “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” part 1, the evil lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) has taken control of the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and he has outlawed Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe). In order to kill Voldemort, Harry and his friends Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) set out to find and destroy horcruxes, the objects in which Voldemort has hidden parts of his black soul.
    The plot is as simple as that, but if you don’t know the book, it is very, very hard to understand what is going on on the big screen. The story is just too hectic and badly explained and as such the film comes across superficial and unsatisfying. All scenes are boiled down to the essentials and that is both too little and too much. We get all the highlights, but in a very comprised way, leaving the audience no time to dwell on the characters and their situation and at the same time the trio’s travels between events seem unnecessarily long-winded.

On the positive side “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” part 1 is true to J. K. Rowling’s book which is nice as its predecessor, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”, had very little to do with the written saga of Harry Potter. The few changes that are made in HP7 part 1 are very becoming, like Hedwig’s death or Harry and Hermione entering Godric’s Hollow.
    The film also skips all the tedious parts of the book and reduces its likeness to The Lord of the Rings. Where the book is almost identical to The Lord of the Rings with Harry as Frodo, Hermione as Sam, Ron as a twisted Gollum and the Slytherin Locket as the Ruling Ring, it isn’t in the film and that’s a good thing. On the other hand, without the likeness it is difficult to understand why Ron gets so mad that he leaves the quest.
    In general the film could do with some explanations. For instance it was surprising to see that the Weasley home – The Burrow – was still standing. It burned down in HP6, but apparently the scriptwriters forgot as in HP7 part 1 it is still there. No explanation at all. I find that very unsatisfying.

To me the Harry Potter films have lost the magic that was so clearly there in the beginning and I guess things started to go wrong when David Yates took over as director in HP5. Up until then the Harry Potter films kept getting better and better, but the three latest ones that Yates has directed are average at best.
    With HP7 part 1 Yates has tried to make a dark, gloomy coming of age/road movie, but it doesn’t work. There are no depths to the characters or the plot and you feel that you’re just being transported from one scene to another without time for reflections or feelings.
    I know the actors say, that with Yates they were allowed to explore their characters more than with other directors, but unfortunately it doesn’t show. The characters come across one-dimensional or even worse: as actors delivering lines. We all know how brilliant the Harry Potter cast is, but in HP7 part 1 they never get to show it. It is rather disappointing, especially with Rupert Grint who doesn’t get to unfold his gifted talent as Ron Weasley at all.

To me there are only three reasons to watch HP7 part 1:
1: Daniel Radcliffe as the seven Potters. He is wonderful slipping into the characters of the other actors.
2: Oliver Phelps as George Weasley. He is hilarious, especially in the kitchen scene.
3: David O’Hara as Runcorn. He is brilliant in the Ministry.
    As for the scenes, there’s a tender scene between the Weasley twins and one between Harry and Hermione that work quite well. And I liked the scene with Ron and Harry in the tent with Hermione’s fire. That’s all and far too little for a film that runs 146 minutes.

When “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” part 1 was over, the guy sitting next to me said, “What that it?” and it was. “I hope part two is better,” he said and so do I. Three out of five stars: ***

P. S. I haven’t mentioned the animation of the tale of the three brothers, because although I get the idea and appreciate how it is done, I found it distracting and not very Harry Potter-like.

The Danish Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part 1 premiere

Friday the 12th of November 2010 the Danish gala premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1 took place at the Imperial cinema in Copenhagen and in that connection the Phelps twins (Weasley twins) came to town. Not that anyone knew, because for some odd reason the Danish press had decided not to write about it in advance! Only a few film clubs and fan clubs had mentioned the visit in connections with competitions about winning premiere tickets.

Anyway, I was the only one there to cover the twins’ visit for foreign press (America/UK). Although I’m Danish I was quite pleased with not working for a Danish magazine because…well, I don’t know why, but Danish press is not that interested in foreign visits in connection with premieres. What interest them are the Danish VIPs (mostly actors, strippers and reality TV-stars) who turn up for the prem. It was no wonder, then, that when the twins arrived in Denmark, neither press nor fans were in the airport to great them. The twins spent less than a minute in arrivals, which was probably just as well. Their flight was an hour late, so when they left the airport it was 4.30 p.m. and the red carpet event in connection with the premiere was to start at 6!

When I arrived at the cinema in order to cover the red carpet, only about thirty fans had gathered outside to see the twins. Inside a handful of journalists and press photographers were lined up and as the Danish VIPs started to arrive, a true battle broke out. I’ve worked all over the world, but I’ve never experienced anything as brutal as the Copenhagen press! They were almost fighting for the best spots, and I still have bruises all over from being pushed around!

It was close to six thirty, before we heard the loud cheers and screams from outside, indicating that the twins had arrived. It took another ten or fifteen minutes before they had worked their way through the fans, signing autographs and having their pics taken, and reached the spot where I was standing with the rest of the Danish press. Again fights broke out, but not as bad as when the Danish VIPs had walked the red carpet and I did manage to take some pics, although I bruised my wrist when the photographer standing next to me shoved me into a table.

When the pics were done, I gave Oliver Phelps a wave like I’d promised him on Twitter and his face lit up. “It’s you!” he said and came over to say hi and give me a hug and a kiss. We had a short chat, then Oliver Phelps gave the press co-ordinator his mobile phone and asked him to take a pic of us. Need I say that after that the other photographers stopped bullying me?

Because the twins had been so delayed, the planned interviews had been cancelled. Instead the Danish press agency Ritzau was to do a short interview before the twins went on stage to introduce the film. I was allowed to listen in on the interview and here I learned that the only ones to surpass the Copenhagen press in brutality are the Copenhagen security guards. I was brutally pushed away by one and the press co-ordinator had to tell him to back off and let me do my thing, but I missed the first part of the interview because of that.
Anyway, according to my notes, Oliver Phelps said that this was their first time in Denmark, but they had heard about Copenhagen from friends who were here last year. James Phelps added that they’d had a fantastic and very loud welcome and said, “I can’t thank you enough.”
The twins said that it was a bit sad that the Harry Potter saga is coming to an end.
“It’s difficult to say how things will be now that we don’t have to do Harry Potter anymore,” Oliver Phelps said. “It’s been wicked being in the movies.”
“When we agreed to do the movies we had no idea that it would be that big.” James Phelps said. “If you’d told me ten years ago that I’d be here in Copenhagen today I wouldn’t have believed you. It has changed our lives, but we love it. It’s fantastic.”
”Growing up on a film set is very different to what other people experience, I think,” James Phelps continued, “but all of us who are in Harry Potter grew up together so we’ve been friends since childhood and we’re still friends today.”

The twins agreed that they would never tire of playing Fred and George.
“It’s fun being Fred and George and if we’re a bit naughty we can always say that we are in character,” James Phelps laughed and continued, “but I won’t miss having my dyed ginger every second week!”
Oliver Phelps told the press, that next year he starts filming without his brother.
”It’ll be different not being together,” he said and James Phelps agreed. Asked if they were going to see some of Copenhagen after the premier, Oliver Phelps said that they hoped for a good night out in town, but when asked if the twins were single or had girlfriends, they both just smiled and refused to answer.

After the short interview, the press co-ordinator took another pic of Oliver Phelps and me with my camera (a very crappy pic, ha-ha!) and then the audience was over.

According to Twitter, the twins did indeed have a good night out in Copenhagen (at the Hilfiger Denim LOUD event in Vega, actually) as well as a visit to Tivoli, the world’s oldest theme park, so a great time was had by all, I suppose. I hope to see the twins in Denmark again some day, but without the press and security brutality and I do wish that by then the Danish press has stopped calling Oliver James and James Oliver, ha-ha!